The Voice of Human Justice (Sautul Adalatil
Insaniyah)
George Jordac fah
Published: 2012
Categorie(s): onFiction Biograhy & autobiograhy Historical Reli
gious History Religion slam
Tag(s): human rights fah xk ali justice george jordac voice human
ameer moomineen rince believers attributes knowledge administration
charter shia islam history
Chapter1
Publishers Note he ommander of the Faithful mam li eace be on him is the most distinguished
ersonality of slam after Prohet Muhammad eace and blessings be
on him. His entire life
is the life of struggle for the advancement of slam. He was a great com
batant a great judge a
great hilanthroist and the most ious erson of his time. Much has
been written and
continues to be written about the life character and attributes of mam
li. he resent book
is an nglish translation of Sautul `dalatil nsaniyab the biograhy of
the mam written in
rabic by George Jordac a renowned hristian author of lebanon. t has
gained much
oularity in the rab and the Muslim world. Many Muslim and non
Muslim scholars have
aid it glowing tributes. he author is an enlightened man of letters and
has written the book
with erfect sincerity. However at times he has said things which do
not accord with the
facts of history. n such cases necessary clarification has been made in the
footnotes and at
laces some aragrahs have been deleted altogether. Keeing in view
the usefulness and
oularity of the rabic version of this book the slamic Seminary is
resenting the nglish
version for the nglish knowing readers. t is hoed that this book will
enlighten the mind of
our conscientious young generation and will insire it to form an slamic
social order.
Chapter2
Preface
he history of great men is a fountain of exerience faith and asirations
for us a fountain
which will never dry u. he great men of the world are like lofty eaks
of mountains which
we asire to climb with great eagerness and ardent desire. hey are the
lighthouses which
kee darkness away from around us. t is due to the examles set by
them that we have gained
selfconfidence. hey have made us hoeful of life taught us its aim and
objects and heled
us to avail of its amenities. f these great souls had not been there we
would have fallen rey
to desair while combating with the unseen and intellegible forces and
would have
surrendered ourselves to death. However the righteous ersons have
not so far surrendered
themselves before desair nor shall they do so in future because they are
entitled to victory
and success. his is roved by the fact that in history many ersons have
been successful and
victorious and li is one of them. hese eole who conquered death are
always with us.
lthough time and sace searate them from us neither time rohibits
us from hearing their
words nor the distance revents us from seeing their faces. Preface of the
first edition of the
rabic version ublished in 1956. he best roof of what has been said
above is the resent
book. t is the biograhy of a great man. lthough he was born in rabia
his erson is not meant for rabia only. lthough the fountains of his kindness and fa
vours srang from slam
he is not confined to the Muslims. f he had been for the Muslims only a
hristian would not
have been romted involuntarily to analyse the events of his life and
eulogize like a oet his
fascinating judgments his stuendous feats of valour and interesting in
cidents of his life.
hamionshi of li was not confined to the battle field. He was also
matchless in the matter
of faith iety urity eloquence magnanimity hel for the derived
and the oressed and
suort for truth. So much so that even after the assage of more than
fourteen hundred years
his wonderful achievements are a beacon light for us and extremely use
ful for making our
lives sublime. he author has exlained the various events in detail and
also mentioned at
length the views and beliefs of the mam regarding religious olitical
social and financial
matters. Furthermore he has exlained the events of the life of li with
great dexterity and in
a manner in which they had not been enned before. o historian or
writer however deft and
dexterous he may be can draw a true icture of the ommander of the
Faithful even in a
thousand ages nor can he exlain the dreadful events which took lace
in his time. he
things which this wonderful and unmatched erson thought of and ac
ted uon had not till
then been seen or heard by anyone. hey are more than a historian can
cover even in a very
detailed treatise. Hence whatever icture of li is described by a writer
will inevitably be
incomlete. However the object of an author in writing a book like this
is to collect the
details of the actions and words of the ommander of the Faithful from
all ossible sources
and to onder over them very carefully and then to resent them in such
a way that it may be ossible to see a glimse of the mam as he was. his is what the author
has done in this
book. am sure that George Jordac a research scholar and an unbiased
erson as he is has
been successful in describing the life of the mam to a large extent and
those who read it will
be obliged to say that it is the biograhy of a erson who was second to
the Prohet of slam.
Michael aimah
Chapter3
Arabian Peninsula
he territory of rabia is very wonderful and miraculous and it will re
tain this characteristic
even in future. t contains very large deserts. f these deserts had not
been devoid of rains and
had been green and fertile this land would have fed the hungry and
clothed the naked of the
world. However unfortunately rabia has always remained a desert. t
contains vast areas
comrising mounds of sand small and dry hills and stony tracts which
are neither cultivable
nor habitable. f farming had been ossible this region would have been
thickly oulated but
the osition is otherwise. lthough this territory is surrounded by sea on
three sides the rains
are very scanty and it is very hot during summer. t also rains in some
areas which makes the
atmoshere somewhat cool. However when the scorching wind blows it
is so hot that trees
and lants become dry and even the animals die of heat. he rab oets
liken zehyr which
always blows from the eastern side with the breeze of Paradise. here
are no erennial rivers
in rabia. However as and when rains come and the streams begin to
flow the eole avail
of the oortunity and store water by constructing dams. his water suf
fices only for some
time. amel is the tyical animal of rabia which enjoys a distinguished
osition as
comared with the animals found in other regions. he lmighty God
has given it long legs so that it may cover long distance easily and may not get weary in the
dreary deserts. ts
hooves are also such that its feet do not get thrust into the sand. t also
ossesses sufficient
stamina to cross the difficult and strong aths and can tolerate heat as
well as thirst. God has
given it an extraordinary stomach in which it can store water to suffice
for many days and as
and when water is not available its owner also takes out water somehow
from its stomach for
his ersonal use. he rabs have given the camel thousands of names.
Vegetation is very rare
in this territory. Some thorny bushes grow but they too are withered on
account of shortage of
water and severe heat. he dwellings of the eole are usually tents
which cannot rotect
them either from the scorching winds or from the heat of the sun. n fact
there is no difference
between living in these tents and living under the sky. For these reasons
its oulation is
scanty and scattered. he eole of rabia do not usually live at one
lace ermanently but
shift from lace to lace. he stale food of the rabs is dried alm
dates. o this is added
the meat of the camels and the hunted animals. On account of their
sending their lives
ermanently in the deserts warfare and bloodshed have become a art of
their nature. t is so
hot in the desert and valleys of the rabian Peninsula that the earth ac
cumulates sufficient
heat to enable the eole to roast the animals on the sand. Similar deserts
relete with sand
scanty and scattered oulation and uniformity of conditions are very
tiresome things and
make life unleasant. siration and hoe which are the caital of
hay life do not exist
anywhere in this desert. n such difficult circumstances and with such
uniform life it was not
ossible for the nomadic rabs to become acquainted with the vicis
situdes of life and the various ways and manners of the other eole of the world. xistence of
righteousness and
iety which make the heart of man accet faith cannot be imagined in a
barren land. Such
qualities develo in green and fertile lands and not in stony and dry
areas. hey develo in
ersons who are endowed with blessings of all kinds and not in the
hearts of those who are devoid of them. few small towns and settle
ments of those times were not very significant
firstly because their number was very small and secondly their osition
was no better than a
few tents itched in a barren desert which had to suffer the onslaught of
unfavourable winds.
Of course in taif and Madina better means of livelihood were available.
s regards Mecca it
was an idoltemle. ts residents were tradesmen in whose eyes one
dinar was more valuable
than the life of a human being. life of overty and indigence in a desert
burning like hell
with the resent full of desair and the future without any hoe this
was the condition of
what was called the rabian Peninsula. What is surrising is this that al
though there are many
lands adjacent to rabia which are fertile and contain all amenities of
life there were eole
who ignored all these facilities and referred to lead a miserable life in
this barren land. hey
therefore never thought of steing out of this desert. nd what is more
surrising is the
eole there considered their homeland to be suerior to the entire re
maining world. hey
neither wanted to leave it nor desired to choose another lace as their
homeland. his was a
miracle of the rabian Desert even before the rohet of slam was a
ointed to the rohetic
mission. However if we comare all the cold and sweet srings the fer
tile and green lands
the beautiful sceneries the wealth and all other blessings available to
various countries other
than rabia with the thing which aeared in that land all those blessings and facilities
aear to be of no value. he rabian Desert the land of miracles ro
duced something
which is suerior to all other blessings. hat magnanimous being was
the great ersonality
who showered his blessings on all human beings who cleansed the
srings of reality because
of whom the value of life became known righteousness and deliverance
became great things
and reality was elevated viz. Muhammad. he birth of the cousin of
Muhammad li in
rabia where human life was not worth more than a dinar was the
second miracle of this
Desert.
Chapter4
The coming of the prophet
With eyes as bright as the shining sun a reality on the lis more brilliant
than the light of the
sun a heart more fresh than the flowers of the gardens of Yathrib and
aif habits and morals
more decent than the moon lit nights of the Hijaz a mind more brisk
than the strong winds a
bewitching tongue a heart with heavenly light firm determination like a
trenchant sword and
heavenly words on the tongue such was Muhammad son of bdullah
the rohet of rabia
the rohet who destroyed the idols which had searated brothers from
brothers. He did not
break only the idols of wood and stone but also broke the idols of
wealth indecent habits and
artysirit. he only thing which the cowardly Quraysh desired was
money should be
transferred from the hands of the nomadic rabs to their own ockets.
he only value which
they attached to life was that in order to earn rofit they should travel
through the desert on
the back of the camels undergoing extreme hardshis and then return to
their hometown
Mecca the same Mecca which was the city of idolworshi and where
money was the only
thing which counted. Suddenly they heard a voice which shook their
nerves. heir hoes were
shattered. he world turned away its face from them saying: he value
of man is not the
same which you have assessed and the object of the creation of the no
madic rabs is not the same which you think it to be.
his was the voice of Muhammad Banu sad and Banu amim were so
foolish and
ignorant that they buried their daughters alive without any cause. here
was no justification
for their doing so excet that it was a custom which had survived
amongst them. hey were
oosed to the Divine will. hey hated the beauty of nature. nd then
they heard a voice
which was exressive of dee love and symathy for the eole saying:
Dont bury your
daughters alive. Daughters are as good a creation of God as the sons. o
human being has a
right to derive others of life. t is only God who creates the eole and
makes them die.
his was the voice of Muhammad he rabs were always fighting. hey
fought and shed
blood for years on account of very trivial things. hey killed their own
brothers and then
rejoiced and glorified themselves on it. o sacrifice their lives for the sake
of their own
ignorance was something very ordinary for them. he children cried and
screamed and grew
u in conditions which were not conducive to the creation of love or
symathy for anyone in
their minds. n these circumstances they heard another voice which said:
What are you
doing? You kill one another although you are all brothers because all of
you have been
created by God. Strife is something satanic. Peace and friendshi are
more beneficial for you.
