زكريا بن يحيى الحضرمي الكوفي

“Whatever Allah has kept hidden from people they will not be held responsible for it.”

“Whatever of His Knowledge Allah has concealed from the servants is unburdened from them.”

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Surely, Allah has set for you limits, so do not transgress them; and has made certain acts obligatory upon you, so do not waste them; and has set some traditions for you, so follow them; and has made sacred some sanctities, so do not desecrate them; and He has excused you about certain matters as a token of mercy for you, without forgetting them, so do not burden yourselves with them."

When the servants sleep, their spirits exit towards the heaven. So, what the spirit sees in the heaven, is true. And what it sees in the atmosphere, it is far from reality. Now surely the spirits are enlisted soldiers [of an army]. Then whichever of them gets acquainted with the other, it unites [with the other] and whichever of them rejects the other, it diverges [from the other]. So, when the spirit is in the heaven, it gets acquainted [with another] and it loathes [another, mutually]. And when they are acquainted in the heaven, they are acquainted on Earth and when they loathe each other in the heaven, they loathe each other on earth.

When the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, died, the whole Makkah was shaken with deep sorrow. Then Abu Qahafa said: "What is happening?" They told him: "The Prophet has departed." He said: "Who has assumed authority over people after him?" They told him: "Your son." He asked: "Did Banu Abd Shams and Banu al-Mughaira approve?" They said: "Yes." He said: "No one can prevent that which Allah bestows and no one can give what Allah takes away. What a surprise! They dispute the Prophethood and easily give the Caliphate! Surely, this seems to have been destined."

“Once we were with abu Ja‘far (a.s.). We were in a group waiting for him (the Imam) to come out. A woman came and asked, ’Which one of you is abu Ja‘far?’ The people asked, ‘What for are you asking for him?’ She replied, T want to ask him about an issue.’ They said, ‘This is the jurist of the people of Iraq. You can ask him your question.’ She said, ‘My husband has died and has left one thousand dirham as legacy. He owed me five hundred dirham as my mahr (dower) and my share of inheritance which I took from the legacy but then a man came and said my husband owed him one thousand dirham and I testified in his favor.’ Al-Hakam has said, ‘I was calculating it that abu Ja‘far (a.s.), came out and said, ‘Why is it that I see you move your fingers, O Hakam?’ I replied, ‘This woman has mentioned that her husband has died. He has left one thousand dirham as legacy. He owed to her five hundred dirham as her mahr (dower). She took her dower and the share of her inheritance but then a man came and said that her husband owed him one thousand dirham and she testified in his favor.’ Hakam has said, ‘By Allah I had not completed my words that he (the Imam) said, ‘She has confessed to give back one-third of what she has in her hand and she does not have anything as her share of inheritance.’ Hakam has said, ‘I had never seen, by Allah, anyone more intelligent than abu Ja‘far (a.s.).”’ [Note: The next several passages of the Arabic text are words of al-Fadl and are not translated.]

“Once we were with abu Ja‘far (a.s.). We were in a group waiting for him (the Imam) to come out. A woman came and asked, ‘Which one of you is abu Ja‘far?’ The people asked, ‘What for are you asking for him?’ She replied, ‘I want to ask him about an issue.’ They said, ‘This is the jurist of the people of Iraq. You can ask him your question.’ She said, ‘My husband has died and has left one thousand dirham as legacy. He owed me five hundred dirham as my mahr (dower) and my share of inheritance which I took from the legacy; but then a man came and said my husband owed him one thousand dirham and I testified in his favor.’ Al-Hakam has said, ‘I was counting it that abu Ja‘far (a.s.), came out and said, “Why is it that I see you move your fingers, O Hakam?” I replied, “This woman has mentioned that her husband has died. He has left one thousand dirham as legacy. He owed to her five hundred dirham as her dower. She took her dower and the share of her inheritance, but then a man came and said that her husband owed him one thousand dirham and she testified in his favor.’” Hakam has said, ‘By Allah I had not completed my words that he (the Imam) said, “She has confessed to give back one-third of what she has in her hand and she does not have anything as her share of inheritance.’” Hakam has said, ‘I had never seen, by Allah, anyone more intelligent than abu Ja‘far (a.s.).”’

