Hadith record

13. Abu Ali al-Ash‘ariy has narrated from ‘Imran ibn Musa from Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Hilal from Ali ibn ‘Uqbah from his father Uqbah ibn Khalid who has narrated the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), once said to me, ‘If you see Ghaylan ibn Jami‘ ask permission for a meeting with me, you should give him permission. I had information that he would meet with people of banu Hashim.’ When he sat down he said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep you well, I am Ghaylan ibn Jami‘ al-Muharibiy, judge of ibn Hubayrah.’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘O Ghaylan, I do not think ibn Hubayrah appoints a judge other than one who is a scholar of law.’ He replied, ‘Yes, that is true.’ I then asked, ‘O Ghaylan, do you issue decree which brings a man together with his wife?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I do so.’ I asked, ‘Do you issue a decree that separates a man from his wife?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I do so.’ I asked, ‘Do you issue a decree which puts a man to death?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I do so.’ I asked, ‘Do you execute penalties?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I do so.’ I asked, ‘Do you issue decrees about the assets of the orphans?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I do so.’ I asked, ‘According to whose judgments do you judge?’ He replied, ‘I judge according to the judgment of ‘Umar, ibn Mas‘ud, ibn al-‘Abbas and the judgments of Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali (a.s.), in a few things.’ I then asked, ‘O Ghaylan, did you not, O people of Iraq, think and believe that the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, “Ali (a.s.), is the best judge among you?”’ He replied, ‘Yes, that is true.’ I then asked, ‘Why is it then that you judge according to the judgment of Ali (a.s.), only in few things, when the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, “Ali (a.s.), is the best judge among you?”’ I then asked, ‘How do you issue judgments, O Ghaylan?’ He replied, ‘I write, “This is the judgment issued by so and so son of so and so, on so and so day of so and so month of so and so year, and then keep it in the office (for the record).”’ I then said, ‘O Ghaylan, that indeed is necessary for a judge to do as you mentioned. What will you say when all people of the past and later generations will be brought in one place and you are found judging against the judgment of the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, and Ali (a.s.) ?’ I swear by Allah, he began to sob. I then said, ‘Just keep your tongue balanced.’ He (the narrator) has said, ‘I then arrived in al-Kufah and stayed as Allah wanted, and then I heard a man in the town speaking, a close associate of ibn Hubayrah, saying, “One night I was with ibn Hubayrah when the guard came and said, ‘Ghaylan ibn Jami‘ is here.’ He said, ‘Allow him to come in.’ When he came in he (ibn Hubayrah) treated him with insults and asked, ‘How is the condition of the people and tell me, in a turbulent condition, who do you think is for them?’ He replied, ‘I did not see there anyone else for them besides Ja‘far ibn Muhammad (a.s.) .’ He then asked, ‘Tell me about what you did with the assets with you? It has come to my notice that he asked you but you refused? He replied, ‘I distributed it.’ ‘Why did you not give him what he had asked from you?’ He replied, ‘I was afraid to act against you? He then said, ‘I ask you by Allah, did I not ask you to allow him to be the first?’ He replied, ‘Yes, that is true? He then asked, ‘Did you then do so?’ He replied, ‘No, I did not do so? He then said, ‘Why did you oppose me in giving him of the assets as you opposed me in making him to be the last? By Allah, had you done it, you would still remain a great master. What do you need?’ He replied, ‘I ask for a private meeting? He said, ‘You must speak it out in public? He said, ‘I ask you to excuse me from performing the task of a judging? The associate said that he pulled his sleeves up to his elbows and said, ‘I am abu Khalid and you have found him to be a readily prepared box of assets. Yes, we have excused you from performing the task of judgeship and we appoint al-Hajjaj ibn ‘Asem instead?’””

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