سعد بن عبد الله بن أبي خلف

I heard Abi Abdullah (a.s) say: “There is occultation for the Qaim before his reappearance.” I asked: “Why is it so?” He replied: “He is fearful.” And he pointed towards his belly, implying that the Qaim fears for his life. Then he said: “O Zurarah; and he is that awaited one and he is the one in whose birth they shall doubt. Thus some will say: His father died heirless and some will say: He was in the womb of his mother when his father died. Some others will allege that he was born two years before the passing away of his father. And he is the Awaited one; but the Almighty Allah likes to test the Shia. It is the time when people of falsehood will fall in doubts.” Zurarah says: I asked: “If I am able to live till that period, what action should I perform?” He replied: “O Zurarah if you live till that time you must recite the following supplication: ‘O Allah, introduce Yourself to me. For if You don’t introduce Yourself to me, I will not recognize Your Prophet…and so on.”

I said to Imam Musa Kadhim (a.s): Please permit me to ask you a question. Imam (a.s) said: Ask about Imamate. I asked: Who is your successor; because I don’t know any other Imam? Imam (a.s) replied: Ali, my son, whom I have given my agnomen (of Abul Hasan). I asked: My master, save me from Hell-fire and purify me, since Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) said that you are the Qaim on the matter of Imamate. Imam (a.s) replied: But I am not the Qaim in this matter. Then he said: O Hasan, every Imam who is the leader of the Ummah and the appointed one on the matter of Mastership (Wilayat) is his Qaim. And when he passes away, the one who is after him is the one raised up by the command of Allah and the Divine Proof (Hujjat) till the time the Qaim and Hujjat is concealed from the people. Hence, all of us are Qaim. Thus, just as you behave with us [and accept our Mastership (Wilayat)] same was done with my son, Ali. By Allah, I have not acted thus on my own [appointing the Imam after me] on the contrary, the Almighty Allah has done it according to His will.

“You should not stand to pray behind three people: an unfamiliar person; someone who ascribes certain boastful attributes to the Divine Leaders, even if he expresses the same beliefs as you do; and one who is corrupt even if he is not boastful about the Divine Leaders.”

Anyone in this nation who has recognized our right can hope to be saved but three: one who helps the oppressive King; one who follows his selfish desires; and one who engages in corrupt deeds in public.”

The worst times for man are three: the time at which the angel of death comes to take his life; the time at which he is risen out of the grave; and the time at which he shall stand before the Honorable the Exalted God to see whether he shall go to Paradise or be taken into Hell.” As-Sajjad (MGB) added, “O Children of Adam! If you are saved at the time of death, then you are saved. Else you shall be destroyed. If you are saved when you are being placed in the grave, then you are saved. Else you shall be destroyed. If you are saved when they are taking the people towards the Bridge , then you are saved. Else you shall be destroyed.”Then As-Sajjad (MGB) recited the following verse of the Holy Quran: ‘…Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up.’ Then As-Sajjad (MGB) added, “This Partition refers to the grave in which life is hard. I swear by God that the grave can be one of the gardens of Paradise or one of the ditches of Hell!” Then As-Sajjad (MGB) faced a man who was present there and said to him, “Indeed the Residents of the Heavens know the Residents of Paradise and the Residents of Hell! Which group do you belong to? With which of the two shall be your Final Abode?”

“I heard Abi Ja’far al-Baqir (MGB) say, ‘One is caught in between three things: calamities, destiny and blessings. It is incumbent upon him to be patient in the face of calamities sent from God. It is incumbent upon him to submit to the destiny determined for him by God. It is also incumbent upon him to be grateful for the blessings sent to him by the Honorable the Exalted God.”

There are three people with whom God shall not Speak to, Look upon, or Purify on the Resurrection Day. There shall be a great punishment for them. They are those who follow leaders whose leadership is not Divinely Ordained by God; those who deny the leadership of Divine Leaders whose Leadership is Divinely Ordained by God the Honorable the Exalted; and those who consider the previous two groups of people to be Muslims.”

