Vingt-trois caractéristiques louables d'As-Sajjad

20-4 Al-Muzaf’far ibn Ja’far (ibn al-Muzaf’far) ibn al-Alavi al-Samarqandi - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn Mas’ood al-Ayashi quoted his father, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Muhammad Khalid al-Tayalesi, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Zyad al-Azodi, on the authority of Hamzih ibn Himran, on the authority of his father Humran ibn A’ayn, on the authority of Abi Ja’far Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (MGB), “Ali ibn al-Hussein (MGB) said one-thousand units of prayers each day and night as the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (MGB) did. He (MGB) had five-hundred date palms and used to say two units of prayers under each of them.When he (MGB) prayed, he stood very humbly and his color changed due to his fear of God. He prayed as if a lowly servant was praying in front of a Majestic King. His organs shook as he prayed out of fear of the Honorable the Exalted God. He prayed like one who was saying farewell to praying and that this was going to be his last prayer. One day his cloak fell off his shoulder as he was praying. He did not correct this until after he finished saying his prayers.Some of his companions asked him about the reason for this. He (MGB) replied, ‘Woe to you! Do you know who I was standing before? Indeed only as much of a person’s prayer is accepted that he concentrates on.’ Then the man said, ‘O thus we are all ruined!’Then, the Imam (MGB) said, ‘No! Indeed the Honorable the Exalted God would perfect your prayers with the recommendable (Nafila) prayers whichyou perform.’ The Imam (MGB) often went out in the darkness of the night with a bag on his back in which he (MGB) carried coins. He even carried food and wood on his back. He (MGB) went to the doors, knocked on them and gave things to whoever came out of the house. The Imam (MGB) covered up his face when he (MGB) gave something to the poor so that they could not recognize him. Only when the Imam (MGB) died, did they recognize that it had been him who brought the stuff for them. Once they put his corpse down to perform the ritual ablutions (wuzu) for the deceased, they looked at his back and noticed that it had become rough like a camels’ knees due to carrying heavy loads on his back to the doors of the needy and the poor. One day he went out and he was carrying a fur cloak. A beggar came and hanged onto it. He (MGB) gave it to him and left. He (MGB) bought fur clothes in the winter and sold them it the summer and gave away the money in charity. He (MGB) saw a group of people who were begging on the day of Arafat. He (MGB) said, ‘Woe to you! You should not ask for things from anyone other than God on such a day! Even babies in their mother’s wombs are hoped to be fortunate on this day.’ He (MGB) abstained from eating food with his mother. They asked him (MGB), ‘O son of God’s Prophet (MGB)! You always do good deeds and have good relationships with your next of kin. How come you do not eat any food with her?’ He (MGB) replied, ‘I do not like to reach out for what her eyes may have sought.’ A man asked him (MGB), ‘O son of God’s Prophet! Indeed I really like you for God’s sake, while you despise me.’ He (MGB) went on the Hajj pilgrimage twenty times riding a female camel, and he (MGB) never cracked the whip at it! When the female camel died, he (MGB) ordered that it be buried under the ground so that the beasts do not eat it. Once they asked his female slave about him (MGB). She said, ‘Should I give you a short answer or a long one?’ They said, ‘Give a short reply.’ She said, ‘I never fed him during the day, and never spread out his bed for him at night.’ He ran into a group of people who were gossiping about him. He (MGB) stood in front of them and told them, ‘May God forgive me if you are saying the truth, and may God forgive you if you are lying.’ Whenever a seeker of knowledge came to him, he (MGB) said, ‘Hail to what is recommended by God’s Prophet.’ Then he (MGB) said, ‘Indeed when a seeker of knowledge leaves his house and walks on wet or dry things, everything as deep down as the seventh level beneath the Earth will say glorifications for him.’ He (MGB) used to feed one-hundred poor families in Medina. He (MGB) liked the orphans, the helpless ones, the weak and the helpless beggars to sit at his table-cloth . He fed them with his own hand and gave the married ones some food to take for the wives. He (MGB)never ate anything unless he (MGB) gave the equal of it in charity. He (MGB) prayed so much that the places of his body where he prostrated peeled off seven times each year. He collected them and these were buried with him when he died. He (MGB) cried twenty years for his father Al-Hussein (MGB). He cried every time they brought him some food. Once his servant said, ‘O son of God’s Prophet! Your sorrow is endless and I am afraid that you may die.’ He (MGB) said, ‘Woe to you! Indeed the Prophet Jacob (MGB) had twelve sons. God made one of them absent. He (MGB) cried so much for him that his eyes turned white and all the hair on his head got white due to grief. Moreover, his back was bent in his sorrow while his son was alive in this world. However, I have seen my father, my brother, my uncle and seventy members of my family get killed. How can I overcome my grief.’

