The Twenty-Second Assembly, which is the Day of Eid, the First of the Month of Shawwal, 367 AH.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: Allah said: My servants! All of you are misguided except for those I have guided. All of you are poor except for those I have enriched. All of you are sinners except for those I have protected.

A Bedouin came to the Prophet (s) and demanded seventy silver coins from him – the price of a she-camel. So, the Prophet (s) said to him: O Bedouin! Have you not collected that from me already? So, he said: No. So, the Prophet (s) said to him: Surely, I have already paid you. So, the Bedouin said: I want a man to judge between you and me. So, the Prophet (s) went with him and they appointed a man from Quraysh. So, the man said to the Bedouin: What is your claim against the Messenger of Allah? He said: Seventy silver coins – the price of a she-camel that I sold for him. So, he said: What do you say, O Messenger of Allah? So, he said: I have paid him. So, the Qurayshi man said: If you have given him his right, O Messenger of Allah, then either produce two witnesses to testify that you have paid him, or pay him the seventy [coins] that he has demanded from you. So, the Prophet (s) stood up in anger, dragging his cloak. He said: By Allah! I will choose someone who will judge between us by the judgment of Allah. So, they appointed Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali b. Abi Talib (as), who said to the Bedouin: What is your claim against the Messenger of Allah? He said: Seventy silver coins – the price of a she-camel that I sold for him. He said: What do you say, O Messenger of Allah? He said: I have paid him. So, he said: O Bedouin! Surely, the Messenger of Allah (s) says that he has paid you. Is he telling the truth? He said: No, he did not pay me. So, Amir al-Mu’minin (as) unsheathed his sword from its scabbard and struck the neck of the Bedouin. So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: O `Ali! Why did you kill the Bedouin? He said: Because he belied you, O Messenger of Allah, and when one belies you, his blood becomes permissible and his killing becomes obligatory. So, the Prophet (s) said: O `Ali! By He who raised me as a prophet in truth, you have not made a mistake in applying the judgment of Allah regarding him. [However,] do not repeat this again.

I said to al-Sadiq Ja`far b. Muhammad (as): O son of the Messenger of Allah! Inform me of whose testimony is to be taken, and whose testimony is not to be accepted. So, he said: O `Alqama! Whoever is upon the nature (fitra) of Islam, his testimony is accepted. He said: So, I said to him: The testimony of one who is guilty of sins is accepted? So, he said: O `Alqama! If the testimony of one who is guilty of sins were not accepted, then only the testimony of the prophets and the deputies (s) would be accepted, because they are immaculate, unlike the rest of the creation. So, whoever you do not see sinning with your eyes, or whoever has not been found guilty by two witnesses, is considered to be from the people of justice, shielded [of their private sins] – his testimony would be accepted even if he had hidden his sin in himself. Whoever exposes that (i.e. someone else’s private sin) will have exited the wilaya of Allah and entered the wilaya of Satan. My father narrated to me from his father from his forefathers (as) that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: “Whoever exposes the secret of a believer, Allah will never unite them in Paradise; and whoever falsely accuses a believer, then the hedge between them will be broken, and the accuser will be in the Fire forever in the misery of fate.” `Alqama said: So, I said to al-Sadiq (as): O son of the Messenger of Allah! The people have accused us of the grandest of matters, and this has narrowed our chests. So, he (as) said: O `Alqama! The contentment of the people does not rule, and their tongues do not impinge on anything. How would you not submit to what even the prophets of Allah, His messengers, and His Proofs were not spared of? Did they not accuse Yusuf (as) of desiring adultery? Did they not accuse Ayyub (as) of facing tribulation due to his sins? Did they not accuse Dawud (as) of following a bird, until he looked at the wife of Uriah and desired her; and that he sent her husband before his coffin (i.e. ahead of the frontlines of battle) until he was killed, then marrying her? Did they not accuse Musa (as) of being impotent until Allah freed him from what they had said? For, in the sight of Allah, he was a paragon. Did they not accuse all the prophets of Allah of being sorcerers in the pursuit of this world? Did they not accuse Maryam bt. `Imran (as) of becoming pregnant with `Isa by way of a carpenter man named Yusuf? Did they not accuse our prophet, Muhammad (s), of being an insane poet? Did they not accuse him of desiring the wife of Zayd b. Haritha, and that he did not stop until he secured her for himself? Did they not accuse him on the Day of Badr, that he had taken a red velvet [garment] for himself from the spoils? This was until Allah had made him overcome the velvet, dissociated His Prophet (s) from betrayal, and revealed this verse regarding it, “It is not for a prophet to embezzle. Whoever embezzles will be brought with what he had embezzled on the Day of Resurrection.” (3:161) Do they not accuse him (s) of speaking out of his desires with regards to his cousin `Ali (as)? This was until Allah belied them, “He does not speak out of his desires. This is not but an inspired revelation.” (53:3-4) Do they not accuse him of lying in his saying that he is a messenger from Allah to them? This was until Allah revealed the following to him, “Surely, messengers before you were belied, but they patiently endured rejection until Our help came to them.” (6:34) One day, he had said: “Yesterday, I was made to ascend to heaven.” So, it was said: “By Allah, he did not leave his bed for the whole night.” They have said even more than this about the deputies (as). Did they not accuse the Master of the Deputies (as) of pursuing this world and rulership; that he had preferred sedition over stillness, that he unjustly shed the blood of Muslims; and that, if there were any good in him, he would not have called for the neck of Khalid b. al-Walid to be struck? Do they not accuse him (as) of wanting to marry the daughter of Abi Jahl over Fatima (sa), and that the Messenger of Allah (s) expressed his concern over him on the pulpit to the Muslims, saying: “`Ali wants to marry the daughter of the enemy of Allah over the daughter of the Prophet of Allah. Surely, Fatima is a piece of me – so, whoever harms her has harmed me, whoever makes her happy has made me happy, and whoever irritates her has irritated me”? Then, al-Sadiq (as) said: O `Alqama! How astonishing are the claims of the people against `Ali (as)! How many have said: “he is a worshiped lord”, and how many have said: “he is a disobedient slave of the One who is worshiped”?! The accusation that he was disobedient is lighter than the accusation that he is a [divine] lord. O `Alqama! Do they not say that Allah is the Third of Three? Do they not make Him and His creation alike? Do they not say: “He is time”? Do they not say: “He is space”? Do they not say: “He is a body”? Do they not say: “He is a form”? Allah is high above that. O `Alqama! The tongues ascribe to the Essence of Allah that which cannot be attributed to it – so, why do you get confined when they ascribe what you hate to you?! Seek help from Allah and be patient. The Earth belongs to Allah, He bequeaths it to whomever He wills from His servants, and the end will be for the pious. Surely, the Children of Israel said to Musa (as): “We have always been oppressed – before and after you came.” (7:129) So, Allah said: “Say to them, O Musa: ‘Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you vicegerents in the Earth, so that you may see what you will do.’” (7:129)

