داود بن القاسم

I presented the book “Yawm wa Layla” of Yunus to Abi Muhammad al-Askari عليه السلام, so he said to me: who authored this? I said: it has been authored by Yunus the client of the family of Yaqtin, he said: may Allah give him for every letter a light on the day of judgment.

I presented the book “Yawm wa Layla” of Yunus to Abi Muhammad al-Askari عليه السلام, so he said to me: who authored this? I said: it has been authored by Yunus the client of the family of Yaqtin, he said: may Allāh give him for every letter a light on the day of judgment.

“I used to eat lunch with Abal Hassan Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). Sometimes he (a.s.) spoke to some of his servants in Slavic and Persian (Farsi) languages. Sometimes I sent my servant who spoke Persian to the Imam (a.s.) and Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) knew Persian. Sometimes it became difficult for the servants to understand Persian. Then the Imam (a.s.) used to explain things for them himself.

O Commander of the Faithful! I will ask you about three things. If you give me the right answers then I will know that your tribe has something done to you for which they will neither be safe in this world, nor will they be secure in the Hereafter. But if not, I will know that you and the rest are the same.”Then the Commander of the Faithful (s) told him, “Ask me whatever you wish.” He asked, “Inform me about where a man’s soul goes when he goes to sleep, how a man remembers and forgets, and how one’s child looks like his uncles or aunts.”Then the Commander of the Faithful (s) turned to Aba Muhammad Al-Hassan ibn Ali (s) and said, “O Aba Muhammad! Answer him.”Then Al-Hassan (s) said, “Regarding your question about where a man’s soul goes when he sleeps, the soul is associated with the wind, and the wind is associated with the air as long as the owner of the soul does not move. If the Sublime God permits that the soul be returned to its owner, the soul will attract the wind and pull it towards itself. And the wind will attract the air. Thus the soul will return and reside in the body of its owner. However, if the Honorable the Exalted God does not permit that the soul be returned to its owner, then the air will absorb the wind, and the wind will absorb the soul. Then the soul will not return to its owner until the Resurrection time.And regarding what you asked about remembering and forgetting, there is a cavity in a man’s heart over which there is a plate. When a man perfectly expresses that “Blessings be Upon Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad”, this plate will be removed from that cavity. Then the heart will be illuminated and man will remember what he had forgotten. However, if he does not express that ‘Blessings be Upon Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad’, or imperfectly expresses the blessings upon them, this plate will totally cover that cavity. Then the heart will be in darkness and man will forget what he had remembered.And regarding what you asked about a baby that looks like his aunts or uncles I should say that when a man goes to his wife and has intercourse with her with a calm heart, tranquil hereditary disposition, and an unagitated body, the sperm will enter the uterus and a child who will look like his parents will be formed. However, if he goes to her with a heart that is not calm, a hereditary disposition that is not tranquil and an agitated body, then the sperm will be agitated. When the sperm gets agitated, it will land on some of the other family lines which may be related to his lineage from his aunts or uncles. Then once the sperm falls off on one of the other family lines from the lineage of his uncles, the child will look like one of his uncles. But if the sperm falls on one of the other family lines from the lineage of his aunts, the child will look like one of his aunts.Then the man said, “I bear witness that there is no god but God. I believed in this before. And I bear witness that Muhammad is God’s Messenger. I believed in this before.And I bear witness that you are the Trustee of His Messenger, and you are the Riser to His Proof.” (He was pointing to the Commander of the Faithful when he said this.) I believed in this before.And I bear witness that you are his Trustee and the Riser to His Proof after him. He was pointing to Al-Hassan when he said this.And I bear witness that Al-Hussein ibn Ali is the Trustee of your father and the Riser to His Proof after you.And I bear witness that Ali ibn Al-Hussein is in charge of the affairs of Al-Hussein after him.And I bear witness that Muhammad ibn Ali is in charge of the affairs of Ali ibn Al-Hussein after him.And I bear witness that Ja’far ibn Muhammad is in charge of the affairs of Muhammad ibn Ali after him.And I bear witness that Musa ibn Ja’far is in charge of the affairs of Ja’far ibn Muhammad after him.And I bear witness that Ali ibn Musa is in charge of the affairs of Musa ibn Ja’far after him.And I bear witness that Muhammad ibn Ali is in charge of the affairs of Ali ibn Musa after him.And I bear witness that Ali ibn Muhammad is in charge of the affairs of Muhammad ibn Ali, and I bear witness that Al-Hassan ibn Ali is in charge of the affairs of Ali ibn Muhammad.And I bear witness that a man from the offspring of Al-Hassan ibn Ali whose name and nickname we are not permitted to mention until he Rises will be in charge of the affairs of Al-Hassan ibn Ali. When he rises, he will fill the Earth with justice while it has been filled with oppression. O Commander of the Faithful! Peace, God’s Mercy and His Blessings be upon you.” Then he stood up and left.Then the Commander of the Faithful (s) said, “O Aba Muhammad! Follow him and see where he wants to go.” Then Al-Hassan (s) went after him. Al-Hassan (s) said, “As soon as he left the mosque, I did not see him. It was as if the Honorable the Exalted God had removed him from the Earth! I returned to the Commander of the Faithful (s) and informed him about that.”He (s) asked, “O Aba Muhammad! Did you recognize him?”I said, “O Commander of the Faithful! The Sublime God, His Messenger and the Commander of the Faithful know best.” The Commander of the Faithful (s) said, “He was al-Khidhr (s).”

