7. He said: Abul Hasan ‘Ali ibn Bilal al-Mahlabi, reported to me from Abul Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Baghdadi, who reported from al-Husayn ibn Umar al-Muqri, from ‘Ali ibn al-Azhar from ‘Ali ibn Swaleh al-Makki, from Muhammad ibn Umar ibn ‘Ali, from his father, from his grandfather, peace be upon him, who said:

When the following verses were revealed to the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny: ’When the victory granted by Allah and the conquest comes’ (110:1), he said to me: "O ‘Ali, surely the victory from Allah and the conquest has come! So when you see people entering into the fold of religion of Allah in throngs, then celebrate the praise of Your Lord and seek His forgiveness, for He is ever Relenting. O ‘Ali, Allah has ordained for the believers to fight the confusion created by the dissenters after I have gone, the way He has ordained for them to fight the unbelievers with me." So I said: "O messenger of Allah! What is that dissent against which we are ordained to combat?" He said: "Dissent by a group which will (outwardly) testify that there is no god but Allah, and that I am His messenger, (but) they will contradict my traditions, and will be levelling invectives against my religion." So I asked: "On what basis should we fight them, O messenger of Allah, when they will be testifying Allah’s Oneness, and your Prophethood?" He said: "On the basis of their innovation in their religion and departure from my command, and for consenting to spill the blood of my kinsfolk." He said: I said: "O Prophet of Allah, you had once promised me martyrdom. So pray to Allah to hasten it for me." He said: "Yes, I had promised you martyrdom. So how patient will you be when this will be dyed by this?" - (and he pointed to my head and my beard). I said: "O messenger of Allah! When the time you have indicated will dawn, it will not be an occasion for patience, it will be an occasion of glad tidings and thanksgiving." He said: "Well, then prepare for the opposition, for you will have a dispute against my Ummah." I said: "O messenger of Allah! Guide me about the (expected) split?" He said: "When you find a group of people turning away from (true) guidance towards deviation, oppose them. For true guidance is from Allah, and as from the devil it is only going astray. O ‘Ali, true guidance is to follow the orders of Allah, without falling prey to base desires and ones own opinion. It is as if I see you facing a group of people interpreting the Qur’an the way they like, and creating (dubious) analogies; so they will make intoxicants lawful by calling it grape juice, they will pay Zakat to make lawful the wealth earned by cheating people in weight, they will accept bribery and call it a gift." I said: "O messenger of Allah! How do we classify them when they start doing that? Are they apostates or just rebellious dissenters?" He said: "They will be the dissenters, blindly wandering in it, till they are dealt with by justice." I asked: "O messenger of Allah, will that justice be meted out by us or by others?" He said: "Of course, it will be by us, for with us Allah has commenced and with us shall He end. It was by us that Allah united the hearts after it had suffered disbelief, and it will be by us that He will unite the hearts after the dissent." Then I said: "Praise be to Allah, for the merit that He has granted us."