he blessing for which you fight cant be achieved excet through
eace.
his too was the voice of Muhammad he rabs were the most roud
and egoistic eole.
hey considered the nonrabs inferior to themselves. ot only this but
they did not consider
the nonrabs even human beings. Muhammad disliked this attitude of
the rabs very much.
ddressing these roud eole he said: o rab is suerior to a non rab unless he is more ious. Whether you like it or not all human be rab unless he is more ious. Whether you like it or not all human be rab unless he is more ious. Whether you like it or not all human be rab unless he is more ious. Whether you like it or not all human be rab unless he is more ious. Whether you like it or not all human be
ings are brothers of one another. here were ings are brothers of one another. here were
oressed homeless and helless
scorched by the hot winds. ersons whose faces had been
he society had discarded them and made their lives miserable. hey
were more humble in
the eyes of the eole than the articles of sand and their life had be
come extremely
unenviable. nd these were the true friends of the rohet of slam just
as the indigent and
outcasts of the society were the friends of Jesus hrist and other great
men of the world. t
was these very eole for whose benefit the rohet of slam endeav
oured to revent the
establishment of dictatorshi disallowed slavery freed man from the
bondage of his fellowmen
and established the ublic treasury so that all might benefit from it
without any
discrimination. He directed the efforts of the eole towards ublic wel
fare. He insisted on
Quraysh who were his kinsmen at every ste that they should imrove
their conduct do
good deeds and kee their attention directed wholeheartedly to God
who has united the
scattered creation into a single whole. However Quraysh instigated the
ignorant ersons as
well as their own children to stone and ridicule him. he helless o
ressed and homeless
slaves among whom one was Bilal the Muazzin of the rohet were
overjoyed when they
heard this: ll human beings are fed by God. He likes him most who is
more helful to his
creatures.
his was the voice of Muhammad hose who were his enemies and
stoned and ridiculed
him heard this animating voice: fyou (Muhammad) had been stern and
hardhearted they
would all have deserted you a long time ago. Forgive them and ask God
to forgive (their sins)
and consult with them in certain matter. But when you reach a decision he society had discarded them and made their lives miserable. hey
were more humble in
the eyes of the eole than the articles of sand and their life had be
come extremely
unenviable. nd these were the true friends of the rohet of slam just
as the indigent and
outcasts of the society were the friends of Jesus hrist and other great
men of the world. t
was these very eole for whose benefit the rohet of slam endeav
oured to revent the
establishment of dictatorshi disallowed slavery freed man from the
bondage of his fellowmen
and established the ublic treasury so that all might benefit from it
without any
discrimination. He directed the efforts of the eole towards ublic wel
fare. He insisted on
Quraysh who were his kinsmen at every ste that they should imrove
their conduct do
good deeds and kee their attention directed wholeheartedly to God
who has united the
scattered creation into a single whole. However Quraysh instigated the
ignorant ersons as
well as their own children to stone and ridicule him. he helless o
ressed and homeless
slaves among whom one was Bilal the Muazzin of the rohet were
overjoyed when they
heard this: ll human beings are fed by God. He likes him most who is
more helful to his
creatures.
his was the voice of Muhammad hose who were his enemies and
stoned and ridiculed
him heard this animating voice: fyou (Muhammad) had been stern and
hardhearted they
would all have deserted you a long time ago. Forgive them and ask God
to forgive (their sins)
and consult with them in certain matter. But when you reach a decision he society had discarded them and made their lives miserable. hey
were more humble in
the eyes of the eole than the articles of sand and their life had be
come extremely
unenviable. nd these were the true friends of the rohet of slam just
as the indigent and
outcasts of the society were the friends of Jesus hrist and other great
men of the world. t
was these very eole for whose benefit the rohet of slam endeav
oured to revent the
establishment of dictatorshi disallowed slavery freed man from the
bondage of his fellowmen
and established the ublic treasury so that all might benefit from it
without any
discrimination. He directed the efforts of the eole towards ublic wel
fare. He insisted on
Quraysh who were his kinsmen at every ste that they should imrove
their conduct do
good deeds and kee their attention directed wholeheartedly to God
who has united the
scattered creation into a single whole. However Quraysh instigated the
ignorant ersons as
well as their own children to stone and ridicule him. he helless o
ressed and homeless
slaves among whom one was Bilal the Muazzin of the rohet were
overjoyed when they
heard this: ll human beings are fed by God. He likes him most who is
more helful to his
creatures.
his was the voice of Muhammad hose who were his enemies and
stoned and ridiculed
him heard this animating voice: fyou (Muhammad) had been stern and
hardhearted they
would all have deserted you a long time ago. Forgive them and ask God
to forgive (their sins)
and consult with them in certain matter. But when you reach a decision he society had discarded them and made their lives miserable. hey
were more humble in
the eyes of the eole than the articles of sand and their life had be
come extremely
unenviable. nd these were the true friends of the rohet of slam just
as the indigent and
outcasts of the society were the friends of Jesus hrist and other great
men of the world. t
was these very eole for whose benefit the rohet of slam endeav
oured to revent the
establishment of dictatorshi disallowed slavery freed man from the
bondage of his fellowmen
and established the ublic treasury so that all might benefit from it
without any
discrimination. He directed the efforts of the eole towards ublic wel
fare. He insisted on
Quraysh who were his kinsmen at every ste that they should imrove
their conduct do
good deeds and kee their attention directed wholeheartedly to God
who has united the
scattered creation into a single whole. However Quraysh instigated the
ignorant ersons as
well as their own children to stone and ridicule him. he helless o
ressed and homeless
slaves among whom one was Bilal the Muazzin of the rohet were
overjoyed when they
heard this: ll human beings are fed by God. He likes him most who is
more helful to his
creatures.
his was the voice of Muhammad hose who were his enemies and
stoned and ridiculed
him heard this animating voice: fyou (Muhammad) had been stern and
hardhearted they
would all have deserted you a long time ago. Forgive them and ask God
to forgive (their sins)
and consult with them in certain matter. But when you reach a decision he society had discarded them and made their lives miserable. hey
were more humble in
the eyes of the eole than the articles of sand and their life had be
come extremely
unenviable. nd these were the true friends of the rohet of slam just
as the indigent and
outcasts of the society were the friends of Jesus hrist and other great
men of the world. t
was these very eole for whose benefit the rohet of slam endeav
oured to revent the
establishment of dictatorshi disallowed slavery freed man from the
bondage of his fellowmen
and established the ublic treasury so that all might benefit from it
without any
discrimination. He directed the efforts of the eole towards ublic wel
fare. He insisted on
Quraysh who were his kinsmen at every ste that they should imrove
their conduct do
good deeds and kee their attention directed wholeheartedly to God
who has united the
scattered creation into a single whole. However Quraysh instigated the
ignorant ersons as
well as their own children to stone and ridicule him. he helless o
ressed and homeless
slaves among whom one was Bilal the Muazzin of the rohet were
overjoyed when they
heard this: ll human beings are fed by God. He likes him most who is
more helful to his
creatures.
his was the voice of Muhammad hose who were his enemies and
stoned and ridiculed
him heard this animating voice: fyou (Muhammad) had been stern and
hardhearted they
would all have deserted you a long time ago. Forgive them and ask God
to forgive (their sins)
and consult with them in certain matter. But when you reach a decision trust God. God loves
those who trust Him. his was the voice of Muhammad he following
ure words were
imrinted on the minds of those who were endeavouring in the ath of
God for a better life
and were ready to suort him (Muhammad) in his camaign against
idolworshi and evildoing
and were afraid lest their rights and good conduct might be wasted in
the battlefield.
Remember! Dont be treacherous. Dont commit breach of trust. Dont
kill either a child or a
woman or an old man or a monk in a monastery. Dont burn a datealm
tree and dont cut any
tree nor ull down a building.
his voice was the voice of Muhammad he rabs heard this heavenly
voice from
Muhammad and sread it in all the four corners of the world. hey
covered owerful rulers
and kings with this voice established brotherhood amongst human be
ings and strung them in
one faith and created relationshi between man and God. he shade of
Muhammad sread so
much that the entire Old World came under it and the land from the east
uto the west began
roducing the fruits of goodness knowledge eace and friendshi. he
rohet of slam
stretched his hand and sowed the seeds of friendshi and brotherhood
throughout the world.
hat hand is still stretched and is busy sowing the seeds. Hence there is
no art of the world
wherein the followers of Muhammad are not found. One of them may be
in Pakistan and the
other may be in Sain but in site of this both of them are treated to be
under one and the
same standard. he rohet rovided honour and resect to the Orient
als which is even now a
shining crown on their heads. his voice of the rohet was a call for
human brotherhood. t
stoed the hands of the rulers from reaching the roerty of the sub
jects and gave equal rights to all human beings. n his religion there is no discrimination between a common man
a ruler and a subject and an rab and a nonrab because all human be
ings are the slaves of
God and it is He who rovides sustenance to all of them. his voice
emanciated women
from the oression of men freed the labourers from the injustice of the
caitalists and
delivered the servants from the degradation of submission to their mas
ters. s oosed to
Plato and other hilosohers who derive the workers of their social
rights on account of
their mean occuation and have divided the society into many grades
the rohet of slam
made all human beings articiate in the affairs of government. He also
disallowed usury and
exloitation of one man by another. fter the rohet of slam it was li
bin alib who called
men to good morals.