When Ja’far ibn Abi Talib - may God be pleased with him - returned from Ethiopia where he had migrated to, it coincided with the conquering of Khaybar. The Prophet (MGB) stood up in front of him, kissed him on the forehead and said, ‘I do not know what has pleased me more? Is it the return of Ja’far or is it the conquering of Khaybar by God.’”(The compiler of the book said,) ‘I have narrated the traditions in this regard in the book Faza’el Ja’far ibn Abi Talib.

“I heard abu al-Hassan (a.s.) saying, ‘The succeeding (Imam) after me will be al-Hassan. How will your dealing be with the succeeding (Imam) of the succeeding (Imam)?” I then said, “Why will that be so, may Allah take my souls in service for your cause?” He said, “You will not see him in person. It will not lawful for you to pronounce his name.” I then asked, “How then will we speak of him?” He said, “Say, ‘The Divine Authority from the family of Muhammad (s.a).”

“I heard abu al-Hassan al-‘Skari (a.s.) saying, ‘The succeeding Imam after me will be al-Hassan (a.s.). How will it be for you in the case of the succeeding Imam after the Imam succeeding myself?” I then asked, “ May Allah take my souls in service for your cause, why will that be so?” The Imam (a.s.) said, “You will not see his person and it will not be permissible for you to mention his name.” I then asked, “How then will we speak of him?” The Imam (a.s.) said, “Say, al-Hujja, (th Leader with Divine Authority) from the family of Muhammad (s.a).”

I was with Abul Hasan Askari [Imam Hadi] at the time when his son, Abu Ja’far passed away, Imam (a.s) pointed to him emphatically so that we may see his son, who had passed away. I said to myself: This is just how it happened in the case of Abu Ibrahim [Imam Kadhim (a.s)] and Ismail Ibn Ja’far that when Ismail passed away, Imam Sadiq (a.s) publicly announced his death, so that no one may claim that Ismail or his descendants are Imams. Thus Imam Hadi (a.s) came to me and said: Yes, Aba Hashim, change of destiny occurred (Bada) with regard to Abu Ja’far and Almighty Allah replaced him with Abu Muhammad as He did in the case of Ismail, son of Imam Sadiq (a.s), after Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) had declared him to be the Imam after him and appointed him as his successor; just as you said to yourself, although it would be displeasing to the followers of falsehood, my son, Abu Muhammad is my successor and he is having all that which the Shia society is in need of and he is having the distinctive signs of Imamate, by the grace of God.

I heard `Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (AS) that “He who compares Allah with His creation is an infidel and he who limits Him spatially is an unbeliever. And he who attributes to Him what is forbidden is a liar.” Then he (AS) recited this verse: Only they forge the lie who do not believe in Allah’s communications, and these are the liars.

“I mentioned the words of Allah , ‘No mortal eyes can see Him, but He can see all eyes. He is All-kind and All-aware.’ (6:103) to Imam abu Ja’far (a.s.). He said, “O abu Hashim, Awham (mentioned above) of hearts are keener and sharper than the perceptions of the eyes. Through the Awham of the heart you can perceive countries like Sind, Hind (India) and other cities which you have never seen with your eyes. How can your eyes see Him when the Awham of your heart cannot perceive Him?”

“Once I went to see abu Ja‘far (a.s.) and I had a few questions on three pieces of materials with proper markings and they were mixed as such that I could not distinguish. I felt sad. He picked one and said, “This is the letter of Ziyad ibn Shabib.” Then he picked up the other one and said, “.This is the letter of so and so.” I became awe struck. He looked at me and smiled.” The narrator has said that the Imam (a.s.) then gave me three hundred Dinars and asked me to deliver them to the certain persons of the sons of his uncle and said, “He will ask you to show him a professional person who would help him to buy goods, help show him one.” The narrator has said that I then went to him and gave him the Dinars and asked me, “O abu Hashim, can you show me a professional person who would help me to buy goods.” I said, “Yes, I can do so.” The narrator has said that a camel man asked me to speak on his behalf to abu Ja‘far (a.s.) to take part in certain matters of his affairs. I went to see him (abu Ja‘far (a.s.) to speak to him but he was having meal with a group of people and I did not get a chance to speak to him. He (abu Ja‘far (a.s.) said, “O abu Hashim, eat. He placed food before me. Then he said, initiating and without any question from me, “O slave, take good care of the camel-man that abu Hashim has brought for us. Keep him with you.” The narrator has said that one day I entered a garden along with him and said, “May Allah take my soul in service for your cause, I am addicted to eating fig. Pray to Allah for me.” He was quite and then after three day on his own initiation he said, “O abu Hashim, “Allah has removed your addiction.” Ever since it is the thing that I hate most.”

I was with Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) when he said: When the Qaim (a.s) stages an uprising he will order razing of the minarets and maqsoorahs of mosques. I (the narrator) said: I wondered what it denoted. The Imam turned to me and said: It means that all these are innovations. Neither were they sanctioned by the Prophet nor his true successors.

“I asked Imam abu Ja‘far al-Thani (the 2nd (a.s.), ‘May Allah take my soul in your service, what is the meaning of the word al-Samad?’” The Imam replied, al-Samad means the Lord to Who one turns for help, big or small.”

I said to Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him: May I be sacrificed for you, what is al-Samad? He said: The Master to which one remains firm, during the less and the more (fortunate).

I asked him about Yunus so he said: the client of the family of Yaqtin? I said: Yes. He said to me: May Allah have mercy on Him, he was a righteous servant.

When Fatima, peace be upon her, gave birth to Hasan, she brought him to the Prophet and he named him Hasan, and when she gave birth to Hussain, she brought him to him and said: O Messenger of Allah, he is better than him. So he named him Hussain.

he heard Imam Reza (a.s) say: “Whoever compares God to His creatures is a polytheist. And whoever supposes that God is in a given place is an unbeliever. Whoever associates with God what He has admonished against is a liar.” Then Imam Reza (a.s) recited this verse: “It is those who believe not in the Signs of God that forge falsehood: It is they who lie.” [The Holy Quran: the Bee 16:105]

I asked Abu Ja`far al-Baqir (AS): “May I be your ransom! What is the meaning of the Needless [al-Samad]?” He (AS) answered: “He is the Master on whom all depend in major and minor.”

