عبد الله بن عثمان بن عمرو

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Whoever’s behavior is bad and evil, his soul lives in suffering.”’

9. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from certain persons of his people from Ali ibn Asbat from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Uthman who had seen abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), trim his mustache up to the root of the hairs.”’

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Allah loves the servant who is put to trial (by sin) and repents, however, one without such (sinful) condition is better.’”

“Once I was with abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), and I was wearing a sandal which was smooth. He (the Imam) said, ‘This is of the kind of sandals that Jews wear.’ Minhal then returned, took a knife and carved to narrow down its middle.’”

The Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) said: Ḥusain (a.s.) is from me and I am from Ḥusain (a.s.). Allāh loves those who love Ḥusain (a.s.). Ḥusain (a.s.) is a chief from among the chiefs.

“O Abut-Tufayl, Count twelve ones of bani Ka’b bin Lu’ay and then fighting and killing occur.”

Abdullah bin Umar said to me: O Aba Tufayl, you must consider twelve persons from the descendants of Kaab bin Loi as the Caliphs of the Messenger of Allah (s), after whom mischief and bloodshed would occur and people would fight each other [as all those who mention the twelve persons would create a great controversy].

Whoever is ill-mannered has tormented himself.

“The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘One who spends the night with his stomach full while his neighbor is hungry does not believe in me. Any (people of the town) who sleep at night with their stomachs full while among them are hungry people, to such people, on the Day of Judgment, Allah will not look with kindness.’”

“O Abut-Tufayl, count twelve ones from bani Ka’b bin Lu’ay and then fighting and killing occur.” The traditions narrated by the Sunni concerning this subject are so many. They confirm that the Prophet (S) has mentioned twelve men to be the caliphs after him.

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the distance needed between a well and a cesspool. He (the Imam) replied, ‘If the ground is plain, the distance must be seven yards; and if it is a hillside the distance must be five yards.’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘Water flows forward in direction, to the right or to the left or from its left side to its right side (in) forward direction but it does not flow backward.’”

I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, say: "As if I am at the Pool (Kawthar) seeing those who arrive at me; and there are some who are pushed away from me, so I say: My Lord! (these are) my companions, my companions!" Then the voice says: "You do not know what they did after you. They continued to renege, by turning back on their heels."

“A caliph, whom no one in the Heaven will forgive nor will he have any supporter on the earth, will be killed and another caliph, who will have no chance of getting forgiveness in the afterlife, will be deposed and then the son of the bondmaid will become the caliph.” Abut-Tufayl said (to Aslam): “O my nephew, I wish we would live in his time!” Aslam said: “O uncle, why do you wish so?” Abut-Tufayl said: “Because Huthayfa has told me that the rule will return to the Prophet’s family.”

“I became seriously ill in the month of Ramadan. I was not able to get up. Banu Hashim gathered at night for burial, seeing me about to die. My mother was restless. Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), told her, ‘My aunt, climb on the house, expose your head under the sky, perform two Rak‘at Salah (prayer) and after Salam say, “O Allah, You give him to me as a gift. He was not anything. O Allah, I pray to You to give him to me as a gift on my own initiation so allow me to borrow him from You.’” She did as she was told and I regained consciousness and sat up straight. They called everyone for food (so they can fast the next day). It was Harisah (mashed meat and grain). They ate and I ate with them.’”

Ḥusain (a.s.) is from me and I am from Ḥusain (a.s.). Allāh loves those who love Ḥusain (a.s.). Ḥusain (a.s.) is a chief from among the chiefs.”

You are not my master. I am your master.’ They continued threatening each other. He told him, ‘Wait until our arrival in al-Kufah, O enemy of Allah, and I will take you before Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali (a.s.).’ When they arrived in al-Kufah, they came to ’Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali (a.s.), and the one who had beaten the slave said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep you well, this is my slave. He committed a sin and I beat him for discipline but he jumped on me.’ The other one said, ‘He by Allah is my slave. My father sent him for me for guidance but he jumped on me to claim and take away my assets.’ They each began to swear and the other to refute. He (the Imam) told them to leave for the night, be truthful and come to me with the truth. The next day ’Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali (a.s.), asked Qanbar to make two holes in the wall. He (the Imam) said that ’Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali (a.s.), in the morning would remain reciting prayer after his morning Salat (prayer) until the sun would rise by the length of a spear. The two men then came and people gathered. They said that there is a case like no other case before him (the Imam), it is difficult and he (the Imam) may not be able to solve it. He (the Imam) then asked them, ‘What do you say?’ Each one swore and claimed that the other man is his slave. He (the Imam) then told them, ‘You both stand up. I do not think you are speaking the truth.’ He then told one of them to place his neck in the hole in the wall and pull out his head from the other side. Then he told the other one to do the same thing. He (the Imam) said, ‘O Qanbar, bring for me the sword of the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, quickly and of the two strike down the neck of the slave one.’ He (the Imam) said that the slave quickly pulled his head out of the hole. Ali (a.s.), asked him (slave), ‘Did you not think that you were not a slave?’ The other one remained with his head in the hole. He then said, ‘Yes, but he beat me up and transgressed against me.’ He (the Imam) said that ’Amir al- Mu’minin, Ali (a.s.), prepared a document for him and handed over the slave to him (the slave-master).”’