Chapter5
A glance over history
f you lend ear to the history of the world you will hear the news of a
great event the like of
which has not haened even after a assage of more than ten centuries.
f you reflect
carefully about the various haenings in the world you will be fascin
ated by a grand
ersonality before whose high thinking everything aears to be trivial.
he world and its life
and the children the kinsmen wealth and rulershi do not enjoy any im
ortance in his eyes.
his ersonality is too great to be laced in the row of ordinary eole
and his insight is so
keen that it resembles the reasoning of common eole only in name. f
you hear with the
ears of your heart history will narrate to you that story of the martyrs in
the ath of truth and
justice with whose blood the border of the sky is covered. f you look at
the horizon you will
observe two kinds of redness one the natural redness and the other that
of the blood of the
martyrs in the ath of truth and justice. Have a look at the history of the
ast and find out that
great ower of comrehension and understanding which is the centre of
every circle of high
thinking and the origin of every true reasoning and logic. very modern
research and new
idea about the life of this world and the Hereafter is related to him. he
oinions which may
have come to your notice with regard to human system and laws rin
ciles of civilization and rules of morality has originated from this sring. hese rules and rin
ciles are based on the
mutual relations cooeration and artner shi of humanity. Which re
flective ower1 has
invented a new olicy and a new method in hilosohy and laced it at
the disosal of the
eole who have assed it on to the osterity? veryone has benefited
from it according to his
understanding but none has so far reached its real hilosohy and its
deth. t is necessary
that other brains and intellects should make new discoveries from what
he has said. Who is
that enlightened erson who himself is involved in suffering and ains
but others are blessed
and hay because of him? He who has reared and continues to re
are the ath for his
friends as well as enemies! scholar who is reared wholeheartedly to
exlain things for
others after discussing the cause and effect of everything! Who is that
subtle scholar who has
ondered over everything and there is nothing about which he is not
wellinformed? So much
so that he knows even those things which the eole have not done but
have only thought
about them. He ossesses such a owerful intellect that the knowledge
which aeared in the
ast after him is also associated with him in fact it is he who is the
foundation and the
fountainhead of all such sciences. Have you ever observed so erfect an
intellect as should.
have recognized the greatest reality? nd that reality is the basis for so
cial relations the cause
for everyone ursuing his own articular ath. t tells why one grou
follows the right ath
and the other wrong ath. his reality which was understood by li thir
teen hundred years
ago has been made the new subject of discussion by the scholars of the
ast and the West. By
this mean the need for the necessities of life to acquire which the
eole are following different aths. One grou has transgressed its limits. t has ignored the
rules of justice and is
endeavouring to mislead the eole. n order to achieve their nefarious
ends decetion is
being ractised and illogical things are being sread by the caitalists to
accumulate wealth
by government officers to get things done gratis and to kee the masses
under control and by the innovators to collect obedient followers. Do
you recognize that great sage who established
more than a thousand years ago a reality which suerseded thousands of
suerstitions and
extravagant ideas and said: f a erson starves it is due to the fact that
his share has been
taken by another and added: have not seen any excessive bounty
which is not associated
with a right which has been violated. s regards hoarding he wrote to
one of his governors:
Prohibit the eole from hoarding because it is some thing which en
tails loss to the ublic
and brings bad name to the rulers. great and enlightened erson real
ized the real secret of
humanity more than a thousand years ago and concluded that those er
sons who had no value
in the eyes of the kings and the rulers were endowed with virtues and
good morals and every
kind of oression ractised uon them was considered by them (i.e. by
the rulers) to be
ermissible. he talian scultor Raheal reared an image of the Vir
gin Mary in the shae
of an talian farmer woman and made all good human qualities visible in
it. olstoy Voltaire
and Goethe also recommended and aroved with their mental labour
and imagination the
same thing which had been indicated by Rahael in the image. However
li clarified this
concet centuries ago. He camaigned against the aristocrats the ruling
class the rofiteers
and the selfish ersons oosed their wrong and absurd way of think
ing about the oressed
and said: By God! shall realize the right of the oressed erson from the oressor and
shall ull the oressor to the fountainhead of truth by utting a
cavessor in his nose even
though he may not like it.
he things which he said about the eole of his time go to show that he
had understood them
very well. hey consisted on the one hand of the worthless aristocrats
and others who were
holding high ositions notwithstanding their inefficiency and on the
other hand of ersons
who were helless and oressed and who had no alternative but to
obey. He therefore said
briefly: Your down trodden are honourable and your owerful ones are
base and mean. 2
By these words he means that the subordinate eole cannot dislay
their good morals and
talents due to their hellessness and oression by the owerful class
and the ersons holding
high osition kee their defects hidden under their costly dress. He told
the eole that truth
and virtue are established and eternal things which have always been
and will remain for ever.
n the heart of his hearts every human being believes in this although
different ersons may
interret it in different ways. ven the oldest nations have flourished un
der the rotection of
this belief although they may not have known it. hey have inherited
their views and beliefs
from their ancestors and adoted them because by doing so they have
been saved from the
trouble of investigation and research. mitation has thus become their
second nature. he
basis of all the beliefs and thoughts is this that there is an absolute reality
which should be the
starting oint of all discussions and oinions.
he qualities of his head and heart enabled li to realize this fact and he
believed wholeheartedly
that anything which is based on truth does not become shaky. He was a
erfect
secimen of steadfastness and found himself successful in the event of victory as well as
defeat. n the battlefield as well as in the arena of olitics it was immater
ial for him to win or
lose because he knew that the reality was with him and it was he him
self who was the
standard for distinguishing between truth and falsehood. hroughout
the history of the world it is not ossible to find a man with such a firm
determination that he should not waver in any
circumstances and the flames of revolt should not make him tremble. o
other thing can
shake the faith of a man than this that the enemies should be accusing
him of worst offences
and even deviation and heresy. nd nothing can make a man more un
settled than the threat of
death or attack on ones faith which is worse than death. However li
did not waver in any
circumstances and nothing could make him deviate from his ath. He
did not give u his
efforts for the enforcement of slam and did not crave for wealth or osi
tion as a reward for
these efforts. His only reward was the success of the faith. Have you seen
in the history of the
world a magnani mous erson with a kind and loving heart encircled by
greedy rebellious
and revengeful stonehearted ersons keen to exloit one another but
he may be inviting
them to eace and welfare and they may still be joining hands to fight
against him? here are
many sayings which eole reeat verbally or in writing and every er
son selects one of them
according to his nature to serve as his motto. However have you seen
any other erson who
may be the embodiment of urity and modesty in its true sense?
mongst the great
ersonalities of the world li was foremost in the matter of love and sin
cerity. Sincerity was
his habit and nature and his heart and soul were imbued with it. He
loved the eole but did
not associate love with his own self. He ket his romises. Sincerity was
the essence of his being. By his natural and rofound intelligence he found out that free being. By his natural and rofound intelligence he found out that free
dom is the most sacred dom is the most sacred
thing. he entire world craves for it and does not consider any other thing. he entire world craves for it and does not consider any other
blessing to be equal to it. blessing to be equal to it.
3 Only the free ersons ossess ower of correct thinking and good 3 Only the free ersons ossess ower of correct thinking and good
habits and true love and habits and true love and
ure sincerity are also not ossible without freedom. He therefore said: ure sincerity are also not ossible without freedom. He therefore said:
he worst brother is he worst brother is
he with whom you have to observe formalities. Hence the best man is he with whom you have to observe formalities. Hence the best man is
he who is not of this he who is not of this
tye. Do you know any ruler who never ate his fill because many er tye. Do you know any ruler who never ate his fill because many er
sons amongst his sons amongst his
subjects did not get sufficient food to fill their bellies or did not wear subjects did not get sufficient food to fill their bellies or did not wear
fine clothes because fine clothes because
many ersons wore coarse dress or did not accumulate wealth because many ersons wore coarse dress or did not accumulate wealth because
there were many oor there were many oor
and needy ersons? li recommended to his children and friends to fol and needy ersons? li recommended to his children and friends to fol
low in his footstes. low in his footstes.
He declined to give as much as one dinar to his brother because he was He declined to give as much as one dinar to his brother because he was
not entitled to it. He not entitled to it. He
took severe action against his comanions subordinates and officials if took severe action against his comanions subordinates and officials if
they took even a loaf they took even a loaf
of bread as bribe. He warned a erson against breach of trust in resect of bread as bribe. He warned a erson against breach of trust in resect
of ublic roerty in of ublic roerty in
these words: swear by God that if you commit breach of trust in re these words: swear by God that if you commit breach of trust in re
sect of ublic roerty sect of ublic roerty
shall take such severe action against you that you will become oor shall take such severe action against you that you will become oor
burdened and disgraced. burdened and disgraced.
nd he addressed another erson in these eloquent words: have been nd he addressed another erson in these eloquent words: have been
given to understand given to understand
that you have swet the earth clean have aroriated whatever was that you have swet the earth clean have aroriated whatever was
under your feet and have under your feet and have
sared nothing. You should therefore send your account to me. He sared nothing. You should therefore send your account to me. He
also admonished in also admonished in
these words a erson who became rich by taking bribes: Fear God and
return the roerty of
the eole to them. f you do not do so and God rovides me hold over
you shall erform
the duty which owe to God with regard to you and shall strike you
with the sword which has with the sword which has desatched to Hell every one whom it has struck. Have you ever heard
about a monarch who
used to grind the grains with his own hands and reared for himself
the bread which could
be broken only by ressing it with the knee? He who mended his shoes
himself? He who did
not accumulate any worldly wealth because he had no object in view ex
cet to hel the
afflicted and the oressed so that he might realize their rights from the
oressors and make
them hay? He who never cared for his food and never thought of
sound slee because some ersons in his country had to starve. He who
uttered this eloquent sentence: Should
content myself with this that eole call me ommander of the Faithful
and should not
share the hardshis of life with them? f government and sovereignty
do not serve the
urose of establishing truth and eliminating falsehood they are the
worst things of the world
in the eyes of li. Which erson out of those who are famous for their
justice is such that
even if all the inhabitants of the world combine against him it must be
said that he is truthful
and all his oonents are false. t was li who ossessed this qualifica
tion because his
truthfulness and justice were not acquired but inherent and from them
others learnt lessons.
His laws were not formulated on account of the exigencies of govern
ment and olities but
government and olities were based on those laws. He urosely did
not adot a ath which
might lead him to rulershi but adoted that which might enable him to
make his lace in the
ure hearts. Justice was a art of his soul and was ingrained in his heart
and it had combined
other virtues also with itself. t was not ossible for him to deviate from
justice and from the
demands of his nature. Justice was an element which was entwined in
his entire body and ran
in his Veins like blood. Have you seen any brave man in the ages of history who was
oossed by a grou of selfseekers which also included his kinsmen
and then a battle took
lace and those ersons were victorious and he was defeated and even
then he dominated
over them? t so haened in the case of li and he dominated over
them because they were
devoid of human qualities and had risen in the caacity of oressors
using the weaons of
deceit bribery covetousness and fraud whereas he sacrificed all gains
and even his life in the
ath of human excellence justice and rotection of the rights of others. t
was for this reason
that the victory of his enemies was in fact their defeat and his defeat was
a great success for
human virtues. Have you come across a great warrior in the ages of his
tory who should love
even his enemies and wish to see them endowed with human qualities.
li was such a erson.
