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In the Name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful

And bless be upon Muhammad and his pure Household, and may Allah's curse be on his enemies from now until the Day of Resurrection! And there is no power or strength except for the Lofty Glorious Allah.

The Wise Allah has stated in His Glorious Book:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ ﴿7﴾جَزَاؤُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا رَّضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ ^[1]

'… indeed those who have believed and done honourable deeds are the best of the creatures

Their reward, with their Lord, is the Gardens of Eden where streams flow by their trees, therein they will dwell forever Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. This [high position] is for him, who fears his Lord, (Qur'an: 98:7/8).'

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The revelation dignity of the Verse “خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّة” the Commander of the believers

This Noble Verse has been sent down in the honour of the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, and his followers.

There are great many narratives that have put in print about the dignity of the revelation of this Verse being related to the Holiness and his followers – beneath this Verse, the great scholars of Shiite and Sunnite have written their opinions in their books and commentaries. 

In the book of Ghāyat al-Maram, he has related eleven narratives by the common and seven specified narratives the dignity of the revelation of this Verse is about Ali bin Abī Tālib, upon him be peace, and his Shiite.^[2] From Sheikh Tousi in the book of Amali,^[3] and from the author of the book of "Arbaeen",^[4] by mean of his command from Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari, has been related:

قالَ: كُنّا عِنْدَ النَّبِىِّ فَاقْبَلَ عَلىُّ بْنُ ابى طالِبٍ، فَقالَ النَّبِىُّ: قَدْ اتاكُمْ اخى، ثُمَّ الْتَفَتَ الَى الْكَعْبَة فَضَرَبَها بِيَدِهِ فَقالَ: وَ الَّذى نَفْسى بِيَدِهِ انَّ هذا وَ شيعَتَهُ هُمُ الْفائِزُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَة، ثُمَّ قالَ: انَّهُ اوَّلُكُمْ ايماناً مَعى، وَ اوْفاكُمْ بِعَهْدِ اللهِ، وَ اقْوَمُكُمْ بِامْرِ اللهِ، وَ اعْدَلُكُمْ فِى الرَّعِيَّة، وَ اقْسَمُكُمْ بِالسَّوِيَّة، وَ اعْظَمُكُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ مَزِيَّة. قالَ: وَ نَزَلَتْ «: انَّ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ اولئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّة» قالَ: وَ كانَ اصْحابُ مَحمَّدٍ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم اذا اقْبَلَ عَلٌّى عليه السّلام قالُوا: جاءَ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّة.^[5]

[Jabir bin Abdullah] says: 'We were in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, when suddenly Ali bin Abī Tālib, upon him be peace, entered the room, the Messenger of Allah stated: "There! My brother has come to you, then, he turned his face toward Ka‘ba and touched it saying: 'I swear by the same Allah that my souls is with Him, surely this man and his followers are victorious and saved.'" Then, he added: This is the first believing -man to Allah along with me, and so is he the most faithful to the Covenant of Allah than you. He is the rightist man to command among the nation, and the equal divider of you among you all, and in the point of position and status, he is greater than you in the Presence of Allah."

Jabir says: 'Then, this Verse was sent down to the Messenger:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ.

'Indeed those who have believed and done honourable deeds are the best of the creatures.'

Jabir says: 'since then, whenever Ali bin Abī Tālib came, the companions of the Messenger would say: خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ., the best of the creatures.'

And also by Muhammad bin Abbas form Ja‘far bin Muhammad Husseini, the Late Sayyid Bahrani deliver the narrative to Abu Rafi that the Commander of the Believers, upon him be peace, has said exactly this narrative to the members of the council that Omar had organized, that: 'I swear Allah for you, do you know the day when I was coming to you sitting by the Messenger of Allah who said: 'This is my brother and then he turned his face toward Ka‘ba saying, 'by this Instructed House that only this man and his followers are victorious and saved in the Day of Resurrection? And then, he turned to you and said: "Know that this is the first believer along with me, and so is he the most faithful to the Covenant of Allah than you. He is the rightist man to command among the nation, and the equal divider of you among you all, and in the point of position and status, he is greater than you in the Presence of Allah." And after that Allah sent down this Verse:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ.

"Then, at that moment, the Messenger of Allah raised his voice to tribute to Allah and you altogether called: "Allah is the Greatest! O you, the members of the council, Do you know that the case was so?" Altogether they said: 'By Allah yes; we know that.' ^[6]

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The narratives of the Sunnite on the commentary of the Verse “خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّة”to the Commander of the believers and his followers

And Imam Kharazmi (Mowaffagh bin Ahmad) has related this narrative in the same way in his "Manaqib", part nine, page 62' so has Hamwini done in the "Faraeed al-Samtain”.

And Sayyid Bahrani by common: from A‘mash, Ateiah, Khodri and also from the author of the book of "Arba‘een" – within the twenty-eighth narratives out of forty narratives – as well has related by the series of his documents, from Khatib Kharazmi and Jabir bin Abdullah.^[7]

And Siyu:ti, in the commentary of this Noble Verse, relates four narratives from the Messenger of Allah concerning Ali bin Abī Tālib and his followers. And before that, he syas:

و اخرج ابن مردويه عن عائشة قالت: قلت: يا رسول الله من اكرم الخلق على الله؟ قال: يا عائشة اما تقرئين: «ان الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات اولئك هم خير البرية‏» ؟ . ^[8]

Ibn Mardoweia, by means of his series of documents, has related from Aisha saying: 'I had the honour to say to the Messenger of Allah, "Who are the most honourable creatures in the Presence of Allah?"

The Holiness stated: "O Aisha, have you not read this Verse:

'Indeed those who have believed and done honourable deeds are the best in the world?'

Now, the first narrative:

وَ اخْرَجَ ابْنُ عَساكِرَ عَنْ جابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ قالَ: كُنّا عِنْدَ النَّبِىَّ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم فَاقْبَلَ عَلِىٌّ فَقالُ النَّبِىُّ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم: وَ الَّذى نَفْسى بِيَدِهِ انَّ هذا وَ شيعَتَهُ هُمُ الْفائِزُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَة. وَ نَزَلَتْ:

انَّ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ اولئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّة.

فكان اصحاب النبى صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم اذا اقبل على قالوا: جاء خير البرية ^[9]

Ibn Asākar, who is, of the well-know Sunnite scholars, related this from Jabir bin Abdullah that saying: 'We were in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, when suddenly Ali bin Abī Tālib, upon him be peace, entered the room, the Messenger of Allah stated: 'I swear by the same Allah that my soul is with Him, surely this man and his followers are victorious and saved.'" And it was when the Verse of ان الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات اولئك هم خير البرية revealed.'

