The Eighth Assembly, which is Tuesday, the Fourteenth of Sha`ban, 367 AH.

I asked `Ali b. Musa al-Rida (as) about the middle night of Sha`ban. He said: It is the night in which Allah frees necks from the Fire and forgives major sins. I said: Are there any extra prayers in it that make it differ from the rest of the nights? So, he said: There is nothing in particular, but if you would like to perform a voluntary deed therein, then pray the prayer of Ja`far b. Abi Talib (as), and increase your remembrance of Allah, your repentance, and your supplications therein. For, surely, my father (as) would say: “Supplications therein are answered.” I said to him: The people say that it is the night of ordinance. So, he (as) said: That is the Night of Qadr in the month of Ramadan.

All goodness is in three actions: sight, silence, and speech. Every sight that is devoid of consideration is negligence. Every silence that is devoid of thought is heedlessness. Every speech that is devoid of the remembrance [of Allah] is prattle. Blessed is he in whose sight is consideration, and in whose silence is thought, and in whose words is remembrance – who cries over his mistakes and from whose evil the people are safe.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: From the asceticism of Yahya b. Zakariyya (as) is that he went to the Bayt al-Maqdis, and he looked to the striving rabbis and monks, who were wearing rabbinical garments of hair and hooded robes of wool. They had traversed mountain-passes and traveled in chains to the pillars of the mosque. When he saw that, he went to his mother and said: "O mother! Weave a rabbinical garment of hair and a hooded robe of wool for me, so that I may go to the Bayt al-Maqdis and worship Allah with the rabbis and monks." So, his mother said to him: "Wait until the prophet of Allah orders you to do so." So, when Zakariyya (as) entered, she informed him of what Yahya said. So, Zakariyya said to him: "O my son! Why have you asked for this when you are a young boy?!" So, he said to him: "O my father! Have you not seen those who are younger than me in years, and yet have tasted death?" He said: "Of course." Then, he said: "Weave a rabbinical garment of hair and a hooded robe of wool for him." So, she dressed his body in the rabbinical garment, and she hooded the robe's hood on his head. Then, he went to the Bayt al-Maqdis, and he began worshiping Allah with the rabbis and the monks until the rabbinical garment of hair consumed his flesh. That day, he looked at what happened to his body and wept. So, Allah revealed to him: "O Yahya! Are you crying over what has happened to your body?! By My majesty and My glory! If you were to see the Fire, you would have considered a rabbinical garment of iron to be a luxury over what its inmates are wearing." So, Yahya wept until the tears consumed his cheeks, and the onlookers saw his molar teeth. His mother was told about that, so she visited him; and Zakariyya came forth, and the rabbis and the monks gathered. They informed him about the receding of his cheeks; so, he said: "I did not order that." So, Zakariyya said: "O my son! What called you to this? Surely, I only asked my Lord to bestow me with you so that you may bring joy to my eyes." He said: "You ordered me to do this, O father." He said: "When was that, O son?" He said: "Isn't there a saying, 'Between heaven and hell is a passage that will only be crossed by those who weep in awe of Allah?’" He said: "Of course. Go, strive on - your actions are not my actions." So, Yahya stood and cleaned off his rabbinical garment. His mother took to him and said: "Do you permit me, my son, to give you two pieces of felt to conceal your molar teeth and dry your tears?" So, he said to her: “Do as you please.” So, she gave him two pieces of felt to conceal his molar teeth and dry his tears. So, he wept until he was drenched in tears. He wiped them with his sleeves, then wringed the sleeves [to squeeze the tears out of them]; and the tears wetted his fingers. Then, Zakariyya looked to his son and the tears in his eyes; so he lifted his head to the sky and said: "O Allah! This is my son, and these are the tears of his eyes. You are the Most Merciful of the merciful." Whenever Zakariyya (as) wanted to give exhortations to the Children of Israel, he would look right and left [at the crowd]. He saw that Yahya (as) did not mention Paradise or the Fire. So, that day, he sat to give exhortations to the Children of Israel. Yahya came, but he had wrapped his head in his cloak and sat in the midst of a crowd of people. So, Zakariyya looked right and left, and did not see Yahya. So, he began to say: "My beloved Gabriel (as) narrated from Allah [that He