The meaning of the names of Muhammed, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, Hussain and the Imams, peace be upon them

The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him, was, on a day, sitting and with him were Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussain, peace be upon them. Then he said: By He who sent me with the truth as a bearer of glad tidings, there is not on the face of earth any creation more beloved to Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, nor more honored for him, than us. Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, derived for me a name from His Names, and hence, He is the Praised and I am Muhammed. He derived for you, O Ali, a name from His Names, and hence, He is the High , the Most Subleme , and you are Ali. He derived for you, O Hasan, a name from His Names, and hence, He is the Beneficent and you are Hasan. He derived for you, O Hussain, a name from His Names, and hence, He is the One of Good Deeds , and you are Hussain. He derived for you, O Fatima, a name from His Names, and hence, he is the Splitter and you are Fatima. Then he, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said: O Allah, I bear You as a witness that I am at peace with those who are at peace with them, at war with those who are at war with them, a hater of those who hate them, an enemy of those who antagonize them and an ally of those who befriend them, because they are from me and I am from them.

O Lord, who are these? Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, said to him: Those whom if My creation intercede with, I would intercede for them. Then Adam said: O Lord, by their position to You, what is their name? He, Exalted is He, said: As for the first, I am the Praised and he is Muhammed, and for the second, I am the High and he is Ali, and for the third, I am the Splitter and she is Fatima, and for the fourth, I am the Beneficent and he is Hasan, and for the fifth, I am the One with Good Deeds and he is Hussain. All of them were praising Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He.

When Fatima, peace be upon her, was pregnant with Hasan and gave birth, and the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, had ordered them to wrap him in a white cloth, they wrapped him in a yellow one, and Fatima, peace be upon her, said: O Ali, name him. He said: I am not to to precede in naming him than the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family. Then the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, came, took him, kissed him and entered his tongue into his mouth, and Hasan, peace be upon him, began to suck on it. Then the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said to them: Did I not tell you in advance that you should wrap him in a white cloth? Then he requested a white cloth and wrapped him in it and threw the yellow one, recited the Adhan into his right ear, recited the Iqamah into his left, and then he said to Ali, peace be upon him: What did you name him? Then he said: I am not to precede you with regards to his name. Then the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said: I am not to precede my Lord in naming him. Then Allah, Glorified be His remembrance, revealed to Jibra’eel, peace be upon him: It has been begotten to Muhammed a son, so descend to him and recite to him peace from Me, and congratulate him on behalf of Me and yourself, and say to him: Indeed, Ali is to you in the same position as Harun to Musa, so name him by the name of Harun’s son. Then Jibra’eel came to the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, and congratulated him and said to him like how Allah, Exalted is He, ordered him with regards to naming his son by the name of Harun’s son. He said: And what was his name? He said: Shabar. He said: My tongue is Arabic. He said: Name him Hasan. So he named him Hasan. Then, when she gave birth to Hussain, peace be upon him, the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, came to them and did with him as he did with Hasan, peace be upon him, and Jibra’eel descended unto the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, and said: Indeed, Allah, Exalted and Glorious be His remembrance, recites to you peace and says to you: Indeed, Ali is to you in the same position as Harun to Musa, so name him by the name of Harun’s son. He said: What was his name? He said: Shubayr. He said: My tongue is Arabic. He said: Name him Hussain. So he named him Hussain.

When Fatima, peace be upon her, gave birth to Hasan, she brought him to the Prophet and he named him Hasan, and when she gave birth to Hussain, she brought him to him and said: O Messenger of Allah, he is better than him. So he named him Hussain.

