أحمد بن منصور أبو بكر

“Once I asked abu al-Hassan Musa (a.s.) about the feeble-minded people and he wrote to me, ‘A feeble-minded is one to whom evidence and proof is not (or cannot be) presented and he does not know the differences among people. If he knows the differences among people he is not an enfeeble person.’”

“My father wrote to me in his letter and I asked abu al-Hassan, Alayhi al-Salam, about testimony for them. He (the Imam) said, ‘You must present a testimony for Allah, even if it is against your own soul or parents or relatives between you and them, but if you fear injustice to your brother then do not do so.’” Al-Husayn from Muhammad has narrated from Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Nahdiy from ’Isma‘il ibn Mehran a similar Hadith.

`Ali (as) said: Whenever I would ask the Messenger of Allah (s), he would answer me; and whenever I was silent, he would begin speaking to me.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: We, the Children of `Abd al-Muttalib, are the masters of the people of Paradise: The Messenger of Allah, Hamza the Master of Martyrs, Ja`far the one of two wings, `Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan, al-Husayn, and the Mahdi.

I am the last of the people to have seen ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. I entered upon him while his head was in the lap of his son ʿAbdullāh, and he was despondent. He said to him: "Put my cheek on the ground." But ʿAbdullāh refused. He then said: "Put my cheek on the ground, may your mother be bereaved of you!" So he placed his cheek on the ground. He kept saying: "Woe to my mother! Woe to my mother, if You do not forgive me!" He continued to say this until his soul departed.

On the night of the delegation of Jinn (i.e. during the battle of Tabuk), we were with the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, when he made a station at Ula. Then he went away, and when he returned, he heaved a sigh. Then he said: "O Ibn Mas’ood, I have been warned of my impending death." So I said: "O messenger of Allah, appoint a successor." He asked: "Who?" "I said: "Abu Bakr." He said: (The Prophet) walked for sometime, and heaved a sigh and then said: "My death has been announced to me O Ibn Mas’ood." Then I said: "Appoint a successor, O messenger of Allah." He asked: "Who?" I said: "Umar." He remained silent, and then walked for sometime, heaved a sigh, and said: "I have been given news of my death, O Ibn Mas’ood!" So, I said: "Appoint a successor!" He asked: "Who?" I said: "Uthman." He kept silent, walked for sometime, heaved a sigh and said: "O Ibn Mas’ood, my death has been announced to me!" I said: "Appoint a successor, O Prophet of Allah" He asked: "Who?" I said: "‘Ali ibn Abi Talib." He heaved a sigh and said: "By He Who controls my soul, if they obey him (i.e. ‘Ali), they will definitely enter Paradise, everyone of them."

When the death of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, was approaching, there were some people, including Umar ibn al-Khattab, in the house. The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Come, let me write for you a testament so that you may never go astray after that!" So, Umar said: "Do not give him anything, for he is overwhelmed with pain; and you have the Qur’an, the Book of Allah is sufficient for us." Then the inmates began disputing each other, some saying, "Rise, and (let) the Prophet write for you", while others agreed with Umar. When there was too much noise and dispute, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Go away from me". Ubaidullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah said: Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah bless him with mercy, used to say: "What a calamity! Total calamity, which prevented the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, from writing for us that testament because of their disputation and noise."

Umar ibn al-Khattab once arrived at an assembly where ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, and Uthman and Abdul Rehman and Talha and al-Zubair were present. So Umar said: "Does everyone of you aspire to becoming a leader after I have gone?" Al-Zubair replied: "Everyone of us aspires, and believes to be fit for it. What is that you disapprove?" Umar said: "May I not tell you what I think about you?" They remained silent. (Again) Umar said: "May I not tell you about yourselves?" They kept silent. Then al-Zubair said: "Say, despite our silence." So he (Umar) said: "As far as you, O Zubair, are concerned, you are at your best when pleased and content, and you are at your worst when offended and angry. There is a day when you are a devil, and a day when you are a man. Tell me, who will be the Caliph on the day you turn to be a devil? And you, O Talha, by Allah, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, left this world displeased with you. And you, O ‘Ali, you are a man of inactivity and frivolity. And you, O Abdul Rehman, you are best qualified for it if the position ever comes to you. But surely among you there is a man whose faith encompasses the faith of the multitude, and he is Uthman."

