Imamology, Lesson 54-56: According to the narrative of ‘Ghais’, شاهِدٌ is the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace

Previous Page

According to the narrative of ‘Ghais’, شاهِدٌ is the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace

The six is the narrative that has been related of Sa‘d bin Ebada. Saeed bin Hilali Gheisi says:^[36] I am relating this narrative from Gheis bin Saeed Ebada concerning a dispute that took place between Mua‘wiyah and hem. Gheis said to Mua‘wiyah: When the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, passed away, the ANSAR went to Abu Bakr saying: Are you paying homage to Sa‘d bin Ebada? It was then the Quraish came to Saghifa Bani Saeeda and argued over the evidence of Ali bin Abī Tālib and his Household, and by means of that excuse, and his close relationship with the Messenger of Allah discussed and condemned us. Then, by wronging the ANSAR and the Household, they took the Caliphate away for themselves. I swear by my soul that except Ali bin Abī Tālib no one is right one for the Caliphate – neither of the ANSAR nor the Quraish, and neither the Arab not none Arab. Besides Ali and his Household no one has right to take the position of Caliphate.’             

Mua‘wiyah got furious and said: O the son of Sa‘d, wherefrom have you brought this subject, and from who have you related this? Has your father dictated you to say so? Has he inspired you saying such nonsense? Gheis said: I have heard it from someone who is much better than my father, and he deserves the right saying that.

 Mua‘wiyah asked: Then, who is he? Gheis answered: He is Ali bin Abī Tālib.

اخذته من عالم هذه الامة و ربانيها و صديقها و فاروقها الذى انزل الله فيه ما انزل: قل كفى بالله شهيدا بينى و بينكم و من عنده علم الكتاب. فلم تكن آية نزلت فيه الا ذكرها.

‘He is Ali bin Abī Tālib, the most learned of this nation,  the divine scholar of this nation, the judicious and the most truthful of this nation and he is the one that in his honour Allah has sent down this verse – and He has introduced him as the most learned of the Book.

No more verses have been revealed for the Holiness except what Gheis has mentioned.

Mua‘wiyah said: The most righteous and discriminating of this nation if Omar and the most learned of the Book is Abdullah bin Salam. Gheis answered: The best one who deserves these titles is one about who Allah has stated:

افمن كان على بينة من ربه و يتلوه شاهد منه. الذى انزل الله فيه: انما انت منذر و لكل قوم هاد. و الذى نصبه رسول الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم يوم غدير خم فقال: من كنت اولى به من نفسه فعلى اولى به من نفسه. و قال فى غزوة تبوك: انت منى بمنزلة هارون من موسى الا انه لا نبى بعدى. ^[37]

‘Is someone who has the evidence from his Creator and there is a witness along with him, and also one about whom Allah has stated to His Messenger: “It is he, but no one else, by whom you are guiding people toward Allah and warning them of the chastisement of the Almighty – and there is for every group and tribe a guide (he means Ali). And the one whom the Messenger of Allah assigned as his successor on the day of Ghadir Khum and stated: “Whomsoever I am superior to than his soul so is Ali superior to him.”

And the Messenger of Allah, in Ghazwa Tabook, stated Ali bin Abī Tālib: “Your relation and status to me is as the relation and status of Aaron to Moses; the only difference is that there will come no messenger after me.” 

Back to Index

According to the narrative of ‘Amrou Aas’, شاهِدٌ is the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace

The seven is the letter that Amru Aas has written to Mua‘wiyah containing these two verses and the occasions of their revelation about the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace. Mua‘wiyah wrote the letter to Amru Aas to invite him from Palestine to help him to fight the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace. Amru Aas replied his letter as: ‘This letter is from Amru bin Sa‘d bin Abu al-Aas ^[38] to Mua‘wiyah bin Abi Sefyan, I read your letter and got to know the content well. But what you have invited me for: to break my covenant and forsake the Islam, and to take the stray path and get lost with your desire, and draw my sword against Ali, the Approved one to Allah, (let it be known that I will never do so).

He is the brother, as well the successor of the Messenger of Allah. He is his inheritor and the fulfiller of his covenants. He is the partner of his daughter, the crown of the ladies in paradise, he is the father of the two sweet sons of the Messenger of Allah, Hassan and Hussein, two Masters of the youths in paradise.’

‘And that you have claimed to be the Caliph of Othman in Sham, you are mistaking! You used to be his Caliph when he was alive, but now, the nation has paid homage to someone else, so you too are deposed, thus, which Caliphate are you talking about?’

Besides, in your letter, you have exaggerated and spoken highly of me that: I was one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, and I was his army commander in some battles, let it be clear that I will not be deceived and will not abandon my nation and religion.’ 

However, whatever oppression, enmity and envy of his against Othman you have attributed to Abu al-Hassan, the Commander of the believers, the brother of the Messenger of Allah and his successor is baseless and totally wrong. Woe are you with such attributions you are giving to Ali! Do you not know that Abu al-Hassan sacrificed himself for the Messenger of Allah? He lied in his bed and got ready to be murdered by the chiefs of the Quraish for the sake of the Messenger of Allah! And he is the first man who has believed in the Messenger of Allah and migrated, and concerning him, the Messenger of Allah has said: ‘Your relation to me is that of Aaron to Moses but only there is no messengers after me.’ And on the day of Ghadir Khum he said: ‘O people! Know that whomsoever I am Master so is this Ali his Master; O Allah, protect anyone who has accepted his Guardianship, and be enemy to one who is enemy to him, and support one who supports him and humiliate whoever humiliates him.’

And he is the same man about whom the Messenger of said on the Day of Kheibar: ‘The next day, I will put the banner of battle in one’s hand who loves Allah and the Messenger of Allah, and Allah and His Messenger love him.