Ibn Asākar, who is one of the Sunnite well-known scholars, has related this narrative similar to our previous narrative; he has prepared it from "Aamali" Sheikh, and the book of "Arbaeen", and "Managhib" of Kharazmi, and "Faraeed al-Semtain ". And the Commander of the believers has relied on it in the Assembly of the Council.

Now, the second narrative:

Ibn Adei‘i, and ibn Asākar circuitously relate Abi Saeed KHodri that the Messenger of Allah stated that Ali was the best of the creatures in the world.

And, the third narrative:

وَ اخْرَجَ ابْنُ عَدِىِّ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبّاسٍ قالَ: لَّما نَزلَتْ

انَّ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ اولئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّة  قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم لِعَلِىٍّ: هُوَ انْت وَ شِيعَتُكَ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَة راضِينَ مَرْضِيِّينَ. ^[10]

Ibn Adei‘i, and ibn Asākar relate that: 'When this Verse was sent down, the Holiness Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, stated Ali: "The best creatures in the world will be you and your followers in the Day of Resurrection; all of you will be pleased with Allah so will Allah be pleased with you."

However, the fourth narrative is:

 و اخرج ابن مردويه عن على قال: قال لى رسول - الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم: الم تسمع قول الله: «ان الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات اولئك هم خير البرية‏»؟ انت و شيعتك، و موعدى و موعدكم الحوض اذا جئت ^[11] الامم للحساب تدعون غرا محجلين. ^[12]

And ibn Mardoweiia has related Ali, upon him be peace, saying that: 'The Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, stated me: "Have you not heard this? In this Verse, 'the best creatures are you and your followers; and the place for our appointed meeting is by the Kow‘thar [river in Paradise], the very spot that I shall come to check the accounts of the nation, at that moment, all of you are called as: 'The Bright Features and the Clean!"'

In the seventeenth section of "Manaqib", Kharazmi relates this narrative from the Commander of the believers that he stated:  

حدثنى رسول الله و انا مسنده الى ظهرى فقال: اى على الم تسمع قول الله ... ^[13]

'The Messenger of Allah related of me when I was behind him and said: "O Ali, did you not hear the statement of Allah …"

Then, he has added under the phrase جائت الامم للحساب. However, the Late Kashif al-Gheta mentions the phrase "جائت الامم للحساب", in the book of "اصل الشيعة و اصولها", and relates this narrative from Siyu:ti. ^[14]  

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The narrative of “انَّ عَليّاً وَ شيعَتَهُ هُمُ الْفائِزُون‏ “ in the documents of the Sunnite

And also the aware Al'lama, Najm ad-Din Asgari, in the 'views' of "Ali-yun- wal-Wasila" page 382, from the History of ibn Asākar brings all together and says: 'In it (on the page 96 of the book) also from the Messenger of Allah  who stated: ان عليا و شيعته هم الفائزون.

And also on the page 229, the eighty-ninth narrative that he relates from "Manaqib", the Messenger of Allah states: 

قومى يا فاطمة ان عليا و شيعته هم الفائزون غدا.

O Fatima, stand up for indeed Ali and his followers are prosperous on the Day of Resurrection.

And also on the page 387, page 86, the "History" of ibn Asākar a narrative is related that Abul Ghasim Samaghandi quotes Muhammad ibn Ali:

قال: سالت ام سلمة زوج النبى صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم عن على فقالت: سمعت النبى صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم يقول: ان عليا و شيعته هم الفائزون يوم القيامة.

Muhammad bin Ali says: 'I asked Umm Salama, the wife of the Messenger, about Ali bin Abī Tālib, upon him be peace, and he answered: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah say: "Surely Ali and his followers are prosperous on the Day of Resurrection."'

And also he narrates on the page 387, from the paper 85, the "history" of ibn Asākar, from Abu al-A‘la Saeed bin Abi al-Fazl bin Abi Othman al-Malighi:

قالَ: قالَ رسُولُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم: يا عَلِىُّ اذا كانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيامَة خَرَجَ قَوْمٌ مِنْ قُبُورِهِمْ لِباسُهُمُ النُّورُ عَلى‏ نَجائِبَ مِنْ نُورٍ، ازِمَّتُها يَواقيتُ حُمْرٌ تَزِفُّهُمُ الْمَلائِكَة الَى الْمَحْشَرِ، فَقالَ عَلٌّى: تَبارَكَ اللهُ ما اكْرَمَ هؤُلآءِ عَلَى اللهِ! قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم: يا عَلىُّ هُمْ اهْلُ وِلايَتِكَ وَ شَيعَتُكَ وَ مُحِبُّوكَ يُحِبُّونَكَ بِحُبّى وَ يُحِبُّونى بِحُبِّ اللهِ، هُمُ الْفائِزُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَة».

[Saeed bin Abi al-Fazl Malighi] says that: 'The Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, stated the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace: "O Ali, on the Day of Resurrection, a people will come to the 'Gathering Era' from their graves. Their clothes are made of Light, they are mounted on the horse created of Light, and the reins of those horses are of red rubies. Then, the Angels of Mercy receive them, escorting them to enter the 'Gathering Era'. Next, the Commander of the believers says: 'Blessed and Exalted is Allah! How honourable are they in the presence of Allah!'

Then, the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, stated: "They are followers of you; they are under the auspices Guardianship of you. They are your friends and love you for my sake, and love me for the sake of Allah – only they are prosperous on the Day of Resurrection."

And also Hamwini, in “Faraeed al-Semtain” and Sayyid Bahrani from Mowaffagh bin Ahmad Kharazmi, by series of the Sunnite documents has related from the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

يا على ان الله قد غفرلك و لاهلك و لشيعتك و محبى شيعتك و محبى محبى شيعتك، فابشر فانك الانزع البطين، منزوع من الشرك، بطين من العلم ^[15]

"The Messenger of Allah stated: "O Ali, forgave you, and He did forgive your Household; He forgave your Shiite and the friends of your Shiite. He also forgave the friends of your Shiite. Glad-tidings to you! You are free from disbelief, and full of knowledge."

And Sheikh Soleiman Ghandouzi, from Deilami, has related the Messenger of Allah:

شيعة على هم الفائزون ^[16]

"Ali's followers are those who are prosperous."

And Deilami relates that the Messenger of Allah has stated:

يا على انت و شيعتك تردون على الحوض وردا. ^[17]

"O Ali, you and your followers will join me by the Kow‘thar [river in Paradise]."

