Imāma, Naṣṣ, and the silence of

Amīr al-Muʾminīn regarding those who advanced him

‫ن تق‬ ‫تأ‬
‫الإمامة والنص وسكو مير الم م ي على م دمه‬
‫ن‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ؤ‬

By: al-Kāẓim al-Zaydī

Translated by: Muḥammad al-Sharīfī

 In the name of Allāh, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Imāma, Naṣṣ, and the silence of Amīr al-Muʾminīn regarding those who advanced him

(In the scale of the lighter weighty thing)

Praise be to Allāh Lord of the Worlds, may blessings, and peace be upon the most noble of
Prophets, and Messengers; our master Muḥammad, the trustworthy Prophet, and upon his noble,
purified household. The arks of salvation, and the banners of guidance. May Allāh be pleased
with the righteous companions, and those who followed them in goodness, and goodwill until the
day of recompense.

As for what follows:

Verily, seeking knowledge is the will of the Prophets. The most noble, and virtuous form of
knowledge is what is of guidance, truth, and a means for the intellect to be illuminated towards
its honorable conclusions.

The Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, upon him be peace, after the consensus of
the nation regarding the Prophethood of his brother, and cousin, the master of those who
preceded, and will succeed. Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh, upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be the
blessings of Allāh, is of the greatest forms of knowledge, after the greatest.

Especially so, since speech, opinion, and publication has been extensive regarding him, upon
him be the blessings of Allāh. Between those who establish, negate, and are unsure regarding his
Imāma. Between those who are fair, and spiteful (Nāṣib).

Taking into consideration the state of the preceding Umayyad era, and the interpolations [that
occurred], which may influence those of the succeeding eras to be distant from the illuminating
proofs from the Muḥammadan guidance that guide towards the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn,
upon him be peace.

We have sought to share, for the sake of our academic brothers, an important piece of material
regarding such a matter. We will present it through three sections, the first section will deal with:
The indication of the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn from the Book, and the Sunnah.

The second section will deal with: The consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt regarding the Imāma of
Amīr al-Muʾminīn, upon him be peace, by Naṣṣ (authoritative command).
The third section will deal with: The silence of Amīr al-Muʾminīn regarding those who advanced
him, and the reasons for that.

This treatise stems from a question a dear, and noble Egyptian brother of ours who is sincere in
his research posed in requesting the sayings of the Imāms of the ʿitra (progeny of the Prophet)
regarding the Imāma from Naṣṣ, and clarifying the position of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, upon him be
peace, from the point of him being silent regarding those who advanced him. We will address the
two latter sections with great emphasis, and the first section is an indication which relates to the
subject at hand.

The intent is not to establish the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, upon him be peace, through Naṣṣ
from the evidence of the Book, and the Sunnah by means of dialectical instruction. For, the
matter is clear to those who reflect, and are fair. We say this so that the reader may be informed
regarding our intent with this humble treatise, by the will of Allāh.

We will now begin with the evidence from the Book of Allāh, and the Sunnah, relying upon
Allāh, the Exalted.

The First Section: The Indication of the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace)
by Naṣṣ, through the Book, and the Sunnah:

Here, as we have addressed in the preamble, we will present the evidence from the Book, and the
Sunnah regarding the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, upon him be peace. The Imāma from Naṣṣ,
so that the researcher may be aware. The intent is not to extensively engage with each evidence,
this section will be a means to entering what follows.

Through it the researcher will be able to identify what the ʿitra rely upon with their sayings, in
which the researcher will be able to fairly judge. Between whimsical reasons which cannot
justifiably revoke the evidence from the Qurʾān, and the Sunnah regarding the Imāma of Amīr
al-Muʾminīn, upon him be peace, and between what has been established by evidence from the
Book, and the Sunnah which can reasonably oppose other forms of evidence. For, opinion does
not negate evidence.

Now, for the evidence of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, upon him be peace, from the Qurʾān, we will
concisely say, the saying of Allāh, the Exalted: {Only Allāh is your Guardian and His
Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while
they bow} [5:55].
And the saying of Allāh, the Exalted: {O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you
from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allāh
will protect you from the people; surely Allāh will not guide the unbelieving people} [5:67].

As for the Sunnah, his saying, upon him, and his Ahl al-Bayt be the blessings of Allāh in the
report of Ghadīr which is mass-transmitted between the nation: ((O People! Am I not Awlā
(more rightful) of you, then you over yourselves?! They said: Assuredly, O Messenger of Allāh.
He said: Then, whomever I am his Mawlā ʿAlī is his Mawlā, O Allāh be an ally to he who is an
ally to him, and an enemy to he who has enmity towards him. O Allāh support he who supports
him, and desert he who deserts him)).

And his saying, upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be the blessings of Allāh to Amīr al-Muʾminīn
(upon him be peace): ((Would you not be content that you would be to me as Hārūn was to
Mūsā, other than there is no Prophet after me)).

And other plentiful reports, and I will suffice with what has been mentioned for the sake of
brevity, and would like to direct those interested to the works of the Imāms of the ʿitra, and their
Shīʿa in Uṣūl. For, they have clarified verbosely, extensively, and with great elaboration.
Bringing forth this evidence with other forms of evidence, serving as a true remedy for the
seeker.

The Second Section: The Consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace) regarding the
Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) through Naṣṣ from the Book, and
Sunnah:

The Imāms of the Ahl al-Bayt, the noble men from the sons of al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn. Those
who preceded, and those who followed in their steps from those who have succeeded have all
reached a single consensus on the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be
peace). That he is the designated Imām by Naṣṣ, and deservedness after the Prophet, upon him
and his Ahl al-Bayt be the blessings of Allāh. They do not differ regarding this matter, and they
advance him ahead of other than him from the Shaykhs who advanced him.

Perhaps the researcher will find this matter to be explicit after reflection on the saying of
ʾIbrāhīm b. ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥajbī, wherein he states in addressing al-Imām al-Shāfīʿī may Allāh
have mercy on him: ((I have never seen a Hāshimī advance Abā Bakr, and ʿUmar [in preference]
ahead of ʿAlī , Allāh is pleased with him, besides you!)). 1

1
Ṭabaqāt al-Subkī: 1/194.
As you can see, the matter has extended farther than just the sons of Fāṭima, and includes Banī
Hāshim. What is further than that, Ibn Ḥazm alludes in his work of Milal that: ((The Muslims
have differed as to who the most superior of people after the Prophets, upon them be peace, is
some of Ahl al-Sunnah, some the Muʿtazila, some of the Murjīʾa, and the entirety of the Shīʿa
have said that the most superior from the nation after the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his
Ahl al-Bayt be peace) is ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib. We have narrated this saying from the saying of some
of the companions, may Allāh be pleased with them, and from a group of the Tābīʿīn, and jurists.
The entirety of the Khawārij, some of Ahl al-Sunnah, some of the Muʿtazila, and some of the
Murjīʾa have held that the most superior of the companions after the Messenger of Allāh (upon
him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) are Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar)). 2

Likewise, the Imāms of the ʿitra, upon them be the blessings of Allāh, hold to the preference of
Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) over anyone else from the companions, and that he is the
Imām by obligation, and Naṣṣ from Allāh, the Exalted, over His servants after their Prophet,
upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be the blessings of Allāh.

We will present their sayings regarding that, alongside their varying eras from what we have of
sources, and some of the sayings of the great Imāms indicate what follows after, and they are the
people of inquiry, without a shadow of a doubt.

They are the most knowledgeable among the people regarding the sayings of their predecessors,
and forefathers. So, from among the sayings of the ʿitra, without being too extensive, nor
concise, and it is their consensus undoubtedly.

[Firstly: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him
be peace), d. 61 AH]:

1 - al-Imām al-Ḥusayn al-Sibt (upon him be peace) said regarding the matter being a God-given
right for them, as opposed to Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar. It also indicates their intercession for the
people on the day of judgment, and that is only through evidence, and Naṣṣ that pertains to them:

((Abā Bakr, and ʿUmar have advanced to this matter, and it is for us in its entirety. They have
left for us a minor share, so let them suffice for themselves on the day the people seek our
intercession!)).

❖ al-Muḥīṭ bil-Imāma

2
al-Faṣl fī al-Milal: 4/90.
2 - al-Ḥāfiḍ Muḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kūfī narrated with his chain that a man came to
al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, and said: Speak to me of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, he said: Be wary, what do you
wish that I speak to you of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib while he is my father? He said: I insist that you
speak to me of him: He said: Allāh, the Blessed, the Exalted, disciplined His Prophet with all the
disciplines. So, when he reached the completion of his discipline, he placed the matter in his
hand, and said: {Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you
from, leave it} [59:7]. The Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)
disciplined ʿAlī with the same discipline that he was disciplined with, when his disciplining was
complete he placed the matter in his hand, saying: ((Whomever I am his Mawlā ʿAlī is his
Mawlā)).

❖ Manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.

[Secondly: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Baqir Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b.
al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), d. 114 AH ]:

3 - al-Ḥāfiḍ Muḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kūfī narrated with his chain from Abī Jaʿfar (upon him
be peace), he said:((When the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)
was ordered with what he was ordered with, the Messenger for Allāh said: My people have
just now left Jāhilīyya. Jibrāʾīl came to him, and said: {O Messenger! Deliver what has been
revealed to you from your Lord} [5:67]. So, the Messenger of Allāh took the hand of ʿAlī, and
said: ((Whomever I am his Mawlā ʿAlī is his Mawlā, O Allāh be an ally to he who is an ally to
him, and an enemy to he who has enmity towards him)).

❖ - Manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.

4 - al-Ḥāfiḍ Muḥammad b. Sulaimān narrated with his chain from Abī Jaʿfar, regarding His
saying: {O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord} [5:67].
Muḥammad b. ʿAlī said: O Abā al-Jārūd is there in the Book of Allāh an explanation of prayer,
regarding how many units there are, and when its time is? He said: I said: No. He said: When the
Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) ordered the prayer, it was said to him: Inform
your nation that the fajr prayer consists of such, and such units; and the ʿAṣr, Ḍuhr, Maghrib, and
ʿishā. Thereafter, it was Zakāt, the man would give whatever amount he wanted. So, when it was
revealed, it was told to the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace): Inform the people
regarding their Zakāt in the same manner you have informed them regarding their prayer. He
said: Then, when it was the day of ʿAshūrā he fasted, and he informed the people around
al-Madīna, so they fasted. Then, when the fasting of the Month of Ramaḍān was revealed it was
told to the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace): Inform your nation regarding their
fasting in the same manner that you informed them regarding their prayer, and Zakāt, so he did.
Thereafter, Ḥajj was revealed, so it was told to the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace) inform the people regarding their pilgrimage duties, in the same manner you informed
them regarding their prayer, Zakāt, and fasting, so he did. Then, it was revealed: {Only Allāh is
your guardian and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and
pay the poor-rate while they bow} [5:55]. So, they said: We are the believers, and we are
guardians of one another! So, it was told to the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace):
Inform your nation regarding their guardianship in the same manner you informed them
regarding their prayer, Zakāt, fasting, and Ḥajj. The Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt
be peace) took the hand of ʿAlī and raised it until the whiteness of their underarms became
apparent, he then said: ((O People! Am I not Awlā of you, then you over yourselves? They said:
Assuredly, O Messenger of Allāh. He said: Then, whomever I am his Mawlā ʿAlī is his Mawlā,
O Allāh be an ally to he who is an ally to him, and an enemy to he who has enmity towards him.
O Allāh support he who supports him, and desert he who deserts him; love he who loves him,
and hate he who hates him)).

