49 – Al-Ḥusayn narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ḍarīr related to me; al-Ḥasan ibn Hārūn narrated, from Ibn Zubār al-Kalbī, from Ḥakīm ibn Nāfiʿ, from al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who said:

When ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muljam struck ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—and he was carried to ⦗56⦘ his house, the visitors who attend the sick gathered around him. He praised Allah, extolled Him, and invoked blessings upon the Prophet—Allah bless him and grant him peace—then said:

“Every person will meet what he is fleeing from; the appointed term drives the soul, and to run from it is merely to reach it. How many days have I pursued, searching them for the hidden core of this matter, yet Allah willed only to conceal it. Alas—knowledge laid in store!

My testament is this: I commend you to Allah—associate nothing with Him; and I commend you regarding Muhammad ﷺ—do not neglect his Sunnah. Erect these two pillars and keep these two lamps burning; no blame shall touch you so long as you do not scatter.

Let each of you bear only what he can, and overlook the ignorant. A Lord Most Merciful and a religion straight and true! We were in the path of the winds, on the crests of branches, beneath the shade of a cloud whose resting place has now vanished, leaving the earth laid bare.

I dwelt among you day after day and night after night; then came a single thrust, a sudden stroke. After me you will be left with a hollow corpse—still after movement, mute after speech—so let my silence and the stillness of my limbs admonish you, for they preach to the perceptive more powerfully than the words of an eloquent tongue.

I bid you farewell—a farewell poised for reunion. Tomorrow you will see my deeds, and my inmost secrets will be laid bare. Allah will show me no favor unless I draw near to Him in piety, that He may pardon the excess He has promised to forgive.

Peace be upon you until the Day of the inevitable meeting. If I remain alive, I am the guardian of my own blood; if I perish, then perishing is my appointed time. Forgiveness is for me a means of nearness to Allah and for you a meritorious deed—so forgive, and may Allah forgive you. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?”