Ahmad b. Yahya al-Maktab reported to us, saying: Muhammad b. Yahya al-Sulami informed us, saying: Muhammad b. Yazid al-Nahwi reported to me, saying: Ibn Abi Abdun narrated from his father, who said
When Zayd b. Musa b. Ja'far was taken to al-Ma'mun, having come out from al-Basrah and burned the houses of the descendants of al-Abbas, al-Ma'mun granted him a pardon for his brother Ali b. Musa al-Ridha (as) and said to him: "O Abu al-Hasan, if your brother comes out and does what he did, then indeed, Zayd b. Ali had come out before him and was killed. If it were not for your position with me, I would have killed him, for what he has done is not trivial." Al-Ridha (as) replied: "O Commander of the Faithful, do not compare my brother Zayd with Zayd b. Ali (as), for he was among the scholars of the family of Muhammad, who became angry for the sake of Allah and fought against his enemies until he was killed in His cause. Indeed, my father Musa b. Ja'far (as) informed me that he heard his father Ja'far b. Muhammad say: 'May Allah have mercy on my uncle Zayd; he called to the right of the family of Muhammad, and if he had been victorious, he would have fulfilled what he called to. He consulted me about his uprising, and I told him: O my uncle, if you are content to be the killed one who is crucified in the Kunasah (a place of public display), then it is your affair.' When he turned away, Ja'far b. Muhammad said: 'Woe to him who hears his warning and does not respond to him.'"
Al-Ma'mun said: "O Abu al-Hasan, has not what has come regarding those who claim the Imamate without right been said?" Al-Ridha (as) replied: "Indeed, Zayd b. Ali (as) did not claim what was not rightfully his; he was more pious to Allah than that. He said: 'I call you to the right of the family of Muhammad.' What has been said regarding those who claim that Allah appointed them, then call to other than the religion of Allah, and mislead from His path without knowledge, is different. Zayd, by Allah, is among those addressed by this verse: 'And strive in the cause of Allah with the striving due to Him; and He has chosen you.'"
Ali b. al-Husayn, the compiler of this book, may Allah be pleased with him, mentioned many virtues of Zayd b. Ali apart from al-Ridha, and I wanted to present some of them in light of this narration so that those who examine our book may understand the belief of the Imamiya regarding him.
A. Ahmad b. Harun al-Fami reported in the mosque of Kufa in the year 254 AH, Muhammad b. Abdullah b. Ja'far al-Himyari, from his father, from Muhammad b. al-Husayn b. Abi al-Khattab, from al-Husayn b. Alwan, from Umar b. Thabit, from Dawud b. Abd al-Jabbar, from Jabir b. Yazid al-Ju'fi, from Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali al-Baqir, from his ancestors, from Ali (as) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to al-Husayn: "O Husayn, from your loins will come a man called Zayd who will transcend, he and his companions, on the Day of Resurrection, the necks of people, shining and illuminated, entering Paradise without reckoning."
B. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Ruzmah al-Qazwini said: Ahmad b. Isa al-Alawi al-Husayni reported to us, from Abad b. Ya'qub al-Asadi, who narrated from Habib b. Arta'ah, from Muhammad b. Dhakwan, from Amr b. Khalid who said: Zayd b. Ali (as) took hold of his hair and said: "My father Ali b. al-Husayn took hold of his hair and said: I heard my father al-Husayn b. Ali (as) taking hold of his hair, saying: I heard the Commander of the Faithful (as) taking hold of his hair, from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), taking hold of his hair, saying: 'Whoever harms a hair of mine has harmed me, and whoever harms me has harmed Allah, and whoever harms Allah, Allah curses him with the curses of the heavens and the earth.'"
C. Ali b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Imran al-Daqqaq, may Allah be pleased with him, reported to us, saying: Ali b. al-Husayn al-Alawi said: Al-Husayn b. Ali al-Nasiri, may Allah sanctify his soul, informed me, saying: Ahmad b. Rashid, from his uncle Abu Ma'mar Said b. Khitham, from his brother Ma'mar, said: I was sitting with al-Sadiq Ja'far b. Muhammad (as) when Zayd b. Ali b. al-Husayn (as) came and took hold of the door's threshold, and al-Sadiq (as) said to him: "O uncle, I seek refuge with Allah that you be the one crucified in the Kunasah." Zayd's mother then said: "By Allah, what drives you to this statement other than envy for my son?" He replied: "I wish it were envy, I wish it were envy, I wish it were envy," three times, and then said: "My father informed me, from my grandfather (as), that there will come from his offspring a man called Zayd who will be killed in Kufa and crucified in the Kunasah. His grave will be exhumed, and the doors of heaven will be opened for his soul, and the inhabitants of the heavens will rejoice with him. His soul will be placed in the body of a green bird that roams in Paradise wherever it wishes."
D. Al-Hasan b. Abdullah b. Said al-‘Askari reported to us, saying: Abdul Aziz b. Yahya said, from al-Ash'ath b. Muhammad al-Dhabbi, who narrated from Shu'ayb b. Amr, from his father, from Jabir al-Ju'fi, who said: I entered upon Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali (as) while Zayd was with him (as). Then al-Ma'roof b. Kharbooth al-Makki entered, and Abu Ja'far (as) said: "O Ma'roof, recite to me some of the rare poetry that you have." So he recited to him:
"Not in a weak bond; by your life, never has Abu Malik opposed the wise when he has commanded him."
"And not with the strongest of defenses at his words; a noble gentleman, sweet in his disposition."
"But he is a brilliant lord; and whatever you entrusted to him, he will suffice for you."
"When you suffice him, you have achieved compliance." Then Muhammad b. Ali (as) placed his hand on Zayd's shoulders and said: "This is your description, O Abu al-Husayn."
E. Ahmad b. al-Husayn al-Qattan reported to us, saying: Al-Hasan b. Ali al-Sukkari reported to us, from Zakariya al-Jawhari, from Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Imarah, from his father, from Amr b. Khalid who said: Abdullah b. Sayyabah said: We set out and we were seven men, and we came to Medina. We entered upon Abu Abdillah (as) who said: "Do you have news of my uncle Zayd?" We said: "He has gone out, or he is on the way." He said: "If news comes to you, inform me." So we stayed for a few days until a messenger from Bassam the trader came with a letter saying: "As for what follows: Zayd went out on Wednesday, the first of Safar, and he stayed until Wednesday and Thursday and was killed on Friday. With him were so-and-so and so-and-so." We entered upon al-Sadiq (as) and handed him the letter, and he read it and cried, then said: "Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return. I will hold my uncle in high regard with Allah; indeed, he was a good uncle. By Allah, my uncle was a man for our world and our hereafter. By Allah, my uncle is a martyr like the martyrs who were martyred with the Messenger of Allah, Ali, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn; may Allah's blessings be upon them."
F. Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. Ahmad b. al-Walid reported to us, saying: Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saffar, from Ahmad b. Abi Abdullah al-Barqi, from his father, from Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. Shimun, from Abdullah Sanan, from al-Fudhayl b. Yasar, who said: I reached Zayd b. Ali (as)