The wolf who testified that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allâh:
Imâm Ahmad related on the authority of Abû Sa’id al-Khudrî who said: “A wolf attacked a sheep and took it away, but the shepherd ran after the wolf and grabbed it from him. The wolf sat down and said: “Don’t you fear Allâh? How could you grab from me a sustenance which Allâh has given me? The Shepherd then said: “How strange! A wolf talking like a man!” The wolf then said to him: “Shall I tell you something which is even stranger? Muhammad ﷺin Madînah is telling people the news of the previous times in history”. The shepherd then came leading his sheep until he entered Madinah, and he left his sheep on one side of Madinah. He then came to the Prophetﷺ and told him about the wolf. The Messenger of Allâhﷺ asked someone to announce among the people that: “A prayer is to be offered in congregation (i.e. to say As-Salatu Jâmi’ah)”. The Prophet ﷺ then came out and said to the shepherd:
“Tell them (what happened with the wolf)”. The shepherd then told the people about what happened with the wolf. The Prophet ﷺthen said: “He is truthful. I swear by Whom my soul is in His hand, the hour (Day of Judgment) will not be established until the wild animals talk to man, and the man is spoken to by the tip of his lash and by his shoelace, and his thigh tells him about what his wife did after he left her “
The Hadîth of the deer which seeks the protection of the Prophetﷺ
Al-Hâfiz Abû Na’îm al-Asbalânî (May Allâh bestow His mercy upon him) related on the authority of Umm Salamah (the wife of the Prophet) who said: “While the Prophet ﷺwas sitting somewhere in the desert, there was a voice calling out to him: “O Messenger of Allâhﷺ! O Messenger of Allâhﷺ!” The Prophetﷺ then turned round, but could not see anybody. The voice then called again, so the Prophetﷺ followed the source of the voice and there was a female gazelle tied up firmly. Beside the gazelle there was a Bedouin wrapped in his garment and sleeping in the sun. The gazelle said to the Prophetﷺ: “This Bedouin caught me and I have two fawns in tha! mountain over there. Could you please untie me so that I could go to suckle them and then come back to my bond. The Prophet ﷺ then said to her: “Would you really come back?” The gazelle then said: “May Allâh torture me with the worst torment if I don’t”. The Prophet ﷺ then untied her, and so she went to suckle her young and then came back. While the Prophet ﷺ was tying her, the Bedouin woke up and said: “O Messenger of Allâh,ﷺ may I ransom you with my mother and father, I caught her earlier. Do you need her?” The Prophet ﷺthen said: “Yes”. The Bedouin then said: “It is yours”. The Messenger of Allâh ﷺuntied her, and she set off running in the desert joyfully, beating the earth with her feet and saying: ‘I testify that there is not God except Allâh and that you are the Messenger of Allâh”ﷺ.
The story of the bird:
Imâm al-Baihaqî related on the authority of Ibn Mas’ûd on the authority of his father who said: “Once we went out on a journey with the Prophet. We passed by a tree and saw two little birds in a nest, and so we took them. The mother of the little birds came to the Prophetﷺ flapping her wings. The Prophetﷺ then said: “Who has grieved this bird by taking away her little ones?” We replied: “We did”. The prophetﷺ thereupon said: “Give them back to her”. We put the little birds back in the nest, but she didn’t come back.
If a living, receptive mind is rated as the mainstay of the Islamic character, and if the Messenger of Allah [s] and the guiding Imams of AhlulBayt [a] had ascended to the top peg of the ladder of Islamic characteristics due to their direct subjugation to the Divine preparation, Imam Hasan [a], the grandson of the Prophet [s], as well as all of the blessed, guiding Imams [a] were pioneering activists in the sphere of thought. They had no match in that.
This can be attributed to the nature of their upbringing and the care they were favoured with. All of the rightly guided Imams either received their education directly from the Messenger or indirectly from the preceding Imam.
As for the new questions and developments of life, the sublime, inner entity of the Imam himself; and his boundless spirituality, qualified him for self-acquired knowledge. That is why the Muslim orators dubbed the knowledge of the Imams, from the perspective of the “present knowledge”. An Imam wouldn’t need to be tutored or taught by others in this respect. He acquired knowledge by means of direct inspiration.
Inspiration, as it is known, is something different from revelation. Any good-natured reader would realise this fact, through his research into the lives of the Holy Imams [a]. History would never stop hesitantly to say that an Imam found difficulty in any branch of knowledge. Nor, would it say that he couldn’t offer and answer a question, inquiry or problem, either ideological, religious, scientific, or in any other field. Following are a number of reports about Imam Hasan’s [a] vast knowledge.
