Abul Hassan al Thani, al Imam Ali ibn Musa al Ridha AS Anees al Nufus
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
10-3 My father and Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Waleed - may God be pleased with them - narrated that Mohammad ibn Yahya al-Attar quoted on the authority of Ahmad ibn Al-Hussein ibn Sa’eed, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Jomhoor, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Hammad, “Uthman ibn Isa Ar-Ravasay was one of the representatives (of Imam Al-Kadhim (s)) who lived in Egypt. A lot of (Imam Al-Kadhim’s (s)) property and six slave maids were in his possession. Abul Hassan Al-Ridha (s) sent someone to him and asked him to return the slave maids and the property. Uthman ibn Isa Ar-Rawasi wrote a letter in response and said , ‘Your father has not died yet.’ Imam Al-Ridha (s) wrote a letter to him and said, ‘My father (s) has passed away and we have divided up his possessions. There is correct news to confirm his death.’ Imam Al-Ridha (s) presented some proofs. Uthman wrote to him (s) in reply, ‘If your father is alive, you have no rights over his property. If he (s) has died as you say, he (s) has not given me any orders to dispose of these possessions to you. I freed the slave maids and married them.’”
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild. 3 They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. 4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
“The Commander of the Faithful has called you in.” Then I went to see him again. He raised his head as he had done before and asked, “How much do you obey the Commander of the Faithful?” I said, “With my life, my wealth, my wife, my children and my religion.” Then he laughed and said, “Take this sword, and do whatever this servant orders you to do.” The servant picked up the sword, handed it to me and took me to a house. The door was locked. He unlocked it. There was a well in the middle, and there were three locked rooms. He opened one of the doors. There were twenty people imprisoned there. Their hair had grown long. The servant said, “The Commander of the Faithful has ordered you to kill them.” They were all descendants of the Prophet (s). The servant brought them out one by one. I beheaded them. The servant dropped their heads and their corpses into the well. Then he unlocked the other door. There were another twenty descendants of the Prophet (s) imprisoned there. He said, “The Commander of the Faithful has ordered you to kill them.” Then he opened the door and brought them out one at a time. I beheaded them. He dropped the corpses in the well. All twenty were killed. Then he opened the door of the third room. There were twenty other descendants of the Prophet (s) with long hair in chains there. The servant said, “The Commander of the Faithful has ordered you to kill them.” He brought them out of the room one by one. I beheaded them, and the servant dropped them in the well. Nineteen of them were killed in this way. Then an old man with long white hair was left. He faced me and said, “O wicked one! May you be destroyed! What excuse will you have when you are brought on the Resurrection Day to face our grandfather, God’s Prophet (s), for killing sixty of his descendants?” Then my hands started to shake and my body was shivering. The servant looked at me angrily and yelled at me. I walked ahead and killed that old man. The servant dropped his corpse in the well. What is the benefit of praying and fasting for me now that I have killed sixty descendants of God’s Prophet (s)? I have no doubt that I will reside in Hell forever.”
5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? 6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name;
Then Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) went home and asked for some water to make ablutions. He made ablutions and said two units of prayers. Then in the second unit when it was time to say the hands raised-up supplications (Qunut), he said, “O God! O the Possessor of the Absolute Power, Extensive Mercy, Consecutive Blessings and Continued Good! O the One for whose characteristics there can be no examples cited! O the One for whose similitude there can be no examples cited! O the One whom no assisted ones can overcome! O the One who has created and provided sustenance; revealed and made eloquent; created and guided; destined and honored; organized and perfected; designed and beautified! O the One who has provided for proofs so perfect; blessings so complete; rewards so plentiful! O the One who is at such a zenith of Grandeur that it is beyond the ability of the viewers to see! O the One who is at such a deep level of Delicacy that it is beyond the ability of the thoughts to understand! O the One who is the Only one to rule, and there is no one to compete with You in the Domain of Thy Kingdom; O the One who is Unique in Greatness and there is no one to compete with His Almightiness! O the One due to whose Grandeur the minds of the intelligent ones are at a loss, and the eyes of the onlookers have lost their sight before seeing Him! O the Knower of the thoughts of the mystics! O the Witness to the viewing of those who see! O the One for whom the faces have fallen down in prostration due to His Might; and the heads have bowed down due to His Majesty; and the hearts have beaten fearing His appalling presence; and the veins of the neck strongly pulsate due to fearing Him. O the Initiator! O the Innovator! O the Powerful! O the Impenetrable! O the Sublime! Send Blessings upon the Prophet (S) as You honored the prayers for sending blessings upon him. Take my revenge against those who have oppressed me, belittled me, and have fended off the Shiites from my door. Make him taste the bitterness of humiliation and abasement as they made me taste it. Fend him off from the Threshold of Mercy as filth and contamination is fended off!”Abu Salt Abdul Salam ibn Salih al-Harawi said, “The quake shook the town before he had finished saying his prayers. The whole town was in turmoil. There was loud screaming and crying heard. There was a lot of dirt and dust. I did not move until my Master (a.s) had finished saying hisprayers. Then Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) told me, “O Aba Salt! Go to the roof and look around. There you will see a hustler who incites the rebels. She is wearing dirty clothes. The people of this town call her Samanah since she is dumb and rude. She is using a piece of cane on which she has tied a piece of red cloth and uses it as her flag. She tries to make an army out of the rebels, lead them and guide the rebels to attack Al-Ma’mun’s palace and the houses of the army heads.”I went up onto the roof and looked around. I could only see people with sticks in their hands and others with broken heads. I saw Al-Ma’mun leave the Shahjan Palace wearing armor and running away. I saw nothing more but noted that the apprentice of the phlebotomist threw a rock from the roof hitting Al-Ma’mun on the head. His helmet fell off and his head broke. His skull got so much injured that it seemed as if his brain was about to fall out. One of those who recognized Al-Ma’mun told the person who had thrown the rock, “Woe be to you! This is the Commander of the Faithful!” I heard Samanah tell him, “Shut up you bastard! Today is not the day to treat the people according to their ranks. If he was really the Commander of the Faithful, he would not have made pimps masters of virgins. Then they forced Al-Ma’mun and his troops out of town with the utmost degradation.
