Abu Hurayra related: There was a famine in Medina, and a day and a night passed over me in which I tasted nothing. I asked Abu Bakr about a verse whose interpretation I knew better than he, and walked with him to his door; but he turned me away, and I went off hungry that day. The next morning I asked Umar about a verse that I understood better than he did, and he did just as Abu Bakr had done. On the third day I came to Ali and asked him only what he knew. When I was about to leave, he invited me to his house and fed me two loaves of bread with clarified butter. When I was full, I went back to the Messenger of God, and when he caught sight of me he laughed in my face and said: Will you tell me, or shall I tell you? Then he recounted to me all that had happened, and said: Gabriel informed me. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 73)
The narrator relates: In the time of the Messenger of God (PBUH), hunger was raging. A day and a night passed and I found nothing to eat. On the pretext of hearing about a verse that I myself knew better than Abu Bakr — both it and its interpretation — I fell into conversation with him and accompanied him, walking with him to the door of his house. But he did not invite me in; he said farewell, entered his house, and shut the door. I returned home hungry. The next day I met Umar and again, on the same pretext, accompanied him to the door of his house. But he did the same as Abu Bakr had done, did not invite me in, and parted from me. On the third day I came upon Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), asked him about something, and opened a conversation. I was about to take my leave when he invited me to his house and offered me two loaves of bread and a little clarified butter. I ate my fill and bade him farewell. On my way back, I saw the Messenger of God (PBUH). When he saw me, he laughed and said: Gabriel has told me what happened!
Asim ibn Kulayb, from his father — the wording being his — from Abu Hurayra: A man came to the Messenger of God (PBUH) and complained to him of hunger. The Messenger of God sent to his wives, and they said: We have nothing but water. So he (PBUH) said: Who will take this man in tonight? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I will, O Messenger of God. He went to Fatima and asked her: What have you, O daughter of the Messenger of God? She said: We have nothing but the children's food, but we will prefer our guest to ourselves. Ali said: O daughter of Muhammad, put the children to bed and put out the lamp. And the two of them made as though they were chewing with their tongues. When the guest had finished eating, Fatima brought a lamp, and found the bowl filled by the bounty of God. In the morning he prayed with the Prophet, and when the Prophet (PBUH) gave the salutation ending his prayer, he looked at the Commander of the Faithful and wept intensely, and said: O Commander of the Faithful, the Lord marveled at what you did last night. Recite: "And they prefer others above themselves, even though poverty" — that is, hunger — "be their lot. And whoever is preserved from the avarice of his own soul" — meaning Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn — "those, they are the successful." (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 73)
A stranger, driven by hunger, sought refuge with the Messenger of God (PBUH). The Messenger of God (PBUH) asked his wives: Do you have anything in the house? They said: We have nothing but water. The Messenger of God (PBUH) said in the mosque: Who will host this man? Ali (AS) said: I will, O Messenger of God! He went ahead to the house and said to Fatima (AS): What do we have in the house? Fatima (AS) said: Only enough for the children to eat; but we shall prefer the guest over ourselves. Ali (AS) said: Put the children to sleep, spread the cloth, and put out the lamp! Ali and Fatima sat at the table with the guest and pretended to eat, so that he would not be embarrassed and would eat his fill. When he finished eating, Fatima (AS) brought a lamp — and they saw that the dishes were full of food! The next morning, when the Messenger of God (PBUH) had finished the prayer, he turned toward Ali (AS), wept, and said: God gloried in what you did last night, and sent down these verses: "And they prefer others above themselves, even though poverty be their lot; and whoever is preserved from the avarice of his own soul — those, they are the successful." They give others preference over themselves though they themselves be in need; and he from whom selfishness departs is among the felicitous.
Abu Bakr al-Shirazi, with his chain from Muqatil, from Mujahid, from Ibn Abbas, concerning God's words "Men whom neither commerce nor trade distracts from the remembrance of God" up to His words "without reckoning": he said, By God, that is the Commander of the Faithful. Then, after some words, he said: One day the Prophet gave Ali three hundred dinars that had been presented to him as a gift. Ali said: I took them and said: By God, tonight I shall give from these dinars an alms that God will accept from me. When I had prayed the final evening prayer with the Messenger of God, I took a hundred dinars and left the mosque. A woman met me, and I gave her the dinars. In the morning the people were saying: Last night Ali gave a hundred dinars in alms to an immoral woman. I was deeply grieved. When I had prayed the night prayer the following evening, I took a hundred dinars and left the mosque, saying: By God, tonight I shall surely give an alms that my Lord will accept from me. I met a man and gave him the dinars in alms. In the morning the people of Medina were saying: Last night Ali gave a hundred dinars to a thief. I was deeply grieved, and I said: By God, tonight I shall surely give an alms that God will accept from me. I prayed the final evening prayer with the Messenger of God (PBUH), then left the mosque with a hundred dinars. I met a man and gave them to him. In the morning the people of Medina said: Last night Ali gave a hundred dinars in alms to a rich man! I was deeply grieved and came to the Messenger of God and told him. He said to me: O Ali, here is Gabriel saying to you: God, the Mighty and Majestic, has accepted your alms and declared your deed pure. The hundred dinars you gave the first night fell into the hands of a corrupt woman, who returned to her home, repented to God, the Mighty and Majestic, of her corruption, made those dinars her capital, and is now seeking a husband to marry. The second alms fell into the hands of a thief, who returned to his home, repented to God of his thieving, and made the dinars capital with which to trade. And the third alms fell into the hands of a rich man who had not paid the alms-tax on his wealth for years; he returned to his home, reproached himself, and said: How miserly you are, O my soul! Here is Ali ibn Abi Talib, who gave a hundred dinars in alms though he has no wealth, while God has made the alms-tax obligatory on my wealth for many years and I have not paid it. So he reckoned up his wealth, purified it, and paid out its alms-tax of so-and-so many dinars. And God sent down concerning you: "Men whom neither commerce nor trade distracts from the remembrance of God" — the verse. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 74)
Ibn Abbas relates: The verse "Men whom neither commerce nor trade distracts from the remembrance of God" was revealed concerning Ali (AS). The story was as follows: the Messenger of God gave Ali (AS) three hundred dinars and said: This is a gift. Ali (AS) recounted to me: When I received the money, I said to myself: Let me give from this money an alms that God will accept! So, after the evening prayer, when I parted from the Messenger of God (PBUH), I took a hundred dinars and set out into the darkness of the night. A woman came toward me. I gave her the money and returned home. The next morning I heard the people of Medina saying that last night someone had given a large sum of money to such-and-such a loose woman! I was distressed, and, supposing that God had not accepted my alms, the next night after the evening prayer I set out again in the dark to give another hundred dinars in charity. I came upon a man and gave him the money and returned. The next day I found it rumored in Medina that such-and-such a person, a thief, had come by a large sum of money in the night! Again I was distressed, and I resolved to give the remaining hundred dinars too in the way of God, in the hope that this time it would find acceptance with God. So on the third night I set out, and as soon as I came upon a man, I gave him the rest of the money. The next day I found the people of Medina saying that last night someone had given a great sum in alms to such-and-such a person, a wealthy man! I was distressed and went to the Messenger of God (PBUH) and told him the story. After a while he said: Gabriel has informed me that God has accepted all three of your alms! The first alms reached the hands of an immoral woman, who went home, repented of her ugly trade, and made that money her capital! The second alms reached the hands of a thieving man; it awakened him and brought about his repentance, and he put that money into merchandise for trade. The third alms reached a wealthy man, who recognized you, and when he went home said to himself: Woe is me! With all this wealth, how miserly I am — while this Ali, in his very poverty, gives away so lavish a sum in alms! So that very night he resolved to give a great amount of wealth as zakat in the way of God. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 74)
