Introduction

God is One and Only

Abandoning the Present to Attain the Promised

Oppressive Characteristics

Characteristics Rooted in Love for Religion

One Characteristic for Five Characteristics

A Characteristic for a Characteristic

A Saving Characteristic

The Loftiest Characteristic of the Religion

No Two Things Combined which are Better than the Combination of Two Characteristics

A Characteristic that is the Honor of This World and the Hereafter

The Most Knowledgeable Person Is One who Combines One Characteristic with Another One

There Is One True Prosperity And One True Misery

A Characteristic for Which the People Deserve to be Rewarded or Punished

A Characteristic that Is the Noblest Holy War

The Hardest Thing is One Characteristic that Cannot Be Avoided Unless We Abandon Another Characteristic

A Believer’s Honor Is in One Characteristic and His Glory Is In Another Characteristic

One Characteristic Is the Key to All Evil

A Characteristic Due to Justice

A Characteristic Due to Which We Are Interested in How Others Judge About Us

Seek Nearness to God with One Characteristic

God Has Not Tested the Servants with Anything Harder Than One Characteristic

A Characteristic that Is the Result of Being Kind

A Characteristic that Stabilizes One’s Faith and One that Makes Him Lose His Faith

A Characteristic that Destroys a Believer’s Dignity

A Good Characteristic Which No Other Characteristic Is Better Than, and a Bad Characteristic That No Other Characteristic Is Worse Than

A Characteristic That Guarantees Who Will Not Become Poor

The Form of Chivalry of the Members of the Holy Household

A Characteristic Due to One’s Chivalry

A Characteristic that Is Not Good for a Dignified Man

God Loves One Characteristic and Despises One Characteristic

One Who has This Characteristic Would Not Be Thankful for Blessings

A Characteristic Due to Humbleness

A Characteristic that Is Close to Blasphemy and A Characteristic that Might Change Destiny

A Characteristic that Destroyed Previous Nations

Martyrdom Is Expiation for Every Sin Except for One’s Debt

God the Almighty Has Sent Muhammad (sw) and His Nation a Gift That He Has Not Given to Any Other Nation

A Characteristic that One Should Have If He Wants to Increase Goodness in His House

God Will Look at Whom He Likes. Once He Looks at Him, He Shall Grant Him One of Three Gifts

The Hereafter is the Wedding of the Pious Ones

A Characteristic That is Like its Opposite

The Most Wicked People Are Those Who Are Respected for Possessing One Characteristic

A Characteristic in This World is Abstinence, and a Characteristic That is Gratitude for all Blessings

Nothing Deserves to Be Restrained More Than the Tongue

Whoever Raises his Aspirations Does Wrong

Good Deeds Are Recorded for a Muslim as Long as He Remains Quiet

A Characteristic Having Which Will Result in God Saving You From the Fear of the Hereafter

The Most Intelligent Characteristic

The Most Pious, the Best Worshipping, the Most Ascetic and the Most Hard-Working People

Becoming Sorry Is the Same as Repenting

Whoever Earns More Than His Meals fom This World

A Characteristic That Deserves to Be Willed

A Characteristic That Causes One to Be Thrown Out and a Characteristic That Causes One to Be Joined

Lofty Characteristics and Bad Characteristics for the People of the World

There Is No Honor Except Through One Characteristic. There Is No Nobility Except Through Another Characteristic

When God Loves a Servant He Will Make Him Suffer from a Great Calamity

A Characteristic That Leads to Hemorrhoids

A Hand on Which There Is an Iron Ring Is Not Clean

Do Not Respond to Whoever Talks Before He Greets You

A Characteristic That if Practiced Implies Despise for Muhammad’s Religion

Only One of the Proverbs of the Prophets Has Remained

When God Wishes a Servant Well, He Will Expedite His Punishment in This World, and When He Wishes Someone Bad, He Will Procrastinate His Punishment

Be Patient with the Enemies of the Blessings

The Prophet (sw) and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Were Created from the Same Root

A Characteristic That is Gratitude for All Blessings

Religion Is the Same as Love

When Two Believers Shake Hands They Shall Depart from Each Other Void of Any Sins

