سليم بن قيس الهلالي

“One day I passed by a man, who said: “The example of Muhammad is like the example of a date-palm growing in a dunghill.” I came to the Prophet (S) and told him of that. He became very angry. He went to the minbar. Al-Ansar took up their arms when they saw the Prophet (S) so angry. He said: “Why do some people criticize my close relatives after they have heard me mentioning that Allah has preferred them to all of the people and has favored them by purifying them and taking uncleanness away from them? They have heard me mentioning the virtues of my family and the virtues of my guardian, whom Allah has honored and preferred because of his precedence in being a Muslim, his defending Islam, his kinship to me and that he is to me as has Aaron been to Moses. After all, someone of you claims that I am, among my family, like a date-palm growing in a dunghill! Allah has created his creation and divided them into two parties. He has made me in the best of them. Then He has divided this party into three groups and made me in the best of them and in the best tribe. Then He divided them into families and made me in the best of them until I have been purified with my brother Ali bin Abu Talib from among the family. Allah the Almighty looked at the people of the earth and chose me from among them and then He looked again and chose Ali; my brother, vizier, heir, my caliph for my umma and the guardian of every believer after me. Whoever obeys him, obeys Allah and whoever opposes him, opposes Allah. Whoever loves him will be loved by Allah and whoever hates him will be hated by Allah. No one loves him except the believers and no one hates him except the unbelievers. He is the basis of the earth and its ease after me. He is the word of piety and the firmest handhold of Allah. “They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, and Allah will not consent save to perfect His light.” The enemies of Allah want to put out the light of my brother but Allah will not consent save to perfect his light. O people, let the present inform the absent of my speech! Then Allah looked thirdly and chose some ones from among my family after me. They are the best of my umma; eleven imams after my brother (Ali) one after the other. Whenever one of them leaves to the better world another one will replace him. Their example is like the stars of the sky; whenever a star sets another will shine. They are guided and guiding imams. They will never be affected by the disappointment of their opponents nor by the plotting of their enemies. They are the authorities of Allah on the earth and His witnesses over His people. Whoever obeys them, obeys Allah and whoever disobeys them disobeys Allah. They are with the Qur’an and the Qur’an is with them. They will never part with the Qur’an nor will it part with them until they come to me at the pond (in Paradise). The first of the imams is my brother Ali, who is the best of them, then my son Hasan, then my son Husayn and then nine ones from the progeny of Husayn.” He mentioned all the tradition.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said to Amirul Momineen (a.s) in his will: O Ali, soon Quraish would unite against you and they would come together to oppress and defeat you; thus if you have supporters, you do Jihad against them and if you don’t, you must refrain from violence and keep yourself secure; since martyrdom would come to you in future and Almighty Allah would curse the one who assassinates you.

