Abu Uthman al-Nahdi, from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, who said: I bear witness that the truth is with Ali, but the world has swayed its people. And indeed I heard the Prophet (PBUH) say: O Ali, you are with the truth, and the truth after me is with you; none loves you but a believer, and none hates you but a hypocrite. And we do indeed love him, but the world beguiles its people. (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 42)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: O Ali, you are with the truth and the truth is with you. None but a believer loves you, and none but a hypocrite is your enemy. But the world ensnares many, snatches them from your side, and carries them off with itself.
Alqama ibn Qays and al-Aswad ibn Yazid, from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, from the Messenger of God (PBUH), who said to Ammar: O Ammar! If the people take one valley and Ali takes another valley, then take the valley of Ali and leave the people. O Ammar, obedience to Ali is obedience to me, and obedience to me is obedience to God, the Mighty and Majestic. (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 59)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said to Ammar Yasir: O Ammar! If you see Ali (AS) taking one path and the rest of the people another, follow Ali (AS)! O Ammar, obedience to Ali is obedience to me, and obedience to me is obedience to God.
Rishdin ibn Sa'd, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from al-Hasan, from Thawban, may God be pleased with him, who said: I witnessed Ali ibn Abi Talib saying: If God wills to punish me, I am His servant; and if He wills to show me mercy, it is by His grace toward me. (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 61)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) always used to say: If God disciplines and chastises us, it is His right, and we are His servants; and if He shows mercy, it is by His grace, not by our desert.
Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Musa al-Anbari: Ibn Abi Ghazara related to us from Waki', from al-A'mash, who said: I was on pilgrimage to the Sacred House of God, and I halted at one of the way-stations, and there was a woman whose sight was veiled, saying: O You who returned the sun for Ali ibn Abi Talib, white and pure after it had set — return my sight to me! Al-A'mash said: Her words moved me, so I took out two dinars and gave them to her. She felt them with her hand and then flung them in my face, saying: O man, you have humiliated me with poverty — fie upon you! One who takes the family of Muhammad as his masters is never abased. Al-A'mash said: I went on to the hajj, completed my rites, and set out on my return home, and that woman remained my greatest preoccupation until I came to that same place — and there was the woman, with two eyes that saw. I said to her: O woman, what has the love of Ali ibn Abi Talib done for you? She said: O man, I swore by him to God for six nights; and on the seventh night — the night of Friday — a man came to me in my sleep and said: O woman, do you love Ali ibn Abi Talib? I said: Yes. He said: Place your hand over your eyes. And he said: [O God,] if this woman loves Ali ibn Abi Talib with truthful intent, restore to her her sight. Then he said: Remove your hand. I removed it, and there in my dream was a man. I said: Who are you, through whom God has shown me favor? He said: I am al-Khidr. Love Ali ibn Abi Talib, for love of him in this world turns afflictions away from you, and in the hereafter shields you from the Fire. (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 77)
The narrator says: On the way to hajj I came upon a woman who was blind but brimming with the love of Ali (AS). Returning from hajj, I saw her at that same way-station, now able to see. I said: What happened to you? She said: I saw al-Khidr (AS); he healed me and said: Love Ali (AS), for love of him removes the afflictions of this world and the torment of the hereafter.
Abu al-Husayn Umar the judge, al-Ushnani, related to us: Ishaq related to us: Muhammad ibn Mansur related to us, saying: I heard the shaykh Ahmad ibn Hanbal say: For no one have as many virtues been related as have been related for Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS). (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 88)
Ahmad ibn Hanbal says: Among the children of Adam, no one's virtues have been so much spoken of and heard as those of Ali (AS)!
