Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Amr bin Murrah Sulami narrates that Ash'ath bin Qais came to the mosque and sat down next to Ka'b bin Ujrah and placed one of his feet over the other. Hazrat Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, "Put it down, for this posture is not appropriate for a human being."

Abu Khalid narrates that I went to Hazrat Umar with a delegation. He gave preference to the people of Shaam over us in rewards and gifts. We mentioned this to him, so he said: O people of Kufa! You are troubled because of your distance that I have given preference to the people of Shaam over you, but I have also given you superiority and preference in the form of Abdullah bin Masood (may Allah be pleased with him).

Munzir narrates that I was with Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah when I saw him restlessly turning sides on his bed and taking deep breaths. His wife said to him, "What is it about your enemy Abdullah bin Zubair that has made you so restless?" He replied, "By Allah! I am not distressed because Ibn Zubair is an enemy of Allah, but what worries me is what will happen tomorrow in Allah's sanctuary!" He says that then he raised his hands towards the sky and said: "O Allah! You know that I knew, from the knowledge You granted me, that he would be killed and taken out of this sanctuary, and that his head would be paraded in cities or markets."

Qais bin Abad narrates that I set out towards Madinah in search of virtue and knowledge. I saw a man who was wearing a beautiful garment, and he placed his hands on the shoulders of Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). I asked the people, "Who is this man?" The people replied, "This is Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) bin Abi Talib."

Hakeem bin Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was besieged, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went to Hazrat Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was reclining against cushions in his house. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I beseech you by Allah to restrain the people from the Commander of the Faithful." Hazrat Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "This cannot happen until he gives them retribution for their lives."

Abu Ishaq Saeed bin Wahb or his nephew Abdur Rahman narrate that they heard Mukhtar saying that only two yards of turban remain from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), then he will become manifest. He says, I asked, "Why do you mislead people?" He replied, "Let me make people familiar."

Hakeem bin Jabir narrates that on the day of the Battle of Jamal, I heard Hazrat Talha bin Ubaidullah saying: "We showed leniency in the matter of Hazrat Uthman's leadership; now, for us, there is no option left except to exceed all bounds in supporting him."

Sha’bi narrates that when reconciliation took place between Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, Hasan intended to return to Madinah. Muawiyah said to him, “You will not leave until you address the people.” Sha’bi says that after this, I heard Hasan on the pulpit; he praised and glorified Allah, then said: “To proceed! The greatest wisdom is to adopt piety, and the greatest humility is to commit sins. Indeed, this leadership over which there was disagreement between me and Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was my right, which I have relinquished for Muawiyah, or it was the right of someone who was more deserving of it than me. And I have done this for the protection of your lives, and I do not know—perhaps this matter is a trial for you and a means of benefit for a time.”

Abu al-Duha narrates that Abu Ja'far said: O Allah! I declare disassociation before You from Mughira and Bayan.

Samit narrates from Hazrat Ka'b that he said: In every era, there are separate kings. When Allah Almighty intends good for a people, He appoints righteous people as their kings, and when He intends evil for a people, He appoints wicked people as their kings.

Maisarah narrates that boys or girls used to pass by me who belonged to those people whom Hajjaj had expelled to the villages. They would ask people: "Who is your Lord?" People would reply, "Allah." They would ask: "Who is your Prophet?" People would reply, "Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." Then they would say: "By Allah, besides whom there is no deity, whoever I see fighting alongside Hajjaj, I will fight against Hajjaj along with him."

Yazid narrates that Abu Al-Bakhtari saw a man turning his back and fleeing in battle. He said: The heat of the fire of Hell is more severe than the heat of the sword.

Husain says that I saw Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila encouraging people to fight during the days of Jamajim.

Abu Al-Ala narrates that people said to Mutarrif: "This is Abdur Rahman bin Ash'ath coming." Mutarrif said: "By Allah! He has attacked between two matters: if he prevails, the religion of Allah will not be established; and if he is defeated, you will remain humiliated until the Day of Resurrection."

