Whoever Doubts the Excellence of Ali (A.S.)

He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Khalid al-Maraghi reported to me from Abu Abdillah al-Asadi, who reported from Ja'far b. Abdullah at Alawi al-Muhammadi; who reported from Yahya b. Hashim al-Simsar al-Ghassani, who reported from Abu al-Sabah Abdul Ghafoor al-Wasiti, from Abdullah b. Muhammad al-Qarshi, from Abu Ali al-Hasan b. Ali al-Rasibi, from al-Dhahhak b. Muzahim, from Ibn Abbas - may Allah bless him with mercy, who reported that:
The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny said: "Whoever doubts the excellence of Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, will rise from his grave on the Day of Reckoning, with a collar of fire around his neck, having three hundred prongs. On each prong, there will be a Satan frowning upon him, spitting at his face."

The tradition of Ayyub
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Muhammad al-Katib reported to me from al-Hasan b. Ali al-Zafarani, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from Ismail b. Aban, who reported from Fadhl b. al-Zubair, from Imran b. Mitham, from Abayah al-Asadi, who said:
I heard Ali, peace be upon him, say: "I am the master of the aged ones. And in me is the tradition of Ayyub (i.e. his sufferings), and by Allah, He will gather together my family for me, the way He did for Ya'qoob."

Ali (AS) mobilizing his army for Jihad
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Muhammad b. Hubaish al-Katib reported to me from al-Hasan b. Ali al-Zafarani, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from Muhammad b. Ismail, from Zaid b. al-Muaddal, from Yahya b. Swaleh, from al-Harith b. Husairah, from Abu Sadiq, from Jundab b. Abdillah al-Azadi, who said:
I heard Amirul Mo'mineen, Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, say to his companions, after having urged them for days on end to march forth for Jihad but in vain: "O people! I have ordered you to march forth, but you did not, and I have admonished you, but you did not acquiesce. So, you are like the absentees in spite of your presence and the deaf in spite of your hearing! I recite unto you words of wisdom and preach to you beautiful preaching and exhort you to fight your despotic adversaries; but when I come to the close of my speech, I find you as disunited as the hands of Saba' (i.e. ten children of a Yamani chief who were each separated from the other). And the moment I turn away from you, you return to your meetings, forming group circles. (There) you set up similitudes, chant poems and ask each other the news. You have forgotten the art of preparedness for war, and have occupied your minds with unavailing things. Your hands are weakened! Rise to fight the enemy before they overwhelm you! By Allah! Never was a community attacked in its own houses, except that it was humiliated and vanquished.
And I swear in the name of Allah, I do not see you do it, till they have done! And I would love to confront them (alone) with my (firm) determination and vision, (and get killed in the way of Allah) so that I am relieved of enduring you. For, you are like a hoard of camels, which has lost its herdsman; no sooner are they herded on one side, than they fall apart from each other on the other side. By Allah, I can visualize about you that if the war were to rage on, and the hostilities were to flame up, you would separate yourselves from Ali b. Abi Talib (as easily as the heads are cut off and) the way a woman shirks as she delivers (her child)."
At that time, al-Ash'ath b. Qais al-Kindi stood up and said: "O Amirul Mo'mineen, why didn't you do what Uthman b. Affan did?" (i.e. granting favours for the sake of compromising). He, peace upon him, said: "O, pusher to the hellfire! Woe unto you! The act of Ibn Affan was a disgraceful one, even for the one who has no religion, nor any authority with him; so, how can I, who stands on a manifest proof from my Sustainer and the rightful authority is in my hand, do that? By Allah, that man is indeed weak, who himself makes it possible for his enemy to carve his flesh, crush his bones, tear down his skin and spill his blood! Such a man is not blessed with a brave heart. If you so desire, be like him! As far as I am concerned, the least I can give that enemy is a hit of my sword, which will send the bones of the skull flying, palm falling together with the arms. Then Allah shall do what He intends."
Then Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Khalid b. Zaid, the host of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, rose, and said: "O people, surely Amirul Mo'mineen has conveyed to those who have heeding ears and remembering hearts. Allah has indeed blessed you with an honour, which you do not accept in the way you should! He has left with you your Prophet's cousin, master of all the Muslims after him (i.e. the Prophet). He (i.e. Ali) makes you learned in Religion and calls you to fight against those who have descended upon you to afflict you. It seems as if you have gone deaf, hearing nothing. Or that your hearts are impermeably wrapped, so that you do not understand! Are you not ashamed?
O servants of Allah! Did you not have an era of injustice and hostility yesterday? (i.e. in the days gone by). An era in which affliction was common, spread all over the country? When the rightfuls were deprived, their faces smacked, their bellies trampled upon, hurled down on an open ground, and borne by the sandstorms. There was nothing to protect them from heat or cold, from being scorched by the sun and its glare, except the tattered clothes on their bodies, or the shaggy old huts.
Till Allah brought unto you Amirul Mo'mineen, peace be upon him, who declared the truth and spread justice, and acted according to the Book (i.e. the Qur'an). So, O people, be thankful to Allah for the bounty with which He has blessed you, and do not turn away on your backs. And be not of those who say "we hear", but they hear not.
Sharpen your swords and prepare to fight your enemies. Respond when you are summoned and listen and obey when commanded. Let that what you say happen; and prove yourselves among the truthful by following what you have been ordered to do."

