Chapter 39-Thirty Ninth Assembly

Chapter 39 

Thirty Ninth Assembly

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Met on Saturday, 23rd of the month of Ramadhan, in 411 Hijrah. Our grand Sheikh al-Mufid, Abu Abdillah Muhammad b. Muhammad b. al-No'man, may Allah support his capabilities, narrated:

1. Hope from none but Allah

He said: Abul Hasan Ahmad b. Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. al-Walid, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father who reported from Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saffar, who reported from Ali b. Muhammad al-Qasani, from al-Isfehani, from al-Minqari, from Hafs b. Ghiyath al-Qadhi, who said:

I heard Abu Abdillah Ja'far b. Muhammad, peace be upon him, say: "When anyone of you wishes that Allah grants him whatever he asks for, then he should despair of receiving anything from men; and he should pin hope on none but Allah, Most High. When Allah knows that from his heart, He grants him all his wishes." He said: "Take account of yourselves (by introspection) before you are called upon to do so, for the place on the Day of Resurrection has fifty stations, each one has a stay of one thousand years." Then he recited the verse: '... one day the duration of which is fifty thousand years.' (70:4).

2. Admonitions by Ibn Al-Abbas

He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Muhammad b. Hubaish al-Katib reported to me from al-Hasan Ibn Ali al-Za'farani, from Abu Ishaq Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, from Habib b. Nasr, from Ahmad b. Bashir b. Sulaiman, from Hisham b. Muhammad, from his father Muhammad b. al-Saeb, from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Yamani, from Ikramah, who said:

I heard Abdullah b. Abbas telling his son Ali b. Abdillah that: "Let knowledge be the treasure you amass; and be more jubilant because of that, than treasuring pink gold. For I am entrusting to you an advice which if you heed, then Allah will combine for (the success in) your affairs in this world and the next.

Do not be of those who hope for the hereafter without any deeds, and procrastinated seeking repentance because of prolonged hope. He speaks in this world like an ascetic, but acts like the one inclined. If given something in it, he is never content, and if favoured, he is never satisfied. He is unable to thank for what has been given, and desires to get from what is remaining. He enjoins but does not practice it, claims to love the righteous, but does not act the way they do, and pretends to hate the ignorant, while he is one of them. He says: 'I do not act and suffer hard work, why should I not rest and hope?' So he hopes to be forgiven while he is engaged in disobedience (to Allah).

He has lived in it (i.e. the world) long enough to remember the admonitions. And for the bygone, he says: 'Had I worked and built, it would have been my asset'; and as for the remaining days, he goes on disobeying his Lord without any scruple. If struck by illness, he does not repent for not having acted, and if recovers, he feels secure and conceited and then delays further to act. He is self-conceited when healthy, and despondent when afflicted. If favoured, be becomes insolent, and when granted in plenty, he ruins (himself). His mind deludes him in matters which are doubtful (i.e. the worldly affairs), and does not overcome him in matters which he knows as certain (i.e. death and hereafter). He has no trust in the sustenance, which has been guaranteed for him and is not content with his share. He does not show willingness before he toils, and does not toil for which he is inclined. If he finds himself self-sufficient he becomes wanton and arrogant, and if he becomes poor he loses hope. He hopes for more without being content, and wastes from himself that which is more. He fears death because of his own evil deeds yet does not abandon the evil in his life. When desires tempt him, he falls into sins and then hopes for forgiveness, and when told to act for the hereafter he resists. When supplicating, he exaggerates his keenness, but when it comes to act, he is remiss. He is insistent when seeking favours, and is deficient when it comes to act. Rushes into the worldly affairs tiring himself to indisposition, and when he recovers, engages in errors with negligence.

He fears death, but does not care about the missed opportunity. When he sees the little sins of others, he feel concerned about it, but for himself, he is hopeful without any deeds. He censures others, and at the same is self-congratulating. He prefers to be trusted when pleased, and adopts dishonesty when displeased. If he is healthy or recovers from illness, he believes he has been pardoned and if he is taken ill, he covets health and then repeats (his evil deeds). He neither stands at night (for prayers) nor does he pass his day fasting. A day breaks and he worries about his lunch, and an evening falls and he thinks of dinner. Those above him seek refuge with Allah from his evil (intentions) and those below him are not safe from him in spite of the refuge. When he hates, he ruins himself in going to its extreme, and does not fall short when he loves. Little things upset him, and on having plentiful, he transgresses. He wants to be obeyed, while he remains disobedient. May we turn to Allah for help!"

3. The inmates of the Prophet's household

He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je'abi reported to me from Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Sulaiman al-Baghandi, who reported from Harun b. Hatim, who reported from Ismail b. Tawbah, who reported from Mas'ab b. Sallam, from Abu Ishaq, from Rabee'ah al-Sa'd, who said:

I came to Hudhaifah b. al-Yaman, may Allah have mercy on him, and requested him to relate to me what he heard from the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, or what he saw him do, so that I may follow it. He said: "Remain with the Qur'an." I said: "I have read the Qur'an, I have come to you to know of what I have neither seen or heard. O Allah! I make you my witness on Hudhaifah, that I have come to him so that he may narrate to me what I have not seen nor heard about the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, but he is refusing me, and hiding it from me."

