Islam Guidance

Chapter 42-Forty Second Assembly

Chapter 42 

Forty Second Assembly

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Met on Saturday, the 27th of the month of Ramadhan in 411 Hijrah. Our great Sheikh al-Mufid, Abu Abdillah Muhammad b. Muhammad b. al-No'man, may Allah help him in his capabilities, narrated to us:

1. The most God-fearing, the richest and the most pious

He said: Al-Mudhaffar b. Muhammad al-Balkhi reported to me from Muhammad b. Hammam Abu Ali, who reported from Hamid b. Ziyad, who reported from Ibrahim b. Ubaidullah b. Hayyan, who reported from al-Rabee' b. Sulaiman, from Ismail b. Muslim al-Sakooni from al-Sadiq Ja'far b. Muhammad, peace be upon him, from his father, from his grandfather, who said:

I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, say: "Act according to what Allah had made obligatory upon you, and you will be the most God-fearing; and be content with what Allah has apportioned to you, and you will be the richest of all, and refrain from what Allah has forbidden, and you will be the most pious, and do good to your neighbours, and you will be (true) believer, and be a good companion and you will be a (good) Muslim."

2. Ahlul Bait: the most suppressed

He said:Abu Ubaidullah Muhammad b. Imran al-Marzbani reported to me from Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Jawhari, who reported from al-Hasan b. Aleel al-Anzi, who reported from Abdul Karim ibn Muhammad b. Ali, who reported from Muhammad b. Ali, who reported from Muhammad b. al-Manqar, who reported from Ziyad b. al-Munzir, who reported from Sharjeel, from Umm al-Fadhl b. al Abbas, who said:

When the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, fell seriously ill in his last days, he once woke up while we were crying around him. So he said: "What makes you cry?" We said: "O Prophet of Allah, we are crying helplessly, we cry because you will soon leave us behind, and the heavenly news will cease to come to us. And we cry over the fate of the Ummah after you have gone." The Prophet, peace upon him and his progeny said: "Be it clear to you that you will be suppressed and weakened after I have gone."

3. Ali (AS)'s last narration to Asbagh

He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je'abi reported to me from Abu al-Abbas Ahmad b. Muhammad Saeed al-Hamdani, who reported from Abu Awanah Musa b. Yusuf al-Qattan al-Kufi, who reported from Muhammad b. Sulaiman al-Muqri al-Kindi, from Abd al-Samad b. Ali al-Nawfili, from Abu Ishaq al-Sabeei', from al-Asbagh b. Nubatah al-Abdi, who said:

When Ibn Muljam hit the fatal blow to Amirul Mo'mineen, Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, we passed by him in the morning, myself and al-Harith and Swaid b. Ghaflah and other friends. We stopped at the door and just as we heard the weeping, we wept also. So al-Hasan b. Ali, peace be upon him, came to us and said: "Amirul Mo'mineen requests you to return to your homes." So all except myself, departed. Again there was intense wailing from inside the house, and I wept also. Hasan, peace be upon him, came out again and said: "Did I not ask you to leave?" I said: "By Allah, O son of the Prophet of Allah, my heart does not allow me to go, and my feet refuse to carry me, till I see Amirul Mo'mineen, may Allah bless him."

He said: Then he (i.e. al-Hasan) paused and entered. And soon after, he came out allowing me to enter. As I entered, I saw Amirul Mo'mineen sitting with support, with a yellow headband tied round his head, drained of blood and his face pale. I could not discern which one was more yellow, his face or the headband. So I fell over him, kissed him and kept on crying. He said: "Do not cry O Asbagh, for it is my way to Paradise." So I said to him: "May I be your ransom, I know full well that you are proceeding to Paradise. I weep because I will terribly miss you, O Amirul Mo'mineen! May I be your ransom, please narrate to me a tradition which you heard from the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, for I fear that I might never chance to hear from you anything after this day." He said: "Yes, O Asbagh. Once the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, called me and said: 'O Ali, go to my mosque, climb the pulpit and summon the people to gather before you. Then, after praising Allah, Most High, and lauding Him, and invoking abundant blessing upon me, say:

'O People! I am a messenger from the messenger of Allah to you. And he says: Curse from Allah, His honoured angels and His Prophets, and from me befall him who attributes himself to anyone other than his father, or who acts against his masters, or who unjustly usurps the right of his employee (or a person he has hired for work).' So I went to his mosque, climbed upon the pulpit, when the Quraish and others present in the mosque saw me, they drew closer to me. I praised Allah and glorified him, invoked abundant blessings upon the Prophet and then said: "O people! I am a messenger from the messenger of Allah, to you. And he says to you: 'Curse from Allah, His honoured angels and His Prophets and from me befall him who attributes himself to anyone other than his father, or who acts against his masters, or who unjustly usurps the right of his employee (or a person he has hired for work)."

