IMAM ALI
IBN E ABI TALIB a.s
Imam
Ali (AS) and the Beauties The most beautiful
birth: He
is the only one who was born in Ka'bah The most beautiful
name: According
to narrations, the name of "Ali" is deprived from holy God's
name The most beautiful
Teacher: Ali
(AS) was trained by holy prophet (SW) The most beautiful
words: According
to most of scholars' opinions, Nahjulbalaghah is the
brother of holy Quran Giving
Birth in Ka'bah On Friday, the 13th of
the blessed month of Rajab, 12 years before the ordainment of Muhammad (SW ) as Allah's
Messenger, Fatimah bint Asad
felt that she was about to give birth to her child. She came to the Sacred Ka'bah and began to circumambulate praying as she walked.
Fatimah bint Asad leaned
against the wall of the Ka'bah to rest. Miraculously,
the wall opened. Fatimah bint Asad
entered and the wall closed behind her. Imam Ali (AS) was born within the Ka'bah with his eyes closed and his body in humble
prostration before the Almighty Allah. Fatimah stayed in the Ka'bah for three days and as the fourth day approached, she
stepped out, carrying her baby in her arms. She found the Holy Prophet (SW)
waiting to receive the newly-born child in his anxious arms. So the first face
that little Ali saw in this world was the smiling face of the Apostle of God,
Muhammad (SW). Imam
Ali (AS)'s Lineage Imam Ali (AS) is the
first child of Hashemi’s family. Hashemi family was famous in morality and humanity in Qoraiysh Tribe, and also this tribe was famous among Arabs'
tribes. Generosity, and humanity, intelligence and intellect, bravery and
heroism were Bani Hashem’s
characters, and all of them were gathered in Ali Ibn
Abitallib (AS)’s character. Imam Ali (AS)'s Father He
was a son of Shaiba ibn Hashim and Fatimah binte Amr, thus a full brother of Muhammad's father 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdul Muttalib, who had died
before Muhammad (SW)'s birth. In 576, Abu Talib took
care of Muhammad (SW) after the death of Aminah binte Wahab, Muhammad (SW)'s
mother. Abu Talib also protected Muhammad (SW)
against other sub-clans of Banu Quraish,
who were the enemies of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed (SW). When Muhammad (SW)
was a child, Abu Talib was head of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraish tribe. Once Muhammad (SW) got older, he took
responsibility for Abu Talib's son Ali ibn Abu Talib. After Muhammad
(SW) began preaching the message of Islam, increasingly more members of the Quraish tribe came to feel threatened by Muhammad (SW). In
attempts to quiet him, they would lean on Abu Talib
to silence his nephew or control him. Despite these pressures, Abu Talib did nothing but support Muhammad (SW) and defended
him from the other heads of the Quraish. Abu Talib died in age of 64, at around the same time as
Muhammad (SW)'s beloved wife Khadijah, leading to an
immensely sad time for him. This year was known as the saddest year of the life
of the prophet (SW), the Year of Sorrow. Imam Ali (AS)'s Mother Fatimah
binte Asad was the mother of the first Shi’a
Imam Ali bin Abu Talib (AS), and the mother-in-law of
the Islamic Prophet (SW). When the Islam's Prophet (SW) grew up and
proclaimed himself to be the Prophet and Last
Messenger of Allah, she still stood by him. All the relentless persecution did
not deter her in any way. Fatimah binte Asad, being one of the first to swear allegiance to Islam
and its concept of the Oneness of Allah, faced the economic and social boycott
of the Shi'a Abu Talib for
those three terrible years. She was also a member of the privileged group who
migrated to Medina. Holy prophet (SW) respected her so highly that whenever she
visited him he would stand up and receive her with great love, addressing her
as 'Mother'. When the Prophet got news of the death of Fatimah binte Asad, he immediately
went to her house, sat beside her and prayed for her and stated: "My dear mother, may Allah keep you
under His Protection. Many times you went hungry in order to feed me well. You fed
me and clothed me on delicacies that you denied yourself. Allah will surely be
happy with these actions of yours. And your intentions were surely meant to win
the goodwill and pleasure of Allah and success in the Hereafter." He gave his shirt to be used as part of her
shroud, saying he prayed to Allah to forgive her and give her the dress of
Paradise. When the grave was prepared the Islam's Prophet (SW) himself examined
it and with his own hands placed her into the grave. Thus, she was one of the
few blessed people whose graves the Islam's Prophet (SW) himself examined. The Names, Titles and Kunyat
of Imam Ali (AS) The name, title and kunyat of a person can indicate his character like a
mirror. Nahjul Balagha
is also known as Peak of Eloquence The Nahjul Balagha is a
collection of sermons, precepts, prayers, epistles and aphorisms of Imam Ali
(AS) compiled by al-Sayyid al-Sharif al-Radi about one thousand years ago. Nahjul
Balagha comprises various issues that cover
major problems of metaphysics, theology, jurisprudence, interpretation,
narration (Hadith), prophet logy, imamate, ethics,
social philosophy, history, politics, administration, civics, science,
rhetoric, poetry, literature, etc. Most of the discussions
about various theological issues and philosophical notions in Islam have their
origin in this very book. Similarly, all the controversies regarding
socio-political problems in the Muslim society and state left their echo in Nahjul Balagha; or rather
those were inspired from the utterances of Imam Ali (AS). The book not only
reflects the spirit of early Islam and the teachings of the holy Quran and the
Prophet (SW) in the proper perspective, but also serves as a guide to traverse
the future in the light of these teachings. |
HAZRAT
ALI a.s IBN E
ABI TALIB OUR 1st
IMAM It
was Friday 13th of Rajab 30 Amulfeel Hazrat Fatima binte Asad, the wife of Hazrat Abu Talib entered the precincts of the Holy Kaaba
and prayed to Allah saying O' my protector ease my pain. All of a sudden the
wall of the Kaaba opened up and she, as if by some
unseen force went inside the Kaaba and the wall
closed. Ali (AS) the youngest son of Abu Talib was
born inside the Holy Kaaba. She stayed inside for
three days. On the 3rd day she came out through the door and Muhammad (SAW) was
waiting outside. She told Muhammad (SAW) that the boy had not taken any milk.
