Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Niʿma 1, record 117 of the digital edition

Translation

Narrated to us Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Ishaq (ra) that: Narrated to us Ahmad bin Muhammad Hamadani: Narrated to us Ali bin Hasan bin Ali bin Faddal from his father from Muhammad bin Fudhail from Abi Hamza Thumali from Abi Ja’far Muhammad bin Ali al-Baqir (as) that he said: <br> Allah, the Blessed and the Mighty, had taken an oath from Adam (as) that he shall not approach the prohibited tree. But he approached it and also tasted its fruit. As mentioned by Allah: «And certainly We gave a commandment to Adam before, but he forgot; and We did not find in him any determination» (20:115). When the Almighty sent Adam (as) to the earth, Habeel and his sister were born as twins. Then Qabeel and his sister were born together. Adam (as) commanded both of his sons to perform a sacrifice for the Almighty.<br>Habeel owned a flock of sheep while Qabeel was a farmer. Habeel sacrificed the best ram from his flock. Qabeel, on the other hand, was careless of his occupation and offered uncleaned ears of corn and bad quality crop as gifts to Allah. Consequently, the sacrifice of Habeel was accepted and that of Qabeel wasn’t. In the words of Quran: «And relate to them the story of the two sons of Adam with truth when they both offered an offering, but it was accepted from one of them and was not accepted from the other» (5:27).<br>During those days, whenever an offering was accepted by Allah, a fire used to appear and consume it. So Qabeel made a fireplace. He was the first person who constructed a place to contain a fire. He said, “I shall worship the fire so that it accepts my offering.” Satan, the enemy of Allah, told him that the offering of Habeel had been accepted and his own rejected. “If you let him live he would beget children who would pride upon your children for the superiority he has gained over you.” Qabeel accepted the suggestion and killed Habeel.<br>He came to Adam (as) who asked him where Habeel was. Qabeel said, “I don’t know, you did not entrust him to me.” When Adam (as) learnt that Habeel was murdered he exclaimed, “O Earth! Curse of Allah be on you! For you have accepted the blood of Habeel,” and continued to weep for forty days and supplicated Allah to grant him another son. He was granted a son whom he named Hibtullah because he was a gift (Hiba) from Allah.<br>Adam (as) was very affectionate towards him. When the Prophethood of Adam (as) neared its end and he reached old age, the Almighty revealed to him that time had come for him to transfer the Prophetic knowledge and relics to his son Hibtullah. “Indeed We shall never take away from the progeny of Hibtullah the relics and prophetic science till the day of judgment,” said Allah. “I shall never leave the Earth devoid of a scholar from his progeny.<br>People will derive religious knowledge and spiritual guidance through this scholar. Anyone who follows him or Nuh (as) will be assured deliverance.” Adam (as) was reminded of Nuh (as) at this juncture and said, “The Almighty shall send a Prophet who will call the people towards Allah. People would reject him and Allah shall destroy them through the flood.” There was a gap of ten generations between Adam and Nuh (as). All the ancestors of Nuh (as) were Prophets.<br>Adam (as) made a bequest to Hibtullah and told him that if anyone of them met Nuh (as) he should believe in him and follow him in order to be saved from the deluge. When Adam (as) was on his deathbed he summoned Hibtullah and told him to convey his regards to Jibraeel (as) or any other angel if he happened to see them. “And tell them that your father requests them for a fruit of Paradise.” Hibtullah met Jibraeel (as) and conveyed the message of his respected father.<br> Jibraeel said, “O Hibtullah! Your father has departed to meet his Creator and I have come to perform his prayers (of dead).” When Hibtullah returned home, he saw that Adam (as) had departed for his heavenly abode. Jibraeel (as) taught him the method of bath of dead body. Hibtullah bathed Adam (as) and when it was the time of prayers of dead Hibtullah told Jibraeel (as) to stand in front and pray.<br> Jibraeel (as) said, “As Allah had once ordered us to prostrate before Adam (as) it is not proper that we lead (Imamate) any of his sons.” Hibtullah stood before Jibraeel (as) and prayed prayer of the dead. Jibraeel (as) stood behind him with a group of angels and recited thirty takbeers (Allahu Akbar). The Almighty Allah then commanded Jibraeel (as) to reduce 25 takbeers for the progeny of Adam (as).<br> Consequently, it is the practice among us to recite five takbeers, although the Holy Prophet (sw) has recited seven and nine takbeers for the martyrs of battle of Badr. Hibtullah buried Adam (as). Qabeel approached him and said, “I know my father has entrusted you specially with the knowledge that he kept away from me. And it is the same knowledge with which Habeel prayed and made his offering that was honored.