30 May EPISTLES (TAWQEEAAT) OF IMAM MAHDI (ATFS) – PART 3
EPISTLES (TAWQEEAAT) OF IMAM MAHDI (ATFS) – PART 3
Continue from part 2 …..
37 – And informed us Abu Muhammad Hasan bin Muhammad bin Yahya Alawi the nephew of Tahir in Baghdad, on the side of the cotton market in his house that:
“Abul Hasan Ali bin Ahmad bin Ali Aqiqi in the year 298 A.H. came to meet Ali bin Isa bin Jarrah who was the vizier at that time, so that he could advise him regarding his government and to advance his needs to him.
The vizier replied, ‘You have many relatives in this city and if all of them start asking their needs and if we decide to entertain all of them, it will become a huge task and we will never be able to resolve the matter.’ Aqiqi replied, ‘Therefore I am asking my need from the one through whom difficulties are solved.’ Ali bin Isa inquired, ‘Who is he?’ He replied, ‘Allah, the Almighty.’ With this he went out of the room angrily. Aqiqi used to say, ‘I came out angrily and was saying, ‘Allah, the lord of the Universe, gives patience on every calamity and solves every difficulty.’
Uttering this statement I left from there. Then a messenger from Husain bin Rauh came to me with a message from him. I complained to him about the vizier and he in turn narrated my complaint about the vizier to Husain bin Rauh (r.a.). That messenger returned and gave me one hundred dirhams. I counted all of them and weighed them. He also gave me a handkerchief and some quantity of Hunoot (camphor) and a few shrouds and declared, ‘Your master has conveyed salutations to you and said that whenever any difficulty or sorrow befalls you, at that time wipe your face with this handkerchief. It is your master’s handkerchief.
Take this money, camphor and shroud along with you and know that tonight your wishes will be fulfilled.’ He also said, ‘When you reach Egypt, Muhammad bin Ismail will die 10 days before you and then after 10 days, even you will leave the world. This shroud and camphor are for you.’ I took it from the messenger and he left.
I was busy at home when there was a knock. I asked my servant, ‘Is everything all right? Go and see who is there.’ He went to see and replied, ‘Everything is fine. The vizier’s paternal cousin Hamid bin Muhammad Kaatib’s servant has come.’ He brought him to me. The servant said to me, ‘The vizier and my master Hamid have called you.’
I mounted my horse and went ahead till I reached the lane of Wazzaneen and saw that Hamid was sitting and waiting for me. When he saw me, he advanced towards me and shook hands with me and both of us headed for the vizier’s house. The Vizier said to me, ‘O old man, Allah has fulfilled your wish.’ Then he apologized to me (of his past behavior) and gave me some official papers bearing his seal. I took them and came out.”
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan bin Muhammad says: Abul Hasan Ali bin Ahmad al-Aqiqi narrated this to us in Nasibain and said to me, “These scents have not come but from my aunt.” He did not mention her name. I really wished the scents for myself. Al-Husain bin Rauh had told me, “I have the lost commodity.” He had written to me about what I wanted.
So I went to him and kissed his forehead and his eyes and said, “O my master, show me the burial shrouds and the scents and the dirhams.” He took out the shrouds for me. There was a cloak in them which was embroidered and was woven at Yemen, three garments from Khurasan, and a turban. The scents were in a sac.
He took out the dirhams. I counted them. They were one hundred. I said, O my master, give me one dirham from them, I will make a ring out of it.” He said, “How can that be? Take anything else from me.” I begged and entreated that I wanted a dirham from those dirhams. I kissed his head and his eyes.
He gave me a dirham, which I fastened in my handkerchief and then put it in my sleeve. When I went to the inn, I opened the long sack which I had and put the handkerchief, in which the dirham was tied, in it. I put my books and notebooks over it. I stayed some days and then came back to get the dirham. The sack was tied as it had been, but nothing was in it. Different thoughts were ravaging through my head. I went to the door of al-Aqiqi and said to his servant, Khair, “I want to see the Shaykh.”
He took me inside. Al-Aqiqi said, “What is happening?” I said, “My master, the dirham which you gave me, I did not put it back.” He called for his sack and took out the dirhams and counted them; they were one hundred by number and weight. There was no one with me who I would suspect of wrongdoing. I asked him to give it back to me. He turned me down.
And then he went to Egypt and took his lost commodity. Muhammad bin Ismail had died ten days before him and then he died and was shrouded in the burial shrouds he was given.”
