Hadith No: 3
Al-Asbahani - Hilyat al-Awliya' wa Tabaqat al-Asfiyā'
From the first generation of the Followers - Tālḥa ibn Maṣrif
Volume: (5) - Page Number: (15)
- Abu Bakr ibn Ali narrated to us, saying: Abdullah ibn Ma'bad narrated to us, saying: Ishaq ibn Raziq narrated to us, saying: Ubaydullah ibn Mu'adh narrated to us, from Shu'ayb ibn al-'Alaa, from his father al-'Alaa ibn Kurayz, who said: While Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik was sitting, a man passed by him dressed in clothes that gave the impression of grace in his walk. He said: "This one should be from Iraq, and he should be from Kufa, and he should be from Hamdan." Then he said: "Bring me the man," so he was brought. Sulayman asked: "Where is this man from?" The man replied: "Woe to you! Let me be until I regain my senses." Sulayman let him be for a moment, then asked him again: "Where is this man from?" The man said: "I am from the people of Iraq." Sulayman asked: "From which part?" The man replied: "I am from the people of Kufa." Sulayman continued: "Which people of Kufa?" The man said: "I am from Hamdan." Sulayman was increasingly amazed and asked: "What do you say about Abu Bakr?" The man replied: "By Allah, I did not live in his time, nor will I live in my time. People spoke about him, and they spoke well, and he is, if Allah wills, as they said." Sulayman asked: "What do you say about Umar?" The man replied: "The same." Sulayman continued: "What do you say about Uthman?" The man said: "By Allah, I did not live in his time, nor will I live in my time. Some people spoke about him, and they spoke well, and some spoke poorly, and Allah knows."
Sulayman then asked: "What do you say about Ali?" The man replied: "He is, by Allah, the same." Sulayman said: "Curse Ali!" The man said: "I will not curse him." Sulayman insisted: "By Allah, you will curse him!" The man replied: "By Allah, I will not curse him." Sulayman warned: "By Allah, you will curse him, or I will strike your neck!" The man firmly stated: "By Allah, I will not curse him." Sulayman, undeterred, commanded: "Then strike his neck!" A man stood with a sword in his hand, shaking it until it shimmered, looking as bright as a cluster of palm fronds in his hand, and said: "By Allah, you will curse him, or I will strike your neck!" The man repeated: "By Allah, I will not curse him." Then he called out: "Woe to you, Sulayman! Draw me closer to you." So he was brought closer, and he said: "Sulayman, are you not satisfied with me being content with what those better than you, and better than me, are satisfied with in regard to someone worse than Ali?" Sulayman asked: "And what is that?" The man replied: "Allah was pleased with Isa, who is better than me, when he said about the Children of Israel, who are worse than Ali: {If You punish them, they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, You are the Exalted, the Wise} (Al-Ma'idah 5:118)." Then I saw anger streaming down Sulayman's face until it reached the tip of his nose, and he said: "Let him go." The man returned to his walk, and I have never seen a man better than him, except for a thousand men, other than him. And he was Tālḥa ibn Maṣrif.