One day, the Messenger of Allah (s) went out to pray Fajr. Then, he said: O people! Which of you will rise against the three people who swore by al-Lat and al-`Uzza that they will kill me? For, by the Lord of the Ka`ba, they have lied. He said: The people refrained, and no one said anything. So, he said: I do not see `Ali b. Abi Talib among you. So, `Amer b. Qutada went to him and said: He had a fever this night and did not come out to pray with you. Do you permit me to inform him? So, the Prophet (s) said: Do as you wish. So, he went to him and informed him. So, Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali b. Abi Talib (as) came out resolutely in a tunic with its corners tied around his neck. So, he said: O Messenger of Allah! What is this news? He said: A messenger of my Lord informs me of three people who have risen to kill me, but they have lied, by the Lord of the Ka`ba. So, `Ali (as) said: O Messenger of Allah! I will fight them myself. I will go and wear my clothes (armour). So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: Rather, here are my clothes, my shield, and my sword. So, he dressed him in his armour, his turban, and his likeness, and he had him mount his horse. Amir al-Mu’minin (as) went out. Three days had passed, and Gabriel had not come to him (the Prophet) with news about him; nor had there been any news from the Earth. So, Fatima came forward with al-Hasan and al-Husayn upon her hips, saying: I hope that these two boys have not been orphaned. So, the eye of the Prophet (s) began to weep. Then, he said: O people! Whoever comes to me with news about `Ali, I will give him the glad tidings of Paradise. So, the people spread out to seek [him], as they had seen how crucial this was to the Prophet (s). The search parties went out; and `Amer b. Qutada came forth with glad tidings of `Ali (as). Then, Gabriel came down to the Prophet (s) and informed him of what had happened to him. Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali (as) came forward with two captives, a [severed] head, three camels, and three horses. So, the Prophet (s) said: Would you like me to inform you of what had happened to you, O Aba’l Hasan? So, the hypocrites said: Just a moment ago, he was overtaken with distress, yet at this moment, he wishes to tell his story for him! So, the Prophet (s) said: Rather, you tell it, O Aba’l Hasan, so that you can be a witness over the people. He said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. When I reached the valley, I saw them riding the camels. So, they called to me: “Who are you?” So, I said: “I am `Ali b. Abi Talib, the cousin of the Messenger of Allah.” So, they said: “We do not know of a Messenger of Allah. Whether we come across you or Muhammad, it is the same to us.” So, this person who was killed rushed toward me. We traded hits when a red wind blew. I heard your voice in it, O Messenger of Allah, and you were saying: “I have cut the pouch of his shield for you, so strike the cord of his shoulder.” I struck it, but I did not overcome him. Then, a yellow wind blew. I heard your voice in it, O Messenger of Allah, and you were saying: “I have uncovered the shield from his thigh, so strike his thigh.” So, I struck him, stabbed him, severed his head, and threw him aside. So, these two men said to me: “We were told that Muhammad was gentle, compassionate, and merciful. So, take us to him, and do not rush toward us. Our companion [that you killed] was like one thousand knights. So, the Prophet (s) said: O `Ali! As for the first voice that you heard, that was the voice of Gabriel (as). As for the other voice, that was Michael (as). He went to one of the men and said: Say “there is no god but Allah”, and bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah. So, he said: Carrying Mount Qubays would be more beloved to me than saying these words. So, he said: O `Ali! Strike his neck. Then, he said: He went to the other [man] and said: Say “there is no god except Allah”, and bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah. So, he said: Let me join my friend. He said: O `Ali! Strike his neck. He said: When Amir al-Mu’minin was about to strike his neck, Gabriel (as) came down to the Prophet (s) and said: O Muhammad! Surely, your Lord delivers the salaam to you, and says to you: “Do not kill him, for he is of beautiful character, and he is generous among his people.” So, the Prophet (s) said: O `Ali! Hold on, for a messenger from my Lord informs me that he is of beautiful character, and that he is generous among his people. So, the pagan said from beneath the sword: This messenger from your Lord has informed you of this?! He said: Yes. He said: By Allah, I have never withheld one silver coin from a brother of mine, nor have I even made a scornful face whilst at war. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that you are the Messenger of Allah. So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: This is one whose beautiful character and generosity will take him into the Gardens of Bliss.