 ١ـ عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَبِي نَصْرٍ عَنْ ثَعْلَبَةَ بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) عَنْ قَوْلِ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَكانَ رَسُولاً نَبِيًّا مَا الرَّسُولُ وَمَا النَّبِيُّ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ الَّذِي يَرَى فِي مَنَامِهِ وَيَسْمَعُ الصَّوْتَ وَلا يُعَايِنُ الْمَلَكَ وَالرَّسُولُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ الصَّوْتَ وَيَرَى فِي الْمَنَامِ وَيُعَايِنُ الْمَلَكَ قُلْتُ الامَامُ مَا مَنْزِلَتُهُ قَالَ يَسْمَعُ الصَّوْتَ وَلا يَرَى وَلا يُعَايِنُ الْمَلَكَ ثُمَّ تَلا هَذِهِ الايَةَ وَما أَرْسَلْنا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ وَلا نَبِيٍّ وَلا مُحَدَّثٍ.
 1. A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn abu Nasr from Tha‘laba ibn Maymun from Zurara who has said the following “I asked abu ‘Abdallah  about the words of Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, ‘He was a messenger, a prophet’. What is a messenger and what is a prophet?’” The Imam said, “A prophet is one who sees things in his dream and hears the voice but does not see the angel. The messenger is one who hears the voice, in his dreams and sees the angel.” I then said, “What is the position of the Imam?” The Imam  said, “He hears the voice but does not see and observe the angel” Then he recited the following verse of the Holy Quran. ‘Satan would try to tamper with the desires of every Prophet or Messenger or Muhaddith (Muhaddith is a commentary of Imam , whom We sent . .’” (22:52)