It is certified in several chronicles that Uns B. Mâleb narrated the following tradition: ‘Once the Amir of the Faithful A’li happened to fall sick, whereon his lordship the prophet—u. w. bl.—paid him a visit with Abu Bakr and O’mar. When his lordship looked at the face of the Amir he wept, and the two Sheiks [i.e., Abu Bakr and O’mar] averred that A’li Murtadza would die from that malady. His lordship, however, having understood the purport of their words, said: “He will not die now, but will be slain and without any reason.” Sometimes the Amir of the Faithful said concerning his being killed: “What will it profit the most ill-starred men of the world, when they dye my beard with the blood of my head?”’— It is on record that at the time Moa’wiah was governing he had misgivings that he would die before A’li, or after the return of his lordship to his abode. Considering this matter, it occurred to him that if this difficulty [or doubt] was to be solved, it would be by his lordship the Amir. Therefore he ordered three headstrong Arabs to start after each other to Kûfah, to report his death to A’li, and to watch what he would say about it. At a time when A’li the Commander of the Faithful was engaged in the mosque of Kûfah in preaching and admonition, one of the said three Arabs arrived. Having learnt that A’li was with his companions in the mosque, he went there as quickly as possible, and said in a loud voice: ‘O ye people of Kûfah, I bring you the good news that Moa’wiah is dead.’ The friends of A’li the Commander of the Faithful, being pleased with this information, became excited, but he himself, taking no notice, continued his sermon. At the same time the second of those three Arabs entered the mosque, and also said that Moa’wiah was dead. On this occasion the companions, being no longer able to restrain themselves, began to shout for joy. The Amir of the Faithful, however, would again not interrupt his sermon, and took no cognizance of the information. Then his friends said to him: ‘Amir of the Faithful, the news of the demise of Moa’wiah has really arrived, and we do not know why thou showest no marks of pleasure at the death of such a powerful foe.’ His lordship, pointing to his blessed head and beard, replied: ‘Moa’wiah will not die before these [i.e., beard and head] have been coloured with my blood.’
It is narrated in the ‘Mostaqassa,’ after Muhammad B. Esahâq and Ebn Hamdân, that after fighting against the Khowârej A’li the Commander of the Faithful sent the following message to Muhammad B. Abu Bakr: ‘Send here some of the cavalry of Egypt.’ Accordingly Muhammad despatched twenty men of known valour, one of whom was A’bdu-r-rahman B. Mulajjam Qurâry, and when the glance of the lord and recipient of the Vicariate fell upon this man, he said: ‘Be patient, for there is no escape from death.’ It is related in several chronicles that Ebn Mulajjam had lost his horse during the march, and that on his arrival he asked the Commander of the Faithful to give him one, and that when the blessed eye of his lordship alighted on him, he said: ‘I want to give him something, and he wants to murder me.’—It is on record that A’li the Commander of the Faithful one day asked Ebn Mulajjam whether he had any nickname when he was an infant, but he replied that he did not know. He again asked: ‘Has a Jewish woman ever been thy nurse?’ Having received an affirmative reply, he continued: ‘Has that poor woman ever called thee “O wretch! O hamstringer of the she-camel of Ssâlah”?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ Having heard the answer from Ebn Mulajjam, his lordship remained silent and spoke no more to him. — It is recorded in many biographical works that, at the time his lordship the Emâm of the Pious was about to depart to the proximity of the mercy of the Lord of both worlds, he was sometimes in the habit of breaking his fast in the abode of Hasan the Amir of the Faithful, occasionally at night in the dwelling of Husain the Amir of the Faithful, and sometimes in the house of A’bdullah B. Ja’fer B. Abu Ttâleb, never eating more than three morsels, and saying: ‘I shall be your guest only for a few nights.’
The blackener of these pages [i.e., the author] states that he has seen various traditions concerning the intention of Ebn Mulajjam to murder the Shah and asylum of Vicarship, but has in this place confined himself to an account in which all trustworthy historians are unanimous; but help and grace come from Him [i.e., God]: A number of the U’lamâ of biographies and histories have reported in their compositions that after the battle of Naharwân A’bdu-r-rahman B. Mulajjam Qurâry, and Barak B. A’bdullah Altamymy, and A’mru B. Bakr Alsa’dy, who were the most prominent of the Khowârej, had gone to Mekkah, where they assembled, recounted the defects of the governors of the provinces, gave explanations and descriptions of the men killed at Naharwân, wept, and said to each other at the conclusion of the meeting: ‘The cure of [the pain of our] breasts and the peace of our souls depend upon the murder of three men, who are walking on the road of aberration and have gone astray, namely, A’li B. Abu Ttâleb, and Moa’wiah B. Abu Sofiân, and A’mru B. A´ass.’ The accursed Ebn Mulajjam, who belonged to Egypt, then said: ‘I shall do the business of A’li.’ Barak B. A’bdullah said: ‘I shall finish Moa’wiah.’ And A’mru B. Bakr, accepting the task of murdering the third man, said: ‘I take it upon myself to get rid of the wickedness of A’mru B. A´ass.’ These men, having poisoned their swords, then made an agreement to cut in twain the string of the lives of the three above-named individuals on a certain night during the month of Ramadzân. Then they separated, Ebn Mulajjam departing to Kûfah, Barak to Damascus, and A’mru to Egypt. On his way to Kûfah Ebn Mulajjam happened to meet a woman who had no equal in beauty and amiability, and looking as if the following distich had been composed to describe her:
Her face was [bright] like the merits of the beneficent,
Her hair was [black] like the book of records of sinners.