Muhammad (SAW) gave him the first feed from his mouth and afterwards asked his
uncle Abu Talib that he wished to adopt the baby. Ali
entered the house of Muhammad from the very early age. Ali's mother Fatima binte Asad also lived there who
looked after his own son as well as Muhammad (SAW) so much so that later the
Holy Prophet used to say that she was like his own mother. Shah
Waliullah, Mohadith-e-Dehlvi writes in the book "Izalatul
Kholafa" giving reference from Imam Hakim in his
Mustadrak Part 3, Page 483. "Qud Tawatarul Akhbar
Inna Fatimah Binte Asad woledat Aliyan Fi Jaufil Kaaba".
Another writer of the old school Sibtel Jauzi in his book Tazkeratul Khawas ul Umma,
page 7 mentions the same fact that Ali was born inside the Kaaba. Khawja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri mentions this fact
in his famous Quartet saying that when Ali was born inside the kaaba the Sky and the earth was
filled with a light and Angel Gabril announced that a
child was born in the house of God. Maulana Rume in his Mathnawi writes, "O one who travels to Najef to visit the tomb of Ali must know the fact that the
pearl of the Kaaba lies there to give us security
because of our intense love for him." Masoodi the famous historian writes in his book
of history Muruj el Zahab,
that Ali was born inside the Kaaba on the orders of
Muhammad the Messenger of God. It
was after the adoption of Ali (AS) that he lived with the Holy Prophet in his
house. Wherever
Muhammad (SAW) went Ali (AS) was with him all the time. Even in the Mountain of
Hira when Muhammad (SAW) went for meditation Ali (AS)
went with him most of the time. Sometimes they stayed on the mountain for 3 or
4 days. Some times Ali (AS) took his food their. In Nehjul
Balagha Ali (AS) said that "I used to go with
the Holy Prophet like the baby camel goes with his mother." Some
historians try to show that when Muhammad (SAW) declared his prophet hood Ali
(AS) was the first among male children who accepted Islam. The implication here
is that both Muhammad (SAW) and Ali (AS) were non-believers before this
declaration. This is against the Qur'anic verdict
which says that Ibrahim was a Muslim and he taught his children to be Muslims
so that when the Prophet was born among the descendents of Ibrahim through the
line of Ismael he was born a Muslim and so was Ali.
The correct thing to say would be that when Muhammad (SAW) declared his prophet
hood openly Ali (AS) immediately adhered to the declaration without hesitation. The
three persons seen in prayers in the Kaaba were
Muhammad, Khadija and Ali before anyone else accepted
Islam. For 3 years young and poor persons of Makka
were accepting Islam secretly. The first open declaration came when the Qur'anic verse tells the Prophet to "come out openly
and warn the people of your own clan." Invitations were sent to leaders of
the Banu Hashim to come to
the house of Muhammad (SAW) for Dinner. Forty of them came, ate food and then
heard Muhammad (SAW) about his mission of 'No God but Allah and Muhammad (SAW)
as the messenger of Allah' and whoever offers his help to propagate this
religion will be his deputy and successor. No one stood up except Ali (AS). After
announcing this 3 times Muhammad (SAW) declared that Ali (AS) will be his
deputy to his mission and will be his successor after him. People thought it as
a joke that a 13 year old boy was to be a deputy of this prophetic mission.
Even Abu Lahab jokingly told Abu Talib,
go and obey your son to which AbuTalib smilingly
accepted. Ali (AS) promised to help Muhammad (SAW) in his mission and kept this
promise all his life. The
next thing which we see in the life of Ali (AS) is the reflection of this
promise he gave at this place in front of the leaders of the Quraish. We
see Ali (AS) protecting Muhammad (SAW) from the abuses of the enemies of Islam.
