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The Sun Returned for Ali (A.S.)

SHAFAQNA-

He said: Abu Ubaidullah Muhammad b. Imran al-Marzbani reported to me from Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa al-Makki, who reported from al-Sheikh al-Swaleh Abu Abdil Rahman Abdullah b. Muhammad b. Hanbal, who reportted from Abdul Rahman b. Sharik, from his father, who reported that Urwah b. Abdillah b. Qyshayr al-Ja’fiy said:
(Once) I called upon Fatemah, daughter of Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, when she was quite advanced in age. She wore beads around her neck and two bangles on her hands, and she said: “It is abominable for women to resemble men.” Then she said: “Asma b. Umays reported to me that, once, the revelation from Allah descended upon His Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, and it overwhelmed him. Ali b. Abi Talib, may peace be upon him, covered him (i.e. the Prophet) with his cloth, till the sun set. When the revelation ceased, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: “O Ali! Have you offered your Asr prayers?” He said: “No O, messenger of Allah! My attendance upon you prevented me from that.” Then the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, prayed: “O Allah, cause the sun to return for Ali b. Abi Talib”. The sun had set, so it rose again till its rays reached my room and half the height of the Mosque.”

Ali (AS) explains his stand at Jamal
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Bilal al-Mahalabi – may Allah bless him with His mercy, reported to me on Friday, of the last two days of Sha’ban, in the year 353, from Muhammad b. al-Hussain b. Hameed b. al-Rabee’ al-Lakhmi, reporting from Suleiman b. al-Rabee’ al-Nahdi, who reported from Nasr b. Mazahim al-Munqari, who reported from Yahya b. Ya’la al-Aslami, who reported from Ali b. al-Huzawwar, from Al-Asbagh b. Nubatah – may Allah bless him with His mercy, that once a man called upon Amirul Mo’mineen Ali b. Abi Talib (A.S.) at Basra and said:
“O Amirul Mo’mineen, between us and these people against whom we are fighting, the call is one, the Prophet is one, the daily prayer is one, Hajj is one, then how shall we classify them?”
Amirul Mo’mineen, peace be upon him, said: “Classify them the same way as Allah, Most High, has classified them in His Book. Have you not heard the verse:
‘Those messengers We excel some above the
others, among them is he to whom Allah spoke,
and some He raised in rank, and We gave
Jesus the son of Mary the clear signs and
strengthened him with the holy spirit. And if
Allah had pleased, those who came after them
would not have fought one against the other,
after the clear signs had come to them, but
they fell into variance and some of them believed
and some disbelieved….’
(al-Baqrah V:253)
So, when the confrontation occurred, we were worthier with Allah, His faith, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, the Book and the Truth. We are the ones who believed and they are the ones who disbelieved. And Allah willed that we fought against them, so we fought in accordance with His will, His command and His pleasure.”

Ali (AS) mourns the Prophet (SAW)
He said: Abu Nasr Muhammad b. al-Husain al-Muqri al-Baseer reported to me from Abdullah b. Yahya al-Qattan, who reported from Ahmad b. al-Husain b. Saeed al-Qarshi, who reported from his father, who reported from al-Husain b. Mukhariq, from Abdul Samad b. Ali, from his father, from Abdullah b. Abbas – may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
When the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, passed away, Amirul Mo’mineen Ali b. Abi Talib, together with al-Abbas and al-Fadhl b. al-Abbas, washed him. And when they had finished washing him, he (Ali) removed the wrap-cloth from his face and said: “My father and my mother be your ransom, you have been pure in your life and in your death. With your passing away, there has been a cessation, which has no parallel in anyone else’s death; the cessation of Prophethood and the Divine revelations. You are so exalted that, your death has become a source of solace and consolation for all other bereavements and (at the same time) your death has such a common aspect, that all men all equally grieved by it. And, had it not been that you ordered forbearance and forbade restless grief, we would have shed incessant tears over you. (But deep sorrow and grief, both are too trivial to give any consolation on your parting). May my father and my mother be your ransom, do remember us (well) when you are in the presence of your Sustainer, and keep us in your mind.”
Then he fell over him, kissed his face and drew the cloth over him.