“I heard Ali ibn Ja‘far speaking to al-Hassan ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn as, “By Allah, Allah has supported abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.).” Al-Hassan then said, “Yes, by Allah, may Allah take my soul in service for your cause, his brothers have rebelled against him.” Ali ibn Ja‘far then said, “Yes, by Allah, and we, his uncles, rebelled against him.” Al-Hassan said to him, “May Allah take my soul in service for your cause, how did you dealt it, I was not present with you.” He said, “His brothers said to him and so did we, “There has never been a blackish Imam from us” The Imam (a.s.) al-Rida said to them, “He is my son.” They said,” Messenger of Allah did judge on the basis of physiognomy, thus, we can also have a judgment on the basis of physiognomy .” The Imam (a.s.) said, “You may call one who has said the following knows physiognomy but I will not do so. You should not give information as to for what reason you have called them. You must stay home. When they will come, we should, all of us, be in the garden. His uncles, brothers and sisters should all line up. They dressed al-Rida (a.s.) in a gown made of wool with a hat of wool on his head and a shovel in his hand. The Imam should be asked to act as the gardener in the garden. Then Abu Ja‘far should be brought in and they should be asked to find his father in the people present. They said, “His father is not present among these people, but this is his uncle, this is the uncle of his father, this is his uncle and this is his aunt. If his father is here he is the gardener because his footprint and his footprint match” When Abu al-Hassan (a.s.) returned, they said, “This is his father.” Ali ibn Ja‘far has said, “I stood up and kissed Abu Ja‘far and his saliva came in my mouth. Then I said, “I testify that you are my Imam before Allah. Al-Rida (a.s.) wept and said, “O uncle, did not hear my father say, “The Messenger of Allah has said, “May Allah take my soul and the souls of my father in service for the cause of the son of the best slave girl, the son of al-Nawbiya (a town in Sudan) lady with a fresh smelling mouth, the lady of who will give birth to a purified one. May Allah condemn the ’U‘aybiss (the ‘Abbassides) and their descendants, the mischief makers who murder them (the Imams) for years, months, and days, causing them huge sufferings and causing them to endure bitter frustrations. He (Abu Ja‘far (a.s.) live exiled, away from home, and suffering the pain of the murder of his father and grandfather. One who is has disappeared (from the eyes of his loved ones). About whom it will be said, “His is dead or perished. No one will in which valleys he will travel. Can such a person, O uncle, be anyone other than my own son?” I then said, “You have spoken the truth, may Allah take my souls in service for your cause.”

Qays b. `Asim said: I set out with a group from Bani Tamim to the Prophet (s). So, I entered, and al-Salsal b. Al-Dalhamas was with him. So, I said: “O Prophet of Allah! Give us a proverb by which we may benefit from, for we are a community that is established in the wilderness.” So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: “O Qays! Surely, with glory, there is humiliation. With life, there is death. And, surely, with this world, there is the Hereafter. And, surely, with everything there is a reckoning, and with everything there is an observance. And, surely, with every good deed there is a reward, and with every sin there is a penalty, and with every matter a time. It is necessary, O Qays, that something will follow you and be buried with you while you are alive, and you will be buried with it when you are dead. If it is noble, it will make you noble. If it is wretched, it will cause you to surrender. It will not be resurrected except that it is with you, and you will not be resurrected except with it. You will not be asked about anything except for it; so, do not make it anything but righteous. Surely, if it is dealt with righteously, you will be relieved by it, but if it is corrupted, then you will only be lonely due to it. That thing is your actions.” So, he said: “O Prophet of Allah! I would love these words to be in stanzas of poetry so that we may make it a source of pride over those humiliate us among the Arabs.” So, the Prophet (s) sent for someone to bring Hassaan [b. Thabit]. He said: Then I began thinking of poetry that resembled this proverb, so I remembered a saying before Hassaan came. I said: “O Messenger of Allah! I remembered stanzas that I consider agreeing with what you want.” So, I (the narrator) said to Qays: “Choose a companion from your deeds, so it may accompany you in the grave of what you have prepared. You have no alternative after death but to be prepared, for the day on which you are called to him to accept, engage not in the affairs of this world in which there is not Allah’s contentment. Man will not have a companion after his death and even before death but his own deeds. Surely, man is only a guest of his own household. He would spend a short while with them before he departs.”

