352. al-Kāfi – narrating from Usayd ibn Safwān, a companion of the Messenger of God (s.a.w.): “On the day of the death of the Commander of the Faithful, the town of Kufa was quivering with the people’s weeping and the people were astounded (confused) just like the day of the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) death.”
[At this time] a man came running towards us and reciting the verse “Indeed we belong to God, and to Him do we indeed return” and he said: “Today the chain of succession of Prophethood is broken off.” He stopped at the door of the house in which the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) was and said: “O Abu al-Hasan may God have Mercy upon you! You were the first of the people in [embracing] Islam and their most sincere in faith. The weak and the humiliated were powerful and honorable with you until you would secure their rights and the powerful and strong were weak and humiliated before you until you would take from them the rightful due. The distant people and the nearest ones were all the same to you in these things.”1
See, 6/6: “Direct Contact with People”.
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Setting up the ‘House of Complaints’
353. Subh al-A`shā: “The first person who set up a place for people to lodge their complaints was the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Tālib (a.s.).”2
354. Al-Awā'il – narrating from Muhammad ibn Sirin: “Ali (a.s.) set up a house in which the people would lodge their complaints.”3
355. Sharh Nahj al-Balāghah: “There was a house belonging to the Commander of the Faithful which he named bayt al-qisas (the house of complaints) and the people would drop their letters of complaints in it.”4
356. Imām Ali (a.s.) – saying to his companions: “Any one of you who has a request from me should write it in a note so that I spare your face from direct questioning.”5
1.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۱, p. ۴۵۴, h. ۴, Kamāl al-Din, p. ۳۸۸ – ۳۹۰, h. ۳, al-Amāli by al-Saduq, p. ۳۱۲, h. ۳۶۳.
2.. Subh al-A`shā, vol. ۱, p. ۴۱۴.
3.. al-Awā'l, p. ۱۴۲.
4.. Sharh Nahj al-Balāghah, vol. ۱۷, p. ۸۷.
5.. al-`Iqd al-Farid, vol. ۱, p. ۲۰۳.