Hudhaifah said: "O brother, you are pressing me hard." Then he said: "Take this short one from a long list, which contains all, that matters to you. The sign of Paradise for this Ummah is (personified in) the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, (though) he ate food (like us) and strolled in the markets."

Then I said to him: "Guide me to the sign of Paradise (now) so that I may follow it, and show me the sign of hell, so that I may guard myself against it." He said: "By Him Who controls my soul, the sign of Paradise and its true guides till the Day of Resurrection are the true Imams from the descendents of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny. And the sign of hellfire and the leaders unto unbelief and hell, up to the Day of Resurrection, are other than them.

4. The virtues of Shiahs

He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Khalid al-Maraghi, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from al-Qasim b. Muhammad al-Dallal, who reported from Ismail b. Muhammad al-Muzni, who reported from Uthman b. Saeed, who reported from Abul Hasan al-Tameemi, from Sabrah b. Ziyad, from al-Hakam b. Utaibah, from Hanash b. al-Mo'tamar, who said:

I once called upon Amirul Mo'mineen, Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, and said: "Salaam upon you, O Amirul Mo'mineen and His mercy and blessing, how are you? He said: "I am in a state of loving those who love us, and hatred for those who hate us. And our friends are in a state of rejoicing in the mercy of Allah which they were expecting and our enemies are in a state of founding their edifice on the crumbling brink and that brink will fall down with him into the fire of hell. The gates of Paradise are opened for those who belong to it. So happiness and delight for the people who have earned their mercy of Allah, and ruination be for those who are in hell.

O Hanash, whoever wishes to know whether he is our lover or not, he should search his own heart. If he loves our friend and partisans, then he is not our enemy, but if he hates our friends and partisans, then he is not our lover. Allah has a covenant with our lovers for our friendship, and has written the names of our adversaries in the record. We are the ones of noble descent, and our ancestors are the ancestors of the Prophets."

5. Ali (AS) predicts his victory at the Battle of Basrah

He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je'abi reported to me from Abul Abbas Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Saeed al-Hamdani, who reported from Abu Awanah Musa b. Yusuf b. Rashid, who reported from Abd al-Salaam b. Asim, who reported from Ishaq b. Ismail Hamwayh, who reported from Amru b. Abu Qais, from Maysarah b. Habib, from al-Minhal b. Amru, who said:

A man from Banu Tamim reported to me that we were with Amirul Mo'mineen, peace be upon him, at Dhu Qar, and we thought we were to be seized on that day. Then I heard him say: "By Allah! We will overcome this dissenting group. And these two, Talha and Zubair, will be killed and their troops will be uprooted."

Al-Tameem said: I went to Abdullah b. al-Abbas and said to him: "Do you hear what your cousin says?" He said: "Do not make haste, wait till we see what happens." When the result of Basrah battle became known, I came to him and said: "Your cousin was right in what he said." He said: "We the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny, used to say that he has given him (i.e. Ali) eighty pledges exclusively. Perhaps this was one of them."

6. The excellence of Al-Sadiq

He said: Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Husain b. Musa b. Babawayh al-Qummi, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father, who reported from Muhammad b. Abul Qasim, from Ahmad b. Abu Abdillah al-Barqi, from his father, from the one who heard from Hannan b. Sadir al-Sayrafi, who said:

I dreamt and saw the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, with a bowl before him covered with a cloth. I came closer to him and greeted him, and he returned my greetings. Then he removed the cloth from the bowl, which was filled with fresh dates. He began to eat from it, so I went closer still and said: "O messenger of Allah, may I have one?" He gave me one, which I ate. Then I requested for another one, and he gave and I ate. This way, just as I ate one, I went on requesting for another till he gave me eight of them. As I ate the last, I asked for more, but he said: "Enough for you."

He said: I woke up from my dream. Next day, I visited al-Sadiq Ja'far b. Muhammad, peace be upon him, and before him was a bowl covered with cloth, the same way as I had previously seen in my dream, before the Prophet. So I greeted him and he returned my greetings, then he uncovered the bowl, which was filled with fresh dates. He began to eat, and I felt surprised. I said: "May I be your ransom, could I have one?" He gave one to me, which I ate. Then I requested for another and he gave. And so I went on asking for another till he gave me eight. Then I asked for more, so he said: "If my grandfather, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, had given more, I would have also given." So I related to him the dream. He smiled as if he knew what had transpired.

7. Words of wisdom on knowledge

He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je'abi reported to me from al-Sheikh al-Swaleh Abdullah b. Muhammad b. Ubaidullah b. Yaseen, who said: I heard the righteous slave of Allah, Ali b. Muhammad b. Ali al-Ridha, peace be upon them, at Samarra, reporting from his forefathers, peace be upon them, who said:

Amirul Mo'mineen, peace be upon him said: "Knowledge is the most precious legacy, and civility and good manners are beautiful adornments, and thinking intellectually is a clean mirror, and drawing lessons from the events is the best warner and advisor. The best description to cultivate for yourself is to avoid that which you would not like others to do to you."

May Allah bless you our master Muhammad, the Prophet, and his pure progeny.

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