Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari...

Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari, a great companion of the Prophet (S), while leaning on his staff, used to roam around the alleys of Medina and say, ‘Ali is the best of people. Whoever would not accept him will become an infidel { kafir }. O the assembly of Ansar ! Train your children to love ‘Ali.

Anyone of them who does not accept this love, then you have to ask his mother concerning the fetus.[^2] The same Jabir used to sit in Masjid an-Nabi and say, “O Baqir al-‘Ulum {He who cleaves asunder all knowledge}! Where are you?” The people were saying, “Jabir, you are talking nonsense.” Jabir would reply, “No, I am not talking nonsense.

In fact, the Messenger of Allah (S) said to me: ‘After me, you shall meet a person from among my descendants whose name will be the same as mine and whose facial appearance will be the same as mine.

He shall open to the people tens of knowledge’.”[^3] When he met Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a ) for the first time, he visited the Imam twice everyday.[^4] Abu Dharr al-Ghiffari used to stand by the door of Masjid an-Nabi and say, Anyone who recognizes me has recognized me, and he who does not recognize should know that I am Abu Dharr al-Ghiffari, Jundab ibn Junadah… Muhammad is the heir of the knowledge of Adam (Adam) and all the virtues of the prophets, and ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib is the executor of will { wasi } of Muhammad and heir of his knowledge.[^5] Meanwhile, most members of Banu Hashim lived in that city and were held in high esteem.

The infallible Imams ( ‘a ) lived in the same city and people benefited from their teachings. In particular, the study circles of Imam al-Baqir and Imam as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) extended to as far as Masjid an-Nabi. Narrates Abu Hamzah ath-Thumali: I was sitting in the Masjid an-Nabi when a man approached and greeted me, and asked about Abu Ja‘far (Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a )).

I asked, “What is your business (with him)?” He replied, “I listed down forty questions I wanted to ask Abu Ja‘far.” He hardly finished his statement when Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a ) entered the mosque. A number of people from Khurasan gathered around him and asked the Imam about the rituals of Hajj .[^6] Some of the students of these two personages such as Aban ibn Tughlab also gave lessons in Masjid an-Nabi.

Whenever Aban would enter the Masjid an-Nabi, he would sit at the place of the Prophet (S), give lessons to the people, and narrate hadith s to them.