Yahya ibn Nu’man narrates: “I had the honor of being in the presence of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) when an Arab man, veiled and with a dark complexion, entered and greeted him. The Imam (peace be upon him) returned his greeting. The man said, ‘O son of the Messenger of God, I have a question.’ The Imam replied, ‘Ask.’
The man asked, ‘What is the distance between faith and certainty?’
The Imam (peace be upon him) replied, ‘Four fingers.’
The Arab man asked, ‘How so?’
The Imam explained, ‘Faith pertains to what we hear [and affirm], while certainty pertains to what we see [and accept], and the distance between the ear and the eye is four fingers.’[1]
The man then asked, ‘What is the distance between the heavens and the earth?’
The Imam (peace be upon him) answered, ‘A supplication that is accepted.’
The Arab then asked, ‘In what does human dignity lie?’
The Imam replied, ‘In being free of dependence on people.’
The man asked, ‘What is the ugliest of things?’
Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) said, ‘In the elderly, it is lewdness and indifference; in the powerful, it is predatory behavior; in the noble, it is lying; in the wealthy, it is stinginess; and in scholars, it is greed.’
The Arab man then said, ‘You have spoken the truth, O son of the Messenger of God. Now tell me, how many Imams are there after the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family)?’
The Imam (peace be upon him) replied, ‘There are twelve, equal in number to the chiefs of the Children of Israel.’[2]
The man asked, ‘Name them for me.’
The narrator recounts: Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) lowered his head in thought, then raised it and said, ‘Indeed, O Arab brother, I shall inform you. Verily, the Imam and Caliph after the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him); then Hasan (peace be upon him); then myself; and nine descendants from my lineage. From among them is my son Ali (peace be upon him). After him is his son Muhammad (peace be upon him); then his son Jafar (peace be upon him); then his son Musa (peace be upon him); then his son Ali (peace be upon him); then his son Muhammad (peace be upon him); then his son Ali (peace be upon him); then his son Hasan (peace be upon him); and then his successor, the Mahdi (peace be upon him), the ninth of my progeny, who will uphold God’s religion in the end times.’[3]
The narrator adds: The Arab stood up, saying to himself, ‘The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) caressed Hussein’s face, and thus it shines with light and radiance. His parents are the best of the Quraysh, and his grandfather is the greatest of all grandfathers.’[4]
Source: Musnad al-Imam al-Shahid (peace be upon him) by Hujjat al-Islam Azizullah Atardi.[5]
Footnotes:
[1]This explanation by the Imam (peace be upon him) alludes to the distinction between faith, which is belief in what one hears and affirms based on evidence, and certainty, which is belief in what one sees with their own eyes.
[2] Refers to Quranic verse 5:12, where God says, “Indeed, Allah took a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed twelve leaders among them.”
[3] This was not the first time the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) spoke of the twelve successors. References to their names and qualities exist in many narrations from both Shia and Sunni sources, including Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and others.
[4] Kifayat al-Athar, p. 232, and Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 36, p. 385.
[5] This narration appears in volume three, page 100 of the original Arabic text, and in the Persian translation titled Comprehensive Sayings of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), p. 807.