Admonishment of Close Relatives
There is an incident of the Holy Prophet (sa) admonishing his close relatives in accordance with the commandment of Allah the Almighty. Hazrat Baraa (ra) bin Azib relates that when the following verse of the Holy Quran was revealed to the Messenger (sa) of Allah:
وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيْرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِيْنَ
“And warn thy nearest kinsmen” [Ch.26: V.215] the Holy Prophet (sa) instructed Hazrat Ali (ra) to prepare one saa of food and also a leg of a she-goat and according to another narration, it was one mud instead of a saa. There are four mud in one saa which is approximately 2.5 seir or 2.5 kilograms. It also states here that in Kufa and Iraq, the measurement of one saa is equal to eight mud, which is approximately 4.5 seir. But regardless of whether it was 2.5 seir or 4 seir, the Holy Prophet (sa) instructed for the food to be prepared in this small quantity and also instructed for a bowl of milk to be prepared and to then gather the people of Banu Abdil Muttalib.
Hazrat Ali (ra) stated, “I did exactly as I was instructed and approximately 40 people gathered. The Holy Prophet’ssa uncles, Abu Talib, Hamzah, Abbas and Abu Lahb were also present. I presented the large tray of food before them. The Messenger (sa) of Allah took a small piece of meat and broke it with his teeth and placed its pieces on the edges of the tray in order to bless the food. The Messenger (sa) of Allah then invited them to eat in the name of Allah and everyone ate to their fill.
“I swear by Allah, the food I presented before them was sufficient only for one person. Thereafter, the Holy Prophet (sa) instructed me to give everyone something to drink. I brought the bowl of milk and they all drank from it to their fill. And I swear by Allah that the amount I presented was only sufficient for one person to drink. When the Holy Prophet (sa) decided to address everyone present in the gathering, Abu Lahab quickly interjected and said, ‘Look at how your fellow tribesman has cast a spell upon you all.’ Upon this, everyone dispersed and the Messenger (sa) of Allah was unable to address them.
“The next day, the Messenger (sa) of Allah, stated, ‘O Ali, prepare the same food and drink as you had prepared yesterday.’ I did just that and gathered everyone and the Messenger (sa) of Allah blessed the food in exactly the same manner as he did the previous day. Everyone then ate and drank to their fill. Thereafter, the Messenger (sa) of Allah stated, ‘O Banu Abdil Muttalib, I do not know of any young man from among the Arabs who has conveyed a better message than what I bring to you. I convey to you a message regarding this world and the Hereafter. Who will assist me in this regard?’”
Hazrat Ali (ra) further states, “Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. I then submitted, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah, despite the fact I am younger than everyone present here, I will be your helper.’”
(Mustafa Abd al-Wahid, Subul al-Huda wa al-Rashad fi Sirat Khair al-Ibad, Vol. 2 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1993], 324) (Lughat al-Hadith, Vol. 2, p. 648, zair-e-lafz “sa”)