Moreover, by his documents, Kharazmi relates Anas in "Managhib", Section nineteen, page 228 who quotes the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, saying:

اذا كان يوم القيامة ينادون على بن ابيطالب بسبعة اسماء: يا صديق، يا دال، يا عابد، يا هادى، يا مهدى، يا فتى، يا على، مر انت و شيعتك الى الجنة بغير حساب.

On the Day of Resurrection, they will call Ali by seven names and say: "The genuine truthful; the guide toward Allah, the worshipper of the Creator, guide and leader to the Right, trained and educated by the Right, the pure-nature generous, the lofty! You as well as all your followers will enter paradise without being questioned."

And also in this section, Kharazmi, by means of his documents, from Nasir Lilhagh relates the Messenger of Allah that:

قال: يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّة مِنْ امَّتى سَبْعُونَ الْفاً بِغَيْرِ حِسابٍ، فَقال عَلىٌّ: مَنْ هُمْ يا رَسُولُ اللهِ؟ فَقالَ: هُمْ شِيعَتُكَ يا عَلِىُّ وَ انْتَ امامُهُم‏. ^[18]

The Messenger of Allah states: "On the Day of Resurrection, seventy thousand people from my nation with enter paradise without being questioned." The Commander of the believers asked: 'Who are those people, o the Messenger of Allah?'

He stated: "They are your followers and you who are the Imam of them."

And Hafiz Abi Bakr Ahmad bin Ali al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, by means of his documents from Sha‘bi, from the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, that:

قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم: انت و شيعتك فى الجنة. ^[19]

The Messenger of Allah stated: "O Ali, you and your followers will be in paradise."

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The narratives of the Sunnite about the followers of the Commander of the believers

And Allama Amini has related some narratives the followers of the Holiness Commander of the believers, upon him be peace:

From "Moraw‘waj as-Zahab", volume 2, page 5, from his statement:

اذا كان يوم القيامة دعى الناس باسمائهم و اسماء امهاتهم الا هذا (يعنى عليا) و شيعته فانهم يدعون باسمائهم و اسماء آبائهم لصحة ولادتهم.

The Messenger of Allah stated: "When the Day of Resurrection approaches all the people are called with their names as well the names of their mothers, except this (the Commander of the believers) and his followers; they will be called by their names and the names of their fathers – it is because of their purity and genuine births."

And it is from "Kihayah" of ibn Athir, volume3, page 276 about the statement of his, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

انك ستقدم على الله انت و شيعتك راضين مرضيين.

"In fact, o Ali, you and your followers will get to Allah, while you are pleased with Allah and so is Allah pleased with you."

And from "As-Sawaeegh al-Moharregha" page 96, 139 and 140 relates it from him, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

يا على ان الله قد غفرلك و لذريتك و لولدك و لاهلك و شيعتك و لمحبى شيعتك.

"O Ali! Indeed, Allah has forgiven you, your offspring, your children, your family your followers and the friends of your followers."

And from "Maj‘ma-oz-Zawaeed", volume 9, page 131, and "Kifayat-ot-Talib", page 135 is related his, Bless be to him and his:

وَ انَّكَ اوَّلُ داخِلٍ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّة مِنْ امَّتى وَ شيعَتُكَ عَلى‏ مَنابِرَ مِنْ نُورٍ رِواءً مَرْوِيِّينَ  مُبْيَضَّة وُجُوهُهُمْ حَوْلى، اشْفَعُ لَهُمْ فَيَكونونَ غَداً فِى الْجَنَّة جيرانى‏.

The Messenger of Allah stated to the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace: "You are the first one of my nation who is going to enter paradise, and all your followers will climb the pulpits of Light. All of them will be cheerful with the bright and illuminating features gathering around me; I shall be their arbiter and the next day of the Resurrection, all of them will be my neighbours."

And there are narratives from Hakim in "Mostadrak", volume 3, page 160 and from ibn Asākar in his "History", volume 4, page 318 and from Mohibb ad-Din Tabari in his book "Ar-Reiaz an-Nazera" volume 2, page 253 and from ibn Sabbaq Maliki in "Al-Fosoul al-Mohimma" page 11 and from Safori in "Nozhat al-Majalis" volume 2, page 222, all quoting the statement of his, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

قوله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم: انا الشجرة، و فاطمة فرعها، و على لقاحها، و الحسن و الحسين ثمرتها، و شيعتنا ورقها، و اصل الشجرة فى جنة عدن و سائر ذلك فى سائر الجنة.

The Messenger of Allah stated: "I am the tree [of Monotheism], Fatima is its branch, Ali is its grafting, Hassan and Hussein are the fruits of it, our followers are as the leaves of it and the source of the tree is in paradise and the resting parts of it are in different paradises."

And from Tabrani, from Abu Rafi and from Ibn Asākar in his "history", volume 4, page 38, from the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, and from "As-Sawaeegh al-Moharregha", page 96, and the "Tazkera" of Sent ibn Jouzi, page 31, and Majma-uz-Zawaeed", volume 9, page 131, and the "Kanouz al-Haghayigh" Monawi in the margin of :Jami as-Saghir", volume 2, page 16fron the statement of him , Bless be to him and his Descendants:

قوله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم: يا عِلىُّ انَّ اوَّلَ ارْبَعَة يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّة انَا وَ انْتَ وَ الْحَسَنُ وَ الْحُسَيْنُ، وَ ذَرارِينا خَلْفَ ظُهُورِنا، وَ ازْواجُنا خَلْفَ ذَرارينا و شَيعَتُنا عَنْ ايْمانِنا وَ عَنْ شَمائِلِنا.

The Messenger of Allah stated: "O Ali, I am the first one of the four who is going to enter paradise and then  you, Hassan and Hussein; our children are behind us, our women ^[20] behind our children and finally are our Shiite on the right and the left of us."

And Heithami, in the "Majma az-Zawaeed", volume 9, page 172, relates the statement of his, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

ايُّهَا النّاسُ مَنْ ابْغَضَنا اهْلَ البَيْتِ حَشَرَهُ اللهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَة يَهُودِيّاً. فَقالَ جابِرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ: يا رَسولَ اللهِ وَ انْ صامَ وَ انْ صَلّى‏؟ قالَ: وَ انْ صامَ وَ انْ صَلّى‏ وَ زَعَمَ انَّهُ مُسْلِمٌ، احْتَجَزَ بِذلِكَ مْن سَفْكِ دَمِهِ وَ انْ يُؤَدِّىَ الْجِزْيَة عَنْ يَدٍ وَ هُمْ صاغِرُونَ.