And he is the one that the Messenger of Allah, on the Day of the Roasted Bird, stated: ‘O Allah, now present here one of the best creatures of Yours to have of this bird with me.’ Right then, Ali stepped in and the Messenger of Allah stated: ‘Come on, come closer to me, and then said: ‘Ali is the Leader and the Imam of the pious, and he is the killer of the insurgent and the debauchee; whoever supports him will be supported, and whoever humiliates him will be humiliated.’ He also added: ‘After me, Ali will take your control,’ he insisted on this sentence and made covenant with you and I as well all the Muslims, and stated: ‘I am leaving two precious things with you: one is the Book of Allah and the next is my Household.’ He also stated: ‘I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate.’

‘O Mua‘wiyah, do you know how many verses, in the Glorious Qur’an, Allah has sent down in his honour and virtues which no one among the nation has it but him? He has stated:

يوفون بالنذر، انما وليكم الله و رسوله و الذين آمنوا الذين يقيمون الصلوة و يؤتون الزكوة و هم راكعون، افمن كان على بينة من ربه و يتلوه شاهد منه و من قبله كتاب موسى، رجال صدقوا ما عاهدوا الله عليه، قل لا اسئلكم عليه اجرا الا المودة فى القربى.

‘… [those] who fulfill their vows,

‘… indeed, your protector is only Allah, and His Messenger and those who have believed, establish prayer, and pay the due welfare tax when bowing down [to pray],

‘… what about one who stands upon a clear explanation from his Lord and to whom is a witness from [His kingship], and Moses’ Book lying before him as a token and a mercy, …?

‘… the men who fulfill what they have pledged to Allah,

‘… say, ‘I do not ask you any wage for this but affection towards [my] relatives.’

And also to him the Messenger of Allah has stated: ‘Are you not pleased that your relation with me to be as the relation of Aaron to Moses? Being peaceful with you is being at peace with me, and fighting with you is fighting with me; and you are my brother and having control of my nation in this world and the Next after me.’

O Abu al-Hassan whoever loves you, then he loves me, but anyone who is enemy to you in fact he is enemy to me; and whoever loves you Allah enters him to paradise, and anyone who takes you as his enemy Allah will put him in the Fire. O Mua‘wiyah, this is the answer to your letter sending me, it cannot deceive one who owns intelligence – and peace on you!’^[39]

It is clear that this letter of Amru Aas was not sincere and affectionate to the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, though he confessed and accepted the virtues of the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, however he had written so to reject Mua‘wiyah who was trying to deceit him. Anyhow, finally Mua‘wiyah invited him and promised him to be given the governorship of Egypt. No matter how much his son Abdullah and his servant Wardan advised him, he did not care what they were trying to tell him. In the end, after enough discussion between him and Mua‘wiyah, the governorship of Egypt was given him without any conditions, but one; he received the letter of the governorship in condition to fight the Commander of the believers and defeat the Holiness.^[40] And in the Battle of Siffin, he was at the position of Minister in Mua‘wiyah’s army.

Back to Index

The biography of Amrou Aas and his enmity with the Messenger of Allah

In the meantime when ibn Abi al-Hadid explains the Sermon 83 in the Naj-ul-Balagha, he clarifies the condition of Amru Aas in detail.^[41] And now we briefly explain it here. He says: ‘His father was Aas bin Waeel احد المستهزئين برسول الله و المكاشفين له بالعداوة. ‘One of the mockers of the Messenger of Allah, he was an apparent enemy and the annoyer of the Messenger of Allah, and the verse انا كفيناك المستهزئين  is sent down for him.^[42] And, in Islam, he is called ‘bobtailed’ which is metaphorically meant ‘deprived of offspring’, it is because he used to say: “When the Messenger does he has no children behind him.” However, the prophet-hood continues and this verse ان شانئك هو الأبتر

 is sent down for him. ^[43] 

But Amru Aas himself used to hurt the Messenger of Allah in Mecca and most of time cursed him in public. At nights, when the Holiness Messenger used to go to Ka‘ba to worship, he splashed pebbles everywhere on the road to block his way so that to make him slip.^[44] And he was one of those people who prevented Zeinab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, who left Mecca to immigrate to Medina. They frightened Zeinab, they hit her so much with the bottom of the spare that she miscarried her child that was by her husband, Abu al-Aas. When the news reached the Messenger of Allah, he was angry and cursed them altogether. ^[45]

Amru Aas used to teach mockery poems to the young children in Mecca and they would sang  them aloud when the Messenger was passing by them . He himself would compose and  sang ridicule poems about the Messenger of Allah, and when the Messenger was standing to pry at the Hijr of Ismaeel he would also sang his poems aloud, it was why the Messenger of Allah implored:

اللهم ان عمرو عاص هجانى و لست بشاعر فالعنه بعدد ما هجانى.^[46]

‘O Allah, indeed Amru Aas is ridiculing me, for he is not a poet, so curse him as many times as he ridicules me.’

Salim bin Gheis says: ‘The Commander of the believers said that he had composed an elegy to reproach the Messenger of Allah. It was seventy lines and the Messenger implored: ‘O Allah, do curse him as many times as seventy.’^[47]

The narrators have said that Nasr bin Harith, Oghbat bin Abi Moait and Amru bin Aas had taken the womb^[48] of a slaughtered young camel and while the Messenger had fallen prostrate in his prayer around Ka‘ba they laid it on his head. The Holiness kept quiet, he did not raise his head but cried and cursed them in his prostration.

The Highnesses Fatima approached him while crying and took that dirty womb away from his father’s head, she cast it away and sat by her father crying until the Messenger of Allah raise his head from the prostration and three times implored: اللهم عليك بقريش ‘O Allah, repel the evil of the Quraish!’

Then he implored three times aloud: انى مظلوم فانتصر  ‘I have indeed gone through oppression, do help me.’ Then, he stood up and went to his house.