<br> I killed him so that he would not have children to pride over my children. If you do not give me a little of that knowledge bequeathed by our father I shall kill you too.” Thus Hibtullah and his sons used to fervently guard the Prophetic knowledge and divine relics till the time of Nuh (as). During the time of Nuh (as) people were shown the will of Adam (as) and it was learnt that Adam (as) had prophesied the advent of Nuh (as).<br> The people believed in Nuh (as), testified to the veracity of his claim and obeyed him. Adam (as) had also commanded Hibtullah to read his will at the beginning of every year and renew their oath. That particular day became the day of Eid (feast) for them. They continued the ritual year after year. Every succeeding prophet made similar bequests till the advent of Prophet Muhammad (sw).<br> People recognized Nuh (as) through prior knowledge. And that is exactly the meaning of the verse: «Certainly, We sent Nuh to his people» (7:59). There were some Prophets between Adam (as) and Nuh (as) but they did not declare their Prophethood to the people. That is the reason why Quran is too silent about them and does not mention their names.<br> Some Prophets however declared their Prophethood as their names are stated in Quran: «And (We sent) apostles We have mentioned to you before and apostles we have not mentioned to you» (4:164). Imam (as) explains that Prophets mentioned by name were those who declared their Prophethood and Prophets not mentioned by name were those who kept their mission secret. Nuh (as) propagated religion among his people for 950 years. Nuh (as) did not have any assistant prophet. People rejected all the Prophets between Adam and Nuh (as), as mentioned by Allah: «The people of Nuh rejected the apostles» (26:105).<br> When the time of Nuh’s Prophethood approached its end, the Almighty sent a revelation to Nuh (as) and commanded him to bequeath the prophetic sciences, the relics and other trophies to his son. “Indeed, We shall never take away from the progeny of Saam the prophetic inheritance like I had caused it to remain from Adam (as) to your generation I shall never leave the earth devoid of a scholar from your progeny.<br> People will understand religion through him and he shall be the means of their salvation. Especially for the people who are born between the time of two Prophets. Hud (as) became the Prophet after Saam. There were some apparent as well as some concealed Prophets between Nuh and Hud (as). Nuh (as) had already predicted that Allah the Almighty shall send a Prophet by name of Hud (as).<br> “He shall invite his people towards Allah while they will reject him. So Allah will destroy the people. Therefore one who lives until that time must believe in him and follow him. The Almighty shall deliver you from His chastisement.” Nuh (as) commanded Saam to read this will and renew the vow at the beginning of each year on the day of Eid.<br> When Hud (as) arrived the people saw the will of Nuh (as) regarding him. So the people believed in him, confessed to his truth and followed him. They obtained security from divine punishment. Allah the Almighty says: «Ad gave the lie to the apostles. When their brother Hud said to them: Will you not guard (against evil)?» (26:123-124) And Allah says: «And to Aad (We sent) their brother Hud» (7:65).<br> Then He said: «And the same did Ibrahim enjoin on his sons and (so did) Yaqoob» (2:132). Then He said: «And We gave to him Ishaq and Yaqoob; each did We guide, and Nuh did We guide before» (6:84). Some from the progeny of Hud (as) were appointed to keep them informed about the advent of Ibrahim (as) and to take oaths regarding him.<br> There was a gap of ten generations between Hud and Ibrahim (as). Allah, the Mighty and Sublime says: «Nor are the people of Lut far off from you» (11:89). Allah also says: «And Lut believed in Him, and he said: I am fleeing to my Lord» (29:26). And the words of Ibrahim (as): «Surely I fly to my lord; He will guide me» (37:99).<br> All (ancestors of Ibrahim) were Prophets. Thus it is divine practice that between two great Prophets there is a gap of ten or nine or eight generations. All of them used to be Prophets and they used to prophesize the advent of the coming Prophet. They also took the vow from their legatees that they would believe and obey him.<br> All the Prophets took such oaths of fealty like Adam, Nuh, Salih, Shuaib and Ibrahim (as). This continued till the time of Yusuf (as). After Yusuf (as) it was transferred to the progeny of his brother, Asbat. The series reached Musa the son of Imran. Between Yusuf and Musa (as) also was a gap of ten generations.