When people swore the allegiance on the hands of Abu Bakr, ‘Ali (as), al-Zubair and al-Miqdad entered the house of Fatimah, peace be upon her, and refused to come out. So, Umar ibn al-Khattab said: "Set the house on fire upon them." Then al-Zubair came out with his sword. So Abu Bakr said: "Catch this dog." As they advanced towards him, he (al-Zubair) slipped and fell and the sword fell off his hand. Then Abu Bakr said: "Hit him with the stone." Zubair hit the stone till it broke. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) left the house from the direction of Aaliyah and met Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas. He said: "O Abul Hasan, what has happened to you?" He said: "They have resolved on burning down my house, while Abu Bakr is sitting on the pulpit, receiving allegiance, he neither prevents them for doing it nor is he condemning it." Thabit said: "My palm will not leave your hand, till I am killed by your side." So they moved forward together till they came back towards Madinah while Fatimah (peace be upon her) stood at her door, and all of the people had left her house. She was saying: "I have not known of an assembly of people worse than you; you left the messenger of Allah unattended, when his corpse lay before us; you resolved about your affairs among yourselves, refusing to seek our leadership; and you did to us what you did, and you recognized no right for us."

‘I wrote to Abu Al-Hassan Musa (asws) whilst he (asws) was in the solitary confinement. I wrote asking him (asws) about his (asws) condition and about numerous matters. The answer did not come for months, then he (asws) answered me by an answer and this is its copy: - In the Name of Allah (azwj) the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to the High, the Magnificent. It is by His (azwj) Greatness and His (azwj) Light the hearts of the ‘الْمُؤْمِنِينَ’ (believers) achieve vision, and by His (azwj) Greatness and His (azwj) Light, (whereas) the ignorant ones are inimical to Him (azwj), and by His (azwj) Greatness and His (azwj) Light crave the ones in the heavens and in the earth and to Him (azwj) is the Means by the different deeds and the contradictory Religions. So the rightful, and the mistaken, and the stray, and the guided, and the hearing, and the deaf, and the seeing, and the blind ones are perplexed. So the Praise Belongs to Allah (azwj) Whose Religion was recognised and described by Muhammad (saww). Having said that, you are of the people whom Allah (azwj) has Blessed by Sending the Progeny (asws) of Muhammad (saww) (towards you and) and by special status, and Preserved the cordiality which attracted you to His (azwj) Religion, and what He (azwj) has Inspired from your guidance and your vision from the matters of your Religion that you give preference to them (asws) and are referring your matters to them (asws). You wrote to me (asws) asking me (asws) about matters which I (asws) was observing dissimulation in and concealed them for a while. So when the authority of the tyrant passed by, and there came the authority of the One (azwj) with Great Authority, by my (asws) departing from the world which has been condemned by its inhabitants who have hardened themselves against their Creator, I (asws) saw that I (asws) could explain to you what you had asked me (asws) about, fearing that our (asws) weak Shiites may enter into confusion because of the ignorance which is in front of them. So fear Allah (azwj), Mighty is His (azwj) Mention, and single out for these matters, its deserving ones, and be cautious that you should become a reason for the calamities against the successors (asws) or provoking (people) against them (asws) by publicising what I (asws) am entrusting you with and exposing what I (asws) have told you to conceal, and Allah (azwj) Willing, you will not do this. Firstly what I (asws) would like to inform you is that you should mourn for myself (asws) in this very night without remorse and no complaints, for what is to transpire is from what Allah (azwj) Mighty and Majestic has Ordained and is inevitable. So attach yourself to the Handle of the Progeny (asws) of Muhammad (saww), and the Firmest Handle of the successor (asws) after the successor (asws), and the submission to them (asws) and be pleased with what they (asws) say, and do not seek Religion from the ones who are not from your Shiites, and do not love their Religion, for they are traitors who have betrayed Allah (azwj) and His (azwj) Rasool (saww), and betrayed their trusts. And do you know how they betrayed their trusts? They were entrusted with the Book of Allah (azwj) so they distorted it and changed it, and evidenced it upon the rulers among them. So stay away from them. Allah (azwj) has Made them to