About the people who have the best family

Abdul Rahman Al-Ansari, from Aamash Sulayrnaan, who said:

Once Mansour Al-Dawaniqi (l.a.), (the king who killed Imam Al-Sadiq (A.s.)) sent for me in the middle of the night. I (Aamash Sulayrnaan) thought to myself that the only reason he had sent for me at that time was to ask me about the virtues of Ali bin Abi Taleb (A.s.), and (therefore) he wanted to kill me.

So I wrote my will, wore my KAFAN (shroud), and went to him.

When I entered I said Salaam to him.

Mansour replied and asked, “What is this smell (of embalmment), O Sulaymaan?”

I replied, “When your messenger came and said that you wanted to see me, I thought to myself that the only reason you wanted to see me was to ask me about the virtues of Ali bin Abi Taleb (A.s.). And if I tell you about his virtues you will kill me.”

Mansour sat up and said, “There is no will nor power except with Allah (S.w.t.).”

Then he asked me, “O Sulaymaan, how many of his virtues have you narrated?” I replied, “Several.”

Mansour said, “I will narrate two of his virtues which I swear to Allah (S.w.t.) you have not heard before.”

Mansour continued:

I was running and hiding from the government of Bani Marwan. I had nothing except the shabby clothes I was wearing. I used to get close to people by pretending that I loved Ali bin Abi Taleb (A.s.) and they used to feed me.

One night I arrived at a mosque at the time of Salaat Al-Maghrib. I thought to myself that I would enter the mosque, pray, and then ask for some dinner from the people.

After the prayer, I saw two young boys enter the mosque.

When the Shaykh (scholar) of the mosque looked at them he said, “Welcome to both of you and welcome to both of the people after whom you were named.”

I asked someone next to me, “How are these two children related to the Shaykh?”

He replied, “They are his grandsons and there is no one in this city who loves Ali bin Abi Taleb (A.s.) more than he does. That is why he has named his grandsons Hasan and Husain.”

I (Mansour) went to the Shaykh of the mosque and said to him, “Should I narrate a Hadith that will please you?”

The Shaykh replied, “If you please me with your Hadith, I will please you with rewards.”

I (Mansour) said, “My father narrated from my grandfather, from Ibn Abbas, who said:

We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (S.a.w.w.): when Fatema (S.a.) entered, crying. The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) asked her, “Why are you crying?”

She replied, “O Prophet of Allah (S.w.t.)! Hasan (A.s.) and Husain (A.s.) disappeared yesterday and I do not know where they spent the night.”

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) said, “O Fatema (S.a.), do not cry! They have Allah (S.w.t.) protecting them.”

Then the Prophet (S.a.w.w.); raised his hands toward the sky and said, “O Allah (S.w.t.)! Protect them and keep them safe wherever they are, in desert or in sea!”

Then Jibraeel came down to the Prophet (S.a.w.w.) and said, “O Messenger of Allah (S.w.t.)! Do not be saddened! Hasan (A.s.)  and Husain (A.s.) are in the farms of Bani Najjaar and there is an angel that is guarding them. The angel has placed one of his wings under them as a carpet and his other wing over them to give them shade.”

So the Prophet (S.a.w.a.) and some of his companions moved toward the farms of Bani Najjaar. When they entered, they saw Hasan (A.s.) and Husain (A.s.) hugging each other. They also saw an angel who had placed one of his wings under them and his other wing over them to offer them shade.

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) went to them, hugged them, and started to cry. Then he carried Hasan (A.s.) on his right shoulder and Husain (A.s.) on his left shoulder.

When they left the farm, Abu Bakr (l.a.) said to the Prophet (S.a.w.w.), “O Messenger of Allah (S.w.t.), let me help you by carrying one of them.”

The Prophet (S.a.w.a.) replied, “O Abu Bakr (l.a.), I am the best person to carry them and they are the best ones to be carried, and their father is even better than they are.”

Then Omar (l.a.) said to the Prophet (S.a.w.w.), “O Messenger of Allah (S.w.t.), let me help you by carrying one of them.”