Abu Bakr al-Hudhali and Abdullah ibn Sulayman, from Qatada: Arwa, daughter of al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib, came in to Mu'awiya in Medina when she was a very old woman. When Mu'awiya saw her, he said: Welcome, aunt! How have you fared since I left? She said: How are you, nephew? You have been ungrateful for the blessing, given your cousin ill companionship, named yourself with a name not yours, and taken what was not your right. Amr ibn al-As said to her: Enough, you misguided old woman! She said: And you, son of the harlot — do you speak, when your mother was the most notorious harlot in Mecca and the cheapest of them in hire? Marwan ibn al-Hakam said: Enough, old woman; restrain yourself. She said: And you, son of al-Zarqa — do you speak? Then she turned to Mu'awiya and said: None but you has emboldened these men against me. Mu'awiya turned to Amr ibn al-As and Marwan ibn al-Hakam and said: None but you two emboldened her against me. Then he said to her: Aunt, come to your need, and leave aside the tales of the ancients. She said: You shall give me two thousand dinars, and two thousand dinars, and two thousand dinars. He said: And what will you do with two thousand dinars? She said: With them I will buy a spring of water for the poor of Banu al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib. He said: It is yours. He said: And what will you do with two thousand dinars? She said: With them I will marry off the poor of Banu al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib. He said: And what will you do with two thousand dinars? She said: I will use them as a help against the hardship of the days and for visiting the Sacred House of God. He said: They are yours. Then he said: By God, if your cousin Ali were alive, he would not have ordered this for you. She said: You speak the truth. Ali kept God's trust, while you have squandered it and been treacherous with His wealth. Then she said: Leave off Ali — may God shatter your mouth and make your trial grievous! Then her sobbing and weeping rose high, and she recited the verses of Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali. He said: Then Mu'awiya wept and said: By God, aunt, Abu al-Hasan was as you have said, and better. And he ordered that she be given what she had asked. (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 89)
The narrator says: When Mu'awiya had come to Medina, the daughter of al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib went to see him. Mu'awiya received her with honor and said: Welcome, aunt! How are you? The daughter of al-Harith replied: How are you, nephew?! You showed ingratitude for the blessing! You dealt unjustly with your cousin! You placed upon yourself the unwarranted title of Commander of the Faithful! And you laid hands on what was not your right! Amr ibn al-As cut her off and said: Silence, you senseless old woman! The daughter of al-Harith answered him: You be quiet — son of the busiest and cheapest harlot of Mecca! Marwan snapped at the old woman: Enough, hag! The daughter of al-Harith called him "son of al-Zarqa," then turned to Mu'awiya and said: It is on your backing that these men speak to me like this! Mu'awiya turned to the two of them and said: Do not make this woman bold and insolent against me! Then he turned to the daughter of al-Harith and said: Dear aunt! Let the past go! What business brought you to see me? State your need! The daughter of al-Harith said: I want three purses of two thousand dinars each. Mu'awiya said: What will you do with so much money?! The daughter of al-Harith said: With one I will buy water and farmland for the poor of the line of al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib; with the second I will provide the means for their young people to marry; and the third is for my own living, and I will perform the hajj. Mu'awiya said: Very well! — and ordered that the six thousand dinars be granted to her. Then he said: But if your cousin Ali were alive, he would not have given you such money! The daughter of al-Harith said: Of course! Ali was the keeper of God's trust — a trust that you keep squandering. Then she said: Do not utter Ali's name, for you are not worthy to speak it! Then she burst into tears and recited an ode of Abu al-Aswad in praise of Ali. Mu'awiya wept too and said: O aunt! By God, Abu al-Hasan (Ali) was just so — nay, better!
Abdullah ibn Yahya: Muhammad ibn Sulayman related to us: my father related to us — and he was among those who witnessed the first companions — saying: I heard Zirr ibn Hubaysh say: When the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), was martyred, the bearer of the death-tidings came to Medina, and Medina broke out in weeping and wailing, like the day on which the Messenger of God (PBUH) passed away. The people came hurrying to the door of A'isha's house, but found that the news had already reached her, so they left her. On the next morning it was said: The Mother of the Believers, A'isha, is going early to the grave of the Messenger of God (PBUH). So the people came hurrying to her, while she could not manage speech nor return any answer for the abundance of her tears and the intensity of her weeping, and the people ringed around her, until she came to the door of the chamber of the Messenger of God (PBUH). She took hold of the two doorposts and called out: Peace be upon you, O master of the prophets! Peace be upon you, O master of the intercessors! Peace be upon you, O finest of all who ever donned shirt and cloak, and noblest of all who ever wore sandal and shoe! Peace be upon you and upon your two companions, Abu Bakr and Umar. By God, I come announcing the death of the most beloved of creation to you, mourning the nearest of people to you. By God, your cousin has been killed, whose merit shall not be forgotten. By