❖ - Manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.

[Thirdly: What has been reported from al-Imām Zayd b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī
Ṭālib]:

5 - If they say the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) has designated,
however, we don’t know who he designated. Then, within the Qurʾān is what one can infer as to
who his successor is. This is because the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace) was the most virtuous of the people, and the most knowledgeable. Therefore, it is
necessary that his successor after him is the most virtuous, the most knowledgeable, the most
obedient of his command, the most deserving of his designation, and the most trustworthy to
him. Verily, Allāh, the Blessed, the Exalted has made superiority clear in His Book.
Therefore, the most superior according to the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl
al-Bayt be peace) is the one who Allāh has favored in His Book, and such a person is his
successor. This is because the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)
wouldn’t pick anyone other than who Allāh has chosen. Therefore, let us look at the Book of
Allāh to see who the elite, and favored are.
Thereafter, he (upon him be peace) said:

The guide cannot be anyone save the most knowledgeable, because Allāh, the Glorious, the
Exalted chose Muḥammad (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace), purified him, taught him,
and made him the leader, and the teacher. After him it was ʿAlī (upon him be peace) treading
on his path, the people needing him, while he did not need the people. For, Allāh, the Glorious,
the Exalted favored them over the creation in guidance, and obedience. Their being most
knowledgeable over the people is their ʿisma (safeguarding), so they never deviate from the
truth.

❖ - Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Imām Zayd b. ʿAlī.

6 - al-Imām Zayd b. ʿAlī (upon him be peace) said in his exegesis of the saying of Allāh, the
Exalted: {O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and
if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allāh will protect you from the
people} [5:67].

Zayd b. ʿAlī (upon him be peace) said: This is exclusively for ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (the blessings
of Allāh is upon him). As for: {Allāh will protect you from the people} it is that he will
safeguard him from them.

❖ - Tafsīr Gharīb al-Qurʾān.

[Fourthly: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Nafs al-Zakīyya Muḥammad b.
ʿAbdullāh b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace)]:

7 - al-Ḥāfiḍ Muḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kūfī narrated with his chain from Salm b. Waḍāḥ, he
said: We were with Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh, and he was asked by Mūʿlah b. Sulaimān
regarding the saying of the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace): ((You are to me
like Hārūn was to Mūsā)) what was intended by this? He said: The intent was that he is to be
obeyed in the same manner that the Prophet was obeyed in his life.

❖ - Manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.

8 - al-Imām Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh al-Nafs al-Zakīyya said in a treatise he wrote to his
companions, wherein he describes the state of hatred that some carry towards Amīr al-Muʾminīn
(upon him be peace), and his virtues towards the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace). He (upon him be peace) said: ((Allāh did not increase him by their saying except further
elevation, every time they slandered him the Qurʾān would praise him beautifully in a new verse
that is revealed, and in many verses within the Book of Allāh. Of his status the Muṣḥaf (Qurʾān)
would cause them to increase in grief, and in the past of what Allāh, Exalted is His
remembrance, [informed] that he is the master of the vicegerents)).

❖ - al-Maṣābīḥ fī al-Sīra.

[Fifthly: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Ṣādiq Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b.
al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace)]:

9 - al-Imām al-Muʾayyad bi-llāh Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Hārūnī narrated with chain from
ʾIbrāhīm b. Rajā al-Shaybānī, he said: It was said to Jaʿfar - al-Ṣādiq - b. Muḥammad: What did
the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) mean by His saying to ʿAlī on
the day of Ghadīr: ((Whomever I am his Mawlā, ʿAlī is his Mawlā. O Allāh be an ally to he who
is an ally to him, and an enemy to he who is an enemy to him)). He said: Jaʿfar sat up straight,
and then said: By Allāh, the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) was
asked about this himself: He said: Allāh is my Mawlā he is Awlā of me than myself, I don’t have
a saying ahead of Him. I am the Mawlā of the believers, and I am Awlā of them than themselves,
and they have no saying ahead of me. And, whoever I am his Mawlā, and whoever I am Awlā
over, and they have no saying ahead of me. Then ʿAlī is his Mawlā, he is Awlā of them, and
they have no saying ahead of him.))

❖ - al-Amālī al-Ṣughrā.

[Sixthly: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b.
Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace)]:

10 - al-Ḥāfiḍ Muḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kūfī narrated with his chain from Fuḍayl b. Mazrūq, he
said: I asked al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan: Did the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace) say to ʿAlī: Whomever I am his Mawlā, you are his Mawlā. He said: Yes. I said: What
does that mean? He said: Allāh made him a banner for the religion, a Maʿsūm (safeguarded
one) that does not err.

❖ - Manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.

[Seventhly: What has been reported from al-Imām Yaḥyā b. ʿAbdullāh b. al-Ḥasan b.
al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) d. after 170 AH ]:

11 - al-Imām Ṣaḥib al-Daylam Yaḥyā b. ʿAbdullāh b. al-Ḥasan (upon him be peace) said in a
sermon of his: ((So, when he delivered the message of his Lord, and Allāh fulfilled for him what
he promised him of the obedience of the servants, and the establishment within the lands. He
(upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) was called, so he answered, and went to the vicinity of
His Lord, and His graciousness. He advanced with great joy, and Allāh had forgiven him for all
his misdeeds, those that succeeded, and preceded. He promised him intercession, and a noble
abode. He left behind his progeny, and you placed them behind, and advanced other than them,
and you placed your affairs in the hands of other than them. Thereafter, we did not remain long,
until the wealth of his sons was taken as estate, and his daughter was oppressed, so she was
buried during the night. Among you his vicegerent, brother, cousin, and father of his children
was killed. Thereafter, his eldest grandson Abū Muḥammad was forsaken, wounded, and
poisoned)).

❖ - Aḳbār Faḳhḳh wā Yaḥyā b. ʿAbdullāh.

[Eighthly: al-Imām Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī

Ṭālib, and al-ʿAbīd ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib. and
al-Dāʿī al-Ḥusayn b. Zayd b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon them be the
blessings of Allāh)]:

12 - al-Ḥāfiḍ Muḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kūfī narrated with his chain, that it was narrated from
Abū Ṭāhir Aḥmad b. ʿĪsā, that he said: I was informed by my father, al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, Ḥusayn b.
Zayd, and Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar, that they said: ((The sons of Fāṭima (upon her be peace) have
reached a consensus regarding the vicegerency of ʿAlī)).

❖ - Manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.

[Ninthly: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Riḍā ʿAlī b. Mūsā b. Jaʿfar b.
Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) d. 203 AH ]:

13 - al-Imām ʿAlī b. Mūsā al-Riḍā (upon him be peace) said: And Allāh revealed the standard
bearer of his guidance, and the accuracy of his brothers vicegerency from the heavens, and
He ordered him to convey that. So, He said: {O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed
to you from your Lord}. Meaning convey the vicegerency after the message, and {If you fail to
do that, you have not fulfilled the task of His messengership. Allāh will certainly protect
you from the people} [5:67].

❖ - Rafʿ al-Khaṣāṣa.

[Tenthly: What has been reported from al-Imām Aḥmad b. ʿĪsā b. Zayd b. ʿAlī (upon him
be peace) d. 240 AH]:

14 - al-Imām Aḥmad b. ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) was asked regarding the vicegerency of Amīr
al-Muʾminīn, is it an obligation like the remainder of the obligations? He said: ((Yes, due to
the call of the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) regarding it)).

❖ - Jāmʿ ʿUlūm āl-Muḥammad.

15 - And al-Imām Aḥmad b. ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) said: ((T he Messenger of Allāh (upon
him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) designated the most Awlā of the people. The most
superior, and most knowledgeable according to Allāh, and him, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him
be the blessings of Allāh))).

❖ - Jāmʿ ʿUlūm āl-Muḥammad.

16 - And al-Imām Aḥmad b. ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) said: ((We follow Amīr al-Muʾminīn in
what is apparent, and unclear. We necessitate infallibility for him, and none else from the nation
possesses this. If a man were to forsake a deed of his, or forsake his authority upon any
matter, we will forsake him)).

❖ - Jāmʿ ʿUlūm āl-Muḥammad.

The intent of the Imām (upon him be peace) is not to negate infallibility for anyone other than
Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) from his Ahl al-Bayt, rather he is addressing those who
are other than the people of the cloak.
al-Imām Aḥmad b. ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) said regarding the two Imāms, al-Ḥasan, and
al-Husyan, the blessings of Allāh is upon them when asked: Is there a man whose testimony
alone is accepted? He (upon him be peace) said: ((No, only ʿAlī , al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn. So, it
was said: Why is that? He said: Because they are infallible)).

❖ Jāmʿ ʿUlūm āl-Muḥammad.

[The Eleventh: What has been reported from the Star of the Ahl al-Bayt al-Qāsim al-Rassī
b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him
be peace) (169 - 264 AH)]:

17- al-Imām al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm al-Rassī (upon him be peace) said from what was narrated by
his grandson al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusayn b. al-Qāsim. He said: it was
narrated to me from my father [al-Ḥusayn] from his father [al-Qāsim al-Rassī] that he was asked
regarding the Imāma of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, the Mercy of Allāh is upon him. Is it an obligation
from Allāh? He said: Such do we say, and such do the scholars from the Ahl al-Bayt of the
Messenger upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace say. They agree upon this unanimously
with no differentiation)).

❖ al-Aḥkām fī al-Ḥalāl wā al-Ḥarām.

