A Believer’s Signs and Qualities

22. It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from al-Sindy ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn al-Salt from abu Hamza from Ali ibn al- Husayn عليه السلام who has said the following: “Once Amir al-Mu’minin (Ali ibn abu Talib) عليه السلام prayed the morning prayer and remained in his place until the sun rose up to the length of a spear and then turned his face to people and said, ‘By Allah I lived in the times of a people who spent the night prostrating and standing before their Lord, changing positions only to rest on their knees or forehead, as if they could hear the roaring of fire in their ears. Were Allah mentioned they swerved like branches of trees in the wind, as if the people had spent the night totally neglectful (of worship).’ The narrator has said, ‘The Imam عليه السلام thereafter was never seen laughing until he passed away.’”