أسير بن عمرو

When Amīr al-mu’minīn passed by the corpses of Ṭalḥah ibn ‘Ubaydullāh and ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn ‘Attāb ibn Asīd who were both killed in the battle of Jamal, he said:

“But nay! I swear by the stars that run their course (and) hide themselves.” (81:15-16) He replied: “An Imam who will go into hiding, when all who know him will be gone, in the year two hundred and sixty and then he will appear like a blazing meteor in the darkness of the night. If one lives till that time, he would find solace.”

The successor - Mahdi (a.s) was born on Friday. His mother is Raihana and she is called Narjis, Saiqal and Susan. She was called Saiqal (shining), because of the luminous pregnancy.

"We were discussing the Hour when the Messenger of God (ṣ) came out of an apartment of us. The Messenger of God (ṣ) said, 'The Hour shall not come until ten signs come to pass: the Deceiver (the Dajjāl); the smoke; the sun rising from its setting place in the west; the Beast of the Earth; Gog and Magog; and three sinkings of the earth, one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arabian Peninsula; a fire which comes out of a pit in Aden which shall drive people to the Gathering Place, it will come to rest with them for the night when they rest, and nap with them in the afternoon when they nap.'"

What I fear the most for my nation includes the following three things: making errors by the scholars; attempts to prove what is wrong by using the Quran by the hypocrites; and the world that cuts your necks into pieces. Thus, be pessimistic about the world.”

“Once I met abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Ali (a.s.) and asked him about he meaning of “I do not (need to) swear by the orbiting (81:15) stars which are visible during the night (81:16) and sit during the day,. “. (81:17)” The Imam (a.s.) said, “Al-Khunnas, refers to the imam who will disappear in his time when the knowledge about him will be cut off from people in the year two hundred sixty. Then he will reappear like a shooting star in the dark night. If you will attain such time it will light up your eyes with delight.”

Once I met Abu Ja’far bin Muhammad al-Baqir (as) and asked him about (the meaning of) these verses, “But nay! I swear by the stars that recede, that run their course (and) hide themselves.” He said: “(The stars) that recede is an imam receding until his news is ignored by people in the year two hundred and sixty then he appears like a burning meteor in the darkness of night. If you live till that time, then your eyes will be delighted!”

“O Umm Hani’, it is an imam receding until his news will be ignored by people in the year two hundred and sixty and then immediately he will appear like a burning meteor in a dark night. If you remain alive until that time, then your eyes will be delighted!” The same was narrated by Muhammad bin Ya’qoob from Ali bin Muhammad from Ja’far bin Muhammad from Musa bin Ja’far al-Baghdadi from Wahab bin Shathan from al-Hasan bin Abur-Rabee’ al-Hamadani from Muhammad bin Iss’haq from Ossayd bin Tha’laba from Umm Hani’.

I heard the Prophet (sw) say, ‘There are ten signs before the Hour - five in the East and five in the West.’ He (sw) mentioned the Beast of the earth, the Dajjal, the rise of the sun from where it usually sets, the return of Jesus son of Mary (AS), Gog and Magog and the victory over them and their being drowned in the sea.’ He (sw) did not say the rest.”

he had heard from a group of the Sheikhs from Medina, “Fifteen years of the rule of Harun Ar-Rashid had passed when God’s friend - Musa ibn Ja’far (s) was martyred. He was poisoned by As-Sindi ibn Shahak upon the orders of Ar-Rashid while imprisoned in the well-known jail called “Dar al-Mosayyab” in Bab al-Kufa in which As-Sidreh is located. The Imam (s) went to the Paradise of the Sublime God and to His Nobleness on Friday of the fifth day of the (Arabic) month of Rajab in the year 183 A.H. (798 A.D.). He was fifty-four years old then. And his tomb is in the western part of Madinatus Salam in a shrine known as the cemetery of the Quraysh .

The Hour shall not come until ten signs appear as follows: The rise of the sun from where it usually sets, and the Dajjal, and the Beast of the earth, and three lunar eclipses on the earth, one in the East, one in the West and one in the Arabian Peninsula, and the return of Jesus son of Mary (AS), and Gog and Magog, and there will be a fire at the end of times that would burn forth from Yemen from the bottom of the earth, and it will not leave anyone behind, pushing people towards the gathering place. Every time they stand up, it will lead them to the gathering place.’”

