The Holy Infallibles And The Days Of The Week

Text and Translation

Sayyid Ibn Tawus, in his book Jamal al-Usbu', states that it has been narrated on the authority of Ibn Baabwayh that al-Saqr ibn Abi-Dalaf said:

When al-Mutawakkil, the 'Abbasid ruler, ordered our master Ali ibn Muhammad al-Naqi (Imam al-Hadi, peace be upon him) to be present in Samarra', the capital, I went there investigating his news. He was imprisoned at al-Zariqi, al-Mutawakkil's chamberlain. When I was permitted to visit this chamberlain, he asked me, "O Saqr! What are you here for?"

"I am here for a good matter," I answered.

The chamberlain then asked me to sit down. When I did, we discussed public affairs until he asked everyone else to leave. When we were alone, he asked me, "Tell me the truth! What are you here for, and what has brought you?"

"I am here for a good matter," I answered.

He then said to me, "Perhaps you have come here to see your master."

"My master is the Prince of the Faithful (i.e. the ruler)," I answered.

But the chamberlain said to me, "Be quiet! Your real master is the Truth. Do not fear me; I also follow the same faith you follow."

I thus expressed my thanks to Almighty Allah. He then asked me whether I would like to see the Imam (a), and I answered in the affirmative. Yet he asked me to wait until the mailman had left. When the man left, the chamberlain ordered one of the servants to take me by the hand and lead me into a certain room.

When I entered, I found the Imam (a) sitting on a rug, next to which there was a ready grave. After he responded to my salutation, the Imam (a) allowed me to sit down, then asked me the reason for my visit.

"I am here to inquire after your condition," I said.

As my eyes fell on the grave, I wept. The Imam (a) looked at me and said, "Saqr! Do not be upset; they will not be able to hurt me."

I thus praised and thanked Almighty Allah and said, "O my master! There is a hadith reported from the Holy Prophet (s) whose meaning is not known to me."

"What is that hadith?" asked the Imam.

I mentioned the hadith that reads, "Do not provoke the hostility of the Days, lest they become your enemies."

Explaining to me, the holy Imam (a) said, "Verily, we are the Days, so long as the heavens and the earth endure. Saturday is the name of the Messenger of Allah; Sunday, the name of Ameer al-Momineen Imam Ali; Monday, the name of the Imams al-Hasan and al-Husayn; Tuesday, the names of Ali ibn al-Husayn (Imam Zayn al-'Abidin), Muhammad ibn Ali (Imam al-Baqir), and Ja'far ibn Muhammad (Imam al-Sadiq); Wednesday, the names of Musa ibn Ja'far (Imam al-Kazim), Ali ibn Musa (Imam al-Rida), Muhammad ibn Ali (Imam al-Jawad), and me; Thursday, the name of my son al-Hasan ibn Ali; and Friday, the name of my grandson (Imam al-Mahdi), on which day the party of the Truth will join him. This is the meaning of the Days; you should not, therefore, provoke their hostility in this world, or they will be your enemies in the Next World."

The Imam (a) then asked me to bid farewell and leave.

Sayyid Ibn Tawus has narrated the same account, through another chain of reporters, on the authority of al-Qutb al-Rawandi.