Certainty Uncovered

More Merits of Imam ‘Ali

‘Ali is the supervisor of the Kawthar Pond, the giver of permission to enter Paradise, the bearer of the standard on the Resurrection Day and during crossing the Discriminating Bridge (Sirat), and his two angels takes pride in him on the other angels[^1] The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Ibn Abbas as saying: On the Day of Judgment, ‘Ali stands by the Pond of Kawthar. No one enters paradise without his permission.[^2]

The Holy Prophet (S) has been reported by Jabir as saying: The two angels who are in charge of taking up ‘Ali’s deeds are more proud than other angels, for they present to God not any one of ‘Ali’s deeds which brings about Allah’s wrath. So they have a privilege over other angels.[^3] The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Ibn Abbas as saying: On the Day of Judgment, on God’s order, Gabriel sits at the gate of paradise and blocks people’s entrance into paradise except those having a clean record signed by ‘Ali.[^4]

Jabir ibn Samarah has reported: The Holy Prophet (S) was asked: O Messenger of Allah! Who is your banner bearer on the Day of Judgment? He said: My banner bearer on that day will be my banner bearer in the world. He is no one but ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib.[^5] The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Abdullah ibn Anas as saying: On the Day of Judgment when The Discriminating Bridge will be put over hell, no one can cross it unless he has a document in hand showing his love for ‘Ali.[^6]

Virtues of ‘Ali’s Children

The sons of Amir al-Mu’minin, two of whom, are Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn have merits which cannot be counted. The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Abdullah ibn Masud as saying: Hasan and Husayn are two masters and leaders of youths in paradise.[^7] The Holy Prophet (S) has been reported by Abu-Hurayrah as saying: An angel was permitted to come to visit me and to give good tidings to me. The good tidings were: Fatimah is the princess of the women of my Ummah, and Hasan and Husayn are two masters of the youths in paradise.

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Yali Amiri as saying: Husayn is from me and I am from Husayn. God loves one who loves Husayn. He is one of my grandsons.[^8] It has been reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas: Gabriel came to the presence of the Holy Prophet, saying: Verily God Almighty annihilated seventy thousand persons against martyrdom of the innocent Yahya (John), the son of Zachariah, but He will annihilate twice this number against the martyrdom of your daughter’s son, Husayn.[^9]

The Holy Prophet of Islam has said: Beyond doubt, the abode of the killer of Husayn is in a coffin of fire and his punishment is as much as that of half the world people. This torment is at a time when his hands and feet are tied to hot chains thrown into the fire on face in a way that he is placed in the abyss. This evil criminal has stinking smell from which the dwellers of hell seek refuge to God. He abides in the fire of hell, is tormented, cannot get rid of it even for an hour and the fetid water of hell is poured into his throat. Woe to the killers of Husayn from the chastisement on the Day of Judgment.[^10]

Musab has reported: Imam Husayn went on Hajj pilgrimage on foot for twenty five times.[^11]

Bara has reported: I saw the Messenger of Allah carrying Hasan on his shoulder, saying: O Lord! I love Hasan. You love him too.[^12] Hudhayfah ibn Yaman has reported: I saw the Messenger of Allah holding Husayn’s hand in his hand, saying: O people! This is Husayn ibn ‘Ali! Hold him in high esteem! This is Husayn whose grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, maternal uncle and aunt, brother and himself are in paradise. Their devotees and followers of their devotees are in paradise too.[^13]

Abu-Hurayrah has reported: I saw the Messenger of Allah relishing the saliva of Hasan and Husayn like one who relishes dates.[^14] Usamah ibn Zayd reports: One of the other nights, I knocked the door of the Holy Prophet’s house for a need. The Holy Prophet came out of the house and met what I needed. At this time, I saw the Holy Prophet wrap with something which I did not know what it was. So I said: O Messenger of Allah! What is it? The Holy Prophet unwrapped himself.

I saw that he was holding Hasan and Husayn in his arms. Then, he said: These are my sweethearts and the sweethearts of my daughter! O Lord! You know that I love them. You too do not deny them love. He repeated this three times.[^15] Jabir reports: One day I went to the presence of the Holy Prophet while Hasan and Husayn were riding on his back. He was saying: You are riding on a good horse and you two are good riders![^16]

Abu-Sa’id Khidri reports: I and a group of people were in the presence of the Holy Prophet (S) speaking to one another till it was the time of siesta. Given that the conversation prolonged and the Holy Prophet (S) was accustomed to siesta, seeing the signs of tiredness on his face, we left the meeting place. But at this time, we saw Lady Fatimah knocking at the door. ‘Ali who was among us said to her: O Fatimah! Why are you out at this hot time of the day? She said: Hasan and Husayn have not come back home. I thought they were at their grandfather’s house. I am here for this reason. ‘Ali said: They are not at their grandfather’s house. Go back home and do not bother your father. The Holy Prophet who was inside heard them. Despite being tired, he came out. Seeing her father Fatimah said: O Messenger of Allah! Your sons, Hasan and Husayn have not returned home. I thought they were in your house. I came here to be sure of it!

The Messenger of Allah said: God Almighty will protect them from any harm. Now, go back home with peace of mind. We deserve more to go and look for them. So Fatimah went back home while the Messenger of Allah and ‘Ali went in different directions. We all went to look for them and after a short while, we found them near a wall while one was lying in the shelter of another from the sunlight. As soon as the Holy Prophet’s look fell on them, he started weeping. He bint, took them up and while kissing them put Hasan on his right shoulder and Husayn on his left shoulder and headed for the house. It was a hot day then and the Holy Prophet did not let his two sons put their feet on the hot ground lest their feet be hurt. He carried them on his shoulders throughout the way.

Sulayman ibn Salim reported Amash as saying: The errand boy of Abu-Jafar Mansur called me to see him at midnight, saying: Abu-Jafar wants to see you immediately.

I said: For what reason has Amir al-Mu’minin summoned me at this time of night? He said: I have no idea. I said: Tell him that I will come to see you after a few minutes. But I said to myself: To be summoned at this hour of night is certainly not for something fair. Perhaps, he wants to ask me something about the virtues and merits of ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib. If I tell the truth, he will kill me. Hence, I purified myself (performed Ghusl), put on my shroud, applied Camphor, wrote my last will and testament, gave it to my family and headed for the palace of Mansur. When I entered the palace, I found my old friend, Amr ibn Ubayd Basri with him. Hence, I was relieved of anxiety, for I knew he would defend me in all conditions. At any rate, after exchange of greetings, I took a seat in a corner. Mansur said: Leave that place and come near me. I went near to him while exchanging a few words with Amr ibn Ubayd. However the smell of camphor had spread in that palace. Mansur asked: What is the smell for? I said: For something urgent.

Mansur said: Should you not tell the truth, I will have you killed! I said: O Amir al-Mu’minin, your errand boy called on me at midnight. I said to myself, this untimely call has no reason other than asking questions about the virtues of ‘Ali. Since I am not going to conceal them, it will result in my being killed! For this reason, I performed Ghusl, applied camphor, put on my shroud, and came to you. This is the whole truth! Sitting on his knees and reclining as if he was announcing his readiness to hear me, Mansur said: I seek refuge to God to have an innocent person killed. Now tell me what is my name and do you know my name at all? I said: yes, your name is Abdullah ibn Mansur, the son of Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Abdullah Ibn Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. He said: That is true. Now, by God and by my relation to the Messenger of Allah, what do you and other scholars know about ‘Ali’s virtues and merits? I said: My knowledge is little. I know about ten thousand Hadiths and a little more! Mansur said: O Sulayman, I will now recite two Hadiths about ‘Ali’s virtues which will overshadow all the Hadiths you and other jurisprudents know provided that you will not tell it to anyone of the Shi’ite Muslims and take an oath for your undertaking. I said: I do not take an oath, but I will not tell it to anyone. Then he said: When I feared the rule of Banu-Marwan and I was running from one city to another, I was trying to narrate ‘Ali’s virtues to attract the love of ‘Ali’s devotees to spreading his merits.

People highly respected me inviting me to their houses and received me in the best way till I reached Syria. Contrary to other places, the people of Syria were Khawarij and the followers of Muawiyah. They would curse ‘Ali in their mosques every morning. One day, I arrived in a mosque at noon disguised as a poor man. Knowing about the people of Syria, I feared that they might know me and surrender me to the ruling authorities. The congregational noon prayer started. Wearing a worn-out cloak, I too prayed with them. When the prayer was completed, the prayer leader leant against the wall; the worshipers circled around him and did not say anything out of respect for him.

At this time, two boys entered the mosque. Seeing them, the prayer leader opened his arms, saying: My sons! Come here. He gave them a hug, called their names respectfully, saying: By God, the names I have given you was motivated only by my love for Muhammad and his household. I heard him calling them Hasan and Husayn. I rejoiced, saying to myself my wish has been realized. To be on the safe side, I asked a young man who was near to me: Who is the prayer leader and what is the relation of these two boys with him?

He said: This sheikh is the two boy’s grandfather. In this city no one has the love for ‘Ali except him. It is for this reason he has named them Hasan and Husayn. This added to my joy. So I rose up quickly and said to myself: Today I am a sharp sword and do not fear anyone. Approaching the sheikh, I said: O sheikh, I find you a devotee of Ahl al-Bayt. If you like I will relate to you a narration about them which will please you. He said: I am very much fond of it. Should you gladden me by telling it, I will gladden you too.

I said: My father has related it on the authority of my grandfather, and he too on the authority of his father has quoted the Messenger of Allah but the sheikh interrupted me by saying: Who is your father, your grandfather, and father of your grandfather? I said: Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Abdullah Ibn Abbas, and then related the tradition.

Ibn Abbas reported: I and a group of people were in the presence of the Holy Prophet (S) when all of a sudden, Fatimah while weeping came to the presence of her father. The Messenger of Allah said: My daughter, why are you weeping? May your eyes never be tearful! She said: Dear father! Hasan and Husayn have disappeared since morning. I searched for them in the houses of your wives and other places but I could not find any trace of them.

‘Ali has been irrigating the trees for the past five days and has not come home to search for them. The Messenger of Allah assigned Abu-Bakr who was sitting on his right side to search for them and assigned Umar, Salman, Abu-Dharr, and a group of companions whose number amounted to seventy to search for Hasan and Husayn who were, in the words of the Holy Prophet, the apple of his eye. They all searched for Hasan and Husayn but they could not find them and returned without any news! The Messenger of Allah was upset with this unexpected event so he headed for the mosque to pray for them. Raising his hands, he said: O Lord! Through the position of Ibrahim, your friend! And through the position of Adam, your chosen one, protect the apple of my eye and return them safely to me whether they are on sea or land!

At this time Gabriel appeared saying: O Messenger of Allah, your Lord hailed you and said: Do not grieve! These two children have merits in this world and the hereafter, having abode in paradise. I have assigned an angel over them to guard them in sleep and wakefulness. Being gladdened by this news, the Messenger of Allah set out while Gabriel, the trustworthy, was on the right side and Muslims were around him till they reached the orchard of Banu-Najjar. The Messenger of Allah hailed the guardian angel, kneeled down, finding that Hasan had put his hand around Husayn’s neck and they had both gone to sleep. The guardian angel too had spread one wing as bed and the other wing as cover. The Holy Prophet (S) kept on kissing them till they woke up. He took up Hasan and Gabriel took up Husayn and went out of orchard.

Ibn Abbas reports: After exit from orchard, I saw Hasan on the right side and Husayn on the left side of the Messenger of Allah who showered them with kisses, saying: Whoever loves you has loved the Messenger of Allah and whoever has rancor against you is the enemy of the Messenger of Allah. Abu-Bakr said: O Messenger of Allah! Allow me to carry one of them on my shoulder but the Holy Prophet said: What good riders they are and what a good horse they have. Umar requested the same thing and received the same answer.

The Holy Prophet then entered the mosque while Hasan was clutching his shirt and leaning against his arm, saying: Today, I will elaborate on the dignity that God has given to these two endeared sons of mine. Bilal was ordered to announce to people to be gathered in mosque. Addressing them, the Holy Prophet said: Shall I guide you today to the best people in terms of grandfather and grandmother? They said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: Do not leave Hasan and Husayn alone, for their grandfather is the Messenger of Allah and their grandmother is Khadijah, the daughter of Khuwaylid, the lady of the women in paradise! Shall I guide you to the best persons who have dignified father and mother? The people said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! He said: Resort to Hasan and Husayn, for their father is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib who is better than his sons, a youth who loves God and His messenger, and God and His messenger too love him. He has benefited Islam and possesses merits. Their mother is Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah and the princess of women in paradise. O people, shall I guide you to the best people who have dignified uncle and aunt? The people said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! The Holy Prophet said: The uncle of Hasan and Husayn is Jafar Tayyar who flies in paradise with two wings. Their aunt is Ummu-Hani, the daughter of Abu-Talib. O people, shall I guide you to the maternal uncle and aunt of the best people? The people said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! The Holy Prophet said: The best people are Hasan and Husayn whose maternal uncle is Qasim, the son of the Messenger of Allah and whose maternal aunt is Zayinab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah.

O people! I hereby declare that the grandfather, the grandmother, the parents, the paternal and maternal uncles and aunts of Hasan and Husayn are in paradise. Whoever loves the sons of ‘Ali will be with us in paradise and whoever is their enemy will be in hell. One of the honors God has given to Hasan and Husayn is that their names have been mentioned in the Torah as Shubbar and Shubayr.

Mansur reports: When that clergyman heard this Hadith from me, honored me much, saying: Now that you have related this narration about ‘Ali, it does not befit you to have such a worn-out shirt. He immediately offered me a precious garment and a horse which later I sold for a hundred Dinars.

Then he said: Now, I will guide you to two of my brothers. One is the leader of a group who curse ‘Ali a thousand times in this city from morning till night and curse him four thousand times on Fridays. Recently, God has denied him His blessings and has made him an example for public and now he has become a devotee of ‘Ali. I will now guide you to the other brother who is a devotee of ‘Ali from his childhood. I am sure you will receive benefits from him.

Now, rise up and move towards him. O Sulayman, by God, I rode on the horse and the sheikh and the people who were in the mosque accompanied me to the door of his brother’s house. The sheikh had already stressed that I should not keep silent when meeting his brother.

When the companions left me, I knocked at the door. A tall man with dark complexion rushed to receive me. Looking at my horse, he welcomed me and said: This horse belongs to him. If he has favored you, it is due to your love for God and His messenger. Should you gladden me by relating a Hadith, you will be nicely rewarded. O Suleiman, by God, I related to him the most valuable narration which you have heard before and I will now relate to you. I said: My father and my grandfather reported their father as saying: I and a group of people were sitting in the presence of the Messenger of Allah when Fatimah, carrying Husayn on her shoulder entered weeping. The Holy Prophet welcomed his daughter, took Husayn from her and asked the reason of her weeping.

Fatimah said: My dear father! The women of Quraysh reproach me, saying: Your father has married you to one who has no wealth! The Holy Prophet said: Calm down, my daughter. Never repeat these words again, for your marriage was not in my hand, rather God Almighty decreed to marry you to ‘Ali after He had married you to ‘Ali with Gabriel, Michael, and Seraphiel as witnesses. O Fatimah, the Lord of universe had a look at the world with His infinite knowledge, and chose your father as a prophet. He once again looked at creatures and appointed ‘Ali as my executor on God’s order, for his illuminated heart was the most susceptible, his forbearance more than others, his belief in Islam, the foremost, his generosity above others, and his temper and morality better than others.

My daughter! On the Day of Judgment I will mission ‘Ali to quench the thirst of anyone of my followers whom he knows. O Fatimah! Your sons, Hasan and Husayn are the masters of the youths in paradise. Their names had been mentioned in the Torah as Shubbar and Shubayr even before my prophethood. They have been named Hasan and Husayn due to the dignity which their grandfather and they themselves have with God.

O Fatimah, on the Day of Judgment, your father will be dressed with two garments of heavenly garments. ‘Ali too will be adorned with such vestments. On that day, I will give the banner of al-Hamd to ‘Ali and due to the dignity he has with God, my followers will stand under his banner. At that time, the herald will declare: O Muhammad, your ancestor Ibrahim is the best man and your brother ‘Ali is the best brother. Once the Lord of universe calls me, He will call ‘Ali too. If I sit on my knees, ‘Ali will do the same. If I intercede for anyone, ‘Ali will intercede for him too. If my prayer is answered ‘Ali’s prayer will be answered too. He will not only cooperate with me in intercession but also in giving the keys of paradise to people. O Fatimah! Rejoice and know that ‘Ali and his followers attain salvation on the Day of Judgment.

Mansur reports: Another narration is that one day when Fatimah was sitting in a corner sorrowful, the Messenger of Allah came and sat near her asking the reason she was sad. Fatimah said: May I be ransom for you. How should I not be sorrowful while I know you will depart from this world? The Messenger of Allah said: Do not grieve, my daughter, for death is a certain issue and there is no doubt about it. With this, Fatimah started weeping more, saying: Dear father, where can we meet again?

The Messenger of Allah said: On mount al-Hamd where I will intercede for my Ummah with my Lord! She said: What if we do not meet there? He said: on The Discriminating Bridge where Gabriel is on my right side, Michael on my left side, Seraphiel is clutching my lap and angels move behind me and I humbly say: O Lord! My Ummah, my Ummah. Make the reckoning easy for them. At that time, I will look at my Ummah on the right and left side and see all prophets are busy with themselves, saying: Woe to me, woe to me! It is only I who say woe to my Ummah, woe to my Ummah! The first ones of my Ummah who will join me are: You, ‘Ali, Hasan, and Husayn. Then God will say: O Muhammad! If your Ummah have sinned as much as the height of lofty mountains but have not associated anything with Me and they are not under the leadership of my enemies, I will forgive them.

Mansur says: That young man, after hearing this narration gave me ten thousand Dirhams and thirty sets of suits, saying: Where do you come from? I said: From Kufah. He said: Are you from an Arab race or non-Arab? I said: I am an Arab. He said: As you gladdened me with this Hadith, I too rewarded you! Then that young man said: Come and see me in such and such mosque tomorrow. I hope you will not lose the way. Then, I went to the sheikh who was waiting for me. He became glad to see me, hugged me and asked about his brother. I told him the whole story. He said: May God reward him and place us near each other in paradise.

O Sulayman, I rode on my horse the next day and headed for the mosque the young man had described for me. But soon I lost the way to mosque. Amid this, I heard the voice of a Muezzin from a mosque. I said to myself by God I will perform my prayer with this people. So I dismounted from my horse and entered the mosque. At this time, I caught sight of a man, the Imam of the mosque and found him similar to the young man. I stood on his right side and followed him in prayer. As soon as we bowed down and prostrated, his turban fell off his head.

Surprisingly I found that his face, hands, and feet and head were like a pig! Seeing this made me unmindful of my prayer. I was at a loss not knowing what I was saying! I pondered on his affair. With the completion of prayer, the man had a look at me, saying: Was it not you who went to see my brother yesterday? I said: Yes.

He said: My brother gave you money and clothes, didn’t he? I said yes, and told him the whole story. Taking my hand in his hand, he took me out while the people who were in mosque followed us. Reaching his house, he ordered his servant to close the door. When he took off his clothes, I found that his body was like the body of a pig. This scene horrified me! Surprisingly I said: Why your body is like that?