Gabriel (MGB) descended down to me and said, ‘We - the angels - will not enter any house in which there is a dog or a statue or a vessel in which they pee.’”

Once I heard the Commander of the Faithful Ali (MGB) say, ‘Fear the following three people regarding your religion: One who has learned the Quran, but starts to fight with his neighbour and kills him with the excuse that he is an atheist as soon as the brightness of the Quran lights up his face.’I said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful! Who is more likely to be a polytheist?’ The Commander of the Faithful (MGB) replied, ‘The one who makes accusations; the one who reinforces what he says and restates the lies; and the man to whom God has granted the rule but considers being obeyed to be God’s obedience and being opposed to be opposition to God - such a person is a liar since neither disobedience to the Creator in obeying a creature is allowed nor is it proper for any created person to like another created person in disobedience to God. You should not obey him in acts of disobedience to God. Obedience is for God, His Messenger and the Trustees in charge of the Affairs. Indeed the Honorable the Exalted God has ordered us to obey His Messenger, since he is pure and immaculate and would not order us to do acts of disobedience. God has also ordered us to obey the Trustees in charge of the Affairs since they are pure and immaculate and would not order us to do acts of disobedience to God.’”

I take God as a witness that I went to see your mother (the Blessed Lady) Fatima during the lifetime of God’s Prophet (s) to congratulate her upon the birth of Al-Hussein (s). Then I saw a green tablet in her hand which I thought to be emeralds. In it there were white writings which were as brilliant as sunshine. I told her, ‘O daughter of God’s Prophet (s)! May my mother and father be your ransom! What is this tablet?’ She (s) replied, ‘This is a tablet which God the Exalted the Sublime has bestowed upon His Messenger (s). In it there are the names of my father, my husband, my two sons, and the names of the Trustees from my progeny. My father (s) gave it to me to make me happy.’ Jabir added, ‘Then your mother (the Blessed Lady) Fatima gave it to me. I read it and wrote down a copy of it.’”Then Imam As-Sadiq (s) added, “My father (s) asked, ‘O Jabir! Can you show it to me?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ Then my father accompanied him to Jabir’s house where Jabir brought a sheet made of skin for my father and said, ‘I take God as a witness that this is what I saw written on that tablet, ‘In the Name of God the Beneficent, the Merciful. This is a writing from God the Honored the Wise to Muhammad - His Light, His Messenger and His Veil, and His Reason which has been descended upon him by the Trustworthy Spirit from the Lord of the Two Worlds. O Muhammad! Exalt My Names. Be grateful for My Blessings. Do not deny. Indeed I am God. There are no gods other than Me. I am the Defeater of the Tyrants, the Humiliator of the Oppressors! The Owner of the Religion. Indeed I am God. There are no gods other than Me. I will punish whoever places hopes in others but Me or fears things other thanMy Chastisement in such a way that no one in the Two Worlds has been punished. Thus worship Me alone, and rely only on Me. Whenever I appoint a Prophet and his time ends I appoint a Trustee for him. I have made you superior over the other Prophets, and have made your Trustee (The first Divine Leader) superior over the other Prophet’s Trustees. I have honored you with two lion cubs after him - your two grandsons Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein. I have established Al-Hassan (The second Divine Leader) as the Treasure-Mine of My Knowledge after the expiration of the term of his father. I have established Al-Hussein (The second Divine Leader) as the storehouse of My Revelations. I have honored him with the Martyrdom, and have perfected Prosperity for him. He is the noblest of the martyrs. He holds the highest rank of the martyrs near Me. And I have entrusted him with My Perfect Word, and I have left the Complete Proof near him. I give rewards and chastisements by his kinship - the first of whom is Ali (The fourth Divine Leader)- the Master of the Worshippers and the adornment of the previous Trustees. His son (Muhammad) - the praised