"I witnessed the will of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) when he appointed his son Imam Hasan ibn Ali (as) as his successor and made Imam Hussain ibn Ali (as), Muhammad (Hanafiya), all of his children, the prominent members of his household, and his followers (Shi'a) witnesses to his will. Then Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) handed over to him (Imam Hasan ibn Ali (as)) the book and the weapon, and Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) said: 'O' my son, the Messenger of Allah (swt) (peace be upon him and his family) commanded me to appoint you as my successor and to hand over to you my books and my weapon, just as he appointed me and handed over his books and his weapon to me. He (sw) also commanded me to instruct you that when death approaches you, you should hand them over to your brother Al- Hussain (as).' Then he turned to his son Imam Hussain ibn Ali (as) and said: 'And the Messenger of Allah (swt) (peace be upon him and his family) commanded you to hand it over to your son Ali ibn Al- Hussain (as).' Then he turned to his son Imam Ali ibn Al-Hussain (as) and said: 'And the Messenger of Allah (swt) (peace be upon him and his family) commanded you to hand your will over to your son Muhammad ibn Ali (as). Convey to him the greetings of peace from the Messenger of Allah (swt) (peace be upon him and his family) and from me.' Then Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) turned to his son Imam Hasan ibn Ali (as) and said: 'O' my son, you are the guardian of the matter and the avenger of the blood. If you forgive, it is your right, and if you choose to retaliate, then strike only as you were struck, and do not transgress.' Then Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) said: 'Write: In the name of Allah (swt), the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. This is what Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) bequeathed. He (as) bears witness that there is no God but Allah (swt), alone without partner, and that Muhammad (sw) is His (swt) servant and Messenger, whom He (swt) sent with guidance and the religion of truth so that He (swt) may make it prevail over all religions, even if the polytheists dislike it." Then Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) continued: "Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah (swt), the Lord (azj) of the worlds. He (swt) has no partner, and with this I have been commanded, and I am among the Muslims." Then Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) said: "I advise you, O' Hasan (as), and all of my children, my household, and everyone who receives this letter from among the believers to fear Allah (swt), your Lord (azj), and do not die except while you are Muslims.' And hold firmly to the rope of Allah (swt) all together and do not become divided. Remember Allah's (swt) favor upon you when you were enemies, and He (swt) brought your hearts together.' Indeed, I heard the Messenger of Allah (swt) (peace be upon him and his family) say: Reconciliation between people is better than most prayers and fasting.' Hatred destroys religion, and corruption between people is destructive. There is no power except with Allah (swt).' Take care of your relatives and maintain ties with them, for Allah (swt) will make your reckoning easier. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of orphans - do not let their mouths hunger, and do not let them be neglected in your presence. For I heard the Messenger of Allah (swt) (peace be upon him and his family) say: 'Whoever takes care of an orphan until they become self-sufficient, Allah (swt) will make Paradise obligatory for them, just as He (swt) has made the Fire obligatory for one who consumes the property of an orphan.'" Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) continued: "By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of the Qur'an. Let no one surpass you in acting upon it. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of your neighbours, for Allah (swt) and His Messenger have both advised concerning them. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of the House of your Lord (azj). Do not let it be abandoned as long as you live, for if it is neglected, you will be forsaken. The least reward one receives upon visiting it is that past sins are forgiven. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of prayer, for it is the best of deeds and the pillar of your religion. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of zakat, for it extinguishes the anger of your Lord (azj). By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of fasting during the month of Ramadan, for fasting is a shield against the Fire. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of the poor and the needy. Include them in your livelihood. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of jihad in the way of Allah (swt) with your wealth and your lives. Indeed, the one who truly strives in the way of Allah (swt) is either a guiding leader or one who obeys him and follows his guidance. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of the progeny of your Prophet (sw). Do not let them be wronged while they are among you and you have the power to defend them. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of the companions of your Prophet (sw) - those who did not commit innovations and did not support innovators. For the Messenger of Allah (swt) (peace be upon him and his family) advised regarding them and cursed the one who innovates among them or others and those who support innovators. By Allah (swt), by Allah (swt), be mindful of women and those whom your right hands possess. Do not fear the blame of the blamers when it comes to Allah (swt). Allah (swt) will suffice you against those who wish you harm and plot against you. Speak kindly to people' as Allah (swt), the Exalted, has commanded you. Do not neglect enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, lest Allah (swt) gives authority to the worst among you. Then you will pray, and your prayers will not be answered. O' my children! Maintain ties with one another, be generous to one another, and be kind to each other. Beware of severing ties, turning your backs on one another, and division. Cooperate in righteousness and piety, and do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah (swt); indeed, Allah (swt) is severe in punishment.' May Allah (swt) protect you, O' people of my household, and preserve through you your Prophet (sw). I entrust you to Allah (swt) and convey my peace upon you." Then Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) continued to say: "There is no God but Allah (swt)," until he passed away - peace and blessings be upon him - in the early night of the last ten nights, on the twenty-first night of the month of Ramadan, on a Friday night, in the fortieth year after the Hijrah.

I heard Abdullah bin Ja’far Tayyar [husband of Zainab] say: We were in the company of Muawiyah: I, Hasan, Husain, Abdullah bin Abbas, Umar bin Umme Salma and Usamah bin Zaid when an argument arose between us; I said to him: I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “I have more authority on the believers than they have on themselves. After me, my brother Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s) has more authority on the believers than themselves. When Ali (a.s) is martyred, Hasan Ibn Ali (a.s) will have more authority on the believers than themselves, followed by my son Husain (a.s), who will have more authority on the believers than themselves. When Husain (a.s) is martyred, his son, Ali Ibn Husain (a.s) will have more authority on the believers than themselves. O Ali! Soon you will meet him. Then his son Muhammad Ibn Ali will have more authority on the believers than themselves. Thereafter, the Messenger of Allah (s) completed the list of twelve Imams, nine of whom will be from the descendants of Husain (a.s).” Abdullah Ibn Ja’far continues, ‘I sought testimony from Hasan, Husain, Abdullah Ibn Abbas, Umar Ibn Umm Salma and Usamah Ibn Zaid and they all verified my statement before Muawiyah.’ Sulaym bin Qays says, ‘And indeed I heard the same from Salman, Abu Zar and Miqdad and they in turn heard it from the Messenger of Allah (s).