He said: It has a story which I should tell you. I am the Imam and Muezzin of this mosque. I used to curse ‘Ali a thousand times between Azan and Iqamah of Morning Prayer. One Friday when I cursed ‘Ali and his sons four thousand times, I went out of the mosque, and leant against this shop you see. Sleep overwhelmed me.

In my dream, I saw a place like paradise where ‘Ali was reclining on a heavenly cushion. Hasan and Husayn too were reclining on a throne each rejoicingly. Under their feet, a prayer-mat of light spread! At that time, I saw the Messenger of Allah sitting and Hasan and Husayn standing before him while Hasan had a pitcher in hand and Husayn had a bowl in hand. The Holy Prophet said to Hasan: Give me some water. Hasan gave water to the Holy Prophet. Then he said to Husayn: Quench the thirst of your father, ‘Ali. Husayn quenched the thirst of his father. He then commissioned Hasan to give water to those who were present there, saying: My dear Hasan, give water to the man who is leaning against the wall of the shop! But Hasan turned his back on me and said: Dear father! How can I give him water while he curses my father a thousand times a day? Today, he especially cursed us and our father four thousand times!

Hearing this, the Messenger of Allah looked at me angrily and said: What made you curse my brother, ‘Ali, and my sons, Hasan and Husayn? May Allah curse you and deny you His Mercy! Then he spit on me in a way it covered my whole body! I woke up then out of horror and saw every part of my body hit by spit transformed in a way you can see. I have turned into an example of God’s wrath for the public!

Then Mansur said: O Sulayman, do you remember any Hadith like these two on the merits of ‘Ali? O Sulayman, love for ‘Ali is a sign of pure faith, and enmity with him is discord, for no one loves ‘Ali unless he is a pure devoted believer and no one is his enemy but an evil-minded unbeliever. Sulayman says: I said: O Amir al-Mu’minin, am I safe to ask you a question which just came to my mind concerning these two wonderful Hadiths? He said: Yes. I said: What do you think of those who killed ‘Ali and his sons? He said: They are being tormented in the fire of God’s chastisement. There is no doubt about it? Hearing this, he lowered his head and said implicitly: O Sulayman, kingdom is barren. But Sulayman! Given what I have told you, narrate as many Hadiths as you can remember about ‘Ali’s merits.[^17]

The author of the book, Nihayat al-Talab wa Ghayat al-Sa’ul, has quoted Ibn Abbas as saying: I was in the presence of the Messenger of Allah while he had placed his son Ibrahim on his right knee and Husayn on his left knee. He alternately kissed one and the other.

At this time, Gabriel descended and conveyed a divine message to the Holy Prophet (S) and left. The Messenger of Allah said: It was Gabriel who said: Allah greets you and says: I will not keep these two alive for you. You have to ransom one for the other! Looking at the face of Ibrahim, the Holy Prophet started weeping and looking at the face of Husayn he started weeping too! He then said: The mother of Ibrahim is a slave. With Abraham’s death, no one but his mother and I will mourn but Husayn’s mother is Fatimah and his father is ‘Ali, my cousin whose flesh is my flesh and his blood is my blood. If Husayn dies, I, his mother and his father will mourn. Hence, I am prepared to ransom Ibrahim for Husayn! Addressing Gabriel, the Holy Prophet said: I have ransomed Ibrahim for Husayn! Ibn Abbas reports: Ibrahim died after three days. Since then, anytime the Holy Prophet (S) saw Husayn, he would hug and kiss him, saying: May I be ransom for you for the sake of whom I made my son Ibrahim a ransom.[^18]

The merits of his sons are more evident than sunlight. So are the merits of his descendants, the Infallible Imams from the offspring of Imam al-Husayn, peace be upon them all.

Ibn Abbas has quoted the Holy Prophet as saying: The likeness of my Ahl al-Bayt is the likeness of Noah’s Ark. Whoever is sitting in it will be saved from drowning, and whoever refused to enter it was annihilated.[^19]

The Holy Prophet (S) has been quoted by Abu-Dharr as saying: The likeness of my Ahl al-Bayt is the likeness of Noah’s ark. Whoever sits in it will be saved and whoever rejects it will be swallowed by flood. Whoever fights my Ahl al-Bayt at the end of the world is like one who accompanies anti-Christ and misleads people.[^20]

Ibn Abbas reports that the Messenger of Allah said to Husayn: Mahdi, may Allah expedite his reappearance, is from your sons.[^21] Ibn Abbas has reported: I heard it from the Messenger of Allah with my own ears (if I am lying, God may strike me deaf) say: I am the tree of prophethood, Fatimah is fruit-bearing, ‘Ali is the graft of the tree, Hasan and Husayn are fruits and followers of Ahl al-Bayt are leaves of this tree in paradise. There is no doubt about it.[^22]

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Jabir ibn Abdullah as saying: Truly, paradise longs for four members of my Ahl al-Bayt whom Allah loves and has ordered me to love. They are ‘Ali, Hasan, Husayn, and Mahdi whom Jesus will follow in prayer.[^23] The Messenger of Allah has also said: There are four groups for whom I will intercede on the Day of Judgment; those who respect my progeny, those who endeavor to meet their needs, those who help them out in difficult situations, and finally those who have love for my progeny and express it.[^24]

It has been reported on the authority of Layth ibn Sad: In the year 110 A.H., I went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. I circumambulated Kabah, I did Say (ritual roaming) between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah, and went up Mount Abu-Qubays. There, I found a man who had raised his hands in prayer, uttering the words “o Lord, o Lord” to the extent that he was almost fainting.

Then he uttered “O Allah, o Allah, o the Ever-living, the self-subsistent, o the Lord of Glory and Hhonor, o Lord, o Lord” so frequently that he was almost out of breath. Then, he said: O Lord! These two striped clothes I have on are worn out, give me a new one. Hunger has made me intolerant, give me food! Immediately I saw a basket full of grapes with no seed and a set of suit in the form of two-piece striped clothes in front of him! I went to him without any delay so as to eat from the grapes. He prevented me from eating. I said: I will share you with this blessing. He said: Why?

I said: I heard your prayer and said amen. He said: Eat from it but do not save any! We were engaged in eating. Although it was not the season for grapes, and nothing like it could be found in the city, after eating, I found out that the grapes were intact. Then he gave me one of those striped clothes. I said: I am in no need of clothes. He said: Take a distance from me so that I will put them on. I took a distance from him. He wore the clothes, took his old clothes in his hand and came down the mountain and went away. I started to follow him. On the way, a beggar who was half-naked said: O son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah! Give me the clothes you have in your hand. May Allah give you clothes. He gave the clothes to the poor man. I followed the beggar and asked him: Who was that man? He said: Jafar ibn Muhammad Sadiq (a.s).

Sufyan Thawri reports: On my pilgrimage to Mecca, I met Jafar ibn Muhammad. I found no Hajj pilgrimage in Masar to be engaged in prayer and supplication as much as him! When we reached Arafat, he took a distance from people and was engaged in prayer and supplication in a corner. At this time, a basket full of grapes came down from heaven to him, though it was not the season for grapes. He started eating grapes and invited me to eat too. Then, he said: Sufyan! What do you think of the number of the Hajj pilgrims? I said: Allah and His messenger know better! He said: Four hundred thousand! But among this crowd, only the Hajj of four persons is accepted and God will accept the Hajj of all pilgrims thanks to these four persons.[^25]

Narrations about their merits are too many to be counted. Jabir ibn Samarah has reported: I heard from the Messenger of Allah say: after me, twelve persons will have the position of Emir and leader and they are all from Quraysh.[^26]

Masruq has been quoted by Ahmad ibn Hanbal as saying: I and a group of people were sitting with Abdullah ibn Mas’ud in the mosque when a man arrived and asked Abdullah: Did your prophet not speak to you of the number of his successors? Ibn Mas’ud said: Yes, they are as many as the number of chiefs of Bani Israel.[^27]

The Messenger of Allah in relation to Imam Husayn said: My son, Husayn, is the Imam and leader of people. He is the brother of Imam, the son of Imam, and the father of nine leaders the ninth of whom is the Riser (Mahdi).[^28]

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Abi- Said Khidri as saying: I will soon pass away but I am leaving among you two valuable things. You will not go astray after me as long as you adhere to them. One is greater than the other. They are the Book of Allah, which is a rope stretched from the heavens to the earth, and my Household, they will never separate from one another until they come to me at the Pond. Be careful how you deal with them after me.[^29]

Ibn Abbas has reported: When the verse

“say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relative” (42:23)

was revealed, the companions of the Holy Prophet asked: O Messenger of Allah! Who are the near relatives? The Holy Prophet said: ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn and their progeny.[^30]

When Imam Hasan (a.s) was passing away, he started weeping. His brother, Husayn asked: O my brother! Are you weeping out of fear, though you are one of the youths in paradise, though you have gone on Hajj pilgrimage on foot for twenty times, and though you have given away half of your wealth in the way of Allah to the extent that you have given away even your shoes? Imam Hasan (a.s) said: O my brother! I am not weeping out of fear of death, rather separation from friends make me cry, for I cannot meet them anymore.[^31]

Virtues of ‘Ali’s Spouse

The Holy Prophet (S) held Fatimah, ‘Ali’s wife, in high esteem. He forbade people to marry her and the only person blessed with this auspicious marriage was ‘Ali.[^32] The Messenger of Allah said: Fatimah is part of me. Whatever hurts her will hurt me too.[^33] Addressing Fatimah, the Messenger of Allah said: My daughter! Verily God Almighty will become angry with your anger and happy with your happiness.[^34]

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud as saying: God Almighty has banned the torment of hell to Fatimah’s progeny due to her innocent and purified nature.[^35] The Holy Prophet (S) said: My daughter was named Fatimah because God has saved her and her devotees from chastisement and fire.[^36] The Messenger of Allah has said: When the Day of Judgment comes, a herald from behind heavenly curtains warns: Close your eyes and lower your heads, for this is Fatimah, the dignified daughter of Muhammad who intends to cross the Discriminating Bridge.[^37]

Ibn Abbas has reported: the Messenger of Allah used to kiss Fatimah so much so that A’ishah would say to the Holy Prophet: Why do you kiss Fatimah so much? The Holy Prophet would say in response: On the night Gabriel took me to heaven, he gave me heavenly fruits. The result was that Fatimah’s fetus was made. By intercourse with Khadijah, she conceived Fatimah! Since then, any time I long for those fruits I kiss Fatimah and in this way I can smell the perfume of those fruits.[^38]

A’ishah has been quoted as saying: When the Messenger of Allah was sick as a result of which he passed away, Fatimah came to visit the Holy Prophet and with the sorrow she had, she threw herself on her father’s chest and spoke to him privately for some time. Hearing her father’s words, she started weeping bitterly and once again threw herself in her father’s arms. This time too, they spoke to each other privately but Fatimah was happy. Following the Holy Prophet’s departure from this world, she was asked about the reason behind her weeping and her smiling. Fatimah said: On the first time, my father whispered to me something that made me weep. My father said: Fatimah, I will not recover from this illness. I will meet my Lord soon. For this reason, I started weeping. But the second time, he whispered to me something which gladdened me. He said: My daughter, do not grieve for parting with me, for you are the first person from my Ahl al-Bayt to join me after my passing away. Hearing this made me glad, for joining my father was the most pleasant to me. Another good news I received from my father was that I was the lady of the women in paradise with the exception of Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran. This added to my happiness and pleasure.[^39]

Anas has reported: The Messenger of Allah in relation to Fatimah said: Four women are above all the other in world: Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran, Asiyah, the daughter of Muzahim and the wife of Pharaoh, Khadijah, the daughter of Khuwaylid, and Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad.[^40]

Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik Nawfali has reported on the authority of his father and grandfather: One day, I went to the presence of Fatimah, the Holy Prophet’s daughter. Before greeting her, she greeted me and said: During the illness from which my father did not recover, he gave good news to me and said: Whoever greets me and you for three successive days, will have paradise as his reward. The narrator says: I asked her if this was true during the life of her and her father or after their passing away. She said: Both during our life and after our passing away.[^41] When the verse

“Do not hold the apostle’s calling (you) among you to be like your calling one to the other” (24:63)

was revealed, Fatimah says: I decided to call my father as “Messenger of Allah” but

my father turned to me and said: This verse was not revealed for you and your family; for you are from me and I am from you. Rather, this verse was revealed about the arrogant Arabs and the wrongdoers who did not call me as the “messenger of Allah.” My daughter! Always call me “father” which gladdens my heart and it is nearer to God’s pleasure. Then he hugged me, kissed me and rubbed his saliva on my face. Since then, I was in no need of any perfume.[^42]

Verses Revealed in Honor of ‘Ali

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Ibn Abbas as saying: There is no verse in the Holy Qur’an which starts with “O you who believe” in which ‘Ali does not stand at the top of them![^43] Ibn Mardawayh on the authority of Ibn Abbas has reported: There is no verse in the Holy Qur’an in which ‘Ali is not at the top of its addressees and their leader.[^44]

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has been reported by ibn Mardawayh on the authority of Ibn Abbas as saying: The Holy Qur’an was revealed in four parts; the first quarter of it is about us and our merits, the second quarter of it is about punishment of our enemies. The third quarter of it is about the former generations, their lifestyle, parables and proverbs. The fourth quarter of it is about religious duties and injunctions. All the honors and dignities mentioned in the Holy Qur’an are about us.[^45]

Ibn Abbas has been reported by ibn Mardawayh as saying: What has been revealed in the Holy Qur’an about ‘Ali is not about anyone else.[^46] Mujahid has been quoted as saying: Seventy verses have been revealed in the Holy Qur’an in honor of ‘Ali.[^47] The Messenger of Allah has been reported by Bara as having said to ‘Ali: O ‘Ali, pray and say: O Lord, make a covenant with You for me so I adhere to it and bring about a love for me in the hearts of the believers. It was after this event that the verse

“Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will Allah bring about love” (19:96)

was revealed.[^48]

About the verse

“There is a guide for every people” (13:7)

Ibn Abbas says: The Messenger of Allah pointed to his breast when the verse

“You are only a Warner” (13:7)

was revealed and in interpreting it, pointed to ‘Ali, saying: O ‘Ali, the guided ones after me will follow you.[^49]

As for the verse

“Is he then who is a believer like him who is a transgressor? They are not equal” (32:18)

Ibn Abbas says: In this verse, believer is ‘Ali and transgressor is Walid.[^50] God Almighty states:

“Is he then who has with him clear proof from his Lord, and a witness from him …” (11:17).

About this verse, Abbad ibn Abdullah Asadi says: I heard ‘Ali (a.s) say on the pulpit: There is no man from Quraysh about whom one or two verses have not been revealed. A man who was jealous rose up and ironically asked: What verse has been revealed about you? ‘Ali, who had become upset, said: If you did not ask this question in this gathering I would never answer it! But woe to you! Have you not recited Surah Hud? Then, he recited the aforementioned verse saying: One who has clear proof from his Lord is the Messenger of Allah and I am his witness.[^51] God Almighty states:

“Stop them, surely they will be questioned.”

Ibn Abbas says: On the Day of Judgment, all people will be questioned about the leadership of ‘Ali.[^52]

Ibn Abbas has reported: In the verse

“be careful of your duty to Allah and with the true ones” (9:119),

‘Ali is the true one.[^53] According to Ibn Abbas, the verse

“those who spend their property by night and by day, secretly and openly”

has been revealed in honor of ‘Ali, for his property was four Dirhams on the whole. He spent one Dirham by night, one Dirham by day, one Dirham openly, and one Dirham secretly as charity to the poor.[^54]

As for the verse,

“O you who believe! When you consult the Apostle, then offer something in charity” (58:12),

no one has acted according to it except ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib.[^55] The verse

“Only Allah is your Wali and His Apostle and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow” (5:55),

was revealed in honor of ‘Ali when he offered his ring to a poor man while bowing in prayer.[^56]

About the verse

“Those who believe and do good, surely they are the best of men” (98:7),

‘Ali has said: the Messenger of Allah was leaning against my chest when he said: O ‘Ali, the aim of this verse is you and your followers. The meeting-place of you and your followers will be at the Pond on the Day of Judgment. When people kneel down for reckoning, your followers will enter paradise with illuminated faces.[^57]

The verse

“But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say: come let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and our near people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars” (3:61),

was revealed in honor of ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn.[^58] In the interpretation of the verse

“So it becomes stout and stands firmly on its stem” (48:29),

Hasan has said: Islam was strengthened by ‘Ali’s sword and obtained its position in world.[^59] The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Ibn Abbas and Asma bint Umays as saying: The verse

“the believers that do good” (66:4)

included ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib.[^60] About the verse

“and gardens of grapes and corn and palm trees having one root and (others) having distinct roots; they are watered with one water” (13:4),

Jabir ibn Abdullah has quoted the Messenger of Allah as saying: All people are from different roots but I and ‘Ali are from the same root, invoking the abovementioned verse.[^61]

According to Ibn Abbas, the verse

“On the day on which Allah will not abase the Prophet and those who believe with him” (66:8)

is about ‘Ali and his followers. The first one who is clad with heavenly Hillah is prophet Ibrahim due to his being the friend of Allah. The second one is the Holy Prophet of Islam, for he is the chosen one. The third one is ‘Ali who is clad with heavenly garment entering paradise between the two honorable prophets. Ibn Abbas, then recited the abovementioned verse, saying: ‘Ali and his followers will go to paradise while being accompanied by the Holy Prophet.[^62]

The verse

“and they give food out of love for Him to the poor” (76:8),

was revealed in honor of ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn.[^63] The verse

“of the believers are men who are true to the covenant which they made with Allah” (33:23),

was revealed in honor of ‘Ali (a.s).[^64] The verse

“Then We gave the Book for an inheritance to those whom we chose from among Our servants” (35:32),

was revealed in honor of ‘Ali (a.s), for he was the chosen servant of God.[^65]

The verse

“I and those who follow me …” (12:108),

was revealed in honor of Imam ‘Ali (a.s).[^66] The verse

“Is he then who knows that what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth …” (13:19),

was revealed in honor of ‘Ali (a.s).[^67] Imam ‘Ali asked the Messenger of Allah about the meaning of trial in the verse

“Do men think that they will be left alone on saying “we believe” and not be tried?” (29:2).

