Abu Hamza said: I heard Abu Ja'far (AS) say: When they led the Commander of the Faithful (AS) past with the rope of the family of Zurayq about his neck, Abu Dharr struck one hand upon the other and said: Would that the swords were back in our hands a second time! And al-Miqdad said: Had he wished, he would have invoked his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, against him. And Salman said: Our master knows best the situation he is in. (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 7)
Imam al-Baqir (AS) said: When they were taking the Commander of the Faithful (AS) to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr, and the family of Zurayq (that is, the hypocrites) had thrown a rope around his neck, Abu Dharr said in sorrow: Would that once again, as in the past, the swords were back in our hands! Al-Miqdad said: Would that Ali (AS) had sought God's help against them and invoked God's curse upon them. Salman said: Our master himself knows best what he must do!
Abu Basir related from Abu Ja'far (AS), who said: After that, the Emigrants and the Helpers and others came to Ali (AS) and said to him: By God, you are the Commander of the Faithful, and by God you are the worthiest of the people and the nearest of them to the Prophet (PBUH). Stretch out your hand that we may pledge allegiance to you; by God, we will die before you! Ali (AS) said: If you are truthful, then come to me tomorrow morning with your heads shaven! So Ali (AS) shaved his head, and Salman shaved, and al-Miqdad shaved, and Abu Dharr shaved, and no one else shaved; then they departed. I said: Was Ammar not among them? He said: No. I said: Then is Ammar one of the people of apostasy? He said: Ammar did afterwards fight alongside Ali (AS). (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 8)
Imam al-Baqir (AS) said: After the people had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr, a great number of the Emigrants and the Helpers came to Ali (AS) and said to him: By God, you are the more deserving of the caliphate, and we know of no one nearer to the Messenger of God (PBUH) than you. We pledge allegiance to you, and we are ready to die at your side! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to them: If you are speaking the truth, then shave your heads and present yourselves early tomorrow morning. The next morning Ali (AS) himself came with his head shaven, but no one came except Salman, al-Miqdad and Abu Dharr. Only these three shaved their heads and presented themselves. Even Ammar did not come that morning; he joined Ali (AS) later.
Sahl ibn Ziyad related from Munakhkhal, from Jabir, from Abu Ja'far (AS), who said: Abu Dharr came in upon Salman while he was cooking a pot of food. While the two of them were talking, the pot suddenly overturned face down upon the ground, yet nothing spilled from its broth or its fat. Abu Dharr marvelled at this exceedingly, and Salman took the pot and set it back as it had been upon the fire, and they went on talking. He said: Abu Dharr left Salman's house in awe, and while he was pondering he met the Commander of the Faithful (AS) at the door. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O Abu Dharr, if Salman were to tell you what he knows, you would say: May God have mercy on the slayer of Salman! O Abu Dharr, Salman is the gate of God upon the earth; whoever knows him is a believer, and whoever denies him is an unbeliever; and Salman is of us, the People of the House. And the Messenger of God (PBUH) said to me: Salman al-Farisi has little pride and is a sincere counsellor to you, so take him for yourself. (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, pp. 14 and 30)
The narrator says: Abu Dharr had gone to the house of Salman, and they were talking together when suddenly a pot that was boiling over the fire with food in it turned over. Yet nothing of its contents spilled out, and Salman, without his hand being burned, picked up the pot and set it back on the fire. Abu Dharr, bewildered by what he had seen, left Salman's house and met the Commander of the Faithful (AS). He said: O Abu Dharr, if Salman were to tell you some of the things he knows, you would become such an enemy to him that you would call down mercy upon his slayer! Then he said: Salman is the gate of God upon the earth. Whoever knows him is a believer, and whoever denies him is an unbeliever. Salman is of us, the People of the House. The Messenger of God (PBUH) used to commend Salman to me and say: Salman has no arrogance at all, and he is a sincere well-wisher. Choose him for yourself!
