Hayat Al-Qulub, Vol. 1, Stories of the Prophets

Sub Title:

Characteristics and Circumstances of the Prophets and their Successors

This is the first volume of the three volume series by Allamah Al-Majlisi, titled Hayat al-Qulub (Life of the Hearts). This first volume is a collection of the details of the life and circumstances of all the Prophets (prior to Prophet Muhammad [s]) that we have access to through either the Qur'an or hadiths.

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Important notice:

The Ahlul Bayt DILP team wishes to inform the reader of some important points regarding this digitized text, which represents the English translation of a work originally written in Farsi- Persian. Whereas no one can doubt the best intentions of the translator and the publishers in making this title accessible to an English speaking audience, the editing and digitization process of this book (carried out by the DILP Team) has revealed issues in the quality of translation.
 
 Based upon this fact, the DILP team has taken the liberty to make grammatical corrections to make the text more readable and less ambiguous; spelling mistakes and typographical errors have also been corrected and an attempt has been made to improve the highly non-standard use of transliteration of Arabic names and terms. The online text is not an exact reproduction of the original translation.
 
 Users wishing to see the translation as it was published should refer to printed copies available in bookshops. Those who understand are advised to refer directly to the original text.
 
 NOTE: Some narrations in this text may appear to be very hagiographical in nature.
 
 As a classic work (late 17th century) by a prominent Shi'ah traditionist (Allamah Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi II [d. 1110 AH /1699 CE]) it is still an important source of early Islamic history and the biography of prophets as recorded in Islamic texts. For the most part, this work makes an extremely interesting read written in a captivating, narrative style. 
 
 Reports in this work that seem to be legends or myths may simply be symbolic and mystical (rather than mythical). It would therefore be a folly to always interpret such narrations literally. In cases where a narration appears to contradict a fundamental belief in Islam (such as the infallibility of a Prophet), the author/translator has alluded (via footnotes) that they may have crept into the work because of dissimulation (taqiyyah) or forgery.

Translator's Preface

It gives me immense pleasure to present the English Translation of Allamah Muhammad Baqir Majlisi’s Hayat al-Qulub. Hayat al-Qulub is one of the best-known works of Allamah Majlisi. Published in three volumes, the first volume deals with the lives and times of all the prophets up to the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The second volume is exclusively about the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This volume was translated by Rev. James Merrick in 19th century under the title Life and Religion of Muhammad. It was later published by Zahra Trust, USA. Ansarian Publication, Iran, have also reprinted the same edition.

The third volume explores the question of Succession to Prophet Muhammad and describes the lofty position of Ahl al-Bayt in Islam.

The title, Hayat al-Qulub means the Life of the Hearts, or the lifeblood of humanity and it is most appropriate.

Indeed without the guidance of the Prophets and Imams, the life of this world would have been meaningless. Through the ages, the appointees of God sacrificed their lives to bring the errant people on the right path.

In course of their duty, they encountered unimaginable difficulties and unreliable followers. However, not once do we find them compromising with falsehood or accepting defeat from the satanic forces.

Can we get such examples of persistence, steadfastness and patience other than these divine guides? They derived strength from the unflinching faith they had on the Almighty and the realisation of the temporal nature of worldly life.

Such lessons abound in Hayat al-Qulub and this is the main benefit that I realized while translating the book.

Though it had incidents that seem incredible and somewhat incredulous, if we see the gems of prophetic morals we can discount the other shortcomings. It is a treasury of spiritual and moral teachings. This is the main aim of the mission of prophets as mentioned by Prophet Muhammad when he said, “I have been sent for the perfection of morals.”

I have adapted the language for the modern readers, but retained some key Islamic terms like Halaal, haraam etc, as they convey the exact meaning that would be difficult to express in a single word.

Since there is always scope for improvement, I invite the readers to email their comments to sayedathar@hotmail.com [10].

Syed Athar Husain S. H. Rizvi
M.A. (English), M.A. (Persian), M.A. (Islamic Studies)
Director
Al-Qalam Translators & Writers Bureau

Aim of sending the Prophets; their miracles

It is narrated through a reliable chain of narrators that an atheist came to Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq and presented a few queries. One of his questions concerned the logic behind the sending of Prophets.

The Imam said, “When we have agreed that we have a Maker and Creator; who is higher than His creatures and absolutely free from the fact that His creatures can see Him, touch Him or converse with Him; we understand that the Maker is Wise. He only does that which is beneficial to His creatures. Then it is necessary to send Prophets and Messengers who would communicate His laws to the people. They would guide the people in the affairs that are beneficial and (prevent them from) those that cause everlasting perdition.

Consequently, it is evident that there must be a particular group, which would convey His message to the people. They are the chosen ones of Allah and His Prophets. They are wise and intelligent. The Almighty has bestowed them with wisdom and knowledge and appointed them as His Messengers.

Their circumstances and characteristics were quite different from those of the common people though in their creation and method they are like ordinary human beings. However, they are sent by Allah, the Wise and the Omniscient, with knowledge, wisdom, arguments, proofs, witnesses and miracles so that they may prove the veracity of their claims.

Like raising of the dead and curing of the blind and lepers etc, they accomplished some tasks that were impossible for ordinary people. The same practice continued in every age and the earth has never been devoid of the Divine Proof (hujjah), who is the bearer of knowledge and has a miracle to prove the authenticity of his claims and (he verifies) the message of the preceding Prophet.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says in a reliable tradition: “The Almighty with His Luminous Essence and Divine attributes was concealed from His creatures; therefore, He sent the Prophets to give glad tidings of salvation and to warn against His punishment so that those who perish in disobedience must perish with the realization of their error and all arguments must be exhausted for them.

Similarly, those who achieve salvation must do so with knowledge, faith and proof. And they may achieve an everlasting life so that people may learn about their Lord what they did not know. They must recognize Allah as their Cherisher and they confess to His Oneness.

Another reliable report mentions that Fadhl ibn Shadhan asked Ja‘far as-Sadiq “When it is obligatory for people to obey the Prophets, why are they also required to recognize them and to confess to their truth?” Imam replied, “This is because the creatures did not have the ability to understand their wisdom fully. Their creator was much higher that He could be perceived by sight. The inability to understand His Divine Essence was apparent. There was no choice except to appoint Prophets as links between people and Allah. This infallible Prophet conveyed the divine commands and prohibitions to the people. He also had to keep the people firm on some affairs whereby they could obtain the benefits and be safe from the perils, because the people cannot decide by their own intellects what is beneficial for them and what is harmful. If the obedience and recognition of Prophets had not been incumbent on people, the sending of Prophets would have been a useless venture. And the wise One, who had created everything with untold benefits, is pure from such vain acts.”

Related through reliable chains of narrators is the report where Abu-Basir asked Ja‘far as-Sadiq the reason why Allah has bestowed miracles on the Prophets and Imams. The Imam replied, “So that the veracity of their claims is established. Because miracles are from Allah, the Almighty, He gives them to His Prophets, Messengers and Proofs so that the truth of the truthful ones and the lie of the liars are proved.”

Another hadith mentions that Husayn al-Sahhaf asked the same Imam whether it was possible for Allah that He changes the heart of a believer from faith to disbelief even after the belief of this person has been authenticated. Imam replied: “The Almighty is Just; He sent the Prophet so that they may invite the people towards faith (belief). Allah never calls anyone towards disbelief.”

Then the questioner asked if Allah changes the heart of a confirmed disbeliever from disbelief to belief. The Imam said: “Allah has created everyone with a capacity to believe. They are like a blank tablet neither having faith in any shari‘ah (code of religious law) nor disbelieving in it. Allah sent the Prophets to them so that they may guide them towards Allah. And in this way, argument could be exhausted for the people. Thus some people receive guidance (faith) by Allah’s tawfiq (guidance) and some do not achieve guidance.”

It is narrated in an authentic report that Ibn al-Sikkit asked Imam al-Ridha or Imam ‘Ali al-Naqi why Allah sent Musa1 (Prophet Moses) with a luminous arm, the Staff and other things to counter magic, ‘Isa (Prophet Jesus) with a miracle resembling medical cure and Muhammad al-Mustafa (the Chosen) with an eloquent speech and learned dialogue. Imam replied: “Magic was the prevailing science during the time of Musa. Musa brought miracles resembling magic but much more powerful. Musa nullified their magic with his miracles and exhausted the arguments on them. During the time of ‘Isa, there were widespread diseases and epidemics. ‘Isa brought the miracle that the doctors of his time could not match and performed feats that astounded his contemporaries like bringing the dead to life and curing lepers.

Through these miracles, ‘Isa completed the proof. The people, in spite of their expertise in medical science, failed to fathom the secret of ‘Isa’s miracles. Muhammad al-Mustafa was sent in an age of literary advancement and eloquent poetry. People of this age prided themselves upon their speech and poetry. The Holy Prophet brought the book of Allah, teachings and the religious law. Through these, he nullified the words of those people. The people were unable to counter the miracle of the Holy Prophet. The argument was exhausted for them in this manner.”

Ibn al-Sikkit says that I had never heard such beneficial words before. Then he asked, “Who is the hujjah (proof) on the creatures during the present time.” Imam told him: “Allah has provided you with intellect and you can distinguish between one who is truthful with regard to Allah and those who ascribe lies to Him.” Ibn al-Sikkit says, “By Allah! This is correct.”

Number of Prophets and their Successors (Awsiya’), Meaning of Nabi (Prophet) and Rasul (Messenger) and Number of Divinely Revealed Books.

Authentic chains of reporters mention from Imam al-Ridha and Imam Zayn al-‘abidin that the Messenger of Allah said: “The Almighty Allah created 124000 Prophets and I am the most honored one before Allah. However, I do not pride myself upon it. And He created 124000 Successors, among whom ‘Ali is the most exalted.”

A reliable tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq states that Abu-Dharr asked the Holy Prophet the number of Prophets sent by the Almighty. The Holy Prophet said, “One hundred and twenty four thousand.” And according to some traditions “three hundred and twenty thousand.” Abu-Dharr asked how many of them were Messengers. The Messenger of Allah replied, “Three hundred and thirteen.” “How many books did Allah send?” asked Abu-Dharr, “One hundred and twenty four and according to another narration, “One hundred and four.” And according to the last tradition fifty scrolls (heavenly books) were revealed on Shith, three on Idris and twenty on Ibrahim (Prophet Abraham). Four books: Torah, Injeel (the Gospel), Zabur (the Psalms) and Qur’an were also revealed.

The Messenger of Allah said, “O Abu-Dharr! Four of the Prophets were Syriac: Adam, Shith, Akhnu‘ and Nuh (Prophet Noah). And Akhnu‘ who is called Idris was the first person to write with a pen. And four of the Prophets were Arabs: Hud, Salih, Shu‘ayb and your Prophet (Muhammad al-Mustafa). And the first Prophet of The Israelites was Musa and the last ‘Isa. Between them were six hundred Prophets.” However, in other traditions the number of the Israelite Prophets is mentioned as 4000, though the former tradition is more reliable.

According to authentic reports, Ja‘far as-Sadiq told Safwan al-Jammal, “Do you know the number of the Prophets sent by Allah?” “No,” he replied. The Imam said, “One hundred and forty four thousand, and as many successors (awsiya’), those who were truthful, trustworthy and unattached to the earthly life. Allah did not send any Prophet better than Muhammad and neither did He send any successor better than his successor Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali.”2

A reliable tradition through Imam Musa al-Kazim and Imam Zayn al-‘abidin says that one who wishes to shake hands with all the 124000 Prophets must visit (i.e.. go on Ziyarah—pilgrimage) the grave of Imam al-Husayn on the fifteenth night of the month of Sha‘ban (the eighth month of the Islamic Calendar), because the souls of all the Prophets come to visit the grave of Imam al-Husayn by the permission of Allah. Moreover, five of them are Ulu’l-‘Azm Prophets: Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, ‘Isa and Muhammad. The narrator asked the Imam the definition of ‘Ulu’l-‘Azm’. Imam said, “It denotes the Prophets who were sent for all men and jinn from the east to the west of the Earth.”3

A trustworthy tradition from Imam al-Ridha and an authentic report from Ja‘far as-Sadiq mentions that Ulu’l-‘Azm Prophets are named thus because they possessed greatness (‘Azm) and brought a new shari‘ah. For instance, Nuh was sent with a book and a shari‘ah different from that of Adam; and the succeeding Prophets followed his book and shari‘ah. This continued until the advent of Ibrahim who came with a book different from that of Nuh and a new shari‘ah. He did not deny the book and shari‘ah of Nuh but they were abrogated and it was no more valid to act upon them. Prophets contemporary to and succeeding Ibrahim followed his shari‘ah and book until the time of Musa. Musa came with Torah. Torah abrogated the shari‘ah of Ibrahim.

All the contemporary Prophets of Musa and succeeding ones followed the shari‘ah of Musa until the arrival of ‘Isa with Injeel. The shari‘ah of Musa and Torah were abrogated. All the Prophets during the time of ‘Isa and the successors after him followed the shari‘ah of Injeel. This continued until the advent of our Prophet, Muhammad al-Mustafa. Thus, these are the five great Ulu’l-‘Azm Prophets. They are the best of Prophets and messengers and the shari‘ah of Prophet Muhammad shall remain in force until the Resurrection Day. There is to be no Prophet after him. Things permitted by him will remain permissible until Resurrection Day and things prohibited by him shall remain prohibited until Judgment Day. Any person who claims Prophethood after Prophet Muhammad or brings a book after Qur’an, claiming it to be of divine origin, is a liar. Anyone who comes to know of such claims would be permitted to execute him.

Another reliable tradition from Imam al-Ridha says that Imam as-Sadiq states that Ulu’l-‘Azm Prophets are called thus because of their confession to the greatness of Prophet Muhammad and his successors including Imam al-Mahdi and their oath of accepting the greatness (Azm) of these divine personalities. As Adam had not remember this vow, Almighty Allah says,

“And certainly We gave a commandment to Adam before, but he forgot; and We did not find in him any determination (Azm).” (20:115) 4

‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim explains this ayah (Qur'anic Verse) and says that Ulu’l-‘Azm are those Prophets who had precedence over other Prophets in confessing to the greatness of these five Messengers. They also expressed belief in all Prophets preceding and succeeding them. They were also patient when their people denied their claims.

In an authentic report, a Syrian asked Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali about the five Arab Prophets, Hud, Salih, Shu‘ayb, Isma‘il and Muhammad. Then he asked about the Prophets who were born circumcised. Imam ‘Ali said, “They were Adam, Shu‘ayb, Idris, Nuh, Sam (Shem) ibn Nuh, Ibrahim, Dawud (Prophet David), Sulayman (Prophet Solomon), Lut (Prophet Lot), Musa, ‘Isa and Muhammad.” The Syrian then asked about creatures that were born without a mother. Imam said, “Adam, Hawwa’ (Eve), the ram of Ibrahim, the staff of Musa, the she-camel of Salih and the bat of ‘Isa that flew away by Allah’s command.” “Who are the six Prophets having two names,” asked the Syrian. Imam said, “They are Yusha‘ ibn Nun (Joshua) 5 also known as Dhu’l-kifl, Ya‘qub (Prophet Jacob) also called Israel, al-Khidhr (Elijah) known as Datt, Yunus (Prophet Jonah) is also referred to as Dhu’l-Nun, ‘Isa who is called Maseeh (the Messiah) and Muhammad who is also called Ahmad, peace be upon them all.”

Another narration mentions the king of Rome inquiring from Imam Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali about the seven creatures who were not delivered from womb. He replied, “They are Adam, Hawaa’, the ram of Ibrahim, the she-camel of Salih, the serpent that invited Satan to misguide Adam in the Garden, the two crows that Allah sent to teach the method of burial of Habil (Abel) after he had been murdered by his brother Qabil (Cain) and finally Satan, may Allah curse him.”

A reliable tradition from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir quotes the Messenger of Allah as saying that the first person to be appointed as the successor of Prophet was Hibatullah the son of Adam. Each and every Prophet had a legatee. Altogether, there were one hundred and twenty four thousand Prophets, five of them being Ulu’l-‘Azm Prophets: Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, ‘Isa and Muhammad. ‘Ali is having the same status with regard to Prophet Muhammad as Hibtullah had with Adam. ‘Ali was the legatee of Prophet Muhammad and the inheritor of all the previous successors. And Muhammad was the inheritor of all the preceding Prophets and Messengers.

An authentic report from Ja‘far as-Sadiq states that Allah the Almighty sent five Prophets among the Arabs. They were Hud, Salih, Isma‘il, Shu‘ayb and Muhammad; the seal of Prophets—peace be upon them all.6

An authentic hadith from Zurarah says that he asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir the difference between Nabi (Prophet) and Rasul (Messenger). Imam said, “Nabi is one who sees the angel of revelation in dream and Rasul is one who sees the angel both in sleep and when awake. He can also hear the angel’s voice.” “What is the position of an Imam?” asked Zurarah. “He is able to hear the angel’s voice but cannot see him.”

It is narrated through authentic chains that Hasan Ibn ‘Abbas asked Imam al-Ridha to distinguish between Nabi, Rasul and Imam. Imam al-Ridha replied, “Archangel Gabriel descends for a Rasul. Rasul can see him and hear him and sometimes he sees Archangel Gabriel in dream like Ibrahim had seen. Rasul is the recipient of divine revelation. Prophets can only hear the angel’s voice. Sometimes they are able to see the angel, but do not hear the revelation at one and the same time. Imam only hears the voice of the angel. He does not see the form of the Angel.”

An authentic tradition from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir states that Prophets are of five types. Some only hear the angel’s voice, like a chain. They receive divine revelation through this method alone. Some Prophets receive the divine revelation in their dreams as in case of Yusuf (Prophet Joseph) and Ibrahim. Some were able to see the Angel. Some of the Prophets receive direct inspiration and could hear the voice but do not see the Angel.

Another authentic tradition mentions that Zurarah asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir the difference between Rasul, Nabi and Muhaddath (recipient of revelation). Imam said, “Rasul is one upon whom Archangel Gabriel descends. He could see Archangel Gabriel and converse with him. Nabi is one who only sees Archangel Gabriel in dream as in case of Ibrahim, when he saw in dream that he slaughtered his son.

The Messenger of Allah used to see the aims of his Messengership in dream before the descent of revelation upon him. He received Prophethood and Messengership together. Archangel Gabriel used to come to him and converse with him face to face. There were, however, some Prophets who were bestowed with qualifications of Messengership but they received divine revelation in their dreams. They conversed with holy spirits in their dreams but could not see the angel while awake. A Muhaddath is one who converses with angel but does see him neither in sleep nor in the state of awaking.”

In another tradition, Imam says that Prophets are of four classes. Those who are informed about their own selves (that they are Prophets) without any intermediary. Secondly, those who see the angel in dream but do not hear his voice. They do not see the angel in waking and such Prophets are not sent for guidance of others. They have a guide (Imam) whom they obey like Ibrahim was the Imam for Lut. The third kind is those who see and hear the angel in dream. They are sent for a particular group whether small or large. Almighty Allah says regarding Yunus,

“And We sent him to a hundred thousand, rather they exceeded.” ( 37:147)

Imam elaborates that there were one hundred and thirty thousand people referred to in this verse.

The fourth kind of Prophets sees the angel in dreams and can hear him too. They see the angel in waking also, and are the Imams (leaders) of other Prophets, like Ulu’l-‘Azm Prophets. Ibrahim was a Nabi. He was not an Imam until the Almighty appointed him thus:7

“And when this Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, he fulfilled them. He said, surely I will make you an Imam of men. Ibrahim said, And of my offspring? My Covenant does not include the unjust, said He.” (2:124)

The Holy Imams are quoted in reliable reports that five Prophets were Syriac and they spoke Syriac; Adam, Shith, Idris, Nuh and Ibrahim. Originally Adam spoke Arabic, the language of Paradise. But when he committed Tark al-Awla8, the Almighty substituted Paradise and its bounties for him with the earth and its crops. Allah also substituted the Arabic language with Syriac. Five of the Prophets were Hebrew but spoke Arabic. They were Ishaq, Ya‘qub, Musa, Dawud and ‘Isa and five were Arab Prophets: Hud, Salih, Shith, Isma‘il and Muhammad. Four Prophets were contemporary to each other, Ibrahim, Ishaq, Ya‘qub and Lut. Ibrahim and Ishaq were sent towards Holy Quds in Jerusalem and Syria. Ya‘qub was appointed in Egypt. Isma‘il was sent to Jurham tribe who inhabited the area surrounding the Holy Ka‘bah after the ‘Amaliq who were called such as they were from the progeny of ‘Imlaq son of Lut, son of Sam son of Nuh. Lut was appointed as a Prophet to four towns: Sodom, Gomorrah, San‘a’ and Maa. Three Prophets were given kingdoms—Yusuf, Dawud and Sulayman. Four Kings were sovereigns over the entire world, two of them were believers—Dhu’l-Qarnayn and Sulayman; and two were infidels—Nimrod the son of Kosh son of Canaan and Nebuchadnezzar.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says in an authentic tradition that the Messenger of Allah said, “All the Prophets sent before me propagated in the language of their people. But I am sent for people of every race and I am sent with the Arabic language.” In another authentic tradition, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that Allah the Almighty sent every divine book and revelation in Arabic but it was conveyed to the respective Prophet in the language of his people. However, it was revealed to our Holy Prophet in Arabic itself.

Reliable chain of narrators has recorded that an atheist came to Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali and asked him the explanation of some Qur’anic verses. Then he accepted Islam. One of his queries was related to the exegesis of the ayah:

“And it is not for any mortal that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger and revealing by His permission what He pleases; surely He is High, Wise.” ( 42:51)

Actually that person was under the impression that there was a contradiction between this verse and the verses where Allah is mentioned addressing Musa, Adam and Hawaa’ etc. Imam ‘Ali explained to him that the verse states that Allah has never spoken to any person before nor would He ever do so in the future except by revelations or direct inspiration (Ilham) or in dream or through a voice that he can hear without seeing anything, like one speaking from behind a curtain. Allah also sends an angel and directs revelation for some. Indeed the celestial messengers are a kind of messengers that is the angels of revelation commanded by Allah. Thus, the celestial messengers convey the divine revelation to the terrestrial messengers. Sometimes there is direct conversation between the Almighty and the terrestrial Prophets.

The Holy Prophet asked Archangel Gabriel from where he obtained the divine revelation. “From Israfil,” he replied, “From where does Israfil receive it?” “From a celestial angel who is at a higher position than him.” The Holy Prophet further asked the source of this angel’s revelation. He was told that the Almighty inspired him directly.

Thus, this is the speech of Allah. It is not of a single type. Sometimes Allah has spoken to the Prophets some of whom He inspired directly. The Prophets get revelation in dreams. Another type of Allah’s speech is that revealed by Allah and people recite it. Another kind is that the celestial messengers convey to the terrestrial Prophets. The questioner was pleased to hear the detailed reply and said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin: you have untied the knot of my heart. May Allah increase your reward.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is reported to have said in a reliable tradition that Archangel Gabriel described Israfil to the Holy Prophet that he was the chamberlain of the Almighty and the closest to Him. “And the Divine Tablet (Lawh) which is made of ruby is placed between his two eyes. When the Almighty speaks through revelation, the forehead of Lawh is inscribed with the words. Israfil looks at the Lawh and reads to us whatever is written on it. We convey the message to the heavens and the earth and apply it. He is the closest of all creatures to Allah. There are ninety curtains of light between him and Allah. Their brightness dazzles the eyes and it is impossible to describe their attributes. I am the closest of all the creatures to Israfil. (But) There is a distance of a thousand years’ travel between us.”9

Zurarah asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq how the Messenger of Allah came to know whatever was revealed to him was from Allah, not Satan. Imam said, “When Allah appoints someone as a Prophet, he bestows on him serenity and dignity. Therefore, whatever is revealed to him is as clear to him as if he were seeing it with his own eyes.”

It is quoted in a reliable tradition that people asked the Messenger of Allah how the Prophets knew that they were Prophets. He replied, “The veils are lifted from their hearts.” That is they are created as the people of perfect faith (belief). They do not harbor any doubts.

Imam al-Ridha says in an authentic tradition that dreams of Prophets are revelations. In the Du‘a’ (Invocation) of Umm-Dawud related from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq to be recited on the fifteenth of Rajab, there are names of some Prophets. Imam says: “May Allah bless Habil, Shith, Idris, Nuh, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim, Isma‘il, Ishaq, Ya‘qub, Yusuf, al-Asbaat (the chieftains of the Israelites), Lut, Shu‘ayb, Ayyub (Prophet Job), Musa, Harun (Prophet Aaron), Yusha‘, Mitha, al-Khidhr, Dhu’l-Qarnayn, Yunus, Ilyas, al-Yasa‘, Dhu’l-kifl, Talut (Saul), Dawud, Sulayman, Zakariyya (Prophet Zachariah), Shayda, Yahya (Prophet John), Turakh, Matti (Matthews), Meya, Haiqooq (Habakkuk), Denial and Uzair and ‘Isa and Shamoun and Jirjis and hawariyyun (the Disciples) and Atba and Khalid and Hanzalah and Luqman.”

In an authentic hadith, Mufadhdhal asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq how he (Imam) was aware of all that happened in every nook and corner of the earth while he remained at home with a curtain across his door. Imam said, “O Mufadhdhal! The Almighty Allah has granted five spirits to the Prophets:

(1) the spirit of life. He moves and walks with this spirit,

(2) the spirit of the hearts. He rises with it and does Jihad,

(3) the spirit of Shahur. He eats and drinks by it and has conjugal relations with women,

(4) the spirit of faith. By which he has faith (belief) and deals justly with the people

(5) the Holy Spirit by which he bears the position of Prophethood.

When the Prophet departs from this world, the Holy Spirit comes to the Imam who succeeds him. This spirit is not concerned with sleep, carelessness, useless pastimes or pride. The other four spirits are sometimes prone to sleep and inattentiveness. They are involved in vain pursuits and have pride also. Prophets and Imams see through the Holy Spirit and know about different affairs.”

According to a reliable narration, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that Almighty Allah had taken an oath from Adam that he should not approach the prohibited tree. But he approached it and also tasted its fruit, as mentioned by Allah:

“And certainly, We gave a commandment to Adam before, but he forgot; and We did not find in him any determination.” (20:115)

When the Almighty sent Adam to the earth, Habil and his sister were born as twins. Then Qabil and his sister were born together. Adam commanded both of his sons to perform a sacrifice for the Almighty. Habil owned a flock of sheep while Qabil was a farmer. Habil sacrificed the best ram from his flock. Qabil on the other hand was careless of his occupation and offered unclean ears of corn and bad quality crop as gifts to Allah. Consequently the sacrifice of Habil was accepted and that of Qabil was not. In the words of Qur’an:

“And relate to them the story of the two sons of Adam with truth whey they both offered an offering, but it was accepted from one of them and was not accepted from the other.” (5: 27)

During those days whenever an offering was accepted by Allah, a fire used to appear and consume it. So Qabil made a fireplace and he was the first person who constructed a place to contain a fire. He said, “I shall worship the fire so that it accepts my offering.” Satan, the enemy of Allah, told him that the offering of Habil had been accepted and his own rejected. “If you let him live, he would beget children who would pride upon your children for the superiority he has gained over you.” Qabil accepted the suggestion and killed Habil. He came to Adam who asked him where Habil was. Qabil said, “I don’t know, you did not entrust him to me.”

When Adam learnt that Habil was murdered, he exclaimed, “O Earth! Curse of Allah be on you! For you have accepted the blood of Habil,” and continued to weep for forty days and supplicated Allah to grant him another son. He was granted a son whom he named Hibtullah because he was a gift (Hibah) from Allah. Adam was very affectionate towards him. When the Prophethood of Adam neared its end and he reached old age, the Almighty revealed to him that time had come for him to transfer the Prophetic knowledge and relics to his son Hibtullah.

“Indeed, We shall never take away from the progeny of Hibtullah the relics and Prophetic science until the day of judgment,” said Allah. “I shall never leave the Earth devoid of a scholar from his progeny. People will derive religious knowledge and spiritual guidance through this scholar. Anyone who follows Nuh or him will be assured deliverance.”

Adam was reminded of Nuh at this juncture and said, “The Almighty shall send a Prophet who will call the people towards Allah. People will reject him and Allah shall destroy them through the flood.” There was a gap of ten generations between Adam and Nuh. All the ancestors of Nuh were Prophets. Adam made a bequest to Hibtullah and told him that if anyone of them met Nuh should believe in him and follow him in order to be saved from the deluge.

When Adam was on his deathbed, he summoned Hibtullah and told him to convey his salaams to Archangel Gabriel or any other angel if he happened to see them. “Tell them that your father requests them for a fruit of Paradise.” Hibtullah met Archangel Gabriel and conveyed the message of his respected father. Archangel Gabriel said, “O Hibtullah! Your father has departed to meet his Creator and I have come to perform his prayers (of dead).”

When Hibtullah returned home, he saw that Adam had departed for his heavenly abode. Archangel Gabriel taught him the method of ghusl (ritual bath) of dead body. Hibtullah bathed Adam and when it was the time of prayers of dead, Hibtullah told Archangel Gabriel to stand in front and pray. Archangel Gabriel said, “As Allah had once ordered us to prostrate before Adam, it is not proper that we lead (Imamate) any of his sons.” Hibtullah stood before Archangel Gabriel and offered the Prayer of the Dead. Archangel Gabriel stood behind him with a group of angels and recited thirty takbirs (saying Allahu Akbar). The Almighty Allah then commanded Archangel Gabriel to reduce 25 takbirs for the progeny of Adam. Consequently, it is the practice among us to recite five takbirs, although the Holy Prophet has recited seven and nine takbirs for the martyrs of battle of Badr. Hibtullah buried Adam.

Qabil approached him and said, “I know my father has entrusted you especially with the knowledge that he kept away from me and it is the same knowledge with which Habil prayed and made his offering that was honored. I killed him so that he would not have children to pride over my children. If you do not give me a little of that knowledge bequeathed by our father, I shall kill you too.”

Thus Hibtullah and his sons used to fervently guard the Prophetic knowledge and divine relics until the time of Nuh. During the time of Nuh, people were shown the will of Adam and it was learnt that Adam had prophesied the advent of Nuh. The people believed in Nuh, testified to the veracity of his claim and obeyed him. Adam had also commanded Hibtullah to read his will at the beginning of every year and renew their oath. That particular day became the day of feast for them. They continued the ritual year after year. Every succeeding Prophet made similar bequests until the advent of Prophet Muhammad. People recognized Nuh through prior knowledge and that is exactly the meaning of the verse,

“Certainly, We sent Nuh to his people so he said, O my people! Serve Allah, you have no god other than Him; surely I fear for you the chastisement of a grievous day.” (7:59)

There were some Prophets between Adam and Nuh but they did not declare their Prophethood to the people. That is the reason why Qur’an does not mention their names. Some Prophets however declared their Prophethood as their names are stated in Qur’an:

“And (We sent) apostles We have mentioned to you before and apostles we have not mentioned to you;” (4:164)

Imam explains that Prophets mentioned by name were those who declared their Prophethood and Prophets not mentioned by name were those who kept their mission secret. Nuh propagated religion among his people for 950 years. He did not have any assistant Prophet. People rejected all the Prophets between Adam and Nuh, as mentioned by Allah. When the time of Nuh’s Prophethood approached its end, the Almighty sent a revelation to Nuh and commanded him to bequeath the Prophetic sciences, the relics and other trophies to his son: “Indeed, We shall never take away from the progeny of Sam the Prophetic inheritance like I had caused it to remain from Adam to your generation I shall never leave the earth devoid of a scholar from your progeny. People will understand religion through him and he shall be the means of their salvation especially for the people who are born between the times of two Prophets.”

Hud became the Prophet after Sam. There were some known as well as concealed Prophets between Nuh and Hud. Nuh had already predicted that Allah the Almighty shall send a Prophet named Hud. “He shall invite his people towards Allah while they will reject him. So, Allah will destroy the people. Therefore, one who lives until that time must believe in and follow him. The Almighty shall deliver you from His chastisement.” Nuh commanded Sam to read this will and renew the vow at the beginning of each year on the day of ‘Id.

When Hud arrived the people, he saw the will of Nuh regarding him. So, the people believed in him, confessed to his truth and followed him. They obtained security from divine punishment. Allah the Almighty says,

“And to ‘ad (We sent) their brother Hud. He said, O my people! Serve Allah, you have no god other than Him; will you not then guard (against evil)?” (7:65)

“And the same did Ibrahim enjoin on his sons and (so did) Ya‘qub. O my sons! Surely, Allah has chosen for you (this) faith, therefore die not unless you are Muslims.” (2:132)

Some from the progeny of Hud were appointed to keep them informed about the advent of Ibrahim and to take oaths regarding him. There was a gap of ten generations between Hud and Ibrahim. All (ancestors of Ibrahim) were Prophets. Thus, it is divine practice that between two great Prophets there is a gap of ten, nine or eight generations. All of them used to be Prophets and they used to prophesize the advent of the coming Prophet. They also took the vow from their legatees that they would believe and obey him. All the Prophets took such oaths of fealty like Adam, Nuh, Salih, Shu‘ayb and Ibrahim. This continued until the time of Yusuf.

After Yusuf it was transferred to the progeny of his brothers, al-Asbat. The series reached Musa the son of ‘Imran. Between Yusuf and Musa also was a gap of ten generations. Then Allah sent them to the Pharaoh, Haman and Qarun. The Almighty sent Prophets one after the other to every people. People continued to reject the Prophets and continued to perish due to divine chastisement. This continued until the time of the Israelites. These people murdered as many as two, three or four Prophets everyday. Sometimes as many as seventy Prophets were slain together and the Israelites did not care. They remained busy in their occupations all day. When Torah was revealed to Musa, he gave glad tidings of Prophet Muhammad. Yusha‘ ibn Nun was the successor of Musa and Qata was the successor of Yusha‘ ibn Nun, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an,

“And when Musa said to his servant (Qata).” (18:60)

Thus, all the Prophets continued to prophesize the advent of Prophet Muhammad as mentioned by Allah in Qur’an,

“Those who follow the Apostle Prophet, the Ummi, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Injeel, (who) enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things…” (7:157),

and in the words of ‘Isa,

“O Children of Israel! Surely, I am the apostle of Allah to you, verifying that which is before me of the Torah and giving the good news of an Apostle who will come after me, his name being Ahmad.” (61:6)

Thus Musa and ‘Isa had clearly prophesied about Prophet Muhammad just as the previous Prophets had informed about the Prophets to come after them. This continued until the time of Prophet Muhammad. When the last moments of the Holy Prophet arrived, the Almighty revealed to him to entrust all the knowledge and relics to ‘Ali Ibn Abi-Talib and promised that they should remain in his progeny forever just as they had remained from the time of Adam. The Holy Qur’an says,

“Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of ‘Imran above the nations. Offspring, one of the other; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.” (3:33–34)

Muhammad and his progeny are included in the progeny of Ibrahim. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says, “Indeed Allah has not made the knowledge as ignorance. He did not leave the question of scholars in dark. He has provided express authentication for each Prophet or Imam. He has introduced them fully to the people. It has never been the case that Allah has created a person to be appointed as a Prophet for people; the people do not accept his authority and that he is not conversant with the divine commands and secrets of creation. Allah has never entrusted the affairs of this religion to a proximate angel or a Prophet. He selects an angel as a messenger through whom he conveys His likes and dislikes to the Prophet. He also conveys through this angel the past and future knowledge. So the Prophets learnt this knowledge through their predecessors, the saints and those who were specially selected by Allah.” Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur’an,

“Indeed We have given the book and wisdom to the progeny of Ibrahim and gave them a great kingdom.” (4:54)

‘Book’ denotes Prophethood, ‘Wisdom’ indicates the great intellectual position of those personalities, and all of them are from this progeny; some excelling over others. Almighty Allah has appointed Prophethood among them and ordained that His message shall be conveyed and protected by these people alone. After Prophets, come their progeny, their brothers and family. One who acts with faith in the message of these Prophets achieves salvation but one who considers that the bearers of Allah’s message and holders of exalted station are not these personalities but some other undeserving relatives and acts against the divine sciences without the medium of Prophets has actually belied Almighty Allah. They have gone against the will and obedience of Allah. They have not acknowledged the repositories of the Divine message that Allah has appointed. Thus, they are misguided and they misguide their followers. They shall have no excuse in the Resurrection Day. There is no proof except that of the progeny of Ibrahim. Almighty Allah has said,

“Or do they envy the people for what Allah has given them of His grace? But indeed we have given to Ibrahim’s children the Book and the wisdom, and we have given them a grand kingdom.” (4:54)

The proof is only for the Prophets and their family, and it shall remain so until the day of Judgment, as mentioned in the Book of Allah,

“In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted and that His name may be remembered in them; there glorify Him therein in the mornings and the evenings.” (24:36)

Imam explains, “These are our houses and the houses of the Prophets, the guides and the wise people. This is the rope of faith by catching hold of which people before you achieved success and through the same connection people would attain salvation in the future.” Indeed the Almighty has stated in His book,

“And we gave to him Ishaq and Ya‘qub, each did we guide, and Nuh did we guide before, and of his descendants, Dawud and Sulayman and Ayyub and Yusuf and Harun; and thus do we reward those who do good (to others). And Zakariyya and Yahya and ‘Isa and Ilyas; everyone was of the good; And Isma‘il and Al-Yasha and Yunus and Lut; and everyone we made to excel (in) the worlds; And from among their fathers and their descendants and their brethren, and we chose them and guided them to the right way. This is Allah’s guidance, He guides thereby whom He pleases of His servants; and if they had set up others (with Him), certainly what they did would have become ineffectual for them. These are they to whom we gave the book and the wisdom and the prophecy; therefore if these disbelieve in it we have already entrusted with it a people who are not disbelievers in it.” (6:84-89)

Imam explained that even if the whole community rejects the Prophet, the people of his house (Ahl al-Bayt) would remain firm in their faith and the message of the Prophet. They shall also be their legatees and successors. They will be the repositories of the Divine sciences and under no circumstances will they be fallible nor will they be contaminated with falsehood, evil designs or show-off. There is no doubt in whatever Allah has stated regarding the successors of His Prophets.

They are infallible and to love them is to recompense for the Prophet’s labor in conveying the Divine message. They are bestowed with Wilayah and Imamate (Guardianship and guidance). They are the legatees of the Prophet. “O people! Derive lessons from this, ponder upon my words, align yourself with the knowledge and Imamate that Allah has bestowed upon us and attain salvation through these means so that on the day of Judgment you would have proof and gain success from it. These personalities are your intercessors with Allah. Your Wilayah shall not reach Allah but through them. Thus, it is incumbent on Allah to befriend and not punish those who act upon this.

On the other hand, it is certain that Allah shall degrade and punish those who do not act upon this. Indeed, the mission of some Prophets was confined to a particular group of people and the Prophethood of other Prophets was general. Nuh was sent for the people of the whole world. His Prophethood was general and included Messengership (Risalah), Hud was appointed specially for the people of ‘ad. Salih was given the responsibility of guiding the people of Thamud, a tiny village on the bank of a river consisting of only forty odd houses. Shu‘ayb was designated as the Prophet for Madyan, a habitation of less then forty families. Initially the Prophethood of Ibrahim was for the people of Kosariya, a district in Iraq. Later he migrated from there but this migration was not due to war or conflict, as Allah says,

“And he said, ‘Surely I fly to my lord, He will guide me.’” (37:99)

Thus, the flight (Hijrah) of Ibrahim was not due to war. Ishaq was the Prophet after Ibrahim. Ya‘qub was appointed as a Prophet for the Canaan region. He later moved to Egypt and spent the rest of his life there but after his demise, his mortal remains were brought to Canaan and buried there. As regards the dream of Yusuf wherein he saw eleven stars and the Sun and Moon prostrating before him, it is certain that his Prophethood was for the people of Egypt. He had twelve successors. Later, the Almighty appointed Musa and Harun in Egypt. Yusha‘ ibn Nun was the vicegerent of Musa for the Israelites.

There are many other Prophets in the Israelites some of whom have been mentioned by Allah in Qur’an and some are not. Then the Almighty sent ‘Isa ibn Maryam (son of Mary) for the Israelites. His Prophethood was confined to the area of Jerusalem. ‘Isa had twelve disciples and the faith remained concealed in his family members. After ‘Isa was raised to the heavens, the Almighty sent Prophet Muhammad for all the creatures. He was the final Prophet. He was also succeeded by twelve successors appointed by Allah. We have seen some of them and some shall come in the future. This is an account of Prophethood and Messengership.”

Every Prophet of the Israelites, whether special or general had twelve successors. The practice of ‘Isa’s twelve successors is replicated in the successorship of Muhammad. (The appointment of) ‘Ali was on the practice of ‘Isa. This is a brief account of Prophets and the Divine practice of sending Prophets and Messengers—peace of Allah be upon all of them.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq quotes the Messenger of Allah in a reliable tradition as saying, “I am the chief (Sayyid) and the best of Prophets, and my successor is a chief and the greatest among the successors of Prophets. My successors are the best among the successors of Prophets. Indeed Adam implored Allah to bestow him with a noble successor. Allah revealed to him, ‘I have exalted my Prophets with Messengership for testing the faith of the creatures and from the righteous people chose successors of the Prophets. O Adam! Make a bequest to your son Shith.’

He was Hibtullah the son of Adam. Adam appointed him as his successor. Shith appointed Sha‘ban as his vicegerent. Sha‘ban was born through the huri sent by Allah from Paradise as a wife for Shith. Sha‘ban bequeathed the vicegerency to his son Mohhith. Mohhith to Mahooq, Mahooq to Ameesha, Ameesha to Akhnooh. Akhnooh is known as Idris. Idris appointed Nahoor as his legatee, Nahoor’s bequest was for Nuh. Sam was the vicegerent of Nuh. Sam delegated to Athamar, Athamar to Bareeshasha, Bareeshasha to Yaafith (Japheth), Yaafith to Baraa, Baraa to Jafeena, Jafeena to ‘Imran. ‘Imran transferred the legacy to Ibrahim, Ibrahim to Isma‘il, Isma‘il to Ishaq, Ishaq to Ya‘qub, Ya‘qub to Yusuf, Yusuf to Bathariya, Bathariya to Shu‘ayb. Shu‘ayb entrusted the legacy to Musa, the son of ‘Imran. Musa to Yusha‘ ibn Nun. Yusha‘ to Dawud; Dawud to Sulayman, Sulayman to Asif bin Barkhiya. Asif to Zakariyya, Zakariyya to Sayaa, Sayaa to ‘Isa son of Maryam. ‘Isa bequeathed to Shamoun, Shamoun to Yahya bin Zakariyya. Yahya bin Zakariyya to Mundar, Mundar to Saleema, Saleema to Burda, Burda entrusted the legacies to me. O ‘Ali! I make the bequest to you. You entrust the legacy to your vicegerent and he would pass it to his successors. All of them are from your progeny.

One after the other, this series shall reach the best inhabitants of this Earth. He shall be the last of the Imams. People shall have serious disagreements regarding your successorship. Anyone from the Ummah (Muslim community) who believes in your successorship shall be like one who has a firm faith and one who dissociates with you and does not follow you shall be in Hellfire; the abode of disbelievers.”

Infallibility of the Prophets and Imams

We must know that Imamite scholars (May Allah be pleased with them) are unanimous as regards the infallibility of Prophet’s successors and Imams. These divine personages are granted immunity from minor sins. They do not commit any sin, knowingly, unknowingly nor in forgetfulness; neither before their appointment as Prophets nor afterwards; neither in childhood nor in old age. No scholar has disagreed on this except Ibn Babawayh and Shaykh Abu-Muhammad bin al-Husayn bin al-Walid. They believe that the Almighty due to hidden wisdom lets them commit some oversights in some matters that are not related with Prophethood.

Although according to majority of traditions and consensus, the belief in infallibility of Prophets is a cardinal principal of Imamite faith. It is rather a necessity of faith according to Shiite religion. A large number of books have been compiled to support this belief based on reason and holy texts. Many of the traditions regarding the infallibility of Prophets will be quoted in our discussion on Imamate (Vol. 3). However, we present a few traditions that shall suffice for our discussion.

1) Firstly, the Prophets are sent to people with the intention that people obey them and act upon the divine prohibitions and commands. Hence, if Allah does not make them infallible it would not serve the purpose and it does not befit a Wise one to do something vain. The Prophets are sent with a message for the people to act righteously and to abstain from evil. So, the Prophets first have to practice what they preach to others. How else could their exhortations be effective. This can be illustrated by the example of some preachers and prayer leaders.

In case people find them lacking in high morals and having weakness to minor detestable acts, they do not follow them. So what would happen if these leaders commit sins like adultery, murder and drinking etc? The majority sect allows that a Prophet or his legatee can commit some minor sins. Some eight to ten sins are included in this. Even these people are of the opinion that a person who commits sins like omitting the Prayers and fasting, sexual perversion, listening to songs and useless games is not worthy of the rulership of Muslim community and caliphate. No sane person can condone such types of vices in a person assigned to this important post.

2) Secondly if a Prophet commits a sin, a queer situation will occur. It would be necessary to obey and disobey him at the same time because Allah the Almighty has said,

“Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (3:31)

When this has been proved for our Prophet it must be true for all the other Prophets too because Allah does not discriminate between them. On the other hand, it is not allowed to follow a sinner in his sinful activities.

3) If the Prophet commits a sin, it would be incumbent to restrain him and exert him to goodness on the basis of the Amr bil Ma’roof and Nahy a’nil Munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil). On the other hand, it is wrong to prevent a Prophet from doing anything because it is assumed that he does everything with Allah’s permission. Allah says in Qur’an, “Obey Allah and the apostle, but if they turn back, then surely Allah does not love the unbelievers and for this Allah has cursed such people.”

4) Allah says in Qur’an,

“O you who believe! If an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look careful into it, lest you harm a people in ignorance, then be sorry for what you have done.” (49:6)

5) Allah has further stated,

“And thus we have made you a medium (just) nation that you may be the bearer of witness to the people and (that) the apostle may be a bearer of the witness to you; and we did not make that which you would have to be the kiblah but that we might distinguish him who follows the apostle from him who turns back upon his heels, and this was surely hard except for those whom Allah has guided aright; and Allah was not going to make your faith to be fruitless; most surely Allah is Affectionate, merciful to the people.” (2:143)

6) Regarding the curse and wrath Allah says,

“And whoever disobeys Allah and His apostle and goes beyond His limits, He will cause him to enter fire to abide in it, and he shall have an abasing chastisement.” (4:14)

If any apostle (God forbid) commits a wrong then he has disobeyed Allah and due to disobedience, he will have a disgraceful chastisement. Allah has declared,

“And who is most unjust than he who forgoes a lie against Allah? These shall be brought before their Lord, and the witness shall say, these are they who lied against their Lord. Now surely the curse of Allah is on the unjust.” (11:18)

7) Allah declares in Qur’an regarding people who asked others to believe and obey Allah but they themselves did not, “

What! Do you enjoin men to be good and neglect your own souls while you read the book; have you then no sense?” (2:44)

8) To include the Prophet in this matter is wrong. And in the verse of Qur’an when Satan said, “By God, I will make your people to follow the wrong path except your good believers.” Allah said, “The people who will follow you, will be unbelievers. The righteous people will always follow My apostle and their orders.”

9) It is mentioned that a sinner is unjust and the post of Prophethood can never be given to an unjust person. Allah says,

“My covenant does not include the unjust…” (2:124)

There are countless such arguments that can be quoted to prove the necessity of Prophets’ infallibility however, it is beyond the scope of this book. For detailed discussion, refer to hayat al-Qulub Volume 3.

According to reliable sources Imam al-Ridha wrote to Al-Madman (the `Abbasid caliph) the articles of Imamiyah faith. He wrote that Allah does not make incumbent for the people the obedience of a person who misguides to the wrong path. He does not appoint them as leaders of His creatures when he knows that they would deny Him and His commands, and follow Satan instead of obeying His orders. Imam al-Ridha regularly presented his arguments in the gatherings of scholars in Al-Ma’mun’s court in defense of Prophets’ and Imams’ infallibility. The scholars of opposing sects were left spell bound by his arguments

In an authentic report Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq described the principles of faith to Amash. Therein he also mentioned that the Prophet and his descendants do not commit sins as they are infallible and pure and the book of Sulaym bin Qays quotes Imam ‘Ali that Allah has ordered obedience of Ulil-Amr (those vested with authority) because they are infallible and they do not command the people for sinful acts.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is quoted regarding the explanation of Qur’anic verse (2:124), “My covenant does not include the unjust.” “A fool cannot be a leader of pious.”

The consensus of Muslims is that no omission and forgetfulness can occur by the Prophets as far as the missionary work is concerned. But Sunnis believe that Prophets can commit mistakes in matters of worship and worldly affairs. However, Shi‘ah scholars are opposed to this. According to Shi‘ah, Prophets and Imams are absolutely free of errors. According to other traditions, we come to know that doubts regarding their infallibility are not based on consensus. Most of the traditions that mention their mistakes are quoted due to dissimulation. Moreover, a vast number of intellectual and textual proofs support the infallibility of Prophets.

Suppose a Prophet were to omit prayer by mistake, forget to fast in the month of Ramadhan, drink wine and mistakenly commit adultery, would anybody rely on him. There are many traditions to prove the infallibility of Prophets but here we have just discussed the matter in brief. For details, refer to the book The Life and Religion of Muhammad.

Merits and Virtues of Prophets and their Successors

It is reported that Prophet Muhammad said, “When we the Prophets sleep, our eyes sleep but our hearts do not, and just as we see in front we can see behind.”

In another tradition Imam Musa bin Ja‘far is reported to have said that Allah did not send any unintelligent Prophet but sent the wise and intelligent Prophets for the guidance. Some Prophets were more intelligent than others. Allah did not make Sulayman and Dawud His representatives until He tested their intellects. Sulayman became the divine vicegerent at the age of 13 years. For forty years, he ruled as a king and was a Prophet as well. Prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn assumed the divine office at the age of 12 years and ruled for 30 years.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that the mosque of Sahlah (in al-Kufah) is the residence of Prophet Idris and he was doing tailoring work in the house. Prophet Ibrahim passed by this mosque to Yemen for the battle of ‘Amaliqah. Prophet Dawud also passed by this way for the battle of Jalut (Goliath). There is a green stone in the mosque on which the sign of each Prophet is engraved and they have taken the dust from below the stone. That place is the revelation of Prophet al-Khidhr.

Imam ‘Ali said, “Seventy Prophets offered prayer in the mosque of al-Kufah and their seventy successors also prayed, and I am the one of them.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has stated that one thousand and seventy Prophets have prayed in the mosque of al-Kufah. The staff of Prophet Musa, a creeper of pumpkin and the divine ring of Prophet Sulayman are kept in this mosque. It is the same place where the oven of Prophet Nuh flared up. Prophet Nuh’s ark was constructed here and many Prophets are buried in this place.

According to a reliable tradition people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq to explain the verse,

“O apostles! Eat of the good things and do good; surely I know what you do.” (23:51)

Imam explained, eating of good things means earn and spend in permissible way.

Another tradition states that a person came to Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq and prayed to Allah for his livelihood. Imam said, “Ah! You are seeker of the strength of the Prophet. Ask Allah for the livelihood that will protect you from divine chastisement in the Resurrection Day.” Then Imam recited the above verse.

According to reliable sources Abu-Sa‘id has stated that he heard Prophet Muhammad say to Imam ‘Ali, “O ‘Ali! Allah did not send any Prophet but ordered him of your love and Wilayah whether he liked it or not.”

Imam Zayn al-‘abidin has narrated that Allah created the bodies and hearts from fine dust and the hearts of the believers are also created from the same dust. There are many traditions that the bodies of believers are created from a dust inferior to this.

Imam al-Ridha has stated that Allah has created the Prophets with cool temperaments.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that Allah had given the Prophethood to Prophet Muhammad two thousand years before the other Prophets in the state of spiritual existence. Prophet Muhammad invited them towards Allah’s worship and belief. He promised them Paradise for this and warned that those who do not believe in Allah will be the dwellers of Hell.

According to other traditions, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that people asked Prophet Muhammad the reason of his excellence and superiority over other Prophets though he was the last of them. Prophet Muhammad said, “this is because I am the first person to believe in My Lord. Allah took promise from the other Prophets, made them witnesses of their souls and said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They all said, ‘Yes.’ I preceded all those who believed in Allah.

It is also mentioned in many traditions that at that time Allah took the oath of fealty from all the Prophets in that ethereal world regarding His lordship, Muhammad’s Prophethood and the Imamate of ‘Ali and the Holy Imams. Then Allah took their oath regarding belief in the Messenger of Allah and to help ‘Ali during the time of Raj‘ah. (The return before the Resurrection Day).

According to an authentic tradition, Prophet Muhammad stated that Allah did not take the soul of any of His Prophets until he had ordered them to nominate their nearest relative as their legatee and I was also commanded similarly. I asked Allah whom I should nominate and He revealed to me, “Nominate your cousin ‘Ali Ibn Abi-Talib, whose name I have mentioned in the previous divine Books and stated that he is your successor. I have also obtained the oath of fealty for My Lordship, your Prophethood and Imamate and Wilayah of ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib from all the creatures and Prophets.

A tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq mentions that Allah preferred agriculture and goat-herding as occupations for His apostles. In another tradition, Imam has stated that Allah never sent his apostle but has ordered him to be a shepherd. In this way, He trained them for guiding the people.

Another tradition quoted from the Prophet says that some Prophets used to suffer from hunger and die in that state, some suffered from thirst and died and some did not have clothes to cover themselves and died. Some suffered from disease and pain and died. Sometimes a Prophet used to come to his people and command them to obey Allah while he did not possess any strength. The people did not even allow him to complete his sentence. They did not pay any heed to his words and killed him at once. Allah involves His creatures in difficulties in proportion to their ability and their closeness to Him.

According to another tradition, Prophet Muhammad has remarked that Allah has not sent any apostle but with a pleasant voice.

Imam al-Ridha says that keeping oneself pure and fragranced, having sufficient relationships with women and keeping a lot of wives are the attributes of Prophets.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has said that the last meal of the apostles was after the Night Prayer.

Imam al-Ridha has said, “Each apostle prayed for barley as their diet and blessed it. Barley removes pain and disease from whichever stomach it enters. It is the diet of apostles and righteous people. Allah preferred barley for His apostles and nothing else.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has narrated that parched barley meal is the diet of the Prophets or the Messengers.

According to a good tradition, meat and curd constitute the curry of Prophets. Another tradition says that vinegar and olive is the diet of Prophets. Imam ‘Ali has mentioned the same thing.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has narrated that brushing teeth is the practice of Prophets.

In another tradition, Imam says that Allah appointed the livelihood of Prophets in farming and dairy so that they do not feel averse to rain.

In a trustworthy tradition, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “Allah has not commissioned His Prophets but there is an excellent fragrance in their body. In another hadith, he says that good smell is the practice of the messengers. Imam ‘Ali has stated that sweet smelling perspiration is a virtue of the Prophets.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq mentions that Allah bestowed three things to the Prophets: sweet fragrance, copulation with women and brushing teeth.

In another tradition, Musa bin Ja‘far has stated, “Allah has not sent any Prophet and Wasi (legatee) but that they were generous and philanthropists.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has stated that seven hundred Prophets have performed prayer in the mosque of Khaif, which is in Mina. It is a fact that the vicinity of Rukn, the Black Stone (of the holy Ka‘bah) and Maqam Ibrahim is the area of burial of many Prophets. Prophet Adam’s grave is in the sanctuaries of Allah.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that seventy Prophets who died due to hunger, thirst and penury are buried between the Rukn al-Yamani and the Black Stone.

Reliable sources have mentioned that a person said to Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, “I feel disgusted to pray in the mosque of Sunnis.” Imam said, “Do not be disgusted to pray, because each mosque is built on the grave of a Prophet or his descendants who were martyred, and a few drops of their blood fell on this ground, and Allah wanted the people to remember him at this place. So perform your obligatory, supererogatory, settled and all your prayers in this place.”

A hadith says that when Zakariyya was martyred, the angels arrived and gave him the last bath and performed the prayers for three days for him and then he was buried. Similarly, when a Prophet dies, his body does not decompose. The angels perform the prayers for three days and then he is buried.

Prophet Muhammad is quoted in some hadiths as saying, “Allah has made our flesh unlawful to the earth and forbade it to consume any part of our body.”

An authentic tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says, “A Prophet or an Imam does not remain on the earth land for more than three days. His bones, his whole body and his soul are carried to the heavens by angels. When the followers go to his grave, the angels carry the salutations of the followers to the Prophet in the heavens. Whether they are recited near the tomb or far from it.”10

According to reliable sources from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, he said, “On Friday nights we have a marvelous affair.” The people asked, “what that was?” Imam replied, “On every Friday eve, Allah allows the souls of His apostles and the souls of the good people among you, who are alive, to go to the heavens and reach to the Holy Throne. The souls circumambulate seven times and perform two Rak‘ah (units) prayers at each corner of the Holy Throne. Then they return to the physical body before daybreak. The Prophets and their successors derive much pleasure from this and their knowledge increases.”

In another tradition, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir states that Prophet Muhammad said, “Our souls and the souls of our successors remain present near the Holy Throne until daybreak and then returns to their body with an increase in their knowledge.”

Prophet Muhammad has stated that Allah has bestowed three good qualities on His apostles and no one else except my followers. “First, whenever Allah sent His apostle He revealed to him to struggle in his religion and he shall not face any straitened circumstances. The same is bestowed on my community, where Allah says that there is no difficulty in religion. Secondly, Allah had instructed all His Prophets to pray to him in case he is faced with adverse conditions and that Allah will answer his prayers. The same command is issued for the people of this community: ‘Ask Me that I may bestow.’ Thirdly, Allah made every apostle a witness on his people appointed my community a witness on all the creatures. Allah says that Muhammad is a witness upon you and you are witness upon the world.”

According to a reliable hadith of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq a Jew came to the Prophet and asked and glared at him in anger. The Prophet inquired, “O Jew! What do you want? The Jew asked, “Who is better, you or Prophet Musa bin ‘Imran, upon whom the Almighty sent Torah, held conversation with him, granted him the Staff, split the sea and provided a cloud to shade him?” Prophet Muhammad said, “It is detestable for a person to praise himself but it is incumbent upon me to inform you. When Prophet Adam took false step, he repented for it in the following words: O Allah, forgive by Muhammad and the family of Muhammad” and Allah forgave him.

When Prophet Nuh boarded the ark, he thought he would be drowned. He prayed to Allah for the sake of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad to save him from the storm, so Allah saved him. When Prophet Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, he invocated Allah for the sake of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. Allah cooled the fire and kept him safe.

When Prophet Musa cast down his staff, he was afraid and he prayed to Allah for the sake of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad make me overcome my fear. Allah told him not to fear, “You have an elevated status.” O, Jew! If Musa had been present in my time and had no faith in me and my Prophethood his own Prophethood would not have benefited him. O Jew! Al-Mahdi is from my progeny when he would reappear, Prophet ‘Isa Ibn Maryam would descend for his assistance and perform prayers behind him.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has stated that the knowledge that descended on Prophet Adam did not go back. No learned person dies leaving his knowledge in vain, because knowledge is bequeathed to his legates and the earth is never devoid of a learned personality. When he dies, his knowledge is inherited by another who is learned or more.

Many authentic traditions mention that there is no Proof of Allah like the doctor of religion whose community is in need of some knowledge that he does not have or that he cannot speak the language of the people.

Many traditions have indicated that the murderer of a Prophet or their children is of illegitimate birth.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated in an authentic tradition that no sin is deadlier than murder of a Prophet or Imam, demolishing the Ka‘bah or committing adultery.

Imam Musa al-Kadhim stated that Allah created the Prophets and their successors on a Friday and took the covenant from them on the same day.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has stated that Allah has created His Apostles and Imams on five auspicious souls etc.

According to another tradition, we come to know that Archangel Gabriel descends upon the Prophets and the Holy Spirit11 always remains with them and their successors. He teaches them knowledge and befriends them on behalf of the Almighty.

Imam ‘Ali has stated regarding the verse of Holy Qur’an,

“And the foremost are the foremost, these are they who are drawn high (to Allah),” (56:10-11)

they are the Prophets of Allah whether sent with a new Shari‘ah or not.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that Allah’s Great names consist of seventy three letters, Allah bestowed twenty five to Prophet Adam, twenty five to Prophet Nuh, eight to Prophet Ibrahim, four to Prophet Musa, two to ‘Isa. With only these two letters ‘Isa was able to bring the dead to life and to cure lepers. Allah bestowed Prophet Muhammad seventy-two letters and retained one letter with Himself. In another tradition it is mentioned that Allah bestowed six letters to Prophet Ibrahim and eight to Prophet Nuh.

According to reliable sources, Prophet Muhammad has stated that there are three types of Tinah (clay) (1) Tinah of Prophets (2) Tinah of believers and (3) Tinah of Nasibis (enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt). The believers are like the Prophets but the Prophets’ Tinah is of a better quality. They are having high station and honor. The believers are created from the fruits of this Tinah (which is like wet sticky clay.) Therefore, Allah never separated their Shi‘ah from them. Enemies of Ahl al-Bayt are created from dirty, black and offensive smelling Tinah.

Imam al-Ridha has stated that, “When Prophet Nuh was about to drown, he prayed to Allah to save him and he was saved. When Prophet Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, he prayed to Allah by reciting the names of the Holy Five, so Allah saved him from the fire. When Prophet Musa cast his staff on the water by reciting our names and prayed, so Allah split the sea and made a passage for him. When Jews decided to murder ‘Isa, he prayed to Allah for the sake of the Holy Five. Allah saved him from them and raised him to the heavens.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq stated that when Imam al-Qa’im will reappear, the Prophet will raise the flag and nine thousand three hundred and thirteen angels will arrive to help. They are the same angels who were in the Prophet Nuh’s ark and they were also with Prophet Ibrahim when he was cast into the fire. They will be the same angels who were with Prophet Musa when the water of Nile split and they were also with ‘Isa when he was raised on the heavens.

Another tradition quotes the strength of angels as thirteen thousand three hundred and thirteen.

From the reliable reports, Imam ‘Ali stated that the difficulties of the Prophet are more severe than all the people. After them are their successors’ difficulties and then a righteous person has to face the difficulties.

Imam ‘Ali mentioned in the sermon of al-Qasiyah which is his famous sermons that “Praise be to Allah who wears the apparel of Honor and Dignity and has chosen them for Himself instead of for His creation. He has made them inaccessible and unlawful for others. He has selected them for His own great self, and has hurled a curse on him who contests with Him concerning them. Then He put His angels on trial concerning these attributes in order to distinguish those who are modest from those who are vain. Therefore, Allah, who is aware of whatever is hidden in the hearts and whatever lies behind the unseen said,

“Verily I am about to create man from clay, and when I have completed and have breathed into him of My spirit, then fall ye prostrating in obeisance unto him. And did fall prostrating in obeisance the angels all together, save Iblis...” (38:71-74)

His vanity stood in his way. Consequently, he felt proud over Adam by virtue of his creation and boasted over him on account of his origin. Thus, this enemy of Allah is the leader of those who boast and the forerunner of the vain. It is he who laid the foundation of factionalism, quarreled with Allah about the robe of greatness, put on the dress of haughtiness and took off the covering of humility. Do you not see how Allah made him low on account of his vanity and humiliated him for his feigning to be high? He discarded him in this world and provided for him burning fire in the next world. If Allah had wanted to create Adam from a light whose glare would have dazzled the eyes, whose handsomeness would have amazed the wits and whose smell would have caught the breath, He could have done so; and if He had done so, people would have bowed to him in humility and the trial of the angels through him would have become easier.

But Allah, the Glorified, tries His creatures by means of those things whose real nature they do not know in order to distinguish (good and bad) for them through the trial, and to remove vanity from them and keep them and keep them aloof from pride and self-admiration. You should take a lesson from what Allah did with Satan; namely, He nullified his great acts and extensive efforts on account of the vanity of one moment, although Satan had worshipped Allah for six thousand years—whether by the reckoning of this world or of the next world is not known. Who now can remain safe from Allah after Satan by committing a similar disobedience? None at all. Allah, the Glorified, cannot let a human being enter Paradise if he does the same thing for which Allah turned out from it an angel. His command for the inhabitants in the sky and of the earth is the same. There is no friendship between Allah and any individual out of His creation so as to give him license for an undesirable thing, which He has held unlawful for all the worlds.

Therefore, you should fear lest Satan infects you with his disease, or leads you astray through his call, or marches on you with his horsemen and footmen, because, by my life, he has put the arrow in the bow for you, has stretched the bow strongly, and has aimed at you from a nearby position, and He (Satan) said,

“My Lord! Because Thou hast left me to stray, certainly will I adorn unto them the path of error, and certainly will I cause them all to go astray.” (15:39)

Although he (Satan) had said so only by guessing about the unknown future and by wrong conjecturing, yet the sons of vanity, the brothers of haughtiness and the horsemen of pride and intolerance proved him to be true, so much so that when disobedient persons from among you bowed before him, and his greed about you gained strength; and what was a hidden secret turned into a clear fact, he spread his full control over you and marched with his forces towards you…

Certainly, if Allah were to allow anyone to indulge in pride, He would have allowed it to his selected Prophets and vicegerents. But Allah, the Sublime, disliked vanity for them and liked humbleness for them.

Therefore, they laid their cheeks on the ground, smeared their faces with dust, bent themselves down for the believers and remained humble people. Allah tried them with hunger, afflicted them with difficulty, tested them with fear, and upset them with troubles. Therefore, do not regard wealth and progeny the criterion for Allah’s pleasure and displeasure, as you are not aware of the chances of mischief and trials during richness and power as Allah, the Glorified the Sublime, has said,

“What! Think they that what We aid them with of wealth and children; We are hastening unto them the good things? Nay! they (only) perceive not.” (23:55-56)

Certainly, Allah the Glorified tries His creatures who are vain about themselves through His beloved persons who are humble in their eyes.

When Musa son of ‘Imran went to Pharaoh along with his brother Harun wearing (coarse) shirts of wool and holding sticks in their hands, they guaranteed him retention of his country and continuity of his honor if he submitted; but he said, “Do you not wonder at these two men guaranteeing me the continuity of my honor and the retention of my country although you see their poverty and lowliness. Otherwise, why do they not have gold bangles on their wrists?” He said so feeling proud of his gold and collected possessions, and considering wool and its cloth as nothing.

When Allah, the Glorified, deputed His Prophets, if He had wished to open for them treasures and mines of gold and (surround them with) planted gardens and to collect around them birds of the skies and beasts of the earth, He could have done so. If He had done so then there would have been no trial, nor recompense and no tidings (about the affairs of the next world). Those who accepted (His message) could not be given the recompense falling due after trial and the believers could not deserve the reward for good acts, and all these words would not have retained their meanings. But Allah, the Glorified, makes His Prophets firm in their determination and gives them weakness of appearance as seen from the eyes, along with contentment that fills the hearts and eyes resulting from care freeness, and with want that pains the eyes and ears.

If the Prophets possessed authority that could not be assaulted, or honor that could not be damaged or domain towards which the necks of people would turn and the saddles of mounts could be set, it would have been very easy for people to seek lessons and quite difficult to feel vanity. They would have then accepted belief out of fear felt by them or inclination attracting them, and the intention of them all would have been the same, although their actions would have been different. Therefore, Allah, the Glorified decided that people should follow His Prophets, acknowledge His books, remain humble before His face, obey His command and accept His obedience with sincerity in which there should not be an iota of anything else; and as the trial and tribulation would be stiffer the reward and recompense too should be larger.

- 1. All the proper names mentioned in the book have been transliterated from Arabic.

- 2. The number of Prophets mentioned in this tradition differs with other well-known traditions and commonly accepted belief. There are two possibilities—either there had been an error in the transmission of the report or the previous traditions does not include some Prophets and successors.

- 3. This hadith implies that Musa and ‘Isa were sent for all humanity. But other traditions indicate that they were sent particularly for the Israelites. We shall discuss this point in forthcoming pages. As regards ‘Ulu’l-‘Azm’ title for the above five Prophets, we have many other traditions that prove it. In Sunni tradition, however, there are different opinions in this regard. It was well known among the Sahabah (companions of the Prophet) that Ulu’l-‘Azm was that Prophets whose shari‘ah abrogated the shari‘ah of the previous Prophet.

- 4. The first number denotes the Surah (Chapter) and the second the ayah (Verse).

- 5. The equating of Yusha‘ ibn Nun with Dhu’l-kifl is against common belief.

- 6. The two traditions prove that Isma‘il was an Arab whereas the tradition of Abu-Dharr disagrees in this regard. It is possible that the previous tradition means Prophets who spoke Arabic language and this tradition is speaking about those who were of Arab race. Also, the four Prophets could not speak any language other than Arabic whereas Isma‘il was also fluent in other tongues. Many writers have quoted the same tradition from the same reporter and like the tradition of Abu-Dharr, the name of Isma‘il is not included.

- 7. There is a difference of opinion among scholars as regards the distinguishing characteristics of Nabi and Rasul. According to some scholars, there is no difference between the two. Some however maintain that Rasul is one who comes with miracles and a Divine book. Nabi does not have a book revealed on him. He merely invites the people according to shari‘ah of other Prophets. A group is of the opinion that Rasul connotes one whose shari‘ah abrogates the shari‘ah of the previous Prophet. Nabi is a more general position. The Rasul hears the angel and also sees him at the time of revelation. This is evident from many other traditions that we chose not to quote for the sake of brevity. Thus, Nabi is one who does not see the angel at the time of revelation or he sees him in dream. He may even receive divine inspiration directly (Ilham). He hears the voice of the angel of revelation but does not see him. However, he sees the angel at other times. A group of learned scholars have classified Nabi and Rasul in the same way.

- 8. Abandoning the preferable option

- 9. The veil mentioned in this tradition is spiritual—a veil that prevents Israfil from comprehending the true essence of the Almighty or it could mean that there is such a vast distance between Israfil and the Divine Throne from where the revelation originates. As mentioned in another tradition, there are two extremities of the protected Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) one of them is at the Divine Throne and the second is at the forehead of Israfil. When Allah speaks through revelation, the tablet touches the forehead of Israfil and he looks at the tablet and whatever he sees, he relates to Archangel Gabriel.

- 10. Detail of salutations is mentioned in traditions. More details shall be provided in the book of Imamate, Volume 3.

- 11. The higher-most Angel

Merits of Adam and Hawwa’ (Eve), Reasons behind naming them so, the beginning of creation

It is related through authentic chains that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “Adam was named ‘Adam’ because he was ‘Adeemul Arz’, that is he was created from the face of the earth (from dust). And Hawwa’ is named so because she was created from a being (Hayya), that is Adam.” According to another opinion “Adeemul Arz” is the fourth (layer of) earth.

In another report it is mentioned that ‘Abdullah bin Salaam asked the Messenger of Allah why Adam is named thus. The Prophet replied it was because Adam has been created from the dust of the Earth. ‘Abdullah asked whether Adam was created from dust of one particular location or from a mixture of dust collected from various places. The Prophet said, “The dust resembles him most because it is white, red, green, pink and blue. It has sweet, sour tastes, agreeable and disagreeable temperaments, hard and soft qualities of mind. This has caused the people to be soft and hard, red, black, yellow, pink based on different types of soil.”

‘Abdullah asked him whether Hawwa’ was created from Adam or Adam created from Hawwa’. The Prophet replied that Hawwa’ was created from Adam and if Adam had been created from Hawwa’, the woman would have had the prerogative to divorce.

‘Abdullah asked whether Hawwa’ was created from a specific part of Adam’s body or from this whole body. The Prophet replied, “From a specific portion and if she had been created from his whole body the commands of retaliation would have been equal for both.”

‘Abdullah asked whether she was created from the external part of Adam’s body or from an internal portion. The Prophet replied, “From the internal. If she were created from an external part, she would have been allowed, like men, to go out without Hijab (veil). Therefore it is necessary that men should have their women covered in Hijab.”

‘Abdullah asked if she was created from the right side or the left side. The Prophet replied, “If she had been created from the right side, men and women would have received equal shares of inheritance. Because as she was created from the left side the woman has one share and men have two shares. And the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man.”

‘Abdullah asked, “From which part of Adam’s body was she created?” The Prophet replied, “She was created from the clay that was left over after making of the rib of Adam.”

According to a reliable chain, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq had said that woman is known as Mar’ah (Arabic word meaning woman) because she had been created from ‘Mar’ (Arabic word for man), this is based on the fact that Hawwa’ is created from Adam.

In another reliable tradition Imam says that women are known as ‘Nisa’ (Arabic word for women) because Adam was not interested (having ‘uns’) in anything before he got the company of Hawwa’.

Authentic narrations from Imam ‘Ali state that the Almighty created Adam from the soil of all the surface of the earth. Thus, as there are different types of soil, like salty, sweet, fertile and infertile, the progeny of Adam also consists of people who are good and evil.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has been quoted through trustworthy chains of narrators that he said, “When the Almighty sent Archangel Gabriel to bring a handful of dust from the earth for the creation of Adam the earth said, “I seek refuge of Allah from you taking away my soil.” Archangel Gabriel returned and said to Allah that the earth sought His refuge. The Almighty sent Israfil and authorized him similarly. The earth again prayed for Allah’s refuge. Israfil also returned due to the entreaty of the earth. Now, Mika’il was ordered to collect the soil. He too came back as the earth pleaded for Allah’s refuge. Finally the Angel of death was deputed with the command to collect some mud from the Earth. It requested for Divine refuge from this Angel too. The Angel of death said he too sought refuge of Allah from returning empty-handed. Thus, he collected a handful of dust from every part of the earth.

From correct chains of narrators, the Holy Prophet is quoted to have remarked, “When Angels passed by the body of Adam who had been created from clay and was lying in heavens, they used to say, ‘You have been created for an important affair.’ When the accursed Satan passed by, he kicked the body of Adam and said, ‘You are made for a great affair.’

From reliable chains of traditionalists, ‘Abd al-‘Alim wrote a letter to Imam Muhammad al-Taqi and asked him why the urine and stool of man had such a foul smell. Imam replied that it was so, because when the Almighty created Adam his body was clean and he lay in that position for forty years. The Angels passed by remarking, ‘You have been created for a great affair.’ The Satan enHtered his mouth and passed through him emerging from the other side (anus). As a result, whatever is inside the belly of son of Adam is smelly and unclean.

Another tradition from the Messenger of Allah states that the Almighty created Adam on a Friday.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that when the soul was ordered to enter the body of Adam it found it detestable. The Almighty said that it should enter with dislike (forced in) and leave it in dislike (forced out).

Authentic chains mention that Abu-Basir asked the same Imam the reason for Allah creating Adam without a father and mother, and of creating ‘Isa without a father whereas He created the rest of humans from both parents. Imam replied it was so that people may become aware of the Omnipotence of Allah that He is capable of creating without a male and of creating without a male and female. They should realize that Allah is the Creator of every being and has power over everything.

In another reliable tradition, Imam says that when the Almighty created Adam and ordered the soul to enter his body, the soul had not completely permeated into the body and according to another tradition it had reached only unto the knees, when Adam tried to stand up but he could not, and fell back; thus, the Almighty said, “Man is created with a hasty temperament.”

Salman the Persian is quoted in authentic books to have remarked that the first organs of man to be created were the eyes. Adam saw the creation of the rest of his body. Before the creation of legs was complete, he tried to stand up but could not succeed. That is why the Almighty said, “Man is created a hasty being.” When the soul entered his complete body he grasped a bunch of grapes and began to eat them.

According to an authentic tradition of Imam as-Sadiq, there are three fathers; the first is Adam the progenitor of the believers, second is Jaan the progenitor of Jinn and third is Satan the progenitor of infidels. The progeny of Satan is not created through pregnancy. It multiplies through eggs and chicks are hatched. All of them are males. They have no females.

Imam al-Baqir says that the Almighty decided to create a being, by His power. This was 7000 years after the Jinn and men had inhabited the earth. When Allah intended to create Adam, He opened the layers of the heavens and addressed the Angels: “Look at the inhabitants of the earth and behold the Jinn and men.” The Angels witnessed the vile acts and saw the unjust bloodshed in the earth as also the widespread corruption. Then they understood the great matter. They were infuriated at the inhabitants of the earth and they lost their temper. They addressed Allah: “O our Lord! You are superior, powerful, forceful, punisher and possess a great honor whereas these creatures of yours are weak, lowly and subjected to Your power. They survive only because You provide them with sustenance but they are oblivious of Your kindness. They disobey Your commands and sin blatantly, yet You are not infuriated at them and do not take revenge. We feel it is a great affair and perceive the audacity of these creatures.” When the Almighty heard this, He said that He was going to appoint a vicegerent on the earth. “He shall be My proof on My Creatures.”

The Angels said, “We consider You to be purified from every defect. Would You create such a group on the Earth that it will cause bloodshed and corruption as the progeny of Jinn initiated bloodshed and corruption, and envied each other and bore enmity with one another? Appoint one of us as Your Caliph (representative). We shall neither cause bloodshed and corruption nor practice jealousy and rivalry. We would rather praise and glorify You. We shall consider you absolutely Pure (of any deficiency).” The Almighty said,

“I know what you know not.” (2:30)

“I wish to create a being and from his progeny create Prophets, Messenger, righteous servants and guiding Imams and appoint them as My representatives on the inhabitants of the Earth so that they may prohibit the people from My disobedience, warn them of My chastisement, invite them towards My worship and lead them on the way liked by Me. I shall appoint them as My proof on My creatures and remove the Jinn from the earth, and purify the Earth from their filth. I shall remove the filthy Jinn away from My new creation and from My greatness, and make them inhabit the atmosphere surrounding the Earth. My new creation will not be in their company. I shall put a curtain between the jinn and Men so that humans cannot see the jinn and cannot interact and associate with them. Then whomsoever from the progeny of humans disobeys Me, I shall put him in the vicinity of transgressors, that is in Hell and I shall not care from them.”

“As you wish,” said the Angels,

“We have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us; surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.” (2:32)

As a result of this misdemeanor of theirs, the Angels were removed by Allah to a distance of 500 years’ travel. The Angels took refuge at the Divine Throne and pleaded for forgiveness pointing out with their fingers. The Almighty saw their humility and sincerity and bestowed His Mercy upon them. He appointed them at al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur (the much-frequented Fane) and ordered them to leave the Holy Throne and keep on circling the al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur. That would earn His satisfaction.

So the Angels began to circle al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur. It is a house where 70000 Angels enter everyday, and none ever returns. The Almighty has created al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur as a site of repenting for the inhabitants of the heavens and appointed the Ka‘bah for the inhabitants of the Earth, that they may seek forgiveness here.

Then, Almighty Allah said, “I shall produce a being from dry mud that produces a sound and a mixture of clay and sand. (That is, from foul smelling and dirty clay that has changed its appearance). So when I complete it and blow My soul in it you all shall fall down in prostration.”

This was the preface to the creation of Adam that the Almighty used to complete His argument upon the Angels.

Imam al-Baqir says, “Our Lord kneaded the clay with sweet water and said, ‘I shall create from this until the Resurrection Day, Prophets, Messengers, righteous servants and guided Imams who shall invite the people towards Paradise and the people who follow these personalities. I do not care if anyone questions this action of Mine.’” Then He took some sour water and kneaded the clay with it saying, ‘I shall create from you, until the Resurrection Day, the oppressors, aggressors, people of ‘ad and the brethren of Satan. They shall invite the people towards Hell and I shall also create from this clay the followers of these people. I don’t care if anyone raises an objection against this action of Mine and all of them shall be questioned. I shall subject them to Badaa (change of destiny).

Allah can change them into the people of the right (for heaven) or transform them into the people of the left (dwellers of Hell). Thus, He mixed the two kinds of clay and threw it before the Divine Throne. The clay broke into a few pieces. Then he ordered the four Angels of different winds (North, South, East and West) to blow their respective breezes on those pieces of clay. They blew at the pieces, pulverized them, and shaped them with the four elements: Madness due to the effect of north wind, phlegm due to east, bile due to west and blood as a result of the Southern wind. Thus, the body of Adam was complete.

One part of it is madness that creates an attraction for the female sex and instigates hope and vying for their love. Phlegm is responsible for desire to eat, drink, to act charitably, intelligence and hospitality. Bile causes anger, stupidity, evil, oppression, injustice and haste. The four element of blood creates sexuality, instigation to perform illegal acts and sexual desires. Imam says, ‘We found it mentioned in the same way in the book of Amir al-Mu’minin.

Thus, Adam was created and remained in his original form for forty years. When the accursed Satan passed by, he remarked, “You have been created for something great,” and used to say, “If Allah commands us to prostrate before him, I shall indeed disobey.”

Then Allah blew the soul into Adam’s body. When it reached his brain, he sneezed. “Alhamdo lillaah!” exclaimed Adam.

“Yarh’amokallaah!” responded the Almighty.

‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas narrates from the Holy Prophet that after creating Adam Allah made him stand near Him. Adam sneezed. The Almighty sent a direct revelation to him and he praised Allah.

The Almighty said, “O Adam! You have praised Me! By My Might and Greatness if I did not intend to create two persons at the time, I would not have created you.”

“O my Lord!” said Adam, “By the exalted status of those personalities, please inform who those two are.”

“O Adam! Look upon the Divine Throne.” When Adam looked he saw two lines inscribed on the Holy Throne. The first line said, “Muhammad is the Prophet of Mercy and ‘Ali is the key to Paradise.” The second line was: “I swear by My Holiness, I shall have mercy on those who love them and punish those who hate them and are inimical to them.

According to a reliable tradition of Ja‘far as-Sadiq some people gathered in a house and initiated a discussion. Some claimed that the father of men, Adam was the best of the creatures. Some said it were the proximate Angels. Others maintained the bearers of the Divine Throne to be the most exalted beings. Just then he entered and the people said, “One who will solve this problem for us has arrived.” He saluted and took a seat and asked what the discussion was about. They told him. He said, “Be patient! I shall return to you shortly.” So saying he went to his father Adam and narrated the facts. Adam said, “O my son! When I stood near the Lord of the Worlds, I saw the following inscription on the Holy Throne:

Bismillaahir Rah’maanir rah’eem Muh’ammadinw wa aalo Muh’ammadin Khairun min barrillaah.

(Translation: In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful. Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad are the best of Allah’s creatures.)

Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali is quoted in a reliable tradition that Hawwa’ was created from a small rib of Adam while he was sleeping. The rib was replaced with flesh in the body of Adam.

According to authentic reports from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq: “Allah created Adam from dust and water. That’s why the efforts of men are centered on the acquisition and construction of buildings (That are composed of dust and water). Similarly Hawwa’ was created from the rib of Adam; therefore, women are less daring than men. So protect them in your houses.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq remarks in an authentic tradition, “Hawwa’ was named thus because she was created through ‘wahy’ (revelation). As the Almighty says,

“Created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind).” (4:1)

In authentic traditions, people asked Ja‘far as-Sadiq regarding the creation of Hawwa’. They said, “Some people say that Allah created Hawwa’ from the left rib of Adam?” Imam said, “Allah is Purer and Higher than what these people allege. One who utters such a thing believes that Allah is not Omnipotent. They provide opportunities for those who taunt and raise objections. Why do they make such statements? Allah shall decide between us and them.”

Then he said, “The Almighty created Adam and commanded the Angels to pay obedience to him. Then He induced sleep on Adam. When Adam was asleep, the Almighty created a new being and placed her between the feet of Adam so that women remain obedient to men. Hawwa’ moved and woke Adam. Hawwa’ was ordered to separate from Adam. Adam’s sight fell on Hawwa’ and he beheld a beautiful face. He saw that she resembled him, but was a female.

He began to converse with her and asked who she was. Hawwa’ spoke in his tongue and said that she was a creature of Allah as he could see.” Adam addressed the Almighty and asked, “Who is this beautiful creation that attracts me? Seeing whom I lost my fear?”

“She is my slave-girl, Hawwa’,” said the Lord. “Do you want her to live with you, remain attached to you, converse with you and do what you bide her?”

“Yes, my Lord!” replied Adam, “As long as I live, I shall continue to thank you.”

“Then you pray for her and request me so.”

At that moment Allah created in Adam the desire of seeking the nearness of woman and He had already taught Adam the tenets of faith. Adam said, “My Lord! You have permitted me to take her, but what can I give in return so that You are pleased?”

“Impart to her religious knowledge and I shall be satisfied with you.”

“I shall do as You desire,” agreed Adam, “I accept!” said Allah, “I hereby marry her to you. Take her.”

Adam called Hawwa’ towards him but the Almighty told Adam to get up himself and go towards Hawwa’. So Adam arose and moved towards Hawwa’. If this had not been so women would have required to come as suitors to men. This was the account of Hawwa’.

Through authentic chains we know that Abdul Miqdam asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir how the Almighty created Hawwa’. Imam asked what other people say about it. He was told they think Allah created her from a rib of Adam. Imam said that they were liars. “Was Allah incapable of creating her other than from Adam’s rib?” The narrator said, “May I be your ransom, then how did Allah create her?”

“My father has quoted my forefathers and they in turn report that the Messenger of Allah said, “The Almighty took a handful of dust and by His power created Adam and from the leftover of the same dust He created Hawwa’.”

Both Shi‘ah as well as Sunni scholars have recorded the tradition from Wahab bin Munabbah which says that Allah created Hawwa’ from the leftovers of the clay in the same form and while Adam was made to go to sleep and dream, he was shown Hawwa’. It was the first dream that occurred to people on the earth. When Adam awoke he saw Hawwa’ near his head. The Almighty revealed, “O Adam Who is sitting near you?” “She is the same one I saw in my dream,” replied Adam.

It is related through authentic channels that a Jew came to Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali and asked him why Adam was named Adam and Hawwa’ as Hawwa’?

Imam replied, “Adam is named thus because he is ‘Adeemul Arz’, that is, he was created from the face of the earth. The Almighty ordered Archangel Gabriel to collect white, red, black and brown mud, as also hard and soft earth. He also commanded him to bring four kinds of waters; sweet, salty, sour and dirty in order to knead the different kinds of mud. The sweet water was used for his throat, salty water for the eyes, sour water for the ears and dirty water for the nose. Hawwa’ is called Hawwa’ because she is created from haywan (animal/living being)!”

On the basis of authentic and well-known traditions Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali says describing the creation of Adam, “Hard and rigid, soft and slippery, sweet and salty mud was gathered. They were kneaded with water and it became a homogenous mixture. From this mixture Allah constructed a face, hands, legs, organs, tissues and joints. They were dried until they became solid and strong. They sounded like cymbals and were left to lie in that condition until the time Almighty had appointed for blowing the spirit. At the appointed hour the Almighty blew into it His exalted spirit. It resulted in the creation of a human being capable of flexing his muscles and moving his joints. He can use his limbs and organs in a number of ways, he puts them into his service and moves them in different ways. The Human being was capable of knowing his creator and had the sense of discrimination between right and wrong. He has the sense of taste and sense of smell. He can distinguish colors and kinds. In short, man was a conglomeration of different kinds of essences and temperaments. He became a collection of different contradictory qualities. Like heat and cold, dryness and moisture, sorrow and happiness.”

Sayyid Ibn Tawus says he has seen in the scrolls of Idris that he praised the creation of Adam in the following words:

“The Almighty introduced the earth by creating from it a species consisting of those who obey and those who disobey. The earth shuddered by itself due to the Might of Allah. It implored Allah not to create a being that would disobey Him and become eligible for Hell. Archangel Gabriel came to Earth to take the dust for Adam’s creation. The Earth protested in the name of Allah’s Might and requested him not to pick up any dust. It sought refuge from Allah by extreme courtesy. Archangel Gabriel refrained from collecting the dust and Allah commanded him to return. Then Allah ordered Mika’il. When the Earth repeated its protests, Israfil was dispatched, but he also met the same sort of resistance.

Finally Israel was issued the order. When he reached the Earth it shivered and expressed its humble request. Israel said, “My Lord has commanded me and I shall obey His commands, whether you are happy or aggrieved.” Thus he took a handful of dust, flew to the heavens and stood at his appointed place. The Almighty revealed to him that just as he had collected dust from the surface of the Earth despite its protests, he would be appointed to capture all the souls from creatures of the dust until the Resurrection Day. When the morning of the second Sunday dawned, it was the eighth day of creation. An angel was ordered to knead and mix the mud for Adam’s creation. He continued to leaven it for 40 years until it became sticky. Then for forty years it was made into Lajn.

For the next forty years he dried it like a pot created from a potter’s wheel. When 120 years had passed, Allah announced to the angels that He would create a man from this clay.

The Almighty said, “So when I have shaped him and blow My spirit into Him, all of you fall down before him in prostration.”

The Angels agreed. Allah created Adam in the form that was already decreed and recorded in the Protected Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz). Then He created the body of Adam and left it to lie for forty years on the way that the Angels frequented while going to the heavens.

When the jinn who were the inhabitants of Earth perpetrated untold corruption Iblis complained to Allah and prayed that he be raised to the ranks of Angels. His request was granted and he joined the rank of Angels in heaven. When the transgression of jinn crossed the limit, Allah ordered Iblis to go to the earth with other Angels and drive out the jinn.

Then Allah blew the spirit into the body of Adam and commanded the Angels to prostrate. All of them fell in prostration except Satan who was from the jinn.

Adam sneezed and Allah sent a revelation to say ‘Alhamdolillaah.’

When he said ‘Alhamdolillaah, Allah said, ‘Yarh’amokallah’.

Allah said, “I have created you so that you believe in My Oneness, worship Me, have faith in Me, do not deny Me and do not associate anyone with Me.”

Authentic reports say one person asked Imam al-Ridha,

“O son of the Messenger of Allah, people claim that the Holy Prophet said Allah has created Adam in His Own form?”

Imam replied, “May Allah destroy them! They have omitted the first part of hadith. One day the Messenger of Allah passed by two men who were calling each other names. Each one them was saying, “May Allah disfigure your face and the faces of all your relatives.” The Messenger of Allah said, “O servant of Allah do not say such things to your brother. Verily Allah has created Adam in His image.” A similar type of hadith has been recorded from ‘Ali also.

It is related through authentic chain of narrators from Imam as-Sadiq that when Allah wished to create Adam He sent Archangel Gabriel in the first part of a Friday who took a handful of dust. His fist moved from the first heaven to the seventh taking some dust each of them. In the left hand he took samples of dust from the first layer of the Earth to the last.

The Almighty said addressing the dust in his right hand, “From you I shall create the Prophets, messengers, vicegerents, the truthful ones, believers and the righteous people. And those whom I shall raise in status.”

Then He said to the dust in Archangel Gabriel’s left hand, “From you I shall create the tyrants, polytheists, disbelievers and the deviated people. And those whose evil and corruption is known to Me. Then Archangel Gabriel mixed the dust of both his fists. This is the interpretation of the ayah.

“Surely Allah causes the grain and the stone to germinate,” (6:95)

Imam says ‘Hab’ is the clay of the believers in which Allah has appointed His love and ‘Nawaa’ is the clay of disbelievers, which is away from every type of goodness. This is the meaning of Allah’s words:

“He brings forth the living from the dead and He is the bringer forth of the dead from the living.” (6:95)

The living from the dead are those believers who are born from the Tinah (essence) of disbelievers and the dead that emerge from the living is the disbeliever who is born from the ‘Tinah’ of a believer.

According to trustworthy chains Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said, “Before the Almighty created the creatures He told them to become sweet water so that He can create from it the Paradise and His worshippers. And He told it to become bitter than water that he may create from it Hell and people who disobey Him. Then He commanded and the two liquids mixed with each other. This is the reason that believers are born from disbelievers and disbelievers are born from believers. Then He took some dust from the Earth and after mixing it He dusted it with His mighty hands. resulted in the creation of tiny ant like organisms. To the ones that were on the right side, Allah said, “You can proceed towards Paradise safely.” And to those on the left, He said, “Go towards Hell, I don’t care.”

The same Imam says in a good traditional report that the Almighty took a handful of Adam’s clay, mixed it with sweet water and left it for forty days. Then he mixed it with sour water and left it for another forty days. When it became like leavened bread, Archangel Gabriel kneaded it thoroughly and ant-like organisms fell on the left and the right side. Then Allah ordered a fire to be made, and directed all of these creatures to enter the fire. When the organisms from the right side entered, it became cool and safe for them. The ones on the left were terrified and abstained from entering the fire. On that very day the obedience of the creatures was tested. Then Allah ordered all of them to revert to their clay form. Finally Adam was created from this clay.

In another good tradition the Holy Prophet is quoted to have said that when the Almighty extracted the progeny of Adam from his loins to take their covenant regarding His absolute authority and the belief in all the Prophets, the first Prophet about whom He took the covenant was Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdullah. Then the Almighty Allah revealed to Adam to cast a glance at his progeny. He saw that they were minute particles filling up the whole sky.

“How numerous is my progeny!” exclaimed Adam. “My Lord! You have created them for a great affair. Why did you take a covenant from them?”

“So that they may worship Me; And do not attribute partners to Me. That they may believe in the Prophets and follow them,” replied the Lord.

Adam said, “But some of these particles are greater in size. Some of them more luminous. While others are dim or completely dark. What is the reason for this?”

“They are created like this so that I may examine them in every way,” replied Allah.

“Can I ask some more questions?” asked Adam.

“Yes, you may.”

Adam said, “If You had created them equal, of one mood, one creation, one color, one age and bestowed the same amount of sustenance. Some of them would not have oppressed others. There wouldn’t have been jealousy, enmity and any kind of controversy among them.”

Allah the Almighty addressed Adam, “You have opened your mouth against the spirit which is most exalted in my eyes. And you have said something about it due to your lack of knowledge. I am the All-knowing Creator. I have created the variety. My Wisdom and My command runs over them. And each of them is subservient to what I have destined. There is no change in My creation. I have created human beings and jinn only that they worship Me. I have created Paradise for those who worship and obey Me and follow My Prophets. But I care less if they don’t. I created Hell for the infidels. Those who would disobey Me and deny My Prophets. I do not care for these also.

I created you and your progeny not because I had any need for them. I created them in order to test them as to which of them are of the best in character. It is for this reason I created the world and Hereafter, life and death, obedience and disobedience, Paradise and Hell. This is what I intended with predestination and free will and in the light of My knowledge that encompasses all of them.

I created them with different hues and colors, different faces, physical features, ages, difference in the quality of their sustenance, and differences in the extent of their obedience and disobedience. Among them are evil and the righteous, blind and seeing, short and tall, beautiful and ugly, intelligent and foolish, rich and poor, obedient and disobedient, sick and healthy. Some of them will be involved in different kinds of discomforts while most of them shall never have any problems. So that when the healthy ones look at the sick they praise Me for being spared. The sick may see the healthy people and pray to Me for cure. Also, that they may remain patient and earn divine rewards for the same, and be raised in degrees.

In the same way the rich man would see a destitute and thank Me for the affluence that I have bestowed upon him. On the other hand the less privileged one would see the affluent and supplicate Me. The Believer shall see the infidels and Praise Me that I have guided him and created him for examination in good times and bad, through the trails and tribulations that I shall subject them to, through the bounties that I shall bestow upon them, and through the things that I have prohibited for them. I am Allah the King of Power, it is for Me to cause the things that I have decreed. It is also for Me to cause change in whatever I have destined. I can advance the occurrence of one thing and I can postpone another. I am One that can do anything He desires. No one can dare question My actions. But I shall question my creatures regarding their actions.”1

According to authentic chain of narrators Imam al-Ridha has been reported to have said, “The finger ring of Adam had the inscription, La ilaaha illallaah Muhammadur-Rasulollaah. He had brought it from the Paradise.”

The Almighty informs the Angels of Adam’s Creation and orders them to prostrate before him

“And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth a khalif, they said: What! wilt Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, and we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness? He said: Surely I know what you do not know.” (2:30)

According to Tafsir of Imam Al-Hasan al-‘Askari, exegesis of the above verse is that man was created at a time when the Angels had purged the Earth from Shaitans, jinn and their progeny, and were themselves inhabiting the earth. They were engrossed in Allah’s worship without any disturbance when Allah said,

“Indeed I shall appoint a vicegerent upon the earth.”

That is, “In your place I shall appoint a legatee and vicegerent on the earth; and I shall raise you to the heavens.” This was very disturbing for the Angels. Because their worship acts were less likely to be rejected near the heavens.

“They said: What! wilt Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, and we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness?” (2:30)

The Angels said, “O our Lord! Would You inhabit the earth with creatures who shall spread corruption and bloodshed like the jinn? Whom we had to purge from the earth? Whereas we glorify Your Praise and consider You free from all impurities? We also purify Your earth from those who disobey You.”

“He said: Surely I know what you do not know.”

Allah said,

“I have knowledge of the creation that I shall bring after you in the earth. Whereas you don’t know anything. I also know that there is a denier (Kafir) among you, (Satan). You don’t know anything about that too. (2:30)

And He taught Adam all the names, then presented them to the angels; then He said:

Tell me the names of those if you are right. (2:31)

Imam says, “The Almighty taught Adam the names of Prophets, Prophet Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, and Hasan and Husayn. He also taught him the names of the purified Imams and the names of some exalted personalities of the Shi‘ahs. Also the names of their enemies and other well-known transgressors.”

Then Allah presented the ethereal bodies of Muhammad, ‘Ali and the Imams to the Angels. He ordered them to identify them if they spoke the truth. Though the Angels glorified Allah to the fullest and worshipped Him with utmost sincerity, they were not having any knowledge of what type of creatures would inhabit the earth after them and what defects and merits they shall have. Just as they were ignorant of the personalities shown to them by Allah.

They said, Glory be to Thee! We have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us; surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise. (2:32)

So Almighty Allah ordered Adam to recite the names of Prophets and Imams. Adam did as bidden and named all of them. The Almighty told the Angels to believe in them and to consider them superior than their own selves.” (2:33)

Iblis had already decided in his heart that if they were ordered to prostrate before Adam he would refuse. He also knew that if given power over Adam, he could destroy him. The Angels were thinking that they should remain superior to whoever is created after them.

Therefore, Allah told them that they were not superior but Muhammad and his progeny was much more superior to them. And they were the ones whose names Adam had mentioned.2

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says, when Allah informed that He was about to appoint a Caliph on the earth, the Angels were distraught. They implored Him to take one of them as His Caliph on the earth. But Allah did not heed their advice. The Angels thought that they were being subjected to some Divine punishment. So they took refuge toward the Holy Throne and began to encircle it. The Almighty ordered them to circumambulate around the al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur whose roof is of Crimson Ruby and pillars of Emeralds. Every day 70000 Angels enter this house and shall not enter it (again) until the appointed day and hour. The appointed hour is the blowing of the trumpet and the Satan would die between the two trumpets.

In another reliable tradition people asked Ja‘far as-Sadiq the origin of the circumambulation Holy Ka‘bah. Imam said, “When Allah decided to create Adam He told the Angels that He wished to appoint a Caliph on the Earth. The Angels said, “Would you appoint such a creature as shall spread corruption and bloodshed?” When they put this question there came a barrier between them and the Divine Luminescence. A curtain that did not exist before. They realized that Allah is infuriated at their blatant objection. They held consultations among themselves to find the best way of expiation. It was decided that nothing could be better than seeking shelter at the Divine Throne.

Thus they look refuge in the Holy Throne until the time Almighty accepted their repentance and removed the curtains between them and His splendor. Allah wanted the people to worship Him in the same manner, so he created the Holy Ka‘bah on the Earth and made incumbent on the people circle it. He created the al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur on the heavens. Every day 70000 Angels enter it. They do not return. They shall continue to enter it until the Resurrection Day.

In another reliable tradition Imam al-Ridha is reported to have said, “When Angels did not accept the Divine vicegerency of Adam even though Allah had said so they realized that they had committed a mistake, and regretted it. They took refuge in the Holy Throne and repented for their misdemeanor. Allah wished that they continued to worship Him in the same way. So He created a Zaraah, a house in the line of the Holy Throne on the 4th heaven. He also made a house on 1st heaven, it is called Ma’mur. He made the Holy Ka‘bah on the Earth in the line of al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur. He commanded Adam to go around this house.

After this Allah accepted the repentance of Angels and the custom of circumambulating the Ka‘bah came into existence.”

According to a reliable report from Imam Zayn al-‘abidin. He says, “I asked my father why seven circumambulations of Ka‘bah have been prescribed for us? He replied, ‘Because when the Almighty said that He was about to appoint a Caliph on the earth, the Angels did not accept it. They asked Allah if He wanted to appoint such people as would spread corruption and bloodshed? The Almighty said He was aware of what they were not. Allah had never concealed His splendor from the Angels before this but after this objection He concealed it from the Angels for a thousand years. The Angels sought refuge in the Holy Throne. Then Allah the Almighty had mercy on them and accepted their repentance. He created for them the al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur on the 4th heaven. Allah appointed it as the point of reference and safety for the inhabitants of the heavens. He made the Holy Ka‘bah exactly below the al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur. And appointed it the point of reference and place of reward and a safe sanctuary for the people of the earth. It was for this reason that seven rounds of Ka‘bah were made obligatory on people. For each thousand years of Angels’ circumambulation, Allah made one round incumbent on men.’”3

In reliable traditional reports Ja‘far as-Sadiq is believed to have said, “The Angels expected corruption from human beings because they had already witnessed a group that had spread corruption and bloodshed on the Earth.”

Ja‘far as-Sadiq says in an authentic tradition when people inquired from him the Tafsir of the Verse. “And He taught Adam all their names.” And asked him regarding the names taught to Adam:

“The names of lands, mountains, seas valleys.” Then Imam pointed to the mat he was sitting on and said “This mat was also mentioned in it.”

In another reliable tradition Imam says, “Allah taught Adam the names of valley passes, grasses, trees and mountains.”

According to reliable and good chains of narrators Imam Muhammad al-Baqir was asked the interpretation of the ayah,

So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down making obeisance to him. (15:29)

Imam said that it was a soul that Allah created. Then He exalted it in status and associated it with Himself. He gave it superiority over all other souls. Then He ordered that this spirit be blown into Adam.

In another authentic hadith people asked Imam how the spirit was blown into Adam

Imam says that the spirit is moves like breeze. That is the reason that it is known as ‘Ruh’ derived from ‘Reeh’ (breeze). It is a kind of breeze. Allah referred to it as His spirit because he bestowed it superiority over other spirits. Just as He prefers Ka‘bah to all houses and refers to it as ‘My House’ and mentions one of His Prophets as ‘My Khalil’. All these creatures and things are Created and brought into existence by Him and trained by Him.

One tradition from Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that the ‘Ruh’ mentioned in this ayah refers to ‘Power’.

In another reliable chain when people asked Imam the Tafsir of the concerned ayah he said, “The Almighty created a being and created a soul. He ordered an Angel to blow this soul into that body. This does not belittle Allah’s Might.

Sajdah for Adam as described in the Holy Qur’an

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an,

“They said, Glory be to Thee! We have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us; surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.” (2:32)

In another place he says,

And certainly We created you, then We fashioned you, then We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam. So they did obeisance except Iblis; he was not of those who did obeisance.

He said, What hindered you so that you did not make obeisance when I commanded you? He said, I am better than he: Thou hast created me of fire, while him Thou didst create of dust.

He said, Then get forth from this (state), for it does not befit you to behave proudly therein. Go forth, therefore, surely you are of the abject ones.

He said, Respite me until the day when they are raised up.

He said, Surely you are of the respited ones.

He said, As Thou hast caused me to remain disappointed I will certainly lie in wait for them in Thy straight path.

Then I will certainly come to them from before them and from behind them, and from their right and from their left; and Thou shalt not find most of them thankful.

He said, Get out of this (state), despised, driven away; whoever of them will follow you, I will certainly fill hell with you all. (7:11-18)

In the third instance He says,

And certainly We created man of clay that gives forth sound, of black mud fashioned in shape. And the jinn We created before, of intensely hot fire. And when your Lord said to the angels: Surely I am going to create a mortal of the essence of black mud fashioned in shape. So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down making obeisance to him. So the angels made obeisance, all of them together, But Iblis (did it not); he refused to be with those who made obeisance. He said: O Iblis! what excuse have you that you are not with those who make obeisance? He said: I am not such that I should make obeisance to a mortal whom Thou hast created of the essence of black mud fashioned in shape. He said: Then get out of it, for surely you are driven away: And surely on you is curse until the day of judgment. He said: My Lord! then respite me until the time when they are raised. He said: So surely you are of the respited ones until the period of the time made known. He said: My Lord! because Thou hast made life evil to me, I will certainly make (evil) fair-seeming to them on earth, and I will certainly cause them all to deviate except Thy servants from among them, the devoted ones. He said: This is a right way with Me: Surely. as regards My servants, you have no authority over them except those who follow you of the deviators. (15:26-42)

On the fourth occasion Allah says,

And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam; they made obeisance, but Iblis (did it not). He said, Shall I make obeisance to him whom Thou hast created of dust?

He said, Tell me, is this he whom Thou hast honored above me? If Thou shouldst respite me to the day of resurrection, I will most certainly cause his progeny to perish except a few.

He said, Be gone! for whoever of them will follow you, then surely hell is your recompense, a full recompense:

And beguile whomsoever of them you can with your voice, and collect against them your forces riding and on foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and hold out promises to them; and the Satan makes not promises to them but to deceive:

Surely (as for) My servants, you have no authority over them; and your Lord is sufficient as a Protector. (17:61-65)

Fifthly the Almighty, says,

And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam; they made obeisance but Iblis (did it not). He was of the jinn, so he transgressed the commandment of his Lord. What! would you then take him and his offspring for friends rather than Me, and they are your enemies? Evil is (this) change for the unjust. (18:50)

Sixth,

When your Lord said to the angels; Surely I am going to create a mortal from dust:

So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down making obeisance to him.

And the angels did obeisance, all of them,

But not Iblis: he was proud and he was one of the unbelievers.

He said: O Iblis! what prevented you that you should do obeisance to him whom I created with My two hands? Are you proud or are you of the exalted ones?

He said: I am better than he; Thou hast created me of fire, and him Thou didst create of dust.

He said: Then get out of it, for surely you are driven away:

And surely My curse is on you to the day of judgment.

He said: My Lord! then respite me to the day that they are raised.

He said: Surely you are of the respited ones,

Till the period of the time made known.

He said: Then by Thy Might I will surely make them live an evil life, all,

Except Thy servants from among them, the purified ones.

He said: The truth then is and the truth do I speak:

That I will most certainly fill hell with you and with those among them who follow you, all. (38:71-75)

The above is the literal translation of Ayats. Now we shall present the traditions of the Infallibles to explain the Qur’anic verses.

It is mentioned in the Tafsir of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari that some hypocrites asked the Holy Prophet, who is superior, ‘Ali or the proximate Angels?” The Messenger of Allah said,

“The Angels of Allah achieved a high position due to the acceptance of the Wilayah of Muhammad and ‘Ali. Indeed, those who love ‘Ali and keep their heart pure from deceit, hatred, animosity and other sins, are better and purer than the (proximate) angels. Allah ordered the Angels to prostrate before Adam because they were under the impression that Adam’s progeny will be inferior to them. Hence, Allah wanted to prove them wrong in thinking thus. So He created Adam and taught him all the names. Then He put them to the Angels and they failed to recognize the ones whose names had seen taught to Adam. Allah then ordered Adam to inform the Angels about the names so that the superiority of Adam’s knowledge (and of his progeny consisting of the Holy Prophet and the exalted servants) over that of the Angels’ is proved.

After this Almighty Allah brought out from Paradise the progeny of Prophet and the righteous among his followers and introduced them to the Angels. Those who would bear the responsibilities imposed upon them by Allah. Who would have to keep aloof from the cohorts of Satan. Who shall fight Jihad with the sensual desires and struggle to provide for their families. In order to earn halal Sustenance they would pay no heed to worldly people. They’ll face the intensity of perils. They’ll live in fear of thieves, robbers and tyrant rulers that lay in wait for them on the paths that they have to traverse for obtaining sustenance for their family. They shall put their self into danger. They shall find release from all these problems only after death. They shall fight with the Shaitans and deflect them with the help of method taught by Allah, through the suppression of carnal desires, sensuality, pomp and power, food, dress, pride and arrogance etc. They shall bear patiently the severity of the accursed Satan and his cohorts. They shall not be misled by the Satanic instigations and the evil thoughts created in their hearts by the Satan.

It would be necessary for them to be patient on the taunts and criticism of Allah’s enemies, on the evil designs of the oppressors, on the utterances of evil people. They shall have to be patient in difficulties faced during requisition of their sustenance. They shall be patient in confronting their enemies and have to bear the atrocities due to the fact that they have to obtain from those of rival faiths.

Allah said, ‘O My Angels! You are free from all such responsibilities and desires. Sexual desires do not trouble you. Hunger and thirst does not instigate you to sin. You have no fear of enemies of religion and world. Satans do not try to mislead you, either in Heaven or Hell. Because I have protected you through infallibility. O Angels! Those who obey Me (in spite of their carnal desires and instigation of Satan) and protect their faith in spite of difficulties and problems, are qualified to bear some responsibilities in the path of My hujjah. You (angels) are not qualified for that. They shall achieve nearness to Me due to the difficulties they bear, that you cannot.

Imam says that Allah explained to the Angels the superiority of the Ummah of Muhammad the Shi‘ahs of ‘Ali and the righteous among their successors. Allah mentioned the trials and tribulations that they shall go through the love of their Lord. The Angels could not attain this position. The Almighty distinguished the righteous people of Adam’s progeny over the Angels and they were ordered to prostrate before Adam.

Actually the Angels who are created from Divine luminescence and are the best of creations did not prostrate to Adam. Adam was merely the Kiblah (direction for prayers). The Angels prostrated to Almighty Allah. When Allah commanded, all of them turned to Adam to prostrate before him due to his exalted position and respect. Because it is not permitted to prostrate before anybody and anything with such devotion and humility as one would bow to Allah.

Imam says, “If it had been permitted to prostrate before anyone in addition to Allah I would have ordered my ignorant and less knowledgeable Shi‘ahs to prostrate before the scholars who had put in great efforts to master the knowledge of the Prophet and his successors. The scholars who were sincerely devoted to Amir al-Mu’minin, the best of creatures after Muhammad The scholars who had borne difficulties in order to unravel religious laws bore afflictions due to their Shi‘ahs faith. And they did not waver in their belief in our Wilayah.”

In the same Tafsir Imam remarked that when Imam al-Husayn was surrounded by the forces of Yazid he told his followers that he was releasing them from his allegiance. They could take shelter with their relatives, tribesmen and friends. Imam al-Husayn told the male members of his family that he was permitting them to leave him because they were few in comparison their rivals. Enemies exceeded their companions and their military strength was much greater. “I am their sole target,” explained husayn, “They have nothing against anyone else. Leave me to the enemies, the Almighty shall certainly help me. Allah shall not deprive me of His Mercy. As had been His practice with my predecessors from the Prophets and their legatees.”

Upon hearing this many people left Imam’s army but his close relatives refused to budge. They said, “We shall never betray you. We shall bear the same difficulties that you have to face. We shall face the same tragedies as you would. Our position before the Almighty lies in the fact that we remain in you service.”

Chief of the Martyrs (Sayyid-ush-Shohda) said, “If you have left your fate to the One on Whom I have, then know that Allah does not exalt the Station of any creature fill he has been subjected to trials and tribulations. Although Allah has bestowed me with all the merits as bestowed on my ancestors, but in spite of this it is necessary to bear the difficulties. You shall share the rewards that I gain. Know that the world is like those sweet and sour things that one sees in dream. The awakening is in the Hereafter. Successful are those who succeeds in the Hereafter. Wretched is one who remains deprived in the Hereafter. O my Shi‘ahs! My friends and supporters! Shall I inform you first of the affair that it becomes easy for you to bear the imminent hardships?”

“Yes, O Son of the Messenger of Allah ” replied all of them.

Imam al-Husayn said, “Indeed the Almighty Allah created Adam and taught him all the names and presented him to the Angels. And placed the five beings of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn in the loins of Adam. Although their divine lights had already existed in the heavens and were veiled in the vicinity of the Holy Throne. Allah ordered the Angels to prostrate to Adam as a mark of respect. Because he had the virtue of being the carrier of the purified lights of those whose brilliance had enveloped the horizons. All the Angels prostrated except Iblis. He refused to respect of our lights that had been placed in Adam’s body. Although the Angels relented to our exalted states Iblis refused due to arrogance and pride (of a disbeliever).”

‘Ali Ibnul husayn says, “My respected father has related through his respected father from the Messenger of Allah that he said, ‘O Servants of Allah! (O People!) When the Almighty Allah transferred our lights from the Holy Throne to the backbone to Adam, he (Adam) saw a bright incandescent light emanating from his back. He asked, “O Allah! What are these lights?” Allah said, ‘These are some personalities whom I have transferred from the best place in the Holy Throne to your backbone. It is due to the greatness of these personalities that I ordered the angels to prostrate before you. For you are the carrier of there personalities.’ Adam said, ‘O my Lord! It would have been better if you had made these personalities apparent for me.’ Allah told him to look at the Divine Throne. When Adam looked towards the Holy Throne our lights emerged from his backbone and began to shine brightly. There the faces of our ethereal bodies were hidden. Just as a person can clearly see his face in the mirror Adam saw the lights on the Holy Throne. He asked what was the appearance or shape of our bodies (faces).”

Allah said, “These are the best of creatures and they have been created by Me. This is Muhammad and I am Praiseworthy (hamid) and Praised (Mahmud). Because whatever I do for my creatures deserves praise. I have named him as a derivative of one of My names. This is ‘Ali and I am A’laa and A’zeem (High and Great). This name (‘Ali) is also a form of one of My names. This is Fatimah and I am Fatir (originator) of the Earth and the Heavens. This Fatimah shall separate My enemies from My Mercy on the Resurrection Day and she shall remove the defects from my devotees. That is why I named her with conjugation of My Quality. This is Hasan and Husayn and I am Mohsin (One who does Ahsaan-goodness). I have given them names related to this little of Mine because they are my exalted creation and the most honored. I shall accept My worship only through their channel and through them would I bestow salvation to My creatures. Through them shall I punish and reward. O Adam! Approach Me through their mediation. If a detestable action is committed by you, seek forgiveness through their intercession. Because I have vowed not to reject anyone who petitions Me through them. I shall not spurn anyone who prays for forgiveness through their intercession.” When Adam committed Tark al-Awla, he prayed for Divine forgiveness through them and was forgiven.

According to an authentic source Imam Musa Ibn Ja‘far said, “A Jew came to Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali and requested him to show a miracle like the Prophets of the past had shown. He asked, “Was it due to the lofty position of Muhammad that Almighty Allah ordered the angels to prostrate before Adam?”

‘Ali said, “That’s right. But their prostrations were not those of worship. The Angels did not worship Adam. Their prostration was an acknowledgement of respect for Adam due to his extraordinary virtues.”

It was Divine Mercy for Adam that was bestowed through Muhammad who was superior to him. Indeed, the Almighty Allah sent benedictions upon them in His heavenly Majesty and all the Angels followed suit. The believers were also commanded to recite Salawaat for them. Thus his status was higher than that of Adam himself.

Authentic chains quote Imam al-Ridha from his ancestors from Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali that the Holy Prophet said, “The Almighty Allah has exalted His Prophets and Messengers over the Angels, and He is has exalted me over the other Prophets and Messengers. And after me you ‘Ali and the Imams from your progeny have been exalted over the other people. Then he said, “The Almighty Allah created Adam and entrusted us to his backbone. Then Allah commanded the Angels to bow down as a mark of respect. But their prostration denoted Allah’s worship and obedience and an acknowledgement of Adam’s exalted position. It was a Sajdah of obedience because we were in his (Adam’s) loins. Thus how could we not be superior to the Angels? While they all prostrated to Adam.4

In an authentic tradition a person asked Ja‘far as-Sadiq whether it was allowed to do Sajdah to someone other than Allah.

“Certainly not!” replied Imam “Then how Allah the Almighty Commanded the Angels to prostrate before Adam?”

Imam said, “One who prostrates in compliance with Divine Commands, prostrates for Allah.”

The enquired then asked about Iblis. Imam explained, “Iblis was a creature whom the Almighty had created that he may worship Him and confess to His Oneness. Although Allah knew what Iblis actually was and what was to be his final end. Iblis worshipped Allah in the ranks of the Angels. Till the time he was tested by Adam’s Sajdah. He refused to do Sajdah due to jealousy and evil that overpowered him. Allah cursed him and drove him out of the ranks of Angels. Allah made him an outcast and sent him to the earth. Iblis became an avowed enemy of Adam and his progeny. He has no authority upon the children of Adam except that he makes evil suggestions to them and deviate them from Allah’s path. In spite of such a disobedience he is a believer in Allah’s sovereignty.”

Another reliable report mentions that Abu-Basir asked Ja‘far as-Sadiq “Did the Angels perform Adam’s Sajdah by putting their foreheads on the ground?”

“Yes”, replied Imam “This was a distinction granted to Adam.”

Imam ‘Ali an-Naqi says in another reliable tradition that the Sajdah of Angels was not for Adam. It was a sign of their compliance to the Divine Commands. It was a proof (hujjah) from them to Adam

A correct chain of narrators from Ja‘far as-Sadiq mentions that he said, “When Allah the Almighty commanded Satan to bow down before Adam he said ‘If you excuse me from Adam’s Sajdah I shall worship you with such fervor as no one has ever worshipped before.’

The Almighty said, “I want to be worshipped in a way I prefer.

Ja‘far as-Sadiq says in another reliable tradition that when the Almighty ordered the Angels to perform Adam’s Sajdah, all of them obeyed but Iblis refused due to the jealousy that afflicted his heart. Allah was enraged and He asked him what prevented him.

Iblis said, “I am better than Adam because you created me from fire and him from clay.” Imam said, “The first one to draw analogy (Qiyas) was Satan. He was proud. That was the first sin. He said, ‘O Lord! Exempt me from Adam’s Sajdah, and I will perform your worship in a way that not even a proximate angel or a Messenger Prophet has done.” Allah said, ‘I am not in need of your worship acts. I want my servants to worship Me in the way I prefer and not as they like.’ Get out of the heaven, you are the rejected one. You are cursed until the Resurrection Day. Iblis said, “O Allah You are not unjust, so who do You deprive me of the rewards that I deserve for my worship?” Allah said, “Ask whatever you wish.” The first thing that Iblis asked was to be able to live until the Resurrection Day. Allah allowed him.

Then he asked for the power to subdue the sons of Adam. Allah agreed. He said, “Authorize me over the people and grant me the ability to penetrate them like blood that circulates in the body.” Allah agreed. He said, “If they have one child, I will urge them for more. A child for them and two for me. I can see them but they cannot see me. I will put them in trouble in every way, at every time.” Allah said, “I have given you all these powers.” He said, “O, Sustainer! This is enough for me. I swear by Your glory. I will make them to follow the wrong path and perform bad deeds except your true believers. I will put them in all kinds of difficulties from left, right, from front and behind. And they will be the ungrateful to You.”

According to another tradition he will put them in trouble from front means he will make the people doubtful about the day of judgment. He says, “There is no heaven, no hell. Everything is present here, whether good or bad. From behind means that he makes the people busy in worldly life and prevents them from good deeds like, looking after their children, worshipping Allah etc. He confuses them in worldly matters. Trouble from the right side denotes the pain a disbeliever gives to the believers and from the left means he makes the people busy in enjoyment etc.

According to reliable sources Imam has stated that Allah strengthened Iblis and granted him all his desires. Prophet Adam asked, “O! Allah, You gave him power over my children and allowed him to control their mind and heart and penetrate every cell of their bodies. But what will you grant to my sons?” Allah said, “A single good deed will be counted as ten and one sin will be count as one sin only.” Prophet Adam said, “Grant something more than this.” Allah said, “I will accept their repentance until their last breath.” Prophet Adam said, “Grant something more.” Allah said, “I will forgive their sins and will overlook their evil deeds.” Prophet Adam said, “This is enough for me.” The narrator asked Imam, “May I be sacrificed for you, explain to me why Allah has granted Iblis the authority on the people’s heart and mind?” Imam said, “He recited a two Rak‘ah prayer in standing position and performed it in four thousand years.”

According to another reliable source Prophet Adam prayed to Allah, “You have authorized Iblis on my children and on me. He has the power to control the mind and heart and is also in blood. What do you say about me? What is your order?” Allah said, “If anyone intends to do evil, his sin will not count and if he intends to do virtuous deed but does not do it, then only his reward will be counted.” Prophet Adam said, “Grant us more.” Allah said, “If anyone of you does wrong and repent for it, I will forgive the sin.” Prophet Adam said, “Increase Your favor.” Allah said that He would accept their repentance until the last breath.” Prophet Adam said that was enough for him.

There are different views regarding whether Iblis was from the Angels or not? According to some views, he was not from Angels but belonged to the Jinn community. Some scholars say that he was from the Angels but actually he lived with the Angels and performed Allah’s worship with them. Jamil asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq whether Iblis was from the community of Angels or jinn? Imam said, “Angels were thinking that he was from them but when he was asked to make obeisance to Prophet Adam, he refused.”

Regarding this matter, Jamil, the narrator, asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq if Iblis was an angel or a caretaker of some heavenly affair? Imam said, “He was not an angel but the angels thought he was one of them. He was not connected to any heavenly affair and neither commanded any special position. The Jamil went to Tiyar and told him what Imam has said. He said, “How this is possible. If Iblis were not from the Angels when Allah ordered the Angels to bow down, the command was not applicable for him. He cannot be said to have disobeyed when the order was not meant for him in the first place.” Tiyar himself came to Imam and asked, “When Allah mentions the group of believers, does it also include some hypocrites?”

Imam replied, “Hypocrites are deviated people and all those who make an outward show of faith. All are included in this.”

Abu-Sa‘id asked the Holy Prophet Muhammad about Iblis. Prophet Muhammad said, Allah says in Qur’an:

“He said, O Iblis! What prevented from paying obeisance to one that I created? Are you proud or one of the exalted ones?” (38:75)

The narrator asked the Holy Prophet who were superior than Angels. Prophet Muhammad replied: They are ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn. And two, thousand years before Prophet Adam they were at Allah’s empyrean glorifying Allah. Hearing them, the angels also repeated. When Allah, the Almighty created Adam and asked His angels to bow to Adam it was not an obeisance to Adam alone. All the angels prostrated except Satan. Allah said, “Are you proud or are you of the exalted ones?” That means the five names of five exalted persons were written on the curtain of empyrean.

According to another tradition from the Holy Prophet has stated when Iblis refused to make obeisance to Adam he was expelled from the heavens. Then Allah asked Adam to go to the angels and salute them. Allah taught Adam to say Salaamo A’lakum wa Rah’matullahe wa barakaatoh. Adam went to them and saluted. The angels saluted him in return. When Adam returned to his place, Allah said, “This salutation is recommended for you and your community until the day of judgment.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that Satan was the first one to think that he was better than Adam and said that Allah had created him from fire and Adam from dust. If he had compared his fire with the matter from which the spirit of Adam was created he would have certainly found it hotter.

Another tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq states that the first one to fall a prey to vanity was Satan when he said:

“I am better than he; Thou hast created me of fire, and him Thou didst create of dust.”

If he had compared Adam ’s brilliance with that of his own fire he would have found that Adam’s brilliance was more than that of his own fire.5

According to a reliable tradition from Imam ‘Ali the first prayer was performed on the land behind al-Kufah. Today it is known as Najaf-ul-Ashraf and by the order of the Almighty, Angels made obeisance on the same land. From a reliable tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the first profanity was when Allah created Adam and Satan became a unbeliever and refused to obey the command of Allah. The first jealousy was manifested between Habil and Qabil. The first instance of greed was when Adam tasted the forbidden tree even though he had access to all other fruits of Paradise. This greed caused him to be expelled from Paradise.

According to the same Imam, Satan asked Allah to respite him until the appointed hour and Allah agreed. That is the day when Prophet Muhammad will crush him below the stone of Jerusalem.

According to another tradition that Imam asked Ishaq bin Jarir that what his companions’ opinion regarding the claim of Iblis that Allah created him from fire and Adam from dust? He said, “May I be sacrificed for you. It is as Allah declared in Qur’an.” Imam said, “Iblis lied. O Ishaq, Allah created him from dust and not from fire. Allah says that He created fire from a green tree and created Iblis from that fire. But the origin of that tree is dust. Allah has created the world from dust.”

In another tradition it is mentioned that in Satan the component of fire was more than that of dust.

Sayyid Ibn Tawus has quoted from the book of Idris that when Satan asked Allah for respite until day of judgment, Allah said, “No, you will be spared, until the appointed hour. It is the time when I have decreed purge the earth of polytheism, disbelief and sin and evil. For this I will select some whom I would have tested for firmness of belief; and piety, sincerity, belief, abstemiousness. They eagerly await the day of judgment. They have a true belief regarding the Resurrection Day. They are my devotees and friends. I have created for them a great Prophet and they shall be his helpers. I have kept the day of their appearance a secret. Surely, that day will came and on that day you and your followers will perish. Now, get out from here until the appointed time.”

Then Allah told Adam to open his eyes and see the Angels standing before him. “They have made obeisance to you. Salute them with the words “As salaamo a’laikum wa rahmatullahe wa barakaatoh.” Adam came to them and saluted. Angels returned his salutations, Wa a’laika yaa aadamo wa rahmatullahe was barakaatoh.

Allah said, “O, Adam! This is a salutation for you and your children until the Resurrection Day.” Then Allah brought out his offspring from the backbone and took the covenant of His oneness. Prophet Adam saw a group from his progeny, bright and brilliant and hee asked who they were. Allah said, “They are the apostles from your offspring.” Adam asked their number and Allah responded, “They are One hundred and twenty four thousand. Among them are three hundred and fifteen Prophets.” Adam asked, “Who is the last of them and who looks more luminous than others?”

Allah said, “He is Muhammad My Messenger, My trustworthy, My beloved and My friend, My chosen one and most exalted of My creatures. He is My favorite and one who has recognized more than anyone else. He is the best with regard to forbearance, knowledge, faith, belief, righteousness, worship, humility, piety and obedience. I have taken an oath from the bearers of the throne and those who are below that they believe in him and recognize his Prophethood. O, Adam! You also believe in him, so that your status and respect increases.”

Prophet Adam said, “I believe in Allah and His Prophet.” Allah said, “O, Adam I have exalted your respect and appointed you as the first Prophet. And your son Muhammad is the seal of the Prophets and Messengers. He is the one for whom I created and the heavens and the Earth, and he will be the first to arrive on the day of judgment. The angels shall clothe him in heavenly garments and bring him astride a horse. He would be the first person to intercede and his intercession will be accepted. He will be first person for whom the doors of Heaven will be opened and he will enter first. O, Adam! Your patronymic is from him. You are Abu Muhammad, the Father of human beings.” Adam said, “Praise be to Allah. I am very grateful to Him, that He created such a personality from my offspring who would be the first to enter Paradise. And I am not jealous of him.”

Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari has stated that when Iblis disobeyed Allah, He cursed him and exalted the Angels who made obeisance to Adam. Allah ordered them to take Adam and his wife Hawwa’ to the Garden. Allah mentions in Qur’an:

“And We said, O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the garden and eat from it a plenteous (food) wherever you wish and do not approach this tree or you will be of the unjust?” (2:35)

Allah ordered Prophet Adam and Hawwa’ not to approach the tree because it was the tree of knowledge of Prophet Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. Because they are specially selected for this tree. No one is allowed to eat from this tree except them.

And ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn distributed their food to poor, orphans and prisoners and themselves fasted for three days at a stretch and ate with the Prophet. Whatever was made available to him was sent from this very tree. Allah sent the Qur’anic Verses (Hal Ata) by revelation and sent for them food from heaven. After having this food, they never felt hunger and thirst. That tree was more eminent than other trees because different kinds of trees produce different kinds of fruits but this tree was producing every kind of fruits and grains like wheat, grapes, figs, jujube and many other things.

That is the reason that scholars hold different views about this tree. Some say, it was a wheat tree. According to some it was a grapevine. Some think it was a jujube tree. Allah said, “Do not go near that tree because it you may vie the status of Muhammad and his progeny.” That is beause Allah has chosen them as His favorites. If anyone were to eat from that tree by permission of Allah, he would be given the knowledge of divine revelation. If anyone eats by his own will, he would be disappointed and hopeless and would have disobeyed Allah. Allah says clearly regarding this tree:

“And do not approach this tree or you will be of the unjust?” (2:35)

That is, if you disobey in this matter you would fall into degradation.

But the Satan made them both fall from it, (2.36)

Satan began to make evil suggestion to them and said,

“Your Lord has not forbidden you this tree except that you may not both become two angels or that you may (not) become of the immortals.” (7:20)

“And he swore to them both: Most surely I am a sincere adviser to you.” (2:21)

The Satan entered the Garden by hiding in the serpent’s mouth. Adam thought the serpent was speaking to him. Initially Adam rejected his suggestion and said, “O serpent! This is Satan’s suggestion. How can Allah deceive us? Why do you swear of Allah? You say that Allah deceives us yet you say that you are a sincere adviser to us? You know very well that Allah is Kind and Merciful. Allah has forbidden me not to approach the tree without His permission, so how can I do so?” The Satan was disappointed and again he entered the garden with the help of a serpent. Hiding in its mouth he met Hawwa’ the wife of Adam and spoke to her. She thought the serpent was speaking. Satan said, “O Hawwa’! Allah had forbidden you to approach the tree but now He has made it legitimate for you because you have obeyed His orders faithfully. The angels are appointed to guard this tree and protect it from the beasts, it will not prevent you if you approach it. Then you can rest assured that it has become legitimate for you. If you taste the fruit before Adam you will subdue him and rule over him.”

Hawwa’ looked towards the tree. The angels tried to prevent her, but Allah revealed to them, “A person who has been given the knowledge but disobeys My orders is repelled from here. Let them do whatever they like. I have told them if they obey My orders I will be pleased and if they disobey, they would deserve My punishment.” So the angels did not come forward to prevent them. Hawwa’ thought that Allah has ordered His angels not to prevent them from eating from the tree and made the tree legitimate for them, and that this serpent has been a true advisor.

Hawwa’ ate the fruit and did not feel any change in herself. She narrated everything to Adam who was also deceived and he too tasted the forbidden tree. As soon as he ate from it he was driven out of the Garden. Allah says in Qur’an:

“But the Satan made them both fall from it, and caused them to depart from that (state) in which they were; and We said, Get forth some of you being the enemies of others, and there is for you in the earth an abode and a provision for a time.” (2:36)

Then He says:

“Then Adam received (some) words (Archangel Gabriel taught Adam to ask forgiveness of Allah for the sake of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn) from his Lord, so He turned to him mercifully; He is oft returning (to mercy), the Merciful.” (2:37)

“We said, Go forth from this (state) all.” (2:38)

Imam explains that Allah ordered Adam, Hawwa’, Satan and the serpent to go away together and not one by one. The serpent was better than other animals and the Satan came down on the earth by the side of heaven as it was unlawful for him to enter the heaven.

Finally Allah says,

“So surely there will come to you a guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve.” (2:38)

Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari has stated that when Allah accepted Adam’s repentance, Prophet Adam requested the Almighty that He accept his repentance and grant him the same position as before. Indeed their evil inclinations became manifest to them. Then Allah said, “O Adam! You didn’t remember My Order, seek My help by the sake of Muhammad and his family.” Prophet Adam said that he had forgotten. Allah said, “Implore Me by the names of Muhammad ‘Ali Fatimah Hasan and Husayn, and I will accept your prayer.” Prophet Adam said, “O Allah, the Sustainer! For the sake of your five noble followers accept my prayer and forgive my mistake. I am your first Prophet and your angels made obeisance to me and you appointed the angels for my service.” Allah said, “O Adam! I ordered the angels to make obeisance to you because you were the vessel of their lights. If you had implored Me through their names I would have kept you safe from disobedience and warned you of the deception of Iblis. But whatever I had anticipated has occurred. Now, pray to Me so that I accept your request.

Prophet Adam prayed to Allah with the names of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn and asked Him for forgiveness. Allah was pleased with him and said that his repentance was accepted. Imam has stated that Allah taught him the five auspicious names. Then Allah told Prophet Adam and Hawwa’, the serpent and the Satan, “There are provisions for you on the earth and you will be happy on the earth until you die.” Allah has created the fruits, flowers and vegetables for them, to make them happy and do good deeds for the hereafter. Sometimes Allah puts His believers in trial by subjecting them to difficulties and disease. Allah bestows all the bounties as rewards and it is not possible to get all the benefits without toiling for them. The bounties of the hereafter are much better than worldly life. Allah tests us by pain and difficulties so that we would be aware of the punishment of the Resurrection Day when there shall be no relief.6

The Almighty Allah says,

“And We said, O Adam! dwell you and your wife in the garden and eat from it a plenteous (food) where ever you wish and do not approach this tree, then you will be of the unjust.” (2:35)

However Satan put them in doubt. He wanted them to become conscious of their sexuality. He said, “Allah has forbidden for you this tree so that you may not become angels and stay in the heaven forever.” And he swore to them that he was a sincere advisor. In this way Satan deceived them and Adam could not refuse him. Satan convinced them to taste the forbidden tree. When they tasted their heavenly garments vanished and they became nude. They tried to cover their nudity with leaves. Allah said, “Did I not forbid you that tree? Did I not warn you that Satan is your avowed enemy? Adam said, “Our Lord! We had been unjust on ourselves. If You do not have Mercy upon us and do not forgive us, we shall be of the losers.” The Almighty told him to leave the Paradise and dwell on the Earth:

Get forth some of you being the enemies of others, and there is for you in the earth an abode and a provision for a time.” (2:37)

Allah said that they will have to stay on the Earth until they die and will be raised from here on the day of judgment.

At another occasion Allah said, (7:27)

“O, Son of Adam! Do not follow the wrong path. Your parents were expelled from heaven and were deprived of their heavenly garments, that their private parts became apparent. We took promise from Adam but he did not keep it. When We asked the angels to make obeisance to Adam; they obeyed. But Satan disobeyed. We told Adam that Satan is your open enemy and would cause you to be expelled from Paradise and as a result you will have to face troubles and difficulties. The Garden is the best place for you. You will be free from thirst and hunger, and you will not be naked. You shall remain in shade.”

But the Satan misguided him and said, ‘Shall I show you the way to the eternal tree? One who tastes the fruit of this tree, becomes immortal, he never dies. His kingdom and kingship never decline.’ Thus they tasted the fruit from that tree and at once became nude. They began to cover themselves with leaves. They disobeyed Allah’s order and followed the wrong path. Allah forgave them and accepted their repentance and asked them to leave the Garden. He said, “Go to the earth and some of you shall be enemies of others. If any apostle comes to you, believe him. He will guide you against evil. If anyone will believe in Me, he will be free from the wrath. If not, he will be deserving the chastisement.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that the people asked Imam regarding the verse

O you who believe! Obey Allah and His Apostle and do not turn back from Him while you hear. (8:20)

Imam said, “The private parts of Adam and Hawwa’ were covered, that is, they were not apparent outwardly, but when they tasted the fruit, they became visible.” The tree forbidden by Allah, were the ears of wheat and according to another report, it was a grapevine.

People asked Imam al-Baqir regarding the verse of Qur’an:

“and do not approach this tree,” (2:35)

Imam replied that Allah meant to say that they should not partake the fruit of that tree.

Imam ‘Ali al-Naqi has stated that the tree forbidden to Adam was the tree of jealousy. Allah took the oath from Adam and Hawwa’ that they will not be jealous of those who were more exalted to them and to all the creatures. But Allah did not find Adam firm in this.

People asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir regarding the verse from Qur’an:

And certainly We gave a commandment to Adam before, but he forgot; and We did not find in him any determination. (20:115)

And that according to some people Adam forgot the commands of Allah? Imam said, “ How could Adam have forgotten when Satan himself said that Allah has told them not to touch the tree for they might become angels or immortals? Actually Adam followed Satan’s evil suggestion and disregarded the command of Allah. Here forgetfulness denotes disregard.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has related from Prophet Muhammad that Prophet Musa prayed to Allah to meet Prophet Adam. When they met he said, “Are you the same whom Allah has created by His own hands? And when you became alive, Allah asked the angels to make obeisance to you and decorated the heaven for you and spoke to you. He forbade you to eat from the tree but you were not patient and thus expelled you from the heaven. You could not control yourself because of the Satan’s evil suggestion and obeyed him and for this reason we are on the earth?”

Prophet Adam replied, “O Son! Be kind with your father and try to understand about the tree. Satan was my enemy. He came to me and deceived me and swore by Allah that he was my sincere advisor and that he was one of my true friends and a well-wisher. He said that he was very unhappy for me. When I asked him the reason he said it was due to his attachment to me that he felt very sorry that I would be expelled to the earth, which I did not like. I asked what I should do. Satan said that, he would show me the eternal tree and said if anyone ate from it, he will be immortal and his kingdom will never be destroyed. If I and Hawwa’ ate from it, we both would remain in heaven with him. He swore that he was my well-wisher. I never knew one could take a false oath and considered his oath true.” Then he said, “Tell me, Has Allah, the exalted, sent to you something (Torah)? Did you find a mention of my creation and mistake revealed this book? Musa said, “Yes, the holy book Torah had been written a long time ago.” The Holy Prophet said thrice: The argument of Adam was exhausted on Musa.

According to an acceptable tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq: Adam asked Musa, “O Musa! How many years before my creation did you see my sin mentioned in the Torah?” “Thirty years” replied Musa. “It is enough,” said Adam. Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that Adam overcame Musa’s argument.7

According to a reliable tradition people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq how long did Adam and Hawwa’ remain in the heaven and when were they expelled? Imam said, “It was Friday at sunset, Adam came to life and Allah created his wife Hawwa’ from his last rib. Then Allah ordered His angels to make obeisance to Adam They all did. By Allah, Prophet Adam did not stay in heaven for more than six hours. And they both were expelled at sunset. They passed their night out of heaven until morning. Their heavenly clothes vanished and they became nude. They felt ashamed and prayed to Allah with tearful eyes and asked for forgiveness and said, “We are guilty. We confess our fault.” Allah ordered them to go down from the heavens as guilty people cannot stay there with Him in the heavens.” When Prophet Adam tasted the fruit from the tree he remembered Allah’s prohibition and became very sad but when he tried to move away from it, the tree caught his head and pulled him near by the permission of Allah and asked why he had touched it? Imam has narrated that the private parts of the body were concealed but when they ate from the tree they became apparent.

In another tradition Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq states that the spirits were created two thousand years before the bodies. Allah created the exalted souls of Prophet Muhammad ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn and after them the souls of all Imams. Then Allah sent all these souls on the skies the lands and the mountains. All of them became ashamed by their brightness. Allah told the heavens, earth and the mountains, “They are My true friends and confidants and they are the leaders of all. I have not created anyone like them. Paradise is for those who believe in them, and the fire of hell is for those who disbelieve in my communications and those who claim to be like them. I shall send a severe wrath upon them and they will be sent to the bottom of the hell. Those who accept their leadership and friendship, will be given a place in the Garden and will get what they desire. I will make them stay with the righteous ones. Their friendship is a security for life. Who shall volunteer to accept their Wilayah as trust? The mountains, the skies and the land feared Allah and declined to take the charge.

Almighty Allah told Adam and Hawwa’ to dwell in the Garden and eat whatever and wherever they desire but not the wheat plant, otherwise they would be of the unjust. Adam and Hawwa’ beheld the dignity of Prophet Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn and other Imams. They saw their great status in the heaven. They asked Allah when He had bestowed them with such dignity. Allah said, “Raise your head towards my empyrean (the Holy Throne) and see.” They raised their heads and saw the names of Muhammad ‘Ali, Fatimah, hasan, husayn and other Imams on the Holy Throne.

Adam asked, “O Allah! Why are these names so respectable to you?” Allah said, “I have created you and the universe because of them. They are My honest and faithful treasurers. Do not be jealous at them and do not vie their great status otherwise you will be one the disbelievers and unjust.” Adam asked Allah to show their condition in hell. Allah ordered hell to show him the different kinds of chastisements and said that their abode is in the depths of hell. If they try to come out the guards push them back. When their skin is burnt, a new skin is created for them, that they can taste the chastisement again. “O Adam and Hawwa’! Do not be jealous of them otherwise you will be out from My vicinity and will be sent to the earth; and there you will suffer a lot.” Satan put them in doubt and they went to the tree.

Thus Allah expelled them. They ate some grains from that tree and their heavenly clothes and jewels separated from their bodies leaving them naked. They covered their private parts with leaves. Allah revealed to him that He had forbidden them to eat from that tree and had said that Satan was their open enemy. So they lamented,

“Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers.” (7:23)

Allah ordered them to go away from His Presence. Those who disobey His orders cannot stay in the heavens so Allah sent them to the earth. When the Merciful Allah wanted to forgive him, He sent Archangel Gabriel to them. He came and said, “Certainly, you are the losers by disobeying the order. Now recite the names that are written on the Holy Throne for forgiveness and pray to Allah to accept your repentance.” Adam prayed to Allah, “For the sake of Muhammad ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn accept my prayer and have mercy on me.” Allah forgave him as He is Kind and Merciful. After that Adam memorized the names of the Holy Five and also informed the people of his community.

Allah says in Qur’an,

“Surely We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to be unfaithful to it and feared from it, and man has turned unfaithful to it; surely he is unjust, ignorant.” (33:72)

According to a reliable tradition, people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq why the inheritance of a male is twice that of a female? Imam replied, “Adam and Hawwa’ picked up eighteen grains. Adam ate twelve and Hawwa’ ate six grains. Therefore the inheritance of a male is twice that of female.”

In another hadith, Imam ‘Ali has stated that there were three grains. Adam ate two and Hawwa’ ate one. However the first tradition is more reliable. It is possible that it may be a bunch of grapes and from the bunch, Adam and Hawwa’ ate three grapes.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says, “If Adam had not committed that mistake the believers would have been free from mistakes too. If Allah had not accepted his repentance, He would not have accepted the repentance of other people.”

According to reliable sources Abul-Salt al-Harawi asked Imam al-Ridha about the tree that Adam and Hawwa’ had tasted, because there were different views about it. According to another tradition, it was a wheat pod and one more tradition indicates it was a malicious tree. Imam said, “Both traditions are true.” “How can it be?” asked Abu’l-Salt. Imam said, “The tree bore all kinds of fruits. It was a wheat pod. It was an auspicious tree not an ordinary one. When Allah, the Almighty exalted Adam and asked His angels to make obeisance, they obeyed. Then Adam entered Paradise. He thought that Allah has not created anyone like him? But Allah knew his thoughts, as He is Knowing and Hearing.

Allah revealed to him, ‘O Adam! Raise your head and look at My empyrean.’ Adam raised his head and beheld some names on it. Adam asked, ‘Who are they?’ Allah said, ‘They are from your offspring and are much better than others. I have not created the heavens, the earth, and the hell, but only out of love for these five Honorable beings, I have created you and all creatures for them. Do not be jealous of them otherwise you will be deprived of My bounties.’ But due to Satan’s instigation Adam desired for his high status and ate the fruit that was forbidden by Allah. Satan overcame Hawwa’ and she desired to taste the fruit and Adam also ate. So they were expelled from Paradise and sent to the earth.”8

Reliable sources mention that people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq if the Paradise of Adam was a part of this earth or a Paradise of the Hereafter? Imam said, “It was from the gardens of the earth where the Sun and Moon rise and set and the Paradise of the Hereafter is that from which no one returns.”9

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has related from the Holy Prophet that Adam and Hawwa’ did not stay in heaven for more than two hours and they were expelled on the same day.

According to reliable sources Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Satan became worried and agitated four times: When Allah cursed him, when he was expelled from the heavens, when Prophet Muhammad was commissioned by Allah and when the Holy Qur’an was revealed. He cried out loudly on all these occasions. But he became very happy when Adam tasted the fruit from that special tree and was driven out from heaven.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has quoted that Prophet Adam came to the earth but he was not trained properly. It was impossible for him to understand what is good and what is bad for him. He didn’t know the proper way of living and having marital relationships. When Allah told him to stay in the Garden, he passed by the tree innocently. Then Satan came and deceived him. They tasted the fruit from the auspicious tree. Their clothes separated from their body and they concealed the body with leaves etc...10

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has quoted that when Prophet Adam landed on the Earth. Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, “Allah has created you by His own hands, he put His soul in your body and ordered the angels to make obeisance to you and bestowed you with all the bounties from heaven and He forbade you to go to the tree but you disobeyed His orders.” Prophet Adam said, “Whatever you say is true but the Satan swore that he was my sincere advisor and I was not knowing that anyone could take a false oath. He came to me and said, ‘If you eat from that tree, you will become immortal like the Angels and stay in the heaven forever.’ He swore that he was my true friend.” When they ate from the tree their heavenly clothes were removed and they covered their bodies with foliage.

Imam Al-Hasan al-Mujtaba has stated that some Jews came to the Messenger of Allah and inquired many things. One of their questions was why Muslims are obliged to pray five times a day? The Messenger of Allah said, “Because when Adam ate from the forbidden tree it was the time of Asr. Allah sent him to the earth and made the prayers of Asr compulsory for Adam’s children until the Resurrection Day. And Allah ordered the Muslim community to keep up this prayer. Thus it is my favorite prayer. I have been ordered to establish it. When the repentance of Adam was accepted it was Maghrib. At that time Adam recited three Rak’ahs (units). One for his mistake, one for that of Hawwa’’s and the third for the acceptance his apology. Allah made these Rak’ahs compulsory for my people. There was a gap of 300 years (of Earth) from the time Adam tasted the fruit and when Allah forgave him. A day of the Hereafter is equal to one thousand years of the Earth.”11

The Jews asked, “Why does Wudhu’ involve the particular four parts of the body that are clean most of the time?” Prophet said, “When Satan deceived Adam he went to the tree and became disgraced. He ate with his hands and his heavenly dress separated from his body. He put his hands on his head and wept. When Allah accepted his repentance He asked him to wash the face because he had first looked towards the tree. Then to wash his hands as he picked the fruit by them. Then He ordered him to anoint his head as he had put them on the head and ordered him to anoint on the feet because he used them first for disobeying His command. Thus we perform Wudhu’ in this way.” They asked why Allah made thirty fasts compulsory. Prophet answered, “Because the fruit remained in his stomach for thirty days. Allah made thirty fasts incumbent on Adam and his children. But it is His grace that He allowed them to eat before sunrise. Fasting was obligatory on Adam, therefore it is compulsory for my people too.” Allah says in Qur’an,

O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evil). (2:83)

According to another tradition Al-Ma’mun asked Imam al-Ridha, “Are you not convinced that Prophet of Allah was innocent?” Imam said, “It is true.” Then he asked, “What is the meaning of the Qur’anic verse:

“…and Adam disobeyed his Lord, so his life became evil (to him).” (20:121)

Imam said, “Allah said to Adam ‘O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the garden and eat from it a plentiful (food) wherever you wish and do not approach this tree for then you will be of the unjust.’

Allah indicated towards the wheat tree. Adam obeyed Allah and did not go near that tree. They enjoyed the fruits of other trees. But the Satan deceived him and said, ‘Allah has forbidden you this tree but not the other trees of the garden. If you eat from this tree, you will become immortal like the angels and will stay here forever.’ He took a false oath that he was a true friend. Adam and his wife had never heard a false oath and they trusted him. This was the first fault of Adam and it was not a blunder. It was a Tark al-Awla that occurred even before he was appointed a Prophet. And Tark al-Awla is condoned before revelation. When Allah exalted him and appointed him a Prophet, he became infallible and did not commit even a minor mistake. Allah says,

‘…and Adam disobeyed his Lord, so his life became evil (to him). Then his Lord chose him, so He turned to him and guided (him).’ (20:121-122)

Also,

‘Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of ‘Imran above the nations.’” (3:33)

An Account of the apology of Adam and Hawwa’ after their arrival on this Earth:

It is narrated from the Holy Prophet that when Adam disobeyed Allah, a caller called out from near the Holy Throne, “O Adam! Get out from My vicinity of Mercy because whoever disobeys Me cannot stay here.” Adam began to cry and even Angels cried. Then Allah sent Archangel Gabriel to Adam who brought him to the Earth. At that moment the whole body of Adam had become black. When Angels saw him in this condition they cried bitterly asked for permission to help Adam until their voices rose to a high pitch. All of them came to the realm of the Almighty and said, “O, the One Who has given life to one of Your creatures and then put a chosen soul in it and ordered the Angels to prostrate to it. And due to just one sin You have changed his fair complexion to a dark one?.”

At that moment a caller called out from Heaven, “O Adam, today you shall fast for your Creator.” It was 13th of the month. Adam kept a fast. One third of the darkness disappeared. On the 14th the same voice ordered him to keep a fast. Adam again fasted and two thirds of the blackness disappeared. On the fifteenth the voice once more prompted Adam to fast. Adam did and the remaining darkness disappeared. He became fair once more. It was because of this that the three days were referred to as the days of settling down. Then a caller called out from the sky, “O Adam! I have appointed these three days for you and your children. If anybody would fast on these three days of the month it would be as if he has fasted for the whole year.

Adam was sitting with his head on the knee and very much dejected and sorrowful. Allah sent Archangel Gabriel to Adam. He asked him why he was so forlorn. He replied, “I will remain sorrowful like this until death takes me.” Archangel Gabriel said, “I am the messenger of Allah. Allah has sent salutations and said, “Hayaak allaaho wa bayyaak allaah!” Adam, “I know the meaning of ‘hayaak allaah’, it is ‘may Allah keep you alive’, but what is the meaning of the phrase ‘bayaak allaah’?” Archangel Gabriel said, “It means, ‘may Allah keep you happy’.”

Hearing this Adam went into a prostration. Then he raised his head, looked towards the sky and prayed, “O Allah! Increase my beauty and elegance!” Next morning a black beard covered his face. Adam felt it and asked Allah what it was. He was told that it was a beard and that Allah has made it a sign of beauty for Adam and his sons.

According to a good chain of narrators Imam as-Sadiq said that when Adam landed on the Earth his body from the head to toe became black. He became very sad. Archangel Gabriel came and asked him the reason for his sadness. He said that blackness had enveloped him. Archangel Gabriel told him to get up and recite prayers as it was the best time for prayers. Adam recited the prayers and the blackness vanished from head to the chest. When it was time for the next prayer Archangel Gabriel told him that it was time for second prayer. Adam prayed the second time and the darkness vanished up to his navel.

Again after some time Archangel Gabriel reminded that it was time for the third prayer. Adam prayed the third time and darkness vanished from the navel to the thighs. Then again Archangel Gabriel said that it was time for the fourth prayer. Adam completed his fourth prayer and the darkness vanished until the legs. Then Archangel Gabriel told Adam to pray the fifth time and all the darkness vanished from his body. Adam praised Allah and thanked Him profusely. Archangel Gabriel said, “O Adam! This is the model prayers for your children. It means that if they pray five times a day all their sins shall be cleansed like the darkness vanished from your body.”

A reliable tradition from Imam as-Sadiq states: During the circumambulation a man approached my father, kept his hand on his shoulder and said, “I want to ask you three questions and I know that no one knows the answers except you.” Imam al-Baqir kept quiet and when he completed the circumambulation he came to hijr Isma‘il and offered a two-Rak‘ah prayer. After concluding the prayers he inquired about the person who had questioned him. He came and sat down facing my father. He asked, “How did the Angels regain Allah’s pleasure after they had objected to His creation of Adam. Imam replied, “The Angels performed the circumambulation of the Holy Throne for seven years and sought divine forgiveness and only then did Allah forgive them.” “You have spoken the truth,” said the man. “Then how did Allah become satisfied with Adam ”

Imam said, “When Adam came down to the Earth, he landed at Hind (India). He prayed to Allah who is the Creator of the House. Allah told him to come to His House, circumambulate seven times and perform all the rituals of the hajj in ‘Arafat and Mina. From India, he came to Makkah and wherever he placed his feet, the places became inhabited and prosperous. And where he did not step the places became remained deserted. Then he performed the circumambulation seven times and completed all the hajj rituals as ordered by Allah. Due to this Allah accepted his repentance and forgave him. Seven rounds of Adam were equivalent to seven years’ circumambulation of the Holy Throne by Angels. At that time Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, “Congratulations! Allah has forgiven you. And I have also performed circumambulation of this Holy House 300 years before you did.” Adam said, “O Allah! Forgive me and my progeny.” Allah said, “I will forgive those who believe in Me and My Prophet.” The man said, “You have said the truth!” and left the assembly. My father said to me, “That was none other than Archangel Gabriel. Your teacher in religion came to teach you.”12

It is narrated through a reliable chain of narrators that Imam as-Sadiq said, “When Adam came down to the Earth. He performed the circumambulation of Ka‘bah for a hundred years. During this period he did not once glance at Hawwa’. Due to the expulsion from the Heaven he was weeping and tears flowed freely from his eyes. Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, “Hayyaak allaaho wa bayyaak allaah!”

When Archangel Gabriel said, “Hayyaak allaaho” Adam understood that Allah had forgiven him, and when Archangel Gabriel said “bayyaak allaah” he became extremely happy and stood at the door of the Ka‘bah which had the covering of cow and camel skins and said, “Allahumma aqelni a’thrati waghfir li dhanbi wa aaedhoni ila addaar allati akhrajtani minha.” Allah said, “I have forgiven your sins and pardoned your deviation and I will put you back in the heaven from where you were expelled.”

The Sunnis have narrated through numerous chains from ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas that he said, “I asked the Holy Prophet regarding the words that Adam learnt from his Lord, through which his repentance was accepted.” The Holy Prophet said, “He sought forgiveness through the right of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn and was forgiven.” There are quite a few traditions on this subject that we shall discuss them in the third volume of this book.

Through other chains of narrators the Shi‘ah and Sunni scholars narrate from Ibn ‘Abbas that when the Almighty created Adam and put in him His spirit, Adam sneezed all of a sudden. Allah sent to him a revelation and Adam said, “Praise be to Allah.” Allah said, “Yarhamaka rabboka” (May your Lord have mercy upon you.) When the Angels prostrated before him he asked, “O my Lord have You created anything dearer than me?” There was no reply. He asked the same question the second time, but still there was no reply. He repeated the question the third time. This time Allah said, “Indeed there are some creatures. And if they hadn’t been there I wouldn’t have created even you, O Adam!”

Adam requested Allah to show him those exalted personalities. The Almighty ordered the Angels of Hijab (coverings) to remove all the coverings. The coverings were removed and five luminous personalities became visible before the Holy Throne. “Who are these?” asked Adam. Allah said, “O Adam! This is Muhammad, My Prophet, and this is ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, this is Fatimah the daughter of My Prophet, and these two are Hasan and Husayn, the children of ‘Ali and the sons of My Prophet. And O Adam! They are from your progeny.” Adam was pleased to hear it. And when he committed that grave error he repented and sought forgiveness upon the rights of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn. Allah forgave him. This is the meaning of the Qur’anic verse,

Then Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He turned to him mercifully; (2:37)

When Adam came to the Earth he made a finger ring and engraved upon it: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and ‘Ali is the Commander of the Faithful. The agnomen of Adam was Abu Muhammad.”

According to a authentic tradition Imam as-Sadiq said that Adam requested, “O Allah! I implore You in the name of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn, accept my repentance.” Allah asked him how he knew Muhammad. Adam said, “When I was created and I raised up my head I saw the following words written on the Holy Throne: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and ‘Ali is the Commander of the Faithful.”

According to a reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that, “Adam sought forgiveness in the following words:

Allahumma laa ilaha illa anta subhaanaka wa be hamdeka inni a’melto sooo-an wa zalamto nafsi faghfirli innaka anta atawwaabuurraheem. Laa ilaaha illa anta subhaanaka wa be hamdeka inni a’melto sooo-an wa zalamto nafsi faghfirli innaka anta khairul ghaafereen

According to a reliable tradition when a Mu’min gets up from sleep, he should recite the sentence, which aHazratHazrat Adam (a.s.) lane from Ha Adam learned from Allah! And the Dua is:

Subboohun quddoos rabbul malaaekati warrooh. Sabaqat rahmatoka ghadaboka. Laa ilaaha illa anta inni zalamto nafsi faghfirli war hamni innaka anta atawwaabu arraheemul ghafoor

According to a reliable chain of narrators, it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that on the day of covenant, Adam was presented to his (Prophet’s) progeny. Muhammad al-Mustafa. ‘Ali was with him and was passing with him. Fatimah was behind him and Imam Al-Hasan and Husayn were behind her. Allah said, “O Adam! Do not look towards them with jealousy. Otherwise I will take you out from My Vicinity of Mercy.” When Allah put him (Adam) in heaven, Muhammad al-Mustafa, ‘Ali, Fatimah Hasan, Husayn came before him. Adam saw them with jealousy.13 At that moment the love and Wilayah of Ahl al-Bayt was presented to Adam, that he have accepted, but he did not. Heaven showered its leaves.

When Adam repented and accepted the Wilayah of these personalities and prayed by the rights of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah Hasan and Husayn, Allah forgave him. These were the words that Adam had learnt from his Lord.

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from ‘Ali the words that Adam uttered, “O Allah I ask You on account of Muhammad and his progeny that you accept my repentance.” “How did you recognize Muhammad?” asked Allah. Adam replied, “I saw their names on Your vast curtain when I was in the Garden.”14

According to a reliable hadith of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq: Five people are famous for their extreme lamentations, Adam, Ya‘qub, Yusuf, Fatimah al-Zahra’ and Imam Zayn al-‘abidin. Adam cried so much due to his expulsion from heaven that two streams of tears flowed on his cheeks.

It is narrated from the Messenger of Allah that Adam came to this earth on a Friday.

According to a reliable tradition from Imam as-Sadiq when Adam was sent to Earth he brought with him 120 trees. 40 of them bore fruits whose external as well as internal parts were edible. And the fruits of 40 others had inedible kernel. Adam brought with him a bag containing seeds of every type.

According to reliable chains of narrators it is narrated that Ibn Abu-Nasr asked Imam al-Ridha why the first fruit, which was sown on the Earth grew to be a tasty one. Imam asked him what his co-religionists thought. He said, “They say that when Adam came to India from heaven he cried in nostalgia. His tears fell on the Earth and formed potholes creating a sweet odor.” Imam said, “It is not so, rather Janabe Hawwa’ fragranced her hair with the leaves of Paradise. When she came down to earth, after the calamity she menstruated and then performed Ghusl. When she unfurled her hair, Allah sent a breeze that dispersed the heavenly leaves in the places where Allah wished.”

According to reliable chain of narrators, it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that Safa Mountain is called Safa because Adam descended on it. It was named after a derivation of Adam’s title ‘Mustafa’. As Allah says, “Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh…” (3:33) And Hawwa’ came down on Marwa mountain and it is named thus because Marwa (woman) descended on it.

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated that a Syrian asked ‘Ali, “Which is the most famous valley on the Earth?” Imam replied that it was Sarandeep. Adam came down to Earth in this same valley.15

According to reliable chain of narrators, it is narrated from Bukayr that Imam as-Sadiq asked him, “Do you know what the Black Stone was originally?” “No,” said Bukayr. Imam said, “It was a Great Angel of Allah. When Allah took the covenant from angels, it was the first to believe and accepted Allah; the Black Stone is the same angel. Allah made him His trustee over other creatures and made them perform hajj near it every year.

When Adam committed the mistake and neglected the covenant that was taken from him and his children, for Muhammad and his Legatee, he landed on the Earth, puzzled and perplexed. When his repentance was accepted, Allah sent this same angel in the form of a pure white shinning pearl to Adam from heaven when he was in India. Adam saw the Angel and was enchanted by him but he thought it was a pearl. Allah made it speak. It said, ‘O Adam! Do you know me?’ He said, ‘No.’ It said, ‘You do know me but Satan has overpowered you made your heart forget Allah.’ Saying this he regained the form that Adam seen in heaven. Then he asked Adam of his covenant with Allah. Adam moved towards him, then suddenly remembered the covenant and began to weep. As a mark of respect to the covenant and renewing of oath, he kissed the Angel.

Allah again made it into a white glowing pearl. Due to its importance, Adam carried it on his shoulders. When he used to get tired, Archangel Gabriel used to carried it, until they reached Makkah. Adam always showed a great regard for it and renewed his oath day and night. When Allah sent Archangel Gabriel to construct the Ka‘bah, he came down between the Rukn, Hajar and door and appeared Adam when he was renewing his covenant. Therefore, the covenant was entrusted to the Angel at this very place. He fixed the Hajar to this pillar. Archangel Gabriel took Adam from Ka‘bah to Mt. Safa and Hawwa’ to Mt. Marwa. Adam praised and glorified Allah.

Therefore it is recommended for all to face the Hajar from Mt. Safa and recite Allahu Akbar.”

From a reliable tradition it is narrated from Holy Prophet that Adam was lowered to Safa from heaven and Hawwa’ on Marwa. In the heaven Hawwa’ had made up her hair. When she came to the Earth she said, “How can I hope for beauty and embellishments on this Earth when I am under the wrath of Allah?” She unfurled her hair and the fragrance that she had used in the heaven spread in the surroundings. The breeze spread the fragrance all over and it reached India instantly once.

In another tradition he said, “When Hawwa’ loosened her hair Allah sent a breeze that carried the fragrance from East to West.”

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from ‘Ali that people asked Holy Prophet how Allah create the dog? He said, “From the saliva of Satan.” When he was asked to explain the process he said, “When Allah sent Adam and Hawwa’ to Earth they were lying down and shivering like chickens. Iblis, the accursed, ran to the animals that inhabited the Earth before Adam and said, “A couple of chickens have fallen from sky; they are so big that no one has ever seen such huge chickens before. Come and devour them.” The beasts were with Satan while he continuously ushered them, “It is only a short distance and we are about to reach them.” Due to this soft conversation, his saliva dripped to the ground. Allah created a pair dogs from it, a male and a female. The dog came to Adam and the bitch went to Hawwa’ and stood there. They did not allow the beasts to come near them. From that day, wild animals became avowed enemies of dogs.

According to a reliable chain of narrators, it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that in heaven the duration of Adam’s stay in the Garden was seven minutes of this world until they ate from the prohibited tree. Allah sent them down to earth on the same day. Adam said, “O Allah! Did You destine for me the sin and whatever I will do in the future before You created me? Or did the villainy overpower me?” Allah said, “O Adam! I created you, taught you and placed you and your wife in heaven. But due to My bounty and Power, which I have honored you, you have become capable to disobey Me. Although you weren’t hidden from My Eyes and My Knowledge had anticipated your action.” Adam said, “O Allah! Your proof is complete on me.” Allah said, “I created you, gave you a beautiful form, ordered angels to prostrate to you and raised your name on the heavens and exalted you. Then I placed you in My Garden. I did all this due to My satisfaction and to test you through the bounties. Because all the bounties that I have bestowed on you were without your efforts.”

Adam said, “O My Lord, Goodness is from Your side and evil from mine.” Allah said, “O Adam! I am the Generous One. I created goodness before evil and also created Mercy before My wrath. Created fame before disgrace. Before creating punishment, I appointed My proofs as a necessity (who warned people against divine wrath). O Adam! Did not I prohibit you from this tree and did not I say that Satan is the enemy of you and your wife? And did I not make you two aware of Satan before you entered heaven? Did not I say that if you eat from that tree you will do injustice to yourself and will be My sinful servant? O Adam! An unjust one or a sinner cannot reside near Me in heaven.” Adam said, “O my Creator, Your Proof is complete for us. We did injustice to our souls and we have disobeyed You. If You won’t forgive us nor have Mercy on us we will be from among the losers.”

When they confessed their sins and accepted the completion of proof upon themselves Allah, the Beneficent and the Mercy of the Merciful engulfed them and He accepted their repentance. Allah said, “O Adam! “Go down to earth with your wife. If you rectify your actions, I will condone you. If you work for Me, I will bestow you power and strength. And if you strive for My satisfaction, I will compensate. If you fear Me, I will make you fearless from My wrath.” Adam and Hawwa’ heard this and wept. They said, “O Allah! Help us to rectify ourselves and perform acts that cause Your satisfaction.” Allah said, “Whenever you commit a mistake repent for it immediately, so that I accept your repentance. And I am the Acceptor of Repentance and (I am) the Beneficent.” Adam said, “O Allah! By Your Mercy send us down to Your favorite land.” Allah asked Archangel Gabriel to take them to the bountiful city of Makkah. Archangel Gabriel placed Adam on Mt. Safa and Hawwa’ on Mt. Marwa. They both stood there and looked towards the sky and started weeping and lamenting. “Why are you crying when I am satisfied with you?” asked Allah. They said, “O Allah! We are weeping for the sin that has separated us from the presence of Your Mercy. Because of us the purity and glory of Angels got veiled, our private parts became apparent. Our sins have forced us the toil cultivation, eating and drinking. We are terrified of the separation.”

Allah! The Beneficent and Merciful had Mercy on them and revealed to Archangel Gabriel, “I have Mercy on Adam and Hawwa’. As they have confessed to their sin and complained of their tribulations, take for them a tent from heaven, console them and teach them patience. Unite them in the tent because I had pity on them due to their weeping from fear and loneliness. Pitch the tent on the raised ground between the mountains of Makkah and the foundation that the angels have raised. Archangel Gabriel brought the tent, which was equivalent to the height of Ka‘bah, and placed it at that particular spot. Then he brought Adam and Hawwa’ from Safa and Marwa to the tent. The centre pole of the tent was of Red Ruby and due to its glow, the surroundings of Makkah and nearby mountains lit up. The glow arose as high as the sanctuary. The sanctity of the House increased due to the presence of the heavenly tent in its vicinity. It is for this reason that good and bad actions attain greater weight when performed in this area. Allah stretched the ropes of the tent around the sanctuary. It’s pegs were fixed in the branches of Paradise.

In another tradition, the pegs were of heaven’s pure gold. And its ropes from heaven’s purple ropes. Allah revealed to Archangel Gabriel to take 70000 angels to earth to supervise and protect the tent from evil jinn and befriend Adam and Hawwa’. They should show respect to the tent by circling around it. Angels descended and settled near the tent. They guarded it from the arrogant and evil Shaitans and circled Adam’s tent and Ka‘bah day and night as they used to circle al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur in the heavens. The Ka‘bah is exactly below al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur. Allah sent Archangel Gabriel to Adam and Hawwa’ and take them away from the foundation of Ka‘bah as He wanted to send a group of angels to the Earth to build the Holy House for Angels and the progeny of Adam. Archangel Gabriel brought Adam and Hawwa’ out of tent and took Adam to Mt. Safa and Hawwa’ to Mt. Marwa and took the tent back to heaven. Adam and Hawwa’ asked Archangel Gabriel “O Archangel Gabriel! Is it due Allah’s wrath that you have separated us from the House and separated us or is it due to some wisdom for the satisfaction of Allah?” Archangel Gabriel said, “It is not because of divine wrath. But no one has the right to question Allah’s actions. O Adam! The 70000 angels that were sent for your company on earth and to do circumambulation around tent or the foundation of House asked Allah to replace it with a House equivalent to al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur so they can circle it as they circled al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur in the heaven.

Thus Allah asked me to take you away from there and take the tent back.” Adam said, “I am resigned to destiny and Divine order. It is for our good.” Therefore Adam and Hawwa’ were staying at Safa and Marwa respectively. Adam was pained at his separation from Hawwa’. He came down from Mt. Safa and looked towards Mt. Marwa in passion. He saw Hawwa’ on Mt. Marwa but when he reached the valley between Safa and Marwa he could neither see Mt. Marwa not Hawwa’. Adam feared that he has lost his way and began to run in the valley until he reached Marwa. He stopped running and climbed the mountain to Hawwa’ and greeted her with salaam. Both of them looked towards Ka‘bah that perhaps its foundations have elevated by then. He prayed to Allah to return them to the House. Adam came down and returned to Mt. Safa. Again he looked towards Ka‘bah and prayed. Again he longed for Hawwa’. He came down from Safa the second time and went towards Marwa. He did this three times and returned. When he reached Safa and prayed to Allah to keep them together and Hawwa’ also prayed. At that time, both of their prayers were accepted. It was afternoon (Zawal).

Archangel Gabriel told Adam to come down from Safa and meet Hawwa’. Adam came down from Safa and rushed towards Marwa, reached Hawwa’ and told her what Archangel Gabriel had said to him. Both of them were delighted. They thanked and praised Allah. It was due to this that the ritual of Sa’y (running seven times between Safa to Marwa) became established. Archangel Gabriel informed him that Allah has sent Angels to construct the Ka‘bah with stones of Mount Sinai and Jabal as-Salaam, (Najaf). Allah ordered Archangel Gabriel to build the Ka‘bah with the help of these Angels. Archangel Gabriel dug up the four stones that Allah had ordered and fixed them. Then he drew foundation of pillars as Allah had chosen. Allah revealed to Archangel Gabriel to complete the house with the stone that was kept as a trust on Mount Abu Qubays (the Black Stone). He also opened two doors in the Ka‘bah one opening to the east and other West. When Archangel Gabriel finished, the angels began to circle the Ka‘bah. Adam and Hawwa’ saw the Angels performing circumambulation so they also took seven rounds. Then they left the sanctuary to find something to eat. All this happened on the day they came down to Earth.

According to trustworthy chain of narrators, it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that Adam was in Sajdah for 40 days on Mt. Safa and was lamenting the separation from Divine Mercy and heaven. Archangel Gabriel came to him and inquired why he was weeping. He said, “Why should not I cry? Allah has separated me from the vicinity of His Mercy and sent me down to Earth.” Archangel Gabriel said, “O Adam! Ask forgiveness from Allah.” “How should I repent,” he asked. Allah sent for him a dome of light at the site of Ka‘bah. Its glow illuminated the mountains of Makkah as high as the sanctuary. Allah ordered Archangel Gabriel to mark the precincts of the sanctuary. On the 8th of Dhu’l-hijjah Archangel Gabriel came to Adam and told him to arise. He took him out of the sanctuary and instructed him to perform Ghusl and wear the Ihram. Then he took him to the Mina and camped there overnight. Next morning they went to the plains of ‘Arafat. On the day of ‘Arafat at the time of Dhuhr prayers Adam was told to recite the Talbiya and perform Ghusl. After he completed the prayers Archangel Gabriel told him to stand on the plains of ‘Arafat and taught him the words that he had learnt from his Lord:

Subh’aanaka Allahumma wa be hamdeka laa ilaaha illa anta. A’melto sooan wa zalamto nafsi wa’tarafto be dhanbi. Faghfirli innaka antal gafoorur rah’eem. Subhaanaka Allahumma wa be hamdeka laa ilaaha illa anta. A’melto soooan wa zalamto nafsi wa’tarafto be dhanbi. Faghfirli innaka anta khairul ghaafereen. Subhaanaka Allahumma wa be hamdeka laa ilaaha illa anta. A’melto soooan wa zalamto nafsi wa’tarafto be dhanbi. Faghfirli innaka anta attawwaaburraheem.

Adam kept standing, prayed to Allah with sincerity, and wept. At sunset, Archangel Gabriel took Adam to Mash’ar and they stayed there for the night. In the morning, Adam stood on Mountain of Mashar-il-haram and prayed to Allah with the words that were taught to him. Allah forgave his sins. Then Archangel Gabriel brought him to Mina and asked him shave his head and again brought him to Makkah. Upon reaching al-Jamarah al-Ula, the Satan came to him and said, “O Adam! Where are you going?” Archangel Gabriel told Adam to say Allahu Akbar and hit him seven times with pebbles. When Adam did this, the Satan fled. Again, he met Adam at al-Jamarah al-Thaniyah. Archangel Gabriel again told him to toss seven pebbles. Adam obeyed reciting Allahu Akbar simultaneously. Satan ran away. At al-Jamarah al-Thalithah, Satan appeared once again and Adam threw seven pebbles at him while repeating Allahu Akbar. Satan ran away. Archangel Gabriel said, “You will not see him again.” Archangel Gabriel brought Adam towards Ka‘bah and ordered him to do circumambulation seven times. Archangel Gabriel said to Adam that Allah has accepted his repentance and has made his wife halal (permissible) to him. When Adam finished the hajj he met Angels at Abtali who said, “May Allah accept your hajj. We have performed the hajj of this House 2000 years before you.”

According to an authentic tradition Angels told him this when he was going to ‘Arafat. And in another good tradition when Adam was doing circumambulation of Ka‘bah and his Dua was about to be accepted and Archangel Gabriel told him to confess his sins at that place. Adam said, “O Allah every action carries a reward. What is the reward of my action?” Allah revealed to him, “O Adam! I will forgive all those from your progeny who visit this place and confess their sins.

A reliable chain of narrators has narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that when Adam constructed the Ka‘bah and did circumambulation he said, “Every doer of an action gets a reward. I also performed an act.” It was revealed to him, “O Adam! Ask what you want.” Adam said, “O Allah! Forgive my sins.” It was revealed to him, “O Adam! You are forgiven.” Adam said, “O Allah forgive my progeny also.” A voice came, “O Adam! Whoever performs this act and accepts his sins will be forgiven.”

In one of the traditions it is narrated that when Adam’s progeny increased and some of them were sitting with him and talking among themselves while Adam was silent. They asked him why he was so quite. He said, “When Allah expelled me from the vicinity of His Mercy He made me promise that I would talk less and that consequently He would accept me back in His Presence.”

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Musa ibn Ja‘far when Adam and Hawwa’ committed ‘Tark al-Awla’ Allah sent Adam to Mt. Safa. It is called Safa because ‘Adam Mustafa’ (Adam the Chosen one) descended on it. Hawwa’ was brought to Mt. Marwa. It is called Marwa because it is ‘mar’a’ means one upon whom a woman descended. Adam thought that he was separated from Hawwa’ because she was not lawful for him. Therefore, Adam remained aloof from her. During the day he used to be with Hawwa’ at Marwa and at night return to his place at Mt. Safa due to the fear that desire does not overcome him. He had only the company of Hawwa’ until Angels were sent by Allah. Women are called ‘Nisa’ because Hawwa’ was the cause of affection for Adam. Allah favored and rewarded them by giving them Tawfiq for repentance and taught them some words. When Adam repented with those words, Allah accepted his repentance and sent Archangel Gabriel to him. Archangel Gabriel said, “As-Salaamo A’laikum O Adam! Allah has sent me to teach you the rituals of hajj, so that you get purified.”

Archangel Gabriel brought him to Ka‘bah. Allah sent a cloud over Ka‘bah to shadow them and it was equal to al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur. Archangel Gabriel said, “O Adam! Trace the boundaries of the Holy House around the shadow of this cloud and a cubicle will appear. It shall be the Qiblah for you and your children.” When Adam marked the boundary, a cubicle appeared under the cloud. Allah also sent the Black Stone and it was whiter than milk and brighter than Sun. As polytheists also touched it repeatedly, it became black. Archangel Gabriel told Adam to perform hajj and seek forgiveness for his sins at all the significant places. Then he said that Allah has forgiven him and now he must pick up pebbles from Mash’ar for stoning the Al-Jamarah. So he went near Al-Jamarah (as mentioned before, and his three encounters with Satan).

When he finished stoning, he was ordered to present a sacrifice in the way of Allah and shave his Allah as a mark of humility and respect. Then he was commanded to circle the Ka‘bah seven times and do perform Sa’y (act of trotting between Safa and Marwa) seven times. Again he was obliged to perform the circumambulation of Ka‘bah. That was Tawaaf Al Nisaa’ (Women Circumambulation) — a man cannot establish lawful relationship with his wife unless he performs this circumambulation. When Adam completed all the rituals Archangel Gabriel said that Allah has forgiven all his sins, accepted his repentance and has made lawful for him his wife.

In an authentic report Imam as-Sadiq performed circumambulation and recited two Rak‘ah prayers between the Black Stone and the door of Ka‘bah and said, “Adam’s repentance was accepted at this particular place.”

In another reliable tradition, it is narrated that people asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir how (with what instrument) was the head of Adam shaved after hajj. He said, “Archangel Gabriel brought a Ruby from Heaven and it was rubbed on Adam’s head and all his hair fell off.”

According to a trustworthy chain of narrators, it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that when Adam came to Earth to India the Black Stone was dropped towards him. It was like a red Ruby from the Holy Throne. When Adam saw it, he recognized it. He kissed it and carried it to Makkah. On the way when he used to be tired, Archangel Gabriel carried it. Archangel Gabriel saw Adam often sad and dejected. Once he complained to Archangel Gabriel. Archangel Gabriel said, “Whenever you are sorrowful recite,

“Laa Hawla walaa quwwata illaa billaahil a’liyyil a’zeem.”

Shi‘ahs and Sunni sources have narrated from Wahab that Adam came down to down to Earth on a mountain in the eastern part of India. It was called Basim. Allah ordered him to proceed to Makkah. Earth rolled up for him. Wherever he set his foot, the place became populated. Adam wept for 200 years due to his expulsion from heaven. Allah sent a tent from heaven for his consolation and placed it at the position of Ka‘bah. It was of Red Ruby and had two golden doors. One towards the East and another facing West. Two lanterns of gold shone brightly in it. The Black Stone arrived and it was a white Ruby from heaven. A chair that Adam used in the heaven also came down and was placed in tent. When Adam died, the tent was lifted up to the sky and at that particular place the sons of Adam constructed a house of mud that did not submerge in the deluge of Nuh. It was intact until the time of Ibrahim.16

According to a reliable chain of narrators, it is quoted from Imam as-Sadiq that Adam had an Angel as a special companion. When Adam was expelled to the Earth the Angel became uneasy. He complained to Allah and asked permission to visit Adam on the Earth. He came and saw that Adam was sitting alone in a desert. Adam saw him he kept his hand on his head and raised such a loud cry that every creature heard it. The Angel said, “O Adam! You disobeyed the Lord and undertook the burden you were not capable of. Do you know what Allah had told us about you and we had differed with him?” “No,” replied Adam. “Allah told us that He was going to appoint His vicegerent on the Earth. We protested saying this would create mischief and bloodshed. Thus Allah actually created you for the Earth not that you remain in the heavens.” Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said thrice, “I swear by Allah, these words comforted Adam.”

It is narrated from the Holy Prophet that Satan was the inventor of singing and musical instruments. When Adam ate from the prohibited tree, Satan started singing. When Allah sent Adam from heaven to earth, he started singing songs of the camel driver. When he was himself expelled to the Earth, he remembered the bounties of heaven and sang dirges.

In another reliable tradition it is narrated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that no one has wept like Adam, Yusuf, and Dawud. People asked how much they had wept. Imam said, “When Adam was sent from the heavens to Earth, he raised his head towards the sky and due to his tall stature his head reached a door of heaven. When he cried the inhabitants of heaven became restless. They complained to Allah and Allah reduced his height. Dawud cried so much that his tears caused grass to sprout up and he sighed so deep that the grass withered. Being separated from his father Yusuf cried so much that other inmates became uneasy and demanded that he lament on alternate days only.”

It is narrated from ‘Ali ibn Husayn that whenever Adam had sexual desire he used to take Hawwa’ out of the sanctuary and after performing the ritual bath they returned.

According to correct chain of narrators it is mentioned that Safwan asked Imam al-Ridha regarding the Holy Sanctuary and its signs. Imam said that when Adam descended on Mt. Abu Qubays; and people say he came down to India, he complained to Allah for the fear that he experienced and the absence of incantations of divine praise that he used to hear in the Heaven. Allah sent a red ruby that He kept at the location of Ka‘bah. Adam used to do circumambulation around it. Adam marked the boundaries as far as the glow of the ruby reached and Allah appointed it as the Sanctuary.

A reliable chain of narrators mention Imam as-Sadiq was asked regarding the origin of fragrance. He asked what people say? He was told that the people say that Adam came from heaven and had a crown on his head. Imam said, “I swear by Allah Adam was so much aggrieved that he could have a crown on his head! Before eating the fruit Hawwa’ had fragranced her hair with one of the heaven’s fragrance. When she came to earth, she loosened her hair. Allah sent a breeze that spread the fragrance from the East to the West. Every fragrance originated from that.”

In another reliable tradition, it is said that when Adam ate from the prohibited tree the robe that he was wearing suddenly separated from his body leaving him naked. He covered himself with leaves. When he came to the Earth, the fragrance of the leaves got mingled with grass. The south wind carried it to the west. When it halted in India, the fragrance merged with the trees and grasses and the land of India became fragrant. The first animal to feed on this grass was the Musk deer, the fragrance was instrumental in development of its flesh and blood, and it accumulated at its navel.

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam al-Ridha that on 28th Dhu’l-Qa’dah Mercy of Allah spread wide, Earth was stretched and it became vast, and on the same day Ka‘bah was constructed and Adam came to earth.

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that Ka‘bah was at a raised plateau. Its flooring was white and shone like the Sun and Moon. When Qabil killed Habil the floor became black. When Adam came to earth, Allah raised the land for him so that he could see everyone. It was revealed, “All this is for you.” Adam asked, “O Allah! Is why the floor is so white and shinning?” He was told, “It is for Me, and I have made it incumbent upon you to do circumambulation 700 times everyday.”

In another reliable tradition, it is said the cirrus accompanied Adam for one month from Sarandeep to Jeddah.

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam ‘Ali that he asked Holy Prophet why some trees bore fruits and others did not. The Holy Prophet said that when Adam glorified Allah by reciting one Tasbih (saying: Subhanallah), fruit bearing tree grew. When Hawwa’ recited a Tasbih one non-fruit tree grew.” ‘Ali asked, “Through what did Allah create barley?” Holy Prophet said, “Allah ordered Adam to do cultivate land and Archangel Gabriel got a handful of wheat for him. Adam took some of it and Hawwa’ some. Adam prohibited Hawwa’ to undertake cultivation but she did not listen and sowed the wheat. So that which Adam sowed gave wheat grown and that which Hawwa’ had sown gave Barley.”

According to an authentic tradition from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir Adam visited Ka‘bah a thousand times, and on foot. Seven hundred times for hajj and three hundred times for Umrah.

Reliable hadith of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that when Adam came to the Earth and had eaten the earthly food he felt a hardness in his stomach and digestion. He mentioned it to Archangel Gabriel. Archangel Gabriel told him to go and sit in a corner. He did so and subsequently passed stool (for the first time)

Sunnis narrators quote the Holy Prophet to have said, “Your father Adam was like a date palm, sixty yards tall.”

Some people asked Imam as-Sadiq, “how tall were Adam and Hawwa’ that came to the Earth?” Imam replied, “I saw in the book of ‘Ali that when Allah sent Adam and Hawwa’ to Earth their feet touched Mt. Safa and heads were touching the sky. They complained of the severe heat of the Sun. Allah revealed to Archangel Gabriel to reduce the body by seventy hands for Adam and by thirty-five hands for Hawwa’.”17

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir quotes the Holy Prophet to have said that Allah sent down Adam to Earth and ordered him to grow his own food. After enjoying the bounties of heaven now, he should make his own effort to acquire sustenance. Adam continued to weep for 200 years due to his expulsion from heaven. He went into Sajdah and did not lift his head for three days and nights. He said, “O Allah have You not created?” Allah said, “Definitely, I have.” Again, he asked, “Have you not blown my soul into my body?” He was told, “Surely I have.” He asked, “Did You not settle me in heaven?” He was informed, “Yes I have.” He said, “Did you not subdue Your Wrath by Your Mercy for me?” Allah said, “Yes I did, but did you have patience and had thank Me?” Adam said, “There is no god except You, You are glorified, I have been unjust to my soul, so forgive me, surely You are all Forgiving all Merciful.”

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that when Allah wanted to accept the repentance of Adam, Archangel Gabriel was sent to him. Archangel Gabriel came and said Assalaamo A’laikum! O! The one who is patient on his calamities and repent of ones mistake. Adam, Allah has sent me to teach you the rituals by which Allah would accept your repentance.” He took Adam’s hand and went near Ka‘bah. A cloud hovered from sky and shaded the precincts of Ka‘bah. Archangel Gabriel told him to mark the limit of the Sanctuary. Then Archangel Gabriel took him to Mina and showed him the site of the mosque. Adam marked the boundaries of the mosque. Archangel Gabriel now took him to ‘Arafat and asked him to wait until sunset and confess his sins seven times. Adam did as taught by Archangel Gabriel and due to this; the place was named ‘Mo’taraf’ or Ma’raf. This practice was established for Adam’s progeny.

Archangel Gabriel asked him to return from ‘Arafat. Adam passed the seven mountains and Archangel Gabriel asked him to say four times “Allahu Akbar” on each of the mountains. They reached Mashar-il-haram after three fourth of the night had passed and recited evening prayers and the Night Prayer. Due to this Mashar is called as Jama. Archangel Gabriel asked Adam to rest at Mashar and he went to sleep. In the morning, he was told to go upon Mashar and at sunrise confess for his sins and repent seven times and seek forgiveness from Allah. Adam did as commanded.

Thus, acceptance of sins became possible at these two places, ‘Arafat and Mashar. For the descendants of Adam it became the ritual that if they reach ‘Arafat it is as though they have completed the hajj. Adam left from Mashar and reached Mina at mid-morning and upon the instructions of Archangel Gabriel recited two Rak‘ah (units) prayers and sacrificed (an animal) for Allah. Allah accepted his sacrifice and a fire appeared from the sky and burnt the sacrificial animal. This was also included in the hajj rituals for the children of Adam. Archangel Gabriel said to Adam that Allah has favored him by teaching you the rites of pilgrimage and because of these rites, his repentance was accepted. And that his sacrifice was also accepted.

Therefore, he should shave his head as a mark of helplessness and humility before Allah. Adam shaved his head and Archangel Gabriel took him towards Ka‘bah. Satan met Adam near Jamarah Uqba and said, “O Adam where are you going?” Archangel Gabriel said, “O Adam hit him seven stones and with each one say Allahu Akbar. When Adam did, Satan fled. The next day again Archangel Gabriel caught Adam’s hand and brought him toward Al-Jamarah al-Ula. Again Satan appeared. Archangel Gabriel asked Adam to throw seven stones on him and while throwing say Allahu Akbar. When Adam did so, Satan ran away. Satan appeared at second Al-Jamarah and said to Adam, “O Adam where are you going?” Archangel Gabriel asked Adam to hit seven stones and every time say ‘Allahu Akbar’. Satan disappeared.

Similarly, on the 3rd and 4th day, the Satan was chased away and Archangel Gabriel said that he would not be seen again. Archangel Gabriel took Adam to Ka‘bah and ordered him to do circumambulation seven times. Adam did so, and then Archangel Gabriel said Allah has forgiven his sin and accepted his repentance. Now his wife was also lawful for him.

It is narrated from Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when Adam came to the Earth he prayed to Allah for fruits of heaven. Allah sent two bunches of grapes. Adam sowed it. Leaves sprouted, and then it bore fruit that was finally ripe. Satan, the accursed, arrived and built a boundary wall around it. Adam said, “O Accursed one! What you have got to do with it? Satan said, “It is for me.” “You are a liar,” said Adam. Both of them went to The Holy Spirit for arbitration. The Holy Spirit threw fire on the tree and it began to burn. Flames rose up. Adam thought that the whole tree would burn. Even Satan thought so. But when the flames calmed they saw that 2/3 of the tree was burnt and 1/3 remained. The Holy Spirit said that the burnt portion constituted the share of Satan and what remained belonged to Adam.

In another tradition narrated from Ja‘far as-Sadiq when Allah sent Adam to Earth He ordered him to plant a tree start cultivation. Four plants were sent for Adam from heaven i.e... date grapes, olive and pomegranate. Adam sowed them for his children and they enjoyed the fruits. Satan the accursed said, “O Adam, what is this tree that I have never seen before on the Earth? Although I was here much before you. Permit me so that I take few fruits from it.” Adam rebuked Satan and refused to oblige him. When Adam was at his death bed Satan went to Hawwa’ and said, “I am extremely hungry and thirsty.” Hawwa’ said that Adam had put her under oath not to allow Satan any of the fruits since they were from heaven and Satan did not have any right to eat the fruits of heaven. Satan said, “All right, at least put a little bit on my hand.” Still Hawwa’ refused. He said, “Give me a fruit. I will just suck at it.” Hawwa’ gave him a bunch of grapes. He began to suck. When he sucked one third Hawwa’ pulled it out from his mouth. Allah revealed to Adam, “Satan who is My and your enemy has sucked the grapes. Therefore, the juice, that becomes wine, is haram on you. If Satan had eaten them completely I would have made grapes haram for humans.”

In the same way he deceived Hawwa’ and sucked dates also. Dates and grapes both were more fragrant and sweeter than Musk but their fragrance was lost and sweetness decreased after the enemy of Allah, Satan the accursed had sucked them. Imam as-Sadiq said, “After the death of Adam Satan the accursed urinated at the base of date and grape plants and the water got mixed up with his urine. Due to this, the fermented juices of these fruits have a foul smell and intoxicating quality. Allah made unlawful all intoxicating liquids.” And in another reliable tradition said that our dates were sent to Adam from heaven and are better than all other dates.”

According to a correct chain of narrators Imam al-Ridha said that the date palm of Maryam was Ajwa. Ajwa and Ateeq were sent for Adam and through them, other kinds of dates evolved.

It is narrated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when Adam came to Earth he was in need of food. He complained to Archangel Gabriel. Archangel Gabriel told him to start cultivation. He asked Archangel Gabriel to teach him some Dua and he taught him the following,

Allahumma feni moonatadduniya wa kulla haulin doonal jannate wal besniy al a’afiyata hatta tohneniyal mae’esha.

An account of the children of Adam and continuation of his lineage

According to Zurarah people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, “How did the lineage of Adam come into being because those who live with us (Sunnis) say that Allah commanded Adam to marry his sons to his daughters.

Thus, humanity has descended from brothers and sisters. Imam said, “Allah is Purified and Highly Elevated from such kind of action. Those who say this have blamed Allah for the unlawful origin of His exalted creation like His friends, Prophets, Mu’mins and Muslims. This implies that Allah was unable to create through lawful ways although He had taken oath from them that they would be lawful, clean and purified. I swear by Allah news reached me of some animal that did not recognize their sisters and had intercourse with them. When later they came to know they bit their own sexual organs and died. In the same way, a person unknowingly committed incest with his mother. When later he realized his mistake, he killed himself. So how could one accept it when one is aware of the reality?

But there is a group, as you know, that has left the knowledge of Prophet and his Ahl al-Bayt, and they learn from those who have not been appointed by Allah, nor do have any divine knowledge. These people are ignorant and have deviated. They have no idea of the initialization of creation and subsequent developments. It is a pity they are ignorant of something regarding which there is no difference of opinion between the scholars of hijaz and Iraq.

Two thousand years before the creation of Adam Allah ordered the Pen (Qalam) to inscribe on al-Lawh al-Mahfu¨ (the protected tablet) all that was going to occur until the Day of Judgment. It included all the divine books. And in the books, Allah has made unlawful the sisters for their brothers. And at present all the four books. We see in Torah, Injeel, Zabur and Qur’an that were revealed by Allah to His Prophets through al-Lawh al-Mahfuz that nowhere has Allah made the sisters lawful for her brother. Whosoever says so supports the arguments of Magians. What is basis of their argument? May Allah destroys them.

Adam had 70 twins. Every twin consisted of a boy and a girl. When Qabil killed Habil, Adam was so much shocked that he cried for five hundred years and did not touch his wife. When he overcame his sorrow he cohabited and Allah gave him a son, Shith who was born a single child. Shith was named Hibtullah. He was the first successor to whom a will was made. After Shith, Yaafith was also born singly. When both grew up and Allah wanted to multiply human beings and as the Qalam had made the sisters unlawful for their brothers Allah on a Thursday after Asr sent a huri, Nazala and ordered Adam to marry Shith to her.

Next day another huri, Mauzela was sent and Allah ordered that Yafith be married to her. Adam did as was told. Shith got a son and Yafith a daughter. When both attained maturity Allah ordered Adam to marry them and Adam obeyed. Thus, the lineage of Prophets and Messengers of Allah began. Allah forbids! It is not so as people say that human beings have descended through brother and sister.”

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam al-Baqir that Allah sent a huri from heaven and Adam married her to one of his sons. He also married a female jinni to another of his son. Therefore beauty in creation due to the huri and ugliness due the Jinn. Imam has emphatically denied that Adam married sons to daughters.

A reliable chain of narrators states that people asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir regarding the evolution of generations. Imam asked what people said regarding the marriage of the sons of Adam. The narrator told him they say that in every delivery, twins (a boy and a girl) were born to Hawwa’. Adam used to marry a boy from one set of twins to a girl from another set. Imam said it was not so. When Haibatullah was born and attained maturity, Adam asked Allah to provide a wife for his son. Allah sent a huri and Adam married her to his son. Through her, four sons were born. Then Adam had another son. When he grew up he was married to a Jinn woman and she gave birth to four girls. Later Shith’s sons were married to the daughters of the Jinn woman. Therefore beauty from the huri and forbearance is from Adam, while every bad quality, ugliness and stupidity is due to the Jinn woman. After giving birth to sons, the huri returned to the heavens.

In another reliable tradition, it is said that Adam had four sons. Allah sent four houries for them. When children were born from them, Allah recalled the houries. Then the same sons were married to jinn women and in this way generations grew. Therefore, forbearance is from Adam and every beauty and perfection is due to four houries. Whereas ugliness, bad behavior and evil is from jinn.

According to reliable chain of narrators Sulayman ibn Khalid said to Ja‘far as-Sadiq, “May I be sacrificed for you, people says that Adam married his sons to his daughters?” Imam said, “Yes people do say that, but O Sulayman, you might not know that Holy Prophet said, ‘If Adam had married his daughters to his sons then certainly would have married Zaynab to Qasim without having left the religion of Adam.’”

Sulayman said, “May I be sacrificed on you, they say that Qabil killed Habil because Habil was ashamed that his sister was being given to Habil. Imam said, “O Sulayman! You also attribute such filthy things to Adam and do not feel ashamed?” He said, “May I be sacrificed on you. What was the reason that Qabil killed Habil?” Imam replied, “Because Adam had appointed Habil as his successor. Allah revealed to Adam to hand over the successorship and the Grand Name to Habil while Qabil was elder. When he knew this, he was angry and said that he was the rightful heir to successorship and bounties. Under divine instructions, Adam asked both of them to present a sacrifice to Allah. Allah accepted Habil’s sacrifice and rejected Qabil’s. So he envied Habil and killed him.”