God, your beloved, al-Murtada, has been killed. By God, the one whom you wedded to the mistress of women, Fatima al-Zahra, has been killed. O Messenger of God, if the earth were uncovered from you, you would see me distraught and tearful, weeping and bewildered. Then she pronounced the words of return: "Truly we belong to God, and to Him we return." Then she ordered a screen to be set up between her and the people. Then she said: O people! What is with you — why have you gathered, and what would you say? They said: O Mother of the Believers, what do you say of Ali ibn Abi Talib? She said: O people, what indeed could I say of Ali? By God, he was the master of the legatees, the cousin of the Seal of the Prophets, the imam of the God-fearing and the elect, the husband of the Virgin, al-Zahra, the drawn sword of God against the enemies, the commander of the righteous, the slayer of the unbelievers, one of the ten given glad tidings, the foremost of you in jihad and the first of you in striving, the companion of night vigil and the mine of thought, the builder of the religion and the master of the believers, al-anza' al-batin, the wise and the pure, strong in the religion of God, upholding the command of God. O people! Between me and Ali there were things upon things, in dark nights, in the districts of Basra. Oh, what an expedition, and what an expedition it was! When its darkness had settled thick and its sleepers slept, I trod the sand-dunes and rode through the thickets until I came in through the gaps of his army, and I saw him beyond two red dunes — the length of the journey had not kept him from his night vigil. I drew near until I stood before him, and there he was, his cheek laid upon the earth, weeping and sobbing and writhing like a bereaved mother, saying: My face has prostrated to You, my heart has humbled itself before You, and my soul has surrendered to Your command; how then shall I escape tomorrow from Your painful torment and Your severe punishment? She said: I drew near until I was right before him, and I took his head into my lap and wiped the dust from his cheeks; then I returned from him, and there was no one of God's creation more beloved to me than he. Zirr ibn Hubaysh said: Then she threw herself upon the grave of the Messenger of God (PBUH), weeping and sobbing, saying: My father and my mother be your ransom, O Prophet of guidance! By God, the bearer of your banner on the morrow has been killed. Then she looked at the people weeping and said: O people, weep — for today, by God, weeping is fitting; for today Muhammad al-Mustafa and Fatima al-Zahra have passed away. Then she saw the people weeping, heaved deep sighs, and cast herself upon the grave; by God, I thought nothing but that she had departed this world. The women of Quraysh carried her to her house, while she was saying: I marvel at a people who question me about him whose virtues are famed in every field of witness. My grief is renewed, and my tears stream forth for Your face, O You who are hoped for in hardships. (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 92)
The narrator says: When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was martyred in Kufa, the news reached Medina. In Medina, voices rose in wailing and weeping, just like the day the Messenger of God (PBUH) passed away. People rushed toward A'isha's house, but found that the news had reached her before them, so they dispersed. The next day it was said that A'isha, the Mother of the Believers, was going to visit the grave of the Messenger of God (PBUH). The people, too, hastened to the Prophet's Mosque. A'isha spoke with no one, and weeping gave her no respite. The people formed a ring around her until she reached the chamber where the Prophet (PBUH) is buried. Then with her two hands she grasped the two sides of the doorframe and said: "Peace be upon you, O master of the prophets! Peace be upon you, O master of the intercessors! Peace be upon you, O finest of all who ever donned shirt and cloak, and noblest of all who ever wore sandal and shoe!" Then she said: By God, I mourn the one most beloved of creation to you. Your cousin, whose merit was manifest to all, has been killed! Your beloved, al-Murtada, has been killed! O Messenger of God, if the earth were split open and you could see me, you would see me distraught, weeping, and bewildered. Then she said: "Truly we belong to God, and to Him we return." Then she turned to the people and said: People, what do you want, and why have you gathered? They said: We wish to know what you think of Ali. A'isha said: "By God, he was the master of the legatees, the cousin of the Seal of the Prophets, the imam of the God-fearing and the elect, the husband of the Virgin, al-Zahra, the drawn sword of God against the enemies, the commander of the righteous, the slayer of the unbelievers, one of the ten given glad tidings, the foremost of you in jihad and the first of you in striving, the companion of night vigil, the mine of thought, the builder of the religion, the master of the believers, al-anza' al-batin, the wise and the pure, strong in the religion of God, the upholder of the command of God." Then she said: I have a story with Ali from the night of the Battle of the Camel which I have told no one until now. On that dreadful night before the battle, secretly and alone, I went toward his army, and taking advantage of the gaps in the ranks and the darkness of the night, I brought myself to his tent. I saw that the hardship of the journey had not kept him from his nightly devotion: in the tent he had laid his head upon the dust in prostration and was saying: "My face has prostrated to You, my heart has humbled itself before You, and my soul has surrendered to Your command; how then shall I flee tomorrow from Your painful torment and Your severe punishment?" ...
