Jami ibn Umar ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Jafar al-Ijli said: A man of Banu Tamim, of the descendants of Hala, related to me from Abu Hala, from al-Hasan ibn Ali, from al-Husayn (AS), who said: I asked my father about the Messenger of God's (PBUH) life within his house. He said: When he came to his dwelling he divided his time there into three parts: a part for God, a part for his family, and a part for himself. Then he divided his own part between himself and the people, giving it over to the care of the generality, and he withheld nothing of it from them. It was of his practice with the community to give precedence to the people of merit in religion. Among them was one with a single need, one with two needs, and one with many; he busied himself with them and with their affairs in what would set them and the community right, questioning them about their circumstances and telling them what was fitting for them. He would say: Let the one present convey to the one absent, and bring to me the need of one who cannot convey it himself, for whoever conveys to a ruler the need of one unable to convey it, God will make his feet firm on the Day of Resurrection. They would come in to him seeking, and they never parted from him except upon good. He said: I asked him about his going out, and how he conducted himself. He said: He (PBUH) kept his tongue in check except concerning what mattered to him; he brought men together and did not divide them; he honoured the noble of every people and set him in charge over them; and he kept watch over his companions. He said: I asked him about his assembly and how he conducted himself in it. He said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) never rose or sat except in the remembrance of God. When he came to a gathering of people, he sat wherever the gathering ended. He gave every one of those sitting with him his share, so that no one who sat with him supposed that anyone was more honoured in his eyes than himself. Whoever sat with him, or stood before him over some need, he bore with patiently until that person himself was the one to turn away. And whoever asked him for something was not sent away except with it, or with a gracious word. His openness and his character embraced the people, and he became a father to them, and in his sight they were equal in right. His assembly was an assembly of forbearance, modesty, patience and trust: voices were not raised in it, sanctities were not violated in it, and no one's slips were repeated. Those who mixed with him were on a level, excelling one another only in piety; they were humble; in it the elder was honoured, the young shown mercy, the needy preferred, and the stranger protected. He said: And I asked him about his manner with those who sat with him. He said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) was constantly cheerful, easy of nature, gentle of temper. He was neither harsh nor rough, neither foul-mouthed nor fault-finding nor given to flattery. He would take no notice of what he did not care for, yet no one despaired of him or was left disappointed in him. He had freed himself of three things: disputation, excess, and what did not concern him. And he spared the people three things: he would not disparage anyone, nor shame him, nor seek out his faults; and he spoke only of what he hoped to be rewarded for. When anyone spoke, he listened in silence until he had finished. He laughed at what they laughed at and marvelled at what they marvelled at. He bore patiently with the roughness of a stranger's speech and questioning, so much so that his companions would draw such men out. And he used to say: When you see someone with a need seeking it, help him. He would not accept praise, and he would not cut anyone off in his speech. He said: I asked him how the silence of the Messenger of God (PBUH) was. He said: His silence rested upon four things: forbearance, caution, measured judgement, and reflection. As for his measured judgement, it lay in making his gaze and his listening equal among the people. As for his reflection, it was upon what endures and what passes away. Forbearance was gathered in him together with patience, so that nothing angered him and no one could provoke him. And caution was gathered in four things: his taking hold of what is good so that he might be followed in it; his leaving what is base so that men might refrain from it; his striving in judgement for what would set his community right; and his undertaking of what gathers for them the good of this world and the next. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 1, p. 17)
Imam al-Husayn (AS) says: One day I asked my father, the Commander of the Faithful (AS), about the way and practice of the Prophet (PBUH), and I said: What did he do at home? He said: He divided his time into three parts: a part for himself, a part for his family, and a part for those of the people at large who came to him. When people came to him, he made no distinction between them in the time he gave and the hospitality he showed; he received them with whatever he had, though he showed greater respect to the people of merit in religion. For each person he gave time in the measure of the need he had, and he occupied himself with setting that person's affair right and spoke with him as much as was needed, and he would say: Convey these matters to others too. And he would say: Bring to me the need of one who has no access to me, for whoever conveys the need of a helpless person to those who can meet it, on the Day of Resurrection God will guard him from stumbling. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) added: People would enter the house of the Messenger of God bewildered, and leave it with their affairs set in order. Imam al-Husayn (AS) asked: What was his way outside the house? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: He did not speak except about what concerned him. He was always the cause of joining people together, never of division and separation. He honoured the chief of each people and set him over them. He constantly inquired after his companions. He asked: How was he in gatherings? He said: He rose and sat in the remembrance of God, and he would sit wherever there was a free place. He gave his attention to everyone present in such a way that each thought he loved him more than the rest. With anyone who sat with him or had business with him, he was so patient that it was that person himself who would decide to leave. Whoever had a need, he either fulfilled it or satisfied him with a kind word. He was courteous and good-natured with the people. All saw him as a father, yet in matters of right all were equal before him. His assembly was an assembly of forbearance, modesty, patience and trust. Voices were not raised in it, no one was spoken ill of, and no one's mistakes were held in memory. Those associated with the Prophet (PBUH) were on a level, and the measure of precedence among them was piety. They were humble, and among them the elder was respected and the young beloved. Needs mattered, and they were hospitable to strangers. Imam al-Husayn (AS) says: I asked about the Prophet's (PBUH) conduct in dealing with people. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: He was cheerful, good-natured and easy-going. He never spoke harshly and did not seek out faults. As a rule he did not praise people to their faces. He did not occupy his mind with what he had no need of, and concerning what he wished for and did not obtain he was neither distressed nor despairing. He was truly free of three things: wrangling and disputation, the seeking of more, and spending time on what did not concern him. Regarding people, he did not speak ill, did not reproach, and did not look for faults. Whenever someone was speaking, he kept silent until that person had finished. He was at one with the people: he laughed with them and marvelled with them. He was patient enough for a stranger to be able to say his piece and make himself understood, and in this he was so patient that the patience of those with him ran out. Yet he would say: When someone wants something, be patient and go along with him. He did not allow himself to be extolled. He tried never to cut off anyone's speech. Imam al-Husayn (AS) says: I asked what his silence was like. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It was full of forbearance and attentiveness, of measure and of reflection. His measure was the dividing of his attention equally among people, and his reflection was upon the weight of things: what is perishable was of no importance to him, and he sought what abides and is everlasting. His forbearance was such that nothing whatever could anger him and no one could move him from his place. His attentiveness bore four fruits: he made good things known and gave them life; he made evils recognized; he taught the community what was for its welfare; and he taught them the path by which the good of this world and of the hereafter could be gathered together for them.
Amr ibn Thabit said: Safiyya said: O Messenger of God, there is not one among the wives of the Prophet, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, who does not have kinsfolk besides me; you destroyed the people of my house on the day of Khaybar. So if something should happen, to whom shall I turn? He said: To Ali ibn Abi Talib. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 1, p. 385)
Safiyya, daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab the Jew, who embraced faith after the battle of Khaybar and became the wife of the Messenger of God (PBUH), said to the Messenger of God (PBUH) one day: Every woman has her kin and family except me, for all my people were killed at Khaybar. Now, if something should happen after you, to whom am I to turn for refuge? The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Take refuge with Ali.
Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafi, from his father, from his grandfather [Abu Rafi], who said: On the day of Uhud the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, caught sight of a company of the polytheists of Quraysh. He said to Ali: Charge them. Then he caught sight of another company of the polytheists of Quraysh and said: Charge them. So Ali charged them and killed Amr ibn Abd Allah al-Jumahi. Then the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, caught sight of yet another company of the polytheists of Quraysh and said to Ali: Charge them. So he charged them and scattered their gathering and killed Shayba ibn Malik, one of the Banu Amir ibn Luayy. Then Gabriel said to the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace: This indeed is true fellowship in sacrifice. And the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, said: He is from me and I am from him. Gabriel said: And I am from you both. And they heard voices crying: There is no sword but Dhu al-Fiqar, and no champion but Ali. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 1, p. 491)
The narrator says: On the day of the battle of Uhud, the polytheists attacked the Messenger of God (PBUH) group after group, and Ali (AS) drove them off. At that moment Gabriel (AS) descended and said: This is what true fellowship in sacrifice means. The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Ali is from me and I am from Ali. Gabriel (AS) said: And I too am from you both. At that a voice rang out through the heavens: There is no champion but Ali, there is no sword but Dhu al-Fiqar.
From a group of narrators: When Ali came to the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, with the conquest of Khaybar, the Prophet said to him: O Ali, were it not that groups of my community would say of you what the Christians said of the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, I would say concerning you words such that you would not pass by any company of Muslims but they would take the dust from beneath your feet and the water left over from your purification and seek healing by it. But it is enough for you that you are from me and I am from you; that you inherit from me and I inherit from you; that you will discharge my debt; that your children are my children; and that tomorrow no one who hates you will come to my Pool, and no one who loves you will be absent from it. He said: Then Ali fell prostrate before God and said: Praise be to God, who has favoured me with Islam and made me beloved to the best of His creation, as a favour from Him to me. And the Prophet, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, said to him: Were it not for you, O Ali, the believers after me would not be known. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 1, p. 494)
A great many have related that when Ali (AS) returned from the conquest of Khaybar, the Messenger of God (PBUH) said to him: O Ali, were I not afraid that some in this community would go to excess concerning you as the Christians did concerning Jesus (AS) and ascribe divinity to you, I would say something that would make the Muslims sanctify the dust of your feet and seek blessing in the water of your ablution. So I say only this much: that you are from me and I am from you; that you are the heir of my knowledge and I am your heir; that you will pay my debts; that your children are my children; and that on the Day of Resurrection whoever hates you will not come to my Pool, and whoever loves you will not be parted from me. When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) heard this, he fell into prostration and said: Thanks be to God, who has bestowed upon me the favour of Islam and made me beloved to the best of His creation. The Messenger of God (PBUH) went on: Were it not for you, the believers after me would not be recognized.
Abaya said: I heard Ali say: I am the yasub of the God-fearing, and wealth is the yasub of the unbelievers. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 14)
The narrator says: I heard the Commander of the Faithful (AS) say: I am the yasub of the God-fearing, and the yasub of the unbelievers is the wealth and goods of this world.
We say: what is meant by yasub is leader, mainstay and motive force.
Al-Asbagh ibn Nubata said: By God, Ali would come out to us on a cold day, in bitter cold, in but two garments. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 15)
The narrator says: It was among the characteristics of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that he did not feel the cold; on bitterly cold days we would see him wearing no more than a shirt and a pair of trousers.
Shubruma ibn Tufayl said: I saw Ali wearing a waist-wrapper and a cloak, greasing a camel of his on a bitterly cold day, and his brow was running with sweat. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 37)
The narrator says: We saw Ali (AS) in the severe cold with nothing on but a pair of trousers and a shirt, and his brow was sweating from the heat.
Abu Rashid al-Hubrani, from Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, who said: On the day of Ghadir Khumm the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, wound a turban upon my head and let its end hang down behind me. Then he said: God supported me on the day of Badr and at Hunayn with angels who wore the turban in this fashion. And he said: The turban is a barrier between unbelief and faith. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 42)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: On the day of Ghadir the Messenger of God (PBUH) bound a turban upon my head and cast its end down behind me, and said: The angels who came to my aid at Badr and at Hunayn wore the turban thus. And he said: The turban is a barrier between unbelief and faith.
Ubayd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Aisha said: Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him) was killed while he had four free-born wives. All the children of Ali were sixteen sons and nineteen daughters. Those of Ali's children (may God be pleased with him and with them) who left descendants are al-Hasan, al-Husayn, Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, al-Abbas and Umar. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 48)
The narrator says: Ali (AS) was martyred while he had four wives in his marriage. Altogether Ali (AS) had sixteen sons and nineteen daughters, but his line continued only through al-Hasan, al-Husayn, Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, al-Abbas and Umar.
Umar ibn Suwayd al-Ijli said: Salama al-Taymi related to me that he went out to the market and met Ali just as he had come out of the palace. He said: I followed him, and he went about the market commanding fidelity in dealings and enjoining what is right, until, when the day was half over, he turned back and I turned back with him. He went aside to the treasury and entered it, and I entered with him, and there was the gleam of gold and silver. He looked at it for a long while, then laughed, then said: O world, deceive someone other than me — saying this three times — I shall not come to evening while there is any white or yellow left in it. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 53)
The narrator says: I saw the Commander of the Faithful (AS) come out of the palace of the seat of government, so I set off after him. First he went to the market and urged the traders to keep faith with their covenants, and he continually enjoined what is right. Then he went towards the treasury. I went with him and entered the treasury. A great deal of gold and silver was heaped up there, glittering. For a long time he stared at the mountain of gold and silver; then he laughed and said three times: O world, you cannot deceive me! Then he said: Before evening comes, all this gold and silver must be distributed among the destitute.
Ali ibn Rabia: Juda ibn Hubayra came to Ali while he was preparing something he intended to divide among the people. He said to Juda: Is this dearer to you, or that? Were it between me and the most hateful of people to me, I would not care which of the two I took. Juda said: O Commander of the Faithful, a man comes to you to whom you are dearer than his own family and his children, and you give judgement for him thus; and a man comes to you who, if he could cut your throat with his teeth, would do it — and you give judgement for him the same! Ali struck his hand upon his own breast and then said: This that you speak of — if it were mine, I would do as you say; but it belongs to God. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 57)
The narrator says: The nephew of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), who was one of his commanders and trusted men, was preparing certain goods so that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) might divide them among the people. Ali (AS) picked up one of those things and said to him: Do you like this better, or that? Then he said: It makes no difference to me whether the good things fall to my own lot or to the lot of one who is my enemy. His nephew asked: Is there really no difference to you in dividing the treasury between one who loves you more than his own children and one who is so hostile to you that, if he could, he would kill you with his own hands? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) struck his hand upon his breast and said: If it were my own property, then yes; but this is the public treasury and the property of God, and it must be divided equally.