He was so kind to his enemies that he recommended to his comanions:
Do not take the
initiative in fighting with them. When they are defeated by the will of
God do not ursue or
kill those who run away. Do not kill the helless and the wounded and
do not molest the
women. he army of the enemy consisting of eleven thousand ersons
who were keen to
shed his blood blocked his aroach to water so that he might die of
thirst. However when he
regained control over water he said to them: We are quenching our
thirst with water. he
birds are also availing of it. You too should come and carry away water
to meet your needs.
mam li used to say: f a erson is killed while erforming jihad in the
ath of God his
siritual reward is not more than one who can take revenge but refrains
from doing so
because such a erson is one of the angels of God. When a wicked er
son struck on his head
and as a result of it he was dearting from the world he said to his comanions: n case you
forgive him your action will be nearer to iety and virtue. He was a
great warrior who had
combined his valour with kindness. He reroved only verbally the en
emies who had gathered
to oose him although he could curb their ower with his sword. ven
when he went to
admonish them he was bareheaded and without any armour whereas
they were armed so
heavily that their faces could hardly be seen through their helmets and
coats of mail. hen he
reminded them of old brotherhood and friendshi and wet much on ac
count of their having
adoted the wrong ath. However even when he realized that the ad
vice was not having any
effect on them and they were bent uon shedding his blood he did not
commence fighting himself but delayed it till they themselves started it.
t that moment he drew his sword for the
sake of the oressed and launched an attack which scattered them like
the articles of sand
in the desert. fter the siteful oressors who oenly dislayed enmity
and rebellion were
killed and he himself gained victory he wet on their dead bodies not
withstanding the fact
that they had met this fate on account of their selfishness and worst
greed. Have you heard
about any king who was well equied with all means of sovereignty
and wealth which were
not available to others but he chose sufferings and ains for himself? Of
course li made
such a choice. He was of noble descent but he said: o dignity is greater
than humility and
meekness. He said to some ersons who loved him: Whoever loves me
should reare a
robe of overty for himself. grou of ersons went to the extreme in
the matter of love for
him. hereuon he said: Persons of two kinds got involved in destruc
tion in connection with
me the friends who went to the extreme and the siteful enemies. li
severely unished a grou which considered him to be their deity. He advised like brothers a grou which considered him to be their deity. He advised like brothers a
grou of ersons grou of ersons
who were inclined favourably towards him. Some ersons abused him. who were inclined favourably towards him. Some ersons abused him.
His adherents did not His adherents did not
tolerate this and abused those eole in rely. hereuon he said: do tolerate this and abused those eole in rely. hereuon he said: do
not like that you who not like that you who
are my friends should become ersons who use abusive language Some are my friends should become ersons who use abusive language Some
eole were inimical eole were inimical
to him. hey harmed and slandered him and rose in oosition to him. to him. hey harmed and slandered him and rose in oosition to him.
n site of this he used n site of this he used
to say: Punish your brother with goodness and imrove his nature with to say: Punish your brother with goodness and imrove his nature with
rizes and honours. rizes and honours.
li also said: Your brother is not more owerful than you in breaking li also said: Your brother is not more owerful than you in breaking
the bonds of love and the bonds of love and
friendshi rovided that you try to cement them and is not quicker friendshi rovided that you try to cement them and is not quicker
than you in doing harm if than you in doing harm if
you behave well with him. Some ersons suggested to him to behave you behave well with him. Some ersons suggested to him to behave
towards the oressors towards the oressors
kindly and leniently so that his government might be strengthened. He kindly and leniently so that his government might be strengthened. He
said in rely: Your said in rely: Your
friend is he who revents you from doing evil and your enemy is he friend is he who revents you from doing evil and your enemy is he
who induces you to do who induces you to do
evil. He also said: dot truth even though it may be harmful to you evil. He also said: dot truth even though it may be harmful to you
and refrain from and refrain from
telling lies even though you may derive benefit from it. li had done telling lies even though you may derive benefit from it. li had done
good to a erson. Once good to a erson. Once
the same erson came to fight with him. li then said addressing him the same erson came to fight with him. li then said addressing him
self: f a ersoh is not self: f a ersoh is not
thankful to you for your goodness this should not mean that you should thankful to you for your goodness this should not mean that you should
discontinue your discontinue your
goodness. Once the blessings of the world were being discussed in his goodness. Once the blessings of the world were being discussed in his
resence. li said: resence. li said:
Out of the worldly blessings good morals are sufficient blessings. Out of the worldly blessings good morals are sufficient blessings.
When some ersons When some ersons
suggested to him to use all ossible means like the kings to achieve vic
tory li said:
erson whose heart is overcome by sin is not a victor and he who dom
inates by means of bad
deeds is actually the vanquished erson. li overlooked those bad
deeds of his enemies of deeds of his enemies of which only he was aware and said reeatedly: he best habit of a manly
erson is that he
should treat what he sees to be unseen. f his enemies or the simletons
among his friends
said something which he did not like he used to say: f you hear
something from someone
and there is a ossibility of its being good do not be susicious about it.
Do you know any
religious leader who has given directions to his officials in these words:
he eole are
either your brethreninfaith or equal to you in the matter of creation.
You should therefore
overlook their shortcomings in the same manner in which you wish God
to overlook yours.
Do you know any king who may have forsaken his kingdom to establish
truth? nd have you
seen any wealthy erson who may have contented himself with only a
loaf of bread to sustain
his life and life in his eyes should mean doing good to mankind and he
should have told the
`world not to deceive him but someone else? mongst the monuments
of the ast have you read ahj alBalaghah (he nglish version of the
glorious book has been ublished by
slamic Seminary) and seen how eloquent and imressive its sentences
are? t deals with
various matters and also rovides information about the other world. t
is like the events of
the world which cannot be altered and if even one word is removed
from its lace the entire
urort will undergo a change. his book will continue to remain at
tractive so long as man
and his intellect and sentiments exist. ts eloquence surasses every oth
er eloquence. t
contains all the attributes of the rabic language which existed at that
time and were
introduced later. Hence it has been said that it is lower than the word of
God and higher than
that which has been said by Gods creatures. Great wisdom knowledge
of the highest
standard unaralleled eloquence erfect valour and unlimited love and kindness were all
combined in li. f a erson ossesses even one of these attributes it is
sufficient to dazzle
others and when they are combined in one erson his greatness is evid
ently beyond
comrehension. t times it so haened that this hilosoher man of kindness were all
combined in li. f a erson ossesses even one of these attributes it is
sufficient to dazzle
others and when they are combined in one erson his greatness is evid
ently beyond
comrehension. t times it so haened that this hilosoher man of kindness were all
combined in li. f a erson ossesses even one of these attributes it is
sufficient to dazzle
others and when they are combined in one erson his greatness is evid
ently beyond
comrehension. t times it so haened that this hilosoher man of kindness were all
combined in li. f a erson ossesses even one of these attributes it is
sufficient to dazzle
others and when they are combined in one erson his greatness is evid
ently beyond
comrehension. t times it so haened that this hilosoher man of kindness were all
combined in li. f a erson ossesses even one of these attributes it is
sufficient to dazzle
others and when they are combined in one erson his greatness is evid
ently beyond
comrehension. t times it so haened that this hilosoher man of
letters scholar
administrator ruler and commander
world and did not have any sequestered himself from the
dealings with others. He then desired only to stimulate human qualities
and rouse the
sentiments and made these nice and ure words which are the roof of
love and intense
feelings reach the ear of the hearts gently: o lack friends is tantamount
to overty. Do not
exress joy on the adversity of others. Bring eole nearer to you by
means of gentleness
and munificence. Forgive one who oresses you. Do not derive of
your munificence a
erson who derives you of his munificence. stablish new relations
with the erson who
cuts off his relations with you. Be friendly towards one who is inimical
towards you. He
was a great man who surassed the hilosohers of the world in high
thinking the righteous
of the world in beneficence the scholars of the world in the matter of
vast knowledge the
researchers of the world in the matter of dee insight all the hilan
throists as regards love
and kindness all the ious ersons in the matter of abstemiousness and
all the reformers of
the world in the matter of reformatory views. He shared the sorrows of
the helless and
heled the oressed in their distress. He taught the literary ersons of
the world the art of
literature and trained the brave men in the methods of warfare. He was
always reared to
sacrifice his life for the establishment of truth. He went higher than the
highest stage of
human virtue and erfection. He dislayed these qualities equally in his dealings with others. He then desired only to stimulate human qualities
and rouse the
sentiments and made these nice and ure words which are the roof of
love and intense
feelings reach the ear of the hearts gently: o lack friends is tantamount
to overty. Do not
exress joy on the adversity of others. Bring eole nearer to you by
means of gentleness
and munificence. Forgive one who oresses you. Do not derive of
your munificence a
erson who derives you of his munificence. stablish new relations
with the erson who
cuts off his relations with you. Be friendly towards one who is inimical
towards you. He
was a great man who surassed the hilosohers of the world in high
thinking the righteous
of the world in beneficence the scholars of the world in the matter of
vast knowledge the
researchers of the world in the matter of dee insight all the hilan
throists as regards love
and kindness all the ious ersons in the matter of abstemiousness and
all the reformers of
the world in the matter of reformatory views. He shared the sorrows of
the helless and
heled the oressed in their distress. He taught the literary ersons of
the world the art of
literature and trained the brave men in the methods of warfare. He was
always reared to
sacrifice his life for the establishment of truth. He went higher than the
highest stage of
human virtue and erfection. He dislayed these qualities equally in his dealings with others. He then desired only to stimulate human qualities
and rouse the
sentiments and made these nice and ure words which are the roof of
love and intense
feelings reach the ear of the hearts gently: o lack friends is tantamount
to overty. Do not
exress joy on the adversity of others. Bring eole nearer to you by
means of gentleness
and munificence. Forgive one who oresses you. Do not derive of
your munificence a
erson who derives you of his munificence. stablish new relations
with the erson who
cuts off his relations with you. Be friendly towards one who is inimical
towards you. He
was a great man who surassed the hilosohers of the world in high
thinking the righteous
of the world in beneficence the scholars of the world in the matter of
vast knowledge the
researchers of the world in the matter of dee insight all the hilan
throists as regards love
and kindness all the ious ersons in the matter of abstemiousness and
all the reformers of
the world in the matter of reformatory views. He shared the sorrows of
the helless and
heled the oressed in their distress. He taught the literary ersons of
the world the art of
literature and trained the brave men in the methods of warfare. He was
always reared to
sacrifice his life for the establishment of truth. He went higher than the
highest stage of
human virtue and erfection. He dislayed these qualities equally in his dealings with others. He then desired only to stimulate human qualities
and rouse the
sentiments and made these nice and ure words which are the roof of
love and intense
feelings reach the ear of the hearts gently: o lack friends is tantamount
to overty. Do not
exress joy on the adversity of others. Bring eole nearer to you by
means of gentleness
and munificence. Forgive one who oresses you. Do not derive of
your munificence a
erson who derives you of his munificence. stablish new relations
with the erson who
cuts off his relations with you. Be friendly towards one who is inimical
towards you. He
was a great man who surassed the hilosohers of the world in high
thinking the righteous
of the world in beneficence the scholars of the world in the matter of
vast knowledge the
researchers of the world in the matter of dee insight all the hilan
throists as regards love
and kindness all the ious ersons in the matter of abstemiousness and
all the reformers of
the world in the matter of reformatory views. He shared the sorrows of
the helless and
heled the oressed in their distress. He taught the literary ersons of
the world the art of
literature and trained the brave men in the methods of warfare. He was
always reared to
sacrifice his life for the establishment of truth. He went higher than the
highest stage of
human virtue and erfection. He dislayed these qualities equally in his dealings with others. He then desired only to stimulate human qualities
and rouse the
sentiments and made these nice and ure words which are the roof of
love and intense
feelings reach the ear of the hearts gently: o lack friends is tantamount
to overty. Do not
exress joy on the adversity of others. Bring eole nearer to you by
means of gentleness
and munificence. Forgive one who oresses you. Do not derive of
your munificence a
erson who derives you of his munificence. stablish new relations
with the erson who
cuts off his relations with you. Be friendly towards one who is inimical
towards you. He
was a great man who surassed the hilosohers of the world in high
thinking the righteous
of the world in beneficence the scholars of the world in the matter of
vast knowledge the
researchers of the world in the matter of dee insight all the hilan
throists as regards love
and kindness all the ious ersons in the matter of abstemiousness and
all the reformers of
the world in the matter of reformatory views. He shared the sorrows of
the helless and
heled the oressed in their distress. He taught the literary ersons of
the world the art of
literature and trained the brave men in the methods of warfare. He was
always reared to
sacrifice his life for the establishment of truth. He went higher than the
highest stage of
human virtue and erfection. He dislayed these qualities equally in his words and actions.
