Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): Sa'd ibn Abdullah al-Qummi says: I came before Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him) and I saw Imam al-Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble relief) — who was a young boy at the time — sitting on his left thigh, holding a scroll in his hand in which he was writing the answers to more than forty of the difficult questions whose answers had not been found. The Imam (peace be upon him) said to Sa'd: "O Sa'd, why have you come?" I said: "Ahmad ibn Ishaq encouraged me to visit my master." He said: "What have you done about the questions you wanted to ask?" I said: "Master, they remain unanswered as they were." He said: "Ask the light of my eye whatever comes to your mind," and he pointed with his blessed hand to that child. I turned toward that noble son and said: "O our master and son of our master! It has been narrated to us from your forefathers that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) placed the authority to divorce his wives in the hand of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him). It has even been narrated that Ali (peace be upon him) at the Battle of the Camel sent a message to Aisha: 'You have afflicted Islam and its followers with your sedition and, out of ignorance, you have cast your sons down the slope of destruction. If you turn back, so be it; otherwise I will divorce you' — even though the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had already divorced his wives." The Imam of the Age asked: "What is the meaning of divorce?" I said: "It means releasing the woman [so that if she wishes to remarry, she is free to do so]." He said: "If the passing of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had released his wives and set them free, then why was it not permitted for them to marry after the Prophet?" I said: "Because Allah the Exalted had forbidden marriage to them [after the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)]." He said: "Then how did the passing of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) release them?" I said: "Dear noble son! What is the meaning of the divorce whose ruling the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) delegated to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)?" He said: "Allah the Exalted magnified the station of the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and honoured them with the dignity of being mothers of the believers. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) then said to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): O Ali (peace be upon him), this honour will remain for them as long as they remain obedient; but whichever of them, after me, disobeys Allah and rises up in rebellion against you, set her free so that, if she wishes, she may marry another, and remove her from the station of being a mother of the believers."