It is also said that he wrote the following Qasida on a dress:
و منزلوحي مقفر العرصات
مدارس آیات خلت من تلاوه
“There is the place of taking lesson from the verses of Quran, which are
devoid of recitation and the place of descent of divine revelation, is empty of
inhabitants.”
And instructed them to place it in his shroud.1
2. Hafiz Ibne Asakir says in his Tarikh:2
When Mamun was established in his Caliphate and minted coins in his
name, he began to gather the relics about the excellence of the progeny of
Prophet, among them being the following couplet of Dibil:
و منزلوحي مقفر العرصات
و بالركن والتعريف والجمرات
مدارس آیات خلت من تلاوه
لال رسول الله بالخيف من منى
“The schools have become devoid of recitation and teaching of verses of
Quran. The place of revelation have become deserted. The ranks of the
family of Prophet are in the Masjid of Kheef, Mina and in Kaaba, Arafat
and Jamarat.”
This verse was continually in the heart of Mamun till Dibil met him,3 and he
said: Recite the Taiya Qasida for me and no harm would come to you. I
guarantee you security. Indeed, I know all of it, but I want to hear from you
directly.
So Dibil recited the Qasida till he reached this line:
- Do you not see that since thirty years I am in permanent state of distress? 2. I see their share being distributed among others and their hands are devoid of their shares. 3. So, the progeny of Messenger of Allah has become emaciated and progeny of Ziyad has become obese. 4. Daughters of Ziyad are safe in their tents whereas daughters of Prophet wander in wilderness. 5. When they became targets of victimization, they stretched their hands to their oppressors, which is tied from taking revenge. 6. Thus, if there had been nothing to hope for today or tomorrow, I would have also died along with them in regret.
Mamun wept till his beard was wet and his tears flowed on his chest and
Dibil was first to meet him and was the last to leave him.
Shaykhul Islam, Abu Ishaq Hamawaini (d. 722 A.H.) has narrated from
Ahmad bin Ziyad from Dibil Khuzai:
I recited the following panegyric for my master, Imam Ali Reza (a.s.):
“The schools have become devoid of recitation and teaching of verses of Quran. The place of revelation have become deserted.”
Imam Ali Reza (a.s.) asked: “Can I add two verses to your poem?”
“Yes, O son of Allah’s Messenger (s.a.w.a.),” said I. So he said:
الحث بها الاحشاء بالزفرات
يفرج عنا الهم والكربات
و قبر بطوس يالها من مصيبه
الى الحشر حتى يبعث الله قائما
“And a tomb shall be made in Tus, by whose tragedy
The inner portion of the body will be scorched.
And this will continue till resurrection when Allah sends a Qaim
Through him would He remove the calamities from us.”4
Dibil says: Then I recited the remaining panegyric (Qasida), and when I
reached the verse:
خروج امام لا محاله خارج يقوم على اسم الله و البركات
“Uprising of an Imam, which would definitely occur; he would stage an uprising with the name of God and His blessings.”
Imam Ali Reza (a.s.) wept severely and then said: “O Dibil, the Holy Spirit
has spoken from your tongue. Do you know who this Imam is?”
“No,” I replied, “I only heard that an Imam will come from your progeny,
who would fill up the earth with justice and equity.”
Imam (a.s.) said: “Indeed, the Imam after me is my son Muhammad and
after Muhammad my son, Ali; and after Ali, his son, Hasan and after Hasan, his
son, the Hujjat and the Qaim and during his occultation, people would wait for
him and during his reappearance, they would obey him and he would fill up the
earth with justice and equity like it would have been fraught with injustice and
oppression. As for the time of his reappearance, it is like informing about time of Qiyamat (which no one knows, except Almighty Allah). Indeed, my father
narrated from his forefathers from Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) that his simile is
like the simile of Qiyamat, which would not come, except of a sudden.”