Sulayman said, “May I be sacrificed on you how did the generations of Adam continue? Was there was a woman other than Hawwa’ and a man other than Adam?”

Imam said, “First Allah created Qabil and then Habil from the womb of Hawwa’. When Qabil attained maturity Allah sent a Jinn woman for him and revealed to Adam to marry both of them. Adam did so and Qabil was satisfied. When Habil attained age Allah sent for him a huri and asked Adam to marry them. Adam obeyed the divine command. When Habil was murdered the huri was pregnant and gave birth to a son. Adam named him Haibatullah. Allah ordered Adam to hand over the Grand Name and successorship to him. Then Hawwa’ gave birth to a son whom Adam named Shith. When he matured, Allah sent a huri and commanded Adam to marry his son Shith to her. A daughter was born to that Hoor and Adam named her Hoora. When she attained maturity Adam married her to Haibatullah the son of Habil. And through them, the generation of Adam continued established.

When Haibatullah died, Allah ordered Adam to transfer the Grand Name and other things, which were taught to him as well as knowledge of Prophets to Shith. O Sulayman this is the reality and the truth.”18

According to a reliable tradition of Abu Hamza Thumali, Imam Zayn al-‘abidin said, “When Adam’s repentance was accepted he had desire for Hawwa’. From the time he was created until then, he hadn’t such desire. But since Adam had great respect for Ka‘bah and its surrounding whenever he had sexual desire he used to take Hawwa’ out of the Sanctuary. Then perform Ghusl and return to Ka‘bah.

Adam and Hawwa’ had twenty sons and twenty daughters. In every delivery Hawwa’ gave birth to a set of twins consisting of a boy and a girl. First Habil was born with a girl who was named Aqleemiya. Then Qabil and a girl, Luza were born. Luza was the best child of Adam. When they attained maturity, Adam was worried they might be involved in fornication. So he called them and said to Habil that he wanted him to marry Luza and to Qabil that he wanted him to marry Aqleemiya. Qabil said that he was not satisfied with the arrangement. He said, “You want me to marry the ugly sister of and that my beautiful sister should marry Habil?” Adam I will draw a lot between you two and accordingly marry you. Both of them agreed. Adam drew a lot.

In Habil’s part came Luza and Qabil’s part came Aqleemiya. He married them. After that, marriage between brother and sister became haram. At that time a person from Quraysh was present he asked whether they had any children after that. Imam said, “Yes.” Person said it was an act of fire worshippers. Imam said, “After this the same act was performed by fire worshipper, and Allah made it unlawful.” Then he said, “Do not deny it. Did not Allah create Hawwa’ from the rib of Adam and made her lawful for him? In his shari‘ah it was allowed in the beginning and later prohibited.”

In another tradition it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that Qabil disputed with Habil regarding Luza. Adam ordered them to offer a sacrifice. Habil a shepherd, took out a healthy sheep and some milk for sacrifice. Qabil who was a cultivator took a few ears of grain. Both of them took their offerings and kept them at the mountain peak. A fire appeared and burnt the offering of Habil whereas Qabil’s remained as it was. Adam wasn’t present there. He had gone to visit Ka‘bah under divine instructions. Qabil said, “I couldn’t live in this world with ease because your sacrifice is accepted mine is not. And you want to marry my beautiful sister and your ugly sister to marry me?” Habil replied, as mentioned in Qur’an. Qabil hit a stone on the head of Habil and killed him.

According to narrators people asked Imam al-Ridha how the generations of Adam continued? Imam said, “Hawwa’ became pregnant with Habil and his sister. Next time she bore Qabil and his sister. Both of them got married to each other’s brothers and sisters and after that marriage of one to his sister became unlawful.19

It is narrated from ‘Ali that the Holy Prophet said, “When Allah sent down Adam to Earth He sent his wife also. Whereas Satan and the serpent came to Earth and had no one of the opposite to pair with. Therefore, they began to practice sodomy and initiated their generation. The generations of Adam grew through his wife.”

Allah informed Adam and Hawwa’ that both Satan and the serpent were their enemies.

Martyrdom of Habil

Allah says,

“And relate to them the story of the two sons of Adam with truth when they both offered an offering, but it was accepted from one of them and was not accepted from the other. He said, I would most certainly slay you. (The other) said, Allah only accepts from those who guard (against evil). If you will stretch forth your hand towards me to slay me, I am not one to stretch forth my hand towards you to slay you. Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds: Surely I wish that you should bear the sin committed against me and your own sin, and so you would be of the inmates of the fire, and this is the recompense of the unjust.” (5:27-29)

Thus the soul of Qabil instigated him to kill his brother. Allah sent a crow to dig the earth and show him how to dispose body of his brother. Qabil said, “It’s a pity. Am I so helpless that I cannot bury my brother’s body like this crow?” Thus, he regretted his mistake.

Imam Zayn al-‘abidin says that when the sons of Adam presented their offerings to Allah one of them took a healthy sheep and the second one took a few ears of inferior quality wheat. Habil’s offering was accepted and Qabil’s was not. Qabil became infuriated and told Habil, “I swear by God I will kill you.” Habil said, “Allah accepts the deeds of forbearing people. (ayah quoted above).” Qabil wanted to kill his brother did not know how. Iblis advised him to crush the head of his brother between two stones. When Habil died he did now not know what to do with the corpse. A pair crows appeared and started fighting. One killed another and the surviving crow dug the earth with his claws and buried the dead one. Seeing this Qabil buried Habil and the practice of burying the dead started.

When Qabil returned, Adam did not see Habil with him and asked where he had left his son. Qabil said, “You did not appoint me as his body guard. Adam realized what must have happened and asked Qabil to accompany him to a place where they had made the offering. When Adam reached the place he came to know that Habil was killed so he cursed the soil, which has absorbed the blood of Habil. After that, the Earth lost the ability to absorb blood. Allah ordered him to curse Qabil too. A voice from heavens announced, “You are the accursed one.” Adam returned and wept for forty days in Habil’s sorrow. When his sorrow reached a pitch, he complained to Allah. Allah revealed to him, “I will grant you another son who in lieu of Habil.” Hawwa’ gave birth to a blessed and pure son. On the eighth day Allah said, “O Adam this child is a gift from Me. Name him “Haibatullah.” Adam did as ordered by Allah.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Habil owned a big herd of sheep and Qabil was a farmer. When they attained maturity Adam said, “I want both of you to present an offering to Allah. For the sake of Allah’s desire or the satisfaction of his father, Habil selected a healthy sheep whereas Qabil took out a few ears of wheat that were was lying useless, and even the cattle had refused it. He indented to neither fulfill Allah’s desire nor satisfy his father. Allah accepted the sacrifice of Habil and rejected Qabil’s offering. Satan came to Qabil and said, “When Habil has children they will boast to your sons that their father’s sacrifice was accepted. Therefore, you must kill him to avert such a situation.” Qabil followed this advice and murdered Habil. Allah deputed Archangel Gabriel to bury Habil. At that time Qabil said:

He said, Woe me! Do I lack the strength that I should be like this crow and cover the dead body of my brother? So he became of those who regret. (5:31)

Imam (AS) says that Habil meant to say, Had I been like this crow whom I didn’t recognize came and buried my brother. And I had no idea how should have buried him. A voice from the heavens told Qabil, “You are accursed because you have killed your brother.” Adam wept for forty days.

According to a good chain of narrator Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said when Adam appointed Habil as his successor Qabil was envious and killed him. Allah granted Adam another son, Haibatullah and asked Adam to appoint him his successor and keep it confidential. Thereafter it became the practice that every Prophet named a successor and kept it confidential. Qabil said to Haibatullah, “I know your father has made you his successor. So if you express it and talk like a Wasi I will kill you as I killed your brother.”

In another reliable tradition it is said that when Qabil intended to kill his brother he did not know how to accomplish it. Satan told him to keep Qabil’s head between two boulders and crush it.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that when the sons of Adam presented a sacrifice each, Habil’s was accepted and Qabil became jealous. He used to spy on Habil for a chance to find him alone. One day he saw that Adam was not with him and killed him.

It is narrated from Imam al-Ridha that a Syrian asked ‘Ali regarding the ayah,

“The day on which a man shall fly from his brother.” (80:34)

Imam said, “It is Qabil who will fly from his brother Habil.” The Syrian asked about the inauspiciousness of Wednesday. Imam said, “It is the last Wednesday of the month. This day Qabil killed Habil. Again, the Syrian asked about the first person to recite a poem? Imam said, “It was Adam.”

What kind of a poem was it? Imam said, “When he came down to Earth he saw the vast land, and when Qabil killed Habil. Adam recited a couplet poem that meant: ‘Everything in the cities is transformed and the surroundings have become polluted and foul. Every color and taste has changed, the charm and beauty of faces is cheerless.’ Iblis the accursed said, ‘Then go away from the cities and its inhabitants. The vast abode of heaven became straitened for you although you and your wife were safe from worldly problems. At last, you fell to my deceit and lost the bounties by your own actions. And if the Powerful Lord had not bestowed His Mercy you would have got nothing from heaven except air, and no other benefit would have accrued to you.’”

According to a trustworthy tradition from Imam Muhammad, al-Baqir there is a person in India who stands in garments of sack cloth. Ten persons are appointed on him and one of them dies another person from the village is appointed in his place. People die and are replaced, but ten caretakers continue to mind this person. When the Sun rises, they turn the person’s face towards the Sun and keep it facing the Sun until sunset. In winter, they pour cold water on him and in summer hot water. He was in the same condition when a person passed by. He asked, “O creature of Allah, who are you?” He said, “Either you are a stupid person or an intellectual. I am standing here since creation and no one inquired about asked me.” People say that he was Adam’s son Qabil, who had killed his brother.

Another narration states that Imam himself visited the place, questioned the man under punishment and composed couplets on it. The difference in this narration is that fire was lighted around the person in summer and water was poured on him in winter.

In another reliable tradition it is narrated from ‘Ali that a person came to the Holy Prophet and said, “Messenger of Allah, I have seen an amazing thing.” When the Prophet asked him about it he said, “One of my relative was sick and people advised for him water of Ahqaf well that is situated Wadiul Barhoot. I took a bucket and water bag and reached the place. When I tried to draw water I saw a chain like thing coming from sky with a man tied to it. He was saying give me water I am dying of thirst. I raised the bowl towards him but the chain around his neck tightened and took up to the sun. Again I drew out some water and the same scene was enacted. This happened thrice. So I finally tied up the water bag and did not try to give him any water.” The Holy Prophet said, “He was Qabil the son of Adam; who had killed his brother. And the same thing is mentioned in the Qur'an,

“…and those whom they pray to besides Allah give them no answer, but (they are) like one who stretches forth his two hands towards water that it may reach his mouth, but it will not reach it; and the prayer of the unbelievers is only in error.” (13:14)

Through few chains of reporters, it is narrated that one day Imam Muhammad al-Baqir was sitting in Holy Masjid. Tawus al-Yamani suggested to his companion to go and ask Imam a few things and see what he says. They came and Imam Tawus asked, “Do you know the day when one-third of the world population perished?” “Not one-third,” corrected Imam, “You have made a mistake. Actually you meant one-fourth.”

“How is that?” he asked. Imam said, “When the world population consisted of Adam, Hawwa’, Habil and Qabil and Qabil killed Habil, one-fourth of the population perished. Tawus said, “You have spoken truly.”

Imam then asked, “Do you know what was happened to Qabil?” “No,” he replied. Imam said, “He is hanging from the Sun and hot water is sprinkled on him. This will continue until the Resurrection Day.” Tawus asked whether the progenitor of humanity was the murderer or the slain one. Imam said that generations continued from Shith (another) son of Adam.20

According to reliable chain of narrators Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that seven people would get the worst punishment on the day of judgment. First of them being Qabil, the son of Adam who killed his own brother (until the end of hadith).

It is narrated from the Holy Prophet that the following five are the worst of the creatures: Satan, Qabil, the Pharaoh, the man who deviated The Israelites from their religion and a person from this Ummah of to whom the people will pledge allegiance in his Kufr (disbelief) –that is Muawiyah.

In another reliable hadith it is said that when the offering of Habil was burnt and that of Qabil rejected Satan lied that since Habil worshipped fire his sacrifice was accepted. Qabil said, “If it were so then I would also worship fire. But not the one that Habil worshipped. And I will present my offering to it so that it is accepted. Then he made a fire temple presented offerings therein and did not recognize his Creator. He did not leave anything except fire worship as his heirloom.

In another authentic tradition, it is said that during the time of Adam ferocious, birds and beasts all lived in harmony. But when the son of Adam killed his own brother, they began to hate and fear each other. So they segregated according to their genre and habits.

According to Imam al-Baqir the son of Adam, Qabil is strung by his hair to the Sun and he rotates with it whether it is summer or winter. He will do so until the Resurrection Day when Allah would throw him into Hell.

In another tradition, it is narrated that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir was asked regarding the condition of the son of Adam in Hell. Imam said, “Glory be to Allah. Allah is more just to chastise him in the world and hereafter.”21

A reliable tradition of ‘Ali says that the son of Adam, who had killed Habil, was born in heaven.22

It is narrated in reliable books from Amir al-Mu’minin that the person to rebel against Allah was Enaaq, the daughter of Adam. Allah has created her with twenty fingers and each finger had two spade-like nails. She was so huge she occupied about 60 square yards while sitting. When she rebelled against Allah He sent a lion as big as an elephant, a wolf the size of a camel and a donkey. These animals were like this at that time. These animals overpowered and killed her.

And in some traditions it is mentioned that Ewaj the son of Enaaq was a despot and an enemy of Allah and Islam. He was tall and huge. He used to catch fish for his food and roast them by holding them near the Sun. He lived for 3060 years. When Nuh was about to board his ark, Ewaj came and asked him to take him also. Nuh said he was not permitted. The floodwater did not rise above his thigh. He was alive until the time of Musa and Musa finally killed him. Allah says,

“He it is who created you from a single being, and of the same (Kind) did he make his mate, that he might incline to her; so when he covers her she bears a light burden, then moves about with it, but when it grows heavy, they bath call upon Allah their Lord: If Thou givest us a good one, we shall certainly be of the grateful ones. But when He gives them a good one, they set up with Him associates in what He has given them, but high is Allah above what they associate (with Him).” (7:189-190)

According to a good chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that when Hawwa’ was pregnant and the child moved in her womb. She said to Adam that something was moving in her womb. Adam said it was his sperm, which has placed itself there. Allah shall create a creature so that He tests us through him. Satan came to Hawwa’ and asked how she felt. Hawwa’ said, “I have a child of Adam in my womb that moves.” The accursed said, “If you make an intention to name it Abdul Haris it would be a male child and would be born alive. And if you do not do so it will die within six days.” Hawwa’ doubted the words of Satan and informed Adam. Adam said, “The wretched Satan came to deceive you. Do not believe him. I am hopeful of the Grace of Allah that our child shall live against the prediction of Satan.”

But even Adam harbored a little doubt, which was inculcated by Satan. So, a son was born but he died after six days. Hawwa’ said that whatever Satan had said was correct. Both of them fell into doubts. After sometime Hawwa’ conceived another child. Satan came and asked her condition. Hawwa’ told him that previously a child was born who died in six days. Satan said, “If you had made an intention to name him Abdul Haris he wouldn’t have died. Now you shall beget an animal like camel, cow, sheep or goat.” Hawwa’ decided to believe him and she mentioned it to Adam. Adam also thought the same thing. When Hawwa’ was in labor they prayed to Allah that if He grants them a good son they shall be thankful to Him.

Allah bestowed them a courteous son, not an animal. Satan came to Hawwa’ before the delivery and asked about her condition. Hawwa’ said, “I am about to deliver the child.” Satan said, “You shall be terrified when you see an animal come out from your womb. Adam will hate you and your child.” At last he convinced Hawwa’ and said, “If you decide to name him Abdul Haris and dedicate him to me he would be normal and will remain alive.” Hawwa’ said, “I have made an intention that a part of him shall be yours.” Satan insisted that Adam should also say so. So Hawwa’ narrated the conversation to Adam. He was also frightened and somewhat inclined towards it. Hawwa’ said, “If you do not name him Abdul Haris or make an intention to dedicate a part of him to Satan I won’t allow you to come near me, nor would I fulfill your desire. Our relationship would be over.”

Adam said, “First of all you caused me to be expelled from heaven. Now, again you have been deceived by Satan. All the same I agree to name the child as Abdul Haris.” At last, a child was born safe and sound. Adam was happy and less fearful. He thought that the child would survive. So he named him Abdul Haris on the 7th day.

In another tradition it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir regarding the ayah,

“But when He gives them a good one, they set up with Him associates in what He has given them.” (7:90)

It refers to Adam and Hawwa’. Their Shirk was of Shirk of obedience when they obeyed Satan. They dedicated to Satan some part of the creature of Allah and named it Abdul Haris. They did not commit Shirk in the worship of Allah nor had they worshipped some other God.23

It could also mean that Allah bestowed upon Adam and Hawwa’ a healthy child and later some of his descendants committed Shirk. This explanation is more plausible as mentioned in Bihar al-Anwar. It is also supported by reliable traditions.

Al-Ma’mun asked Imam al-Ridha the tafsir of this ayah. Imam said, “Hawwa’ had five hundred pregnancies and every time a boy and a girl was born. Adam and Hawwa’ vowed to Allah that if He granted them a virtuous son they would be thankful. So Allah gave them good and healthy twins. From their progeny some became polytheist. And they (sons and daughters) did not thank Allah as their parents (Adam and Hawwa’) did.”

Masoodi in his book Muruj-uz-Zahab narrates that when Habil was killed Adam became was devastated with grief. Allah sent revelation that, “From you a light will be born which I would continue in purified descendants to culminate in the best of My creation. I will make him My last messenger and I appoint for him the best successors and Imams in whose reign the tenure of this world will end. I will inhabit the earth with those who obey them. So be alert and prepare yourself. Perform ghusl and remember Allah. Fulfill your desire with your wife she is also purified with ghusl. Because My Trust will be transferred through this son.” Adam was happy to know this. He came to Hawwa’ and she became pregnant. She became more beautiful. A bright light illuminated her whole body. Shith was born. He was handsome, healthy and a dignified child with an aura of authority. The Noor was transferred from Hawwa’ to Shith and shone on his forehead. Adam named him Shith. Some say he was named Haibatullah. He reached the age of maturity and Adam made a bequest to him and made him aware of the dignity of knowledge, which he was going to inherit, and told him that he is going to be the proof of Allah and his successor after him. He willed that he should fulfill the duties of successorship granted by Allah. And that his successorship should continue on others until it reaches the last Messenger and his heir, which will continue. Shith accepted the legacy and kept it secret as was appropriate. On Friday, in the 6th month of the year Adam left this temporal world. His age was around 930 years.

According to a tradition, Adam left 40,000 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren etc. Shith was the successor of Adam and he guided with the Sahifah (divine book), that he had received from his father. From Shith the light was transferred to Anoosh. When he was born, the light was apparent on him. When he reached the last moments of his tenure Shith transferred all the relics to him and made him the Wasi. He inculcated an awareness of the high station of Successorship and also told him to teach his children the importance of this legacy. This continued until the Noor reached Abdul Muttalib and ‘Abdullah.

Anoosh expired on October 3 at the age of 960 years. Qinyan was his legatee and Anoosh took oath of successorship from him. He attained the age of 120 years. People say his death took place in July.

Mahlayel was the successor of Qinyan. He lived for 800 years. From him came Lood and his age was 962 years. He passed away in the month of Azar. He was succeeded by Idris and light of Muhammad and his progeny were transferred to him. People say that Qabil and his sons had invented many kinds of musical instruments.

Revelations on Adam

Sayyid ibn Tawus says that it is mentioned in the Suhuf (book) of Idris that on the 27th of Ramadhan, Thursday afternoon, Allah revealed on Adam a twenty page book in Syriac and it was the first book that Allah sent to the Earth. It contained all the languages and dictionaries. Altogether there were 1000 languages and a person proficient in one could not understand the others languages. It also contained proofs of Allah’s existence, the obligatory acts, practical laws, recommended acts and penal laws.

According to a reliable chain of narrators Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq and Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that Allah (SWT) revealed to Adam, “I present to you truth and righteousness in four sentences: One concerns Mine, one is for you, One is common between Me and you, and one is common between you and other creatures. Whatever is in it with regard to Me is your worship. You worship Me and do not associate anyone with Me. Whatever is regarding you is the reward of your action will be bestowed when you deserve it. The words common between you and Me is that it is necessary for you to supplicate Me and it is My responsibility to accept it. Whatever is common between you and creatures is that you should like for others what you like for yourself.”

Death of Adam; His age and his bequest to Shith

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq and Imam Muhammad al-Baqir state that Adam was informed the names of all Prophets and their ages. When he learnt that the age of Dawud was to be only 40 years he said, “O Allah! Why is the age of Dawud so less while I had such a long life? O Allah would you accept if I gift thirty years of my life to Dawud and increases his age?” “Yes,” said Allah. So Adam requested Him to reduce his age by thirty or sixty years and increase the age of Dawud. When the angel of death came to take away his soul Adam said, “I have thirty to sixty years remaining.” “Did you not gift it to Dawud?” the angel of death reminded. “When the names of Prophets and their age were presented to you in the valley of Jenaam?” Adam said he didn’t remember. The angel of death said, “O Adam! Do not refuse it now. Did you not ask Allah that your life should be reduced and given to Dawud? Allah established it in Zabur and decreased your life.” Adam said, “Bring to me Zabur so that I recall it.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says, “Adam was speaking the truth that he had forgotten it. Therefore from that day onwards Allah ordered that all transactions must be put in writing so that no one could deny later.”

A tradition of Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that initially Allah had told Archangel Gabriel, Mika’il and the angel of death to write it because Adam will forget. So it was written and the angels sealed it with the Tinat of their arms. When Adam refused the angel of death showed him the document.

Imam as-Sadiq said that is why the loaner gets embarrassed when the promissory note is shown to the debtor.24

According to a reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that when Adam became sick, he called Shith and said, “O my Son! I am going to die very soon. Whatever you see has been sent by Allah from His kingdom, and He has taken the oath from me so I make a bequest to you. I make you the legatee for whatever Allah given me. The book of wasiyyah is under my head. It contains the heritage of knowledge and the Grand Names of Allah. After I am dead, you take it in your possession and do not let anyone know of it. Nor should you look at it until the next year. It contains (Suhuf) everything that would need regarding the affairs of this world.”

It was the scroll that Adam had brought from the heaven. Then he said, “I wish to have fruit from heaven. Go to Mt. Hadeed and if you see any Angel convey my regards and say that your father is sick and needs a fruit of heaven.” Shith went to the mountain. He saw Archangel Gabriel with a group of angels. Archangel Gabriel saluted him and asked where he was going?” “Who are you, O servant of Allah?” Shith asked. “I am the trustworthy spirit, Archangel Gabriel.” Archangel Gabriel said. Shith conveyed the salaam of Adam. He said, “O Shith! Salutations upon your father. He has departed from this world and that’s why we have descended to the Earth. May Allah reward you and grant you patience in this great calamity. Now go back to your father.” Shith returned. The Angels brought with them whatever was required for the burial. When Shith reached home he took the will from beneath the head of Adam and tied it to his stomach.

Archangel Gabriel said, “Congratulation O Shith! Who can be compared to you? Allah has honored you with His Generosities and clothed you in the dress of salvation. By my life, Allah has selected you for a very special affair. Then Shith bathed Adam’s body under instruction from Archangel Gabriel. He also taught him to shroud and embalm the body. When he finished Archangel Gabriel taught him to dig the grave. He made him stand before the bier of Adam to recite the prayers of Mayyit (dead). Archangel Gabriel told Shith to recite seventy Takbirs and then taught him the method of Salat al-Mayyit. The Angels stood behind Shith in a row for the prayers. Shith wanted Archangel Gabriel to lead the prayers but he said that as the Angels were made to pay obedience to Adam they could not lead them in prayers. Archangel Gabriel said, “You might not know that when Allah created your father, He made him stand before us and ordered us to prostrate to him. Therefore, Adam became the Imam and this practice continued in his generations. Today he has left this world and now you are his successor and the inheritor of his knowledge. How we we replace you? You are our Imam!”

Shith recited Salat al-Mayyit for Adam as taught by Archangel Gabriel who taught him how to bury his father. After the burial when Archangel Gabriel and other Angels were about to leave Shith started weeping and exclaimed, “O what a terror!” Archangel Gabriel said, “You should not have any fear as Allah is with you. We will visit you by the permission of Allah. Allah is your associate, so do not be sad and have faith in your Lord because He is the Beneficent upon you.” Archangel Gabriel and other Angel returned to the heavens. At that time Qabil who had ran away fearing his father came down from the mountain. He met Shith and said, “I killed my brother Habil because my sacrifice wasn’t accepted and I suspected that he would get the position, which you have now got. I didn’t want him to become the successor and legatee of his father as you are today. So if you narrate even one sentence of whatever father has taught you, I will kill you like I killed Habil.”

A similar tradition has been narrated from Imam Zayn al-‘abidin. It also mentions that Shith recited seventy five takbirs on Adam. Seventy for Adam and five for his children.

It is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that when Adam learnt of the murder of Habil he wept bitterly and complained to Allah regarding his sorrow. Allah revealed, “I will give you another son like Habil.” A child was born and on the 7th day, Allah revealed that since it was a Gift from His side he should be named Hibtullah (Gift of Allah). When time of his death approached Allah revealed on him, “Soon I am going to summon you to the vicinity of My Mercy. Therefore, make a bequest to the best of your sons, who is gifted by Me because I do not like that the world should be devoid of one whom I have given knowledge and one who executes My commands. I want him to be a proof upon My creatures.” Adam gathered his clan and said, “My Children, I am about to depart from this world and Allah has ordered me to appoint Haibatullah as my successor. So listen to him and obey him, as he is my successor and caliph on you.” All of them said, “We have heard you and we will obey him.”

The Ark of covenant trunk was prepared according to the order of Adam and he placed in it the relics, will, and testament and gave it to Haibatullah. He said, “After I am dead give me Ghusl and shroud, recite prayers and bury me. And when your death is near you will know it. At that time, you must also make a bequest to your son who is the best among your children from the aspect of manners and helpfulness. And do not ever leave the Earth devoid of a person from us (Ahl al-Bayt). O Son! Allah has sent me to the Earth and appointed made me His vicegerent and a proof over His creatures. After me, you shall be my proof. You must also not leave the world without appointing your successor. Pass on these relics to your successor as I am handing it to you. Also inform him that a Prophet from my progeny is going to come whose name is Nuh and his nation will be submerged in water. Make a bequest to your legatee to protect whatever is in this Ark of covenant. Emphasize that when he is about to depart he should also appoint his best son as the legatee and this should continue until the time of Nuh. Then he should board the ship and take with him the chest of relics. O Haibatullah! Of all my sons, beware of Qabil the accursed.”

Thus, when the end of Adam was near the angel of death arrived. Adam said, “I witness that Allah is One and has no partner. I witness that I am the servant of Allah and His Caliph on this earth. He favored me by creating me and asking the Angels to prostrate to me. And He taught me all the names. He settled me in heaven although He had created me to inhabit the Earth according to His Plan.” When Archangel Gabriel brought Hanoot and wooden planks with the shroud from heaven, he was accompanied by 70000 Angels. They gave Ghusl, shrouded him and anointed (Hanoot) him. Archangel Gabriel told Haibatullah to go ahead and recite prayers for his departed father with 75 Takbirs. Angels dug a grave and buried Adam. Haibatullah assumed the leadership of Adam’s children as ordered by Allah. When Haibatullah neared his end, he transferred the legacy to his son Qinan and handed over the Ark of covenant to him. Qinan lived among his clan and promoted obedience towards Allah. At his death bed he appointed his son, Barra as the successor (wasi) and handed over the Ark of covenant to him and also reminded him about the Prophethood of Nuh. At the time of his death Barra made bequest in favor of his son, Akhnu‘ (Idris) and handed over the Ark of covenant to him. Idris completed his tenure. When he was about to die Allah revealed to him, “I am going to raise you to the heavens, so bequeath all the things to Khargaeel.” Khargaeel stood thus became the wasi Idris. When Khargaeel’s death approached he nominated his son Nuh and handed over the Ark of covenant. It was always with him and he took it abroad the ship. When his death was near, he gave the Ark of covenant to his son, Sam and did formally appointed him the legatee.25

It is mentioned from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that Adam sent his son to Archangel Gabriel and said, “Ask Archangel Gabriel to get me some food from near that particular tree of heaven.” When the son met Archangel Gabriel he was informed that Adam has already expired.” We have been commanded to meet him at his last moments and recite prayers for him,” said Archangel Gabriel. After the Ghusl Archangel Gabriel asked Haibatullah to lead the prayer of his father. Haibatullah stood up at the front recited 75 takbirs. 70 takbirs for the excellence of Adam and five takbirs to establish the Sunnah.

Imam says that Adam used to be engrossed in the worship of Allah at Makkah. When Allah wanted to take his soul, He sent Angels from heaven, with wooden plank, a shroud and anointments. When Hawwa’ saw the Angels she tried to intervene but Adam told her to leave them alone. The Angels captured his soul and bathed with lote-tree water. They made a grave for him and said this practice shall continue in the generations of Adam. Adam was 936 years old and was buried in Makkah. There was a gap of 1500 years between Adam and Nuh.

According to reliable chain of narrators from Imam, as-Sadiq when it was time for the funeral prayers Haibatullah told Archangel Gabriel, “O Messenger! Go ahead and recite prayers for the Prophet of Allah.” Archangel Gabriel said, “Allah has ordered us to prostrate to your father. So we cannot lead their children in prayers. And you are the best of his children.”

Thus Haibatullah led the funeral prayers of his father with five takbirs as prescribed by Allah for the followers of Muhammad. This practice was to continue among the children of Adam until the Resurrection Day.

Another reliable tradition from the same Imam states that Adam requested for a fruit. Haibatullah went out to bring him the fruit. Archangel Gabriel met him and asked where he was going. He told him Adam wanted a fruit as he was unwell. Archangel Gabriel said, “Go back as Allah has taken away his soul.” When he returned, he saw that Adam was no more. Angels gave him the Ghusl and asked to Haibatullah to recite the prayers. Allah revealed upon him to recite five takbirs. Then he was laid in his grave. Haibatullah was told to perform funeral rites in the same way.

In another reliable tradition it is said that thirty takbirs were recited for Adam. Twenty five were dropped later on and five remained. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that the grave of Adam is in the Holy Sanctuary and according to Prophet Muhammad Adam expired on Friday.

Some great scholars have mentioned in mursal (without chains of narrators) that when Allah sent Adam to Earth he was terrified due his separation from heaven. He prayed to Allah to send him a tree of heaven. Allah sent for him a date palm, which remained with him all his life. When death was near, he told his sons, “This tree has been with all my life and I hope after my death it will remain so. Therefore, you split a branch of it and keep it in my shroud.” The sons did as bidden. After him, other Prophets also followed the same way. It was discontinued in the Jahiliyya (pre-Islamic period) but Prophet Muhammad restarted the practice.

According to reliable chain of narrators, it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq when Adam died, Qabil and Satan rejoiced and played musical instruments vain sports. Thus all the musical instruments and vain past times of the world are derived from the invention of Satan.

Sunni and Shi‘ah scholars have narrated from Wahab ibn Munabbah that Shith buried Adam in a cave of Mt. Abu Qubays known as Ghaarul Kabeer (the big cave). He remained buried until the deluge of Nuh. During the deluge Nuh exhumed him and placed him in a coffin abroad his ship.

Reliable chains of narrators narrate from Imam as-Sadiq that when Nuh (as.) was abroad the Ark, Allah revealed him to perform the circumambulation of the Holy Ka‘bah seven times. When he completed the circumambulation and came down from the ship the water was up to his thighs. He dug out a coffin from the earth containing the bones of Adam and placed it on the ship and again did circumambulation of Ka‘bah. The Ark reached al-Kufah and Allah ordered the Earth to absorb the water as it has gushed out from the mosque. Nuh buried Adam at Najaf.26

It is narrated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that the Holy Prophet said, “Adam was nine hundred and thirty years old.”

Sayyid ibn Tawus quotes from the book of Idris that Adam was ill for ten days. He died on Friday the fifteenth of Muharram and was buried in a cave of Mt. Abu Qubays facing Kiblah. And his age from the day the soul entered his body and until the time it was taken out was 1030 years. After one year and fifteen days Hawwa’ also fell sick and died. She was buried next to Adam.

Sayyid says, “I have seen in Torah in 3rd Chapter that Adam’s age was 930 years and the same is narrated by Muhammad ibn Khalid Barqi in his book ‘Beda’ from Ja‘far as-Sadiq.”27

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam Al-Hasan that the successor of Adam was Shith. He lived for one thousand years. In a tradition narrated by Abu-Dharr, as mentioned before, the language of Shith was Syrian. Fifty scriptures were revealed on him. Most of the historians have mentioned that Shith was born when Adam was 235 years old. Shith lived for 912 years. He is buried in Mt. Abu Qubays next to his parents.

Sayyid ibn Tawus mentions, “I have seen in the Sahifah of Idris that Allah revealed fifty books on Shith containing the proof of the existence of Allah, Laws and practices and the prescribed penalties. Shith lived in Makkah and preached the scriptures to the children of Adam. He worshipped Allah at the Ka‘bah and performed hajj and Umrah until was 912 years. When he fell sick, he appointed his son Ewas as his Legatee and warned him to fear Allah and be humble and pious. When Shith died, Ewas along with his son Qinan and grand son Mahkael (son of Qinan) performed Ghusl and Ewas recited the prayers and buried Shith at the right of his father in the cave of Mt. Abu Qubays.

- 1. These difficult traditional reports require detailed analysis, however it is beyond the scope of this book. Those who wish to pursue the subject further may refer to my book, Behaarul Anwaar.

- 2. This is the exegesis in Tafsir of Imam. The gist of this interpretation is as follows:
When the Angels tried to justify that they glorified Allah’s praise whereas, the creation that was to come to the Earth were going to be a corrupted lot. The Almighty Allah taught Adam the names of his progeny and informed him of their exalted status. Then Allah presented the Holy lights (Noor) of the Prophets and their legatees to the Angels. He asked the Angels if they knew their names and qualities. When the Angels confessed their ignorance Allah appointed Adam to teach them the names and qualities of these benevolent personalities.
When Adam mentioned the names, the Angels realized that there were definitely some personalities in the children of Adam who were more deserving of Divine vicegerency than the Angels themselves were.
Almighty Allah exhausted the proof on them in two distinct ways: firstly the Angels had said that all creatures that are going to be created the Earth are corrupt, without any exceptions among them. Allah proved their ignorance in the matter. It was only after Adam had mentioned their names did they realize that among the progeny of Adam were many personalities more deserving of Allah’s Caliphate.
Secondly the Almighty removed the misconception the Angels had harboured about themselves. They thought they were unsurpassable in piety and praising Allah. They could not even imagine that a person like Iblis was also one of them. Hence another fact became clear for them.
It must be clarified that there is a difference of opinion between two schools of thoughts as far as the absolute infallibility of Angels is concerned. According to Shi‘ahs the infallibility of Angels is proved beyond any doubt according to Qur’anic Ayats and traditions of Masoomeen Furthermore their questioning Allah’s decision was not an act of arrogance and they knew very well that Allah shall do whatever is best. Yet they questioned him to know the wisdom it.
Such a type of questioning falls under the category of Tark al-Awla, therefore it didn’t harm the infallibility of the Angels.
There is also a difference of opinion among the Shi‘ah and Sunni Commentators regarding the names taught to Adam. According to some, Adam was taught the names of things in various languages. The children of Adam learnt the various languages from him. When they separated, each of them spoke the language he liked best. Due to the passage of time each of the languages diverged from each other. Some more traditions on this topic shall be quoted in the forthcoming discussion.
There is also a group that interprets ‘names’ to mean rights, obligations and origins of different things. For example, the creation of water, making of the earth, prescriptions of medicines and diets, mining of metals, and all things concerned with life and hereafter.
The experts also think that both these meanings are general. And the last interpretation is the summary of all varying traditions.
People may object that the superiority of Adam was due to the fact that Allah taught him the names beforehand whereas He didn’t teach the Angels. So it was an unequal match. The reply to this is that Allah might have taught Adam in front of the Angels but they were unable to grasp the meaning whereas Adam could.
There are many aspects to this problem and it is beyond the scope of this book to mention them all. The interpretation of Imam is not in need of detailed explanations. (i.e.. It is self - explanatory.)
This view is supported by two narrations of Ja’far al-Sadiq wherein he says,
“The Almighty Allah taught Adam the names of all His Proofs that were in the spiritual form at that time. Then He presented them to the Angels. Allah asked the Angels to name them to support their claim of superiority over Adam in the matter of Divine vicegerency. The Angels said,
“They said: Glory be to Thee! we have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us; surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.” (Surah Baqarah 2:32)
Allah told Adam to mention the ‘names’ along with their status and characteristics. When Adam did so, the Angels became aware of their names and their high station. Then the realization dawned on the Angels that those personalities were really more deserving of Allah’s Caliphate and to be Allah’s proof on His creatures than the Angels were.
Then their lights was hidden from the eyes of the Angels. Allah Commanded the Angels to cultivate love and devotion of these luminaries.
Allah then said, “Did I not say that I was having knowledge of whatever is hidden in the Earth and the heavens, and whatever you manifest and hide?’

- 3. The splendor of Allah could denote the light of recognition that Allah deprived the Angels; that they had previously possessed. It could mean the light of His Greatness and Glory that was manifested in the Holy Throne and the curtains.

- 4. All the Muslims agree that the Sajdah of Angels to Adam’s was not a Sajdah of deification. Because Sajdah for anyone other than Allah is Polytheism and Disbelief. There are three opinions regarding this Sajdah. First: The Sajdah was for Almighty Allah and Adam was just a Kiblah. Just as people face the Ka‘bah during prayers. The first traditions proves this point. Second: The word ‘Sajdah’ indicates honoring or paying respect and not the Sajdah in the literal sense. Although the former is in consonance with the dictionary meaning but most of the traditions disprove it. Third: The Sajdah to respect Adam was actually the Sajdah of Allah’s worship. Because Allah had ordered it. This point is also stated in the majority of tradition.
Thus it proves that doing Sajdah for anyone else other than Allah with the intention of worship is infidelity. It is a sin if Allah had not commanded it. Although there is a possibility that Sajdah of respect was permitted in previous nations but it is emphatically stated to be haram for this Ummah. A number of traditions to this effect have been recorded and as mentioned below.

- 5. There are different views regarding Iblis, some which are erroneous. First of all they have considered greatness as the root. Secondly Prophet Adam’s excellence is concerned with his soul because ‘noor’ is a basis of all things. And the ‘noor’ of Adam was imbued with divine recognition and knowledge. Both these things are bestowed to Allah’s beloved people. And the fire’s luminosity is imperfect. It depends how much it is beneficial; if anyone goes near it, it destroys him. Fire burns to ashes. In comparison, Adam’s brilliance is different. Thirdly, Satan thought fire is better than dust and this was his mistake. He thought all attributes of fire are beneficial. Allah granted a temporary brightness to fire and it became proud, so Allah the Supreme, disgraced it. Allah bestowed the dust with superiority. He grew tasty fruits and vegetables from it. It became useful to all mankind and was bestowed with natural power. Its inherent qualities were concealed in the earth. The dust was taken to the Holy Throne and exalted. The kings and ordinary persons all are ultimately buried in it.

- 6. We should know that there are different views about how Satan deceived Adam. He had already been expelled from heaven whereas Adam and Hawwa’ resided. According to some scholars, Adam and Hawwa’ came up to the entrance of heaven and the Satan also had access until there. And he used to speak to them from outside. Some have stated that Satan wrote an anonymous letter to them. According to another view when Satan tried to enter the Garden he was prevented by the guards. So he approached in turn all the animals of Paradise but they all refused to gain him entry. At last he came to the serpent and said, “I swear, I will remove your baneful effect from the son of Adam and you will remain in my protection. Now take me inside the Garden.” The serpent asked him to sit between his two fangs and smuggled him into Paradise. At that time the body of the serpent was covered. He had four limbs and was much better in appearance than other animals. He was as tall as a camel. When he brought Satan into Paradise, Allah became angry and stripped him down and cut off his hands and legs. From that day the serpents crawl on the earth because they helped Satan to enter the Garden in contravention of divine command.

- 7. There are many different views about the administration of divine justice. It is possible that Allah created Prophet Adam for the Earth and not for the heaven.

- 8. There are different views regarding the tree which was forbidden by Allah. Some say it was a fig tree and for some it was a grapevine and some others say it was a camphor tree. Shaykh al-Tusi has narrated from Imam ‘Ali that it was a tree of secret knowledge and death and the same Imam has mentioned that it was an eternal tree from which the angels eat and acquire immortality.
We have already proved that Prophets are infallible. Jealousy is a sin and a Prophet can never commit a sin. Here it must be clarified that jealousy implies a desire that the recipient of bounty should lose it. Whereas it was obvious that Adam had already learnt of the high status of the family of Muhammad and could never have wished them to lose the Divine Bounty. Thus it was not exactly ‘jealousy’. Hence, at the most it could be said to be Makrooh (detestable) or Tark al-Awla (Leaving the preferable option).

- 9. There are some differences regarding the Paradise of Adam. Whether it is on the earth or in the heavens? Is it the same that the virtuous people will enter or some other? The writers of Qur’anic exegesis agree that it was one of the gardens of heaven. The others say that it was a garden of the earth and from the same tradition have stated that one who enters once never comes out. Regarding this people say that due to the good deeds a person will enter in the heaven and will not come out. But it is a doubtful matter. For example, Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa ’s flight to the heavens and back. The angels also come and go. Besides this, there are different opinions about it. In most traditions it is stated that the Paradise of Adam was on the heavens.

- 10. The text of this hadith is same as those quoted above so we refrain from repetition.

- 11. The other prayers are not mentioned in this hadith

- 12. The third question is not mentioned in the narration.

- 13. We have already discussed the meaning of Jealousy in the previous section.

- 14. There is no contradiction between these traditions. It is possible that all this might have occurred and all these personalities might have interceded for his repentance.

- 15. There are differences in traditions regarding the site of descent of Adam and Hawwa’. Many reliable traditions shows Adam came down to Safa and Marwa. And some traditions say that they came down to India. Commonly held opinion is that Adam came on one of the mountains of Sarandeep which is called Nood or Navad. And Hawwa’ came down to Jeddah. It is possible that India was mentioned due to Taqiyyah. And it is also possible that initially they came down to India and later went to Makkah and stayed at Safa and Marwa as we shall see in traditions later.

- 16. This tradition is usually quoted from Sunni sources, and the traditions discussed earlier are much more reliable.

- 17. Adam felt the heat of the Sun because he could not take shelter under a tree or cave. His height may have been reduced by 70 hands. That is previously he was 70 hands and tall and subsequently reduced to one unit it might refer to the unit ‘hand’ of that time or the unit that which Adam fixed for measurement of things. Same is regarding Hawwa’. I have explained this tradition in a number of ways in my book Behaarul Anwaar.

- 18. It is very difficult to establish unanimity in these traditions. It is possible all this occurred and generations continued.

- 19. As these traditions are in accordance with the view of Sunni they have appeared due to taqiyyah. The traditions mentioned previously are more reliable.

- 20. It is possible that the sisters who were born with him died before and Qabil hadn’t seen their burial, or the report of the birth of twin brother-sisters is based on taqiyyah. It is narrated in another tradition that according to Tawus the first blood to be shed was of Habil and same day one-fourth of the people were killed. Imam Zayn al-‘abidin said, “It is not so, first blood was the menstrual blood of Hawwa’. When Qabil killed Habil it was one-sixth of humanity because they were six: Adam, Hawwa’, Habil, Qabil and two sisters. Then he said, “Allah has appointed two guards over Qabil. When the Sun rises they bring him out. And they take him back at Sunset. They sprinkle hot water on him and he will be punished like this until the day of judgment.

- 21. This hadith contradicts other traditions. It might be referring to the fact that the chastisement of world is less than the chastisement of hereafter or that the punishment of killing Habil shall not be meted out in the hereafter, rather he would go to hell due to his disbelief.

- 22. This hadith is accepted by the Sunni but according to Shi‘ahs Adam didn’t have any children in heaven.

- 23. This hadith is against the Shi‘ahs belief but accepted by some Sunni scholars. It might have entered hadith books due to taqiyyah.

- 24. This tradition is against the Shi‘ah belief that Prophets are infallible. According to most Ulama this has come in hadith books due to taqiyyah.

- 25. All these traditions shall be discussed in the volume of Imamate.

- 26. This proves that Adam and Nuh are buried in Najaf. So the tradition which say that Adam is buried in Makkah mean that initially he was buried there but later his remains were exhumed by Nuh and buried at al-Kufah.

- 27. Commentators and narrators differ regarding age of Adam. Some say it was a thousand years and he gave 60 years to Dawud but later he denied so again it became 1000 years. Other maintain it was 936 years. Some others claim it to be 930 years. The last two traditions show that it was probably 936 years and it is usual to mention the figure in tens (i.e. 930 instead of 936).

An Account of Idris

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

“And mention Idris in the Book, surely he was a truthful man, a Prophet. And We raised him high in heaven. (19:57-58)

From authentic books, it is narrated from Wahab that Idris was a well-built man with a broad chest. He had less hair on his body and more on his head. His one ear was bigger than the other. He had scanty hair on his chest and spoke in a low voice. While walking his feet used to come close to one another. He is known as Idris because he used to teach about the magnanimity of Allah and the excellence of Islam. He pondered about the majesty, grandiose and glory of Allah - that the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and clouds and all other creations have a creator who by His power has created them, formed and arranged them.

Guilty is the one who does not worship Him Who has the right to be worshipped. With this in mind, he formed a private conference among his nation and advised, them remember Allah. He also warned them about His chastisement. He invited them towards His worship. Due to this propagation, the people started to join him. At first, they numbered seven, then reached seventy, then seven hundred, then one thousand people became his followers. Then he (Idris) said to them, “Let us select a hundred pious people.” So from the one thousand, seventy were selected, then from the seventy, ten were selected and from the ten, seven people were finally chosen.

Then he said, “Come, let the seven of us pray and all the others shall say ‘Amen’. Perhaps our Creator may guide us due to our prayers.” They placed their hands on the earth and prayed, but nothing happened. They raised their hands towards the sky and prayed. Allah revealed upon Idris and selected him as His Messenger. Allah guided him and his companions towards His Worship. So they were involved in the worship of Allah and did not associate with anyone so much so that Allah raised Idris to heaven. Except for a few, most of those who had believed in Idris deviated and there were disputes and differences among them. Nuh was appointed over them.

According to a hadith from Abu-Dharr, it is narrated that thirty books were revealed on Idris and other traditions state that he was the first person who had initiated writing with a pen. He also used to stitch clothes and wear them. Before this, the people used to cover their private parts with leaves. Idris used to stitch clothes and worship and praise Allah.

From reliable traditions it is narrated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Masjid as-Sahlah was the residence of Idris where he used to stitch clothes and worship Allah. Allah fulfills the desire of one who supplicates at that place and will elevate his status on the Day of Judgment as it was the place of Idris.

It is narrated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that at the early part of the Prophethood of Idris there lived a tyrant king. Once when he went out for a stroll and passed through a land rich in greenery, which belonged to a pious believer. This believer had abandoned all false religions and was disgusted with transgressors. He kept aloof from them. The king liked that piece of land for himself, so he inquired from his vizier regarding its owner it. The vizier replied that it belonged to a certain believer from their kingdom. The king called the believer and said that he wanted his piece of land. The believer replied that his family needed the plot of land more than the king. The king asked him to sell it to him but the believer was adamant which the angry and his facial expressions changed. In that very condition, he returned to his kingdom. The king had a wife from Iraq (Barak) whom he loved very much and whom he consulted frequently. On reaching his kingdom, he called her. She saw that he was in a very angry mood and inquired as to what had aroused his temper. He narrated the incident of the believer’s land.

She replied that only he gets angry who does not have the power to take revenge. “If you don’t want to execute or behead him without any excuse then I will show you a way to kill him by which the land will be yours and even his family members will not blame you for his death.” The king asked her what plan she had in mind. She replied that one of her group (from Azarak) will be sent to arrest him and he would testify that the person has turned away from the king’s religion. “In this way you can kill him and seize his land.” The king agreed to her suggestion. So groups from Iraq, who followed the queen’s religion and who considered lawful the slaughtering of a believer were called. They testified before the king that that man had turned away from the state religion. On hearing this, the king ordered his execution and captured his land.

Allah was angry at the believer’s murder and He revealed to Idris to go and tell the tyrant ruler, “Was he not content with killing the believer that he also usurped his land impoverishing family? I swear by My majesty and power that I will avenge his murder in the Resurrection Day and in this world, I will abolish your rulership. I will change your honor and status into humiliation and disgrace. And dogs will devour the flesh of your wife. Has My tolerance and endurance, which was supposed test you, made you arrogant?”

Idris addressed the king, “O tyrant ruler! I am the messenger of Allah!” and then narrated to him the divine message. The king ordered Idris to leave his court and warned him that he would not be able to save himself. The king told his wife about his discussion with Idris. She said, “Do not to fear the Messengership of Idris’s God. I will send someone to kill Idris so that the messengership of his God is nullified.” The king agreed to her suggestion and gave his consent.

Among the friends of Idris there were some who used to attend the royal court. Idris had informed them of the revelation to him and of his conveying the message to the king. They were fearful that Idris would be killed. The queen sent forty Iraqi men to kill Idris. They reached the place where Idris used to sit with his companions but did not find him there, so they returned. When his friends saw that they had come to kill Idris they dispersed and then met Idris. They informed him that forty men had come to kill him, so he should be cautious.

Idris prayed to Allah, “O my Sustainer! You sent me to that tyrant to deliver Your message to him. He threatened me and is after my blood. Allah revealed to Idris to keep away from the king. “I swear by My honor that I will enforce My law on him and prove your word and My messengership to be true.” Idris said, “O my Nourisher, I have a wish.” Allah said, “Ask me and I shall fulfill it.” Idris said, “Till such time as I allow, there should be no rains.” Allah said, “The country will be ruined and people will starve to death.” Idris said, “Whatever may happen, this is my wish.” Allah replied, “All right. I accept it, and until the time you pray I will not send rain. I am the most truthful to My promise.” Hearing this Idris briefed his companions about his discussion with Allah and said, “O my friends leave this country and go to some other place.” There were twenty of them and they spread out to different areas. The people came to know about the prayers of Idris.

Idris himself sought refuge on a hill. Allah appointed an Angel who used to bring food to him every evening. Idris fasted during the day and broke his fast in the evening when the Angel brought food to him. Allah destroyed the kingdom of the tyrant king. The king was killed, his kingdom destroyed and the flesh of his wife was eaten by dogs due to their transgression against a believer.

Another unjust tyrant oppressor occupied the throne. Twenty years passed without a drop of rain. The people were in severe hardships and difficulties and their condition deteriorated. They used to bring food supplies from far off countries. When their condition turned from bad to worse they discussed among themselves that this calamity was due to the prayer of Idris who had asked Allah that until the time he allowed there should be no rains. “We are not aware of his whereabouts because he has concealed himself from us.” They decided that as Allah is more Merciful than Idris prays to Him and repents so that it rains on their land and in the neighboring areas. So they wore coarse clothes and applied mud on their head and standing on the earth they wailed, cried and repented to Allah. Allah felt pity on them and revealed upon Idris that, “Your people are repenting, wailing and weeping and I am God the Beneficent and Merciful and the one who accepts repentance and forgive sins. I have mercy on them and wish to fulfill their desire for rains. I have no obstruction save that you had requested me not to send rains until you pray for it. Therefore, O Idris you pray to me that I may send rains for them.”

Idris said, “O my Nourisher, I will not pray for rains.” Allah once again revealed on Idris to pray for rains. Idris again refused. So Allah recalled the Angel who was appointed to bring food for Idris. When it was evening and the food did not arrive Idris became restless but waited patiently. The second day when again the food did not arrive his restlessness increased. On the third day he lost his patience and appealed to Allah, “O my Nourisher before taking my soul, you have discontinued my sustenance?” Allah revealed, “O Idris! You are complaining in three days but you are not concerned about your nation that has suffered for twenty years? I informed you that they were suffering, and I was merciful on them and I wished that you pray for rain so that I send rain. But you abstained from it, so I wanted you to know what hunger is and you lost your patience and complained. Now come out of the cave and search for your sustenance. I have left you on your own.”

Hearing this Idris came down from the hill to procure food. When he came near the town he saw smoke coming out from a house. An old lady had made two chapattis and was roasting them on the fire. He requested her to give him something to eat, as he was very weak and restless due to hunger. She said that due to the curse of Idris, Allah has not given left them anything that they can feed anyone, and swore that except for the two chapattis there was nothing in the house. She told him to leave the city and go somewhere else for food. Idris requested that at least give me one chapatti so that I can save my life and can start walking. She said I have only these two chapattis, one for me and the other for my son. If I give you my chapatti, I will die and if I give you my child’s he would die. I don’t have anything else to give you.”

Idris said, “Your son is young, half a chapatti will suffice him and half will help me to live.” The woman ate her share and distributed the other one between Idris and her son. When the child saw Idris eating from his share of the chapatti, he started crying and was so disturbed that he died. The woman shouted out, “Stranger! you have killed my child.” Idris said, “Do not fear, by the order of Allah I will make him alive.” Saying this he kept his hands on the shoulder of the boy and said, “O soul who has left the body of this child, by the order of Allah return to his body again. I am Idris the Messenger of Allah.” The boy was alive once more. The woman saw this and said, “I witness that you are Prophet Idris.” And she ran out shouting, “O people! Congratulations to you and glad tidings that we will be relieved of our troubles and sufferings as Idris has returned to our city.” Idris came out and reached the palace of the first tyrant king, which was on a hill. A group of people came and complained, “O Idris! In these twenty years, you did not have any mercy on us. We were involved in such difficulties and miseries and many of us starved to death. We request you now pray to Allah for rains.” Idris replied, “I will not pray until the time this tyrant king and the people of your city come to me walking, barefoot and request me.” When the king heard this, he sent forty people to kill Idris. When they reached near Idris, he cursed them and they all died. When the king heard this, he sent 500 people to arrest him. They came to Idris and said, “We have come to take you to the king.” Idris replied, “Look at these forty men (who had come before you to take me); see how they are lying dead. If you all do not go back you too will meet the same fate.”

They said, “O Idris, you have involved us in hunger for twenty years and now you are cursing us. Is there no mercy in your heart?” Idris replied, “I will not go to that tyrant nor will I pray for the rains until that tyrant and all the people don’t come to me walking barefoot.” Hearing this, the people returned to the king and repeated the statement of Idris. So the King together with the people came to Idris and all stood helplessly before him and requested him to pray for rain. Idris prayed. That very same moment clouds gathered in the sky, there was thunder and lightening and it started raining. It rained so much that they feared they would drown. Finally, they all returned home.1

It is related from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that an angel was under the wrath of Allah and his hair and wings were cut off and he was lying on an island for a long time. When Allah appointed Idris, that angel came to Idris and requested him to pray from him so that Allah may be pleased with him and return his hair and wings. Prophet Idris prayed for him and Allah restored his hair and wings. The angel asked Idris, “Do you wish anything from me?” Idris said, “Yes, I wish that you take me up to the heavens so that I can see the Angel of Death. Because thinking of him I cannot live without fear. The angel took the Prophet to the 4th heaven on his wings. There he saw the Angel of Death sitting, moving his head in a peculiar way. Idris saluted him and asked him the cause for turning his head in that manner. The Angel of Death replied, “Allah has ordered me to take your soul between the 4th and 5th heaven.” Idris pleaded, “O Allah! How is it possible when the distance up to the 4th heaven is 500 years of travel and the distance between the 4th and 5th heaven is another 500 years of travel? “This is the distance between one heaven and another.” saying this, the Angel of Death took away his soul. These are the words of Allah, which means

“And we raised him high in heaven” (19:57)

Imam as-Sadiq narrates that he is known as Idris because he used to give excessive teachings from the book of Allah.

In a tradition from Amir al-Mu’minin it is narrated that after the death of Idris Allah raised him to an elevated position and sustained him with the bounties of heaven.

In a reliable tradition, it is narrated by Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that the Holy Prophet said, “An angel was very near to Allah. Due to some laxity or laziness, Allah sent him down to earth. He came to Idris and requested him to intercede with Allah on his behalf. Idris agreed and fasted for three days without breaking the fast and spent three nights in worship due to which he was exhausted and weak. Then he prayed to Allah and interceded for this angel. Allah gave the permission to that angel to ascend to the skies. At that time that angel said, “I wish that you would ask from me something in return.” Idris said, “I wish to meet the Angel of Death so that I can befriend him, because due to his remembrance no bounty is worth rejoicing.” The angel seated him on his wings and took him up to the 1st heaven. Then he took him higher until they reached between the 4th and the 5th skies where he met the Angel of Death. They saw the Angel of Death weeping and asked him the reason of his grief. The Angel of Death replied, “Just now when I was beneath the skies there was an order from Allah to take the soul of Idris between the 4th and 5th heaven.” When Idris heard this he fell down from the wings of the angel and immediately his soul was taken away. As Allah says, “We have mentioned in the Book.”

In another tradition it is narrated from ‘Abdullah Ibn Suhas that Idris used to travel from city to city and used to fast. When it was night, he used to halt and he was provided his sustenance at that very place. The angels used to take his good deeds to the skies like other people’s deeds. The Angel of Death wished to meet Idris and after getting permission he came to Idris and said, “I wish to be in your company.” Idris agreed. They became friends and were together for a long time. He would fast during the day and at night when he used to get sustenance, he used to eat. He used to invite the Angel of Death to eat with him but he said, “I don’t require food,” and remained busy in prayers. Idris used to sleep due to fatigue but the Angel of Death was neither lazy nor tired; neither did he sleep. In this manner some days passed until one day they passed by an orchard. The grapes were ripe. The Angel of Death asked Idris whether they should take some of the grapes and break their fast. Idris replied, “Glory be to Allah, I invited you to eat from my share of sustenance and you refused. You are now inviting me to eat other people’s grapes without their permission. You have recompensed my companionship in a nice way. Tell me who are you?” He replied, “I am the Angel of Death.” Idris said, “I have one request from you.” The Angel of Death asked him what it was. Idris said, “I wish you to take me up to the skies.” The Angel of Death took Allah’s permission, seated him on his wings and took him up to the skies.

Idris said, “I have one more desire. I have heard that death is very difficult so I wish to taste it so as to verify that it tastes as I have heard it.” The Angel of Death took Allah’s permission. Then he held the breath of Idris for sometime then removed his hand and asked Idris how found it? Idris replied, “Very severe, more severe than what I have heard.” Then Idris said, “I have one more desire. I want to see the fire of Hell.” The Angel of Death ordered the keeper of Hell to open the door. When Idris saw it, he swooned. When he regained consciousness he said, “I have one more request. I would like to see heaven.” The Angel of Death asked the permission of the keepers of Heaven and Idris entered it and said, “O Angel of Death now I will not come out of it. Allah has said every soul will have to taste death which I have tasted and Allah has said there is no one from you who will not come near Hell and I have seen it and about the heavens it is said that the people of heavens will remain in it forever.”2

- 1. Previously we have mentioned the proofs for the messengers to be infallible thus the wish from Allah to Idris for sending rains will have to be taken up as an order on his own and due to his love. And the delay in supplicating was not due to giving up worldly perfection or name or fame or for avenging the anger of the soul but anger to the transgressors for not accepting the words of the Almighty. And often it happens that due to excessive love of the Creator they are more angry on the transgressors, more than Allah is as they don’t posses the mercy and kindness which is with Allah and they can’t tolerate to see a person disobeying Allah and this becomes a source of proximity with Allah and a bounty from Allah that they are warned and should never revolt or transgress against Allah and are not included in the wrath of Allah.

- 2. This tradition is the same as other traditions and the first tradition can be relied upon. In other books it is mentioned that Idris lived on this earth for 300 years. Some have narrated more. When he went to the skies he was appointed as the Caliph and lived for 919 years. He made his son Enamakh his Legatee who was the father of Nuh. Sayyid Ibn Tawus has narrated in the book Saad-us-Saood that I have seen in the scriptures of Idris that: O Careless people its near that death befall upon you and your complaints are severe. Sweat may be flowing from your forehead, your lips are tightened and your tongue is sealed, your mouth is dry and the whiteness of your eyes covers the black pupil and froth flows from your mouth and your whole body shivers and you are involved in the severe pangs of death. Everywhere people call you but you don’t listen and you are lying dead among your dear ones. At that time you will stand as a warning for others. Thus before death, take a lesson from it as certainly death will fall upon you. You may have a long life but in the end you will be destroyed because whoever is created has to die. And understand that death is easier than the fear of the Day of Judgment, which is after it. At another place it is written that that he said, “Understand with certainty that abstaining from disobedience of Allah is the highest wisdom and a great bounty and is one of the cause for inviting towards goodness which amounts to opening of the door to goodness and understanding because when Allah befriends any of His creatures He bestows on them intellect and wisdom and. His Prophets and His friends were guided by The Holy Spirit. For others the curtains on this world and the truth are opened so that they abstain from ignorance and follow the guidance and counsel by which it becomes ingrained in their souls. At another place it is mentioned that Remember your Lord excessively because if Allah sees that you are a helper and assistant of one another, He will accept your prayers and will fulfill your desires and will make your wishes come true and will send bounties on you from His treasure, which will never be destroyed. At another place it is said that remember your Lord at all times because when He sees that you are a supporter and helper of one another then He will accept your prayers, your wishes will be fulfilled, you will gain what you desire and He will send bounties on you from His treasure which will never be exhausted. At another place it is mentioned that when you fast, abstain your soul from every evil and impure things and fast with a pure and sincere intention only for Allah. Clean your intention with every filth because Allah will segregate people with pure hearts and pure intentions. For fasting and abstaining your mouth from food it is necessary that you be away from sins because Allah is not pleased if one just abstains from food but it is expected that you abstain from all evil when you worship. Then his heart and his thoughts should be directed towards prayers and to establishing a link with Allah and supplicate and ask your hearts’ desire which will be your gain and should be expedient with humility and helplessness. And when you prostrate be away from worldly tensions, evil thoughts and bad or unexpected actions and pray the five obligatory prayers daily which has eight Surahs to be recited. Every morning three chapters and in every chapter there are three prostrations with three rosaries. At mid-day there are five chapters and another five chapters at the time of sunset. These are to be recited with prostrations. These are obligatory prayers and one who prays in addition to it, his reward is only with Allah.

An Account of Nuh

Birth of Nuh - Death and life-span of Nuh

al-Qutb al-Rawandi and others have stated that Nuh was the son of Malik son of Matushalakh who was the son of Akhnookh also known by the name of Idris.

From reliable source it is related from Imam al-Ridha that a Syrian asked Amir al-Mu’minin the name of Nuh. He replied that his name was Sakar but because he mourned over his people for nine hundred years, he has been named as Nuh.

It is related from Imam as-Sadiq that the name of Nuh was Abdul Gaffar but he was known as Nuh because he used to mourn on his own self.

The Holy Prophet said that the name of Nuh was Abdul Malik, but since he wept for five hundred years, he was called Nuh. In another reliable tradition, he mentioned that his name was Abul-a-haa.

Imam al-Ridha is reported to have said that when Nuh boarded the ship, the Almighty revealed to him. “When you fear that the ship is to sink, recite La Ilaha-ilallah a thousand times and then pray to Me, that I may save you and those whom you have brought with yourself. Nuh and those along with him sat safely on the ship and raised the sails of the ship high, a strong wind struck them and Nuh feared that the ship would sink.

But in no time the wind became more aggressive and there was no time for reciting La-ilaha ilallah a thousand time, so he said in Syrian “Halooleya alfan alfan, ya mareyya utgin” as a result the swinging movement of the ship abated and it began to sail in a normal way. Nuh said that the words through which God saved him from drowning were such worthy words that they should not get separated from him. Hence he engraved “La-Ilaha-Illallaho alfa marratin Ya Rabbe aslehnee” on his ring which is the Arabic translation of the Syrian expression and the meaning of which is “I recite La-Ilaha-Illallah a thousand time, oh God give me salvation.”

In authentic books, it is reported from Wahab that Nuh was a carpenter. He was of wheatish complexion, a thin face, elongated head, big eyes, thin legs but well fleshy thighs, big navel and with a long thick beard. He was of tall stature, heavy built and had a very hot temperament. He was appointed as a Prophet at the age of eight hundred years. For nine hundred years, he invited the people towards Allah, but their obstinacy kept on increasing. Three centuries passed in this manner. The people of his tribe would become aged and die leaving children. And everyone amongst them would take his sons in their childhood to Nuh and would say to them that “If you happen to live after me do no submit to this insane person.”

Imam as-Sadiq says that Nuh lived for two thousand five hundred years, eight hundred years before attaining Prophethood, nine hundred years of guidance to the people, then two hundred years were spent in making the ship and he lived for five hundred years after the deluge.

When the water receded, he laid the foundation of cities and settled his there. When two thousand five hundred years of his life had passed, the Angel of Death came to him while he was sitting in the sunshine and said “Peace be on you.” Nuh replied to his salaam and inquired for the purpose of his visit. He replied, “I have come to take away your soul.” Nuh asked, “Could you give me respite that I may go beneath shade?” He said, “Yes.” Thereafter, Nuh went into shade and said, “Oh Angel of the Death the entire span of my life in this world was just like the coming from under the sunshine into a shade. Now you can execute the divine command.” The Angel of Death captured the holy soul of Nuh.

By authentic traditions, it is related from ‘Abd al-‘Azim that Imam ‘Ali al-Naqi said that Nuh lived for two thousand five hundred years. One day while he was sleeping on the Ark, a strong wind blew and uncovered him. Ham and Yafith saw this and started laughing. Sam scolded them and covered Nuh. Nuh woke up and saw the two of them laughing and inquired the reason for that. Sam narrated what had happened. Nuh raised his hands towards the heavens and said, “O God, change the seed of Ham and al-Yasa‘ so that they beget dark-skinned children.” Nuh told them: “God has made your children the slaves of the children of Sam because he did good to me. You both are disinherited and your disinheritance will manifest itself in your children and the signs of notoriety will remain distinguishable in the progeny of Sam until the time the world will last. Therefore, all dark-skinned people are children of Ham and all the Turks, Saqaleyeh, Gog and Magog are the descendants of Yafith.

Apart from this, those who are reddish and fair, are the children of Sam.

The Almighty revealed to Nuh, “I have appointed the rainbow as My bow and it an amnesty for My slaves and cities; and I have concluded a treaty between myself and My creation that they shall have no fear of drowning until the day of resurrection. And who can be greater fulfiller of promises than Me?”

After knowing this Nuh because happy and gave glad tiding to the people. Till that time, along with the rainbow, these used to be the bowstring and the arrow. But after that, the bowstring and the arrow were removed.

After the deluge, Satan came to Nuh and said, “You have done a great favor to me ask from me any advice, I shall not do any treachery with you.” Nuh remained quite and did not ask any questions. Almighty Allah revealed to Nuh to ask him questions that will bring out from his own tongue, proofs and arguments against himself. So Nuh said, “So, what you want to say?” Satan said, “Whenever we find a child of Adam to be a miser or greedy, or jealous, or an oppressor, or hasty, we pick him like a person picks up a drinking cup. And whenever these characteristics are found together in a person, I call him an obstinate Satan.”

Nuh asked him what that favor was that he thinks that Nuh has done to him. He replied, “You cursed the people on the earth and sent them all into the hell immediately and I was relieved from (working upon) them. If you had not cursed them, I would have had to occupy myself with them for a long time.”

Reliable tradition of Imam as-Sadiq mentions that after embarking from the ship, Nuh lived for five hundred years. When he had lived his (destined) age, Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, “O Nuh, your Prophethood is now over. So pass on “The Greatest Name” of Allah, the heritage of knowledge and the relics of Prophethood to your son Sam, because Allah says that He would never keep the earth devoid of His representative. “There will always be a learned one on it because of whom the slaves would regard Me worthy of worship, so that after passing away of one Prophet to the appointment of another Prophet, he may be the source of their salvation. I will never ever leave the world without a proof who will call people towards Me and who would know My commands. This is My order. And I have destined this for every group of people that I will establish a guide through whom I will guide the obedient people and thereby My argument would be exhausted on the wretched people.” Accordingly Nuh handed over “The Greatest Name”, and the Prophetic relics to his son Sam. Ham and Yusuf had no knowledge from which they could benefit themselves.

Nuh gave the glad tidings of Hud to his legatee and ordered the people to obey him. He also urged them to see the will at least once every year. That day would be a festive day for them just like Adam had commanded them. After some time oppression and deviation found roots in the children of Ham. Sam went into hiding with the relics. After Nuh Sam got the wealth of Ham and Yafith and they became dominant over them. It is for this that Allah says: “And We perpetuated to him (praise) among the later generations.”

That we gave the wealth of the oppressors to Nuh and Allah will make Muhammad dominant with it. The inhabitant of Sind, India, and Ethiopia are the children of Ham and the inhabitants of Iran and Sind are the children of Yafith and their wealth reached the followers of Muhammad and thereafter according to tradition that (wealth) passed from one A’alim (learned religious scholar) to another until Almighty Allah appointed Prophet Hud.

In another reliable tradition it is mentioned that the life-span of Nuh’s people was three hundred years. In another traditions it is reported that the age of Nuh was two thousand four hundred and fifty.1

Imam Zayn al-‘abidin said that people have adopted three things from three persons; patience from Ayyub, thankfulness from Nuh and jealousy from the children of Ya‘qub.

It has come in authentic traditions from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, concerning the explanation verses where the Almighty has praised Nuh,

“Indeed Nuh was a very grateful slave”, (17:3)

Imams have said that he was named thankful servant (of God) for every morning and evening he used to recite this invocation: “Allahhumma innee ashadoka unnahoo ma usbaha au umsa bee nematin all aafeyaten fee deenin au dunya feminka vahedaka la sharuka laka al humdobelia alayya valakashskra beha allayya hatta tarza va badrrezaa”2

It is related in authentic tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when after the deluge, Nuh was given the assignment of planting trees, the Satan arrived. When Nuh was about to plant the grape tree, the Satan said that it belonged to him. Nuh said, “You are a liar.” Satan said, “You allot a share to me in this. Nuh said, “All right, two-third is your share. It is for this reason that when grape juice reduces by two third in boiling, it becomes haram. In another authentic tradition he said that Satan quarreled with Nuh in respect of the grape-tree. At that time, Archangel Gabriel came and said he has right, and it should be given to him.

Hence, one-third went to Satan but he was not satisfied, then he was given half, he even then he did not agree. Archangel Gabriel set the tree on fire until two-thirds of the tree was burnt and one third remained. he (Archangel Gabriel) said, “Whatever got burnt was the share of Satan and whatever is left is your share and is permissible (halal) on you.”

It is related from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir from authentic sources that when Nuh came down from the ship he planted many trees and amongst them he had also planted the date palm. Iblis (Satan) may Allah curse him, came and uprooted the tree and took it along with him. When Nuh came back, he did not find the date palm and saw the Satan standing near. At this moment Archangel Gabriel came and informed Nuh that Satan has taken away the date palm. Nuh asked him as to why he had taken that tree, “By Allah amongst all the trees none I consider more dear to me than this tree and by Allah, until I do not plant this tree I will not rest.” Iblis said, “Whenever you plant it I will uproot it. So, you fix a share in it for me.”

Nuh agreed to set aside one-third for him but he did not agree, then he set aside half, yet he did not agree. Nuh did not increase his share any more. Archangel Gabriel said to him, “You are a Prophet of Allah, you do a favor, because goodness is from your side. Nuh understood that Allah has given the place right to him and for this reason he agreed to give two-third share. And for this reason it was prescribed that its juice be boiled until its two third, which is the share of the accursed Satan. If is not burnt away, it will not become permissible.

It is related from Wahab, both by Shi‘ah as well as Sunni traditionalists, that when Nuh came down from the Ark, he planted the trees that he had brought with him. The same moment trees bore fruits, but the grape vine was missing. It was taken away by Iblis and he had hidden it. When Nuh thought of looking for it on the ship, an angel said, “Wait, right now that tree will come for you at this very place.” And said, “In the juice of grape you have a partner with Iblis .” Nuh said that he would give one-seventh to him and that six shares will remain for him. The angel said, “You do a good deed, because you are a doer of good.” Nuh said that he would give one-sixth to him. The angel said, “You do a good deed, because you are a doer of good.” Nuh said that he would give one-fifth him. The angel said, “You do a good deed, because you are a doer of good.” This continued until Nuh offered two-thirds while keeping one-third for himself. The angel agreed. Thus two-thirds, the share of the Satan remains forbidden and one-third, the share of Nuh remains permissible.

In another tradition, it is related from ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas that Satan told Nuh, “You have a right and a favor upon me and in return I will teach you some virtues. Nuh asked, “What is my right upon you?” He said that by the curse that you laid upon your people by whom they all perished saved me the labor of making them go astray. Hence, always abstain from pride and jealousy because pride induced me not to bow towards Adam and I became an infidel and was declared as the accursed Satan. And greed induced Adam to eat from the forbidden tree in spite of the fact that all of the trees of Paradise were permissible for him except the forbidden tree. He ate from that tree and was asked to leave the Garden. And jealousy became the cause for the son of Adam to kill his own brother.”

Nuh asked him as to when he had the greatest control on the children of Adam. He replied, “When they are angry.”

Proclamation of Nuh

Propagation- Disobedience of the people and an account of their circumstances until the Deluge

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim relates from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when Nuh began his mission and invited people towards Allah, they rejected his invitation. This situation lasted for 300 years when Nuh decided to invoke Divine curse. It was early dawn and a group of 2000 great angels arrived from the first heaven. Nuh inquired from them who they were? They replied they were angels of the first heaven whose width is equivalent to 500 years’ journey and from the first heaven to the Earth; the distance is of 500 years. “We started near dawn and have reached here now to recommend to you not to invoke curse on your people.” Nuh said, “I agree. I will allow a grace period of 300 years.” Another 300 years passed but the people did not bring faith. Once again, he thought of invoking Divine curse on them. Again, a 2000-strong group of angels came from the second heaven. Nuh asked, “Who are you?”

They replied, “We are 2000 tribes among the tribes of angels from the second heaven. The width of the second heaven is equivalent to 500 years’ journey and likewise from the second heaven to the first heaven and from the first heaven to the Earth is a distance of 500 years. We started near dawn and have arrived here. (i.e.. we have undertaken a long journey). We have come to request you not to curse your people.’

Nuh said that another 300 years respite was granted. And when 300 years had passed and the people still did not bring faith, he thought of cursing them. At that time Allah said,

“None of your people will believe except those who have already believed, therefore do not grieve at what they do.” (11:36)

Nuh said,

“My Lord! Leave not upon the land any dweller from among the unbelievers:

For surely if Thou leave them they will lead astray Thy servants, and will not beget any but immoral, ungrateful (children).” (72:26-27)

Allah ordered Nuh to plant palm trees and Nuh planted them. The people saw this and were amused that Nuh has lived for 900 years and was now keen on planting palm trees. They ridiculed him and even began to throw stones at him. Fifty years passed in this way while the trees grew tall and strong. Then the command of Allah came to cut down the trees. Seeing this the people again ridiculed Nuh saying, “Now that the trees have grown so big this old man was cutting them down. He has lost his wits and old age has affected his wisdom.”

As the Almighty says,

“And he began to make the ark; and whenever the chiefs from among his people passed by him they laughed at him. He said, If you laugh at us, surely we too laugh at you as you laugh (at us).

So shall you know who it is on whom will come a chastisement which will disgrace him, and on whom will lasting chastisement come down?” (11:38-39)

Imam said that the Almighty had ordered him to build a ship and delegated Archangel Gabriel to teach him the technique. Nuh began to construct the ship. Its length was twelve hundred hands, width 800 hands and height 80. Nuh inquired, “Who will assist me in building this ship.”

Allah revealed to him to announce among his people that whosoever would help him in making the ship and scrape a log, the shavings will turn into gold and silver. When Nuh announced this, the people came along to help him in building the ship. But at the same time, they mocked him saying that he was building a ship in the middle of a desert.

It is related through acceptable chains from the same Imam that when Allah decided to destroy the people of Nuh he made their women barren 40 years prior to that. When Nuh completed the construction of the ship, he called out in Syrian language and the beasts rushed to him in response. From each of the species he took a pair. There were in all 80 people who had accepted faith. Allah revealed to him,

“Until when Our command came and water came forth from the valley, We said, Carry in it two of all things, a pair, and your own family —except those against whom the word has already gone forth, and those who believe. And there believed not with him but a few.” (11:40)

The ship was built at the al-Kufah Mosque. When that day arrived on which the Almighty had intended to destroy them, the wife of Nuh was making bread in the famous oven of al-Kufah Mosque. And Nuh was setting up things pertaining to the animals in their part of the ship. During all this the wife of Nuh called out to him that water was gushing out from the oven. Nuh came and poured some soil on the oven and sealed the openings so that water may not come out. Then he went and collected all the animals in the ship and finally broke the seal of the oven. The Sun disappeared and instead of rain, water came down suddenly and the springs started gushing out. As All
ah says,

“So We opened the gates of the cloud with water pouring

And We made water to flow forth in the land in springs, so the water gathered together according to a measure already ordained.

And We bore him on that which was made of planks and nails.” (54:11-13)

Allah commanded Nuh to pray for the safety of the ship in the name of Allah or keep reciting ‘Bismillah’ as the sailing and the halting of the ship depends on the name of Allah.

And when the ship came into motion, Nuh saw his infidel son standing in the water and falling again and again. He said, “O, my son, get on to the ship along with us and do not be with infidels.”

“He said, I will betake myself for refuge to a mountain that shall protect me from the water. Nuh said, There is no protector today from Allah’s punishment but He Who has mercy; and a wave intervened between them, so he was of the drowned.” (11:43)

“And Nuh cried out to his Lord and said, My Lord! Surely, my son is of my family, and Thy promise is surely true, and Thou art the most just of the judges.

He said, O Nuh! Surely he is not of your family; surely he is (the doer of) other than good deeds, therefore ask not of Me that of which you have no knowledge; surely I admonish you lest you may be of the ignorant

He said, My Lord! I seek refuge in Thee from asking Thee that of which I have no knowledge; and if Thou shouldst not forgive me and have mercy on me, I should be of the losers.” (11:45-47)

And so Nuh became silent upon the Lord’s command. During the same time, a wave came between them and the son of Nuh drowned. Imam says, “The ship took a turn and the waves carried it towards Makkah. It began to circle the Holy Ka‘bah because except for the holy house everything was submerged. The Ka‘bah is also referred to as al-Bayt al-‘Atiq because it did not submerge.”

The rains and the gushing springs continued for forty days. The level of water arose so much that it lifted the ship towards heaven.

At this Nuh raised his hands and prayed, “O my Lord, have mercy!”

“And it was said, O earth, swallow your water, and O cloud, clear away; and the water was made to abate and the affair was decided, and the ark rested on the Judi.” (11: 44)

The water was absorbed into the earth and the verdict of Allah in respect of the punishment of infidels and salvation of the faithful came into effect. The ship finally berthed at Mount Judi.

Imam said, “The earth only absorbed the water that had gushed from it’s springs. It refused to accept the water that had descended as rain because it said that Allah has commanded it only to absorb the water that had come out of it. As a result the water from the heaven spread all over the Earth and the ship halted at Mount Judi which is a great mountain in Mosul.”

Allah sent Archangel Gabriel who transferred that water which was left over to the seas, which are created round the earth. Allah revealed to Nuh,

“O Nuh! Descend with peace from Us and blessings on you and on the people from among those who are with you, and there shall be nations whom We will afford provisions, then a painful punishment from Us shall afflict them.” (11:48)

Imam said, “Then Nuh with eighty believers who were with him embarked from the ship at Mosul and laid the foundation of Madinatus Samaaneen. A daughter of Nuh was with him. The human generation continued from her. For this reason the Holy Prophet has said that Nuh is one of the two fathers of humanity. That is after Adam, the father of humanity is Nuh.”

From reliable sources, it is related from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that people asked him, “How Nuh came to know that no one of his people will bring faith while he cursed his own people by saying that may their children be lewd and sensuous.”

Imam replied, “Have you not heard that Allah told Nuh that except for those who have brought faith (by now), no one else from your people will bring faith?”

In reliable traditions, it is related from Imam as-Sadiq that when the Almighty declared Prophethood of Nuh, Nuh and his Shi‘ahs (friends) who were suffering persecution and injury at the hands of the infidels became sure that the time of peace and rest is near. Whereas the calamities became severe and mental torture kept on increasing and getting tough and reached to this limit that the infidels started throwing stones at Nuh. Sometimes, it so happened that Nuh remained unconscious for three days at a stretch, bleeding all the time. After three hundred years of guidance, he began getting such treatment. Then he started inviting them towards Allah, day and night, but they did not bring faith. He would preach and they would turn their back on him. After three hundred years, one day, after the morning prayers, he thought of cursing them. Three angels from the seventh heaven came to him and said, “O Prophet of Allah, we have a request for you.”

“What is that?” asked Nuh.

They replied, “Postpone the act of cursing the people, because this would be the first punishment and wrath to descend to the earth.”

Nuh replied, “I postpone it for three hundred years.”

He returned to his people and again continued to invite them towards Allah. But the people continued to torment him. This went on for another three hundred years and at last Nuh lost hope of them ever coming towards faith. One evening he decided to curse them. Suddenly a group of angel from the sixth heaven came down and after salaam said,

“We started from the sixth heaven in the morning and have reached you at this time and we desire that at present you set aside the curse that you intend to invoke upon your people.”

Again Nuh promised to abstain from cursing them for three hundred years and returned to his people and began preaching among them. But it had no effect until the second respite of three hundred years expired. In all nine hundred years of propagation passes in this manner. His followers came to him and complained to him about all they had suffered at the hands of the cruel kings and infidels and requested him to pray so that Allah may relieve them from the persecution. Nuh accepted the request and prayed to the Lord. Archangel Gabriel descended and said that the Almighty has accepted his supplication and commands him to tell his followers to consume date and plant its seeds and to take care of the trees until they bear fruit.

“When the trees bear fruits. We will provide them salvation.”

Hearing this Nuh praised Allah and gave glad tidings to his followers. They also became happy and waited until the trees bore fruits. They brought the fruits to Nuh and requested him to fulfill his promise. Nuh prayed to the Almighty and the Almighty said,

“Tell these people to eat these dates too and sow their seeds. And when those trees bear fruits I will bestow give them salvation.” When the people heard this, they thought that the promise has not been fulfilled and two-third of them renounced faith. Only a third of them remained firm on the faith of Nuh. They ate the dates and sowed the seeds.

When they bore fruits they came to Nuh and said,

“Very few of us have remained on religion and if there is a delay in repelling our hardships, all of us might turn away from religion. Hearing this Nuh offered his prayers and supplicated fervently,

“O Lord, very few followers are left and if they do not receive salvation, I fear that they might also perish.”

It was revealed to him that his prayer has been accepted and that he should start building the Ark.

Between the acceptance of his prayers and the deluge, there was a period of fifty years.

It has come in reliable traditions that when Nuh prayed for divine punishment on the people, Allah sent Archangel Gabriel with seven seeds of dates. He said, “O Prophet of Allah, the Almighty says, ‘These people have been created by Me and are My servants. I will not destroy them with My wrath until they are not emphatically invited towards Me and until all the arguments have been exhausted for them. Therefore make intense efforts to guide the people, bearing every type of hardship that may be necessary and the same shall be recompensed. Plant these date seeds and when their trees bear fruit there shall be salvation and freedom for you and your people. Make the obedient believers aware of this fact.”

Thus after some time when the trees bore fruits Nuh prayed to Allah to fulfill His promise. Allah commanded him to plant the seeds of these trees once again and continue preaching to the people with sincerity and bear hardships if necessary. When Nuh conveyed this to the believers, three hundred of them apostatized and said,

“O, Nuh whatever you proclaim, if it had been the truth the promise of your Lord would not have proved to be false.”

Every time the trees bore fruits the Almighty would order them to plant the seeds again; and this happened several times and every time a group apostatized. In the end only seventy odd followers remained. The Almighty revealed to Nuh,

“Now the enlightened dawn of righteousness will appear from the darkened night of falsehood and pure truth will remain and the dust of blasphemy, infidelity and ingratitude due to the apostasy of the people will disappear. If I had destroyed the infidels, leaving alone the apostates My promise to the believers that I would cause them to inherit the earth would have applied to them too. And if I had granted them kingdom and caliphate the hidden hypocrisy and infidelity would have caused untold dissension among the people and instead of true faith the earth would have been in chaos.”

After this the Almighty ordered Nuh to build the Ark.

In another reliable tradition related from the same Imam it is mentioned that Nuh was commanded ten times to plant the seeds of dates and every time when the fruits ripened, his companions would come and demand the fulfillment of the promise and when they were told to plant the seeds again the companions would divide into three groups. One group would become apostate; another hypocrite and only one would remain firm on faith. So much so that when the people came to Nuh for the tenth time and said,

“O Prophet of Allah. You may delay the fulfillment of the promise as much as you wish. We believe that you have been sent by Allah and are the true Prophet. We do not doubt your Prophethood.”

At this Allah, saved them through the Ark and the rest were destroyed.3

According to an authentic tradition it is related from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Nuh accepted all the waters except the sulphur.4

It is related from Imam Al-Hasan and Imam al-Husayn that Nuh invited all; the springs that did not accept his command were cursed. As a result, they became bitter and salty.

From an authentic report it is related from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Nuh boarded the ship on the first day of the month of Rajab and he ordered all those who were with him to fast on that day.

An authentic tradition mentions that a Syrian asked the explanation of the verse of Qur’an,

The day on which a man shall fly from his brother, And his mother and his father, And his spouse and his son (80:34-36)

—from the Commander of the faithful. He replied,

“On the Day of resurrection, one who will avoid his own son will be Nuh and Canaan.” The man inquired about the dimensions of Nuh’s Ark.

Imam said that the length of the ship was 800 hands, breath, 500 hands and height 80.5

It is mentioned in reliable tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that the length of the ship was 1200 hands, breadth 800 hands and height 80 hands. It circled the Holy Ka‘bah seven times. Trotted between the Safa and Marwa and then halted at mount Judi.

In another tradition, it is quoted from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah said that ninety rooms were built for animals on the Ark.

It is quoted from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that except for the Holy House of Ka‘bah the Almighty had submerged the whole earth in the deluge, and for this reason, it is named ‘al-Bayt al-’Atiq’, because it remained unsubmerged during the Great Deluge.

The narrator asked if it was lifted to the heaven. Imam replied, “No it did not come in contact with water. It rose around it.”

It is quoted from reliable sources that people asked Imam al-Ridha why the Almighty had submerged all the world in water while there were many innocent people, like children and insane men, upon it?

Imam replied, “There were no children because for forty years the women had been barren. Allah would never cause innocent people to perish by His wrath. He destroyed the people of Nuh because they had continuously refused to bring faith. The other remaining people perished because they were content with the denial of the disbelievers. One who is satisfied with some action, even though he may himself not perform it, is an accomplice.”

In another reliable tradition he says that the Almighty told Nuh that his son was not from his household. Like He said, Innahu amalun ghairu salih.6

It is mentioned from reliable sources that when Nuh descended from the ship Satan came and said, “You have done the greatest favor for me. You cursed the people and they all perished, thus you saved me the trouble of deviating them from the right path. In appreciation of your favor I inform you of two attributes, one is that you should never be jealous of anyone because whatever harm has come to me is due to jealousy. Secondly, never be greedy because whatever harm came to Adam was due to his greed.”

Reliable reporters state from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when Nuh cursed his people and they were destroyed, the Satan came to him and said, “You have done me a favor, I want to repay it.” Nuh said, “I hated to do you a favor, what was it?” Satan said, “You have done me a favor by cursing your people. Now there is no one left for me to deviate from the right path. I can rest in ease until the next century.”

Nuh asked him in what way he wished to repay the favor. Satan said, “Remember there are three situations when I find it very easy to gain control over a person, one: when he is angry, secondly, when there is arbitration between two parties and thirdly when a servant is alone with a woman.”

From reliable documents it is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful that when Nuh was loading the animals, the goat disobeyed and was thrashed. As a result, its tail came away and the private parts were exposed. The lamb took precedence in boarding the ship and Nuh patted its back and tail; therefore its tail grew long and covered its private parts.

Again from a reliable channel Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported to have said that Najaf was the tallest of all the mountains of the world and the son of Nuh had referred to it when he said that he would take refuge upon it from the deluge. At that very moment Allah revealed to that mountain that some evil people are about to take refuge upon it. It was so frightened that it crashed and pulverized into soft sand. In its place, a river came into existence. This river was called Nae. Later that river dried and got the name of Nae- Jaf. Due to frequent usage, it changed to “Najaf”.

According to reliable narrators Imam al-Ridha said that when Nuh landed, his followers numbered eighty. He laid the foundation of a village and named it “the village of Thamaaneen”, that is the village of eighty people. Ibn Babawayh has related from Wahab that when Nuh boarded the ship the Almighty revealed to all the creatures, including animals, a state of calmness. At this they all became peaceful and did not harm each other. The lamb stayed with the wolf, cow with the lion, the sparrow would sit in the mouth of the snake. There was no quarrelling or screams for help. Neither abuses nor curses. Everyone was thoughtful of ones own soul. Allah had expelled the poison from every poisonous being until they disembarked from the ship. In the ship, there were a lot of rats. Allah revealed to Nuh to pat the lion. The lion sneezed and two cats, a male and a female emerged from its nasal openings. They attacked the rats and reduced their number. Then Nuh patted that elephant with his blessed hand. It sneezed and at these two pigs, a male and a female came out of the two nasal openings because of which the facial matter was eliminated.

A reliable tradition related from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that the people of Nuh complained to him about the pestilence of rats. Allah ordered the tiger and it sneezed. A cat fell out of its nose. When the people complained about waste matter Allah ordered the elephant. It sneezed, and pigs dropped out from its nose.

In another tradition he said that when Nuh wanted to board the wild ass onto the ship. It stopped because Satan was lodged between its two legs. Nuh said, ‘O Satan, enter!’ and hit the wild ass with a stick from the palm tree. The wild ass entered and so also the Satan. And he said, “I am teaching you two qualities. Nuh said, “I don’t want to speak to you.” Satan said, “Abstain from greed which forced out Adam from the Paradise and avoid jealousy which drove me out of the Paradise.” At this moment Allah revealed unto Nuh that even though he was accursed, what he said was true.”

From reliable chains of narrators it is related from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that during the deluge of Nuh the water was fifteen hands high over every mountain and plain.

Another authentic tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that when Nuh invited his people the children of Shith verified his call from the knowledge they had inherited from their ancestors. However, the descendants of Qabil refuted the claim of Nuh. They said, “We have heard whatever you say about your forefathers. Should we bring faith on you whn people lower than us have followed you?” By this they meant the descendants of Shith.

In a reliable tradition it is quoted from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that according to the religious law of Nuh the worship of Allah should be with sincerity and with the belief in the unity of Godhead. And one should abandon the traditions of those who attributed likeness and partners to Allah. This is the nature on which Allah has created everyone. Allah took promise from Nuh and from all the Prophets to worship Him alone. He taught and made them aware of ritual prayers, prohibitions and obligations, exhorting people to do good and refrain from evil, permissible and unlawful acts. But there were no jurists and jurisdiction with regard to inheritance. Nuh was among them for nine hundred and fifty years and continued to preach the truth, but they continued to deny and rebel.

Upon this Nuh said, “O Allah! I give up! You take my revenge!”

Allah revealed to him that now no more people would bring faith. Hence, he should not feel offended because of their deeds. For this reason while cursing them, Nuh declared that the children born to them will be lewd and infidels.

Reliable chains of narrators quote Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Nuh and his people lived on the western part al-Kufah along the banks of Euphrates. Nuh was a carpenter by profession. Then Almighty Allah exalted him and made him a Prophet. He was instrumental in constructing the ship and set it afloat. He invited his people towards the religion of truth for nine hundred and fifty years, and they continued to laugh and mock him. When he was sure, they would never accept guidance he cursed them. Allah revealed to him to make a spacious boat soon. Nuh brought wood from the forest and started to build the boat in the mosque of al-Kufah. In the same mosque, the idols by the name of Yaoob, Yaooq and Tasrak were installed by the people.

A narrator enquired, “May I be sacrificed for you, in how many days did Nuh accomplish the task of building the ship?” He replied, “In two periods of time totaling eighty years.” The person further asked, “The Sunnis say that it was built in five hundred years?” He said, “It is not like this and how can it be like this while Allah said ‘wa Wahaina’ and ‘Wahee’ means ‘quick’.”

Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said that the ship was covered from the top due to which one could not see the sun and the moon. Nuh had a couple of seeds. One of them shone during daytime and the other during the night. And from this, the prayer times were determined. Nuh had brought with him the blessed body of Adam. When he landed from the ship, he buried him in the basement of the minaret of the Mosque of Manaa.7

According to reliable traditions it is related from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Nuh’s Ark was built in thirty years and in another tradition quoted from the same Imam it was built in 100 years.8

It is related from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that menstruation is an impurity affecting women. During the time of Nuh women menstruated once a year. At that time, seven hundred women gave up veils and roamed the cities in make up, gaudy dresses and jewelry. They attended mixed gatherings and intermingled freely with men. Hence, Allah afflicted these evil women with menstruation every month. As a result, men drove them out of their houses. But after some time the sexual urge of men got the better of them and they took back the women. Other women, however, continued to have normal periods, once a year. The children of women of both types married with each other they became a homogenous group. Women who menstruated every month had cleaner blood and few male children. For this reason women menstruating once a year became rare.9

From reliable chains, it is quoted from Imam as-Sadiq that when Nuh disembarked, the water dried up and even dehydrated the bones of infidels. When Nuh saw the bones of his people he was distressed beyond limit. Allah revealed to him to eat black grapes to expel the grief.

In another tradition, it is quoted from the same Imam that Nuh stayed in the ship for seven days, and the ship circled the Ka‘bah and halted at Judi, in al-Kufah on the bank of Euphrates.10

It has come in authentic traditions that an illegitimate child is the worst of all creation. Nuh took dogs, pigs and all the animals on the ship, but he did not take any illegitimate born.

In reliable traditions the explanation of Allah’s saying: (They) did not bring faith on Nuh but a very few.” it is quoted from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that only eight people brought faith.11

In authentic traditions, it is quoted from Imam as-Sadiq that the oven was inside the Mosque of al-Kufah, to the left side and faced the Kiblah. One day while he was busy building the ship, the wife of Nuh came to him and said that water is gushing out of the oven. Nuh came running and sealed it with a baked brick. The water stopped. When he completed the ship and placed everything, he removed the seal. Water gushed out. The river Euphrates and other springs also gushed in fury.

In a few authentic traditions it is quoted that when all the infidels were drowned Allah revealed to the earth, “O Earth, absorb your water.” The earth absorbed the water that had gushed out, but whatever had descended from the heavens remained on the Earth in form of oceans.

From authentic traditions it is quoted from Imam Musa Ibn Ja‘far that when Nuh boarded the ship and started sailing by the order of Allah, Allah revealed to the mountains, “I want to make my servant, Nuh stay on one of you.” Hearing this all the mountains raised their heads except for Mount Judi in Mosul. It remained humble and modest and said, “I am not worthy enough that Nuh’s Ark may berth upon me.” Allah appreciated the humility and designated the ship to halt on Mount Judi. Hence, when the ship touched, Mount Judi trembled, The people thought the ship might wreak and sink. Nuh looked out from a small window of the ship and said, “My Lord! Steady the boat!” And in some traditions it has come that he said, “O Sustainer do us a favor!”

In another reliable tradition it has come that Nuh took resort of the Holy right of Messenger of Allah, Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali, Fatimah al-Zahra’, Imam Al-Hasan, Imam al-Husayn and all the Imams and took them as his intercessors.

There is no controversy in all this. It is possible that all of this might have happened.

In an authentic tradition, it is quoted from Imam as-Sadiq that Nuh’s Ark touched Judi on the day of Navroz (21st March)

Sayyid Ibn Tawus has narrated from Muhammad Ibn Jarir Tabari that Allah exalted Nuh with Prophethood because he used to worship Allah in excess and used to seclude himself from the general public, and his height was three hundred and eight hands according to the standards of his times. His dress was woolen, whereas prior to him, the dress of Idris was made of deer skin. Nuh lived in the mountains. His staple diet consisted of grass. When he reached the age of four hundred and sixty years, Archangel Gabriel brought him the robe of Prophethood and said, “Why have you secluded yourself from the people?” He replied, “My people do not recognize Allah, therefore I have become aloof from them.” Archangel Gabriel said, “Wage holy war against them.” He replied, “I do not possess the might to confront them. And if they come to know that I am not on their religion, they would surely kill me.” Archangel Gabriel said, “If you get that might, will you wage a holy war against them?” He replied, “With much pleasure, I wish I had that might.” He inquired, “Who are you?” Archangel Gabriel raised a loud cry, and the mountains almost shattered. In response (to that cry), the angels and all the creatures of the earth replied, “Here we are! Here we are! O Messenger of Allah.” Nuh was filled with terror.

Archangel Gabriel said,” I am that person who lived with your two forefathers, Adam and Idris. The ever-forgiving Allah is sends His salutations and I have brought good tidings for you. Take this dress of patience and garment of staunch faith and the honorable robe of Prophethood and Messengership. And Allah orders that you marry Amoora daughter of Himran son of Idris because she would be the foremost to have faith in you. Nuh came to his people on the day of Aashoora. He used to carry a white (walking) stick, which informed him about the secret affairs of his people. This was a festive day and all of them had gathered before their idols. Nuh went to them and said, “Laa ilaaha illallaah (Meaning that there is no god but Allah.), and Adam was chosen by Allah, Idris is one exalted by Him. Ibrahim is His friend and Musa is one who spoke with Allah, and that ‘Isa was created by the means of the Holy Spirit and Muhammad al-Mustafa is the last of the Prophets and they are my witness on you that I have preached the divine message to you.” Hearing this, the idols trembled, fires in the fire temples were extinguished, and everyone was terrified. The leaders and oppressors asked him who he was. Nuh replied, “I am a servant of Allah and a son of His servant. He has sent me to you after appointing me His Prophet.” Saying this, he began to weep.

Then he said, “I warn you about the wrath of Allah.” When Amoora heard the words of Nuh, she immediately brought faith. Her father became angry and said, “A sentence of Nuh had such effect on you? I fear when the king comes to know about this he will kill you.” Amoora replied, “Father, where is your reason and intelligence? Nuh is a lonely, weak person and without being designated by Allah how can he raise a voice that has frightened you so much?” This had no effect on the father. He imprisoned Amoora for a year and starved her. Throughout the year people heard of her distress. When they released her, the people observed a great light in her and found her condition better than before. Everyone was surprised as to how she could remain alive for a year without any food and water. They inquired from her and she said that she had appealed to the Sustainer of Nuh and hence Nuh used to bring food for her miraculously.” Then Nuh married her and Sam was born. Nuh had two wives. One was infidel named Rabia, who perished in the storm; the other was faithful who remained with him on the Ark. Some traditionists have stated that the name of the faithful wife was Haikel.

In reliable traditions Amir al-Mu’minin wrote in his will to Imam Al-Hasan and Imam al-Husayn, “After my demise when you bath and shroud me, raise my bier from rear; do not hold it from front, because from the angels will lift and at whatever place my bier is lowered you put it down. Then strike a pick-axe on the ground and a grave will appear which my father Nuh had made for me near his chest. The two sons acted according to the will and a tablet was found with an inscription in Syriac, “Bismillah hir Rahmaanir Raheem. This is grave was prepared by Nuh for the Successor of Muhammad al-Mustafa i.e... ‘Ali seven hundred years before the deluge.” There are many traditions indicating that Adam and Nuh are buried near the tomb of ‘Ali and that after reciting the Ziyarah of ‘Ali, the Ziyarahs of these Prophets should also be recited.

- 1. All these stated traditions are compatible with each other and it is possible that in accounting the age of Nuh the time period during when he was not attending to the religions affairs was not considered.

- 2. There is slight difference in the words of this invocation, which I have mentioned in the book of invocation of Behaarul-Anwaar (the author)

- 3. It is very difficult to reconcile the conflicting traditions. It is possible that some were mistaken or some traditions may have been registered because of Taqiyyah in accordance with the general traditions. Some of the events have been mentioned repeatedly. Likewise, it is possible that in respect to the arrival of the angels from the second or sixth heaven, both events have occurred. Similarly about the number of seventy odd followers it is possible that the children of Nuh have been taken into consideration. And that the delay in the fulfillment of promise may be because the promise was not an absolute one but that it was subject to some conditions. Or in fact, the delay was in the wrath of Allah and not in the promise. And that if someone promises punishment of someone and does not execute, it is not considered immoral. Rather it is a praiseworthy quality. And in these traditions, there may be signs in favor of the occultation of the 12th Imam and for the delay in the reappearance of that Imam, for the people of reason.

- 4. Sulphur water here means hot water that smells like sulphur.) water and bitter water.

- 5. The tradition quoted previously is more reliable. The difference in the breadth could be due to the hand as a unit.

- 6. There is difference of opinion between commentators, historians and the religious scholars whether he was actually the son of Nuh or that of his wife from her previous marriage, legitimate or illegitimate. It is well known amongst the Shi‘ah tradition that he was the son of Nuh and was legitimate. According to the first recitation, some have said that he had performed the indecent act and some have said that that he himself was the result of an indecent act and was not legitimate. The Shi‘ahs do not accept this meaning. From Imam al-Ri¤a and all the Imams there are many traditions quoting that what the Sunni say is wrong. He was Nuh’s son. It was due to the fact that he was an infidel and an evildoer that the Almighty had said that he was not from the household of Nuh And those who had obeyed Nuh were said to be from his household. Just as Prophet has said, “Whosoever follows me is from my household.”

- 7. In fact, after the deluge the body of Adam was buried in the city of Najaf as stated earlier. Perhaps this tradition is based on dissimulation.

- 8. The various traditions could be reconciled that some of them were stated in dissimulation to support the Sunni view. It is also possible that in some traditions the time taken for smoothing the wood is also included. In some, this period is excluded (period spent in acquiring wood, nails and other materials.) At that time Allah ordered him to take on the ship from every pairs that Adam had brought from the Paradise so that the children of Nuh after disembarking from the ship may live in comfort on the land just like the Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an that “We sent descended eight pairs of quadruped for your two pairs of lambs, two pairs of goats, two pairs of camels and two pairs of cows. One pair each was domestic and the other was wild. Their hunting was permissible. Similarly, one pair of goats was domestic and the other wild. One pair of cows was domestic and the other wild. One pair of cows was domestic and the other from mountains. One pair of camels was Khurasani and the other Arabian. Likewise, birds were also from wild and domestic.

- 9. This characteristic (of becoming rare) appears to belong to women who have menstruation once a year, who do not exist any more. Their numbers kept on reducing and at last became non-existent. It is possible that the traditionalist has committed an error.

- 10. There is difference of opinion in respect of the time period that Nuh stayed in the ship. Some accept this tradition because it is the most reliable. Some however state that he stayed on the ship for one hundred and fifty days. A few have also stated the period to be six and five months respectively.

- 11. Perhaps apart from his sons and daughters only eight people brought faith and all together were eighty in number or one of these traditions is based on Taqiyyah.

Circumstances of Hud and his people

Ibn Babawayh and al-Qutb al-Rawandi have mentioned that Hud was the son of ‘Abdullah son of ‘ad Rubah. He was the son of Haloos, son of ‘ad, son of A’oz son of Aram son of Sam son of Nuh Some other historians have mentioned that the actual name of Hud was A’abir the son of Salih, son of Azmekhshad, son of Sam, son of Nuh. According the ibn Babawayh the reason he is given the little of Hud is because he was the ‘guided one’ among his people.

Authentic chains of narrators have conveyed a tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, wherein he says, “When the time of death approached for Nuh he summoned his people and followers and told them, ‘Keep in mind, after me will be occultation of the proof of Allah. During this period, you shall be subjugated and oppressed by illegitimate leaders and tyrannical kings. And the Almighty will relieve you of these difficulties through ‘al-Qa’im’ (one who rises) - whose name is Hud. He shall be of good appearance, pleasing manners, calm and dignified. He shall resemble me in appearance. When he appears the Almighty will destroy your enemies through wind.’”

Thus, the majority of the believers began to anticipate the arrival of Hud but a long time passed and gradually the people strayed from the path. The Almighty sent Hud at a time when they had lost all hopes and were involved in extreme difficulties.

Then Almighty Allah destroyed their enemies through “Baad al-Aqeem” as alluded to in the Holy Qur’an. Once again Hud went into occultation and the unjust got the upper hand. This continued until the advent of Salih.

Ibn Babawayh and al-Qutb al-Rawandi relate from Wahab that when the Hud was forty, the Almighty Allah revealed to him to invite his people towards His worship and Oneness (Tawhid). “If they accept, I shall increase their strength and wealth.” The people had gathered at a place when Hud approached them and said, “Worship Allah, the One who has created you. There is no deity except Him.” They said “O Hud! You were upright, reliable and trustworthy in our eyes.”

“I have been sent by Allah towards you,” replied Hud, “Give up idol-worship,”

When the people heard this, they became angry and leapt at his neck to strangle him. He was on the verge of death, when they finally released him. Hud was unconscious for one full night and a day. When he finally regained consciousness he said, “My Lord, I have carried out your commands. You have also seen how the people dealt with me. At this moment, Archangel Gabriel descended and said, “The Almighty says that you have become sorrowful and disheartened and given to sloth in the matter of guiding your people, when He has promised to instill their hearts with your fear. After this they shall never be able to supersede your authority.”

After this revelation, Hud returned to his people and said, “You have resorted to mischief and sinfulness.” The people told him to abstain from such discourse and warned him that if he did not desist they will again punish him with such intensity that he would forget his previous suffering. Hud told then to forgo disobedience and repent to the Almighty. Gradually the hearts of the people were instilled by the awe and majesty of Hud. They thought that now they would never be able to exceed the power of Hud and hence resolved to collectively subject him to different kinds of torture. Hud raised a slogan with such an intensity that the people ran away in terror. He said, “You people are stubborn in disbelief like the people of Nuh. You also deserve a curse like Nuh invoked the wrath of Allah for his people.”

The people said, “The gods of the people of Nuh were weak and powerless whereas our gods are strong and mighty. You are also aware of our strength.” The height of those people was 120 spans according to present standards, and their bodies were 60 spans wide. Whenever, one of them desired, he could easily uproot a small hillock and toss it aside. Thus for 760 years Hud continued to invite them towards Allah. When Allah decided to destroy them, He created hillocks of sand and stone. Hud told them, “I fear that these hillocks may be a punishment for you from Allah.”

Thus, Hud became very distraught due to the obstinacy of his people regarding sinfulness. The hillocks called out him to be happy that one day the people of ‘ad shall be punished through them. When Hud heard this he renewed his exhortations to the people and said, “Fear Allah and worship Him. If you do not testify to the belief in Allah, these very hillocks and dunes will be the punishment and divine wrath for you.”

When the people heard this, they began to uproot the hillocks and remove them from their place. However, more they endeavored hillocks reappeared in larger number. Hud addressed Allah thus, “O my Lord! The more I persist in conveying your message the more these people persist in disbelief.” The Almighty revealed to him that He would prevent rain. Hud told his people that the Almighty has assured him that He will destroy the people. This warning of Hud reached every nook and corner of the earth and the wild animals, birds and other creatures heard it too. They all rushed to Hud and pleaded. “Surely, you don’t intend to destroy as with the disobedient people?” Hud heard their plaintive cry and prayed for them to the Almighty. The Almighty revealed to him that He would not destroy those who have not disobeyed him.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that ‘Ad was a tribe of the people of Hud inhabiting a village that stretched from Shugooq to Akhzar. They had four-storeyed cities, a flourishing agriculture, and numerous date palms. They had long life spans and towering buildings but they were idol worshippers. Hud was sent by Allah to invite them towards Islam and restrain them from idolatry. The people refused to accept this and instead began to torture Hud in various ways. The Almighty prevented rain for seven years causing a terrible famine. Hud himself practiced agriculture and irrigated his fields. One day a group of people came to the door of Hud. The door was opened by a woman, grey-haired and one-eyed. “Who are you?” She asked them.

“We have come from a certain town, and are inflicted with draught. We have come to request Hud to pray for rain.”

The old woman told them that if the prayers of Hud were effective for this purpose he himself would have prayed. For his own crops have withered away due to lack of rain. The people asked for the whereabouts of Hud. She told them. The people came to him and said, “O Prophet of Allah! Our towns have dried up. There is no rain. Please pray to the Almighty to send rain for us and bestow us with excess of bounties.” Hud listened to them and prepared for prayers. After the prayers he told the people to return and that the Almighty will send rain and bounties for them. The people said, “O Messenger of Allah! We have beheld an astonishing sight.”

“What?” asked Hud

They told him of the old, grey-haired and one-eyed woman at his house who had spoken to them. Hud said, “She is my wife, and I pray to the Almighty to grant her a long life.”

When the people asked him why he prayed thus, he said, “Allah has not created any believer but that he has an enemy too; who continues to torture him. And my enemy is that woman. I am the master of my foe. It is better that my enemy is not my master.”

Thus Hud remained among the people and continued to invite them towards Allah and restrained them from idol-worship. He used to exhort them to give up idolatry, and worship the One and only Allah; so that Allah may bestow them with rain and increase the population of their cities.

Yet the people refused to believe. Consequently the Almighty sent a chilly and biting wind. It continued do blow for seven days.

It is related through authentic chains of narrators that Imam al-Baqir said, “Indeed the realm of the Almighty has the breeze of mercy and the breeze of wrath also. Whenever the Almighty desires, He transforms the breeze of wrath into a breeze of mercy. However He never transforms the breeze of wrath into the breeze of mercy. Because Allah is never wrathful to the people who obey Him. He is enraged when they begin to go astray. Then Imam states that the Almighty dealt with the people Yunus in this very fashion. He had already decreed punishment for them. They were about to be seized by divine punishment. But the people accepted belief and pleaded for mercy; and the punishment was suspended. And “Bad al-Aqeem” is the wind of punishment. There is mercy in it. Not a blade of grass sprouts in its presence. It emanates from the seventh layer beneath the earth. This particular wind never appeared except for the people of ‘ad. Even at that time it was allowed only as much as the sizes of a finger ring. But it was so infuriated at the people of Hud that it came out in great magnitude. The controllers complained, “O Allah! This wind has leashed such a fury upon us that we fear that even the righteous ones of us will perish with the wrong-doers.”

Almighty Allah sent Archangel Gabriel to curtail the wind with his breeze and bring a part of it back, leaving only the quantity desired by Allah. Thus only part of it that Allah desired remained and rest receded, and it was enough to destroy the people of ‘ad and their associates.

According to a good tradition a well was being dug in the vicinity of Bataniyah by the order of Muta’sim. However even after 300 units of depth, there was not a single drop of water. Muta’sim gave up and did not order for a second well. When Mutawakkil succeeded him, he ordered that digging should continue until water is struck. The digging began. After every hundred units a platform was constructed. At last they reached a stone. When they broke it, a whiff of cool breeze emerged, killing all those who were around. They never reached Mutawakkil. He and his scholars could not think of a logical explanation. Finally they wrote a letter to Imam ‘Ali an-Naqi. Imam replied that they were killed like the people of Ahqaf, that is, like the people of ‘ad. They were destroyed by the Almighty by a swift and cold breeze. The Prophet of that community was Hud They had populous and flourishing cities. Imam explained the disobedience of people and the shortage of rain. He said that when chastisement arrived the people decried a cloud approaching. They became happy, thinking that it would now rain. Hud told them it was not so. It was the punishment they had themselves invited.

The Messenger of Allah is reported to have said, “Not a breeze blows, but in specified intensity and quantity. But the breeze that blew in the time of ‘ad against the control of treasurers with great intensity and it was like the eye of the needle. It destroyed the people of ‘ad.

It is narrated from Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali that he said, “Winds are of five types. One of them is Aqeem and we seek refuge of the Almighty from its peril.”

Ibn Babawayh relates from Wahab that the breeze of Aqeem is from the earth that we inhabit. It is tied up with seventy thousand chains, and 70000 angels guard each of the chains. When the Almighty decided to unleash it upon the people of ‘ad, its controllers were permitted only to the extent equal to the breathe that comes out of a cow’s nostril. If Allah had permitted, it would not have left anything standing on this earth. However, He ordered the angels to release it only equal to the size of a finger ring. The people of ‘ad perished due to this wind. The Almighty will employ the same breeze to demolish the mountains, hillocks, cities and fortifications, and flatter the in the initial stages of the Resurrection Day. It is called Aqeem because it perpetrates chastisement and is absolutely bereft of mercy. When it descended upon the people of ‘ad, it destroyed their palaces, buildings and cities and reduced them to sand, as mentioned by the Holy Qur’an,

“It did not leave aught on which it blew, but it made it like ashes.” (51:42)

Due to this their cities were so full of sand as they had been pounded upon by the vicious wind. It continued to blow for seven nights and eight days. It used to lift up men and women and throw them headlong to the earth. It uprooted the mountains in the same way as it destroyed and powdered the houses. That is why there are no mountains in sandy regions and it is for this very fact that the Almighty has termed them “Dhat al-‘Imad” because the people of ‘ad used to carve pillars from mountains as high as the mountains themselves and fix them to the earth.

Moreover, Wahab says, “The fate of the people of ‘ad was so terrible that all places that have sandy landscapes were once inhabited by the people of ‘ad. Prior to this there was only limited sand in cities. It has assumed gigantic proportion in the last period of time. They were originally the strong forts, fortresses, cities, houses and the gardens of the people of ‘ad. Their cities were the most populous among the Arabs. They had more gardens and streams than any other city. When these people took the path of disobedience, and began idol-worship, the Almighty became angry and sent the breeze of Aqeem. It pulverized into sand, their forts, cities, fortresses, houses and buildings. They consisted of thirteen tribes.

Hud was the most noble and respected among them. He was very prosperous and to a great extent resembled Adam He was wheat-complexioned. He had a hairy body and was quite handsome. No resembled Adam more than him, except Yusuf. Hud remained among his people for a long time. He used to invite the people towards Allah and prohibit them from ascribing partners to Him, and from oppressing the people. He also warned them of divine chastisement. But the people did not forgo sinfulness and illegitimate ways. They used to inhabit an area called Ahqaf. No community surpassed them in numerical strength, power and might. When they felt the approaching breeze they told Hud, “Do you frighten us with this breeze?” Then they took their children, their weak ones and belongings and entered a shelter. They themselves remained at the entrance to shield their women and children from the wind. But when the breeze reached their feet, it lifted them high in the air and hurled threw them into the seas.

Previously, the Almighty had sent ants for their chastisement. They were unable to save themselves from these ants. The ants entered their ears, nose and mouth. At last they fled the cities leaving behind all their wealth and property. The Almighty Allah allowed them to take refuge in the mountains and they made it their home. Allah also bestowed them with such strength and hard work that He had not bestowed anyone, neither before them or afterwards. The majority of them inhabited Dahina, Berin and Aalij. The area was bordered by Yemen on one side and Hadaramaut on the other. After the descent of punishment on ‘ad, Hud came with his followers to Makkah and settled there until he departed from this world. Salih also performed the same ritual. 7000 Prophets went to the valley of Rauha near Makkah. With the intention of performing hajj. All of them had dresses of spun hair. Even the reins of their camels were spun with hair. They announced various kinds of talbiya (e.g. Allahumma Labbaik!). These Prophets included, Hud, Salih, and Ibrahim, Musa, Shu‘ayb and Yunus. Hud was a trader.

According to authentic narrations it is related from ‘Ali ibn Yaqtin that Mansur (the `Abbasid caliph) ordered him to dig a well in the palace of a pious man. Yaqtin began to dig the well and continued for a considerable period of time. In the due course, Mansur died. But there was still no water in this well. When al-Mahdi learnt of this he said that he would continue digging until water is struck. Even if the public treasury is exhausted in this venture.

Hence Yaqtin appointed his brother Abu Musa for this well. He continued the digging to such an extent that a hole appeared at the bottom of this well. A whiff of breeze came through the hole. The diggers were terrified and they came and informed Abu Musa. He came to the well and asked to be lowered into the well. The well was forty hands wide. The people lowered Abu Musa in a canopy tied with ropes. When he reached the bottom he sensed a great peril from this hole. He heard the rumbling of wind below it. Then he ordered the widening of this hole and lowered two people to investigate the matter. The two of them remained inside for a long time and at last tugged their ropes to pulled back. When they were pulled to the surface they related astounding things. “We saw men who have turned to stones. All their belongings and houses etc have turned into stones. There men and women are wearing clothes. Some of them are sitting and some lying on their sides. Some of them are resting on pillows. When we touched their clothes they turned to dust and flew away in the breeze. Their houses retain their original structure.

Abu Musa wrote to al-Mahdi about it and all the court scholars were astonished. But no one could think of a rational explanation. At last al-Mahdi, the ‘Abbasid wrote a letter to Madinah and requested Imam Musa al-Ka¨im to come and explain the enigma. Imam traveled to Iraq. al-Mahdi related the incident to Imam. Imam wept profusely and said that those were the remains of the people of ‘ad. The Almighty sent His wrath upon them and they sunk below the earth along with their houses. And they were the people of Ahqaf. “What is Ahqaf?” asked al-Mahdi.

“Sand,” replied Imam.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported in authentic traditions to have said that when Hud announced his Prophethood, the descendants of Sam believed in him because they were having prior knowledge of his special characteristics. But the other people perished through the breeze of Aqeem. Hud made a bequest to them regarding Salih and gave them the glad tidings of his advent.

Authentic chains of narrators relate that Imam as-Sadiq said, “The age of the people of Hud was 400 years. First the Almighty prevented rain for them for three years. Yet they did not give up their disbelief. When the intensity of drought increased they sent a group of people towards the mountains of Makkah. They were not familiar with the location of Ka‘bah, that they might have prayed there for rain. When they reached the mountains they prayed for rain and three types of clouds rose up in the sky. They neither selected the first nor the second. They selected the third cloud that was the cloud of punishment. When the gust of wind came towards them a rich man named Khalqaan said to Hud “The approaching cloud has some creatures who are riding on camels and carrying maces.”

Hud said, “They are the angels of Allah.”

“If we believe in your God, would He give us power over these angels so that we can take revenge?” asked Khalqaan.

“Allah does not give power to the sinners to subdue those who obey Him,” replied Hud.

“What happens after our people are destroyed?” asked Khalqaan.

“Allah will bring other people in your place, they shall be better than you,” informed Hud.

“Life is not worth living after them,” so saying Khalqaan joined his people and perished with them.

According to an authentic tradition after the fatal blow Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali made a bequest to Imam Al-Hasan and said,

“Take me to Najaf and bury me between my two brothers Hud and Salih.” In another tradition Imam Al-Hasan says that Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali told him, “Bury me in the grave of my brother, Hud.” Therefore, whatever is mentioned in the previous tradition can be reconciled by saying that it probably refers to the original burial site of Hud. And that later Hud was transferred to Najaf like Adam.1

A reliable chain of narrators quote Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq as saying that whenever there is wind carrying white, black or yellow dust - it is the pulverized bones and powdered houses of the people of ‘ad.

In other reliable tradition the tafsir of the verse,

“Surely, We sent on them a tornado in a day of bitter ill-luck.” (54:19)

Says that the ill luck mentioned is everlasting punishment for the people of ‘ad. According to authentic traditions the day refers to the last Wednesday of the month.

It is related from Imam al-Baqir that the Almighty Allah has confined this tornado in a house - the door of which is locked and bolted. If it were to be released it will destroy all that exists between the earth and the heavens. It was sent to the people of ‘ad only equal to the circumference of a finger ring. The mother tongue of Hud, Salih, Shu‘ayb, Isma‘il and Muhammad, Peace be upon them all, was Arabic.

In another tradition from the same Imam it is narrated that the people of Hud were of towering heights, like the date palms. They used to break chunks of mountains with their bare hands.

Wahab narrates that the eight days when they were hit by the wind are known as Bardul Ajooz in Arabic. These days that there is a windy weather in most of the countries. There is also extreme cold. It is associated with Ajooz because an old woman of ‘ad entered the earth and due to the punishment this wind, blew and destroyed the people on the 8th day.

The Almighty has related the incident of ‘ad in a number of Qur’anic Ayats. At one place He says,

And to ‘ad (We sent) their brother Hud. He said, O my people! Serve Allah, you have no god other than Him; will you not then guard (against evil)? The chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said, Most surely we see you in folly, and most surely we think you to be of the liars. He said, O my people! There is no folly in me, but I am an apostle of the Lord of the worlds. I deliver to you the messages of my Lord and I am a faithful adviser to you: What! Do you wonder that a reminder has come to you from your Lord through a man from among you that he might warn you? And remember when He made you successors after Nuh’s people and increased you in excellence in respect of make; therefore remember the benefits of Allah, that you may be successful. They said, "Have you come to us that we may serve Allah alone and give up what our fathers used to serve?" Then bring to us what you threaten us with, if you are of the truthful ones. He said, Indeed uncleanness and wrath from your Lord have lighted upon you; what! Do you dispute with me about names, which you and your fathers have given? Allah has not sent any authority for them; wait then, I too with you will be of those who wait. So We delivered him and those with him by mercy from Us, and We cut off the last of those who rejected Our communications and were not believers. (7:65-72)

In another place Allah says,

And to ‘ad (We sent) their brother Hud. He said, O my people! Serve Allah, you have no god other than He; you are nothing but forgers (of lies). O my people! I do not ask of you any reward for it; my reward is only with Him Who created me; do you not then understand? And, O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him; He will send on you clouds pouring down abundance of rain and add strength to your strength, and do not turn back guilty. They said, O Hud! You have not brought to us any clear argument and we are not going to desert our gods for your word, and we are not believers in you: We cannot say aught but that some of our gods have smitten you with evil. He said, Surely I call Allah to witness, and do you bear witness too, that I am clear of what you associate (with Allah). Besides Him, therefore scheme against me all together; then give me no respite: Surely I rely on Allah, my Lord and your Lord; there is no living creature but He holds it by its forelock; surely my Lord is on the right path. But if you turn back, then indeed I have delivered to you the message with which I have been sent to you, and my Lord will bring another people in your place, and you cannot do Him any harm; surely my Lord is the Preserver of all things. And when Our decree came to pass, We delivered Hud and those who believed with him with mercy from Us, and We delivered them from a hard chastisement. (11:50-58)

Again the Lord says,

Ad gave the lie to the apostles. When their brother Hud said to them: Will you not guard (against evil)? Surely I am a faithful apostle to you; Therefore guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey me: And I do not ask you any reward for it; surely my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds. Do you build on every height a monument? Vain is it that you do: And you make strong fortresses that perhaps you may. And when you lay hands (on men) you lay hands (like) tyrants; so guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey me. And be careful of (your duty to) Him. Who has given you abundance of what you know. He has given you abundance of cattle and children. And gardens and fountains; Surely I fear for you the chastisement of a grievous day. They said, It is the same to us whether you admonish or are not one of the admonishers. This is naught but a custom of the ancients; and we are not going to be punished. So they gave him the lie, then We destroyed them. Most surely there is a sign in this, but most of them do not believe. (26:123-139)

In yet another place the Almighty tells his Prophet to inform those who are obstinate in disbelief,

Then as to Ad, they were unjustly proud in the land, and they said, Who is mightier in strength than we? Did they not see that Allah Who created them was mightier than they in strength, and they denied Our communications? (41:15-16)

Furthermore Allah says,

And mention the brother of Ad; when he warned his people in the sandy plains, — and indeed warners came before him and after him — saying Serve none but Allah; surely I fear for you the punishment of a grievous day. They said, Have you come to us to turn us away from our gods; then bring us what you threaten us with, if you are of the truthful ones. He said, The knowledge is only with Allah, and I deliver to you the message with which I am sent, but I see you are a people who are ignorant. So when they saw it as a cloud appearing in the sky advancing towards their valleys, they said, This is a cloud, which will give us rain. Nay! It is what you sought to hasten on, a blast of wind in which is a painful punishment, destroying everything by the command of its Lord, so they became such that naught could be seen except their dwellings. Thus do We reward the guilty people. (46:21-25)

Commentators of the Holy Qur’an say that Hud had constructed a boundary and took refuge in it with those who believed in him. The wind was able to reach them only to the extent that pleased them. However the people of ‘ad were lifted by the gale so high that they seemed like locusts. They were tossed headlong on the mountains and their bones were pulverized. They had constructed strong buildings and walls to protect themselves from its fury. When these people entered their houses, the gale followed them inside, plucked them out and carried them away.

Shadeed, Shaddad and the city of Iram

Ibn Babawayh, Shaykh Tabarsi and others have written that there was a person named ‘Abdullah bin Qalaba who went in search for his lost camel. He was wandering in search of his camel in the wilderness of ‘ad. In that wilderness he saw a city surrounded by a moat. There were many palaces and numerous standards (flags). He came towards it thinking it would be inhabited and he would seek information regarding his camel. But he did not see anyone entering the city. He came to the gate, alighted from his she-camel and tied it on one side.

Then he extracted his sword from the scabbard and entered the city. He saw two more gates, more lofty than anyone has seen in the world. They were made of incense wood and inlaid with yellow and red rubies that brightened up the surrounding houses with their glow. Seeing this, the man was mesmerized. He opened a door and entered. He saw another city within, as resplendent and as beautiful. He saw palaces in it; they were constructed on pillars of emeralds and rubies. All the palaces had windows, and above each window was another window. All made up of gold, silver, pearls, rubies and emeralds. The gates of these palaces were like the gates of the city. Of incense wood inlaid with rubies. The floor of the palaces was plastered with pearls, musk and saffron. When the visitor beheld the sight and did not find any human, he was terrified. The palaces were surrounded by orchards of different kind of fruit-bearing trees. Streams flowed underneath the trees. He thought that it was the same Paradise that Almighty has promised for the righteous.

He thanked Allah for letting him enter the Paradise in his worldly life. Then he began pluck as many pearls, musk and as much saffron as he can. But he was not able to pull out a single ruby or emerald. Then he came out, mounted the she-camel and returned the way he had come, to Yemen. He showed the pearls, musk and saffron balls he was having and related the whole incident. He even sold the pearls he had obtained, though they had yellowed due to their age. The information gained popularity and reached the ears of Muawiyah. He sent a messenger to the governor of Sana’a requesting him to send this person to him. Thus he came to Muawiyah. Muawiyah took him aside and he related the incident. He summoned Ka’b him Ahbaar and asked him, “Have heard or read in some book about a city of gold and silver with palaces on pillars of rubies and emeralds, and windows and floors of pearls and orchards of fruit-tries beneath which streams flow?” “Yes”, replied Ka’b, “This city was constructed by Shaddad the son of ‘ad. It is the same Iram that is mentioned by Allah in the Qur’an and praised in the words, “No city has been constructed like it.” Muawiyah told him to relate the details.

Ka’b said, “Apart from the people of ‘ad there was a person, ‘ad the first. He had two sons, Shadeed and Shaddad. After the death of ‘ad they succeeded him and gained such power that the east and the west paid obeisance to them. Shadeed died first and Shaddad became the foremost ruler of the world. He was an avid reader of books. When he came across the description of Paradise, the inlaid rubies and pearls and other bounties, he wanted to construct a Paradise at par with the Paradise of Allah. Thus he appointed one hundred people for building the ‘Paradise’. And under each one of them he deputed a thousand workers. Then he ordered them to look for a vast tract of land in the wilderness and construct a city of gold, silver, rubies, emeralds and pearls. To construct pillars of emeralds. To construct palaces and fix windows to them and windows upon these windows. Below the palaces, they should plant fruit orchards and make streams flow underneath. “I want a similar Paradise on the earth,” said Shaddad, “Just as I have seen the description of Paradise in books.” The people asked, “How can we obtain such huge quantities of gold, silver and gems to construct such a city?”

“You know that I am the master of the whole world.”

“We know that,” they replied.

Shaddad told them to, “Appoint a group of people for each of the mines, that’ they may collect as much quantity as required by you. Apart from this collect all the gold and silver owned by the people.”

Thus, letters were dispatched to the rulers of the east and west and for full ten years, valuables were accumulated. Then for three hundred years continued the construction of the palatial city. The total age of Shaddad was 900 years. The people informed him that they had completed the task of building the ‘Paradise’ for him. Shaddad told them to construct a moat around the city and build a thousand castles on the outskirts each flying thousands of flags. “Each of these places will house one of my ministers,” said Shaddad. The architects completed the additional task as ordered by Shaddad.

Shaddad issued orders to the people that they should move towards Dhat al-‘Imad. The people prepared for the journey for full ten years. Shaddad finally set on his journey with his army and people. When he was near his destination and only a days’ journey remained, the Almighty sent a voice from the heavens that killed all of them. Neither Shaddad was able to enter Aram nor his people. (O Muawiyah!) A man from your people, from among the Muslims, red faced, red-haired and short stature, clean eye-brow and neck, will enter this city in search of his lost camel.

The person was present with Muawiyah. When Ka’b saw him, he said, “This is the same man, by Allah!” Then in the last period of time, the followers of the true path will enter that ‘Paradise’.

Ibn Babawayh says, “We have seen the book Al-Mu‘amerun that Husham bin Sa’d has quoted, ‘I saw a stone in Alexandria with the Inscription:

I am Shaddad the son of ‘ad, who built the city of Dhat al-‘Imad. No city has ever been constructed like it. I mobilized a large army and conquered lands with my might. And constructed the palaces of Iran, at the time when there was no old age or death. And the stones were as soft as flowers. And I have sunk twelve stories deep and no one shall be able to salvage it. But the Ummah of Muhammad will bring it out.

- 1. Historians and commentators of Qur’an differ as to the site of the grave of Hud. Some say it is in Hadaramaut, in a cave and historians narrate from Amir al-Mu’minin that the grave is on a red hillock in Hadaramaut. Some say that Hud is buried in the Hijr Isma‘il at Ka‘bah.

Salih, his she-camel and his people

The Almighty has mentioned this incident in a number of places in the Holy Qur’an; to warn the heedless and ignorant people of the community. First, we quote the relevant verses to be followed by appropriate traditions. The Almighty says,

“And to Thamud (We sent) their brother Salih. He said, O my people! Serve Allah, you have no god other than Him; clear proof indeed has come to you from your Lord; this is Allah’s she-camel for you — a sign, therefore leave her alone to pasture on Allah’s earth, and do not touch her with any harm, otherwise painful chastisement will overtake you. And remember when He made you successors after ‘ad and settled you in the land — you make mansions on its plains and hew out houses in the mountains — remember therefore Allah’s benefits and do not act corruptly in the land, making mischief. The chief of those who behaved proudly among his people said to those who were considered weak, to those who believed from among them: Do you know that Salih is sent by his Lord? They said, surely we are believers in what he has been sent with. Those who were haughty said, surely we are deniers of what you believe in. So they slew the she-camel and revolted against their Lord’s commandment, and they said, O Salih! Bring us what you threatened us with, if you are one of the apostles. Then the earthquake overtook them, so they became motionless bodies in their abode. Then he turned away from them and said, O my people I did certainly deliver to you the message of my Lord, and I gave you good advice, but you do not love those who give good advice. (7:73-79)”

“And to Thamud (We sent) their brother Salih. He said, O my people! Serve Allah, you have no god other than He; He brought you into being from the earth, and made you dwell in it, therefore ask forgiveness of Him, then turn to Him; surely my Lord is Nigh, Answering. They said, O Salih! Surely you were one amongst us in whom great expectations were placed before this; do you (now) forbid us from worshipping what our fathers worshipped? And as to that which you call us to, most surely we are in disquieting doubt. He said, O my people! Tell me if I have clear proof from my Lord and He has granted to me mercy from Himself — who will then help me against Allah if I disobey Him? Therefore you do not add to me other than loss: And, O my people! This will be (as) Allah’s she-camel for you, a sign; therefore leave her to pasture on Allah’s earth and do not touch her with evil, for then a near chastisement will overtake you. But they slew her, so he said, enjoy yourselves in your abode for three days that is a promise not to be belied. So when Our decree came to pass, We delivered Salih and those who believed with him by mercy from Us, and (We saved them) from the disgrace of that day; surely your Lord is the Strong, the Mighty. And the rumbling overtook those who were unjust, so they became motionless bodies in their abodes, As though they had never dwelt in them; now surely did Thamud disbelieve in their Lord; now surely, away with Thamud. (11:61-68)”

“And the dwellers of the Rock certainly rejected the messengers; And We gave them Our communications, but they turned aside from them; And they hewed houses in the mountains in security. So the rumbling overtook them in the morning; (15:80-83)”

According to al-Qutb al-Rawandi, Salih was the son of Thamud, son of Aatir, son of Iran, son of Sam son of Nuh. Some believe that Salih was the son of Abeed, son of Asif, son of Masikh, son of Abeed, son of Hawar, son of Thamud, son of Aatir son of Iran, son of Sam son of Nuh.

According to authentic chains of narrators from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq in the tafsir of the ayahs:

Thamud rejected the warning. So they said, What? A single mortal from among us! Shall we follow him? Most surely, we shall in that case be in sure error and distress: Has the reminder been made to light upon him from among us? Nay! He is an insolent liar! (54:23-25)

That he said,

“It occurred when the people of Thamud belied Salih, for it never happened that Allah destroyed a community before He sent a warner who exhausted the argument upon them. Thus, the Almighty sent Salih to them and he invited them towards Allah, but they did not accept, rather they opposed vehemently and were stubborn in disobedience. They said, ‘We shall not believe in you until you bring out from this rock a she-camel, ten months pregnant.”

These people used to worship that particular rock, and offered numerous sacrifices to it every year and they congregated around it. They told Salih, “If you are truly a Prophet and a Messenger as you claim to be, pray to Allah that He may cause a she-camel ten months pregnant to emerge from this rock.”

The Almighty acceded to their request and a she-camel appeared from the rock. Allah revealed upon Salih to inform the people that the she-camel should be allowed exclusive access to drinking water on alternate days. So the she-camel consumed all the water on alternate days. She was milked and all the people relished her milk on those days. On other days, the people and other animals drank water, and the she-camel did not come near the pond. This continued as long as the Almighty desired. The people began to deviate and hatched a plot to slaughter the she-camel. “We are not prepared to continue with the existing arrangement,” they said, “the she-camel consumes all the water on alternate days. Whoever kills this camel shall be rewarded according to his wish.”

Upon hearing this, a red-complexioned, red-haired man with blue eyes approached the people. He was of illegitimate birth. His name was Qedar and was a vile and an evil person. The people determined his reward. On her day, the she-camel was on its way back after having a drink from the pond, when this man stroked her with a sword. The stroke did not have any effect. He hit her the second time and she fell down on her side and her young one ran to the mountain. It raised its head thrice towards the sky and pleaded. The people gathered and each of them hit the she-camel and participated in the outrageous crime. They divided the meat among themselves and none remained without partaking of it. Salih was dismayed. He said, “O people you have committed a serious transgression and disobeyed the Almighty.” The Almighty revealed to Salih, “Your people have rebelled, transgressed and killed the she-camel that I had sent for them as the final proof. They were not inconvenienced due to the she-camel. It was a great boon, rather. So tell them that I will send chastisement within three days. And if they do not repent and forgo sinfulness I will surely send down the punishment for them.” Salih came to his people and said,

“People, I am the Messenger of your lord. He says that if you repent, forgo sinfulness and seek forgiveness, He will condone your sins and accept your repentance.”

When Salih said this, their obstinacy and transgression increased. They said, “Salih! If what you say is true, bring the punishment upon us.”

Salih said, “Indeed tomorrow morning your faces shall turn yellow, the next day red and then black on the third day.”

Thus, next morning all their faces turned yellow. Some of them told others, “What Salih had predicted was true and the chastisement has come to you.” The renegades and the transgressors said, “We shall not accept the word of Salih and would not believe him even if what he says is true.”

On the second day, their faces turned red. Again, some of them said, “What Salih had predicted has come true. Obstinate transgressors said, “Even though we perish, we shall still not believe in Salih. We shall not forgo worshipping the deities of our forefathers.” They did not repent and neither did they stop sinning. On the third day, their faces turned black. Again some people went to them and repeated that whatever Salih had predicted was true but the arrogant ones said, “Indeed whatever Salih predicted has come to pass.”

At last, when at midnight, Archangel Gabriel descended and raised a loud call that shattered their eardrums. Their hearts exploded and livers disintegrated. On the third day, they anointed and shrouded themselves, convinced of the imminent punishment. The Almighty killed all of them. By the morning, all of them lay dead in their houses and their bedrooms. Then Almighty Allah caused a loud noise with a fire that descended from the sky and burnt all of them. This is an account of the people of Thamud.

A good, rather an authentic tradition, from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that the Messenger of Allah asked Archangel Gabriel why the people of Thamud were destroyed. Archangel Gabriel said,

“O Muhammad! Salih was sent to his people when he was sixteen years old. He remained among them until he was a hundred and twenty years. But they were having seventy idols, whom they worshipped. When Salih saw this he said, “O people! Indeed, I was sixteen years old when I was sent for your guidance. Today I have reached my 120th year. I give you two alternatives. Either of us makes a request to your gods and sees if they respond. After that if still you do not agree I will go away, for I am very distressed and hopeless regarding you.”

“Fair enough,” said the people, promised that one they shall go to the wilderness and performed the test. On the appointed day, the misguided people took their idols to a desert. They ate and drank to satiation. After this, they invited Salih to present his demand. Salih came to largest idol and asked its name. The people told him and Salih addressed the idol by its own name. It did not reply. “Why doesn’t it reply?” asked Salih The people suggested that he question another idol. It also did not respond. One by one Salih called each and every idol but none of them uttered a reply. Salih said, “People! You have seen that I called each of your gods but not one of them responded. Now you present your demand and if you are not able to achieve it, I shall pray to Allah and He will surely grant it.”

The people addressed their idols and asked them as to why they had not responded to the call of Salih. Still they did not get a reply. Then the people told Salih to leave them alone with their idols. Salih obliged them. The people threw away the carpets and utensils and began to roll in the sand and said, “If you do not reply to Salih today, we shall be insulted.”

They called back Salih and told him to inquire again. Once more Salih addressed each of the idols, but there was no response. Salih said, “The whole day has passed in this, these idols do not respond. Now you express your demand so that I can pray to the Almighty. He will accept the prayers at this very moment.”

The people selected seventy senior leaders. They told Salih that they were prepared to present their demand. Salih asked the people if they agree. “Yes!” replied the people. “If this group accepts your word, we too shall follow it,” assured the people.

The group of seventy said, “O Salih! We present a request to you. If your Lord accepts it, we shall obey you and follow your commands. And the rest of the people will also follow suit.”

Salih told them to ask whatever they wished. They indicated towards a nearby mountain and said, “Come, let us go to this mountain and we shall express our wish there.” When they reached the mountain they said, “O Salih! Pray to your God that at this very moment, He may cause a red-haired she-camel ten months pregnant and three parasang long to appear from this mountain side.”

Salih said, “You have made such a request that it is impossible for me but it’s easy for my Lord.”

He prayed to the Almighty and at that very moment, the mountainside cracked with such a loud noise that the people nearly lost their senses. The mountain felt a terrible pain like a woman during childbirth. Suddenly the head had not yet emerged when the she-camel began to speak. Then the remaining portion came out and it stood erect. When the people beheld the astonishing scene they exclaimed, “How quickly your Lord responded to your supplication! Now pray that she should deliver a young one too.”

Salih prayed and the young emerged from its mother and ambled around it.

“Anything else?” asked Salih. “No!” admitted the people, “Let us go back to and relate all this to our people that they may also believe in you.”

They turned and had not yet reached their people when sixty four of the seventy men reneged and said that Salih had performed magic. However, six of them remained steadfast. The situation turned serious and those who belied Salih deserted him. From the six steadfast people one fell into doubt. He remained among them until the time they slew the she-camel.

The narrator says that I have seen the mountain with a mile-long aperture. The sides of the she-camel have left their impression on both sides of the mountain.

According to a reliable chain of narrators Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Salih was in occultation for a long time. He was middle-aged at that time. He had a handsome body and a flourishing beard and was of medium stature. When he reappeared, the people failed to recognize him. Prior to his return, there were three groups among the people. One group used to reject and said that Salih was no more alive and that he could never return. The second group was in doubt. The third group was sure that he would come back. When Salih returned, he first went to the group that was in doubt and said, “I am Salih.” They rejected him saying that he did not resemble him. Then Salih came to those were his deniers. They also did not accept him and expressed extreme dislike for him. Finally, he came to the group steadfast in faith and said, “I am Salih.”

“Show us a sign to remove all doubts,” they demanded. “We know that Allah is the creator and He can change the appearance of whomsoever He likes. We are aware of the special characteristics of Salih. We have also found in the books that he will return.”

“I am the one who had brought for you the she-camel,” said Salih.

“You speak the truth,” accepted the people, “We have read this in our books. Tell us the sign of the she-camel.”

“One day is allotted for the she-camel to drink water and the next for you.”

They said, “We believe in Allah and in all things that you have brought from Him.”

The arrogant group who were harboring doubts said, “We do not accept what you believe.”

The narrator says that I asked, “O son of the Messenger! Was there no Scholar among them?”

Imam said, “Allah is more just that he will leave the earth without a scholar. When Salih reappeared all the scholars came to him. And in this Ummah the example of ‘Ali and the Awaited al-Qa’im (Peace of Allah be on both) is like that of Salih - Both of them will reappear towards the end of time and at that time also people will divide into three groups. Some of them will accept them and others reject them.

According to authentic reports Musa Ibn Ja‘far said, the People of Ras were two different groups. One of them have been mentioned by Allah in the Qur’an. Another group inhabited the desert and owned sheep and goat. Salih the Prophet sent one of his representatives to them. They killed him. Salih sent a second one. He too was murdered. The third messenger was sent with an assistant to help him. They killed the Prophet again. The assistant (wali) tried his best and exhausted the argument. They used to say, “Our god is in the sea,” as they lived by the seashore. Every year they had a day of feast. On this day, a huge fish used to emerge from the sea. The people prostrated before it. The Wali of Salih assured them that he was not desirous of being accepted as their god. “But if the fish that you worship obeys me, would you accept my word and hearken to what I invite?”

“Yes”, agreed the people and took an oath for the same.

Thus, the fish emerged, riding on four other fishes. When the people saw it, they fell down in prostration. Then the Wali of Salih came towards the fish and commanded,

“Come to me by the name of the Almighty, willingly or unwillingly.”

The fish heard the command and alighted. Wali said, “Climb astride the fishes again and come! So that there remains doubt among these people regarding me.”

The fish climbed upon the four fishes and they all came out of the water near the Wali. Despite witnessing such a spectacle, the people continued to belie the Wali. The Almighty sent a wind towards them and along with their animals, they were tossed into the sea. The Wali received a divine revelation to go to a well by the name of Ras. He reached the well and extracted the hidden treasures and distributed it equally among the young old of his followers. It is possible it might be the same well; popularly known as Ras that one passes on way to Makkah.

Both Shi‘ah and Sunni traditionalists have quoted from reliable chains that the Messenger of Allah asked Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali: “O ‘Ali! Who are the most evil among the ancient people?”

“The killer of Salih’s she-camel.” replied ‘Ali. “You are right,” said the Holy Prophet and then asked, “Who is the most evil of the people of the later age?”

When ‘Ali did not reply the Messenger of Allah said, “It is the person who will strike your head.”

‘Ammar bin Yasir says that I and ‘Ali Ibn Abi-Talib were asleep on the sand during the battle of Ashira when all of a sudden the Messenger of Allah awoke us. When we awoke he asked, “Do you want me to tell you who is the most evil of the people?”

Both of us said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah. The red-complexioned one of the people of Thamud. Who cut off the legs of the she-camel of Salih.” “And next is one who will strike the head of ‘Ali and smear his beard in blood.”

A number of chains quote the tradition that once the Messenger of Allah emerged holding the hand of ‘Ali and called out, “O Ansar, O sons of Hashim! O sons of Abdul Muttalib! I am Muhammad the Messenger of Allah. Indeed, I am the recipient of divine mercy. I live with three orphans, ‘Ali, Hamza and Ja‘far. Just now, a person told me, ‘O Messenger of Allah! These people will be astride you in the Resurrection Day’. May your parents may mourn you! On that day none will be astride except me, ‘Ali, Fatimah and Prophet Salih. I would be astride the lightning. My daughter will be astride my she-camel named Gaza; Salih will be upon Allah’s she-camel that was slain. And ‘Ali will be upon a camel of Paradise. Its bridle will be of rubies. ‘Ali would be wearing two garments and standing between Paradise and Hell. It would be a situation when the people undergo extreme difficulties and would be sweating profusely. A breeze will blow from the Holy Throne drying up their perspiration. The angels, Prophet and the truthful ones will say that it cannot be anyone except the closest angel and a Messenger who has been sent by Allah. At this occasion a voice shall call out, “This is not a proximate angel, nor a Messenger, it is the brother of the Messenger of Allah, in the world and hereafter, it is ‘Ali Ibn Abi-Talib.”

According to authentic tradition, people asked Imam Al-Hasan about the seven creatures that did not come through the womb.

Imam Al-Hasan said, “They are Adam, Hawwa’, the ram of Ibrahim, the she-camel of Salih, serpent of the Garden of Eden, the crow that was sent by Allah to teach Habil the method of burial and Iblis (Curse of Allah be upon him.).”

It is recorded in some traditions that when they had cut off the legs of she-camel the same nine persons said, “Come, let us kill Salih too. For if he had given a correct prediction of chastisement, we would have killed him beforehand. If he is wrong we would have sent him where we sent the she-camel.” After hatching the plot, they came to the house of Salih in the dark of the night. The Almighty had sent the angels for guarding Salih and they stoned to death the attackers of Salih.

According to Ka’b bin Ahbaar the cause of the killing of she-camel was a woman named Malka. She was the queen of Thamud. When the people aligned with Salih she became jealous. There was another woman, Qatam, the beloved of Qedar bin Salif. Another woman, Iqbal was the beloved of Masda’. Qedar and Masdah drank together every evening. Malka told Qatam and Iqbal that when Qedar and Masdah approach you at night you should feign grief and say that you are sorrowful due to the she-camel of Salih. “We shall not be happy with you until you slay it.” When Qedar and Masda’ came to them that night and were told of their desires they agreed to slay the she-camel. They mobilized seven more people for their mission and slew the she-camel. As mentioned by the Almighty, there were nine people in the town who spread corruption in the land and did not allow peace to be established.

According to authentic traditions it was Wednesday when the chastisement struck the people of Salih. Other reliable narrations state that the she-camel was killed on a Wednesday. There is agreement between these two traditions.

An Account of Ibrahim and his righteous sons

Merits of Ibrahim and his perfect Morals

Through authentic chains it is narrated from Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far that Ibrahim was fifteen years old when he acquired perfect morals and divine recognition. It is related from the Holy Prophet that, “I would be the first one to be summoned on the Resurrection Day and I shall go and stand on the right of the throne. I would be made to wear a green garment of Paradise. Then my forefather Ibrahim and my brother ‘Ali shall be summoned. They would stand on the right side of the throne under its shade and would also be given green garments of Paradise. A caller will raise a cry in front of the Divine Throne: “O Muhammad! How virtuous is your forefather Ibrahim and how virtuous is your brother, ‘Ali.”

Authentic tradition from Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far says, “The Almighty Allah has required four things from everyone. He has appointed Ibrahim, Dawud and Musa for Jihad and sword fighting and he has appointed me for dwellers of house, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that Allah gave superiority to Adam, Nuh, the family of Ibrahim and the family of ‘Imran over the whole world.

Amir al-Mu’minin says that Ibrahim is from those Prophets who were born circumcised. And he was the first one to command the people regarding circumcision.

According to authentic traditions Ibrahim is the first person who hosted guests and got grey hair in his beard. He asked the Almighty as to what it was. The Almighty revealed, “It is the dignity of this world and the light (noor) of the hereafter.” In certain ayats the Almighty has referred to Ibrahim as his ‘Khalil’ (friend). ‘Khalil’ is one who does not allow any type of ‘Khalal’ (deficiency) in fulfilling the rights of friendship. In this way the Almighty appointed him as His friend. Many traditions have been mentioned in this regard. One of such traditions is related through reliable sources from Imam al-Ridha.

The Almighty Allah appointed Ibrahim as His friend because he did not spun the request of anyone and himself never asked anyone but Allah.

According to correct chains Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported to have said, “The Almighty Allah made Ibrahim His friend because he prostrated much (for Allah).”

Reliable sources report Imam ‘Ali al-Naqi said that Allah appointed Ibrahim as His friend because he frequently recited Salawaat on Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. According to the Holy Prophet Allah made Ibrahim His Khalil because he used to feed the people and pray at night when people were asleep.1

A reliable report from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says, “When Allah the Almighty appointed Ibrahim as His Khalil, He sent a handsome youth in white garments - who was actually the angel of death - to convey the good news to Ibrahim When he came to deliver the good news, oil and water was dripped from his hair. When Ibrahim returned home he saw someone leaving his house. Now Ibrahim was a very modest person. Whenever he went out he used to shut his door, lock it and carry the keys with him. That day he had gone on some errand when upon his return he saw this young man standing in his house. He said, ‘Creature of Allah! Who gave you permission to enter my house?’

‘The Master of the house,’ replied the man.

‘Indeed my Master has a greater right than me. But who are you?’ asked Ibrahim

‘I am the angel of death.’

Ibrahim became afraid. ‘Have you come to capture my soul?’ He asked.

‘No! The Almighty has appointed a certain person as His friend. I have come to convey this good news to him.’

‘Who is that fortunate person? May be I shall spend my life in his service,’ asked Ibrahim.

‘Ibrahim, you are that fortunate one.’ When Ibrahim heard this he was exhilarated. He rushed to Sarah and said, ‘Allah has appointed me as His Khalil.’”

Through reliable reporters we have a traditions from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that he said, “When the Almighty sent angels, His messenger to destroy the people of Lut, Ibrahim brought for them roasted meat of calf. They said, ‘We shall not partake of it until you inform us of its cost.’

Ibrahim said, ‘Recite Bismillah (In the name of Allah) before you begin and Alhamdolillah (Praise be to Allah) after you finish. This is the compensation.’”

Archangel Gabriel told four of his deputies: “Ibrahim deserves that Allah appoint him as His Khalil.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that when Ibrahim was thrown into the fire Archangel Gabriel met him in the air as he was descending towards the inferno. Archangel Gabriel asked him if he had any wishes.

“Not from you!” said Ibrahim

Another authentic tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says:

Ibrahim was the first person for whom the desert sand turned into flour. It was when he had gone to Egypt to one of his friends to borrow some food grains, but did not find him home. Ibrahim did not like that he should take back his beasts of burden empty. So he filled the sacks with sand. When he reached home, he sent the loaded animals inside to Sarah and he went to sleep in a secluded place. Sarah opened the sacks to find the best quality flour. She prepared leavened breads and carried them to Ibrahim.

“Where did you get there breads from?” asked Ibrahim.

“They are prepared from the same flour that you brought from your Egyptian friend.”

“Indeed one who gave me this flour is my friend but not that Egyptian friend (Khalil),” said Ibrahim. It was for this reason that Allah appointed him as His Khalil.

Thus Ibrahim thanked the Almighty and consumed his food.

According to an authentic tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq on the Resurrection Day Muhammad al-Mustafa shall be summoned, given a pink dress and made to stand at the right of the throne (the Holy Throne). Then Ibrahim would be summoned, given a white garment and made to stand on the left of the throne (the Holy Throne). Then ‘Ali will be called, given a crimson garment and made to stand at the right of the Holy Prophet. Isma‘il would be called, given a white garment and made to stand as the right of Ibrahim. After this Imam Al-Hasan shall be summoned. He would be given a crimson dress and made to stand on the right of Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali. Next, Imam al-Husayn shall be called, offered a crimson garment and made to stand at the right of Imam Al-Hasan, One by one all the Imams shall be called, made to dress in a red garment and stand to the right of their respective predecessors. After this the Shi‘ahs of the Imams shall be summoned and made to stand facing them. Finally, Fatimah al-Zahra’ will come with the women and children of their Shi‘ahs and they would enter Paradise in large numbers. Then by the command of Allah, a crier will call out from the middle of the Holy Throne: O Muhammad! How virtuous is your forefather Ibrahim and your brother ‘Ali, how virtuous he is! And how virtuous are your grandsons; Hasan and Husayn. And how virtuous is your grandson, Mohsin who was martyred in the womb, and Imam Zayn al-‘abidin until the last Imam - how meritorious is your progeny! How virtuous are the guiding Imams and how fortunate your Shi‘ahs. Indeed! Muhammad, his legatee (‘Ali) and their progeny of holy Imams - all of them are the successful ones.”

Then they shall be made to enter Paradise. This is the interpretation of the Almighty’s statement,

“Those who are removed far from Hell-fire and made to enter the gate of Paradise. Indeed they are the successful ones.”

It is related from Imam Al-Hasan that Ibrahim had a broad chest and high forehead.

The Messenger of Allah is quoted to have said that “Whosoever desires to see Ibrahim, should look at me.” A authentic tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that prior to Ibrahim people never had gray beard. One day Ibrahim notice a white hair in his beard. ‘What is this?’ Ibrahim asked his Lord. The Almighty revealed that it was a mark of dignity.

“My lord! Increase me in dignity,” prayed Ibrahim.

By authentic chains Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says, “Ibrahim awoke one morning to find a gray hair in his beard.”

“Alhamdolillah (Praise be to Allah)!” he exclaimed, “that He has made me reach this age and I have not disobeyed Him even for a blink of an eye.”

According to a reliable tradition from Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali in the ancient times no matter how old a person became he never had any gray hair either in his beard or his head. If sons, fathers and grandfathers gathered at a place no one could distinguish among them. Strangers had to enquire as to who the father was and who the son was. When Ibrahim prayed to the Almighty to bestow him with a sign by which he could be distinguished, the hair of his beard and head turned gray.

In a certified tradition, Muhammad bin Arfa asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, “There are some people who assert that after executing his own circumcision, Ibrahim threw the scalpel in a pond?”

“It is not so!” said Imam, “These people make allegations regarding a Prophet. The foreskin of the Prophets and the stub of umbilical cord fall away on the seventh day of their birth.”

Another tradition says that Ibrahim was very particular in entertaining guests. One day some guests arrived while he had nothing to offer them. Ibrahim thought that if he sold some wood to the wood cutter he would carve idols from it so that was out of question. Meanwhile he housed the guests in the guest room. Then taking a bag with him he went to the desert and prayed two Rak’ahs (units) prayers. After the prayers he found the bag missing. Upon his return he found Sarah cooking something. He asked her as to how she had obtained the ingredients. She said they were the same that a person delivered on his directions. Actually the Almighty had ordered Archangel Gabriel to pick up the bag where Ibrahim had prayed and to fill it with sand and stones. Then He converted the sand into clean Bajra flour, the round stones into beetroot and the elongated stones into carrots.

A reliable tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that, “Whenever one of you returns from a journey he should bring whatever he could afford for his family, even if they be mere stones. Because whenever Ibrahim was in straitened circumstances he went to his people. If they had similar condition he returned. One day he was returning empty-handed. As he neared home he got down from his mule and filled the carry bag with sand to avoid embarrassment in front of Sarah . Then he entered the house, and putting down the bag started his prayers. Sarah untied the bag and found it filled with flour. She took out the flour, kneaded it and prepared bread. Then she called Ibrahim for his meal. Seeing the bread he inquired from where she obtained them. “From the flour you had brought,” replied Sarah . Ibrahim raised his head towards the sky and said, “I witness that you alone are Khalil.”

Moreover, the Almighty has referred to Ibrahim in Qur’an as ‘Burda’. According to traditions it means a person who supplicates much.

Another authentic tradition says that there was a time when only a single believer remained on the face of the earth. As mentioned by Allah,

Surely Ibrahim was an exemplar, obedient to Allah, upright, and he was not of the polytheists. (16:120)

Imam says that if there had been any other believer, Allah would have mentioned him with Ibrahim (when He referred to him as ‘a nation’).

The situation continued for a long time until the Almighty bestowed Ibrahim with Isma‘il and Ishaq. Allah inculcated love in their hearts. The number of worshippers (of Allah) became three.

According to a reliable narration from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq before appointing Ibrahim as his Prophet, He made him His servant. He appointed him Prophet before appointing him as His messenger (Rasul). He designated him as His messenger before appointing him as the Imam. Ibrahim realized the high status of Imam and asked Allah if He has appointed anyone from his progeny for the post of Imamate. The Almighty replied that His covenant (of Imamate and vicegerency) shall not reach the unjust.

Imam further explains that a foolish person cannot become the Imam of the pious and righteous people.

A reliable tradition from the sixth Imam says that the first one to wear sandals was Ibrahim.

A similar authentic hadith of Imam al-Baqir says that until the period of Ibrahim, death occurred without a cause. Ibrahim requested the Almighty to create some cause of death, so that those who suffer its pain can be recompensed and the survivors get some solace. So the Almighty first sent pleurisy and delirium. These were followed by other kinds of diseases.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is quoted in a reliable tradition that Ibrahim was the father of guests. That is, he was very fond of entertaining guests. Whenever he did not have any guest to join him for dinner he used to go out in search of a guest. One day when he returned home he saw a youth in his house.

“Who permitted you to enter my house, O creature of Allah?” asked Ibrahim. The youths repeated thrice, “The absolute Master of this house.” Ibrahim understood that it was Archangel Gabriel and there he recited the Praise of Allah.

Archangel Gabriel said, “Your Lord has sent me with glad tidings for a fortunate person whom He has appointed as His Khalil.” “Tell me, who it is. So that I can spent my life in his service,” requested Ibrahim. “You are that fortunate one. “said Archangel Gabriel

“Why am I appointed ‘Khalil?” asked Ibrahim.

“Because you neither request anyone of favors nor fail to fulfill the needs of others,” explained Archangel Gabriel.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says in a reliable tradition, “One day Ibrahim went to stroll in the town and derive some lessons from the creatures of Allah. Wandering through the town he reached wilderness and saw a man standing up in prayers. His voice was reaching the sky and his dress stuck close to his body. Ibrahim stood there in amazement and watched him pray. Then he sat down near waiting for him to conclude the prayers. A long time passed. At last Ibrahim nudged him with his hand saying that he had a request from him and should shorten his prayers. The person concluded the prayers and turned towards Ibrahim.

“For whom do you offer prayers?” asked Ibrahim

“For the God of Ibrahim.”

“Who is the God of Ibrahim?”

“The One who has created you and I.”

“I like your way,” said Ibrahim, “I wish to make you my brother for Allah’s pleasure. Tell me, where do you live? So that whenever I wish, I can pay you a visit.”

“You cannot reach the place,” said the worshipper, because it is across a stream that you cannot traverse.”

“How do you cross it?” asked Ibrahim.

“I walk on the surface of water.” Replied the man.

Ibrahim said, “May be, the One who has solidified water for you, can do the same for me? Rise up. Let us go we shall spend the night together.”

So they set out. When they reached the bank of the river the worshipper uttered ‘Bismillah’ (in the name of Allah) and started walking on the surface of the stream. Ibrahim too uttered ‘Bismillah’ and followed. The person was amazed. When they reached his house Ibrahim asked him the source of his livelihood.

“I collect the fruit of this tree, all the year round,” he replied, “and that is my livelihood.”

“Which is the most difficult day?” asked Ibrahim.

“The day when the Almighty would recompense the deeds of all His creatures.”

“Come let us pray to Allah, to save us from the afflictions of that day,” said Ibrahim

There is a variation in another tradition wherein Ibrahim suggests, ‘You supplicate and I say ‘Amen.’ Or ‘I supplicate and you say ‘Amen’.

“What for?” asked the worshipper.

“For the sinners among the believers,” replied Ibrahim.

The worshipper refused and when asked the reason he said that he was praying for a particular thing for the past three years and his prayers have not been answered so far. “I feel ashamed of requesting Allah for something. Because He may not oblige me,” he explained.

Ibrahim said, “Whenever Allah loves a person, He saves his supplications, so that the supplicant would continue to plead and invocate Him. And when He hates a person He either fulfils his wishes instantly or instills despair so that he would stop invocating.”

The Ibrahim asked him as to what was his need that he continues to invocate Allah.

The worshipper said, “One day while busy in prayers at my usual place, I saw a handsome boy pass by. A light shone his forehead and his tresses flowed on his back. He was grazing some cows with such shiny skins, as if anointed with oil. He also had well-fed and healthy sheep. I was elated at the sight and asked him, “O young man. To whom do these cows and sheep belong?”

“They are mine,” replied the boy.

“Who are you?” asked I.

“I am Isma‘il, the son of Ibrahim the Khalil of Allah.”

At that moment I prayed to Allah that He allow me to see His friend (Khalil).”

“I am Ibrahim, the Khalil of the Beneficent (Rahman) and that boy is my son.”

“Alhamdo lillahe Rabbil A’lameen (Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds),” said the worshipper, “He has granted my prayers!”

Then he kissed the cheeks of Ibrahim and putting his arms around his neck said, “Now you supplicate and I’ll say ‘Amen’.”

So Ibrahim supplicated Allah for the believers from that time unto the Resurrection Day and requested Allah to condone their sins and to be satisfied with them. The worshipper recited ‘Amen’ on his invocations. Imam al-Baqir says that the complete prayer of Ibrahim is effective for our erring Shi‘ahs right up to the Resurrection Day.

It is mentioned in some narrations that the name of this worshipper was Maria the son of Aws. He lived for six hundred and sixty years.

Birth of Ibrahim and his upbringing… until the time of the breaking of the idols; An account of his confrontation with the tyrant rulers of his time

Good, or rather, correct chains of narrators quote Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq to have said that Azar the son of Canaan was the father of Ibrahim. He was the court astrologer of Nimrod. He told Nimrod that according to the position of the stars a man shall be born in this period. He would falsify this religion and invite people towards a new faith.

“Where would he take birth?” asked Nimrod.

“In this town,” said Azar.

Nimrod’s palace was situated in Kosaria a district of al-Kufah. Nimrod asked if that person has already taken birth.

“No,” replied Azar.

Nimrod said that it would be better if men and women are separated, and he issued commands for the same. But the mother of Ibrahim conceived him although the pregnancy was not apparent. When the term neared completion, Ibrahim’s mother told Azar that she thought she was suffering from some disease or menstruating, hence it was advisable that she separated from her husband for some days. It was a custom of that period that whenever the women became sick or had monthly periods they used to live away from their husbands. Thus she left the house and went to a cave. Ibrahim was born there. She wrapped him in a cloth and left him inside the cave. Then closing the mouth of the cave with a stone she returned home. The Almighty caused milk to flow from the thumb of Ibrahim and he sucked at it (deriving nutrition).

Once in a while his mother came to visit him. Since Nimrod had appointed surveillance on every pregnant woman, any male child that arrived in this world was immediately killed. It was for this reason that Ibrahim’s mother left him in the cave. Ibrahim grew up fast. In one day he grew as much as other children grew in a month. Thus he grew up to be a lad of thirteen years. One day when his mother came to visit him he hugged her and pleaded to be taken out. She told him that if the King learnt that he was born in this period he would kill him. When the mother left him, he came out of the cave himself after the sunset. The star al-Zahra’ was shinning on the sky. Upon seeing it, Ibrahim said, “Is it my Lord?” But when it set, he said, “It could not be my Lord, or it wouldn’t have moved and disappeared.”

Then the Sun arose from the east Ibrahim wondered, “It is bigger than al-Zahra’, is this my Lord?” But when it moved and declined he said, “If it had been my Lord it would not have moved or disappeared. I am not impressed with those who decline.” Now the Moon arose from the East and Ibrahim said “Is this my Lord? For it is much bigger than al-Zahra’.” But the Moon also declined and disappeared. Ibrahim said, “If my Lord had not protected me, I would have surely strayed from the right path.”

Again when it was daybreak and the sun illuminated the earth with its rays, Ibrahim said, “This is better and bigger than the others. Is this my Lord?” However the sun also moved, and gradually declined and the Almighty spread open the skies. Ibrahim saw the firmament with all the heavenly bodies and the Almighty showed him the creatures of the heavens and the earth. Ibrahim said, “O my people! I dissociate with those whom you consider as associates of Allah. I have turned towards the One who created the heavens and the earth by light. I am of those who reject the false religion and move towards the correct faith. I am not from the polytheists.”

Ibrahim was taken to the house of Azar by his mother. She left him with her other sons. When Azar came home and saw Ibrahim, he asked as to who that boy was that survived the king’s order for killing all male children.

“It is your son, he was born when I was living separately,” said Ibrahim’s mother.

“Shame on you!” chided Azar, “If the king learns of it I shall lose my prestige.”

Actually Azar was a minister of Nimrod and possessed substantial power. He was also a professional idol-maker. After preparing idols he sent them with his sons to the market. The idol temple was also under his control. Ibrahim’s mother said that there was no risk if the king is not informed about it. “My son will remain with me, safe and sound.” She said, “And even if he comes to know of it, I will pacify him.”

Whenever Azar looked at Ibrahim, his heart filled with fatherly love. Later he began to entrust Ibrahim with idols for sale, as was his practice with his other sons. Ibrahim used to tie the heads of idols with a rope and drag them all the way saying, “Who would buy them, when they can neither cause harm nor profit.”

He also caught the hair of idols and ducked its head in water saying, “Drink it! And say something.”

The brothers reported all this to Azar. He summoned Ibrahim and warned him not to repeat it. But since the admonition produced no effect Azar locked up Ibrahim in the house.

According to a reliable tradition of Imam Musa Ibn Ja‘far, Ibrahim was born on the 1st of Dhu’l-hijjah.

A authentic tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says, “Ibrahim’s father was Azar the son of Canaan. He was the court astrologer of Nimrod. Nimrod did not move a step without seeking counsel of Azar. One night Azar studied the position of the stars and told Nimrod, ‘I saw a strange thing last night.’

Nimrod was surprised and asked him what it was. Azar said, ‘I have learnt that a boy is to take birth in our country and that he would destroy us all. And his mother shall conceive him in the near future.’ Nimrod was amazed and asked if he has made some woman pregnant.

Azar had learnt through Astrology that the same boy was going to be burnt in fire but he did not know that he would be saved by the Almighty.

Nimrod ordered that women be separated from men. All the men should leave their women and go out of town. Ibrahim was conceived that very night. His father suspected the conception and he called for experienced women to examine if his wife was pregnant. But the Almighty made the fetus stick to the back of Ibrahim’s mother and therefore none of the symptoms were apparent. The nurses told Azar that his wife was definitely not pregnant. When Ibrahim was born his father decided to take him to Nimrod, but his wife restrained him saying that the king would kill her son.

‘Leave him to me. I shall take him to a cave and abandon him there. He will soon perish and thus you won’t be an accomplice in its murder.’

Azar agreed and Ibrahim’s mother took him to a cave. After suckling him she left him inside and closed the mouth of the cave with a boulder. The Almighty Allah caused his sustenance to flow from his thumb. He sucked his thumb and consumed the milk that flew from it. He grew up faster than ordinary children did. His growth in a day was equal to a week’s growth in other children. In a week he grew as much as other’s grew in a month. And in a month his body developed as much as a year.

After some days his mother took leave of Azar and came to the cave. She saw that Ibrahim was alive and his eyes shone like brilliant lamps. She embraced him and gave him suck. When she returned the father asked her about Ibrahim. She said that it has died. ‘I have buried him,’ she wept.

Now whenever Azar left home for a considerable time his wife went to the cave and suckled Ibrahim. This continued for quite some time. When Ibrahim was able to crawl on his knees and his mother had come to feed him, he clung to her and pleaded she take him with her. ‘Have patience!’ said the mother. ‘Let me take your father’s permission.’

During the period of occultation, Ibrahim kept himself hidden and also concealed the affair of faith. When the Almighty permitted, he appeared and began to propagate religion in public. Allah .”

In another tradition of the Holy Prophet, the parents of Ibrahim escaped from the dominion of the tyrant. Ibrahim was born on the bank of Kharzan at the foot of some hillocks. He was born between sunset and nightfall.” When Ibrahim touched the ground he rubbed his eyes and recited a number of times, “Ash-hado alla-ilaaha illallah” (I testify that there is no god except Allah). Then he picked up some clothes and put them on. Seeing this his mother was terrified. Ibrahim stood up before his mother and looked towards the sky. Then he used the symbolism of heavenly bodies to prove the existence of his Lord, as mentioned in Qur’an.

According to ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim, Ibrahim restrained his people from idol-worship and also tried to convince them through logical arguments and completed the proof. But the people refused to accept. At last on the day of feast, Nimrod and all his people went out of the town for celebrating the occasion at the grounds outside the limits of the city. Ibrahim refused to accompany them, so they left him to mind the idols of the temple. When the people departed, Ibrahim took some food to the temple. He offered the food to each idol in turn and exhorted them to say something. When there was no reply he took the axe and chopped off the hands and legs of all the idols and then hung the axe around the neck of the largest idol that stood in the centre. When the king, his army and the people returned, they beheld the broken statues. “Whoever has done this to our god has indeed committed injustice upon him. He shall be executed!” they said.

“It must be Ibrahim the son of Azar,” suggested the people, “He alone is critical of the gods.”

Ibrahim was brought to Nimrod. Nimrod accused Azar for breach of trust as he had concealed the existence of Ibrahim.

“It is the handiwork of his mother, O king!” protested Azar, “She says that she has a convincing argument.” Nimrod summoned Ibrahim’s mother and said, “Why did you conceal this boy? See what he has done to our gods!” “O King!” replied the mother of Ibrahim, “I acted in this manner for the good of your people, when I saw that you were killing all their progeny I decided that if my son would be the one predicted by astrology I would hand him over to you and thus the rest of the children would be spared. If he did not happen to be the predicted one I would be able to keep my son. Now this boy is in your hands. Do whatever you want with him.” Nimrod was pleased with the argument and considered it valid. Then he asked Ibrahim who had committed the act?

Ibrahim said that the largest one has performed the deed and they can ask them if the idols could speak. After receiving Ibrahim’s reply, Nimrod consulted his people. They all suggested that Ibrahim be roasted alive for the sake of their deities. According to Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq Nimrod and his cohorts were of illegitimate birth, therefore they were swift to take the decision of killing Ibrahim. Whereas, the Pharaoh and his companions were legitimate because they ordered the release of Musa and his brother (Harun); and invited the sorcerers to compete with Musa. They didn’t issue immediate orders for their execution, because no one undertakes the killing of a Prophet or an Imam, except the illegitimate persons.

Thus, Ibrahim was put under arrest and wood was collected for burning him alive. On the appointed day Nimrod came with the army. A high platform was constructed for him to view the execution. Ibrahim was brought, but such was the intensity of the fire that no one could summon the courage to put him in it. The roaring fire scorched even the birds that flew a parasang above it.

Satan came to the people and taught them the technique of catapult. Ibrahim was made to sit in the catapult. Azar came to him, slapped him and said, “Give up your beliefs!”

Ibrahim did not accept. A cry of protest arose from the heaven and the earth. All the creation of the world expressed their wish to assist Ibrahim.

“O Lord! there is no worshipper upon you except Ibrahim. Would allow him to be burnt?” asked the earth.

The Angels said, “People are about to incinerate your Khalil!”

“If he calls Me for help, I would definitely oblige,” said the Lord.

Archangel Gabriel said, “Apart from your Khalil, Ibrahim there is no one to worship You on the earth. You have allowed his enemies to suppress him and burn him alive?”

“Keep quiet!” said Allah, “Only they utter such things, those who fear that some matters would be beyond their control. He is My servant. I can save him any moment. If he supplicates Me, I will accept his prayers.”

Ibrahim prayed to his Lord with utmost sincerity, “Yaa Allaho, Yaa Wahido, Yaa Ah’ado, Yaa man lam yalid wa lam yoolad walam yakullahu kofowwan Ah’ad. Najjaini minannaare be Rah’mateka.”

Ibrahim shot out from the catapult and was in mid-air when Archangel Gabriel met him and asked him if he had my wish. He said that he had nothing to ask from him. Archangel Gabriel handed him a ring upon which was engraved, “La ilaaha illallaho Muhammadur Rasulullahe anjaato Z’ahri ilallaahe wa asnadto amri wafawwaz “to amri ilallaah.” Almighty Allah revealed to the fire, “Be cool!” It became so cold that the teeth of Ibrahim began to chatter. Allah added, “And peace upon Ibrahim ”

Archangel Gabriel arrived and sat down to converse with Ibrahim. They were surrounded by blooms. When Nimrod witnessed this spectacle he remarked, “If anyone wishes to believe in a God he should believe in a God like that of Ibrahim.”

Just then one of the dignitaries of Nimrod court said, “I had put the fire under oath, not to scorch Ibrahim.” Immediately, a fiery mace shot out from the fire and hit the wicked man and burnt him to ashes. Nimrod saw that Ibrahim was sitting amidst greenery engaged in conversation with an elderly person. “What a great position your son has in the eyes of his Lord!” Nimrod told Azar. The lizard blew at the fire and the frog threw water to douse it. And when the Almighty had revealed “Be cool” all the fires of the world were bereft of any heat for three days in a row.

It is narrated from ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim that when Nimrod has Ibrahim thrown into the fire, and the fire became cool and peace for him and he came out unscathed, Nimrod asked him, “O Ibrahim! Who is your Lord?”

“He is the One who gives life and death.”

“I give life and cause death,” claimed Nimrod. Ibrahim asked him how he gave life and death. In response Nimrod, the accursed, summoned two prisoners who had been sentenced to death. He put one of them to death and set the other free.

Ibrahim told Nimrod, “If what you claim is true, bring back to life the one whom you have killed. And my Lord causes the sun to rise from the east, you bring it out from the west.”

The infidel was speechless and vanquished.

Various authentic chains mention that Imam al-Ridha said: When Ibrahim was put on the catapult, Archangel Gabriel became angry. The Almighty Allah asked him through revelation as to what it was that had angered him. Archangel Gabriel said, “Lord Almighty! Ibrahim is your Khalil, and he is the solitary person on earth who worships you with a belief in your oneness. You have allowed Your and his enemies to gain the upper hand.”

“Keep quiet!” commanded the Lord, “Only people like you become impatient, those who think that circumstances will go beyond their control. Ibrahim is My servant. I can save him whenever I want.” Archangel Gabriel was pleased at this and he came to Ibrahim and asked, “Do you have any wishes?”

“No!” said Ibrahim.

Allah sent for him a ring engraved with the following words:

Lailaaha illallah Muh’ammedon rasoolullah. La hawla wa laa quwwata illa billah fawaz”z”aito amri ilallaah wa asnadto amri ilallaahe h’asbiyallaaho.

And revealed, “Wear the ring so that I make the fire cool and peaceful for you.”

A reliable tradition mentions that people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq,

“When Musa bin ‘Imran was confronted by the staves and ropes of magicians, he was fearful, whereas when Ibrahim was put on the catapult he was absolutely composed and fearless.”

Imam explained, “Ibrahim had faith in the light of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, hasan, husayn and the Imams from the progeny husayn that he carried in his backbone. On the other hand Musa did not carry that light, therefore he was afraid.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is quoted in a reliable tradition that he said, “Four rulers had dominion over the whole earth in their reigns. Two of them were believers, Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn, and two were infidels Nebuchadnezzar and Nimrod.”

It is quoted from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that the first catapult to be constructed was that for Ibrahim. It was built in al-Kufah on the bank of river Kosaar, in the village of Qantana. Satan was the architect of the said catapult. And when Ibrahim was put upon it Archangel Gabriel came to him said, “Peace be upon you and the Mercy of Allah, O Ibrahim. Do you have any wishes?”

Ibrahim declined and the Almighty God ordered the fire to cool down.

In an authentic tradition Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported to have said that when the inferno was lighted to burn Ibrahim all the animals of the earth complained to the Almighty and asked for divine permission to douse the fire. Allah did not permit anyone except the frog. Two third of the fire burnt out and only one-third remained.

In another tradition is recorded the wisdom of the gnat. Though gnat itself is the food of other birds, it was made to degrade Nimrod, who had transgressed against Allah and rejected His Lordship. The Almighty subjected Nimrod to be subdued by a puny gnat in order to manifest His Power and Greatness. The gnat entered the nose and brought about his death.

According to an authentic hadith of Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali, Ibrahim was flung into the fire on a Wednesday, and the same day Allah subjected Nimrod to the gnat.2

Most of the historians have recorded that after being saved from the ravages of fire, Ibrahim invited Nimrod towards the true religion. The tyrant Nimrod said, “I will fight your Lord.”

A day was fixed for the purpose and Nimrod arrived with a huge army. Ibrahim stood facing them all alone. Then the Almighty Allah sent a horde of mosquitoes that darkened the atmosphere. They attacked the advancing army and clung to their heads and entered their nostrils. The army retreated and Nimrod had to return dejected and ashamed. Yet he did not accept belief. The Almighty ordered a puny mosquito to enter Nimrod’s head. The mosquito obliged, and once inside, began to feed upon the brain of Nimrod. Nimrod became so restless that he appointed four servants to strike his head with maces in the hope it will relieve him from the terrible pain. He remained in that condition for forty years, but did not accept faith. At last he was consigned to the Hell-fire.

An authentic tradition of Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far states that there is a Valley in Hell, called Saqar. It has not taken even a single breathe since its inception. If the Almighty permits it to breathe even as little as the eye of the needle, it will scorch everything on the face of the earth. The dwellers of Hell seek Allah’s refuge from the heat, stench, dirt and chastisement bestowed to it by the Almighty. It has a mountain, and dwellers of the valley seek Allah’s refuge from the heat, stench, dirt and chastisement bestowed to the mountain by the Almighty. There is a pass on this mountain. It is endowed with such heat, impurity and dirt by Allah that the dwellers of the mountain seek Allah’s refuge from it. The pass has well. The well is given such heat, impurity and punishment that even the dwellers of the pass dread it. The well houses a snake and the inhabitants of this well are terrified of the foulness of its venom etc. The snake carries seven caskets in its belly, containing five evil persons of the past nations: Qabil the killer of Habil, Nimrod who confronted Ibrahim with the claim that he gave life and death, the Pharaoh who said that he was the greater god, Judas who misguided the Jews and St. Paul who misled the Christians. Two remaining caskets will have two most evil persons from the Muslim community.

According to an authentic tradition from Imam al-Ridha, “When Ibrahim was tossed into the fire, he beseeched the Almighty Who made the fire cool and comforting for him.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq are quoted in authentic texts that when Ibrahim was put into the fire he recited the following invocation:

Yaa Ah’ado Yaa S’amadoYaa man lam Yalid walam yoolad walm Yakullahu kofowwan Ah’ad Tawakkalt a’lallaah.

The Almighty revealed to the fire to become cool and safe for Ibrahim. So for three days no one could obtain any heat from fire, even water could not be heated. A tall platform was constructed for Nimrod. On the third day he ascended it accompanied by Azar. He saw that Ibrahim was sitting in a blooming garden engaged in conversation with an elderly man.

“How exalted is your son in the eyes of his Lord!” Nimrod told Azar.

Then he told Ibrahim to leave the city and said, “You cannot live with me in the same town.”

According to trustworthy chain of reporters, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “When Yusuf went to Nimrod he asked, ‘How are you, Ibrahim.’

‘I am not Ibrahim,’ replied Yusuf, ‘I am Yusuf son of Ya‘qub, son of Ishaq son of Ibrahim.’

It was the same Nimrod who had confronted Ibrahim regarding the Almighty. He retained his youth for a period of four hundred years.”

Reliable narrators maintain that Imam Zayn al-‘abidin said, “When Ibrahim was thrown in the fire Archangel Gabriel brought a garment of Paradise and clothed him. As a result the fire receded from him and Narcissus grew around him. Yusuf was in possession of the same garment. When he took it out in Egypt and Ya‘qub smelt it, he said it smelt of Yusuf.”3

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported from authentic chains of narrators that it was the day of Navroz when Ibrahim broke the idols. In the tafsir of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari the Holy Prophet is quoted to have said that the Almighty relieved Nuh from difficulties and extreme sorrow by the right of Muhammad and the Progeny of Muhammad. By the grace of the same personalities, the Almighty made the fire cool and comforting for Ibrahim. He provided a chair and couch for him, which was so resplendent that the devilish king had never seen before. And neither had any ruler of the world ever possessed its kind. And the Almighty cause to grow in the same fire such green plants, bearing flowers and fruit the kinds of which are not seen in any of the four seasons.

Amir al-Mu’minin is quoted through reliable traditions that when Nimrod wished to gain information about the heavens, he acquired four vultures and trained them. He constructed a wooden box and put a man it. Then he starved the vultures for some days and tied them to the legs of this box. Pieces of meat were hung from a pole on the top side of the box. The starving vultures rushed to snatch the meat and as a result lifted the box with it’s occupant towards the sky. They climbed so high that when the man looked down to the earth he saw the mountains seemed like trenches, and yet the sky remained at the same distance. After a long time again he looked towards the earth but saw only water whereas the sky was as far as before. They continued to rise for a long time. Again when he looked down but could not see anything. Yet the sky was still far away. At last he was surrounded by darkness he could see neither the sky nor the earth. He became frightened and hung the meat downwards. The vultures headed downwards and returned to the earth.4

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is quoted in an authentic tradition that the place of birth of Ibrahim was Kosaria, a district of al-Kufah. His father was a native of that place. The mothers of Ibrahim and Lut were sisters. That is Sarah and Warqah, the daughters of Lahaj, a Prophet who was appointed to warn of Allah’s punishment but was not a Messenger. (One who brings a shari‘ah). Since his childhood, Ibrahim followed the same nature that Allah created for all humans until the time Allah guided him to his religion and exalted him. Ibrahim selected the daughter of his maternal aunt and married her. Sarah was barren. She possessed a lot of land and cattle and she gifted it to Ibrahim. Ibrahim obtained knowledge of everything through his efforts. The cattle multiplied and agriculture prospered. Ibrahim became the most prosperous person of Kosaria.

When Ibrahim was consigned to the fire but escaped unhurt Nimrod ordered him to be banished, and that all his wealth, cattle and property be confiscated. Ibrahim argued with them and said that they wished to seize his cattle and property they should give him in lieu, his age that he spent in acquiring the wealth. The case was ultimately presented to a judge. The judgment issued was that since Ibrahim had earned his wealth in the country, it should be seized but he must be compensated for the age he spent in its acquisition. When Nimrod was informed of the judgment he told the people to return all the wealth and ask Ibrahim to leave the city. For if he remained among them, he would continue to denounce their religion and cause harm to their gods. Thus Ibrahim and Lut were expelled from their country to Syria. Ibrahim departed with Lut and Sarah, saying,

“Surely I fly to my Lord (Jerusalem); He will guide me.” (37:99)

Then he constructed a large casket and placed Sarah in it, and taking all his wealth and cattle left the city of Nimrod. They reached the country of a Copt, named Urara and were stopped at the check post.

A government official began to assess the goods of Ibrahim. When he reached the casket he ordered it to be opened so that it can also be taxed. Ibrahim said the casket contained gold and silver thread and that they may charge whatever they liked for it but not to open it. The official said it was necessary to open the box to determine the charges. He abruptly opened the box and saw a beautiful lady (Sarah) in it. “What is your relation with this woman?” they asked Ibrahim.

“She is my honor, my cousin.”

“Why have you concealed her?”

“For her modesty, that no one may cast a glance on her.” The officer said that he will not release them until the matter is reported to the king. A messenger was sent to the king with this information. The king sent people to carry the box to him. Ibrahim followed them saying he will not part with box until he was alive. When the king learnt of this he ordered that Ibrahim should also be presented in the court with the casket. Thus Ibrahim was brought to the king along with the casket and his other belongings. The king ordered Ibrahim to open the casket. Ibrahim said it contained his honor, his cousin. “Take all my wealth and belongings but do not open the casket,” pleaded Ibrahim. The king opened the casket abruptly. When he beheld the beauty of Sarah he could not control himself and he moved his hand to touch her. Ibrahim turned his face away and said, “My Lord! Save the honor of my cousin from this hand.” The king’s arm withered. He could neither move it towards Sarah not pull it back.

“Has your god caused this to happen?” asked the king.

“Yes,” replied Ibrahim, “My Lord is the possessor of modesty and dislikes sin. He became an obstruction between you and your intention because you intended sin.”

“Request your Lord to restore my arm and I shall not repeat it,” said the king.

Ibrahim prayed to the Almighty to restore the king’s hand so that he may not move it towards Sarah. The arm regained life but when the king looked at Sarah, again he lost control of himself and his hand shot forward. Again Ibrahim turned his face away in shame and prayed. The hand froze and could not reach Sarah. The king said, “Indeed, your Lord is modest and you are chivalrous. Now you pray to your God for my hand. I will never act in this manner again.”

“I will pray only upon the condition that if you go back on your word, I will not request the Almighty to forgive you again.”

The King agreed and Ibrahim prayed for his hand if he was speaking the truth.

The hand was restored. When the king saw all this he was amazed and instilled with the fear of Ibrahim. He began to respect and honor him and said, “Rest assured, I will not touch your wealth or your honor. Go wherever you like, but grant me a favor.”

Ibrahim asked what it was. He said, “I have a beautiful and intelligent slave-girl. I wish to present it to Sarah.” Ibrahim agreed and he presented Hajar , the mother of Isma‘il to Sarah. Then Ibrahim left with his goods and family. The king escorted them as a mark of respect, walking behind. The Almighty sent a revelation upon Ibrahim that he should wait and let the king walk before him even though he has been subdued. For despite his kingship he was defeated, whether he was good-doer or a sinner was another matter. Ibrahim stopped and said to the King, “You walk before me because my Lord has revealed that I should not precede you as He wants me to show respect to you and show preference to you.”

“Has your Lord really revealed this to you?”

“Yes” replied Ibrahim

“I testify that your Lord is High and Mighty, and He is Respectful and Merciful. You have attracted me towards your religion,” remarked the king and said farewell to Ibrahim. Upon reaching Syria they halted and Ibrahim left Lut there. After a long time, when they were still childless, Ibrahim told Sarah , “If you like, sell Hajar to me. Maybe Allah shall grant me a son to succeed me.”

So he purchased Hajar from Sarah and Isma‘il was born.

According to a reliable tradition a Syrian asked Amir al-Mu’minin the tafsir (exegesis) of the ayah:

“On the day when man will dissociate from his brother, his mother and his father.”

Imam said, “The one to dissociate from his father in the Resurrection Day will be Ibrahim.”5

An Account of the visit of Ibrahim to the heavens, His knowledge…

In the Tafsir of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari there is a tradition that the Holy Prophet said:

When Ibrahim was raised up by the Almighty to the heavens as mention by Allah,

“And thus did we show Ibrahim the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and that he might be of those who are sure.” (6:75)

He said, Have you then considered what you have been worshipping

He saw a man and a woman engaged in adultery. He cursed them and they died. Then he saw two men committing sodomy. Again he cursed them and they died. Again he saw a couple engaged in fornication and cursed them to death. The fourth time he beheld a similar spectacle and was about to curse when Allah sent a revelation upon him.

‘O Ibrahim, Restrain your malediction from my servants. Indeed I am Forgiving, Merciful and Honorable. The sins of My creatures do not harm Me just as their worship does not benefit Me. I do not train and educate them by subjecting them to My wrath immediately. So refrain from cursing My servants. Indeed you are appointed to warn My servants about My chastisement, you are not My partner in My kingdom, and neither a guard or witness for the people. I deal with My servants in one of the three ways:

They repent and I accept their repentance and forgive their sins and conceal their defects. Or I stop My chastisement from them because I know they are carrying some believers in their loins. When the believers are born to them and separate from them, it becomes necessary to punish them. Then My wrath descends. If they are not carrying believers in their loins or wombs and they also do not repent, then the punishment that I have stored for them in the Hereafter is more severe than what you wish for them of the worldly chastisement. Because My punishment for My servants is according to My wrath and My majesty. So leave My servants to me and do not interfere, because I am more Merciful for them than you and more mighty and wise. I destine according My knowledge and allow destiny and free will among them.’

There are many other traditions with similar connotation.

In many of the authentic traditions the exegesis of the following ayah:

“And thus did we show Ibrahim the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and that He might be of those who are sure.”

He said, Have you then considered what you have been worshipping: (6:75)

That the Almighty bestowed to Ibrahim with such a vision that he could see all that was in the heavens. The curtain was removed from the earth and he saw all that was in the earth. In the heavens he saw the angels that support the sky. He also saw the Divine Throne and whatever else was present in the heavens. In the same way the Messenger of Allah and the holy Imams were also shown all that was present in the heavens.

According to an authentic tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq when Ibrahim was viewing the spectacles of the heavens and the earth, he witnessed the adultery of three couples. He prayed for their destruction and they died. The Almighty revealed to Ibrahim: O Ibrahim! Your prayers have been answered but do not curse My servants. If I had wished I would not have created them in the first place. My creatures are of three types. The first one worships Me and does not associate anyone or anything with Me. I reward these people. The second type one those who worship others by they are not beyond My control. The third kind are also polytheists but carry believers in their loins, and in future they shall beget a group who would worship Me.

Then Ibrahim saw a dead animal on the bank of a river, half inside the water and other half on land. The creatures of the sea were feeding of the part that lay in the water. In turn they were consumed by other aquatic animals. Similarly the land scavengers fed upon the other half of the dead animal. And when they returned to wilderness some of them were killed and eaten by other wild animals. Ibrahim was amazed and asked the Almighty how the raised the dead. Because some of them were being devoured by others, so how could the different parts of their body rejoin. The Almighty asked him if he did not believe that He enlivens the dead. Ibrahim said that he believed but desired to have his heart at ease. That is, “I want to see it with my own eyes, just as I have seen the other things.” The Almighty told him to catch four birds, cut them up, mince their meat and mix them thoroughly. Then to keep a portion of this mixture on ten different mountain peaks and then call them by their names. They shall rush to him. In another tradition the Almighty tells Ibrahim to call them through His name, and quote His Greatness and Might as intermediary. The four birds were, the cock, the pigeon, the peacock and the crow.

In authentic tradition of Imam al-Ridha when Al-Ma’mun asked him the tafsir of the ayah,

“My lord show me how you enliven the dead,”

Imam said: The Almighty revealed to Ibrahim, “I would certainly appoint one of My servants as ‘Khalil’. And that even if he wishes that I give life to the dead, I would oblige him.” Ibrahim thought he might be that ‘Khalil’. So he requested Allah to show him how He gave life to the dead.

And when Ibrahim said, My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead, He said, What! And do you not believe? He said, Yes, but that my heart may be at ease. He said, Then take four of the birds, then train them to follow you, then place on every mountain a part of them, then call them, they will come to you flying; and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise. (2:260)

Imam says that Ibrahim caught a vulture, a rooster a wild-duck and a peacock and cut them into small pieces. Then he mixed their flesh and bones and placed portions of the concoction on the mountain peaks surrounding him. There were ten mountains in all. He continued to hold the severed beaks of the birds in his hand. Then he put some bird feed and water on the ground and called then one by one. The different portions of the birds flew from different sides and formed their bodies. The bodies joined with the necks. Ibrahim attached their beaks and they become alive and rose in the air. Then they alighted and fed on the grains and water. Then they said, “O Prophet of Allah! You have given life to us, may Allah keep you alive.”

Ibrahim said, “No, Allah gives life to the dead and He Alone has power over everything.

In another authentic tradition from Imam as-Sadiq when he was asked the explanation of this ayah he said: Ibrahim took four birds, a woodpecker, a pigeon, a peacock and a crow. He slaughtered them and severed their heads; and then putting them in a mortar minced their flesh and bones so that they mixed beyond recognition. He divided the mixture into ten parts and placed each portion on a mountain peak. Then he put some grains and water near him and held their beaks in between his fingers. He called out to them in the name of Allah. The flesh and bones from different locations came together to form bodies, then the bodies joined the necks. Ibrahim released their beaks and the birds landed on the ground. After feeding on the grains and gulping down the water they said, “O Prophet of Allah, You have given us life, May Allah keep you alive.”

“Allah gives life and causes death,” said Ibrahim. Imam says this is the clear interpretation of the verses. But the intrinsic meaning is, “Get four persons who are capable of understanding and self control. Then impart your knowledge to them and sent then to the four corners of the world so that they are your proof upon the people. And whenever you desire you can summon them. So call then by the name of Allah that they come soon by His command.”

In another reliable tradition Ibrahim minced their flesh and bones in a mortar and retained their heads. Then he called by the name He had commanded. He saw that pieces of flesh and feather were flying from the mountain tops and the veins stuck out and joined with the bodies, until they were all complete. They flew towards Ibrahim. When he offered the head of another bird in its place it would turn aside and join only with its original head.

Through authentic chains of narrators Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is quoted that Ibrahim collected the Ostrich, peacock, wild-duck and a cock. Removed their feathers and slaughtered them. Putting them into a mortar pulverized them and placed portions of this mixture on the peaks of Ohud. They were ten peaks in all. Then he summoned them by their names and they rushed towards him. 6

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported to have said in a reliable tradition that the heavenly book of Ibrahim was revealed on the first night of the month of Ramadhan.

According to Abu-Dharr, the Messenger of Allah said the twenty heavenly books (Sahifah) were revealed to Ibrahim. When Abu-Dharr asked regarding the content of those books, the Holy Prophet replied, “All types of examples and wise sayings. They also contained the following advices:

O arrogant king who stands for examination! I did not send you to hoard wealth. I sent you so that you would fulfill the need of poor people who pray to Me. And I do not reject their prayers unless they are infidels.

