النضر

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that a person is interrogated in the grave while he is pressed hard from all sides.”

“Abu ‘Abdullah (a.s.), has said that if dying and separation of body and soul becomes difficult for one, he should be placed where he would perform his Salah (prayer).”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that howling for a deceased is not proper, and it should not happen but people do not know. Exercising patience is better.”

“Abu ’Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘The only ones interrogated in the grave are those whose belief or disbelief is absolute and total.’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘Verily the moment when your enemy will have the most intense hatred for this matter [of our wilāyah] will be when the soul reaches here; and the moment when one of you will have the most intense delight is [also] when the soul reaches here – and he pointed to his throat. The terrors of this world and all that he was wary of in it will be cut off from him, and he will be told: In front of you is the Messenger of Allah (ṣ), ʿAlī (a) and the Imams (a).’”

The people are in two groups: those who get relieved by others and those from whom others get relieved. Those who get relieved are the believers. Once they die they are relieved of this world and its calamities. Those from whom others get relieved are the unbelievers. Once they die, the trees, the animals and many of the people get relieved from them.”

“Once I said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘These are the words of Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, “When it (the soul) reaches the throat. ... if you are truthful.’” (56: 82- 87) The Imam said, ‘When it reaches the throat then it sees its dwelling in paradise and says, “Return me to the worldly life so I can inform my family of what I have seen.’” It then is said, ‘There is no way for that to happen.’”

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said that the Messenger of Allah has said, ‘O people, a man in whose home a death takes place, should not wait for burial until morning or wait until night, if it takes place during the day. Do not wait for the burial of your dead people until sunrise or until sunset. Expedite their burial, may Allah grant you blessings, and people said, “May Allah grant you blessings, O Messenger of Allah.

I said to Abā Jaʿfar (a), ‘Ṣāliḥ ibn Mītham narrated to me from ʿAbāyah al-Asadī that he heard ʿAlī (a) saying, “By Allah, no servant [of Allah] ever hates me and dies with hatred for me but that he sees me at the moment of his death in a way that he hates, and no servant ever loves me and dies with love for me but that he sees me at the time of his death in a way that he loves.”’ So Abū Jaʿfar (a) said, ‘Yes, and the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) will be on his right side.’”

“I said to Abā ʿAbdillāh (a), ‘What is the meaning of the verse wherein Allah, the Exalted, says: Why then, when it reaches the throat [of the dying person], while at that moment you are looking on – and We are nearer to him than you, though you do not see – why then, if you are not subject [to Our will], do you not restore it [and bring him back to life], if you are truthful? (Q56:83-7)?’ He said, ‘When the soul of the dying person reaches the throat, and he is a believer, he sees his position in Paradise and says, “Return me to the world so that I may inform its people about what I saw.” But he will be told, “There is no way to [do] that.”’”

"When al-Hassan was about to die he wept. He was asked, 'O son of the Messenger of Allah, why would you weep, when you have such a position with the Messenger of Allah such as you have? And all the (good things) said about you. You have performed Hajj twenty times on foot and distributed all of your belongings among the needy three times exactly.' He replied, 'I weep for two reasons, It is the fear of resurrection and separation from the loved ones.'”

When al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī (a) was on his deathbed, he cried, so someone asked him, ‘O son of the daughter of Allah’s Messenger, you are crying despite having the position that you have next to the Messenger of Allah (ṣ)? And despite what the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) has said regarding you? And despite your having gone for pilgrimage twenty times riding and twenty times on foot? And despite having given away all your possessions for the sake of Allah thrice, even your sandals?’ He (a) replied, ‘I am only weeping for two things: the terror of what is to come [in the grave and Hereafter] and separation from loved ones.’”

“Once I said to abu Ja‘far (a.s.), that Salih ibn Mitham narrated to me from ‘Abayah al- Asadi who had heard Ali (a.s.), say the following: ‘By Allah, everyone who dislikes me and dies in such condition, can see me at the time of his death but with dislike. Everyone who loves me and dies in such condition, can see me at the time of his death with love.’ Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), then said, ‘Yes, and the Messenger of Allah on his right side.’”

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about Ghusl (bath) for a dead body. He (the Imam) said, ‘You must give it a Ghusl (bath) with water mixed with Sidr, (Lotus tree leaves), thereafter one more Ghusl (bath) with water mixed with camphor and Dharirah (a certain herb or incense from India), if available, then you must give it one Ghusl (bath) with pure water.’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘Is it necessary to give three Ghusl (baths) to all of the body?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, that is correct.’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘Is it necessary to keep a piece of cloth on it during Ghusl (bath)?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, it is necessary; if possible, there must be a shirt on it so you can give it Ghusl (bath) under the shirt. He (the Imam) said, ‘I would like that one who gives Ghusl (bath) wrap his or her hand with a piece of fabric when giving Ghusl (bath) to a dead body.’”

"The Messenger of Allah (sw) entered upon Khadījah when her son Qāsim had died, and she was weeping. He asked her, 'What makes you weep?' She replied, 'My milk flowed, and so I wept.' He said, 'O Khadījah, would you not be pleased if on the Day of Resurrection, you come to the gate of Paradise and Qāsim is standing there, taking your hand and leading you into Paradise, placing you in its best place? This is for every believer. Verily, Allah the Almighty and Glorious is too wise and too generous to take away the fruit of a believer's heart and then punish them afterward, ever.'"