Ibn Shirawayh al-Daylami, from al-Khudri and Abu Hurayra: Ali rose one morning famished and asked Fatima for food. She said: There has been nothing except what I fed you two days ago; I preferred you with it over myself and over al-Hasan and al-Husayn. He said: Why did you not tell me, so that I could have brought you something? She said: O Abu al-Hasan, I am ashamed before my God to burden you with what you cannot manage. So he went out and borrowed a dinar from the Prophet, and went out to buy something with it. Al-Miqdad met him, saying: What God wills! — and Ali handed him the dinar. Then he entered the mosque, laid down his head, and slept. The Prophet came out and found him there; he shook him and said: What have you done? He told him, and he rose and prayed with him. When the Prophet had completed his prayer, he said: O Abu al-Hasan, do you have anything with which we might break the fast, so that we may come along with you? He bowed his head, giving no answer out of shame before him. But God had revealed to the Prophet that he should dine that night with Ali. So the two set off and came in to Fatima, who was at her prayer-place, and behind her a bowl steaming hot. Fatima brought out the bowl and set it before the two of them. Ali (AS) asked: Where did you get this? She said: It is from the bounty of God and His provision; God provides for whom He wills without reckoning. He said: The Prophet placed his blessed hand between Ali's shoulders and said: O Ali, this is in exchange for your dinar. Then the Prophet's eyes brimmed with tears and he said: Praise be to God, who did not let me die before I saw in my daughter what Zechariah saw for Mary. And in a narration of al-Sadiq (AS): concerning them God sent down "And they prefer others above themselves." (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 76)
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri relates: Ali (AS) rose in the morning and found nothing in the house to eat! He asked Fatima (AS). Fatima (AS) said: In these two days everything in the house has been used up, and I gave you and the children preference over myself. Ali (AS) said: Why did you not tell me?! Fatima (AS) said: I am ashamed before God to ask of you something beyond your means! Ali (AS) went to the Prophet (PBUH), borrowed a dinar, and went off to buy provisions with it. On the way he met al-Miqdad, and al-Miqdad, who was in a similar plight, asked him for a loan. So he gave the dinar to al-Miqdad, and in his helplessness went to the mosque and slept there in a corner. When the Messenger of God (PBUH) came to the mosque, he shook Ali (AS) awake, and the prayer was held. After the prayer, the Messenger of God (PBUH) turned to Ali (AS) and said: I shall come to your house to break the fast! Ali (AS), who knew there was nothing in the house, was embarrassed, but said nothing. So they went together to Ali's (AS) house. They found Fatima (AS) at prayer, and a pot boiling on the hearth. Fatima (AS) set the pot, full of food, before the two of them. Ali (AS) asked: Where has this food come from?! Fatima (AS) said: From the bounty and provision of God! God provides for whomever He wills without reckoning. The Messenger of God (PBUH) placed his hand on Ali's (AS) back and said: This is for that dinar you gave in alms. Then he wept and said: Thanks be to God, that I have seen in my own daughter Fatima the very thing that was told of Mary!
It is said of him that on the Night of Harir he uttered three hundred takbirs, felling an enemy with every takbir. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 83)
It is related that on the night of Laylat al-Harir at Siffin, whenever the Commander of the Faithful (AS) slew a man, he would utter a takbir. They counted: he uttered more than three hundred takbirs.
Abu Abdillah ibn Hammuyah al-Basri, with his chain from Salim al-Jahdari, who said: I was present when money was brought to Ali ibn Abi Talib toward evening. He said: Distribute this money. They said: Evening has come upon us, O Commander of the Faithful; put it off until tomorrow. He said to them: Will you guarantee me that I shall live until tomorrow? They said: That is not in our hands. He said: Then do not delay it, but distribute it. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 95)
The narrator relates: One evening some money was brought before Ali (AS). He said: Distribute it right now! They said: It is late; leave it until tomorrow! He said: Do you guarantee that I will be alive tomorrow? They said: Of course not! He said: Then distribute it and do not waste time!
It is related that there would come upon him a time when he did not possess the price of three dirhams with which to buy a waist-wrapper and the things he needed; yet he would distribute everything in the treasury among the people, then pray in it and say: Praise be to God, who has brought me out of it as I entered it. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 95)
The narrator relates: There was a time when Ali (AS) himself did not have three dirhams to buy a garment, though he needed clothing. Even so, I saw him distribute the entire treasury among the people. Then he prayed there, raised his hands in supplication, and said: Praise be to God, who has brought me out of my obligation to the treasury just as He brought me into it.
Abu Ja'far al-Tusi narrated that it was said to the Commander of the Faithful (AS): Give these funds to those men who are feared may defect and flee to Mu'awiya. He (AS) said: Do you command me to seek victory through injustice? No, by God, I will not do it so long as a sun rises and a star gleams in the sky. By God, even if their wealth were my own, I would deal it out equally among them — how then, when it is in fact their own wealth? (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 95)
Shaykh al-Tusi has related that they said to the Commander of the Faithful (AS): Give something from the treasury to the notables so that they abandon sedition, lest they incline toward Mu'awiya! He said: Shall I gain victory over my enemy through wrongdoing?! By God, I will not do it. Even if this wealth were my own I would not do so — how much less when it is the people's wealth.
In al-Ibana, from Ibn Batta, and in al-Fada'il, from Ahmad: He (AS) bought dates in Kufa and carried them in the corner of his cloak. People hurried to carry them for him, saying: O Commander of the Faithful, let us carry it. He (AS) said: The head of the family has the better right to carry it. And he would say: Whatever benefit a man brings home to his family takes nothing away from his perfection. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 104)
The narrator relates: When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was in Kufa, he bought some dates, poured them into the corner of his cloak, and was carrying them home when people came and asked that he let them carry the dates for him and bring them to his house. But he refused and said: The head of the household does best to carry the provisions home himself. And he would say: Carrying the burdens of one's home does not diminish a man's excellence; rather, it adds to it.
Al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful went out among his companions while riding, and they walked along behind him. He turned to them and said: Have you some need? They said: No, but we love to walk with you. He said to them: Go back, for the trailing of sandals behind the heels of men corrupts the hearts. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 104)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) would not allow people to walk behind him out of deference. He would say: Do you have some business?! If they said no, he would say: Then do not follow at my heels, for a crowd of sandals trailing behind great men ruins and corrupts the heart.
In al-Fa'iq: Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Rabi'a ibn al-Harith sent their two sons, al-Fadl ibn Abbas and Abd al-Muttalib ibn Rabi'a, to ask him to appoint them over the collection of alms. Ali said: By God, none of you shall be appointed over the alms. Rabi'a said to him: This is your way — you attained kinship by marriage with the Messenger of God (PBUH) and we did not envy you for it. Ali cast down his cloak and then lay down upon it and said: I am Abu al-Hasan the chieftain-stallion. By God, I shall not stir until your two sons return to you with the answer to what you sent them for: the Prophet (PBUH) said: This alms is the filth of people's hands, and it is not lawful for Muhammad, nor for the family of Muhammad. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 107)
Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet (PBUH), and Rabi'a ibn al-Harith, his cousin, petitioned the Commander of the Faithful (AS) on behalf of their sons Fadl and Abd al-Muttalib, asking that he put them in charge of the zakat. Ali (AS) said: By God, I will not do it! Rabi'a said: As you please. You became the Prophet's son-in-law and we bore you no envy. Ali (AS) threw his cloak from his shoulder and set himself against him, growling as he said: I am Abu al-Hasan the qarm! (qarm means the greatest lion of the thicket, that rules over all the rest). Then he said: Let me not see you until you have seen your sons and made this plain to them — that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Zakat is the grime of people's hands, and it is not lawful for Muhammad or the family of Muhammad.