Ali ibn Al-Hussein (que la paix soit sur eux) priait mille rak'ahs par jour et par nuit, comme le faisait l'Imam Ali (que la paix soit sur lui). Il avait cinq cents palmiers et priait deux rak'ahs près de chaque palmier. Lorsqu'il se levait pour prier, son visage changeait de couleur. Sa prière était comme celle d'un serviteur humble devant un roi majestueux. Ses membres tremblaient de crainte envers Allah. Il priait chaque prière comme si c'était sa dernière. Un jour, son vêtement tomba d'une de ses épaules pendant la prière, mais il ne le remit en place qu'après avoir terminé sa prière. Certains de ses compagnons lui demandèrent pourquoi, et il répondit que seule la partie de la prière à laquelle le cœur est pleinement dévoué est acceptée par Allah. Il sortait la nuit avec un sac contenant des pièces d'argent et des pièces de monnaie pour les distribuer aux nécessiteux. Il couvrait son visage pour ne pas être reconnu. Après sa mort, lorsqu'ils le lavèrent, ils virent sur son dos des marques de transport de nourriture et de bois pour les pauvres. Un jour, il portait un sac de laine et un mendiant s'accrocha à lui, mais il le laissa partir. Il achetait de la laine en hiver et la vendait en été pour donner l'aumône avec l'argent. Un jour à 'Arafat, il vit des gens demander aux autres des choses, et il leur dit que ce jour est un jour d'espoir pour les nécessiteux. Il refusait de manger avant sa mère, disant qu'il ne voulait pas devancer ses mains vers ce qu'elle n'avait pas encore regardé. Un homme lui dit qu'il l'aimait beaucoup, et il pria pour ne pas aimer quelqu'un qui ne l'aimait pas en retour. Il fit vingt fois le pèlerinage sur un chameau sans jamais le frapper. Lorsque le chameau mourut, il ordonna de l'enterrer pour éviter qu'il ne soit mangé par les bêtes sauvages. Une femme qui le servait demanda s'il préférait la viande hachée ou coupée en morceaux, et il lui dit de la couper en morceaux. Elle témoigna qu'il n'avait jamais mangé de jour et n'avait jamais eu de lit la nuit. Un jour, il entendit des gens le calomnier et leur demanda pardon, que Dieu lui pardonne s'ils disaient la vérité ou s'ils mentaient. Lorsqu'un étudiant venait le voir, il le saluait en tant que successeur du Prophète (que la paix soit sur lui et sa famille), et il disait que lorsque quelqu'un sortait de chez lui sans piétiner un grain de poussière, la terre le louait jusqu'aux sept cieux. Il subvenait aux besoins de cent familles pauvres de Médine. Il aimait que les orphelins, les nécessiteux et les handicapés assistent à ses repas. Il leur donnait de la nourriture, et si l'un d'eux avait des enfants, il leur apportait de la nourriture pour eux. Il ne mangeait pas avant de donner en aumône une quantité équivalente à ce qu'il avait mangé. Chaque année, sept poignées