When Muhammad (SAW) went to Taif a nearby town to
preach Islam children of Taif hurled stones and it
was Ali (AS) who protected the Prophet and drove the stone throwing children
away from the Prophet. As
a youth Ali (AS) was strongly built, strong arms, wide chest and a very strong
brave and shining face. Children of his age and even older to him were
frightened of him and whenever they tried to mock the Prophet, they always ran
away when they saw Ali (AS) standing by for protection. Time
passed and hostility of the Quraish increased so much
so that Muhammad (SAW) was ordered by Allah to leave Makka.
Ali (AS) slept on Muhammad's bed without hesitation and when the non believers
entered the house of Muhammad (SAW) to kill, they found Ali (AS) who was not
afraid at all at the site of 40 swordsmen entering the house. When they questioned
Ali,"where was Muhammad" he bravely
replied, did you leave him in my custody? When after 3 days of Muhammad's
departure Ali returned all the goods entrusted to Muhammad to their owners, he
set out to leave Makka for Madina
with the rest of the family. Ali (AS) had with him his mother Fatima binte Asad, His aunt, the wife of
Hamza, and Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad (SAW) and
many other ladies. Non-believers of Makka tried to
stop Ali (AS) from his departure but Ali (AS) fought back, drove the infidels
away and safely reached Madina. Muhammad (SAW) was
waiting for the family outside the precincts of the town. He entered the city
with Ali (AS) and the rest of the family. The
Holy Prophet created a bond of brotherhood between the Muslims, making Ali (AS)
as his Muslim brother saying O' Ali, you are my brother in this world as well
as in the next. Once
the family settled in the newly adopted city of Madina
their first task was to complete the mosque around which their houses were also
built. Ali initially stayed with his mother but when he married Fatima the
daughter of the Prophet he was given a house next to the Prophet by the side of
the mosque. He had been betrothed to her several days before the battle of Badr. But
the marriage was celebrated three months later. Ali was about 23 years old and
Fatima was 10. This was most happy and celebrated marriage. The
distinctiveness of their respective characters blended so well with each other
that they never quarreled and complained of one another and led a happy and
most contended life. Materially the couple did not posses much; spiritually
they were at the highest level of assent. They had no worries if they go hungry
or their clothes had patches. They would be more concerned if an orphan goes
away from their door without receiving any food. History
records Ali's life in Madina with the Holy Prophet
for the next ten years as the busiest in defending Islam against the attackers
from Makka. Ali (AS) was always the standard bearer
of the Flag of Islam in all such battles and his bravery became legendary. Ibne Abil Hadid, the Motazelli commentator
of Nahjul Balagha says
that: Ali (AS) had a personality in which opposite characteristics had so
gathered that it was difficult to believe a human mind could manifest such a
combination. He was the bravest man that history could cite and such brave men
are always hard hearted, cruel and eager to shed blood. On the contrary Ali was
kind, sympathetic, and responsive and warmhearted person, qualities quite
contrary to the other phase of his character and more suited to pious and God
fearing persons Ali's bravery and piety both became legendry life in Madina while the Holy Prophet was alive. But he remembers
these times as the best times of his life. He says in Nehjul
Balagha 'Life with my brother was a life of ease and
happiness.' BATTLES The
battles of Badr, Ohud, Khandaq and Khyber were fought in the defense of Islam and
won on the hands of Ali (AS). He was not only the standard bearer of the Flag
of Islam in these battles, but always led the forces of Islam against Kufr and came out victorious. Khyber was the climax of
these battles when Ali's victory brought prosperity in the Muslim ranks. Ayesha
the wife of the Prophet said once that until the victory of Khyber we in the
house of the Prophet spent days without food. It was only after Khyber that
life at home became a little easier. Thus Ali (AS) brought an end to the
hostilities of Quraish in three encounters of Badr, Ohud and Khandaq. Their best warriors were killed, their unity
against Islam was crushed, their pride was humiliated and their prestige before
Arab clans was lowered by him and by him alone. Khyber saw an end to the
hegemony of Jews in Arabia at the hands of Ali (AS). The
peace agreement of Hodaibiya was written by Ali (AS)
and at the time of the peaceful victory at Makka, the
idols of the Kaaba were demolished by the Holy
Prophet with the help of Ali (AS). The
Victory of Makka brought many non believers into the
fold of Islam. Broadly speaking there were three types who embraced Islam. Fear, greed and the true understanding of Islam and its principles.