What Sham’oon, the successor of Isa said to Ali (AS)
Abul Hasan Ali b. Bilal al-Mahlabi reported to me from Ali b. Abdillah b. Asad al-Isfehani, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from Ismail b. Yasar, who reported from Abdullah b. Milh, from Abdul Wahhab b. Ibrahim al-Azdi, from Abu Sadiq, from Mazahim b. Abdul Warith, from Muhammad b. Zakariyya, from Shoaib b. Waqid al-Muzni, from Muhammad b. Sahl, the client of Sulaiman b. Ali b. Abdillah b. Abbas, from his father, from Qais, the servant of Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, who said:
Once when Ali, Amirul Mo’mineen was near the mountain at Siffin, the time for maghrib prayers set in. So he went farther away and called for the prayers. When he finished the Adhan, a man appeared from near the mountain, having grey hair and beard, with a bright, white face. He said: “Peace be upon you, O Amirul Mo’mineen and mercy and blessings from Allah! Welcome to the successor of the last of the Prophets, leader of the ones with bright, brilliant faces, (on the Day of Judgement) magnanimous and protected, excellent one and one who has the reward of the Truthfuls, master of all the successors!”
So, Amirul Mo’mineen, peace be upon him, said: “And peace be upon you, how are you?” He replied: “I am well, waiting for the holy spirit. I do not know of any name, which is greater in the estimation of Allah, at the time of ordeal, than yours, nor of any who has earned more rewards than you, nor of anyone who has an elevated place higher than yours. Put up with all that you are in, O my brother, till you meet the al-Habib (the beloved Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny). Verily, I have witnessed whatever befall our colleagues in the past at the hands of the children of Israel. They cut them apart with the saw and carried them over the bier.”
And then pointing towards the people of Syria, he said: “And if these poor, ugly faces know what chastisement and exemplary punishment awaits them for fighting against you, they would withdraw.” And then pointing to the people of Iraq, he said: “And if these bright faces knew what award awaits them for having obeyed you, they would love to be cut by the scissors. And peace and His mercy and blessings be upon you.” Then he disappeared.
At that time, Ammar b. Yasir, Abdul Haytham b. al-Teehan, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Ubadah b. al-Samit, Khuzaima b. Thabit and Hashim al-Marqal, a group from his followers stood up and said: “O, Amirul Mo’mineen, (for they heard what the man had said) who is this man?” Amirul Mo’mineen said: “He is Sham’oon, the successor of Isa, peace be upon him. Allah sent him to me to give me solace for this confrontation with His enemies!” They said: “May our parents be your ransom, By Allah, we will help you the way we helped the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, and none from the al-Muhajir nor al-Ansar shall desert you, except the unfortunate one.” (Upon hearing this), Amirul Mo’mineen spoke to them kind words.”

Ali (AS) is al-Sadiq al-Akbar among usĀ 
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Bilal al-Mahlabi reported to me from Abu Ahmad al-Abbas b. al-Fadhl b. Ja’far al-Azadi al-Makki, in Egypt, who reported from Ali b. Saeed Ibn Basheer al-Razi, who reported from Ali b. Abdul Wahid, from Muhammad b. Aban, who reported from Muhammad b. Tamam b. Sabiq, who reported from Amir b. Sayyar, from Abu al-Sabah, from Abu Tamam, from Ka’b al-Habr, who said:
Abdullah b. Salaam came to the Prophet before he had embraced Islam, and said: “O messenger of Allah! What appellation does Ali have among you?” The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: “Ali is al-Siddiq al-Akbar among us.” Abdullah said: “I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Prophet. Surely, we have read in Torah: Muhammad is the Prophet of Mercy and Ali is the upholder of Proof.”