This event took place after two months of his uncle, Abī Tālib ’s demise.^[49] And due to the excessive enmity of Amru Aas toward the Messenger of Allah, the people of Mecca sent him as their delegate to Najashi, the King of Abyssinia, to deviate his opinion about Islam, and to expel the immigrations of Mecca from Abyssinia and above all, to behead the Ja‘far bin Abī Tālib. This event is well-known in the book of the event and history.^[50]

Amru Aas’ mother was genius and she was called ‘SALMA’ and was the slave of a man from the clan of Ghanza when she was captured. Abdullah bin Jodan Teimi purchased her in Mecca but as she was adulterous he freed her.

Five men: Abu Sofyan bin Harb, Aas bin waeel Sahemi, Abu Lahab bin Abdul Abī Tālib, Omayyad bin Khalaf and Hisham bin Moghira Makhzomi committed adultery with her in on occasion, and later on she gave birth to Amru Aas. Then, each one of them claimed the child to be of his and said: ‘We will ask his mother, Salma, to choose his father.’ She said: ‘It is belong to Aas because he gave more money to Salma, while Abu Sofyan was mean in this respect.’ Although Amru Aas very much resembled to Abu Sofyan, Salma said: ‘I only give it to Aas but not to Abu Sofyan.’^[51]

Thus,  Amru Aas carried out his enmity against the Messenger of Allah until the end of ‘GHAZWA KHANDAGH’ when the disbelievers returned to Mecca.

Amru Aas says: ‘I brought together the men who were with the same opinions with me and also took my orders, and I told them: “I see the affair of Muhammad very strange and he is unbelievably improving; my opinion is that we immigrate to Abyssinia and start living under the protection of Najashi. Then, when Muhammad becomes victorious and dominated the people of Mecca we would better be with Najashi than being under the command of Muhammad. However, if the people of our town prevail upon Muhammad, then they will take our activities and the record of our serving the town into consideration and give us enough advantages.,’

Those people approved the opinion of Amru Aas and left the town for Abyssinian with enough presents with them.

Amru Aas says: ‘After arriving in Abyssinian and delivering the gifts and presents we were in the court of Najashi when the envoys of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, Amru bin Omayyad, Ja‘far bin bin Abī Tālib and his companions came to Najashi.’ Amru Aas says: ‘I told my friends, now I will give the retribution of Muhammad. As soon as Amru bin Omayyad leaves Najashi I will go to him and ask him to deliver him to us and then I will behead him. Therefore, when he left, I went to Najashi, dropped myself prostrating in front of him and saying: O King! Now the envoy of your enemy has come to you, the very enemy who has destroyed many nobles and the great men; if you let us have this envoy with us and kill him we would be very pleased with you!’

Ibn Aas says: ‘By listening to me, Nashashi got so furious that he punched him so hard on the face that I gathered he had broke his nose, and shouted at me: “If the earth cracked apart I would sink in it in anger!” I said: ‘O King! I gather that I have upset  you with my demand.’ Najashi said: “Do you expect me to let you kill the envoy of a man who is the greatest chaste of Allah, to whom Gabriel comes as he went to Moses?” I asked: ‘Is he really at that state?’

He said: “By Allah, yes. Do listen to me and obey him. O man, woe on you. Muhammad is right and he will prevail all his enemies – as Moses was victorious over all his enemies.” I said: ‘Then, pay homage behalf of me with Muhammad.’ Najashi stretched his hand, and as the deputy of the Messenger of Allah, I shook hands and paid homage to Islam.

I left him, and for visiting Muhammad, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, I set out for Medina. Khalid bin Walid was with me and we reached Medina and went straight to Muhammad. First Khalid bin Walid paid homage and embraced Islam. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am going to pay homage to embrace Islam, but my condition is that to forgive me all my ugly affairs towards you.’

The Holiness stated:

بايع يا عمرو، فان الاسلام يجب ما قبله و ان الهجرة تجب ما قبلها.

‘O Amru, pay homage because Islam wipes out all the previous sins, and migrate toward the Messenger of Allah for it wipes out all the evil acts done before the migration.’

[Then,] I paid homage and embraced the Islam.^[52]

And the the son of Abdul Birr says: Amru Aas’ embracing Islam was in the year 8^th Hijri/628. He came to Medina with Khalid bin Walid and Othman bin Talha, and when the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, saw them, he said to them:^[53] رَمَتكُمْ مَكَّة بِأفلاذِ كَبِدهَا  ‘Mecca has expelled you, the lobes of its liver!’

In this narrative, it becomes quite clear that Amru Aas’ embracing the Islam was not sincere and willingly, however, by seeing that after so many crimes he had done and finally referred to Najashi who repelled him and directed him to embrace Islam, he had no choice but paying homage and surrendering.

In the event of ‘ZAT-as-SOLASEL’, the Holiness Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, sent him along with three hundred men to the cities of GHOZA‘A to invite the people to Islam – as his grandmother, the mother of Aas bin Waeel, was from the district of BALLI, the Holiness sent him there, the BALLI and OZRA.

On the way there, he asked the Holiness for some more help, therefore, the Holiness sent two hundred more men, under the supervision of the commander, Obeida, to help him. ^[54] Later on, the Holiness chose him as the governor for Amman and it was then the Messenger of Allah passed away. ^[55]

After Yazid bin Abu Sofyan died, Omar bin Khattab assigned Amru Aas as the governor of Palestine and Jordan, and did assign Mua‘wiyah as the governor of Damascus, Ba‘labak and Bilgha; and also assigned Saeed bin Aamerthe governor of Hamis. Then, he entrusted Mua‘wiyah all those places. He then, wrote a letter to Amru Aas to go to Egypt. Ibn Aas went to Egypt, he fought and conquered there and took the governorship of Egypt for him until Omar was killed and Othman took the control. Othman too let him govern Egypt for four years, then he dismissed him and sent Abdullah bin Sa‘d bin Abi Sarh Aameri to govern Egypt.^[56]

