Hadith 194

I (majlisi) am saying, ‘It is reported in (the book) ‘Kamal Al Deen’ by Ibn Maysam Al Bahrany, with an unbroken chain, ‘When Amir Al-Momineen-asws was free from the affair of the war against people of the camel, he-asws instructed a caller to call out among the people of Al-Basra: ‘The congregational Salat for three days from the morning, if Allah-azwj so Desire, and there is no excuse for anyone to stay behind except from an argument or a reason, therefore do not make a way to be against yourselves! ’
When it was the day in which they gathered, he-asws came out and prayed the morning Salat (leading) the people in the central Masjid. When he-asws had fulfilled his-asws Salat, he-asws stood up and rested his-asws back to a wall of the Qiblah, on the right of the prayer niche and addressed the people. He-asws praised Allah-azwj and extolled upon Him-azwj with what He-azwj is rightful of, and sent Salawaat upon the Prophet-saww, and sought Forgiveness for the believing men and the believing women, and the Muslim men and the Muslim women, then said: ‘O people of Al-Basra! O people of the overthrown city and the one overthrown with its inhabitants three times, and upon Allah-azwj is to complete the fourth! O army of the woman (Ayesha) and supporters of the beast (camel). It growled and you answered, and it was hamstrung and you fled. Your manners are lowly, and your religion is hypocrisy, and your waters are salty. Your city is the smelliest of the cities of Allah-azwj of soil, and the furthest of it from the sky. There are nineteen evils at it. The one withheld in it is with his sin and the one outside from it is with Pardon of Allah-azwj. It is as if I-asws am looking at this town of yours, and the water has layered it to the extent that nothing is seen from it except the top of the Masjid, as it is a head of a bird in the waves of a sea! ’
Al-Ahnaf Bin Qays stood up to him-asws and said to him-asws, ‘O Amir Al-Momineen-asws! And when will that happen? ’
He-asws said: ‘O Abu Bahr! You will never come across that time period, and between you and it are centuries, but the ones present from you should deliver it to ones from you who are absent, so they can deliver it to their brothers when they think of seeing Al-Basra. Its characteristics would have been transformed, and its sins would be shortened. The war is the war. There will be not insight for you all on that day’. Then he-asws turned towards his-asws right and said: ‘How much (distance) is there between you and Al-Ubulah? ’ Al-Munzir Bin Al-Jaroud said to him-asws, ‘May my father and my mother be sacrificed for you-asws! Four Farsakhs’. He-asws said to him: ‘You speak the truth. By the One-azwj Who Sent Muhammad-saww and Honoured him-saww with the Prophet-hood and Specialised them with the Message, and Hastened his-saww soul to the Paradise! I-asws have heard from him-saww just as you are hearing from me-asws! He-saww said to me-asws: ‘O Ali-asws! Do you-asws known that between that which is named as Al-Basra and what which is named as Al-Ubulah there are four Farsa