الحسين بن عبيد الله العبدوي

“I visited Abū ʿAbdillāh while a group of his companions were with him, so he said to me, ‘O Ibn Abī Yaʿfūr, have you read the Qurʾān?’ I said, ‘Yes, [in] this recitation.’ He said, ‘That is what I was asking you about, not any other.’ I said, ‘Yes, may I be your ransom! Why [do you ask]?’ He said, ‘Because Mūsā (a) spoke to his people about something that they did not accept from him, so they came out against him in Egypt and fought him, so he fought against them and killed them. And because ʿĪsā (a) [also] spoke to his people about something that they did not accept from him, so they came out against him in Takrīt and fought him, so he fought against them and killed them. This is what is being referred to in the verse wherein Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: …Then a group from the Banī Isrāʾīl believed while another disbelieved. We supported the believers against their enemies, so they prevailed (Q61:14). And the first Riser who will rise from us, the Ahl al-Bayt, will [also] speak to you about something that you will not accept from him, so you will come out against him at Rumaylah al-Daskarah [1] and fight him, and he will fight you and kill you. That will be the last rebellion to ever take place. Then, O Ibn Abī Yaʿfūr, Allah will gather the first and the last. Then Muḥammad (ṣ) will be brought among the people of his time and he will be told, ‘O Muḥammad, did you convey My message and provide arguments to the people in the way I had instructed you to speak to them?’ So he will reply, ‘Yes, O Lord.’ He will then ask the people, ‘Did he convey to you [the message] and provide arguments [for it] to you?’ But the people will say, ‘No.’ So He will [again] ask Muḥammad (ṣ), and he will reply, ‘Yes [I did], O Lord.’ And Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, will already know that he had done that. He will repeat this [question] three times, after which He will accept the [truthful] answer of Muḥammad and reject the [dishonest] answer of the people. Then they will be driven to the fire of Hell. Then ʿAlī (a) will be brought among the people of his time and he will be asked the same thing that Muḥammad (ṣ) was asked, and his people will lie about him but Allah will accept his reply and reject the lie of the people. He will repeat that thrice. Then [the same will happen with] al- Ḥasan, then al-Ḥusayn, then ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a), who had the least number of companions of them all. His companions were Abū Khālid al- Kābulī, Yaḥyā ibn Umm al-Ṭawīl, Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, ʿĀmir ibn Wāthilah, and Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh al-Anṣārī. These are the witnesses who will testify to the arguments he brought [to guide the people]. Then my father will be brought, meaning Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī (a), in the same Way. Subsequently I will be brought along with you, and I will be asked [the same question] as will you. Then see how you will respond [when that happens]. O Ibn Abī Yaʿfūr, verily Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, commands His obedience and the obedience of His Messenger, and the obedience of those in authority who are the legatees of His Messenger. O Ibn Abī Yaʿfūr, we are the proofs of Allah among His servants, His witnesses over His creation, His trustees on His earth, His custodians over His knowledge, the callers towards His path, and those who work with that [goal]. So whoever obeys us obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys us has disobeyed Allah.’”