The Exceptional Narrations — Hadith 3

3. Muḥammad ibn Ya’qub narrated to me from a group of his companions, from Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Isā, from ‘Ali ibn Ḥakam, from Ziyād ibn Abil Ḥalāl, who said: Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a. s. )) said: There is no prophet nor successor who remains on earth for more than three days (after having been buried). Thereafter, their souls, their bones and their flesh are taken up to the heavens. Therefore, by going to places which contain their signs, one sends Salām to them from far (because they are in the heavens). However, they hear it as if they were nearby. The above Ḥadīth has also been narrated to me through the following chain: My father and Muḥammad ibn Ya’qub, from Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā, and from others, from Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad, from ‘Ali ibn Ḥakam, from Ziyād, from Abī ‘Abdillāh (a. s. ).