The Story of the Grilled Bird

A narration which has been widely transmitted and it is well-known both to Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims is the story of the grilled bird. Anas ibn Malik reports: A grilled bird was offered to the Messenger of Allah as a gift, for which he raised his hands in prayer, saying: O Lord, send to me Your most beloved creature to eat with me from this bird.

Being sure that the Holy Prophet’s prayer would be answered, Anas reports: I hoped that he would be a man from Ansar (helpers). Hence I said: O Lord, let the man be from Ansar! But concurrent with the Holy Prophet’s prayer ‘Ali was at the door and asked for permission to enter. I said: The Messenger of Allah is busy now. ‘Ali went away and came again after a few moments. Again I said that the Holy Prophet was busy. For the third time ‘Ali came at the door. The Messenger of Allah said: Open the door. I opened the door. ‘Ali came in. The Holy Prophet asked: What happened between you and Anas? ‘Ali said: O Messenger of Allah! This is the third time I come to see you but each time Anas stopped me from entering the house, saying: The Holy Prophet is busy!

قَدْ بَرِئْتَ فَلا بَأْسَ عَلَيْك. مَا سَأَلْتُ اللهَ شَيْئاً إلاَّ وَسَأَلْتُ لَكَ مِثْلَهُ، وَلا سَأَلْتُ اللهَ شَيْئاً إلاَّ أَعْطانِيهِ إلاَّ أنَّهُ لاَ نَبِيَّ بَعْدِي. وَعَنْ مُعاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: يَا عَلِيُّ أَخْصِمُكَ بِالنُّبُوَّةِ وَلا نُبُوَّةَ بَعْدِي، وَتَخْصِمُ النَّاسَ بِسَبْعٍ وَلا يُحاجُّكَ فِيهِنَّ أَحَدٌ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ: أَنْتَ أَوَّلُهُمْ إيمَاناً بِاللهِ، وَأَوْفَاهُمْ بِعَهْدِ اللهِ، وَأَقْوَمُهُمْ بِأَمْرِ اللهِ، وَأَقْسَمُهُمْ بِالسَّوِيَّةِ، وَأَعْدَلُهُمْ فِي الرَّعِيَّةِ، وَأَبْصَرُهُمْ فِي الْقَضِيَّةِ، وَأَعْظَمُهُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَزِيَّةً.

وَعَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: مَنْ فَارَقَ عَلِيَّاً فَارَقَنِي، وَمَنْ فَارَقَنِي فَارَقَ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجلَّ.

وَعَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: يَا عَلِيُّ، إنَّهُ مَنْ فَارَقَنِي فَقَدْ فَارَقَ اللهَ، وَمَنْ فَارَقَكَ فَقَدْ فَارَقَنِي. فِي خَبَرِ الطَّائِرِ:

مِنَ الأَحادِيثِ الْمَنْقُولَةِ بِالتَّوَاتُرِ عِنْدَ الْخَاصَّةِ وَالْعَامَّةِ خَبَرُ الطَّائِرِ. رَوَى أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ قَالَ: أُهْدِيَ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ طَيْرٌ فَقالَ: اللَّهُمَّ إئْتِنِي بِأَحَبِّ خَلْقِكَ إلَيْكَ يَأْكُلْ مَعِيَ مِنْ هَذَا الطَّيْرِ. فَقُلْتُ: اللَّهُمَّ إجْعَلْهُ رَجُلاً مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ. فَجَاءَ عَلِيٌّ فَقُلْتُ إنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ عَلَى حَاجَةٍ، فَذَهَبَ. ثُمَّ جَاءَ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، فَذَهَبَ. ثُمَّ جَاءَ فقَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: إفْتَحْ، فَفَتَحْتُ. ثُمَّ دَخَلَ

The Holy Prophet (S) called me and said: Why did you stop ‘Ali from coming in. I said: O Messenger of Allah, when I heard your prayer and I was sure your prayer would be answered, I wished the most beloved man with Allah would be a man from my tribe, Ansar! The Messenger of Allah said: Yes, everyone is interested in his close relations and repeated this sentence for a second time.⁹³