وقال عليه السلام لاَنس بن مالك، وقد كان بعثه إلى طلحةَ والزبيرِ لما جاءا إلى البصرة يذكر هما شيئاً سمعه من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله في معناهما، فلوى عن ذلك، فرجع إليه، فقال: إِنِّي أُنسيتُ ذلك الاَمرَ.
When Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, came to Basrah he sent Anas ibn Malik to Talhah and az-Zubayr to make them recall what he (Anas) himself had heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his descendants, say concerning them both, but he avoided doing so and when he came back to Amir al-mu'minin, he said that he had forgotten that matter.
فَقال عليه السلام :
Thereupon, Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said:
إِنْ كُنْتَ كَاذِباً
If you are speaking a lie
فَضَرَبَكَ اللهُ بِهَا بَيْضَاءَ لاَمِعَةً
Allah may afflict you with white spots (leucoderma)
لاَ تُوَارِيهَا الْعِمَامَةُ .
which even the turban may not cover.
قال الرضي: . يعني البرص، فأصاب أَنَساً هذا الداء فيما بعدُ في وجهه، فكان لا يُرى إلاّ مُبَرقعاً.
As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: White spot means leucoderma. After sometime this disease did occur to Anas's face so much so that he was never seen without a veil. 77
77. The occasion and circumstances surrounding this saying as related by as-Sayyid ar-Radi were that when at the time of the Battle of Jamal Amir al-mu'minin sent Anas ibn Malik to Talhah and az-Zubayr with the purpose that he should recall them the Prophet's saying to the effect that: "You two will fight 'Ali and will commit excess over him", he came back and stated that he had forgotten to mention it. Then, Amir al-mu'minin uttered these words about him. However, it is said that Amir al-mu'minin said the sentence on the occasion when he wanted Anas to confirm the Prophet's saying. "Whosoever master I am, 'Ali is his master. O My God, love him who loves 'Ali and hate him who hates 'Ali". Consequently, numerous persons have testified to this saying but Arias kept quiet. Then, Amir al-mu'minin, said to him, "You too were present at Ghadir Khum, what is keeping you silent on this occasion?" and he said, "I have grown old and my memory does not serve me well". Then, Amir al-mu'minin, pronounced this curse. (Ansab al-ashraf, al-Baladhuri, [concerning the biography of Amir al-mu'minin], pp.156-157; al-A'laq an-nafisah, Ibn Rustah, p.221; Altai's al-ma'arif, ath-Tha'alibi, pp. 105 - 106; Muhadarat al-udaba', ar-Raghib, vol.3, p.293; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol.4, p.74; Arjah al-matalib, ash-Shaykh 'Ubaydullah al-Hanafi, pp. 578, 579, 580). In this connection, Ibn Qutaybah ('Abdullah ibn Muslim ad-Dinawari [213/828 - 276/889] writes: People have related that Amir al-mu'minin asked Anas ibn Malik about the Prophet's saying: "O My God, love him who loves 'Ali and hate him who hates 'Ali," and he replied, "I have grown old and I have forgotten it." Then 'Ali said: "If you are a liar, Allah may afflict you with white spots which even the turban may not cover. (al-Ma'arif, p. 580) Ibn Abi'l-Hadid has also supported this view and, denying the incident mentioned by as-Sayyid ar-Radi, writes: The incident mentioned by as-Sayyid ar-Radi that Amir al-mu'minin sent Anas ibn Malik to Talhah and az-Zubayr is an unrecorded event. If Amir al-mu'minin had sent him particularly to recall to them the the Prophet's saying concerning them, then he could hardly have come back and said that he had forgotten it because when he left Amir al-mu'minin and went to these two persons he should have admitted and remembered the saying, and therefore how could he, on his return after an hour or a day, plead that he had forgotten it and deny it. This is something that cannot happen. (Sharh Nahjul Balaghah al-balaghah, vol.19, pp.217 - 218)
