في حديثه عليه السلام:
A tradition related from Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, says:
فَإِذَا كَانَ ذلِكَ ضَرَبَ يَعْسُوبُ الدِّينِ بِذَنَبِهِ،
When the situation is like this, then the head of the religion will rise
فَيَجْتَمِعُونَ إِلَيْهِ كَمَا يَجْتَمِعُ قَزَعُ الْخَرِيفِ.
and people will gather around him as pieces of rainless cloud collect during autumn.
قال الرضي: يعسوب الدين: السيد العظيم المالك لاَمور الناس يومئذ، والقزع: قطع الغيم التي لا ماء فيها.
As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: "Ya'sub" 64 is the great chief who is in charge of the people's affairs, and "quza`" means the pieces of cloud which have no rain.
64. "Ya'sub" is the name given to the queen bee, and the saying of Amir al-mu'minin is: "fa idha kana dhalika daraba ya'sub u'd-din bi dhanabihi". The word "daraba" means to beat, strike, hit, etc.; "ya'sub u'd-din" means "the head of religion and the shari'ah", and "dhanab"means tail, end, adherent or flower. In this sentence "ya'subu'd-u 'd-din" stands for the present Imam (al-Imam al-Mahdi). Although this title was given by the Holy Prophet to Amir al-mu'minin specially, as he said: O' `Ali, you are the ya'sub (bead) of the believers while wealth is the ya'sub of the hypocrites. (al-Isti`ab, vol. 4, p. 1744; Usd al-ghabah, vol.5, p.287; al-Isabah, vol.4, p.17l; ar-Riyad an-nadirah, vol.2, p.155; Majma' az-zawa'id, vol.9, p.102; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol.1, p. 12; vol.19, p.224). Also the Holy Prophet said to 'Ali: You are the ya'sub of the religion. (ar-Riyad an-nadirah, vol.2, p. 177; Taj al-'arus, vol.1, p.381; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol.1, p. 12; vol.19, p.224) Also the Holy Prophet said to 'Ali: You are the ya'sub of the Muslims (Yanabi' al-mawaddah, al-Qunduzi, p.62) Again the Holy Prophet said: You are the ya'sub of the Quraysh (al-Maqasid al-hasanah, as-Sakhawi, p.94). Therefore, the reason for giving the Imam this name is that just as the queen bee is pure alone and in the society of other bees, and she collects her nectar from the blossoms and flowers keeping away from pollution, in the same way the present Imam is free from all pollutions and is perfectly clean and pure. This saying has been interpreted in several ways: Firstly, it means that "when the present Imam settles at his seat after his tour and rotation round the world people will gather around him." Secondly, it means that "when the Imam moves about on the earth along with his friends and associates..." In this case the word "daraba" would mean moving about and the word "dhanab "would mean helpers and associates. Thirdly, it means that "when the Imam rises with a sword in hand." In this case the word "dhanab" would mean stinging by the bee. Fourthly, it means that "when the Imam rises for the propagation of true faith with full fervour. . ." In this case the sentence is suggestive of the state of anger and the posture for attack.
65. The reference by the versatile speaker is to Sa'sa'ah ibn Suhan al-'Abdi who was among the chief companions of Amir al-mu'minin. This saying throws light on the greatness of his speaking quality and the force of his utterances. In this connection, Ibn Abi'l-Hadid has written: It is enough for Sa'sa'ah's greatness that a personality like 'Ali, peace be upon him, has praised him for versatility and eloquence of speech. (Sharh Nahjul Balaghah al-balaghah, vol.19, p.106)
