Al-Kāfi 8, record 305 of the digital edition

Shaykh Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-Kulaynī · The words of the lizard

Shia · narrations

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2

Arabic text

عَنْهُ عَنْ صَالِحٍ عَنِ الْوَشَّاءِ عَنْ كَرَّامٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ طَلْحَةَ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (عليه السلام) عَنِ الْوَزَغِ فَقَالَ رِجْسٌ وَ هُوَ مَسْخٌ كُلُّهُ فَإِذَا قَتَلْتَهُ فَاغْتَسِلْ فَقَالَ إِنَّ أَبِي كَانَ قَاعِداً فِي الْحِجْرِ وَ مَعَهُ رَجُلٌ يُحَدِّثُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ بِوَزَغٍ يُوَلْوِلُ بِلِسَانِهِ فَقَالَ أَبِي لِلرَّجُلِ أَ تَدْرِي مَا يَقُولُ هَذَا الْوَزَغُ قَالَ لَا عِلْمَ لِي بِمَا يَقُولُ قَالَ فَإِنَّهُ يَقُولُ وَ اللَّهِ لَئِنْ ذَكَرْتُمْ عُثْمَانَ بِشَتِيمَةٍ لَأَشْتِمَنَّ عَلِيّاً حَتَّى يَقُومَ مِنْ هَاهُنَا قَالَ وَ قَالَ أَبِي لَيْسَ يَمُوتُ مِنْ بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ مَيِّتٌ إِلَّا مُسِخَ وَزَغاً قَالَ وَ قَالَ إِنَّ عَبْدَ الْمَلِكِ بْنَ مَرْوَانَ لَمَّا نَزَلَ بِهِ الْمَوْتُ مُسِخَ وَزَغاً فَذَهَبَ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْ مَنْ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ وَ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ وُلْدُهُ فَلَمَّا أَنْ فَقَدُوهُ عَظُمَ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَلَمْ يَدْرُوا كَيْفَ يَصْنَعُونَ ثُمَّ اجْتَمَعَ أَمْرُهُمْ عَلَى أَنْ يَأْخُذُوا جِذْعاً فَيَصْنَعُوهُ كَهَيْئَةِ الرَّجُلِ قَالَ فَفَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ وَ أَلْبَسُوا الْجِذْعَ دِرْعَ حَدِيدٍ ثُمَّ لَفُّوهُ فِي الْأَكْفَانِ فَلَمْ يَطَّلِعْ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِلَّا أَنَا وَ وُلْدُهُ.

Translation

305. From him, from Salih, from Al-Washa’, from Karraam, from Abdullah Bin Talha who said: I asked Abu Abdullah (asws) about the lizard, so he (asws) said: ‘Filthy, and it is a metamorphosed (creature), all of them. So if you were to kill it, wash yourself (Ghusl)’. My (asws) father was seated in Al-Hijr, and with him (asws) was a man to whom he (asws) was narrating. So a lizard started ululating with its tongue. So my (asws) father said to the man: ‘Do you know what this lizard is saying?’ He said, ‘I have no knowledge of what it is saying’. He (asws) said: ‘It is saying that if you mention Usman by insults, I will insult Ali (asws) until he goes from there’. He (asws) said: ‘And my (asws) father (asws) said: ‘There is none from the Clan of Umayya who dies, but he gets metamorphosed as a lizard. Abdul Malik Bin Marwaan, when death descended upon him, was metamorphosed into a lizard in front of the children who were in his presence. So when he was lost, that was a great (problem) for them as they did not know what to do. Then they met in a gathering, and decided to take a trunk and make it to look like a man. So they did that and clothed that with a coat of iron armour. Then they wrapped it in the shroud. So no one from the people knew about it except for myself (asws) and his children’.

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.

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Chain of narration (isnād)

  1. 305.
  2. him
  3. Salih
  4. Al-Washa’
  5. Karraam
  6. Abdullah Bin Talha who said

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Published assessments

  • Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi

    مجهول

    Published in Arabic as the scholar wrote it. No reviewed English rendering exists yet.

    Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (16/169)

  • Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi

    لم يخرجه

    Published in Arabic as the scholar wrote it. No reviewed English rendering exists yet.

    Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī

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What is and is not verified on this page

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  • Attribution and chain: recorded as the edition publishes them. SacredTwo does not reconstruct or complete a chain.
  • Authenticity: reported only where a named scholar's published grading exists. SacredTwo never assigns a grade. — Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi; Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi
  • Interpretation: explanations on SacredTwo are labelled as explanation, not as scholarly review, consensus or ruling.

Persian rendering (AI)

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AI explanation

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