Ibn Abd-ul- Birr says: At the time of his governorship, Amru Aas claimed that the people of Alexandria had broken their promise, therefore, he attacked there killing their soldiers and capturing their wives and children. It was too hard for Othman to believe the breach of promise of the people in Alexandria, he was still doubtful about it. So he commanded the captives to be sent back to their home, and since then, he chose Abdullah bin Sa‘d bin Abi Sarh as the government of Egypt. It was the start of the enmity and sedition between Othman and Amru Aas, which caused Amru Aas to be dismissed and settle in a district in Palestine.^[57] It was until after Othman was killed and the MOHAJERIN and ANSAR paid homage with the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, and by the sedition of Mua‘wiyah he rose against paying homage to the Commander of the believers and demanded to have the governorship of Sham. The Holiness did not accept his demand, so he wrote a letter to Amru Aas and sent it to Palestine inviting him to come for his help against the Commander of the believers. It was the very letter as well as its answer which we mentioned already. After his answer was reached to Mua‘wiyah, he wrote another letter to him promising the governorships of many cities, excessive booties for him, and he finally wrote this poem:

جَهِلْتَ وَ لَمْ تَعْلَمْ مَحَلَّكَ عِندَنَا             وَ أَرْسَلْتَ شَيئاً مِن عِتابٍ وَ مَا تَدرِى ‏

فَثِقْ بِالَّذى عِندى لَكَ اليَومَ آنِفاً             مِنَ العِزِّ وَ الإكْرَامِ وَ الجَاهِ وَ القَدْرِ

فَاكْتُبُ  عَهداً   تَرْتَضيهِ   مُؤكِّداً             وَ اشَفِّعُهُ بِالبَذْلِ مِنِّى وَ بِالبِّر.^[58]

[Mua‘wiyah says:]

‘Naive are you with your position with us,

Knowing not your own mail, blame is to us;

But our aim, today, for you is this we say:

‘You are dignified, highly esteemed for us.

I’ll cheer you, and give you Reign of the Site

To make you pleased, by showing you the Just.’

Amru Aas answered the letter of Mua‘wiyah thus:

ابَى  القَلْبُ مِنِّى أن اخادَعَ   بِالمَكْرِ             بِقَتْلِ ابنِ عَفَّانٍ اجَرُّ إلَى الْكُفْرِ

وَ اِّنى   لَعَمروٌ  ذُو  دَهاءٍ   وَ فِطْنَة             وَ لَسْتُ أبيعُ الدِّينَ بِالرِّبحِ و الوَقْرِ

فَلَوْ كُنتَ دَارَاىٍ  وَ عَقْلٍ   وَ حِيلَة             لَقُلْتَ لِهَذا الشَّيْخِ إن خاضَ فِى الامْرِ

تَحِيَّة    مَنشُورٍ    جَلِيسٍ     مُكْرَّم             بِخَبْطٍ (بخطًّ) صَحِيحٍ ذى تِبيانٍ عَلى مِصْرِ

أَ لَيْسَ  صَغيراً  مُلْكُ   مِصْرَ  بِبَيعْة             هِىَ العارُ فِى الدُّنيا على العَقَبِ مِن عَمْرُو

فَإن كُنتَ دامَيلٍ شَديدٍ  الَى  العُلى             وَ امْرَة أهْلِ الدِّينِ مِثْلَ أبى بَكْرِ

فَأشرِك  أخا  رَأىٍ  وَ حَزْمٍ  وَ حيلَة             مذعاوىَ فى أمْرٍ جَليلٍ لِذِى الذِّكْرِ

فَإنَّ رِواءَ اللَّيْثِ صَعْبٌ عَلَى الوَرى             وَ إن غابَ عَمْرٌ زيدَ شَرٌ إلى شَرٍّ ^[59]

‘[He says:]

My heart refrains me to be deceived by your tricks and seditions, and by killing Othman to lead myself toward the disbelief.

I am Amrawi and is known with smart and cleverness, I am not such a man to exchange my religion with the trifle property of the world.

If you were a man of wisdom, opinion and plan you would, instead of ruining him, invite this great man and give him the manifest written document of governing Egypt; and by doing so, you would respect him and make him your own companion.

Is the government-ship of Egypt not very little in front of paying homage to your government and fighting with Ali bin Abī Tālib which is a disgrace for my children to do so?

So, O Mua‘wiyah, if you are interested in high position and governing do like Abu Bakr did among the people; do not beguile a man of high opinion and plan to take part in your trick.

Because it is not possible for all people to tie up a fierce lion on all fours, so if Amru Aas is driven back evil will settle upon the evil.’

Here, Amru Aas says: ‘In short, if you choose a man like me, who is smart with plenty of tricks and plans, as a partner to you, we can tied up Ali’s hands who is the bravest man among all being, otherwise you alone cannot do anything, you can do nothing but increasing devil on top of the other devils.

After reading his letter, Mua‘wiyah wrote the charter of government of Egypt and after signing it he sent it to him.

When Amru Aas received the letter, he wondered what to do. First he consulted his two sons, Abdullah and Muhammad, Abdullah prevented him to go to Mua‘wiyah and said: ‘You are not going to be the Caliph, so do not exchange your Hereafter with this mortal life. You are going to be made one of the courtiers of Mua‘wiyah and after your death both will be chastise by Allah.’

However, Muhammad said: ‘You are the great man of the Quraish, so if the Caliphate is only in the hand of Mua‘wiyah and you are cast into oblivion then you will lose. Do join to the people of Sham and accompany Mua‘wiyah for demanding the blood of Othman; and I am sure all the Bani Omayyad will help you.’

Amru Aas said: ‘O Abdullah, you advised me for something that is better for my religion, and you Muhammad invited me to the world, thus, I am wandering between two, let’s see what happens next.’

When the night fell and the world changed into darkness, he began reciting this poem so aloud that everyone could hear it.    