Muhammad ibn Uthman the scribe, from Abu Isa al-Naqid, from Ibrahim ibn Mihran, who said: In Kufa, among our neighbors, there was a provisions-seller whose kunya was Abu Ja'far. He dealt fairly, and when anyone of the Alawites came to him seeking what he had, he would not refuse him: if the man had its price, he took it; otherwise he would say to his boy: Write down what he took against Ali ibn Abi Talib. He lived on in this way for a time, then fell into poverty and sat at home, looking through his ledgers; if he found among his debtors one who was alive, he would send someone to collect from him, and if he found one who had died leaving nothing, he struck out his name. One day, while he was sitting at the door of his house looking into that ledger, a man of the Nasibis passed by and said to him mockingly: What has your great debtor done — meaning Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS)? The shopkeeper was grieved at this, rose, and went into his house. When night came, he saw the Prophet (PBUH) in a dream, with al-Hasan and al-Husayn (AS) walking before him. He said to them: Where is your father? The Commander of the Faithful (AS), who was behind him, answered: Here I am, O Messenger of God. He said: Why do you not give this man his due? He said: O Messenger of God, here is his due in this world; I have brought it. He said: Then give it to him. So he handed me a purse of wool and said: This is your due. And the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Take it, and refuse none of his descendants who come to you seeking what you have; and go — no poverty shall touch you after this day. I awoke with the purse in my hand, and I called to my wife: Woman, are you asleep or awake? She said: Awake. I said: Light the lamp. She lit it, and I handed her the purse. She looked, and in it were a thousand dinars. She said: O man, fear God — let it not be that poverty drove you to deceive one of these merchants and take his money. I said: No, by God; the story is this. Then he called for the ledger in which his account was kept — and behold, of what he had written against Ali ibn Abi Talib there remained nothing, neither little nor much. (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 95)
The narrator says: In our neighborhood in Kufa there was a fodder-seller named Abu Ja'far. Abu Ja'far was a good tradesman, and when one of the Shia came to him wanting something, he would give it to him. If the man had money, he took it from him; otherwise he told his apprentice: Write in the ledger that I gave it to Ali ibn Abi Talib! Times changed, and Abu Ja'far became poor and housebound. So he called for his ledger and sent after those debtors who were alive, and whoever had died or had nothing, he struck his name from the ledger. One day, as he sat in the shop looking through that ledger, a man from among the enemies of Ali (AS) passed by him and said with mockery: What news of your great debtor — Ali? Abu Ja'far was heartbroken at this remark; he rose and went home. At night he dreamed of the Messenger of God (PBUH). He dreamed that the Messenger of God (PBUH) was with Hasan and Husayn (AS) and said to them: Where is your father? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) appeared and said: Here I am, O Messenger of God — do you have some command? The Messenger of God (PBUH) said to him: Why do you not pay this man his due? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O Messenger of God! This purse is his due in this world. And in the dream he gave a purse to Abu Ja'far. The Messenger of God (PBUH) then said: Take this purse, and do not withhold from the deserving; you are delivered from poverty and will never again be poor to the end of your life. When Abu Ja'far awoke, he found the purse actually in his hand. He called his wife and said: Are you asleep or awake? She said: I am awake. Abu Ja'far said: Such-and-such has happened. The wife said: This is because you, unlike the other merchants, never cheated people! Abu Ja'far said: No, that is not the reason; bring that ledger! When he opened the ledger, he saw that every entry where the name of Ali ibn Abi Talib stood as debtor had been erased from the ledger of its own accord.
From Maysara ibn Abd Rabbih ibn Abd al-Karim al-Hariri, from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, God's mercy upon him, who said: Ibn Abbas, whose sight had been taken, passed by a group of Quraysh, with a son of his leading him. He heard their voices, stopped by them, and gave greeting. They rose and returned the greeting, and he went on. His son said to him: Father, did you hear what they said? He said: No — what did they say? He said: They reviled Ali and spoke ill of him. He said: Take me back to them. So he took him back, and he said: Which of you is the reviler of God Most High?! They said: O Ibn Abbas, whoever reviles God has disbelieved. He said: Which of you is the reviler of the Messenger of God?! They said: O Ibn Abbas, whoever reviles the Messenger of God has committed polytheism. He said: Which of you is the reviler of Ali? They said: As for Ali — him we did speak ill of. Ibn Abbas said: I bear witness by God, and I call God to witness, that I heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) say: Whoever reviles Ali has reviled me; and whoever reviles me has reviled God; and whoever reviles God has disbelieved. (al-Arba'un fi Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin, vol. 1, p. 96)
The narrator says: Ibn Abbas, now old and blind, was passing somewhere with his son. He heard the voices of some men of Quraysh; he stopped and greeted them. They rose and returned his greeting. Then he moved on with his son. The son said: Father! Did you hear what they said?! Ibn Abbas said: No — what did they say?! The son said: They insulted Ali (AS)! Ibn Abbas said: Take me back to them! When he reached them, he said: Which of you is prepared to revile God? They said: God forbid — reviling God is unbelief. He asked: Which of you is prepared to revile the Messenger of God (PBUH)? They said: What kind of talk is this? That, too, is polytheism. Ibn Abbas said: Which of you is prepared to revile Ali? They said: Ali's case is different; he dealt badly with us! Ibn Abbas said: Then listen well! By God, with these two ears of mine I heard from the Messenger of God (PBUH): Whoever speaks ill of Ali (AS) has spoken ill of me; and whoever speaks ill of me has spoken ill of God; and such a one is an unbeliever!