The Holy Prophet said: This trial is related to you, for people will be put to test through you and they will put you to test too. In other words people will be hostile to you and you have to be hostile to them too.[^68] About the verse

“Then we gave book for an inheritance …” (35:32),

‘Ali said: We are the inheritor of the Book.[^69] Imam Baqir (a.s) has been quoted as saying: The verse

“and oppose the Apostle after that guidance has become clear to them” (47:32)

was revealed about ‘Ali.[^70]

Imam Baqir (a.s) has also been reported as saying: The word “man” in the verse

“and bestow His grace on every one endowed with grace” (11:3),

is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib.[^71] The verse

“I and those who follow me” (12:108)

is about ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib and the Holy Prophet’s household.[^72] The verse

“Is he then who knows that what has been revealed to you from your lord is the truth …” (13:19),

is about ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib.[^73] The verse

“O you who believe …”

is about ‘Ali according to Ibn Abbas. There is no verse in the Holy Qur’an which addresses the believers and ‘Ali is not their leader.[^74]

Ibn Abbas has reported: God Almighty reproaches the Holy Prophet’s companions in certain verses except ‘Ali. Wherever ‘Ali’s name is mentioned implicitly, he is respected and honored. Wherever the believers are addressed in the Holy Qur’an, ‘Ali is their leader. Hence, we are commissioned to always speak well of ‘Ali and ask God’s forgiveness for him.[^75] Hudhayfah has reported: ‘Ali is the truth and the real secret of truth.[^76]

وَقَوْلُهُ: ?أَفَمَنْ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ الْحَقُّ…? وَقَوْلُهُ تَعالَى: ?الم (1) أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ

About the verse

“Who is then more unjust than he who utters a lie against Allah and (he who) gives the lie to the truth” (39:32),

Musa ibn Jafar has quoted his father as saying: The unjust man is one who rejects the Holy Prophet’s words about ‘Ali.[^77] About the verses

“and they said: Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent is the Protector. So they returned with favor from Allah and (His) grace; no evil touched them” (3:173-174),

Abu-Rafi says: After the battle of Uhud, the Messenger of Allah sent ‘Ali and a group of the companions to chase Abu-Sufyan. Amr from the tribe of Khuza’ah met ‘Ali on the way. He informed that Abu-Sufyan and his aides were intent to strengthen their forces in order to fight Muslims. ‘Ali said: We only trust in Allah and do not fear the enemy’s attack. This verse was revealed about ‘Ali and his companions.[^78]

Ibn Masud recited the verse

“and Allah sufficed the believers in fighting” (33:25)

as

“and Allah sufficed the believers in fighting, by ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib”,

that is God removed the trouble of fighting from believers through ‘Ali

“and Allah is Strong, Mighty” (33:25).[^79]

The verse,

“O Apostle! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord” (5:67),

is about the leadership of ‘Ali. It was revealed at the end of the last pilgrimage by the Messenger of Allah at Ghadir Khum.[^80] Zayd ibn ‘Ali reports: When Gabriel conveyed the message of ‘Ali’s leadership (Imamate) to the Messenger of Allah, the Holy Prophet was a little worried about conveying this message saying to himself: My people are not much distant from the era of ignorance. I hope they will not return to the former state once again with this message![^81]

Abu-Dharr and Abdullah have been reported as saying: During life of the Messenger of Allah, whenever we recited the verse

“O apostle! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord” we would say: It is ‘Ali, the master of the believers. Then, we would recite the rest of the verse “and if you do not, then you have not delivered this message, and Allah will protect you from the people” (5:67).

“In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted …” (24:36)[^82]

Anas and Buraydah have reported: When the Messenger of Allah recited the abovementioned verse to the end, a man rose up and asked: O Messenger of Allah! Which are these houses? The Holy Prophet (S) said: The prophets’ houses. Pointing to ‘Ali and Fatimah’s house Abu-Bakr asked: O Messenger of Allah! Is this house one of them too? The Holy Prophet said: Yes, it is the best of them.[^83] About the revelation of the verse,

“O you who believe! Do not forbid (yourselves) the good things which Allah has made lawful for you” (5:87),

it is said that ‘Ali together with a group of the companions decided to forbid themselves even the lawful pleasures when this verse was revealed.[^84]

Qatadah reports: ‘Ali and a group of the companions including Uthman ibn Mazun decided to retreat from the world, to forsake women and to live the life of a recluse when this verse was revealed.[^85] Ibn Abbas reports: The abovementioned verse was revealed about ‘Ali and his companions, where we read

“And ordain for me a goodly mention among prosperity” (26:84).[^86]

Imam Sadiq (a.s) has been reported as saying: The aim of the abovementioned verse is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib, for when God offered Wilayah to the prophet Ibrahim, he said: O Lord! Ordain this position in my progeny. God accepted his prayer and gave this position to ‘Ali. The verse

“I swear by the star (the Qur’an) when it goes down. Your companion does not err, nor does he go astray; nor does he speak out of desire” (53:1-3).[^87]

Habbah Arani reports: When the Messenger of Allah ordered all the doors opening to the mosque be blocked, this order was heavy for his companions! Amid this, I looked at Hamzah ibn Abdul Muttalib while he had wrapped himself in a red bathing gown, his eye full of tears, and expressing his grievances said: You expelled me, your uncle, Abbas, Abu-Bakr and Umar from the mosque but you allowed your cousin to remain in the mosque! At this time a man rose

up and mockingly said: He always endeavors to promote the position of his cousin! Being informed that the order had been heavy for the companions, the Messenger of Allah ordered them to gather in the mosque. After praising God, he spoke so eloquently that no one had witnessed such an elaborate sermon before. The Holy Prophet then said: O people! I have neither kept the doors open nor closed them on my own. I have neither allowed him in nor expelled others from the mosque on my own. Rather, I have done it on God’s decree. Then, he recited the verses

“I swear by time, most surely man is in loss, except those who believe and do good. (103:1-3)”[^88]

Ibn Abbas reports: Man in loss is Abu-Jahl whereas those who believe and do good are ‘Ali and Salman.[^89] The verse

“and (as for) the foremost, the first of the Muhajirs and the Ansar” (9:100),

is about ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib and Salman and no one else.[^90]

“And give good news to the humble, to those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, and those who are patient under that which afflicts them, and those who keep up prayer and spend (benevolently) out of what we have given them” (22:34-35).

Ibn Abbas says: ‘Ali and Salman are form this group.

“and enjoin on each other patience” (103:3).[^91]

Ibn Abbas reports: The following verse was revealed about ‘Ali:

“Surely (as for) those for whom the good has already gone forth from us, they shall be kept far off from it (fire)” (21:101).[^92]

Nu’man ibn Bashir reports: ‘Ali recited the abovementioned verse one of the nights, saying as saying: I am from this group. It was prayer time then. ‘Ali rose up for prayer, saying:

“They will not hear its faintest sound” (21:102).

About the verse

“and most certainly you can recognize them by the intent of (their) speech” (47:30)[^93],

Abu-Said reports: On the Day of Judgment, the enemies of ‘Ali will be recognized from the tone of their voice. God Almighty states:

“Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it” (6:160).[^94]

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has been quoted as saying: Good deed in the aforesaid verse is love for Ahl al-Bayt and bad deed is enmity with us. Anyone who enters the Day of Judgment with our enmity will be thrown into fire by God Almighty.[^95]

God states:

“Then a crier will cry out among them” (7:44).

Imam Baqir (a.s) said: The crier is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib.[^96] God states:

“When he calls you to that which gives you life” (8:24).

Imam Baqir says: It means he calls you to the Wilayah (leadership) of ‘Ali, for ‘Ali’s Wilayah is a momentum for man’s spiritual life which will accompany him to the end. God Almighty states:

“In the seat of honor with a most Powerful King” (54:55).[^97]

Jabir ibn Abdullah reports: I and a group of the companions were in the presence of the Holy Prophet when some of them brought up the issue of paradise. The Holy Prophet said: Truly, the first man who walks in paradise is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib. Abu-Dujanah Ansari said: O Messenger of Allah! You said: Paradise is forbidden for prophets before your entrance and also forbidden for the nations of former prophets before the entrance of your Ummah! The Holy Prophet (S) said: Yes, Abu-Dujanah. But do you not know that God has a banner of light whose club is from ruby with the inscription “there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and Muhammad’s household is the best”? One who carries that banner enters the plain of The Resurrection Yard before all people. He will go to paradise before me. That banner holder is no one but ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib, pointing to him with his hand. Abu-Dujanah says: The Messenger of Allah made ‘Ali happy with this good tiding. Then the Messenger of Allah said: Praise be to Allah who honored us with you.

The Holy Prophet (S) also said: O ‘Ali! Congratulations to you! There is no servant of Allah who has accepted your love and God will not gather him with us on the Day of Judgment. Then the Holy Prophet; recited the aforesaid verse.[^98] God states:

“And when a description of the son of Marium is given, lo! Your people raise a clamor thereat” (43:57).

Addressing ‘Ali, the Messenger of Allah said: O ‘Ali! There is a sign of Jesus in you. An extremist group were annihilated due to their love for him, and another group were annihilated due to their enmity with him. Hearing this, the hypocrites said: He is not ready to compare ‘Ali to anything less than Jesus, the son Mary! At this time, the verse

“and of those whom We have created are a people who guide with the truth and thereby they do justice” (7:181).[^99]

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has been quoted by Zadhan as saying: This Ummah will be divided into seventy three groups (sects)! Seventy two groups are in fire and one group go to paradise and they are the ones for whom this verse was revealed. They are no one but me and my followers. God Almighty states:

“And that the retaining ear might retain it” (69:12).[^100]

Buraydah reports: Addressing ‘Ali, the Messenger of Allah said: God has decreed I should bring you close to myself, to teach you sophisticated knowledge, for there is no one who can retain it save you. It is incumbent on God to place His knowledge where it is safe from harms. Then, this verse was revealed.[^101]

Makhul has reported: The Messenger of Allah recited this verse. Turning to ‘Ali, he said: I called on God Almighty to give you retaining ear which retains divine knowledge and Qur’anic verses.[^102] God states:

“What! Do you make (one who undertakes) the giving of drink to the pilgrims and the guarding of the sacred Mosque like him who believes in Allah and the latter day and strives hard in Allah’s way? They are not equal with Allah; and Allah does not guide the unjust people. Those who believed and fled (their homes), and strove hard in Allah’s way with their property and their souls, are much higher in rank with Allah; and those are they who are the achievers (of their objects) (9:19-20).

This verse was revealed about ‘Ali.

God states:

“You will see them bowing down, prostrating themselves” (48:29).[^103]

Imam Kazim (a.s) said: This verse was revealed in honor of ‘Ali.[^104] God states:

“and those who speak evil things of the believing men and the believing women without their having earned (it)” (33:58).

Muqatil ibn Sulayman reports: This verse was revealed about ‘Ali, for a group of hypocrites spoke evil things of him with false accusation. God states:

“And they say: we believe in Allah and in the Apostle and we obey” (24:47).[^105]

Ibn Abbas says: This verse was revealed about ‘Ali and a man of Quraysh who had bought a piece of land from him.[^106]

God Almighty states:

“And He it is Who has created man from the water, then He has made for him blood relationship and marriage relationship” (25:54).

This verse was revealed in honor of ‘Ali and Fatimah.[^107] The verse

“the possessors of relationship have the better claim in the ordinance of Allah to inheritance, one with respect to another, than (other) believers, and (than) those who have fled (their homes) (33:6).

It is said that the person described here is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib who was a believer, a Muhajir and a relative of the Messenger of Allah. God states:

“Give good news to those who believe that theirs is a footing of firmness with their Lord” (10:2).[^108]

Imam Sadiq (a.s) has been quoted by Jabir as saying: This verse was revealed about the Wilayah of ‘Ali. God states:

“And the foremost are the foremost, these are they who are drawn nigh (to Allah)” (56:10-11).[^109]

Ibn Abbas reports: Yusha ibn Nun was the foremost in believing in prophet Moses (a.s), the believer of Ilyas believed in Jesus and ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib believed in the Messenger of Allah and was the foremost. God states:

“This day have I perfected for you your religion” (5:3).[^110]

Abu-Said reports: This verse refers to ‘Ali’s Wilayah in Ghadir Khum when the Messenger of Allah raised ‘Ali’s hand, appointing him as the leader of Muslims. The Holy Prophet then gladly said: Allah is the Greatest; religion became perfect with Wilayah; Allah is pleased with my prophethood and ‘Ali’s (Divinely commissioned) leadership.[^111]

God states:

“And among men is he who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah” (2:207).

It is noteworthy that this verse was revealed the night ‘Ali spent in the place of the Holy Prophet on his bed and was ready to sacrifice his life for the Messenger of Allah. God states:

“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority” (4:59).[^112]

Abd al-Ghaffar ibn Qasim reports: I asked Imam Sadiq (a.s) who are those in authority in this verse? (who those in authority are in this verse.) The Imam said: By God, ‘Ali is one of them.

God states:

“And an announcement from Allah and His Apostle to the people to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage (9:3).”

This verse was revealed when ‘Ali announced Surah Bara’ah to the atheists.[^113] Ahmad ibn Hanbal reports in Musnad: This verse was revealed when the Messenger of Allah gave Surah Bara'ah to Abu-Bakr to take to Mecca. Then he sent ‘Ali after him, saying: This verse cannot be conveyed by anyone other than me and someone from me. This is what God Almighty has recommended through Gabriel. God states:

“a good final state shall be theirs and a goodly return” (13:29).[^114]

Muhammad ibn Sirin reports: Tuba is a tree in paradise whose root is in ‘Ali’s house and a branch of it is in every house in paradise. God states:

“But if We should take you away, still We shall inflict retribution on them” (43:41).[^115]

Ibn Abbas reports: God will inflict retribution on those who are ‘Ali’s enemies and will punish them.

God states:

“He has made the two seas to flow freely (so that) they meet together” (55:19).[^116]

Anas reports: The two seas that meet together are ‘Ali and Fatimah and

“there come forth from the pearls both large and small” (55:22).

The pearls are Hasan and Husayn.[^117] Ibn Abbas reports: Those two seas are ‘Ali and Fatimah

“between them is a barrier which they cannot pass” (55:20).

Between the two is the Holy Prophet and the pearls are Hasan and Husayn. God states:

“Say! I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives.” (42:23).[^118]

Ibn Abbas reports: I asked the Messenger of Allah about near relative. The Holy Prophet said: Those whose love is incumbent upon you are ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn. He repeated this three times.

God states:

“and he who brings the truth and (he who) accepts it as the truth” (39:33).[^119]

Imam Baqir has been quoted as saying: One who brought the truth was Muhammad and one who accepted the truth was ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib.[^120]

God states:

“And most surely those who do not believe in the hereafter are deviating from the way” (23:74).[^121]

In this relation Imam ‘Ali has been quoted as saying: These people are those who refuse to accept our Wilayah. God states:

“Whoever brings good, he shall have better than it; and they shall be secure from terror on that day. And whoever brings evil, there shall be thrown down on their faces into the fire.” (27:89).[^122]

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has said: Doing good is love for us and doing evil is enmity with us. God states:

“and the dwellers of the most elevated places shall call out to men whom they will recognize by their marks” (7:48).[^123]

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has said: We are the companions of the elevated places. Whomever we recognize as our followers by their marks, we will guide to paradise.[^124]

“Can he be held equal with his (‘Ali) who enjoins what is just, and he (himself) is on the right path?” (16:76)

“Peace be on the family of Yasin (37:130).”

“And whoever has knowledge of the Book” (13:43).

God states:

“Then as for him who is given his book in his right hand” (69:19).

Ibn Abbas has been reported as saying: Al-Yasin is the household of the Holy Prophet who has said: We are the fateful Book of Bani Israel and the one who has knowledge of the Book is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib. One who is given his book in his right hand and goes to paradise is ‘Ali. The one who orders justice is also ‘Ali.

God states:

“Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the house, and to purify you a (thorough) purifying.” (33:33).[^125]

Hafiz ibn Mardawayh has reported more than a hundred narrators as saying: This verse is about Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn, and no one shares this merit with them.[^126]

Abul-Hamra’ has been quoted by Abu-Abdullah Muhammad ibn Imran Marzubani as saying: I was serving the Messenger of Allah for nine or ten months. During this time, whenever the Holy Prophet intended to go to the mosque to perform his morning prayer, he would first go to the door of ‘Ali’s house, would greet them and from behind the door, Fatimah, ‘Ali, Hasan, and Husayn too would greet him back. Then, he would say: Rise up for prayer. May Allah have mercy on you. The Holy Prophet then, recited the following verse:

“Is he to whom We have promised a goodly promise which he shall meet with” (28:61).[^127]

Mujahid says: This verse was revealed about ‘Ali.

God states:

“Surely Allah will make those who believe and do good deeds enter gardens beneath which rivers flow” (22:23).[^128]

This verse is said to be about ‘Ali, Hamzah, and Ubaydah ibn Harith, who fought ‘Utbah, Shaybah, and Walid in the battle of Uhud. As for the unbelievers, the verse “these are two adversaries who dispute about their Lord” (22:19) was revealed and the other verse says: “and taste the chastisement of burning” (22:22).[^129]

God states:

“And We will root out whatever of rancor is in their breasts-(they shall be) as brethren, on raised couches, face to face” (15:47).

Abu-Hurayrah reports: ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib said to the Holy Prophet (S): O Messenger of Allah, which one of us do you love more, me or Fatimah? The Holy Prophet said: I love Fatimah more than you but you are dearer to me than Fatimah! I can see you at the Pond with cups of water as many as the stars. A group of people who are deviated from the path of your Wilayah are rejected by you. To prove your sublime position, it would suffice to say on that day Hasan, Husayn, Fatimah, Aqil, and Jafar are sitting on raised couches, face to face. Another station of yours is that you along with your followers have a place near me in paradise. Then, the Messenger of Allah recited the aforesaid verse and said: You will be so glad to see one another that no one takes his look from the face of others and does not look back.

God states:

“Delighting the sowers that He may enrage the unbelievers” (48:29).[^130]

Imam Sadiq (a.s) says: The powerful man who amazes the unbelievers and makes them angry is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib. God states:

“And bow down with those who bow down” (2:43).[^131]

Ibn Abbas has been quoted as saying: This verse was revealed in honor of the Messenger of Allah and ‘Ali, for both of them were the first ones who bowed down and performed prayer.

The abovementioned narrations have been all related by Hafiz ibn Mardawayh. In relation to the verse

“I swear by the star when it goes down” (53:1),

Khawarizmi has quoted Anas as saying: During the life of the Holy Prophet (S) a star from among other stars was coming down. At this moment, the Messenger of Allah turning to his companions, said: Look at this star. On whosever house it comes down, he will be my executor and successor! They kept on looking at the star to see on whose house it would come down, given that they all wished they would be blessed with this dignity. However, since no one but ‘Ali deserved such merit, they saw with their own eyes that the star came down on ‘Ali’s house. At this time, the following verse was revealed to the Holy Prophet:

“or do they envy the people for what Allah has given them of His grace?” (4:54).[^132]

Imam Baqir (a.s) has been reported by Jabir as saying about this verse: We are the people whom others envy due to having merits.

