Al-Amali, The Dictations of Shaykh al-Mufid

Fortieth Assembly

Met on Wednesday, 24th of the month of Ramadhan in the year 411 Hijrah, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu’man, may Allah support his capabilities, narrated:

1. Admonition from ‘Ali ibn Al-Husayn

He said: Abul Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Waleed al-Qummi, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father, from Sa'd ibn Abdillah, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa from al-Hasan ibn Mahboob, from Malik ibn Atiyyah, from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, who reported that:

‘Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, used to say: "O son of Adam! You will always be your best as long as you have an admonishing inner self; and as long as you are anxious to take your own account; and as long as the fear of Allah is your norm, and sorrow (over your lapses) is your garment. O son of Adam! Surely, you will die one day, and you will be resurrected and made to stand before Allah, Most High, and be questioned. So prepare an answer."

2. Defend your brother's name

He said: Abu Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Jurjurai reported to me from Ishaq ibn Abdus, who reported from Muhammad ibn Abdillah ibn Sulaiman al-Hadhrami, who reported from Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Ahmasi, who reported from Al-Maharibi, from Ibn Abi Laila, from al-Hakam ibn Utaibah from Ibn Abu al-Darda', from his father who said:

A man defamed and slandered another man in presence of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, so a person from the people present, refuted him. The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Whoever defends the honour of his brother, that act will shield him from hellfire."

3. Sympathy for Ahlul Bayt

He said: Abul Qasim Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Qawlawayh, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father, who reported from Sa'd ibn Abdillah, from Ahmad ibn Abu Abdillah al-Barqi, who reported from Sulaiman Ibn Salemah al-Kindi, from Muhammad ibn Saeed ibn Ghazwan, and Isa ibn Abu Mansoor, from Aban ibn Taghlib, who reported that:

Abu Abdillah Ja'far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: "A person who sighs in grief over the wrongs meted out to us, that sigh is extolment of Allah, and his anxiety about us is an act of worship, and to conceal our secrets is a struggle in the way of Allah". Then Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him said: "This tradition ought to be written in gold."

4. ‘Ali (as) praises his partisans

He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Umar al-Ji’abi reported to me from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Saeed, who reported from Abu Awanah, Musa ibn Yusuf al-Qattan, who reported from Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Awadi, who reported from Ismail ibn Aban, who reported from ‘Ali ibn Hashim ibn al-Bareed, from his father, from Abd al-Razzaq ibn Qais al-Rahbi, who said:

I was sitting with ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, near the gate of the palace, till sunlight forced him to seek shelter near the palace wall. So he hastened to enter, but a man from Hamdan stood up and clung to his clothes, saying: "O Amirul Mu’mineen, narrate to me a comprehensive tradition by which Allah may benefit me."

He said: "Are there not enough traditions?" He said: "Yes, but narrate to me a comprehensive one which would benefit me." He said: "My friend, Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, narrated to me that, I shall arrive at the Pool with my Shi’ahs, with our thirsts already quenched. Their faces will be bright. And our enemies will arrive there suffering from thirst, with their faces darkened. Take this brief one from a long list. (Remember) you are with the one you love, and for you is what you have acquired. Release me, O brother from Hamdan." Then he entered the palace.

5. ‘Ali (as) exposes the hypocrite tribes

He said: Abul Hasan ‘Ali ibn Muhammad al-Katib reported from al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Za'farani, from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Thaqafi, from Yusuf ibn Kulaib, from Mu'awiyah ibn Hisham, from al-Sabah ibn Yahya al-Muzani, from al-Harith ibn Husayrah, who said:

A group from the companions of Amirul Mu’mineen reported to me that one day he said: "Call the fellow from the tribes of Ghunay and Bahilah (and another tribe they had named), and let them take their shares from the spoils. By He Who splits the seed and created life, they (actually) have no share in Islam.

And I am a witness, so is my status at the Pool and the Praised Station, that they are indeed the enemies in the world and the next. (If I had my way) I would punish Ghunay, which would terrify the Bahila. And if I am firm on my feet, I would identify tribes against tribes, and would falsify six tribes which have no part in Islam."

6. Weeping over Al-Husayn

He said: Abu Amru Uthman ibn Ahmd al-Daqqaq permitted me to report what he reported from Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Malik, who reported from Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Awadi, who reported from Mukhawwal Ibn Ibrahim, from al-Rabee' ibn al-Munzir, from his father who reported from:

Al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali, peace be upon him, that he said: "Whoever sheds a tear from his eyes for us, or fills his eyes with tears for us, Allah will grant him for that an eternal place in Paradise." Ahmed ibn Yahya al-Awadi said: I saw al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali, peace be upon him, in dream and related to him: "Mukhawwal ibn Ibrahim has reported to me from al-Rabee' ibn al-Munzir, from his father from you that you said: Whoever sheds a tear from his eyes for us, or fills his eyes with tears for us, Allah will grant him an eternal place in Paradise." He said: "Yes." So I said: "(In that case), the chain of narration between you and me does not exist any more."