A Characteristic That Revives the Hearts

A Characteristic That Revives the Affairs of the Almighty God’s Proofs

God the Almighty Has Not Created Anything More Delightful Than This Characteristic

A Characteristic That Constitutes Nine-Tenths of Religion

Whoever is Pleased with His Destiny or is Displeased with it

A Characteristic for Which Even Red-Haired Camels Are Not Loved

A Characteristic That Increases the Daily Bread

A Characteristic That Leads to Hypocrisy and Poverty

The First Gift Given to a Believer Due to a Characteristic

A Characteristic for Which One Who Has No Good Deeds is Forgiven on the Resurrection Day

A Characteristic That is the Root of All Sins

How Awkward It Is If a Man Enters Heaven Having Lost His Honor

A Characteristic Doing Which Will Cause the Almighty God to Have Mercy Upon You

A Characteristic Doing Which Will Cause Increased Good for One’s House

On Him Whose Health Has Overcome His Illness but He Treats Himself and Dies

A Characteristic Which a Believer Avoids

Nothing Ruins Faith as Much as One Characteristic Does

One Who Lives to See his Successor Is Prosperous

A Believer’s Honor is More Than That of the Ka’ba

It Suffices for a Believer to See God’s Aid in the Form of His Enemies Engaged in the Almighty God’s Disobedience

A Gift Will Eliminate Animosities

Prosperous Be the One Who is Indifferent

A Characteristic That Will Make One Poor in the Hereafter

A Group of People Who Are the Masters of Heaven

God’s Prophet Made His Ablutions One Organ at a Time

The Characteristic That Is the Best Goodness

The Prophet Put off His Special Prayer for One Characteristic

A Characteristic That is the Best Form of Worshipping and a Characteristic That is the Noblest Form of Being Religious

What Is A Lot but Its Doers Are A Few

A Characteristic That Constitutes Half of the Religion

A Characteristic That is the Best Thing Given to a Muslim

The Prophet and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Were Created from One Light

A Servant’s Well-Being Depends Upon the Well-Being of One of His Organs

26-1 حدثنا علي بن أحمد بن موسى رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا أحمد بن يحيى ابن زكريا القطان قال: حدثنا بكر بن عبد الله بن حبيب قال: حدثنا عبدالرحيم ابن علي بن سعيد الجبلي الصيدناني، وعبد الله بن الصلت واللفظ له قالا: حدثنا الحسن [محمد] بن نصر الخزاز قال: حدثني عمرو بن طلحة بن أسباط بن نصر، عن عكرمة، عن عبد الله بن عباس قال: قدم يهوديان أخوان من رؤساء اليهود بالمدينة فقالا: يا قوم، إن نبينا حدثنا عنه أنه قد ظهر بني بتهامة يسفه أحلام اليهود، ويطعن في دينهم، ونحن نخاف أن يزيلنا عما كان عليه آباؤنا. فأيكم هذا النبي؟ فإن يكن الذي بشربه داود آمنا به واتبعناه، وإن لم يكن يورد الكلام على ائتلافه ويقول الشعر ويقهرنا بلسانه جاهدناه بأنفسنا وأموالنا. فأيكم هذا النبي؟ فقال المهاجرون والانصار: إن نبينا صلى الله عليه وآله قد قبض. فقالا: الحمد لله. فأيكم وصيه؟ فما بعث الله عز وجل نبيا إلى قوم إلا وله وصي يؤدي عنه من بعده ويحكي عنه ما أمره ربه. فأومأ المهاجرون والانصار إلى أبى بكر، فقالوا: هو وصيه. فقالا لابي بكر: إنا نلقي عليك من المسائل ما يلقى على الاوصياء، ونسـألك عمـا تسـأل الاوصيـاء عنـه. فقال لهما أبو بكر: ألقيا ما شئتما اخبركمابجوابه إن شاء الله، فقال أحدهما: ما أنا وأنت عند الله عز وجل؟ وما نفس في نفس ليس بينهما رحم ولا قرابة؟ وما قبر سار بصاحبه؟ ومن أين تطلع الشمس؟ وفي أين تغرب؟ وأين طلعت الشمس ثم لم تطلع فيه بعد ذلك؟ وأين تكون الجنة؟ وأين تكون النار؟ وربك يحمل أو يحمل؟ وأين يكون وجه ربك؟ وما اثنان شاهدان؟ وما اثنان غائبان؟ وما اثنان متباغضان؟ وما الواحد؟ وما الاثنان؟ وما الثلاثة؟ وما الاربعة؟ وما الخمسة؟ وما الستة؟ وما السبعة؟ وما الثمانية؟ وما التسعة؟ وما العشرة؟ وما الاحد عشر؟ وما الاثنا عشر؟ وما العشرون؟ وما الثلاثون؟ وما الاربعون؟ وما الخمسون؟ وما الستون؟ وما السبعون؟ وما الثمانون؟ وما التسعون؟ وما المائة؟قال: فبقى أبو بكر لا يرد جوابا، وتخوفنا أن يرتد القوم عن الاسلام. فأتيت منزل علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام فقلت له: يا علي، إن رؤساء اليهود قد قدموا المدينة وألقوا على أبي بكر مسائل فبقي أبو بكر لا يرد جوابا. فتبسم علي عليه السلام ضاحكا، ثم قال: هو اليوم الذي وعدني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله. فأقبل يمشي أمامي وما أخطأت مشيته من مشية رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله شيئا حتى قعد في الموضع الذي كان يقعد فيه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله. ثم التفت إلى اليهوديين فقال: يا يهوديان، ادنوا مني وألقيا علي ما ألقيتماه على الشيخفقال اليهوديان: ومن أنت؟ فقال لهما: أنا علي بن أبي طالب بن عبد المطلب، أخو النبي، وزوج ابنته فاطمة، وأبو الحسن والحسين، ووصيه في حالاته كلها، وصاحب كل منقبة وعز، وموضع سر النبي صلى الله عليه وآلهفقال له أحد اليهوديين: ما أنا وأنت عند الله؟ قال: أنا مؤمن منذ عرفت نفسي، وأنت كافر منذ عرفت نفسك. فما أدري ما يحدث الله فيك يا يهودي بعد ذلك

