Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I had the honor of being present in the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at a time which no one else among the creation attained; I used to present myself daily in the service of the Prophet (peace be upon him) at the time of suhoor and would greet him with salam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would cough and grant me permission to enter. Once, I reached the Prophet (peace be upon him) at night and, as usual, greeted him with salam, saying: «السلام عليك يا نبي الله» The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Abu al-Hasan! Wait, I am coming out myself." When the Prophet (peace be upon him) came out, I said: O Messenger of Allah! Has someone made you angry? He said: "No." I asked: Then why did you not speak to me last night? He said: "I felt a movement of something in my chamber. I asked: Who is it? A voice replied: I am Jibreel. I told him to come in, but he said: No, you come out yourself. When I came out, he said that there is something in your house, and as long as it remains in the house, no angel will enter. I said: Jibreel! I do not know of any such thing. He said: Go and look carefully. I opened the house and found nothing except a small puppy with which Hasan was playing. So I came and told him that I found nothing except a small puppy. Upon this, he said: There are three things, as long as they remain in a house, no angel of mercy will enter: a dog, a person in a state of major impurity (junub), or a picture of a living being."