Anecdotes from the lives of
the 14 Ma’sumeen
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.)
One day Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and his followers went on a journey. After travelling for a long time they got tired, so they stopped for a rest.
They decided to make a small camp and cook some food.
One of the men said that he would go and kill a lamb so that they could cook it.
Another man said that he would remove the skin of the lamb before it was cooked.
Another said that he would light the fire and cook the meat.
Each one of the men said that he would do a certain job so that the work could be done quickly and fairly.
The Prophet (s.a.w) then said that he would collect and bring the firewood from the forest.
All the men told him that there was no need for him to do anything at all. They would do all the work.
The Prophet (s.a.w) told them that he knew that they could do the work, but Allah does not like for a person to sit and let other people do all the work.
The Prophet (s.a.w) also explained to them that although he was their Prophet he did not like to get special treatment from them. This is because Allah does not like a person to think that he is better than other people.
When we sit back and let other people do the work, it makes us lazy. We should all share in any work that needs to be done, so that it can be done quickly and easily.
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was sitting in the mosque in Madina giving a talk to some of his followers while they were waiting for Salaat time to set in.
A rich man wearing expensive clothes came and sat in front of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) to listen to his talk.
Meanwhile another man who had also came to listen to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) sat down beside the rich man.
The second man was not rich, in fact he was quite poor. The old and torn clothes he was wearing showed just how poor he was.
The rich man did not like for the poor man to sit next to him. He pulled his nice, new, expensive clothes closer to himself, so that they would not be touched by the dirty, old, torn clothes of the poor man.
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w) noticed what the rich man had done and was upset and disappointed. He asked the rich man why he had done this? Was it because he thought that some of his wealth might go to the poor man, or was it because he thought some of the poverty of the poor man might come to him.
The rich man, who was not a bad person, realised what he had done was wrong and was truly sorry.
To make up for his mistake and to show how sorry he was, the rich man after apologising to the poor man, offered him half of all his wealth.
The poor man told the rich man that he accepted his apology and forgave him, but did not want half of his wealth as he did not want to get something without having worked for it.
Moral :
1. In the eyes of Allah how rich or poor a person is makes no difference. The person who is closest to Allah is the one who obeys Him in every action.
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was a very kind person and he never got angry even when people were very naughty.
There was one old woman who was very bad. She used to throw rubbish on the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) whenever he passed her house.
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) used to have to pass her house every morning when he went to the mosque and every morning this naughty old woman used to throw her rubbish on him but he never ever got angry with her.
One day when the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was passing the old woman's house, she did not throw rubbish on him. He stopped and asked the old woman's neighbour if she was all right because she was not there to throw rubbish on him.
The neighbour told him that the old woman was not well and she was in bed. So the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) went to see the old woman because it is good to go and see people who are not well and ask them if they need anything.
When the old woman saw the Holy Prophet (s.a.w), she thought he had come to tell her off and she said "why did you wait until I was ill to tell me off, why didn't you come when I was well and strong?"Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) told the old woman that he had not come to tell her off but to see and look after her because she was not well and Allah tells us to look after people who are not well.
The old woman was so surprised that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was being so kind to her after she had been so mean to him, that she decided from then on to listen to him and she became a Muslim.
One day Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was on a journey and very tired, so he sat down under a tree to rest.
A bad man seeing that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was alone thought it was a good time to kill him quickly and quietly. He went towards the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) with his sword out in front of him.
He asked the Holy Prophet (s.a.w): "Tell me who can help you now?"
"Allah," answered the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) calmly.
When the bad man saw how calm and sure the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was that Allah would help him, he became frightened and the sword fell from his hand.
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) picked up the sword and asked: "Now you tell me who is there to save you?"
"No-one" answered the man.
"No, you are wrong, the same Allah will help you also," said the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) and then he let the man go.
When the man heard this he became a Muslim.
Lady Fatimah (s.a)
Bibi Fatimah Zahra (s.a) was born to Bibi Khadija (A) and the Prophet (s.a.w). Before her birth, the Prophet (s.a.w) had had two sons, Qasim and Tahir, but both boys had died when they were babies.