A guest came to stay with al-Hasan ibn Ali, and he borrowed from Qanbar a measure of the honey that had come from Yemen. When Ali sat down to divide it, he said: O Qanbar! Something has happened to this skin. Qanbar said: Your mouth speaks the truth — and he told him what had occurred. He made to strike al-Hasan, saying: What led you to take from it before the division? He said: We have a right in it, and when you give us our share, we will return it. He said: May your father be your ransom! Even though you have a right in it, you may not benefit from your right before the others benefit from theirs. Had I not seen the Messenger of God kissing your front teeth, I would have made you smart with a beating. Then he handed Qanbar a dirham and said: Buy with it the finest honey you can find. The narrator says: It is as though I can still see the hands of Ali (AS) on the mouth of the skin while Qanbar poured the honey in and stirred it; then he bound it up, saying: O God, forgive it to al-Hasan, for he did not know. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 107)
The narrator relates: A guest arrived for Hasan ibn Ali (AS). So he borrowed from Qanbar a bowl of the honey that had come from Yemen. When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) came to divide the Yemeni honey, he said: Qanbar! Some of this honey is missing! Qanbar said: Yes; this is what happened. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) made to strike Hasan (AS), rebuking him: Why did you take some of the honey before it was divided? Hasan (AS) said: After all, I too had a right in it; I took from my own share, meaning to return it after the division. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My son! Before the others take their rights, you had no right to take yours. Then he said: Had I not seen the Messenger of God kiss your cheek again and again, I would have slapped your face. Then he gave Qanbar some money and told him to buy excellent honey and mix it with this honey until it reached its former amount. The narrator says: When I came, I saw Ali holding the jar while Qanbar poured the new honey into it and stirred, so that it would all blend together.
Aqil came to visit him. He said to Hasan: Clothe your uncle. So he gave him one of his own shirts and one of his own cloaks. When supper was served, it turned out to be bread and salt. Aqil said: Is this all there is? He said: Is this not among the blessings of God? To Him, then, belongs abundant praise. Aqil said: Give me enough to settle my debt, and speed my dispatch so that I may leave you. He said: How much is your debt, O Abu Yazid? He said: A hundred thousand dirhams. He said: By God, I do not have it, nor do I possess it; but wait until my stipend comes out, and I will share it with you — and were it not that the family must have something, I would give you all of it. Aqil said: The treasury is in your hand, and you put me off until your stipend? And how much is your stipend, and what could it amount to, even if you gave me all of it? He said: In this matter, you and I are but as any other man among the Muslims. They were conversing atop the palace of governance, overlooking the chests of the merchants of the market. Ali (AS) said to him: If you refuse what I say, O Abu Yazid, then go down to one of these chests, break its locks, and take what is in it. He said: And what is in these chests? He said: In them is the money of the merchants. He said: Do you order me to break open the chests of a people who have put their trust in God and placed in them their wealth? The Commander of the Faithful said: Then do you order me to open the treasury of the Muslims and give you their wealth, when they have put their trust in God and locked it up? And if you wish, take your sword and I shall take mine, and we shall both go out to al-Hira, for there are wealthy merchants there; we can fall upon one of them and take his wealth. He said: Have I come as a thief? He said: That you steal from one man is better than that you steal from all the Muslims together. He said: Then will you permit me to go out to Mu'awiya? He said: I give you leave. He said: Then help me toward this journey of mine. He said: O Hasan, give your uncle four hundred dirhams. Aqil went out saying: He who has enriched you against me will suffice me; and a Lord near at hand will settle our debt. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 108)
Aqil came to see the Commander of the Faithful (AS). The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to Hasan: Present your uncle with some clothing. Hasan (AS) gave Aqil a shirt and a cloak. Night fell. Ali (AS) spread the cloth: there was bread and salt. Aqil said: I do not eat such things! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Is this not the blessing of God?! One must give God abundant thanks for this very blessing. Aqil said: I have come to receive from you enough money to pay off my debt and return to Medina! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Abu Yazid! How much is your debt? He said: A hundred thousand dirhams! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I do not have such money; but be patient until some means reach me, and I will give you something too — and had I no family to keep, I would give you all of it. Aqil said: The treasury is in your hands, and you refer me to the future, until means reach you? And how much is going to reach you anyway, that you would give me part of it? How much is the whole of it?! The two were conversing on the roof of the governor's residence, from which the city bazaar could be seen. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: From up here, look at those chests in which the merchants' goods and money are kept! It is night, and no one is about. Would you go down, break the lock of one of them, and take what is inside?! Aqil said: Seize other people's property?! And that when they have put their trust in God and placed their goods in the chests?! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Then how do you expect me to break the lock of the treasury and give you its funds, when I am the people's trustee, and they have put their trust in God and entrusted their property to me? Then he said: Would you like the two of us to take our swords tonight and waylay the caravan road of al-Hira, and plunder the merchants' goods? Aqil said: You mean, commit robbery?! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: To steal from one man or a few is better than to steal from the whole treasury of the Muslims. Aqil, seeing that his words made no impression on Ali (AS), loosed his final arrow and said: Then, if there is no objection, I shall go and join Mu'awiya! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: There is no objection. Aqil said: Then at least give me the expenses of my journey! Ali (AS) said to his son Hasan (AS): Give Aqil four hundred dirhams so that he may go to Syria. And Aqil set out on his journey reciting: "He who has made me independent of you will enrich me over all; and who will settle our debt but our Lord, who is near." He who freed me of need for you will free me of need for everyone; and who pays our debt but our Lord, who is close to us.
And from a speech of his when the people pressed him to accept the pledge of allegiance after the killing of Uthman: Leave me, and seek out someone other than me. For we are facing a matter that has many faces and many colors — one for which hearts will not stand firm and minds will not remain steady. The horizons have grown clouded, and the straight road has become unrecognizable. And know that if I answer you, I shall carry you upon what I myself know to be right, and I shall pay no heed to the word of any speaker or the reproach of any reproacher. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 110)
After the killing of Uthman, when the people rushed upon him to accept the caliphate, he said: Leave me and seek out others! Events are about to unfold that will not be easy to digest; hearts will not have the strength to accept them, and minds will not comprehend them. The air will be thick with dust and the proof will be hidden. Know that if I take the reins of affairs into my hands, I will act according to my own knowledge, not according to what you say or expect.