The Messenger of Allah stated in a sermon: "O the company of the people, whoever has enmity towards us, the Household, on the Day of Judgement, Allah will bring him to sight as an ape!" Jabir bin Abdullah asks: 'O Messenger of Allah, and even if he prays and goes on fasting?' The Holiness states: " Yes, even if he prays and fasts, such a man is not really a Muslim. He has his faith as a means to hide behind and to avoid doing his duties and paying his welfare tax."

And there is one narrative from Khatib Baghdadi in the "History of Baghdad", volume 2, page 146 quoting the Messenger, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

شفاعتى لِامتى من احب اهل بيتى و هم شيعتى ^[21]

'Whoever likes my Household receives my intercession and such are my Shiite.'

Kharazmi in "Managhib", by means of his series of documents, mentions the statement of the Messenger of Allah concerning the Commander of the believers and the Gate of Kheibar and finally he points at this statement of the Holiness who says:

و انك اول داخل يدخل الجنة من امتى و شيعتك على منابر من نور رواء مرويين ^[22] مبيضة وجوههم حولى، اشفع لهم فيكونون غدا فى الجنة جيرانى. ^[23]

The Messenger of Allah to the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, stated: "O Ali, on the next day of the Resurrection,  you are the first among my nation who enters paradise, and all your followers climb the pulpit prepared of Light, and they circle around me while their features illuminate and are bright. I intercede for them and they are going to be my neighbours on the days to come."

And also Sayyid Bahrani has mentioned ninety-five narratives by the Sunnite and forty-eight narratives by the Shiite ^[24] concerning the virtues of the friends and the most faithful ones to the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, and his followers; as well in the commentary of this blissful Verse:

لا يستوى اصحاب النار و اصحاب الجنة اصحاب الجنة هم الفائزون. ^[25]

'… the dwellers of the Fire are not equal to the dwellers of the Garden; the dwellers of the Garden are prosperous, (Qur'an: 59/20).'

By Kharazmi, Mowaffagh bin Ahmad has related a narrative from Jabir bin Abdullah.

قال: كنا عند النبى فاقبل على بن ابيطالب - رضى الله عنه - فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم: و الذى نفسى بيده ان هذا و شيعته هم الفائزون يوم القيامة. ^[26]

He said: 'We were sitting with the Messenger when Ali bin Abī Tālib, upon him be peace, came in, then, the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, said: "I swear by Allah Who has the control of my soul that indeed this man and his followers are prosperous."'

And the Shiite relates four similar narratives and they mention that the meaning of (الفائزون) in this Noble Verse is Ali and his companions. ^[27]

(It is obvious that this Verse is only a comparison between the Holiness and his followers but not the dignity of its revelation; and it is not inconsistent with Jabir bin Abdullah's bringing it once in the Chapter of "ăl-băi’iănăh "about the Messenger of Allah and once more in comparison brings it in Chapter "ăl-hăshr" ).

And ibn Athir has brought it visible by stating:

و فى حديث على قال له النبى صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم: «ستقدم على الله انت و شيعتك راضين مرضيين، و يقدم عليه عدوك غضابا مقمحين.ثم جمع يده الى عنقه يريهم كيف الاقماح‏» . الاقماح رفع الراس و غض البصر، يقال: اقمحه الغل اذا ترك راسه مرفوعا من ضيقه. ^[28]  [*]

He says: 'The Messenger of Allah stated the Commander of the believers: "Before long, while you are pleased with Allah and Allah is satisfied with you, you and your followers will return to Allah. And your enemies will return to Allah while they confront the anger Allah. They are in fright and while closing their eyes and look upward in panic." Here, to represent the meaning of the Arabic word of اقماح, the Holiness demonstrates it by reaching his hands to the neck, raising his head and looking upward.

(Ibn Athir says:) The meaning of اقماح is raising the head while the eyes are closed. It is used as a phrasal word meaning: they have chained someone so hard on the neck that his face involuntarily turns upward and his head cannot stand in the natural way.

And another one is that Zamakhshari has said in the book of "Rabi-al-Abrar": 

يروى عن رسول الله انه قال: يا على اذا كان يوم القيامة اخذت بحجزة الله تعالى و اخذت انت‏بحجزتى و اخذ ولدك بحجزتك و اخذ شيعة ولدك بحجزهم فترى اين يؤمر بنا. ^[29]

There is a narrative from the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants that he has said: "O Ali, when the Resurrection is set up, I will rely and implore Allah, you will refer to me, your children to you and the followers of your children to your children. Then, you will see how Allah Commands and Guides us to paradise."

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The followers of Ali’s, upon them be peace, following the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants

Anyhow, all these narratives that have been mentioned so far are about the virtues of the followers of the Commander of the believers , upon him be peace, stated by the Messenger of Allah. The great scholars and the others from the Sunnite have put them in their books, commentaries, narratives and whatever have written of the history and else. However, as our main purpose was to introduce the great companions of the Messenger of Allah and the virtues of the sincere followers of Ali bin Abī Tālib, according to the opinions of the Sunnite, we have related then all from their own books. It is deduced from these narratives that at the time of the Messenger of Allah, the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, had his own special followers who did follow the good behavour and the course of the Holiness: in their  prayer, rightfulness, perseverance, Jihad, forgiveness, sacrificing for the sake of religion, love and affection towards Allah, ascetic, obedience, surrendering to the commands of the Qur'an and the Messenger of Allah, not objecting or doubting in the affairs or the statements of the Messenger of Allah and practising many other praiseworthy deeds.

Following the behavior of the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, and his excessive love and affection to the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, they followed the Holiness. They were different from some people who had not surrendered properly and from time to time, they found faults from the Holiness, they even spoke to him in harsh, they translated the Verses of the Qur'an according to their desires and they took the statements of the Messenger of Allah erroneous . In many occasions, they consider their own opinions and verdicts to be  more efficient than the Messer's, they resisted on their fault ideas against him. They hurt him and without having any permission, they interfered in his personal affairs, and on many sensitive occasions, they openly acted against his will; they paid no attention to the civility and fought in the presence of the Holiness.

Sometimes, they even fought the Holiness and showed enmity towards him – they tried to defeat him with their own logic.

They raised their voices in front of the Holiness, shouted, and drew the attentions of the lowly people to join them in their way of behaving. They got furious when herd the Holiness talking about the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, they found the merits and virtues of the Messenger of Allah about them and the sincere Shiite the question of relation and affection among them. They thought such relation was due to superficial and the subject to the material, especially when then were witnessing that the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, was not away from the Messenger for a single moment, and in all difficulties, hardships and battles he was the only aid and assistance to him. The Messenger of Allah, time and again, called him as his brother, Minister, Successor, Caliph, Master, Guardian and to be in the authority upon all the Muslims. The Verses of the Qur'an were constantly being sent down about him and the Messenger kept announcing it to the people.

