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(This is) From what he dictated on Wednesday, the 19th of it (Ramadhan), and Abul Fawaris, may Allah keep him, heard it. The grand Sheikh al-Mufid Muhammad b. Muhammad b. al-No'man, may Allah continue His beneficent care for him, said; and this was read over to him:
1. Similitude of the transitory
He said: Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Husain reported to me from Abdullah b. Ja'far al-Himyari, who reported from Ayyub b. Nooh, from Muhammad Abu Umayr, from Jameel b. Darraj, from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, may Allah bless him with His mercy, that:
Ali b. al-Husain Zainul Abideen (AS) once addressed his companions thus: "O my brothers, I enjoin upon you for the next world, and I do not enjoin upon you this world of which you all are so greedy, and to which you are steadfastly stuck. Did you not hear what Isa, son of Maryam (AS) said to his disciples? He said to them: 'The world is like a bridge; you cross it and do not build upon it. And he said: Whoever among you ever builds a house on the sea waves? ' That is the similitude of this worldly abode, so do not treat it as a permanent place."
He said: Abu Bakr, Muhammad b. Umaral-Je'abi reported from Ali. b. Ismail, who reported from Muhammad b. Khalaf, who reported from Husain al-Ashqar, who reported from Qais, from Laith b. Abi Sulaim, from Abdul Rehman b. Abu Layla, from al-Husain b. Ali b. Abi Talib who said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Adhere yourselves to our love, the Ahlul Bait, for surely, whoever meets Allah, having love for us (in his heart) he shall enter Paradise with our intercession. And By Him Who controls my spirit, a servant (of Allah) benefits nothing from his (good) deeds, unless he has recognized our Truth."
He said: Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Husain reported to me from Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. al-Waleed, who reported from Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saffar, from Ya'qoob b. Yazeed, from Ibn Abi Umayr, from more than one source, that:
Abu Abdillah Ja'far b. Muhammad (AS) said: "Manly virtues are of two types; one in the hometown and another when you are travelling. As for the virtue in the hometown, it is to recite from the Qur'an, to attend the mosques, to keep in company of good people, and to ponder over religious injunctions. And when travelling, the virtue consists of offering ones provision generously to the fellow travellers, to be cheerful without indulging in jokes which Allah dislikes, to avoid, as much as you can, going against the wishes of your companions, and not to report on them after having parted their company."
He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar b. Salim reported to me from Ali b. Ismail Abul Hasan al-Atrush, who reported from Muhammad b. Khalaf al-Muqri, who reported from Husain al-Ashqar, who reported from Qais b. al-Rabi', who reported from his father, from Abdul Rehman b. Abi Layla, from al-Husain b. Ali b. Abi Talib (AS), that:
The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, (once) said: "O Anas! Send for the master of Arabs to come to me." He said: "O messenger of Allah, are you not the master of Arabs?" He said: "I am the master of all children of Adam, and Ali is the master of Arabs." So, he sent for Ali (AS) and when he arrived, the Prophet said: "Ask the Ansar (the helpers) to assemble." When they arrived, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "O people of Ansar, this is Ali, the master of Arabs, love him for the sake of my love, and honour him for the sake of my honour. Surely, what I tell you is exactly what Jibraeel has revealed to me from Allah, Most High."
5. Mahdi (AS) will rise after a time of trials & tribulations
He said: Abul Qasim Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Qawlawayh, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father, from Sa'd b. Abdillah, from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa, from Ibn Abi Umayr, from Abdullah b. Maskan, from Bashir al-Kannasi, from Abu Khalid al-Kabuli who said:
Ali b. al-Husain, peace be upon him, told me: "O Abu Khalid, there will come a time of trials and tribulations, (descending) like a piece of dark night, from which no one will be safe, except the one holding the covenant of Allah. These people will be the guiding lights and the sources of knowledge, whom Allah will have saved from all the dark temptations. As if I see your master, rising above the hill of your Najaf destined for Kufa, with three hundred and some odd over ten men, Jibraeel on his right, Mikaeel on his left, Israfil ahead of him, and with him (is) the Prophet's standard, unfurled, to whichever people he aims with it, they are destroyed by Allah."
6. The Prophet's (SAW) last assembly
He said: Abu Hafs, Umar b. Muhammad b. Ali al-Sayrafl, reported to me from Ja'far b. Muhammad al-Hasani, who reported from Isa b. Mehran, who reported from Yunus b. Muhammad, who reported from Abdul Rahman Ibn al-Ghaseel, who reported from Abdul Rahman b. Khallad al-Ansari, from Ikrarmah, from Abdullah b. Abbas who said:
Ali b. Abi Talib (AS), al-Abbas b. Abdul Muttalib and al-Fadhl b. al-Abbas called upon the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, in the last days of his illness, and said: "O messenger of Allah, these Ansar have gathered in the mosque, ladies and men, weeping over you." He asked: "What makes them weep?" They said: "They fear you might die." He said: "Hold me by your hands," then he came out, wrapped in his blanket and headcloth and sat on the pulpit. He thanked Allah and glorified His name, and then said:
"O people, what makes you feel unusual about your Prophet's death? Have I not announced death to you and have you not announced deaths among your own people? If there had been someone before me, and then the angel of death had come to him later, I would have also remained with you for that long. Be it known that I am going to meet my Sustainer, and I have left among you something, if you adhere to it, you will not be lost. The Book of Allah is with you, read it at dawn and dusk. And do not be each others' rivals, nor envious, not harbour any enmity against each other. Remain brothers as commanded by Allah. And then I have left behind my family, my Ahlul Bait, and I enjoin upon you about them.
