Shaykh al-Saduq mentions Umm al-Miqdam al-Thaqafiyyah in the section about transmitters of traditions in his book Man la Yahdaruhu al-Faqih in the chain of transmitters leading to Juwayriyah Ibn Musahhar1 who related the tradition of the 'returning of the sun' from Amir al-Mu'minin after the death of the Holy Prophet (S).2 However, no biographical dates are available for her.

She has related traditions from 'Abd al-Wahid Ibn Mukhtar3 and Juwayriyah Ibn Musahhar has related traditions from her.

Shaykh al-Saduq quotes Juwayriyah Ibn Musahhar as saying, "We were returning with Amir al-Mu'minin from fighting the Khawarij and reached the region of Babylon. It was time for the 'Asr (afternoon) Prayer. Amir al­Mu'minin dismounted, and everyone else dismounted too. Imam 'Ali ('a) said, 'O people, surely this land has been cursed and punished three times (twice according to another version).

This is the land of (Prophet) Lut, and it is also the first region where idols were worshipped. The Prophet and his successor are not allowed to pray on it, but any of you who want to pray can do so. People were standing in prayer on both sides of the road, while Imam 'Ali ('a), who was astride the Holy Prophet's mount, was continuing on his way."

Juwayriyah relates that she said, "'I swear by God that I shall follow Amir al-Mu'minin ('a) and pray with him today.' I followed him along the road and I swear to God, when we reached the bridge of Surah4 the sun was setting. I complained.

He turned to me and said, 'O Juwayriyah, are you complaining?'

I answered, 'Yes, Amir al-Mu'minin.'

A little further on, Imam 'Ali ('a) dismounted and made the ablution. Then he stood and spoke a certain word, which seemed to be in Hebrew, and uttered the call to prayer. I looked up to the sun, and I swear to God, it came out from behind the mountain, and I heard a sound. Imam 'Ali ('a) prayed, and I prayed with him. When we finished our prayer, the sun started to set again from where it had been before. Imam 'Ali ('a) turned to me and said: 'Invoke the name of your Lord Almighty.' I did so, and he returned the sun (again) for me."' It is narrated that Juwayriyah, after seeing all this, said, "I swear by the Lord of the Ka'bah that you are the successor of the Prophet (S)."5

• 1. Shaykh al-Tusi has said that Juwayriyah Ibn Musahhar al-'Abdi al-'Arabi al-Kufi was one of the companions of Imam 'Ali ('a). Ziyad Ibn Abih cut off the hands and feet of Juwayriyah during the reign of Mu'awiyah. [Tanqih al-Maqal, vol. 1, p. 239].
• 2. Al-Faqih, vol. 4, p. 439.
• 3. 'Abd al-Wahid Ibn al-Mukhtar al-Ansari was one of the companions of Imam al­Baqir ('a). Ibn Bukayr, Zurarah, and al-Fudayl Ibn Yasar have related from him. [Jami' al-Ruwat, vol. 1, p. 523].
• 4. This is a region in Babil where one has to cross a river.
• 5. Man la Yahdaruhu al-Faqih, vol. 1, p. 204.