Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): Musa (peace be upon him) had promised the Children of Israel that after Allah rescued them from Pharaoh and his people, He would bring them a Book from Allah containing commands, prohibitions, limits and obligations. When [the Children of Israel] were rescued and drew near to Sham, [Musa] brought them a Book from Allah as he had promised. In that Book [was this passage]: "I do not accept any deed from anyone who does not venerate and magnify Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), Ali (peace be upon him) and their pure and sanctified Family, and who does not honour their companions and those who love them. O servants of Allah, bear witness that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the best and most excellent of My servants, and that Ali (peace be upon him) is his brother, his wasi (successor), the heir of his knowledge, his caliph over his community and the best successor after him; and that the Family of Muhammad (peace be upon them) are the best of the Families of the prophets, and the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) are the best of the companions of the messengers, and the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the best ummah from among all the ummahs." The Children of Israel said: "O Musa (peace be upon him)! We do not accept this. Accepting this matter is heavy and grievous for us. We will accept from these laws only that which is easy for us, and if we accept the law [of the Jews], we shall say: 'Our prophet is the best of the prophets, his Ahl al-Bayt are the best Ahl al-Bayt, his companions are among the best of companions, and we, his ummah, are more excellent and loftier than the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).' We will never acknowledge the superiority and excellence of a people whom we have not seen and do not know." Allah commanded Jibril (peace be upon him), and with one of his wings he tore off a mountain from the mountains of Palestine, the size of the army of Musa (peace be upon him), whose length and breadth were one farsakh by one farsakh. Then he brought that mountain and set it above their heads and said: "Either accept what Musa (peace be upon him) has brought to you, or I will cast this mountain upon you and crush you into oblivion beneath it." Distress and dread overtook the Children of Israel, but those who accepted this matter were not touched by such distress and dread. They said: "O Musa (peace be upon him), what shall we do?" Musa (peace be upon him) said: "Prostrate before Allah, and say: 'O our Lord, we have heard, we have obeyed, we accept, we acknowledge, we submit, and we are pleased.'" His Eminence said: "They acted upon what Musa (peace be upon him) had told them, in word and deed, except that many of them inwardly held a belief contrary to what they outwardly performed." In their inner selves they were saying: "We hear and we disobey." And contrary to what they uttered on their tongues, they acted, and they rubbed the right side of their faces in the dust — but their intention was not to display humility and self-abasement before Allah the Exalted, nor remorse for their deeds. They did this only to see whether the mountain would fall upon them or not. Then they rubbed the left side of their faces in the dust and continued to watch the mountain, and they did not act as they had been commanded. Jibril (peace be upon him) said to Musa (peace be upon him): "Although most of them are disobedient toward the Lord, yet Allah the Exalted has commanded me to lift this mountain from them, [even though] outwardly in this world they have acknowledged. Allah, in this world, holds them to account only by their outward conduct — to preserve their lives and to leave the covenant of protection in force upon them — and in the Hereafter He will punish them for these pacts and for [the disobedience] within them." [At that moment] the Children of Israel looked at the mountain, and it had become two pieces. One piece became like a white pearl, rising upward until it split the heavens, and they continued to watch it. The second piece became a fire and fell before them upon the earth, and cleft the earth and entered it and vanished from their eyes. They said: "What are these two separated pieces of the mountain — one that rose as a pearl and the other that descended as fire?" Musa (peace be upon him) said to them: "Their number is known to none but Allah. Allah has commanded that from them shall be built, for those who believe in what is in this Book, palaces and houses and dwellings in which shall be all the divine blessings — the blessings that Allah has promised to the pious among His servants: blessings such as trees, gardens, fruits, beautiful houris, and youths like scattered pearls, everlasting in [the splendour and freshness of] the other blessings and goods of Paradise. But as for the piece that fell upon the earth and cleft the earth until it joined Hell and turned into countless pieces — Allah the Exalted commanded that from them be built, for the disbelievers and those disobedient toward this Book, palaces and houses filled with every kind of torment — the torments which Allah has promised His disbelieving servants: seas of fire, and pools of pus and blood and the drippings of the wounds of the people of Hell, and putrid bloody discharge, blood, extreme thirst, tongues of fire, trees of zaqqum, dry, bitter and foul-smelling thorns, snakes, scorpions, vipers, fetters, shackles, chains, punishments, chastisements, and countless other kinds of trials and torments." Then he said to the Children of Israel: "Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the Messenger of Allah. Do you not fear the punishment of your Lord for your denial of these virtues which Allah has bestowed upon Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), Ali (peace be upon him) and his pure Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)?"