—namely, those matters for which every incentive exists to report them; consequently, they must reach us through recurrent, widely circulated transmission, nothing less. We do not deny that such an occurrence lies within the power of God Most High, nor that it could be granted to the noble Messenger of God ﷺ, for it is established in the Ṣaḥīḥ (1) that the sun was held back for Joshua son of Nun on the day he besieged Jerusalem. This took place late on a Friday, and because they did not fight on the Sabbath he looked at the sun as it was halfway to setting and said:
“You are under command and I am under command. O God, hold it back for me!”
So God held it back for him until the city was conquered.
The Messenger of God ﷺ possesses a rank, station, and honor higher than Joshua son of Nun—indeed higher than all the prophets without exception. Even so, we affirm only what has been soundly transmitted from him, and we do not attribute to him what is unsound. Were it authentic, we would be the first to state it and believe it, and God is the One sought for help.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Ḥātim ibn Zanjawayh al-Bukhārī said in his book “Establishing the Imamate of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq” (2): If someone from the Rāfiḍīs were to say, “The greatest virtue of Abū’l-Hasan and the clearest proof of his imamate is what has been reported from Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays, who said:
‘The Messenger of God ﷺ was receiving revelation while his head lay in ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib’s lap, and he did not perform the ʿAṣr prayer until the sun had set. The Messenger of God then said to ʿAlī, “Have you prayed?” He replied, “No.” So the Messenger of God said, “O God, he was engaged in obedience to You and to Your Messenger, so restore the sun for him.” Asmāʾ said: I saw it set, then I saw it rise again after it had set.’”
He was answered: Even if this ḥadīth were authentic, we would cite it against our opponents from among the Jews and Christians. Yet the ḥadīth is extremely weak and baseless; it is one of the fabrications of the Rāfiḍīs. Had the sun actually returned after setting, believers and unbelievers alike would have witnessed it and reported to us that on such-and-such day, in such-and-such month, of such-and-such year the sun rose again after having set.
Further, it may be said to the Rāfiḍīs: Is it conceivable that the sun would be returned for Abū’l-Hasan when he missed the ʿAṣr prayer, yet it was not returned for the Messenger of God, for all the Emigrants and Helpers—ʿAlī among them—when they missed the Ẓuhr, ʿAṣr, and Maghrib prayers on the Day of the Trench?
He continued: On another occasion, when the Messenger of God ﷺ halted with the Emigrants and Helpers on his return from the campaign of Khaybar, they overslept and missed the dawn prayer, performing it only after sunrise; yet the night was not turned back for the Messenger of God and his Companions.
He said: Had this been a distinction, it would have been granted to the Messenger of God, and God would never withhold from His Messenger an honor and a virtue—meaning one that He supposedly bestowed upon ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.