Dirar ibn Damra ibn Amr al-Kinani said, in the presence of Muawiya, when Muawiya said to him: Enough of you, Dirar! This is no time for your oration — Ali is under the dust! [Dirar said:] God have mercy on the Commander of the Faithful. By God, he was short of garment and coarse of living; no curtains were hung for him, no gifts were hoarded with him, no door was shut against us before him, and no chamberlain kept us from him. By God, he was long in prostration and little in sleep; he recited the Book of God in the watches of the night and at the ends of the day; he gave his life's blood freely for God and returned to Him with his tears. The world had no hope of him, that it might distract him, nor the devil, that he might lead him astray. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 58)
Someone spoke harshly to Muawiya, and Muawiya said to him: You speak roughly, though the days of my enemy Ali's (AS) supremacy are gone and he now lies beneath the dust? — that is, I have no rival or contender for rule. That man said: God have mercy on Ali. He wore a patched cloak and his living was that of an ascetic. There was no curtain between him and the people. He hoarded nothing of the treasury for himself. The door of his house was not closed to us, and no one prevented us from going to him. He was long in prostration and little in sleep — that is, he slept little. He was constantly at home with the Book of God. He gave away his property seeking God's good pleasure, and his tears flowed at God's threshold. He had no greed for the world that it might occupy him, nor any weak point by which Satan might mount upon him.
My father, from Jabir: from a man of the people of Basra, of Banu Batr, known as Abu Matar, who said: I came out of the gate of the mosque in Kufa in the time of Ali ibn Abi Talib, wearing a long waist-wrapper over which I would sometimes stumble. Then there was an old man calling out behind me: My son, lift up your garment, for it will last longer for your garment and is nearer to the fear of your Lord; and trim your moustache, if you are a Muslim. I looked, and there he was — Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him). So I walked behind him while he went before me, wearing a waist-wrapper and a cloak, so that he seemed like a bedouin. He went on, and I behind him, until he came to the camel market and said: O company of camel dealers, beware of oaths, for an oath makes the goods sell and then wipes out the blessing. Then he went on until he reached the market of the date sellers, and there was a servant girl weeping beside a date seller. He said to her: What makes you weep? She said: This man sold me dates for a dirham, and my master sent them back with me, but he refuses to take them back from me. He said to the seller: Give her back her dirham and take your dates, for she is a servant and has no authority of her own! But the man pushed her away. It was said to him: Do you know who this is? He said: No. They said: This is Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Commander of the Faithful! So the seller poured out his dates and gave her back her dirham, then said: O Commander of the Faithful, be pleased with me. He, peace be upon him, said: I am pleased, if you give the Muslims their rights in full. Then he said: O date sellers, feed the poor, and your earnings will increase. Then he passed on until he saw the fishmongers, and said: O fish sellers, do not sell the eel, nor the fish that floats up dead. Then he passed on until he came to the butchers, and said: O company of butchers, do not blow into the meat, and do not slaughter one sheep in the sight of another. Then he entered among the cloth merchants and drew near to one of them and said: O sheikh, give me a good bargain on a shirt for three dirhams. He said: Yes, O Commander of the Faithful. When he saw that the man had recognized him, he went off to another and said: Give me a good bargain on a shirt for three dirhams. He said: Yes, O Commander of the Faithful. So he left him and went to a youth and said: Young man, give me a good bargain on a shirt for three dirhams. The youth gave him a shirt, and he put it on, and it fell between his wrists and his ankles. When he had put it on he said: Praise be to God, who has clothed me with raiment by which I cover my nakedness and appear seemly among the people. Then he said: I heard the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, say this when putting on a garment. Then he went on until he came to the open square, and called for water and performed the ablution, and then said: When will the most wretched of them be sent forth? They said: Will this indeed come to pass? He said: Yes; a man will kill me. I have not lied, nor have I been lied to. Then the old man, the father of the youth who owned the cloth, came to his son, for people had said to him: Your son today sold the Commander of the Faithful a shirt for three dirhams. He said to his son: Did you take three dirhams from him, when it is priced to us at two dirhams? So the old man took a dirham and went off to Ali and said: O Commander of the Faithful, my son sold you a shirt for three dirhams, but it is priced to us at two dirhams, and I have brought you a dirham; take it. He said: No. He sold to us willingly, and we took it willingly. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 60)
The narrator says: I was wearing a long garment and coming out of the gate of the mosque of Kufa when an old man behind me called to me: My son, shorten your garment, for it will last better for you and is nearer to the fear of God. And trim your moustache too, if you are a Muslim! I looked and saw that it was Ali (AS). I set off after him. He was wearing a simple garment, so that he resembled the desert dwellers. First he went to the market of the camel dealers and addressed them, saying: O camel dealers, do not swear oaths in your dealings, for an oath first takes away the blessing and then brings ruin. Then he came into the market of the date sellers. He saw someone weeping and said: What has happened to you? She said: I bought dates, and my master has told me to return them, but the date seller will not accept them. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) asked the date seller to take the dates back and said: This poor creature is a servant and has no authority of her own. The date seller refused. They said to him: Do you know who this person is? He said: No. They said: He is the Commander of the Faithful. He was thrown into confusion, took back the dates, returned the servant's money, and hurried after Ali (AS), taking hold of the hem of his garment and saying: O Commander of the Faithful, be pleased with me! Ali (AS) said: I am pleased with you, on condition that you observe the rights of the people. Then, addressing all the traders, he said: You date sellers, feed the poor, so that your trade may be blessed. Then he went on and came into the fish market and said: Beware of selling the dogfish and fish that have died. Then he entered the market of the butchers and said: Keep the meat clean, and until you have sold one sheep entirely, do not slaughter the next. Then he entered the market of the cloth merchants and said to a clothes seller: I want a good garment for three dirhams. The seller said: At your service, O Commander of the Faithful. When Ali (AS) saw that the seller had recognized him, he went to another seller, and when he saw that this one too had recognized him, he went to a young seller. The seller sold him a robe for three dirhams, and when he put it on it covered his arms to the wrists and his legs to the ankles. Then he raised his hands in supplication and said: Praise be to God, who has clothed me with raiment by which I cover my nakedness and appear seemly among the people. And he said: I learned this supplication from the Messenger of God (PBUH). Then he set out for the main square of the city, and there called for water and performed the ablution. In the midst of the ablution he said: When, then, will that wretched one appear? They said: Which wretched one? He said: The one who is destined to split my head open! They said: Is this to happen? He said: Yes; the one who told me never lies, and whatever I say is not false and will come to pass. Meanwhile the owner of the shop from which Ali (AS) had bought the robe came running and said: O Commander of the Faithful, the price of this robe is two dirhams, not three. The youth who works in my shop was to have sold it for two dirhams and sold it dear at three. I have brought the remaining dirham. Ali (AS) said: No, there is no need; I bought it willingly for three dirhams, and he too was content with three.