“There are two groups of scientists. Those who practice their knowledge are prosperous, but those who abandon their knowledge get destroyed. The residents of Hell will be bothered with the bad smell of the scientists who have not put their knowledge into practice. But there are those who are most sorry. They invite others to God, their call is accepted by others who then obey God and are taken to Heaven by God. However, the caller himself is taken to Hell by God for not acting, and following their whims will be the most sorry. I fear two things concerning you. The first is following your whims, and the second is having high aspirations since following your whims will prevent you from accepting the truth, and having high aspirations will make you forget the Hereafter.”

ʿUmar from Abān without an intermediary.

‘You are the Master! The son of the Master! You are the Divine Leader! You are the son of a Divine Leader! You are the father of the Divine Leaders! You are the Proof! You are the son of a Proof! You are the son of the Proofs!: Nine Proofs who will be of your progeny! The ninth of them will be the Riser (MGB)!’”

I went to see the Prophet (s). Al-Hussein was sitting on his lap. The Prophet (s) was kissing his eyes and lips and said, ‘You are a Master, the son of a Master. You are an Imam, the son of an Imam. You are a Proof, the son of a Proof. You are the father of nine Proofs that come from your loin. The one from your ninth generation will be the Riser.’”

Amir al-Mu'minin (as) gave a sermon, so he praised Allah and extolled him, then saluted the Prophet (sw) and said: "Indeed, from the fears that I fear for you are of two categories: Following desires and long hopes. As for following desires, so it will sway you away from the truth. As for long hopes, they will make you forget the hereafter. Indeed, this world has moved backwards (away from you) and the hereafter has moved forwards (towards you), and for each of these are sons. So become from the sons of the hereafter and do not become from the sons of this world, for today is the day of the deeds and there is no Reckoning, but tomorrow is the (day of) Reckoning and no (room to perform) deeds. However, the commencement of the fitna occurs from following desires, and (the man made) rules are followed in opposition to the Commands of Allah (swt), so that a man would rule over a man (using these rules). Indeed, the truth, had it been pure, would have had no differing, and had the falsehood been pure, there would have been no fear about the one with the proof, but they take a fistful from this and a fistful from that, so they are mixed together. So that is where Satan rules over his friends, and the ones for whom goodness has preceded from Allah (swt) escape from this. I heard Rasulallah (saww) saying: ‘How will your condition be when you are clothed in fitna, in which the young ones will grow older while the adults would become elderly. The people will flow towards it (fitna) and take it as a Sunnah. So if something is altered therein, they will say, ‘The Sunnah has been altered’, and the people would have become deniers. Then the affliction would intensify, and the offspring would become captivated and the fitna would consume them just as the fire consumes the firewood, or just as the millstone grinds upon its lower base. And they would learn the Laws for the sake of other than Allah, and they would learn for the sake of other than doing good deeds, and they will be coveting the world instead of working for the hereafter." Then he turned his face towards those from his family and his special ones and his Shi'a who were around him. So he said: "The rulers before me acted in opposition to Rasulallah (sw) deliberately breaching the covenant with him and altering his Sunnah. And if I had burdened the people on avoiding it, and turned it back to its place and to what is used to be in the era of Rasulallah, my army would disperse from me to the extent that there would remain only myself or a few from my Shi'a who recognise my status. And my Imamate has been obligated from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. Consider (what would happen) if I were to order for Maqam Ibrahim to be returned to its place, where it was put by Rasulallah, and returned Fadak to the inheritors of Fatima (sa), and returned to the ‘Sa’a’ (unit of measurement) to just as it was before, and execute the treaties which were made by Rasulallah for the people, which were never executed nor were those ever established, and returned the house of Ja’far (as) to his inheritors, and demolish it from the Masjid, and rescind the inequitable Judgements which were judged and remove the women who are under (married to) certain men without right and return them back to their husbands, and issue the order regarding the matrimony, and the orders regarding the captives of the Clan of Taghlib, and return what was distributed from the land of Khaybar, and erase the register of gifts and give it out as Rasulallah used to give it out in an equitable manner and not make it to be distributed between the rich, and drop Al-Musahaat (currency), and equalise between the marriages, and enforce the Khums of the Prophet just as it had been Commanded by Allah (swt) and make it to be obligatory, and return the Masjid of Rasulallah to what it used to be, and shut what was in it from the doors, and open what has been closed in it, and prohibit the wiping upon the socks, and enforce the punishment upon the partaking of al-Nabidh (intoxicant), and make the two Mu’tah’s to be permissible, and order for the takbir over the dead body as five, and necessitate the people to recite ‘Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' aloud (in the prayer), and throw out the one who has been included with Rasulallah in his Masjid the one whom Rasulallah had thrown out, and enter the one who had been thrown out after he had included him, and burden the people to the Commands of the Quran and upon the divorce to be in accordance with the Sunnah, and take the charities upon its types and its limits, and return the ablution and the (major) ablution and the Prayer to its prescribed times, and its laws and its places, and return the people of Najraan to their own places, and return the Persian captives, and the rest of the community to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of its Prophet. By Allah, they would disperse from me if I were to order the people not to gather in the Month of Ramadhan except for the obligatory (Prayers) and make it known to them that their gathering for the optional Prayers (Nawaafil) is an innovation (i.e. tawareeh). So some of the people in my army would call out to the ones who are fighting alongside me, ‘O people of Al-Islam! The Sunnah of Umar has been changed. He is preventing us from the optional Prayer in the Month of Ramadhan, and I had feared that there would be a revolt in a section of my army. What will be meted out from this community from the sectarianism and the obedience to the imams of the misguidance and their calling to the Fire if I were to give out from that the share of the near relatives about which Allah has Said: {if you believe in Allah and in that which We revealed to Our servant, on the day of distinction, the day on which the two parties met} (8:41) So we are the ones meant by the near relatives whom Allah has Joined with Himself and with His Messenger. So the All-High Said: {it is for Allah and for the Messenger, and for the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, so that it may not be a thing taken by turns among the rich of you, and whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and from whatever he forbids you, keep back and be careful of Allah; surely Allah is severe in retributing (evil) to the one who is unjust to them.} (59:7) (This is) a Mercy from Him to us and a self-sufficiency by which Allah has Made us to be self-sufficient with. And He Bequeathed for it to His Prophet and did not Make for us a share in the charity. Allah Honoured His Messenger and Honoured us the People of the Household, that He should Feed us from the dirt of the people (charity). They belied Allah, and belied His Messenger and fought against the Book of Allah which Speaks of our rights, and prevented from us the obligation which Allah has Obligated for us. What has been meted out to us after our Prophet, and Allah is the Helper against the one who is unjust to us, and there is no Might and no Power except by Allah the High, the Magnificent."