The Prophet (s.a.w) had started teaching the message of Islam and had made many enemies. As a result, some of the unbelievers began to make fun of him at the death of his sons, calling him "Abtar".
The word Abtar means an animal who has no tail - and was meant to say that the Prophet (s.a.w) was tail-less because he had no children to carry on his family.
Thus, when Bibi Fatimah (s.a) was born, the following Sura of the Holy Qur'an was revealed:
"In the Name of Allah, the most Kind, the most Merciful.Verily (O Muhammad), We have given you Kauthar.So pray to your Lord and give sacrifice.Verily, your enemies will be Abtar." Surah al-Kauthar, (108:1-3)
When the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was asked what Kauthar meant, he replied that it was a stream in heaven and the man who would give water from that stream to the believers was Imam Ali (a.s).
He then said that Kawthar also meant abundance, and the birth of Bibi Fatimah (s.a) signified that, through her, his descendants would be in abundance.
The promise of Allah was certainly true because today, there are countless descendants of the Prophet (s.a.w), (Sayyids) while there is nobody who claims to be a descendant of the Quraish. Thus the enemies of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) were those who became truly "Abtar".
This Surah in the Holy Qur'an is thus a reference to Bibi Fatimah (s.a).
Moral :
1. You should never think that you have more than someone else, because there might come a time when that person has more than you. Remember it is through the blessing of Allah that you have what you have.
Once when Imam Hasan (a.s) and Imam Husain (a.s) were children they both fell ill. Their parents Imam Ali (a.s) and Bibi Fatimah (s.a) were very sad to see them ill.
When the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) found out about the illness he suggested that both his daughter Bibi Fatimah (s.a) and his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali (a.s) should keep Nazr.
Nazr is a promise that you make to Allah. Something that you will do extra for the pleasure of Allah if your wish comes true.
Imam Ali (a.s) and Bibi Fatimah (s.a) made a nazr that they would fast three days upon the recovery of their children.
Allah accepted their nazr and both Imam Hasan (a.s) and Imam Husain (a.s) recovered from their illness.
Their parents decided to fast the next day to fulfil their nazr and when the children came to know of this they also decided to fast. Their maid Bibi Fizza, who loved the children very much also decided to fast.
On the first day of the fasting, Bibi Fatimah prepared 5 loaves of bread to break their fast with.
In the evening when the time for Salaat set in they all prayed then sat down to break their fast. Just as they were about to eat their loaves of bread there was a knock on the door. There stood a poor man asking for something to eat.
All of them, one by one gave their loaf of bread to the beggar. And had just water instead.
The next day all of them again fasted. Again they were to break their fast with a loaf of bread each which had been baked that morning.
And again as they were about to eat their loaf there was a knock on the door. This time it was an orphan asking for food.
Although they themselves were two days hungry they all happily gave their loaf of bread to the orphan and again slept without any food.
On the third day of their fast as they sat down to break their fast, a prisoner knocked at the door asking for food.
Although by now the family were very hungry as they had not eaten for three days, they again gave away their loaves.
Sura Ad-Dahr in the Holy Qur'an was revealed in praise of the sacrifice made by this family.
Moral :
1. Nazr is very powerful.
2. Always think of others before yourself.
3. It is not how much you give to others that is important but the intention with which you give: i.e. "Qurbatan Ilallah" which means to get closer to Allah.
Bibi Fatima az-Zahra (s.a) used to work very hard in her house. Her father our Holy Prophet, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) could see how hard she worked.
So one day he told her that he was going to give her something that would be better than a helper or anything else in the world.
Do you know what he gave her?
He gave her Tasbeeh.
He told her that after every Salaat she should say :
Allahu Akbar - 34 times
Alhamdulillah - 33 times
Subhanallah - 33 times
This is what we call the Tasbeeh of Bibi Fatima az-Zahra (s.a)
The Salaat is like a beautiful flower and the Tasbeeh of Bibi Fatima (s.a) gives that beautiful flower a beautiful smell.
So after every Salaat we should say the Tasbeeh of Bibi Fatima az-Zahra (s.a) because we want our Salaat to be like a beautiful flower with a beautiful smell.