Muhammad ibn Kab al-Qurazi said: I heard Ali say: I have seen myself binding a stone upon my belly from hunger in the days of the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, and today my charity is forty thousand dinars. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 66)
The narrator says: I heard the Commander of the Faithful (AS) say: There was a day, in the time of the Messenger of God (PBUH), when from hunger I bound a stone upon my belly; and now I give forty thousand dinars a day in charity in the path of God.
Nafi ibn Abi Nuaym said: Abu Talib used to give Ali a bowl of milk to pour over al-Lat, but Ali would delay his return until nightfall. Abu Talib found this strange and sent Aqil after him — and there he was, drinking the milk and urinating upon al-Lat! Aqil told Abu Talib of this, so he took the bowl from him and handed it to Aqil, who thereafter poured it over al-Lat. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 66)
The narrator says: When Ali (AS) was a child, one of his kinsmen gave him a bowl of milk to pour out at the foot of the idol al-Lat as an act of veneration. Night fell and Ali did not return. They sent Aqil after him — and they saw that he had drunk the milk himself and urinated at the foot of the idol!
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, from his father, said: My father (God's good pleasure be upon him) was such that no one ever asked him for anything but he sent him away satisfied, if only with a kind word. At night he would call Qanbar, who would carry flour and dates, and he would go with them to houses he knew and give to them, and no one would learn of it. Muhammad said: Father, what keeps you from giving it to them by day? He said: My son, charity given in secret extinguishes the wrath of the Lord, mighty and majestic. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 68)
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya says: My father Ali (AS) was such that whoever asked him for anything went back satisfied. At night, with his servant Qanbar, in disguise, he would carry flour and dates to people's doors. I said: Why do you not do this by day? He said: Charity given in secret quenches the wrath of God.
Umm Hani bint Abi Talib said: Ali was among the most generous of people. His father used to send a gift with him to some of his kinsfolk, and he would say: Father, this is little; add to it. Then he would come to his mother, Fatima bint Asad, and say: Mother, add to it from my own share! And she would do so. His father used to give to him and to Aqil, making the two shares equal, yet Aqil would press him and say: You have been given more than I have been given! So he would set his own share before him and say: Take from it what you wish! And he never turned a beggar away, from the time he was a boy until he was martyred, may God be pleased with him. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 69)
Umm Hani, the sister of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), says: From childhood Ali was full of generosity and open-handedness. Whenever our father gave him provisions to take to our relatives, Ali would say: Father, make it more! Then he would go to our mother, Fatima bint Asad, and say: Mother, take from my own share and add it to the provisions for our relatives! They always gave him and Aqil equal shares, but Aqil would usually say: Your share is greater than mine! So Ali would give of his own share to Aqil and say again: Take whatever you wish! From childhood until his martyrdom, Ali never turned a beggar away.
Uthman al-Asha, from a man whom he named, said: When the month of Ramadan came, Ali would take his evening meal one night with al-Hasan, one night with al-Husayn, and one night with Ibn Abbas, and he would not eat more than three mouthfuls. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 71)
The narrator says: In the month of Ramadan, Ali (AS) was one night the guest of al-Hasan, one night the guest of al-Husayn, and one night the guest of Ibn Abbas. And as a rule he would eat no more than a few mouthfuls!
Aqil ibn Abi Talib said: My paternal aunt related to me: I came in upon Ali in Kufa, and he was seated upon a worn-out donkey's saddle-pad. Then I went in to a wife of his from Banu Tamim and I reproached and blamed her, saying to her: This house of yours is filled with fabrics, and the Commander of the Faithful sits upon a worn-out donkey's saddle-pad? She said: Do not blame me! For we bring out to him no garment that is strange to him but he sends it to the treasury of God and casts it in! (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 72)
Aqil relates from his aunt: In Kufa I went to Ali (AS) and saw that he was sitting on the worn-out pack-saddle of a donkey. Then I went to the house of one of his wives, of Banu Tamim, and saw that it was full of fine carpets. I said: Such coverings are here, and Ali sits upon a donkey's pack-saddle? She said: Do not blame me! Every garment or covering we give him, he takes away and puts among the property of the public treasury.
Abu Bakr al-Hudhali, from al-Hasan, who said: A man of Banu Tamim related to me: Abd Allah ibn Abbas sent me to Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, who was in Kufa, with six hundred thousand dirhams left over from the stipends of the people of Basra. I came to him while he was giving the people their evening meal in the month of Ramadan. He said: O brother of Banu Tamim, sit and eat with the people. I said: Rather, I will stand with you and help you until they have finished. He said: That is for you to decide. When they had finished, he took hold of my arm and led me to his house. When he entered his dwelling he sat down and said: O Qanbar, bring me the provision bag. He brought him a sealed bag, and he looked at its seal, and I said to myself: This is money he means to hand over to me. He opened it and brought out for me a piece of dry bread, which he moistened with water; then oil and salt were brought and he poured them over it, and he said: Come near, brother of Banu Tamim. I said: Excuse me, O Commander of the Faithful, send me back to my companions! He said: Far from it — your companions have gone. O Qanbar, go to al-Hasan ibn Ali and say to him: A guest has come down upon us; if you have any relief with you, then relieve him. So Qanbar went to the house of al-Hasan, peace be upon him, and brought a dish in which were broth and meat and loaves, and set it before me, and I began to eat. He said: O brother of Banu Tamim, you are skilled at eating this! I said: And you, by God, are skilled at eating scraps of dry bread! At this he wept, peace be upon him, and then said: O brother of Banu Tamim, if ever we made ourselves equal to them in their food, God would question us about it! (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 73)
The narrator says: One Ramadan, Ibn Abbas sent me from Basra to Kufa with a sum of money. When I had delivered the money to Ali (AS) in the mosque of Kufa, he said: Will you break your fast with the people in the mosque? I said: I would rather be with you yourself. He said: As you please. So I waited until he had settled the people's affairs, and then set out with him to his house. When we had sat down, he asked Qanbar for a leather bag. Qanbar brought a bag whose mouth was tightly knotted. I said to myself: No doubt he means to take gold out of the bag and make me a gift of it. But I saw that in the bag was dry bread! He said: Help yourself! I said: If you permit, let me go back to that same mosque and break my fast there! He said: The meal at the mosque is over now. He sent Qanbar and said: Bring food from al-Hasan's house for our guest. Qanbar went and brought a dish full of meat and stew and set it before me to eat. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do you like this? Mockingly I said: Yes — and you eat what you like! At that moment the Commander of the Faithful (AS) burst into tears and said: If I am not equal to the poorest of them in food, how shall I answer to God tomorrow?!
