محمد بن عمران المرزباني

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Whenever there is any vulgarity in any affair, it does not leave it without being tarnished; and whenever there is bashfulness in any matter, it does not leave it without being adorned."

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "The penance and expiation for backbiting anyone is to seek forgiveness from Allah for him or her." And may Allah bless His mercy upon our master Muhammad and his progeny.

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Verily, ‘Ali is my brother, my minister and my successor in the family, and he is the best of all who survive me, he will repay my debts and fulfil my pledges."

I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, say to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, "O ‘Ali! You are the master of the people after I have gone. So whoever obeys you, obeys me; and whoever disobeys you, disobeys me."

Jabir ibn Abdillah al-Ansari was once asked, (during his old age) when his eyebrows had fallen over his eyes: "Tell us about ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him." Jabir lifted his eyebrows with his hands and said: "He is the best of all creatures, no one hates him but a hypocrite and no one doubts in him except an infidel."

Once, a man from Ansar fell ill, and the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, visited him when he was about to die. He (the Prophet) said: "How do you find yourself?" He said: "I see myself hopeful of my Master’s mercy, fearfully concerned about my sins." So the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "On occasion like this, these two do not combine in a believer’s heart, except that Allah grants him his hope and secures him from what he fears."

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Surely, Allah has commanded me to love four of my companions; and has revealed to me that He indeed loves them." We said: "Who are they, O messenger of Allah? And there is none from us who does not wish to be among them." He, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Be it known that ‘Ali is among them" - and he repeated this three times - "and al-Miqdad and Abu Dharr al-Ghifari and Salman al-Farsi."

When the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, fell seriously ill in his last days, he once woke up while we were crying around him. So he said: "What makes you cry?" We said: "O Prophet of Allah, we are crying helplessly, we cry because you will soon leave us behind, and the heavenly news will cease to come to us. And we cry over the fate of the Ummah after you have gone." The Prophet, peace upon him and his progeny said: "Be it clear to you that you will be suppressed and weakened after I have gone."

The first elegy recited for al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali, peace be upon him, was by Aqabah ibn Amru al-Sahmi, from the tribe of Banu Salim ibn Awf Ibn Ghalib: "(After the tragedy of Kerbala) when the eye was content (having seen enough) in this life, and (when) you fear in this world, as its light has turned into darkness. I passed by the grave of al-Husayn at Kerbala, My tears rolled down copiously for him, And I have since not stopped lamenting and weeping in sorrow, my eyes are helped by its tears and the hearing by sigh. And tears were shed, besides al-Husayn, on the group whose graves surround him on both sides, Salaams on the interred ones at Kerbala, Yet, my salaams visiting them are too little for them, Salaams to them in the evening and during the day, conveyed by the wind blowing on it and by the dust it carries And the groups of people continues to visit his grave, whose musk and aroma exudes fragrance to them."

When the sad news of al-Husayn’s, peace be upon him, martyrdom reached Madinah, Asma bint Aqil ibn Abi Talib came out with a group of her ladies and came to the grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, and clinging to it, sobbed bitterly. Then, addressing the Muhajireen and the Ansar, she said: "What will you say when the Prophet says to you on the Day of Judgement, and the truth will indeed be heard. ’You deserted my family members, or were you absent,’ and the truth will be brought together before the master. ’You had forsaken them at the hands of the oppressors, so you have no one to intercede on your behalf before Allah.’ There was no one (of you) at Kerbala on the day When death crept to them, and none was there to defend them!" He said: "We never saw as many wailing men and women on any other day."