تَطَاوَلَ  لَيْلَى   بِالهُمُومِ   الطَّوارِق             وَ خَوْفِ الَّتى تَجلُو وُجوهَ العَوائِق‏

وَ إنَّ ابْنَ هِندٍ  سَألَنى   أَن  أزورَه             وَ تِلكَ الَّتى فِيها بَناتُ البَوائِق‏

اتاهُ  جَريرٌ   مِن   عَلِىٍّ     بِخُطَّة             امَرَّتْ عَلَيْهِ العَيْشَ ذاتَ مَضائِق‏

فان  نال   منىّ   ما  يؤمل   ردّه             و ان لم ينله ذل ذل المطابق‏

فَوَ اللهِ مَا أدرى وَ مَا كُنتُ هَكذا             أَكُونُ وَ مَهما قادَتِى فَهُوَ سابِقى‏

اخادِعُهُ     إنَّ    الخِداعَ    دَنِيَّة             امْ أُعطيهِ مِن نَفسى نَصِيحَة وَامِق‏

ام اقْعُدُ فى بَيْتِى وَ فِى ذَاكَ رَاحَة             لِشَيْخٌ يَخافُ المَوْتَ فِى كُلِّ سَارِقِ‏

وَ قَد قَالَ  عَبدُ اللهَ  قَولًا  تَعَلَّقَتْ             بِهِ النَّفْسُ إن لَمْ تَقْتَطِعنى عَوابُقِى‏

وَ خَالَفَهُ    فِيهِ    اخُوهُ    مُحَمَّدٌ             وَ انِّى لَصُلْبُ العُودِ عِندَ الحَقائِق.^[60]

[In the pitch darkness was reading for his own]

‘Tonight has become lengthy to me, the unpleasant thoughts have surrounded me and dragged down into abyss. The fright of those combats that unveiled the chaste girls exposing them to the shameless seers upsets me.

Mua‘wiyah, the son of Hind, has asked me to go to Sham to visit him, I know that this meeting will end to the outbreak of the fatal features and severe agonies.

Jarir bin Abdullah Bajali has come from Ali bin Abī Tālib – from Kufa to Sham – and brought me a message pointing out the problems of Mua‘wiyah that have made his life bitter.

If by my assistance, Mua‘wiyah fulfills his wish, he gets the directorship; but if he does not get it still he will carry on to reign with his own broken wings.

By Allah, I wonder what to do, I have never been in such state before; if Mua‘wiyah succeeds in his demand he will advance me. Now, shall deceive him? But deceiving is mean and ugly, or should I deal kindly with him; whatever he has asked me to do I do it sincerely.

Or shall I sit in my home peacefully,  and in this old age, which the death is constantly threatening me, to live in peace.

My son, Abdullah, has advised me in such a way that my soul is desirous to it, if there is no hurdle on my way I have to carry it out.

However, his brother, Muhammad, was disagree with him and he lead me to another direction, anyhow, I am determined in my decision.’

The night came to an end, and in the morning he wanted to consult with his servant, Wardan, who was very clever but he had not started his word when suddenly Wardan said: ‘If you want to, I can inform you of the event.’ Amru Aas said, tell me. Wardan said: ‘This world and the Next are combating inside you, sometimes you think: standing by Ali’s side brings me the Next world but not this one, but being with Mua‘wiyah gives me this world but not the Next – so you are in dilemma! Sometime you wish to have this world and next time wishing for the Next.’

Amru Aas said: ‘I wish you perished! How do you know what is going on in my heart! Now, let me know what is good for me to do?’

Wardan said: If I were you I would sit in the corner of my room and wait; then, if the religious people succeeded I would follow them, but if the worldly men would succeed, they would surely need your help.^[61] However, Amru Aas set out for his destination while saying:

  يَا   قَاتَلَ  اللهُ    وَرْداناً    وَ مِدحَتَهُ              أُبدى لَعَمْرُكَ مَا فِى النَّفسِ وَرْدانُ‏

لَمّا تَعَرَّضَتْ  الدُّنيا   عَرَضْتُ   لَهَا             بِحِرصِ نَفسِى وَ فِى الاطباعِ اذهانُ‏

نَفسٌ تَعِفُّ وَ اخرَى الحِرْصُ يَغلِبُهَا             وَ المَرْءُ يَأكُلُ تِبناً وَ هُوَ غَرْثانُ‏

امّا    عَلِىِّ   فَدينٌ   لَيْسَ   يَشْرَكُهُ             دُنيا وَداكَ لَهُ دُنيا وَ سُلْطانُ‏

فَاخْتَرْتُ مِن طَمَعى دُنيا عَلَى  بَصَرٍ             وَ مَا مَعى بِالَّذى اختارُ بُرْهانُ‏

إنِّى   لاعْرِفُ   مَا  فِيها   وَ ابصِرُهُ             وَ فِىَّ أيضاً لِما أهواهُ الوانُ‏

لكِنَّ نَفسى تُحِبُّ العَيْشَ فِى شَرَفٍ             وَ لَيْسَ يَرضَى بِذُلِّ العَيشِ إنسانُ.^[62]

‘May Allah do away with Wardan

Who is aware of all within me goes on,

When the world came to me – and always did

I gladly received it through my greed.

Poor man, in his nature, has greed and funs,

Who disguises himself behind his tricks and cons!

It is but Ali bin Abī Tālib who has his own sincere faith

Though in front of him stand the world and reign.

Due to my greediness, though I was clever, I chose the worldly life; however, it is quite clear that within my choice is no proof.

I know the world well, and I have given thought to its ending, but alas! I have too many colourful desires inside me!

Therefore, I would like to increase my joy and toy-playing: though no man is satisfied with the lowly life in this world!’

Amru Aas continued walking forward until he reached a Y junction: one road was leading to Iraq and the next one to Sham. His attendants, Abdullah and Wardan, prevented him to take the road to Sham and said: ‘The road to Iraq brings you the ultimate success,’ however, Amru Aas did not listen to them and chose the road to Sham.^[63] He went straight to Mua‘wiyah and stabilized the charter of the government-ship of Egypt. In the mean time, he instructed Mua‘wiyah that the only way to beguile people was the vengeance for the bloodshed of Othman, the Caliph of the Messenger of Allah – they must pretend that Ali and his companions had killed Othman.

