Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In Tafsir Imam Askari (peace be upon him) it is reported that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) built his mosque in Medina and set the door of his house opening onto it, the Muhajirun and the Ansar also set the doors of their houses opening toward the mosque. Allah the Mighty and Majestic willed that He should distinguish Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his noble household from others through a special merit. So Jibra'il (peace be upon him) brought a command from Allah that they should close the doors that had been opened onto the Messenger of Allah's mosque, before punishment descended upon them. The first person to whom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sent word to close the door of his house that opened onto the mosque was Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. Abbas said: "The command of Allah and His Messenger is to be obeyed." The Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) messenger was Mu'adh ibn Jabal. Then Abbas passed by Fatimah (peace be upon her) and found her seated at the door of her house, having also seated Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them). He said to her: "Why are you sitting here? Look at her — she is like a lioness with her cubs seated before her, thinking that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) will drive out his uncle from the mosque but keep his cousin in!" As the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was passing by them, he said to Fatimah (peace be upon her): "Why are you sitting here?" She said: "I am waiting for the Messenger of Allah's (peace be upon him and his family) command to close the doors." He said: "Allah the Exalted has commanded them all to close the doors of their houses, but has excepted His Messenger from this command, and you are the very self of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." On the other hand, Umar ibn al-Khattab came and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I love to see you when you go to your place of prayer, so permit me to have a small opening through which I may look upon you!" He said: "Allah has not granted such permission." Umar said: "Only enough for me to place my face upon it!" He said: "Allah has not granted permission." He said: "Enough that I may place my eyes upon it!" He said: "Allah has not granted permission. Even if you asked for the size of the eye of a needle, I would not permit it to you. By the One in whose hand is my soul, it was not I who drove you out, and I did not bring them in; rather it is Allah who brought them in and drove you out." Then he said: "It is not fitting for anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day to spend the night in this mosque in a state of janabah, except Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn (peace be upon them), and the chosen pure ones from their household and their offspring." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "The believers accepted this command and obeyed, but the hypocrites became enraged and refused. They went to one another and said among themselves: 'Do you not see that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) keeps assigning excellences exclusively to his cousin, so as to drive us out of the sphere of merits empty-handed? By Allah, if we obey him during the Prophet's lifetime, we shall certainly refuse to accept Ali's merit after his passing.' Abd Allah ibn Ubayy was listening to their words, sometimes becoming angry and sometimes calming down, and he said to them: 'Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is a man of Allah; so beware of openly showing enmity toward him. For whoever openly opposes a man of Allah will be overthrown, humiliated, and rendered helpless, and life will become straitened for him. The clever, intelligent person is the one who swallows grief and waits for the right opportunity.' While they were in such a state, a man from among the believers named Zayd ibn Arqam passed by them and said: 'O enemies of Allah! Do you deny Allah and find fault with His Messenger and plot against Allah and His religion? I will surely inform the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) of your words.' Abd Allah ibn Ubayy and the group with him said: 'By Allah, if you inform the Prophet of our words, we will call you a liar and swear an oath to him, in which case he will believe us. By Allah, we will bring people who will testify before him against you with such testimony as will make you deserving of being killed, or having a limb cut off, or of being subjected to the hadd punishment!' He said: Then Zayd came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and secretly reported to him what he had heard from Abd Allah ibn Ubayy and his companions, and Allah the Exalted revealed the verse: وَ لا تُطِعِ الْكافِرِينَ [And be not compliant to the unbelievers], meaning: O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), do not accept the words of the unbelievers who dispute with you concerning what you are calling them to — belief in Allah, friendship with you and your friends, and enmity toward your enemies; likewise do not accept the words of the hypocrites who outwardly obey you but inwardly oppose you; and pay no heed to their annoyances, and give no importance to the evil things they say concerning you and your household; and rely on Allah in completing your mission and establishing your proof. For in reality the believer is victorious, even if he is defeated in this world, because the final outcome is his. The believers' only aim in their striving in this world is to attain the everlasting blessings in Paradise, and this is assured for you and your Ahl al-Bayt and your companions and their Shi'a." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) paid no attention to what had reached him about them.