“O Amirul Mo’mineen, I want to ask you three questions.” Amirul Mo’mineen said: “Ask whatever you like.” The man said: “Would you tell me if man sleeps where his soul goes to? How does man remember and forget? How do man’s children look like their uncles; their father’s brothers and mother’s brothers?” Amirul Mo’mineen (as) turned to his son al-Hasan (as) and said to him: “O Abu Muhammad, answer him!” Imam al-Hasan (as) said to the man: “As for your question that when man sleeps whereto his soul goes, his soul is hanging in the air until he moves during his wake, so when Allah permits that that soul is to go back to the body, the soul attracts the air to settle in its body but if Allah does not permit that soul to get back to that body, the air will attract the soul away from the body until the Day of Resurrection. But as for what you asked about remembering and forgetting, the heart of man has been created to comply with the truth and there is a cover on the truth. If he prays Allah to have blessing upon Muhammad and his family in a perfect way, that cover will be removed from upon the truth and the heart will shine then one will remember what he has forgotten but if he does not pray Allah to have blessing upon Muhammad and his family or his prayer is imperfect, the cover will get closed on the truth and the heart will be dark and then he will forget what he has remembered. As about a newborn baby that looks like the uncles, if a man goes to bed with his wife with calm heart, tranquil nerves and undisturbed body, his sperm will settle inside the womb and the baby will looks like either its father or its mother. If a man goes to bed with his wife with upset heart, unquiet nerves and disturbed body, the sperm also will upset and fall on some veins. If it falls on a vein of the father’s brothers, the baby will look like the father’s brothers and if it falls on a vein of the mother’s brothers, the baby will look like the mother’s brothers.” The man said: “I witness that there is no god but Allah and I will keep on that. I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and I will keep on that. (He pointed to Imam Ali (as) with his hand and said) I witness that you are the guardian of the messenger of Allah and the successor of his authority and I will keep on it. (He pointed to Imam al-Hasan (as) and said) I witness that you are his guardian and the successor of his authority and I will keep on it. I witness that al-Husayn bin Ali is his (al-Hasan’s) guardian and the successor of his authority and I will keep on that. I witness that Ali bin al-Husayn is the guardian of al-Husayn. I witness that Muhammad bin Ali is the guardian of Ali bin al-Husayn. I witness that Ja’far is the guardian of Muhammad (bin Ali). I witness that Musa is the guardian of Ja’far. I witness that Ali (bin Musa) is the guardian of Musa. I witness that Muhammad (bin Ali bin Musa) is the guardian of Ali (bin Musa). I witness that Ali (bin Muhammad) is the guardian of Muhammad. I witness that al-Hasan is the guardian of Ali and I witness that a man from among the offspring of al-Husayn, who is not named or surnamed until he appears by the will of Allah to spread justice allover the earth after it has been filled with injustice and oppression, is the guardian of al-Hasan bin Ali. Peace, mercy and blessing of Allah be upon you, O Amirul Mo’mineen.” Then he left. Then Amirul Mo’mineen said to Imam al-Hasan: “O Abu Muhammad, follow after him and see where he goes to!” Imam al-Hasan said: “I followed after him, but since he put his leg out of the gate of the mosque I could not know where he disappeared. I came back and told Amirul Mo’mineen (as). He said to me: “O Abu Muhammad, do you know who he is?” I said: “No, Allah, His messenger and Amirul Mo’mineen are more aware.” He said: “He is al-Khidr (as).”

I asked Abu Ja`far ibn al-Rida (AS) about: Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision. Hence, he replied: O Abu Hashim! The imagination of mind is more precise than the vision of the eyes. You may imagine Sind, India, the towns which you have not visited, and which you have not seen with your eyes. Thus, if imagination cannot comprehend Him, how can the eyes?”