The Commander of the Faithful—His might was mighty—said: “O Maytham, mount your camel and call out in the streets and quarters of Kufa: ‘Whosoever wishes to look upon what Allah has bestowed upon Ali, the brother of the Messenger of Allah and the husband of his daughter, of divine knowledge (al-ilm al-rabbani), let him go out to Al-Najaf.’” So the messenger and the people went out to Al-Najaf. Then he—His might was mighty—said: “O Maytham, bring me the bedouin and his companion.” So I went out and saw him riding beneath the canopy containing the dead man, and I brought him to Al-Najaf. At that, he—His might was mighty—said: “Say concerning us what you see of us, and narrate from us what you witness of us.” Then he said:

“O bedouin, make the camel kneel and bring out your companion, you and a group of the Muslims.” Maytham said: So I brought out a coffin containing a green silk bedding, wherein lay a young boy whose facial hair had just begun to grow upon his cheek, with locks of hair like those of a beautiful woman. He—His might was mighty—said: “How long has your companion been dead?” He replied: “Forty-one days.” He asked: “And what was the cause of his death?” The bedouin said: “His family wants you to bring him back to life so he may inform them who killed him; for he went to sleep unharmed and woke up slaughtered from ear to ear, and fifty men are demanding his blood, turning against one another. So uncover the doubt and suspicion, O brother of Muhammad.” The Imam said: “His uncle killed him because he had married him to his daughter, but the boy left her and married someone else, so the uncle killed him out of resentment toward him.” The bedouin said: “We are not satisfied with your word; rather, we want him to testify for himself before his family so that the strife, the sword, and the fighting may be lifted.”