The Thirty-Fifth Assembly, the Assembly of Friday, the Twenty-Second of Muharram, 368 AH.

A group of Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (s) and said: O Muhammad! Are you the one that alleges that you are the Messenger of Allah, and that you receive revelation just as Musa b. `Imran (as) received revelation? So, the Prophet (s) was silent for a moment. Then, he said: Yes, I am the Chief of the descendants of Adam, and I do not boast. I am the Seal of Prophets, the Imam of the Pious, and the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds. They said: To who – to the Arabs, to the non-Arabs, or to us? So, Allah revealed this verse: “Say [O Muhammad]: O people! I am the Messenger of Allah to you all.” (7:158) The Jew who was most knowledgeable of them said: O Muhammad! I ask you about ten things that Allah gave Musa b. `Imran in the holy place where He spoke to him. No one knows this except a commissioned prophet or an Angel of Proximity. So, the Prophet (s) said: Ask me. He said: Inform me, Muhammad, about the words that Allah had chosen for Ibrahim when he built the House. The Prophet (s) said: Yes – “May Allah be glorified” (subhanallah), “Praise be to Allah” (alhamdulillah), “There is no god except Allah” (la ilaha illallah), and “Allah is the Greatest” (Allahu akbar). The Jew said: So, for what reason did he build this Ka`ba with four sides? The Prophet (s) said: Because of the four phrases. The Jew said: For what reason did he call it “the Ka`ba”? The Prophet (s) said: Because it is in the centre of the world. The Jew said: Inform me of the interpretation of subhanallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, and Allahu akbar.” The Prophet (s) said: Allah knew that humanity would lie upon Allah, so He would say: “Subhanallah, I disassociate from what they say.” As for His saying, “alhamdulillah”, He knew that the worshipers would not be thankful for His favours, so He praised Himself before they praised Him. And it is the original phrase – if it were not for that, Allah would not have bestowed His favours upon anyone. As for His saying, “la ilaha illallah”, it is His oneness – Allah does not accept deeds without its acknowledgement – and it is the phrase of God-consciousness. Allah will use it to weigh the scales on the Day of Resurrection. As for His saying, “Allahu akbar”, it is the highest of phrases, and the most beloved to Allah. It means that there is nothing greater than Him. Prayers are not begun without it so that He may be honoured. It is the noblest name. The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, O Muhammad. What is the reward for saying them? The Prophet (s) said: If a worshiper says, “subhanallah”, those beneath the Throne will supplicate with him, and he will be rewarded tenfold. If he says, “alhamdulillah”, Allah will bestow a favour upon him in this life which will intertwine with favour in the Hereafter. It is the phrase that the people of Paradise will say when they enter it. Whoever says it in this life will have nothing to say thereafter, as He says, “Their call therein will be, ‘Exalted are You, O Allah’, and their greeting therein will be, ‘Peace’, and the last of their call will be, ‘Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.’ (10:10). As for his saying, “la ilaha illallah”, then Paradise is his reward, as He says, “Is the reward for good anything but good?” (55:60) He is saying, “Is the reward for la ilaha illallah anything but Paradise?” The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. You have answered one, so permit me to ask you the second [question]. So, the Prophet (s) said: Ask me whatever you wish. Gabriel was to the right of the Prophet (s) and Michael was to his left, instructing him. So, the Jew said: Why were you named Muhammad, Ahmad, Abu’l Qasim, Bringer of Glad Tidings, Warner, and Caller? So, the Prophet (s) said: As for Muhammad, I am praised (mahmud) upon the Earth. As for Ahmad, I am praised in the heavens. As for Abu’l Qasim, Allah will divide (yaqsim) Hellfire and Paradise, and so whoever disbelieves in me from the first and the last will be in the Fire, and whoever believes in me and accepts my prophethood will be in Paradise. As for the Caller, I call the people to the religion of my Lord. As for the Warner, I warn those who oppose me of the Fire. As for the Bringing of Glad Tidings, I bring the glad tidings of Paradise to those who obey me. He said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. So, inform me: for what reason did Allah set five prayers for five times in the day and night for your Nation? The Prophet (s) said: When the Sun rises to its zenith, it has a ring that it enters. Once it enters that ring, the Sun reaches its zawal time. Then, everything under the Throne glorifies my Lord; and it is the moment in which my Lord blesses me. So, Allah obligated my Nation and I to pray at that time. He says, “Establish the prayer at the sinking of the sun to the darkening of the night” (17:78). It is the moment in which Hell is brought forth on the Day of Resurrection. There is not a believer who will find success in that moment unless he is prostrating, bowing, or standing [in prayer], for Allah will forbid the Fire from his body. As for the `Asr prayer, it is the moment in which Adam ate from the tree and took him out of Paradise. So, Allah commanded his descendants [to pray] this prayer until the Day of Resurrection. He chose it for my Nation. It is the most beloved prayer to Allah. He ordered me to preserve it from amongst the prayers. As for Maghrib, it is the moment in which Allah forgave Adam. Between his eating from the tree and Allah’s forgiveness of him was three hundred years from the days of this world; and the days of the Hereafter are equal to one thousand years. Between the `Asr prayer and `Isha’, Adam prayed three units: one unit for his error, one unit for the error of Hawwa’, and one unit for his repentance. So, Allah obligated these three units on my Nation. It is the moment in which supplications are accepted. My Lord promised me that He would accept [the supplications of] anyone