7. The status of Quss ibn Sa'edah

He said: Abu al-Tayyib al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Tammar reported to me from Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Anbari, who reported from Abul Hasan Hamid ibn Muhammad ibn Hamid al-Tameemi, who reported from Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Nuaim al-Abdi, who reported from Abu ‘Ali al-Rawwasi ibn Abdullah, who reported from Abu Masood Ubaid ibn Samee', from al-Kalbi, from Abu Swaleh, from Ibn Abbas, who said:

When the delegation of Ayad called upon the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, he asked them: "What happened to Quss ibn Sa'edah?" They said: "O Prophet of Allah! he died." The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "May Allah bless Quss ibn Sa'edah with mercy, it is as if I am looking at him in the marketplace of Ukkaz, seated on the grey camel. He spoke very pleasently, which I did not try to remember." A man from the delegation said: "I have memorized it, O, Prophet of Allah! I heard him say at Ukkaz:

"O people! Hear, listen and remember (me). He who lives must die, and he who dies loses the opportunity (for acts). And all that is expected will soon occur. (Ponder upon) the dark night and the heavens full of constellations, and swelling seas and the gleaming stars and the rains and the vegetation and the fathers and the mothers, and those who go and those who come, and the light and the darkness and the good and the evil, and the clothes and attire and that which you ride, eat and drink! Surely, there is a heavenly news in the sky, and no doubt there are lessons to draw from (the events on) the earth.

How come I see men go and never return? Is it because they liked the place there, therefore they stayed? Or were they left so they fell asleep? Quss ibn Sae'dah swears by Allah, a solemn oath which has no blemish. There is no religion, which Allah likes more than the one whose duration overwhelms you and which covers your period (in all its aspects). Blessed are those who will find the bringer of that faith and then follow him, and woe unto him who will find him but reject him." Then he said:

"The early ones who have gone away
since centuries, in them there are examples for us;
When I saw that death has departures,
with none to be stopped or returned.

And I saw my people going towards it - all,
big and small ones.

The bygone does not return to you,
nor anyone from ancient times,

I am certain that quite inevitably,
I will be gone, the way the people have gone."

Then the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny said: "Allah may bless Quss ibn Sa'edah with mercy. I hope he will rise on the Day of Resurrection as a single model (of virtue)." The man from the delegation said: "O Prophet of Allah! I saw something amazing about Quss." He (i.e. the Prophet) asked: "What was that?" He said:

One day, as I was standing near a mountain in our district called Sam'aan, on an extremely hot summer day, I saw Quss ibn Sa'edah standing under the shadow of a tree, and there was a stream flowing. Around the stream were several animals that had arrived to drink. There a wild animal jostled another with its paw. Quss hit him with his hands and said: "Wait till the one who has come before you has finished drinking." When I saw him, and the animals around him, I felt frightened. He said: "You do not have to worry. Do not fear, Allah willing."

Then I came across two graves with a mosque in between. When I became close to him, I asked about those two graves. He said: "These are of my two companions who were worshipping Allah here with me. They died, I buried them here and erected a mosque between them, so that I could pray in it till such time when I join them." Then he reminisced the old days with them and talked of what they did. Then he wept and said:

"Rise, O my two friends, You have indeed slept for long.
I find that you have still not finished your slumber.
Do you not know that I am alone at Sam'aan?

and I do not have anyone who I loved except you two?
I shall stand by your graves, not departing,
the whole night long, till I hear your voices,

I shall weep over you as long as I live,
and who is there to answer to one who laments, weeping?
As if you two and death are the two sole objectives
for my soul in my grave, the same way as it came upon you.

And if a soul could act as a shield for another soul,
I would have offered my soul to be your ransom."

8. Refrain from Jealousy

He said: Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Baseer reported to me from ‘Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Sa'yabah, who reported from Umar ibn Abd al-Jabbar, from his father, who reported from ‘Ali ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his brother Musa ibn Ja'far, from his father Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father, from his grandfather, peace be upon them, who said:

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, one day said to his companions: "Be it known that an evil from the bygone people has crept into you, and that is envy and jealousy. It does not shave off the hair, it shaves off the faith. A man can save himself from that if one controls his hands, spares his speech and does not slander his Mu’min brother."

And may Allah bless our master, Muhammad, the Prophet and his pure progeny.