Abd Allah ibn Husayn, from Muhammad ibn Ali, they said: Abu Nayzar was one of the sons of certain kings of the Persians. He came to desire Islam, so he came to the Messenger of God, God bless him and his family and grant them peace, and stayed with him. When the Messenger of God died, he remained with Fatima and her children, God's mercy upon them. Abu Nayzar said: Ali ibn Abi Talib came to me while I was tending the two estates, Ayn Abi Nayzar and al-Bughaybigha, and said: Have you any food? I said: We have a food I would not be content to offer you: a gourd from the gourds of the estate, which I cooked with rancid fat. He said: Bring it to me. Then he rose and went to the watercourse and washed his hand, and took some of it; then he went back to the watercourse and washed his hand with sand until it was clean. Then he joined his two hands together, one with the other, and drank from the watercourse a draught with them, and said: O Abu Nayzar, the palms are the cleanest of vessels. Then he wiped some of that water over his belly and said: Whoever's belly brings him into the Fire — may God cast him far away. Then he took the pickaxe and went down into the spring and began to strike within it, but the water was slow in coming, and he came out with his brow streaming with sweat. He wiped away the sweat from his forehead, then took up the pickaxe and returned to the spring and began to strike in it, murmuring under his breath, and the water burst forth like the neck of a slaughter-camel. He came out in haste and said: I call God to witness that this is a charitable endowment. Bring me an inkwell and a sheet of paper! Abu Nayzar said: I hurried them to him, and he, peace be upon him, wrote: In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This is what the servant of God, Ali, Commander of the Faithful, gives in charity: he gives in charity the two estates known as Ayn Abi Nayzar and al-Bughaybigha, to the poor of the people of Medina and to the wayfarer, that God may shield his face from the heat of the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. They are not to be sold nor given away, until God inherits them, and He is the best of inheritors — unless al-Hasan or al-Husayn should be in need, in which case they are free to the two of them and to no one else. Abu Nayzar said: Later al-Husayn fell into debt, and Muawiya offered him two hundred thousand dinars for Ayn Abi Nayzar, but he refused to sell, saying: My father gave it in charity only so that God might shield his face by it from the heat of the Fire. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 81)
The narrator says: Abu Nayzar was one of the sons of the kings of Abyssinia. He left the kingship behind, came to the Messenger of God (PBUH), embraced Islam and remained in Medina. After the Messenger of God (PBUH) he stayed with Ali (AS). (We say: it seems that in the end he was martyred at Karbala fighting alongside Imam al-Husayn (AS). Abu Nayzar was of the house of the kings of Abyssinia and was in all likelihood the son of the Negus. After the Negus died, they came seeking him so that he might accept the kingship of Abyssinia, but he refused and said: I prefer being with the Messenger of God to kingship.) Abu Nayzar says: I was living at al-Bughaybigha, four leagues from Yanbu, in the orchard, and was busy dredging the spring when Ali (AS) came. He said: Have you anything to eat? I said: Yes, but perhaps you will not care for it: a little gourd that I have cooked in oil. He said: Bring that very thing. Then he went and washed his hands in the spring, and drank water from the palms of his two hands, and said: The best of bowls is this one! Then he poured a little water over his belly and said: What a pity if gluttony should send a man to hell! After the meal he took up the pickaxe, set upon the spring and began to dredge it. He sweated continually, and when he grew tired he would rest a little and then go back to the spring and dig it out. Suddenly a rushing water gushed forth as thick as the neck of a camel. Ali (AS) cried out: By God, this spring is my charity in the path of God. He said: Abu Nayzar, bring pen and paper! I quickly prepared pen and paper. He wrote: In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This spring and orchard, which from now on shall bear the name of the Spring of Abu Nayzar, the servant of God, Ali, Commander of the Faithful, makes a charitable endowment in the path of God for the poor of Medina and for those stranded on the road, so that until the day he meets God he may be shielded from the fire of hell. The trusteeship of the spring I entrust to al-Hasan and al-Husayn. Abu Nayzar says: Years later, when al-Husayn (AS) was in debt, Muawiya offered a great sum to buy from him the spring and the field on which he had set his eye; but Imam al-Husayn (AS) did not accept, and said: My father endowed this spring so that it might be a shield for him against the fire of hell.
Hisham, from his father, who said: Ali ibn Abi Talib came in upon Sasaa ibn Suhan to visit him in his illness, and Ali said to Sasaa: By God, I have known you to be nothing but light in your burden and excellent in your help. Sasaa said: And you too, by God, O Commander of the Faithful — by God, I have known you to be nothing but great in your own sight of God, merciful to the believers, and deeply learned in the Book of God. And when Ali, peace be upon him, rose to leave, he said to Sasaa: Do not make my visiting you a boast over your people, for God does not love any conceited boaster [Qur'an 31:18]. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 84)
The narrator says: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) came to visit Sasaa ibn Suhan in his illness and said to him: By God, Sasaa, you are light of burden and excellent in help — that is, you are a burden to no one and a helper to all. Sasaa in turn said: By God, you too, O Commander of the Faithful, are one who sees God, merciful to the believers, and deeply learned in the Book of God. As he was leaving, Ali (AS) said to Sasaa: Do not go and tell your people of my visit as a boast, for God has said: He does not love conceited boasters.
Bakr ibn Abd Allah al-Muzani: Ali called a servant of his, but the servant did not answer him. He went out, and there the man was, at the door of the house. He said: What kept you from answering me? Did you not hear me calling? He said: Yes, but I was too idle to answer you, and I felt safe from your punishment! Ali, peace be upon him, said: Praise be to God, who has made me one of those from whom His creatures feel safe. Go, for you are free for the sake of God. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 86)
The narrator says: Ali (AS) called his servant but heard no reply. He went looking for him and saw that he was near the door of the house. He said to him: Why do you not answer? Did you not hear my voice? The servant said: I heard, but I had no inclination to answer; and besides, I am safe from any punishment from you — that is, I know you will not chastise me. Ali (AS) said: Thanks be to God, who has placed me among those from whom His creatures are safe! Then he said to that servant: Go, for I have set you free for the sake of God.
Kumayl ibn Ziyad al-Nakhai said: Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, took me by the hand and led me out to the open burial ground. When we were in the open country he drew a deep sigh, then said: O Kumayl ibn Ziyad, hearts are vessels, and the best of them is the one that holds most. People are of three kinds: a divine scholar, a learner upon the path of salvation, and the common rabble. O Kumayl ibn Ziyad, the learned endure as long as time endures. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 94)
Kumayl ibn Ziyad says: Ali (AS) took my hand and led me out with him into the open country. When we were alone he sighed and said: O Kumayl, hearts are like vessels; the best of them is the one of greatest capacity. People are of three sorts: the divine scholar, the learner upon the path of salvation, and the aimless rabble. Then he said: The learned endure, as long as time endures.
Salama ibn Abi al-Tufayl, from his father, who said: One day Ali came out of his house, and there was a group of people sitting. He said: Who are you? They said: We are your Shia, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: Glory be to God! Then why do I not see upon you the marks of the Shia? They said: O Commander of the Faithful, and what are the marks of the Shia? He said: Eyes dimmed with weeping, bellies hollowed by fasting, lips withered by supplication, faces pale from keeping vigil; and upon their faces, the dignity of the humble. (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 294)
One day Ali (AS) came out of his house and saw that a number of people were sitting outside the door. He asked: And who might you be? They said: We are your Shia, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: Glory be to God! Then why do I not see in you the countenance of the Shia? They said: And what is their countenance? He said: Eyes sunken from weeping, bellies melted away by fasting, lips dry from supplication, cheeks pale from rising in the night. And most important of all: in their faces one can see the dignity of the humble.
