Ahmad b. Ziyad b. Ja`far al-Hamadani رحمه الله narrated to us. He said: `Umar b. Sahl b. Isma`il al-Dinuri narrated to us. He said: Zayd b. Isma`il al-Sa’igh narrated to us. He said: Mu`awiya b. Hisham narrated to us from Sufyan from `Abd al-Malik b. `Umayr from Khalid b. Rabi`i. He said: Amir al-Mu’minin عليه السلام entered Mecca in one of his Hajj pilgrimages, and he saw a Bedouin holding onto the cloak of the Ka`ba, saying: O Owner of the House! The House is Your House, the guests are Your guests, and for every guest of Yours is a gift, so make my gift from You a night of forgiveness. So, Amir al-Mu’minin عليه السلام said to his companions: Do you not hear the words of this Bedouin? They said: Yes. So, he said: Allah is too generous to turn away His guest. He said: When it was the second night, he saw him holding onto that corner, saying: O Glorious in Your glory! There is none glorious than You in Your glory. Give me glory by Your glory – a glory that none can comprehend. I turn to You and I invoke You by the right of Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad over you, give me that which none can give but You, and relieve me of that which none can relieve but You. He said: Amir al-Mu’minin عليه السلام said to his companions: This, by Allah, is the Greatest Name in Syriac. I was informed of it by my beloved, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم. He asked Him for Paradise, so He gave it to him, and He asked him to relieve him from the Fire, so He relieved him. He said: When it was the third night, they saw him holding onto that corner, saying: O Him who cannot be encompassed by a place and cannot be absent from a place! He was without a how. Sustain this Bedouin with four thousand silver coins. He said: So, Amir al-Mu’minin عليه السلام proceeded to him and said: O Bedouin! You asked your Lord for a gift, so He gifted you, and you asked Him for Paradise, so He gave it to you, and you asked Him to relieve you of the Fire, so He relieved you; but on this night, you asked Him for four thousand silver coins! The Bedouin said: Who are you? He said: I am `Ali b. Abi Talib. The Bedouin said: You, by Allah, have surprised me. You have been sent for my need. He said: Ask, Bedouin. He said: I want one thousand silver coins for a dowry, one thousand silver coins to pay off my debt, one thousand silver coins with which I can buy a house, and one thousand silver coins to live off. He said: I will help you, Bedouin. When you leave Mecca, ask about my house in the Medina of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم. So, the Bedouin remained in Mecca for two weeks, and he left to seek Amir al-Mu’minin عليه السلام in the Medina of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم. He called out: Who will lead me to the house of Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali عليه السلام? So, al-Husayn b. `Ali عليه السلام said from amongst the young boys: I will take you to the house of Amir al-Mu’minin. I am his son, al-Husayn b. `Ali. So, the Bedouin said: Who is your father? He said: Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali b. Abi talib عليه السلام. He said: Who is your mother? He said: Fatima al-Zahra, the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds. He said: Who is your grandfather? He said: The Messenger of Allah Muhammad b. `Abdullah b. `Abd al-Muttalib. He said: Who is your grandmother? He said: Khadija bt. Khuwaylid. He said: Who is your brother? He said: Abu Muhammad al-Hasan b `Ali. He said: You have taken the world by both its ends. Walk to Amir al-Mu’minin and tell him that the Bedouin, the owner of the trust in Mecca, is at the door. He said: So, al-Husayn b. `Ali عليه السلام entered and said: O father! A Bedouin is at the door He says that he is the owner of the trust in Mecca. He said: So, he said: O Fatima! Do you have anything to feed the Bedouin? She said: By Allah, no. He said: So, Amir al-Mu’minin عليه السلام got dressed and left, saying: Call Aba `Abdillah Salman al-Farisi for me. He said: So, Salman al-Farisi رحمه الله visited him. So, he said: O Aba `Abdillah! Sell the garden that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم planted for me in the market. He said: So, Salman went to the market and sold the garden for twelve thousand silver coins. He went to the Bedouin and gave him four thousand silver coins, and an additional forty silver coins. The news reached the beggars of Medina, so they gathered. A man from the Ansar went to Fatima عليها السلام and informed her of that, so she said: May Allah reward you for walking [and letting us know]. So, `Ali عليه السلام sat, and the silver coins were spread out before him. His companions gathered to him, and he gave and gave to man after man, until there was not a single silver coin that remained for him. When he came home, Fatima عليها السلام said to him: O cousin! You sold the walled [garden] that my