٢٥٣. وَكَانَ (عليه السلام) يَقُولُ: أَحْلِفُوا الظَّالِمَ إِذَا أَرَدْتُمْ يَمِينَهُ بِأَنَّهُ بَرِيءٌ مِنْ حَوْلِ اللَّهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ فَإِنَّهُ إِذَا حَلَفَ بِهَا كَاذِباً عُوجِلَ الْعُقُوبَةَ وَإِذَا حَلَفَ بِاللَّهِ الَّذِى لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَمْ يُعَاجَلْ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ وَحَّدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى.
253. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, used to say: If you want an oppressor to take an oath ask him to swear like this that he is out of Allāh’s might and His power, because if he swears falsely in this way he will be quickly punished, while if he swears by Allāh Who is such that there is no god but He, he will not be quickly punished since he is expressing the Unity of Allāh, the Sublime. [1]
Footnote :
[1] It is narrated that someone levied some charges against Imām Ja‘far aṣ-Ṣādiq before the ‘Abbāside Caliph ‘Abdullāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr. al-Manṣūr sent for the Imām and told him that such and such a person had told him such and such about him. The Imam said it was all wrong and there was not an iota of truth therein, and desired the man to be sent for and questioned before him. Consequently, he was sent for and questioned. He said that whatever he had said was true and correct. The Imām said to him, “If you are speaking the truth then you swear as I ask you to swear.” Thereafter, the Imām made him swear by saying, “I am out of Allāh’s might and power and I rely on my own might and power.” Soon after swearing like this he got an attack of paralysis and he became motionless. The Imām, returned with full honour and prestige. (al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī, vol. 6, pp. 445-446; al-Biḥār, vol. 47, pp. 164-165, 172-175, 203— 204; al-Fuṣūl al-muhimmah, Ibn aṣ-Ṣabbāgh al-Mālikī, pp. 225-226; aṣ-Ṣawa‘iq al-muḥriqah, Ibn Ḥajar ash-Shāfi‘ī, p. 120; Jāmi‘ karāmāt alawliyā’, an-Nabhānī ash-Shāfi‘ī, vol. 2, p. 4).
Such an event took place again during the reign of Hārūn ar-Rashīd (149/766-193/809 — the grandson of al-Manṣūr) when ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṣ‘ab (the grandson of ‘Abdullāh ibn az-Zubayr — the well-known enemy of Ahlu’l-bayt of the Holy Prophet) slandered Yaḥyā ibn ‘Abdillāh ibn al-Ḥasan ibn (al-Imām) al-Ḥasan ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib before Hārūn ar-Rashīd by saying that he was plotting a revolution against him (Hārūn). Then, Yaḥyā made ‘Abdullāh swear before Hārūn in the same manner as the Imām had done. When ‘Abdullāh swore as he was required to, the symptom of leprosy soon appeared in him in the presence of Hārūn and he died after three days, while every part of his flesh cracked open and all the hair of his body fell out. After this, Hārūn used to say, “How soon Allāh took revenge on ‘Abdullāh for Yaḥyā!” (Maqātil aṭ-Ṭālibiyyīn, Abu’l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, pp. 472–478; Murūj adh-dhahab, al-Mas‘ūdī, vol. 3, pp. 340–342; Tārīkh Baghdād, al-Khatīb, vol. 14, pp. 110-112; Ibn Abi’l-Ḥadīd, vol. 19, pp. 91-94; at-Tārīkh, Ibn Kathīr, vol. 10, pp. 167–168; Tārīkh al-khulafā’, as-Suyūtī, p. 287).
[1] It is narrated that someone levied some charges against Imām Ja‘far aṣ-Ṣādiq before the ‘Abbāside Caliph ‘Abdullāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr. al-Manṣūr sent for the Imām and told him that such and such a person had told him such and such about him. The Imam said it was all wrong and there was not an iota of truth therein, and desired the man to be sent for and questioned before him. Consequently, he was sent for and questioned. He said that whatever he had said was true and correct. The Imām said to him, “If you are speaking the truth then you swear as I ask you to swear.” Thereafter, the Imām made him swear by saying, “I am out of Allāh’s might and power and I rely on my own might and power.” Soon after swearing like this he got an attack of paralysis and he became motionless. The Imām, returned with full honour and prestige. (al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī, vol. 6, pp. 445-446; al-Biḥār, vol. 47, pp. 164-165, 172-175, 203— 204; al-Fuṣūl al-muhimmah, Ibn aṣ-Ṣabbāgh al-Mālikī, pp. 225-226; aṣ-Ṣawa‘iq al-muḥriqah, Ibn Ḥajar ash-Shāfi‘ī, p. 120; Jāmi‘ karāmāt alawliyā’, an-Nabhānī ash-Shāfi‘ī, vol. 2, p. 4).
Such an event took place again during the reign of Hārūn ar-Rashīd (149/766-193/809 — the grandson of al-Manṣūr) when ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṣ‘ab (the grandson of ‘Abdullāh ibn az-Zubayr — the well-known enemy of Ahlu’l-bayt of the Holy Prophet) slandered Yaḥyā ibn ‘Abdillāh ibn al-Ḥasan ibn (al-Imām) al-Ḥasan ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib before Hārūn ar-Rashīd by saying that he was plotting a revolution against him (Hārūn). Then, Yaḥyā made ‘Abdullāh swear before Hārūn in the same manner as the Imām had done. When ‘Abdullāh swore as he was required to, the symptom of leprosy soon appeared in him in the presence of Hārūn and he died after three days, while every part of his flesh cracked open and all the hair of his body fell out. After this, Hārūn used to say, “How soon Allāh took revenge on ‘Abdullāh for Yaḥyā!” (Maqātil aṭ-Ṭālibiyyīn, Abu’l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, pp. 472–478; Murūj adh-dhahab, al-Mas‘ūdī, vol. 3, pp. 340–342; Tārīkh Baghdād, al-Khatīb, vol. 14, pp. 110-112; Ibn Abi’l-Ḥadīd, vol. 19, pp. 91-94; at-Tārīkh, Ibn Kathīr, vol. 10, pp. 167–168; Tārīkh al-khulafā’, as-Suyūtī, p. 287).