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) replied with the same answer (he gave to Abu Bakr (l.a.)).

Then the Messenger of Allah (S.w.t.) (s.a.w.a.) said to Hasan and Husain (A.s.), “I swear to Allah (S.w.t.) that I am honouring you just like Allah (S.w.t.) has honoured you on top of His Throne.”

When they arrived at the mosque, the Prophet (S.a.w.w.) ordered Bilal to gather the people.

When the people had gathered, the Prophet (S.a.w.w.) went on the Minbar and said, “O people, should I tell you about the people who have the best grandfather and grandmother?”

The people replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah (S.a.w.w.).

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) said, “Hasan (A.s.) and Husain (A.s.) . Their grandfather is the Messenger of Allah (S.a.w.w.) and their grandmother is Khadija Al-Kubra (S.a.), daughter of Khuwailed, Master of the Women of Paradise.

O people, should I tell you about the people who have the best father and mother?”

The people replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah (S.a.w.w.).

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) said, “Hasan (A.s.) and Husain (A.s.). Their father is the man who loves Allah (S.w.t.) and His Messenger, and Allah (S.w.t.) and His Messenger love him. Their mother is Fatema (S.a.), daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S.w.t.) and the Master of All of the Worlds’ Women.

O people, should I tell you about the people who have the best paternal uncle and aunt?”

The people replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah (S.w.t.)!”

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) said, “Hasan (A.s.) and Husain (A.s.). Their uncle is Jaafar Al-Tayyar, who has two wings in Paradise, and their aunt is Um Hani, daughter of Abu Taleb (A.s.). O people, should I tell you about the people who have the best maternal uncle and aunt?”

The people replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah (S.a.w.w.).

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) said, “Hasan (A.s.)  and Husain (A.s.). Their uncle is Qasem, son of the Messenger of Allah (S.a.w.w.) and their aunt is Zainab, (adopted) daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S.w.t.).”

Then the Prophet (S.a.w.w.)  looked at the people and said:

O Allah (S.w.t.)! You know that Hasan (A.s.) will be in Paradise, Husain (A.s.) will be in Paradise, their grandfather will be in Paradise, their grandmother is in Paradise, their father will be in Paradise, their mother will be in Paradise, their paternal uncle is in Paradise, their paternal aunt will be in Paradise, their maternal uncle is in Paradise, their maternal aunt will be in Paradise, and those who love Hasan (A.s.) and Husain (A.s.) will be in Paradise, and those who hate them will be in Hell.

(After narrating this hadith to the Shaykh of the mosque) the Shaykh asked me (Mansour), “Who are you?”

I replied, “I am from Iraq.”

He asked, “Are you an Arab or a slave?”

I replied, “I am an Arab.”

He said, “You narrate these Ahadith for people and you do not have anything?” So he gave me his aba and his mule. I later sold the mule for three hundred Dinars.

Then the Shaykh of the mosque thanked me and said, “I have a request.” I asked, “What do you want?”

He replied, “We have two brothers here. One of them is the Shaykh of another mosque and the other one is a muezzin. The Shaykh has loved Ali bin Abi Taleb (A.s.) ever since he was born but the muezzin has always hated Ali (A.s.). I want you to go to the Shaykh and narrate a Hadith for him.”

I (Mansour) went to the other Shaykh’s house. When I knocked on the door, a young man opened it. When he saw me, he recognized the aba and the mule that the Shaykh had given me.

The (other) Shaykh said, “I am sure that the Shaykh has given you his aba and his mule because you love Ali bin Abi Taleb (A.s.), so narrate a Hadith for me.”

I said, “My father narrated from my grandfather, from Ibn Abbas, who said:

Once we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (S.a.w.w.), when Fatema (S.a.) came crying.

The Prophet (s.a.w.w.): asked her, “O Fatema (S.a.) , why are you crying?”

Fatema (S.a.) replied, “The women of Quraysh blame me and think that you have married me to a poor man who has no money.”