said]: 'In Hell, there is a mountain called Intoxicated. In the middle of that mountain, there is a valley called Angry. It gets angry with the anger of the Merciful. In that valley, there is a pit, the depth of which is one hundred years [of travel]. In that pit are coffins of fire. In those coffins are chests of fire, clothes of fire, chains of fire, and locks of fire.’" So, Yahya (as) raised his head and said: "I have been heedless of Intoxicated." Then, he looked immediately at his face. Zakariyya (as) stood up and left his gathering, went to the mother of Yahya, and said to her: "O mother of Yahya! Go and send for Yahya, for I fear that we will not see him except that he has tasted death." So, she went out looking for him, until she passed by two youths from the Children of Israel. They said to her: "O mother of Yahya! What do you want?" She said: "I want to seek my son Yahya. The Fire was mentioned in front of him, so panic came to his face." So, the mother of Yahya went, and the two youths were with her; until they passed by a shepherd. So, she said to him: "O shepherd! Have you seen a young man with such-and-such description?" So, he said to her: "Are you looking for Yahya b. Zakariyya?" She said: "Yes, that is my son. The Fire was mentioned in front of him, so panic came to his face." So, he said: "I left him a moment ago upon such-and-such mountain-pass. His legs were in the water, and his sight was on the sky. He was saying: 'By Your glory, my Master! I will not take a cold drink until I see my status with You." So, when the mother of Yahya saw him, she came close to him, took his head to her chest, and adjured him by Allah to come home with her. So, he went with her until they reached the house. The mother of Yahya said to him: "Would you like to take off the rabbinical garment of hair and wear a rabbinical garment of wool? It would be softer" - and he did so. Then, she cooked lentils for him, and he ate until he was satiated. Then, he went to sleep; he was overtaken by sleep to the point where he did not awake for his prayer. So, it was said to him in his dream: "O Yahya b. Zakariyya! Do you want an abode better than My abode, and a proximity better than My proximity?! Wake up!" So, he awoke and said: "O Lord! Decrease my shortcomings. My God! By Your glory, I will not be shaded in a shade except that of Bayt al-Maqdis." So, he said to his mother: "Hand me the rabbinical garment of hair, for I have come to recognize that you two want me to be destroyed." So, his mother came and gave him the rabbinical garment, but she stayed holding onto him. So, Zakariyya said to her: "O mother of Yahya! Let him go, for the veil has been lifted from his heart. Living [a regular life] will not benefit him." So, Yahya stood, wore the rabbinical garment, and put the hood on his head. Then, he went to the Bayt al-Maqdis, and started worshiping Allah with the rabbis, until what happened to him happened.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: O people! Who is better than Allah in speech, and more truthful than Allah in words? O people! Surely, my Lord has ordered me to establish `Ali as a sign, an Imam, a caliph, and a deputy for you; and to take him as a brother and a vizier. O people! `Ali is the gate of guidance after me and the caller to my Lord. He is the Righteous of the Believers, "And who is better in speech than he who calls to Allah, does righteous works, and says 'Surely, I am from those who submit.’?" (41:33)? O people! Surely, `Ali is from me, his descendants are my descendants, and he is the husband of my beloved. His order is my order, and his prohibition is my prohibition. O people! Betake to obeying him, and avoid disobeying him, for obeying him is obeying me, and disobeying him is disobeying me. O people! Surely, `Ali is the saint of this Nation, its distinguisher, and its inspired one. He is its Harun, its Yusha`, its Asif, and its Sham`un. He is its Gate of Remission and its Ark of Salvation. He is its Talut and its Dhul Qarnayn. O people! He is the affliction of the creation, the decisive argument, the great sign, the Imam of the people of this world, and the Firm Handle. O people! Surely, `Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with `Ali, and `Ali is its tongue. O people! `Ali is the divider of the Fire: a friend of his will not enter the Fire, and an enemy of his will not be saved from it. He is the divider of Paradise: an enemy of his will not enter Paradise, and a friend of his will not slip away from it. O my companions! I have advised you, and I have delivered the message of my Lord to you, but you do not love the advisors. I say this saying of mine, and I repent to Allah for myself and for you.