“I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, a Muslim woman accompanied me until we reached the gardens of banu ‘Amir, where she began to experience menses. She felt a great concern about losing her acts of al-‘Umrah. She asked me to mention it before you for an answer. He (the Imam) said, ‘Ask her to take a shower at noontime, dress in clean clothes, and sit in a clean place with women around her who should say ‘Amen’ for her prayers. She should keep doing so when the sun declines toward the west. She then say the following prayer and women behind should say ‘Amen’, 0 Allah, I appeal before You through every name that is Your name or with which You have named Yourself for any of Your creatures, or have treasured or kept high in Your hidden knowledge before You. I appeal before You through the greatest of Your great names, whereby if You are asked You deem it necessary to answer, please cleanse me of this blood.’ If it did not stop, she should say this prayer. 0 Allah, I appeal before You through every word that You revealed to Muhammad (SAW). (I appeal before You) through every word that You revealed to Moses, through every word that You revealed to Jesus and through every word that You revealed in any of Your books, through every prayer with which any of Your angels have prayed before You to cleanse me of this blood.’ If it did not stop, she should do the same thing the next day at the same time. She should take a shower when the sun declines to the west, from a point verhead, say salat (prayer) and women should say ‘Amen’ for her prayer.’ That woman followed the instruction and she became clean. She performed all acts of al-Umrah and al-Hajj in clean condition and returned. As soon as we reached the gardens of banu ‘Amir, she experienced menses again. I then asked him (the Imam), ‘Can I read those two supplications after my salat (prayer). He (the Imam) replied, ‘You can read the first supplication if you like, but do not read the second unless it is a desperate condition.’”

When people deserted ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, and fled to Mu’awiyah seeking worldly gains from him, a group from the companions of Amirul Mu’mineen, peace be upon him, called upon him and told him: "O Amirul Mu’mineen, spend the wealth and give preference to the noble clans of Arabs and Quraish over the client tribes and the non-Arabs; and appease those who you fear may turn against you or run away to Mu’awiyah." Amirul Mu’mineen, peace be upon him, told them: "Do you counsel me to enlist help by unfairness? No, by Allah, I shall never do it, for as long as the sun shines and the stars in the sky twinkle! By Allah, if their wealth had belonged to me, I would have distributed equally to them, so how can I discriminate when the wealth belongs to all of them?" He said: Then Amirul Mu’mineen, peace be upon him, remained silent for some time and then said: "Whoever has wealth, he should be wary of being spoiled. Surely, when wealth is given to an undeserving person, then it is a squander and extravagance. And though it makes the giver popular in this world, it is wasted in the eyes of Allah. And a person who squanders his wealth wastefully giving to those who do not deserve, Allah deprives him from their gratitude and causes them to have affinity towards others! And if at all there are some who are inclined and grateful to him, it is nothing but flattery and sham. They wish to ingratiate themselves to him so that they may continue to receive what they have been receiving before. And if that rich man is hit by adversity, needing their help or support, you will find them the worst, taunting friends. And whoever wishes to do good with what Allah has given to him, he should use it to mend with his blood relatives; be a generous host, release the oppressed prisoners, help those who are in debt, and the wayfarers, the poor and those who fight in the way of Allah. And he should be patient against adversities and misfortunes. With such accomplishment, he will attain the high honour in this world and the virtues in the next."

