وَ كَانَ عليه السلام يَقُولُ:
Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, used to say:
أَحْلِفُوا الظَّالِمَ إِذَا أَرَدْتُمْ يَمِينَهُ بِأَنَّهُ بَرِيءٌ مِنْ حَوْلِ اللَّهِ وَ قُوَّتِهِ
If you want an oppressor to take an oath ask him to swear like this that he is out of Allah's might and His power,
فَإِنَّهُ إِذَا حَلَفَ بِهَا كَاذِباً عُوجِلَ الْعُقُوبَةَ
because if he swears falsely in this way he will be quickly punished,
وَ إِذَا حَلَفَ بِاللَّهِ الَّذِى لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَمْ يُعَاجَلْ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ وَحَّدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى .
while if he swears by Allah Who is such that there is no god but He, he will not be quickly punished since he is expressing the Unity of Allah, the Sublime. 61
61. It is narrated that someone levied some charges against Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq before the 'Abbaside Caliph 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur. al-Mansur sent for the Imam and told him that such and such a person had told him such and such about him. The Imam said it was all wrong and there was not an iota of truth therein, and desired the man to he sent for and questioned before him. Consequently, he was sent for and questioned. He said that whatever he had said was true and correct. The Imam said to him, "if you are speaking the truth then you swear as I ask you to swear." Thereafter, the Imam made him swear by saying, "I am out of Allah's might and power and I rely on my own might and power." Soon after swearing like this he got an attack of paralysis and he became motionless. The Imam, returned with full honour and prestige. (al-Kafi, al-Kulayni, vol.6, pp. 445--446; al-Bihar, vol.47, pp.164 -- 165, 172-175, 203 -- 204; al-Fusul al-muhimmah, Ibn as-Sabbagh al-Maliki, pp.225 --226; as-sawa`iq al-muhriqah, Ibn Hajar ash-Shafi'i, p. 120; Jami' karamat al-awliya', an-Nabhani ash-Shafi'i, vol.2, p.4). Such an event took place again during the reign of Harun ar-Rashid (149/766 - 193/809 - the grandson of al-Mansur) when 'Abdullah ibn Mus'ab (the grandson of 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr -- the well-known enemy of Ahlu'1-bayt of the Holy Prophet) slandered Yahya ibn 'Abdillah ibn al-Hasan ibn (al-Imam) al-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib before Harun ar-Rashid by saying that he was plotting a revolution against him (Harun). Then, Yahya made 'Abdullah swear before Harun in the same manner as the Imam had done. When 'Abdullah swore as he was required to, the symptom of leprosy soon appeared in him in the presence of Harun and he died after three days, while every part of his flesh cracked open and all the hair of his body fell out. After this, Harun used to say, "How soon Allah took revenge on 'Abdullah for Yahya!" (Maqatil at-talibiyyin, Abu'l-Faraj al-Isfahani, pp.472-478; Muruj adh-dhahab, al-Mas'udi, vol.3, pp.340-- 342; Tarikh Baghdad, al-Khatib, vol.14, pp.110-112; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol.19, pp.91-94; at- Tarikh, Ibn Kathir, vol.10, pp.167-168; Tarikh al-khulafa', as-Suyuti:, p.287).
