Al-Kāfi - Volume 8


Book 1, Chapter 305

The words of the lizard
1 Ḥadīth

عَنْهُ عَنْ صَالِحٍ عَنِ الْوَشَّاءِ عَنْ كَرَّامٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ طَلْحَةَ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (عليه السلام) عَنِ الْوَزَغِ فَقَالَ رِجْسٌ وَ هُوَ مَسْخٌ كُلُّهُ فَإِذَا قَتَلْتَهُ فَاغْتَسِلْ فَقَالَ إِنَّ أَبِي كَانَ قَاعِداً فِي الْحِجْرِ وَ مَعَهُ رَجُلٌ يُحَدِّثُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ بِوَزَغٍ يُوَلْوِلُ بِلِسَانِهِ فَقَالَ أَبِي لِلرَّجُلِ أَ تَدْرِي مَا يَقُولُ هَذَا الْوَزَغُ قَالَ لَا عِلْمَ لِي بِمَا يَقُولُ قَالَ فَإِنَّهُ يَقُولُ وَ اللَّهِ لَئِنْ ذَكَرْتُمْ عُثْمَانَ بِشَتِيمَةٍ لَأَشْتِمَنَّ عَلِيّاً حَتَّى يَقُومَ مِنْ هَاهُنَا قَالَ وَ قَالَ أَبِي لَيْسَ يَمُوتُ مِنْ بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ مَيِّتٌ إِلَّا مُسِخَ وَزَغاً قَالَ وَ قَالَ إِنَّ عَبْدَ الْمَلِكِ بْنَ مَرْوَانَ لَمَّا نَزَلَ بِهِ الْمَوْتُ مُسِخَ وَزَغاً فَذَهَبَ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْ مَنْ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ وَ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ وُلْدُهُ فَلَمَّا أَنْ فَقَدُوهُ عَظُمَ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَلَمْ يَدْرُوا كَيْفَ يَصْنَعُونَ ثُمَّ اجْتَمَعَ أَمْرُهُمْ عَلَى أَنْ يَأْخُذُوا جِذْعاً فَيَصْنَعُوهُ كَهَيْئَةِ الرَّجُلِ قَالَ فَفَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ وَ أَلْبَسُوا الْجِذْعَ دِرْعَ حَدِيدٍ ثُمَّ لَفُّوهُ فِي الْأَكْفَانِ فَلَمْ يَطَّلِعْ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِلَّا أَنَا وَ وُلْدُهُ.


305. From him, from Salih, from Al-Washa’, from Karraam, from Abdullah Bin Talha who said: I asked Abu Abdullah (a.s) about the lizard, so he (a.s) said: ‘Filthy, and it is a metamorphosed (creature), all of them. So if you were to kill it, wash yourself (Ghusl)’. My (a.s) father was seated in Al-Hijr, and with him (a.s) was a man to whom he (a.s) was narrating. So a lizard started ululating with its tongue. So my (a.s) father said to the man: ‘Do you know what this lizard is saying?’ He said, ‘I have no knowledge of what it is saying’. He (a.s) said: ‘It is saying that if you mention Usman by insults, I will insult Ali (a.s) until he goes from there’. He (a.s) said: ‘And my (a.s) father (a.s) said: ‘There is none from the Clan of Umayya who dies, but he gets metamorphosed as a lizard. Abdul Malik Bin Marwaan, when death descended upon him, was metamorphosed into a lizard in front of the children who were in his presence. So when he was lost, that was a great (problem) for them as they did not know what to do. Then they met in a gathering, and decided to take a trunk and make it to look like a man. So they did that and clothed that with a coat of iron armour. Then they wrapped it in the shroud. So no one from the people knew about it except for myself (a.s) and his children’.