Once, Artat ibn Suhaiyya, who was then one hundred thirty years old, called upon Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. Abdul Malik said: "O Artat! What is now left of your poetry?" He said: "By Allah, O, Commander of the faithfuls, I do not rejoice, nor do I get angry, nor do I drink. And if I feel like expressing these sentiments in a poem, then nothing comes to my mind but the following: "I have seen man devoured by the nights, the way iron junk is eaten up by the earth; And when death arrives, it does not leave for the Adam’s son, any extras or surplus. And I know that it will continue to come, Till it fulfills its pledge with Abul Al-Walid." Abdul Malik’s kunya was Abul Al-Walid, so when he heard the couplet, he was terribly shaken. So, Artat said: "I meant myself, O, Commander of the faithfuls." Because Artat also had the kunya Abu Al-Walid. Abdul Malik said: "By Allah, whatever happens to you shall happen to me also." And may Allah bless our master Muhammad the Prophet, the unlearned, and his progeny.

Amirul Mu’mineen ‘Ali ibn ‘Ali Talib, peace be upon him, was asked about the verse in the Qu’ran: ’Surely, Allah’s devotees shall have no fear, neither shall they grieve.’ (Yunus, 10:62). He was asked: "Who are those devotees?" So, Amirul Mu’mineen, peace be upon him, said: "They are the ones who have purified themselves in His worship and have an eye on the inner core of this world while people regard its exterior; and so they have recognized its future while others have been deceived by its transitory benefits. They have forsaken all that which they know will someday forsake them and have caused to die all that they know will one day kill them." Then he said: "O he who has distracted himself with this world and jumped at its traps, working busily to build up that which will soon be destroyed by it. Did you not see your forefathers, who are down decomposing and your descendants, thrown under the stone and earth? How you tried to treat them and cure them with your hands? The doctors prescribed for them and the relatives prayed for them. But reliance upon you, did not help them and your medicines did not have any effect upon them."

I heard ‘Ali, Amirul Mu’mineen peace be upon him, say: "Be it known to you that you will soon be subjected to invoking curse and imprecation against me wrongfully. Whoever curses me unwillingly or by coercion, Allah will know that he has been forced into it. I shall arrive with him together upon Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny. And he, who restrains his tongue and does not invoke curse upon me, he will race unto me as quickly as a fling of an arrow or a wink. And one who invokes curse upon me with a willing, cheerful heart, for so doing, there will be no veil debarring him from Allah’s wrath and he shall have no excuse before Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny. Be it known that, one day, Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny, held my hand and said: Whoever has sworn allegiance on these five (fingers i.e. the hand) and then died with love and affection for you, will have completed his pledge. And one who dies with hatred towards you, dies a death of Kufr (pre-Islamic era), even though he will account for his deeds committed while professing Islam; and if he lives after you have gone, with lasting love for you, Allah shall end up his days with peace and faith, for as long as the sun rises and sets."

Once Jariya ibn Qudamah al-Sa’di called upon Mu’awiyah; and upon the throne, there were al-Ahnaf ibn Qais and al-Habbab al-Majashee sitting next to him. Mu’awiyah said: "Who are you?" He replied: "I am Jariya ibn Qudamah. (And he was among the nobles). Mu’awiyah said: "May be so, but are you anything but a (stinging) bee?" He said: "O Mu’awiyah, do not do that! You have compared me to a bee. By Allah, it has a strong sting, but a sweet spit. While, by Allah, Mu’awiyah is nothing but a female dog howling at other dogs! And Umayyah is nothing but a diminutive of Amah - a house maid." Mu’awiyah said: "Do not do that!" He said: "You did it and so I did also." Mu’awiyah said: "Come closer to me and sit with me on the throne." He said: "I will not do that." Moawiyah said: "Why?" He replied: "For I see that these two have occupied your seat and removed you from your place. I would not like to join them." Mu’awiyah said: "Come closer so that I may share with you a secret." So he drew closer, and Mu’awiyah told him, "O Jariya, I have bought from these two their faith." He said: "Then buy from me, O Mu’awiyah." Moawiyah said: "Do not speak loudly."

