Asbagh ibn Nubatah al-Abdi, said:
When Ibn Muljam hit the fatal blow to Amirul Mu’mineen, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, we passed by him in the morning, myself and al-Harith and Swaid ibn Ghaflah and other friends. We stopped at the door and just as we heard the weeping, we wept also. So al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali, peace be upon him, came to us and said: “Amirul Mu’mineen requests you to return to your homes.” So all except myself, departed.
Again there was intense wailing from inside the house, and I wept also. Hasan, peace be upon him, came out again and said: “Did I not ask you to leave?” I said: “By Allah, O son of the Prophet of Allah, my heart does not allow me to go, and my feet refuse to carry me, till I see Amirul Mu’mineen, may Allah bless him.”
He said: Then he (i.e. al-Hasan) paused and entered. And soon after, he came out allowing me to enter. As I entered, I saw Amirul Mu’mineen sitting with support, with a yellow headband tied round his head, drained of blood and his face pale. I could not discern which one was more yellow, his face or the headband. So I fell over him, kissed him and kept on crying. He said: “Do not cry O Asbagh, for it is my way to Paradise.”
So I said to him: “May I be your ransom, I know full well that you are proceeding to Paradise. I weep because I will terribly miss you, O Amirul Mu’mineen! May I be your ransom, please narrate to me a tradition which you heard from the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, for I fear that I might never chance to hear from you anything after this day.” He said: “Yes, O Asbagh. Once the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, called me and said: ‘O ‘Ali, go to my mosque, climb the pulpit and summon the people to gather before you. Then, after praising Allah, Most High, and lauding Him, and invoking abundant blessing upon me, say:
‘O People! I am a messenger from the messenger of Allah to you. And he says: Curse from Allah, His honoured angels and His Prophets, and from me befall him who attributes himself to anyone other than his father, or who acts against his masters, or who unjustly usurps the right of his employee (or a person he has hired for work).’
So I went to his mosque, climbed upon the pulpit, when the Quraish and others present in the mosque saw me, they drew closer to me. I praised Allah and glorified him, invoked abundant blessings upon the Prophet and then said: “O people! I am a messenger from the messenger of Allah, to you. And he says to you: ‘Curse from Allah, His honoured angels and His Prophets and from me befall him who attributes himself to anyone other than his father, or who acts against his masters, or who unjustly usurps the right of his employee (or a person he has hired for work).”
He said: No one from the people spoke anything, except Umar ibn al-Khattab, who said: “O Abul Hasan, you have indeed conveyed, but you have come up with a statement which is not clear.” I said: “I will convey your response to the Prophet.” So I returned and informed the Prophet. He said: Go back to my mosque, climb my pulpit, praise and glorify Allah and invoke His blessings upon me and then say: “O people! We do not come to you with anything unless we have its explanation. So be it known, I am the father, and I am your master, and I am the one employed (by Allah) for you.”