Narration of the Prophecy of Hazrat Ali's (ra) Martyrdom

There is also a narration by Hazrat Ammar (ra) regarding the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (ra), which is related to a prophecy made by the Holy Prophet (sa). Hazrat Ammar bin Yassir (ra) narrates, “Once, during the Battle of Zaatul-Asheerah, I was travelling alongside Hazrat Ali (ra). When the Messenger of Allah (sa) camped at a certain place, we saw some people from the clan of Mudlij, who were working near the springs of their orchards. Hazrat Ali (ra) said to me, ‘Let us go to these people and observe how they work.’ Thus, we went closer to them and observed how they worked for a short while. Then we became tired. Hazrat Ali (ra) and I then retired to an orchard and laid down to rest on the ground. By Allah! It was the Messenger of Allah (sa), who woke us up. He was waking us up with his foot as we were completely covered with dust. That day, the Holy Prophet (sa) said to Hazrat Ali (ra), ‘O Abu Turab [Father of Dust]!’ This was due to the dust that could be seen on him that he called him Abu Turab. The Holy Prophet (sa) then said, ‘Shall I inform you about two of the most unfortunate individuals from among the people?’ We said, ‘Indeed, O Messenger (sa) of Allah!’ He said, ‘One is the fair-skinned individual with reddish complexion from the people of Thamud, who crippled the camel [of Prophet Saleh (as)] and the second individual, O Ali, is the one who will strike your head and cause your beard to be smeared with blood.’”

(Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 6, p. 261, Ammar bin Yassir, Hadith 18511, Aalam-ul-Kutub, Beirut, 1998)