[The Twelfth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Ḥasan b. Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b.
Zayd b. ʿAlī (upon him be peace) (274 AH)]:

18 - al-Imām al-Ḥasan b. Yaḥyā (upon him be peace) said: ((ʿAlī was an obligation from
among the obligations of Allāh, the Messenger of Allāh (upon him be the blessings of Allāh)
designated him. This is because Allāh, the Exalted, says: {O believers! Obey Allāh and obey
the Messenger and those in authority among you} [4:59]. Allāh obligated in the Book, His
obedience, the obedience of His Messenger, and the obedience of those who are of authority, and
he said: {If they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them,
then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it}
[4:83]. And He said: {Surely Allāh enjoins justice, kindness and the doing of good to kith
and kin…} [16:90]. And He said: {Indeed, the most worthy of ʾIbrāhīm among the people
are those who followed him and this prophet, and those who believe. And Allāh is the ally
of the believers} [3:68]. Thereafter, He indicated that the Imām of the believers, and their master
is ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, He said to His Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace): {O
Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not,
then you have not delivered His message, and Allāh will protect you from the people}
[5:67]. So, when Jibrāʾīl descended with this verse, and ordered that he delivers what has
been revealed to him from his Lord. He took the hand of ʿAlī (upon him be the blessings of
Allāh) and raised it, and clarified his authority over every Muslim. He raised his hand [so
high] that the people were able to see the whiteness of their underarms, and that was during the
final stages of his life when he returned from the farewell pilgrimage leaving towards al-Madīna.
He announced that the prayer is congregational, and he did not say that the prayer is
congregational in any of the obligations except on the day of Ghadīr Khumm, he then said: ((O
People! Am I not more Awlā of you, then you are for yourselves - he would repeat that three
times, so as to ensure their obedience and increase them in clarity - they said, assuredly! He said:
Whomever I am his Mawlā, ʿAlī is his Mawlā. O Allāh be an ally to whomever is his ally, and
enemy to whomever is his enemy, a supporter to whomever supports him, and a forsaker of
whoever forsakes him)).

So, the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) obligated the same
obedience to him, that he obligated of himself. He made his enemy his, and his ally his. He
made him a banner for the religion of Allāh, through him the enemies, and ally’s of Allāh are
known. Therefore, the authority, and support for ʿAlī was incumbent upon the people in the same
manner that it was for the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace).

Therefore, he who adheres to him, and obeys him is an ally of Allāh. He who displays enmity
towards him is an enemy of Allāh. He who disobeys him, and opposed him, and withholds from
him his great right which Allāh has raised has disobeyed Allāh, and His Messenger)).

❖ Jāmʿ ʿUlūm āl-Muḥammad.

Note: Here, it necessitates that one is aware of the Naṣṣ, and denies it out of refusal for the
position, and Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace).

[The Thirteenth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b.
al-Ḥusayn b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī
b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 298 AH) ]:

19 - al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusayn (upon him be peace) said: ((We believe
that Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, upon him be the blessings of Allāh, is the greatest
from among the nation after their Prophet upon him be peace. [This is] due to his obedience
of his Lord, his sacrifices, and his exertion for the service of Allāh, and His Messenger, upon him
be peace. It is out of his nearness to the Messenger of the Most Merciful, and his knowledge of
what Allāh has revealed in the Qurʾān. His piety in this world, and the famous sayings of the
Messenger of Allāh upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace regarding him, on the day of
Ghadīr Khumm: ((Whomever I am his Mawlā, ʿAlī is his Mawlā. O Allāh be an ally to
whomever is his ally, and enemy to whomever is his enemy, a forsaker of whoever forsakes him,
and a supporter of whoever supports him)), and for his saying: ((ʿAlī is to me like Hārūn was to
Mūsā, except that there is no Prophet after me)).

❖ Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq.

[The Fourteenth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Nāṣir al-Uṭrūsh al-Ḥasan b.
ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. ʿUmar b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusyan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be
peace) (d. 304 AH)]:

20 - al-Imām al-Nāṣir al-Uṭrūsh al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (upon him be peace) said: ((We have narrated
this report from varying sources that he (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) said to Abī
Bakr when he returned to him, and he inquired regarding that. He said: Jibrāʾīl (upon him be
peace) came to me, and said: Your Lord sends His salutations to you, and decrees: ((None will
fulfil a matter on behalf of you, except for you, or a man from you)). Intending ʿAlī (upon him be
peace). And within this report is the most astounding of what is astounding, and the most clear
evidence for the Imāma of ʿAlī (upon him be peace). For, the Isnād is to Abī Bakr b. Abī
Quḥāfa, from the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace), from Jibrāʾīl
(upon him be peace), from Allāh, the Exalted; that ʿAlī is from the Messenger of Allāh, and he is
the one who acts upon his behalf, that Abā Bakr is not from the Messenger of Allāh, nor does he
act upon his behalf (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace). If Abū Bakr does not report from
the Messenger of Allāh to the servants Ṣūrah Barāʾa, then he is for the entirety of the
obligations of Allāh, and His religion of a lesser authority)).

❖ al-Muḥīt bil-Imāma.

[The Fifteenth: What has reached us from al-Imām al-Murtaḍā Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā b.
al-Ḥusayn b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib
(upon him be peace), d. 310AH]:

21 - al-Imām al-Murtaḍā Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā (upon him be peace) said: ((Then, you are to
know after that, that Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib is the brother of
the Messenger of Allāh, his vicegerent, and the best from among the creation after him. He is
the most knowledgeable of what Muḥammad (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) came
with, and the most active in fulfilling the right of Allāh. He is the foremost in fighting against the
enemies of Allāh under the [banner] of the Messenger of Allāh, and regarding him Allāh has
said: {Only Allāh is your Guardian and His Messenger and those who believe, those who
keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow} [5:55]. The one who paid the
poor-rate - while bowing - was ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, exclusively from the entirety of the creation,
and regarding him is what the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) has
said on the day of Ghadīr Khumm: ((Whomever I am his Mawlā, ʿAlī is his Mawlā. O Allāh be
an ally to whomever is his ally, and enemy to whomever is his enemy, a supporter to whomever
supports him, and a forsaker of whoever forsakes him)). Everyone was gathered listening to the
words of the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) while he was raising
the hand of ʿAlī (upon him be peace), to the extent that the whiteness of their underarms could
be seen, and he would call out with this saying.

He has also said regarding him: ((ʿAlī is to me like Hārūn was to Mūsā, except there is no
Prophet after me)), and he would say: ((ʿAlī is with the truth, and the truth is with ʿAlī )).

❖ Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Imām al-Murtaḍā Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā: 2/710.

[The Sixteenth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh al-Qāsim b. ʿAlī
b. ʿAbdullāh b. Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b.
al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. 393 AH) ]:

22 - al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh al-Qāsim b. ʿAlī al-ʿAyānī (upon him be peace) said: ((In the
same way that there is no difference between Hārūn, and ʿAlī (upon him be peace) except for
Prophethood, due to the say saying of the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace):
((ʿAlī is to me like Hārūn was to Mūsā, except there is no Prophet after me)). As for Hārūn
(upon him be peace) Mūsā had left him in authority, in the same manner that Muḥammad left
ʿAlī (upon them be peace) in authority. ʿAlī was rejected in the same way Hārūn was rejected,
so there is no difference between ʿAlī, and Hārūn)).

❖ Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Imām al-Qāsim al-ʿAyānī.

[The Seventeenth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Mahdī li-Dīn Allah al-Ḥusyan
b. al-Qāsim b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbdullāh b. Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b.
ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 404 AH) ]:

23 - al-Imām al-Mahdī li-Dīn Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. al-Qāsim al-ʿAyānī (upon him be peace) said:
((So, when He sealed with him Prophethood, and raised him from the earth, and purified him,
seizing his soul, and giving him glad-tidings. Allāh left for his nation, and bestowed upon the
creation his brother, vicegerent, beloved, and successor. The nearest, dearest, purest, son in
law, and vizier. His kindred, Amīr al-Muʾminīn, the slayer of the Nākathīn (allegiance breakers)).

❖ Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Imām al-Husay b. al-Qāsim al-ʿAyānī.

[The Eighteenth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Muʾayyad Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusyan
b. Hārūn b. al-Ḥusyan b. Muḥammad b. Hārūn b. Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim b. al-Ḥasan b.
Zayd b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, (d. 411 AH) ]:

24 - al-Imām al-Muʾayyad bi-llāh Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Hārūni (upon him be peace): ((If a
questioner asks, saying: Who is the Imām for you after the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and
his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)? It is said to him: He is Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon
him be peace), then we say al-Ḥasan, and then al-Ḥusayn (upon them be peace). We infer the
Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) from the saying of the Prophet (upon
him and his Ahl al-Bayt be the blessings of Allāh) on the day of Ghadīr, wherein he said to
the nation: ((Who is Awlā over you, then you are over yourselves? They said: Allāh, and His
Messenger - then the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) said -
Whomever I am his MAwlā, ʿAlī is his MAwlā)). He maintained that the obedience of the
nation for him is incumbent upon them, and he established for ʿAlī (upon him be peace)
what was established for him. Therefore, the obedience of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be
peace) is obligatory upon the nation. If his obligatory obedience is established, then his
Imāma is established)).

❖ al-Tabṣira.

[The Nineteenth: What has been reported from al-Imām Manekdīm al-Muṣtaḍhir bi-llāh
Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusyan b. Abī Hāshim Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b.
al-Imām Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. ʿUmar al-Ashraf b.
ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusyan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon them be peace) (d. After 420 AH) ]:

25 - al-Imām al-Muṣtaḍhir bi-llāh Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn (upon him be peace) said in addressing
the creed of the Zaydīyya: ((As for the fourth section, and it is to do with the evidence for
Imāma, it is a matter which has been disputable. For us, it is Naṣṣ for the three Imāms, and
calling to one’s Imāma, and rising for the remainder. As for the Muʿtazila it is a pact, and choice,
and upon such the Mujbirah have [also] adhered)).

❖ Sharḥ al-Uṣūl al-Ḳamṣʾa: 753.

[The Twentieth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Muttawakil ʿAlā Allah Aḥmad
b. Sulaimān b. Muḥammad b. al-Muṭṭahar b. ʿAlī b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. al-Imām
al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b.
al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 556 AH) ]:

26 - al-Imām al-Muttawakil ʿAlā Allāh Aḥmad b. Sulaimān (upon him be peace) said: ((If it is
said: What makes you deny that this verse is generally referring to all the believers? We say:
That is not concordant, because Allāh mentioned the guardian, and the one who is subordinate to
the guardian. He referred to the one who is subordinate to the guardian by saying: {Only Allāh is
your guardian and His Messenger and those who believe}. So, it became sound to say that the
one who is a guardian is unlike the one who has a guardian, therefore, it is established that the
verse is specific for ʿAlī (upon him be peace) as none other than him [could] claim it, nor
was there anyone other than him who paid the poor-rate while bowing as per the consensus of the
nation. So, it is established that he is most rightful of the Imāma, because Allāh, the
Exalted, placed him as the guardian of the believers in the place of the Messenger of Allāh
(upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace))).