38 – Narrated to us Ali bin Husain bin Shaazaway Muaddab (r.a.) that he said: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Abdullah from his father Abdullah bin Ja’far Himyari: Narrated to me Muhammad bin Ja’far: Narrated to me Ahmad bin Ibrahim that he said:
“I went to Lady Hakima, the daughter of Muhammad Ibne Ali as-Reza (a.s.) and the sister of Abul Hasan of Al-Askar (a.s.) in the year two hundred and sixty two. I conversed with her from behind the curtain and asked her about her religion. She named to me the Imams she followed and then she said, “And al-Hujja Ibn al-Hasan Ibn Ali,” and mentioned his name. I said to her, “May I be sacrificed on you, do you say this on the basis of observation or on the basis of the word of the Infallible?”
She said, “Words of Abu Muhammad, which he wrote to his mother.” I asked, “Where is then the son?” She said, “He is in hiding,” “To who are the Shias to turn for guidance?” “To the grandmother, the mother of Abu Muhammad (a.s.).” “Who has he emulated in assigning a woman as his deputy?” “He has emulated al-Husain Ibn Ali (a.s.). Al-Husain Ibn Ali (a.s.) assigned his sister, Zainab binte Ali in the superficies.
The learning and knowledge coming from Ali Ibn al-Husain (a.s.) were attributed to Zainab Ibn Ali in order to maintain secrecy over Ali Ibn al-Husain (a.s.).” Then she said, “You are scholars of narrations. Have you not narrated that the inheritance of the ninth from the sons of Husain Ibn Ali will be divided in his lifetime?”
39 – Narrated to us Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Ishaq Taliqani (r.a.) that:
“I was in the company of Shaykh Abul Qasim Husain Ibne Rauh (q.s.) with a group of people including Ali bin Isa Qasri when a man stood up and said:
‘I wish to pose some questions to you.’ He (Ibne Rauh) replied, ‘You may ask.’ He asked, ‘Please tell me if Husain (a.s.) is the Wali (saint) of Allah?’ He replied at once, ‘Yes.’ He asked, ‘Is it possible for Allah to give power to His enemy over this friend?’ Husain bin Rauh said, “Pay attention to what I am saying and remember it.
You should know that the Almighty Allah does not speak to the people directly. But He sends some prophets of His to them. If He had sent non-humans as prophets they would not have gathered near him, they would have shunned him.
That’s why the prophets were from the people (human). They used to eat like humans and walked in the streets and bazaars. People used to say to him: You are like us and we are like you. We do not accept that you are a prophet but that you present some miracle. If you show a miracle we would know that you have a special distinction from Allah, which we do not have.
Thus the miracles of the prophets are the greatest proof of the veracity of their claims. Therefore some of them after warnings and completion of proof presented the miracle of the flood and storm and the arrogants were drowned.
Some were such that when thrown into the fire, it became cool and comfort for them. For some of them the sea split and the enemies drowned in it. The Almighty Allah turned the dry staff into a python. Of them were such through whose hands the Almighty enlivened the dead and for some split the moon and in the same way gave speech to animals like camel and wolf, etc.
In other words the divine prophets presented such miracles that people were not capable of performing them. The wisdom of the Almighty was such that the prophets, though they possessed the miracles sometimes they achieved victories and sometimes they suffered defeat. If they had always been victorious and had never suffered defeat and calamities the people would have mistaken them for being God and considered them all-powerful.
Thus the prophets, despite their miracles were sometimes victorious and successful and sometimes vanquished, therefore the people did not perceive them to be omnipotent and realized that there was a power above the prophets Who is the creator and Nourisher of the Universe? They were compelled to confess to Him and obey His prophets, who are the proofs of Allah over the people.
Anyone who saw their propagation, warnings and signs decided and confessed that it was truth and worth obedience. In this way they secured their salvation and those who deviated from this and became inimical to the divine messengers fell into everlasting chastisement. So: that he who would perish might perish by clear proof, and he who would live might live by clear proof.’”
Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Ishaq says that the reply of Husain bin Rauh was so astonishing that the next day he went to him to ask him whether it was his own reply or he had learnt it from the Infallible Imam (a.s.). Husain bin Rauh told him: “O Muhammad bin Ibrahim! I never say anything on my own even in the most difficult circumstances. Rather the source of all the things is from the favors I have received from the Proof of Allah and heard from him…”
40 – Narrated to us Ahmad bin Muhammad Yahya al-Attar (r.a.): Narrated to us my father: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Shazan bin Nuaim Shazani that:
“Four hundred and eighty dirhams were given to me as religious dues. I added another twenty from myself and sent them to Abul Husain al-Asadi and did not tell him about the twenty from my own. The answer came, “The five hundred dirhams, of which twenty were yours, was received.”
