17. [17/172] Rijal al-Kashshi: Hamduwayh from Muhammad b. Isa from Yunus from Abdallah b. Zurara AND Muhammad b. Qulawayh and al-Husayn b. al-Hasan from Sa`d from Harun b. al-Hasan b. Mahbub from Muhammad b. Abdallah b. Zurara and his [Zurara’s] two sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn from Abdallah b. Zurara who said: Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said to me: convey my salutations of peace to your father and say to him: Verily, I only defame you as a way of defending you, for the masses and the enemy hasten to whomever we draw near and praise his station so as to cause harm to the one we love and bring close. They accuse such a one because of our love for him and his closeness and intimacy with us, and they consider causing him harm and even killing him as justified. On the other hand, they praise every one whom we fault even if his affair is not praiseworthy. Thus, I fault you because you have become notorious as a result of your association with us and your inclination towards us, which have caused you to become blamable in the eyes of the people and your works to be looked upon unfavourably, all this because of your love for us and your inclination towards us. So I wished to fault you so that they can praise your religious stand as a result of my denigrating and diminishing you, and this becomes a way of warding off their evil from you. Allah Majestic and Mighty says: “as for the boat then it belonged to the poor working at sea so I wished to damage it because there was a king after them who seizes every good boat by force” this is a revelation from Allah [including the word] ‘good’. No by Allah! he did not damage it except so that it be saved from the king and is not ruined in his hands. It was a ‘good’ boat which had no question of being defective Allah be praised, so comprehend the parable, may Allah have mercy on you! for you are by Allah! the most beloved of people to me and the most beloved of the companions of my father in my estimation both in life and after death. Indeed you are the best boat in that tumultuous and stormy sea, and there is a tyrannical and usurping king after you, keeping watch for the crossing of every good boat returning from the sea of guidance so that he can take it for himself and seize it and its owners, so may the mercy of Allah be upon you in life and His mercy and pleasure be upon you after death. And your two sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn brought me your letter, may Allah guard, defend, watch over and protect them because of the goodness of their father, the way He had protected the two boys (the orphans in Surat al-Kahf). Let not your heart constrict in grief if Abu Basir comes to you with the opposite of that which you were instructed by my father and by me, for by Allah! we did not instruct you and him except with an instruction that is fitting to act upon both for us and for you, and for each [instruction, even if seemingly contradictory] we have diverse expressions and interpretations which all agree with the truth. And if we were allowed [to explain] you would come to know that the truth is in that which we have instructed you. So refer back to us the matter and submit to us and be patient in acting according to our rulings and be satisfied with them. The one who has divided you is your shepherd who has been given authority by Allah over His creation. He [the shepherd] is more aware of what is in the interest of his flock and what can corrupt it. If he wishes he divides between them to safe-guard them, then he unites them once more so that it is secure from destruction and the fear posed by its enemy, in such a time as Allah permits, bringing it thereby safety from His place of safety and relief from Him. Upon you is to submit and to refer back to us and to await our affair and your affair and our relief and your relief. However [if you do not submit wholly then], if our Riser were to rise and our Speaker speak and he recommences teaching you the Qur’an, the Laws of religion, the rulings and inheritance shares the way Allah revealed them to Muhammad the ‘people of insight’ among you will repudiate it on that day a bitter repudiation, then you will not remain steadfast upon the religion of Allah and his path except under the threat of the sword over your necks! The people after the prophet of Allah were left to embark by Allah the same example as those who came before you, so they changed, altered, distorted, and added to the religion of Allah and reduced from it, consequently there is not a thing which the people are upon today [following] except that it is distorted when compared to that which was revealed from Allah. Respond then my Allah have mercy on you away from what you are calling for to what you are being called to, until comes the one who will renew the religion anew. Upon you is the forty six unit prayer and to make the Hajj by reciting the Talbiyya aloud for Ifrad [Hajj alone without Umra] and make an intention to dissolve it [later], when you reach Makka you make the Tawaf and the Sa’i [between Safa and Marwa], then you dissolve what you had made Talbiyya for and change the Hajj to Umra, you are consequently relieved of the state of Ihram up to the day of Tarwiya, then you renew reciting the Talbiyya aloud for Hajj solely [Ifrad] [and go] to Mina, and witness the benefits at Arafat and Muzdalifa, for this was how the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم made the Hajj and this is what he had ordered his companions to do, to dissolve that which they had recited the Talbiyya aloud for and to change the [intention of] Hajj to [that of] Umra, and the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم remained in [the state of] his Ihram because of the animal which he had driven with [accompanying] him, for the Sa`iq [one who drives the animal] is a Qarin [coupler] and the Qarin does not disengage [from the state of Ihram] until his Hadi [sacrificial animal] reaches its appropriate place, and its appropriate place is the sacrificial grounds in Mina, so when it reaches there [and is slaughtered] then he has disengaged [from the sate of Ihram]. This which we have ordered you to comply with is the Hajj of the Mutamati`, so adhere to it and your chest should not be constricted [in grief], that which Abu Basir came to you with in regards the prayer being fifty one [units], and voicing the Talbiyya aloud for Tamattu [enjoying] combining the Umra with the Hajj [at the outset, without the maneuver of having to dissolve the intention] and our instruction to him to recite the Talbiyya for Tamattu, then we have for that different interpretations and expressions which are accommodating for both us and you, and none of them [the seemingly different instructions] oppose the truth nor contradict it, and all praise is due to Allah.