Were it not for a verse in the Book of Allah, I would not have mentioned what I am now mentioning in this position of mine. Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, says: «And as for the grace of your Lord, then speak.» (93:11) O Allah, to You belongs the praise for Your grace that cannot be counted, and Your favor that cannot be forgotten. O people, indeed, it has reached me what has reached me, and verily, I see that my time has come near. It is as if I am with you and you have forgotten my case, and I am leaving among you what the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, left; the Book of Allah and my Family, that is the Family of the Guide to Salvation, the Seal of the Prophets, and he is the Master of Nobles and the Selected Prophet. O people, perhaps you might not hear a sayer say the like of my saying after me, except for a calumniator. I am the brother of Allah’s Messenger, the son of his paternal uncle, the sword of his wrath, the pillar of his victory, his strength and intensity, the circling mill of Hell, its pulverizing grinders. I am the orphanizer of boys and girls, I am the grabber of souls and the punishment of Allah that He will not repel from the criminal people. I am the quarrelling with heroes, the slayer of knights, the executor of those who disbelieved in the All-Merciful and the in-law of the Best of mankind. I am the Master of Sucessors and the Successor of the Best of Prophets. I am the Door to the City of Knowledge and the Keeper of the knowledge of Allah’s Messenger and his inheritor. I am the husband of the Batul [1], the Mistress of the Lady of all the worlds, Fatima, the godfearing, the clean, the pure, the good-doer, the guided, the beloved of Allah’s Beloved, the best of his daughters and progeny and the sweet smelling plant of Allah’s Messenger. His two grandsons are the best of grandsons, and my two sons are the best of sons. Does anyone deny what I say? Where are the Muslims from the People of the Book? My name is, in the Injeel, Elia, and in the Tawrat, Bara’, and in the Zabur, Ara, and among the Indians, Kabkar, and among the Romans, Batrisa, and among the Persians, Jabtar, and among the Turks, Batheer, and among the blacks, Haitar, and among the shamans, Boyi’, and among the Abyssinians, Bathrik, and for my mother, Haidara, and for my wet nurse, Maimoun, and among the Arabs, Ali, and among the Armenians, Fareeq, and for my father, Dhaheer. Alas, I am, verily, specified in the Qur’an with names. Beware from overlooking them, lest you aberrate in your religion. Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, says: «Indeed, Allah is with the truthful.» [2] I am that Truthful, and I am the Announcer in this world and the Hereafter. Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, said: «Then an announcer will announce among them: May the curse of Allah be upon the wrong-doers.» (7:44) I am that announcer. And He said: «And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger» (9:3). I am that Announcement. And I am the Good-Doer, about whom Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, says: «Indeed, Allah is with the good-doers.» (29:69) And I am the One with the heart, about whom Allah says: «Indeed, in that is, verily, a reminder for he who has a heart» (50:37). And I am the Rememberer, about whom Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, says: «Who remember Allah whilst standing and sitting and lying on their sides» (3:191). And we are the people of the Elevations, I, my paternal uncle, my brother and the son of my paternal uncle. By Allah, the Divider of the seeds and kernels, the Fire will not enter into a lover of us, and no hater of us will enter Paradise. Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, said: «And on the elevations are men who recognize all by their marks.» (7:46) And I am the in-law, about whom Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, says: «And it is He who created from water, a human being and made him (a relative by) lineage and marriage.» (25:54) And I am the Conscious Ear, about whom Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, says: «And (that) it is perceived by a conscious ear.» (69:12) And I am the Peace to His Messenger, about which Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, said: «And a man belonging entirely to one man» (39:29). And from my sons is the Mahdi of this nation. Alas, your misfortune has, verily, been made that with hatred to me, the hypocrites are recognized, and with love to me, Allah tests the believers. This is the covenant of the Ummi Prophet to me: None will love you, except for a believer, and none will hate you, except for a hater. And I am the carrier of the banner of Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, in this world and the Hereafter. The Messenger of Allah is my precedent, and I am the precedent of my Shia’. By Allah, my lover will not become thirsty, nor will my ally fear, whilst I am the Ally of the Believers and Allah is my Ally. It is sufficient for my lovers to love what Allah loves, and it is sufficient for my haters to hate what Allah loves. Alas, it has, indeed, reached me that Mu’awiya has verbally insulted me and cursed me. O Allah, intensify Your hit upon him, and send down the curse upon the deserving, Ameen, O Lord of all the worlds, the Lord of Isma’eel and the Sender of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praised, Commendable. Then he, peace be upon him, stepped down from his old camels, and he did not return to it until he was killed by Ibn Muljim, may Allah curse him. Jabir said: We will come to interpret what we mentioned of his names. As for the saying of him, peace be upon him: My name is, in the Injeel, Elia, it is Ali in the tongue of the Arabs. And in the Tawrat, Bara’. He said: He was free from polytheism. And among the shamans, Boyi’, it is he who takes a place and frees another from a place, and he is the one who returns the truth to its places and invalidates falsehood and impairs it. And in the Zabur, Ari, and he is the lion who beats the bones and devours the flesh. And among the Indians, Kabkar, He said: They read in books which include the mentioning of Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, and it was mentioned in them that his supporter is Kabkar, and he is the one who if he wants something, he persists on it and does not depart from it until he reaches it. And among the Romans, Batrisa. He said: He is the seizer of souls. And among the Persians, Habtar, and he is the falcon that hunts. And among the Turks Batheer. He said: He is the tiger who if he puts his claw into something, he penetrates it. And among the blacks, Haitar. He said: He is the one that cuts joints. And among the Abyssinians, Bathrik. He said: He is the destroyer of everything he comes across. And for my mother, Haidara. He said: He is the one with the firm opinion, the acquainted, the digger, the observer into the details of things. And for my wet nurse, Maimoun. Jabir said: I was informed by Muhammed bin Ali, peace be upon him, that he said: The wet nurse of Ali, peace be upon him, who nursed him was a woman from the sons of Hilal. She had left him in her tent, and with him was a milk brother who was older than him in age with one year except for a few days. Near the tent, there was a well, and so the boy went to the well and put his head into it. Then Ali, peace be upon him, crawled behind him and the foot of Ali, peace be upon him, tangled to the tent’s rope, and so he pulled the rope until it came on his brother and tangled itself to one of his feet and one of his arms. As for hand, it was in his mouth, and as for the foot, it was in his hand. Then his mother came and managed to save him, and she yelled: O my jawbone, O my jawbone, O my jawbone for a fortunate boy who saved for me my son! Then they took the two boys from the top of the well while they were amazed of his strength, due to his childhood, the tangling of his foot to the tent and his pulling of the child until they managed to save him. Then his mother named him Maimoun, meaning blessed, and the boy among the sons of Hilal was known as the one tangled to Maimoun, and so were his sons till today. And among the Armenians, Fareeq. He said: The Fareeq is the bold who is feared by people. And for my father, Dhaheer. He said: His father used to gather his sons and the sons of his brothers and then order them to wrestle, and that was a tradition among the Arabs. Ali, peace be upon him, used to expose his two solid, short, forearms when he was a child, and he would wrestle his big and small brothers, and the big and small ones of the sons of his paternal uncle, and he would defeat them. Then his father would say: Ali has gained victory . Hence, he named him Dhaheer. And among the Arabs, Ali. Jabir said: The people of knowledge differed with regards to why Ali was named Ali. A group said: None from the sons of Adam have been named with this name among the Arabs nor among the non-Arabs, except if a man of the Arabs would say: This son of mine is high , intending to refer to highness , not to name him, and that people were only named with it after him and during his time. Another group said: Ali was named Ali due to his sublimity over everyone who sword-fought him. Another group said: Ali was named Ali because his house in the Gardens is elevated to the extent it aligns with the homes of the Prophets, and there is no Prophet whose rank elevates the rank of Ali. Another group said: Ali was named Ali because he mounted the back of Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, with his feet, out of obedience to Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, and none has mounted the back of a Prophet other than him, during the bringing down of idols from the top of the Kaaba. Another group said: Ali was only named Ali because he was married in the Highest of Heavens, and none from the creations of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, was married in that place other than thim. Another group said: Ali was only named Ali because he was the one of the people with the highest knowledge after Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family.