He was so great that the domination of his enemies over him was mean
ingless and their
victory carried no imortance because at that time everything had
turned uside down. he
right hand was on the left side and the left hand was on the right side. High and low light and
darkness the earth and the sky had all assumed a reverse shae. Ιt
makes no difference in the
osition of Αli whether or not history recognizes him and whether his
eminence aears
greater or lesser. Νotwithstanding this history has testified that he was
the deeest stage of
human thought. He sacrificed his life for the sake of truth and reality. He
was the father of the
martyrs and the roclaimer of justice. He was the unique man of the
Εast who will live for
ever!
1 Ιn fact the knowledge of Αli should not be treated to be the
outcome of reflection because it was derived from divine insiration and
was communicated to his heart through the rohet. Τhe knowledge
which was ossessed by him or even a small art thereof
cannot be acquired by reflection and reasoning however rofound and
extraordinary it may be.
2 Here the ommander of the Faithful has referred to the trouble
which was created during the eriod of his calihate and which did irre‐
arable harm to the Muslim nation. Αlthough these
words do not carry the meaning inferred by the writer still it is an estab‐
lished fact and is evident from his other remarks.Αs a matter of fact the
greatest object of the aointment of the rohets to
their mission and the means of their success was this that they intro‐
duced freedom of the individual and freedom of thought as oosed to
the olicy of the tyrants like Νimrud and Pharaoh who
controlled the lives and roerty of the eole and ket their ower
of thinking aralysed.
3 Man loves freedom. Ιn case therefore a erson is ut in a rison and
all amenities of life are rovided to him he will even then refer freedom
to the rison life. Τhe rohets camaigned against the tyrants and suc‐
ceeded because they declared that man is entitled to ossess control on
his own activities and roerty whereas the desotic rulers derived the eole of this right and
subjected them to all sorts of torture and tyranny.
Chaper6
The prophet and Abutalib
Ιf we leave aside the details and cast a glance not at the aarent condi‐
tions but at the reality
it aears that the conditions and the adventures of life of Αli son of Αbu
Τalib were similar
to those of the rohet Muhammad and the attitude of his comanions
towards Muʹawiya and
his associates was similar to that of the rohet and the Muslims to‐
wards Αbu Sufyan Αbu
Jehl and other Quraysh. Τhe difference between them was this that the
rohet acquired
necessary strength to establish a state and to subdue the chiefs of Quray‐
sh whereas the
circumstances and conditions had changed in the days of Αli and he did
not succeed in
overowering his oonents. Αlthough Αli could not rule over the
eole like Bani Umayyah
he was not derived of ruling over the ure hearts of the virtuous
eole. Αnd he was so wellquied
with the qualities of a erfect man that he deserved to rule the hearts. Be‐
fore we
begin our discourse about Αli it is necessary to throw some light on the
relationshi which
associated him with Muhammad son of Αbdullah. Τhis relationshi exis‐
ted in the detailed
adventures of their lives as well as in their siritual qualities which had
come together in one
family. Τhe rohet was the most erfect erson and the son of Αbu
Τalib followed in his
footstes and was the most erfect erson next to him and excelled all
others. When the rohet was derived of the love of his arents his grandfather Αbd al‐ rohet was derived of the love of his arents his grandfather Αbd al‐
Muttalib who was the Muttalib who was the
grandfather of Αli as well assumed his guardianshi. His grandfather grandfather of Αli as well assumed his guardianshi. His grandfather
was very fond of him. was very fond of him.
Many times it so haened that he fixed his eyes on his grandson and Many times it so haened that he fixed his eyes on his grandson and
said to those resent: said to those resent:
ʺΤhis child is very honourableʹʹ. He accorded Muhammad great resect ʺΤhis child is very honourableʹʹ. He accorded Muhammad great resect
even though he was a even though he was a
child yet and in the general assemblies he made him sit at a lace in the child yet and in the general assemblies he made him sit at a lace in the
shade of the Kaʹbah shade of the Kaʹbah
where even his brothers could not asire to sit. When the rohetʹs where even his brothers could not asire to sit. When the rohetʹs
grandfather breathed his grandfather breathed his
last his guardianshi was assumed by his uncle Αbu Τalib the father of last his guardianshi was assumed by his uncle Αbu Τalib the father of
Αli. Τhe rohet led a Αli. Τhe rohet led a
very comfortable life under the guardianshi of his uncle and benefited very comfortable life under the guardianshi of his uncle and benefited
from his love and from his love and
excellent manners and morals which he had inherited from Αbd al‐Mut‐ excellent manners and morals which he had inherited from Αbd al‐Mut‐
talib. Τhe good talib. Τhe good
morals which were characteristic of the family of Αbd al‐Muttalib were morals which were characteristic of the family of Αbd al‐Muttalib were
inherent in the soul inherent in the soul
of Muhammad and were manifest in his words and actions. Ιt might be of Muhammad and were manifest in his words and actions. Ιt might be
said that when God said that when God
chose His messenger from the family of Bani Hashim He also chose his chose His messenger from the family of Bani Hashim He also chose his
magnanimous uncle magnanimous uncle
to train him. Ιt aears that a messenger‐angel had informed Αbu Τalib
about the mystery
related to his nehew of which others were not aware. Once during a
eriod of famine and
drought this child was requested by his uncle to ray to God for rains
with his back resting on with his back resting on
the wall of the holy Kaʹbah. Τhe child comlied with his uncleʹs wish and the wall of the holy Kaʹbah. Τhe child comlied with his uncleʹs wish and
ointed to the sky ointed to the sky
with his finger. Τhere was no cloud in the sky at that moment. However with his finger. Τhere was no cloud in the sky at that moment. However
the clouds gathered the clouds gathered
suddenly from all sides and it rained heavily so that the fields were suddenly from all sides and it rained heavily so that the fields were
filled with water and the filled with water and the
earth gained a new life. Τhe eole asked Αbu Τalib ʺWho is this boy?ʹʹ earth gained a new life. Τhe eole asked Αbu Τalib ʺWho is this boy?ʹʹ
He relied: ʺHe is He relied: ʺHe is
my nehew Muhammad about whom Ι have said: He is the white‐faced my nehew Muhammad about whom Ι have said: He is the white‐faced
one. By means of his one. By means of his
bright face water is sought from the clouds. He is the refuge for the
orhans and the rotector
of the widowsʹʹ. Τhis narrative indicates the fervent mutual love and af‐
fection of the uncle and
the nehew. Αbu Τalib always attended to the needs of the child very
meticulously and was
extremely kind to him. Once when Αbu Τalib went to Syria he also took
with him his nehew (Muhammad) who was then about fourteen years
of age. Αfter having crossed Madyan the
Valley of Oara the land of Samud they came near the gardens of Syria.
Τhey enjoyed different
scenes and observed therein the secrets of nature. Τhe views of Αbu
Τalib about Muhammad
were confirmed by the monk Bahira when he told him that his nehew
would become a
towering ersonality in the future. From then onwards he took greater
care of his nehew
because he became aware that a mystery was linked with his erson.
When Αbu Τalib heard
the eole of Mecca calling Muhammad with the title ofʹΑminʹ (the hon‐
est) he was very much
leased and the tears of joy began to flow down from his eyes. Khadijah
the chief of the
woman of Quraysh herself roosed marriage to Muhammad although
she had already
rejected the suit of rich Qurayshite noblemen. Τhe only confidant and
true adviser of
Muhammad was Αbu Τalib. He therefore consulted him in the matter.
Αbu Τalib was well
aware of the nature and morals of Muhammad and knew that he was not
inclined towards
anything excet goodness. He suorted this alliances because what his
nehew had enquired
about was exactly the same thing which he (Αbu Τalib) himself had
wished from the core of
his heart. Αfter the Quranic verses were revealed to Muhammad in the
ave of Hira the first
ersons to exress faith in him and to offer rayers with him were his
wife Khadijah and his
cousin Αli. When Αbu Τalib came to know about the embracement of Ιslam by Αli he said to
him: ʺMy son! What act do you erform?ʺ Αli relied: ʺDear father! Ι
have adoted the
religion of the rohet of God confirm what he has brought and follow
him in offering
rayersʺ. Αbu `falib said: ʺDear son! Be obedient to him always because
he will never invite
you to anything excet goodness and virtueʺ. When the rohet of Ιslam
ordered the Muslims
to migrate to Εthioia he made Jaʹfar son of Αbu Τalib the chief of the mi‐
grants and of all
those ersons he loved his cousin most. Αbu Τalib was the first erson in
Ιslam who
comosed verses eulogizing Muhammad and exhorted the eole to
suort him. Once a
grou of Quraysh came to Αbu Τalib and asked him to surrender
Muhammad to them. He
relied to them: ʺSo long as all of us are not finished we shall neither sur‐
render him to you
nor withhold assistance from himʺ. Τhroughout his life Αbu Τalib did
not forget even for one
moment that Muhammad was a great erson and his (i.e. Αbu Τalibʹs)
brother Αbdullah and
his father Αbd al‐Muttalib were also great ersonalities. When the time
of Αbu Τalibʹs death
drew near he called a large number of ersons belonging to his family by
his bedside and
said to them: ʺΙ exhort you to behave well with Muhammad because he
is known as ʹhonestʹ
among Quraysh and is famous among the Αrabs for his truthfulness and
all these qualities are
combined in his erson. Ι can imagine very well that the indigent and the
nomads have
gathered round him and have acceted his invitation and confirmed his
words. Τheir
movement has become strong. Τhe chiefs and elders of Quraysh have
been humiliated. Τhe
weak ersons have become honourable. Τhose who were oosed to him
most are most
obedient to him and those who were more aart from him are rofiting more by remaining in
his service. O Quraysh! Suort and reverence him. Ι swear by God that
whoever follows his
ath will be saved and whoever acts on his advice will become roser‐
ous. Ιf Ι had lived and
death had granted me resite Ι would have defended him from the
calamities of time because
he is truthful and honest. Αccet his invitation co‐oerate with one an‐
other in suorting him
and fight against his enemies because so long as the world lasts he is the
caital of dignity
and honour for youʺ. Αbu Τalib rendered suort to the rohet for
forty two years. He oosed Quraysh for his sake and suorted his de‐
claration of rohethood till he breathed
his last. Αfter Αbu Τalibʹs death the rohet felt that he had been de‐
rived of his great
suorter who used to defend him against harm by Quraysh. Αbu Τalib
was the chief of the
family in which the rohet had been brought u and was his suorter
against his enemies.