Al-Fudayl ibn Yasar related from Abu Ja'far (AS), who said to me: Do you relate what people relate, that Ali (AS) said of Salman that he had attained the knowledge of the first and the knowledge of the last? I said: Yes. He said: Do you know what he meant by it? I said: He meant the knowledge of the Children of Israel and the knowledge of the Prophet (PBUH). He said: That is not what he meant; rather he meant the knowledge of the Prophet (PBUH) and the knowledge of Ali (AS), and the affair of the Prophet (PBUH) and the affair of Ali (AS). (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 16)
The narrator says: Imam al-Baqir (AS) said to me: It is well known that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said of Salman that he possessed the knowledge of the first and of the last. I said: Yes. He said: Do you know what that means? I said: Presumably the knowledge of the Children of Israel and the knowledge of the Qur'an are meant. He said: No; it means that Salman possessed the knowledge of the Prophet (PBUH) and the knowledge of Ali (AS), and the affair of the Prophet (PBUH) and the affair of Ali (AS).
Mas'ada ibn Sadaqa related from Ja'far, from his father (peace be upon them both), who said: Dissimulation (taqiyya) was mentioned one day in the presence of Ali (AS), and he said: If Abu Dharr knew what is in the heart of Salman, he would kill him, even though the Messenger of God had made the two of them brothers. So what do you suppose of the rest of mankind? (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 17)
Imam al-Baqir (AS) said: One day, in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), there was talk of taqiyya. He said: If Abu Dharr knew what passes in the heart of Salman, he would kill him! And this though the Messenger of God had bound the two of them in a covenant of brotherhood. When the case of Salman with Abu Dharr is such, one may judge the case of the rest of the people, and how strictly one must adhere to taqiyya.
Jibril ibn Ahmad al-Faryabi said: Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Mihran related to me, from al-Hasan ibn Mahbub, from Abu al-Qasim — who is Mu'awiya ibn Ammar (if God wills) — tracing it back, who said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) sent out a raiding party and said to them: You will lose your way at such and such an hour of the night; then take the road to the left, for you will pass by a man about his business and will ask him for guidance. He will refuse to guide you until you have partaken of his food; he will slaughter a ram for you and feed you, and then he will rise and guide you. Convey to him my greeting of peace, and let him know that I have appeared in Medina. So they set out and lost the way, and one of them said: Did the Messenger of God (PBUH) not tell you to bear to the left? So they did, and they passed by the man of whom the Messenger of God (PBUH) had told them and asked him for guidance. The man said to them: I will not do so until you have partaken of my food! So they did, and he showed them the road. But they forgot to convey to him the greeting of the Messenger of God (PBUH). He said: So the man — and he was Amr ibn al-Hamiq (may God be pleased with him) — said to them: Has the Prophet (PBUH) appeared in Medina? They said: Yes. So he went and joined him and stayed with him as long as God willed. Then the Messenger of God (PBUH) said to him: Return to the place from which you migrated, and when the Commander of the Faithful (AS) takes charge of affairs, go to him! So the man went back, and when the Commander of the Faithful (AS) became ruler in Kufa he came to him and stayed with him in Kufa. Then the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to him: Do you have a house? He said: Yes. He said: Sell it, and settle among the Azd; for tomorrow, if I am gone, you will be hunted, and the Azd will protect you until you leave Kufa heading for the fortress of Mosul. On the way you will pass a crippled man; sit with him and ask him for water, and he will give you to drink and will ask you about your case. Tell him, and call him to Islam, for he will accept Islam. Then pass your hand over his hips, and God will wipe away his affliction and he will rise up and follow you. And you will pass a blind man on the road, and you will ask him for water and he will give you to drink and will ask about your case. Tell him, and call him to Islam, for he will accept Islam. Then pass your hand over