Isa ibn Abdillah al-Qummi narrated from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: When the news of what Quraysh had done to Khuza'a reached Abu Sufyan — who was then in Syria — he set out until he came in to the Messenger of God (PBUH) and said: O Muhammad, spare the blood of your people, stand as guarantor of protection among Quraysh, and extend the term of the truce for us. He said: 'Have you acted treacherously, O Abu Sufyan?' He said: No. He said: 'Then we remain upon what we were upon.' So he went out and met Abu Bakr and said: O Abu Bakr, grant protection among Quraysh. He said: Woe to you! Can anyone grant protection against the Messenger of God (PBUH)?! Then he met Umar and said the like of that to him, and he answered him likewise. Then he went out and entered upon Umm Habiba, and he moved to sit upon the bedding, but she hurried to the bedding and folded it up. He said: My dear daughter, do you begrudge me this bedding? She said: Yes — this is the bedding of the Messenger of God (PBUH), and you shall not sit upon it while you are an impure polytheist. Then he went out and entered upon Fatima and said: O daughter of the master of the Arabs, will you grant protection among Quraysh and extend the term, and so become the most honored lady among the people? She said: 'My protection lies within the protection of the Messenger of God (PBUH).' He said: Then will you command your two sons to grant protection among the people? She said: 'By God, my two sons do not know what protection they could grant from Quraysh.' So he went out and met Ali (AS) and said: You are the closest of the people to me in kinship, and matters have become hard for me; so open for me some way out of them. He said: 'You are the shaykh of Quraysh: stand at the door of the mosque and grant protection among Quraysh, then mount your riding camel and rejoin your people.' He said: Do you think that will avail me? He said: 'I do not know.' So he said: O people, I have granted protection among Quraysh! Then he mounted his camel and departed, and came to Quraysh. They said: What news do you bring? He said: I went to Muhammad and spoke to him, and by God he gave me no answer; then I went to the son of Abu Quhafa and found no good with him; then I went to the son of al-Khattab, and he was the same; then I entered upon Fatima and she did not answer me; then I met Ali, and he ordered me to grant protection among the people, and I did so. They said: Did Muhammad sanction that? He said: I do not know. They said: Woe to you — the man toyed with you! Can you grant protection among Quraysh? (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 217)
Isa ibn Abdillah al-Qummi has narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (AS) that he said: When the news of Khuza'a and Quraysh reached Abu Sufyan in Syria, he came at once to Medina and presented himself before the Messenger of God (PBUH), saying: O Muhammad! Preserve the blood of us, your kinsfolk, and extend the term of the treaty. The Prophet said: O Abu Sufyan! You are dealing treacherously with us! He replied: We practice no treachery against you, and we abide by our covenant. After this Abu Sufyan went to Abu Bakr and said: Grant Quraysh protection! Abu Bakr said: Woe to you! Can anyone, in defiance of the Messenger of God, give protection to the polytheists and take their side?! Abu Sufyan then went to Umar and repeated these words to him as well. After this he went to the house of his daughter Umm Habiba, who was a wife of the Prophet (PBUH), and when he made to sit upon the bedding, Umm Habiba gathered it up. Abu Sufyan said: My daughter, do you not wish me to sit upon this bedding?! She said: Indeed — this is the Prophet's bedding, and you are a polytheist and impure, and you may not sit upon the bedding of the Messenger of God. Abu Sufyan left his daughter's house as well and went to the house of Fatima (AS) and said: O daughter of the Prophet! Will you give Quraysh protection and add to the term of the treaty, that you may be among the most honored of women? Fatima (AS) said: Only one to whom the Prophet gives protection shall be under my protection. He said: Then command your sons to take the people under their protection. She said: My sons do not know Quraysh, that they should take them under their protection (that is, they are still small children). Abu Sufyan turned away from Fatima disappointed as well, and went to Ali (AS) and said: You are among my closest kinsmen! And now matters have become hard for me. I hope you will open for me a way out of this difficulty. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: You are the shaykh and chief of Quraysh. Go and sit at the door of the mosque of the Messenger of God (PBUH), place Quraysh under your own protection and patronage, and then straightway mount your camel and rejoin your kinsfolk in Mecca. He said: O Ali! Will this act be of any benefit to me?! He said: I do not know! Abu Sufyan thereupon left Ali (AS) and went toward the mosque. Turning to the Muslims, he said: I have taken Quraysh under my protection and patronage! And immediately after these words he mounted his camel and set off for Mecca. When he reached Mecca, the polytheists said: What happened? He said: I went to Muhammad, and he spoke not a word to me. Then I went to the son of Abu Quhafa, and found no good in him. Then I went to the son of al-Khattab, and he too paid no heed. When I had despaired of them, I went to Fatima, and she likewise gave me no answer. From there I went to Ali; he ordered me to take Quraysh under my protection, and I acted according to his instruction. They said: Is Muhammad content with this? He said: Of his consent I know nothing. They said: Ali has made a mockery of you. You mean to place Quraysh under your own protection and patronage?!