And then I enjoin upon you about these people of Ansar, whose hardship for the sake of Allah, His Prophet and the believers are known to you. Did they not widen their houses and distribute equally their fruits? Did they not prefer others above themselves, though they were afflicted with poverty? So, whoever from among you is given any worthwhile authority, enabling him to harm or benefit, he should accept the righteous men from Ansar, and also forgive their evil-doers."
This was the last assembly in which he sat before he met with his Lord.
7. Ibn Abbas's address on Khilafah
He said: Abu Hafs Umar b. Muhammad reported to me from Abu Abdillah Ja'far b. Muhammad al-Hasani, who reported from Isa b. Mehran, who reported from Hafs b. Umar al-Farra, who reported from Abu Muaz al-Khazzaz from Ubaidullah b. Ahmad al-Rab'ai, who said:
While Ibn Abbas addressed the people of Basrah, when he came face to face with them, he said: "O people who are lost and confused about its faith, if you had given precedence to him who Allah had preferred, and if you had kept back him who Allah had kept back, and if you had kept the inheritance and the authority where Allah had kept them, then the share (in inheritance) ordained by Allah would not have devolved upon distant relatives (leaving behind the actual heirs), nor would the Wali of Allah have been deprived; and no two persons would have ever differed about a divine order, nor would the Ummah enter into any disputations about any interpretation of the Book of Allah. So now, have a taste of the evil consequence earned by your disregard, and by your own hands. And those who do injustice shall soon come to know what punishment awaits them."
8. The two who will be in deep anxiety
He said: Abu Hafs Umar b. Muhammad reported to me from Abu Abdillah Ja'far b. Muhammad, who reported from Isa b. Mehran who reported from Mukhawwal, who reported from al-Rabee' ibn al-Mundhair, from his father who said:
I heard al-Husain b. Ali (AS) say: "Surely, Abu Bakr and Umar grabbed away this affair (Caliphate), while the whole of it belonged to us. So they took it away inspite of us, and apportioned to us the share of a grandmother (from an estate). (NOTE: According to al-Nasai, Ibn Majah, al-Tirmidhi, Abu Bakr believed that grandmother's share was nil). By Allah, on the day where people will yearn for our intercession, these two will be in deep anxiety because of their action."
9. "I have not known of an assembly of people worse than you...." said Fatimah (AS)
He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je'abi reported to me from Abu al-Husain al-Abbas b. al-Mughairah, who reported from Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Mansoor al-Ramadi, who reported from Saeed b. Ufayr who reported from Ibn Lah'eah, from Khalid b. Yazeed, from Ibn Abi Hilal, from Marwan b. Uthman who said:
When people swore the allegiance on the hands of Abu Bakr, Ali (AS), al-Zubair and al-Miqdad entered the house of Fatimah, peace be upon her, and refused to come out. So, Umar b. al-Khattab said: "Set the house on fire upon them." Then al-Zubair came out with his sword. So Abu Bakr said: "Catch this dog." As they advanced towards him, he (al-Zubair) slipped and fell and the sword fell off his hand. Then Abu Bakr said: "Hit him with the stone." Zubair hit the stone till it broke.
Ali b. Abi Talib (AS) left the house from the direction of Aaliyah and met Thabit b. Qays b. Shammas. He said: "O Abul Hasan, what has happened to you?" He said: "They have resolved on burning down my house, while Abu Bakr is sitting on the pulpit, receiving allegiance, he neither prevents them for doing it nor is he condemning it." Thabit said: "My palm will not leave your hand, till I am killed by your side." So they moved forward together till they came back towards Madinah while Fatimah (peace be upon her) stood at her door, and all of the people had left her house. She was saying: "I have not known of an assembly of people worse than you; you left the messenger of Allah unattended, when his corpse lay before us; you resolved about your affairs among yourselves, refusing to seek our leadership; and you did to us what you did, and you recognized no right for us."