I said to Ali (as): “I have heard from Salman, al-Miqdad and Abu Tharr some interpretations of the Qur’an and some traditions of the Prophet (S) different from what the people have had with them and I heard from you what confirmed that I have heard from those men. In the meanwhile I found among the people some interpretations of the Qur’an and some prophetic traditions, in which they denied those interpretations and traditions (narrated by those three men) and claimed that they were false. Do you think that they (the people) ascribed false things to the Prophet (S) and interpreted the Qur’an according to their own opinions?” Ali (as) said: “With people there are truth and falsehood, abrogating and abrogated verdicts, special and general verdicts, allegorical and clear Qur’anic verses, memorization and illusion. False things were ascribed to the Prophet (S) when he was still alive until he made a speech saying: “O people, the fabricators, who ascribed false things to me, became so many. Let him, who ascribes false things to me intendedly, take his seat in Hell.” Nevertheless many people ascribed false things to him after his death. The narrators of traditions are of four kinds; one is a hypocrite showing faith with his tongue only. He does not refrain from ascribing false things to the Prophet (S) intendedly. If people know that he is a hypocrite and a liar, they will never believe him or accept anything from him but they see that he has accompanied the Prophet (S), has seen him and heard from him; therefore they trusted in him without knowing his reality. Allah has told us about the hypocrites and described them to us when saying, “And when you see them, their persons will please you, and If they speak, you will listen to their speech; (they are) as if they were big pieces of wood clad with garments; they think every cry to be against them. They are the enemy, therefore beware of them; may Allah destroy them, whence are they turned back.” They kept on that after the Prophet (S) and approached to the deviant rulers, who invited people towards Hell via lies and fabrications. They entrusted them with positions and authorities and imposed them on people by force. They hastened towards the pleasures of this worldly life. In fact most of people follow the kings and look forward to the pleasures of this life except a few, whom Allah has guided. The other kind is a man, who heard something from the Prophet (S) and could not memorize it correctly. He mistook when narrating it without intending to fabricate it. If the Muslims knew that he had mistaken, they would not accept a tradition from him and if he himself knew that his tradition was incorrect, he would deny it. The third is a man, who heard the Prophet (S) ordering of something and then the Prophet (S) prohibited it but the man did not know or he heard the Prophet (S) prohibiting something and then he permitted it but the man did not know; therefore he memorized the abrogated verdict and ignored the abrogating verdict. If he knew that it had been abrogated, he would deny it and if people, when hearing it, knew that it had been abrogated, they would deny it. The fourth one is he, who never fabricates the sayings of Allah or the sayings of His messenger because he hates lying, fears Allah and glorifies the Prophet (S). He does not forget but he keeps the tradition as he hears it. He narrates it with no word more and no word less. He knows the abrogating and the abrogated verdicts. He acts according to the abrogating verdicts and refuses the abrogated ones. The orders and prohibitions of the Prophet (S) are like those of the holy Qur’an; among them there are abrogating and abrogated verdicts, particular and general, allegorical and clear sayings. Allah says, “Whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and from whatever he forbids you, keep back.” Many people hear the allegorical sayings and do not know what Allah and His messenger mean. Not all of the Prophet’s companions used to ask about many things to understand them well. They often liked that a nomad or a passerby might ask the Prophet (S) so that they would hear the answer. I used to come to the Prophet (S) once in the day and once in the night. He let me alone with him. The Prophet’s companions knew well that the Prophet (S) did not do that with anyone else than me. The Prophet (S) often came to my house and when I came to him in one of his houses, he asked his wives to leave us alone. But when he (as) came to my house, Fatima would stay with us and would not leave nor would any of my sons. If I began asking, he would answer me and if I finished my questions and became silent, he would begin talking to me and praying Allah to make me perceive and memorize. Since he has prayed Allah for me, I have never forgotten anything at all. Once I said to the Prophet (S): “O messenger of Allah, since you have prayed Allah for me, I have never forgotten anything of what you have taught me and dictated to me. But you have not ordered me to write it down. Do you not fear that I may forget?” He said: “O my brother, I do not fear that you may forget or ignore any thing. Allah has revealed to me that He has responded to my praying for you and your partners coming after you. But you are to write it down for them.” I asked: “O messenger of Allah, who are my partners?” He said: “They are those, whom Allah has connected with Himself and me when He said: (O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you). If you fear that you may quarrel about something, then refer it to Allah, the Messenger and those of authority among you.” I said: “O messenger of Allah, who are they?” He said: “They are the guardians, one after the other, until they come to me at the pond (in Paradise). Every one of them is guided and he is a guide for people. They will not be affected by disappointment of anyone, who will disappoint them. They are with the Qur’an and the Qur’an is with them. They will not part with the Qur’an nor will it part with them. By them my umma will win and by their praying the heaven will rain for people and calamities will be away from them.” I said: “O messenger of Allah, would you tell me their names?” He said: “My son; this-and he put his hand on al-Hasan-then my son; this-he put his hand on al-Husayn-then his son, whose name will be like your name, O Ali, then Muhammad the son of Ali.” Then he turned towards al-Husayn (as) and said: “Muhammad bin Ali will be born during your life. Give him my regards! Then will be the rest of the twelve imams.” I said: “O messenger of Allah, would you tell me their names?” He mentioned their names one after the other. O Sulaym, by Allah, from them is al-Mahdi of this umma. He will spread justice and equity allover the world after it has been filled with injustice and oppression.”