It is incumbent upon the man of reason that except for having a valid excuse, he should appoint for himself four occasions. One when he supplicates to his lord, one for taking account of his self; regarding whatever good and bad deeds he has committed, One when he ponders upon the Divine bounties and whatever Allah has bestowed upon him and one occasion for fulfilling his sensual desires in a legitimate way in private. Indeed this portion is more important than other occasions because it imparts comfort to the hearts.

The rational man must keep himself well-informed of the conditions of the people of his times. He must endeavor to better his own status. He should protect his tongue from the things not worthy of being spoken. One who keeps account of his speech, reduces his speech. And only speaks what is beneficial for him.

An intelligent person must desire three things: Livelihood of the world, betterment of the Hereafter and pleasures that are permitted by the Almighty.”

Abu-Dharr asked if the Book of Ibrahim had any message from the teaching of Qur’an.

The Holy Prophet said, “O Abu-Dharr! Read the following ayats:

He indeed shall be successful who purifies himself, And magnifies the name of his Lord and prays. Nay! you prefer the life of this world, While the hereafter is better and more lasting. Most surely this is in the earlier scriptures, The scriptures of Ibrahim and Musa. (87:14-19)

According to a reliable tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the exegesis of the ayah,

“Ibrahim was the one who fulfilled” is that he fulfilled the task entrusted to him or fulfilled the vow he had made to the Almighty.

Imam says that every morning Ibrahim recited the following supplication:

As’bah to wa rabbi Mah’moodan As’bah’ to laa Ushreka billaahe shay-an wa laa Ado’o Ma’allao he ilaahan Aakhara wa laa attakhed’a ma’a hoo Waliyya.

It was for this reason that he is referred to as the ‘servant who thanked excessively.’

In an authentic tradition Mufadhdhal bin Umar asked Imam as-Sadiq the tafsir of the following verse:

“And when his lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, he fulfilled them.” (2:124)

Mufadhdhal wanted to know what were the ‘certain words’!

Imam replied, “They were the same words that Allah had taught to Adam and accepted his repentance. That is he said ‘O Allah! I plead to you through the rights of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn that you accept my repentance. And Allah forgave him.”

“What is the meaning of ‘he fulfilled them’?” asked Mufadhdhal. “Ibrahim recited the blessed names until the twelfth, Imam al-al-Qa’im (aj) the family of Muhammad, who is the ninth descendant of Imam al-Husayn.”

According to Ibn Babawayh the above tradition has stated only one explanation whereas there are other meanings also:

First: The Almighty says that He caused Ibrahim to witness the spectacles of the heavens and the earth so that he becomes firm in belief.

Second: Recognition (Ma’refah). That is to consider Allah as the First and the Last, His Oneness and Purity from any similarity with His creatures. When he saw the star, the moon and the sun and each of them disappeared, he remarked that they were subject to change and whatever is subject to change must have a creator.

Third: Bravery! His daring was obvious when he broke the idols. As Allah says, that when Ibrahim asked his father and his people the reality behind the idols they worshipped. They replied that they had seen their forefathers worshipping them. “Even if they were on manifest error?” asked Ibrahim. They asked him if he was serious or he was just saying all that in jest.

“Your Lord is the God of the earth and the sky and One who has created everything from nothingness.

And I testify to this. By Allah! I would deal with your idols in a particular way when you go out of the city,” said Ibrahim

When the people departed for the feast, Ibrahim broke all the idols except the largest one, with the hope that people may question it (about the distances), and thus argument shall be complete on them.

Indeed confronting the whole community single-handed requires bravery.

Fourth: Forbearance and self-respect. As the Almighty says that Ibrahim was self-respecting and god-fearing, He supplicated Allah quite often and always turned to Him for help.

Fifth: Charity and Chivalry. As mentioned by the Almighty in the incident of his guests.

Sixth: Separation from the family members for the sake of Allah. As the Almighty says that Ibrahim told his people that he wanted to be away from them and their false deities. He said, “I call you only to my Lord and worship Him alone.

Seventh: Enjoining good and forbidding evil. As the Lord Almighty says that Ibrahim asked his father Azar why he worshipped something that neither spoke nor heard. And it cannot offer him anything. “Indeed! I am in receipt of a Knowledge that has reached you. So you must obey me so that I can guide you on the straight path. Do not worship your father, the Devil because is the most disobedient of Allah. I fear that some punishment will descend upon you from the Beneficent Lord. At that time, you will become the companion of Satan.

Eight: Preventing evil through goodness. When Azar asked Ibrahim to accept their gods, and that if he refused they would stone him to death. Finally he told him to go away for some time.”

Ibrahim replied, “I will soon pray to my Lord for your forgiveness, because He is more Merciful than I am.”

Nine: Reliance. As mentioned by Ibrahim that, “O People! All those whom you and your ancestors have worshipped are enemies of us except the Lord of the worlds; who created me. He alone shall guide me. Only He bestows sustenance upon me. When I am sick, He alone bestows the cure.

And I desire that He forgive my sins that day.

Tenth: Associating with the wise and righteous people. Ibrahim prayed to Allah to impart wisdom and to include him among the righteous ones. And those righteous are the Messenger of Allah and the purified Imams. He also prayed that after him to bestow the people with a truthful tongue and that he should be remembered with gentle words by the future generations. And according to one explanation ‘truthful tongue’ refers to Amir al-Mu’minin’ ‘Ali. As the Almighty Allah has said at another place, ‘And we appointed for them a truthful tongue.’

Eleventh: Tested by peril to life. When he was put on the catapult and flung into the fire.

Twelve: Tested by sacrificing his son. When the Almighty ordered him to sacrifice Isma‘il.

Thirteen: Tested by wife’s honor. When the Almighty tested him by putting him in a perilous position in the court of Gazara the Copt.

Fourteen: Patience on the domestic bickering of Sarah.

Fifteen: Dedicating his self to the obedience of Allah as he mentions in a du’a: “O Lord do not expose me on the day people shall be raised.”

Sixteen: Purified from every defect. The Almighty says that Ibrahim was neither a Jew nor a Christian. He was away from the false religion and an upright Muslim. He obeyed the truth and was not a polytheist.

Seventeenth: Unifying all the qualities of worship. As mentioned in the following ayats.

“Say: Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; No associate has He; and this am I commanded, and I am the first of those who submit.” (6:162-163)

Eighteen: Acceptance of his prayer to enliven the dead.

Nineteen: The Almighty declaring that he was from the righteous ones: “and most certainly we chose him in this world, and in the hereafter he is most surely among the righteous.”

The ‘righteous’ indicate that the Holy Prophet and his holy successors.

Twenty: The succeeding Prophet followed Ibrahim in his religion. The Almighty Allah commands,

“(O Muhammad) we revealed to you follow the religion of Ibrahim.”

Then Allah Says, “The faith of your father, Ibrahim, was upright. Who has named you Muslims?”

(End of Ibn Babawayh’s narration).

According to an authentic tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, in the very beginning, Ibrahim was ordered through revelation in his dream that he should sacrifice his son Isma‘il. Ibrahim agreed to carry out the Divine commands. After fulfilling the same, he received Allah’s revelation that He has made him the Imam of the people. Then the Almighty made ten practices incumbent upon him. Five of them related to the head and five to the body. The five with regard to head are: Trimming of mustache, beard, pruning the hair, brushing of teeth, and picking of teeth. Five actions are related to the body:

Shaving of pubic hair, circumcision, trimming of nails, ritual bath (after sexual intercourse) and purification with water after passing urine.

These are the upright practices of Ibrahim which shall remain in force until the Resurrection Day. This is the meaning of Allah’s words: Follow the religion of Ibrahim. Because it is the correct method to move from the false religion towards the true faith.

Another authentic tradition says that Ibrahim was the first person who entertained guests, performed circumcision, undertook Jihad (holy war), paid khums (1/5) from his property, wore sandals and prepared standards for the battlefield.

It is quoted in a narration that Ibrahim met an Angel and asked him who he was. He said, “I am the Angel of death.”

“Can you show me your appearance at the time of extracting the soul of a believer?” requested Ibrahim. “Turn your face away for a moment,” said the Angel.”

Ibrahim turned his face away. When he looked back, he beheld a handsome and well-dressed youth exuding a pleasant fragrance.

Then Ibrahim requested him to show his face when he takes the life of infidels.

“You cannot bear the right,” warned the Angel.

“I can,” said Ibrahim.

“All right!” said the Angel, “Turn your face away.”

When he looked back, he saw a back man in a black garment. The hair of his body were standing on their ends, the body exuded a foul smell. And fire and smoke emitted from his mouth and nostrils. Ibrahim fell down in a swoon. When he regained consciousness, the Angel of death had reverted to his original appearance.

He told the Angel of death, “If a transgressor sees this dreadful sight, it is enough for his punishment.”

According to a reliable tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the Almighty Allah revealed to Ibrahim that the earth felt ashamed to view his private parts therefore he should wear a garment to conceal his nakedness from the earth. So Ibrahim made for himself on under garment that came up to his thighs.

Age of Ibrahim, Account of his death…

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq in a reliable tradition quotes the Holy Prophet to have said that the age of Ibrahim was 175 years.

Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali says in an authentic tradition that Ibrahim passed through the area of Inqiya in the neighborhood of Najaf al-Ashraf. The place is struck by earthquakes every night. When Ibrahim passed the night there, there were no earthquakes. The inhabitants of the city were astonished and wondered why there had been no tremors last night. Someone remarked that an aged traveler reached their town last evening accompanied by his young son. The people came to Ibrahim and said that their city had earthquakes every night but since he halted among them there were no tremors. “Please stay for another night so that we may understand this phenomenon completely,” they requested. When there was no earthquake for the second consecutive night the people went to Ibrahim and said, “Please settle down in our city, permanently, we are prepared to offer you anything you want.”

“I will not reside here permanently,” Ibrahim told them, “However if you sell the wilderness of Najaf, adjoining your area, your city shall be immune from quakes.”

“We give it to you free of cost.”

“I will pay for it,” insisted Ibrahim.

“Then you can pay whatever you like;” they said.

Ibrahim paid in its lieu seven sheep and four asses. This is the reason that the area is known as ‘Inqiya’, the word ‘Inqiya’ in Nabateen Language means ‘ram’. His son said, “O Khalil-us-Rahman (Friend of the Beneficent), why have you purchased this land, it is uncultivable and not even fit for grazing.”

“Be quiet!” replied the Khalil, “Because the Lord of the Universe, shall raise 70,000 Prophets from this tract of land and they will enter the Paradise in hordes. And each of them will intercede for a large group of people.”

According to a reliable tradition of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, the first two people to shake hands on this earth were Ibrahim and Dhu’l-Qarnayn. Ibrahim met Dhu’l-Qarnayn in person and they shook hands.

In yet another authentic tradition Imam as-Sadiq says that Ibrahim traveled from the Sahla mosque towards Yemen for the Battle of Amalaqa.

According to reliable chain of narrators the same Imam says, “Ibrahim requested Allah to bestow him with a daughter who would weep upon his death.”

The Messenger of Allah is recorded to have said that Sarah told Ibrahim,

“O Ibrahim! You have become old, pray to the Lord for a son who can be a light of our eyes. Since the Almighty has appointed you as His Khalil, He would surely grant your wish.”

So Ibrahim prayed to Allah for an intelligent son. The Almighty revealed to him that He would bestow upon him a wise son. But that He would also test Ibrahim with regard to him. Ibrahim was expecting the fulfillment of his prayers for three years after that. Then the Almighty gave him the opportunity. Sarah again reminded him that he was old and nearing his end. “Please pray to the Lord that He grant you a long life so that you can spend you life with me as it would be much better.” She said.

As suggested by Sarah, Ibrahim prayed to Allah and He revealed that he was bestowing him as much life as he liked. Ibrahim informed Sarah of this. She advised him ask Allah not to give him death until he himself asked Him for it. Ibrahim prayed and the Almighty accepted. When he informed Sarah, again of the Almighty’s acceptance of his dua she said he must thank Allah and feed the poor.

So Ibrahim announced a public feast. When the people began to arrive a blind, weak man also came, supported by another person. When he sat down to eat, his shaky hand did not allow the morcel to reach his mouth. Sometimes it went to the left and sometimes to the right. Once it even stuck against the poor man’s forehead. His companion helped him to place the morsel in his mouth. The blind man took a second morsel and this time his shaky hands delivered it to his eyes. Ibrahim was watching this scene and highly surprised. He asked the tribal chief of the cause of this. He explained that it was due to weakness and old age. Ibrahim thought that if he also became as old as this man, he would also be like him. Hence, he prayed to the Lord that it would be better if he sent death at the previously appointed time. “Because after seeing this spectacle I do not more desire old age any more.”

A reliable tradition from Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali says that when Allah desired to take away the soul of Ibrahim He sent the Angel of death. “As salaamo A’laika Ya Ibrahim” said the Angel of death. “Wa a’laikas salaamo Ya Malakul Maut,” replied Ibrahim, “Have you come to take me towards the Hereafter or you bring the news of death? Indeed, you have come to capture my soul!”

“Yes” said the Angel, “I have come for this purpose and by your permission I invite you to meet your Lord and enter the heavenly world. So please accept this invitation.”

Ibrahim said, “Have you ever seen a friend putting to death a friend?”

The angel went back to his appointed place in the Heavens and told Allah, “My Lord you heard what your Khalil said?”

It was revealed upon him to go back to Ibrahim and ask if he had known of any friend hesitating to meet his friend? A true friend is the one was looks forward to their meeting. Upon hearing this argument, Ibrahim relented.

Through trustworthy chains of narrators Imam as-Sadiq is reported to have said, “The soul of Ibrahim left for the heavenly abode when he had returned to Syria after performing hajj.” The reason for this was when the Angel of death approached, Ibrahim did not prefer death. The Angel of death went back to Allah and reported that Ibrahim did not want death.

“Let it be,” said Allah, “Ibrahim wants to worship Me.” Till the time Ibrahim saw an old man. His condition was such that whatever he ate was immediately discharged from the other end. Upon seeing this, he did not prefer life and wished for death. So one day when he returned home he saw a handsome face. So attractive that he had never seen the like of it before.

“Who are you?” asked Ibrahim

“The Angel of death.” Was the reply.

Ibrahim said, “Glory be to Allah! Who wouldn’t want to see you and meet you when you are so handsome?”

“Khalil-ur-Rahman, (Friend of the Beneficent) when Allah desires goodness for His servant, He sends me with this appearance.” said the angel of death. “And if He wants to punish him, He sends me with another appearance.”

Thus Ibrahim breathed his last in Syria. After him the Almighty conferred Prophethood to Isma‘il. He lived for a total of 130 years. He was buried near his mother in Hijr Isma‘il (at the Ka‘bah).

Imam as-Sadiq mentions in a reliable tradition that Ibrahim supplicated the Almighty in the following words, “What will happen to the family of the man who dies without a legatee to manage the survivors and home of the deceased?” The Almighty revealed, “Are you more concerned about a successor for your family after your death than Me?”

“No,” replied Ibrahim, “Now my heart is at ease. I have understood that your mercy and grace shall take care of them.”7

Wives and sons of Ibrahim and an account of the construction of Ka‘bah

Correct, or rather, authentic sources quote Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that he said:

Ibrahim settled down in Syria and when Isma‘il was born to Hajra, Sarah was devastated because she was not carrying a fetus from Ibrahim. She began bickering about Hajra, which caused uneasiness to Ibrahim. When he complained to the Almighty, he received a revelation that women were like curved bones, if left alone they can prove beneficial. If one tries to straighten them, they break. Then the Almighty commanded that Hajar be separated from Sarah “Where should I take her?” asked Ibrahim.

“Towards My sanctuary. The place that I have appointed to be safe for whoever seeks refuge in it. It is that part of land that I created first of all, that is Makkah,” the Almighty Allah said.

Archangel Gabriel brought the Buraq and Ibrahim, Isma‘il and Hajar mounted it. It left towards Makkah. Whenever they passed by a place favorable for inhabitation; with greenery and pastures, Ibrahim asked Archangel Gabriel if it was their proposed home. Archangel Gabriel replied in the negative and continued to lead them ahead. At last, they reached Makkah. Archangel Gabriel landed them in the Holy Ka‘bah. Ibrahim had promised Sarah that he would not alight from the mount until he returns to her. When Hajar and Isma‘il alighted there was a tree in that house. Hajar spread a board underneath the tree and settled there with her infant son. When Ibrahim was leaving Hajar asked him to whose care he was entrusting them in a place bereft of water and habitation. Where there was no one to help or give company.

“I am leaving you in the care of One Who has ordered me to leave you here,” so saying Ibrahim departed.

When Ibrahim reached a mountain in Zitanea, he turned around and looked at Hajar and Isma‘il, and said,

“O my Lord! I have certainly settled my son in a dry and desolate valley near your exalted house so that he may establish the prayers. So, (I beseech you to) divert the attention of some people towards, they may feel attracted towards them and seek their company. And bestow them with fruits that they may thank you.”

Saying this he went away and Hajar remained there. When the sun arose and Isma‘il felt thirsty, Hajar become restless. She arose, went the valley between the mountains of Safa and Marwa and cried for help. She lost sight of Isma‘il. Hajar went to Safa and from there she saw a mirage at the Marwa. Thinking it to be water, she went to Marwa. When she reached there, she saw the pilgrims of Ka‘bah walking slowly and some were running too. Again she lost sight of Isma‘il and became restless. She ran back to the spot from where he was visible. Then again, she reached Marwa and saw the mirage at Safa. She ran towards Safa but lost sight of Isma‘il. Again she returned to the spot from where Isma‘il was visible. She continued to run between Safa and Marwa. When she reached Safa for the seventh time, she saw a spring of water gushing out from below the feet of Isma‘il. She rushed to Isma‘il and collected sand around the water to prevent it from spreading. It was for this reason that the spring is named ‘Zamzam” (Stop! Stop!). The tribe of Jurham was camping in the plains of ‘Arafat and Zulmajaz. When water appeared in Makkah and the birds and animals rushed towards it, the tribe of Jurham noted this. They decided to investigate the incidence of water. When they reached the spot, they saw a woman and a child below a tree. “Who are you?” they asked Hajar, “and how did you come here?”

“I am the mother of the son of Khaleelur Rahman. And this is my son,” replied Hajra. “The Almighty commanded him to leave us here.”

The people sought her permission to settle nearby. On the third day, Ibrahim traveled the huge distance to check the well-being of Hajar and Isma‘il

“O friend of Allah! There is a tribe, Jurham, in the neighborhood. Its people desire to settle near us. Do you permit them?”

Ibrahim gave them permission. They came near and pitched their tents. Hajar and Isma‘il became attached to these people. When Ibrahim visited them the third time he saw a multitude of people surrounding them. He was pleased. When Isma‘il grew up, each member of the Jurham tribe gave him one or two sheep. As a result, he became the owner of a huge flock of sheep. He began to spend a peaceful life until he attained maturity.

The Almighty ordered Ibrahim and Isma‘il to reconstruct the Holy Ka‘bah. “Where should we construct it,” they asked Allah.

“On the spot where I had sent the cubicle for Adam,” replied Allah.

Actually, the cubicle was sent for Adam and fixed in that particular spot. It had illuminated the sanctuary around it. During the deluge of Nuh it was lifted towards heaven. Again the Almighty Allah sent Archangel Gabriel and he drew the times of Ka‘bah for Ibrahim. The foundation of Ka‘bah was also sent from the heaven for Ibrahim and the Black Stone. Actually, it was white as snow but the contact of unbelievers and sinners had rendered it black.

Thus Ibrahim constructed the Ka‘bah. Isma‘il carried the stones from Ziltawa. When the walls were nine hands high the Almighty informed them of the location of the Black Stone in mountains of Abu Qubays. Ibrahim brought it out and fixed it at the place where it is presently located. He fixed the doors of Ka‘bah. One opening towards east and the other towards west; which is known as Mustejarr. Ibrahim put wooden beams on the top and spread hay upon them. He hung the Chador of Hajar around the cubicle and began to reside in it. Then the Almighty commanded Ibrahim and Isma‘il to dig a well.

On the 8th of Dhu’l-hijjah, Archangel Gabriel descended and asked Ibrahim to arise and arrange for water because in those days there was no water in the plains of ‘Arafat and Mina. The eighth day is known as Day of Tarwiyah because ‘Tarwiyah’ means offering of water. Then Archangel Gabriel escorted Ibrahim to Mina and they camped for the night. Archangel Gabriel also instructed him in the rituals of hajj, like Adam had been taught.

When Ibrahim completed the construction of the Ka‘bah, he prayed to Allah to “make it the safest sanctuary on the earth and give them fruits as sustenance to those who reside in it and have faith in Allah and believe in the hereafter.”

Imam explains that fruits mean the fruits of heart. Ibrahim prayed to the Almighty to create love for them in the hearts of the people, so that they come towards them from around the world.

Another authentic tradition records that when Ibrahim left Isma‘il in Makkah, Isma‘il was thirsty. There was a tree between the Safa and Marwa mountains. Hajar came out, stood on Mount Safa and cried, “Is there anyone in this valley who can help us?” She got no response. She went to Marwa and called out in the same fashion. Again, there was no reply. Once more, she came to Safa and called, but still no one responded. She repeated this seven times. This became the basis for the ritual sa’y’ (Jogging between Safa and Marwa). Archangel Gabriel came to Hajar and asked who she was.

“I am the mother of Ibrahim’s son.” She replied.

“To whom has Ibrahim entrusted you?”

“I had also asked him the same question when he was leaving us here,” said Hajar , “He said he was leaving us in care of the Lord of the worlds.”

“He has left you in care of One Who is indeed Sufficient,” said Archangel Gabriel.

Imam says that people avoided the route through Makkah because it was absolutely arid. Isma‘il thrashed his feet on the ground due to extreme thirst. Suddenly the spring of Zamzam began to gush out near his feet. When Hajar returned, she saw the water and she began to surround it with sand. If she had allowed it to flow, it would have gushed forever. At that time, a group of traders was passing by. They saw birds circling the area and understood that they were attracted by the water.

They also came near and Hajar offered them water. They gave her a lot of eatables in return. Whenever travelers reached that area, they came for the water and gave food and eatables in return.

Other reliable sources mention a tradition wherein Imam says, “The Almighty ordered Ibrahim to perform the hajj and to take Isma‘il with him for the same purpose and then to settle Isma‘il in the sanctuary. Father and son set out for hajj riding a red camel accompanied by no one except Archangel Gabriel. When they reached the sanctuary Archangel Gabriel said, ‘Ibrahim, alight from the camel and take a ritual bath before entering the sacred house.’ Ibrahim performed the ghusl and Archangel Gabriel clothed him in Ihram (white unstitched cloth).

Then told him to raise the slogans of ‘Talbiya.’ The four slogans that were later practiced by the Holy Prophet of Islam. Archangel Gabriel brought him towards Safa. He stepped down from the camel and Archangel Gabriel stood between them, and turning towards the Ka‘bah said, ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is the Greatest). Then he said ‘Alhamdo lillah’ (Praise to Allah) - and glorified the name of the Almighty. The two of them also followed suit. Chanting the Praise of Allah, they followed Archangel Gabriel from there. Archangel Gabriel brought them to the Black stone and ordered them to rub their hands on it and kiss it, and to circumambulate seven times. They were made to stand at the ‘place of Ibrahim’ and offer two Rak’ahs of prayers. Thus, they were taught all the ritual of hajj. After all the rituals had been completed Ibrahim returned home. Isma‘il remained at Makkah all alone. There was no one with him.

The next year, Allah ordered Ibrahim to perform the hajj again and to reconstruct the Holy House. Even in those days, Arabs came to perform hajj in large numbers. The Ka‘bah was in a dilapidated condition and only a few relics remained, but it was well-known for its religious significance. When the Arabs dispersed after completing hajj, Isma‘il collected stones and stored them inside the Ka‘bah. Ibrahim arrived and they began the construction. They lifted sand and stones and reached up to the foundation. The floor of Ka‘bah was of a red stone. The Almighty sent a revelation that the foundation of Ka‘bah must be based on this stone. Four Angels were deputed to collect stones. They brought the stones and Ibrahim and Isma‘il raised the wall. They continued until the walls reached twelve hands in height. Thereafter, two doors were opened so that one can enter from one and leave from the other. Then they fixed door sills and attached chains to the doors. But the Ka‘bah was yet uncoursed.”

When people arrived in Makkah, Isma‘il requested the Almighty for a beautiful lady he had seen from the tribe of himyar. But she was already married. The Almighty destined death for her husband and the woman stayed behind in Makkah to mourn him. Allah changed her sorrow into patience and offered her the companionship of Isma‘il. She was a brilliant and a clever woman. When Ibrahim came to perform hajj, he visited the residence of Isma‘il. Isma‘il had gone to obtain his livelihood. His wife saw Ibrahim that he was an elderly person and covered with dust of a long journey. Ibrahim asked her how they were. Then he asked about Isma‘il. The woman praised him and said that he was well. He also asked from which tribe she came. “From himyar”, she replied. After this Ibrahim went back handing a letter addressed to Isma‘il. When Isma‘il returned and read the letter he asked his wife if she knew who that gentleman was. She said he was a very righteous man and that he resembled Isma‘il much.

“He was my father!’ said Isma‘il

The wife was stunned and an exclamation came out of her lips.

“Why are your shocked?” asked Isma‘il, “Were you not covered properly before him?”

“No”, she replied, “It’s a pity I did not serve him in the appropriate manner.”

The intelligent lady made two curtains, each of them twenty hands long for the Holy Ka‘bah. They were hung upon the two doors and looked very beautiful. So she sought advice for a cloth cover for the whole building in order to conceal the ugliness of the stones. Isma‘il supported the idea. She took up the assignment with enthusiasm and carried wool to other ladies of her tribe. From that day, it became a practice among women to co-operate with each other. Then she began to prepare the curtains with great urgency, with the help of the people of her tribe and other acquaintances. As a curtain was completed she brought it and hung it on the Ka‘bah.

However, the season of hajj arrived and yet one side of the Ka‘bah remained uncovered. She asked Isma‘il what they should do as the cloth was not yet ready for that portion. At last, curtains of palm-leaves were made and hung on this portion. When the time of hajj arrived a larger number of Arabs came for pilgrimage. When they saw developments and improvements in Ka‘bah they were pleased and discussed among themselves that they must compensate those who had taken these initiatives. So it was decided to carry gifts for the caretakers of Ka‘bah. People began to make offerings to Ka‘bah in cash and kind. A lot of wealth accumulated. The palm leaves curtains were removed and Ka‘bah was clothed in a new and complete covering. There was no ceiling on the Ka‘bah.

Isma‘il installed wooden beams across the ceiling and spread dried branches over them. Then he covered them with wet mud. When the Arabs came for hajj the next year they saw some more additions to the Holy House. They found it was appropriate that the voluntary caretaker of Ka‘bah be presented more gifts. Isma‘il did not know what should be done with the large donations. The Almighty sent a revelation that he may use them to slaughter animals and serve them to the pilgrims. Isma‘il complained of water scarcity to Ibrahim. Again Allah revealed to Ibrahim to construct a well that would provide water for guests of the Holy House.

Archangel Gabriel descended and the well of Zamzam was excavated. Archangel Gabriel told Ibrahim to strike the shovel from four directions and recite ‘Bismillah’ at every stroke. Ibrahim hit the shovel first facing the Ka‘bah and recited ‘Bismillah.’ A spring of water gushed out. Then he plunged his shovel from another direction chanting ‘Bismillah’ Again spring gushed on. Archangel Gabriel told Ibrahim to drink the water and pray that Allah imparts barakat in it for his descendants. Both of them came out of the well. “Now sprinkle this water on your heads and torso and then go around the Ka‘bah (circumambulation), because it is that water that Almighty Allah has specially bestowed for your son Isma‘il.” Ibrahim returned and Isma‘il escorted him out of the sanctuary. After Ibrahim departed, Isma‘il returned to the Holy precincts.

Allah the Almighty bestowed Isma‘il with a son from the lady of himyar. It was her first child. After her Isma‘il married four other women and had four sons from each of them. On the other hand Ibrahim left for the heavenly abode due to a mortal fever. Isma‘il was unaware of this. When the Hajj season arrived and Isma‘il was expecting his respected father that Archangel Gabriel appeared and broke the tragic news. He offered his condolences and warned Isma‘il not to raise objection against the Divine decree because the Almighty has summoned Ibrahim to His Mercy. Isma‘il agreed and was told that one day he too shall meet his father.

Isma‘il had a young son whom he adored much and desired that after him he should be bestowed with Prophethood and vicegerency. But the Almighty conferred vicegerency and successorship to the other children. At the time of his death Isma‘il sent for the son whom Allah has designated as his legatee, made bequests to him and asked him to do as he himself had done. “And do not appoint anyone as your successor except the one the Almighty indicates. From that time it became a necessary practice that every Imam informed of his legatee before death.

A reliable source mentions that a person came to Imam as-Sadiq and said, “There are some people who assert that Ibrahim performed his own circumcision with a scalpel on the bank of a pond?”

“Glory to Allah!” exclaimed Imam, “It is not as the people claim. They make allegations against Ibrahim.”

The narrator requested Imam to explain the reality and Imam said, “The stub of the umbilical cord and the foreskin falls off on the seventh day in case of Prophets. On the seventh day of his birth the stub and foreskin of Isma‘il dried and fell off. Sarah chastised Hajar in a way slave girls are scolded - she might have acted in this manner for the darkness of the skin or bad odor. Hajar was unhappy and wept bitterly. When Isma‘il saw his mother weeping he followed suit. Ibrahim entered and asked the reason for Isma‘il’s wailing. Isma‘il complained that Sarah had colded his mother, and caused her to weep. “Seeing her weep I also began to cry,” said he.

Ibrahim went to the place of prayers and invocated Allah that He might remove the sorrow of Hajra. His prayers were accepted. When Ishaq was born to Sarah, on the seventh day the stub of his navel dropped but the foreskin remained intact. Sarah was distraught due to this. Ibrahim arrived and wanted to learn of the new situation that had developed in his progeny and in the descendants of Prophets. Sarah told him though the navel stub of Ishaq dried and fallen off, his foreskin remained. Ibrahim went to his place of worship and complained Allah regarding the situation. The Almighty sent him a revelation saying it was because of Sarah’s scolding of Hajra.

“I have vowed that I will not remove the foreskin of any of the Prophets,” said Allah., “Hence circumcise Ishaq and give him the taste of hot iron.”

So Ibrahim circumcised Ishaq with an iron (instrument). The practice became common among the people to circumcise their sons with iron.

According to an authentic hadith of Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali the significance of stoning the Shaitans is that when Archangel Gabriel was teaching the hajj rituals to Ibrahim, the Satan appeared to him first at al-Jamarah al-Ula, Archangel Gabriel told Ibrahim to stone the Satan.

Ibrahim threw seven pebbles at Satan and he disappeared into the earth at that very spot. Again he appeared at the second place. (Al-Jamarah) and Ibrahim tossed seven pebbles at him in succession. The Satan disappeared and arose at the third Al-Jamarah. Once more Ibrahim tossed seven pebbles and Satan disappeared into the earth never to show up again.

A tradition quoted from Imam al-Ridha through correct and reliable chains of narrators, says that ‘Sakina’ is a breeze of Paradise that comes in the shape of a human being and has a pleasant fragrance. This particular breeze blew upon Ibrahim when he was constructing the Ka‘bah. The foundations was being laid and Ibrahim was engaged in constructing the foundation from the back side.

Ibn ‘Abbas relates that the Arabian horses were initially wild. When Ibrahim and Isma‘il removed the idols from Ka‘bah the Almighty sent him a revelation saying that He was conferring a treasure upon him, that was never bestowed to anyone before this Ibrahim and Isma‘il went to a mountain called Barheya and summoned the horses saying ‘Alaa halaa Alaa Halam.’ All the wild horses of Arabia converged at that spot referred to as ‘Jeyad’.

Numerous reliable traditions from Imam al-Baqir and Imam as-Sadiq state that when Ibrahim and Isma‘il completed the construction of Ka‘bah it was revealed that they should invite people for hajj. Ibrahim stood at ‘Rukn’ and according to another tradition at ‘Maqaam’. The place where he stood became so elevated that it became equal to the Mount Qubais. Then he called the people for hajj.

The Almighty caused his call to reach all the people, even those who were in the loins of their father and wombs of their mother and shall be born until the day the Resurrection Day. They all responded with ‘Labbaik Daai Allah Labbaik Daai Allah’ (Here we come O! one who calls towards Allah). One who recites it once gets the reward of one hajj, the reward of two Hajjs is for those who repeat this formula twice and three Hajjs for one who utters it thrice and finally five Hajjs are written for those who recite this five times. And those who do not say it even once, has no hajj to his credit.

According to a reliable tradition of Imam al-Ridha the first person to mount an Arabian horse was Isma‘il. Before this Arabian horses were untrained and no one could ride them. The Almighty rounded them up from Mount Mina and due to this they are known as ‘Aeraab’, because Isma‘il was an Arab.

Reliable chains quote Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that the ritual of Sa’y (Jogging between Safa and Marwa) came into practice because when Ibrahim reached that particular place, Satan came to him. Archangel Gabriel told him to attack it and Ibrahim obeyed. The Satan fled and Ibrahim chased him.

Imam says that ‘Mina’ is known by that name because Archangel Gabriel advised Ibrahim to express his wishes (Tamanna) to Allah. ‘‘Arafat’ is referred by title because when the Sun declined from its zenith Archangel Gabriel told Ibrahim to repent for his sins (eteraaf) and to understand (the significance) of hajj rituals. When the sun had set, he was told ‘Laf ilaa she’ril H’araam’ (Move towards Masharul haram). Therefore Mashar is also known as Muzdalefa.

Some people asked Imam why Sarah prayed to Allah not to punish her for what she had done to Hajra. Imam replied that Sarah had circumcised Hajar to create a defect in her. But she became all the more beautiful for it. The practice of female circumcision thus came into being.

Imam al-Ridha says in an authentic tradition that when Ibrahim settled his children in Makkah he prayed to the Almighty to bestow them with fruits. The Almighty separated a tract of land from Syria, named Ordain and along with its orchards and fruits brought it to Makkah where it circumambulated (circumambulation) of Ka‘bah then settled in the neighboring area. It is for this reason that it has been named ‘Taif’.

According to an authentic tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, Ibrahim had two sons, one from his wife and one from his slave-girl. The son of the slave-girl was superior. When the Angels brought the glad-tidings of Ishaq to Ibrahim as mentioned in Qur’an, “His woman was standing. She laughed (Fadahekat).”

Imam said Dahekat does not mean she laughed. It means that she menstruated. So the corrected translation is:

“His woman was standing and she began to menstruate.” (upon hearing the news). In spite of the fact that she was ninety and Ibrahim was 120 years. When the people saw Ishaq they were amazed that he was born to such an elderly couple. They alleged that they might have brought him from somewhere and claimed it was their own son. But when Ishaq grew up he resembled his father so closely that people could not distinguish between him and Ibrahim. Till Allah caused Ibrahim’s beard to grey. Thus appeared a distinguishing feature between them. One day Ibrahim was handling his beard and he saw a white hair. He asked Allah what it was. Allah revealed that it was his dignity and he said “My lord increase my dignity.”

Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali says in an authentic hadith that when Isma‘il and Ishaq were growing up, they decided to race and Isma‘il won. Ibrahim picked up both of them, placed Isma‘il in his lap and Ishaq on his side. Sarah entered and when she saw them she became angry and said, “So the matter has reached this point that you do not consider your sons equal. Rather prefer the son of a slave-girl to my son! Take his boy away from me.”

So Ibrahim took Hajar and Isma‘il and settled them near the Ka‘bah. When the provisions were exhausted, Ibrahim decided to go out in search of food. Hajar asked him, “Under whose care are you leaving us?”

“Under the care of the Lord of the worlds,” replied Ibrahim Hajar felt the pangs of hunger and Archangel Gabriel descended and asked her to whose care has Ibrahim entrusted her. She said, “He has left us under Allah’s care.”

“He has entrusted you to the Sufficient One.” Archangel Gabriel told her. Archangel Gabriel put his hand inside the well of Zamzam and drew an imaginary circle. Water gushed out from it. Hajar filled a water-skin with water fearing that the water will dry up. Archangel Gabriel reassured her that it will remain forever and asked her to bring her son.

Thus they quenched their thirst to satiation. When Ibrahim returned and the incident was narrated to him, he said it was Archangel Gabriel.

Correct chains of reporters quote Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that he said, Isma‘il married Samma, a lady of Amaleqa tribe. One day Ibrahim desired to see Isma‘il and mounted a horse to head for Makkah. Sarah come to know and she extracted an oath that he would not alight from it until he came back to her. When he reached Makkah, Hajar had already departed for her heavenly abode.

“Where is your husband?” Ibrahim asked the wife of his son.

“He has gone hunting,” she replied.

Ibrahim then asked her of their well-being. She said they were in extreme difficulties and life was a burden, but did not invite him to alight. Ibrahim said, “When your husband returns, tell him an elderly person had come and advised that he change his threshold.”

When Isma‘il returned he sensed the fragrance of his respected father.

“Did anyone come to you?” he asked Samma.

“Yes,” she replied, “An old man came and said you must change your threshold stone.”

On hearing this, Isma‘il divorced Samma.

Once again Ibrahim yearned to see Isma‘il and again Sarah laid the same condition, that he will not alight from his mount until he returns to her. Ibrahim reached Makkah, but Isma‘il was not at home. Isma‘il had married another woman.

“Where is your husband,” Ibrahim asked her.

“May Allah shower you with His Mercy, my husband is gone for hunting.” She replied politely.

When Ibrahim asked her of their well-being, she replied that they were quite happy. Also when he asked her how she was, she replied, “Allah’s Mercy and blessings are upon us. Please step down from your mount, may Allah bless you. And rest awhile until Isma‘il returns.”

Ibrahim declined the invitation, hence she requested him to bring forward his head so that she can wash it clean of the dust. Saying this she brought some water and a stone. Ibrahim rested one foot on the stone keeping the other in the stirrup allowed her to wash one side of the head. Then rested his other foot on the stone and had the other side washed.

Ibrahim blessed her and said, “When your husband returns, tell him an elderly man had come and left a message that he should care and guard this threshold. It is beneficial for him.”

When Isma‘il returned home and felt the fragrance of his father he asked his wife if they had a visitor.

“Yes,” she replied, “An elderly gentleman had paid us a visit. This is the impression of his foot that he left on the stone. Isma‘il fell down and kissed the footprints of his father.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that Sarah was daughter (descendent) of Prophets and Ibrahim married her on the condition that she will not oppose him and do whatever he commands if it is not against the Divine orders. Every day Ibrahim went to Makkah via the route of al-Kufah.

According to an authentic tradition of Imam Ibrahim sought Sarah’s permission to visit Isma‘il at Makkah. She allowed him on the condition that he’ll return by evening, and that he will not alight from his mount. The narrator asked how that was possible. Imam explained that land contracted for him.

Another tradition says that when Isma‘il was born, Sarah was devastated. The Almighty ordered Ibrahim to comfort her and make her happy. She told Ibrahim to go and leave Hajar at a desolate spot, bereft of vegetation and milk-giving animals. Ibrahim left Hajar near the Ka‘bah. In those days there was neither water nor habitation in Makkah. Ibrahim left them at this place and returned weeping.

Al-Qutb al-Rawandi says that when Isma‘il reached maturity he collected seven goats. That was all that he possessed. His facial hair was in abundance. He spoke Arabic and was an expert archer. After the demise of his mother, he married a woman from the tribe of Jurham. She was named Zahla or Amawa. Later he divorced her. He did not have any child from her. After that he married Sayyada the daughter of Harith bin Qass. From this wife he had many sons. His total life span was of 137 years and he was buried in Hijr Isma‘il.

Authentic chain of traditionalists state that according to Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the age of Isma‘il was 130 years. He is buried near his mother in Hijr Isma‘il. The descendants of Isma‘il were the bearers of the post of successorship (caliphate). They looked after the pilgrims until the time of Adnan bin Awd.

Another authentic hadith from the Holy Prophet says that both the sons of Ibrahim, viz. Isma‘il and Ishaq lived for 120 years.8

A hadith quoted from Imam Musa Ibn Ja‘far says that when Ibrahim was leaving Hajar and Isma‘il at Makkah, they began to lament.

“Why do you weep?” asked Ibrahim, “I am leaving you at a place that is most beloved one of Allah and the sanctuary (Haram) of Allah is also situated here?”

“I never expected this from a Prophet like you,” said Hajar.

“What did I do?” asked Ibrahim.

“You are leaving a helpless woman and a weak child in a place where there is no one to help them and there is neither vegetation and water nor any habitation.”

Upon hearing these words Ibrahim began to weep. He came to the door of Ka‘bah and said, “O My Lord! I have settled some of my progeny in a barren valley near Your Holy House, so that they may establish prayers. So I beg you to instill their love in the hearts of some people and they are attracted towards them; and grant them fruits in excess so that they be thankful to you.”

The Almighty Allah revealed to him that he should go atop the mountain of Abu Qubais and call the people for the hajj of Ka‘bah as ordered by Him. For the Ka‘bah is the Holy sanctuary of Allah in Makkah.

Thus Ibrahim scaled the peak of Abu Qubais and called out in his loud voice. The Almighty spread his call to the east and the west of the earth and all the people heard it. Even those who were in the loins of their father or in the wombs of their mother. Therefore hajj became incumbent for all the creatures from that time onwards. And the Talbiya (Reply) that the hajj chant is the reply to the call of Ibrahim, the call that he had issued under the Divine instructions.

A good chain of narrators relates from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that the pigeons that inhabited the precincts of the Ka‘bah from the progeny of pigeons owned by Isma‘il. In another tradition it is mentioned that Hijr was the residence of Isma‘il. Hajar is buried at that very spot. Imam says in another narration that Hijr Isma‘il is not a part of Ka‘bah because when Hajar was buried there, he constructed boundary wall so that her grave does not get trampled under the felt of pilgrims. It contains the graves of other Prophets also.

In the same way a reliable tradition says that the graves of the unmarried daughters of Isma‘il are situated near the third ‘Rukn’.

Acceptable traditions give additional information alluding to Qur’anic ayats that Makkah has ‘Maqaame Ibrahim’ (place of Ibrahim) where he stood during the construction of Ka‘bah and the stone on which he stood was inscribed with the print of his soles. And that the marks of his feet are still there. Also that the Black stone was the abode of Isma‘il 9

Ibrahim prepares to slaughter his son; Who was taken for the slaughter—Isma‘il or Ishaq?

The Sixth holy Imam, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported through correct or rather authentic traditions that he said: Archangel Gabriel came to Ibrahim on the 8th of Dhu’l-hijjah at the time of zawaal (decline of Sun from its zenith) and said, “O Ibrahim, procure water for yourself and your family.” At that time there was no water between Makkah and ‘Arafat. So Archangel Gabriel led Ibrahim to Mina and he prayed Zuhr and Asr, then Maghrib and Isha and finally the Fajr prayers. When the sun arose they left for ‘Arafat, reached Marwa and halted there. At the time of Zawaal, they prayed Zuhr and Asr with one Azaan but with different Iqamah, at the spot where the Masjid of ‘Arafat is situated.

Then he made him stand in an empty space and told him to repent for his sins. (Eteraaf) and to Understand the rituals of his hajj. Ibrahim was made to stand there until sunset. Then he was ordered to proceed towards Mashar-al-haram. Upon reaching Mashar he performed the Maghrib and Isha prayers with one Azaan and two different Iqamah. He spent the night there and when he finished his morning prayers the next day, Archangel Gabriel showed him the position and brought him to Mina and told him to throw pebbles at Al-Jamarah Aqba as this was where Satan had appeared first. Then he was instructed in the ritual of the slaughter. When Ibrahim reached Masharul haram he went to sleep that night, happy and satisfied. He dreamt that he was slaughtering his son. He had brought his wife and son with him for hajj. When they reached Mina, they stoned the Satan together. Then he told Sarah to go and visit Ka‘bah keeping the son with himself. Then he took his son to the middle Satan and discussed the matter with him as mentioned in Qur’an:

O my son! Surely I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you; consider then what you see.” (37:102)

The righteous son told his father to complete the task he had begun.

“He said, O my father! Do what you are Commanded; if Allah please, you will find me of the patient ones.” (37:102)

Thus both of them submitted to the will of Allah and suddenly Satan appeared in the form of an old man.

“Ibrahim, where are you taking this lad?” asked Satan.

“I want to slaughter him,” replied Ibrahim

“SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)!” exclaimed the Satan, “You are going to slaughter this Child who never committed the smallest of sins?”

“But my Lord has commanded me for it,” said Ibrahim

“Your Lord prohibits you!” lied Satan. “Satan has fooled you into it!”

“Fie upon you!” said Ibrahim, “The One Who has conferred Prophethood upon me has ordered me for it. And I received the Divine Command through the same Angel whose voice I am familiar with. I have no doubt about it.”

“By Allah,” persisted Satan, “No one but Satan has issued such an order.”

“By Allah,” said Ibrahim, “I do not wish to speak about it to you.” And he decided to go ahead with his mission.

Satan made a last effort and said, “O Ibrahim you are the leader of all the creatures, and people follow your example. If you perform such an act all people will be compelled to slaughter their own children.”

Ibrahim did not reply. He discussed the matter with his son. When both of them agreed to fulfill the Divine Command, the son told his father to cover his face and to tie the hands and the legs securely. Ibrahim said he could either slaughter him or tie his hands and feet. But he could not muster the strength to do both the things. So he spread out a skin and made the son lie on it. Then he placed the knife at his throat and raised his head towards the sky. Then he held the knife with all his strength. Archangel Gabriel turned the knife so that the unsharpened edge did not cut the throat. Ibrahim saw that he was holding the knife the wrong way. He corrected it and repeated the act. Again Archangel Gabriel turned the knife. This happened many times. Finally Archangel Gabriel brought a ram from the hillside and removed the child from under the hands of Ibrahim and replaced him with the ram. And a voice from the direction of Khaif Mosque announced, “You have fulfilled your dream. We reward the righteous servants in this way. Indeed this was a manifest examination!”

Meanwhile the Satan came to the wife of Ibrahim when the Ka‘bah was yet far away. He asked her of the person he had met in Mina. She said that it was her husband.

“And the boy with him?” he asked.

“He is my son,” she replied.

“I have seen that man had laid down the boy and was holding a knife ready to slaughter him,” said the Satan.

“You lie!” said Sarah, “Ibrahim is the most merciful man, how can he slaughter his own son?”

“By the Lord of the heavens and the Earth, by the Lord of this great house! I have seen with my own eyes the man has laid down the son and readied the knife to slaughter him.”

“But why?” asked Sarah

“He is under the impression that his Lord has commanded him for it.”

“Then he must follow the commands of his Lord,” she said.

After completing the rituals she hurried towards Mina. Keeping her hands on her head she said again and again, “O Allah! Do not punish me for what I have done to the mother of Isma‘il!”

When she came to Ibrahim and inquired about her son, she was shocked to see the scar of the Knife. She fell ill and left for the heavenly abode.

The narrator asked Imam about the place where Ibrahim carried out the slaughter.

“Near the middle Al-Jamarah,” replied Imam, “And the ram descended from heaven on the mountain that is on the right of Mina Mosque. It used to graze there in darkness.”

“What color was it?” inquired the narrator

“Black and white,” Imam said, “big in size and with large horns.”10

Trustworthy chains of reporters quote Imam al-Ridha that the Holy Prophet said, “I am the son of two slaughtering.”

Imam explained, “The two “slaughtering” were Isma‘il the son of Ibrahim and ‘Abdullah the son of Abdul Muttalib.” Isma‘il was that forbearing person whose glad-tidings were conveyed to Ibrahim. When he grew up enough to walk with his father, Ibrahim told him one day that he had dreamt that he was slaughtering him. “So I want you to think upon it and take a decision.”

“Dear father,” said Isma‘il, “Go ahead with your mission.” He did not ask him to go ahead with what he had seen in dream.

“You shall find me of the patient ones.”

When Ibrahim took him for the slaughter, the Almighty ransomed him with black ram that used graze and feed only in dark. It was capable of seeing and roaming in the darkness. It could also speak, and forty years hence it had grazed in the gardens of Paradise. It was not born from the womb. The Almighty had ordered ‘Be’ and it one into being, so that one day it shall become the ransom of Isma‘il. And all the sacrifices that one performed in Mina, until the Resurrection Day shall be the ransom of Isma‘il. This is the meaning of “Two slaughtering.”11

Shaykh Muhammad bin Babawayh quotes the above hadith then says, that there are different explanations of the term “slaughtered one.” Some say it was Isma‘il and some mention Ishaq. And it is not possible to reject the traditions received through proper sources. In reality the incident occurred with regard to Isma‘il but when Ishaq was born he also desired to be made a sacrificial ram like his brother. He also wished to exhibit patience and obtain a lofty status like Isma‘il. The Almighty knew that he was sincere in his intentions, so ordered the Angels to name him ‘zabih’ (slaughtered one). This explanation is recorded through reliable channels from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq. Moreover the claim of the Holy Prophet that he was the son of two “slaughtered ones” also fits because the uncle is equal in status of the father. This point is mentioned in Qur’an and the Holy Prophet has said, “An uncle is like the father? So from this aspect the statement of Holy Prophet is correct when he said “I am the son of two ‘slaughtered ones.’” He was the actual descendent of the actual “slaughtered one” (Isma‘il) the metaphoric descendent of the metaphoric “slaughtered one” (Ishaq).

‘Zibh al-Azeem’ (The great Sacrifice) can be explained in another way. Fadhl bin Shadhan says that he has heard Imam al-Ridha say, “When the Almighty commanded Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Isma‘il and he obliged. The Almighty replaced Isma‘il with a ram. When Ibrahim came to know this he became disappointed that he was not allowed to slaughter Isma‘il and that he was denied the rewards he would have earned for sacrificing his son for Allah. So the Almighty Allah asked him who his most beloved one was. He replied, ‘No one is more beloved to me that Muhammad al-Mustafa.’

‘Do you value you life more or the life of Muhammad al-Mustafa?’

‘I love him more than my life,’ said Ibrahim.

‘Whom do you prefer, his son or your own son?’

‘His son,’ replied Ibrahim

‘Would you be pained more to see him slaughtered by his enemies or slaughtering your son with your hands be painful?’

‘My Lord! It would be more painful if his son is slaughtered by the enemies.’

The Almighty revealed, ‘O Ibrahim! A group claiming to be from the community of Muhammad (Muslims), after his passing away from this world would slaughter his son just like a ram is slaughtered. And they would became eligible for My wrath.’

After listening to this heart-rending prophecy Ibrahim became sorrowful. He began a plaintive lamentation. Then Allah revealed.

‘O Ibrahim! I have taken this lamentation of yours as the ransom of your son Isma‘il. For you would have lamented in the same way, had you slaughtered Isma‘il with your hands. So I bestow you with the best of the rewards that is given to those eligible for them due to their afflictions. This is the explanation of the words: We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.” (37:107)

It is recorded in reliable traditions that the ram of Ibrahim was one of those creatures whom Allah created without the mother’s womb.

In a trustworthy hadith people asked Imam al-Ridha whether Isma‘il was ‘Slaughtered’ by Ibrahim or it was Ishaq “It was Isma‘il,” replied Imam “It seems you have not seen the Almighty’s words wherein He gave the glad-tidings of Ishaq to Ibrahim after He has mentioned the incident of Isma‘il in Surah al-Saffat. So how can Ishaq be the ‘Slaughtered one’?”

According to a reliable tradition from Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali the ‘Slaughtered one’ was Isma‘il

A trustworthy source mentions that people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq why the spleen of a slaughtered animal became haram (Prohibited). Imam explained: When Ibrahim was preparing to slaughter Isma‘il, a ram was brought from the Bashir Mountain of Makkah to ransom the sacrifice of Isma‘il. The Satan came to him to claim his portion in the slaughtered ram. Ibrahim told him that the sacrifice was exclusive for Allah. But Allah sent a revelation and said the Satan too has a share in it. Then He ordered Ibrahim to hand over to Satan the spleen, which is the organ where blood collects. The testicles are also haram because it is here that semen is produced. Hence Ibrahim gave the spleen and testicles to the accursed Satan.

In a reliable tradition someone asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq whether Isma‘il was older or Ishaq. Imam said that Isma‘il was five years older to Ishaq, and he was the ‘Slaughtered one.’ He resided in Makkah and Ibrahim took him for the slaughter. Also, there was a gap of five years between the glad tiding of the birth of Isma‘il and Ishaq. Have you not heard the Qur’anic words that Ibrahim requested Allah,

My Lord! Grant me of the doers of good deeds. (37:100)

Allah accepted his request:

“So we gave him the good news of a boy, possessing forbearance.” (37:101)

That was Isma‘il, through the womb of Hajar . Then a big ram was sent as a ransom for Isma‘il.

And in a trustworthy hadith Imam says that if the meat of any other animal had been purer than that of the ram, Allah would have sent it as the ransom of Isma‘il. One version of hadith mentions the name of Ishaq in place of Isma‘il.

One more tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that Ya‘qub wrote to the ‘Aziz (chief) of Egypt: We Ahl al-Bayt (People of the house) are prone to examinations and tests. Our forefather Ibrahim was tested by the fire and my father Ishaq was examined by the slaughter.

In a trustworthy source is mentioned a tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that he said, “Sarah told Ibrahim that he had become old. And had he invocated Allah to grant him a son to illuminate their eyes, the Almighty would have granted his request because he was the Khalil of Allah. Ibrahim prayed to Allah to grant him an intelligent son. The Almighty revealed that He would bestow upon him a wise son. And through him would examine Ibrahim’s obedience towards Himself. After three years again Ibrahim received the glad-tidings of Isma‘il.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is quoted in a good tradition that when people asked who was taken for sacrifice, he replied, “It was Isma‘il.”

In a reliable tradition some people asked Imam about the period between the glad tiding of Isma‘il and that of Ishaq

“There was a gap of five years,” replied Imam. The Almighty said,

“So We gave him the good news of a boy, possessing forbearance.” (37:101)

This was the ‘good news’ of Isma‘il. And when Ishaq was born to Sarah and one day when he was three years and sitting in the lap of his father, Isma‘il came and pushing him aside himself sat there. Sarah witnessed this and said, “Hajra’s son pushes my son to sit in your lap. By Allah! Hajar and her son cannot live in the same town where I live. Take them away.”

Ibrahim loved Sarah very much, and used to respect her rights. She was a descendant of Prophets and his cousin. But her demand was very difficult to fulfill. Ibrahim could not bear the separation of Isma‘il. The same night an Angel appeared in his dream and commanded him to sacrifice Isma‘il at Makkah during the hajj season. Ibrahim rose with a heavy heart next morning. The season of hajj neared. Ibrahim took Hajar and Isma‘il from Syria to Makkah during the month of Dhu’l-hijjah, in order to slaughter Isma‘il during the hajj. He raised the walls of the Ka‘bah and with the intention of performing hajj headed for Mina. After completing the rituals of Mina he returned with Isma‘il and performed the circumambulation (circumambulating) of the Ka‘bah seven times. Then he turned his attention towards Safa and Marwa to complete the ritual of Say’. When he reached between Safa and Marwa he told Isma‘il, “My son! I dreamt that I was slaughtering you during this hajj, so what do you say?”

“Father! Go ahead with whatever you have been sent for,” said Isma‘il.

After completing Say’ he took Isma‘il to Mina, and that was on the day of Sacrifice. As he lifted the knife he heard a voice, “O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled your dream, and obeyed My Command.” Then a big ram was given in ransom of Isma‘il and its meat donated to the poor and needy.

Imam al-Ridha was asked, “Why ‘Mina’ is called as ‘Mina’?” Imam said that because it was here that Archangel Gabriel told Ibrahim to ask Allah for his wish (Tamanna). Hence Ibrahim expressed his wish for a ram that he can slaughter as the ransom of Isma‘il. The Almighty accepted his wish.12

- 1. There is no contradiction in above traditions. Ibrahim was given the status of Khalil because he had all the perfect qualities. The traditions regarding the ‘friendship’ are mostly those that exhort the perfection of moral qualities.

- 2. According to the writer, this proves that the incident of Nimrod and the gnat is correct but he could not find it in a reliable tradition.

- 3. There is no contradiction in these traditions. It is possible that all this has occurred. Ibrahim must have recited the invocations and made the Holy Prophet and Imams as his intercessors. As a result, the Almighty sent for him the garment and ring and ordered the “Be Cool O! Fire.”

- 4. It is well-known among the historians that Nimrod was also seated with his personal assistant in the box.

- 5. This part contains some controversial points and even though he has explained them in Behaarul Anwaar, it is necessary to mention them here also. The apparent meaning of the ayats is that Azar was the father of Ibrahim and the same is well-known among Sunnis. However, it is famous or rather a unanimous opinion of the Shi‘ah scholars that Tarukh and not Azar was the father of Ibrahim. And the Tarukh was a Muslim. The greatest scholars of Shi‘ahs have defended this opinion by the traditions that all the ancestors of the Holy Prophet until Adam were Monotheists. They were also either Prophets or their legatees. Since Ibrahim is one of the ancestors of the Holy Prophet it is necessary that his father must be a Muslim too. The genealogists also agree that Ibrahim’s father was Tarukh. Therefore whenever the Qur’an or hadith mention Azar as the father of Ibrahim, it is only a metaphor because he was the uncle of Ibrahim Referring to ones Uncle as father is an Arabian custom. It is also possible that Azar was Ibrahim’s uncle and after his father’s death married Ibrahim’s mother. Since he brought up Ibrahim under his care, he is referred to as his father. Some of the traditions that cannot be justified may have been narrated under dissimulation (Taqiyyah). Secondly the Almighty says in the incident of Ibrahim.
“Then he looked at the stars, looking up once,
Then he said, Surely I am sick, (of your worshipping these).” According to the explanatory traditions when the people were leaving for celebrations Ibrahim looked at the stars and said he was sick. Then he broke the idols. Why did he make such a statement? Was it true or false? According to some Ibrahim had intermittent fever and thus looked at the stars and said, “It is the time for my repentance, I will be having fever and hence cannot go out. Others say that since the people were practitioners of astrology, Ibrahim also studied the stars before stating that he had fever, whether truly or just as an excuse. Because an untrue statement can be spoken as an allusion. With the intention of a true statement, it can be spoken as toriya. It is not considered a lie and is permissible. Rather in some demanding circumstances, it becomes obligatory to ward off danger to ones life or property. Some scholars have also explained the ayah in a way that Ibrahim looked at the stars, that are created by Allah and said that he was sick of the fact that people should worship the stars and idols. The apparent meaning of some authentic tradition shows that the statement of Ibrahim was spoken for some special reason. Ibrahim spoke by way of toriya and hence the people failed to understand the true meaning.
Thus some people asked Ja’far al-Sadiq as to how Ibrahim said, “I am sick.” Imam said that Ibrahim was not sick, but he did not lie. What he meant was that he was sick in finding a correct method to defeat the false religion of those people. Another tradition states that he said ‘I will be sick.’ And as a person is helpless in death, he is helpless in sickness also. In yet another narration it is said that when Ibrahim had the premonition of the tragedy of Imam al-Husayn he became sick of sorrow.
The third objection is that when it is proved that all Prophets are infallible from birth then how Ibrahim said ‘This is my Lord’, when he beheld the star. Because apparently it is disbelief (Kufr). What is the actual meaning of this statement? This can be justified in a number of ways. Firstly, there is something as contemplation. A person presumes something and wonders. ‘If it is so.’ Then he thinks upon it and takes a decision.
Thus we have an authentic tradition from Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq wherein people asked him if Ibrahim committed Kufr when he saw the star and said ‘This is my Lord!’ Imam explained that the statement of Ibrahim cannot be called Kufr since he was in search of truth and wanted to expound the philosophy of Tawhid. And that, if any person were to make such a statement now, it would be Kufr.”
In another reliable tradition he says that if anyone says it in search of truth he would be like Ibrahim. Secondly, though it was an assertion it could be construed as an assumption. Moreover, Ibrahim said this because if he had right away testified to Allah’s oneness the people might have abandoned him right away without allowing him to complete the proof. So he sought their support in the beginning and then proved that it cannot be so. This convinced the people. Lending support to this argument is the tradition of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq that he said the statement of Ibrahim was not his own but what people used to believe. He only repeated it.
Thirdly, the words of Ibrahim can be rhetorical. This is saying the opposite of what he means.
Al-Ma’mun asked Imam al-Ri¤a the exegesis of the same ayah. Imam said, “At that time there were three kinds of people. Some worshipped Venus, some worshipped the moon and some deified the Sun. When Ibrahim came out of the cave where he was hidden since birth, the Sun had already set and Venus shone on the sky. He made a rhetorical statement, it was not an assertion. After Venus set he said, ‘I do not like those who set. Because setting and receding into concealment is a sign of a temporal being. It is not a sign of permanence and omniscience.’ Then he looked at the luminous moon and said by way of rhetoric, ‘This is my Lord?’ When it has also set, he said, ‘If my Lord had not guided me I would have gone astray.’ Imam says, “He meant to say that if he had not been in the guidance of Almighty he would have been among the infidels.”
When it was morning and the sun arose. Ibrahim said by way of rhetoric, ‘Is this my Lord? For it is larger than Venus and larger than the Moon.’
When the Sun also set, he addressed the three groups and said, “O people! Keep away from those whom you associate with Allah. I have turned my face towards the One who originated the heavens and the earths. I am sincere in dissociating from all false beliefs. I am not a polytheist.”
It is also possible that Ibrahim intended to convince the people of the fallacy of worshipping objects that had temporal characteristics of the Venus, Moon and Sun. Whereas the one who deserved to be worshipped is the one who created the heavens and the earth. The arguments that Ibrahim employed were revealed to him by the Almighty Himself. As we read at the conclusion of this incident that Allah says, “And this was Our argument which We gave to Ibrahim against his people;” (Surah Anaam 6:83).
After Imam al-Ri¤a concluded his speech Al-Ma’mun said, “O son of the Messenger of Allah may Allah reward you for this. You have untied the knot in my heart.”
In another authentic tradition it is mentioned that Ibrahim was born during the reign of Nimrod the son of Canaan. And those four kings have reigned over the entire earth. Two of them were believers: Sulayman and Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the other two were infidels: Nebuchadnezzar and Nimrod. Nimrod was informed that a male child was to be born that year. He would destroy him, his religion and his idols.
After securing this information, he appointed female spies for expectant ladies and ordered all newborn boys to be killed that year. The mother of Ibrahim was also pregnant that year. The Almighty fixed the foetus of Ibrahim of the back of his mother instead of the belly. When he was born, his mother hid him in a cave below the surface of the earth and closed the entrance. He grew up unlike other children and his mother visited him occasionally. Thus, when he came out of the cave for the first time, he saw Venus shining on the sky. He had not seen a more beautiful star. “This is my Lord,” said he. The Moon arose after some time. When Ibrahim saw the moon, he said, “It is bigger. This is my Lord!” When the Moon set he said, “I do not associate with those who set.” Then it was morning and the Sun appeared. “This is my Lord!” He said, “It is bigger than all the others.” When the Sun also set, he turned away from all of them and faced the Lord of the worlds.
This hadith contains all the points of justifications. Moreover, there are some other reasons that I have explained in Behaarul Anwaar.
Ibrahim’s statement upon the disappearance of Venus that he did not consider it as his Lord is significant for the fact that when a star rises, it is more luminous and bright but at the time of setting it loses its luster and becomes dull. Therefore, the people used to worship it at the time it arose. Ibrahim wanted to point out the fallacy of the people in worshipping something that is inconsistent. One should worship only that which is ever-present and able to benefit its creatures, without any conditions attached. Something that is constant in bestowing benefits. Also, that something which is subject to change is itself temporal. It is also possible that Ibrahim wanted to call their attention towards this particular phenomena because they were aware of the effect of the Star at the time of its rising and knew that it weakens by the time it is setting. Therefore Ibrahim presented a convincing argument that something which is itself imperfect cannot create perfect things.
Apart from these, there are also methods to prove the same points but they are the beyond the scope of the present book.
The fourth objection concerns the breaking of idols by Ibrahim and then claiming that the largest of them has done it. For it is a lie and a Prophet can never lie. This doubt can also be explained in a number of ways:
First of all the statement of Ibrahim was conditional because he said, “The biggest of them did it. Ask them if they can talk.” (Surah Anbiya 21:63). It means that if they were capable of talking and deserving of worship they could have performed such an action. Actually, it was a great insult to the idols. That those who cannot talk and cannot protect themselves and neither cause benefit nor harm, then how foolish it is to worship them.
Accordingly when Ja’far al-Sadiq was asked for the tafsir of this ayah he said, “Ibrahim said, “If they could talk” at the conclusion of his statement. It means that if they can talk, the largest one has done it. Otherwise not.” Hence Ibrahim did not make a false statement.” Secondly, accusing the largest idol for the act was metaphor. Ibrahim had broken the idols because the people venerated them. Since they respected the largest idol more, it was entitled to greater blame. It is common in Arabic language to associate the verb with something other then the doer of the action.
Thirdly, ‘the biggest of them’ is the second phrase of the ayah, proceeded by ‘he has done it’. The first phrase could mean ‘one who did it, he has done it’. “If what you say is true that they are gods, the biggest of them is present, ask him who did it.”
Fourthly, falsehood is a statement that is against reality and bereft of any wisdom. Ibrahim said that for hidden wisdom, to defeat the people in logical reasoning. Accordingly, there is an authentic tradition from Ja’far al-Sadiq that a person who says something untrue for the sake of correcting someone cannot be blamed for lying. Then Imam recited the above ayah and said, “By Allah! The idols didn’t do it and neither Ibrahim uttered a lie.” And in another tradition Imam says, “Allah likes the lie that is uttered like Ibrahim for reforming the people. He said, ‘He had done it, the biggest of them,’ for educating the people. He proved that they did not possess the power of reasoning.”

- 6. Different traditions mention different species of birds. This could be due to dissimulation (Taqiyyah), and narrated on the times of Sunnis. It is also possible that the incident occurred more than once though its unlikely.
Secondly, how Ibrahim was the victim of doubt regarding the power of Allah to give life and death. This controversy can be cleared in a number of ways. First, he wanted to see the actual process though he believed in it. When some people asked Imam al-Ri¤a, “Was Ibrahim in doubt when he said, But that may be at ease?” Imam replied, “No, he was not in doubt, but he wanted to increase his faith in the Almighty.” Imam Musa al-Ka¨im has also explained in the same way.
Second: Though he believed in the raising of dead, he wanted to witness the process with his own eyes.
Third: As mentioned in a tradition mentioned above, he wanted to be sure he was the appointed ‘Khalil.;
Fourth: That Nimrod had challenged him to enliven the dead and warned him of dire consequences if he didn’t. So Ibrahim desired to obtain his hearts’ ease and also comply with Nimrod’s challenge. But only two of the reasons are mostly likely ones. And Shaykh Muhammad bin Babawayh has related that Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah bin Tayfoor told me regarding the ayah. “O Lord show me how your enliven the dead,” that the Almighty told Ibrahim to visit one of his exalted servants. When Ibrahim paid him a visit he said that there is a person by the name of Ibrahim and the Almighty has taken him as His Khalil. Ibrahim asked what was the proof of this. The man replied, “Allah will enliven the dead for him.”
Ibrahim suspected that he himself was that Khalil, and to make sure requested Allah to give life to the dead. The Almighty asked him if no faith had in it. He replied that he had faith but wished to put his heart at ease. (that I am that Khalil) He also wished to have miracle as the other Prophets had. So he requested the Almighty to raise the dead to life. The Almighty ordered him to kill a living being. Ibrahim slaughtered his son Isma‘il. The Almighty ordered him to slaughter four birds: Peacock, pigeon, wild duck and a cock:
Peacock symbolized the embellishments of this world, pigeon stood for the increasing hopes, for it had a long life-span, the wild duck indicated jealousy and the cock was a symbol of sensuality. So the Almighty told him that if he wished to enliven his heart and put it to ease he must purify his heart from the four things and kill them by his self. Because even if one of them remains in the heart, it cannot be at ease. The Shaykh says that he asked him as to why the Almighty asked him, “Do you not believe?” When He was aware that Ibrahim was a believer. Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah replied, “Because the request of Ibrahim apparently indicated doubt. And the Almighty wished to clear him of all blame. So Ibrahim said that he was not it doubt but wanted to strengthen his faith. Or other reasons as mentioned above.
Since the words of Ibn Tayfoor are not hadith they cannot be relied upon like we rely on authentic traditions. But since the Shaykh has mentioned them, I too quote the same.

- 7. It is despicable if one wishes for a long life merely to obtain the worldly pleasures. However, it is meritorious if he prays for a long life in order to perform good deeds that will benefit him in the Hereafter. It is the love for Almighty, an exclusive love for Him. Therefore, many supplications contain words asking for a long life. But the perfection of character lies in that a man should be satisfied with divine decree. If he knows that Allah wants death for him, he should similarly accept it. But if one does not know what Allah expects of him, he should pray for a long life so that he can gain the Almighty’s recognition. It will signify his love for Allah. The Prophets prayed for a long life only until the time they knew Allah is satisfied with their entreaties. If they had preferred a long life more than Allah’s satisfaction they would never have put themselves in perilous circumstances.

- 8. These traditions differ with regard to the age of Isma‘il the disparity could be due to dissimulation (Taqiyyah) or the fact that some traditions were issued to correct others.

- 9. We have included some incidents from the life of Ibrahim, Isma‘il and Ishaq in our account of Lu§.

- 10. This hadith proves that the son Ibrahim took for slaughter and the incident that is mentioned in the Qur’an concerned Ishaq. There are vast differences among the Shi‘ah and Sunni scholars regarding this matter. The Jews and Christians apparently believe it was Ishaq. The Shi‘ah traditions mention both Isma‘il and Ishaq and the majority of Shi‘ah scholars believe it was Isma‘il, because the majority of reports support this view. The apparent import of the Qur’anic Verse is also this as explained in the background of traditions. If there is no agreement who was taken for slaughter, we can reconcile the traditions by saying it happened for both of them. It seems that the name of Ishaq is mentioned on the basis of Taqiyyah or it had been the prevalent view among the scholars of opposing schools. The unanimity of the People of Book cannot be depended upon. Moreover, a Rabbi came to Umar Ibn Abdul ‘Aziz who questioned him concerning this topic. He said the Jew and Christian scholars know that it was Isma‘il but due to jealousy they deny it because Ishaq is their ancestor, whereas Isma‘il is the ancestor of Arabs. They wish to confine the merit to their ancestor and not for yours.

- 11. The writer sys: The second sacrifice was that of ‘Abdullah as mentioned in the account of the Holy Prophet. Refer to volume II.

- 12. I have quoted only a few traditions that prove the Sacrifice of Isma‘il (instead of Ishaq) in this chapter though there are many more. If Allah wills we shall see many other narrations in the account of Lu§.

An Account of Lut

Commentators of the Holy Qur’an generally believe that Lut was the nephew of Ibrahim. He was the son of Haraan son of Tarukh. However, some believe he was the cousin of Ibrahim i.e.. The son of his mother’s sister. According to the second view Sarah was Lut’s sister and this is a stronger view. We have already mentioned in forgone discussion that Lut was one of those Prophets who was born circumcised.

Shaykh ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim says that when Nimrod threw Ibrahim in the fire, the Almighty caused the fire to become cool by His absolute power. Thus Nimrod started fearing Ibrahim. He told Ibrahim to evict his city as it was now no more possible for him to reside in the territories of Nimrod. Ibrahim had already married his cousin Sarah; and Lut had also accepted the faith of Ibrahim. Lut was a young boy at the time. Ibrahim owned some sheep and that was all he possessed from the economic point of view. Ibrahim departed from the city of Nimrod and took Sarah with him hidden in a casket as she was extremely shy and modest. When Ibrahim set out from the town, agents of Nimrod tried to confiscate his sheep saying he should surrender all that he had earned in their king’s territory because he had opposed the king by declaring a new religion. Ibrahim said the king’s judge shall decide the matter. This judge was named Sandoom. Ibrahim and the officials went to Sandoom.

The officials told him that since Ibrahim has opposed the king in the matter of religion he should not be allowed to take away from there any property that he has accumulated in that particular place. Sandoom supported the argument and told Ibrahim to surrender whatever he was carrying. Ibrahim said if the judge did not deliver a just judgment he would drop dead. Sandoom asked him what the reality was. Ibrahim said the judge should also order Nimrod’s officials to return the years of his life that he had spent in acquiring the property and he would surrender all that he had earned. Sandoom supported the stand of Ibrahim and the officials had to set him free. Nimrod wrote to the neighboring kingdoms that Ibrahim must not be given refuge anywhere. Ibrahim passed a toll station of Nimrod where an official was posted to collect tax from those who passed that way. Sarah was hidden in a casket among the luggage of Ibrahim.

The toll officer calculated the toll of all the goods and finally reached the casket. He ordered Ibrahim to open it in order that he may calculate the tax payable on its contents. Ibrahim told him to assume the contents in any way he liked for the purpose of calculating tax. However the toll officer insisted on opening the casket and did so forcibly. He saw Sarah in it and was dumbfounded by her beauty. “Who is this lady?” he asked. “She is my sister”, replied Ibrahim wanting to say that she was his sister in faith. (She was his cousin sister hence Ibrahim was not lying when he said so). The agents carried the casket to the officer who tried to touch Sarah. Sarah prayed for Allah’s refuge from him and his hand became lifeless. The man pained by this exclaimed as to what calamity had befallen him. Sarah told him it was due to his evil intention. He said now he had changed his intention therefore Sarah should pray that his hand be restored to normalcy. Sarah prayed to Allah to restore the man’s hand if he spoke the truth. The Almighty cured his hand. The officer had a slave-girl whom he gifted to Sarah. The slave-girl named Hajar was later to be the mother of Isma‘il. Ibrahim continued his journey with Sarah and Hajar and halted at a village that fell on their way. It was situated at the junction of roads leading to Yemen.

Ibrahim invited to Islam all those who passed from there. Ibrahim was already a well-known figure and the people knew that Nimrod had tried to burn him and failed. So when the people visited Ibrahim he entertained them at his residence. Ibrahim resided at a distance of seven parasang from the populated towns. These towns had flourishing agriculture and orchards. People who passed through these towns plucked and consumed some of the fruits. The natives did not like this trend and were always thinking of a way to stop this. One day Satan came to them in the form of an old man and said that he can teach them an action that if they practiced it no traveler would ever dare to approach their town. “What is it?” asked the people. “Whenever a person happens to pass through your town” said Satan “You should have intercourse through his anus and confiscate his belongings.”

Then a young handsome man appeared in the town. People caught him and sodomised him. They enjoyed the evil act so much that they started having sexual relations amongst themselves. The men joined with men and became needless of women and the women had sexual relations amongst themselves, thus becoming needless of males. Ibrahim received complaints of this evil practice and dispatched Lut in order to warn the people of Divine chastisement and to stop them from indulging in such actions. When Lut reached Sodom the people asked him who he was. “I am Lut,” he replied, “the cousin of Ibrahim who was cast into the fire by Nimrod but he did not burn. The Almighty ordered the fire to be cool and a medium of safety for Ibrahim. He is residing at a short distance from here.

Hence fear Allah and stop this evil practice. If you do not the Almighty shall destroy you.” The people were fearful and could not muster the courage to harm him. But they continued to rape travelers who passed through their village. Lut tried to save the poor victims. Lut married one of their women and had daughters with her. He continued to live among them for a long time, preached, and admonished them. But they were not affected by his admonishments and told him to stop it or they would stone him to death or expel him from the town. At last Lut prayed for a divine chastisement for these people.

One day Ibrahim was preparing to entertain guests at his residence when he had four visitors. The visitors whose faces resembled human beings saluted Ibrahim. Ibrahim informed Sarah that they had four more visitors who did not seem to be human beings. Sarah said they had nothing except a calf. The calf was slaughtered and brought to Ibrahim. The Qur’an mentions this in the following words:

“Has there come to you information about the honored guests of Ibrahim?” When they entered upon him, they said, “Peace, Peace”, said he, “a strange people.” Then he turned aside to his family secretly and brought a fat (roasted) calf. (51:24-26)

But they refused to eat anything. Ibrahim became afraid. Sarah came to them accompanied with other women and asked them why they refused the invitation of Ibrahim Khaleelullah. They told her not to fear.

They said:

“Surely we are sent to a guilty people that we may send down upon them stones of clay sent forth from your Lord for the extravagant.” (51:32-34)

The visitors said they have been sent to punish the people of Lut. When Sarah heard this she was shocked and began to menstruate although years had passed since her menopause.

The Qur’an says:

“Then we gave her the good news of Ishaq and after Ishaq of Ya‘qub.” She said “O wonder! Shall I bear a son when I am an extremely old woman and this my husband an extremely old man? Most surely this is a wonderful thing.” They said, “Do you wonder at Allah’s bidding? The mercy of Allah and His blessings are on you. O people of the house, surely he is Praised, Glorious.” So when fear had gone away from Ibrahim and the good news came to him he began to plead with Us for Lut’s people. (11:71-74)

Ibrahim asked Archangel Gabriel how could they punish them while Lut also lived in the same town. Archangel Gabriel said he knew better who lived there and that he would save Lut and his family except his wife who shall remain behind to suffer chastisement. Ibrahim said “Would you punish them even if there are a hundred believers among them?” “No”, replied Archangel Gabriel. If there are fifty?” “No” replied Archangel Gabriel again. “If there is only one believer?” “No” repeated Archangel Gabriel. As the Almighty says,

“But we did not find therein save a (single) house of those who submitted (the Muslims).” (51:36)

Ibrahim persuaded Archangel Gabriel to return to Allah and secure forgiveness for those people. In a split second the Almighty sent a revelation restraining Ibrahim from asking pardon for Lut’s people as the divine decree for chastisement has already been issued. The celestial visitors took leave of Ibrahim and came to Lut while he was irrigating his field. “Who are you” asked Lut. “We are travelers,” they replied, “Please give us shelter for the night.” Lut told them that the natives of that city were evil, that they sodomised the travelers and looted their belongings. “It is quite late and we cannot go to some other place,” they said, “Let us stay tonight, at least.” Lut came to his wife who was a native of that village and told her that he had some visitors but if she refrained from leaking the information to her townsmen he would forgive her all her past misdeeds. She agreed to this. Now Lut’s wife had a secret pact with her townspeople. If Lut had a visitor during the day she would let out smoke from the top of the house and if someone visited him at night she would light a fire to pass on the information.

When Archangel Gabriel and the angels accompanying him reached Lut’s house, his wife hurried to the roof and lit a fire. The villagers saw the fire and converged upon Lut’s house. Upon reaching the door they said “O Lut! Have we not commanded you not to lodge any guests?” Then they tried to abduct the visitors. Lut refrained them from doing so and said they could take his chaste daughters in exchange. “Fear Allah!” he said “And do not humiliate me by misbehaving with my visitors. Is there not a single righteous man among you?”

Traditions mention that by ‘his chaste daughters’ Lut meant the girls of the community. A Prophet is supposed to be the father of his community, therefore the girls were ‘his daughters’. Moreover a Prophet restrains the people from haram acts and invites them to halal actions. Hence, he told them that their women were best for them. They said “You know very well that we will have nothing to do with women. You also know what we desire.” Lut was helpless. He said

“Ah! that I had the power to suppress you, rather I shall have recourse to a strong support.” (11:80)

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says, “The Almighty never sent a Prophet to his people but that he dominated the people. He had his own tribe and relatives among the people.”

Another interpretation of “a strong support” is al-Qa’im (Imam al-Mahdi) and his 313 companions.

Archangel Gabriel remarked, “Had Lut known what power was on his side.” When Lut heard this he asked “Who are you in reality?” “I am Archangel Gabriel.” “What is your mission here?” “To destroy these people.” “Destroy them this very moment,” implored Lut. “The time appointed for their destruction is tomorrow morning.” “But morning is far!” pleaded Lut.

By now the people broke the door and rushed inside Lut’s house. Archangel Gabriel hit them with his wings and blinded them. As Allah says,

“By your life! They were wandering blindly in their intoxication.” (15:72)

The people realized that Divine punishment had descended on them. Archangel Gabriel then instructed them to flee the town with his supporters after a part of the night had passed. He told him that none of them should look back and added that should his wife look back she would invite the same wrath as the townsmen.

There was a scholar among the people of Lut. He warned the villagers that the wrath of Allah was upon them as repeatedly forecasted by Lut. He exhorted the people to surround Lut and not let him escape. As long as he is among the people the chastisement would not descend on them. The natives surrounded the residence of Lut from all sides. Archangel Gabriel told Lut to escape from amidst them. “How can I do that?” asked Lut “They have besieged my house from all sides.”

Archangel Gabriel planted a pillar of light before him and said that they should leave by its support and must not at any cost look back. Lut and his people left the town from underground. His wife looked back and Almighty dropped a stone upon her killing her instantly. When the morning Sun rose, each of the angels left the city by four different directions and dug the ground around the city up to its seventh layer. The town, which was in the centre, was raised so prominently that the inhabitants of the celestial world could hear the cackling of hens and barking of the village dogs. The whole city was then turned upside down and it crashed on its inhabitants. The Almighty rained coated, multicolored stones on them from the first heaven or from hell.

According to a reliable tradition Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “No one considers the acts of Lut’s people (homosexuality) halal, but the Almighty kills him with a stone from the stones that rained on the people of Sodom. But the people are unable to see this stone.”

In a correct report Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says, “The Messenger of Allah sought Allah’s refuge from miserliness every morning and every night and we too seek Allah’s refuge from miserliness. According to Imam, the Almighty commands us to beware of miserliness. Only those who refrain from miserliness achieve salvation. Imam warns us of miserliness and says the people of Lut were great misers with their food. As a result the Almighty inflicted them with a terrible ailment of the private parts. There was no cure for this malady.

Lut’s people now inhabited the highways that led to Egypt and Syria. The caravan folk halted at their towns and the people provided them with food and assistance. But when the frequency of the guests increased the people grew tired of their hospitalization and began to be miserly due to the evil of their hearts. Their miserliness caused them to mistreat the guests and to sodomize them without having any sensual feeling for this lewd act. By this act they intended to deter other caravans from halting at their town so that they did not have to provide them with lodging and boarding. They also intended this to be publicized in other cities so that none would dare to cross their town. But soon they got addicted to homosexuality and their obsession increased to such an extent that they used to procure boys from other towns and pay them for this act.

What malady can be a worse than miserliness? Its consequences are more terrible than being a miser. It degrades a person to such an extent.

The narrator asked if all the people of Lut were homosexuals? “All except for one Muslim family,” replied Imam, “I think you have not heard the words of Allah,

Then we brought forth such as were therein of the believers. But we did not find therein save a (single) house of those who submitted (the Muslims).” (51:35-36)

Imam says that Lut preached amongst the people for 30 years and continued to invite them towards Allah and warn them of the divine chastisement. The people did not wash after passing stool, neither did they perform the ritual bath of Janabah. Lut was the maternal cousin of Ibrahim and the brother of Sarah the wife of Ibrahim. Lut and Ibrahim were two Prophets of Allah who warned the people of Allah’s retribution. Lut was a generous and a kind person. He was very hospitable towards his guests and gave them refuge from the mischief of his people. When the people came to know that Lut had visitors, they said to him, “Have we not warned you against lodging guests in your house? If you do not desist we shall insult them and insult you before them.” Thus whenever Lut had some guests, he used to hide them from the villagers.

It was for this very fact that Lut did not have any relatives or tribesmen staying with him in that town. Lut was always hoping for divine wrath to descend on the people. He had a high station before the Almighty. Whenever Allah decided to send punishment He observed the love and devotion of Ibrahim and the love of Lut and postponed the punishment. At last Allah’s fury intensified and He decreed annihilation for the people of Lut. As a requital of this punishment He decided to grant Ibrahim a son who would be a source of comfort during the sorrow he was to experience as a result of the people’s destruction. Allah sent Messengers (angels) to Ibrahim to give the glad tidings of Isma‘il. The angels came to Ibrahim after nightfall and entered his house. Ibrahim was afraid they might be thieves. When the angels perceived Ibrahim’s fear they said salaam to him. Ibrahim responded to their salaam. The angels told him that they were messengers from Allah and asked him not to be afraid. They gave him glad tidings of a son.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says the glad tiding of a righteous son was regarding Isma‘il who was born to Hajar. “Is it specifically for me?” asked Ibrahim. “Yes,” they replied, “Do not lose hope.”

“Is there any other purpose for your visit?” asked Ibrahim. They said “We have been sent for a transgressing nation that is the people of Lut. They are a group of sinners and we have come to warn them of Allah’s wrath.”

“But Lut is present in their midst,” said Ibrahim. “We know better who is present, where?” retorted the angels, “Lut and his family members shall be saved except for his wife who will succumb to the punishment.” When these angels came to Lut he did not recognize them and asked them their identity. They said, “Your nation doubts Allah’s chastisement. We come with truth to warn your people of their impending doom. Indeed we are truthful. After seven days and nights, O Lut, you must leave the town with your family members. But none of you should look back. Your wife will glance behind and will be inflicted with the same disaster as your nation. You can escape to any place you like. After daylight all the people of your town will be destroyed.”

On the morning of the eighth day the Almighty again sent messengers to Ibrahim to inform him of the birth of Ishaq and to console him upon the annihilation of Lut’s nation. As mentioned in the Qur’an,

And certainly Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news. They said, Peace. Peace, said he, and he made no delay in bringing a roasted calf.

But when he saw that their hands were not extended towards it, he deemed them strange and conceived fear of them.. They said, Fear not, surely we are sent to Lut’s people.

And his wife was standing (by), so she laughed, then We gave her the good news of Ishaq and after Ishaq of (a son’s son) Ya‘qub.

She said, O wonder! Shall I bear a son when I am an extremely old woman and this my husband an extremely old man? Most surely this is a wonderful thing.

They said, Do you wonder at Allah’s bidding? The mercy of Allah and His blessings are on you, O people of the house, surely He is Praised, Glorious.

So when fear had gone away from Ibrahim and good news came to him, he began to plead with Us for Lut’s people.

Most surely Ibrahim was forbearing, tender-hearted, oft-returning (to Allah):

O Ibrahim! Leave off this, surely the decree of your Lord has come to pass, and surely there must come to them a chastisement that cannot be averted. (11:69-76)

According to authentic chains Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali says, “This nation (the Muslim) has six qualities of the people of Lut: (1) shooting of pellets (2) throwing stones (3) scratching the armpits (4) dragging their garments on the earth in vanity (5) leaving the buttons of their shirt undone and (6) leaving the fasteners of the gown open.”

Another tradition says, “The people of Lut had the shameless habit of passing gas (loudly) before each other in their gatherings. Lut chastised them for this evil deed.

In another authentic tradition Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that the Messenger of Allah asked Archangel Gabriel as to how the people of Lut were consigned to annihilation. Archangel Gabriel said “Lut’s nation inhabited a particular town. They did not wash their private parts after attending to nature’s call. They did not perform the ritual bath either, and they were miserly.” Lut lived among them for thirty years. He remained there as an alien without any relative or fellow tribesmen. He invited them to Allah, to have faith in Him, to follow him (Lut) and to desist from lewd practices. He persuaded them to worship the Lord. But the people rejected his call and refused to obey him.

Consequently when Allah wished to send down His wrath upon them He first dispatched His messengers (angels) in order to warn the people and exhaust all arguments. The people flourished economically but their sins increased, so Allah commanded the angels to evacuate all the believers from Lut’s city. But they did not find any except a single Muslim household. They were shifted out of town. The angels then told Lut to take away with him this family during the night. After midnight Lut set out with his daughters. His wife rushed to her people to inform them of Lut’s flight. When the sun arose the next day the Almighty ordered: “O Archangel Gabriel! The fate of Lut’s nation has been sealed. So dig the earth up to its seventh layer and raise the centre area towards the sky, then await the command of Allah the Mighty, to turn the city upside down and leave a manifest sign of Lut’s house to serve as a lesson to those who pass by the town.”

Archangel Gabriel I went towards the unjust group and hit my right wing on the eastern part of the town and my left wing on the western portion and dug the earth right up to its seventh layer. Only the house of Lut that was spared to serve as a sign for the coming generations. I raised the town so high that the people of the sky could hear the cackle of hens and barking of dogs. When the sun arose I was ordered to topple the town on its inhabitants. I toppled it upon them upside down. Stones of baked clay rained upon Lut’s people. Each of the stones were marked or were inscribed.

O Muhammad! The same fate shall befall the people of your nation if they commit this sin (of homosexuality). The Prophet asked Archangel Gabriel the location of Lut’s town. Archangel Gabriel said it is in the vicinity of the Tigris river in Syria (Tiberius).

“Where did the town and its people fall after you had turned them upside down?” asked the Messenger of Allah. Archangel Gabriel replied, “O Prophet! They fell into the sea from Syria to Egypt. They became dunes in the sea.”

Another trustworthy tradition says the angels told Ibrahim that they have come to destroy the citizens of this town. When Sarah heard this she was surprised at the paucity of the angels and the huge numbers of Lut’s people and she said, “Is it possible for you to match the power and numbers of Lut’s people?” The angels gave her glad tidings of Ishaq and after him Ya‘qub. She slapped her face and said “How could an old woman like me have a child?” At that time she was 90 years of age and Ibrahim was a hundred and twenty. Then Ibrahim tried to intercede for Lut’s nation but it had no effect. Archangel Gabriel and the other angels came to Lut. When Lut’s people learnt that he had visitors they headed towards his residence. Lut came and put his hand against the door. Under oath, he told them to fear Allah and not insult his guests. The people said, “Have we not forbidden you to invite guests?” Lut offered his daughters saying, “I am prepared to give them in legal marriage to you if you desist from my visitors.” They said “We have no right on your daughters and you know what we desire.” Lut said “I wish I had a solid support with which to take refuge.” Archangel Gabriel said, “Would he but know what support was behind him.” Archangel Gabriel called Lut to his side. They went inside. The people broke open the door and poured into the house. Archangel Gabriel pointed his finger at them and they became blind. They groped at the walls and vowed that they would not leave a single person from Lut’s progeny alive in the morning. Archangel Gabriel told Lut, “We are the messengers of your Lord.”

“Please expedite the matter,” requested Lut.

“Yes.”

“Please hurry up,” said Lut again.

“Yes, the appointed time for their nemesis is morning next.”

“But it is too long for daybreak” said Lut.

Archangel Gabriel advised Lut to take his belongings and children and escape to a particular town. Lut said his mule wasn’t strong enough but Archangel Gabriel persuaded him to load his things and leave immediately. At dawn Archangel Gabriel descended to the town and with the help of his wing elevated it towards the sky. When it was at a substantial height, Archangel Gabriel toppled it upside down and broke the walls into bits and pieces. Lut’s people heard a deafening sound and died as a result.1

An authentic tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that a person who decided to have a sexual liaison with another of the same sex is of the “remainder of Sodom.”

“I don’t say that he is from their progeny.” said Imam. “He is from their Tinah (essence).” Imam further said that Lut’s nation inhabited four towns that were turned upside down on them. Sodom, Seedoom, Ladna and A’meer.

An authentic tradition mentions that people asked Imam how the townsmen learnt that Lut had guests? Imam replied, “The wife of Lut came out of her house and whistled. People heard the whistle and gathered there. The sound is known as Soomak

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says in an authentic hadith that the nation of Lut were the foremost among nations but the accursed Satan made tremendous efforts to mislead them. One of their peculiarities was that whenever they had to go out the men went together leaving all the women behind. When they returned from their farms and storehouses the Satan destroyed everything. The people decided to keep a watch on the culprit and finally caught him. He turned out to be a handsome youth. They asked him if he was the one responsible for the wholesale destruction of their stocks. He owned up to the charge immediately. The captors decided to kill the young man but for the time being entrusted his charge to a fellow citizen.

At night the young boy began to weep and wail. When the person who had been in his charge asked what was the matter with him he said that his father used to make him lie on his belly. The man told him to sleep on him instead. The boy agreed and during the night acted perversely and the captor succumbed to his evil act. In this way he taught the man to have sex with him. The man enjoyed the act very much. Later the Satan escaped from his house. In the morning the man went to his fellow citizens and narrated the details. The other people now wanted to experience this act as they had never known such a thing was possible. As time passed they indulged in sodomy and considered men sufficient for men. They waylaid travelers who passed through their town and forced this act on them.

Consequently travelers avoided that particular route. They abstained from women and were involved in physical relationships with their own sex. When Satan saw that the practice of sodomy was established among them he came to the women in the form of a lady and said “Your men are busy with those of their sex, so come let us have sexual relationship amongst us.” So the women also began to indulge in this act with those of their sex (lesbianism). All the exhortations of Lut fell on deaf ears and when finally all the arguments were exhausted the Almighty sent Archangel Gabriel, Mika’il and Israfil in the form or ordinary young men. They were dressed in robes and wore turbans. They came to Lut while he was busy on his farm. Lut saw them and remarked that he had not seen such elegant people. They said that their master had sent them to the chief of this town.

“I think your mater is unaware of the evil habits of the people of this town” said Lut. “By Allah! They catch hold of men and indulge in such intense sodomy that they bleed due to this.” They said, “Our master has instructed us to traverse the route that passes through this town.” Lut advised them to wait until it was dark. They sat down near Lut. He sent his daughter to get them some food, water and a sheet to protect them from cold. The daughter had just left when it began to rain and soon the field was flooded. Lut was afraid they might drown, so he told them to get up and follow him. He walked holding a wall and told them to walk close to the side of the path.

However they said the master had instructed then to walk in the middle of the path. The darker it grew the more thankful Lut was that they may not be seen by the people. During this time the Satan caused a child of Lut to fall into a well. Due to the ensuing commotion people gathered at Lut’s door. When they saw the young visitors, they remarked “O Lut! Have you also acquired our practice?” “They are my guests, so do not insult me before them,” said Lut. They said, “There are three of them, keep one to you and hand us the remaining two.” Lut housed his guests in a room and said, “I wish I also had relatives and kinsmen to protect me from your mischief.” The people intensified their efforts and broke open the door.

Archangel Gabriel said to Lut, “We have been sent by your Lord. These people cannot harm you.” He took a handful of dust and threw it towards the people saying, “May their faces spoil.” The people were blinded instantly. Lut asked the angels what Allah had commanded them concerning the people. They replied, “We have been ordered to subject them to a torment next morning.” “I wish you could destroy them this very minute,” said Lut. “The appointed time for their annihilation is morning next. Is it too long for the day to dawn? If you want we can hold anyone of them captive. Then take your daughters but leave your wife behind.”

Imam says, “May Allah have mercy on Lut if he knew the identities of his guests at the time he wished he had a strong support to take refuge in he would have indeed realized that he had received support. For who can be a stronger support than Archangel Gabriel who was with Lut in his room?” Allah the Almighty said to the Holy Prophet that the same punishment is for those of his Ummah who practice the deeds of Lut’s people.

According to a reliable chain of authorities Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq quoted the Messenger of Allah thus: “When the people acquired the habit of sodomy the earth pleaded to its Lord. The plea reached up to the sky. The sky wept and wailed. Its wail reached the throne (the Holy Throne). The Almighty revealed to the sky to rain stones upon them and commanded the earth to bury them beneath its surface.”

In another hadith, one of the Imams says that Allah sent four angels to destroy the people of Lut: Archangel Gabriel, Mika’il, Israfil and Karubeel. The angels came to Ibrahim dressed in turbans and saluted him. Ibrahim did not recognize them but due to their elegant appearance said he would serve them himself. Being a good host he sacrificed a young calf for his guests. When it was cooked well he served it to his visitors but they paid no heed to it. Ibrahim became fearful. Archangel Gabriel took off his turban and Ibrahim recognized him. “Are your Archangel Gabriel?” asked Ibrahim. “Yes” replied Archangel Gabriel. Meanwhile Sarah entered and Archangel Gabriel gave them glad tidings of Ishaq and Ya‘qub. Ibrahim then asked them the purpose of their visit. “To destroy Lut’s people,” they replied.

“Would you destroy them even if there are a hundred faithful believers among them?”

“No.”

“If there are fifty believers?”

“Not even then.”

“What if there are thirty believers?”

The reply was still negative. “And if there are nearly 20 of them?”

“No” replied the angel.

“Would you destroy them if there are only 5 believers?”

“No.” Finally Ibrahim asked what the angels would do if there is only a single believer among the people. When they still replied in the negative, Ibrahim said that Lut was present among them. “We know better that he is present there,” said the angels. “No harm would come to him or his family except his wife.” Two of the angels went to Lut from there. Lut was busy on his farm on the outskirts of town. The angels saluted him. They were wearing turbans. Lut noticed their pure countenances and saw that they were wearing white dresses and had tied white turbans. He invited them to his house. They accepted the invitation. Lut led the way and they followed. Lut was very pensive about taking them to his residential quarters through the midst of his people. He knew the habits of the people and hence would be responsible for whatever befalls his guests. He told them “You are going towards a community that is the worst of creatures.”

The Almighty Allah had instructed the angels to desist from destroying the people until Lut testifies at least thrice for their evil deeds. Archangel Gabriel said that it was the first testimony. After walking for some more time Lut addressed them, “You are walking towards the most evil creatures of Allah.” This is the second testimony said Archangel Gabriel. Upon reaching the gates of the city Lut uttered the same words again and Archangel Gabriel reiterated that it was the third testimony.

They entered the residential quarters of Lut. When his wife saw the handsome men she rushed to the terrace and clapped her hands. When the people hearkened to the clapping she let out smoke from the attic. People saw the smoke and rushed towards Lut’s house. His wife told them that they had visitors and that she had never seen such handsome men. They tried to force themselves inside but Lut resisted the attempt. Then occurred the incidents that we have already mentioned in the previous narrations. Finally the people entered Lut’s house forcibly. Archangel Gabriel told Lut to leave them alone. Then he pointed towards them and all of them were blinded immediately.

According to a Prophetic tradition related through authentic channels one of the practices of Lut’s nation was throwing stones at each other whenever there was a gathering. Some people narrate that they sat in groups by the wayside and pelted stones at the passers-by. Whoever hit the target earned the right to molest that traveler.

Imam al-Ridha says that one of their detestable habits was shamelessly passing gas loudly in gatherings. It is also recorded that these people indulged in sodomy openly and did not care if others looked on. There is a difference of opinion regarding the name of Lut’s wife: Wahla, Walfa or Walha are some of the names recorded for her.

- 1. There is a difference of opinion among the scholars regarding Lu§ offering his daughters to the people. According to some, the word ‘daughters’ indicates all the unmarried girls of Lu§’s nation and since a Prophet is the spiritual father of his nation all the girls are his daughters. So Lu§ meant to tell the people they could legally marry the virgin girls of their town.
There is another opinion that previously some people had asked for the hand of Lu§’s daughter but he refused due to their infidelity. On that particular occasion, he felt helpless and even agreed to hand them his daughters in marriage. However, the people did not accept it. This is also justified in two ways. One: In that particular shari‘ah it was allowed for girls to marry disbelievers. Second: Lu§ may have made their acceptance of faith as one of the conditions of their marriage with his daughters.
It is also recorded that two of them were leaders of Lu§’s nation. Lu§ offered them his daughters’ hands so that the rest of the people would leave his progeny unharmed. Both of these two points find mention in the traditions related by us previously.

An Account of Dhu’l-Qarnayn

Al-Qutb al-Rawandi mentions that his name was Ayaash, and that after Nuh he was the first ruler whose kingdom included (all) the countries of the east and west. It must be clarified that there is a difference of opinion among the historians and commentators whether Dhu’l-Qarnayn was same as Alexander of Rome. According to authentic traditions it wasn’t so.

Whether he was a Prophet or not is another point of difference. Actually he was not a Prophet, he was an honorable personality who was guided by the Almighty.

Why he is referred to as Dhu’l-Qarnayn is another topic of contention. There are many opinions in this regard. The first explanation is that he is named Dhu’l-Qarnayn (one having two ‘qarns’) is because at first the people hit him on his right side (qarn) of the head and killed him but the Almighty raised him, and again they hit him on his left side (qarn) and killed. Again Allah gave him life.

Second: He lived for two epochs.

Third: He had a pair of horns on his head, or two projections from his head resembling a pair of horns.

Fourth: His crown had two projecting branches.

Fifth: Both the sides of his head were extra strong.

Sixth: He had conquered the earth fully and his dominion stretched to the two limits.

Seventh: He had locks of hair hanging from both the sides of his head.

Eighth: Allah had given him power over light and darkness.

Ninth: He had a dream that he has gone to the heavens and was clinging to both the sides of the Sun.

Tenth: ‘Qarn’ stands for strength. Hence Dhu’l-Qarnayn had two ‘Qarns’ - strength and power, and the possessor of great influence on his kingdom.

“And they ask you about Dhu’l-Qarnayn. Say: I will recite to you an account of him. Surely We established him in the land and granted him means of access to everything. So he followed a course. Until when he reached the place where the sun set, he found it going down into a Black Sea, and found by it a people. We said, O Dhu’l-Qarnayn! Either give them a chastisement or do them a benefit. He said, As to him who is unjust, we will chastise him, then shall he be returned to his Lord, and He will chastise him with an exemplary chastisement: And as for him who believes and does good, he shall have goodly reward, and We will speak to him an easy word of Our command. Then he followed (another) course. Until when he reached the land of the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people to whom We had given no shelter from It; Even so! And We had a full knowledge of what he had. Then he followed (another) course. Until when he reached (a place) between the two mountains, he found on that side of them a people who could hardly understand a word. They said, O Dhu’l-Qarnayn! surely Gog and Magog make mischief in the land. Shall we then pay you a tribute on condition that you should raise a barrier between us and them He said, That in which my Lord has established me is better, therefore you only help me with workers, I will make a fortified barrier between you and them; Bring me blocks of iron; until when he had filled up the space between the two mountain sides, he said, Blow, until when he had made it fire, he said, Bring me molten brass which I may pour over it. So they were not able to scale it nor could they make a hole in it. He said, This is a mercy from my Lord, but when the promise of my Lord comes to pass He will make it level with the ground, and the promise of my Lord is ever true.” (18:83-98)

According to an authentic report the people didn’t have the knowledge of how to construct houses. Some historians say that they lived in the nude, as shall be explained later.

As regards the location of the mountains mentioned in the above ayats, some scholars opine that they are the mountains of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The northern part of these mountains falls in Turkistan. Details concerning Gog and Magog state that the two giants were man-eaters.

The translation of the above ayats is in consonance of the view held by commentators.

Shaykh Muhammad bin Masud al-Ayyashi has reported in his tafsir that Asbagh bin Nubatah quotes from Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali when people asked him about Dhu’l-Qarnayn that,

Dhu’l-Qarnayn was an exalted servant of Allah. His name was Ayaash. The Almighty selected him after the Deluge of Nuh and gave him suzerainty over the surrounding areas of Northwest Africa in the two centuries. The people hit him on the right and he was martyred by it. Then after a hundred years the Almighty raised him to life in the areas of East. This time the people hit him on the left side of his head and he was martyred. The Almighty raised him again after a hundred years and the lieu of the strokes he had suffered granted him a pair of outgrowths with a space between them. And gave him Kingship, Prophethood and miracle.

Then summoned him to the first heaven. When the curtains were removed from his sight he beheld all that was in the earth, like the mountains, deserts and passes. Dhu’l-Qarnayn saw everything and the Almighty bestowed him complete knowledge and he could discriminate between right and wrong. Allah strengthened his horns with a part of a heavenly cloud that contained darkness, thunder and lightening. Then he was sent back to the earth and commanded through revelation,

“Roam in the east and the west, We made easy for you the travel between cities. And We made the people subservient to your commands and instilled your fear in their hearts.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn departed for the West end of the earth. As he traversed the lands he raised a loud scream like the roar of a lion. His horns emitted darkness, thunder and lightening and all those who were inimical to him and tried to oppose were instantly killed. In a single day he reached to the end of the earth before the Sun could reach the West. (Before Sunset). All the people of the East and the West became subservient to his command as mentioned by Allah:

“Surely We established him in the land and granted him means of access to everything.” (18:84)

When the sun reached west he saw that it was setting in a hot spring and 70000 angels are tugging at the Sun with fiery chains on the surface of the sea towards the lands of East, in the same manner as a boat is towed. He went to the rising place of the sun and it began to shine on the people of the East as described by the Almighty.

Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali says that he came across a people who were burnt by the Sun. Their bodies and skins were scorched by sunlight. From here he (Dhu’l-Qarnayn) proceeded towards darkness and desolation until he reached a place between two great walls as mentioned by the Holy Qur’an. The inhabitants of that area complained to Dhu’l-Qarnayn that Gog and Magog lived between the two mountains and had wreaked havoc in the land. When the crops and orchards are ready for cultivation they crossed the barriers and devoured everything.

The people offered Dhu’l-Qarnayn annual tithes if he could construct a barrier to prevent the mischief of the two giants. Dhu’l-Qarnayn said that he was in no need of their tithe, but they should provide him labor for constructing the barrier.

“Collect ingots of iron,” commanded Dhu’l-Qarnayn. The people mixed iron ingots from a mountain and with these iron bricks constructed a wall across the chasm. Dhu’l-Qarnayn was the first person to construct a wall. Then he spread firewood on the ingots and ignited fire and left it for some time. Then he began to blow at it and when the iron melted, Dhu’l-Qarnayn called for molten brass. The people brought copper from the mountains and spread it on iron. The copper melted and mixed with iron and the wall was ready. Neither Yajooj (Gog) nor Majooj (Magog) could scale it. They could not even make a hole in this wall.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn was a righteous servant of Allah who commanded a high position and status. He loved the Almighty and worshipped Him with sincerity. The Almighty assisted him and provided for him means in the cities and settled him there. He was able to extend his kingdom to the countries of east and the west.

An Angel by the name of Raqail had befriended Dhu’l-Qarnayn and used to visit him frequently. He used to converse with Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the two shared their secrets.

One day Dhu’l-Qarnayn asked him about the worship of the inhabitants of the heavens and in what way was it comparable to the worship of the inhabitants of earth. The angel said, “Dhu’l-Qarnayn! The worship of earth is not equivalent to the space occupied by one stop in heavens. There are some angels in the heavens that stand for prayers, they continue to stand forever, and similarly the angels that are in ruku (genuflection) remain in that position and do not even go into prostration. The angels who prostrate do not raise their heads.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn was moved with this description and said,

“Raqail! I wish to live for such a long time that I can worship Allah to the extreme limits and as He deserves to be worshipped.”

“There is a divine spring on the earth, known as Ainul Hayaat (the essence of life)”, said Raqail, “And the Almighty has made incumbent upon Himself not to send death to a person who drinks from this spring. Till the person himself wishes for death. If you can reach this spring and drink from it, you can live as long as you like.”

“Where is it located?” asked Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

“I don’t know, but I have heard in the heavens that the Almighty has created a huge darkness on earth that neither men nor jinn ever crossed, and it is beyond that darkness,” replied Raqail.

“Where is this darkness?” persisted Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

“I don’t know,” said the angel and departed for the heavens.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn was very sad because though Raqail had informed him of the spring and the area of darkness but had not told him where it was located. He summoned all the scholars and Fuqaha (Jurisprudents) who had studied the heavenly books and seen the relics of Prophethood.

“Have you come across in the books of past rulers the fact that Allah has created a spring known as the spring of life on this earth?” he inquired.

“And He has vowed that he will not caused to die anyone who drinks from the spring until the person himself desires death?” he added.

We have no knowledge of it.” confessed the Scholars.

Then he asked, “Have you studied in any book about a dark area impossible for the men and jinn to traverse?”

When the people still failed to provide any information he became sorrowful because he could not unravel the mystery of the spring of life.

There was among the people a son of one of the legatees of some Prophets. When he saw the grief of Dhu’l-Qarnayn he said, “O king! You are asking them about something they have no knowledge of. I have the knowledge of it.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn has elated and he jumped from his throne in joy. He called the young boy towards him and said, “Tell me what you know.”

“Yes,” agreed the youth, “I have read about it in the scripture of Adam that was written on the day different objects of the earth like, the spring and the tree were named. It is mentioned therein that there is a spring called “Ainul Hayaat” (spring of life). It is related to the divine decree, in the sense that whoever drinks from this spring will not die until he requests the Almighty for death. The spring is located in darkness where neither men or jinn ever entered.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn was pleased to gain this knowledge and said, “My lad! Come closer, tell me, do you know where this darkness is located?”

“I have seen in a book of Adam,” replied the young man, “that the said spring is towards the east.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn was pleased and he issued a royal decree among the people and summoned the scholars, doctors of religion and wise men. Around a thousand doctors, scholars and Jurisprudents gathered. Dhu’l-Qarnayn prepared to begin his journey accompanied with these personages and carried vast quantities of goods and provisions. He began his journey in the direction of sunrise (east). Crossing the oceans, passing the mountain and cities, traversing the forests for 12 years they reached the first darkness. It was pitch dark, darken than night and smoke. It was surrounding both edges of horizon. Dhu’l-Qarnayn alighted at the edge of this darkness and summoned the best of his scholars and advisors and told them, “I wish to cross this darkness.”

All of them bowed in respect to him and said, “You wish to undertake something no one has ever dared to do. Not even the Prophets and messengers or the kings and rulers. No one has attempted such a thing.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn told them that it was necessary for him to cross it and search for his aim. They said, “We agree that if you cross this darkness you will achieve your aim. But we fear if you are confronted with such an eventuality that will take away your rulership or cause your death, the people of the earth will fall into terrible misery.”

“Apart from crossing this darkness, I don’t have any other option,” said Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the people fell down in prostration and prayed, “O Lord! We implore You to dissociate us from this intention of Dhu’l-Qarnayn.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “O scholars, tell me which animal has the sharpest eyes?”

“The virgin mare!” replied the scholars.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn selected 6000 virgin mares from his huge army and gave them to 6000 of his best soldiers. He put al-Khidhr in charge of 2000 riders and told him to take the lead. Then he ordered the first contingent to enter the darkness.

He followed them at the head of the remaining 4000 troops after instructing the remaining army to wait for him for 12 years at the same spot. If he does not return by then, they can go back to their cities or wherever they wished.

al-Khidhr addressed Dhu’l-Qarnayn and said, “O king! We are traveling through darkness, what if some people lose their way? How shall we find them?”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn gave him a spinel ruby that shone brilliantly as a torch and said, “Whenever someone is lost, you must throw this ruby on the earth. A sound will emanate from it and one who has lost his way will be able to join you.”

al-Khidhr took the spinel ruby and marched forward into the darkness. al-Khidhr was leading the way and whenever he moved ahead after a halt, Dhu’l-Qarnayn camped at that same place. One day al-Khidhr entered a haze and told his companions to wait outside and not to move from that place. Then he stepped down from his mount and tossed the ruby in the mist ahead of him. As he had dropped it in water it didn’t emit a sound and continued to drop through the layers of water. al-Khidhr was worried that it might not sound through the water. But when the gem touched the bottom it emitted a sound that al-Khidhr followed its light. He crossed the layers of water and suddenly came upon a spring. Its water was white as milk, clear as ruby and sweeter than honey. al-Khidhr drank the water, washed his clothes and bathed in it. After dressing up again, he threw the spinal ruby towards the companions. It released a sound and he followed it and joined his companions. Mounting the animal he proceeded to his army.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn passed the same spot but he did not encounter the spring. He continued to walk in dark for forty nights before reaching light. But it neither like the light of sun nor moonlight. It was one of the radiance of the Lord. Then he reached a red desert with soft sand and pebbles like pearls. Suddenly he saw a huge palace, almost a parasang (4 kms) wide. Dhu’l-Qarnayn halted his army near the palace and entered it alone. He saw a huge iron bar, its edges hiding both ends of the palace. A black bird hung from this iron like ababeel.

“Who is it?” asked the bird when it heard the footsteps of Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

“I am Dhu’l-Qarnayn,” he replied.

“Was the earth insufficient for you that you had to leave it behind and travel right up to the gate of my palace?” asked the black creature. The scene and the words of the hanging bird terrified Dhu’l-Qarnayn. “Do not fear!” said the bird. “Just reply to my questions.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn agreed and it asked if the quantity of bricks and arc has increased in the earth. When Dhu’l-Qarnayn replied in the positive, it shuddered and grew up one third of the length of the iron. Dhu’l-Qarnayn was frightened. The bird again assured him and inquired further. He agreed to reply and asked if the people of earth have made technological progress. When he said, ‘Yes,’ it shivered and shook and grew up two third the size of iron.

The fear of Dhu’l-Qarnayn increased but it told him not to be afraid and to keep replying the questions put to him. This time when Dhu’l-Qarnayn told it to proceed with its queries, it asked. “Tell me, have people become accustomed to giving false testimonies?”

“Yes,” replied Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the bird shook terribly increased in size and covered the iron. Dhu’l-Qarnayn was horrified. Again the creature reassured him and told him to continue answering its questions. When he gave a go-ahead the bird asked, “Have the people discarded the belief in the Oneness of Allah? Have they stopped reciting ‘Laa ilaaha illallaah?’” “No,” replied Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the bird reduced to two thirds its size.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn was fearful. It said, “Do not be afraid, tell me…” and Dhu’l-Qarnayn agreed. “Have people stopped praying?”

“No,” replied Dhu’l-Qarnayn. The bird reduced to one-third in size. Again this frightened Dhu’l-Qarnayn. The bird told him not to fear. “Keep answering my questions,” it persisted. “All right go ahead,” said Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

“Have people given up the practice of taking a ritual bath of Janabah (Discharge of Semen, intercourse, etc.)?” “No,” said Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the bird returned to its original size.

Then Dhu’l-Qarnayn looked and saw a staircase going up the palace. The bird told him to go up. Dhu’l-Qarnayn ascended the stairs with terror in his heart. When he reached the top he saw a ceiling that stretched as far as the eye could see. Suddenly he saw a handsome youth dressed in white. It was a man. He was in the form of a human being, holding his head high he peered at the sky and his hand covered his mouth.

“Who is it?” he asked when he heard the footsteps of Dhu’l-Qarnayn. “It is Dhu’l-Qarnayn.” “O Dhu’l-Qarnayn,” said the man, “Was the earth that you left behind not vast enough for you that you came here?” “Tell me why you are holding your hand against your mouth?” asked Dhu’l-Qarnayn. “Dhu’l-Qarnayn! I am the one who would blow the trumpet. The day of the Resurrection Day is near. I am waiting for Allah’s Command to blow the trumpet.”

Then he extended his hand threw an object like a stone towards Dhu’l-Qarnayn. “Take it, Dhu’l-Qarnayn, when it is hungry you’ll be hungry too and when it is satiated, you also be satiated. Now go back.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn picked the stone and returned to his companions and related the whole episode to them. He also showed them the stone and told them to find its weight. They brought a weighing scale, put the stone in one pan and another stone of similar size in the other pan. When they added another stone on the other side yet the stone of Dhu’l-Qarnayn weighed down the scale. They went on adding stones to counter it but even after putting one thousand stones the mystery stone was heavier.

“We cannot understand the mystery of this stone,” confessed the people. al-Khidhr said, “O king! You are asking them something of which they have no knowledge. I am having the knowledge about the stone.”

“Inform me of it,” requested Dhu’l-Qarnayn, “What is the secret of this stone?” al-Khidhr picked up the stone and put it in the weighing scale, and on the other side he kept a similar stone. Then he took a handful of dust and laid it on Dhu’l-Qarnayn’s stone. Immediately its weight decreased and it became equal to ordinary stone.

Seeing this astounding phenomenon the people fell down in prostration. They said, “O King! It is something beyond our understanding and we know that al-Khidhr is not a magician. Then how is it possible that we could outweigh the stone with a thousand stones, whereas al-Khidhr outweighed it by putting a handful of earth on it.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn told al-Khidhr to explain the mystery.

al-Khidhr said, “O Great King! Indeed the Commands of Allah have been promulgated among the people. And His kingdom is surely going to wreak havoc upon them. His command discriminates between right and wrong. And indeed Allah has tested some people by some others. He has put to test the scholar through another scholar, the ignorant through an ignorant, and the scholar through an ignorant and the ignorant one through a scholar. Indeed I have been tested through you, and you, through me.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn addressed al-Khidhr, “May Allah bestow His Mercy upon you. You say that Almighty tested me through you because you are more knowledgeable than I am but you are under my command. Allah’s Mercy be upon you, tell me the secret of this stone.”

“O king! The Angel with the trumpet has given you this stone as a parable. It means that the parable of human beings is as this stone. That even if a thousand stones are brought to satisfy it, they will not suffice him. But when it was covered with dust, it became satiated and it became equal to ordinary stones. You are also like this stone. The kingdom bestowed to you by Allah is obvious. But you were not satisfied with it. You wished for something no one else had wished before. You entered the area no man or jinn had ever dared to enter. It is human nature not to be satisfied until he is buried.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn wept at the words of al-Khidhr. “You are right,” he said, “The parable is for me. After this I shall not aim for further conquests.”

Again they stepped into the darkness and started on their return journey. The hooves of the horses made a noise as if they were galloping on pebbles. The people asked Dhu’l-Qarnayn the reason for the mysterious sound. Dhu’l-Qarnayn told them to pick up as many pebbles as they can. “Those who gather them will be sorry and those who do not will be sorry too,” said he.

Some people collected the pebbles, some did not. When they emerged from the darkness they found that the pebbles were actually emeralds. Thus those who had not collected any regretted that they had not, and those who had collected regretted they had not collected more.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn returned towards the city of Al Jundal and continued to reside there until his last moments.

After narrating the incident Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said, “May Allah have mercy upon my brother Dhu’l-Qarnayn. He did not commit any sin on the journey that he undertook. He had passed the valley of emeralds while heading into darkness he could have carried off all the pebbles because at that time he was more attached towards earthly life. As he came across the emeralds on his way back, he was not inclined towards them because the world had lost all attraction for him.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is quoted through authentic chains that Dhu’l-Qarnayn had constructed a casket of crystal glass. Then he carried a large quantity of provisions and along with the box boarded a hatch and set out to the sea. Upon reaching a spot in the middle of the ocean he sat in the glass casket and ordered that he be lowered into the sea. He instructed his men to haul him back when he tugged at the connecting rope. He told them to continue releasing the rope if he did not signal, as far as the rope continues. He continued descending into the sea for forty days. Suddenly he felt someone knocking at the side of his cage and saying, “Dhu’l-Qarnayn! Where are you heading to?”

“I wish to visit the kingdom of my Lord under the sea like I have seen His kingdom in the deserts.” The person said, “At this very spot Nuh had dropped his axe during the deluge. It is yet to reach the bottom.” On hearing this Dhu’l-Qarnayn tugged the rope and was hauled out.

In an authentic hadith Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said that the spot where Dhu’l-Qarnayn witnessed the setting of the Sun in a hot spring is located at the Jabulqa.

In another hadith of Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali the Almighty had sent clouds for Dhu’l-Qarnayn. He created causes for him and made wide his sight. He could see at night just as well as he could see during the day.

An authentic tradition says that Dhu’l-Qarnayn was a righteous servant of Allah - causes were created for him, the Almighty bestowed him dominion of all territories. He was informed of the ‘Spring of Life.’ He was told that anyone who drinks from this spring does not die until the blowing of the trumpet. Dhu’l-Qarnayn set out in search of this spring. He reached a place having 360 springs. al-Khidhr was leading the army. He was selected by Dhu’l-Qarnayn from among all his companions. al-Khidhr was the favorite of Dhu’l-Qarnayn, and was summoned by him along with a large number of soldiers. Dhu’l-Qarnayn gave each of them a salted dry fish and told them to wash it in the springs. Each one of them was instructed to wash his fish in a particular spring and not to allow others to wash their fish.

They separated and each man went to a particular spring and began to wash the fish. al-Khidhr proceeded to his spring and as he washed it, it became alive, slipped from his hand and dived into the water. When al-Khidhr saw this, he was amused. He took off his clothes and stepped into the water. After washing the clothes he bathed in the spring and drank from it. Then he tried to catch the fish that had escaped from him but couldn’t lay his hands on it. He returned with his companions to Dhu’l-Qarnayn. Dhu’l-Qarnayn ordered all the fishes to be taken back from his men. When the fishes were collected al-Khidhr ’s fish was missing. When al-Khidhr was summoned he reported that the fish became alive and escaped into the water. He said though he had dived into the spring a number of times to retrieve the fish, he had failed.

“Did you drink the spring water?” asked Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

“Yes,” replied al-Khidhr.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn tried all means to search for the spring but did not succeed. At last he said to al-Khidhr, “The spring was destined for you. All my efforts are in vain.”

In a number of traditions, Imams have said that they are people like Yusha‘ and Dhu’l-Qarnayn who were not Prophets but they were having knowledge and could hear the angels.

A number of traditions of ‘Ali state that people asked the Messenger of Allah whether Dhu’l-Qarnayn was a Prophet or a king, and whether his horns were of gold or silver.

The Holy Prophet said, “Dhu’l-Qarnayn was a king and not a Prophet. His horns were neither of gold nor silver. He was a righteous servant of Allah. He loved the Lord and was loved by Him. He performed many tasks for the Almighty and the Lord helped him in return. He was named Dhu’l-Qarnayn because he invited the people towards Allah. The people slashed one side of his head and martyred him. But Allah made him alive and sent him for a community. He again called them towards the Lord. These people hit him on the right side of his head. Therefore he was named Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

According to authentic reports Aswad Qadi says that he went to Imam Musa al-Ka¨im. “The Imam had not seen me before. He asked me if I was from the people of the well. I said I was from the followers of the door of the doors. Again Imam asked the same question and replied in the same way. When he asked for the third time, I said, “Yes.”

“It is the same wall that Dhu’l-Qarnayn had constructed,” he said.

In a separate tradition Imam said that Dhu’l-Qarnayn became a king at the age of twelve and ruled for thirty years.1

Authentic chain of narrators quotes the following hadith from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, “Dhu’l-Qarnayn went to hajj with six thousand riders. When he entered the holy precincts some of his companions went to the Ka‘bah. When they returned they told him that they had seen the most handsome personality. “It is Ibrahim, the Khalil (friend) of Allah,” informed the people.

When Dhu’l-Qarnayn heard this he ordered them to fit saddles on 60000 horses as fast as it takes to fix one saddle. Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “I would not ride, I will go to Ibrahim on foot. So he came on foot and met Ibrahim. Ibrahim asked him how he has spent his life and how he traveled until there. He replied,

“Subh’aana man huwa baaqe laa yaghni. Subh’aana man huwa a’alaemun laa yansaa. Subh’aana man huwa h’aafez’un laa yasqut’. Subh’aana man huwa bas’eerun laa qaabo. Subh’aana man huwa malekun laa yaraamo. Subh’aana man huwa moh’tajebun laa yuraa. Subh’aana man huwa waaseu’n laa yutakallefo subh’aana man huwa qaaemun laa yalhuwa. Subh’aana man huwa daaemun laa yasuha.”

The Messenger of Allah says in a reliable report that Dhu’l-Qarnayn was a righteous person whom Allah had appointed as His proof upon the people. He called the people towards the true faith. And told them to refrain from sins. They slashed one side of his head with a sword and he disappeared from among them until they began to think that he has died. Although he had gone into the wilderness. Than he appeared and returned to the people. Again the unjust people hit him on the other side of his head.

“Indeed there is a man among you like Dhu’l-Qarnayn,” added the Prophet .2

Then he said, “The Almighty Allah settled him in the Earth and imparted him control on everything. He reached the east and west extremities of the earth. The Almighty would very soon give a similar power to one of my descendants, that is al-Qa’im. He would also conquer the east and the west, and would not leave unconquered a single field, desert or mountain that Dhu’l-Qarnayn had. The Almighty will reveal the hidden treasures and mines for him, and instill his fear in the hearts of people. He would fill the earth with justice and equity in the same way as it would be filled with injustice and oppression.

Authentic chains mention that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that Dhu’l-Qarnayn was not a Prophet. He was an exalted servant of Allah. He revered the Almighty and was loved by Him. He used to obey the Divine commands therefore the Almighty helped and assisted him and gave him authority on the soft and hard clouds. He mounted the soft cloud and traveled on it. Wherever he went he passed the people he conveyed his message so that they do not consider him a liar.

Another authentic hadith says that Dhu’l-Qarnayn was given power between two clouds. He took for himself the soft cloud and left the hard one for Imam al-Mahdi. When Imam was asked to explain ‘hard cloud’, he said a hard cloud is the one that has lightening and thunderbolts. al-Qa’im will ride such a cloud and visit the seven heavens and penetrate the seven earths, five layers of whom are populated and two are uninhabited and useless.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that when Dhu’l-Qarnayn was given authority, he took the soft cloud and could not take the rigid one because the Almighty had stored it for Imam al-Mahdi.

We have already mentioned in the chapter of Ibrahim that the first two people to shake hands in this world were Ibrahim and Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

Traditions also mention that two believer kings have ruled upon the whole world. One was Dhu’l-Qarnayn and the other Sulayman. Imam says that Dhu’l-Qarnayn was ‘Abdullah the son of Zahaaka son of Sa’d.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that the Almighty did not send any Prophet to rule the earth after Nuh except the following four: Dhu’l-Qarnayn - whose name was Ayaash, Dawud, Sulayman and Yusuf. Ayaash became the king of all East and west. Dawud had his kingdom between Shamaat, Astakhra and Fars. In the same way was Sulayman. But Yusuf ruled from Egypt and its desert regions. He could not exceed beyond that.3

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says in reliable narrations that when Dhu’l-Qarnayn passed the ‘barrier’ and entered the darkness he saw an Angel standing atop a mountain. The Angel was mammoth, measuring five hundred hands. He asked Dhu’l-Qarnayn if there was no way he could have gone in the other direction. When Dhu’l-Qarnayn asked him who he was? He said that he was an angel and that the Almighty had posted him at that mountain. And the foundations (roots) of all mountains were connected to that one.” When the Almighty desires to rock a particular city he commands me and I shake its foundations from here.”

Ibn Babawayh has mentioned a report from Wahab bin Munabbah that he said, “I have read in some books that when Dhu’l-Qarnayn accomplished the construction of the barrier he returned with his army. On his way he saw an aged person busy in prayers. Dhu’l-Qarnayn halted near him with his army until he finished his prayers. Dhu’l-Qarnayn asked him, “Why were you not frightened of my army when it stopped near you?”

“I was supplicating the One who has a much more powerful army than yours. And One whose kingdom is much greater than your rule. And One who is much stronger than you. If I had turned my attention towards you I would not have been able to seek His favor.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn asked him if he would accompany them so that he can involve him in his administration and seek his help in some affairs. The worshipper agreed upon the condition that Dhu’l-Qarnayn will bestow him four things: “One, a bounty that is never destroyed, secondly, a physical condition that is not affected by any disease. Thirdly, a youth that will never transform into old age. Fourthly, a life that does not end in death.

“Who can have control over all this?” asked Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

He said, “I am with the One who is having power over all these things and controls all the affairs. You are also in His control.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn then passed by a scholar. He asked Dhu’l-Qarnayn, “Tell what are those two things that still exist from the time Allah created them. And two things that continue and two things that always come after one another. And those two things that are mutual enemies.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “The two things that remain established are the sky and the earth. The two things in motion are the moon and the sun. The two things that follow each other are day and night. The two things that are enemies of each other are life and death.”

“You may proceed on your way. You are a wise man,” said the scholar.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn was going around the cities when he came across an old man. He had collected human skulls and was turning them around in two hands and inspecting them closely. Dhu’l-Qarnayn stopped with his army and asked him why he was turning the skulls around. He replied that by this action of his he wanted to know which of them had been noble, and which of them stylish, which were the rich ones and who were poverty stricken.

“I am studying these skulls for 20 years but still cannot make out the difference,” he said. Dhu’l-Qarnayn moved ahead saying, “He only wanted to warn me that’s all.”

On his excursions around the earth he reached a community of Musa. These people practiced utmost justice. Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “Tell me about yourself. For I have visited the east and the west, the deserts, mountains and plains, the light and darkness. But I have never seen people like you. Why have you made the graves of your dead right opposite the entrance of your houses?”

“So that we may never forget death,” they replied.

“Why have you not fixed doors to your houses?” asked Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

“Because we have no thieves and cheats. All of us are trustworthy.”

“Why didn’t you have any officers and administrators?”

“We do not oppress each other,” they said.

“Why are there no rulers amongst you?”

“Because we do not fight among ourselves.”

“Why are there no kings among you?”

“Because we do not exploit each other.”

“Why is there no disparity among the people as regards their economical condition?”

“Because we consider all people equal and we distribute equally all the excess profits. And we have mercy upon each other.”

“Why are there no disputes and controversies among you?”

They said, “Because we are loyal to each other and we do not have corruption.”

“Why don’t people murder and imprison each other?”

“We have control over ourselves with correct intentions, we have guided ourselves with forbearance and self-respect.”

“How come you have the same opinion and correct way of doing things?”

“Because we never lie.” And we do not backbite and criticize each other.”

“How can you account for the complete absence to the poor and destitute among you?”

“It is so because we distribute our wealth equally.”

“Why are there no vicious and cruel people among you?”

“Because we have made humility and lowliness as our symbols.”

“Why are your life-span greater than ordinary people?”

“Because we fulfill the rights of each other and rule with justice. We do not oppress.”

“Why do you never experience famines?”

“Because we never forgo repentance.”

“Why are you never sorrowful or aggrieved?”

“We control ourselves during calamities and console ourselves in difficult times.”

“Why do disasters never strike you or your property?”

“Because we do not rely on anyone but Allah and we do not consider the stars as causes of calamities. We regard all affairs from our Lord.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn asked them if they had seen their forefathers practicing the same things.

“Yes,” they replied, “Our elders were also kind to the destitute, behaved equitably with the beggars. If someone oppressed them, they forgave. If someone did evil to them, they responded with goodness. They did not pilfer the trusted property. They spoke the truth and refrained from lying. Because of all this, Allah improved their conditions.”

After having acquired all the information, Dhu’l-Qarnayn decided to settle among them. He remained there until the time his soul departed for the heavenly abode. His age was 500 years.

According to ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “The Almighty Allah sent Dhu’l-Qarnayn upon his people. The people hit the right side of his head with a sword. As a result of which the Almighty caused him to die but made him alive after 500 years and again sent him among the people. This time they hit him on the left side of his head. He was again martyred. Again after a period of 500 years, the Almighty gave him life and sent him to the same people. Allah bestowed him the kingdom that stretched from the East to the West. When he reached Yajooj and Majooj he constructed a barrier between them and the people (who were troubled by them). The barrier consisted of molten iron, copper, bronze and bitumen. It confined Yajooj and Majooj to the valley.”

“Neither Yajooj nor Majooj would have died until they each had produced a thousand sons each. They are the first to be created after the Angels. Then Dhu’l-Qarnayn followed a cause.

He followed a guide until he reached the place of the rising sun. He saw a community of nudes. They were ignorant of the method of wearing clothes.

Then he went with a guide and came at the mouth of a valley. The people petitioned him against the atrocities of Yajooj and Majooj and requested him to construct a barrier and confine them to the valley. Dhu’l-Qarnayn ordered them to collect slabs of iron and he raised a high wall of these iron bricks across the mouth of the valley. Then he ordered a fire to be lit below the well that heated the iron pieces red. Then he ordered bronze to be melted and spread upon the wall. Thus the wall was complete. Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “It is the mercy of my Lord. When His promise is fulfilled He shall raze the barrier to the ground. And the promise of my Lord is true.”

Imam said that in the last period of time when the Resurrection Day would be near, Yajooj and Majooj shall emerge from the barred valley and devour human beings.

Then Dhul-Qarnayn proceeded towards the western extremity of the earth. He roared like a lion in every town and caused lightening, thunder, and darkness. All those who opposed him and were inimical to him were destroyed by these supernatural phenomena. He had yet to reach the western horizon when all the people of the east and the west accepted his suzerainty. Then he was told of a Divine Spring on the earth. It is known as ‘Ainul Hayaat’. If a living being drinks from this spring he will remain alive until the blowing of the trumpet.

Upon getting this information Dhu’l-Qarnayn summoned al-Khidhr who was the best among his companions. He sent for al-Khidhr along with 359 of the best soldiers. He then gave each of them a dried salted fish, and told them to proceed to a designated place that had 360 springs. Each of them was ordered to wash his particular fish in a separate spring. They set for the place commanded by Dhu’l-Qarnayn and each one headed for one spring. When al-Khidhr dipped his fish in the spring it became alive and escaped into the water. al-Khidhr was amazed and stepped into the water in pursuit of the fish. He drank some of the spring water. When they all returned to Dhu’l-Qarnayn he said, “The water of that spring was in your destiny.”

Ibn Babawayh has narrated from ‘Abdullah bin Sulayman that he said, “I have come across the fact in some heavenly books that Dhu’l-Qarnayn belonged to Alexandria. His aged mother also belonged to the same place and that he was her only son. He was known as Iskandari. Since the time of his childhood, he was kind, well-mannered, good natured and a person with pure character. Till he reached adulthood. He dreamt that he had reached near the sun and both its edges (Qarn) were under his control. When he related the dream to his people they named him ‘Dhu’l-Qarnayn’ (Possessor of two ‘Qarns’) (Sides/edges).

After this dream he acquired more courage and became famous and powerful among his people. Since he was obedient to the Lord of the scholars and he was a Muslim, the first thing that he decided to do was to call the people towards Islam. The majority of the people accepted Islam due to his dominant personality. He ordered the people to build a Mosque. The people accepted his suggestion willingly.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said that the length of the Mosque should be 400 hands and the breadth 200 hands. Each of the walls should be 22 hands thick and 100 hands high. The people asked him where they can obtain wood that can bear the weight of the walls. And the wood that shall serve as the foundation of these walls. The people also had no idea how they would be able to construct such a high ceiling. Dhu’l-Qarnayn told them that when they finish the construction of two wells they should fill it with mud and earth until the upper edges of the walls. Then they should collect gold and silver according to the capacity of people. The gold and silver (powder) should be mixed thoroughly with the earth filled in the Mosque.

After this the ceiling can be laid upon the walls. It may consist of copper or brass or any other material selected by the people. After the ceiling is complete the poor and needy people can be permitted to carry out the mud from within. Since it would contain gold and silver filings, the needy people will be eager to participate in the emptying of the mud.

Thus the people followed the directions of Dhu’l-Qarnayn. The Mosque was built and the ceiling constructed. The needy people earned gold and silver and became self-sufficient.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn divided his army into four battalions. Each battalion consisted of 10000 soldiers. Then he spread them in different towns and decided to visit the different places. When his people learnt of the intention they came to him together and said, “Dhu’l-Qarnayn! By Allah we assure you, you shall never be deprived of our service. So do not go and settle in some other city because we are more entitled to your company. You were born at this place and bred and brought up here. All our wealth and property is for your sake. Order us whatever you want. Your mother has also become aged. She has more rights on you than any other person. It is not appropriate that you disobey and oppose her.”

“By Allah!” said Dhu’l-Qarnayn, “What you say is true. Your advice is reasonable. But my condition is that of a person whose heart, eyes and flesh have been possessed. Murder is in front of him and he is chased from behind. He does not know where he is being taken and for what purpose. But come! Let us all enter this mosque together and (you all) become Muslims. Do not oppose or you shall be destroyed.” He summoned the villagers and the wealthy ones of Alexandria and advised them to frequent the Mosque, and consoled his mother on his separation.

After these requests and advices Dhu’l-Qarnayn departed from his city. His mother was aggrieved and wept much. Her weeping did not decrease even with the passage of time. A villager thought of a scheme to console the old woman. He organized a grand feast and commissioned a town crier to inform the villagers of it. All the people were invited. But on the appointed day it was announced that only those who have not suffered any grief can participate in the feast. Only those who are immune from every difficulty and distress may attend. The people stood up and said, “None of us are absolutely free of troubles and stress. All of us have suffered the sorrow of the death of some friend or relative. When the mother of Dhu’l-Qarnayn heard all these, she found it interesting but she was unaware of the intention of the villager who had organized the event.

After a few days the same villager organized a feast. This time he told the town-crier to announce that only those people can attend who have some problem or the other. Those who are free from troubles cannot attend the feast. And neither can those who are not aggrieved or sorrowful. Because one who has no trouble has no goodness.

When the people heard this announcement they remarked that the villager had previously acted miserly and that now he had regretted his mistake and wished to rectify himself and conceal his defect. The people gathered and this villager delivered a sermon. He said, “I have not called you for a feast. I wish to speak about Dhu’l-Qarnayn. And discuss the grief that we all experience due to his absence, and the fact that we are not able to serve him.

Remember Adam whom Allah created by his powerful hands and blew His spirit into him. Then He ordered the Angels to prostrate before him. He settled Adam in the Garden and bestowed him with the virtues not bestowed on any other creature. Then He subjected him to the most severe calamity and sent him out of the Garden. No difficulty is as serious as that of Adam. Then Ibrahim underwent the torment of being thrown into the fire and of obeying the command to slaughter his son - Ya‘qub faced the sorrow - Yusuf bore the trouble of being enslaved - Ayyub was subjected to a terrible disease - Yahya was afflicted and Zakariyya martyred - ‘Isa was arrested - Except Allah no one knows the number of people who have suffered something or the other. Come let us go and console the mother of Alexander. Let us see how much patience she has. Because she is the most aggrieved one due to her son’s separation.”

So all the people went to the old lady and asked if she had attended the gathering and heard the sermon. She said that she saw everything that had occurred and heard every word of the speech.

“There was no one among you who was more aggrieved than me,” she said. “Now Allah has given me patience and satisfied me. He has strengthened my heart. I have faith that my reward shall be proportionate to my grief. And also hope for your reward that you deserve in lieu of your sorrow for your brother. And I also hope for the reward that you have earned for consoling and comforting his mother, and hope that Allah would forgive me and you all and have mercy on you and me.”

The people witnessed the formidable patience of this wise lady they returned to their homes. Dhu’l-Qarnayn continued to travel towards the west and had come quite far. Hence by this time his soldiers were weary and disheveled. The Almighty sent him a revelation that he was the Proof of Allah upon all the creatures of the east and the west. And that it was the interpretation of his dream.

“My Lord you wish to give me such a great responsibility and except for You no one is aware of its greatness,” said Dhu’l-Qarnayn. “How can I face and vanquish the great army without proper manpower and equipment? How can I make them obedient to me? Where is the patience to bear their oppression? Where is the tongue to speak to them? How can I understand the various languages? Where is the hearing capability to listen to them? Where are the eyes to see them and where is the courage to confront them? Where is the perception to understand their desires? Where is the wisdom to solve their problems? Where is the forbearance to bear their injustices and remain patient? Where is the justice to judge them? Where is the recognition (Ma’refah) to rule over them? Where is the army to conquer them? Verily! I do not possess a single quality.

Hence bestow me power over them. Certainly, you are a Kind Lord. You do not impose a duty beyond ones capacity. Neither do You impose a burden exceeding ones strength.”

The Almighty revealed to him that he would be given the strength and power soon to carry out the responsibility entrusted to him. The Lord said, “I shall expand your breast so that you can hear everything, and widen your understanding. So that you understand everything. I shall bestow the power to your tongue so that you can speak to everything. I shall make the affairs easy for you. You will not lose anything and I will guard your affair. So that nothing is hidden from you. I shall strengthen your back so that you are not fearful of any kind of danger. I wish to bestow such a personality that you will not fear anything. I will make your advice acceptable. So that you may not make a mistake. I shall subdue your body to you so that you can feel every type of emotion. I shall give you authority over light and darkness and they will serve you as two armies. The light shall guide you and show you the way. The darkness shall protect you and gather the communities from behind you and bring them in front of you.”

Thus Dhu’l-Qarnayn set out with the message of his Lord. The Almighty helped him and fulfilled all his promises. He set out towards the place where the sun sets. No community came in contact with him but that he invited them towards truth. Dhu’l-Qarnayn was satisfied with those who accepted faith but appointed darkness upon those who refused to believe. The darkness would darken their cities, villages, houses and buildings. It penetrated and filled their nose, mouth and bellies. They remained in a state of shock for sometime and then ultimately accepted invitation towards belief. They came in submission to him at last.

Finally, Dhu’l-Qarnayn reached the place where the sun sets. Here a group of people came to him then in the same way as he had with the people he had encountered before. Thus, he completed the conquest of the west. During his campaign he met so many different tribes that only Allah knows the magnitude. He was bestowed with such strength and splendor that no one can achieve except by the Grace of Allah.

His army become peopled with soldiers of different linguistic areas and various sensualities also struck his men. He traveled in the darkness for eight days and nights until he reached a large mountain that had covered a large area. Suddenly he sighted an Angel who clung to the mountain and recited:

Subh’aana rabbi minal aane ilaa muntahaddahare

Subh’aana rabbi min awwaliddunyaa ilaa aakherhaa

Subh’aana rabbi min mauz’le’ kafee ilaa a’rshe

Subh’aana rabbi min muntahaz’a’olomate ilannoore.

When Dhu’l-Qarnayn heard these words he went into prostration and did not lift his head until the Almighty gifted him the strength to see that world.

The Angel asked him how he had achieved such power that he reached the place where no man has ever stepped.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “I have received the capability to reach this place from the same One Who has subdued this mountain to you. One Who surrounds all the earth.”

“You are right,” said the Angel, “If this mountain had not been there the earth would have shook with its inhabitants and smothered them. There is no mountain larger than this on the face of the earth. And this is the first mountain to have been created by Allah for this earth. The peak of this mountain touches the first heaven. It roots reach up to the seventh layer below the earth and surround the whole earth like a circle. The root (foundations) of every city is connected to this mountain. When Allah desires to send earthquake to a particular area He sends a revelation upon me and I shake the roots of that area. Thus the area has earthquake.”

Before returning Dhu’l-Qarnayn requested this Angel to give him some moral advice. The Angel said, “Do not be aggrieved for your sustenance. Do not postpone today’s job for tomorrow. Do not shed tears on something that you have lost. Be helpful and hospitable. Do not be insolent. Do not be arrogant and oppressive.”

After receiving this advice Dhu’l-Qarnayn returned to his companions. Then he directed his mighty splendor towards East. And whenever he came across people he invited them towards Allah and guided in the same way as he had guided the people of the West. He made them obedient like the inhabitants of the western region. After completing the mission of East and West he turned his attention towards the valley that finds a mention in the Holy Qur’an. He met a people who did not understand any language. Beyond the valley lived another community that was known as Yajooj and Majooj.

These creatures resembled the quadrupeds. They ate and drank and had children. They had females and males and their physical features resembled the human beings. But they were much smaller than human beings. Like children, they did not exceed five spans. All of them were created and wore neither clothes nor shoes. Each had a hump like camels. It protected them from cold and heat. They had two ears. One of the ears who covered with hair from the outside as well inside and the other ear had humps. Instead of nails they had claws like animals, and had fangs and jaws. When they slept they spread out one ear and covered themselves with the other from head to toe. Their food consisted of fishes that rained from a cloud every year. This enabled them to lead a comfortable life. When it was time for the fishes to rain they would wait in expectation like people await the rains. When they received the rain of fishes their conditions improved and they prospered.

They bred quickly and their population increased. The fishes lasted them a whole year and they did not feed or anything else. Their population increased so much that only Allah knows its magnitude. If they did not get fish in a particular year there was famine. They used to starve to death and their progeny perished as a result. They walked like the quadrupeds and mated wherever they went. In the year they did not get rain of fish they would head towards the towns and wreaked havoc wherever they struck and did not spare anything. Their scourge was worst than that of locusts and hailstorms.

Wherever they attacked the inhabitants deserted their homes and fled from that area, because no one could confront them. When they attacked a particular area they covered it so completely that no one could stop them. No creature of Allah know their population. It was not possible to look at them or go near them because they were extremely dirty and despicable. That’s why they could subdue the people. When they rushed towards a town they made a sound akin to a storm traveling at the speed of hundred parasangs and heavy rain. This was due to their sheer number. Whey they fell upon a city their buzzing resembled that of the bees or rather more intense that nothing could be heard beyond that din. All the animals fled the land ravaged by these creatures. For they filled the whole area and did not leave any space for other creatures. An astonishing fact was that each of them knew the time of their death. Because neither the male nor the female died until it had produced a thousand offspring. When the number of their offspring reached a thousand they knew they had to die. It used to leave the herd and spread out its hands and legs to die.

They appeared in the time of Dhu’l-Qarnayn and destroyed city after city. They aimed at each community and forced the people out of their homes. They did not turn from wherever they aimed and neither did they look left or right. When this particular community heard their sound approaching they came to Dhu’l-Qarnayn and petitioned him saying, “We have heard that whatever you have been bestowed by Allah is like rulership and kingship. You possess a forceful personality and have been helped by darkness and light and the armies of the earth. We happen to reside in the neighborhood of Yajooj and Majooj. Between us and them is a mountain and nothing else. Between the two mountains is a pass. If they attack us they will drive us out of our houses. We cannot withstand their attack. They have a teeming population. They look like humans but they move about here and their and graze. But they can attack and kill like carnivorous animals. They eat anything that has life, including snakes and scorpions. None of the creatures can equal their population. We know that one day they would cover the whole earth and purge it of its entire people. They would spread corruption in the earth. All the time we dread their attack through the mountain pass. The Almighty has given you strength and might, not given to any other person. Shall we collect some donations to offer you tithe? So that you may build a barrier between us?”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “Whatever Allah has gifted me is better than your contribution. But you can help by providing manpower so that I can accomplish the task of constructing a barrier. Get me iron slabs.”

“Where can we get so much iron and copper to build the wall?” they asked.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn informed them of iron and copper mines. When they asked him as to how they could cut the metal, Dhu’l-Qarnayn guided them towards another mine that produced a material called saamoor. Samoor was extremely white and it melted any metal it came in contact with. The people made some mining tools with it and the same types of tools were used by Sulayman to cut the slabs of stone for construction of Jerusalem. The jinn had brought these instruments for Sulayman.

Thus the people brought to Dhu’l-Qarnayn all the iron and copper that was sufficient to build the barrier. The iron was melted and shaped like slabs. Instead of bricks the wall was raised with these iron slabs. In place of cement and mortar molten copper was poured between the iron slabs. There was a distance of one parasang between two parallel mountains.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn first commanded that a foundation be dug for building the wall. The people dug until they reached water. The thickness of the barrier was one mile. After laying the iron bricks they melted the copper into a thin liquid and poured it over the iron wall. It seemed as if it was a single piece. The barrier touched the mountains on either side. It shone like a red and black fabric due to iron and copper.

Yajooj and Majooj come near this wall every year because they tour different areas. But when they reach the barrier they could not traverse it and thus go back from where they had come. They will continue this practice every year until time for the Resurrection Day nears. One of the signs of the Resurrection Day is the reappearance of al-Qa’im of the Progeny of Muhammad. The Almighty will open the barrier. As mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:

“…when Gog and Magog are let loose and they shall break forth from every elevated place.”4

- 1. It is possible that he ruled for thirty years prior to his martyrdom or occultation. Or it might have been after that. It was during the time when he ruled over the world that is referred in this tradition. Thus, it does not contradict the other traditions.

- 2. He meant Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali

- 3. Dhu’l-Qarnayn is mistaken for a Prophet probably because he was an undisputed ruler and is always mentioned among Prophets. It is possible he had two names, Ayyashi and ‘Abdullah.

- 4. After this is mentioned all that we have narrated in the tradition of Wahab. We have refrained from repeating it. However, we must know that all the things mention in these two narrations that do not match with the information of previous traditions are not reliable.

An account of Ya‘qub and Yusuf

Abu Hamza Thumali narrates through a correct chain of traditionalists that one day he performed the morning prayers with Imam Zayn al-‘abidin in a mosque of Madinah. After the prayers, Imam returned home. Abu Hamza Thumali accompanied the master. When they reached the residence Imam instructed his slave girl, Sakina, that she must serve meals to anyone who came begging to his door as it was Friday. Abu Hamza Thumali says that he asked, “But so may people pass by your house, surely all of them are not deserving?”

“O Thabit!” said Imam, “I fear that (if I am discriminative) I might spurn a genuine destitute. In that case I may be inflicted with the calamity that befell Ya‘qub and his progeny. Indeed! We must serve food for the needs of his family. On the eve of a Friday at the time of breaking the fast a needy believer, who was also fasting, approached him with a request for help. He was very pious and had a high status near Allah. He came to the door and begged for food but no one heeded his request.1

Feeling disappointed and surrounded by the darkness of night he turned and went away saying, “Inna lillaahe wa inna ilaihe Raaje’oon” (Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him we return). That night he went to bed hungry, and he remained hungry the next day too. But he maintained patient and continued to chant the praise of Allah.

Ya‘qub and his family ate to satiation that night and in the morning there was food left over from the previous evening. The Almighty revealed to Ya‘qub, and said, “You have insulted one of My servants to such a degree that My penalty is to target you. Therefore, expect My retribution for yourself and your family. Ya‘qub! The most beloved and respected to me from the Prophets are those who have mercy on the poor and destitute, and one who seats them near himself, and one who feeds them and is a hope of refuge for them. Ya‘qub! Why did you have no mercy for My poor servant? He is diligent in worship and satisfied on the little he gets in the world. Last night he came to your door with a request for some eatables to break his fast. You did not offer anything and he complained to Me and went to sleep hungry. But he recited My praise and again fasted the next day, whereas you and your children went to bed satiated. And the surplus food remained with you.

O Ya‘qub! It seems you are unaware that My wrath is more swift for My devotees than on My enemies. My kindness and favors are for My devotees and My deception and tests are for My enemies.

I swear by My might that I shall sent a calamity upon you, and make your sons the victims of a disaster. I shall make you involved in sorrow and pain. So be prepared for My wrath and be content with it. Be patient in the calamities.”

Abu Hamza Thumali said, “May I be sacrificed for you! When did Yusuf have the dream?”

“On the same night when Ya‘qub and his sons slept satiated whereas the beggar slept hungry,” said Imam. “That night Yusuf had a dream and he related it to his father the next day.”

“O my father! Surely I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon. I saw them making obeisance to me.” (12:4)

When Ya‘qub heard the dream the revelation of the imminent calamity had already descended on him. So,

“He said, O my son! Do not relate our vision to your brothers, lest they devise a plan against you;” (12:5)

Yusuf did not heed the warning seriously and told his brothers of the dream.”

Imam said that the first calamity to strike Ya‘qub and his sons was the envy of the brothers of Yusuf.

On the basis of what Yusuf had related of his dream, and the excessive affection Ya‘qub had for Yusuf they hatched a plot among themselves.

They discussed that their father loved Yusuf and his younger brother more than he loved them even though they were stronger and deserving. They served him with all sincerity whereas Yusuf and his brother did not shoulder any responsibility.

When they said: Certainly Yusuf and his brother are dearer to our father than we, though we are a (stronger) company; most surely our father is in manifest error:

Slay Yusuf or cast him (forth) into some land, so that your father’s regard may be exclusively for you, and after that you may be a righteous people. (12:8-9)

The brothers came to Ya‘qub that very moment.

“They said, O our father! What reason have you that you do not trust in us with request to Yusuf? And most surely we are his sincere well-wishers.” (12:11)

“Please send him with us tomorrow,” they requested, “So that he may partake of the fruits in the forest and enjoy himself. We shall take care of him.”

Ya‘qub said that when Yusuf was out of his sight he was aggrieved. He could not bear the separation of Yusuf.

“I fear the wolf may devour him,” Ya‘qub tried to make an excuse fearing that the promised calamity may descend with regard to Yusuf, because Yusuf was his favorite child. But Allah’s decree came to pass and Ya‘qub failed to obviate Divine trial. He entrusted Yusuf to the brothers in spite of the foreboding. When they left with Yusuf, Ya‘qub followed them and took Yusuf and embraced him. Then returned him to the elder brothers. They began to move on quickly lest Ya‘qub again follows them and take Yusuf away with him, and took him far away into the forest. The eldest of them suggested that Yusuf need not be slain in order to separate him from his father. He could be cast into a well so that some passers-by may fish him out and carry him away. So they took Yusuf to well and pushed him inside thinking he would soon drown. When Yusuf reached the bottom of the well the brothers heard a voice,

“O sons of Ya‘qub convey my salaams to my father.”

When the brothers heard this they decided not to leave the place until they are sure Yusuf is dead. They waited until late night and returned home lamenting and said, “O father! We had left Yusuf with our belongings and went hunting. When we returned we found that a wolf had carried him off.”

“Innalillaahe wa inna ilaihe raajeo’on, (Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return)”, said Ya‘qub and began to weep, knowing that the foretold calamity had descended. He maintained patience and resigned to the Divine decree.

He told his sons, “What you say is not true.”

“Nay, your souls have made the matter light for you,” (12:18)

“The Almighty would never allow Yusuf to be devoured by a wolf before I witness the realization of the true dream of Yusuf,” he added.

Next morning the brothers decided to check the condition of Yusuf. Whether he was alive or dead. When they reached the place, they saw that some travelers had gathered around the well. The group had previously deputed one person to get water. He had tossed the bucket in the well and Yusuf clung to it and was pulled out. When the bucket rose to the surface the traveler was astonished to find a cherubic boy sitting on it. He called his companions and showed them the child.

Yusuf’s brother stepped forward and said, “He is our slave-boy who fell into the well yesterday. We came to pull him out today.”

Saying this, they took Yusuf aside and issued a dire warning that if he did not support their claim that he was their slave, they would kill him. Yusuf agreed to save his neck.

The brothers again approached the group of travelers and offered to sell Yusuf to them. One of them purchased Yusuf for 20 Dirhams. The brothers of Yusuf were same as the travelers. They were unaware of the true value of Yusuf to have sold him for such a paltry sum. The buyer of Yusuf took him to Egypt and sold him to ‘Aziz, the Emperor.

As the Qur’an says,

“And the Egyptian who bought him said to his wife: Give him an honorable abode, maybe he will be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son.” (12:21)

The narrator says that Abu Hamza Thumali asked Imam about the age of Yusuf when he was cast into the well. Imam said it was nine years. Some reports mention seven years and it is considers more likely.

The narrator asked about the distance between the house of Yusuf and Egypt. Imam said it was twelve days’ travel. Imam also said that no one could equal the elegance and beauty of Yusuf. When he reached maturity the king’s wife became infatuated with him and tried to lure him towards adultery. Yusuf explained to her that he belonged to a family that did not indulge in fornication. One day this woman bolted the door and told him not to fear, and she lay down before him. Yusuf disengaged himself from her and rushed to the door. Zulaykha ran after him and pulled at his shirt and tore its neck. The king arrived at that moment and saw them in this condition. Zulaykha tried to shift the blame on Yusuf and said to the king,

“What is the punishment of him who intends evil to your wife except imprisonment or a painful chastisement?” (12:25)

When the king decided to punish Yusuf he said, “By the God of Ya‘qub (as..)! I never intended any evil with your wife. She herself did cling to me and was persuading me to sin. I ran away from her. You can ask this child which of us was guilty, as he has witnessed the scene.”

Someone brought an infant to her. The Almighty bestowed him the power of speech and he said,

“O King! Check the garment of Yusuf. If his shirt is torn from the front, he went for her and if it is torn from behind, she had been in his pursuit.”

When the king saw the infant speaking he became afraid. The garment of Yusuf was called for and found that it was torn from behind. He told Zulaykha that it was her evil plot.

“Surely it is a guile of you women, surely your guile is great.” (12:26)

Then he told Yusuf to ignore the matter and keep it confidential so that no one may come to know of it from him. But Yusuf did not heed the suggestion and the news spread around the town. Some women even taunted that the wife of ‘Aziz is in love with her slave and is trying to woo him.

“So when she heard of their sly talk she sent for them and prepared for them a repast, and gave each of them a knife, and said (to Yusuf): Come forth to them. So when they saw him, they deemed him great, and cut their hands (in amazement), and said, Remote is Allah (from imperfection); this is not a mortal, this is but a noble angel.” (12:31)

Thus instead of cutting the fruit they cut their hands. Zulaykha castigated them of having blamed her and said the attractiveness of Yusuf was responsible for her misdemeanor.

The ladies dispersed from the gathering. Later one of them sent a message to Yusuf and invited him. Yusuf refused and entreated Allah that he preferred imprisonment to a life of sin. He prayed to Allah that if He did not foil the plot of women he might surrender to their overtures and became a sinner. The Almighty saved Yusuf from the guile of the women. When the affair spread among the Egyptians, the king, instead of following the advice of the speaking infant decided to imprison Yusuf. And whatever occurred therein is documented in the Qur’an.

‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim relates from Jabir that Yusuf saw the following eleven stars in his dream: Tarriq, Hawbaan, Zeyaal, Zulkatfain, Wabaab, Qaabis, Amoodaan, Feelaq, Masbeeh, Soo’ zaroogh.

According to an authentic tradition Imam Muhammad al-Baqir was asked about the dream of Yusuf in which he saw eleven stars, the sun and the moon all prostrating towards him. Imam interpreted the dream and said it forecasted that Yusuf will become the Emperor of Egypt, his eleven brothers stood for eleven stars. The sun denoted his mother, Raheel and the Moon represented Ya‘qub. When they reached him they thanked Allah in prostration for having found Yusuf. They prostrated for Allah and not for Yusuf.

Another chain reports the same Imam as saying that Yusuf had fifteen brothers. Binyamin (Benjamin) and Yusuf had the same mother. Ya‘qub was known as Israelullah, that means the special one of Allah or the chosen one of Allah or simply “The chosen one.” He was the son of Ishaq the son of Ibrahim, the Khalil (friend) of Allah. Yusuf was nine years old when he saw that dream and related it to his father, Ya‘qub. He told Yusuf not to mention the dream to his brothers, or they would do something sinister to him.” They will try to get rid of you because Satan is an enemy of man. He is about to show his enmity.” Then he said, “As you have seen the dream, there is hope in it that your Lord will exalt your status. In the light of Divine Knowledge the dream that you say can be interpreted in a way that the Almighty will bestow the Divine sciences and Prophethood upon you, as bestowed upon your forefathers, Ishaq and Ibrahim. Indeed your Lord is wise and knowing.”

Yusuf excelled his contemporaries in elegance and physical beauty. Ya‘qub doted on him and preferred him to other children. This caused jealousy to triumph over Yusuf’s brothers. They discussed the matter among themselves as narrated by the Almighty in Qur’an:

“When they said, Certainly Yusuf and his brother are dearer to our father than we, though we are a (stronger) company, (Imam said it means a group); most surely our father is in manifest error.” (12:8)

The brothers planned to kill Yusuf so the affections of Ya‘qub will be exclusively for them.

One of them, named Lawi, said it was not necessary to kill Yusuf and they can separate him from his father and hide him where Ya‘qub cannot see him. And thus he will transfer his attention to the brothers. So they came to Ya‘qub and asked him why he did not entrust Yusuf to him. Even though they were concerned for his safety. They requested that Yusuf be allowed to accompany them the next day, so that he may graze the sheep and play about. They assured that they shall guard him.

The Almighty put the words into the mouth of Ya‘qub and he said,

“Surely it grieves me that you should take him off, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while you are heedless of him.” (12:13)

The brothers said,

“Surely if the wolf should devour him notwithstanding that we are a (strong) company, we should then certainly be losers.” (12:14)

According to Imam a company (Usbah) consists of two to thirteen persons. Thus they set off with Yusuf and cast him into the well.

Allah says,

“So when they had gone off with him and agreed that they should put him down at the bottom of the pit, and We revealed to him: You will most certainly inform them of this their affair while they do not perceive (do not recognize you).” (12:15)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that Archangel Gabriel descended while Yusuf was in the well and told him that, (the Almighty says) “We shall make you the Emperor of Egypt with honor and dignity. And shall make your brothers needful to you so that they come to you for assistance and you can tell them what they had done to you. And they will not recognize you at that time.”

It is narrated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when revelation descended upon Yusuf in the well, he was seven years old.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim says that when Yusuf was separated from his father, and they decided to kill him, Lawi suggested that instead of killing him, he could be pushed into a well, so that some traveler will pull him out and take him away. They brought him to the well and ordered him to undress. Yusuf began to cry and requested them not to strip him naked. One of them took out a knife and threatened him with it. Ultimately the clothes were removed and Yusuf was thrown into the well. The brothers returned home.

Yusuf began to supplicate to his Lord, “O the Lord of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya‘qub. Have mercy on my helplessness, weakness, and tender age.”

Just then, an Egyptian caravan has arrived in the vicinity of the well. One of them was sent to draw water from the well. When he dropped the bucket into the well Yusuf clung to it and when they pulled out the bucket they found a young boy having an attractive physique and elegance as never seen in the world.

The fellow travelers were immediately conveyed the good news of having received a handsome slave. They could sell him and add the proceeds to their capital. When the brothers learnt of it. They came to the caravan and said that it was their slave who had run away. And they secretly warned Yusuf that if he did not support their claim of his slavery, they would kill him. When the people asked Yusuf he said under duress that he was their slave. They offered to purchase Yusuf. The brothers agreed to sell him upon the condition that they will take him to Egypt and never show him in this area again. Thus Yusuf was sold for eighteen Dirhams. The brothers sold him so cheap because they were unaware of the worth and position of Yusuf.

An authentic tradition of Imam al-Ridha says, “Yusuf was sold for twenty Dirham and their value today is 1270 Dinars.”

It is quoted from the tafsir of Abu Hamza Thumali that the man who purchased Yusuf was Malik bin Za’ra. From the time he purchased Yusuf there was prosperity in his economic conditions, he earned more profit during the trip. This continued until they resold him. The increase did not continue after that. Malik was much attracted towards Yusuf and saw in him the traces of nobility and his elegant countenance. One day he told Yusuf to describe his genealogy. Yusuf said he was the son of Ya‘qub, son of Ishaq, son of Ibrahim. On hearing this Malik picked him up and began to weep. Then he told Yusuf that he had no children and wanted Allah to bestow him with many sons. Yusuf prayed for this man and he had twelve twins in a row - all males.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim says that when the brothers returned to Ya‘qub they smeared the shirt of Yusuf in blood so that they can say that a wolf had torn him apart.

Imam al-Baqir says that they slaughtered a kid and smeared the shirt in its blood. Lawi said, “Brothers! Ya‘qub, the Israelullah is the son of Ishaq the Prophet of Allah, the son of Ibrahim the friend (Khalil) of Allah. Do you think the Almighty will conceal this secret from our father.”

“So what do you suggest?” they asked.

He said, “Come let us perform Ghusl and pray in congregation and invoke Allah that He conceal this matter from our father. Indeed! Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

They stood up and performed the ghusl. But according to the ritual law of Ibrahim and Ya‘qub there was a stipulation of at least eleven persons to form a congregation. They were only ten. They said, “We have no one to preside over the prayer.”

Lawi said, “Never mind, we shall regard the Almighty as the Imam of our congregation.” They performed the prayers and pleaded to the Almighty to withhold the secret from their father. At the time of going to bed they came lamenting to their father. Brandishing the blood-smeared shirt of Yusuf they said that they were running hither tither and engrossed in recreation, leaving Yusuf to care for their belongings. The wolf had tore him to pieces.

“They said, O our father! Surely we went off racing and left Yusuf by our goods, so the wolf devoured him, and you will not believe us though we are truthful.” (12:17)

“…He said, Nay, your souls have made the matter light for you, but patience is good and Allah is He Whose help is sought for against what you describe.” (12:18)

Then he said, “How vicious was the wolf upon Yusuf and how kind he was on his shirt. He tore apart Yusuf but did not damage his shirt a bit.”

Then the travelers took Yusuf to Egypt and sold him to the ‘Aziz (Emperor). When the ‘Aziz beheld the elegance and beauty of Yusuf he told his wife Zulaykha to nurture the boy with love and care so that he may prove useful for them in the future. He decided to adopt him since he had no children of his own. Both of them showered their affections on Yusuf and when he reached maturity, Zulaykha fell in love with him and all the women who saw him became infatuated with him. Even the men were attached to regard him with affection. His face shone like a full moon. Zulaykha tried to entice him for physical relationship and one day she bolted the door when they were apparently alone in a room. Then she urged him to fulfill her wishes as soon as possible. Yusuf sought the refuge of Allah from the vile act that she was forcing him in.

“Your husband, the ‘Aziz has reared me and regards me highly. Indeed the Almighty does not bestow salvation on the transgressors,” he reasoned.

But Zulaykha clung him passionately. Yusuf saw the face of Ya‘qub in a corner. He was biting one finger with his teeth and saying, “O Yusuf! Your name is included in the list of Prophets in the heavens. Do not perform a misdeed for which your name may be written among the fornicators of the earth.”

In another tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq when Zulaykha decided to have sexual relations with Yusuf, there was an idol in the room. When she put a curtain on it, Yusuf asked the reason behind it. She said, she was ashamed of the idol.

“You are ashamed of the idol that neither sees nor hears you. Shall I not be ashamed of my Lord who is manifest and informed about everything?” asked Yusuf.

Then he disengaged himself and tried to flee. Zulaykha pursued him and at that moment the ‘Aziz appeared at the doorway. Zulaykha asked him what the punishment was for a person who intended evil with his wife, except imprisonment or a painful punishment.

Yusuf pleaded innocence and said she herself harbored evil intentions on him. There was an infant in the cradle at that time. The Almighty sent a revelation on Yusuf and he suggested to ‘Aziz that he ask the infant who was a witness of all that had passed. “He will tell you that I have not betrayed trust,” said Yusuf.

‘Aziz asked the child and the Almighty gave it the power of speech to testify in favor of Yusuf.

The little child said, “If the shirt of Yusuf is torn from the front, Zulaykha speaks the truth and Yusuf is lying. But if his shirt has a tear at the back, Zulaykha is a liar and Yusuf is truthful.”

‘Aziz inspected the shirt of Yusuf and found that it was torn from behind. He told Zulaykha that it was her evil plot. And the guile of you women is great,” he added.

He requested Yusuf to keep the incident secret and ordered Zulaykha to repent for her sin as she was a guilty one. Then this incident became known and the ladies of the town castigated Zulaykha for her weakness. When Zulaykha learnt of their criticism she invited them and arranged for them a repast. She handed a knife and a tangerine to each of the women and told them to slice it. The same moment she ordered Yusuf to enter the gathering. When they saw the handsome Yusuf, they could not discriminate between the fruit and their hands and instead of the tangerine they slashed their fingers.

Zulaykha told them excuse her because it were they who had accused her of misdemeanor whereas the unearthly elegance of Yusuf was responsible. She said, “I call him towards me and he refuses. If he does not submit to my wishes, I shall have him imprisoned.” The ladies returned home and before the night fell, each of them sent a messenger to Yusuf and inviting him. Yusuf was troubled and pleaded to Allah that prison was better than the predicament he was in. And that which the women were trying to entice him for.

“If You do not fail their attempt I might fall in the trap. I will then be included in the ignorant ones,” he prayed.

The Almighty accepted his supplication and nullified the guile attempts of women. Zulaykha ordered that Yusuf be imprisoned. Allah says,

“Then it occurred to them after they had seen the signs that they should imprison him until a time.” (12:35)

According to Imam al-Baqir the ayats speaks about the testimony of infant and the tearing of Yusuf’s shirt and Zulaykha’s pursuit of Yusuf. Thus when Yusuf refused to oblige Zulaykha she began to plot against him and her husband decided to imprison Yusuf.

Two young slaves of the king were also convicted with Yusuf. One of them was a baker and one a water-carrier. Another tradition says that ‘Aziz appointed two people to guard Yusuf. When the two of them stepped into the prison they asked Yusuf what knowledge he had. He replied that he could interpret dreams. One of them said he had seen himself pressing the grapes for wine. Yusuf told him he would be released and go to become the royal barman and win the king’s favor. The baker said he dreamt of having a bowl of bread on his head and birds were feeding on it. Actually he had not seen any such dream, he was only making it up. Yusuf told him that he would be killed by the king and his corpse shall be hung at the gate where birds would feed on his brain. The man said, “I lied to you. I had no such dream.”

Yusuf said, “Whatever I predicted would surely come to pass.”

Yusuf behaved kindly with the prison inmates. He visited the sick, helped the needy and created an amiable atmosphere for his companions. At last the king ordered the release of the man who had seen the dream of grape juice. Yusuf requested him to put a good word to the king regarding Yusuf. But when this man had the opportunity, the Satan enticed him to ignore Yusuf’s request. Thus Yusuf remained in the prison for many years after that.

According to reliable traditions, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Archangel Gabriel descended to Yusuf when he was in the prison. He told him that the Almighty sends His salaams and says that “I have made you the best of my creations.” Yusuf fell down and putting his cheek on the ground said, “You Alone are my Lord.”

Archangel Gabriel told him, “The Almighty says that He has made you more lovable to your father than your other brothers.”

Yusuf touched his cheeks to the ground and said to Allah. “You Alone are my Lord!”

Archangel Gabriel said, “The Almighty says that He brought you out of the well you had been pushed in it and were convinced that you would perish.”

Again Yusuf touched his cheek on the earth and said,

“You Alone are my Lord.”

Archangel Gabriel said, “Indeed the Almighty had decreed this punishment for you because you sought the help of someone else. So you remain in prison for some more years.” When the prescribed term was over, and he was permitted to recite the Dua al-Faraj (Supplication of release) he kept his cheeks on the ground and said, “Allahumma inkaanat d’unoobi qad Akhlaqat wajhi in’ndaka fainni atawajjahoo ilaika be wahje aabaais’ s’aalehe’en - Ibrahim, wa Ishaq wa Ya’qoob.”

(Translation: O Allah if my sins have degraded my face near You, I certainly turn towards You through the faces of my ancestors, Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya‘qub).

The Almighty forgave him and he was released from the prison.

The narrator asked Imam if they could also recite the same supplication. Imam told him to recite as follows:

“Allahumma inkaanat d’u noobi qad Akhlaqat wajhi in’ndaka fainni atawajjahoo ilaika be nabiyyeka nabiyyar rah’ma. S’allallaaho a’laihe wa aalehi wa Aliyy-waa Faat’emah - wal h’asane-wal-h’osaine wal aaimmah a’laihimus salaam.”

‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim says once the king dreamt that five lean cows were eating five fat cows. And seven dried ears of corn striking to seven green ears of corn and were dominant upon them. He asked his ministers to interpret the dream but they could not understand it. They said it was a nightmare and they did not know the interpretation of this nightmare.

The person whose dream Yusuf had interpreted remembered Yusuf. When he was released Yusuf had requested him to plead on his behalf to the king but he had forgotten it. He was present in the court and seven years had passed since his release. He told the King that he would soon provide the interpretation of the dream if he is permitted to visit the prison. So he came to Yusuf in the prison and said,

“O Yusuf! O the truthful one! What is the interpretation of seven lean cows eating seven fat ones and seven dried ears of corn on seven green ones. Tell me so that I may inform the king and his officers. They may realize your special qualities, virtues and understand the interpretation of your dreams.”

Yusuf said, “You should cultivate your lands very carefully during the next seven years and store as much as you can. Do not thresh the crops to keep them safe from being spoilt with grain beetles. Consume less grain during this period, for, the next seven years there would be a year of plentiful rains. There would also be abundance in crops and fruit cultivation.”

The king’s barman returned to the king and narrated the words of Yusuf. He expressed his desire to meet Yusuf personally and a messenger was dispatched to summon Yusuf from the prison. When the messenger came to Yusuf he told him to ask the king about the women whom Zulaykha had invited for a repast, “When they had seen me they had cut their fingers. Indeed my Lord is aware of their guile! Ask the king to summon those women and ask them about the matter concerning me and about Zulaykha. They were aware of all the cause of my imprisonment, that was due to my refusal to give myself to their desires.”

‘Aziz summoned the women and asked them concerning Yusuf and how they had tried to lure him. The women glorified Allah and said they knew Yusuf was blameless. Zulaykha said the truth was manifested, “Actually I had attracted him towards myself while he spoke the truth.”

After this Yusuf said that, “I only intended that the king should realize that I have not betrayed trust during his absence. Because Allah does not guide those who betray trust. And I do not acquit myself from evil. Indeed, the soul entices one towards evil a great deal. Except when the Almighty directs His Mercy towards me. Certainly, my Lord is Beneficent and Merciful.”

The ‘Aziz said, “Bring Yusuf to me, I want to appoint him as a close aide.” Yusuf came to him and when he conversed with him the king became aware of the light of guidance, knowledge, wisdom and intellect that shone from his forehead.

“From today,” said ‘Aziz, “You are my confidant and a trustworthy aide. You can ask for whatever you like.” Yusuf told ‘Aziz to entrust him with all the wealth and agricultural products of Egypt. “I assure that I would manage them with absolute honesty. And I know how it should be deployed.”

The king of Egypt put Yusuf in charge of the revenues and national wealth. The Almighty Allah says,

“And thus did We give to Yusuf power in the land — he had mastery in it wherever he liked; We send down Our mercy on whom We please, and We do not waste the reward of those who do good.” (12:56)

Thus, under the directions of Yusuf all the agricultural produce of Egypt was collected in granaries constructed with stone and mortar. All the citizens were rationed grain only sufficient for their needs. The excess of grains were stored without threshing in huge stacks. This process continued for seven years. When the seven years of draught arrived the ears of corn stored in the previous seven years were removed and sold at the rate prescribed by Yusuf. At that time he was of a distance for 18 days’ travel from his father. People from the adjoining areas traveled to Egypt to purchase their requirements from Yusuf. The respected father of Yusuf and his brothers were residents of an area that produced a large quantity of gum. The brother’s of Yusuf used to carry a quantity of gum and barter it with grains of Egypt. Yusuf supervised these transactions in person.

“And Yusuf’s brothers came and went into him, and he knew them, while they did not recognize him.” (12:58)

Yusuf issued food grains to his brothers and gave little more than the measure, then asked then who they were.

They said, “We are the sons of Ya‘qub the son of Ishaq son of Ibrahim the Khalil of Allah. The One whom Nimrod had cast into the fire but he did not burn. The Almighty made the fire cool and a safety for him.”

Yusuf asked them the well-being of Ya‘qub and why he has not accompanied them to Egypt. The brothers said, “He is an old and weak person.”

“Do you have any other brother?” asked Yusuf.

“Yes,” they replied, “We have one more brother from a different mother.”

Yusuf said, “Bring that brother along with you the next time you come for rations. I give a full measure and also some extra quantity. Thus if you do not bring your step-brother I would not be having anything to give you and neither would I allow you to reach me.”

The brothers decided to try their best in persuading their father. Yusuf told his servants to put back the things his brothers had brought back into their luggage without their knowledge so that when they return home unpack their foods they realize our generosity and come back again.”

The brothers of Yusuf came home and told their father the king of Egypt had ordered them to bring their brother along with them otherwise they would not be entitled to any food stock. “So let us accompany us and we assure that we shall take care of him.”

“Shall I entrust him to you, when I had already entrusted you his brother in the past. Verily, Allah is a greater protector and the most Merciful.”

When they unpacked their goods they found the commodity they had taken for exchange and told their father, “No one can be more generous than the ‘Aziz who has been so generous for us. He has not even charged us the price. So if you allow we shall take our younger brother with us and take care of him. If we take him with us we can claim for an extra share because whatever we have brought is not sufficient for our needs.”

Ya‘qub said, “I will by no means send him with you until you give me a firm covenant in Allah’s name that you will most certainly bring him back to me, unless you are completely surrounded.

“And when they gave him their covenant, he said, Allah is the One in Whom trust is placed as regards what we say.” (12:66)

When his sons prepared to leave, Ya‘qub told them that all of them should not enter from the same gate lest they be victims of the evil eye.

“And enter by different gates and I cannot avail you aught against Allah; judgment is only Allah’s; on Him do I rely, and on Him let those who are reliant rely. And when they had entered as their father had bidden them, it did not avail them aught against Allah, but (it was only) a desire in the soul of Ya‘qub which he satisfied; and surely he was possessed of knowledge because We had given him knowledge, but most people do not know.” (12:67-38)

When the sons of Ya‘qub set out for Egypt, Benjamin accompanied them but did not join them during meals. He also did not talk to them or mix with them. When they all reached Yusuf and saluted, he saw his brother and was delighted. When Benjamin was alone, Yusuf asked why he was sitting separately. He said, “I had a full brother and once these people took him out and did not bring him back. It was said a wolf had devoured him. I have vowed not to participate in any of their affairs until I live.”

“Are you married?” asked Yusuf.

“Yes.”

“Do you have children?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“Three sons.”

“What are their names?”

“Wolf, garment and blood!”

“Why have you given them such names?”

“So that I may not forget my brother. That whenever I call one of them I am reminded of my brother.”

Yusuf told the brothers to wait outside and retained Benjamin. They left the room. Yusuf called Benjamin near him saying:

“I am your brother, therefore grieve not at what they do.” (12:69)

And he said he wanted to keep Benjamin with him. Benjamin said the brothers will not agree to this because at the time of departure they had given an oath to their father that they would bring him back. Yusuf said he would find a solution, and told Benjamin that he should not reveal anything to the brothers regarding whatever he witnessed.

After Yusuf provided the brothers with requisite food grains and added some more to it he told one of his servants to hide the gold bowl used as a measure in the pack of Benjamin. The cup was inserted into the luggage of Benjamin without the brothers having any hint of it. When they had packed their foods for departure Yusuf sent a messenger and told them to halt.

An announcer declared: “O Caravan! You are most surely thieves.”

They said while they were facing them: “What is it that you miss?”

They said, “We miss the kings cup, and he who shall bring it shall have a camel-load and I am responsible for it.”

They said, “By Allah! You know for certain that we have not come to make mischief in the land, and we are not thieves.

They said, “But what shall be the requital of this, if you are liars?”

They said, “The requital of this that the person in whose bag it is found shall himself be (held for) the satisfaction thereof; thus do we punish the wrongdoers.”

So he began with their sacks before the sack of his brother, then he brought it out from his brother’s sack.” (12:70-76)

Thus Yusuf had Benjamin arrested.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq was asked how Yusuf ordered the announcement of ‘O caravan! You are most surely thieves.’ Whereas they had not stolen anything?

Imam replied, “They were not thieves and neither Yusuf make a false statement. What he meant by ‘thieves’ was due to the fact that they had stolen him (Yusuf) from his father.

“They said, If he steal, a brother of his did indeed steal before; but Yusuf kept it secret in his heart and did not disclose it to them. He said, You are in an evil condition and Allah knows best what you state.” (12:77)

The brothers were infuriated and yellow liquid oozed from their bodies. They pleaded with Yusuf to release their brother. It was a special characteristics of the sons of Ya‘qub that whenever they were angry their hair stood on their ends and protruded from their garments and yellow blood dripped from the tips of their hair.

“They said, O chief! He has a father, a very old man, therefore retain one of us in his stead; surely we see you to be of the doers of good.” (12:78)

Yusuf said,

“Allah protect us that we should seize other than him with whom we found our property, for then most surely we would be unjust.” (12:79)

When they failed to secure the release of Benjamin, they prepared to return to Ya‘qub. The eldest of them Lawi according to one tradition and according to another tradition Yahooda or Shamoun said, “Do you not know that your father took from you a covenant in Allah’s name, and how you fell short of your duty with respect to Yusuf before? Therefore I will by no means depart from this land until my father permits or Allah decides for me, and He is the best of the judges.”

“Go back to your father and say: O our father! Surely your son committed theft, and we do not bear witness except to what we have known, and we could not keep watch over the unseen: And inquire in the town in which we were and the caravan with which we proceeded, and most surely we are truthful.” (12:80-82)

Thus the brothers returned while Yahooda stayed back in Egypt to lobby for Benjamin’s release. He came to Yusuf and began to argue his case. Strong words were exchanged and the matter became so serious that Yahooda became very angry. Whenever he lost his temper a hair from his shoulder stood on its end and secreted blood. It continued like this until he was touched by one from the progeny of Ya‘qub. When Yusuf saw blood dripping from a strand of his shoulder hair he had an idea. One of his children was playing with a golden pomegranate. Yusuf took it from his hands and threw towards Yahooda. The child ran to retrieve his toy and in the process touched Yahooda. The blood immediately stopped dripping from the end of hair follicle and Yahooda’s anger cooled down and a doubt arose in his mind. The child picked up the pomegranate again. Once more the dialogue between Yusuf and Yahooda became a heated argument. Again Yahooda was enraged and again blood dripped from a hair of his shoulder. Yusuf repeated his trick the second time and Yahooda’s temper returned to normal. The same process was repeated a third time. Yahooda suspected the possibility that a descendant of Ya‘qub was in the palace of Yusuf.

When the brothers of Yusuf reached home, they related the incident concerning Benjamin.

“He (Ya‘qub) said, Nay, your souls have made a matter light for you, so patience is good; maybe Allah will bring them all together to me; surely He is the Knowing, the Wise.” (12:83)

Ya‘qub blamed his sons for Benjamin’s arrest and said they must have familiarized the ‘Aziz with the law that thieves are to be taken as slaves.

“And he turned away from them, and said, O my sorrow for Yusuf! And his eyes became white on account of the grief, and he was a repressor (of grief).” (12:84)

Ya‘qub became visually impaired and was very unhappy with these sons, but he did not manifest his anger.

Traditions mention that someone asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq how much the grief of Yusuf’s separation had affected Ya‘qub. Imam said, “His grief equaled the combined grief of seventy women whose sons have expired. And Ya‘qub was not conversant with the phrase “Inna lillaahe wa inna ilaihe raajao’on (Indeed we belong to Allah and towards Him we shall return), therefore he used to repeat the words, “Waa Asafaa a’laa Yusufa’, (O the sorrow of Yusuf!).

Yusuf’s brother pointed out to Ya‘qub that he had not despaired due to Yusuf’s sorrow until he died or reached the verge of death. Ya‘qub said that he did not complain of his grief and the great sorrow but he was aware of the Mercy and Grace of his Lord in a way his sons were not.

“He said, I only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah, and I know from Allah what you do not know. O my sons! Go and inquire respecting Yusuf and his brother, and despair not of Allah’s mercy; surely none despairs of Allah’s mercy except the unbelieving people.” (12:86-87)

A good chain of reporters convey a tradition wherein Imam Muhammad al-Baqir was asked, “When Ya‘qub told his sons to go and search for Yusuf and his brother, twenty years had elapsed after Yusuf’s disappearance, And his eyes turned white due to excessive weeping and were blinded. So, was Ya‘qub knowing that Yusuf was alive?”

Imam replied, “Yes, he knew that Yusuf was alive. Because Ya‘qub had invocated the Almighty at dawn and requested Him to send the Angel of death. The Angel of death appeared to him in a beautiful form.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am the Angel of death, you had requested the Lord to send me to you. What can I do for you?” said the Angel.

“Tell me how you capture the souls? Do you employ assistants for it, or use different means?”

“I use different methods.”

Ya‘qub said, “I request you in the Name of the God of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya‘qub, tell me has the soul of Yusuf reached you yet?”

“No,” replied the Angel of death.

From that moment Ya‘qub became sure that Yusuf was alive and he told his sons to go and search for Yusuf and his brother and not to despair of Divine Mercy. Because no one despaired of Divine mercy except the unbelievers.”

According to a tradition reported by ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim, the ‘Aziz of Egypt wrote to Ya‘qub: “I am having your son Yusuf as a slave, whom I had purchased at a little price. As for your other son, Benjamin, a missing object was found in his bag and as a result I enslaved him too.”

Ya‘qub was appalled at this message and told the messenger to wait while he composed a reply. He wrote, “In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This is a letter from Ya‘qub the Israel of Allah, the son of Ishaq the slaughtered one of Allah, the son of Ibrahim the Khalil of Allah. I am in receipt of your message that you have enslaved my sons. Indeed the accursed Nimrod who was a worldly king had cast my grandfather, Ibrahim into the fire. But he did not burn, the Lord Almighty commanded the fire to cool down and be comfort and safety for Ibrahim.

Regarding my own father, Ishaq the Lord Commanded my grandfather, Ibrahim to slaughter him with his own hands. When he complied with Divine Orders the Almighty appointed a large ram as the requital of Ishaq. Indeed, I had a son whom I loved more than I loved anyone. He was the brightness of my eyes and a fruit of my heart. His brothers took him one day and when they returned, they said that a wolf had devoured him. The grief broke my back and due to excessive weeping my eyes became sightless. Yusuf had a brother from his own mother, whom I liked too. He came to you with his step-brothers in order to purchase grains. The elder sons returned and said he had stolen the king’s cup and that you have arrested him and enslaved him. We are not from a family that indulges in thievery and greater sins. I request you in the Name of the God of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya‘qub to release my son and achieve Allah’s pleasure.”

When Yusuf read the letter, he kissed it, touched it to his eyes, and wept profusely. In another tradition it is mentioned that when Yusuf opened the letter he could not control the flood of tears. He stood up, went home, read the letter and wept much. Then he washed his face and returned to the court. But again grief overpowered him and he could not control his tears. Again he receded into his private quarters and gave a free rein to his tears. When the tears receded he washed the face and emerged from his chamber.

He came out addressed his brothers,

“Do you know how you treated Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorant?”

They said, “Are you indeed Yusuf? He said, I am Yusuf and this is my brother; Allah has indeed been gracious to us; surely he who guards (against evil) and is patient (is rewarded) for surely Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good.

They said, By Allah! Now has Allah certainly chosen you over us, and we were certainly sinners.

He said, (There shall be) no reproof against you this day, Allah may forgive you, and He is the most Merciful of the merciful.

Take this my shirt and cast it on my father’s face, he will (again) be able to see, and come to me with all your families.

And when the caravan had (hardly) departed (for Ya‘qub’s home) (that) their father (Ya‘qub) said. Most surely I perceive the odor of Yusuf. Unless you pronounce me to be weak in judgment.” (12:89-94)

All those who were present said that Ya‘qub’s old age has affected him. But shortly later the brothers arrived from Egypt and cast Yusuf’s shirt on his face.

“…so forthwith he regained his sight. He said, Did I not say to you that I know from Allah what you do not know? They said, O our father! ask forgiveness of our faults for us, surely we were sinners. He said, I will ask for you forgiveness from my Lord; surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (12:96-98)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that when the messenger of ‘Aziz departed with the reply of Ya‘qub, he (Ya‘qub) raised his hands in prayers and said,

Yaa h’asanal Shabate yaa kareemal mao’onate, yaa khairal aklate. Yaa khairalahu aataini be rooh’e minka wa farrij min I’ndeka

Archangel Gabriel descended and said, “O Ya‘qub do you want me to teach a supplication that Allah may open your eyes and return your son to you?”

Then Archangel Gabriel said, “Recite:

Yaa man laa ya’lamo aha’dun kaifa huwa illa huwa yaa man saddal huwaa be samaa-e wa laisal arz”a a’lal maa-ewakhtaara le nafsehi ah’sanul asmaa-e aataini be ruh’in minka wa farajin min I’ndeka.

It was not yet dawn of the next day when the shirt was brought and cast upon the face of Ya‘qub. He regained sight and was united with his son.

According to another tradition when Yusuf was imprisoned by the order of ‘Aziz, the Almighty revealed to him the interpretation of dreams. When the two convicts related their dreams he gave his interpretation and to the one whose release he predicted he said, “Put in a good word regarding me to the king.” At this moment his attention was not confined to the Almighty Whose sole refuge he should have sought. As the result the Almighty asked him, “Who has shown you the dream (of stars prostrating)?”

“You, my Lord,” said he.

“Who has made you the beloved of your father?”

“You, my Lord.”

“Who taught you the method of interpreting dreams?”

“You, my Lord.”

“Then how could you seek the help of someone other than me? Why did you not call Me for help?

Why did you express a wish to one of My creatures? That he put in your word to another of My creatures. One who himself is subservient to My Power? Now, as a requital of this misdemeanor you shall remain in prison for an additional period.”

Yusuf entreated Allah by the rights of his forefathers that He may forgive him and save him. The Almighty said that Yusuf’s ancestors do not command any right upon Him, Allah said, “If you mean Adam, know that, I created him with My power and made him to dwell in the Garden. I allowed him to partake all the fruits except that of the forbidden tree. But he disobeyed Me. Later, when he begged for forgiveness, I accepted his request. As far as Nuh is concerned, I raised his status among My creatures. They disobeyed him and he prayed for their destruction. I accepted his prayers and drowned his people. I saved him and those who believed in him through the Ark. Regarding Ibrahim, I made him My Khalil and saved him from the fire. And made the fire of Nimrod cool and safety for him. If you intend to beseech in the name of Ya‘qub, I gave him twelve sons and when I took one of his sons away from him, he wept so much that he lost his vision. He sat on the streets and complained about his grief to My creatures. So what rights do your ancestor have upon Me?”

At this moment Archangel Gabriel revealed to him to recite the following Dua: “As-aloka be minkal a’z’eem wa ah’saane kal qadeem.” (Translation: “I beseech You in the name of Your Great Bounties and Your past Favors.”)

When Yusuf recited this Dua, the ‘Aziz saw a dream that finally facilitated Yusuf’s release from prison.

A reliable tradition from Imam al-Ridha says that the jailer told Yusuf that he was devoted towards him. Yusuf said, “No misfortune befell me, but that it was due to people’s devotion towards me. My paternal aunt (father’s sister) adored me therefore accused me of stealing. My father loved me and this caused my brothers’ jealousy and put me in trouble. Zulaykha was infatuated with me and due to her misadventure, I lie in prison.”

Imam says, “Yusuf complained to the Almighty for his misfortune and asked Him for what error did he become liable for this punishment?”

The Almighty revealed to him that he had himself chosen imprisonment, when he said, “O Allah I prefer imprisonment to what these women invited me.” Why did he not say, “O Allah I prefer Your safety to what these women invite me?”

According to reliable chain of narrators Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says, “When the brothers of Yusuf threw him in the well, Archangel Gabriel descended to him and asked, “Young man! Who has thrown you into the well?”

“My brothers,” replied Yusuf, “Because I was the favorite of my father, therefore my brothers were jealous and they pushed me in the well.”

“As the Lord of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya‘qub wishes,” replied Yusuf.

Archangel Gabriel said the Lord instructed him to recite the following Dua:

Allahumma inni as-aloka be anna lakal hamdo laa ilaaha illallaah - Antal hannaanol mannaan. Badiee—Samaawaate wal ardh Zuljalaale wal ikraam Salle a’laa Moh’ammadin wa aale Muh’ammad waja’l min amri farajan warzuqni min h’aetho ah’taseb wa minh’aitho laa ahtaseb.

When Yusuf implored the Lord through the above Dua, He saved him from the well and again from the machinations of Zulaykha and made him the Emperor of Egypt. He had never imagined he would be bestowed all this.

In an authentic hadith, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that when Ibrahim was to be thrown into the fire, Archangel Gabriel descended with a garment of Paradise and dressed him with it. It was insulated against heat and cold. When the time of his death approached Ibrahim tied his armband to Ishaq. And Ishaq tied it to Ya‘qub. When Yusuf was born, Ya‘qub had put this band around his neck. It remained around his neck during all the calamities that befell him. When Yusuf removed the garment from his amulet in Egypt, Ya‘qub felt its scent in far off Syrian Palestine and said, “I smell the odor of Yusuf.”

It was that same garment of Paradise. The narrator asked Imam to whom was the garment passed on after Yusuf. Imam said it was inherited by his family and added, “All the knowledge and the personal relics of the Prophets were inherited by the Messenger of Allah and his vicegerents. Ya‘qub was in Palestine when the Caravan (of his sons) departed from Egypt and he immediately perceived its scent. The fragrance was brought from Paradise. And it is bestowed upon us in inheritance. It is with us.”

Trustworthy channel of hadith has quoted Imam al-Ridha as saying, “The law prevailed among the progeny of Ya‘qub that whenever a person was convicted of theft he was enslaved. When Yusuf was a child he lived with his aunt (father’s sister). She adored him much. Ishaq had a waistband that he had given to Ya‘qub. This waistband was in the possession of Ya‘qub’s sister. When Ya‘qub requested her to send back Yusuf to him she was aggrieved and said, “Let it be. I’ll send him later.” Then she tied the waistband under his clothes and sent him back to his father. When Yusuf came home the aunt also accompanied him and told Ya‘qub that her waistband has been stolen. She began to search for it. After rummaging here and there she lifted the garment of Yusuf and exclaimed, “Here it is! Yusuf had stolen it. I shall take him as a slave.” Therefore on this pretext she secured the custody of young Yusuf. This was alluded to by the brothers of Yusuf when they mentioned he had also committed a theft in the past.”

“They said, If he steal, a brother of his did indeed steal before.” (12:77)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim relates that when Yusuf’s brothers brought his shirt and spread it on the face of Ya‘qub, his eyes regained the vision and he told them,

“Did I not say to you that I know from Allah what you do not know?”

They said, O our father! Ask forgiveness of our faults for us, surely we were sinners.

He said, I will ask for your forgiveness from my Lord; surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (12:96-98)

In an authentic tradition Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that Ya‘qub delayed the prayers of his sons’ forgiveness until dawn as it was a meritorious time for fulfillment of prayers. According to other traditions he delayed the prayers until Friday eve.

Traditional reports mention that when Ya‘qub and his family entered Egypt, Ya‘qub and the brothers of Yusuf fell down in prostration. Yusuf said,

“O my father! This is the significance of my vision (dream) of old; my Lord has indeed made it to be true; and He was indeed Kind to me when He brought me forth from the prison and brought you from the desert after the Satan had sown dissensions between me and my brothers, surely my Lord is benignant to whom He pleases; surely He is the Knowing, the Wise. (12:100)

Reliable traditions mention that some people asked Imam ‘Ali al-Naqi how Ya‘qub and his sons prostrated before Yusuf, whereas they were Prophets? Imam replied, “They did not prostrate for Yusuf. They did so as a gesture of thankfulness of Allah and as a mark of respect for Yusuf. The Angels had similarly prostrated before Adam by the command of Allah.

Then Ya‘qub, along with his other sons and Yusuf performed the prostration of thankfulness (Sajdah ash-Shukr) in response to the fact that Allah had united them. “Did you not note how Yusuf remarked in thankfulness,

“My Lord! Thou hast given me of the kingdom and taught me of the interpretation of sayings (and dreams): Originator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my guardian in this world and the hereafter; make me die a Muslim and join me with the good.” (12:101)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that Archangel Gabriel told Yusuf to extend his hand. When he did so, a light escaped from between his fingers. Yusuf asked what that was. Archangel Gabriel said it was the light of Prophethood. “The Almighty has removed Prophethood from your loins because you did not arise from your seat to respect your father (when he entered).” Allah removed Prophethood from Yusuf (as..) so that none of his descendants may be conferred Messengership. The Prophethood was transferred to the loins of Lawi, the elder brother of Yusuf. He became eligible for this honor because when the brothers had plotted to kill Yusuf he suggested pushing him in the well instead of murdering him.

