Letters ( revised ) | THE NINETEENTH LETTER | 145
(111-259)
Later he brought milk in a wooden bowl that would have been sufficent for only three or four persons. They all drank their fill.[107]

A miracle of plenty as definite as ‘Ali’s courage and loyalty!

E l e v e n t h   E x a m p l e : According to an authentic narration,  on the occasion of ‘Ali’s marriage to Fatima al-Zahra, The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings  and  peace)  ordered  Bilal al-Habashi:  “Have  bread  made  from  a few handfuls of flour; also slaughter a young camel!” Bilal relates: “I brought the food and he put his hand on it to bless it. Later, the Companions arrived in groups, ate, and left. From the remaining food, he sent a full bowl to each of his wives, saying that they should eat and feed anyone who visited them.”[108]

Such blessed plenty was indeed necessary for such a blessed marriage!

T w e l f t h   E x a m p l e : Imam  Ja‘far al-Sadiq  related  from  his father Muhammad al-Baqir, and he from his father, Zayn al-‘Abidin, and he from ‘Ali, that Fatima al-Zahra had prepared enough food for herself and ‘Ali. She then sent ‘Ali to invite the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) to come and eat with them. God’s Messenger (UWBP) came and told them to send a dish of food to each of his wives. Fatima said that after a dish of food had been set aside for himself,

‘Ali,  Fatima,  and  their  children,  they  lifted  up  the  saucepan  and  it  was  full  to overflowing. Through God’s will, they ate of the food for a long time afterwards.[109]

Why do you not believe this miracle of increase just as if you had witnessed it with   your  own  eyes,   since   it  comes  from  this   luminous,   elevated   chain  of transmission? Satan himself could find no excuse in the face of this one!

              T h i r t e e n t h   E x a m p l e : Veracious authorities such as Abu Da’ud, Ahmad b. Hanbal, and Bayhaqi, narrate from Dukayn al-Ahmasi b. Sa‘id al-Muzayn, and from Nu‘man b. Muqarrin al-Ahmasi al-Muzayn, who with his six brothers was honoured  with the Prophet’s (UWBP) conversation and was a Companion,  and by way of Jarir through numerous chains of transmission from ‘Umar b. al-Khattab, that God’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) ordered ‘Umar b. al- Khattab: “Equip  four hundred horsemen from the Ahmasi tribe with provisions for a journey!”


------------------------------

[107] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 293; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, i, 607; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’, iii, 36; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, viii, 302-3; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Fada’il al-Sahaba (Tahqiq: Wasiyyullah), 1220; Musnad, i, 159.

[108] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 297; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, i, 613; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, iii, 160.

[109] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 294; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, i, 608; Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya, iv, 73, no: 4001.

No Voice

Letters ( revised )