<br> Then Allah sent them towards Firon, Hamaan and Qaroon. The Almighty sent Prophets one after the other to every people: «Whenever there came to a people their apostle, they called him a liar, so We made some of them follow others and We made them stories» (23:44). People continued to reject the Prophets and continued to perish due to divine chastisement.<br> This continued till the time of Bani Israel. These people murdered as many as two, three or four Prophets every day. Sometimes as many as seventy Prophets were slain together and the Bani Israel did not care. They remained busy in their occupations all day.<br> When Torah was revealed on Musa (as) he gave glad-tidings of Prophet Muhammad (sw). Yusha bin Nun was the successor of Musa (as) and Qata was the successor of Yusha bin Nun. As mentioned in the Holy Quran: «And when Musa said to his servant: I will not cease until I reach the junction of the two rivers» (18:60).<br> Thus all the Prophets continued to prophesize the advent of Prophet Muhammad (sw). As mentioned by Allah in Quran: «Whom they find written down with them in the Taurat and the Injeel, (who) enjoins them good and forbids them evil» (7:157). And in the words of Isa (as): «And giving the good news of an Apostle who will come after me, his name being Ahmad» (61:6).<br> Thus Musa and Isa (as) had clearly prophesied about Prophet Muhammad (sw) just as the previous Prophets had informed about the Prophets to come after them. This continued till the time of Prophet Muhammad (sw). When the last moments of the Holy Prophet (sw) arrived the Almighty revealed to him to entrust all the knowledge and relics to Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) and promised that they shall remain in his progeny forever just as they had remained from the time of Adam (as).<br> And this is the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime: «Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of Imran above the nations. Offspring, one of the other; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing» (3:33-34). “Indeed Allah has not made the knowledge as ignorance. He did not leave the question of scholars in dark. He has provided express authentication for each Prophet or Imam.<br> And He has introduced them fully to the people. It has never been the case that Allah has created a person to be appointed as a Prophet on people and the people do not accept his authority and that he is not conversant with the divine commands and secrets of creation. Allah has never entrusted the affairs of this religion to a proximate angel or a Prophet.<br> He selects an angel as a messenger and through him conveys His likes and dislikes to the Prophet. He also conveys through this angel the past and future knowledge. So the Prophets learnt of this knowledge through their predecessors and the holy people and those who were specially selected by Allah.”<br> Allah, the Mighty and Sublime says: «Indeed We have given the book and wisdom to the progeny of Ibrahim (as). And gave them a great kingdom» (4:54). ‘Book’ denotes Prophethood, ‘Wisdom’ indicates the great intellectual position of those personalities. And all of them are from this progeny.<br> Some excelling over others. The Almighty Allah has appointed Prophethood among them and ordained that His message shall be conveyed and protected by these people alone. After Prophets, themselves, comes their progeny, their brothers and people of their family.<br> One who acts with faith in the message of these Prophets achieves salvation. But one who considers that the bearers of Allah’s message and holders of exalted station are not these personalities but some other non-deserving relatives, he has acted against the divine sciences without the medium of Prophets actually falsified Allah.<br> They have gone against the will and obedience of Allah. They have not acknowledged the repositories of the Divine message that Allah has appointed. Thus they are misguided souls and they misguide their followers. They shall have no excuse on Judgment Day (Qiyamat).<br> There is no proof except that of the progeny of Ibrahim (as). The Almighty Allah has said: «Indeed We have given the book and wisdom to the progeny of Ibrahim (as). And gave them a great kingdom» (4:54). The proof is only for the Prophets and their family, and it shall remain so till the day of Judgment.<br> As mentioned in the Book of Allah: «In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted and that His name may be remembered in them» (24:36). These are our houses and the houses of Prophets, guides and wise people.<br>This is the rope of faith by catching hold of which people before you achieved success. And through the same connection people would attain salvation in the future.