As Lawi had prevented the murder of Yusuf, the Almighty placed Prophethood in his loins. Secondly when Benjamin was arrested and despite their efforts the brothers failed to secure his release and prepared to return to Ya‘qub. Lawi said he would not leave Egypt until his father permitted or until Almighty, “decides for me, and He is the best of the judges.”

Allah liked this gesture and Prophethood was transferred to his progeny. Consequently the series of The Israelites Prophets were descendants of Lawi. Musa was also from his progeny. He was the son of ‘Imran, son of Baseer, son of Fahith son of Lawi.

Later, Ya‘qub asked Yusuf what happened to him when his brothers took him from home. Yusuf requested his father to excuse him but Ya‘qub insisted for at least some information. Yusuf said, “The brothers brought me near the well, and ordered to remove my clothes. I told them to fear Allah and not force me to strip. But they flashed a knife and threatened me. I was compelled to undress and they pushed me in the well naked.”

When Ya‘qub heard this, he exclaimed and fell down unconscious. After regaining consciousness he asked Yusuf for more details. Yusuf requested him in the name of Lord of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya‘qub and excused himself from narrating any of the accidents that befell him. Ya‘qub did not press further.

According to narrations the ‘Aziz of Egypt died during the period of famine and his wife Zulaykha was reduced to penury. She was so impoverished that she took to begging. Yusuf became the Emperor and people addressed him as ‘‘Aziz of Egypt’. One day people told Zulaykha to sit in the path of Yusuf so that he might have mercy on her. She replied that she was ashamed of him. But when people insisted she squatted in the path of Yusuf. When Yusuf passed by in company of his entourage she rose up and said, “Pure is the Almighty One Who turns the disobedient Kings into slaves and Who transforms slaves into Kings due to their obedience.”

Yusuf recognized her and ordered that she be escorted to his residence. Zulaykha had become a wizened old woman. Yusuf reminded her of her machinations against him. She begged him not to taunt her of her past misdeeds. She further added that she was attracted towards evil due to three factors that afflicted her:

She was madly in love with Yusuf who had no equal in elegance.

She was endowed with such a beauty that she had no equal in her nation. She was also the wealthiest woman.

Lastly, her husband was impotent.

Yusuf asked her what she desired. She said, “I desire that you pray to Allah to make me youthful once again.”

Yusuf prayed and she became young. Yusuf married her and found that she was a virgin. (The report of ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim reaches this point). Portions of this report are quoted in other narrations but we have refrained from quoting all of them for the sake of brevity.

Ibn Babawayh has quoted Wahab bin Munabbah that he said, “I have seen in some divine scriptures that Yusuf was passing by with his soldiers when he came across Zulaykha. She was sitting in a ruin. When Zulaykha beheld the glory and power of Yusuf she arose and said, “Praise and glory to Allah, who enslaves the disobedient kings and raises slaves to the status of rulers due to their obedience. I am deprived, give me some alms.” Yusuf said that to consider the divine bounties lowly and to deny them becomes a barrier for further bounties. So, turn your attention towards Allah that He may wash the stains of your sins with water of repentance. Indeed the acceptance of prayers is conditional to the circumstances, purity of heart and good actions.

Zulaykha said she had not yet completed repentance and regret as she was still ashamed before the Lord. She couldn’t bring herself to seek divine Forgiveness and Mercy. She had not yet shed tears of regret and had not repented as it was wont to repent. She had also not reached the stage of absolute submission.

Yusuf said, “Seek forgiveness and try to fulfill the necessary conditions with care. The path of actions is yet open. The arrow of supplication reaches its target only as far as one remains alive.”

“I too have a firm belief in this,” said Zulaykha.

“If you live longer than me, you shall shortly learn of it,” she added.

Yusuf ordered her to be gifted a cow-skin filled with gold. Zulaykha said, “Indeed sustenance is allotted from Allah and it reached the creatures. I do not wish an increase in sustenance and a life of comfort and opulence until I am surrounded by Divine anger.”

When they moved ahead some of Yusuf’s sons said, “Who is that woman. Her plight has torn our hearts due to pity. It has softened our hearts.”

“She is the mid-wife of comfort and luxury. And now she is afflicted with Divine punishment.” Later, Yusuf married Zulaykha and when he consummated the marriage he found her a virgin. He asked how she retained her virginity despite her being married for years. She explained that her husband had been impotent.

Authentic hadith of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that Zulaykha was sitting by the road when Yusuf passed by. He recognized her and told her to return and that he shall make her self-sufficient. Then he sent for her one hundred thousand Dirhams.

According to reliable reports Abu-Basir asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq about the supplication recited by Yusuf in the well, that he escaped alive from it. Imam said, “When he was thrown down the well and was almost hopeless he recited,

Allahumma in kaanatil khat’aayaa wad’du’unooba qad akhlaqat wajhi I’ndaka falan tarfaa’ lee ilaika s’autan wa lan tastajeeba lee da’watan fainni As-aloka be h’aqqeish shekhe ya’qooba farh’am z”o’fatan wajma’ baini wa bainahu faqad a’lemta riqtahoo a’layya wa shauqee ilaihe.

(Translation: O Allah! If my sins and errors have degraded my face near You. You do not raise a voice near You for me nor do You answer my prayers. Then I beseech You by right of the respected personality, Ya‘qub. Have Mercy on his old age and bring us together. You are Cognizant of his attachment for me and my love towards him.)

Abu-Basir says after relating this Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq wept and said, “I recite the following lines in my supplication:

Allahumma in Kaanatil khat’aayaa wad’dhunooba qad aqhlaqat wahji I’ndaka fa lan tarfa’a lee s’autan fainni as-aloka beka falaisa kamithlehi shaiy-un wa atawajjaho ilaika bemuh’ammadin Nabiyyeka nabiyyir rah’mate yaa Allaho yaa Allaho Yaa Allaho Yaa Allaho Yaa Allah.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “Recite this supplication and recite it often. I recite it again and again whenever I am in difficulties.”

In another reliable saying Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Archangel Gabriel came to Yusuf while he was in prison and told him to recite the following Dua thrice after every obligatory prayers.

“Allahummaja’l lee min Amri farajan wa makhrajan warzuqni min Haitho ahtasebo wa min h’aitho laa a’h’tasebo.”

Shaykh al-Tusi says that Yusuf was released from prison on the 3rd of Muharram and Ibn Babawayh has recorded through authentic chains from ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas that when famine affected the progeny of Ya‘qub he told his sons,

“I have heard that food grain is sold freely in Egypt and the owner of food stock does not keep people waiting for long. He gives immediate delivery of grains. So you all go to him and purchase grains. If Allah wills he shall be generous.”

Ya‘qub’s sons packed their luggage and set out for Egypt. They arrived in Egypt and met Yusuf who recognized them while they did not know him. Yusuf asked them who they were. They replied they were the sons of Ya‘qub son of Ishaq son of Ibrahim the Khalil of Allah and added that they had come from the mountains of Canaan. Yusuf said,

“You are the descendants of three Prophets but you possess neither knowledge nor forbearance. You have no dignity and respect either. I think you are spies of a rival king and have entered my kingdom to spy on me.”

They said, “O King we are neither spies nor violent people and if you knew who our father is, you would certain accord us respect. He is the Prophet of Allah and the son of a Prophet of Allah, and he is grief-stricken person.”

“Why is he sorrowful?” asked Yusuf. “He is a Prophet and a son of a Prophet, he has an assured place in Paradise and also has so many healthy sons like you? So why should he be aggrieved? I think it must be due to your foolishness, ignorance, falsehood and cheating.”

They said, “O king! We are not foolish and idiots and neither is he sorrowful because of us. He had one more son who was younger to us. His name was Yusuf. One day he accompanied us on a hunt and a wolf devoured him. From that time our father is sorrowful and aggrieved and continues to weep.”

Yusuf asked them if they had the same father. They replied in the affirmative but added that they had different mothers.

Then Yusuf asked them why their father had sent all of them but retained a son with him. So that he can stay close and confess him. The brothers confirmed it. Yusuf asked them why the father had kept that particular son with him. They said after Yusuf their father preferred him over rest of his sons. Yusuf told them they all should return home except one brother and request Ya‘qub to send his favorite son. He said that he wished inquire from him the well-being of Ya‘qub and also wanted to know the actual reason of his grief, and how he had become prone to premature ageing. And also why he has become usually impaired due to excess weeping.

The brother threw lots among themselves and Shamoun was selected. Yusuf kept Shamoun in his custody and arranged for his lodging and boarding. The rest of his brothers departed. At the time of farewell Shamoun said, “Brothers! You all know my plight! Convey my salutations to father.”

When the brothers reached Ya‘qub they greeted him in a low voice. He asked them why they were so serious. And why he had not heard the voice of his dear son Shamoun.

They said, “We have come from the greatest ruler. We do not know anyone else so wise, intelligent well-mannered and dignified. O father! If there is anyone like you, it is him. But we belong to a family prone to disasters. The king accused us of lying and said he would not believe us until you send Benjamin to him and convey through him the reason for your grief, sorrow, hoariness and visual disability.”

Ya‘qub suspected this to be a trick for taking Benjamin away from him. He said, “My sons! You have a very bad habit. Wherever you go, one of you disappears. I will not send Benjamin with you.”

When the brothers unpacked their luggage they found the goods they had taken for barter has also been returned to them without they being aware of it. They came back to Ya‘qub in joy and said, “We have not seen a king like him. He abstains from sins more than any other person. He returned our barter for fear of falling into sin. We shall again take our goods and purchase grains for the family. And we shall also take care of our brother. We would take a measure as his share in addition.”

Ya‘qub said, “You know that Benjamin is my favorite son. After Yusuf I have become attached to him. He is a comfort for me among you. I shall not send him with you until you give me Allah’s covenant that you shall bring him back to me. Except if there is something beyond your control.”

Yahooda gave his pledge and they set out for Egypt taking Benjamin with them. When they came to Yusuf he asked if they had conveyed his message to their father.

“Yes,” they replied, “And in reply we have brought our brother. You ask him whatever you like.”

“Young man!” asked Yusuf, “What message has your father sent?”

“He has sent me to you,” replied Benjamin, “and sent his Salaams and said that he appreciated your asking the reason for his sorrow, pre-mature ageing, weeping and blindness,” He read the father’s message: One who remembers the Hereafter often, weeps more. My pre-mature aging is due to the remembrance of the day of reckoning. The sorrow of my beloved son caused me to weep and blinded my eyes. I have heard that you too share my sorrow and have inquired of my well-being. May Allah bless you with great reward. The greatest favor you can do for me is to send my son Benjamin back to me as soon as possible. Because, after Yusuf, he is my favorite child. I like him more than my other sons and derive consolation from him in my sorrow. I cure my loneliness by his company.”

When Yusuf heard the message of his father, tears welled up in his eyes. He could not control himself and retired to his private chamber. Inside, he wept bitterly. After a while he emerged from his room and ordered food to be served for his brothers. He suggested that each pair of brothers should sit before each tray of food. All of them paired off but Benjamin was left standing. Yusuf asked him why he had not taken a seat. Benjamin said it was because he had no brother from same mother. Yusuf asked him, “Did you never have a brother?”

“I had,” replied Benjamin.

“What happened to him?”

“These people say a wolf devoured him.”

“How much aggrieved are you, on account of him?”

“I have twelve sons and I have named all of them with a name that reminds me of my brother,” said Benjamin.

“After losing your beloved brother how did you have the heart for such a busy marital life?” asked Yusuf.

“My father is a righteous person, he commanded me for matrimony and insisted that I have many offspring so that they spread the praise of Allah in the lands. (According to another report: that they spread the Kalemah of La ilaaha illallaah on the earth.)”

“All right,” said Yusuf, “come and sit with me for dinner.”

Seeing this the brothers remarked, “Allah always honors Yusuf and his brother over us. So much so that the king invited Benjamin to accompany him for dinner.”

After this Yusuf ordered that a cup should be concealed in the baggage of Benjamin. A search revealed it to be hidden in Benjamin’s bag. Benjamin was arrested. When they returned to Ya‘qub and narrated the incident he said, “My son is not a thief. You have played a trick.” He told his sons to return to Egypt and sent with them an appeal addressed to the king for his son’s release.

The brothers came Egypt once more and delivered the letter to Yusuf. When he read the letter and could not control his tears. He rushed to his quarters and wept for sometime. When he came out the brothers said, “O king of Egypt! We are familiar with your kindness and generosity and we are afflicted with famine and hunger. We have less money, so do not think of its less quantity, but give us full measure. And before giving us grains in excess return to us our brother as charity to us. Indeed Allah rewards the generous ones with a good reward.

“He said, Do you know how you treated Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorant? They said, Are you indeed Yusuf? He said, I am Yusuf and this is my brother; Allah has indeed been gracious to us; surely he who guards (against evil) and is patient (is rewarded) for surely Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good.” (12:89-90)

Yusuf told them to return to Ya‘qub and gave them his shirt. He told them to put it on the face of Ya‘qub and he shall regain his vision. Then they should all come to Egypt with their families and children.

At this same moment Archangel Gabriel descended and asked Ya‘qub if he wanted to learn a Dua by which he can regain his eyesight.

“Yes,” replied Ya‘qub.

“Then recite the same Dua that your father Adam had recited and through it the Almighty had accepted his repentance,” said Archangel Gabriel.

“It is the same Dua recited by Nuh and it caused his Ark to anchor at Mount Judi,” continued Archangel Gabriel, “It saved Nuh from drowning. Your grandfather, Ibrahim mentioned the same supplication when he was cast into the inferno. By the grace of this Dua, Allah cooled the fire and made it safe for Ibrahim.”

Ya‘qub asked Archangel Gabriel what this Dua was. He said,

“Recite: O Allah I ask you by the right of Muhammad and ‘Ali and Fatimah and Hasan and Husayn, unite me with Yusuf and Benjamin and restore my vision.”

Ya‘qub had hardly completed the prayer when his sons arrived and spread Yusuf’s shirt on his face. His vision was restored at once.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that when Yusuf entered prison he was twelve years old. He remained jailed for 18 years. After release he lived for another 80 years. Thus he had a total life span of 110 years.

Another reliable tradition says that Ya‘qub wept so much for Yusuf that his eyes perished. At last his sons told him, “All the time you are nostalgic due to Yusuf. You will become sick or die, or reach the verge of death.” Yusuf also wept a great deal in sorrow of being separated from his father. He wept so much that the inmates of prison found it disturbing. They requested him either weep at night and remain quiet during the day or weep during daytime and keep silent at night.

We have already mentioned previously on the basis of authentic reports that Yusuf was one of those Prophets who possessed worldly kingdom in addition to Prophethood. Thus his kingdom included Egypt and its desert regions. It did not spread beyond these limits.

Authentic chains say that Ya‘qub and A’is were twins but A’is was born before Ya‘qub. Later Ya‘qub was named thus because he was born at the ‘aqab’ (back) of A’is. Ya‘qub is known as Israel (servant of God) because Isra means servant and ‘eel’ means God. On the basis of another tradition, ‘Isra’ means strength and ‘Israel’ means ‘strength of Allah.”

Ka’b bin Ahbaar is quoted to have said that Ya‘qub was the custodian of Jerusalem. He used to be the first one to enter the shrine and last one to leave it. He was the one who lighted the chandeliers at night and when he came in the morning he found them extinguished. One night he sat inside the shrine to solve the mystery. Suddenly he saw a Jinn blowing out the flames of lanterns. Ya‘qub caught him and tied him to one of the pillars of Jerusalem. When it was morning the people found that Ya‘qub has arrested a Jinn and tied him to a pillar. This Jinn was named ‘eel’. Due to this Ya‘qub earned the appellation of Israel.

According to authentic chains of reporters Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “When Yusuf arrested Benjamin, Ya‘qub prayed to Allah and said, ‘Would You not have mercy upon me? You have taken both my eyes and both my sons.’

The Almighty revealed to him, ‘Even if I have caused them to die, I shall enliven them and unite them to you. But don’t you remember the ram you slaughtered and fed your family while a hungry, fasting person had to go empty-handed from your door?’

After this Ya‘qub made a practice of announcing every morning within a radius of one Parasang if anyone wished to have breakfast he could have it at Ya‘qub’s residence. Similarly a caller announced in the evening if there was anyone who wanted dinner, he could have it with the family of Ya‘qub.”

According to a reliable tradition of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, Ya‘qub warned Yusuf, “Do not commit fornication. For if a bird commits adultery it loses its plumage.”

It mentioned in a authentic tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that a person came to the Messenger of Allah and said, “O Messenger of Allah I have a cousin who is beautiful and attractive. I like her very much but she is sterile.”

The Messenger of Allah said, “Do not marry her. Because when Yusuf asked Benjamin how despite losing Yusuf he found enjoyment in matrimony, he said that his father had ordered him to beget many children, if possible, so that they may establish the praise and glory of Allah on the earth.”

Reliable tradition of Imam al-Sajjad says, “People have acquired three qualities from three people: Patience from Ayyub, thankfulness from Nuh and jealousy from the sons of Ya‘qub.”

In a reliable report some people raised objections against Imam al-Ridha from having accepted the heir-appetency of Al-Ma’mun. Imam al-Ridha justified his stand saying that Yusuf was the Prophet of Allah, yet he asked the ‘Aziz of Egypt (who was a disbeliever) to entrust him with royal wealth. As mentioned in the Qur’an:

“He said, Place me (in authority) over the treasures of the land, surely I am a good keeper, knowing well.” (12:55)

It is quoted in an authentic report of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that when Zulaykha was reduced to penury and deprivation people advised her to approach Yusuf as now he was the ‘Aziz of Egypt and that he would surely help her. Others warned her that he might take revenge from her for the trouble she had caused him. Zulaykha said, “I do not fear the one who fears Allah.” She went to the palace and found Yusuf on the throne. Seeing the majesty she remarked, “Praise be to Allah. He alone deserves praise Who made slaves the rulers due to their obedience and reduced the rulers to slavery as a result of their disobedience. Later, Yusuf married her and found that she was a virgin. Then he asked her if it wasn’t better than what she had desired earlier? Zulaykha told him that she was subjected to four conditions in connection with him. First, she was the most beautiful woman of her time, secondly, he was the most handsome youth. Third, she was a virgin and fourth her husband was impotent.

When Yusuf retained Benjamin, Ya‘qub wrote a letter to him, ignorant of the fact that he was his own Yusuf. The translation of that letter is as follows:

In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful. This is a communication from Ya‘qub son of Ishaq son of Ibrahim the Khaleelur Rahman to the progeny of ‘Aziz and the Pharaoh. Peace be upon you. Indeed I praise that God, barring whom no one deserves divinity. Certainly, I belong to a family engrossed in calamities. My grandfather Ibrahim thrown into the fire due to his obedience of Allah. The Almighty made the fire cool and a cause of safety for him. And the Lord commanded my grandfather to slaughter my father with his own hands. Then Allah bestowed him with whatever He desired. And I had a son who was dearest to me among all the people. He was separated from me. Due to his sorrow my eyes have become blind. He had a brother from the same mother. When the former disappeared I used to remember him and embrace his brother. This comforted me in my sorrow. He too had been arrested by you for theft. I testify to you that I have never stolen anything and I could never have begotten a thief.”

Yusuf read the letter and wailed in sorrow. Then he said, “Take this shirt of mine and put it across his face so that he may regain sight. After that, all of you come to me with your families.”

Another tradition says when Ya‘qub reached Egypt, Yusuf mounted his horse and along with his escorts came to welcome him. He passed Zulaykha on the way. She was praying in a dilapidated house. When she saw Yusuf she recognized him and called in a sad tone, “O traveler! I have suffered a great deal in your love. How meritorious is piety and abstinence that frees slaves and how evil is sin that enslaves free men.”

Another tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq mentions that Yusuf personally supervised the disbursal of food grains and fixed the daily prices. He used to specify the rate without using the terms ‘price rise’ and ‘sell heavy’ (reduce quantity). When he fixed the daily rate he related it to the previous day and stated the difference that was to be observed. One day he did not fix the rate. The cashier took his leave but after he had gone some distance came back to inquire of the day’s fixed price. Yusuf did state any amount but told the officer to start selling the grains. The officer reached the granary and the sale started. The first customer arrived and Yusuf’s representative measured out grains. When a measure remained for the previous days quantity the purchaser said, “That’s enough! I paid for this much quantity only.”

The representative thought the price must have been equal to one measure. So for the next customer he decided to reduce the quantity by one measure. Again when he had one measure remaining the buyer said it was sufficient for the payment he had made. This continued until the grains measured out were reduced to almost half the quantity of the previous day.

Authentic and reliable chains of reporters record from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that the garment of Paradise sent for Ibrahim was later placed in the village of Naqrah. Anyone who put it on felt elated. When the caravan departed from Egypt, Ya‘qub was in Ramla or in Syrian Palestine, whereas Yusuf was in Egypt. Ya‘qub said, “I could perceive the scent of Yusuf.” He meant by this remark that he smelt the fragrance of Paradise emanating from his garment.

In reliable tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, Isma‘il bin Tafazzul Hashmi asked him why Ya‘qub postponed the prayers of forgiveness for his sons when they requested him for it? Why did he not pray immediately. Whereas when the brothers asked Yusuf for mercy he immediately said, “(There shall be) no reproof against you this day?”

Imam said, “Because the hearts of young people are softer as compared to aged men. Secondly the offence of the brothers was against Yusuf himself, therefore he took precedence in forgiving them immediately. Whereas Ya‘qub was aggrieved indirectly due to the separation of Yusuf. Hence his forgiveness was related to the right of a third party. Consequently he delayed the prayers of forgiveness to the dawn of Friday.”

Numerous reliable reports relate from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when Yusuf came out with entourage to welcome Ya‘qub, Ya‘qub dismounted but Yusuf wanted to maintain his dignity (among his subjects), hence he remained on the mount. They had hardly embraced when Archangel Gabriel descended and informed that the Lord of the lords says the Majesty and opulence of Yusuf had been an obstacle for him to respect a chosen servant of Allah. He told Yusuf to spread out his palm. When he did so a brilliance shot out from it (according to another report it came out from between his fingers) and headed for the sky. He asked Archangel Gabriel what that was. Archangel Gabriel said that it was the light of Prophethood and now there shall be no Prophets from Yusuf’s seed in retaliation for the disrespect he showed to Ya‘qub by not dismounting.2

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says in a reliable tradition that when Zulaykha came to Yusuf and sought the permission to enter, the sentries told her they feared Yusuf might take revenge from her. Zulaykha said she was not afraid of the one who feared the Almighty and she entered. Yusuf asked her about the profound change in her appearance. She said, “I Praise Allah who changed the rulers into slaves because of their sins and raised slaves to the throne due to the barakah (bounty) of their obedience to Him.”

Yusuf asked why she had dealt with him in that manner. She said it was due to the unsurpassed beauty of Yusuf.

“What would have been your condition,” asked Yusuf “if you had seen the Prophet who shall be raised at the end of time. His name shall be Muhammad. He is more elegant than I am, and more graceful and generous.”

“You spoke the truth,” said Zulaykha.

“How do you know I speak the truth?” asked Yusuf.

“Because when you pronounced his name my heart was imbued with his love.”

The Almighty revealed to Yusuf that Zulaykha was speaking the truth and that Allah was also pleased with her because she had expressed her devotion for His beloved, Muhammad. And Allah ordered Yusuf to marry Zulaykha.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that the community resembling pigs opposes the belief in the occultation of the al-Qa’im from the Progeny of Muhammad. Indeed the brothers of Yusuf were descendants of the Prophets. They interacted with Yusuf and closed a deal with him but they did not recognize him until he introduced himself.

“Then how do these accursed people question the ability of Allah to conceal His Proof (hujjah) from people whenever He likes? Indeed, Yusuf was the Emperor of Egypt and there was a distance of 18 days’ travel from Egypt to the residence of Ya‘qub. If Allah desired He could have made the whereabouts of Yusuf known to Ya‘qub. By Allah! After receiving the good news, Ya‘qub and his sons reached Egypt in nine days. Then how these people say Allah cannot repeat the process with His Last hujjah? Yusuf used to move about in the markets, he sat among the people but they did not recognize him until the Almighty permitted and until he said, ‘Do you know how you treated Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorant?’”

The same Imam remarks in another authentic hadith that when the brothers sought permission to take Yusuf with them, Ya‘qub said he feared the wolf might devour him. Thus Ya‘qub unknowingly suggested an excuse that his sons later used with success.

In another tradition Imam says a Bedouin came to Yusuf. Yusuf gave him food and after he had finished asked where he was going. He said he was going towards a particular district. Yusuf said, “When you reach a particular valley, call out for Ya‘qub and a great and elegant gentleman would come to you. Tell him you had met a person in Egypt who sends his salaams to him and tell him that his trust placed in the custody of Allah shall not be wasted.” When the traveler arrived at that particular valley he ordered his slaves to look after the camels. Then he went and called out for Ya‘qub. A handsome personality with impaired vision came out feeling the walls with his hands. The Bedouin asked him if he was Ya‘qub.

“Yes,” replied the gentleman.

When he conveyed the message of Yusuf he wailed and fell down unconscious. After regaining consciousness he asked the messenger if he had a wish from Allah.

“Yes,” said the Bedouin, “I have married my cousin but do not have any children from her. Pray to Allah that He bestows a son to me.”

Ya‘qub performed the Wudhu’ (ablution) and offered two Rak’ahs (units) of prayers. After concluding the prayers he invocated Allah. As a result of this Dua the Bedouin had four sets of twins, all males.

After this incident Ya‘qub had a feeling that Yusuf was alive and that after his disappearance (ghaibat) he would be united with him. He always told his sons, “I know the extent of Allah’s Mercy that you don’t know.” His sons blamed him for senility and old age. Therefore, when the fragrance of the shirt reached him he said, “I could smell the fragrance of Yusuf and do not accuse me of senility and “weak memory.” Yahooda told him that he was the victim of his old error. When the messenger bearing glad-tidings arrived and spread the cloth on Ya‘qub’s face he regained his vision and said, “Did I not say to you that I know from Allah what you know not?”

After quoting this tradition Shaykh Ibn Babawayh says the proof that Ya‘qub had knowledge that Yusuf was alive and that the Lord had concealed him from him as an examination, was that when the brothers came to him wailing and he asked them why they wept and why he did not see Yusuf with them. They said the wolf had devoured him and displayed Yusuf’s shirt stained with blood. Ya‘qub told them to place the shirt before him. Then he kept the shirt on his face and swooned. After consciousness he asked them why the odor of Yusuf’s flesh was not apparent and how come the shirt was not torn? “You falsely blame the wolf,” he told them. “My son is a victim of injustice and you have played a dirty trick.” That same night he turned his face away in abhorrence and recited a dirge for Yusuf. He used to say, “My beloved Yusuf, whom I preferred over all my children, has been taken away from me. My beloved Yusuf, in whom I had reposed hopes among all my children has been snatched away from me. My beloved Yusuf on whose head I placed my right hand and on whose face I kept my left hand has been separated from me. My beloved Yusuf, who was my support in loneliness and helper in my sorrow, has been taken from me. My beloved Yusuf, would I know on which mountain they flung you on and in which sea they drowned you. My beloved Yusuf, I wish I was with you to share your afflictions.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is quoted by Abu-Basir that the sorrow of Ya‘qub intensified and his pupils turned white due to weeping for Yusuf. He was grief-stricken and shattered. Twice every year he requisitioned food grains from Egypt for his family. The grains sufficed for their needs during summer and winter. One day he dispatched some of his sons with a caravan heading towards Egypt. He gave them a meagre amount for buying grains. When they reached Egypt, the ‘Aziz had appointed Yusuf in his place on the throne. They beheld the majesty of Yusuf and failed to recognize him. Yusuf recognized them immediately and ordered his servants to measure out grains for them. And he told them to put back secretly the goods they had brought for barter. Then he asked his brothers, “I have heard you had two more brothers, where are they now?”

“The wolf had devoured the elder one,” they replied, “And we have left the younger brother with our father. Father does not part with him because he fears for him a great deal.”

Yusuf said, “I desire that when you come again to purchase grains you bring your younger brother along with you. If you fail to do so I will not let you have any food-grains and would not even grant you an audience.”

When the brothers returned and unpacked their luggage, they were amazed to find the king had given back the good they carried for barter. And the quantity of grain was more than they had purchased. They told their father, “Let us take our younger brother so that we may procure more grains. And we promise to take care of him.”

After a passage of six months when the stocks were depleted Ya‘qub sent his sons to Egypt. This time Benjamin accompanied them but Ya‘qub insisted they take an oath in Allah’s name they will bring him back safe and sound as much as it was in their power. When they entered the court of Yusuf he asked where Benjamin was. They said he was with their luggage. Yusuf ordered them to present Benjamin and told them he wanted to speak with him in private. The brothers went out and Yusuf called Benjamin near him. He embraced him and said he was his brother Yusuf.

“Do not be aggrieved,” said Yusuf, “By what I have arranged with regard to you and do not pass on this information to your brothers. Do not be afraid or sad.”

He sent him back to the brothers and ordered his servants to accept whatever goods they had brought; and to quickly deliver them food-grains. He also told them to hide the measuring cup in Benjamin’s bag. After the brothers loaded their caravan and set out with their companions, Yusuf followed them accompanied with his men. He cried, “O (people of) caravan! You are thieves!”

“What do you miss?” they asked.

“The king’s cup is missing and we shall give a camel load of wheat to the one who locates it,” said the servants of Yusuf.

The search ended when the cup emerged from the bag of Benjamin. Yusuf arrested Benjamin and all efforts of the brother to secure his release failed. At last they returned to Ya‘qub in a dejected mood. When Ya‘qub received the shocking news he said, “Inna lillaahe wa inna ilaihe rajao’on.” (Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return).” Ya‘qub was so devastated that his back bent. The people ignored Ya‘qub and his sons; and their condition deteriorated. All their food stocks depleted and they were on the verge of starvation. Ya‘qub told his sons to go and search for Yusuf and not to despair of Allah’s Mercy. He gave them a meagre sum and sent them to Egypt with a letter addressed to the ‘‘Aziz’ requesting mercy for his sons. He instructed his son to give the letter before revealing their barter goods. The letter was as follows:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
This is a letter to the ‘Aziz of Egypt - one who is known for justice and generosity in filling the measure. From Ya‘qub son of Ishaq son of Ibrahim the Khalil, for whom Nimrod collected wood, and ignited a blaze to burn him. But Allah made the fire cool and safe. And He saved him.

O ‘Aziz I inform you that I belong to a family that is prone to calamities from the Lord, so that He may test and examine us through bounties and afflictions. We are suffering since last 20 years. First of all, I had a son named Yusuf. He was my consolation among all the children. He was the light of eyes and the fruit (pleasure) of my heart. His step-brothers persuaded me to send him with them for playing and enjoyment. One morning I sent him with his brothers and the same night they returned wailing with a blood-stained shirt saying a wolf had devoured my Yusuf. Hence the loss of Yusuf caused me deep sorrow. I wept so much that the pupils of my eyes turned white. Yusuf had a brother from his maternal aunt and I loved him too. When I felt nostalgic for Yusuf I embraced his younger brother. It consoled me to some extent. His brothers even took him away from me because you had asked about us and ordered my sons to bring their younger brother to you when they come to collect grains the next time. And you refused to deliver food stocks if they did not obey your request. Thus, I was compelled to send him to you for assured supply of food grain. My sons returned without the younger brother and said he had stolen the king’s cup. Although we belong to a family that does not steal, you have arrested him and caused me grief due to his separation. So much so, that my back has bent. This tragedy has surpassed all the calamities that befell me.

Hence, do me a favor and release my son. And also send a greater quantity of wheat. Be generous in fixing the rate of food grains and liberal in weighing. And send back the sons of Ya‘qub soon.”

Archangel Gabriel descended to Ya‘qub and said, “Your Lord asks you how serious was your affliction that you had to complain about it to ‘Aziz?”

Ya‘qub said, “O Allah You have subjected me to these calamities as requital and punishment.”

“Is there anyone except Me to dispel your calamities?” asked Allah.

“No, my Lord,” replied Ya‘qub.

Then why didn’t you feel ashamed to complain to someone other than Me? And why didn’t you plead to Me?”

“I regret my action and pray for Your forgiveness. Now I complain to You about my grief and sorrow.”

Allah said, “It is the end of punishment for you and your erring sons. O Ya‘qub, if you had prayed to me at the beginning of the afflictions I would have removed them at that time, itself. If you had repented for your mistakes I would have certainly rid you of calamities. Even though I had destined them for you. But the Satan made you thoughtless of Me and You despaired of My Mercy. But I am Ever Forgiving and Ever Merciful God. I love My servants who repent and seek forgiveness and those who repose faith in My Mercy. O Ya‘qub, We shall return Yusuf and his brother to you and whatever wealth, blood and flesh you have lost shall be restored to you. I shall restore your sight and straighten your bent back as taut as an arrow, that you may be happy and your eyes brighten. Whatever I decreed for you was a sort of punishment, so accept it as such.”

On the other hand, the brothers reached Yusuf while he reclined on his majestic throne. They said, ‘O ‘Aziz, you are cognizant of our afflictions and know our condition, we have brought a meagre sum but you be generous in giving us more food grains and give us back Benjamin as a form of charity. This is a letter from our father, that he wrote concerning our younger brother. He has implored you to release him.”

Yusuf took the letter and kissed it and put it to his eyes. He wept and wailed so much that his garment became soaked in his tears. Then he introduced himself to his brothers.

“They said, By Allah! Now has Allah certainly chosen you over us, and we were certainly sinners. He said, (There shall be) no reproof against you this day; Allah may forgive you, and He is the most Merciful of the merciful. Take my shirt and cast it on my father’s face, he will (again) be able to see, and come to me with all your families.” (12:91-93)

Yusuf gave them all the provisions they needed and sent them towards the country of Ya‘qub. As the caravan left Egypt, Ya‘qub felt Yusuf’s fragrance at home. He told his sons that he perceived Yusuf’s scent. While his other sons were racing towards him with glad tidings and the news of Yusuf’s kingdom and majesty. They covered the distance in nine days and when they came to Ya‘qub they put Yusuf’s shirt across his face. He regained sight and asked where Benjamin was. They said he was comfortable and happy in the company of Yusuf and they had left him behind. Ya‘qub praised Allah and fell down in prostration of thankfulness. His eyes gained vision and his back became straight once again. He told his sons to prepare for the journey the same day and to set out as soon as possible.

Thus all the wives of Ya‘qub and Yaameel the maternal aunt of Yusuf departed for Egypt with Ya‘qub and his sons, with their families. They covered the distance in nine days. When they reached Yusuf he embraced his father and wept. He kissed the father’s face and seated him and the aunt at the throne. Then he went to his private quarters and anointed himself with scented oil, applied antimony to his eyes and dressed in the royal shirt. When he came out in this manner, his parents and brothers fell down in prostration of thankfulness to Allah and as a mark of respect.

Yusuf said:

“O my father! this is the significance of my vision of old; my Lord has indeed made it to be true; and He was indeed kind to me when He brought me forth from the prison and brought you from the desert after the Satan had sown dissension between me and my brothers, surely my Lord is benignant to whom He pleases; surely He is the Knowing, the Wise.” (12:100)

During those twenty years Yusuf had abstained from using oil, antimony and perfumes. He neither smiled nor approached women.3

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq mentions in a reliable tradition that when the ‘Aziz ordered Yusuf to be imprisoned, the Almighty Allah taught him the interpretation of dreams. He used to explain the dreams of the prison inmates. When he interpreted the dreams of those two people he thought he might be granted pardon and told one of them to put in a good word for him to the Emperor. The Almighty punished him by prolonging his imprisonment because he had sought the help of someone other than Him. Thus he remained in prison for twenty years. However, a large number of traditions state that he remained in prison for seven years.

According to trustworthy chain of narrators Imam Muhammad al-Baqir was asked if the sons of Ya‘qub were Prophets.

“No,” replied Imam. “They were descendants of Prophets and left the world as righteous people. They confessed of their bad deeds and repented.”

Correct chains of hadith reporters state that Husham bin Salim asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the extent of Ya‘qub’s grief for Yusuf. Imam said it equalled the collective sorrow of seventy women whose sons had died. Then Imam said, “Archangel Gabriel descended when Yusuf was serving his prison sentence and told him that the Almighty has decreed these calamities as a test for him and his father. Allah will save him from the prison if he implore Him for release by the right of Muhammad and the Progeny of Muhammad, Yusuf said, “O Allah! I implore you by the right of Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, save me soon. Give me peace and comfort from the misfortune and calamity that surrounds me.”

Archangel Gabriel congratulated him saying, “Be happy friend! The Lord has sent me to convey glad-tidings for you. You shall be released within three days. Allah would raise you to the throne of Egypt. The nobles of Egypt would be at your service. You shall be reunited with your brothers and father. You are the chosen servant of Allah and the son of His chosen servant - know that your future is bright.’

The same night ‘Aziz had a dream that inculcated fear in him and he related the dream to his companions. However, they failed to provide an explanation. The person who had been released from Yusuf’s prison was also present in the assembly. He remembered Yusuf and said, “O king! Let me go to the prison. There is a person there unequalled in knowledge and self-respect. When you had convicted me and another man we had a dream. And this person interpreted our dreams correctly. Thus you had one of us hung from the gate and released the other.’

‘Aziz told him to go to the prison and inquire the interpretation of his dream. He went to the prison asked Yusuf the interpretation of the King’s dream. Then he returned to the king with explanation of the dream and also conveyed the message of Yusuf. ‘Aziz ordered that Yusuf be summoned. He wanted to appoint him as his close aide. Yusuf sent another message asking how he could rely on the king’s word because even though he was cognizant of Yusuf’s aversion of sinful acts he had still imprisoned him for so many years. When ‘Aziz heard this he summoned the ladies and asked them about the matter concerning Yusuf. They swore they had not seen a single defect in Yusuf’s character. ‘Aziz deputed the prison warden to bring Yusuf to him. When he came ‘Aziz spoke to him at length and realized his unsurpassed intellect and wisdom. ‘Aziz asked him about the interpretation of his dream.

Yusuf first related the dream, then explained its significance. ‘Aziz asked him who would take the responsibility of storing surplus grains during the first seven years? Yusuf said, ‘The Almighty has ordered me to bear this responsibility. And that I shall make arrangements for the years of famine.’ ‘Aziz agreed and surrendered to him the royal signet, throne and crown. He told him to make arrangements according to his own planning. Yusuf became actively involved in the scheme. He acquired all the surplus food grains during the first seven years and had then stored in royal granaries and augmented the royal treasure. When the famine began he started selling the stored grains. The first year he bartered against gold and silver coins and there hardly remained a single unit of currency with the people of Egypt and surrounding areas. All the cash entered the coffers of Egypt. In the second year Yusuf exchanged grains for gem and jewelry and all the personal treasures entered the royal treasury. The third year the currency were livestock and cattle. Yusuf became the master of all the quadrupeds in Egypt. In the fourth year Yusuf demanded slaves and slave-girls in exchange of food grains and consequently became the master of all the slaves in his kingdom. The fifth year began and food grain was sold in lieu of houses and buildings.

Yusuf became the owner of every property in the country. It was the turn of land and streams in the sixth year and the agricultural lands and streams of Egypt and the adjoining areas came under royal control. During the seventh year when nothing remained with the people they offered themselves in slavery in exchange of food grains. As a result of this barter all the free men of Egypt became enslaved to Yusuf. At this juncture Yusuf asked the ‘Aziz what his opinion was regarding the affair granted by Allah? ‘Aziz said he had entrusted everything to Yusuf. He can do whatever he likes. Yusuf said, “I free all the people who had become my slaves and I return all their property that I have received from them. And I also return your signet, your crown and your throne upon the condition that you rule as I had ruled and deal with them as I had dealt. You shall govern them as I did because they were saved due to me.’ The king said, ‘My religion and the cause of pride is this itself. I witness the Oneness of Allah. He has no partner. And I witness that you are a Prophet sent by Him.’

After all this the reunion of Ya‘qub and Yusuf occurred.”

According to correct reports Muhammad ibn Muslim asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir the period Ya‘qub remained alive after he was reunited with Yusuf in Egypt.

“Two years,” he replied.

“Who was the hujjah (Proof) of Allah on Earth? Ya‘qub or Yusuf?”

“Ya‘qub was the proof of Allah. Yusuf was associated with the throne. When Ya‘qub passed from this world, his mortal remains were placed in a coffin and transported to Syria. He was buried in the Jerusalem. After the demise of Ya‘qub, Yusuf was conferred the position of hujjahullah (Proof of Allah).”

The narrator asked Imam if Yusuf was a Prophet and a Messenger. Imam said, “Yes, it seems you have not heard that the Almighty says in Qur’an:

And a believing man of the Pharaoh’s people who hid his faith said, What! Will you slay a man because he says: My Lord is Allah, and indeed he has brought to you clear arguments from your Lord? And if he be a liar, on him will be his lie, and if he be truthful, there will befall you some of that which he threatens you (with); surely Allah does not guide him who is extravagant, a liar: O my people! Yours is the kingdom this day, being masters in the land, but who will help us against the punishment of Allah if it come to us? the Pharaoh said, I do not show you aught but that which I see (myself), and I do not make you follow any but the right way. And he who believed said, O my people! Surely I fear for you the like of what befell the parties: The like of what befell the people of Nuh and ‘Ad and Thamud and those after them, and Allah does not desire injustice for (His) servants; And, O my people! I fear for you the day of calling out, The day on which you will turn back retreating; there shall be no saviour for you from Allah, and whomsoever Allah causes to err, there is no guide for him: And certainly Yusuf came to you before with clear arguments, but you ever remained in doubt as to what he brought; until when he died, you said, Allah will never raise an apostle after him.”4

According to reliable reports, Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that at the time Yusuf was sent to the prison his age was twelve. He remained in prison for eighteen years. After being released from prison Yusuf lived for another eighty years. Thus altogether he lived for 110 years.

In another hadith from the same Imam it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah said that both Ya‘qub and Yusuf lived for 120 years.

A reliable tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that there was a person from the time of the people of ‘Ad and was alive right unto the time of the Pharaoh (Ruler of Egypt). During the time of Yusuf the people harassed him very much. They used to hurl stones on him. So he came to the Pharaoh and said, “Save me from the mischief of people and I promise to relate something surprising that I have witnessed in my life. And I shall relate the truth.” the Pharaoh agreed and gave him royal protection. The old man used to relate the past events in the court of the Pharaoh and the Pharaoh began to believe him to a great extent. He had also not heard any falsehood from Yusuf. One day the Pharaoh asked Yusuf if he knew anyone who was better than him.

Yusuf said, “Yes, my father, Ya‘qub is better than me. When Ya‘qub entered the court of the Pharaoh and saluted him according to royal custom the Pharaoh was much impressed and in turn accorded great respect to Ya‘qub. He called him near and honored him more than Yusuf. Then he asked Ya‘qub his age. “One hundred and twenty years,” replied Ya‘qub. The old man from ‘Ad said, “This is not true.” Ya‘qub maintained silence but the Pharaoh was very embarrassed by this. Again he asked, “O respected sir, what is your age?” “One hundred and twenty years,” replied Ya‘qub again. Again the old man intervened, “He is lying.” Ya‘qub prayed, “O Allah, if this man is lying make his beard fall on his chest.” At that very moment all the hair of the old man’s beard dropped on his chest. The Pharaoh was shocked. He said, “You have laid a curse upon the one whom I had given refuge. I request you to pray to Allah that He may give back his beard.”

Ya‘qub prayed and the old man got his beard back. The man from ‘Ad said, “I had seen this man in a particular time in the company of Ibrahim Khaleelur Rahman (Friend of the Beneficent). More than one hundred and twenty years have passed since.”

Ya‘qub said that the person whom he had seen was not him. “He was Ishaq.”

“Then who are you?” asked the old man.

“I am Ya‘qub, the son of Ishaq, the son of Ibrahim.”

“You speak the truth,” confessed the old man, “I had seen Ishaq.

“You both speak the truth,” said the Pharaoh.

A reliable report mentioned from Abu Hashim Ja‘far says that people inquired from Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari regarding the statement of Yusuf’s brothers that if Benjamin had committed theft, it was not surprising, his brother had also committed a theft in the past.

Imam said, “Yusuf never committed theft. But Ya‘qub was in possession of a waistband he had inherited from Ibrahim. Whenever it was misplaced or lost Archangel Gabriel descended and pointed out its location. Anyone found in possession of it became the slave of Ya‘qub. The waistband was in the custody of Sarah a daughter of Ishaq she was named after her maternal grandmother. Sarah was very fond of Yusuf and wished to adopt him. She wrapped the waistband underneath the garments of Yusuf and told Ya‘qub that someone has stolen it. Archangel Gabriel descended and informed Ya‘qub that the waistband was with Yusuf. Sarah claimed that since Yusuf had stolen the band she had a greater right to enslave him. Ya‘qub said Yusuf shall be her slave upon the condition that she would neither sell him nor gift him to someone else. Sarah agreed upon the condition that Ya‘qub will not take him back, and she freed Yusuf that very moment. After freeing him she took him with her.”

Abu Hashim says he was pondering on the incidents connected with Ya‘qub and Yusuf and harboured a slight doubt regarding the fact that the two of them remained separated for such a long time. So much so that the pupils of Ya‘qub’s eyes lost their vision. Imam came to know of the thoughts that passed through his mind and said, “O Abu Hashim! I seek refuge from Allah regarding the doubt you harbour in your mind. If Allah had desired He could have removed the curtain from between Ya‘qub and Yusuf and the two of them would have seen each other. However, He had appointed a term for their reunion. And whatever Allah does with His servants is for their own good.”

Authentic narration from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says in reply to people’s query regarding the statement of Allah that: ‘Everything was halal (permissible) for the descendants of Ya‘qub except what he had prohibited for himself.”

Whenever Ya‘qub consumed camel meat the lower part of his body developed unbearable pain. Hence he prohibited camel meat for himself. It was at the time when the Torah had not yet been revealed and Musa had not yet prohibited it.”

In another reliable tradition it is mentioned that Yusuf aspired matrimony with a most beautiful woman of his time, but she refused his offer and said that the slave of her king hoped for her hand. Yusuf approached her father but he said the daughter was free to take her own decision. Hence, Yusuf prayed to Allah. Allah revealed that He has decreed the woman for him. Again he sent a messenger to her people requesting they grant him an audience. They accepted and when Yusuf entered, the house lit up with his brilliance. He asked for a glass of water and the maiden rushed to comply with his request. Yusuf took a draught and returned the tumbler. The maiden brought the glass to her own lips, but Yusuf said, “Do not be impatient, you shall achieve your desire soon.” Then he married her.

In another tradition Imam says that when Yusuf asked his cell-mate to lobby for him with the king, Archangel Gabriel descended near him and kicked the ground. A fissure developed that reached up to the seventh layer of the earth. Archangel Gabriel said, “O Yusuf take a look at the seventh layer beneath the earth, what do you see?”

“A small stone.”

Then he made a fissure in the stone and said, “What do you see inside?”

“A minute worm.”

“Who bestows sustenance to this worm?” asked Archangel Gabriel.

“The Lord of the worlds,” replied Yusuf.

Archangel Gabriel said, “Your Lord says that when He had not ignored a small worm in the seventh layer of the Earth how could you think that He has betrayed you? Why did you request the man to mobilize support with the King? For this misdemeanor you shall remain imprisoned for many years.”

Yusuf wept so much due to this penalty that the walls and doorways wept with him. The prison inmates became distraught and insisted he weep on alternate days. But on the days he did not shed tears his condition was more severe.

According to a reliable tradition of Imam al-Baqir and Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the ‘good patience’ (Sabrun Jamilun) denotes that a person does not complain to anyone regarding his afflictions. The Almighty Allah sent Ya‘qub with a message to a pious monk. When the worshipper saw Ya‘qub he mistook him for Ibrahim. He stood up in honor and embracing him said, “Khalil of Allah! Welcome!”

“I am not Ibrahim. I am the son of Ishaq and the grandson of Ibrahim.”

“Why have you aged so much?” asked the monk.

“Sorrow and grief has aged me,” replied Ya‘qub.

He had hardly reached the door after taking leave of the monk when a revelation descended from Allah: “O Ya‘qub! You complain my servants regarding Me?”

Ya‘qub immediately fell into prostration at the very threshold and prayed, “My Lord! I shall never repeat this error.”

Allah said, “I forgive you. But refrain from such an action in future.”

After this Ya‘qub never complained to anyone about his earthly difficulties except the day he said: “I complain for my affliction but to Allah! And I am aware of Allah’s Mercy to such an extent that you are not aware, my sons.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says in a reliable tradition that when Yusuf was in prison the Almighty asked him through revelation why he had been thrown into the prison. Yusuf confessed his guilt and Allah taught him a supplication:

“Yaa kabeero kulle kabeerin yaa man laa shareeka lahu wa laa wazeera yaa khaleqash-shamse wal Qamaril muneere. Yaa I’smatal muz”t’arriz”z”areere yaa qaas’ema kulle jabbaarin a’needin yaa mugnial ba-esil faqeere yaa jaaberal a’z’mil kaseere yaa mut’leqal kaneelil aseere as-aloka beh’aqqe muh’ammadin wa aale muh’ammadin anna taja’lali min amri h’arajan wa mukhrajan wa tarzuqni min h’aitho ah’tasib wa min h’aitho laa ah’tasebo.”

When it was morning the ‘Aziz summoned him and set him free.

Another authentic tradition says that when ‘Aziz abdicated his throne in favor of Yusuf he put on a clean two piece garment and went far away into wilderness. He performed two Rak‘ah prayers and at the conclusion raised his hands towards the heavens and said:

“Yaa rabbe qad aataitani minal mulke a’llamtani minal taaweelel ah’adeethe faat’erassamaawaate wal arz” anta Waliyye fidduniya wal aakherah.”

Archangel Gabriel descended and asked him what he desired? Yusuf said he had prayed to Allah that He might allow him to die a Muslim and include him among the righteous ones. This was due to the fact that Yusuf was afraid of corruption and transgression that can remove a person from religion. Thus who can not be afraid of transgression when an exalted personality like Yusuf was?

Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali is quoted to have mentioned that Yusuf entered prison on a Wednesday.

According to reliable sources it is mentioned that people asked Imam al-Ridha how people admired a person who ate detestable food, dressed in coarse garments and put on an outward show of piety.

Imam said, “Yusuf was a Prophet and the son of the Prophet, yet he dressed in silken robes with gold buckles. He used to attend the gatherings of Egyptian kings and issued commands. People were not concerned with his dress.”

Thalabi has mentioned in the book “A’raaees” that when the king learnt of Yusuf’s explanation and realized the extent of his intellect, wisdom and trustworthiness, he summoned him. When Yusuf emerged from the prison he prayed that the righteous may shower their kindness upon the prisoners. He implored Allah not to conceal the virtues of the inmates. The effect of his supplication was that all the prisoners in every city have something meritorious as compared to other people. Then he inscribed the following words at the entrance. This is a grave of living men and an abode of sorrow. It is a means for the lessons that one derives from friends due to their friendship and the criticism one invites from ones enemies. Then he performed the ritual bath and cleaned his body from the dirt of prison. Put on a clean dress and headed towards the royal court. Upon reaching the entrance he said:

“H’asbi rabbi min dunyaya wa h’asbi rabbi min khalqehi a’zza jalaalehi wa jalla thaba-ahu wa laa ilaaha ghairohu.”

When he stepped inside he uttered the following words:

Allahumma inni as-aloka min sharrehi wa sharre ghairehi.

When the king turned his attention towards Yusuf he saluted him in Hebrew.

“What language is this?” he asked.

“It is the language of my uncle Isma‘il.”

Then he prayed for the king in Arabic.

“What language is that?” asked he.

“It is the language of my ancestors.”

The king also knew seven languages and in whichever language he spoke, Yusuf replied in the same tongue. He was impressed by the accomplishments of Yusuf at such a young age. Yusuf was thirty years at that time.

The king said, “O Yusuf! I wish to hear my dream from your tongue.”

“You dreamt that seven grey-eyed fattened white cows came out of the Nile,” narrated Yusuf, “Milk was flowing from the front of their heads. When you saw them you were amazed at their graceful appearance. Suddenly the water of Nile dried up and the bottom showed sand and wet mud. From the muddy bottom emerged seven lean cows. They were covered with mud and their bellies touched their backs. They were not having any udders. Their teeth, nails and hooves were like claws of beasts and they even possessed trunks. The lean cows attacked the fat ones and tore them up. They devoured their meat and even crushed their bones and gulped down the marrow. You were astonished at this sight. Suddenly you saw seven green ears of corn and seven withered ears grow from a spot. Their roots reached to the water. Then a wind blew the dried ears upon the green ones and they withered down.”

“You speak the truth,” said ‘Aziz, “I dreamt exactly as you say.”

Yusuf explained the significance of the dream and ‘Aziz appointed him in charge of the agricultural and treasury departments of his kingdom.

Shaykh al-Tusi and others have narrated that the ‘Aziz of Egypt who had imprisoned Yusuf, was Qitfeer. He was the Prime minister of the King. The king was Reyaan Ibn Waleed. The king had seen the dream. When Yusuf was released from the prison the king expelled his Prime minister and appointed Yusuf in his place. He entrusted all the powers to Yusuf and himself retired from administration. He handed over even the seal, crown and throne to Yusuf. During that period Qitfeer died. The king married Yusuf to Raheel the widow of Qitfeer. From her Yusuf had two sons, Afraeem and Yashaeem.

A’raees contains a report that Yusuf called Ibn Yameen to himself and asked his name.

“Yameen”, he replied.

“Why are you named Yameen?”

“Because when I was born my mother was dead. That is I am the child of sorrow.”

“What was your mother known as?”

“Raheel, the daughter of Leyaan.”

“Do you have any children?”

“Yes, I have ten sons.”

“What are their names?”

“I have named them with epithets related to my brother who was killed. We had the same mother.”

Yusuf was surprised, “You loved your brother so much that you named the children after him? Tell me their names.”

He said, “Bala’a, Akheer, Ashkal, Ah’yaa, Khair, No’maan, Aawar, Aras, H’eem and Yateem.”

“What is the meaning of their names?” asked Yusuf.

“I named Bala’a because the earth concealed him from me, ‘Akheer’ because he was my mother’s eldest son, ‘Ashkad’ because he was my full brother, ‘Khair’, because he was happy whenever he lived, ‘No’maan’ because he was the beloved of our parents, ‘Aawar’ because he was like a flower in beauty and elegance, ‘Aras’ because his body was like his head, “H’eem’ because my father said he is alive, ‘Yateem’, because my eyes brightened when I cast a glance on him.”

Yusuf said, “I wish to become your brother in place of the one who has been killed.”

He said, “Who can get a brother like you! But you were not born from Ya‘qub and Raheel.”

Yusuf heard this, wept, and embraced him and said, “I am your brother, Yusuf. Do not be sad and do not say anything regarding this to your brothers.”5

- 1. Actually his entreaty did not reach the ears of Ya‘qub. For it is unlike for a Prophet to hear a request and not fulfill it. It is possible that Ya‘qub had not instructed his servants to feed all those who approach his door, and this resulted in Divine Chastisement. Imam Zayn al-‘abidin however made it a point to instruct even his servants in this regard - Translator.)

- 2. Some scholars have considered the above report to be based on Taqiyyah (dissimulation) because it supports the Sunni view. It is possible that Yusuf refrained from dismounting not due to pride or vanity but it may have been for some hidden wisdom due to his position as the supreme ruler of Egypt. Though it still amounted to be Tark al-Awla and a detestable (Makrooh) act.

- 3. According to this tradition and other traditions like it, the period of Yusuf’s separation from his father lasted 20 years. But historians and commentators differ among themselves. Some state that there was a gap of 80 years between Yusuf’s dream and his reunion with Ya‘qub. It was 70 years according to others. While another group of scholars thinks it was 40 years. Some even say it was 18 years.
According to hasan Basri, Yusuf was seven or ten years old when he was into the well. His slavery, imprisonment and rulership accounted for another 80 years. After reuniting with his family he lived for another 23 years. Consequently he lived for 120 years.
Some Shi‘ah traditional reports mention the period of separation to be more than 20 years. Another fact that emerges from the traditions is that Benjamin was not from the womb of Yusuf’s mother. He was from the womb of his mother’s sister. According to interpreters when the Qur’anic verse mentions that he took father and mother to the throne, it is only metaphorical. The word ‘mother’ stands for his aunt. This is because the maternal aunt is referred to as mother, just as the paternal uncle is addressed as father.
Actually Raheel the mother of Yusuf had already expired. Some people claim that the Almighty raised her to life to fulfill the dream of Yusuf. Some even say she was alive until the time of reunion. However, the previous view is stronger.
Thus in a reliable report when people asked Imam al-Ri¤a how many sons accompanied Ya‘qub when he was reunited with Yusuf, he said, “Eleven” and when asked whether Benjamin was from the womb of Yusuf’s mother. He said, “No! He was from the womb of his mother’s sister.”

- 4. Surah Mu’min 40:28-34

- 5. Many scholars have expressed doubts regarding this strange incident and normally people view it with suspicion. Therefore instead of separate replies it is sufficient if we give standard replies to the common objections that would be sufficient for everyone.
Why Ya‘qub preferred Yusuf over other children when discrimination is not permitted in this regard. And this dotage almost cost Yusuf his life. Hence discrimination between children is not allowed especially when there is chance of creating a dissension between them. The reply to this objection is Ya‘qub’s intensive love for Yusuf was not only because he was a son. He preferred him over other sons due to his knowledge and Prophetic status. It is also possible that Ya‘qub could not rein his emotions in his love for Yusuf. Another explanation is that Ya‘qub may not have expected his preference for Yusuf would cause jealousy to such an extent. Ya‘qub wept so much for Yusuf that he became blind. Whereas the Prophets suffered greater calamities with patience and forbearance.
Reply: Sorrow and weeping are emotions beyond ones control. What is prohibited is the uttering of some words that Allah dislikes. And Ya‘qub never uttered any such thing. He was absolutely resigned to divine fate. It is possible to be resigned to ones fate and sorrowful for one circumstances at the same time. Just as a person having cancerous limb requests the surgeon to ampute it to prevent its spread to rest of the body. Though he is pained at the loss of his limb he is nevertheless satisfied, or rather grateful to the surgeon for amputation.” Thus when Ibrahim the son of the Prophet died, the Messenger of Allah said, “The heart is restless and the eyes weep but I do not wish to say anything that might cause Divine displeasure.” The devotees of Allah love Him alone, if they love others it is only because Allah is pleased with their love. They love only those people who are the beloveds of Allah. Because they are the beloved of the beloved (Allah). Similarly they are inimical to the enemies of Allah even though they might be their close companions. They are prepared to slay him with sword and remain aloof from him. On the other hand they have love and regard for a person who loves Allah even though he might be far away from them (in relation or location). It is obvious that Ya‘qub’s dotage for Yusuf was not due to his physical appearance and worldly aspect. He adored him due to the splendor of guidance and righteousness that emanated from him. Therefore the brothers of Yusuf who were ignorant of these spiritual qualities in Yusuf began to feel jealous of him. They claimed to be more deserving of their father’s affection due to their greater strength and because they served him more than Yusuf. Hence, it is obvious that the attachment of Ya‘qub to Yusuf and his grief due to his separation did not contradict his love for Allah. It was rather compliment for that love.
3) Why was Ya‘qub so much aggrieved for Yusuf even though he knew about the dream (of stars prostrating) and the Angels had also informed that Yusuf was alive?
Reply: The grief of Ya‘qub was due to the separation of Yusuf. When people asked Imam al-Sadiq why Ya‘qub wept for Yusuf in spite of the fact that Archangel Gabriel had informed him that he would be reunited with him one day, Imam said it was because he had been deprived of Yusuf’s company.
4) How is it acceptable that Ya‘qub became blind, while such a disability is incompatible with Prophethood?
Reply: According to some scholars he had not become blind. His sight had become weak. Due to excessive weeping a while layer developed on the pupils and this blocked his vision. Another view is that Prophets are not immune of each and every defect. Only those disabilities that people find repulsive are absent in Prophets. And people do no find blindness a repulsive quality. It should not be a cause of reducing their Prophetic abilities. In spite of an impaired vision the Prophets could perceive with their inner eye. Thus there was no such defect in Ya‘qub. The last of the reasons seem more acceptable.
5) Regarding the affair of Yusuf, Allah says: “And certainly she made for him, and he would have made for her, were it not that he had seen the manifest evidence of his Lord; thus (it was) that We might turn away from him evil and indecency, surely he was one of Our sincere servants.” (12:24) The apparent meaning of the Qur’anic ayah is that Zulaykha intended to commit adultery with him and he would also responded in the like manner if he had not perceived Allah’s proof. The Sunni scholars have mentioned disgraceful things in interpreting this verse. One explanation says that Yusuf too embraced Zulaykha and would have gone ahead but he saw the face of Ya‘qub in the corner of the room. Ya‘qub was biting his fingers in suspense. Seeing this Yusuf felt ashamed and dropped the idea of fornication. Another report says that when Zulaykha covered the idol with a cloth Yusuf felt ashamed. Other foolish interpretations are also mentioned in traditional books.
First Reply: The ayah says ‘he would have also made for her’. It means that if he had not been a Prophet and not seen Archangel Gabriel and the ‘manifest evidence’ he would have succumbed to his desires. Since he was already a Prophet the possibility of falling into sin did not arise for Yusuf.
Second Reply: Zulaykha ‘made for him’ for committing adultery and Yusuf ‘would have made for her’ to kill her if she forced him further. And it is possible that in that shari‘ah it was allowed to kill a person who compels one to sin. The Almighty prevented him from killing her due to hidden wisdom. The Egyptians might have revenged her murder by executing Yusuf. Al-Ma’mun asked about the matter and Imam al-Ri¤a said, “If Yusuf had not seen the ‘manifest evidence of his Lord’ he would have also intended what Zulaykha did. But he was infallible (Ma’soom) and a Ma’soom never makes an intention of committing a sin. Indeed my father has told me from his father (Imam al-Sadiq ) that he said Zulaykha ‘intended’ to commit fornication and Yusuf ‘intended’ to avoid it.”
In another reliable tradition when ‘Ali bin Al-Jahm asked Imam the interpretation of this ayah, Imam said, “Zulaykha intended to sin and Yusuf intended to kill her because his intention was very repulsive for him. But the Almighty restrained him from murder and fornication. Allah says, “thus (it was) that We might turn away from him evil and indecency.” (12:24). Allah means to say that He prevented from him evil (Zulaykha’s murder) and indecency (fornication).”
The two reports of Yusuf’s vision of Ya‘qub face and Zulaykha covering the idol do not contradict our first reply. Their only deficiency is that they have not elaborated. It is possible that Allah showed him the evidence so that the thought should not arise in his mind even though there was no possibility of it because he was already a Ma’soom. Some of the reports are present due to Taqiyyah.
6) Yusuf commanded his brothers to bring Benjamin with them even though he knew his father would not like it. And when Benjamin was brought to Egypt he arrested him. This made Yusuf responsible for his father’s sorrow. Also, even after being enthroned as the king why did he not inform Ya‘qub of his well being, knowing well that he was aggrieved for him.
Reply: Whatever he used to do it was according to the commands revealed to him. And whatever calamities afflict the Prophets are by way of Divine test. Allah wishes them to undergo tribulations that they may achieve a high status in the Hereafter. Therefore, the arrest of Benjamin and delay in reuniting with Ya‘qub was a Divine command that Yusuf obeyed. Allah desired the grief of Ya‘qub to reach the zenith to qualify him for the greatest rewards.
7) Why did Yusuf cry, “O Caravan! You are thieves!” Whereas he knew they had not stolen anything. A Prophet can never utter a lie.
Reply: Sometimes it is permitted to make a statement with the intention of meaning something else. This is not termed a ‘lie’. It is known as ‘Toriya’. In some circumstances it becomes obligatory to use Toriya. Here it was a necessity because without it, the arrest of Benjamin was not possible. Therefore Yusuf said, ‘You are thieves’ with the intention that they had stolen Yusuf from his father. Some people say that it was not Yusuf who passed this remark. It was one of his servants who cried in that way without Yusuf bidding him to do so. Another explanation is that it was a question. “You are thieves?” and it was not an assertion. The first explanation is more authentic.
8) How did Ya‘qub and his sons prostrate for Yusuf while it is haram to do so except for Allah the Almighty? And how Yusuf was supportive of their obeisance?
Reply: The reply is the same that I have stated with regard to the doubt against obeisance of Angels to Adam.
The first explanation is they prostrated as thanksgiving to Allah for reuniting them with Yusuf and for the bounties He had showered on Yusuf. We have already mentioned the tradition where Imam al-Sadiq says that the Sajdah (prostration) of Ya‘qub and his sons was for worshipping (thanking) Allah.
Secondly, the prostration was not that of obeisance but it was a gesture of respect for Yusuf. And in that shari‘ah it was allowed to prostrate before others as a mark of honor.
Third interpretation is that it was not a Sajdah, as we know it. It was a ritual associated with expressing respect for someone and those people had named it ‘Sajdah’.
Nevertheless the prostration was according to Divine Command and it was intended to manifest the superiority of Yusuf over his brothers and other people.
Lastly, when we accept the infallibility of Prophets and Imams we must know that whatever they did must have had Divine sanctions even though we may be ignorant of the hidden wisdom. Doubts and suspicions are created by Satan and cause deviation and irreligiousness.

An account of Ayyub

It is well-known among the historians and Qur’anic commentators that Ayyub was the son of Amwas, son of Aeas, son of Ishaq son of Ibrahim. His mother was a descendant of Lut. Some scholars however maintain that Ayyub was the son of Aaes and his wife Rahmat was the daughter of Afraem bin Yusuf, or she was Mahir the daughter of Meesha son of Yusuf, or Liya daughter of Ya‘qub. But the first opinion is more prevalent (i.e.. his wife was Rahmat).

Authentic chain of narrators quotes that Abu-Basir asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the reason for Ayyub being inflicted with such severe calamities. Imam replied that it was due to the excess of bounties Allah had bestowed on him. And he used to thank Allah in the proper way. At that time the Satan was not barred from the heavens. He used to travel up to the Divine Throne also. One day he saw the thankfulness of Ayyub etched in the celestial tablets. They were carried up with great care and respect. When Satan saw this, the fire of jealousy flared up in his heart. He said to Allah, “Ayyub is so thankful to You because You have bestowed bounties in huge proportions. But if you take the bounties away he would not remain thankful. If You allow me to control his fortunes You will realize how thankless he can become.”

The Almighty granted Satan the privilege to control the wealth and children of Ayyub. He was elated and at once rushed towards the earth and began to destroy the wealth and children of Ayyub. The more he proceeded in destruction the thankfulness of Ayyub intensified.

Now the Satan requested for power over the cultivation owned by Ayyub. This was also granted. He mobilized his assistants and landed on the fields of Ayyub. They spewed out a venomous breath and all the crops withered.

Ayyub was all the more thankful. Hence Satan demanded control over the goats and sheep owned by Ayyub. When it was granted he killed them all. Ayyub became more sincere and thanked Allah frequently.

Satan told Allah, “Ayyub was yet thankful because he knows You would return the bounties soon and he prayed desperately to the Almighty and requested Him to grant complete power over the body of Ayyub. Allah told him, “You are given power over Ayyub’s body except his Aql (power of reasoning) and his eyes.”

According to another version the exceptions concerned heart, eyes, tongue and ears. When he received the permission he dashed to the earth as he feared that if the Divine Mercy surrounds Ayyub it will be an obstacle on his way. He came to Ayyub and blew a venomous breath into his nostrils. As a result Ayyub was inflicted with a severe malady that covered his whole body with sores and leprous wounds. He continued in this condition for a long time and continued to praise and thank Allah without any reservations. Ultimately worms developed in his infected wounds. The patience of Ayyub reached such heights that whenever a worm fell from his body he picked it up and put it back saying, “Stay where the Almighty has originated you.” Such a dreadful odor emanated from his body that the people banished him to a dirty corner of the town. His wife Rahmat, the daughter of Yusuf went out to beg and got him whatever she could obtain.

When a long time passed for Ayyub in such afflictions, the Satan realized that his thankful always exceeded the intensity of the calamities that befall him. So he went to a group of Ayyub’s followers who had become hermits and resided in the mountains. He told them, “Come let us go and see why Ayyub has been inflicted with such calamities.” The people came down and mounting their horses headed towards Ayyub. When they came near, the horses were terrified of the stench and bolted out of control. The riders tied the horses in a far corner and proceeded on foot. They came to Ayyub to ask him about his conditions. A young man also accompanied them. They sat down near Ayyub and said, “If you tell us of the deadly sin you have committed we can guard against it. We do not dare to pray for your forgiveness lest Allah sends His wrath upon us. We never expected you would suffer from chastisement that did not befell anyone else. It must be due to a sin that you has concealed from us.”

Ayyub said, “I swear by the Might of my Lord, and He is a witness that I never ate anything without sharing it with the poor and orphans. And whenever I came across two worship acts, I always preferred the more difficult.”

Hearing these words the young man told his companions, “May Allah destroy you! You come to Allah’s Prophet and criticized him to the extent that he was forced to reveal a good deed he had performed in secret.”

When they went away, Ayyub supplicated Allah and sought His permission to express a wish. The Almighty sent a cloud that hovered over his head and voice came out from it, “You are permitted to express your desire: Ask, whatever you wish. I am always near you.”

Ayyub gathered all his strength and sat up with his thighs joined. Then he said, “O My Lord! I swear by Your Might that You never sent any afflictions upon me. But whenever I had the choice of two worship-acts, I preferred the one, which was most difficult for my body. And I never ate without sharing my food with orphans. Did I not echo Your praise? Did I not thank You sufficiently? Did I not glorify and purify You (from every kind of association)?”

Ten thousand tongues of the cloud replied, “O Ayyub Who created you with the temperament that you prayed when all world was asleep? Who is that made worship most likeable to you? Do you think you have obliged the Almighty? Whereas He has favored you by granting you the divine opportunity to worship and thank Him.”

Ayyub picked up a handful of dust and stuffed it in his mouth and said, “I was wrong! And I beg forgiveness. All the bounties and opportunities of worship are from You alone.”

The Almighty sent an Angel who kicked the earth and a spring of water gushed out. Ayyub bathed in it and was immediately cured of all diseases and discomfort. His body become more fresh and beautiful than before. Then Allah caused orchards and gardens to grow around Ayyub. All the wealth, property and farms were restored. The Angel was sitting with him and engaged in conversation when his wife entered with a piece of dried bread. She saw in place of a ruin, a blooming garden and orchards. Instead of Ayyub she saw two handsome men. She began to scream and lament as to what has befallen Ayyub. Ayyub called her and when she came near she recognized him. Seeing the return of Divine bounties she fell down in a prostration of thankfulness.

When she had gone in search of food for Ayyub she was sporting lovely tresses. The people she had approached demanded her for her beautiful tresses in return of food. She cut off her locks and brought food for Ayyub. When Ayyub saw her pruned hair he was infuriated and vowed a hundred lashes for her. But when she told him the story he became sad and regretted his oath. The Almighty sent a revelation to him to hit her softly with a broom containing a hundred twigs. That would suffice to fulfill his oath.

After this, the Almighty brought to life even his sons who had died in the calamities and those who had died before them, that they might live with Ayyub again.

Later, the people asked him of the worst of the calamities that befell him. He replied it were the sarcastic remarks of the people.

The Almighty showered his house with pieces of gold and Ayyub gathered them. Whenever a piece fell out of bound he rushed towards it and picked it eagerly. Archangel Gabriel said, “Are you never satiated?”

“Who can ever be satiated with Divine bounties?” replied Ayyub.1

The Almighty says,

“And (remember) Ayyub, when he cried to his Lord, (saying): Harm has afflicted me, and Thou art the most Merciful of the merciful. Therefore We responded to him and took off what harm he had, and We gave him his family and the like of them with them: a mercy from Us and a reminder to the worshippers.” (21:83-84)

And on another occasion He says,

“And remember Our servant Ayyub, when he called upon his Lord: The Satan has afflicted me with toil and torment. Urge with your foot; here is a cool washing-place and a drink. And We gave him his family and the like of them with them, as a mercy from Us, and as a reminder to those possessed of understanding. And take in your hand a green branch and beat her with it and do not break your oath; surely We found him patient; most excellent the servant! Surely he was frequent in returning (to Allah).”

This is the translation of Ayats revealed with regard to Ayyub. Some other traditions have also been narrated in connection with the life of Ayyub: “His family and the like of them with them” indicated his sons who had died in bad times that Ayyub fell into and also those who had died before the afflictions. According to some reports ‘like of them’ indicates that more sons were born to the wife of Ayyub resembling those who were returned from dead.

As regards the granting of control to Satan over the fortunes of Ayyub many scholars express their reservations, especially Sayyid Murtaza. According to him it is very unlikely that Allah allowed Satan to control His Prophet. However, it is difficult to ignore such a large number of traditions in order to accept the views of these scholars. For example, we know that many a times, Prophets and Imams are tyrannized and oppressed by some people and forced to undergo untold difficulties, all this is mostly due to Satanic instigation. So it is not impossible for Satan to have control of Ayyub’s fortune and physical conditions. However, we must remember that the Almighty never gave him prerogative over the intellect and religion of Ayyub.

As mentioned in traditions the infected wounds of Ayyub began to teem with worms. This has also been belied by few theologians who say that a Prophet is never afflicted with a disability that is repulsive to people. And the incidence of worms in a diseased body is indeed repulsive. It is possible to justify this by saying that in all probability these things have been related in Sunni sources and have crept into Shi‘ah traditions due to Taqiyah.

Secondly we have traditions supporting the former view. Imam al-Baqir says in a authentic tradition reported by Ibn Babawayh that, Ayyub was involved in afflictions for seven years, without having committed any sin; because a Prophet is infallible and purified (from sins). They neither commit sins (small or big) nor are attracted towards evil.

Imam says, “Though Ayyub had the terrible disease there was no foul odor in his body and his appearance did not develop any deformity. Blood and puss also did not appear from his wounds, and thus he did not present a repulsive sight that people would shun him. There were no worms in his wounds and whenever the Almighty involves his Prophets and friends in such diseases, he keeps them free from such repulsive defects. The people avoided him not because of his disease but due to the calamities that befell him and due to their ignorance. They could not bring themselves to accept the fact that such a prosperous person as Ayyub could fall into such serious calamities.

The Holy Prophet said that the calamities that befall Prophets are far more terrible than those experienced by ordinary people. Moreover, the more lofty the status of a person the more calamities befell him. The Almighty sends upon His Prophets such afflictions so that people may not be led to believe that Prophets are gods. Allah bestows untold bounties upon His Prophets to prove to the people that Divine rewards are of two kinds: one for performing good deeds and one for undergoing difficulties. Also people must not belittle a poor man for his poverty or a sick person for his disease, or a weak creature for his frailty. The people must understand that Allah makes sick whoever He wants and curses whoever He desires. At all times and under all circumstances whatever Allah intends, He makes some affairs as means of deriving lessons and some as misfortunes and sometimes He grants as felicity to them. Allah is Just in all His affairs and Wise in all His actions. He does what is best for His creatures and whatever they have, is from Him alone.

According to a reliable tradition from Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali, Ayyub was afflicted with the loss of wealth and sons in the latter part of Wednesday.

Authentic traditions from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq state that Ayyub suffered for seven years without any fault of his. In another tradition Imam says, “Allah subjected Ayyub to afflictions without his having committed any sin. Ayyub maintained patience until the time people began to criticize and blame him for committing sins. Hence he complained to the Almighty because Prophets cannot remain patient if accused of sinful acts.

In another tradition Imam says that Ayyub prayed for divine forgiveness during the period of afflictions.2

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says in a reliable tradition that when the Almighty granted release from difficulties to Ayyub he looked at the agricultural fields of The Israelites and said, “My Lord You have bestowed kindness upon your afflicted servant Ayyub. But he has not sown his fields like other people of The Israelites.”

The Almighty revealed to him that he take out a handful of soil from his bag and spread it on the earth. After he complied he was able to harvest lentils (Masoor) or grams.

The hadith apparently shows that the two crops did not exist before this incident and Ayyub was the first to cultivate them.

We have another authentic report from Imam that a believer is subjected to every kind of calamity and every kind of death, but the Almighty never allows him to lose his power of reasoning. Imam says, “Have you not seen how Allah gave Satan, power over the wealth, children, family and all the things belonging to Ayyub except his ‘Aql so that we may continue to believe in His oneness and worship Him with this belief.”

Imam is quoted through authoritative chains that a beautiful woman, who had committed many sins, would be brought on the Resurrection Day. She would say, “My Lord You created me in a beautiful form. And that’s why I got involved in sins.”

The Almighty would summon Maryam and ask the woman, “Who is more beautiful, you or Maryam? We bestowed her with such incomparable beauty but she was not misguided by it.”

Then a handsome man will be brought forward. He was also a sinner because of his physical attraction. When asked he’d say that due to his physique women were attracted towards him and he was enticed into adultery.

The Almighty will summon Yusuf and say, “Were you more handsome than this man (Yusuf)? We made him the most attractive man but he was not beguiled by women.”

Finally a person who had suffered calamities would be brought there. When asked, he shall say that he was forced to sin due to untold calamities. The Lord shall summon Ayyub and say, “Who has undergone more difficulties, you or this Ayyub? We subjected him into such terrible afflictions, yet he did not fall into sins.”

- 1. Ayyub was eager to collect gold pieces not for their worldly value. It was, rather, for the fact that they were an aspect of Divine Mercy (as mentioned by him) that he was eager to collect them because they were a gift from his Lord and signified His kindness and Favor.

- 2. There is a difference among exegeses as regards the period of affliction. According to some it was 18 years and according to others, it was 7 years. The latter view is more prevalent.

Prophet Shu‘ayb

There are different views about the family background of Shu‘ayb. Some are of the opinion that he was the son of Noba who was the son of Prophet Ibrahim. Some believed that his father’s name was ‘Boyab’ while others said that he was the son of ‘Mikeel’ who was the son of Yosaeb bin Ibrahim and his (Mikeel’s) mother was the daughter of Prophet Lut. Some said that Shu‘ayb’s name was ‘Sherun’ and he was the son of ‘Saikun’ or ‘unka’ or ‘Sabit’ who belonged to Prophet Ibrahim’s family. While others believe he does not belong to Prophet Ibrahim’s family but his father had accepted Islam at the time of Prophet Ibrahim.

In Surah Al-A‘raf, Allah says:

And to Madyan (We sent) their brother Shu’aib. He said: O my people! Serve Allah, you have no god other than Him; clear proof indeed has come to you from your Lord, therefore give full measure and weight and do not diminish to men their things, and do not make mischief in the land after its reform; this is better for you if you are believers:

And do not lie in wait in every path, threatening and turning away from Allah’s way him who believes in Him and seeking to make it crooked; and remember when you were few then He multiplied you, and consider what was the end of the mischief-makers.

And if there is a party of you who believe in that with which am sent, and another party who do not believe, then wait patiently until Allah judges between us; and He is the best of the Judges.

The chiefs, those who were proud from among his people said: We will most certainly turn you out, O Shu’aib, and (also; those who believe with you, from our town, or you shall come back to our faith. He said: What! though we dislike (it)?

Indeed we shall have forged a lie against Allah, if we go back to your religion after Allah has delivered us from It, and it befits us not that we should go back to it, except if Allah our Lord please: Our Lord comprehends all things in His knowledge; in Allah do we trust: Our Lord! decide between us and our people with truth; and Thou art the best of deciders.

And the chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said: If you follow Shu’aib, you shall then most surely be losers.

Then the earthquake overtook them, so they became motionless bodies in their abode.

Those who called Shu’aib a liar were as though they had never dwelt therein; those who called Shu’aib a liar, they were the losers.

So he turned away from them and said: O my people! certainly I delivered to you the messages of my Lord and I gave you good advice; how shall I then be sorry for an unbelieving people?

And We did not send a Prophet in a town but We overtook its people with distress and affliction in order that they might humble themselves. (7:85-94)

In 26:32-41, Prophet Shu‘ayb said to the dwellers of the desert,

“You are not afraid of Allah’s punishment? Allah has sent me as a messenger and I am your Prophet. Listen to the orders which Allah has given me. I don’t require anything from you. Allah will reward me for my deeds. Allah says: Be just and honest in weighing things and also in returning their belongings. Do not create quarrels and troubles among the people and fear Allah as He is the great creator of the world.” The dwellers of the forest said that Shu‘ayb was influenced by black magic and has become mad. They also said that he was just a human being like them and was a great liar. They said, “If you are really a true Prophet then ask Allah to send us a few pieces of the sky.” The Prophet said that Allah knew better what they said. But they did not listen, and insulted him. So Allah sent the great punishment on them. It was a severe punishment.(26:32-41)

When they insulted Shu‘ayb, Allah sent punishment of scorching heat which affected them and their families. They went inside their houses to save themselves but the heat also entered along with them. The heat was so intense that they could not bear it. Then Allah sent a piece of dark cloud. They all ran under the shade of the cloud but instead of water (rain), fire started raining on them and an earthquake started and they all were destroyed by fire. These two incidents clearly show that Allah sent punishment on the two groups who disbelieved Him and His Prophet.

According to Imam Ali ibn Al Husayn, Shu‘ayb made a scale and standard weights. His people were very honest in weighing things. After that the people became dishonest in their weighing. They started cheating by under weighing. Then Allah sent a curse on them through an earthquake and they were destroyed.

According to another tradition Ibn Babawayh and al-Qutb al-Rawandi have mentioned through Ibn-’Abbas that Shu‘ayb and Prophet Ayyub and Balaam Bin Bao’or belonged to the family who had brought faith on Prophet Ibrahim when he was thrown in a fire and was saved from Nimrod’s punishment. After that, Prophet Ibrahim and these people went towards Syria. Then Prophet Ibrahim asked for one of the daughters of Prophet Lut. In this way all the other Prophets came after Prophet Ibrahim. Shu‘ayb was one of them that Allah sent as a Prophet to Madyan, but the people of Madyan were not from the family of Shu‘ayb.

The king of Madyan was very strong, but he and his people were disbelievers and idol worshippers. They were dishonest in their dealing with outsiders and the king also allowed them to do so. Shu‘ayb tried to make them aware of it but in vain. The king drove away the disciples of Shu‘ayb from his city. At last Allah sent a great punishment of fire. The water became very hot, so that they could not drink. The people ran towards Baisha, which was not so far from them. They all gathered together under the shadow of a cloud to save themselves. But fire rained on them from the cloud. They were all burnt and none escaped the punishment.

The Holy Prophet himself has stated that on Doomsday, Shu‘ayb will be the first Prophet along with his people to enter heaven. When his people were destroyed through punishment Shu‘ayb came along with his followers to Makkah and stayed there until his death. Shu‘ayb stayed in Makkah and again went to Madyan. At that time Prophet Musa came to see him. Ibn ‘Abbas has stated that Shu‘ayb was 242 years old when he expired.

There is a tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Allah has sent five Prophets i.e.. Prophet Hud, Prophet Salih, Prophet Isma‘il, Shu‘ayb and the Holy Prophet who were very much beloved to Allah. Imam ‘Ali said that Shu‘ayb used to call the people to accept Islam until he became old and his bones became weak and brittle. He disappeared from the people for a while and then after some time Allah bestowed him with youth and again he came to the people and started preaching. The people said we didn’t listen to your address when you were old so how can we obey and trust you when you have become young now. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that Allah said to Shu‘ayb that He would send a punishment on 40,000 people who had disobeyed his orders and on 60,000 who were obedient. Shu‘ayb, “O Allah! Why will you send a punishment on obedient people?” Allah said, “They did not fight with the disobedient people nor did not utter a word or help you in your work.”

Shu‘ayb became very sad and wept so much that he became blind. Allah gave him back his sight. But he did not give up lamenting and lost his sight again and Allah again restored his sight. This happened three times. The fourth time Allah asked him why he wept so much? Was he afraid of hell? If so, Allah has given him security. If he was crying for heaven, heaven is for him. Shu‘ayb said, “O Allah! I am not weeping for hell or heaven but because I love you very much and I want to come to You.” Then Allah said, “I am sending Musa Ibn ‘Imran to you to take care of you.”

Sahl bin Sa’id says that Husham bin Abdul Malik sent him to ‘Rasafah’ to dig a well. When he dug for 200 feet, he saw a human head covered with dust and mud. He removed the dust from the head and saw a man in white dress standing on a stone and his left hand was on his head. When he removed his hand from his head blood started flowing from the wound. Again he put his hand on the wound and the blood stopped flowing. On his clothes it was written: I am the Shu‘ayb. Allah sent me to the people to preach to them but they wounded me and threw me into this well and closed it. Sahl bin Sa’id wrote about this matter to Husham bin Abdul Malik and he ordered the well to be closed as before and dig at another place.

An Account of Musa and Harun

Genealogy of Musa and Harun and their merits

A group of commentators and historians have written that Musa was the son of ‘Imran son of Yushar son of Fahit son of Lawi son of Ya‘qub. Harun was his brother and both of them had the same mother and father. There is difference of opinion as regards the name of his mother. According to some it was Najeeb and according to others it was Faahiya. Some also think it was Yoojaed. The last opinion is more prevalent. We have already mentioned in the first chapter that the inscription on the ring of Musa said, “Have Patience that you may be rewarded. Speak the truth that you may succeed.” It was derived from the Torah.

An authentic tradition from the Holy Prophet says that Allah sent four of the Prophets with sword: Ibrahim, Dawud, Musa and Muhammad. The Almighty Allah has given authority to four families: As mentioned in the Holy Qur’an,

Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of ‘Imran above the nations. (3:33)

An acceptable tradition on authority of Imam as-Sadiq quotes the Messenger of Allah that, “When I was taken on Me’raj (the Night Ascension) and I reached the fifth sky, I saw a man who was neither young nor of old age. He was surrounded by a lot of people of his nation. I asked Archangel Gabriel who was that exalted personality. He said it was one who is the beloved of his community. That is Harun the son of ‘Imran. Hearing Archangel Gabriel’s reply, I saluted him; he also saluted me in return. I sought forgiveness of Allah for him, he also did for me. Then I went to the sixth heaven. I saw a tall, wheat complexioned person there. Though he had worn two shirts, the hair of his body were apparent. He said, “The people of The Israelites think that I am the best and nearest to Allah, hough Prophet Muhammad is beloved and nearest to Allah.” I asked Archangel Gabriel, “Who is that?” He said, “He is your brother, Musa bin ‘Imran.” I saluted him and he saluted me in return. I sought forgiveness of Allah for him, he too followed suit.

Imam Al-Hasan has stated that the age of Musa was 240 years and there was the difference of 500 years between Prophet Ibrahim and him.

According to reliable sources, Imam ‘Ali has stated regarding Allah’s saying (He will avoid his parents and brother and his family) that it denotes (as cited by Musa Ibn Babawayh) that Musa had not committed any mistake but was afraid that one of the conceited women from the Pharaoh’s family who looked after him in his infancy was his mother, so he avoided her.

Ibn Babawayh has stated that Allah, the Almighty bestowed Musa’s mother with three hundred and sixty blessings. The Pharaoh found the basket between the tree and water. That is why he named him Musa. ‘Mu’ means water and ‘Sa’ means tree.

From many reliable sources Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has narrated that Allah revealed, “O, Musa! Do you know, why We bestowed you with apostleship?” Musa said, “No.” Allah revealed that He knew every creature of the earth and knew them from head to toe but no one was better than him. “O ‘Musa! Do prayer for Me; put your cheeks on the ground.” Musa bowed his head and made obeisance to Allah. Allah, the great revealed, “O Musa! Raise your head and touch your hand on your face and on of your body, so that you will be protected from troubles, pain, diseases etc.

According to a reliable tradition Allah did not reveal anything for thirty or forty days to Musa. So Musa went to the Oriya Mountain and prayed, “O ‘Allah, if you have stopped sending me Your revelation due to sins of The Israelites, I seek forgiveness on behalf of them. As You are Kind and Merciful. And always seek Your Mercy and Kindness.” Allah sent revelation on him and said, “O, Musa! I found no one better and truthful than you.” Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that after concluding prayers, Musa always touched his cheeks on the ground.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has narrated that once Musa passed along with seventy Prophets near the valley of Roha. They were wearing Kufi scarves and chanting ‘Labbaik’.

According to reliable sources, Imam al-Ridha has stated from the Holy Prophet that Musa raised his hands and said, “O, Allah! Wherever I go, I put myself in trouble.” Allah revealed, “O, Musa! There is a backbiter among your followers.” Musa said, “O, Allah! Tell me who it is?” Allah said, “How can I? It would be backbiting and I Myself hate backbiters?”

According to another tradition Musa prayed to Allah, “O, Allah! Do me a favor; so that people may not think that I am evil.” Allah revealed, “Musa! let them say whatever they like.”

People asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, “Who expired before, Harun or Musa?” Imam said, “Harun. He had two sons, Shabbar and Shabbir. In Arabic we say Hasan and Husayn.” Imam also stated that from Hijr Isma‘il to the Ka‘bah there was a small place of prayer of Harun’s sons, Shabbar and Shabbir.

Birth of Musa and Harun and their early life:

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq states that at the time of the death of Yusuf, Ya‘qub’s family had eighty members in all. He said that the Copts will be successful over them and will put them in great trouble. One of his descendants will help them in their difficulties. His name will be Musa son of ‘Imran. He will be strong, tall and wheat complexioned. From that day the people of The Israelites named their sons ‘Imran, and ‘Imran used to name their sons Musa. They thought, he might be same Musa predicted by Yusuf.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has stated that Musa did not rebel against them. Forty persons from The Israelites claimed to be Musa whose information was given by Yusuf. The Pharaoh came to know about this matter by the people of The Israelites that a person called Musa will destroy his kingdom and that he is in search of him. The soothsayers of the Pharaoh informed that that boy will destroy his kingdom and his religion and that he would be born in the Israelites. The Pharaoh appointed the mid-wives to examine the pregnant women of The Israelites. A midwife was appointed on the mother of Musa. When the Israelites learnt that they killed all male children, they thought the generation of The Israelites would be extinct. The male of The Israelites decided not to have sexual relationship with their female. ‘Imran the father of Musa told the people to continue, so that prediction of the Almighty will come true and indeed the boy would be born. He said, “If you want to give up marital relationships, give up but he would surely come into this world.”

Then ‘Imran established relations with Musa’s mother and she became pregnant. A midwife was appointed to keep a watch on her. When Musa’s mother was sitting or standing, the midwife also did the same. The midwife became attached to her. Once she asked why she was becoming pale and thin. She said not to inquire her condition, “Because when my son is born, he will be killed.” The midwife told her not to worry. “I will keep your son hidden from others.” The mother did not believe her. When Musa was born, his mother was uneasy and the midwife consoled her. She wrapped the child in a cloth and hid him in a room and came out at the door to the watchmen of the Pharaoh standing outside and asked them to go away and said that she has given birth to a girl. Then Musa’s mother fed him but she was worried, what if they heard him crying and came to know the truth?

Allah revealed to her to make a wooden box for a child, close the box and cast it on the Nile. She did as Allah commanded. When she cast the wooden basket into the water, the basket returned to her. She pushed it again but it came back. At last the wind pushed the basket far into the river. She became sad for her child and wanted to cry but Allah gave her patience. She did not utter a word.

Aasiya, the wife of the Pharaoh belonged to The Israelites and was the best woman of her time. She asked the Pharaoh to put a tent on the bank of the river Nile, so that she can pass her time in spring. One day she was sitting, when all of a sudden she saw a basket floating on the river, coming towards her. She asked her maidservants, “Can you see what I she see?” They said, “By Allah! We can see something floating on the water.” When the wooden basket reached her. She stood up from her place and asked her maids to pull it out. They pulled the basket out of the water and opened it. She found a pretty, cute baby boy in it. Seeing the infant she became very anxious. She held him in her arms and said that she would adopt him as her son. The maidservants also agreed and said, “Yes madam. By Allah, you have no children and the king is also without an heir. The child is very handsome and attractive. Adopt him.”

Aasiya went to her husband and showed him the charming baby boy from the sea. “I want to adopt him. So do not kill him,” she said. The Pharaoh asked her from where she got him. She said that she did not know whose child it was. “He was floating in a casket, and I pulled him out from the river.” the Pharaoh was satisfied with the explanation and accepted him. When people heard that the Pharaoh has adopted a son, they sent their wives to suckle the child but Musa did not suck. Then Aasiya asked the Pharaoh to arrange for a wet-nurse for the baby. Many nurses tried but Musa did not suck their milk. Musa’s mother also came to know this. She asked her daughter to ascertain this matter. The sister of Musa came to the door of the Pharaoh and asked whether they needed a wet nurse for a child. She said that there was a good woman staying nearby. She would feed the baby and look after him. The servants informed Aasiya. She ordered them to bring the girl to her. Musa’s sister came to her. She asked that girl which community she belonged to? She said, “She belonged to the family of The Israelites.” Aasiya told her to go away. The maidservants insisted upon her to call that woman and see if the child sucks from her or not. Aasiya said, “Even if the child accepts the Pharaoh might be unhappy. She said the child and the nurse both belong to The Israelites; the Pharaoh will not allow her. Her maidservants said, “Let us first see if the child suckles.” Aasiya told the girl to call the wet-nurse. Musa’s sister ran to her mother. She came and took the child and he began to suck. Aasiya told the Pharaoh that she has found a wet-nurse for a child. The Pharaoh asked which community she belonged to? His wife said that she is from The Israelites. The Pharaoh said, “How can it be? The child and the nurse both belong to The Israelites.” Aasiya asked him why he was afraid of the child? “Now he is our son,” she said. “He will grow up in our care.”

By arguing and discussing she convinced him. In this way he grew up under their loving care. Musa’s mother, sister and the mid-wife kept it secret until the end. The people of The Israelites didn’t know about Musa. They were searching for him and asking one another but it was secret. When the Pharaoh came to know about these activities he subjected them to torture and prohibited them to ask about Musa. Once the people of The Israelites gathered on a moonlit night and went to a learned man staying in the forest. They said that their troubles were increasing more by the day. He said, “By Allah, you will be harassed until Allah sends His Apostle from the family of Ya‘qub. His name will be Musa bin ‘Imran. He will be strong, tall, brave and curly haired.” When Musa came to them on a camel the learned man recognized him by the description given in a Holy book. He asked, “May Allah bless you, who are you and what is your name?” “Musa, the son of ‘Imran,” he said.

The learned man arose and kissed Musa’s hands. People gathered around Musa and kissed his hands and feet. Musa and the people recognized each other and made them his believer. Musa stayed there for a few days and moved to another city. There he saw two men quarrelling. One was the believer of Allah and other was a non-believer from the Pharaoh’s community. The believer screamed for help. Musa hit the Egyptian on his chest. He fell down dead. Allah gave him the natural power of strength and terror. The news spread that Musa has killed an Egyptian. Musa passed the night in fear. In the morning a believer of Musa came running and asked for help as he had some dispute with another man. Musa said, “Indeed, he is on the wrong.” Musa was angry on this man. He said, “O, Musa if you want to kill me. Kill him as you killed a man yesterday.” He said, “Musa you are supposed to be a superior being on the earth, but can’t rectify the people?”

Another man came running and informed that the Egyptians were discussing about him wanted to kill him. “O, Musa! I am your true believer and request you to go away from this city.” So Musa left the city without any support. He passed through the desert and reached Madyan. He rested under a tree. There was a well and the people gathered to draw water from the well. Suddenly he saw two girls with their animals who had came to draw water for their animals and they stood aside. Musa asked them reason for coming there. They said, “Our father is an old man and we are weaker we did not oppose them so we are waiting until they draw water and go away. Then we will water our animals.” Musa felt pity on them. He took their bucket and asked them to bring their animals near the well. He drew water for them. The girls returned home early. Musa again sat under a tree and prayed to Allah. He had nothing to eat and was very hungry.

When the girls reached home, their father Shu‘ayb asked them reason for coming early. The girls said that a nice man drew water for them. Shu‘ayb asked one of his daughters to call him. She came to Musa modestly and said that her father wanted to meet him. Musa told her to walk behind because the sons of Ya‘qub never see ladies from behind. Musa came to Shu‘ayb greeted him and then explained his condition. Shu‘ayb consoled him. Then one of the daughters asked her father to employ him as he was better than others. Shu‘ayb asked Musa that he wanted to give his daughter in marriage to him, with the condition that he worked for him for eight or ten years. According to traditions, Musa completed ten years in his employment. The apostle of Allah does not wish to get any authority but he does what Allah desires for him.

After ten years, Musa took his wife and moved towards Jerusalem. But he was lost in the desert. At this time he saw a fire at a distance. He asked his wife to wait and went out in search of the way. When he reached there, he saw a green tree lit up as on fire. When he neared, it moved away from its place. Musa turned in fear but the tree moved near Musa and he heard a voice from the right side of its valley. “O, Musa! I am Allah, the Creator of the worlds. Cast your staff on the ground.” Musa cast his staff down. It changed into a serpent. It increased in size like a big tree of dates. Musa heard his hissing and fire came out from its tongue. When Musa saw this, he started running back. Again he heard the voice calling him. Musa came back and was shivering all over. Musa said, “O Allah! Is it your voice?” “Yes, do not be afraid,” replied the Lord. Musa came back. He stepped on the tail of the serpent and put his hand into his mouth, it changed into its original form. Allah ordered him to remove his shoes because they were made of ass’s skin. According to another tradition, he had two fears. One of the Pharaoh and other of the rich people of the community of the Pharaoh. Allah bestowed him two signs and sent him to the people. The first sign was a luminous hand and second his staff.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Musa went to get fire for his wife and when he returned he came with Prophethood. Allah solved the problem in one night. In this way when Allah wishes Imam al-Qa’im the family of Muhammad will reappear in one night.

Thalabi and many other writers have stated when Musa’s mother feared that the servants of the Pharaoh will find Musa in the house, she put him in the oven and after some time looked inside and saw that Musa was playing with fire.

It is a fact that Musa accepted his mother’s milk. Aasiya, the wife of the Pharaoh asked her to stay on to feed him, but Musa’s mother refused and took him to her own house. When he was weaned, Aasiya sent someone to her and said that she wanted to see her son. When he was sent to the Pharaoh’s house, the people presented him with gifts and showered money and jewels over him.

According to reliable sources from Imam Zayn al-‘abidin at the time of Yusuf ’s death, he called his believers and relatives and praised Allah and informed them that they will be harassed and troubled by the unbelievers. The male will be killed and the bellies of pregnant women shall be cut open to kill the baby inside. Allah will give rights and authority to the son of Ya‘qub to do justice and he will be will-built, tall and wheat complexioned. The people of The Israelites became sad and after that they had to face many difficulties. There were no Prophets at that time. They were waiting for the Prophet for four hundred years. When they heard the good news of Musa’s birth, their troubles increased. The unbelievers harassed them hitting them with stones and sticks. They went to a learned man for guidance. He had also left the city for safety. The people sent him a message to guide them. He promised to meet them in the forest. He told them about Musa and showed them his signs and gave the good news, that Musa will appear very soon and he will meet them in the night. Musa came there on a camel and had been on an excursion and he separated from his slaves on the way and came there. He wore a silky scarf. When the learned man saw him, he recognized him immediately. He arose from his place and fell down on his feet and kissed his feet as a respect and said, “I praise Allah and am very grateful to Him. He has kept me alive for this privilege.” The believers also fell at his and thanked Allah for His kindness. Musa told them, “Allah, the Great, will release you from your troubles and difficulties very soon,” and disappeared from their sight. Musa went to Madyan and stayed with Shu‘ayb. This time the Egyptians put subjected them to more trouble and their difficulties increased. Fifty or more years passed. Their learned man also vanished from their sight. Again they sent a message to him so again be appeared in the forest. He called them there and consoled them. He said that Allah has revealed to him that you will be free from this trouble within forty years. They all thanked the Almighty. Again Allah revealed, “Tell them that Allah decreased for them ten years from 40 years when they uttered ‘Al Hamdo lillah’. They have to wait for thirty years.” The people said Allah is kind and great. All the bounties are bestowed by Him and thanked Him. Allah said, “Tell them again that ten are reduced years. They said, “Allah gives reward for the good deeds and no one else, except He.”

Again Allah revealed, “Tell your people that Allah decreased ten years from the 20 years. Now only 10 years are left.” They all said, “No one can remove the bad thing, except Allah.” Allah said to the learned man, tell them not to stir from their place as He has removed all their troubles. They were discussing about Allah and His kindness. At the same time, Musa appeared. He was on a camel. The learned man wanted to talk about Musa. Musa came near him and salute him. The learned man asked him his name. “I am Musa,” he said. He asked, “Whose son are you?” Musa said, “I am the son of ‘Imran.” The man asked, “Whose son was ‘Imran?” “He was the son of Fahat Ibn Ladi, the son of Ya‘qub,” replied Musa He asked why he had come there? Musa replied, “I have come from Allah as His Prophet.”

The learned man stood up and kissed his hands with respect. Musa got down from the camel and sat with them. He consoled them and by the permission of Allah guided them and didn’t say anything to anyone except Allah. After this incident, forty years passed and during these forty years the Pharaoh was destroyed.

According to a tradition of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, when Musa’s mother became pregnant the signs of pregnancy became apparent. The Pharaoh appointed midwives to inquire about it and he came to know from the people of The Israelites that a male child will born from their community by the name Musa Ibn ‘Imran and the Pharaoh will be destroyed by him. So the Pharaoh decided to slay the boy so that he would save himself. He commanded the male and female of The Israelites to live separately. He arrested the males of The Israelites and imprisoned them. When Musa was born, his mother became sad and cried. But Allah softened the heart of the mid-wife. She asked Musa’s mother why her face had become pale? She said that she was worried about her son. If they knew learnt they would slay him. The midwife consoled her. Musa was a charming boy and everyone loved him as Allah said, “Allah filled their heart with affection.” The midwife behaved kindly and became a friend.

Allah sent a basket from Heaven and revealed to Musa’s mother to put her son in it and cast the basket into the river and not to worry about him. He will bestow him with apostleship. Musa’s mother put him in the basket, closed it and cast it into the Nile. There were a few tents of the Pharaoh on the bank of Nile. He was sitting with his wife. He saw a big basket floating on the waves and coming towards the bank. He ordered his attendants to bring it to him. He saw a charming baby boy in it. He said, “This child belongs to The Israelites!” But Allah placed affection in their hearts. When the Pharaoh decided to kill him, His wife Aasiya prevented him and requested to let her adopt him as she was barren. She said, “Maybe he will be useful to us.” the Pharaoh ordered his people to search for a wet-nurse. Many women were called whose children were killed. Musa did not accept any foster mother.

When Musa’s mother knew that her child has been taken out from the water by the Pharaoh, she became very sad. She felt like crying and wished to die But Allah gave her patience and she was one of the true believer of Allah. She asked her daughter to go in search of Musa. Musa’s sister came to the Pharaoh’s palace and saw her brother from a distance. They didn’t know that she was the sister of Musa. The Pharaoh was worried Musa did not suckle any woman. The sister of Musa said, “Shall I show a family who would treat the child well?” They said, “Yes.” She went to her mother and brought her to the Pharaoh. Musa’s mother took him in her arm and suckled him. The Pharaoh and his wife became happy and the mother of Musa was highly respected by them. They told her to look after him and said they would reward her well. Allah has stated in Qur’an,

“So We gave him back to his mother that her eye might be refreshed, and that she might no grieve, and that she might know that the promise of Allah is true, but most of them do not know.” (28:13)

The Pharaoh slaughtered the newborn of The Israelites but instead of slaying Musa, he was taking care of him and loved him. He was not knowing his future that he had to suffer by Musa. Musa grew up in his care. One day Musa was sitting by the Pharaoh and the Pharaoh sneezed. Musa recited the first verse of Surah Hamd and the Pharaoh became angry hearing the verse of Qur’an and slapped him and asked what he was reciting? Musa jumped from him and caught his beard tight and uprooted it as the Pharaoh had a long beard. He decided to slay him. Aasiya said, “He is just a child. He does not know what he says or does.” the Pharaoh said, “He behaves like a grown up.: Aasiya said, “Test him.” the Pharaoh ordered his men to bring two trays. He put some dates in one and put some fire in other. Both dishes were put forth to Musa. Musa wanted to pick the dates but Archangel Gabriel brought his hand towards fire. He picked up the ember and put it into his mouth burning his tongue. He wept bitterly. Aasiya said, “See! He is an innocent child.” the Pharaoh excused him.

A narrator asked Imam for how many days Musa was separated from his mother? Imam said, “For three days.” He asked, “Was Harun a real brother of Musa?” Imam said, “Yes.” He asked, “Did Allah’s revelation come on both of them?” Imam said, “Allah sent revelation only on Musa, it was narrated to his brother Harun.” He asked, “Did they both obey and carry out the commands of Allah?” Imam said, “Musa conversed with Allah and wrote Allah’s sayings and ordered the people of The Israelites. Whenever Musa was going to converse with Allah, Harun guided the people in his absence.” The narrator asked, “Who died first?” Imam said, “Harun died before his brother Musa in the desert and Musa also died in the desert. Musa had no children but Harun had children. Imam said, “Musa stayed with the Pharaoh until he became a young man. When Musa discussed about Allah, the Pharaoh refused to accept the truth. The Pharaoh decided to kill him so Musa went away. He came to the city and saw two people quarrelling. One was a believer of Musa and other was an Egyptian. Musa came to them and struck him. He fell down and died on the spot. Musa was terrified. The next day, another Egyptian quarreled with the same person. He asked Musa to help him. The person said, “O, Musa! Do you intend to kill me as you killed a person yesterday?” Musa left him and went away from there. The treasurer of the Pharaoh also became the believer of Musa.

Then he turned his face towards Madyan, which was far away from there. It takes three days to reach there. When he came to the gates of Madyan, he saw a well. A group of people were drawing water for their animals. Musa sat there hungry for three days. He saw two girls waiting with their flocks. Musa asked them, why they did not draw water from the well? They said they could not draw water until the shepherds go away. “Our father is a very old man. So we have come to water our sheep. Musa felt pity on them. He asked the shepherds to let him draw water. Musa said, he would draw a bucket for him and then one for himself. His bucket was so very big and heavy that ten people were needed pull it but Musa alone pulled. Then he drew a bucket for the daughters of Shu‘ayb and watered their sheep. Then returned to sit in the shade and said, “O, Allah! I am starving.”

Imam ‘Ali has stated that surely, Musa was the nearest of Allah. He asked Allah for a bread and not for anything else. On the way he survived on grass. He became very weak and pale. Whatever he ate was visible through his skin. When the girls came home their father, Shu‘ayb asked how they came early. The girls explained. Shu‘ayb asked his daughter to call Musa, so that he may reward him. The two girls came to him happily and said, “Our father has called you that he may reward you for helping us.” Musa stood and walked towards the house of Shu‘ayb. While walking, the garments of the girl were blowing by the wind. Musa asked them to walk behind and guide him and said, “We never see the female at their back.”

So, when Musa came and introduced himself Shu‘ayb said, “Fear not, you are secure from unjust people.” The daughter said, “Father! Employ him. He is much better person than others and strong and faithful as well.” Shu‘ayb said, “We knew his physical power by pulling the bucket out of the well but how do you know about his loyalty?” She said, “He did not allow me to walk before him, so that he cannot see any part of my body from behind.” Shu‘ayb said that he desired to give one of his daughters to him in marriage. But he put the condition that he should serve him for eight years. If he completed ten years, it will be of his own free will. Shu‘ayb said he did not wish to be hard to him; if Allah is pleased he will find him one of the good.

Musa said, “This is an agreement between you and me. Whichever of the two terms, I fulfill any one term, there will be no wrong doing to me. If I complete ten years or eight years in your employment it depends and Allah is a witness of what we say.”

People asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the term that Musa completed? Imam said, ‘He completed ten years’. They asked that if Musa married before the term or afterwards? Imam said, ‘Before.’ And explained that if anyone desires of a suitable woman and her father put terms of two months, it is lawful. Musa knew that he would fulfill his term. Then the man asked Imam which daughter did Shu‘ayb give in marriage to him? Imam said, “The girl who came to him and invited him to her father for employment as he was strong and faithful.”

When Musa completed ten years, he said that he now wanted to return to his native place to his parents and relatives. Shu‘ayb said, “The newborn sheep are yours, take them.” Musa made pairs and journeyed with his family. Shu‘ayb provided the provisions of journey with them. While leaving, Musa asked Shu‘ayb to return his staff, as he wanted his staff. Shu‘ayb got many staffs as an ancestral property from his ancestors and they were kept in a corner of a room. Shu‘ayb asked him to go and bring one from it. Musa went inside the house where all staffs were kept. The staff of Nuh and Ibrahim moved. He took it and came to Shu‘ayb. He said, “Take another staff.” Musa took it back and kept among the other staff. Again the same staff moved and he brought it back to Shu‘ayb. It happened three times. In the third time Shu‘ayb allowed him to take it and said, “This is Allah’s desire.” Musa started his journey with his family towards Egypt. On the way they had to pass through the desert. It was a cold night and they were shivering. All of a sudden Musa saw a fire at a distant. Allah has stated in Qur’an that Musa completed his term of ten years and started towards his motherland with his wife. He saw a fire to the right side of a mountain ‘Toor’ He said to his wife; wait here, I have seen a fire, maybe I will bring to you from it a brand, so that you may warm yourself.

Musa went near the fire the saw a tree lighted with fire. He went near the tree to take some fire from it but the fire itself came near him. Musa ran in fear. The fire turned towards the tree. It happened twice and the third time Musa turned away and ran. He heard a voice. “I am Allah, they Sustainer, of the worlds.” Musa said, “What is the proof?” Allah said, “What have you in your hand?” He said, “This is my staff.” Allah the Exalted said, “Cast it down.” Musa cast it down and it changed into a serpent. Musa feared and ran. Allah said, “Fear not, pick it up in your hand because you are in safety. Put your hand in your armpit. When you take out your hand, it will be whitish and illuminated without any pain or disease.

As the color of Musa’s skin was dark when he took his hand out the surroundings were illuminated. Allah said, "These two miracles are your proofs. Now go to the Pharaoh and his community. Indeed he is one of the group of unbelievers.” Musa said, “O, Allah, the Sustainer! I have killed one of his man and I fear they will slay me and the tongue of my brother Harun is more eloquent than me. Allow him to come with me so that he may help me in preaching among the people and verify me. I fear that people will falsify me.” Allah revealed, “He will strengthen his arms with his brother and will give both an authority so that they will not harm him with His signs: you two and those who follow you shall be uppermost.”1

According to reliable sources Al-Ma’mun asked Imam al-Ridha about the explanation of a verse of Qur’an. Imam al-Ridha said that Musa went to one of the cities of the Pharaoh at night. He saw two persons fighting and quarrelling each other. One was a believer of Musa and other was an enemy. The believer asked for help so Musa overcame him and struck him with his fist and killed him. Musa said that this was on account of Satan’s doing; surely he is an enemy, openly leading astray.

Imam said when Musa said, “My Lord surely I have done harm to myself, so do Thou protect me.” So He protected him Surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Musa said, “My Lord! Because Thou hast bestowed a favor on me, and I have killed a man so I shall never be a backer of the guilty but always I will be the helpful by the permission of yours.” And Musa was in the city fearing and awaiting that enemies will arrest him. He saw the same person who had asked his assistance the day before was crying out to him for aid. Today again he disputed with another and asked Musa to help him. Musa said to him, “You are most surely one erring manifestly. You fought with someone yesterday and today you are fighting with another one. I will give you a strict punishment and was going to give him a punishment.” The man, who was an unbeliever said O, Musa! You intend to kill me as you killed a person yesterday? You desire nothing but that you should be a tyrant in the land and you do not desire to be of those who act aright. Hearing this Al-Ma’mun said, “Allah may protect You.”

Imam al-Ridha said, when he came to the Pharaoh. And said, surely we are the messengers of the lord of the worlds. That send with us the children of Israel. The Pharaoh said, And you did that deed of yours. Which you did and you are one of the ungrateful. Musa said, I did it while I was of those unable to see the right course. So I fled from you when I feared you, then my Lord granted me wisdom and made me of the apostles.

According to another tradition; Allah revealed, “I swear of my glory; a person, you killed, if he may said that I am a Creator of the worlds and a Sustainer of the worlds, surely, I forgave him and would give you a punishment but he did not believe in Me, that is why I forgive you.” Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that the two pieces of land became proud that they are better than Karbala. Allah revealed to keep quiet and not be proud over Karbala, “as it is the best land from where I conversed with Musa through a tree and there is a canal which flows from the river of heaven. That is the Euphrates. It is the best part of that land. And the tree by which I conversed with Musa was the wonderful illumination of Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa and his family, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has stated, when Musa completed his period of employment of ten year, he started his journey with his wife, towards Jerusalem. He lost the way and saw a fire from the distant so he moved towards it.

According to reliable sources a person asked Imam al-Ridha. if Musa married the same girl, who went to Musa and asked him to come to her father Shu‘ayb? Imam said, “Yes, she was the same and after ten years when he wanted to go back to Egypt Shu‘ayb asked him to choose a staff from his collection, for you protection. Shu‘ayb knew about the staff, which Musa selected. Musa brought the same to Shu‘ayb. He recognized it and said to bring another one. He kept it and tried to take another one but that staff moved and he brought it again. Shu‘ayb said, “Did I not tell you to bring to another one?” Musa said, “I kept it aside three times but it comes back to my hand.” Shu‘ayb allowed him to take it because Allah has granted that staff for him.

After that Musa was visited Shu‘ayb every year and served him. When Shu‘ayb ate, Musa stood to serve him.

According to a reliable tradition, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has stated that, the staff belonged to Adam and from Adam it came in the possession of Shu‘ayb and then to Musa. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said, “Now it is with us. Whenever I see, it is green and fresh as it was before when it was cut and separated from the tree. If we talk with it, it will talk, and it is kept until al-Qa’im the family of Muhammad will reappear use it as Musa was using. Whenever we want, it comes in motion (as a serpent). It eats when we command it. The lower part of it mouth comes below the ground and the upper part touched to the roof. Its mouth opens forty yards and it swallows up with its tongue whoever is near it.”

According to a tradition Imam has stated that Adam had brought it from the heaven. It was a branch of an heavenly tree and another tradition states that it was the branch of a date tree or a mango tree. It had two branches. Shu‘ayb always kept it with him and when he slept, he kept it below his bed. One day Musa took it in his hand. So Shu‘ayb said, “I thought you were faithful. Why did you touch it without permission?” “I would not have touched it if it had not been for me.” Then Shu‘ayb thought he touched it by the permission of Allah and he is an apostle. So it was given to him. Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that the staff of Musa was a branch of the tree of heaven and Archangel Gabriel brought it for him, when he headed towards Madyan.2

Thalabi, has stated that the staff of Musa had two branches on the upper side and two curved branches below and the top of staff was strong like steel. When Musa went to the thick forest or desert before sunrise, the branches of staff gave light. When Musa needed water to drink, he cast his staff into the well and water came up. When he needed food, he cast his stick on the ground, and food came out from the ground as usual. When he required fruits, he fixed his stick on the ground. It changed into a fruit tree. When it was needed for a battle against enemies, it changed into big serpents and destroyed his enemies. The forests and mountains moved from his way when he cast his staff on the ground. The water of canals also split and gave him way to pass and from another branch honey overflew. When he was tired of walking, he rode on it and it took him where he wanted to go. It guided him on the way. It attacked his enemies. It spread a sweet fragrance. When it was cast on the ground it became a black serpent with four legs. It’s branches turned into two large mouths with many teeth, twelve fangs and a terribly loud hiss emanated from its mouth. It emitted flames from its mouth. Its wings were shining like stars. Its eyes shone like stars. It exhaled hot air. When it reached to a stone as big as a camel, it swallowed it. Its stomach sounded like stones and removed huge trees from the roots.

The Holy Prophet said that in search of Musa, the Pharaoh cut the wombs of pregnant women and slew infants. When Musa was born, Allah told his mother to place him in a basket and cast it into the river. His mother feared and said, “You may drown into the sea.” Musa said, “Do not fear, Allah will send me back to you very soon.”

She was confused to hear him talking. Musa told her again to cast the basket in the water. Musa did not eat or drink until Allah made him reach the shore. According to traditions, Musa met his mother after seventy days and according to another tradition Musa met his mother after seven months.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that Musa separated from his mother for three day only. When the Pharaoh came to know that he would be destroyed by Musa he called his astrologers and knew that Musa will be born in the community of The Israelites. He ordered his attendants to rend the stomachs of the pregnant women of The Israelites. The Pharaoh killed more than twenty thousand children in search of Musa but he could not slay Musa because Allah protected him.

Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari has stated regarding the verse of Holy Qur’an “O, people of The Israelites! Remember, We released your fathers and forefathers from the Pharaoh’s tyranny.

The Pharaoh troubled them and made them work hard as a punishment and had them construct huge buildings. He tied their legs with chains, so they cannot run away and wearing the neck brace, chains in their legs they climbed the ladders to the upper rooms and sometimes they fell down and died and sometimes their hands and legs broke, nobody took care of them. Allah revealed to Musa to tell the people, when they start doing the work to send benediction (Salawaat) on Prophet Muhammad and the family of Muhammad so that they can be saved from troubles and difficulties. The people stated sending benedictions on the Holy Prophet and his family, they felt ease.

Allah, the exalted says,

And when we delivered you from the Pharaoh’s people who subjected you to severe torment, killing your sons and sparing your women, and in this there was a great trail from your lord.” (2:49)

The women of The Israelites requested the midwife not to declare about their pregnancy and when they delivered the male child, took him to the desert or in cave and recite salawaat ten times on it. Allah appointed an angel for his breeding. By grace of Allah, milk flew from one of the child’s finger and the child was fed with it. Many children were killed and only few were saved, and they kept the women as their servant or keeper. The people complained to Musa that they kept their sisters and daughter as a servant and deflowered them. Allah the Almighty revealed to Musa,

“O Musa ask that women, if they intend to do wrong, recite salawaat on Prophet Muhammad and his family.”

When the Egyptians intend to do the wrong, they become sick and nervous or became busy in other work and could not harm them and the women were relieved. This was a test from Allah. Allah, the Almighty says -O The Israelites, remember and think that your father and forefathers were sending salawaat on the family of-Muhammad Allah driven away their troubles and prevented evil due to it. Allah says - When you see Prophet Muhammad and believe him, you will be happy and satisfied with Allah’s bounties.

Imam ‘Ali says regarding the ayah,

So he watered (their sheep) for them, then went back to the shade and said: My Lord! surely I stand in need of whatever good Thou mayest send down to me. (28:24)

“By Allah, he didn’t ask for any reward as he was eating whatever grew on the ground and looked feeble and weak.” Imam ‘Ali says in his sermon that Allah spoke to Musa what was necessary and Allah gave him one of His signs. Allah is unseen and has no body or limbs. Musa heard Allah’s voice from air.3

Thalabi has narrated in his book that Allah sent Musa with special authority in one night. He was dressed in a shirt, a jacket and a gown and a toothpick was fixed in the buttonhole. His jacket and gown were of wool. Allah spoke to him and said, “Go to the Pharaoh with apostleship. I am with you, My help and strength are also with you. I am sending you towards the people as they have become proud and fearless of My wrath. They do not believe in Me. If I wish to chastise them, all things like the earth, the sky, the mountains, the seas, the trees, the animals will become furious. If I order the sky it will shower the stones instead of rain, if I order the earth, it will destroy and demolish them. If I order the mountains, they will crush them and if I order the sea, it will drown them at once. Nothing is difficult for Me. I have given them time to think, to understand My toleration also. I am the Creator of the world and nothing is impossible for Me. I can make the rich people poor and poor, rich and no one is rich in the world except Me. If I give him authority and invite him to worship, and make him fear My chastisement and remember the day of the judgment. No one is superior than Me. Talk to him softly with respect and according to his status talk to him softly with respect and according to this status talk to him softly. Do not fear of him. He can’t breathe, talk or blink his without My permission. Let him know about My authority, My forgiveness, kindness, My wrath or chastisement. Tell him to repent for his sins ask forgiveness. I will forgive him if he repents heartily though he claims to be divine and prevents people from My worship. I tolerated him and bestowed him sufficient food and comforts.” Musa was afraid of His chastisement and also worried for his son. Allah ordered an angel to bring his son to him. Musa circumcised him with a pointed stone and his wound healed at once. An Angel took his son back to his mother. He stayed with his family there. Once a shepherd from Madyan passed by this way. He took Musa’s family to Shu‘ayb and they settled with him until the Pharaoh was destroyed and after that Shu‘ayb sent them back to Musa.4

Musa and Harun sent as Prophets to the Pharaoh and his people

According to a tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the Pharaoh built seven cities and seven forts and was besieged inside them in fear of Musa. From one fort to another fort, there were forests with wild beasts. If anybody entered without his permission, the wild beasts attacked and killed him. Allah sent Musa with special authority towards it. When he reached to the first gate, he cast his stick and the gate opened. Musa entered. When the wild beasts saw him they all ran away. In this way when he reached every gate, it opened and all wild beasts disappeared from there. At last Prophet came to the last gate, he sat there. He was dressed up in clothes woven of hair, and held a staff. A servant of the Pharaoh came out. Musa asked him to get permission from him, to meet the Pharaoh. He didn’t take notice. Prophet asked him again. He said, “Allah has bestowed you with special authority (Prophethood) and why not any other person?”

Musa was very angry and cast his staff so all the gates between him and the Pharaoh opened. The Pharaoh saw him and called him in. Musa came and sat with a group of scholar and learned people. The Pharaoh was sitting on a throne, 80 feet high. Musa said, “I have come from the Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth and I am a Prophet.” The Pharaoh said, “If you are truthful, show us your miracle.” Musa cast his staff which had two branches. It became a large serpent and opened its mouth and raised one part of a palace up and remaining part below him. The Pharaoh noticed the flame of fire coming out from his stomach. Another head faced him. Due to fear the Pharaoh urinated in his clothes. He cried loudly and said, “O Musa stop it.” Seeing this the other people ran away. Musa picked up his staff. The Pharaoh came to senses and thought of pledging allegiance to him but his vizier, Haman said, “O my Lord! (the Pharaoh). People worship you as a God and you want to be obedient of an ordinary person?” His ministers gathered and said that Musa was a magician. They decided on a particular day to challenge him. The Pharaoh invited all the famous magicians to his court to challenge Musa. The magicians threw their ropes and staffs in front of him by their magic, Musa also cast his staff towards them, it became a giant serpent and swallowed their magical ropes and staffs. They were in all seventy-two magicians. They all bowed down and made obeisance and said, “He is not a magician. His staff is miraculous.”

Musa gathered The Israelites and moved towards Egypt. The Pharaoh pursued with his army. When Musa and his followers entered in the water it split and made a way to allow Musa to pass. The Pharaoh reached the shore with his army. They were on the horseback. The Pharaoh feared to enter the sea. By the permission of Allah, Archangel Gabriel came on a mare and entered. Seeing the mare entering into the water, the other male-horses along with their riders also entered. Allah, the Great, ordered the water to close on them. They were all drowned. Allah ordered the sea to raise the dead body of the Pharaoh on the water. So the Israelites come to know that the Pharaoh is dead and not hidden anywhere.

Allah commanded Musa to return with his people to Egypt. Then Allah bestowed them all the houses and belongings of the Pharaoh.

Then Allah ordered him to move towards Syria. When he crossed the sea, he saw another community. They all were gathered near an idol and worshipping it. The people of The Israelites saw this. They asked Musa to make an idol like that for them. Musa said, “You are ignorant. Don’t you know that Allah is one and do you want another God like this?”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated when Musa reached the gate he was not granted the permission, he cast his staff on the ground. The gates opened and he came to the court of the Pharaoh and declared himself as a Prophet of Allah, and said, “Allah has sent me to you. Release the people of The Israelites to me. I will take them with me.” the Pharaoh said, “I looked after you, when you were a child, didn’t you kill a man and became an unbeliever for me. Do you forget, how I brought up you?” Musa said, “Yes, I forgot the real path. Then I avoided you though I was worried to do so. But Allah, the Almighty gave me knowledge and bestowed me with special authority and made me His Prophet. It is true that you cared for me and provided all comforts. You did so, because you made the people of The Israelites your slaves. You killed their sons.” Then the Pharaoh asked, “Who is your God? What are his attributes?” the Pharaoh wanted to know about Allah, how does He look liked etc. Musa said, “Allah is the Creator of the heaven and the earth. Everything between the earth and the heavens is in His commands.” the Pharaoh wa surprised to hear this and said to his companions, that he was asking about Allah and Musa is talking about the earth and the heaven.

The Pharaoh warned him if he worshipped any god except him, he would punish him and send him to prison. Musa asked, “If I show you an open miracle will you not trust me?” the Pharaoh said, “Show me if you are a true Prophet.” Musa cast down his staff and it became a serpent. Seeing this the Pharaoh’s followers ran away from there. The Pharaoh cried loudly and swore at him, Musa picked up his staff and took out his hand from his pocket, the whole palace was illuminated. When the Pharaoh came to his sense, he thought of becoming a follower of Musa. Haman, his vizier said, “You are the God of these people and they worship you. And you want to believe him? Then all the members of the Pharaoh court said that Musa was a great magician. “He is very clever and wants to evict you from the city by his magic.” the Pharaoh asked what their opinion was about this. They said, “Send your people around the city in search of great magicians.” It is must be remembered that the Pharaoh and Haman both were magicians and hypnotized the people. One thousand magicians were collected. The Pharaoh selected a hundred and eighty were the greatest among them. They asked what reward would they get? the Pharaoh said they would be rewarded from his kingdom. They said if Musa could subdue our magic, we shall become the followers and believers of Musa the Pharaoh said, he would also do the same. “But now you try your best to bring Musa under your control.” They gathered in an open space. Musa was called. A throne was erected for the Pharaoh 50 feet high. It was made of steel and shone brightly in the sun. The Pharaoh and Haman came and sat on a dome-like throne. It was so high so that they could see clearly.

Musa raised his head and was waiting for Allah’s revelation. The magicians saw him watching the sky. They said, “We can’t use our magical power on the sky. We can use our power on the earth only.” Then they asked who would start first. Prophet asked them to begin. They threw their magical ropes and staves towards Musa swore by the name of the Pharaoh that they succeed. The ropes and staves moved like snakes and serpents towards him. Allah revealed, “Musa don’t fear, you will be successful over them. Cast down your staff, it will swallow all the magic and magical things. It is their evil-deed but yours is a Divine miracle.”

When Musa cast down his staff, it became a huge serpent. It raised its head and opened its mouth. It raised its upper side up to eighty feet high where the Pharaoh and Haman were sitting and again bent down his head and swallowed their magic. Seeing this all men and women started running. About ten thousand people including their children were crushed in the stampede. Then the serpent moved towards the Pharaoh and Haman. Their clothes spoilt in fear and hair turned gray. Seeing their condition, Musa started running. Allah revealed to him to pick up the staff and not to be afraid. Allah promised him that He would improve their condition as they were before. Musa wrapped his hand in his shawl and put his hand in serpent’s mouth and held its tongue. The serpent turned into a staff. Seeing this all the magicians made obeisance to him and said, “We believe in you and Allah.” the Pharaoh was very angry and said, “You believe him and accept his religion but I do not allow you to do that. Tell me, is Musa your leader? Has he taught you magic? You will come to know, how, I will punish you. I will cut off your hands and legs and hang you on the date palm.” They said, “We are not afraid of you and your punishment as we have turned to Allah and He, the Great, will help us and forgive us as we have accepted His Prophet ’s faith.”

The Pharaoh ordered his men to arrest them. Allah sent his chastisement on the Pharaoh’s community and revealed to Musa to leave the city along with his followers that night. Musa and The Israelites came to the bank of the river Nile. The water of river split and made a way to cross the river. Musa and his people stepped into the river.

When the Pharaoh came to know Musa’s activity, he also collected his army of sixty thousand people and went ahead and he also came along with his people. In the early morning at the time of sunrise, the Pharaoh and his armies had come near. Musa ordered the river to split. The river said, “I never disobeyed Allah and His commands. You have so many people with you, who were disobeying Allah before.” Musa said, “O, river beware of Allah’s wrath and you know it very well when Prophet Adam disobeyed Allah, Allah removed him from Heaven.” The river said, “My Lord is great. I obey his commands if He orders me.”

Yusha‘ ibn Nun came to Musa and said, “O, Prophet! What is the order of Allah?” Musa said, “To Cross the river.” Then Yusha‘ stepped into the river with his horse and crossed the river safely. He and his horse did not even get wet. The people of The Israelites were afraid to cross the river. Allah revealed to Musa to cast his staff on the river. When he did so, the river split and made twelve ways in it. The sun dried the watery ground. There were twelve tribes in Musa’s army. The people of twelve tribes stepped into the river by twelve ways. A tribe, which was with Musa cried loudly and asked about the other people. Musa said they are crossing the river. The water of river stopped its movement like a mountain on their head and the people were crossing the river. When Musa said they are crossing the river, they did not believe. so Allah ordered the river to make holes in water so that they can see each other and talk.

When the Pharaoh saw the miracle, he said to his people, “He has split the water for you.” But no one dared to enter the river. Even their horses were afraid of water and running when the Pharaoh moved ahead to enter into it. His astrologer came to him and said not to go into the water but he didn’t heed. His horse stopped for a while. All his people were on the horseback. At once Archangel Gabriel approached on a mare and entered the river and the last man of the Pharaoh entered into the river. Allah ordered the wind to move the water and the mountain of water fell on them. This was the great chastisement from Allah. The Pharaoh said, “I believe in Allah. No one is like Him.” Archangel Gabriel took a handful of dirty mud and threw on his face and said, “Now seeing the Divine chastisement, you believe in Allah. Before this you were creating mischief on the earth.”5

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has stated about the Penitential Verse of the Holy Qur’an, But on account of mercy from your Lord — surely His grace to you is abundant.. The Pharaoh said His community believed him to be their God. There is no God but he. Then he ordered his chief vizier Haman to prepare a high tower made of bricks so that he can search for Musa’s Allah. Haman prepared a high tower. It was very high that no one can climb or sit due to strong wind. He said, he couldn’t make it higher than this. When it was ready Allah, sent a strong wind on it. The wind demolished it and it fell down into pieces.

Then the Pharaoh prepared a large trunk. He towed four young ones of vulture. When they grew up, he fixed some sticks in each side of a trunk. He tied loaves of meat on each of the sticks. He kept them hungry for many days. He tied their legs with the wooden sticks. Then the Pharaoh and Haman both sat in it. The vultures flew high in the sky. The whole day they flew in the sky. The Pharaoh asked his vizier to look at the sky whether they reached to the sky or not, Haman said, still the sky seemed far. Then he asked him to look down. Haman said, he couldn’t see anything except the sea. They flew until sunset. The sea disappeared from their sight. It was darkness everywhere. Haman looked at the sky but it seems very far as before. Again the Pharaoh asked him whether they reached the sky or not. Haman said the stars look very far away from there as if he was seeing them from the earth.

So again both of them came down to the earth.

Shaykh Tabarsi and al-Qutb al-Rawandi have quoted from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq and many other scholars that Musa’s miracle made all the magicians and astrologers his believers but the Pharaoh was one of the unbelievers. That day about sixty thousand Israelites accepted Islam. Haman, the Vizier of the Pharaoh advised him to arrest those who believed in Musa. Allah sent famine upon the Egyptians. Al-Qutb al-Rawandi has said, when the community of the Pharaoh decided to harm him the Pharaoh ordered his men to build a tall tower so that he would go up and fight with Musa’s God. Haman prepared it with the help of fifty thousand workers.

They built a tower of bricks, wooden sticks and iron nails. It was the highest building of that time. Its foundation rested on a high mountain. When it was prepared, Allah sent an earthquake and the buildings was demolished with all the workers. They, all were destroyed. The Pharaoh said to Musa, “Your Allah is Just and Kind to all. Was this the judgment of your God? Now you get out from here along with your followers and keep up preaching them.” Allah sent revelation to his apostle that he separate from him and leave him to Allah. As he wanted to collect an army to fight you. And decide a particular time with him. Keep your followers separate from him, build houses for the, join with one another. Musa fixed the period of forty days with the Pharaoh. Allah, the Great ordered them for prayer. Allah sent revelation that he was collecting his army for the battle but not to fear him. Musa left with his miraculous staff, which was still a serpent. Musa was walking behind him and the people were surprised to see him running away. Musa came to his army and picked it up. It turned to its original shape. Prophet collected his people and built a mosque for prayer. When the period of forty days was over, Allah revealed to him to cast his staff on the river Nile. When he cast his staff on water it became red like blood.

‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim has stated that when The Israelites became the believers of Musa, the rich people of the community of the Pharaoh asked him, “If you leave them without punishing them, they will create a great trouble. As they do not believe in you and your idols.” The Pharaoh was an idol-worshipper at first. The Pharaoh said, “We would kill their boys and arrest their girls as we are ruling over them.” When the Pharaoh arrested people of The Israelites, they said, “He killed our sons and subjected them to torture.” Musa consoled them and urged them to have faith in Allah. “He would destroy them soon. You will be owner of his land. Remember Him and be grateful to Him.”

Allah, the Most High, sent different kinds of chastisements on them. When they got something good, they said it was due to their good deeds and if they faced any trouble, they said it was due to Musa and his people. Musa went to the Pharaoh and said, “Release the Israelites but he did not obey. Prophet hated them.

Allah sent heavy rainfall and many houses were demolished and many people destroyed. The rest of them went to the forest and built tents for themselves. But the people of The Israelites were safe. The water collected in and around their houses, so the Pharaoh asked Musa to pray to Allah to relieve them from wrath, we will believe in your God and the people of The Israelites who are the prisoners will be released. Musa prayed to Allah, and the rainstorm stopped. But they were the liars. Again Haman said to the Pharaoh if you released them and send them to Musa he will overcome you. The Pharaoh did not keep his promise and did not release them. In the same year, Allah made them prosperous, so they said, this was the blessing for them. They transgressed more.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from some other books that Allah sent revelation on Musa and he indicated towards East and West with his staff. Locust gathered from both the directions and the crops and fruits were devastated. Their clothes, doors and other belongings were also spoilt but the people of The Israelites were safe. Then the locusts attacked their bodies and ate their hair and beards. So the Egyptian’s came to him but the Pharaoh sent them to Musa. They requested him to pray for them and said if he released them from this trouble, they will become his followers and the people of The Israelites also will be free from their prison.

Musa went towards the forest and indicated towards East and west by his staff, at once the locust disappeared. Again Haman asked the Pharaoh, not to release them. ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that in the third month of the same year, Allah sent louses and some says they were tiny locusts without wings, they spoilt their fields and uprooted their crops.

According to another tradition, Musa went to a high mountain of Egypt by the permission of Allah. It is known as ‘Ain-ul-Shams’, and cast down his staff. By the permission of Allah numerous louses came out from the ground and entered their clothes and food. Whatever they ate they found louses in it and they hurt their bodies. Some said that they were tiny worms and spoilt their things. Ever the flour was contaminated with them. In every ten kilograms of flour there were three kilogram worms. This was the severe punishment for them. The worms ate their hair, eyelashes and their beard. Each part of their bodies was filled with it. They could not sleep at night. But people of The Israelites were safe. Again people complained to the Pharaoh. He sent them back to Musa and requested him to release them from this trouble. The trouble was removed, but they did not release the people of The Israelites from the prison. Musa stayed with them for a week but they did not believe him and did not release them. Then in the fourth year or fourth month, Musa came to the bank of the river Nile and pointed to water by the order of Allah. May frogs came out and moved towards the houses of unbelievers and entered their food. Their houses were full of frogs. They entered their vessels and spoilt their food. They hid in their clothes and vessels. All the people were in trouble-all the time.

Whenever they wanted to talk or open their mouth to eat, the frogs entered their mouth. At last they came to Musa and requested him to save them from this trouble. They promised him, they will accept his religion and release the people from prison. After seven days Musa went to the river and pointed with his staff, all the frogs disappeared into the sea. Again they did not keep their promise. Again in the fifth year or in the fifth month Musa came to the river Nile and by the permission of Allah, cast his staff on the water. The water of Nile and canals became red like blood. When they drank, the water to blood. But for the people of The Israelites it was clean. The Egyptians told The Israelites to drop water from their mouths into their mouths. The people of The Israelites did when water was dropped into their mouth it changed into blood. The Pharaoh and his people were very thirsty. They ate the leaves and suck juices of vegetables instead of water, but juice also became blood in their mouth.

al-Qutb al-Rawandi has narrated that the water became salty. Seven days or forty days passed. They were eating and drinking blood only. At last they requested Musa for this and were released but their pride and infidelity increased.

‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim narrates from Imam as-Sadiq that Allah rained red ice on them. They had never seen it before. Many people died in this calamity. Again they went to Musa to pray for them remove this profanity from them. “We will believe in you and release your people,” they said. Again Musa prayed for them and the wrath was dispelled but again their infidelity increased.

Musa prayed, “O Allah. You have given them all comforts. Due to this they make their people tread the wrong path and people follow them. So make their money and all belongings useless.” Allah turned all their belongings into stones. All things became useless but they did not improve their conduct. Allah revealed to him that He would send the chastisement of plague on the Pharaoh’s daughters and all females whether human beings or beasts. They would all be destroyed. Musa conveyed the good news to his community. The spies conveyed this news to the Pharaoh at once. The Pharaoh ordered his men to bring all the women of The Israelites. We shall keep them with our females. “When chastisement will come, they will die and our females will be saved.”

It is obvious that sensible people cannot claim to be God. Allah sent the chastisement of plague on the female species at night. The females of every species perished except the females of The Israelites. In the same night eighty thousand female animals also died. The females of the Pharaoh’s community had so much of precious jewels. After that Allah sent His revelation to Musa that He desires to give all the properties of the Pharaoh’s family to the women of The Israelites as a gift.

Ask all the women of The Israelites to demand for all their properties to give them as a gift. “Due to the divine chastisement, they all are in grief and they will not refuse to give away their women’s belongings.” When they obtained the things, Allah ordered Musa to leave the city with his people.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that The Israelites called out for help to Musa and asked him to pray to Allah to release them from the Pharaoh’s harassment. At that time Allah sent His revelation to Musa. “O, Musa collect all these believers and leave the city at night.” Musa said there is a river in between. How shall we cross it? Allah said, “I shall order it to split for you.”

Musa collected his people and moved towards the river. When the Pharaoh came to know, he also collected his army and pursued them. When Musa reached the shore, he asked it to split for him.

The water asked the reason and said it would not be split without the permission of Allah. In the meantime the army chief of the Pharaoh came to them. The people of The Israelites were afraid and said “O, Musa. you have cheated us and brought us here. It was better to be a slave of the Pharaoh than to die.” Musa consoled them and said, “Allah is Great. He is a good Guide. He gives us guidance to follow to the right path.” Musa did not like them talking senselessly. They said, “O, Musa! You promised us that the water, would split and let us cross. Now the Pharaoh’s army is upon us.”

Musa raised his hands and prayed to Allah. Allah revealed to him to cast the staff on water. When he cast his staff the water split and Musa along with his people entered the sea. At that the Pharaoh’s army approached there and saw the sea split. The Pharaoh said that he has split the sea by his order. “Now enter the sea and follow them.” the Pharaoh and his army entered the sea. When they were half way, Allah ordered the water to immerse them. They all drowned. When the Pharaoh was drowning, he cried, “O, Musa! I believe in God. There is not other God except He. I have become a Muslim.” Allah said, “First you were disobedient and created trouble on the land. Now today I will free you from the world.” Imam said, “the Pharaoh and his whole community drowned no one survived. They all were all consigned to the fire (Hell).”

But the Pharaoh’s dead body was left at the seashore. So that the other people of the city can see and recognize him and understand that he is dead because they all believed him to be their God. So that other people derive a lesson and knowledge from it.

It is stated that when Musa gave the news to his people that Allah has drowned the Pharaoh the people had doubted it. They said, “He cannot die.” So Allah ordered the sea to throw his dead body out to the seashore that people can see him.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Archangel Gabriel was visiting the Holy Prophet in sorrowful condition. Allah sent a magnificent verse of Holy Qur’an to the Holy Prophet. This verse is indicated in the following ayah.

Archangel Gabriel brought this Verse to the Holy Prophet in a happy mood. Prophet asked him why he looked so happy. Archangel Gabriel said, “O Prophet when the Pharaoh was drowning and said he believed that there is no God but He is whom the people of Israel believe and he is one of them. But I threw a handful mud and filled his mouth with it and recited this above Verse. And I recited this verse without the permission of Allah. I was worried Allah will dislike it. But when Allah ordered me to bring this verse to you, I was assured that Allah was pleased with me.”

Imam al-Ridha has stated that when the Pharaoh pursued Musa there were six lakh people in his army and one lakh people in another army. When both the armies reached the seashore the Pharaoh’s horse reared and did not step into the sea. In the meanwhile Archangel Gabriel approached on a mare and passed by the horse and stepped into the sea. The Pharaoh’s horse also followed the mare and then the whole army behind them.

According to a tradition of Imam al-Ridha Allah revealed to Musa, “When the moon appears in the heavens, you should all enter the sea and also take with you Yusuf ’s body from Egypt. So that He can send Chastisement on the Pharaoh. That day the moon appeared late so Musa thought Allah delays to send chastisement because Yusuf ’s body was not taken out as nobody knew the place where Yusuf was buried. The people said that an old woman knew it. When she was brought to Musa. She was very old, weak and blind. Musa asked the old lady about Yusuf ’s grave. She said she knew the place but will not show it until he grants her four wishes. According to another tradition she asked Musa to guarantee a good place in Heaven. Musa was confused.

But Allah revealed, “Give her whatever she wants, I will accept it Whatever you grant her.” Musa prayed and Allah granted her wishes. She indicated the grave of Yusuf on the banks of river Nile. Yusuf ’s body was placed in a marble coffin. Musa took it out and at once the moon appeared in the sky. Yusuf ’s body was taken to Syria and buried there. That is why the people of the book like to go to Syria. Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has narrated that when Musa called that old woman and asked her to show the place of Yusuf ’s grave she said, “By Allah, unless and until you promise me to grant my wishes I will not show you the place. Allah sent him revelation, “What is the difficulty?” Musa told her to ask whatever she wanted. She said that her desire was to stay in heaven near him.

According to another tradition it is said that the Pharaoh tried to destroy the Israelites. He made a plan to kill all the believers of The Israelites. One day he invited them for a feast. It was Sunday, the day of the Pharaoh’s ‘Id. He mixed poison in their food. Allah revealed to Musa, “Give them some kind of medicine to eat, so that poison will be useless.” Musa attended the feast with The Israelites. He told the women and children to go back and ordered the remaining people not to touch food before taking the medicine prescribed by Allah. The poison was in a small quantity; as little as a hole of a needle. When food was served they started eating as much as possible. Musa, his brother Harun and Yusha‘ ibn Nun and many others were sitting in a special place. Their food was more poisonous. The Pharaoh swore, that he would not allow anyone else to serve them you. He himself served them the poisoned food.

When all were satiated Musa said, “We have not brought our women and children with us.” the Pharaoh said food would be given for them. Musa returned with his people. The Pharaoh had prepared the food without poison, for his people. But when they ate the food they died at once. About 70,000 male, and 1,60,000 women of his community died, except animals. But Musa’s people were safe. The Pharaoh and his close friends were surprised but they did not believe in Allah and His Prophet.

According to a reliable tradition Imam ‘Ali has said that six things were born without a mother. They are (1) Prophet Adam, (2) Hawwa’ (3) Ram of Prophet Ibrahim (4) Staff of Musa (5) She-Camel of Prophet Salih (6) A heavenly bird named Tayur which was made by ‘Isa who came to life by ‘Isa ’s order.

According to a reliable tradition Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that the people of The Israelites were divided into groups. One group joined the Pharaoh’s army. They thought if Musa will not succeed they shall go to the Pharaoh’s side. When Musa and his community separated from the Pharaoh the people of that group also galloped on their horses and ran towards Musa. But Allah sent His Angels on them. They slapped them and turned them to the Pharaoh’s army and at last they all were destroyed with them.

According to a reliable tradition from Imam al-Ridha one of the companions of Musa’s had his father in the group of the Pharaoh. When the Egyptian army came to Musa, the companion came to his father to persuade him by good words and make him a believer of Musa. While talking, they both entered the water but both of them drowned. When Musa came to know he said, “They died according to Allah’s will. But when the chastisement comes upon the sinners, it destroys both.” the Pharaoh is one of the five individuals that will get the most severe punishment on the day of judgment.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that Allah gave him ample time- forty years. First, when the Pharaoh declared himself God and said there is no other God except he. Second, he said, He is a God, the greatest of all. Due to this he was hated by Allah and His Prophets Musa and Harun. Allah sent the revelation on His Prophet. His prayer is accepted. This revelation came on him when forty years passed after the Pharaoh’s death.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has narrated that at the time of the Pharaoh’s infidelity, Archangel Gabriel prayed to Allah, “You give him sufficient time and leave him without punishing him and he (the Pharaoh) claimed himself as God.” Allah said, “This thought is like that of an ordinary person who is afraid that an opportunity once lost never comes back.”

Imam al-Ridha has stated about the land of Egypt, that Allah did not punish the people of The Israelites and was not satisfied until they returned to Egypt.

Imam Musa bin Ja‘far has narrated that Musa was reciting a Dua while entering the court of the Pharaoh. Due to his prayer, Allah changed his happy mind into a fearful person.

Once people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when the Pharaoh said let me kill Musa, what stopped him from it? Imam said that he was of legitimate birth and that itself was the obstacle because only a bastard can kill a Prophet and his family members. According to a tradition Imam has stated that when Musa and Harun entered the court of the Pharaoh, they saw that all courtiers were of legitimate birth and not bastards. If any bastard were there, he would have told him to kill Musa. Whenever the Pharaoh sought their advise on killing Musa they showed him another plan to harass him. One who advised to kill was a real bastard.

Hasan, the narrator has stated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when the Pharaoh intended to punish anyone he made him lie down with his face to the ground or on a plank and drove pegs in his hands and legs and left him in this condition until he died. That is why the Pharaoh was known as “possessor of pegs” in his community.

Allah says that He has bestowed nine symbols to Musa. According to a reliable tradition from the Imam the nine symbols were (1) The Staff (2) Luminous hand (3) locusts (4) louses (5) Frogs (6) blood (7) storm (8) Splitting of water (9) and the stone from which twelve streams flow.

According to another tradition from Imam as-Sadiq when Allah sent a revelation on Prophet Ibrahim that He would bestow him a son named Ishaq by his wife Sarah his wife said that her husband had become old and she too. Allah sent a revelation that they will get a son and said, his family will be very big and the Pharaoh will kill many people from his family. “It would happened because Sarah rejected my words.” When the people of The Israelites were in Allah’s chastisement, they recited prayer for forty days and urged Allah to release them. Allah sent His revelation to Musa and Harun to them free from the Pharaoh’s punishment. Due to their request, Allah subtracted 170 years from 400 years. Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says, “To save yourself from sorrow and unhappiness, request Allah, the Merciful. He will make you free from all the troubles and our last Imam al-Mahdi will be appear soon. If you do not do so, the difficulties will increase.

Imam ‘Ali has stated that Allah takes trial of infidels people by His friends. Musa and Harun came to the Pharaoh in woolen clothes with a miraculous staff and had decided, if he would accept Islam and become a Muslim, his kingship and his respect will remain safe. Hearing them the Pharaoh said to his companions, “They both are giving false advice to usurp my kingdom and sovereignty. See their condition and their dress. They are like beggars. So they are after wealth only.” He said because he was a greedy person himself and felt insulted to wear woolen clothes.

According to a reliable tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq it was Wednesday when he was drowned. It was the same day that he decided to kill Musa and the people of The Israelites and in the same day Allah sent chastisement on him.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says when Musa came to his wife she asked him where he comes from? He said, “From the owner of the fire.” In the morning he came to the Pharaoh. Imam said, “By Allah, he came raising his hands, his body was full of hair, his skin was wheatish. He had worn a woolen coat. He had a staff in his hand and a bunch of dates was tied to his waist and his shoes were made of donkey hide. People informed the Pharaoh that a young man was waiting at the door and says that he is an apostle of Allah. The Pharaoh ordered his man (the master of lions) to release the lions on him. It was his habit when he was in anger.

Musa cast down his staff on the door. At once all nine doors opened. The Pharaoh had kept the door closed for his own safety. When the doors opened the lions came out, and bowed their head on Musa’s feet and began to circle him.

The Pharaoh and his men were astounded. Then Musa entered in his court. Allah says in Qur’an about the argument of the Pharaoh and Musa. The Pharaoh ordered his man to hold Musa’s hands and asked another man to kill him. They came to Musa for this purpose; Archangel Gabriel killed them with his sword at once. They were six, who came one by one and they all were killed by Archangel Gabriel. Seeing this the Pharaoh ordered them to let Musa free. Then Musa took out his hand from his pocket. His hand was shining like the sun and nobody could fix his glance at it. Then Musa cast down his staff. It became a large serpent and held the whole palace into its mouth to swallow it. But the Pharaoh asked Musa to spare him time for a day.6

Ibn Babawayh has quoted that water of Nile became lesser. People come to the Pharaoh and asked him to increase the water. The Pharaoh said, he is not happy with them, that is why he had made the water flow slowly. Again the people came to him and complained that their all animals died of thirst and warned, “If you don’t increase the water flow we will search for another God in your place.” The Pharaoh said, “All right, come with me to the forest.” He went aside in a corner, so the people cannot see or hear him. He kept his face on the ground and raised his forefinger towards the heavens and requested Allah and said, “There is no other God except He. And He is only able to make the water flow or stop it. Increase the flow for the sake of your people.” Allah heard his prayer as he is Knowing and Hearing. At once the water of Nile started flowing more as before. The Pharaoh said to his people that he had increased the water flow. Seeing this they made obeisance to the Pharaoh. Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, “I have a claim, so please be impartial.” He asked, what his complaint was? He (Archangel Gabriel said, “I gave the full authority to one of my servants on others. Now he keeps enmity with me and became a friend of my enemy. He is also against my friends. Do justice, and clear the matter.” the Pharaoh said, “Your servant has become disobedient. If he comes under my control I will drown him in the sea.” Archangel Gabriel said give me your assurance in writing. The Pharaoh ordered for a pen and a paper and wrote, “A person who is disobedient to his master and keeps enmity and makes friendship with the enemies of his master should be drowned in deep water.” Archangel Gabriel took his signature.

When the Pharaoh entered the water, Archangel Gabriel approached him with that paper and said, “This is the order for you, you have written it yourself.”

Imam as-Sadiq and Imam al-Kadhim have narrated regarding the verse from the Holy Qur’an-Allah ordered His Prophets Musa and Harun to go to the Pharaoh as he has become an infidel. “Talk to him softly so he would be obedient and fear of My chastisement.” Imam has stated ‘softly’ means, to talk to him with respect by saying My Lord. This word shows respect, but Allah knew the Pharaoh was disobedient and did not believe in them. Besides, he did not like to follow the advise of others. But when he was caught in divine chastisement and was drowning he feared and accepted the truth. He said He believed in Allah and became a Muslim, as the people of The Israelites believe in Him. But it was too late. Allah did not accept his prayer. Allah said, “Now you accept Me as your God, seeing my chastisement. First you were disobeying Me and spreading dispute and disturbance on the land. Now today I shall raise your body from the land so that the new generation will take lesson.” Allah has declared in the Qur’an,

What! Now! And indeed you disobeyed before and you were of the mischief-makers.

But We will this day deliver you with your body that you may be a sign to those after you, and most surely the majority of the people are heedless to Our communications. (10:90-91)

Imam al-Ridha was asked why Allah destroyed the Pharaoh in His Chastisement, what was his fault? In the last moment, he accepted faith and believed in Allah. Imam replied, “He believed in Allah when he beheld the chastisement. Allah has declared clearly in Qur’an about His commands and chastisement. His judgment is equal to all and for the new generations, Allah has stated: O Prophet Muhammad! Say- ‘When the signs of His chastisement came into light, and unbelievers, who were not believing in Me, will not be excused.” In this way Allah did not accept his request at the time of chastisement. Allah said, (to the Pharaoh) his body would be thrown at them, so that the new generations and remaining people will take example from it. The Pharaoh was drowned with the weight of iron from top to bottom. When he was drowned, his body was thrown out to the height, so that the people would see him. It was the example for the people. Due to divine power his body floated on water instead of sinking, first as an example for the people and secondly when he was drowning, he cried to Musa to save him. Allah revealed to Musa not to accept his request because “you have not created him” but He. If he asked Him to help, he would help him but he did not do.7

Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari has stated that Allah says,

“And when we parted the sea for you, so We saved you and drowned the followers of the Pharaoh and you watched by.” (2:50)

When Musa reached the shore, Allah revealed to him to keep up praying and “recite the names of the Holy Five i.e. Muhammad ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn and pray to Me.”

Imam Al-Hasan ‘Askari has stated, “If you do so, Allah, the Great will change waterways into land and you can pass on it easily.” The people of The Israelites said to Musa, “You always advise us something and we don’t like that. We left the city in the fear of the Pharaoh and you ask us to recite the names and enter into the sea. We are afraid, if we do so, what will happen to us?” At that time Qalib bin Yukna came to Musa on the horseback. They had to cross the gulf which was far from there He asked, “O, Prophet of Allah! Has Allah ordered you to recite these auspicious name and enter?” Musa said, “Yes.” He said, “Do you agree with this and order us to say so?” Musa said, “Yes.”

He obeyed the order and started reciting the names, put faith in Allah and prayed to Allah to help him pass the gulf. He stepped into the water. The way of the sea became hard below the hooves of the horse and reached to the gulf. Again he came back running to Musa and faced The Israelites and asked them to obey Musa. He said, “This is not a prayer but these auspicious names are the key of Heaven and a lock of Hell. This is a good support to earn living and it is a good security for the followers of Allah and makes Him happy.” But the people refused to walk on the water and said they would prefer to walk on the land. Allah sent a revelation on him to cast his staff on water by taking the auspicious name of the Holy Prophet and his family and order the water to split. When Musa did so, a path appeared in water. Then Musa asked them to walk. They said there is dirt and mud on the surface of the sea, if they go in, they will stick into it. Allah revealed to him to pray to the Almighty for the sake of the Holy Prophet and his family, to dry the surface of the sea. “We will dry the surface for the sake of the auspicious names.”

Allah sent favorable wind to dry the surface. Then Musa asked his people to move. They said they were of twelve tribes. If they walk on one path, they will try to go ahead from one another. They doubt they would quarrel among themselves. They wanted to go by different paths. Allah revealed to him to cast the staff by the name of Prophet and his family and pray to him to make the land appear for them and remove their sorrow. In this way the twelve paths appeared and the morning breeze dried the surface. Musa asked them to walk. They said that their twelve groups will walk on the twelve paths, but they will be unknown for one another. Musa prayed to Allah for the sake of Holy Prophet and his family to make holes in the mountains of water so that they can see one another and talk through the holes. When they entered the sea, the Pharaoh came to the shore with his army. Seeing them walking in the sea, the Pharaoh and his army also entered. The Egyptians wanted to come out from the sea. Allah ordered the sea to flow high, so all the people sank into sea and Musa’s followers watched them drown.

In the time of the Prophet Allah revealed to the Jews of that time why they did not believe in him (Muhammad) when they know very well that Allah completed all the bounties on their ancestors as the Sadaqah of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad?

Merits of Aasiya the wife of the Pharaoh and the Believer of the people of the Pharaoh

Allah says,

And certainly We sent Musa with Our communications and clear authority,

To the Pharaoh, Haman and Qarun, but they said: A lying magician. (40:23-24)

When Musa came to them with a sign of authority the people said, kill their sons and leave their daughters alive. They were following the wrong path. The Pharaoh cried in anger, “Let me kill Musa. I am afraid of him that he seeks help from his God. He will spoil your religion and will spread mischief on the land.” One of the believers of the Pharaoh who believed in Allah secretly said, “You want to kill a man who believes in Allah, the Lord of the world? Though he has come to you with an open sign of miraculous staff. If he is a liar, he will suffer and if he is true, he will benefit you with his good deeds. Allah does not help the sinners and liars. O, people of my community, you are ruling and enjoying and settled in your land in Egypt. But say, if Allah’s chastisement comes upon us, who will save us? the Pharaoh said, “I know you, what you are and I also follow your advice and respect you.” A man who believed in Allah in private, said, “O, people! Indeed I am afraid for you, as the community of previous Prophets were disbelievers and they all were destroyed in Divine chastisement.

The peoples of Prophet Nuh, Hud and Salih were also destroyed in chastisement. Allah does not oppress the people. O, my people, fear Allah’s judgment, when you will be thrown in Hell and no one will help you from the wrath. And indeed, Allah sent His apostle Yusuf to you, with clear sign but you did not believe in him until he passed away. You doubted that he was a real Prophet and you said, ‘Allah will not send any other Prophet after him.’ Allah also leaves the sinners and doubters in the dark. Then the believer of Allah asked the people to believe in him so he makes them follow the right path. He said life is short and temporary in the world. O, people you invite me to your wrong path and I invite you to follow the right path. You want me to become a disbeliever and give respect to one who has no knowledge. I call you towards Allah, the Merciful and you invite me to your God. Indeed, the disbeliever will go to Hell. I leave everything on Allah, the Great. He is Knowing and Hearing. Allah kept his believers in his protection and involved the disbelievers, in strict punishment.

Allah has given the example of the Pharaoh’s wife. He is quoted in Holy Qur’an,

“When she said, My Lord! Build for me a house in Heaven and deliver me from the Pharaoh and his doing, and deliver me from the unjust people.” (28:11)

The Holy Prophet has said that three persons were the good believers of Allah. i.e. (1) The believer of the Pharaoh’s people (2) ‘Ali Ibn Abi-Talib and (3) Aasiya

The Holy Prophet has said, “Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatimah al-Zahra’, Maryam the daughter of ‘Imran and Aasiya, the wife of the Pharaoh are the four ladies of Paradise.”

Imam Al-Hasan ‘Askari has stated that Prophet Hizqil (Ezekiel) invited the Egyptians towards Allah and towards the Prophethood of Musa and declared Prophet Muhammad one of the best from all Prophets and Imam ‘Ali and the families of other Prophets. He advised the people to avoid the Pharaoh’s lordship. The back-biters said to the Pharaoh that Prophet Hizqil instigates people against him. The Pharaoh said, “He is my cousin and my heir. If he is against with me, he will be punished and if you are wrong in this matter, you will be punished.” Then he ordered Prophet Hizqil to be present in the court. The people asked him to appear to the Pharaoh but he refused to accept the Pharaoh as God. Prophet Hizqil said, “O, Lord! Have you ever heard me lying? the Pharaoh said, “No.” Then he asked the Pharaoh to ask his people, who their God is? They said, “the Pharaoh is our Lord.” Then he asked the Pharaoh to ask them who has created them? They said, “Of course, the Pharaoh.” Then he said to ask them who gives them sustenance and other necessities and who saves them from troubles? They said, “the Pharaoh, our Lord.” Prophet Hizqil said, I witness you and all the people of your court that their God, is my God. The God, who provides all the bounties, livelihood to all, is my God. There is no other God, except He. And O, Lord! I make you and all who are present here as my witness, that I am very much annoyed of other gods except He and I do not believe in them.”

Prophet Hizqil told them indirectly that he believes in Allah only and not their Lord. They could not understand what he said and whom he meant. The Pharaoh became very angry and said that they have created a rift between them. They are liable for his severe punishment because they wished to create disturbance in his kingdom and spoil relationships. As a punishment, he ordered his people to make them sleep, putting their legs on their breasts and nailed their hands and legs and sawed their flesh from their bones. Allah, the Great, kept his Prophet safe from the Pharaoh’s punishment.

‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim has narrated that a believer of Allah, from the family of the Pharaoh kept his belief secret for six hundred years. He was suffering some kind of disease. His fingers fell off. He was raising his hands towards the people and inviting them to Allah. so Allah made him safe from their fraud.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has narrated that the Pharaoh gave him much trouble, but Allah saved him.

Al-Qutb al-Rawandi has narrated that the Pharaoh sent two of his men to bring Hizqil. They found him on a mountain in prayer. They saw animals around him and decided to arrest him. But Allah, the Great, ordered an animal as tall as camel to come in between and attacked them until Hizqil was free from prayer. When he saw them he feared and prayed to Allah to save him the Pharaoh’s harassment. “You are my Lord and I trust you. You are my owner and I believe in You. O Allah! I request you, if they intend to attack me, let the Pharaoh come over them and if they are good, help them and guide them.” Seeing him, the two men returned. While returning one said to another, “I will keep secret about Hizqil. What will we get if he is killed.” Another said, “We will inform the Pharaoh about him.” When they came to the Pharaoh, he told him, what they had seen but the first one did not say anything. When Hizqil came to the Pharaoh, he asked his two men, who was their God? They said, ‘You’. Then the Pharaoh asked Hizqil, who is his God? Hizqil said, ‘Their and my God is same’. The Pharaoh thought that Hizqil believed in him. He became very happy and killed the man who had given information about Hizqil. After this incident that man became the follower of Prophet and was killed with other magicians by the Pharaoh’s order.8

Thalabi has written that Prophet Hizqil was one the companions of the Pharaoh. He was the same person who made a coffin for the mother of Musa. Some has said that he was the treasurer of the Pharaoh. He kept his belief secret for a hundred years, until Musa overcame the magicians. On that day Prophet Hizqil declared himself as a believer of Allah. So he was killed by the Pharaoh who killed the other magicians also.

Hizqil’s wife was a dresser of the daughters of the Pharaoh and she was good and believed in Allah. One day a comb slipped from her hand, so she said ‘Bismillah’. The daughter of the Pharoah asked whether she has uttered this word for his father. She said, No. She has uttered this word for Allah, the Great. The daughter of the Pharaoh said she will inform her father and she did. The Pharaoh called her with her children and asked her “Who is her God”? She said “Allah, my Lord and your Lord is same and He has created all on the earth and in the Heaven.”

The Pharaoh ordered a large stove of copper and lighted it with fire. Then he called Hizqil’s wife with her children near it. She said her last desire is that their bones be buried in the earth. The Pharaoh agreed to do so. He put them one by one in the heated stove. The last tiny babe, who was suckling, said to his mother by the permission of Allah. “O, mother! Be patient, Allah is with you.”

Aasiya, the wife of the Pharaoh belonged to The Israelites. She was pious and believed in Allah and she prayed secretly. When the Pharaoh burnt the wife of Hizqil, she watched the Angels taking her soul to heaven and Aasiya’s faith increased. The Pharaoh came to her and told her what had happened. Aasiya became very sad and said to her husband “Shame on you! What a shameful task you did against the law of Allah!” The Pharaoh said, “You have became mad, like that woman. She said that she believes in Allah, who is the Lord of the world.”

The Pharaoh became very angry and called Aasiya’s mother and said that her daughter has become mad. “Tell her not to believe in Musa’s Lord or she will be killed.” Her mother tried but she refused to believe the Pharaoh.

By the order of the Pharaoh his executioner drove pegs in her. Musa passed and prayed for her. Allah, the Merciful relieved her pain and Aasiya prayed to Him to make a house for her in Heaven. Allah revealed to her to look at the sky. She looked up and became happy and satisfied to see her house in the Heaven.

An account of the Israelites after Exodus

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when The Israelites came out of the river and camped in desert they began to tell Musa that you have destroyed us by dumping in a desert after taking us out of our homes. Now there was no shade nor water so Allah sent a cloud over them. It was shaded during day and descending upon them in the night to become their food settling on grass, rock or tree. Then it was dropping toasted chicken fowls on their tablecloths. Thereby they were eating to satiation. After this the birds use to fly away by the command of Allah. Musa had a stone which he used to put in the midst of his army. Then he used to hit it with his stick thereby flew streams of water for every clan (of an Israel). They were twelve clans. After a period of time they told Musa, “O Musa. We are not content with only one type of food. Pray to Allah that He may create vegetable, cucumber, and wheat.” And some say it was lentil, others are of the opinion it was bread. Musa said, “Do you want to exchange such nice things with ordinary ones? Then go to Egypt or any other city where you will get such things.”

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam al-Baqir that Almighty Allah commanded to Musa to lead The Israelites to the Holy Land and drive out the disbelievers from there and to reside there. The Population of The Israelites was 600000. Musa told them, “Allah had written and destined for you to go and settle in the Holy Land; do not become deniers and disobedient otherwise you would be in a loss.” They replied, “A group of tyrants lives in the Holy Land whom we cannot confront. Therefore we will never enter that city until they get out of it.” Two persons from them, that is, Yusha‘ ibn Nun and Kaalab said, “Fear Allah. Allah had guided them to obey him.” They said, “The defiant of Amaaliqah have twelve cities. So when you will enter them you will overcome them. Rely on Allah if at all you believe in him.” They replied, “O Musa! We will never enter that city so long as tyrants are living there. You along with your God may go and fight with them. We sit here.” Musa said, “My Lord! I possess power only on myself and on my brother. Separate me from the group of these sinners.” The Lord said, “Since they did not accept the admission to they holy lands I have made it unlawful for them enter it for forty years. They will wander restlessly in this land. Do not sorrowful because of the sinners.”

Imam al-Baqir said they wandered restlessly for forty years in an area of four Parasang (24 Kms), because they rejected Allah’s commandment and did not agree to enter the holy Lands. Every evening an announcer used to announce, “Load yourself.” Then they used to start singing epics and traveled until next dawn. But next morning they found themselves at the spot from where they had started walking and say, “We lost our path.” So they remained in this state for forty years. The Lord used to send Manna and salwa for them. They had a stone which Musa used to hit that stone with his staff when they halted (camped). This caused twelve springs to flow from that stone, that is, every spring flew toward every clan. When Musa wanted to take it (stone) to another place the water used to draw back to that stone. The stone was put on an animal. All except Yusha‘ ibn Nun and Kalaab bin Yuqanna died in these circumstances because these two had not rejected the Divine commandment to enter the Holy Land. Musa and Harun also expired in the desert of Tiyah.

It is recorded in many hadiths from Imam al-Baqir and Imam as-Sadiq that Allah had destined for them the entrance of the Holy land but they denied and it was made unlawful for them and it was decided that their sons should enter it. So all of them died in that very desert. Their children entered the Holy Land with Yusha‘ and Kalaab. Allah cancels whatever he wants and confirms whatever he wills. And he has the ummul kitab. (The mother scriptures). It is mentioned in other narrations that their sons too did not enter but their grandsons did.

It is mentioned in yet another reliable tradition that Imam al-Baqir said, “The land of Syria is very nice and the best but its residents are very bad and Egypt is the worst land because it is the prison of the one upon whom Allah frowns. The entry of The Israelites into Egypt was for no other reason but that Allah had been angry with them because of their sin. Allah had asked them to enter the holy land as it was destined for them, but they declined. So they kept on wandering and moving restlessly for forty years in Egypt and its deserts. They could not come out of Egypt and enter Syria but only after they repented and Allah became pleased. I abhor eating anything in a vessel made with the clay of Egypt nor do I like to wash my head with the earth of Egypt fearing that it might become cause of my disgrace and might snatch away my prestige and honor.”

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when The Israelites told Musa, “Go with your Lord to fight; we shall sit here”, Musa held the hand of Harun and wanted to go away from their midst. The Israelites feared that if he goes away Allah’s chastisement would fall on them. So they went to Musa weeping and requested him to remain with them and to pray to Allah so that He may accept their repentance. Then Allah revealed to Musa, “I have accepted their penitence but I will keep them roaming restlessly for forty years as a punishment for their disobedience.” Then all of them except Harun entered Tiyah for repenting from the night they started for Tiyah reciting Torah towards Egypt. There was distance of four parasang between them and Egypt. When they were reaching the gate of Egypt the earth used to roll back to the point from where they had started.

Similarly there is a narration according to which when The Israelites crossed the river they reached an idol worshipping people. They said to Musa, “Make for us also a god, like the god of these people.” “You are an ignorant people,” Musa retorted. “These people are about to be destroyed due to this deed because their action is false. Should I find out any other god besides Allah though He has given you superiority over the entire world?”

Ibn Babawayh has narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that when The Israelites crossed the river they said, “O Musa! With what strength and power would we reach the Holy land when women and children and aged are also with us?” Musa said, “I do not think Allah has given to anyone more than what he has given you from worldly wealth and means as heritage from the Pharaoh. Henceforth He will manage your affairs. So remember Allah and leave every affair to Him and me as He is more kind to you then you are to yourselves.” They said, “O Musa! Pray to Allah so that now He may give us food and water and clothing and terminate our wandering and give us shade from the sun.”

Allah revealed to Musa, “I have ordered that the heavens may send Manna and Salwa to them from above, that the air may bake Salwa for them, that the stone may gush out water for them and the cloud may give them shade.” He also ordained that the dresses they were wearing should enlarge with the enlargement of their bodies. Anyway Musa turned toward the holy land along with them, which is known as Palestine in the vicinity of Syria.

It is called Holy (Muqaddas) because Ya‘qub was born there and it was the residence of Ishaq and Yusuf and all of them were shifted there after their deaths.

The Tafsir of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari says: Allah said, “Remember O The Israelites the time when he had made a cloud give a shade when you were in Tiyah so that it may protect you from the heat of sun and cold of the moon and we dropped on you Manna which is called Taranjadeen which used to drop under the trees and they used to collect it.” And Allah sent for them Salwa which was a bird of the sky. Its meat was better than that of all other birds and they used to catch it without any trouble and were eating it.

In short Allah told them, “eat the pure thing which We have given to you and thank Me for My bounties which I have bestowed on you and give respect to Me and My preferred slaves Muhammad and the family of Muhammad because I have made them honorable. So give them honor, because it is I who has made them great and I have taken from you the oath about their Wilayah (Holy Guardianship). and they did not do Us any harm, meaning they have not oppressed Us, that whatever oath and undertaking We had taken from them regarding those great persons has been changed by them and they did not fulfill the commitment. So the blasphemy of the infidels cannot harm Our Kingdom just as nothing is added to Our Kingdom by the faith of the faithful but they made their own souls suffer the loss means: They have oppressed themselves by becoming infidels and by altering Our commandment.

Remember the time when we ordered your ancestors that: Enter this city Areeha that is a city of the country called Shaam (Syria). This was when The Israelites were freed from the desert of Tiyah. Then eat from it a plenteous (food) wherever you wish, means: Eat the provisions in this city from wherever you please in abundance and without any trouble. Enter this city, means: And enter the gate of the city after making a prostration.

Imam said that Allah had sketched the figures of Muhammad and ‘Ali on the gate of that city and it was ordered that they should prostrate to give respect to those sketches and to refresh their allegiance and love in their hearts and remember the promise and undertaking regarding their Wilayah (authority) and the belief of their superiority which were obtained from them. Then eat from it a plenteous (food) wherever you wish, meaning: and Say that this Sajdah (prostration or bowing) is for Allah and is an indication of honoring the figure of Muhammad and ‘Ali and that the belief of their Wilayah will decrease our sins and scrap our errors. We will forgive you your wrongs. meaning: So that We may pardon your sins. and give more to those who do good (to others). means: And soon We will increase the reward of the righteous, that is, who will do this and who will not have sinned earlier, we will give them higher positions and stations.

But those who were unjust changed it for a saying other than that which had been spoken to them, means: To those who had oppressed themselves changes this word. Imam said, they did not bow as Allah had ordered neither uttered the word as Allah had ordained and they entered the door with their backs towards the door: they neither bowed nor prostrated while entering and said, Why should we bow when the door is so high as it may make us bow for false and senseless things.! So while entering they uttered Hintaa Samqaanaa instead of Hittah meaning thereby that word and deed. so We sent upon those who were unjust a pestilence from heaven, because they transgressed. means: So we, due to the sinfulness of those who had oppressed themselves, sent a sort of chastisement from the heavens because they did not accept the Wilayah of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.

The said chastisement was such that within one day 120000 persons from them died of plague. They were those about whom Allah knew that they would not be alive nor will anyone be born out of their loins who will worship Allah unilaterally or believe in the Prophethood of Muhammad and recognize the Wilayah of ‘Ali. Allah said, And when Musa prayed for drink for his people, means: O The Israelites’ Remember the time when Musa requested water for his people as they had come to him weeping and crying and complaining that in the desert of Tiyah they were dying of thirst. Musa said, My Lord! Quench the thirst of these slaves of Yours for the sake of the leader of Prophets of Muhammad and the leader of the legates ‘Ali and the leader of the womenfolk Fatimah and the best Wali Hasan and the greatest martyr Husayn and their successors and the progeny who are the best among all sagacious and spotless people. We said: Strike the rock with your staff meaning: Allah revealed, “O Musa! Strike your staff on the stone (rock). When he struck the staff on the stone twelve springs flew from it. Every one of the twelve tribes of the progeny of Ya‘qub recognized their place obtaining water so that they might not dispute and quarrel. Thereafter Allah addressed them: Eat and drink from this provision. and do not act corruptly in the land, means: And do not be of those who spread corruption in the land.

And when you said: O Musa! we cannot bear with one food, therefore pray to the Lord on our behalf to bring forth for us out of what the earth grows, of its herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions. He said: Will you exchange that which is better for that which is worse? Enter a city, so you will have what you ask for.

Means: And recall the time when your forefathers who lived in the days of Musa told him: We cannot remain content with only one kind of food, that is, manna and salwa. We need other foods for variety. So pray to your Lord so that He may provide us with things He grows from earth. Vegetables, cucumber, garlic (or wheat), lentil and onions etc. Musa replied, “Do you wish that a better thing should be taken away from you and you be given which is worse?” Then get down, that is, go away from Tiyah desert to any city where whatever you desire will be made available to you.

It is written, according to reliable sources, that Imam al-Baqir has, in explanation of the verse and enter the gate making obeisance, It is written that this had taken place when Musa came out of the land of Tiyah and the entire The Israelites entered a residential area. They had sinned. So Allah desired to free them from the sin and to pardon them if if they repent. Therefore he ordered them that when they reach the gate of the city they may prostrate and utter Hittah, meaning pardon so that their errors might be forgiven and their sins be blotted out. Those among them who were pious complied and their repentance was accepted. But those who were oppressors uttered hintae humaraa (red wheat) instead so as to obtain wheat. So the divine chastisement descended on them.

Both Shi‘ahs and Sunnis have noted in recurring traditions that the Holy Prophet said, “In this Ummah the example of my family is like the Door of Repentance of the Israelites those who entered were pardoned and those who refused were destroyed. Similarly anyone from this Ummah, who will enter the love of my Ahl al-Bayt and believe in Imamate (leadership), and will abide by their knowledge and consider them as a means of their salvation will get salvation and the one who will defy their obedience and will follow the false world, as did they demanded red wheat, will be destroyed.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam as-Sadiq said, sleeping before sunrise is ominous, it makes your face yellowish and deprive one of his provision, because the Almighty distributes provision between dawn and sunrise. Manna and Salwa was being dropped on The Israelites at this time, and the one who was asleep at this time was not getting his ration, but was obliged to ask for it from others.

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when al-Qa’im -the family of Muhammad will appear in Makkah and will intend to turn towards al-Kufah his announcer will announce to his companions that nobody should keep food and water with him. He will be having the stone of Musa with him which will form a camel load. A water spring will gush from it wherever they camp. Every hungry and thirsty person will be satisfied with that water which will be his provision until he with all others settle graciously in Najaf al-Ashraf.9

Thalabi has narrated from Wahab bin Munabbah that Allah revealed to Musa: to construct a mosque for his people so that they might pray in congregation and also build Jerusalem for Torah and Ark of the Covenant and also to built dome for sacrificial rites. He was asked to make curtains for the Masjid and that its front and back must be of skin of sacrificed animals. Their bands (ropes) must also have been made up of wool of sacrificed animals and that women of menses should not touch those bands nor the unclean man should make the skins impure.

The pillar of the mosque must be of copper. Each pillar must be forty yards high and that each should be divided into twelve portions to be lifted by a separate group. The curtains should be 600 yards long. They should make seven domes. Seven of them for sacrificial rites should made of gold and silver and they should be raised on silver pillars. Each pillar must be 40 yards high. Silver tables should be placed between them to put the sacrifice on and each table should be four yard long and one yard wide. The four legs of every table should be made of silver and each should be three yards high so that nobody could be able to pick up anything from it without getting up. The Jerusalem which is the seventh dome must be raised on golden pillars seventy yards high and it should be placed on golden Seebaa, which also should decorated with different jewels. Gold and silver nets must be provided beneath. Ropes should be made up of fur of the sacrificed animals and must be colored in various shades, that is red, green and yellow. All the curtains must be placed one upon another. The lowest must be made up of thick green silk the second of purple, then of fine silk and brocade of white and yellow shade and the topmost seventh of skin of sacrificed animals, which may protect the others from rain and dust. Its width must be seventy yards. The carpets of the domes should be of red fine silk and the golden box should be fixed in that dome which will contain the covenant). It must be decorated with various jewels. Its legs will be of gold, its length 9 yard, width four yards and height equal to Musa. The dome will have four doors. One will be for Angels to enter another for Musa, third Harun and the fourth for the children of Harun who will be in charge of dome. They will protect the box.

Almighty Allah ordered Musa that one mithqal (5 grams) gold should must be collected from everyone from the Israelites for Jerusalem and extra needs should be met within from what has been taken from the wealth and ornaments from the Pharaoh and his associates. Musa did the same. The total number of The Israelites was 600000 at that time. The aforesaid amount was collected from 780 of them. Allah revealed to Musa, “I am about to send down to you from the heavens a kind of fire which will not have smoke. It will neither burn anything nor will extinguish. It will burn only the sacrifices accepted by me and it will light the lamps of Jerusalem.”

Those lamps were made up of gold and were hanging by golden chains studded with rubies and pearls as well as different kinds of jewels. And Allah ordered that a big stone should be placed in the middle. A pit should be made in its midst so that the fire coming from the heavens might stay therein. Then Musa called Harun and informed him that, “The Lord had honored me through a fire from the sky so that it will burn the acceptable sacrifices as well as light the lamps of Jerusalem. And He has commanded me about it and I choose you as per that will and I authorize you. So Harun called his sons Shabbar and Shabbir and said to them, “The Lord has authorized and chosen Musa for an affair and has willed in that regard and now I will and authorize you in this matter.” So thenceforth the trusteeship of Jerusalem and protection of the Ark and the celestial fire remained with Harun.10

Revelation of Torah, disobedience of The Israelites etc.

Allah says in Surah Baqarah,

O The Israelites! “….. And when we appointed a time of forty nights with Musa, then you took the calf (for a god) after him and you were unjust.” (2:51)

“And when We gave Musa the book and the distinction that you might walk aright. And when Musa said to his people: O my people! You have surely been unjust to yourselves by talking the calf (as a God), therefore turn to your creator (penitently), so kill your people, that is best for you with your creator; so he turned to you (mercifully), for surely he is the oft returning (to mercy), the merciful. And when you said, O Musa! We will not believe in you until we see Allah manifestly, so the punishment overtook you while you looked on. Then we raised you up after your death that you may give thanks. “And when we took a promise from you (to obey the commandments in torah) and lifted the mountain over you (saying): Take hold of the law (Torah) we have given you with firmness and bear in mind what is in it (like commands and admissions), so that you may guard (against evil). Then you turned back after that; so were it not for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, you would certainly have been among the losers.” Then He said, “And most certainly Musa came to you with clear arguments, then you took the calf (for a God) in his absence and you were unjust. And when we made a covenant with you and raised the mountain over you: Take hold of what we have given you with firmness and be obedient. They said, we hear and disobey. And they were made to imbibe (the love of) the calf into their hearts on account of their unbelievers.” (2:52-61)

And it is mentioned in Surah Maidah that

“and certainly Allah made a covenant with the children of Israel, and we raised up among them twelve chieftains; and then Allah said, surely I am with you; if you keep up prayer. Pay the poor rate and believe in My apostles and assists them and offer to Allah a goodly gift certainly cause you to enter into grand beneath which rivers flow, out but whoever disbelieves from among you after that, he indeed shall lose the right way.”(5:12)

And in Surah Al-A‘raf it is stated:

“And we appointed with Musa a time of thirty nights and completed them with ten (more), so the appointed time of his Lord was completed forty nights, and Musa said to his brother Harun; Take my place among my people, and act well and do not follow the way of the mischief makers. And when Musa came at our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said my Lord! Show me (thyself), so that I may look upon thee. He said you cannot bear to see me, But look at the mountain if it remains firm in its place, then will you see me; But when his Lord manifested his Glory to the mountain he made it crumble and Musa fell down in a swoon; then when he recovered he said, Glory be to Thee (You are above visibility) and I am the first believers (in believing that no one can ever see you).

Then Allah said, O Musa! Surely I haven chosen you the people with my message and my words, therefore take hold of what (Torah) I give you and be of the grateful ones. And we ordained for him for the tablets admonition of every kind and clear explanation of all things; so take hold of them with firmness and enjoin your people to take hold of what is best thereof; I will show you the abode of the transgressors (in Egypt or Syria) and he said, And Musa’s people (after he went to tour) made of their ornament of gold a calf after him, a (mere) body, which gave a mooning sound. What! They could not see that it did not speak to them nor guide them in the way? They took it (for worship) and they were unjust. And when they repented and saw that they have gone astray, they said, if our Lord show no mercy to us and forgive us, we shall certainly be of the losers. And when Musa returned to his people, wrathful (and) in violent grief, he said, Evil is it that you have done after me; did you turn away from the bidding of your lord? And he threw down the tablets (of Torah) and seized his brother by the head dragging him towards him. He (Harun) said, Son of my mother! Surely the people reckoned me weak and had well nigh slain, therefore make not the enemies to rejoice over me and count me not among the unjust people.

Musa said, My lord! Forgive me and my brothers and cause us to enter into Thy Mercy, and Thou art the most Merciful of all the Merciful ones. (As for) those who took the calf (for a gold), surely wrath from their lord and disgrace from this world’s life shall overtake them, and thus do we recompense the devisers of lies. And (as to) those who do evil deeds, then repent after that and believe your Lord after that is most surely forgiving, merciful. And when Musa’s anger calmed down he took up the tablets, and in the writing thereof was guidance and mercy for those who fear for the sake of their lord. And Musa chose out of his people seventy men for our appointment: so when the earthquake overtook them, he said, My Lord! If Thou hadst pleased, Thou hadst destroyed them before myself (too): will Thou destroy us for what the fools among us have done? It is naught but Thy trail, Thou makest err with it whom you pleases: Thou art our guardian, therefore forgive us and have mercy on us, Thou art the best of the forgivers. And ordain for us good in this world’s life and in hereafter, for surely we turned to Thee. He said (as for) my chastisement, I will afflict with it whom I please, and my mercy encompasses all things; so I will ordain it (specially) for those who guard (against evil) and pay the poor-rate, and those who believe in our communications. (7:143-156)

By those who guard is meant the Prophet of the last age and his legatees and pious people from his Ummah.

They said, “And when we shook the mountain over them as if it were a covering overhead, and they thought it was going to fall upon them: Take hold of what we have given you with firmness, and be mindful of what is in it, so that you may guard (against evil).

And He has said in Surah Taha:

O children of Israel! Indeed we delivered you from your enemy, and we made a covenant with you on the blessed side of the mountain, and we sent you the manna and the quails. Eat of the good things we have given you for sustenance, and be not inordinate with respect to them, lest my wrath should be due to you, and whomsoever my wrath is due will perish indeed. And most surely I am most forgiving to him who repents and is guided by the Wilayah of the true Imams. (20:80-82)

And Allah said,

“and caused you to hasten you from your people, O Musa? He said, they are here on my track and I hastened on to Thee, My lord, that Thou mightest be pleased. The lord said, So surely have tried your people after you, and the Samiri has led them astray. So Musa returned to his people wrathful, sorrowing. Said he: O my people! Did not your lord promise you a goodly promise: did then the time seem long to you, or did you wish that displeasure from your lord should be due to you, so that you broke (our) promise to you of our own accord, but we were made to bear the burdens of the ornaments of the people, then we made the casting of them, and thus did the Samiri suggest. Samiri also mixed with it what was with him. Then he brought forth for them a calf a (mere) body, which had a mooing sound, so they said, This is your God and the God of Musa, but he forgot (as he had to tour to meet God). What! Could they not see that it did return to them reply, and (that) it did not control any harm or benefit for them? And certainly Harun had said to them before: O my people! You are only tried but by it, and surely your lord is beneficent God, therefore follow me and obey my order. They said, we will by no means cease to keep to its worship until Musa return to us. Musa said, O Harun! What prevented you, when you saw them going astray, so that you did not follow me? Did you then disobey my orders? He said, O son of my mother! Seize me not by my beard nor by my head; surely I was afraid lest you should say: You had caused a division among the children of Israel and not waited for my lord. Then Musa said, What was then your object, O Samiri? He said, I saw (Archangel Gabriel) what they did not see, so took a handful (of the dust) from the footsteps of the messenger, then I threw it in the casting: thus did my soul command to me. (When Archangel Gabriel came so that they may drown the Pharaoh, I saw that the dust of the place where the foot of his horse falls remains moving so I took up a handful of that dust and threw it into this calf and it began to make noise. Musa said, be gone then, surely for you it will be in this life to say, touch (me) not; and surely there is a threat for you, which shall not be made to fail you, and look at your God to whose worship you kept (so long); we will certainly burn it, then we will certainly scatter it a (wide) scattering in the sea. Your God is only Allah, there is no God but he; He comprehends all things in his knowledge.(20:83-98)

There is a difference of opinion about Samiri. Some have said that Musa had ordered all not to sit near him nor to talk with him, nor to give him anything to eat nor should he approach anyone. Some have said it was the divine order according to which whenever anyone sat near him both of them become ill. Therefore he was not allowing anybody to come near him and this effect still continues in his progeny. Whenever anybody touches them both of them become ill with fever. Some have said that he ran away for fear of hell and continued to wander with uncivilized people until he entered hell.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that Allah promised Musa that the Torah and the tablets will be sent to him within thirty days. He gave this information to The Israelites and went towards the mountain of Toor and made is brother Harun his caliph in his community. When thirty days passed and Musa did not return they discontinued obeying Harun and intended to kill him and said that Musa lied and ran away from us. Satan came to them in the form of a man and told them, “Musa has ran away from you and he will not return. So collect your ornaments so that I may make a God out of it for you.” Samiri was the chief of Musa’s vanguard army.

The day on which Allah drowned the Pharaoh and his companions he saw that Archangel Gabriel was leading a mare and at the spot where the mare puts its hoof begins to move. So Samiri took some dust from under the hoof the mare of Archangel Gabriel and saw it moving. He put it into a bag and began to boast among the Israelites that “I have such a dust.” When Satan deceived them they made a calf. Then Shaitan came to Samiri and told him, “Bring the dust, which is with you.” He put it into the belly of the calf. At once that calf moved and also mooed and developed hair and tail. The Israelites bowed before it. They were 70,000 people. Harun admonished them but they paid no need and said, “We will not stop worshipping the calf until Musa returns.” They intended to kill Harun. Harun did not resist. Anyway, they remained on this disastrous path until 40 days passed since the departure of Musa.

Allah gave him Torah on the 10th of Dhu’l-hijjah. It was inscribed on tablets. In them were all things like commandments, admonitions and stories that were required for them. Allah revealed to Musa, “We have taken the test of your community behind you; that Samiri cheated them and misguided them and now they are worshipping a golden calf that speaks.” Musa said, “My Lord! Samiri molded the calf but who made it speak? Allah said, “I, O Musa! When I saw that they have turned their face from Me and have inclined toward the calf and then I also made their trial more difficult.” So Musa returned in anger towards his people. When he saw them in this condition he threw down the tablets dragged Harun by his beard and told him, “What prevented you from coming to me when you saw that they are going astray?” Harun said, “My brother! Do not pull my beard and head. I was afraid that you may say that I have created dissension among The Israelites and did not obey your word.”

Then The Israelites said, “We did not breach your promise willfully. But we had unfathomable wealth belonging to the Pharaoh and his people, (their ornaments etc.) So we melted all of it and it began to speak. Therefore we worshipped it.” Musa scolded Samiri, “Why did you do so?” He said, “I took up a handful of mud from beneath the hoof Archangel Gabriel’s animal. I threw it into the belly of the calf and it began to make noise and my heart made this attractive to me.” Hearing this Musa burned the calf and scattered it in the sea and said to Samiri, “Go away; it will be your routine throughout your life to say, “Don’t Touch!” meaning none should touch you. So it continues until today in his progeny that people may recognize him and not be deceived. People call them Laa Misaa in Egypt and Syria. Musa desired to kill Samiri but Allah revealed not to kill him as he was generous.

According to a reliable narration Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Allah did not send any messenger but there were always two devils (Shaitans) to harass them. They (devils) used to spread corruption and trouble among their people and were misguiding people after the departure of the messengers. In the time of Nuh there were Fanteghoos and Hizaam, in the days of Musa were Samiri and Maraqbaa and during the days of ‘Isa were Molos and Marisaan.

It is also narrated that Allah revealed to Musa, “I will send Torah on you within forty days, that is, during the ten days of the months of Dhu’l-Qa’dah and Dhu’l-hijjah and it will contain commandments.” Musa told his companions that Allah had promised to send Torah in thirty days. Allah had commanded him to tell thirty days to the Israelites so that they might not be disappointed. Musa made Harun his vicegerent and proceeded to Mount Toor. When thirty days passed and Musa did not return, The Israelites became angry and intended to kill Harun. They said, “Musa told us a lie or he has fled from us.” They made a calf and began to worship it. Allah sent tablets of Torah to Musa on 10th of the month of Dhu’l-hijjah containing commandments, news, stories and traditions everything, which they needed.

When Allah sent down Torah upon Musa and spoke with him he said, “My Lord! Show me Your Self to me. Allah said, “I am invisible and no one has the power of looking at My grandeur. But look at this mountain. If it remains at its place you can see Me.” So the Lord raised up the curtain and descended one of the sings of His greatness on the mountain. The mountain was drowned in the ocean and will continue to drown until day of the Resurrection Day (the Resurrection Day). Angels came down and doors of the heavens opened up. Allah revealed to the angels to see that Musa does not run away. So the angels came down and surrounding Musa said, “O son of ‘Imran! You have asked a great thing from Allah.” When Musa saw that the mountain had drowned and observed the position of the angels he fell face down and his soul departed from his body. Allah made his soul return to his body. He lifted up his head and said, “I consider You greater than that can be seen, I seek forgiveness and I am the first person to believe that no one can ever see you.” Allah sent a revelation, “O Musa! I have given you distinction over people by making you My messenger and through a discourse with you and I have selected you. So take whatever I have given to you and be of those who are thankful.” Then Archangel Gabriel told him, “I am your brother.”

Explaining the word of Allah,

And We appointed with Musa a time of thirty nights and completed them with ten (more), so the appointed time of his Lord was complete forty nights, and Musa said to his brother Harun: Take my place among my people, and act well and do not follow the way of the mischief-makers. (7:142)

It is said in the commentary of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari that Imam said, Musa told The Israelites that Allah will give you salvation. A Book of commandments and admonitions and examples will be sent by Allah (SWT). When Allah delivered them from their troubles, He ordered Musa to arrive at the promised spot, and to fast for thirty days at the foot of the mountain. Musa thought that Allah would give him the Book after thirty days.

So he fasted for thirty days at the foot of the mountain. Musa brushed his teeth before breaking the fast. Allah revealed, “O Musa! Perhaps you are not aware that the smell of the mouth of the one who has fasted (for me) is, to me, dearer than the fragrance of musk. So fast for ten more days and do not brush your teeth at the time of breaking the fast.” Musa complied. Allah had promised that He would give him the Book after forty days. So he revealed the book after forty days. On the other hand, Samiri misguided those who had weak faith making them think that Musa had promised to them to return after forty days; that 20 days and 20 nights have already passed (purporting to say that the total was 40) and the promise of Musa had ended; that Musa did not see his Lord; that he has come back to you and intends to show himself to you as He (Allah) is able to call you to him without the intervention of Musa; so understand that Musa has not been sent by Allah and He did not need him.

Then Samiri presented to them the calf that he had molded. The Israelites said, “How can a calf be our God?” Samiri replied, “Your Lord will talk with you through this calf as he had conversed with Musa through a tree.” Then when they heard the voice coming out of the calf they said, “Verily God has arrived in this calf as he had entered the tree.” When Musa returned and saw this situation he asked the calf, “Was your lord in you as these people say?”

The calf began to talk and said, “My Lord is above the possibility of being within a calf or a tree or a house. By Allah! O Musa! This is not possible. But Samiri made my hind part rest with the wall and he made a hole in the ground from the other side and then made one of his misguided men to hide there who was speaking by placing his mouth from the direction of my tail. Then The Israelites showed laziness in sending Salawaat on Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and they denied his love and deviated from the faith in the Prophethood of the last Prophet and the Imamate of his selected legatee. So they became dishonored and thought that I was their god. Because of this error, Allah’s guidance disappeared from them so much that they forgot the command of their Lord. Almighty Allah said when people became disgraced due to their refusal to send Salawaat on Muhammad and his Legatee, that is, they began to worship calf, then, O The Israelites! How is it that you do not fear making enmity against Muhammad and ‘Ali while you do observe the signs and miracles.”

I forgave your forefathers’ calf-worship earlier, perhaps O The Israelites of the age of Muhammad! Maybe you be thankful for the bounties bestowed upon you and your grandfathers. Imam said, Allah did not forgive them but they prayed through the intercession of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and accepted their affection. Then Allah said His mercy was on them and pardoned their error.