God states:

“And when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, form their backs, their descendants” (7:172).[^133]

Asbagh ibn Nubatah recited this verse to ‘Ali. Hearing it, ‘Ali started to weep, saying: Verily, I remember the day when God took the covenant of servitude from us, the children of Adam! God states:

“Surely I will make you an Imam of men” (2:124).[^134]

Ibn Masud reports: The Holy Prophet said: I am what my father Ibrahim desired! We said: O Messenger of Allah! You are what your father Ibrahim desired? The Holy Prophet said: Yes, God Almighty revealed to Ibrahim by saying: I will make you an Imam of men. Being happy for this glad tiding, Ibrahim said: O Lord! Make my

progeny Imam like me! God conveyed to him through revelation: I will never promise anything which I will not fulfill. Ibrahim asked: What is that promise? God said: I will not give Imamate and leadership of My servants to any oppressor from your progeny! Ibrahim said: O Lord! Bless me and my children not to worship idols, for a large group of people have been misled by idols! O Lord, purify me and my children. This prayer of Ibrahim was answered about me and ‘Ali, for we two have never worshipped any idol. Hence, God appointed me as prophet and ‘Ali as my successor and executor. God states:

“a niche in which is a lamp” (24:35).[^135]

‘Ali ibn Jafar has been quoted by Musa ibn Qasim and Muhammad ibn Sahl Baghdadi as saying: I asked Abul Hasan (a.s): What is niche in this verse? He said: Niche is Fatimah and lamp is Hasan and Husayn. “in a glass, (and) the glass is as it were a brightly shining star” He then said: Fatimah is the brightly shining star among the world women. “…lit from a blessed olive tree…” The olive tree is the tree of Ibrahim (a.s).

“…neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof almost gives light though fire touch it not, light upon light, Allah guides to His light whom He pleases…”

God states:

“And do not kill your people; surely Allah is Merciful to you” (4:29).[^136]

Khawarizmi on the authority of Ibn Abbas says: You people, do not kill the Ahl al-Bayt of your prophet, for they are like your souls and above all the reason behind your existence. God states:

“Allah has promised those among them who believe and do good, forgiveness and a great reward” (48:29).[^137]

Khawarizmi on the authority of Ibn Abbas says: A group of the Holy Prophet’s companions asked him: About whom was this verse revealed? The Holy Prophet (S) said: On the Day of Judgment, a

banner of white light will be hoisted and a herald will proclaim “O master of believers”, and those who believed in him after Muhammad’s ordainment rise up. At that time, ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib will rise up and the banner with white light will be given to him. Under the banner, all the former Muhajir and Ansar will gather. At that time, ‘Ali will sit on a pulpit of light and the Muhajir and Ansar will come to the presence of ‘Ali and will receive their spiritual reward allocated to each of them.

When all are rewarded, they are told: Now that you know your features and your abodes in paradise, God Almighty has allocated special rewards and forgiveness the price of which is paradise. At this time, ‘Ali who walks in front of them will guide all those under the banner to paradise. Then ‘Ali returns once again, sits on the same pulpit and this time all believers come to his presence and receive their share which is entrance to paradise. Nevertheless, another group will be drawn directly to hell on that day, for they do not believe in the leadership of ‘Ali. Their punishment is nothing but the torment of fire. God states:

“Those who believe and do good deed (that) they shall have forgiveness and a mighty reward” (5:9)

that is to say the foremost and those who believe in ‘Ali’s leadership.

“those who disbelieve and reject our communications, these are the companions of the flame” (5:10)

that is to say those disbelieve in ‘Ali’s leadership and deny ‘Ali’s right which is incumbent on all the world people. Verses revealed in honor or about ‘Ali, as mentioned here, are those verses which have been related by the Sunni Muslims. We have not mentioned about what has been related by the Shi’ite Muslims.[^138]

The Holy Prophet’s Progeny is From the Issue of ‘Ali, the Distributor of Paradise and Hellfire

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Jabir as saying: God Almighty has set every prophet’s progeny from his own issue but He has set Muhammad’s progeny from ‘Ali’s issue. This is one of ‘Ali’s unique merits that the pure progeny of Muhammad is from ‘Ali’s loin. On the Day of Judgment, every blood relation is cut off save that of the Holy Prophet.[^139] Abdullah Ibn Abbas has reported: I and my father, Abbas ibn Abd

al-Muttalib were in the presence of the Holy Prophet when ‘Ali entered and greeted the Messenger of Allah who greeted him back similarly, rose up from his place, hugged him, kissed him on the forehead and gave ‘Ali a place near himself! My father said: O Messenger of Allah! Do you love him? The Holy Prophet said: O uncle! By God, God’s love for ‘Ali is more than my love for him! God Almighty has set every prophet’s progeny from his own issue but my progeny is from this man’s loin.[^140]

Addressing ‘Ali, the Messenger of Allah said: It is you who divide the fire of hell among the dwellers of hell, and it is you who will knock at the gate of paradise and will enter it before others without being reckoned.[^141] Munashadah About Munashadah (asking others to swear by God) which has been successively transmitted, ‘Amir ibn Wathilah has been quoted as saying: When a council was held to choose a caliph, ‘Ali and I were present in the gathering. Inviting them to Munashadah about his usurped right, ‘Ali said: I will present you with such a proof that no Arabs and non-Arabs can deny it. Then he added: O people, I ask you to swear by God, is there anyone among you who had confessed the oneness of God before me? They all said: By God, no.

Is there anyone among you whose uncle is Hamzah, the lion of Allah and His messenger and the master of the martyrs except me? They answered: By God, no.

Is there anyone among you who has a wife like Fatimah, the daughter of the Holy Prophet and the princess of women in paradise except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you who has sons like my sons and the two grandchildren of the Holy Prophet, Hasan and Husayn, who are masters of the youths in paradise except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you who has whispered more than ten times with the Messenger of Allah and has given charity for every whispering based on the explicit order of the Holy Qur’an except me?

They answered: By God, no.

Is there anyone among you about whom the Messenger of Allah has said: Whomever I am the master, ‘Ali is his master too. O God! Help one who helps him and be hostile to one who is hostile to him and then saying: You who are here, convey this to those who are not here except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you about whom the Messenger of Allah has called on God: O Lord! Guide to me Your most beloved servant and one who loves You and me more than others so as to eat from the bird (chicken) which has been brought to me as a gift, except me? They answered: By God, no.

Is there anyone among you about whom the Messenger of Allah said: Tomorrow morning, I will give the victorious banner of Islam to a man who loves Allah and His messenger, and Allah and His messenger too love him and he is steadfast in the battlefield till he achieves victory through some wielded this banner before him but escaped with humiliation, except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you whom the Holy Prophet (S) sent to suppress Banu-Wulayah tribe and had told them: O Banu-Wulayah tribe! Stop rebelling or I will send to you to take your life with sword one whose soul is my soul and obedience to whom is obedience to me, except me? They answered: By God, no.

Is there anyone among you about whom the Messenger of Allah has said: One who claims to love me but is the enemy of this man is lying, except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you whom three thousand angels including Gabriel, Michael, and Seraphiel greeted when he brought water to the Messenger of Allah and his companions from the well of Badr, except me?

They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you Muhajir and Ansar about whom a heavenly caller says: There is no man more valorous than ‘Ali, and there is no sword sharper than that of ‘Ali, except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you whose self-sacrifice in Laylat al-Mabit Gabriel has praised and the Messenger of Allah said: Why it should not be so! He is from me and I am from him and Gabriel eagerly said: I am from you too, except me?

They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you to whom the Messenger of Allah has said: After me, you will fight the companions of camel, Mu’awiyah and his supporters, and apostates (in the battle of Nahrawan), except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you to whom the Messenger of Allah has said: I fought the unbelievers for the revelation of the Holy Qur’an and after me you will fight those who have gone astray for its interpretation, except me? They answered: By God, no.

Is there anyone among you for whom the sun returned to its former position in order to perform his defaulted afternoon prayer, except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you who had been commissioned by the Messenger of Allah to take Surah Bara'ah from Abu-Bakr who asked the Messenger of Allah: Has this verse been revealed about me and the Messenger of Allah said: No, this can be only done by ‘Ali, except me?

They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you to whom the Messenger of Allah had said: No one loves you but the believer and no one is your enemy but an unbeliever, except me?

They answered: By God, no! Do you remember when the Messenger of Allah ordered all the doors opening to the mosque to be blocked except the door of my house which had to remain open and you spoke to the Messenger of Allah in this relation and he said: I have neither blocked the door of your house nor have I kept the door of ‘Ali’s house open, rather, it is God’s decree. Does this decree include anyone except me? They answered: By God, no.

Do you remember the day of Ta’if when the Messenger of Allah privately spoke to me and this conversation prolonged for some time. You spoke to the Messenger of Allah complaining: Why did you whisper to ‘Ali? And the Messenger of Allah said: This whispering was on God’s decree and not at my own wish! Was anyone involved in this whispering except me? They answered: By God, no.

You certainly remember that the Messenger of Allah said about me: The truth is with ‘Ali and ‘Ali is with truth. Was it about anyone except me? They answered: By God, no. Do you remember the day when the Messenger of Allah said: I leave two heavy things for you behind me, the Book of Allah and my household. As long as you adhere to them, you will never go astray. These two will not part till they come to me at the Pond. They answered: By God, no.

Is there anyone among you who was ready to sacrifice his life for the Messenger of Allah, to lie down in his bed so that he would go safely from Mecca to Medina form the evil of the atheists, except me? They answered: By God, no.

Is there anyone among you who has fought Amr ibn Abd-Wudd ‘Amiri when he challenged you, except me? They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you about whom the purification (Tathir) verse has been revealed?

They answered: By God, no. Is there anyone among you to whom the Messenger of Allah has said: You are the master of the Arabs and non-Arabs, except me? They answered: By God, no. O groups of Ansar and Muhajir! Is there among you anyone to whom the Messenger of Allah has said: I asked God nothing for myself the like of which I did not ask for you, except me?

They answered: By God, no.[^142]

The Holy Prophet’s Prayer for ‘Ali

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has been quoted by Abdullah ibn Salamah as saying: When I was badly suffering from a pain I said: O Lord, if my life has come to an end, give me an easy death; If I am supposed to live longer, give a quick recovery; If this pain is a trial, give me patience. The Messenger of Allah who had been informed of my supplication came to visit me asking: What do you say? I repeated the supplication. The Messenger of Allah, raising his hand towards the sky, said: O Lord, give him healing. I was never afflicted with a pain thereafter.[^143]

Ummu-’Atiyyah has reported: The Messenger of Allah sent a group of army men, among whom ‘Ali, on a certain expedition while raising his hands in prayer, saying: O Lord! If the time of my death has come, delay it for a while so that I can see the face of ‘Ali once again![^144]

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has been reported by Abdullah ibn Harith as saying: I was afflicted with a severe pain which had made me impatient. Yet I went to the Messenger of Allah and asked him to pray for me. The Holy Prophet made me lie down in his bed, spread his holy cloak on me, and rose up for praying. After a short while, he said: O ‘Ali, rise up, for you have been recovered. There is no sign of pain in you! This is because I raised my hands in prayer for you. I asked nothing for myself from the Lord the like of which I have not asked for you. Beyond doubt, my requests will be soon fulfilled.[^145]

Divine Punishment for ‘Ali’s Enemies

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Ikrimah on the authority of Ibn Abbas as saying: God Almighty denied Banu-Isra’il

rain because of maltreating their prophets and creating discord in their religion. God will afflict this Ummah (Muslims) too with famine and drought. He will deny them His mercy because of enmity with ‘Ali.[^146]

Mu’ammar has reported: Zuhri used to relate narrations to me but during his illness from which he had no hope of recovery, related a Hadith from ‘Ikrimah which he had not recounted before! When he recovered from his illness, he regretted for having related that narration. He said: O Yemeni (Zuhri) do not quote me. Throw away what you have written down! I said: Why? He said: This group of Banu-Umayyah do not accept the apology of those eulogizing ‘Ali! I said: O Abu-Bakr (Zuhri’s nickname)! How do you cooperate with this group when you have heard this narration by ‘Ikrimah, revealing one of ‘Ali’s merits? He said: It is easy to understand. Banu-Umayyah shared their wealth with us. In return for this generosity we give up our faith and move in the direction of carnal desires.[^147]

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Anas as saying: God created a group who are neither from the children of Adam nor from the children of Iblis. They always curse ‘Ali’s enemies! The companions asked: Who are they? The Holy Prophet (S) said: They are birds called Qanbarah which perch on tree branches at dawn, calling: Allah’s curse be on the enemies of ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib! They then salute the Imam, calling: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Greetings be to the benefactors who are the chosen servants of God and have many virtues among people.[^148]

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has been quoted by Jabir ibn Abdullah Ansari as saying: I prayed with the Holy Prophet for three years before anyone believes in God and performs prayer. Another matter which the Messenger of Allah disclosed to me was that no unbeliever is my friend and no believer is my enemy. By God, what I say is what I heard from the Messenger of Allah. I have neither told a lie in my life nor has a lie been attributed to me. I have neither been astray nor have I misled anyone![^149]

Jabir ibn Abdullah has been quoted as saying: When ‘Ali conquered Khaybar castle and brought about glory for Islam and Muslims, the Messenger of Allah who was greatly pleased with this position of Aaron (Harun) to Moses (Musa) except that there will be no prophet after me. It is you who will pay my dept after my passing away, conceal my private parts, and fight the sworn enemies of Islam for safeguarding of my Ummah.

You are the nearest to me on the Day of Judgment and my deputy at the Pond. Your followers on that day are on the pulpits of light with illuminated faces. They are near me and I will intercede for them. They are my neighbors in paradise in addition to my companions. War against you is war against me and peace with you is peace with me. Your nature is my nature and your sons are my sons.

victory said to ‘Ali: If there was no fear that a group of my followers to say about you what the Christians said about Jesus, I would say something about your supreme position that whenever you passed by a group of Muslims, they would rub the dust under your feet on their eyes as a cure to their pains! As for your high position, I should suffice to say that your position to me is like the

It is you who will fulfill my promises, for truth is well-rooted in your tongue, heart, and eyes, interwoven with your flesh and skin in a way it is mixed with my flesh and skin. Your enemy has no way to the Pond on the Day of Judgment and your devotee is not far from it. Hearing these good tidings, Imam ‘Ali prostrated as a sign of thanks, raised his hands and said: O Lord! Praise be to You who blessed me with Islam, taught me the Holy Qur’an, and placed my love in the heart of the best servant and the dearest creature, the most honorable being in the heavens and on the earth, the seal of prophets, and the leader of the selected ones. The Holy Prophet’s kindness to me is a grace of Your’s to me.

At this time, the Messenger of Allah said: O ‘Ali! If you had not been created, real believers would not have been recognized after me. God, the Most Honored and Glorified, has set the progeny of every prophet from his loin but has set my progeny in your loin. O ‘Ali! You are the dearest creature of God to me and the most honorable of them. Those who love you are the best of Ummah who are not far from me on the Day of Judgment.[^150]

‘Ali and the Jews

‘Ali and the Jews (The Story of the Companions of the Cave)

Abu-Ishaq Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Tha’labi in his book, al-Ara'is writes: When ‘Umar ibn Khattab took the seat of caliphate, a group of the Jewish scholars came to him, saying: Today, you are the leader of Muslims after Muhammad as well as one of his companions. We have come here to ask you questions. Should you respond our questions, we will understand that Islam is a truthful religion and Muhammad is God’s prophet and messenger. Otherwise, Islam is not truthful and Muhammad is not God’s messenger! ‘Umar said: Ask me any question you wish!

The Jewish scholars (rabbis) said: Inform us of locks of heavens and keys to them, of a grave with its companions in motion, of a being which warned its people but was neither jinn nor human, of five creatures walking on the earth while they were not in any womb, of what francolin say in crying, horse in its neighing, a toad when it croaks, and a lark when singing. ‘Umar failed to answer to these questions. Hence, lowering his head, shamefully said: ‘Umar is not ashamed of saying I do not know what he does not know and ask it from others!

Being pleased with Umar’s failure to answer their questions, the Jews said: This is a proof that Muhammad is not a prophet and Islam is not a true religion.

At this time Salman who was present and had everything under watch excitedly rose up and said to the Jews: Stop a little while. Then, he went to ‘Ali’s house, saying: O ‘Ali! Come and save Islam! ‘Ali said: Why are you so worried? Salman told him the whole story. Having the striped cloak of the Holy Prophet on his shoulder, ‘Ali hurriedly went to the mosque. Seeing that ‘Ali was coming, ‘Umar hastily welcomed and kissed him, saying: O Abul Hasan! It is only you who can solve the problems. I seek refuge in you in this relation. You are an asset for Islam and the only one on whom we set our hope when an emergency arises!

Anyway, ‘Ali expressed his readiness for answering the questions, saying: Ask me about anything you wish, for the Messenger of Allah opened a thousand gates of knowledge to me and opened a thousand other gates from each gate. I assure you that you will receive your answers.

But there is one condition which you have to observe. The Jews said: What is that condition? ‘Ali said: If I answer your questions as mentioned in the Torah, will you convert to Islam and believe in the Messenger of Allah? They said: Yes, we accept this condition. Then they asked: What are locks of heavens? ‘Ali said: Locks of heavens are to associate something with God. If a person is atheist, no deeds of him or her will go up to heaven.

• What are the keys to those locks?

• The keys to those locks are to bear witness that God is one and Muhammad is His servant and messenger.

• At this time, they looked at one another, saying: This young man said the truth and his answers correspond with truth.

• What is that grave which is in motion with its companion?

• That grave was the fish which swallowed Jonah the son of Mattie which moved in the seven seas.

• What is the creature which warned its people while it was neither a jinn nor a human being?

• It is the ant of Sulayman ibn Dawud, which said to the ants: Take refuge in your nests, lest Sulayman and his companions walk on you inattentively!

• Who are those five creatures walking on the earth but they were not generated in a womb?

• Those five creatures were: Adam, Eve, the she-camel of Salih, the ram of Ibrahim, and Moses’ Rod.

• What does francolin say when singing?

• It says: The Beneficent God is firm in power.

• What does the rooster say when crowing?

• It says: O the unmindful, remember God!

• What does the horse say when neighing?

• When believers are fighting the unbelievers in the battlefield, they invoke God: Make Your believing servants victorious over unbelievers and assist them.

• What does an ass say when braying?

• It curses customs officers and yells at Satan’s eye.

• What does a toad say while croaking?

• It says: Glory be to my creator who is being glorified in the depth of seas and among the stormy waves.

• What does a lark say while singing?

• It prays: O Lord! Curse the enemies of Muhammad and his household.

After these questions and answers, two of the three Jewish scholars testified to oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad and thus became Muslims but the third of them rose up and said: O ‘Ali! What you said and appealed to my friends appealed to me too but there is one more question the answer to which I would like to receive from you. ‘Ali said: Ask me any question you wish! He said: Tell me the story of a group of people who in the distant past, slept for 309 years and then were raised to life by God! ‘Ali said: They were the companions of the cave about whom God Almighty revealed verses to our prophet with their description. I will tell you the whole story from the Holy Qur’an if you are interested in it. The Jewish man said: O ‘Ali! I have heard about the Qur’an. Tell me about them if you know their names, the names of their fathers, the name of the city, the king, the dog, and their cave! Wrapping the Holy Prophet’s cloak round himself, ‘Ali said: O Jewish brother! My beloved, the Messenger of Allah told me the story as such:

In Rome, there was a city by the name of Ephesus or Tartus (before Islam, it was Ephesus and after the advent of Islam it was Tartus) ruled by a benefactor man. After a long time, the ruler passed away and the situation in that city became chaotic. The news of chaos reached a Persian king who was oppressor and unbeliever. With his military expedition to that city, he seized the city in a short time, and made that city his capital where he built a glorious palace. The Jewish scholar who was all ears, listening to what ‘Ali said, interrupted him, saying: O ‘Ali! Should you know anything about that palace, describe it more elaborately? ‘Ali said: O Jewish brother! The palace had been built of flat marble stones, one farasang long and one farasang wide with four thousand gold columns from which a thousand gold condyles with chain silvers hanging.

