Doubts over which sons of Imam Sadiq (may peace be upon him) succeeded him disappeared when Imam Musa al-Kadhim (may peace be upon him) spoke and invited people to him. The other sons were not really Imam because they were either dead or banished/ irrelevant.
Shaykh Saduq said that these things could be misleading. And not all the Shias of that period knew the names of all the twelve Imams. However, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) did inform the Ummah that there will be twelve Imams after him, and that they are his successors. And the traditions of the twelve Imams contain their names.
The fact is that there were some Shias who were not aware of the tradition or the names of all the twelve Imams.
Now, as for the matter of Zurarah bin Uyun
Zurarah b. Uyun was said to have died before meeting Imam Musa al-Kadhim or his representative. When people persisted in asking him the identity of the 7th Imam, Zurarah gave allegiance to Imam as-Sadiq's successor but refrained from mentioning his name/identity.
By placing the Quran on his chest, he said:
But we also know that Zurarah was not ignorant of the identity of the seventh Shia Imam, rather he sent his son, Ubaid, to Imam Musa bin Ja’far (as) to inquire if he (Zurarah) was permitted to reveal what he knew about his Imamate, or that he should keep it confidential through dissimulation/taqqiyya.
Tradition #1
Narrated to us Ahmad bin Ziyad bin Ja’far al-Hamadani from Ali bin Ibrahim bin Hashim, from Muhammad bin Isa bin Ubaid from Ibrahim bin Muhammad al-Hamadani that he said: I asked Imam Ali al-Redha (a.s.):
O son of Allah’s Messenger, tell me whether Zurarah was aware of the Imamate of your venerable father.
The Imam replied: Yes.
I further asked: Then why he sent, Ubaid, his son to inquire who Imam Sadiq, Ja’far bin Muhammad (as) had appointed as his successor?
Imam Ali al-Redha(as) said: Indeed, Zurarah was aware of the Imamate of my venerable father and also knew about the clear textual appointment (Nass) of my honorable grandfather about him. And when his son was late in returning, Zurarah was requested to mention his opinion about my father. Since he did not prefer to proceed in this matter without the leave of my father, he picked up the Quran and said: “O Lord, my Imam from among the sons of Imam Ja’far bin Muhammad is one, whose Imamate is proved in this Quran.”
Also the narration that Zaidiyyah had presented as argument does not say that Zurarah was unaware about the Imamate of Musa bin Ja’far. Rather it is proved therein that he sent his son, Ubaid to inquire about something.
Tradition #2 (This is a weak narration and should not be trusted)
My father narrated to us from Muhammad bin Yahya Attar from Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Yahya bin Imran Ashari from Ahmad bin Hilal from Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Zurarah from his father who said:
When Zurarah sent his son, Ubaid, to Medina to inquire about the report and it was after the demise of Abu Abdillah (Imam Ja’far Sadiq a.s.), his condition became serious he took the Quran and said: “My Imam is only the one, whose Imamate this Quran will prove.”
And this narration does not say that Zurarah was not having recognition of the Imam. Moreover, the narrator of this report is Ahmad bin Hilal and this person is not reliable in the view of our senior scholars.
Tradition #3
Narrated to us my teacher, Muhammad bin Hasan bin Ahmad bin Walid that he said: I heard Saad bin Abdullah say:
These people that it is not lawful to use a traditional report narrated solely by Ahmad bin Hilal.
Tradition #4
And it is narrated that Imam Musa bin Ja’far will seek Zurarah from his Lord.
Narrated to us Muhammad bin Hasan bin Ahmad bin Walid from Muhammad bin Hasan Saffar quoting from Muhammad bin Abi Sahban from Mansur bin al-Abbas from Marook bin Ubaid from Darast Ibne Abi Mansur Wasti from Abul Hasan Imam Musa bin Ja’far.
The narrator says that when Zurarah was mentioned in the presence of Imam (as), the Imam said:
By Allah, on Judgment Day I would seek Zurarah from my Lord, for myself, and He would give him to me. Woe be on you, indeed, Zurarah bin Uyun bore malice to our enemy for the sake of Allah and for His sake had regard for our friends.
Tradition #5
Narrated to us my father and Muhammad bin Hasan that: Narrated to us Ahmad bin Idrees and Muhammad bin Yahya Attar; both said narrating from Muhammad bin Ahmad from Yaqood bin Yazid from Ibne Abi Umair from Abul Abbas Fadl bin Abdul Malik from Abu Abdillah Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) that he said:
“Four persons are very dear to me, whether they are alive or dead: Buraid al-Ajali, Zurarah bin Uyun, Muhammad bin Muslim and Ahwal (Muhammad bin Noman Bajali, alias Momin Taq). These four are my favorite men.”
So it is not possible that Imam Ja’far Sadiq (as) should have made such a statement about Zurarah if he was ignorant of the Imamate of Musa bin Ja’far.
Okay, so you have dismissed traditions 2 and 3, and obviously Musa al-Kadhim would support his own Imamate, and obviously ar-Ridha would support his father's Imamate, so we can dismiss traditions 1 and 4 as biased propaganda. So we are left with Tradition 5. Zurarah was very close to Jafar and yet there is no tradition of Zurarah explicitly acknowledging Musa al-Kadhim. Not much of a rebuttal. I expected more.
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