❖ Ḥaqāʾq al-Maʿrifa.

[The Twenty-first: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b.
Ḥamza b. Sulaimān b. Ḥamza b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamza b. al-Imām al-Nafs al-Zakīyya al-Ḥasan b.
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Yaḥyā b. ʿAbdullāh b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b.
ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, (d. 614 AH) ]:

27 - al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥamza (upon him be peace) said: ((As for the
Imāma of ʿAlī (upon him be peace) it is established by Naṣṣ for him, and his sons (upon them
be peace) and the Naṣṣ for them is well-known)).

❖ al-Riṣāla al-Nāfīʿa bī al-ʾAdila al-Wāḍīḥa.

28 - al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥamza (upon him be peace) said: ((As for the
beliefs in Uṣūl, the position of the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace) is one, and they do not
differ in a single matter that pertains to their Uṣūl. The Isnād of our creed is to the Messenger
of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace). It is incumbent upon us to mention it, so I
shall say: My father informed me that we have received, and [were] taught with Adl, Tawhid, the
truthfulness of the promise, and the threat [of Allāh], Prophethood, and the Imāma of ʿAlī b. Abī
Ṭālib (upon him be peace) after the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)
instantaneously, and for his sons al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn (upon them be peace) by Naṣṣ.
Afterwards, the Imāma is for whomever rises, and calls to themselves from their sons, and acts
upon their example, and follows in their footsteps, like Zayd b. ʿAlī (upon him be peace), and
those who followed from the purified ʿitra (upon them be peace)).

❖ al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā.

[The Twenty Second: What has been reported from al-Amīr al-Ḥusyan b. Badr al-Dīn
Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā b. al-Nāṣir b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAbdullāh b. al-Imām
al-Muntaṣir bi-llāh Muḥammad b. al-Imām al-Muḳtār al-Qāsim b. al-Imām Aḥmad b.
al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq al-Qawim Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b.
ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, (d. 662 AH) ]:

29 - al-Amīr al-Ḥusayn b. Badr al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Aḥmad (upon him be peace) said: ((If it is
said: Who is the first Imām after the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace), and the most rightful from the nation to inherit him instantaneously? Say: It is Amīr
al-Muʾminīn, and the master of the vicegerents ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib. If it is said: That is a claim,
where is your proof? Say: The Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the ʿitra)).

❖ al-ʿAqd al-Thamīn.

[The Twenty Third: What has been reported from al-Sayyid al-ʿAllāma al-Muḥaqiq
Ḥumaydān b. Yaḥyā b. Ḥumaydān b. al-Qāsim b. al-Ḥasan b. ʾIbrāhīm b. Sulaimān b.
al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh al-Qāsim b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbdullāh b. Muḥammad b, al-Qāsim b.
ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be
peace)]:

30 - al-Sayyid al-ʿAllāma Ḥumaydān b. Yaḥyā al-Qāsimī (upon him be peace) said: ((As for his
saying: ʿAlī (upon him be peace) is not from the ʿitra, the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt
be peace) has deemed him a liar by causing ʿAlī (upon him be peace) to be of the Ahl al-Bayt in
the report of the cloak, and there is no difference between his ʿitra, and Ahl al-Bayt regarding
that matter. Moreover, the Imāma of ʿAlī (upon him be peace) is established by Naṣṣ, and the
Naṣṣ for the ʿitra does not invalidate the Naṣṣ for the vicegerent)).

❖ Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Sayyid Ḥumaydān.

[The Twenty Fourth: What has been reported from al-ʿAllāma Ṣalāḥ b. ʾIbrāhīm b. Tājj
al-Dīn b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā b. Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā b. al-Nāṣir b.
al-Ḥasan b. al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b. al-Imām al-Muntaṣir li-Dīn Allah
Muḥammad b. al-Imām al-Qāsim al-Muḳtār b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. al-Imām
al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b.
al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. After 702 AH) ]:

31 - al-Sayyid al-ʿAllāma al-Muḥaqiq Ṣalāḥ b. Taj al-Dīn said: ((As for the evidence of the
consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt regarding the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be the
blessings of Allāh) we will address that matter in two instances. The first is: The family of
Muḥammad have reached a consensus regarding that. The second is: Their consensus is a
binding proof which is obligatory to follow. As for their consensus regarding that matter, it is
clearer than needing to be mentioned, and all are aware of it, from the friend to the foe)).

❖ al-Kawākib al-Darrīya fī al-Nuṣūṣ ʿAlā Khayr al-Barīyya.

[The Twenty-fifth: What has been reported from al-Imām AL-Muʾayyad bi-llāh Yaḥyā b.
Ḥamza b. ʿAlī b. ʾIbrāhīm b. Yūsuf b. ʿAlī b. ʾIbrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. ʾIdrīs
b. Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Mūsā b. Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b.
al-Ḥusyan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. 749 AH) ]:

32 - al-Imām al-Muʾayyad bi-llāh Yaḥyā b. Ḥamza (upon him be peace) said after presenting the
evidence from the Imāms of the ʿitra regarding the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be
peace): ((As for what the opponents relate of questions, and doubts regarding his Imāma by
Naṣṣ. Our companions have not satisfied them in response to their inferences, rather they have
authored treatises in response, so we have followed in their example. If Allāh grants us the
time, we will address their arguments against these textual proofs [of designation], and
answer them. We shall, by the will of Allāh, the Exalted, explain them with a satisfactory
explanation)).

❖ al-Tamhīd fī Sharḥ Maʿālim al-ʿAdl wa-l Tawḥīd: 2/585.

[The Twenty-sixth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Hādī b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʿAlī b.
al-Murtaḍā b. al-Faḍl b. Manṣūr b. Muḥammad al-ʿAfīf b. al-Faḍl al-Kabīr b. ʿAbdullāh b.
ʿAlī b. Yaḥyā b. al-Qāsim b. al-Imām Yūsuf b. al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh Yaḥyā b.
al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim
b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him
be peace), (d. 822 AH)]:

33 - al-Sayyid al-Imām al-Hādī b. ʾIbrāhīm al-Wazīr (upon him be peace) said: ((And I say: If
the individual were to reflect upon what our Imāms, and scholars have authored, they will find
that they are concordant with what is told of the consensus of the ʿitra regarding the
Imāma of ʿAlī (upon him be peace). Those who have succeeded are known to relay what the
Salaf (predecessors) have held of this consensus in every era, and time, from our time today up
until the first century of Islām, ending at those who were contemporary to the vicegerent (upon
him be peace) from the purified Ahl al-Bayt)).

❖ Nihāyat al-Tanwīh fī Izhāq al-Tamwīh.

[The Twenty-Seventh: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq ʿIz
al-Dīn b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Imām ʿAlī b. al-Muʾayyad b. Jibrīl b. faqīh āl-Muḥammad
al-Muʾayyad b. Turjumān al-Dīn Aḥmad, the one with the epithet, al-Mahdī b. al-Amīr
Shamṣ al-Dīn al-Dāʿī ʾilā Allah Yaḥyā b. Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā b. al-Nāṣir b. al-Ḥasan
b. al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b. al-Imām al-Muntaṣir li-Dīn Allah Muḥammad b.
al-Imām al-Qāsim al-Muḳtār b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq
Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan
b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. 900 AH) ]:

34 - al-Sayyid al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq ‘ʿIz al-Dīn b. al-Ḥasan (upon him be peace) said
when explaining the words of al-ʿAllāma al-Qurshī: ((For us, it is, Naṣṣ, Waṣīya, Tafḍīl, isma,
and the consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt). Meaning these are the proofs which indicate his Imāma
(upon him be peace), and the first kind of them is Naṣṣ which is predicated upon varying
evidence from the Qurʾān, and the reports. The many reports which have been mentioned
regarding him (upon him be peace) are what establish his superiority, and Imāma)).

❖ Kashf Aṣrār al-Minhāj: 4/425.

[The Twenty Eighth: What has been reported from al-Sayyid, the Hafid of Yemen, Sarim
al-Dīn ʾIbrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh b. al-Hādī b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʿAlī b. al-Murtaḍā
b. al-Faḍl Manṣūr b. Muḥammad al-ʿAfīf b. al-Faḍl al-Kabīr b. ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAlī b. Yaḥyā
b. al-Qāsim b. al-Imām Yūsuf b. al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh Yaḥyā b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir
Aḥmad b. al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b.
ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d.
912 AH)]:

35 - al-Sayyid al-Ḥāfiḍ Ṣārim al-Dīn ʾIbrāhīm b. Muḥammad al-Wazīr said: ((Upon him, and his
Ahl al-Bayt be peace, and upon his brother, vicegerent, beloved, and successor. The first to have
believed him from the Muslims, and the best of his nation in their entirety. He is his caliph after
him, by the clear Naṣṣ. He is his unsheathed sword, ʿAlī al-Murtaḍā! And upon his daughter
Fāṭima al-Zahra, the leading light of the women of the world)).

❖ Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār, al-Falak al-Dawār.

[The Twenty-Ninth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh al-Qāsim b.
Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. al-Rashid b. Aḥmad b. al-Amīr al-Ḥusyan
al-Amlaḥī b. ʿAlī b. Yaḥyā b. Muḥammad b. Yūsuf al-Ashal b. al-Qāsim b. al-Imām
al-Dāʿī ʾilā Allah Yūsuf b. al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh Yaḥyā b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b.
al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b.
ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. 1029 AH) ]:

36 - al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad (upon him be peace) said after
mentioning that the way to Imāma is legislative, meaning from [Allāh] the Wise Legislator. He
mentioned the report of Ghadīr, and that it was from those legislative proofs that Amīr
al-Muʾminīn was designated as an Imām (upon him be peace): ((And what indicates his Imāma
(upon him be peace) from the Sunnah is his saying (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace):
((Am I not more Awlā over you, than you are over yourselves, and you do not have a say in a
matter ahead of me?! They said: Assuredly, O Messenger of Allāh. So, he said: ((Whomever I
am his MAwlā, ʿAlī is his MAwlā. O Allāh support he who supports him, be an enemy to he
who displays enmity towards him, a granter of victory to he who aids him, and a forsaker to he
who forsakes him)).

❖ Kitāb al-Aṣāṣ lī ʿAqāʾd al-Akyāṣ: 158.

37 - al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad (upon him be peace) said after
mentioning the Ḥadīth of Ghadīr: ((Therefore, how can one be excused after this Naṣṣ in
opposing ʿAlī ? And with what shall one meet Allāh if they were not aids, and supporters of
him?!)).