Muhammad bin Shazan says: After that I sent some money and did not specify who the senders were. The receipt that came specified the name of each individual and the amount he had sent.
Abul Abbas al-Kufi said: A certain man took some money to deliver to the Imam. He desired to see a proof. The Master of the Age (a.s.) wrote to him, “If you should desire guidance, you will be guided, and if you seek, you will find. Your master is saying to you, “Bring what is with you.”
The man says, “I kept dinars out from the money that was with me. I did not weigh those six coins and passed on the rest. A letter came, “Return the six, which you took out without weighing. Their weight is six dinars and five dawaniq and one and a half grain.” I weighed the dinars and they were as the Imam (a.s.) had said.”
41 – Narrated to us Abu Muhammad Ammar bin Husain bin Ishaq Usrooshini (r.a.) that: Narrated to us Abul Abbas Ahmad bin Khizr bin Abi Salih Khujandi (r.a.) that:
“After he had been fascinated with the search and investigation into the matter of Imamate after the Eleventh Imam and had left his homeland to find out what to do, a letter came to him from the Master of the Time (a.s.) as follows:
‘Whoever searches, he seeks; and whoever seeks, he leads on; and whoever leads on, he destroys; and whoever destroys, he worships a deity other than Allah.’ At that, he gave up the search and returned.
It is narrated about Abul Qasim bin Rauh that with regard to the tradition that His Eminence, Abu Talib brought faith Islam on the basis of the numeric values of Arabic letters’, Ibne Rauh tied sixty-three knots with his hand. And then he said: It means that Allah is Wahid (One) and Jawad (generous).
42 -Narrated to us Ahmad bin Harun Faami (r.a.): Narrated to us Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ja’far Himyari from his father from Ishaq bin Haamid Katib that he said:
“There was in Qom a faithful cloth seller. One of his partners in business was from the Murjiah sect. Once they received a very fine piece of cloth. The believer said: I will send this cloth to the Master (Imam). His partner said: I don’t know your Master, but you can do what you like. So the believer sent that cloth to the Imam. The Imam cut the cloth into half, kept one piece and returned the other and said: We don’t need anything from Murjiah.”
43 – Abdullah bin Ja’far Himyari said:
An epistle came to Shaykh Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Uthman Amri from the Imam, expressing condolence at the passing away of his father. One part of the epistle said:
“Indeed we are from Allah and to Him we shall return…We submit to His command and are satisfied with His decree. Your father has lived in good fortune and has passed away with dignity. May Allah’s mercy be upon him, he has joined his friends and masters. Your father was always in the affair of the Imams (a.s.) and whatever would bring him near to Allah. May Allah brighten his countenance forgive his mistakes!
May Allah give you more reward…and from the success of that departed one it is sufficient that he had a son like you, who would succeed him in his place and invoke mercy for him. And I also say that thanks be to my Lord because the hearts of the Shias are happy because of what Allah had made in you. May Allah help you and make you succeed. May He be your guardian and protector.”
Epistles from the Master of the Age
Issued to Amari and his son (r.a.) narrated by Saad bin Abdullah.
44 – Shaykh Abu Ja’far (r.a.) said: Saad bin Abdullah has narrated as follows:
“May Allah make you successful in His obedience and steadfast in his religion and may He make you fortunate by His pleasure. I have learnt of what you have mentioned about Mithami and what he has stated about Mukhtar. And the one who met Mukhtar and spoke to him and concluded that the sole successor of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) is only Ja’far, the son of Imam Hadi (a.s.), and that he considered his Imamate to be valid. We have taken note of the whole matter that you had received from the friends and companions (Shias). And I seek refuge of Allah from blindness after light and vision, and from deviation after guidance and from evil deeds and dangerous mischiefs, while the Almighty Allah says:
أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ
“Do men think that they will be left alone on saying: We believe, and not be tried?”6
And it is indeed surprising! How people fall into mischief and step into bewilderment and lean towards left and right and separate from their religion. Are they victims of doubt? Are they inimical to truth? Are they ignorant of the message and import of authentic traditions and correct reports? Or is it that they are aware of it but they have made themselves forget it?
Indeed the earth is never devoid of the proof, whether apparent or hidden. They have not seen and do not know that the Imams have arrived one after the other after their Prophet till the position reached Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and he sat on the seat of his respected father by the leave of Allah and guided towards the true path. He was the luminous star and the brilliant moon. Then the Almighty Allah summoned him to His presence and took him in His mercy. He, like his respected forefathers, made a bequest and entrusted his successorship and the covenant and last Imamate to his successor and his legatee.