Mukhtar al-Thammar related from Abu Matar al-Basri: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) passed by the date-sellers and came upon a slave-girl weeping. He said: O girl, what makes you weep? She said: My master sent me with a dirham, and I bought dates from this man and took them to my household, but they were not pleased with them; and when I brought them back, he refused to accept them. He said: O servant of God, she is a servant and has no authority of her own; return her dirham to her and take back the dates. The man rose against him and struck him. The people said: This is the Commander of the Faithful! The man swelled with fear and turned pale; he took the dates and returned her dirham. Then he said: O Commander of the Faithful, be pleased with me! He said: How pleased I would be with you, if only you set your affairs aright. And in the Fada'il of Ahmad: ...if you render the people their rights. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 112)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was passing through the date-sellers' market when he saw a slave-girl weeping. He said: What has happened? The girl said: My master gave me money to buy dates; I bought the dates and took them to him, but he did not like them and said, take them back and get the money back! Now that I have come, the date-seller refuses to take the dates back, and I fear my master will punish me! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to the date-seller: O servant of God! This is a helpless slave-girl with no authority of her own; take back the dates and give her the money! But the date-seller refused and scowled. The bystanders made him understand that this was the Commander of the Faithful! When the date-seller recognized Ali (AS), he was frightened and the color drained from his face. He took back the dates and returned the money, then clutched at the hem of the Commander of the Faithful's garment and said: O Commander of the Faithful! Be pleased with me! Ali (AS) said: I am pleased with you, so long as you respect the people's rights and deal well with them.
Ali (AS) was performing the dawn prayer when Ibn al-Kawwa recited from behind him: "And it has been revealed to you and to those before you: if you associate partners with God, your deeds will surely come to nothing and you will surely be among the losers" [Qur'an 39:65]. Ali fell silent out of reverence for the Qur'an until he finished the verse, then resumed his recitation. Then Ibn al-Kawwa repeated the verse, and Ali again fell silent; then he recited, and Ibn al-Kawwa repeated it again, and Ali (AS) fell silent once more. Then he said: "So be patient; indeed, the promise of God is true, and let not those who lack certainty unsettle you" [Qur'an 30:60]. Then he completed the sura and bowed. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 113)
The narrator says: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was leading the dawn prayer in the mosque of Kufa when Ibn al-Kawwa, who was a ringleader of the Kharijites, recited aloud from behind him: "And it has been revealed to you and to those before you: if you associate partners with God, your deeds will surely come to nothing and you will surely be among the losers" [Qur'an 39:65]. His insinuation was that Ali (AS) was a polytheist. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) kept silent out of reverence for the Qur'an, and when Ibn al-Kawwa fell quiet, he resumed his recitation. Then Ibn al-Kawwa repeated the same verse, and Ali (AS) again kept silent out of reverence for the Qur'an. A third time Ali (AS) fell silent once more, and when he broke his silence he recited: "So be patient; indeed, the promise of God is true, and let not those who lack certainty unsettle you" [Qur'an 30:60] — that is: be patient, for God's promise is true, and let not the hypocrites rouse you to anger or unseat your composure. Then he read the rest of the sura and completed the prayer.
Ibrahim narrated with his chain from al-Musayyab ibn Najiyya, who said: While Ali was delivering a sermon, a bedouin kept crying out: Oh, how I have been wronged! He (AS) said: Come near. So he drew near, and he said: I have been wronged as many times as there are clods of earth, drops of rain, and hairs of camel wool. And in the narration of Kathir ibn al-Yaman: ...and beyond all counting. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 115)
The narrator says: Ali (AS) was preaching from the pulpit when a bedouin kept wailing restlessly, saying over and over: I have been wronged! Ali (AS) said: Come here and let me hear what you are saying! The bedouin came up to Ali (AS). Ali (AS) said to him: I myself have been wronged so many times that it cannot be counted.
Abu Nu'aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn narrated with his chain from Hurayth, who said: Ali never once stood upon the pulpit without saying, at the end of his address before descending: I have never ceased to be wronged since God took His Prophet (PBUH) to Himself. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 115)
The narrator says: I never saw Ali (AS) mount the pulpit without recalling it and saying: From the time the Messenger of God (PBUH) passed away, I have been wronged without cease!
Ali saw a woman carrying a waterskin on her shoulder. He took the skin from her and carried it to her home, then asked about her circumstances. She said: Ali ibn Abi Talib sent my husband to one of the frontiers and he was killed, leaving me with orphaned children. I have nothing, and necessity has driven me to serve people as a maid. He departed, and spent that night in unrest. When morning came, he took up a basket of food. Someone said: Give it to me, let me carry it for you. He said: Who will carry my burden for me on the Day of Resurrection? He came and knocked on the door. She said: Who is it? He said: I am that servant who carried the waterskin with you; open, for I have something for the children. She said: May God be pleased with you, and may He judge between me and Ali ibn Abi Talib! He entered and said: I wish to earn reward; so choose between kneading and baking the bread, or tending the children while I bake. She said: I am more skilled at the baking and better able to do it; you take charge of the children and keep them occupied until I finish the bread. So she set to the flour and kneaded it, while Ali (AS) took the meat and cooked it, and began feeding the children morsels of meat, dates, and other food. Each time he gave the children something, he would say: My child, absolve Ali ibn Abi Talib of what has befallen your affairs. When the dough had risen, she said: O servant of God, light the oven. He hastened to light it, and when he had kindled it and the flames blazed in his face, he began saying: Taste, O Ali! This is the recompense of one who neglects the widows and the orphans. Then a woman who knew him saw him and said: Woe to you! This is the Commander of the Faithful! The woman rushed forward, saying: Oh, how I am ashamed before you, O Commander of the Faithful! He said: Rather, how I am ashamed before you, O handmaid of God, for how I have fallen short in your affairs. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 115)
Ali (AS) saw a woman struggling to carry a jug of water on her shoulder. He took the jug from the woman and set off with her toward her house. He asked her: How do you fare? The woman said: Ali ibn Abi Talib took my husband off to war and got him killed; now I am left with several orphaned children. Of worldly goods I have nothing, so out of sheer misery I work as a servant for people. When Ali (AS) parted from that woman, he could not sleep that night. The next morning, he filled a basket with provisions and set out for the woman's house. His companions said: Give it to us to carry. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: And who will carry the burden of my sins on the Day of Resurrection?! So he went alone to the woman's house and knocked. The woman said: Who is it? He said: The same servant who helped you carry the jug home yesterday; open the door! I have brought something for your children. The woman said: May God accept it from you, and may He judge between me and Ali ibn Abi Talib! Ali (AS) entered and said: I wish to earn some reward; so either knead this flour and bake bread, or look after the children so that I may bake the bread for you. The woman said: Baking is my own trade; if you want to do something, keep the children amused. So the woman went to knead the dough, and Ali (AS) set the meat he had brought on the fire to cook and busied himself playing with the children; and when the meat was done, he made morsels of meat and dates and placed them in the children's mouths, and with every morsel he said: My child! Forgive Ali for what has happened! When the dough had risen, the woman said: O servant of God! Light the oven. Ali (AS) went to the oven and lit it. When the flames of the oven blazed against Ali's face, Ali said: O Ali! Taste this! Fire is the recompense of one who has abandoned the poor and the orphans! When the woman saw and heard all this, she cried out: Alas! This is Ali himself, the Commander of the Faithful! The woman began to apologize to Ali (AS), but Ali (AS) said: O handmaid of God! It is not you who should apologize and be ashamed; it is I who must apologize and be ashamed, for until now I have fallen short concerning you and your children.
Al-Natanzi, in al-Khasa'is, from Sufyan ibn Uyayna, from Shaqiq ibn Salama, who said: Umar was walking when he glanced behind him and broke into a run. I asked him about it, and he said: Woe to you! Do you not see the cleaver of skulls, the man of the two-edged sword, behind me? I said: That is Ali ibn Abi Talib! He said: May your mother mourn you! You underestimate him. Rarely do I see him alone without being afraid of him. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 116)
The narrator says: Umar and I were walking together, the two of us. He kept looking behind him, full of apprehension. I asked: What is the matter?! He said: Do you not see the Cleaver, with his double-edged sword, coming along behind us!? I said: But that is Ali ibn Abi Talib! He said: May your mother sit in mourning for you! Do not underestimate him. Whenever I see him alone, fear takes hold of me.