The palace was illuminated with the best and most aromatic lamp oil. On the eastern side of the palace, there were two hundred windows and the same number on the western side. The sun lit the palace from morning till evening. A throne of gold measuring eighty meters long and forty meters wide, adorned with different precious Jewels, had been built. On the right side of the throne, there were eighty chairs on which senior officers who had ten thousand army men under their command were sitting at his beck and call.

On the left side of the throne too, there were eighty chairs on which scholars and judges were sitting, waiting for his command.

Then the king sat on the throne and put the royal crown on his head. The Jewish scholar once again interrupted ‘Ali and said: If you know anything about that crown, elaborate on it! ‘Ali said: The royal crown was made of melted gold having nine bases on which there was a pearl which radiated in night like a lamp.

Fifty slaves who were the sons of senior officers with red silk coat and beautiful green breeches, a crown on head, bracelet on hand, ankle-ring on feet, with each having a club of gold in hand were standing over the king’s head ready to carry out his orders. Out of six sons of scholars who were younger, three stood on the right side and the other three on the left side.

They were special cancellers without whose consultation the king did not decide on anything. The Jewish scholar said: O ‘Ali, what were the names of those six persons? ‘Ali said: My beloved, the Messenger of Allah said: The names of those standing on the right side were Amlikhius, Maximinyanius, and Motyanius, and those standing on the left side were Danius, Yanius, and Mertus.

When he sat on the throne and people gathered in the palace, three slaves entered from entrance. In the hand of the first slave, there was a gold chalice full of musk. In the hand of the second slave, there was a silver chalice full of rosewater and in the hand of the third slave, there was a bird which with a call started flying dipped its wings in the rosewater chalice. At another call, the bird started flying again, dipped its wings in the musk chalice, and with the last call, the bird started flying and sat on the royal crown, sprinkling rosewater and musk on the head and face of king.

Decius ruled over that territory for 30 years with peace of mind. During this time, no sorrow or pain afflicted him. This made him feel so arrogant that he claimed to be God. Hence, he called all the chiefs of tribes and associates, telling them about his claim.

Whoever accepted his claim, he would be honored and given royal garments and whoever disobeyed him, would be murdered. Given that situation, people accepted his claim and started worshipping him instead of God either out of greed for royal garment or out of fear for death. This situation continued until a festival day when Decius was sitting on the throne with his royal crown on his head that one of the officers entered the palace and reported that the Persian army was quickly advancing towards them with the intention of war!

Hearing this, Decius was so upset that he almost fainted. The crown fell off his head and he rolled on the ground from the throne. At this time, one of the three youths sitting on the right side of him, called Temlikha who was wiser than the others became pensive, saying to himself: If Decius is really God, as he claims, why he eats, drinks, and defecates like human beings whereas these acts are not Godly?

Those six youths gathered in one another’s house, ate, drank, and enjoyed themselves. When the event happened to Decius, they happened to be in Temlikha’s house. The other five youth were eating and drinking but Temlikha abstained from eating or drinking. When he was asked the reason, he said: O brothers! A new idea has found its way into my heart which stops me from eating and drinking.

They asked: What is that idea? He said: I have long been thinking as who is holding the sky which is spread like a canopy over our heads or what pillars are under it? Who is it that has made the sun and moon move and has decorated the sky with stars? I think the same about the earth. Who is linking the seas and the sky-touching mountains to stop from falling off? I ask myself who brought me to this world from my mother’s womb, gave me daily food, and nourished me.

After pondering, I have come to the conclusion that this world has a maker other than the tyrant and oppressive Decius! Hearing this, all the other youths bowed to him, kissed him, and said: Whatever has passed in your heart has passed in our hearts too. Now tell us what should be done! Temlikha said: O brothers! We have no option other than seeking refuge to the Lord of the heavens and the earth and fleeing this territory!

The other five youths said: Your decision is right. After this, Temlikha sold some of the dates of his palm-groove for three Dirhams, wrapped it in his cloak, saying to his companions: Ride on your horses so as to set out for a desert! The youths mounted their horses and went as far as three miles from their city. Temlikha said: We were in danger of being chased by the tyrant up to here but from now on we are safe. We should dismount our horses and let them go. We should go on our path in this desert till God will guide us on the right path.

The youths walked for seven Farsakhs but since they were not used to walking, their feet were bleeding. On their way, they met a shepherd from whom they asked for milk or water! Seeing their handsome faces, the shepherd said: What you want is with me. But you do not look like common people. You must be princes who have fled your country. Tell me your story. The youths said: O shepherd! We have a religion which does not prescribe telling lies! Will you keep our secret if we tell you the truth? The shepherd said: Yes, indeed. The youths told him the whole story.

Hearing their story, the shepherd while bowing to them, kissed them and said: What has gone into your heart, has gone into my heart too. I ask you now to give me a chance to return this flock of sheep to their owners and then to accompany you! The youths agreed. The shepherd returned the flock of sheep to their owners and joined the six youths with his dog.

Here the Jew once again interrupted Imam ‘Ali and asked about the color and name of the dog. Imam ‘Ali said: O Jewish brother, my beloved, the Messenger of Allah, informed me that the dog was black and white though black was prevailing and its name was Qatmir.

Seeing the dog was following them, one of the youths said: This dog with its barking may betray us. We would better drive it away to be safe from any possible danger. Nevertheless, however much they tried to drive it away, the dog did not take distance from them. Seeing that they insisted to expel it, the dog sat on its claws saying in human speech: Why are you driving me away while I bear witness that God is one and has no partner. Let me be with you and keep watch on you, hoping that I will get close to my Lord!

Hearing this,the youths stopped driving it away and continued their way. The shepherd led the youths to the top of mountain till they reached a cave.

The Jewish scholar asked another question: O ‘Ali! What are the names of that mountain and the cave? Imam ‘Ali said: The name of mountain is “Yankloosh” and the name of the cave is “Wasid.”

Imam ‘Ali continued the story as such: There were fruitful trees and springs with wholesome water near the cave. They ate from the fruits of trees, drank from the wholesome water of springs, went to the cave at night and slept. The dog too slept at the entrance of the cave, keeping watch on them. At that time, God Almighty gave the angel of death a mission to grasp their souls. When this was done, God appointed two guardian angels for each to turn them from one side to the other and ordered sun to shine on the cave every morning and afternoon. The sun too carried out its mission accordingly.

When Decius returned to his palace from the venue of festival, he saw no sign of those six youths. Hence, he asked after them. A man who knew about the escape of the youths, said: Your majesty, they have fled your territory and have a God other than you! Hearing this, Decius who was furious, pursued them with a thousand army men and tracked them down to the top of mountain where the cave was. When they reached the entrance to the cave, having the impression that they had gone to sleep, Decius arrogantly said: They have been afflicted with a punishment worse than the one I wished to carry out about them. He immediately ordered the entrance to the cave to be blocked with stone and plaster, saying to his companions: If this heaven and earth has a God, let him save them from this situation!

The believing youths slept in that cave for 309 years without any soul. Then God Almighty at a dawn of a day, when the sun started shining, blew spirit into their bodies. They immediately rose up and saying to one another: Last night, we defaulted out prayer to God. Let us go to the spring of water! Going to the spring, they amazingly found that the spring had disappeared and the trees had dried up! They said with amazement: Has something happened during the night as a result of which the springs and green trees have dried up!?

At this time, God made them feel hungry. So one of them said: Which one of you will go to city to buy some bread? Be careful the bread is not mixed with the fat of pig!

In this relation, God states:

“Now send one of you with this silver (coin) of yours to the city, then let him see which of them has purest food” (18:19).

Temlikha said to them: You stay here, for no one but I can buy the bread. He then said to the shepherd: Give me your clothes and I will give you my clothes. He put on the shepherd’s clothes and headed for the city. On his way, he saw scenes and ways he had never seen before. Reaching the gate of the city, he caught sight of a green banner with the inscription: “There is no god but Allah, Jesus is Allah’s messenger” installed over the gate!

Looking with amazement at the banner, and rubbing his eyes, Temlikha said to himself: Am I dreaming? He paused there for a long time and then entered the city. He passed by a group of people who were reading Gospel (Injil) and saw people he did not know. At any rate, he decided to go to the market to buy bread. He asked the baker: What is the name of this city? He said: Ephesus. Temlikha asked: What is the name of the king? He said: Abd al-Rahman. Temlikha said: If what you say is the truth, then I am facing a strange situation! Temlikha gave the money to him, saying: Give me bread for the value of this money. As Temlikha’s Dirhams were bigger and heavier than the current ones, the baker was surprised!

The Jew interrupted Imam ‘Ali for the fourth time, saying: O ‘Ali, what was the weight of those Dirhams? Imam ‘Ali said: My beloved, the Messenger of Allah informed me of it. The weight of each Dirham was equal to the weight of ten and one third of Dirhams.

The baker said: I believe you have found a treasure! Should you not give some of it to me I will surrender you to the king. Temlikha said: I have found no treasure. The Dirhams you see with me is the money for the dates I sold three days back and fled the city of the tyrant Decius! Being furious and surprised, the baker said: You have found a treasure, do not give anything from it to me, making fun of me, and mentions the name of a tyrant man who claimed to be God and died more than three hundred and odd years ago!

Then, the baker caught his hand to take him to the king. A large group of people gathered round them too.

At this time, the king who was a wise and farsighted man arrived and asked about the event. People said: This man has found a treasure! The king asked Temlikha: If you have found any treasure, it will be yours. We follow the religion of Jesus. He has instructed us to receive only one fifth of it! So do not fear, for we will not harm you. Temlikha said: Your majesty! I assure you that I have not found a treasure. I am a native of this city. The king asked: Are you really a native of this city? Temlikha said: Yes.

The king said: Name some of the people you know. Temlikha named a thousand persons whom neither the king nor the people knew! The king said: We do not know these people, for they do not live in our time. Then the king asked: Do you have a house in this city? Temlikha said: Yes, send someone with me to show him my house. The king appointed an agent to go with people to Temlikha’s house. They went from one street to another and from one alley to another till they reached the highest building.

Temlikha said: This is my house and knocked the door. An old man whose eyebrows had fallen on his eyes due to senility appeared at the threshold. Being horrified, he said: What do you want from me? The king’s agent said: This young man claims this house belongs to him! The old man said angrily: What is your name? The young man said: Temlikha the son of Festin. The old man said: Say it again! He repeated his name and that of his father.

All of a sudden, the old man hugged and kissed him, saying: By the Lord of Ka’bah, this young man is my grandfather. He is one of the six men who fled the tyrant Decius and took refuge with the Lord of the heaven and the earth. The proof is that prophet Jesus (a.s) has told us about them saying: One day they will be raised to life. They told the story to the king who rode on the horse heading for them. Reaching Temlikha, the king dismounted from the horse and put Temlikha on his shoulder. People kept on kissing his hands and feet, asking him: O Temlikha! Where are your friends? Temlikha said: They are safe and sound in the cave.

In those days, the city of Ephesus was jointly run by a Muslim and a Christian. They mounted their horses and accompanied Temlikha up to the cave. Addressing them, Temlikha said: You wait here. I fear that if my friends hear the sound of horses’ hooves, feeling that Decius is chasing them, they will faint. Stay here for a short while so that I will inform them. People stopped outside the cave. Temlikha went to his friends who were pleased to see him, hugged him and said: Thanks God, you are safe from the evil of Decius. Temlikha said: Forget Decius and tell me how long you were in this cave.

They said: One day or less than a day. Temlikha said: It is not so. We have been sleeping in this cave for 309 years! Now I should tell you that Decius is dead and the people of Ephesus believe in God after the passage of three centuries and they are now waiting to see you outside the cave! His friends said: Temlikha, are you going to put us to test by people? Temlikha said: What do you desire? They said: Raise your hands for prayer. They raised their hands for the same purpose, saying: O Lord! Through what you cast in our hearts and showed us, make us die and do not disclose our secret to anyone.

God gave the death angel the mission to grasp their souls and then God hid the entrance to cave in a way that the two Muslim and Christian men went round the cave for seven days but found no trace of the cave. They were ascertained that this event depended on the grace of God so that these youths will be a lesson for us and others. At that time, the Muslim governor said: These youths died in my religion, hence, a mosque must be built on the site of the cave, and the Christian man said: They died in my religion and a covenant must be built there! The dispute between the two ended in fighting and finally the Muslim man became victorious. Therefore, they built a mosque there. In this relation, the Holy Qur’an says:

“Those who prevailed in their affair said: We will certainly raise a Masjid over them” (18:21).

When the story came to here, Imam ‘Ali said: O Jewish man! This was the story of the companions of cave. Is this story conforming to your Torah? The Jewish man said: Yes, it conforms to the letter, but Abul Hasan, do not call me a Jew from now, for I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger and you are the most knowledgeable man of this Ummah.[^151]

‘Ali on the Shoulders of the Holy Prophet

Abu-Hurayrah has been quoted by Khawarizmi as saying: The Messenger of Allah on the day of conquest of Mecca said to ‘Ali: Can you see the idol on the top of Ka’bah? ‘Ali said: Yes. The Holy Prophet said: To unseat and to overthrow it, I have to raise you! ‘Ali said: O Messenger of Allah! Should you allow, I will raise you.

The Messenger of Allah said: If the tribes of Rabi’ah and Mudar join hands and wish to put any part of my body on their shoulders they will never be able to do so! But you, ‘Ali! Rise up. ‘Ali rose up on the Holy Prophet’s order. The Messenger of Allah took ‘Ali’s legs and raised him in a way that his armpit became manifest, saying: O ‘Ali, what do you see? ‘Ali said: O Messenger of Allah! I see that due to your holiness God Almighty has blessed me with such a dignity that I can even touch the sky with my hand. At this time, the Holy Prophet said: O ‘Ali, unseat the idol and throw it down! ‘Ali obeyed his order.

Then the Holy Prophet cast ‘Ali in the air and he himself went to a side. ‘Ali fell on the ground with a smile on his lip. The Holy Prophet asked: Why do you smile? ‘Ali said: Because I fell from the roof of Ka’bah but I was not hurt! The Messenger of Allah said: O ‘Ali, how can you be hurt while Muhammad raised you up and Gabriel brought you down?[^152]

Mentioning and Looking at ‘Ali; sorts of Worship

A’ishah has been quoted by Khawarizmi as saying: The Messenger of Allah said: To remember ‘Ali and to have his name on one’s tongue is worship.[^153]

Khawarizmi on the authority of Mu’adh ibn Jabal said: The Messenger of Allah said: Looking at ‘Ali is worship.[^154]
A’ishah, Imran ibn Husayn, Jabir and Wa'ilah ibn Asqa’ have quoted the Holy Prophet as saying the same thing.[^155]

The Holy Prophet has been quoted by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud as saying: To look at ‘Ali’s face is worship.[^156]

A’ishah has been reported as saying: I saw Abu-Bakr keep on looking at ‘Ali’s face. I said: Dear father, your looking at ‘Ali’s face amazes me. Is there any reason for it? Abu-Bakr said: Yes, my daughter. I heard the Messenger of Allah say: Looking at ‘Ali’s face is worship.[^157]

A’ishah kept on saying to people: Adorn your gathering with the remembrance and name of ‘Ali.[^158]

‘Ali’s Station on the Day of Judgment

The Holy Prophet has been reported by Sahl ibn Abi-Hathmah as saying: God Almighty on the Day of Judgment will make a vault of red gold for me on the right side of the throne, and a vault for my father, Ibrahim, on the left side of the throne and a dome of red gold for ‘Ali between these two. Behold the position of ‘Ali which is between two friends.[^159]

The Messenger of Allah has also been quoted by Sahl ibn Abi-Hathmah as saying: On the Day of Judgment, God Almighty will make a dome of red gold for me on the right side of the throne and a vault for my father, Ibrahim, and a dome of olivine for ‘Ali. Now what do you think of the beloved between these two friends?[^160]

Seeking Guidance from ‘Ali

Khawarizmi has reported on the authority of Zayd ibn Arqam: I and a group of people were in the presence of the Holy Prophet. His holiness said: Would you like me to guide you to a person who will never mislead you if you seek guidance from him or consult with him? We said: Certainly. The Holy Prophet said: Your guide is this person and then pointed to ‘Ali. Then the Messenger of Allah said: Your salvation lies in that you will be bother to him, accept what he says, follow his conduct, enjoin people to follow him, help him in difficult situations and hardships and be his counselor, for Gabriel has informed me of it.[^161]

Harith has quoted the Messenger of Allah on the authority of ‘Ali: In Paradise, there is a stage called medium (resort) which is especially for the messenger. I hope I am that messenger. Invoke it in your prayer. The Holy Prophet’s companions asked: O Messenger of Allah! Who has the same rank and stage with you there? The Holy Prophet said: Fatimah, ‘Ali, Hasan, and Husayn.[^162]

The Story of a Dinar ‘Ali Found

Khawarizmi reports on the authority of Abu-Sa’id Khidri: ‘Ali was badly in need. So he left home in the hope of gaining something. On his way, he found one Dinar. To find its owner, he made a public call. But there was no one to claim it. Being informed of it, Fatimah said: Now that no one claims it, take it for yourself and buy some flour with it. if anyone claims it later, we will compensate. So ‘Ali went out to buy some flour. He went to one who had flour and asked the price of it. The seller told him the amount and price of the flour. Imam ‘Ali said: Weigh the flour for me and gave him the Dinar in return.

The seller said: By God, I will not charge you! ‘Ali came home and told Fatimah the whole story. After praising God and expressing surprise, Fatimah said: O ‘Ali, you took the flour and returned the money! ‘Ali said: What should be done? He took an oath not to charge me!

‘Ali once again publicly announced that he had found one Dinar in the hope that someone would claim it but it was useless. Having consumed the whole flour, ‘Ali once again went to the market to buy food with the same Dinar. This time, the same story happened. Returning home, he informed Lady Fatimah of the event. Again Fatimah praised God and said: You have brought the flour and money together!

‘Ali said: What can I do when the seller took an oath by God that he would not charge me. The third time, ‘Ali went out to find the person who had lost that one Dinar. But no one claimed it. When ‘Ali took the Dinar to market to buy flour for the third time, Fatimah said to ‘Ali: O ‘Ali, this time you take an oath by God that he must charge you. It so happened that the same man with the same amount of flour and price was on the market.

But this time, ‘Ali said to the seller: By God, you must take this one Dinar, throwing it towards him and returned home. Following this event, the Messenger of Allah met ‘Ali, saying: O ‘Ali, what was the story of Dinar? ‘Ali told the story in detail. The Holy Prophet said: Did you recognize the seller of flour? ‘Ali said: No. the Holy Prophet said: He was Gabriel and this one Dinar was the share God Almighty had sent for you! By God, if you had not taken an oath by God, that Dinar would have remained with you and Gabriel would have given you the flour.[^163]

Abu-Sa’id Khidri has reported: There was no food in ‘Ali and Fatimah’s house! At this time, Lady Fatimah said: O ‘Ali, we do not have anything at home! I wish you would go out and gain something! ‘Ali left the house and on his way found one Dinar. He made it public to people but no one claimed it. Being desperate, ‘Ali came home and told Fatimah the whole story. Lady Fatimah said: O ‘Ali, take it as a loan against one Dinar and buy some food for us. ‘Ali went to the market and saw an old man selling flour.