(We say: this matter is well known in history, and no one until now has spoken about it. In my view, Ali's (AS) intention was not to mock Abu Sufyan; rather, his intention was the deliverance of the people of Mecca — and what he intended was in the end realized. As the ten-thousand-strong army of the Muslims drew near to Mecca, the people of Mecca all became Muslims, and among the places of sanctuary the Prophet (PBUH) declared the house of Abu Sufyan. That is to say, through the plan that Ali (AS) devised for him, and by the blessing of this single act of obedience to Ali (AS), Abu Sufyan — willingly or unwillingly — became the means of the deliverance of himself and of Quraysh; though only after all of them, even if merely outwardly, had professed Islam. The sentence Abu Sufyan uttered when imploring the aid of Ali (AS) is remarkable. He said: 'Matters have become hard for me; so open for me some way out of them.' Is it possible for someone to implore Ali (AS) for help and for Ali (AS) not to come to his aid?! It is not so: whoever takes refuge with Ali (AS) and seeks succor from him, he shelters and helps — even if that person be Abu Sufyan.
Peace be upon you, O Commander of the Faithful; peace be upon you, O Imam of the God-fearing; peace be upon you, O adornment of the monotheists; peace be upon you, O most abstinent of the ascetics; peace be upon you, O first of the worshippers; peace be upon you, O Anza' al-Batin; peace be upon you, O Imam, sincere and trustworthy counselor; peace be upon you, O judge of the religion; peace be upon you, O firm rope of God; peace be upon you, O chief of the religion; peace be upon you, O pillar of the religion; peace be upon you, O righteous one among the believers; peace be upon you, O leader of the resplendent, radiant-limbed ones; peace be upon you, O seal of the legatees; peace be upon you, O intimate companion of the believers; peace be upon you, O lion of God; peace be upon you, O ear of God; peace be upon you, O proof of God; peace be upon you, O repository of God's knowledge; peace be upon you, O proclamation from God; peace be upon you, O gate of God; peace be upon you, O face of God; peace be upon you, O friend of God; peace be upon you, O sword of God; peace be upon you, O chosen one of God; peace be upon you, O secret of God; peace be upon you, O vicegerent of God; peace be upon you, O bearer of the standard; peace be upon you, O clear white highway; peace be upon you, O shelter of the poor; peace be upon you, O master of the noble; peace be upon you, O safeguard of the friends of God; peace be upon you, O pillar of the friends of God; peace be upon you, O best of the legatees; peace be upon you, O decisive arbiter of judgment; peace be upon you, O Murtada (the well-pleasing); peace be upon you, O Mawla (master); peace be upon you, O supreme trial; peace be upon you, O banner of piety; peace be upon you, O firmest handhold; peace be upon you, O tree of God-wariness; peace be upon you, O banner of guidance; peace be upon you, O gate of remission; peace be upon you, O crusher of the unbelievers; peace be upon you, O apportioner of the Fire and the Garden; peace be upon you, O brother of the Messenger; peace be upon you, O soul of the Messenger; peace be upon you, O first of the wronged; peace be upon you, O guide; peace be upon you, O faithful one; peace be upon you, O Beast of the Earth; peace be upon you, O tongue of truthfulness; peace be upon you, O successor of the prayer-niche; peace be upon you, O ark of salvation; peace be upon you, O remover of afflictions; peace be upon you, O mufti of the ages; peace be upon you, O horseman of the Arabs; peace be upon you, O manifester of wonders; peace be upon you, O fulfiller of the promise; peace be upon you, O subduer of the rebellious jinn; peace be upon you, O balance of deeds; peace be upon you, O touchstone of the path; peace be upon you, O radiant lamp; peace be upon you, O overturner of dynasties; peace be upon you, O felicitous one; peace be upon you, O companion; peace be upon you, O great tiding; peace be upon you, O straight path; peace be upon you, O Haydar; peace be upon you, and the mercy of God and His blessings.
This visitation, which is named the 'Ziyara of the Seventy Salams,' is a compilation of the transmitted titles of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), arranged in a particular order.)
The sura 'A declaration of immunity from God and His Messenger' was revealed in the ninth year. Ali (AS) set out with it until he proclaimed it at Mecca on the Day of Sacrifice and the days of tashriq. His commission was: that the covenant of the polytheists be renounced to them; that no naked person circumambulate the House; that no polytheist enter the mosque; that whoever had a covenant, it would run to its term; and that whoever had no covenant had four months — and if we seized him after four months, we would kill him. That is the word of the Most High: 'Then, when the sacred months have passed…' up to His word '…at every place of ambush' [Qur'an 9:5]. He said: When he entered Mecca he drew his sword and said: 'By God, no naked person shall circumambulate the House but that I strike him with the sword,' until he made them put on garments, and they circumambulated wearing clothes. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 248)
In the ninth year of the Hijra the Sura of Bara'a (Repudiation) was revealed. Ali (AS) took the verses and set out for Mecca; he entered that city and, on the day of Eid at Mina, when the people were gathered, delivered the verses to them. The Prophet (PBUH) had commanded him to proclaim to the polytheists that henceforth they were not to enter the Sacred Mosque, that people were not to circumambulate the Kaaba naked and bare, that all the Prophet's treaties with the polytheists would be annulled after four months, and that after this period had passed, wherever they were found they would be killed. The noble verse 'Then, when the sacred months have passed…' [Qur'an 9:5] refers to this event. The narrator says: When Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) entered Mecca, he drew his sword from its sheath and said: By God, whoever today would circumambulate naked, I will kill him with this very sword. So the people were compelled to put on clothes and perform the circumambulation.
