Hadith 166

(The book) ‘Nahj All Balagah’ –
‘From a letter of his-asws to two commanders from the commanders of his-asws army: ‘Upon you both and upon the ones in your domain, Malik Bin Al-Ashtar (as commander), so listen to him and obey and make him to be an armour and a shield, for he is from the ones I-asws neither fear his weakness, nor his stumbling, nor his delaying from what the quickness is more appropriate, nor quickness to what the delaying from it is more appropriate’’. [46]
And it has been reported, ‘(Al-Ashtar) said, when Ali-asws made the sons of Al-Abbas to be governors upon Al-Hijaz and Al-Yemen and Al-Iraq, ‘So, why did we fight the sheykh (Usman) yesterday? ’ And Ali-asws, when these words reached him-asws presented him and was kind to him and excused to him, and said to him: ‘Have I-asws made a governor of Hassan-asws, or Husayn-asws, or anyone from the sons of Ja’far-as my-asws brother-as, or Aqeel, or anyone from his sons? And rather, I-asws have made the sons of my-asws uncle Al-Abbas to be governors because I-asws had heard Al Abbas seeking the governance from Rasool-Allah-saww repeatedly. So, Rasool-Allah-saww said to him: ‘O uncle! The governance, if you were to seek it, you will be allocated to it, and if it seeks you, you will be fatigued upon it’. And I-asws saw his sons during the days of Umar and Usman feeling within themselves that others from the sons of the freed ones (of Makkah) are being made governors and not one of them is made a governor, so I-asws loved to connect their relationship and remove what was in their selves. And afterwards if you come to know of anyone who is better than them, then come to me-asws with him’. So, Al-Ashtar went out and that which was in his self, was removed’. And it has been reported by the narrators of Ahadeeth, pointing upon the great merit of Al-Ashtar, and it is the conclusive testimony from the Prophet-saww that he is trustworthy’’. [47]
And this Hadeeth has been reported by Abu Umar Bin Abdul Birr in the book ‘Al Istiyab’, in the letter ‘Jeem’ in the chapter of Jundab (Abu Zarr-ra), Abu Umar said, ‘When the death presented to Abu Zarr-ra, and he-ra was at Al-Rabza, his-ra wife, Umm Zarr, cried. She said, ‘He-ra said to me, ‘What makes you cry? ’ She said, ‘Why should I not cry and you-ra are dying in a wilderness of the earth, and there is neither any cloth in my possession to be capacious enough as a shroud, nor is there any escape for me from the standing with your-ra funeral preparations? ’
He-ra said, ‘Receive glad tidings and do not cry, for I-ra have heard Rasool-Allah-saww saying: ‘No two sons will be