Muhammad ibn Ishaq: Umar said to him: Why did you not strip him of his coat of mail? It is worth three thousand, and the Arabs have nothing like it. He said: I was too ashamed to uncover my cousin's body. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 117)
In the Battle of the Trench, after Ali (AS) killed Amr ibn Abd Wudd, Umar said to him: If only you had removed his coat of mail and brought it back. That armor is worth three thousand dirhams, and there is nothing like it among the Arabs. Ali (AS) said: He is my cousin, and I was ashamed to take anything from his body.
He (AS) used to walk between the two battle-lines at Siffin wearing only a light undergarment. Al-Hasan (AS) said: This is no attire for war! He said: My son, your father does not care whether he falls upon death or death falls upon him. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 119)
At Siffin, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) would walk between the two battle-lines wearing only a light under-tunic! His son Hasan (AS) said: This is not the dress of war! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My son! It makes no difference to your father whether he goes toward death, or death comes toward him.
Amr ibn Hurayth, in his narration: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I used to suppose that rulers wrong the people; but behold, it is the people who wrong the rulers. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 122)
The narrator says: One day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to me: I used to suppose that it is always the rulers who oppress the people; but now, since I have become ruler, I have seen with my own eyes how the people wrong their ruler.
He endowed property at Khaybar and at Wadi al-Qura, and endowed the estate of Abu Nayzar, and al-Bughaybigha, Arbaja, Arina, Ra'd, Ruzayna, and Rabah as charitable trusts for the believers, entrusting their administration to those of the children of Fatima who were people of trustworthiness and righteousness. He brought forth a hundred springs at Yanbu and dedicated them to the pilgrims — and they endure to this very day. He dug wells along the road of Mecca and Kufa, and built the Mosque of al-Fath in Medina, another facing the grave of Hamza, one at the miqat, one in Kufa, the congregational mosque of Basra, one in Abbadan, and others besides. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 123)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) endowed property at Khaybar and property at Mecca, and made the orchards of Abu Nayzar, Bughaybigha, Arbaj, Arina, Ra'd, Ruzayn, and Rabah charitable trusts for the believers, appointing as their trustees those of the children of Fatima (AS) who were people of trustworthiness and righteousness. He brought forth more than a hundred springs from the earth at Yanbu and endowed them for the pilgrims; these springs still remain. Ali (AS) dug wells for travelers along the roads to Mecca and Kufa. He built mosques in the Fath district of Medina, facing the grave of Hamza at Uhud, in Kufa, and in Abbadan. The congregational mosque of Basra is likewise his legacy.
We remark: Yanbu lies on the Red Sea coast, a few farsakhs from Medina. In Yanbu, digging only a few meters into the ground — especially in the hollows — brings a sweet spring to light, and the water flows toward the sea or gathers into a pool. The Wells of Ali (Abar Ali) remain in Yanbu to this day, abundant with water, irrigating many orchards. On an aerial map you can still see that blessed region with its springs and gardens, which served as the summer retreat of the Shiite Imams from Ali (AS) down to Imam al-Jawad (AS). Remarkably, the names of the orchards and springs have not changed over the course of time. It also follows from this narration that after the Battle of the Camel, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) crossed the Arvand and entered the region of Abbadan and built a mosque there, most likely one of the present congregational mosques of that city.
Abu Ya'la, in the Musnad, that he said: I have not abandoned the night prayer since I heard the Prophet's saying: The night prayer is light. Ibn al-Kawwa said: Not even on the Night of Harir? He said: Not even on the Night of Harir. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 123)
The narrator says: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: From the day the Messenger of God (PBUH) said that the night prayer is light, I have never abandoned it — not even on Laylat al-Harir, not even on Laylat al-Harir.
In the Tafsir of al-Qushayri: When the time of prayer arrived, he (AS) would change color and tremble. He was asked: What is the matter with you? He would say: The time has come for a trust that God Most High offered to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they refused to bear it... and man took it up. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 124)
It is related that when the time of prayer arrived, the color would drain from Ali's (AS) face and he would be seized with agitation. They would say: What is the matter with you? He would say: The time has come to discharge the divine trust — that very trust of which God has said: We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they could not bear to carry it, and man undertook to bear its burden.
We remark: This means the Commander of the Faithful (AS) regarded prayer as the discharge of the divine trust. That is, prayer performed with full presence — through which a person attains union and finds ascension — is the discharge of the trust of divine wilaya and the manifestation of being God's vicegerent. This narration shows how tremendous the prayer of the children of Adam is, and how all other creatures are incapable of performing it.
The History of al-Tabari: At the time of the hijra, the Commander of the Faithful stayed at Quba for two or three nights with Umm Kulthum bint Hidm. He saw her go out every night at midnight to a nocturnal visitor and take something from him. He asked her about it, and she said: This is Sahl ibn Hunayf. He knows that I am a woman with no one to care for me, so when evening falls he goes to the idols of his people, breaks them, and brings them to me, saying: Use these for firewood. Thereafter the Commander of the Faithful always held him in honor. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 146)
When Ali (AS) emigrated to Medina, like the Messenger of God (PBUH) he lodged at Quba in the house of an old man named Kulthum ibn Hidm, and stayed there two or three nights. Ali (AS) noticed that in the middle of the night Kulthum would leave the house, meet someone, and receive something from him. He asked Kulthum about the matter. Kulthum said: It is Sahl ibn Hunayf. Knowing that I am old and blind, he brings me provisions. He has been breaking the wooden idols of his people and secretly bringing them to me as firewood. When Ali (AS) heard this, he honored Sahl ibn Hunayf to the end of his life.
We remark: The narration mistakenly says Umm Kulthum bint Hidm; no such person exists in history. Kulthum is a name shared by men and women, and the Messenger of God's stay of several nights at Quba in the house of an old man named Kulthum ibn Hidm is an established historical fact. This old man was blind, the elder of a clan of the Aws, and he died a few months later, before the Battle of Badr. Kulthum's house survived into modern times on the qibla side of the Quba Mosque and was visited for blessing; it was destroyed in the mosque's recent expansion, and the mosque's present mihrab stands exactly on that spot.
The point of the narration is Ali's (AS) appreciation of people's goodness and his honoring them on the basis of piety.
Sahl ibn Hunayf was among the great Companions of the Messenger of God (PBUH) and one of the veterans of Badr, present at most of the Prophet's battles. At Uhud, when most of the Muslims fled, he was among the few who stood firm, defending the Prophet (PBUH) with his arrows. The Prophet (PBUH) said: Give Sahl arrows, for he shoots with ease. Sahl and his brother Uthman were among the first who took Ali's (AS) side after the Prophet's (PBUH) passing. Sahl is among the twelve men who forbade Abu Bakr from assuming the caliphate. From the time the people pledged allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), Sahl accompanied him, and when the Imam set out for the Battle of the Camel he appointed him his deputy in Medina. He was also present at the Battle of Siffin. After Siffin the Imam made him governor of Fars, but the people of Fars revolted, and the Imam sent Ziyad there instead. Sahl, together with his brother Uthman, belonged to the Shurtat al-Khamis, the elite companions of the Commander of the Faithful (AS). He died in Kufa in the year 38, and the Commander of the Faithful (AS) prayed over him. Sahl's tomb stands today in Kufa, near the Hannana Mosque.