As this narrative relates the Holiness Messenger that he stated:

ما من آية نزلت فى القرآن فيها يا ايها الذين آمنوا الا و على راسها و اميرها. ^[30]

No Verse of the Qur'an with " يا ايها الذين آمنوا" has been sent down unless Ali bin Abī Tālib is its crown and Master.

And all through his Prophet-hood, the Messenger of Allah always stated of his merits and spiritual status and the eternal positions. It was why, the jealousy of those who could not tolerate him, increased; their selfishness and over-ambition made them keep away from the Commander of the believers and consider him insignificant. 

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Naming the followers of Ali as the Shiite by the Generous Messenger of Allah 

 However, most of the companions, who were obedience and sincere to him and his statements, did not have any objections or suggestions to him. Even if they had tendency towards being ambition and feeling great, by seeing the self-sacrifice and long worshipping of the Commander of the believers – which was the surest way to the humanity, and apart from that, the constant praises of the Messenger of Allah of him brought them near to the Commander of the believers. Their constant keeping companions with him and assisting him in his daily social life caused the attributes of the Commander of the believers to appear in them. They too became the constant and sincere prayer, were ready for the Jihad, generosity, rightfulness, desirous to meet Allah, kindness and other good attributes. So as they accepted the Successor-ship and the Caliphate of the Holiness by the Messenger of Allah, since then they were known as the Shiite – the followers [of Ali]. The first one who gave them this title was the Blissful Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, which has been clearly related in the narratives we have explained so far. And it has been related on the foot-notes, page 5 of the book "Shiite and Islam" of Al‘lama Tabatabaee, from the page of 188, volume one, the book of "Present in the Islamic World", that the first name which was found at the era of the Messenger of Allah, was the "Shiite" and Salman, Abuzar, Miqdad and Am‘mar were know by this name.

The Shiite of the Commander of the believers are the very genuine Muslims, because the word "Shiite" means the sheer "obedience" of Allah, it is the real meaning of Islam. And the real Islam is the same "submitting", and as in the previous lessons we explained in details in the Verse of the narrative of the clan, on the first day when the Messenger of Allah announced his Messenger-hood to the sons of Abdul-Mottalib, who were forty men and had come together by the invitation of the Messenger of Allah, there he stated:

ايكم يوازرنى على ان يكون اخى و وصيى و خليفتى فيكم؟

'Which one of you is going to help me in the affair of prophet-hood so that to be my brother, my Successor and the Deputy among the nation?

No one answered until Ali bin Abī Tālib stood up saying: انا يا رسول الله "Messenger of Allah, I do." The Holiness paid homage and they both shook hands and then he stated:

ان هذا اخى و وصيى و خليفتى فيكم فاسمعوا له و اطيعوا . ^[31]

'Indeed, this [Ali] is my brother, my Successor and the Deputy among you so listen to him and obey him.'

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The Shiite is not a certain fact of Islam, but it is the fact of it

According to what has been said the title "Shi‘ism" is not a certain tribe separated from Islam, but the Shiite are a people that all their deeds, opinions, belief, manners and their spiritual conditions are based on Islam and they never transgress the commands of the Messenger. They take his commands as the commands of Allah, and as according to

اطيعوا الله و اطيعوا الرسول^[32]

and the Verse

 و آيه و ما آتاكم الرسول فخذوه ^[33]

they are the obedience of the Qur'an, they are also the obedience of the Messenger – and the Messenger of Allah on a certain day announced both his prophet-hood as well the Successor-ship and the Caliphate of the Commander of the believers.

This is the fact. Therefore, how reckless is the word of one who says: 'The word of "Shi‘ism" has a long history, it has been from the time of Safavid Sultans, or from the time of Aal- Boyeh, or from the time that the Caliphate was transferred from Bani Omayyad to Bani Abbas, or from the time of Khawarij when the companions of the Commander of the believers confronted them, or from the time Othman was murdered and then his followers were called "the Shiite of Othman, and Ali's fans for his Caliphate were called "the Shiite of Ali" All these words are void and baseless and they are nonsense for the great scholars or even for those with little understanding of the history and narratives.

It is narrated from Abdullah Anan Mohami in the history of "Al-Jameiiat as-Serria wal Harakat al-Hadamat", page 26 that he says: 'There has been a certain people and party for Ali bin Abī Tālib who believed in his Caliphate immediately after the demise of the Messenger of Allah. These people considered him as well his children the most suitable for the Caliphate.' He goes on until he says: 'It is a big mistake to say that the start of the Shiite was from the time that the Khawarij separated from the line of Ali's companions, then those who remained with Ali were called the Shiite.' He says: 'This word is totally wrong, because as we said, the start of the Shiite was immediately after the demise of the Messenger when they knew the Caliphate was for Ali.

And in his history, volume 3, page 171, ibn Khaldon says: 'In the event of council after Omar, most of the companions of the Messenger of Allah stated of the shi‘ism of Ali bin Abī Tālib, and they believed that only he deserved to take the Caliphate but not anyone else. Then, when in the Council the Caliphate was taken by someone else, they felt sorry. They declared their sorrows and sighed. They were Zubair, Am‘mar bin Yasir, Mighdad bin Aswad and some others, however, as they were determined in the religion, and did not want to damage the Islamic friendship, they did not go too far – just sighed and felt sorry. ^[34]

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The names of a group of the followers of the Commander of the believers from among the companions and the followers

The Late Kashif al-Gheta says: 'The great men among his companions and the best of them were the Shiite, such as: Salman Muhammadi or Farsi, Abizar Ghaffari, Mighdad, Am‘mar, Khozaimat Dhi Shahadatain, ibn Taiiehan, Huzaifa al-Yaman, Zunair, fazl bin Abbas and his brother, the learned of the nation, Abdullah bin Abbas, Hashim bin Otaiba al-Mirghal, Abu Ayyub Absari, Aban and Khalid, two sons of Saeed al-Aas who were from Bani Omayyad, Sayyid al-Ghora Obaiio bin Ka‘ab, Anas bin Harith, who heard the word of the Messenger of Allah saying:

ان ابنى الحسين يقتل فى ارض يقال لها كربلا فمن شهد ذلك منكم فلينصره.

'They will kill the son of mine, whose name is Hussein on a land called 'Karbala', so any of you who observe him do help him.'

Anas presented in Karbala and was martyred with Hussein, upon him be peace. And in the book of "Asaba" or "Estiab" which is written by the authentic writers of the Sunnite, while translating the companion of the Messenger of Allah he took them as the best Shiite of Ali bin Abī Tālib.