That woman was also of the Khowârej, whose father, brother, and husband—or uncle, according to another tradition—had been killed in the battle of Naharwân by the swords of the army of the asylum of victory. Her name was Qottâmah, and when Ebn Mulajjam caught sight of her he became enamoured of her harmonious movements, and made proposals to her, whereon that unhallowed beauty replied: ‘I have no objections, if thou wilt give me the marriage gift I require.’ The accursed Ebn Mulajjam asked: ‘What is thy dowry?’ She replied: ‘Three thousand dirhems, a slave boy and girl, and the murder of A’li B. Abu Ttâleb.’ Ebn Mulajjam accepted the conditions, and said: ‘I have come to Kûfah on this very business.’ Qottâmah added: ‘I shall find another man to aid thee therein.’ Then she caused a relative of hers—Wurdân by name—to meet Ebn Mulajjam, and either by the deceit of Qottâmah or the seduction of Ebn Mulajjam, Shabyb B. Nahrah became the third of them [i.e., of the assassins], waiting together for the appointed night.
When Barak B. A’bdullah arrived in Damascus, and one night made [according to one tradition on the seventeenth of Ramadzân] an attempt to kill Moa’wiah with his sword, he was caught, whereon he said to Moa’wiah: ‘I shall give thee a piece of news which will rejoice thee.’ Moa’wiah asked: ‘What is it?’ He continued: ‘My brother A’bdu-r-rahman B. Mulajjam has this night killed A’li.’ Moa’wiah replied: ‘Perhaps he will not succeed in this attempt.’ Then he ordered the hands and feet of Barak to be amputated and his tongue to be cut out, so that he expired in the worst plight. Then Moa’wiah asked a physician to cure the place where Barak had wounded him. The physician replied: ‘The remedy is that the wounded part must be scarified.’ Moa’wiah having replied that he could not bear the pain of scarification, the physician said: ‘There is also another remedy by which a cure may be effected; it consists of a potion, but that will entail the impossibility of begetting further progeny.’ Moa’wiah replied: ‘I am pleased with the children I have, and can dispense with more.’ Then Moa’wiah drank the potion and was delivered of the calamity. After that Moa’wiah ordered a cabin to be erected in the mosque, which none except confidential and trustworthy men could enter. Whenever he went to the mosque he was attended by a guard with drawn swords.
When A’mru B. Bakr arrived in Egypt, he watched his opportunity and entered, according to the agreement, the mosque on the appointed evening. As on that day A’mru B. A´ass happened to suffer from abdominal pains, he was himself unable to attend [at the Divine service], and despatched a man of the Bani A´amer to be the Emâm [i.e., leader of the prayers]. When the Emâm was entering the mosque, A’mru B. Bakr dealt him such a blow with the sword that he lifted his head no more. Then shouts arose from every part of the mosque: ‘Wretch! The man thou hast killed was not the Amir.’ A’mru replied: ‘What fault have I committed? I wanted to kill only him with my sword.’—Some relate that when A’mru had been captured and taken to the presence of A’mru B. A´ass, and the former knew that he had killed another man, he exclaimed: ‘By Allah, O wicked man, I wanted none other but thee.’ A’mru B. A´ass rejoined: ‘But Allah wanted Khârejah.’ The name of the slain man was Khârejah A´amery. In some books the man who had attempted to kill Moa’wiah is called Barak B. A´amer, and he who endeavoured to slay A’mru B. A´ass is named A’bdullah B. Mâlek Ssydâwy.
