The Spreading, Furniture

“Once a group of people visited al-Husayn ibn Ali, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, and said, ‘O child of the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, in your house we see such things that we dislike/ In his home there were pleasing spreading and cushions. He (the Imam) (a.s.), said, ‘We marry women and give them their mahr (dower). They buy whatever they want and we do not have anything to say about it.’”

“I once visited abu Ja‘far (a.s.), and in his house I saw spreading, cushions, furnishings and pillows and I asked, ‘What are these?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘These are the belongings of the woman (wife the Imam).’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about the meaning of the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘They made for him whatever he wanted, such as Salat (prayer) niche, statues, basins like wells. . . .’ (34:13) He (the Imam) said, ‘They were not statues of men and women but they were the figures of trees and similar objects.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that Ali ibn al-Husayn, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, (in his house) had pillows and floor furnishings which had pictures (of sceneries) on which he (the Imam) sat.’”

“I once visited abu Ja‘far (a.s.), in a well-furnished house; and the next day I visited him in a house where there was nothing except a mat. He (the Imam) wore a thick and rough-textured shirt. He (the Imam) said, ‘The house that you saw was not my house. It was the house of the woman and yesterday was her day.’”

“I once visited abu Ja‘far (a.s.). He was sitting on a certain furnishing. I kept touching it with my hand. He (the Imam) said, ‘What you are touching is from Armenia.’ I then asked, ‘What do you have to do with Armenia?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘This is what mother of Ali (wife of the Imam) has brought.’ I then visited him at another time and kept touching what I was sitting on. He (the Imam) said, ‘It seems you like to see what is underneath you.’ I replied, ‘No, but a blind only plays.’ He (the Imam) said, to me, ‘That item of belonging was owned by mother of Ali. She was of the opinion of al-Khawarij and I wanted that she can return from her opinion until the morning and accept the divine authority of Ali (a.s.), but she refused; then in the morning I divorced her.’”

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘Once a man asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), if a man can sit on a furnishing which has pictures of things on it. He (the Imam) said, ‘Al-’A‘ajim (non- Arab) respect it, but we do not consider it important.’”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about silk furnishings and similarly about brocaded items, prayer rugs of silk and of brocaded ones; if it is proper for a man to sleep on it, perform Salat (prayer) or lean against it. He (the Imam) said, ‘He can spread it and stand on it but he cannot perform Sajdah (prostration) on it.’”