He intended to perform Hajj, but not for the purpose of benefiting from the journey; rather, he sought to flaunt his power, unaware that he was about to circumambulate the sanctuary of absolute power. He entered the Masjid al-Haram, where the guards cleared the way for him to perform his rituals. No one dared to overtake the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid.[1]
A man was also performing the Tawaf. One of the guards pushed him aside, but the man, speaking in a voice loud enough for Harun al-Rashid to hear, said: “Indeed, God has made all His servants equal in this place,” and he recited the verse: “…We have made it [the House] equal for all people, for those who live there and for those who come from afar” [2].
The man resumed his actions, without any fear of the caliph, as his heart was dedicated to another. In all his actions, he was ahead of the caliph. Harun al-Rashid saw his courage and boldness and, after the prayer, summoned him. The man responded, saying, “I have nothing to do with him; if he has something to say, let him come to me.” Upon hearing this, Harun al-Rashid said, “He speaks the truth,” and went to him.
He greeted the man, and the man responded. Harun then said, “Woe to you! You are causing distress to the Caliph of the Muslims.” He continued, “I will ask you a question, and if you cannot answer, I will punish you.” The man replied, “I am ready to answer.”
Harun al-Rashid asked: “Tell me, what is your obligatory duty?”
The man responded: “One, five, seventeen, thirty-four, ninety-four, one hundred fifty-three, and from twelve one, from forty one, from two hundred five, from a lifetime one, and one for one.” Harun laughed mockingly and said, “I ask you about your obligations, and you are counting numbers for me?” The man replied, “Do you not know that the religion is all about numbers? If there were no reckoning in religion, God would not ask His servants to account for their deeds.” Then he recited the verse: “And if the weight of a mustard seed of good or evil were to be, We would bring it forth, and sufficient are We as Reckoners.” [3].
He continued: “What I meant by one is the true religion of Islam; five, the five daily prayers; seventeen, the number of units in the obligatory prayers; thirty-four, the number of prostrations in the prayer; ninety-four, the number of Takbirs in prayer; and one hundred fifty-three, the number of Tasbeeh (glorifications) in prayer. As for twelve, it refers to the fasting of one month in the month of Ramadan, out of the twelve months in the year; one from forty, refers to one part of forty dinars which God has made obligatory to give as Zakat; five from two hundred dirhams to be given to the poor; one from a lifetime refers to one obligatory Hajj, which a Muslim must perform if they have the means; and one for one refers to the law of retaliation, that if a person sheds blood, their blood must be shed, as God says: ‘A life for a life.’” [4].
At that moment, Harun al-Rashid was filled with joy by the man’s response…
The man then left the Masjid al-Haram, and some people followed him and asked for his name. It was then revealed that this noble person was Musa ibn Ja’far, Imam Kadhim (peace be upon him).
When Harun al-Rashid learned this, he said: “By God, I knew that such a person must be the fruit of the pure tree of Prophethood.”[5]
Taken from the book “The Practical Life of the Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them)” by Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Kazim Arfa
Footnotes:
[1] Harun al-Rashid: The most powerful Abbasid caliph, whose rule extended over half of the known world at the time. Imam Kadhim (peace be upon him) was martyred by this usurping caliph through poisoning.
[2] Surah Al-Hajj, verse 25: “And We have made it [the House] equal for all people, for those who live there and for those who come from afar.”
[3] Surah Al-Anbiya, verse 47: “And if the weight of a mustard seed of good or evil were to be, We would bring it forth, and sufficient are We as Reckoners.”
[4] Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse 45: “And We ordained for them in it: ‘A life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is retaliation.'”
[5] “Maqāṣid Ibn Shahr Ashub, Volume 4, Page 312”: A reference from the book of Maqāṣid Ibn Shahr Ashub by Ibn Shahr Ashub, in which this narration and other accounts about the virtues and merits of the Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them) are mentioned.3