❖ Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Imām al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad.

[The Thirtieth: What has been reported from al-ʿAllāma Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b.
al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b.
al-Rashid b. Aḥmad b. al-Amīr al-Ḥusyan al-Amlaḥī b. ʿAlī b. Yaḥyā b. Muḥammad b.
Yūsuf al-Ashal b. al-Qāsim b. al-Imām al-Dāʿī ʾilā Allah Yūsuf b. al-Imām al-Manṣūr
bi-llāh Yaḥyā b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b.
al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī
b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. 1079 AH) ]:

38 - al-ʿAllāma Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan (upon him be peace) said: ((The one who is rightful for
the Imāma after him (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) is: The prince of the believers, and
the Master of the vicegerents ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (may Allāh ennoble his face in paradise), due to
the apparent reports of designation, and mass-transmitted virtues)).

❖ Sabīl al-Rashād ʾilā Maʿrifat Rabb al-ʿIbād.

[The thirty first: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh ʾIbrāhīm b.
Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. ʿIz al-Dīn b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Imām ʿIz al-Dīn b. al-Ḥasan
b. al-Imām ʿAlī b. al-Muʾayyad b. Jibrīl b. faqīh āl-Muḥammad al-Muʾayyad b. Turjumān
al-Dīn Aḥmad, the one with the epithet, al-Mahdī b. al-Amīr Shamṣ al-Dīn al-Dāʿī ʾilā
Allah Yaḥyā b. Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā b. al-Nāṣir b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh
ʿAbdullāh b. al-Imām al-Muntaṣir li-Dīn Allah Muḥammad b. al-Imām al-Qāsim
al-Muḳtār b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan
b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib
(upon him be peace), (d. 1083 AH)]:

39 - al-Imām al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh ʾIbrāhīm b. Muḥammad al-Muʾayyadī (upon him be peace)
said: ((The Imāma after the Messenger of Allāh instantaneously is for ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, and
this is the saying of the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace)). He (upon him be peace) then said:
((The evidence for us regarding that is the Naṣṣ, and Waṣīya, and the Tafḍīl, and ʿIṣma,
and the consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace). Certainly, sufficient is that of
evidence. As for the Naṣṣ, it is His saying, the Exalted: {Only Allāh is your Guardian and His
Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while
they bow} [5:55]. The inference from this verse is that it was revealed regarding ʿAlī (upon him
be peace) exclusively, for Allāh established guardianship for him in the same manner that He
established it for Himself, and for His Messenger. As for guardianship here, it is the authority in
action, and that is the meaning of Imāma)). And he went on to mention the other proofs for the
Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace).

❖ al-Iṣbāḥ ʿAlā al-Miṣbāḥ.

[The thirty second: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Mutawakkil ʿAlāAllah
ʾIsmāʿīl b. al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b.
ʿAlī b. al-Rashid b. Aḥmad b. al-Amīr al-Ḥusyan al-Amlaḥī b. ʿAlī b. Yaḥyā b.
Muḥammad b. Yūsuf al-Ashal b. al-Qāsim b. al-Imām al-Dāʿī ʾilā Allah Yūsuf b. al-Imām
al-Manṣūr bi-llāh Yaḥyā b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq
Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan
b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. 1087 AH) ]:

40 - al-Imām al-Mutawakkil ʿAlā Allāh ʾIsmāʿīl b. al-Qāsim (upon him be peace) said when
speaking of the Imāma of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace), his rightfulness to it, and that
it is from Allāh, the Exalted, over the believers: ((Verily, Allāh has limited guardianship to the
believers by His saying, the Exalted: {Only Allāh is your Guardian and His Messenger and
those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow} [5:55].
The guardianship - which is the Imāma - is for the one whom Allāh has given to, and
described him as giving charity while bowing, and none have done that except for Amīr
al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace))).

❖ al-ʿAqīda al-Ṣaḥīḥa.

[The thirty third: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Mahdī Muḥammad b.
al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusyan b. ʿAlī b.
ʿAbdullāh b. Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusyan b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbdullāh b. Muḥammad b. al-Imām
al-Muʾayyad bi-llāh Yaḥyā b. Ḥamza b. ʿAlī b. ʾIbrāhīm b. Yūsuf b. ʿAlī b. ʾIbrāhīm b.
Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. ʾIdrīs b. Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Mūsā b. Jaʿfar b.
Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusyan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. 1319 AH) ]:

41 - al-Imām al-Mahdī Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim (upon him be peace) said: ((It has been
established that the ʿitra (upon them be peace) have reached a consensus that he (upon him
and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) had designated ʿAlī (upon him be peace) and their consensus
is a definitive binding proof)).

❖ al-Mawʿḍa al-Ḥasana.
[The thirty fourth: What has been reported from al-Imām al-Mujadid Majd al-Dīn b.
Muḥammad b. Manṣūr b. Aḥmad b. ʿAbdullāh b. Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥasan b. Yaḥyā b. ʿAbdullāh
b. ʿAlī b. Ṣalāḥ b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Imām ʿIz al-Dīn b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Imām ʿAlī b.
al-Muʾayyad b. Jibrīl b. faqīh āl-Muḥammad al-Muʾayyad b. Turjumān al-Dīn Aḥmad, the
one with the epithet, al-Mahdī b. al-Amīr Shamṣ al-Dīn al-Dāʿī ʾilā Allah Yaḥyā b. Aḥmad
b. Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā b. al-Nāṣir b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b. al-Imām
al-Muntaṣir li-Dīn Allah Muḥammad b. al-Imām al-Qāsim al-Muḳtār b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir
Aḥmad b. al-Imām al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b.
ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d.
1428 AH)]:

42 - al-Imām Majd al-Dīn al-Muʾayyadī (upon him be peace) said: ((The proof from the report of
al-Ghadīr, al-Manzila, and others from the verses, and reports which are clearer than the
afternoon sun, by statement, deed, and status regarding his Imāma (upon him be the
blessing of Allāh), and his infallibility. The bindingness of his proof is as clear as a beacon of
light, an illuminating sun, and shining moon for those of perception)).

❖ Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār.

43 - al-Imām Majd al-Dīn al-Muʾayyadī (upon him be peace) said in addressing the verse of
guardianship: ((As for the verse of guardianship, and it is His saying, the Mighty, the Glorious:
{Only Allāh is your Guardian and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up
prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow} [5:55]. The Ahl al-Bayt of the Messenger
(upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) have reached a consensus regarding it being
revealed for the vicegerent (upon him be peace). al-Imām al-al-Aʿḍam al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq
al-Aqwam (upon him be peace) said regarding the context of the verse: That was referring to
Amīr al-Muʾminīn, as opposed to the entirety of the Muslims. And al-Imām Abū Ṭālib (upon
him be peace) said in Ziyādat Sharḥ al-Uṣūl: Regarding it is the mass-transmitted reports which
sever any excuses, that the verse was revealed for Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace). And
al-Imām Aḥmad b. Sulaimān (upon him be peace) said: The Ṣaḥāba (companions), and the
Tābīʿūn (predecessors) did not differ that he was the one referred to by this verse. And al-Imām
al-Manṣūr bi-llāh (upon him be peace) mentioned the consensus of the people of Naql that the
one intended is the vicegerent, and he mentioned the consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt regarding
that, al-Imām al-Ḥasan b. Badr al-Dīn, al-Amīr al-Ḥusayn, al-Amīr Ṣalāḥ b. al-Imām ʾIbrāhīm b.
Taj al-Dīn, al-Imām al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad (upon them be peace), and many others beside
them)).

❖ Muqadamat al-Maṣābīḥ fī al-Sīra.

[The thirty fifth: What has been reported from al-Sayyid al-ʿAllāma Najm al-Muḥammad
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ḥusyan b. Muḥammad b. Mahdī b. Muḥammad b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. Yaḥyā b.
Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Dāwūd b. al-Hādī b. Aḥmad b. al-Hādī b.
al-Imām ʿIz al-Dīn b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Imām ʿAlī b. al-Muʾayyad b. Jibrīl b. faqīh
āl-Muḥammad al-Muʾayyad b. Turjumān al-Dīn Aḥmad, the one with the epithet,
al-Mahdī b. al-Amīr Shamṣ al-Dīn al-Dāʿī ʾilā Allah Yaḥyā b. Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā b.
al-Nāṣir b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b. al-Imām al-Muntaṣir li-Dīn Allah
Muḥammad b. al-Imām al-Qāsim al-Muḳtār b. al-Imām al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. al-Imām
al-Hādī ʾilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusyan b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. ʾIsmāʿīl b. ʾIbrāhīm b.
al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), (d. 1434 AH) ]:

45 - al-Sayyid al-ʿAllāma ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ḥusayn Shāyim al-Muʾayyadī (upon him be peace)
said: ((al-Nadīm (may Allāh have mercy on him) denied matters such as: The delaying of the
vicegerent from his position, and their denial of those explicit reports. And we will negate
that matter from them)).

❖ Rafʿal-Ḳaṣāṣa.

[The Thirty sixth: What has been reported from al-Sayyid al-ʿAllāma al-Mujtahid
Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh ʿAwḍ al-Ḍaḥyānī al-Muʾayyadī al-Ḥasani, may Allah preserve
him, and keep him upon goodness]:

46 - al-Sayyid al-ʿAllāma Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh ʿAwḍ (upon him be peace) said when
speaking on the Imāma: ((As for the Imāma of the three, and they are: ʿAlī , and the Ḥasanayn, it
is established by Naṣṣ. The Imāma after them is limited to the sons of al-Ḥasanayn)).

❖ al-Markab al-Nafīs.

These are the sayings of ʿitra, from the greats of the sons of al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn, in their
varying eras, and places as can be deduced from the sources. The intent here is not to confine the
sources to these, for if one were to reflect over the works of the great Imāms, they will find what
is sufficient, and satisfactory by the will of Allāh. Therein, the consensus of the ʿitra is apparent
to you, that al-Imām Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) is an Imām by
Naṣṣ, as per the evidence of those Qurʾānic verses, and Muḥammadan reports.

The Qurʾān, and Sunnah are legislatively binding proofs, and the consensus of the ʿitra is a
legislatively binding proof, so the matter becomes evident. The researcher, and seeker cannot be
unaware of this, as well as the questioner who follows the path of those who lead to salvation as
the authentic, and mass-transmitted report of Thaqalayn between the nation indicated to.
With this, our speech concludes regarding the second section of this research, by the grace of
Allāh.

