The Sufficient (Vol 3) · Hadith 965 (#Ḥadīth #36)

36ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ الْسَّلام) قَالَ إِنَّ قَوْماً فِيمَا مَضَى قَالُوا لِنَبِيٍّ لَهُمْ ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يَرْفَعُ عَنَّا الْمَوْتَ فَدَعَا لَهُمْ فَرَفَعَ الله عَنْهُمُ الْمَوْتَ فَكَثُرُوا حَتَّى ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَنَازِلُ وَكَثُرَ النَّسْلُ وَيُصْبِحُ الرَّجُلُ يُطْعِمُ أَبَاهُ وَجَدَّهُ وَأُمَّهُ وَجَدَّ جَدِّهِ وَيُوَضِّيهِمْ وَيَتَعَاهَدُهُمْ فَشَغَلُوا عَنْ طَلَبِ الْمَعَاشِ فَقَالُوا سَلْ لَنَا رَبَّكَ أَنْ يَرُدَّنَا إِلَى حَالِنَا الَّتِي كُنَّا عَلَيْهَا فَسَأَلَ نَبِيُّهُمْ رَبَّهُ فَرَدَّهُمْ إِلَى حَالِهِمْ.

36. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ibn abu ‘ Umayr from Hisham ibn Salim who has said the following: “Abu ’Abd Allah , has said that a people in the past had asked their prophet, Tray to your Lord to stop death from ending our lives.’ He prayed and death was stopped from ending their lives. Their number multiplied and it caused congestion to their dwellings and birth rate increased so much so that a man needed to feed his father, grandfather, mother, grandfather of his grandfather, take care of their hygiene and look after them. It stopped them from working to make a living. They then asked their prophet to appeal to his Lord to return them to their previous conditions. Their prophet asked his Lord. He then returned them to their previous conditions.’”

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).