The Birth of Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.)

1. al-Husayn ibn al-Hassan al-Hassani may grant him blessings and Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abdallah all of them from Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Ahmar from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abdallah al-Khuza’i from Nasr ibn Muzahim from ‘Amr ibn Shimr from Jabir from Abu Ja‘far (a.s.) who has said the following: “When the daughter of Yazdegerd was brought before ‘Umar the girls of Medina would love to see her. When she entered the Mosque it all became delightful and bright. When ‘Umar looked at her she covered her face and said in her own language: 'Uff, bay ruj ba’ da Hurmuz' (May, the life of Hurmuz turn black). ‘Umar asked, 'Is she abusing me?' and he wanted her. Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (a.s.) said: 'That is not for you. Give her the chance to choose whoever of the Muslims she likes and then count as his share of the booty.' He allowed her to choose and she came all the way to placed her hand on the head of al-Husayn (a.s.). Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (a.s.) asked her, “What is your name?” She said, “It is Jahan Shah.” Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (a.s.) said, “In fact, it is Shahrabanuwayh.” He then said to al-Husayn (a.s.), “O Abu ‘Abdallah, she will give birth to a son for you who will be the best of the inhabitants of earth. She gave birth to Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.). Ali ibn al-Husayn was called the son of the two best. The chosen from Arabs was the tribe of Hashim and from none Arab was Persians. It is narrated that Abu al-Aswad al-Du’ali said regarding this: “A boy from Kisra and Hashim the most noble one on who sacred symbols are stitched for safety.”

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

2. A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ibn al-Fadhal from ibn Bukayr from Zurara who has said the following. “I heard Abu Ja‘far (a.s.) say, ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) had a she camel. He had taken this camel twenty two times to Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and had not used the whip against not even once. The Imam (a.s.) has said that the camel came after he passed away and we were not aware but we noticed only when one of the servants or slaves came and said, 'The she camel has went out all the way to the grave of Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) and sat on the grave. She rubs her neck against the grave and moans. I then asked them to quickly get to her before they would know about her or see her. The Imam (a.s.) has said, 'She had never seen the grave before.'”

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

3. Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim has narrated from his father Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Hafs ibn al-Bakhtari from the person he mentioned from Abu Ja‘far (a.s.) who has said the following: “When my father, Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) passed away the she camel that belonged to him came from the pasture and placed her neck against his grave and role her body on the ground. I commanded to return her back to her pasture. My father would take her for the journey to Hajj and 'Umra (pilgrimage to Mecca) and had never used the whip against her.” Note: The last words of this hadith that read ‘Ibn Babuwayh’. The interpreters have assumed that it is the name of the well know narrator of hadith. These words indicate that the following hadith is recorded in the copy of this book that belonged to ibn Babuwayh and other’s copies do not have it. There is also the possibility of misprint. The difference of ‘Babu’ and ‘Banu’ is only a dot above or below without a change in the main body of the word. If the word is ‘Banu’ then it is part of the previous hadith and the whole phrase ‘Ibn Banu wayh’ would mean, “He was the son of the noble lady ‘Banu wayh, (daughter of the King of Persia),’ after all. There is not wonder why he was so kind to the she camel.”

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

4. Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amir narrated from Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Sa'd, who narrated from Sa'dan ibn Muslim, who narrated from Abi 'Umara, who narrated from a man, who narrated from Abi 'Abdillah (as) who said: On the night when Ali ibn al-Husayn (as) was promised [his death], he said to Muhammad (as), "My son, bring me some water for ablution." So I stood up and brought him water for ablution. He said, "Not this, for there is something dead in it." So I went out and brought a lamp, and there was a dead mouse in it. I brought him another water for ablution, and he said, "My son, this is the night I was promised." He then instructed that a pen be fenced and fodder be set for his camel, and so it was done. The camel did not linger long before it went out and came to the grave, placing its neck on it, groaning and weeping. Muhammad ibn Ali was informed that the camel had gone out, so he came to it and said, "Hush now, stand up, may Allah bless you." But it did not do so. He said, "He used to ride it to Mecca, hanging the whip on the saddle, and would not strike it until he entered Medina." Ali ibn al-Husayn (as) used to go out on dark nights carrying a bag filled with dinars and dirhams, knocking on doors and giving to whoever came out to him. When Ali ibn al-Husayn (as) died, they missed that and realized that Ali (as) was the one doing it.

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

5. Muhammad ibn Ahmad has narrated from his uncle, ‘Abdallah ibn al-Salt from al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn bint al-Yahya’s who has said the following. “I hear Abu al-Hassan (a.s.) say, ‘When Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) was about to pass away he passed out then he opened his eyes and recited chapters 48 and 56 from the Holy Quran and said, “All praise belongs to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us to inherit the earth passed out and chose from Paradise whatever we would like and thus is the reward for those who work. Within the hour he passed away and did not say anything.”

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