The Third section: Addressing the Silence of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace)
towards those who advanced him, and the reasons for that:

Within this third section, we will address - by the will of Allāh - the position of Amīr
al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) towards those who advanced him, not from the point of
passing judgment on the particular individuals, for that is not in line with the question at hand,
and our intent with this research. Rather, what is sought is the reason for his silence (upon him be
peace) towards those who advanced him.

I will answer with broad responses which are holistic, and then made it upon myself to return to
the sayings of the Imāms of the ʿitra, and the works of the people of knowledge, so as to delve
into the essence of the question. So, you will find me presenting what will - by the grace of Allāh
- remove the confusion from the questioner, and satiate their thirst by the aid of the spring of the
purified progeny. Before I delve into the topic of this section, I find that it is necessary to divide
this section into three parts, of them is:

The First Part: The Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) informed
Amīr al-Muʾminīn of what shall occur to him of tribulation regarding the matter of
Imāma:

The Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) informed Amīr al-Muʾminīn
(upon him be peace) that he will be overpowered when it comes to the matter of Imāma, and
guardianship after him. This has been established through the varying Shīʿī Islāmic sources, from
other than the chain of the Zaydīs al-Ḥākim al-Nīṣābūrī narrates with his chain, from Abī ʾIdrīs
al-ʿAwdī, from ʿAlī (Allāh is pleased with him), he said: ((From what the Prophet (upon him and
his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) decreed to me, the nation will betray me after him)). Then, al-Ḥākim
said: This narration has an authentic Isnad, and they did not transmit it3, intending al-Bukhārī,
and Muslim. al-al-Baghdādī narrated it,4 and al-Ṣuyūṭī said: ((It was transmitted by Abū Yaʿlā,
al-Ḥākim authenticated it, and al-Bayḥaqī, and Abū Naʿīm from ʿAlī , that he said: From what
the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) decreed to me, the nation will betray me
after him)).5

3
al-Mustadrak ʿAlā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn: 3/150.
4
Tārīkh Baghdād: 11/216.
5
al-Ḳaṣāʾṣ al-Kubrā: 2/235.
And al-Bazzār narrated with his chain, from Thaʿlaba b. Yazīd, from his father, he said: I heard
ʿAlī say on the Minbar: ((By Allāh, it was the decree of the Ummī Prophet to me, the nation
will betray me)).6 It was also narrated by al-Imām al-Qāsim al-Rassī (upon him be peace) with a
Mursal chain, he said: ((And ʿAlī also said when he was on the Minbar: ((It was the decree of
the Ummī Prophet to me, the nation will betray me after him)).7 These narrations from the
Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) are known to have certainly been
fulfilled upon Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) starting from the Imāma, and moving to
the rise of the Nākathīn (the people of Jamal), Qāṣitīn (the people of Ṣiffīn), Marikin (the
Khawārij), and concluding with his killing (upon him be peace) in the Miḥrāb.

Of those Muḥammadan reports wherein he (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) informed
Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) that he will encounter strife after him is what al-Ḥākim
al-Nīṣābūrī narrated with his chain from Ibn Abbas (may Allāh be pleased with them), that he
said: The Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) said to ʿAlī : ((As for you, you will
face strife after me. He said: Will my religion be intact?! He said: Your religion will be intact)).
al-Ḥākim said: This is an authentic Ḥadīth as per the condition of the two Shaykhs, and they did
not transmit it.8

Truly, Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) faced great tribulation, and strife after his death
(upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace), due to the advancement of other than him ahead of
him, and distancing from his right which was given to him from Allāh, the Exalted, and His
Messenger (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace). This report was narrated by Ibn Abī
Shayba,9 and of it is also what was narrated by al-Bazzār with his chain, from Abī ʿUthmān
al-Nihdī, from ʿAlī , he said: ((I was walking with the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl
al-Bayt be peace) and he was holding my hand. We passed by a garden, so I said: O Messenger
of Allāh, what a beautiful garden this is. He said: There is for you in paradise one which is more
beautiful. To the extent that we passed by seven gardens, I would mention how beautiful they
are, and he would say there is for you in paradise what is more beautiful than it. After the
journey finished he embraced me and began weeping! I said: O Messenger of Allāh, what is that
which causes you to weep?! He said: Malice in the chest of a people who will not display it to
you only after I am gone. I said: Will my religion be intact?! He said: Your religion will be
intact)).10 And al-Haythamī said: ((It was narrated by Abū Yaʿlā, and al-Bazzār, within it is
al-Faḍl b. ʿUmayrā. Ibn Ḥibbān authenticated him, and others weakened him, and the remainder
of the men are reliable)).11 This report, which is known as the report of the Gardens, has varying
chains of transmission in the works of the People of Ḥadīth.

6
Musnad al-Bazzār: 3/92.
7
Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Imām al-Qāsim al-Rassī.
8
al-Mustadrak ʿAlā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn: 3/153.
9
Mūsānnaf Ibn Abī Shayba: 6/371, Kanz al-ʿUmāl: 11/284.
10
Musnad al-Bazzār: 2/293.
11
Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾd: 9/118.
The Second Part: The Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)
informed Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) to remain patient in face of that strife:

For, there are those from among the researchers who may say: If Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him
be peace) was the Imām after the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)
by Naṣṣ, then why did he not rise against those who advanced him?! So, we answer by saying:
Him not rising was due to varying reasons, of them: The will of the Messenger of Allāh (upon
him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) to him, that he is to remain patient. This will was an advice,
and preference, not an order. And of them is: Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) did not
have a supporter, or aid that he may use for victory. And of them is: Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon
him be peace) looked at the matter through the scale of patience, if the affairs of the Muslims
were closer to peace, and justice, then he would not rise if his rising would disturb stability of the
Muslims. This is the final reason which is derived from the will of the Messenger of Allāh (upon
him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) that encouraged him to be patient, and hold to peace, as will
be demonstrated with the coming evidence. For, Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) was
revolving around what was obligatory upon him, and what he received of the Muḥammadan
advice, in respect to the situation, and matter at hand. So, this is the answer for the questioner,
and as for the evidence we will present it from other than the Zaydī narrations, and then we will
bring their narrations, and the sayings of the Imāms of the ʿitra in the forthcoming third portion,
by the will of Allāh.

As for the evidence for the advice, and encouragement of the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and
his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) to Amīr al-Muʾminīn to be patient is from the recent report of the
Gardens from the narration of Ibn ‘Asakir, with his chain from Anaṣ b. Mālik, he said: We were
with the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace), and he passed by a
garden. ʿAlī (Allāh is pleased with him) said: What a beautiful garden this is. The Prophet (upon
him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) responded to him saying: Your garden in paradise is more
beautiful than it. The Prophet then placed his head on one of the shoulders of ʿAlī , and he began
to weep. So, ʿAlī said to him: What causes you to weep, O Messenger of Allāh?! He said:
Malice in the chests of people towards you, they will not make it apparent to you until I depart
this world. So, ʿAlī (Allāh is pleased with him) said: What am I to do, O Messenger of Allāh?
He said: You are to be patient. He said: What if I am unable? He said: You will encounter what
is beautiful. He said: And will my religion remain intact?! He said: And your religion will
remain intact)).12
And in Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāgha for Ibn Abī Ḥadīd al-Muʿtazilī: ((Yūnus b. Ḥabāb narrated from
Anaṣ b. Mālik, he said: We were with the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace), and ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib was with us. We passed by a garden, and ʿAlī said: O Messenger
of Allāh, do you see how beautiful this garden is. He said: Your garden in paradise is more
beautiful than it. We passed through seven gardens, and ʿAlī would repeat what he said, and the

12
Tārīkh Madīnat Dimashq: 43/324.
Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) would answer him with what he
answered him. Then, the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) stopped,
so we stopped. He placed his head on the head of ʿAlī , and he began to weep. ʿAlī said: What
causes you to weep, O Messenger of Allāh?! He said: Malice in the chests of people towards
you, they will not make it apparent to you until they lose me. So, he said: O Messenger of
Allāh, shall I place my sword over my shoulder, and annihilate all their greenery?! He said:
Rather, you are to remain patient. He said: And if I am to be patient. He said: You will
encounter strife. He said: Will my religion be intact?! He said: Yes. He said: Then, I will not
worry)).13

I say, this advice to remain patient is regarding those who advanced Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon
him be peace) from the Shaykhs, it is not for those who have fought against him from the
Nākathīn, Qāṣitīn, and Māriqīn. For, he (upon him be the blessings of Allāh) fought them, and
did not remain patient with them. Rather, he saw that patient towards them is disbelief in what
has been revealed to Muḥammad (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace). He (upon him be
peace) said: ((I have striked the nose, and eye of this matter, I have examined its torso, and back.
I did not find other than choosing between fighting, or disbelief in what was brought by
Muḥammad (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace))). 14

In description of that situation, and the affairs of those people, al-Imām Yaḥyā b. ʿAbdullāh b.
al-Ḥasan (upon him be peace) said: ((When they chose nothing but continuation in evil, and
insistence upon deviance, Amīr al-Muʾminīn waged Jihād against them until he met Allāh as
a martyr (may the blessings of Allāh be upon him))). 15

Moreover, he (upon him be peace) is ordered to fight those who rose against him from the
Nākathīn, Qāṣitīn, and Marikin, and to not display patience towards them.

al-Ḥākim al-Nīṣābūrī narrated with his chain from ‘Aqab b. Thaʿlaba, it was narrated to me from
Abū al-Anṣārī during the caliphate of ʿUmar b. al-Khattab, he said: The Messenger of Allāh
(upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) ordered ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib to fight the Nākathīn,
Qāṣitīn, and Māriqīn.16

And al-Ṭabarānī narrated with his chain a report from the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his
Ahl al-Bayt be peace): ((O Abā Rāfiʿ, after me there will be a people who shall fight ʿAlī . It is
an obligation from Allāh to fight them. He who cannot fight them with his hand, then with his
tongue. He who cannot fight them with his tongue, then with his heart, and there is no excuse

13
Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāgha: 4/65.
14
Nahj al-Balāgha: 69.
15
Akhbār Fakhkh wā Yaḥyā b. ʿAbdullāh.
16
al-Mustadrak ʿAlā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn: 3/150, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr:10/91, Tārīkh Baghdād: 8/340, and others.
after that)).17 Therefore, the advice to remain patient in the previous report is regarding those
who advanced him (may the blessings of Allāh be upon him) when it comes to the Caliphate
over the nation.