Hommes de Al-Kashshi: Hamdouyeh ibn Naseer, de Muhammad ibn Issa ibn Ubayd, de Younus ibn Abderrahman, d'Abdallah ibn Zarara, Muhammad ibn Qoulouyeh et Hussein ibn Hassan, de Saad ibn Abdallah, de Haroun ibn Hassan ibn Mahboub, de Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Zarara et ses deux fils Hassan et Hussein, d'Abdallah ibn Zarara a dit: Abu Abdallah (paix soit sur lui) m'a dit: "Transmets mes salutations à ton père et dis-lui: Je te critique pour te défendre de moi, car les gens et les ennemis se précipitent sur quiconque est proche de nous et que nous louons à sa place, pour causer du tort à ceux que nous aimons et rapprochons de nous. Ils le critiquent en raison de notre affection pour lui et de sa proximité avec nous, et voient en lui une cible pour le mal et la mort. Ils louent ceux qui nous désobéissent, même s'ils ne louent pas leur affaire. Je te critique car tu es un homme connu pour nous et qui penche vers nous, et cela te discrédite aux yeux des gens, n'étant pas loué pour ton attachement et ta proximité avec nous. J'ai donc voulu te critiquer pour qu'ils louent ta cause dans la religion en critiquant tes défauts et tes lacunes, afin que nous soyons un rempart contre leur mal envers toi. Dieu dit: "Quant au navire, il appartenait à des pauvres qui travaillaient en mer. Je voulais donc le rendre défectueux, car derrière eux se trouvait un roi qui prenait de force chaque navire en bon état." Ce verset descend de la part de Dieu, et non, par Dieu, Il ne le critiqua que pour que tu sois préservé du roi et que tu ne sois pas blâmé par lui. Ce navire était bon, il n'y avait aucun défaut en lui, loué soit Dieu. Comprends cette parabole, que Dieu te fasse miséricorde, car tu es, par Dieu, la personne la plus aimée pour moi et pour les compagnons d'Abu (paix soit sur lui), vivants ou morts. Tu es la meilleure des embarcations de ce vaste océan, et derrière toi se trouve un roi injuste qui guette chaque navire en bon état pour le prendre de force, puis il prend le navire et ses occupants. Que la miséricorde et la satisfaction de Dieu soient sur toi, que tu sois vivant ou mort. J'ai transmis ton message à tes fils Hassan et Hussein, que Dieu les protège et les bénisse, et les préserve comme Il a préservé les deux garçons. Ne sois pas troublé par ce que t'a ordonné Abu (paix soit sur lui) et ce à quoi je t'ai ordonné. Abu Basir est venu avec quelque chose de différent de ce que nous t'avons ordonné. Par Dieu, ni nous ne t'avons ordonné ni lui, sauf par un ordre que nous et vous pouvons suivre. Pour tout cela, nous avons des explications et des significations qui correspondent à la vérité. Si nous avions été autorisés, vous auriez su que la vérité est ce que nous vous avons ordonné. Revenez à nous pour l'ordre, soumettez-vous à nous, soyez patients avec nos décrets et acceptez-les. Celui qui vous divise est votre berger, que Dieu a confié à son troupeau. Il connaît mieux l'intérêt de ses brebis dans la corruption de leurs affaires. S'il le souhaite, il les séparera pour les protéger, puis les réunira pour les préserver de leur corruption et de la crainte de leur ennemi, selon ce que Dieu permet. Il leur apportera la sécurité de celui qui assure la sécurité et le soulagement de Lui. Soumettez-vous à nous, revenez à nous, attendez nos ordres et les vôtres, notre soulagement et le vôtre. Si notre guide se lève et notre orateur parle, puis re
