عمر أبو حفص الرماني

I was in the presence of abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) that abu al-Hassan Musa (a.s.) came and he was a young boy. I held and kissed him. Abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) said, “You are the ark and he is the captain.” The narrator has said that he wen to perform Hajj next year and I had two thousand Dinars. I sent one thousand toabu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) and one thousand to him (abu al-Hassan). When went to see abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) he said, “You have considered him equal to me.” I said, “I did so because of your words.” He then said, “I swear by Allah, I did not do so, in fact, Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, has done it for him (abu al-Hassan Musa (a.s.).”

The Messenger of Allah (s) advised `Ali b. Abi Talib (as), saying: O `Ali! When the bride enters your house, then take off her footwear when she sits, and wash her feet. Sprinkle the water from the door of your house to the furthest part of your house, for if you do that, Allah will remove seventy types of poverty from your house, and put seventy types of blessings therein, and send down seventy mercies that flutter on the head of the bride, until all her blessings are placed in every corner of your house. It will protect the bride from being afflicted with insanity and leprosy as long as she resides in that house. During her [menstrual] week, prevent her from [consuming] milk, vinegar, coriander, and sour apple – these four things. So, `Ali (as) said: O Messenger of Allah! For what reason should I prevent her from these four things? He said: Because the womb becomes sterile and cold from these four things; and a mattress at the end of the house is better than a sterile woman. So, `Ali (as) said: O Messenger of Allah! Why would vinegar be prevented? He said: When she menstruates upon [eating] vinegar, she will never become fully purified. Coriander moves the menstrual blood in her stomach (or insides) and intensifies childbirth for her. Sour apple cuts her menstruation short, which will ail her. Then, he said: O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your woman at the beginning of a month, in its middle, or at its end, or else insanity, leprosy, and dementia will hasten to her and her child. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your woman after Dhuhr, for if you are apportioned with a child in that time, it will have a deformed eye, and Satan becomes happy with deformity in humanity. O `Ali! Do not speak during intercourse, for if you are apportioned with a child at that time, he will not be protected from muteness. None of you should look at the private of his woman; lower your gaze during intercourse, for looking at the private bequeaths blindness in the child. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your woman while lusting after a wife of someone else, for I fear that, if you are apportioned with a child in that time, it will be effeminate (mukhannath), feminine, and disgraceful. O `Ali! He who is sexually impure in a bed with his woman should not recite the Quran, for I fear that a fire will descend upon them from the sky and burn them. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your woman except that you have a covering and that your wife has a covering. Do not have intercourse under a single covering, or the desire will fall, and that will bequeath enmity between you, and that will lead you to separation and divorce. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your woman while standing, for that is from the actions of donkeys; and if you are apportioned with a child in that time, it will urinate in the bed just as donkeys urinate in all places. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your woman on the eve of [Eid] al-Fitr, for if you are apportioned with a child in that time, that child will be of much evil. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your woman on the eve of [Eid] al-Adha, for if you are apportioned with a child in that time, it will have six fingers or four fingers. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your woman under a fruitful tree, for if you are apportioned with a child in that time, it will be an executioner, a killer, or a military man. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your wife in the sunshine without a barrier that covers both of you, for if you are apportioned with a child in that time, it will remain in poverty until it dies. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse between the adhan and the iqama, for if you are apportioned with a child in that time, it will be too afraid to shed blood [in the battlefield]. O `Ali! When you woman becomes pregnant, do not have intercourse with her unless you are upon ablution, otherwise if you are apportioned with a child, it will be blind of heart and stingy of hands. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your wife in the middle of Sha`ban, for if you are apportioned with a child, it will have a blemish on its face. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your wife at its end – when two days remain of it – for if you are apportioned with a child, it will be a tax collector or a supporter of a tyrant; and the destruction of a people will be on its hands. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your wife on the roofs of buildings, for if you are apportioned with a child, it will be a hypocrite, a charlatan, and an innovator. O `Ali! When you are going out on a journey, do not have intercourse with your wife on that night, for if you are apportioned with a child, it will be one who spends his money unjustly – and the Messenger (s) recited, “Surely, the wasteful are the brethren of the devils.” (17:27) O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your wife in the day or the night of a three-day journey, for if you are apportioned with a child, it will be a supporter of all who oppress you. O `Ali! Betake to having intercourse on the eve of Monday, for if you are apportioned with a child, it will be one who memorized the Book of Allah and is pleased with what Allah has given him. O `Ali! If you have intercourse with your wife on the eve of Tuesday, and you are apportioned with a child, he will be granted martyrdom after bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammadan is the Messenger of Allah; and Allah will not punish it with the pagans, it will have a sweet mouth, a merciful heart, a generous hand, an a tongue that is purified of backbiting, lying, and false accusations. O `Ali! If you have intercourse with your wife on the eve of Thursday and you are apportioned with a child, it will be a ruler or a scholar. If you have intercourse with her on Thursday after the Sun reaches its zenith in the sky and you are apportioned with a child, Satan will not approach him until he greys and understands, and Allah will grant him peace in the religion and in this world. O `Ali! If you have intercourse with her on the eve of Friday, and a child is born to you, it will be a preacher and speaker. If you have intercourse with her on Friday after `Asr, and a child is apportioned for you, it will be recognized, prominent, and knowledgeable. If you have intercourse with her on the eve of Friday after the final `Isha’, then it is hopeful that you will have a child from the Abdal, God-willingly. O `Ali! Do not have intercourse with your wife in the first hour of the night, for if you are apportioned with a child, there is no protection from it becoming a sorcerer preferring this world over the Hereafter. O `Ali! Preserve this advice of mine, just as I have preserved it on behalf of Gabriel (s).