There is a tradition that A’li the Amir of the Faithful was in the habit of attending at the mosque very early in the morning and engaging in prayers till sunrise. The partisans of his lordship, having taken cognizance of this fact, and knowing that he had many enemies who might injure him, determined to protect them. Accordingly every morning a number of them posted themselves around the mosque and guarded his lordship. One evening when A’li the Commander of the Faithful was, as usual, walking to the mosque, his blessed eye alighted on these men, and he asked: ‘Who are you?’ They gave him their names, and on his asking why they had assembled, they replied: ‘We are suspicious of thy enemies, and it is for some time that we are coming here to guard thee from their machinations.’ He asked: ‘Are you protecting me against celestial or terrestrial calamities?’ They replied: ‘Our hands cannot reach celestial matters, so that we cannot guard thee against heavenly misfortunes; but if thy foes want to hurt thee we shall ward them off, and we trust that no injury will befall thee from the denizens of the earth.’ His lordship continued: ‘Without a celestial command no event on the face of the earth can take place.’ This declaration having been considered to be perfectly true, his friends ceased to guard him.
It is related that in those days A’li the Amir of the Faithful said one day to his son the Emâm Hasan: ‘Last night I saw the apostle of Allah—u. w. bl.—in a vision, and said to him: “O apostle of Allah, what hostilities and miseries I have to suffer from thy people!” He replied: “Pray for them.” Then I said: “O God, reward me for the merits of my adoration with a society better than theirs, and appoint a worse man than myself to govern them.”’ At that very time he attained the honour of martyrdom, whereby it became evident that the prayer of his lordship had met with a response.—In some books it is recorded that towards the end of his life he asked Hasan the Amir of the Faithful: ‘How much of this month has elapsed?’ He replied: ‘Fifteen days.’ Then he asked Husain the Amir of the Faithful: ‘How many days of this month are remaining?’ He replied: ‘Fifteen days.’ His lordship said: ‘I shall be your guest five days more.’—One of the slave-girls of A’li the Commander of the Faithful states: ‘On Monday night I poured water on his blessed hands, on which occasion he took hold of his blessed beard and said: “Woe on this gray beard, which will become red with blood on Friday night.”’—In fine, during these days his sacred lordship A’li the Commander of the Faithful uttered many sentiments of this kind, which have been recorded in voluminous books, so that anyone liking to do so may peruse them all. On the morning that this event took place his lordship appeared to be very disquieted, and at last said: ‘There is no remedy against death and no escape from predestination.’ Having resigned his mind to separate from his friends, he started to go to the mosque, and when he went out the ducks which were in the august mansion quacked in the face of his lordship, but one of the attendants gave them blows with a stick. His lordship said: ‘Restrain your hands from the ducks, because they are speeding me.’ When he had left his sacred chamber and was just about to enter the mosque, those three accursed men, having watched their opportunity, began to move, and threw a sword which struck his head-dress.* Then Ebn Mulajjam —curses be on him—striking a blow with his sabre on the top of the head of his lordship, said: ‘The government belongs to Allah. Neither to thee nor to thy companions.’ The sabre of Mulajjam reached the spot which that of A’mru B. A’bdûd had touched in the battle of the Confederates.* His lordship the recipient of the Vicariate exclaimed: ‘I flee [for refuge] to the Lord of the Ka’bah.’ After that dreadful event that accursed fellow ran away to his own house, and it is said that when this calamity befell the Amir of the Faithful the people assembled, and said: ‘Who has inflicted this wound?’ His lordship the Amir replied: ‘God the Most High will reveal it.’ On that morning when Ebn Mulajjam was running with a bloody sword in his hand through the streets of Kûfah, a man of the Bani Qays having encountered him, asked: ‘Who art thou?’ He replied: ‘A’bdu-r-rahman B. Mulajjam.’ The man said: ‘Most probably thou hast wounded the Amir of the Faithful.’ The accursed fellow desired to give a negative reply, but the Creator—who is to be praised and exalted—made him utter the word ‘Yes,’ whereon the said man raised an alarm, so that Ebn Mulajjam was captured and taken to his lordship the Amir, who said: ‘This is the man who struck me; there is no lie in that. This man is one of my servants.’ After that he turned his face to Ebn Mulajjam, and asked: ‘O enemy of God, have I not overwhelmed thee with favours and benefactions?’ He replied: ‘Yes.’ He continued: ‘What has induced thee to do this thing?’ That accursed fellow replied: ‘Forty mornings I have been sharpening my sword and asking the Creator— who be praised and exalted—that I might kill therewith the worst of God’s creatures.’ His lordship replied: ‘I shall see thee killed, for thou art the worst of the creatures of God.’ After that he let go Ebn Mulajjam, and continued: ‘Kill him when I am dead, but not publicly, because I have heard the apostle of Allah say: “Avoid a public execution, even though it be that of a mad dog.”’ There is a tradition that he said to Hasan the Amir of the Faithful: ‘Keep Ebn Mulajjam, withhold neither food nor drink from him, but when I die kill him with not more than one blow.’ In short, after the demise of that prince of men, Ebn Mulajjam was slain, whereon some of the partisans [of A’li] wrapped his wicked body in a mat and burnt it.—It is recorded in the history of Abu Hanifah Dinwari that when the pure spirit of A’li the Amir of the Faithful had departed from his sacred body, A’bdullah B. Jâfer B. Abu Ttâleb ordered the eyes of Ebn Mulajjam to be pierced with a bodkin, and his hands, as well as his feet, to be cut off; but when he said, ‘cut out his tongue,’ that accursed fellow manifested the greatest distress and terror. Then A’bdullah B. Ja’fer asked: ‘How is it that thou hast remained quiet when they were cutting off thy hands, thy feet, and piercing thy eyes, but groanest and lamentest when they want to cut out thy tongue?’ He replied: ‘My lamentation is not for fear of death, but I would be sorry to remain one hour in the world without being able to utter the name of the beneficent Sovereign and Nourisher of the inhabitants of the world.’