If I want to count the books of the companions and prove their being the Shiite then I should write a think book, but they have already written and saved our laboring.

Sayyid Ali Khan, the writer of the book of "Salafat-ul-Asr" has a book on this subject called "Ad-Darajat al-Afia fi Tabaghat Ash-Shia", and the other great book in this field is the "Taraz-ul-Loghat" which is the book written on the vocabularies. Although at the level of the well-know Shiite companions he has not mentioned Bani Hashim as Hamza, Ja‘far and Aqil but instead, he has mentioned the none-bani Hashim, however, he has counted  some whom we have not so far, such as: Othman bin Honaif, Sahl bin Hanif, Abu Saeed Khodri, Ghais bin Sa‘d bin Obada, the chief of Ansar, Boraida, Baraabin Malik, Khabbab bin Aras, Rifaat bin Malik Ansari, Abi at-Tofeil Aamir bin Wasela, Hind bin AbiHala, Jo‘dat bin Hobaira, al-Makhzomi and his mother, Umm Hani the daughter of Abī Tālib and Bilal bin Rebah, the caller for prayer of the Messenger of Allah. Most of them have been mentioned in the book "At-Tabaghat" and are of the Shiite of the Commander of the believers. Moreover, so far as I remember reading the translations of the Shiite companions such as: "Ostol Ghaba", "Isaba and Istiab" I have gathered are more than eight hundred of the great companions of the Messenger who are all the Shiite of the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace; and someone investigates more, for sure he succeeds finding more. ^[35]

And after branding Shi‘iani of the Tabieen, such as: Ahnaf bin Ghais, Swaid bin Ghafalat and Ateiia Aufa, Hakam bin Otaiba, Salim bin Abi Ja‘d, Ali bin Ja‘d, Hassan bin Salih, Saeed bin Jobair, Saeed bin Mosayyib, Asbagh bin Nobata, Soleiman bin mehran A‘mash, Yahya bin Ya‘mor odwani the owner of "Al-Hajjaj" and one after another of the Tabieen who are the founder of the Islamic Science: in grammar, words, sentence and phrases, Arabic, the interpreters of narratives jurisprudence, history, word building, discussions, philosophy, wisdom, composing and poetry, and one by one the Caliphs of the Shiite, their Ministers and also the great men. Most of them really own worthy articles and subjects, he says that: 'If we want to explain these great men in details, great many thick books cannot hold them within'. And our father, may Allah raise his status more, went on writing a book about the different conditions of the Shiite: from the scholars, commanders, kings, ministers, astronomers, doctors and the others which altogether were thirty different categories. He alphabetically put them in order and called the "Al-Hoson al-Mania fi Tabaghat ash-Shiite", finally they became ten thick volumes however have not been yet gone under proofreading or being corrected. That is they have not ready to be published, however has mentioned a few people in them. ^[36]

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The reason of the chastity and generosity of the Shiite

Anyhow, it must be considered why the Shiite has so much dignity and the Messenger of the Revelation and Justice has so much appreciated it. What is that secret and cause among the creature that some go to paradise without questioning, why, and why only they are the prosperous ones?

What for the Generous Messenger, who is the seal of the messengers and the Master of the apostles touches the Ka‘ba and swear by Allah and then tells his companions that only Ali's Shiite are the prosperous?

So why these great eternal status: intercession, Kow‘thar [river in Paradise], Tasnim water, paradise, the Satisfaction of Allah, eternity brightness and happiness are only for them?

Most of Attributions of the Shiite, their moral attitudes, their actions, such as: compassionate, generosity, honesty, forgiveness, patience, persisting, faithfulness, sincerity, worshipping, fasting, jihad, giving charities and real belief in Allah and the commands of Allah have been put in the  narratives and explained enough. These are the attributes that their Master, the Holiness Commander of the believers owns. They have gone through the tests in this world, have tolerated the difficulties and been patient against the hardship. They have kept their tongues pure, their pens bias, kept cleanse inward and unlawful sexual, they have avoided sins, with their worshipping and praying have removed the rust from their hearts and replaced the Divine Lights instead.

The Shiite are those who have studied practical lessons in the school of their Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, and they have passed all the hurdles and the difficulties of the graves and the interval between death and Resurrection, and being questioned by the 'The Two Questioning Angels' and gathering for seeing the results of their accounts; according to the very statement of their Master who said:

و اخرجوا من الدنيا قلوبكم قبل ان تخرج منها ابدانكم.  ^[37]

'Release your hearts in this world before your bodies release this world!'

Off course as paradise is the place for the pure and clean, it must be for their position and dwelling. They followed and obeyed the Commander of the believers without questioning. So did they carry out the commands of the Messenger even in the most serious and dangerous situations. They accepted all the commands of the Quran about the duties and the statements of the Messenger concerning the Commander of the believers and his Household, and then following the same opinions and thoughts they tried to put them into practice but avoid putting into practice their own personal beliefs and  immune themselves. Thus, this is the status of the Shiite which is the perfect example of the position of humanity it is the new blossom, the ripe fruit in the garden of conscience, mercifulness and justice.

On the other hand, there were some people who did not take the commands of the Messenger of Allah serious to carry out, and they left the Messenger alone in the sensitive occasions. They were neither humble in their slavery, nor self-sacrifice in generosity; they were not patient and did not tolerate the Jihad. They were not just in their words, nor had sincerity in worship, nor had they desire for meeting Allah. And above all, they were reluctant in taking an action, by the stubbornness and aggressiveness they created problems for the Messenger all the time; thus, they are the people of the Fire and it is what they deserve it. In this world, they mixed up their souls with the ugliest evil acts, so in that world, where it is the place retaliation, their evil actions are uncovered.

Therefore, at the time of the Messenger of Allah, the separation of the Shiite from none-Shiite was quite natural – the Shiite were pure and obedient, and they were aggressive and bold.

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The condition of the weak among the Sunnite and their consequent

Here, there is seen another group which is neither of this group nor that one. The members of this group neither are like the pure and faithful companions of the Commander of the believers, nor are like the next ugly ones and evil doers. From time to time, they get united, they pray and fast, they obey the religious commands, they do not dispute with the Messenger of Allah and the Household, they do not join their enemies – due to their neglect, the fact has not revealed to them, they pass their lives in the same way.

Almost always these kinds of people are in majority among the nations; it is so that if the fact reveals to then they do not avoid accepting it, but unfortunately, due to some wrong education and false societies they taken wrong for the right and right for the wrong and then have put it into practice.