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘Verily the moment when your enemy will have the most intense hatred for this matter [of our wilāyah] will be when the soul reaches here,’ and he gestured towards his throat. Then he said, ‘There was a man from the family of ʿUthmān who would often curse ʿAlī (a), so one of his maid servants who would visit us told me about that. She said, “When he was about to die, he said, ‘What do I have to do with them?!’”’ I said [to the Imam (a)], ‘May Allah make me your ransom! Why did he say this?’ He said, ‘[It was] when he was shown some of the punishment [that awaits him for rejecting the wilāyah]. Have you not heard the verse wherein Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says: But no, by your Lord, they will never be [true] believers until they accept your judgement in all their disputes, and find no resistance within themselves against your decision and submit wholeheartedly (Q4:65)? Far be it! Far be it! No, by Allah [it will not be so] until this thing is well established in the heart, even if he prays and fasts.’”

‘I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, “When a person is placed in his grave, two angels come to him, one angel from his right and another from his left; and Satan is made to stand in front of him, his two eyes looking [intensely red] like copper. Then he is asked, ‘What do you say about the man who came before you [as a Prophet]?’ He will be overwhelmed by fear and then, if he is a believer, he will say, ‘Are you asking me about Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah (ṣ)?’ So they will say to him, ‘Sleep a slumber wherein there is no dream,’ and his grave will be widened by nine cubits. Then he will see his place in Paradise; and that is [what is referred to in] the verse wherein Allah, the Almighty, says: Allah makes the believers steadfast with the firm word [of faith] in this worldly life and in the Hereafter (Q14:27). If [on the other hand] he is a disbeliever, they will ask him, ‘What [do you say] of the man who came before you [as a Prophet]?’ He will reply, ‘I do not know.’ So they will leave him alone with Satan.”’”

“A man from my family fell ill and I went to visit him and told him, ‘Son of my brother, I have an advice for you and I hope you accept it.’ He said, ‘I accept it.’ I then asked him to say, ‘It is only Allah who must be worshipped and He has no partner.’ He then testified to this fact. I then said, ‘This will not be of any benefit unless you are certain about it.’ He said that he is certain about it. I then asked him to say, ‘I testify that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.’ He then testified to this fact also. I then said that this would not benefit you unless you are certain about it. He said that he is certain about it. I then asked him to say, ‘I testify that Ali is the executor of the will of the Messenger of Allah, his successor and the Imam who after the Messenger of Allah must be obeyed.’ He testified to such facts. I then said that this would not benefit you unless you are certain about it. He said that he was certain about it. I then mentioned all ’A’immah one by one. He testified and said that he is certain about them. Not very long thereafter, he passed away. His family began to cry intensely and mourn for him. I then left them and after a while visited, offered them my condolences, inquired as how they have been and asked the woman (of the house) how she was. She said, ‘His death was a great loss for us and very difficult to bear - may Allah grant him mercy - of things that provided relief for me was that one night I saw a dream.’ I then asked, ‘What did you see in your dream?’ She said, ‘I saw him - the deceased - living and sound. I asked him, “Did you not die?” He replied, ‘Yes, I died but I was saved by the words that abu Bakr dictated to me. Were it not for those words I would have (most certainly) been destroyed.””

There was a Jewish boy who would come frequently to the Prophet (s) until he loved him. Sometimes, he would send him off for a need, and sometimes, he would have him write a letter to a people. He did not come for some days, so he asked about him. So, someone said to him: You have left him in the last day from the days of this world. So, the Prophet (s) went to him with people from his companions – and among his (as) blessings is that he would always respond to those who address him. So, he said: O so-and-so. So, he opened his eyes and said: I am at your service, Aba’l Qasim. He said: Bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah. So, the boy looked to his father and did not say anything. Then, the Messenger of Allah (s) called to him a second time and said the same thing that he said the first time. So, the boy looked to his father and did not say anything to him. Then, the Messenger of Allah (s) called to him a third time. The boy looked to his father, and his father said: If you want, say it; and if you want, do not say it. So, the boy said: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that you, Muhammad, are the Messenger of Allah. Then, he died in his place. So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said to his father: Leave us. Then, he (s) said to his companions: Wash him and shroud him, then bring him to me so that I may pray over him. Then, he left, saying: Praise be to Allah who delivered a soul from the Fire through me today.

I visited Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali b. Abi Talib (as) during the ailment in which he passed away. He settled from his injury, so I said to him: O Amir al-Mu’minin! How is your injury, and how much pain are you in? So, he said to me: O Habib! I, by Allah, will depart from you in this moment. He said: So, I wept at that, and Umm Kulthum wept; and she was attending to him. So, he said to her: What makes you weep, my daughter? So, she said: You mentioned, father, that you will be departing from us at this moment, so I wept. So, he said to her: O my daughter! Do not weep, for by Allah, if you see what your father sees, you would not weep. Habib said: So, I said to him: What do you see, O Amir al-Mu’minin? So, he said: O Habib! I see the angels of heaven and the prophets, each following the other, standing to meet me. This is my brother, Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (s) sitting with me, saying: “Come forth, for what is before you is better than what you are in.” He said: So, I did not leave him until he (as) passed away. The next morning, al-Hasan (as) got up to give a sermon on the pulpit. He praised Allah and commended Him, then said: O people! On this night, the Quran was revealed, and on this night, `Isa b. Maryam (as) was raised up, and on this night, Yusha` b. Nun was killed, and on this night, my father, Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali b. Abi Talib (as) died. By Allah! None of the deputies before him will reach Paradise before him, nor will any after him. Surely, when the Messenger of Allah (s) would send him out to the battlefield, Gabriel would fight by his right side and Michael would fight by his left side. He neither left behind a gold coin nor a silver coin, except for seven hundred silver coins that were left over from what was given to him which he was gathering to purchase a servant for his family.