Al-Hakim Abu Abdillah al-Hafiz narrated with his chain, tracing it back to Amr ibn Shas al-Aslami, who said: I was with Ali ibn Abi Talib among his cavalry, and Ali treated me with a certain harshness, and I bore a grievance against him in my heart. When I came to Medina I complained of him to whomever I met. One day I came while the Messenger of God (PBUH) was sitting in the mosque; he looked at me until I sat down before him, and then he said: 'O Amr ibn Shas, you have hurt me.' I said: We belong to God and to Him we return! I take refuge in God and in Islam from ever hurting the Messenger of God. He said: 'Whoever hurts Ali has hurt me.' Before him the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) had sent Khalid ibn al-Walid to the people of Yemen to call them to Islam, but they did not respond to him. Al-Bara' said: I was with Ali (AS), and when we drew near the people they came out to us. Ali led us in prayer, then arranged us in a single row, then advanced before us and read to them the letter of the Messenger of God (PBUH), and all of Hamdan embraced Islam. Ali (AS) wrote of this to the Messenger of God (PBUH), and when he read the letter he fell down in prostration, then raised his head and said: 'Peace be upon Hamdan.' Al-Bukhari included it in the Sahih. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 257)
The narrator says: I was in the service of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Over the performance of some task he reproached me and spoke to me sharply. Because of this severity shown toward me, I was hurt at heart and resolved that when I reached Medina I would complain of him to the Messenger of God (PBUH). One day, when the Messenger of God (PBUH) was present in the mosque, I came before him. When the Prophet's (PBUH) eye fell upon me, he said: O Amr! You have hurt me deeply! I said: O Messenger of God, I take refuge in God from ever having hurt you! He said: Whoever hurts Ali has hurt me.
The narrator says: Before the Commander of the Faithful (AS) set out for Yemen, the Messenger of God (PBUH) had sent Khalid ibn al-Walid to that region to call its people to Islam. But the people did not listen to Khalid and did not answer his call. The narrator says: I was with Ali (AS). When we drew near the people of Yemen, they came out to meet us. At that point Ali (AS) offered a prayer, then arranged us in a single orderly row, stood before the row, and read the letter of the Messenger of God (PBUH) to the people. Thereupon the people of the tribe of Hamdan all embraced Islam, and Ali (AS) wrote an account of the matter to the Prophet. After reading the letter, the Prophet (PBUH) performed a prostration of thanksgiving and then said: The greeting and mercy of God be upon the tribe of Hamdan!
It has also been narrated from al-Sadiq (AS): The Messenger of God (PBUH) drove one hundred sacrificial camels on his pilgrimage; he slaughtered sixty-odd of them, then gave the rest to Ali, who slaughtered thirty-odd. When Ali (AS) returned to his army he found that the men had put on those garments, and he said to the man he had left in charge over them: 'Woe to you! What led you to do what you did without the permission of the Messenger of God (PBUH)?' He said: They asked me to hand the garments over to them so that they might adorn themselves with them and enter ihram in them. He said: 'Evil is what they did, and evil is what you did.' So he (AS) stripped them from the men and bound them up in the bales, and the men's complaints against Ali multiplied. Then the herald of the Messenger of God (PBUH) proclaimed: Withhold your tongues from complaining of Ali, for he is severe in what concerns God. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 260)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: During the Farewell Pilgrimage, after the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had met the Messenger of God (PBUH) and returned to the army he had brought with him from Yemen in order to bring them also to the Prophet, he saw that the soldiers had put on the garments that had been taken from the Christians of Najran. He grew angry and rebuked their commander for allowing them to wear the garments without permission. The commander of the force said: These men asked me that they might enter ihram in these garments. He said: These men have done a very ugly thing, and you too exceeded your bounds in giving them this permission! Now take off the garments as quickly as may be. The men were incensed at this severity of Ali (AS) and set about protesting and complaining. When the Messenger of God (PBUH) learned of their complaints, he was displeased. Then the Prophet's herald cried out: Hold your tongues and keep silence concerning Ali (AS), for he is strict in regard to the ordinances and commands of the Lord.
(We say: concerning this event and the sentence 'Ali is severe in what concerns God' — or 'he is most severe in what concerns God' — we have already spoken at length earlier in this very book and presented a complete study. Please refer to that place.)
Then the Messenger of God (PBUH) grew gravely ill and death came upon him. When the departure of his soul drew near, he said to him: 'Lay my head, O Ali, in your lap, for the command of God, the Mighty and Majestic, has come. When my soul departs, take it with your hand and wipe your face with it; then turn me toward the qibla, take charge of my affair, be the first of the people to pray over me, and do not part from me until you have laid me in my grave — and seek help from God, the Mighty and Majestic.' (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 263)
The narrator relates from the Commander of the Faithful (AS): When the illness of the Messenger of God (PBUH) grew severe and the hour of his death arrived, he said to me: O Ali! Lay my head in your lap, for the time has come to answer God's summons. When my soul has left my body, take it in your hand and wipe your face with it. Then turn my body toward the qibla, wash and shroud me, pray over me, and do not part from me until you have hidden me within the earth. And in all these tasks seek help from God.