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: O Hudhayfa! Surely, the Proof of Allah over you after me is `Ali b. Abi Talib. Disbelieving him is disbelieving in Allah, associating partners with him is associating partners with Allah, doubting him is doubting Allah, denying him is denying Allah, and negating him is negating Allah; for he is the brother of the Messenger of Allah, his deputy, and the Imam of his Nation and their Master. He is the firm Rope of Allah and the Firm Handle with no crack in it. Regarding him, two will be destroyed, to no fault of his: an excess lover (muhib ghal) and one who falls short (muqassir). O Hudhayfa! Do not split away from `Ali, for you will have split away from me; and do not oppose `Ali, for you will have opposed me. Surely, `Ali is from me and I am from him. Whoever hurts him has hurt me, and whoever pleases him has pleased me.

“When God’s Prophet (s.w) returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage we were with him. When we reached Al-Juhfa, the Prophet (s.w) ordered his companions to relax. Then the people all settled down. Then they said the call to prayer and the Prophet (s.w) said two units of prayers with his companions. Then the Prophet (s.w) turned towards them and told them, ‘The Graceful, the All-Aware has informed me that I will die and so shall you. Assume that I have answered God’s call. I am held responsible to God regarding what I have delivered to you. Verily, I am leaving behind God’s Book and His Proof. You are held responsible for them. What would you tell your Lord?’ They said, ‘We will say that you fulfilled your mission, gave us advice, and strived. May God grant you the best reward on our behalf.’ Then the Prophet (s.w) asked them, 'Don’t you bear witness that there is no god but One; that I am God’s Prophet sent to you; that Paradise does exist; that Hell does exist; and that there is resurrection after death?' They replied, 'We bear witness to this.' The Prophet (s.w) said, 'May God bear witness to what you say. I take you as witnesses and bear witness that God is my Master. I am the Master of all Muslims. Is it not true that my Mastery over the believers is more than that of their own mastery over themselves? Do you believe in this? Will you bear witness to this?' They replied, 'We bear witness to this.' Then the Prophet (s.w) said, 'Whoever I am the Master of, Ali is the Master of.' Then he grabbed Ali’s hand and raised it up along with his own hand in such a way that both their underarms could be seen. Then the Prophet (s.w) said, 'O my God! Please be the friend of his friends and be the enemy of his enemies. Assist whoever assists him, and abandon whoever abandons him. I shall leave and you will meet me again at the Heavenly Pool later. That is a Pool whose width expands from Bosra to Sana'a. There are as many silver goblets in it as there are stars in the sky. Then I shall question you about what you bear witness to today when I meet you at my Pool. I will ask you what you did with the Two Heavy Things and how you dealt with what I left behind when you meet me.' They said, 'O Messenger of God! What are the Two Heavy Things?' The Prophet (s.w) replied, 'The greater of the Two Heavy Things is the Book of the Honorable the Exalted God. It is a means that is extended from God and I towards you. One side of it is in the Hand of God and the other side is in your hands. The knowledge of the past and what is yet to come up until the arrival of the Hour is in it. And the smaller of the Two Heavy Things is equal to the Quran: It is Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and his Household. These Two will be inseparable until they come to me at the Heavenly Pool.'"
Ma'ruf ibn Kharabudh said: “I quoted this for Abi Ja’far al-Baqir (a.s.). Then the Imam said, ‘Abil Tufayl has told the truth. May God have Mercy upon him. I have seen this in Ali’s book and I know it.'"
A similar tradition has been narrated by my father - may God be pleased with him - who quoted that Ali ibn Ibrahim quoted his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr. A similar tradition has been narrated by Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn Masrur - may God be pleased with him - who quoted Al-Hussein ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amir, on the authority of his uncle Abdullah ibn 'Amir, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr. A similar tradition has been narrated by Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Mutawakkil - may God be pleased with him - who quoted Ali ibn al-Hussein al-Sa’dabadi, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Aba Abdullah al-Barqi, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Sin’an, on the authority of Ma’ruf ibn Kharabudh, on the authority of Abil Tufayl Amir ibn Wathila, on the authority of Hudhaifa ibn Usayd al-Ghaffari. The compiler of the book - may God increase his honor said, “There are many traditions on this issue. I have presented them in the book Al-Ma’rifat fi Fadha'il.