The Prophet asked Gabriel: How will my community cross the Sirat (the Bridge)? He departed, prayed, and said: God Most High sends you greetings of peace and says: You will cross the Sirat by My light, and Ali ibn Abi Talib will cross the Sirat by your light, and your community will cross the Sirat by the light of Ali. So the light of your community is from the light of Ali, and the light of Ali is from your light, and your light is from the light of God. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 156)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) asked Gabriel (AS): How will my community cross the Sirat? Gabriel ascended, asked God, and came down and said: God sends His greetings and says: You will cross the Sirat by My light, and Ali by your light, and your community by the light of Ali. The light of your community is from the light of Ali, and the light of Ali is from your light, and your light is a ray of My light.
The Musnad of al-Mawsili: Abdallah ibn Yahya, from Ali (AS), who said: I had an appointed hour with the Messenger of God (PBUH) in the early morning before dawn at which I would come to him. When I came, I would ask leave to enter; if I found him praying, he would utter a glorification of God, and I would say: May I enter? (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 226)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I had an appointed hour with the Messenger of God (PBUH) at dawn. When I saw that he was occupied in prayer or glorification, I would enter and sit waiting.
The Musnad of Ahmad, the Sunan of Ibn Maja, and the book of Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash, with their chains, from Abdallah ibn Yahya al-Hadrami, from Ali (AS), who said: I had two times of entry to the Messenger of God (PBUH), one by night and one by day; and when I entered while he was praying, he would clear his throat as a sign to me. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 226)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Every day and night I would come to the Messenger of God (PBUH) twice — once by night and once by day. If he was engaged in prayer when I arrived, he would signal to me to enter and sit down.
The book of al-Khatib al-Khwarazmi, from Ibn Abbas: Gabriel descended bearing a citron and said: God Most High sends you greetings of peace and says to you: This is a gift for Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Prophet summoned him and handed it over, and when it lay in his palm the citron split open, and inside was a fresh green silk cloth on which two lines were written: A gift from the Seeker, the Victor (al-Talib al-Ghalib), to Ali ibn Abi Talib. It is said this occurred when he killed Amr. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 230)
Al-Khatib al-Khwarazmi has related that one day Gabriel brought with him a citrus fruit and said to the Messenger of God (PBUH): This is God's gift for Ali ibn Abi Talib. When Ali (AS) opened that fruit, he found inside it a green silken cloth on which was written: A gift from God, the Seeker, the Victor, to Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated: While Ali was circumambulating the Kaaba, there was a man clinging to its covering and saying: O You whom one hearing does not distract from another hearing! O You whom the petitioners cannot confound! O You who never weary of the insistence of the importunate! Let me taste the coolness of Your pardon and the sweetness of Your forgiveness! Ali (AS) said: O servant of God, is this your supplication? He said: Did you hear it? He said: Yes. He said: Then supplicate with it after every prayer. For by Him in whose hand is the soul of Khidr, if your sins were as many as the stars of the sky and its raindrops and the pebbles and dust of the earth, you would be forgiven faster than the blink of an eye. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 247)
Ali (AS) was circumambulating the Kaaba when he saw someone clinging to its covering and saying: O You whom one hearing does not distract from another! O You whom the petitioners cannot confound! O You who never weary of the insistence of the importunate! Let me taste the coolness of Your pardon and the sweetness of Your forgiveness! Ali (AS) asked: Servant of God! What supplication is this?! That person replied: Supplicate thus after your prayers! By Him in whose hand is the soul of Khidr, even if you bore the sins of the earth and the heavens, you would be forgiven.
Al-Asbagh said: We prayed the morning prayer with the Commander of the Faithful (AS), when a man in traveling clothes approached. He said: From where? He said: From Syria. He said: What brings you? He said: I have some business. He said: Tell me — or else I shall tell you your errand. He said: Tell me it, O Commander of the Faithful! He said: On such-and-such a day of such-and-such a month of such-and-such a year, Mu'awiya proclaimed: Whoever kills Ali shall have ten thousand dinars. A certain man leapt up and said: I! But when he returned to his house he repented, saying: Shall I go to the cousin of the Messenger of God and the father of his two grandsons and kill him? Then on the second day his herald proclaimed: Whoever kills Ali shall have twenty thousand dinars. Another leapt up and said: I! — but then he too repented and asked Mu'awiya to release him, and he released him. Then on the third day his herald proclaimed: Whoever kills Ali shall have thirty thousand dinars. Then you leapt up — and you are a man of Himyar. He said: You have spoken the truth. He said: So what is your intention — will you carry out what you were charged with, or what? He said: No; rather, I shall return. He said: O Qanbar! Make ready his mount, prepare his provisions, and give him his traveling expenses. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 260)
The narrator says: In the morning we prayed behind the Commander of the Faithful (AS). A man in traveling clothes appeared. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to him: Where from? He answered: From Syria. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) asked: On what business? The man answered: I have an errand! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Will you say it yourself, or shall I tell you what you are after? He said: You tell me, O Commander of the Faithful! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In such-and-such a month, on such-and-such a day, Mu'awiya announced that whoever kills Ali shall have a reward of ten thousand dirhams. A man rose and accepted the mission, but when he went home he repented and said to himself: Shall I kill the cousin of the Messenger of God and the father of his little ones?! So the next day Mu'awiya proclaimed that whoever carries out this mission shall have ten thousand dirhams. A man rose and accepted; but before setting out he came to Mu'awiya and said: I have repented! And Mu'awiya accepted. Again they proclaimed that whoever kills Ali shall have a reward of thirty thousand dirhams. This time it was you, of the house of Himyar, who rose and accepted. The man said: Yes! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Well then — do you intend to carry out the mission? The man said: Never! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Qanbar! Groom his horse and give him provisions for the road, so that he may go wherever he wishes.
Abdallah ibn Abi Rafi said: I was present with the Commander of the Faithful (AS) when he dispatched Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, saying to him: Judge by the Book of God and do not go beyond it. When he had turned away, he said: It is as though I see him already — deceived. I said: O Commander of the Faithful, then why do you send him, when you know he will be deceived? He said: My son, if God dealt with His creatures according to His own knowledge, He would not have established the proof against them through messengers. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 261)
The narrator says: I was in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) when Abu Musa al-Ash'ari came to take his leave before departing for the arbitration. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to him: Judge by the Book of God and do not go beyond it! When Abu Musa had said farewell and gone, he said to us: They will deceive him! Being young, I said: O Commander of the Faithful! Then do not send him, since you know he will be deceived. He said: My son! If God had willed to deal with His creation according to His knowledge, there would have been no need to send messengers in order to complete the proof.
Safiyya bint al-Harth al-Thaqafiyya, the wife of Abdallah ibn Khalaf al-Khuza'i, said to Ali (AS) on the day of the Battle of the Camel, after the fighting: O slayer of loved ones! O divider of the community! He (AS) said: I do not blame you for hating me, O Safiyya — I killed your grandfather at Badr and your uncle at Uhud, and now your husband. But were I truly a slayer of loved ones, I would have killed those who are hiding in these houses. The houses were searched, and inside were Marwan and Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 262)
Safiyya, daughter of Harth al-Thaqafi and wife of Abdallah al-Khuza'i, spoke harshly to Ali (AS) after the Battle of the Camel, saying: O slayer of kinsmen, O disperser of the community! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O Safiyya! I do not blame you, for at Badr I killed your grandfather, at Uhud your father, and now your husband. But know that if I were truly a slayer of kinsmen, I would order the killing of those hiding in that ruin. And he pointed to the place with his hand. They searched that ruin and found Marwan ibn al-Hakam and Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr hiding there. So they arrested them.