26-1 Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Musa - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Zakariya al-Qat’tan quoted Bakr ibn Abdullah ibn Habib, on the authority of Abdul Rahim ibn Ali ibn Sa’id al-Jabali al-Seidani and Abdullah ibn al-Salt, on the authority of Al-Hassan (Muhammad) ibn Nasr al-Khazzaz, on the authority of Amr ibn Talha ibn Asbat ibn Nasr, on the authority of Akrama, on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Abbas , “Two Jewish brothers who were from the Jewish elders came to Medina. They asked the Muslims, ‘Has there come a Prophet in Tahameh who considers the Jewish people to be light-headed and admonishes them against their religion? We are worried that he may turn us away from the religion of our forefathers. Which one of you is that Prophet? If he turns out to be the one whom David (MGB) has previously given us glad tidings of his coming, we will believe in and follow him. However, if he turns out to be just an eloquent speaker who uses poetry and convinces the people with his talks, we will fight with him with our lives and property. Where is this Prophet?’The Emigrants (Muhajerin) and their Helpers (Ansar) all said, ‘The Prophet (MGB) has passed away.’ The two Jewish men praised God for hearing the news of the death of the Prophet. Then they asked, ‘Each Prophet (MGB) has a Trustee whom is in charge of religious duties after him. Which one of you is his Trustee?’ The Emigrants (Muhajerin) and their Helpers (Ansar) all faced Abu Bakr and said, ‘He is his Trustee.’ The Jewish men told Abu Bakr, ‘We will ask you some questions which should be asked from the Trustees. Please respond to them if you are the Trustee.’ Abu Bakr said, ‘Fine. Go ahead and ask. God willing I will respond.’ One ofthem asked, ‘What are you and I considered to be before the Honorable the Exalted God? What is the living creature which was placed in another living creature without there being any ties of kinship between them? Which grave was the one which took what it contained on a trip? From where does the Sun rise? To where does the Sun set? Where was that place upon which the Sun shone only once and never again? Where is Paradise? Where is Hell? Does your God carry loads or does He become loaded? To which direction does your God face? Who are the two things that are always present? What are the two things that are always absent? What are the two things which cannot both be at once? Who is the one? Who are the two? What are the three? What are the four? What are the five? What are the six? What are the seven? What are the eight? What are the nine? What are the ten? What are the eleven? What are the twelve? What are the twenty? What are the thirty? What are the forty? What are the fifty? What are the sixty? What are the seventy? What are the eighty? What are the ninety? What are the one-hundred?’”Ibn Abbas added, “Abu Bakr could not answer. We became frightened that the people might turn away from the religion. I went to see Ali ibn Abi Talib (MGB) and told him, ‘O Ali! Some of the Jewish chiefs have come to Medina. They met Abu Bakr and asked him some questions, but Abu Bakr was unable to respond.’ Ali (MGB) smiled and said, ‘This is the day which the Prophet of God (MGB) had foretold.’ Then Ali (MGB) walked ahead of me just as the Prophet (MGB) did and sat in the Prophet’s place. He requested the two Jewish men, ‘Come to me and present to me the questions which you asked this old man.’ The two Jews asked, ‘Who are you?’ He (MGB) replied, ‘I am Ali Ibn Abi Talib - the brother of the Prophet (MGB), the husband of Fatimah, the father of Hassan and Hussein, the Prophet’s Trustee in all issues, and the one who knows all of the Prophet’s secrets.’ One of the two Jews asked, ‘What are you and I considered to be before the Honorable the Exalted God?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘I have been a believer since I have known myself, and you have been an unbeliever since you have known yourself. I do not know about your destiny in the future.’