“Ali (as) said to Talha in a long tradition when mentioning the pride of al-Muhajireen and al-Ansar about their virtues: “O Talha, have you not witnessed the Prophet (S) when he asked for a tablet to write a decree, by which the umma would not go astray nor would it disagree after him, and then your friend said: “The Prophet (S) is raving” then the Prophet (S) became angry and gave it up?” Talha said: “Yes, I have witnessed that.” Imam Ali (as) said: “When you (all) went out, the Prophet (S) told me about the decree he wanted to write before the public to witness it. He said to me that Gabriel had told him that Allah had known that the umma would disagree and separate after him (the Prophet). He asked for a sheet of paper and dictated to me what he wanted to write in the tablet before people. He let three persons witness that. They were Salman al-Farisi, Abu Tharr and al-Miqdad. He mentioned the names of the imams of guidance, whom he ordered the believers to obey until the Day of Resurrection. He mentioned my name as the first of them then my son Hasan and then my son Husayn and then nine ones from the progeny of my son Husayn. Was it not so, O you Abu Tharr and you al-Miqdad?” They said: “We witness that the Prophet (S) has done so.” Talha said: “By Allah I have heard the Prophet (S) saying to Abu Tharr: “By Allah, the earth has not carried nor has the sky shaded one more truthful or more pious than Abu Tharr.” I witness that they (Abu Tharr and al-Miqdad) have not said but the truth and you are more truthful and more pious to me than them both.”