“I lived in interior Kashmir, India. My friends would sit on chairs on the right and left of the King. They were forty people and all of them would read the four books, Torah, Gospel, Psalms and the books of Abraham. We would judge among the people and provide them understanding of their religion and issue fatwas for them in the lawful and unlawful matters. All people would seek assistance from us including their King. Once we discussed about the Messenger of Allah and said that this prophet who is mentioned in the books has remained obscure to us. We must investigate about him and lead a fact finding task in his affairs. We agreed that I should go out and lead the fact finding task. I then left out with large amount of money and journeyed for twelve months until I reach near Kabul. Turkish bandits rubbed wounded me seriously. They pushed me to Kabul where their King saved me when he learned about me he sent me to Balkh which was under the control of Dawud ibn al-‘Abbass ibn abu al-Aswad. Information about me had reached him that I have come out of India in search for religion and that I have learned Persian and have debated the scholars of law and theology. Dawud ibn al-‘Abbass sent for me and summoned me to his presence. He gathered the scholars of law against me. They debated me. I then informed them that I have come to find about the prophet about whom we have learned in the books” He asked, “Who is he and what is his name?” I said, “His name is Muhammad.” They said, “He is our prophet that you search for.” I asked them about his laws and they informed me about them. I said, “I know that Muhammad is the prophet but I do not know the one you describe to me is he or not. You should show where he is so I can go and find out whether the signs that I have about him is found in him or not. If he would the one I am looking for I will accept his religion.” They said, “He has passed away.” I asked them, “Who is the executor of his will and his successor?” They said, “Abu Bakr is his successor.” I asked them, “Tell me about his name. Is this (Abu Bakr) his Kunya?” They said, “It is ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Uthman.” They ascribed him to Quraysh.” I then asked them to tell me about the genealogy of Muhammad. They informed me of his genealogy. I said this is not the person I am looking for. The one I am searching for is the one whose successor is his brother in religion and his cousin genealogically, the husband of his daughter and the father of his sons. This prophet will have no children on earth except the sons of this man who is his successor.” He has said that they attacked me and said, “O commander, this man has come out polytheism and has entered disbelief. It is lawful to spill his blood.” I said to them, “O people I already have a religion and I strongly believe in it. I do not want to give it up until I can find a religion stronger than this. I have found the description of this man in the books that Allah has revealed to His prophets. I came out of my country, India leaving behind all the honor and respect that I had only to find him. When examined your prophet the way you described him to me I found out that his description as you presented does not match the description of the prophet mentioned in the books. So leave me alone.” The agent sent for a man called al-Husayn ibn Eshkib and said to him, “Debate this Indian man.” He said, “May Allah grant you well being. There are the scholars of the law and the other scholars. They know better how to debate him.” He said to him, “Debate him as I say, and you can meet privately and be kind to him.” Al-Husayn ibn Eshkib said to me after our consultations, “The prophet that you are looking for is the one these people have described for you but their description of his successor is not the way they have described. This prophet is Muhammad ibn‘Abdallah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. His successor is Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. He is the husband of Fatema, daughter of Muhammad (s.a) and the father of al-Hassan and al-Husayn, the grandsons of Muhammad (s.a).” Ghanim abu Sa‘id has said, “I then said, “Allahu Akbar.” (Allah is great). This is the one I have been looking for.” I then returned to Dawud ibn al-‘Abbass and said to him, “O commander, I have found what I was searching for. I testify that there is no lord besides Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” The narrator has said that he treated and helped me with kindness and asked al-Husayn to look after me.” The narrator has said that thereafter I went to him until we were acquainted properly and he taught me understanding of the law of the matters that I needed such as prayer, fasting and the obligations.” The narrator has said that I said to him, “We read in our books that Muhammad (s.a) is the last of the prophets and there will be no other prophets after him. The task of leadership after him will be with the executor of his will, his successors and heirs and thereafter it will be with the executor of the will of the previous one and so on in their descendants until the end of the world. Who is the executor of the will of the executor of the will of Muhammad (s.a) ?” He said, “They are al-Hassan then al-Husayn the grandsons of Muhammad (s.a).” He then continued speaking of the executors of the will of the Holy Prophet (s.a) until the Sahib al-Zaman (the one who possesses Divine Authority today). Then he explained to me what had happened (with the Imams). Thereafter I hand no other goal but to search for the holy location. He (‘Amiri) has said that he came to us in Qumm. He sat with our people in the year two hundred sixty four AH. He then left with them and arrived in Baghdad with his friend from al-Sind who had accompanied him in religion. ‘Amiri has said that Ghanim said to me, “I disliked certain things about my companion and I departed him and went out to al-‘Abbassia and prepared my self for prayer. I began the prayer but I was anxious and thoughtful about my goal. At this time someone came to me and called me with my Indian name. I replied, “Yes, it is I.” He said, “Your master is calling you.” I went with him and he would walk from this to that street until he came to house and a garden and I saw him (a.s.) sitting.” He said, “Well come, O so and so, in Inddian language. How are you? How was so and so until he mentioned all the forty people. He then asked me about every and each of them. Then he told all that had happened among us all in Indian language. Then he asked, “Did you want to perform Hajj with people of Qumm?” I said, “Yes, my master.” He then said, “Do not go to Hajj with them this year. Go back and perform Hajj in future.” He then gave me a bag of money that was in front of him and said to me, “Spend it for your needs and do not go to Baghdad to so and so.” He mentioned his name and said, “Do not tell him anything.” ‘Amiri has said that he came to us at Qumm. He then informed us of the triumph and that our people had returned from al-‘Aqaba. Ghanim went ‘Uthman Khurasan. Next year he went for Hajj and sent us souvenirs from Khurasan. He lived there for sometimes and then he died. May Allah grant him blessings.”