26-2 فقال اليهودي: فما نفس في نفس ليس بينهما رحم ولا قرابة؟ قال ذاك يونس عليه السلام في بطن الحوتقال: فما قبر سار بصاحبه؟ قال: يونس حين طاف به الحوت في سبعة أبحرقال له: فالشمس من أين تطلع؟ قال: من بين قرني الشيطانقال: فأين تغرب؟ قال: في عين حامية. قال لي حبيبي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: "لا تصل في إقبالها ولا في إدبارها حتى تصير مقدار رمح أو رمحين ."قال: فأين طلعت الشمس ثم لم تطلع في ذلك الموضع؟ قال: في البحر فلقه الله لبني إسرائيل لقوم موسى عليه السلامقال له: فربك يحمل أو يحمل؟ قال: إن ربي عز وجل يحمل كل شئ بقدرته ولا يحمله شيءقال: فكيف قوله عز وجل: "وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ." قال: يا يهودي، ألم تعلم أن لله ما في السماوات وما في الأرض وما بينهما وما تحت الثرى؟ فكل شيء على الثرى والثرى على القدرة والقدرة تحمل كل شيءقال: فأين تكون الجنة وأين تكون النار؟ قال: أما الجنة ففي السماء، وأما النار ففي الأرضقال: فأين يكون وجه ربك؟ فقال علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام لي: يا بن عباس، ائتني بنار وحطب. فأتيته بنار وحطب فأضرمها. ثم قال: يا يهودي، أين يكون وجه هذه النار؟قال: لا أقف لها على وجه. قال: فإن ربي عز وجل عن هذا المثل، وله المشرق والمغرب فأينما تولوا فثم وجه اللهفقال له: ما اثنان شاهدان؟ قال: السماوات والأرض لا يغيبان ساعةقال: فما اثنان غائبان؟ قال: الموت والحياة لا يوقف عليهماقال: فما اثنان متباغضان؟ قال: الليل والنهارقال: فما الواحد؟ قال: الله عز وجلقال: فما الاثنان؟ قال: آدم وحواءقال: فما الثلاثة؟ قال: كذبت النصارى على الله عز وجل فقالوا: "ثالث ثلاثة." والله لم يتخذ صاحبة ولا ولداقال: فما الأربعة؟ قال: القرآن والزبور والتوراة و الإنجيلقال: فما الخمسة؟ قال: خمس صلوات مفترضاتقال: فما الستة؟ قال: خلق الله السماوات والأرض وما بينهما في ستة أيامقال: فما السبعة؟ قال: سبعة أبواب النار متطابقاتقال: فما الثمانية؟ قال: ثمانية أبواب الجنةقال: فما التسعة؟ قال: تسعة رهط يفسدون في الأرض ولا يصلحونقال: فما العشرة؟ قال عشرة أيام العشرقال: فما الأحد عشر؟ قال: قول يوسف لأبيه: "يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَباً وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ ."قال: فما الاثنا عشر؟ قال: شهور السنةقال: فما العشرون؟ قال: بيع يوسف بعشرين درهماقال: فما الثلاثون؟ قال: ثلاثون يوما، شهر رمضان صيامه فرض واجب على كل مؤمن إلا من كان مريضا أو على سفرقال: فما الأربعون؟ قال: كان ميقات موسى عليه السلام ثلاثون ليلة فأتمها الله عز وجل بعشر، فتم ميقات ربه أربعين ليلةقال: فما الخمسون؟ قال: لبث نوح في قومه ألف سنة إلا خمسين عاماقال: فما الستون؟ قال: قول الله عز وجل في كفارة الظهار "فَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَإِطْعَامُ سِتِّينَ مِسْكيِناً." إذا لم يقدر على صيام شهرين متتابعين