Remember the time when we gave the book to Musa that is, Torah, when we took promise from The Israelites to believe and to obey every command written obligatory from them. And We gave the Criterion which distinguishes between truth and falsehood and it is also a command which makes the true people distinct from untrue people, because when Allah gave order to The Israelites due to their faith in the book (Torah) and obeying its command, thereafter Allah revealed, “O Musa! Those people did put faith in the book but still separates the believers and the true from disbeliever and falsehood. So renew the oath in this regard because I have sworn by My Holy Self that the oath is true in which Allah does not accept anyone’s word and deed until he does not believe in it. (Furqan)” Musa asked, “What is Furqan?” Came the reply, “It is that of The Israelites that Muhammad is best of the creation and the greatest of all the Prophets and their leader ‘Ali is the best of all the successors of the Prophets and that their Legatees will be appointed as their Imams and that those holy personalities are the best of creation and that their Shi‘ahs (partisans) who will follow their commands will be the stars of the grand Firdaus in the heaven and the kings of the Eden gardens.” So Musa took from them the covenant. Some accepted it orally and by heart; some did not believe in their hearts. So they did not gain the light of faith. This was the Furqan given to Musa by Allah. The Almighty said, perhaps you may be guided, that is, you may understand that, in the sight of Allah, a slave’s honor is connected with his belief in Wilayah just as your predecessors were honored.

O The Israelites! Recall that time when Musa told his people; who had worshipped the calf: you have oppressed your own souls and harmed yourselves by making the calf your god. So return and seek pardon of the Lord who created you and set right your figures and kill yourselves, that is, those who did not worship calf should kill those who had worshipped it. This killing of yours is better in the sight of your Lord than your remaining alive in the world and not to be pardoned and the worldly bounties may reach you but you have to enter hell. And when you will get killed and will repent, Allah will make your killing expiation for your sins and will grant you the bounties of the eternal paradise. Allah accepted your repentance and kept you alive for His worship and surely he is the greatest acceptors of repentance and very Kind. It was a fact that when the falsehood of the calf was exposed by Musa and when the calf exposed the cheating of the Samiri, Musa ordered those who had not worshipped the calf to kill those who worshipped it. So Allah ordered Musa to break that calf (statue) into pieces and to throw them in the river and make all of them drink that water. The lips and noses of those who had the worshipped the calf will turn black and thus they will be identified. Those who did not worship the calf numbered twelve thousand. Musa ordered them to come out with their swords and to kill the sinners. The announcer announced that curse of Allah be on those who move their hands and feet. They should get themselves killed silently and from among the killers one who thinks about the person who is being killed and the one who makes distinction between himself and others will also be cursed. Hearing this, the sinners did not rebel and bowed down to be killed. Innocent people came to Musa complaining that we did not worship the calf and yet our punishment is harsher than the sinners (calf worshippers) as we are being asked to kill with our hands our own fathers and mothers and brothers and relatives.

The Almighty revealed to Musa, “I have put these people in this severe trail because they did not separate themselves from those who had worshipped the calf, nor denied them or became angry with them. Well, now tell them to pray to Allah through the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad so that I may make the massacre easy for them.” So they prayed to Allah and sought the intercession of the Prophet of Allah and the guiding of Imams. Then Allah made the affairs easy for them so that they did not experience any grief and sorrow due to that killing. When the massacre began Allah guided some of them and so one told the other that: when the intercession of Muhammad and his progeny in such a thing that the one who resort to it never get disappointed and that none of his prayers remain unanswered by Allah and when all the messenger have sought their intercession, why we should not do so? After making joint consultation on this point all of them gathered and complained to Allah, “O Lord! For the sake of Muhammad who is the best and the greatest of creation and for the sake of ‘Ali who, after Muhammad is the best and the greatest of creation and for the sake of their pious progeny we request you to forgive our sins and to overlook our errors and to remove this state of being killed from us.”

Allah revealed to Musa to tell them to put down their hands because some of them has given him an oath. “Had they done so in the beginning I would have given them good guidance and would have saved them from calf-worship. And even if the devil had given me such an oath I would have certainly guided him and even if the Pharaoh and Nimrod too would have done so I would have given them salvation.” So the punishment of killing was withdrawn. They said, “Alas! If we had not been unmindful of the intercession of Muhammad and his progeny in the beginning the Lord of the worlds would have protected us from this trail.

Remember the time when your predecessors said, O Musa! We will not put faith in you until we see Allah with our own eyes. Lightening took them. Then we made your predecessors alive after their death. Perhaps they may be thankful for that life span due to which they could repent before Allah and to turn towards Him and “we made them die”, and it was not a permanent death, which might take them to hell forever. Imam said, “The cause of that lightening was that when Musa intended to take the oath of Furqan from the Prophethood of Muhammad and the Imamate of ‘Ali bin Abi-Talib and all the pious Imams, they said, “We do not believe that this is the order of your Lord. We shall not put faith in it until we see Allah with our own eyes and He may give us the order.” Then the lightning fell on them and they saw that the lightning was falling on them. Allah said, “O Musa! I give honor of those of my friends who testify to my selected salves and in this matter I care for no one.” Then Musa told the remaining people who were not harmed by lightning, “Do you accept and confess? If not, you will meet the same fate.” They said, “O Musa we do not know for what reason the lightning fell on them. If you are true in your word that it fell for not accepting the Wilayah of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad then pray to Allah for the sake of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad so that he may make them alive and so that we may ask them about the reason.” Musa prayed to Allah and they became alive.

The Israelites asked them and they replied that the chastisement overtook them because they had denied the Prophethood of Muhammad and the Imamate of ‘Ali and his progeny. “Then after death we saw the kingdom of our lord in the heavens. We observed curtains, Chair, Throne and hell and we saw that no ones kingdom and rules is greater and more effective than that of Muhammad and ‘Ali and Fatimah and Hasan and Husayn. When we died due to the lightning and when angels began to drive our souls towards hell, Muhammad and ‘Ali called out to the angels to postpone chastisement group saying that these people will become alive again by the prayer of one who will pray for it for the sake of us and our pious progeny.” This voice reached us when we were about to be thrown out in the Haawiya. But hearing it the angels stopped pushing us until we became alive due to your prayer.” So the Almighty said to the Prophet of time: “When our elders became alive through the intercession of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad you too do not deny their right and do not invite the divine punishment by yourselves and be worthy of the divine punishment yourselves.”

Believe for sure of the time when We took a covenant from your forefathers to do as We had ordered them to do through Torah and with that particular message which was sent about Muhammad and the family of Muhammad that they are the best of creation and that they are to rise up in the world with truth, it is incumbent upon you to confess this and also to make your children aware of this command of this Allah and to appoint them on the job of conveying this to their offspring’s. This should continue until the end of the world, that they should put faith in Allah’s Prophet, Muhammad and to accept all that he may say about his legatee ‘Ali bin Abi-Talib and which ‘Ali may say regarding the Imams who are to rise with truth after ‘Ali. So O The Israelites! Your predecessors refused to accept them.

So we ordered Archangel Gabriel to lift from the mountain, a piece equal to the size of the army camp of Musa (one square parasang) and Archangel Gabriel made it hang over their heads. Then Musa asked them, “Do you believe or this will be thrown on you.” They sought shelter and believed for fear to their lives. Allah protected them from their enemies those who believed sincerely. So when they accepted they fell downs in prostration and put their cheeks on the earth. But many of them placed their cheeks on the earth only to see whether or not the mountain falls on them. Very few of them placed their heads on ground sincerely before their Lord.

Take and accept whatever we have given to you from the duties, which we have imposed on you with the strength that we have granted to you. We have given you enough power to obey our commands and we have lifted conditions from you.

We heard your word and we denied, that is, disobeyed thereafter or made up mind at that time not to obey the command. They were commanded to drink the water where the pieces of the calf were thrown so that it may become clear as to who is calf-worshipper and who did not worship it.

They were ordered to do so due to their disbelief. O Muhammad! Tell them that if you have faith in Torah then realized that what they ordered you was a bad thing, that is not to put faith in Musa so that you deny Muhammad and ‘Ali and their progeny but he commands you to believe in those great persons. ‘Ali said that when Musa returned to The Israelites and when those who had worshipped the calf came to him repenting Musa asked, “Tell me who has worshipped the calf so that I may carry out Allah’s command.” All denied and everyone of them said, “I did not do it, others did.” Musa told Samiri “Look at the God which you worshipped as I am breaking it into pieces and throwing it into the river.”

Allah commanded Musa and he broke it into pieces with a hammer and threw it the river, and ordered The Israelites to drink that water. So the one who had worshipped it and who was fair complexioned got his lips and nose black and if he was black colored these parts of his body became white. Then Divine commands were issued to them.

Amir al-Mu’minin says that Musa had promised to The Israelites that when they will be freed from the Pharaoh, Allah would send a Book for them containing commands (orders and prohibitions) and there will be, in it, punishments and duties. When they got freedom and approached Musa he brought the Book for them. It was written in that “I do not accept the deed of the one who does not respect Muhammad and his progeny, and who does not honor their friends and companions as they should truly do. O slaves of Allah! Understand and be witness that Muhammad is the best in My creation and his brother ‘Ali is, in his Ummah (followers) his legatee and the inheritor of his knowledge and his deputy and the best of creation after him (the Prophet). The progeny of the Prophet are the best of the progenies of all Prophets and his companions are the best among the Prophet’s companions and his (Muhammad’s) Ummah is the best of the Ummahs of all the Prophets. The Israelites said, “We do not accept it.” They said, “O Musa! This is very hard to accept. But we accept its conditions as rules as it is easy and how can we accept it when we believe that our Prophet is better than all other Prophets and that his Progeny is better than that of all others and we, who are in his community, are better than the communities of all other Prophets. So we do not accept the grace of that group whom we have never seen nor do we know them.”

Allah ordered Archangel Gabriel to lift a mountain from Palestine having the area of one square parasang, that is the size of the camp of Musa and raised it over their heads and said, “Accept whatever Musa has brought for you otherwise I am about to drop this mountain on you whereby all of you will be crushed and vanished.” Then they became restless and cried, “O Musa what should we do?” Musa said, “Prostrate for Allah and rub your forehead and both cheeks on dust and say, ‘O Lord! We have heard and we have accepted, confessed and submitted and have become satisfied.’”

They did as told by Musa. But most of them did not do it with sincerity and they were saying in their heart we heard but we opposed. Though they put their right cheek on the dust (earth) their intention was not to express humility before Allah and to repent for their past sins. Rather they had done so just to see if the mountain falls on them or not. Then they also put down their left cheek but that too with the same intention. Archangel Gabriel told Musa, “I will destroy most of these people because they have confessed only apparently and since the Lord also deals with people in this world only according to their apparent deeds their bloods is protected and they will live here in safety but, in the hereafter, their affair is with the Lord who will punish them on the ground of their false belief and incorrect intention.”

The Israelites saw that the mountain broke into two, one pieces of white pearl and went toward the sky and, piercing the clouds, disappeared from sight and the other piece became fire, tore through the earth and disappeared from their eyes. They asked the reason from Musa who said, “The piece which went towards sky went up, got appended to paradise and the Lord multiplied it unlimitedly, so much that no one knows its extent except the Lord himself and He ordered that it should be utilized for building mansions, palaces and stations for those who believed truthfully (from heart); that those building will have all kinds of bounties such as gardens, good-natured houries and slaves having permanent beauty who would be like scattered pearls.

They will get all the bounties as promised by Allah to His righteous slaves. And another piece which pierced the earth has got annexed to hell and the Lord added innumerable piece to it and ordered that they should be used for building houses and stations full of calamities like rivers of fire and Ghisleen (the water oozing from wounds) and the tanks of Ghassak (a dirty thing like pus etc.) and canals of foul water and thorny trees and poisonous grass and snakes, scorpions and bullets and pallet bows and chains and all sorts of chastisement and calamities having the angels in charge of hell with clubs in their hands for punishing the disbelievers who denied the orders of this Book. The Lord has provided all these things for the dwellers of hell. The Prophet asked The Israelites, “Don’t you fear chastisement of Allah? While denying the distinctions for which Allah had selected me and my pious progeny?”

According to reliable narrations Tawus Yamani, who is one of the Ulama (scholars) of the Sunnis asked Imam al-Baqir which is that bird which flew only once and will never fly thereafter? Imam said, “It is the Toor mountain. Allah Almighty had raised it up over the heads of The Israelites. There were different kind of chastisement in it until people accepted the word of Allah,

And when We took a promise from you and lifted the mountain over you: Take hold of the law (Torah) We have given you with firmness and bear in mind what is in it, so that you may guard (against evil). (2:63)

In another hadith Imam has said, while explaining the same verse, “When the Almighty sent Torah for The Israelites and they did not accept it he raised mount Toor over their heads.” Musa told them, “If you do not accept the mountain will be made to fall on you.” Then they accepted and put down their heads in prostration.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when Musa told The Israelites that Allah speaks to him, they did not believe him. He said, “Select a group from your people to accompany me to hear the talk of Allah with me. They selected 70 righteous people from their community and sent them to Musa to hear the divine speech. When Musa went near the place and when Allah conversed to him by creating vibration in the air, Musa asked them to hear and be witness before The Israelites. They said we will not believe that this voice is of Allah until we see him with our own eyes. Then a lightening fell on them and all of them were burnt down into ashes. Musa became sorrowful on seeing this and appealed, “My Lord! Do you kill us all because of what some of our fools did?” Musa has imagined that those people were destroyed because of the sins of The Israelites.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam al-Baqir and Imam as-Sadiq said that when Musa requested Allah to show Himself, He revealed to him, “You will never be able to see Me.” But He promised, “I will send My might on this mountain so that Musa might understand that He is beyond visibility (vision).” Musa went up the Toor mountain. The gates of heavens were open, the army of angels came down and began to pass by Musa holding radiant clubs in the big columns along with lightening roars and stormy winds. Every column was saying, “O son of ‘Imran! You have asked a great thing from your Lord.” And Musa was trembling on seeing each and every column. Fire encircled him by the command of Allah due to which he was not able to move out of out of it in any direction until the Allah shed a particle of his radiant grandeur on that mountain. The mountain went down the earth and Musa fell unconscious.11

It is recorded in reliable sources that Al-Ma’mun asked this question to Imam al-Ridha. He replied that Kaleemullah (the one who conversed with Allah), that is Musa knew that the lord is above vision. Yet since the Lord conversed with him and made him His confidant and when he informed his community about this fact they said we will not believe in what you say unless and until we hear Allah’s words just as you heard them. They were 700000 people in all. Musa selected 7000 out of them, then 700 therefrom and thereafter 70 and took them to Mount Toor with him which was the venue of his worship. He made them wait at the foot of the hill and went up and prayed to Allah to speak with him in a way that it could be heard by those 70 at the foothill.

The Lord conversed with him and all of them heard His words simultaneously from above their heads and from below their feet and from their right and left and front and behind because Allah had created sound in the tree, which spread in all directions. Thus they heard it from every direction so that they may realize that it was the word of Allah, because, had it been the voice of anyone else it would have reached them from only one direction. Those seventy men said we do not believe it until we see Allah with our own eyes. As this demand was made by them was a very unbecoming outrage and harsh rebellion Allah made lightening to fall on them that killed them due to their injustice.

Then Musa said, “My lord! What shall I say after returning to my people, as they will say to me, ‘O Musa! You took our brothers with you since you were not true in your claim of having conversed with Allah you killed them.’” The Lord made them alive as requested by Musa. When they became alive they said, “O Musa all this happened because you had asked for it to show it to us. So now ask Allah to show himself to you so that you may look at him as He will accept your wish. Then you see Him and tell us about it so that we will recognize Him as He should be recognized.” Musa said, “My Lord! You hear the words of The Israelites and also know what is better for them.” The Lord then revealed to Musa, “Ask Me as they ask I will not question you for their ignorance and folly.” Musa said, “My Lord! Show yourself to me.” The Lord said, “You can never see me, however look at the mountain. If it remains at its place you will be able to see me.” Then the Lord shed one of his sign of grandeur on the mountain, which leveled the mountain to the ground and Musa fainted. When he gained consciousness he said, “My Lord! I Praise your inviolability and, O Lord’ I repent before You, that is, I turn my back to my peoples’ nonsense and ignorance and return to Your recognition which was with me earlier. And I am the first person from The Israelites to have faith in You with the belief that you are beyond visibility.”

It is recorded in authentic traditions that Imam as-Sadiq asked the people, “Do you know why Harun said ‘O son of my mother!’ do not pull my beard and head why did he not say: ‘ O son of my father! Then he clarified that jealously takes place among brothers when they are from one father and different mother. When they are from one mother, enmity remains less among them unless Satan creates corruption between them and when they obey Satan.. So Harun said to Musa: O my brother born from one and the same mother! (not from a different mother) Do not hold my head and bread. He did not say: “O son of my father!” because enmity is not uncommon between sons of one father and different mothers, except those protected by Allah.

Then the questioners ask the Imam why Musa held the head and beard of Harun and pulled when he did not take part in calf worship? Imam replied, “Because when The Israelites indulge in calf worship and thus became infidels he did not distance himself from them and joined Musa. Had he separated himself from them joined Musa the anger would not have fallen on him. Do you not see that Musa said to Harun, ‘When you saw them go astray what prevented you from coming up to me?’ Harun said, ‘Had I done so The Israelites would have divided themselves into groups and I was afraid that you would say that I created discord among The Israelites and did not care for you in the matter of their reform.’”12

It is recorded in reliable traditions that Imam al-Ridha said, “People asked Amir al-Mu’minin what is the reason behind that fact that a cow cannot raise her eyes up towards the sky? He replied, ‘As the community of Musa had worshipped calf she keeps her head down being ashamed and does not looks up towards the sky.’” It is reported that the Holy Prophet said, “Love the cow as she is the best among the four footed animals and she does not look towards the sky because she is ashamed of being worshipped (by the misguided).”

It is mentioned in another tradition that when Musa asked and the Almighty shed His radiance on the mountain range seven of them broke up from it and flew away and fell towards hijaz and Yemen. The one who came to Medina was Uhad and Ruqaan and one, which came to Makkah, was Sabeer and Harraa and one, which came to Yemen, were Sabr and Hasoor.

It is mentioned in reliable tradition that Amir al-Mu’minin said, “When you take my bier towards Najaf Ashraf, a wind will confront you and it will throw you down on a ground. So bury on that spot as it is the first mount Sinai.”

According to authentic narration Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, Najaf Ashraf is the piece of the mountain on which Allah had spoken to Musa.

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that when the Almighty rained His radiance on mount Toor it began to drown in the sea and will continue to go down until the Resurrection Day.

It is mentioned in yet another reliable tradition that Karroobiyaan is a group of our Shi‘ahs (companions) whom Allah created first and he has placed them on the back of the throne. If he distributes a radiance of anyone of them between all the residents of the earth surely it would suffice for all. And when the Musa asked for seeing the Lord, He ordered one of those Karroobiyaan to shed its radiance on the mount. It complied. The mountain could not bear it and was drowned in the sea.13

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when The Israelites repented and when Musa told them to kill one another (by way of punishment) they asked how it should be done? He said, “You come at Jerusalem next morning and bring with you knives, sword or other arms and keeping your face hidden (covered) so that you may not recognize one another. Start killing when I climb the pulpit.” Next morning the 70000 People who had worshipped the calf gathered near Jerusalem. Musa offered prayers and ascended the pulpit. Massacre started. When 10000 of them were killed Archangel Gabriel came down and said, “O Musa! Ask them to stop killing as Almighty Allah has accepted their repentance by His Grace.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam as-Sadiq said, “Musa has selected 70 person from his community and took them to mount Toor with him. When they asked to see Allah, a lightening feel on them and all were burnt to death.” Musa prayed, “My Lord these were my companions.” Came the divine revelation, “O Musa! I will give you better companions.” Musa said, “My Lord! I am attached to them. I know all of them with their names.” He prayed thrice like this. So Allah made them alive and made all of them messengers.14

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that when the Almighty Allah sent down Torah on Musa which contained information about everything that to be seen until the Resurrection Day and when Musa reached his age (life span) Allah asked him to entrust the tablets to the mountain. Those tablets were made of Heaven’s Emerald. Musa brought them to the mountain. The gap closed in and the tablets disappeared until the last Prophet of Allah arrived. Once a caravan of Yemeni people came to him. When it reached that mountain, it split up and the tablets reappeared. They (caravan) took them up and brought them to the Holy Prophet. “From that time they are all with us until today.”

In another reliable tradition it is mentioned that Imam al-Baqir said when Musa threw the tablets some of them broke and went down that ground (rock) and became preserved there until the holy Prophet Muhammad came. Then that rock sent them to him. There are several hadiths that Allah did not send any book to any Prophet nor gave any miracle to any messenger but that all of them (Books and Miracles) are with the progeny of the holy Prophet. InshaAllah these hadiths will be quoted at their appropriate place.

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that when Musa cursed the Israelites in June, 300000 persons of them died within twenty-four hours.

It is narrated from the Holy Prophet that Qur’an is called Furqan because its chapters and verses came separately without being inscribed on a tablet while Torah and Injeel and Zabur had been sent down inscribed on tablets and written on pages.

According to reliable sources Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Torah was sent down on the 6th of Ramadhan.15

An Account of Qarun

The Almighty has said in Surah Qasas,

“Verily Qarun belonged to the community of Musa. 28:76-83”

Imam as-Sadiq is reported to have said that he was the son of Musa’s aunt. Some have said he was the son of his uncle. Fa Baghaa Alaihim (so he rebelled against them and committed excesses). There is a difference of opinion about the nature of his rebellion. Some people say that when they were living in Egypt, the Pharaoh had made him the ruler (governor) of The Israelites and that he had oppressed them at that time. Some say he was keeping his dress about a foot higher than others and some have said that he was proud and showing arrogance because of his richness and wealth.

So he rebelled against them and committed excesses.

There is a difference of opinion about the nature of his rebellion. Some people say that when they were living in Egypt, the Pharaoh had made him the ruler (governor) of The Israelites and that he had oppressed them at that time. Some say he was proud keeping his dress about a foot higher than others and some have said that he was proud and showing arrogance because of his richness and wealth.

And We had given him treasures the keys to which proved difficult even for a strong group to lift.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has said Usbah (group) consists of ten or fifteen men. Some have said the number was ten or forty while some others have opined that the number was forty. Some have said sixty and some seventy. It is mentioned in the narrations that the keys of his treasures were being loaded on sixty asses and that no key was larger than a finger but as they were of iron they were very heavy, he got it made of wood. When it too proved much heavy, he made them of leather.

When his community told him, “Do not be haughty and do not show arrogance because of your wealth. Allah does not like those who are pleased solely with the worldly wealth and its beauty.” Some say that Musa had said, “Seek the House in the hereafter with what Allah has given to you. And do not forget your share in the worldly material that is either earned for the hereafter or be content with taking according to your need. And behave benevolently with people and be kind to them, as Allah has been Kind to you. And do not try to create trouble and mischief in the world. Verily Allah does not befriend the mischief-makers. He said no one has given me this wealth. I have earned it with the knowledge, which I possess. ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim says the meaning of what he said was that “I have earned this wealth due to my knowledge of chemistry. It is said that Musa had thought him this Alchemy and according to some his thinking was that his since I was superior to you in knowledge Allah gave me this wealth and status. In the opinion of some he meant by saying Ilm (knowledge) was the knowledge of business trade and agriculture and other occupations. Did he not understand that Allah had destroyed, centuries ago, those who were much wealthier and superior in army? And the criminals and the deniers will not be questioned in the Resurrection Day about their sins because Allah already knows their deeds.

So Qarun came before his community with his adornments, that is he had worn clothes of various colors which he was dragging on the ground arrogantly with pride. Some have said he came with 4000 mounted men and that the saddles of his horses were of gold and red clothes covered them and more than 3000 beautiful slave girls were with him reading Kabood (black and blues) white asses and that all were in red attires. Some have said 70000 persons were with him and that all of them were dressed in red. That those who loved the world (on seeing him) said, How nice would it have been had we also been given what Qarun has been given.

Verily he is the fortunate man in the world. And those were given knowledge by and who believed in the hereafter said, “woe unto you! The reward of the hereafter is better for the one who believes and who does good deeds and such good sense is given to the one who gives up the world and a remains patient.” And so we pushed Qarun and his house in the earth. So there was no group to save him from the Divine punishment and he himself could not remove the chastisement from him. And those who yesterday were longing for the status of Qarun woke up next morning to exclaim, “Verily Allah, according to His wisdom, widens the provision of the one whom he wishes and narrows for one whom He wills.

Had He not been kind to us and had we continued to keep our eyes on his wealth, surely we would have also been pushed into the earth. Surely thankless people do not prosper or the deniers will not get salvation in the hereafter. We build this house of the hereafter for those who do not seek to be high and great nor is spread mischief in the land and the good end only for the righteous.”

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that what caused Qarun to be destroyed was that when Musa brought The Israelites from the river and when Allah showered His blessings on them fully, he ordered them to fight with the Amaaliqah. They did not obey. So it was decided that they should wander with anxiety in the desert of Tiyah for forty years. They used to get up in the beginning of the night and to recite Torah and prayers weeping. Qarun was also among them, he was also reciting Torah. No one had a voice sweeter than him. He was called Manonnon because of his melodious recitation. He knew Alchemy and practiced it. When the affair of The Israelites got lengthy, they began to repent and to weep with humility. But Qarun did not like to join them in penitence. As Musa liked him he went to him and asked him, “How is it that your people are busy in repentance and you are sitting here? Go and join them. Otherwise Divine punishment will fall on you.”

He paid no attention to the advice of Musa and began to ridicule him. Musa became sorrowful and returned and sat nearby. He was wearing a gown made of hair and was holding a staff. Musa became very angry. He had hair on his shoulders, which used to become stiff and come out of his clothing. Blood also used to ooze therefrom Musa said, “My Lord! If You do not frown upon Qarun because of me, then I am not your messenger.”

The Lord revealed to him that, “I have made the skies and the land subservient to you. Ask them do whatever you like.” Qarun had closed the gates of his palace for Musa. Hearing about it Musa came there pointed toward the gates and all of them opened due to his miracle. He entered the palace. When Qarun saw Musa he understood that he had come to punish him. So he said, “O Musa! I appeal to you for the sake of my right owing to relationship with you, be kind to me. Musa said, “O son of Laadi! Do not talk with me.” Then he commanded the earth to devour Qarun. So the palace and all that was in it went down in the ground and Qarun was also thrust into the earth up to his things. He began to weep and gave Musa a swearing for mercy. Musa again retorted, “O son of Laadi! Do not talk with me.”

He appealed repeatedly but to no avail, until he disappeared beneath the ground. When Musa came to his place of worship Almighty Allah said, “O son of Laadi! Do not talk with me.” Musa understood that Allah was angry with him for not being kind to Qarun. Musa said, “My Lord! Qarun asked of me without mentioning without Your name. Had he sworn by you I would have been kind to him. I would have accepted it.” The Lord again said the same thing in reply which Musa had given to Qarun. Then Musa said, “My Lord! Had I known that Your pleasure was in accepting his wish I would have accepted it.” Allah said, “O Musa! I swear by My Might, Grace and Greatness, had Qarun begged for mercy from Me as he did from you I would have accepted it. But since he had asked for your help and had resorted to you, I left him to you. O son of ‘Imran! Do not be afraid of death because I have fixed the time of death for every living being and have provided a place of comfort for you. If you see it and reach it, your eyes would become bright.

Thereafter Musa went to Toor mountain one day along with Yusha‘. When they reached Mt. Toor, they saw a man walking with a shovel and a basket. Being asked as to where he was going he replied, “A friend of Allah has died and I want to prepare a grave for him.” Musa asked what he was doing? He said, “I want to ensure that the grave is all right.” Musa said, “I am going therein.” So Musa went in the grave and slept there in and liked it. The angel of death arrived and retrieved his soul then and there. The mountain got leveled and the grave disappeared.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam as-Sadiq said, “When Yunus was in the belly of a fish, he reached the spot where Qarun was pushed into the earth due to the curse from Musa, Allah had appointed an angel to push him in the ground daily up to a depth of a man’s height. Yunus was remembering and hallowing Allah in the belly of the fish. When Qarun heard that human voice he requested the angel to give him some respite as he was hearing a human voice. Almighty Allah ordered the angel to give the requested respite. Then Qarun addressed Yunus and asked, “Who are you?” He replied, “I am a sinner, Yunus son of Matta who has erred.” Qarun asked where is the oft-angering, for the cause of Allah, that is Musa son of ‘Imran? Yunus replied, “Alas he has passed away from the world long ago. Then what about that man who was very kind to his community.” That is, Harun. Yunus replied, “He also expired.” Then Qarun asked, “How about Kulthum daughter of ‘Imran who was named (for marriage) with me? Yunus replied, “Alas! No one from the progeny of ‘Imran remains.” Qarun said, “Very sorry for the family of ‘Imran!” Allah liked this sorrow very much and, as a reward, ordered that angel to stop punishing him until the world existed.

Al-Qutb al-Rawandi and Thalabi have narrated that the Almighty Allah revealed to Musa to order The Israelites to stick four blue-black ropes with their sheets in every side and also to hang a heavenly rope. Musa called The Israelites and said, “Allah has ordered that you should stick ropes of sky color to your chadors so that you may remember Allah whenever you see them. Very soon he will reveal his book for you.” Hearing this Qarun said rebelliously, the master (Musa) is saying all these things to his slaves so that he may remain distinct among others. When Musa came out of the river with The Israelites he entrusted the governance and administration of the sacrificial place and its trusteeship to Harun where The Israelites were sacrificing their offerings and were placing them in the slaughter house and where a heavenly fire used to come and burn them. Qarun developed jealousy against Harun. He said to Musa, “You took up Messengership and gave jasoorah to Harun? No share for me even though I recite Torah better than both of you?”

Musa said, “By Allah! I did not give Jasoorah to Harun. Allah gave it to him.” Qarun said, “By Allah! I will never testify to it unless and until you give some evidence or argument.” Hearing this Musa gathered the chiefs of The Israelites and asked all of them to bring their staves. Musa placed all the staves during the night. Next day he ordered them to remove them. When they were brought out there was no change in any of them but the staff of the Harun had become green and leaves like the leaves of almond had sprouted from it. Musa said, “O Qarun! Can you now understand that the distinction of Harun is God-given? Qarun said, “This trick is no greater than magic.” Then he stood up angrily and separated himself along with his men from the army of Musa. Even then Musa continued to behave with him kindly and maintained relations. He continued to give trouble and pain to Musa and his rebellion and ego multiplied daily until he built a house and fixed golden swords on its walls.

The Israelites used to come to him every morning. He was feeding them and all of them were ridiculing Musa. This continued until Allah sent the commandment collecting Zakat on Musa so that he may collect it from the rich among The Israelites. Musa went to Qarun and asked him to give Zakat at the rate of one Dinar for every thousand Dinars, one sheep for every thousand sheep and thus for all of his wealth. Qarun went to home and calculated. He felt that he was losing much money, which he disliked to part with. So he was not prepared to pay Zakat. The Israelites told him, “You are our chief and elder. We shall do whatever you order.” He said, “Call such and such prostitute. We shall hatch a conspiracy in collusion with her so that she may make an allegation of adultery on Musa. Thereby The Israelites will hate Musa. Thus we shall get rid of him.” Qarun promised to give that prostitute one thousand gold coins or a golden plate or whatever she demanded on condition that she makes an allegation of adultery on Musa next day before The Israelites. She agreed.

Next day Qarun came along with The Israelites to Musa and told him, “The people who have gathered at your residence want you to come out and teach them commandments of the shari‘ah (religion) to them.” Musa came out and went up the pulpit, read out sermon and said, “Anyone who commits a theft will get his hand cut and I shall give 80 lashes to the one who commits an indecent deed and if an unmarried man commits adultery I will give him 100 lashes and if he had a wife I will stone him to death.” Qarun spoke up, “Even if it be you?” Musa said, “Yes.” Finally, that woman was called. Musa asked her, “Did I commit adultery with you? Tell the truth swearing by the Lord Who split the river for The Israelites and Who sent down Torah on me.” That woman said, “No, these people are lying. Rather Qarun has lured me with money and wanted me to make a false allegation against you.” Hearing this Qarun bowed down his head and The Israelites were dumbfounded. Musa fell down in prostration before Allah and weeping said, “My Lord! Your enemy is bent upon harming me and wants to dishonor me and give me power over him.” Almighty Allah revealed to Musa, “Lift up your head from prostration and order whatever you wish to the earth. It will obey your command.”

Musa told The Israelites, “Almighty Allah has given me power over Qarun as he had appointed me over the Pharaoh.” Then he ordered them that who is his (Qarun’s companion) may remain with him and who does not like him may get separated from him. All except two persons separated from Qarun. Musa ordered the earth to swallow him. He went down in the ground. Musa said, “Swallow more of him.” He went down up to his thighs. Then Qarun went on giving him the oath of mercy.

According to some narrations he gave oaths seventy times but Musa did not pay attention to him until they were pushed in the earth completely. Allah revealed to Musa, “They requested for mercy seventy times but you did not hear them. By My Grandeur! Had they appealed to Me like that, even once, they would have found My help.” Then The Israelites told Musa to pray for Qarun’s destruction and for his sinking into the earth so that it may take possession of the wealth of Qarun. Musa prayed to Allah, whereby all the wealth and property, mansions, treasures etc also went down the earth.16

The Israelites decide to slaughter the cow

It is written in the explanation of Allah’s words in the tafsir of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari that Almighty Allah addressed the Jews living in Medina to recall the time when Musa told his people, “Verily Allah orders you to slaughter the cow and to hit the body of the killed person with a piece of the slaughtered cow so that the corpse may become alive by the order of Allah to tell you who killed him.” This pertains to the events when a corpse was found lying among a tribe of The Israelites and Musa had compelled their fifty chief leading men to come up and swear by Allah who is the God of The Israelites and who has given grace to Muhammad and his progeny and solemnly say that they did not kill that man nor do they know the killer. If they swear and pay the blood money it is good, otherwise they should expose the killer so that, that man may be killed in retaliation. If they do not kill him then they may imprison him in a narrow cell. They should do either of these things.

They said, “O Messenger of Allah! We may swear and also pay blood money. But it is not Allah’s command. The fact behind is that there was, in The Israelites, a very beautiful, learned, knowledgeable, respected and modest (veiling) woman. Many men desired to marry her. Her uncle had three sons. One of them was most learned and pious. She agreed and desired to marry him. Her other two cousins were jealous. They called him one night for a feast and killed him. Then they threw out his body.” Next morning the two brothers who were the killers came to Musa tore their collars, threw dust on their heads and complained to Musa for justice. Musa called all the people of that tribe and inquired about the murdered man and they replied, “We did not kill him nor do we know who killed him.” Musa said, fifty men from among you should, as desired by Allah, swear solemnly, pay the blood money or give information about the killer.

They said, “Why do we have to pay blood money even after swearing? Musa said, “All the benefits are in obeying Divine orders. Whatever He commands must be carried out.” They said, “O Prophet of Allah! This is fine and this charge of sin is very grave as no one has any right on our heads. So pray to Allah that He may let us know the real killer so that you may give him a deserving punishment, and we may get rid of the fine and the punishment.” Musa said, “Almighty Allah has given me commands in this cause and hence I have no courage to ask for anything else. It is binding upon us to bow before His command, obey Him, and not raise any objection. Do you not see that He has prohibited us from working on Saturday and from eating camel meat? So we cannot disobey His command or make any changes in it. Rather we must obey Him.”

Musa desired to enforce the command upon them. Almighty Allah revealed to him that He might accept their word. “so that I may expose the killer and others may get rid of the allegations because, in connection with the answering to their request, I will widen the provision of the one who is one of the most righteous people among you and who believes in sending Salawaat on Muhammad and his Progeny and after him, giving respect to ‘Ali, I wish that, in this respect, I may make him needless (rich) in this world so that he may get a part of his reward for sending blessings on Muhammad and his progeny and thereby for giving them respect.”

Musa said, “My Lord! Tell me who the killer is.” Came the revelation, “Allah will intimate to you the killer if you slaughter a cow and hit the corpse of the killed man with a part of slaughtered cow. Then I will make him alive. This will happen if you obey the Divine orders. Otherwise accept my earlier order.” They said, “O Musa! Do you play a joke with us by asking us that if we hit a part of a corpse with a part of another earlier will come to life?”

Musa said, “I seek Allah’s protection from becoming ignorant or senseless, that is, I may attribute a word to Allah even if He did not say it, or I may reject the Divine word by imagining it to be nonsense according to my imperfect intelligence, just as you are denying. Is the seed of the man and the woman not lifeless? But when the two meet in the female womb, Allah creates from the two (lifeless elements) a living man. Is it not a fact that you are sowing a lifeless seed in the dead land and, therefrom, Allah brings out living grass and various trees?” When Musa’s arguments concluded for them, they said, “O Musa! Pray to your Lord so that He may describe the quality of that cow.”

Musa prayed to Allah and subsequently told those people that Allah commands that, that cow should be neither aged nor very young but of middle age. So do what you have been asked to do.” They said, “O Musa! Ask for the color of that cow and that from your Lord.” After asking, Musa said that the Lord says that it should be a yellow and its yellowness should be clear that is, neither so faint as to appear white nor so dark that it may appear blackish. Rather its attractive colors must make the viewers happy.”

They said, “O Musa! Pray to your Lord to describe more attributes of the cow because we have become confused due to the fact that there are many such cows. Now, Inshallah, we will recognize the one which He wants to be slaughtered.” Musa said, “The Lord commands that the cow should not be so much trained that it may plough land or water the fields but it ought to have been kept away from such tasks and that it should not have any defects no should it contain any other color shade except its original one.” Now the attributes of the cow have been described as they ought to have been described. It was not easy for them to carry out the command due to its being very costly.

But then it was incumbent on them because they had made allegation against Musa that he was not able to do what they demanded. So they were obliged to slaughter the described cow. Imam said, “After hearing all the attributes of the cow they asked Musa, “O Musa! Has our Lord ordered us to slaughter such a cow having all these attributes?”

He said, “Yes.” But had they, in the beginning, complied with the Divine order without hesitation, any cow would have sufficed. After their questioning it was not binding for Musa to inquire further from Allah. Rather, in response, he ought to have told them any cow would do. Anyway, when the matter reached a particular type of cow they went in search of it but could not find it anywhere. But there was a youth in The Israelites.

Allah has shown him, in dream, the holy Prophet and ‘Ali and the holy Imams from his progeny and they had informed him that since he loved them and gave them preference over others, they wished to give a part of his reward in this world. “So, when they come to you to purchase your cow, do not sell it without consulting your mother. If you will do so, Allah will reveal some matters to your mother, which will cause you and your children to be rich. The youth became very happy. Next morning The Israelites people came to him for purchasing his cow and asked about the price. He said, “Two Dinars. But my mother may alter the amount.” They said, “We will pay one Dinar.” The youth consulted his mother who told him to sell it for four Dinars. He came back to The Israelites and said, that my mother says it would cost four Dinars. They agreed to give two Dinars. The youth returned to his mother and asked for her opinion. Now she said a hundred Dinars. Then The Israelites said they were prepared to pay fifty. In this way, the price went on increasing with the rise in offer and demand until it reached to the demand that they should pay for it by filling its skin with gold. Finally, they agreed to do so, purchased the cow, and slaughtered it. Then they picked up its tail (wherefrom people are created in the beginning and with which their bodies will be rebuilt in the hereafter) and hit it on the corpse of the murdered man. While doing so they said, “O Lord! By the grace of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad make this man alive and speak out as to who has killed him.” The man stood up by the command of Allah and said, “O Prophet of Allah these two cousins of mine envied me on account of my cousin sister, killed me and threw me in this area so as to collect my blood money from the residents of this area.” Musa executed both of them.

When the corpse was hit with a piece of a slaughtered cow, it did not become alive. The Israelites said, “O Prophet of Allah what about your promise to us?” Allah revealed, “My promise never remains unfulfilled. But until the skin of this cow is not filled with gold and given to its owners this dead body will not rise up alive.” So they gathered their wealth. The Almighty made the skin of that cow larger until it was filled with gold worth 5000000 Dinars. Then after the gold was given to that youth and a piece of dead cow was hit on the corpse of the murdered man he became alive some people of The Israelites said, “Nothing can be more astonishing than the Divine deed of resurrecting this dead man and of making that youth so rich. Allah revealed to Musa, “Tell The Israelites that whoever from you wants that I may grant him a purer and better life in this world and raise his status in paradise and keep him there with Muhammad and the family of Muhammad must also do as this youth did. He had heard the name of Muhammad and ‘Ali and their pious progeny and was always sending Salawaat on them and was giving them preference over jinn, men and angels in the matter of respect. Therefore I gave him so much wealth so that he may deal nicely with people and be kind to his friends and defeat his enemies.” Then that youth said to Musa, “O Messenger of Allah how should I protect this wealth from the enmity of the enemies and envy of the jealous?”

Musa said, “Recite blessings with true faith on Muhammad and the family of Muhammad with true faith over this wealth as you were doing earlier. Allah will protect it if a thief, tyrant or a jealous person intends to harm you. The youth who had just become alive heard this and said, “My Lord! I ask you in the name of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and their sacred radiance that you please keep me in this world so that I may enjoy my marriage with my cousin, dishonor my enemies, and grant me better.

At once Allah revealed to Musa, “Through the intercession of the sacred souls I have granted him a life span of 130 years during which he shall remain fit and healthy will not develop any weakness and will enjoy a married life. At the end of that period, I will call them back to me simultaneously and give them a house in Paradise where both of them will enjoy heavily bounties. O Musa! Even if those unfortunate murderers had asked me in the way this youth did and had they resorted to those holy souls after repenting I would not have disgraced them and would have made content on what they were given and would not have cared for The Israelites in finding out the killer and I would have made people forget this murder and would have made heirs of the victim spare them from retaliation. But I guide whom I wish to love Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and make them resort to the holy souls and I prevent (due to my justice) the causes of the evil of their misdeeds and I am the Omnipotent and the wise Allah.”

The Israelites complained to Musa, “We entangled ourselves in trouble by way of disobedience and gave away all of our provision.” Musa said, “Woe unto you, How much kind hearted you are! Perhaps you did not hear the prayers of this youth and of the murdered man and did not see how much benefit they got. So you too pray like that and resort to the sacred souls of those holy personalities. Allah will end your hunger and poverty and will increase your provision.” So they prayed, “Our Lord! We beg of You and we rely on Your Grace and Mercy. So, by the piety of Muhammad and ‘Ali and Fatimah and Hasan and Husayn and the holy Imams remove our poverty.” Allah revealed to Musa, “Tell them to go to such and such wasteland and to dig out such and such spot and to take out 10000000 Dinars buried there and to return the amounts to those from whom the price of the cow was collected and to distribute the remaining wealth among themselves so that it may add to their property and so also to the reward to which they are entitled as they resorted to the holy souls of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and believed in the superiority of their grace over all creation.”

Remember the time when O The Israelites you killed a man and disputed about his killer and when every one of you absolved himself and made allegation on the other. Allah is to expose what you were concealing with the intention of falsifying Musa imagining that Allah will not except Musa’s request to make the murdered man alive.” So we said strike a part of that cow on the dead body. So likewise Allah makes the dead alive in the world and in the hereafter by the meeting of the lifeless things. That is, Allah brings life from the meeting of the water of men and women in wombs.

The same thing will happen in the hereafter. The water of the sea, which is near the first heaven, is like the semen of man. After the blowing of the bugle for the first time, which will kill all living beings Allah, will drop the said water on the worn and torn dusted bodies of the dead and recreate their original bodies. At the blowing of the second bugle, all will become alive. And this will prove His Oneness and the Prophethood of Musa and the superiority of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad over all the creation. May be you think and ponder that the Lord who makes miraculous things manifest does not order His creation to do anything except that which is for their betterment and that He did not give distinction to Muhammad and the family of Muhammad but only because they are superior to and higher than all the intelligent beings.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has related from reliable authorities that a righteous and learned man from The Israelites asked for the hand of a woman of The Israelites and she accepted. She had a cousin who was wicked and a bad character. He also wanted to marry her but she did not accept him. So he envied the former man and went after him until he murdered him and picked him up and brought him to Musa and said, “This is my cousin and he has been murdered.” Musa asked, “Who killed him?” He said he did not know. The punishment of murder was severe among The Israelites.

Eventually The Israelites gathered and said, “O Prophet of Allah! What is your opinion in this matter?” Among them, there was a man who had a cow. He also had a very good and obedient son. He had something for purchasing which people came to him. The key of the place wherein that thing was locked was with the father of that boy. The father was asleep. With an intention of not disturbing his father, he turned away the purchaser. After the father awoke and asked him, what he did with the property? He replied, “It is where it was. I did not sell it because the key was with you and you were asleep and I did not like to disturb your sleep.” The father said, “In exchange of the profit you had to forgo by not selling it I gift this cow to you.” Allah also like this good deed of that boy, and as a reward commanded The Israelites to purchase that particular cow and slaughter it.

Finally when The Israelites gathered around Musa and complained about the murdered man weeping Musa said, “Allah orders you to slaughter a cow.” The Israelites expressed astonishment and said, “Are you joking? We have brought our victim to you and inquiring about his killer and you are telling us to slaughter a cow!” Musa said, “I seek Allah’s refuge from being ignorant or a joker.” They felt that they had insulted Musa so they requested him to pray Allah to ascertain what kind of a cow it should be? Musa said, “It should be neither advanced in age nor too young.” They said, ‘Pray to Allah so that He may tell its color. Musa said, “Allah said it should be yellow and very yellow which may attract people and people may like it to see.”

Then they said, “Pray to Allah to tell us what else distinction it ought to have.” Musa said, “The lord says that it should be a cow which must not have tilled the land nor fetched water; that except being yellowish it should not have any spots or dots of any other color.” Then they said, “Now that you described it, such a cow is only with such and such man who has gifted it to his son as reward of some good deed.” They went to that boy to purchase the cow. He said, “Fill the skin of this cow with gold.” Hearing this, they came to Musa and told him that the owner asked this much. Musa said, “You have to purchase it as there is no alternative. Verily the same cow should be slaughtered. So purchase it for the said amount.”

At last, the people purchased it, slaughtered it, and said, “O Prophet of Allah! What should we do now?” Allah revealed, “O Musa! Tell them to pick up a piece of slaughtered animal and strike it on the body of the murdered man, and to ask him as to who killed him?” They took the tail of the slaughtered cow, stroked it on the murdered man, and asked him as to who killed him. He said so and so son of so and so, that is, the son of his uncle who had claimed his blood money.

It is mentioned in the reliable tradition that Imam al-Ridha said a man from The Israelites killed one his relatives and threw his body in the path of a noblest tribe of The Israelites and then, coming to Musa claimed the blood money. The Israelites told Musa, “Expose to us who killed him.” Musa said, “Bring a cow.” Had The Israelites brought any cow, it would have been enough. But they began to argue and counter argue that is, they went on asking questions after question. So Allah went on getting harsh on them until a cow was pinpointed which was only in the possession of a youth belonging to The Israelites who agreed to sell it only if its skin was filled with gold. Left with no alternative they had to purchase it at that price and to slaughtered it.

Then as ordered by Musa they hit the body of the killed man with the tail of the slaughtered cow. The corpse became alive and spoke, “O Messenger of Allah! My cousin had killed me, not those against whom that he is claiming.” A man told Musa, “There is an event behind this cow.” Being asked about it he said, “The youth who is the owner of this cow is very obedient son of his father. One day he purchased something and went home to pay its price. But he saw his father asleep with the keys beneath his pillow (head). He did not like to awaken his father. So returned that thing thereby foregoing its benefits or profit cancelled the deal. When his father awoke, he described the happening to him. His father said, “You did a very good deed. I have now gifted this cow to you in exchange of the profit, which you missed.” Musa said, “Just ponder, behaving nicely with parents raises man to such height.” There are several hadiths in this regard. As it would be lengthy to narrate them, I suffice with this.

Musa meets al-Khidhr; An Account of al-Khidhr

Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur’an,

“And when Musa said to his servant: I will not cease until I reach the junction of the two rivers or I will go on for year” (17:60)

Some have said ‘Huqubaa’ means a span of 80 years and some have said of 70 years. The first saying is attributed to Imam al-Baqir. It should be kept in mind that in this verse Musa means Musa bin ‘Imran and his companion is Yusha‘ ibn Nun the legatee of Musa. hadiths of common and distinct groups agree on this meaning. A weak saying of the People of the Book has also been noted according to which here Musa is the son of Yashaa bin Yusuf. He had lived prior to Musa bin ‘Imran and it is popularly understood that the said two rivers are Faaris and Room. Some have said that here it means the rivers of knowledge i.e.. The apparent river of knowledge was Musa and the hidden river of knowledge was al-Khidhr.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when Almighty Allah conversed with Musa and sent down the tablets that contained many sciences, Musa returned to The Israelites and informed them that Allah had given him Torah and had conversed with him a thought passed through his mind that Allah has not created anyone wiser than him. Allah informed Archangel Gabriel about Musa that such pride might soon destroy him therefore tell him that where the two rivers meet there is a man sitting on a rock who is wiser than him. That he should acquire some knowledge from him. Archangel Gabriel descended and conveyed the divine message to Musa. Musa felt ashamed and was frightened of his mistake and said to his legatee Yusha‘, “Allah has ordered me to go to a man who lives at the junction of the two rivers and to learn from him.” So Yusha‘ took a whole salted fish with him (in his Tiffin) and both started on their journey. When they reached the appointed spot, they saw that al-Khidhr was fast asleep. Musa did not recognize him. Yusha‘ brought out the fish, washed it in water and put it on a rock. The fish became alive and slipped away into the water because that water (with which it was washed) was the water of life (nectar). Then they carried on their journey. When they grew tired they sat at a place and Musa asked Yusha‘ to take out the tiffin so that they could eat as they were tired of the journey. Yusha‘ told him about the fish. On hearing this Musa said, “The man we are looking for is the same one who was asleep at that rock.”

So they returned taking the same path. When they reached that point they saw that al-Khidhr was praying. So they sat down waiting. When al-Khidhr concluded his prayers they saluted him. It is mentioned in some narrations that Almighty Allah revealed to Musa that the desired person will be found where the fish disappears. Musa said to Yusha‘, “Inform me when the fish disappears.” So when Musa and his companion reached the confluence of two rivers (they forgot or left their fish). Musa did not ask about the fish but Yusha‘ told him, “The fish turned towards the sea and went into the water.” Some have said that Musa had fallen asleep and the fish became alive and went into the river due to the miracle of al-Khidhr. Some say that Yusha‘ performed ablution, its water touched the fish and it became alive and jumped into the river.

But when they had gone further, he said to his servant, “Bring to us our morning meal, certainly we have met with fatigue from this our journey.” The servant said, “Did you see when we took refuge on the rock, the fish took its way into the river. I forgot about the fish and nothing except Satan has made me forget to tell you about it.” “What a wonder!” said Musa. “This is what we sought for.” So they retraced their footsteps. There they found “One from among Our servants whom We had granted mercy from Ourselves and whom We had taught knowledge from Ourselves.” Musa said to him, “Shall I follow you on condition that you teach me right knowledge of what you have been taught?” He said, “Surely you will not have patience with me. How can you have patience in that which you have not got comprehensive knowledge?”

Musa replied, “If Allah pleases, you will find me patient and I shall not disobey you in any matter.” He said, “If you follow me do not question me about anything until I myself speak to you about it.” So they went on (their way) until when they embarked from a boat he made a hole in it. Musa said, “Have you made a hole in it to drown its inmates? Certainly you have done a grievous thing.” He said, “Did I not say that you would not be able to have patience with me?” He said, “Blame me not for what I forgot and do not constrain me to a difficult thing in my affair.” So they went on until when they met a boy, al-Khidhr slew him. Musa said, “Have you slain an innocent person other than for manslaughter? Certainly you have done an evil thing.”

He said, “Did I not say to you that you will not be able to have patience with me?” He said, “If I ask you about anything after this don’t keep me \ in your company. Indeed you shall have (then) found an excuse in my case.” So they went on until they came to a certain town (they say it was the town of Antakiyah, Basra or Armenia). They asked the people of that town for food but they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they found there a wall that was on the point of falling so al-Khidhr put it into a right state. (al-Khidhr began to repair it or he propped up a pillar or he just stroked it with his hand and it was repaired miraculously).

Musa said, “If you had pleased you might certainly have taken a recompense for it.” He said, “This shall be the time of separation between you and me. Now I will inform you of the significance of that which you could not have patience. As for the boat, it belonged to (some) poor men who worked on the river. I wished to damage it as there was behind them a king who seized every boat by force. As for the boy, his parents were believers and we feared lest his disobedience and ingratitude comes upon them. So we desired that the Lord might give them in his place one better than him in purity and nearer to having compassion. As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city. There was beneath it a treasure belonging to them. Their father was a righteous man so the Lord desired that they should attain their maturity and take out that treasure. A mercy from your Lord and I did not do it of my own accord. This is the significance of that with which you could not have patience.”17

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from reliable reporters that Yunus and Husham bin Ibrahim disputed in their opinion about the learned man to whom Musa had gone. Did he know more than Musa? Is it permissible (and believable) that someone can be a hujjah or Imam above Musa who himself was the hujjah of Allah over the creation. Finally they wrote about this dispute to Imam al-Ridha who replied: When Musa went in search of the A’alim and found him on the island, he was sometimes sitting, sometimes sleeping and sometimes reclining. When Musa said Salaam to him that man felt it strange because he was in a land where ‘Salaam’ did not exist. He asked, “Who are you?” Musa said that he was Musa. He asked, “Are you the same Musa bin ‘Imran with whom Allah had conversed with?” “Yes,” replied Musa. Then that person asked what he wanted. Musa said “I have come so that you may teach me from god-given knowledge.” He replied, “Allah has appointed me for jobs which are beyond your power nor do I have the strength for the works entrusted to you.”

Then that A’alim described the calamities that would befall the family of Muhammad. Both of them wept profusely. Thereafter he described the greatness of the family of Muhammad to Musa that the latter repeatedly expressed his desire to be from the household. Then he described the appointment of the Prophet of Allah on their community and how they would deny him and oppress him and gave the explanation of this ayah, meaning: We will overturn the hearts and eyes of those who do not believe on the first occasion. He said, What was meant by the first occasion was the Day of Covenant when Almighty Allah had taken an oath from all the souls before creating their bodies. Anyway, Musa requested the A’alim to let him stay with him. He refused saying, “You have no patience to observe my deeds.”

But when Musa insisted he took a promise from him that he would not object to his work nor create any hindrance to anything he did until he himself explained the cause. Musa agreed. So Musa, Yusha‘ and that A’alim proceeded together and reached the bank of a river. There they saw a ship full of men and goods, which was about to sail when the ship owners said, “Let us take these three persons also with us as they look like gentlemen.

So they also rode the ship. When it reached midstream al-Khidhr rose, went to a corner of that ship, made a hole in it and filled it with old cloth and mud. Seeing this Musa became angry and said, You made a hole in this ship to drown the inmates; you have done a strange deed indeed. al-Khidhr said, “Did I not tell you that you will not be able to bear with me and that you do not have the patience to observe my jobs?” Musa said, “Please pardon this breach of oath and do not put me in difficulty.” Then when they alighted from the ship, al-Khidhr saw a boy playing with other boys. He was handsome lad. There were two earrings of pearls in his ears. al-Khidhr looked at him for a while then caught him and killed him. Seeing this Musa rushed to al-Khidhr and flung him to the ground saying, “How did you kill an innocent child though he had not murdered anyone? You have done a very bad deed indeed.” al-Khidhr said, “Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with my actions.”

Musa ashamedly asserted, “If I ask you henceforth about anything you may separate me from you because then you shall have a cause.” Anyhow, they went further and by the evening reached a village called Naasirah and the people of that village were called Nasaaraa. These people had never before entertained anyone as a guest nor had they ever fed the hungry. The three asked for food but they neither came out of their homes nor fed them. Then al-Khidhr saw a wall nearby, which had become dilapidated. He approached it, put his hand on it and said, “Be repaired by the command of Allah.” It was repaired instantly. Musa said, “It was not proper on your part to repair the wall unless they had fed us and allowed us to lodge in their houses.”

This is the meaning of Musa’s words, “You might certainly have taken a recompense.” al-Khidhr said, “This is the time of parting. Now I will inform you of the significance of that with which you could not have patience. As for the boat, it belonged to some poor men who worked on the river. I damaged it as there was behind them in another boat a king who seized every (good) boat by force. I damaged it so that he may not usurp it and it may remain with these poor people.” This verse is like one in the Qur’an of the Ahl al-Bayt meaning. He said, It was descended like this. It means regarding that boy, his parents were Mu’min (faithful) and he was inclined towards unbelief. al-Khidhr said, “When I saw him I saw the words meaning: It is in the knowledge of Allah that if he remains alive he will be a disbeliever. I feared that his blasphemy might engulf his parents therefore I wished that Allah may give them in place of this boy a child who may be spiritually better and nearer to his parents.” Allah gave them a daughter in place of that boy who later gave birth to a Prophet. According to other narrations, seventy Prophets of The Israelites were born in the progeny of that girl.

It is narrated from Imam ‘Ali, Zayn al-‘abidin, al-Baqir, as-Sadiq and al-Ridha that in the treasure which was beneath that wall belonging to the two boys, was a golden plate on which were written the words: I wonder how the man who knows that death is a true fact remains happy and I wonder how the person who has faith in act of God remains fearful. It is mentioned in other narrations how he becomes gloomy due to calamities. And I am surprised how he remembers Hell and still laughs; and it is surprising that a man sees the world and also how it changes from one state to another and yet he loves it. In another tradition, it is mentioned: I wonder how a man believes in the accounting of the Day of Judgment and yet commits sins. Does it befit a man who had been given wisdom by Allah to understand that whatever is provided to him is from Allah to which he should testify and he should not complain against the delay in getting his provision.

It is recorded through reliable reporters from Imam al-Baqir that, “By Allah! That treasure did not contain gold or silver. It was a plate with the following inscription: I am the God besides whom there is no God and Muhammad is My Messenger. I wonder how a man who has faith in the Day of Judgment shows his teeth while laughing and it is astonishing how the one who has faith in destiny becomes sorrowful when his provision or sustenance is delayed and how is it that a man who sees this world denies the Hereafter.”

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that the companion of Musa on his journey to confluence of two rivers was Yusha‘ ibn Nun. It is said that the reason why Musa objected to the deeds of al-Khidhr was that the former hated oppression and the deeds that he observed were apparently oppressive.

Authentic narrators mention that al-Khidhr was a Mursal Messenger. Allah had appointed him over a community and he was calling them towards Tawhid (Monotheism) and inviting them to Prophets and divine books. His miracle was such that whenever he sat on earth that piece of earth became green and grass grew on it. If he sat on a wooden plank or inclined over a dry piece of wood that wood would also become green and leaves would sprout from it as well as buds. That is why he was called al-Khidhr (green). His name was Taaliyaa and he was the son of Malkaan bin Ghaabar bin Arfahshad bin Sam ibn Nuh.

When Allah conversed with Musa and scribed every kind of command and wisdom on the slabs for him (Musa) and gave him the miracles of the gleaming hand, staff, locust, bugs, lice, flood of blood, splitting of the sea and drowning the Pharaoh and his community (to help Musa), Musa felt sort of proud (which is natural to man). He thought that Allah has not created anybody more knowledgeable than him. So before pride might destroy him Allah sent Archangel Gabriel to Musa with a revelation, “Go to a worshipper who lives at the confluence of the two rivers and acquire some knowledge from him.”

Archangel Gabriel conveyed Allah’s command to Musa. Musa understood that this revelation was due to the thought he had entertained in his heart. He went to that junction with his young companion Yusha‘ ibn Nun. He found al-Khidhr praying to as Allah says, “Then they found one from among our servants whom We had taught knowledge from Ourselves.” Musa said to him, “I shall follow you on condition that you teach me knowledge of what you have been taught?” He said, “Surely you cannot have patience with me. How can you have patience in that which you have no comprehensive knowledge?” He said, “If Allah pleases you will find me patient and I shall not disobey you in any matter.” He said, “If you would follow me, do not question me about anything until I myself speak to you about it.” So they went (their way) until when they embarked from a boat al-Khidhr made a hole in it. Musa said, “Have you made a hole in it to drown its inmates? Certainly you have done a grievous thing.”

He said, “Did I not say that you will not be able to have patience with me?” He said, “Blame me not for what I forgot and do not constrain me to a difficult thing in my affair.” Imam says, Here ‘forgot’ means giving up or leaving and not escaping the memory. That is ‘do not catch hold of me for the first preferable thing which I gave up.’ So they went on until they met a boy and al-Khidhr slew him. Musa became angry. He took hold of al-Khidhr by the collar and said, “Have you slain an innocent person other than for manslaughter? Certainly you have done an evil thing.” al-Khidhr told him, “Minds cannot comprehend Allah’s affairs, rather divine affairs must command minds. It is compulsory to obey the Divine Wishes even if minds do not comprehend them.”

He said, “Did I not say to you that you will not be able to have patience with me?” He said, “If I ask you about anything after this keep me not in your company; indeed you shall have (then) found an excuse in my case.” Then they went on until they reached the village of Nasirah and asked for food from the residents of that village. They refused to feed them nor lodge them. Near that village Musa and al-Khidhr saw a crumbling wall. al-Khidhr went to that wall and repaired it with his power. Musa took objection to this deed as is mentioned in the Qur’an.

Then al-Khidhr said, “This is the time of separation between you and me. I will now enlighten you on the causes for which you did not have patience. Listen! As for the boat, it belonged to some poor laborers who toiled on the river. I wished to make a hole in it to make it defective so that it may remain with them because a king was arriving (in his ship) confiscating every working boat. So I did this deed for their benefit.” al-Khidhr said, “I wished to damage it so that the deed (of damaging the boat) may not be attributed to Allah. Allah wanted improvement not harm. As regards the boy, his parents were faithful and the boy was born a disbeliever. Allah knew that when he grew, his parents too, due to their love for him would become unbelievers as he would misguide them. So Allah ordered me to kill him as Allah desired that they should reach the point of His forgiveness so that He may improve their future (hereafter).”

Imam said, “At this point al-Khidhr said, ‘I feared that he will make them disbelievers so I wished that Allah may bestow on them in place of this boy, another one who may be better than this one.’ This was the type of human talk that had influenced him because he had become the teacher of a Prophet like Musa. Hence respect demanded that he should attribute fear to himself instead of saying that “We (al-Khidhr and Allah) feared” because fear cannot be felt by Allah. Rather he was fearful that perhaps Allah might cancel the order of killing the boy or some other hindrance may come up from the creation due to which he might not be able to carry out Allah’s command about killing that boy. Thereby he would be deprived of the reward of that deed and also not succeed in obeying the Divine order.

Thus, it was desirable that he should attribute the opposite of it to Allah without including himself in it as he had said “I wished” and would have said “Allah wished” to give a child to them in lieu of him. It was not that al-Khidhr was given the status of a teacher for Musa. Musa (being a Prophet) was superior to al-Khidhr but Allah wished that He should make it known to Musa that knowledge is not limited only to what he knew and also that if he was not to continue getting knowledge from the Lord he would remain ignorant and unaware.

Then al-Khidhr described the reason of repairing the wall. He said that the treasure (belonging to the boy) was not of gold and silver; that it was a golden plate and on it was written: It is astonishing that man, who is sure of his death, remains happy and it is surprising that one who believes in the Day of Judgment commits oppression and it is very wonderful that a man sees the world changing from one state to another and yet is inclined towards it and attached to it. Then he said that there was a time gap of seventy years between those two boys and their parents. Allah (due to their father being pious), preserved the honor of the two boys.

Thus al-Khidhr said, ‘Your Lord desired that when the two boys reached puberty they should obtain their treasure.’ Here he separated his desire and mentioned Allah’s wish as this was the last story and that thereafter it would be known to Musa that nothing else remained about which he had to speak and that Musa might hear him carefully. al-Khidhr wished that he should remove the effects of whatever he had said in the first and the middle parts of the story that he attributed to himself (because of human nature or in order to caution Musa. So now he separated his slavery (of Allah) from his wishes and presented himself like an honest slave of Allah and in doing so descended to the status of an apology from the claim of his intention of which he was while performing his affairs and said, ‘This was a mercy from your Lord that I did not do anything of my own accord but only carried out my Lord’s orders.’

Imam as-Sadiq said that when Musa wished to part from al-Khidhr he requested al-Khidhr to give him some parting advice. So among his admonishments were these words also: Never be obstinate, never walk or travel without need, do not laugh without appropriate reason, remember your errors and do not pay any attention to the sins of others.

It is mentioned in reliable tradition that Imam Zayn al-‘abidin said, “al-Khidhr’s last will to Musa was: Do not reproach others for their sins and that Allah likes three things most i.e.. To behave moderately when rich, to forgive while having power to revenge, to treat Allah’s slaves (people) kindly and mercifully and that if a person behaves nicely with another person Allah surely becomes kinder to the former on the Day of Judgment and that the secret of wisdom is the fear of Allah.”

It is reported in authentic traditions from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that al-Khidhr said to Musa, “O Musa, your best day is yet to come i.e.. The Day of the Resurrection Day. So think of how it will be for you and be prepared for giving replies when you are made to stand for accounting. Get admonition from the changes you observe in the condition of the world and understand that the worldly life (age) is long for the one who does good deeds and it is short for the one who wastes it.

So act in such a way as if you are seeing the reward of your deeds with your own eyes It is narrated with evidences that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “When Musa was commanded by Allah to meet al-Khidhr, Allah sent him a basket that contained a salted fish. Allah revealed to Musa that the fish would show him al-Khidhr near a stream, whose water makes the dead, alive. It was called the life-giving stream. Musa and Yusha‘ embarked on their journey and reached that stream and the rock. Yusha‘ went to the bank of the stream and washed the fish therein. The touch of that water made it come alive and it began to move in his hands. It struggled so much that it injured his hand and jumped off into the water. He forgot to tell this event to Musa (or did not narrate it deliberately) and they continued on their journey.

Since Musa had passed the venue which was fixed by Allah he became tired soon after walking some distance (he did not feel tired until he had reached the appointed place). He said to Yusha‘, “Bring our tiffin as we have toiled and are tired much with this journey.” Yusha‘ narrated to him the story of the fish. So Musa and Yusha‘ returned to that stream and when they reached the rock they saw the passage of the fish was still visible in the water.

Then they saw al-Khidhr on an island of that rivulet. He was sitting there covered by a sheet of cloth. Musa greeted him with a ‘Salaam’. al-Khidhr responded to the Salaam but wondered at it because he was living in a land where salaam was not used. al-Khidhr asked him who he was and Musa replied, “I am Musa.” He inquired, “Are you the same Musa (son of ‘Imran) with whom Allah had conversed with?” He replied in the affirmative. al-Khidhr asked him why he had come. Musa replied, “That I may acquire some knowledge from you.” al-Khidhr told Musa, “I am entrusted with jobs that you cannot bear.” Then al-Khidhr narrated to Musa the events and the calamities to befall Muhammad and his progeny. Both of them wept much. al-Khidhr described the nobilities and grace of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn and of the Imams from their progeny to such an extent that Musa repeatedly said how nice it would have been had he too been born in the Ummah of Muhammad.”

Then Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq described the story of the boat and the boy and the wall and said that had Musa been patient, al-Khidhr would have shown him seventy astonishing events. It is mentioned in another hadith that: May Allah have mercy on Musa, he made haste before al-Khidhr. Had he shown more patience he would have seen many more such events, the like of which he had never witnessed.

so that it may increase your longing for the reward in the Hereafter. Verily the one who goes there from this world is like the one who passes away. From that which has passed away nothing remains except your good deeds and this will continue henceforth too.”

According to another reliable tradition, he said, “When al-Khidhr repaired the wall of the orphans for the well-being of their parents, the Almighty revealed to Musa, “I give reward to children for the efforts made by their forefathers i.e.. good for good and bad for bad. Do not indulge in adultery with the wives of others so that others may not indulge in adultery with your wives. If anybody steps in the bed of the wife of a Muslim, the latter too steps in the bed of his wife with a bad motive. Thus you will certainly get the recompense of your deeds.”

It is mentioned in other authentic narrations that he said, “I swear by the Lord of Ka‘bah! Had I been between Musa and al-Khidhr I would have told them that I knew more than both of them and surely I would have enlightened them on matters which were not in their knowledge because Allah had adorned Musa and al-Khidhr with knowledge of the matters of the past whereas we have knowledge of future events until the Resurrection Day which has reached us as heritage of the Prophets.”

It is recorded through Imam al-Baqir that when Musa questioned al-Khidhr he replied, Musa saw abaabeel (a martin bird of the swallow family) flying in the middle of the stream. al-Khidhr asked Musa, “Do you know what this bird is saying.” Musa replied in the negative and asked, “What does it say?” al-Khidhr said, “It says ‘By the Lord of the heaven and the earth and the sea, your knowledge compared to the knowledge of Allah is only equal to the quantity of water which I can take in my beak from the sea or even less than that.’”

It is mentioned in yet another narration that when Musa came back to his people after meeting al-Khidhr, Harun asked him about the knowledge Musa had obtained from al-Khidhr and about the wonders he had observed in the river. Musa said, “al-Khidhr and I were standing on the banks of the river when suddenly we saw a bird come to the river from the air, take a drop of water in its beak and throw it in the east, then it threw another drop towards the west, then one drop towards the sky and one to the earth. Then it took a drop from the sea and threw it back in the river. I asked al-Khidhr the cause of these actions of the bird, but al-Khidhr did not know. Suddenly I saw a hunter fishing on the banks of the river. He looked towards me with surprise and asked, ‘What makes you wonder?’ I said, ‘This bird’s gesture makes us wonder.’

He said, ‘I am only a hunter and I know the cause of these actions of the bird. How is it that despite being Messengers of Allah you two do not comprehend it.’ We said, ‘We know only that which Allah has taught us.’ The hunter said, ‘This is a bird which is known in the river by the name of ‘Muslim’ because it utters ‘Muslim” whenever it twitters. What it points out by its gestures is that Allah will send a Messenger after you whose followers will rule over the east and the west throughout the world, will go up in the sky and will be buried in the ground and that in the sight of that Prophet the knowledge of other scholars will be just like a drop of water of this river (in proportion) and his knowledge will reach his cousin and his legatee as heritage.’ O Harun! At that time, our knowledge felt little in our own eyes and then the hunter disappeared. So we understood that he was an angel sent by Allah to discipline us.”

In a reliable hadith it is recorded that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “Musa knew more than al-Khidhr and it is mentioned in another authentic hadith that al-Khidhr and Dhu’l-Qarnayn were scholars but not Prophets.”18

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that one day Musa went up the pulpit (which had three legs). At that time, a thought crossed his mind that Allah had not created anyone wiser than him. So the Archangel Gabriel approached him and said, “This pride has destroyed you and has put you in the divine field of trial. So get down from the pulpit because there is a man on this earth who knows more than you. Go and search for him.” Musa informed Yusha‘, “Allah has put me on trial, so prepare a tiffin for me and let us both go in search of that scholar as commanded by Allah.” Yusha‘ purchased a fish, fried it and put it in their basket and began their journey towards Azerbaijan. They reached the banks of a river in that direction. Suddenly they saw a man lying on his back. He had covered his face with a sheet and had put his staff by his side. When he pulled the sheet towards his face, his legs became bare and when he covered his feet, his face was exposed. Musa engaged himself in prayers (prayer) and asked Yusha‘ to take care of their tiffin. Suddenly a drop of water from the sky fell on their basket. The fish began to move and dragged itself to the river. Then came a bird who sat on the bank of the river, took a drop of water in its beak and said, “O Musa! You have not obtained from Allah knowledge equal even to this little drop of water that I have taken from this vast river.” Musa arose and started on his journey along with Yusha‘.

After walking for a while, he became tired though he had traveled longer distances before that without getting tired. That was because a Messenger never gets tired in reaching the venue destined for him. Anyway when Musa heard the story of the fish (i.e.. its disappearance) he understood that they had passed the meeting place fixed by Allah. So they traveled back to that place and saw that man sleeping as before. Musa said to him, “Peace be upon you, O scholar!” al-Khidhr replied, “And upon you be peace, O scholar of The Israelites!” He jumped up took up his staff as if to go away at once. Musa told him, “Allah has asked me to remain with you so that you may teach me from your knowledge.”

After the conditions and promises as mentioned earlier Musa and al-Khidhr proceeded until they reached a boat. The boatmen considering them gentlemen seated them in their boat gratis. When they reached the middle of the river al-Khidhr made a hole in the boat there was a dialogue between Musa and al-Khidhr that has been quoted above. Then they came out of the boat and saw a boy on the bank of the river playing with other children. He was wearing a dress of green silk and earrings of pearls. al-Khidhr pressed that boy under his feet and beheaded him. Then they reached the village of Nasirah on the banks of the river. The residents of that place did not make them their guests though the two were hungry. When al-Khidhr repaired a wall in that village despite being hungry Musa exclaimed, “Had you obtained some remuneration for this job we would have least purchased bread.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam as-Sadiq said, “One day Musa was sitting with the nobles of The Israelites. Suddenly a man came and said to Musa, “I don’t think there is anybody who knows more about Allah than you.” Musa said, “I think so too.” Allah sent to him a revelation, “al-Khidhr is more knowledgeable than you Go and search him out. You will find him where your fish will disappear.”

In a reliable tradition Imam as-Sadiq said, “When Musa and al-Khidhr reached the boy playing with other children, al-Khidhr hit him with his hand and he died. When Musa objected to it, al-Khidhr put his hand on the body of that boy and separated his shoulder and showed it to Musa. On it was written: He is a disbeliever and his naturally disposed to disbelief. al-Khidhr said, ‘I killed him because his parents were virtuous. I was afraid he would draw his parents towards disbelief after growing up and that they will fulfill his wish because of their love for him and in this way become infidels.’” Imam said, “The Almighty gave the parents a daughter in lieu of the boy. Seventy Prophets were born in the progeny of that girl. There was a time gap of 700 years between the two orphan boys (for whom al-Khidhr repaired the wall) and their father.” (perhaps several generations had passed-Tr.).

It is mentioned in another hadith that Almighty Allah, as a reward of one good deed done by a virtuous man, grants salvation to his sons and grandsons and his family members and also to his neighbors. Thus, all of them get protection due to the greatness of that faithful person. Then he said, ‘Did you not observe that as a reward for virtuous parents Allah sent al-Khidhr so that he may repair the wall for their benefit.19

Ibn Babawayh has said that his name was Khizruya and that he was the son of Qabil bin Adam. Some have said that his name was Khizroon and some have called him Khaleeaa. He is called al-Khidhr because wherever he sat the ground became green and grassy. His age is more than all the children of Adam. The correct information is that his name is Taaliyaa son of Malkaan son of Aabir son of Fahshad son of Sam son of Nuh.20

It is reliably narrated that Imam as-Sadiq said, “When the Prophet of Allah went for Me’raj he felt a fragrance of musk in his path. He asked Archangel Gabriel about it who replied that the fragrance was coming from a house in which people were tortured and killed for worshipping the One, Allah. Archangel Gabriel informed him that al-Khidhr belonged to the progeny of kings. He believed in Allah and lived alone in one of the rooms of his father’s house and was busy in worship. He was the only issue of his father. People advised the king that as al-Khidhr was his only son he should get him married so that maybe Allah will give him a son and then the kingship might continue in their progeny.

Finally the king married al-Khidhr with a virgin girl. But on the wedding night al-Khidhr did not pay any attention to her. Next day he said to his wife to keep the night affair a secret and that if you are asked whether al-Khidhr approached you at night then say ‘yes’. She did what al-Khidhr asked of her and said ‘yes’. However, the people did not believe her and told the king that this woman tells a lie so have her examined to see if she is still a virgin. When the women saw that she was intact, they taunted the king saying: You have joined two fools. Neither of them is aware of what is expected of married couples. So give him as a wife who has already been married so that she may teach him. When such a woman was brought to al-Khidhr he paid no attention to her and requested her also to keep the matter hidden from his father. She agreed to do so but when the king questioned the woman, she replied that: Your son is a woman. Have you ever heard of a woman getting pregnant by another woman? Hearing this, the king became very angry with al-Khidhr. He imprisoned him and sealed its door with earth and stone. But the next day his paternal love overcame him and he ordered the doors to be opened. When the people opened the door they did not find al-Khidhr there. Allah gave him such a power whereby he was able to take any form of his choice and also remain hidden from the public eye. Then he joined the army of Dhu’l-Qarnayn and became its vanguard until he drank the water of life. The one who drinks that water (nectar) remains alive until the day the bugle of destruction will be blown by Divine Order.

In the meantime, from his father’s city two men boarded a ship and set out for trade. On their way, the ship got wrecked and they landed on an island. There they saw al-Khidhr, busy in prayers. When he concluded his prayer, he called the two men and inquired about their condition.. When they described their accounts, he told them, “If I send you back to your place will you keep my story a secret?” They agreed. But only one of the two had really intended to keep the matter a secret while the other one had already thought of informing the father of al-Khidhr of his whereabouts.

al-Khidhr called a cloud and commanded it to carry the two men right up to their homes. The cloud took them up and carried them to their city that very day. One of the traders kept his promise but the other revealed it to the father of al-Khidhr. The king asked him, “Who will give witness that whatever you say is true.” He replied, “The trader was with me.” The king called for that man and asked him but he denied it saying that he did not know anything about it and that he did not even know this fellow.” The former then said, “O King! Send an army with me so that I may go and bring al-Khidhr back here from that island. Also arrest this fellow so that I may prove him a liar.” The King sent an army with that man but released the trader who had kept the story hidden. Then the residents of that city indulged in many sins so Allah destroyed them and overturned that city.

All of them were annihilated except the man and woman (the woman was the first wife of al-Khidhr towards whom al-Khidhr had not inclined on the marriage night and whom he had asked the next morning to keep the night affair a secret) who had kept the story of al-Khidhr hidden from his father. Both of them got out of the devastated city separately but in one direction. Then when they met one another they told their stories to one another and were convinced that they got salvation only because they had kept the secret of al-Khidhr. Then both of them put faith in the Allah of al-Khidhr. They got married and went to live in another king’s kingdom. The woman gained access to the royal palace and got a job of dressing and beautifying the royal princesses. Once while combing the hair of the princess the comb fell down from her hand and she exclaimed;

“There is no power, except of Allah.”

The princess asked her what she had uttered.

“I have One Allah who has the might of ruling everywhere,”

“Have you any other Allah besides my father?”

“Yes, He is the God of you and your father too.”

The princess went to her father and related the conversation. The king called the lady and ordered to take back her words but she refused. The king asked who her companion coreligionist was. She said, “My husband and my children.” The king called all of them and put severe pressure on them to give up the worship of only One Allah. But they defied him firmly. The angry king boiled water in a big vessel and threw all of them in it and then broke the house on them. After describing this story Archangel Gabriel said, “O Prophet of Allah, this fragrance which you are smelling now is emanating from the house in which those worshippers of only One Allah were killed.”

An authentic tradition from Imam al-Ridha says that al-Khidhr drank elixir of life and will remain alive until the time of the blowing of Bugle and that those who are dying are coming to us and they salute (say salaam) us; then we hear the voice of al-Khidhr but do not see him. He reaches wherever his name is mentioned. So it is necessary that anyone who remembers him should also say Salaam to him. He comes to Makkah in every hajj, performs hajj and stands in ‘Arafat and says ‘Amen’ to the prayers of the faithful; that very soon Almighty Allah will make al-Khidhr confidante of al-Qa’im (aj) the family of Muhammad; that when he (al-Qa’im) will be hidden from the public eye he (al-Khidhr) will be his companion in solitude.

It is narrated with reliable evidence from Imam al-Baqir that when Dhu’l-Qarnayn heard that there was a stream of water of life and that whoever drinks from it remains alive until the day of blowing of the bugle, he went in search of it. al-Khidhr was the commander-in-chief of his army. Dhu’l-Qarnayn loved him most. Finally, they reached a place where there were 360 streams. Dhu’l-Qarnayn called 360 persons from his army. al-Khidhr was one of them. All of them were given a salted fish and told, “Bring them separately to me after washing it in different streams.” When al-Khidhr put his fish in the water it became alive and slipped from his hands.

al-Khidhr took off his clothes and jumped into the water and dived several times in search of that fish and in the process drank that water but that fish could not be found. He came out and went to Dhu’l-Qarnayn. When Dhu’l-Qarnayn counted the fish, he found that one was missing. After inquiry, it came to be known that al-Khidhr had not brought back his fish. When asked al-Khidhr told his story. Dhu’l-Qarnayn asked, “Then what did you do.” He said, “I jumped into that stream to find the fish and also dived many times but could not catch it so I came out.” Dhu’l-Qarnayn asked, “Did you also drink the water of the stream?” “Yes,” he replied. Then Dhu’l-Qarnayn made many efforts to find out that stream but failed. Finally he said to al-Khidhr you were created for that stream and that stream for you.

It is mentioned in many reliable traditions through the holy Imams that when the Prophet passed away from this world and calamities came down on the holy Ahl al-Bayt at that time Amir al-Mu’minin, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn were present in the room in which the holy body of the holy Prophet was laid. Suddenly there came a voice, “Assalaamu alaikum O Ahl al-Bayt! Every living being will taste the taste of death. Your reward will be given fully to you in the Resurrection Day. If anyone dies, verily, Allah is his substitute and successor Who provides patience in every calamity and He is the remover of its harm. He compensates every loss. So rely only on Him because the (real) loser is he who loses the reward of Allah.” Amir al-Mu’minin said, “He (the invisible speaker) is my brother al-Khidhr. He has come to condole you on the death of your Prophet.”

It is mentioned in reliable traditions that Masjid e Sahla is the place where al-Khidhr descends and it is stated at many places in the books of Mazarr etc. That a group of pious people met al-Khidhr in Masjid Sahla and so also Sahsaah etc. in blessed places. Its description will be too lengthy for this book.

Ibn Tawus has related that al-Khidhr and Ilyas meet one another in every Hajj season and that they recite this prayer while departing from one another:

Maasha allaho wa laa h’awla wa laa quwwata illa billaah. Maasha allaho kulle ne’matin. Maasha allahul khaire kullehi be yadillaha a’zza wa jalla. Maasha allaho laa yasrifus-soo-o illallaah.

Many events of al-Khidhr have been mentioned in the chapter concerning Dhu’l-Qarnayn.

Wisdom and teachings revealed by the Almighty to Musa

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam ‘Ali al-Naqi that when Musa prayed to Allah, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who testifies that I am Your messenger and that you have conversed with me?” The Almighty replied, “O Musa! My angels approach him at the time of his death and give him good tidings of Paradise.” Musa inquired, “What is the reward of one who stands before You and prays?” He replied, “I feel proud of him along with my angels when that person is in the state of Ruku (bowing) or Sajdah (prostration) or he is standing or is sitting. I take pride in him and also my angels and I do not chastise him.” Musa asked, “What is the reward of one who feeds the poor only to please you?” Allah replied, “O Musa! I will order the announcer to proclaim loudly (so that the entire creation may hear) on the Day of Judgment that so and so man, the son of so and so has been freed from the fire of Hell.” Musa inquired, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who behaves nicely with his relatives?” Allah replied, “O Musa! I prolong his life and make the hour of his death easy for him and on the Day of the Resurrection Day the gatekeepers of Paradise will say to him, “Come towards us and enter from whichever gate you please.”

Musa asked, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who never hurts anyone but does good to all?” He replied, “On the Day of the Resurrection Day, Hell will say to him: Your path is not towards me.” Musa inquired, “What is the reward of one who remembers you both by his heart and his tongue?” Allah replied, “On the Resurrection Day I will keep him under the shade of My throne (the Holy Throne) and will protect him.” Musa asked, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who recites your book both openly and secretly?” He said, “O Musa! He will cross the most difficult bridge with lightning speed.” Musa asked, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who keeps patience just for Your pleasure when people hurt and abuse him?” Almighty Allah replied, “I will protect him from the terror of the Day of Judgment.” Musa inquired, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who weeps due to Your fear?” Allah Almighty replied, “O Musa! I will protect his face from the heat of hell fire and will also save him from the terror of the Day of Judgment.”

Musa asked, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who gives up a dishonest deal being ashamed of you?” Allah replied, “O Musa! I will give him security on the Day of the Resurrection Day.” Musa asked, “My Lord! What is the requital of one who kills a Mu’min intentionally?” Allah replied, “I will not be kind to him on the Day of the Resurrection Day and will not forgive any of his sins.”

Musa asked, “What is the reward of one who invites a disbeliever to Islam?” He responded, “I will permit him on the Day of Judgment to recommend the case of anyone of his choice.” Musa inquired, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who performs prayers in time?” He replied, “He will be granted whatever he asks and I will make My Paradise available to him.” Musa asked, “My Lord! What is the reward of one who performs ablution completely for fear of your chastisement?” Allah replied, “On the Resurrection Day I will raise him. There will be radiance between his eyes (on the forehead) that will light up the plains of gathering.”

Musa asked, “What will be the reward of one who fasts during the month of Ramadhan for your pleasure?” He replied, “I will station him on the Day of Judgment at such a place where he will feel no fear.” Musa asked, “What will be the recompense of the one who fasts during Ramadhan for showing it to others?” He responded, “His reward will be like that of the one who did not fast at all.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition from Imam al-Baqir that it is written in Torah: O Musa! I have created you for My Messengership and have strengthened you for My worship. I enjoined upon you My worship and prohibited you from sins (disobedience). If you obey me, I will assist you in my obedience but if you disobey me, I will not help you. O Musa! In obedience you will have My favor and in disobedience My Proof. O Musa! Fear Me regarding your hidden defects so that I may hide your shortcomings from public eyes and remember Me in solitude and in your desires and tastes so that I may remember you during your errors and may save you from slipping. Restrain your anger from those on whom I have given you control so that I may restrain My anger from you. Keep My secrets concealed in your heart and compromise with My enemies outwardly. Do not expose My disposition and secret to your enemy otherwise they will use unfair words for Me and you will be a partner in this evil of theirs.

Then Musa said, “Who will reside in the Holy Precinct?” He said, “Those men whose eyes did not look at stranger women, whose wealth did not get mixed up with usury and interest and who never took corrupt money while dealing with Divine commandments.”

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam as-Sadiq that Almighty Allah said to Musa, “O Son of ‘Imran! Who claims to be my friend and yet remains asleep at nights is telling a lie. Is it not a fact that every friend wants to meet his friend in solitude? O son of ‘Imran! I am well aware of My friends when night encircles them. I turn their eyes away from others and attract them towards Me and I make my chastisement apparent before them. They address me like those who talk face to face. O Son of ‘Imran! Give the leniency of your heart and meekness of your body and the tears of your eyes to Me in the darkness of night and pray to Me and you will find that I answer you.”

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that when Musa went to the mountain of Toor and spoke with his Lord, he said, “O My Nourisher! Show me Your treasures. The Lord replied, “O Musa! My treasures are that whenever I intend something I merely say ‘Be’ and it becomes. I need no treasures. Whatever I wish, I bring into existence from non-existence.”

In a reliable hadith it is recorded that Imam al-Baqir said, “When Musa prayed, “My Lord! Give me admonition.” The Almighty said, “I admonish you that you should (for your benefit) recognize My right and not disobey Me.” Musa made this request thrice and got the same response thrice. When Musa repeated it for the fourth time the Lord said, “I admonish you to take care of your mother’s right.” He got the same reply to his next request. When he repeated it the sixth time, the divine reply was, “I admonish you to recognize your father’s right.” Imam then said, “That is why it is said that two-third of beneficence is for mothers and one-third for fathers.”

It is recorded in reliable sources that one of the sayings of Almighty Allah to Musa is, “O Musa! Do not have high ambitions in the world otherwise your heart will become hard and a hard heart remains away from Me. O Musa! Be, as I want. I want that my servants should obey Me and that they must not disobey Me. Make your heart dead (empty) of worldly desires due to My fear. Be pleased with old clothes so that you may remain unknown in the world and well known with beneficence among the residents of heaven. Lighten the dark nights with the radiance of worship and recite prayer chanting like that of the patients with meekness before Me. Submit penitence for your sins and all your complaints before Me like a man who has after fleeing from his enemy takes shelter from the Omnipotent and Almighty Allah.

Also, seek My help in worship as I am the best helper. O Musa! I am the Lord who has full control over His slaves. All of my servants are within My might and all are subservient to me. So keep your heart indicted and do not be cheated by it. Let your children become fearless in the matter of religion when your son like you loves the righteous.

O Musa! Wash your clothes and bathe yourself and be in the company of My decent slaves. O Musa! Lead them in their prayers and adjudicate whenever they have any dispute and pass orders in the light of apparent evidence, clear argument and with the light of wisdom that I have bestowed on you. That light shows what has passed and what is to happen in the last age. O Musa! I give you an advice, which is like the advice of a kind friend about a great and noble son that is ‘Isa son of Maryam who will ride a donkey, wear a cap like slaves and possess olive oil, olive and altar. Thereafter I admonish you about the possessor of a red camel. He will have a holy, pious and virtuous nature and will be free of all evils. His virtues mentioned in your Book are that he will believe in all divine books and that he is the one who will give witness and will be bowing and prostrating (before Only One Allah). He will be inclining towards the divine reward and fearing divine chastisement. The poor and needy will be his brothers (in faith). People belonging to other (than his) tribes will be his helpers and companions. His time will face scarcities, hardships, troubles, corruption and dearth of money. His name is Ahmad, Muhammad and Ameen and he will be the epitome of all the past Prophets. He will believe in all the divine scriptures and will testify to all the Messengers of Allah. He will give witness with sincerity to all those messengers and his Ummah is the Ummah on which Allah has showered His mercy and bliss so that it may remain steadfast on the true religion and may not destroy his religion. They (followers of the last Prophet) know some such timings (hours) in which they will perform their prayers (prayers) like a slave who spends most of his time in serving his master. So testify to that Prophet and follow his ways because he is your brother. O Musa! He is Ummi. That is, he will not learn from anybody. He is a My virtuous slave. I will give affluence in whatever he does and I will also increase his knowledge as I myself have created him with bliss.

The Resurrection Day will take place in his time (of Prophethood). I will conclude the world with his followers. So command the oppressors of The Israelites that they should not erase his name from My Books, though I know that they will remove it. His love (love for Me) is a very big virtue (good) in My sight. I am with him and I am among his helpers. He belongs to My army and My army is above all armies. In short, My word and My plan have been perfected that surely I will make his religion win over all other religions so that people may be able to worship Me with integrity. I will descend on him such a Qur’an which will be a compendium of all sciences and which will separate wrong and untruth from truth and which will cure hearts from the mischief of the devil. So, O son of ‘Imran! Send Salawaat on him because I and My angels send Salawaat on him.

O Musa! You are My slave. I am your Lord. Do not consider any poor and troubled person lowly. Do not long for some of those things, which I have given to them from the worldly wealth. Adopt humility while remembering Me. Be hopeful of My mercy while reciting Torah and read out the Torah to me in a voice full of fear and worry. Keep your heart peaceful with My remembrance. I also remember the one whose heart inclines towards Me. Worship Me alone. Do not attribute any partner to Me and continue your efforts for pleasing Me. Verily I am your great Lord. I have created you from insignificant dirty water (semen) and built your foundation from the dust that was taken from various parts of the lowly earth. Then I blew spirit in it and made it a man. Thus I am the creator of the creation and Myself is affluent and My heart is holy and nothing is similar to Me and I am existent forever because non-existence has nothing to do with Me.

O Musa! Be fearful and frightened whenever you pray to Me and put your face on earth before Me and prostrate before Me with the best of your limbs. Adopt humility and meekness when you stand before Me and tell Me your secrets with a fearful heart whenever you submit your supplication to me and keep yourself alive by living with Torah. Teach My praise to the ignorant and remind them of My favors and tell them not to remain in so much disobedience and waywardness because when I will arrest, My arrest will be the severest of all and My chastisement is very painful.

O Musa! If your relation with Me will break off no other relation will be of any avail to you. So worship Me and stand like a lowly servant before Me and condemn your soul because it deserves more condemnation and do not become proud in front of The Israelites because of the Book which I have given you as the same Book is sufficient to admonish you and to enlighten your heart as it is the Word of the Lord of the Worlds.

O Musa! When you pray before Me be hopeful of My mercy. I will pardon you even if you have sinned. The heaven is hallowing me for my fear and the angels continue to tremble because of My terror. The earth goes on praising Me looking to My mercy. The entire creation glorifies Me and is meek before Me. The prayer must seem pleasant to you because it is great in My sight and it has a big covenant with Me because it presents before Me everyone as he should be presented and I forgive. Keep a deed always connected with prayers, which is one of the conditions for its acceptance and its sacrifice, and offer in My path the best of wealth and food because I do not accept anything unless it is legal and clean and is offered with the intention only of pleasing Me. In addition to giving them Zakat also, behave nicely to your relatives because I am Allah, the Beneficent and the Merciful and I have created relationships and have measured it with My mercy so that My slaves may behave mercifully with one another due to that. I will give a kingdom in the Hereafter to the one who maintains kind relations and I disconnect My mercy with the one who will cut off kindness I will deal kindly with the one who will have dealt kindly with others and who will have done good to his relatives and similarly I will do accordingly with the one who will have disobeyed my command.

O Musa! Give respect to the one who asks from you something and give him something when he approaches you, or give him a soft reply because no one comes to you from men or jinn but are angels who test you as desired by the Beneficent Lord. They ascertain as to how you spend from what I have given to you and how you thank Me and how you maintain equity between the faithful. Remain meek before Me with humility and weeping and raise your voice while reciting Torah and while weeping and know that I call you in My presence as a master calls his slave so that he may give him the top position and a high status near him. This is My bounty on you and on your forefathers who have passed away.

O Musa! Do not forget Me under any circumstances and do not feel happy over affluence of wealth as the heart becomes hard with the affluence in wealth and sins also increase with an increase in wealth. The land, sea and the heavens all are subservient to Me but disobedience has hardened the hearts of men and jinn. I am the Merciful and the Beneficent Lord. I am kind to all in every age. I cause ease after hardship and give bounty after scarcity. I bring kings after kings and My kingdom is intact and continuous which never end. Nothing in the earth and heavens is hidden from Me and how can it be hidden when it is I who created them. How can your heart not incline towards my pleasure and reward while your return is only to Me. O Musa! Make Me your shelter and reliance and deposit your treasure of good deeds with Me. Fear Me and do not be afraid of anyone else because your return is only to Me.

O Musa! Be kind to the one who among My creation is lower than you and do not envy those who are higher than you because jealousy consumes good deeds as fire consumes wood. O Musa! Two sons of Adam showed meekness before me and submitted their sacrifice that they may earn My grace and I accept the sacrifice offered by pious people. Hence, the offer of one is accepted and the other rejected. Thereafter to what extent their affair reached is known to you. Then how do you rely on and trust your viziers and companions when a brother did what he did with his own brother. O Musa! Give up pride and ego and remember that you will have to be a resident of the grave. This thought will restrain you from worldly desires.

O Musa make haste in repenting and postpone sinning. Prolong standing before Me during your prayer and attach no hope with anyone except Me. Make Me your shelter in warding off hardships and consider Me your forte for defending yourself against calamities. O Musa! How does a slave fear Me who considers My grace and bounties on him whereas he does not ponder over it and does not believe. How does he believe and hope for reward when he is satisfied with the worldly belongings and has made it his shelter and turns toward the world like oppressors. O Musa! Contest with the virtuous in virtues because virtue is as sweet as its name and leave the evil for the one who is mad after the world.

O Musa! Keep your tongue behind your heart so that you may be protected from the evil of the tongues, that is think before speaking anything and speak only after you understand that there is nothing wrong or bad in it. Remember Me more and more during the day and the night as long as you have the chance to do so and do not follow sins so that you may not have to repent. Surely, the reward of sins is hellfire. O Musa! Talk softly for those who have given up sinning and sit with them and take them as your brothers and try to worship Me with them so that they may also try (to do so) with you. O Musa! Certainly, you will face death, so advance a better provision for the Hereafter like the one who knows that he will get his provision.

O Musa! Whatever is done for My pleasure, its small is big, and whatever is done for other than Me its big is small. Verily your best day is which is to come that is the Day of the Resurrection Day so think how that day will be for you and be prepared for the answers you will have to give on that day because undoubtedly you will be made to stand to account for your deeds. Take admonition from the people of your times. Its secret is minute for the careless and wide open for the obedient. Everything will end, so perform your deeds as if you are seeing their reward so that you may remain inclined more towards the Hereafter because a worldly thing, which is existing, is just like the thing, which has passed away. From the things that have passed away like this, nothing has remained with you except your worship. It will be so in future also and everyone who does anything does it in his interest. So select as your aim everything that is better so that you may get Allah’s reward on the day when the wrongdoers (deniers) will be the losers.

O Musa! Do not feel degraded when standing before Me the degradation that a slave feels when he approaches his master for making some complaint. When you do so, you will find My mercy with you and I am the mightiest of the mighty. O Musa! Seek My grace and My mercy from only Me because both are in my control and none else has any power over grace and mercy. And whenever you seek anything from Me just think how much longing do you have for what is with me. There is a reward with Me for every performer of a deed and I give the reward of a good deed even to the deniers.

O Musa! Give up the world with a happy heart and keep away from it because you are not for the world nor are the world for you. What have you to do with the residence of oppressors. It is for the one who engages in deeds for the Hereafter while remaining here (in the world). The world is a better place for him. O Musa! Listen to what I command to you and keep in your heart whatever I see in your interest and also the truths of Torah, and remain awake with it during day and night without falling in the sleep of negligence. Do not give any room in your heart to the talks of the world-lovers or to their love because it builds its nest therein like the nest of a bird.

O Musa! The sons of the world and the residents of the world are the cause of trials for one another. The world is beautified for those who are in it and for the faithful is the beauty of the Hereafter. So he is always after the Hereafter and never looks at any other thing. The longing for the Hereafter has become a barrier between him and the tastes of this world. So he traverses forests for advancing his status in worship and nearness to his Lord, like a rider who races in a field to overtake others and may win the race and may reach his aim at the earliest but who remains gloomy during his daytime due to his worry for the Hereafter and who passes his nights in grief. What to say about his luck? How much he will he be able to see, if the cover is removed from his eyes, the things that will make him happy?

O Musa! The world is short and will not last nor is it vast enough to accommodate the reward of the faithful nor can it provide sufficient chastisement to the sinners. So the eternal loss and hurt is for the one who sells out his reward of the Hereafter in exchange of the worldly pleasures which won’t last and who sells it in exchange of the tastes of his tongue which goes away soon. So live as I command and whatever I order you will be for your growth and well being. O Musa! When you see that richness turns towards you imagine that you have erred and therefore you are getting its punishment in the world And when you see that distress advances towards you bravo, bravo for the righteous! Do not live like oppressors and tyrants nor approach them or sit with them. O Musa! Life is fleeting however long it may be. A thing that is taken away from you in the world causes you no loss when its end in the hereafter is everlasting bounty.

O Musa! My book calls out to you loudly and warns you of your return. So can the eyes become sleepy in such circumstances. And how can any group enjoy the worldly life. Had it not been so that they have lived in carelessness since long and have been captive of their hardheartedness and habituated to various kinds of desires and pleasures, the Truthful might have cried out in response to a few admonishments described by Me in My Book. O Musa! Ask My servants to confess about Me that I am the most merciful of all the merciful and I answer the supplications of the uneasy souls and I ward off the troubles and turn the conditions of time and I grant bounties after calamities and appreciate even small deeds and give reward generously and turn the needy into the affluent and that I am the everlasting mighty and omnipotent Lord and that they should pray to me. Thereafter if a sinner seeks shelter and approaches you tell him, “Well done! You have stepped in a wider environment and camped therein and have entered the vastness of Divine Might and Mercy of the Lord of the Worlds. Be happy, He will accept your penitence and (O Musa) seek pardon from Me for them and live with them like them and do not be proud of the bounty which I have bestowed on you and ask them to beseech My Mercy and Grace only from Me as none except Me owns My Mercy and Grace and that I possess the Greatest Grace and how lucky you are.

O Musa! You are a shelter for the misguided and a brother for the sinners and a companion of the troubled and the seeker of forgiveness for the sinners and you hold a desired status in My Sight. So pray to Me with a pure heart and a truthful tongue and live as I have commanded you to live. Obey my orders and do not behave with pride and excessiveness with my servants due to the few bounties that I have bestowed on you though they were not initiated from your side. And attain nearness to Me because I am near you. Verily I have not asked from you anything which is heavy for you. I only wish you to pray for me so that I may accept your prayer and then I will grant. And gain nearness to Me by conveying my messages which I have descended (revealed) to you and which I have explained to you.

O Musa look at the earth that will soon become your grave and raise your eyes towards the sky as the kingdom of your Lord is greater. Weep over your soul until you remain in the world and fear the fatalities. Let not the beauty of the world deceive you. Do not rest content on knowledge and do not become an oppressor because I am always aiming at the tyrants and I will make the oppressed overpower them. O Musa! I give a tenfold reward of every good deed but only an equal punishment for an evil. Then the sinners turn it into ten times bigger and got ruined. And do not involve anyone else in My worship and be moderate in every deal and pray like a candidate who is longing for My reward. Be repentant of your deeds because the day removes the darkness of the night. Similarly good deeds obliterate sins and sins darken good deeds just as the darkness of night obliterates daylight.”

It is mentioned in reliable tradition that Imam as-Sadiq said: Once Satan came to Musa when he was praying to his Lord. An angel asked him (Satan), “What do you expect from him (Musa) in this condition?” Satan said the same hope which he had entertained from his father Adam when he was in Paradise.

Imam said some of the admonitions given by Allah to Musa are these: O Musa! I accept the prayer of the one who adopts lowliness and humility for honoring My greatness and who fills his heart with My fear and spends his day in My remembrance and who passes his night confessing to his sins and recognizes the rights of My saints and friends. Musa asked: By your saints and friends do you mean Ibrahim, Isma‘il, and Ya‘qub? He replied, “O Musa! Of course they are such and are My friends but now what I mean is not they, what I mean is the one for whose sake I created Adam and Hawwa’ and created Paradise and Hell.” Musa asked: My Lord! Who is he? He replied, “Muhammad and his name is Ahmad. I gave him this name that is derived from My name because one of My names is Mahmud.”

Musa said, My Lord! Settle me in his Ummah (followers). The Lord replied, “O Musa! When you will recognize him and understand him and his progeny’s status in My sight, you will be in his Ummah. Surely, the example of him and his progeny among my entire creation is like the Garden of Firdaus among all gardens. Its leaves never dry up, its taste never changes. So whosoever will appreciate his and his progeny’s rights I will for him, bring wisdom near ignorance and light near darkness. I will accept his prayer before he prays and give him before he asks. O Musa! When you see that trouble is coming towards you, welcome it saying Bravo! I am glad to greet the condition of the good, and when you notice that wealth in turning towards you say that its cause is some sin the punishment for which has been hastened for me because this world is a field of punishment. When Adam erred, I sent him in the world as a punishment of his deed. And I have cursed the world and everything in it, except the thing which is for Me, and which involves My pleasure. O Musa! Verily My good slaves have kept themselves away from the world in proportion to their knowledge about Me and many in My creation have loved the world because of their ignorance and because they did not know Me and the eyes of the one who loved the world and considered it great were never brightened nor did they get any benefit from the world and the one who looked down at the world benefited from it.”

In a reliable hadith it is recorded from Imam al-Ridha that when Allah appointed Musa as His messenger and gave him honor and split the river for him and relieved The Israelites from the evil of the Pharaoh and granted him Torah and Commandments, Musa said, My Lord! You have given me an honor that You have not given to anyone before me. Allah said, O Musa! Probably you do not know that Muhammad is in My sight most honorable among all of My angels and the entire creation. Musa asked: If Muhammad is better than all of Your creation then is the progeny of any Prophet better than My progeny. Allah said, O Musa! Perhaps you do not know that the progeny of Muhammad is superior to the progenies of all Prophets just as Muhammad is superior to all Prophets. Musa inquired: My Lord! If the progeny of Muhammad is like that then is the Ummah (followers) of any of the Prophet superior to my followers as You made clouds give them shade and You rained manna and salwa on them and You parted the river for their sake? The Lord replied, “O Musa! Perhaps you do not know that the superiority of the Ummah of Muhammad to all other Ummahs is like the superiority of Muhammad to all other creation.”

Musa said, “My Lord! how good it would have been had I seen them?” The Lord replied, “O Musa! You will never see them because this is not the time of their appearance but you will see them before Muhammad in the High Heavens when they will be given the bounties of paradise and will be enjoying its pleasure. Do you like that I should tell you more about them?” Musa said, “Yes, My Lord.” Allah said, “Then stand up before Me like a lowly slave who stands meekly before a mighty king.” Musa complied. Allah pronounced: O Ummah of Muhammad! All responded from the bellies of their mothers and the loins of their fathers: Labbaik Allahumma labbaik laa shareeka laka labbaik innal hamda wan ne’mata laka wal mulk. Laa shareeka laka.

So the Almighty made it the thalbiya of hajj. Then He announced: O Ummah of Muhammad! My decision and My command about you is that My mercy precedes My anger and My pardon precedes My chastisement. I have accepted your asking before you ask and anyone of you who will come to Me in such a condition that he gives witness (testimony) that I am the Only One Allah and that Muhammad is My slave and messenger and that he is true in his words and deeds and testifies that ‘Ali bin Abi-Talib is his brother, legatee and Caliph and subjects himself to obedience of ‘Ali as he has subjected himself to the obedience of Muhammad and testifies that His selected and sinless friends and saints who are distinct with Divine miracles are the caliphs of Allah, I will admit him to Paradise even if his sins are equal in quantity to the foam of rivers. Imam said, “When Allah appointed our Prophet He revealed to him meaning: O Muhammad! You were on the Mount Toor when I called out to your community with this greatness and you were not on this side of the mountain when We called to him. Say that I praise and glorify the Lord Who is the Lord of the worlds because of the blessing whereby He granted me this grace exclusively and said to his Ummah: We praise the Allah who is the Lord of all worlds because He granted us these graces exclusively.”

And it is mentioned in other reliable traditions that Imam al-Ridha asked Raas al Jalut the greatest scholar among the Jews, “I challenge you with ten verses of Torah revealed to Moses, tell me does Torah not give the news about Muhammad in these words? When the people of the last Ummah will come who will be the followers of a camel-rider Prophet and who will glorify Allah in various ways in new places of worship, The Israelites will take the shelter of their Prophet until their souls will be satisfied (convinced) and surely the swords will be in their hands with which they will take revenge from the enemies of the Prophet in the world. Is this not written in Torah?”

Raas al Jalut said, “Yes.”

Then Imam said, “O Jew! Musa stated to The Israelites in his will that soon a Prophet from your brothers will come to you. So testify to him and obey him. Are there any brothers of The Israelites except the sons of Isma‘il?”

Raas al Jalut replied, “I cannot deny this statement of Musa but I want that it be pointed out to me from Torah.”

Imam said, “Do you deny that it is mentioned in Torah that light came from Mount Toor and gave us brightness from Mount Saaeer and appeared from Mount Paran. So the radiance on Mount Toor was revelation to Musa and Mount Paran is in Makkah and there is a distance of a day’s journey between them and it is the same revelation which was revealed to Muhammad.”

This hadith is very lengthy. We have quoted here in proportion to the need of this occasion.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition from Imam as-Sadiq that The Israelites approached Musa and said, “Ask Allah for rain whenever we ask for it and may stop when we do not want it.” Musa conveyed this request to Allah and Allah accepted it. They tilled the land, sowed what they wanted to grow and then asked for rains and it rained as much as they wanted. It also stopped raining when they desired so. Thus it continued to rain when they wanted and stopped raining when they so desired until their agricultural products became sound and high. But when they harvested there was no seed in it at all. Everything had become grass. They went to Musa with this complaint and narrated what had happened. Allah revealed to Musa, “I did not decide for The Israelites but allowed what they desired. Since they were not agreeable with My decision, I left them to their planning. The result is what you see.”

In a reliable hadith it is recorded from Imam al-Baqir, Imam as-Sadiq and Imam al-Ridha that it is written in the unexpunged Torah that Musa asked his Lord, “Are you near to me with Whom I can talk softly or are You away from me with Whom I must talk loudly?” Allah revealed to him, “O Musa! I am the companion of the one who remembers Me.” Musa said, “My Lord! Who will be under Your shade when there will be no shade except the shade of Your Throne?” The Lord replied, “I remember those who remember Me and I befriend those who love one another for My sake. So whenever I propose to send My chastisement to earth I do not send it due to the auspiciousness of such people.” Musa requested, “My Lord! Sometimes I find myself in such a condition when I feel You too great to be remembered.” The Lord responded, “Remember Me under all circumstances as My remembrance is good in all conditions.”21

It is mentioned from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Allah revealed to Musa, “O Musa! What prevents you from praying to Me?” He replied, “My Lord! The awe of your greatness as to how I can call you with my dirty mouth?” The Almighty revealed, “The odor of the mouth of fasting people is dearer to Me than the fragrance of musk.”

It is mentioned with authentic evidence from Imam al-Ridha that wherever ‘O those who believe’ is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, the Words in Torah are, O Group of the poor and the needy.

According to another narration, it is written in Torah that: If you are friends of Allah, desire death. So Almighty addressed the Jews in the Holy Qur’an,

O Jews! If you imagine that you are friends of Allah and that others are not, then, if you are true, wish for death. (62:6)

It is narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas that the Holy Prophet said, “Allah discussed 1,24,000 things with Musa in three days and that Musa did not eat or drink anything during that time. When he returned to The Israelites and heard the voice of human beings he abhorred it as the sweetness of the Divine voice was still ringing in his ears.”

Amir al-Mu’minin said that Almighty Allah revealed to Musa bin ‘Imran, “O Musa! Learn My will by heart. Four things are for you: First do not be after the sins of others until you come to know that your sins have been forgiven, second do not become gloomy for your provision unless you know that My treasures have become empty, thirdly do not pin your hopes on others except me until you know that my kingdom has ended, fourthly do not feel yourself safe from the conspiracies of Satan until you know that he (devil) has died.”

It is mentioned with two authentic chains from Imam as-Sadiq that four words of wisdom are written in Torah together with four other words side by side. The first four words are: The one who gets up from bed with worldly worries shows anger against his Lord, the one who wakes up in the morning with complaints against what has befallen him complains against his Lord and the one who approaches a wealthy person with the intention of gaining some earthly gains from him destroys two-thirds of his religion and the one who reads Allah’s book and then indulges in deeds leading to Hell has ridiculed Allah and the other four words are: You will get the reward of what you do and the one who becomes a king or gets power wants that he should become the owner of everything and the one who does not consult others in his affairs repents and that restlessness and need is bigger than people.”

It is mentioned in another hadith that Almighty revealed to Musa, “O Musa! I have not created any creation which is dearer to Me than My faithful Mu’min slave and I do not put him into any trouble unless it is in his interest and I do not give him ease but for his betterment and I am more aware of what is in the interests of My slaves so he should be patient during the calamities sent by Me and should thank Me for My bounties and should rest content on My decisions so that I may note (place) him near Me among My truthful ones whenever he works for My pleasure and obeys My Commandments.”

It is narrated by Imam al-Baqir that some of the words given to Musa by Allah on Mount Toor are: O Musa! Tell your community that those who gain nearness to Me do not get the nearness but through weeping and fearing Me and the worshippers who worship me do not do so but by abstaining from the things prohibited by Me and the adorned ones do not gain adornment but by giving up some things in the world which they do not need. Then Musa said, “O Most Merciful One! What reward will you give to them for their good deeds? He said, O Musa! Those who seek my nearness through weeping due to My fear will be in the highest place in Paradise and none will be their partner in that position. And for those who worship Me while refraining from the things prohibited by Me, I will inquire into the deeds of people in the Resurrection Day but will overlook their conditions and for those who seek My nearness by giving up worldly desires I will make the entire Paradise admissible to them so that they may reside therein wherever they please.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that one day Musa was sitting when Satan appeared before him wearing a multicolored cap. He took off his cap and approached Musa. Musa asked as to who he was? He said, “Iblis.” Musa said, “May Allah not give residence to anyone near your residence. Why have you donned this cap on your head?”

He said, “I attract the children of Adam through these colors.” Musa said, “Tell me the sin which if committed by the son of Adam you overpower him fully.”

“When he overestimates his deed and gets vain and then underestimates his sin.”

Then he said, O Musa! Never stay alone with a woman who is not permissible for you. Such people I do not leave to my companions but personally make efforts in misleading them and do not leave his side until he indulges in sin. Also never, give any promise to your God because whoever gives any promise to Allah I do not leave them to my companions but attend personally to him to endeavor that he may not fulfill his promise. And (O Musa)! Whenever you think of giving charity, make haste because whenever one intends to give charity I pay attention to him myself and do not leave him to my assistants. I make maximum efforts to make him regret it.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition from Imam as-Sadiq that there was a tyrant king in the times of Musa. At the same time, there was a pious man. He went to the king for fulfilling a need of a faithful man and recommended his case to the king. The king accepted his recommendation and fulfilled the need of that faithful man. That king and the believer died on the same day. People mourned the death of the king for three days and kept their bazaars closed but the corpse of that mo-min remained in his house unattended until the worms began to feed on it. After three days Musa saw it and prayed to Allah, “My Lord! That king was Your enemy yet people gave him a respectful burial while this mo-min is lying in this condition.” The Lord sent a revelation to him, “A friend of mine once recommended the case of one of my faithful slaves to the king and the latter fulfilled that need. So I gave honor to the king in this way. But I made the earth’s insects overpower that man because he made a request before a tyrant king.”

It is narrated from Imam Zayn al-‘abidin with authentic proofs that Musa prayed to Allah, “My Lord! Who are Your selected slaves? The ones whom You will keep under the shade of Your throne. For on that day there will be no other shade except that of the throne.” The Lord responded, “Those whose hearts are clean, empty of condemnable desires and habits and sinful desires and whose hearts are empty of worldly wealth. Whenever they remember Me, My Greatness and Awe is seen in their eyes and they are those who rest content in obeying Me just like a child rests content by suckling. They are the people who take refuge in My mosques just like vultures take shelter in their nests, when they see people disobeying Me they become fierce like an angry leopard.”

In a reliable hadith it is recorded from Imam as-Sadiq that Allah revealed to Musa, “O Musa! Thank Me as I deserve.” Musa asked, “My Lord! How can I thank You as You deserve for whatever thanksgiving I offer will only be a bounty from You because it is You who inclined me towards it.” The Lord replied, “O Musa! When you have understood that you are unable to thank Me fully and that thanksgiving is also My bounty then you have thanked Me as I deserve.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition from Imam al-Baqir that Allah revealed to Musa, “Befriend Me and make Me friend of My creation.” Musa asked, “My Lord! You know that none of your creations is dearer to me than You but what control do I have over the hearts of others.” Allah revealed to him, “Make them aware of my bounties so that they may befriend Me.”

According to the same source it is mentioned in this hadith that Musa asked Allah, “Let me know the time of early decline of the sun.” The Almighty ordained an angel to inform Musa everyday. So one day that angel told Musa that the time of decline of the sun has arrived.” Musa asked, “When?” The angel said, “Exactly when I told you, but by the time you made this inquiry the sun had already traveled a distance of five hundred years (westward).”

According to authentic hadith Imam as-Sadiq said, “Once Musa got a revelation from Allah that a certain person from among his friends was backbiting him and conveying his words to his enemies so he should keep away from him. Musa said, ‘My Lord! When I do not know him, how can I keep away from him? So let me know who he is.’ The Lord said, ‘I described the evil of his slander and now you want me to backbite about him too?’ Musa said, ‘My Lord! What should I do then?’ The Lord said, ‘Select ten persons from your companions, then make groups of ten from your men and draw lots. The lot will appear in the name of the group in which that person is. Then draw again a lot from among that group and it will expose that man. When that man saw that Musa was drawing lots and that he was about to be disgraced he arose and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! It was I who did this deed. I will not do so again.’”

It is noted in another authentic hadith that Musa saw a man under the throne of Allah and asked, “My Lord! Who is this person whom you have kept so near to You? So near that you gave him a place under Your throne.” Allah replied, “This man was not cursed by his parents nor did he envy people because of the things I gave them by My Grace.”

According to a reliable narration Imam as-Sadiq said, “The Almighty conversed with Musa telling him that he should not incline towards the world like oppressors nor like the one who had made worldly things his parents. If I leave you, you will surely be attracted towards worldly adornments. O Musa! Leave those worldly things that you do not need and do not look at those who love the world. I have left them. And know that the seed of all troubles is the love of this world. Do you want to be like the one who is liked by masses until you know that I am also pleased with him? And do not long for the position of the man who is being obeyed by people unjustly because he is the cause of his followers’ destruction.”

It is narrated in another reliable tradition from Imam al-Baqir that Musa prayed to Allah, “My Lord! Who among Your slaves is most disliked by you and who you consider your worst enemy? The Lord replied, “The one who drops down in his bed at night like a dead body and passes his day in senseless things.” Musa asked: What is the reward of one who visits a sick fellow? Allah replied, “I appoint an angel to give him company in his grave until he is resurrected.” He asked: My Lord! What is the reward of one who bathes a dead body? Allah replied, “I make him as clean of sins as he was at birth.” He asked: My Lord! What is the reward of one who attends a funeral procession? Allah replied, “I appoint some angels for him bearing flags so that they will escort him in the Field of Reckoning (Mahshar).” Musa asked: My Lord! What is the reward of one who condoles the death of a child? Allah replied, “I will give him a place under the Divine Throne on the day when there will be no shade except that of the Divine Throne.”

According to a reliable tradition Imam as-Sadiq said, “Once on his way to work Musa passed by a man praying to Allah with raised hands towards the sky. When he returned by the same way after seven days he saw that that man was still in the same position, praying and weeping.” Allah said, “O Musa! Even if this man goes on praying until his tongue drops down, I will not accept his supplication until and unless he does not come to Me the way I want him to come. That is, he must love and follow you.” That man wanted to worship Allah in a way other than following the teachings of Musa.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition through the same source that once when Musa went to Mount Toor he took with him one of his pious companions. He made him sit at the foot of the mountain and he proceeded to the top and began talking with his Lord. When he returned he saw that that man was torn into pieces by a wild beast which had eaten up his face. Allah revealed to Musa that that man had committed a sin against Me and I desired that when he returns to Me no sin should remain with him so I took him thus from the world.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition of Imam al-Baqir that Allah revealed to Musa, “Sometimes it so happens that a slave of mine seeks My nearness with a single good deed and I issue orders that he may be given a place of his choice in Paradise.” Musa inquired about that good deed. Allah replied, “To undertake a journey for the sake of his brother in faith.”

Reliable sources quote Imam al-Baqir that once Musa asked his Lord, “My Lord! Who among your creations do you consider as your worst enemy?” The Almighty said, “The one who makes allegations against Me.” Musa asked, “My Lord! Is there anyone among Your creation who makes allegations against You?” The Lord replied, “Yes, the man who asks something from Me and I decide only that which is in his interest, but as he is not pleased with it he makes allegations against Me.”

It is mentioned in a true hadith that Imam as-Sadiq said, “It is written in Torah that: O Son of Adam! Make yourself available for My worship setting aside your worldly affairs so that I may fill up your heart with My fear. Otherwise, I will fill up your heart with worldly engagements and will leave you to run after the world and then your need will never be satisfied.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam al-Baqir said, “Divine Revelation was stopped for thirty days for Musa bin ‘Imran. So one evening he went to Mount Areeha and said, My Lord! Why have you stopped talking with me and discontinued your revelation? Is it because of any sin that I have committed? So now, I am standing before You. Punish me until You become pleased with me. If you have stopped your revelations due to the sins of The Israelites then I beseech pardon for them. Almighty revealed to him: O Musa! Do you know why I have selected you from among My entire creation for My talks and revelations? Musa said, “My Lord! I do not know it.” Allah said, “O Musa! My knowledge has covered the entire creation. I did not find among them anyone whose humility before Me was more than yours. So I reserved you for My talks and Revelations.” Thereafter whenever Musa prayed he did not rise from the prayer mat until he rubbed the right and left of his face on the ground.

It is reported from the holy Prophet that it was written on the tablets: Thank Me and your parents so that I may protect you from calamities and troubles which cause your destruction and so that I may lengthen your life and keep you alive with a better living and may grant you a life which will be much better after this earthly life.

It is mentioned with authentic evidences that The Grand Names consists of seventy-three letters out of which Allah sent four letters on Musa.

It is mentioned in an authentic hadith from Imam as-Sadiq that it is written in Torah: O Son of Adam! Remember Me whenever you are angry with anyone so that I may remember you when I am angry. Then I may not destroy you with those people who I want to destroy. Whenever someone oppresses you leave its retaliation thinking of Me because My revenge is better than yours.

In another hadith the Prophet of Allah said that Allah revealed to Musa, “O Son of ‘Imran! Do not envy what I have given from My Grace to others and do not look at it with a tempting eye because he who does not remain pleased with what I have distributed among my slaves and becomes envious of it does not remain happy, rather it comes in the way of the right distribution which I have made. Such a person is not Mine nor am I his.”

It is recorded from Imam al-Baqir that The Israelites complained to Musa that many among us have become lepers. The Almighty revealed to Musa: Ask them to eat cow’s meat with beetroot.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition from Imam as-Sadiq that it is mentioned in Torah: Thank the one who gives you good things and reward the one who thanks you because there is no decline of bounties when they are thanked for. And they do not last when not thanked for and an increase in thanksgiving causes protection from calamities. It is mentioned in authentic hadith from the same Imam that it is written in Torah that if anyone sells any land with water and in exchange does not purchase land and water then its price becomes unlawful and it gives no profit.

It is mentioned in another narration that Musa visited a city of The Israelites where he saw that rich men wearing clothes made of canvas (sackcloth) were standing and throwing dust on their heads and weeping profusely. Tears were rolling down their cheeks. Musa felt pity on them. He himself also wept in sympathy and prayed to Allah, “O My Lord! These people are in the progeny of Ya‘qub who has taken shelter in You like a dove takes shelter in its nest and are crying like the sheep and are barking like dogs.” The Lord revealed, “Why are they doing this; perhaps in their view the treasure of My mercy has emptied or My wealth has ended or I am not the Most Merciful! Tell them that I know what is in their hearts. Though they are calling Me their hearts are not inclined towards Me but towards the world.”

It is mentioned in another authentic hadith that one day Musa was giving a sermon to his companions when suddenly a man got up and tore his clothes. Allah revealed to Musa, “Ask him to tear his heart and weed out from it whatever I do not like. What is the use of tearing his clothes?” One day Musa passed by one of his companions in Sajdah. When Musa returned after finishing his business he saw that that man was still prostrating. Musa told him, “Had it been in my power I would have fulfilled your demand.” Allah revealed, “O Musa! Even if this man prolongs his prostration until his neck breaks, I will not accept his prayer unless he gives up what I do not like and inclines towards what I like.”22

Death of Musa and Harun

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam al-Baqir that Musa prayed to Allah, “Of course I rest content on what You have decided and distributed. Do not kill an aged person, let alone a child.” The Lord replied, “O Musa! Are you not happy that I am the provider of provisions and I am the maintainer?” Musa submitted, “My Lord! I am happy; doubtlessly You are the Best Caretaker and the Best Maintainer.”

Imam as-Sadiq said that one day Musa went to Mount Toor with Harun. On the way, they saw a house. There was a tree at its door. Before that, they had neither seen that house nor the tree. Two clothes hung on that tree and there was a couch in that house. Musa asked Harun, “Remove your clothes and wear these, then enter this house and sleep on the couch.” Harun complied with the order. When he slept on the couch, Allah seized the soul of Harun, and that couch and that house went up in the sky. Musa returned to The Israelites and informed them that Almighty Allah had seized the life of Harun and called him up in the heavens. The Israelites said, “You are lying. You killed him because we loved him and because he was kind towards us.” Musa complained to Allah about the allegation made against him by The Israelites. The Almighty commanded and two angels lowered the couch with Harun from the heavens and kept it hanging between earth and heavens until The Israelites saw and were convinced that he had died and that Musa did not kill him.

According to another hadith (narration) Harun spoke up from the couch and said, I have died my death and Musa did not kill me.

It is mentioned in another hadith that the bereaved can tear off his collar while mourning one’s father or brother as Musa had torn his collar at the death of Harun.

According to a reliable tradition Imam al-Ridha said that Musa asked Allah, “My Lord! My brother has died so forgive him. Allah revealed to Musa, “O Musa! if you wish Me to forgive all those who have died and also who are yet to die I will pardon all of them except the killers of Husayn bin ‘Ali; from whom I will take revenge.”

It is mentioned in some reliable and authentic hadiths that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that when the end of Musa’s life approached and the angel of death came and said, ‘O Kalimullah (the one with whom Allah conversed)! Assalaamo A’laikum’, Musa responded, “Wa a’laikas salaam! Who are you?” The angel replied, “I am the angel of death.” He asked, “Why have you come?” He replied, “To take your soul.” Musa asked, “From where will you seize it?” He replied, “From your mouth.” Musa asked, “How will you seize it from the mouth when I have conversed with the Almighty with it?” The angel replied, “All right! I will seize it from your hands.” Musa exclaimed, “How will you seize it from my hands when these hands have held the Torah?” The angel said, “I will seize it from your feet.” Musa said,”I have gone to Mount Toor on these very feet to talk with My Lord.” The angel said, “Then I will take it from your eyes.” Musa said, “I have always looked with these eyes hopefully towards my Lord’s Mercy.” The angel said, “Then from your ear.” Musa said, “I have heard my Lord’s Words with these very ears.” Then Almighty Allah revealed to the angel, “Do not seize his soul until he himself desires it.” So the angel of death went back and Musa lived for quite a long time thereafter. Then one day he called Yusha‘, gave his will to him, made him his legatee and asked him to keep the will a secret until the time of his (Musa’s) death. He also asked Yusha‘ to pass on the Wasiyyah (Will) at the time of his (Yusha‘’s) death to someone else as desired by Allah. Saying this Musa disappeared from his people.

During these days of his absence, he once met a man digging a grave. Musa told him that he would like to help him in digging that grave. He said, ‘That is good.’ Musa engaged himself in the digging. Soon the grave was completed by them. The man intended to go and lie in that grave to ascertain whether it was properly dug or not.

But Musa said, Wait! let me do it. Saying this Musa entered the grave and slept therein. Allah removed the curtain from his eyes and he saw his place in Paradise. He said, My Lord Call me back to You. So the angel of death seized his holy soul then and there. That person buried him in the same grave and closed it by filling it with earth. That man digging the grave was an angel in the shape of a man. Musa died in Tiyah. An announcer announced from the heavens that Musa Kalimullah has died and who is he who will not die? (The Imam) said, This is why Musa’s grave is not known to people and The Israelites do not know its location. People asked the Prophet of Allah about the location of the grave of Musa. He replied, “Near the highway adjacent to the red hillock.” After Musa, Yusha‘ became the leader of The Israelites. He was always busy in their affairs and was bearing all kinds of difficulties caused to him by the kings of those days. Three of those kings died. Thereafter the condition of Yusha‘ became strong and be became independent in the matter of law and order (giving orders to do or to refrain from doing things). Then two hypocrites of the community of Musa conspired and took Safra daughter of Shu‘ayb, the wife of Musa with them and revolted against Yusha‘ with 100000 men. Yusha‘ overpowered them. Many groups of them were killed and those who remained alive fled by the Divine Order and Safra daughter of Shu‘ayb became the captive of Yusha‘. Yusha‘ told her, “I am leaving you in this world so that in the other world when I meet Musa the Prophet of Allah, I may complain to him about you and your community about what I have suffered due to you.” Safra said, “By Allah! If Paradise is made open to me so that I can enter it I will feel ashamed of seeing there Musa the Prophet of Allah, as I have torn his veil and thereafter I revolted against his legatee.”23

Sunnis have narrated from ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud that he said, “I asked the Prophet of Allah, ‘Who will bathe you after your demise?’ The holy Prophet replied, ‘Every Prophet is given a bath by his Wasi.’ I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Who is your Wasi?’ He replied, ‘‘Ali bin Abi-Talib.’ I asked, ‘O Prophet of Allah! How long will he live after you?’ He said, ‘Thirty years as Yusha‘ ibn Nun the legatee of Musa and Safra daughter of Shu‘ayb revolted against him (Yusha‘) and had said, ‘I am more entitled than you to be ruler of The Israelites.’ Yusha‘ fought her, destroyed her army and arrested her. After capturing her he behaved nicely with her and in this way the daughter of so and so will along with thousands of men of my Ummah revolt against ‘Ali. ‘Ali will defeat her army, make her captive and will behave nicely to her after arresting her.’ This verse has come in that connection:

(O Wives of the Prophet). Remain seated in your house and...... do not come out in a style of olden day ignorance. And said that olden day ignorance means coming out in the field like Safra daughter of Shu‘ayb.”

Authentic narrators mention from Imam al-Baqir that the wife of Musa had revolted against Yusha‘ ibn Nun riding on a giraffe. Wife of Musa had the upper hand on the first day but on the second day Yusha‘ subdued her. Some people said to Yusha‘, “Punish her.” But Yusha‘ said, “Since Musa had rested by her side, I have given her respect due to Musa’s honor. I leave the revenge to Allah.”

It is mentioned in reliable tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Angel of Death came to Musa and saluted him. Musa inquired, “Why have you come?” He said, “I have come to seize your soul but I have been ordered to do so only when you so desire.” Then the angel went away. After sometime Musa called Yusha‘, made him his legatee and disappeared from his people. During this absence, he went to some angels who were busy digging a grave. Musa asked, “For whom are you digging this grave?” They replied, “By Allah! For a slave of Allah who is very high in the sight of Allah.” Musa said, “Indeed he must be very great in the sight of Allah because I have never seen a grave better than this one.” The angels inquired, “O Slave of Allah! Do you wish to be the same fellow.” Musa said, “Of course I do.” The angels said, “Then go and sleep in it thinking about your Lord.” Musa went in it and slept and saw his place in Paradise and desired for his death from the Almighty. His soul was seized then and there and the angels buried him. It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that Musa lived for one hundred twenty six years and Harun for one hundred and thirty years. It is mentioned in yet another reliable tradition that the 21st night of the month of Ramadhan is the auspicious night in which the legatees of Prophets left this world. ‘Isa was lifted up on this night and Musa also passed away on this night.

It is authentically narrated from Imam al-Baqir that during the night in which Amir al-Mu’minin was martyred, fresh blood was gushing out of every stone that was picked up until sunrise and that Yusha‘ ibn Nun was also martyred on this night.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam as-Sadiq said, “Musa willed to Yusha‘ ibn Nun and made him his successor, then Yusha‘ made the son of Harun his Successor and Khalifah. He did not make his or Musa’s son his caliph because Khalifah or Imam is appointed by Allah and no one else has any authority in this matter.”

It is mentioned in some reliable traditions that when Musa and Harun were appointed by Divine Mercy in Tiyah, Yusha‘ ibn Nun prepared The Israelites for war and marched towards Syria for the battle of Alqalama. He conquered every town on his way towards Syria until he reached Balgaa. The king of that place was called Baalaq. There were several battles between him and Yusha‘ but neither was killed. People asked for its reason. It was replied that as neither of them possessed a flag neither got killed. Then they made a treaty and marched forward to another city. When the king of that place knew that he did not have enough strength to confront Yusha‘ he sent someone for Bal-am Baoor so that he may pray with The Grand Name so that they may win. Bal-am thought of going to the king riding his donkey. The donkey became so overjoyed that he fell down. When he asked the ass the reason of doing so, the animal by the power given to it by Allah replied, “How can I not become overjoyed when this Archangel Gabriel, holding a weapon in hand prevents you from going to fight with him?” This did not impress him and he went further.

When he reached the king the latter asked him to recite the Grand Name and to curse the people of Yusha‘. Bal-am said Allah’s Prophet is with him and therefore no curse will affect them but I am planning differently for your sake. Decorate many beautiful women, send them to their army under pretext of sale, and purchase so that when presented to men they may indulge in adultery because Allah sends the disease of plague to those people who make excess in adultery. When he did so the community of Yusha‘ indulged in much adultery. Allah revealed to Yusha‘, “These people have angered Me much by doing such a heinous deed. Now if you desire I will have them subdued by the enemy or if you like I will have them killed through famine and if you so desire I may destroy them with a hard and quick death.” Yusha‘ said, “My Lord! They are the children of Ya‘qub and therefore I would not like the enemy to control them nor would I like them to be killed by famine. So if you so desire you may punish them with instant death. Then seventy thousand of those people died within three hours of the plague.”

It is mentioned in the narrations of Shi‘ahs and Sunnis that, thereafter when Yusha‘ fought with them and was about to overpower them the sun set. Yusha‘ prayed to Allah and He made the sun reappear by His Might and kept it shining until they won the war. Only then did the sun set. Likewise the sun reappeared for the successor of the last Prophet, Amir al-Mu’minin.

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam al-Ridha that Allah had given Bal-am Baoor the Grand Name. Every supplication made by him was accepted because of it. At last, he inclined towards Pharaoh. When the Pharaoh intended to follow Musa and his people, he requested Bal-am to pray to Allah so that he may detain Musa and his men thus enabling him to reach them. Bal-am rode his ass to lead the Pharaoh following Musa’s army but his donkey stopped and did not budge thought he kicked it much. Allah made the animal talk and it asked: Woe unto you! Why are you hitting me? Do you want me to be with you so that you may curse the Prophet of Allah and the faithful? Then he beat the donkey so much that it died and went away from him. It was wiped out from his heart as has been mentioned by Allah in Qur’an,

“(O Prophet!) Tell your people the tale of the one whom We had given our signs, that is Our evidences or arguments, then he came out of those signs and sciences and was taken back from him, then he obeyed the devil and became misguided. Had We wished, We would have raised him high with the same signs but he leaned down towards the earth, preferred the world, and followed his desires), his example is like a dog. It brings out its tongue if you attack it and also if you leave it unhurt. It is mentioned in narrations that the tongue of Bal-am was hanging out of his mouth like the tongue of a dog reaching up to his chest. Imam al-Ridha said, No animal will enter Paradise except three-the donkey of Bal-am, the dog of the people of the cave and the wolf (the story of which is that a tyrant king sent his cattleman to fetch a group of the faithful with an intention to punish them. The cattleman had a son whom he loved very much. The said wolf came and ate up the boy which made the cattleman very sorry. Therefore Allah will admit that wolf in Paradise as it made that wicked cattleman sorrowful).

It is recorded with many evidences that in the night wherein Amir al-Mu’minin was martyred, Imam Al-Hasan went up the pulpit and said, “O People! That night was also like this one when ‘Isa son of Maryam went up the heavens. That night was also like this one when Yusha‘ ibn Nun was killed. That is the 21st of Ramadham.”

It is mentioned with authentic evidences that Imam al-Ridha said, “A companion of the holy Prophet got a letter, which was brought to the holy Prophet. The holy Prophet had an announcement made that all should be present in the mosque. Then he went up to the pulpit and said, ‘This letter has been written by Yusha‘ ibn Nun the legatee of Musa. The subject matter is like this: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Surely your Lord and your Friend is kind to you. Verily the best among all the slaves of Allah is the unknown pious and the worst among the creation of Allah is the one who is conspicuous with his wrongful power (state). So whosoever wants to get full reward and wants to be thankful to Allah should recite this supplication daily:

Subhaan Allah kama yambghi allaaho laa ilaaha illa kamaa yambaghi allaaho wal h’amdo lillaahe kamaa yambaghi allaaho wa laa h’awla walaa quwwata illa billaahe wa s’allallaaho a’laa jamee’il mursaleena wan nabeeyeena h’atta yarz”allaaho.

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that among The Israelites were four faithful persons who were connected with one another. One day three of them gathered in a house for some work. The fourth one also arrived and knocked on the door which was opened by a slave. He asked him, “Where is your master?” He replied, “He is not in the house.” So that person went back. The slave returned to his master who asked him, “Who knocked the door?” He replied, “He was so and so and I told him that the owner of the house is not at home.” The owner of the house and his friends did not say anything about this and kept quiet. They did not care about the going back of the faithful. They resumed their talks. Next morning he returned and saw them coming out of the house. He observed that they intended to go to the farm of one of them. He saluted them and asked whether he too could accompany them.

They said, ‘All right! Come along.’ But they did not express any sorrow for the previous day’s incident when he had returned. He was a poor man among them. On the way, a cloud appeared in the sky and came over their heads. Thinking that it would start raining they started to run. Suddenly a voice was heard from the cloud: O Fire! Burn them away. I am Archangel Gabriel, the Messenger of Allah. All of a sudden, fire separated from that cloud and fell on those three men. The fourth became astonished and also fearful. He could not understand the reason of what had happened. He came back to the town and went to Yusha‘ ibn Nun and narrated the whole happening to him. Yusha‘ said, “Allah punished them due to you, despite being pleased with them.” Then Yusha‘ told him the previous day’s incident. The man said, “I condone their deed.” Yusha‘ said, “Had this happened before the Divine chastisement fell on them this pardoning by you would have benefited them. Now it is of no use in the worldly life. Perhaps it may give them some benefit in the Hereafter.” It is mentioned in a narration that Yusha‘ lived for 133 years and he made Kaalab bin Yuqanna his successor and caliph.

- 1. Some people believe that it was unlawful that Musa killed that man. So Musa was a sinner and suppose it was permissible then why Musa said, this is on account of the Satan’s doing and why did he say, ‘Allah I have done harm to myself, so do Thou protect me and when the Pharaoh raised an objection, he has done wrong and became an unbeliever of him. Why Musa said, he was on wrong path. The answer of these questions will be given by other way. First, Musa did not intend to kill him but he wanted to protect an innocent person from his tyranny but people said, his deed was a sin in his part. If a person try to protect himself or others from a tyrant it is not a sin. Secondly, he was an unbeliever. So Prophet Musa said that it was devilish deed. Many thinkers say it was lawful to kill the unbeliever but it was better if Musa kept patience and may did not involve after killing the victim, repenting himself like Prophet Adam that he agreed for doing the wrong deed and requested Allah he had not done any wrong except this as it was the deed of Satan. When Prophet Musa also said, “I fear, I have done harm to myself.” to protect himself when the Pharaoh raised an objection. So Allah helped him the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh said to Musa that he was one of the unbeliever that means he was brought up in the Pharaoh’s care. Prophet Musa said, perhaps he was on the wrong path or was not knowing.

- 2. Maybe, Prophet Musa had two sticks. One, which was given by Prophet Shu‘ayb and other, which Archangel Gabriel brought.

- 3. Allah asked Prophet Musa to cast off his shoes and come up as he is in the blessed spot of the in the valley and is Tuwa. A narrator says (1) shoes were made of the skin of animals (2) Imam Ja’far-al-Sadiq said, shoes were made of a cow and Allah ordered him to remove his shoes so that his feet would touch the blessed spot. And Prophet says that place is called Wadi al-Muqaddas because souls of Prophets and Angels were being exalted and Allah chose the same place to speak to Musa (3) Allah ordered him to come there barefoot to visit the supreme power (4) Prophet Musa put on shoes for protection from serpents etc. (5) Allah says the shoes allude to the world. O Musa there is no need to put on shoes as you are close to Me. I am Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Believe in Me and love Me. (6) Prophet Musa had came to take fire for his wife and his attention was there so Allah revealed him to remove all the worldly desires from the heart and remember Him and His bounties also not give importance to worldly life.
Then Allah said, “One who sees in a dream that his shoes are lost tell him, this is the sign of his wife’s death.”
When our last Imam was very young and was sitting on his father’s lap, a man came and asked the explanation of this verse of Qur’an. Imam al-Mahdi replied at once that Musa’s shoes were made of the dead animal’s skin, that is why Allah asked him to remove the shoes down the hill. One asked what was better. Musa’s shoes or his prayers? Imam said, “One who think or say like this is surely ignorant and does not know when to pray and when not.
The narrator asked Imam to explain the verse. Imam said, “When Musa reached the valley and said, ‘O Allah, my whole attention and affection is for you and nor for others.’ Though Musa loved his wife. That is why Allah asked him to remove his shoes down the hill; means remove your affection towards your wife if you love Me truly. Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq said, “To remove the shoes means to remove his two fears from the mind of Prophet, first he was afraid of his wife’s death because he left her alone suffering with pain. He saw a fire far away and had come there to bring fire to warm her. Secondly he was afraid of the Pharaoh. Allah said, do not fear him, you are quite safe in My protection.’”

- 4. Prophet Musa came back to his wife.

- 5. There are different opinions about the fear of Musa -According to another tradition Musa thought that people will think he is a magician like other magicians. Imam ‘Ali quotes Musa was waiting for Allah’s revelation. It was rather late so Musa was afraid that people would think that the Pharaoh’s magicians were true. But it is doubtful matter whether the Pharaoh killed all the magicians or not. But it is true, he hanged them and cut off their hands and legs. Indeed they all were magicians and unbelievers. But in their last time they became loyal and faithful to Musa According to another tradition, they all were arrested and were involved in divine’s chastisement and were released with the people of The Israelites. The people said to the Pharaoh not to taunt them. Then they prayed to Allah to give them patience against the Pharaoh. In another tradition it is stated that the Pharaoh said to his magicians that Musa has taught them magic power and he is their leader. He said they would be hanged on the date tree and then realize whose chastisement is severe. The people said, “Allah, the Almighty has created the world and all of us. We do not believe in you. Therefore do whatever you like. Life is very short and your order is also temporary. We believe in Allah. Indeed He is great and we have faith, He will forgive our sins you compelled us to use magic power on Prophet. But Allah is Kind and He is immortal.”

- 6. There are different opinions about it. Some say that the Pharaoh wanted to threaten him and some says, he wanted to kill him. Some says it is possible that he wanted to threaten him only and not to kill him.

- 7. Regarding the reason of repentance of the Pharaoh that Allah did not accept his repentance on account of final Chastisement some writer says He did not repent by heart but he was pretending to save himself from divine wrath. Another writer says: He believed in Allah but he had to accept the Prophethood of Musa.

- 8. There are different opinions of different authors. In many books it is recorded that there were three people who verified the Prophets. They were Mu’min Ale the Pharaoh, Mu’min Ale Yasin and best of them ‘Ali Ibn Abu-Talib

- 9. Commentators have differed in their opinion about the Holy Land as to what place is it. Some have said it is Jerusalem (Jerusalem), Some have said it is Damascus and Palestine. According to some it is Syria and some say it is the land between Toor and the land around it. Traditions regarding this have been quoted earlier. Similarly there is difference of opinion as to whether Musa had entered the Holy Land or not. But reliable traditions mentioned that Musa expired in Tiyah and that his Legatee Yusha‘ ibn Nun took out The Israelites from Tiyah. It is also not unanimous weather or not the Bab al-Hitta was in the desert they faced it after getting out of it. Most of the people are of Tiyah desert The Israelites were ordered that they should enter the gate of Jerusalem or of Areehah in the aforesaid manner. According to this belief Musa should not have been with them at that time. Some have said that Musa had made a Qubbah (cupola=dome) in Tiyah and he was praying Salat facing it. The Israelites were commanded to enter the gate bowing and requesting Divine pardon for their sins in a state of humanity. It might have meant Ruku (Bowing). Some have said, prostrating after entering means seeking pardon. The earlier hadiths make these two reasons preferable) Saalaba has narrated in Araais that Lord Almighty had given a promise to Musa that He will grant him and his community the Holy land of Syria as their place of residence and will destroy the community of Amaalaqah who were then ruling over Syria. When The Israelites entered Egypt after the Pharaoh was drowned, the Lord Almighty ordered them to turn toward the city of Areeha in Syria because “I have decided that it should be your residence. So go, fight with Amaalaqah and occupy Areeha. And He ordered Musa to appoint twelve Naqueeb (chiefs); that every Sabt (tribe) should have one Naqueeb who should be their chief. The Israelites said, We will not proceed to fight with them until we know more about them. Musa sent those Nauqeebs to ascertain about Amaaliqah. When they arrived near the city of Areehaa they met with a rebellious man Auj bin Unnaaq. It is narrated that he was 23330 hands tall and that he used to catch fish himself from the bottom of the sea and to bake it high in his hand and then eat it. Water had reached only his thighs during the flood of Noah. His age was 30000 years and his mother khunnaaq was the daughter of Adam. It is said that he fetched a mountain rock equal in size to the camp of Musa so as to throw it on them. Allah Almighty sent the bird The hoopoe, which made a hole in that rock which turned into a yoke for his neck and felled him down. Musa came to him. His height was ten yards and his stick was also 10 yards long. He (Musa) jumped to the height of ten yards and struck Auj with that stick. It hit his ankle and killed him. When Auj saw the Naqueebs he lifted up them and placing them in his lap took them to his mother. He told her that this group had come to fight me. He intended to crush them under his feet but his mother told her to free them so that they would tell his story to others. They returned from there and roaming around the city collected information. A bunch of their grapes were so huge that five men from The Israelites were required to lift it with its branches. Their pomegranate was so big that four man could sit on half of its skin. When the Nauqeebs started for their people they consulted among themselves as they were of the opinion that if they said all that they had observe to The Israelites they (latter) would doubt the word of Musa and would become infidels. So it was to keep this information secret and to inform Musa and Harun privately so that they may do as they think. They agreed and made a covenant among themselves on this point. They went to Musa after 40 days and narrated to him whatever they had seen. Then every Naqeeb went back to his tribe and, breaking the aforesaid covenant, told their clans everything about the Amaaliqah and made them fearful of jihad with them. But Yusha‘ and Kaalab remained firm on their promise. Musa’s sister Maryam was wife of Kalab. When this information went around The Israelites they began to cry loudly and began to scream that: It would have better had we died in Egypt or in the desert without entering this city so that our wealth and wives and children would not have been caught by the fierce Amaaliqah. Then they talked among themselves: Let us make one of our chief and return to Egypt. Musa repeatedly advised them saying that the only one Allah Who made you win over the Pharaoh will also enable you to overpower the Amaaliqah as He has promised victory and as He never breaks his word. But they did not need and intended to return to Egypt. Seeing this Yusha‘ and Kaalab tore up the collars of their shirts and said to them: Fear Allah Almighty and come along with us to the city of these rebellious people Amaaliqah and come along with the help of Allah. We have tried them. Though their bodies are strong their hearts are very weak. So do not be afraid of them and rely on the Lord. The Israelites did not pay attention to their words and intended to stone them to death. They told Musa: We will never enter that city. You may go their with your God and fight with them. We will not budge from our place. Musa became very angry and cursing them said, My Lord! I am the owner of only myself and of my brother. My Lord! Discount me from the sinners.

- 10. Though the narration of Thalabi is not quite reliable. We have quoted it as it talks about some strange events and so that the wise can understand that it was on the basis of the traditions of the Shi‘ah scholars. The Holy Prophet had told Amir al-Mu’minin that: your relation with me is the same, which was of Harun with Musa. But there will be no Prophet after me. Likewise what has been narrated through the Shi‘ah scholars and the Sunni is that the holy Prophet named Imam al-Husayn and Imam al-Husayn in the Arabic language like the name of the names of the sons of Harun because, just as the trusteeship of Jerusalem, which was the Kiblah and an honored place of The Israelites and the protection of the Chest, which was the treasure of their spiritual knowledge and the celestial fire, which was the criteria of the acceptance or rejection of their deeds was according to Thalabi who is one of their great commentators and hadith scholar was related to Amir al-Mu’minin and his progeny pious; that these personalities should be the centre point of the raining of divine Radiances and the treasures of the spiritual knowledge and secrets and that the acceptance or rejection of the deeds of the creation ought to be in their hands and that their obedience and prayers of this Ummah must be connected with their radiant Wilayah. Rather the Jerusalem of this Ummah is the Wilayah of these great personalities.

- 11. It should be remembered that it is the part of the religious beliefs of the Shi‘ahs that Allah is invisible: that His holiness cannot be viewed with an eye, rather the inward eyes of the heart and mind too are unable to comprehend the self and attributions of the lord. How can He be seen when He does not posses either a body on an environment or a place (space) nor can he be in any direction. Then how did Musa despite being greatest messenger put such a question before Him? This doubtful question can be answered in two ways. First: the asking of Musa was not for seeing with the eye and that he wanted to comprehend Him and His attributes through understanding and that at the same time he may also attain the maximum limit of the human understanding. Since the first wish was prohibited and the second was above his status, the lord, by shedding the particle of His greatness on the mount and by making Musa unconscious, made it clear that no one has the strength to comprehend his grandeur and that no one has ability to of reaching the maximum of state of understanding because it is only for the Prophet of the last era (Muhammad saw). Second the asking by Musa was on behalf of his community and he was appointed to take care and to cater the needs of their including to declare whatever they asked for, he made this question on the demand of his people even though he know that it was impossible thing and a prohibited affair. But he wished his people should also understand this truth. And this second cause is clearer as will be seen from the following hadith of Imam al-Ri¤a

- 12. This story is one of those which concern those who are in doubt about the sin or error of Messengers because both Musa and Harun were great messengers. If Harun had done a thing which angered Musa so much that he held his head and bread and pulled toward himself and made him talk very harshly with him then Harun had committed a sin. And if he did not commit a sin then it was a sin or an error on the part of Musa to insult his brother who too was a Prophet, especially the former’s gesture of throwing the tablets of Torah. Some reasons can be given for this: First: which is most clear is that this was a dispute between two Prophets for reforming their people and to make them repentant because when The Israelites indulged in such a heinous sin and considered it is a light one it was necessary for Musa to expose the evil of that deed perfectly and no way was more perfect than to deal harshly with his great brother who besides having a blood relation with him was a great messenger and to throw the tablets on the ground thus hinting that he had abandoned the work of reforming them and that bringing the Book to them was of no avail so that they too might realize that they had surely done a gruesome deed which became the cause of such strange happenings and which ended the patience of Musa and verily Musa did not err nor he intended to harm Harun. It is a common diplomacy of rulers when the near ones are being punished so that others may be warned. Allah Almighty too has, on a number occasion in Holy Qur’an, used angry words for the Holy Prophet but the main aim was to discipline the Ummah as will be described hereafter in the events of the Holy Prophet-Inshallah. The second reason is that these gestures of Musa were due to his extreme anger against the Ummah. Just as a man bites his lips or pulls his beard when very angry Musa did so to Harun who was near to him like his own life. And Harun requested Musa not to do so because, he thought that The Israelites might not understand the main reason and mistake them for enmity and its blame might fall on him Musa. The third reason is that he pulled the head and beard of Harun by way of love and affection so that the community would draw some other meaning out of it. So he requested him to stop doing so, so that somebody may not think bad about Musa. The fourth cause is that what Musa did to Harun or the deeds of both of them were a sort of Tark al-Awla (giving up the desirable), which did not amount to a sin or disobedience, which could be contrary to Prophethood. Other reason also have been mentioned besides these but the first one is the clearest and as regards throwing of tablets it is possible that they might have dropped from his hands due to extreme anger and hence unintentionally or perhaps they were thrown to show Divine worth or toughness in religion or a refutation of the opponents and that such throwing cannot be regarded as a disrespect. It should be borne in mind that there are various and varying hadiths about Musa’s promise to his people. Most of them mention that Musa had promised that he would remain absent for thirty days but that the Almighty, due to some contingency, by way of Badaa (novel gesture) turned that promise into that of forty days. The 30-days promise had a condition attached to it and that condition was not fulfilled and this appears from some verse and also some hadiths that Musa had given them a promise of 40 days and it was merely due to the length of time those people did like that until Satan misguided them so they made a count of days and nights separately and at the end of 20 days they said that 40 had passed away. It is easy to connect the verse, as the Ayat is not specific that the promise was definitely of 30 days. Even if it had been specific the connecting is possible because it was told Musa that the promise would be of 40 days and it was due to some strategy that he was asked to give them a promise of 30 days. Thus it is possible for yet another cause too that Musa’s promise to his people might have been for 40 days in this way that he might have told them: I will not be present among you until 30 days and it is possible that some of the hadiths might have been based on Taqiyyah.

- 13. Maybe that mountain range was divided into several pieces and part might have gone down in the earth and some pieces have been flown onto various directions in the world and some might have turned into sand grain. Hence it is also mentioned and it requires lengthy discussion in the matter of raining of Radiance on the mountain for which this book is too short.

- 14. According to Shi‘ah belief it is difficult to believe them as messengers because apparently they were sinners and their asking was the sin due to which they were chastised. How can then they be messengers despite committing such a sin? Its reply is possible with such causes: first: The description of their becoming messengers might have been by way of Taqiyyah because most of the Sunni (non-Shi‘ahs) have related like that. Second: when they died their first (earlier) life with sin had ended and they might have been innocent in their second life, which is sufficient for their Messengership. There is scope for discussion in this cause. Third: Their asking might also have been behalf of their community and the chastisement might have been by way of disciplining the community. This also appears difficult to believe. Fourth: The word ‘messenger’ might have been used figuratively, that is to convey the sense that after being alive they turned pious like Prophets. But the first cause is clearer. It must be understood that this event is to give witness the truth in the belief of Raj‘ah (resurrection); that as it is in this event, in the time of the al-Qa’im (al-Mahdi). Some have said that what has happened in The Israelites will happen in this Ummah also, which will be mentioned in a following chapter-Inshallah. It should be remembered that it was according to these repeated hadiths about the repetition of what had happened in The Israelites, that the holy Prophet had told Amir al-Mu’minin that you are for me as Harun was for Musa. And in this Ummah the story of the first oppressor, like that of Samiri and the calf and he was worse than the calf and the second was more cunning than Samiri and as they did not obey Harun, these did not obey the last Prophet’s rightful Legatee and when they dragged the Emir forcibly to mosque so that allegiance may be obtained from him. ‘Ali facing the grave of the holy Prophet addressed him as Harun had addressed Musa. And when the era of caliphate passed away which was like that of the calf and Samiri and Qarun and when people gave allegiance to Amir al-Mu’minin, swords came out of their sheets like The Israelites and they began to kill one another. Just as The Israelites remained restless in the desert of Tiyah for apparently forty years, this Ummah also will, by the command of Allah, due to their own selection, remain restless in their worldly and otherworldly affairs until the time of al-Qa’im aale Muhammad Many things have been narrated about each of these affairs through Shi‘ah and non-Shi‘ah sources which will, Inshallah, be mentioned henceforth in their appropriate place.

- 15. Possibly Torah began to come down in Rama¤an and was concluded in the month of Dhu’l-hijjah or may be the tablets had, after being broken, sent (down again).

- 16. It is mentioned in many tradition that Amir al-Mu’minin and all the pious Imam have said that the Pharaoh of this Ummah was the first oppressor and the second was its Haman and third was Qarun and this hadith also support those traditions according to which what had happened in The Israelites will also happen in this Ummah too. A little pondering will show how similar is the state of those three hypocrites to the aforesaid three person because, if the Pharaoh claimed to be God without right the first grabbed Caliphate and it too is sheer Polytheism and it is a confrontation with the holy and the sacred God and just as the Pharaoh intended to obey Musa but Haman obstructed him likewise he was saying AQEELOONI (lift up hands from me) and was apparently showing repentance but the second hypocrites was coming in the way. Just as those along with their companions were drowned in the apparent sea and were openly destroyed likewise all of there drowned themselves in the ocean of deviation and blasphemy and were caught by eternal destruction and in the time of Raj‘ah will get drowned in the water of sword of al-Qa’im the family of Muhammad. And the similarity between the third hypocrite with Qarun in the matter of mutual gathering of wealth, temptation and worldly decoration and adoration etc is not hidden from any intelligent fellow. If Qarun had blood relation with Musa, he too was having casual rather apparent family relation with the Prophet of Allah and if he was pushed in the earth due to the curse of Musa along with his wealth so this was also destroyed due to the curse of Amir al-Mu’minin and the Emir said in his first sermon after getting back Caliphate that Almighty Allah destroyed the Pharaoh and Haman and Qarun. If you ponder over their conditions you will also find other similar causes also which will be, God-willing- described at appropriate places. I suffice here only with some hints.

- 17. This is the translation of the verses was according to the commentators. Explanations of Ahl al-Bayt will follow.

- 18. Maybe what is meant by this is that al-Khi¤r was not a Prophet when he was with Dhu’l-Qarnayn). It is mentioned in yet another tradition that Imam al-Sadiq said, In this Ummah the example (or likeness) of us (i.e.. ‘Ali and me) is like Musa and al-Khi¤r. When Musa met with him and talked with him he wished to remain with him. Thereafter what happened is as mentioned by Allah in the holy Qur’an that the Lord revealed to Musa that: I have made you superior to other people with My Messengership and by My talking with you. So now take up whatever I have given you and remain thankful to Me. He also said: We have written for Musa the description of everything in the tablets and have inscribed admonitions. And certainly al-Khi¤r did possess the knowledge which was not written in tablets for Musa and Musa had imagined that all the things required by man are there in the Torah and that the tablets contained everything. It is similar to the claim of the group which says that they themselves are faqihs (jurisprudents) and scholars (Ulama) of this Ummah and that everything required by this Ummah and this religion is with them and that they have got it from the Prophet and they have imagined all this though they are lying. They do not know all that the Prophet knew nor have they understood everything. There are many problems wherein they do not know what is permissible (Halaal) and what is prohibited (haram) and they do not like that people should approach them for clarification lest they be called ignorant. This is because they do not seek knowledge from the real treasure and they interfere in Allah’s religion through their personal guessing. They have left the Prophetic signs and worship Allah through self-made rituals even though the Messenger of Allah has said that every innovation is ignorance and deviation. Enmity towards us and jealousy has prevented them from seeking knowledge from us. By Allah! Musa despite his high status did not entertain jealousy towards al-Khi¤r and his great knowledge also did not prevent him from asking questions to al-Khi¤r. When Musa desired from al-Khi¤r that he may teach him knowledge and since al-Khi¤r knew that the former did not have the patience required for his company nor was he able to observe events (coolly), he told him (Musa): How can you be patient at observing those things over which you have no power and which are beyond your circle of knowledge. Musa tried with total humility to make al-Khi¤r kind to him and to allow him his company. So he said, Allah willing, you will find me patient and I will not disobey you in any matter. al-Khi¤r did know that Musa had no strength to know those things (which he was to see) nor was he able to attain that power. Accordingly Musa did not remain patient at the knowledge of that A’alim when he saw the jobs that he did not like though Allah like them. Similarly our knowledge is disliked by the ignorant but it is liked by the Lord of the worlds.

- 19. Satan has many ways to misguide those who are less intelligent concerning this strange story). But an honest believer must not try to delve deep into its cause especially into everyone of them lest they may slip. He should from the beginning tell Satan that it has been proved on the basis of sound arguments that whatever Allah says is justice and wisdom and strategy and that whatever the Messengers of Allah do is correct and appropriate even if our intelligence fails to understand some of their special affairs. Regarding the detailed replies to doubts, the first doubt is that a Messenger must be the wisest person of his time then how can it be that Musa who is a Messenger should need the guidance of anybody else? Its reply is that a messenger must be the most knowledgeable person of his time and al-Khi¤r was a messenger of Allah. Maybe he was not in the Ummah of Musa. Further the knowledge in which a messenger must not need anyone else’s help is the knowledge of religious laws and rulings. There should be no objection if Allah teaches a messenger some such things through a man as He does through an angel. So it is not to be imagined that al-Khi¤r was superior to Musa if the latter needed guidance of the former in some matters. It is possible that a kind of knowledge was exclusively with Musa and it was not known to al-Khi¤r and vice versa as is mentioned in some reliable traditions. Secondly how did al-Khi¤r kill a boy who did not commit any crime. The reply is that maybe he had attained puberty and might have opted for Kufr. It is also possible that he might have been called a boy in the holy Qur’an as he was just entering the age of puberty and hence might have drawn the punishment of killing. Above all, even if he had not become a major Allah had the right of taking back the life which He had given in view of some strategy (known only to Him) just as even today the angel of death has the authority to retrieve the souls of people. But the apparent Prophets have normally been assigned (by Allah) to deal on the basis of apparent things. However, intelligence does agree that Allah may appoint some of them (messengers) with the factual (though unseen) knowledge and that they may act according to that knowledge. Thus they may kill some disbeliever on the basis of the knowledge which they possess because it is as a matter of fact only in the interest of the one who is killed not to go to Hell by committing blasphemy. Moreover it is better for others also so that they may not misguide others. The third point is that how did Musa make haste in objecting to the acts of al-Khi¤r when he already knew the supremacy of the former and how did he tell al-Khi¤r that ‘you have committed a sin?’ The reply is that possibly Musa was made responsible only for apparent (visible) knowledge because it so happens that a deed which is a sin apparently, and as the main factual cause behind it is not known to one, he abhors it. When Musa told al-Khi¤r that: You have committed a Munkar (detestable deed) what he meant was that you did a thing that apparently is a Munkar. Some have said that the words of Musa were conditional to express that you have done a thing that astonishes and confuses the mind. The fourth objection is that when Musa had given a promise that he would not take any objection nor ask any questions until al-Khi¤r mentioned the causes, how did he make a breach of that word of promise. It reply is that it is not known for sure and that the keeping of the word was obligatory, especially when it might have been based on the Will of Allah. When he had in the beginning said Inshallah it was not obligatory to keep the word under all circumstances. Hence it is no sin if it was not kept.. Fifth, how did Musa say LAA TU AA KHIZ NEE BI MAA NA SEETU, because ‘Nisyaan’ means forgetting and according to the Shi‘ah Ulama a Prophet cannot forget anything. Reply to this objection is that It is mentioned in traditions that at this place and also when Yusha‘ has said IN NEE NA SEETUL HOOT the meaning of ‘Nisyaan’ is giving up or leaving and the meaning of this word is found in the Arabic vocabulary also. All other replies to these objections and doubts have been mentioned in the book Behaarul Anwaar and as this book has no room for including all those replies I have not written them here. Now I am writing all events of al-Khi¤r. Most of it has been included here in this story so I have not formed a separate chapter for al-Khi¤r.

- 20. Some have said his name was Yalbaa and according to some others al-Yasa‘. Others say it was Ilyas.

- 21. Perhaps what Musa meant to convey was that He might inform him about the etiquette of calling Him, that is, whether he should call him in a low voice like those who are near or in a loud voice like those who are far away. The Lord responded: Consider Me your companion and pray in a low voice. Otherwise Musa did know that the Lord Almighty is, from the viewpoint of knowledge and greatness near to everything and maybe he asked this question also like the question on behalf of his community.

- 22. Maybe this was about his wrong beliefs which Allah knew better.

- 23. If pondered over it will be seen how similar the state of this Ummah is to that of Musa, as the holy Prophet has (according to narration of both the Shi‘ah and the Sunni written that whatever has happened in The Israelites will happen to this Ummah. Just as Yusha‘ was apparently overpowered by three kings so Amir al-Mu’minin was also apparently overpowered. Thereafter when those people proceeded towards the Hereafter he came to caliphate. Then two persons of this Ummah viz Talha and Zubair revolted against the along with the holy Prophet’s wife himyarah It was just like the deed of two hypocrites of that Ummah who had revolted against the legatee of Musa along with Safra wife of Musa. Likewise as they were defeated and Safra was made captive and Yusha‘ did not take revenge from her in this world, similarly Amir al-Mu’minin also won the war and when he caught himyarah he gave respect to her and postponed the revenge until the Day of Judgment.

An account of Hizqil

According to a tradition of Shaykh Tabarsi, the people of The Israelites left the city to save themselves from the epidemic. Some said they left the city due to war. Some said they belonged to the family of Hizqil the third Khalifah of Musa. The first was Yusha‘ ibn Nun, the second Kalab bin Yuqanna and the third Hizqil known as Ibn Al Majus because in his old age his mother beseeched Allah for a son and Allah fulfilled her wish and Hizqil was born.

According to another tradition, people called him Dhulkifl because he saved seventy Prophets from the tyrants. He asked the people to leave the country as early as possible and said it would be better if I would be killed instead of all of you. Thus, they all were saved from the cruel tyrant. After that, the Jews came to him and asked about them. He said that he does not know where they have gone. They all left but Allah kept him under His security.

There are different opinions about the population of The Israelites. Some say that the population was about 3,000 to 10,000 people or 40,000 to 60 or 70,000 people and that they all died by the curse of Shamoun. At that time, the city’s name was ‘Ovardan’. Some said Hizqil also cursed them. According to ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim, they were staying in one of the city of Syria. In that city, there was a plague and they all died. Their bones were scattered all along the way. One of the Prophets passing by that way saw the bones lying here and there. He raised his hands in prayer. So Allah brought them back to life and they all returned to their own houses. They lived for many years and died according to their time.

Hanaran asked about this from Imam al-Baqir. Imam replied that this incident happened twice. They got a new life twice meaning Allah made them alive twice. They lived for many years i.e.. according to the years prescribed to them on earth and then died. Imam says Allah the Glorified said,

“Have you not considered those who went forth from their homes, for fear of death, and they were thousands, then Allah said to them, Die; again He gave them life; most surely Allah is Gracious to people, but most people are not grateful.” (2:243) 1

According to another tradition, Imam al-Baqir and Imam as-Sadiq have narrated this when the people asked the explanation of the above Ayat. They described as follows:

The people of The Israelites lived in a town of Syria. The population of the city was about 70,000. Once a plague started in the city. At once, the rich people left the city and went to another place to save themselves from death but the poor stayed there. As the epidemic spread and people started dying those people started thinking that if they had left the city they too would have been saved. After that, they decided that the next time there was an epidemic they would not stay in the city. When they were struck again by the epidemic they all left their houses and went to another city. The houses of that city were vacant because the people of that city had also died by an epidemic. Their dead bodies were annihilated except their bones. The people of The Israelites settled in the empty houses. Again by the order of Almighty they all died. Many years passed. Once a caravan passed by the way where the bones were scattered. They saw the bones lying on the way. They collected the bones, kept them aside, and cleared the way for the passers-by.

Hizqil passed this way. When he saw the human bones lying in a bad condition he grieved and wept much. He raised his hand to Allah and prayed: O Allah! Make them alive again in the same way as you have taken away their lives so that the city can again be prosperous and they can increase the number of your followers and true believers. Allah was pleased with him and asked, “O Prophet! Do you want me to make them alive?” The Prophet replied, “Yes, My Lord.” Then Allah answered his prayer and Hizqil saw the scattered bones regaining their original form until the parts of their bodies came to their original form and they were alive. They met each other, thanked Allah, performed prayers and thanked Allah again and again. Seeing this the Prophet said “I witness that Allah is one and Almighty.”

According to the tradition of Imam as-Sadiq, these people regained their lives on Navroz (21st of March). Allah asked the Prophet to spray water on their bones. He did so and the people became alive again. According to the Prophet, there were about 30,000 people. From that day, on every Navroz, the people of Aazam spray water on each other but they do not know the real reason.2

According to hadith, an atheist accepted Islam by listening to the arguments of Prophet. The Prophet narrated, “A group of The Israelites left their city to save themselves from death. By Allah’s order they all were destroyed and died. Their body parts and bones were dispersed. Allah sent Hizqil towards that city. He raised his hands for Dua and they all regained their life.”

Imam al-Ridha visited Al-Ma’mun and argued with the Christians that “You believe that ‘Isa is Allah because he used to bring the dead back to life. Even Yusha‘ used to make dead men alive. Then why don’t you believe him to be a God? Even Prophet Hizqil made 35,000 dead people alive after 60 years. Why don’t you consider him to be a God?” Then he said, “Don’t you know that these people were Palestinians which are also discussed in Torah-the Holy Book of Palestinians. Many Palestinians were killed then Allah sent Hizqil to Palestine and by his Dua all became alive.” After that Imam al-Ridha narrated the incident that took place when the plague spread and the people left the city to save themselves. He also said that the residents of the city drew a boundary in the city in which the bodies of dead people were kept. By passing that way Hizqil made them alive by the order of Allah.

There is a tradition from Imam al-Baqir that King Kabath decided to send his troops to destroy Jerusalem. The people gathered and went to Hizqil and requested him to relieve them from this trouble. He said, “I will pray to Allah about it in the night.” He prayed to Allah and Allah promised to save the people from the cruel king. Allah ordered the Angel of wind to take away the life of the king’s troops and they all died. In the morning Hizqil informed his people that the troops have been killed. The people of Palestine came out of the city and saw them dead. After that Hizqil thought to himself that there is no difference between him and Sulayman. He became depressed about the incident and became ill. Then he pleaded to Allah to cure him from that unbearable disease. Allah ordered him to go near the fig tree and apply its juice on his chest. When he applied it, he was cured.3

According to a tradition of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, Allah revealed to the Prophet to inform the king that he would expire on a particular day. Hizqil informed the king. When the king heard the news, he came down from his throne, wept and pleaded to Allah to keep him alive until his son grew up and sat on the throne. Allah heard his prayer and asked the Prophet to tell the king that Allah has extended his life by another fifteen years. He said, “O Allah! The people trust me and trust my words. They have never heard a lie from me. When I inform the king about this the people will think that I am a liar.” Allah said, “You are my true believer. You must obey and listen to Me. Do as I say and keep on preaching to them.”

- 1. This is the true incident of The Israelites. They left their houses to save themselves from death, but they died. Again Allah made them alive. No doubt Allah is merciful but many people do not thank him. Shi‘ah scholars have also agreed and accepted this).

- 2. The people are spraying colored water on each other on Navroz day like the Hindus. This custom is not indicated in any Islamic books. This is strictly prohibited. Allah and his Prophets are displeased with this. Allah, Mercy on them.

- 3. Note: From the above discussion it is clear that Hizqil came after Sulayman and he was the third Khalifah of Musa.

Prophet Isma‘il

Allah Glorified has bestowed Isma‘il with the title “Keeper of promise”.

Allah says:

And mention Isma‘il in the Book; surely he was truthful in (his) promise, and he was an apostle, a Prophet.

And he enjoined on his family prayer and almsgiving, and was one in whom his Lord was well pleased. (19:54-55)

Imam al-Ridha has stated that Allah called him “Keeper of promise” because a man asked him to meet at a particular place. He kept his promise and waited there for a whole year but the man did not turn up.

Imam as-Sadiq has stated that Isma‘il was the son of a Prophet. He preached to the people about Allah and His commands but they did not believe him. They kept enmity with him. Once his people beat him and removed the skin of his head and face. Allah sent his angel to him. The angel said, “Allah has given you His regards and has asked you about the people who have behaved very brutally with you and asks what kind of punishment should be given to them?” He replied that he did not want to take any revenge from the world. He was patient like Imam al-Husayn the grandson of Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa.

According to another tradition once Bareed Ajali asked Imam as-Sadiq that people believed he was the son of Ibrahim but is Isma‘il who has been given the title “Keeper of promise” the son of Ibrahim or someone else? Imam replied, “Allah had bestowed him with Prophethood in the presence of Ibrahim. He was the Prophet of that time. If there is one Prophet in the world, there cannot be another Prophet at the same time. Prophet Ibrahim was Nabi and not a Rasul.

Allah says in the Qur’an that he was the son of Hizqil. Allah had given him Prophethood among the people. They did not believe him. They behaved very brutally with him and removed the skin of his head and face. Allah became very angry and sent an angel of punishment named Satataeel to him. He asked the Prophet, “If you wish me to make the people fall in different kinds of punishment, I can.” But the Prophet said that he did not want to give any punishment. Allah asked, “What is your intention?” The Prophet said, “O Allah! you have promised that at the time of Raj‘ah, Imam al-Husayn will come again in the world and take revenge of his murderers. My wish is also the same. Allah agreed and promised him that: I will send you with Imam al-Husayn at the time of Raj‘ah.”

The Holy Prophet has stated that it is much better to take care of the people by good words, remove their evil deeds, and benefit the Muslims. “In The Israelites there was a man very religious and helpful to others. Once when he was going to the king for recommending some person he met Isma‘il bin Hizqil on the way. He requested him to wait for him until his return. When he reached the king, he forgot to come back to the Prophet. Isma‘il waited for him but he did not return. Isma‘il did not leave that spot and remained there only for nearly a year. By the grace of Allah some vegetables grew there for him to eat, a stream of water flowed by from which he could drink and there was a cloud to shade him. A king passed by that way. That man was with the king when they reached the place and saw Isma‘il still waiting. That man asked the Prophet if he was here all this time. “Yes,” the Prophet replied. For this reason, Allah has given him the title of “Keeper of promise”.

There was another man named Jabir. He claimed that the Prophet was telling a lie for whenever he passed by that way he had never seen him. The Prophet said he was lying and cursed him saying that Allah will take away one of the useful things from you. Right away, his teeth fell out. Then he accepted that he had lied and had unnecessarily blamed the Prophet. He requested the king to ask the Prophet to forgive him and ask the Prophet to pray for him to Allah for getting back his teeth as now he had become like an old man. The king requested the Prophet. The Prophet said he would pray for him the next morning. The Prophet prayed for him and he got back his teeth. Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that morning is the best time for prayer. Allah also states that morning is best for prayers.

According to a tradition of Imam Ja‘far Sadiq, Isma‘il promised a man that he would wait for him. The name of the place was ‘Safa’ which is near ‘Makkah’. He waited there for one year. The people of Makkah searched for him but did not know where he was. Coincidentally a man reached the Prophet and said we have become old and weak without you and asked the reason for his isolation. He said that a man had promised to return so he waited there. When the people of Makkah heard this they went to the person named ‘Taifee’ and said that you have taken a promise from the Prophet but did not return to him. Hearing this, the man came running and apologized and said, “By Allah I had forgotten the promise.” The Prophet said that he would not have left the place until his death. Allah also praised him in the Qur’an and his title “Keeper of promise” is true.

A Brief Sketch of Ilyas and Yusha‘

According to a tradition from of Ibn ‘Abbas, after Musa, Yusha‘ Bin Noon divided the population of The Israelites in Syria and Syria was divided among them. One of the groups was settled in the city named Baelbak where Ilyas preached the people. There was an idol worshipper king who compelled his subjects to worship the statue named ‘Baggal’ as their god.

Allah the exalted says,

“And Ilyas was most surely of the apostles. When he said to his people, do you not guard (against evil): (Are you not afraid of Allah’s chastisement? What! Do you call upon Ba’l and for sake the best of creators. Allah, your Lord and the Lord of your father of yore?” (37:123-6)

But they called him a liar and didn’t believe his words. The king’s wife was a sinful woman. When the king went abroad, he entrusted the kingdom to his wife. She had a clerk. He was very wise and intelligent who saved the lives of three hundred people from her. She was the most sinful woman of the world. Seven kings of Jerusalem married her. She was mother of 90 children and grandchildren.

The king’s neighbor was virtuous. He believed in Allah and His apostles. His garden was next to the king’s palace. The income of garden was his livelihood. The king also respected him. Once the king went for a traveling. She took a chance of the absence of the king and murdered him and took away the garden from his family. Allah became very angry. When the king returned from the journey, he was informed by his wife. The king said that she had done wrong.

Allah commissioned Ilyas on the people to preach them about true religion and pray to Allah and Him only, and give up idol worship but the people said that he was a liar, insulted him and threatened to kill him but he remained patient. Again, he invited people towards Allah and to obey his commands but their attitude became worst day by day. According to Allah’s revelation, Ilyas informed the king to “give up all controversies otherwise Allah will destroy you.” The king became very angry and decided to punish him severely and kill him. Ilyas learnt of it and left the city and took shelter on a mountain. He stayed there for seven years and spent his time in prayer and survived on fruits only. Allah kept His Prophet in His protection and kept his place secret from their sight. In the meantime the king’s son became worst, people lost all hopes and were disappointed. He was very much beloved to king. People worshipped their idols for the recovery of king’s son but failed. The king thought that Ilyas would be on the mountain so he sent his men. The men called out to him and requested him to come down and pray for the king’s son. Ilyas came down and said, “Allah the creator has sent me to you and I am the Prophet. Listen to me. Go to the king and give the message. Allah is one. He is alone and has no partner. Allah gives livelihood to every one. He creates men and He can destroy. He has power and command. Why does the king not request Allah, the merciful and instead prays to the dumb and idols?”

The people went to the king and narrated that to him. The king got annoyed and ordered his men to bring him as a prisoner “because he is my enemy.” The people could not find him and returned. The king sent his fifty chiefs from the army to arrest him. He said, “First tell him that we trust you and your Allah. When he comes to you, arrest him and bring him here.” The fifty commanders went to the mountain and said in the loud voice, “We trust you so please come down and meet us.” Ilyas was in the forest, he heard them. He raised his hands to Allah for the prayed to allow him to go to them “and if they are liars, protect me from them and send a chastisement of fire to burn them.” Allah is knowing and hearing. Allah sent a chastisement of fire at once and they were all destroyed in a moment. When the king came to know he was furious and ordered his wife’s clerk who was good and pious and a believer of Allah to go along with people. And said, “It is time of repentance, go to Ilyas and pay allegiance to him and ask him to come and preach and show the right path.” Then he told his people to give up idol worship.

The clerk went along with the people to the mountain and called out. Ilyas recognized his voice. Allah revealed to him to go to the believer, greet him and shake hands. Ilyas came to him. The clerk narrated the king’s condition and said, “If you won’t come the king will kill me.” Allah revealed to His apostle that the king’s message is false. He wants you under his control and wants to kills you. Allah said, “Tell the clerk not to worry of the king. His son will die. The king will be sad and not harm him.” When the clerk reached the king, he saw the condition of his son becoming worst and he died.” The king did not take care for them as he was sorrowful of his son’s death. After a long time the king became comfortable and asked the clerk about the Ilyas. He said he didn’t meet Ilyas. After that Ilyas came down from the mountain and stayed in the house of Prophet Yunus for a year.

When Yunus was born, Ilyas left his house and went to the mountain again where he was staying before. When Yunus was young, his mother stopped suckling. She went towards the mountain in search of Ilyas and gave the sad news of her son’s death and said that Allah has revealed to her “to come to you for my child’s life. If you pray Allah for my son, Allah will make my son alive. I have kept my son secretly and I have not informed anyone of his death nor buried him.” Ilyas asked, “How many days have passed since his death?” She said, “Seven days.”

Ilyas came to the house, raising his hands for prayer, requested Allah to make him alive. Allah the merciful granted his prayer and gave him a new life and then Ilyas went back.

When Yunus was forty years old, Allah appointed him as a Prophet. When Allah granted him a new life Ilyas went away to his own place. After seven years Allah revealed and said to Ilyas to ask whatever he wants, He will grant him. Ilyas said, he was fed up with life, and tired of The Israelites. They are deadly against You and because of You I am also against them. Allah revealed, “O Ilyas there is a time to come to me. I do not intend to keep my land empty without you. There must be an apostle on land. Ask any other thing.” Ilyas said, “Take my revenge with them, do not send rain for seven years. When they come to me with request, I will pray to you for rain.” Due to Ilyas’s curse there was no rain, and there was a famine. The people understood that this was due to curse of Ilyas.” All of them approached him and said, “We will obey you and do whatever you say.”

Ilyas along with his companion Yusha‘ went to the king. The king said you have destroyed the country with divine wrath. Ilyas said, “Allah has destroyed the unbelievers who had no faith.” The king requested him to pray to Allah to relieve them from His wrath. In the dark Ilyas raised his hands and prayed to free people from chastisement and asked Yusha‘ to watch the sky. Yusha‘ said he sees a cloud. Ilyas asked him to inform the people, it will be raining now and to be careful for their safety. Rain started falling everywhere and famine disappeared by the grace of Allah. Ilyas stayed there for a long time. People also spent their lives doing good deeds. Then after sometime they all turned against the Prophet. Sometimes Allah takes revenge by His apostle and sometimes He takes revenge by sending the enemy of his own community.

All of a sudden, one of the king’s enemies attacked him and killed the king and queen and threw them in the garden of the follower of Allah. Ilyas declared Yusha‘ his legatee. Almighty Allah favored him with wings and raised him up to the heaven. While moving towards the heaven Ilyas threw his scarf for Yusha‘ and Allah appointed Yusha‘ as a Prophet of Palestinians and bestowed him with all His bounties by revelation upon him. The Israelites respected him and followed his path.

Muzaffar bin Qamar has stated that one day they went to Imam as-Sadiq’s house and asked for permission to enter. Upon entering they heard the Imam’s voice speaking with someone in a strange language. It was Syriac. The Prophet wept too much and we also wept with him. After that the servant came out and asked us to go in. We all entered the house. The narrator said that he heard his voice at the door and asked whether the language was Arabic or Syriac? “You wept and we also wept.” Imam replied that I remembered Ilyas one of the best Prophets and I was reciting the dua that he recited. The Imam recited the same Dua in front of the people. The people had never heard recitation of such verses before. Then he translated it in Arabic and said when was recited this Dua, Allah revealed to him to raise his head from prostration. That He will not give any punishment to him.” Ilyas said, “I am Your servant and you are My Lord, the Beneficent.” Allah revealed to him to raise his head from Sajdah. He will keep his promise what he said.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has narrated the same story. (By Musa bin Aqeel) indicated the name Iliya instead of Ilyas.

According to a tradition Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “Ilyas and Yusha‘ ibn Nun ate Parsley seeds with their food.”

Imam Muhammad al-Taqi is quoted in a book that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that once his father Imam Muhammad al-Baqir was circumambulating the Ka‘bah when a man came. After the Imam’s circumambulation he took him to a house near the hill of Makkah. “He called me there. The three of us were there and no one else. He welcomed Imam as-Sadiq and blessed the Imam by putting his head on Imam’s head. Then he turned his face to Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and said, “Would you like to inform me first or I question you? Imam- Muhammad al-Baqir said, “As you like.”

The man said, “If I ask you question, answer me only with what is inspired in your heart.” Imam al-Baqir replied that he had heard from his father that he who ask like this has two types of knowledge (ideas) which are different from each other, the knowledge of divine has no differentiation. The man said my question this, what is that? Imam replied- Allah, the great. And he has given the knowledge to the Prophet and Imams for the necessity of the people. Hearing this he lifted his veil from his face and sat comfortably and became very happy and said, I have came for this reason. Then he inquired that the necessity of the knowledge for the people has been given to the Prophet and their descendent but say how they know? Imam said, by revelation of Allah and they hear the voice of angels but the Prophets can see them, the descendents can’t. They can listen the angel’s voice. The status of the Prophet is very high and they can go to Allah and talk in the moment and come back. But this position is not given to all. The man said, “It is true what you have said, O, the son of Prophet! Now I will ask you a difficult problem. Why does Imam not disclose their knowledge on the people as the Prophet did?”

Hearing this Imam al-Baqir laughed and said that Allah does not want the ordinary people to be notified of divine knowledge except His apostles, as Allah has tested their hearts. Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa kept patience on high handedness of the people of Makkah by the permission of Allah and Allah had not given permission of war against the unbelievers and kept secret of his Prophethood to his community. Then after a long period Allah revealed to him to do publicize His orders to the unbelievers. The Prophet did, first he was worried to tell them openly. He was waiting for the correct time to show his position and his Divine knowledge because he knew people would not believe him. He had no permission of war. Prophet said, to wait until the approach of Imam al-Mahdi and take revenge of Prophet’s killer and ungrateful persons and give them punishment with their companions. Hearing him the man drew his sword and said, “This sword is one of the sword when there will be great battle against sinners.” Imam al-Baqir said, “Yes, By Allah, Prophet Muhammad is a true and respectable Prophet.” Again that person covered his face and said, “I am Ilyas and whatever I asked, I knew it well. But I wanted to strengthen faith.” Then he asked many questions and disappeared.

According to a tradition of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari Prophet told his follower Zaid bin Arqam that if he wanted to save himself from drowning, burning, choking to death, he should recite this Dua every morning:

“Bismillahe MashaAllaho la yasrifus-su’a, Il-lallaho, Bismillahe MashaAllaho la-yasukul Khaira illallaho. Bismillahe Masha Allaho Ma-yakuno min-nehmatin, famenallahe. Bismillahe MashaAllaho la haulo wala kuwwata illa billahil Aliyal Azeem. Bismillahe MashaAllaho Sal-lul-laho ala Muhammadin wa-alehit Taiyabin.”

Those who recite this Dua three times in the morning and three times in the evening will be protected from all kinds of troubles.

Prophet said that al-Khidhr and Ilyas meet each other in Hajj every year and recite the above Dua when they depart part.1

According to Shaykh Muhammad bin Shahr Aashoob one day the Prophet heard someone saying ‘O Allah let me be the disciple of Prophet Muhammad the last age’s community.’ Prophet went to the top of the mountain. He saw an old man with white hair. His height was 300 feet in length. He saw Prophet Muhammad and stood up and embraced him and said, “I eat only once a year and this is my time to eat.” A dish full of different eatables came for heaven and they ate together. He was Ilyas.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated there was a person named Ilya. He was a leader of four hundred people of The Israelites. The king of The Israelites fell in love with a woman of another community. She was an idol-worshipper. The king proposed to her. She said yes if he allowed her to bring her idol along with her and worship it. The king refused then he accepted her terms and married her and brought her with the idol. Another eight hundred people came with her with their idols. At that time Prophet Ilya came to the king and said, “Allah has made you a king with a long life and you have become disobedient to Allah.” The king did not care what he said. Ilya cursed him and prayed to Allah to let them be struck with famine for three years. The famine struck everywhere, they slaughtered their animals and ate them except one foal on which king was riding. The king’s minister was good, religious and a believer of Allah.

He was staying with Prophet Ilya along with his followers. Allah revealed to his Prophet to go to the king and ask him to repent and that Allah will forgive him. Prophet went to the king and gave him the message of Allah and said to him to obey him. The king argued and promised him he will obey him. Then the Prophet called all his followers. First he sacrificed an animal as offering, secondly he killed the king’s wife and burnt her idol. The king repented very much and became a true follower of Ilya. Allah the Merciful showered the rain and made them free from famine.

Imam al-Ridha said, the people of Jerusalem believed ‘Isa as their god because he made the dead alive. Yusha‘ also made all dead, alive, walked on water and healed the blind.2

- 1. Ilyas is still on the earth like al-Khi¤r and he will be there until the time of Imam al-Mahdi’s.

- 2. It is possible that Ilya and Ilyas are the same as their names are alike. Shaykh Tabarsi has stated that there are different opinions about him. Some say, “He is Idris and some said he belonged to the family of Harun and was the paternal cousin Ya’saa and was one of the Prophets of The Israelites. According to the ancient tradition, he was the descendant of Hizqil. When Allah raised him up. Prophet Ya’saa came after him. It is said that Ilyas helped the weak and the travelers like al-Khi¤r and they both meet each other in the time of hajj. According to a tradition Ilyas is Dhulkifl.

An account of Dhulkifl

According to reliable sources ‘Abd al-‘Alim has said that he sent a letter to Imam Muhammad al-Taqi to ask him the name of Dhulkifl and whether he was a Prophet? In reply the Imam stated that Allah has sent One lakh and twenty four thousand Prophets in the world. Among them three hundred and thirteen were apostles. Dhulkifl was one of them and he was appointed after Sulayman. He was very quiet and calm-natured person. Allah, the great stated in the Qur’an,

‘Remember Isma‘il and Dhulkifl and Yasa’a they all were good and true believers.’

Ibn Babawayh has stated that the people asked the Prophet about Dhulkifl and he said, “Dhulkif belonged to Hadarmaut and his first name was Owaidya. His father’s name was Oriyan. Yasa’a once asked, “Who will be successor after me upon certain conditions, and preach the people calmly and never became angry with them?” According to another tradition he used to fast in the daytime and pass the night in prayers, and not to be angry on anyone. Owaidya stood up and said, “I accept your terms. Again Yasa’a repeated twice, Owaidya said, “I will follow your terms.” After that Yasa’a died and Owaidya became the successor and preached the people. One day Iblis asked one of his companion, “Which one of you would go to Owaidya, make him angry and compel him to break his promise?” A companion of Iblis, named Abyaiz said, he was prepared to do this. Iblis ordered him to go and try.

At that time the Dhulkifl was resting after solving the problems of the peoples. The Satan came and said that he has been harassed by someone. The Prophet said to him to go and call the person who has harassed him. He said, “He will not come if I ask him.” The Prophet gave him his ring as a sign and told him to show him and bring him. The Satan took Prophet’s ring and went away. Dhulkifl could not take rest and could not sleep at night. The next day after solving the problems of his people decided to take rest. Again that Satan approached to him and said, “The person, who harassed me had not accepted the ring and refused to come.”

The servant of Dhulkifl told him to wait or go away. Prophet was taking rest as he could not sleep last night and the whole day he was busy. But Satan said he wanted justice that very moment. The servant informed him. The Prophet wrote a letter and gave him and told him to show it to his enemy. The Satan took the letter and moved away. The Prophet could not sleep and passed the night in prayers. It same was repeated the third day. He came and said that his foe had not accepted his letter and denied to come. Then Prophet arose, held his hand and went alone with him. It was very hot and Prophet was walking in the severe heat of the Sun. He felt ashamed seeing the Prophet’s patience. He became disappointed and thought that he can’t control over him. He left his hand and disappeared.

For this reason he is called Dhulkifl because he was firm to his promise. Allah, the Almighty stated about his patience to his last Prophet so that he can also have patience on the troubles give by his community.

Shaykh Tabarsi has stated that many seditious people said, “He was a good person but he was not a Prophet. To get the Prophethood he was fasting in the daytime and was praying in the night and did not get angry on anyone, and followed the Divine orders. Dhulkifl acted upon all the practical laws.” Other people believe that he was a real Prophet and his name was Dhulkifl and Allah has increased his rewards for his deeds.

Some say he was Ilyas and belonged to the family of Yasa’a. Allah says in Qur’an that he was Prophet Ilyas and Dhulkifl was another Prophet after him.

Note: A narrator has described in his book that Dhulkifl was the son of Ayyub the patient one and Allah granted the apostleship after his father and sent him to Rome. The people accepted him as his Prophet. Allah ordered them to fight the enemies. But they said they like to live in the world peacefully and do not like to die and “we do not want to go against Allah and his Prophet. O Prophet: pray for us. We die according to our own will. So that we can pray to Allah and join the battle. Dhulkifl prayed to Allah, “You have ordered me for the battle with the enemy but You know better what my community says. You are knowing and hearing I am afraid of Your chastisement.” Allah revealed to him that He has heard him and to tell the people that their wish is granted. “They will not die unless and until they ask. Make them follow you and My orders.” That is why he is called Dhulkifl.

The population of the community increased day by day and their condition became weak, then again they requested the Prophet to pray to Allah for them, to let them live and die according to Allah’s desire. Allah revealed that your community was not knowing what was better for them. After that they were dying according to Allah’s will.

An account of Luqman and his words of wisdom

The Lord of the worlds has made a mention of Luqman in the Holy Qur’an,

And certainly we gave wisdom to Luqman, sayings: Be grateful to Allah. And whoever is grateful, he is only grateful for his own soul and whoever is ungrateful, then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, Praised. And when Luqman said to his son while he admonished him: O my son! Do not associate ought with Allah; most surely polytheism is a grievous inequity -O my son! Surely if it is the very weight of the grain of a mustard -seed, even though it is in (the heart of) rock, or (high above) in the heaven or (deep down) in the earth, Allah will bring it (to light); surely Allah is Knower of subtleties, Aware. O my son! Keep up prayer and enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and bear patiently that which befalls you; surely these acts require courage: And do not turn your face away from people in contempt, nor go about in the land exulting overmuch; surely Allah does not love any self-conceited boaster: And pursue the right course in your going about and lower your voice; surely the most hateful of voice is braying of the asses. (31:12, 13, 16-19)

Shaykh Tabarsi says there is difference of opinion about Luqman. Some say he knew Divine Wisdom but was not a Prophet. Some say that he was a Prophet. Other commentators have said that Luqman was son of Bao’or and belonged to the Az tribe and that he was the son of the sister of the aunt of Ayyub; that he lived up to the time of Dawud and learned knowledge from him.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “I swear by Allah and say that Allah did not give wisdom owing to his lineage, wealth, family or physique but only because he was steadfast in obeying Allah and refraining from His disobedience. He was a silent gentleman who never talked without wisdom. He possessed a peaceful heart and a thoughtful mind. His eyes were ever ready to pick up admonition and did not required others’ advice. He did not sleep in daytime. Nobody ever saw him bathing or answering nature’s calls openly like others of that time because he carried out all such affairs secretly. He had a sharp eye but he never liked to be aware of others’ secrets. He never laughed on any occasion fearing his sins nor did he frown upon anybody for his own sake. He never ridiculed anyone. He neither became overjoyed by getting any worldly gift nor became sorrowful due to losing anything. He married many women and begot many children. Many of his children died but he never wept at their loss nor counted their number to be proud (of their number).

He never went away from two quarrelling persons until he made peace between them and they gave up fighting. He never got pleased with anyone’s good word unless he obtained its meaning and explanation. He also asked from whom the other person heard it. Most of the time he sat with the wise, the intelligent and jurisprudents. He used to go to the judges and the kings and the rulers only to get lesson from their conditions. While seeing the judges he used to be kind looking to their difficult duties. He was also kind toward the kings thinking that being ignorant they were running away from Allah and were loving the material world. He took lessons from their (kings) events. He also used to remember some of their undesirable things whereby he controlled his desires. He was fought his desires and kept away from conspiracies of Satan. He was treating the diseases of his soul through contemplation and by obtaining lessons from worldly people. He never moved from his place unless he had a hope of any gain by doing anything. Because of all these qualities Allah had bestowed upon him His wisdom and had made him sinless. In the middle part of a day when the rest of the people were taking rest Allah sent some of His angels to Luqman. The angels called Luqman but in such a way that he could only hear their voice without seeing them.

The angels asked him, “O Luqman! Do you wish that Allah may make you His caliph so that you may solve people affairs (disputes etc)?” Luqman replied, “If the Lord of the worlds commands me to do so I will obey Him because, if I accept it by His order, He will help me, will also teach me the necessary things for that office and he will then also protect me from making mistakes. But if He has given me an option about accepting that post I would prefer safety (I want to be excused).” The angels asked, “Why so?” Luqman replied, “Though settling people’s disputes carries much value in the sight of Allah and it has much weight in the religion of Allah, its tests and criterions are also very hard. If Allah does not help someone and leaves him on his own then oppression and darkness encircles him from all sides. Such a man is discarded. He will either make correct judgment and be saved or will make mistake and will become deviated. The one who becomes dishonorable in the world will be better off in the Hereafter because the one who orders becomes big in the eyes of the people and the one who purchases this world at the cost of the Hereafter suffers loss in both the places because this world slips away from him very soon and he had no share in the Hereafter.”