Al-Zuhri said: Al-Mughira [ibn Shu'ba] said to Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him: “I have deceived you three [times] in the past, but by God I shall give you sincere counsel today: leave Mu'awiya over the people of Syria, and keep al-Zubayr over Iraq; then, once the rule is firmly settled for you, dismiss them both!” [Ali (AS)] said to him: “They shall not rule in my dominion for a single day — no, by God — even if the beasts of prey and the birds were to tear me to pieces!” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 312)
The narrator said: Al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba said to Ali (AS): “Until now I have acted against you three times, but this time, by God, I want what is good for you! For the present, leave Mu'awiya content with Syria, and entrust the governorship of Iraq to al-Zubayr for a while. Once the foundations of your rule are firm, dismiss them both!” Ali (AS) said to him: “Not if I were to die for it! Such men hold no office in my government.”
Abu al-Bakhtari and the companions of Ali said: When Ali prevailed over the people of Basra he said: “Do not kill anyone who turns his back in flight, and do not finish off the wounded. Whatever is in their camp is yours, but their women must observe the waiting period, and whatever personal property they had among their families is an inheritance to be divided according to the ordinances of God, exalted be He.” They said: “How is it that their blood is lawful to us, while their women and their slaves are not?” He said: “That is not lawful for you.” When they pressed him further, he said: “Bring your lots, then, and cast lots for A'isha!” They said: “We ask God's forgiveness.” He said: “And so do I.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 331)
The narrator said: When Ali (AS) gained victory over the army of the Camel, he commanded: “Do not kill those who flee; do not strike the wounded; the spoils of war are yours, but do not lay a hand on their women, nor seize their private property, for according to the Book of God it is an inheritance.” They said: “How is it that their blood is lawful, yet their property and their women are forbidden to us?!” He said: “It is as I have told you!” They insisted again and pressed him. So he said: “Come, let us cast lots to see whose share A'isha shall be!” They said: “God forbid — we ask God's forgiveness!” He said: “That is precisely why I say what I say.”
A man of the Banu Nasr ibn Mu'awiya said: We were with Ali [(AS)] and we mentioned the Khawarij and reviled them. He said: “Do not revile them. If they fight a just imam, then fight them; but if they fight a tyrannical imam, do not fight them, for in that case they have an argument on their side.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 332)
The narrator said: We were with Ali (AS) when the Khawarij were mentioned, and we reviled them. He said: “Do not revile the Khawarij! If they fight a just imam, fight them; and if they fight a tyrannical imam, leave them alone — for then they have a proof on their side.”
Riyah ibn al-Harith said: Ali was in the mosque while the Haruriyya were in the market crying out, “Judgement belongs to none but God!” Ali answered them: “It is God's judgement upon you that we await. [It is] a word of truth by which falsehood is intended.” The people said: “O Commander of the Faithful, put them to death.” He said: “By no means, by God! They are still in the loins of men.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 340)
The narrator said: Ali (AS) was in the mosque of Kufa while the Khawarij had gathered outside the mosque in the market, all shouting together: “La hukma illa lillah — judgement belongs to none but God.” Ali (AS) said: “We too await God's judgement concerning you! The slogan ‘judgement belongs to none but God’ is a word of truth, but an evil intent lies behind it.” Those around him asked: “O Commander of the Faithful, will this group be uprooted?” He said: “Never! The thinking of the Khawarij does not die; it will be born again in every age.”
Kathir ibn Nimr said: While I was at the Friday prayer and Ali was on the pulpit, a man stood up and cried: “Judgement belongs to none but God!” Then another said: “Judgement belongs to none but God!” Then they rose from every corner of the mosque proclaiming this judgement. Ali gestured to them with his hand [to] sit down, [then said:] “Yes, judgement belongs to none but God — [and what you say] is a word of truth by which falsehood is sought. It is God's judgement upon you that I await. Know that you have three things due to you from us so long as you are with us: we shall not bar you from the mosques of God, that His name may be remembered in them; we shall not withhold your share of the public revenue so long as your hands are with our hands; and we shall not fight you until you fight us.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 341)
The narrator said: One Friday, Ali (AS) was delivering the sermon from the pulpit of the mosque of Kufa when one of the Khawarij rose and shouted: “La hukma illa lillah!” Then another rose and did the same. Little by little an uproar arose from every corner of the mosque, and the cry of “judgement belongs to none but God” rose to the heavens. Ali (AS) motioned with his hand for them to be silent. When they fell silent he said: “Yes; I too know that judgement belongs to none but God — but an evil purpose is hidden behind this word of truth.” Then he said: “We too await God's judgement concerning you, and until then we shall observe three things towards you: we shall not drive you from the mosques nor prevent you from worshipping; we shall not cut off your share of the public treasury so long as you do not conspire against us; and we shall not draw the sword against you so long as your swords remain sheathed against us.”
Umm Hani bint Abi Talib [related]: Ali came in to Umm Hani bint Abi Talib and said: “How is it that I see no blessing in your house?” Umm Hani said: “The presence of the Commander of the Faithful is blessing enough.” He said: “That is not what I mean; I mean a sheep.” [She said:] Then I brought him food and he ate; then he asked for water, and I went to fetch it. At that moment two men were at the door of the chamber and asked permission to enter, and he gave them leave. She said: I went down to the lower part of the house, and by God I was slow in bringing the water; so the two men came up the stairs, and one of them was saying to his companion: “Our hands alone have pledged allegiance to him; our hearts have not pledged allegiance to him!” She said: Then I came to him [with the water] and set the cup before Ali, God's blessings be upon him. She said: I said to him: “May I be your ransom, I heard these two men saying: ‘Our hands alone have pledged allegiance to him; our hearts have not pledged allegiance to him.’” [She said:] So Ali recited this verse: “Indeed those who pledge allegiance to you pledge allegiance only to God; the hand of God is above their hands” [Qur'an 48:10] — and he recited the noble verse to its end. He said: I asked Umm Hani: “Who were those two men?” She said: “Talha and al-Zubayr.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 342)
One of the daughters of Ali (AS) relates: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) came to our house and said: “Why is your house empty of blessing?” I said: “Your very presence in our house is a blessing.” He said: “That is not what I meant; why do you keep no sheep in the house? A sheep is a blessing.” Then he ate something and asked for water. I went to fetch water when two men asked permission to enter and came into the room. My bringing of the water took a little while, and it coincided with their leaving. As they departed I saw them saying quietly to each other: “We pledged allegiance to Ali with our hands, not with our hearts” (meaning: if we withdraw our allegiance, no blame lies upon us). When I came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), I told him what I had heard from the two. Ali (AS) recited: “Indeed those who pledge allegiance to you pledge allegiance only to God; the hand of God is above their hands. So whoever breaks his oath breaks it only to his own harm, and whoever fulfils the covenant he has made with God, He will grant him a great reward” [Qur'an 48:10] — those who pledge allegiance to you in truth pledge allegiance to God. The hand of God is above their hands. Whoever breaks his allegiance, the harm of it falls upon himself; and whoever fulfils the covenant he has made with God, God will soon give him a mighty reward. Then he said to me, though I was still young in years: “Do you know who those men were?” I said: “No.” He said: “Talha and al-Zubayr.”