(Once) I called upon Fatimah, daughter of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, when she was quite advanced in age. She wore beads around her neck and two bangles on her hands, and she said: "It is abominable for women to resemble men." Then she said: "Asma ibn Umays reported to me that, once, the revelation from Allah descended upon His Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, and it overwhelmed him. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, may peace be upon him, covered him (i.e. the Prophet) with his cloth, till the sun set. When the revelation ceased, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "O ‘Ali! Have you offered your Asr prayers?" He said: "No O, messenger of Allah! My attendance upon you prevented me from that." Then the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, prayed: "O Allah, cause the sun to return for ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib". The sun had set, so it rose again till its rays reached my room and half the height of the Mosque."

"Be least interested in this world from which no one from your predecessors ever benefited, nor will it remain for anyone after you have gone! The path you are walking on is the same as that of the bygones, totally cut off and subjected to annihilations, their good deeds forgotten and unknown. This world warns its inmates of destruction, and its residents of Death. That which was once sweet from it has become bitter; and that which was once clear has become turbid. Nothing has ever remained in it except like the last droplets of water in a vessel, or a few gulps, which if a thirsty were to suck up, would not be satiated. So, be prepared for a journey from this abode, whose residents are destined to perish, and prevented from living forever. They have been submitted to dying, therefore no life should crave perpetuity. Everyone here awaits death. Let no hopes and expectations digress you, nor should you regard it as a long age; and do not be deceived by its promises. And, if you were to roam about like a camel yearning to find its heifer and coo like a dove, calling its young one, and raise your beseeching cry like a worshipful hermit, and come out together with your wealth and children, so as to seek nearness to Him, and be elevated in His estimation; or to be forgiven the sins which His angels and scribes have recorded, it would all be too little to earn His reward which I hope for you, or to be saved from His wrath which I fear for you. May Allah keep us and you among the repentents and the worshipping ones."

When Ibn al-Zubair expelled Ibn Abbas - may Allah bless him with mercy, to al-Taif, Muhammad ibnal-Hanafiyyah, may Allah bless him with mercy, wrote to him: "I am informed that Ibn al-Kahiliyya has driven you out to al-Taif. That way Allah, Most High may exalt your name, and grant you great reward, and lift from you the burden. O brother, (in this world) the trials are for the righteous, and blessings of honour are conferred upon the virtuous. If your reward were to be only in the things you like, then your rewards would be be too few. For Allah says (in the Qur’an): ’... and you may dislike a thing which is good for you.’ (2:216). And I have no doubt that the situation you are in is good for you in the sight of Allah. May Allah grant you great patience in this adversity, and enable you to be grateful for (His) bounties. Surely, He has power over all other things." When the letter reached Ibn Abbas, he replied: "Your letter has reached me, in which you consoled me on whatever has happened to me, seeking your Lord to exalt my name. Surely, He has power to augment the reward, and to benefit by His favours and to grant more of goodness. I do not like the treatment meted to me by Ibn al-Zubair any more than had it been perpetrated by the enemies of mankind, and thus increase my reward. Nor did I expect to earn my Lord’s pleausre through his efforts. O my brother! The world has indeed turned its back and the hereinafter has shadowed. So perform good deeds. May Allah count you and me among those who fear Him, the Unseen, and who act to earn His pleausre, publicly or in privacy. Surely, He has power over all."