Hasan al-Basri wrote to Imam Hasan [a], asking him about the Divine decree. The grandson of the Messenger of Allah [s] answered him in these words:
“Mind you, he who does not believe that all sudden incidents that happen, be they good or bad, are known earlier by Allah, is an infidel. He who blames sins on Allah, is unchaste. Allah is not obeyed against His will. He is not sinned against by force. He does not leave aside His servants in His Kingdom. He is the Owner of what He gives to them. He is the Powerful over whatever He puts at the disposal of them. Nay, He orders them with no coercion, and prohibits them as a warning. If they opt to obey him, none would stand in their way, and if they choose tosin, He may prevent them from doing it. But if He does not, He is not to blame, because it is not He Who forces them to do it, or compels them into committing it against their will. But He does them a favour by opening their eyes, teaching, warning, ordering and prohibiting them. He does not force them to do what He orders, so as to be like the angels, not does He pressure them to keep away from what He forbids. Allah’s is certainly the conclusive argument. If Allah willed, He would have guided you to the right path… “[10]
By these eloquent, concise words the Imam explains one of the most complicated, and thorny matters of thought. It was so difficult, that many intellectuals were perplexed and at a loss because of it. Moreover, it gave rise to extremely fanatical groups. Imam Hasan [a], however, expressively shows his profound and pristine knowledge in Islamic sciences. This discloses Imam Hasan’s [a] firm connection with the fountainhead of the Message and its original concepts.
2. “What is asceticism?” the Imam was once asked. “The desire to be pious and abstemious in this life,” he replied.
“What is forbearance?” he was asked. “Restraining one’s anger and controlling oneself,” he answered. “What is righteousness?” he was asked. “Replacing the bad with the good,” came the answer. “What is honour?” they asked. “Being kind to one’s relatives and shouldering people’s burdens of sin”What is the succour?” he was asked. “Defending the neighbour, patience in war, and advance during adversities,” he said. “What is glory?” he was asked. “Giving while being in debt and forgiving others their offences.” “What is manliness?” “Holding onto the faith, keeping one’s self-respect, being merciful, being kind, giving back people’s trusts, and ingratiating oneself to the people… “[11]
3. A man from Syria asked Imam Hasan [a]:
“What distance is between the right and the falsehood?” “Four fingers,” the Imam replied. “What you see with your own eye is the right. You may hear a lot of falsehoods with your ear. “1 “What distance is between faith and certitude? “the Syrian asked. “Four fingers,” Imam Hasan [a] again answered. “The faith is what we hear, and certitude is what we see.
“What is the distance between the sky and the heaven?” asked the Syrian.
“The prayer of the wronged,” replied Imam.
“What is the distance between the east and west?” asked the Syrian. “A day’s travel of the sun,” said the Imam. [12]
4. Imam Hasan [a] is reported to have said:
“O people! He who is faithful to Allah, taking His words as a beacon, is guided to that which is most upright. Allah helps him to attain righteousness and leads him to goodness. The neighbour of Allah is certainly secure and protected. His enemy is fearful and in failure. Be cautious of Allah’s wrath by much remembrance of Him. Fear Allah by piety and draw close to Allah by obeying Him. He is Near and Answering. Allah, the Blessed and Most High, says:
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.”
Holy Qur’an (2:186)
Imam Hasan [a] continued,
“Be obedient to Allah, and have faith in Him. It is unbecoming of him who grasps the greatness of Allah, to be haughty. The loftiness of those who know the greatness of Allah is expressed in their modesty, and those who know the highness of Allah in humbleness before Him. The safety of those who know the power of Allah is expressed in their surrender to Him, undenial after they have known the truth, and not straying after they have been guided. You should know for sure that you will not attain piety until after you have known the nature of guidance. You will not hold onto the covenant of the Book until after you have knownthose who turned their backs on it. You will not recite it as you should, until after you have known those who tried to distort it. Having known that, you can know the innovations and pretensions, see the lies against Allah and the distortion, and see how those who go astray will fall aside. Do not be influenced by the ignorant. Seek the knowledge from its bearers. They are the light with which one can enlighten oneself. They are the rightful Imams whom one can follow. With their existence, knowledge revives and ignorance fades away. They are those whose knowledge tells you about the non-existence of ignorance in them, the way of their reasoning about the soundness of their judgements, their appearance about their inner self. They do not go against the right, nor do they differ on it. Allah set a sunnah for them, and issued His verdict on them. It is a reminder for those who want to remember. Understand what I say when you hear it, take care to act in compliance with it, and do not try to grasp it as if it were conveyed to you by the word of mouth. It is because the transmitters of the Book are many, but those who preserve it are few. Allah is the One Whose support is sought.” [13]
5. One day Imam Hasan [a] was asked about politics. He said: “Politics means observing the rights of Allah and the rights of the living and the rights of the dead. Rights of Allah are that you should obey His orders, and avoid what He forbids. Rights of the living are that you should observe your duty to your brothers, and not tarry in serving your ummah. You should be faithful to the one in authority among you as long as he is faithful to his ummah. You should speak up in his face should he deviate from the right path. Rights of the dead are that you should remember their good deeds and overlook their bad ones. They have a Lord Who shall ask them about whatever they did.”
