Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Isa ibn Mustafad said: Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) narrated a hadith to me that I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Did the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) not recite the Quran to Ali (peace be upon him) so that he would write it down? And were Jibra'il (peace be upon him) and the angels brought near not witnesses to this?" Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) said: "Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) remained silent for a long time, and then said: 'O Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him)! What you said is correct, but when this matter was entrusted to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and descended upon him, the will came down in the form of a written book from Allah, which Jibra'il (peace be upon him) and the angels brought near, the trusted ones of Allah the Blessed and Exalted, brought down.' Jibra'il (peace be upon him) said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Order everyone with you, except your successor, to leave your presence, so that you may take this will from us and bear witness that you have received it and that you yourself are responsible for guarding it.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) asked those who were in the house — except Ali (peace be upon him) and Fatimah (peace be upon her) — to leave. Then Jibra'il said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Your Lord sends peace upon you and says: "This is the book which I have laid upon your shoulders and made a condition upon you, and by which I have testified against you and made My angels witness against you, and I, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), suffice as a Witness."' Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'A trembling seized the limbs of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and he said: "O Jibra'il! My Lord is Peace itself, and peace is from Him, and to Him peace returns. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has spoken truly and acted well. Give me the book." Jibra'il gave the book to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and commanded him [on behalf of Allah] to give it to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). So he said to Ali (peace be upon him): "Read it." Imam Ali (peace be upon him) read it word by word. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to him: "This is the covenant, counsel, and trust of Allah upon me; I have conveyed it, admonished by it, and sincerely acted upon it." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "Yes, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! I bear witness to the conveying, the counsel, the admonition, and the truth of what you have expressed, and my hearing, my sight, my flesh and my blood testify to it." Then Jibra'il said: "I too am a witness and testifier for you both." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Ali (peace be upon him)! You have received my will and become acquainted with it and become the guarantor before Allah; will you fulfil what is in the Quran?" Ali (peace be upon him) said: "Yes, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! I have become the guarantor and undertaker of it, and by Allah's help I will act upon it." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Ali (peace be upon him)! On the Day of Resurrection, I shall be a witness and testifier for you regarding your fulfilment of that covenant." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "Yes, bear witness for me." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Jibra'il and Mika'il are now present between us, and the angels brought near are with them, that I may make them witnesses against you." He said: "Yes, let them bear witness, and I too — may my father and mother be sacrificed for you — take them as witnesses." So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) made them witnesses. One of the things which the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), by the command of Jibra'il — who himself was commissioned to it by Allah — stipulated upon Ali (peace be upon him) was that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Ali (peace be upon him): "O Ali (peace be upon him)! Act upon what this Quran contains concerning love for those whom Allah loves, and enmity toward those who bear enmity toward Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), and dissociation from them, and patience where anger must be swallowed; and also fulfil what it says concerning patience in the face of your right being taken away, and your khums (one-fifth) being usurped, and the veil of your honour and dignity being torn." He said: "I shall do so, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! By Him who split the seed and created creatures, I heard Jibra'il say to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Make known to him that his sanctity — which is the sanctity of Allah the Exalted and the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) — will be trampled underfoot, and that his beard will be dyed crimson with the blood of his head, for he will depart from the world untimely.'" The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said: "When I heard this statement from the trustworthy Jibra'il, I fainted and fell upon my face. And I said: 'Yes, I have accepted it and am content with it, even if sanctities are violated, sunnahs are made void, the Book (the Quran) is torn, the Ka'bah is demolished, and my beard is dyed crimson with the blood of my head as I depart this transient abode untimely. I shall ever remain patient and content until I come to you.'" Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) summoned Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) and Imam Husayn and Imam Hasan (peace be upon them) and taught them what he had taught Ali (peace be upon him), and they said the same as Imam Ali (peace be upon him) had said. This will was sealed with a seal of gold, so that it might be safe from the harm of fire, and then it was given to Ali (peace be upon him). Then I said to Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him): "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! Do you remember the contents of that will?" He replied: "The sunnahs of Allah and of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." Then I said: "Was their deviation and their opposition to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) mentioned in the will?" He said: "Yes, bit by bit and word by word. Have you not heard the saying of the Lord the Exalted, the Mighty and Majestic: إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْیِی الْمَوْتَی وَ نَکْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ وَ کُلَّ شَیْءٍ أحْصَیْنَاهُ فِی إِمَامٍ مُبِینٍ [Surely We give life to the dead, and We write down what they have sent before and their footprints, and We have recorded everything in a clear writing]?! By Allah! The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Ali (peace be upon him) and Fatimah (peace be upon her): 'Have you not understood and accepted what I have given you?' They said: 'Yes, and we were patient in the face of the ill-treatment and harshness which the enemies inflicted upon us.'"