They called for Shurahbil bin Semt, who was the Sheikh and the commander of Sham, and Mua‘wiyah and also his companions inspired him that Ali had killed Othman and now they should fight Ali for Othman’s state of being innocent and to vengeance his bloodshed. The poor old man was tricked and announced to all people of Sham that they should obey Mua‘wiyah and not to be heedless of the murderers of Othman – it was the main reason that the Battle of Siffin started.

It is related that one hundred thousand people were died in this battle alone, until when at ‘LEILAT-ul-HARIR’, where the victory of the Commander of believers was certain, and the next day, in a few hourse he would get rid of Mua‘wiyah, Amru Aas planned a new trick. He raised the Qur’ans on the spears’ points and rendered uncertainty in the army of the Commander of the believers, they became weaker; and on the other hand, the hypocrites forced the Commander of the believers to surrender in front of two arbitrators.

And Amru Aas, who was the arbitrary of the people of Sham, deceived Abu Musa Ash‘ari and made him depose the Commander of the believers from the state of the Caliphate. At last, the KHAWARIDJ abandoned the army of the Highness and formed a separate group. The Holiness did not sign the fake and deceitful treaty of the arbitraries and got ready to move towards Sham to ruin the corrupt government of Mua‘wiyah.

When he had prepared a hundred men in his army to end up the whole affair, ibn Moljam Moradi, who was a member of KHAWARIDJ, struck him on the head and he passed away to the his Creator.

At the time of the Commander of the believers, Amru Aas went to Egypt and killed Muhammad bi Abi Bakr, the governor of the Commander of the believers and expanded the realm of his chairmanship there. He did not hide his enmity towards the Household until the end of his life; once he assaulted the Holiness Imam Hassan, Upon Him be Peace, in the assembly, in front of Mua‘wiyah^[64] – he also reproached Abdullah bin Ja‘far. ^[65] Imam Hassan, Upon Him be Peace, and Abdullah reproached him back and revealed his evil acts to the gathering.

Anyhow, in our lengthy explanation, about the condition of Amru Aas, it became clear that firstly his belief in Islam was superficial not by heart, therefore, as soon as the world changed for his benefit, he exchanged his religion to receive the position of government in Egypt. And secondly, Amru Aas who was the enemy of the Commander of the believers, in the beginning he confessed the rights of the Holiness, in his letter to Mua‘wiyah he pointed out the numerous virtues of the Holiness. He mentioned almost twenty virtues of him which the authentic narratives prove that all of them are about the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace as:

و الفَضْلُ مَا شَهِدَتْ بِهِ الاعداءُ.

And another confession is the very discussed verse as:

افمن كان على بينة من ربه و يتلوه شاهد منه.

‘… is someone who has the evidence from his Creator and there is a witness along with him…,

Which is clearly stated that its conditions of revelation refers to the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace.

The eighth is a narrative related by the Holiness Imam Saj‘jad Zain-ul-Aa‘bedin, Upon Him be Peace.

By means of his documents, ibn Moghazeli has related from Ab‘bad bin Abdullah that he has said:

قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عَلِيّاً عليه السّلام يَقُولُ فِى خُطْبَتِهِ: مَا نَزَّلَتْ آيَة مِن كِتَابِ اللهِ إلّا وَ قَدْ عَلِمْتُ مَتى انزِلَتْ وَ فِيمَنْ انزِلَتْ، وَ مَا مِن قُرَيشٍ رَجُلٌ إلّا وَ قَدْ انزِلَتْ فِيهِ آيَة مِن كِتابِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ تَسُوقُهُ إلى جَنَّة أَوْ نَارٍ. قَالَ رَجُلٌ: يَا أَميرُالمُؤمِنِينَ فَمَا نَزَلَ فِيك؟ قالَ: امّا تَقْرَأُ: أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِن رَبِّهِ وَ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ- الأية؟ فَرَسُولُ اللهِ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِن رَبِّهِ وَ انَا التّالِى الشَّاهِدُ مِنْهُ.^[66]

Similar to the Holiness Imam Saj‘jad Zain-ul-Aa‘bedin, Upon Him be Peace, Imam Bāqir and Imam Sādiq, Upon them be Peace, have related this narrative.

[Ab‘bad] says: ‘I heard the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, say in one of his sermons: ‘Not a single verse of the Book of Allah has revealed without my knowledge when it was revealed, and about whom it has been sent down; and there is no man among the Quraish unless a verse has been revealed concerning him leading him to hell or paradise.’

A man stood up and asked: O the Commander of the believers, which verse has been sent down about you?

The Holiness stated: ‘Have you not recited this verse:

افمن كان على بينة من ربه و يتلوه شاهد منه.

the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, is the evidence by Allah and I am the witness alongside him.

Ghandouzi has related this narrative from ibn Moghazeli, and then he has said: ‘This narrative has been related by the Holinesses Imam Saj‘jad, Imam Bāqir and Imam Sādiq, Upon Them be Peace.’