When (Harun) Ar-Rashid arrested Musa ibn Ja’far (s), they arrested him while he was praying at the position of the head of the Prophet (s). They stopped his prayer, and took him away while he (s) was crying andsaying, “O Messenger of God! I complain to you about this situation.” The people were running towards him from every direction while they were crying. When they took the Imam (s) to (Harun) Ar-Rashid, he swore at him and disrespected him. When the night came, Harun ordered that two carriages be prepared. He had the Imam (s) carried away in secret to one of the two carriages. Harun put Hassaan ash-Sarawi in charge and ordered him to take the Imam (s) to Basra and hand him (s) over to Isa ibn Ja’far ibn Abi Ja’far (Harun’s cousin) who was the governor there. He had the other carriage moved in public in the daytime towards Kufa along with some people so as to hide the affairs of Musa ibn Ja’far ( al-Kadhim) (s) from the people. Hassaan entered Basra one day before the sighting of the moon and handed him (s) over to Isa ibn Ja’far ibn Abi Ja’far in the daytime in public. Thus it became known publicly and the news was spread around. Isa imprisoned him (s) in the building in which he himself resided and he locked him in. Isa was so busy with the ‘Eid ul-Adha ’s ceremonies that he totally forgot about the Imam (s). They only opened the door for him on two occasions: to allow him to make ablutions and to bring him some food.My father said, “Al-Faydh ibn Abi Salih, who was a Christian before, made a display of being Muslim. He was really an infidel and was the secretary of Isa ibn Ja’far. He was one of my good friends, too. He told me, “O Aba Abdullah! You cannot imagine how much music this pious man had to hear during the days that he was in that house - music which contained much indecent and abominable things which he did not know about and undoubtedly could not even imagine.” My father added, “In those days, Ali ibn Yaqoob ibn Oun ibn Al-Abbas ibn Rabee’ had written bad things about me in a letter to Isa ibn Ja’far ibn Abi Ja’far. Ahmad ibn Osyd who was the gate-keeper for Isa had handed him that letter.”He added, “Ali ibn Yaqoob was one of the elders of the Hashemites. He was older than the rest of them, but drank in spite of his old age. He used to invite Ahmad ibn Osyd to his house, gave parties for him and invited male and female singers. This way he wanted Ahmad to help raise his rank near Isa. Included in the things written were, “You prefer Muhammad ibn Soleiman to us in granting permission to come see you, in respect, and in giving him gifts of musk, while I am older than him and he believes in obeying Musa ibn Ja’far who is imprisoned by you.”My father added, “I was sleeping in the middle of a very hot day when I heard the doorbell ring. I asked, “Who is it?” My servant said, “It is Qa’nab ibn Yahya who is at the door. He says that he must immediately see you.” I said, “He must have something important to do. Let him in.” Then he came in and informed me about the letter and the story of al-Faydh ibn Abil Salih. He said that al-Faydh had told him not to tell me about this issue since I might get upset. Al-Faydh had said that the contents of the letter had not influenced him. He had asked the Commander if he had any doubts and if he wished Abu Abdullah (an-Nawfali) to come in person and swear that the contents of the letter was untrue.”But the Commander said, “There is no need to inform Aba Abdullah. He has said these things against him out of jealousy.”I said, “O Commander! You yourself know that no one is as close as he is to your private issues. Has he ever tried to make you revolt against anyone?”He said, “No. May God forbid.”I said, “Had he followed a religion other than that of the other people, he would have certainly tried to make you become attracted to his religion.” He said, “Yes, of course. I know him better myself.”My father added, “I ordered that my horse be prepared for riding. Then I rode over to al-Faydh at that time. Qa’nab ibn Yahya accompanied me. We asked for permission to see him. He sent someone to me and said, “May I be your ransom! Now I am in a position which is not suitable for you to see.” He was sitting and drinking wine. Then I sent him a message swearing by God that I had to see him right then. He came out to me wearing a thin shirt and a red loin-cloth. I told him about what I had heard. He asked Qa’nab, “May you not be given a good reward! Did I not tell you not to inform Aba Abdullah! Did I not tell you that he will get upset?” Then he told me, “Do not worry. The Commander has not believed any of this jargon.”My father added, “Only a few days had passed by when they secretly took Musa ibn Ja’far (s) to Baghdad and imprisoned him. Then they freed him. Then they imprisoned him. They handed him over to As-Sandi ibn Shahak who imprisoned him. He was rough with the Imam (s). Then(Harun) Ar-Rashid sent him some poisoned dates, and ordered him to take them to the Imam, and force him to eat the dates. He did this and that was how the Imam (s) died.”