one - is like his grandfather. He is Muhammad Al-Baqir - the analyzer of My Knowledge and the Treasure House of My Wisdom. Those who doubt Ja’far will be destroyed. Whoever rejects him has indeed rejected Me. I say the right thing. I highly honor Ja’far (The sixth Divine Leader). I will make him happy regarding his followers, companions and friends. I have appointed Musa (The seventh Divine Leader) after him. After him there will be a short period of dark sedition, although there will not be a breach of Divine Leadership. My Proof will not remain hidden and the Trustees will not suffer. Beware that whoever denies any of them has indeed denied Me. Whoever changes any of the verses of My Book has indeed ascribed lies to Me. Woe be to those who ascribe lies and those who deny! Whoever denies the eighth (Divine Leader Al-Ridha) after the duration of the Leadership of Musa - My Servant, Friend and Appointed One - is over, has indeed denied all My Trustees. Ali is My Trustee and Helper. He is the one on whose shoulders I will place the burden of Prophethood and grant him power. A haughty wicked fellow (al-Ma’mun) will murder him and bury him in a town that is established by a good servant next to My worst creature. I say the right thing. I will make him happy by his successor after him Muhammad (The ninth Divine Leader) - his son. He is the inheritor of My Knowledge and the Treasure-house of My Wisdom. He is the site of My Secrets and My Proof for My creatures. Ihave established Heaven as his place and have accepted his intercession on behalf of seventy members of his family who have all become sure to burn in the Fire. And I will end the affairs of his son Ali (The tenth Divine Leader) - My Trustee and Helper, a Witness over My creatures, and My Entrusted with My Revelations - with prosperity. I will bring about Al-Hassan (The eleventh Divine Leader) from him - a caller to My Path and the Treasure-house of My Knowledge. Then I will complete Divine Leadership with his son (The twelfth Divine Leader)- Mercy for the people of the two Worlds. He will possess the Perfection of Moses, the Illumination of Jesus, and the Patience of Jacob. My friends will be belittled during his time. Their heads will be given to others as gifts like the heads of the Turks and the Daylams (Who were opposed to Islam) were. They will be killed and burnt. They will be in fear. The Earth will turn red from their shed blood. Their women will cry and mourn. They are truly My friends. I will fend off all oppressive seditions by them. I will fend off any earthquakes by them. I will eliminate any hardships and burdens by them. They are the ones on whom is the Blessings and Mercy from their Lord. They are the guided ones.’”Abdurrahman ibn Salim said that Abu Basir said, “If you had not even heard any traditions in all your life, just this one is enough for you. Therefore, guard it from all but those for whom it is meant.”

Ali, Al-Hassan, Al-Hussein, nine of the progeny of Al-Hussein and I are the Pure, the Immaculate.”

“One of the elders of the Qatia al-Rabee’ who is an honest Sunni told me that he has seen one of the Members of the Holy Household whom the people confess to be noble. He said that he has not seen anyone like him in nobility regarding piety and worshipping.” Hassan ibn Muhammad asked, “Who do you mean? How did you find him?” He replied, “There were eighty of us who gathered around As-Sandi ibn Shahak. Then he brought in Musa ibn Ja’far (s). As-Sandi told us, “Look at this man. Has anything been done to him? The people think that something wrong has been done to him. They say a lot of these things. This is his house. This is his seat where he is comfortable. The Commander of the Faithful (Harun) does not have any bad intentions regarding him (s). He is waiting for him to go there and converse with each other. Look at him. He is perfectly healthy. Ask him.” The narrator added, “The Imam (s) said, “Regarding my convenience, he is right.However, I want to let you know that I have been poisoned with nine dates. My body will turn green tomorrow and I will die the following morning.” The narrator added, “Then I looked at As-Sandi ibn Shahak. His body was shaking like a willow tree.” Al-Hassan ibn Muhammad says, “This Sunni man was one of the pious Sunnis. He was an elder whose words were accepted, and he was trusted by the people.”