And in a narration, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O Washsha, come near me. He says: I drew near, and he said: Go to your quarter; you will find at the door of the mosque a man and a woman quarreling — bring them to me. He says: I went and found the two disputing, and I said: The Commander of the Faithful summons you. We walked until we entered his presence, and he said: Young man, what is the matter between you and this woman? He said: O Commander of the Faithful, I married her, paid her dower, concluded the contract, and she was brought to me in wedlock; but when I drew near her, she saw blood, and I was left bewildered in my affair. He (AS) said: She is forbidden to you, and you are no match for her. The people stirred at this. Then he said to her: Do you know me? She said: I have heard tell of you, but I had never seen you. He said: Are you not so-and-so, daughter of so-and-so, of the house of so-and-so? She said: Yes, by God! He said: Did you not marry so-and-so son of so-and-so in a temporary marriage, secretly from your family? Did you not conceive by him and give birth to a sound baby boy? Then, fearing your people and your family, you took him and went out by night, and when you reached a deserted spot you laid him on the ground; then you stood facing him and your heart yearned over him, so you went back and picked him up; then again you cast him down, and when he cried and you feared disgrace — then the dogs came and barked at you, and you took fright and hurried away. One dog broke away from the pack, came to your child, sniffed him, and then bit into him because of the smell of the birth-fluid upon him. In your anguish you threw a stone at the dog and gashed its head, and it yelped; and fearing that morning would overtake you and you would be discovered, you turned and departed with your heart full of turmoil. You raised your hands toward heaven and said: O God, protect him, O Keeper of things given in trust! She said: Yes, by God, all of this happened exactly so, and I am astounded at your words. He said: Bring the man forward. He came, and he said: Uncover your brow. He uncovered it, and he said to the woman: Behold the scar on the brow of your child — this man is your son. God prevented him from lying with you by the sign He showed him from you, which turned him away. God has protected him for you as you asked Him; so give thanks to God for what He has granted and bestowed upon you. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 266)
The narrator says: One day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to me: Go to such-and-such a quarter! By the door of the mosque, a man and a woman are quarreling; bring them to me! The narrator says: I went and found it exactly as the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had said. So I brought the two before Ali (AS). Ali (AS) said to the man: What is the matter? The man said: I married this woman and paid her dower. When I sought to lie with her, she suddenly declared that she was menstruating and left me thwarted. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: This woman is forbidden to you! The man said: Why? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) turned to the woman and said: Do you know me? The woman said: I have only heard your name; until now I had never seen you. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: But I know you well; are you not so-and-so, daughter of so-and-so, of the house of so-and-so? The woman said: That is true. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Years ago you secretly contracted a marriage with a certain man and became pregnant by him. For fear that others would find out, one night you went out alone and gave birth to your child in a ruin. The woman said: That is true. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: You wanted to abandon the child but could not bring your heart to it. You stayed by the child, but its crying filled you with dread that people would learn of it. Then dogs gathered around you, and you fled from them in fear and watched from afar. A dog approached your child, sniffed him, and took his head between its teeth. Seeing that scene, you found courage and ran toward your child. The dog released him, but its bite tore the infant's brow. In the end you laid the child in the ruin, raised both hands, and said: O God, protect my child Yourself! (O God, protect him, O Keeper of things given in trust!) — and then you parted from him. The woman said: It was exactly so. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: This man is that very child of yours. Then he said to the man: Show your brow! When the man revealed his brow, they saw the scar of that wound still upon it. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Since God did not wish your son to lie with you, you were visited with menstruation, and this became a sign so that, after all these years, you should find your son through me. Now give thanks to God for how much He has loved you — He protected your child and has returned him to you after all these years!
Ibn Wahban and al-Fattak: We were passing through a thicket when we came upon a lion crouched in the road with its cubs behind it. I turned my mount to go back, but he (AS) said: Where to? Come forward, O Juwayriya ibn Mus'hir! It is only God's dog. Then he recited: "There is no creature but He holds it by its forelock" [Qur'an 11:56]. Then the lion came toward him, wagging its tail, and it was saying: Peace be upon you, O Commander of the Faithful, and the mercy of God and His blessings, O cousin of the Messenger of God! He said: And upon you be peace, O Abu al-Harith. What is your glorification? It said: I say: Glory be to Him who clothed me in majesty and cast fear of me into the hearts of His servants. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 303)
The narrator says: We were traveling through a thicket when a great male lion blocked our way, with several lionesses coming up behind it. I pulled my horse's reins to turn back, but the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It is nothing! It is God's dog — His agent. Then he recited: "There is no creature but its forelock is in God's hand" [Qur'an 11:56]. The lion drew near, and when it reached the Commander of the Faithful (AS) it wagged its tail, and we heard it greet him with peace! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) returned its greeting and said: O Abu al-Harith! What is your glorification? The lion said: I say: Glory be to Him who clothed me in the garment of majesty and cast the fear of me into the hearts of His servants!
Sahl ibn Hunayf, in his narration: When Mu'awiya seized the watering-place of the Euphrates, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) ordered Malik al-Ashtar to say to those posted on the bank of the Euphrates: Ali says to you: Withdraw from the water! When he said this, they withdrew, and the Commander of the Faithful's men came down to the water and drew from it. When this reached Mu'awiya, he summoned them and questioned them about it. They said: Amr ibn al-As came and said that Mu'awiya orders you to open the way to the water. Mu'awiya said to Amr: You do a thing and then say, I did not do it! The next day, Mu'awiya posted Hajal ibn Attab al-Nakha'i with five thousand men. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) again dispatched Malik, who called out as before, and Hajal drew back from the watering-place, so Ali's companions came down and drew water. When this reached Mu'awiya, he summoned Hajal and questioned him, and he said: Your son Yazid came to me and said that you had ordered a withdrawal from it. He questioned Yazid about it, and he denied it. Mu'awiya said: Tomorrow, accept it from no one — even if I myself come to you — unless you take my signet ring. On the third day, the Commander of the Faithful again ordered Malik to do the same, and Hajal saw Mu'awiya, took his signet ring from him, and withdrew from the water. This reached Mu'awiya, who summoned him and questioned him, and he showed him his signet ring. Mu'awiya struck one hand upon the other and said: Yes — this is one of Ali's devastating wiles. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 332)
In the Battle of Siffin, the watering-place of the Euphrates fell into the hands of the Syrians. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) sent Malik al-Ashtar and said to him: Go to the guards of the Euphrates and say: Ali says, stand aside! Malik did so, and the guards stood aside, and the water-carriers of Ali's (AS) army drew water and returned. When Mu'awiya learned of it, he summoned the commander of the guards and said: Why did you fall back and give water to Ali's army?! He said: Amr ibn al-As came and said that Mu'awiya had ordered us to fall back! Mu'awiya remonstrated with Amr, and Amr professed to know nothing. So Mu'awiya posted Hajal ibn Attab al-Nakha'i with five thousand men over the watering-place. The next day Ali (AS) again sent Malik, and the same thing happened. Mu'awiya summoned Hajal and said: Why did you fall back today?! Hajal said: Yazid came and said, my father says to let the army of Iraq draw water today as well. Mu'awiya questioned Yazid, and he denied it. Mu'awiya said to Hajal: This time, even if I myself come, do not heed my word unless I give you my signet ring. Let this be our sign. The next day, Hajal again fell back and gave water to Ali's (AS) army, and when Mu'awiya called him to account, he handed him Mu'awiya's own signet ring and said: You yourself came, gave me this ring, and told us to fall back! When Mu'awiya saw his own ring in Hajal's hand, he struck the back of one hand with the other and said: This is all Ali's sorcery!