O Ali . . . your enemies are the army of SatanĀ 
He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je’abi reported to me on Monday, when five days of Shaban remained, in the year 353, from Abu Ja’far Muhammad b. Abdillah b. Ali b. al-Husain b. Zayd b. Ali b. Al-Husain b. Ali Abi Talib (peace be upon him) who said: It was related to me by al-Ridha Ali b. Musa from his father Musa b. Ja’far, from his father Ja’far b. Muhammad, from his father Muhammad b. Ali, from his father Ali b. al-Husain, from his father al-Husain b. Ali from his father Amirul Mo’mineen Ali b. Abu Talib, Peace be upon them all, that:
The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny said: “O Ali! With you (all) has Allah begun this matter (i.e. Imamat) and with you (all) shall He end it. So remain patient, for the good end is for those who guard against evil, fearing Allha. You are the army of Allah, and your enemies are the army of Satan. Blessed is he who obeys you and woe unto those who oppose you. You are the divine authority over His creation and the strong rope (of Allah). Whoever adheres to it finds true guidance, and whoever discards it, goes astray. I beseech Allah to grant you Paradise; no one precedes you in your absolute obedience to Allah, and therefore, you are worthier for it.”

“O Ali! You are the master. . . “
He said: Muhammad b. Imran al-Marzbani reported to me from Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa al-Makki, who reported from Abdullah b. Ahmad b. Hanbal, who reported from Abdul Rahman b. Swaleh, who reported from Muhammad b. Sa’d al-Ansari, who reported from Umar b. Abdillah Ibn Ya’la b. Murrah, from his father, from his grandfather Ya’la b. Murrah, who said:
I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, say to Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, “O Ali! You are the master of the people after I have gone. So whoever obeys you, obeys me; and whoever disobeys you, disobeys me.”

Ali (AS)’s soul was the first to greet the Prophet (SAW)
He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Umar al-Je’abi reported to me from Abu Abdillah Muhammad b. al-Qasim al-Muharibi, who reports from Ismail b. Ishaq al-Rashidi, who reported from Muhammad b. al-Harith, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad, from Muslim al-A’awar, from Habbah al-Arni, from Abu al-Haytham b. al-Teehan al-Ansari, who reported that:
The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: “Allah, Most High, created the souls two thousand years earlier then the bodies, attached it to the Throne and ordered them to greet me and obey me. So the first one among men who greeted me and expressed his obedience to me was the soul of Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him.”

Ali (AS) admonishes Hasan al-Basri
He said: Abu Nasr Muhammad b. al-Husain al-Baseer al-Muqri, reported from Abul Hasan Ali b. al-Hasan al-Saidalani, who reported from Abul Miqdam Ahmad b. Muhammad, the client of Banu Hashim, who reported from Abu Nasr al-Makhzoomi, from al-Hasan b. Abu al-Hasan al-Basri who said:
When Amirul Mo’mineen Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, entered Basra, he passed by me while I was doing Wudhoo. He said: “O Young man, do your Wudhoo well, so that Allah may reward you best.”
Then he proceeded and I followed his wake. At one time, his attention was diverted to me so he asked: “Young man, do you need anything from me?” I said: “Yes, teach me a word of wisdom, so that Allah may grant me its benefit.” He said: “Whoever confirms Allah’s Truth is saved; and whoever fears Him in matters of his faith, is secured from being punished. And whoever contents himself with the least of this world, his eyes will be delighted to behold the rewards of Allah, Most High.”
‘May I tell you more, young man?” I said: “Yes O, Amirul Mo’mineen.”
He said: “Whoever has three traits, his fate is secured here and hereafter. He who enjoins good and also follows it; forbids evil and also refrains from it, and does not transgress the limits ordained by Allah.
O, young man! Does it please you to meet your Maker, when He is pleased with you?” I said: “Of course, yes, O Amirul Mo’mineen!” He said: “In this world, be content with the least and be desirous of the next world. And you must be truthful in all your affairs, for Allah has ordained for you and all that He has created to worship Him by Truth.”
Then he walked away, till he entered the market of Basra. And he saw people busily engaged in buying and selling. He cried bitterly and then proclaimed:
“O, slaves of this world! O, labourers of its people! If you remain busy swearing during the day time and sleeping in your beds during the night; and during that time you are totally oblivious to the next world, then when will you prepare the provision (for the journey to the next world) and think about the Day of Return (unto Allah)?”
So, one of them said: “O Amirul Mo’mineen! We have to work for our living. What else should we do?” Amirul Mo’mineen said: “To seek one’s living by legitimate ways does not make you heedless of the next world! But if you say: We must hoard and monopolize, then you cannot be excused.”
The man turned his face weeping. Amirul Mo’mineen, peace be upon him, told him to come closer so that he would tell him more. He came forth, so Ali, peace be upon him, said: “O servant of Allah! Indeed, everyone who works here for the hereafter will be amply rewarded in the next world. And he who uses his other worldliness for earning this world, he will earn hell fire in exchange.” Then Amirul Mo’mineen recited the following verses:
‘Then as for him who was insolent;
And preferred the life of this world;
Surely, Hell shall be the abode for him.’
(al-Naziaat:V 37-39)

