Al-Kafi · Hadith 1

The Book on Dying People · Things that Believers and Unbelievers See in Dying Conditions · Volume 3, book 3, chapter 13, Hadith 1

Original Arabic text

1ـ عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنِ ابْنِ فَضَّالٍ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عُقْبَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ قَالَ لِي أَبُو عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ الْسَّلام) يَا عُقْبَةُ لاَ يَقْبَلُ الله مِنَ الْعِبَادِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِلاَّ هَذَا الأمْرَ الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ وَمَا بَيْنَ أَحَدِكُمْ وَبَيْنَ أَنْ يَرَى مَا تَقَرُّ بِهِ عَيْنُهُ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَبْلُغَ نَفْسُهُ إِلَى هَذِهِ ثُمَّ أَهْوَى بِيَدِهِ إِلَى الْوَرِيدِ ثُمَّ اتَّكَأَ وَكَانَ مَعِيَ الْمُعَلَّى فَغَمَزَنِي أَنْ أَسْأَلَهُ فَقُلْتُ يَا ابْنَ رَسُولِ الله فَإِذَا بَلَغَتْ نَفْسُهُ هَذِهِ أَيَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ يَرَى فَقُلْتُ لَهُ بِضْعَ عَشْرَةَ مَرَّةً أَيَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَقَالَ فِي كُلِّهَا يَرَى وَلاَ يَزِيدُ عَلَيْهَا ثُمَّ جَلَسَ فِي آخِرِهَا فَقَالَ يَا عُقْبَةُ فَقُلْتُ لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ فَقَالَ أَبَيْتَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَعْلَمَ فَقُلْتُ نَعَمْ يَا ابْنَ رَسُولِ الله إِنَّمَا دِينِي مَعَ دِينِكَ فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ دِينِي كَانَ ذَلِكَ كَيْفَ لِي بِكَ يَا ابْنَ رَسُولِ الله كُلَّ سَاعَةٍ وَبَكَيْتُ فَرَقَّ لِي فَقَالَ يَرَاهُمَا وَالله فَقُلْتُ بِأَبِي وَأُمِّي مَنْ هُمَا قَالَ ذَلِكَ رَسُولُ الله (صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) وَعَلِيٌّ (عَلَيْهِ الْسَّلام) يَا عُقْبَةُ لَنْ تَمُوتَ نَفْسٌ مُؤْمِنَةٌ أَبَداً حَتَّى تَرَاهُمَا قُلْتُ فَإِذَا نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِمَا الْمُؤْمِنُ أَ يَرْجِعُ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا فَقَالَ لاَ يَمْضِي أَمَامَهُ إِذَا نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِمَا مَضَى أَمَامَهُ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ يَقُولاَنِ شَيْئاً قَالَ نَعَمْ يَدْخُلاَنِ جَمِيعاً عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ فَيَجْلِسُ رَسُولُ الله (صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) عِنْدَ رَأْسِهِ وَعَلِيٌّ (عَلَيْهِ الْسَّلام) عِنْدَ رِجْلَيْهِ فَيُكِبُّ عَلَيْهِ رَسُولُ الله (صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) فَيَقُولُ يَا وَلِيَّ الله أَبْشِرْ أَنَا رَسُولُ الله إِنِّي خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِمَّا تَرَكْتَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ يَنْهَضُ رَسُولُ الله (صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) فَيَقُومُ عَلِيٌّ (عَلَيْهِ الْسَّلام) حَتَّى يُكِبَّ عَلَيْهِ فَيَقُولُ يَا وَلِيَّ الله أَبْشِرْ أَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ الَّذِي كُنْتَ تُحِبُّهُ أَمَا لأَنْفَعَنَّكَ ثُمَّ قَالَ إِنَّ هَذَا فِي كِتَابِ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قُلْتُ أَيْنَ جَعَلَنِيَ الله فِدَاكَ هَذَا مِنْ كِتَابِ الله قَالَ فِي يُونُسَ قَوْلُ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هَاهُنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكانُوا يَتَّقُونَ. لَهُمُ الْبُشْرى‏ فِي الْحَياةِ الدُّنْيا وَفِي الآخِرَةِ لا تَبْدِيلَ لِكَلِماتِ الله ذلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ.

Published English translation

1. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from ibn Faddal from Ali ibn ‘Uqbah from his father who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), once said, ‘O ‘Uqbah, Allah, on the Day of Judgment, will not accept anything other than what you believe in (following Ahl al-Bayt). No other thing stands between anyone of you, and the delight of the hearts, other than the time when one’s soul reaches this’ ( He (the Imam) pointed his hand toward his jugular vein). He then leaned against a pillow. Mu‘alla’ was with me and he made a gesture to ask the Imam more questions. I then said, ‘O child of the Messenger of Allah, when the soul reaches here, then what is it that the patient sees?’ I said it about ten times, ‘What?’ Every time he replied, ‘He sees’ and would not add anything more. At last he sat straight and said, ‘O ‘Uqbah.’ I replied, ‘Yes, here I am paying full attention.’ He said, ‘Is it necessary for you to know?’ I said, ‘Yes, O child of the Messenger of Allah, I must know. My religion is with your religion. If my religion is gone, how can I then live every hour?’ I wept and he sympathized and said, ‘He will see both of them.’ I then asked, ‘May Allah keep my soul in the service of your cause, who are the two of them?’ He replied, ‘The two are the Messenger of Allah and Ali, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, O ‘Uqbah, there is never a believing soul who does not see them.’ I then asked, ‘When a believing person sees them, does he then come back to the worldly life?’ He replied, ‘No, but he moves forward, when he sees them he moves forward.’ I then asked, ‘Do they say anything?’ He replied, ‘Yes, they both come to the believing person. The Messenger of Allah sits near his head and Ali near his feet. The Messenger of Allah leans over him and says, “O friend of Allah, good news for you. I am the Messenger of Allah and I am better for you than all that you have left in the world.” The Messenger of Allah then stands up and Ali (a.s.), leans over him saying, “O friend of Allah, good news for you. I am Ali, ibn abu Talib, whom you loved. I am certainly to benefit you.” The Imam then said, ‘This is in the book of Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious.’ I then asked, ‘May Allah keep my soul in the service of your cause, is this from the book of Allah?’ He said, ‘It is in Yunus Surah ten where the words of Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, say, “Those who have believed and have observed rules of faithfulness, there is good news for them in the worldly life and in the hereafter, there is no change in the words of Allah and this is the great success.’””( 10:64)

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: ضعيف على المشهور

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (3/286)

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
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