Back to Index

The sermon of the Holiness Imam Hassan Mojtaba, upon him be peace, on illuminating that  شاهِدmeans the Commander of the believers

The ninth is a narrative by the Holiness Imam Hassan Mojtaba, Upon Him be Peace. Sheikh Tousi, by means of his documents, in “Aamali”, relates it from Ali bin al-Hussein quoting Imam Hassan that he had stated it in his lengthy sermon in the presence of Mua‘wiyah:

أَقُولُ مَعْشَرَ الخَلائِقر وَ لَكُم أفئِدَة وَ أسْماعٌ: وَ هُوَ: إنّا اهلُ بَيْتٍ أكْرَمَنا اللهُ بِالإسْلَامِ و اختارَنا وَ اصْطَفَانا وَ اجْتَنابَا فَأذْهَبَ عَنّا الرِّجسَ وَ طَهَّرْنَا تَطْهِيراً، و الرِّجسُ هُوَ الشَّكُ فَلَا نَشُكُّ فِى اللهِ الحَقِّ وَ دِينِهِ أبداً، وَ طَهَّرنا مِن كُلِّ افِنٍ وَ عَيْبَة مُخْلَصِينَ إلَى آدَمَ نِعْمَة مِنْهُ، لَمْ يَفْتَرِقِ النّاسُ فِرْقَتَيْنِ إلّا جَعَلْنَا اللهُ فِى خَيْرِ مَا فاتَ الامورُ إلَى أَن يَبْعَثَ اللهُ مُحَمَّداً صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ وَ سَلَّمَ لِلنُّبُوة وَ اخْتَارَهُ لِلرِّسالَة وَ أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ كِتابَهُ ثُمَّ امَرَهُ بِالدُّعاء إلَى اللهِ عَزّ وَ جَلَّ فَكانَ أَبى عليه السّلام اوَّلَ مَنِ اسْتَجابَ لِلَّهِ تَعالى وَ لِرَسُولِهِ وَ اوَّلَ مَن آمَنَ وَ صَدَّقَ اللَهَ رَسُولَهُ، وَ قَدْ قَالَ اللهُ تَعالَى فِى كِتَابِهِ المُنْزَلِ عَلى نَبِيِّهِ المُرْسَلِ: «أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِن رَبِّهِ وَ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ». فَرَسُولُ اللهِ الَّذى عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِن رَبِّهِ وَ أَبِى الَّذى يَتلوُهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ. ساق الخطبة و هىَ طويلة.^[67]

‘O the company of the people who have your own hearts and ears, I am speaking to you, listen: we belong to the Household that Allah has honoured us Islam, He has chosen us, He has picked us among His creatures, He has kept us away from any impurities and has lead us to the state of purity.

The impurity means doubt, and we have never doubted in His rightfulness and in His religion, He has kept us away from the offence purified us against the evil; He has bestowed sincerity and blessings to our ancestors.

Whenever people were divided into two parties, He located us in the best party of them – at any time or any affair. It was until Muhammad, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, was chosen as His Messenger, he was given the Qur’an to guide the people by. My father was the first one embracing the Islam by accepting the invitation of Allah and His Messenger – he was the first one to believe in Allah and the Messenger of Allah. And Allah, in His Glorious Book sent down this verse for his status

افمن كان على بينة من ربه و يتلوه شاهد منه.

the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, is the evidence by Allah and I am the witness alongside him. Sheikh Tousi has related this very long sermon from the Holiness Imam Hassan, Upon Him be Peace, up to the end. And also Al‘lāma Tabatabaee has related in “Aamali” a short part of it which is related to the foregoing verse.^[68] And Ghandouzi Hanafi too has related the sermon of the Holiness Imam Hassan by producing this verse as the witness.^[69]

The tenth are numerous narratives related by the Holiness , Upon Him be Peace, the Commander of the believers himself. In the point of view of the texts and styles, his narratives are divided in a few groups. First are the narratives that only explains the citation of the Holiness concerning the verse being debated. Ibn Shahr Aashub has related it from ibn Abbas in three ways that saying:

سَمِعْتُ عَلِيّاً يَقُولُ: قَولُ اللهِ تَعالىَ: «أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِن رَبِّهِ وَ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْه» رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عليهِ وَ آلِهِ وَ سَلَّمَ عَلَى بَيِّنَة وَ انَا الشّاهِدُ.^[70]

I heard Ali, the commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, say concerning this verse: ‘The purpose of the evidence is the Messenger of Allah and I am the witness alongside him.

And Sheikh Soleiman Ghandouzi has related similar to this narrative from Hamwini in“al-Faraeed al-Semtain” from ibn Abbas and Zazan quoting the Holiness Commander of the believers.^[71] And also by his own documents, Hamwini has related it from Jabir bin Abdullah, and by means of other documents, from Bokhtari – both of them have quoted the Commander of the believers, Ali, Upon Him be Peace.^[72] And Abu Naeem Isfahani, and both Tha‘labi and Ghaedi have related it by means of their documents quoting Ali bin Abī Tālib, Upon Him be Peace, ^[73] Al‘lāma Tabatabaee, has related it in “The Commentari of Borhan” by ibn Mardowiia quoting the Commander of the believers , Upon Him be Peace. ^[74] and in the book of “The Virtues of the Companions” Siyu:ti has related it from Abu Hatam^[75] and ibn Mardowiia and Abu Naeem; and also ibn Mardowiia and ibn Asakar related it from the Commander of the believers , Upon Him be Peace., and Hakim Haskani, by means of a document from Abbad bin Abdullah,^[76] and also by another document from Abbad bin Abdullah,^[77] and another document from Hareth^[78] has related it to be from the Commander of the believers , Upon Him be Peace.

The Second are the narratives within the Holiness states: ‘If they assigned me to judge, I would command every nation of the heavens according to their laws and books; and he also clears it up that the occasion of revelation of the verse is for his honour.