Taste the clothing of the hunger, and the fear due to what they had done. And you asked about two men (Abu Bakr and Umar) who usurped the wealth of a man which he used to spend upon the poor and the needy and the traveller in need, and in the Way of Allah (azwj). So when they usurped that, they were not happy until they made him carry it unwillingly upon his ride to their own homes. When they undertook to be in charge of its spending, and so reached infidelity by doing that. By my (asws) life, they had become hypocrites before that and rejected against Allah (azwj) His (azwj) Words, and mocked at His (azwj) Rasool (saww), and they were both infidels. May Allah (azwj) Curse them, and the Angels, and the people altogether. By Allah (azwj), the ‘Eman’ (belief) did not enter into the heart of any one of them since their coming out from their condition (Kufr), and it did not increase them in anything except for doubts. They were deceivers, sceptical, hypocrites until they both died and the Angels of Punishment took them to the place of disgrace in the eternal abode. And you asked about those who were in the presence of that man whilst he was usurping his wealth and placed it upon his ride, and there were among them who knew about it and denied it. So those (Abu Bakr and Umar) are the first apostates from this community, and so may the Curse of Allah (azwj) and the Angels and all the people be upon them. And you asked about extent of our (asws) Knowledge, and it is upon three aspects. The past, and the future, and the newly recurring. So as for the past, it has been explained, and as for the future, it has been written down, and as for that which is newly occurring, so it gets imprinted upon the hearts, and resonated in the ears, and it is the highest of our (asws) Knowledge, and there is no Prophet (as) after our (asws) Prophet (saww). And you asked about the mothers of their children (the followers of those two), and about their marriages, and about their divorces. So, as for the mothers of their children, they are prostitutes up to the Day of Judgement, having married without a guardian (Wali’s consent), and going through divorces without (completing the) waiting periods. And as for the one who enters into our (asws) Invitation (call to Wilayah), so his ‘Eman’ demolishes his misguidance, and so does his ‘Yaqeen’ conviction (demolish) his doubts. And you asked about the Zakaat among them. So, there was nothing from the Zakaat (for them), as you are more deserving of it, because we (asws) have made that to be lawful for you, and those who are from you wherever they may be. And you asked about the weak. So the weak is the one who cannot argue against (the batil) and he does not understand the differences, for if he understands the difference, then he is not with the weakness. You asked about the ‘الشَّهَادَاتِ’ testimonies for them. So establish the testimony for the sake of Allah (azwj), even if it is against your own-self, and the parents and the relatives in what is between you and them. So if you fear injustice against your brother, don’t (be part of it). And call to the Law of Allah (azwj), as He (azwj) has (placed those) in our (asws) recognition (Ma’rifat). The one who hopes would be Answered and do not barricade yourself by the fort of hypocrisy. And befriend the Progeny (asws) of Muhammad (saww) and do not speak of what reaches you from us (asws), and ascribe to us that ‘this is false’, and you may know something from us (asws) which is against it, for you do not know why we (asws) may have said it, and upon which perspective we may have described it. Believe in what I (asws) inform you (asws) and do not publicise what I (asws) have told you to conceal from what I (asws) inform you. It is from the obligatory right of your brother that you do not conceal anything from him which might benefit him in the affairs of the world and the Hereafter. And do not hold a grudge against him and not to hurt him, and answer his call when he calls you and do not leave him alone between him and his enemies from the people even though they may be closer to you than him, and support him in his illness. It is not from etiquettes of the ‘الْمُؤْمِنِينَ’ Believers, the defrauding, and the injuring, and the treachery, and the arrogance, and the vulgarities, and the immoralities, and the commanding for such things. So if you were to see the deformed Bedouin in legions (large armies), so wait for your relief (Al-Qaim (asws)), and for your Shiites, the believers, and when the sun rises, raise your vision to the sky and look at what Allah (azwj) has Done with the criminals. So I (asws) have explained to you all of this in summary. And send greetings upon Muhammad (saww) and his (saww) Progeny (asws), the righteous’.