“When we were coming back with Amirul Mo’mineen (as) from (the battle of) Siffeen, we stopped for a time to rest near a monastery. A handsome and neat old man came out of the monastery. He had a book in his hand. He came to Amirul Mo’mineen, greeted him and said: “I am from the progeny of one of the disciples of Jesus Christ (as). He was the best of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ and the most beloved one to him. Jesus Christ (as) had entrusted him with his wills, given him his books and taught him his knowledge and wisdom. The progeny of this disciple had been still keeping to the faith of Jesus Christ. They had never disbelieved or apostatized from his religion. The books are still with me. They had been written by the hand of our forefather according to the dictation of Jesus Christ (as) himself. Every thing that would happen after him had been mentioned in these books and the names of all the kings, who would rule after him, one after the other. It had been mentioned that Allah the Almighty would send a man from among the Arabs as a prophet. He would be from the progeny of Ishmael the son of Abraham. He would be from a land called Tehama and a village called Mecca. His name would be Ahmad. He would have twelve names. His advent, birth, emigration, who would fight him, who would support him, who would be his enemies, how long he would live and what his umma would face after him until Jesus Christ (as) would descend from the Heaven had been mentioned in these books. The names of thirteen men of the progeny of Ishmael the son of Abraham had been mentioned in the book and that they were the best of all of the peoples and the most beloved ones to Allah. Allah would be the guardian of whoever believed in them and would be the enemy of whoever opposed them. Whoever obeyed them would be guided and whoever disobeyed them would go astray. Obeying them would mean obeying Allah and disobeying them would mean disobeying Allah. Everything about them had been mentioned such as their names, lineage, aspects, how long each one of them would live, how many ones of them would conceal their faith before their people and which one of them would appear and then all the peoples would submit to him until Jesus Christ (as) would descend from the Heaven and then he (Jesus Christ) would offer prayers behind him and would say: “You are the imams and no one is to precede you.” Then he would advance to lead the people in offering the prayer and Jesus Christ (as) would stand behind him in the first row. The first of them and the best of them is the messenger of Allah. His names are Muhammad, Abdullah, Yasseen, al-Fattah (the conqueror), al-Khatam (the last), al-Hashir (the resurrector), al-Aaqib (the successor), al-Mahi (the eraser), al-Qa’id (the leader), the prophet of Allah, the best friend of Allah and the beloved of Allah. He is the most honored of all the people before Allah and the most beloved to Him. Allah has never created an honored angel or a prophet since Adam better than him near Allah or more beloved to Allah than him. Allah will seat him on His Throne on the Day of Resurrection and will accept his intercession for everyone he intercedes for. With his name; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the Pen writes on the Divine Tablet and with the keeper of the banner on the Day of the Great Resurrection, his guardian, vizier and successor for his umma. The most beloved one to Allah after him, Ali; his cousin and the guardian of every believer after him and then eleven men of Muhammad and Ali’s progeny, the first two of them are named as the names of the two sons of Aaron; Shubbar and Shubayr, and nine of the progeny of the youngest of them one after the other, behind the last of whom Jesus Christ will offer the prayers.” Then he mentioned the rest of the tradition.

There are two groups of scientists. Those who practice their knowledge are prosperous, but those who abandon their knowledge get destroyed. The residents of Hell will be bothered with the bad smell of the scientists who have not put their knowledge into practice. However, there are those who are most sorry. They invite others to God, and their call is accepted by others who then obey God and are taken to Heaven by God. However, the caller himself is taken to Hell by God for not acting (on his own words), and those following their whims will be the most sorry.” Then the Commander of the Faithful (MGB) added, “I fear two things concerning you. The first is following your whims, and the second is having high aspirations since following your whims will prevent you from accepting the truth, and having high aspirations will make you forget the Hereafter."

“O Ali, soon Quraish would unite against you and they would come together to oppress and defeat you; thus if you have supporters, you should do Jihad against them and if you don’t have any supporters, you must refrain from violence and keep yourself secure; since martyrdom would come to you later.”

“(Imam) Ali (a.s.) narrated from the holy Prophet who said, ‘Two kinds of people with great appetites do not become satisfied. A person of great appetite for the worldly gains and a person with great appetite for knowledge. In the matters of the worldly gains if one would limit himself to what Allah has made lawful form him he is saved and if one would accumulate such gains in unlawful ways he is destroyed unless he repents and changes his ways. In the matters of knowledge if one would acquire it from the people of knowledge and practice accordingly he is saved and if one would use it for the worldly gains then that is what one gets.’”