(We say: this is the last discourse of the Messenger of God (PBUH) with Ali (AS) — indeed, with humanity — and the phrase 'When my soul departs, take it with your hand and wipe your face with it' is among the wondrous and singular expressions, the like of which appears nowhere else.)
He passed away on the night of Friday, with nine nights remaining of the month of Ramadan, in the fortieth year of the Hijra, slain a martyr. Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam al-Muradi (God curse him) killed him. He had gone out for the dawn prayer on the night of the nineteenth of Ramadan, calling 'The prayer! The prayer!' in the Great Mosque of Kufa, when he struck him with the sword upon the crown of his head; he had lain in wait for him from the beginning of the night for that purpose, and his sword was poisoned. He (AS) lingered through the day of the nineteenth, the night and day of the twentieth, and the night of the twenty-first until about a third of the night had passed; then he (AS) fulfilled his destiny. He had known of this before its time and had informed the people of it before its moment. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 309)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was martyred on the night of Friday, the twenty-first of the month of Ramadan of the fortieth year of the Hijra, as a result of the blow of Ibn Muljam al-Muradi. On the night of the nineteenth of Ramadan, when that noble one intended to perform the dawn prayer and was summoning the people to prayer, saying 'The prayer! The prayer!', he was struck in the mosque of Kufa by that wretch. Ibn Muljam had been lying in wait for him in the mosque of Kufa from the beginning of the night, hidden in a corner of the mosque with his poisoned sword. After the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was wounded — his blessed head split open and his body poisoned — he remained alive until the night of the twenty-first, and in the last third of the night of the twenty-first he bade farewell to the world.
(We say: concerning the day of the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) there are in all six opinions. Some narrations place the martyrdom on the seventeenth, some on the nineteenth, some on the twentieth, some on the twenty-first, some on the twenty-third, and some after the twenty-third of the blessed month of Ramadan of the year 40 AH. Only one opinion, as regards the day of the week explicitly stated in the narration, accords with the actual day of the week in that lunar year: namely, the opinion that holds the striking to have taken place on the night of the twenty-first, and the martyrdom on the night of Friday — the night of the twenty-third.
In the fortieth year of the Hijra, the year of the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), the night of the twenty-first of Ramadan fell on the night of Wednesday, and the night of the twenty-third on the night of Friday. On careful investigation, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) — contrary to the well-known account — was struck on the night of the twenty-first, before the dawn prayer, during the supererogatory prayer of dawn, which he used to pray individually in the right-hand prayer-niche known as the mihrab of tahajjud; and two nights later, that is, on the night of the twenty-third, which that year was the night of Friday, he attained the grace of martyrdom. Another witness to the truth of this claim is that those three Kharijites made a pact together to kill Ali (AS), Mu'awiya, and Amr ibn al-As on the Night of Qadr — and except among the Shia, the night of the nineteenth is not counted as the Night of Qadr by any of the Islamic sects, including the Kharijites; whereas most sects consider the night of the twenty-first to be the Night of Qadr.)
So he went out to the mosque, and there was the man, who had stayed awake his whole night lying in wait for him; and when the coolness of the pre-dawn came, he fell asleep. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) stirred him with his foot and said to him: 'The prayer!' (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 310)
The narrator says: On the night he was struck, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) entered the mosque. Ibn Muljam, who had had no sleep that night, had at that moment fallen asleep despite himself. So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) nudged him with his foot, woke him, and said to him: The prayer!
From the Messenger of God (PBUH): Test your children by the love of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Whoever loves him, know that he is of sound birth; and whoever hates him, know that he is of base birth. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 318)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Offer the love of Ali to your children; whoever accepts it, know that he will grow and prosper, and whoever refuses it, know that nothing will come of him.
