Hadith 147

This is the last word of Muhammad Bin Muhammad Al-Gazaly’. I (Majlisi) am saying, ‘And Umar Al-Zahid, and his name is Muhammad Bin Abdul Wahid, mentioned in his book by his chain that Ali-asws Bin Abu Talib-asws said: ‘O Abu Abbas! When you have prayed Al-Isha Salat the last, join me-asws to Al-Jabban (graveyard)! ’ I prayed and joined him-asws, and it was a moonlit night’. He said, ‘He-asws said to me: ‘What is the interpretation of (the letter) ‘Alif’ from (the word) ‘Al Hamd’? ’
He said, ‘I did not know of any word I could answer him-asws with’. He said, ‘He-asws spoke in its interpretation for a complete hour’. He said, ‘Then he-asws said to me: ‘So what is the interpretation of the (letter) ‘laam’ from (the word) ‘Al Hamd’? ’
He said, ‘I said, ‘I don’t know’. So he-asws spoke in its interpretation for a complete hour’. He said, ‘Then he-asws said: ‘So what is the interpretation of the (letter) ‘Meem’ from ‘Al Hamd’? ’
I said, ‘I don’t know’. He said, ‘He spoke regarding it for a complete hour’. He said, ‘Then he-asws said: ‘What is the interpretation of the (letter) ‘Daal’ from (the word) ‘Al Hamd’? ’
He said, ‘I said, ‘I don’t know’. He said, ‘He-asws spoke regarding it until the pillars of dawn were raised’. He said, ‘He-asws said to me: ‘Arise, Abu Abbas, to go to your home and prepare for your obligations’. Abu Al-Abbas, Abdullah Bin Al-Abbas, said, ‘I stood up, and I had retained all what he-asws had said. Then I contemplated, the comparison of my knowledge of the Quran compared to knowledge of Ali-asws, was like a well compared to the ocean’’. And Abu Umar Al-Zahid said, ‘Abdullah Bin Masoud said to us one day, ‘Had I known of anyone who is more knowledgeable than me with the Book of Allah-azwj Mighty and Majestic, I would have struck reins of the camel to go to him’. Alqamah said, ‘A man from the circle said, ‘Have you met Ali-asws? ’
He said, ‘Yes, I have met him-asws, and taken from him-asws, and benefitted from him-asws, and recited to him-asws, and he-asws was best of the people and their most knowledgeable after Rasool-Allah-saww, and I have seen him-asws being (like) a flowing, gushing torrent (of knowledge)! ’
Ali Bin Musa Bin Tawoos said, and he mentioned Muhammad Bin Al-Hassan Bin Ziyad, well known as ‘Al-Naqqash’, in the first volume of interpretation of the Quran which he named as ‘Shafa’a Al Sadour’, what this is its wording, ‘And Ibn Abbas said, ‘Most of what I learned from interpretation (of the Quran) is from Ali Bin Abu Talib-asws’. And Al-Naqqash said as well in reverence of Ibn Abbas to our Master Ali-asws, what this is its wording, ‘Abu Bakr informed us saying, ‘It is narrated to us by Muhammad Bin Ali. He said, ‘It is narrated to us by Suweyd who said, ‘It is narrated to us by Ali Bin Al-Husayn Bin Waqid, from his father from Al-Kalby. Ibn Ayyash said, ‘And from what I found in its original, ‘And the eyesight of Ibn Abbas was gone from the frequency of his crying upon Ali-asws Bin Abu Talib-asws’. And Al-Naqqash mention, what this is its wording, ‘And Ibn Abbas said, ‘Ali-asws knew knowledge Rasool-Allah-saww had taught him-asws, and Rasool-Allah-saww was taught by Ali-azwj. The Prophet-saww learned from the Knowledge of Allah-azwj, and Ali-asws learned from knowledge of the Prophet-saww, and my knowledge is from knowledge of Ali-asws, and what is my knowledge and knowledge of companions of Muhammad-saww compared to Ali-asws except like a drop in seven oceans’. Detail – And it is reported by Al-Naqqash as well, a Hadeeth interpreting the wording of ‘Al Hamd’. He said after his chain of attribution from Ibn Abbas having said, ‘Ali-asws said to me: ‘O Abu Abbas! When you have prayed Al Isha the last, then join me to Al Jabana (graveyard)’. He (Ibn Abbas) said, ‘I prayed and joined him and it was a moonlit night’. He (Ibn Abbas) said, ‘He-asws said to me: ‘What is interpretation of (the letter) ‘Alif’ from (the word) ‘Al Hamd’, and (surah) Al Hamd altogether? ’
He (Ibn Abbas) said, ‘I did not know any letter from it I could answer him-asws’. He (Ibn Abbas) said, ‘He-asws spoke in its interpretation for a complete hour, then said to me: ‘So what is interpretation of the (letter) ‘Laam’ from (the word) ‘Al Hamd’? ’’
He (Ibn Abbas) said, ‘I said, ‘I don’t know’. He (Ibn Abbas) said, ‘He-asws spoke in its interpretation for a complete hour, then said, ‘So what is interpretation of (the letter) ‘Ha’ from (the word) ‘Al Hamd’? ’
He (Ibn Abbas) said, ‘I said, ‘I don’t know’. He (Ibn Abbas) said,