‘Ali bought the flour but the seller did not take the Dinar. He came home and told Fatimah the story. Lady Fatimah said: May God have mercy on that old man who recognized you and did not take the Dinar.

They consumed the flour. Lady Fatimah again said: Can you borrow this one Dinar? ‘Ali went to the market for the second time to buy food and met the same man. ‘Ali took the flour and the seller returned that one Dinar to him. On his return, ‘Ali told Fatimah the whole story. They consumed the flour and ‘Ali went to the market but this time the old man took an oath not to receive the Dinar!

Abu-Harun Abdi says: Abu-Sa’id related this story to me. After hearing this story, I found out the others had heard it too. I was returning home when a man of Ansar saw me on the way, asking: What did Abu-Sa’id tell you? I told the story on the authority of Abu-Sa’id. He said: If you promise to keep the secret, I will tell you who that seller was. I said: I promise. He said: He was Gabriel (a.s).[^164]

Lady Fatimah has been reported by Abu-Sa’id Khidri as saying: I went to the presence of my father and after greeting him said: By God, o prophet, there has been no food in ‘Ali’s house for the past five days. We have neither a sheep nor a camel. The Holy Prophet (S) said: My daughter, come closer and put your hand on my back. I put my hand on his back. I found that a stone was hanging between his two shoulders extending to his breast!

Fatimah cried out: Woe, there has been no fire made in the house of Muhammad for the past two month! At this time, the Messenger of Allah said: Do you know ‘Ali’s position to me? He accompanied me when he was at the age of twelve. He was hardly sixteen when he fought the enemies with his sword and he was seventeen when he defeated the brave men of the Arabs. He was twenty two when he removed sorrow from my heart while there were only fifty men with him.

Hearing ‘Ali’s merits, Fatimah’s face became illuminated. She stood where she was listening carefully to what her father said when ‘Ali arrived. Seeing that the house was illuminated by the light of Fatimah’s face, ‘Ali asked Fatimah: When I left home, you did not have such a light on your face? Lady Fatimah said: O ‘Ali! My face is shining because my father was expressing your merits for me. My shining face shows my happiness![^165]

Imran ibn Husayn has reported: I went to the presence of the Holy Prophet and greeted him. The Holy Prophet said: O ‘Imran! You have a special position to me! Do you like to go together and see my daughter, Fatimah? I said: May my parents be ransom for you, yes. The Messenger of Allah rose up and we went to Fatimah’s house.

When we reached there, the Holy Prophet (S) greeted his daughter, saying: My daughter! Can we enter? Lady Fatimah said: Come in please. The Holy Prophet said: Someone is with me. Fatimah said: Who is he? The Holy Prophet said: ‘Imran ibn Husayn Khuza’i. Fatimah said: Dear father, by God who appointed you as a prophet, I have no gown at home except a cloak! The Holy Prophet said: Cover yourself with it. Fatimah said: I can only cover my body with it. What shall I do with my head? The Holy Prophet gave her a piece of cloth, saying: Use it as a headscarf. We then entered the house.

The Holy Prophet asked after Fatimah’s health. Fatimah said: I do not feel very well but I am more suffering from hunger, for there is nothing to eat at home! Hearing this, the Messenger of Allah started weeping. I started weeping too. Then, the Holy Prophet said: I have glad tidings for you, o Fatimah. Rejoice and grieve not! My daughter, by the God who appointed me as a prophet, I have not eaten anything for the past three days, though my position to God is above yours.

If I ask for food, He will provide me with it but I have preferred the hereafter to this world! O Fatimah, do not complain from hunger. By God who appointed me as a prophet, you are the princess of the world women. Being extremely pleased, Fatimah put her hands on her head, saying: Then I wish I had not said so. But what is the position of Asiyah, Pharaoh’s wife, and Mary, ‘Imran’s daughter? The Messenger of Allah said: Asiyah was the princess of the women of her time, Marry was the princess of the women of her time, Khadijah was the princess of the women of her time but you are the princess of the women of your time. You four ladies will abide in houses built from reed. There will be no harms in these houses.

Fatimah asked: Dear father! What is Qassab? The Holy Prophet said: It is an empty pearl shaped like a reed and there is no harm of suffering in it. Putting his hand on Fatimah’s shoulder, the Holy Prophet said: O my daughter! By God who appointed me as a prophet, I married you to a man who is the lord of the world and master of the hereafter.[^166]

‘Ali during the Night Journey

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Abu-Umar Zahid as saying: During the Night Journey, I passed by a crowd in whose mouths fire was blazing. Asked Gabriel who they were, Gabriel said: They are the backbiters who eat the flesh of the dead! I passed by another group who were crying out. I said: Who are they? Gabriel said: These are unbelievers! Then we continued our way till we reached the fourth heaven where I saw ‘Ali who was praying!

I asked Gabriel: Is it ‘Ali who has overtaken us and reached here before us? Gabriel said: This is not ‘Ali. I said: Who is he then? Gabriel said: Since archangels and cherubim heard ‘Ali’s merits especially when you said about him: ‘Ali’s position to me is as Harun to Moses except that there will be no prophet after me, they longed for meeting ‘Ali. Hence, God Almighty created an angel like ‘Ali so that when the angels long to see ‘Ali, to come and see him.[^167]

The Holy Prophet (S) has been quoted by Ibn Abbas as saying: During the night I was taken to heavens (Night Journey), I saw an inscription on the gate of paradise which read: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, ‘Ali is beloved of Allah, Hasan and Husayn are the chosen of Allah, Fatimah is a heavenly lady. May curse of Allah be upon their enemies and those who have rancor against them.[^168]

The Holy Prophet’s Sacrificing his father for ‘Ali and promising him with Paradisiacal gardens The Holy Prophet (S) said to ‘Ali: May my father be ransom for you. He then gave him good tidings about gardens in paradise. A’ishah has reported: I saw the Messenger of Allah hugging ‘Ali and kissing him while saying: May my father be ransom for the martyr who is lonely and has no helper.[^169]

Imam ‘Ali (a.s) has been reported as saying: I was accompanying the Messenger of Allah in Medina. We passed by an orchard with fruitful trees. I said: O Messenger of Allah! How beautiful this orchard is! The Holy Prophet said: Your garden in paradise is more beautiful than it! We passed by another orchard. I said: O Messenger of Allah, this orchard is beautiful too! The Holy Prophet (S) said: It is not more beautiful than your garden in paradise. We passed by the third, fourth, and seventh orchard and I repeated what I had said. The Holy Prophet too repeated the same answer.

When we passed by all gardens, he put his arms round me and started weeping! I said: O Messenger of Allah! Why are you weeping? The Holy Prophet said: A group of these people have your rancor in their hearts but do not disclose it till I pass away. I said: Will it harm my religion. The Holy Prophet said: No.[^170]

The Holy Prophet and ‘Ali’s Merits

The Holy Prophet and ‘Ali’s Merits (God Decrees the Holy Prophet to Express ‘Ali’s Merits)

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Jabir ibn Abdullah Ansari as saying: Gabriel came down to me, saying: God Almighty has commissioned you to express ‘Ali’s merits among your companions so that they will convey your message to the future generations. He has also decreed all angels to listen to you when you speak of ‘Ali’s merits. God Almighty has revealed to you, saying: O Muhammad! Whoever opposes you about ‘Ali’s merit will be in fire and whoever obeys you will be in paradise.

The Messenger of Allah immediately ordered a crier to gather the people. Then the Holy Prophet went up the pulpit and began his sermon, saying: I seek refuge to God from the outcast Satan. In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. O people! I am bearer of good news and a warner. I am an unschooled prophet who has not learnt reading and writing from anyone. I am commissioned by my Lord to speak of the merits of a man whose flesh is my flesh and whose blood is my blood and he is a treasure of my knowledge, a man whom God has chosen, has guided and loves.

God Almighty created me and him and blessed each of us with a merit. I was appointed as prophet and he was charged with propagating my mission. He appointed me as the city of knowledge and ‘Ali as the gate of the city. God appointed him as receptacle of my knowledge from which erudition and injunctions of religion are derived. He appointed ‘Ali as my successor and decreed I should convey these recommendations to you. The Compassionate God warns his enemies of torment and will bless his friend with a supreme position, forgives his followers and orders people to obey him.

O people, know that God Almighty states: Enmity with ‘Ali is enmity with Me and love for him is love for Me; whoever curses him, has cursed Me and whoever opposes him, has opposed Me; whoever rebels against him, has rebelled against Me; whoever harms him, has harmed Me; Whoever has rancor against him, has had rancor against Me; whoever longs for him, has longed for Me. Whoever plays tricks in him, has played trick on Me; whoever helps him, has helped Me.

Then, the Holy Prophet said: O people! Listen to what I say and obey me, for I am warning you against the severe chastisement as God states:

“On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil, it shall wish that between it and that (evil) there were a long duration of time; and Allah makes you to be cautious of (retribution from) Himself” (3:30).

Then the Holy Prophet (S) raised the hand of ‘Ali and said: O people! This man is the leader of the believers and God’s proof for all the people. He will fight the unbelievers!

The Messenger of Allah raised his hands in prayer and said: O Lord! You are a witness that I have acted according to Your decree and carried out this mission. These are Your servants and You have the power to transform them. I now seek forgiveness for you and myself. Then, the Holy Prophet came down from the pulpit. Concurrently Gabriel came down and conveyed God’s message to him in relation to communicating the mission, saying: O Muhammad! God Almighty greets you and says: You will be rewarded for carrying out this decree; Hail to you that you conveyed our divine mission; you made necessary recommendations to your Ummah, pleaded the believers, and disappointed the unbelievers.

O Muhammad, your cousin will be put to test and he will pass the test. We will put the people to test through him. O Muhammad, praise your Lord at all times and all places and say: Praise be to Allah,

“and they who act unjustly shall know to what final place of turning they shall turn back” (26:227).[^171]

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Ibn Abbas as saying: God Almighty blessed me with five features and blessed ‘Ali with five features too. He blessed me with comprehensive and meaningful words, and blessed ‘Ali with comprehensive knowledge; he blessed me with prophethood, and blessed ‘Ali with guardianship; he blessed me with Kawthar fountain, and blessed ‘Ali with Salsabil fountain; he blessed me with revelation, and blessed ‘Ali with inspiration; he called me to Himself on the Night Journey, and he opened the ways to heavens for ‘Ali and removed the veils in a way that he saw me and I saw him!

Then the Holy Prophet’s eyes were filled with tears! I said: May my parents be ransom for you. Why are you weeping? The Holy Prophet said: O Ibn Abbas! The first thing God told me was to look down. I saw that all the veils had been removed and the doors of heavens were open; ‘Ali had raised his head towards me; he was speaking to me; I was speaking to him too, and God was speaking to me! I said: What did God say to you?

The Holy Prophet said: God said: O Muhammad! I appointed ‘Ali as your successor, vizier, and executor. Convey these words of mine to him, for he is listening to you! I conveyed God’s message to him while he was in God’s presence. Bowing down, ‘Ali said: I do obey God’s decree and accept His command. At that time God ordered to angels to hail him and they hailed ‘Ali too and ‘Ali hailed them too. I saw angels giving good news to one another. They hailed me wherever I passed by them.

O Muhammad! By God who appointed you as a prophet, the angels were rejoicing for the leadership of ‘Ali. I saw the bearer of the throne lowering their heads towards the earth. I asked Gabriel: Why are they looking at the earth? He said: They call on God to see ‘Ali and God too gave them a chance to see ‘Ali. He informed me of the event to the letter. I found out that I had not taken a step without ‘Ali being informed of it!

Ibn Abbas reports: I said: O Messenger of Allah! Please guide me. He said: It is incumbent on you to have the love for ‘Ali! Again I said: O Messenger of Allah! Please guide me to what is good and fair! The Holy Prophet said: It is incumbent on you to have the love for ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib! By God who appointed me as prophet, He will not accept any good deed from a servant without asking about his love for ‘Ali though He knows better. The reason He asks about love for ‘Ali is that if a servant confesses he loves ‘Ali, his deeds are accepted, for nothing is hidden for God to ask about. If the answer is negative, he will be sent to hell!

O Ibn Abbas! By God who appointed me as a prophet, the fire of hell is more furious to ‘Ali’s enemy than to a person who believes God has a son!

O Ibn Abbas! Should the archangels and the apostles be unanimously hostile to ‘Ali, God will throw all of them into the fire of hell. I said: O Messenger of Allah, can anyone be ‘Ali’s enemy? The Holy Prophet said: ‘Ali’s enemies are those who have no real share of Islam, though they apparently consider themselves Muslims and my Ummah. O Ibn Abbas! A sign of their enmity with ‘Ali is that they prefer people of lower rank to him! By God who appointed me as a prophet, He has not created any prophet more honorable than me and no prophet’s successor more honorable than ‘Ali. Ibn Abbas reports: I always cherished this advice of the Holy Prophet by having a love for ‘Ali and his leadership. I do not know any better act for myself than ‘Ali’s love!

Ibn Abbas reports: It was not long before that the Messenger of Allah was on the verge of departing from this world. I went to his presence and said: O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be ransom for you. Now that your days are numbered, what is your advice to me? The Holy Prophet said: O Ibn Abbas! Oppose ‘Ali’s enemies and never support them. Do not take them your friends!

I said: O Messenger of Allah! Why don’t you advise people to forsake ‘Ali’s enmity at this sensitive juncture of time given that there is no obstacle? The Messenger of Allah started weeping so much so that he almost fainted! He then said: O Ibn Abbas: It has been so destined that the sworn enemies of Islam will oppose ‘Ali in the future! By God who appointed me as a prophet, no denier of ‘Ali’s right will ever die without God deny him the blessing He has given him.

O Ibn Abbas! Should you wish to meet your Lord while He is pleased with you, adopt the path of ‘Ali; be always with him; be pleased with his leadership; be hostile to his enemies, and be a friend of his friends. Have no doubt about ‘Ali and his leadership, for any doubt about ‘Ali is doubt about God.[^172] Salman Farsi has reported: We swore an oath of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah not to fail to be benevolent to Muslims, consider ‘Ali as our leader and love him.[^173]

The Holy Prophet has been quoted by Imam Sadiq (a.s) on the authority of his father and grandfather as saying: During my Night Journey when I reached Sidrat al-Muntaha, the herald of God said: O Muhammad! Make necessary recommendation about ‘Ali, for he is the master of the Muslims, the leader of the pious, and the head of the prosperous on the Day of Judgment.[^174]

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Abd al-Rahman Ansar on the authority of his father as saying: God has blessed me with nine merits which are gathered in ‘Ali; three merits in this world and three merits in the hereafter; I wish two merits for him and I am worried about the one merit remaining!

As for the three worldly merits, ‘Ali will conceal my private parts (implying that he will do everything related to my burial), he is the guardian of my Ahl al-Bayt, and my executor. As for three merits of hereafter, I am given the banner of al-Hamd which I will give to him, I will trust ‘Ali in intercession, and he will help me with carrying the keys of paradise and dividing them among those who deserve paradise. As for the two things I wish for him, ‘Ali will never go astray or become unbeliever. As for the last one, I fear that Quraysh will maltreat and betray him after me.[^175]

Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi- Layla has quoted his father as saying: On the day of Khaybar battle, the Messenger of Allah gave the banner to ‘Ali and God made him victorious. On the day of Ghadir Khum, the Holy Prophet while introducing ‘Ali said: He is the master of every believing man and women.

Addressing ‘Ali, the Holy Prophet said: O ‘Ali, you are from me and I am from you. You will fight for the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an after me in the same way that I fought for the revelation of the Holy Qur’an. He also said: O ‘Ali! Your position to me is as Harun to Musa. Peace with you is peace with me and war against you is war against me. You are the firm rope of Allah to whom people should clutch. You solve people’s problems when they are at a loss. You are the guardian of every believing man and woman. You are the one about whom God revealed the verse

“and an announcement from Allah and His apostle to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage” (9:3).

You are the one who acts according to my Sunnah and will defend my nation.

The Holy Prophet said: O ‘Ali, on the Day of Judgment, I am the first one who will be raised to life and you will be raised to life with me too. I am at the Pond and you will be with me too. The Messenger of Allah said: O ‘Ali, I am the first person who will enter paradise. You, Hasan, Husayn, and Fatimah will enter paradise after me. God has revealed to me to make your merits public and I have carried out this mission accordingly.

O ‘Ali, beware of rancor some people have in their hearts against you and this will become manifest only after my departure from this world. May the curse of Allah be upon them. Then the Holy Prophet started weeping and when the reason was asked, he said: Gabriel informed me that the rancorous people will bother ‘Ali and will deny his indisputable right. They will fight ‘Ali and will kill his children! Gabriel also informed me the oppression against his children will continue till the uprising of the Riser. But after the uprising of the Riser (Imam Mahdi) they will gain power and people’s love for them will increase. On that day, their ill-speakers will be few, their enemies will be abased and their eulogizers will be numerous.

This prophecy will be materialized when there is an apocalypse and the oppressed people lose their hope of a better world. Then the Riser of Ahl al-Bayt will reappear among them and turns despair into hope. The Messenger of Allah said: The name of the Riser would be the same as my name and the name of his father is the same as the name of my father and he will be one of the sons of my daughter, Fatimah. At that time, truth will become manifest by him and falsehood will be removed by his sword and all the people, whether they wish or not, will follow him.

The narrator reports: At this time, the Holy Prophet stopped weeping. Addressing the believers, he said: I will give you good news about the rule of the Riser, for this uprising is a divine promise with no violation. This victory is imminent. Then, the Holy Prophet raised his hands in prayer, saying: O Lord! These are my household (Ahl al-Bayt), remove uncleanness from them and have mercy on them. Help them in their plights, give them honor, for You have power over everything.[^176] Ummu-Salamah was informed that her male servant was speaking ill of ‘Ali.

She called him and kindly said to him: I have heard that you speak ill of ‘Ali. He said: Yes, I do. Ummu-Salamah said: May your mother mourn you! Sit here so that I will tell you what the Messenger of Allah has said about ‘Ali! Then you are free to choose any way you wish! On the day and night the Messenger of Allah was in my house, I asked for permission to enter the room but he did not give me permission.

This made me upset, saying to myself: Perhaps I have disobeyed him or a verse has been revealed about me! I asked for permission to enter the room for the second time but I heard the same answer! For the third time, I asked for permission. This time, the Holy Prophet gave me permission to enter the room. I saw ‘Ali sitting on his knees facing the Messenger of Allah. ‘Ali was saying: May my parents be ransom for you! What should I do if such and such things happen! The Messenger of Allah too was inviting him to patience and self-restraint.

‘Ali repeated what he had asked but he received the same answer. When ‘Ali repeated what he has asked for the third time, the Holy Prophet said: O ‘Ali! if the opponents do not stop their behavior, put your sword on your shoulder and behead them step by step till you will meet me and till blood is dropping from your sword!