The Almighty Allah, by His predetermined will, concealed his location and His elevated rank is with us, Ahlul Bayt and His favor is for us. If the Almighty Allah permits me to reappear, I would present truth in the best form and the most illuminated argument and sign, and I would have made myself apparent and established the proof. But the will of Allah is more dominant and cannot be subverted and His decision does not change.
And the time decided by Him does not become apparent. On the basis of this they should keep aloof from their sensual desires and remain steadfast on the path they were on before this. And they must not try to search out needlessly that, which Allah has kept concealed as they would become sinful and they must not try to expose the divine secret, as they would regret it.
Although they should know that the truth is by us and with us and no one except us would claim thus, but that he or she would be a liar and fabricator. None except us can claim thus, except that he or she be deviated. Therefore, what we have stated here should suffice for them, rather than seeking further clarifications. Rather than desiring more explanation and details, they should rest content with this much, if Allah wills.”
Supplication during the Occultation of the Qaim
45 – Narrated to us Abu Muhammad Husain bin Ahmad Mukattib: Narrated to us Abu Ali bin Hammam the following supplication and mentioned that Shaykh Amri (q.s.) had dictated it to him and commanded him to recite it and it is the supplication of the occultation of al-Qaim (a.s.).
‘O Allah introduce Yourself to me. For if You don’t introduce Yourself to me I will not recognize Your Prophet. O Allah introduce Your Messenger to me for if You don’t introduce Your Messenger to me I will not recognize Your Proof. O Allah introduce Your proof to me for if You don’t introduce Your proof to me I will deviate in my religion. O Allah don’t let me die the death of ignorance and do not turn my heart after guidance. O Allah when you have guided me to the guardianship of the one whose obedience is incumbent on me who is the master of Your affair after Your Messenger. Peace be on him and his progeny. So I became attached to the master of your affair, Amirul Momineen, Hasan, Husain, Ali, Muhammad, Ja’far, Musa, Ali, Muhammad, Ali, Hasan and Hujjat al-Qaim Mahdi, Your bliss be on them all. O Allah, keep me steadfast on Your religion, keep me prepared for Your obedience all the time and keep my heart soft for the master of Your affair. Save me from those trials in which You involve Your creatures. And keep me steadfast on the obedience of Your Wali whom You have concealed from the view of Your creatures. Who is waiting for Your command and You are the learned without being taught, about the time when the circumstances of Your Wali will be reformed and when he will reappear and the veil of occultation shall be opened. Then give me patience so that I don’t make haste in what You have delayed or that I be inclined to the delay of that which You want to hasten. And that I do not ask of the exposition of what You have concealed. And search for that which You have concealed. Or that I should be dissatisfied with what You have decreed. And I should not say why and how the hidden Imam is not reappearing while the world is fraught with injustice and oppression. I have entrusted all my affairs to You.
O Allah, I ask You to let me see the incomparable elegance of Your Wali when his rules shall be enforced. I know that the proof, argument, evidence, exigency, intention and strength is all for You only. So do this favor on me and the believers that we see Your Wali Amr. Your bliss be on him and his progeny. In this way should His command become apparent and his guidance should become clear. He is one who brings out from misguidance to guidance and one who cures from the malady of ignorance. O Lord, reveal his countenance, make his pillars firm and include us among those who witness his incomparable elegance. And give is the good sense (Taufeeq) to serve him. And that we may die on his faith and are raised in his army.
O Allah, protect the hidden Imam whom You have created from every kind of mischief, whom You brought from nonentity to being, whom You created, raised up and gave a form. And protect the Imam from the evil that comes to him from the front and from behind. From right and the left. From above and from below. Keep him in Your protection. In a protection after which none can harm him. And through him protect the Prophet and the successor of the Prophet. O Allah, give the Imam of the Age a long life. Increase his lifespan. Help him in the Wilayat and rulership that you will grant to him. He is the guided one, one who will establish the truth, the pure, pious, sincere, satisfied, pleasing, patient, one who makes effort in the way of Allah and the thankful one.
O Allah, do not destroy our certainty due to the prolongation of his occultation and due to lack of news about him. Give us perfect faith in his remembrance, in his awaiting and in him. Do not make us careless of our duty of praying for him and for invoking divine blessings on him. Do not make us fall in despair for his reappearance and we should have firm certainty in his advent like we are certain of the advent of Your Messenger. And like we have faith in all that was revealed on the Prophet. Make our faith in these things strong. Till You make me walk the path of guidance by the Great Proof and the middle path. Give us the capability of his obedience and keep us steadfast in following him. Include us among his forces, his friends and his helpers. And make us among those who are satisfied with each of his actions. And don’t deprive us of this bounty; neither in the lifetime nor at the time of death. Till we die on the same faith and certainty. Make us not among those who doubt or those who break the covenant or those who fall in sloth or those who deny.