I asked, ‘O Prophet of God! Please give us some advice to use since we are a group of people who live in the desert.’ The Prophet of God (MGB) said, ‘Indeed there is humiliation associated with pride! There is death associated with life! There is the Hereafter associated with this world! There is an accounting for everything! There is a guardian associated with everything! There is a reward associated with every good deed! There is a chastisement associated with every evil deed! There is a set period for everything!O Qays! There will undoubtedly be a companion with you in the grave! He will be alive when he is buried along with you while you will be dead! If he is noble, he will honor you! However, if he is vile, he will torment you. He will be with you and will be resurrected along with you!No questions will be put to you; they will all be directed to him. Choose, then a worthy and righteous companion, for if your companion is righteous he will comfort you, but if he be wicked, you will wish to flee from him in terror. This everlasting companion is nothing but your very own deeds!”Then I said, “O Prophet of God! I wish these to be put in a few verses of poetry so that I can be honored with them amongst the Arabs!” The Prophet (saw) ordered someone to bring Hassan ibn Thabit, and as I thought about what poetry would match this admonition, the words came to me before Hassan arrived. I said, "O Messenger of Allah, some verses have come to me, and I believe they align with what you desire," and I recited: "Choose a companion from your deeds, for a person's companion in the grave is what they used to do. After death, you will inevitably face a day when a person is called and must respond. So if you are preoccupied with something, let it not be other than what pleases Allah, for He is the One to satisfy. For after death, a person will not be accompanied by anything except the deeds they have done. Truly, a person is but a guest among their family, staying briefly with them, then departing."

"I asked the Messenger of God (ṣ) about the metamorphosed animals. He answered me, 'They are thirteen: the elephant, the bear, the pig, the monkey, the hagfish, the mastigure, the bat, the triops, the scorpion, the spider, the rabbit, Canopus, and Venus.' It was asked of the Messenger (ṣ), 'O Messenger of God, what was the reason for their metamorphosis?' He answered, 'As for the elephant, it was a sodomite who did not leave the wet or dry. The bear was an effeminate man who would call other men to himself. Pigs were a group of Christians who prayed to their Lord to send down a table spread for them. But when it came down, they grew even more disbelieving and defiant. Monkeys were the group that had transgressed against the Sabbath. The hagfish was a wittol who would call men to his wife. The mastigure was a Bedouin man who would rob pilgrims with a club. The bat was a man who would steal fruit from the tops of date palms. The triops was a calumniator who would cause disunion between loved ones. The scorpion was a sharp-tongued man from whom none were safe. The spider was a woman who was faithless to her husband. The rabbit was a woman who would not purify herself from her menses or otherwise. Canopus was a tithe-collector in Yemen. Venus was a Christian woman who belonged to one of the kings of the Israelites; she was the one Hārūt and Mārūt tempted, and her name was Nāhīl.'" The Sunnis call her Nāhīd. The compiler of this book, may God be pleased with him, commented: The Sunnis are erroneous in their understanding of Canopus and Venus here. They claim these to be heavenly bodies, but it is not as they claim. Rather, these are two beasts from the creatures of the sea which were named for the two heavenly bodies, as the constellations themselves are named for animals on the earth, such as Aries (lit. "lamb"), Taurus (lit. "bull"), Gemini, Cancer (lit. "crab"), Scorpio, Pisces (lit. "whale"), and Capricorn (lit. "kid"), and likewise Canopus and Venus. The Sunnis err regarding these two and not others due to the difficulty of catching even a glimpse of them, as they are creatures of the ocean which encircles the world, living where no ship ventures, nor is it possible to reach. God - Exalted and Mighty - would not transform sinners into brilliant lights by which one might guide themselves, on land and sea, and then allow them to remain in the Heavens as long as the Heavens and Earth remain. A metamorphosed being does not remain more than three days before it dies, never begetting progeny. These are the animals which are called "al-Masūkh" (metamorphosed). The masūkhiyyah (metamorphosed animals) have a metaphorical, figurative name. Rather, their forms resemble the people who disobeyed God and deserved, due to their sins, to be changed from that state of the Blessings of God, and so God transformed them. Then God - Blessed and Exalted - forbade their meat so that none may benefit from them and underestimate their sins. This narrative was told to me by Abū al-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar al-Asadī, may God be pleased with him.