Once an old poor man came to the house of Bibi Fatima (s.a) and asked her for help.
Bibi Fatima (s.a) had nothing to give to the old man except the necklace that her cousin had given to her. She took it off and gave it to the old man, telling him to sell the necklace and use the money.
A man called Ammar who was a friend of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) bought the necklace from the old man and gave him:- some food, some clothes, a horse and some money.
Ammar then sent his servant to the house of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) and told him to tell the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) that he had sent the necklace and the servant as a gift.
When the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) heard this, he sent the servant and the necklace to Bibi Fatima (s.a) as a gift. Bibi Fatima (s.a) thanked the servant for bringing the necklace and gave him his freedom.
What a special necklace! It provided food, clothes, a horse, money, freed a man, and finally came back to its owner!
Moral :
1. You should give whatever you have to people who need it and Allah will give you more in return.
Imam Ali (a.s)
In the time of the Prophet (s.a.w) the idol worshippers of Makka were very angry with him. They wanted to kill him.
Allah had told the Prophet (s.a.w) about the plan of the idol worshippers to murder him and so he decided to move to Madina.
The idol worshippers chose 40 of their bravest men and told them to go to the Prophet's (s.a.w) house and kill him.
That night the Prophet (s.a.w) left for Madina, but before he left he asked Imam Ali (a.s) if he would sleep in his bed so that the idol worshippers outside would think that he, the Prophet (s.a.w) was there.
Imam Ali (a.s) was very happy to do this for the Prophet (s.a.w). In fact Imam Ali (a.s) said that the best sleep that he had ever had was on that night.
When the killers came into the Prophet's (s.a.w) house and pulled off the blanket they saw Imam Ali (a.s) there, and so they left angrily.
Moral :
1. When you do something purely for Islam, then Allah helps you.
2. Everyone can plan but only what Allah wants will happen.
In the battle of Khandaq, the Muslims dug a ditch around themselves for their defence, so that the enemy could not get across.
A man from the enemy side called Amr bin Abdawud who was known for his strength, courage and art of fighting managed to get across the ditch.
All the Muslims were terrified to fight him and only Imam Ali (a.s) came forward to fight this man.
There was a fierce fight until at last Imam Ali (a.s) threw Amr down onto the ground and mounted his chest ready to kill him.
Just as Imam Ali (a.s) was about to kill this enemy of Islam, he spat on the face of our Imam (a.s).
Everybody was certain that because of this insult, Amr would meet his death even faster still, but to their amazement, Imam Ali (a.s) moved from Amr's chest and walked away.
Amr attacked Imam (a.s) again and after a short while, Imam (a.s) again overpowered Amr and killed him.
After the battle was over people asked Imam Ali (a.s) the reason why he had spared Amr's life when he had first overpowered him.
To which Imam (a.s) replied that if he had killed him then it would have not been only for the sake of Allah but also for the satisfaction of his anger and so he let him free.
Then Imam (a.s) controlled his anger and killed Amr purely for the sake of Allah.
Moral :
1. Although your intention may be pure to begin with it can very easily change so always make sure you do things for the sake of Allah only.
Fatima binte Asad (the mother of Imam Ali) went to the Ka'ba and prayed to Allah that the baby she was going to have would be born safely.
She was standing near the wall opposite the door of the Ka'ba, praying to Allah when suddenly there was a crack in the wall near her. The crack became bigger and bigger until it was big enough for Fatima binte Asad to go through it and enter the Ka'ba.
When Fatima binte Asad had entered the Ka'ba, the crack began to get smaller and smaller. This crack is still there to this day on the wall of the Ka'ba.
Some people who had been near the Ka'ba saw what had happened and started telling other people. Now these people wanted to see what was happening inside the Ka'ba, so they went and got the keys of the door of the Ka'ba. But the door would not open.
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) had been away when all this happened. When he came back from his trip and went to the Ka'ba, the lock on the door of the Ka'ba fell open all on its own and Fatima binte Asad came out holding her new little baby - Imam Ali (a.s).
When Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) held Imam Ali (a.s), he opened his eyes for the first time. So the first thing Imam Ali (a.s) ever saw was the face of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w).
Imam Ali (a.s) is the only person ever to be born in the Ka'ba.
One day our 1st Imam, Imam Ali (a.s) went to the market with his servant, Qambar. There he bought 2 shirts, one which was really nice and expensive and the other which was not as nice.
When Imam Ali (a.s) returned home he gave the better shirt to Qambar and kept the other one for himself.
Qambar told Imam Ali (a.s) that it would look better if he wore the nicer shirt as he was the leader of the Muslims while Qambar himself was only a servant.
Imam Ali (a.s) answered that Qambar should wear the nicer shirt because he was younger and so it would suit him better; but more importantly Imam (a.s) told him that he was a guide for the Muslims and so had to set a good example for them by leading a simple life.
Moral :
1. You should always give away the nicer thing.
2. You should be happy with a few simple things and not want so many things.
Imam Hasan (a.s)
Once a maid of our 2nd Imam, Imam Hasan (a.s) dropped ahot bowl of soup on Imam (a.s).
She was very scared because she thought the Imam (a.s) would be angry and punish her.
She immediately recited the Ayah:"..Those who control (their) anger ..."
Imam Hasan (a.s) smiled and said he was not angry.
Then she recited the next part of the Ayah:"..And are forgiving towards people ..."
Imam Hasan (a.s) said he had forgiven her.
She then finished the Ayah :"..Allah loves those who do good ..."
Imam Hasan (a.s) told her she was free.
The above Ayah is from the Holy Qur'an:Surah Aali Imraan (3), verse 134.
Moral :
The Holy Qur'an is not just there to read but to learn from and act upon. It is the word of Allah and teaches us everything we need to know if only we understood it.
Once a follower of Mu'awiyah came to Madina. When he saw our 2nd Imam, Imam Hasan (a.s) he started to shout names and use foul language at the Imam (a.s), because Mu'awiyah had told him horrible things about Imam (a.s).
The followers of Imam Hasan (a.s) wanted to punish the man for what he had said but Imam (a.s) told them to leave him alone.
Imam Hasan (a.s) then turned to the man and greeted him with "Salaam" after which Imam asked the man if he would like to come to his house for food and a rest as he had just come from a long trip.
When the man saw the Akhlaq of Imam (a.s), he realised that what Mu'awiyah had told him about the Imam (a.s) was untrue and he felt very ashamed of how he had spoken.
The man asked Imam (a.s) for forgiveness. Thereafter, whenever he heard anyone saying anything against Imam Hasan (a.s) he would correct them.
Moral :
1. Never get angry at someone when they are angry - It takes two people to start a fight.
2. No matter how other people act you should always have perfect akhlaq.
3. Never believe bad things about other people that you have heard.
One day our 2nd Imam, Imam Hasan (a.s) was eating when a dog came and stood in front of him, looking at him hungrily.
Imam Hasan (a.s) gave some of his food to the dog, who ate it up and again looked up at him, so Imam (a.s) threw another little bit of food to the dog.
A man who was passing by came forward to shoo the dog away, so that Imam (a.s) could eat in peace.
Imam Hasan (a.s) told the man to leave the dog alone as Allah had made the dog just as He has made all of us and loves the animals just as He loves us all.
Moral :
1. Be kind to animals as they also have been made by Allah and are loved by Allah just as we all are.
Our 2nd Imam, Imam Hasan (a.s) was always very kind to the poor.
One day, Imam Hasan (a.s) was walking down the road when he came across some poor people sitting on the ground eating their food, which was dry bread.
When the poor people saw Imam Hasan (a.s), they asked him to join them. Imam (a.s) sat down on the ground and ate the dry bread with them.
When they had finished Imam (a.s) got up to leave but before he went he thanked the poor people for sharing their food with him and asked them all to come to his house for food.
They accepted. When the poor people arrived at Imam Hasan's (a.s) house they were given the finest food and the greatest respect by Imam (a.s).
Moral :
1. If someone gives you something, take it saying thank you even if you do not really want it.
2. Always try to give people more than they give you.