I was sitting with Abbas bin Abdul-Muttalib and a group from the sons of Abdul-‘Uzza opposite to the Sacred House of Allah as Fatima bin Asad, the mother of the Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him, and she was pregnant with him for nine months and was taken by labor pain, so she said: My Lord, I am a believer in You and in what has come from You of Messengers and Books, and indeed, I declare belief in the words of my grandfather, Ibrahim the Good Friend, and he, indeed, built the Old House. Hence, by the Prophet who built this House, and by the infant that is in my belly, please, ease for me my labor. Yazid bin Qa’nab said: Then we saw the House as it opened from behind, Fatima entered into it, she became absent from our eyes and the wall merged. Then we hoped for the door’s lock to open to us, and it did not open, and so we knew that this was by the commandment of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He. Then she went out after the fourth and in her hand was the Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him. Then she said: Indeed, I have been preferred over the women who have preceded me, because Asiya bint Muzahim worshipped Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, secretly in a place in which Allah does not like to be worshipped except in urgency, and Mariam bint Imran shook the dry palm tree with her hand until she ate harvested dates from it. I, though, entered into the Sacred House of Allah and ate from the fruits and leaves of Paradise, and when I wanted to exit, a caller called to me: O Fatima, name him Ali, for he is Ali , and Allah, the All-High, the Most Subleme, says: His name is from My Name, disciplined him with My Discipline and gave him success to (comprehend) My Occult Knowledge, and he is the one to break the idols in My House, and he is the one to recite the Adhan above the roof of My House and sanctify Me and glorify Me. Hence, Tuba is for those who love him and obey him, and woe to those who hate him and disobey him.

