From al-Sadiq (AS): “Do you know why you were commanded to take what is contrary to what the generality (the majority) say?” It was said: We do not know. He said: “Truly Ali (AS) never held any position of religion for God’s sake but that the community opposed him in it and turned to something else, intending thereby to nullify his affair. They used to ask the Commander of the Faithful (AS) about a matter of which they had no knowledge, and when he gave them a ruling they would set up against it a contrary ruling of their own devising, so as to confuse the people.” (Nawadir al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 59)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: Do you know why we have told you to act contrary to the generality? The narrator says: I said, No. He said: However firmly Ali (AS) stood upon the true religion of God, the generality intended to oppose him and stood in the camp against him. They would come and put questions to Ali, and whatever legal opinion he gave, they would rule to its opposite, so as to construct a school contrary to his.
And he (AS) said: “To set about uprooting mountains is easier than to set about a dominion whose term has been deferred. So seek help from God and be patient; truly the earth belongs to God, He bequeaths it to whom He wills of His servants, and the final outcome belongs to the God-fearing. Do not try to remedy a matter before its time has come, lest you regret it; and let not the term seem long to you, lest your hearts grow hard.” (Nawadir al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 250)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: To uproot the mountains from their places is easier than to bring down a rule whose appointed term has not yet come! So seek help from God and be patient, for the earth belongs to God, and He gives rule there to whomever He wills for as long as He wills; but the final outcome belongs to the God-fearing. Do not think of remedying a matter before its time has come, for it cannot be done and you will only regret it. And beware lest the delay of the relief make your hearts hard.
And from his forefathers, from the Prophet (PBUH), who said — on the night in which his death occurred — to Ali (AS): “O Abu al-Hasan, bring a sheet and an inkwell.” Then the Messenger of God (PBUH) dictated his testament until he came to this point, and said: “O Ali, after me there will be twelve Imams, and after them twelve Mahdis. So you, O Ali, are the first of the twelve Imams.” And he carried the hadith on until he said: “And let al-Hasan hand it over to his son ‘M-H-M-D’, the one entrusted with the safekeeping from the family of Muhammad, God’s blessings be upon them. Those are twelve Imams; then after him there will be twelve Mahdis. And when death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, the first of the Mahdis, who has three names: a name like my name, and the name of my father, which is Abd Allah, and Ahmad; and the third name is al-Mahdi, and he is the first of the believers.” (Nawadir al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 294)
On the night on which the Messenger of God (PBUH) departed this world, he said to Ali (AS): Bring a pen and paper and write! that after me twelve Imams and after them twelve Mahdis will come. The Imams begin with you, and at the end al-Hasan al-Askari (AS) will hand the imamate over to his son ‘M-H-M-D’ (may God hasten his relief), who is the one entrusted with the safekeeping of the family of Muhammad; and after him comes the turn of the Mahdis. The first Mahdi is the son of the twelfth Imam. He has three names: a name like my name, a name like my father’s name, which is Abd Allah, and Ahmad. And his third name is al-Mahdi, and he is the first of the believers.
(We say: a hadith to this effect exists in the older Shi‘i books as well, and it seems that it has always been counted among the secrets of the family of Muhammad!)
And the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked: Where is Paradise, and where is the Fire? He said: “As for Paradise, it is in the heaven; and as for the Fire, it is in the earth.” (Nawadir al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 361)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked: Where is Paradise? He said: In the heaven. They asked: Where is Hell? He said: In the earth.
Al-Majma‘ — from him (AS): “Truly Hell has seven gates, layers one above another” — and he laid one of his hands upon the other and said: “like this.” “And truly God has set the gardens side by side in breadth, and has set the fires one above another: the lowest of them is Jahannam, and above it Laza, and above it al-Hutama, and above it Saqar, and above it al-Jahim, and above it al-Sa‘ir, and above it al-Hawiya.” (Nawadir al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 373)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Unlike the gardens, which lie side by side, Hell has seven levels one above the other, and each of them has a gate: Jahannam, Laza, Hutama, Saqar, Jahim, Sa‘ir, Hawiya.
“Waq‘at al-Jamal”, composed by Ibn Shadqam (d. eleventh century AH), contains reports concerning the Battle of the Camel. For all its brevity, this book contains important historical documentation and is among the few surviving and useful books that were written about the Battle of the Camel.