[Machine] He said, then Zaid said, "O Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful), do not make a tree that has sprouted a branch, which then sprouted another branch from it, equal to the first branch. And yet, the two branches came from the first branch. So, he sent for Ali and asked him. Ali said, as Zaid said, except that Ali made it like a flowing river that flows, and a branch sprouted from it, and then two branches sprouted from it. Ali said, "Do you see if the water from this middle branch dries up, does it return to the two branches together?" Abu Bakr al-Ardastani informed us, Abu Nasr al-Iraqi informed us, Sufyan ibn Muhammad informed us, Ali ibn al-Hasan informed us, Abdullah ibn al-Walid mentioned it. The sheikh said, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud used to draw comparisons between ancestry, brothers, and sisters, either from the father and mother or from the father alone.  

أَنَّهُ قَالَ فَقَالَ زَيْدٌ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لَا تَجْعَلْ شَجَرَةً نَبَتَتْ فَانْشَعَبَ مِنْهَا غُصْنٌ فَانْشَعَبَ فِي الْغُصْنِ غُصْنَانِ فَمَا جَعَلَ الْأَوَّلَ أَوْلَى مِنَ الثَّانِي وَقَدْ خَرَجَ الْغُصْنَانِ مِنَ الْغُصْنِ الْأَوَّلِ؟ فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى عَلِيٍّ ؓ فَسَأَلَهُ فَقَالَ لِعَلِيٍّ ؓ كَمَا قَالَ لِزَيْدٍ فَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ كَمَا قَالَ زَيْدٌ إِلَّا أَنَّ عَلِيًّا جَعَلَهُ سَيْلًا سَالَ فَانْشَعَبَتْ مِنْهُ شُعْبَةٌ ثُمَّ انْشَعَبَتْ مِنْهُ شُعْبَتَانِ فَقَالَ أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ أَنَّ مَاءَ هَذِهِ الشُّعْبَةِ الْوُسْطَى يَبُسَ أَكَانَ يَرْجِعُ إِلَى الشُّعْبَتَيْنِ جَمِيعًا أَخْبَرَنَاهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الْأَرْدَسْتَانِيُّ ثنا أَبُو نَصْرٍ الْعِرَاقِيُّ ثنا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ ثنا عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ ثنا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ فَذَكَرَهُ قَالَ الشَّيْخُ وَكَانَ عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يُشْرِكُ بَيْنَ الْجَدِّ وَالْإِخْوَةِ وَالْأَخَوَاتِ لِأَبٍ وَأُمٍّ أَوْ لِأَبٍ