محمد بن سنان

“If there are no people on the earth except two men, one of them must be al-Hujjah (Imam al-Mahdi).”

“The rule of Bani so-and-so will continue till a fixed time. When they get peace and security they will think that their kingdom will never decline. Meanwhile, suddenly a divine command will arrive and no king will be able to remain in power. Thus the Almighty Allah says: “…until when the earth puts on its golden raiment and it becomes garnished, and its people think that they have power over it, Our command comes to it, by night or by day, so We render it as reaped seed-produce, as though it had not been in existence yesterday; thus do We make clear the communications for a people who reflect.” (10:24) The narrator says: I said: May I be your ransom, is some time fixed for the arrival of divine command? He replied: No, because the knowledge of Allah dominates the knowledge of those who fix the time. The Almighty Allah promised thirty nights to Prophet Musa (a.s) and then increased ten nights; but neither Prophet Musa (a.s) was aware of it, nor Bani Israel. Thus when the time expired, they said that Prophet Musa (a.s) has deceived us; and began to worship the calf. Hence, when famine and deprivation increases and people begin to deny each other, you should expect the arrival of divine command day and night.”

“You stretch your heads towards any one of us and say: It is he (our man). And Allah makes them (the imams) die one after the other until He sends for this matter one, whom you do not know whether he is born or not or whether he is created yet or not.”

“Whenever you turn your eyes toward a man and say that it is he (the man of this matter), he goes to the better world until Allah sends one, whom you do not know whether he has been created yet or not.”

Imam Riďā (a.s.) said: Establishing one prayer alone in the Mosque of Kūfah has more value than establishing seventy congregational prayers in any other mosque.

Yazid b. Qa`nab said: I was sitting with al-`Abbas b. `Abd al-Muttalib and a party of the tribe of `Abd al `Uzza were near the Sacred House of Allah when Fatima bt. Asad, the mother of Amir al-Mu’minin (as), who was nine months pregnant and overtaken by labour pains, approached. She said: My Lord! Surely, I am a believer in You and in what has come from You of the messengers and the books. And I am a believer in the word of my grandfather, Ibrahim the Friend (as), who laid the foundation of the Ancient House. So, for the sake of the one who laid the foundation of this House and for the sake of the child who is in my womb, with whom I have come to You, facilitate my delivery for me.
Yazid b. Qa`nab said: We saw the House open at its back and Fatima enter therein and disappear from our sight, and the wall came together [again]. We tried to get the lock of the door to open for us, but it did not open. So, we knew that the decree was from Allah’s command.
Then, she came out after four days, and in her hand was Amir al-Mu’minin (as). And she said: I have excellence over all the women who have preceded me because Asiya bint Muzahim worshipped Allah in secret in a place where it is not liked that Allah be worshipped therein save under compulsion. And Maryam bint `Imran had to shake the dried date palm until she ate ripe fruits from it, while I entered the Sacred House of Allah and ate from the dates of Paradise and its sustenance.
When I desired to come out, a crier called out to me: “O Fatima! Name him `Ali, for he is `Ali and Allah is al-`Ali (the High) al-A`la (the Most High). He (Allah) says: I have split his name from Mine and trained him Myself and made him fit for the mystery of My knowledge and he is the one who will break the idols in My House and he is the one who will call towards prayer on top of My House. He will glorify Me and he will exalt me. So, glad tidings to the one who loves him and obeys him; and woe to the one who holds malice for him and disobeys him.

Al-Sadiq Ja`far b. Muhammad (as) said: If Allah wishes goodness to an outcast, He gives her a merciful ruler, and appoints a just vizier for him.

I heard Jabir b. `Abdullah al-Ansari say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say to `Ali b. Abi Talib (as): O `Ali! You are my brother, my deputy, and my inheritor. You are my vicegerent over my Nation in my lifetime and after my passing. Those who love you love me, and those who hate you hate me. Your enemies are my enemies, and your friends are my friends.

I heard Abu Ja’far (a.s.) saying: “When the man of this matter (al-Qa’im) appears, he will receive (harm) from people like what the Prophet (sw) received, and more.”

“Once Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (as) said to me: “O Thabit, as if I see al-Qa’im of my family coming near to your Najaf.” He pointed with his hand towards Kufa and then added: “When he comes to your Najaf, he will spread the banner of the Prophet (S) and then the angels of Badr will descend to him.” I asked him: “What is the banner of the Prophet (S)?” He said: “Its pole is from the pole of the Throne of Allah and from His mercy. The rest of it is from the assistance of Allah. Everything that he swoops on with this banner Allah will make it perish.” I said: “Is it kept with you until al-Qa’im (as) appears or it is brought then?” He said: “No. It is brought then.” I said: “Who brings it?” He said: “Gabriel (as).”