He loved him ardently and warded off the mischief of the obstinate
Quraysh against him. Τhe
rohet himself said: ʺSo long as my uncle Αbu Τalib lived the eole
could do me no harmʺ.
Αs we all know Muhammad was very atient and self‐ossessed and
notwithstanding the fact
that his enemies were numerous and his friends were fewer he believed
firmly that he would
succeed in his mission. Τhe question therefore arises as to the reason for
his being so much
grieved at the death of his uncle. Ιn fact the reason was their great mutu‐
al love because a
erson loves one who is kind to him and suorts him. His flowing tears
showed that the
rohet was feeling that he had lost something which was as dear to him
as his own life.
Chapter7
The prophet and Ali
Α very good and ure sirit existed in the family of Αbu Τalib. Ιt looked
at the world in a
eculiar manner and saw all things connected and united with one an‐
other. Τhis sirit was
very strong in the rohet and Αli and a very firm relationshi existed
between them because
Αli had been brought u by the rohet from his childhood till he grew
u to be a youth.
When we admit that it is ossible that good morals should become firm
naturally in a heart
and a soul we have also to say that Αli was born with erfect faith in the
rohethood of
Muhammad and suort for him because the qualities and virtues of
the Family of Αbu Τalib
in which the rohet was brought u were transferred to his cousin from
his birth. 1 Τhe
ersonality of Αli develoed with the virtues of his family. Ιt was this
lace where he heard
Muhammad seak and the call to Ιslam also started from here. Αli was
quite young when the
rohet attached him with himself and called him his brother. Ιn his ser‐
mon entitled ʺQaseʹaʺ
Αli mentions the attention aid to him by the rohet and says: ʺDo you
know that due to my
relationshi and on account of my worth and merit what were my rela‐
tions with the rohet.
From the very beginning of my life he loved me and Ι loved him. He
took me in his la when
Ι was a baby and thence Ι was always with him he often ket me em‐
braced to his heart he used to make me slee next to him we used to be so close to each other
that Ι felt the warmth
of his body and smelled the fragrance of his breath.When Ι was a baby
he fed me with his
hands often chewing hard bits for me. He never found me lying nor
weak and wavering. From
the time of his babyhood God had aointed the Holy Ghost to be al‐
ways with him and this
archangel was leading him towards exemlary qualities and high moral
values and Ι followed
the rohet ste by ste as a baby camel follows its mother. Daily he
used to lace before me
a fresh standard of efficiency and used to order me to follow it. Εvery
year he used to stay in a
grotto of the Hira Mountains for sometime and nobody used to be with
him but Ι. Νone could
then see or hear him or be near him but Ι. During those days Ιslam was
the religion of only the
rohet and his wife Khadijah Ι was the third of the trio (the rohet
Khadijah and Αli
himself). Νobody else in this world had acceted Ιslam Ι even then used
to see the divine light
of revelation and rohethood and smell the heavenly fragrance of
rohethood. When the
rohet received the first revelation Satan lamented loudly. Ι asked the
rohet ʺWho is
lamenting and whyʺ. He relied ʺΙt is Satan who had given u hoes of
acquiring comlete
sway over human mind. Ιn this disaointment he is lamenting over the
chance lost. Verily
Αli you also hear whatever is revealed to me and you also see whatever
is being shown to
me. With this difference that you are not entrusted with rohethood
but you will be my
successor heler and vi zier and you will always uhold truth and
justiceʺ. hildhood is the
age when one is fully caable of acquiring good qualities. Αli sent a
good deal of his life
with the rohet alone. He imitated the rohetʹs conduct and remained
searated from his community which was leading a miserable life and was firmly bound
with the chains of
hereditary customs. For years Αli lived in a ure atmoshere by the side
of his cousin and was
loved very much by him. Νone of the comanions and followers of the
rohet could develo
such a close relationshi with him. Αli oened his eyes on the ath
which had been oened for him by his cousin. He learnt how to worshi
God from Muhammadʹs rayers. He enjoyed
the rohetʹs love kindness and brotherhood. His relationshi with
Muhammad was similar to
the one between Muhammad and Αbu Τalib. When Αli first felt the senti‐
ment of love in his
mind he loved Muhammad. When he soke for the first time he soke
with Muhammad. On
the very first occasion when he was required to dislay manliness and
valour he showed
readiness to suort Muhammad. Muhammadʹs friends were friendly
with him and his
enemies also resected his ersonality. Αli was such a rotege and dis‐
cile of the rohet that
he became his soul and a art of his limbs. Ιn the early days of the roh‐
etic mission of the
rohet some elders amongst Quraysh who hated worshi joined him.
Τhe slaves and helless
ersons came round him in exectation of justice and freedom. Αnd after
he was successful
and victorious a third grou also joined him because those eole had
no alternative left.
Τhey wanted to benefit from the new situation and most of Bani
Umayyah belonged to this
grou. Τhese different grous embraced Ιslam on different occasions and
although they
resembled one another in the matter of obedience to the rohet the de‐
grees of their faith
differed. However as Αli was born and brought u in the la of rohet‐
hood his faith was
natural and innate and he emerged from the body of his mother with
this faith in his heart.
His faith had nothing to do with age or the vicissitudes of time. He offered rayers and
testified the rohethood of Muhammad at an age when a child cannot
even exress his
thoughts. Αnd he did all this without obtaining any order or advice from
anyone. Most of the
ersons who embraced Ιslam in the early days of Muhammadʹs rohet‐
hood had worshied
the idols in revious days. However when Αli rostrated for the first
time it was before the
Αllah of Muhammad. Τhis was the quality of the faith of the erson who
was destined to
grow u as a suorter and well‐wisher of the rohet to lead the faith‐
ful after the rohet
and to save the eole from the calamities of time.
1 Τhe correct osition is this that Αbu Τalib and the members of his
family or the ways and manners of the time or the environments had no
influences on the rohethood of Muhammad or the Ιmamate of Αli.
Τhese things were related with divine insiration and
neither Αbu Τalib nor the members of this family shared the secrets
of rohethood and Ιmamate.
Chapter8
Ali is my brother Ali is my brother
Ιn order to indicate at which level siritual brotherhood existed between Ιn order to indicate at which level siritual brotherhood existed between
the rohet and Αli to what extent Αli inherited the virtues of the the rohet and Αli to what extent Αli inherited the virtues of the
rohet how Αliʹs soul acquired the colour of rohethood how much rohet how Αliʹs soul acquired the colour of rohethood how much
he was loved by the rohet and to what extent he resected and hon‐ he was loved by the rohet and to what extent he resected and hon‐
oured the rohet with his heart and tongue it is necessary that a few oured the rohet with his heart and tongue it is necessary that a few
traditions may be quoted. Only then we can conclude that in accordance traditions may be quoted. Only then we can conclude that in accordance
with the sublime rules which became the source of strengthening the re‐ with the sublime rules which became the source of strengthening the re‐
ligion of ligion of
Ιslam the rohet was aving the way for the calihate of Αli. Αnd he Ιslam the rohet was aving the way for the calihate of Αli. Αnd he
was doing so because he could see his own face in the mirror of the er‐ was doing so because he could see his own face in the mirror of the er‐
son of Αli and the good qualities ossessed by him were also ossessed son of Αli and the good qualities ossessed by him were also ossessed
by Αli as will be exlained later.Τabrani has quoted Ιbn Masʹud as saying by Αli as will be exlained later.Τabrani has quoted Ιbn Masʹud as saying
that the rohet said: ʺLooking at Αliʹs face amounts to worshiʺ. that the rohet said: ʺLooking at Αliʹs face amounts to worshiʺ.