The account of Mitham al-Tammar (God have mercy on him). The transmitters of reports have related: He belonged to a woman of Banu Asad. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) bought him from her and set him free, and said to him: 'What is your name?' He said: Salim. He said: 'The Messenger of God informed me that the name your father gave you in Persia is Mitham.' He said: God and His Messenger have spoken truly, and you have spoken truly, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: 'Then return to the name by which the Messenger of God (PBUH) named you, and leave Salim.' So he went back to Mitham and took the kunya Abu Salim. One day the Commander of the Faithful said to him: 'After me you will be seized and crucified and pierced with a lance; and on the third day your nostrils and mouth will gush blood, and your beard will be dyed — so await that dye. You will be crucified at the door of the house of Amr ibn Hurayth, the tenth of ten; your stake will be the shortest of theirs, and you the nearest of them to the place of ablution.' And he showed him the palm-tree on whose trunk he would be crucified. Mitham used to come to it and pray beside it, saying: Blessed are you as a palm-tree; for you I was created, and for me you were nourished. He never ceased visiting it until it was cut down. And he would meet Amr ibn Hurayth and say to him: I am going to be your neighbor, so be a good neighbor to me — and Amr did not know what he meant. In the year in which he was killed he made the pilgrimage, and he came in to Umm Salama. She said: Who are you? He said: I am Mitham. She said: By God, many a time I heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) commending you to Ali in the depths of the night. He asked her about al-Husayn (AS), and she said: He is in a garden of his. He said: Tell him that I would have loved to greet him; we shall meet in the presence of the Lord of the worlds, if God Most High wills. So she called for perfume and scented his beard, and said to him: Truly, it will be dyed with blood. He came to Kufa, and Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad (God curse him) seized him and said to him: What did your master tell you I would do to you? He said: He told me that you would crucify me, the tenth of ten, my stake the shortest of them and I the nearest of them to the place of ablution. He said: We shall certainly contradict him. He said: How will you contradict him?! By God, he told me nothing except from the Prophet (PBUH), from Gabriel (AS), from God the Exalted — so how will you contradict these?! I have even come to know the spot in Kufa where I shall be crucified, and I shall be the first of God's creation to be bridled in Islam. So he imprisoned him, and imprisoned with him al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd. Mitham said to al-Mukhtar: You will escape, and you will rise in vengeance for the blood of al-Husayn, and you will kill this man who is going to kill us. When Ubaydullah summoned al-Mukhtar to kill him, a courier appeared with a letter from Yazid commanding him to set him free, so he released him — and he ordered that Mitham be crucified. He was led out, and a man who met him said: What need had you of this, O Mitham? He smiled and said, pointing to the palm-tree: For it I was created, and for me it was nourished. When he was raised upon the stake, the people gathered around him at the door of Amr ibn Hurayth. Amr said: By God, he used to say to me: I shall be your neighbor. When he was crucified, Amr ordered his slave-girl to sweep beneath his stake, sprinkle it with water, and cense it. Then Mitham began to recount the virtues of Banu Hashim, so it was said to Ibn Ziyad (God curse him): This slave has disgraced you. He said: Bridle him. Thus he was the first of God's creation to be bridled in Islam. The killing of Mitham took place ten days before the arrival of al-Husayn ibn Ali (AS) in Iraq. On the third day of his crucifixion Mitham was pierced with the lance; he cried 'God is greater,' and at the end of the day his nose and mouth streamed with blood. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 341)
Mitham al-Tammar was the slave of a woman of Banu Asad. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) bought him and set him free. Then he asked him: What is your name? He said: Salim. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Prophet (PBUH) told me that your father named you 'Mitham'! Mitham said: God and His Messenger have spoken truly. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Then return to that same name. Mitham obeyed the command of Ali (AS), took back his first name, and adopted the kunya Abu Salim. One day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to Mitham: After me they will seize you and crucify you upon the branch of a tree, and when three days have passed, blood will flow from your nose and mouth and will stain your beard. They will crucify you upon a tree near the house of Amr ibn Hurayth; you will be the tenth person to suffer this affliction, and you will be crucified upon the shortest stake, and of them all you will be nearest to the refuse-heap. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) also showed Mitham that very tree, and every day he would come near the tree, pray beneath it, and address it, saying: What a blessed tree you are; I was created for you, and you for me. He kept coming to the tree until they cut it down to make a gibbet of it. When Mitham sometimes met Amr ibn Hurayth he would say: I shall soon become your neighbor in these parts, and you must discharge the duty of neighborliness. Amr ibn Hurayth knew nothing of the matter. In the year of his martyrdom, Mitham went on pilgrimage to the House of God. In Medina he presented himself at the house of Umm Salama. Umm Salama said: Who are you? He said: I am Mitham. Umm Salama said: I swear by the Lord, I would sometimes hear the Messenger of God making recommendations concerning you to Ali. Mitham asked Umm Salama: Where is Husayn ibn Ali now? She said: In his orchard. Mitham said: Convey my greeting to him and tell him that I love him, and tell him that we shall soon meet one another in the presence of the Lord! Umm Salama then called for some perfume and scented his beard. Mitham said: This beard will very soon be dyed with blood. After this, Mitham set out for Kufa, and upon his arrival in Kufa, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad arrested him. Ubaydullah said: What did your friend (Ali) tell you about me?! Mitham said: He said that you will crucify me, that I shall be the tenth person to be crucified by you, and that I shall be crucified upon the shortest stake, the one nearest the refuse-heap. Ubaydullah said: I shall now act contrary to what your master said! Mitham replied: How will you act contrary to him?! By God, he reported this from the Prophet, and he from Gabriel, from the Lord. I know the very place in which I shall be crucified, and I am the first person in Islam upon whose mouth a bridle will be put. Thereupon Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad imprisoned him in Kufa together with al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayda. One day Mitham said to al-Mukhtar: You will soon be freed from prison, and you will exact vengeance for the blood of Husayn ibn Ali from his killers, and you will kill this man who now intends to kill us. When Ubaydullah summoned al-Mukhtar in order to kill him, suddenly a courier arrived from Yazid, bringing a letter for Ubaydullah. In his letter Yazid had ordered that al-Mukhtar be released from prison. After reading Yazid's letter, Ubaydullah freed al-Mukhtar from prison and gave orders that Mitham be killed. When they brought Mitham out of the prison, one of those present said: Who now can save you from being killed? Mitham, pointing toward the tree, said: I was created for this tree, and it was raised for me. When they were taking him up onto the gibbet, the people had gathered at the house of Amr ibn Hurayth and were watching the scene. Amr ibn Hurayth said: By God, Mitham used to tell me: In these very days I shall become your neighbor. Amr ordered his slave-girl to clean beneath the stake upon which Mitham had been crucified, remove the filth, sprinkle the ground with water, and perfume it. At this point Mitham began to proclaim the virtues of Ali (AS). They informed Ibn Ziyad of the matter and said: Mitham is disgracing you! He ordered that a bridle be put upon Mitham's mouth. The martyrdom of Mitham al-Tammar occurred ten days before the arrival of the Master of the Martyrs (AS) in Iraq. Three days after Mitham was gibbeted, they struck him with a lance, whereupon blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and through that bleeding he hastened to the neighborhood of God's mercy.
