محمد بن علي الكوفي

Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, said: Regardless how much they deceive you in anything, let them not deceive you with regards to the afternoon (prayer); pray it while the sun is white and pure, for indeed, the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said: The one whose family and property are perished is the one who wastes the afternoon prayer. I said: And what is the one whose family and property are perished? He said: He will neither have family nor property in Paradise. I said: And what is it to waste it? He said: That he leaves it, by Allah, until it yellows or disappears.

The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said: Paradise will never be entered by a servant in whose heart is the weight of a mustard seed of arrogance, and the Fire will not be entered by a servant in whose heart is the weight of a mustard seed of faith. I said: May I be sacrificed for you, a man might wear a robe or ride an animal, and he would be about to become known for arrogance. He said: It is not that. Arrogance is only to deny the truth, whereas faith is to acknowledge the truth.

"I possess ten distinctive characteristics given to me by the Messenger of God (ṣ), which he never gave to any after me. He had said to me, 'You are my brother in this world and the next. Your place of standing will be the closest of anyone to mine on the Day of Judgement. Your house and my house face one another in the Garden, in the manner of the house of two brothers. You are the legatee, the successor, and the vizier. Your enemy is my enemy, and my enemy is God's enemy. Your friend is my friend, and my friend is God's friend.'"

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: O people! Who is better than Allah in speech, and more truthful than Allah in words? O people! Surely, my Lord has ordered me to establish `Ali as a sign, an Imam, a caliph, and a deputy for you; and to take him as a brother and a vizier. O people! `Ali is the gate of guidance after me and the caller to my Lord. He is the Righteous of the Believers, "And who is better in speech than he who calls to Allah, does righteous works, and says 'Surely, I am from those who submit.’?" (41:33)? O people! Surely, `Ali is from me, his descendants are my descendants, and he is the husband of my beloved. His order is my order, and his prohibition is my prohibition. O people! Betake to obeying him, and avoid disobeying him, for obeying him is obeying me, and disobeying him is disobeying me. O people! Surely, `Ali is the saint of this Nation, its distinguisher, and its inspired one. He is its Harun, its Yusha`, its Asif, and its Sham`un. He is its Gate of Remission and its Ark of Salvation. He is its Talut and its Dhul Qarnayn. O people! He is the affliction of the creation, the decisive argument, the great sign, the Imam of the people of this world, and the Firm Handle. O people! Surely, `Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with `Ali, and `Ali is its tongue. O people! `Ali is the divider of the Fire: a friend of his will not enter the Fire, and an enemy of his will not be saved from it. He is the divider of Paradise: an enemy of his will not enter Paradise, and a friend of his will not slip away from it. O my companions! I have advised you, and I have delivered the message of my Lord to you, but you do not love the advisors. I say this saying of mine, and I repent to Allah for myself and for you.