O Allah, hasten his reappearance and help him and help those who help him. Abandon whose who desert him and destroy those who are inimical to him and those who deny him. Through his being make the true religion apparent. Through him destroy falsehood. Through him save the believers from degradation. Inhabit the cities through his blessings. Eliminate the oppressors of disbelief through him. Destroy the strength of the leaders of the misguided ones and humiliate the tyrants and disbelievers through him. Through his destroy all the hypocrites, oath-breakers, irreligious that live in the east and the west of the earth, on land and on water, in plains or hills so that neither their cities should remain nor their vestiges. And that Your cities may be purified from them. And cure the hearts of Your servants from them, and through the Imam of the Age revive all that has been destroyed from Your religion, all the laws that have been changed and all Your practices that have been altered. Through the Imam reform all these things so that Your religion get a new lease of life and becomes perfect. The divine laws should become worthy of being followed without any hesitation and innovation. Due to his just rule the fire of disbelief should be extinguished because he is the one whom You have kept especially for Yourself. Whom You chose for helping Your Prophet. You chose him for Your knowledge and protected him from sins and immune from all defects. And You informed him of the secrets of the Unseen and sent Your bounties upon him. You kept him away from every impurity and clean from every ignorance and disobedience.
O Allah, bless them and their purified forefathers. And on their prominent Shias; and fulfill his hope. And keep this supplication of us pure from every doubt and show-off. So that we do not intend to please anyone but You.
O Allah, we beseech in Your court that our Prophet is also not among us. And our leader is also hidden from us. We are surrounded by hardships and trials of the world. The enemies have got an upper hand over us. Your opponents are more and our numbers are few.
So, Allah, save us from these calamities at the earliest and give us victory through the just Imam. O the true deity, accept our plea.
O Allah, we beseech You to permit Your Wali to express Your justice among Your servants and that he may slay Your enemies till there does not remain any caller to oppression. O Lord, demolish the pillars of oppression and destroy the foundations of tyranny. Demolish their pillars and blunt their sword. Make their weapons useless. Lower their flags and eliminate their fighters. Put discord into their forces. O Lord, send down hard stones upon them and hit them with Your sharp sword. Do not turn away the severity of Your chastisement from the criminals. Send down chastisement on the enemies of Your Wali and the enemies of Your Messenger through the hands of Your Wali and the hands of Your servants.
O Lord, suffice for Your Hujjat and Your Wali in the earth from the fear of their enemies. And nullify the plots that they devise for him. Imprison in the circle of evil one who intends bad for the Qaim. Remove the mischief of the world through his blessed existence and put awe into the hearts of his enemies. Make the steps of his enemies waver. Leave his enemies confused and send down severe chastisement on them. Degrade them among Your servants. Make them accursed in Your cities. And put them in the lowest level of Hell. And send your worst punishment for them. Fasten them with fire and fill the graves of their dead with fire. And tie them with the fire of Hell. They are the same who considered Prayer unimportant, who followed their base desires and humiliated Your servants.
O Allah, revive the Quran through Your Wali. Show us its effulgence which is permanent and in which there is no darkness. Enliven the dead hearts through him. Cure the hearts which are full of malice. And through him bring together on truth different selfish desires. Through him revive the laws that have been made obsolete so that the truth becomes triumphant and justice is established. O Lord, include us among his helpers. That we may strengthen his rule and be of those who follow his commands and are satisfied with each of his actions. Make us of those who submit to his commands. Make us such that people do not have to resort to dissimulation from us. O Lord, You are the only one who saves from every harm. You answer the prayer of the helpless. You save from great sorrow and pain. Thus O Lord, remove every harm from Your Wali. Appoint him as Your Caliph on the earth as You have decided about him.
O Lord, do make me of those who dispute with the Aale Muhammad and don’t make me among their enemies. Don’t make me one who is displeased and angry with Aale Muhammad. Thus I seek Your refuge from this; so please give me refuge. And I beseech You to grant me.
O Allah, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and make me successful with them in the world and the hereafter and make me from those who are proximate to You.