"Ask me before you miss me. . ." Ali (AS)
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Bilal al-Mahlabi reported to me from Ali b. Abdillah b. Asad al-Isfehani, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from al-Qannad, who reported from Ali b. Hashim, from his father, from Saeed b. al-Musayyib who said:
I heard Amirul Mo'mineen Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, say: "There is no verse between the two covers of the Qur'an, except that I know for whom it was revealed and when it was revealed, and whether on a plain, levelled land or upon a mountain. Surely, here in my breast is abundant knowledge! So, put your questions to me before you do not find me among yourselves, for when you have lost me, you will not find anyone uttering the words I utter."

"While I was worthiest of them all . . ." Ali (AS)
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Muhammad al-Katib reported to me from al-Hasan b. Ali al-Zafarani, who reported from Abu Ishaq Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from al-Masoodi, who reported from al-Hasan b. Hammad, from his father, who reported from Razin Bayya' al-Anmat, who said:
I heard Zaid b. Ali b. Husain, peace be upon him, narrating from his father who reported from his father who said: I heard Amirul Mo'mineen, peace be upon him, addressing the people thus: "By Allah, people gave allegiance to Abu Bakr while I was worthiest of them all, together with the attire of mine. But I swallowed my anger, and waited for my Sustainer's will, keeping my chest low to the ground (i.e. adopting a low profile). Then Abu Bakr died, appointing Umar as his successor, though he knew that I was the worthiest of them all, together with this attire of mine. But I swallowed my anger and waited for my Sustainer's will. Then Umar died and made it an agenda for the consultative committee (al-Shura). He appointed me the sixth among the six members, like the share of the grandmother! And he said: 'Kill the dissenting minority;' and by this he meant no one but me. But I swallowed my fury, waited for my Sustainer's will and kept my chest low on the ground.
Then, the dissenting people did what they did after having sworn allegiance to me; and I had no alternative but either to fight against them or disobey Allah."

Ali's address as Ayesha prepares for Basrah
He said: Abul Qasim Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Qawlawyh - may Allah bless him with mercy, reported from his father, from Sa'd b. Abdillah, from Ahmad b. Alawiyyah, from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from Muhammad b. Amru al-Razi, who reported from al-Husain b. al-Mubarak, who reported from al-Hasan b. Salimah, who said:
When Amirul Mo'mineen, peace be upon him, covered the trail of Talha, al-Zubair and Ayesha, from Makkah to al-Basrah, he announced a congregational prayer. When the people assembled, he praised Allah, and glorified His Name. Then he said: "Surely, when Allah, Most High, summoned back His Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, we said: 'We are the inmates of his household, his blood relatives, his heirs and his executors. We are the worthiest among the whole creation for his affairs, and we would not dispute his Truth and authority.' While we thought that way, a group of hypocrites rose to usurp our Prophet's authority from us and give it into the control of others.
By Allah, because of that, our eyes wept and our hearts lamented; and our throats choked with grief. And I swear by the name of Allah, had we not feared that the Muslims would be divided, taking them back to infidelity and apostasy, we would have done our best to change that situation. Those rulers were given the control of the affairs and when they passed on, Allah returned the affairs unto me. And among those who swore loyalty to me, these two men, Talha and al-Zubair also swore, but then they proceeded to al-Basrah to create a friction among your peoples and to bring upon you your misfortune. O Allah, punish them both for deceiving this Ummah, and for the evil intentions they nurse for the public."
Then Abul Haitham b. al-Tayyihan - may Allah bless him with mercy, stood up and said: "O Amirul Mo'mineen, the Quraish are jealous of you for two reasons: either their eminent members are jealous of you, competing for excellouce or wishing to have an elevated position; or the wicked ones who are jealous, and so Allah has made their deeds fail, and their burdens heavy. They were not happy to remain as your equals, as they chose to precede you; and thus, they missed their goal and fell off in the race. You were indeed worthier than any Quraish; you were the Prophet's assistant as long as he lived; and you settled all his liabilities after his death. By Allah, their insolence is against themselves! We are your helpers and supporters; so give us your orders". Then he recited the following couplets:
"The people have rebelled against you, plotted against you
and imputed against you ugly things,
But the fact is that you have no faults, not even equal to a
gnat's wing, nor equal to its tenth;
They saw you blessed with bounties from Allah,
and found you a brave master, crushing the horns of a butting ram;
They saw you a leader under whom all seek refuge,
and they found you a strong rein that tames a capricious horse!
They found you a governor, in whose authority Imamah is combined,
and a Hashamite who controls the wide valley of Makkah.
They are jealous of what has come to you from Allah!
And thereby have inflicted upon their own hearts deep wounds!
There are people there who are vessels of intense hatred
against the Truth, niggardly because of their wretchedness,
Some of them concealing it behind the veils,
others insistently displaying the enmity.
'O Successor of the Prophet, our relation with the Truth
is like the delight and joy at the break of dawn;
So punish the Aws and a clan from al-Khazraj
with the thrust of the spear in war, and with confrontation;
There is none among us who is not a helper
in the way Allah, on the path of guidance and success."
Then Amirul Mo'mineen prayed for his reward. After that, people stood up, each speaking the way Abul Haitham spoke.