his eyes, and God, Mighty and Majestic, will restore his sight and he will follow you. These two will be the ones who lay your body in the earth. Then horsemen will pursue you, and when you are near the fortress, at such and such a place, the horsemen will overtake you. Dismount from your horse and go into the cave, for both the wicked among the jinn and the wicked among mankind are to have a share in your blood. So he did as the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had said. He said: When he reached the fortress he said to the two men: Climb up and see whether you can see anything. They said: We see horsemen approaching. So he dismounted from his horse and entered the cave, and his horse strayed loose. When he entered the cave a black serpent struck him there. The horsemen came, and when they saw his horse running loose they said: This is his horse, and he is nearby. So the men searched for him and found him in the cave; and every time they laid hands on any part of his body, the flesh came away with them. They took his head and brought it to Muawiya, who mounted it upon a spear; and it was the first head to be raised on a spear in Islam. (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 46)
The narrator says: The Messenger of God (PBUH) sent a company out to battle. Before they left he said to them: On such and such a night, at such and such an hour, you will lose your way in the desert. When you have lost it, bear to the left and go on. You will come upon a man of whom, when you ask the way, he will say: I will not show you the way until you first become my guests and eat of my food. When you have done so, he will show you the road. Then the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Tell him that I have been given the prophetic mission in Medina, and convey my greeting to him. When the company set out, just as the Messenger of God (PBUH) had foretold, they lost their way one night, and they remembered his words and went to the left until they came upon that man; they were his guests and asked him the way. But they forgot to speak about the Messenger of God (PBUH) and to convey his greeting. At the moment of farewell the man himself, whose name was Amr ibn al-Hamiq, asked: Tell me, has a prophet not appeared in Medina? They said: Yes indeed, and he sent his greetings to you, but we forgot to say so. A few days later Amr ibn al-Hamiq made his way to Medina, met the Prophet (PBUH), accepted Islam, and stayed some days with the Messenger of God (PBUH), until the Messenger of God (PBUH) said to him: Return to your desert, and when Ali (AS) attains the caliphate, go and join him. Amr did so, and when the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was in Kufa he went to him. Amr remained with the Commander of the Faithful (AS) to the end of his life. One day Ali (AS) said to him: Sell your land and buy land among the tribe of Azd. After me, enemies will come after you, and the Azd will protect you as far as they can, and in the end they will help you escape toward Mosul. On the road to Mosul you will come upon a man whose legs are paralysed. Sit down beside him and ask him for water. When you have drunk, he will ask about your condition. Call him to Islam; he will accept Islam. When he has accepted, pass your hand over his thighs. By God's leave his legs will be healed and he will rise up and accompany you on your journey. A little later you will come upon a blind man, and you will ask him too for water. Call him also to Islam, and when he has accepted, pass your hand over his eyes. By God's leave he will see, and he will set out with you. These two men are the ones who are to bury your body. Near Mosul, horsemen coming after you will appear in the distance. When you see them from afar, dismount from your horse and enter the cave that is there in the flank of the mountain! The wicked among the jinn and among men must both have a share in your blood. Years later, Amr ibn al-Hamiq travelled that very road, and when the horsemen appeared in the distance he said to those two men: Hide yourselves; I must enter this cave. The moment he entered the cave, a great black serpent bit him and killed him. When the horsemen came and found his horse without a rider, they said: He must be right here. So they entered the cave and found him dead, cut off his head and took it to Muawiya. Muawiya mounted that head on a spear and displayed it. This was the first head raised on a spear in Islam.