<br>Indeed the Almighty has stated in His book: «And Nuh did we guide before, and of his descendants, Dawood and Sulaiman and Ayyub and Yusuf and Harun; and thus do we reward those who do good (to others). And Zakariya and Yahya and Isa and Ilyas; everyone was of the good; And Ismail and Al-Yasha and Yunus and Lut; and everyone we made to excel (in) the worlds; And from among their fathers and their descendants and their brethren, and we chose them and guided them to the right way.<br>This is Allah’s guidance, He guides thereby whom He pleases of His servants; and if they had set up others (with Him), certainly what they did would have become ineffectual for them. These are they to whom we gave the book and the wisdom and the prophecy; therefore if these disbelieve in it we have already entrusted with it a people who are not disbelievers in it» (6:84-89).<br>Thus even if the whole community rejects the Prophet, the people of his house (Ahlul Bayt) will remain firm in their faith and the message of Prophet. This is what the words of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime convey: «Therefore if these disbelieve in it We have already entrusted with it a people who are not disbelievers in it» (6:89).<br>They shall also be the legatees and successors of Prophets. They shall be the repositories of Divine sciences and under no circumstances would they be fallible. Neither shall they be contaminated with falsehood, evil designs and show-off.<br>There is no doubt in whatever Allah has stated regarding the successors of His Prophets. They are infallible and to love them is to recompense for the Prophet’s labor in conveying the Divine message.<br>They are bestowed with Wilayat and Imamate (Guardianship and guidance). They are the legatees of the Prophet. “O people! Derive lessons from this. Ponder upon my words. Align yourself with the knowledge and Imamate that Allah has bestowed upon us.<br>And attain salvation through these means. So that on the day of Judgment you would have proof, and gain success from it. These personalities are your intercessors with Allah. Your Wilayat shall not reach Allah but through them.<br>Thus it is incumbent on Allah to befriend and not punish those who act upon this. On the other hand it is certain that Allah shall degrade and punish those who do not act upon this.<br>The mission of some Prophets was confined to a particular group of people. And the Prophethood of other Prophets was general. Nuh (as) was sent for the people of the whole world. His Prophethood was general and included Messengership (Risalat).<br>Hud (as) was appointed specially for the people of Aad. Salih (as) was given the responsibility of guiding the people of Samood, a tiny village on the banks of a river. This hamlet consisted of only forty odd houses.<br>Shuaib (as) was designated as the Prophet for Madayn, a habitation of less than forty families. Initially the Prophethood of Ibrahim (as) was for the people of Kosariya, a district in Iraq. Later he migrated from there. But this migration was not due to war or conflict, As Allah, the Mighty and Sublime says: «Surely I fly to my lord, He will guide me» (37:99).<br>Thus the flight (Hijrah) of Ibrahim (as) was not due to war. Ishaq (as) was the Prophet after Ibrahim (as). Yaqoob (as) was appointed Prophet for the Canaan region. He later moved to Egypt and spent the rest of his life there.<br>But after his demise his mortal remains were brought to Canaan and buried there. As regards the dream of Yusuf (as) wherein he saw eleven stars and the Sun and Moon prostrating before him, it is certain that his Prophethood was for the people of Egypt.<br>He had twelve successors. Later, the Almighty appointed Musa and Harun (as) in Egypt. Yusha bin Nun was the vicegerent of Musa (as) for Bani Israel. There are many other Prophets in Bani Israel some of whom have been mentioned by Allah in Quran and some are not.<br>Then the Almighty sent Isa ibn Maryam for Bani Israel. His Prophethood was confined to the area of Baitul Muqaddas. Isa (as) had twelve disciples and the faith remained concealed in his family members.<br>After Isa (as) was raised to the heavens, the Almighty sent Prophet Muhammad (sw) for all the creatures. He was the final Prophet. He was also succeeded by twelve successors appointed by Allah.<br>We have seen some of them and some shall come in the future. This is an account of Prophethood and Messengership. Every Prophet of Bani Israel, whether special or general had twelve successors.<br>The practice of Isa’s twelve successors is replicated in the successorship of Muhammad (sw). The appointment of Ali (as) was on the practice of Isa (as). This is a brief account of Prophets and the Divine practice of sending Prophets and Messengers. Peace of Allah be upon all of them.<br>

Translation: Sayyid Athar Husain S. H. Rizvi — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.