The prayer of Ali (AS)
He said: Abu Ali Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Suliy reported to me in the mosque of Baratha, in the year 353, from Abul Aziz b. Yahya al-Jaloodi, who reported from Muhammad b. Zakariyya al-Ghalabiy, who reported from Qais b. Hafs al-Daramiy, who reported from al-Husain al-Ashqar, from Umar (or Amru) b. Abdul Ghaffar, from Ishaq b. al-Fadhl al-Hashimi, who said:
"Among the supplications of Amirul Mo'mineen, Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, there was the following:
"O Allah! I seek refuge with you from being hostile to a person who is Your saint; or from being friendly to one who is Your adversary, or to choose Your permanent wrath. O Allah! Our blessings be for those You have blessed, and our curse be upon those You have cursed; O Allah! relieve us by the demise of one whose death is a relief for us and for all the Muslims; and grant us in exchange one who is better for us than he; so that You may show us, by Your acceptance, that which we wish to realize in our faith and in our lives; O Most Merciful among the mercifuls."

Ali in the night of Prophet's Me'raj
He said: Abul Hasan Ahmad b. Muhammad b.al-Hasan b. al-Walid reported to me from his father, from Sa'd b. Abdillah, from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa, from Bakr b. Swaleh, from al-Hasan b. Ali, from Abdullah b. Ibrahim, who reported from al-Husain b. Zaid, from Ja'far b. Muhammad, reporting from his father and his grandfather, peace be upon them, that:
The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: The night I was taken to the heavens, I ended up at Sidratul Muntaha, I heard: "O Muhammad, counsel (your people) good about Ali, for he is the master of the Muslims, Imam of the people of Taqwa (those who guard themselves from all sins), and leader of the hopping horses with white spots on their foreheads (leading to the Paradise), on the Day of Judgement."

Ten traits of Ali (AS)
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Muhammad al-Katib reported to me from al-Hasan b. Ali al-Za'farani, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from Uthman b. Abi Shaibah from Amru b. Maymoon, from Ja'far b. Muhammad from his father, from his grandfather, peace be upon them, that:
Amirul Mo'mineen Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, once said from the pulpit of Kufa: "O people, the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has awarded me ten traits; and they are dearer to me than anything upon which the sun shines."
He said to me:
Ali, you are my brother in this world and in the next;
And on the Day of Judgement, when we stand before the Almighty, you will be nearest of all to me;
Your abode in Paradise will be facing mine, the way brothers in faith live, with their houses facing each other;
You are my heir;
You are my executor after me, to fulfil my promises and my affairs;
And in my absence, you are the guardian of my family, on my behalf;
You are the Imam of my Ummah;
You are the one to uphold justice among my subjects;
You are my beloved one; and Allah loves who I love;
Your foe is my foe and my foe is the foe of Allah.

Ali (AS) refuses to grant undue preference
He said: Abul Hasan Ali b. Bilal al-Mahlabi reported to me from Ali b. Abdillah b. Asad al-Isfehani, who reported from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from Muhammad b. Abdillah b. Uthman, who reported form Ali b. Abi Saif, from Abu Habab, from Rabee'ah, from Amarah and others who said:
When people deserted Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, and fled to Mo'awiyah seeking worldly gains from him, a group from the companions of Amirul Mo'mineen, peace be upon him, called upon him and told him: "O Amirul Mo'mineen, spend the wealth and give preference to the noble clans of Arabs and Quraish over the client tribes and the non-Arabs; and appease those who you fear may turn against you or run away to Mo'awiyah."
Amirul Mo'mineen, peace be upon him, told them: "Do you counsel me to enlist help by unfairness? No, by Allah, I shall never do it, for as long as the sun shines and the stars in the sky twinkle! By Allah, if their wealth had belonged to me, I would have distributed equally to them, so how can I discriminate when the wealth belongs to all of them?"
He said: Then Amirul Mo'mineen, peace be upon him, remained silent for some time and then said: "Whoever has wealth, he should be wary of being spoiled. Surely, when wealth is given to an undeserving person, then it is a squander and extravagance. And though it makes the giver popular in this world, it is wasted in the eyes of Allah. And a person who squanders his wealth wastefully giving to those who do not deserve, Allah deprives him from their gratitude and causes them to have affinity towards others! And if at all there are some who are inclined and grateful to him, it is nothing but flattery and sham. They wish to ingratiate themselves to him so that they may continue to receive what they have been receiving before. And if that rich man is hit by adversity, needing their help or support, you will find them the worst, taunting friends.
And whoever wishes to do good with what Allah has given to him, he should use it to mend with his blood relatives; be a generous host, release the oppressed prisoners, help those who are in debt, and the wayfarers, the poor and those who fight in the way of Allah. And he should be patient against adversities and misfortunes. With such accomplishment, he will attain the high honour in this world and the virtues in the next."