(We say: Amr ibn al-Hamiq al-Khuza'i was one of the Companions of the Messenger of God (PBUH); he went to the Prophet (PBUH) after the truce of Hudaybiyya and accepted Islam. Amr transmitted hadiths from the Messenger of God (PBUH), and Jubayr ibn Nufayr, Rifa'a ibn Shaddad and others transmitted hadith from him. He is also among the transmitters of the hadith of Ghadir. It is related that one day Amr gave the Messenger of God (PBUH) water to drink, and the Prophet prayed for him: 'O God, let him enjoy his youth.' By the blessing of this prayer, eighty years passed over Amr without a single white hair being seen in his face. After the Prophet (PBUH), Amr came to Kufa and settled there. He was among the opponents of Uthman. According to al-Tabari's report, Amr ibn al-Hamiq al-Khuza'i and a number of others in Kufa who opposed Uthman held a meeting. Sa'id ibn al-As reported their opposition to Uthman, and Uthman ordered that they all be banished to Syria. According to the author of al-Isti'ab, Amr was among those who set out for Medina to protest against Uthman, and was one of the four men who attacked Uthman's house. Some have named him as the killer of Uthman, saying that he struck him nine blows. Muawiya considered him Uthman's killer. After the Commander of the Faithful (AS) attained the caliphate, Amr ibn al-Hamiq became one of his close Shi'a. Al-Kashshi lists him among the intimate disciples of the Imam. According to one report, Amr ibn al-Hamiq was to Ali what Salman al-Farisi was to the Prophet (PBUH). He took part in the battles of the Camel, Siffin and Nahrawan. The Imam said to Amr: Would that I had a hundred men like you in my army; and he prayed for him thus: 'O God, illumine his heart with piety and show him Your straight path.' Amr was among the companions of the Imam (AS) who, in the affair of the arbitration, alongside such men as al-Hasan ibn Ali (AS), al-Husayn ibn Ali (AS), Abd Allah ibn Abbas, Abd Allah ibn Ja'far and Malik al-Ashtar, bore witness in Imam Ali's session with Muawiya's representative to the conditions Imam Ali (AS) laid down for the arbitration. Amr is also counted among the companions of Imam al-Hasan (AS). After the peace treaty of Imam al-Hasan (AS) and Muawiya's accession to power, Ziyad was appointed governor of Kufa and set about pursuing and killing the leading Shi'a; for this reason Amr ibn al-Hamiq fled from Kufa. But in the year 50 AH he was martyred at the hands of Muawiya's agents. Ibn Abd al-Barr held that Amr ibn al-Hamiq's death was caused by a snakebite while he was hiding in a cave. He said that Ziyad's agent, who was pursuing Amr, found him dead, severed his head from his body and sent it to Ziyad, and Ziyad sent it on to Muawiya. After Amr's martyrdom, Muawiya ordered that his head be displayed in various cities. Ibn al-Athir mentions a shrine for Amr ibn al-Hamiq in the cemetery of the Naqib family, north of the city of Mosul, which has now been destroyed. It is reported that the Banu Hamdan built a tomb for him, which was repeatedly destroyed in the course of history by fanatical Sunnis who regarded him as the killer of Uthman. Today the dome and tomb of Amr ibn al-Hamiq are gone, and his grave lies in the open air within the precinct of the Naqib cemetery. Imam al-Husayn (AS), in a letter to Muawiya, sharply reproached him for the killing of Amr ibn al-Hamiq, who was a righteous servant of God, whose body worship had made lean and whose face it had turned pale. May his soul be gladdened!)
Sufyan ibn Sa'id related from al-Zuhri, who said: I heard al-Harith say: Ali (AS) appointed Abd Allah ibn Abbas over Basra, and he carried off all the wealth in the treasury of Basra and went off to Mecca, abandoning Ali (AS); and the sum of it was two million dirhams. When news of this reached Ali (AS), he mounted the pulpit and wept, and said: This is the cousin of the Messenger of God (PBUH), with his knowledge and his standing, and he does the like of this! How then can one be secure from those who are beneath him? O God, I have grown weary of them; give me rest from them and take me to Yourself, neither incapable nor weary. (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 60)
The narrator says: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) had appointed Abd Allah ibn Abbas as governor of Basra, when word came that, out of anger against Ali (AS), he had taken the treasury of Basra, which was more than a million dirhams, loaded it on camels and carried it off with him to Mecca. So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) went up onto the pulpit and wept and said: This man is, after all, the cousin of the Messenger of God, and his knowledge and merit are hidden from no one! When he does such a thing, how can one trust the rest? Then he turned toward heaven and said: O God, I have grown weary of these people! Take my life and take me to Yourself; for in Your presence there is neither weariness nor tedium.