After speaking with ‘Ali, the Messenger of Allah turned to me, saying: O Ummu-Salamah, why do I see signs of worry on your face? I said: Why should I not be worried. I asked for permission to enter the room two times but you did not give me permission! The Holy Prophet said: By God! You have not done anything wrong, for God and His messenger always have a good impression of you. But you came at a time when Gabriel was sitting on my right side and ‘Ali on my left side. Gabriel was informing me of the unpleasant events that would happen after me, saying: these events will happen about ‘Ali.

Gabriel told me to inform ‘Ali of them and to make a testament! Ummu-Salamah, listen and be a witness that ‘Ali is my brother in the world and in the hereafter. Ummu-Salamah, listen and be a witness that ‘Ali is the standard bearer in the world and bearer of the banner of al-Hamd on the Day of Judgment. O Ummu-Salamah, listen and be a witness that ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib is my successor and executor. He is the one who will fulfill my promises and will reject some people from the Pond!

O Ummu-Salamah, listen carefully and be a witness that ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib is the master of Muslims, leader of the pious, and the head of prosperous ones. He is the one who will fight the breachers, deviant, and apostates after me.

I said: O Messenger of Allah! Will you say who these three groups are? The Holy Prophet said: The breachers are those who pledge allegiance with him in Medina but they will break their allegiance in Basrah and will fight him. Then, I asked who the deviant are. The Holy Prophet said: Mu’awiyah and his aiders who are deviators and do not pledge allegiance with him. I asked who the apostates are!

The Holy Prophet said: They are Khawarij, that is, the companions of Nahrawan. Hearing this, Ummu-Salamah’s servant prayed for her, saying: May God reward you who guided me to the truth. May you be happy forever. From now on I will never speak ill of ‘Ali.[^177]

‘Ali’s Arch-Enemy, Zubayr ibn Bakkar

Zubayr ibn Bakkar ibn Abdullah ibn Mus’ab ibn Thabit ibn Abdullah ibn Zubayr ibn ‘Awwam had no match in enmity with Imam ‘Ali. In fact, he was Imam ‘Ali’s arch-enemy.

Ibn Abbas has been reported by Zubayr ibn Bakkar as saying: I was walking hand in hand with Umar ibn Khattab in one of the alleys of Medina. Addressing me, he said: O Ibn Abbas! I do not think there is any one more wronged than your master, ‘Ali! I said to myself I should answer him immediately. Therefore, I said: O Amir al-Mu’minin, return to ‘Ali what you have taken from him (usurped) with injustice! Being upset and as a sign of protest, he withdrew his hand from my hand. He went a few steps forward, stopped and said: I do not see the reason behind his being wronged as anything but humiliation! I said to myself: By God, what you are saying is worse than what you had said before. So I retorted: By God, on the day he was ordered to take Surah -Bara'ah from your comrade and to convey it to the atheists, God did not humiliate him!

Ibn Abbas reports: Hearing this answer, he turned his face from me, did not say anything, parted with me and went his way.[^178] Ibn Abbas has been reported by Ahmad ibn Tahir in Tarikh Baghdad, as saying: During the first days of Umar’s caliphate, I went to him while there was a bowl of dates before him.

He offered me to eat and I took just one date while he ate up all the dates and drank a jug of water after it. Leaning on a pillow, he turned to me and said: Where do you come from? I said: I am coming from the mosque. He said: Why did you leave your cousin? I had the impression that he was talking about Abdullah Ja’far. I said: He was busy with his grandchild. He said: I do not mean him. I mean great man of Ahl al-Bayt (‘Ali). I said: He is busy with irrigation of the trees as well as recitation of the Holy Qur’an. He said: O Abdullah, the blood of the camels sacrificed be in your charge (swearing by at that time) if you do not answer my question.

I said: Ask your question. He said: Is he still thinking of caliphate? I said: Yes. He said: Does he think that the Messenger of Allah has appointed him as caliph? I said: Yes and added: I asked my father about ‘Ali’s right to caliphate and he said: ‘Ali is right! Umar said: The Holy Prophet sometimes uttered certain words for which there was no proof or excuse! In fact, he used to point out this issue once in a while. Even in his deathbed, he wanted to explicitly mention his name but as I was worried about Islam and feared that it might be threatened, I stopped him from mentioning his name expressly!

By the Lord of this Ka’bah, Quraysh had never unanimity about ‘Ali’s caliphate. If he were in charge of affairs, all the Arabs from around Medina would oppose him and break their allegiance. As the Messenger of Allah noticed that I knew his intention, he did not say anything in this relation, so what God had destined was implemented! The author of the book says these words of Umar refer to ink, pen, and paper which had to be brought on the order of the Holy Prophet but Umar stopped him, saying: This man is saying delirium because of much pain. The book of God is sufficient for us.[^179]

This is an indication to the famous incident when Umar prevented the Holy Prophet from writing down his will, claiming that the Holy Prophet was hallucinating!

Let us go back to what Zubayr ibn Bakkar has related. He has quoted his uncle Mus’ab as saying: The agent of Mu'nisah summoned a man to the court presided over by Sharik ibn Abdullah as judge, filing a suit against him. The judge was carefully listening to the statements of both parties to avoid any mistake. Amid this, Mu’nisah’s agent who had the upper hand and his support, arrogantly attacked the other party, yelling at him.

Finding that the agent’s moves were against the court’s order and disrespect for the judge, Sharik protested by saying: Shut up! The agent said: Do you know who I am? I am the agent of Mu’nisah! The judge ordered the slave in charge of executing the court’s order to give him some slaps in the face. The slave too did so.

The agent left the court for Mu’nisah’s house with humiliation and filed a complaint against the judge. Mu’nisah immediately wrote a letter to Mahdi, the Abbasid ruler, complaining of the judge’s attitude towards his agent. Mahdi too dismissed the judge from his position with a reproach to the effect: Should a person like you judge among Muslims? The judge said: For what reason, o Amir al-Mu’minin? Mahdi said: Your opinion is against all people in relation to caliphate and have your own idea of Imamate!

Sharik said: I have no religion other than that of all people. How can I oppose them then? As for the question of Imamate and leadership, I should say that I have no Imam or leader except the Book of Allah and the tradition of the Holy Prophet. As for your saying that I am not competent for judgment, it is you who have appointed me! If you have committed any mistake, you have to ask for forgiveness. Furthermore, if you have not made any mistake in your choice, you are bound to it and have to reinstate me!

Mahdi asked: What is your opinion about ‘Ali? Sharik said: My opinion is the same as that of your grandfathers, Abbas and Abdullah. Mahdi said: What was their opinion on this issue? Sharik said: As for Abbas, when he died he believed that ‘Ali was the best among the companions and stood by this belief till the end of his life, for the elderly companions and Muhajir were in need of ‘Ali in solving the most complicated problems and in all events but ‘Ali was not in need of anyone!

As for Abdullah Ibn Abbas, he is the one who fought alongside ‘Ali and was present actively in all the battles, carried out ‘Ali’s orders and considered ‘Ali as his leader. Disobeying ‘Ali’s orders was a great sin for him! If ‘Ali’s Imamate was unjust, the first person involved in this issue, was your father Abdullah, for he was a jurisprudent and well-versed in the divine injunctions! Hearing this, Mahdi, the Abbasid ruler, kept silent and Sharik left the court. Between this debate and his dismissal, it was only one week.[^180]

Zubayr ibn Bakkar has related: Addressing Ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Zubayr said: It was you who fought Umm al-Mu’minin (the mother of the believers) and the disciples of the Holy Prophet (Talhah and Zubayr) and voted in favor of temporary marriage!

Abdullah said: You, your father, and you maternal uncle brought her to the battlefield. She was called the mother of believers by us and it was thanks to us she was honored with this title. We too were good children for her. May God forgive her. It was you and your father who fought ‘Ali. If ‘Ali was a virtuous and believing man, you have then gone astray. If ‘Ali was an unbeliever, you have then brought yourselves the wrath of God by fleeing from fighting him. As for temporary marriage, I heard the Messenger of Allah allowing it and deeming it lawful; therefore, I issued so.[^181]

Mutrif ibn Mughirah ibn Shu’bah has been quoted by Zubayr as saying: My father and I went to see Mu’awiyah. My father regularly visited him, talked to him, and after leaving him informed me of their discussion. He spoke well of Mu’awiyah and praised his witticism. One night when he came home, he was upset and refused to eat dinner. An hour passed but neither he nor I said anything.

This silence was not without reason. I thought I had done something wrong so I mustered courage and asked the reason. He said: My son, tonight I have come from the presence of the most evil person on the earth. I said: Who is he? He said: It is Mu’awiyah. I said: Why? He said: After an hour of speaking to him, I said: O Amir al-Mu’minin! Now that your honor has reached its climax, how good it would be for you to dispense justice, to improve your behavior and to be engaged in good deeds.

Mu’awiyah said: What do you mean? I said: It would be appropriate for you to do favor to your brethren from Banu-Hashim who have long been wronged under your rule and to observe bonds of relationship, for they have no power to be feared from!

Mu’awiyah said: Never such an offer is acceptable to me. A man of Taym tribe (Abu-Bakr) took the power and dispensed justice. He did what he should have done. But by God, soon he passed away, was hidden under the earth, and his name was buried too. If he is sometimes remembered they only say: Abu-Bakr did such and such. Then a man from Banu-’Adi tribe (Umar) came to power. He endeavored much and during his ten-year rule rendered valuable services. But by God, soon there was no name of him and if he is sometimes remembered it is said: Umar did such and such.

Then the power came to Uthman, a man of Umayyad like whom there is no one in terms of lineage! He did what he should have done. But by God, soon he passed away and there is no name of him and of his performance. But this brother of Banu-Hashim, that is the Messenger of Allah, is remembered well five times a day on the minarets of Mosque as “I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”! Is there any hope for me not to hear this name! May you mourn your mother for giving me such an offer! No, by God, I will not remain calm unless this name is buried and there is no sign of it. These words of him about the Messenger of Allah do not mean anything other than his weak belief in him.[^182]

Zubayr has quoted the distinguished men of Hadith as saying: One day Mihqan ibn Abi-Mihqan Dabbi went to see Mu’awiyah, saying: O Amir al-Mu’minin! Now that I am in your presence I am coming to you from the presence of a man who is the meanest, the most avaricious, the feeblest in speech, and the most timid among Arabs! Mu’awiyah said: Who is he? Mihqan said: ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib! Finding these words in his own favor, Mu’awiyah said to the people of Syria: Listen what this Iraqi brother is saying!

Take care to give him due honor. Then Mu’awiyah asked Mihqan to repeat what he had said. Mihqan repeated what he had said! Mu’awiyah said: Woe to you, o fool! How do you consider ‘Ali as the meanest while his father is Abu-Talib, his grandfather is Abdul Muttalib, and his wife is Fatimah the daughter of the Messenger of Allah?

How do you consider ‘Ali as the most avaricious man among the Arabs while by God, if there is a house filled with gold and another house filled with straw at his disposal, he will give away the gold before the straw. Can you accuse him of being timid while by God, if two hostile groups stand face to face, the only valiant man who will boldly attack the enemy is no one but ‘Ali?

And how can you consider ‘Ali the feeblest in speech while by God no one introduced the art of eloquence among Quraysh except him. Then he said: The mother of Mihqan bore a son who is meaner, more avaricious, more timid, and feebler in speech! By God, if it were not for what you know, I would certainly have you beheaded. Take care not to repeat this again! May God curse you. Mihqan said: By God! You have done more injustice to him than me, for you know how supreme his position is; yet, you fought him!

Mu’awiyah said: Enmity with him is over power and domination not over anything else! Mihqan said: Have you traded power with divine wrath and painful punishment? Mu’awiyah said: It is not so.
I know something about God which you do not know, for He stated

“My mercy encompasses all things” (7:156).

[Mu’awiyah does not know that this verse will not include him, for the rest of the verse is

“so I will ordain it (especially) for those who guard (against evil)”][^183]

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Bakkar on the authority of Ammar ibn Yasir as saying: “I advise the Imamate of ‘Ali to one who believes in Allah and has accepted my prophethood, for whoever accepts ‘Ali’s Imamate has accepted my Imamate and whoever accepts ‘Ali’s Imamate is certainly under the Imamate of God. Whoever has love for ‘Ali in his heart, it is mixed with his love for me and whoever has love for me has love for God.[^184]

‘Ali’s Valor

All the people unanimously believe that during the battle of Uhud, Gabriel came down, saying: There is no man more valorous than ‘Ali and there is no sword sharper than that of ‘Ali. Khawarizmi has quoted Muhammad ibn ‘Ubaydullah ibn Abi-Rafi’ as saying: On the day of Uhud, Gabriel with a loud voice declared: There is no man more valorous than ‘Ali and there is no sword sharper than that of ‘Ali. This narration has been frequently related.[^185]

Abu-Umar Zahid has reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas as saying: One day, the Messenger of Allah rejoicingly said: I am a valorous man, the son of a valorous man, and the brother of a valorous man. As for saying: I am a valorous man, he was unanimously believed to be a valorous man among Arabs. As for saying: I am the son of a valorous man, as we know he is the son of prophet Ibrahim, the friend of Allah, for God describes him so in the verse

“They said: We heard a youth called Ibrahim speak of them” (21:60).

As for calling himself the brother of a valorous man, he is ‘Ali’s brother, for Gabriel, the divine caller, on the day of Badr when he was rejoicingly going up the heaven, said: There is no man more valorous that ‘Ali and there is no sword sharper than that of ‘Ali.[^186]

Ibn Abbas has been quoted as saying: I saw Abu-Dharr Ghifari while he was clutching Ka’bah’s curtain, saying: Those who know and do not know me! I am Abu-Dharr. If you people keep on fasting in a way your statures become as thin as a thread and keep on praying so much that your backs become crooked, it will not benefit you unless you have the love for ‘Ali.[^187]

The author of the book says: If a man like Abu-Umar Zahid, a Sunni Muslim considers ‘Ali as the most pious and relates such a narration, is it fair to ignore it? Verily, it is love for the world and mammonism which keep the truths in the veil of ignorance.

‘Ali’s Posthumous Miracles

The learned Sheikh ibn Babawayh who is a scholarly man and one of the grandchildren of the great author, Abu-Jafar Muhammad ibn Babawayh, has written a book on the merits of Imam ‘Ali. He has bound himself to relate forty Hadiths, each narrated by forty men! In this book, a wonderful story has been recounted as follows:

The poet, Bubbagha' used to visit a king once a year. During one of those visits, the king happened to be in the hunting-ground. The vizier informed the king of the poet’s coming and he ordered to accommodate the poet in one of the palace rooms. He would sleep in that room at nights. This room had a door to the palace gate. The palace watchman used to raise his voice at midnight, crying out: O the unmindful, remember God. He would then say: Curse of God be upon the enemies of Mu’awiyah, and cursed ‘Ali!

The poet was being tormented by his voice but he had no option other than being patient. The poet happened to see in his dream the Messenger of Allah along with ‘Ali at the gate of palace. The Holy Prophet ordered ‘Ali to give the watchman a blow between the shoulders for cursing him for forty years. ‘Ali too did so. The poet woke up frightened! The next night, the poet expected to hear the same cry but there was no sign of the watchman and his crying.

The next morning, there was a hubbub in palace. Everyone was rushing to the watchman’s room. The poet asked about the event. He was told that a blow of the size of a hand palm had been dealt between the two shoulders of the watchman which had taken away peace from him. The scar was bleeding too! It was long before he died and went to hell! This was witnessed by forty people.[^188]

In the city of Mosel, there was a man named Hamdan ibn Hamdun ibn Harth Adawi who had a severe rancor against ‘Ali. One of the residents of the city, who was intent to make a Hajj pilgrimage, went to see him for farewell, saying to him: I will meet your requests if you have any? Hamdan said: I want you to do something for me which is easy.

When you go to Medina for the visitation of the Messenger of Allah after you have completed your Hajj rituals, convey my message to the Holy Prophet by telling him: What feature of ‘Ali pleased you that you married your daughter to him? Was it his big belly, his slim legs, and his bald head that attracted you to do so? Hamdan emphasized his request and asked the Hajj pilgrim not to fail to do so.

After his arrival in Medina, visitation of the Holy Prophet’s shrine, and expressing his own needs, the man forgot Hamden’s message. At night, the man saw in his dream Imam ‘Ali who said: Why did you not convey Hamden’s message? So next day the man went to the holy shrine and conveyed Hamden’s message to the Messenger of Allah, returned home and went to bed. Again in his dream he saw Imam ‘Ali holding his hand and taking him to Hamden’s house. Opening the door, ‘Ali beheaded him with the knife he had in his hand. Cleaning the knife with the bed sheet, he put it in a corner of the ceiling and went out of the house. The pilgrim woke up and told his friends the whole story. He also noted down the date of the dream.

As for the house of Hamdan in Mosel, there was such a wailing that the ruler of Mosel woke up and asked for the reason. He was told that the owner of the house had been beheaded in his bed! The ruler ordered necessary investigation and arrest of suspected people. The people of Mosel were surprised as to how the event had happened, for neither the lock of the door had been broken nor was there any trace of the killer in the house. The ruler was at a loss! No one had entered the house and nothing had been stolen! The suspected neighbors were also in prison. There was no solution for this puzzle till the Hajj pilgrims returned home. The dreamer noticed that the neighbors were in prison! He asked the reason. He was told Hamdan had been beheaded in his house and the neighbors were in prison for investigation.

Being surprised and saying “God is the Greatest”, the man took out his note of dream and read it loudly. They all noticed that Hamdan had been killed exactly the same night the Hajj pilgrim had his dream. They went to the house of Hamdan, took out the bed sheet stained with blood. He told them about his dream and then told people to bring down the knife from the ceiling. The ruler ordered all those held in prison to be free, for they found out that it was a true dream in which there was no doubt. Then people confessed to the truthfulness of ‘Ali. This was a divine favor to the household of the Messenger of Allah.[^189]

Abu-Dulaf had a son who had a rancor against ‘Ali. One day, a group of Dulaf’s friends were speaking about friendship and enmity with ‘Ali. One of them related a Hadith from the Holy Prophet who had said: O ‘Ali no one has love for you but he who is a pious believer and no one is your enemy but one who is the offspring of menstruation or a bastard!

Being furious with this, the son of Abu-Dulaf roughly said: What do you think of Abu-Dulaf’s wife? Has anyone had unlawful relation with her so as to give birth to a bastard. At this time, Abu-Dulaf entered and was informed of the matter. He said: There is no doubt about this narration. This son of mine is both the offspring of menstruation and a bastard! When I was sick and resting in my brother’s house a slave girl who was charged with doing my chores, entered the room. My heart was inclined to her. I told her about my desire. She refused and said she was menstruating. But I did not take heed of it and stressed my own position. Hence I went to bed with her. This son is the offspring of that intercourse. Therefore, he is both the offspring of menstruation and a bastard.

The author of the book says: My father told me a story as follows: Being accompanied by my friends, I was going through the streets of Baghdad one day. On the way, I felt thirsty. I told one of my friends to fetch me water from one of the houses. He knocked the door of a house and asked for water. The other friends and I sat in a corner, waiting for him. We caught sight of two boys who were playing. One of them said: The Imam and leader after the Messenger of Allah is ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib and the other one said: Abu-Bakr.

