Al-Kafi · Hadith 4

The Book on Dying People · Dictations to a Dying Person · Volume 3, book 3, chapter 9, Hadith 4

Original Arabic text

4ـ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنِ النَّضْرِ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ الْكُوفِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الْحَضْرَمِيِّ قَالَ مَرِضَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِي فَأَتَيْتُهُ عَائِداً فَقُلْتُ لَهُ يَا ابْنَ أَخِي إِنَّ لَكَ عِنْدِي نَصِيحَةً أَ تَقْبَلُهَا فَقَالَ نَعَمْ فَقُلْتُ قُلْ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ الله وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ فَشَهِدَ بِذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ إِنَّ هَذَا لاَ تَنْتَفِعُ بِهِ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنْكَ عَلَى يَقِينٍ فَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ مِنْهُ عَلَى يَقِينٍ فَقُلْتُ قُلْ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ فَشَهِدَ بِذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ إِنَّ هَذَا لاَ تَنْتَفِعُ بِهِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ مِنْكَ عَلَى يَقِينٍ فَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ مِنْهُ عَلَى يَقِينٍ فَقُلْتُ قُلْ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ عَلِيّاً وَصِيُّهُ وَهُوَ الْخَلِيفَةُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَالإِمَامُ الْمُفْتَرَضُ الطَّاعَةِ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ فَشَهِدَ بِذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ إِنَّكَ لَنْ تَنْتَفِعَ بِذَلِكَ حَتَّى يَكُونَ مِنْكَ عَلَى يَقِينٍ فَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ مِنْهُ عَلَى يَقِينٍ ثُمَّ سَمَّيْتُ الأئِمَّةَ رَجُلاً رَجُلاً فَأَقَرَّ بِذَلِكَ وَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى يَقِينٍ فَلَمْ يَلْبَثِ الرَّجُلُ أَنْ تُوُفِّيَ فَجَزِعَ أَهْلُهُ عَلَيْهِ جَزَعاً شَدِيداً قَالَ فَغِبْتُ عَنْهُمْ ثُمَّ أَتَيْتُهُمْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَرَأَيْتُ عَرَاءً حَسَناً فَقُلْتُ كَيْفَ تَجِدُونَكُمْ كَيْفَ عَزَاؤُكِ أَيَّتُهَا الْمَرْأَةُ فَقَالَتْ وَالله لَقَدْ أُصِبْنَا بِمُصِيبَةٍ عَظِيمَةٍ بِوَفَاةِ فُلاَنٍ رَحِمَهُ الله وَ كَانَ مِمَّا سَخَا بِنَفْسِي لِرُؤْيَا رَأَيْتُهَا اللَّيْلَةَ فَقُلْتُ وَمَا تِلْكَ الرُّؤْيَا قَالَتْ رَأَيْتُ فُلاَناً تَعْنِي الْمَيِّتَ حَيّاً سَلِيماً فَقُلْتُ فُلاَنٌ قَالَ نَعَمْ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ أَ مَا كُنْتَ مِتَّ فَقَالَ بَلَى وَلَكِنْ نَجَوْتُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ لَقَّنِّيهَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَلَوْ لاَ ذَلِكَ لَكِدْتُ أَهْلِكُ.

Published English translation

4. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Husayn ibn Sa‘id from al-Nadr ibn Suwayd from Dawud ibn Sulayman al-Kufiy, from abu Bakr al-Hadramiy who has said the following: “A man from my family fell ill and I went to visit him and told him, ‘Son of my brother, I have an advice for you and I hope you accept it.’ He said, ‘I accept it.’ I then asked him to say, ‘It is only Allah who must be worshipped and He has no partner.’ He then testified to this fact. I then said, ‘This will not be of any benefit unless you are certain about it.’ He said that he is certain about it. I then asked him to say, ‘I testify that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.’ He then testified to this fact also. I then said that this would not benefit you unless you are certain about it. He said that he is certain about it. I then asked him to say, ‘I testify that Ali is the executor of the will of the Messenger of Allah, his successor and the Imam who after the Messenger of Allah must be obeyed.’ He testified to such facts. I then said that this would not benefit you unless you are certain about it. He said that he was certain about it. I then mentioned all ’A’immah one by one. He testified and said that he is certain about them. Not very long thereafter, he passed away. His family began to cry intensely and mourn for him. I then left them and after a while visited, offered them my condolences, inquired as how they have been and asked the woman (of the house) how she was. She said, ‘His death was a great loss for us and very difficult to bear - may Allah grant him mercy - of things that provided relief for me was that one night I saw a dream.’ I then asked, ‘What did you see in your dream?’ She said, ‘I saw him - the deceased - living and sound. I asked him, “Did you not die?” He replied, ‘Yes, I died but I was saved by the words that abu Bakr dictated to me. Were it not for those words I would have (most certainly) been destroyed.””

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: حسن

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (3/277)

Assessment transcribed from the source's named scholar and reference. No new grading or consensus is asserted; differing entries remain separate.

Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi: Catalogue non-inclusion note (not an authenticity grade)

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī

Source records non-inclusion in this scholar's selection; this is not itself a weak or authentic grade.

Source, rights, and attribution

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edition: Al-Kafi, volume 3, Thaqalayn digital edition / Muhammad Sarwar translation
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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
source Revision: becbad600b693ce23735d7403c4126ce7c896d34
content Hash: 73b1076f2dde126dc8c8446e2b300eb4d85991abf243ff00aeaad01c47c3555a
source File Hash: c1963d9c5ae304c52e135f93552237f5ab876e0b12123bbc2d513a90dbd36cc2
original Source Url: https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/1/3/9/4
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