Hearing this, the angels were astonished at his wisdom and intelligence and the Lord liked their dialogue. When night fell and Luqman went to bed Allah rained the radiance of wisdom on him and made him full of light. He was asleep and Allah covered him with the cloth of wisdom. When he arose he was the wisest man of his time. He came out before the people when words of wisdom were coming out of his mouth and he was describing the Divine wisdom and intelligence and justice to all. And when he did not accept Prophethood, Allah asked the angels to invite Dawud to it. Dawud accepted and did not put forth the conditions that Luqman had submitted. So Allah made him His caliph in the world on earth. Allah, often tested those (Prophets) and on some occasions they missed the preferable (Tark al-Awla) and Allah pardoned them for it. Luqman used to meet Dawud often and give him words of wisdom and admonition. Dawud used to tell him: Congratulations! For you have been given wisdom, and tests have been lifted up from you and caliphate has been given to Dawud and he has been put to test. Luqman gave so many admonitions to his son that he became embodiment of the enlightening wisdom of Luqman.”

Some of the admonitions given by Luqman to his son are:

O My son! From the very day you have arrived in the world you have turned your back to the world and verily turned your face toward the Hereafter (you have started your journey toward the Hereafter from the very moment you were born), and you are passing various stages of that journey. Hence the house towards which you have turned your face is coming nearer and nearer to you and the house in which you are now is getting more and more away from you every day. O my son! Be a companion of the wise and sit with them and do not argue with them that they may prevent their knowledge from you. Take from this world only that which is essential and enough for you. Also do not give up earning in this world that you may become needy (and others may have to care for you). Also do not get involved so much in this world that you may lose your Hereafter. Fast to an extent your passions are controlled. Do not fast so much that you may not have strength enough even for performing your prayer because Allah loves prayers more than fasting. This world is a deep ocean. Innumerable people have drowned in it and destroyed due to it. So it is essential for you to make faith your ship for saving yourself from the dangers of this world. You should make ‘Reliance on only one Allah’ the sail of your ship. You provision in the ship should be avoidance of the illegal and the undesirable. Thereafter if you are saved it is due to Allah’s Mercy and if you get destroyed it is because of your sins. According to another narration, “O Son! Make the fear of Allah your ship and that the capital you should put in it should be faith in Allah, His Prophets and their Words. The sail of your ship should be reliance on Allah; the captain must be intelligence which should direct its course; its guide ought to be knowledge and its anchor should be refraining from the prohibited and patience for bearing the hardships in obeying Allah.

O Son! If you learn discipline in childhood you will benefit from it after you grow up. One who knows the grace of good behavior tries to achieve it and who cares to achieve it also tolerates the hardships of that path and the one who achieves virtues like this also makes great efforts in maintaining them and when he obtains those virtues he adorns himself with them and when he becomes the embodiment of those virtues he gets their benefits in both this life and in the Hereafter. So be habituated with good habits so that you may prove to be the heir of the virtuous and benefit those who come after you, that they may follow your footsteps and your friends may hope for good from you and your enemies remain afraid of you. Never remain slack in the matter of attaining virtue nor pay any attention to anything except good behavior and habits. If people defeat you and snatch away the world (material things) from you, do not worry. Rather try to assure that you may not be defeated in the otherworldly (spiritual) matters; that no one may be able to snatch away the Hereafter from you that is, you may not obtain knowledge from where it should be obtained. You must set aside some hours in the day and night for achieving knowledge because there is nothing which can destroy man’s knowledge. The example is that of giving up learning. It means, giving up learning is the results of your losing whatever knowledge you have learned. (So be after it and continue learning). Do not quarrel with the quarrelsome nor argue with any wise and learned person. Do not make the rich your enemy and do not keep company of the oppressors and do not cultivate brotherhood with a sinner nor sit with a disgraced and notorious person and keep your knowledge hidden just as you hide your wealth.

My precious son! Fear Allah, as He deserves to be feared. Be afraid of Him even if you have at your credit all the virtues and good deeds done by all men and jinn if you have to stand before Him for giving account of your deeds. You should always be afraid of His chastisement. Similarly also remain hopeful of His Mercy even if you have sinned totaling the sins of all men and jinn and be hopeful that He will forgive you. Hearing this, the son said, My respected father! From where can I get enough strength to entertain both hope and fear together when I have only one heart in my chest? Luqman said, My son! If a faithful heart is cut open two rays will come out o it. One light of the fear of Allah and the other light of hope from Allah. If both the lights are weighted neither will weigh either more or less even by the weight of an atom. So one who believes in Allah, also testifies to His Words and the one who testifies His Words also acts according to His commands and if someone does not act according to the word of Allah then surely he did not understand (believe) the words of Allah because some of the virtues give witness of some other virtues. So the one who has truly and sincerely believed in Allah will surely act honestly for Allah with a hope for good. One who acts in this way really believes in Allah and the one who believes in Allah also fears Him and the one who fears Him loves Him and the one who loves Him also obeys Him and the one who obeys Him makes himself eligible for His pleasure and Paradise and the one who does not want Allah’s pleasure makes His punishment swift upon him and I seek Allah’s protection from His punishment.

O my dear son! Do not have a wish for the world and do not engage yourself in it because no creation of Allah is more worthless than the world in the sight of Allah. Do you not see that Allah has not made the worldly bounties the reward of His obedient nor has He made the worldly hardships the punishment of His disobedient and the sinners?

According to another reliable tradition, Imam as-Sadiq said that Luqman said (as a will) to his son: O my son! You must keep a weapon ready by which you can fell (defeat) your enemy and that weapon (tactic) is that you should shake hands with him and show pleasure to him without separating from him, without showing enmity to him so that he may reveal to you what is hidden in his heart about harming you.

My son! I have lifted iron and stone and all heavy things and have been able to bear their weight but have not found anything heavier than an evil neighbor. I have tasted bitter things but have not found anything more bitterly than restlessness and need for others.

It is mentioned in another hadith that Luqman said, O my son! Make a thousand friends because even a thousand friends are less but do not make even one enemy because even one enemy is sufficient.

It is recorded from same Imam in another hadith that ‘Ali said, “One of the admonitions of Luqman to his son is:

The one whose faith in Allah’s attribute of being the Provider is less, must take a lesson of advice and the one who is weak in asking provision from the Almighty must take a lesson of advice because it is only Allah who brought him from non-existence into existence and gave him provision in three states and there was no source of getting provision whatsoever in any of the said three states. So he much have rest assured that He will provide him maintenance in the fourth state of his life also. One of the above mentioned three states is when he was in the womb of his mother. It was only Allah who provided him sustenance and sheltered him in a restful place where he suffered neither heat nor cold. In another state he was brought out of his mother’s womb by Allah and he provided his provision of milk from his mother’s breast. It was a pure and clean and enough for him in that state. Allah nourished and raised him in that state wherein there was no other source of nourishment and training, no strength for earning and no power of warding off harms.

The third state was when his milk supply ended. Then he was provided maintenance through his parent’s earnings that spent on him with maximum love and pleasure and compassion, so much so that sometimes they gave him preference over themselves. This continued until he grew up and got enough strength and intelligence to earn his provision himself. Then he himself made things difficult for him by entertaining undesirable thoughts about his Lord and did not spend for fulfilling and observing the rights of Allah and began to give less to his family members fearing loss of wealth thereby losing faith in Allah. This was despite the fact that Allah always rewards him for spending in His path both in this world and in Hereafter. So bad indeed is such a slave.”

My son! Everything has a sign by which it is recognized. That sign gives witness for that thing. So religion too has three signs: Faith (Iman), Knowledge (Ilm) and Deeds (A’mal). Faith has three signs: Testifying of Allah’s Books. Knowledge also has three signs: Knowing his Lord, ascertaining what his Lord likes and what He dislikes. Again there are three signs of the one who acts according to his Knowledge: Daily prayers, fasts and Zakat poor tax. Also there are three signs of a man who closes the door of knowledge for himself and does not become learned: He quarrels with one who is wiser than him, mentions things which are higher than his level of intelligence though he acts against it, oppresses the weak and assists the oppressors. And there are three sings of the hypocrites: His tongue does not corroborate his heart, his heart does not corroborate his character and his outward appearance is different from his inner self.

There are three signs of a sinner: He embezzles people’s wealth, tells lies and acts contrary to his words. There are three signs of ostentation: He is slack in his worship while he is alone but makes a show of full attentiveness in worship while in public and he does it so that people may praise him. The envious has also three signs: He backbites people and flatters them on the face, feels happy when people are in trouble. There are three sings of extravagant: He eats things which are beyond his capacity and so also he wears likewise, and he feeds others crossing his limits of capacity. There are three signs of an indolent: He is slack in doing good deeds and he postpones good deeds until and unless he is threatened and he becomes so lazy that the job is spoiled and thus he becomes a defaulter. There are three signs of a negligent man: He is doubtful in his worship, becomes careless in matter of remembering his Lord and he forgets good deeds.

O my son! Do not ask for things which are not within your power and for which you do not have sources and leave aside things which you can achieve and for which you have resources so that you opinion may not falter and your wisdom may not go waste.

My son! Confront your enemy by giving up the prohibited, help yourself by achieving grace in your religion through magnanimity. Keep your soul clean of Allah’s disobedience. Keep your secrets hidden and your inner self, pure. When you will do so you will due to Allah’s secret, (will) have no fear of your enemy becoming aware of your weakness and defect. Do not become fearless (careless) of the enemy’s conspiracies, lest he finds you unaware and overpowers you and then there will be no excuse. You should always show him your happiness.

My son! Hard work for attaining a useful thing should be considered light and less effort in achieving a harmful thing should be considered heavy.

O my son! Do no go against the prevalent practice of company while with people and do not expect from them things which are difficult for them otherwise your companions will abhor your forever and others will also part company with you and you will become lonely. There will be no companion to sympathize with you and no friend to help you. When you will become alone, you also will be disrespected and valueless. Do not offer excuse before a person who may not accept your apology and who may not recognize any of your rights. Do not seek anybody’s help for serving your purpose except the one who may charge something for that service, because, in that case he will do your job just as he does something for himself. In this way, after fulfilling that need, he will be benefited both in this passing world as well as get some reward in the Hereafter and hence he will make a good effort to do that job. You should also select compassionate, wealthy, wise and respected persons for making friends or for seeking help in your affairs so that if you give them any benefit, they may thank you and if you part with them they may remember you.

O my son! If the learned persons whom you have befriended are loyal to you then you must think of improving yourself. If they turn away from you then keep distance from them because their enmity will be more harmful to you than the enmity of others, because, people will believe whatever they will say about you as they know you.

O my son! If you dislike something in your friends do not get impatient and do not get nostalgic or misbehave with them because friendship cannot be maintained in this way. Make it a point to act with restraint and without haste. Do not rush to do anything without properly thinking over its consequences. Be tolerant if you get any pain from your brothers and friends and try to make your character the noblest of all.

O my son! If you do not have enough wealth to help your kith and kin or to spend over your brothers-in-faith then do not be stingy in keeping your face smiling and your tongue sweet while meeting and behaving with them because people befriend persons having good character and evil persons keep away from them. Be content on what Allah has fixed for you so that you may always remain happy. If you want all honors and respects of the world then drive away your desires for those things that are in possession of others because no Prophet or Truthful has ever attained that honorable status without being careless about the possessions of others.

O my son! If you need a king’s help in any matter, ask with much respect and earnestness and humility. Do not ask for anything unless the time is appropriate. That time is when he is pleased with you and when he is carefree. Do not despair if you fail in getting any needed thing because its fulfillment is in the control of Allah and it will be fulfilled only at an appointed time. When that time comes the work is done. Always remember Allah and ask only from Him and keep your fingers moving with total humility while praying to Allah.

O my son! The world is small and your age is short. Do not care much for achieving anything from a limited world in a short lifetime. O My son! Never be envious. Consider it against your status to be envious. Never behave badly with others. Do not make it your wish to do so. These two evils can harm none but you. When you harm yourself you carried out the business of your enemy yourself because your enmity with yourself is more harmful than the enmity of others.

O my son! Do good to the person who deserves it and your purpose behind it must be to please Allah and not any worldly interest. Be moderate in spending for others. Do not be so miserly that your may not give even though you can and also do not give away so much that you may become needy of others.

O my son! The best behavior is wisdom, acquiring of which is very essential. It is the religion of Allah and it is similar to a grown up tree. Its water is belief in Allah, which keeps it alive and standing. Its root is prayer, which keeps it straight and steadfast. Its trunk is Zakat poor tax and its branches are the efforts for maintenance of brotherly relations with one’s brothers-in-faith merely for the pleasure of Allah. Its leaves are good morals. Its fruits are abandoning disobedience of Allah. No tree is complete unless its fruit is not nice and similarly a man’s religion is not complete until one gives up all the things prohibited by Allah.

O my son! The worst restlessness is disruption of intellect. The greatest sin is a sin against religion and the greatest calamity is the danger to faith and the most profitable wealth is the wealth of heart. So enrich your heart with knowledge, faith, good morality and rest content on whatever you get in this world. Remain pleased and happy on what Allah has fixed for you, because, whoever pilfers people’s property does not get legal and permissible provision as Allah stops it from him, as fixed by Him and such persons earn only sins. A man who is patient, gets halal (permissible) provision and he is protected from the chastisement of both this world and of the Hereafter.

O My son! Make your obedience pure and let it not be contaminated by any act of sin and adorn your obedience by following the truthful because following the truthful follow Allah. Beautify it with knowledge and wisdom. Protect your knowledge through tolerance which should not be senseless. Collect your knowledge through humility, which must not have folly in it. And strengthen its gate through farsightedness, which should not have meekness and mix your farsightedness with kindness, which must not have harshness and rigidity in it.

O My son! Do not engage an ignorant person for conveying any message anywhere. If you do not find a wise man then convey your message yourself. My Son! Keep away from evil so that it may itself remain away from you.

Amir al-Mu’minin said, “People asked Luqman who was the best of the people. He replied, ‘A rich faithful.’ They asked, ‘You mean richness of money?’ He said, ‘No, of knowledge, so that when need be people may benefit from his knowledge. If people do not require his knowledge then he can pull on with his own knowledge.’ People asked, ‘Who is the worst among us?’ He replied, ‘The one who does not care if people see him sinning.’” Luqman told his son: O My Son! Whenever you travel with a group of people take their advice very often regarding your problems and so also about their affairs. Do not smile much in front of them and be generous in your expense.

Go to them whenever they call you and give them assistance whenever they call for it and be ahead of them in three matters viz. in silence, in prayers and in generosity of wealth and in manliness. Whenever they ask for your witness to someone’s right then be their witness and whenever they seek your advice make utmost efforts for their benefit, and good. Do not make haste in giving your opinion in their favor until your think over it deeply and do not give your reply in that consultation until you get up from there, move, sleep, offer prayers and spend all your intelligence in their consultation because, if a man does not make his well-wishing pure, Allah snatches away his intelligence and removes honesty from him. (My son!) when you see your companions traveling on foot you too should walk with them. When they are busy, you also should participate in their work.

Also accompany them when they testify something or give loan to someone. Listen to the one who is elder than you in age and do not refuse if they ask you to do something or ask something from you because refusal is an illness of soul and a sign of incompetence. Stop traveling when you lose your path and make mutual consultation. If you meet a lone person and ask him the way do not trust his reply because a lonely person puts people in doubt in a forest. Sometimes it so happens that a person is a spy of thieves or is a Satan (devil) who wants you to misguide you and to put you to trouble. Also avoid if they are two unless you find signs of truthfulness in them, which I cannot describe. So rely on them because when an eye observes something it finds out the truth of it and the one who is present and observes knows what an absent person cannot know and see.

My son! When the time for prayer comes do not postpone it because of your engagement in some other work. First finish the prayers satisfactorily because prayer is the base of religion and do not miss a congregational prayer even under a sword and do not sleep on the animal’s back as it can hurt and is not a wise act. Of course you may sleep in a pannier if you like but keep your body joints straight and when the destination is near, get down from the animal and walk on foot. After reaching there first feed the animals. When you intend to camp, select a land which is good in color, softer and has more grass and when you are about to camp, first offer two Rak’ahs (units) of prayer. When you have to answer call of nature go to a far from the people. When you leave the place salute (say ‘salaam’) to the residents of that place because there are angels on every piece of land and, if possible, do not eat before giving anything as alms. It is necessary to recite the Book of Allah so long as you are riding and keep remembering and praising (hallowing) Allah in every work. It is also necessary to pray on conclusion of every job and never start your journey in the first part of the night. You should travel from midnight until dawn and must not raise your voice in the way.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam al-Baqir said, “People asked Luqman: what among your problems and your wise actions is such on which you have utmost faith and which you never leave?” He said, “I do not take up any issue for which Allah Himself has already become a guarantor on my behalf and I do not spoil a work which He has left to me.”

According to the same source Luqman told his son: My son! Be friendly with a hundred persons but do not make even a single one your enemy. My Son! Nothing except your morals and good behavior will benefit you. Your character between you and your God is your religion. Your behavior between you and your people is your contact (with them). Therefore, Do not create enmity with others but always show a pleasing behavior. O My Son! Become a slave of good people but never prepare to be the son of the evil persons. My Son! If anybody gives you anything as a trust return it as it is so that your world and the Hereafter may by protected. Be honest so that you may remain rich and needless.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam al-Ka¨im said, Luqman told his son: O My Son! How is it that people do not fear the divine chastisement which has been promised to them even though they are becoming weaker and lower day by day? How they do not remain ready for Allah’s promise of the hour of death though their age is speedily approaching end. My Son! Do not acquire knowledge to show pride over the learned and the wise nor to quarrel with the fools and the unwise nor to make a show of yourself in gatherings. But also do not give up learning because they caution.

O My Son! Attend meetings and gatherings and look around with and eye ready to get lessons and if you see a group busy in remembering Allah then sit with them because, if you are learned your knowledge will benefit you and your knowledge will increase and if you lack knowledge you will gain knowledge from them. Maybe Allah’s Mercy descends on them and it may envelop you too.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that one of the admonitions given by Luqman to his son is that, “My Son! If you have at all any doubt about your impending death then remove sleep from you. You cannot do it. And if you have any doubt about rising up again after death them avoid awaking after your sleep. You cannot ever do it. So if you ponder over these two things you will realize that your life is in the hand of someone else; that sleep is like death and awakening is like rising up after death.

My Son! Do not develop more than necessary relations with people so that they may cause separation and create enmity. Nor remain far away from others otherwise you will become disrespected and dishonored. Every living thing loves its category but man does not love man. Do not be extra kind to anyone but who desires it. Just as a sheep cannot be friendly with a wolf so a good man cannot be friendly with a bad person. Whoever nears the evil also develops some of that evil in him. Similarly a man who keeps company with a bad character also learns some of the latter’s evils. The one who likes to quarrel with others gets abused and the one who enters the gathering of bad people gets allegation. A man who mixes up with evildoers remains safe from their evils. The one who does not control his tongue feels ashamed. My Son! Always be honest and trustworthy because Allah does not love the dishonest. My Son! Pose yourself before others as if your heart is sinful and that you are terrified by Allah’s anger.”

According to another narration Luqman said, “The man who says that evil can be removed by evil and corruption by corruption is not correct. If he thinks that he is correct then he should ignite a fire and see whether fire extinguishes fire. (Never). But patience, tolerance and good behavior stems evil and corruption just as water extinguishes fire. O My Son! Sell your world for the Hereafter so that you may be benefited in both this world and in the other. Do not sell the Hereafter for this world otherwise you will suffer loss at both the places.”

It is said that Luqman lived alone most of the time. Once a man went to him and said, “Sir, you remain mostly in solitude. If you mix up with others it will increase affection.” He replied, “Loneliness gives more scope for thinking and thinking leads towards paradise.”

It is reported reliably from Imam as-Sadiq that Luqman, in his will asked his son: My Son: People before you gathered wealth for their family members. Then neither they lived nor their wealth lasted nor those for whom it was gathered. You are a laborer who has been ordered to do some jobs on fixed remuneration. So carry out your duties, take your remuneration and not to live in this world like a sheep which goes to a field and grazes so much that it becomes fat and then it is slaughtered because of its obesity. But you should pass through this world like crossing a bridge that is built over a river. After crossing it you never return to it. Do not develop your worldly habitation because you are not commanded to do so and remember that when you will be made to stand before your Lord on the Day of Judgment you will be questioned about four things: About your youth as to how you spent it, about your age (life) as to how you finished it, about your wealth as to from where you earned it and for that you used it. So be ready to answer these queries and never be sorry for the loss of worldly wealth because little wealth does not last long and one should not be carefree of the big troubles. So always be away from the evils of this world and be busy with the deeds for the Hereafter. Remove the blindfold from your eyes and admit yourself in the happiness of your Lord through good deeds. Always repent in your heart and make efforts for achieving virtues until you have time and before they (angels) target you and Allah’s will turns toward you and these things become a barrier between you and your desires.

It is said in another narration that Luqman said, “O My Son! If the wise and the learned people hit you and harm you it is better for you compared to the (compared to) situation in which the ignorant anoint you with oil and perfumes.”

It is said that someone asked Luqman, “Were you not a slave of such and such family?” He replied, “Yes, I was.” They asked, “What made you reach this (high) status?” He replied, “Because I always remained truthful, never breached a trust, avoided every word and deed which would not benefit me, I closed my eyes from seeing the things prohibited by my Lord, I stopped my tongue from uttering nonsense and ate only lawful provision. These things led me to this stage. So now the one who will act more than me on these lines will overtake me, the one who will act less than me will remain behind me and the one who will act just like me will be like me.”

And Luqman said, “My Son! Never delay repentance because death arrives all of a sudden without warning. Do not criticize anybody about his death because death will come to you also. Do not ridicule a man who falls in trouble and never stop doing good to others. My Son! Be honest so that you may remain needless of others’ wealth. My Son! Consider piety as a business which will give you profit without investing any capital. If you commit a sin send a donation in advance (spend to help the needy or do a good deed) which may remove that sin. My son! Admonition seldom impresses a fool just as it is difficult for an old person to climb a height. My Son! If be you not be kind to the one whom you are oppressing, be kind to yourself because you are harming yourself through that oppression. When your position of power invites you to oppress somebody then remember the Power of Allah. My Son! Learn from the learned what you do not know and teach others what you know.”

It is mentioned in another tradition that when Luqman left his city he (first) camped in a village called Maas in Moosal. When he found no follower and nobody agreed with him he became disheartened. He closed the door of his house and cornered himself with his son. Advising him he gave him several admonitions. Some of them are:

O My Son! Talk less and remember Allah at all places because He has warned you of His chastisement and has made you a wise observer.

O Son! Take admonition from other people so that they may take advice from you. Be cautioned by little trouble before a big calamity comes down on you and then you may not be able to avoid it.

O My son! Keep control on yourself when angry so that you may not be ditched in Hell. O Son! Distress is better than the wealth earned through oppression and becoming an oppressor. My Son! peoples’ lives are mortgaged for their character. So woe unto them due to the earnings of their hands and hearts. O My Son! The people of the past were caught in the net of the world. So how those who came after them can remain protected? My Son! Regard this world as a prison for you so that you may enter Paradise in the Hereafter. My Son! Do not approach the kings otherwise they will kill you. Do not do as they say otherwise you will become a disbeliever. O My Son! Sit with needy people and poor Muslims and behave like a kind father with the orphans and like a sympathetic husband with widows. My Son! Allah does not pardon the one who says ‘pardon me’ but He pardons the sins of the one who obeys Him. My son! First make companions and then start traveling. My son! Living alone is better than having a bad companion, and a good company is better than solitude. My Son! Do good to one who does good to you and leave the one on his evil who does evil to you., because, he is doing a worse thing to himself then what you would do to him (by revenge).

My Son! Who is he who obeyed Allah and Allah did not help him and who is he who searched for Allah and yet he did not find Him and who is he who remembered his Lord and the Lord did not remember him and who is he who relied on Allah and yet Allah left him to others and who is he who wept before Allah and Allah did not pity him?

My Son! Consult the elders and be ashamed of consulting the younger. My son! Never be in the company of sinners because they are like dogs who, if they find anything with you will eat it up otherwise will condemn and disgrace you and their love is but for a split second. My Son! Enmity of the virtuous is better than friendship with the sinners because, if you oppress a virtuous Mu’min (faithful) he will not oppress you and if you think badly of him, he will wish good for you and remain pleased with you and how will the sinner give you your rights when he does not give his rights to himself?

My Son! Make more and more friends and do not be fearless about enemies because enmity remains hidden in their hearts just as water remains hidden in the soil. My Son! Whomsoever you meet, first salute him (say Salaam) then shake hands with him and thereafter talk with him. My Son! Do not harm others otherwise they will become your enemies and do not take blames from them otherwise they will disrespect you. Do not become so much sweet that they may devour you nor so sour that they may throw you away.

My Son! Fear Allah as is His right to be feared of and never lose hope in Him and His mercy. Have hope in Him but not such a hope that you may become fearless of His anger and chastisement. My son! Restrain your heart from desires because the desires are killers. My son! Never be proud and haughty and egotist otherwise your neighbor in the Hell will be the devil. You must beware that your last place is the grave. My son! Woe unto the one who is proud. How can he consider himself big when he is made from earth and he is to return to dust. He does not know whether he will go to Heaven and be successful or to Hell and be a loser. How can anybody be proud when he has come out of the passage of urine twice.

My son! How the son of Adam fall asleep when death is in search of him. How can he ignore death when death does not ignore him. My Son! When the Prophets of Allah and His friends and all the great men could not escape death that can live in this world forever?

My son! Do not reveal your secret to your wife and do not make the door of your hose your assembly hall. My Son! Woman is made up of a crooked bone. If you will try to make it straight (forcibly) it will break, if you leave it as it is it will remain crooked. Do not give them (extra) freedom so they may leave the house. So when they do a good thing accept it and if they do anything bad, be patient because there is no other way out. My Son! There are four kinds of women. Two are well disciplined and two cursed. Among the disciplined one kind is that which is respected by her people and also well-behaved yet remains humble for her husband. If the husband is kind and nice to her she becomes happy and if she falls in hardship she remains patient. Less money is sufficient for her.

Another kind of a good woman is that who bears many children and who loves her husband and wishes well for him. She behaves with love like a mother, also with the relatives and children of the husband and gives respect to the elders. She is kind toward children and loves those children of her husband who were born of another wife of her husband. She reforms herself and her house and household and children. If her husband is present she helps him in his jobs and if he is absent takes care of him in every respect. Such a woman is as rare as red earth. Fortunate is the man who gets such a wife.

And among those two cursed types of woman is one who thinks very high of herself but she has no respect in her community. If the husband gives her something she becomes angry and if he does not she becomes furious. Hence the husband always remains ashamed and in distress and her neighbors restless due to her behavior. Thus she is like a tigress. If you live with it will eat you up and if you run away it will kill you. And another kind of the cursed ones is that who is very quick in becoming angry and who starts weeping instantaneously. She gives no benefit to her husband if he is present and she maligns and disgraces him if he is absent. Such woman is like a salty land. If you water it, it will become salty and bear nothing and if you do not water it will remain thirsty. If such woman bears a child you will get no benefit from it.

My Son! Never marry a slave girl, lest she bears a son and sell him in exchange of you. My Son! If it was possible to taste and eat women like other eatables nobody would marry a bad woman.

My Son! Do good to a man who harms you and do not earn the world (wealth) too much because you have to (one day) get out of it. Just see where have you to go from there. My Son! Never devour the wealth and property of orphans otherwise you will be disgraced on the Day of Judgment and you will be forced to return that property on that Day. But you will not have kept it there (will not have it there to return). My Son! The Hellfire will envelop every body on the Day of the Resurrection Day and no one will get salvation except the one upon whom Allah sheds His Mercy. My Son! You do not like a man whose tongue is harsh and with whose tongue people fear. On the Day of Judgment the heart and tongue of such people will be sealed and his limbs and organs will give witness to what he had done in the worldly life.

My Son! Do not abuse people because it is like abusing your own parents. My Son! Every day that dawn is a new day and it witnesses about your deeds before the Lord of the worlds. My Son! Remember that people will wrap you in a shroud and put you in a grave where you will see all that you had done during life. My Son! Just think how you can live in the premises of the one whom you have angered by disobedience. My Son! Never give anyone authority over yourself and never leave your wealth for your enemies.1

My Son! Do accept the admonition of your kind father and make haste in doing good deeds before death overtakes you and before mountains fall off on the Day of Judgment and the sun and the moon mix up and stop moving and skies fold up and rows of frightened angels come down on earth and you may be asked to cross the Bridge. Then you will see your deeds and balance will be fixed for weighing the deeds and the accounts of the deeds of all the creations will be opened.

My Son! I have given you four thousand words of wisdom. If you remember even four of them it will suffice you provided you act upon them. They are: (1) make your ship strong as the sea is very deep, (2) lighten your burden because the voyage which you have to undertake is very difficult, (3) keep ample provision as the journey is very long and (4) make your deeds pure because the one who is to accept them is very wise and Omniscient. According to another narration it was, by the order of Luqman, inscribed on the door of his latrine that sitting for a long time in latrine can cause piles.

- 1. As wealthy people have usually more enemies. It is also seen often that even the progeny (children) of a wealthy man also wish an early death to their father so that may get his wealth as inheritance. When this wish is fulfilled, obviously, the inheritors engage in luxuries and forget their late father whose wealth gave them ease and thus, they never think of doing something good for him.

An account of Ishmae’il, Talut and Jalut

Almighty Allah says in Qur’an:

Have you not considered the chiefs of the children of Israel after Musa, when they said to a Prophet of theirs: Raise up for us a king that we may fight in the way of Allah. (2:246)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim and others have narrated from Imam al-Baqir that after Musa, The Israelites committed many sins and deformed the religion of Allah and defied His commandments and disobeyed their Prophet who used to give them divine orders. Allah gave a Copt named Jalut control over them who disgraced them, killed their men and drove them out of their homes and enslaved their women and robbed their properties and wealth. Then they sought shelter with Allah’s Prophet and requested him to pray Allah so that He may send a king for them with whom they might fight the infidels. It was a rule in the Israelites that the Prophet was from one family and the king from another because until then Allah had not amalgamated Prophethood and kingship in one family. Therefore they said, appoint for us a king.

They said, And what reason have we that we should not fight in the way of Allah, and we have indeed been compelled to abandon our homes and our children.

But when fighting was ordained for them, they turned back, except a few of them, and Allah knows the unjust

And their Prophet said, Surely Allah has raised Talut to be a king over you.

They said, How can he hold kingship over us while we have a greater right to kingship then he, and he has not been granted an abundance of wealth.(2:246-7)

Imam al-Baqir said, the Prophethood was in the family of Lawi and kingship in the progeny of Yusuf and Talut was one of the sons of Binyamin the real brother of Yusuf. Thus he was not from the family of a Prophet or a king.

He said, Surely Allah has chosen him in preference to you, and He has increased him abundantly in knowledge and physique, and Allah grants His kingdom to whom He pleases, and Allah is Ample giving, Knowing. (2:247)

Imam said, “Talut was better in physique, that is, stronger and more courageous and he was also the wisest of them all but he did not have wealth. Therefore people considered him low and they said that Allah did not give him much wealth.”

And the Prophet said to them: Surely the sign of His kingdom is, that there shall come to you the chest in which there is tranquility from your Lord and residue of the relics of what the children of Musa and the children of Harun have left, the angels bearing it; most surely there is a sign in this for those who believe.1

Imam says, “The chest which was sent by Allah for Musa from heaven and in which Musa’s mother had put him and pushed into the sea was the same chest which was with The Israelites. They used to seek Barakah (abundance) from it. When the time of Musa’s death arrived, he put his amour, tablets of Torah and some relics of his Messengership in it and entrusted it to his Wasi (legatee) Yusha‘. That chest always remained with them, until they gave up honoring it and began to disrespect it. Children began to play with it on roads. The Israelites lived a life of honor until that chest was respected. But when they gave up respecting it Allah lifted it from among them. And now He exposed it for them in the time of Talut’s kingship. It is mentioned in a true hadith that angels brought the chest to The Israelites. Another hadith days that they took it to The Israelites in the form of a cow. It is recorded with authentic proof that residue of the relics of what the children of Musa and the children of Harun have left means the rest of Prophets, with whom the chest used to remain. It is mentioned in Tafsir of the word ‘Sakina’ that the Israelites had left the chest between the ranks of Muslims and infidels. A fragrant air came out of it and took the form of a man seeing which the unbelievers ran away.”

It is authentically mentioned that Imam al-Ridha said that Sakina is a breeze, which had arrived from Paradise. Its face was like a human being. When that chest was put between the believers and the nonbelievers, whoever went ahead of it was killed or defeated and who turned his face from it and ran away became a Kafir and the Imam used to kill him.

In a good tradition it is mentioned that when, after Musa the Israelites became rebellious and sinners Allah frowned on them and lifted the chest up in the sky. When Jalut overpowered The Israelites and when they requested their Prophet to pray to Allah so that He may send for them a king for leading them in jihad Allah made Talut their king and sent the chest for them and angels brought it to earth. When the chest was put between them and their enemies, one who turned away from it became unbeliever.2

The Prophet told them, “In your path in this desert you will see a canal. Whosoever will drink from it Allah will have nothing to do with him and the one who does not drink will be obeying Allah.” When they reached the canal Allah made it known to them that He won’t mind if they drank a cupful from it. But excepting a few of them all drank profusely. There were 60,000 who drank full throat and this was a test for them. According to the narration of Ibn Babawayh which has been authentically narrated from Imam as-Sadiq those who did not drink more than even a handful were 313 males. After passing by the canal they confronted the army of Jalut and observed the strength and the awe of that army. Those who had drank much water said, today we do not have guts to fight with the army of Jalut. As Allah says,

So when he had crossed it, he and those who believed with him, they said, we have today no power against Jalut and his forces. (2:249)

Those who were sure that they would meet their Lord said, How often has a small party vanquished a numerous host by Allah’s permission, and Allah is with the patent).

(And when they went out against Jalut and his forces they said, Our Lord! Pour down upon us patience, and make our steps firm and assist us against the unbelieving people. (2:250)

Imam said, “These were the words of those who had quenched their thirst from the canal. (War started and) Dawud came up and stood in front of Jalut. He was mounted on an elephant. He had a crown on his head and a Ruby on his forehead shone, and his army had lined up before him. Dawud took one out of the three stones that he had picked up from his path, put it in the sling and flung it toward the army on the right of Jalut. That stone rose high in air and fell on the right flank of the army. It killed whomsoever it hit instantly until all fled. He flung his second stone at the left ranks and the soldiers on that side also ran away. He threw the third stone on Jalut. It rose up and hit the jewel shining on his forehead, pierced it and reached his brain. Jalut fell down and went to Hell as the Almighty says,

So they put them to flight by Allah’s permission. And Dawud slew Jalut, and Allah gave him kingdom and wisdom, and taught him of what He pleased. And were it not for Allah’s repelling some men with others, the earth would certainly be in a state of disorder; but Allah is Gracious to the creatures. (2:251)

It is mentioned in authentic traditions that Imam al-Ridha said, “Sakina is a breeze from Paradise. It is in the form of a human being and possesses a lovely fragrance. The same was sent to Ibrahim when he was raising the walls of Ka‘bah. Sakina was moving at the places of idols and Ibrahim was laying the foundations of Ka‘bah at those points thereafter. The same Sakina was within the chest of the Israelites. The plate in which the hearts of Prophets were washed was also in that chest. It was a tradition in The Israelites that Prophethood was in the families wherein the chest was kept. Imamate will be where these things will be. It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that the Chest of Musa, that is, the chest in which his mother had put Musa and pushed it in the sea, was three hands (in length) and two hands (in width) and that the Staff of Musa was also in it and so was Sakina. People asked, “What is Sakina?” Imam said, “It was the spirit of Allah. Whenever there was a dispute among them about any matter, Sakina used to talk with them and to make them aware of what they wanted.”

It is narrated authentically from Imam as-Sadiq that when Yusha‘ went toward eternity and remained hidden from his legatees and Imams and leaders for four hundred years for fear of the oppressors of his time from the time of Yusha‘ to Dawud and fifteen Imams had come in that period his followers used to come to him secretly and obtain solutions to their problems. When the period of his last days ended he appeared and gave them good tidings that Dawud would soon appear, liberate them from the evil of the oppressors, clear the land from the calamity of Jalut and his armies and save them from all the troubles.

Thereafter they remained ever in await for him, until the time of appearance of Dawud drew near. They were four brothers (including Dawud) who was to free people from the oppression of Jalut and his army men. His Shi‘ahs (partisans) Imam knew that Dawud was born already and had also become major. They were seeing him (Dawud) but they (Dawud’s brothers) did not know that he was Dawud despite talking with him. When Talut assembled The Israelites for a fight with Jalut, Dawud’s father accompanied the army of Talut with his four sons. But the brothers were not prepared to take Dawud with them thinking that he was too weak and hence insignificant and so they said that he should be left at home for grazing their sheep. Anyway fighting began between The Israelites and Jalut. The Israelites were frightened much and so began to demoralize. Dawud’s father returned home and sent Dawud with provisions for his brothers so that their strength might get a boost. Dawud was short stature, having livid eyes and scanty hair. His soul was quite pure and his character clean. Dawud reached when both armies had come face to face and everyone had taken up his position. He passed by a stone in the path. The stone cried loudly, “O Dawud! Pick me up and kill Jalut with my hit, because I have been created for killing Jalut.” Dawud took up the stone and put it in the bag in which he was putting other stones to be flung with his sling while grazing his sheep.

When he entered the army of The Israelites he came to know that Jalut was proving very hard for his army (of The Israelites). So he said, “How do you consider him (Jalut) so Big? By Allah, if I see him I will kill him at once.” His word reached the army until Jalut too heard it. He called Dawud and told him, “O Young man! How much strength have you and how much experience of war that you dare fight with Jalut?” Dawud replied, “Once a tiger pounced upon my herd of sheep and began to walk away with one of my sheep. I followed that tiger, twisted his neck and released my sheep from his mouth.” Allah had informed Talut through revelation that the man on whose body your armor will fit exactly (as if made only for him) will kill Jalut. Talut called for his armor and gave it to Dawud to wear. He wore and despite being quite thin physically it fitted him perfectly. Then Talut and The Israelites became fearful and realized his status. Talut said, I hope this young man will kill Jalut. Next day when both the armies readied for confrontation Dawud asked Talut to show him who was Jalut. (People) showed him Jalut. Dawud took out from his bag the stone that he had picked up from the path, put it in his sling and flung it toward Jalut. It hit him between his two eyes and went up to the brain in his head. He fell down from his horse and a word spread in the army that Dawud killed Jalut. People made him (Dawud) their king.

Thereafter nobody obeyed Talut. Allah revealed Zabur (Book of Psalms) to him (Dawud), taught him how to make armors and made iron as soft as wax in his hands. And Allah commanded birds and mountains to sing praise of Allah along with Dawud. Allah gave Dawud such a melodious voice that none before him had ever heard. He also made Dawud perfect in worship. He lived among The Israelites with both Prophethood and terrestrial rulership.

According to another hadith, among The Israelites, Prophethood and kingship had always remained separate before. Allah amalgamated them in the time of Dawud. Earlier the king used to wage Jihad along with the army and the Prophet used to administer his affairs, and to convey Allah’s words to him. Therefore, in the time of Jalut, The Israelites wished for a king for them and made a plea for it before their Prophet. He told them, “You people are not inclined toward truthfulness, faithfulness and fearlessness (for Jihad).” They replied, “Why will we not fight when these oppressors have driven us out of our house and have separated us from our family members?” Allah appointed Talut as their king. But then they said, “What status has Talut to be our king when he is neither from the Prophet’s family nor from the kings? The Prophets are from the family of Lawi and the king from Yehuda’s and this person is from the progeny of Binyamin. The Prophet said, Allah has given him physique, courage and wisdom and the kingdom is in the hand of Allah; that He gives it to whomsoever He likes; that you are not authorized to reject the appointment of Allah. The sign of his kingship is that the Chest (chest) which was among you for a long time and which was snatched away from you will be brought back to you by angels and you will always defeat the enemy armies with the Grace of the Chest.” They said, “If the Chest arrives we are ready to obey him.” Imam said, “The Chest contained the pieces of the tablets of Musa with inscription thereon of Divine knowledge give to Musa as revealed from heavens.”

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition about the inauspiciousness of the last Wednesday of a month that it was on this day that the community of Amaaliqah had taken away the Chest from The Israelites.3

Shaykh Tabarsi says some have said that when The Israelites committed many sins Allah imposed Amaaliqah on them who snatched away the Chest from them. It remained with them until angels lifted it up from them and then brought it for The Israelites. Imam as-Sadiq also is reported to have said so. Some have said that when the people of Amaaliqh took away the Chest and placed it in their temple all the idols fell upside down. Then it was taken out from there and put at one corner of the town. It resulted in the spread of plague and an illness of throat. In short wherever they put it resulted in one or another trouble for them. Finally they put it on an Araawah, tied it with two oxen and drew it away out of the town. Then angels came and drew it to The Israelites.

Some say that Yusha‘ had put it in the desert of Tiyah and angels brought it from there. Some have said it was three hands long and two hands wide and was made of boxwood; that golden sheets were fixed on it and that it was kept in front while waging a war. A kind of voice used to come out of it. When it became high in pitch people advanced with courage and won the war. Whenever that voice stopped they also stopped fighting. It is well known that there were eighty thousand men with Talut. Some say they were 70,000. Many have said that those who did not drink more than a handful of the canal water were 313 like the number of those who were with the holy Prophet during the war of Badr, who had remained steadfast with him and who had faith in Allah’s help. Those who had drunk more water had run away from war. It is understood from ‘Ali ’s ‘Sermon of Talut’ and all other hadiths that those who had remained steadfast with him were these 313. Some traditions say those who did not drink the water at all were these 313 men and that those who did not drink more than a handful were more.

It should be remembered that most of the Commentators of Qur’an and non-Shi‘ahs historians have considered Talut as one who committed error and Kufr and they have said that after the killing of Jalut he had become an enemy of Dawud and also had intended to kill him. They had begun to attribute many such undesirable thoughts about him. But the Shi‘ah traditions do not mention such absurdities. Rather the apparent meaning of the verses and most of the narrations show that he was on the side of truth and some of the not so famous narrations even say that Amir al-Mu’minin said, “I am the Talut of this community.” When Talut went to fight with Jalut he had told his army men that Allah would take their test through a canal. The one who will drink water from it is not from me, the one who will not drink is from me or there is no blame on the one who will drink only a handful.” As has been mentioned earlier.

It should be kept in mind that these verses are a proof showing that Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali is more eligible for Imamate and Caliphate than those who usurped his Khilafat because these verses are a clear proof of the fact that superiority of courage and knowledge is essential for kingship and for the statesmanship of the kingdom of Allah and it is unanimously agreed that ‘Ali was more courageous and more knowledgeable than all other companions. There is no difference of opinion regarding this and hence he was more rightful of Khilafat and Imamate, in comparison to those who ran away from jihad, expressed their ignorance in many case and referred them to ‘Ali.

- 1. Surah Baqarah 2:248

- 2. Now we conclude the hadith. Then Allah sent a revelation to their Prophet informing him that Jalut will be killed by a man on whose body the armor of Musa will fit properly and that he will be from the sons of Lawi. His name will be Dawud. Dawud ’s father was a shepherd having ten sons. Dawud was the youngest of all. Anyway, when Talut gathered The Israelites for a fight with Jalut, he also called for father of Dawud along with his sons. When he arrived Talut called the sons one by one and made them wear the armor but it did not fit on anyone’s body. So Talut asked him whether he had left out any of his sons? He said, Yes, as my sheep are yet young I have left my youngest son for their protection. Talut sent someone for him. He was Dawud. While leaving his home Dawud took with him a sling and a bag. In his way, three stones called him out: O Dawud! Pick us up. So he put them in his bag. Dawud was very strong and courageous. When he came to Talut, he made him (Dawud) wear the armor of Musa and it fitted him properly. When the army marched toward Jalut Talut marched toward the army of Jalut as says Almighty Allah in the Holy Qur’an: So when Talut departed with the forces, he said, Surely Allah will try you with a river; whoever then drinks from it, he is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is surely of me, except he who takes with his hand as much of it as fills the hand; but with the exception of a few of them they drank from it vide Surah Baqarah: 249.

- 3. There is a difference of opinion about the Prophet of that age. Some say he was Shamoun bin Safiyah who was from the sons of Lawi. Some say he was Yusha‘ and most of them have said that he was Ishmoil (Arabic version Isma‘il). Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has said that he was Isma‘il. ‘Ali Ibrahim has said that according to another narration he was Arsiyaa.

An account of Dawud

Merits, perfections and miracles of Dawud

It has been mentioned earlier that Dawud was Allah’s Prophet and he was born circumcised and that he was one of those four messengers whom Allah had selected for fighting with sword (jihad). Henceforth it will be described that he was named Dawud because he had healed his heart’s wound (which was caused due to Tark al-Awla = giving up the preferable) through affection for Allah).

Authentic narrators mention from Imam al-Baqir that Allah did not send, after Nuh any Messenger was also a king except Dhu’l-Qarnayn, Dawud, Sulayman and Yusuf. The kingdom of Dawud was from Syria to Istakhar in Iran.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Dawud expired on a Sunday. Birds of the air shaded him with their wings. Allah has said,

And we gave wisdom and knowledge; and We made the mountains, and the birds to celebrate Our praise with Dawud; and We were the doers. (21:79)

Meaning: It was not beyond our Might and Power. Some say when he started remembrance and praise of Allah, the mountains and the birds also sang along with him in chorus. Some have said the birds in the air and the mountains used to walk with him.

And We taught him the making of coats of mail for you, that they might protect you in your wars; will you then be grateful? (21:78)

The first person to make an armor was Dawud. Before him, people used to join iron pieces on their body and were unable to fight due to their weight. So Allah made iron as soft as a paste in his hands and he was making armors with his own hands and which were light in weight and could also protect the body from weapons.

Allah said,

And certainly We gave to Dawud excellence from Us: O mountains! sing praises with him, and the birds; (34:10)

People have said that when Dawud was praising and remembering Allah, the Almighty used to make mountains and birds vocal (so they too sang with him in tune). Some have said Allah had put all of them under control of Dawud and consequently whatever he desired from the mountains possible, for example, coming out of minerals from the mines or digging of wells etc. similarly whatever he ordered to the birds his command was also carried out by them.

And We made the iron pliant to him, saying: Make ample (coats of mail), and assign a time to the making of coats of mail and do good; surely I am Seeing what you do. (34:10-11)

And He says at another place: And certainly We gave knowledge to Dawud and Sulayman, and they both said, Praise be to Allah, Who has made us to excel many of His believing servants. (27:15)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that Allah gave Dawud and Sulayman miracles which were not given to any Prophet he was taught the language of birds and he made iron and pewter soft (pliant) for him (without the help of fire) and mountains used to sing praise of Allah with him and gave him Zabur (Psalms) which contained Tawhid (Oneness of Allah) and His praise and supplications. In it were also news about the Prophet of Allah Muhammad as well as Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali (as.) and the holy Imams and the events of the Raj‘ah (return) and the faithful and the appearance of Imam al-Mahdi, Allah says in the holy Qur’an,

“And certainly We wrote in the Book after the reminder that (as for) the land, My righteous servants shall inherit it.” (21:105)

They, according to many traditions, are the impeccable Imams. Again ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when Dawud was reciting the Zabur (Psalms) in the desert, the mountains and birds in the air as well as the forest animals used to sing Praise to Allah with him and that iron used to be as pliant as wax in his hands, whereby he was making whatever he wanted easily and without melting or heating it on fire.

According to authentic narration, Imam as-Sadiq has said that whenever he (the Imam) faced any difficult task he used to do it on Tuesday, that is, on the day on which Allah had made iron soft for Dawud. it is mentioned in another hadith that Allah sent a revelation to Dawud that “You would have been a good and merited person had you earned your provision by working with your own hands and without taking it from the public treasury.”

Hearing this Dawud wept very much. So Allah ordered iron, ‘Be soft for My servant Dawud’. So Dawud was manufacturing one armor daily and selling it for 1000 Dinars until he made 360 armors and sold them for 360000 and had become needless of the public treasury. ‘Ali has, in one of his sermons, said, ‘If you like do imitation of Dawud the singer of the Psalms reciting Zabur melodiously. He will be the reciter in the Heavens. He used to weave baskets from the skin of date tree and to tell his companions who from them would sell them. Then he used to purchase bread of barley from that amount and to eat it.1

It is recorded with authentic evidences that Imam as-Sadiq said that one day Dawud said, ‘Today I will worship my Lord and recite Zabur in an unprecedented manner.’ Then he went into his niche and did as he had planned. When he concluded his prayers prayer a frog appeared suddenly and spoke to him by the command of Allah, “O Dawud! Are you pleased with this worship and recitation made by you now?” Dawud replied in the affirmative. The frog said, “You must not feel happy over it. I recite 3000 Tasbihs (praises) of my Lord every night. Out of that 3000 Tasbihs sprout and spread over me though I remain in the bottom of water. When I hear the voice of any bird, I presume that it is hungry. So I come up on the surface to enable that bird may eat me up even though I did not err.”

In a hadith it is mentioned that Imam al-Baqir said once Dawud was in his niche of worship when a red worm crawled to the spot of his prostration. Seeing it Dawud thought why did Allah created this tiny worm? In order to discipline him, Allah gave that insect the power of speaking and it, by the order of the Lord, spoke, “O Dawud! Could you hear my noise or see the signs of my steps on the hard rock?” He replied in the negative. The insect said, “Surely the Creator of the worlds hears the sound of my footsteps, my voice and even my breathing and He sees the marks of my footsteps on hard rocks. So lower your voice and do not complain so much in His presence.”

It is mentioned in reliable traditions that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, Dawud arrived for hajj, attended Arafat, saw the huge gathering of people there and went on top of a hill and engaged himself in supplication in solitude. When he concluded the hajj rituals, Archangel Gabriel came to him and asked, “Why had you gone to the hill? Your Lord asks did you think that your voice would not reach Him due to the noise of the multitude.” Then Archangel Gabriel took Dawud to Jeddah and therefrom made him reach the bottom of the sea and to the depth of a 40 day journey, on land. Then they reached a rock. They split it and found a worm in it. Archangel Gabriel told Dawud, “Your Lord says, ‘I hear the voice of this little insect in the rock at the bottom of the sea and am not unconcerned of his needs (condition) and you imagined that I might not hear your voice due to the amalgamation of the voices of others!’”2

According to reliable evidences Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Dawud prayed to Allah that whenever cases come before him Allah may enlighten him (through revelation the fact of the matter according to Divine Knowledge so that he (Dawud) might decide the cases accordingly. The Lord told Dawud that people would not be able to bear it. ‘But, I will fulfill your wish’. Then a man came to Dawud and complained that a certain person had done injustice to him. Allah ordained that the defendants might be asked to kill the plaintiff and also to give the property of the later to the former. Dawud decided accordingly. The Israelites raised a hue and cry saying “You acted with the oppressed in an unjust manner.” So Dawud again prayed to Allah, “My Lord! Relieve me of this embarrassment”.

There came the Divine Revelation, “O Dawud! You had desired the proper decision from Me which I ordered. The fact was that the complainant himself was the killer of the defendant’s father and he had usurped the property of the latter. So I commanded that the defendant might kill the plaintiff to retaliate the murder and to take back his father’s property. His father lies buried under such and such tree in such and such garden. Go there and call his name. He will reply. Ask him who killed him?” Dawud became very glad on hearing this and told The Israelites that Allah had relieved him from a big calamity. Then he went to the aforesaid tree along with other people and called out the name of the murdered fellow. He (the dead one) replied, “Labbaik!’ (Here I am), O Prophet of Allah!” Dawud asked who killed him and he said such and such person. He also said that he also took away all his property. Learning this, the Israelites became happy. Then Dawud requested Allah to lift from him the real command. Allah revealed to him, “My servants cannot tolerate the consequences of real command in this world. So ask for witness from the complainant, ask the defendant to sear while interrogating and then decide and leave the factual order real command to Me. on the Day of Judgment I will decide on that factual basis.”

It is authentically narrated from Imam al-Baqir that Dawud asked Allah, “Show me an example of the decisions which you are to make on the Day of Judgment.” The Almighty said, I have not shown the thing asked by you to anyone of my creation and it does not befit anyone else to decide like Me. Dawud repeated his request. Archangel Gabriel came down and said, “You have asked a thing which no Messenger had ever asked. Allah has accepted your plea and so He will expose to you the Final judgment in a case which you will face first next morning. Next day when Dawud assembled his court a youth entered quarrelling with an old man, there was a bunch of grapes in the hand of the young man. The old man complained, “My Lord! This man entered my garden without my permission, damaged my grapevines and ate up my fruits.” Dawud questioned that youth who replied that of course he had done so.

Allah sent a revelation to Dawud, “If I decide between them according to the laws of the Hereafter you will not be able to withstand it nor the Israelites will accept it. O Dawud! That garden belongs to the father of this very youth. This old man entered that garden and killed this youth’s father, usurped his wealth amounting to 40000 Dirhams and buried him in a corner of the garden. So give a sword in the hand of the youth and ask him to kill the old man and thus retaliate his father’s murder and also give away the garden to the youth and ask him to dig out his wealth from such and such spot.” Dawud hesitated (was frightened) but carried out the Divine Commandment, and issued orders accordingly.

According to another narration, two persons quarreled in the matter of a cow. Both tried to prove its ownership and both produced witnesses to that effect, Dawud prayed to Allah in his prayer niche: “My Lord! I am helpless in deciding this dispute so You give order.” Allah revealed, “Take away the rope of the cow from the hand holding it, give it to another person and cut off the head of the former. Dawud carried out the Divine commandment. The Israelites raised a hue and cry shouting what kind of a decision was it! Dawud returned to the Mihrab (prayer niche) and complained that The Israelites were not happy with this decision. Allah sent revelation that the man who was holding the cow had killed the father of another person and snatched the cow from him. “So henceforth, whenever you come across such a dispute, do make decision according to the apparent order of the case and do not ask Me for judgment. Leave My decision until the Day of Judgment.”

It is reported that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “A chain used to hang from the sky in the time of Dawud. People decided their disputes with its help. The hand of the truthful could reach the chain. The liar could not hold it. A man entrusted a pearl to another. The latter refused to return it on demand by the former. He had concealed it in his stick. The owner of the jewel said let us go to the chain to ascertain who is telling truth and who is a liar.” (He agreed and both reached the chain). First, the real owner of the pearl tried to hold the chain and it came in his hand (to indicate that he was truthful in his claim and that he had given his pearl to the other fellow). Then came the turn of another person. He gave his staff (which contained the pearl) to the other many saying him “just hold this so that I may catch the chain.” By this trick the chain came in his hand too because at that moment the pearl was in the staff which was then in the hand of the original owner. After such cheating tactic Allah pulled the chain up and commanded Dawud to decide disputes on the basis of witness and swearing.

It is mentioned in many reliable traditions that when al-Qa'im will appear, he will decide, like Dawud, according to his own knowledge on the basis of facts and will not call for witnesses.

It is recorded from Imam al-Baqir that one day ‘Ali entered the mosque. Suddenly a young man approached him weeping. He was surrounded by a big mob of people who were consoling him.

Imam asked him the reason of weeping. He said, “Qadi Shuraih has decided my case in such a way that I cannot comprehend. These people had taken my father along with them in a journey. Now they have returned but have not brought my father back. When I asked, they said he has died. When I asked what happened to all of his goods. They say he did not leave any goods. I took them to Qadi Shuraih. He asked them questions on oath and released them.

Though, O Amir al-Mu’minin! I know that my father had taken a lot of merchandise with him.” ‘Ali said, “Come let us go back to Qadi Shuraih.” ‘Ali asked the Qadi, “How did you decide this case?” He replied, “This youth claimed that his father had joined these people in a journey and had carried goods; that his father did not return and these people did not bring any of his goods; that they say his father did not leave any goods behind him. I asked the youth whether he had any witness. He replied in the negative so I inquired from these people on oath. ‘Ali said, “It is regretful that you decide such cases in this way! By Allah! I will decide this dispute in such a way that none except Dawud had decided.’”

Then he asked Qambar to bring the sundews of the army. When they arrived, the Emir called everyone of the caravan men and then told them, “Perhaps you imagine that I do not know what you did to his father. It would be very unwise if I could not understand even this thing.” Then he ordered everyone of them to stand separately behind each one of the mosque pillars. Then he covered their faces with their clothes so that they might not be able to see one another. Then he called his writer ‘Abdullah bin Rafi’. He came with pen and paper and Imam sat as a judge. People gathered around him.

Then he instructed, “When I say Allahu Akbar bring here one of them. Likewise, he first called one of them and made him sit before him. Removed the cloth from his face and asked ‘Abdullah bin Rafi’ to write down what he uttered. Then he began questioning that man, “When did you leave your homes?” Was this man’s father with you then? He replied, “On such and such day.” He asked, “What was that month?” He gave the name of the month. Then he asked, “Where did you arrive thereafter?” He said at such and such place. He asked, “In whose house did you stay?” He said, “In the house of such and such man.” Then he asked what illness struck him (the complainant’s father)? He said such and such illness. He asked, “For how many days did he remain ill?” He said, “So many days.” He put similar questions and then asked on what day he died? On what day he was given a bath? Who gave him the bath, who wrapped him in coffin cloth? What kind of coffin was it? Who offered the prayers for the dead? In which grave was he buried. Then Imam cried Allahu Akbar. All those present also cried in unison “Allahu Akbar.”

Hearing this slogan the companions of that (interrogated) man thought that their fellow traveler has confessed to the crime of killing the complainant’s father and that was why all in court repeated the slogan “Allahu Akbar.” Then, according to the instructions of the Imam, the face of the interrogated person was again covered and he was sent to his place behind a pillar.

Thereafter another person was made to sit in front of him. Amir al-Mu’minin told him, “You had thought that I do not know what you people had done.” He said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin! Though I was one of the groups I did not agree with the plot of murdering him and confessed to the crime.” Likewise, all of them were called one by one and all made confessions to the crime. At last, he called the first person again and then he also confessed and revealed that all of them had joined hands to murder the plaintiff’s father and had usurped him property. Thus, the Imam proved the case of the complainant.

Qadi Shuraih said, “O Maula! Kindly also enlighten us how Dawud had decided the case?” The Amir al-Mu’minin said, “One day Dawud was passing by when he saw some boys playing together. They were calling one of them by the name “Maat ud Deen” (meaning religion is dead). Dawud called that boy to him and asked him, “Who gave this name to you?” He replied, “My mother.” Dawud took that boy to his mother and asked her, “Who gave such name to your son?” She replied, “His father.” asked, “How and why?” The woman said, “This boy’s father had once gone on a journey with a group of people. At that time, this boy was in my womb (unborn until then). That group came back home but this body’s father was not with them. When I asked his whereabouts to that group they said, he is dead. I asked what happened to his property and goods. They said he did not leave any wealth. I asked them whether he had made any wasiyyah (will)? They said, ‘Yes, he had said that: I have a wife who is pregnant. Tell her she should name the newborn (boy or girl) “Maat ad Deen.”’ So I did accordingly.”

Dawud asked her whether she knew that group and whether they were alive? The woman replied, “Yes, all of them are alive and I know all of them. asked her to accompany him for showing them.” Then Dawud went to the house of each and everyone of them along with that widow, called all of them and decided the case as you have seen now. All of the guilty confessed to their crime of murder and robbery. Then Dawud asked that woman to name the boy “Aash ad Deen” (meaning the religion is revived).

According to reliable narrations, it is reported that Imam as-Sadiq said that the Holy Prophet said that the age of Dawud was 100 years and that he ruled for forty years therefrom as a king.

According to authentic narrations, Imam al-Baqir has said that Allah sent a company of angels to Adam in the valley of Rauhaa which is situated between Taif and Makkah and called out his progeny who were like ants in the world of spirits. All came out of the back of Adam, collected like honey bees. Allah asked Adam to look what he could observe. Adam replied, “Numerous tiny ants are seen in the valley.” Allah said all of them are your progeny whom I have brought out from your back so that I may take oaths and swearing (promises) from them regarding my Lordship and Muhammad ’s Messengership as I had taken Such confession from them in the heaven. Adam asked, “My Lord! How can there be room for such a big number in any back?” Allah said, “It is through My minute art powerful might that I have placed them in your back.”

He inquired, “My Lord! What do you want from them by way of promise?” The Lord replied, “I want that they should not make anyone like Me in any way.” Adam said, “My Nourisher! What is the reward for the one who will obey Your Command? He replied, “I will make him live in My Paradise.” Adam asked, “What will be the punishment for the one who disobeys You?” The Lord said, “I will hurl him in the Hell.” Adam said, “My Lord! Indeed, you have done a just deed to them. But, if you will not protect them and will not make them inclined toward good most of them will indulge in sin.” Allah informed Adam of the names of Prophets and their ages. When Adam came to know about the age of Dawud which was to be only 40 years Adam said, “How less this son of mine is to live! My age is quite long. Will you accept if I give 30 years from my life to him?” The Lord said, “All right.” Adam said, “My Lord! I hereby give 30 years from my life period to Dawud. Kindly reduce it from my life and add it to the life of Dawud.” So Allah did likewise.

He has said in the Holy Qur’an that He removes whatever He wishes and establishes whatever He wills. He has the Ummul Kitab (mother of all Books) wherefrom all other Books are scribed. When the lifetime of Adam ended and the angel of death came to him to retrieve his soul Adam said, 30 years of my life still remain. The Angel said, “You have already given it to one of your sons Dawud.” Adam said, “I do not remember it.” The angel said, “You yourself had asked for it to the Almighty. He, in Zabur, decreased your age by 30 years and added the same to the life span of Dawud.” Adam said, “Produce it if there is any evidence.” Indeed Adam did not remember. From that day, Allah commanded His servants to make written deeds and promissory notes etc. in their transactions so that they might not be forgotten and they might not deny.

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that Adam had donated 50 years and when he denied, Archangel Gabriel and Mika’il gave witness and made him agreeable and then the angel of death took his soul. It is mentioned in yet another tradition that Dawud ’s life span was 40 years and Adam had added 60 to it. Some other traditions regarding this have also been quoted in the accounts of Adam and they also reply to some objections in this regard. ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has said that there was a gap (of time) of 500 years between Musa and Dawud and of 1100 years between Dawud and ‘Isa.

An Account of the Tark al-Awla of Dawud

Almighty has said, “And remember Our servant Dawud, the possessor of power; surely he was frequent in returning (to Allah). Surely We made the mountains to sing the glory (of Allah) in unison with him at the evening and the sunrise, And the birds gathered together; all joined in singing with him. And We strengthened his kingdom and We gave him wisdom and a clear judgment. And has there come to you the story of the litigants, when they made an entry into the private chamber by ascending over the walls? When they entered in upon Dawud and he was frightened at them, they said, Fear not; two litigants, of whom one has acted wrongfully towards the other, therefore decide between us with justice, and do not act unjustly, and guide us to the right way. Surely this is my brother; he has ninety-nine ewes and I have a single ewe; but he said, make it over to me, and he has prevailed against me in discourse. He said, Surely he has been unjust to you in demanding your ewe (to add) to his own ewes; and most surely most of the partners act wrongfully towards one another, save those who believe and do good, and very few are they; and Dawud was sure that We had tried him, so he sought the protection of his Lord and he fell down bowing and turned time after time (to Him)”. (38:22-24)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir says that ‘Zann’ here means ‘Ilm’ (knowledge), that is, he felt sure that Allah took his test.

Therefore, We rectified for him this, and most surely, he had a nearness to Us and an excellent resort. O Dawud! surely We have made you a ruler in the land; so judge between men with justice and do not follow desire, lest it should lead you astray from the path of Allah; (as for) those who go astray from the path of Allah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because they forgot the day of reckoning. (38:25-6)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when the Almighty made Dawud His vicegerent on earth and gave Zabur to him and ordered birds and mountains to sing His praise with him, it was so because when Dawud used to concluded two Rakats of his prayer, his viziers used to get up and praise Allah and also praised everyone of the previous Prophets and remembered their good and noble deeds and described their thankfulness, their engagement in worship and their endurance against calamities but they did not mention Dawud. So he (Dawud) prayed to Allah, “O Lord! You praised Your Prophets but did not praise me.”

There came a revelation from Allah: “I praised them after I took their tests and subjected them to difficulties and they showed patience over it.” Dawud said, “My Lord! Take my test also, put me into troubles so that I may also show patience and reach their status.” Allah said, “Do you give preference to calamity over safety? All right, then, I had taken tests of those Prophets without their knowledge. But now, I make you aware in advance that I will put you to test on such and such date of such and such month of such and such year.

It was a routine of Dawud that on one day he used to settle disputes of people and on the next day he secluded himself from others and engaged in worship in solitude. When the promised day of test arrived Dawud made himself deeply engrossed in worship. He sat alone in the Mihrab and prohibited people from approaching him.

The story of Uria about Dawud which is mentioned among Sunnis is a fabrication of those who believe that Messengers of Allah can commit sins. As mentioned earlier, it is an essential belief of Shi‘ahs that Messengers cannot commit crimes. Hence, we believe that this allegation about Prophets is baseless.

Abu-Basir has narrated that he asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq what did he thinks about the popular story about the wife of Uria and Dawud? He replied that the Sunnis have fabricated it. According to another hadith he said, “If I get power over one man who says that Prophet Dawud took possession of the wife of Uria, I will give him double punishment: one for lying and another for disrespecting a Prophet. People have narrated such a hadith from Amir al-Mu’minin also.

On the basis of the Shi‘ah belief and according to the opinions of some other opponent groups who believe that Prophets do not commit sins, there is a difference of opinion about the repentance of Dawud and its cause and also about the trial taken by Allah of Dawud. There are some reasons for this. The first is that his repentance was not due to any sin but it was merely to express meekness and humility in the presence of Allah. Second, Uria had asked for the hand of a woman. Thereafter Dawud also asked for her hand. Uria had no wife while Dawud had ninety-nine.

Therefore, it was preferable to leave that woman for Uria (and he should not have sent a message for marriage). But he did not do so (the desirable) and hence Allah expressed His unhappiness Third: Dawud had sent Uria in a war. Thereafter he did not feel much on hearing about his martyrdom as his wife was beautiful and he married her. This too was an ugly (undesirable) deed which did not befit his status though it was not a sin. Allah sent two angels for warning him. Fourth: The two who had come to Dawud were not angels but were thieves and they had gone to harm him. But since they could not gain what they wanted they made up this story to hide their misdeed and Dawud realized that they were (really) thieves and he thought of punishing them and it was his imagination (no certainty) which amounted to giving up or leaving the desirable. So he repented did not do anything to the two. Fifth: Allah became angry because when the plaintiff made his statement, Dawud, before ascertaining from the defendant, declared that ‘he has done injustice to you.’ His intention was that ‘If you are telling the truth then he has oppressed you’. The better course was that he should not have uttered these words before taking the statement of the defendant. Therefore, he sought forgiveness for leaving this preferable (desired) course of action. It is recorded with reliable evidence that, in the court of Al-Ma’mun, ‘Ali bin Al Jahm inquired from Imam al-Ridha.

Imam asked him, “What do your Ulama say about it?” ‘Ali bin Al Jahm replied, “They describe that one day Dawud was praying in his prayer niche when suddenly Satan appeared in the form of a beautiful bird. Dawud broke his prayer and advanced to catch that bird. The bird entered the house. Dawud also followed it. The bird sat on the upper storey. Dawud also reached there when his eye fell on the house of Uria wherein his wife was bathing in nude. He was infatuated with her at the very first sight. Uria was sent on a war front. Then he wrote to the chief of the army to place Uria in the front line against the enemy army in the battle field. So it was done. He won the war and overpowered the disbeliever. When Dawud knew this he felt unhappy. He wrote to the army chief again to place him even ahead of the Chest as-Sakina during the war. When it was done, he was martyred. Then Dawud married his widow.”

When Imam heard this story with such a mean motive behind it he hit his forehead with his palm and said, “Innaa lillaahi ve innaa ilaihi raajioon (To what extent are you going?) What a mean motive you are attributing to a Messenger of Allah! According to his (fabrication) a Messenger of Allah underestimated the value of Salat and broke his prayer for the sake of a bird and fell in love with a woman and got her husband killed for obtaining her!” ‘Ali bin al Jahm said, “O Son of the Prophet! Then what was his mistake?” Imam said, “Dawud had entertained a thought that (in his time) Allah had not made anyone else wiser than him. So (in order to correct his thinking) Allah sent two angels who crossed over the wall of the upper storey of his house and entered.

The plaintiff made his claim, as Allah has mentioned in the holy Qur’an. Dawud, before hearing the other party to ascertain whether whatever the former said was true and without asking for any witnesses spoke up, ‘He has oppressed you by taking away your ewe also and by trying to add it to his herd.’ This was the mistake and Tark al-Awla (giving up the preferable) that Dawud made in deciding a case. It was not what you have said. Do you not ponder what Almighty Allah says, ‘O Dawud! We make you Our vicegerent on earth; so judge among between people justly and truthfully.’” ‘Ali bin al Jahm asked, “O son of the Messenger of Allah! What about Oriya?” Imam replied, “The law during the days of Dawud was such that if a man died or was killed his widow could never remarry. Dawud was the first person for whom Allah made permissible to marry a widow. When Oriya died, or was killed, after the lapse of the period of Iddah (during which remarriage of a woman is no permitted), Dawud asked for that woman’s hand. This was shocking to the soul of Uria as to how Dawud acted like that (breaking traditions).”3

Revelations upon Dawud

According to authentic narrations Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Zabur was revealed to Dawud on the night of the 18th of Ramadhan and it is narrated from the Holy Prophet that Zabur was in the form of a compiled book.

It is mentioned in another hadith of the same Imam that Allah sent a revelation to Dawud, “O Dawud! Why have you gone in seclusion?” He replied, “I remain aloof from others to gain Your pleasure and people also remain away from me.” Allah asked, “Why do you remain silent?” He replied, “My Lord! My being afraid of you has made me silent.” The Lord asked, “Why do you toil so much in worship?” His submission was, “Your love has made me toil endlessly in your worship.” He inquired, “Why do you remain penniless though I have given you ample wealth?” Dawud replied, “The remembering of the rights of your bounties on me has made me like an ever-needy person.” Allah asked, “Why are you so humble?” Dawud replied, “Your limitless Grandeur and Might has made me extremely low before You. Moreover, O My Deity! Only humility is appropriate when I am facing You.” Allah said, “Greetings to you of increases in My Grace and Bounty. When you will come to Me, everything desired by you will be ready for you. So live among the populace and be social to them but keep away from bad deeds so that you may be able to gain whatever you wish from me on the Day of Judgment.”

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that Allah sent revelation to Dawud, “O Dawud! Just rest and taste the sweetness only from My remembrance and enjoy the revealing of your secrets only to Me. I will, very soon, make the world empty of the evildoers and will stamp My condemnation on the oppressors.”

According to yet another tradition Imam said that Allah said through revelation to Dawud, “Just as the sun does not stop raining its rays on the one who sits in its light, My Mercy too is not narrow for the one who wants to enter it. Similarly just as a bad omen does not harm the one who does not care for it, in my sight, on the Day of Judgment, the highest status will hold those who practice humility and lowliness and, in my sight the lowliest will be those who show pride and haughtiness.”

In another authentic hadith the same Imam said, “Allah sent revelation to Dawud that when a servant of Mine does a good deed just to please Me, I make the Paradise admissible for him. Dawud asked what that good deed was? Came the Divine reply, “Any good deed a servant does for My pleasure alone, even if he makes Me happy by merely giving a date to a needy person.” Dawud said, “My Lord! Indeed, this merits even to the one who does not recognize You (has not faith in your lordship divinity and Mercy) that he may not cut off his hope (not get disappointed of your Mercy).”

According to a reliable tradition Imam al-Baqir said, “Dawud told Sulayman, ‘O My Son! Never laugh because laughing much makes one poor on the Day of Judgment. My son! Keeping silent most of the time is better for you, except when you understand that speaking is beneficial to you, because, the humiliation experienced due to silence is better than the humiliation caused by overtalking. My Son! If speech is silver, silence is gold.’”

According to another reliable tradition, it is mentioned regarding the wisdom of the progeny of Dawud that: O Son of Adam! How do you open your mouth for advising others when you yourself have not awakened from the sleep of negligence? O Son of Adam! You woke up in the morning in a state of toughness of heart, neglecting the Grandeur of your Lord. Had you been aware of your Lord’s Greatness and Grace you would certainly have feared His anger and would have put faith in His promises? Woe unto you. Why do you not remember your grave and the impending loneliness and horror?

According to reliable evidence the Holy Prophet has said, “The Almighty sent revelation to Dawud that: Verily if a servant brings to Me a good deed on the Day of Judgment, I will give him the choice to select any place in Paradise so that it may be given to him.” Dawud asked, “My Lord! Who will be that person?” The Lord said, “A faithful who tries to fulfill the need of another faithful, irrespective of whether or not that need is fulfilled.”

In explanation of the holy verse:

And certainly We wrote in the Book after the reminder that (as for) the land, My righteous servants shall inherit it. ( 21:105) ”

It is written in reliable tradition that it means that the Almighty says: “We have written in Zabur, after all that we had written in the scriptures of the earlier Messengers that the earth will be given in charge of our deserving servants, who are al-Qa’im (aj) the family of Muhammad and his companions as a heritage and said that there is information of forthcoming events in Zabur and it contains Glory and Hallowing and Remembrance of the Lord.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Allah sent a revelation to Dawud: Alert your community that whenever a servant of Mine whom I have entrusted any work obeys Me, it becomes incumbent on Me to help him. If he asks anything from Me, I provide it. If he seeks My protection, I protect him. If he wants Me to keep him safe from the evil of his enemies, I give him safety. If he relies on Me, I save him from all calamities. Even if the entire world conspires against him, I remove the adverse effects of that conspiracy from him.

In another hadith it is mentioned that Allah revealed to Dawud that most of my servants maintain mere verbal friendship with one another but they entertain enmity in their hearts.

According to another hadith Allah revealed to Dawud: O Dawud! Remember Me during your happiness so that I may accept your prayers during adversity and said, O Dawud! Befriend Me and also make me popular (beloved) in the eyes of My creation. Dawud replied, “My Lord! I love You. But how can I make You lovely in the eyes of your creation when I have no control over them? The Lord said, Describe My bounties to them so that they may love Me.”

It is mentioned in yet another tradition that Allah revealed to Dawud, “Congratulate (give greetings to) the sinners and frighten the friends.” Dawud said, “My Lord! How can I give good tidings to the sinners despite their evil and how can I frighten (warn) the truthful and the good despite their obedience?” Replied the Lord, “O Dawud! Give good new to the sinners that I am the Forgiver and I pardon the sinners due to My mercy and warn the good-doers that they should not become proud of their good deeds because a servant whom I will bring to account will surely be doomed.”

It is recorded in another reliable tradition from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that it is written in the account of the intelligence of the progeny of Dawud that it is essential for a wise man to be aware of his tongue and to recognize the people of his time and be ever alert to improve himself and to restrain his tongue from talking nonsense.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that once a man in worn and torn clothes was sitting near Dawud who used to visit him often. That man was silent. In the meanwhile the angel of death came to Dawud and saluted him and than looked at that person. He asked its reason from the angel of death who replied, “I have been ordered to take the life of this man on the eighth day (from today) at this very spot. Dawud felt pity for that person. He asked that man, “Young man! Are you married?” He replied in the negative. said, “All right, go to such and such man who is a respected person among the Israelites and tell him that Dawud has ordered him to give his daughter in marriage to you. You must consummate the marriage on the night of marriage. Take whatever money is needed from me. Live with you wife for seven days and come back here on the eight day.” That man conveyed the order of Dawud to that person accordingly who, at once, married his daughter with him. He lived with his wife for seven days and returned to Dawud on the eighth. Dawud asked him how did he passed the last seven days. He replied, “O! Before this I had never experienced so much happiness.” Dawud told him, “All right, sit here.” Then he waited for the angel of death to arrive to retrieve his soul. When the fixed hour passed off and the angel did not come, Dawud asked that man to go back and to live with his wife and to come back after another seven days. He went back and returned after another seven days. The angel did not come even on that day. Dawud again sent that man back home and asked him to come on the eight day. On that day when that man came back, the angel of death also came. Dawud asked the angel about the reason of his not coming to end the life of that man as promised earlier and told him that three weeks had passed since than and he was until then alive. The angel of death replied, “O Messenger of Allah! Allah showered Mercy on him because you had pitied him. He extended his life by thirty years.”

It is reported from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that Allah revealed to Dawud to give good tidings of Paradise to Khalaawaa daughter of Aus and also to inform her that in Paradise she will remain near him. Dawud went to her house and knocked the door. The woman came out and asked whether there was any Divine order about her. Hearing the reply in the affirmative, she asked what it was. Dawud narrated to her the Command of Allah. She asked was there any other woman by the same name as of her? Dawud said, “No. Allah has given good tidings especially to you.” She said, “O messenger of Allah! I cannot ascribe untruth to you. But, by Allah, I do not find any such distinction in me which can be the cause of this great honor.” Dawud said, “Let me know about your personal matters.” She said, “It is only that during every trouble, pain, starvation or any other adversity I did nothing but have been patient and complained to none but only One Allah and asked Him alone to remove my hardship. I remained happy at His will and have been only thankful to Him.” Dawud said, “You got this great status only due to this virtue of yours. This is the very way and the religion which Allah has selected for His good servants.”

It is mentioned in some traditions that there were 150 Surahs (Chapters) in Zabur (Psalms) and it was written therein that: O Dawud! Listen to what I say and whatever I say is the Truth. Anyone who will come to Me with love for Me, I will admit him to Paradise. O Dawud! Hear Me. Whatever I say is Truth. If anyone comes to Me being ashamed of his sins, I will blot out his sins from his scroll of deeds.

It is recorded in another tradition that Allah revealed to Dawud that: O Dawud! Deep distance from those who indulged in worldly affairs and have embraced the material joys and pleasures because there are barriers on their intelligence and wisdom and My Grace and Mercy will not reach them. O Dawud! The one who loves someone, testifies to his (latter’s) word and the one who is fond of his friend accepts his words and likes his character and puts faith on his friend and leaves his affairs to him. The one who longs for his friend rushes swiftly towards him so as to reach him at the earliest. O Dawud! My remembrance is for the one who loves Me and My Paradise is for those who are obedient to Me and My nearness is for those who are fond of Me and I am the Protector of My obedient.

It is mentioned that Allah revealed to Dawud: Tell to such and such king that I did not give him so that he may go on gathering the worldly wealth and enjoy luxuries by sucking the blood of the poor. Rather I had given power and kingdom to him so that he may prevent the cries of the oppressed from reaching Me and so that he may help them. Therefore, I have sworn by Myself to help the oppressed and to take revenge from the one who oppressed them and also from the one who did not help them.

It is narrated that Allah revealed to Dawud: O Dawud! Thank Me as I should be thanked. Dawud said, “My Lord! How can I thank as You deserve to be thanked when my thankfulness is also one of your bounties?” Allah said, “When you have confessed that it is impossible to thank Me as I should be thanked then it itself is the desired thankfulness.”

It is mentioned in another narration that one day Dawud went to a forest alone. Allah asked him through revelation: O Dawud! Why have you adopted aloofness? He replied, “My Lord! My longing to meet You and to worship You overpowered me and it became a barrier between me and your creation.” Allah said, “Go to My creations. If you will guide even one person to My Path I will record your name in the list of my glorifiers in the Preserved Tablet.”

According to another hadith it is mentioned in the Wisdom of Dawud ’s progeny that it is essential for a wise man to remain mindful on four occasions: (1) In one part of the day he should engage himself in praying and worshipping the Almighty, (2) For one hour he must take account of himself to see how may times he obeyed his Lord and on how many occasions he defied His commandments, (3) For a period of time he should fix meetings with faithful brothers who may honestly point out his defects to him and (4) He should spare some time for his own pleasure and this period of time will provide him scope for the other engagements.

It is recorded in reliable sources that in the time of Dawud there was a woman who was being approached by a man who used to force her for adultery. One day Allah put an idea in that woman’s mind and so she told that evil man, “Is there any wonder if, at the time when you are coming to me, some other man may be going to your wife?” Hearing this that man at once returned to his home. He saw that in fact someone else was with his wife. He caught that man and took him to Dawud and complained, “O Prophet of Allah! A calamity has befallen me and perhaps no one else has been struck with such a calamity.” Dawud asked what was it and he said, “I have found this man sleeping with my wife.” Allah revealed to Dawud: “Tell him he is getting the recompense of what he himself is doing.”

It is reported that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that Allah sent revelation to Dawud: If anyone of My servants took shelter in Me to save himself from calamities and relied on none but Me for obtaining bounties and as I know that he is true in his claim (of relying only on Me)- then I will fix for him only that which is beneficial to him even if the earth and the heavens and all in them conspire against him and I will protect him from their evil. And as regards the one about whom I know that he is not relying on Me and has taken shelter in anyone or anything other than Me then surely I will cut off all provisions for him and will make the soil beneath under his feet hard for him and I will not mind in which valley he dies.

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, Allah revealed to Dawud: O Dawud! Tell the oppressors and the tyrants not to remember Me because I remember a servant who remembers Me and when a tyrant remembers Me while torturing others, I curse and condemn him.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam al-Baqir said that there was a worshipper in the time of Dawud and he liked his worship. Allah revealed to Dawud O Dawud! None of this person’s deeds should please you because whatever he does he does it to show it to others. When he died, people came to Dawud to tell him that worshipper had died. Dawud told them, “Go and bury him.” But he himself did not go for the funeral. People of The Israelites did not like this deed of Dawud and wondered why he did not join them in the burial of such a famous worshipper. When they concluded bathing the corpse fifty of them arose and announced that “We have seen nothing but good in this person.” Similarly, fifty men gave witness like this at the time of the burial prayer also. Allah revealed to Dawud asking him why did he not attend the funeral of such and such worshipper? Dawud replied, “Because of the news you gave me about him.” Allah said, “Though it was so, a group of scholars gave witness before Me that he was a good man and I accepted their testimony and overlooked whatever I knew.”

It is narrated in a reliable tradition that Imam al-Ridha, once, in the court of Al-Ma’mun, told Raas al Jalut, the greatest Jewish scholars of the time that Allah has said in Zabur that ‘My Lord! Appoint the one who will establish the Divine Order after nature that is, at a time when no Messenger was appointed for a long time. said, Do you know any messenger who established Sunnah after nature?

Sayyid Tawus has mentioned that he had seen in the second Surah of Dawud’s Zabur that the Almighty revealed, “O Dawud! I appointed you My caliph on earth and made you a Messenger hallowing My Holiness. And in the near future a group will begin to say that My messenger ‘Isa is Allah beside Me, because of a miracle which I will give him whereby he will raise up the dead. O Dawud! Make My creation aware of My Mercy and Kindness which is despite My control over everything. O Dawud! Who is the one whose rope of hope in the creation had been broken; I disappointed him, and who is the one whom I drove away after he had turned toward Me? Then why do you not remember Allah with His Holiness and Sanctity? He is the one who shaped you and who has made you of different races. Why do not establish prayers during day and night? Why do not you, by such worship, repel the sins you had committed against Me? Do you think that you will never die; that the world will exist for you forever? Whereas there are innumerable bounties in Paradise, which are far more than what are available for them in this world, provided you think and realize. And very soon, you will understand when you will come to Me because I am seeing your deeds and know them. Holy is the Allah who is the Creator of Radiance.”

And it is written in the 10th Surah of Zabur: O Men! Do not neglect the Hereafter. This worldly life should not cheat you with its beauty and attractions. O The Israelites! Think over your return to the Hereafter and remember the Day of the Resurrection Day. If you ponder over the punishment fixed by Me for the disobedient, your laughing will decrease and your weeping will increase but you have become careless about your death and you have put aside My promise and have taken My right lightly as if you have not sinned at all and that you are not accountable. How many promises you give and then act contrary to them and how many oaths do you break? If you remember the crush of the grave your talking will decrease and you will remember Me more and will engage in worship more and more. Verily the real perfection is the perfection in the Hereafter and the worldly perfection is changing and ending. Do you not ponder over the creation of the earth and the heavens and all that I have provided therein and which are My signs? Do you not think about the things which are warning you? I have kept the birds balanced in the air while they are singing My Praise and are turning only toward Me for seeking their provision and I am the Forgiver, the Merciful, the Holy and the Creator of Light (Noor).

And it is written in the 17th chapter: O Dawud! Listen to what I say and order Sulayman to make people understand that I will give the earth as inheritance to Muhammad and his Ummah (followers) and they will be different from what you are. Their prayer will not be musical instruments and songs. So recite my Holiness more and more and weep profusely when you raise the song in My sanctification.

O Dawud! Tell The Israelites not to hoard illegal wealth otherwise; I will not accept their prayers. Tell (O Man!) if your father disobeys Me, get away from him and keep aloof even from your brother if he indulges in illegal acts. Describe the story of those two persons (to The Israelites) who lived in the time of Idris. Time for prayer arrived when they were engaged in trading (selling their goods). One of them said, I will sell my merchandise after I finish my prayer. Another said I will pray after the business deals. So one was engaged in prayer and another in trade. Then by My Command wind, rain and lightning destroyed the one who had engaged himself in business at the time of prayer and he was surrounded by darkness. He lost both, trade and prayer and it was inscribed on the gate of his house: “Just see what the world gives to its lover!”

O Dawud! When you see an oppressor whom the world has given a high status, do not long for his position. Surely and doubtlessly, he will get one of the two things: Either I will impose an oppressor on him who will be a greater tyrant than him and who will take revenge from him or I will force him to give the rights of others on the Day of Judgment.

O Dawud! If you happen to see, on the Day of Judgment, those people who had usurped the rights of others, you will surely find shackles of fire around their necks. So always, take account of your deeds and behave justly with all and give up the world and its adornments.

O extremely neglectful man! What will you do with the world in which man goes alive but it drives him out dead. Woe unto you; if you happen to see the Paradise and what I have provided therein for My friends, you will find no taste at all in any of the worldly things. I will call out My friends on the Day of Judgment: “Where are those who had desire for eating and drinking the world but who had given them up just to gain My pleasure? Where are those who had mixed laughing with weeping? Where are those who were gathering in My Mosques in cold and hot seasons? Let them see today how many kinds of bounties I have kept ready for them. I will tell them: You were remaining awake for My worship when others were sleeping. Today whatever you wish is here for you. Doubtlessly your deeds of piety were restringing My anger toward the people of the world. O Rizwaan (angel in charge of paradise)! Give them drinks. When they drink the heavenly drinks, their faces will become more fresh and handsome. Rizwaan will say to them: Allah has given you these bounties because your private parts never touched that which were forbidden to you and you never longed for the position of the rich and the rulers. So I will tell Rizwaan: O Rizwaan! The heavenly bounties which are higher than the worldly wealth and which I have provided for them may now be exposed to them.

O Dawud! Whosoever bargains with me is the trader who makes the most profit. And a businessman who goes after the material world is biggest loser. Woe unto you, O Son of Adam! How stony is your heart! Your parents go on dying and you do not take any lesson from their demise. O son of Adam! Do you not see that an animal dies and the air decomposes it though it had not committed any sin? But if your sins are dumped on a mountain, they will break it into pieces.

O Dawud! I swear by My Grace and Greatness nothing is more harmful to you than your wealth and children and nothing else can make your heart more corrupt. Your noble good deed is high in My sight and My knowledge has covered everything. Holy is the Lord Who has created the Light (Noor).

It is written in the 23rd Surah that: O Sons of dust and dirty water and yet most proud people! You lean towards what has been prohibited for you by Me. So, had you known where the forbidden leads, you would certainly abhor it. Had you seen the women of Paradise fragrant with the heavenly scent who do not have the humanly discomforts, you would never pay attention to the world. Those women of Paradise always remain happy and smiling and they never get angry or agitated. They are immortal and will never die. Despite being repeatedly deflowered by their husbands, they always remain virgin. They are softer than butter and sweeter than honey. Springs of drink and honey flow before their thrones. Woe unto you who you do not realize the great kingdom and the everlasting bounties and untroubled life and eternal happiness and unending affluence which is with Me. Holy is the Lord Who is the Creator of Light (Noor).

And it is written in the 31st Surah (of the Psalms): O People! You are mortgaged to death. So do something for your Hereafter and purchase it in exchange of this world. Do not be like the group of people who wasted their worldly life in negligence and play. Remember that the one who gives me a loan will get back his capital with much profit and the one who gives a loan to Satan will find himself near him in Hell. What has happened to you that you love the world and get away from Truth? Have your imaginations cheated you? What can be the ambition of the one who is created from dust?

O Son of Adam! You will go to Hell if you worship anyone or anything except only one Allah. If you are disgusted with Me, I am also disgusted of you. I do not need your worship until you accept Islam totally and honestly. I am the Winner and the Blameless, the Creator of Noor, the Light.

In the 46th Surah: O Sons of Adam! You have underestimated My right so I will also decrease your right. The hearts and livers of those who eat usury will be torn to pieces in Hell. Whenever you give something to the needy, it reaches Me before the beggar gets it. If that thing is earned from unlawful money, I throw it back on the face of the giver. If it is from lawful earning, I order a palace for him in Paradise. Kingdom, in reality is not the kingdom of this world but it is that of the Hereafter. Holy is the Creator of the Light (Noor).

In the 27th Surah: O Dawud! Do you know why I transformed The Israelites into monkeys and pigs? It was because they used to ignore when a rich person committed a crime and took it lightly but when any poor person erred a little they used to punish him. Therefore, my curse is incumbent on one who gets power in the world and does not deal with justice with both rich and poor. You are obeying your wishes in the world. But where will you escape from Me when you will come to Me alone? How emphatically have I prohibited you from dishonoring the Muslims. But your tongues have exceeded much against the people. The Creator of the Noor (Light) is Sacred.

In the 65th chapter: O Dawud! Narrate to The Israelites about that man whose regime had encircled the entire earth. So much so that when he acquired much power, he became corrupt. He started to remove truth and to raise untruth. He built buildings, constructed forts, gathered wealth. Then I ordered a wasp which entered his party of entertainment and began to sting his face and body and his face swelled, his eyes began to bleed and puss came out from his skin. All of his flesh thinned out and rotted. Nobody was able to approach him due to his stench. He died in the same condition and was buried headless. Were the people to take lesson nobody would have dared to disobey Me. But they are engaged in enjoyment and pastime. So let them remain playing until My Command is issued about them. Sacred is the One who created Light.

- 1. Perhaps, the basket weaving work might have been prior to that of armor making (the time when iron became soft and him). Some people say that his voice was so attractive that when he was reciting Zabur in his prayer niche birds were hovering over his head collectively and forest animals were rushing to him restlessly passing through people so closely that they could be caught by hand. It is also mentioned in many reliable traditions that he was fasting on one day and breaking the fast on the next day, that is, he fasted every alternate day.

- 2. Obviously, Dawud was not unaware of this truth that the knowledge of Allah encircles all the things. Yet he wished to be distinct from all others in his supplication. Since this deed could show the said imagination, the Lord cautioned Dawud that when ‘nothing is hidden from Me it is better to be with others in supplications than the remain alone. Or, perhaps, others would have entertained the aforesaid thought due to the said seclusion of Dawud and therefore, in order to enlighten others made this fact clear so that misunderstanding might be removed. Allah know best.

- 3. It is unusual that a commandment of shari‘ah was to be cancelled during the time of Prophets other then Great Messengers. Perhaps Musa who was a great messenger might have pronounced (in advance) that the said order (rule) would remain effective until the time of Dawud and that it would be cancelled thereafter and that it would be replaced by another order. Or that total cancellation applied only to the Great Messengers. There is no doubt that some minor rules can be changed in the time of another Mursal (apostle). It should also be understood that this is one of the other reasons described in this story. The last reason is in line with hadith and hence the foremost narrated by me in the book Behaarul Anwaar. In short it should be understood that Prophets do not commit a sin. But since the climax of the perfection of human status is the exhibition of extreme humility and lowliness and inability and as this situation cannot rise except through a happening which is undesirable or not preferable (without an intention to oppose), Allah Almighty, sometimes, leaves His messengers and friends to their own. Consequently they indulge in an undesirable act like leaving or giving up the desirable or preferable course so that they may understand it thoroughly and with full certainty that their distinction among others is due to their inerrancy and due to the help of Allah and that their high position is because of Divine Guidance so that after the commitment of such things they may repent and show humility which may further raise their status and position and so that their love for and nearness to Allah may increase. That is why Lord Almighty had told Satan that “You will not gain control over My exclusive servants, except those misguided who would follow him.” Whenever Satan makes them commit a mistake Allah’s Mercy at once comes to their aid and makes them do things against the desires of the devil thereby raising their status and increasing their love for Allah as Allah has said in case of Adam that he (Adam) disobeyed Him and strayed from the right path then Allah made him a chosen one and accepted his repentance and guided him toward His nearness. In this case, He says, after the error committed by Dawud that: We pardoned him because in our sight his nearness and status is high and he turns toward us in a better way. Thereafter He made him His deputy and vicegerent on earth. If one ponders over this matter somewhat deeply one can very well see the strategy behind the existence of the devil who is showing desires in beautiful (attractive) form to the human heart etc. It is quite obvious that the giving up of the preferable (Tark al-Awla) on the part of Adam which resulted in his weeping for three hundred years before Allah was quite purposeful. Though, apparently, he was driven out of Paradise, he was admitted to the heavens of love and nearness and recognition of the Lord consequent to his repentance and humility and weeping etc. Every drop of his tear created fruits in the garden of his love for the Lord. Various flowers grew in the his farm of realization of Allah. Every sigh of his repentance proved to be a torch burning down heaps of sins and mistakes of hundreds of years. He heard the responding voice of ‘Labbaik’ in response of his each and every wailing (from the court of the Almighty). He obtained eternal and everlasting happiness as a reward for every repentance and gloom. Every tear dropping from his profusely weeping eye turned into a shining pearl for his crown of honor and the red water running from his eyes over his face made his status higher and higher. One of the reasons or causes of man’s being superior to the angels is also that, perhaps, perfection is not attained without an error or leaving the preferable. It also happens that, even though no error is committed by them, those who are nearer to Allah show extreme humility and also attribute big mistakes to themselves while praying to the Almighty for attracting Divine Mercy or for desiring a change for the better and or with a view to turn towards people for their guidance stand meekly with humility before their Lord. They repent and wail over their distance from the Lord as is seen, particularly, in the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad. This is a point which calls for a very lengthy explanation but the tongue is tied and the mind has narrowed down. Therefore, It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam Ja’far said that no one ever wept like Adam, Dawud and Yusuf. When Adam was sent out of paradise his stature was so huge that his head was nearing the sky. He went and cried so much that the residents of the heavens felt discomfort due to his wailing and they complained about it to the Lord Almighty who then made Adam’s stature short. Dawud wept so much that grass grew by the river of his tears and he sighed so hot that it again burnt down that grass. Yusuf wept so much because of his separation from his father Ya‘qub that fellow prisoners became restless and they requested him to weep on alternate days.

A Brief Sketch of The Violators of the Sabbath

Allah, the most High says,

“And certainly you have known those among you who exceeded the limits of the Sabbath, so we said to them: Be apes, despised and hated (or separated from everything). (2:65)” “So we made them an example to those who witnessed it and those who came after it and admonition to those who guard (against evil) (2:66)”

Some have said that, it was an example for other cities, which were ahead of it or behind. Some have said that is was a persecution of those people who did wrong things.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has said to be mutilated was the lesson for others, who witnessed them. And those who were born afterwards listened the story from their ancestors, and we also take lesson from these incidents.

Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari has said that Allah changed them into apes as they were disobedient and were hated by others, and kept them away from His bounties. It was a punishment for them and kept the people away from it. It was the lesson for them so that they can be saved from chastisement.

Imam Zayn al-‘abidin has stated that there was a tribe that lived near the seashore. Allah and his apostle told them not to catch fish on Saturday but they disobeyed their commands and prepared holes and tanks and rivulets near the sea so that they can catch fish easily. The fish entered the rivulets and tanks through holes and were caught. And in the evening could not return to the sea and the next day (Sunday) they caught them and said we have not caught you or touched you on Saturday. They were lying. In this way by catching and selling fish, they became very rich and led a luxurious life. They all were about eight thousand in all. About one thousand were doing the work that Allah disliked. Allah says,

“O Muhammad ask them (Jews) about the town which stood by the sea; when they exceeded the limits of the Sabbath, when their fish came to them on the day of their Sabbath on the surface of the sea, and on the day on which they do not keep the Sabbath, they did not came to them We try them because they transgressed.” (7:163)

“And when a party of them said, why do you admonish a people whom Allah would destroy and whom Allah would chastise with a severe chastisement? They said, to be free from blame before your Lord and that happily they may guard (against evil)” (7:164)

Imam said they were three groups among them, one was disobeying Allah and catching fish, a group prevented them from it and the third group remained silent.

Allah, the Exalted also said,

“So when they neglected what they had been reminded of, we delivered those who forbade evil and we overtook those who were unjust with an evil chastisement.” “Therefore when they revoltingly persisted in what they had been forbidden, we said to them; Be (as) apes, despised and hated. (7:165)

Ten thousand people saw their condition that did not care of Allah’s chastisement, left them there, moved to another place, and settled there because they were afraid of chastisement. But at once the Divine chastisement came upon them and they became apes. All the gates of cities were closed no one could go out and no one can enter the city. When the people of other areas heard about it, they came and climbed the wall to see. They saw all males and females were apes and moving around here and there. The people opened the gate and the people who prevented them from evil also entered along with them and asking them whether they were their relatives. But the apes cried and answered them by nodding their heads, “Yes, we are your relatives.” They lived for three days only and Allah sent a heavy rainfall and they all were drowned. From that day Allah, the creator created apes that we see today.

Imam Zayn al-‘abidin said, “This happened due to fish that they all turned into apes, but what will happen to those who killed the grandson and progeny of the Prophet ? Allah has not punished them in the world but a severe chastisement is prepared for the day of judgment. If they had obeyed Allah and His orders for not catching fish on Saturday, they would not have been punished. The people who advised them to prevent from wrath should have also prayed to Allah and He would have accepted their prayer. But they advised them only, and not prayed to Allah and they all became apes. Because Allah has written this in the Protected Tablet.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has stated that Allah ordered the Jews to leave the worldly matters on Friday, but they did not obey His orders. Instead of Friday, they sanctified Saturday. Due to this Allah prohibited them to catch fish on Saturday.

According to another tradition, it is stated that Allah has transmuted a group of The Israelites which vanished into the sea. They have turned into animals, like apes, pigs and many other animals. Some have turned into aquatic animals.

According to ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim Allah gave them ample time to think and they became very rich and said that catching fish on Saturday is good and legitimate for them, but it was prohibited previously. When they started fishing on Saturday, they became wealthy. One day they were asleep and Allah delivered His chastisement. They belonged to The Israelites and inhabited a coastal town. They watered their fields with this water and the fish came in large numbers on Saturday but were not coming on Sunday. The people put their nets in their canals on Saturday. The water became less in ebb of the sea, fish could not return back again to the sea and remained in nets. They caught the fish next day. Some learned men from their community advised them several times but they did not pay attention and all were caught in the chastisement and turned into pigs and apes. For this reason, fishing was prohibited on Saturday. At that time Muslims and non-Muslims considered Friday holy but Jews opposed them and sanctified Saturday. Due to their opposition, they turned into apes and pigs.

Imam al-Baqir has stated that in the book of ‘Ali it is recorded that there was a tribe from Thamud. To examine them Allah dispatched much fish to their doors and it also entered their water tanks and canals every Saturday. Some ignorant people started catching fish. The learned persons prevented them. One day the Satan came to them and said, “Allah has not prevented you to eat fish, He has forbidden to catch them on Saturday and eat on Sunday.” Due to this, people were divided into three groups. The first group said, “We will hunt on Saturday and it is legal.” The second group said, “It is unlawful.” And the third group was quiet. They did not say anything and said to the second group not to advise them. Allah would punish them. The people who advised them often, decided to leave the city that night as they were afraid they would also be held along with them in Divine chastisement. Therefore, they moved to the forest and passed the night. In the morning, they returned to their own city to find the condition of the offenders. When they reached the gates of the city, they found them closed. They knocked the again and again. Instead of humans voices they heard the animal sound. They brought a ladder and a man climbed up to see inside. He saw apes and swine roaming the city.

An account of Sulayman

Merits, Perfections and Miracles of Sulayman

Allah says, “And (We made subservient) to Sulayman, the wind blowing violent, pursuing its course by his command to the land which We had blessed and we are knower of all things: And of the rebellious people there were those who dived for him and did other work besides that; and we kept guard over them;” “And Sulayman was Dawud’s heir, and he said, O men! we have been tangent the language of birds, and we have been given all things; most surely this is manifest grace.” “And (we made) the wind (subservient) to Sulayman, which made a month’s journey in the morning and a month’s journey in the evening and we made a fountain of molten copper to flow out for him; and of the jinn there were those who worked before him by the command of his Lord; and who ever turned aside from Our Command from among them, We made him taste of the punishment of burning. They made for him what he pleased of fortresses and usages, and bowls (large) as watering troughs and cooking pots that will not move from their place; give thanks, O family of Dawud! and very few of My Servants are grateful.” “And certainly We tried Sulayman and we put on his throne a (mere) body, so he turned (to Allah). He said, My Lord! do Thou forgive me and grant me a kingdom which is not fit for (being inherited by) anyone after me; surely Thou art the great Giver. Then We made the wind subservient to him; it made his command to run gently wherever he desired, And the Shaitans, every builder and liver, And others fettered in chains, This is Our free gift, therefore give freely or with hold, with out reckoning.” (38:34-39)

Shaykh Tabarsi has narrated that Shaitans had made for Sulayman a one parasang long platform of gold and silk, and also made a pulpit in middle of the platform full of gold on which he used to sit and around him, there were 3000 chairs of gold and silver. In those days, the Prophets used to sit on golden chairs and Ulama on silver chairs. Around them all humans, Shaitans and jinn stood. Birds shaded them with their wings.

The breeze ‘Saba’ carried it according to the capacity in the sky for one month from morning to evening and for another month from every to morning.

In another tradition, it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that Allah had given the kingdom to Sulayman from East to West. He ruled for 700 years and 7 months. Every man and Jinn, Satan and devil, birds, and wild animals were subservient to his command, and Allah had given him knowledge of each and everything. In his times, amazing and wonderful miracles occurred that were etched is in the memory of the people.1

Sulayman’s army was about 100 parasang (3500 miles long). 25 parasang were human, 25 parasang Jinn, 25 parasang dessert animals, 25 parasang birds. One thousand houses of glass were made above wood. In them 300 wives and 700 slave-girls lived. Sulayman used to order strong winds to lift the house and ordered soft wind to move the house slowly. Therefore Allah revealed to him when he was between heavens and earth, “I have increased your kingship in such a way that if anybody speaks in any part of your kingdom, the wind will make his conversation reach towards you.”

Thalabi narrates that when Sulayman traveled on movable equipments he used to take along his household, his army, his servants, his accountants and his scribes. They used to sit on the roof next to each other at one corner. The kitchen of Sulayman also used to be with him having a large vessel, in which, at a time, 120 camels could be cooked. In front of there was a ground for the quadrupeds, where they used to graze. Chefs were busy in cooking and the artisan busy in their craft. And the horses were tied in front of him and the Basaat was flying. One day he traveled from the outskirts of Shiraz towards Yemen and passed Madinah. Sulayman said, “This is the place of Hijrah of the Last Prophet, what a good person is he who will believe in him and follow him.” When he was passing from Makkah he saw idols around the Ka‘bah.

On seeing Sulayman, Ka‘bah started weeping. Allah asked Ka‘bah why it was weeping? The Ka‘bah said, “O creator! One of Your Prophet and his people passed me, neither did they stop nor performed prayers near me. And the polytheists have kept idols around me.” Allah said, “Do not lament. Very soon I will fill your land with worshippers and will reveal Qur’an. And in the last era send a Prophet who is above all other Prophets. And I will appoint a large group make hajj compulsory on them so that they come towards you from different parts of the world as the birds return to their nests. And in a way that she-camel cares for her young one, I will clean and purify you from idols and idol worshippers.” It is narrated that when Sulayman became the king after his father he ordered for a very rare and beautiful throne, so that he sits on it and give judgment. And the false witness and wrong doer would get scared from coming near it. The throne was made of ivory, and rubies, emeralds and different types of jewels were fixed on it. Four golden chandeliers with bunches of red rubies and emeralds were fixed around it. And on two of them were fixed two golden peacocks on opposite pair were golden vultures. On both sides, two golden lions were fixed. On its head was mace of emerald color, and around it was a tree of Red grapes and its bunches of red rubies. The branches of grapes shaded the seat.

Whenever Sulayman went to sit on the throne, the first step on the stairs made the seat roll out, the vulture, the peacock fluttered their wings, and the lion kept all its four legs on ground touching the stomach and wagged their tails. So as he climbed the steps the action was performed by these things, until Sulayman seated himself. Then the vultures kept the crown on his head and the throne along with trees and birds used to circle and the birds showered Musk and Amber on him. The pigeon, which was made of gold and jewels would convey and give Sulayman Torah and Sulayman recited it before the people. Then people used to enter and the nobles of The Israelites sat on his right on golden chairs. The birds shaded them with their wings. Then if there was litigant entered or if someone was summoned by Sulayman, the throne rotated and all the things performed their motions in such tandem that the person would be baffled. Thus, they could not say anything but truth.2

According to Imam as-Sadiq images that are associated with Sulayman as mentioned by Allah in Qur’an were not human images. They were images of trees and similar things.

According to correct chain of narrators, it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that Sulayman’s kingdom was from the city Istakhar to Damascus.3

According to a reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Musa ibn Ja‘far that Allah had not raised any Prophets, but he was from intellectuals. And some Prophets were more perfect than others. Sulayman was made Caliph and Prophet after he was tested by Dawud. When Sulayman became the caliph he was thirteen years old, and his rulership was for forty years. When Dhu’l-Qarnayn became the king, he was only twelve years old and he ruled for 30 years.

It is narrated that people asked Imam as-Sadiq regarding the ayah “O! sons of Dawud be thankful.” Imam said, “Progeny of Dawud consisted of eighty males and seventy females and none of them had even a slight difference in their worship. After Dawud, Sulayman became king, he said, “O people! Allah, has taught me the language of birds, and has made people and Jinn my followers.” Whenever Sulayman heard of any other king land he used to take his army and put him under his control and also made them follow his religion. Allah made the wind subservient to Sulayman. Whenever he was present in a gathering, birds would shadow him with their wings and humans and jinn would line up to serve him.”

Whenever he use to go with his army for a war, at the edge of the Basaat a wooden place was prepared for him. And on that platform weapons, army, animals and other necessary things were made available. Then Sulayman would order the strong winds to go beneath the platform and lift it up and would take it to whichever place he wanted. It would fly in the mornings for a month and then in the evening for one month.

According to trustworthy and correct chain of narrators it is narrated from ‘Ali, that one day Sulayman came out of Jerusalem and sat on his platform. On his right were 300000 people on chairs and on the left 300000 jinn. And according to the order of Sulayman, birds had shadowed all of them. Sulayman ordered the wind, and it lifted the platform and brought it to Madyan. Then lifted from Madyan and waited the whole night at outskirts of Shiraz. In the morning, it flew to the island of Bargaawan. Then according to order of Sulayman it flew at such a low level that the legs were touched the water. Some of them remarked that people had never seen such a kingship before. An angel called out from the heavens, “O people! If one says Subhanaallah with sincerity, it is greater and than this kingship.”

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that Sulayman had a fort built by jinn. It had a thousand rooms, and in each and every room, there was a wife. Three hundred by Marriage and seven hundred were Egyptian slave girls. Allah had given Sulayman power equal to forty men. Sulayman came to his women every day and night and fulfilled their desires. Sulayman had ordered the Shaitans to transport stones from one place to another. Iblis came to them and asked, “What is your condition?” All of them replied, “Our strength has vanished.” He said, “When you carry the stones, do you return back without any load?” They said, “Yes!” He said, “Then you comfortable at that particular moment.” The wind conveyed this conversation to Sulayman. Sulayman ordered when the Shaitans carry the stones to the appointed place they should carry an equal amount of mud from there and put it where they had lifted the stones. Iblis again asked of their condition. They all said that the condition has deteriorated. He asked them, “Do you not sleep at night?” “Why not?” they replied. Iblis said, “Then you are comfortable at night.” The wind again carried the conversation to Sulayman. Sulayman said, “Now they should work day and night.” In this way, a few years passed, then Sulayman passed away from this world.4

According to a reliable tradition from Imam al-Ridha an old woman came to Sulayman and complained about the wind. Sulayman called the wind and asked why it caused harm to this old lady. Wind said, “Allah had ordered me to save the ship from sinking. There was a ship about to sink so I came up with strength to save the people on the ship. This old woman was on the roof. She fell and broke her hand (so what is my fault)?” Sulayman prayed, “O Allah what judgment shall I pass?” It was revealed, “Order the people of the ship to compensate for this woman. As wind had gone to save them, but from My side there is no injustice inflicted.” (Therefore, compensation should be from the side of the people of the ship).5

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that Sulayman; due to worldly kingship (as per his wish) will be the last among Prophets to enter heaven.

In another reliable tradition it is said that the first person who weaved the cloth of Ka‘bah was Sulayman. Sulayman with human, Jinn and birds along with wind went for hajj. At that time, the cloth was Egyptian. And in one tradition, it is explained that Sulayman was born circumcised.6

Sulayman’s ring had the following inscription: “Purified is the Lord! Who has controlled the jinn with His words.”

In another reliable tradition it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that one night ‘Ali after sleeping for some time woke up and came out in the courtyard of his house and said, “Your Imam has come to you wearing the dress of Adam, ring of Sulayman and (holding) the staff of Musa.”

It is narrated that one day Sulayman with his grandeur and dignity passed by a worshipper of The Israelites. The worshipper said, “O Son of Dawud I swear by Allah, Allah has given you this kingship.” The wind took the conversation to Sulayman. Sulayman replied, “I swear by Allah! One action of a believer- a word (SubhanAllah) and its reward is much better than the kingship of the son of Dawud, because whatever is given to him will one day be useless and the reward of this Tasbih will remain forever.”

It is narrated that every morning Sulayman used to pass by rich people and when he was passing by poor, he used to sit down with them and say: One needy is sitting with another needy person. Although he was a king he wore a soft dress and at night tied his hand to his neck and stand like this until morning, weeping. He used to weave baskets and sell in the market and by that, he earned his livelihood. He had asked for kingship so that he may conquer the kings of the world and bring them into the fold of Islam (And make them obedient towards Allah).

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated that a person came to Imam Muhammad al-Taqi and said, “People talk about the your age and say how a child of nine years can become an Imam?” Imam said, “Allah revealed to Dawud to make Sulayman his caliph and Sulayman was a child and a shepherd. Sulayman became a Caliph but intellectuals and common people of The Israelites did not accept him. Then it was revealed to Dawud to collect the branches of Sulayman and others in a room and ask them to lock the room. ‘And you also put a lock. Next day you open and see the are which has leaflet. That person will be My Caliph.’ When Dawud informed them of divine command they were happy with this judgment and worked out accordingly. Then a leaflet was found on the staff of Sulayman. Then they accepted the successorship of Sulayman and became obedient to him.”

In a reliable tradition it is narrated that a person asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq how Shaitans go towards heavens although they are creatures and unclean like humans. And if they are not so, how did they work for Sulayman? And worked harder than human could? Imam said, “The body of Shaitans are pure and their food is air. And due to this they move towards heavens but when Allah made them obedient to Sulayman He made their body pure (full of Matter) and fat so that they are able to work.”

According to a reliable tradition ‘Ali bin Yaqtin asked Imam Musa al-Ka¨im whether it was allowed for (any) Prophet of Allah to be stingy. Imam said, “No.” Then he again asked as to how Sulayman prayed to Allah to forgive him and give him such a kingdom that after him none should have it?” Imam said, “Kingship is of two types, one which is achieved by tyranny and oppression and another from Allah, like progeny of Ibrahim, Talut, Dhu’l-Qarnayn’s kingship. Sulayman had said, ‘O Allah give me the kingship, after me which is not achievable by tyranny and oppression,’ so that people think that kingship of Sulayman was above the capacity of human beings and it was a miracle and it proved his truthfulness and his Prophethood. But Sulayman did not mean that Allah should not give Prophets and successors the kingship in a proper way. Allah made wind obedient to him and it took him wherever he commanded. And every day it traveled a distance of two months. Allah also made Shaitans obedient to Sulayman so that they built structures for him and also dived for pearls. Allah also gave him knowledge of the languages of birds so that people think that during his period of kingship and after him the kingship is not similar with those kings who oppress and conquer the people?”

Imam said, “I swear by Allah whatever Allah bestowed to Sulayman is given to us also. And whatever was not given to Sulayman and others, like power and strength is given to us. Allah says regarding Sulayman, “O Sulayman this kingship is given to you without any accountability and you are free whether you give it to anybody or preserve it.” But for Muhammad Allah said, “(O Muslims) whatever Prophet gives you keep it and from whatever he stops you, refrain from it.” Complete command of world and hereafter is given only to the Prophet from Arabia.”7

In a reliable tradition it is narrated that people asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, “Did Allah give Sulayman whatever he had asked in this Ayat?” Imam said, “Yes, and after him none was given such a kingdom. But Allah bestowed the Last Prophet with all this. He conquered the Satan and its neck was tied to a pillars of mosque and pulled in such a way that his tongue came out.” Then Imam said, “If I hadn’t in mind the Dua of Sulayman I would have shown it to you.”

Ibn Babawayh in a reliable chain of narrators narrates from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when Allah revealed to Dawud to appoint his Caliph, the people of The Israelites created hue and cry and said, “How could a child become our Caliph although we are much older than him?” When Dawud heard this, he called the chief of the Israelites and said, “I am aware of whatever you say regarding the successorship of Sulayman. You all bring your sticks and everyone should write their names on their sticks. We will keep the sticks along with the staff of Sulayman at night in a room. In the morning, we will take them out. Whosever’s staff has a leaflet and a flower will be rightful for successorship.” The people agreed and sticks were kept in a room and the Israelites guarded it. In the morning Dawud finished his prayers, opened the door and took out sticks. The Israelites saw that Sulayman’s staff had a green leaflet and so they were content with his successorship. Then Dawud examined Sulayman before The Israelites. He asked, “O Son! What is it that is very cold and sweet?” Sulayman said, “Allah who forgives the sins of this servants and people overlooking each others mistake and crimes.”

Again Dawud asked, “O Son! What is most sweet?” He replied, “Love and friendship and this is a Mercy of Allah between them.” After listening Dawud smiled and became happy and said to people of The Israelites. “After me he is the Caliph among you.” After this Sulayman used to keep his matters secret and married a woman. And for few years he was hidden from his friends (Shi‘ah). His wife said to him one day, “May my parents be sacrificed on you. By your good behavior and habit, you do not make me uncomfortable except that your expenses are upon my father. Go to the market and get sustenance; and I hope that Allah will not make you hopeless.” Sulayman said, “By Allah I haven’t work in this world nor I know anything.”

Then he went to the market and searched for work the whole day, but could not get anything. Everyday he came back and said, “I couldn’t get anything today.” The wife said, “Doesn’t matter tomorrow you will get it.” Next day again this was repeated. Again, the wife consoled. On the third day, he reached the river bank and saw a person fishing. He said to him, “Shall I help you and in return of two fishes?” The man agreed. So Sulayman helped him in catching the fish. The fisherman gave him two fishes as his wage and Sulayman thanked Allah. When he cut open the fish, he found a ring in its stomach. He kept it aside and thanked Allah. Then he cleaned the fish and brought it home. The wife became very happy and said, “I wish to call my parents and show them that you have worked hard and earned sustenance.” The fish was cooked and Sulayman called his in-laws and they ate from the fish. Sulayman said to them, “Would you recognize me?”

They said, “No, we haven’t seen you at all.” Sulayman took out the ring and wore it. At that moment, all the birds and jinn came to him and became obedient to him acknowledging his kingship. He brought his wife along with her parents to the city Istakhar and all his Shi‘ahs gathered around him and became very happy. Their difficulties of his absence vanished. He ruled for a long period. When the day of death approached, he appointed Asif bin Barkhiya by the order of Allah as his successor. His followers always referred to Asif and solved their problems. Asif was hidden by Allah from them for a very long period. Then again, he appeared and stayed with them for a long time. Then Asif did farewell to them. They asked him when they were going to meet him again. He said, “On the day of judgment near Sirat.” And so he vanished, and in his disappearance, the people of The Israelites were inflicted with many calamities and a person named overpowered them and oppressed them in every way.

Shaykh Tabarsi in Amali narrates from the same Imam that when the kingship of Sulayman was taken away he came out of the city and became guest of one of an old man. He welcomed Sulayman and behaved in an excellent manner with him and also respected him a lot. Then he married his daughter to Sulayman. One day his wife said to Sulayman, “Your behavior and morals are so high but only thing is that your expenses are upon my father.” Sulayman thought of it and one day he reached the river and helped a fisherman. The fisherman gave him a fish and he found the ring in it and again he regained his throne.

It should be clear that there is a great differences between Shi‘ah and Sunni in this regard. Allah says in Qur’an,

And We gave to Dawud Sulayman, most excellent the servant! Surely, he was frequent in returning (to Allah). When there were brought to him in the evening (horses) still when standing, swift when running. (38:30-31)

It is narrated that Sulayman received a thousand horses from Dawud in legacy. Some say they were domesticated horses that were taken out from river for Sulayman .

Then he said: Surely I preferred the good things to the remembrance of my Lord — until the sun set and time for Asr prayer was over, (he said): Bring them back to me; so he began to slash (their) legs and necks. And certainly We tried Sulayman, and We put on his throne a (mere) body, so he turned (to Allah)..” (38:32-34)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim under the explanation of this ayah says that Sulayman was very much inclined towards the horses. And again and again asked them to be showed to him. One day, while inspecting the horses he got so much involved that the Sun set and his Asr prayers were missed, and due to this, he became very much sad and annoyed on himself. Then he prayed to Allah to return the Sun back so that he can fulfill his prayers. The sun returned and he completed his prayers. Sulayman called for the horses and with a sword cut off their necks and legs until all they were finished. As Allah had said in the above verses.

In the account of the examination of Sulayman, it is mentioned that when Sulayman married a tall woman and she bore a child. Sulayman used to love the child very much. The angel of death frequently visited Sulayman and used to eye the child. Sulayman feared and said to the mother of the child that the angel of death eyes this child in a harsh manner. “I fear that he is about to take his soul.” So he asked jinn and shaitans if they knew of a way to save his life? One of them said, “I shall hide him at the spring of the Sun in the East.” Sulayman said that the Angels of death reached every corner of the earth. Another said, “I shall take him into the atmosphere and hide him in a cloud.” The angel of death captured his soul in the atmosphere and threw his dead body on the throne of Sulayman. At that time, Sulayman realized that he had committed a mistake. He sought divine forgiveness and prayed that Allah give him such a kingdom as none have it.

He said: My Lord! do Thou forgive me and grant me a kingdom which is not fit for (being inherited by) anyone after me; Then We made the wind subservient to him; it made his command to run gently wherever he desired, And the shaitans, every builder and diver, And others fettered in chains. This is Our free gift, therefore give freely or withhold, without reckoning. And most surely, he had a nearness to Us and an excellent resort. (38:35-40)

And these were few shaitans that Sulayman had imprisoned and tied them with one another because they had disobeyed him. Then the kingship was taken away from him.

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that the kingship of Sulayman was hidden in the ring by Allah. Whenever he used to wear it the Jinn, human, birds and animals obeyed him. Then he used to sit on the throne and Allah would send a wind which would take him for a ride along with all Jinn, human and Shaitans, birds, quadrupeds wherever Sulayman wanted. In this manner, Sulayman used to recite morning prayers in Damascus and Zahra in Persia. And he would order Shaitans to pick up stones from Persia to Damascus and there he use to sell them. When he killed the horses, Allah took away the kingdom from him.

Whenever Sulayman would go for answering nature’s call, he would remove the ring and give it to one of his servants. One day the Shaitans fooled the servant and took away the ring and wore it themselves. At the same moment all jinn, humans, Shaitans, birds and animals came to his presence and obeyed his orders. When Sulayman came out of the toilet, he could not find his ring and saw that the kingship was taken away. So he left that place and came at the shore of the river. People of The Israelites saw the behavior of Satan which was different from Sulayman (but he had changed his face to Sulayman’s face and was also claiming to be Sulayman) and had a doubt. And people came to the mother of Sulayman and said, “Do you observe the behavior of your son, how he had changed.”

She said, “He was very good and very obedient to me but now he opposes me.” Then they asked the wives and slave girls of Sulayman. They said Sulayman never fulfilled his desire when they were in menstruation, now he did so.” So the Satan was frightened and said to him, “It should not happen that this secret become apparent and I get caught, so he threw the ring into the river and ran away.” Allah commanded a fish to swallow the ring. People of The Israelites were anxious for forty days and were searching for Sulayman. Sulayman walk to the shore seeking Allah’s forgiveness. After forty days, he met a fisherman and they agreed that if he helped him in fishing, he would be paid. So he started fishing with the fisherman.

He gave a fish to Sulayman. When he cut open the fish, he found the ring inside. He took it out and wore it. At that moment all Shaitans, Jinn, human etc. came together. So Sulayman sat in his palace and caught the Satan along with his army and imprisoned them. From them few were imprisoned between water and some between stone in the name of Allah. And they all will be imprisoned like this and chastised until day of judgment When Sulayman came back to his kingdom. He reprimanded Asif bin Barkhiya his prime minister and in whose favor Allah has said in the book that some knowledge is given to him, and he had also brought the throne of Bilquis with a blink of an eyelid in front of Sulayman. Sulayman said to him, “I consider people helpless because they do not understand Satan whereas how come I forgive you because you knew and recognize Satan.”

Asif replied, “I swear by Allah I know the fish which had swallowed your ring, and all its ancestors but it was Allah’s order. The Satan told me to write edicts as I wrote for you but I said my pen shall not write anything unjust so he told him to sit quiet. I therefore kept quiet. But O Sulayman! Why do you befriend the hoopoe. Although it is a wretched and smelly bird. Sulayman said, “Because it sees water beneath the stone. But a trap under of handful of dust is not seen by it and it gets trapped. Whenever any affair is destined, you become blind. The tradition of ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim ends.

Sunnis narrate that there is a city is in the middle of the sea. Sulayman arrived with his army is on the wind to this city. He conquered that city and killed the King. He had a daughter, very beautiful and glamorous and her name was Khabrawa. He made her a Muslim and married her. Sulayman loved her very much. Khabrawa wept for her father much so Sulayman ordered Satan to make an image of her father. Khabrawa made different kind of dress for her father’s image. Every morning and evening, she took along with her maids, and they all prostrated in front of the image. Asif informed Sulayman regarding this. Sulayman broke the idol and punished that woman. Then he sat on ground and started weeping. Sulayman had a slave girl, Amena. Whenever he went to toilet took off the ring and hand it over to her. One day when he went a Satan the leader of the Shaitans of Sea came with the face of Sulayman and took the ring from her and went and sat on the throne. All jinn, humans and animals obeyed him. Sulayman face was changed. When he came to Amena and asked for the ring, she did not recognize him and scolded him and pushed him away.

Sulayman thought that it is due to the sin which was performed in his house by his wife (idol worship). Sulayman went to his slave girls and wife but they did not recognize him and pushed him away. Sulayman came out and went towards the sea and started working with a fisherman on daily wages. He use to carry fish to their houses and in return he get two fishes everyday. Forty days passed, which was equivalent to forty days of idol worship in his house. When Asif and people of The Israelites saw the manner of Satan different from the behavior of Sulayman they asked the wives. They said that he was coming to them even in their periods and not even performed Ghusl afterwards. Some said that the order of Satan was accomplished by others except the wives. He could not control the wives.

Afterwards the Satan threw the ring into the river and it was found by Sulayman in the fish. He wore it and once again, the kingship returned to him. So he captured the Satan and imprisoned him between two stones and lowered him into the sea. This saying of Allah refers that we examined Sulayman and put one body on his chair. This body refers to the body of Satan which had attained the face of Sulayman and had sat on his chair These two traditions are rejected by all Shi‘ah Ulama and theologians and said that Sulayman was Prophet of Allah. He is safe and pure from such sort of sins, as he is away from prayers and without any fault detaches the necks of horses and cut their legs. Nor is Prophethood or kingship is attained by a ring that he wore. And if Satan has such power that they change their faces to Prophets then definitely there would not have been any sort of reliability on their saying.

Secondly, if Satan is so powerful on the friends of Allah then definitely he would not have allowed anyone of them in this earth to be alive. He would have burned their books. He would have destroyed their houses and he would have accomplished all the action which is performed against an enemy. And how is it possible that Allah gives such strength to a Kafir so that he overcomes the Prophets. And also touches their wives. Fourthly if idol worship was due to the permission and satisfaction of Sulayman then how is a Kafir and Kufr is allowed for Prophet of Allah. And if idol worship was without his permission, then what is the fault of Sulayman so that he is to be punished. It should be clear that under the interpretation of this ayah Shi‘ah researchers have narrated lot of reasoning. And some of them we discuss so that the doubts of people are cleared (Author).

Regarding horses and causing prayers to be missed. There are few reasons to it.

Firstly, Ibn Babawayh in his book Man laa Yahzarul Faqeeh according to correct chain of narrators relates from Zurarah and Fadhl ibn Yasaar that both went to Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and asked about the tafsir of this ayah.

Surely prayer is a timed ordinance for the believers. (4:103)

Imam said ‘Manqoot’ means compulsory, and Wajib, this does not mean that time of prayers helplessly leaves or prime time is passed and prayers are recited. For then it becomes void. If it would have been so, then Sulayman ibn Dawud would have been destroyed because his prayers (in its timing) was left. (Rather it is so) that if one forgets and when he remembers it, he can recite. So ibn Babawayh after this tradition notes that the ignorant of Sunnis says that one day Sulayman was busy in examining the horses, the sun was set, so he ordered the horses to be presented. Then he cut off their necks and legs and said that these horses had made me forgetful of Allah. As they say it is not so because their lies no fault of the horses because they themselves did not approach Sulayman. They were animals. And the correct reason is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that one day Sulayman was busy in inspecting the horses and the sun set so he asked angels to bring back the sun so that he recites prayers on time. Then the angels brought the sun back. Sulayman rubbed his head and shin of (lower legs) and necks and in his shari‘ah it was so. Then Sulayman arose and performed his Salat. When he finished, the sun set and the stars were visible. This is what Allah has said in His saying. “And he did (slash) Masah of shin and necks.”

Second reason is that in both the cases it should be regarding horse means that took the horses away until they disappeared from the eyes of Sulayman then he gave the orders, then they were brought. Then put his hand on their mane and legs and washed their mane (long hair at the back of the neck of a horse) so that, his befriending them is like jihad in front of Allah and it is very much praised worthy and it is said, “I showed love towards horses because they are with me in the remembrance towards Allah or due to reason that I befriend them in Jihad, and not to satisfy my soul.”

Third reason is this that in the sun returned and in second case towards horse. Means he inspected the horses to such extent that the sun set. And due to this reason he ordered the horses to be brought back and cut off their necks and legs. It was not due to punishment rather to give away their flesh in the way of Allah and thereafter none of the reminder towards Allah have any kind of obstacle, or it is so that as though they were Sulayman most nearest wealth (in terms of love) and giving sadaqah of the most beloved is an esteem position, so he slaughtered them and distributed their meat. And this was the Tark al-Awla which was committed by Sulayman. Or it might be that he gave massage to horses and did not kill them rather freed them in the way of Allah so that those who wanted can take them.

And regarding Sulayman’s examination and calamities and the flesh which was found on his chair few reasoning are explained.

1st reason is that one day Sulayman was sitting on his throne and said that tonight I will meet 70 women and each will give birth to a son, who will fight in the way of Allah, but he did not say Inshallah and due to this except one woman who became pregnant none gave birth to son and he was too deformed. That son was brought and kept on his throne. At that particular moment, Sulayman thought and it is so because he has done Tark al-Awla and had not said Inshallah and so he went to the His Lord and repented and started seeking forgiveness.

Second reason is this that, when a son of Sulayman was born, Jinn and Shaitans decided that if he lives he will take from them hard work like Sulayman. So Sulayman was frightened that someone might torture him, so he left him at a place where he was fed and received training. But one day he found him dead on his throne. And so he got reprimanded that it is of no use to run from destiny. And he has to face it. So he repented and was ashamed why he had not believed in Allah and was frightened from Shaitans.

Thirdly Sulayman suffered from a severe disease and he fell down from the throne, as if there wasn’t any soul in his body. So he prayed and cried that Allah cure him. There are those reasoning that Shi‘ah Ulama and others have narrated under the interpretation of this ayah. And whatever was explained by ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim was rejected. And the first two tradition which Ibn Babawayh and Shaykh al-Tusi have narrated do not mention betrayal of Satan. It is possible that by such examination Allah promised the nation of Sulayman and himself which Sulayman had been punished as the act he performed and due to which for a certain period his kingship was taken away and he had disappeared from his nation. And again by the order of Allah he returned as mentioned earlier that many Prophets had disappeared from their nation and returned later. The ring was not the cause for kingship. Except Allah none knows as He is having knowledge of it.

Sulayman passes through the valley of ants; Miracles of Sulayman related to animals and birds

Allah says in Qur’an,

“And his hosts of the jinn and the men and the birds were gathered to him, and they were formed into groups. Until when they came to the valley of the Naml, a Namlite said, O Naml! enter your houses, (that) Sulayman and his hosts may not crush you while they do not know. So he smiled, wondering at her word, and said, My Lord! Grant me that I should be grateful for Thy favor which Thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I should do good such as Thou art pleased with, and make me enter, by Thy mercy, into Thy servants, the good ones.” (27:17-19)

Some say that this valley is situated in Taif and some say it is in Damascus.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim have narrated that when the wind raised the throne of Ibrahim and reached the field of ants from where silver and gold comes out, as Imam as-Sadiq said, “There is one valley of Allah where silver and gold is grown and He has protected it with it weakest creatures like ants and if a powerful army wants to enter, it cannot do so.”

Ibn Babawayh according to reliable chain of narrators narrates from Imam as-Sadiq that when an ant conversed with others the wind took their conversation to Sulayman at a time when he was in the air. Sulayman asked the strong wind to stop and called out to the ant. It came to Sulayman. He said, “Don’t you know that I am Prophet of Allah and I do not oppress anybody.” Ant said, “Yes I know.” Sulayman said, “Then why did you scare others from me and ordered then to enter their holes.” Ant said, “I was scared that when their vision falls on you they will become fascinated at the beauty of this world and will be away from Allah.” The ant asked Sulayman, “Who is more honorable, you or your father, Dawud?” Sulayman said, “My father is much more esteemed and honorable than me.” Ant said, “Then why is it so that your name has one more alphabet than your father’s name?”

Sulayman said, “I don’t know.” Ant said, “Because your father did Tark al-Awla and due to that he had a injury in his heart and we cured it with the love of Allah and due to this he was called Dawud and as you are protected from this injury you are called Sulayman and the injury of your father was due to perfection and hope you will also attain the perfection.” Then the Ant asked, “Do you know why wind is made obedient to you among other creatures.” Sulayman said, “I do not know.” Ant said, “Because you should know that your kingdom will be destroyed and not rely on it and if Allah the knower of this world had made everything obedient to you then everything of this world would has escaped your prison like a wind escapes from one’s hand.” Sulayman smiled at the ant.

O friends! Pay attention to the Lord’s Grace and Generosity which He bestows to His friends and also understand how generous He is. And also through which source He makes them cautious, and in what manner He advises them. He made ant an advisor to Sulayman despite his great position so that ant of pride do not become obstacle to the honor and majesty of Sulayman. And that he should always consider himself lowly before the Almighty Allah.

Therefore, in two reliable traditions it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that one day Sulayman went to the desert with Jinn and men to pray for rain. He saw a limping ant had spread its limbs on the ground and raising its hands towards heaven was saying, “O Lord! We are Your creatures and in need of Your Sustenance. Do not punish and destroy us due to the inequities of the sons of Adam. And send rain for us.” Sulayman told his companions, “Let us go back, somebody else’s intercession has been accepted for you.” According to another report he said, “You have got rain due to the bounty of others.”

According to reliable chain it is narrated from Imam Zayn al-‘abidin that ringlet which is on the head of Ababeel (swallow) and ruddy goose is due to the patting of Sulayman. One day that a male bird wanted to mate. The female did not agree. He said, “Do not stop me I just desire that a son should be born that will praise Allah.” She accepted. When she was about to lay the egg, the male bird asked where she intended to lay it. She said far from the roadside. The male said that you lay it near the road “so that if anyone sees you he would not think that are laying egg think that you have come to feed.” So she laid the eggs at the side of road and sat on it. When the time of hatching of egg approached, all of a sudden the entourage of Sulayman came with full dignity and honor. Birds had shadowed him. Female bird said to the male, “See the army of Sulayman is approaching, they will break my egg.” Male said, “Sulayman is Merciful. Have you hidden anything for your young ones? She said, “Yes, a few Locusts.” She asked, “Have you also hidden something for the young ones.” He replied, “Yes, few dates which I have saved from you.” The female replied, “You take your dates and I will take Locust and then sit on the way of Sulayman and offer him these things as gift because he likes Locust much.” They reached with their gifts. When Sulayman saw them, he stretched his right hand where male perched and on the left perched the female. asked them of their condition and they replied. Then he accepted their gifts and turned the army to another side of the road so that no harm may come to their eggs. Then he softly patted their head and by its bounty, there appeared a ringlet.

In another tradition, it is said that daily expenses of Sulayman were seventy million. One day an aquatic animal emerged from the water and said, “O Sulayman feed me one day.” Sulayman ordered, and one month’s provision of the army was collected at the shore, which was as high as a mountain. The fish took out her head and gulped all the food at once, and said, “O Sulayman! This much is not sufficient even for a day.” Sulayman was surprised and asked, “Are there other animals in the sea like you?” She replied, “There are a thousand species like me.” Sulayman said, “Glory be to Allah the Great King.”

In another tradition, it is said that one day a male bird said to his female, “Why are you stopping me from fulfilling my desire? If I want I can pick the dome of Sulayman’s palace my beak and throw it in the river.” The wind carried this conversation to Sulayman. He smiled and ordered them to be brought to him. Sulayman asked the male bird, “This thing which you have claimed, can you do it practically?” It said, “No, but man shows his wife such a dream and puts it in front of her in such a magnificent manner to prove his greatness. And whatever a lover says is not condemned or insulted.” Sulayman asked the female bird she was stopping him in fulfilling his desire, although he claimed to be her lover? Female said, “O Messenger of Allah, he doesn’t befriend me, he is lying, rather he loves someone else.” When Sulayman heard this, he was moved and he wept. He did not leave his house of worship for forty days and continuously prayed, “O Allah, remove from them the love of others and limit it to their own love.”

In another tradition, it has come that one day Sulayman heard a male bird saying to his female, “Come near me so that I fulfill my desire with you. Allah might bestow us with a young one, who will worship Allah now that we have become old. Sulayman was surprised by this conversation and said that “the good intention of those birds is better than my kingdom.”

One day a nightingale was singing and dancing. Sulayman said, “She is saying that after consuming half a date she doesn’t care whether this world remains or not.”

According to Sulayman the dove says, “Alas! This creature wouldn’t have been born.” The Peacock says, “Whatever you do you will get in return.” The hoopoe said says, “Mercy is not shown to those who are nor merciful themselves.” Then shrike says, “O sinful people! Repent and seek forgiveness.” Parrot says, “One day a living being will die and old will change to new…”

Account of Sulayman and Bilquis

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that when Sulayman sat on the throne the birds specially appointed by Allah used to shadow him and all those who were near his throne. One The hoopoe (Wood pecker) was absent and because of its absence, the Sun rays fell on Sulayman. So he raised his head and looked towards the vacant place and found the hoopoe missing. As Allah says in Surah Naml,

And he reviewed the birds, then said: How is it I see not the hoopoe or is it that he is of the absentees? I will most certainly punish him with a severe punishment, or kill him, or he shall bring to me a clear plea. And he tarried not long, and then said, I comprehend that which you do not comprehend and I have brought to you sure information from Sheba. Surely, I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given abundance and she has a mighty throne. I found her and her people adoring the sun instead of Allah, and the Satan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them and thus turned them from the way, so they do not go aright That they do not make obeisance to Allah, Who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and the earth and knows what you hide and what you make manifest. Allah, there is no Allah but He. He is the Lord of mighty power. He said, We will see whether you have told the truth or whether you are of the liars. Take this my letter and hand it over to them, then turn away from them and see what (answer) they return.” (27:20-27)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that The hoopoe said that (Bilquis the queen of Saba) is sitting on a big throne and I cannot reach the throne. Sulayman said that you throw this letter from the top of the tomb. The hoopoe returned and through the chandeliers of the Bilquis dropped the letter on her lap. She read the letter and was frightened and collected the chief of the army as Allah has said,

“She said, O Chief! Surely an honorable letter has been delivered to me.”(27:29)

According to ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim it was sealed letter. It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that it is the greatness of Sulayman ’s letter that it always bore his seal.

So Bilquis said,

“Surely it is from Sulayman, and surely it is in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. That exalt not your selves against me and come to me in submission she said, “O chiefs! Give me advice respecting my affair. I never decide an affair until you are in my presence.” They said, “We possess strength and mighty prowess, and the command is yours, therefore see what you will command.”(27:30-35)

Shaykh al-Tusi narrates that the army chiefs of Bilquis were 312 in numbers with whom she sought advice and every chief had a thousand men under him.

“She said, Surely the kings, when they enter a town, ruin it and make the noblest of its people to be low, And thus they (always) do.”(27:34)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that Bilquis said to her nation that if he is a Prophet as he has claimed we cannot fight against him became he acts according to Allah’s saying.

“And surely I am going to send a present to them, and shall wait to see what (answer) the messengers bring back.”(27:35)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim says that Bilquis said I will send a gift to him, if he is a king he would be inclined towards this world and he will accept my gift, then I will understand that he will not have any power to conquer me. A small casket was made for Sulayman in which a big pearl and precious stones were placed and it was conveyed that “Tell Sulayman to make hole in these, without the help of Iron and fire.” When it reached Sulayman and the messenger conveyed the message of Bilquis to him, he ordered a worm and it caught a thread in his month and made the hole the pearl and took out the thread from other side.

“So when he came to Sulayman, he said, What! will you help me with wealth? But what Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Nay, you are exultant because of your present Go back to them, so we will most certainly come to them with hosts which they shall have no power to oppose, and we will most certainly expel them therefrom in abasement, and they shall be in a state of ignominy.”(27:36-37)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that when the messenger of Bilquis returned to her and narrated the majesty and dignity of Sulayman, she understood that she hadn’t the power of waging a war therefore obeyed Sulayman and came towards him. Allah informed Sulayman that Bilquis was on the way and will soon reach him. Sulayman said to Jinn and Satan who were in his presence, “Before Bilquis reaches, get to me her throne,” Allah says,

“He said, O chiefs! Which of you can bring to me her throne before they come to me in submission? One audacious among the jinn said, I will bring it to you before you rise from your place; and most surely, I am strong (and) trusty for it. One who had the knowledge of the book said, “I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye. 8 Then when he saw it settled beside him, he said, This is of the grace of my Lord that He may try me whether I am grateful or ungrateful; and whoever is grateful, he is grateful only for his own soul, and whoever is ungrateful, then surely my Lord is self-sufficient, Honored. He said, Alter her throne for her, we will see whether she follows the right way or is of those who do not go aright. So when she came, it was said, Is your throne like this? She said, It is as it were the same, and we were given the knowledge before it, and we were submissive. And what she worshipped besides Allah prevented her, surely she was of an unbelieving people.” (27:38-43)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that before the arrival of Bilquis the jinn as per the order of Sulayman had constructed a palace of glass and had hidden it in water.

“It was said to her: Enter the palace; but when she saw it she deemed it to be a great expanse of water, and bared her legs. He said, Surely it is a palace made smooth with glass. She said, My Lord! Surely I have been unjust to myself and I submit with Sulayman to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” (27:44)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that then Sulayman married Bilquis. She was the daughter of Sarah Jasarya. Sulayman ordered Shaitans to prepare a thing by which the hair of her legs would be cleaned. Then a bath was prepared.

Imam as-Sadiq said that among the sciences that Allah bestowed to Sulayman were the languages. Sulayman even knew the languages of birds and animals and other thing etc. He used to talk in Persian when involved in a battle. And used to talk in Roman whenever he addressed the troops of his kingdom. When he used to pray, he used Arabic. Whenever he sat to dispense justice and administration, he spoke Arabic and delivered edicts in it.9

According to a reliable tradition it is narrated that a person asked Imam Musa al-Ka¨im whether all the knowledge of Prophets is given to Holy Prophet as inheritance. Imam said, “Yes, Allah hasn’t raised army Prophet more knowledgeable than the Holy Prophet.

Narrator said, “‘Isa use to enliven the dead.” Imam said, “Yes, you spoke the truth and even Sulayman knew the language of birds and Holy Prophet is powerful over all the things.” Then said, “Sulayman saw that The hoopoe was missing from its place and he became angry as Allah has mentioned. The hoopoe use to inform Sulayman regarding water that is why he became angry, because he was helpless in this matter. The hoopoe was one bird. It was given that part of knowledge which Sulayman was not knowing although wind, ants, Jinn, human, Satan, devil all were obedient to him but he was not knowing the presence of water in the air. (Because he could not see it) and The hoopoe was knowing it. Allah says: If such Qur’an would have been there by which mountains were to walk and land would have broken to pieces and dead would have become alive, then this is that same Qur’an but their knowledge is with us and we know that water is in the air (and we see it). In Allah’s book there are few Ayats that we recite to get what we desire.”

According to reliable chain of narrators Judge Yahya bin Aqsam questioned Imam Naqi that whether Sulayman was helpless of the knowledge of Asif bin Barkhiya. Imam replied that one who had some knowledge of book of Allah was Asif bin Barkliya but Sulayman wasn’t helpless of knowing and understanding what Asif knew, but he wanted that the excellence of Asif should be apparent for jinn and humans so that all of them conclude that after him, Asif is the proof of Allah and Sulayman’s caliph. And the knowledge, which Asif had, was some part which Sulayman gave to him by the order of Allah. But Allah wanted that the knowledge of Asif become apparent so that there may not arise difference in his Imamate as Dawud made Sulayman his Caliph on the reply which Sulayman gave so that the Nation after Dawud accepts his Prophethood.

According to good chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq, “How could people reject the saying of ‘Ali that he said, ‘If I want I can put my legs on the chest of Muawiyah who is in Syria and can dethrone him.’ although they do not reject the miracle Asif the Successor of Sulayman when he got the throne of Bilquis in to Sulayman in the blink of an eye? Is not our Prophet the best of Prophets and his successor not the best of successors? Allah will judge between them and us, those who reject our rights and do not accept our excellences.

In another reliable tradition, it is narrated that Abu Hanifa asked Imam as-Sadiq that: “Among all birds why did Sulayman ask for The hoopoe?” Imam said, “The hoopoe could see through water as you can see oil in a bottle?” Hearing this Abu Hanifa laughed. Imam asked why he laughed. He said one who can see through water, how can he see the seed through earth and gets trapped in it. Imam said I think you do not know that predestination brilliance shuts the eyes. And it is narrated in Dua an-Noor that Allah bestowed Mercy on Sulayman ibn Dawud as He has ordered to us.

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari that Allah has specialized Muhammad al-Mustafa with Surah Hamd and He did not include any other Prophet except Sulayman because in this Surah is Bismillah that given began the letter of Sulayman to Bilquis.10

Teachings, laws and revelations revealed to Sulayman

Allah says,

“And Dawud and Sulayman when they gave judgment concerning the field when the people’s sheep pastured therein by night, and We were bearers of witness to their judgment. So We made Sulayman to understand it; and to each one We gave wisdom and knowledge.” (21:78-79)

According to a good chain of narrators, it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that some sheep belonging to a person went into the grape orchard of a person from The Israelites and destroyed it. The owner of the sheep was caught and brought to Dawud and justice was sought. Dawud sent them to Sulayman for justice. Sulayman said that if the sheep had destroyed trees with its root and had eaten all of them the owner of sheep should give all the sheep along with their young ones that are yet unborn to the owner of the orchard. And if they had consumed only the fruits and trees and branches are intact then instead of Sheep only the young ones be given. Dawud did not have any difference with the judgment of Sulayman. Because if they had Allah would have judged them as He says, “We were the witness of their judgment.”

In another reliable tradition, it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that this was not decided by only one of them. But they held consultation and were waiting for revelation. Allah informed the judgment through revelation to Sulayman to show his excellence.

According to authentic report, Imam as-Sadiq said that Imamate is a sacred post and each of the Imams is appointed by Allah Himself. The Imam does not have the right to appoint anyone of his own choice. Verily Allah revealed to Dawud to appoint his legatee from his family. “Because I have destined that every legatee of a Prophet should be from his own family.” Dawud had few sons and one of them was the one whose mother was beloved to Dawud. Dawud went to his wife and told her that, “Allah has revealed that He is going to appoint my successor from my family.” She said, “Make my sons as the successor.” Dawud said, “I also want it.” But it was in the knowledge of Allah that Sulayman was to be the Successor. So Allah revealed to Dawud not to hurry in appointing his successor “until My Order comes.”

After a few days two people came to Dawud regarding the grape orchard and sheep for justice. Allah revealed to Dawud to collect his sons and when the litigants presented their case to them Sulayman asked, “O the owner of orchard, what time did the sheep enter your grove?” He replied, “At night.” Then he said to the owner of sheep, “I order you to compensate with the young ones of the sheep and its wool for one year to the owner of the grove.: Dawud said, “Why do you not order that all sheep be given to the grove owner? As the judges of The Israelites usually decree.” Sulayman said, “Trees were not uprooted, next year fruit can be cultivated from them. Only this year’s crop is destroyed. Therefore only for this year the young ones of the sheep should be given to the orchard owner.” Allah revealed to Dawud that whatever verdict Sulayman has given is correct. “Dawud whatever you wanted was different from what I wanted.” Then Dawud went to his wife and said, “Whatever I wanted was different from what Allah desired. Whatever Allah desires, it comes to pass and we are His subjects and His obedient ones.”

According to a reliable tradition, it is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that Sulayman said that Allah has bestowed me all those things which He had given to others. And He has also given us whatever He has not given to others. And has taught us everything which He has taught them and made them unaware. We did not find anything better than delivery to the people about fearing Allah, and to spend moderately in affluence and to speak justly when at ease and in anger and to cry and pray in front of Allah.

According to a reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Holy Prophet who said that Sulayman’s mother said, “O Son do not sleep in excess at night rather spend your time in worshipping Allah. Because sleeping too much at night will make a person poor and troubled on the Resurrection Day. In another tradition, it is said that Sulayman said to his sons, “Never fight and dispute with the people because it is not beneficial and it is the cause of enmity between believers.”

Imam as-Sadiq said that one day Sulayman said to his companions. “Allah has given that kingdom and Kingship that none will get after me. He has made subservient to me the wind, Human beings, Jinn, birds and animals. And taught me the language of birds and bestowed me with every kind of bounty. But after having so much and I was unable to spend a single day in peace. Tomorrow I wish to ascend my gallery and view my kingdom. So do not allow anyone to come to me because if any matter is brought to me, my comfort and happiness would change to sadness and sorrow.”

People said, “It will be so.” Next day Sulayman took his staff and went to the highest position of the palace and leaning on it viewed his kingdom and was very happy to see what bounties Allah had bestowed on him. Very soon, his eyes fell on a very handsome boy wearing pure clothes and was coming towards him from a corner of the palace. Sulayman said, “Who gave you the permission to come here. Today I wanted to be all alone.” He replied, “The Creator of this palace has permitted me. And with His permission I come.” Sulayman said that the Creator of this Palace is more rightful than me. So explain to me who you are?”

The young man said, “I am the Angel of death.” Sulayman asked, “Why have you come?” He said, “To take away your soul.” He said, “Then do come and fulfill the command. As I wanted that this day to be my happiest day and Allah did not like that I should be more cheerful than this.” So the Angel of death took away Sulayman’s soul while he stood leaning on his staff. People used to see Sulayman and thought that he is alive. In that circumstance there was an argument between them. Some said, “Sulayman is standing in this position for many days and he doesn’t get tired. Nor does he sleeps or eats and drink anything. Definitely he is our god and it is compulsory that we worship him.” Another group thought Sulayman has done some magic and due to that he is still standing, the reality was something else. And the believers were saying that “he is the servant of Allah and His Prophet. Allah keeps him as He wants.”

When there erupted fight and differences among them, Allah ordered white ants to eat through the staff of Sulayman from inside and made it hallow. The Staff got broke and Sulayman fell down from the palace. Then jinn thanked the white ants and as recompense made incumbent upon themselves to provide food to them. So wherever white ants appear they provide water and mud to them.

In these ayats Allah says, “But when We decreed death for him, naught showed them his death but a creature of the earth that ate away his staff; and when it fell down, the jinn came to know plainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in abasing torment.” (34:14)

Means that the work which they did after the demise of Sulayman according to his order would not have been done.

According to reliable chain of narrators it is narrated from Muhammad al-Baqir that Sulayman had ordered jinn to make a Mosque of mirror and put in the river. jinn made that Mosque and put in the river. Few days remained for its completion. Sulayman entered the mosque and taking support of the staff was reciting Zabur and the Shaitans were busy around him. So Sulayman was looking at them and they were looking at him. Suddenly Sulayman saw at the corner of the mosque a young person. He asked, “Who are you?” He replied, “I am the one who doesn’t accept bribe nor do I fear any King. I am the Angel of death.” And in that same position he took away the soul of Sulayman. People saw him in the same position and he was like this for one year. The jinn were busy in their work and did not dare to check the condition of Sulayman nor did they see any change in him until Allah sent white ants and they and ate the staff from inside. And he feel down.

Due to this the jinn thanked the white ants and wherever white ants occur they provide for them water and mud. When Sulayman expired Satan wrote a book of magic. He also wrote at the back of the book that this book is the one which Asif bin Barkhiya wrote for Sulayman and in it is the treasure and wealth of knowledge. In it he wrote that if any person wants that his such and such work done he should perform this magic and he would get his work done. And he buried this book under the body of Sulayman. And from there he took it out for the people. The unbelievers said that Sulayman ruled over us due to magic which is in this book. The believers said that he was a servant of Allah and His Prophet, and whatever he did was under the authority of Prophethood and due to power of Allah. Regarding this incident we can see the ayats in Surah Baqarah,

And they followed what the Shaitans chanted of sorcery in the reign of Sulayman, and Sulayman was not an unbeliever, but the Shaitans disbelieved, they taught men sorcery and that was sent down to the two angels at Babel, Harut and Marut, yet these two taught no man until they had said, “Surely we are only a trial, therefore do not be a disbeliever.” Even then men learned from these two, magic by which they might cause separation between a man and his wife; and they cannot hurt with it anyone except with Allah’s permission, and they learned what harmed them and did not profit them, and certainly they know that he who bought it should have no share of good in the hereafter and evil was the price for which they sold their souls, had they but known this. (2:102)

According to correct chain of narrators it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that Allah revealed to Sulayman, “The sign of your death is a carob tree from Jerusalem. One day Sulayman saw a tree at Jerusalem. He asked the tree, “What is your name.” It said carob.” After hearing this Sulayman came to place of his worship and took the help of a staff and stood and in the same position his soul was taken away. And the people and Jinn, as usual, were busy in their work. At last white ants ate away the staff from inside and his dead body fell down. At that same moment everyone stopped their work. Ibn Babawayh narrates according to reliable chain of narrators from Imam as-Sadiq that the Holy Prophet said, “Sulayman was 712 years old.”

According to reliable chain of narrators Imam as-Sadiq said that The Israelites asked Sulayman to appoint his son after him as his Caliph upon them. Sulayman said that they did not have the capability. When they pressurized him Sulayman said, “I will ask a few questions and if you give the correct reply I will appoint you as the Caliph.” Sulayman asked his sons “What is the taste of water and bread. What is the cause for strength and weakness of voice. And where is the seat of human intellect. By which part one attains tyranny, mercilessness, soft heartedness and mercy? And by which part does one gets tired and relief? And by which part of body does one achieve success and failure?” They could not reply.

Imam as-Sadiq replied to these questions, “Taste of water (refers to) life. Taste of Bread is strength. Strength and weakness of voice is due to the group. Aql and intellect is the brain. Do you not see whose intellect is low people say that how less intellect he has and mercy and is due to the softness and hardness of heart as Allah says: Woe be on those whose heart has become hard hearted to remembrance of Allah. Tiredness and relief of body is due to the legs. When legs are in motion continuously the body gets tired. When legs get relief it relieves tiredness and so the body gets rest. Increase in body and its decrease is due to hands. When a persons performs action with hands he receives sustenance and gets benefit from this world and hereafter. If he does not the body is deprived from this world and the hereafter.

- 1. This hadith is regarding the kingship during the time of Sulayman and it contradicts other traditions.

- 2. Some activities mentioned in this tradition are against the common belief but exegetes says that according to the shari‘ah of Sulayman, making animal statues was not Haram. However, it is Haram now.

- 3. It is possible that initially his kingship was limited to this.

- 4. It is not proper to harass people even if they are wrong-doers. It is possible that the strictness of Sulayman on Shaitans is due to their ill manner otherwise to harass them without any cause does not befit a Prophet.

- 5. By this tradition is apparent, the kingship and capacity of Sulayman and also that Allah cannot bear the injustice done on others.

- 6. Tradition regarding Sulayman is not quoted here. It is discussed along with the tradition on previous Prophets.

- 7. I have discussed this doubt my book Behaarul Anwaar with lot of reasoning. But the best reasoning is from the Holy Prophet himself. I have mentioned this reasoning here.

- 8. Asif bin Barkhiya the minister of Sulayman and he was knowing

- 9. There is controversy regarding the arrival of throne of Bilquis from such a distant place in such a short time. Some say angels brought it on wind. Some say on cloud some say that Allah had created fast motion in the throne that it itself came to Sulayman. Some say that Allah annihilated it at its place and created at Sulayman’s palace and whatever is related through reliable tradition. From those two side, one side is that Allah lowered the land which was between the land of Bilquis and Sulayman and the land which had throne of Bilquis got in motion and made the throne reach to Sulayman then later on the land came back to its original place. And the house and animals and trees which were on the lowered land what happened to them? The answer is then it is quite possible that Allah had removed it to right and left so that they do not come in the way. Or it is possible that the land would have taken the throne beneath it and made it reach below the throne of Sulayman and from there it was lifted up. This reason is quite acceptable to intellect and even other two are quite acceptable and both are noted in the reliable tradition. Therefore according to correct chain of narrator it is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq that minister and successor of record, while explaining this verse of the holy Qur’an, Imam al-Baqir said, There are seventy-three Great names of Allah. He has taught seventy-two of them to Adam which all the holy Prophets up to ‘Isa got in heritage. Allah kept one of His Holy Names secret, which He has not revealed to anybody. So the meaning of ‘Isa ’s reply would be: “I know only those 72 Great Names which You have taught me and that what is secret with You and Asif bin Barkhiya minister of Sulayman was given only one of it by which he conversed and land separated and lowered and the land which had throne of Bilquis came neck to neck of throne of Sulayman then Sulayman himself picked the throne. According to another tradition both the pieces of land came near to each other and the throne from that land came to Sulayman’s land and within the blink of an eye everything came back to its normal position and from those 73 great names Asif was knowing one. Allah has bestows us (Imams) with 72. And one Allah had specially kept for Himself and hasn’t given to any of the creatures.

- 10. This incident have lot of surprising things mentioned in it, and some of it is mentioned in my book Behaarul Anwaar. As these are not related through reliable chain of narrators I have only mentioned them in that book.

An account of the People of Saba And People of Tharthaar

Allah says:

Certainly there was a sign for Saba in their abode; two gardens on the right and the left; eat of the sustenance of your Lord and give thanks to Him: a good land and a Forgiving Lord! But they turned aside, so We sent upon them a torrent of which the rush could not be withstood, and in place of their two gardens We gave to them two gardens yielding bitter fruit and (growing) tamarisk and a few lote-trees.

This We requited them with because they disbelieved; and We do not punish any but the ungrateful.

And We made between them and the towns which We had blessed (other) towns to be easily seen, and We apportioned the journey therein: Travel through them nights and days, secure.

And they said: O our Lord! make spaces to be longer between our journeys; and they were unjust to themselves so We made them stories and scattered them with an utter scattering; most surely there are signs in this for every patient, grateful one. (34:15-19)

Imam as-Sadiq says regarding the exegesis of the above ayats, that the nation of Sabah inhabited towns close to each other so that they could interact among themselves. They were very prosperous and had flourishing agriculture. Streams irrigated their townships and there was an economic upsurge. But these people denied Allah’s bounty and invited a change to occur in their fortunes. The Almighty sent a flood on them and it destroyed their towns, submerged their houses and ravaged their properties. In place of their orchards Allah caused to grow the plantations that He has mentioned.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that Sulayman commanded his army to construct a gulf from the fresh water sea to India and they built a dam of stone and lime through which canals supplied water to the Kingdom of Sabah. This dam had ducts at regular intervals and by opening and closing the ducts water supply was regulated to any given town of the Sabah Kingdom. On both sides of the city were flourishing orchards comprising of an area of ten days’ travel. The orchards were thick with trees laden with fruits and decked with flowers. If one traveled from one side to the other he would not be able to see the sun for ten days at a stretch. When the inhabitants of this flourishing kingdom began to transgress, disobey the commands of their Lord, not heed the advice of righteous people and did not desist from their evil deeds the Almighty sent giant rats that began to dig at the dam and remove huge stones from it, tossing them aside, though each stone was so heavy that even a strong and healthy man could not lift it. Witnessing such a scenario many people fled the city leaving behind their belongings and properties. The rats continued to dig at the dam until it leveled and a flooded the country. The flood destroyed the city, uprooted the trees carrying them away as mentioned by Allah in the description of Sabah.

In an authentic tradition Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “After every meal I lick my fingers so much that my servant thinks it is because of greed, though it is for respecting Allah’s bounty.

Know that! There was a nation bestowed with divine bounties. They owned a stream called Tharthaar. They had such excessive wealth that they used pure wheat bread for cleansing the genitals of their children after they dirtied passed stool. Instead of washing them with water they wiped them with bread and discarded it. This went on for such a long time and a mountain of this dirty bread built up. One day a righteous person passed by and saw a woman cleaning her child with bread. He told her, “Fear Allah! Do not be haughty and deny His divine bounties due to their excessiveness.” The lady replied, “Do not terrify me with hunger. We need never worry for food as long as the stream flows.” Allah was infuriated at this and cut off the stream from them. He stopped the rain and cultivation of crops. The people of Sabah became impoverished and deprived. Now they weighed and distributed among themselves the same bread for consumption.”

An account of the people of Ras

Imam al-Ridha mentioned that one of the nobles of the Tamim tribe approached Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali (‘a) three days prior to his martyrdom and requested him to relate the facts regarding the People of Ras; where they lived, in what period, who were their rulers, whom did Allah send as a Prophet for guiding these people, how they were destroyed? etc. The inquirer told ‘Ali that though they are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an no details available.

‘Ali said, “You have inquired about something that none have inquired before. After me there is no one who will be able to relate their account except one who quotes me. There is no verse in the Holy Qur’an whose exegesis in unknown to me. I know the place of revelation of each ayah. Whether it was revealed at night or day. On a mountain or in plains.” Then pointing towards his breast said, “It contains unlimited knowledge and its seekers are few. People would regret why they did not obtain knowledge from me.

O Brother! The People of Ras were a particular group. They worshipped the pine tree and called it the ‘King of Trees’. It had been planted by Yafith the son of Nuh besides a spring. The spring was known as Rooshtaab and had formed after the deluge. They were known as ‘People of Ras’ because they had buried alive a Prophet who came after Sulayman The People of Ras inhabited twelve cities on the bank of the river Ras in the eastern hemisphere. The area was known as Aras and the people were named after the river Ras. During that time it was the best fresh water river in the world and the Kingdom of Ras was the most prosperous nation of its time. The nation consisted of cities named as Abaan, Aazar, Dee, Bahman, Isfandaar, Farwarrdeen, Urdi-Behisht, Khordaad, Mardaad, Teer and Shaharpoor. Isfandar was the largest city and the seat of the ruler Tarkooz son of Ghaboor son of Yarish son of Saazan son of Narmood son of Canaan. Nimrod was the contemporary of Ibrahim. The spring and the tree called Sanobar were situated in this city. The people of Ras had taken some seeds from that tree to other towns and sowed them near streams. Then they took some water from the original spring and mixed it in the spring of each town. It irrigated the saplings that gradually grew into thick trees laden with sour fruits. The people prohibited themselves and their animals from partaking in any of the products of these trees. They also refrained from drinking the water of those springs and claimed that it was the cause of existence of their gods.

Thus it did not befit them to drink this water that would result in the decrease of their god’s lives. They used the water from the river Ras that flowed by their cities for themselves and their animals. Every month one of the towns celebrated ‘Id. On this day, people of that particular town gathered near the Sanobar tree situated there. They covered the tree with a silk curtain embroidered with pictures. Cows and sheep were sacrificed at the tree and later burnt with firewood. When the smoke and ashes darkened the atmosphere they fell down prostrate in front of that tree. They wept and wailed and implored the tree to be pleased with them. The Satan used to sit upon the tree and shake its branches. He would hide in the trunk of the tree and say in the voice of a young boy, “My servants! I am pleased with you. May you be happy and your eyes brighten with joy.” Hearing this, the people would arise. They would celebrate the next few days in drinking, playing drums, singing and making merry. Then they would return home. “

The Persians have named the months after the cities of Ras, Abaan, Aazar, etc. Every month was associated with the feast of a particular city, hence that month was named after that city. When it was the turn of their largest town to celebrate the festival, people from all the other cities came there. They would gather at the great tree near the spring and cover the tree with a large curtain embroidered with icons. The curtain was partitioned to have twelve entrances, one for each city. They would prostrate before the tree from outside the curtain. They sacrificed animals equal to those slaughtered from all the other cities collectively. The accursed Iblis sat on the tree and shook its branches. He would call out to them and speak to them. He would make promises to them greater than the promises made by the Shaitans of the other trees. Then they would rise and drink a lot of wine. For twelve long days they indulged in merry making and enjoyment equal to all the festivals of the other towns together. After the celebration they returned home. When the transgression crossed all limits Allah sent towards them a Prophet from the Israelites to make them recognize Allah and worship Him. But they refused to obey the Prophet.

After the Prophet had exhausted all efforts to guide them and was convinced that they would not come on the right path he complained to Allah “My Lord, these people do nothing but falsify me and refuse to believe in You. Therefore at the time of their great festival manifest your power to them by causing the trees that they worship to wither.” The curse was effective and the next day the people saw that their trees had dried and withered. They were astonished and terrified. They were divided among themselves on what they thought had happened to the trees. One group said that the man from Allah had performed sorcery in order to transfer the credit of sustenance bestowed by their gods to his Lord. The second group said that their gods were displeased with them because the Prophet mentioned their defects and criticized them and the people did not object to this. It was for this reason that their god had concealed its freshness and budding to show his anger against that Prophet so that the people would rise up against him.

Having formed such an opinion the people discussed ways of eliminating the Prophet. After consultations they agreed that he should be killed. They constructed huge pipes of lead and fixed them to the spring reaching its bottom. Then they climbed down and after removing all the water and dug a well underground. After this the people caught hold of the Prophet and imprisoned him in that well. Then they closed the mouth of the well with a huge boulder. They climbed up, removed the pipes and allowed the water to flow over the well into the spring. They said, “Now our gods shall be pleased with us for we have killed the Prophet who maligned us. We have buried him at the base of the greatest Sanobar tree. Maybe now it will regain its freshness and bloom.” The whole day they heard the pleas of the Prophet buried inside. He was praying to his Lord thus: “O my Lord! You are aware of my confinement and see my sorrow and grief. Have mercy on my helplessness and take away my soul at the earliest. Do not delay it.” Ultimately the oppressed Prophet met his end. Peace of Allah be upon him.

Allah revealed to Archangel Gabriel, “My creatures have become very sinful and unheeding of My wrath. They feel secure from disaster. They worship something other than Me and have killed My messenger. Do they think they shall be able to face My Chastisement? Can they escape from My Kingdom and Dominion? I shall send retribution to all those who disobey Me and are not fearful of My punishment. By My Might and Honor I shall punish them in such a way that they would be an example to all mankind.”

Thus when the People of Ras were engrossed in celebrating their festival, a red storm caught them by surprise. They clung to each other. The ground beneath their feet became melting sulphur and a black cloud overshadowed them. Fire began to rain from this cloud melting the bodies of men, just like lead melts in fire.

‘Ali says, “I seek Allah’s refuge from this wrath.” Wa laa h’awla walaa quwwate illa billahil a’liyyil a’z’eem (and there is no power and strength except that of Allah the High and the Great).”

A number of reliable traditions mention that the women of Ras practiced lesbianism and that was the reason the Almighty destroyed them.

Ibn Babawayh, al-Qutb al-Rawandi and Thalabi in his book ‘Arais’ have recorded from Imam al-Ka¨im that the People of Ras consisted of two groups. One of these groups have not been mentioned by Allah in the Holy Qur’an. They inhabited a village and possessed a large number of sheep. Prophet Salih sent a Prophet towards them. The people murdered him. Another Prophet was sent in his place and he too was killed. The third Prophet also met with the same fate. Now a Prophet was sent with an assistant (wali) When they put to death this Prophet too, the wali exhausted all proofs on them and called out to the fish that was worshipped by those people. The fish emerged from the sea and came to the land and sat besides the wali. The people still denied him. Allah sent a wind towards them that lifted all the people and their sheep and tossed them into the sea. The representative of Salih distributed the booty of gold, silver and utensils, etc. among his followers. Thus the generations of this nation became extinct.

The above incident has been mentioned by us in the Account of Salih.

Imam Musa al-Ka¨im says that the group mentioned in the Qur’an is the one that inhabited the banks of river Ras. They are known as the People of Ras. Allah sent many Prophets among them. There was never a time when they had been devoid of a Prophet who warned and exhorted them and they invariably killed all of the Prophets. The river flowed between Azerbaijan and Armenia and reached to the northern tip of Azerbaijan where people worshipped the lizard. According to one report they worshipped virgin girls. When that virgin girl completed thirty years of age they would kill her and install another in her place as a deity. The stream was three parasang wide. The stream swelled every day to such an extent that its level reached to half the size of their mountains, but its water did not flow into the sea or plains. It reached only up to the inhabited areas and not beyond. It flowed through their towns and cities. Allah sent thirty Prophets to them in a single month but they killed them all.

Allah sent to them a Prophet and made his wali accompany him. The Prophet waged an intense struggle against them. The people confronted him and when they became busy in repelling his attack, the Almighty sent Mika’il to them during their sowing season. A lot of water was in demand for irrigating the fields. Mika’il diverted all their canals towards the sea. All the springs originating from the streams were blocked by walls. Mika’il was assisted by 500 angels in this venture. The angels took out each drop of water from the canals and threw it into the sea. The canals were completely dry now. Allah sent Archangel Gabriel who caused all the streams and springs of their country to dry up. The angel of death was dispatched and he decimated all their cattle. The south wind, north wind, zephyr and west wind were commanded to destroy their clothes and belongings etc. by snatching everything and dropping it over the mountains and in the seas. The earth was commanded to devour all their utensils, gold and silver. All their treasure shall remain underground and will be thrown out during the time of the great grandson of ‘Ali, Muhammad (Imam al-Mahdi.

They woke up in the morning and saw that they had neither any belongings nor cattle, vessels or clothes. All their food grain has been destroyed. Even then only a few converted to the faith in Allah, and Allah guided them. They took shelter in a nearby cave. Altogether they were 21 men, four women and ten boys. Ultimately they achieved salvation. Those who remained adamant in their disbelief were 600,000. They died of the agony of starvation and thirst. Not a single infidel escaped. Later the thirty five people who had accepted faith returned to their hometown. They saw everything devastated and the inhabitants exterminated. They fell down in obeisance to the Almighty and with all sincerity pleaded to Him to bestow them with water, food and cattle sufficient enough for their needs. They did not wish for excess bounties lest it cause transgression in their hearts. They took an oath and vowed that if the Almighty sent a Prophet for them they would help and assist him and believe in him. Allah knew their sincerity and hence showered His Mercy by causing streams to flow and bestowed more than they had prayed for. After that they remained obedient to Allah for their life. But their progeny though outwardly pious practiced hypocrisy. They were also given respite by Allah but their transgression crossed all limits. They remained busy in opposing the righteous servants of Allah. Allah gave their enemies power over them. Many of them were killed and the survivors were subjected to a dreadful plague that wiped them completely. The canals and edifices remained dilapidated for two hundred years.

Allah brought another people to inhabit those abandoned dwellings. For a long time they treaded the path of Allah’s obedience, then lacunae set in and they became sinful. They fell to degraded habits and practices. The notable thing about them was that they considered it a gesture of goodwill and hospitality when they offered their women and daughters to fulfill the sexual desires of their friends and acquaintances. They receded further into sin and homosexuality and lesbianism became rampant. Lesbianism was taught to them by Walhaas the daughter of Satan. She came to them with her sister Shaisaar in a human form and demonstrated the method of sexual contact between two women.

At last Allah sent upon them a thunderbolt. All of them began to sink into the earth during the night. A dreadful scream came from the depths of the earth. Not a single person survived to witness the sunrise next morning. Imam Musa al-Ka¨im said “I do not think that that part of the earth was ever inhabited again.”

According to Shaykh Tabarsi, the People of Ras were the ones who buried alive their Prophet in a well. Some historians mention that the people reared cattle and dug a well around which they sat and worshipped idols. Allah sent Shu‘ayb for their guidance but they refused to believe him. Therefore their well was destroyed and all of them sunk into the earth. Some people say Allah had sent to them a Prophet named han¨alah. They slew the Prophet and hence were doomed to perdition. Ras is believed to be a well in Antioch. People of Ras killed habib al-Najjar (the carpenter) and threw him into the well.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says, “Their women practiced sexual contact between themselves. They have been mentioned in the following ayah,

So how many a town did We destroy while it was unjust, so it was fallen down upon its roofs, and (how many a) deserted well and palace raised high.” (22:45)

The well was located in Hadramaut and according to some scholars in the city of Khaazoora. It was inhabited by 4000 people who had put their faith in Prophet Salih. Salih also lived with them. Because he breathed his last here, it was called Hadramaut (death).

Later the population increased and progenies proliferated. They began to fall into transgression and idol-worship. Allah sent towards them a Prophet named han¨alah. He was put to death mercilessly in public view. They were destroyed as a result of this cruel act. All of them died. Their well became useless and the palace of their ruler was razed to the ground.

An Account of Shaiya and Haiqooq

Ibn Babawayh and al-Qutb al-Rawandi have related from Wahab ibn Munabbah that during the tenure of Shaiya there was a king in The Israelites. The king as well as his subjects were obedient to the divine commands initially. But later they introduced innovations in their religion. Shaiya tried his best to restrain them and also warned them of divine retribution but to no avail. Allah made King Babel to reign over them. When they realized their inability to match his power they sought forgiveness of Allah. Allah revealed to Shaiya that due to the piety and righteousness of their ancestors He had accepted their repentance.

The ruler of these people was afflicted with a boil on his thigh. It was cancerous. The king was obedient to Allah and he was a righteous person.

Allah revealed to Shaiya to advise the king to make a bequest and select a person from his family who should be designated as his legatee among The Israelites and that Allah shall cause his death on a particular date.

Shaiya conveyed the divine message to the king. When he heard it he beseeched Allah with all humility, “O my Lord! You had been benevolent to me since the day I was born and bestowed upon me every bounty. In spite of this I do not repose hope in anyone except You. I have faith in You alone. I praise You and expect goodness from You without having performed any good deed and to become deserving of the same. You are more informed of my affairs than I myself am. O Allah! Postpone my death and increase my age and keep me firm on the path that You like best.”

Allah revealed to Shaiya, “I had pity on his lamentation and accepted his invocation and gave him another fifteen years. Tell him to cure his cancerous wound by fig juice. Because I have appointed the cure of his discomfort and wound in that water. I have also guaranteed safety for him and The Israelites from their enemies.”

So the next morning Shaiya saw that the army of Babel was routed completely. Only the king remained alive and with him were five persons. All of them ran towards Babel. After this the people of The Israelites remained pious and on the path of guidance until the time the king departed from this temporal world. Again the people reverted to evil deeds and disobedience and each of them laid claim to the throne. Shaiya tried his best to reform them but to no avail and in the end all of them were destroyed.

It is reported in another tradition that ‘Abdullah bin Salaam asked the Holy Prophet about Shaiya and he said, “He conveyed to The Israelites the good news of my Prophethood and Messengership and the Prophethood of ‘Isa.”

According to authentic chain of narrators, Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said, “Allah revealed to Shaiya that He is about to destroy 40000 of the evil doers and 60000 righteous people of his community. Shaiya said, “O my Lord! Why do you destroy the righteous ones?” Allah said, “Because they flattered them and begged favors from them and did not become angry at them due to My anger (neither did they try to restrain the evil people from bad deeds).”

Authentic chains of narrators mention that Imam al-Ridha asked the Christian priest in Al-Ma’mun’s assembly what information he had about the book of Shaiya. The priest replied that he was conversant with every letter of the book. Imam addressed the Rabbi Raasul Jalut, “It is mentioned in the book of Shaiya that he said, O my people! I saw a rider on a mule. He was clothed in garments of light and I saw a rider on a camel. His light and luminescence was like a bright moon.” Both the priests admitted that it was true. Imam said that Shaiya has mentioned in Torah that he saw two riders and their splendor shall illuminate the whole world. One of them shall ride a tall mule and one shall ride a camel. “Who are the two personalities mentioned by Shaiya?” asked Imam. Raasul Jalut admitted ignorance and appealed to Imam to enlighten him. Imam said, “The person on the mule refers to ‘Isa and rider on the horse indicated Muhammad al-Mustafa. Do you reject this saying of Torah?” “No! we cannot reject this”, they said, Then Imam al-Ridha asked “Do you know about Prophet Haiqooq?” “Yes” they replied, “We know about him.” “Have you not read the verse where he says-The truth became manifest from Mount Paran and the skies filled with the praise of Allah. His people and his riders shall battle in the seas and in the deserts too. He shall bring a new book from Allah after the destruction of Jerusalem. The ‘Book’ means Qur’an. Are you aware of these words? Do you have faith in these words?” Raasul Jalut said, “These are the words of Haiqooq, we certainly believe in his words.”

Some books mention that The Israelites plotted to kill Shaiya. He went away from them and reached under a tree. The tree trunk split and became spacious for him. He entered the split tree trunk and it joined once more. Satan caused a corner of his garment to stick outside and told The Israelites that Shaiya is hiding in the tree. The people sawed the tree in half with Shaiya in it.

An account of Zakariyya and Yahya

In Surah the family of ‘Imran Allah says, “There did Zakariyya pray to his Lord; he said My Lord! Grant me from Thee good offspring; surely Thou art the Hearer of prayer.”

“Then the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary?” (3:38-39)

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq says that reciting prayer (Salat ) is a service towards Allah and it is the best duty. For this reason the angels told Zakariyya

that Allah gives him the news of Yahya verifying a Word from Allah, and honorable and chaste and a Prophet from among the good ones.” (3:39)

He (Zakariyya said, My Lord when shall there be a son (born) to me, and old age has already come upon me, and my wife is barren? At that time Zakariyya was 120 years old and his wife 98. According to ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim the wife was old and did not used to get menstrual course. It was not a question to be against Allah’s will but he was surprised to beget a son in old age.) Zakariyya said, Even thus does Allah what He pleases.

He said, My Lord: appoint a sign for me Said He: Your sign is that you should not speak to men for three days except by signs; and remember your Lord much and glorify Him in the evening and the morning. (3:41)

In Surah Maryam Ayat no 2 to 6 Allah says,

“A mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zakariyya. When he called upon his Lord in a low voice. He said, My Lord surely my bones are weakened and my head fares with hoariness and my Lord! I have never been unsuccessful in my prayer to Thee.

And surely I fear my cousins after me, and my wife is barren, therefore grant me from Thyself an heir. Who should inherit me and inherit from the children of Ya‘qub, and make him, my Lord, one in Whom Thou art well pleased.(19:2-6)

According to tradition of ‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim up to that time he didn’t have any son to continue his generation. And was the chief Scholars of Palestine. He used to get gifts and all facilities from them. His wife was the daughter of ‘Imran’s son Masaan and descendants of Ya‘qub were the chiefs of people. They belonged to Prophet Sulayman ’s family.

Allah, the exalted says:

O Zakariyya! Surely we give you good news of a boy whose name shall be Yahya; we have not made before anyone his equal.

He said, O my Lord! when shall I have a son, and my wife is barren, and I myself have reached extreme old age?

He said, So shall it be; your Lord says; It is easy to Me, and indeed I created you before when you were nothing. (19:7-9)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is reported to have said, “Yahya born five years after Allah’s revelation.”

He said,

My Lord! Give me a sign. He said, Your sign is that you will not be able to speak to the people three nights while in sound health. (19:10)

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is quoted in many religious books that Zakariyya had doubt whether it is Allah’s revelation or Satan’s information. For that he asked about the sign from Allah. Allah cleared his doubt by saying, he will not able to speak for three days with anyone while in sound health. When this sign approached upon him, he understood that Allah’s promise was true. Whenever he wanted to say anything to the people, he could not speak but giving the sign by nodding the head.

So he went forth to his people from his place of worship, then he made known to them that they should glorify (Allah) morning and evening. (19:11)

Zakariyya says that He was coming out from his place of worship at the time of prayer every morning and evening, and calling people for prayer by reciting the holy verses and when time came of his wife’s delivery, he could not speak with anyone nor could recited any Dua or prayer.

Allah says:

O Yahya! Take hold of the Book with strength, and We granted him wisdom while yet a child. (19:12)

According to tradition when Allah commanded him, Yahya was three years old. When the other children tried to play with him, Yahya said that he was not born to play and waste time. According to the report of ‘Ali Ibn Asbaat, once he came to Imam Muhammad al-Taqi. Imam Taqi’s height was about 5 feet. ‘Ali Ibn Asbaat thought something about his height. Imam looked at him and said that Allah, the Creator, sends the messengers not to merely promulgate the divine law but act upon them practically. Sometimes the Almighty bestowed Prophethood at the age of forty and sometimes in childhood as in the case of Yahya and Allah, the Exalted says in Qur’an,

“And tenderness from Us and purity, and he was one who guarded (against evil).” (19:14)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that when the Prophet addressed Him ‘Ya Rabbah’ at once Allah replied, “Labbaik” means “I am here, I am always with you, say what do you want”? In Qur’an, Allah says:

“And dutiful to his parents, and he was not insolent, disobedient. And peace on him on the day he was born, and on the day he dies, and on the day he is raised to life.” (19:14)

Allah, the Beneficent declares in Qur’an,

“And Zakariyya, when he cried to his Lord O my Lord! Leave me not alone; and Thou art the best of inheritors.” (21:89)

Allah, the Merciful replies in connection of these verses:

“So We responded to him and gave him Yahya and made his wife fit for him, surely they used to hasten, one with another in deeds of goodness and to call upon Us hoping and fearing; and they were humble before Us.” (21:90)

According to Sa’id bin ‘Abdullah once he asked some questions to Imam al-Mahdi when he was very young and was sitting on a lap of his father Imam Al-Hasan ‘Askari Sa’id bin ‘Abdullah asked Imam to explain the meaning of “Kaf-Ha-ya-Ain-Suad.” Imam at once said that there is a great secret behind of these letters. Allah has given the knowledge of these letters to Zakariyya and the last Prophet, Muhammad al-Mustafa.

It is said that Zakariyya requested the Almighty to make him know the names of the people of the cloak. By the order of Allah Archangel Gabriel approached him and taught him the names of the people of the cloak. When Zakariyya was reciting the names of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, hasan his tension and sadness dissipated at once but when he recited the name of husayn, his throat was choked and he started crying. Then one day after reciting Dua and prayer he asked Allah the reason of his crying by reciting the name husayn.

Allah, the beneficent told him about the incident of Karbala by revelation: ‘Kaf’ means Karbala, ‘Ha’ means the martyrdom of the son of Rasul Ya’ means Yazid, ‘Ain’ means thirst and hunger of the family of husayn. ‘Suad’ means Patience of Imam al-Husayn.

When Zakariyya heard this, he felt, too much sorrow. He could not come out from his place of worship and forbade people to come and see him. He was saddened deeply, prayed to Allah by crying at Imam’s martyrdom. He said, “O, Allah! You will test your Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa’s heart by grievances and troubles for the people of world to spread the principles and laws of Islam! Imam ‘Ali and Fatimah will also mourn and wear black dress for Imam al-Husayn’s martyrdom!”

He prayed, “My Lord! Grant me a son, I will prove myself as a truthful servant. O Allah make me cry and sad for my son’s troubles and sorrow as you will make your Prophet sorrowful for his son Imam al-Husayn’s grief.”

Allah the Merciful granted him a son named Yahya. His mother’s pregnancy was only of six months and Imam al-Husayn’s was also the same.

According to the traditions of Imam al-Baqir and Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq the names Yahya and husayn were fixed by Allah and no one knew these names before.

The murderer of Prophet Salih’s camel, Yahya’s, Imam ‘Ali’s, and Imam al-Husayn’s murders were all adulterers.

It is said that the earth and the heavens did not weep for anyone except Yahya and Imam al-Husayn. The sun lamented on their martyrdom. It became red like blood while rising and setting. According to another tradition, it rained blood. If a white colored cloth was spread on the ground it might have become red, and blood started oozing from below the stones.

According to the tradition of Imam Zayn al-‘abidin after the incident of Karbala, they were returning to Karbala again. On the way wherever they halted, he heard his beloved father Imam al-Husayn and Yahya saying that the people of Palestine killed Yahya and sent his head to a prostitute.

Ibn Babawayh has quoted from Wahab ibn Munabbah that one day Iblis was roaming among the people in Palestine and taking about Maryam and Zakariyya and defaming them. So the people turned against him (Zakariyya) and were ready to kill him. Zakariyya ran towards a tree to escape the enemies. The trunk of the tree cracked and Zakariyya entered in it and the crevices joined as before.

Iblis brought the people to the tree where Zakariyya was hiding. He searched for him by putting his hand below the tree and asked people to split the tree into pieces. The people obeyed him and cut the tree with a saw into two lying in the open and went away. Iblis also disappeared from there. Zakariyya felt no pain when people cut the tree with him.

Allah sent some angels who bathed his dead body and said prayer for three days continuously. The dead body of Allah’s messenger never decomposes nor is it dispersed in the soil.

Imam Al-Hasan ‘Askari says that Allah declares in Holy Qur’an: “O Zakariyya, we give good news of a boy whose name shall be Yahya. We have not made anyone equal and we granted him wisdom while yet a child.”

Children asked Yahya to come and play. He replied, “Allah has created me to guide you from evil and not for playing.”

Allah mentions in Holy Qur’an,

“And tenderness from us and purity, and he was one who guarded (against evil) And dutiful to his parents and he was not insolent, disobedient.”(19:13-14)

Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari says that when Zakariyya went to see Maryam he saw the winter fruits in summer and summer fruits in winter with her. He inquired about it. Maryam answered that it was all from Allah. If Allah, the Great desires to give anything at any time He gives. Zakariyya was sure that whatever she said was true. None came to her except he. Zakariyya was old he thought that Allah, the Almighty is Great. He provides everything to her, He takes care of her, sends her fruits of all seasons. Allah is great. Zakariyya thought for himself, he raised his hands for prayer. He prayed, “I have become old and my wife is also old and barren. Allah, grant me a son from Thyself as my heir.” Angels who were standing for prayer in the place of worship, congratulated him and said, Allah gives good news of a boy, whose name will be Yahya and he will be first to verify ‘Isa who will be good and obedient to Allah and His commands. He will be aloof from women. He would be a good Prophet.

The first verification of Yahya about ‘Isa was when Maryam the mother of ‘Isa drew aside from her family. She was staying in the place of worship to pray to Allah. There was a separate room without stairs. A ladder was installed for climbing up and down, none cared for her, except the Zakariyya. When he was going out, he locked the door. There was a ventilator on the doors.

When he came to know that Maryam was pregnant, he became very sad and thought that people of Israel would blame him as none visited her except Zakariyya. He informed his wife about Maryam . She said, “Don’t worry. Allah is Great and He will help you in this situation.” And she asked him to bring Maryam to her so she can ask her. Zakariyya brought Maryam to his wife, who was her elder sister. She could not stand to give respect to Maryam as she was pregnant with Yahya. By the grace of Allah, Yahya took out his hand and helped his mother to stand for Maryam in respect and said, “Maryam the mother of ‘Isa who is in her womb is coming to you and you can’t stand for the respectable lady?” She heard the voice of her son from her womb and she stood up. Yahya also bowed down in his mother’s womb. This was the first testimony of Yahya!1

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is quoted in a book that on the Resurrection Day a proclaimer will announce, “Where is Fatimah the daughter of Prophet, where is Khadijah bint Khuwaylid? Where is Maryam the daughter of ‘Imran? Where is Aasiya the daughter of Mazahim? And where is Umm Kulthum the mother of Yahya? They all will come forward on the day of judgment.”

The Holy Prophet has stated that the status of Yahya was very high. One day he came to the Dome of rocks. There he saw the learned scholars, whose dresses and caps were made of hair and chained to the pillars of mosque they were praying. Seeing them, Yahya told his mother to make a dress of hair for him so can join with them for prayer there. His mother asked him to wait until his father the Prophet of Allah came (At that time Yahya was very young). When Zakariyya came his mother asked him for Yahya wish.

Yahya said to his father, “O Father, have you not seen the children die in infancy?” Prophet said he had.

Then Prophet asked Yahya’s mother to prepare a dress for him as he likes. Yahya put on the dress and went to Jerusalem to pray with the other worshipper’s. His body became thin and weak, due to heavy hairy dress. When Yahya felt weakness, he prayed to Allah. Allah said, “O Yahya are you crying for weakness? I swear, if you see the fire of hell once, you will ask for the dress of iron.” Hearing the revelation, he wept so much, his face became pale and jaws became dry and his teeth jutted out. When his mother learnt of this she came with his father. The worshipper gathered and said his face became pale and wounded. Yahya said he knew nothing. Zakariyya asked, “O son, why are you suffering so much? I prayed to Allah to grant me a son and you were born. Allah refreshed my eyes and heart.” Yahya asked his father that he himself has said that there is a valley between Heaven and Hell, and only the righteous believers of Allah and Allah’s apostles will pass from it. Prophet replied, “Yes, I have told you. Allah, the Creator has created you for His worship.”

Then his mother asked if she could make two pieces of soft carpet-like cloth to keep upon his face, hide his teeth and wipe his tears. Yahya said, “Yes mother, do as you wish.” His mother made two pieces of cloth and kept on his cheeks. After sometime both the pieces were wet with tears. When he squeezed it, the tears fell from his finger tips. When Zakariyya saw this he became very sad and prayed, “O Allah! He is my son and these are his tears. You are Great and Merciful.”

When Zakariyya wanted to preach and make the people them about heaven and hell, he looked left and right as he did not want to say about the hell in presence of his son. Then one day Yahya was not present in the gathering. Prophet started addressing the people. Yahya also came and sat among the people to hear the sermon of his father. Zakariyya said, “Today, my friend Archangel Gabriel came with Allah’s revelation that there is a mountain in hell. Its name is ‘Sakaraan’. Beneath it is a valley ‘Gazabaan’. It is very dangerous and one of the gravest. There is a very deep and wide well in the valley. It is about hundred years of travel. There are numerous trunks of fire. These trunks have small trunks of fire including iron bars, chains and neck braces.”

When Yahya heard about the chastisement of Allah, he raised his head and cried, “O Allah! We were ignorant of this!” He left the place and moved to the forest.

Zakariyya came to his wife and asked her to search for him and said, “I am afraid that you will see him after his death.” His mother went out to search for him and reached where some people of Israel had gathered. They asked her where she was going. She said she was in search of her son, Yahya who had heard about hell from his father. “I fear he must have gone to the forest.” Then she went towards the forest. On the way she met a shepherd. She asked him if he had seen him. He said he had seen him and that his whole body was wet with tears. He was praying to Allah, raising his head up and saying, “O, Allah! By Your Glory and Greatness I will not drink cool water until I die and return to You.”

His mother came to him. When he saw his mother, he went to her. She covered his head with her dress and requested him to return home. He was an obedient son. They both returned home and she asked him to change the hairy clothes and put on woolen ones as they were soft. Yahya did as his mother said. Then his mother cooked masoor (lentil) for dinner. He ate and slept. At the time of the morning prayer Yahya heard Allah’s revelation, “O Yahya! Do you want any place better than My place? Or anyone like Me?” Yahya arose and asked Allah to forgive him for his deeds. He said he wanted the shelter of His Jerusalem only.

He asked his mother to return his coarse dress. His mother gave him and embraced him, requested him not to go out. But Zakariyya said, “Let him go. He has renounced the world.” Yahya changed his dress, and occupied himself in prayer with the worshippers in Jerusalem until his last.

According to a tradition of Imam al-Ridha, from the beginning, Iblis was visiting the Prophets from Adam to ‘Isa. He was sitting and discussing with them but he was much attached to Yahya. One day Yahya asked him, “O Abu Marrah! I want to ask you something.” The Satan said, “Say what you like as your respect is very high in my sight. I cannot deny you.”

Yahya said, “Then tell me about all your tricks by which you make the people act against Allah’s commands.” He agreed and promised him that he would come to him the next day. Next day in the morning, Yahya was waiting for him, when suddenly an ugly figure approached him. His face was like a monkey and the body was like a pig. His eyes were as big as his mouth, his chin and beard were missing. He had four hands. Two of them on his breast and two on the shoulders. His toes were backward. He wore a gown and had a turban. Tied to his waist were multi-colored threads it. He had a bell in his hand and the hooks hung from the bell. Yahya asked him about his turban which was tied on his waist. He said it is a cage made by him. It is painted of different colors to attract the male and the coloring threads are the oaths of women which attract males by evil tricks. Prophet asked about the bell. He said, it possessed all kinds of tastes. It has all sorts of sounds like a flute, guitar and drum etc. When a person drinks wine and do not enjoy it I ring the bell. Hearing the sound of bell, they start singing and dancing and clapping.” Prophet asked, “What makes you happy?” He said, “Women.”

Then he said, “When the virtuous people curse me, I go to the women and make them happy.” The Prophet asked, “What is it on your head?” He said, “These are the curses of good people.” The Prophet asked, “And what about the hooks which are hanging on it?” He said, “By these hooks, I attract the mind and heart of the good believers towards me.” Then Yahya asked whether he could succeed over him?” Satan said, “No. Not at all. But I have seen your attitude, when you eat more than my hunger, until I am alive.” The Satan also vowed that he will not give advice any Muslim until the day of judgment and disappeared from there and did not come again to any Prophet.

In another book it is written that the dress of Yahya was made of date palm.

According to traditions of Imam Musa al-Ka¨im and Imam al-Ridha, Yahya was always weeping in fear of Allah and never laughed and ‘Isa was sometimes crying and sometimes laughing and whatever he was doing, was better than Yahya.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is quoted in a book that the rulership of The Israelites was transferred from Prophet Denial to Uzair. The followers used to gather and ask the religious matters and problems and solved their problems through Uzair.

Then Prophet Uzair disappeared from among them for a hundred years and by order of Allah he again reappeared and the people who were preaching to the people in his absence became dumb. The rules and regulations were very strict at that time. In the same period Yahya born. When he was seven years old, he started preaching Allah’s command and recited the holy verses in loud voice before the people. “Allah is one! He is alone and has no partner. He punishes the offenders, so fear His chastisement. Sometimes the apostles disappear from the people to their offence. You will be happy when ‘Isa son of Maryam will come within twenty years among you and preach you.”

‘Ali has stated that Yahya died in the last week of the month on Wednesday. (Month is not mentioned)

Imam as-Sadiq has stated in a book that ‘Isa prayed to Allah to make Yahya return to the world again and went near the Yahya’s tomb and called out. Yahya came out of his tomb and asked, “O ‘Isa why have you called me? And what do you want from me?” ‘Isa said, “I want you to return to the world again and be my helper and companion as you were before.” Yahya replied, “O ‘Isa! Still I am restless after my death and you want me to come back again and die again. I don’t want to come again,” and went into his tomb and ‘Isa turned back.

Imam as-Sadiq has stated that a man came to ‘Isa and confessed that he is a great sinner. He has committed a great sin (adultery). “So please make me pure and ask Allah to forgive me.” ‘Isa called the people to gather and award punishment. People gathered and made him stand in a pit for stoning. ‘Isa said, “Only those who have not committed any sin can punish.” The people realized their mistake and left except ‘Isa and Yahya.

Yahya came to him and said, “O sinner, give me some good advice.” He said, “Restrain from evil, otherwise your wish will kill you.” Yahya said, “Say something more.” He said, “Secondly do not rebuke the person in front of others and do not be angry in excess.” Prophet said, “It is enough.”