Some of the Makkans became Muslims for fear of their
lives, they were afraid that the Prophet would kill them, others were simply
frightened that the Holy Prophet with the help of Angel Gabriel would bring the
wrath of God on them. Then there was greed that Islam was now victorious, so if
they joined in the good life would be theirs for free. Very few of them truly
understood Islam and accepted it as a true faith. The Test of their true faith
came immediately after the fall of Makka while
Muslims were still in the sweet pleasure of this bloodless victory that various
tribes outside Makka gathered an army of 20,000 in Taif to fight the Muslims. The hostile tribes decided to
attack at a vantage point at Hunain and selected two
prominent places where they concealed their archers. The Muslims were proud of
their success in Makka, but their behavior during the
encounter was timorous and cowardly. Qur'an tells us this in Sura Tauba V9 "God came to
your help on so many occasions, on the day of Hunain,
your vanity in the number of your soldiers and your arrogance did not prove any
avail to you, you were badly defeated and could not find any place of shelter,
you started running away without shame." This
encounter took place in the month of Shawwal 8th Hijri
(Jan 630 AD). When the Muslim army marched towards the place where archers were
concealed the enemy opened the campaign with such a severe onslaught that the
Muslim army could not stand it. Their assault was fierce and confusion in the
Muslim ranks made the archers bolder and they came nearer and attacked from
both flanks and from the front. The Muslims could not stand the attack and
started running without putting any resistance and where not concerned to leave
the Prophet alone,(see Saheeh
Bukhari) The
first battalion to run was the one in the command of Khalid Ibne
Waleed (Rauzathus Safa vol II pafw
137) this was followed by such a disorderly and tumultuous flight that only 10
people were left out of an army of 15,000 with the Holy Prophet. Eight of them
were of Bani Hashim, (Abbas, two of his sons, Ali and three other cousins of the
Holy Prophet) Abbas was shouting to the Muslims to come
back, reminding them of the oath of allegiance taken and promises made, but it
was to no avail. Those who accepted Islam for greed, wealth and power were not
willing to risk their lives. Many of them who had carefully hidden their enmity
from the rising power were happy at the defeat. They gathered round Abu Sofian, started congratulating him and saying, "The
magical circle of the lying Prophet is broken," They were praying for the
return of Polytheism. Once
again it fell to the lot of Ali (AS) to save the Holy Prophet and the Islam.
Armies of Bani Hawaazen and
Banu Saqeef under cover of
their archers were rushing the hillock and were getting ready for a fierce
onslaught. Ali (AS) divided the small band of faithful true Muslims in three
divisions; to Abdullah Ibne Masood,
Abbas Ibne Abdul Muttalib and Abu bin Harris has assigned the duty of
protecting the Holy Prophet, to three he ordered to guard the rear and he
himself faced the onslaught with only three warriors with him. He fought,
wounded at many places, but continues fighting when he faced the commander of
the hostile army, Abu Jerdal in hand to hand fight
and killed him with one stroke of his sword. He alone killed over 30 of the
enemy and with this bravery his aids also fought bravely and enemy was
defeated. The day was saved, the commander of the enemy's army was killed,
their ranks were broken they had no courage to face Ali (AS) and they started
retreating. The sight of the powerful army in retreat, made the fleeing Muslims
bold and they came back as victory was won for them too. The
defensive battles were over and the peaceful spread of Islam began. Ali (AS)
was again in the forefront. He brought the whole tribe of Bani
Hamdan to Islam by preaching. Similarly when he was
sent to Yemen he brought the whole country in to the fold of Islam by his
sermons. This news so pleased the Holy Prophet that he bowed down in Sajdah to thank God three times and said loudly, peace be
to Bani Hamdan and to Ali.
Again in the year 10th of Hijra Ali's sermon and
preaching's proved so effective that the whole province embraced Islam as one
man. MUBAAHILA In
the 9th year of Hijra the famous event of Mobahela took place. Najran
was a city in the province of Yemen. It was the centre of Christian Missionary
activities in southern Arabia. The Holy Prophet had written to the Chief Priest
of the City to realize the blessings of Islam. In reply he wrote that he
personally would like to discuss the teachings of this new religion. His name
was Haris. He was invited and came with a group of 14
priests. These priests as guest of the Holy Prophet.
Long discussions took place during the course of 4 days of their stay in Madina. When Sunday came the Chief priest wanted to go out
of the city to have their Sunday Service. Prophet Islam said that they all have
permission to conduct their religious service inside the mosque of the Prophet
which they happily did. Long discussions continued about monotheism verses
trinity and it was realized that these priests were not open minded,
on the contrary they were prejudiced against monotheism. The Almighty Lord
ordered the Holy Prophet to explain to that "Verily Jesus is as Adam in
the sight of God. He created Adam from dust. He said unto him, Be, and he was. This is truth from thy Lord. be not
therefore one of those who doubt, and whoever shall dispute thee, say unto
them, " come let us call together our sons and your sons, our women and
your women, our Selves and your Selves, then let us make imprecations and lay
the curse of God upon those who lie. (Sura Ale Imran, V. 61) According to Bibi
Ayesha when the above verse was revealed to the Apostle of God, he called Ali,
Fatima, Hasan and Hussain
and said, "Lord, this is my family (Ahlulbayt).
