Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him), quoting from his father Imam al-Sajjad (peace be upon him) from Imam al-Hussain (peace be upon him), narrates: Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him), upon returning from the Battle of Nahrawan, when he reached the area of Baratha, performed the noon prayer with the people. He then departed from there and arrived in the land of Babylon at the time of afternoon prayer. The Muslims called out:
“O Amir al-Muminin! Now is the time for afternoon prayer.” Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) said: “This is a low and ominous land where God has swallowed its people into the earth three times, and it awaits the fourth. It is not befitting for the successor of the Prophet to pray in it. Whoever among you wishes to pray, let him do so.” The hypocrites then said: “Yes, he himself does not pray and kills the prayerful ones (the Nahrawanis)!”
Jawiriyyah ibn Masahar says:
I said to myself, until Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) prays, I will not pray either; today I place my prayer upon him. Along with a hundred cavalrymen, we followed His Eminence on his path until we exited the land of Babylon while the sun was setting, until the sun set and the horizon turned rosy. Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) turned to me and said: “Jawiriyyah, bring water.” I brought him the water vessel; His Eminence performed wudu, then said: “Jawiriyyah, perform Adhan.” I said: “The time for evening prayer has not yet arrived.” He said: “perform the Adhan for afternoon prayer .” I thought to myself: Shall I give the Adhan for afternoon prayer after sunset? But in obedience to His Eminence’s command, I performed the Adhan. He said: ” say the Iqamah.” I began reciting the Iqamah, and at that moment I saw His Eminence’s lips moving, uttering words like the sound of swallows, which I could not comprehend. Suddenly, I saw the sun, from which a loud sound was heard, rising (from the west) until it reached the position for afternoon prayer time and halted there. His Eminence rose from his place, said the Takbir al-Ihram, and began afternoon prayer. We stood behind him and prayed with him. Upon the completion of the prayer, suddenly the sun set-like a lamp falling into a basin of water and extinguishing. With the sun’s setting, the stars became visible. Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) turned to me and said: “recite Adhan for Maghrib prayer!” (Uyun al-Mu’jizat, p. 7)
Sheikh al-Saduq narrates through his hadith chain from Jawiriyyah ibn Masahar: After the war with the Kharijites and killing them, we were returning with Amir al-Muminin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). When afternoon praying time arrived, we reached the land of Babylon. His Eminence dismounted, and the people also got off their horses. The Imam (peace be upon him) turned to the people and said: “O people, this land is cursed; divine punishment has descended upon it three times. This is one of the places of the polytheists, the first place where an idol was worshipped. It is not permissible for the Prophet or his successor to pray there. Whoever wishes to pray here, let him pray.” Upon hearing these words, the people dispersed and stood for prayer, but Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) mounted the Prophet’s mule and continued on his way. Jawiriyyah says: I said to myself: By God, I will follow him and place today’s prayer upon him. With this resolve, I set off after Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him). By God, we had not passed the Surah bridge when the sun set. I became doubtful. Suddenly, His Eminence turned to me and said: “Have you become doubtful?” I replied: “Yes, O Amir al-Muminin.” His Eminence dismounted, performed wudu, then rose and uttered words like the Hebrew language, but I did not understand them. He then called out: “Come, let us pray!” Jawiriyyah says: I looked, and by God, I saw the sun emerging from between two mountains with a loud sound emanating from it. Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) prayed, and I prayed with him. As soon as our prayer ended, night fell again as it was before. His Eminence turned to me and said: “O Jawiriyyah, the Mighty and Majestic God says: ‘So glorify the name of your Great Lord’ (Quran 56:74), and I called upon God by His Greatest Name, so He returned the sun for me.” Jawiriyyah, after witnessing this divine miracle, said: By God, he is the successor of the Prophet. (Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih, vol. 1, p. 130)
Sayed al-Radi also narrates through his chain from Jawiriyyah ibn Masahar: We passed the Sarrah bridge with Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) at afternoon praying time. His Eminence said: “Punishment has descended upon this land; it is not befitting for the Prophet and his successor to pray there. Whoever wishes to pray, let him pray.” Jawiriyyah says: The people dispersed to the left and right and began praying. I said to myself: I place my faith upon this man, and until he prays, I will not pray. We continued on our way while the sun approached the west, causing me great anxiety and distress, until the sun fully set and we passed that land. Jawiriyyah says: Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) to me: “O Jawiriyyah, recite the Adhan.” I thought: He says recite the Adhan while the sun has set! I gave the Adhan. He said: “Give the Iqamah.” As I reached “Qad qamat al-salah,” I saw His Eminence’s lips moving, uttering words like the Hebrew language. Suddenly, the sun returned until afternoon praying time arrived, and His Eminence prayed. After our prayer ended, I heard a sound from the descending sun like a millstone grinding grain, until it set and the stars appeared. Jawiriyyah says: I said to him: “I bear witness that you are the successor of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family).” (Khasa’is al-A’immah, p. 56)
Jawiriyyah says: I said to myself: By God, today I place my faith upon him. We continued on our way until the sun set, the stars appeared, and the time for evening prayer arrived. As soon as we passed the land of Babylon, Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) dismounted his mule and cleaned the dust from its hooves. He also said to me: “O Jawiriyyah, clean the dust from your mount’s hooves.” I obeyed. Then he said: “O Jawiriyyah, recite the Adhan for afternoon prayer.” Jawiriyyah says: I thought to myself: O Jawiriyyah, may your mother mourn you; the day has ended and night has come! I gave the Adhan for afternoon prayer. The sun returned with a sound like the whirring of a pulley, rising until it shone white and radiant at the position for afternoon prayer. Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) prayed , then said: “O Jawiriyyah, recite the Adhan for evening .” I gave the Adhan, and I saw the sun descend swiftly like a galloping horse and set. We performed evening prayer. Then he said: “recite the Adhan for night prayer.” I did it, and we also performed night prayer. After the prayer, I said: By the Lord of the Ka’bah, he is the successor of Muhammad—I repeated this three times—Whoever opposes you is misguided, has disbelieved, and is doomed. (Al-Thaqib fi al-Manaqib, p. 253)
“Peace be upon the one for whom the sun was returned when it had hidden behind the veil.”
(Ziyarat Seventh of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him): Peace be upon the one for whom the sun returned after hiding in the western veil.)
“Peace be upon you, O one for whom the sun was returned, rising level with Mount Safa.”
(Ziyarat of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) on the 17th of Rabi al-Awwal, birth of the Prophet.)