46 – Narrated to us Abu Muhammad al-Hasan bin Muhammad al-Maktab that: In the year Shaykh Abul Hasan Ali bin Muhammad as-Saymoori (q.s.) passed away when I was in the City of Islam (Baghdad). Thus a few days before his demise I went to him and saw that he was showing a Tawqee to the people which read as follows:
“In the Name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful. O Ali bin Muhammad as-Saymoori, may Allah give good rewards to your brethren concerning you (i.e. on your death), for indeed you shall die after six days. So prepare your affairs, and do not appoint anyone to take your place after your death. For the second occultation has now occurred, and there can be no appearance until, after a long time when Allah gives His permission, hearts become hardened and the world is full of injustice. And someone shall come to my partisans (Shia) claiming that he has seen me; but beware of anyone claiming to have seen me before the rise of al-Sufyani and the outcry from the sky, for he shall be a slanderous liar.
And there is no strength and might except for Allah, the High and the Mighty.”
He says: “We took a copy of the Tawqee and left him and on the sixth day we again went to him to find him in throes of death. So we asked him: Who is your successor? He said in reply:
For Allah is the affair, He would attain it. And he passed away, may Allah be pleased with him and those were the last words that I heard from him.”
47 – Narrated to us Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Ali bin Ahmad bin Buzurg bin Abdullah bin Mansur bin Yunus Ibne Buzurg, a companion of as-Sadiq (a.s.) that: I heard Muhammad bin Hasan Sairafi Dauraqqi, a native of Balkh say:
“I desired to go to Hajj and had some religious dues, some of which were gold and some were silver. I melted the gold and the silver and rendered them into pieces. These funds had been entrusted to me to deliver them to Shaykh Abul Qasim Husain bin Rauh. When I reached Sarakhs, I erected my tent on a sandy spot and began separating the pieces of gold and silver. One of the pieces fell from me and went into the sand and I did not notice.
When I reached Hamadan, I went over the gold and silver once again as a precaution to guard them, and found out that one piece, which weighed a hundred and three metical, or he said, ninety three metical, was missing. I replaced that piece with another piece of the same weight from my own funds and put it with the other pieces of gold and silver. When I reached Baghdad, I went to Shaykh Abul Qasim Husain bin Rauh and gave him all of the gold and silver I was carrying.
He stretched his hand and pulled out the piece I had included from my own funds, from amongst all the pieces, threw it to me and said, ‘This piece is not ours. Our piece is the one you lost at Sarakhs, where you erected your tent over the sands. Return to that place and disembark where you had disembarked and search for the piece there beneath the sands. You will find it there and when you will come back here, you will not see me.’
I went back to Sarakhs and disembarked where I had stayed and found the piece of gold. I went back to my lands and when the next time I went for Hajj, I took the piece and went to Baghdad, and found out that Shaykh Abul Qasim Husain bin Rauh had passed away. I met Abul Hasan al-Samari and gave the piece to him.”
48 – Narrated to us Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Ahmad Buzurgi that:
“I saw in Surre-Man-Raa a young man in the Masjid famous as Masjid Zubaidiya on the Market Road, and he mentioned that he was a Hashimite from the descendants of Musa bin Isa. Abu Ja’far did not mention his name. I was praying; when I completed the prayer, he asked: Are you Qummi or Raazi? I said: I am Qummi but I am caretaker of the masjid of Amirul Momineen (a.s.) in Kufa. He said: Do you know the house of Musa bin Isa in Kufa? I said: Yes. He said: I am his son. And he said: My father had a number of brothers and the eldest of the brothers was very rich but he did not give anything to his younger brothers. One day the younger brother came to the elder brother and stole six dinars from him. The elder brother said to himself: I will go to Imam Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Reza (a.s.) and request him to tell my younger brother to return it. Perhaps he will return my money as the Imam has a kind way of speaking.
In the morning he thought to himself: Instead of going to the Imam it would be better to complain to the ruler’s police officer. So he went to the officer but he was busy in a game. He waited for him to finish the game. Meanwhile a messenger of the Imam came and told the elder brother that the Imam was calling him. When he went to the Imam, the Iman said: In the evening you had made a request to us but in the morning you changed your mind.
Go back home check the box in which you keep your money. Your money has come back so don’t suspect your brother. Behave nicely with him and give him something from your funds. If you don’t want to give him, send him to us, we will give him. He says: On the way back I met my servant who told me that the money box has been found.”
Abu Ja’far Buzurgi says: The next day that young man took me home and played host to me. Then he called out to his bondmaid and said either, “Ghazzal or O Zulal. Suddenly an aged bondmaid came. He said to her, “Bond maid, speak to your master of the narrative of the applicator and the baby.”
