أبو شمر بن أبرهة بن الصباح الحميري

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), sent to me the will of ’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), which reads as follows: ‘(I begin) in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. ‘This is the will and decision of the servant of Allah about his assets seeking thereby the pleasure of Allah so that He will admit him in the garden (paradise), keep away from him the fire and keep him away from the fire on the day when certain faces will be white and others will be black. The assets that belong to me in Yanba’ which are known to be my assets with its surroundings are endowed as charities as well as the slaves except Rabah, abu Nayzar and Jubayr who are set free and no one has any authority over them. They are my Mawali who will work for five years with the properties from which will be their sustenance, expenses and the expenses of their families. Besides these my properties in Wadi al-Qura’, all of it is of the assets of the children of Fatimah, ‘Alayha al-Salam, and the slaves are charities. My assets in Daymah and its people are charities except Zurayq. For him is what I write for his companions. My assets in ’Udhaynah and its people are charities and al-Fuqayrayn as you know are charities in the way of Allah. My assets that I have mentioned are charities in an obligatory sense, whether I will be living or dead. They will be used in the ways that will please Allah, for the cause of Allah, and for the sake of Allah, and for my relatives from banu Hashim, banu al- Muttalib, the nearer ones and the farther ones. Al-Hassan will supervise these properties. He will use them for his lawful needs and will spend in the sight of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, in lawful ways. It is not unlawful for him to do so. If he deems necessary to sell from these assets to pay off debts, he can do so if he will so like. It is not unlawful for him. If he will like he can make them very attractive assets. The children of Ali, their Mawali and assets are under the authority of al-Hassan ibn Ali. If the house of al-Hassan ibn Ali will not be the house of charity and if he will so decide to sell it he can do so. It is not unlawful for him. If he will sell it, he will divide its price in three parts: one- third in the way of Allah, one-third for banu Hashim and banu al-Muttalib, and keep one-third in the assets of Ale abu Talib. He will manage it in the sight of Allah as he deems it lawful. If something will happen to al-Hassan and al-Husayn will be living, then al-Husayn ibn Ali will be the person in charge of his task. Al-Husayn will deal with these assets just as al-Hassan had been dealing. He will have for himself what I have written for al-Hassan. On him will also be what was on al-Hassan. For the children of (the two sons of) Fatimah, ‘Alayha al-Salam, of the charities are whatever is for the children of Ali. I have prepared what I have prepared for the two sons of Fatimah (a.s.). It is for the sake of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, in the honor of the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, and for their greatness, in service of their nobility and pleasure. If something will happen to al-Hassan and al-Husayn, the last one of them will look among the children of Ali. If he will find among them one about whose guidance he is happy as well as his Islam and trustworthiness, he will designate him for the task if he will so wish. If he will not find among them anyone who can make him happy, he will designate someone from Ale abu Talib with whom he will be happy. If he will find all of Ale abu Talib, their elders and people of understanding have passed away, he then will designate a man from banu Hashim. He will place a condition on one to whom he will leave the assets that they must be left on their original basis, only their fruits will be spent as I have commanded, such as, in the way of Allah and for His sake, for the relatives of banu Hashim and banu al-Muttalib, those nearer and those farther. They must not be sold, gifted or inherited. The assets of Muhammad ibn Ali are on his side. It is for the two sons of Fatimah, ‘Alayha al-Salam, to decide about it. My slaves whom I have listed in a small document are free. ‘This is what Ali ibn abu Talib has decided about his assets this morning of the day that he has arrived in Maskin (a place near al-Kufah on the bank of Euphrates) for the sake of Allah, seeking His pleasure, and for the dwelling in the next life. Allah is the support in all conditions. It is not lawful for a Muslim, who believes in Allah and the day to come, to say something about what I have decided about my assets or oppose me in my affairs of the people near or far. ‘Thereafter the mothers of my children with whom I maintain connections, seventeen of whom are mothers of children who are with their children, those of them who are pregnant and those who do not have children. My decision about them, if something happens to me is as follows: Those of them who do not have children and are not pregnant they are free for the sake of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious. No one will have any authority over them. Those of them who have children or are pregnant must keep their children as their share. If her child will die and she is living she then is free and no one will have any authority on them. This is the decision that Ali has made about his assets this morning when he has arrived in Maskin. It is witnessed by abu Samar ibn Abrahah, Sa‘sa‘h ibn Suhan, Yazid ibn Qays and Hayyaj ibn abu Hayyaj and it is written by Ali ibn abu Talib with his own hand on tenth of Jamadi al-’Ula’, in the year thirty-seven.’” There