The Holy Prophet says, “When the time came, Allah raised ‘Isa nominated Prophet Shamoun ibn Hamoon as his successor. He preached to the people of The Israelites until he was alive. When people tried Yahya and put him to death, he appointed the son of Shamoun as his successor.2

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that when Yahya was born Angels took him to the heaven and gave him milky juice but forbade him to drink milk. Then they brought him to his father Zakariyya. The house was illuminated as if by moonlight.

Imam al-Ridha says that there are three stages in a human life. First when he is born in the world and sees the world. Second when he dies and third when he would be raised from the grave. Allah sent peace upon Yahya and removed his fear. Yahya said that Allah, the Merciful has released him from the terror of these three occasions.

Imam al-Ridha says, “When Zakariyya prayed to Allah to grant him a son whom he can nominate as his successor it was the first of Muharram and Allah heard his prayer. It is said that Allah bestow whatever he asks to the one who fasts and prays on that day.”

According to hasan Balkia Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “When Zakariyya fled in fear of The Israelites and asked a tree for refuge, the trunk of the tree split and invited Zakariyya to enter. When he entered, the tree joined as before. The Israelites searched for him everywhere but could not find him. Then Satan came to them and showed them where he was hidden and asked them to saw the tree trunk. At that time people were worshipping that tree and they refused to cut the tree. But Satan changed their mind and made them cut it happily.” At last, Zakariyya was cut in two.3

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq was asked, who was the most cruel disbeliever. He said, “He was an adulterer and kept a lot of mistresses. One of them belonged to The Israelites. When she became old, she asked her daughter to “go to the king as a mistress and when the king asks what reward you want, tell him that you want the head of the son of Zakariyya.” The girl did as her mother bid her. The king asked her three times but she gave the same reply. At last the king ordered for a golden tray, called Yahya to his court and cut his head. When Prophet’s blood fell on the ground it began to boil. The people started putting dust and mud on it but it did not stop boiling. The dust and mud piled upon it became a hillock.

Many years passed. After that king, the new king named Nebuchadnezzar became the ruler of The Israelites. He asked one of the elderly people the reason of blood boiling. He said he has heard from his father and grandfather that it was the blood of Yahya who had been killed by the previous king and his blood is still boiling.

Nebuchadnezzar vowed that he would kill the people of The Israelites to stop the boiling of blood. To this end he killed about seventy thousand people and the blood stopped boiling.

According to another tradition, the woman who asked the king for Yahya’s head, was the wife of another king. The king of the Israelites kept her as his mistress. When she became old, she offered the king to accept her daughter from her first husband. The king said he will ask Yahya if he would allow me to marry her. When he asked Yahya he refused. Then one day the old woman dressed up her daughter and sent her to the king when he was drunk. He accepted her. Then she persuaded the king to kill Yahya. Due to this Yahya was slaughtered by the king.

According to another tradition ‘Isa sent Yahya with twelve followers to preach to the people the religious laws and warn people that it was against Islamic law, to marry the sister’s daughter. According to a tradition the king loved his sister’s daughter very much and he wanted to marry her. When her mother came to know about the Yahya’s order. She became very angry with him. She adorned her daughter and sent her to the king. The king asked her what she desired as a gift. She asked for Yahya’s head. The king told her to ask for anything except Yahya’s head, but she refused. Finally the king relented and summoned Yahya to the court and beheaded him.

The drops of blood fell on the ground and started boiling. When Nebuchadnezzar came on the throne and he came to know about it from an old woman of The Israelites, he vowed that he would kill the people of the Israelites to stop the boiling of blood.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “When Allah desires to take revenge of his apostles or believers, He takes revenge through evil people of this world and sometimes He takes revenge from His own friends. Nothing is difficult to Allah. Allah took revenge of Yahya by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of The Israelites.”4

- 1. It is said that the mother of Yahya was from Asia. Some says that she was the sister of Maryam or her aunt.

- 2. That there are different opinions about Yahya being the successor of ‘Isa

- 3. Allah’s blessings on those who believe in Him and curse on those who have slaughtered His apostles.

- 4. Many incidents and conditions of Yahya, Prophet Daniel will be narrated in the chapter of Nebuchadnezzar.

An account of Maryam, the mother of ‘Isa

Allah, the most high declares in Qur’an,

“When a woman of ‘Imran said, My Lord! Surely I vow to Thee what is in my womb, to be devoted (to thy service); accept therefore from me, surely Thou art the Hearing, the knowing.” (3:35)

‘Imran’s wife Hanna was the maternal grandmother of ‘Isa and he was different from ‘Imran the father of Musa. He was the son of Masaan and Hanna’s sister Aaisha was Zakariyya’s wife. Yahya and Maryam were cousins.

‘Imran’s wife had taken a vow that she would devote her child that is in her womb (whether boy or a girl) in the service of Jerusalem or for the prayer in the mosque. (A devoted child cannot leave the place). ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has stated that Allah is Knowing and Hearing. Ayyashi has written: According to a tradition ‘Imran’s wife vowed that she will devote her child in the service of Jerusalem. (He or she worked as a keeper of the mosque and he was strictly prohibited to go out from the mosque.)

Regarding Hanna, the mother of Maryam it is said,

“So when she brought forth, she said, My Lord! Surely I have brought forth a female- and Allah knows best what she brought forth- and the male is not like the female, and I have named it Maryam, and I command her and her offspring into Thy protection from the accused Satan.” (3:36)

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, female is not like male as (when female comes in menstrual period, she cannot stay in mosque. She must leave the place and go away) and the keeper of mosque should not go out. (And Hanna said, I have named her Maryam , Maryam means virgin. I have given her in the protection of Allah.)

The Qur’an says,

“So her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance and made her grow up a good growing.” (3:36)

It is said that she was growing day by day in wisdom with others. When she completed nine years she became perfect in prayers and in fasting. She became more perfect than others in worship.

In continuation of Ayat 36, Allah gave her in the change of Zakariyya . It is stated that Maryam ’s mother brought her, wrapping her in a piece of cloth and said that she has devoted her for the service of Jerusalem. Maryam was the daughter of Prophet so the other people said they would take charge of her, to look after her. But Zakariyya said that Allah has appointed him as her guardian, “as my wife is Maryam ’s aunt.” Other scholars said, “You are not, but her mother is a rightful person.” To find out the right person they decided to cast their pens in flowing water. They all were twenty-nine. The pens were very heavy, made up of iron and were used for writing the verses of Torah. They cast their pens in flowing water one by one, Zakariyya also cast his pen. All the pens sank. Only the pen of Zakariyya floated.

The Qur’an further states,

“Whenever Zakariyya entered the sanctuary to (see) her, he found with her food. He said, O Maryam! Whence comes this to you? She said, It is from Allah. Surely Allah gives to whom He pleases without measure.” (3:37)

Imam said, “She was not drinking milk but getting her provision from Allah.” Imam al-Baqir said that, many people tried to take charge of Maryam but Zakariyya’s pen remained afloat and he became her guardian. Then Zakariyya brought her in the mosque. When she came of age, (menstruating), Allah ordered Zakariyya to keep her in a separate part of the mosque. Maryam was a very beautiful lady. When she was standing for prayer the house illuminated with Divine light. Whenever Zakariyya went to see Maryam he found fruits of different seasons with her, when he inquired about the fruits of summer in winter and winter fruits in summer Maryam replied, “It is from Allah. Surely Allah gives to whom he pleases without measures.” Zakariyya prayed to Allah to grant him a virtuous offspring.

According to Imam as-Sadiq Allah revealed to ‘Imran that he would be bestowed with a son, who will give sight to the blind, he will cure the lepers and bring the dead to life with his order. “I will send him as My apostle to the people of The Israelites.”

‘Imran gave the good news to his wife Hanna and she was pregnant. She thought that Allah has given the good news of a male child. So she decided that she would devote the child (whether boy or girl) in the service of Jerusalem. When Maryam was born, she said, “O Allah! I delivered a female child. And a Prophet can’t be female.” When Allah blessed Maryam with a son ‘Isa it was the fulfillment of His promise to ‘Imran.

According to another tradition people asked Imam al-Ridha if Allah had any information about anything, can anyone go against of it? Imam said, “Yes, in the period of Musa, Allah ordered the Israelites not to enter a holy place. The people obeyed and didn’t enter but their grandsons entered did. In the same way ‘Imran was informed by Allah, he will bestow him a son in a particular month of a year and the son would be a Prophet. And he went somewhere else.”

When Maryam was born in ‘Imran’s house and Zakariyya took charge of her, some said, “‘Imran is a true Prophet of Allah and some said he wasn’t.” When ‘Isa was born, people who believed, said, “What Allah promised to ‘Imran was true.”

According to another tradition people asked Imam al-Baqir if ‘Imran was a Prophet? Imam replied, “Yes, he was a Prophet sent by Allah to his community. And Hanna was the wife of ‘Imran and Hanana was the wife of Zakariyya . They both were sisters. Hanna was the mother of Maryam and Yahya was the son of Zakariyya . And ‘Isa was the son of Maryam.

‘Isa was the son of Yahya aunt’s daughter (Hanna) and Yahya was the son of Maryam’s aunt. So they both were maternal cousins.1

Regarding the religious book, Isma‘il Zohfi a follower of Imam al-Baqir asked him that others say one cannot pray in menstrual period and can’t fast during the period. What is true? Imam replied him giving him example of Maryam that the mother of Maryam will devote her child in service of Jerusalem and one devoted to Jerusalem did not come out. When Maryam was brought up by Zakariyya and many people demanded the guardianship of Maryam they cast their pens with their names in the sea. All pens sunk except Zakariyya’s. Zakariyya took charge of her and looked after her until she grew up. As a woman she could not stay in a mosque during menses and can’t pray. But it is true that she had to stay in a mosque, as she was pure and virgin.2

Allah says,

O Maryam! keep to obedience to your Lord and humble yourself, and bow down with those who bow. “This is of the announcements relating to the unseen which we reveal to you; and you were not with them, when they cast their pens (to decide) which of them should have Maryam in his charge and you were not with them when they contented one with another.” (3:43-44)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that the casting of pens in water was for the guardianship of Maryam whose parents were dead and she was an orphan. And in last part states the affair of the guardianship of ‘Isa

According to another tradition the first time lots were drawn for Maryam and they were six person who cast their pens.

al-Qutb al-Rawandi has stated that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “Maryam had protected herself from evil since five hundred years before the birth of ‘Isa. Maryam’s mother decided to devote her child in the service of Jerusalem. When Maryam born, she was brought up in Jerusalem. When she grew up she served the worshippers, Allah the high, ordered Zakariyya to make arrangement for her veil and curtain in the mosque. So that she can conceal herself from strangers. Only Zakariyya was visiting her. She lived for 500 years after her father’s death.”3

According to Imam al-Baqir, ‘Ali asked Fatimah for food. Fatimah said that by Allah, she had nothing to give since three days. Imam asked, why she did not inform him. She said that her father Prophet forbade her to make too many requests.

After that ‘Ali came out of his house and met one of his followers, Miqdad. Imam inquired where he was going in the hot afternoon. He said, “Because of hunger.” Imam ‘Ali said that he had also came out of his house for the same thing. Imam ‘Ali gave him a Dirham, which he had borrowed and returned empty-handed. He saw the Prophet sitting and Fatimah in prayers. He found that there was a tray of food, covered with a cloth. After prayers she brought it before them. When they uncovered it they saw meat dish and hot chapattis. Imam ‘Ali inquired from where it had come? Fatimah replied, “It is from Allah. Surely Allah gives to whom He pleases without measures.” The Holy Prophet said, “Shall I show you your and Fatimah’s example? Imam said, “Yes.” Prophet said, “O ‘Ali, your status and example is like Zakariyya when he saw the seasonal fruits of different seasons near Maryam He inquired about them. When you asked Fatimah for this and she answered you.”

By the grace of Allah the family of Prophet were having food for one month from that tray. Imam al-Baqir said that tray was still with them. This will be discussed in the chapter of the family of Prophet and in the miracle of Fatimah.4

Ibn ‘Abbas has stated that once the Holy Prophet informed his family about cruelty and oppression on Fatimah after him, and said that angels will weep in sorrow and grief, as they revealed to Maryam and will say, “O Fatimah Allah has given you superiority above all the women of the world. O Fatimah! Pray to Allah, prostrate and bow the forehead on the pray mat. When you will be crush under the falling door, you will suffer great pain. Then by the permission of Allah, Maryam will come for your treatment.”

According to a tradition, some people asked Imam Ja‘far as- Sadiq who gave the last bath (ghusl) to Fatimah? Imam said, “Amir al-Mu’minin. As she was an infallible, sinless lady. So Imam ‘Ali gave her last bath of her body. In this way ‘Isa gave the last bath to his mother Maryam .”5

- 1. There are different opinions in different books (hadith) that the mother of Yahya was the sister of Maryam and another tradition says, she was an aunt. It is difficult to understand the proper relationship.

- 2. It is very difficult to solve this problem. In the book Behaarul Anwaar it is indicated that the daughters of Prophets were not having menstrual course and it will be discussed in the chapter of Fa§imah. Some hadith indicates that they were having menstrual course (Qur’an says (3:42) O Maryam! Surely Allah has chosen you and purified you and chose you above the women of the world.” Allah says, O Maryam! Keep to obedience to your Lord and humble yourself, and bow down with those who bow.”
Allah has kept her pure and chosen her above the women of the world. Allah says twice regarding the status of Maryam in His holy book. First He chose her from the Prophet’s family and made her most respectable above the all women of the world. ‘Isa was born by Allah’s will without father and secondly Allah has recorded ‘Isa ’s events for the last Prophet. According to reliable sources Allah has given Excellency to Fa§imah the daughter of Prophet Muhammad al-Mus§afa above the women of the world. Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq has stated Fa§imah was called Muhadditha because Angels visited her and spoke to her. As the (Angels) were visiting Maryam and talking with her.
It was said: Fa§imah I have chosen you, given you superiority above all the women of the world. O Fa§imah, Pray to Allah, prostrate and bow down in Allah’s adoration.” Even Angels were conversed with Fa§imah. One night, while speaking to the Angels, Fa§imah said, ‘Maryam is superior on all the women of the world.’ Angels said, ‘Maryam was superior in the period of ‘Isa but Allah the glorious has given you superiority with on all the women of the world until the day of judgment.’
It is related that one day the Prophet drew four lines on the ground and asked the followers, “Do you know, why I have drawn these four lines?” The followers said, “No, Allah and His Prophet know better.” Prophet said, “These lines indicate four best ladies of the Heaven. 1) Khadijah bint Khuwaylid 2) Fa§imah my daughter 3) Maryam bint ‘Imran 4) Aasiya Bint Mazahim, the wife of the Pharaoh.”
According to Imam Musa al-Ka¨im the Holy Prophet has said that Allah has appointed these four with all His bounties, and in all respects, above all the women of the world. They are Maryam Aasiya Khadijah and Fa§imah.

- 3. Such a great age of Maryam is against established belief.

- 4. From the ancient writings we come to know what was happening in the past will be happen in future. Allah sent bounties from the heaven for Maryam as well as for Fa§imah.

- 5. More incidents of Maryam will be discussed in the chapter of ‘Isa.

An account of ‘Isa ibn Maryam

Birth of ‘Isa

Allah says,

“When the angels said, O Maryam, surely Allah gives you good news with a word from Him (of one) whose name is Messiah ‘Isa son of Maryam, worthy of regard in this world and the Hereafter and of those who are made near (to Allah).” (3:45)

‘Isa is called ‘word’ because he was born with the Divine Word ‘kun’ (Be) without a father, or Allah guided people through his words. And he is called ‘Messiah’ because he was as a Divine bounty, given a treatment of ‘Masah’ (caress) by the Mercy of Allah and thus purified (from sins), or as olive oil was applied to his body after his birth or Archangel Gabriel touched him with his wing so that he might remain safe from mischief of Satan or as he used to caress his head with his hands or as the blind could see through his touch and the sick were healed. It is said that in the Hebrew language it was ‘Messiaha’ which became ‘Messiah’ in Arabic.

“And he shall speak to the people when in cradle and when of old age, and (he shall) be one of the good ones.” (3:46)

“She said, My Lord, how shall there be a son (born) to me when man has not touched me?” He (the angel) said, “Even so, Allah creates what He pleases. When He has decreed a matter He only says to it ‘Be’ and it is. He will teach him the Book and the Torah and the Injeel and (make him) an apostle to the children of Israel. That I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I determine for you out of dust like the form of a bird, then breathe into it and it becomes a bird with Allah’s permission and I heal the blind and the leprous and bring the dead to life with Allah’s permission and I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses; most surely there is a sign in this for you, if you are a believer.”

And a verifier of that which is before me of the Torah and that I may allow you part of that which has been forbidden to you, and I have come to you with a sign from your Lord therefore be careful of (your duty to) Allah and obey me.

Surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serve Him; this is the right path. (3:47-51)

The Almighty also says, Surely the likeness of ‘Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, “Be”, and he was. (3:59)

In yet another place the Qur’an says: “And mention Maryam in the Book when she drew aside from her family to an eastern place.” (19:16)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates that Archangel Gabriel blew into the neckline of Maryam thus passing air into her belly. It resulted in conception of ‘Isa the same night and she delivered the next morning. The time of this pregnancy was only nine hours that became equal to the period of nine months required by other women. Imam al-Baqir is reported to have said that Archangel Gabriel blew into the neckline of Maryam holding her garment and it resulted in instant perfection of ‘Isa in her womb the same way offspring develop in their mother’s wombs in nine months. Then she came out of the bathing place with a child’s burden like those ladies who have completed their period of pregnancy and who are on the verge of delivery. When her aunt saw her she became astonished. Feeling ashamed Maryam went away from Zakariyya and his wife as mentioned by Allah,

“So she conceived him; then withdrew herself with him to a remote place.” (19:22)

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition of Imam as-Sadiq that a child born after six months pregnancy does not remain alive, but ‘Isa and Imam al-Husayn did live though both were born within six months of pregnancy.1

“And the throes (of child birth) compelled her to betake herself to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, “Oh, would that I had died before this, and had been a thing quite forgotten.”(19:23)

She desired death fearing that people would misunderstand her.

Imam as-Sadiq is reported to have said that any good, wise person might not attribute a wrong thing to her. ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when Maryam came out due to labor pains to find shelter somewhere it was market day and the place was full of tradesmen. Maryam passed by the weavers. In those days weaving was a prestigious profession. The weavers were atop donkeys. Maryam inquired from them whereabouts of the old palm tree. But the weavers made a mockery of her and spoke with contempt. So Maryam angrily prayed to Allah that He may degrade their profession and dishonor them among the people. Then she saw a group of businessmen and asked them whereabouts of the palm tree. They gave her the correct information. She wished good for them praying to Allah for progress of their trade and for making people eager for them. When she reached the tree ‘Isa was born. Immediately on seeing ‘Isa she exclaimed, “Would that I had died before the arrival of this day. Now what shall I say to my aunt and what will be my answer to the questions of The Israelites?”

Then (the child) called out from beneath her: “Grieve not, surely your Lord has made a stream to flow beneath you” (19:24)

‘Isa called out from beneath or Archangel Gabriel told Maryam from the hillock do not grieve because your Lord has made a stream flow beneath you or made ‘Isa a great personality. Imam al-Baqir is reported to have said that the stream where was born was dry for years but Allah made it flow afresh since that moment. Then the Lord said,

“(Maryam) Shake the trunk of the palm tree which is towards you, it will drop on you fresh ripe dates.”(19:24)

Imam al-Baqir is reported to have said that nothing is more beneficial to a woman in confinement after childbirth than dates because Allah had made it the food for Maryam after delivery and he (the Imam) also said that tree had dried up and had no fruits, because had it been full of fruits Allah would not have asked Maryam to shake it and she herself would have fulfilled her desired. It was the winter season when trees have no fruits. Therefore, Allah, in order to show His miracle, instantly made leaves and fruits grow on that old dry tree.

Ibn ‘Abbas has narrated that when Maryam experienced labor pains and became restless, she came out and walked towards a hillock. When she climbed it she saw the trunk of a dried palm tree that had neither leaves nor fruits. She sat down beneath that tree and ‘Isa was born there. When Maryam desired death Archangel Gabriel called out to her from beneath the hillock neither to fear nor to grieve as Allah had already provided water for her in the stream so that she may drink and purify herself by bathing and to shake the tree for causing the dates to drop.

“So eat and drink and refresh the eye. Then if you see any mortal say: Surely I have vowed a fast to the Beneficent Allah, so I shall not speak to any man today.” (19:26)

Perhaps she was allowed to speak this much or to convey it by gestures. In their shari‘ah a fast meant to remain silent or it (silence) might have been a part of fasting. These things were said by ‘Isa. ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when Maryam became grief-stricken and sorrowful after the birth of ‘Isa and longed for death, ‘Isa spoke from near her feet to tell her not to grieve (as described) and when Maryam extended her hand toward the palm tree the ripe fruits dropped down into her hands. Seeing this she became very pleased then miraculously ‘Isa told her, “Roll me up in a cloth.” He (‘Isa told her whatever was necessary and also told her, “If you meet with anyone tell him that you are fasting.” (Etc as described).

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “A fast does not mean refraining from food and drink. Do you not know that Maryam said, ‘I have vowed to fast’ meaning ‘I will keep silent except uttering the Names of Almighty Allah and remembering Him.’” And it is mentioned in reliable traditions that the tree from which Maryam had eaten dates was Ajwah dates which was of the best quality palm tree.

Ibn Babawayh has narrated from Wahab bin Munabbah that when Maryam approached the palm tree she was shivering due to cold. So Yusuf Najjar gathered wood around her and made a fire. Thus Maryam got warmth. He also gave her seven walnuts from his packsaddle. It was because of this that the Christians light up fires in the birth night of ‘Isa and play with walnuts.

And she came to her people, carrying him (with her). They said, “O Maryam! Surely you have done a strange thing.” (You have brought a child without having a husband, you have committed a bad deed). “O sister of Harun! Your father was not a bad man, nor was your mother an unchaste woman.”

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that when the people did not find Maryam in the hall of worship they went out in search of her and Zakariyya also began to look for her. Then they saw her coming with a ‘Isa in arms. The women of The Israelites gathered, taunted her and spat on her. Maryam did not pay any attention to them and entered the niche of the Masjid. Zakariyya and the people of The Israelites came to her and said, “O Maryam! You have done a wrong deed. What a grave disgrace you have brought on The Israelites.” They addressed her as ‘sister of Harun’ by a way of taunting her. Harun was a debaucher criminal very notorious. Some say Harun was a very good person and people used to name him in the matter of good deeds. Some have said that Harun was the maternal uncle of Maryam . Reportedly Imam al-Baqir has said that seventy women had made allegations against Maryam and said, “Surely you have done a strange thing.” So Allah gave ‘Isa the power of speech. He addressed the women, “Woe unto you for making false allegations against my mother. I am a slave (creation) of Allah. He has made me His Messenger and has given me the Book. By Allah! I will prosecute you.” He did punish them for libel after becoming a (grown-up) Prophet. She pointed out to him and they said, “How should we speak to one who is a child in the cradle.” He said, “I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined on me prayer and Zakat (poor-rate) As long as I live.” It is reported that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said (it meant) “I have been made beneficent because people will benefit from me as I have knowledge and perfection and an ability to heal the ill and to raise those who have died outwardly and inwardly.” “And he has enjoined on me prayer and charity as long as I live and dutiful to my mother. He has not made me insolent and unblessed. He has protected me from becoming a disobedient, unworthy son my mother. Peace be on me the day I was born and on the day I die and on the day I am raised to life. When this miracle occurred and ‘Isa spoke about all these things, the people realized that Maryam was pure and was never involved in the things imagined by them and that these were the signs of Allah’s Might.

Reportedly Imam al-Baqir has said how Maryam was given good tidings of ‘Isa: One day she was sitting in the prayer room of the house of worship when Archangel Gabriel came down in form of a man and dropped his saliva into the collar of her frock. She at once conceived ‘Isa who was born the same day. Till that time, on the surface of the earth there was no tree which did not have fruits and also no tree had thorns until the sinner offspring of Adam attributed wife and son to Allah made the earth shiver. Fruits disappeared from the trees and thorns came up in place of fruits. ‘Isa appeared from the trees and thorns came up in place of fruits. Shaitans gathered around their chief Iblis and said, “Tonight a child is born because of whom every idol in the world has toppled down.” Hearing this, the accursed Iblis became worried. He went from east to west to find the child but could not find any trace of him until he approached a Monastery. There he saw that the angels had encircled that house. The accursed Satan tried to enter the house but the angels ordered him to go away from there. He asked who the father of the newborn child was. They said his case was an example of Adam whom Allah had created without a father. Iblis retorted “I will destroy four out of five parts of human population due to this son.”

Through reliable sources Shaykh al-Tusi had narrated a tradition from Imam Zayn al-‘abidin that the place described as a far-off place by Allah where Maryam had moved for delivering ‘Isa is Karbala. Maryam had covered a long distance from Damascus to Karbala in a split second; ‘Isa was born at a point near the grave of Imam al-Husayn and she returned to Damascus that same night.

al-Qutb al-Rawandi has with authentic proofs, narrated from Yahya bin ‘Abdullah that, “I was with Imam as-Sadiq in Heerah. One day we went riding and reached a village in the vicinity of Nasirah and came near river Euphrates.” Imam said, ‘Here it is, Here it is’ and then dismounted, prayed two Rak’ahs of prayers and asked me, ‘Do you know where ‘Isa was born?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said ‘It is here, where I am now sitting.’ Then he said, ‘Where was the palm tree which was shaken by Maryam for its fruits?’

I replied that I did not know. He pointed to his back with his hand and said it was at this spot. Thereafter he asked me whether I knew the meaning of Rabawah, mentioned in the Divine Ayat of Holy Qur’an reading:

“And we made the son of Maryam and his mother a sign, and we gave them shelter on a lofty ground (rabwah) having meadows and springs.(23:50)’

This means we sheltered ‘Isa and his mother on a high ground that we turned into a living place with abundance of fruits and populace and running streams of water. I said I did not know. He pointed to his right with his hand toward Najaf and said this is that hill. Then he said the ‘Maaum Maeen’ mentioned by the Lord is the river Euphrates and added when the pregnancy of Maryam became apparent she was in that valley where five hundred virgin girls were busy praying to Allah and that her (Maryam’s) period of pregnancy was nine hours. When she suffered labor pains she came out of the worship place and came home that was her monastery. Therefrom she approached the palm tree that was old. ‘Isa was born there. She carried him and came to her people. They became fearful on seeing her in that condition and were astonished. The Israelites fell in dispute about ‘Isa. Some said, ‘He is the son of Allah’ some other said ‘He is a servant of Allah and His Messenger’ and the Jews said Allah forbid. “He is the fruit of adultery” and that palm tree was Ajwah.”

Several other reliable traditions have been recorded explaining this holy verse of the Graceful Qur’an saying Rabwah is the other end of al-Kufah and its sawad (outskirt) is Karbala or Najaf and the Qaraar (meadow) is the mosque of al-Kufah and ‘Maeen’ (spring) is the river Euphrates.

It is mentioned in authentic hadith of Imam Musa al-Ka¨im that Archangel Gabriel had brought heavenly dates for Maryam -- ‘Safran’. When she ate them she became pregnant.

It is mentioned in other reliable records that a Christian scholar once approached Imam al-Ka¨im. Imam asked him whether he knew which river (spring) is one by which ‘Isa was born? He replied in negative whereupon Imam said it is river Euphrates.

Another similar hadith quotes that once, giving them proofs told Christian scholars that the name of the mother of Maryam was Murtaa, which meant ‘waheebah’ in Arabic. The day was Friday and time was zawaal (afternoon) when Archangel Gabriel had come to Maryam and she conceived ‘Isa and that day was ever since a day of ‘Id (rejoicing or celebration), and the day when ‘Isa was born was a Tuesday and his birth took place at half past four, and the river on the bank of which he was born was river Euphrates. On that day he was not permitted by Allah to talk. When the king of those days came to know about this event he started for that place with his son and his courtiers with an intention of harming ‘Isa. He called the family of ‘Imran (family members of ‘Imran) so that they may see Maryam in that extraordinary condition until all that came to pass which has been described in the holy Qur’an (that is, he spoke from the cradle).

Reliable traditions have recorded that, according to Imam Muhammad al-Baqir ‘Isa was born on the night of 25th Dhu’l-Qa’dah.

Kulaini has, with authentic narrations said that hafs bin Giyath has said, “I have seen Imam as-Sadiq in the gardens of al-Kufah. When he came near a particular palm tree he offered two Rak’ahs of prayers with bowing and prostration and I counted that he had recited Tasbih (sanctified Allah five hundred times) then he continued to recite Dua for a long time and then said, “O Rafas! By Allah! This is the tree about which is mentioned in the holy Qur’an. Allah had asked Maryam to shake it so as to cause its fruits to fall for her.”

Through a good authority it is reported that Imam as-Sadiq said, “On the night of Me’raj (ascension of the holy Prophet) Archangel Gabriel had, at one point, requested the holy Prophet to alight from his heavenly horse flying at supersonic speed and to offer prayers.” The Prophet offered prayers and asked what place it was. Archangel Gabriel replied that it was Mount Sinai where Allah has conversed with Musa. From there they went further. After some time Archangel Gabriel again requested the holy Prophet to get down and pray. He inquired about that place whereupon he was informed that it was Bethlehem where ‘Isa was born.

In other reliable tradition the same person has recorded that various parts of the earth began to feel proud over one another, Ka‘bah thought it was superior to the ground of Karbala. But Allah silenced it saying do not think like that because Karbala is the place where We (Allah) conversed with Musa. Rabwah is the same place where We made Maryam and Messiah reside and that is the junction where the Holy head of husayn was washed and it is the same spot where ‘Isa was given a wash after he was born.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam Zayn al-‘abidin said, “When ‘Ali was returning from Nahrawan after fighting the Kharijites, he camped in Buratha Masjid near Baghdad. There was a monastery. When that monk observed the impressive features and great virtues of Imam about which he had read in earlier scriptures, he became a Muslim and said, “I have read your virtues and praise in Injeel wherein it is mentioned that you will camp in Buratha Masjid which is the House of Maryam and the land of ‘Isa.” Then ‘Ali went to a spot near that monastery and kicked the ground. Instantly clear water spring gushed out from there. ‘Ali said, “This is the spring that gushed out for Maryam .” Then he said, “Take a measurement of seven arm lengths from here and dig the ground.” When people complied with Imam ’s commandment there appeared a white rock. said this is the rock on which Maryam put ‘Isa after taking him down from her lap. Then he offered prayers there and said, “This ground of Buratha is the house of Maryam ”2

It has been, reliably noted that Imam as-Sadiq said, “When ‘Isa was born, Allah kept him hidden from the eyes of people, because when Maryam conceived she had gone into isolation at a distant place out of habitation as described by Allah. Zakariyya and the aunt of Maryam went in search of her. They reached Maryam when she had already delivered ‘Isa. At that time Maryam was longing for death due to a feeling of shame. Allah made ‘Isa speak and concluded the arguments for her. When ‘Isa appeared, the enemies of religion had increased their harassment and hardship on The Israelites. Cruel kings of that time rose up to torture and finish them until ‘Isa went up to the heaven and Shamoun and his followers went into hiding for fear. They hid themselves in one of the islands of a river and stayed there for quite a long time. Allah issued springs of sweet water for them and caused all kind of fruits, and created four-footed and other animals. He also sent a fish called Amad which did not have flesh and bones only skin and blood. Allah ordered the fish to come to the surface, then honeybees settled on her back and it carried them to that island. The bees built honeycombs in the trees of the island. In this way ample honey was provided for the residents of that island. News about ‘Isa continued to reach them.

Ibn Tawus has noted from Ibn Babawayh’s book An Nabuwwah that when ‘Isa was born a group of great men from Gabar came to pay their respects to ‘Isa and Maryam . They said, “We have the knowledge of the movements of stars. When this boy was born we observed a kingly star rise in the heavens. After pondering over it we understood that the kingdom of this child is a Prophet-related kingdom that will never be stripped from him until Allah raises him up to the heavens. When the world comes to an end his kingdom will turn into another worldly eternal kingdom. We come from the east and have reached here with the guidance of the said star. After arriving here we observed that that star stayed right above the head of this child of yours. We have brought some presents to be showered upon him. These things were never before gifted to anyone else because we considered them worthy of this child only. Here they are: gold and myrrh and mandar. Gold is a worldly wealth and your son is the best man in this world. Myrrh is a medicine useful for curing wounds and illness and madness. Since your son will be a healer of the sick, this thing will be suitable for him, and kandar is an essence the smoke of which reaches up to the sky. No other smoke rises so high. As your child will be ascending to heavens this thing is appropriate for him.

It is written in reliable traditions that Abu-Basir asked Imam as-Sadiq why Allah created ‘Isa without a father. He replied, “So that people may understand his perfection and realize that Allah is able to do everything.”

It is recorded in many authentic traditions that the spirit which was blown into ‘Isa was created by Him (Allah) and it was superior to and higher than other spirits.

It is narrated in many hadiths by Sunnis as well as Shi‘ah sources that the holy Prophet told Amir al-Mu’minin, “You are similar to ‘Isa son of Maryam about whom many indulged in extremism. They began to call him Allah and Allah’s son. Some became his enemies to such an extent that (Allah forbid) they called him an illegitimate born and alleged that he was the son of Yusuf Najjar. Both these groups went to Hell. The group that considered him a slave and a Prophet of Allah remained in his religion. Likewise, O ‘Ali one group will call you God and another (Allah forbid) will call you ‘Kafir’ (unbeliever). Both these groups will go to Hell. Those who consider you a slave and a caliph of his Prophet will attain salvation.”

Merits and perfections of ‘Isa

Allah Almighty says,

“And we gave ‘Isa, the son of Maryam, clear arguments and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.” (2:87)

Some have said that the holy spirit was created by Allah and blown by Him into ‘Isa. It is recorded in reliable traditions that the Holy Spirit is a creation of Allah which is higher than Archangel Gabriel and Mika’il and all the angels who had relations with great Prophets and the sinless Imams and who keeps helping them from the time of their birth and guides them up to the last. Some hadiths which have been mentioned in the beginning of this book are concerning this subject. Allah Almighty says elsewhere,

“When Allah will say: O ‘Isa, son of Maryam; Remember my favor on you and your mother, when I strengthened you with the holy spirit and you spoke to the people in the cradle; and when of old age I taught you the Book and the wisdom and the Torah and the Injeel; and when you determined out of clay a thing like the form of a bird by My permission, and you healed the blind and the leprous by My permission; and when you brought forth the dead by My permission.” (5:110)

It is well known that the bird made by ‘Isa was a bat. It is described in the hadith of Amir al-Mu’minin that there were six animals, which were not delivered from the womb of their mother. One of them is the bat that was molded from clay by ‘Isa. By the command of Allah it became a living thing and flew away. It is narrated by Wahab ibn Munabbah that once it so happened that fifty thousand ailing persons had gathered around ‘Isa. Whoever was unable to come up to ‘Isa, would go to that ailing person himself. He used to heal him on condition that he would believe in his message. It is said that in the very beginning he brought four dead persons back to life. The first was his friend Aazar. Three days after his death ‘Isa told the deceased’s sister to take him to her brother’s grave.

On reaching there, ‘Isa said, “O Lord of the seven Heavens and the Earth! Verily you have sent me towards The Israelites so that I may call them to Your religion and inform them that I am bringing the dead back to life. So bring Aazar back to life.” Aazar was made alive and came out of his grave. Thereafter he lived long enough to beget children. The second person was the son of an old woman whose coffin was being carried by people before the eyes of ‘Isa. In response to ‘Isa ’s prayer to Allah the dead person became alive and sat up in the coffin. He then descended from the coffin by putting his feet on the shoulders of the coffin carriers. Then he called for his clothes, wore them and went home. He also fathered children thereafter. The third person was a girl named Ashaar. People told ‘Isa that she had died the previous day and asked him to bring her back to life. ‘Isa prayed to Allah and she became alive and got sons thereafter. The fourth person was Noah’s son called Sam whom ‘Isa made alive with the help of (the Glorious Names of Allah). Sam came out of his grave. Half of his hair was white. Sam said, Perhaps this is the final day of judgment. ‘Isa said, No, I prayed to Allah through His Glorious Names so that He may give you life. Now Sam had lived in the world for five hundred years yet his hair had not whitened. But at the said hour his hair turned grey for fear of the Day of Judgment. ‘Isa said to him, “Well, now be dead.” Sam said, “On condition that Allah protects me from the agony of death.” Then ‘Isa prayed for him and he met his Lord.

“And I withheld the children of Israel from you when you came to them with clear arguments, but those who disbelieved among them said, This is nothing but clear enchantment.” (5:110)

It is recorded in reliable sources by Imam al-Baqir that When ‘Isa said, “I am a Messenger of Allah for you. I can mould a bird from clay and give it life. I am the one who can cure people who are blind from birth.” The people of The Israelites said, “All this is enchantment. Give us some other proof so that we may become faithful believers.” ‘Isa said, “If I tell you what it is that you have eaten and what you have stored in your house, would you then believe that I am telling truth.” They said, “Yes.” ‘Isa began to reveal daily what they had eaten, what they had purchased and what they had kept in storage. Some of them believed in him but others still remained adamant on their disbelief.

It is authentically narrated that Imam as-Sadiq said that there was a gap of four hundred and eighty years between Prophet Dawud and ‘Isa. The religion of ‘Isa was that Only One Allah should be worshipped without selfishness or show. He was also ordained by Allah to propagate all the related things. Allah had revealed Injeel to him and took some vows from him as He had done from other Prophets. It was ordained for them in Torah that they should establish prayers and pay the poor-rate (Zakat), order good and prohibit evil and pronounce the divinely permissible things as permissible and the unlawful as unlawful. There were admonitions and examples in Injeel. The criminal code and rules regarding punishments and rights and inheritances were not therein. Allah had given some relief in the hard and fast commandments given by Torah. For example it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that ‘Isa said, “I am appointed to permit for you some things, which were prohibited (according to Torah).” ‘Isa asked those who believed in him that they should have faith in both the Torah and Injeel. ‘Isa talked with them while he was yet in the cradle. Thereafter he did not talk with them for seven or eight years after which he began propagation among The Israelites and started to tell them what they had eaten and what they had stored in their dwellings. He began to raise up the dead, heal the blind and leprous and to teach them Torah. When Allah willed to conclude the arguments for The Israelites He revealed Injeel on ‘Isa.

It is mentioned in another hadith that Abaan bin Saalab asked the same Imam whether ‘Isa had raised up any dead person who after revival had lived long enough to have children? He said, “Yes! ‘Isa had a friend with whom he had established brotherhood just to please Allah. ‘Isa use to live in his friend’s house whenever he visited him. (By chance) ‘Isa could not meet him for sometime, and when he went to see him he was met at the doorstep of the house by his friend’s mother instead. ‘Isa inquired about his friend. She replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah! He is dead.’ ‘Isa inquired from her whether she would like to see him again. She replied, ‘Surely O Prophet of Allah!’ ‘Isa said, ‘All right, I will come back tomorrow and by the command of Allah bring him back to life for you.’ The next day ‘Isa went back to the house and asked the mother to accompany him to the grave of her deceased son. She took ‘Isa to the grave. ‘Isa stood at the grave and recited a supplication to Allah. The grave opened and the son came out alive. When mother and son saw each other, they wept. ‘Isa felt pity for them and inquired of the son whether he would like to live with his mother? He asked whether it would be with provision, and food and a span of life or without all of it? ‘Isa said it would be with all that. He then told him, ‘You will live with all these things for another twenty years in the world, and that you will get married and beget children.’ The youth replied that he would like to live that way. So ‘Isa entrusted him to his mother. That youth thereafter lived for another twenty year, got married and reared his children.”

Another authentic hadith tells us that some companions of ‘Isa requested him to make the dead alive. So he enlivened Sam, son of Noah and asked him whether he wanted to live in this world or to revert to his past position. Sam said he did not want to remain alive as the agony of his (former) death was still painful to him.3

According to authentic sources it is mentioned that, according to Imam as-Sadiq some people asked ‘Isa as to why he did not marry? He replied, “Of what use will a woman be for me?” People said, “She will bear sons for you.” He said, “What shall I gain from sons. If they remain alive they will create trouble and disturbance for me and if they die they will only give me grief and gloom!”

It is recorded in reliable sources that ‘Isa used to recline on a pillow of rock and wear thick rough clothes while sleeping. He remained hungry most of the time. At night, the moonlight was his light. During the cold season his holdings were the entire east and the west under the sun. (He was always on the move). The grass which sprouted from the earth for animals provided him with fruits and fragrance. He had no woman whom he would love nor a son to worry about. He had no wealth which could deter him from the remembrance of Almighty Allah nor did he entertain any greed which could bring about disgrace. His vehicle were his feet and his servants his hands.

As recorded in reliable traditions Imam as-Sadiq said that ‘Isa in some of his sermons to The Israelites mentioned: My helpers are my hands and my vehicle my legs. The earth is my bed and my pillow the rock. The sun is the warmth giving fire for me and my lamp during the night is the moon. My food is hunger. My clothing is fear of Allah and my covering is thick rough clothes made of hair. My fruits and flowers are the grass which animals eat. I pass my night without possessing any belongings. When I awake I have nothing with me on the surface of this earth yet no one is more rich or needless than me.

Another narration mentions that the wife of Kinaan had a son who was physically disabled. She brought him to ‘Isa. ‘Isa told her that he had been entrusted with the service of healing the ailing persons among The Israelites. The wife of Kinaan said, “O spirit of Allah! Dogs obtain food from the tablecloths shaken off by the rich. So you too, through your wisdom help us and do not turn us out in despair.”

‘Isa sought permission from his Lord and then prayed and the son of that woman was cured.

It is mentioned in a true hadith that some people inquired of Imam as-Sadiq whether ‘Isa also suffered from ailments like all other children of Adam? Imam said, “Yes, he had suffered from serious old age ailments in his childhood. Once he had suffered from an ailment which generally troubles seamen. He requested his mother to bring a little honey mixed with olive oil. Maryam gave it to him. While drinking it ‘Isa showed disgust at its taste. The holy mother asked as to why he was showing dislike after calling for it himself? ‘Isa replied that it was through his knowledge as a divine Prophet that he called for it but its taste was unpalatable and like any normal child he showed his dislike for it. Yet he took it (and was cured).”

In another narration the same Imam has said that ‘Isa (During his childhood cried so much that it worried his mother very much. Then he would tell his mother, “O kind mother! Feed me with the powder of the skin of such and such tree so that my pain will subside and I will stop crying.” When Maryam put that medicine in the throat of the ‘Isa but he cried even more. Maryam asked him why he cried even more when he himself had desired it. The child replied, “My prescription is based on my Messengership and my crying is natural (due to my young age).”

According to authentic narrations Imam al-Ridha said that the Prophet of Allah has said, “May Allah make Masoor (lentils pulse) tasteful for you. It is blissful and pure, it softens the heart and increasing weeping (tenderness). Seventy Prophets have blessed it of whom ‘Isa is the last.”

According to the same chain of narrators Imam said that two engraved (oft repeated) phrases of ‘Isa were:

“Good is for a slave who remembers Allah because of Him and bad is for a person who forgets Allah because of Him.”

According to reliable sources hasan al-Mujtaba said, “‘Isa reached the age of thirty-three years in this world. Allah raised him up to heaven. He will ascend to the world in Damascus and kill Dajjal.”

According to authentic and reliable traditions Imam as-Sadiq said, “‘Isa went on a pilgrimage for hajj of Ka‘bah and passed by Safaih Rauhaa and he was repeatedly reciting labbaik abdu ka wabnuummahika labaik (Here I am, your servant and the son of your slave girl, here I am).”

It is reliably reported that the holy Prophet said, “I saw ‘Isa on the night of Me’raj (ascension to heavens). He had a red face, curly hair and was of moderate stature.”

It is also reported that Allah had appointed ‘Isa only to The Israelites and the jurisdiction of his Messengership was limited to the Jerusalem. After him his twelve Haaris (associates) became his successors.

It is mentioned in Abu-Dharr’s hadith that the holy Prophet said, “The first Prophet of The Israelites was Musa and their last messenger was ‘Isa. In between them six hundred Prophets had been appointed (by Allah).”

According to a true hadith it is reported that a person asked Imam al-Baqir when ‘Isa spoke in the cradle was he the Proof of Allah for the people of his time? Imam replied, “Yes, he was a Prophet and hujjah but he was not Mursal (i.e.. he was not appointed for Tabligh). Have you not heard that Allah has said that he spoke up in the cradle saying that ‘I am a slave of Allah. He has given me the Book and made me a Messenger!’” The narrator inquired was Zakariyya also Proof at that time? He replied, “In that environment he was a proof of Allah for the people and was the Mercy of Allah for Maryam as he testified to the chastity of Maryam at a time when people were misunderstanding her. And he was a Prophet of Allah and hujjah of Allah for those who heard his words at that time. Then he became silent. Thereafter when Zakariyya returned to Allah (expired), Yahya became his deputy. He inherited his property and wisdom when he was still very young. When ‘Isa attained the age of seven years he announced his Messengership and Allah revealed His word to him. Thus ‘Isa became the hujjah of Allah for Yahya and for all others. Since the advent of Adam until the Resurrection Day the world is not to exist without the hujjah of Allah.”

It is recorded in reliable reports that Safwan asked Imam al-Ridha, “May Allah not keep me alive when you are not in the world. If it so happens who will be our Imam (leader)?” Imam al-Ridha pointed towards Imam Muhammad al-Taqi standing nearby. Safwan exclaimed that he was only three years old. Imam said, “So what? ‘Isa attained his Messengership when he was only three years old!”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam al-Baqir said, “After ‘Isa was born he grew up speedily. In one day he grew as much as others grow in two months. When he was seven his mother took him to a school and seated him in front of the teacher. The teacher said bismillah hir rahman nir raheem (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful) and ‘Isa at once repeated the words. Then the teacher asked him: say ABJAD. ‘Isa raised his head and asked the teacher whether he knew the meaning of ABJAD? The teacher picked up a lash to hit him. ‘Isa said, ‘O teacher! Do not hit me. If you know the meaning tell it to me otherwise ask me to describe it.’ The teacher said, ‘Describe it.’ ‘Isa, ‘A (Alif) is AALAA meaning the bounties of Allah, B is for BAHJAT meaning ‘GRACE’ and Divine Attributes, J is for (Jamaal e Ilaahi), D that is Daal is for Deen e Ilahi (religion), H (hey) stands for Haul (hell), V (vaav) indicates VAIL LI AHLIN NAAR which means woe unto the dwellers of Hell, Z (Ze) points to Zafeer which indicates the screaming of sinners in the hell and the bursting of hellfire, Huttiya shows that sins are washed away by Istgfaar, KALMAN is ‘Kalma e Khudaa’ (words of Allah) and that nobody can alter His words and figures, SA A FA SA means the Resurrection Day (Dooms day of Final Judgment) which will exhibit tit for tat (perfect justice will be given to all by exact measure) QRESHAT means all will be made to sleep in the grave and will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment.’ Hearing all this, the teacher told the lady to take away her son as he possessed divine Knowledge and needed no teachers.”

It is narrated in reliable traditions that Imam as-Sadiq said, “One day ‘Isa went to the bank of a river and threw bread from his box into the water.” One of his companions asked, “Why, O spirit of Allah! Did you throw away a part of your food?” ‘Isa explained, “So that creatures in water may eat it. It carries a great reward.”

It is also recorded with authentic chains that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “There are 73 Graceful Names of Allah. ‘Isa was bestowed with two of them thereby he could show all miracles. Allah has taught all His 72 Names to us reserving one for Himself that has not been taught to any one.” (That is, including the two given to ‘Isa too. Thus 72 Names in all were taught).

It is recorded through the same sources that Imam said, “Fear Allah and do not envy one another.” Doubtlessly the holy ‘Isa’s shari‘ah included his tours in the world too. Once during such tours his companions included a short stature gentleman who was always keeping close to him. When they came across a river ‘Isa said, Bismillah (In the Name of the Allah) and stepped onto the water with firm faith and began to cross the river on foot. His companion also uttered ‘Bismillah’ and followed him trustfully and came very near to the . His soul became proud with a thought about ‘Isa that since he also was walking like ‘Isa on water, how is ‘Isa superior to me? Immediately he began to drown. So he complained to ‘Isa who held his hand and fetching him out asked him, ‘O little man! What thought did your heart nurture, which resulted in this calamity for you?’ He described whatever had come to his mind. ‘Isa told him that he (the pigmy man) had turned his heart in a direction in which Allah had not wanted it and also explained to him that he had imagined himself to be on a level that was higher than his. Therefore Allah regarded him as His enemy. So ‘Repent’. He repented and got his earlier status.” Imam said, “Repent before Allah and do not envy one another.”

He (Imam) said in another reliable tradition that one day ‘Isa passed by a group of people who were rejoicing noisily. He asked them why were they so joyful? He was informed that the daughter of such and such person was marrying the son of such and such person. ‘Isa told them that though they were merrymaking that day, they would mourn and grieve on the next day. Someone asked him, ‘O Messenger of Allah! How would it be so on the next day?’ ‘Isa told them that the girl would die that night. So those who had put faith in ‘Isa said that his word was true but the hypocrites retorted, ‘Tomorrow is not too far to prove the falsity of his word!’ Next morning all of them went to the door of that girl’s house and inquired about her. They were informed that she was alive. Returning to ‘Isa they exclaimed that though he had told them that the girl about whom he had said would die was yet alive. ‘Isa replied, ‘Allah does what He wills.’ He added, ‘Come let us see what took place’. Reaching the girl’s house her husband came out. ‘Isa asked his permission to talk with his wife. That man went to his wife and told her that ‘Isa wanted to ask her something, in the presence of some people. That lady covered herself with a sheet and called ‘Isa into the house. ‘Isa asked her as to what kind of a deed she done the previous night. She replied, “Nothing except what I do every Friday night. On every Friday night a beggar comes to me and I give him away what suffices him until next Friday. Since last night all in the house were busy due to my marriage ceremony no one attended to the calls of the said beggar. But I heard him so, I stealthily (so that others might not recognize me) went to the beggar and gave him something as usual.” ‘Isa asked her to get up from her bed. Accordingly she rose and swapped the bedding beneath it snake resembling the branch of a palm tree came out holding its tale in its mouth. ‘Isa said that it was due to this action of that lady for the poor beggar that Allah removed the calamity of the snakebite and postponed her death.

In another narration of Ibn ‘Abbas it is mentioned that one day when ‘Isa was in the valley of Jerusalem some Shaitans approached him with the intention of harming him. Allah Almighty asked Archangel Gabriel to hit the Shaitans with his right wing. Archangel Gabriel did so and ‘Isa was saved from harm.

Babawayh has narrated through Ibn ‘Abbas that when ‘Isa who was then 30 year old was in the aqabah (vale) of Jerusalem called Aqaba ar-Rafeeq, the accursed Iblis approached him and told him that since he had talked while in the cradle only his sovereignty (Godhood) was the highest. But ‘Isa retorted, ‘O Iblis. It is not so. Only One Allah is the Greatest. The one who has empowered me to talk in the cradle. He could have made me dumb, had He willed so’. Then that condemned Satan repeated, ‘Only you are the great Allah who is able to shape a bird with clay and blow into it to make it alive.” ‘Isa replied instantly, “Greatness is reserved only for Allah who created me and who creates a bird with my hands.” That condemned Satan spoke again: “Your Godhood is so high that you heal the ill.” ‘Isa told him: “Godhood is only for Him with whose permission I heal the ill, because if He wills it He can make me ill.” Then Iblis continued: “It is none but you who with your divine power make the dead alive. ‘Isa retorted: “But the real greatness belongs only to Allah at Whose command I raise up the dead, and it is only Allah Who will make those dead whom I have made live and also make me dead. Only He will remain ever alive.” Iblis said again, “It is only you whose godhood is so great that you walk on water without even wetting your feet.” said, “No, but sovereignty belongs only to the One Who made the water subservient to me, if He wills Allah may drown me.” Then that accursed said, “O ‘Isa, it is only you that one day the heavens and the earth and whatever is in between the two will come beneath your feet and you will be upon all of them and will direct their affairs and you will distribute their provisions.” These words of Satan made ‘Isa very uneasy and he said, “Subhaan.....Nafsih (meaning Highly Exalted is Allah above all that you utter. I will glorify him so much that both the heavens and earth will be full of it and the ink (writing his never-ending knowledge) will finish and the weight of his glorification will equal his throne so that he may be pleased with me. Hearing these words Iblis ran away and jumped into the sea of Akhzar. A female jinn going towards the seashore saw Iblis prostrating on a hard stone. Tears flew from his wretched eyes across his inauspicious face. That she Jinn who was astonished to observe this spoke, ‘O Iblis! Woe unto you. What the hell do you expect to get by making such a long prostration? He said, “O lucky daughter of a virtuous gentleman. I hope that Allah, after throwing me into Hell according to His swearing will also free me from hell by virtue of His Mercy.”

According to a reliable narration from Imam as-Sadiq ‘Isa had once gone up mountain named Areehaa. Satan approached him in the form of the King of Palestine and said, “O Roohullaah (Spirit of Allah), since you make the dead alive and cure the ill and the blind and the leprous just make yourself fall down from this hill.” ‘Isa replied, “I do everything as ordered by Allah and He has not commanded me to do so.”

It is also recorded according to the same sources that once upon a time the crafty Iblis came to ‘Isa and told him, “Are you the one who claims to be able to make the dead alive?” said, “Yes.” Satan said, “If you are telling the truth, just make yourself fall off this wall and show us that you are still alive thereafter.” ‘Isa replied, ‘Woe unto you! a slave who is subordinate to the commands of Allah cannot experiment upon himself as he likes.” Then Iblis said, “Is your Lord able enough to close up the entire universe into an egg without shortening the universe or enlarging the egg?” ‘Isa replied, “Inability can never apply to Allah. What you ask for is absurd and hence unlikely to happen and this is not against the perfection of the ability of Allah.”

In another authentic hadith it is reported by Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that one day ‘Isa, having seen Iblis, asked him, “Has anyone of the webs of your deceit ever reached me?” He replied, “How can I ever cheat you when your respected maternal grandmother had, at the time of the birth of your mother Maryam prayed to Allah, ‘O Allah! I entrust her and her progeny to your fold so protect them from the deceits of Satan (and you belong to their progeny).” It is mentioned in some books that when Maryam had arrived in Egypt ‘Isa was until that time a child. She (Mary) had taken shelter in the house of a farmer because she was very friendly with the poor and helped in nourishing them too. One day some of that farmer’s wealth was stolen. He made allegation against those poor people who then were living in his house. This made Maryam very sorrowful. Seeing this ‘Isa asked his mother whether would she like him to reveal who actually stole the property of the farmer? She said, Yes. ‘Isa said, Such and such blind man and lame man have jointly made theft. When the blind man was asked to pick up the lame man he said he was unable to do so. ‘Isa said, “Last night how were you able to lift him up (and carry him away). How is it that you are not able to do so now?” Then both of them confessed and all the other inmates were thereby proved not guilty. Next day it so happened that some more guests came to the farmer’s house. The farmer worried as there was not water enough for them all. Observing this ‘Isa went into the room where empty waterspouts were kept. He scanned his hand over those pots and all were filled up. he (‘Isa) was twelve-years old.

It is recorded that, in his childhood, ‘Isa was standing with some boys. One of the boys had killed another boy and threw his dead body at the feet of ‘Isa. Relatives of the dead boy took ‘Isa to the court of the Qadi. The ruler asked ‘Isa about this and ‘Isa replied that he had not killed the boy. The ruler wanted to punish ‘Isa. Thereupon ‘Isa demanded that the dead boy should be brought before him. Then he (‘Isa) prayed to Allah. Consequently the dead boy came alive. Then ‘Isa asked the dead boy as to who had killed him. He replied that such and such person had killed him. Then The Israelites asked him who the man standing before him was. He replied that he was ‘Isa son of Maryam, then he dropped down dead.

It is reported in narrations that Maryam entrusted ‘Isa to a dyer for learning the art of dying. The dyer had a lot of clothes to be dyed. While going out for some other work he explained to ‘Isa that he should die the clothes in particular colors. But ‘Isa put all of them into a single color tub. On inquiry, after the dyer returned, ‘Isa told him that he had put all the clothes in such and such tub. ‘Isa told him not to worry. The dyer shouted angrily, “You have spoiled all the clothes.” He arose and took out the clothes. All of them were colored in different colors as desired by the dyer. The astonished dyer realized that ‘Isa was Allah’s Messenger and so he became a Muslim (faithful). Finally when Maryam took back ‘Isa and went to Syria she camped in a hamlet called Naasirah. The word Nasara therefore has this connection. Then ‘Isa started the mission of guiding Allah’s creation and conveying the Messages of the Creator.

‘Isa propagates his Prophethood, dispatches messengers to the adjoining areas

Allah says, “And Set out an example to the people of the town (Antakya). When the messengers (sent by ‘Isa) reached the town (When we sent to them two messengers, they rejected both of them, then we strengthened them with a third and they said, surely we are messengers to you). Some say those two were Yuhannaa and Shamoun and that the third one was Yunus and according to some the first two were Sadiq and Sidq and the third one Saloon.

Shaykh Tabarsi, Thalabi, and a group of commentators have narrated that ‘Isa sent two messengers to the city of Antioch so they might guide the people there. On reaching there, they saw an old man grazing his sheep. He was habib Najjar (carpenter), the Mu’min (faithful) of the family of Yasin. Both of them saluted (told Salaam to) him. When habib inquired as to who were they, they replied that they were sent by ‘Isa, who advised people to worship only one Allah instead of idols. When habib further inquired whether they possessed ay sign of their being messengers (divine) they replied in the affirmative saying they could heal the ill and make the blind and the leprous healthy. habib asked them to heal his son who was ill for years. They asked habib to show them his son. habib took them to his house where as soon as the two divine messengers applied their hands to the body of the boy he arose hale and hearty by the Grace of Allah. This news went round the city resulting in many people’s recovery from their ill health. The news also reached the king of that place who was called Shanaakhan and was one of the kings of Room (Byzantine) who used to worship idols. The king called for both the messengers of ‘Isa and asked them as to who they were. They told him that they were sent by ‘Isa.

He inquired what miracles were they performing. They replied that they were healing the blind and the leprous by the Command of Allah. The king asked them as to why ‘Isa had sent them. They replied that they were sent to tell the people not to worship the idols that could neither hear nor see and to convey the Commandment of the only one Allah who sees and also hears. He said, Perhaps your Allah is someone other than the idols. They replied, “Yes and it is He who has created you and also your gods.” He said, “Well, for the present you can go but I will ponder over what you have said.” So they left the king and continued to preach to the people. Later they were arrested by the order of the king.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim etc. has on reliable and authentic narrations, said that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said that Allah sent two persons to the residents of Antioch. Those two messengers made haste in conveying things in which the people did not believe. So they behaved harshly with the messengers and imprisoned them in their idol-temple. Allah sent a third person as His messenger who after entering the town requested the residents to take him to their king. When they reached the gate of the royal palace the messenger said, I was worshipping in the forests and now intend to worship the Lord of your king. They conveyed this message to the king who ordered them to take him to their temple so that he may worship his Allah. Accordingly he was sent to the temple of the idols where he along with the earlier two, continued to worship only Allah.

In short, when this third messenger met with the earlier two messengers he told them that it was strange that they acted harshly in their effort to make the idol worshipers leave the religion and embrace a new one and inquired as to why they not took a lenient approach. Then he told the two not to make it known to the people that they knew him. Then he went to the court of the king. The king told him that he had heard that he had worshipped his god and therefore he was his brother-in-faith and so it was his duty to assist him and hence he may tell him (the king) whatever he needed. He said, ‘O king! I do not need anything but I have seen two persons imprisoned in your temple. Who are they? The king retorted that they had come to him with an intention to turn him away from his religion and to falsify his religion they invited him to worship the heavenly god.” The third Messenger said, ‘O king! It is better on our part to have a regular and systematic dialogue with them. If it is proved that truth is with them then we may follow them and if it is established that the truth is with us then they should enter our religion and become eligible for all the relief and concessions available to us.

The king agreed to this proposal and called the two from the temple. When they arrived in the court the third messenger asked them as to why they had come there? They replied “So that we may invite the king to the religion of worship of that Lord who has created the earth and the heavens and who, in the womb of a mother creates whatever (male or female) He wills and gives it the shape of his liking. He created the trees and made fruits. It is only He who sends rain from the sky.”

The third messenger then asked them,” Is your god able to heal a blind man and make him see? They replied, “We will pray to Him and if He wills He will heal the blind.” Then the third messenger requested the king to call for a blind person who has never been able to see anything in his life. Accordingly a man who was blind since his birth was brought. The two messengers were then told to pray to their Lord to heal the blind man in order to see if they were true in their claim. The two arose, prayed two Rakat of prayer and prayed to Allah and lo and behold, the blind man opened his eyes and saw the sky. Then the third messenger requested the king to call another ailing person.

So another ill man was brought there. Then the third messenger himself made a Sajdah (prostration) before Allah and prayed for enabling the second blind man to see. He too was healed. Then he (the third messenger) said to the king, “If they have proved before us an argument we too have proved one before them. Now call a person who being handicapped is unable to walk.” On the arrival of such a handicapped person the third messenger asked the two to pray for his recovery. They again offered Salat and prayed to Allah who made the immobile man healthy and able to walk.

Thereafter the third messenger requested the king to call for one more handicapped person who too was cured through his prayer to Allah. After this he told the king that like the two proofs given by the two we also have produced similar two. Now only one thing remains. If they fulfill it I will enter their religion. O king, I have heard that you had a son who has died. If they are able to bring him back to life, I will embrace their faith. The king retorted, “In that case I also will follow their religion.” So the two (earlier men) were told that only one thing had remained for settling the matter that the king had a son who was dead and buried. If you bring him back to life we will enter your faith. Hearing this those two messengers of Allah fell down in prostration before Allah, made long prayers and then raising their heads said to the king, “O king, send some persons to the grave of your son. They will find him alive and out of his grave, by the will of Allah.” People rushed to the grave of the prince where they saw that the dead prince had come out of his grave and was shaking off the dust from his head.

They took him to the king who recognized him and asked, “O my son, how are you?” He replied, “I was dead, but then I saw two persons prostrating before my Allah and praying to Him for my life. Allah accepted their prayer and made me alive.” The king asked him, “O my son, if you see those persons can you recognize them?” He said, “Yes.” So the king went along with the prince to a jungle and made him stand there. Then a number of people paraded before the prince. After hundreds had passed before his eyes the prince one of the two messengers was brought before him and he at once spoke, “Yes, this aged gentleman is one of the two.” Then many more were made to pass before the other messenger came before him and the prince again recognized him instantly and said that he was the other person. Seeing this the third messenger said, “I put faith in your Allah as I am convinced that the message brought by you is the Truth.” The king also became a believer and so did all of his people who became Muslims.

Ibn Babawayh and al-Qutb al-Rawandi have narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that when ‘Isa desired to dispatch his companions he gathered them before him and advised them to pay attention to the weak and not to clash with the kings and the oppressors. He directed two of them to Antioch who reached there on the day of ‘Id (annual celebration). The two saw that the people there had opened their temples (idol houses) and were busy worshipping the idols. When they rebuked them harshly they chained them and threw them in jail. When Shamoun came to know about it he came to Antioch, reached the jail after some efforts and reminded the two messengers that they were advised not to clash with hotheaded and oppressive people. Then he departed from them and continued to meet with the poor people and have little talks with the poor who used to keep such dialogues secret from all except their own who were somewhat strong. After some time this matter came to the knowledge of the king who inquired since when has this man had entered the city. The people told him that he had arrived there since the last two months. The king ordered him to be brought before him.

He was brought to the king who talked with him and became so friendly with him that he asked him to remain in the court all the time before him. One night the king saw a fearful dream and described it to Shamoun. Shamoun gave its interpretation that pleased the king. Thereafter he saw one more distressing dream. Shamoun again gave its interpretation that made the king even happier. Thus he continued to live besides the king and the longer he did so the more respectable he became in his eyes. When he was satisfied that his words completely impressed the king he one day inquired about the two persons jailed by him who according to what he had heard, had found defects in the king’s religion. The king confirmed the matter. Shamoun desired that they be brought before him. When they were brought Shamoun asked them, “Who is the god whom you worship?” They said, “He is the Lord of the worlds.” He asked whether their Allah heard what they said and answered what they prayed. They replied, “Of course our Lord hears whatever we say and accepts our prayers.” Shamoun told them that he wanted to test them and the two agreed.

Shamoun inquired of them as to whether their Allah cold heal a leper if they prayed for his healing? They said, “Yes.” Shamoun called for a leper and asked the two messengers to pray to their Allah for his recovery. The two passed their hands over the ailing man’s body and he became healthy instantly. Shamoun said he too could do the same. Another leper was brought there who too recovered when Shamoun scanned his body with his hand. Thereafter Shamoun told the two that only one thing remained unresolved and if they solved that he would also put faith in their Allah. They said what it was. Shamoun asked them if they could make a dead person alive. They replied, “Yes (by the order of Allah a dead man can also become alive).” Then Shamoun inquired of the king whether he knew any expired person with whom he had any relation? The ruler replied in the affirmative and said his son had died. Shamoun said, Well, let us all go to your dead son’s grave and check the reality of these two gentlemen’s claim, (that possibly they might lose respect). So all of them reached the grave of the dead prince. The two raised their hands in supplication before only one Allah and Shamoun too began to recite a prayer (Dua) silently. Within no time the grave cracked open and the prince came out alive. When the king inquired about his condition he said that he was dead; that of late he experienced some fear and restlessness but “then I saw that three gentlemen were praying to Allah so that I might become alive and that they were these three gentlemen.’ While saying this the prince pointed to Shamoun and the two earlier messengers. Shamoun told the two that he was putting faith in their Allah. The king said that he too believed. His ministers too believed. Then following them the entire habitation of Antioch became Muslims (believer in Truth).

According to an authentic and reliable source it is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that when Injeel (Bible) was revealed to him and he wished to conclude the argument (hujjah) before the people he sent one of his companions to the king of Room (Byzantine) with a miracle through which he could cure lepers, make the blind see, heal the ill whom doctors had declared incurable. When he reached there and worked these miracles his fame spread far and wide. When the king came to know about it he was brought before the king and asked whether he was able to cure the blind and the leper he replied in the affirmative. The king called a man who was born blind. His eyes had dried up and he had never seen anything. ‘Isa’s companion was asked to cure him.

He prepared two little balls of clay, put them in the place of his eyeballs and prayed to Allah for his eyesight. He began to see at once. Seeing this the king seated him near him, befriended him and told him to stay there and not to go anywhere else. He gave him much respect and honor. Then ‘Isa sent another messenger and taught him the prayer for making the dead alive. When he reached Rome he told the people there that he was better than the physician of their king. Hearing this, the king became very angry and ordered that he should be executed. The first messenger told the king not to make haste in executing him but to call him and examine his claim. If his claim proved false he might be killed, so that the argument might be concluded in his case.

Anyway he was called in the presence of the ruler. He told the king that he could make the dead alive. Around that time the son of that king had died. So the king along with the second Rasul and all of his court men and ministers went to the grave of his son and ordered that he might be brought back to life. The messenger prayed to Allah and the first messenger said ‘Amen’ until the grave cracked open and the prince came out and sat in the lap of the king. The king asked his son as to who made him alive? He pointed toward the two divine messengers. Then both messengers said that they had come from ‘Isa. As you were not listening to any of the earlier messengers of ‘Isa but were executing them we were sent to convey his (‘Isa’s) message to you in this way.”

Hearing this, the king declared his faith in ‘Isa and his shari‘ah (religion). In short ‘Isa ’s propagation and his message spread far and wide in this way until the time a group of Allah’s enemies began to call him (‘Isa) Allah and Allah’s son. The Jews called him a liar and wanted to kill him.

According to some traditions when ‘Isa sent his two messengers to Antioch they could not find a way to approach the king for quite a long time. One day when the king came out for a royal round the two came in his path, pronounced Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) loudly and began to explain Tawhid (Divine Unity). The king became angry and ordered their arrest and flogging of a hundred whips each. When ‘Isa came to know about it he sent Shamoun-as-Safa the leader of his companions for helping the earlier two messengers. Reaching there the third (Shamoun) did not reveal that he was a messenger of ‘Isa but cultivated contacts with the royal court men. Then he entered the king’s court. The king liked his manners. So he befriended him. After some days Shamoun asked the king about the two persons he had imprisoned and inquired as to whether he had at all talked to them and had ever asked for any evidence in support of their words? The king said, No, I was very angry with them then. Then he called both of them from the jail. Shamoun asked the two who sent them there? They said the One who has created everything and who never associates anyone in His Godhood and Sovereignty.

Shamoun asked them to describe His attributes briefly. They said, “He does what He wills and commands what He desires.” Shamoun asked them what the proof of what they had said was. They inquired what was his desire and what did they want? Then the king called for a boy who did not have eyes and not even any blocks or holes in place of eyes. His forehead was plain. He asked them to make him see. Then the two messengers prayed as a result of which two holes appeared at the place of eyes. Then they made two clay balls and placed them in those holes in the forehead of that blind boy and he began to see. The king was astonished. Then Shamoun told the king that had he also made such a request to his Allah and had he responded similarly it would a matter of honor for both him and for his Allah. The king said he did not hide anything from him and that it was a fact that the Allah whom he worshipped neither could hear anything nor see anything, nor could he harm or benefit anyone. Shamoun told the two messengers that if their Allah could make a dead man alive he would put faith in Him.

They said their Allah was able to do everything. The king said here is the dead body of a farmer’s son and I have not allowed its burial for the last one week, make him alive before his father arrives. The corpse was then brought there. It had become swollen and decomposed. Then the two messengers prayed openly and the third (Shamoun) silently to Allah until the dead boy arose and said, ‘I was dead for the last seven days and I was pushed into seven vales of Hellfire. I disown the religion that you are following. Put faith in the Godhood of the Lord of the Worlds Who is the Only One Allah. I saw that the gates of the heavens were opened for the entrance of these three men and I saw a handsome youth praying for these persons (pointing toward Shamoun and the two messengers) who were sent by ‘Isa Messiah. They (three) propagated the Prophethood of ‘Isa. The king and some groups became believers and the rest remained infidels. Some say the king and all the people of that city remained adamant on their unbelief and only one person, habib Najjar became a believer who was killed.

The following verses also indicate that many became faithful and many suffered punishment. It is possible that what is said in the end part of the ayats is about some other villagers. Possibly the hadith indicates that those who remained alive after the Chastisement became believers as says the Almighty:

“They said, You are nought but mortals like ourselves, nor has the Beneficent Allah revealed anything; you only lie. They said, Our Lord knows that we are most surely messengers to you. And nothing devolves on us but a clear deliverance (of the message). They said, Surely we augur evil from you; if you do not desist, we will certainly stone you, and there shall certainly afflict you a painful chastisement from us. They said, Your evil fortune is with you; what! if you are reminded! Nay, you are an extravagant people. And from the remote part of the city there came a man running; he said, O my people! Follow the messengers: Follow him who does not ask you for reward., and they are the followers of the right course.” (36:15-21)

It is described that the name of that man was habib Najjar and that the very first person to put faith in the Messengers when they entered the township was he. His house was situated on the outskirt of the town. When he heard that all the people of his community disbelieved in them and wanted to kill them he came down running to his people and advised them in these words. People caught hold of him and took him to the king. When the king asked had he followed the messengers habib replied:

“And what reason have I that I should not serve Him Who brought me into existence? And to Him you shall be brought back: What! Shall I take besides Him Gods whose intercession, if the Beneficent Allah should desire to afflict me with harm, shall not avail me aught, nor shall they be able to deliver me? In that case, I shall most surely be in clear error: Surely, I believe in your Lord, therefore hear me. It was said, Enter the Garden. He said, O would that my people had known.” (36:22-26)

It is narrated that when habib gave them this advice they (the disbelievers) belied him so much that he was killed (martyred) or he was stoned to death. Allah admitted him to Paradise and he began to enjoy the God-given subsistence. Some say he was lifted up in the heavens; that people could not kill him. According to some, he was beheaded and Allah made him alive and admitted him in Paradise.

“Of that on account of which my Lord has forgiven me and made me of the honored ones! And We did not send down upon his people after him any hosts from heaven, nor do We ever send down. It was not but a single cry, and lo! They were still.” (36:27-29)

It is described that when the oppressors killed habib Najjar, Allah became angry with them. He sent Archangel Gabriel who placed his hands on the gates on both ends of the town and gave out such a frightening scream that souls of all the oppressors left their bodies at once en masse.

Thalabi and all Shi‘ah and Sunni commentators and compilers of traditions have, by way of continuous narrations, mentioned that the Holy Prophet said, among all the communities there were three persons who had topped all in the matter of following and obeying the Truth and who never disbelieved in Only One Allah even for a second and they were: Hizqil the Believer belonging to the family of the Pharaoh, habib Najjar, the Believer from the family of Yasin and ‘Ali bin Abu-Talib and he (the last one) is the most excellent among them.

It has also been reported through several reliable sources that the Holy Prophet said, three persons did not disbelieve in Allah’s revelation even for the tiniest fragment of a second and they were the Mu’min of the family of Yasin, ‘Ali bin Abu-Talib and Aasiya, wife of the Pharaoh.

It is reported authentically that people asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir can a Mu’min (believer) ever suffer from ailments like falling away of hair or leprosy? He said, Suffering is only for the believer. Mu’min of the family of Yasin was suffering from khoorah. According to another reliable narration the fingers of his hands had become dry (dead or lifeless). I can imagine as if he is pointing toward his people with such fingers and admonishing them: “O My People, Follow the Messengers. When he went once more to advise his people, they killed him.

At another place, the Almighty says: “And when I revealed to the disciples saying, believe in Me and My apostle, they said, We believe and bear witness and we submit (ourselves).” It is said that the Divine Revelation towards them was brought on the tongues of the Prophets whereby the people accepted the word of Allah. And it is reported through a trustworthy hadith that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said, “The Almighty had given them Ilham (inspiration).”

It is recorded in reliable sources that hasan bin Afzal once asked Imam al-Ridha why the companions of ‘Isa are called Hawaari He replied, “It is said that they were called Hawaari because they were clothes-washers (laundry-men). They used to clean the clothes of dirt and impurity and that the word (hawaari) is from the root ‘Khubz e hawaar’ which means ‘white bread’. But we Ahl al-Bayt say that they are called hawaari because they used to clean both themselves and others of sins and immoralities by their sermons and admonitions.” It was asked why the followers of ‘Isa are called ‘Nasaaraa’. He replied that their base and origin is in the city of Naasirah situated in Syria where Maryam and ‘Isa resided after returning from Egypt.4

It is recorded in a reliable tradition that Imam as-Sadiq said, “‘Isa’s Hawaaris were the Shi‘ahs of ‘Isa and his (Imam’s) Shi‘ahs were the Hawaris of Ahl al-Bayt. ‘Isa’s Hawaris did not obey ‘Isa as our Hawaris obeyed and followed us.” Therefore ‘Isa asked: Who is my helper in the matter of Allah and His religion? The Hawaris said, “We are the assistants of Allah.” But by Allah, they did not help (‘Isa) in the city of the Jews and they did not fight in support of ‘Isa. But our Shi‘ahs by Allah, are our helpers and assistants. They have been fighting with our enemies ever since the departure of the Holy Prophet from this world. The enemies of Allah burn them in fire, harass them, drive them out of their cities and yet our friends do not refrain from their love for us. May Allah them give good reward on behalf of us.

In another reliable tradition, it is mentioned that once upon a time ‘Isa told his Hawaris: O my group of supporters! Fulfill a desire of mine. They inquired as to what it was. He (‘Isa) arose and washed their feet. The Hawaris exclaimed: O Spirit of Allah! It is befitting for us to wash your honor’s feet. ‘Isa replied, “One who knows is more worthy of serving other. I expressed this humility and humbleness so that you too may, after me, behave with lowliness with people as I did with you. Wisdom gets propagated through politeness and humility, not through pride and haughtiness. Grass and grains grow in soft and smooth earth, not on hard ground.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition replying to a question as to how were the companions of ‘Isa able to walk on water whereas the companions of Muhammad did not have this power. Imam said the monetary affairs of the companions of ‘Isa were being managed (directly) by Allah but this community (followers of Muhammad) has been made responsible for toiling to earn their subsistence.5

It is recorded from reliable narrators that someone asked Imam as-Sadiq: Sometimes it so happens that I see a person who is very humble, who prays and worships a lot but does not have faith in your religion. Can his worship benefit him? Imam replied, “Such people are like that group of The Israelites wherein whoever passed forty nights in worship and then prayed would get whatever he prayed for. But once when one of them did so his prayer remained unanswered. So he came to ‘Isa and complained about it, and requested him to pray for him. ‘Isa made ablution offered two Rak’ahs of prayers and prayed to Allah. Consequently, Allah revealed to him, ‘That man had approached Him but from an incorrect way (path), which is other than, the one I had shown.’ And that man was doubtful about (‘Isa’s) Prophethood. ‘So I will not hear his request even if he goes on praying until his neck is dislocated and his fingers have dropped.’ Hearing this ‘Isa looked toward that person and asked, ‘Do you harbour any doubt about my Messengership?’ He replied, ‘Yes, O Spirit of Allah, it is so. Kindly pray to Allah for a change in my condition for the better.’ ‘Isa then prayed for him. Allah accepted his repentance and he too, like his family members, became a Mu’min (Faithful).”

It is mentioned in an authentic hadith that according to Imam al-Ridha the Hawaris (companions or apostles) of ‘Isa were twelve persons the best among them was Luke and that among the Nasaaraa three scholars knew the Injeel very well among whom Johanna was at the top ranking as he used to write (Injeel) and that another Johanna used to live in Africa and that Johanna lived in Zaqaar and they all possessed the description of the Prophet of the last era and of his Ahl al-Bayt and they had given the good tidings about the last Prophet to ‘Isa and to The Israelites. (This indicates that they were more knowledgeable then even ‘Isa which is difficult to believe and incomprehensible-Translator).

In another hadith It is narrated through Imam as-Sadiq that Musa once said something to his people who could not obey it so they revolted in Egypt. They fought them and killed them. (Likewise) ‘Isa said a thing to his community which they could not tolerate (comprehend) and so they rose against him and fought with him in Tikreet (Iraq) and all were killed as mentioned by the Almighty:

“So a party of the children of Israel believed and another party disbelieved. Then we aided those who believed against their enemy, and then became uppermost.” (61:14)

It is recorded in another tradition that one day ‘Isa went to a village for some work along with three of his companions. They found three gold bricks in their path. ‘Isa said, “These bricks will kill people,” and went past them. After going, some steps further one of his companions asked for his permission to go back for some work. He allowed him. He went. Likewise, the other two also went away taking his permission. They gathered those gold bricks. Two of them asked the third one to go to the bazaar and fetch something to eat, telling him that they would await him at that place.

The third one went to the market and mixed poison with the food, imagining that the others would die after eating it and he might become the owner of the gold bricks. On the other hand, the two joined in conspiracy against the third one and planned to kill him and then divide the gold only between them. Finally when the man returned the two together killed him and then ate the food with ease, only to die soon thereafter. When ‘Isa returned from his work he saw all three lying dead near the gold bricks. He brought them back to life saying ‘Get up with the permission of Allah.’ He then asked them whether he had not told them in advance that those bricks would kill many!

It is mentioned in some books that once ‘Isa was busy admonishing people along with some of his the Disciples touring the land. He was passing from one place to another so that he may guide those who were worthy and deliver them from their state of misguidance.

When they arrived near a city they saw a treasure that tempted the Disciples who requested ‘Isa to permit them to preserve it so that it might not be lost in the forest. ‘Isa told them that that treasure would not give them anything except sorrow and trouble. “In fact I am traveling to find a treasure which will not cause any trouble or sorrow. So remain here until I come back.” They told ‘Isa that the city folk are very bad; they kill whosoever goes there. ‘Isa said, they kill only those who look at their wealth and property with passion but I care the least for their belongings.” Anyway, ‘Isa entered that town and began to observe everything thoughtfully.

Suddenly he saw a dilapidated old house that was the smallest and most unattractive. He said to himself: treasure is always in the wilderness. If there can be anybody worthy of guidance he ought to be in this poor house. He knocked at the door that was opened by an old woman. She inquired as to who he was. ‘Isa replied that he was a traveler newly arrived in her town and that he intended to stay overnight in her house as it was dark. She said it was the order of their king not to allow any outsider into our home but since the appearance of your face is so gentle, I cannot dare to ignore a guest like you. “Bismillah” (Most Welcome-come in). And lo!

On the one hand, the shining sun set in the west and on the other the moonlike messenger shone in the dark house of the poor old lady, turning it into a garden of paradise. The owner of this dilapidated house was a hardworking woodcutter who had died leaving behind this old widow and his orphan son. The son was also working painstakingly to make both ends meet with a little income. At night, that boy returned home. The mother told him that an honorable guest had arrived in their home and that whatever he brought ought to be spent in feeding him. The boy submitted some dried bread (loaves), which he had brought before the guest. ‘Isa ate it and then began talking and with his Prophetic intelligence learned about the good and modest manners etc. of the boy but he also noticed a sign of great grief lurking in his heart. The more he tried to find out the cause of the hidden sorrow the more that boy tried to conceal it.

At last, the boy went to his mother and informed her that the guest is insisting very much to know my inner trouble and promises to remove it as far as possible. Should I reveal my uneasiness to him? The mother told her son that the shining and radiant face of the honorable guest tells me that he is worthy of telling everything to him and he looks like he is able to remove everybody’s troubles. So do not keep anything hidden from him and also do not ignore his apparent qualification. So the boy returned to ‘Isa and told him that his father was a woodcutter; that when he expired his mother asked him to follow his late father’s occupation. “Our king has an extremely beautiful and intelligent daughter whose hand in marriage has been asked for by many kings but she has not accepted anybody’s offer. The princess resides in a very big and spacious palace. Once when I was passing by that palace, my eyesight fell on that princess and ever since I admire her ceaselessly. I have not informed anyone except my mother about this inner uneasiness of my heart. It was this grief which you detected though I never wanted to reveal it to anybody.”

‘Isa asked the boy whether he should obtain that girl for him. The boy replied that it was an impossible task and that it was really astonishing that a great man like him should make a mockery of him despite seeing his poverty! ‘Isa said, I have never made a joke. Mockery is a deed of the ignorant. Had I been unable to fulfill this task I would have never spoken like this. If you desire, I can make that girl come to you the next night. The boy went to his mother and narrated the conversation to her. She replied, “I have no doubt that that great man will do whatever he says so do not leave his side.” In short, ‘Isa engaged himself in long prayers and the boy passed the night turning in his bed.

Next morning ‘Isa called the boy and asked him to go to the gate of the royal palace and when the courtiers arrived to tell them that you had come to ask from the king the hand of his daughter. Then at once report to me what takes place. Accordingly the boy stood at the gate of the royal court and acted as directed by ‘Isa. The courtiers were very surprised and when they reached the court they narrated the event as if it was a joke. The king also laughed a lot and called that boy into his court. When he saw the boy he at once noticed that though his clothes were worn and torn the radiance on his face indicated his inner nobility and purity of heart. Moreover, during his talk with the boy the king did not observe anything to indicate his foolishness or madness. This astonished the king very much and he, with an intention of taking his test, asked the boy that if he was prepared to pay the dowry for his daughter if he would give her to him in marriage and that for the dowry he should bring a big tray full of precious pebbles of ruby and that each pebble should weigh not less than a hundred misqal. The boy asked the king to give him some time.

Then he came to ‘Isa and narrated everything to him. ‘Isa exclaimed that it was no problem. Then he called for a tray and sent the boy in the ruins and began to pray to Allah. Consequently all the lumps of clay lying there turned into valuable rubies. Then he told the boy to fill up the tray and carry it to the king. When the boy went back to the court of the king and removed the cover cloth from the tray the eyes of all were dazzled and all were spellbound. With a view to try him some more, the king said one tray was not enough and that he wanted ten trays full of various kinds of precious stones (jewels).

Returning to ‘Isa the boy conveyed this to him. He called for ten trays and got them filled with jewelry which none had seen before in the world. The boy took them to the king where all were again extremely surprised. Then the king took the boy aside in isolation and told him that he certainly did not possess such power himself nor could he ever have courage enough to ask for the hand of the princess and asked him to reveal who was behind all this miraculous happenings. When the boy told the facts to the king he said that the man behind all that could be none other than ‘Isa bin Maryam . He then asked the boy to bring ‘Isa with him so that he himself might give the hand of his daughter in his (the boy’s) hand.

Finally ‘Isa went to the royal palace and performed the marriage of the princess with that boy. The boy was clothed in fine dress with full decorations and the king himself took him into his palace and entrusted his daughter (the princess) to him. Next morning when the king called the boy and talked with him he found him full of wisdom. Since the king had no other issue except the girl he made that boy his heir-apparent. According to royal commandment, all the emirs accepted obedience to the boy and then the king seated him on his royal throne.

Next night the king fell ill and passed away from this world. The boy took the reins of the government in his hands and obtained control of all the treasures and wealth of the late king. During all this time ‘Isa had stayed in the house of that old lady. At the time of sunset on the fourth day ‘Isa went to that boy to bid him goodbye. The boy alighted from the throne and clung to ‘Isa and said, O my wise and learned guide! Your right on this poor and weak person is so much that even its thousandth part cannot be compensated by way of thanksgiving even if he would remain in your service until eternity. But, he said, a doubt has arisen in my heart due to which I remain worrying throughout the night and cannot take benefit of the luxury “provided by you so generously and if you will not solve my confusion I will not be able to take any benefit from your gifts,”

‘Isa inquired as to what thought was harassing him. He said “the problem is that I am unable to understand when you have such a great ability to lift me up from the vales of poverty and place me on top of the mountain of worldly wealth how is it that you yourself are content with worn and torn clothes and are toiling without any servant or any transport facility or assistance?” ‘Isa asked the boy that when his desire had already been fulfilled why he should bother about his (‘Isa’s) condition. The boy submitted, “O my virtuous and pious guardian! I will not gain anything from your gifts if you will not remove this confusion from my mind and I will get no benefit from anything.”

Isa then told him, “O my son, The pleasures of this temporary and transient world can be of any value only in the eyes of a person who is unaware of the permanent delight of the everlasting life in the Hereafter (after death). The very person who until a few days ago enjoyed sitting on this throne and who took pride in having worldly power is now lying beneath the earth underground and no hearts entertain his thoughts any more. This is enough to realize that the wealth which ends in dishonor and a delight that turns into pain is useless. The pleasure of the friends of Truth is in attaining nearness to Allah and realizing His Might and Grace. The earth and transient enjoyments are nothing compared to the never-ending sweetness of the Hereafter.

Hearing these words of the ‘Isa the boy once again clung to his feet and said that he fully understood what he said and you have so kindly opened the knot that was troubling my mind. But then another knot which is more complicated has come up now before me.” ‘Isa asked what it was. The boy said that the greater confusion was that he could not comprehend as to how he (‘Isa) could go away from whom he loved and would not do to him what his (the latter’s) welfare demanded. When your honor arrived at our house abruptly and spread the shade of your bliss on us it is unfair that you should prove stingy in bestowing on us the bounty, which is main, and permanent and that you would deprive me of the eternal kingdom by gifting me the worldly empire.

Then ‘Isa replied, “I have taken a test of your mind and heart in this way and I wanted to know whether or not you are worthy of the really high ranks and whether or not you were able to give up the transient joys in order to attain the eternal ones. Now if you leave this royal grandeur you will earn a greater heavenly reward and prove to be a completion of argument for those in whose case the false worldly treasures are blocking the attainment of the perfect bliss.”

As soon as the boy heard these words he threw away his silken robes and decorations and giving up his superficial empire, began to tread the path leading to eternal success. ‘Isa brought him to his the Disciples and told them that the treasure which was in my mind was this orphaned jewel whom I had lifted, within three days, from wood-cutting to world-ruling and yet he kicked off all that and is prepared to follow me. On the other hand it is you, who, despite years of company with me, became mad after the sorrowful treasure and left me. It is said that the dead boy whom ‘Isa made alive was this very son of a poor old lady. He became one of the great religious leaders and many got guidance through him.

It is recorded in reliable sources that the holy Prophet said, ‘My brother ‘Isa arrived in a city where a man and his wife were quarrelling and shouting aloud. ‘Isa asked them the reason where upon the man replied that this, my wife, is very virtuous and pious. Yet I do not like her and want to be separated from her. ‘Isa again asked but why? Then man said that her face is faint and not attractive at all even though she is not aged. ‘Isa advised that woman not to eat making her belly full of food as in an overloaded stomach its content boils up and makes one’s face listless. When the lady followed ‘Isa ’s advice she became beautiful enough to attract her husband.

Therefore ‘Isa went to another town where people complained to him that the fruits growing on their trees were getting rotten. ‘Isa guided them that while sowing seeds they should put water first. As they were filling the earth before watering it, it rotted their fruits. When the people acted as directed by ‘Isa their fruits were saved from the rot.

Leaving that township ‘Isa entered another habitation to find that the eyes of its residents were grey and their faces pale. When people inquired about its reason ‘Isa replied that it was because they did not wash the meat before cooking. There always remains some impurity in the meat of any animal, which is cleaned only after it is washed. When the people followed the way shown by ‘Isa their ailment disappeared.

‘Isa reached another place. There he met with many people whose teeth had fallen and faces were swollen. Inquiries were made from ‘Isa who replied that they were sleeping with their teeth pressed hard, which hindered the breathing process and also weakened the roots of the teeth. When people left that habit of sleeping with pressed teeth their troubles too disappeared.

It is narrated through Imam as-Sadiq that once ‘Isa entered a city full of dead people whose bones were scattered on the roads and in their homes. Seeing this ‘Isa exclaimed that they had fallen prey to Divine Chastisement because had they died natural deaths they would have buried one another. His companions asked the reason for the Divine wrath.

Allah Almighty revealed to ‘Isa: O spirit of Allah! You ask these dead men. They will give a reply. When ‘Isa addressed them one of them arose and said, “Yes, here we are, O, Spirit of Allah.” ‘Isa asked them who were they and what had happened to them.

“Since morning up to the evening they were safe but then suddenly at night they found themselves in Hawiyah (the lowermost part of Hell).”

‘Isa inquired what was Hawiyah. “It is made up of rivers of fire with mountains of fire therein.” ‘Isa asked them the cause, which resulted in this punishment to them. He said it was due to their love for the material world and the worship of Taghut meaning obedience of wrongdoers who were against truth. ‘Isa asked to what extent was their love of the world. They said, it was like the love of a mother for her child such that when the child looked at her she became happy and when the child turned its face from her it made her unhappy and sorrowful.

‘Isa asked up to what extend had they obeyed Taghut (false deities)? They replied they did every wrong thing they were ordered to do. Then ‘Isa asked the spokesman as to why he alone, among all others, arose to talk with him? He said it was because all others had reins of fire in their mouths and some extremely merciless and harsh angels were overseeing them. Then he added that though he resided among them he was not like them. When the Divine Chastisement caught them I was also overtaken by it but am hanging by my hair on the brink of Hell and I am afraid of falling in it any moment. ‘Isa said sleeping in ruins and living on bread of barley is a great good, which safeguards one’s religion.

According to another tradition ‘Isa, while traveling with some of his companions, saw the corpses of a dead man and a rotten dog. The Disciples said how much foul smell emanates from the dog. ‘Isa said how shining and beautiful its teeth are, thereby conveying that they should not see the defects even if many but pay attention to what was good therein.

According to a narration, once it was raining heavily with thunder and lightning. ‘Isa was looking for shelter. As he observed a tent at a distance he went there. Seeing only a woman in it he returned and turned towards a mountain. A tiger was sleeping in its cave. He put his hand on the tiger and exclaimed, “O Almighty! You have provided a shelter for everything but I am shelterless.” Allah informed him through revelation that his shelter was where His Mercy remained and told him that: By My Might and Honor! On the Day of Resurrection I will marry you with a hundred huris whom I have made with my own hands of power and will give a feast, as your marriage reception to a population of four thousand years each day that would be equal to the life of the entire world. I will make the announcer proclaim: Where are those who had discarded the world. Those who had ignored the world for worshipping Allah will attend ‘Isa bin Maryam’s feast.

It is mentioned in another narration that the world was presented to ‘Isa in the form of a fearful old ugly woman who had no teeth but had decorated herself very much. ‘Isa asked her how many husbands she had. She said she could not count. Thereupon ‘Isa asked her whether all of them had died or was she divorced by them? She replied, ‘No, I killed all of them.’ ‘Isa exclaimed: ‘Woe unto your remaining husbands who do not ignore you even though they see that you are killing them every day!”

It is recorded in another narration that once ‘Isa saw an old man toiling hard with a spade in hand. He was preparing the ground for tilling. ‘Isa prayed to Allah for the removal of longing from the heart of that old man. Allah accepted ‘Isa ’s prayer and that old man put down his spade and went to sleep. Then ‘Isa prayed for re-entry of longing in that man’s heart. Consequently he got up instantly took his tool in hand and began working. ‘Isa then asked him as to why he had put down his tool and then again began to work? He replied “in the meantime it had occurred to my mind that I had become so old that it was not certain when I would die and hence it was not necessary to go on toiling. I went to sleep and took rest. But then again a thought came to my mind that sustenance is required until I die so I got up to restart my work.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that the holy Prophet said that once the Disciples asked ‘Isa, “O Spirit of Allah! Whose company should we keep?” He replied be with those persons whose appearance may make you remember Allah, and by talking with whom your knowledge may increase and whose character may make you think about the Hereafter.

According to an authentic narration Imam as-Sadiq is reported to have said that once ‘Isa passed by a group of people who were weeping. On making inquiry he was informed that they were weeping so that Allah might pardon their sins. ‘Isa said they should not stop weeping until Allah pardoned them

In another reliable tradition the same Imam is reported to have said that the holy Prophet had said, Once upon a time ‘Isa passed by a grave that was being chastised. The next year when he passed by the same grave it was not being punished. ‘Isa prayed to know the reason. Divine revelation enlightened him that the dead man had a son who had just become a youth. He repaired a path for Muslims and made it easy for people to pass through it. Moreover he maintained an orphan. So Allah pardoned him.

One day ‘Isa told Yahya that if people malign you of an evil which you possess, you might consider it and ask him to seek forgiveness and pray for forgiveness. But if he accuses you of an evil which do not possess then it is goodness in your favor which you have earned without toiling.

Descent of Maidah

Allah Almighty says,

“When the disciples said, O ‘Isa son of Maryam! Will your Lord consent to send down to us food from heaven?” (5:112)

It is said that this questioning of them was prior to the perfection of their faith. Or they did not know the Might of Allah or they intended to learn whether Allah considered it fitting to do so or they wanted to ascertain whether Allah answers his call if he (‘Isa) prays to Him?

It is recorded in reliable sources that according to Imam as-Sadiq the Ahl al-Bayt pronounced the word “Rabbaka” (and not ‘Rabbuka’) which meant: “Can you put such demand before your Lord?”

‘Isa said, “If you believe in Allah and in His Prophet, fear Allah and do not raise questions, which might produce undesirable replies.”

“They said, We desire that we should eat of it and that our heart should be at rest, and that we may know that you have indeed spoken the truth to us and that we may be of witnesses to it. ‘Isa, son of Maryam said, O Allah, Our Lord! Send down to us food from heaven which should be to us an ever recurring happiness to the first of us, and a sign from thee, and grant us means of subsistence for Thou art the best of the Providers.”

According to the narration the Divine Tray of food came down on Sunday therefore the Christians celebrated that day.

“Allah said, Surely I will send it down to you, but whoever shall disbelieve afterwards from among you, surely I will chastise him with a chastisement with which I will not chastise anyone among the nations.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition according to Imam as-Sadiq that when Allah Almighty descended the tray of food (Maidah), ‘Isa commanded the Disciples that nobody should eat from it unless he permitted them to do so. But one of them ate from it and somebody informed ‘Isa about it. When ‘Isa asked him he denied having eaten it but all the Disciples testified that he had done so. ‘Isa asserted that when your Mu’min brother denied having done a thing which you have seen with your own eyes, you should refute your eyes and testify to what the faithful person says.

It is recorded that the tray which was sent from heaven was lowered by a golden chain and it contained eatables of nine colors and nine breads and nine fishes plus nine breads according to another narration. It is said on the authority of Imam al-Ridha that those who did not become believers when the tray was sent by Allah, they became pigs. According to another tradition they became pigs and monkeys.

According to a reliable saying of Imam Musa al-Ka¨im those who were turned into pigs were a group of washer men who had denied the descent of Maidah. It is mentioned in the tafsir (commentary) of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari that the Maidah sent by Almighty Allah on ‘Isa contained only a few loafs but there was so much barakah (God-given abundance) in it that four thousand seven hundred persons could take satisfactory food from it for several months. It is also mentioned in the same tafsir that the holy Prophet said, When the people of ‘Isa became ungrateful after demanding the Divine Maidah, Allah turned them into seven sorts of animals like pigs, monkeys, bears, cats and some sea and desert creatures.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim narrated that when the Divine Maidah was coming down The Israelites used to gather round the tray and eat to their satiation. Finally the rich and proud people of The Israelites began to say that they would not allow the poor and down trodden people to take food from the Maidah. So Allah fetched the Maidah up and turned those people into pigs.

Shaykh Tabarsi has recorded that people have differed about the details of Maidah and its contents. ‘Ammar Yasir has said the holy Prophet had said that there was bread and meat in it, because people had demanded from ‘Isa that they wanted food which might not finish and they could go on eating. Allah Almighty informed them that the blessing would remain with them so long as they did not show dishonesty and did no hoarding, and that if they did so they would be chastised. But they proved dishonest on the very day.

Ibn ‘Abbas has narrated that ‘Isa told The Israelites: Fast for thirty days and then Allah will fulfill whatever you demand. They fasted for thirty days and then told ‘Isa, “If we work for anyone they give us food to eat. We fasted for thirty days and suffered hunger. Now pray to Allah so that He may send a tray full of food from heavens.” Soon the angels brought Maidah for them with seven loaves and seven fishes in it. All ate from it. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has also said so. Another narration says that there was all kind of food except meat. Yet another narration says the Maidah contained everything except loaf and meat. One narration says meat and fish was not there. Another narration says it contained only fish having the taste of everything. According to one narration it contained heavenly fruits. Yet another tradition says Manna and Salwa was dropping every morning and evening from the sky.

It is mentioned by Salman Farsi that ‘Isa never found faults with people, never shouted at anyone, never laughed loudly, never removed anybody away from him, never blocked his nose against a foul smell emanating from anyone’s body, never engaged in any game or play nor engaged in any meaningless work. When the Hawaaris (his close companions) demanded a heavenly tray of food (Maidah) from him he was wearing a thick woolen wear. He wept and prayed whereupon a red trey came down from the heavens which was visible to all over there. It reached them quickly. ‘Isa then arose, made Wudhu’ (ablution) prayed a lengthy prayers and removing the cloth covering the divine tray uttered Bismillahi Khairur Raazeqeen (In the Name of Allah Who is the best Provider of Sustenance).

People saw that the tray contained fried fish without scab (scrub), full of fat. There was salt near its head and vinegar near its tail. Around it were all kinds of vegetables except garlic. Also there were five breads, with olive oil on one, honey on the second, Ghee (refined butter) on the third, cheese on the fourth and kebab (roast) on the fifth. Shamoun asked, “O Roohullah (Spirit of Allah)! Is this a worldly food or a heavenly one?” ‘Isa replied, “Neither. Allah has just created it by His Might. Eat it, as you have demanded it from Allah so that he may help you and shower more blessings on you with His grace.”

The Disciples said, “O Roohullaah! We want to see another miracle.” ‘Isa uttered, “O fish! Be alive with the Command of Allah.” Instantly the fish began to move, developed skin-scab over it and spikes within it. This frightened them. He said, “Why do you ask for a thing, which, if complied with, may disgust you? I worry much about you, lest you be caught in the Divine chastisement.” Then ‘Isa ordered the fish, “O fish! By the Command of Almighty Allah, be as you were earlier.” Then it was a fried fish again. People said, “O Prophet of Allah! You eat first from it and we will follow. He said, I seek Allah’s refuge in the matter of dining it. Since you demanded for it you should eat it. As the people became fearful ‘Isa called the poor, the needy and the ill so that they might eat it and told them, “Eat it as it is healthy for you and a calamity for others.” Thirteen hundred sick and poor penniless people ate to satiation but the fish did not diminish. Then the tray rose up towards the heavens and went out of sight within no time while people watched with wide eyes. Every ill person who ate from it became healthy. The poor who ate it became rich. Those who did not eat repented. Then whenever it came down again both the poor and the rich used to gather round it making it very crowded.

So ‘Isa fixed turns: One day for the needy and the other for the needless. The tray continued to come down for forty days. People used to eat from it from morning until noon. It went up in the afternoon. This happened on alternate days. Allah Almighty revealed to ‘Isa that he might reserve it only for the poor and prevent the rich from eating it. The rich became angry with this. They became doubtful about the Maidah and began to spread doubts about it among others. Allah sent a revelation that He had put a condition for the deniers that if they become infidel after the arrival of Maidah He would give them a severe punishment with which none would have been chastised among the residents of the worlds. ‘Isa said, “O Allah! If You punish them, they are Your slaves (creatures) and if you forgive them you are the Mighty, the Wise.” So Allah metamorphosed three hundred thirteen people from them who were sleeping with their family members during the night but when they arose the next morning they had become pigs. They wandered in the streets and ruins for three days and then died.

Revelations and teachings revealed to ‘Isa

Almighty says, “And when Allah will say: O ‘Isa son of Maryam! Did you say to men, Take my mother and me for two Gods besides Allah?”

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq Allah has not yet said these words to ‘Isa but He will say so on the Day of Resurrection when He will gather the Christians before him (Christ) to conclude the argument, in the matter of those who are making false assertions though ‘Isa never taught such things and never propagated such beliefs (that they should call ‘Isa the Allah or the son of Allah). Allah Almighty will put this question to ‘Isa despite the obvious fact that He knows better that Jesus never taught such beliefs. And Allah always describes the forthcoming event in such a way as if it had already occurred,

“He will say: Glory be to Thee, it did not befit me that I should say what I had no right to (say); if I had said it, Thou wouldst indeed have known it; Thou knowest what is in my mind, but I do not know what is in Thy mind, surely thou art the great Knower of the unseen things.” (5:116)

According to reliable record, while explaining this verse of the holy Qur’an, Imam al-Baqir said, There are seventy-three ‘ (Great Graceful) names of Allah. He has taught seventy-two of them to Adam which all the holy Prophets up to ‘Isa got in heritage. Allah kept one of His Holy Names secret, which He has not revealed to anybody. So the meaning of ‘Isa ’s reply would be: “I know only those 72 Great Names which You have taught me and that what is secret with You is not know to me.”6

“I did not say to them aught save what thou didst enjoin me with: That serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord, and I was a witness of them so long as I was among them, but when Thou didst cause me to die, Thou were the watcher over them, and Thou art witness of all things. If Thou shouldst chastise them, then surely they are thy servants; and if Thou shouldst forgive them, then surely Thou art the Mighty, the wise.” (5:117-118)

According to reliable proofs Imam as-Sadiq has said, Injeel was sent down (revealed) on the 13th night of the month of Ramadhan. In another hadith according to the same source it was on the 12th night.7

According to authentic reports when Imam al-Ridha asked the Christian scholar Catholic, “Have you (not) read in Injeel: I am going toward my and your Lord and that after me will arrive Barqalita and he will testify to my Prophethood just as I am giving the testimony (and information) of his (Prophethood). He will give explanation of everything. It is only he who will point out the waywardness of groups and he alone will break down the pillars of Kufr (blasphemy-infidelity-unbelief).”

Catholic replied, I confirm all that you have quoted from Injeel. He asked again, “Is not whatever I said there in Injeel,” He said, “Why not?” (It is indeed). said, “O Catholic! Do you people not tell us that Injeel had become untraceable and that from whom it was found out and that who prepared Injeel for you?” Catholic said, “One day Injeel had become untraceable and we could not find it. Then (after some time) Johanna and Mata brought it to us in a freshly written form for us.”

Imam said, “How much ignorant are you about the mystery of Injeel and its scholars? If whatever you say is true then why do all of you differ in Injeel. Had the Injeel which is now in your hands been exactly just as it was revealed then you would not have differed. I know the secret behind your difference. Hear it from me: When Injeel had disappeared initially the Christians gathered round their scholars and said, ‘‘Isa has been executed and that Injeel has vanished. Since you are knowledgeable tell us what is behind all this.’ Then Luke and Marqaaboo told them that Injeel has remained protected in our hearts and that we shall read a chapter of it for you on every Sunday. So do not worry and do not leave your places of worship empty. Every Sunday we will show you one Safar (one chapter) of Injeel when all of you should gather. Then Luke Marqaaboos, Johanna and Matthews prepared this Injeel jointly, when the original Injeel had disappeared. These four were the disciples of the earlier ones. Do you know all this?” He said, “No, I have only just known it from you and now the great extent of your knowledge about Injeel had dawned on me. I have heard some such things regarding this matter about which my heart tells me that they are true.”

Imam said to the audience and Al-Ma’mun, “Be witness to whatever he said and confessed.” All of them replied that they were witness to all that. Imam turned toward Catholic and told him, “By the truthfulness of ‘Isa and Maryam , tell us whether you know that Matta said that ‘Isa is son of Dawud son of Ibrahim son of Ya‘qub son of Yehuda son of Khazroon and that Marqaboos has described the dynasty of ‘Isa saying that he (‘Isa) is the son of Maryam and that he is the word of Allah that Allah entered him in the form of man and he became man and that Luke said ‘Isa son of Maryam and his mother Maryam both were human beings made of flesh and blood and that Holy Spirit entered him and that you say that ‘Isa gave witness unto himself saying that “I truthfully say that nobody can enter the heavens except the one who has come down from the heavens and that he is the noble Seal of the Prophets who will ascend to the heavens and will return to earth.” So what have you to say about this?” Catholic said, “These are the words of ‘Isa and I cannot deny it.” Imam asked him, “What is your opinion about what Luke and Marqaboos and Matta have said regarding ‘Isa and what they have attributed to him?” Catholic said, “All of them have attributed false things to ‘Isa. Then he said, “Did you not hear that he had praised all of them and said that they were the scholars of Injeel and that they were truthful?” Then Catholic said, “O scholar of the Muslims! Pardon me.” Then after a prolonged debate Imam asked him, “Is it not mentioned in Injeel that a son of a pious woman will work for your betterment and will testify and will toil hard and will explain everything for you just as I am testifying to his Prophethood; that I have brought some parables for you and that he (the one to come after me) will explain its meaning to you? O Catholic! Do you give witness that all these things are in Injeel?” Catholic said, “Why not (surely I give witness).”

According to reliable and authentic hadith Imam as-Sadiq said that some of the advices and admonitions that Allah reveled to ‘Isa are:

‘O ‘Isa! I am your Lord and the Lord of your ancestors. My Name is Ahad (The Only One). I am the Only One Who has created everything myself. All things are My creations and of My making. All of them will return to Me on the Day of Resurrection.

O ‘Isa! You are the Blessed Messiah. Through My Command you mould a bird with clay and make it alive. You raise up the dead by My Order. Keep up your love for Me. None can be saved from My chastisement except the one who turns to Me.

O ‘Isa! I admonish you like the admonisher Who is kind and Merciful to you. My Mercy and love for you has become incumbent ever since you asked from Me some things which pleased Me. So I have made you Graceful in abundance wherever you be. I give witness that you are My slave (creature) and the son of My maid (Maryam).

O ‘Isa! Imagine Me with you all the time, like everything that comes to your heart. Always remember Me for enriching you in the Hereafter. Attain My nearness by performing desirable and also optional deeds and rely on Me so that I may fulfill your intentions. Never trust anyone besides Me because (in that case) you leave Your affairs to him and then I will not help you.

O ‘Isa! Tolerate patiently whatever befalls you from Me and remain pleased and content on My decisions. Be as I like you to be. Surely I like that people should obey Me and not disobey My commands.

O ‘Isa! keep my remembrance on your tongue and keep your heart full of my love all the time.

O ‘Isa! Remain alert and awake when people are unmindful and asleep. Relate stories of My wisdom to people.

O ‘Isa! long for My Reward and be frightened of My Chastisement and make your heart dead in the matter of earthly desires and fear none but Me.

O ‘Isa, “Pass your nights in pleasing Me and fast in the daytime to experience thirst, for the presentation of your needs on the Day of Resurrection.

O ‘Isa! Settle disputes of people as I have commanded you to wishing well for them and maintain My Order among them. Doubtlessly I have sent to you a Book which cures the heart of all Satanic doubts.

O ‘Isa: I truthfully tell you that not one of my creature puts faith in (believes in) Me except the one who weeps due to My fear and only he fears Me who is hopeful of My Reward. I make you Witness (and announce) that such People will remain safe from My Chastisement so long as they do not change My Way.

O ‘Isa: O son of the virgin lady Maryam who had disconnected herself from the whole world and had attachment only for Me! Weep on your condition like the one who weeps at the moment of departing from his near and dear ones, and who regards the (material) world as his enemy and who gives it (earthly desires) up for those who love it (worldly life) and like the one whose longing is for nothing but the Reward of the Hereafter which is only with the Only One Allah.

O ‘Isa: In spite of giving up worldly desires, as advised by Me, do talk politely with people, salute (say Salaam) everyone you meet. Even when good men are unmindful you should remain awake and alert keeping in mind the Day of Judgment when severe trembling will shake all hearts, when neither relatives nor riches will be of any help.

O ‘Isa: apply the powder antimony of sorrow and grief to your eyes when those who do not believe in the Truth are laughing.

O ‘Isa: What a success when you remain fearful (only of Me) and patient when you will attain all that I promise to the patient.

O ‘Isa: continue to make daily deductions from your worldly attachments so that the final departure may not be difficult for you. Taste the pleasure of worldly life which have been withdrawn. I tell you truthfully that you have at your disposal only that time and chance and day (for endeavoring) on which you are alive. So be content on getting from the worldly life which is absolutely necessary and go on toiling for enriching your life in the other world (Hereafter). Suffice to have rough clothing and tasteless food as you know what is to be the end (of a dress). All of your occupations are being recorded, that is, what you obtained, from where did you get it and in what you spent it.

O ‘Isa: I will question you on the Day of the Resurrection Day. So be kind and merciful to the poor and the weak as I have been Kind and Merciful to you. Never be harsh toward the orphan.

O ‘Isa: Keep up weeping on your condition in your prayer and keep your legs busy walking toward the prayer house. Continue to make Me hear your pleasant voice full of my Remembrance as I have showered many bounties on you.

O ‘Isa! I have destroyed many people due to their sins but I have saved you.

O ‘Isa! Be kind to the weak and open your eyes looking up and ask only from Me because I am very near to you. Do not pray to Me but with weeping and empty your heart keeping only Me therein. I will answer your call if you will call me thus.

O ‘Isa: I have created this transient world for rewarding and not for punishing those who preceded you nor to avenge their disobedience. Rather I have postponed both reward and chastisement until Resurrection which is eternal and unendingly permanent.

O ‘Isa You will be no more and I am everlasting. Your life is from Me and your return too is towards Me. The time of your death is in my control and you are to return unto Me and your accountability is before Me. So ask whatever you ask from Me and from none else and beg from Me in a better manner so that I may accept your prayer in a better way.

O ‘Isa: How big is the number of people (almost innumerable) but how few of them are patient, like the small number of fruitful trees compared to the fruitless ones. So you should not be deceived by seeing a green and fresh tree until you taste its fruit, that is, do not be deceived by the apparent goodness of people unless you test their morals and deeds.

O ‘Isa: You should not be deceived by the one who has rebelled against me (and is well to do), who is eating sustenance provided by Me and yet is worshipping others; who, while in trouble, calls and invokes Me and when I answer his prayers reverts to the same sin of polytheism, rises against me and becomes liable to My anger and chastisement. By My Majesty and Grandeur, I will catch him in such a severe way that he will never find any escape and where will he ever go leaving the boundaries of my earth and heavens?

O ‘Isa! tell the oppressors of The Israelites not to call me (not to invoke) while they are holding prohibited things in their arms and have placed idols on their dinning tables, that is, they have turned their wealth and their sons etc. into idols (deities) and have replaced My pleasure by their pleasure. I swear that I do answer the call of the one who invokes Me but those who Call Me in the aforesaid wrong way only earn My condemnation and curse until they disperse.

O ‘Isa how often I invite them towards Me but they are always found negligent (though I look at them mercifully). Yet they pay no attention and the word of Truth gets no room in their hearts and their souls remain in the dark. Thus they become liable to My chastisement due to their sinfulness though (outwardly) they love the faithful.

O ‘Isa: Close your eyes for things which give no benefit but only loss. Often it so happens that a man looks at a thing (intentionally) and such look sews seeds of illegal desires in his heart and those desires finally kill him.

O ‘Isa: Be kind to My servants just as you wish servants to be kind to you and remember at all times and always keep in mind that you will have to depart from your near and dear ones one day and never indulge in meaningless plays and games because games pollute hearts. Do not forget Me because the neglecter gets away from Me. Remember Me through your good behavior and moral deeds so that I may keep you in mind for a merciful reward.

O ‘Isa: Seek My pardon after committing a sin (error) and invite the repeaters toward Me and rest assured that I do accept repentance. Be near to the Believers love fully and ask them to invoke Me together with you. Never be carefree about the oppressed because the cry of the oppressed rises up to reach Me. By my Holiness, I open up all doors of the heavens for the prayers of the oppressed which I do accept though it may take some time. O ‘Isa: Remember that company of bad people makes them wayward and a bad companion is a killer. So be careful whose company you adopt. Always select the faithful brothers for your company. O ‘Isa: Do whatever you can for your own self until you are not dead. No one else will ever perform good deeds for you. Verily I give manifold reward for every good deed. Surely the sins of the sinner destroys him. Make haste in performing good deeds and go on toiling for there are many meetings which deliver the audience from Hell. O ‘Isa: Get disconnected from the mortal world and observe the path signs of your predecessors (are they traceable or not?). Call them either loudly or silently and see whether they hear or respond. Take admonition from their events and remember that you too, will together with all living ones, join them (the dead). O ‘Isa! Tell those who disobey me and rise against me and who keep company of the sinners and who are asking for my anger and who are awaiting their destruction that, very soon, they also will be annihilated along with others.

O Son of Maryam! What a good fortune for you if you follow the path commanded by the Lord. He is very kind and Merciful to you and began to give you His bounties even before you asked. He is there to help you in every difficulty and trouble. So never disobey Him.

O ‘Isa! Verily it is not permissible for you to disobey Me, because I have promised for you the same thing which I had promised the earlier Prophets, and I am a witness to it.

O ‘Isa No other thing except My religion, is dearer and precious in My view in the entire creation No reward is higher than My Mercy, for any one.

O ‘Isa! Cleanse the apparent filth with water and remove the internal impurities through good deeds and worship because your return is to Me. O ‘Isa! I bestowed upon you My reward fully without polluting it with any trouble. It was for your own benefit that I asked for a loan from you but you were miserly until you were destroyed.8

O ‘Isa! Adorn yourself with your Religion and with your friendship with the poor and the needy and walk on earth with humility and offer prayer on any portion of the earth because it is clean.

O ‘Isa! Remain ever ready for My worship because the happening which is to happen (that is death) is near and recite My Book after making Wudhu’ (ablution) and cleanliness. And recite it to Me in a sorrowful voice.

O ‘Isa! There is nothing with an everlasting tastefulness and there is no luxury which will not depart from the indulgent in luxury.

O ‘Isa! If your eyes can see the things which I have written (reserved) for My friends your heart will melt and you will die longing for them. The house of the Hereafter is like a house wherein live the angels who are near to Allah with pious people who are safe from all the dangers of the Day of Judgment. The bounties possessed by the residents of that residence never change nor vanish.

O Son of Maryam! Long with those who long for gaining the possession of the house in the Hereafter because that place is on top of all the ambitions of the ambitious and its sight is very pleasing to the eyes.

O son of Maryam! How lucky will you be if you do good deeds for getting entry to that House along with your ancestors Adam and Ibrahim and (that house) is like a garden which has bounties incomparable with the bounties of this world and from there nobody can shift you. I give such award to the pious.

O ‘Isa! rush toward Me along with those who rush for fear of fire, the flames whereof keep on leaping forever and which will be full of all sorts of tortures. Cool air will have no passage therein. There is no pain or trouble which will not be in that fire. Some places therein are darker than the darkest night. Only he is successful who is saved from that fire. Those who cannot escape it can never attain salvation. That place is for the merciless oppressors who are driven out of the Mercy of the Most Merciful Allah. It is for every bad tempered egoistic and proud person.

O ‘Isa! Hell is a very bad place and it is for those who tend toward it and that place is for the oppressors to taste the severest chastisement. I command you to save yourself from every evil of your soul and to fear My anger and confess that I have created you, that you are My slave that I shaped your figure and I have sent to you out of My Mercy and kindness on earth.

O ‘Isa! Just as it is not possible that there can be two tongues in one mouth and two souls in one chest likewise there cannot be two loves and two thoughts in one heart. So remove love for everyone and everything else other than Me from your heart and purify your deeds only for My sake.

O ‘Isa! Do not awaken others while you yourself are asleep in negligence and do not prevent others from playfulness when you are busy in it. Restrain your heart from the killer desires of the world and its passions just as people restrain a child from (harmful) milk. Keep distance from every wish that may keep you away from Me because you are holding the position of being My honest messenger. So continue to fear Me because the more one is nearer to Me the more he fears Me. It is essential that you should be lowly and meek when you worship Me. Your heart must be full of humility when you admonish people to fear Me. You should remain awake when others are asleep.

O ‘Isa! This is My admonition for you so accept it and ask whatever you ask from Me because only I am the Nourisher of all the worlds.

O ‘Isa! when my servant shows patience for my sake when he is under pressure and in trouble I am near him and I reserve My Reward for him. I am sufficient to take revenge from those who disobey Me when My oppressed servant calls Me. Where after all can the oppressors escape from Me?

O ‘Isa! Make Sajdah (prostration) properly. Live with wisdom and intelligence wherever you be and continue to seek knowledge from Me.

O ‘Isa! Forward good deeds to Me so that I may reserve them for you. Hold fast My Revelations and admonitions (act according to them) because therein lies the health of the hearts.

O ‘Isa! My fear must deter you from making a fraud. Fear My planning. Do not forget My remembrance if at all you ever commit a sin in solitude.

O ‘Isa! make a reckoning of your soul constantly, as your return is to me, so that you may gain my reward reserved for the doers of good deeds. Being the Best of bestowers I increase the rewards of good deeds.

O ‘Isa! I have created you through Maryam without a father, by My Word. It was according to my command that Archangel Gabriel blew the Sprit, which I had selected into Maryam and thus were you born, and are now walking on earth. All this was caused in view of some strategies which were in My knowledge since eternity.

O ‘Isa! Zakariyya is like your father, He was looking after your mother and observing heavenly provisions in front of her in the hall of worship. And among all My creation, Yahya is like you. I had given him to his mother at an advanced age when her husband had no more strength of producing a child. I wish that My Might and Power should appear for him and similarly My might should be manifested through your birth because I am able to create anything in anyway I like. Remember that only that person should be most beloved in your eyes that obeys and fears Me most.

O ‘Isa! Remain awake and do not be disappointed of My Mercy and with those who are busy glorifying Me. Continue mentioning My Holiness (Needlessness) by chanting My Holy Names.

O ‘Isa! How are My servants denying Me when all of them are under My control and they are walking on My earth and are unmindful of My blessings and Bounties and are befriending My enemies. Verily the unbelievers are being destroyed in this manner.

O ‘Isa! This world is a stingy prison and it is made to appear beautiful through some things for people and to attain that which oppressors and merciless people kill one another for. Always remain aloof from the world because its bounty is to vanish and there are but few comforts therein.

O ‘Isa! invoke me when you prepare to take rest at night, you will find me near you at that time also and call me with sincere love and faith as I am the best of hearers. I answer the prayers of those who pray. Fear only me and also frighten my slaves from my chastisement maybe they will refrain from their evil deeds so that if they ruin themselves they will do so knowingly.

O ‘Isa! if you are afraid of killer animals and if you fear death then why do you not fear Me when it is I who has created them all? O ‘Isa! Sovereignty belongs only to Me. I am the Real Ruler. If you will obey Me I will admit you in my Paradise and keep you besides the pious.

O ‘Isa! If I am displeased with you the pleasure of anyone else will not give me any benefit and if I am pleased with you the displeasure of anyone else cannot harm you at all.

O ‘Isa! Remember Me in solitude so that I may remember you with my secret hidden mercies. Also remember Me openly so that I may remember you in the gatherings of the heavenly angels which will be better than worldly gatherings.

O ‘Isa! Remember Me like the drowning ones who do not find any helper. O ‘Isa! Never swear by Me falsely because it makes My throne tremble with anger. O ‘Isa! the life of this world is very limited and ambitions very lengthy. I have houses which are better than the ones made by man.

O ‘Isa! Ask the oppressors of The Israelites what will they do when I bring forth for you the Book which will disclose your hidden secrets and all that you were doing (in the world)? O ‘Isa! Tell the hot-headed and rebellious The Israelites, whether they are washing and cleaning their faces to show me their pride or when they are transgressing me and using perfumes to please the world lovers, that their souls are decomposed like rotten dead bodies!

O ‘Isa! tell them to cut off their nails by unlawful earnings and to deafen their ears to hearing ugly and obscene voices and to come to Me after cleaning their hearts because I do not want the beauty of their faces but want the piety of their souls. O ‘Isa! Experience happiness over good deeds which make Me happy and weep over sins which cause Me to be angry. Wish for others that which you should like others to do to you. Do not wish for others what you wish others should not do to you If somebody hits you on the right side of your face present its left side too to him. Gain nearness to Me by behaving lovingly to others as much as you can and keep distance from the utterly ignorant and the fools and do not indulge in arguments with them.

O ‘Isa! Be kind and polite towards those who are doing good deeds and participate in their good deeds and be witness to them. Tell the oppressive The Israelites that: O friends of the evildoers! If you do not refrain from your misdeeds I will metamorphose you in the shape of monkeys and pigs. O ‘Isa! Tell the rebels among the Israelites that while the knowledgeable and the wise and the virtuous people run away from sinful acts, you are proud of your bad characters. Have you found out any decree of salvation from My chastisement? Or are you willfully inviting My anger? In that case I also swear by My Holy Self that I will punish you with a chastisement which will become a lesson for the coming generations.

So, O son of the virgin Maryam! O the one who remains away from worldliness! I command you as I would My beloved Ahmad who is the leader of Prophets who is the owner of red-faced radiant camels and whose radiance will enlighten the entire world. That pious hearted Prophet will become angry (upon the world-worshippers) for My sake. He is extremely modest and very kind-hearted.

Verily he is a mercy for all the worlds and Doubtlessly, on the Day of Judgment, he will be, in My sight, the best of all the descendants of Adam. His position will be most high in My view and he will be nearest to Me among all the past Prophets. He will take birth in the Arab land and without learning to read and write from anybody he will be appointed Prophet with knowledge of all the past and future sciences. He will propagate My religion to the people of the world and tolerate all kinds of troubles for gaining My pleasure and will fight with the polytheists for protecting My religion (the Divine way of Life).

O ‘Isa! I command you to inform The Israelites about his coming and order that all of them should testify to him, believe in his Prophethood, follow him and help him. His name is Muhammad . He will be My Messenger for the entire population of the world. His position will be most high in My Eyes and it will be incumbent on Me to concede to his intercession more than all others. How fortunate is that Prophet and how high the position of the people who will remain steadfast on his faith properly at the time of their death.

All the residents of the world will praise that Prophet and his followers and all the dwellers of the heavens will pray for his pardon. He is the honest trustee of My Books (Messages) and he is blessed. He is cleansed of all undesirable habits and bad needs and is entirely sinless. He is the best of all of My earlier and latter Prophets. He will be appointed in the last age. When he arrives in the world, the heavens will rain mercy on earth and the earth will throw (sprout) out all kinds of bounties and adorations. I will give abundance in whatever he does. He will marry a number of women. He will reside in Makkah where Ibrahim has raised the structure of Ka‘bah.

O ‘Isa! his religion is easy to follow. His Kiblah (direction of prayers) will be Ka‘bah. He is among My selected slaves. I am with him. What should I say about him! For him is the heavenly spring of Kauthar and the best clothing of the gardens of Eden. He will live in the best style of living and will depart from the world attaining martyrdom (He was not martyred apparently but as mentioned in successive traditions, his martyrdom was expressed through the martyrdom of his grandsons (Hasan and Husayn -Tr.)).

In the Resurrection Day for him, will be the spring of pure drink extending from Makkah to the point of the rising sun. Around that spring will be as many glasses as the stars shining in the heavens and as many pitchers as are the particles on earth and the water of that Hauz of Kauthar will have the best tastes of all kinds of heavenly fruits and drinks. One who will sip only a drop from it will never feel thirsty, I will appoint him after you and there will be a considerable distance between your time and his time. His outward and his inward will be the same. His deeds will be like his words. He will not ask anybody to do a thing unless he did it himself. His religion will require struggle both in ease and in trouble. Dwellers of cities will obey him and the king of Rome (Byzantine) will bow down before him and his father Ibrahim’s religion. He will recite the Name of Allah before eating and will say Salaam (Salute) before meeting anyone. He will offer prayers at a time when others will be asleep (night).

For him there will be five obligatory prayers during day and night. His prayers will begin with Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) and will end with Salaam (peace). At the time of every prayer they will give Azaan (Call for prayers) for all to attend and people will offer prayers in a row like the angels. This Prophet’s soul will be soft and full of fear of Allah. There will be light in his heart and Truth on his tongue. He will live truthfully wherever he may be. He will be an orphan and will be distinct among the entire creation. He will live with (in) his community for a period of time. People will not recognize his greatness and will not appreciate his position. His heart will remain awake when his eyes will be asleep. The clothing (dress) of Shafa’ah (intercession) befits only him. The period of his people will be nearer to the Day of Judgment. When his people swear allegiance to him My Mercy will remain over his hand. Whoever will break that loyalty will oppress himself. I will fulfill my promise of giving paradise to the one who will remain loyal to him. So give orders to the rebellious The Israelites that they should not remove his name from their scriptures and must not make changes in his attributes mentioned by Me in their Books (Divine), and to convey My Salaam to him as his status will be very high in the Hereafter.

O ‘Isa! I have commanded to you those deeds which will bring you nearer to Me and I have asked you to keep distance from all those deeds prohibited to you for it can take you away from Me. So now do what is in your interest.

O ‘Isa! Apparently the world is sweet. I have fixed for you the duty of obeying Me in the world and of refraining from whatever I have denied to you. Obtain from the world whatever I have given you out of My Grace. Keep an eye on your deeds like a sinner and do not look at the deeds of others like thy Lord. Lead your life in the world like an austere person and avoid earthly joys. Do not tilt towards them as they will destroy you.

O ‘Isa! Contemplate and observe all around the world and ponder over the end of the oppressors. O ‘Isa! Whatever advice I have given you is only for your benefit and all of My words are Truth. I am the Lord who reveals the Truth and tell you truthfully that if you disobey me despite warning then there will be none who can help to save you from My Chastisement.

O ‘Isa! Keep your heart servile and, in the worldly life, look only at him who is lower than you and be thankful to me. In the world do not look at him who is higher than you in earthly matters and always keep in mind that the head9 of every error and sin is admiration for material things Therefore, do not befriend the world because I do not love the world.

O ‘Isa! Keep your heart happy through My Remembrance and remember Me in solitude and remember that I admire weeping very much and so also repentance as you are doing in My Presence. It is essential that while worshipping Me you should be lively and not spiritless.10

O ‘Isa! Never make anyone (or anything) a partner of mine while worshipping me and fear My anger. Do not be proud of your physical strength and health and strength and do not make yourself the centre of attention in the world because the world is like a shade which passes away very soon and the incoming (shade) is also like the one which has disappeared leaving no sign. If a short length of it has at all remained that too will be no more very soon similarly. Therefore make the maximum effort in doing good and be with the Truth to the best of your ability even if people tear you into pieces or burn you alive. In short, after recognizing Me never turn into a disbeliever and an ignorant.

O ‘Isa! Continue weeping earnestly in My Presence and keep your heart full of My fear. O ‘Isa! Invoke Me and only Me in times of trouble because it is I who hears the call, who accepts and answers prayers and I am the best of the Merciful beings.’”

As authentically recorded Imam al-Ridha said that ‘Isa told his Hawaris: O The Israelites! Do not feel sorry over what you lose from the worldly things so far as your faith is safe. As you see the world-lovers do not feel sorry if their Religion is lost so long as their worldly (material) belongings are safe.

It is mentioned in reliable books that ‘Isa said, Very lucky are those who are kind to one another. They will earn Allah’s Kindness in the Hereafter. How fortunate are those who are reforming people as they will attain nearness to their Lord on the Day of Reckoning. How blessed are those who purify their hearts of immorality as they will gain My special Favor on the Day of Judgment. How good are those who maintain humility during their worldly life as they will be allotted royal seats in the other life. Lucky indeed are those who remained penniless and poor in the earthly life as the kingdom of Heaven will be theirs. Really happy are those whose worldly life was full of sorrow and unhappiness as in the Resurrection Day they will enjoy all sorts of luxuries.

Auspicious are those who, due to their humility, remain hungry and thirsty in the world as they will drink the heavenly drinks. Very fortunate are those who suffer bad words despite being guiltless and who keep their patience as they will get the kingdom of Heaven. What should I say about your fortune, if people are jealous of you, abusing you and making false allegations against you quite wrongfully yet you feel happy because your Reward in the Hereafter is very high.

‘Isa said, O wicked people: you are condemning others only on the ground of conjectures and do not condemn yourself even for the ills you are sure you possess. O worshippers of the world! You are clipping your hair and shortening your apparel to demean others but do not remove enmity and bad instincts from your own hearts. O world-worshippers! your example is like a grave which has been decorated outwardly to please onlookers but, from inside, it is full of dirty broken bones.

O slaves of the world! You are like a lamp which lightens the environment but burns itself out. O The Israelites! Go to the meetings of the religious scholars and sit there respectfully as Allah enlivens dead soul with the light of wisdom (knowledge) just as He enlivens the dead earth with drops of rain.

O The Israelites! Speaking less is a great wisdom. So it befits you to keep silence as it is the best comfort and it removes sins. So strengthen the forte of knowledge as its forte is silence. Doubtlessly the creator of the universe abhors untimely laughing and needless wandering. Allah loves a ruler and a leader who is not unmindful of his people like a responsible shepherd. Hence feel ashamed before Allah secretly as you are feeling ashamed of people openly. Since a word of wisdom is a lost property of the faithful you must endeavor to gain it before it is taken up and goes out of your reach and (its going up means those who describe the wisdom of Divine wisdom may not live).

O knowledgeable: give respect to the scholar due to his knowledge and do not quarrel with him and do not consider the unintelligent and the ignorant inferior due to their lack of knowledge or ignorance and do not remove them from your presence. Rather bring them near and teach them wisdom.

O intelligent! Every bounty which does not draw your thankfulness is like a sin which you have adopted and every sin which does not make you repent is like a chastisement which you drew on yourself. (This means that the very thought of being unable to be thankful is thankfulness in itself and to consider every error a great sin is in itself real repentance).

O wise man! Many are the troubles and calamities which you know not when will attack you so be prepared to overcome them before they fall on you.

It is also recorded that once ‘Isa asked his companions: If anyone of you passes by his faithful brother whose private parts are uncovered (either due to helplessness like illness or inadvertence due to sleep) will you open it wide and reveal them more or will you put a cloth over him? The companions replied, “We will cover our brother’s body.” Thereupon ‘Isa said, But you are removing the cover and revealing them more! The companions said, “How is it possible, O Spirit of Allah?”

‘Isa said, Do you not look at the defects of your brother-in-faith and then reveal them to others thereby dishonoring him? Therefore I tell you rather teach him so that he may learn and also teach others. I do not teach you so that you may become proud. Remember that the heavenly reward which you want cannot be attained until you give up worldly doubtfulness and misgivings and you will not reach the high status of your liking unless you bear difficulties and hardships with patience. Never cast an unlawful look, as it sows the seed of evil desire and is enough for spreading corruption. Lucky is he who sees with the inner eye of his heart and not his head.

Do not look at the defects of others like the owners. Rather look at your own shortcomings like slaves because people are of two kinds. Some of them indulge in sins and some keep away from sins. So if you happen to see the sinner be kind to him and be thankful to your Lord Who saved you from this evil. And if you come across those who are pious, try to be like them and pray to Allah for attaining goodness.

O The Israelites: How shamelesss are you! Don’t you feel ashamed in the presence of Allah! You do not like to drink water if it contains even a little straw but you devour unlawful property like a (hungry) elephant without caring for anything: O The Israelites! Allah has commanded you in Torah (Torah) that you should do good to your relatives and behave as nicely with them as you wish them to behave with you. And I order you and advise you that you should cultivate loving relations with those who cut off friendship with you and give to those who deprive you and behave gracefully with those who behave badly with you. Salute him who abuses you. Do justice to him who oppresses you. Forgive him who harasses you just as you want that others should forgive you. Take admonition from Allah’s mercy upon you.

Don’t you observe that the sun shines equally on the good and on the bad. Allah’s rain benefits both the pious and the sinner. How can you be better if you do good only to the one who does good to you and befriend only him who is friendly with you? The fools and ignorant do that. But if you want to be among the select of Allah and be His friends then behave nicely with those who behave badly with you and forgive those who harass you. Salute him who turns away his face from you. Hear my words and remember my admonitions and maintain my promise so that you may become like wise scholars. I tell you the truth that your hearts lean toward the place where you have buried your treasures and you worry about its missing.

Deposit your wealth in Heaven so as to rest assured that they will not rut there nor be solemn. I tell you the truth that a man cannot serve two Gods at a time. He will surely select one of the two. Likewise your heart cannot love both Allah and the world at a time simultaneously. I tell you truthfully that the worst scholar (Salim) is the one who in spite of his knowledge selects this world and loves it and tries to fool others and cares for nothing in His pursuit of the worldly gains. How can the blind benefit from the widespread light of the sun when he is unable to see anything? Likewise the knowledge of a scholar cannot give him any benefit if he does not act according to its wisdom. How many trees are there full of fruits; but all the fruits are not eatable. How wide is this earth? but every place is not worth living thereon. Similarly there are many talkers but every word is not true and much of what they say is unreliable.

Therefore, O people! Protect yourselves from untrue scholars who wear thick clothes and make a false show of devotion. They are, cunningly, making their wrong deeds look like worship in the eyes of the people. They stare at people like wolves. Their deeds are contrary to their claims. Is it possible to obtain grapes from a babul tree? Can one pluck figs from a colocynth tree? Similarly the talk of a false scholar is of no avail, their talks lead others only toward evil. The talkers do not tell the truth always. I tell you the truth that a seed grows in a soft ground not in hilly land. Similarly wisdom (words of wisdom) find place and nourishment only in soft and humble hearts not in the hearts of oppressors and hot-headed persons. Do you not know that the one who raises his head high under a low ceiling only breaks it and the one who sits low under it with humility takes the benefit of its shade.

Likewise Allah breaks the head of the one who raises his head with pride and egoism in the mean mansion of this world and degrades and dishonors him. The one who adopts humility and humbleness benefits from the world and Allah honors him. Remember that honey does not remain fresh and good in every leather bottle but can be preserved in good condition only in that container which is not torn, dried or has a foul smell. Similarly human hearts are the containers of the words of wisdom. If the delights and desires of worldly things do not make holes in them and passions do not make them impure and tastes do not dry them up only then can they preserve wisdom, not otherwise. I tell you the truth that if a house catches fire, that fire spreads from that house to another and then to the third and many more houses and destroys them all. But if the first one is broken down to such an extent that the fire cannot go further then other houses can be saved.

Oppression is also like that fire. If people restrain the first oppressor and break up his hands another oppressor will not come up to follow his footsteps. The fire in one house cannot damage another one if it does not find combustible material in the latter. I tell you the truth that if a believer sees that a snake is advancing toward another brother-in-faith to bite him and if he does not warn his brother who is bitten then has he not become a partner in killing him? He should not remain carefree in this account. Likewise if a believer sees that his other brother-in-faith is committing a sin and yet does not warn him then he should not feel satisfied that he will not be treated as his partner in the sin. The one who does not restrain anyone from committing oppression despite being able to stop him then he himself is like the one who has committed oppression. Why after all, will an oppressor stop from harming others if he knows for sure that there is no one among you who will condemn or stop him.

Then why do the oppressors not feel proud of their oppressions? Is it enough for you to go on saying that we are not oppressors while you are mere spectators of the oppression and do not make any effort to stop injustice. If what you imagine is correct then, when Allah chastises the oppressors they ought to be saved who did not oppress others and also did not stop others from oppression. On the contrary whenever Allah chastised a community His punishment engulfed both (oppressors and who did not oppress) groups.

O sinners! Woe unto you. You hope that Allah will save you from the pains of the Day of Judgment even thought you fear men in obeying Allah and you obey men while disobeying Allah and your loyalty remains with them in those deeds which break the covenant with Allah. I tell you with truth that Allah does not protect, on the severest Day of Judgment, those people who consider Allah’s servants as ‘Gods’ besides Him (that is, who strive to earn their pleasure as they should strive to gain Allah’s pleasure and are disobeying Allah).

Woe unto you, O Bad Characters! You have put aside the eternal and everlasting Paradise to take up the transient world and its vanishing delights and you have forgotten the hardships of the Day of Judgment. O slaves of the world! Woe unto you because you are running away from your Lord and do not long for His everlasting Rewards just for the sake of the fleeting bounties of the ephemeral life. Why then should Allah wish you life? You do not like to meet Allah so He too does not like to see you). Allah loves only those who prefers to meet Him and does not meet those who dislikes to meet Him. How can you claim that you are the favorite of Allah to the exclusion of others while you are running away from death? You are clinging to the worldly life! What benefit can a corpses have from the fragrance of camphor and the whiteness of the coffin cloth when they are hidden beneath the earth? Likewise you cannot benefit from the beauty of the world which has caught hold of your eyes when all of you are to vanish and will be no more? What will you gain from the cleanliness and colorfulness of your bodies when you are returning towards death to mix up with dust and remain in the darkness of the grave? You have forgotten all these facts.

O Slaves of the world! You are like the one who lights up a lamp in front of the sun without any benefit and does not light a lamp during the night but continue to remain in darkness though he was given a lamp. Similarly you are wasting the light of knowledge (which was provided to ward off the darkness of ignorance) on the earthly life though the provider of your worldly needs is Only One Allah and your knowledge does not benefit you in this matter. You are not using the light of knowledge to gain the (the benefits of the) Hereafter even though it was given to you for the same purpose.

The journey leading to the Hereafter cannot be completed without the road lights of knowledge. You continue to repeat that the Hereafter is a fact yet you are eve busy in worldly affairs. You go on saying that death is a fact and yet you are always trying to run away from it. You say and also know that Allah sees (every deed) and yet you do not fear that he has already encircled your bad deeds. How then can anybody testify to your claim of being a believer? He hears your saying and witnesses your working.

Verily the one who tells a lie unknowingly can be regarded as more helpless that the one who tells an untruth knowingly. No lie, however, is pardonable. I tell you the truth that if you will not ride an animal and will not work hard on it, it will become useless and its form will also change. In the same way if you will not make your heart soft by remembering your death and will not make it work hard your heart too will become rebellious. What is the use of lighting a lamp on the terrace of a house while its inner part is dark and fearful. Likewise that knowledge of your cannot benefit you which, though flowing out of your mouth, keeps your heart empty and hollow. So light up your homes very soon and enlighten your dark hearts with the radiance of knowledge and wisdom before it gets rusted with your sins and becomes as hard as stone.

He can lift heavy weights who seeks others’ help. How can the burden of his sins become light unless he seeks Allah’s help (pardon) from Allah? How can one’s clothes remain clean unless he takes them out and washes them? Similarly how can a man become pious and clean (of sins) if he does not remove the dirt of sins with the soap of good deeds. How can he who wants to cross a river without a ship save himself from drowning? How can a man protect himself from worldly calamities if he does not endeavor to remedy them through Allah-worship? How can a traveler reach his destination without a guide? Likewise how can one go to Paradise unless he learns his religious issues and how can one please Allah unless he obeys His Commandments?

How can one remove defects on his face if he never looks into a mirror? Similarly how can man complete his friendship with his beloved until he gives to him from out of his belongings? I tell you the truth that a sea loses nothing if a ship sinks in it. Likewise Allah’s grandeur cannot be diminished due to your sins. Nor can your disobedience ever harm Him. Rather you will harm yourself. Just as the multitude of people living under the sun and getting benefit from it does not decrease the light of the sun, the limitless provision provided by the Lord never becomes less due to extravagance and luxurious lives. Allah gives more to the one who thanks Him as He is the Giver of Rewards and the Wise.

Woe unto you, O laborers! You work dishonestly but collect full wages. You eat from the provision given so generously by Allah, wear clothes provided by Him, build houses on His land to live in but destroy the Guidance given by Him. Very soon he will demand from you the things which you destroyed. Then He will give you a severe punishment which will dishonor you. He will order the cutting off of your necks and dislocating of your joints from their bases and dislocating your hands from their joints. Your bodies will remain lying on roads so that the pious ones may take lessons therefrom and your condition may become a source of admonition for oppressors. Woe unto you, o characterless scholars! Keep well in mind that Allah has delayed your death purposefully....

You will die very soon and will be take out of your dwellings. So give place to Allah’s invitation in your ears (listen attentively) today (rather just now). Begin weeping on your condition from today. Start lamenting over your sins right from today and be busy preparing for your journey to the Hereafter. Repent before your Lord. I tell you with truth that just as an ill man looks at tasteful food but has no appetite for it and even if he eats it he does not find it pleasing because of his illness, similarly one whose heart has become ill due to his love for the world cannot get any pleasure in worship. He cannot understand the sweetness of worshipping his Lord, because the love for worldly things has made him sickly. A sick man is attracted toward the utility of medicine prescribed by a physician due to hope of his recovery. But the thought of the bad taste of the medicine makes him hesitate and thus his recovery is delayed. Similarly people get pleasure from various kinds of things of beauty but then suddenly the though of death makes everything sour and their luxury becomes pale. I tell you the truth that everybody looks at the stars but all of them do not get guidance (of the true path) except those who are aware of the movements and directions of the stars. Likewise you are giving lessons of truth and wisdom but nobody is guided except he who acts upon it.

Woe unto you, o slaves of the world! You clean the wheat minutely and then crush it into flour to obtain its taste when eating. In the same way why do you not clean your beliefs of doubts and hypocrisy and why do you not make it perfect through good deeds so that you may feel its sweetness and you may get its good results. I tell you the truth that if in a dark night you get a lamp burning with the oil of a pine tree (oil with a foul smell) you will take its benefit despite its bad smell. Similarly you should take up the light of wisdom and knowledge from whomsoever it be, never mind that that person does not act according to his wisdom.

Woe unto you, O characterless people! You are not like those knowledgeable persons who can recognize the truth with their intelligence nor are you like those patient persons who become aware of religious problems by thinking and pondering over them. You are not like the scholars who are able to understand divine sciences. Neither are you like pious slaves nor like virtuous free persons who have freed themselves from passions and desires through their devotion in worship. The time is very near when this world will uproot you and throw you upside down and rob away your respect. Your sins will drag you by your hair, your knowledge will hit you on your neck until you are brought alone and naked before the sovereign Ruler who will punish you for your bad deeds. World worshippers! You have not been given rule over the entire creation on account of the knowledge and wisdom (given to you) because you threw aside your knowledge and did not act according to it and you have inclined wholly toward the world and are issuing orders only for selfish aims and material benefits and have opted for the world in lieu of the Hereafter. You are building this world so that you too may become one of the world-lovers. You behave as if Allah has no right on you!

I tell you the truth that you can never attain the honor and status in the Hereafter until and unless you do not give up those worldly things which are most dear to you. Therefore do not postpone repentance and pardon-seeking until tomorrow because one day and one night are still between today and tomorrow and the order of Allah (death warrant) reaches the slaves by the beginning or the end of a day. How, then, can you be sure that you will be alive tomorrow and that you will get enough time for repentance? I tell you the truth that little sins, considered insignificant by people, are the webs of Satan who belittles sins in your eyes and makes you careless. In this way your sins multiply and its heavy burden then kills you and destroys you. With disgrace. I tell you the truth that wrongful praise and imagining yourself to be pure in religious matters and self-extolling is the root cause of all evils and love of material world is the head of every sin.

I tell you the truth that no other deed is more helpful than prayer in attaining high status in Hereafter and in removing calamities of this world. So be steadfast in prayers. No other deed except Salat brings one near Allah. So go on performing Salat regularly and constantly because Salat is better than every act which brings man near to Allah. It is very precious in view of Allah.

I tell you the truth that every act of that oppressed man fetches great reward in heaven who (the oppressed one) did not take revenge from the oppressor because of hatred in his heart. Tell me has anyone of you ever seen a light named darkness or a darkness named light? Likewise it is not possible for any man to be both a believer (mo-min) and a disbeliever or denier (Kafir) at a time, or to adopt both Hereafter and this mortal world simultaneously. Have you ever seen anybody who sows barley and obtains wheat? Or have you seen one who sows wheat and obtains barley? Likewise every slave will find in the Hereafter what he had sown in this world. He will get the reward of what he had done in this life. I tell you the truth that there are two kinds of people who possess wisdom. Some fortify wisdom by their words but destroy it through their deeds. Others strengthen wisdom and testify it through their deeds. How vast a difference is there between these two! How fortunate are those who behave wisely and how unlucky are the characterless talkers. I tell you the truth that the one who does not clear his fields of useless grass but allows it to spread his agriculture will get spoilt in the end. Similarly the one who does not drive out love of world from his heart but lets its roots go deep making his heart totally covered by it is then unable to taste the sweetness of the love of the Hereafter.

O slaves of the material world! Turn your Lord’s mosques into prisons for your physiques and make your hearts the centers of piety and divine fear. Do not make your hearts the dwellings of desires. I tell you the truth: Whoever from you makes a hue and cry during troubles has a heart which is full of fondness for the world. The one who is more patient and forbearing is a great devout.

O characterless scholars! Woe unto you! Were you not dead? Allah brought you to life. He gave you life by perfecting knowledge, so that you may act according to that guidance but you turned dead to that purpose. Cursed are you. Were you not ignorant and useless? He gave you knowledge and made you great. When He bestowed intelligence on you it was He whom you forgot. Were you not void of discipline and culture? He taught you good ways. After you learned good manners (how) you returned to waywardness and ignorance and fallacy. Woe unto you! Were you not wandering? He guided you. After He showed you the right path you again lost it. Woe unto you! Were you not blind? He made you see Then again you turned blind. Alas! Were you not deaf? He enabled you to hear, but thereafter once more you turned deaf. Alas! Were you not dumb? He taught you to talk but you became dumb for telling the truth. Ah! Did you not seek success from Allah? When He helped you to succeed you turned away from Him.

Woe unto you! Were you not abject among the peoples? Allah gave you honor and uplifted you. Then you began to oppress the weak and crossed all limits and engaged in disobeying the lord. Woe unto you! Were you not weak and meek on earth and were you not afraid of being enslaved by others? Allah assisted you and gave you strength and power. But then you became proud and arrogant. Woe unto you! How disgraced will you be on the Day of Judgment! Woe unto you O characterless religious scholars! You behave like atheists and yet hope for the status of those for whom Allah has reserved paradise.

You have become fearless of Allah’s chastisement as if you were sinless like one who never errs, as if Allah’s decisions will conform necessarily with your wishes. You have come in the world to die. You are constructing mansions for destruction and hoarding wealth only for your heirs. I tell you the truth that my brother Musa had said emphatically not to swear by Allah falsely, rather to tell the truth without swearing.

O The Israelites! Eat vegetables and loaves of barley. I advise you to avoid wheat loaves because I am afraid you will not be thankful to Allah. I tell you the truth that you will have to hear the reply of any bad word used by you for anyone (in this world), in the Hereafter.

O bad characters! Whoever from you intends to offer any sacrifice before Allah, and if any faithful is displeased with you, he should first please that man and only then come forward to make his sacrifice so that his tithe may be accepted by Him.

O characterless people! If somebody deprives you of your sheet give away your shirt too to him. If someone hits you on one of your cheeks, produce the other cheek also to him. If someone forces you to carry a burden for a distance of one mile, take it voluntarily for another mile. I tell you truly how can you at all benefit from your outwardly betterment and cleanliness when your inner hearts are dirty and corrupted? What is the use of your fragrant bodies when your souls give out foul smell of your condemnable character? The Purity of your skins will not be of any avail to you when your spirit is unclean due to sins.

I truthfully ask you not to be like the sieve which lets out fine flour but retains chaff and straws within it. Likewise you speak good and wise words while keeping bad intentions, foul habits and malice and corrupt thoughts in your hearts.

I tell you the truth you should first remove the evil from your hearts and then do good deeds so that it may benefit you, because, as long as you mix up good with bad the good will not benefit you. I tell you truly that the one who enters the sea will surely wet his clothing despite all efforts. Like wise the one who loves the world cannot save himself from sins.

I tell you the truth that lucky are those who do not sleep deeply in their beds at night but get up in the midst of night to worship their Lord. A permanent light is reserved for them in the Hereafter because they in the darkness of night stand on their feet in Mosques and worship their Allah and weep with a hope to be saved of the hardships and pains of the Day of Judgment.

I tell you the truth that this world is a field wherein people sow both good and bad as well as sweet and bitter. In the Hereafter the result of good will be nothing but good and the consequence of the evil will be nothing but pain and suffering.

I tell you the truth that wise people take admonition from the state of the ignorant and the unwise come to their senses only when understanding is of no avail.

I tell you the truth, O slaves of the world! Really speaking you make neither this world nor the Hereafter because had you loved you world you would have done deeds which can make you successful in the world, and had you loved the Hereafter, you would have worked like the one who likes the Hereafter.

O slaves of the world! When your defects are shown to you, you become unhappy and feel ill and you become pleased when some of those good things are attributed to you which in fact are not in you. Remember well that Satan has not built a house for him anywhere as he has done so in your hearts. Mind well that Allah has given you this world so that you may endeavor in it for your Hereafter, not to make you carefree of the next world. He has rained his bounties in this world so that you may realize that Allah has thereby helped you in His worship, not for assisting you in sins. He has commanded you to obey Him in the world not to disobey and turn away from Him. He has asked you emphatically to strive for earning lawful sustenance (provision) and not to get illegal income. He has widened His provision so that you may do good to one another, not for indulging in enmity and ill will.

I tell you truthfully they everyone of you wants the reward and bounties of the other world but only he will get it who endeavors for it. I tell you the truth that a tree comes to perfection with its good fruits. Similarly religion is perfected by discarding unlawful things. I tell you the truth that a seed does not grow but in the company of water and earth. Likewise faith does not remain firm but only with understanding and action.

I tell you the truth that just as water puts off fire, patience and forbearing puts off Divine fury. I tell you truthfully that fire and water cannot remain together in a vessel. Similarly wisdom and verbal humility cannot live together in one soul. I tell you the truth that it does not rain without clouds. Likewise a deed which can please Allah cannot come out of a heart which is not clean and pious.

I tell you the truth that just as the sun enlightens everything, wisdom enlightens hearts and piety and fear of Allah is the root of wisdom and truth and straightforwardness is the threshold of everything. Mercy of Allah is the threshold of every truth and straightforwardness and the key to Allah’s mercy is good deeds and weeping before Him. How then can a door be opened without the key?

I tell you the truth that a wise man sows only a tree which he likes and rides only a horse of his likening. Likewise an intelligent believer does only those deeds which are liked by his Lord.

I tell you the truth that a sword performs properly if it is sharpened. Similarly a wise word sharpens the soul and also makes it shining. A word of wisdom enlivens the heart of a wise person, just as water brings the dead earth to life. Wisdom is like light for a wise soul whereby he is enabled to walk among people in darkness.

I tell you the truth that it is more difficult to make one understand the truth who does not want to understand than to shift a mountain to another place. Making efforts to impress such people with the truth is like rubbing a stone in water to make it soft. It is like carrying food to a graveyard for feasting with the dead. Lucky is the one who is afraid of talking uselessly as it makes Allah angry. He does not long for good words of others until he does not understand their good deeds. How fortunate is the one who respects scholars for the sake of their knowledge and takes no interest in their personal affairs and who dislikes ignorant due to their ignorance and does not like their company yet seats them near him to teach them knowledge.

I tell you the truth, O my companions! Today, you are like the living among the dead (and yet) but you are dying the death of those living people who remain away from Allah due to their passions.

‘Isa said, “Almighty says that My faithful slave remains gloomy due to the fact that I remove the world (worldly wealth) from him though this condition of his is most dear to me and in this state he is nearest to Me. And he feels happy when I open up the world for him, though I abhor this condition and such people are very far from Me.”

According to authentic sources Imam as-Sadiq said that ‘Isa gave a sermon before The Israelites and said, “O The Israelites! Do not utter a word of wisdom before ignorant as it would be a cruelty toward wisdom. Do not withholds words of wisdom from those who are able to understand it otherwise it will be a cruelty towards them. Do not assist an oppressor in his oppression otherwise your greatness and grace will vanish.”

In another reliable tradition Imam as-Sadiq said that once the Hawaris said to ‘Isa, “O teacher of virtues! Tell us which thing is the most severe thing?”

He replied, “The severest of all the severe things is the anger of Allah.”

They asked, “How can one save himself from the anger of Allah?”

“Do not frown on His slaves.”

“What was the beginning of frowning, that is, how does it takes place?”

“By becoming proud and arrogant and by considering others inferior.”

In another reliable tradition it is recorded from the same source that ‘Isa used to tell his companions, “O children of Adam! Run away from the world and empty your hearts of the love for the world as it is not appropriate for you. Neither does it befit you nor are you becoming of it. Neither will the world stay put for you nor will you stay put for it. The world is deceptive and the cause of calamities. Cheated is he who is deceived by the world; lost is he who is satisfied with the world; destroyed is he who loves the world and desires to obtain it. So repent before your Creator and keep away from the anger of your Nourisher and fear that Day on which neither a father can be ransom of his son nor a son of his father.

Where are your ancestors? Where are your mothers? Where are your brothers and sisters? Where are your children? The executors of the Divine will have called them up towards Hereafter. They accepted the invitation and passed away. People entrusted them to the earth (dust) and all of them became neighbors of the dead and joined the perished. They left the world and became separated from their friends. They became needy except for what they had already sent to the Hereafter. They became carefree of what they had left in the world. You are being repeatedly admonished and yet you are forgetful and carelessly indulge in meaningless things. You are like animals. Your efforts are limited to eating and drinking and in gratifying your passions.

Do you not feel shameful before Allah who created you though He has frightened the sinners with the fires of hell. You have no ability to suffer this Hellfire. He has promised His heaven and His nearness to those who obey him. So lean toward the promise of Allah and make yourself worthy of his mercy. Be just to your own selves.

Do not oppress others. Be kind to those who are weaker than you. Help the helpless. Seek pardon from Allah for your sins and make repentance-a real repentance that you will never again turn toward sins. Be virtuous slaves of the Lord. Do not be oppressive rulers nor be like the merciless and hot-headed rebels and Pharaohs who rebelled against their Lord who punished them through death, Who is harshest of the harsh, Who is Lord of the earth and the skies, Who is the Allah of all the past as well as the future people and Who is the king of the Day of Judgment whose chastisement is severe and whose punishment extremely painful. No oppressor can escape from His punishment and nothing can go out of His control. Nothing can be unknown to Him and nothing can be a secret from Him. His knowledge has encircled everything. He has given room to everybody either in Heaven or in Hell.

O son of Adam! You being weak how can you escape from the One Who summons you up both in broad daylight and in the darkness of the night and who takes you up in His custody in whatever condition you may be. You are in his control every moment. Both, who are admonished and who accept the admonition are successful.”

It is reported that in Injeel that ‘Isa said, “You have heard what was told to the past ones that they should not indulge in adultery. I say: The one who looks at a woman with passion has already committed adultery with that woman. If your right eye becomes dishonest and looks toward the forbidden (toward a woman with whom marriage is permissible) gorge it out and throw away the eyes as the dissection of one part of the body is better than burning of all the limbs in the fires of Hell.

I tell you the truth that do not worry about what to eat and what to wear. Is not the heart better than the body and the body better than the dress? Save your body and your soul from the fires of Hell. Just look at the birds. They neither sow nor reap nor do they worry about their sustenance. Your Glorious Lord provides them sustenance. Are you not better than them? Who among you is able to put even a yard of cloth on his body himself? Then why do you worry about your clothing? The One Who gave you the body will has also provided covering for you.”

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam Zayn al-‘abidin that it is written in Injeel: Do not acquire knowledge according to which you do not act because, when it is not acted upon, Allah removes that knowledge from its possessor. Imam said once ‘Isa said to the Hawaris that the world is a bridge. You should just cross it and not begin to build houses on it.”

Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said that wealth and property is an ailment of religion and its physician is the religious scholar (A’alim). So when you observe that the scholar himself is drawing the ailment toward him, do not consider him to be your sympathizer. Realize that when he does not care for himself how can he be a well-wisher of others? In another reliable tradition it is mentioned that ‘Isa said, how lucky is he whose silence is due to pondering over Allah’s marvels and whose eyes seek admonitions and who is the servant of his own household and who keeps weeping for his sins and people remain safe from his hand and tongue!

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam as-Sadiq said, Allah revealed to ‘Isa, “O ‘Isa! Give Me the tears of your eyes and the humility of your heart. When the followers of the untruth laugh you should remain worried and gloomy for fear of the Hereafter and stand by the graves and call the dead. You should take a lessons from them and tell them: I am also to join you.”

In another reliable tradition it is recorded that ‘Isa gave a sermon to his companions that: You are toiling for the world even though you get sustenance without working (that is Allah has guaranteed it) but you are not making efforts for the Hereafter though sustenance over there is not available without toiling (which must be done in this worldly life).

Woe unto you, O wicked Scholars! You do not work and yet collect the wages. Very soon the Owner will demand from you (the deeds of His liking) and very soon you will be transferred from this world to a dark grave. How can he be a scholar (knowledgeable) who is to return to the Hereafter and yet he is busy with worldly things and like only those things more which are harmful to him than those which are beneficial.”

It is narrated in another tradition that people asked ‘Isa, “O spirit of Allah! How are you?”

He replied, “I wake up in the morning when my Lord is watching over me and He is aware of my conditions. The fires of Hell is before my eyes and death is in ambush for me. I am unable to attain what I long for. I cannot remove the things not liked by me. So no poor is poorer than me and no helpless more helpless.”

According to authentic reports from the Holy Prophet that Allah sent a revelation to ‘Isa, “Strive in worshipping Me and do not abandon praying to Me because I created you without a father so that you may become My Sign, for the whole world. Enlighten the Israelites who have put faith in Me and in My illiterate Prophet of the last era whose progeny will be established through a blessed lady who will be with your mother (Maryam); that Tuba in the Heaven is for him who will be living in the time of that Prophet, who will hear him and who will obey him. ‘Isa asked: My Lord! what is Tuba? Replied the Mighty Lord: Tuba is a tree in Paradise beneath which passes a stream. Whoever drinks even one mouthful from its water never feels thirsty. ‘Isa appealed: My Lord! just give me a drop from it. Allah said, O ‘Isa! It is forbidden to all the Prophets until that Prophet of the last are drinks from it even entrance to paradise is prohibited to all adherents until the adherents of that last Prophet enters it.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam as-Sadiq said, “‘Isa asked Archangel Gabriel, ‘When will arrive the Day of Judgment?’ Archangel Gabriel began to tremble fearing that Day and fell down unconscious. After recovering he replied, “O Spirit of Allah! I also do not know as you do not. It is not known to anyone when the Day of the Resurrection Day will rise. However it will dawn suddenly and without notice.”

According to another reliable tradition ‘Isa said, “I treated the ill and all of them recovered by the Grace of Allah. I remedied the blind and the lepers and they became healthy by the Mercy of Allah. I enlivened the dead by the Command of Allah, but I could not cure the idiot.” People asked who was an idiot. He replied, “The one who likes only his own opinion and admirers his own deeds and who thinks that he is more graceful and benevolent than all others and who never thanks any one. He claims his rights over all but never recognizes the rights of others over him. Such is the idiot who I could not cure in spite of my efforts.”

According to another hadith ‘Isa said to his companions, “If you are my friends and my brothers, attribute the enmity and rancor to yourself (that is, realize that enmity towards others is enmity against yourselves). Otherwise, you are not my brothers. Fortunate are those who see the attractive worldly things with their eyes and yet never entertain a thought of disobeying his Lord. When a thing slips out of your hand and goes away how far way it goes. Similarly if a thing is to be available to you how much near it is! Woe unto them who become proud of their worldly belongings. When the destined will come up before them (when they will die) and when al the things of their liking will depart from them and when they will be given what was promised to them, then will they repent. This rotation of day and night is enough for admonition. Woe unto him who is fully engaged in earning the world and his record is full of sins. How disgraced will he be before his Lord!

O people! Do not talk much except for describing and remembering Allah. The hearts of those who go on talking without mentioning and remembering Allah become hard and they do not understand (the truth). They look at the defects of others as if they were their Gods. Rather be concerned for the salvation of yourselves as you are like purchased slaves. If water continues to flow on stony land how long will it remain hard (not become soft)? Similarly if you go on reciting wise words your hearts will become soft at last. Your example is like oleander which is attractive like a colorful flower but whoever tastes it spits it out and whoever devours it dies.”11

It was revealed to ‘Isa: In the matter of tolerance and patience live among the people like the earth which is under their feet (but never grudges), in philanthropy live like the flowing water and in kindness and mercy be like the moon and sun who give light to all be they good or bad. ‘Isa said, Do not make the world your Allah so that it may think that you are its slaves. Entrust your treasures to the one Who may not spill it and he is Your Lord (who never destroys anyone’s treasure of deeds).

Do not leave behind the treasures (wealth) of the Hereafter in this world which is a place of calamities. ‘Isa said, I am damning the world for you. Do not raise it up after me. Doubtlessly one of the evils of the world is that Allah is being disobeyed in it and another wickedness of it is that without giving it up no one can reach the Hereafter. So just pass over the world. Do not make it flourish and remember that the root of every sin is the love for this world. There are many desires which are accompanied by sorrow and lengthy pains and troubles. Then he said, I have thrown down the world in front of you. You are sitting before it. No one can quarrel with you in worldly affairs except kings and women. Do not be entangle with kings about worldly things but leave it to them. They also will not quarrel with you. But save yourselves from the evils of women with the help of prayers and fasting.

It is recorded that once people requested ‘Isa to build a house for himself.’Isa replied, “The end of the past people is enough for us and we consider it better. Do not befriend the world so that Allah may befriend you.”

It is mentioned that once Allah revealed to ‘Isa, “When I send a bounty for you, welcome it with humility and meekness so that I may perfect that bounty for you.”

‘Isa said, “What good has he done to himself who sold out his soul for this world. Whatever he buys he leaves behind for his heirs and destroys himself. How lucky is he who saves himself from destruction and opts for the Hereafter. Condemning wealth he said, There are three kinds of dealing with it. If the earner earned it through illegal means he will be punished. If he obtained it lawfully but spent it in wrong ways then also he will be chastised. But if he earned wealth in the permitted manner and also spent it in right manner then such wealth and money helps its owner in the worship of his Lord.”

Once ‘Isa passed by a house where its owner had died. Others were sitting in it. He said, “Woe unto those who left this house in inheritance. Why do people not take lesson from those who lived here (in this house) earlier.

He used to say: O Mansion! You will become dilapidated and your dwellers will also be no more. O Soul! Work for your Lord so that you may get sustenance. O body! Make efforts so that you may get rest. ‘Isa said, O weak offspring of Adam! Keep away from Your Lord’s chastisement and do not become lusty. Live weak in the world and habituate your physique to labor and obtain provision (sustenance) for your uplift as well as slavery. Praise Allah more and more when you are in trouble because one of the reasons of being saved from sinning is that you cannot do what you want. He used to say: O group of Disciples! Make Allah your friend by becoming enemies of sinners and the rebellious. Be near to Allah by remaining away from them. Earn Allah’s pleasure by being angry with them.”

One day the materialistic world appeared before ‘Isa in guise of a grey-eyed woman. He asked her, “How many husbands did you marry?” “Innumerable,” she replied. He inquired whether all of them divorced her? She said, “No, I killed them all.” ‘Isa said, “Woe unto your remaining husbands who did not take lesson from the fate of your murdered husbands.”

According to another authentic hadith, ‘Isa used to say, “You do not know when the fearful calamity of the Resurrection Day will catch hold of you. Then what comes in the way of making preparations, before it strikes you suddenly? The provision of Hereafter has become very hard. But when you extend your hand to take up something from the worldly provisions, a criminal picks it up before you. However, you will find no one to be helpful to you in the matter of the provision for the Hereafter.”

According to another narration from the same source (Imam as-Sadiq said that once the companions of ‘Isa came to him and said, “O teacher of the good! Show us the right path.” He said, Musa Kalimullah had commanded you not to swear falsely in the name of Allah. But I order you not to swear by Allah either truly or falsely.” They requested, “O Sprit of Allah! Preach something more.” He said, “Musa had ordered you not to commit adultery, (I say) never ever even think about adultery because a heart which allows a thought of adultery is like a house having golden paintings on its walls but it is on fire. Though it does not burn, smoke spoils all the adornment and paintings etc.”

According to authentic chains Haaris Aawar has narrated: One day I was going to the city of Heerah with Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali. By chance we came across a church wherein they were blowing a conch. ‘Ali asked me, “O Haaris! Do you know what this conch say?” I replied, “Allah and His Messenger and his brother know better.” He said, “It is describing the world and its evils and says: I give witness to the oneness of Allah; that He is Truth; He is Truth. Verily the world has deceived us and have made us careless about the Hereafter and destroyed our intelligence and have misguided us. O sons of the world! Postpone your worldly affairs. O son of the world you are being crushed every day under calamities. For gathering worldly wealth either all of you will destroy one another or you will vanish very soon. O son of the world! How long will you go on collecting material properties? The world destroys one century after another century (‘Qarn means either a period of 100 years or of 30 years) Not a single year of our age passes by without the weakening of one or the other limb of our body. Doubtlessly we have destroyed our permanent abode and made the transient house our residence. We do not feel this loss now in the world but will realize only after death (with no avail).” Thereafter Amir al-Mu’minin asked me, “O Harris! Do the Christians follow this call of the conch? Had they followed it they would have never made ‘Isa a partner of Allah. Harris says he went to a Christian the next day who lived in that church. I told him for the sake of Jesus please blow this conch as you were blowing it earlier. He began blowing it and I began to compare each and every phrase of ‘Ali with its tune and found that it tallied fully. Hearing all this the Christian asked me: By the truth of your Prophet, please tell me who told you all this? Harris said, The great man who accompanied me here yesterday acquainted me with this call of the conch. He enquired whether he (‘Ali was related to the Prophet? I said, He is his cousin. Then he asked whether he had heard this from the Prophet? I said, Yes. Hearing this that Christian became a Muslim and said, By Allah, I have read in Torah that the last Prophet will explain the call of the conch. “ sd”

The ascension of ‘Isa to heaven, his descent to the Earth towards the end of time, an account of Shammon bin Hamoon al-Safa

Almighty Allah says: ‘And when Allah said, O ‘Isa! I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieves.) so that you will not be between them and you will receive no harm from them. Some said the word ‘Tawaffaa’ (in this verse of the holy Qur’an) means ‘death’ and that Allah killed him first then made him alive after three hours, and fetched him up into the heavens. Some others say that his death will occur after coming back to earth in the last era.

(and make those who follow you, above those who disbelieve you on the Day of Resurrection).

Accordingly, the Christians have always been above the Jews in might and similarly the Ummah (community) of the Prophet of the Last Era (Muhammad) too, who also believe in ‘Isa, has always remained above the Jews and kingship went out of the hands of Jews. It is also one of the miracles of the holy Qur’an that whatever was foretold by it is coming true. At another place, the Lord has said,

And for their unbelief and for their having uttered against Maryam a grievous calumny.

Allah chastised those (Jews) because of their disbelief and for making a grievous allegation against Maryam. ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has said, The Jews made allegation of adultery against Maryam. Shaykh Tabarsi has narrated that when ‘Isa passed by a group of Jews they uttered: “Lo, the son of a magician and adulteress woman has come.” Hearing these ugly words ‘Isa prayed to Almighty Allah: O Allah! You alone are my Lord. You have created me without a father and therefore, these people are addressing me as a son of the fruit of adultery. O Allah! condemn those who abuse me and my mother. Instantly they became pigs.

And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, ‘Isa son of Maryam, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like ‘Isa.).

There is a difference of opinion about this doubt. According to Ibn ‘Abbas, when Allah Almighty disfigured (in the form of swine those who had abused ‘Isa and his mother and when king Yehuda of the Jews came to know that ‘Isa had cursed him also, he gathered the Jews and all of them unanimously decided to kill ‘Isa. Allah Almighty sent Archangel Gabriel to help ‘Isa. The Jews had gathered around ‘Isa and were questioning him. ‘Isa told them: ‘O Jews! Allah considers you His enemies.’ Hearing this all of them rose up to assassinate him. But Archangel Gabriel took ‘Isa up to a window of that building which was situated at a great height. From there Archangel Gabriel lifted ‘Isa to Heaven. Yehuda sent one of his companions named Tetanus to go up to that window and catch hold of ‘Isa. He went up there but could not find ‘Isa. There Allah changed Tetanus’s face in such a way that it resembled the face of ‘Isa. Anyone looking at him would take him to be as ‘Isa. When he came out of the house to tell the others that ‘Isa was not in that house, the people caught hold him, killed him and nailed him to the cross. Almost similar events have been narrated in the version of Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari. Anyway, when Tetanus was killed and when nobody else was found in that house they began to talk: If the one we killed was Tetanus then what happened to ‘Isa? And if he was ‘Isa then where did Tetanus go? This caused doubt among them.

According to another tradition, when ‘Isa fled with his seventeen companions fearing the Jews and hid inside a house, the Jews surrounded that house. When they entered that house, Allah made the faces of all of them appear like the face of ‘Isa. The Jews claimed: All of you have been magic-stricken. Tell me which one of you is ‘Isa or we will kill all of you. ‘Isa asked his companions: Who among you is prepared today to have my appearance, get killed and be admitted to Paradise? One of them named Sarjis came out and announced that he was ‘Isa. So the people killed him and nailed him to the cross. Allah Almighty raised ‘Isa up into Heaven that very day. Some say when ‘Isa was raised up and the people could not catch him, they arrested one of his companions took him up to a height and crucified him with a view to deceive the people and said that he was ‘Isa. They did not allow anyone to approach him. Hence, the matter became doubtful for them.

And most surely, those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge regarding it but only follow a conjecture. And they killed him and for sure, Nay! Allah took him up to Himself; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (4:157-158)

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said, ‘Isa once gave a promise to his companions about a night wherein Allah would take him up. So they gathered around him from evening that day. There were twelve persons. ‘Isa made them enter a house. In one of its corners, there was a spring. ‘Isa bathed himself therein and came to them while the water was still dropping from his head. Then he said, Allah has revealed to me that He will lift me up right now to the heavens to save me from the evil of the Jews. Who from you agrees to take my appearance so that they may take him as me and then kill and crucify him? Then that person will be with me in paradise in the Hereafter, and he will be in my class.

Hearing this, a young man from his companions said, O Spirit of Allah! I am prepared for it. ‘Isa said, Yes, you can do it and added: one from you will become a disbeliever in my matter twelve times before the next morning. One of them said, I am not that person. ‘Isa said, If you find this thing in your heart, then you will be that person. Then ‘Isa said, you will from three groups after I have gone. Two sects will attribute falsehood to Allah and enter Hell because of that and the third sect will follow and obey my Successor (executor of the will). Shamoun will not attribute falsehood to Allah and therefore will go to Paradise. Shortly after that from a corner of the house, ‘Isa was taken up into the heavens. As the people were observing this, the Jews came in search of ‘Isa. They arrested the man about whom ‘Isa had foretold would become a denier and another who had agreed to appear like ‘Isa. The latter was killed while the other one as foretold by ‘Isa denied the Prophethood of ‘Isa twelve times.

Ibn Babawayh has with authentic proofs, narrated that the Holy Prophet said that Archangel Gabriel once brought a communication for the Holy Prophet which contained information about worldly kings. It was mentioned therein that when Ashanj Ibn Ash-haan became a king he ruled for 266 years. After he completed 51 years of his rule ‘Isa was made a Prophet (by Allah). Allah had bestowed on him (‘Isa) light, and knowledge and wisdom along with the knowledge of all the past Prophets. ‘Isa began his mission with all this God-given sciences (awareness) for propagation of Allah’s word. Allah gave him Injeel (Bible) and guided him toward Jerusalem. He was sent to guide the people of The Israelites but they became deniers and rebelled. So ‘Isa cursed them and prayed to Allah against them. Consequently, some of them were disfigured in the shape of Shaitans so that he may show them one of the signs of his Prophethood and they may take admonition. Anyhow, ‘Isa continued to propagate among them for 33 years in Jerusalem and give them encouragement to rush toward Divine rewards. But their rebellion only increased. (At last Allah raised him up to heaven).

Then the people began to look for him. Some claimed that they had punished him and buried him alive and some said they had killed and crucified him. But all of them were speaking untruths. Allah never allowed them to gain control over ‘Isa and this matter became doubtful for them. They never had enough power to kill or bury alive or punish ‘Isa. But as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, Allah lifted him up into the heavens and when He decided to take him up he revealed to him to entrust his light and wisdom and the knowledge of the Divine scripture to Shamoun bin Hamoon who is called Safa. ‘Isa willed him as his caliph on the believers (Mu’mineen). Then Shamoun kept on propagating Allah’s Word and continued to give the directives of ‘Isa to his community and to struggle against the disbelievers. Whoever obeyed him and believed (put faith) in the things which he possessed from Allah became a Mu’min (Faithful) and whoever denied and disobeyed him became a Kafir until Allah called Shamoun back to Him.

Then He sent another Messenger from His virtuous slaves to guide the people. He was Yahya, son of Zakariyya.. When Shamoun passed away from this world, Urdeshir son of Scotish became king and ruled for 14 years and ten months. When he completed 14 years of his rule the Jews martyred Yahya son of Zakariyya. At the time of the martyrdom of Yahya Allah sent a revelation (revelation) to him that he should bestow his will (Wasiyyah) and leadership (Imamate) to the progeny of Shamoun and to order the Disciples and the companions of ‘Isa to remain with them and to obey them. They did so.

According to authentic narratives, it is noted that Imam Al-Hasan said that ‘Isa went up into the heavens on the 21st night of the month of Ramadan.

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that during the night in which ‘Isa was lifted up into the heavens blood sprouted from every stone that was lifted from the ground, until morning. Thee same thing happened on the days of the martyrdom of Imam ‘Ali and Imam Hussein.

In another reliable and authentic hadith it is mentioned that the holy the Holy Prophet said, when ‘Isa was lifted, his eyes saw these words inscribed on his arms:

When ‘Isa recited this supplication Allah revealed to Archangel Gabriel: “Raise him up to my place of Grandeur and lift him up to the heaven.” The holy Prophet said, ‘O sons of Abdul Muttalib! Pray to your Lord in these words. I swear by the same Lord in whose Hands is my life whenever any body prays to Allah in these words with honesty of purpose and selflessness the Holy Throne (Throne) of the Lord begins to tremble. So Allah directs the angels and tells them that: ‘Be witness that I have responded to the prayer of this slave due to the auspiciousness of these words and have fulfilled all his needs in this world and the Hereafter.’

According to authentic narrations Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported to have said that when ‘Isa went up to the heaven he had put on a woolen coat, the wool whereof was spun by Maryam and also woven by her. She had even sewn it. When he reached heaven, a Divine Voice came: ‘O ‘Isa! Give up your worldly adornments.’

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam al-Ridha said that, except in the case of ‘Isa the killing or the death of any Messenger or hujjah (proof) had never been doubtful to people because he was lifted (raised) alive from the ground and his soul was retrieved between the earth and the heavens. When he reached the heavens his spirit was again put into his body as says the Lord:

O ‘Isa: I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me. (2:54)

And He describes to ‘Isa:

But when Thou didst cause me to die, Thou wert the Watcher over them. (5:117)

Both these verses prove that ‘Isa was raised up by Allah.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam as-Sadiq said, When Imam al-Mahdi will appear, 9000 angels will descend and there will be those 313 angels who had accompanied ‘Isa when he was raised up to the heaven. According to many reliable and authentic narrations, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam as-Sadiq had said that Sahib al Amr has four features of the Messengers. One of them belongs to ‘Isa about whom it is said he either died or was killed, whereas he neither died nor was he killed.

According to a reliable tradition, Imam al-Ridha said that when the Jews desired to kill ‘Isa he swore by the truthfulness of Ahl al-Bayt. Allah saved him from execution and raised him up to the heaven.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, After the departure of ‘Isa his followers split up into 72 sects. One of them got salvation and the remaining 71 went to Hell.

According to another reliable tradition, Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali called the greatest religious leaders of the Christians and the Jews and told them: I want to ask you a thing of which I am more knowledgeable than you. So do not hide the Truth and give the right answer. Then he called the Christian priest and asked him: I give you the oath of the Lord Who descended Injeel (Bible) to ‘Isa. He had given strength to the legs of (‘Isa). ‘Isa was curing the blind and the lepers with his hand. He formed a bird of clay and then blew spirit into it (and the bird became alive and flew away). He used to tell the people what they were eating and what they were hoarding. Tell me how many sects sprang up in The Israelites after ‘Isa. He said there was no sect except one community. ‘Ali retorted: You have lied. By the Lord except Whom there is no Allah, there were 72 sects out of whom only one earned salvation. Remaining all were confined to Hell., as says the Almighty:

“There is a party of them keeping to the moderate course, and (as for) most of them, evil is that which they do.” (5:66)

It is narrated by Ibn Babawayh that on many occasions ‘Isa had been in occultation (out of sight) from his community. He kept on touring and visiting several cities but his partisans (Shi‘ahs) and the people of his community did not know where he was. Thereafter he reappeared and made Shamoun bin Hamoon his legatee. When Shamoun passed away, the hujjahs (Signs) of Allah remained out of sight. Oppressors and rebellious people searched them and subjected the faithful to added torture and hardship. The Religion of Allah became old-fashioned and discarded. Rights began to be trampled. People gave up their duties and responsibilities and traditions. They became dispersed in the matter of religion and everyone took to his own way. Religion became a doubtful affair for the common man. This period of occultation lasted for 250 years.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that until 250 years after ‘Isa people lived without an apparent Imam or al-hujjah. Their Guide and Proof was in hiding. In another true hadith it is mentioned by him that there was a span of five hundred years between the times of ‘Isa and the Holy Messenger Muhammad. During 250 years in this span, there was neither a Prophet nor an apparent Imam. The narrator asked how did the people of that era act? Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq replied, “They belonged to the faith of ‘Isa and were following his shari‘ah (code of life conduct).” He added that the earth never remains void of a Prophet or an Imam but some time they live apparently and sometimes in hiding (ghaibat or occultation).12

It is mentioned in a reliable narration that Imam al-Baqir said that a time will come when people will not know what is Allah and what is meant by oneness of Allah (Tawhid). Dajjal will come out at that time and ‘Isa will descend from the heaven to earth and he will kill Dajjal, will offer prayer in the leadership of al-Qa’im and had we, Ahl al-Bayt, not been better than earlier messengers ‘Isa would not pray behind us.

According to another authentic hadith the Holy Prophet said that al-Mahdi is one of my sons; that when he will appear, ‘Isa will descend from the heaven to assist him and will pray behind him.

- 1. Possibly, it was Yahya and not ‘Isa in the hadith and the writers of narrations might have misunderstood ‘Isa for Yahya or we say, the beginning of the formation of foetus of ‘Isa might have started in the womb by the might of Allah and as Archangel Gabriel had blown spirit (soul) in the foetus pregnancy might have become apparent only nine hours prior to the actual birth. It is also possible that this hadith might have been based on Taqiyyah.

- 2. It is possible that this could be a spring other than one that had sprung at the time of ’s birth. It is also possible that Bethlehem was some other place where he had camped while returning from al-Kufah. It is also likely that he might have in the beginning gone there and then it might have been destroyed and as a miracle of it might have appeared from Karbala and al-Kufah. Anyway there are several reliable traditions to show that the birthplace of ‘Isa is somewhere near Euphrates and al-Kufah. There is some hearsay going round Sunni circles. Some things are such which cannot be comprehended by those who do not believe in the tradition of Ahl al-Bayt. They deny mutawatir hadiths merely due to their dislike for them. But such mutawatir traditions cannot be rejected on basis of their denial. It is also possible that some hadiths that are found contrary to this might have been recorded by way of Taqiyyah or some might have been written as prevalent among people of the Book for furnishing proof. Likewise several varying hadiths about the date of birth and the period of pregnancy etc. were possibly noted due to anyone of the above-mentioned reasons. Trying to make them conform can create apprehensive descriptions of which would be very lengthy. Allah knows best.

- 3. The re-enlivening of Yahya has already been narrated in his story earlier. Both these stories tell us that the bitterness of death and agony changes after being brought back to life and living in the world for sometime with worldly relations and anyway one way or the other one has to die. It is learnt from this story that, for a Mu’min (true believer), it is not hard and painful to die again after coming out of the grave. Maybe it is for warning others that the beloved’s of Allah say that there is relief in death. It is also possible that despite the said relief there may also be some hardship. May Allah protect us all from the agony of death and also from subsequent pains.

- 4. These words make an indication towards what historians and commentators have described that when Behroos the king of Syria heard about the birth and the miracles of ‘Isa he became sorrowful and worried as some people had observed through astrology that a man was about to be born who would remove their sins and change their way of life. Therefore Behroos planned to kill him. So Allah sent an angel to Yusuf Najjar who was a cousin of Maryam and who used to serve and protect her (Maryam) and ‘Isa. The angel told him to shift Maryam and ‘Isa to Egypt and to return only after Behroos died. Yusuf took them to Egypt. Most of the commentators have said that the place mentioned by the name of ‘Rabwah' in the Ayat was Egypt and that “Maeen” was the Nile river. It is said that they lived in Egypt for twelve years where many miracles were shown by ‘Isa. When Behroos died Allah inspired them to go to Nasirah situated in Syria. So they returned and lived in Nasirah and ‘Isa performed his mission of propagation there.

- 5. The purpose, perhaps, is to convey that they (the followers of ‘Isa were required to remain aloof from worldly affairs most of the time. But since this community of Muslims is loaded with a double and harder responsibility of remembering Allah even while living and working in society their reward is greater but they do not have those facilities in this life (which were available to the Disciples of ‘Isa. Therefore their reward in heaven too has been enhanced as is mentioned in this hadith. In other words there is an indication to the narration of Shaykh Tabarsi according to which when the companions of ‘Isa became hungry they only said to ‘Isa that they were hungry whereupon ‘Isa used to hit the ground wherever they would be and lo! two loafs would come up for each of the gentle fellows. Similarly when they became thirsty they only said, ‘O Spirit of Allah! We are thirsty and ‘Isa used to hit his hand on the ground and water would spring up instantly then and there. Once the Disciples said to ‘Isa: O Roohullaah:! Are there any other people who are better than us, for, we have put faith in you and you feed us whenever we become hungry and you provide water for us wherever and whenever we become thirsty. ‘Isa replied: Those who earn their livelihood by working with their hands are indeed better than you. Thereafter they adopted the occupation of washer men and they earned their sustenance provision by hard work.

- 6. This hadith contradicts many mentioned earlier and to be quoted hereafter, which say that the knowledge of these 72 Names is reserved with the Last Prophet and his Awsiya (the willed or authorized ones). Maybe these Asmaa e Aazam are other than those Names.

- 7. Perhaps the first hadith was regarding the revelation of Injeel in Baitul Maamoor as is indicated in the first hadith). It is recorded from the Prophet of Allah that Injeel had come down at a time written on Alwaah (stone slates).

- 8. This address, like all other addresses, is though apparently to ‘Isa the real addressees are the people and also all other servants of God-Tr.

- 9. Love of worldly things is called the head of sins as in one’s body the head is the part which if cut off, ends life. Hence when love for worldly matters, which has been described as the head is cut off there can be no sins at all. Or if this Persian word is pronounced ‘Sir’ (meaning secret) then it would mean that the secret behind all sins is love for the world and that if one understands this secret one would refrain from sins.-Tr.).

- 10. Meaning, while praying to me your heart should remain fully attentive, It should not be that there is supplication on the tongue but the heart is leaning toward something else as it is a sign of a dead heart-Tr.

- 11. Difl is a kind of grass which resembles very attractive colorful flowers. Its taste is very bitter and is fatally poisonous.

- 12. Both prominent and common people have narrated that ‘Isa will descend from the heaven at the time of al-Mahdi the family of Muhammad to earth and will offer Salat prayer behind Imam al-Mahdi and will be among the helpers of Imam al-Mahdi as will be discussed hereafter-Inshallah). The Lord Almighty says:
Meaning: “And there is not one of the followers of the Book but most certainly believers in this before his death...” (4:159).
Many commentators (of the holy Qur’an) have said that this verse means no one from among the Ahl al-Kitab, that is, the Jews and the Christians will die before believing in ‘Isa when he will descend from the heaven at the time of the Imam of the last era. Some have said that this assertion pertains to the particular people who will be living in that era. Perhaps it means all of them, because the wording is of a common nature and as in the time of Raj‘ah (returning or Resurrection) all will be brought to life. They will see that ‘Isa believes in the religion of Prophet Muhammad and follows the Sahib al-‘Amr (Imam al-Mahdi) though the faith at that moment will be of no avail to them. It is recorded from reliable chains that hujjah called Shahr bin Joshab and asked him to explain this verse and warned him that he had killed many Jews and Christians and had observed that they died without even moving their lips. “Then how he becomes faithful?” I am unable to understand the meaning of this Ayat.” Shahr replied: “O Ruler! The meaning of this verse is not what you have imagined. But it means that, before the final day of the Resurrection Day, ‘Isa will come down to earth and everybody following any faith will put faith in him and will pray behind Imam al-Mahdi. Hujjah asked: “From where did you obtain this explanation?” He said from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir. Hujjah said you have drawn (knowledge) from a pure spring.
It is mentioned in authentic sources that according to Imam al-Hasan Mujtaba, after this, no one from us (Ahl al-Bayt) will outlive the oppressor of his time except Imam al-Mahdi who is the twelfth Imam and except ‘Isa Ibn-Maryam the spirit of Allah will pray behind him as these two gentlemen will never give the Bait (allegiance) to any oppressor.

An account of Irmiya (Jeremiah), Daniel and Uzair

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

“Or the like of him (Uzair) who passed by a town, and it had fallen down upon its roofs...” (2:259)

Some say that the one who passed by that town was Uzair, as said by Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq. Some say that he was the Prophet Irmiya. So Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is reported to have said that, (according to some) that town was Jerusalem which was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Some say that the township mentioned here was the one from where thousands fled for fear of death and all of them died.

The Qur’anic Verse:

“He said, when will Allah give it life, after its death?” (2:259)

These words of the Prophet did not indicate his disbelief but were uttered by him only to express the Might of Allah. Or, like Ibrahim, he said this just to know the details of the coming alive of the dead. Since the words of the Ayat show some sort of apparent weakness of faith, some commentators have said that the one who said this was not the Prophet Irmiya or Uzair but was a denier. But this version is against a number of hadiths.

“So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years then raised him to life.”

“He asked: How long have you tarried? and he replied, I have tarried a day, or a part of a day.” (2:259)

When he saw that the sun had not yet set and it was about the evening time, he said, Rather I slept for less than a day. Some say that the one who asked this question was Allah and that they heard a voice from the heaven. Some say it was an angel or a Prophet or an old man who had recognized them after becoming alive.

“Said he: Nay! you have tarried a hundred years” (2:259)

He said, “But you have remained dead here for a hundred years and have become alive now.” “Then look at your food and drink, years have not passed over it.” 1

Look at your food and drink, they have not changed at all. It is reported that when they reached that place they had grapes and figs and grape juice with them and despite having delicacy therein, they had not decomposed at all and, by the power of Allah, had remained fresh for a hundred years.

“And look at your donkey” (2:259)

Its bones have rotted and disintegrated.

And that We may make you a sign.

We have, after keeping you dead for such a long time, made you alive so that you may likewise be an evidence/argument about the resurrection of people in the Hereafter.

“And look at the bones, how we set them together, then clothed them with flesh” (2:259)

Most of the commentators have said that Allah enlivened their ass before their eyes so that they may see how Allah makes the dead alive. Some have said that Allah first enlivened their eyes. They then saw their disintegrated and dilapidated bones come together and join with one another and flesh begin to cover them.

“So when it became clear to him he said, I know that Allah has power over all things.” (2:259)

That is, I knew it earlier but now my knowledge has strengthened.

It is reported from reliable chains that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that when The Israelites became disobedient they ignored Allah’s commandments totally and when Allah desired to impose someone on them who would kill them and degrade them, he first sent a revelation to Prophet Irmiya that he may ask The Israelites “Which was the city I selected from all other cities and bettered it and planted many good trees therein and saved it from every undesirable tree, then the condition of that city deteriorated and now it has become full of the worst trees of carob in place of good trees?” Irmiya put this question to the religious scholars of The Israelites and they said, “We do not know. Please ask Allah and let us know.”

So Irmiya fasted for seven days and prayed. Allah sent a revelation to him that: that city is Jerusalem and that tree is The Israelites whom I had planted (and made to live in) in that city. But since they disobeyed Me and changed my religion and turned thankless to me, I swear by My Holy self that I will put them to a test through so severe hardships that wise people will be astonished and I will impose one of my slaves on them who would be born of the worst sperm and whose food would be of the worst kind and he will kill their males and would arrest their women and he would destroy Jerusalem which is their holy house and of which they are proud and he will throw down that stone on dunghills of which (stone) they make tall talks throughout the world. This would continue for a hundred years.

Irmiya made the Israelites aware of this. They again requested him to ask Allah what was the sin of the poor and the powerless who would also suffer the said calamities. So Irmiya passed the next seven days only on one morsel of food and yet he did not receive any Revelation. So Irmiya again fasted fully for the next seven days and took only one morsel after that seven-day fast. Even then, no Revelation arrived. Therefore, he fasted for another seven days. Allah revealed to him: ‘O Irmiya! Refrain from such asking, otherwise I will turn your face back. Do you intend to make a recommendation in a matter which has already been resolved? Tell them that their sin was that they observed others indulging in sins but did not stop them (they neither admonished them nor got away from them).

Then Irmiya prayed to Allah: O Lord! Just tell me whom will you impose upon them so that I may approach him for asking safety for myself and my family members. Allah said to him: Go to that village. There you will find a boy suffering from the worst inflicted chronic ailments. His birth is of the worst and the dirtiest kind. That is, he is the outcome of adultery and his chastisement is worse than all. Irmiya reached there and saw a boy in a caravanserai whom the people had thrown on a dunghill. He was lying on ground. With him was only his mother breaking dry bread in a bowl and brought it before him along with swine milk. That boy ate the bread and drinks the milk. Irmiya understood that this must be the boy hinted by Allah. He went to the boy and asked him his name.

He answered: “Nebuchadnezzar.” After hearing his name, Irmiya became sure that he was the one. He treated the boy who recovered. After his recovery, Irmiya asked him: Do you know me? He said, No. I only know that you are a virtuous gentleman. Told him: I am Irmiya, the messenger for The Israelites. Allah has informed me that you will gain control over The Israelites and kill their men and do such and such things. Hearing this Nebuchadnezzar felt pride in his heart. Then Irmiya asked him to give him a warrant of safety. He wrote it and handed it over to Irmiya. He then began to pass his days by cutting wood from the forests and selling it. At last, the people encouraged him to fight against The Israelites. When he got the assistance of a group of people, he invaded the residence and shelter of The Israelites, that is, Jerusalem.

At that time, innumerable people came from all around to join him. When Irmiya came to know that he was advancing toward Jerusalem, he stood in his path but could not approach him due to the huge army around him. So he tied the said warrant of protection on a staff and raised it up. Seeing it, Nebuchadnezzar asked: who are you? The messenger replied, “I am Uremia, the Prophet, who had given you the tiding of overcoming The Israelites and this is the warrant of safety written by you for me.” Nebuchadnezzar said, “I assure protection to you but as regards your family members, it depends upon the arrow that I shoot toward Jerusalem. If this missile hits that place from this much distance, I will not give protection to them. But if it does not reach there, then they are also protected.” He released that arrow which (by the will of Allah) reached Jerusalem. So he said, “I will not protect them.” He went on to conquer Jerusalem.

On reaching there, he saw a hillock in the midst of the city. Fresh blood was gushing out of it. The more earth the people threw on it the more forceful became its gushing. He inquired as to what kind of blood it was. They replied that it was the blood of a Divine Messenger whom the kings of The Israelites had killed. Ever since that day, the blood continued to boil. It did not stop despite throwing earth over it. It was the blood of Yahya son of Zakariyya. In his time, there was a king who used to indulge in adultery with the women of The Israelites. Whenever Yahya passed by his residence he admonished the king telling him: O King! Fear Allah. This deed is not lawful for you. One day when the cursed fellow was out of his senses due to drinking of wine, one of the adulteress women told him to kill Yahya. The condemned king at once passed the order for cutting off the head of Yahya and to bring the head to him. So Yahya was killed and his head was taken to the king. Yet the decapitated head continued to admonish that cursed king to refrain from his illegal deeds and to fear Allah. At that time, a drop of the blood of the martyred Prophet fell on the ground and since then that blood continued to boil until the time Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem though a hundred years had passed since the incident. However, after reaching that place Nebuchadnezzar began to kill the men, women, children and animals of The Israelites living in those cities. The pious blood of the executed Prophet still continued to boil on the said hillock until all were done to death. Then he asked: Is anyone from The Israelites still alive?