I entered into the place of Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, while he was in the mosque, sitting alone, so I took profit from his solitude. He then said to me: O Abu Dharr, indeed, there is a salutation to the mosque. Then I said: And what is its salutation? He said: Two rak’a’s that you perform. He then turned to me, and I said: O Messenger of Allah, you have, indeed, ordered me to pray, so what is the prayer? He said: The best of places, hence, the one who wants may do less, and the one who wants may do more. He said: I said: Which of acts is the most beloved to Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He? He said: Faith in Allah and striving for His sake. I said: Then which of the believers has the most complete faith? He said: Those of them with the best mannerisms. I said: And which of the believers are the best? He said: The one whom Muslims are at safety from his tongue and hand. I said: And which part of the night is the best? He said: The core of the bygone night. I said: And which prayer is the best? He said: The prolonged qunut. I said: And which charity is the best? He said: (To spend) Effort from one destitute to a poor in secret. I said: And what is fasting? He said: A rewarding obligation, and with Allah are many multiples (of it). I said: And which of the necks (in captivity) is the best? He said: That which is of most expensive price, and which is most valuable to its people. I said: And what striving is the best? He said: The one in which one’s horse is slaughtered and one’s blood is shed. Then I said: And which verse whom Allah sent down upon you is the greatest? He said: The verse of the Chair. Then he said: O Abu Dharr, the Heavens are not, as compared to the Chair, except like a small ring thrown into an open land, and the preference of the Throne over the Chair is like preference of the open land over that small ring. I said: O Messenger of Allah, how many are the Prophets? He said: A hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets. I said: How many are the Messengers among them? He said: Three hundred and thirteen, a numerous abundance. I said: Who was the first of the Prophets? He said: Adam. I said: And was he, from among the Prophets, a Messenger? He said: Yes, Allah created him with His Hand and blew into him from His Spirit. Then he said: O Abu Dharr, four of the Prophets were Syriac: Adam, Sheeth , Akhnoukh , that is Idrees, peace be upon him, and he was the first to write with the pen, and Nuh . And they were four from the Arabs: Hud, Saleh, Shu’ayb and your Prophet, Muhammed. The first Prophet from the sons of Isra’eel was Musa , and the last of them was Isa , and six hundred Prophets. I said: O Messenger of Allah, how many Books did Allah, Exalted is He, send down? He said: A hundred and four books. Allah, Exalted is He, sent down fifty Journals unto Sheeth, peace be upon him, and thirty Journals upon Idrees, and twenty Journals upon Ibrahim, and He sent down the Tawrat , Injeel , Zabour and the Criterion [1]. I said: O Messenger of Allah, and what were the Journals of Ibrahim? He said: They were proverbs, all of them: «O possession that is trialed and lured, indeed, I have not sent you that you might gather this world, some of it above another. However, I have sent you in order that you might respond, on behalf of Me, to the prayer of the oppressed, for indeed, I will not reject it, even if it may be from a disbeliever. Moreover, it is upon the rational, unless his sense of sanity is subjugated, that he has (made for himself) certain hours: an hour in which he confidentially talks to his Lord, Exalted and Glorious is He; an hour in which he puts himself in reckoning; an hour in which he thinks of what Allah, Exalted is He, has done; and an hour in which he secludes himself to (gain) a portion of his right from what is permissible, and indeed, this hour is an assistance to those hours and a relaxation to the hearts and an unloading of them. Moreover, it is upon the rational to be insightful in his age, moving forward upon his matter, preserving to his tongue, for indeed, the one who calculates his speech from his act, his speech will lessen, except for that which concerns him. Moreover, it is upon the rational that he seeks three: a means of amends for livelihood; a means of increasement for the revival; and pleasure in other than what is forbidden.» I said: O Messenger of Allah, and what were the Journals of Musa? He said: They were lessons, all of them: «I am amazed at the one who is certain of death, how can he rejoice? And of the one who is certain of the Fire, why does he smile? And the one who sees this world and its change with its people, why does he seek confidence to it? And the one who is certain of destiny, why does he strive excessively? And of the one who is certain of the Reckoning, why does he not act?» I said: O Messenger of Allah, is there in our hands from what Allah, Exalted is He, has sent down unto you, of that which was in the Journals of Ibrahim and Musa? He said: O Abu Dharr, recite: «Certainly, he has succeeded, the one who gives the alms tax, and mentions the Name of his Lord and prays. Rather, you are preferring the life of this world, whereas the Hereafter is better and more remaining? Indeed, this is, verily, in the first Journals, the Journals of Ibrahim and Musa.» (87:14-19) I said: O Messenger of Allah, bequeath to me. He said: I bequeath you to (establish) fear of Allah, for indeed, it is the head of the matter, all of it. I said: Increase me. He said: It is upon you to recite the Qur’an and to mention Allah in abundance, for indeed, it is (a cause to) mentioning of you in Heaven and a light for you on earth. I said: Increase me. He said: It is upon you to prolong silence, for indeed, it is (a means of) expelling devils and an assistance to you for the matters of your religion. I said: Increase me. He said: Beware from much laughing, for indeed, it causes the heart to die. I said: Increase me. He said: It is upon you to love the needy and sit with them. I said: Increase me. He said: Say the truth, even if it is bitter. I said: Increase me. He said: Do not fear, for the sake of Allah, the blame of a blamer. I said: Increase me. He said: Let yourself be constrained from people due to what you know about yourself, and do not find upon people (in search for blemish) in that which you do. He then said: It is sufficient for an individual’s blemish that there are three traits in him: that he knows about people that which he is unaware of (that he possesses) himself; that he is embarrassed to them from that which he himself is in; and that he harms the one he sits with by that which does not concern him. He then said: O Abu Dharr, there is no awareness like reflection; no piety like abstention; and no nobility like good mannerisms.