“I said to Imam Ali (a.s.), ‘I have heard from Salman, al-Miqdad and abu Dhar certain matters about the interpretations of the holy Quran and certain hadiths of the Prophet of Allah (sw) which is different from the one in the hands of the people. Then, I heard from you confirming what I heard from them, and I saw in the hands of people many things from the interpretation of the Quran and from the hadiths of the Prophet of Allah (sw). You disagree with them on these matters and claim that all of it is false. Do you think people ascribe lies to the holy Prophet (s.a.) purposely and interpret by their own personal opinions?” The Imam then said, “You have posed a question now listen carefully. “What people have consists of the truth, falsehood, lies, what is abrogating, already abrogated, facts of general nature, of particular natures, clear texts, unclear texts, facts properly memorized and matters that are conjecturally preserved. People had forged certain narration calling them as Hadith of the holy Prophet. The condition was such that once the holy Prophet addressed the people from the pulpit saying, “O people a many lies have spread around and they are considered to be my Hadith. Whoever forges lies and calls them my Hadith has filled up his seat with fire. After the Prophet of Allah (sw) there were more of such lies. There are four kinds of Hadith only and there is no fifth kind. “One narrator of Hadith is a hypocrite who outwardly shows faith and pretends to be a Muslim. He does not consider it a sin nor does he hesitate to lie about the Messenger of Allah (sw) deliberately. If people knew that he was a hypocrite and a liar, they would not accept anything from him, nor would they believe him. However, they say, 'He has accompanied the Messenger of Allah (sw) informed him about the hypocrites as He has described them. “Their physical appearance attracts you when you see them and when they speak, you carefully listen to them . .” 63:4 They hypocrites then sought closeness to the misguiding leaders and those calling other to hell fire with falsehood, lies and false accusations. The misguiding rulers assigned them for certain offices made them to dominate people. They with their help devoured the world. People follow only the kings and the worldly gains except for those that Allah has protected. This is one of the four kinds. “The other kind is one who has heard Hadith from the holy Prophet by the has preserved it the way it should have been preserved but he is uncertain about it. He has not fabricated anything purposely and has it with him. He speaks about it, practices accordingly and narrates it saying; “ I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (sw). If the Muslims would learn that he is uncertain about it they would accept it from him and if he also would know that there exists uncertainty in it even he also would reject it. “The third kind is one who has heard something form the Messenger of Allah (sw) that contained a command but latter the holy Prophet prohibited it but the man did not have any knowledge of such prohibition. Or that he heard a prohibition form the holy Prophet and then the holy Prophet made it a command but the man did not know of such commandment. In this way preserved the abrogated but not the abrogating but if he knew the abrogating thereof he would have rejected it. If the Muslims knew what they had heard from was abrogated they would also have rejected it. “The last and forth kind is one who has not ascribed a lie to the holy Prophet who hates lies has fear of Allah for respect of the Messenger of Allah (sw). He has not forgotten anything but that he has preserved it the way it should have been preserved. He speaks it just the way has heard with out any addition or omission. He knows which is abrogating and which is abrogated. He thus has practiced according to the abrogating and has rejected the abrogated. There is no doubt that the command so of the Messenger of Allah (sw) like the holy Quran is abrogating and abrogated, of general nature and of particular nature, clear text and unclear text. Oftentimes the statements of the holy Prophet may have two aspects: Like a general statement and a statement of a particular nature just like the holy Quran as All, Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, has said, “ . .Take only what the Messenger gives to you and desist from what he forbids you . (59:7)” It may become confusing for one who does not know what exactly Allah and His messenger want people to do. All the companions of the holy Prophet were not as such that would clearly understand the answer to their questions. There were those who would ask a question but would not ask for explanations and would rather love the coming of a Bedouin or a stranger and ask the holy Prophet questions so that he would also listen. “I would go in the presence of the holy Prophet once every day and once every night when he would admit me and we would deal with me the way he wanted. The Sahabah, companions of the Prophet knew that the holy Prophet would not deal with others the he dealt with me. Also the Prophet would come to my house most of the time but when I would go to any one of his houses he would admit me and would ask his wife to leave us alone and then we would have been the only ones therein. When he would come to my house he would ask Fatimah or any of my children to leave the house then whatever would ask he would answer me and when I would have exhausted all of my questions he would begin from his side. Thus, nothing of the holy Quran has ever been revealed the holy prophet had made me to read it and dictated me to and I wrote it down with my own hand writing. He taught me the interpretations of that verse and its explanations, its abrogating or that which was abrogated, the clear texts and the unclear statements, the ones of particular general nature. He would pray to Allah to give me understanding and strong memory. I never forgot any of the verses of the book of Allah or any of the knowledge that he had dictated to me which I wrote them down from the time he prayed to Allah for me. He did not leave any thing of the lawful and unlawful, commands or prohibitions that were there or that would come into being in future or any book that were revealed to anyone before him about the matters of obedience or disobedience that he had not completely taught me and I had not memorized them all. I have not forgotten of them even a single letter. The holy Prophet once placed his hand on my chest and prayed to Allah to fill my heart, with knowledge, proper understanding, wisdom and light. I then said, “O messenger of Allah, may Allah take the soul of my mother and father in service for your cause, from the time you prayed for me I have not forgotten a single matter or missed to write down anything. Do you fear that I might forget them in future?“ He replied “I do not fear for you any forgetfulness of ignorance.”