Abu Abdillah al-Jadali said: While we were in Mecca — and Uthman had been killed in Dhu al-Hijja — Talha and al-Zubayr arrived and came to A'isha and went in to her. Then her crier came out and called: “Whoever wishes to set out with Talha and al-Zubayr, let him march, for the Mother of the Believers is setting out!” Abu Abdillah said: So I went in to her — and I was a friend of hers — and said to her: “O Mother of the Believers, did the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, ever take you out on a raid or into battle? Did he not command you to remain in your house?” [He said:] I did not cease to press her, reminding her and adjuring her, until she remained behind, and she ordered her crier [to call out:] “Whoever wishes to set out with Talha and al-Zubayr — the Mother of the Believers has remained behind.” When Talha heard the crier's call, he came in to her and whispered in her ear; then her crier came out and called: “Whoever wishes to march with Talha and al-Zubayr, let him march, for the Mother of the Believers is setting out!” Then, after all that befell her had befallen and she had returned to Medina, [I went to her and stood at the door of her house and] said: “Peace be upon you [O Mother]; may Abu Abdillah al-Jadali enter?” He said: [She gave me leave, so I entered and greeted her,] and she wept aloud [when she saw me] until I felt pity for her. Then she began to speak to me. She said: I stood with the people on the day of the Camel upon a hill, and I heard a sound the like of which I had never heard. So I said to a servant boy who was with me: “Go, woe to you, and see what this sound is.” He went, then came back and said: “They have clashed.” I said: “Is the sound among us or among them?” He said: “No, rather among you.” I said: “Is that good for us or bad for us?” He said: “No, rather it is bad for you.” She said: Then I heard the sound a second time, and I sent the boy, and he said to me the like of what he had said the first time. Then I heard it a third time, so I went to look, and behold I was as if in the midst of the surging of the sea! She said: The camel slipped and knelt down, and a man came and thrust in his hand. I said: “Woe to you, who are you?” He said: “The one of your family most hateful to you.” I said: “Muhammad?” He said: “Yes.” She said: Do not ask about the reproach! She said: Then Ammar came, and al-Ashtar came — and do not ask about the reproach and rebuke! — until he said: “I would have wished the sword had reached you.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 344)
The narrator said: It was the month of Dhu al-Hijja. We were in Mecca when Uthman was killed in Medina and the people pledged allegiance to Ali (AS). Talha and al-Zubayr, who intended to break their oath, made their way to Mecca, and there they beguiled A'isha and set about raising an army to fight Ali — so much so that a crier called out: “O people, whoever wishes to go forth with Talha and al-Zubayr — the Mother of the Believers also intends this, and will shortly set out.” Seeing how ill the matter stood, I went to A'isha. She accepted what I had to say. I said: “O Mother of the Believers, did the Messenger of God (PBUH) ever take you with him to war, that you should now set out to battle with these men? Did he not command you to stay in your house?” In short, I warned her so much that she was persuaded, and she sent her crier, who called out: “O people, the Mother of the Believers is not going; but whoever wishes may accompany Talha and al-Zubayr!” When Talha heard the crier's voice, he went to A'isha and spun such tales for her that he turned her mind again, and once more the crier's voice rose: “O people, the Mother of the Believers has again resolved to accompany them.” Some time after the Battle of the Camel, when A'isha had been brought back to Medina, I went to see her again. She was ashamed before me and kept silent for a while. Then she began to speak and said: On the day of the Battle of the Camel I was in the howdah upon the camel. The two armies stood face to face, and then the fighting began. The roar of battle rose up, the clashing of swords and the shouting. I said to my servant: “See whether this sound is in our army or in Ali's army.” He said: “Unfortunately, in our army!” I said: “See whether things go well or ill.” He said: “Unfortunately, ill!” Then things quieted a little, and after that the noise of battle rose again, and this time it came nearer and nearer. The third time the fire of battle flared up, I myself drew back the curtain of the howdah and saw that my camel was like a boat in the midst of a stormy sea. Suddenly someone hamstrung the camel's forelegs, and the camel fell to the ground with the howdah. I was crouching in the overturned howdah when I saw someone come towards it and a hand reach inside. I said: “Who are you?” He said: “The one who has always wished you well, though you have always detested him!” I said: “Muhammad?!” He said: “Yes” (the Commander of the Faithful regarded himself as the very soul of the Prophet). A'isha said: I said, “O Ali, do not reproach me!” At that moment Ammar and al-Ashtar also arrived. Ali (AS) said to the two of them: “No reproach and no reviling!” And then he said to me: “Was this what you wanted?! To become prey to the swords?!”
Kuhayl, from Kathir, from Ibn al-Yaman, who said: I entered the mosque, and there were five men reviling Ali and cursing him; and among them was a man wearing a burnus who was saying: “Upon him is God's covenant that I shall strike him with the sword a blow by which I shall kill him!” [He said:] So I seized the man in the burnus who had covenanted with God to strike him and kill him. The people gathered around me, and some of them said: “You are meddling — release the man,” and others said: “You are a stranger here.” I said: “Woe to you! I have heard from him what I will not let pass until I bring him to the Commander of the Faithful.” He said: So I dragged him by the hand until I brought him in to him, and I recounted the story to him. He said: “Woe to you, who are you?” He said: “I am Musawir al-Minqari.” Ali said: “Then let him go his way!” I said: “[No,] by God, I will not do it!” He said: “Let him go his way.” He said: I said: “Shall I release him when he has covenanted with God to kill you?” He said: “Woe to you! [How] shall I kill him when he has not yet killed me?” He said: I said: “But he has cursed you!” He said: “If you wish, curse him; and if you wish, leave him be!” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 360)
The narrator said: I entered the mosque of Kufa and saw five men gathered in a corner of the mosque cursing Ali. One of them, who was wearing a burnus, was saying: “I have made a covenant with God to send Ali to perdition with my sword!” I could bear it no longer; I seized the wretch and raised an outcry. The people gathered around us. I said: “This man has sworn to kill Ali.” The people said: “Let him go!” I said: “I will not let him go until Ali himself comes.” The uproar grew, and we were brought before Ali (AS). He said: “Who are you, and what is the story?” I told him what had happened. He said: “Let this man go!” I said: “No, by God, I will not let him go.” He said: “I tell you, let him go!” I said: “Shall I release him when he says he wants to kill you?!” He said: “But he has not yet killed me! How can I punish anyone for a deed he has not yet done?!” I said: “He was also cursing you.” Ali (AS) said: “If I wish, I too may curse him; and if I wish, I may pardon him. Let him go!”