The swooping of the crow upon his boot: he had taken it off to perform the ablution for prayer, and a black serpent slid into it. The crow carried it off until it was high in the air, then dropped it, and the serpent fell out of it — and thus God, the Mighty and Majestic, protected him from it. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 354)
The narrator says: One day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had taken off his shoe in order to perform the ablution. A black crow came, picked the shoe up from the ground, carried it into the air, and then let it fall. The shoe dropped to the ground, and from within it a serpent came out. Thus did God preserve him from the harm of the serpent.
They were twenty-seven children, male and female: al-Hasan and al-Husayn (AS), Zaynab al-Kubra, and Zaynab al-Sughra, whose kunya was Umm Kulthum — their mother was Fatima al-Batul (AS), mistress of the women of the worlds, daughter of the master of the messengers (God's blessings be upon him and upon them). And Muhammad al-Akbar, whose kunya was Abu al-Qasim; his mother was Khawla, daughter of Ja'far ibn Qays, al-Hanafiyya. And al-Abbas, Ja'far, Uthman, and Abdullah, the martyrs with their brother al-Husayn (AS) at Karbala (God be pleased with them); their mother was Umm al-Banin, daughter of Hizam ibn Khalid ibn Darim. Al-Abbas bore the kunya Abu Qirba ('father of the waterskin') for his carrying of water to his brother al-Husayn (AS), and he was called al-Saqqa ('the water-bearer'); he was killed at thirty-four years of age, and many virtues are his. Abdullah was killed at twenty-five, and Ja'far ibn Ali was killed at nineteen. And Umar and Ruqayya — their mother was Umm Habib, daughter of Rabi'a, and the two were twins. And Muhammad al-Asghar, whose kunya was Abu Bakr, and Ubaydullah, the two martyrs with their brother al-Husayn (AS) at the Taff of Karbala; their mother was Layla, daughter of Mas'ud, al-Darimiyya. And Yahya, whose mother was Asma bint Umays al-Khath'amiyya; he died young, before his father. And Umm al-Hasan and Ramla, whose mother was Umm Sa'id, daughter of Urwa ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi. And Nafisa — who is Umm Kulthum al-Sughra — and Zaynab al-Sughra, Ruqayya al-Sughra, Umm Hani, Umm al-Kiram, Jumana (whose kunya was Umm Ja'far), Umama, Umm Salama, Maymuna, Khadija, and Fatima, born of various slave-mothers. His (AS) posterity continued through five sons: al-Hasan and al-Husayn (AS), and Muhammad, al-Abbas, and Umar (God be pleased with them). Among the Shia there are those who relate that Fatima (AS), after the Prophet (PBUH), miscarried a male child whom the Messenger of God (PBUH) had named, while he was yet in the womb, Muhsin; on this reckoning his children would number twenty-eight. As for Zaynab al-Kubra, daughter of Fatima, daughter of the Messenger of God (PBUH): Abdullah ibn Ja'far ibn Abi Talib married her, and by her were born to him Ali, Ja'far, Awn al-Akbar, and Umm Kulthum — the children of Abdullah ibn Ja'far; and Zaynab related reports from her mother Fatima (AS). As for Umm Kulthum, she is the one whom Umar ibn al-Khattab married; and our companions have said that he (AS) gave her to him in marriage only after much resistance and vigorous refusal, and excuse after excuse, until necessity compelled him to refer her matter to al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, who gave her to him in marriage. As for Ruqayya, daughter of Ali (AS), she was married to Muslim ibn Aqil and bore him Abdullah, who was killed at the Taff, and Ali and Muhammad, the sons of Muslim. As for Zaynab al-Sughra, she was married to Muhammad ibn Aqil and bore him Abdullah, through whom the line of Aqil's descendants continued. As for Umm Hani, she was married to Abdullah al-Akbar ibn Aqil ibn Abi Talib and bore him Muhammad, who was killed at the Taff, and Abd al-Rahman. As for Maymuna, daughter of Ali (AS), she was married to [Abdullah] al-Akbar ibn Aqil and bore him Aqil. As for Nafisa, she was married to Abdullah al-Akbar ibn Aqil and bore him Umm Aqil. As for Zaynab al-Sughra, she was married to Abd al-Rahman ibn Aqil and bore him Sa'd and Aqil. As for Fatima, daughter of Ali (AS), she was married to [Muhammad ibn] Abi Sa'id(?!) ibn Aqil and bore him Humayda. As for Umama, daughter of Ali, she was married to al-Salt ibn Abdullah ibn Nawfal ibn Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib and bore him Nafisa, and she died while with him. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 395)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) had twenty-seven children, as follows: Hasan (AS), Husayn (AS), Zaynab al-Kubra (AS), and Zaynab al-Sughra, whose kunya was Umm Kulthum — all of them children of Fatima (AS).