We were told by Abu Sa’eed, Hasan bin Ali bin Hasan al-Sukkari, that he said: We were informed by Abu Abdillah, Muhammed bin Zakariya al-Ghulabi, that he said: We were told by Mahdouj ibn Umayr al-Hanafi, that he said: We were told by Bishr bin Ibrahim al-Ansari, from Awza’i, from Yahya bin Abi Kathir, from his father, from Abu Huraira, that he said: Fatima was only named Fatima because Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, separated those who love her, from the Fire.

16. It was reported: She was only named Zahra because Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, created her from the Light of His Greatness.

Indeed, the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, was asked: What is the Batul? For indeed, we have heard you, O Allah’s Messenge,r say that Maryam was a Batul and that Fatima is a Batul? Then he said: The Batul is she who never saw any redness at all, meaning that she did not menstruate, because menstruation is disliked for the daughters of Prophets. The Imam was named an Imam because he is a role-model for the people, assigned by Allah, Exalted is His Remembrance, whose obedience is obligatory upon the servants. Ali bin Hussain, peace be upon them both, was named the Sajjad due to what was on his prostrating parts of effects of prostration , and he used to pray in one day and night, a thousand rak’a [1]. He was named the One with Calluses because on the spot of his prostration, he had swollen effects, and he used to cut them twice a year, each time five calluses, and so he was named the One with Calluses for that. Al-Baqir, peace be upon him, was named a Baqir because he slit knowledge open, a true splitting, meaning that he cut it a true cutting and demonstrated it, a true demonstration. Al-Sadiq was named a Sadiq in order it to be recognized who the claimer of Imamate without right is, and that is Ja’far bin Ali, the leader of the Second Fathis. Musa bin Ja’far, peace be upon them both, was named the Kadhim because he used to repress his rage towards those whom he knew would stand on his truth and knowingly reject the Imam after him out of greed for his property. Ali bin Musa, peace be upon them both, was named the Rida because he was pleased with Allah, Exalted is His Remembrance, in His Heaven, pleased with the Messenger and the Imams after him, peace be upon them, in His earth, and the opponents from his enemies were pleased with him like how the congruent from his allies were pleased with him. Muhammed bin Ali, the Second, peace be upon them both, was named the Taqi because he feared Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, and so Allah shielded from him the evil of Ma’mun when he entered into him at night, drunk, and hit him by his sword to the extent he assumed that he had killed him, and so Allah shielded him from his evil. The two Imams, Ali bin Muhammed and Hasan bin Ali, peace be upon them both, were named the Askariyyain [2] because they were ascribed to the place in which they resided in Surr Man Ra’a [3], and it used to be called a military camp. The Qa’im was named a Qa’im because he will arise after the death of his remembrance. It has been reported other than that with regards to this meaning. I have reported these parts in an arranged, chained, manner in the book ‘Ilal-ush-Shara’I’ wal-Ahkam wal-Asbab.