Hadith record

6. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Muhammad ibn ’Isma‘il al-Raziy from Sulayman ibn Ja‘far al- Ja‘fariy who has said the following: “Once I visited abu al-Hassan, al-Rida’ (a.s.), and there were barniy dates in front of him. He (the Imam) seemed assiduous in eating it with zest. He (the Imam) said, ‘O Sulayman come close and eat.’ I then went close and ate thereof saying, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, I see you eat it with great zest.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, because I love it.’ He (the narrator) has said, that I asked, ‘Why is it so?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is because the Messenger of Allah liked dates. Ali (a.s.), liked dates. Al-Hassan liked dates, abu ‘Abd Allah, al-Husayn liked dates, Zayn al-‘Abidin liked dates, Abu Ja‘far, liked dates, abu ‘Abd Allah, liked dates, my father liked dates, I like dates and our followers like dates because they are created from our clay; and our enemies, O Sulayman like intoxicants because they are created from smokeless fire.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.