We were with the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله when he was returning from his farewell pilgrimage. He went forth until he reached Juhfa where he ordered his companions to decamp. The call for prayer was made and he led his companions in a two-unit prayer. After that he turned his face to them and said: The Kind and All-Aware has informed me that I am to die and you too will one day die. It is as though I have been called and have responded. I am to be asked about that which I was sent with for you and also what I leave behind in your midst including the Book of Allah and His proof – and you too shall be asked – so what are you going to reply to your Lord? They said: we will say ‘you have conveyed, counselled and struggled, so may Allah reward you on our behalf the best of rewards’. Then he said to them: do you bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that I am the messenger of Allah? that the Paradise is a reality, the Fire is a reality and the resurrection after death is reality? They said: we bear witness to that, he said: O Allah witness what they say. Behold! I make you witnesses that I myself bear witness that Allah is my Mawla, and that I am the Mawla of every Muslim, and that I have a greater claim over the believers than their own selves, do you admit to that and bear witness to it about me? They said: yes, we witness that to be true about you. He said: Behold! To whomsoever I am a Mawla then Ali is also his Mawla, and he is this one, and he took Ali by the hand and raised it with his own hand until their armpits became visible, then he said: O Allah – be a guardian to whomever takes him to be a guardian, and be an enemy to whomever takes him to be an enemy, aid the one who aids him and abandon the one who abandons him. Behold! I will proceed you but you will catch up with me at the reservoir – my Lake-fount – tomorrow. It is a Lake-fount whose breadth is like the distance between Busra and San`a. In it are goblets made of silver like the number of stars in the sky. Behold! I will ask you tomorrow about what you did in regards that which I made Allah bear witness to – over you – in this day of yours when you reach my Lake-fount. And also about what you did with regards the ‘Two Weighty Things’ after me, so take care of how you will preserve my legacy in them when you meet me. They said: and what are these ‘Two Weighty Things’ O the messenger of Allah? he said: as for the greater weighty thing then it is the Book of Allah Mighty and Majestic, a rope extending from Allah and myself in your hands, one end of it is by the hand of Allah and the other end is in your hands, in it is the knowledge of what has passed and what is left until the Hour comes. As for the smaller weighty thing it is the ally of the Qur`an, and that is Ali b. Abi Talib and his descendants عليهم السلام – the two will not separate until they return to me at the Lake-fount. Ma`ruf b. Kharrabudh said: I relayed these words to Abi Ja`far عليه السلام so he said: Abu Tufayl has spoken the truth – may Allah have mercy on him – we have found this speech in the book of Ali and do recognize it.

“Al-Ridha Ali ibn Musa (s) was born in Medina on Thursday the 11th of Rabi’ul Awwal in the year 153 A.H. (769 A.D.) - five years after the death of Imam As-Sadiq (s) He died in Toos in a village called Sanabad in the town of Nawqan. He was buried in Hamid ibn Al-Ta’ee’s house in the same vault in which Harun Al-Rashid was buried. He was buried on the Qibla side of the grave of Harun Ar-Rashid. This occurred on Friday the 21st (or the 20th) of the (Arabic) month of Ramadhan in the year 203 A.H. (817 A.D.). He lived for forty-nine years and six months. He spent twenty-nine years and two months with his noble father Imam Musa ibn Ja’far (s). Then he succeeded his father, and was Imam for a period of twenty years and four months. He became Imam when he was twenty-nine years and two months old. This period of his Divine Leadership coincided with the period of the ruling of Harun Ar-Rashid. After Ar-Rashid, Muhammad known as Al-Amin who was the son of Zobayda ruled for three years and twenty-five days. Al-Amin was then dethroned and his uncle Ibrahim ibn Shaklah was put in power for fourteen days. Then he released Muhammad ibn Zobayda (al-Amin) from prison, and had the people pledge allegiance to him again. He ruled for another year and a half and twenty-three days. Then Abdullah Al-Ma’mun ruled for twenty years and twenty-three days. It was then that he (al-Ma’mun) took a pledge of succession from Ali ibn Musa Al-Ridha (s) without his consent.This he did after threatening him (Imam al-Ridha) with death. He insisted on this over and over. The Imam (s) refused to accept this offer every time, until he finally faced the threat of being killed. Then he said, “O My God! Verily you have admonished me against getting myself killed. Indeed I dislike it but I am forced to accept the succession of Abdullah Al-Ma’mun, else he would kill me. Indeed I dislike it but I am forced to do it, just as Joseph (s) and Daniel (s) were forced to when they each accepted the succession of the tyrant rulers of their time. O My God! There is no pledge for me except Your Pledge, and there is no succession for me except what You may grant to me. Help me succeed in establishing Your Religion, and reviving the tradition of your Prophet Muhammad - may God’s Peace and Blessings be upon him and his Household- since You are my Master and my Helper. How good a Master and Helper!” Then he (s) accepted the succession from Al-Ma’mun withtears and silence on condition that he will not appoint anyone, dismiss anyone, or change any customs or traditions. He accepted to be a counselor on the affairs from a distance. Then Al-Ma’mun had all the people including his personal entourage, and the general public pledge allegiance to Imam Al-Ridha (s). However, whenever one of the nobilities of Imam Al-Ridha (s), his knowledge and good management ability was manifested in front of Al-Ma’mun; Al-Ma’mun became jealous of the Imam (s) - up to the point that he could not bear it anymore. He then tricked Imam Al-Ridha (s) and poisoned him to death to go to the Almighty God’s Heaven and His Nobility.”