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) said:

Do not cry, O Fatema (S.a.) ! I swear to Allah (S.w.t.) that I did not marry you to him before Allah (S.w.t.) married you to him on top of His Throne, and Jibraeel and Mikaeel witnessed it.

Verily, Allah (S.w.t.) looked from the top of His Throne and chose me from among all of His creation and sent me as a prophet. Then He looked again and He chose Ali (A.s.) as my heir and my successor. Ali (A.s.)  is the bravest, the most knowledgeable, the most just on his people, and the best divider. Hasan (A.s.) and Husain (A.s.) are the Masters of the Youth of Paradise, and Allah (S.w.t.) has honoured them and mentions their names in the Torah of Musa as Shabir and Shabour.

O Fatema (S.a.), do not cry! On the Day of Judgement, Ali (A.s.) will be resurrected with me and he will be honoured with me.

O Fatema (S.a.), on the Day of Judgement, I will be holding the flag of praise and people will be under the flag. Then I will give the flag to Ali (A.s.) because of how honourable he is in Allah (S.w.t.)’s eyes.

O Fatema (S.a.) , Ali (A.s.) will help me with the keys of Paradise.

Fatema (S.a.), Ali (A.s.) and his Shia are the winners on the Day of Judgement.

When I (Mansour) finished this Hadith, the young man asked me, “Who are you?”

I replied, “I am from Iraq.”

“Are you a slave or an Arab?” the young man asked. “I am an Arab,” I replied.

Then he gave me thirty dresses and ten thousand Dirhams.

Then he said, “You pleased me by narrating this Hadith so I want you to come to our mosque tomorrow and see my brother who hates Ali bin Abi Taleb (A.s.).

So I went to the mosque (the next day). While I was praying, I saw a young man next to me. While he was praying, his turban fell from his head. I looked at his head and it was like the head of a pig. I did not even know how to finish my prayers.

When he was leaving I said to him, “Why is your head like this?” He said, “You must be the friend of my brother.” I said, “Yes.”

So he took me to his house where he started crying profusely. Then he said:

I was a muezzin and I used to curse Ali (A.s.)  one thousand times a day. One day, I cursed him ten thousand times. When I came home, I saw the Prophet (S.a.w.w.) in my dream with his companions, with Hasan (A.s.) to his right and Husain (A.s.)to his left.

The Prophet (S.a.w.w.) and his companions sat down, but Hasan (A.s.)  and Husain (A.s.)were still standing. Hasan (A.s.)  had a glass in his hand and Husain (A.s.) had a jug (of water) in his hand.

Then the Prophet (S.a.w.w.) said, “O Hasan (A.s.) , give me some water.” Hasan (A.s.) raised the glass and said, “O Husain (A.s.), pour some water.” Husain (A.s.) poured some water in the glass and gave it to the Prophet (S.a.w.w.). The Prophet drank the water and said.

“Give water to my companions.” So they gave water to them.

Then the Prophets said, “Give some water to that man who is sleeping over there.” Hasan (A.s.)  and Husain (A.s.) started to cry.

“Why are you crying?” the Prophet (S.a.w.w.)  asked them.

They replied, “How can we give water to a man who curses our father one thousand times a day and he has cursed him ten thousand times today?”

Then the Prophet (S.a.w.w.) stood up, extremely angry.

He walked toward me and said, “You curse Ali (A.s.)  while you know his status and closeness to me?!” Then he hit me.

Then the Prophet (S.a.w.w.) said, “Get away! May Allah (S.w.t.) change your creation!” I woke up and my head has looked like this ever since.

Then Mansour said to me (Sulaymaan), “Have you ever heard any Ahadith like these?”

“No,” I replied.

Then I said, “O King, give me permission to speak.” “You are safe. Speak,” he replied.

I (Sulaymaan) asked, “What is your opinion of those who killed Hasan (A.s.) and Husain (A.s.) ???

“They will be in Hell,” replied Mansour.

I asked, “What is your opinion of those who kill the sons of Husain (A.s.)?”

Mansour was silent for quite some time. Then he said, “Kingdom does not know father nor sons. You can go now and narrate as many Ahadith about the virtues of Ali as you please.”