Abd Allah ibn Sinan said: I heard Abu Abd Allah (AS) say: With the Commander of the Faithful (AS) there were five men of Quraysh, while thirteen clans were with Muawiya. As for the five: Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, may God's mercy be upon him — nobility came to him from the side of his mother, Asma bint Umays; and with him was Hashim ibn Utba ibn Abi Waqqas, al-Mirqal; and with him was Ja'da ibn Hubayra al-Makhzumi, whose maternal uncle was the Commander of the Faithful (AS) — it was to him that Utba ibn Abi Sufyan said: You have this fierceness in war only because of your maternal uncle; and Ja'da replied to him: If your maternal uncle were like mine, you would have forgotten your father. And Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfa ibn Utba ibn Rabi'a; and the fifth was the brother-in-law of the Commander of the Faithful, the son of Abi al-As ibn Rabi'a — and he was the son-in-law of the Prophet (PBUH), Abu al-Rabi. (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 63)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: Thirteen clans of the tribe of Quraysh were with Muawiya, and in all Quraysh only five men supported Ali (AS). They were: Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr; Hashim ibn Utba ibn Abi Waqqas; Ja'da ibn Hubayra, the sister's son of Ali (AS); Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfa, who was Muawiya's maternal cousin and who died after Ali (AS) in Muawiya's prison; and the fifth, the son of Abi al-As ibn Rabi'a, whose father Abu al-As was the son-in-law of the Prophet (PBUH) and the husband of Zaynab, the daughter of Muhammad (PBUH).
Ibrahim ibn al-Husayn al-Husayni al-Aqiqi related, tracing it back, that Qanbar was asked: Whose client are you? He said: I am the client of the Commander of the Faithful — of him who was struck with two swords and pierced with two lances, who prayed toward the two qiblas, who gave the two pledges of allegiance and made the two migrations, and who never disbelieved in God for the blink of an eye. I am the client of the righteous one among the believers, the heir of the prophets, the best of the legatees, the greatest of the Muslims, the prince of the believers, the light of those who strive in God's way, the ornament of the worshippers, the chief of those who weep in awe, the lamp of those who have gone before, the radiance of those who stand in prayer, the most excellent of the devout, the tongue of the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds, the first of the believers of the House of Yasin; the one strengthened by Gabriel the trustworthy, aided by Michael the mighty, and praised among all the dwellers of heaven; the master of the Muslims and of the foremost; the slayer of the oath-breakers and the transgressors; the defender of the sanctuary of the Muslims; the one who wages struggle against his hostile enemies; who extinguishes the fires of those who kindle them; the most glorious of all who ever walked among the whole of Quraysh; the first who answered and responded to God — the Commander of the Faithful, the legatee of His Prophet among the worlds, His trustee over all creatures, the successor of him who was sent to them all; the master of the Muslims and of the foremost, the slayer of the oath-breakers and the transgressors, the destroyer of the polytheists; an arrow among the arrows God casts at the hypocrites; the tongue that utters the word of the worshippers; the helper of God's religion, the friend of God, the tongue of God's word and His helper upon His earth, the treasury of His knowledge and the refuge of His religion; the leader of the righteous, with whom the Exalted, the Compeller, is well pleased. He was open-handed, generous, modest, noble of nature, pure of lineage, unsullied, purified, of al-Abtah; free in giving, bold, valiant; the patient one, constant in fasting, rightly guided, ever pressing forward; the breaker of backbones, the scatterer of the confederates, the one who towers above all necks; the firmest of them in rein, the steadiest of them in heart, the strongest of them in resolve; a seasoned warrior, fierce, a champion, a lion, a ravening lion; resolute, determined, sound of judgement, an orator, a master of argument; noble in origin, honourable in merit, the most excellent of his tribe, of unblemished clan, of pure gravity, a discharger of trusts; of the Banu Hashim, and the cousin of the Prophet (PBUH); the imam who guides to right conduct, who shuns corruption; the tousle-haired one, the open-handed as Hatim, the champion who shatters skulls, the lion who overwhelms; a man of Badr, of Mecca, of the upright faith, spiritual and radiant; among mountains, their loftiest peaks; among the highlands, their summits; among the Arabs, their master; in the din of battle, its lion; the valiant champion, the foremost lion, the full moon at its perfection; the resort of the believers, the heir of those who perform the sacred rites, and the father of the two grandsons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn. By God, he is truly and verily the Commander of the Faithful: Ali ibn Abi Talib — upon him be from God the purest blessings and the most exalted graces. (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 72)
This narration is the description and praise of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) given by Qanbar, his servant; being clear in itself, it requires no translation.