Muhammad, whose mother was Khawla, daughter of Ja'far ibn Qays of the tribe of Hanifa; for this reason he was called Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya.
Abbas, Ja'far, Uthman, and Abdullah, all of whom were martyred at Karbala. Their mother was Umm al-Banin, daughter of Hizam ibn Khalid ibn Darim. Abbas (AS) was thirty-four years old at the time of his martyrdom; Abdullah was twenty-five, and Ja'far nineteen, when they were martyred.
Umar and Ruqayya: their mother was Umm Habib, daughter of Rabi'a, and the two were twins.
Muhammad al-Asghar, whose kunya was Abu Bakr, and Ubaydullah, who were martyred at Karbala; their mother was Layla, daughter of Mas'ud of Banu Darim.
Yahya, whose mother was Asma bint Umays. Yahya died in childhood, before his father's martyrdom.
Ramla, whose mother was Umm Sa'id, daughter of Urwa ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi.
Nafisa, Umm Kulthum al-Sughra, Zaynab al-Sughra, Ruqayya al-Sughra, Umm Hani, Umm al-Kiram, Jumana (whose kunya was Umm Ja'far), Umama, Umm Salama, Maymuna, Khadija, and Fatima — all of them born of bondmaid mothers of unrecorded name whom the Commander (AS) had purchased.
In some Shia narrations it is related that after the passing of her noble father, Fatima (AS) miscarried a child whom the Messenger of God (PBUH) had named Muhsin. On this reckoning the children of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) would number twenty-eight.
The descendants of Ali (AS) come only through five of his children: through Hasan and Husayn (AS), Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, Abbas, and Umar. From the other sons of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) no posterity has remained.
Zaynab al-Kubra, daughter of Fatima (AS), was married to Abdullah ibn Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and of her were born Ali, Ja'far, Awn al-Akbar, and Umm Kulthum.
Umm Kulthum was married to Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Ruqayya, daughter of Ali (AS) and twin of Umar, married her cousin Muslim ibn Aqil, and of her were born Abdullah, Ali, and Muhammad, who were martyred at Karbala.
Zaynab al-Sughra likewise married her cousin Muhammad ibn Aqil, and of her Abdullah was born.
Umm Hani also married another of her cousins, Abdullah al-Akbar, son of Aqil, and bore him a son named Muhammad, who was martyred at Karbala.
Maymuna married her cousin al-Akbar ibn Aqil, and of her a child named Aqil was born.
Khadija married Abd al-Rahman ibn Aqil, and of her Sa'id and Aqil were born.
Fatima married Muhammad ibn Abi Sa'id ibn Aqil, and of her Humayda was born.
Umama married al-Salt ibn Abdullah ibn Nawfal ibn al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib, and of her Naqiyya was born.
Abdullah ibn Ayyub, from Abdullah ibn Hisham, from Abd al-Karim ibn Amr al-Khath'ami, from Habbaba al-Walibiyya, who said: I saw the Commander of the Faithful (AS) among the shurtat al-khamis (his elite guard). She then carried the report on to where she said: I kept following his track until he sat down in the courtyard of the mosque, and I said to him: O Commander of the Faithful, what is the proof of the Imamate — God have mercy on you? She said: He said: 'Bring me that pebble,' and he pointed with his hand to a pebble. I brought it to him, and he stamped it for me with his seal-ring, then said to me: 'O Habbaba, when a claimant lays claim to the Imamate and is able to stamp as you have seen, know that he is an Imam whose obedience is obligatory; and nothing that he wills escapes the Imam.' She said: Then I departed, until the Commander of the Faithful (AS) passed away. Then I came to al-Hasan, while he was seated in the place of the Commander of the Faithful and the people were questioning him, and he said to me: 'O Habbaba al-Walibiyya.' I said: Yes, my master. He said: 'Bring forth what you have with you.' She said: I gave him the pebble, and he stamped it for me just as the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had stamped it. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 408)
The narrator (Habbaba al-Walibiyya) says: I saw the Commander of the Faithful (AS) accompanied by his special guards. I followed him. In the mosque of Kufa he sat down in a place by himself. At that point I went up to him and said: May God have mercy on you! What is the proof of an Imam's Imamate? He pointed to the ground and said: Bring me that small pebble! I picked up the stone and gave it to him. He stamped it with his seal-ring, and instantly the impress of his seal appeared upon the stone, as though the stone had been engraved. He said: O Habbaba, a claimant to the Imamate must be able to do such a thing; in that case it is proven that he is the Imam whose obedience is obligatory. Moreover, nothing that he wills is hidden from the Imam. Habbaba says: This affair passed, and the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was martyred. When I saw that his son Hasan had taken his place, I went to him as he sat in his father's seat with the people gathered around him asking him questions. As soon as he saw me he said: Habbaba al-Walibiyya? I said: It is I. He said: Give me your stone! I gave him the stone I had secretly brought with me. Just as the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had stamped a stone that day, he too stamped the stone and gave it to me.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) had appointed Hurayth ibn Jabir al-Hanafi over a region of the East, and he sent to him the two daughters of Yazdegerd, son of Shahriyar. He bestowed one of them upon his son al-Husayn (AS), and she bore him Zayn al-Abidin (AS); and he bestowed the other upon Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, and she bore him al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 480)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) appointed Hurayth ibn Jabir as governor of a land in the East. Hurayth sent the two daughters of Yazdegerd, the king of Persia, to Kufa. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) gave one in marriage to Husayn (AS) and one to Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Of Husayn and that woman, Zayn al-Abidin (AS) was born; and of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and that woman's sister, a son named Qasim.
