At this time the Khalifate was weak, and this favoured the lawless movements of the villagers who now came to be known as Qarmatians from their leader. Their head, Hamdan the Qarmati, meanwhile kept up constant correspondence with the leaders of the sect at Salamiya. After the death of Ahmad his son and successor wrote a letter to Hamdan, but he was not satisfied with its contents: he observed that this letter differed considerably in expression from those which he had previously received, and contained matters which did not seem to agree with the teaching he had received, so he concluded that the responsible heads had changed their policy. To make sure he sent a trusty follower named Abdan to Salamiya to find out how matters stood. Abdan arrived there, learned about the death of Ahmad and the succession of his son Husayn, and had an interview with this latter. In that interview he asked who was the Imam to whom they owed obedience, and Husayn replied by the counter question, “Who then is the Imam?” Abdan replied, “It is Muhammad the son of Ismaʿil the son of Jaʿfar, the master of the world, to whose obedience your father called men, and whose _hujja_ he was.” Husayn showed some annoyance at this reply, and said: “Muhammad the son of Ismaʿil has no rights in all this; there has never been any other Imam than my father who was descended from Maymun b. Daysan, and to-day I take his place.” By this reply Abdan discovered the real nature of the sect, or at least its present policy. He then returned to the Qarmati and told him what he had discovered, and by his orders all the _duʿat_ were called together and informed of what Abdan had discovered and advised to stop their propaganda. As a result the preaching came to an end in the districts about Kufa, but they were not able to check it in remoter parts, and they ceased all correspondence with the leaders at Salamiya.