Mujalid, from al-Sha'bi, from Masruq, who said: A'isha said: “O Masruq, you are as one of my children and among the dearest of them to me. Have you any knowledge of the Mukhdaj?” He said: I said: “Yes; Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) killed him at a river called Tamarra, whose upper and lower course is Nahrawan, between rough hollows and tamarisk thickets.” He said: She said: “Bring me proof of that.” He said: So I brought her seventy men, ten from each [of the seven divisions] — for the people at that time were organized in sevenths — and they testified that Ali had killed him at a river called Tamarra, whose upper and lower course is Nahrawan, between rough hollows and tamarisk thickets. He said: Then A'isha said: “May God curse so-and-so” — meaning Amr ibn al-As — “for he told me that he had killed him at the Nile of Egypt!” [Masruq said:] I said: “O Mother, I ask you by the right of God and the right of His Messenger and by my own right, for I am as one of your children: what did you hear the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, say concerning them?” She said: I heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, say [of them]: “They are the worst of creation and of created things; the best of creation and of created things will kill them — he who is nearest of them to God in means of access on the Day of Resurrection.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 361)
The narrator said: A'isha asked me: “They say that Ali killed the Mukhdaj. Do you know of this?” I said: “Yes, it seems such a man was seen among the slain of Nahrawan.” She said: “Bring me proof.” I wrote to Kufa, and seventy men testified and signed that they had witnessed such an event at Nahrawan. When it was established for A'isha, she said: “May God curse Amr ibn al-As! He told me that he had killed the Mukhdaj beside the Nile.” The narrator said: I adjured A'isha to tell me truly what she had heard from the Messenger of God (PBUH) concerning the Mukhdaj. She said: I was alone with the Messenger of God and Ali when the Messenger of God said: “A time will come when, beside a river, the worst of mankind will be slain at the hands of the best of mankind, who are the intercessors on the Day of Resurrection.”
(We say: In other reports it is stated that the Messenger of God (PBUH) had said on that day: “Among the slain will be one whose hand is deformed and who has a nipple on his neck.” So Ali (AS) said: “Search among the slain of the Khawarij and find me the Mukhdaj” — or, as it appears in some hadiths, the Mudhaj. They searched at length and could not find him, but Ali (AS) insisted that he must be there. At last they found a man one of whose hands was withered and very small. Ali (AS) said: “That is he; he has another mark on his neck as well.” They looked and saw that on his neck too there was a nipple like the nipple of a dog. At this Ali (AS) rejoiced and said: “The Messenger of God spoke truly!” A'isha had related the report of the Mudhaj to various people; for this reason Amr ibn al-As claimed to have seen and killed the Mudhaj, in order to fabricate a merit for himself. It is reported that when it was proved to A'isha that the Mudhaj had been of the army of the Khawarij and had been killed at the hands of Ali's army, she said aloud: “Alas! This merit too has gone to Ali!”)
Muhammad ibn Ja'far said: Ali (AS) said: “The righteous and the wicked alike share in loving the two sons of Fatima; but God has refused that any but a believer should love me.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 477)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The righteous and the wicked alike love the children of Fatima; but God refuses that any but a true believer should love me.
Adi ibn Thabit, from Zirr, who said: Ali said: “By Him who split the seed and created the soul and set up the Ka'ba, the Prophet, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, made a covenant with me: none loves you but a believer, and none hates you but a hypocrite or an unbeliever.” And he said: “O Ali, love of you is faith, and hatred of you is hypocrisy.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, pp. 479 and 589)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: By Him who split the seed and laid the foundation of the Ka'ba, the Prophet (PBUH) made a covenant with me that none loves you but a believer, and none bears rancour towards you but a hypocrite or an unbeliever. And he said: “O Ali, love of you is faith, and hatred of you is hypocrisy.”
Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, from his father, from Ali, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, took my hand at the time of his death and then said: “O Ali, whoever loves you after your death, God will seal his life with security and safety, as often as the sun rises or sets, until he comes to me at the Pool.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 485)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: At the time of his death the Messenger of God (PBUH) took my hand and said: “O Ali, those who come after you with hearts brimming with love of you — God sets upon them the seal of security and safety all the way to Paradise, in whatever time and in whatever part of the world they may be.”
Abu Salih, from Ali, who said: I said: “O Messenger of God, teach me something that will profit me.” He said: “Say: [My Lord is God, then be steadfast.] I said: God suffices me, and my success is only through God.” Then he said: “May the knowledge be blessed to you, O Abu al-Hasan.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 573)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I said to the Messenger of God (PBUH), “Teach me something that will be of use to me.” He said: “Say: God is my Lord — and be steadfast.” I said: “God suffices me, and my success is only through God.” The Prophet (PBUH) said: “May your knowledge be blessed, O Abu al-Hasan.”
Nawf al-Bakali said: I saw Ali one night — and he would often go outside and gaze at the sky — and he said to me: “O Nawf, are you asleep?” I said: “No, I am awake, watching you with my eyes, O Commander of the Faithful.” He said: “O Nawf, blessed are those who renounce this world and desire the Hereafter — those who have taken God's earth as their carpet and its dust as their bed, its water as their sweet drink, and have taken the Qur'an as their emblem; then they cut themselves off from the world entirely, upon the way of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 578)
The narrator said: One night I was with Ali (AS). He kept going outside and fixing his gaze upon the night sky. He said to me: “Are you awake?” I said: “Yes, O Commander of the Faithful.” He said: “Blessed are those who renounce this world and desire the Hereafter! The earth is their carpet, the dust their bed, water their only drink, and the Qur'an their emblem. They have divorced the world thrice over.” Then he said: “Such was the Messenger of God (PBUH).”
Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, who said: It reached Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him, that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, was suffering want. So he went out seeking work by which he might obtain something to relieve the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace. He came to a man of the Jews and drew nineteen buckets of water for him, each bucket for a date; and Ali brought them to the Prophet, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, who said: “Whence have you this, O Abu al-Hasan?” He said: “I heard of your want, so I went out seeking work by which I might obtain food for you.” He said: “Was it love of God and His Messenger that moved you to this?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “Whoever loves God and His Messenger, let him prepare an armour against affliction.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 586)
The narrator said: Ali (AS) learned that the Messenger of God (PBUH) was in need. So he went out in search of work by which he might meet the Messenger of God's need. To this end he worked for a time for a Jew, receiving one date for each bucket of water he drew from the well, and he brought them to the Messenger of God (PBUH). The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: “Did you put yourself to this trouble out of love for God and His Messenger?” Ali (AS) said: “Yes.” The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: “Whoever loves God and His Messenger has a shield and a protection for the day of affliction.”
Umm Salama said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, said: “The religion will not cease to be with Ali, and Ali with it, until they both come to me at the Pool.” (Manaqib al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2, p. 616)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Until the rising of the Resurrection, the true religion is ever with Ali, and Ali is ever with the true religion.