By his own documents, “al-Faraeed al-Semtain”, Hamwini has quoted Zazan say:

سَمِعْتُ عَلِيًّا يَقُولُ: وَالَّذى فَلَقَ الحَبَّة وَ بَرَأ النَّسَمَة لَوْ كُسِرَتْ لى وَسادَة (يقولُ ثُنِّيَتْ) فَأجْلِسْتُ عَلَيْها لَحَكَمْتُ بَيْنَ أهلِ التَّوراة بِتَوراتِهِمْ، وَ بَينَ أهلِ الانجِيلِ بِانجِيلِهِمْ، وَ بَيْنَ أهلِ الزَّبُورِ بِزَبُورِهِمْ، وَ بَيْنَ أَهْلِ الفُرقانِ بِفُرْقَانِهِمْ. وَالَّذى فَلَقَ الحَبَّة وَ بَرَأ النَّسَمَة مَا مِنْ رَجُلٍ مِنْ قُرَيشٍ جَرَتْ عَلَيْهِ المَواسِى إلّا وَ انَا أعرِفُ آيَة تَسُوقُهُ إلَى جَنَّة او تَسُوقُهُ إلَى نَارٍ، فَقَامَ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ: أيِّشْ نَزَلَ فِيكَ؟ فَقَالَ عَلِىُّ عَليه السَّلَامُ: أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِن رَبِّهِ وَ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ» فَرَسُولُ الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ وَ سَلَّمَ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِن رَبِّهِ وَ يَتْلُوهُ انَا شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ. ^[79]

[Zazan says:] ‘I heard Ali, the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, say: “By Allah, who breaks the seed [within the earth], and creates the soul, if they let me have the divine for judgement, and seated me on it, I would judge the people of Torah by means of their Book, Torah, and among the people of the Bible I would judge with Bible, and in the midst of the people of Psalms I would judge by means of their Book, Psalms and with the people of the Qur’an, I would judge with the Qur’an.

By Allah, who breaks the seed [within the earth], and creates the soul, I know every individual verse that has been revealed for every tiny bit of movement of a man among the Quraish whether it leads him to hell or paradise.” Then, a man stood up and asked: ‘O the Commander of the believers, has any verse been sent down about you?’ The Holiness stated, yes:

  أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِن رَبِّهِ وَ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْه.

“The Messenger of Allah is the evidence by the Creator and I am the witness alongside him.”

Back to Index

The statement of the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace that:   سلوني قبل ان تفقِدوني

Tha‘labi has also related this narrative in his commentary from Zazan quoting the Holiness.^[80] And Muhammad bin Hassan Saffar has related it in “BASAEER AD-DARAJAT” from Asbagh bin Nabata quoting the Holiness.^[81] And Al‘lāma  Tabatabaee by “BASAEER AD-DARAJAT”,^[82] and Hakim Askani by means of two documents: one from Phorate bin Ibrahim Kufi with his own documents quouting Habib bin Yasar,^[83] and the other by Abubakr Sabiyi in his commentary with his own documents from Abu-Aljarood from Habib bin Yasar,^[84] and Tabari with his own documents from Jabir bi Abdullah quoting the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace.^[85]

And the narrative explaining the conditions of the Holiness clearly and in details, is that Hamwini, by means of his documents, has related from Abu al-Moaiied Mowaffaq bin Ahmad Makki, by the chains of documents from the Sunnite: from Noah bin Ghais, from A‘mash, from Omar bin Morra and Abu al-Bokhtari that say:

قَالَ: رَأيتُ ابنَ عَمِّ رَسُولِ الله صلَّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم عَلِياً عليه السّلام صَعِدَ المِنبَرَ بِالكُوفَة عَلَيْهِ مِدْرَعَة كَانَتْ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ وَ سَلَّمَ مُتَقَلِّداً بِسَيوفِ رَسُولِ اللهِ مَتَعَمِّماً بِعِمَامَة رَسُولِ اللهِ وَ فِى إصبَعِهِ خاتَمُ رَسُولِ اللهِ فَقَعَدَ عليه السّلام عَلَى المِنْبَر وَ كَشَفَ عَنْ بَطْنِهِ وَ قَالَ اسألُونِى مِن قَبْلِ أن تَفْقِدُونِى فَإنَّ مَا بَيْنَ الجَوانِحِ مِنِّى عِلمٌ جَمٌّ، هَذَا سَفَطُ العِلْمِ هَذا لُعَابُ رَسُولِ اللهِ، هَذَا مَا زفَّنى رَسُولِ اللهِ زَفّاً مِن غَيْرِ وَحْىٍ أوحِىَ إلَىَّ فَوَ اللهِ لَوْ ثَنِيَّتْ لِىَ الوَسادَة فَجَلَسْتُ عَلَيْهَا لاقْتَيْتُ لاهْلِ التَّوراة بِتَورَاتِهِمْ وَ لاهْلِ الانجِيلِ بِانجيلِهِمْ حَتَّى يُنطِقَ اللهُ التَّوراة وَ الإنجِيلَ فَتَقُولَ: صَدَقَ عَلِىٌّ، قَدْ أفْنَاكُمْ بِمَا انزِلَ فِىَّ؛ وَ أنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الكِتَابَ- أفَلَا تَعقِلُونَ: وَ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ.

 [Abu al-Bokhtari] said: ‘I saw that the cousin of the Messenger of Allah, Ali bin Abī Tālib, Upon Him be Peace, was descending the pulpit in Hufa, he was wearing the robe of the Messenger of Allah and putting on the turban of his on the head; he had the sword of the Messenger of Allah with him and also wearing his ring on the finger. When he settled on the pulpit, he let the robe fall loose and then stated: “O people, do ask me whatever you will before missing me for good; there has been treasured oceans of knowledge with me,” while pointing at his chest, he said: “This is the saving chest for knowledge; it is all from the excessive knowledge of the Messenger of Allah that, without Allah inspiring anything to me, the Holiness Messenger aways fed me with his divine knowledge – like a bird feeding its chicks.

I swear by Allah, if they prepared a judging divine for me, I would judge the people of Torah by means of their Book, Torah, and the people of the Bible I would judge with Bible; I would do it in a way that the Torah and Bible would find the ‘talking tongues’ by the permission of Allah and would testify that: ‘Ali has spoken the truth, all his verdicts and commands are recorded within us.’”

Then, the Holiness stated: “Do you not recite the Glorious Qur’an that it says: وَ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ ‘A witness with him with his own quality who observes the whole knowledge and the perfections.’

Back to Index

Next Page

References