26-2 The Jew asked, ‘What is the living creature which was placed in another living creature without there being any ties of kinship between them?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘It was the Prophet Jonah (‘Yunus) who was eaten up by a large whale.’The Jew asked, ‘Which grave was the one which took what it contained on a trip?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘It was the large whale which moved around at sea when Jonah was in its stomach.’The Jew asked, ‘From where does the Sun rise?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘From between the two horns of Satan?’The Jew asked, ‘To where does the Sun set?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘It sets in a hot spring. My friend, i.e. God’s Prophet (MGB) told me not to pray at the times of sunrise or sunset when it is below the size of one or two spears.’The Jew asked, ‘Where was that place upon which the Sun shone only once and never again?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘It was in the depth of the sea which God split up for the Children of Israel to pass (when they were escaping from Egypt being chased by Pharaoh, and where Pharaoh and his soldiers were drowned.)’The Jew asked, ‘Does your God bear things or is He carried?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘My God bears everything and nothing has the endurance to bear the greatness of His load.’The Jew asked, ‘Then what is meant by the following words of the Honorable the Exalted God, ‘And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear the Throne of thy Lord above them.’’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘Don’t you know that whatever exists in the heavens and the Earth and in between them and under the Earth belongs to God. Everything is established upon the Earth and the Earth is established upon God’s Power and it is indeed His Power which bears everything.’The Jew asked, ‘Where is Paradise? Where is Hell?’ Ali (MGB) replied ‘Paradise is in the heavens and Hell is on the Earth.’The Jew asked, ‘To which direction does your God face?’ Ali ibn Abi Talib told me (Ibn Abbas), ‘O Ibn Abbas! Bring some wood and make a fire.’ I brought some wood and kindled it. Ali (MGB) put some wood on the fire. Then he (MGB) asked the Jew, ‘To which direction does this fire face?’ The Jew said, ‘It doesn’t face any specific direction.’ Ali (MGB) said, ‘This is similar to the case of the Honorable the Exalted God. To Him belong both the East and the West. To every direction you look, God is there.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the two things that are always present?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are the heavens and the Earth which never disappear.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the two things that are always absent?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are life and death which no one can ever see.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the two things which cannot both be at once?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are day and night.’The Jew asked, ‘Who is the one?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘The Honorable the Exalted God.’The Jew asked, ‘Who are the two?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘Adam and Eve.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the three?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘The Christians have ascribed lies to the Honorable the Exalted God and said, ‘Allah is one of three in a Trinity… ’ But God has no companions or sons.’The Jew asked, ‘ What are the four?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are the Quran, the Zabur (Psalms of David), the Torah and the Bible.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the five?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are the five obligatory prayers.’The Jew asked, ‘ What are the six?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are the six days during which God created the heavens, the Earth and whatever lies in between.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the seven?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are the seven gates of Hell which are identical.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the eight?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are the eight gates of Paradise.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the nine?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are nine men (of the Thamud clan) who made mischief in the land, and would not reform.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the ten?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are the 10 days of a third of a month.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the eleven?’ Ali ((MGB) replied, ‘They refer to the ‘eleven stars’ about which Joseph told his father as we read in the Holy Quran, ‘Behold! Joseph said to his father, ‘O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me!’’9The Jew asked, ‘What are the twelve?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘They are the twelve months in a year.’The Jew asked, ‘ What are the twenty?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘That refers to the twenty Dirhams with which Joseph was exchanged.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the thirty?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘Those are the thirty days of fasting in the month of Ramazan which is obligatory for every believer unless he is ill or on a journey.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the forty?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘It refers to the term of communion of Moses with his Lord which was thirty nights, and was completed with ten more to become forty nights.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the fifty?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘This refers to the appointment of Noah to his people which was for a thousand years less fifty.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the sixty?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘This refers to the ‘sixty days of consecutively fasting’ or the ‘feeding of sixty indigent ones’ (for Zihar) that the Honorable the Exalted God has established as the expiation of men who divorce their wives by calling them their mothers (Zihar) before they can touch each other.’