Ata bin Saib says that more than one person informed me that one of the judges of Syria came to Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, "O Commander of the Faithful! I have seen a dream that has made me anxious." He asked, "What did you see?" He replied, "I saw the sun and the moon fighting, and under their authority, the stars were also divided into two groups." He asked, "Which group were you with?" He said, "I was with the moon, which was attacking the sun." Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) recited this verse: { وَجَعَلْنَا اللَّیْلَ وَالنَّہَارَ آیَتَیْنِ فَمَحَوْنَا آیَۃَ اللَّیْلِ وَجَعَلْنَا آیَۃَ النَّہَارِ مُبْصِرَۃً } (And We made the night and the day two signs, then We erased the sign of the night and made the sign of the day bright), then said, "Go away, by God! From now on, you will not do any work for me." Ata says, "I was informed that he was killed with Muawiyah in the Battle of Siffin."

Ata says that once, two Eids occurred together on the same day. At the time of the first Eid prayer, Hajjaj stood up and said: Whoever wants to perform Jumu'ah with us may do so, and whoever wants to leave may leave, there is no harm. Upon hearing this, Abu Al-Bakhtari and Maisarah said: May Allah curse him, from where has this revelation come to him?

Wasil Ahadab narrates that Ibrahim saw the governor of Hulwan passing his cattle through people's fields. He said: Straying from the path of the road is better than straying from the path of religion.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) that Hazrat Amr bin Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If Hazrat Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) left this wealth in such a state that something from it was lawful for them, then they remained at a loss and their opinion was weak. And by Allah! They were neither losers nor weak in opinion. And if the wealth that we found after them was unlawful for them, then surely we have been destroyed, and by Allah, the mistake was only ours.

Muhammad bin Sirin narrates that Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, sent Qais bin Sa’d as the governor of Egypt. Hazrat Muawiyah and Amr bin Al-Aas, may Allah be pleased with them, wrote him a letter in which they addressed him with harsh words. So, he replied to them with a letter in gentle words, in which he drew them close and made them hopeful about himself. When his letter reached them, they sent Qais a letter with gentle words, in which they wrote his virtues and enticed him towards themselves in that letter. So, Qais replied to their first letter, in which he used harsh words for them and did not leave any point unanswered. Seeing this, both of them said to each other: “By Allah! We cannot overpower Qais bin Sa’d, but let us write a letter to Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and devise a plan regarding Qais.” It is said that they sent their first letter to Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. When the letter reached, the people of Kufa said to Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him: “Qais bin Sa’d is an enemy of Allah, remove him.” Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Woe to you! By Allah, I know better than you, this is just a characteristic of Qais bin Sa’d.” But the people of Kufa kept insisting on the removal of Qais bin Sa’d. Reluctantly, Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, removed him and sent Muhammad bin Abi Bakr as governor in his place. When Muhammad bin Abi Bakr reached Qais bin Sa’d, Qais said: “Listen to me carefully! If Hazrat Muawiyah writes you a letter of this content, then reply with these words, and when he does such and such, then act in this way, and beware! Do not oppose my command. By Allah! It is as if I am seeing you, if you oppose my command, you will be killed and then burned in the belly of a donkey.” The narrator says: “Later, this is exactly what happened to him.”

Muhammad bin Sirin states that, to my knowledge, before the people pledged allegiance at the hand of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), they did not accuse him of the murder of Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). When they pledged allegiance at his hand, the people accused him of the murder of Hazrat Uthman.

Muhammad bin Sirin narrates that Hazrat Qais bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If a person did not become a sinner by deceit, I would have used such deceit against the people of Syria that they would remain restless day and night.

Malik bin Dinar says that I saw Hasan Basri, Malik bin Dinar, Muslim bin Yasar, and Saeed, that they, along with Ibn al-Ash'ath, used to give the ruling to fight against Hajjaj. Hasan Basri said: Hajjaj is a punishment that has descended from the sky, so shall we confront Allah Almighty's punishment with the sword?

Khalid bin Muhammad narrates that Abdul Malik bin Marwan said: Whoever wants to buy a slave girl for pleasure should buy a Berber slave girl, and whoever wants to buy a slave girl for having children should buy a Persian slave girl, and whoever wants to buy a slave girl for service should buy a Roman slave girl.

Ibn Abi Ghaniyah narrates from an elder of Madinah that Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am the first king.

Abdul Malik bin Umair narrates that Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I have continuously desired the caliphate since the Messenger of Allah said to me (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: If you are given authority/rule, then treat people well. The Book of Governors, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon Muhammad, his family. "The Book of Governors is completed." And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.