Abd Allah ibn Yazid al-Asadi related from Fudayl ibn al-Zubayr, who said: One day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) went out to the orchard of al-Bazni with his companions. He sat down beneath a palm tree, then gave an order concerning a palm, and its fruit was gathered and fresh dates were brought down from it and set before them. They said: Rushayd al-Hajari said: O Commander of the Faithful, how good these fresh dates are! He said: O Rushayd, you will be crucified upon its trunk. Rushayd said: So I used to go to it at both ends of the day and water it. Then the Commander of the Faithful (AS) passed away. He said: One day I came to it and found that its fronds had been cut off, and I said: My appointed term draws near. Then one day the officer came and said: Answer the summons of the governor! So I went to him, and when I entered the palace, there lay the timber cast down. Then I came another day and found that the other half of it had been made into a well-frame over which water was drawn, and I said: My beloved friend did not lie to me. Then the officer came to me and said: Answer the summons of the governor! So I went to him, and when I entered the palace there lay the timber, and with it the well-frame. I came up and struck the frame with my foot and said: For me you were nourished, and for you I was raised up. Then I was brought in before Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, who said: Produce for us some of your master's lies! I said: By God, I am no liar. He told me that you would cut off my hands, my feet and my tongue. He said: Then, by God, we shall prove him a liar. Cut off his hand and his foot and take him out. When he was carried to his family he began to tell the people of momentous matters, saying: O people, ask me, for these people still have a claim upon me that they have not yet carried out. A man went in to Ibn Ziyad and said to him: What have you done? You cut off his hand and his foot, and he is telling the people momentous things! He said: Bring him back — and he had already reached his own door. So they brought him back, and Ibn Ziyad ordered that his hands, his feet and his tongue be cut off, and ordered him to be crucified. (Rijal al-Kashshi, vol. 1, p. 76)
The narrator says: One day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) went out with several of his companions to a palm grove. They all sat beneath a palm tree and ate of its dates. Rushayd al-Hajari said: What excellent dates these are! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One day you will be martyred upon a cross made from the trunk of this very tree. That day passed, and Ali (AS) too was martyred. Rushayd used to go constantly to visit that palm and speak with it. One day he saw that the palm had been cut down. He said to himself: My martyrdom is not far off! A few days later a government officer came and said to Rushayd: Answer the summons of the governor! — that is, Ibn Ziyad awaits you. When Rushayd reached the seat of government he saw that they had thrown the trunk of his own palm into a corner of the courtyard. Nothing happened that day, but a few days later Ibn Ziyad summoned him again. This time he saw that they had cut a piece from the trunk and joined it to the rest of the trunk. He went up to the trunk and said: Well, you are becoming my cross! The story of Rushayd and this palm had passed from mouth to mouth and had reached Ibn Ziyad. This time, when he summoned Rushayd, he said: What did your master say? He said: He said that you would cut off my hands, my feet and my tongue, and crucify me upon this palm! Ibn Ziyad said: I will make his word turn out to be a lie. So he ordered that Rushayd's hands and feet be cut off, and he was cast into his house. But he began to speak of hidden things, saying over and over: Ask me! And the people kept gathering around him. His advisers said to Ibn Ziyad: What a sedition you have created! So he ordered that Rushayd's tongue also be cut out and that he be crucified upon that same palm.