The Holy Prophet took this small family with them to the open land outside the
city where they all assembled to bring the curse of God on those who lie. When
the Chief priest saw these faces, he told his companions that he was looking at
the faces that if they call the mountain, the mountain will move. Do not have Mobahela with them or you will be destroyed. On hearing
this they all agreed to pay homage to the Holy Prophet and an annual tax for
living in the Islamic State and withdrew from the scene. Designation of Ali as
successor to the Prophet In history there were numerous occasions when the Holy Prophet
designated Ali as his Deputy and successor after him. From the moment of Zulasheera to the time of the conquest of Khyber and the
occasion of the battle of Tabuke the Holy Prophet
made it abundantly clear that no one deserved more than Ali to be his Deputy
and successor. GHADIR But at the time of Ghadeer this was
clearly ordered by Allah through a clear verse revealed on the Prophet. The
Verse said, "O' apostle; proclaim the whole of that which hath been
sent down to thee from thy Lord, for if thou dost it not, it will be as if thou
hast not at all performed the duty of His Prophethood.
And God will protect thee from evil men; verily God guideth
not the unbelievers." (Sura 5: V.67) The occasion was after the last pilgrimage in 10th Hijri. The Prophet delivered his Sermons on Mount Arafat,
had the final rounds of the Kaaba and left for Madina. More than 120,000 pilgrims were coming out with him
from Makka going to the North. Half way through their
journey where the routes were separated for various pilgrims, the Holy Prophet
ordered the whole caravan to halt. All those who went ahead were called back
and for those who were behind they waited for them to arrive. The place was Ghadeer, near the pool of water. That is why it was named Ghadeer-e-Khom. When all
assembled at this place the Holy Prophet stood up on top of the pulpit and
said, "O people, shortly I shall be called towards my creator where I
shall have to give an account as to how I have conveyed His message to you and
you in your turn will be asked as to how you have accepted and carried out the
teachings. Now tell me what you will say". Thereupon all the pilgrims
declared as one man, "O Apostle of God, we testify and declare that you
have conveyed the message of God fully, you have strived your utmost to guide
us to the Right Path and taught us to follow it. You were most kind to us and
you never wished for us but our good, may God repay you for all that."
After that the Prophet said, "Do you not testify that there is no God but
Allah, that Muhammad is His creature, His servant, and His apostle, that there
is the Heaven and the Hell, that death will over take every one of you, that
you will be brought back from your graves that the Day of Judgment will surely
dawn and human beings will be resurrected from their graves to account for
their deeds. The whole crowd declared in unison, "We believe and testify
all this." Hearing this Apostle declared, "I am leaving amongst
you two most important things worthy of obedience, the Qur'an and my progeny (Ahlulbayt). Take care how you treat them; they will not
separate from each other till they reach me at the fountain of Kauser." Then he said, "The Almighty God is
my Lord (Maula) and I am the Lord of all Muslims and
have more right and power on their lives than they themselves. Do you believe
in this assertion of mine?" They all in one voice replied "Yes O
Apostle of God. Three times he asked the same question and three times he
received the same affirmative reply. At this solemn affirmation he said,
"Hear and remember that to whomever I am Lord or Maula,
Ali is the Lord and Maula to him. He is to me what Aron was to Musa. The Almighty God be
a friend to his friends and a foe to his foe, help those who help him and
frustrate those who betray him. While saying this he raised Ali High over his
shoulders in order to be seen by all the Muslims assembled there. Thereupon the
Holy Prophet received the final revelation: "This day I have perfected
your religion for you and have filled up the measure of my bounties upon you
and I am pleased with Islam to be your Deen(religion)," (Sura 5 :V3). After performing this ceremony and receiving the above
revelation the Holy Prophet came down from the pulpit and ordered a tent to be
erected. In this Ali (AS) was made to take his seat and all Muslims were ordered
to pay homage to him and address him as Amirul Momeneen (Lord of the faithful) The first person to
congratulate and address him as such was Omar Ibne Khattab saying, "I congratulate you, O Ali, today you
have become my Maula and Lord and Lord of every Muslim
man and woman. The
event of Ghadeer was on 18th of Zilhijja 10th Hijri, immediately
after the last pilgrimage by the Holy Prophet. He then arrived back in Madina and lived only for 70 days after the event. (130
Prominent Companions of the Holy Prophet narrated this Hadith
including the first three Kholafa-e-Rashidoon) SADNESS
FOR ALI a.s The year 11th AH was the saddest year for Ali (AS) He lost two
of his best friends. One of whom he loved and venerated like a father, like a
master and like a dearest friend, the Holy Prophet (SAW) who died on 28th Safar
11th Hijri, exactly 70 days after the event of Ghadeer. His death followed by the death of his dearest
companion his wife Fatima, the Lady of Light. LIFE OF
ALI AFTER DEATH OF PROPHET s.a.w.w Immediately after the death of the Holy Prophet who was buried
by Ali (AS) with the help of his uncle Abbas and all
the family of Bani Hashim,
the news was given to Ali (AS) about the events at the Saqeefa
that Abubakr was made Caliph. Abu Sofian
heard the news came to Ali (AS) and told him that his Right was taken away from
him. If he wishes, Abu Sofian would fill the city of Madina with horsemen to defend Ali's Right of Khilafat. Ali's reply was typical, he said," Since
when you have become friends of Islam"; you want to create serious
dissension amongst the Muslims. You have always tried to harm Islam I do not
need your sympathies or help. Ali realized that any serious dissension at this
stage would harm the cause of Islam. He had before him the example of Hodaibiya and he had been foretold by the Holy Prophet of
all that would happen. Allama Ali Ibne
Mohammed (630 AH) in his book Usdul Ghaba Vol iv page 31 says, The
Holy Prophet had told Ali, your status is like that of Kaaba.