Ma’moon summoned Débal ibn ‘Ali Al-Khizai, may Allah bless him with mercy, and granted him safe conduct. When he arrived, I was sitting near al-Ma’moon. He said: "(O Débal), recite to me your major poem." Débal felt restrained and at first, displayed his ignorance about it. Then Ma’moon told him: "You will be safe, the same way as you were granted safe conduct." So he recited: "My wife regretted when she saw my indifference to women, And considered my maturity a sin unpardonable! She expected youthfulness after her own forelocks had turned hoary, and though her racing horse had already run a round of old age. O wife, my hoary head teaches me, to remember the Resurrection, and to submit to destiny! Had I been inclined towards the world and its décor, then would I have wept over some of the people gone by. The world has attacked my family members and ruined them, causing a cleavage like the one hit with a stone. Some stood against it, while some responded to the call of death and the remaining are on the wake. So those who have remained, I fear their departure, of course, the return of those who have turned away is not awaited. Now, it has so become that I am given the news about my family and my children, like a dreamer relating a dream after remembering it. Had it not been that my eyes are preoccupied with the (grief of) kinsfolk of the Prophet of Allah, who have gone, I would not have stayed. (And as you know) Your cheeks have an occupation (of crying) in respect of your friends, preventing it from sleeping because of the lost ones. How many of their arms lie in Kerbala, cut off from the body, and how many soiled cheeks lie on the dusty plain. They go to where al-Husayn was slain, in the eve and at night and they say: ’This is the master of all men.’ O ungrateful Ummah! You have not rewarded Ahmad (peace be upon him and his progeny) for his heroic struggle in the name of the revealed verses and chapters (of the Qur’an). When he left the world, you as survivors treated his children, the way a wolf does to save Dhu Baqr." Yahya said: Then al-Ma’moon ordered me to go out to complete his work, I rose. When I returned, Débal was completing his poem with following verses: "There is no one remaining among the living who we know from the tribes of Yaman, Bakr or Mudhar, except that they have a hand in their blood. As did the people of Aysar who participated in the massacre, By killing, imprisoning, frightening and by plunder, the way soldiers acted in the lands of Byzantine and Khazar; I find the Umayyad excused if they killed, but I do not see for Banu Abbas any justifiable excuse! A band of people who they killed first in the name of Islam, till when they seized power, then they allowed it branding them as infidels; (they were) The sons of Harb, Marwan and their families, the sons of Muit, the rulers of rancour and spite; Pause and see the grave of the pure one at Tus, look at it if you have anything to do with faith! Alas! Every one is mortgaged to which his two hands do, so take what you wish or leave it." He said: (Upon hearing this) al-Ma’moon threw his turban on the ground and said: "By Allah! O Débal, you have spoken the truth."

I arrived at Kufa in Muharram of 61 Hijrah as ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn was departing with the ladies from Kerbala, surrounded by the troops. People gathered to have a sight of them. When he approached with the ladies sitting on unsaddled camels, the women of Kufa began weeping and wailing. I heard ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn say with a feeble voice as he was exhausted by ailment, and around his neck was a neckband, and his hands were tied to the neck. He said: "Beware, (if) these women are indeed weeping - then who killed us?" He said: And I saw Zainab bint ‘Ali, peace be upon them, and I had never seen a lady with all her modesty being so eloquent. It seemed that she spoke in Amirul Mu’mineen’s voice." He said: She raised her hand towards the people to silence them, so the breathing slowed and the noises were silenced. Then she said: "All praise be to Allah; and His blessing on my father, the messenger of Allah. Know you O people of Kufa, O people of chicanery and betrayal. May your tears never dry, and may your wailing never quieten. Your example is of ’the one who unravels her yarn after it is firmly spun. You take your oaths merely to deceive one another.’ (16:98). O people! Are there any among you except those suffering from vainglory, blemished by disgrace, and with bosoms full of hatred? Cowards when confronted, helpless before the enemies, violators of oath of allegiance, wasting the responsibilities? Miserable is what you have forwarded, that has incurred the wrath of Allah upon you. And you will be in chastisement forever. So, you are crying? Yes, cry a lot, and laugh a little for you have earned its disgrace and its infamy; and you will never be able to wash off the filth stuck to you. You have forsaken and intrigued against the scion of the seal of the Prophet-hood, master of the youths of Paradise, refuge of your chosen ones, retreat for the calamities befalling you, landmark to your destination, the highway of your Proof. How evil is the burden you bear? Wretched be you and reversed be your plans! The effort has failed, and hands are full of nothing but dust, and the bargain has sustained a loss. You are laden with the wrath of Allah, and humiliation and abasement has been stamped upon you. Woe unto you! Do you know which liver of Muhammad have you torn apart, and which blood have you spilled? And which nobility have you struck? ’Indeed you have come up with a thing abominable and shocking. From which, the heavens are about to be rent asunder, the earth split and the mountains fallen to pieces.’ (19:89,90). What you have committed is foolishness and degradation enough to fill the heavens and the earth! Are you then surprised if the heavens rain blood? ’And the chastisement of the hereafter is even more degrading.’ (41:16). So do not take these moments of respite lightly - for He is not prompted by haste nor is it feared that He will miss the reprised. No! ’Your Lord is ever observant.’ (89:14)." He said: Then she was silent. And I saw people bewildered, their hands on their mouths, and I saw an old man weeping till his beard was drenched and he said: "Their elderly are the best among the elderly people and their progeny, when any progeny is taken into account, is never wrong, nor discredited."

