فقالوا : نقتلك ، فقال إن تقتلوني فإني عبد الله وأخو رسوله وبسطوا يده فقبضها وعسر عليهم فتحها ، فمسحوا عليها وهي مضمومة .

So they said: We shall kill you. And he said: If you kill me, then I am the servant of God and the brother of His Messenger. And they stretched out his hand, and he closed it, and it went hard with them to open it; so they wiped over it while it was shut.

ثم لقي أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام بعد هذا الفعل بأيام أحد القوم فناشده الله وذكره بأيام الله وقال له : هل لك أن أجمع بينك وبين رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله حتى يأمرك وينهاك فقال له : نعم ، فخرجا إلى مسجد قبا فأراه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله قاعدا فيه ، فقال له : يا فلان ، على هذا عاهدتموني في تسليم الأمر إلى علي عليه السلام وهو أمير المؤمنين ، فرجع وقدهم بتسليم الأمر إليه ، فمنعه صاحبه من ذلك ، فقال : هذا سحر مبين ، معروف من سحر بني هاشم ، أو ما تذكر يوما كنا مع ابن أبي كبشة ؟

Then, some days after this deed, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, met one of the people, and adjured him by God and reminded him of the days of God, and said to him: Would you like me to bring you together with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his Family, that he may command you and forbid you? And he said to him: Yes. So the two of them went out to the mosque of Quba, and he showed him the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his Family, seated in it; and he said to him: O so-and-so, was it upon this that you made covenant with me — to deliver the affair to 'Ali, peace be upon him, and he is the Commander of the Faithful? So he returned, resolved to deliver the affair to him; but his companion prevented him from that and said: This is manifest sorcery, well known of the sorcery of the Banu Hashim. Do you not remember a day when we were with the son of Abi Kabsha?

فأمر شجرتين فالتقتا فقضى حاجته خلفهما ، ثم أمرهما فتفرقتا وعادتا إلى حالهما .

And he commanded two trees, and they came together, and he relieved himself behind them; then he commanded them, and they parted and returned to their state.

فقال له : أما إن ذكرتني هذا ، فقد كنت معه في الكهف فمسح يده على وجهي ، ثم أهوى برجله فأراني البحر ، ثم أراني جعفرا وأصحابه في سفينة تعوم في البحر ، فرجع عما كان عزم عليه ، وهموا بقتل أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام وتواصوا وتواعدوا بذلك ، وأن يتولى قتله خالد بن الوليد فبعثت أسماء بنت عميس إلى أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام بجارية لها ، فأخذت بعضادتي الباب ونادت : " إن الملأ يأتمرون بك ليقتلوك فأخرج إني لك من الناصحين " ( 7 ) فخرج مشتملا بسيفه ، وكان الوعد في قتله أن يسلم إمامهم ( 8 ) ، فيقوم خالد إليه بسيفه ، فأحسوا بأسه ، فقال الإمام قبل أن يسلم : لا تفعلن خالد ما أمرت به ، ثم كان من أقاصيصهم ما رواه الناس . ( 7 ) القصص - 20 .

So he said to him: Since you have reminded me of this — I was with him in the cave, and he wiped his hand over my face, then he stretched out his leg and showed me the sea; then he showed me Ja'far and his companions in a ship swimming upon the sea. So he turned back from what he had resolved upon. And they were minded to kill the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and charged one another and appointed a time for that, and that Khalid b. al-Walid should undertake his killing. So Asma' bint 'Umays sent a slave-girl of hers to the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and she took hold of the two doorposts and called out: “The assembly are taking counsel about you, to kill you; so go out — truly I am of the sincere advisers to you.” (7) So he went out wrapped about with his sword. And the appointment for his killing was that their leader should give the greeting, (8) and then Khalid should rise to him with his sword. But they sensed his might; and the leader said, before he gave the greeting: Khalid, do not do what you were ordered to do. Then there was of their tales what the people have related. (7) Al-Qasas: 20.

( 8 ) [ ينتهي إمامهم من صلاته بالتسليم ] خ م المطبوع . ( 9 ) إثبات الوصية ص 142 - 144 .

(8) [their leader should finish his prayer with the greeting] — a variant in the printed copy. (9) Ithbat al-Wasiyya, pp. 142-144.