During the time of his prophecy A’ali [Eli]—u. w. b., etc.—was Emâm. The children of Esrâil had become weak; party-strife and divisions prevailed among them; they were overpowered by their antagonists and enemies who wished to extirpate them; accordingly the A’mâlekites pillaged them and slew them whenever they could. They even took possession of the ark of tranquillity, and conveyed it to their own country* with four hundred descendants of prophets and princes, and imposed a tax upon those whom their swords had spared. The Jews, therefore, addressed their prayers to the Lord of Magnificence, and asked for an inspired prophet or messenger by whose aid and guidance they might get rid of the calamity of their enemies, abolish the customs imposed upon them by their oppressors, and utterly expel them by routing them in battle.
At that time no one was left of the family of prophets except the Emâm A’ali, and a barren woman of the name of Hanna,* whose husband was Helkan, of the tribe of Lâvi. When it was time to go on pilgrimage and to circumambulate the Holy House [of Jerusalem], both of them entered together the sanctuary where they offered their supplications, that a son worthy of the dignity of a prophet might be vouchsafed unto them. On that occasion the Emâm A’ali was sitting on the chair of Emâmship, heard their groanings, and assisted them likewise with his own prayers, which the Lord of Grandeur answered. Helkan then returned home with his spouse, and Hanna became that very night pregnant with Shamuil. When that infant was born, and the time of sucking had elapsed, she brought Shamuil to A’ali, whose service he entered, and was engaged in doing duty in the Holy House, in devotions, and in the study of the Mosaic Law, until the time when he received his mission.
It is related that one night, when he was in a state between waking and sleeping, he heard someone calling out to him. He thought it was the Emâm A’ali, arose, and hastened to him,* but the latter told him to return to his place. The call was, however, thrice repeated to Shamuil, who went to A’ali, but the latter ordered him, if he again heard the voice, to remain in his place, to answer, and quickly to report what he had heard. When Shamuil heard the voice for the fourth time he said: ‘I hear and obey.’* Then the allocution of the Almighty was addressed to him as follows: ‘O excellent servant of the Lord of Glory:
| Verses: | Be certain that in this garden blooms A flower; and, like thee, no other will bloom; From My bounty I granted thee dominion, Namely, the boast and glory of prophecy. I have appointed it to guide thy knowledge; I have raised thy banner to the mission. Go now to the Emâm A’ali, Report to him these words: The Lord asks thee, oh erring man, Why neglectest thou the way of God? The prophetic office has been given to thee, Superiority over others bestowed upon thee, To execute the orders and commands, And not to omit one iota of them, Not to veil the way of truth in the faith, Not to be partial in thy prayers. Now to please thy sons, For thy dignity and connection, Why hast thou concealed the true way? Why hast thou striven to change the law? Since thou knowest not their acts, Why hast thou complied with them? So that at last malice and vanity became dear, The professors of truth and intelligence became base, Piety and rectitude became hidden like the A’nqa,* Wickedness became overt and tyranny, Straightness has departed from the world, Hook and crook have taken its place. Thy covenant with Me was not thus, That thou shouldst rule the world thus. As thou hast accounted My orders lightly, Hast allowed fluctuation more or less, Hast receded from My commands, Hast ventured to sin against Me, I shall now depive thee of thy office, And shall take vengeance of thee afterwards. For, everyone who hears My injunctions, His ears tingle from awe of them. By My eternity and magnificence [I swear], By My acts, attributes, and names, By the mystery revealed by My power, By the light produced by My wisdom, By My glory and magnificence, which are eternal, By My kingdom free from decay, That I shall take away this royalty from thee; I shall take thy life of sorrow. The sins committed by thy children, For which they are called by the name of rebels; I shall not forgive them their deeds, Nor accept their penitence and wailing; I shall not pass over their transgressions; I shall not glance at their groans or sacrifices; I shall so leave them in the world, That they may be an eternal example to it. |
After this the allocution ceased, Shamuil went to the Emâm A’ali and informed him of the contents; A’ali, however, resigned himself to his fate, saying: ‘To Allah belongs the government of the past and the future! He is the most just of the just!’
In that year, which was the fortieth of Shamuil’s age, the Emâm A’ali was with his children removed from the perishable to the imperishable abode, and the government of the people of Esrâil as well as the prophetic dignity devolved upon Shamuil. After he had administered both these offices during ten years, he transferred the affairs of his people to his son Yuâil;* but as in those days the Jews had fallen into an extremely weak condition, and their affairs were retrograding, they came in great numbers to Shamuil, and asked him to appoint a judge over them* who would be able to repel their enemies, to remove their difficulties, and should at the same time excel his contemporaries in strength and valour. After Shamuil had made the necessary contracts and covenants, he besought the Most High to grant their prayers, and after he had obtained certainty of compliance with his request, he told the nation that their king would neither be a descendant of prophets nor of a royal dynasty, and that his name would be Shâuk [Saul]. It is said that as in those times the prophetic dignity was confined to the tribe of Lâvi and royalty to the children of Yahuda, and as Tâlut, who was also called Shâuk, belonged to the tribe of Ebn Yamin, some of the children of Esrâil were startled by the information, and said: ‘How can a man like him become a king, and how can he be worthy of the royal dignity? for we have a better right to it than he.’ Shamuil replied: ‘God is most just and most wise! Royalty belongs to Him, and He bestows it upon whom He likes, and takes it away from whom He likes. It is evident the gifts of God are not granted to anyone who does not merit them.’ [It is said in the Qurân] ‘Thou givest the kingdom to whom Thou wilt, and deprivest thereof whom Thou wilt.’ At last the people assented and queried what would be the signs of his [selection for the] royal dignity? Shamuil replied: ‘When he comes the ark of tranquillity will [also] make its appearance, and the holy oil will increase and ferment.’ The next day the children of Esrâil were sitting around the ark of testimony and the holy temple, being engaged in the discussion of the affairs of the kingdom, as well as preparation of the means for fighting and repelling the emeny. On that occasion Shâuk all of a sudden stepped in among them, and the holy oil, which was in the keeping of the prophets, and was preserved in one of the horns of the cow of Mûsa, commenced to boil. Shamuil then called out to Shâuk, holding a staff in his hand which was equal to him in height. This staff he placed in contact with the person of Shâuk, and found it to be precisely of the same length. Then he poured some oil upon the head of Tâlut [i.e., Shâuk; i.e., Saul] and declared him to be the king of the children of Esrâil.* The assembly of the people congratulated him on his having attained the royal dignity, and the ark of tranquillization, described in these pages in the account of Mûsa—u. w. b., etc.—was produced. Then everyone became convinced of Shâuk’s royal dignity and the government of the children of Esrâil devolved upon him.