It is on record that in the agony of death A’li the Commander of the Faithful gave many instructions to his sons, and one of them was that he said to Hasan the Amir of the Faithful: ‘When I am dead, do not let the people know where my grave is, because I have with my own hands slain ten thousand infidels and brave warriors of Islâm whom it was necessary to kill, and I fear their heirs would open my grave, but I fear the Bani Ommyah most.’ When he had finished giving advice, his joy-boding mouth, which was the interpreter of Divine mysteries, uttered the beauteous Kalimat* till the time when he passed away. “We belong to Allah, and unto Him we shall return.”*
Some authors of histories state that A’li the Amir of the Faithful reached the proximity of Divine mercy on the twentieth of the month Ramadzân; others, however, say that it was on the seventeenth, and others the twenty-first of the same month. It is alleged that on this subject there are also other traditions, but there is a unanimous consensus of U’lamâ and biographers that this important event took place in the year forty. Concerning the spot where his lordship was buried there are also various opinions, but in a trustworthy book it is recorded that he was interred in the locality which is visited by pilgrims and blessed. The duration of the Khalifate of his lordship amounted to four years and nine months. According to accredited statements, his age was sixty-three years, but He [i.e., Allah] knows best the true state of the case. The spiritual perfections of him who is near the court of the Most High stand in no need of explanation; if, however, the times are propitious, it is hoped that, following the masters of eloquence, some pleasant accounts on this subject will be given at the beginning of the third part [of this work], if Allah the Most High willeth.
Distich: Thanks that this book has reached its end,
Has been finished during my life.
Let it not remain veiled and hidden from fortunate individuals endowed with pure minds and good intentions, that from the commencement of collecting materials and composing this book, till the completion of it, misgivings, which are by knowing men called the internal Satan, so prevailed over the mind of the author, and still prevail, that he considered within himself from morn till eve what event might happen to increase his trouble and misery; meditating also, from the time the world-illuminating sun set till the rise of the dawn, without enjoying a moment’s sleep, what would take place during the day which might become the cause of the augmentation of his toil and sorrow. It is plain what may be expected from a broken heart and troubled mind. These leaves have been written to attain the felicity of attracting the attention of the mind brilliant like the sun and of exalted station, the like of whom had, according to the opinion of historians, not been sitting on the throne of dominion from the beginning [of the world] till our times;* a noble individual, in comparison to whose spiritual attainments those of accomplished men are but a sprinkling of the Sea of O’mân, and the utterances of eloquent men but a drop of the boundless ocean when likened to his brilliant words. His world-adorning mind is the flambeau of [Divine] guidance, and his difficulty-solving nature is the lamp pointing to sagacity.
When the sun of thy intellect throws a shadow on the sky,
The moon gets ashamed of the sphere-illuminating sun.
To thy lucid mind the mysteries of the universe are revealed.
The receptacle of Divine light cannot be hidden.
By the showers of the clouds of his beneficence the meadows of expectation are irrigated, and by gifts from his pearl-dropping hands the vehicles of hope are heavily loaded. This gracious disposition is a pledge that every hope entertained by a destitute person having recourse to him will be fulfilled by a bounty from the treasury of his munificence. By the perfumes of his universal favour the rose of expectation is blooming in the meadow of hope, and the zephyr of his generous nature has caused the tree of desire to bear fruit in the garden of hope.
As the exhalations of the rose are kindred to thy nature,
The philomel sings its praises with a hundred tongues.*
May his majesty the Creator—who be praised and exalted —conserve the exquisite person and unequalled individuality of the enlightened Amir upon the couch of felicity with honour and glory till the day of the resurrection, and prosper this dignitary in his temporal wishes and in his eternal hopes, by His grace and favour.