“On the day that Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (a.s.) passed away the place shook as people wept and cried and they were frightened like al-Thaqafi day the Holy Prophet (s.a) passed away. A man came weeping who seemed in a hurry and saying the words of the Holy Quran, “We are the servants of God and to Him we shall all return.” (2:156) He continued, “Today the government as succession of that of the Holy Prophet (s.a) is discontinued.” He stood at the door of the house in which Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (a.s.) was and said, “May Allah grant you blessing, O abu al-Hassan. You were the first in the nation who accepted Islam and were of the purest faith among them. You were of the most solid certainty and feared Allah the most among them. The degree of your hard work (for the cause of Allah) was the greatest and you were the most cautious in protecting the Messenger of Allah among them. You were the most trusted in the affairs of his companions and of the most distinguished in excellence, of the most honorable past credentials, of the highest degree of virtue and the closest as relatives to the Messenger of Allah among them. You were the most similar among them to him (the Messenger of Allah) in the matters of providing guidance, moral discipline, mannerism and deeds. You were the most precious to him (the Messenger of Allah) among them, in value and the most honorable to him among them. May Allah grant you good rewards on behalf of Islam, His Messenger and the Muslims. You exercised strength when his (the Messenger of Allah’s) companions became weak. You would come out (to face the enemy) when they showed humiliation, you rose up whenever showed laziness. You maintained steadfastness in adherence to the system of the Messenger of Allah whenever his companions attended othewise. You, indeed, were his undisputed successor and you did not cause strife 9in the community) despite the mischief of the hypocrites, of the anger of the unbelievers, the dislike of the jealous ones, and lowliness of the transgressors. You stood firm for the truth when they failed, spoke clearly when they became speechless, marched forwards in the light of Allah and they halted and if they followed you they found the right guidance. You were the softest in tone and of the highest degree of prayer among them, of the smallest amount of speech and of the most correct and valid statements. You were of the greatest ideas, of the bravest heart, of the most solid certainty, of the best of deeds and the most knowledgeable of the issues among them. You, by Allah, were the lead figure in religion at first and at last. You were the first when people digressed in chaos and the last when they failed. Your as a kind father to the believers as they become dependent up on you and you bore such burdens that others felt much weak to carry. Your protected what they had lost and guarded what they had ignored. You tightened your belt when they accumulated (wealth with greed), you rose high when they despaired (in humiliation). You exercised patience when they rushed and you achieved what they had never dreamed to achieve and through you they gained what they had never expected to gain. You were as pouring calamity and disaster up on the unbelievers and the fortress and support for the believers. You were invented for the task of Leadership with Divine Authority with its blessing and you succeeded to achieve its awards, established its prerequisite and left with its distinctions. Your evidence in support your divine Authority never last its sharp edge and your heart never wavered, your intelligence never weakened, your soul did not falter or become frightened. You were like a mountain that strong winds could not move. It is just as the Holy Prophet (s.a) has said, “People lived secure in your company and their property well preserved in your hands.” You were just as the Holy Prophet (s.a) has said, “Physically weak but very strong to support the cause of Allah, of a very humble soul, but very great in the sight of Allah, the chief on earth and majestic in the sight of the believers. No one could ever find faults with you or advance criticism. No one could ever involve you in corruption. You never showed anyone (corrupt) compliance. The weak and feeble to you were strong popular until you would restore their rights and the powerful and popular were weak and feeble to you until you would make to yield to others rights. People of close relation or otherwise were all equal to you in such cases. You aimed the truth, the true and kindness. Your words were law and final and your commands were based on forbearance and determination your view was knowledge and the final decision in what you would do. The system is established, the pitfalls are routed, the fires (of mischief) are extinguished, religious issues are balanced and through you Islam has become strong. The guidance of Allah has become manifest even though the unbelievers dislike. Islam, the through you, and the believers are strengthened. You have raced (for Divine excellence) a long race and cause a great deal of weariness to those behind you. Losing you can never be compensated with weeping and your death is a great issue in heavens and it has threatened the people (with emergence of chaos). “We are the servants of God and to Him we shall all return.” (2:156) We accept the decision of Allah and submit to His commands. By Allah, the Muslims will never find any one like you. You were a fortress and the stronghold like a heavy mountain and the intense anger for the unbelievers. May Allah join you with His Holy Prophet (s.a). May Allah not deprive us of your rewards and keep us safe against mis-guidance after you. People remained silent until he finished his words. He wept and the companions of the Messenger of Allah wept. Thereafter, they searched for him but he was nowhere to be found.”