The report of the Gardens was also narrated by al-ḤāfiḍMuḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kūfī (may
Allāh be pleased with him) in al-Manaqib,18 and al-Imām al-Nāṣir al-Uṭrūsh narrated it with his
chain similar to what Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd al-Muʿtazilī recorded, and within it is: ((He said: What
am I to do during such a time, O Messenger of Allāh? He said: Remain patient. He said: What
if I do not remain patient. He said: You will encounter strife. He said: Will my religion be intact?
He said: Your religion will be intact, O ʿAlī , and he would repeat that three times)). 19

What is to be taken from these narrations is that the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl
al-Bayt be the blessings of Allāh) advised Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) to remain
patient when he encounters such a matter. This is from among the reasons which we have
mentioned to you as to why Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) did not rise against those
who advanced him from the Shaykhs for the matter of the Caliphate.

Indeed! And of the reports from the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace) wherein he encourages Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) to remain patient is what
is narrated by Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal with his chain from ʾIyāṣ b. ʿAmr al-Aṣlamī, from ʿAlī b. Abī
Ṭālib (may Allāh be pleased with him), he said: the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl
al-Bayt be peace) said: ((After me there will be divergence, or a matter, if you can choose for
there to be peace, then do so)).20 al-Bukhārī also narrated it in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr,21
al-Haythamī said: ((ʿAbdullāh narrated it, and its men are reliable)).22As for ʿAbdullāh, he is
ʿAbdullāh b. Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal in his book al-Sunnah.23

And of that is what was narrated by al-Ḥāfiḍ Muḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kūfī, with his chain
from ʿĪsā b. Abī Farwā, he said: A man came to Zayd b. ʿAlī , and said: O Son of the Messenger
of Allāh, if you are the man who the Shīʿa are awaiting, then I will rise with you, and engage in
Jihād with myself, and my wealth.
If you are not him, then why should I be hasteful towards calamity, and I cannot withstand
calamity?! So, Zayd said to him: ((By Allāh, you have inquired to me of a matter which none
before you have inquired of. Can you repeat your inquiry to me? He said: So, he repeated it to
him three times.

17
al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr: 1/320.
18
Manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib: 1/230.
19
al-Muḥīt bil-Imāma.
20
Musnad Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal: 1/90.
21
al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr: 1/440.
22
Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾd: 7/234.
23
al-Sunnah: 2/545.
Then, Zayd lowered his head. Afterwards, he raised it and said: The Messenger of Allāh (upon
him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) decreed to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib that he is to hold his ground
until ʿUthmān is killed. When ʿUthmān is killed, he is to call to the Book of his Lord, seek his
right, make clear his proof, and call to the way of his Lord. Tomorrow I will rise, and I will call
to the Book of my Lord, make my proof clear, demand my right, and fight. For, it is the proof of
the one who rises from the family of Muḥammad upon Banū Ummayā, so that they don’t say: No
one from among you came seeking this matter)).24

And from Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace), he said: the Messenger of Allāh (upon him
and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) said to me: ((If they rally against you, then do as I have ordered
you, or else, hold your ground. So, when they deserted me, I dragged my end to what is detested,
and I closed my eyes to the dirt that was within them, and I held myself to the ground)).25

This interprets for us the understanding behind the saying of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be
peace) which was said after the difference against him (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)
when the Shaykhs advanced him, he said: ((By Allāh, I will choose peace, as long as the affairs
of the Muslims are upon peace, and there is no injustice except against me, out of desire for the
reward, and its virtue. Displaying asceticism towards what you have competed for, due its
ornament, and embellishment)).26 The reward here is the reward for patience, and that patience
would not be a reward had it not been for that Prophetic advice, and his (upon him be peace) fear
for the affairs of the Muslims. Such is clear from his saying: ((As long as the affairs of the
Muslims are upon peace)).

Therefore, he (upon him be peace) chose patience to be tied to the affairs of the Muslims. So, it
was permitted for him to be upon what the Messenger (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace)
advised of patience, and he is the Prophet who does not decree a matter out of his own accord.
Now, we will generally record the sayings of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, and the Imāms of the Ahl
al-Bayt (upon them be peace) as to why he did not rise, and chose the position he did towards
those who advanced him.

24
Manaqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib: 2/163.
25
Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāgha: 20/176.
26
Nahj al-Balāgha: 89.
The Third Part: Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) was looking at the potential strife
that surrounds the Muslims, and the affairs of the Muslims:

Here we shall list the sayings of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace), and the Imāms of the
Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace) regarding the reason for the silence of Amīr al-Muʾminīn
(upon him be peace) towards those who advanced him. After we present the two aforementioned
matters, which are the means for the researcher to reach the truthful understanding behind the
sayings of the Imāms (upon them be the blessings of Allāh).

Of that is the saying of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace): ((By Allāh, the people have
given Bayʿah to Abā Bakr, and I am more rightful to the matter than them, as I am to my very
garment. I restrained my anger, awaited the coming of my affair, and held myself to the
ground. Then, Abā Bakr died, and willed the matter to ʿUmar, and by Allāh I know that I am
more rightful to it than my own rightfulness to my very garment. So, I restrained my anger,
and awaited the coming of my affair. Then, ʿUmar died, and he made the matter a Shūrā
(consultation), and he made me the sixth of them, like those who hold a poor share. So, they said:
Kill the first, and I restrained my anger and awaited the coming of my affair, and held
myself to the ground; until I found that it was either for me to choose between fighting, or
disbelief in Allāh)). 27

Here, we find that Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) was displaying the patience of one
who is angered, and displeased with other than him advancing a matter which is without a doubt
for him from Allāh, as opposed to them. It was only that he was awaiting his matter which was
deduced from his foresight, and apprehension of the matter, per the one who advances him, and
the affairs of the Muslims. He would weigh the matter of rising, and not upon the scale, as well
as what was from that Muḥammadan advice to him (upon him be the blessings of Allāh) to
remain patient.

When the matter passed the death of ʿUthmān b. ʿAfān, and the Nākathīn, Māriqīn, and Qāṣitīn
rose against him. Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) did not find from the past instructions
that which causes him to remain patient, or delay the matter. Therefore, he fought them, and he
was upon rightfulness, and before he remained patient, and he was upon rightfulness. The status
of the ones he remained patient towards is not like the status of those who he fought, otherwise
he (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) would have held him to choose between fighting
them all, or disbelief in what was revealed upon Muḥammad (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace). Therefore, his scale (upon him be peace) is fair.

27
al-Muḥīt bil Imāma.
His positions are strict, and he does not waver regarding Allāh, the Exalted, when the matter
necessitates waging Jihād, or fighting. He is the infallible Imām without a shadow of a doubt,
per the evidence from the verse of purification, Ḥadīth al-Kisāʾ, and the consensus of the
Muḥammadan progeny.

Perhaps the researcher would like to understand those reasons, and particularities which were
present during the time of the first three, which caused Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace)
to be patient regarding them. We have presented within the previous two sections, the reports,
and Muḥammadan advice for him (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be the blessing of Allāh)
regarding patience.

Here we will present his words (upon him be peace), and the words of the Imāms of the Ahl
al-Bayt (upon them be peace). We will record some of them, of them is his saying (upon him be
peace): ((My right has been transgressed upon, had it not been due to the nascent belief of the
people I would have waged Jihād against them. However, I will remain patient until Allāh
judges my affair, and He is the best of judges)).28

The purpose, and reason here is due to the situation of the Arabs, and those who recently entered
Islām. Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) did not see that it is of wisdom to rise, and engage
in Jihād against them while the state of the Muslims was such. Moreover, it was not long until
some tribes apostated from Islām, he (upon him be peace) said in a letter to Mālik al-Ashtar,
wherein he describes the matter: ((When he departed (upon him be peace) the Muslims disputed
over the matter after him, and by Allāh, I never stipulated, nor thought that the Arabs would push
the matter away from his Ahl al-Bayt. They did not give the matter to me after him, the people
went overflowing upon so, and so to give him Bayʿah. I held my hand [from giving Bayʿah]
until I saw that the people apostated from Islām, and began to call for the annihilation of
the religion of Muḥammad (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace). I feared that if I don’t
support Islām, and its people I will witness a tragedy within it that is greater than the
forsaking of my guardianship over you. That which is the enjoyment of only a few days, it will
vanish like a mirage, or the clearing of clouds. So, I rose during those occurrences, until
falsehood was removed, and vanished, and the religion was safeguarded, and relieved)).29

After the fitna of the people of riddah ceased, and Islām was no longer feared for in face of
riddah, and disbelief, Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) looked at the matter through the
lens of patience, for the sake of what is best for the Muslims.

28
al-Muḥīt bil Imāma.
29
Nahj al-Balāgha: 395.
He would not engage in Jihād against those who advanced him when they were nearer to justice,
we find that in his saying: ((By Allāh, I will choose peace, as long as the affairs of the Muslims
are upon peace, and there is no injustice except against me, out of desire for the reward, and its
virtue. Displaying asceticism towards what you have competed for, due its ornament, and
embellishment)). And regarding that the great Imām Zayd b. ʿAlī (upon him be peace) said:
((ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib was to the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) like
Hārūn was to Mūsā, wherein he said to him: {Be my successor among my people, and set
things right and do not follow the way of the agents of corruption} [7:142]. So, he held
himself to the ground, as to what he saw was best. When he saw corruption, he extended his
hand, unsheathed his sword, and called to the way of his Lord)).30

And al-Imām al-Nafs al-Zakīyya Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh (upon him be peace) said in a letter to
his companions where he mentions al-Saqīfa: ((The matter had reached ʿAlī (upon him be
peace), and he was occupied with the calamity of the Messenger of Allāh, as opposed to
addressing that matter. So, they took advantage of his occupation with the Messenger of Allāh.
ʿAlī looked at what was best for the religion of Allāh, as opposed to himself. He saw that his
right can only be returned to him through the sword, and he kept in mind their recent conversion
to Islām. He found it to be detestable that they would strike one another, resulting in the
detriment of their affinity)).31

And al-Imām al-Mutawakkil ʿAlā Allāh Aḥmad b. Sulaimān (upon him be peace) said: ((As for
the silence of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) towards his right: He saw, alongside the
Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) the importance of rallying the
believers, and instilling affinity between them. He feared that a dispute regarding his right would
separate what the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) brought together.
If he were to dispute with them, and oppose them the staff of Islām would be severed. The
people had just left Shirk, and the Mushriks, Kāfirs, hypocrites, and deviated ones wanted that
matter to occur, so the Muslims could be occupied with one another. Therein, it would result in
the corruption of Islām. He saw that keeping the Muslims bound by what they were upon was of
greater precedence, and he would be the lesser of two calamities. This is the reason for him
halting, and remaining silent regarding his right, as well as the lack of support from his aids, and
supporters. The matter is not surprising, the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt
be peace) was taken out of his home, and he was followed, so he had to hide in the cave out of
fear for his life. He was not scorned for that, and likewise was Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be
peace), and he has a sublime example in the Messenger of Allāh, also considering that he (upon
him be peace) did not remain silent regarding his right)).32

