The virtues of Imam Ali on the divine prophets
The condition of Imam Ali (as) on the night of the 20th of Ramadan
Muhammad ibn Hanafiya says:
On the twentieth night of Ramadan, the effect of poison reached my father’s steps, so he prayed while sitting.
When the effects of martyrdom appeared on Imam Ali (as), the Imam said to his son Imam Hassan (as):
Let the Shiites who have gathered at home come to see me, the companions surrounded the Imam’s bed and wept softly for him.
The Imam said with great weakness:
O people! Ask before you find me, but lighten your questions because of the harm done to your Imam.
With this, a groan arose from the crowd.
The companions each asked a question and heard answers from the Imam.
Among the questioners was Sassah Ibn Sohan, who is one of the great Shiite men and one of the famous preachers of Kufa and one of the great narrators.
Asked:
O Amir al-mu’minin, are you the best or Adam (peace be upon him):
The Imam said:
It is ugly for a man to boast about himself, but because the Qur’an says: “But recite the blessings of your Lord, I say:
I am better than Adam (AS)
Because God addressed Adam:
O Adam (AS)! You and your wife will stay in Paradise and eat whatever you want from the blessings of Paradise, but do not come near this tree, because you will be one of the wrongdoers. But for me, God Almighty allowed most things in the world, yet I left them.
Sassah asked:
Is Prophet Noah (AS) more virtuous or you?
And he heard the answer:
Noah cursed his people and I did not curse my oppressor. Noah’s son was an infidel, my sons are the masters of the youth of Paradise.
Sassah asked:
Is Ibrahim (AS) better or you?
The Imam said:
I am better than Ibrahim
Because Abraham said:
God, show me the resurrection of the dead
God said: Do you doubt? He said I want to be sure.
But my faith has reached a point where:
I believe in the unseen of God so much that if the veils of the unseen world are removed, not a particle of my certainty will be added.
Sassah asked:
Is Prophet Moses (AS) better or you?
The Imam said:
God sent Moses to Pharaoh and he said: I am afraid they will kill me
And God said:
do not be afraid…
And Moses said:
O God, I killed one of the Pharaohs and I am afraid that they will kill me, but the Prophet sent me to preach Surah Bara’at during the Hajj season, and although I had killed many of the great Quraysh, I went and recited the divine verses to them …
Sassah asked
Are you more virtuous or Jesus (pbuh)?
The Imam said:
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was in Jerusalem, because when her son Jesus was born, she heard a certain man say,
Get out of Jerusalem, O Mary, for this is the house of worship, not the place of birth.
But my mother “Fatemeh bint Asad” was in the sanctuary of God when she gave birth, the wall of the Kaaba’s house was split and a shout was raised: O Fatima, come inside the house. My mother entered the house and I was born in the middle of “Baitullah” and this virtue has no personal path and will not.
Peshawar Nights, p. 473