26-3 قال: فما السبعون؟ قال: اختار موسى قومه سبعين رجلا لميقات ربه عز وجل، قال: فما الثمانون؟ قال: قرية بالجزيرة يقال لها ثمانون منها قعد نوح في السفينة واستوت على الجودي، وأغرق الله القوم، قال: فما التسعون؟ قال: الفلك المشحون اتخذ نوح عليه السلام فيه تسعين بيتا للبهائم،قال: فما المائة؟ قال: كان أجل داود عليه السلام ستين سنة فوهب له آدم عليه السلام أربعين سنة من عمره فلما حضرت آدم الوفاة جحد فجحدت ذريته. فقال له: يا شاب صف لي محمدا كأني أنظر إليه حتى أومن به الساعة، فبكى أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام ثم قال: يا يهودي هيجت أحزاني كان حبيبي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله صلت الجبين، مقرون الحجابين، أدعج العنين، سهل الخدين، أقنى الانف، دقيق المسربة، كث اللحية براق الثنايا، كان عنقه إبريق فضة، كان له شعيرات من لبته إلى سرته، ملفوفة كأنه قضيب كافور، لم يكن في بدنه شعيرات غيرها، لم يكن بالطويل الذاهب ولا بالقصير النزر، كان إذا مشى مع الناس غمرهم نوره، وكان إذا مشى كأنه يتقلع من صخر أو ينحدر من صبب، كان مدور الكعبين، لطيف القدمين دقيق الخصر عمامته السحاب، وسيفه ذوالفقار، وبغلته دلدل، وحماره اليعفور، وناقته العضباء، وفرسه لزاز، وقضيبه الممشوق، وكان عليه السلام أشفق الناس على الناس، وأرأف الناس بالناس،كان بين كتفيه خاتم النبوة مكتوب على الخاتم سطران أما أول سطر فلا إله إلا الله وأما الثاني فمحمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله هذه صفته يا يهودي. فقال اليهوديان: نشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وأنك وصي محمد حقا، فأسلما وحسن إسلامهما ولزما أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام فكانا معه حتى كان من أمر الجمل ما كان، فخرجا معه إلى البصرة فقتل أحدهما في وقعة الجمل، وبقي الآخر حتى خرج معه إلى صفين فقتل بصفين