Ali (AS) predicts the days to come
He said: Abu Abdilllah Muhammad b. Imran al-Marzbani reported to me from Muhammad b.al-Husain al-Jawhari, who reported from Haroon b. Ubaidullah al-Muqri, who reported from Uthman b. Saeed, who reported from Abu Yahya al-Tamimi, from Katheer, from Abu Maryam al-Khawlani, from Malik b. Dhamrah who said:
I heard Ali, Amirul Mo’mineen peace be upon him, say: “Be it known to you that you will soon be subjected to invoking curse and imprecation against me wrongfully. Whoever curses me unwillingly or by coercion, Allah will know that he has been forced into it. I shall arrive with him together upon Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny. And he, who restrains his tongue and does not invoke curse upon me, he will race unto me as quickly as a fling of an arrow or a wink. And one who invokes curse upon me with a willing, cheerful heart, for so doing, there will be no veil debarring him from Allah’s wrath and he shall have no excuse before Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny.
Be it known that, one day, Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny, held my hand and said: Whoever has sworn allegiance on these five (fingers i.e. the hand) and then died with love and affection for you, will have completed his pledge. And one who dies with hatred towards you, dies a death of Kufr (pre-Islamic era), even though he will account for his deeds committed while professing Islam; and if he lives after you have gone, with lasting love for you, Allah shall end up his days with peace and faith, for as long as the sun rises and sets.”

Ascetic habits of Ali (AS)
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Bilal al-Malhabi reported to me from Abdullah b. Rashid al-Isfehani, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from Ahmad b. Shimr, who reported from Abdullah b. Maymoon al-Makki, the client of Banu Makhzoon, from Ja’far al-Sadiq b. Muhammad al-Baqir, peace be upon them, from his father who said:
Once, Amirul Mo’mineen Ali b. Abi Talib peace be upon him, was offered a sweet dish called Khubais (mixture of dates, raisins and ghee), but he refused to eat it. They said: “Do you consider it forbidden?” He said, “No, but I fear that my heart may become so desirous of it, that I am forced to come out in its quest.” Then he recited the verse:
‘….You have vested all your good deeds
for the enjoyment in the life of this world….’
(Al-Ahqaf: V.20)

What Salman said about Ali (AS)
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Muhammad b. Hubaish al-Katib reported to me from al-Hasan b. Ali al-Zafarani, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from al-Masoodi, who reported from Yahya b. Salim al-Abdi, who reported from Maysarah, from al-Minhal b. Amru, from Zarr b. Hubaish who said:
Once, Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, passed by riding the Prophet’s mule and Salman was present among the people. So Salman – may Allah bless him with mercy, said: “(O people)! do you not rise to detain him and ask him questions? By Allah, Who split the grain and created the breathing creatures, no one but he (i.e. Ali) will inform you about the secrets of your Prophet. Indeed, he is the most learned about this earth and its chief element on which it rests. If you miss him, you will miss the knowledge and deny the people (its benefit).”

Source:
Al-Amali: The Dictations of Sheikh al-Mufid