“ I heard ‘Abdallah ibn Ja‘far al-Tayyar say, ‘we were in the court of Mu‘awiya I al-Hassan, al-Husayn, ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Abbass, ‘Umar ibn ’Umm Salama and ’Usama ibn Zayd. A conversation started between me and Mu‘awiya, and I said to Mu‘awiya’, ’I heard the Messenger of Allah say, ‘I have more authority over the believers’ souls than they themselves do. Then my brother Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) will have more authority over the believers’ souls than they themselves will have. When Ali (a.s.), will become a martyr al-Hassan ibn Ali will have more authority over the believers’ souls than they themselves will have. Thereafter my son al-Husayn after him (al-Hassan) will have more authority over the believers’ souls than they themselves will have. When he will become a martyr, his son Ali ibn al-Husayn after him (al-Husayn) will have more authority over the believers’ souls than they themselves will have. O Ali, you will see him. Thereafter his son Muhammad ibn Ali will have more authority over the believers’ souls than they themselves will have. O al-Husayn, you will see him. Then the twelve will complete the number of Imams. Nine will be of the descendants of al-Husayn.” ‘Abdallah ibn Ja‘far said, “I asked al-Hassan, al-Husayn, ‘Abdallah, ibn ‘Abbass, Umar ibn ’Umm Salama and ’Usama ibn Zayd to bear witness. They all bore witness for me before Mu‘awiya.” Sulaym ibn Qays has said, “I heard such Hadith from Salman, abu Dharr and al- Miqdad who said that they heard such Hadith from the Messenger of Allah.”

“I heard Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (a.s.) say, ‘We, By Allah, are the ones to whom Allah has referred by the words ‘Dhi al-Qurba’ (relatives) and has given the same status as to Him self and His the Holy Prophet (s.a). He has said, “Whatever God grants to His Messenger (out of the property) of the people of the towns, belongs to God, the Messenger, the kinsfolk, the orphans, the destitute . .” (59:7) It applies to such person from us exclusively. In the charity there no portion is appropriated to us. It is the way Allah has honored His Holy Prophet (s.a) and has honored us instead of feeding us the filthy things in the hands of people.”

“I witnessed Amir al-Mu’minin Ali’s (a.s.) will made before me in which he appointed his son, al-Hassan (a.s.) as the executor. He called al-Husayn (a.s.), Muhammad (Ibn Al Hanafiyya) and all his other sons, all the leaders among his followers and his whole family to bear testimony to his will. He then delivered the Book and the Armament to his son al-Hassan (a.s.) and said, 'My son, the Messenger of Allah commanded me to appoint you as the executor of my will. (He commanded me) to deliver to you my books and my Armament just as the Messenger of Allah did. He made his will in which he appointed me as the executor, delivered to me his books and his Armament and commanded me to command you to deliver them to al-Husayn (a.s.) when you will be about to leave this world. Then he turned to his son, al-Husayn (a.s.) and said, 'The Messenger of Allah has commanded you to deliver them to your son, this one. Then he held with his hand Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) and said to him, 'The Messenger of Allah has commanded you to deliver them to your son, Muhammad ibn Ali and convey to him the Islamic greeting of the Messenger of Allah and my Islamic greeting.'

Al-Hassan (s), Al-Hussein (s), Abdullah ibn Abbas, Umar ibn Abi Salamah, Osamah ibn Zayd and I were with Mo’awiya.” Then he narrated what was expressed. He told Mo’awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, “I (Abdullah) heard God’s Prophet (s) say, ‘To the believers, I am to be held more superior than themselves. Then my brother Ali ibn Abi Talib is more superior to the believers than themselves. When it comes to martyrdom, my son Al-Hassan is more superior to the believers than themselves. Then my son Al-Hussein is more superior to the believers than themselves. Once he is martyred his son Ali ibn Al-Hussein is more superior to the believers than themselves.And O Abdullah! You will live to see him. Then it is my son Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir (s) who is more superior to the believers than themselves. And O Hussein! You will live to see him. Then he went on until he completed the twelve Imams nine of whom are from the progeny of Al-Hussein.’ Abdullah added, “Then I took Al-Hassan (s), Al-Hussein (s), Abdullah ibn Abbas, Umar ibn Abi Salamah and Osamah ibn Zayd who were all present there as witnesses on my behalf in the presence of Mo’awiya.” Solaym ibn Qays said, “I have heard a similar account from Salman, Abu Tharr, al-Miqdad and Osamah who have heard this from God’s Prophet (s).