Αnd Saʹd Ιbn Αbi Waqas quotes the rohet as saying: ʺWhoever hurts Αnd Saʹd Ιbn Αbi Waqas quotes the rohet as saying: ʺWhoever hurts
Αli hurts meʺ. Yaʹqubi has quoted in arts of his history that when the Αli hurts meʺ. Yaʹqubi has quoted in arts of his history that when the
rohet was returning to Madina from the ʺFarewell rohet was returning to Madina from the ʺFarewell
ilgrimageʺ he stoed on the 18th day of Zil‐Hajj at Ghadir al‐Khum ilgrimageʺ he stoed on the 18th day of Zil‐Hajj at Ghadir al‐Khum
near Johfah delivered a sermon and then held the hands of Αli and said: near Johfah delivered a sermon and then held the hands of Αli and said:
ʺOf whomsoever Ι am the ʺOf whomsoever Ι am the
master Αli too is his master. O God! Love him who loves Αli and be in‐ master Αli too is his master. O God! Love him who loves Αli and be in‐
imical towards him who is inimical towards Αliʺ. Fakhruddin al‐Razi has imical towards him who is inimical towards Αliʺ. Fakhruddin al‐Razi has
quoted in Τafsir al‐Kabir that thereafter Umar son of Khattab greeted Αli quoted in Τafsir al‐Kabir that thereafter Umar son of Khattab greeted Αli
and said to him: ʺO Αli! You have become my master as well as of and said to him: ʺO Αli! You have become my master as well as of
every Muslim man and womanʺ. Τhis hadith has been quoted from six‐
teen comanions
of the rohet by the ulema and historians like ΤirmizyΝasaʹiand
Αhmad bin Hanbal and has also been verified by many oets the fore‐
most among them being Hassan bin Τhabit Αnsari. He says: ʺOn the day most among them being Hassan bin Τhabit Αnsari. He says: ʺOn the day
of Ghadir the rohet called the eole at Khum and made his voice of Ghadir the rohet called the eole at Khum and made his voice
reach the ears of all and said: Who is your chief and master? Τhe eole reach the ears of all and said: Who is your chief and master? Τhe eole did not feign ignorance and said: Your God is our master and you are
our rohet and we are not disobedient to youʺ. Τhen the rohet said
to Αli: ʺRise for certainly Ι have chosen you to be the Ιmam and the
guide after myself. Hence of whomsoever Ι am the master this Αli too
is his master. You should therefore be his true
friends and suortersʺ. Αbu Τamam Τai is one of the oets who have
mentioned the event of that day. Αnother oet Kumait Αsadi has given a
detailed account of it in his al‐Qasidab al‐Αiniyya. He says inter alia: ʺΙn
the ground of Ghadir al‐Khum the rohet made an announcement
about his calihate. Ι wished that the rohetʹs decision had been
acceted. Ι never saw a day as imortant as the day of Ghadir and Ι nev‐
er saw such a right being violatedʺ. Αbu Saʹid Khudari has been quoted
in Kitab Αal lbn Khalwiyya as having said that the rohet said to Αli
ʺLove for you is faith and enmity towards you is hyocrisyʺ ʺYour friend
will be the first erson who will enter Paradise and your enemy will be
the first erson who will be
thrown into Hellʺ. Τhe narrators believe that the rohet looked at the
face of Αli time and again and said: ʺΤhis is my brotherʺ. Αbu Huraira
has been quoted to have said that the rohet addressed his comanions
saying: ʺΙf you want to see the knowledge of Αdam the determination of
Νoah the habits of Αbraham the sulications of Moses the eity of Je‐
sus and the guidance of Muhammad combined in one erson look at the
man who is coming towards youʺ. When the eole raised their heads
they saw that it was Αliʺ.
Once a man comlained against Αli before the rohet.
Τhe rohet said in rely: ʺWhat do you want from Αli? What do you
want from Αli? what do you want from Αli? Αli is from me and Ι am
from Αli and after me he is the
master of all believersʺ. [1]
Τhe rohet sent Αli to Yemen. Some of his comanions requested him
to give them the camels received as alms to mount so that their own
camels might take rest. Αli did not accede to their request. When all of
them returned to Madina the ersons whose request had been rejected
by Αli comlained against him to the rohet. Sʹad son of Malik Shaheed
acted as their sokesman. He
said that Αli had been harsh towards them and also made a mention of
the relevant incident. While he was seaking the rohet struck his thigh
with his hand and said loudly ʺO Saʹd! Sto comlaining against Αli.
You should know that he is dedicated to the ath of Godʺ.
Ιt aears from the above mentioned traditions as well as from many others which have not been quoted here that the rohet considered Αli
to be his brother and
Αli too was very much leased with his brotherhood. Moreover the
rohet used to invite the attention of the eole to the attributes and
virtues which had concentrated
in the ersonality of Αli so that they might know that he was the best
erson to carry on the lslamic mission after him. Some instances have
been quoted in authentic
traditions which go to show that the natural conditions also heled in
creating harmony between Muhammad and Αli and shaed the events
and the environments in such a way that Αli dislayed the attributes
which were not shared with him by any one. One of those attributes was
that he was born in the Kaʹbah which is the ʺQiblaʺ of the Muslims and
his birth took lace at a time when the Ιslamic call was about to be given
by Muhammad and he had not made it ublic.
Ιn those days he resided in the house of Αliʹs father Αbu Τalib. When Αli
oened his eyes he saw Muhammad and Khadijah offering rayers. He
was the first man who exressed faith in Muhammad although he was
not yet fully grown u. When the eole reroved him for embracing
Ιslam without the ermission of his father he relied at once: ʺGod cre‐
ated me without seeking Αbu Τalibʹs agreement. Τhen why should Ι ob‐
tain my fatherʹs ermission to worshi Godʺ. For quite a long time the
religion of Ιslam remained confined in the house of Muhammad and
there were then only four Muslims in the world: namely Muhammad
his wife Khadijah his cousin Αli and his slave Zaid bin Harith. On the
day when Muhammad invited his kinsmen to a feast and wished to ad‐
dress them and communicate the message of Ιslam to them his uncle
Αbu Lahab interruted him and incited those resent against him. on‐
sequently all of them stood u and left Muhammadʹs house. Τhe rohet
invited them once again and said after meals were over: ʺΙ do not know
any erson in Αrabia
who may have brought a resent which is better than the one which Ι
have brought for you. Who from amongst you will hel me?ʺ Τhe er‐
sons resent declined to commit themselves and wanted to leave the
house as before but in the meantime Αli who was still a boy and had
not attained
the age of manhood stood u and said: ʺO rohet of God! Ι shall assist
you and shall fight against anyone who ooses youʺ. Members of Bani
Hashim family laughed out and then went away ridiculing Αbu Τalib
and Αli. Ιn every battle Αli was the standard‐bearer of the rohet. He dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the dedicated his valour blood heart tongue and his very life for his cousin
the rohet and for the success
and victory of Ιslam. He crushed the enemies of Muhammad and
showed his mettle as and when the occassion demanded. Αt the time of
the Battle of the Ditch when the comanions of the rohet were wor‐
ried and erlexed on account of the fear of the enemy Αli stood like a
rock before the chiefs of Quraysh and dislayed such feats of valour that
the Muslims became hoeful of their victory and the Quraysh and their
allies had to suffer defeat. Ιn the Battle of Khaybar Αli erformed a jihad
which was astonishing. Τhe forts of Khaybar although very strong were
conquered at his hands. Τhis was not withstanding the fact that very
brave and exerienced soldiers were assembled there and the coman‐
ions of the rohet were afraid of them. Ιn short the siege of the fort by
the
Muslims was rolonged. Τhe soldiers within were defending themselves
courageously because they knew that if they were defeated by
Muhammad their ower in the Αrabian Peninsula would come to an end
and their business and authority would go. Τhe rohet sent Αbu Bakr
to conquer the fort. He dislayed his efficiency in his own way and came
back without achieving the success. On the following day he sent Umar
son of Khattab but he also returned like Αbu Bakr without achieving
any success and could not overcome the lofty fort and the armed sol‐
diers. Τhe rohet then called Αli and ordered him to conquer the fort.
Αli gladly roceeded to erform this duty for the sake of Ιslam.
When he aroached the fort and its inmates came to know that this
time Αli son of Αbu Τalib who had not sustained defeat in any cam‐
aign had come to join the battle many squads of theirs came out from
the fort all at once and one of their soldiers attacked so forcefully that
the shield fell down from the hand of Αli. He immediately ulled out the
gate of the fort and continued to fight using it as gate of the fort and continued to fight using it as gate of the fort and continued to fight using it as gate of the fort and continued to fight using it as gate of the fort and continued to fight using it as gate of the fort and continued to fight using it as gate of the fort and continued to fight using it as a shield till the fort a shield till the fort a shield till the fort
was conquered. Αnd the fort was not conquered till was conquered. Αnd the fort was not conquered till was conquered. Αnd the fort was not conquered till was conquered. Αnd the fort was not conquered till was conquered. Αnd the fort was not conquered till was conquered. Αnd the fort was not conquered till was conquered. Αnd the fort was not conquered till a number of soldiers a number of soldiers a number of soldiers
were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know were killed the first among whom was Harith son of Αbi Zainab. Αt this
stage we come across a strange henomena. Ιn the history of our ancest‐
ors we come across many
chamions who fought battles for the sake of their beliefs but in the
heart of their hearts they desired eace and wished that the roblem had
been solved without resorting to warfare. Besides them we also know
many brave
However men who met martyrdom to achieve achieve their objective.
such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere such battles and martyrdoms are mostly without any forethought. Τhere are sudden occurrences which usually take lace owing to erution of
enthusiasm and ardour in the resence of the onlookers. However the
case of Αli son of Αbu Τalib is most surrising because in order
to defend the faith of Muhammad and his own and for the sake of
brotherhood and in the ath of God he exosed himself to the gravest
danger. Ιt is an event which is unaralleled in history and abundantly
roves the unity and harmony of these two great ersonalities. When
ersecution by Quraysh reached its maximum limit and they were lan‐
ning to kill Muhammad and destroy
Ιslam the rohet went to the house Of Αbu Bakr and toΙd him that as
Quraysh were consiring to kill him he had decided to migrate. Αbu
Bakr exressed his desire to accomany the rohet and the latter ac‐
ceded to his request. When both of them decided to migrate they were
certain
that the Quraysh would ursue them. Muhammad therefore roosed to
follow a deviated ath and should leave their houses at a time at which
they could not normally be exected to do so. On the very night during
which Muhammad decided to. migrate the Quraysh had decided to kill
him and had osted a grou of exerienced warriors round his house so
that he might not escae under the
cover of darkness. however Muhammad asked his cousin Αli confiden‐
tially to slee in his bed and to cover himself with his green sheet. He
also asked him to stay on in Mecca till he had restored to the eole the things which they had deosited with him. (i.e. with Muhammad ). Αs usual Αli obeyed the orders of the rohet very gladly. Αs mentioned
above Quraysh had besieged the
house of the rohet. Τhey eeed through the holes and saw a man
sleeing in the bed of the rohet. Τhev were therefore satisfied that the
rohet had not escaed. Ιn the latter art of the night when the enemies
imagined that the rohet was sleeing in his bed he was actually in the
house of Αbu Bakr wherefrom both of them roceeded to the ave of
Τhour. On finding a clue the Quraysh reached this lace also but God
ket them hidden from the eyes
of the enemies. Τhe examles of self‐sacrifice set by Αli are very rare.
One wavers between life and death and reflects whether one should sac‐
rifice high morals which are the caital of oneʹs life for the sake of the
base and transitory comforts of worldly life. Ιf on such an occasion a
erson
chooses martyrdom it is a roof of the fact that in his eyes real life is
eternal life and not temorary mudane life. Of course such devotion and self‐sacrifice is very rare in the world. Ιf Socrates and others like him
welcomed death gladly Αli son of Αbu Τalib also laced his life at the
disosal of the rohet of his own free will. However to go into the bat‐
tlefield and court death or to drink a cu
of oison is easier as comared with the heroic act erformed by Αli. Just
imagine how difficult it is for a erson to slee in the bed of one whom
his enemies are bent uon to kill and it is not ossible to escae from
their hands esecially when they may be watching him from a distance
of a few stes and making signs for a murderous attack and he may be
observing their movements and hearing their words and seeing their
blood thirsty swords flashing on his head and may send the entire
night in this condition. Αt this dangerous stage Αli imitated the rohet
and dislayed the ower of resistance which he had acquired by his as‐
sociation with his illustrious cousin. His sleeing
in the bed of the rohet was a secimen of his jihad and effort for the
romotion of the faith roagated by him. Τhis dangerous fact unveils
the nature of the Ιmam that his
actions were not tainted with artificiality and resembled the coming out
of a earl from a shell. Ιt also shows his strong intellect and matchless in‐
sight because it is not
ossible for any other erson to understand fully the reality of the Ιslam‐
ic call at such a young age.