10. "Keep my cheek on the ground..." the last words of Umar
He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. al-Je'abi reported to me from Abul Husain al-Abbas b. al-Mughairah, who reported from Abu Bakr b. Mansoor al-Ramadi, who reported from Sulaiman b. Harb, who reported from Hammad b. Zaid, from Yahya b. Saeed, from Asim b. Ubaidullah, from Abdul Rahman b. Aban b. Uthman, from his father, from Uthman b. Affan who said:
I was the last to see Umar b. al-Khattab. I called upon him and saw his head on the lap of his son Abdullah, while he was weary. He told his son: "Keep my cheek on the ground." Abdullah refused, so he said: "Keep my cheek on the ground." Abdullah refused, so he said: "Keep my cheek on the ground, you motherless one." So he kept his (Umar's) cheek on the ground, and then Umar said: "O my mother! Woe to me, my mother! I am not forgiven (by Allah)." He went on saying that till he died.
11. Earning the promised blessing one has not seen
He said: Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Husain reported to me from his father, who reported from Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Attar, who reported from Muhammad b. Abu Al-Sahban, from Muhammad b. Abu Umayr, from Jamil b. Darraj, that:
Abu Abdillah Ja'far b. Muhammad (AS) who said: The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Blessed is he who denounces the tempting ready desire, to earn the promised blessing he has not seen."
12. About the people who apply analogy
He said: Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali reported from Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. al-Waleed, who reported from Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saffar, who reported from Ya'qoob b. Yazeed, from Hammad b. Isa, from Hammad b. Uthman, from Zurarah b. A'ayan who said:
Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali, peace be upon him, told me: "O Zurarah, keep away from the people who apply analogy in the matters of religion. Surely, they have abandoned the knowledge of what was assigned to them, and entered into unnecessary hair splitting matters, which had already been decided for them. They interpret the Traditions (the way they like) and impute lies to Allah, Most High. And as if I see a man among them who when called from the front, answers to the one behind him, and when called from behind, he hearkens to the one in front. They wonder aimlessly on the earth and in religion."
13. Cursed are those who follow analogy
He said: Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Husain reported to me from Muhammad b. Musa b. al-Mutawakkil, who reported from Ali b. al-Husain al-Sadabadi, who reported from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khalid, who reported from his father, from Ibn Abu Umayr, from more than one source, that:
Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, said: "Cursed are those who follow analogy, for they have changed the word of Allah, and the Prophet's traditions, and they have accused the truthfuls (of lying) about the religion of Allah, the Most High."
14. Traits of a religion person
He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je'abi reported to me from Abul Abbas Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Saeed, who reported from Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Khaqan al-Nahdi, who reported from Sulaim, the servant at the Darb al-Hubb (probably referring to Sulaim the servant of Ali b. Yaqteen), from Ibrahim b. Uqbah b. Ja'far, from Muhammad b. Nadhr b. Qarwash al-Nahdi, the camel hirer at Kufa, that:
Abu Abdillah, Ja'far b. Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: "A religious person thinks about his conduct with serenity, and when he submits (to such) he becomes humble, and when contented, he enjoys sufficiency, pleased with whatever he has been endowed with, and when he is alone, he craves no company; he abandons all base desires and thus becomes free. Being divested of the world, he is protected from the evils, having cast aside jealousy, he displays and earns love. He poses no threat to the people, so people are not afraid of him; he does not offend them, so he is secured from them, and he always censured himself for his own shortcomings in every matter, till he succeeds and reaches perfection. He has adopted the ways where lie his well-being and health, and therefore never regrets."
15. "There is no way, other than my way..." said the Prophet (SAW)
He said: Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali reported to me from his father, who reported from Sa'ad b. Abdillah, from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, from Muhammad b. Marwan, from (Zaid b.) Aban b. Uthman from Abu Basir, who reported that:
Abu Ja'far al-Baqir, peace be upon him, said: "When the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, was nearing his death, Jibraeel descended, and said to the Prophet: "O messenger of Allah! Would you like to return to the world?" He said: "No, for I have already conveyed the message of my Lord." Again he asked: "O messenger of Allah, would you like to go back to the world?" He said: "No, but I would like to be with the Friend, Most High." Then the Prophet turned to the Muslims who had gathered around him and said: "O people, there surely is no Prophet after me, and there is no way, other than my way. And whoever claims to be so, his pretence and innovation is destined for hell-fire. And whosoever claims that, kill him, and his followers will enter hell. O people revive the law of retribution, and revive the truth, and do not be divided among yourselves. Submit (to Allah), incline fully to peace, and you will be saved. Allah has decreed: 'I and My messenger certainly prevail, Indeed Allah is Mighty, Potent. ' (al-Mujadelah V:21)."
16. Alms given early morning...
He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je'abi reported to me from Abul Abbas b.Muhammad b. Saeed, who reported from Ja'far b. Abdillah, who reported from his brother Muhammad b. Abdillah, who reported from Ishaq b. Ja'far b. Muhammad, from Muhammad b. Hilal al-Mazhaji, who said:
Your father Ja'far b. Muhammad al-Sadiq (AS) told me: "When you are in (financial) need, rise early in the day, for the subsistence (Rizq) is distributed before sunrise. And Allah, Most High, has blessed this Ummah in its early hours; and give away alms in the early hour; because adversities do not follow the alms (Sadaqah)."