Amirul Mu’mineen ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, (a.s.), returned from Basrah to al-Kufah on 12th Rajab and proceeded to climb the pulpit. He expressed his gratitude and praise to Allah and said: "All praise be to Allah Who has helped His servant, blessed with authority and forsaken His enemy. He exalted the truthful and just and disgraced the liar and unjust. O people of the town, it is obligatory upon you to be mindful of your duties to Allah and to obey those who, from among the Ahlul Bayt of your Prophet, are obedient to Allah. They are worthier of your submission; for they, in submission to Allah, stood firm against the pretentious and our opponents who despite their dependence upon us for their guidance, fight against us, usurp our rights and deprive us...They have tasted the evil of their action and there awaits them a painful chastisement. Indeed, some of you have held themselves back from helping me and I am indeed, displeased and disappointed with them. So, you disassociate yourselves from them and admonish them, so that, they may realize their misconduct or come to do what we approve." Then Malik ibn Habib al-Tamimi al-Yarbu'i, his police commander, stood up and said: "By Allah, I believe that simply disassociating and admonition is two little. By Allah, should you command us, we would kill them all." Amirul Mu’minin, (a.s.), said: "O Malik, you are crossing the bounds and transgressing the limit, engaging yourself in the extremes." He said: "O Amirul Mu’minin! Sometimes a little bit of tyranny and inequity, while dealing with the matters confronting you, is more suited than being kind to your enemies." Amirul Mu’minin, (a.s.) said: "O Malik, that is not the way Allah has ordained. He Most High, has said: ’A life for a life’ (al-Maidah, 5:45). So where is the room for a bit of inequity and tyranny? And then Allah, Most High, has said: ’And whoever is killed unjustly, We have given power to his avenger of blood, but let him not exceed the just limits in killing. Surely, he will be victorious’(Al-Israa’, 17:33)." Then Abu Burdah ibn Awf al-Azdi stood before him. He was a partisan of Uthman, having fought against ‘Ali in the battle of Jamal, but joined him in Siffin with a very weak intention of helping. He said: "O Amirul Mu’minin! Did you see the fallen bodies around Aisha, Talha and al-Zubair? Why were they killed?" Amirul Mu’minin, (a.s.) said: "Because they had killed my followers and my appointed governors. And (also) because they killed the brother of Rabi'ah al-Abdi - may Allah bless him with mercy, together with a group of Muslims. They had said: ’We will not break our allegiance the way you did and we will not revolt the way you have revolted.’ So, they were unjustly attacked and killed. I asked them to submit to me, the names of those who killed my brethren and there would be the Book of Allah, to decide between me and them. They refused (to give me the names) and (instead) they rose to fight me, while they were still in allegiance to me, and the responsibility of having killed, nearly a thousand of my partisans lay upon their shoulders. That is why I killed them. Do you have any doubt about that?" He said: "I had a doubt but now I have understood and the error of those people has now become evident for me. No doubt, you are the rightly guided one." Then ‘Ali, (a.s.) prepared to climb down, while some people rose to speak. But when they saw him climb down, they sat down and did not utter a word. Then Abul Kanud said: "In spite of his presence (with ‘Ali) at Siffin, Abu Burdah was insincere to ‘Ali, (a.s.) and used to privately correspond with Mu’awiyah. And when Mu’awiyah became the absolute monarch, he gave a piece of land to him at al-Fallujah and was quite generous to him."