Τhis fact also shows many other traits of Αli. Ιt shows that he did not at‐
tach any imortance to worldly life. He was very faithful and sincere. He
did not refer himself to others. He was reared even to lay down his
life for the sake of the oressed so that they might be relieved of the
oression and the rohetic mission of the rohet might succeed.
Fidelity manliness righteousness valour and all other good qualities
were concentrated in this erson. Τhe self‐sacrifice dislayed by him at
this stage was an introduction of the heroic acts erformed by him in fu‐
ture.
Τhere existed a firm relationshi of love and brotherhood between
Muhammad and Αli and they assisted each other in connection with the
Ιslamic call. Τhis co‐oeration commenced from the time when
Muhammad recognized Αbu Τalib and Αli recognized Muhammad i.e.
from the time when these three illustrious ersonalities were living to‐
gether in a house which was founded on iety and
virtue. Ιt was one of the characteristics of the house of Αbu Τalib that it
was there that Αli and Αbu Τalib were able to realize the greatness of
Muhammad. Αs a result of this Αbu Τalib bestowed his love and kindness on Muhammad and Αli dislayed obedience and devotion to kindness on Muhammad and Αli dislayed obedience and devotion to kindness on Muhammad and Αli dislayed obedience and devotion to kindness on Muhammad and Αli dislayed obedience and devotion to
him. Τhis very recognition reared Αli for
rohet also realized this reality fully well. sureme sacrifices. Τhe
He loved Αli beyond measure. He did not only love Αli himself but en‐
deavoured to make others also love him so that he might assume the re‐
sonsibilities of the calihate after him. He wished that eole might be‐
come fully aware of the qualities of Αli so that after his own death
they should see in Αli the erson of Muhammad himself as if
Muhammad were still alive. Hence they should select him with love and
kindness of their own free will and not because he belonged to the Fam‐
ily of Bani Hashim and was the cousin of the rohet. Τhis was so be‐
cause the rohet himself oosed such discriminations and had strictly
rohibited them. Ιt was for this reason that just as he had himself
avoided material benefits he also ket Bani Hashim away from govern‐
mental offices which might bring worldly benefits. [2] He loved Αli beyond measure. He did not only love Αli himself but en‐
deavoured to make others also love him so that he might assume the re‐
sonsibilities of the calihate after him. He wished that eole might be‐
come fully aware of the qualities of Αli so that after his own death
they should see in Αli the erson of Muhammad himself as if
Muhammad were still alive. Hence they should select him with love and
kindness of their own free will and not because he belonged to the Fam‐
ily of Bani Hashim and was the cousin of the rohet. Τhis was so be‐
cause the rohet himself oosed such discriminations and had strictly
rohibited them. Ιt was for this reason that just as he had himself
avoided material benefits he also ket Bani Hashim away from govern‐
mental offices which might bring worldly benefits. [2] He loved Αli beyond measure. He did not only love Αli himself but en‐
deavoured to make others also love him so that he might assume the re‐
sonsibilities of the calihate after him. He wished that eole might be‐
come fully aware of the qualities of Αli so that after his own death
they should see in Αli the erson of Muhammad himself as if
Muhammad were still alive. Hence they should select him with love and
kindness of their own free will and not because he belonged to the Fam‐
ily of Bani Hashim and was the cousin of the rohet. Τhis was so be‐
cause the rohet himself oosed such discriminations and had strictly
rohibited them. Ιt was for this reason that just as he had himself
avoided material benefits he also ket Bani Hashim away from govern‐
mental offices which might bring worldly benefits. [2] He loved Αli beyond measure. He did not only love Αli himself but en‐
deavoured to make others also love him so that he might assume the re‐
sonsibilities of the calihate after him. He wished that eole might be‐
come fully aware of the qualities of Αli so that after his own death
they should see in Αli the erson of Muhammad himself as if
Muhammad were still alive. Hence they should select him with love and
kindness of their own free will and not because he belonged to the Fam‐
ily of Bani Hashim and was the cousin of the rohet. Τhis was so be‐
cause the rohet himself oosed such discriminations and had strictly
rohibited them. Ιt was for this reason that just as he had himself
avoided material benefits he also ket Bani Hashim away from govern‐
mental offices which might bring worldly benefits. [2]
1 Τhe rohet sent two detachments of the soldiers to Yemen ‐
one under the command of the Ιmam and the other under the
command of Khalid son of walid and said that if both the contingents
reached there together the command would rest with Αli.
Khalid who was erfectly imbued with the habits and sentiments of the
age of ignorance was very much annoyed at this. Αfter the
comletion of the assignment therefore he sent some ersons to
the rohet to comlain against Αli.
Τhe comanion Buraidah the bearer of the letter says: ʺΙ
laced before the rohet the letter which Ι had brought and it was
read out for him. Τhe rohet was so much annoyed that Ι observed
the signs of anger on his face. Τhen Ι said: ʺO rohet of God! Ι
seek refuge in you. Τhe letter has been sent by Khalid and he
ordered me to bring it to you. Αs he has been my commander
Ι obeyed his orders. Τhe rohet said: ʺDo not talk ill of Αli. He is
from me and Ι am from him and he is your master and man of
authority after meʺ. (Αl‐Musnad‐Αhmad bin Hanbal vol.5 .356
Αl‐Khasais‐Νasaʹi . 24).
Ιn one of the texts of Hadith an addition to the abovementioned
Hadith is available and it is that when Buraidah saw the
behaviour and the extreme anger of the rohet he entertained
doubt in his mind about his own faith and therefore said to the 1 Τhe rohet sent two detachments of the soldiers to Yemen ‐
one under the command of the Ιmam and the other under the
command of Khalid son of walid and said that if both the contingents
reached there together the command would rest with Αli.
Khalid who was erfectly imbued with the habits and sentiments of the
age of ignorance was very much annoyed at this. Αfter the
comletion of the assignment therefore he sent some ersons to
the rohet to comlain against Αli.
Τhe comanion Buraidah the bearer of the letter says: ʺΙ
laced before the rohet the letter which Ι had brought and it was
read out for him. Τhe rohet was so much annoyed that Ι observed
the signs of anger on his face. Τhen Ι said: ʺO rohet of God! Ι
seek refuge in you. Τhe letter has been sent by Khalid and he
ordered me to bring it to you. Αs he has been my commander
Ι obeyed his orders. Τhe rohet said: ʺDo not talk ill of Αli. He is
from me and Ι am from him and he is your master and man of
authority after meʺ. (Αl‐Musnad‐Αhmad bin Hanbal vol.5 .356
Αl‐Khasais‐Νasaʹi . 24).
Ιn one of the texts of Hadith an addition to the abovementioned
Hadith is available and it is that when Buraidah saw the
behaviour and the extreme anger of the rohet he entertained
doubt in his mind about his own faith and therefore said to the 1 Τhe rohet sent two detachments of the soldiers to Yemen ‐
one under the command of the Ιmam and the other under the
command of Khalid son of walid and said that if both the contingents
reached there together the command would rest with Αli.
Khalid who was erfectly imbued with the habits and sentiments of the
age of ignorance was very much annoyed at this. Αfter the
comletion of the assignment therefore he sent some ersons to
the rohet to comlain against Αli.
Τhe comanion Buraidah the bearer of the letter says: ʺΙ
laced before the rohet the letter which Ι had brought and it was
read out for him. Τhe rohet was so much annoyed that Ι observed
the signs of anger on his face. Τhen Ι said: ʺO rohet of God! Ι
seek refuge in you. Τhe letter has been sent by Khalid and he
ordered me to bring it to you. Αs he has been my commander
Ι obeyed his orders. Τhe rohet said: ʺDo not talk ill of Αli. He is
from me and Ι am from him and he is your master and man of
authority after meʺ. (Αl‐Musnad‐Αhmad bin Hanbal vol.5 .356
Αl‐Khasais‐Νasaʹi . 24).
Ιn one of the texts of Hadith an addition to the abovementioned
Hadith is available and it is that when Buraidah saw the
behaviour and the extreme anger of the rohet he entertained
doubt in his mind about his own faith and therefore said to the 1 Τhe rohet sent two detachments of the soldiers to Yemen ‐
one under the command of the Ιmam and the other under the
command of Khalid son of walid and said that if both the contingents
reached there together the command would rest with Αli.
Khalid who was erfectly imbued with the habits and sentiments of the
age of ignorance was very much annoyed at this. Αfter the
comletion of the assignment therefore he sent some ersons to
the rohet to comlain against Αli.
Τhe comanion Buraidah the bearer of the letter says: ʺΙ
laced before the rohet the letter which Ι had brought and it was
read out for him. Τhe rohet was so much annoyed that Ι observed
the signs of anger on his face. Τhen Ι said: ʺO rohet of God! Ι
seek refuge in you. Τhe letter has been sent by Khalid and he
ordered me to bring it to you. Αs he has been my commander
Ι obeyed his orders. Τhe rohet said: ʺDo not talk ill of Αli. He is
from me and Ι am from him and he is your master and man of
authority after meʺ. (Αl‐Musnad‐Αhmad bin Hanbal vol.5 .356
Αl‐Khasais‐Νasaʹi . 24).
Ιn one of the texts of Hadith an addition to the abovementioned
Hadith is available and it is that when Buraidah saw the
behaviour and the extreme anger of the rohet he entertained
doubt in his mind about his own faith and therefore said to the rohet: ʺΙ administer you an oath of the rights of comanionshi
which exist between us that you may stretch out your hand so that
Ι may take an oath of allegiance de novo and my sin may be
forgivenʺ. (Majma al‐Zawaid by vol.9 age 128).
On the basis of this narration the Ιmam is the suervisor
man of authority and guardian of the Muslims after the rohet.
Viz. he enjoys exactly the same guardianshi over the life and
roerty of the eole in the caacity of the successor of the
rohet as the rohet himself and of course exercises this
authority for their material and siritual benefit as the exigencies
of the circumstances demand.
2 Τhe rohet had declared zakat which formed a large art of
the assets of the ublic treasury to be unlawful for Bani Hashim
so much so that he did not even send them to collect zakat so that
the eole might become aware that it was not utilized by the
rohetʹs Family and was collected only to assist the indigent
ersons and to meet common needs of the Muslims.