People go to Kaaba but that August house never
approaches anybody. Therefore after my death, if people come to you and swear
the oath of allegiance you accept it and if they do not come to you then you do
not go to them." Ali's love for Islam was so intense, he could not, for the sake
of worldly rule, endanger Islam. He knew fully well that a civil war at this
stage would give chances to the Jewish tribes of Banu
Nuzair and Banu Qoraiza on the one side, and the Byzantine armies in the
north with the Munafiqoon (hypocrites) the new
converts on the third side to simply take advantage of the situation. When they
would find the Muslims busy killing each other they would literally cut them to
pieces and Islam would totally disappear as a message of peace. Ali's utmost
desire was to see Islam and the Arabs in one piece and wanted the enemies of
Islam to realize that Islam was strong enough to defend itself as "Deen". Even after the demise of the Apostle of God, He
had another important job to complete that is the completion of the collection
of Qur'an with its Tafseer (explanations) according
to the instructions of the Holy Prophet. Qur'an as a bwas
already completed by the Holy Prophet, many copies were made and circulated
among the Muslim communities all over the Islamic world. What Ali did in the
next six months after the demise of the Holy Prophet was to collect all the
explanations of the various verses, reasons behind their revelation and their
full context. This monumental job he completed in six
months and brought before the Muslims in the city of the Prophet. Unfortunately
this was ignored by the ruling party and Ali (AS) took it back with him. Their
comment was "this is too bulky and people will not understand it." The original remained with Ali (AS) all his life and then passed
on to his son Hasan (AS) and then to Hussain (AS) which then continued with the Ahlulbayt of the Prophet. It is now with the 12th Imam
(AS). During the time of the three Kholafa,
although Ali (AS) did not take part in any of the battles, he was always
available when they sought his advice on religious matters. His position as the
jurist was on the top of the list among the companions of the Holy Prophet.
Omar Ibne Khattab the 2nd
Caliph had given clear instructions that when Ali was present in the mosque of
the Prophet no one should take precedence over him in answering questions on
religious matters. In one such encounter during the time of the 2nd Caliph, a
group of Jewish scholars approached the caliph and said, "We have a few
questions. If we get the answers to these questions correctly, we will accept
the Islamic faith. "Ask whatever you want to ask," said the caliph.
They asked the following questions.
The caliph thought over these questions for a time, and then
said, I do not know the answers to these questions. I will take you to a man
who is most knowledgeable in the commandments of God and the Prophet and the
greatest among us. The caliph then brought the Jewish scholars to Ali (AS). They
asked the same questions to him. Ali (AS) answered thus:
Eight are those angels who bear the heavens, as per the Qur'anic Verse: "And the angels shall be on the side
of it; and above them shall bear that day 'Arsh' (the
throne of authority) of your Lord, eight of them (Sura
Al-Haqqah V.17) Nine are the nine signs given to
Moses as stated by God: "And indeed we gave Moses nine clear signs
(miracles); so ask the children of Israel when he came to them, Pharoah said to him; "Verily I deem you O Moses one
bewitched." (Sura Bani
Israel, V 101). Ten are the ten days, i.e. God had promised Moses that he would
stay on the mountain of Toor for thirty days, and
later added ten more days to this duration, as it is stated in the
Qur'an." And we made an appointment with Moses for thirty nights and
completed it with ten more;" Thus was completed the term of his Lord,
forty nights, and (before he went up) Moses said to his brother Aaron: You take
my place among my people, act rightly and follow not the path of the mischief-makers."