Al-Husayn ibn Ulwan narrated from Abu Ali Ziyad ibn Rustam, from Sa'id ibn Kulthum, who said: I was with al-Sadiq Ja'far ibn Muhammad (AS), and he mentioned the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) and praised him as he deserves, and then said: My father (AS) came in upon Ali ibn al-Husayn (AS) and found that he had reached a degree of worship that none had ever reached: his color had yellowed from sleeplessness, his eyes were bleared from weeping, his forehead was calloused from prostration, and his legs and feet were swollen from standing in prayer. Abu Ja'far (AS) said: When I saw him in that state I could not restrain my weeping, and I wept out of compassion for him, while he was sunk in thought. A little while after I had entered, he turned to me and said: My son, give me some of those scrolls in which the worship of Ali (AS) is recorded. I gave them to him, and he read a little in them, then set them down from his hand in distress and said: Who has the strength for the worship of Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS)! (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 487)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: One day my father came in upon his father, Imam al-Sajjad (AS), and saw that from the intensity of worship his father's countenance had changed: his face had grown yellow from the night vigils, his eyes were swollen from weeping, his forehead was calloused from the abundance of prostration, and his feet were swollen from standing. He said: When I saw my father in this state, my heart ached for him and I began to weep. My father was sunk in thought; after a while he became aware of me and said: My son! Give me some of those pages in which the worship of Ali (AS) is written. I handed the writings to my father, and he read a portion of them. Then he set the book aside in distress and said: Who can worship as Ali (AS) did?!
Al-Hasan ibn al-Abbas ibn al-Harish, from Abu Ja'far the Second (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to Ibn Abbas: The Night of Qadr comes in every year, and on that night the affair of the year descends; and that affair has custodians after the Messenger of God (PBUH). (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 2, p. 172)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Night of Qadr recurs every year. On the Night of Qadr, whatever is to come to pass in that year is sent down, and the channel of this descent is the legatees after the Messenger of God (PBUH).
Amr ibn Shimr, from Jabir al-Ju'fi, who said: I heard Abu Ja'far (AS) say: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab asked the Commander of the Faithful Ali (AS), saying: Tell me about the Mahdi — what is his name? He said: As for his name, my beloved, the Messenger of God (PBUH), covenanted with me that I should not speak of it until God Most High raises him up. He said: Then tell me of his description. He said: He is a young man of medium stature, with a handsome face and beautiful hair; his hair flows down upon his shoulders, and the light of his face rises above the blackness of the hair of his beard and head. May my father be ransom for the son of the best of bondmaids! (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 2, p. 294)
Imam al-Baqir (AS) used to relate: Umar ibn al-Khattab asked the Commander of the Faithful (AS): Inform me about the Mahdi of this community and his name! He said: As for his true name, it will not be disclosed until the time of his rising, and my beloved, the Messenger of God (PBUH), instructed me to refrain from uttering his name. Umar said: What is his description? He said: He is a young man of medium stature and handsome countenance. He has beautiful hair reaching down to his shoulders, and the light of his face draws every eye.
Muhammad ibn Sinan, from Abu al-Jarud Ziyad ibn al-Mundhir, from Abu Ja'far al-Baqir (AS), from his father, from his grandfather (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) said: He has two names: one that is concealed and one that is proclaimed. As for the one that is concealed …; and as for the one that is proclaimed, it is Muhammad. When he shakes his banner, all between the East and the West will be illumined by it; and he will place his hand upon the heads of the servants, and no believer will remain but that his heart becomes stronger than ingots of iron, and God, the Mighty and Majestic, will give him the strength of forty men. And no dead person will remain but that this joy enters upon him in his grave; they will visit one another in their graves and give one another glad tidings of the rising of the Qa'im (AS). (I'lam al-Wara bi-A'lam al-Huda, vol. 2, p. 294)
Imam al-Baqir (AS), from his fathers, relates from the Commander of the Faithful (AS): The Qa'im has two names — one hidden and the other manifest. The hidden one is …, and the manifest one is Muhammad. When he raises his banner, the East and the West of the world will be illumined by it. Upon the head of every believer on whom he places his hand, that believer's heart will become as firm as iron. God will grant him the strength of forty men, and there is no believer but that in his grave he will learn of the rising of the Qa'im; and they will visit one another in their graves and give one another glad tidings of the Qa'im's rising.