Hayat Al-Qulub, Vol. 1, Stories of the Prophets

An Account of Shaiya and Haiqooq

Ibn Babawayh and al-Qutb al-Rawandi have related from Wahab ibn Munabbah that during the tenure of Shaiya there was a king in The Israelites. The king as well as his subjects were obedient to the divine commands initially. But later they introduced innovations in their religion. Shaiya tried his best to restrain them and also warned them of divine retribution but to no avail. Allah made King Babel to reign over them. When they realized their inability to match his power they sought forgiveness of Allah. Allah revealed to Shaiya that due to the piety and righteousness of their ancestors He had accepted their repentance.

The ruler of these people was afflicted with a boil on his thigh. It was cancerous. The king was obedient to Allah and he was a righteous person.
Allah revealed to Shaiya to advise the king to make a bequest and select a person from his family who should be designated as his legatee among The Israelites and that Allah shall cause his death on a particular date.

Shaiya conveyed the divine message to the king. When he heard it he beseeched Allah with all humility, “O my Lord! You had been benevolent to me since the day I was born and bestowed upon me every bounty. In spite of this I do not repose hope in anyone except You. I have faith in You alone. I praise You and expect goodness from You without having performed any good deed and to become deserving of the same. You are more informed of my affairs than I myself am. O Allah! Postpone my death and increase my age and keep me firm on the path that You like best.”
Allah revealed to Shaiya, “I had pity on his lamentation and accepted his invocation and gave him another fifteen years. Tell him to cure his cancerous wound by fig juice. Because I have appointed the cure of his discomfort and wound in that water. I have also guaranteed safety for him and The Israelites from their enemies.”

So the next morning Shaiya saw that the army of Babel was routed completely. Only the king remained alive and with him were five persons. All of them ran towards Babel. After this the people of The Israelites remained pious and on the path of guidance until the time the king departed from this temporal world. Again the people reverted to evil deeds and disobedience and each of them laid claim to the throne. Shaiya tried his best to reform them but to no avail and in the end all of them were destroyed.

It is reported in another tradition that ‘Abdullah bin Salaam asked the Holy Prophet about Shaiya and he said, “He conveyed to The Israelites the good news of my Prophethood and Messengership and the Prophethood of ‘Isa.”

According to authentic chain of narrators, Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said, “Allah revealed to Shaiya that He is about to destroy 40000 of the evil doers and 60000 righteous people of his community. Shaiya said, “O my Lord! Why do you destroy the righteous ones?” Allah said, “Because they flattered them and begged favors from them and did not become angry at them due to My anger (neither did they try to restrain the evil people from bad deeds).”

Authentic chains of narrators mention that Imam al-Ridha asked the Christian priest in Al-Ma’mun’s assembly what information he had about the book of Shaiya. The priest replied that he was conversant with every letter of the book. Imam addressed the Rabbi Raasul Jalut, “It is mentioned in the book of Shaiya that he said, O my people! I saw a rider on a mule. He was clothed in garments of light and I saw a rider on a camel. His light and luminescence was like a bright moon.” Both the priests admitted that it was true. Imam said that Shaiya has mentioned in Torah that he saw two riders and their splendor shall illuminate the whole world. One of them shall ride a tall mule and one shall ride a camel. “Who are the two personalities mentioned by Shaiya?” asked Imam. Raasul Jalut admitted ignorance and appealed to Imam to enlighten him. Imam said, “The person on the mule refers to ‘Isa and rider on the horse indicated Muhammad al-Mustafa. Do you reject this saying of Torah?” “No! we cannot reject this”, they said, Then Imam al-Ridha asked “Do you know about Prophet Haiqooq?” “Yes” they replied, “We know about him.” “Have you not read the verse where he says-The truth became manifest from Mount Paran and the skies filled with the praise of Allah. His people and his riders shall battle in the seas and in the deserts too. He shall bring a new book from Allah after the destruction of Jerusalem. The ‘Book’ means Qur’an. Are you aware of these words? Do you have faith in these words?” Raasul Jalut said, “These are the words of Haiqooq, we certainly believe in his words.”

Some books mention that The Israelites plotted to kill Shaiya. He went away from them and reached under a tree. The tree trunk split and became spacious for him. He entered the split tree trunk and it joined once more. Satan caused a corner of his garment to stick outside and told The Israelites that Shaiya is hiding in the tree. The people sawed the tree in half with Shaiya in it.