“I swear by God that Musa ibn Ja’far (s) was extremely intelligent. He knew those who will stop believing in Divine Leadership after him, and not accept the next Divine Leaders. However, he (s) quenched his anger and did not divulge what he (s) knew about them. That is why he (s) is called ’Kadhim.“

Do you want me to teach you something on this issue so that you never have any differences with each other and can defeat anyone who argues with you about them?” We said, “If you please.” The Imam (s) said, “The Sublime God will not be worshipped bycompulsion. He will not be disobeyed through being overcome. He has not left His servants alone in His Dominion. He is the Owner of whatever they possess. He is Powerful over whatever He has empowered them to do. If the servants decide to obey Him, God will not prevent them from doing so. If the servants decide to disobey Him, He will prevent them from doing so if He wills. But if He does not do so, and they do their acts of disobedience, it is not Him who has made them commit sins.” Then the Imam (s) added, “Whoever adheres to the limits set by these words will never be defeated in any opposing arguments.”

We have come to ask you three questions. If you give us the answer to all three questions, then we will know that you are a scientist.’ The Imam (s) said, ‘Go ahead and ask.’ They said, ‘Let us know where the Sublime God is? How is He? What does He rely on?’ The Imam (s) replied, ‘The Sublime God has created the quality of how to be Himself. Therefore, He Himself has no quality of being, and this question does not apply to Him. He has created positions. Thus He is not in need of a place to be. He relies on His Might.’ They said, ‘We testify that you are a scientist.’”The author of this book (Sheikh Sadooq) said, “When the Imam (s) said that God relies on His Might, he (s) meant that God relies on Himself since Might is amongst the essential attributes of Allah, the High.”

God will not bring to the Pool anyone who does not believe in my Pool. God will not let anyone who does not believe in my intercession to benefit from it.” Then theProphet (s) said, “My intercession applies to those of my nation who commit major sins. As for the good doers, they do not even deserve to be questioned.”Al-Hussein ibn Khalid added, “I asked Al-Ridha (s), ‘O son of the Prophet of God! What does the following Words of the Honorable the Exalted ‘…and they offer no intercession except for those who are acceptable…’ mean?’”Then the Imam (s) said, “This means that they will not intercede on behalf of anyone unless God accepts their religion.”The author said, “A believer is one whose good deeds make him happy and whose bad deeds make him upset since the Prophet (s) said, “Anyone whose good deeds pleases him and whose evil deeds upsets him is a believer. Whenever he gets upset about his bad deeds he becomes sorry. Becoming sorry is the same as repenting. One who repents deserves intercession and forgiveness. Whoever does not get upset about his evil deeds is not a believer. One who is not a believer does not deserve my intercession, since God does not accept his religion.”

There are two sides to your question. If you are asking about the creatures, then a munificent servant is one who performs the obligatory deeds, while a miser is someone who is miserly in performing what the Sublime God has made incumbent upon him. Butif you are asking about the Creator you should know that He is the Munificent whether He gives or not. That is because if He grants something to His servant, He has granted him what does not belong to him, and if He holds something back from His servant, that servant has no rights to it.’”

“On the Resurrection Day God’s Prophet (s) will grab onto the Sublime God, we will grab onto our Prophet and our followers will grab onto us.” Then the Imam (s) added, “What is meant by ‘grab onto’ is grabbing onto light.” In another tradition it is stated “What is meant by ‘grab onto’ is grabbing onto the religion.”

“One who condoles a person afflicted by calamity, will get reward equal to the latter while the reward of the latter won’t be reduced.”

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said to me: O ‘Abd Al-Malik! Do not neglect going to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain ibn ‘Ali (a.s.) and order your friends to go to his Ziyārah, (because by going to his Ziyārah) Allāh will prolong your life, increase your sustenance, allow you to live a life of bliss and die a blissful death, as well as register you among the blissful ones.