On the day that Amir al-Mu’minin (as) passed away, the place was jolted in weeping. The people were frightened, just like in the day that the Prophet (s) passed away. A weeping man came hurriedly. He was saying: Today, the vicegerency of prophethood has been cut off. Then, he stood at the door of the house that Amir al-Mu’minin (as) was in. So, he said: May Allah have mercy on you, Aba’l Hasan. You were the first of the people to enter Islam, the sincerest of them in faith, the most intense of them in certainty, the most Godfearing of them, the greatest of them in effort, the most prudent of them over the Messenger of Allah (s), the most protective over his companions, the best of them in virtues, the most honourable of them in precedent, the highest of them in rank; the nearest of them to the Messenger of Allah (s), the most similar to him in guidance, character, resemblance, and actions, the most noble of them in status, and the most favoured of them to him. So, may Allah reward you with goodness on behalf of Islam, its Messenger, and the Muslims. You were strengthened when his companions became weakened, you emerged forth when they settled down, you rose when they languished, and you stuck to the way of His Messenger when they were his companions. You were truly his vicegerent. You did not quarrel nor plead despite the presence of the hypocrites, the anger of disbelievers, the hatred of enviers, and the malevolence of transgressors. You established the order when they failed, you spoke when they stuttered, you forged ahead with the light of Allah when they halted – so they followed you and were guided. Your voice was the quietest of them, you were the best of them in forthrightness, you spoke the least of them; you were the most correct of them in speech, the best of them in opinion, the boldest of them in heart, the most intense of them in certainty, the best of them in actions, and the most knowledgeable of them in matters. You were, by Allah, a leader of the religion – the first when the people would disperse, and the last when they would fail. When the believers would come to you like children, you were a merciful father to them. You carried the burdens that they were too weak to carry. You preserved what they had lost. You were aware of what they had neglected. You strove when they gathered, you rose when they were terrified, you were patient when they hurried, you comprehended whatever they differed about, and they sought you in that which they did not understand. For the disbelievers, you were an outpouring punishment. For the believers, you were [like] rain and arability. By Allah, you were formed for its blessing, you succeeded for its love, you became its precedent, and you went in its virtues. Your argument never failed, your heart never went astray, your insight was never weakened, and you were never cowardly or traitorous. You were like a mountain: storms cannot shake it, and sieges cannot wipe it out. You were as he (s) said: Weak in your constitution, strong in the order of Allah, humble in your self, great with Allah, grand in the Earth, and majestic with the believers. None can find faults in you, nor can one claim to find corruption in you. For you, the weak and servile are great and glorious (important), until they are given their rights; and the great and glorious are weak and servile (unimportant), until their rights are taken away from them. The distant and the near equal to you. Your way is truth, honesty, and affability. Your words are judgment and decisive. Your affair is forbearance and determination. Your opinion is knowledge and integrity. Because of you, the path has been established, hardships have been eased, fires have been extinguished, the religion has been balanced, and Islam and Muslims have been strengthened. You have gone ahead, and you have caused great weariness for those behind you. You are too great for our tears. Your mourning is great is heaven, and your tragedy has threatened the people. So: to Allah we belong, and to Him will we return. We are pleased with what Allah has destined, and we have submitted to His order. By Allah, the Muslims will never be afflicted with something like this again after you. For the believers, you were a fortified cave, and for the disbelievers, you were a toughening rage. May Allah reunite you with His Prophet, and not deprive us of your reward, and not misguide us after you. The people were silent until he completed his words. He wept, and he made the companions of the Messenger of Allah (s) weep. Then, they sought after him, but they did not find him.