[10] Tuhaf al-Uqool an Aal al-Rasool [s] (Treasures of Reasons About the Family of the Messenger [s]), chapter of what was reported about Hasan [a], 5th ed., p.166.
[11] lbid.,p.162.
[12] Manaqib Aal Abi-Talib, chapter on the Imamate of Abu
Muhammad al-Hasan [a]. [13] Tuhaf al-Uqool an Aal al-Rasool, chapter of what was reported from Imam Hasan [a], p.163.
One day prior to his demise the Prophet (s.a.) called Hazrat Ali (a.s.) close to himself and said, “O Ali! Now is the time for my departure! After my death you must give me the the bath, drape me in the shroud and put my mortal remains in the grave. You must fulfil the promises that I have made with people. I have taken a loan from a certain Jew for the expenses of the Contingent of Ossama ibne Zaid. You must clear this debt!” Then he took out the ring from his finger and asked Ali (a.s.) to wear it. He also gave to Ali (a.s.) his sword, helmet the yellow turban and other arms. That day was over and the next day was Monday 28th of Safar 11. Hijri. Now the condition of the Prophet (s.a.)’s health deteriorated. The clouds of death were hovering over his head. He was in semi comatose condition prior to death. The time was close when the human body stops breathing and the spirit travels towards its final destination. The Prophet (s.a.) opened his eyes and when he didn’t find Ali (a.s.), who had gone out for some errand, he said, “Call my Habeeb, My friend!” Hazrat Ayesha says:
“When the time of his departure was nigh, the Prophet (s.a.) asked his Habeeb to be called. Someone went and called Hazrat Abu Bakr. The Prophet (s.a.) didn’t look on him and put his head down. He again wanted his Habeeb to be called. A person went and called Omer. When the Prophet (s.a.) saw him he put his head down and again asked for his Habeeb. Now Hazrat Ali (a.s.) came. When the Prophet (s.a.) saw him, he took him under his quilt and remained like that till he was dead. His hand was over Hazrat Ali (a.s.) at that moment.” 99
Ref: Riyaz al Nazra, Vol 2, Page 237
This was the greatest tragedy in the History of Islam. Everyone was affected with this sad event but for the Bani Hashim and his close family it was the most irreparable loss. The condition of the Prophet (s.a.)’s Daughter was such as if her own life had been snatched away from her. Her children were crying for the loss of their doting Grand-father. The entire world of Ali (a.s.) was changed. Inspite of exercising maximum control over his emotions, teras were running from his eyes. Crying, he touched his hands to the face of his departed mentor and cousin and touched his own face. He closed the eyes of the Prophet (s.a.) gently and covered his face with the cloth. Then, as per the wish of the Prophet (s.a.), he got busy with the preparation for his interment. Ibne Saad writes:
“When the Prophet (s.a) died, his head was on the lap of Ali (a.s.). It was Ali (a.s.) who gave him the last bath. Fazal Ibne Abbas was supporting the Prophet (s.a.) and Ossama ibne Zaid was giving the water. 99 Ref: Tabaqaat, Vol 2, Page 263
When the Ameer al Momineen (a.s.) had given the bath to the Prophet (s.a.), he draped his body in the shroud and alone offered the Funeral Prayer. The persons who were gathered at the mosque were discussing as to who must be asked to lead the last parting prayer for the Prophet (s.a.) and where he should be interred. Some people thought that the compound of the mosque was a suitable place for the purpose. Other said that the Jannat al Baqih was the right place. When Hazrat Ali (a.s.) learned about these discussions, he came out of the room and said, “The Prophet (s.a.) was leader in his lifetime and is our Imam and leader in his death too! Therefore every individual group should go into the room and offer Furada Funeral Prayer! As far as the place for his interment is concerned, he will be buried at the same place where he breathed his last!” As instructed by the Imam (a.s.) the Bani Hashim first went into the room and offered the Funeral Prayers. Then followed the Mohajirs and the Ansar. After the Funeral Prayers, the Prophet (s.a.) was interred in the same room where he expired. Zaid ibne Sahl excavated the grave. The persons in charge of the interment were Hazrat Ali (a.s.), Abbas ibne Abd al Mutallib, Fazal ibne Abd Al Mutallib and Ossama ibne Zaid. When the time for burial came, the Ansar called from outside, “O Ali (a.s.)! Please include one of our persons in the process that we don’t remain deprived of the felicity!” Hazrat Ali (a.s.) called Aws ibne Khauli to come in and allowed him to descend into the grave of the Prophet (s.a). Hazrat Ali (a.s.) took the body in both his hands and lowered it into the grave. When the body was laid in the grave, he removed the cloth from the face and turned the body towards the Qibla and put the cheek on the dust in the grave. Hazrat Ali (a.s.) put the earth on the body with his own hands, leveled its surface and sprinkled water over it!.
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 