سلمان الفارسي

H 85 - Some scholars of tradition have narrated that Salman Farsi met Isa Ibn Maryam and lived until the time of our Prophet (s). His story is famous.

3. Abu al-Husayn `Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Hirabakht al-Jiraffi al-Nassabah said: Ahmad ibn Salman ibn al-Hasan said: Ja`far ibn Muhammad al-Sa`igh said: Khalid al-`Urani said: Hushaym said: Abu Sufyan, the freed slave of Muzaynah: A man came to Salman al-Farisi (may Allah have mercy on him), and said: “O Abu `Abd Allah! I am deprived of performing my nightly prayers.” Salman replied: “Then do not disobey Allah during the day. A man came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and said: `O Commander of the Faithful! I am deprived of my nightly prayers.’” The Commander of the Faithful replied to him, “You are enslaved by your sins.”

‘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.’”

Were it not for prostration before Allah and the gatherings of the [pious ones among the] people who [choose to] utter virtuous words, just as the best dates are plucked [and harvested], I would have wished for death.”

The Prophet (saw) said to me: "O Salman, when you wake up in the morning, say: 'O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no partner for You. We have entered the morning, and the kingdom belongs to Allah, there is no partner for Him.' Say it three times. And when you enter the evening, say the same, for they will atone for the sins committed between them."

Iblis passed by a delegation that was taunting Amir al-Mu’minin (as), so he stood in front of them. The people said: Who is this that stands in front of us? So, he said: I am the Father of Bitterness (Abu Murra). So, they said: O Father of Bitterness! Do you not hear our words? So, he said: Curse you. You are insulting your Master `Ali b. Abi Talib! So, they said: From where did you learn that he is our Master? So, he said: From the saying of your Prophet: “For whomever I am a Master, `Ali is his Master – O Allah, align with those who align with him, and oppose those who oppose him, and support those who support him, and abandon those who abandon him.” So, they said to him: Are you one who aligns with him and a partisan to him? So, he said: I am neither of those who align with him nor of those who are partisan to him, but rather, I love him, and none hate him except that I am their partner in their wealth and their children. So, they said to him: O Father of Bitterness! Do you say anything regarding `Ali? So, he said to them: Listen to me, O oath breakers, deviators, and apostates (al-nakithin wal qasitin wal mariqin). I worshiped Allah among the Jinn for twelve thousand years. When Allah destroyed the Jinn, I complained to Allah about my solitude, so He ascended me to the heaven of this world. I worshiped Allah in the heaven of this world for twelve more thousand years in the company of the angels. So, while we were glorifying and sanctifying Allah, a beam of light passed by us. The angels fell in prostration due to that light, and they said: “Glorious and holy! This is the light of an Angel of Proximity or a commissioned prophet.” So, a call was made from the direction of Allah: “This is not the light of an Angel of Proximity or a commissioned prophet. This is the light of the clay of `Ali b. Abi Talib.”

2. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) says, “One who offers a six rakat Salaat on the eve of Eid would be able to intercede for all members of his family even if they be condemned to Hell.” The narrator asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Why will the intercession of sinners be accepted?” He replied, “Virtuous do not need intercession. They are sinners who need it much.” Muhammad bin Husain (Shaykh Sadooq) says that one should recite Surah Tauheed five times in each rakat of the above-mentioned prayer.

Salman the Good (ra) narrated to me, saying: O Aba’l Hasan! Rarely do you and I visit the Messenger of Allah (s) and he does not say: “O Salman! This [`Ali] and his party are the triumphant on the Day of Resurrection.”

“The believers come to a day that they become like the goats. The lion does not know which of them to catch. They will be with no honor nor will they have an assistant, to whom they refer their affairs.”

“Tell me. Did you recognize Allah through Muhammad or di you recognize Muhammad through Allah, the Mighty and High?” `Ali ibn Abu Talib (AS) replied, I did not recognize Allah through Muhammad (SA), but I recognized Muhammad through Allah, the Mighty and High, when He created him and made in him the size of the length and breadth. Hence I recognized that He was the Planner of the Produced through reasoning, and inspiration, the same way He inspired His Angels to recognize and obey Him without any compeer and quality. The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is long. We have extracted from it the required passage. I have transmitted all of it in the end of the book Al-Nubuwwah.

I asked the Messenger of Allah (s): Who is your deputy from your Nation, for no prophet is raised except that he has a deputy from his Nation? So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: It has yet to be revealed to me. So, I remained for as long as Allah willed for me to remain; then I entered the mosque, and the Messenger of Allah (s) called me and said: O Salman! You asked me about the deputy of my Nation – do you know who the deputy of Musa from his Nation was? So, I said: His deputy was a young man, Yusha` b. Nun. He said: Do you know why he was appointed? I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: He deputed him because he was the most knowledge person in his Nation after him. My deputy is the most knowledgeable person from my Nation after me – `Ali b. Abi Talib.

The messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, once appeared on the day of Arafah and said: "O, people, surely Allah glorified Himself because of you on this day, so that He may pardon you generally and pardon ‘Ali in particular." Then he said: "Come near me, O ‘Ali." So ‘Ali drew near. Then the Prophet took him by his hand and said: "Surely, the blessed, completely and truly blessed is the one who obeyed you and loved you after I have gone. And surely, the wretched, completely and truly wretched is the one who disobeyed you, and showed his hostility after I have gone."

“Inform me about the Lord. Where is He, and where was He?” `Ali (AS) replied, ” The Lord, Exalted be His Glory, is not subject to space. He is how He was, and He was as He is now. He is not in any place, nor has He declined from one place to another. He is not encompassed in one place; rather, He has always been without boundary and without quality.”
The Catholicos said: “You have spoken the truth. Now tell me about the Lord. Is He in this world or is He is the Hereafter?” `Ali (AS) replied, ”Our Lord existed before this world existed, and He will exist forever. He is the Planner of this World, and the All-Knowing of the Hereafter. It is not possible for Him to be encompassed by this world or the Hereafter. However, He knows all that is in this world, and all that is in the Hereafter.” He said: “You have spoken the truth. May Allah have mercy on you!”
He then asked, “Tell me about our Lord. Does He carry or is He carried?” `Ali (AS), thus, replied, “Verily, our Lord, Exalted be His Glory, carries and is not carried.” The Christian asked, “How is that? In the Bible we find that The Empyrean of your Lord is carried about them on the day by eight angels.” `Ali (AS) answered, ”Verily, the angels carry the Empyrean. However, the Empyrean is not shaped like a bed as you image. Rather, it is something bounder, crated, and planned, which is subjected to the Lord. It is not as if He is on it like something being carried by another. He has ordered angels to carry it, and they do so with the power that he has granted them.” The Christian said: “You have spoke the truth, May Allah have mercy on you!.”
The Compiler of this book says: The Tradition is long. We have extracted from it the required passage. I have transmitted all of it in the end of the book Al-Nabuwwat.

“Inform me about the face [wajh] of the Lord, the Blessed and Exalted.” Hence, `Ali (AS) called for some fire and dry wood and then set fire to it. When it blazed, `Ali (AS) asked, “Where is the face of this fire?” The Christian replied, “It has a face from all sides.” `Ali (AS) responded, “This fire is supervised and produced yet its face is not know, while its Creator does not resemble it. And Allah’s is the East and the West, therefore, whither you turn, thither is the Face of Allah. No secret is hidden from our Lord.” The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage.