Ahmad b. al-Hasan al-Qattan, `Ali b. Ahmad b. Musa al-Daqqaq, Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Sinani, and `Abdullah b. Muhammad al-Sa’igh narrated to us. They said: Abu’l `Abbas Ahmad b. Yahya b. Zakariyya al-Qattan narrated to us. He said: Abu Muhammad Bakr b. `Abdullah b. Habib narrated to us. He said: `Ali b. Muhammad narrated to me. He said: Al-Fadl b. al-`Abbas narrated to us. He said: `Abd al-Qudus al-Warith narrated to us. He said: Muhammad b. Kathir narrated to us from al-A`mash. Al-Husayn b. Ibrahim b. Ahmad al-Mukattib narrated to us. He said: Ahmad b. Yahya al-Qattan narrated to us. He said: Bakr b. `Abdullah b. Habib narrated to us. He said: `Abdullah b. Muhammad b. Batuwayh narrated to me. He said: Muhammad b. Kathir narrated to us from al-A`mash. Sulayman b. Ahmad b. Ayyub al-Lakhmi informed us in what he wrote to us from Isfahan. He said: Ahmad b. al-Qasim b. Masruq al-Jawhari narrated to us in 286 AH. He said: Al-Walid b. al-Fadl al-Ghanzi narrated to us. He said: Mundal b. `Ali al-`Anzi narrated to us from al-A`mash. Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. Ishaq al-Talaqani narrated to us. He said: Abu Sa`id al-Hasan b. `Ali al-`Adwi narrated to me. He said: `Ali b. `Isa al-Kufi narrated to us. He said: Jarir b. `Abd al-Hamid narrated to us from al-A`mash. Some added in diction (lafth) what others did not have, and some said what others did not say. The subsequent [version of the] hadith is that of Mundal b. `Ali al-`Anzi from al-A`mash. He said: [The caliph] Abu Ja`far al-Dawaniqi [al-Mansur] sent for me in the middle of the night so that I may answer. He said: I remained thinking to myself, and I said: “The commander of the faithful has not sent for me in this hour except to ask me about the virtues of `Ali ; and perhaps if I inform him, he will kill me.” He said: So, I wrote my will, I wore my shroud, and I visited him. So, he said: Come closer. So, I came closer, and `Amr b. `Ubayd [the Mu`tazili theologian] was with him. When I saw him, my heart was comforted. Then, he said: Come closer. So, I came closer until my knees almost touched his knees. He said: He smelled the aroma of embalmment from me, so he said: By Allah, you must be honest with me, or I will crucify you. I said: What do you need, O commander of the faithful? He said: Why are you embalmed? I said: Your messenger came to me in the middle of the night so that I may answer. So, I said: “Perhaps the commander of the faithful has sent for me at this hour to ask me about the virtues of `Ali , and perhaps if I inform him [of them], he will kill me.” So, I wrote my will, and I wore my shroud. He said: He was reclining, and he sat up and said: There is no ability nor power except by Allah. I ask you by Allah, how many hadith do you narrate on the virtues of `Ali? He said: So, I said: Easy, O commander of the faithful. He said: How many? I said: Ten thousand hadith or more. So, he said: O Sulayman! I will inform you of a hadith on the virtues of `Ali that will cause you to forget all the hadith that you have heard. He said: I said: Narrate to me, O commander of the faithful. He said: Yes. I was fleeing from Bani Umayya, and I was frequenting the towns. I would get closer to the people through the virtues of `Ali. They would then feed me and provide for me until I started visiting the Levant. I was only covered in a cloak and I had nothing else with me. I heard the iqama and I went toward it. Then, I entered the mosque to pray, and in my heart, I wanted to speak to the people about my livelihood. When the imam ended the prayer, two boys entered the mosque. The imam turned to them and said: “Greetings to you two. Greetings to you two whose names are like the names of the two of them.” Beside me there was a young man, so I said: “O young man! Who are these two boys to this shaykh?” He said: “He is their grandfather, and there is no one in this city who loves `Ali except for this shaykh. For that reason, he called one of them al-Hasan and the other al-Husayn.” So, I stood joyfully, and I said to the shaykh: “May I narrate a hadith to you that will bring joy to your eye?” He said: “If you bring joy to my eye, I will bring joy to your eye.” He said: So, I said: My father narrated to me from his father from his grandfather. He said: The Messenger of Allah (s) was sitting when Fatima came weeping to him. So, the Prophet (s) said to her: “Why do you weep, Fatima?” She said: “O father! Al-Hasan and al-Husayn went out, and I do not know where they went to sleep.” So, the Prophet (s) said to her: “O Fatima! Do not weep, for Allah who created the two of them is gentler with them than you are.” So, the Prophet (s) raised his hand toward the sky and said: “O Allah! Whether they are on the land or at sea, protect them and safeguard them.” So, Gabriel descended from heaven and said: “O Muhammad! Surely, Allah recites the salaam to you, and He says: ‘Do not be sad and do not grieve over them, for they are favoured in this world and in the Hereafter, and their father is more favoured than them. They are both sleeping in the pen of Bani Najjar. Allah has assigned an angel to them.’” So, the Prophet (s) stood happily while his companions were with him; until they went to the pen of Bani Najjar. He found al-Hasan is embracing al-Husayn, and the angel assigned to them comforted them with one wing beneath them and one wing above them. So, the Prophet (s) kissed them until they awoke. When they got up, the Prophet (s) held al-Hasan, and Gabriel held al-Husayn. He left the pen saying: “By Allah, you have not been honoured in the way that Allah honoured you.” So, Abu Bakr said to him: “Give me one of the two boys so that I may lighten [the load] for you.” So, he said: “O Aba Bakr! They are the best two things that can be carried, and they are the best of riders [on my back], and their father is more favoured than them.” So, he went until he reached the gate of the Mosque. So, he said: “O Bilal! Bring the people.” So, the caller of the Messenger of Allah (s) called in Medina. So, the people gathered to the Messenger of Allah (s) in the Mosque. Then, he stood on his feet and said: “O people! Shall I lead you to the ones with the greatest grandfather and grandmother out of all the people?” They said: “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Al-Hasan and al-Husayn, for their grandfather is Muhammad, and their grandmother is Khadija bt. Khuwalid. O people! Shall I lead you to the ones with the greatest parents out of all the people?” They said: Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Al-Hasan and al-Husayn, for their father loves Allah and His Messenger and Allah and His Messenger love him, and their mother is Fatima the daughter of the Messenger of Allah. O people! Shall I lead you to the ones with the greatest paternal uncle and paternal aunt out of all the people?” They said: “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Al-Hasan and al-Husayn, for their uncle is Ja`far b. Abi Talib, who flies in Paradise with the angels, and their aunt is Umm Hani’ bt. Abi Talib. O people! Shall I lead you to the ones with the people maternal uncle and maternal aunt out of all the people?” They said: “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Al-Hasan and al-Husayn, for their maternal uncle is al-Qasim the son of the Messenger of Allah, and their aunt is Zaynab the daughter of the Messenger of Allah. Like this, Allah will resurrect us.” Then, he said: “O Allah! Surely, You know that al-Hasan is in Paradise, al-Husayn is in Paradise, their grandfather is in Paradise, their grandmother is in Paradise, their father is in Paradise, their mother is in Paradise, their paternal uncle is in Paradise, their paternal aunt is in Paradise, their maternal uncle is in Paradise, their maternal aunt is in Paradise. O Allah! You know that those who love them are in Paradise and those who hate them are in the Fire.” He said: When I said that to the shaykh, he said: “Who are you, young man?” I said: “I am from the people of Kufa.” He said: “Are you an Arab or a client (non-Arab)?” He said: I said: “Rather, I am an Arab.” He said: “You narrate this hadith, yet you are [only clothed] in this cloak?!” So, he clothed me in some of his clothes, and mounted me on his beast – and its price was one hundred gold coins – and he said: “O youth! You have brought joy to my eye, so I will bring joy to your eye, and I will guide you to a youth who will bring joy to your eye today.” He said: So, I said: “Guide me.” He said: “I have two brothers: one is an imam, and the other is a mu’adhin. As for the imam, then surely, he loved `Ali from when his mother gave birth to him. As for the mu’adhin, he hated `Ali from when his mother gave birth to him.” He said: I said: “Guide me.” So, he took me by the hand until we reached the door of the imam. A man came out to me and said: “I recognize the beast and the cloak. By Allah, so-and-so would not have mounted you and cloaked you unless you loved Allah and His Messenger (s). So, narrate a hadith about the virtues of `Ali b. Abi Talib to me.” He said: So, I said: My father informed me from his father from his grandfather. He said: We were sitting with the Prophet (s) when Fatima came weeping intensely. So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said to her: “Why do you weep, Fatima?” She said: “O father! The women of Quraysh have embarrassed me, and they say: ‘your father has married you to a por man with no wealth.’” So, the Prophet (s) said to her: “Do not weep, for by Allah, I did not marry him to you until Allah married you [to him] above His Throne. Gabriel and Michael bore witness to it. Surely, Allah looked at the people of this world, and He chose your father from the creatures and made him a prophet. Then, He looked a second time and chose `Ali from the creatures and married you to him and took him as a deputy. So, `Ali is the boldest of people in heart, the most forbearing of people, the most open-handed of the people; exceeding the people in tranquility, and the most knowledgeable of the people. Al-Hasan and al-Husayn are his sons, and they are the Masters of the Youth of the People of Paradise. Their names in the Torah are Shubar and Shubayr in the Torah due to their dignity with Allah. O Fatima! Do not weep, for by Allah, on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will gown your father in two garments and `Ali in two garments. The Banner of Praise will be in my hand and I will give it to `Ali due to his dignity with Allah. O Fatima! Do not weep, for if I pray to the Lord of the Worlds, `Ali will come with me, and if Allah accepts my intercession, then Allah will accept the intercession of `Ali with me. O Fatima! Do not weep, for on the Day of Resurrection, a caller will caller during the horrors of that day: ‘O Muhammad! The best of grandfathers is your grandfather Ibrahim the Friend of the Merciful, and the best of brothers is your brother `Ali b. Abi Talib. O Fatima! `Ali will assist me with the keys of Paradise, and his Shi`a are the winners in Paradise anon on the Day of Resurrection.” When I said that, he said: “O my son! Where are you from?” I said: “From the people of Kufa.” He said: “Are you an Arab or are you a client?” I said: “Rather, I am an Arab.” He said: So, he gowned me in thirty robes, and he gave me ten thousand silver coins. Then, he said: “O youth! You have brought joy to my eye, and I need something from you.” I said: “I will fulfill it, God-willingly.” He said: “Tomorrow morning, go to the mosque of the family of so-and-so, and you will see my brother who hates `Ali .” He said: That night was long for me. When I awoke, I went to the mosque that he described to me, and I stood in the row. Then, I saw a turbaned youth. He went to bow, and the turban fell. So, I looked at his face, and his head looked like the head of a pig, and his face looked like the face of a pig. By Allah, I did not know what was said in my prayer until the imam finished. So, I said: “Woe to you! What is that which I see in you?” So, he wept and said to me: “Look at this house.” So, I looked, and he said to me: “Enter it.” So, I entered it. Then, he said to me: “I was a mu’adhin for the so-and-so family. Whenever I awoke, I would curse `Ali one thousand times between the call to prayer and the iqama. On Fridays, I would curse him four thousand times. I left my place and went to my house and I reclined on this bench that you see. Then, I saw in my dream that I was in Paradise. Therein were the Messenger of Allah (s) and `Ali , and they were happy. I saw as though to the right of the Prophet (s) was al-Hasan and to his left was al-Husayn. With him was a vessel, so, he said: ‘O Hasan! Pour for me.’ So, he poured for him. Then, he said: ‘Drink’ to the group, so they drank from it. Then, I saw that it was as though he had said: ‘Give drink to the one who is reclining on this bench.’ So, al-Hasan said to him: ‘O grandfather! You have ordered me to give drink to this one when he would curse my father one thousand times every day between the call to prayer and the iqama and curse him on this day four thousand times between the call to prayer and the iqama!’ So, the Prophet (S) came to me and said to me: ‘Malik – may Allah curse you – you curse `Ali even though `Ali is from me, and you insult `Ali even though `Ali is from me.’ I saw as though he had spat in my face. He struck me with his leg, and he said: ‘Stand up. May Allah change His blessing in you.’ So, I awoke from my sleep, and my head was like the head of a pig, and my face was like the face of a pig.’” Then, Abu Ja`far the commander of the faithful said to me: Is this hadith in your possession? So, I said: No. So, he said: O Sulayman! Love for `Ali is faith and hatred for him is hypocrisy. By Allah, none love him except a believer, and none hate him except a hypocrite. He said: I said: Do you promise me safety, O commander of the faithful? He said: You are safe. I said: So, what do you say about the killer of al-Husayn ? He said: He is going to the Fire and he is in the Fire. I said: It is the same for one who kills a descendant of the Messenger of Allah (s) – he is going to the Fire and he is in the Fire. He said: Rulership has no blood-bonds. Go and narrate what you have heard.