father planted for you? He said: Yes, for immediate and long-term good. She said: Where is its revenue? He said: I gave it to eyes before they asked, because I would be too embarrassed to humiliate them with beggary. Fatima said: I am hungry, and my two sons are hungry. I have no doubt that you are hungry like us. Why did you not leave a silver coin for us?! She held onto the robe of `Ali عليه السلام. So, `Ali عليه السلام said: O Fatima! Let go of me. So, she said: No, by Allah. My father will judge between you and me. So, Gabriel عليه السلام came down to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم and said: O Muhammad! Peace (Allah) recites the salaam to you and says: “Recite my salaam to `Ali and say to Fatima: ‘It is not for you to strike his hands or hold onto his robe’” When the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم reached the house of `Ali عليه السلام, she saw Fatima grasping onto `Ali عليه السلام So, he said to her: O my daughter! Why are you grasping onto `Ali? She said: O father! He sold the walled [garden] that you planted for him for twelve thousand silver coins, and he did not keep a single silver coin with which he could buy us food. So, he said: O my daughter! Surely, Gabriel recited the salaam of my Lord to me, and he said: “Recite the salaam of his Lord to `Ali.” He ordered me to say to you: “It is not for you to strike his hands.” So, Fatima عليها السلام said: Then surely, I repent to Allah, and I will never repeat that. Fatima عليها السلام said: My father عليه السلام went out in one direction and my husband `Ali went in a direction. I met my father صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, and with him were seven blackened silver coins. So, he said: O Fatima! Where is my cousin? So, she said to him: He went out. So, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said: Take these silver coins. When my cousin comes, tell him to purchase food for you with it. He only remained for a short while longer when `Ali عليه السلام had come. So, he said: My cousin has returned. I smell a sweet fragrance. She said: Yes. I have something to give you with which you can buy us food. `Ali عليه السلام said: Hand it to me. So, she gave him the seven blackened silver coins. So, he said: In the name of Allah. Much sweet praise is due to Allah. This is from what Allah has given us sustenance with. Then, he said: O Hasan! Come with me. So, they both went to the market, and they found a man standing, saying: Who will lend me money? He said: O my son! Shall I give it to him? He said: Yes, by Allah, father. So, `Ali عليه السلام gave him the silver coins. So, al-Hasan said: O father! Did you give him all the silver coins? He said: Yes, son. The One who gave little is capable of giving much. He said: So, `Ali عليه السلام passed by the door of a man to borrow something from him. Then, a Bedouin with a she-camel met him and said: O `Ali! Buy this she-camel from me. He said: I do not have its price. He said: Then I will give it to you, and you can pay me later. He said: How much is it, Bedouin? He said: One hundred silver coins. `Ali عليه السلام said: Take it, Hasan. So, he took it. So, `Ali عليه السلام continued walking when another Bedouin came who was in the same form but with different clothing. He said: O `Ali! Will you sell this she-camel? `Ali عليه السلام said: What will you do with it? He said: I will take it to the first (next) battle that your cousin goes to. He said: It is yours then, without a price. He said: I have its price, and I will buy it with its price. So, how much does it cost? He said: One hundred silver coins. The Bedouin said: Then I will give you one hundred and seventy silver coins. `Ali عليه السلام said: Take one hundred silver coins and give it to the Bedouin that sold the she-camel to us. We will take the seventy silver coins and buy something with it. So, al-Hasan عليه السلام took the silver coins and gave away the she-camel. `Ali عليه السلام said: So, I went looking for the Bedouin that lent me the she-camel so that I may pay for its price. Then, I saw the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم sitting in a place that I had not seen him in before nor after, in the middle of the road. When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم looked at me, he smiled and laughed until I could see his molar teeth. `Ali عليه السلام said: May Allah make you laugh and gladden you on your day [when you intercede for your Nation]. Then, he said: O Aba’l Hasan! Are you looking for the Bedouin that sold you the she-camel to give him its price? So, I said: Yes, by Allah, may my mother and my father be your sacrifice. So, he said: O Aba’l Hasan! The one that sold you the she-camel was Gabriel, and the one that bought it from you was Michael. The she-camel was from the she-camels of Paradise. The silver coins were from the Lord of the Worlds. Spend them well, and do not be afraid.