الحسين بن علي بن سفيان بن خالد

I repent to God for the following three actions:1- Fleeing from the army of Usamah whom God’s Prophet (MGB) had appointed as the Chief of the Army;2- Freeing the atheist slaves from Yemen captured by the Muslims; and3- I repent to God for what is in our hearts - may God protect us from its harm; and pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr since it was not done with consultation.’”

Give me sometime. I gave him sometimes and after that I visited him again. He showed me a tradition from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) that the Imam had said: Whenever Allah, the Mighty and the High decides a matter, it is transferred to the Messenger of Allah (s) and after him it is transferred to Amirul Momineen (a.s) and after him to every Imam one after another till it reaches upto the Master of the age (a.s) and after that it is revealed to the world. And when angels want to take an issue to the presence of Almighty Allah; first they entrust it to the Master of the Age (a.s) and then it is presented to each in succession till it reaches the Messenger of Allah (s) who presents it to Almighty Allah. On the basis of this all that is issued from Almighty Allah is issued through the Holy Imams (a.s) and all the deeds that go upto Almighty Allah go up through the Holy Imams (a.s) and the Messenger of Allah (s) and his Ahle Bayt (a.s) are not at all even for the blink of an eye needless of Allah, the Mighty and the High. [On the contrary, they are mediums of divine grace for the people by the permission of Allah].

When people swore loyalty to Uthman, I heard al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi - may Allah bless him with mercy, say to Abdul Rahman ibn Awf: "O Abdul Rahman, I never saw the like of this befell the Ahlul Bayt after their Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny)." So Abdul Rahman said: "O Miqdad, what does that concern you?" He said: "By Allah, I love them because of the Prophet’s love for them; and it pains me when I find myself unable to speak openly. The Quraish enjoyed superiority over others because of the nobility of Ahlul Bayt and yet they have united to snatch away from them the authority of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny)". Abdul Rahman replied: "Woe unto you, by Allah! I tried my best for you!" Miqdad said to him: "By Allah, you have abandoned a man who is from among those who enjoy the truth and through that, they act with justice. By Allah, if I had some helpers against the Quraish, I would have fought them the way we fought at Badr and Uhod." Abdul Rahman said: "May your mother mourn you, O Miqdad, let no one hear from you this talk; by Allah, I fear that you may become a perpetrator of factions and disturbance." Jundab says: I called upon him after he had left the place and told him: "Miqdad, I am one of your helpers." He said: "May Allah bless you with mercy; what we need cannot be accomplished by two men or three." So I left him and came to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, and related to him what Miqdad and I had said. He prayed for us.

When Uthman expelled Abu Dharr from Madinah to Damascus, he (i.e. Abu Dharr) used to narrate to us, beginning with the praise to Allah and testifying the Oneness of Allah and Muhmmad’s Prophethood, invoking divine blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny. Then he would say: "We were in the era of ignorance before the Book was revealed to us, and the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, was sent among us; yet we were faithful in promise, truthful in speech, kind to neighbours, hospitable to guests, comforting the poor (hating the arrogant). And when Allah, Most High, sent to us His messenger, peace be upon him and his progeny, and revealed His Book, our behaviour were pleasing to Allah and His messenger, and the people of Islam were worthier to practice them; and to safeguard them. So, they remained with these attributes for as long as Allah willed. Now, the rulers have introduced evil acts of which we did not know; discarding the Tradition of the Prophet and introducing the innovations. A truthful person is held a liar, generosity is displayed without fear of Allah and a trustworthy from among the righteous people is deprived. O Allah! If you have destined good for me, then take me away into Your proximity, without having changed." He used to repeat these words openly. Then Habib ibn Maslamah came to Mu’awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan and said: "Surely, Abu Dharr is arousing people against you by saying such and such things." So Mu’awiyah wrote to Uthman about it and Uthman replied: "Send him back to me." When Abu Dharr arrived in Madinah, Uthman exiled him to al-Rabdhah.