7 for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.
62-1 Ahmad ibn Ziyad ibn Ja’far al-Hamadani - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashem quoted on the authority of Yasir - the servant, “When there were seven way-stations between us and Toos, Abul Hassan Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) fell ill. We reached Toos and by then his illness had got worse. We stayed in Toos for several days. Al-Ma’mun went to visit him twice daily.On the last day - the day on which he died - Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) had become much weaker. After saying his noon prayer, Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) asked, ‘O Yasir! Do these people not eat anything?’ I asked, ’O my master! How can they eat anything seeing the way you are?’ Then Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) sat up and said, ‘Spread out the tablecloth.’ Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) called in all his workers and had them all sit at the tablecloth. Ar-Ridha’ asked each one of them about his health. Then after they all had eaten, Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) ordered that they take food for the women, too, and feed all of them. When this was done he got really weak and became unconscious. Everyone present started to cry. All of Al-Ma’mun’s maids and wives rushed in without wearing any veils. Crying and mourning filled up all of Toos. Al-Ma’mun himself was in bare feet and head and was hitting himself on the head and trying to cover the hair of his wives with his long beard. He was expressing his sorrow by crying and tears were flowing down his face. He went and stopped at the side of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s). Then Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) regained his consciousness. Al-Ma’mun said, ‘O my Master! By God! I do not know which calamity is worse for me: losing you and being away from you, or the people’s accusing me of poisoning and killing you.’”Yasir adedd, “Then the Imam (a.s) opened his eyes a little, looked at Al-Ma’mun and said, “O Commander of the Faithful! Treat Abi Ja’far (Imam Ridha’’s son) (a.s) with kindness since your life and his life are like this” While he (a.s) brought his forefingers together.”Yasir added, “When the night came and some time had passed by, Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) passed away. Then when the morning came the people gathered there and said, ‘This man (referring to Al-Ma’mun) killed him. This man martyred him.’ They meant Al-Ma’mun. They kept on saying, ‘The son of God’s Prophet (S) was killed.’ There was a lot of turmoil there. Muhammad ibn Ja’far ibn Muhammad (Imam Ridha’’s uncle) who had sought refuge from Al-Ma’mun and had come from Medina to Khorasan was there. He was Abil Hassan Ar-Ridha’’s uncle. Then Al-Ma’mun told him, ‘O Aba Ja’far (Muhammad ibn Ja’far ibn Muhammad)! Go out to the people and tell them that they will not bring out Abal Hassan Ar-Ridha’’s (a.s) corpse today. Tell them to go about doing their own business.’ Al-Ma’mun did not wish the body to be taken out fearing that it might result in sedition. Then Muhammad ibn Ja’far went out and told the people, ‘O people! Disperse! Indeed today Abal Hassan Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) will not be brought out.’ Then the people dispersed. Then they performed the ritual ablution for death for Abal Hassan Ar-Ridha’ (a.s) at night and buried him.”Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashem added, “In fact, Ali ibn Ibrahim said that Yasir has told him something which I do not like to mention here.”
8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. 9 Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. 10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
‘O Ibn Shabayb! Muharram is the month in which the people of the Age of Ignorance had forbidden committing any oppression and fighting in. However, this nation did not recognize the honor of this month or the honor of their own Prophet (s). In this month, they killed the Prophet’s offspring, they enslaved the women, and took their belongings as booty. God will never forgive them.O Ibn Shabayb! If you wish to cry, then cry for Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (s) who was slaughtered like a sheep, and was killed along with the members of his household. Eighteen people were martyred along with Al-Hussein (s) who had no equal on Earth. The seven heavens and the Earths mourned for his martyrdom. Four thousand angels descended to the Earth to assist him (Imam Hussein) (s). However, Al-Hussein (s) was destined to be martyred. They will remain at his shrine with wrinkled hair until the Riser (Imam al-Mahdi) (s) rises. Then they will be among those who will assist him (s). Their slogan will be Ya li tharat Al-Hussein (Revenge for Al-Hussein’s blood!)
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die. 12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord. 13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.
Imam Reza (a.s.) cried very profusely and then raised his head and said to me, “O Khuzai, the Blessed Spirit has spoken on your tongue in these two verses. Do you know who this Imam is and when he will rise?” I said, “No, my master, except I have heard that an Imam of yours will rise and clean the earth from mischief and will fill up the earth with equity as it will be full of oppression.” He said, “O Dibil, the Imam after me is my son, Muhammad; after Muhammad his son, Ali; after Ali his son Hasan; and after Hasan his son, al-Hujja al-Qaim, the Awaited during his occultation, the one obeyed in his time of appearance. Even if not more than one day should remain from the world, Allah will prolong that day so much that he will rise and fill the world with equity just as it will be full of injustice.