I heard Abā ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) say: (One day) while Ḥusain ibn ’Ali (a.s.) was with the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.), Jabra`īl came to him and asked, “O Muḥammad! Do you love him?” “Yes,” the Prophet (s.a.a.w.) replied. “Verily your nation will kill him,” Jabra`īl said. So the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) was extremely grieved. Jabra`īl asked, “O Messenger of Allāh! Would you like me to show you the land on which he will be killed?” “Yes,” the Prophet (s.a.a.w.) replied. Then the land (between Karbalā and Madīnah) sunk within the ground and the place where the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) was sitting (in Madīnah) and the land on which Ḥusain (a.s.) was killed attached to one another like this – and Imam (a.s.) put his two index fingers together. Imam (a.s.) added: Jabra`īl then picked up some of the dust (of Karbalā) with his wing and gave it to the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.). Thereafter, the earth returned to the way it was in less than a blink of an eye. The Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) (while holding the dust of Karbalā in his hand) said to it, “O dust! You are blissful, and blissful is he who will be killed on you!”

“You still wait until you become like frightened goats that the butcher does not care on which of he puts his hand. You will be of no honor and no supporter, to whom you refer your affairs.” Have these traditions referred save to the disappearance of the imam of deliverance, who is the honor, with which the Shia are honored, and to the disappearance of the means (the deputies) between him and his Shia? Are the deputies not the supporters, whom the Shia refer their affairs to during the disappearance of their imam (as) to be delivered to the imam? By losing the imam and the means between them and their imam, the Shia become like the goats subjected to the test to be tried that which of them is to perish and which of them is to be saved. These are what I have in my mind of traditions concerning the disappearance of Imam al-Mahdi (aj), whereas there are so much many other traditions talking about the subject.

I heard Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah say The Command of the Faithful (AS) related to me: “The Messenger of Allah (SA) will take hold of Allah’s Waistband [hujzah]. We will take hold of the Prophet’s Waistband, and our Shi`ites will take hold of our Waistband.” I asked, “O Commander of the Faithful, what is the Waistband.” He answered, “Allah is greater than being characterized with a waistband or other than that. However, the Messenger of Allah (SA) will take hold of Allah’s Affair [amr]. We will take hold of the Prophet’s Affair, and our followers [Shi`ah] will take hold of Our Affair.”

A group of people from the Quraysh tribe reduced their (level of) treatment of the people with moderation, and were thrown out of the Quraysh tribe. And by God, whatever there is in their records is suffering. Another group of people from the Quraysh tribe treated the people with moderation and joined the lofty household (of the Prophet).” Then he added, “Whoever withdraws his hand from the people has withdrawn just one hand, but many hands will be withdrawn from him.”

I heard Abu Abdillah Ja’far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon him, say: "Our authority is derived form the divine authority, with which every Prophet was sent. Allah, His Name be glorified, presented our authority to the heavens, the earth, the mountains and the cities and none gave it the type of acceptance given by the people of Kufa. Surely, on its one side there is a grave (i.e. Najaf), whenever an afflicted person visits it, Allah relieves him of the affliction, answers his prayers and returns him to his family with happiness and delight."

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: Allāh will register the reward of freeing one thousand slaves for a person who goes to (the Ziyārah of) the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) knowing his rights. He will also earn the reward of offering one thousand saddled and bridled horses in the way of Allāh. The above Ḥadīth has also been narrated to me through the following chain: My father and Muḥammad ibn Ya’qūb (Al-Kulayni), from Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā Al-‘Aťťār, from Muḥammad ibn Ḥusain ibn Abil Khaťťāb, from Muḥammad ibn Sinān, from Muḥammad ibn Sadaqah, from Sāliḥ Al-Nīli, from Abī ‘Abdillāh (a.s.).

“People are still (confused and distressed) expecting until Allah sends for this matter (deliverance) one that people have not known whether he has been created yet or not.”

I said to Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (as): Please, advise me!” He said: “I advise you to fear Allah, to stay at home and to be away from these masses of people. Beware of the Kharijites because they are not on the straight path nor will they get to a pleasant end. Know that the Umayyads have a strong rule that people can not stand against. Know that the faithful people will have a state. If that happens, Allah will entrust one of us with it. If anyone of you lives until that time, he will be with us in the highest position (of Paradise) and if he dies before that, Allah will choose to him as He wills. Know that no group rising to resist oppression or to defend faith unless death is the end until a group, that has fought with the Prophet (S) in the battle of Badr and whose killed ones are not buried, whose felled ones are not lifted and whose wounded ones are not cured, rises.” I asked: “Who are they?” He said: “The angels.”

“Be quiet as long as the Heaven and the earth are quiet! Do not rebel against any one. Your matter is clear and not vague but it is a sign from Allah and not from people. It is brighter than the sun. It is neither ignored by a pious nor by a dissolute. Do you see morning? It is like morning, which is clear to everyone.”

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.”