He was informed that a very old lady of The Israelites was still alive and living in a certain village. She was called and her head too was cut off. Only then did the boiling blood of Yahya calm down. She was the last person from The Israelites to be killed. From there Nebuchadnezzar went to Babylon and resided there. There he dug a well and threw Daniel along with a tigress. (The remaining part of this hadith will be presented afterwards together with a full account of Daniel. That tigress was living by eating the earth and Daniel was drinking her milk. A long period passed in this way. Allah sent a Revelation to one of His Messengers (living in Jerusalem then) and asked him to take food and drink to Daniel and to convey His Salaam to him. The Messenger inquired: ‘My Lord! Where is he?’ “In such and such well and in such and such village of Babylon” came the Divine reply. Hearing it, he reached there and shouted: ‘O Daniel!” Daniel replied, “Labbaik (Here I am). I am hearing a new voice!” The Messenger said, “Your Lord sends you Salaam.” Lowering the eatables into the well he added, “Allah has sent these things for you.”

Daniel exclaimed, “I praise Allah Who never forgets whosoever calls Him. I praise the Lord Who never leaves the one (to the mercy of others) who relies on Him. I praise the Allah who bestows good for good. I praise the Allah who gives salvation from the chastisement of the grave and the Hereafter to the one who bears patiently. Praise belongs to Allah who removes our troubles and losses. Worthy of praise is Allah who is the centre of our hopes when we miss all other avenues of salvation and success. Praiseworthy is Allah on whom alone we depend hopefully after committing misdeeds based on misunderstanding.”

Thereafter Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream that his head was made of iron, his legs of copper and his chest of gold. He called astrologers and inquired about the meaning behind his dream. They said we know nothing; but if you describe to us what you saw in your vision then we will explain the dream. Nebuchadnezzar retorted: I have been giving you so much salary for such a long time and yet you cannot tell me what I saw in my dream? Angrily he killed all of them. Then some of his courtmen told him that what he wanted to know could be told to him by a man whom he (king Nebuchadnezzar) had thrown into a well, as he was still alive and living on the milk of a she tiger which was eating the earth and had not at all harmed that man.

Nebuchadnezzar called Daniel and asked him to describe what he saw in his vision?” Daniel described the king’s dream. The king said it was correct and added: “now tell me its meaning.” Daniel replied, “Your regime has come to an end. You will be killed after three days by a man from Faaris.” Nebuchadnezzar said, “I have built seven concentric towns and have fixed weathercocks made of copper at the gate of every city which cry out at the sight of every stranger so that he may be caught.” Daniel said, “What I have told you is sure to happen.” So Nebuchadnezzar once again ordered his soldiers to continue their rounds and to kill anyone moving towards him (whosoever he may be).” He detained Daniel warning him that if he (Nebuchadnezzar) was not killed within three days Daniel would be executed. As evening approached, his restlessness increased so much he came out, gave his sword to one of the slaves who belonged to Faaris and roared: “Kill anyone you see, even if it is I.” The slave took the sword from his hand and decapitated him in one stroke thus sending Nebuchadnezzar to Hell instantly.

After the mass massacre of The Israelites, Irmiya came out of Jerusalem, rode his ass, took figs and grape-juice with him and reached a place where the dead bodies of many people were scattered and animals of the land, sea and air were devouring their corpses. Irmiya halted there for a while. Then he uttered: “How will Allah enliven those, whose limbs have been eaten up by beasts”! Allah immediately retrieved his soul and made him alive after a hundred years. Allah showed His Mercy to The Israelites and killed Nebuchadnezzar. The Israelites flourished in the world and the Messenger who came to life after remaining dead for hundred years was Prophet Irmiya.

As regards Uzair, when Nebuchadnezzar overpowered The Israelites and became king, he (Uzair) escaped from his evil regime and disappeared in a stream of water. The first portion of the corpse of Irmiya to be made alive was his eyes. The pupil of his eye moved like the whiteness of an egg and it could see. Allah sent a Revelation asking him for how many days had he remained at that place. He said, for a day. Then when he observed that the sun had gone up, he said, even less than a day. Allah said, No, but a hundred years have passed since you were here. Look at the figs and the fig juice. They have remained fresh for all this time. And see your ass. It has turned into a heap of rotten bones. Now see, how I make it alive. Uzair saw the broken bones drawing near one another and joining until the entire body of himself and all the limbs of his ass became alright and both of them arose. Irmiya said, I know that Allah is Omnipotent and it is mentioned in a reliable tradition that two Kafir (disbeliever) kings had ruled over the entire world. They were Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar.

According a reliable source Imam as-Sadiq said that when Irmiya saw the destruction of Jerusalem and the people lying dead in that city he exclaimed: “Will Allah ever make all of them alive?” Allah retrieved his soul also. Then after a hundred years when he was made alive he saw how various parts of his body joining one another, flesh was growing on them and the joints and veins coming together. Finally when he became alright he sat up said, “I know for sure that Allah is able to do everything.”

It is reported in a reliable tradition that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that a man who becomes gloomy concerning his sustenance has a sin listed in his account. Verily Daniel had lived in the time of a heartless and oppressor king who arrested him and had him thrown in a well. Allah sent His Revelation to another Messenger of that time asking him to take food (provision) to Daniel. He submitted: “O My Nourisher! Where is he (Daniel)?” Then came a Divine indication: “When you get out of the city a voice will come to you. Just follow that voice. It will take you to a well wherein lies Daniel. When that Messenger approached Daniel and dropped food and water in the well, Daniel recited the prayer which has been quoted earlier. Thereafter Imam as-Sadiq said, “Almighty Allah provides sustenance to the faithful (Mu’mineen) from unthinkable sources.”

In another hadith, it is said by Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq that when the time of Sulayman’s death came near, he made by the command of Allah Asif bin Barkhiya his caliph (successor). His Shi‘ahs (companions) were always going to Asif to learn about religious issues. Once, Asif absented himself from them for quite a long time. Then he came back and lived among them for a long period before he allowed them to go. The Shi‘ahs asked him: Now when and where will we meet you? He replied, “Near Sirat (the bridge in Hereafter).” Then he disappeared. The Israelites was subjected to difficulties and pains. When Nebuchadnezzar got control over them, he killed everyone who was caught and sent his men after those who escaped from him. He arrested their children. Accordingly, he picked up four persons of great personalities from The Israelites. One of them was Daniel another was Uzair a progeny of Harun. They were quite young. He arrested them. He tortured The Israelites severely and subjected them to all sorts of disgrace and dishonor. At that time their (Israelites’) guide and leader was Daniel who remained imprisoned in Nebuchadnezzar’s jail for ninety years.

When Nebuchadnezzar came to know about Daniel’s greatness and when he heard that The Israelites were awaiting Daniel for the removal of their troubles he imprisoned Daniel in a very spacious and deep well and released a tiger in it so that it would kill him. He also ordered that nobody should offer food to Daniel. However, the tiger never approached Daniel and Allah provided food and water to Daniel through one of His Messengers. Daniel fasted during the day and broke his fasts in the evening with that provision. During this period his Shi‘ahs (companions) and friends were put to more and more troubles and tortures and all were in await for his appearance. Many of them had, due to the lengthening of the period of his occultation (absence), begun to doubt their religion. Finally, when the calamities on the Prophet Daniel and his community crossed all limits, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. In that dream he saw armies of angels descending from the heaven and proceeding to the well in which Daniel was imprisoned; they were saluting Daniel and gave him good tidings of the removal of all his calamities.

When Nebuchadnezzar woke up in the morning, he felt ashamed of his misdeeds. He brought Daniel out of the well, begged his pardon and entrusted all the affairs of his regime to him and made him the ruler of his country. Then all the people of The Israelites who were in hiding came out and gathered around Daniel. They drew a sigh of relief. Time passed by peacefully. Eventually Daniel passed away into the Mercy of His Lord leaving his vicegerency and caliphate to Uzair. Believers joined and obeyed the latter and continued to obtain solutions to their affairs from him. Allah made him also disappear for a hundred years. After a hundred years, he was again reappointed over them. After him, the hujjahs of Allah remained in hiding and calamities continued to fall on The Israelites until the time Yahya arrived.

According to reliable sources Imam Muhammad al-Baqir in reply to people’s query whether Daniel knew the science of explaining dramas and whether he had taught it to others too, replied, “Yes, because Allah was sending revelations to him. He was a Prophet and was one of those who was given the knowledge about dreams or visions. He was very truthful and wise and his heart was full of love for us Ahl al-Bayt.”

According to reliable narrations Imam al-Ridha said, In the time of Daniel there was a king who had told Daniel that he wished to have a child just like him (Daniel) of good character. Daniel asked the king how much respect and value he had for him. The king replied, “I have high regards and much respect for you.” Daniel told him: when you go to your wife (for sexual intercourse) keep my thought in your mind wholeheartedly. Complying with this advice the king got a son who was the best of all others and resembled Daniel a lot.

According to authentic reports, the Holy Prophet said, Nebuchadnezzar ruled for 187 years. After 47 years of his rule, Allah Almighty appointed Uzair as a Messenger (Divine) for those city-dwellers who were made alive after a hundred year old death. They were residents of different townships who had fled for fear of death and had resided near about Uzair. All of them were believers. Uzair talked pleasantly with them and heard them with interest. He loved them due to their faith and tied the knot of brotherhood-in-faith with them. One day he dad gone away for them for some reason. When he returned the next day, he saw all of them lying dead. He became very sorry and surprisingly exclaimed: “When will Allah enliven them?” Allah retrieved his soul also then and there. Thus, all of them remained there in the same state for one hundred years. After a hundred years, Allah made Uzair alive along with the others. They were warriors numbering 1,00,000. But Nebuchadnezzar overpowered them and killed each and every one.

Thereafter Nebuchadnezzar died and his son Mehrooyah became king. After ruling for 17 years and 20 days Mehrooyah dug a very big cavern and threw Daniel and his Shi‘ahs in it and torched it. But nobody was harmed. When Mehrooyah saw that the flames of fire did not touch them he imprisoned all of them and released many beasts of prey therein and tortured them in various methods until Allah Almighty released them from his clutches. The group referred to as ‘Makers of the pit’ in the holy Qur’an were these people. When Allah desired to call back Daniel to His Mercy, He commanded him to turn over his Divine light of wisdom to his son Yakja and to make him his caliph.

According to reliable chains, Imam as-Sadiq said, “Amir al-Mu’minin said, Daniel was an orphan. Neither his father nor mother were living. An old woman of The Israelites had nourished Daniel. The king of that time had appointed two Qadis (judges). A very virtuous man was a friend of both of them. He had a very beautiful, pious and God-worshipping wife. That pious man used to meet the king also. Facing a problem the king told the two judges that he required a reliable man to whom he could entrust such and such work. The two judges recommended the name of the aforesaid person. The king dispatched that pious man on that job. While going away that pious man asked his two friends to look after his wife during his absence. They went to his house to inquire about her well-being. As she was extraordinarily beautiful both of them fell in love with her at first sight and desired to have an illicit relationship with her. But she did not agree. They threatened her as such “We will give witness before the king that you have committed adultery and he will stone you to death.” But she was adamant and retorted: “Do whatever you can but I will not tolerate such a heinous misdeed.” Both those dishonest men (helplessly) went to the king and gave a false statement that she had committed adultery. The king was shocked to hear it because he had heard a lot about her piety and chastity and was all praise for it.

On the other hand he could not reject the witness given by the two judges. At last after a lot of thinking he told them that he would accept their witness but would give the punishment of stoning her after three days. He announced in the city that there would be a stoning of a Allah-fearing and virtuous woman of the town as she had committed adultery according to the witness given by two judges and called upon the people to gather at a certain place for the stoning. The people were not prepared to agree with this allegation which they knew was false and continued to argue with the king. The king consulted his vizier and asked him whether he could show him a way by which the woman could be saved? He said, “No.”

On the third day when that lady was to be stoned to death the vizier got out of his home and proceeded toward the king’s court. On his way he saw some children playing, among whom was also Daniel. The vizier did not know Daniel. When the vizier approached them Daniel told the children: “Let us stage a play. I will act as the king, this boy will act as the pious lady and those two boys will take the role of the two judges.” They made an earthen stage and Daniel sat on it. He took a sword made of reed in his hand and ordered the rest of the boys to take one of the two witnesses and make him stand afar and to make the other witness stand at a distance on the other side. Then he called one of the witnesses near him and said, “Tell the truth otherwise you will be decapitated instantly.” The vizier was observing this game. The boy witness said that the pious woman committed adultery.

Daniel asked: “When?” He said at such time and on such day. Then Daniel asked: “With whom?” He replied, “With the son of such and such man.” Daniel then asked: “At what place.” He replied, “At such and such place.” Then Daniel called the other witness and asked him: “What is your witnessing?” He said, “I give witness that this lady has committed adultery.” He was asked: “when?” He replied, “At this time.” He asked: “With whom?” He said, “With that person.” He asked: “At what place?” He said, “At such and such place.” As there was contradiction in the statements of the two, Daniel exclaimed: “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest). These two have given false witness. Then he ordered that an announcement should be made that the people should gather to witness the execution of the two persons who gave false testimony. Observing this wonderful judgment of Daniel the vizier rushed to the king and described it to him. The king called those two qadis, made them stand apart at an out-of-hearing distance. Then he called one of the two and questioned him about the pious woman as Daniel had done. Then he called the other person and interrogated him likewise. As there was obvious difference between their accounts the king called upon the people to come together and witness the execution of the false witnesses and passed orders for their killing.

It is reported authentically that Imam al-Baqir said, Allah Almighty revealed to Messenger Dawud and ordered him to got to Daniel and to tell him: “You disobeyed Me and I forgave you. Again you disregarded my command and I pardoned you. Once more you did not comply with my orders and I will not forgive you.” Dawud conveyed the Divine Commandment to Daniel. Daniel said, “You have fulfilled your mission of the Divine messenger-ship.” Then Daniel arose before next daybreak, wept profusely and prayed earnestly to Almighty Allah saying: O My Nourisher! I disobeyed you on three occasions and you were kind enough to forgive me. Now that you are not to pardon me on the fourth occasion, I humbly submit before you, swearing by you Honor and Grandeur. If you will not continue to be kind to me and if you will not guide me, surely I will err, I will err, I will err, I will err.”2

According to an authentic narration Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “Once the Holy Prophet said, Appreciate the value of bread, for its making. The entire creation of Allah situated between His Throne.”

According to an authentic narration Imam as-Sadiq the Holy Prophet once said, “Appreciate the value of bread, because for its making the entire creation of Allah situated between His throne and the earth have toiled.” Then he told the people around him: “Do you want me to tell you something?” They replied, “Surely, O Prophet of Allah! may our parents be sacrificed for you! Do enlighten us.” The holy Prophet said, “Before your time, there was a Divine Messenger named Daniel.

Once upon a time he gave a bread (loaf) to a ship-fairer and requested him to take him across the river. That fellow threw away the bread retorting: What shall I do with this bread? A number of it is being wasted all around us all the time. Shocked by the behavior of that man Daniel raised his hands towards the heavens and exclaimed: O Nourisher of the universe! You have already seen what this man has done to this loaf, and what he said about it.

Almighty Allah ordered the sky to stop raining and commanded the earth to become as hard as baked bricks so that even grass may not sprout therefrom. Consequently there was a famine which became so severe that people began to kill and eat one another. The intensity of famine reached the extent willed by Allah so as to make the people disciplined. One woman who had a baby son told another woman who also had a baby son: Today I will slaughter my son so that both of us may eat his flesh; tomorrow you should do likewise with your son. Then she killed her son and both ate his flesh.

The next day when both became hungry the other woman refused to kill her son. Quarrelling with one another they approached Daniel for judgment. He exclaimed: Has the condition worsened so much that you are prepared to eat up your own offspring’s? They said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah! The situation is even worse than that.” So Daniel raised his hands to pray to Allah and said, O Provident of sustenance to all! Resume Your Mercy upon us and please do not chastise the poor and their children because of the sins of proud men like the ship-fairer and other thankless people. So Allah commanded the sky to shower rain and ordered the earth to grow grains and said, Compensate the loss of My creation which they suffered until now. I have shown My Mercy to them due to the young children.

According to a reliable tradition, Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said, “Whenever you see a beast of prey recite:

I come into the protection of the Lord of Daniel and of the well in which he was thrown from the harm of the tiger and of every animal.”

It is recorded that Imam Zayn al-‘abidin said, “Almighty Allah told Daniel through a revelation: “In My View the most inimical and most ignorant and unwise among My creation is he who underestimates the rights of the knowledgeable and does not follow him and most dear to me is a pious person who is eager to gain My Reward and who serves the learned and does not go away from him and who follows the patient and takes lessons from the wise.”

Through authentic chains, al-Qutb al-Rawandi and Ibn-Babawayh have narrated from Wahab bin Munabbah that when Nebuchadnezzar became king he was expecting only sinfulness from The Israelites because he knew that he would not be able to overcome them until they became unworthy of Allah’s help. Hence he was constantly spying on them to ascertain their condition until all their virtues turned into vices and evils. When they began to kill their Prophets Nebuchadnezzar arrived with his armies and encircled The Israelites. As the Holy Qur’an describes:

“And We have made known to the children of Israel in the Book: most certainly you will make mischief in the land twice, and most certainly you will behave with great insolence.” (15:4)

“So when the promise of the first of the two came true, we sent over to you our servants of mighty prowess. So they went to and from among the houses, and it was a promise to be accomplished.” (15:5)

Accordingly they arrested and killed many according to Allah’s word. Wahab bin Munabbah has said that the said group was that of Nebuchadnezzar and his army men. Commentators have said that their first haughtiness was opposing the commandments of the Torah and the second misdeed of corruption was the murder of Sohyaa or Irmiya or Zakariyya or Yahya and their intention to kill ‘Isa. Some commentators have written that those mischief-makers were Nebuchadnezzar and his fellow-travelers and some have said they were Jalut. Some say they were Sakhaadeeb who were residents of Nineveh. Then the Qur’an goes on to mention:

“Then we gave you back the turn to prevail against them, and aided you with wealth and children and made you a numerous band.” (15:6)

Commentators describe that from the side of the king of Babylon, Lahraasf, Nebuchadnezzar finished them off and when his son Gustaf came to throne he showed mercy towards The Israelites, released their captives and sent them towards Syria and made Daniel their king. Then The Israelites overpowered the companions of Nebuchadnezzar. According to another wording this indicates the killing of Jalut by Dawud. Wahab has narrated that when Nebuchadnezzar surrounded The Israelites and the latter could not stand against the former they turned toward Allah and wept and did good deeds and also prevented ignorant from doing evils beside enjoining them to do good. So Allah made them overpower Nebuchadnezzar even though they had been defeated and their cities conquered. Nebuchadnezzar returned left because an arrow hit the forehead of his horse which ran and carried him out of the city. Thereafter The Israelites became rebellious and corrupt. As they once more drowned themselves into the sea of sins, Nebuchadnezzar intended to invade them as says Almighty:

“So when the second promise came true (we raised another people) that they may bring you to grief and that they may enter the mosque as they entered it the first time, and that they might destroy whatever they gained ascendancy over with utter destruction.” (15:7)

The commentators have commented that the king of Babylon came again to fight with them and Wahab has narrated that when The Israelites reverted to evildoing and corruption Irmiya informed them that Nebuchadnezzar was coming to fight them and that Allah had become very angry with them and that He (Allah) says: if you repent I will be kind to you due to your previous ancestors and asks “Have you ever seen someone rebel against Me and become successful or someone obey Me and become unlucky or a loser lose because of (My) obedience? But your priests and (insincere) worshippers have enslaved my servants and they are issuing orders in contravention of My Book and your kings and wealthy people have become rebellious due to My bounties and the world has made them proud and the readers of Torah and your clergymen (religious jurisprudents) have all become subservient and loyal to the kings and are giving them oaths of allegiance on innovations and they are disobeying Me for obeying them and their sons are indulging in the wrong and ignorance with others. Despite all this rebellion and waywardness, I continued to protect them. Now I swear to turn their honor into disgrace and tranquility into troublesome danger. I will not answer when they make supplications to Me.”

When their Prophet conveyed this command of their Lord to them, they denied it and said “You are attributing untruths to Allah and are claiming that Allah will suspend worship in His prayer houses.” So they arrested and jailed the Prophet. At last, Nebuchadnezzar invaded their cities and surrounded them for seven months until they were obliged to devour their wastes due to hunger. He overpowered them completely and massacred them like furious oppressors. He executed many and cut off the tongues of many, broke down their teeth and imprisoned their womenfolk disgracefully. People told Nebuchadnezzar that among these people was one who had warned them about all that they are facing now but they denied him and jailed him. Nebuchadnezzar ordered that he should be brought to him from jail. People brought Irmiya to Nebuchadnezzar. He asked him whether he had warned the people about what would happen to them. Irmiya replied, “Yes because I knew it all; Allah had informed me about it and He appointed me as a messenger for them.”

Nebuchadnezzar asked: “Did they beat you up and jail you?” Irmiya replied, “Yes.” Nebuchadnezzar said, “These are bad people and also evil as they beat up their Prophet and they deny their Lord’s Message. If you please, you may live with me, I will keep you with honor or if you wish, you may live in the cities. I give you security.” Irmiya said, “Ever since I have awakened I have remained in the shelter of Allah and have never been out of His protection. Had The Israelites too not been out of His asylum they also would not have feared you.” However, Irmiya remained in the land of Elia where he was. At that time, that city had been destroyed and a part of it had been totally ruined. When the remaining people of The Israelites heard this, they collected near him and said, “O Messenger of Allah! We have recognized that you are our Prophet. Please give us admonition. We are obedient to you.” He asked them to remain with him. They said, “We will live in the protection of the king and ask for his asylum.” told them “The protection of Allah is the best protection. You should not go out of His protection and enter the asylum of others.” But they left Irmiya and went to Egypt and asked the king for his asylum. He gave them asylum.

When Nebuchadnezzar came to know this, he wrote a letter to the king of Egypt stating: “Arrest them and send them to me otherwise be prepared for a war.” When Irmiya came to know this, he showed mercy on them and went to Egypt so that he may relieve them from the evil of Nebuchadnezzar. He told The Israelites that Allah Almighty had revealed to him that he will make Nebuchadnezzar overpower that king and a sign of it is that “He has shown me the place where Nebuchadnezzar will ascend the throne after conquering Egypt.” Then he fixed four stones at the place of the throne. When Nebuchadnezzar invaded and conquered Egypt, he gained control of them, and arrested them. He intended to distribute the booty. He thought to kill some of the captives and to set some free. When he saw Irmiya among them, he said to him: “I respect you, but you have joined my enemies.” He replied, “I had come here to inform these people that you will win over them and I warned them of your power and might even while you were in Babylon. Yet I have shown them the place of your throne and even fixed stones at the place of each leg of your throne. They have seen all this.”

As ordered by Nebuchadnezzar, the throne was moved aside and the ground beneath every leg of the throne was dug. When the said stones were seen he was convinced that the words of were true. He said, “Now I will kill these people because they did not believe in your words and denied you.” At last, all of them were killed. Thereafter Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon. Irmiya stayed in Egypt for some time. Allah commanded him to go to the city of Elia. On his way back to Irmiya when approached Jerusalem and saw its destruction, he exclaimed: “When will Allah make this city flourish?” Then he camped on the outskirts of the city and fell asleep. Allah retrieved his soul and kept him hidden from the sight of people. He remained dead there for one hundred years. Allah had promised him that that city would be inhabited. When seventy years passed by after his death, He permitted the settlement of the city of Elia. Allah then sent an angel to the king of Faaris called Gong with the message: “Allah orders you to proceed to Elia with your army and men and treasure and rebuild that city.” The king of Faaris appointed 30 thousand persons and gave each one of them one thousand helpers and provided all the material required for building that city. The city of Elia began to flourish after thirty years. Allah made Irmiya alive as has been mentioned in the holy Qur’an.

Again, it is reported from the same Wahab bin Munabbah that when Nebuchadnezzar arrested The Israelites and took them with him, Daniel and Uzair were also among them. Nebuchadnezzar enslaved The Israelites after reaching Babylon. After sever years he saw a dream which frightened him but forgot about it entirely when he woke up the next morning. He collected his people and asked if anyone could tell him what he had seen in his dream. He also warned them that if they did not tell him the details of his dream within three days he would kill all of them. Daniel was then in jail. When he heard about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he told the jailer: “You have done much good for me. Can you do a little more for me? Please intimate to the king that I know his dream as well as its meaning.” The jailer came to Nebuchadnezzar and conveyed Daniel’s message. The king called Daniel. Every one arriving in his court used to prostrate before him first but Daniel did not do so. He stood silent for quite a long time but the king did not speak to him. Then he asked the watchmen to go out of his presence and asked Daniel: “Why did you not prostrate before me?” He replied, “My Lord Who has given me the knowledge about dreams has prohibited me from prostrating before anyone except Him. If I bow before anyone except Him this knowledge of mine will vanish from me then you will not get its benefit. Hence I did not prostrate before you.” Nebuchadnezzar said, “Since you have fulfilled you Lord’s condition you are saved from my harm. Now tell me about what I dreamed.” Daniel said, “You saw a very huge idol. Its foot was on earth and its head touched the sky. Its upper part was made of gold, the middle of silver and the lover of copper. The shin of its legs was of iron and feet of bricks. You were observing its grandeur and strength and the difference in the various limbs of its body. Suddenly an angel threw a stone on that idol which hit its head and made it small in such a way that all the parts of its body which were made up of gold and silver and copper and iron and brick mixed with one another and you thought that even if all the men of the world joined together and tried to disintegrate those parts they would not be able to do so. Then you thought that a little breeze of wind could also sweep off all of them. Then you had a vision that the stone thrown by the angel began to enlarge until it covered the entire earth. Then, despite all efforts you could not see anything except the sky and that stone.”

Nebuchadnezzar said, “You are quite correct. I had seen the same things. Now please tell me what it all means.” Daniel said, “The example of the idol seen by you is like the communities of people who will appear like that of the past, medieval times and the last ages. The golden part resembles your community and your regime, silver is like that of your son who will rise after you and copper indicates the people of Room (Byzantine), iron hints at the Iranians and the kings of non-Arabs and the brick is that of the kingdom of two communities. Their king will have two wives, one in the east of Yemen and the other in the west of Syria. The stone which came from the sky and belittled the idol indicates the religion which will cover the people of the last age. It will defeat all other religions (and falsify them). The Lord of the world will send an unlettered Prophet in the Arab land and through him subjugate all other people and religions. As you have seen in your vision that that stone enlarged until it encircled the entire world.”

Hearing this Nebuchadnezzar said, “The extent of your kindness to me is unprecedented and I want to reward you for it. If you intend to go to your cities I will send you there, and will rebuild those cities for you. If you would prefer to live with me I will keep you with me with full honor and respect.” Daniel said, “Until Allah so desires our cities will continue to ruin as destined by Him and He will rebuild them when He wants to do so. I prefer to live with you.” Nebuchadnezzar gathered his sons and servants and tribesmen and told them: “This gentleman is very wise and knowledgeable. It was because of him that Allah relieved me from a calamity regarding which you could not help. So now I have entrusted all my affairs as well as that of yours to him. O my sons! Earn knowledge from this great man and obey him. If you get orders from me and from him simultaneously, then first comply with his commandment.” Thereafter, he did not do any work without consulting Daniel.

When the people of Nebuchadnezzar’s community saw this they became jealous of Daniel. They went to him (Nebuchadnezzar) and told him: “You are the owner of the entire world then how is it that you have made even yourself subject to his orders? Our enemies think you have lost your senses and hence you have given up your kingship.” Nebuchadnezzar said I obtain help from this gentleman who belongs to The Israelites for reforming your affairs because his Lord makes him aware of good things.” They told him: “We are making a god for you who will help you in your affairs and then you will have no more need of Daniel.”

Nebuchadnezzar said, “It is up to you.” Hearing this all of them went away and constructed a very huge idol and fixed a day of festival on which all were invited to attend a sacrificial ceremony wherein many animals were to be slaughtered and offered to the gigantic idol. A big fire was lit in front of the idol like the fire of Nimrod. Anybody who refused to prostrate before that idol was thrown into that fire pit. Daniel had four youth friends named Yushaal, Yooheen, Eswwaa and Marsoos all belonging to The Israelites. They were both faithful and sincere. They were caught and brought there and ordered to bow before the idol.

They said, “This idol is not Allah. It is a log of wood having no sense, carved up by men. We can prostrate before the only one Allah who created this idol.” Angered by this reply they tied up all the four and threw them into the blazing fire. Next morning Nebuchadnezzar saw from the balcony of his palace that all of them were alive and another aged personality was sitting near them. He also saw that the fire has cooled down. On seeing this he got frightened and called Daniel and enquired about them. Daniel said, “All those four youths belong to my faith. They worship only my Allah. Therefore He protected them from your evil. The person sitting near them is an angel who is in charge of heat and cold. Allah has sent him to help those youths.”

Nebuchadnezzar ordered them out of the fire pit and asked them: “How did you pass the night?” They replied, “Ever since we were born we have not passed a night which was not better than the previous one.” Hearing this Nebuchadnezzar respected them and allowed them to live with Daniel. Thirty years passed by. Then Nebuchadnezzar saw another dream which was more frightening than the previous one and again he forgot the whole of it. He called scholars of his country and told them that he had seen a dream which, he was afraid would indicate his death and asked them to enlighten him on its meaning. They told him that they did not know its meaning. He turned out all of them and called Daniel and consulted him about his dream. Daniel, describing his dream, said, In your dream you have seen many green trees with their branches reaching up to the sky. Birds of the sky were sitting on that tree. Under it were wild animals of the land. You were looking at that tree and its freshness and greenery astonished you.

Suddenly an angel descended from the heavens with an axe-like iron instrument hanging round his neck. That angel asked another angel standing at the gate of the heavens in what way Allah had ordered him to cut off the tree, that is, down right from its roots or to leave it standing on a shortened trunk? The angel replied that that Allah had commanded him to cut off some part of the tree and to leave some part of it intact. Then you saw that when the angel hit the tree with that axe it fell down crashing and all the birds flew away and all the animals scattered from under its shade. Only the trunk of that tree stood on the ground. Its greenness and freshness vanished.” Nebuchadnezzar said that was exactly what he had seen in his dream. Then he requested for its meaning.

Daniel said, “The tree was you yourself, the birds on it were your family members and the beasts under it were your servants and slaves etc. You made Allah angry because of your idol worship.” Nebuchadnezzar asked: “What will your Lord do now?” Daniel replied, “He will involve you in the matter of your body. Your body will be metamorphosed for seven years. Then you will revert to the shape of man as you are now.” Nebuchadnezzar was severely shocked. He kept weeping for seven days. After seven days he went to the top floor of his palace where Allah turned him into an eagle and he flew away. Daniel ordered his sons not to make any changes in his regime until their father’s return. Finally he was metamorphosed in the shape of a mosquito and returned to his palace flying.

Allah turned him into a human being again. He took a bath, wore jute clothing, collected his people and said, “You and I worshipped, instead of only one Allah, a thing which cannot either give us any benefit or any loss. Verily, in the matter of my own self I am convinced Allah’s Might has become manifest and I have understood that there is no Allah except the Allah of The Israelites. So whosoever will follow me is from me and will have equal status and whosoever opposes me I will cut off his head, until Allah makes a final decision between me and him. I give you respite until next morning. Return all of you next morning.” Then he went inside his palace and reclined on his bed. Allah retrieved his soul then and there. Wahab says he heard the whole of this story from Ibn ‘Abbas.

Then al-Qutb al-Rawandi relates, when Nebuchadnezzar died, people obeyed his son who consulted Daniel regarding his vessels (containers) which were made by Shaitans and jinn for Sulayman from pearls and rubies etc. fetched out from rivers which could not be crossed by ships. Nebuchadnezzar had obtained them as booty from Jerusalem and Babylon. Daniel said, “These vessels are clean and pure they have been made by a Prophet and his son so that they might become means of worship of the Lord. So do not make them impure with pork and other dirty things because their inheritor is someone else to whom Allah will send them very soon.” But he did not act according to the instruction of Daniel and drove him out and freed him.

He had a very intelligent wife who was educated by Daniel. She tried her best to advise him saying that: “Your father consulted Daniel in every difficult problem and obtained his help.” But he did not heed her advice and indulged in every vice until because of his innumerable sins, the earth complained to Allah. Finally one day when he was in the festival ground he saw a hand come out of the heavens and inscribe three words on the wall and then both the hand the pen disappeared. He called Daniel and asked for its meaning.

He said, “The first word means your intelligence was weighed in balance and it was found very light. The second word means you had promised that after becoming a king you would do good deeds but you did not keep that promise. And the third word means Allah Almighty gave you and your father a very great kingdom but you destroyed it with your misdeeds. Now until the Last Day of the Resurrection Day no one from your dynasty will ever become a king.” He asked: “What would happen after our deprivation from the kingship?” He said, “You will fall prey to Allah’s chastisement.” In the meanwhile Allah sent a mosquito which entered into his nose and began to eat his brain. (It stopped biting only when his head was hit). As a result he loved most the man who would hit his head with an iron club.’ After passing 40 days like this he entered hell (died).3

It is reported by Ibn ‘Abbas: One day Uzair prayed to Allah: “O Lord Nourisher! I have pondered over all of Your affairs and orders and am convinced that Your Justice is Perfect. Of course, there is one thing which my mind could not understand. It is that when You become angry with a community and send Your punishment on them it sweeps even sinless (innocent) children.” “Get out of the city and go to the desert” came the Divine Voice. He complied with it and went to the forest. When the heat increased he took shelter under a tree and fell asleep. While asleep an ant bit his leg. Bothered by it he hit the ground with his leg killing hundreds of ants at that spot. He understood then that Allah had taught him a lesson through this example. Allah told him through revelation that: “O Uzair! Whenever a group becomes liable to My punishment I fix a time for their chastisement in such a manner that the children who had lived for their appointed terms of life die at that hour and the sinners are destroyed by way of My chastisement.”

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “Allah appointed a Prophet called Irmiya for The Israelites. Allah revealed to him: Ask The Israelites what is the name of the city which I selected and honored, wherein I grew nice quality trees everyone of them being different and better that the other and I purified it. Then it became a dirty city which was then spoiled where from trees with good fruits vanished and in their place grew up carob. When Irmiya asked this question to The Israelites they laughed and made a mockery of him. complained to Allah. Allah asked him to tell them that that city is Jerusalem and that tree is The Israelites whom I had spared from the control of every king but still they spread corruption and disobey Me, so now I will impose upon them such an oppressor that he will shed their blood and plunder their wealth and properties. They will complain much but I will not hear them or have mercy on them. They will make supplications before Me but I will not accept it. This will continue for a hundred years. Then after a hundred years I will make them flourish.”

When Irmiya narrated this foretelling to The Israelites their religious scholars began to cry: “O Prophet of Allah! where is our fault in it? Our deeds are different from those of the sinners. So please pray to Allah.” Irmiya fasted for seven days. But he did not get any revelation. He continued his fast for another seven days and again for further seven days. On the twenty-first day it was revealed to him: “Refrain from your intention. Do you want to intercede with me in a thing which has already been decided finally by Me? If you say anything again about it I will turn your face toward your back. Tell the Ulama (religious scholars of The Israelites that your sin is that you continued to see them sinning, you connived at their sins, you did not prevent them from sinning. Allah imposed Nebuchadnezzar on you. You have already heard what he did with them. At last Nebuchadnezzar called Irmiya and said, I have heard that you had already informed them what was going to happen to them by me but they did not care. Well, now if you please you may stay with me. otherwise you can go wherever you please. preferred to remain separate and took with him, as provision, grape and figs. According to anther narration he took grapes and garlic, and went away from the city as far as an eye could see.

Then he turned around and looked at the city and exclaimed: “How will Allah make these people alive” So Allah retrieved his soul and kept him dead for a hundred years. He had died in the morning hours but when Allah made him alive it was evening and the sun was about to set. The first part of his body which was made alive was his eye. He was asked: “How long did you stay here?” He replied “For one day.” But when he looked at the sun which had not yet gone down he said, “Rather less than a day.” He was told: “No, you have been here for one hundred years. Just look at your ass. How disintegrated it has become.” Then, before his eyes, Allah joined parts of his body as well as that of his animal with one another and recreated veins and flesh and skin etc and he became alright. Then he arose and said, “I know that Allah is able to do everything.” Imam as-Sadiq has said, “Nebuchadnezzar’s name is like that because he was fed with the milk of a bitch. Bakht was the name of a she dog and Nassar was the name of her owner. Nebuchadnezzar was a fire worshipper. He invaded Jerusalem and entered the city with six hundred thousand flags and did what he did.”

It is related from Amir al-Mu’minin that Jerusalem was destroyed on the last Wednesday of the month and on the same day Masjid Sulayman was burnt in Iran.

According to authentic narration Ibn Kuwaa asked Amir al-Mu’minin: “People narrate from you that you had said that there had been a boy (apparently) much older than his own father, though my mind does not accept (believe) it.” ‘Ali said, “When Uzair went out of his home his wife was pregnant and then she delivered a son. The age of Uzair was 50 years when Allah retrieved his soul. Then after a hundred years when he was made alive, Allah raised him up in the same condition in which he was at the age of 50 years. Thus when he returned home his age was fifty but his son was much older than him in age.”

It is recorded in reliable sources that when Husham bin Abdul Malik took Imam Muhammad al-Baqir with him a great Christian religious scholar then living in Syria, asked some questions to the . Hearing his replies, he became a Muslim. One of his questions was: “Enlighten me about a man who went into his wife and she got pregnant with two sons both of whom were born at the same time. Both died at the same time and both were interned in the same grave and yet the age of one of them was 150 years and that of the other only 50.” ‘Ali said, “Those two brothers were Uzair and Ezra who were born twins. When they were thirty years old Allah Almighty turned Uzair dead for one hundred years. After Allah made him alive he lived with Ezra for another twenty years and thereafter both of them entered the Mercy of Allah (expired) at the same time. Thus the age of Uzair was 50 years and that of Ezra 150 years.”4

- 1. Surah Baqarah 2:259

- 2. The meeting of Dawud with Daniel is indeed strange in view of the earlier hadiths according to which there was a vast distance of time between the two. Perhaps Daniel had become very aged or maybe this was another person named Daniel though it too is quite strange.

- 3. These stories which have been narrated by Wahab have spread through common people and hence are not authentic. Reliable traditions do not indicate that Nebuchadnezzar had become a Muslim. Since Ibn Babawayh and Rawandi had noted this narration I also quoted it. In ‘Tawhid Mufa¤¤al’ there is a hint of the metamorphosing of Nebuchadnezzar but without specification.

- 4. Since the hadiths which indicate that the man whom Allah had kept dead for a hundred years was Irmiya are more correct and numerous in number it is possible that the hadiths mentioning Uzair might have been by way of Taqiyyah and that the might have spoken in favor of Ahl al-Kitab to guide them to the true path and so that they might not be able to deny them. It is also likely that the event might have occurred to both the gentlemen. What has come in this verse relates to Irmiya. It should be remembered that this story also provides proof of Raj‘ah (Resurrection) like the recurring traditions mentioned by us earlier and that what happened to The Israelites would happen to this Ummah also.

An account of Yunus ibn Matta and his respected father

Says Almighty in the Holy Qur’an:

“And wherefore was there not a town which should believe so that their belief should have profited them but the people of Yunus? When they believed, We removed from them the chastisement of disgrace in this world’s life and We gave them provision until a time. (10:98)

He asserts at another place:

And Yunus when he went away in wrath, he thought that We would not straiten him, so he called out among afflictions: “There is no Allah but Thou, glory be to Thee; surely I am of those who make themselves to suffer loss.”

So We responded to him and delivered him from his grief and thus do We deliver the believers. (21:87-88)

Imam al-Ridha is reported to have said that: He (Yunus As, the fish-related Prophet) was convinced that We (Allah Almighty) would not narrow down his provision. Some have said that he had imagined that, on his error of leaving the preferable (Tark al-Awla), We (Allah) would not take him to task. Hence it is related from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that he (Yunus) cried out in the darkness and Imam al-Ridha has said that he cried out in the (triple) darkness of the night, the sea and the inside of the fish (which had swallowed him up): “O My Lord! There is no Allah except You, I glorify You, clear You from all things which are not becoming You (you are absolutely faultless). Doubtlessly I have erred in walking away from the people while it was better to remain among them.” Or he uttered these words by way of humility without having indulged in any sin or undesirable deed. Imam al-Ridha is reported to have said that when Yunus remembered Allah with so much peace of mind in the belly of the fish and said that “I have never worshipped Allah like this before’ then (Allah said) “We accepted his prayer and delivered him from grief and sorrow and We relieve Believers like this from grief and sorrow whenever they seek Our shelter uttering these words.” As reliably and authentically said by Imam as-Sadiq.

And Allah says at another place:

“And Yunus was most surely of the apostles.”

“When he ran away (from the midst of his people) to a ship completely laden (with passengers and their goods).”

“So he shared (with them), but was of those who are cast off. (So lots were drawn between the voyagers when a fish blocked their way and he became among the defeated as his name came out in the lots).”

“So the fish swallowed him while he did that for which he blamed himself.”

“But had it not been that he was of those who glorify (Us), he would certainly have tarried in its belly to the day when they are raised.”

“Then we cast him on to the vacant surface of the earth (where there was neither tree nor greenery) while he was sick” (It is said that his body had become as soft and weak like that of a newborn baby).

“And We caused to grow up for him a gourd plant (which cast its shadow on him) and we sent him to a hundred thousand rather they exceeded” (that is, in the land of Nineveh, which is one of the cities of Mosul. Some say, in this verse, the word (AV) means (VA) meaning ‘and’, indicating one lakh and more. Some say it means we sent him toward many groups, and that if anybody would see them they would say they were one-lakh men or more. About this ‘more’ some are of the opinion that it meant twenty thousand and according to some thirty thousand, and in the opinion of some even seventy thousand.

“And they believed, so we gave them provision until a time” (that is, until they completed their ages of life we deferred our chastisement from them). (37:139- 148)

And at another place He says:

“Were it not that favor from his Lord had overtaken him, he would certainly have been cast down upon the naked ground while he was blamed. Then his Lord chose him, and He made him of the Good.” (68: 49-50)

According to reliable narrations Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported to have said that Allah has never deferred from any people His chastisement after its signs had become apparent except in the case of the community of Yunus. Yunus went on inviting his people toward Islam and they continued to deny. Finally he intended to curse them. There were two men. One of them was a worshipper and the other was scholar. The name of the worshipper was Tahoka and that of the scholar Roobeel.

The worshipper said “do curse” but the scholar insisted that they should not be cursed. He said to Yunus “Though Allah will not turn down your curse He would also not like to annihilate His slaves.” Yunus accepted the talk of the worshipper and cursed his community.

Allah revealed to him that His chastisement would come down on them on such and such day of such and such month of such and such year. When the day drew near Yunus went out of the community with the worshipper. But the scholar remained among the people. Seeing the signs of the Divine punishment he advised his people: “Cry and pray to Allah. Perhaps He will defer His anger. Maybe He will shed His Mercy on you.” People asked him how they should appeal to Allah. He said, “Leave your homes and go to the forest. Make children separate from their mothers also separate the little ones of sheep and goats and cows from their mothers and weep earnestly with humility before Allah.” All did likewise. They went to the jungle and cried and wept and lamented profusely. Allah became kind to them and deferred His chastisement, even though its time had almost arrived. Then Yunus came there to see how they were destroyed. But what he saw was a farmer was ploughing his field. He asked him “What happened to the people of Yunus?” They did not recognize Yunus and replied that: “He (Yunus had cursed his community. Allah accepted his curse and His chastisement almost arrived on their heads, but then the people gathered and cried and wept and repented in the presence of their Lord. He became kind to them, showed His mercy and sidetracked the chastisement from them and made it scatter over the mountains.

Now the people were searching for Yunus so that they could put faith in him.” Hearing this Yunus became angry and walked towards the seashore frowning. He saw a ship which was loaded and was about to sail. He got into it with the permission of the ship owners. In mid sea Allah sent a huge fish which blocked the way of the ship. Seeing the fish Yunus became fearful and others who were also frightened exclaimed: “Surely a sinner has got into our ship. Let us see who he is.” They drew lots which revealed the name of Yunus, so they threw him into the mouth of the fish which went away into the seawater.

A Rabbi once asked Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali: “Which prison went around the world with its inmate.” He replied, “The fish in which Allah had imprisoned Yunus.” That fish went in the Red Sea or the Arabian Sea; from there it went to the river of Egypt. Therefrom it reached Tiberius, and then entered the river Tigris in Baghdad. Then it dived under the earth until it reached Qarun (Korah). Discussion of Yunus with Qarun have already been mentioned in the events of Qarun. Allah ordered an angel in charge of Qarun to withhold chastisement from him during his worldly days. Anyhow, Yunus cried out in the belly of the fish.

Allah responded to his prayer and ordered the fish to disgorge him onto the shore. His flesh and skin had dissolved. So Allah caused a gourd tree to grow near him which cast its shadow on him so as to protect him from the heat of the Sun. Then He moved the tree away from him. When the heat of the sun caused him pain, Yunus became restless and complained. Allah revealed to him saying: “O Yunus! you did not feel pity for over a lakh of people yet you have started complaining within a short painful time.” Yunus submitted: “O My Lord! Forgive me and pardon my error.” Finally Allah gave him health and he came back to his people. All put faith in him. Yunus has remained in the belly of the fish for nine hours.

According to another narration attributed to Imam al-Baqir, Yunus remained in the belly of the fish for three days, and all that time, continued to invocate. Allah responded to his supplication. The fish disgorged him and Allah provided a gourd tree as shade for his weak body. Yunus sucked it like a mother’s breast and lived under its shade. Hair on his body had fallen down. He glorified Allah and kept remembering Him throughout the day and night. When he got his strength back and his body became vigorous Allah created an insect which ate out the root of the gourd tree which then dried up. This made Yunus restless and sorrowful.

Allah asked him: “O Yunus! Why are you grief-stricken?” He replied, “My Lord! This tree was benefiting me. You imposed an insect on it and it made it dry.” Allah asserted: “O Yunus! You are grieving for this tree though you had neither sown it nor watered it. You had neither attended to it nor worked for it. Yet you are concerned why it dried up though you are no more in need of it. But you did not worry for over a lakh people of Nineveh and wanted that chastisement should fall on them though all of them had become faithful and had given up sins. So now go to them.” Hearing this, Yunus went back to his community. When he arrived near Nineveh, he felt ashamed of entering the city. He saw a shepherd and asked him: “Go into the city and announce that Yunus has arrived here.” The shepherd said, “You are lying. Are you not ashamed of speaking such an untruth? Yunus has drowned in the sea and vanished.” Yunus said, “This sheep will testify that I am Yunus.” Then as commanded by Allah, the sheep said, “This is Yunus.” The shepherd took that sheep in his arms and ran toward the town. When he cried out that Yunus had arrived, people took him to be a joker and rushed forward to beat him up. But the shepherd boy said, “This sheep testifies that Yunus has indeed come.” Then that sheep spoke up: “This shepherd tells the truth; Almighty Allah has indeed sent Yunus to you.” The people rushed toward Yunus and brought him to town and proclaimed their faith in him. Their faith was better and fruitful. Allah kept them alive until He had destined and protected them from his punishment.

According to another hadith, when Allah instructed Yunus emphatically to intimate his community contrary to what he had told them (about the arrival of Divine chastisement), he left them in their own condition. He imagined that even if he did not convey this latter message Allah would not question him. (The Imam) said Archangel Gabriel had made an exception regarding the chastisement and had not finished but Yunus did not hear the exception.

It is reported through reliable chains that Imam as-Sadiq said, “One day Umm-Salamah heard the holy Prophet praying in these words: ‘My Lord! Never leave me on my own for a split second’, Umm-Salamah asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah! You too are asking like this?’ The Holy Prophet replied, ‘How can I rest assured when Yunus bin Matta did what he did when he was left to himself just for a split second’!”

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that Abu-Basir asked Imam as-Sadiq what made Allah to defer His chastisement from the community of Yunus even when it was hovering on their heads? Such thing had never happened in the case of any other people? (Imam replied): The Divine knowledge had got it that He would defer the chastisement due to their repentance. Yunus did not know this. So He desired that he (Yunus) should be spared in the belly of the fish so that he may qualify for His Reward.

According to an authentic tradition the same Imam is reported to have asserted that when Allah had sent His chastisement upon any people He never deferred it except in the case of the people of Yunus. The audience asked: “Had the chastisement come down near their heads?” He said, “Yes, it had been so near that a hand could reach it.” They asked: “Then why did Allah defer it? Why did He not cause it to rain down on them suddenly as had been done in the case of other defiant communities?” Imam said, “Because it had occurred in the secret (hidden) knowledge of Allah that He would spare them due to their repentance and this thing (would happen) was not made known to anyone.”

It is mentioned that when Yunus went toward the hilly land of Rohaa he was reciting: “My Lord! I have come running to you and have accepted Your call, O Reliever of all sorrows and hardships!”

In a reliable tradition it is mentioned that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said, “The first person for whom a lot was drawn was Maryam. Thereafter it was for Yunus when he entered a ship with a group and when that ship was stalled in midstream. Lots were drawn thrice then and on every occasion it came out in the name of Yunus. So Yunus came to the middle portion of the ship and saw a giant fish was facing them with its mouth wide open. He jumped off into its mouth.”

It is recorded through Ya’foor that once Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq raised his hand toward the heavens and said, “My Lord! Do not leave me on my own even for the twinkling of an eye, neither a little more than that nor a little less” and tears ran down his cheeks and rolled on his beard. Then he turned toward me and said, “O Son, Abi Ya’foor! Allah had left Yunus for much less than a split second when he left the better option). Had he died in the same condition (without Divine care) his status would have gone down very much.”

Ibn Babawayh has said, “Yunus is called Yunus because when he became angry with his people he went out of them and took up ‘uns’ (liking) for his Lord and thereafter when he returned to his community he became their ‘moonis’ (admirer).”

It is recorded from reliable chains that Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said, “Allah presented my Wilayah (obedience) to all the residents of the heavens and the earth. Those who wanted to accept it accepted it and those who did not want to did not. Yunus too did not accept it as it deserved to be accepted. Allah imprisoned him in the belly of a fish. Thereafter he accepted it as rightly as it deserved.”

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has according to reliable sources, said that when Yunus observed the misdeeds of his community he admonished them, but they did not heed him. Becoming angry he went away from them, reached the seashore and entered a ship with a group of men. A fish blocked the way of that ship to overthrow it. Yunus said, “This fish wants me. So throw me out.” Those in the ship hesitated and said, “You are better than all of us. Why should the fish want you?” Then they drew lots. Yunus ’s name appeared in the lot thrice. Then they threw him out into the sea and the fish swallowed him. Allah revealed to the fish that Yunus was not its food and that it should neither eat his flesh nor break his bones. The fish took him around the high seas and Yunus continued to pray to Allah in the darkness. When the fish reached the river containing Qarun he heard a voice which he had never heard before and asked the angel overseeing him about it.

The angel told him: “It is the voice of the Prophet Yunus who is remembering Allah in the belly of a fish.” Qarun asked: “Do you permit me to talk with him?” The angel agreed. So Qarun asked: “O Yunus! What has happened to Harun?” Yunus said, “He has died.” When Qarun inquired about Musa Yunus replied, “He too has expired.” Qarun wept. So Allah commanded (through a revelation) the angel in charge of Qarun to reduce his punishment as he had mourned his near relatives. According to other narrations, Allah revealed to that angel to withhold punishment until this world lasted. Imam as-Sadiq said, the holy Prophet used to say that it is not befitting for anybody to say that due to my ascension to the heavens I have become nearer to Allah than Yunus who has remained in sea because in view of Allah the heavens and the sea are same. Allah had taken me to the heavens to show me His marvels there and He took Yunus into the sea to show him the marvels of the under water world.

It is narrated that Imam al-Baqir said, “It is written in some of the books of Amir al-Mu’minin that “‘The holy Prophet told me that Allah had informed him (Muhammad) through Archangel Gabriel that He had appointed Yunus son of Matta over his community when he was thirty years old. He was very strong but did not possess much patience and did not care much for the people. He did not engage himself in bearing the burden of Messengership rather he wanted to remain away just as a young camel runs away from carrying a load. Anyway he remained among his community for 33 years and continued to invite them toward his Messengership and obedience but they did not believe, nor follow him.

The only exception was that of two persons one was Roobeel and another Tanookhaa. Roobeel belonged to a family having knowledge and Prophethood and wisdom and had lived with Yunus since long before he became a Prophet. Tanookhaa was a constant worshipper and a devout ascetic. He prayed a lot but was lacking in intelligence and wisdom. Roobeel used to graze sheep for a living. Tanookhaa used to fetch wood from the forest and sell it. Yunus held Roobeel in higher esteem than Tanookhaa because he had wisdom and intelligence and was living in his service since long. When Yunus saw that his community did not obey him and did not put faith in him, he became very sorry. His heart was restless and he complained to Allah about this state and said, O Lord! You made me a Messenger for this community when I was thirty years old. I lived among them for 33 years and conveyed to them Your Message and invited them toward Your oneness (Tawhid) and requested them to testify my Prophethood. I warned and threatened them of Your Punishment and anger but they denied me, did not believe in me and made a mockery of me. They continued to threaten me. I am afraid they may kill me.

So send Your chastisement on them as these are people who will not believe. Allah sent a revelation to him saying there are pregnant women, minor children, weak men and women and unintelligent persons among them and I am Just Sovereign Ruler. My Mercy surpasses my Anger. I do not punish the young due to the sins of the elders. O Yunus! All of them are My slaves. They have been made and created by Me. They live in My city and they eat My provisions. I want to delay their punishment and continue to be kind to them and wait for maybe they will repent. I have appointed you over them so that you may watch over them, protect them and be kind to them due to the relation you have with them and to deal smoothly with them with the patience of a Prophet and treat them kindly like a sympathizing doctor. But you became harsh toward them and did not treat them kindly and did not behave with them like a merciful messenger. Now when you are no more able to keep your patience you have become angry and straightaway ask for their chastisement.

The patience of My slave Noah was more than yours. His behavior with his people was much better, his tolerance was much higher and his excuse for chastisement was perfect. Hence I chastised his community for his sake when he became angry with them. I accepted his prayer when he prayed. Yunus said, “My Lord! I became angry with them only because they opposed You and I cursed them only when they defied Your commands. So, by Your Grandeur and Honor, I cannot be kind to them now nor will I admonish them kindly, now that during this period, they have become unbelievers and are denying Your oneness and are denying my Prophethood. So now send Your punishment on them as they will never believe.” Allah said, “O Yunus! they numbering over one lakh are My creation.... They flourish My cities and will cause more of My slaves to come into the world. I prefer to wait and be lenient with them as certain things have come to My knowledge and as My Planning and Resolution is different from your planning and resolution and as you are a message conveying Prophet and I am the Wise Lord, My knowledge regarding them is secret and hidden. The Unseen things known to Me are such that no one else knows its limits and your knowledge and awareness is limited to the apparent, you do not know the beginning and its end. So, O Yunus! I accept your prayer regarding them and will send chastisement to them but the acceptance of your prayer will not add to the Reward from My side, nor will it raise your status and nearness to Me. The chastisement will fall on them on a Wednesday of the month of Shawwal after sunrise. So inform them of this. Hearing this Yunus became very glad. He did not become sorry nor did he what would be its end result. Then he came to the worshipper Tanookhaa and informed him about the chastisement to fall on his community. He asked him to accompany him for informing the people. Tanookhaa said, “Leave it. Where is the need of warning them. It is better if the chastisement rains on them while they are unaware because of their sinfulness and Kufr (denial).” Yunus said, “Let us go to Roobeel and obtain his opinion.” So they went to Roobeel. Yunus told Roobeel: “Allah has informed me that He will send his chastisement on my people at such and such time. What is your opinion about my going and informing them of this?” Roobeel said, “Go back and like a tolerant Prophet and a merciful messenger request your Lord to forgive and pardon them. Recommend to your Lord to withhold the Divine punishment because the Lord is surely not in need of punishing them. He prefers to remain kind and merciful toward them. This will be more beneficial to you too as it will make you nearer to Him and raise your status in His view. Perhaps your community will give up denial and Kufr (faithlessness). They may put faith in you. So be patient and wait.”

Then Tanookhaa retorted: “Woe unto you, O Roobeel! What contingency is there that makes you think that it is in favor of Yunus? How do you imagine it is beneficial to recommend in favor of those persons who denied Allah and opposed the Prophethood/Messengership of Yunus and drove him out and who wanted to stone him to death?” Roobeel said, “Keep silent, you are merely a worshipper and do not have wisdom.” Then turning toward Yunus he asked: “Tell me, if Allah sends his punishment will it kill all or only some?” Yunus said, “It will kill all and I have asked for the same from Allah, as I do not feel any pity for them so that I may recommend the deferring of punishment to them.” Roobeel said, “O Yunus! It is possible that when the chastisement comes upon them and they see its signs and seek forgiveness of Allah and repent maybe Allah will be kind to them as He is the Kindest of the Kind. He may defer the chastisement from them and then all may think that you were a liar.”

Tanookhaa said, “Woe unto you, O Roobeel! How do you utter such things to a divine messenger who has received a Revelation that chastisement will fall on his people. Rather you have rejected the Word of Allah. You have doubted in both the Divine and the Prophetic Words. Go away. Your deeds have become fruitless.” Roobeel said, “O Tanookhaa! Your opinion is weak.” Then he told Yunus: “Is it not possible that, when the chastisement falls on your people and all are annihilated, Allah will remove your name from the list of His messengers and your Prophethood will vanish and you will become like any ordinary person because nearly a lakh of people would have been killed due to you?” Finally, Yunus did not accept the advice of Roobeel and went away from the city along with Tanookhaa.

Then Yunus came back and warned his people that Divine chastisement would fall on them on such and such day after sunrise. Hearing this, the people denied him and insulted him and drove him out of the city. So Yunus and Tanookhaa went far away from the population and waited for the Divine chastisement. Roobeel continued to live with the people. When the first of Shawwal arrived, Roobeel climbed up a high hill and called the people and cried: “I am Roobeel. I pity you. I am kind to you. The month of Shawwal has begun and your Prophet, the messenger of Allah, that is, Yunus has already informed you that Allah has revealed to him that after sunrise on the middle Wednesday of this month Divine punishment would befall you. Allah never does contrary to what He says to His Prophets. So now think seriously about what you should do?”

Hearing these words of Roobeel the people became frightened and then were convinced that Allah” wrath would fall on them. So they rushed to Roobeel and requested for his opinion concerning them. They said, “You are a wise and intelligent man and you have always been kind to us. We heard that you had made many recommendations in our favor to Yunus. So now we are prepared to do whatever you ask.” Roobeel said, “My opinion is that at the appointed time (for Divine chastisement), i.e.. at daybreak on the mid-month Wednesday, separate women and suckling babies and non-suckling children from one another. Keep the women in wait in the valley of the mountain, stall the children in the way of the flooding river, and also separate the offspring of animals from their mothers and all this should be done before daybreak. Then when you see a yellowish dust coming from the east, cry out all of you elders and youngsters in supplication to Almighty Allah, weeping and praying and repenting. Raise your heads toward the heavens and say: “O Our Lord! We have oppressed our own selves. We denied Your Messenger. We repent over our sins wholeheartedly. If you will not pardon us and if You will not be kind to us we shall surely be caught in Your chastisement and we will be the losers. O Lord! accept our repentance and shed Your Mercy on us, O the Most Merciful One!” You must not be meanwhile crying and weeping and repenting and persist in so doing until either the sunsets or the punishment is warded off from you.

All agreed with Roobeel. On the appointed day, Yunus went out of the city and stood at a place wherefrom he could hear the sounds of all, and when chastisement fell he could see it. The people too, did as advised by Roobeel. When the sun rose and a strong, harsh, yellowish and blackish wind began to blow with a frightening noise, all cried and wept together and engaged themselves in constant prayers and repentance. Babies began to cry for their mothers, young ones of animals also began to shriek for their mothers’ milk. Cattle moved to get grass. Yunus and Tanookhaa hearing these noises and voices were cursing that Allah may punish them even more harshly.

On the other hand Roobeel heard their cries and prayed to Allah for the withdrawal of His chastisement. At the time of Zuhr (midday) the gates of the heavens were opened up. Allah’s anger subsided. Allah showed His Mercy to them and pardoned them all. He had responded to their prayers. Allah accepted their repentance and forgave them their sins. He revealed to the Israfil: “Since the community of Yunus has wept and repented and begged My Pardon I have pardoned them as I am the Greatest Accepter of repentance and I am very kind to my slaves. I accept soon the repentance of those who become ashamed of their misdeeds. As my slave Yunus had wished chastisement for his people and as he did not ask for their actual killing, I ordered a punishment on them. Now, you go and turn away the chastisement.”

Israfil said, “My lord! the chastisement has already reached their shoulders and it is about to kill them. By the time I go there they would have been killed.” Allah Almighty said, “I have commanded the concerned angels to keep the punishment hanging over their heads until they get my final Word. So, O Israfil you go there and turn the chastisement from over their heads and rain it down on the mountains adjoining that city’s rivers and springs as they (mountains) have become proud of their height which is more than the other surroundings and so make them mild and disgraced; turn them into iron.” Israfil came down, opened his wings and removed the chastisement from the city and made it fall on the mountains as commanded by Allah. All those mountains are in the vicinity of Mosul and they have become like iron until Dooms Day (the Resurrection Day).

When the community of Yunus saw that the chastisement had been removed from them, they came down from the hills and entered their homes and brought back their families and property. The next Saturday when Yunus and Tanookhaa did not hear their voices they understood for sure that chastisement had befallen them and they wished to see their condition as to how they were killed. When they came near the city they saw that woodcutters and shepherds were arriving and that the city folk were busy in their work us usual.

Yunus told Tanookhaa: “What has happened actually is contrary to what was revealed (about punishment) to me. Now the city folk will call me a liar and henceforth will not give me any respect.” So he turned back from that spot angrily and went toward the sea in such a way that nobody would recognize him. He was trying to hide himself from the people of his community who would call him a liar. However, Tanookhaa entered the city. Then Roobeel asked him: “Whose opinion was more sound, yours or mine?” Tanookhaa said, “Your opinion was better and whatever you said was the opinion of the wise and the learned intelligentsia. I always thought that I was better than you as my worship and prayer rituals were more than yours. Now your grace has come to my notice because of the knowledge given to you by Allah and I have now understood that wisdom with god’s fear is better than piety and that worship which is not complete without knowledge.” Then they became one-another’s companions and began to live with their community. Yunus reached the seashore on Thursday and remained under the gourd tree for seven days. A week after that he returned to his community. People put their faith in him and testified to his Messengership and obeyed him.

According to another hadith, “The community of Yunus harassed him. He cursed them. Allah promised that He would send chastisement on them. So, on the first day their faces turned yellow, next day black and chastisement came so near to them that their spears could approach it. They separated babies from their mothers. They also separated animal kids from their mothers. They wore rough and thick clothes, put ropes around their necks, threw dust on their heads and started weeping all together simultaneously before the Lord and announced: “Our Lord! we put faith in the Allah of Yunus.” So Allah turned the chastisement toward the mountains. Next morning Yunus thought that all had been annihilated. But when he saw that all were well he became angry and turned towards the sea. He got into a ship. Two more persons were with him in that ship. The ship began to swing in mid sea. The boatman said a renegade has boarded the ship. Yunus said, “I am that fugitive; I have run away from my Lord.” He stood up and prepared to jump into the sea when he saw that a giant size fish was facing him with its mouth wide open. Seeing this all were frightened and the two men clung to Yunus saying: “Perhaps one of us is the cause of this trouble to the ship.” So they drew a lot. It came in the name of Yunus. Thence the practice of drawing lots came into vogue with a guess that if the lot has three arrows it never fails. Anyhow, Yunus threw himself into the sea and the fish swallowed him and carried him under water for seven days. Finally it entered river Masjoor where Qarun was being punished (by Allah). When he heard the voice of Yunus praising and sanctifying Allah he asked the angel who was punishing him: “Whose voice is it?” He said, “It is the voice of Yunus who has been imprisoned in the belly of a fish.” Qarun asked could he talk with him. The angel permitted. So Qarun asked Yunus: “O Yunus! what has happened to Musa?” Yunus said, “He has died.” Then Qarun asked: “What about Harun?” Yunus said, “He too has expired.” Hearing this Qarun wept much and complained to Allah. So Allah ordered that the angel should defer his chastisement until the world existed because Qarun had mourned his near and dear ones.

It is recorded from authentic chains that Imam al-Ridha said, “When Allah ordered Yunus to inform his people about the impending chastisement, and when the chastisement came upon them they created separation between women and children and animals and began to weep. When their cries reached heaven Allah deferred the punishment from them and Yunus angrily went towards the sea where a fish swallowed him. The fish carried him for three days and ferried him in the seven seas. Finally when he came out of the belly of the fish his flesh and skin had faded. Allah caused a gourd tree to grow for him. It provided shade to him. When his body became strong, the tree began to dry up. Yunus (as.) complained O Allah! the tree which was giving me shade has dried up! Divine Revelation said, O Yunus! you are becoming restless for a tree which was providing you shade but you are not feeling sorry for over a lakh of people and want them to be chastised.1

Abu Hamza Thumali has narrated that one day ‘Abdullah bin Umar approached Imam Zayn al-‘abidin and said, “You say that “My grandfather ‘Ali ’s Wilayah was presented to Yunus but he was reluctant so Allah dropped him in the belly of a fish.” Imam said, No doubt. I did say so. May your mother sit in mourning for you.” ‘Abdullah said, “If what you say is true, then show me some sign supporting it.” (Abu Hamza says:) Imam put a band on his (‘Abdullah’s) and my eyes and after a few moments asked us to open the bands. When we untied the bands what we had a vision was that we were on seashore. Its waves were rising high. ‘Abdullah bin Umar said, “O my leader! My blood (responsibility of my death) will be upon you.” Yunus said, “Do not become restless. I want to show you the sign of my truthfulness.” Then he called upon the fish.

A giant fish like a big mountain raised its head out of water saying: “Labbaik, O Wali of Allah!” Imam asked it: “Who are you?” It replied, “I am the fish of Yunus.” Imam said, “Narrate the story of Yunus to us.” It said, O my leader! Right from Adam up to your grandfather Muhammad Allah had not appointed any Prophet to whom the Wilayah of you, Ahl al-Bayt was not presented. The one who accepted it remained protected and the one who denied it was involved in trouble until Allah sent Yunus with His Message and asked him through revelation to accept the Wilayah of Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali and thereafter of the rightly-guided Imams born of ‘Ali ’s lineage along with other matters revealed to him. Yunus said, How can I accept the Wilayah of those whom I have not yet seen nor know! Then he came to the shore of the sea. Allah revealed to me to swallow him but without damaging his bones. Yunus remained in my belly for forty days. I ferried him in rivers and oceans and darkness and he was crying: laa illaah anta subhaanaka innee kuntu minaz zscholareen (and continued to pray to Allah Almighty) that I have accepted the Wilayah of Amir al-Mu’minin and of the rightly guided Imams from his progeny. When he put faith on the Wilayah of you gentlemen, Allah ordered me to throw Yunus out so I disgorged him on the shore. Hearing this Imam said, “O fish! Go back to your abode.” So it went away. The waves settled down and the water became calm. 2

According to a reliable tradition Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said, “The Prophet Dawud prayed to Allah: O My Lord! In Heaven, who will be like me and equal to my status? It was revealed to him: He will be Matta, the father of Yunus. Dawud sought permission to visit him. Allah allowed him. So he, along with his son Sulayman went to his house. They saw that the house was made of the leaves of a date tree. On inquiry they were told that he had gone to the bazaar. The people in the bazaar said he must be coming now. So they sat there waiting for him. Soon he arrived with a load of wood on his head. People arose to give him respect and they welcomed him. Matta put down the load and thanked Allah and asked: Is there anyone who would purchase a pure thing with pure money? Hearing this one person offered a price. Another said somewhat more than that. Finally he sold his wood to some body. Then Dawud and Sulayman came forward to meet him and saluted him and said, Salaamun alaikum. He responded to the salaam and took both of them to his house. He bought wheat or barley from what he had earned. He reduced it to flour himself, made a fire and prepared loaves. Then he sat down to talk. He broke the loaves into pieces and put them in a vessel and put some salt on them. He kept a bowl of water with him and sat down on hams uttering ‘bismillaahirrehmaanirraheem’ (In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful) and put a morsel of bread in his mouth and ate it chewing thoroughly and said, alhamdu lillaah (Praise be to Allah), then he took another morsel and did the same thing. Next he took up water saying ‘bismillaah’ (in the name of Allah), drank it and said ‘alhamdu lillaah’. Then he said, “O My Lord! To whom else have you given so much bounty. You have given me a healthy body, eyes and ears. You gave me enough strength to go to the tree which I did not plant nor took any trouble in protecting it. You made it my provision. It is you who sends me a purchaser for the wood who buys it and then I purchase my food from it which also I did not sow. You made the fire subservient to me in which I baked my loaves. You made it so nice that I ate it willfully so that I may get enough strength to worship you. So praise belongs only to you. Then he wept. Dawud said to Sulayman: Get up, O my son! We have never seen a slave who is more thankful than this person.

- 1. It is difficult to collect different traditions regarding the stay of Yunus in the belly of a fish. Perhaps some of the common among them might have been narrated by way of Taqiyyah (hiding of facts to avoid trouble). The error of Yunus was that of ‘Tark al-Awla’ (giving up the preferable) and an undesirable deed, because Allah had permitted him to stop preaching and had promised that chastisement would overtake them. Then it was not obligatory for him to return to his people until Allah ordered him to preach to them again. A better course was to be kind to the community despite all of its evils and to recommend their case before the Lord and await the Divine decision. But he did not do that. So Allah, by way of discipline, raised his status by showing the marvels of the underwater world and made it like a Me’raj (ascension). His anger was against the misdeeds of the community. He was not displeased with Allah Almighty. He believed that the Merciful and kind Allah would not frown on him. Other reasons have also been recorded in various traditions and commentaries.

- 2. Possibly Allah might not have made it absolutely compulsory for the Messengers to accept the Wilayah of the pure Imams so that ignoring it might become a sin. Or, perhaps all accepted it and some did not. Allah knows better. Shaykh al-Tusi has recorded in ‘Misbaah’ that Allah brought Yunus out of the fish on the ninth of Muharram and this is contrary to some traditions.

An account of the People of the Cave and Inscription

The Lord of the World says:

“Or do you think that the People of the Cave and the Inscription were of Our wonderful signs? (18:9)”

Some say the People of the Cave (the Seven Sleepers) are the same who are mentioned as People of the Inscription and that ‘Inscription’ is the name of a mountain or a cave or the city (from where they had fled) or of the plate on which their story was inscribed and hung at the opening of the cave or the name of their dog. Still others say Ashaab-e- Inscription is another group whose story will be told later on.

According to reliable authorities Imam as-Sadiq has said that People of the Cave and Inscription were a group which had become untraceable and that the king of their time had inscribed their and their forefathers’ names on lead slates and hung the slates at the opening of the cave.

“When the youths sought refuge in a cave, they said, “Our Lord! grant us mercy from Thee, and provide for us a right course in our affair” (18:10)

It is recorded in authentic traditions that somebody asked Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq, ‘May we be sacrificed for you! We use the word ‘fataa’ for the youth.” Imam said, “Perhaps you do not know that the People of the Cave (people of the cave) were aged and yet Allah has mentioned them as ‘Fityah’ (young) because they had believed showing much courage and the one who believes (puts faith) in Allah is pious and ‘Fataa’ even if he is old.”

So We prevented then from hearing in the cave for a number of years. (18 11)

Then We raised them up that we might know which of the two parties was best able to compute the time for which they remained. We relate to you their story with the truth; surely they were youths who believed in their Lord and We increased them in Guidance. And We strengthened their hearts with patience when they stood up and said,

“Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth; we will by no means call upon any Allah besides Him, for then indeed we would have (said an extravagant thing) These, our people, have taken Gods besides him; why do they not produce any clear authority in their support? Who is then more unjust? He who forges a lie against Allah? (And when you forsake them and what they worship save Allah, betake yourselves for refuge to the cave) your Lord will extend to you largely of His mercy and provide for you a profitable course in your affair. And you might see the sun when it rose from their cave towards the right hand, and when it set behind them on the left while they were in a wide space thereof. This is of the signs of Allah; Whomsoever Allah guides, he is the rightly guided one, and whomsoever He causes to err, you shall not find for him any friend to lead (him) aright). (12:17)

And you might think they are awake while they sleep, and we turned them about to the right and to the left, while their dog lay outstretching its paws at the entrance.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that the said turning makes one think that they are awake and that Allah is turning them so that their sides may not be damaged by the earth (hard rock). ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim says that Allah makes them turn sides twice in a year.

If you looked at them you would turn back from them in fright, and you would certainly be filled with awe at their sight (owing to their huge bodies or open eyes or the horrible environment). Imam al-Baqir has said that these words are not addressed to the holy Prophet but is the description of the awful situation shown to all.

And thus did We rouse them that they might question each other. A speaker among them said, How long have you tarried? They said, we have tarried for a day or a part of a day. (Others) said, Your Lord knows best how long you have tarried. Now send one of you with this silver (coin) of yours to the city and let him see which of them has the purest food. Let him bring you provision from it, and let him behave with gentleness so that by no means is your case known to any one:). ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has said that here ‘pure food’ means lawful food.

For surely, if they prevail against you they would stone you to death or force you back to their religion, and then you will never succeed. And thus did We make (men) to get knowledge of them, that they might know that Allah’s promise is true and that as for the hour there is no doubt about it. When they disputed among themselves about their affairs and said, Erect an edifice over them -- their Lord best knows them. Those who prevailed in their affair said, We would certainly raise a Masjid over them. (Some) say: (They are) three, the fourth of them being their dog; and (others) say: Five, the sixth of them being their dog, making conjectures at what is unknown; and (others yet) say: Seven, and the eighth of them is their dog. Say: My Lord best knows their number, none know them but a few; therefore contend not in the matter of them but with an outward contention, and do not question concerning any of them. And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow, Unless Allah pleases; and remember your Lord when you forget and say: Maybe my Lord will guide me to a nearer course to the right than this. And they remained in their cave for three hundred years and (some) add (another) nine). (18:25)

Say: Allah knows best how long they remained: to Him are known the unseen things of the heavens and the earth.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim says that what Allah has mentioned is the statement of the People of the Book and therefore He has added: Say: “Allah knows better.” It is related that that group lived in a period between the time of ‘Isa and the Prophet of the last age, i.e.., Muhammad and that “Inscription” were two copper plates on which their events were inscribed such as their becoming Muslims, the intention of king Decius to kill them, their entering the cave etc.

According to authentic reports Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq is reported to have said that the cause of the revelation of Surah Kahf in the Holy Qur’an was this: The infidels (unbelievers) of the Quraysh tribe sent Nafar bin Haaris, Aqabah bin Abee Mueet and Aamir bin Waail to religious scholars of the Jews who were living in Najran to obtain some information from then so that they might put questions before the holy Prophet.

They (the Jews) told them to put three questions to the holy Prophet. “If his reply is the same we will know then that he is a true man. Moreover ask one more question, in response to which, if he says that he knows about it then (Allah forbid) he is a liar.” The trio asked what the questions were. The scholars said, “In earlier times, how many youths were there who became untraceable after quitting their town and who had remained asleep? For how many days were they asleep and what was the non-human companion with them? What was their story? Another question is: who was the knowledgeable man to whom Allah had sent the Musa for acquiring knowledge and how did Musa reach him? The third query is who was the man who traveled the whole of the east and the west and reached the point of sunrise and sunset until he went up to the wall of Yajooj and Majooj and what is his story? Then they narrated the replies known to them and said that if he (Prophet) Muhammad says what we have said then he is a true Messenger. If his reply is other than this do not testify to his Prophethood. Then they asked what the fourth question was? They said, ask him when the Resurrection Day will arrive. If the says that he knows when it will occur then he is a liar, because, the knowledge of the Last Day is with none but Allah.”

So they left the Jewish clergy and came back to Abu-Talib and told him that his nephew claimed that he was getting news from the heaven. “So we want to test him by some questions. If he gives the correct replies then he is true. Otherwise we will know that his claim is false.” Abu-Talib said, “Ask him whatever you want.” They asked the aforesaid three questions. The holy Prophet said he would reply the next day but did not utter the words ‘Inshallah’. Consequently, he did not receive Divine revelation for forty days. As a result, he became very sorrowful. Those who believed in him also began to doubt in his Prophethood and non-believers of Quraysh began to ridicule him joyfully. Abu-Talib too grieved. After forty days, when the Archangel Gabriel arrived with Surah Kahf, the holy Prophet asked the reason for this inordinate delay. Archangel Gabriel replied, “We have no ability to arrive without command of Allah.” Then he recited the verses of Surah Kahf and related the entire story of the people of the cave.

Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq has said that the ‘People of the Cave and Inscription’ had lived in the time of a cruel and oppressor king. He called upon his citizens to worship idols and killed all those who refused to do so. These People of the Cave were Mu’min (worshippers of only one Allah). The king had posted a team of watchmen at the gates of the city so that they would not allow those persons to go out who did not prostrate before the idols. The People of the Cave left the city under pretext of hunting. On their way, they met with a shepherd. The Ashaab invited him to Islam (worship of only one Allah) and asked him to accompany them but he did not accept. However, his dog accompanied them. Imam as-Sadiq says: “No animal except the ass of Balaam, Bao’or the wolf of Yusuf and the dog of People of the Cave will enter Paradise. Anyway, the People of the Cave defied the religion of the king and left their town. In the evening, they entered a cave. The dog was with them. Allah subjected them to a deep sleep. They remained asleep until Allah finished that king and his men. That age ended, another period dawned and another generation came up. (After a long interval) they woke up and saw one another and asked “How long have we slept?” Seeing the sun high in the heavens they said, “We have slept for a day or a little more than a day.” Then giving some coins to one of them, said, “Go to the bazaar in such a way that no one recognizes you and bring us some food. If they come to know who we are they will kill us or force us into their religion.” When that person entered the town, he found that it was very different from before. He saw people he had never seen before. They did not follow his language nor could he understand their talk.

People asked him: “From where have you come?” When he told them everything, the king of that city and his court men went up to the cave and looked therein. Some of them said, “There are three men in it and the fourth is their dog.” Some said that there were five men the sixth being a dog. Some stated that there were seven men the eight being a dog. Allah hid them under the cover of awe and horror. No one had the courage to enter the cave to try and reach them. At last, their companion who had been to the bazaar came back. They were frightened imagining that the mob at the mouth of the cave were men of king Decius, but their companion informed them that Decius died long ago and that they had been asleep for ages and had become a thing of wonder for all. Whosoever hears about us gets absolutely astonished. Hearing this, the cave men prayed to Allah earnestly and humbly to put them to sleep again. In short, the king of that time said, “It is preferable if we build a Masjid out of this cave and continue to visit this place as this is a group of the faithful. Allah makes them turn sides twice a year. They sleep on their right side for six months and on the left for the next six months. Their dog sits extending his front legs at the entrance of the cave.”

In some reliable traditions, it is narrated by the same Imam that the told his companions that if your community puts pressure on you to do what the community of the People of the Cave has put then act upon it. It was asked what it was. Imam said, “Polytheism.” They made a show of shirking by way of Taqiyyah but faith was hidden in their hearts until Allah freed them from their community. Then he said, When they refuted their king, Allah rewarded them for it and when they attested to him by way of Taqiyyah, Allah gave them a reward thawaab and they were money changers. In other traditions, it is clarified that they were not bankers of gold and silver but of words who knew the testing of truth and untruth. He added: they left the city one by one and collected in a forest. There they met one another and exchanged promises and oaths and revealed the secrets of their hearts. Then it was revealed that all of them were Mu’min and that all had left their residences with a common intention.

Imam said, they had concealed their faith and were making a show of being infidels by way of Taqiyyah strategy. Hence, the reward of their Kufr was more than that of concealing “man. In some other authentic hadiths it is mentioned that nobody’s Taqiyyah can equal that of people of the cave as they had worn Zunnaar strings and had attended the festival ground of the polytheists. Allah increased their reward.

Ibn al-Babawayh and al-Qutb al-Rawandi have through their chains quoted from Ibn ‘Abbas that during the caliphate of the second caliph a group of Jewish clergy came to them and asked: “What are the locks of the skies? Who was the one who warned his community of the anger of Allah though he was neither a man nor jinn? What are those five animals which did not come out of their mothers Wombs and yet were walking on earth? And finally, what do they say when a francolin, a cock, a horse, an ass, a frog and a hochan.” The caliph could not reply and bowed his head. Then turning towards the Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali said, “O Abul hasan! I do not think anybody except you knows the answers to these questions.” So ‘Ali addressed the Jewish clergy and said, “I will reply to your questions but on condition that if my replies are in accordance with the Torah you will become Muslims.” They agreed. He said, “What locks up the heavens is Polytheism meaning the deed of a polytheist man or woman does not go beyond the heavens (to heaven).” They asked “What is the key to the skies?” He said, “The announcement of laa ilaha illallaahu muhammadun Rasulullaah (confessing that there is no deity besides only one Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger).” Then they asked: “What was the grave which carried its inmate from one place to another?” He said, “That was a fish which had swallowed Yunus and carried him into the seven seas.” They asked “Who is the warner who is neither a human being nor a jinni?” He replied, “It is the ant which had frightened its community about the army of Sulayman and asked them to enter their anthills so that Solomon and his army might not crush them.”

Thereafter they asked: “Which are the five creations which have not been delivered from their mothers’ wombs but yet were walking and moving?” The said, “They are Adam and Hawwa’ and the she-camel of Salih and the ram of Ibrahim (which had replaced Isma‘il at the time of intended slaughtering) and the staff of Musa.” Finally, they asked: “What is the meaning of the calls of the five animals.” He said, “The hedgehog says ‘ar rahmaan ustawaa’ and the cock says: ‘uzkuroo......’ meaning (O Careless people! Remember Allah), the horse says: ‘allaahumm...’ (O Lord! Help the faithful against the denier infidels), the ass curses those who levy tax on grain and the frog says: ‘subhaan.........’ (Holy is my Lord and the residents of the sea are praising Him) and the hochah says: O Allah! Curse the enemies of Muhammad and of the family of Muhammad.”

Two of the three scholars became Muslims and the third one said, “The light of Islam which has appeared in the hearts of my companions has also radiated in my heart but one more question remains. If you provide its reply, I will also become a Muslim. ‘Ali said, “Do ask.” He said, “Enlighten me about a group of people who had lived in the past ages and who had remained dead for 309 years and were made alive thereafter by Allah. Tell me their story?” ‘Ali started reciting Surah Kahf. He said, “I have heard your Qur’an several times. If you are scholar then give the details about that group’s events, their names, their period, and the names of their dog, their cave, their king and their city.

‘Ali said, “laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billaahil aliyil azeem. My Prophet has informed that in the country called Room (Byzantine) there was a city named Ephesus. Its king was a pious gentleman. When he died there arose a dispute. When Decius, one of the kings of Faaris came to know about it he invaded them with an army of one lakh soldiers, captured Ephesus and made it his capital. He built a palace in it measuring one Parasang (6 kms) in length and width. He made a meeting hall in that palace with a ceiling of shining glass measuring 1000 feet in length and width. There were 4000 pillars of gold. 1000 lamps of gold were hanging by chains made of silver. The lamps burnt with the most fragrant oil. There were one thousand windows on the eastern side which allowed in the sunlight until the time of sunset. He had made a throne of gold with silver legs. It was studded with various jewels. A best quality carpet was spread on it. On the right side of the throne there were one thousand golden chairs decorated with green chrysolite which were occupied by army officers and emirs. On the left side of the throne there were one thousand silver chairs decorated with red topaz. The kings of room used to sit on them. In short, Decius sat on that throne and put a crown on his head. In the meantime, a Jew stood up to ask: “O ‘Ali! Just tell me what was the crown made of?” ‘Ali said, “It was made of golden musk having seven corners. Every corner was studded with white pearls which shined like lamps in the darkness of the night. He had fifty slaves belonging to kings’ dynasty who stitched the clocks of red colored brocade and pants of silk. They wore crowns and had bangles on their hands and feet. He made six of them his ministers. Three used to stand on his right and three on his left. The Jew again asked the names of the six ministers. ‘Ali replied, “The three on his right were Talmeekhaa, Maktalmeena and Manshalmeena and those on his left were Marnoos Veernoos and Shaazaryoos.

The king took their advice in every affair. He used to sit in his court daily. Emirs and Sultans used to sit on his right and left. Then the three slaves used to enter the court. One of them had in his hand a golden cup filled with powdered musk. The glass in the hand of another slave was filled with rosewater and the third slave used to hold a white sparrow in his hand. Its beak was red. When the king looked at it and called out to it, it used to plunge first in the cup of rose, then it used to dive in the glass of musk. Her wings would be covered with the contents of both glasses. Then the king would call out to it and it would come and sit on the king’s crown and shower everything from its wings on the crown. In short, the king, due to all this pomp and luxury had become extremely proud and haughty to such an extent that he claimed to be Allah. He would call people of great personalities from his kingdom and order them to prostrate before him and to accept him as Allah.

Whoever obeyed was made very rich and whoever defied him was killed. His entire populace became obedient to him. He fixed one day in the year for festivity. Once on the festival day he was sitting on his throne with emirs and Sultans on his right and left. Suddenly a sultan came and informed him that the army of Faaris was coming to fight with him and that it had arrived very near to them. Hearing this Decius became very gloomy. He shivered and his crown fell down. Tamleekhaa, an elderly man, seeing this told himself: “had this man been a god as he claimed to be, then he would never have been frightened like this, nor would he urinate nor go to the toilet nor would sleep overtake him. These are not the attributes of Allah.” Those six People used to gather daily in a house (for talk and gossip and pastime, in each one of their houses in turns).

When it was the turn of Tamleekhaa, he prepared good food for his companions. When they gathered (after feasting) he said, “My brothers! A thought makes me restless all the time. I have lost my hunger, thirst and sleep.” His companions asked what his worry was. He replied, “I have pondered about the sky very much as to how high is its ceiling without any pillar, as to who has made the heavens and the two shining lamps of sun and moon which are the signs of radiance, who has decorated the heavens with stars? I also thought deeply about the earth as to who has spread it so wide on flowing water and kept it steady by fitting mountains so that not all on it may drown. I also pondered over my own self as to who is it who has created me in the womb of my mother, provided food for me and nourished me? He must be someone other than Decius who has created all these things and who is directing all the affairs. Decius is only one of the unjust and oppressor kings of the world.” Hearing this all the companions of Tamleekha fell at his feet and kissed him and said, “Allah has guided us through you. Now tell us what should we do?”

Tamleekhaa got up hurriedly, sold out his date garden for an amount of 3000 dirhams, concealed the amount under his sleeve and all six of them rode on horses and went out of the town together. After traveling for three miles, Tamleekhaa said to his companions: “O brothers! now stop thinking about the worldly kingdom and be prepared to bear hunger and hardship for the sake of the life of the other world (Hereafter); get down of your horses, and walk on foot; maybe Allah will relieve us from our current troubles and difficulties.” Then they got down from their horses and walked for seven parasangs until their feet began to bleed. Suddenly they met with a shepherd. They asked him whether he could give them milk or water? He said, “I can give you whatever you want but you look like princes and I presume you have fled from the king.” They replied, “We cannot speak an untruth but (we are also convinced that) undoubtedly telling the truth will save us from your harm.” Then they narrated their story in detail. The shepherd fell down at their feet and kissed their feet and said, You have indeed told me what was and is in my heart. But give me some respite so that I may hand over these sheep to their owner and return to accompany you.” So they stopped there.

The shepherd went, returned the sheep to their owner and came back. His dog also came running after him. Hearing all this the Jew jumped up and said, “O ‘Ali! tell me what was the name of that dog? What was its color?” ‘Ali said, “Its color was black and white and its name was Qitmir. When the group of six saw that dog, they became frightened. They feared if it started barking they would be exposed. So they wanted to throw stones to make it run away. But Allah gave power of speaking to that dog and it said, “Leave me, to protect you from your enemies.” Finally, the shepherd made them climb a hill and all of them hid themselves in a cave of that mountain. That cave was called Waseed. There was a spring of water near it and so also a fruit tree. They ate fruits of that tree, drank water from the spring and when night fell they slept in the cave. Allah Almighty, the Lord of the whole world, commanded the angel of death to retrieve the souls of the inmates of the cave. The angel complied with the Divine Order. Allah appointed two angels for each one of them for turning them from one side to the other during their deep sleep (of death). According to one tradition once a year and according to another tradition twice a year. And Allah Almighty ordered the angels in charge of the sun not to allow the falling of the sun’s rays on them from sunrise to sunset. When Decius returned from the festival ground and inquired about those youths, he was told that they had fled. He went with 80 thousand men on horses in search of them and arrived up to the cave.

There he saw them asleep in a very tired and pitiable condition. He thought that even if he wanted to punish them he would not have been able to do more than what they had done to themselves voluntarily. Then he called masons and closed the opening of the cave with lime and stone. Then he asked his companions to tell the Cave men to appeal to their Allah so that he may deliver them from this trouble, and bring them out of that cave. Thereafter they remained in that cave for 309 years. Then when Allah desired to make them alive He ordered Israfil to instill their souls in their bodies. So they woke up and seeing the sun rising they said, “Last night we remained unmindful of worshipping our Lord.” Then coming out of the cave, they saw the water springs were dry and so also the trees. One of them exclaimed: “Events are indeed very strange, despite a lot of water and overflowing springs everything has dried up within a night!”

Becoming restless due to hunger, they consulted one another and decided that one of them should bring food from the bazaar, but so stealthily, that nobody could recognize him. Tamleekhaa said he would go. He wore the old clothes of the shepherd and went towards the town. Nearing the city, he saw that everything had changed. When he reached the gate of the city he noticed that there was a green flag with the words ‘laailaah illallaah, eesaa Rasulullaah’ (There is no Allah but Allah and Jesus is His Messenger). He rubbed his eyes and stared at the flag for quite a while murmuring to himself: “This is as if I am seeing a dream.” He did not choose to enter the city but went to a bread-seller out of the city-gate and asked him the name of the city. He said, “It’s name is Ephesus.” Then he asked the name of their king. The baker replied, “`Abd al-Rahman.” Then he gave him a dirham coin for purchasing bread. When the shop owner saw that the coin was much bigger and weightier than usual, he was very surprised. In the meanwhile, a Jew asked what the weight of that coin was. ‘Ali said, “Each dirham with the cave man was 10 + 2/3 times heavier than then current dirham.”

Then continuing his narration, ‘Ali said that the baker told Tamleekhaa that perhaps he (the latter) had found a treasure. Tamleekhaa said “These dirhams have been obtained by me by selling my date trees three days ago in this city, but I left this city because the people were worshipping Decius.” The baker took Tamleekhaa to the king and told him that this man had a treasure. The king said to Tamleekhaa: “Do not be afraid (tell the full truth) because our ‘Isa has ordered us not to take more than one-fifth of a treasure. So give us 1/5th of it and take back all the rest conveniently.” Tamleekhaa replied, “Please listen to what I have to say. I have not found any treasure. I am a resident of this very town.” The king asked him surprisingly: “Are you really a citizen of this city?” He said, Yes. Then the king said, “Does anyone in this city know you?” He said, “Yes.” Then the king asked him his name and he said, “Tamleekhaa.” The king said no one of our time has such a name! Then he questioned him: “You must have your house also in this city?” He said, “Yes, come along with me, I will show you the house.” Hearing this reply, the king riding his horse and a group of people also accompanied them.

Tamleekhaa led all of them to the gate of a grand mansion which was the tallest and nicest in the town. He said, “This is my house.” The people knocked at the door. A very aged man came out whose eyebrows were hanging on his eyes and asked the reason for the knocking. The king told him: “This youth (Tamleekhaa) is a newcomer in town who speaks strange things and claims that this building is his property.” The old man asked Tamleekhaa “Who are you?” He replied, “I am Tamleekhaa, son of Qastalileen.” Hearing this, the old man fell at his feet and began to kiss his feet saying: “By the Lord of the Ka‘bah! He is my great grand father.” Then he narrated: “O king!, they were a group of six who had fled this city fearing the anger of Decius.” Hearing this, the king jumped off his horse and held Tamleekhaa by the hand. All began to kiss his hands and feet. Then they asked: “O Tamleekhaa! What happened to your companions?” He said, “They are in a cave.” At that time, there were two kings in that city: one of the Muslims (followers of Jesus) and another of Jews. On hearing this, both the kings walked toward the cave along with the other citizens. When they neared, the cave Tamleekhaa told them: “You may wait here. Let me go in first and inform them. Otherwise, hearing the horse-steps they will be frightened thinking that soldiers of Decius have come to arrest them.” So Tamleekhaa entered the cave. His companions embraced him and thanked Allah for saving then from the evil of Decius.

Tamleekhaa said, “Leave aside the story of Decius and tell me how long have we slept here?” They said, “One day or less than a day.” Tamleekhaa said, “No, we have slept here for 309 years. Decius died long back. Centuries after his death Allah sent a Messenger, whose name is ‘Isa. He is also called Messiah. He is the son of Maryam. Allah Almighty has raised him up to heaven. Now here with me is today’s king and the citizens of this town. They have come to see you.” They said, “O Tamleekhaa! Do you intend that our Lord may make us a means of test for the people of the world?” Then Tamleekhaa asked his companions “What do you want to do?” They said, “Let us pray to Our Lord that he may again retrieve our souls.” And they raised their hands towards the heavens. Allah ordered the retrieval of their souls. Both the kings and their mobs kept on circumambulating the cave for seven days but could not find its door.

Finally, the Muslim—followers of the Prophet of that age, ‘Isa said, These people (cavemen) have died on our faith and so I will build a Masjid here. The king of the Jews said, “I will build a synagogue as they were following our religion.” Then there was war between the two. The Muslim king won and he built a mosque at the cave. After narrating all this, ‘Ali said, “O Jew! Now tell us whether or not all this is according to Torah (the Divine Message brought by Musa?” The Jew said, Undoubtedly, it is exactly according to Torah, not a word more nor a word less. So I testify the oneness of Allah and the Messengership of Muhammad.”

It is narrated that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said and others have also related from reliable chains, especially Thalabi in his tafsir that one day the holy Prophet, after performing his Isha prayer went towards the graveyard of Baqee, called Abu Bakr, Umar and ‘Ali and told them: “Go towards the People of the Cave and convey to them my Salaam; and O Abu Bakr! you may salute them first as you are elder in age, then Umar, and next Uthman. If any of you gets a reply then he should convey to them my salaam. In case they do not respond to your salutation then O ‘Ali You should step forward and salute them.”

Then the holy Prophet ordered the breeze to raise all of them up and take them to the cave of People of the Cave. Another tradition says that the holy Prophet made them sit on a board and commanded it to carry them all to the cave. The, after reaching there, Abu Bakr stepped forward and said, Salaam, there was no response. Next Umar and Uthman too did the same but there was no reply. Finally Amir al-Mu’minin stepped forward and said, “Assalaamu alaikum wa rehmatullaah we beraakaatuhu O Residents of the Cave! You believed in your Creator. May Allah increase your guidance and keep your soul sound on faith. I am a courier of Allah’s last Messenger.”

Hearing the voices of the People of the Cave, they rose and they said, “Welcome! Long live the Prophet of Allah and his Legatee courier. O Wasi of the Prophet! may peace and blessing of Allah be upon you.” ‘Ali asked them, “How did you know that I am the Legatee of the last Prophet?” They said, “A kind of barrier has been put on our ears so that we may not be able to hear anyone’s voice nor will we be able to talk with anybody except a Prophet or a Legatee of a Prophet. O Legatee of the Prophet! How is the Prophet? How is his army” and they enquired very extensively about the holy Prophet and his events. Then they said, “Tell us also about your companions because we can talk only with a Prophet or his legatee (Wasi).” addressed his companions and asked: “Did you hear whatever the People of the Cave said?” They said, “Yes, we did.” Then ‘Ali said, “Be witness.” In short, all of them (thereafter) turned towards Madinah. The air then raised them up and carried them to the holy Prophet. They related to him whatever they had seen and heard. He also asked Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman to be witness to what had happened. They said, “All right.” Then he told them emphatically to remember their witnessing well and went to his residence.

On the basis of some reports, it is reported that the holy Prophet said, “These were three people who traveled together. It rained and they took shelter in a Cave. Suddenly, a big rock rolled down from the mountain and closed the door (opening) of the cave. One of the three said, O servants of the Lord! It is not possible to be freed from this trouble but with the help of truth. So let everyone of us who might have done any good work truthfully for pleasing Allah describe it. Perhaps then, our Lord will remove this huge rock. So one of them began to relate his story.

He said, O my Lord! my parents had become aged. I had my little children also to look after. I used to graze goats. Every night I would first feed my old parents and thereafter my children. Once I returned home late to find my parents asleep. I took a can of milk in my hands and stood near them. My hungry children were restlessly crying for food. But I did not think it proper to break the rest of my parents by awakening them from their sleep. So I kept standing there so that as soon as they woke I would offer them the milk. The whole night passed by in this waiting and a new day dawned. My Lord! If this gesture of mine was truly for Your pleasure, please relieve us from this imprisonment. The rock at the opening of the cave moved a little and they could see some of the heavens. Then another person began to say: My Lord! I had a cousin sister whom I loved very much. Once I became so passionate as to indulge in a prohibited deed with her. She said she would not allow me to approach her again until I brought a hundred coins for her. At last I brought the amount and when I intended to get intimate with her again she said “Fear Allah, and do not break the divine seal illegally.” I refrained from that evil. My Lord! You know everything. If this gesture of mine was truly for Your pleasure kindly, free us from this bondage. The rock moved a little more aside. Then the third person said, I had engaged a laborer for some work. While making payment he disputed with me and went away without taking his wages. I invested that amount (which was his dues) in my agriculture work. When its profit increased, I purchased some cows. Another tradition says that the payment to be made was only half a dirham but the business profit multiplied it up to ten thousand dirhams. After a long time that laborer came to me. I gave him the entire amount which had become manifold of the original amount. O My Lord! If this gesture of honesty was truthful in Your view, please open the way for us completely. The stone moved away entirely and all the three came out of the cave.

The holy Prophet said whosoever behaves truthfully with his Lord attains Salvation. Some have said that the “Ashaab-e-Inscription” was this group of three men.

An Account Of The Makers Of The Pit

Almighty Allah says in the holy Qur’an:

‘Killed (or cursed) be the makers of the pit, of the fire (kept burning) with fuel, when they sat by it, and were witnesses of what they did with the believers (that is, they give witness before their King or on the Day of Judgment or their own limbs and organs will testify against them), and they did not take vengeance on them for aught except that they believed in Allah, the Mighty, the Praised.’ (85:4-8)

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated that the man who had incited the people of Abyssinia to fight against the people of Oman was Zoonawaas, the last of the kings of himyar. He had adopted the religion of Jews and the himyar tribe had also become Jews. He had also adopted the name Yusuf for himself. They continued to follow that religion for quite some time. Then the people informed them that there was a group of people in Najran who followed the religion of Jesus. Of course they had remained steadfast in the religion of ‘Isa and were acting according to the commandments of Injeel (Bible). Their leader was ‘Abdullah bin Yamin. The flatterers of Zoonawaas incited him to attack Najran and to destroy them or to force them to revert to Judaism. So Zoonawaas entered Najran, gathered the people and forced them to enter the Jewish faith. They refused to do so. He applied much force but still the people did not agree. Finally, zoonawaas got pits dug in the ground, filled them with wood and put it on fire. He threw many people in that fire, killed many with swords and tortured some to painful death. Thousands were killed in this way. One of the oppressed, Doos, mounted a horse and fled. The king’s men followed him but could not catch him. Then Zoonawaas returned to Sana’a with his army. The above verses of the Holy Qur’an refer to that event.

It is recorded from authentic chains from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that once Amir al-Mu’minin called a Christian priest from Najran and inquired about the story of the makers of the pit from him. He narrated it in his own way. ‘Ali said, No, it is not like that. Listen, I tell you what had happened. Allah had appointed a Prophet for the people of Abyssinia from among themselves. But the people rejected him and fought with him. He killed many companions of the Prophet and arrested many along with the Prophet. Then he dug pits in the ground, filled them with fire and announced that safe will remain the one who rejects the religion of this Prophet and those who do not do so will be burnt in this pit. Many rejected the faith of the Prophet and many were hurled in the fire. At last, a woman was brought forth who had a babe in arms (aged only one month). The king was informed that the woman refuses to obey the king’s order. So she was threateningly asked whether she was prepared to obey the king or was prepared to be burnt alive. They intended to fling her in the fire. On looking at her child, the woman hesitated. The child according to Divine commandment spoke up: O my kind mother! enter the fire with me. By Allah, this burning will pleases Him. So the woman jumped into the fire with her child.

According to another tradition, ‘Ali said that the faith of Majus (fire worshippers) was also ordained in a book and that they too had a king. One day that king in a moment of passion indulged in adultery with his own mother and sisters. When he came to his senses, he abhorred this misdeed but to save his face told his people that this deed of his was proper and admissible. When the people refused to agree with him he made pits in the ground and hurled them into the fire ignited in those pits.

Maytham al-Tammar has reported from ‘Ali that Amir al-Mu’minin said, the makers of the pit were ten people who were burnt in the fire. Likewise ten persons will be killed by people in this bazaar of al-Kufah. He intended to say that the cursed man Ibn Ziyad had, after his arrival in al-Kufah, ordered a group to oppose ‘Ali and that those of them who did not fulfill his wish were killed. As will be narrated henceforth, Inshallah-Maytham al-Tammar and Rashid Hujri were also among that group.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam al-Baqir said that Umar sent a man as the head of an army to a Syrian city. That city was captured and its residents accepted Islam. A mosque was built for them. When it was completed, it fell down. It was reconstructed, but again fell down. This happened thrice. When this strange happening was reported to caliph Umar, he called the companions of the holy Prophet. When none of them could explain this happening he asked ‘Ali who said that the reason was that in the old days Allah Almighty had appointed a Prophet for the residents of this place but they killed the messenger of Allah and buried him at the spot where the mosque is being constructed. The body of that Prophet is still wet with blood. Write to the commander of the army to dig that place and take out the body of that Prophet which they will find fresh. Ask them to offer prayer on him and to rebury the body at such and such place. Thereafter if the Masjid is rebuilt it will not fall. When ‘Ali’s assertion was complied with the mosque remained safe. According to another tradition, ‘Ali asked them to write to the army chief to construct the Masjid on the right side where they would find a man sitting with his hand on his nose. Umar asked ‘Ali as to who he was? ‘Ali said, just do what I say. When that person appears, I will tell who he is. In short the army chief was asked to do what ‘Ali said, After some time the commander wrote to the caliph to inform his that the instructions of ‘Ali were carried out and now the Masjid did not fall. Then Umar asked ‘Ali about that man. Amir al-Mu’minin informed him that he was the Prophet of the Makers of the pit and his events have been mentioned in detail in the holy Qur’an’s commentary.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that one day ‘Ali climbed the pulpit of the mosque and announced: Ask me whatever you want to before you do not find me. The cursed hypocrite Ashash bin Qais rose and said, O Amir al-Mu’minin! Why is jizyah tax being collected from the Majus when they are not Ahl al-Kitab and when they do not have any Prophet among them? He said, It was not like that. They are the people of the book and Allah did a send a Prophet for them. They had a king who, one night being intoxicated, called his daughter to his bed and indulged in adultery with her. The next morning when his people came to know about it they gathered before him and scolded him saying: O King! You have dirtied our religion. Now come with us so that we may stone you to death in the forest. The king replied, “All of you should assemble and hear what I have to say. If you can accept what I say then believe it. Otherwise you may do whatever you like.” All the residents of the city gathered and, addressing them, the king said, When Allah created human race no one was dearer to Allah than Adam and Hawwa’ (Eve). The people said, Yes, it was so. Then the king asked: Did Adam not marry his sons with his daughters? The people replied, “He did.” “So I have followed his practice,” said the king. The people said, “O King! You are right. This is a true religion.” They were pleased with his explanation and mutually decided that marriage with the nearest kin was permissible. Allah removed all knowledge from their hearts and lifted His Book from them. Now they are infidels and will go directly to Hell.

Many reliable traditions mention that the Majus had a Prophet who was called Jaamaasp. He also brought a Book for them from Allah. That book was inscribed on the skin of twelve thousand cows. They killed their Prophet and burnt down that Book.

According to a reliable tradition, a miscreant asked some questions to Imam as-Sadiq and then became a Muslim. One of his questions was did the Majus also have any Prophet because I see that they possess weighty volumes, impressive sermons and precious maxims. They also believe in reward and punishment after death and they have a code of life too which they follow. Imam replied, “There is no community for whom Allah did not send a Messenger. A Messenger was sent to Majus also with a Book. But they neither obeyed the Prophet nor followed the Book.” He asked, “Who was that Prophet? That people say he was Khalid bin Sinan?” Imam replied, “Khalid was a Bedouin Arab. He was not a Prophet. People always talk such nonsense.” Then he inquired whether Zoroaster was a Prophet? Imam said, “Zoroaster circulated some wrong deeds and claimed to be a Prophet. Some believed in him and some rejected him. Then they left him in a forest where the animals killed him.” He asked, “During the times of ignorance (pre-Islam) who were nearer to the Truth, Majus or Arabs?” He said, “In the time of ignorance the Arabs were nearer to the pure religion of Ibrahim compared to the Majus. The latter denied all Prophets and had rejected all miracles and Divine Books. They never acted according to the ways of the Prophets. The king of the Majus had killed three hundred kings in the past. Majus did not perform the bath after sexual intercourse whereas the Arabs used to do so. This bath is one of the distinct conditions of the Abrahimic religion.

The Majus were also not circumcising their males whereas the Arabs were. It is the way of the Prophets and the first person to be circumcised was Prophet Ibrahim. The Majus neither covered their dead with coffin cloth nor bathed them whereas the Arabs did so. The Majus were throwing away their dead in forests and lakes and caves but the Arabs were burying them after digging graves for them as was the way of the Prophets of Allah. The first man for whom a grave was dug was Adam. The Majus permit marriages with mothers, sisters and daughters but the infidels of the Arabs do not allow it. The Majus denied importance of Ka‘bah whereas the Arabs perform hajj of the Ka‘bah. The Arabs consider Ka‘bah as the house of Allah and Torah and Injeel (bible) as Books of Allah and keep asking answers to their problems from the People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab). In short the Arabs were nearer to the true religion in every aspect of human life.” He said, “They considered marriage with mothers and sisters permissible because it was the way of Adam.” Imam said, “How do they regard it permissible when they say that Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, ‘Isa and all Prophets have declared it haram (prohibited)?”

An account of Jirjis

Ibn Babawayh and al-Qutb al-Rawandi have with documentation, narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that Allah appointed Jirjis as his Messenger and sent him to the king of Syria called Kooraazaanaa and who was worshipping an idol. Jirjis told him: O king! Accept my counsel. It is unbecoming for us to worship anything or anyone except only one Allah and to ask any of our needs from others except Almighty Allah.

The king asked: Where are you from? He replied, “I am from Rome (Byzantine) and live in Palestine. Then the king retorted: You are under arrest. He had his holy body scorched with an iron comb so much so that his entire flesh was torn out, then vinegar was poured on his body and his body was rubbed with a harsh cloth. Then the king ordered that his body should be burnt (stamped) with red hot iron bars. When the Prophet still remained alive despite all this torture, large iron nails were prepared and hammered in his holy head so that his brain drained out. Thereafter molten lead was poured on him. There was an iron pillar in his prison which required eighteen men to shift from one place to another. That pillar was put on the belly of that holy person.

When night fell and everyone went away to their homes, the people of the prison saw an angel come to Jirjis and say: O Jirjis! Your Lord asks you to be patient and happy and not to fear as He is with you and will surely relieve you from the clutches of the king. They will kill you four times but I will remove your pains. The next day that oppressor took him from the prison to have him lashed. He was hit innumerable times on his belly and back. Then he was sent back to jail. The oppressor king then ordered his court men to collect all the magicians living in their cities. One of them was an expert sorcerer but none of his works affected the Prophet. Finally, the oppressor king fed Jirjis with a deadly poison. When the Prophet prayed: ‘Bismillah............’ the poison failed to have any effect on him.

Magician said, “Had I given this poison to all those living on earth everyone would have definitely become blind and worthless in every way. It would have totally altered their physique and all their joints would have been disbanded. So, O Jirjis! You surely are the light of Divine Guidance and a lamp in the dark world of ignorance. I testify that your Allah is the only True Allah and all others are false deities. I believe in your Allah and treat all of His Prophets as truth tellers and I repent for all of my past sins.” The king had the magician killed. Then he sent Jirjis back to prison and continued to torture him in various ways. His body was cut into pieces and thrown into a well. Then the king engaged in feasting and drinking. Allah ordered the air to raise up a black cloud. Lightning began to flash. Earth and mountains began to tremble and the people were frightened that they would die.

Allah ordered Mika’il to go to that well. At the well, the angel called out Jirjis to get up by the order of Allah. The angel then took him out of the well and asked him to be patient and gave him good tidings of Allah’s pleasure. Jirjis again went to the king and told him that Allah had sent him to conclude His evidence through him. Hearing this, the commander-in-chief of the royal army spoke up saying: I put faith in your Lord Who raised you alive after you were dead and I bear witness that He is True and all deities besides Him are false Gods. Along with him another four thousand men also became Muslims (believers) who testified to the Prophethood of Jirjis. The king became furious and killed all of them. He made a huge plate of copper, turned it red hot, laid Jirjis on it and threw molten lead in his mouth. He dug big steel nails in the eyes and head of Jirjis, took them out and filled the gaps with molten lead. Jirjis did not die even after all this.

Then he ordered that fire should be ignited on his body and his body turned into ashes, then he blew that ash into the air. Again, by the order of Allah, Mika’il called out to Jirjis to get up and he became alive and again approached the king. He preached Islam to the king in the assembly of his court men. One of the king’s misguided companions rose up and said, We have fourteen pulpits and a big tray of wood made from various kinds of trees. Some of the trees bear fruit and some do not. He asked Jirjis to pray to his Allah so that He may turn that wood into original trees with branches and leaves and fruits to make him believe in him. Hearing this Jirjis sat up on his knees and prayed to Almighty Allah. Instantly the wood turned into trees bearing branches, leaves and fruits. Seeing all this the angered king sandwiched Jirjis between two wooden planks and cut him vertically with a saw, brought a big cooking pot, filled it with oil, sulphur and molten lead, flung the body of Jirjis in that boiling pot and fanned the fire beneath it.

The holy body melted completely and mixed with other elements in the pot. The earth became totally dark due to this dark black deed of the king. Allah sent Israfil who raised a terrific shriek between them and all fell down faced. Israfil turned the pot upside down and said, O Jirjis! Get up by the order of thy Lord. He arose hale and healthy and again went to the misguided king and tried to give him guidance. The people were extremely surprised. a woman approached Jirjis and said, O dear slave of Allah! I had a cow. We were being maintained by her milk. Now she has died and I request you to make her alive.

Jirjis gave her his staff and asked her to put it on the corpse of that cow and to say: O cow! Jirjis asks you to arise by the order of Allah. The woman did so and the cow became alive. That woman became Muslim. The cursed king then said, If I let this magician go away alive he will surely destroy my kingdom. His people agreed with him and decided to kill Jirjis once again. The king told them to take Jirjis out of the city and decapitate him. When they took him out Jirjis prayed to Allah: My Lord! If you have decided to destroy this community, then pray make me and my memory a cause and means of patience and tolerance for those who want to please you in every hardship. In short, they decapitated Jirjis. When they came back to the city, they were hit by Divine chastisement and got killed en masse.

An account of Khalid bin Sinan

It is recorded in reliable sources through Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam as-Sadiq that once a woman came to the holy Prophet. He welcomed her, held her by the hand and seated her beside him on his own sheet and then said that she was the daughter of a Prophet killed by his community. His name was Khalid bin Sinan and he belonged to the tribe of Aus. He used to call his community toward only one Allah but they would not believe.

A fire used to light up every year and it burned some of them. According to a tradition that fire used to burn down whatever stood in its path like animals etc. That fire was called Naarul Harmain. It used to come out of a cave situated near their city. Khalid bin Sinan asked those people would they believe if he spared them from that fire? They agreed. When that fire appeared, Khalid approached it and with a powerful attempt reverted it right into the cave and followed in after it. His community gathered at the opening of the cave thinking that the fire had burnt Khalid inside and that he would not come back. But he came out after a while and clarified that all of his works and deeds were as directed by Allah and also enabled by His will. “Banu Ais had thought that I will not come out of the cave but I have.” Then he returned from there and announced that he would die on such and such day and asked them to bury him.

He further informed them that after some days a herd of animals would come from a forest. One of those wild animals would be without tail. It would stand on his grave. At that time dig up my body and ask me whatever you like and I will tell you about all that has happened in the past and what is to happen until the Last Day of the Resurrection Day. When he expired, the people of his community buried him. Thereafter at the time predicted by him, some animals came out from a jungle and stood near his grave. The people wanted to dig his body out. someone said, When you did not believe him in his life time how will you do so after his death? You will be disgraced among the Arabs if you extricate him from his grave. So they returned home without doing anything. This happened in the period between the lives of Jesus and The Holy Prophet. The name of that girl was Muhyaat.1

- 1. This hadith is more reliable than the earlier one indicating that Khalid was not a Prophet. Moreover his mention in the Prayer of Umm-Dawud also supports these traditions.

Accounts of Some Unnamed Messengers

According to an authentic tradition, Amir al-Mu’minin said that the holy Prophet said: Allah appointed a Messenger for the people. He propagated to them for forty years but they did not believe in him. They used to enjoy a festival on a certain day in their house of worship. When they assembled, there on that day their Prophet also went there and told them to Believe in only one Allah. They replied, “If you are telling the truth then ask your Allah to provide us with fruits having the color of our clothes-their clothes were yellow.” The Prophet pushed a dry piece of wood in the earth and prayed to Allah. That staff became green and bore yellow fruits. They ate the fruits. Then miraculously what happened was that the pulp of the seeds thrown out by those whose intention was to believe became sweet and that of those who did not intend to become faithful turned bitter.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam al-Ridha said, Allah revealed to one of His Messengers that he should eat the first thing that came before him the next morning, hide the second, accept the third, not disappoint the fourth, and evade the fifth. The Prophet proceeded from his place the next morning.

First of all a big black hill came in front of him. He thought, My Lord! you have commanded me to eat it up but how? Then he pondered surely my Lord will not ask me to do a thing which I cannot do? So he walked towards that mountain, and as he advanced closer it became smaller and smaller until finally it took the form of a morsel and he devoured it. It tasted better than anything he had eaten before. Going on further, he confronted a golden plate. He told himself, My Lord has ordered me to hide it. So he dug a pit and concealed it. After walking further, when he looked back he observed that the plate could be seen. He told himself, I have done what my Lord had instructed me do to do and therefore I am not responsible for its reappearance. After walking still further, he saw a bird followed by an eagle. The fleeing bird came to the Prophet and began to hover over him. The Prophet thought that his Lord had enjoined upon him to accept it. Therefore, he opened up his sleeve and the bird entered it. In the meanwhile, the eagle also arrived there and said to the Prophet: You have caught my prey even though I was after it for several days.

The Prophet thought he should not disappoint the eagle. So he cut a piece of flesh from his own thigh and gave it to the eagle and proceeded further until he reached a corpse which had decomposed and was giving out a bad smell. It was full of worms. The Prophet recalled that his Lord had dictated him to avoid it. So he ran away from it and returned home. At night, he had a dream wherein someone asked him whether he knew what was behind all those things which he had done according to his Lord’s orders. He replied in the negative. So he told him: The mountain stood for anger (rage or fury) because when a man becomes furious he forgets himself but when he looks at himself and recognizes himself his anger cools and finally it becomes like a morsel of food pleasing enough to eat (and you got an idea of its tastefulness). That golden plate is a good deed (amal e Salih). Whenever a slave hides his good deed from the eyes of others Allah makes it apparent to them so that people may admire what lies hidden for them in the Hereafter. The fleeing bird is a man who gives you good counsel. It is better for you to accept a good counselor’s admonition. The eagle was the embodiment of a man who came to ask something from you. So do not disappoint such needy persons. The rotten and foul corpse was backbiting. So always refrain from talking bad about anyone in his absence.

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that Allah revealed to a Prophet of The Israelites that if you want to meet Me in the Holy Precinct on the Day of Judgment then be gloomy, sorrowful, lonely and a stranger in the world like that lonely bird which during the night, being frightened by other birds hides itself in solitude and seeks refuge in its Lord.

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam as-Sadiq that Allah revealed to a Prophet of The Israelites to inform his people that My standing Law with reference to each and every human inhabitation is that if their residents, after enjoying my bounties turns toward the things disliked by Me then I also do what they dislike i.e.. I turn bounties into troubles for them. Similarly, there is no place wherein if the residents, after disobeying Me suffer from My chastisement and then they turn toward the deeds pleasing to me then I also turn those deeds displeasing them into pleasing ones. So make it clear to them that My Mercy overrides My anger so they must never despair of My kindness as it is not difficult for Me to forgive their sins. Also inform them that in a fit of fury they must not invite my wrath and should not hold my friends low in their sight, because some of My chastisements are such which can never be tolerated by any of My creations.

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam al-Ridha that Allah directed one of his Messengers through revelation that when “My slaves obey Me I become pleased with them and when I become pleased with them I shower My Blessing on them and My blessings are endless. And when they disobey me then I become angry and when I become angry with them I curse them which remains effective for them for seven generations.”

It is narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that a Prophet complained to Allah about his weakness. It was revealed to him that he should cook meat with butter-milk and eat it as it strengthens the physique. When another Messenger complained of impotency (sexual weakness) he was ordered to eat porridge. Yet another Prophet complained about dearth of progeny and shortage of sons it was revealed to him that he should eat meat with eggs. Another reliable tradition says a Prophet complained of harshness of heart and dearth of weeping (kindness) he was ordained (through revelation) to eat masoor (lentil). He continued eating it which resulted in his becoming soft-hearted and he began to weep more (for fear of Allah). Another messenger complained of gloominess and excessive grief and Allah ordained him to eat grapes.

It is recorded with authentic chains from Imam as-Sadiq that a group from the past peoples asked their Prophet to pray to Allah for lifting up death from them. He prayed and Allah accepted his prayer. Consequently their number multiplied so much that they had no houses to live and their progeny increased so much that right from daybreak everybody had to be busy feeding, cleaning, bathing and even taking their great grandfathers to the latrine. They were so busy until night they would not get time to earn their livelihood. Thus their lives became full of hardships. Finally they asked their Prophet to pray to Allah to revert them to their earlier condition and so it happened.

In another authentic hadith it is mentioned that Allah did never pour His chastisement on any of the past people but on Wednesday which used to fall in the middle of the month.

It is mentioned in yet another reliable tradition that Allah revealed to a Prophet that good behavior melts sins as the suns melts ice.

It is reported through the same sources that Allah sent a revelation to a Prophet who lived in the domain of an oppressor king and ordered him: Go to that oppressor and tell him that I have not given you control over My creatures so that you may shed their blood and confiscate their property but I gave you power so that you may prevent the sighs of the oppressed from reaching Me because I never deny justice to My creatures even if they are Kafir (unbelievers).

According to reliable sources Imam ‘Ali al-Naqi said, “In the beginning man did not dream. Allah sent a Prophet who preached obedience and worship of only One Allah to the people of his time and place. They asked him what benefit they would gain by doing as he advised. Surely you are not superior to us either in wealth or in progeny! How can we hope of gaining profits or preventing losses? The Prophet replied, “If you will obey me Allah will admit you to Paradise and if you disobey me He will throw you into Hell.” They asked what is Heaven and Hell.

When the Prophet explained it to them, they asked him when they would reach there. He said, After you die (in the hereafter). They retorted: We have seen our dead turning into broken and rotten bones. Then their disbelief increased more and more. They also made mockery of the Messenger of Allah. So Allah decided to show them in their dreams. Thereafter they came to the Prophet and narrated what they had seen in their dreams. The Prophet told them that Allah wanted to complete His argument for you in this way. While you dream something happens to your souls and you experience relief or trouble while your bodies are not affected nor are others aware of it. Similarly, from the time of your death until the Day of Resurrection your souls will be either rewarded or punished even though your bones would have been disintegrated and broken. Thereafter the departed souls would return to their bodies and reward or punishment would be given to them.”

Stories of the sages and pious personalities of The Israelites

Shaykh Tabarsi and other commentators have narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that there was a worshipper named Barseesa among The Israelites who worshipped his deity so much that whatever he asked for was granted. People used to bring to him the ill and the lunatic and they became healthy through his prayers. By chance the wife of a nobleman became mad and she was brought to him. She had a number of brothers. They left her for treatment with the worshipper. The devil misguided the worshipper and he indulged in adultery with that mad woman. When she became pregnant he killed her for fear of being caught.

On the other hand the devil approached the brothers of that woman and told them everything and also showed them where the worshipper buried her body. They consulted among themselves and the news reached the king who along with the others went to the place of that worshipper (worshipper). He confessed to his crime. The king ordered his execution. When the people brought him for being crucified Satan appeared before him in the form of a man and informed him that he had brought this trouble onto him. Satan said, I have disgraced you but if you are prepared to obey me I can relieve you from this sentence.

The worshipper asked in what matter he should obey him The Satan said, Prostrate before me (make Sajdah for me). The worshipper said, How I can bow while I am bound in chains. The devil said, Just make Sajdah by bowing your head a little. I will accept it. The worshipper did so but the Satan left him and ran away. The worshipper was killed. Allah Almighty says in the holy Qur’an: But when he disbelieves he says: I am surely clear of you; surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds. (59:16)

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam al-Baqir that there was a worshipper in the Israelites named Juraih. He was always in the worship hall busy in worshipping Allah. Once his mother came to the worship hall and called out to him but as he was busy in his prayer she went back. She came a second time and a third time and called out to him but he did not respond. Finally she said, I request the Allah of The Israelites not to help you. The very next day an adulteress woman came to him. She developed labor pains and delivered a child then and there and announced that the child was the son of the worshipper Juraish. The news spread to the people of The Israelites. They said this is the man who used to scold others for adultery but has himself indulged in it. The king ordered him to be executed. Hearing this, his mother came to him weeping and crying.

Juraih said, “My mother! Why are you crying now? Keep quiet. This trouble has been brought on by you through your cursing.” When the people heard this conversation they made inquiries. After knowing more they asked Juraih how could they rely on what he said, Juraih said, Bring that child to me. He himself will speak out the truth. So the child was brought to him. Juraih took the child in his arms and prayed to Allah. Then he asked him: Who is your father? The child began to speak by the order of Allah and said, Such and such shepherd is my father who belongs to such and such tribe. In short, Allah exposed their plan and Juraih was saved from execution. Then Juraih swore not to be away from his mother in future and to always serve her.

The same Imam is reported to have said in other traditions: A king of The Israelites expressed his desire to build a city which would not have any kind of defect that could be detected by any observer. So it was built and the people said it was so perfect that no such city was ever built by anyone in the past. But one man said if I am given protection I will point out its defect. The king said, You are sage. Tell us what is its defect. He said, There are two defects. The first is that you the king of this city will die one day and it will pass into the hands of others and secondly after you this city will be ruined. The king said what can be worse than these two defects. Now tell us how these defects can be avoided. That man said, Build such a house which will remain intact forever and which will never be ruined and you too may live in it forever in youth, without growing old. After hearing this when the king narrated it to his daughter she said no one in your domain has ever said any thing truer than what this man has told you.

In a good tradition it is narrated from the same Imam that there was a man in The Israelites who had two daughters. He gave one of them in marriage to a farmer and another to a potter. One day he left home with an intention to visit both of them. First he went to the farmer’s house and inquired with his daughter as to how she was doing. She said that: This year my husband has sown much grain, if there is good rain our condition will be better than all of The Israelites. Then he went to the house of his daughter married to a potter. On inquiry she said that: My husband had molded many earthen pots and if there is no rain then all our merchandise will remain safe and we will be better than all of The Israelites. That man returned therefrom saying: My Lord! you alone know what is best for both of them so please do so accordingly.

It is narrated from Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq authentically that he said there was a worshipper in the Israelites who always recited these words: meaning all praise is for the Lord of the worlds and good end is for the pious. Iblis was very hurt with this recitation of Truth so he sent one of his followers to him in the form of a man to tell the worshipper that good end is for the rich and the wealthy. That cursed creature came to the worshipper and tried hard to convince him of his misguidance but the worshipper did not believe him. After a confrontation it was decided that they should seek a decision from whoever met them first. The party in whose favor the arbitrator would decide would cut off one hand of the other party.

They went to a man who decided that of course lucky are those who are rich. Hearing this, the Satan cut off one hand of the worshipper. They returned back but the worshipper continued to recite the same words of wisdom. The Satan argued with him and again they went to another person for arbitration who too gave the same decision as before. The Satan cut off another hand of the worshipper. Still the latter continued his recitation whereupon the Satan insisted on going to a third person for his decision. The party against whom he decided would lose his head. Agreeing with this proposal they went further. Allah sent an angel in the form of man. When the two narrated their matter before him the angel put his hand on the cut off hands of the worshipper at the proper places and scanned them and the worshipper was healed at once. Then he decapitated Satan and said, Such is the good end for the pious people.

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Imam al-Baqir said there was a Qadi (judge) in The Israelites who would always pass Judgments truthfully. When the time of his death drew near he told his wife: When I die do bathe me but do not put a coffin cloth on me. Then put my corpse on a board. Allah willing, no undesirable deed will be committed by me. After his death the Qadi’s wife did as he had said and waited for the result. One day she looked at the head of the corpse and found a worm eating the dead man’s brain. She was frightened to see it. Next night she saw her husband in her dream who said to her: Were you frightened to see this? She said, Yes. He said, By Allah! this happened due to a wish that I had entertained in my mind regarding your brother who had quarreled with somebody and both had come to me for judgment. Then I had wished the case should go in your brother’s favor. When I heard both the parties it was proved that your brother was right. Yet I am suffering this fate only because of my undesirable wish (longing).

It is authentically narrated from Imam as-Sadiq that a group from The Israelites came to their Prophet and requested him to pray to Allah that He may send rain whenever they wished. The Prophet prayed and Allah accepted his supplications. Consequently it used to rain whenever and to whatever extent they desired for. So their growth was better than past years but when they began to harvest (cut) they got nothing except grass (no grain at all). The people rushed to the Prophet to complain that they had desired rain for their benefit but what we got is only loss because not a grain has grown. Allah revealed to the Prophet that: They were not pleased with My planning. This is the outcome of their planning.

The same Imam says, “A dove built a nest on a tree. But when its chicken grew a man used to catch them and take them away. The dove complained to Allah. Allah revealed to it that: I will save you from the evil of that man. The dove produced eggs and little birdies hatched from it. The man came as usual to take away the birds. He had two loaves of bread with him. On the way a beggar asked him for a loaf and he gave him one. Then he climbed up the tree and took away the birdies. Allah saved him due to his charity.

There was another man in The Israelites who prayed for thirty-three years to get a son but to no avail. Finally he said in his supplication: My Lord! Are You too far away to hear me or despite being near are not answering my prayer? Finally one night he saw a man in his dream who said to him: You are praying to Allah but with a shameless tongue and a dirty materialistic heart and mind. Your intention is not pure. First of all make your soul clean by avoiding undesirable and indecent thoughts and words. Then only will your prayer will be answered by Allah. He did so accordingly and Allah gave him a son.”

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam as-Sadiq that there was a wise man in The Israelites who was very wealthy. He had a very good-natured (like himself) son from a chaste woman. When the time of his death drew near he told his sons: All of my wealth is only for one of you. After his death his eldest son said that he was the one of his father’s choice. The middle one said it was him and the youngest said that their father had willed only in his favor. So all three went to a Qadi for a decision. He said, I do not know your affair. Go to the three brothers who are sons of Ghanaam. They went to one of the sons who was aged and narrated their case to him. He told them to go to his elder brother whom they found to be a middle-aged man. When they told him their case he asked them to go his eldest brother whom the found quite young.

Surprisingly they first asked him to explain ass to how he was looking more youthful than his two younger brothers and how his middle brother appeared more youthful than the youngest brother and how the youngest brother appeared more aged than both of them? He explained that: The one whom you saw first is younger than both of us but his wife is bad-natured and is always bothering him. Yet he bears all with patience so that something more unbearable might not occur and that has made him old. My second brother who looks like a middle-aged man has a wife who sometimes makes him happy and sometimes gloomy and sorrowful. So he looks between the young and old age. But I have a wife who always keeps me happy and who until today has never bothered me and therefore I am still youthful. Then after listening to their story, said that for deciding your case you should first go and dig out the bones of your father from his grave and burn them down in the fire. Thereafter you may return to me to hear my judgment.

So the two sons who were born of an unchaste woman went to dig their father’s grave but the youngest boy who was from the pious lady said holding his sword: I can forgo my share of inheritance but will never allow my father’s grave to be dug up. Finally all the three brothers went to that man and told him what had happened. He said, It is enough. Bring all of your property here. It was brought and the arbitrator gave all of it to the youngest brother and told the other two that: Had you been real sons of the deceased you too would have become restless like the youngest and you would have never agreed to burn the bones of your dead father.

It is narrated from Imam Musa al-Ka¨im through reliable sources that there was a pious man in The Israelites. His wife was also good-natured. Once in his dream a person told him that Allah has decided to give you this much life. From that half of will be spent in ease and satisfaction and the other half in poverty and restlessness. Now you yourself decide which part you want first and which the next. Allah has given you a choice in this matter. That pious man said let me first consult my good-hearted wife because she is my life partner. The next morning he narrated his dream to his wife. She advised him to ask for a prosperous life first and to make haste in obtaining safety as perhaps Allah may be kind to them and conclude His bounties on them.

The next night he saw the same person in his dream who asked him about his choice. He said he desired a satisfactory life first. So all sorts of comforts and bounties were showered on them from all sides. His wife again advised him to spend the money bestowed on him by Allah on his poor relatives, needy persons, neighbors and such and such persons. She continued to give him good counsel about spending his wealth and Allah’s bounties for good causes. Finally the first half of his life passed and the other part began which was to pass in poverty. Again the same person appeared in his dream to inform him that the Kind and Merciful Allah had made the other part of his life also restful and comfortable as a reward of his good and generous deeds of the earlier half.

According to another narration Imam as-Sadiq said a man was very restless in The Israelites. His wife told him very emphatically to look for means to earn money. He earnestly and tearfully prayed to Allah for maintenance. In his dream he saw a man asking him whether he preferred two dirhams of lawful earning or two thousand dirhams of unlawful earning. He said, I want two lawful coins. He was informed to take up the two dirhams lying beneath his bed. When he woke up the next morning he found two coins on his bed. He picked them up, bought a fish with one dirham and gave it to his wife. She began to condemn him and said she would not even touch it. So he began to cut the fish himself and found two big pearls in it which he sold for forty thousand dirhams.

It is related from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that a scholar from the Israelites died. After burial the angels put his soul in his body, made him sit up in his grave and told him that they would give him a punishment of a hundred lashes. He said he did not have the strength to bear that much punishment. The angels said, All right! We will reduce it by one lash. (in this way the matter came down to only one lash). Yet the scholar said he could not tolerate even that. The angels said it was unavoidable. The scholar asked about the sin which drew this punishment. The angels replied, “One day you offered prayers without making ablution and on another occasion while you were out on a walk you saw one person being oppressed by others but you did not care to relieve him from them. Then he was given a lash which filled his grave with fire.”

It is narrated by Wahab bin Munabbah that a man from The Israelites built a grand and solid palace and invited the rich and wealthy people for a feast. He denied entrance to the poor in that party telling them that the costly foods were not prepared for worthless people. Allah sent two angels in the form of two poor beggars. That man prevented them from entering his palace and scolded them too. Then the angels were asked by Allah to go there in the form of wealthy and fabulous men. Then the angels in the guise of wealthy men were escorted with much respect and honor and were give a high seat at the party. Allah ordered the angels to press down that city along with all its residents into the earth. The angels complied with the Divine order. It is mentioned in another narration that thereafter the people of The Israelites carried small and big sticks so that they may not walk with pride and arrogance on Allah’s earth.

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam al-Baqir said there was a scholar among the Israelites who always suffered a loss in whatever he did. He could not undertake any worldly affairs. His wife was maintaining him until whatever she had too was spent. One day they were very restless due to hunger. The woman did not have anything except a rope which she had woven by herself. She gave it to her husband and asked him to sell it and bring something to eat. When he reached the market all the shops were closed and all the merchants had gone home.

Returning empty-handed from there he went towards the seashore to make ablution and to pour some water on himself. There he saw a fisherman who had cast his net in the sea to catch fish. But when he took out the net there was nothing in it except a rotten fish. The poor scholar requested the fisherman to sell the fish to him in exchange for the rope. The fisherman thought it worthwhile and gave him the fish. The scholar took that fish to his wife and narrated what happened. When his wife cut the fish she found a big pearl in its belly. She showed it to her husband who sold it for twenty thousand dirhams and kept the money in his home. In the meanwhile a beggar came to his door and asked for alms. He called the needy beggar into his house and gave him half the amount. Seeing this, his wife exclaimed: Wonderful! You have spent half your earnings in one go. After some days the beggar came back and returned the bag of money to the scholar saying: Keep it for yourself. He clarified that he was an angel sent by Allah to test him in order to see whether the scholar was thankful to Allah or not. Allah is pleased with you said the angel.

According to authentic sources Hamraan asked Imam al-Baqir when his kingdom and regime was to appear? He replied, “O Hamraan! You too have your friends and relatives and can understand what kind of people they are and can also recognize what kind of people they are in the matter of faith. This is not that time when Imam can appear.” In those days there was a scholar who had a son who was not inclined toward learning nor was he ready to learn anything from his father. But one of his neighbors always used to question the scholar and in this way learned much from the scholar so that in due course he also became a scholar. When the original scholar reached the time of his death he called his son and told him: You did not learn anything from me but our such and such neighbor has learnt a lot from me. So whenever you are in need of my knowledge you should obtain it from him after introducing yourself to him. After making this will he died.

Thereafter the king of that time had a vision and called for that scholar to learn its meaning. He was informed that that scholar had passed away. He asked them whether he had a son? When they told him that he had a son the king immediately called for him. The son of the scholar thought to himself: I will not understand what the king ask of me. I will not be able to give him a satisfactory answer as I am without knowledge. Then he remembered his late father’s will and went to that neighbor who had acquired knowledge from his late father. He told him that the king had called him but that he did not know why and what he would ask? Then he told his neighbor that his late father had advised him to approach him whenever need be regarding his knowledge. The neighbor told him: I know why the king has called you. I can tell you that but on condition that you should give me half of whatever you get from the king. The son of the scholar replied that he would surely do so. Then the neighbor made him swear and give the promise in writhing. Then he informed him that the king had a vision and has called you to tell him what kind of time (period) is this. So tell him that this time is like a wolf. The boy (son of the late learned man) went to the king’s court. The king asked him: Can you tell me why I have called you? He replied, “It is because you had a dream and you want to know what kind of time is this.” The king said, “You are right. Now tell me what kind of time is this?” He informed the king that the time was like a wolf. Hearing it the king rewarded him. He took that reward and returned home but did not give anything from it to his neighbor thinking that this wealth will fulfill the needs of my entire life and I will never require the neighbor’s assistance again.

After sometime the king had another vision and again called that boy. The boy was perplexed thinking that as he had not kept his promise given to his neighbor how could he approach him again for the required knowledge. Anyway he thought let me go to him. I will swear again and promise that this time I will keep my word. Perhaps he will give me the answers to the king’s questions. So he went to his neighbor and said, I broke my promise because whatever I had got from the king had been expended and nothing of it was left with me. But I am in need of your help once again and request you not to deprive me of your knowledge for the sake of Allah. I swear and promise to give half of what I get from the king. He has again called for me and I do not know what he will ask me. The scholar said, He (the king) has seen another dream and he will ask you what kind of time is it now. You should reply that this time (age or period) is like the sheep (example). So the boy went to the king’s court and like earlier the king asked him: Tell me why have I summoned you? The boy replied, “You have dreamed again and want to know what kind of time is this.” The king said, Yes that is correct. So tell me what kind of age is this? The boy said, This age is like the sheep. Hearing this, the king rewarded him even more. The boy brought all of it home and began to think whether he should give a part of it to his scholar neighbor or not. At last he decided not to give him anything thinking that if he kept the reward for himself henceforth he would never be in need again.

After some time the king had a third vision and again called for him. The boy felt very ashamed of himself thinking that he had cheated his neighbor twice by not keeping his word. Now how could he go to him a third time for getting the answers to the king’s questions. Finally he decided that he must approach him a third time. So he went to him and promised in the name of Allah that this time he would most definitely keep his promise and give him half of what he got from the king and appealed to him to tell him the answer to the king’s question. The scholar again responded to his earnest requests, took it in writing about his oath and told him that the king had called him again because of yet another vision and to ask what today’s time is like. So tell him that the allegorical name of this time is ‘balance’. The boy went to the king’s court and answered as taught by the neighbor. The king became much pleased and rewarded him more.

This time the boy took all the reward money to the scholar neighbor and told him: I have brought to you the entire reward. Please divide it yourself between us. The learned neighbor replied, “The earliest time was like a wolf you too had a wolf-like nature and hence you decided not to keep your promise. The period following it was like the sheep. Sheep are always in hesitation whether to do something or not. Hence you also acted like that. Now this age is that of balance meaning justice and equity. So you have behaved justly and kept your word. Now you may take away all this wealth. I am in no need of it at all.”1

It is narrated with authentic chains that Imam al-Ridha said, “A man from The Israelites worshipped Allah for forty years and then brought forth a sacrifice before Him so as to know whether or not his worship was acceptable to Him. But his sacrifice was not accepted so he understood that he must have committed some sin or misdeed and imagined himself responsible for it. Allah revealed to him that: Your condemnation and criticism of yourself is better than your worshipping of me for forty years.”

According to another tradition there was a king in The Israelites who founded a city the like of which was never seen by anybody before. He arranged a general feast and invited all. He also appointed a person at the gate to ask every person as he was leaving as to what defects he saw in that city. Nobody pointed out any shortcomings except three worshippers (worshipper) who wore thick clothing.

They said we saw two defects: One, it will be ruined one day and secondly, its king will also die one day. The king asked if they knew of any place not having those defects? They replied, “Yes, the house in the Hereafter will never be ruined nor will its owner ever die.” Their admonition affected the king’s heart who left his kingship to join them and remained busy in worshipping with them for quite a long time. Then when he intended to part from them, they asked him whether he saw any evil or any indiscipline in them due to which he wanted to separate from them? The king replied in the negative and said, You know me and therefore respect to me. Now I want to live with those who do not know me.

It is narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that some persons from the progeny of olden day kings had engaged themselves in Allah’s worship and were touring the world to get admonition from the events and the conditions of people all around. Once they passed by a grave on which the people had dumped much earth leaving only a little sign of it. They consulted among themselves and decided to pray to Allah and ask him to make the man in the grave alive so that they could find out from him how death tasted. Then they prayed: O Lord! You alone are our Lord and Nourisher. There is no Allah except You. You are the Creator of everything and you alone are to last forever and will never perish. You are aware of everything. You are ever Alive and will never die. You are continuously engaged in planning the affairs of Your creations and know everything without being taught by anyone. Please make this corpse alive for us. Instantly a man with white hair on his head and beard came out of that grave. He was shaking off the dust from his head and was looking toward the heavens fearfully. Then he asked them: Why are you standing on my grave? They said, We have troubled you so that you may tell us how death tastes? The man said, I have been buried in this grave for ninety-nine years and yet the pain of death has not been removed from me and the bitterness of death has not yet left my throat. They asked him: Whether his hair was white like this when he died? He said, No, but now when I heard a sudden call to get up all my bones joined with one another and I became alive. I frighteningly imagined that the Day of Judgment has arrived. This fear turned my hair white and my eyes wide open.

It is recorded in reliable sources that there was a man in The Israelites who had no son. Allah gave him one. One day he dreamed that his son would die at the time of his marriage. At last the marriage of his son was fixed. On the night of his marriage that boy saw an old and weak man. He helped him and gave him food. That old man said, You have given me life so Allah may give you life. That night the father of that boy dreamed that someone told him: Ask your son what kind of good deed he did on the night of his marriage? The next morning he asked his son and came to know how his son helped the old man. At night again that same person appeared in his dream and told him: Allah kept your son alive as a reward of that good deed which he did to the old man.

It is authentically narrated that Imam as-Sadiq said, “There was a man in The Israelites who spent most of his time in worship. Once while he was busy praying he saw two boys holding a bird and pulling out its feathers. As he was busy in prayer he did not stop those boys from that misdeed. Allah ordered the earth to swallow that worshipper who at once went down in the earth and who will continue to go down until the Day of Judgment.”

It is mentioned in another reliable tradition that Allah sent two angels to destroy the residents of a city. In the dark of the night they heard the voice of a man standing worshipping and praying earnestly. One of the two angels said, Let us return and report about this man to our Lord, perhaps the Most Merciful may forgive him or due to him will forgive all the residents of this city. The other angel said, No, we must carry out whatever order we have been given. It does not befit us to go back. But that angel went back to the court of Allah and narrated the event of the worshipper. Allah did not pay attention to the angel and ordered the other angel to destroy all the residents of that city along with the worshipper who had angered Allah as he did not condemn those people who indulged in sins in front of his eyes. Allah also became angry with the angel who had come to plead the case of the residents of that city and threw him in an island where he is still undergoing Allah’s punishment.”

It is recorded in reliable sources from Imam al-Ridha that in The Israelites nobody was recognized as a worshipper until and unless he did not worship continuously for ten years without speaking. Another narration says that only after fully performing extreme worship among The Israelites was he was called saalik (trader of the true path) and mujtahid as only then he would be able to help and reform people attentively.

It is recorded in reliable sources from ‘Ali bin husayn that a man rode on a ship with some other people. The ship broke up and all drowned except the wife of a person. She reached an island floating on a wooden board. There was a person of bad character on that island who used to indulge in every evil and who would never refrain from committing any sin. Seeing that woman all alone he asked her whether she was a human being or a jinn? She replied that she was a human being. He at once caught her and tried to seduce her. The women began to shiver and tremble restlessly. He asked her the reason whereupon she said pointing towards the heavens: I fear Allah. he asked her whether she had ever indulged in such thing? She swore by the Honor of Almighty Allah and said, Never. That evil man said, You fear so much despite having never done such a thing and even though saving yourself now is beyond your power whereas I indulge in it willfully and sometimes through force. Instead of you it should be me who should fear Allah and he arose discarding his bad intention. Then he went away to his home without saying anything to that woman thinking that he would perform repentance as he was regretful. On his way he met a monk who joined him. After walking for some time it became very hot. The monk told his companion: Pray to Allah so that He may send a cloud to give us its shade. The other man said, I have never done a good deed and hence I dare not ask anything from Allah. Then the monk said, All right, I will pray and you just go on saying ‘Amen’. So the monk said a prayer and after a few moments a cloud came above them and they continued their walk under its shade. Then they came to a cross road. The youth went on one side and the monk on another. The cloud went with the youth. The monk told him: You are better than me. Really speaking not mine but your prayer was answered by Allah. Now tell me what good work did you perform which earned Divine Mercy for you? The youth related to the monk what happened on that island. Then the monk said, You left committing a sin fearing Allah so now He has forgiven you all of your past sins.

According to an authentic narration from Imam, as-Sadiq there was a king in The Israelites. His Qadi (judge) had a brother who was very pious and honest. His brother’s wife also belonged to the family of Prophets. She too was very pious. Once the king needed a man trustworthy enough to send out on a job. He told his Qadi to provide him with a reliable and trustworthy man. The Qadi said in my view nobody is more reliable than my brother. So he called his brother and informed him about the king’s wish. But he refused the offer telling him that he could not leave his wife alone.

The Qadi insisted saying that the king was in urgent need of his services. His brother said, I have nothing to do with anybody except my wife. So you will have to take care of my wife, see to her needs and take care of any job that needs to be done until my return. The Qadi agreed and his brother left on the king’s job even though his wife was not happy over his departure. Thereafter as desired by his brother the Qadi used to go to his house and do the jobs required by his wife until he fell in love with her to such an extent that he desired that she should indulge in adultery with him. But she rejected.

The passion-blinded Qadi threatened to complain to the king if she did not agree saying that he would tell the king on oath that she had indulged in adultery with him. But she retorted: Do whatever you want but I will not spoil my honor and chastity. The Qadi despaired for fear of what would happen once his brother got to know of his intention so he himself went to the king and informed him that the wife of his brother had indulged in adultery an on making inquiries he had found the allegation to be correct. The king said, Then stone her to death.

The Qadi went and told her that he had complained to the king who had ordered her to be stoned to death and that if she did not fulfill his desire he would see that she was stoned to death. But the woman still said, Do whatever you wish but I cannot fulfill your evil desire. At last the Qadi gathered the people and took her to a forest where he made her sit in a pit and stones were rained on her until he was sure she had died. Then only did they return home. After nightfall, as some life still remained in that woman she removed the stones from all around her, got out of the pit and with much difficulty reached a monastery and fell asleep at its door. The next morning the monk of that monastery opened the door to find a weak and wounded woman lying there. He inquired with her as to what had happened. Hearing her story the monk felt pity on her and took her into the monastery.

The monk was very wealthy. He treated the lady and soon all her wounds healed. This monk had a young son and he entrusted his son to that lady for training. The monk also had a slave in his service who fell in love with that chaste woman and asked her to satisfy his passion. He also threatened to kill her if she did not fall in line with his wishes. The oppressed lady replied that he could do whatever he wanted but she would never commit a sin like that. So the salve killed the son of the monk and told him the monk that in response to his kindness the woman had killed his son whom he had entrusted to her for training. The monk called the chaste and faithful lady and asked her about the murder of his son. She told him the full truth about the slave but the monk did not believe her. He told her that now he would not allow her to stay there. He gave her twenty dirhams as traveling expenses and drove her out of the monastery.

The poor lady walked the whole night and reached a village the next morning. There she saw a man hanging on the gallows but still alive. She inquired with him and the half dead man told her that he was indebted to the extent of twenty dirhams and that according to the rules of that place those who were indebted to that extent were to be hung and not released until they paid up their debt. Hearing this, the kind lady gave him her twenty dirhams and he was then released. That man told her: O kind lady! You have been merciful to me and have saved me from sure death. Now I will remain in your service. Walking together they reached seashore where they saw some ships. The man told the lady: Wait here. I am going to do some job for the ship owners to buy us something to eat. Then he went to the shipmen and asked them what goods did they have in their ships. They replied that one of the ships was loaded with very valuable materials like jewels and that the other ship was vacant for their own voyaging. He asked them what was the total value of their goods? They replied that it was so valuable that they could not evaluate it fully.

Then that person said, I have a thing which is even costlier than your valuables. They asked: What is it? He said, A very beautiful slave girl. So beautiful that you might never have seen anyone like her before. They said, Sell her to us. He proposed: First someone must go to see her but in such a manner that she does not know the intention behind it. Then return and pay me her price. Then when I go away you may take her in your control. The seafarers agreed and one of them went to see that lady. He came back to report that he had never seen a more beautiful woman before. So the wicked man sold that chaste woman for ten thousand dirhams and went away with the money. When he disappeared the shipmen came to the lady and said, O slave girl! Come with us on this ship. She asked: Why? They said, We have bought you from your owner. She said, He is not my owner or Lord. They said, Do not make excuses and come along. Otherwise we ill take you forcibly. So she had to accompany them up to the seashore. However each and everyone of them vied for that lady so much so that to settle the dispute they mad her sit in the ship which was full of jewelry and all of them rode in the other vessel.

When the ships reached mid sea Allah sent a storm which overturned the ship which carried the men and all of then drowned. The stormy winds carried the ship in which the lady was sitting to an island. She came out of the ship, tied it on the shore and began to walk on the island. She saw a beautiful house near a water spring. All around were trees bearing fruits. She told herself: I will stay here, eat these fruits and drink this fresh water and pass the rest of my life in worshipping only one Allah. Allah sent a revelation to one of the Prophets of that time to go to the king (by whose order the Qadi had stoned the lady) and tell him: On such and such island is a pious slave girl. Go to her along with all of your people, confess all your past sins and request her to pardon you. If she forgives you I will also forgive you. Otherwise I will chastise all of you severely. On getting this message from the Divine Messenger the king went to that island along with his people where they saw the woman. He approached her respectfully and said, “This Qadi had complained to me that the wife of his brother had committed adultery. I ordered her to be stoned to death without making proper inquiries and without calling for appropriate witnesses. I am afraid I have behaved unjustly in this matter. Kindly pray to Allah to pardon me.” She said, Sit down. Allah will forgive you. Then her husband came before her (she recognized him) and said, I had a very pious wife. I had to leave town on a job for the king and so had to leave my wife on her own even though she did not wish me to do so. I had asked my brother to look after her and to see to her needs. After returning I came to know that my brother had her stoned to death as she had indulged in the misdeed of adultery. I am afraid I was at fault in this matter. So kindly pray that I may be pardoned by Allah.

She said, “May Allah pardon you too. Sit down.” She made him sit by the side of the king. Then came the Qadi who also narrated his mistakes and begged her to pray to Allah for his pardoning. She told him also to sit down and said, May Allah forgive you too. Then she turned toward her husband and said, Listen. Then that monk also submitted his misdeed and she told him too to sit down and told him that Allah will forgive him. Then the slave of the monk appeared before her and narrated his excesses and oppressions and pleaded for her prayers so that he may also get salvation. She said, Sit down. May Allah pardon you also. Thereafter she asked the monk to listen. Last of all came the man who had been freed from the gallows by her. He also confessed his crimes and prayed for pardon for his thanklessness. Then the chaste lady turned toward her husband and said, I am your wife. All that you have heard is related to me. Now I am in no need of a husband. I wish this ship which is full of jewelry to be taken away by you for your requirements and let me remain here only for worship of Allah. You have seen how much torture I have received from the hands of men. Her husband agreed to her wish of staying on that island. He then took charge of the ship and returned with the king and all the people back to the capital.

Ibn Babawayh has narrated from ‘Ali bin husayn that there was a thief among The Israelites. His habit was to open freshly dug graves and steal the coffin cloth from their dead body. One day his neighbor fell ill and feared that he might steal his coffin cloth also. So he called that thief and asked him how did he find his behavior toward him? The other person said he was a very good neighbor indeed. Thereafter he said, I am in need of something. The thief asked: What? He put two pieces of coffin cloth before him and asked him to take up the one of his choice and to let the other remain for his corpse. He asked him not to dig his grave after his death and make him naked by stealing the cloth from his body.

The neighbor agreed and told him to rest assured that he would not behave like that. The ill man insisted on giving him the better cloth. When he died and was buried the thief thought, how will the corpse know whether I steal his cloth or not. So he went to dig his grave. As he was digging he suddenly heard a voice as if someone was telling him not to dig the grave. He became frightened and went back home, gathered his sons and asked them what kind of a father was he to them? They said he was very kind to them. Then he told them: I wish something from you. They said, Do tell us so that we may carry it out. Then he said, When I die burn my body down to ashes, then crush my bones and when a strong wind blows scatter the ash away throwing half towards the mountains and the other half towards the sea. The sons said, All right, we will do as you wish. So when he died his sons did as he wanted.

Allah commanded the forest to collect whatever of the bones had fallen there. Similarly He ordered the sea to collect whatever was thrown into it. Allah made him alive and asked him as to why he had made such a will. He replied, “It was due to my fear of Thee.” Allah said, “All right if it was only for the sake of My fear then, I swear by My Honor I will please your debtors on the Day of Judgment and will turn your fear into satisfaction and peace and will pardon your sins.”

It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam al-Baqir said, “There was a prostitute in The Israelites who used to lure youths toward her. Once a man told her: If such and such worshipper (worshipper) sees you he will surly fall in love with you. She said, By Allah, I will got to his house and bring him on the true path. She reached his house the same night, knocked on his door and said, O Worshipper! Give me shelter for one night. He denied her shelter. She said, Some youths from The Israelites are following me with the intention of adultery. I have run away from them and require shelter. If you do not open your door they will catch me and rape me. Hearing this, the worshipper opened his house. The woman entered the house and took off her veil. When the worshipper saw her beauty he lost his sense and felt passionate towards her. When he came to sense he saw his hand on the body of that woman. He felt a shock and pulled his hand off her. There was a water vessel in his room beneath which a fire used to burn constantly. He ran to that fire and put his hand in that fire. The woman asked him what he was doing? He replied, “I am burning my hand in the worldly fire, perhaps I will be saved from the Hell fire in the Hereafter.” The woman ran away from there and asked the people of The Israelites to take care of the worshipper as he was burning his own hand. The people rushed there but by that time his hand was burnt.”

It is reliably related from Imam as-Sadiq that a worshipper from The Israelites had kept himself totally away from women and had become fearless of the evils of the devil. One night a devil in the guise of a woman came to his house as a guest and began to make evil suggestions to his heart. With every evil suggestion made by that woman the worshipper pushed one of his fingers into the fire so that he be reminded of Hellfire. This happened repeatedly until morning and in this way he suppressed his evil passions by burning his fingers one after the other. In the morning he said to the lady: You have proved to be a bad guest for me. Please leave this place now.

It is recorded in reliable sources that a man went to Imam as-Sadiq and began to praise someone’s worshipping and religiousness. Imam asked: How much intelligence does he have? He said he did know that. Then Imam said, “Reward is in proportion to the intelligence (wisdom) of a person. There was a great worshipper in The Israelites. He spent all his time worshipping on an island. It was a very fertile island with clean water springs and fruitful trees. Once an angel passed by that man. The angel was very pleased with his worship and he prayed to Allah: My Lord! Please let me know the reward of this man’s worshipping. Allah told the angel what he thought was that man’s reward. The angel felt that the reward was much less compared to his worship. So Allah asked that angel to go and live with that worshipper for a while. The angel went to that person in the form of a man. The worshipper asked him: Who are you? He replied, “I am also a worshipper like you. When I learned about this place and heard your praise I thought of coming here and worshipping along with you.”

Next morning the angel said to the man, “Your house is very spacious and very suitable for worship.” He said, “There is a defect in it.” “What is it?” the angel asked. He replied, “My Allah does not have a donkey of His own. Had He one He would have made it graze here so that this grass might not go to waste.” The angel told him that Allah does not require an ass. The worshipper replied, “Had He a donkey this grass would not have wasted.” Allah revealed to the angel, “I have fixed the reward of this man’s deed proportionate to his wisdom.”

It is reliably reported by Hafas bin al Bakhtari that, “Once I was late in attending Imam as-Sadiq. He asked the reason for my delay. I said, May I be sacrificed for you. I had stood surety for a person who did not keep his promise and did not pay up his debt and so it was demanded from me and that is why I could not come for hajj (in advance). Imam said, Why did you stand as surety for others. Do not you know that in the past people were destroyed for standing as surety for others! Then he narrated: A group committed many sins and then became very fearful because of it. Another group (as a gesture of sympathy) told them: We undertake the responsibility of all your sins. Allah chastised the latter group telling them: They feared My Anger but you dared so much (became fearless of Me).”

It is reported in authentic traditions from Hamza Thumali that in the distant past there was a very rich man in the progeny of Prophets. He would spend his wealth on the needy and the poor. After his demise his wife also continued to spend like him. Soon all of the wealth was spent. Now that man had a son who would always hear people (Wherever he went) praying for peace upon his late father and benefaction for him. He asked his mother the reason for such prayers being made by people wherever he went. His mother told him that: Your father was very pious. He was a benefactor of the poor. Being rich he would spend his money on fulfilling the needs of the poor people. After his departure I also continued to spend his wealth on the needy. Finally all the wealth is spent. The son said, My dear mother! My late father is getting the reward for whatever he did but you did not have the right to do what you did and hence you have earned Allah’s displeasure. The mother asked him what he meant.

The son said, “My father was spending his own wealth but you spent away the wealth of others (meaning his).” The mother replied, “My son! You are correct. But I did not think that you would object to what I did and would declare that wealth lawful for me.” The son said, “I do so now and declare it lawful for you. But is there anything left so that I may make it a means of earning and may seek Allah’s Grace. Maybe He will make us rich again.” The mother said, “I have a hundred Dinars.” The sons said, “If Allah wills He will provide abundance in it even if the capital is little.” Then he went out for earning their livelihood.

On his way he found the dead body of a man whose face showed signs of being a pious and virtuous person. He thought what can be better than spending my money on bathing, covering and coffining this corpse and praying for him and burying him. So he spent twenty dirhams for this good deed. Now he had only twenty dirhams. He walked further for finding Allah’s graceful provision. Along the way a man met him and asked him where he was going. He said, For finding livelihood and Allah’s Grace. He asked how much capital he had. He replied, “Twenty dirhams.” The man said, “Of what use can this little amount be?” The boy replied, “When Allah wishes He gives abundance in little capital too.” “You are right of course,” said the man. Then he asked, “You must do exactly what I say? But I will tell you what to do only on condition that you give me half of the earnings.”

The boy agreed. That man told him, “On the path on which you are proceeding you will find a house. The residents of that house will invite you as a guest. Do accept their invitation. When their servant brings food for you he will be accompanied by a black cat. You should ask that man to sell that cat to you. He will refuse. But you must go on asking. Finally he will agree to sell it for twenty dirhams. You must pay him the amount and obtain that cat. Thereafter you should slaughter that cat, burn its head and remove its brain and go to a certain city. The king of that place has become blind. Tell those people that you can treat their king. Be not afraid on seeing the dead bodies of people whom the king had killed earlier for having failed to cure him. You may ask any amount you like as your price for his treatment. On the first day sting the king’s eyes with the brain of that cat. He will find it effective and will ask for more medicine. Do not do so but apply only one needle on the second and third day too.” So that boy went on his way, became a guest of the residents of that house, bought the cat, reached the king of the said city and engaged in treating him. On the first day he applied only one needle to sting his eyes. It proved effective and the king could see a little on the following day. He felt even better on the second day and was completely healed on the third day. The king was now able to see everything like before.

He told the boy: You have done me a great favor. You have earned a right on me. You have returned my kingdom to me. As a reward I give you my daughter in marriage. The boy replied, “My mother is alive whom I cannot separate from.” The king married his daughter with that boy and told him that he could live there as long as he desired and could go to his mother’s place along with the princess whenever he wished. The boy lived with the king with honor and respect for one year and then prepared to go. The king gave him much wealth and goods and cows and camels and sheep. The boy departed with all that along with his wife. First he went to the place where he had met the man who showed him how to cure the king. He found that man sitting there. Seeing the boy he asked: Boy: Why did you not keep your promise? The boy replied, “Whatever I got and enjoyed while I was with the king may please be declared lawful for me. Whatever is with me now is this. You may take half of it.”

He divided his wealth equally and asked that man to take the part of his choice. The man said, “You have not acted with justice.” “How is that?” the boy asked. The man said, “The woman also is a part of your earning.” The boy said, “You are right. Take away all the wealth and leave the woman for me.” He said, “No, I want half of that woman too.” The boy called for a saw and put it on the head of the woman to give half of her to that man.” The man said, “Now you have kept your promise and word. This woman and all this wealth is yours. Take them away. I need nothing of it. I am an angel. Allah sent me only to give the reward of that good which you had done to the dead body on your path.”

It is related reliably from Imam as-Sadiq that there was a worshipper in The Israelites who never indulged in worldly affairs. This hurt Iblis (the big Satan) very much. So he whistled through his nose hearing which his entire army came around him. Then he asked who from them would be able to mislead that worshipper? One of them said he would. Iblis asked: How? He said, Through women. Iblis said, It will not work as the worshipper is neither inclined towards women nor is he aware of their taste. Another Satan stood up and said he would mislead him through wine, drinking etc. Iblis said, You cannot deviate him in that way also. Then a third one arose and claimed that he would mislead him by pretending to be pious and a worshipper of Allah. Iblis said, You can win. So that Satan entered the house of the worshipper in the form of a man and went to the area where the worshipper used to pray. He stood beside him and began praying.

The worshipper after worshipping for a long time would stop to take some rest but the Satan never rested. Seeing this the worshipper considered himself very inferior to the newcomer and with much humility asked him what gave him this much strength in worshipping Allah tirelessly? The cursed one did not give any reply. The worshipper approached him again and tried to make him talk and explain how he could worship so long at a stretch. He asked the Satan what gave him such a high status. Then the agent of Satan said, O slave of Allah! I had committed a sin. I repented over it but always keep that sin mind. This thing has given me the power for praying tirelessly. The worshipper asked what was that sin so that he may also commit it. The Satan told him to go to a certain city and enter the house of a certain prostitute and give her two dirhams. The worshipper said I do not even know what a dirham is? The Satan took out two dirhams from beneath his foot and gave it to the worshipper.

The worshipper turned towards that city in his prayer (holy) clothes and inquired about the residence of that prostitute. The People thought he had come there to give guidance to that prostitute and so they showed him her brothel. When the worshipper entered her place he threw those two dirhams and asked the woman to get up. The woman rose and took him into her room and told him: O gentleman! You have come to me in attire in which nobody comes. So first please tell me why and how you became inclined to come to me of all people. The worshipper narrated his whole story. The woman said, O slave of Allah! Giving up a sin is much more easier than repenting after committing it. It is not possible for anyone to deliberately commit a sin and then repent and attain higher status as said by you. Surely one who sent you is a Satan in disguise who has come to deviate you. Go back and you will surely not find him there. The worshipper returned home. That woman died the same night. Next morning the people saw writing on her door saying that all the residents of the town should gather for her funeral prayer because she is from those who will enter paradise. The people were confused and did not bury her for three days. Allah revealed everything to the Messenger of that time. According to the narrator Imam said that he (the Messenger) was Musa.

(Allah commanded): Go and pray in the funeral of such and such woman because I have pardoned her and reserved paradise for her because she prevented my servant from disobeying Me.

- 1. The purpose of Imam behind describing this story was to make you understand that times are similar to the above description. When you observe that your own friends are conspiring against you how can the Imam rely on their promises and how can he rise against the enemy. So when the time comes when people will keep their words, and Allah knows that they will remain loyal to the Imam, then will He make the Imam appear and lead the uprising and thus bestow the reformed society as a mediator gift to Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, grant this award to them as a grand fortune.

Accounts of Rulers and Kings

Allah says in the holy Qur’an:

“Are they better, or the people of Tuba and those before them? We destroyed them, for surely they were guilty. 44:37”

Here ‘they’ refers to the Qurayshite disbelievers or deniers. There is a difference of opinion about whether Tuba had believed or he died on Kufr. Some say the holy verse refers to Tuba and the people of his community whom Allah destroyed. Some say Tuba had believed and his community remained on Kufr and was annihilated by Divine chastisement. This conclusion is weightier. It is recorded in reliable sources that Imam as-Sadiq said, Tuba said to Aus and Khazraj: You may stay here in Medina until the Prophet of the last age appears. If he comes during my life time, I will definitely help him in rising against his enemies. And Sunnis (non-Shi‘ah) have mostly reported from the holy Prophet that “Do not abuse Tuba as he was a Muslim.” It is related by Ka’b al-Ahbar that Tuba was a good-natured pious man and that Allah has condemned his community not him.

With authentic chains it is reported from Imam al-Ridha that a man (from Syria) asked Amir al-Mu’minin as to why Tuba was called ‘Tuba’? ‘Ali replied, “Because when he was a boy he was a scribe of the king of his time. Whenever he wrote any letter (etc...) for the king, he started it with these words on the top of the letter: (Meaning: I begin and seek grace from the Allah Who created the morning and the wind). The king used to insist that he begin writing the letter with the name of king Raad but he insisted that: I will begin only in the name of my Allah. Thereafter I will write whatever you say. As a reward of this deed Allah Almighty turned the regime of that king in his favor and the people followed and obeyed him and therefore he is called Tuba.”

It is mentioned in a reliable tradition that Jabir bin Isma‘il bin Jabir says: Once I was traveling with my friends between Makkah and Medina and we were talking about Ansar. Some said that people belonging to various tribes had gathered and some said they were from Yemen. Finally, we went to Imam as-Sadiq resting under a tree. We sat there. Before we could ask him anything, he said surprisingly: Tuba arrived from Iraq and the people belonging to Ulama and the Prophets’ progeny were with him. They reached the valley known as belonging to the Huzail tribe. People of other tribes came to him and said, You are going towards citizens who have been fooling others since a very long time. They have named their city ‘Haram’ and have built a house there and regard it as their Allah. They meant Makkah and the Ka‘bah.

Tuba said, If what you say is correct then I would kill their men folk, imprison their boys and destroy their houses. At once, his eyes bulged out and hug over his face. Then Ulama and the progeny of Prophets were called. He asked them to think and let him know why this trouble overtook him. They asked him: First of all tell us what was in your mind (intention). He replied, “I had intended that when I enter Makkah I will kill their men folk, capture their children and break their house (Ka‘bah).” They at once told him that in their opinion the only reason for his trouble was this intention entertained by him. He asked the reason. They said that city is the Haram (sanctuary) of Allah and that house if the House of Allah and the residents of that city are the progeny of Prophet Ibrahim.

Tuba said, You are right. Now tell me what I should do by way of repentance so that this trouble may be warded off. They said, Now decide and intend to do what opposite of your earlier is thought so that perhaps the trouble may be removed. What they intended to convey was that he should now pay respect to Makkah and Ka‘bah and think of doing good to the residents of Makkah. With this new intention, his eyes went back to their original place. He then called that group which had inspired him to destroy Ka‘bah and killed them all. When he reached Makkah he covered Ka‘bah with a gilaaf and gave a feast to the citizens of the holy city for 30 days. Every day 100 camels were sacrificed and its meat was put in big vessels placed in mountains for feeding the forest animals. Grass and grain was provided for four footed animals in fields and deserts. Then he came from Makkah to Medina and made some Yemenis reside there who belonged to the tribe of Bani Ghassaan so that they might await the arrival of the Prophet of the last age. Ansar are their progeny.

It is mentioned in another narration that he cut off royal dresses to make a cover for Ka‘bah and poured perfume on it.

According to another tradition when Tubba bin hasan came to Medina he executed 350 Jews and wanted to destroy Medina. At that time a Jew who was 250 years old said, O King! Nobody is more oppressive than you. You accept false notions and you kill people in fits of anger. You cannot destroy this city. Tubba asked: Why not? The Jew said, Because a Prophet from the progeny of Isma‘il will rise and will migrate to this city. Hearing this he stopped killing people, came to Makkah, clothed Ka‘bah, fed people and sang some couplets meaning: I bear witness in favor of Ahmed that he is a Messenger of Almighty Allah who is the Lord Creator of the universe. If I live up to his time, I will become his minister (adviser) and will assist him.

Ibn Shahr Aashob has narrated that Tubba is one of those five kings who ruled over the entire world. He reached every part of the world and took ten wise and learned men from every city with him and came to Makkah. When the people did not respect him, he became angry. He consulted his vizier Ayaareesaa. He said, These are ignorant people. They are proud of this Ka‘bah. So the king decided in his heart to break this building and to kill the residents of Makkah. Allah made his head and brain so sick that dirty material began to flow from his eyes and ears and nose. Doctors could not cure it and they said this ailment is divine (a trouble arrived from above) and hence they could not help. They went away. At night, a scholar approached the minister of the king and told him in a very slow tone that if the king is prepared to reveal the intention he has in his heart I will be able to treat him. The minister told this to the king and with his permission called the scholar there. The scholar asked the king whether he had any bad intention about Ka‘bah. The king said, Yes, I had intended to break it and kill the residents of Makkah. The learned man advised him to give up this thought and to repent so that he may get the good of both this world and the Hereafter. Tubba said, I repent and I give up this idea. He got relief instantly. From then he believed in Allah and Ibrahim Khalilullaah. He covered Ka‘bah with seven pieces of precious cloth and went toward Medina. Medina was situated at a place where a spring was flowing. When they reached there, 400 from the 4000 Ulama came to the king and told him: We left our cities and traveled with you for a long time. Now we wish you to allow us to reside here forever. The king asked the wisdom behind it. The learned men said, O vizier! The grandeur of the Holy Ka‘bah is due to Muhammad who holds the Qur’an and Kiblah and flag and pulpit. He will be born in Makkah. He will migrate from there and arrive here to settle. We intend earnestly that we or our progeny may be fortunate to serve him. When Tubba heard this, he also decides to camp there for one year hoping to be able to get the honor of serving the holy Prophet. He built 400 houses for those 400 Scholars there and married them with 400 freed slave girls. He gave them a lot of wealth and wrote a letter for the holy Prophet mentioning therein his faith and obedience (Islam) and appealed to him to intercede for him in the court of Allah Almighty.

The opening of that letter was: This is a letter from Tubba to Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah who is the last Messenger of Allah and a Prophet for all the worlds. He handed over this letter to the learned man who had give him good guidance (and prevented him from harming the Haram and Makkah city). Then he left Medina and went toward India and died in Ghaslaan. One thousand years passed between the date of his death and the birth of the Holy Prophet. Finally, when the Holy Prophet was sent by Allah most of the residents of Medina had become Muslims. They sent Abu Ya’la Laila with Tubba’s letter to the Holy Prophet. When he reached the holy Prophet he (the Prophet) was among the tribe of Bani Salim. When the holy Prophet saw the courier, he asked: Are you Abu Laila? He replied, “Yes.” Then the holy Prophet asked, “Have you brought Tubba’s letter?” He replied, “Yes, O Prophet of Allah!” and handed over that letter (the courier was astonished that the holy Prophet knew the details of that man and the letter in advance). The holy Prophet gave the letter to Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali to read. He read it out to the holy Prophet. Then the holy Prophet said thrice: Well done, O My Pious brother! and told Abu Laila to go back to Medina. The events of Tubba and of all others in the days of pre-Islamic ignorance will be narrated-Allah willing-along with the details of the Holy Prophet. (Author)

It is recorded in reliable sources from Salman Farsi through Imam al-Baqir that Salman Farsi said there was a Persian king called Roseen. He was a cruel enemy of the truth and a big oppressor. His oppression increased with the power of his kingship. When his oppression crossed all limits Allah made him suffer an ailment of the head. The trouble started in the right side of his head and became so severe that it was impossible for him even to eat and drink. It made him very restless. He explained his trouble to his viziers, took many medicines but to no avail. He became hopelessly disappointed as he could not find a cure for his ailment.

Allah sent a Prophet and asked him through revelation that: Go to My cruel slave Roseen in the form of a physician. First give him respect and honor and tell him kindly not to get disheartened about the treatment of his ailment and tell him that he can be cured without any medicine. When he pays attention to you and is inclined to believe your words then tell him his cure lies in the blood of a suckling infant whose parents may be ready to offer its blood without any coercion and willingly. Dropping three drops of that blood in your right nostril will remove the pain. The Prophet did what Allah asked and showed the cure to that king. The king said, I do not think anyone will be prepared to sacrifice his child willfully. The Prophet said if you spend enough money in the search for such a child it can happen. The king sent out his men in search of such parents. After many efforts, they found a child whose parents were very poor and needy and were prepared to kill their child and give its blood in return for a lot of money.

When they were brought to the king, he called for a plate and a knife. The king ordered the mother of the child to hold the child firmly and asked its father to slaughter the child. When the parents readied to do so Allah made the child speak and it spoke up saying: O King! Prevent my parents from killing me. They are evil parents for me. O King! When somebody oppresses a weak child, its parents protect it but mine are killing me. Do not help them in this deed. Hearing these words from the mouth of the child the king became very fearful. His pain vanished at once and He fell asleep. In his dream, he saw that someone was telling him: Allah made the child speak to prevent you and his parents from killing him and He made you ill so that you may take admonition, give up your oppression and be kind to your people. When the king woke up after seeing this dream, he became aware that all this was from Allah. He changed the entire course of his future life and spent the rest of his life with justice and equity.

Ibn Babawayh has with authentic chains narrated from Abu Rafe that Archangel Gabriel brought a Book from Allah to the Holy Prophet which contained the accounts of all the past Prophets and kings. The holy Prophet narrated their stories briefly.1

Ibn Babawayh has narrated through Ibrahim Tusi that at the age of 97 he described in the house of Yahya bin Mansur that: I met a king named Sarbabak of a city called Soh in India and asked him: What is your age? He replied, “Nine hundred and twenty five years. He was a Muslim.” He said, “The holy Prophet had sent to me ten of his companions including Hudhayfah bin al Yaman, Umar Aas, Usama bin Zaid, Abu Musa Ash ari, Suhaib Roomi and Safeenah. They invited me to Islam. I accepted it and became a Muslim. The Prophet had also sent me a letter. I kissed that letter. (Ibrahim Tusi says) I asked him as to how he was praying the prayers at this advanced age?” He replied, “(Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides).” I asked him, “What is your food?” He said, “Stew seasoned with garlic.” I asked, “Do you get motions?” He said, “Yes, a little once in a week.” Then I inquired about his teeth to which he replied, “My teeth fell and grew again and again for twenty times. I also saw a four footed animal in his stable which was bigger than an elephant. It is called Zenda feel.” I asked, “What service do you take from it?”

He said, “My men use it to carry the clothes of the servants for washing to the washer man’s place.” The length and width of that king’s territory required four years to cross and his capital city was in an area which measured 50 fifty square parasang and an army of 1,20,000 always stood on guard at every gate of that city so that if attacked by the enemy he would be fully prepared and not require anybody’s help.

His palace was in the middle of the city. I have heard that he used to say, “Once I went to Maghrib and entered a desolate area in Jabalaqa the city of the community of Musa. The upper storeys of their houses were flat. The barns of their wheat and barley were kept at a place outside the city. They used to carry home the needed quantity of grains therefrom and leave the remaining there. Their graves were in their houses. Their gardens were at a distance of two parasang from the city. No man or woman from that community ever grew old or fell ill until the time of their death. Their markets were always kept open. Whosoever wanted anything would take it himself from the shop and put the cost there as no one attended to the shops. All used to assemble in the mosques at the time of prayers, offer prayers and return home. They never quarreled and they never talked about anything except death.”2

- 1. Ibn Babawayh described this hadith in short and from whatever he said we have narrated it in previous chapters and are describing the rest here. He says that: When Shaykh bin Shaajaan became a king called Kees he ruled for 266 years. When he completed 51 years of his regime ‘Isa arrived. When ‘Isa was raised up in the heavens Shamoun bin Hamoon Shafa became his caliph. After Shamoun, Prophethood was given by Allah to Yahya bin Zakariyya. At that time Urdeshir ibn Ashkaan became king and he ruled for 14 years and two months. In the 8th year of his rule the Jews martyred Yahya. Yahya made the son of Shamoun his legatee (Wasi). After Ardeshir his son Shapoor became the king, ruled for 30 years and was murdered. In that period the trustee and the treasurer of the Divine knowledge and the conveyor of Allah’s Messages was Shamoun who was in the progeny of Prophet Ya‘qub. The Disciples (companions) of ‘Isa were with him. At that time Nebuchadnezzar became a king. He ruled for 187 years, killed 80 thousand persons in retaliation of the killing of Yahya and it was he who destroyed Jerusalem. The Jews were fragmented and dispersed in his time to different cities. After completion of 47 years of his rule Allah Almighty appointed Uzair as a Prophet over those who had left their cities for fear of death. Allah included Uzair also in them (he also died). A hundred years thereafter Allah made him and all of them numbering 100000, alive. Then they got killed at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. After Nebuchadnezzar his son Mehrooyah became king, ruled for 16 years and 26 days, imprisoned Prophet Daniel in a well, dug pits, threw his (Daniel’s) companions in them and burnt them alive. They are the Makers of the pit who have been referred to in the holy Qur’an. Then when Allah willed to retrieve the soul of Daniel He commanded him to hand over his Divine knowledge and wisdom to his son Maleekhaa and to make him his caliph. At that time Hormuz was the king. He ruled for 33 years, 3 months and 4 days. Thereafter Behram ruled for 26 years. At that time the custodian of religion and shari‘ah (religious code) was Maleekhaa. His companions were among the believers and testifiers. But they could not express their faith and were not able to tell the Truth openly. After Behram, his son ruled for 7 years. Thereafter the chain of Prophets was broken and the age of intermission began and the Divine Commander and leader and Legatee was Maleekhaa. He had his companions with him. When the time of his death approached, Allah asked him to hand over the Divine Light of Wisdom to Inshoo and to make him his legatee. Thereafter a number of persons in the progeny of Inshoo became religious leaders one after another as Allah wished. After Behram, Hormuz’s son Shapoor came to throne and he ruled for 92 years. He was the first king who made a crown and adorned it on his head. At that time too the Legatee was Inshoo. After Shapoor his brother Urdeshir ruled for 2 years. It was in his time that Allah made the Seven Sleepers alive. At that time Allah’s caliph was Inshoo’s son Waseehaa. After Urdeshir his son Shapoor became king and ruled for 50 years. In his time too Waseehaa was the leader of Allah’s creation. After Shapoor, his son Yezdjard came to throne and ruled for 21 years, five months and 19 days. In his time also Waseehaa was the Divine caliph. When Allah willed to call Waseeha back to Him he revealed through a dream to Waseehaa that he should hand over the divine Light, wisdom, commandments and intelligence to his son Nastooras. after Yezdjard, Behram ruled for 26 years and 18 days. In that time also the hujjah (Divine Proof) was Nastooras. After Behram, Firoz, son of Yezdjard, got kingship who ruled for 70 years. In his time also Nasturas remained the Proof of Allah (hujjah) and the believers of that period were with him. When Allah intended to call Nasturas back to His Mercy, He asked him in a dream to appoint MaReza as his Legatee and to hand over the knowledge of wisdom to him. Then, after Firoz, his son Falaas ruled for 40 years and during this time MaReza was the viceroy of Allah. Thereafter his brother (Falas’s brother) Qabaad ruled for 43 years and after him his brother Jamaasp ruled for 46 or 66 years. At that time also MaReza was the Caliph of Allah (protector of faith and shari‘ah). After Jamasp, Qabad’s son Kisri became king and he ruled for 46 years and 8 months. In his time also MaReza was the protector of Religion and Code of Life. Then Allah desired to call him back to His Mercy and ordered him in a dream to pass the Divine light of wisdom to Baheera the Rahib and to make him his Khalifah. After Kisrai his son Hurmun came to throne and ruled for 38 years. In his time also Baheera was the protector of religion and shari‘ah who also had believers who put faith in him and testified in him. After Hurmumz Kisra e Parvez got kingship. In his time also Baheera was the caliph of Allah until the time when the period of the occultation of the hujjahs of Allah became lengthy and Divine Revelation was stopped. The people became ungrateful with Allah’s blessings and devalued them, they became prey to Allah’s anger. They weakened religion. They left prayers and the Resurrection Day (Doomsday) came nearer. Religion was torn into pieces and people drowned in the darkness of ignorance and became wonderstruck with various religions and fell in doubt about the true path. Affairs were dispersed. Long period passed since the arrivals of Prophets. Some remained on the religion of their Prophets and some became ungrateful to Allah. They became oppressive instead of thankful and obedient to Allah. Then Allah for his Messengership selected from the holy pious family tree, the one whom He had given the highest status over all the past tribes and whom He had made the fountainhead of all holy personalities and the mine of sacred souls, that is, He chose Muhammad al-Mus§afa for His Messengership and bestowed on him His choice for Prophethood and exposed His Religion fully through him so that he could decide matters with justice between His slaves and fight against His enemies and He also gave all the knowledge and wisdom of all the past Prophets and their legatees. Moreover He gave the holy Qur’an to him in the rich language of Arabic wherein falsehood can never find a way and he provided information about both the past and the future in it.

- 2. We will, Allah willing, relate the stories of people who lived much longer than them during the events of al-Qa’im. The account of Yuz Aasof was the lengthiest among the events of Prophets, we have narrated it in the book Ainul Hayat. His Prophethood is not authenticated through any hadith and hence we have not written about him in this book. Whosoever wants to see it may refer to the said book.

An Account of Harut and Marut

Allah says:

“And they followed what the Shaitans chanted of sorcery in the reign of Sulayman, and Sulayman was not an unbeliever, but the Shaitans disbelieved, they taught men sorcery and that was sent down to the two angels at Babel, Harut and Marut, yet these two taught no man until they had said, “Surely we are only a trial, therefore do not be a disbeliever.” Even then men learned from these two, magic by which they might cause a separation between a man and his wife; and they cannot hurt with it any one except with Allah’s permission, and they learned what harmed them and did not profit them, and certainly they know that he who bought it should have no share of good in the hereafter and evil was the price for which they sold their souls, had they but known this”. (2:102)

(In explanation of this holy verse it is said that) Shaitans used to teach magic that was sent down on two angels Harut and Marut in Babylon and these two taught no man until they had said, “Surely we are at trial, therefore do not be a disbeliever.” Even then, men learned from these two, magic by which they might cause a separation between a man and his wife.

‘Ali ibn Ibrahim and Ayyashi have in their tafsirs, narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir that every day and every night, angels used to descend for taking up deeds of the middle men (of the residents of the earth). On seeing these deeds, the residents of the heavens began to find fault in the sins being committed by the dwellers of the earth like disobeying Allah and making false allegations against Him. They used to say that Allah is high and above what the dwellers of the world say about Him. At last, a group of angels requested Allah: O Nourisher! Do You not frown upon Your creations who make false allegations against You and who disobey You even though You have prohibited them from doing such things? O Lord! You tolerate them even though all of them are in Your control and are living a life of ease due to Your bounties. So Allah willed to show to the angels what is His perfect Power and how He issues His commandments in the world of His creation, and to make the angels aware of His blessings as they have been created sinless and He has made them distinct among His creations and has made them ever obedient and has not given them the power of sinning.

So He said to the angels: Select two beings from your community so that I may send them to the earth and give them the nature of human beings and put in them desire for eating, drinking, etc. and introduce yearnings in their minds like the children of Adam. Then I will take a test of them in the matter of My obedience and worship. The angels selected Harut and Marut from among them as they were foremost in finding faults in humans and in asking for Allah’s chastisement for the humans. Allah told them: Now I have put all those desires and needs in you which I have created in men. Do not include anyone (do not make any partner) in worshipping Me, do not commit adultery and do not drink wine.

Then He removed all curtains of the skies so that He may make His power visible to the angels. He sent those two angels on earth in the form of two handsome men and made them camp in Babylon. When they came to earth, they saw a very beautiful woman advancing towards them. She was fully adorned and perfumed and her face was unveiled. Now the two angels had a thought about the woman that they were prohibited from. They discussed it between themselves and decided to walk away from the temptation. After walking a few steps, passion overpowered them. They returned to that woman and asked her to allow them to have sex with her. That woman said, My religion does not allow me to lie with you until you adopt my religion.

They inquired her religion. She said, I can only fulfill the desire of the one who worships my Allah and who prostrates before my Allah and she pointed towards an idol saying, this is my Allah. The angels looked at one another and exclaimed: Now two sins (instead of one) confront us viz., one of Polytheism and another adultery. Then they consulted again but desire overtook them. So they said to the woman: We are agreeable. Then she said, As you are prepared to bow before the idol you must first drink wine because prostration without taking wine is not recognized. The angels consulted again and said, Now three sins confront us-drinking wine, having illegal sex and prostrating before an idol. They said to that woman: Verily you have proved a big trouble for us. Still we are ready to do whatever you say. So they drank the wine and bowed before the idol and they readied to lie with that woman when suddenly a beggar entered the place. They asked him: Who are you and why have you come here? He replied, “Your condition makes me doubt your intention. You are fearful and frightened and yet you have brought this woman to a solitary place. Surely you are evil fellows.” Saying this he went away.

Then that woman told the two, “I swear by my Allah that this man knows you and is aware of your place and has gone to disgrace both you and me. So I will not draw near to you. You must first kill him so that he may not be able to disgrace us and then come back to me and do whatever you wish.” At once, the two ran after that man and killed him. When they returned they did not find the woman there and found that suddenly their clothes had fallen down and they had become naked. They began to bite their fingers with an intense felling of shame and sorrow.

Allah revealed, “I sent you only for a while on earth to live with My creation, but in this little time you committed all the sins from which I had prohibited you from. You did not feel ashamed before Me, though it was you who were more than all others against the dwellers of the earth due to their disobedience and wanted that they should be punished. It was due to this fact that I had given you such a nature which did not entertain any wish to commit sin and it was I who had protected you from disobeying Me. Now when I lifted my protection from you and left you to your own you behaved like this. Now it is up to you to select for yourself either a worldly punishment or the other worldly chastisement.” One of the angels said, “Since we have come to the world we might as well enjoy our desires fully until we get the punishment of the Hereafter.” Another said, “The worldly punishment is limited which will end some day. But the chastisement of the Hereafter is everlasting. It is much harsher which we do not prefer.” So they opted for this world’s punishment and continued to teach magic to the people. They did so for a long time and when they perfected that teaching they were hung upside down in the air and will remain like that until the Day of the Resurrection Day.

Ayyashi has reported with another chain that once Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali was giving a sermon from the pulpit of the mosque of al-Kufah when one ‘Abdullah bin Al Kawaa said, Enlighten us about the red star that is Venus. said, Once Allah Almighty made the angels see the condition of human beings who were busy in disobeying Allah. The angels named Harut and Marut said, These are the people whose great grandfather Adam was the one whom You had created with your hand and it was he to whom you had asked the angels to bow before. Now they are disobeying you like this! Allah replied, “If I send you to in the earth with awareness of passions and desires you also will sin like them and disobey Me.” They claimed, “By Your Honor! We will never disobey You.”

Allah entangled them in passions and desires like humans and sent them down on the earth with the order that they should never make anyone His partner (shirk), never kill anybody wrongfully, never indulge in adultery and never drink wine. Then they began to guide and direct people on the earth.

This star (Venus) was a very beautiful woman. She had gone to one of those two angels for obtaining some kind of decision. At the very first sight of her that angel fell in love with her and told her that truth is with you (and my judgment will be in your favor) but only when you give me control over you. The woman promised to do so and fixed a time for them to meet. Then she went to the other angel. The same thing happened with him too and she gave him also the same promise and fixed a time for them to meet. When both the angels reached the venue at the appointed time and saw one another their heads bowed in shame. But soon decency went away from them they said to one another: I have come here for the same purpose for which you have come. Both asked the woman to allow them to have sex with her. She made them prostrate before her idol, made them drink wine, got a beggar killed by them and finally told them that she will not be pleased with them until they teach her the way of going up to the heaven. Now these two angels used to decide people’s disputes during the day and go up to the heaven at night. They refused to teach the woman how to go to the heaven and she in return did not fulfill their desire. At last the angels agreed to the last wish of the woman also and taught her how to go up in the heavens. In order to experiment she uttered the words taught by them and at once reached the heavens while the two stood wide-eyed. Allah turned the woman into the form of a star.1

While explaining this verse Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari has said that Imam as-Sadiq said that, after the time of Nuh, many people began to deceive others through magic (sorcery etc). Allah sent two angels to the Messenger of that time so that they may show the people what was magic and to explain to them why Allah had prohibited its use. It was like a doctor (physician) telling somebody that such and such thing is poisonous and therefore fatal and that its effect can be removed through such and such medicine. As Allah Almighty says: (Meaning: that Prophet asked those angels to appear like men and teach the people what Allah had shown them. So those two angels were teaching the people magic and the ways of making it ineffective. But before that they would inform the people that: We are a means of test and trial for the slaves of Allah so that they may obey Allah and nullify magic by what they learn, but not indulge in magic themselves and not become ‘Kafir’ (unbelievers) by harming others through magic. You are encouraging people by creating an impression that you are equal to Allah by killing or enlivening through magic. These things are Kufr (blasphemy-unbelief). (Even the men learned from these two, magic by which they might cause a separation between a man and his wife).

Said that the desirers of magic learned the magic of Satan which they had buried beneath the throne of Solomon (Sulayman) and attributed its magic to Sulayman. By doing this they were obtaining benefits from both the charms (enchantments) and from what was in possession of Harut and Marut. Through it they started making conspiracies and mischief, and causing conflicts and separations between people. They also indulged in backbiting. They would write things about a certain thing or person and then burn it at different places so that it would result in enmity or amity between the two parties. (And they cannot hurt anyone with it except with Allah’s permission). Allah says here that those who learn that thing cannot harm anyone except by Allah’s will and those whom Allah left on his own and had He wished He would have debarred him from His Mercy due to that person’s evil deeds or if He willed He would have stopped them per force. (And they learned what harmed them and did not profit them). said, After learning chants or magic they used to harm others through it. Thus they were learning only that which was destroying their religion and which did not give them any benefit in the Hereafter. Rather they were getting out of the religion of Allah due to that.

(And certainly they know that he who bought it should have no share of good in the Hereafter). (And evil was the price for which they sold their souls; had they but known this 2:102).

Thus they gave up their share from Paradise because they believed that there was no Allah, nor Hereafter, nor any life after death.

Narrators of traditions said to Imam Al-Hasan al-’Askari that some people say that Harut and Marut were two angels whom Allah had selected when men indulged in extreme rebellion; that Allah sent those two angels with other angels and that those two angels fell in love with Venus and desired to commit adultery with her. They drank wine, killed a man unlawfully and therefore Allah has kept them chastised in Babylon. That magicians were learning magic from those two angels. That Allah metamorphosed that woman into a star (Venus). (Imam said, I seek protection of Allah from such words because angels are sinless and have been saved from disbelief and evils by the Grace of Allah, as Allah has said about them: (They do not disobey Allah in what he commands them, and do as they are commanded. 66: 6) At another place He says that those who are near Allah, that is, angels, do not feel proud in the matter of worshipping Allah, nor do they tire but remain engaged in hallowing and praising Him day and night without fatigue.

Again He says: There are some of My precious slaves who make no excess in talking about Allah and do whatever Allah asks them to do. Had it been as people say then Allah would have appointed those angels as His caliphs on earth and they would have been Prophets and Imams in the world. Is it possible for any Prophet or Imam to kill anybody illegally and to indulge in adultery? Do you not know that Allah has never left the children of Adam any time anywhere in the world without a Prophet or an Imam? Have you not heard that Allah says that: We, before you, did not send towards them anyone but one from among the residents of the city on whom We sent revelation. So this is an evidence to prove that angels have never been sent on earth as leaders and rulers of men. Rather Allah has sent His (human) Prophets. The narrator said, Then on this ground of argument, Satan should also not have been an angel. replied,

“He was also not an angel but was a jinn (genie) as He says, Verily he was from the jinn and at another place He says, And the jinn we created before from intensely hot fire. (15:27)

Surely my great grandfather has, through my elders, narrated to us that the holy Prophet said, ‘Allah Almighty selected Muhammad and his progeny from the worlds and did not appoint angels who were near Him to do jobs about which he knew that they would not be able to perform, but who would, due to that, get away from Allah’s friendship and love and would also lose inerrancy and would enter a group which has earned Allah’s anger.’”

Narrators have said that some people asked Imam if it was true that when the holy Prophet specifically declared the Imamate (leadership) of Amir al-Mu’minin and Allah presented his Imamate to the angels many of them did not accept it? And Allah turned many of them into frogs? Imam said, “May Allah protect us, they have made a false allegation against them. Angels are the Messenger of Allah. Just as the Messengers can never disbelieve, the angels too cannot. Their grace is very high. They are pure of such things.”

Inshallah, we will describe all the events of angels and their inerrancy in another book ‘Ruh al-Arwah’. Thus, we conclude this volume here.

- 1. Sunnis have also written this in their commentaries and that many Sunni and Shi‘ah scholars have denied this story because what is said in this story is against the nature of angels (the nature as mentioned in authentic hadiths). Rather they say there were two angels whom Allah had sent on the earth for taking a test of men so that they may teach them the difference between magic and miracle and so that they may keep away from the former. They told the people that: We are not teaching this to you so that you can make it a means of earning in your world and become disbeliever by adopting magic. The angels did not commit any sin. They remained on earth for a long time and then went back to the heavens. And some say that the two were not angels but were two residents of Babylon who were famous for their virtues and hence were called angles. Some others say that this behavior is not contrary to the nature of angels because they have an angelic nature only up to the time they are in their original status of inerrancy and that they were no more angels after Allah turned them into the form of men. It is possible that their inerrancy had vanished. Though these statements do have weight yet many hadiths contradict them. Thus they conform with the common peoples and the Jewish traditions but against the belief of Shi‘ahs. Hence it is better to remain noncommittal in this matter. Therefore the explanation of this verse is mentioned in the commentary of Imam al-Hasan al-’Askari (to be seen in the text in the following pages.

Topic Tags:

- History of the Prophets [8]

- Prophets [9]

Author(s):

- Muhammad Baqir Majlisi [2]

Translator(s):

- Sayyid Athar Husayn S.H. Rizvi [7]

Publisher(s):

- Ansariyan Publications - Qum [3]

Source URL: https://www.al-islam.org/hayat-al-qulub-vol-1-stories-prophets-muhammad-baqir-majlisi

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[2] https://www.al-islam.org/person/allamah-muhammad-baqir-majlisi
[3] https://www.al-islam.org/organization/ansariyan-publications-qum
[4] https://www.al-islam.org/printpdf/book/export/html/45149
[5] https://www.al-islam.org/printepub/book/export/html/45149
[6] https://www.al-islam.org/printmobi/book/export/html/45149
[7] https://www.al-islam.org/person/sayyid-athar-husayn-sh-rizvi
[8] https://www.al-islam.org/tags/history-prophets
[9] https://www.al-islam.org/tags/prophets
[10] mailto:sayedathar@hotmail.com