26-3 The Jew asked, ‘What are the seventy?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘This refers to the seventy persons which Moses chose from amongst his family to take to the place of meeting his Lord - the Honorable the Exalted God.’ The Jew asked, ‘What are the eighty?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘Eighty here refers to the name of a village in an island where Noah boarded his ark and then landed on Judi and God drowned his tribe.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the ninety?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘It refers to the Ark in which Noah built ninety compartments for living creatures.’The Jew asked, ‘What are the one-hundred?’ Ali (MGB) replied, ‘David’s (MGB) life was only sixty years, but Adam (MGB) donated forty years of his own life to David (MGB). When Adam’s time of death arrived, he denied it. It was from then on that that denying the truth passed on from him unto his progeny.’ The Jew said, ‘O young fellow! Please describe Muhammad for me as if I am looking at him myself so that I may believe in him.’ The Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (MGB) cried and said, ‘O Jew! You have renewed my sorrow. My friend Muhammad - the Prophet of God - was a large-foreheaded man; with joined brows; black eyes; smooth cheeks; a cute nose; tiny lips; dense beard; shiny teeth; with a silver color neck; and a line of hair from the throat down to his belly button like a camphor branch with no hair elsewhere. He was neither too tall nor too short. When he walked his light encompassed everyone around him: he walked firmly as if he was climbing a hill or going down a hill; He had round heels, delicate feet and a thin waist. His turban was As-Sahab; his sword Dhul Fiqar ; his mule was Doldol ; his donkey was Ya’fur; his camel was Kaswa; his horse was Lizaz; and his staff was al-Mamshuq. He (MGB) was the kindest person with other people. He (MGB) was the most gentle person with other people. The seal of Prophethood was placed between his two shoulders. There were two lines written on that seal. The first line read, ‘There is no god but God’ and the second line read, ‘Muhammad is the Prophet of God. Well. Dear Jewish fellow! These were his characteristics.’ The two Jewish men said, ‘We bear witness that there is no god but God; Muhammad is the Prophet of God; and you are the Trustee of Muhammad.’ They became true Muslims and became companions of Ali (MGB). They were with him (MGB) until the Battle of Jamal when they accompanied Ali (MGB) to Basra. One of them was killed there and the other one survived until he accompanied Ali (MGB) in the Battle of Siffin and was killed in that battle.”

26-4 حدثنا أبي رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله قال: حدثني أحمد بن الحسين بن سعيد، عن أبيه، عن جعفر بن يحيى، عن أبيه رفعه إلى بعض الصادقين من آل محمد عليهم السلام قال: جاء رجلان من يهود خيبر ومعهما التوراة منشورة يريدان النبي صلى الله عليه وآله فوجداه قد قبض، فأتيا أبا بكر فقالا: إنا قد جئنا نريد النبي لنسأله عن مسألة فوجدناه قد قبض. فقال: وما مسألتكما؟قالا: أخبرنا عن الواحد والاثنين والثلاث والاربعة والخمسة والستة والسبعة والثمانية والتسعة والعشرة والعشرين والثلاثين والاربعين والخمسين والستين والسبعين والثمانين والتسعين والمائةفقال لهما أبو بكر: ما عندي في هذا شيء ائتيا علي بن أبي طالبقال: فأتياه فقصا عليه القصة من أولها ومعهما التوراة منشورة، فقال لهما أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام: إن أنا أخبرتكما بما تجدانه عندكما تسلمان؟ قالا: نعمقال: أما الواحد فهو الله وحده لا شريك له. وأما الاثنان فهو قول الله عز وجل: "لاَ تَتَّخِذُوا إِلَهَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِلَهٌ وَاحِد." وأما الثلاثة والاربعة والخمسة والستة والسبعة والثمانية فهن قول الله عز وجل في كتابه في أصحاب الكهف "سَيَقُولُونَ ثَلاثَةٌ رَّابِعُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ خَمْسَةٌ سَادِسُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ وَيَقُولُونَ سَبْعَةٌ وَثَامِنُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ قُل رَّبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم مَّا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلٌ فَلاَ تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلاَّ مِرَاء ظَاهِرًا وَلاَ تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِم مِّنْهُمْ أَحَدًا ."وأما التسعة فهو قول الله عز وجل في كتابه:"وَكَانَ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ تِسْعَةُ رَهْطٍ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ يُصْلِحُونَ ."وأما العشرة فقول الله عز وجل: "تِلْكَ عَشَرَةٌ كَامِلَةٌ ."وأما العشرون فقول الله عز وجل في كتابه "...إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَابِرُونَ يَغْلِبُواْ مِئَتَيْنِ ."وأما الثلاثون والاربعون فقول الله عز وجل في كتابه: "وَوَاعَدْنَا مُوسَى ثَلاَثِينَ لَيْلَةً وَأَتْمَمْنَاهَا بِعَشْرٍ فَتَمَّ مِيقَاتُ رَبِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً ."وأما الخمسون فقول الله عز وجل: "فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ ."وأما الستون فقول الله عز وجل في كتابه: "...فَمَن لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَإِطْعَامُ سِتِّينَ مِسْكِينًا ."وأما السبعون فقول الله عز وجل في كتابه: "وَاخْتَارَ مُوسَى قَوْمَهُ سَبْعِينَ رَجُلاً لِمِيقَاتِنَا ."وأما الثمانون فقول الله عز وجل: في كتابه "وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً ."وأما التسعون فقول الله عز وجل في كتابه: "إِنَّ هَذَا أَخِي لَهُ تِسْعٌ وَتِسْعُونَ نَعْجَةً ."وأما المائة فقول الله عز وجل في كتابه: "الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ "

26-4 (The compiler of the book narrated) that his father - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Sa’ed ibn Abdullah quoted Ahmad ibn al-Hussein ibn Sa’id, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ja’far ibn Yahya, on the authority of his father who linked it up to some of the trustworthy followers of the Household of Muhammad (MGB), “Two Jewish men from Khaybar came (to Medina) with an open Torah. They wanted to see the Prophet (MGB). The people told them that the Prophet (MGB) had passed away. They went to see Abu Bakr and said, ‘We had come here to see your Prophet and ask him a few questions. However, we realized that he has passed away.’ Abu Bakr asked them, ‘What are your questions?’ They said, ‘Please let us know what does one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety and one-hundred refer to?’ Abu Bakr told them, ‘I do not have the answer to these questions. Go to see Ali ibn Abi Talib.’ The Jews went to see Ali (MGB) and told him what had happened while they held the Torah open in their hand. The Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (MGB) asked them, ‘Will you accept Islam if I give you the answer to these questions?’They replied, ‘Yes.’ Ali (MGB) said, ‘One refers to God who is only One and He doesn’t have any partners. Two refers to what the Honorable the Exalted God said in the following verse, ‘Take not (for worship) two gods, for He is just One God.’ Three, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine refer to what the Honorable the Exalted God has said in His Book in the Chapter Al-Kahf as follow, ‘(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth,- doubtfully guessing at the unknown; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say thou: ‘My Lord knoweth best their number; It is but few that know their (real case).’ Enter not, therefore, into controversies concerning them, except on a matter that is clear, nor consult any of them about (the affair of) the Sleepers.’And nine refers to what the Honorable the Exalted God says in His Book, ‘There were in the city nine men of a family, who made mischief in the land, and would not reform.’And ten refers to what the Honorable the Exalted God said (regarding fasting in case one cannot afford an offering for Hajj), ‘…making ten days in all.”And twenty refers to what the Honorable the Exalted God says in His Book, ‘If there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two-hundred,’Thirty and forty refer to what the Honorable the Exalted God says in His Book, ‘We appointed for Moses thirty nights, and completed (the period) with ten (more), thus was completed the term (of communion) with his Lord, forty nights…’Fifty refers to what the Honorable the Exalted God says in His Book, ‘The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty-thousand years:’Sixty refers to ’sixty days of consecutively fasting’ or the ‘feeding of sixty indigent ones’ that the Honorable the Exalted God has established as the expiation for men who divorce their wives by calling them mothers (Zihar), before they can touch each other as the Honorable the Exalted God says in His Book, ‘But if any is unable to do so, he should feed sixty indigent ones…’Seventy refers to the seventy persons which Moses chose from amongst his family to take to the place of meeting his Lord as the Honorable the Exalted God says in His Book, ‘And Moses chose seventy of his people for Our place of meeting…’Eighty refers to the punishment for unduly accusing women of adultery as the Honorable the Exalted God says in His Book, ‘And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations),- flog them with eighty stripes;…’Ninety refers to the story of the two disputant brothers who went to seek his judgement regarding their ewes as the Honorable the Exalted God said in His Book, ‘This man is my brother, He has nine and ninety ewes,…’And one-hundred refers to the punishment for adultery or fornication as the Honorable the Exalted God said in His Book, ‘The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication,- flog each of them with a hundred stripes:…’ ”

Al-Khiṣāl

Book 27, Chapter 1