They belong to the weak group who neither at once enter paradise nor at once to hell, but according to their previous good or bad deeds they be taken to be judged. Similar to most soldiers of the Holiness in the "Siffin" and then joined to the Khawaridj. When the Holiness advised and brought them logical reasons they repented and stopped their opposing. Like most Sunnite who gather at Arafat, Mash‘ar, Mina and the Holy Ka‘ba, they have neither enmity with the Household, nor accept their Guardianship, Imamate or Caliphate. Of course, the question of their scholars and some of the great men of who are expert in some books, histories, comments and great many narratives, but never surrender the fact, is quite a different from them. But most of the common people who are unfamiliar to their books, and their understandings and belief are just what their clergy men have taught them, it is hoped that, in case of any shortcoming, they will be forgiven; and the Verse for Weak is for their condition:

 انَّ الَّذيَن تَوَفّيهُمُ الْمَلائِكَة ظالِمى انْفُسِهِمْ قالُوا فيمَ كُنْتُمْ قالُوا كُنّا مُسْتَضْعَفينَ فِى الْارْضِ قالُوا الَمْ تَكُنْ ارْضُ اللهِ واسِعَة فَتُهاجِرُوا فيها فَاولئِكَ مَأويهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَ ساءَتْ مَصِيراً الَّا الْمُسْتَضْعَفينَ مِنَ الرِّجالِ وَ النِّساءِ وَ الْوِلْدانِ لَا يَسْتَطيعُونَ حيلَة وَ لا يَهْتَدُوَن سَبيلًا* فَاولئِكَ عَسِى اللهُ انْ يَعْفُوَ عَنْهُمْ وَ كانَ اللهُ عَفُوًّا غَفُوراً. ^[38]

'… surely those who have wronged themselves, when the angels are gathering up [their souls], will say, ‘What were you busy at?’ They will answer, ‘We were oppressed on the earth.’ The angels will question, ‘Was the earth of Allah not vast enough to migrate on it?’ Therefore, their refuge is in Hell – what an evil destination!  

The exception is the feeble men, women or children who are helpless and cannot find any other means or guidance in any way: so those: Allah may forgive them, for Allah is ever Clement Forgiving, (Qur'an: 4/97-99).'  

Salim bin Ghais Kofi relates a narrative from the Commander of the believers who, in that narrative, calls most of the disagreeing people as the weak. He says: 'I heard the Commander of the believers say: "This nation will be divided into seventy-three groups, only one group of them will be in paradise but seventy-two are in the Fire." Then the Holiness well explained that the rescued group includes those who have known their right Imam and they are going straight into the paradise with being questioned. And the people facing with accounting, balance, the Height and hell, who are at the mercy of  the intercession of the messengers, angels and the believers will be finally rescued – they belong to those seventy-two groups; and He states:

فَامّا مَنْ وَحَّدَ اللهَ وَ آمَنَ بِرَسُولِ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم وَ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ وَ لَمْ يَتَنَاوَلْ ضَلالَة عَدُوِّنا وَ لَمْ يَنْصِبْ شَيْئاً وَ لم يُحِلَّ وَ لَمْ يُحَرِّمْ وَ اخَذَ بِجَميعِ ما لَيْسَ بَيْنَ الْمُخْتَلِفينَ مِنَ الْامَّة فيهِ خِلافٌ فى انَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ امَرَ بِهِ، وَ كَفَّ عَمّا بَيْنَ الْمُخْتَلِفِينَ مِنَ الْامَّة خِلافٌ فى انَّ الله عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ امَرَ بِهِ اوْ نَهى‏ عَنْهُ فَلَمْ يَنْصِبْ شَيْئاً وَ لَمْ يُحَلِّلْ وَ لْم يُحَرِّمْ وَ لَا يَعْلَمُ وَ رَدَّ عِلْمَ مَا اشْكَلَ عَلَيْهِ الىَ اللهِ فَهذا ناجِ، وَ هذِهِ الطَّبَقَة بَيْنَ الْمؤمِنينَ وَ الْمُشْرِكينَ هَمْ اعْظَمُ النّاسِ وَ اجَلُّهُمْ وَ هُمْ اصْحابُ الْحِساب‏.  ^[39]

'However, those who accept Allah's Monotheism and have believed the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, but have not learned of our Guardian-ship and have not fallen prey for the perversion of our enemies, nor have enmity with us, have not taken the lawful for the unlawful, they have acted upon the things that Allah had commanded to be no differences about them among the Islamic nations, but they have avoided the things that Allah has allowed or prohibited them. They have not showed enmity towards us, and have made anything lawful or unlawful by their own will, they have relied on Allah about the things they are ignorant about, they have not given their verdict about them. These people can be rescued; there are too many of these kinds of people among the Muslims and the disbelievers and Allah sees to their accounts according to their actions and intentions – they are the companions of accounting, balances and the Heights. "

And so is the respond of the Holiness to Ash‘ath bin Ghais who had objected the Holiness and said:

و الله ان كان الامر كما تقول لقد هلكت الامة غيرك و غير شيعتك

'By Allah, if the fact is that as you say, so all the nation except you and your followers must be ruined [and sent to hell]!' He says that the Holiness stated:

انَّ الْحَقَّ وَ اللهِ مَعى يَا ابْنَ قَيْسٍ كَما اقُولُ وَ ما هَلَكَ مِنَ اْلُامَّة غَيْرُ النّاصِبينَ وَ الْمُكابِرينَ وَ الْجاحِدينَ وَ الْمُعانِدينَ فَامّا مَنْ تَمَسَّكَ بِالتَّوْحيدِ وَ الْاقْرارِ بِمَحمَّدٍ وَ الْاسلِام وَ لْم يَخْرُجْ مِنَ الْمِلَّة وَ لَمْ يُظاهِرْ عَلَيْنَا الظَّلَمَة وَ لَمْ يَنْصِبْ لَنَا الْعَداوَة وَ شَكَّ فِى الْخِلافَة وَ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ اهْلَها وَ وُلاتَها وَ لَمْ يَعْرفْ لَنا ولايَة وَ لَمْ يَنْصِبْ لنا عَداوَة فَانَّ ذلِكَ مُسْلِمٌ مُسْتَضْعَفٌ يَرْجى‏ لِهُ رَحْمَة اللهِ، وَ يُتَخَوَّفُ عَلَيْهِ ذُنٌوبُه‏. ^[40]

'O the son of Gheis, by Allah, as I already said I am right; none of the nation dies except the enemies, the haughty, the obstinate, rejecters. However, those people who have taken a resort to the Monotheism of Allah, and have confessed the Islam and Muhammad, and have not forsaken the nation of Islam, and have not instigated the enemies against us, and they have not become our enemies; however, have doubted about the rightfulness of our Caliphates and have not known the people of Caliphate and Guardian-ship. And neither have confessed our Guardian-ship nor have stood against risen against us, all these are the weak Muslims and the mercy of Allah must be requested for them – and their sins must be feared.'