who supplicates in it. This is the prayer that my Lord commanded me to pray, for He says, “Glorify Allah in the evening and in the morning” (30:17). As for the final `Isha’ prayer: the grave has a darkness, and the Day of Resurrection has a darkness. Allah ordered my Nation and I to pray at this time so that their graves may be illuminated; and that they may be given light on the Path. There is no one who approaches the dark prayer except that Allah forbids his body from the Fire. It is the prayer that Allah has chosen for the messengers before me. As for the Fajr prayer: when the Sun rises, it rises upon the horns of Satan, so Allah has ordered me to pray the Fajr prayer before sunrise and before the disbelievers prostrate toward it, so that my Nation may prostrate before Allah. Hastening to it is beloved to Allah. It is the prayer that the angels of the night and the angels of the day witness. He said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me of why ablution is made of these four appendages when they are the cleanest appendages of the body? The Prophet (s) said: When Satan whispered to Adam, [telling him to] approach the tree, he degraded himself. Then, he got up and walked to it, which was the first step towards a wrongdoing. Then, with his hand, he took what was upon it, and ate it. Then, his ornaments and his outerwear scattered from his body. Then, Adam put his hands upon the top of his head [in distress] and wept. So, when Allah forgave him, Allah obliged him and his descendants to purify these four body parts. Allah ordered him to wash his face when he looked at the tree, and He ordered him to wash his arms up to the elbows when he took from it, and He ordered him to wipe his head when he put his hands upon the top of his head, and He ordered him to wipe his feet when he walked with them to the wrongdoing. Then, He made these a tradition for my Nation: rinsing the mouth, so that the heart may be purified from the forbidden; and inhaling water into the nose so that the rancid smell of the Fire may be forbidden from them. The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. What is the reward of performing it (ablution)? The Prophet (s) said: When he first feels the water, Satan is made distant from him. When he rinses his mouth, Allah illuminates his heart and his tongue with wisdom. When he inhales the water into his nose, Allah safeguards him from the Fire and grants him the fragrance of Paradise. When he washes his face, Allah will illuminate his face on the Day when Allah illuminates and darkens faces. When he washes his arms, Allah will forbid the binds of the Fire from him. When he wipes his head, Allah wipes his sins off him. When he wipes feet, Allah will assist him on the Path on the Day when feet will falter on it. He said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me of the fifth: why did Allah order one to bathe himself from sexual discharges rather than from urine and feces? The Messenger of Allah (s) said: When Adam ate from the tree, it built up in his glands, his hair, and his skin. So, when a man has intercourse with his woman, water comes out of every gland and hair. So, Allah made bathing from sexual discharges obligatory for his descendants until the Day of Resurrection. Urine comes from excess drink that a person drinks, and feces comes from excess food that he eats – upon that, he should make ablution. The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me: what is the reward of one who bathes from a permissible [sexual relation]? The Prophet (s) said: When a believer has intercourse with his woman, seventy thousand angels spread their wings and mercy descends. When he bathes, Allah builds a house in Paradise for every drop [of water]. It is a joy between Allah and His creation – meaning, bathing from sexual discharge. The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me about the sixth: five things written in the Torah that Allah ordered the Children of Israel to emulate from Musa after him. The Prophet (s) said: I adjure you by Allah, if I inform you, will you acknowledge me? The Jew said: Yes, Muhammad. He said: So, the Prophet (s) said: The first thing written in the Torah is “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah” – and in Hebrew, it is “Tab”. Then, the Messenger of Allah recited this verse, “They find him written about in the Torah and the Gospel” (7:157) and “I give glad tidings of a Messenger who will come after me named Ahmad” (61:6). In the second line is the name of my deputy, `Ali b. Abi Talib (as). In the third and fourth lines, my descendants al-Hasan and al-Husayn. In the fifth line, their mother Fatima, the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds. In the Torah, the name of my deputy is Ilya; the names of my descendants are Shubar and Shubayr – and they are the two lights of Fatima. The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me of your virtue, the Ahl al-Bayt. The Prophet (s) said: I have a virtue over the prophets, for there is no prophet who did not supplicate with a supplication for his community. I, however, have postponed my supplication for my Nation – I will intercede for them on the Day of Resurrection. As for the virtue of my Ahl al-Bayt and my descendants over others, it is like that of water over everything, for it gave life to everything. Love of my Ahl al-Bayt and my descendants is the perfection of religion. Then, the Messenger of Allah recited this verse, “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed my favour unto you and chosen for you Islam as a religion” (5:3) – until the end of the verse. The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me of the seventh: what is the virtue that men have over women? The Prophet (s) said: It is like that of the sky over the Earth, and the water over the Earth. The Earth is enlivened by water, and women are enlivened by men. Had it not been for men, women would not have been created, as Allah says, “Men are the caretakers of women, as men have been provisioned by Allah over women” (4:34) The Jew said: Why was this so? The Prophet (s) said: Allah created Adam from clay. Hawwa’ was created from its excess and its remainder. The first to obey women was Adam, so Allah took him down from Paradise. The virtue of men over women has appeared in this world – do you not see how women menstruate and are unable to worship due to impurity, and how men are not afflicted by menstruation? The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me why Allah obligated fasting during the daytime for thirty days for your Nation, yet He obligated the [other] nations more than that? The Prophet (s) said: When Adam ate from the tree, it remained in his stomach for thirty days. So, Allah obligated thirty days of hunger and thirst on his descendants. What they eat at night is a blessing over them from Allah. It was like that for Adam as well, so Allah obligated my Nation with the same. Then, the Messenger of Allah (s) recited this verse, “Allah has obligated you with fasting just as He obligated those before you with it, so that you may be conscientious – an enumerated number of days.” (2:183-184) The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. What is the reward of one who fasts it? So, the Prophet (s) said: No believer fasts the month of Ramadan in anticipation except that Allah guarantees four characteristics for him: (1) the forbidden will melt away from his body, (2) he will come closer to the mercy of Allah, (3) he becomes expiated from the error of Adam, (4) Allah waives the pangs of death from him, (5) he will be safeguarded from hunger and thirst on the Day of Resurrection, (6) Allah will dissociate him from the Fire, and (7) Allah will feed him from the fruits of Paradise. The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me of the ninth: why did Allah order one to halt at `Arafat after `Asr? The Prophet (s) said: `Asr is the time in which Allah disobeyed his Lord, so Allah obligated halting and supplicating at the most beloved of placed to Him upon my Nation – and He guarantees Paradise for them. The moment in which the people go is the moment in which Adam was given words from Allah, by which Allah forgave him; and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Then, the Prophet (s) said: By He who truly raised me as a bringer of glad tidings and a warner! Surely, for Allah, there are gates in the sky of this world called the “Gate of Mercy”, the “Gate of Forgiveness”, the “Gate of Needs”, the “Gate of Kindness”, the “Gate of Beautifying”, the “Gate of Generosity”, the “Gate of Bounty”, and the “Gate of Pardon”. No one gathers at `Arafat except that he receives these blessings from Allah at that time. Surely, for Allah there are one hundred thousand angels, and with each angel there are one hundred and twenty thousand angels. For Allah, there is a mercy for the people of `Arafat which He will descend upon the people of `Arafat. When they set out, Allah swears to His angels that He will free the people of `Arafat from the Fire, and He will make Paradise obligatory for them. A caller will call: “Set out forgiven, for you have pleased Me and I am pleased with you.” The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. Inform me of the tenth: ten characteristics that Allah gave you from among the prophets and gave your Nation from among the nations. So, the Prophet (s) said: Allah gave me the Fatiha of the Book, the adhan, congregational prayers in the mosque, Friday, reciting aloud in three prayers; He excused my Nation when they are ill or on a journey, the funeral prayer, and intercession for the people of major sins in my Nation. The Jew said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. What is the reward of one who recites the Fatiha of the Book? The Messenger of Allah (s) said: Whoever recites the Fatiha of the Book, Allah will give him a reward whose number is like that of every verse than came down from heaven. As for the adhan, the mu’adhins of my Nation will be raised with the prophets, the saints, the martyrs, and the righteous. As for congregational prayer, the rows of my Nation are like the rows of angels in heaven. One unit in congregation is like twenty-four units alone. Each unit is more beloved to Allah than forty years of worship. As for Friday, Allah will bring the former and latter people therein for Judgment. There is not a believer who walks to [Friday] congregation except that Allah will ease the horrors of the Day of Resurrection for him; then command that he be brought into Paradise. As for the aloud [prayers], the Fire will be made distant from them – a distance equivalent to the distance their voice travels. He will be permitted on the Path, and he will be given joy until he enters Paradise. As for the sixth, Allah will ease the horrors of the Day of Resurrection on my Nation, just as Allah mentioned in the Quran. There is not a believer who takes part in the funeral prayer except that Allah makes Paradise obligatory for him – unless he is a hypocrite or an undutiful one. As for my intercession, it is for the people of the major sins from my Nation – not the people of paganism or oppression! He said: You have spoken the truth, Muhammad. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that You are His Servant and Messenger, the Seal of Prophets, the Imam of the Pious, and the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds. When he become Muslim and beautiful his Islam, he took out a white piece of paper with everything that the Prophet (s) had said. He said: O Messenger of Allah! By He who raised you in truth as a prophet! I did not copy this except from the tablets that Allah wrote for Musa b. `Imran (as). I read about your virtue in the Torah until I doubted it, O Muhammad. I would erase your name from the Torah for forty years. Whenever I would erase it, I would find it written again therein. I read in the Torah that no one would bring out the answers to these questions except for you; and that in the moment these questions are given to you, Gabriel would be on your right, Michael would be on your left, and your deputy `Ali b. Abi Talib (as) would be before you. So, the Jew believed and beautified his Islam.