Al-Asbagh: A man made his testament and handed his executor ten thousand dirhams, saying: When my son comes of age, give him whatever you like of this money. When the son came of age, he brought the executor before the Commander of the Faithful for judgment. He asked him: How much do you like to give him? He said: A thousand dirhams. He said: Then give him nine thousand dirhams — for that is what you liked for yourself — and take the thousand. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 381)
A man entrusted ten thousand dirhams to his executor and stipulated in his will: When my son grows up, give him as much of this money as you like. Years later, when the executor was about to give the son his share, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) asked: How much do you like to give him? He said: A thousand dirhams. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Give him nine thousand dirhams! For it is the nine thousand that you like, and the arrangement was that you give his son whatever you like!
Abu Ubayd, in Gharib al-Hadith: A woman came to him and alleged that her husband was having relations with her slave-girl. He (AS) said: If you speak the truth, we will stone him; and if you are lying, we will flog you. She said: Take me back to my family — burning inside with jealous rage. Its meaning is that her insides were boiling with fury and jealousy. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 2, p. 381)
A woman came and said: My husband secretly has relations with my slave-girl. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If you speak the truth, I will stone your husband; and if you have lied, I will have you flogged. Hearing this, the woman said: Let me go — I was not serious!
Ibn Abbas said: In all his affairs, Ali pursued the good pleasure of God Most High and of His Messenger; for this reason he was named al-Murtada (the One Well-Pleasing). (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 3, p. 110)
Ibn Abbas says: Because Ali (AS) acted in all his affairs according to the good pleasure of God and His Messenger, he was named al-Murtada.
Al-Tabari, Ibn Ishaq, and Ibn Mardawayh relate that Ammar said: We went out with the Prophet on the expedition of al-Ushayra, and when we halted at a camping place we slept, and nothing woke us but the words of the Messenger of God to Ali: O Abu Turab (Father of Dust)! — for he had seen him prostrate, his face covered in dust. And al-Hasan ibn Ali (AS) said: The tracts of earth bear witness for him. He (AS) used to press his cheeks into the dust and seek out untouched spots of ground so that they would bear witness for him on the Day of Resurrection. So whenever the Prophet saw him with dust on his face, he would say: O Abu Turab, do such-and-such — addressing him with whatever he wished. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 3, p. 111)
The narrator says: We were traveling with the Prophet (PBUH) on an expedition. We reached a camping place and slept. We were awakened by the voice of the Prophet (PBUH) saying to Ali (AS): Abu Turab! — for he had seen him prostrate in worship, covered in dust.
It is also related from Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) that: My father was named Abu Turab because the tracts of the earth, when he prostrated upon them, would appeal to him to testify on the Day of Resurrection to their servitude, and would ask their needs of him.
From al-Qummi: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When God wills good for a servant, He strikes him with baldness, so that the hair falls from his head — and here I am, such a one. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 3, p. 113)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When God wills someone's good, the hair above his forehead and on the crown of his head falls out. I myself am an instance of this very thing.
The Commander of the Faithful said: I am the sword of God against His enemies and His mercy upon His friends. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 3, p. 113)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: For the enemies of God I am a sword, and for His friends, mercy.
When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) entered Kufa, Zur'a ibn al-Burj al-Ta'i and Hurqus ibn Zuhayr al-Tamimi, Dhu al-Thudayya, came to him, and one said: There is no judgment but God's! He (AS) said: A word of truth by which falsehood is intended. Hurqus said: Then repent of your error, turn back from your course, and lead us out against our enemy to fight them until we meet our Lord. Ali (AS) said: I urged you to that before, but you disobeyed me; and now we have written a document between us and those people, with terms, and have given pledges and covenants upon them; and God Most High has said: "Fulfill the covenant of God when you have made a covenant" [Qur'an 16:91]. Hurqus said: That was a sin of which you must repent. Ali said: It was no sin, but a failure of counsel among the community and a weakness of judgment among the men; and I had gone before you and forbidden you from it. Ibn al-Kawwa said: Now it is confirmed for us that you are no Imam; had you been an Imam, you would not have turned back. Ali said: Woe to you! Did not the Messenger of God (PBUH) turn back in the year of Hudaybiyya from fighting the people of Mecca? So they parted from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), saying: There is no judgment but God's. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 3, p. 188)
After returning from Siffin, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had settled in Kufa when two of the Kharijite leaders came to see him and said: There is no judgment but God's (la hukma illa lillah). The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The statement itself is true; but the conclusion you draw from it is false! One of the two said: O Ali! Repent of your error, turn back from your former opinion, and equip us to go to war against Mu'awiya again; perhaps we may be martyred! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In the past I did exactly that. But your own defiance dragged the war to the point where we made agreements with the Syrians, bound ourselves by covenant, and committed the matter to arbitration — and God has said: Fulfill your covenants! The Kharijite said: What happened was a sin! Now repent, break your covenant, and set out for war again! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It was no sin; it was the community's failure of counsel and the weakness of judgment of the soldiery; and however much I counseled, it was of no avail. The second man said: Now it is clear that you are no Imam at all! Had you been an Imam, you would not have gone back on your opinion! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Did not the Messenger of God (PBUH) turn back from his intention at Hudaybiyya?! The two rose and left, all the while chanting: There is no judgment but God's.
On His words, Most High: "Sailing before Our eyes" [Qur'an 54:14] — al-A'mash: A man came with his head gashed open, seeking redress from Umar against Ali (AS). Ali said: I passed by this man as he was confronting a woman, and I heard from him what I found repugnant. Umar said: Truly God has eyes, and Ali is one of the eyes of God on earth. And in the narration of al-Asma'i: He (AS) said: I saw him gazing, within God's sanctuary, upon what God has made inviolable. Umar said: Go — you have fallen upon one of the eyes of God and one of the veils of God. That is the right hand of God; He places it wherever He wills. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 3, p. 272)
A man came to Umar and complained against Ali (AS). Ali (AS) said in his own defense: This young man, within the sanctuary of God, was violating what God has made inviolable and was tormenting a woman. Umar said: Young man, get up and go! The eye of God has seen you, and the hand of God has struck you on the back of the neck.
It is related that he (AS) stayed awake that night, going out repeatedly and gazing at the sky, saying: By God, I have never lied, nor has a lie ever been told me — this is indeed the night I was promised. Then he would return to his bed. When dawn broke, Ibn al-Tayyah came to him and called him to prayer. He rose, and the geese came toward him, crying out in his face. He said: Leave them, for they are wailers to be followed by mourners. As he went out, an iron latch on the door caught in his waist-wrap; he tightened his wrap, reciting: Gird up your loins for death, for death is sure to meet you; and do not cry out at death when it descends upon your valley. For I have known men who, though they were paupers, hastened toward good and forsook evil. (al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub, vol. 3, p. 310)
It is said that on the night before the dawn on which Ali (AS) was struck, he did not sleep, but kept going out into the courtyard of the house, gazing at the sky and saying: By God, I have never lied, nor has anyone been able to lie to me. This is the promised night. Near dawn, someone came to fetch him for the prayer. As he was leaving the house, the geese in the courtyard set up a clamor. He said: Laments will follow after them! On his way out, the nail of the door caught the fringe of his waist-cloth. He fastened the cloth firmly about his waist and recited: Gird your belt for death, for death will come for you whether you will or not.