وَ اعْلَمْ انَّكَ انْ لَمْ تَكُفَّ يَدَكَ وَ تَحْقُنْ دَمَكَ اذا لَمْ تَجِدْ أعْواناً تَخَوَّفْتُ عَلَيك انْ يَرْجِعَ النّاس الى‏ عِبادَة الْاصْنامِ وَ الْجُحُودِ بِانّى رَسُولُ اللهِ، فَاسْتَظْهِرْ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالْحُجَّة عَلَيْهِمْ وَ دَعْهُمْ لِيَهْلِكَ النّاصِبُونَ لَكَ وَ الْباغُونَ عَلَيْكَ وَ يَسْلَمَ الْعامَّة وَ الْخاصَّة، فَاذا وَجَدْتَ يَوْماً أعْواناً عَلى‏ اقامَة كِتابِ اللهِ وَ السُّنَّة فَقاتِلْ عَلى‏ تَأْويلِ الْقُرْآنِ كَما قاتَلْتُ عَلى‏ تَنْزيلِهِ فَانَّما يَهْلِكُ مِنَ الْامَّة مَنْ نَصَبَ لَكَ وَ لأحَدٍ مِنْ اوْصِيائِكَ وَ عادى‏ وَ جَحدَ وَدانَ بِخِلافِ ما انْتُمْ عَلَيْه‏. ^[41]

'O Ali! Know that after my death, if you do not find enough friends and followers to up-rise [against the enemies], and do not save your life, then I am afraid the people might turn to their idol-worshipping and reject my messenger-hood. Give them ultimatum, and then leave them on their own so that to be perished – let the aggressors die and your common friends be safe. However, if you could fine sincere friends and helpers, then, do fight the enemies according to the meaning of the Qur'an so that I fought for its revelation. (That is: I fought for the sense of the Qur'an and you do for the meaning.) Only those among the nations die who stand as the enemy in front of you or one of you successors and reject you, or follow a religion other than that you are following.' Salim bin Ghais says: 'When I collected the narratives of my book, and went to Medina at the time of the Holiness Imam Saj'jad Zain-al-Aabedin Ali bin Hussein, peace be upon him, and read these narrative to the Holiness for three successive days, the Holiness confirmed them all. Then, I had the honour to say that: 'O Holiness! May I be made your sacrifice! My breast shrinks by bearing the meaning of these narratives with me. Some of them represent the wickedness and enmity of all nation of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants; even the Immigrants, the Supporters and common people aoart from your sincere followers and the Household.' The Holiness answered:

 يا اخا عَبْدِ الْقَيْسِ اما بَلَغَكَ انَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم قالَ: انَّ مَثَلَ اهْلِ بَيْتى كَمَثَلِ سَفينَة نُوحٍ فى قَوْمِهِ مَنْ رَكِبَها نَجى‏ وَ مَنْ تَخَلَّفَ عَنْها غَرَقَ، وَ كَمَثَلِ بابِ حِطَّة فى بَنىِ اسْرائيلَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: نَعَمْ- الى‏ انْ قالَ عليه السّلام:- ا وَ لَيْسَ هذَا الْحَديثُ وَحْدَهُ يَنْتَظِمُ جَميعَ ما افْظَعَكَ وَ عُظَم فى صَدْرِكَ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْأحاديثِ الحديث. ^[42]

'O brother, Ghais! Have you not heard this saying of the Messenger of Allah: "The exemplary of my nation among you is as the exemplary of the Arch of Noah among his folk; whoever was aboard was saved and he who rejected it was drown. And another one is as the door of "HIT‘TAH" of the Children of Israel that "whoever passed through it his sins were forgiven"."

I answered: 'Yes,' and then he stated: "Is this narrative alone not enough clear to help you get free from all your worries caused by other narratives?"

This narrative denotes that anyone who has affection and love to the Household is similar to one who is aboard the Arch of Noah and will be surely saved at last, but the enemies will be drown. This statement of the Highness is exactly the statement of the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, who has taken the common people as the weak.

Sayyid Hashim Behrani has related through the Shiite from Abu Hamzeh Thomali quoting the Holiness Imam Muhammad Baqir, upon him be peace, narrating Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari saying that the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, while in the death bed, said to Fatima, upon her be peace: "O my beloved, may my father and mother be sacrificed to, my little girl send someone to bring your husband to me." The Holinesses Fatima said to Hassan: 'Go to your father and say: "My Grandfather wants to see you." Imam Hassan went to his father and told him so.

The Commander of the believers came to the Messenger of Allah while Fatima was sitting close to her father and saying:

واکرباه لکربک يا رسول الله

'O you the sadness and sorrows! Where are you [o the people] to see what has happed to my Father?' The Holiness Messenger of Allah stated: "From now on, there is no sadness or sorrows for your father. It is not right to mourn or cry for the Messenger's death, scratching one's face is not allowed, it is not right to say woe is I, but say the same words your father said at the death of his son, Ibrahim, that is:

تدمع العين و قد يوجع القلب و لا نقول ما يسخط الرب، و انا بك يا ابراهيم لمحزونون، و لو عاش ابراهيم لكان نبيا.

"Tears run and drop from eyes,

The hearts ache and break'

I say no word to anger Allah, but

O Ibrahim, I am sad in your absence,

If Ibrahim was alive he would surely be a messenger!"

Then, he stated: "O Ali, come closer to me," the Commander of the believers got closer to him, and He stated: "Bring you ear closer to my mouth," the Commander of the believers did so. Then, the Holiness stated: "O my brother, have you not hear the statement of the Allah in His Book: 

ان الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات اولئك هم خير البرية؟ قال: بلى يا رسول الله.

'Who are the most honourable creatures in the Presence of Allah,' he said: 'Yes, o the Messenger of Allah.'

He stated: "Is is for you and your followers. They will come to the Gathering place of Souls while their features are bright and there are signs of belief on their faces. All of them are delighted and cheerful. Have you heard the statement of Allah, the honourable and exalted, in His Book:

ان الذين كفروا من اهل الكتاب و المشركين فى نار جهنم خالدين فيها اولئك هم شر البرية ؟

He answered: 'Yes, o the Messenger of Allah.' He stated: "Those are your enemies and the followers of your enemies. They will appear by their gloomy faces on the Day of Resurrection – all thirsty and ablaze. They are the people of the adversity, tormented with the torment of the disbelievers and hypocrites – those are for you and your followers, and these for your enemies and their followers." ^[43]

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