I said to myself: The Messenger of Allah truly said: O ‘Ali, no one loves you but a believer and no one is your enemy but an offspring of menstruation. At this time, a woman came out of the house with a bowl of water in her hand. She offered the bowl to me saying: For God’s sake, tell me what you were saying to yourselves! I said: I related a narration from the Messenger of Allah. She insisted that I should relate it once again. Therefore, I repeated it to her. She said: O gentleman! This Hadith is truthful, for these two children are my sons. The one who has a love for ‘Ali is the one I conceived when I was pure, and the other son is the one whom I conceived when I was menstruating. Hence he is ‘Ali’s enemy.[^190]

A pious man, who always admonished people, one day when he was delivering a sermon, started eulogizing ‘Ali and in this way quenched the thirst of people with the wholesome water of Wilayah. The sermon prolonged in a way the sun was about to set. At this time, the orator turned to the sun and said: O sun! Stop for moments so that I will bring to an end the eulogy of the Holy Prophet’s cousin and his son. Should you long for listening to his eulogy, hold your rein and listen to what I say to people. O sun, do you remember the day you stopped moving near sunset for my master, ‘Ali, so that he will perform his afternoon prayer? Let your pause today, be for his sake and his devotees!

Hearing the words of the orator, the sun returned to its former position, the sky became clearer and the sun stopped where it was till the eulogy of ‘Ali came to an end. This happened in the presence of a large group of people and they all saw it with their own eyes.

The author of the book says: In the city of Hillah there was a man known for his religiosity and recitation of the Holy Qur’an. The Jinn used to throw stones at him through the windows and tortured him every day in a way life had become hard for him but he had no way to escape from this plight! I saw stone-throwing with my own eyes. To stop the jinn’s’ persecution, the man resorted to supplication, prayers and recitation of the Holy Qur’an but it was useless! He then thought of threatening the jinn’s with ‘Ali. Hence, turning to them, he said: By God, if you do not stop throwing stones at me, I will seek help from ‘Ali and complain to him about you! After this, stone-throwing stopped and was not repeated again.

Once, the Emir of the city of Hillah went out for hunting. Seeing a bird on Mashhad al-Shams Tomb, he sent a falcon to chase it. The bird was flying away and the falcon chasing it. The little bird sought refuge in the house of ibn Nama, the renowned scholar but the falcon kept on chasing it till it caught the bird in its claws. Soon the falcon stopped moving, started shivering and became motionless! The entourage of Emir who were watching this scene with their own eyes reported the story to him. He realized that this place had a special sanctity with God! So he held the place in high esteem and had it repaired.[^191]

Ibn Jawzi, the Hanbalite, in his book, Tadhkirat al-Khawas writes: Abdullah ibn Mubarak went on Hajj pilgrimage one year and took part in battle the next year. He kept on doing this for forty years. One year when it was time to go on Hajj pilgrimage, he went to a camel-sellers’ market to but a camel for Hajj journey with five hundred Dinars. On his way, he came across a ruined place and saw an Alawi woman who was plucking a dead duck!

Abdullah said: What are you doing with this corpse the eating of which is unlawful? She said: O Abdullah! Do not ask question about that which does not concern you! Something passed in my mind. Perhaps this Alawi woman is in need of this corpse. So I repeated my question. She said: Abdullah now that you insist, I have to disclose my secret to you. I am an Alawi woman without any guardian. I have four orphaned daughters. Their father has recently died. It is the fourth straight day that we are all hungry. As you know eating corpse under emergency is permissible. Hence, I have taken this dead duck to prepare a food with it!

Seeing this, I said to myself: O Abdullah, can you forget this scene? After thinking for a while I gave all my Dinars to her. The woman was so ashamed that she did not look at me. I returned home from that place while feeling that God had taken the desire of Hajj pilgrimage from me. After the Hajj season when all the Hajj pilgrims returned home, I went to see them to say: May God accept your Hajj pilgrimage. They too reciprocally said: May God accept your Hajj pilgrimage too, adding: We saw you in Arafat, Mina, and Mashar.

Knowing that I had not gone on Hajj pilgrimage, I said to myself: What does it all mean? During the same night, I saw the Messenger of Allah in my dream, saying to me: Abdullah! Don’t be surprised. As you helped one of my oppressed children, I called God to create an angel like you to go on Hajj pilgrimage as your deputy every year till the Day of Judgment. Now if you wish, you can go on Hajj pilgrimage and if you do not desire, don’t go, for that angel will do his duty.[^192]

Ibn Jawzi has reported: In the lunar year 604, I told this story for Ahmad ibn Abdullah Moqaddas. He further reports: I read it in the book al-Moltaqal which I had inherited from my grandfather, Abul Faraj ibn Jawzi: An Alawi man was living with his wife and his daughters. After some time, he passed away. His wife reports: After the death of my husband, being afraid of the enemies’ reproach, I left Balkh for Samarqand. Our arrival in this city was concurrent with winter when the weather was very cold. As I did not know anyone in the city, I took my daughters to a mosque and went out to find some food. I was at a loss.

All of a sudden, I caught sight of a gentleman among people. I asked: Who is this man. They said: This man is the great Sheikh in this city. I went to him and told him about myself and my daughters. He said: Do you have anyone to witness that you are a Sayyidah (a female descendant of ‘Ali)? He said this and turned his face from me. Being desperate, I headed for the mosque where I had left my daughters. On the way, I saw a man sitting on a platform with people round him. I asked: Who is this man?

They said: This Zoroastrian man is the acting officer of the city. I said to myself: I will go to him. Perhaps he can do something for me. Therefore, I went to him, told the whole story of my life and what I had heard from that Muslim man adding that my daughters were in the mosque suffering from hunger and cold. Hearing it, the man called his servant, saying to him: Go home quickly and tell your Lady to come here. The servant went away and after some time, the wife of the man and some of her servants appeared. The Zoroastrian man said to his wife: Go with this woman to such and such mosque, take her and her daughters home and entertain them.

The Alawi woman says: The Zoroastrian woman came to the mosque with me, fondled my daughters and we all went to her house. She gave us a separate room, warmed water for us to take a bath, and brought precious gowns for us to wear. Then she prepared a delicious food for us. Having had the dinner, we went to our beds. That night was the best in our life!

As for the great Sheikh, that night he saw in his dream that the Day of Judgment had come and the Messenger of Allah was under the banner of al-Hamd. He saw a palace of emerald in his dream and asked whose it was. He was told: It is built for a monotheist Muslim. The Sheikh wanted to go to the presence of the Messenger of Allah but he turned his face from him. The Sheikh said: O Messenger of Allah! Why do you turn your face from me while I am a Muslim?

The Holy Prophet said: Bring a witness to prove that you are a Muslim? The Sheikh was so amazed that he did not know what to say.

Then the Holy Prophet said: Have you forgotten what you have said to that Alawi woman? Now, this palace is for the man who has accommodated that woman and her orphaned daughters at his house! The Sheikh woke up, frightened! Sheikh ordered his servants to search in the city to find that Alawi woman and the orphans hoping to find a sign of them! He himself went to look for them too! After a long search, they found out that the woman and her daughters were in the house of the deputy officer of the city.

The Sheikh went to his house hurriedly, asking: Where is that Alawi woman? The Zoroastrian man said: They are in my house. The Sheikh said: I want to take them to my house. The Zoroastrian man said: I will never allow it! The Sheikh said: Take this one thousand Dinars from me and let me take them! The Zoroastrian man said: By God, I will not do such a thing even if you give me a hundred thousand Dinars! The Sheikh insisted on his request. The Zoroastrian man said: I have had the same dream as you have had. That palace has been made for me. O sheikh! You were too sure of your faith! By God, no member of my family went to bed that night without converting to Islam thanks to this Alawi woman. We are all Muslims now and all the blessings have come to us due to this highly-respected lady!

Speaking of his dream, the man said: I saw the Messenger of Allah in my dream, saying to me: This palace has been built for you and your family, for you have been benevolent to my descendants. I give you the good news that you and your family will go to paradise, for God created you all believers from the very beginning.[^193]

Sept ibn Jawzi has related another story as follows: A man saw the Messenger of Allah in his dream, who ordered to him to see such and such Zoroastrian man and to convey to him a message that his prayer has been answered! The man who had seen the Holy Prophet in his dream refused to convey the message thinking that the Zoroastrian man might have the impression that I expect something from him.

He saw the Messenger of Allah in his dream for the second and third time. Again the Holy Prophet emphasized that the man should convey his message without any delay, for it was incumbent on him to obey the Holy Prophet! This time, the dreamer went to the Zoroastrian man and privately conveyed the Holy Prophet’s message to him.

But the Zoroastrian man said: I do not believe in Islam and prophethood of Muhammad! I said: I know it but what should be done? The Messenger of Allah commissioned me three times to convey his message to you! The Zoroastrian man immediately pronounced the formula of the Islamic faith (there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) and became a Muslim. He invited his family and relatives to Islam, saying: Anyone of my relatives who converts to Islam can possess any portion of the property which he has at disposal or he will not have such a right, for I have found the truth!

With this message, all his relatives and friends converted to Islam. He also cancelled the marriage of his daughter to his grandchild, for marriage between two Mahrams (a near relative with whom one cannot marry) is forbidden!

Then he said to me: Do you know what that prayer which was answered was? I said: No, but I am willing to know it. The new convert said: Once I had married my daughter to a relative, I had given a wedding party, inviting people to come and have the dinner. A poor family was living in our neighborhood whom I had not invited. At dinner time, I told my servants to spread the tablecloth in the yard and to serve the food there. I heard the complaint of the little girl from the next door, who was saying to his mother:

This Zoroastrian man is annoying us with the smell of their food. I immediately ordered my servant to take some food, clothing, and a certain amount of money for them. Once the little girl looked at the food, clothing, and money, she said: By God, we will not eat this food without praying for one who has sent them. Se they all raised their hands saying: O Lord! Associate this man with our ancestor, the Messenger of Allah. All those who were present said: Amen![^194]

Ibn Jawzi has quoted his grandfather, Abul Faraj on the authority of ibn Khasib as saying: I was in charge of the finance affairs of Mutawakkkil’s mother. When I was busy with account-books, one of the agents came and gave me a purse of one thousand Dinars, saying: The lady says: Divide this money among the needy, for they are from my purest property. By the way, send me their names so that I will give them some money later. Ibn Khasib reports: I took the purse, went home and invited my friends to introduce to me the needy people.

They did so and I divided 300 Dinars among them, keeping the rest with me and waiting for other needy people to come to me. It was midnight when someone knocked the door. I said: who is it? The answer was: I am an Alawi man. I said to myself: Perhaps it is my neighbor. But he has never come to me. What is the reason behind this untimely visit?

The servant opened the door and the man came to me. After exchanging greeting I said: How come you are here at this hour of night? He said: A descendant of the Messenger of Allah has come to see me. I had nothing at home to make food for him. So I have come here to borrow some money, however little, from you so as not to be ashamed before my guest.

I gave one Dinar to him, saying: It is free. He thanked me and headed for his house. Being informed of it, my wife said: Were you not ashamed that you gave only one Dinar to that Alawi man who badly needed it? She said: give him whatever money that is left with you. Her words had a great impact on me. So I immediately followed the man and gave him the whole money.

After returning home, I remembered something which made me regret what I had done. If they report me to Mutawakkil given his enmity with the descendants of the Holy Prophet, only God knows what they will do with me! Seeing the sign of worry in my face, my wife asked the reason. I informed her of my worry. She consoled me and said: Do not fear! Trust God and the ancestor of this Sayyid! We were speaking about it when the agents of the lady came to our house with torches in their hands, saying: You have been called by lady!

I was prepared to go but I was at a loss. My body was shivering. With each step I took, an agent would say: Mutawakkkil’s mother is impatiently waiting for you! When I reached the palace, the ushers led me from one room to the other. When I reached the special chamber of the lady, the servant who was with me said: Wait here for the lady. I was extremely depressed not knowing what will happen! But contrary to my expectation, the lady came, weeping. I was surprised with her weeping. Calling me, she said: O Ahmad (name of Abu-Khasib)! May Allah reward you and your wife. Moments ago, I saw the Messenger of Allah in my dream, who was saying: May Allah bless you, Ahmad, and his wife with a good reward.

Now tell me what is the interpretation of this dream? I told her the whole story. She started weeping! At this time, she gave me some money and clothing, saying: This money is for that Alawi Sayyid! This money and clothing is for you, and this money and clothing is for your wife. Her gift was a hundred thousand Dirhams on the whole!

After she thanked me and prayed for me, I said goodbye to her and rejoicingly headed for home, saying to myself: I should inform the Sayyid of the event. As soon as I reached the house of Sayyid and knocked the door, he came to welcome me with tears in his eyes. He said: O Ahmad! Give me whatever you have with you.

I asked the reason for his weeping. He said: When I returned home from your house, I informed my wife of the event. She said: Let both of us rise up, perform prayer, and pray for Mutawakkkil’s mother, Ahmad, and his wife. Having prayed, we went to our bed. In my dream, the Messenger of Allah said to me: My son, I thanked them for what they did to you! Now, Ahmad will bring you money from Mutawakkkil’s mother. Accept it and pray for her!

[^1]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 156, Hadith 119

[^2]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 167, Hadith 127

[^3]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 19, pp. 228

[^4]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 19, pp. 228

[^5]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 22, pp. 258

[^6]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 242, Hadith 289

[^7]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 6, pp. 92,139

[^8]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 7, pp. 146

[^9]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 12, pp. 83

[^10]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 12, pp. 83

[^11]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 7, pp. 155

[^12]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 374, Hadith 422

[^13]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 5, pp. 67

[^14]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 373, Hadith 420

[^15]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 6, pp. 92

[^16]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 6, pp. 98

[^17]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 143, Hadith 188

[^18]: Ihqaq al-Haqq, vol. 11, pp. 316

[^19]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 132, Hadith 173

[^20]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 6, pp. 104

[^21]: Ihqaq al-Haqq, vol. 13, pp. 115

[^22]: Firdaws al-Akhbar, vol. 1, pp. 84

[^23]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 52

[^24]: Ehya al-Mayt Fi Fada’il Ahl al-Bayt, Sayuti, pp. 52, Hadith 48

[^25]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 389, Hadith 445

[^26]: Musnad, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, vol. 5, pp. 96-98,101,107

[^27]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 7, pp. 146

[^28]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 7, pp. 146

[^29]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 235, Hadith 281-284

[^30]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 307, Hadith 352

[^31]: Khawarizmi, chap. 6, pp. 137n

[^32]: Majma al-Zawaed, Haythami, vol. 9, pp.207

[^33]: Sahih, Muslim, vol. 4, Hadith 1903

[^34]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 5, pp. 52

[^35]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 5, pp. 55

[^36]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 5, pp. 51

[^37]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, vol. 404, pp. 355

[^38]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 5, pp. 63

[^39]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 363, Hadith 408

[^40]: Maqtal, Khawarizmi, chap. 2, pp. 25

[^41]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 363, Hadith 410

[^42]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 364, Hadith 411

[^43]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 17, pp. 266

[^44]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 314

[^45]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 314

[^46]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 314

[^47]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 314

[^48]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 314

[^49]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 315

[^50]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 315

[^51]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 315

[^52]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 315

[^53]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 315

[^54]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 315

[^55]: al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. 6, pp. 185

[^56]: al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. 2, pp. 293

[^57]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, pp. 256, Hadith 247

[^58]: al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. 2, pp. 38

[^59]: Shawahid al-Tanzil, vol. 2, pp. 184, Hadith 890

[^60]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 316

[^61]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 316

[^62]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 316

[^63]: al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. 6, pp. 299

[^64]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 316

[^65]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^66]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^67]: Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 24, pp. 37

[^68]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 316

[^69]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^70]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^71]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^72]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^73]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^74]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^75]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^76]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

[^77]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 317

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[^84]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 319

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[^86]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 319

[^87]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 320

[^88]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 320

[^89]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 320

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[^101]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 322

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[^124]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 324

[^125]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 324

[^126]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 325

[^127]: Ihqaq al-Haqq, vol. 3, pp. 529

[^128]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 325

[^129]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 325

[^130]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 325

[^131]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, pp. 325

[^132]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 266, Hadith 313

[^133]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 267, Hadith 314

[^134]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 267, Hadith 314

[^135]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 276, Hadith 322

[^136]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 316, Hadith 361

[^137]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 319, Hadith 362

[^138]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 322, Hadith 369

[^139]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 49, Hadith 72

[^140]: Kifayat al-Talib, part 7, pp. 79

[^141]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 19, Hadith 281

[^142]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 19, pp. 222

[^143]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 123, Hadith 161

[^144]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 122, Hadith 160

[^145]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 122, Hadith 160

[^146]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 141, Hadith 186

[^147]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 142, Hadith 186

[^148]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 142, Hadith 187

[^149]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 194, Hadith 230

[^150]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 237, Hadith 285

[^151]: Fada’il al-Khamsah, vol. 2, pp. 290

[^152]: Manaqib, ibn Shahr Ashub, vol. 1, pp. 135

[^153]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 23, pp. 370

[^154]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 206, Hadith 244

[^155]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 209,210, Hadith 248,250,254

[^156]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 209, Hadith 249

[^157]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 23, pp. 362

[^158]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 211, Hadith 255

[^159]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 219, Hadith 265

[^160]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 220, Hadith 266

[^161]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 245, Hadith 292

[^162]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 247, Hadith 295

[^163]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 366, Hadith 414

[^164]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 366, Hadith 415

[^165]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 379, Hadith 428

[^166]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 398, Hadith 453

[^167]: Kifayat al-Talib, part 26, pp. 131-132

[^168]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 19, pp. 302, Hadith 297

[^169]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 6, pp. 64, Hadith 34

[^170]: Manaqib, Muhammad ibn Soleyman Kufi, vol. 1, pp. 230, Hadith 144

[^171]: Amali Sheikh Tusi, part 4, pp. 118, Hadith 39

[^172]: Kashf al-Ghummah, Arbali, vol. 2, pp. 9

[^173]: Amali Sheikh Tusi, part 6, pp. 155, Hadith 9

[^174]: Tarikh Dimashq, vol. 2, pp. 256, Hadith 772-779

[^175]: Amali Sheikh Tusi, part 8, pp. 212, Hadith 9

[^176]: Amali Sheikh Tusi, part 12, pp. 361, Hadith 63

[^177]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, pp. 26

[^178]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, pp. 45

[^179]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, pp. 46

[^180]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, pp. 43

[^181]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, pp. 45

[^182]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 28, pp. 44

[^183]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, pp. 47

[^184]: Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 2, pp. 52

[^185]: Manaqib, ibn Maghazili, pp. 197, Hadith 234

[^186]: Amali,Majlis 36, Hadith 10

[^187]: Taj al-’Arus, Zobaydi, vol. 3, pp. 159

[^188]: Arba’in, Sheikh Muntajib al-Din, pp. 98, story 14

[^189]: Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 42, pp. 10

[^190]: Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 19, pp. 326, Hadith 336

[^191]: Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 41, pp. 191

[^192]: Tadhkirat al-Khawas, pp. 328

[^193]: Tadhkirat al-Khawas, pp. 330

[^194]: Tadhkirat al-Khawas, pp. 371