30
al-Muḥīt bil Imāma.
31
al-Maṣābīḥ fī al-Sīra: 434.
32
Ḥaqāʾq al-Maʿrifa: 460.
And al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥamza (upon him be peace) said in response to the
jurist of the Khariqa when asked why Amīr al-Muʾminīn remained silent during the era of the
Shaykhs, and did not remain silent afterwards. So, he (upon him be peace) answered saying: ((He
(upon him be peace) knew from the changing of circumstances, the reasons that necessitate
rising, or forsaking, per his calculation of those circumstances. As well as what the Messenger of
Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) informed us, wherein there was a differentiation
between both eras. For, he who is present sees what he who is absent does not see. It is also
because he (upon him be peace) clarified with some of what is sufficient, and had he not
clarified, it would have sufficed with the knowledge that pertains to the matter. This is because,
he who has guardianship withheld, in the same manner that Hārūn b. ‘Imran did, and those who
remained with him were more than those who remained with ʿAlī . Their transgression was
greater than that of the companions, those took other gods beside Allāh. Whereas, these placed
an Imām besides ʿAlī (upon him be peace) without a legislative proof for their act. His
infallibility (upon him be peace) from committing major sins is established, therefore, we affirm
by necessity that what he did in face of those matters, or forsaking action is by choice, not due to
compulsion, nor prohibition. For, he is the truth that cannot be deviated from. As for the jurist
insisting that it was due to compulsion, inability, and weakness. There is no substantial ground
for it, because the Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) faced what was similar, and
greater. As well as those before him from the Prophets, from ʾĀdam to Ḥawā. Rather, until our
day today. So, how can the jurist insist on holding us to such a matter? For, he who is upon truth
can be defeated, and he who is upon falsehood can be victorious. Rather, if we were to see the
truth, and its defeat, we would find it to be [defeated] more. Therefore, his words do not hold us.
Rather, it is mere deception to the laity, and the swarms that blindly follow)).33

Similar to the saying of the jurist of al-Khariqa regarding inability, and being overpowered is
what Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān would say. Similar to the response of al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh
ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥamza (upon him be peace), is the response of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be
peace) to Muʿāwiya, of that is what has been recorded in al-Nahj: ((You have said [i.e
Muʿāwiya]: I was dragged in the same manner that the camel is dragged, until I gave Bayʿah. By
Allāh, you have intended to condemn, yet you commended. You intended to expose, yet you
exposed yourself. For, there is no shame upon a Muslim in being oppressed, as long as his
religion is sound, and he is not doubtful regarding his certainty. My proof for other than you is
the intent, however, I have shared with you what can briskly be mentioned)).34

33
al-Shāfī: 458, it has also been mentioned by the Star of the Ahl al-Bayt al-ʿAllāma al-Ḥasan b.
al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad al-Ḥūthī (may Allāh have mercy on him) regarding a comment he made on the
words of Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, and ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥamza (may the blessings of Allāh be
upon them). Wherein, in varying instances Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) asks for the Imāma, is
stern, and highlights his injustice. Therefore, the one who is interested may refer to it, [al-Shāfī: 3/462].
34
Nahj al-Balāgha: 339.
And al-Imām al-Manṣūr bi-llāh ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥamza (upon him be peace) said in response to the
jurist of al-Khariqa, as to why Amīr al-Muʾminīn did not rise and call the people to his aid, or
emigrate outside of Madina. He (upon him be peace) answered with a lengthy, and articulate
response which we will mention a portion of it here. So, of his saying (upon him be peace): ((We
have clarified in a separate occasion, that when Abī Bakr was given Bayʿah, and many were
added to under his rank, to the extent that no one would be able to resist them if they wanted the
religion to remain. It was, therefore, not obligatory to partake in a matter which exceeds the
capacity. So, when he (upon him be peace) saw the Muslims differing, and the great presence of
foes, and the stars of the Ridda, hypocrisy, and the fragility of Islām, due to the death of the
Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace). He (upon him be peace) saw that it was
necessary to reconcile the affairs of the community of the Muslims, even if he (upon him be
peace) was oppressed, and had his right usurped. Such was recorded regarding him (upon him be
peace) in many instances, of his saying: ((I was patient, while there was prickling in the eye, and
suffocation in the heart)). And of his saying (upon him be peace): ((We will choose peace, as
long as the affairs of the Muslims are upon peace)).35

Then, when the jurist of Khariqa remained continuous with this objection, al-Imām al-Manṣūr
bi-llāh (upon him be peace) answered him, saying: ((His silence (upon him be peace) was
deemed permissible by the intellect, and by legislative proof. Therefore, your permission is
disregarded. For, we have mentioned that the conditions of enjoining good, and forbidding evil
are five, and they did not surpass four of those conditions. ʿAlī (upon him be peace) in every era
acted upon what was obligated of him regarding each condition, from a soft, or harsh saying. Or,
the utilization of the sword. However, he (upon him be peace) acted upon knowledge, and the
jurist judged regarding that with ignorance {Are those who know equal to those who do not
know?} [39:9]. Indeed, and within al-Shāfī by the Imām (upon him be peace), is a remedy for
the seeker, god-willing. Therefore, let the researcher, and those of interest refer to it.

With this I will conclude the third section, and will add as emphasis for the researcher that when
the truth is overwhelmed, it does not mean that it is no longer true. Those who advanced Amīr
al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) from the Shaykhs were not disbelievers, and deniers of truth
per the Imāms of the Ahl al-Bayt. They were not disbelievers who hid under the garb of Islām,
the Muslims, the Book, and the Sunnah as some Imāmīya may describe them. For, such does not
present the Imām an excuse to not fight them, or be silent towards them. However, when it is
seen that they are upon Islām, and they are engaged with the implementation of the Book, the
Sunnah, and establishing justice, and Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) correcting them
whenever they err regarding a matter. Beginning with the matter of his Imāma, their errant
judgment regarding Fadak, and other matters pertaining to their judgment. Such ought to be

35
al-Shāfī: 3/461.
taken into consideration by the reader, and researcher while looking into the silence of Amīr
al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace).

Rather, that act from the infallible Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace), is a foundation for
those after him in the works of biography, and handling of affairs which is known by the people
of Uṣūl, and jurisprudence from those of insight, and ability to deduce.

Therefore, it is either to be said that the obligation of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace) is
to fight those who advanced him from the Shaykhs, or to deny Naṣṣ for him, in spite of explicit
evidence from the Qur’an, and Sunnah which establish that Naṣṣ. Thereafter, the explicit
evidence from the consensus of the Muḥammadan household. Therefore, such, with what has
been presented, is not a fair legislative judgment. In the sense that it was not balanced, and
deduced in light of the significance of the stability of the Muslims, nor the conditions of
enjoining good, and forbidding evil

. Likewise, the lack of apprehending the meaning of infallibility in light of Amīr al-Muʾminīn
(upon him be peace) in not committing a major sin, nor apprehension of those Muḥammadan
admonishments to him (upon him be peace) to remain patient. It was also not considerate of the
status of the Shaykhs in being prone to errancy in matters, and what they were also correct with
in other matters in decrees which have positively benefited the Muslims.

It does not mean that what Allāh, the Exalted, tests the Ummah with nullifies the mistake of
advancing Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be peace), nor does it mean that those who came after
will fall under the same circumstances. However, the inclinations act, and the devil's whisper to
their companions, causing the predecessors to insist that they war with the Ahl al-Bayt of their
Prophet!

These are matters which the reader, and researcher must take into consideration, as he judges the
matters in respect to his view, research, and understanding. This is so he is aware of what negates
what is definitive, and what does not. In this era, the distance between us, and the Prophetic era
is lengthy. The situations in intent, and action undoubtedly have a role in the reactions. What has
been recorded for you, dear reader, and questioner, I ask that Allāh, the Exalted, makes it an
evidence, guidance, and remover of any doubt regarding this matter.

Throughout your journey in research, it has reached you undoubtedly, that the Messenger of
Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) would advise Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be
peace) regarding Aishah, and how he has to act towards her if she rises against him.
Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated with his chain from Abī Rāfiʿ, that the Messenger of Allāh (upon him
and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) said to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib: ((A matter between you, and Aisha will
transpire! He said: Me, O Messenger of Allāh?! He said: Yes. He said: Me? He said: Yes. He
said: Am I the one who transgresses O Messenger of Allāh?! He said: No, however, if that
occurs, return her to her place of safety)).36

Likewise, he advised him regarding the Nākathīn, Qāṣitīn, and Māriqīn, and such has reached
you throughout this treatise. Therefore, that was the case of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (upon him be
peace) circumambulating around his Lord's orders. He possessed the ear of awareness which
would not rest until knowing when each verse was revealed, and regarding what it was revealed.

He (upon him be peace) said: ((Ask me before you lose me, for I possess the knowledge of death,
decree, wisdom, commandment, and decisive judgment. By Allāh, I know more about the
pathways of the heavens than the scholar from among you knows about the pathways of the
earth. There is no verse that has been revealed during night, day, valley, or mountain, except that
I have knowledge of who it is revealed for, and what it is revealed for. The Messenger of Allāh
(upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) has shared with me a thousand doors from his hidden
knowledge, each door opens for me a thousand doors. We are the people of nobility, and the sons
of nobility. I am the vicegerent of the vicegerents, and I am from the party of Allāh, and the party
of His Messenger. The group that rebels is from the party of Satan, and Satan is from them. Our
excessiveness is the excessiveness of the Prophets, no person will rise in inquiry regarding a
matter, except that I will have informed him without pause)).37

Indeed, he is the master of the gnostics, the one who is aware of future occurrences by taking
such knowledge from his brother, nafs (self), and Prophet (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be
peace). To the extent that the man from the tribe of Kalbi thought it was knowledge from the
unseen, so Amir al-Mu’minin (upon him be peace) said to him): ((O brother of Kalb! This is not
knowledge of the unseen, these matters have been acquired from him (the Prophet) who knew
them)).38

36
Musnad Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal: 6/393, Musnad al-Bazzār: 9/326, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr: 1/332.
37
Majmūʿ kutb wā Rasāʾil al-Imām al-Qāsim al-Rassī.
38
Nahj al-Balāgha: 172.
I ask Allah to cause us to benefit from complete allegiance to Amir al-Mu’minin (upon him be
peace), and his purified family. O Allah send Your blessings, and peace upon our Master
Muḥammad and his purified Ahl al-Bayt.

Written by the one in need of Allah’s mercy/ al-Kāẓim al-Zaydī, may Allah forgive him, his
family, and the believers.

1436 AH/4/17.