When Uthman ordered Abu Dharr al-Ghifari - may Allah bless him with mercy, into exile from Medinah to Syria, he (i.e. Abu Dharr) used to stand up everyday admonishing people, exhorting them to obey Allah, warning them against committing sins. And he used to narrate from the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, whatever he had heard about the virtues and excellence of his Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon them, enjoining upon them to follow his progeny. So, Mu’awiyah wrote to Uthman: "Be it known to you that Abu Dharr, at all times during the day, morning and evening, has a large group of people around him and to them he says such and such things. Well, if you have any need of me among the people, then I would send Abu Dharr to you, for I fear that he will instigate people against you; with Salaams." Then Uthman wrote to him: "As this letter reaches you, send Abu Dharr back to me; with Salaams." Then Moawiyah sent for Abu Dharr and made him read the letter from Uthman, saying: "Make haste, and go now." Abu Dharr came to his camel fastened his saddle to set off. The people gathered around him saying: "O Abu Dharr! May Allah have mercy on you, where are you going?" He said: "They drove me out to come to you, as they were angry with me, and now they are driving me away from you to them, messing around with me. And this will continue as I see it, because of my difference with them, till the righteous relaxes or is relieved of the wicked one." Then he left. As people heard of his departure, they followed him till outside Damascus and remained in his company till he reached the monastery of Murran. He alighted and with him the people also stopped. He was asked to lead, so he prayed with them and then he addressed: "O people! I admonish you about things, which will benefit you, and I do not resort to speeches and eloquence. All of you praise Allah, Most High." So they said: "All praise be to Allah." He said: "I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and His messenger." They repeated what he uttered. Then he said: "I testify that the resurrection is truth and that the heaven is truth and that the hell is truth; and I confirm what he (i.e. Muhammad) has come with from Allah. So bear witness for me over what I have confirmed." And they said: "And we are among those who testify." He said: "Whoever among you dies on these tenets of faith, may he have good tidings of Allah’s mercy and honour; as long as he does not support the wrongdoers, and does not justify the torture of the tyrants nor does he assist them in anyway. ’O people! Let your daily prayers and fasts be combined with your displeasure for the sake of Allah, whenever He is disobeyed on the earth! Do not please your leaders to incur the wrath of Allah. And if they come up with innovations of which you know not, stay aloof from them; and remain strong against them, even if you were tortured, deprived or rusticated, so that Allah may be pleased with you! Surely, Allah is Most High and it does not behave to displease Him, by pleasing His creatures. May Allah forgive me and you all. I entrust you to His care, and sent you greetings and the grace of Allah." Then people exclaimed: "May Allah greet you with safety and shower upon you His mercy, O, Abu Dharr; O companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny; we will not send you back if they expel you and we will not refuse you entry." Abu Dharr said: "Return to your places, may Allah have mercy upon you; for I am more tolerant of the adversities than you are. And be careful, never be disunited." So, he went away till he arrived at Uthman’s and upon his arrival, Uthman told him: "May Allah show no favour to the eyes, which behold Amru." Upon this, Abu Dharr reported: "My parents did not name me Amr. But may Allah not favour the one who disobeys Him, acts against His commands and follows his own base desires." At that time, Ka’b al-Ahbar stood up against him and said: "You old man! Do you not fear Allah when you talk back this way to Amirul Mu’mineen?" Then Abu Dharr raised the stick, which he had in his hands and hit Ka’b on his head, saying: "O son of the Jewish parents, why do you have to speak on behalf of the Muslims? For, By Allah, your jewishness has not come out of your heart yet." Then Uthman said: "May Allah not unite me with you under one roof! You have indeed gone senile and you have lost your senses. Get him away out of my sight, mount him on a bare camel and then hasten the camel to reach him uncomfortably to Rabdhah. Then drop him there alone, till Allah may decide his fate." So he was pushed away with humiliation, with his ribs prodded. It was declared in advance that no one should bid him farewell. When the news reached ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, he wept till his beard was wet with tears and then he said: "Is this the way to treat the companion of the messenger of Allah? We are for Allah, and unto Him shall we return!" Then he stood up, accompanied by al-Hasan, al-Husayn, Abdullah ibn Abbas, al-Fadhl, Qathum and Ubaidullah and proceeded till they drew close to Abu Dharr. They continued following him. When Abu Dharr, may Allah have mercy on him, saw them, he wept in sympathy for them and said: "May my father be ransom for the faces which remind me of the Prophet (peace be upon him, and his progeny) when I see them; and mere sight of them overwhelms me with divine blessings." Then he raised his hands towards the heavens and said: "O Allah! I love them; and shall remain steadfast even if I were cut into pieces because of their love! And that is only for Your pleasure and for the next abode! Return to your places, may Allah have mercy upon you, and I pray to Allah that He may keep me in the best relationship with you." Then they bid him farewell and returned with tears in their eyes.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said on the eve of his departure from the world: “O Abul Hasan, bring a scroll and pen and ink.” Then he dictated his will, till he came to the words: “O Ali, very soon after me there will be twelve Imams and after them there would be twelve Mahdis. And you are the first of the twelve Imams. The Almighty Allah has named you as Ali Murtadha, chief of believers, the great truthful one (who testified to the Prophet), the great discriminator (and through you truth would be distinguished from falsehood) and named you as Mamun and Mahdi, these names are not appropriate for anyone else other than you.” “O Ali, you are my successor and in charge of my Ahle Bayt (a.s), whether I am alive or dead. In the same way, you will be my successor on my wives, thus ones you leave in my marriage contract would meet me tomorrow on Judgment Day and I am aloof from one you divorce; and on Judgment Day neither would she see me nor would I see her. After me you are the successor and Caliph on my Ummah. When your death approaches, you will transfer my successorship and legateeship to my son, Hasan, the righteous and rightful. When his death comes, he would entrust it to my son, Husain, the pure and the martyr and when his death comes, he would hand it over to the chief of the worshippers and the owner of corns (Ali) and when his end comes, he would transfer it to his son, Muhammad Baqir and when his last moments approach, he would entrust it to his son, Ja’far Sadiq and when his death comes, he would leave it to his son, Musa Kadhim and when his death comes, he would leave it to his son, Ali (Ridha) and when his end comes, he would give it to his son, Muhammad, the trustworthy (Taqi) and when his death arrives, he would present it to his son, Ali (Nasih). And when his death comes, he would transfer it to his son, Hasan (Fazil) and when his death arrives, he would leave it to his son (Muhammad), who is the protector of the Shariah of Muhammad. These were the twelve Imams and after them there will be twelve Mahdis. When the last moments of the twelfth Imam will approach, he will hand it over to his son, who is the foremost proximate; and he has three names: My name, name of my father: Abdullah and Ahmad; and third will be Mahdi and he will be the first of the believers.”

“The reward of doing Iftar at the house of a brother in faith is seventy or ninety times the reward of a fast.”