She said, “We had a child who was sick. My mistress asked me to go to the house of al-Hasan bin Ali (a.s.) and ask Lady Hakima to give us something to bless our child with health. I went to Lady Hakima and asked her that. Lady Hakima said, ‘Bring me the applicator by which the baby was born yesterday, has received kuhl.” Meaning the son of al-Hasan bin Ali. The servant brought the applicator and she gave it to me and I brought it to my mistress. She applied kuhl to our child and he was healed and he lived. We used to seek cure through that applicator and then we lost it.”
Abu Ja’far Buzurgi says: In the Kufa masjid I met Abul Hasan bin Barhuna Barsi and narrated this tradition to him from that Hashemite youth. He said: That Hashimi has narrated the same story to me without omitting or adding anything.
49 – Narrated to us Husain bin Ali bin Muhammad Qummi, known as Abi Ali Baghdadi that:
“When I was in Bukhara a man known as Ibne Jaushir handed me ten pieces of gold and asked me to give them to Shaykh Abul Qasim Husain bin Rauh in Baghdad. I carried them with me and when I reached Amawaih, I lost one of the pieces. I did not realize this until I reached Baghdad. I took out all of the gold for delivery, but I noticed one was missing.
So I bought another piece of equal weight in its place and put it with the other nine pieces. Then I went to Shaykh Abul Qasim Husain bin Rauh and put the pieces in front of him. He said, “Take it. That piece which you bought is yours,” pointing with his hand towards the piece. “The piece which you lost has already reached us, and here it is.” Then he pulled out the piece which I had lost at Amawaih. I looked at it and recognized it.
Husain bin Ali bin Muhammad, known as Abu Ali al-Baghdadi said: I saw that year in Baghdad a woman who was asking me about the representative of our Masters (a.s.) who he was. One of the Qummis told her that he is Abul Qasim Husain bin Rauh and led her to me. She came to him when I was there and said, “O Shaykh, what do I have with me?” He said, “Whatever you have with you, throw it at the Tigris river and then come back to me, so I may inform you.”
The woman went and carried what was with her and threw it at the Tigris and then returned. Abul Qasim Husain said to a bondmaid of his, “Bring me the case.” Then he said to the woman, “This is the case that was with you and you threw it into the Tigris. Should I tell you what is in it or you are going to tell me?”
“You tell me,” said the woman. He said, “There is a pair of gold bracelet in this case and a big ring fastened with jewels, and two small rings fastened with jewels and two rings, one of them turquoise and the other cornelian.” It was as he had said and he had not left out anything.
Then he opened the case and showed me its contents. The woman also looked at it. She exclaimed, “This is the very case I carried and threw into the Tigris.” I and the woman fainted out of happiness of seeing this miraculous proof of the truth of guidance.
After he narrated this tradition to me, Husain said, “I bear witness by Allah, the High, that this tradition is as I told you, neither have I added into it, nor did I omit anything from it.” He took solemn oaths by the Twelve Imams, peace be with them all, that he spoke the truth and did not add or omit.”
50 – Narrated to us Abul Faraj Muhammad bin Muzaffar bin Nafees Misri Faqih that: Narrated to us Abul Hasan Muhammad bin Ahmad Dawoodi from his father that he said:
“It is narrated about Abul Qasim bin Rauh that with regard to the tradition that His Eminence, Abu Talib brought faith Islam on the basis of the numeric values of Arabic letters’, Ibne Rauh tied sixty-three knots with his hand. And then he said: It means that Allah is Ahad (One) and Jawad (generous).”
The explanation of this is the sum total of the numeric equivalents of the letters of the sentence: Allah is Ahad (One) and Jawad (generous) is 63. That is A=1, L=30, H=5 + A=1, H’=8, D=4 + J=3,W=6,A=1,D=4. Hence sum total is 63.
51 – Narrated to us Muhammad bin Ahmad Shaibani and Ali bin Ahmad bin Muhammad Daqqaq and Husain bin Ibrahim bin Ahmad bin Hisham Muaddab; and Ali bin Abdullah Warraq – May Allah be pleased with them – they said: Narrated to us Abul Husain Muhammad bin Ja’far Asadi (r.a.):
“The follow epistle was received from the Imam through Shaykh Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Uthman (q.s.) in reply to my question:
As for a question you asked about the Prayer at the time of sunrise and sunset its reply is as follows: It is so that they say that the sun rises and sets between the two horns of Shaitan, then what is better than prayer that it may rub the nose of Shaitan on the earth? Therefore recite prayer at this time and rub the nose of Shaitan (humiliate him).
As for a question about that which has become endowed about us and that which is fixed for us, but inspite of this if its owner becomes needful of it, its reply is as follows: Till it has not been accepted, a transaction is allowed to be made invalid and one could spend from it. If it has been accepted it cannot be made invalid, whether he is needful of it or not.