He said: No one from the people spoke anything, except Umar b. al-Khattab, who said: "O Abul Hasan, you have indeed conveyed, but you have come up with a statement which is not clear." I said: "I will convey your response to the Prophet." So I returned and informed the Prophet. He said: Go back to my mosque, climb my pulpit, praise and glorify Allah and invoke His blessings upon me and then say: "O people! We do not come to you with anything unless we have its explanation. So be it known, I am the father, and I am your master, and I am the one employed (by Allah) for you."

4. Foundation of Islam

He said: Abul Qasim Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Qawlawayh, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father, who reported from Sa'd b. Abdilllah, from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa, from al-Hassan b. Mahboob, from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, from Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali al-Baqir, peace be upon him, who said:

"Islam has been founded on five pillars: the daily prayers, giving away of alms, fasting in the month of Ramadhan, pilgrimage to the Sacred House, and love of us, Ahlul Bait."

5. Questions about Four Traits

And with the same chain of narration, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said:

On the day of Resurrection, the feet of a slave will not move away from Allah, Most High, unless He has asked him four things: "How did you while away your life? How did you earn your wealth? And where did you spend it? And He will ask him about our love, the Ahlul Bait." A person present asked: "And what is the sign of your love, O messenger of Allah?" He said: "To love him," and then he placed his hand on the head of Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him.

6. Salman introduces Ali

He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Khalid al-Maraghi reported to me from al-Qasim Ibn Muhammad al-Dallal, who reported from Ismail b. Muhammad al-Muzni, who reported from Uthman b.Saeed, who reported from Ali b. Ghurab, from Musa b. Qais al-Hadhrami, from Salema b. Kuhail, from Ayadh b. Ayadh, from his father, who said:

Once Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, passed by a group of people among whom was Salman, may Allah bless him with mercy. So Salman told them: "Be attached to this man (i.e. Ali) for no one else will inform you of the intimate things about your Prophet except he."

7. Al-Sadiq Narrates Directly

He said: Al-Mudhaffar b. Muhammad al-Balkhi reported to me from Abu Ali Muhammad b. Hammam al-Iskafi, who reported from Abu Ja'far Ahmed b. Mabandar, from Mansoor b. al-Abbas al-Qasbani, who reported from al-Hasan b. Ali al-Khazzaz, from Ali b. Uqbah from Salim b. Abu Hafsah, who said:

When Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali al-Baqir, peace be upon him, died, I said to my friends: Wait for me till I have been to Abu Abdillah Ja'far b. Muhammad, peace be upon him, to console him. So I visited him, and consoled him saying: "We are for Allah, and unto Him shall we return." Then I confirmed: "By Allah, a man who reported from the Prophet directly, and was never asked about the chain of narrators between him and the Prophet, has passed away. By Allah, no one like shall ever be found."

He said: Abu Abdillah remained silent for a few moments, and then said: "Allah, Most Glorified said: "Surely, someone from My slaves may give away in charity a piece of date, then I rear it up, the way you rear up a foal, till I will make it as big as the mountain of Uhud."

When I came back to my friend, I said: "I have not seen anything more surprising than this. We were thinking highly of Abu Ja'far who reported from the Prophet directly, but Abu Abdillah has begun by saying: Allah, Most Glorified, said!"

8. Completion of Faith

He said: Abul Qasim, Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Qawlawayh, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father, who reported from Sa'd b. Abdillah, from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa, who reported from Ali b. al-Hakam, from Abu Saeed al-Qammat, from al-Mufaddhal b. Umar al-Jo'fi, who said:

I heard Abu Abdillah, Ja'far b. Muhammad, peace be upon him, saying: "The faith of a slave (of Allah) is never complete without four traits: noble character, generosity, sparing of unnecessary speech, and spending the surplus from ones wealth."

And Praise to Allah, the Lord of Universe. And may Allah bless our master, Muhammad, the Prophet and his pure progeny.

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