was another will (with the first one): “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful “This is the will of Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.). I (Ali ibn abu Talib) testify that no one deserves worship except Allah alone, who has no partners, and Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. He sent him with guidance, true religion to make it dominant over all other religions even though the pagans dislike. O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause. My Salat (prayer), good deeds, life and death are for Allah, Lord of the worlds who has no partners. I am commanded for this and I am the first Muslim. “I make this will for you O al-Hassan and all members of my family, my children and those to whom my writing reaches, to be pious before Allah, your Lord, and do not die unless you are a Muslim. Hold firmly to the rope of Allah, all of you, and do not become scattered because of differences. I heard the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, saying, ’Establishing reconciliation and peace between two disputing people is better than all Salat (prayer) and fasting. That denouncing (each other) is destructive to religion and the good relationship between two people. There is no power without Allah, most High, most Great. You must look after your relatives and maintain good relations with them; Allah will make your accounting very easy.’ “(I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about the orphans. You must not remain ignorant of the condition of what they eat and you must not allow yourselves to see that they are lost and destroyed in your presence. I heard the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, saying, ‘If one supports an orphan until he is independent Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, makes the garden (paradises) obligatory for him just as He makes the fire obligatory for those who consume the assets of the orphans.’ “(I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about al-Quran, you must not give others the chance to excel you in acting according to it. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about your neighbors; the Holy Prophet, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has urged to take care of them and he (the Messenger of Allah) continued urging about them until we thought that he will command to inherit each other. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about the house of your Lord. You must not leave it without your presence as long as you are here. If it is left alone, you will not be given a chance to visit the house. The least that one, who intends to visit the house, brings back is forgiveness of the past sins. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about Salat (prayer); it is the best of deeds. It is the pillar of your religion. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, of Zakat because it extinguishes the anger of your Lord. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about the month of Ramdan. Fasting in this month is the shield against the fire. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about the poor and the destitute. You must share your financial resources with them. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about Jihad by means of your wealth, your souls and your tongue. Two kinds of men complete the duty of Jihad, the Imam of guidance or one obedient to him who follows his guidance. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about the descendents of your prophet. You must not allow their being subjected to injustice in your presence and before your eyes when you are able to defend them. (I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about the companions of your Prophet, the companions who did not invent heresy or give protection to heretics. The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has urged to be good to them, has condemned the heretics among them and others who protect heretics. “(I remind you of) Allah, (I remind you of) Allah, about women and slaves. The last word your Prophet, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, spoke was, T urge you to take care of the two weak kinds of people: the women and slaves.’ Salat (prayer), Salat (prayer), Salat (prayer). Do not fear the blame of blaming people; Allah is sufficient for you against their harming you and their rebelliousness against you. Speak to people about what is good as Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, has commanded you. If you disregard urging people to do what is good and prohibit evil; Allah will make people of evil deeds to dominate you then you pray but it will not be answered in your favor. My sons, you must continue to maintain good relations, generosity and acting virtuously. You must not cut off good relations and turn away from each other because of differences. Cooperate with each other with virtuous deeds and piety and do not work together toward sin and animosity. Be pious before Allah because Allah’s punishment is intense and severe. I pray to Allah to protect you against harms, all of you, people of the house as He protected among you your Prophet. I leave you in the trust of Allah and offer you the greeting of peace, the kindness of Allah and His blessings.” “He (the Imam) then continued saying Tahlil, (no one deserves worship except Allah), until he passed away. O Allah, grant compensation to him (the Imam) and blessings, in the third night of the last ten days in the end of the twenty-third night of the month of Ramadan, on Friday night in the year forty after the migration of the Holy Prophet, from Makkah to al-Madinah. He was injured in the nineteenth night of the month of Ramadan.’”