As for that which you asked: that if someone is having something from our property and he spends it without our permission as if he is himself the owner and considers it permissible for himself.
The reply to it is as follows: One who does thus is accursed and on the Day of Judgment we would be displeased with him. The Holy Prophet (S) has certainly said: “Anyone who considers a prohibited thing of my progeny as permissible is eligible for my curse and that of all the prophets. One who encroaches upon our rights is among those who are unjust upon us and the curse of Allah is upon him. The Almighty Allah says:
أَن لَّعْنَةُ اللّهِ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ
“Know that! The curse of Allah is upon the oppressors.”7
As for your question that if a child is circumcised and the foreskin again grows up is it necessary to cut it off again; the reply is that yes, it is necessary to cut off that skin again. The earth complains to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime for forty days when an uncircumcised person urinates on it.
As for your question whether it is allowed to pray having a fire, a picture or a lamp in front, the reply is that there is difference of opinion in this matter. You should know that if one is not from the children of idolaters and fire worshippers he can have these before him and pray. But if one is from the children of idolaters and fire worshippers having these things before him in prayers is not allowed.
As for your question regarding our property, whether it is allowed to stay in the building, is it allowed to pay taxes through its income and one who has entered this place to gain our proximity and reward, is it allowed to spend on playing host to him? The reply is that when it is not permissible to use the property of others without their permission, how can it be lawful to use our property when our permission has not been taken?
Thus one who makes use of our property without our leave it is as if he has made lawful what we made unlawful for him and one who consumes anything from our property it is as if he has filled his stomach with fire and very soon he would be cast into the blazing fire.
As for your question whether it is allowed for a person to form an endowment in our name and appoint a person to take care of the property and in lieu of it take a fixed sum of money and send the balance to the Imam. Well, the reply is that this caretaker is allowed to take the sum specified by the creator of endowment. But apart from this none else is allowed to take anything from the endowment.
You asked regarding the fruits on our property, that whether passersby are allowed to eat from them. The reply is that they are allowed to do so but they cannot carry away the fruits from there.”
52 – Narrated to us my father and Muhammad bin Hasan bin Ahmad bin Walid – May Allah be pleased with them – they said: Narrated to us Saad bin Abdullah from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Isa from Muhammad bin Abi Umair from Ali bin Abi Hamza from Abi Baseer that he said:
“I said to Abu Ja’far (a.s.): May Allah do good to you, which is the easiest way to enter the fire of hell? He replied: To usurp a single dirham from the property of an orphan – and we (Aale Muhammad) are orphans.”
The author says: The orphan here denotes a person who is abandoned by his people. The Messenger of Allah (S) was called an orphan in the same sense and after him all the Imams are orphans in that same sense. And the verse which prohibits taking unlawfully anything from the property of orphans is in fact with regard to these personalities only. After that the verse is applicable to other orphans. And orphans are called ‘Yateem’ because they are cut off from normal circumstances.
53 – Narrated to us Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Muhammad Khuzai (r.a.) that he said: Narrated to us Abi Ali bin Abil Husain Asadi from his father (r.a.) that he said:
“Shaykh Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Uthman Amri (q.s.) received an epistle from the Imam as follows:
In the Name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful.
The curse of Allah, all angels and men be on the one who has made lawful a single dirham from our property. Abul Hasan Asadi says: If a person without taking a single dirham from the Imam’s property considers it lawful, it is not lawful for him. I said to myself: It is applicable to all who consider it lawful. Thus it is unlawful for him.
I also was under the impression that what precedence the Imam has over others? Thus by the one who sent Muhammad rightfully as a giver of glad tidings, when I saw another epistle from the Imam all that I was thinking was proved wrong. The second epistle said: In the Name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful. The curse of Allah, all angels and men be on the one who has unlawfully taken a single dirham from our property.
Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Muhammad Khuzai says: Abu Ali bin Abil Husain Asadi showed this epistle to us and we read its contents ourselves.
54 – Narrated to us Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Isaam Kulaini (r.a.): Narrated to us Muhammad bin Yaqoob Kulaini from Muhammad bin Yahya Attar from Muhammad bin Isa bin Ubaid Yaqteeni (r.a.) that he said:
“I wrote to Ali bin Muhammad bin Ali (a.s.): A person has set aside something for you from his property – may I be sacrificed on you – but later he becomes needful of it. Should he take from it or send the same to you? The reply came: He has the choice to take from it till the time the things are in his possession, but if they have reached us we shall consider his case favorably depending on his needfulness.”
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