(Sura Al-A'araf
V.142). Eleven are the brothers of Joseph, son of Jacob, as the Qur'an
states, "When Joseph said to his father, O my father; Verily I did see
(dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I saw them all prostrating to
me." (Sura Yousuf
V.4). Twelve are the Twelve water-springs manifested by the staff of
Moses, as God states, " And (remember) when Moses sought water for his
people; said We, 'Strike the rock with your staff' Then gushed out there from
twelve springs; each people knew their drinking place; "Eat and drink
God's provision, and commit not evil in the earth acting mischievously."(Sura Al Baqara V60). When the Jewish scholars heard the replies of Ali (AS) they
said, "We bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad
(SAW) is His Messenger and Ali (AS) is the "Wasi"
and successor of the Messenger of God as Aaron was the Wasi
of Moses. They all embraced Islam, went back to their tribe and converted all
of them to Islam. (Kaukabe Durri). After the death of Osman the 3rd
Caliph Ali (AS) was elected by the overwhelming majority of Muslims as the 4th
Caliph. He was reluctant to accept the office of the caliph but when pushed by
the majority, accepted it by saying that he was taking the reigns of worldly
authority only to bring back the Ummah of the Prophet
on the Right Path, though the value of this worldly khilafat
is less than the sneeze of a Goat. His position as an Imam and guide was
already established during the period of three earlier khulafa,
with worldly power he began the undaunting task of
establishing the type of rule the Messenger of God had established during his
time. Imam Bukhari mentioned in his Saheeh that the very first prayers which Ali (AS) led in
the mosque of the Prophet as the Caliph, many companions of the prophet said
that "today we have prayed as the Messenger of God used to pray". But
during the past 25 years many companions of the Prophet had, due to excessive
wealth coming in from the conquest of the foreign lands, changed into the habit
of living like feudal lords of the period of Jahiliya
of pre-Islamic days. Ali (AS) as caliph warned them of the dangers of excessive
wealth by these words. "Beware of the intoxication of wealth". (Masudi,Muruj el Zahab). The path of Ali (AS) was full of thorns and as soon as he tried
to establish the austere path of the Messenger of God, he created many enemies.
The first and foremost was the Governor of Syria Moawiya
Ibne Abi Sofian. He persuaded Talha and Zubair, when they were denied the Governorship of various
provinces by Ali (AS), to start a revolt against Ali (AS). Both of them left Madina, arrived in Makka and
somehow persuaded bibi Ayesha the widow of the
Prophet to start a fight against Ali (AS). They left Makka
for Basra and assembled an army against Ali (AS). He warned them of the dangers
of war against the caliph upon whose hand they had taken the oath of
allegiance, but persuasion from Moawiya and promises
of Governorship of various provinces was so strong that they would not hear any
advice. Ali (AS) left Madina in pursuit of these
deviants and two Muslim armies faced each other near Basra. When many
companions of the Prophet saw this they questioned the validity of this war and
cast doubt as to which party was on the right path. Ali (AS) replied in the
most subtle way to these doubters. "Truth cannot be identified from men,
find the truth and you will find the deserving person". The battle of Jamal was fought,
Ali's army was victorious, both Talha and Zubair were killed by their own men and bibi
Ayesha was sent back to Madina under the escort of
her brother Muhammad Ibne Abibakr.
She always repented this venture and asked forgiveness from God. When with the
connivance of Moawiya her brother Muhammad Ibne abibakr was killed and his
body was put into the body of a dead camel and burnt, she cursed Moawiya five times a day after every prayer, throughout her
life. The
Battle of Siffin was also fought due to
the deviant action of Moawiya against the Islamic
State. Some companions of Ali's army deserted him by accepting bribes from Moawiya and due to this deceitful action the battle of Siffin remained indecisive, no one won and no one lost. In
the meantime this deviant group which was later named as "Khawarij" meaning deviant began to spread trouble
within the Islamic State by looting and burning villages and killing women and
children that Ali (AS) fought against them and the battle of Nahrwan took place. On the way to Nahrwan Ali (AS) passed
a monastery. An old Christian monk who also claimed to be an astrologer of some
repute called out, "O' army of Islam, ask your leader to come to me. Upon
hearing this Ali (AS) turned his horse towards the monastery and approached the
monk. Where do you go ask the monk? To fight the enemies of Islam, replied Ali
(AS). Do not fight now, because at this moment the stars do not favor
the Muslims. Wait for a few days when the stars will become favorable for you.
Ali (AS) replied, do you defy Allah for this action we
are taking on the orders of Allah and for His Deen. Ali (AS) said, "Since you profess knowledge of the stars,
tell me about the movement of such and such star." The old man said, By
God, I have never heard the name of this star. Ali (AS) asked him another
question about the skies and when the old man failed to reply, said "It is
now known that you do not know about the skies. Shall I ask you about the
earth? Tell me what is buried beneath your feet at the spot where you
stand." I do not know said the old monk. "There is a vessel filled
with so many silver coins and the coins bear such and such emblem. How do you
know enquired the monk". "By God's grace." said Ali (AS). Then
Ali proceeded to say that in the ensuing fight, less than ten persons of
Islamic army would be killed where as less then ten persons from the opposing
army would escape. The old monk listened astonished. As per Ali's command, when
the earth beneath the feet of the monk was dug, a vessel filled with silver
coins was found exactly as described by Ali (AS). Ali (AS) proceeded to Nahrwan and in
the ensuing fight, the khawarij were thoroughly
defeated. Out of the four thousand men of the khawarij
only nine escaped and only nine men of the Islamic army were killed in this
battle. (Rawdhatul Shuhada,
Kaukab el Durri) Returning from the battle Ali (AS) passed the monastery and when
the monk heard the full story he embraced Islam immediately. Ali (AS) also admonished him about his belief in astrology. He
said "do you think you can tell the hour when a man goes out and no evil
befall him. Whoever testifies this falsifies the Qur'an and becomes unmindful
of Allah in achieving his desired objective and in warding off the undesirable."
Then Ali (AS) addressed to his own soldiers and said "Beware of learning
the science of stars except that with which guidance is sought on land or sea,
because it leads to divining and an astrologer is a diviner, while a diviner is
like the sorcerer, the sorcerer is like the unbeliever and the unbeliever's
place is in hell." (Nahjul Balagha) The four years and ten months of the Khilafat
of Ali (AS) has been regarded by many historians as the best example of Islamic
State after the Prophet of Islam's death, in spite of the fact that the family
of Abu Sofian tried their best to destroy it. Imam
Abu Yousuf the famous disciple of Imam Abu Hanifa in his book about the history of Kholafa-e-Rashedun declares above the title of his book that Ali's
(AS) time of Khilafat was the best in the management
of the Islamic State and most just. Many European historians mentioned Ali's name with love and
affection. Carlyle writes in his Heros and Hero worship that: "Ali had such a personality that he was
liked, loved and venerated by everybody. He was the man of excellent character
loving and lovable, so intensely brave that if anything stood against his
bravery it was consumed as if by fire, yet he was so gentle and kind that he
represented the model of a Christian Knight." The famous Egyptian scholar Mohammad Abdoh
relates a story about the time of the conquest of Alexandria during the reign
of the 2nd caliph. They found a great library there and did not know what to do
with it. Orders were issued from Madina that 'if
these books are according to the Holy Qur'an, then we do
not need them and if they say anything contrary to the Holy Qur'an then we do
not want them. Therefore, in any case they ought to be burnt. (Akhbarul Ulama wa Aakhbarul
Hukama of Ibne Quftee, pages 232 and 233, Printed Cairo). When Ali (AS)
heard the news of this, he tried to pursue them to refrain from issuing such
order. He told them, "These books are treasures of knowledge and they
cannot say anything against the Holy Qur'an. On the contrary the knowledge contained
therein would act as commentaries of the Holy Book and would assist and help in
further explanations of the knowledge as presented by the Holy Prophet.
Knowledge is an asset for human beings and a birth right of man. It should not
be destroyed." The famous French historian and Orientalist
Gabriel Enkiri writes in his famous book 'Le chevealier de Islam', In the extremely superfine, grand and
noble character of Ali, there were two traits which, it is difficult
to believe that can be united in one man. Besides Ali, history cannot show any
other man who has displayed these two qualities at one and the same time, and
each one, in such a marked way that none can surpass him. 1.
He was the greatest marshal of his time (even of all time) and,
2. He was the wisest man who could explain and expound religion, philosophy,
science, sociology and ethics, in a style which was not and which cannot be
improved; what is more, he was such a great speaker that his speeches enchant
you even fourteen centuries after his death". 2.
SHAHADAT It was 19th
of Ramadhan 41 Hijri
while Ali (AS) was leading the morning prayers and was in the second sajdah of the 2nd Rakaat that Ibne Muljim's sword fell and the
life of the greatest warrior saint was taken away to his merciful Lord. The
famous Christian writer of Lebanon George Jurdaq
writes in his books on Ali (AS) that with this one blow of the sword of Ibne Muljim the world was
deprived of the person who, if had lived a few more years would have given the
world a system of administration that future generations would have benefited
for a long time to come." In fact the letter to his Governor of Egypt Malik-e-Ashter advising him of
the "Do's and Don'ts for a successful administration of the State is the
hall mark in the annals of history". We can only say that Ali's supreme
wisdom provides the guidance of a stature that mankind can aspire to. Ali (AS) injured with the wound from the poisonous sword lived
for two days. In these two days he dictated his Will and last testament to his
son Hasan (AS) which is again a brilliant part of
literary history. He advised his eldest son to love God and obey Him and to
live for the service of the people in the way of God. "And then do not
forget to set apart the best of your time for communion with God, although
every moment of yours is for Him, provided it is spent sincerely in the service
of your people." Ali's (AS) sermons, collected by Sayid
Razi in the 4th century (AH) are the examples of the
most brilliant piece of Arabic literature that after the Holy Qur'an and the
authentic Hadith of the Prophet of Islam, ever
produced. What Syed Razi could compile in Nehjul Balagha does not contain
all the Sermons, letters and sayings of Ali (AS). Masoodi
(d.346) in his famous book of history Muruj-al-Zahab says that the only Sermons of Ali (AS) which have
been preserved by various peop, number more than 480.
These were extempore orations, people have copied them from one another and
compiled them in the book forms they have cited them and quoted passages from
them in their books. The famous companion and pupil of Ali (AS) Hasan al Basri had made such
arrangements that one of his own friends would memories the sermons delivered
in the mosque of Kufa and relate the same in the next
Fridays prayer in Basra. This shows the deep interest
people of his own time had in these sermons and sayings. Apparently out of these 480 sermons some were lost and Syed Razi could lay hands on only
245 sermons. Besides them he has collected about 75 letters and 489 sayings.
Almost every one of the sermons, sayings and letters collected in Nehjul Balagha is to be found
books of authors who died long before Syed Raza was even born. |