ALI IBN ABI TALIB ( RadhiAllaahu Anhu)
`Ali ibn Abi Talib (R A)
was Cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad(SAWS). In 656 he became the last
of the "rightly guided" caliphs. The fourth of the caliphs or successors
of Muhammad(SAWS) , was born in Mecca. His father, Abu Talib, was an
uncle of the Prophet (SAWS) , and Ali himself was adopted by
Muhammad(SAWS) and educated under his care.
While a boy, he
distinguished himself by being one of the first to declare his adherence
to the cause of Muhammad(SAWS). Some years afterwards he married the
Prophet (SAWS) 's daughter Fatima Zahra. Ali (R A) proved himself to be a
brave and faithful soldier, and when Muhammad(SAWS) died without a male
heir, some thought Ali (R A) to have the best claim to succeed
Muhammad(SAWS) . Not until 656, after the murder of Uthman, the third
caliph.
`Ali ibn Abi Talib ( Amîr al-Mu’minîn), the first male
believer in Islam, the Prophet (SAWS) ’s standard-bearer in battle, the
Door of the City of Knowledge, the most judicious of the Companions, and
the "Possessor of a wise heart and enquiring tongue." The Prophet
(SAWS) nicknamed him Abu Turâb or Father of Dust. His mother was Fatima
bint Asad, whom the Prophet (SAWS) called his own mother and at whose
grave he made a remarkable intercession. He accepted Islam when he was
eight, or nine, or fourteen, depending on the narrations, but it is
established from Ibn `Abbas that he was the first male Muslim after the
Prophet (SAWS) , Khadija(R Anha) being the first Muslim. He was killed
at age fifty-eight.
From him narrated Abu Bakr, `Umar, his sons
al-Hasan and al-Husayn, Ibn `Abbas, `Abd Allaah ibn al-Zubayr, and
countless others(RadhiAllaahu Anhum):
`Ali was a skilled and fearless
fighter, and the Prophet (SAWS) gave him his standard to carry on the
day of Badr and in subsequent battles. At the same time he was the
repository of Prophet (SAWS) in wisdom among the Companions. The latter,
when asked about difficult legal rulings, deferred to others the
responsibility of answering, while `Ali, alone among them, used to say:
"Ask me." `Umar (R A) said: "I seek refuge in Allaah from a problem
which Abu al-Hasan (R A) cannot solve." Similarly `A’isha (R Anha) said:
"He is the most knowledgeable about the Sunna among those who remain,"
and Ibn `Abbas(R A) : "If a trustworthy source tells us of a fatwa by
`Ali, we do not seek any further concerning it." Sulayman al-Ahmusi
narrated from his father that `Ali (R A) said: "By Allaah ! No verse was
ever revealed except I knew the reason for which it was revealed and in
what place and concerning whom. Verily my Lord has bestowed upon me a
wise heart and a speaking tongue." At the same time `Ali (R A) humbly
declared: "What cools my liver most, if I am asked something I know not,
is to say: ‘Allaah knows best’."
Imam Ahmad (R) said: "There is
no Companion concerning whom are reported as many merits as `Ali ibn Abi
Talib." Following are some of the hadiths to that effect.
On the
eve of the campaign of Khaybar, the Prophet (SAWS) said: "I shall give
the standard to a man who loves Allaah and His Messenger, and whom
Allaah loves and also His Messenger." `Umar(R A) said: "I never liked to
be entrusted leadership before that day." The next day the Prophet
(SAWS) summoned `Ali (R A) and gave him the flag.
Salama ibn `Amr
(R A) narrated that the day of Khaybar, the Prophet (SAWS) summoned
`Ali who came led by the hand, as he was suffering from inflammation of
the eyes. The Prophet (SAWS) then blew on his eyes and gave him the
flag. Another version states that Ibn Abi Layla told his father to ask
`Ali why he wore summer clothes in winter and winter clothes in summer.
`Ali said: "The day of Khaybar the Prophet (SAWS) summoned me when my
eyes were sore. I said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allaah ! I have
ophtalmia.’ He blew on my eyes and said: ‘O Allaah ! remove from him hot
and cold.’ I never felt hot nor cold after that day."
The
Prophet (SAWS) left `Ali behind in the campaign of Tabuk. The latter
said: "O Messenger of Allaah! Are you leaving me behind with the women
and children?" The Prophet (SAWS) replied: "Are you not happy to stand
next to me like Harun next to Musa, save that there is no Prophet (SAWS)
after me?"
The Prophet (SAWS) said: "I am the city of knowledge
and `Ali is its gate." Another version states: "I am the house of wisdom
and `Ali is its gate."
When Allaah revealed the verse: "Come! We
will summon our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and
ourselves and yourselves, then we will pray humbly and invoke the curse
of Allaah upon those who lie" (3:61), the Prophet (SAWS) summoned `Ali(R
A) , Fatima(R Anha) , Hasan(R A) , and Husayn(R A) , and said: "O
Allaah ! These are my Family."
The Prophet (SAWS) said: "Anyone
whose protecting friend (mawla) I am, `Ali is his protecting friend."
`Umar (R A) said: "Congratulations, O `Ali! You have become the
protecting friend of every single believer."
The Prophet (SAWS) said: "`Ali is part of me and I am part of `Ali! No-one conveys something on my behalf except I or he."
Some
people complained to the Prophet (SAWS) about `Ali, whereupon he stood
and said: "Do not accuse `Ali of anything! By Allaah, he is truly a
little rough (la’ukhayshan) in Allaah’s cause."
When the Prophet
(SAWS) sent `Ali (R A) to Yemen the latter said: "O Messenger of Allaah ,
you are sending me to people who are older than me so that I judge
between them!" The Prophet (SAWS) said: "Go, for verily Allaah shall
empower your tongue and guide your heart." `Ali(R A) said: "After that I
never felt doubt as to what judgment I should pass between two
parties."
The Prophet (SAWS) said: "The most compassionate of my
Community towards my Community is Abu Bakr; the staunchest in Allaah ’s
Religion is `Umar; the most truthful in his modesty is `Uthman, and the
best in judgment is `Ali." `Umar said: "`Ali is the best in judgment
among us, and Ubayy is the most proficient at the Qur’anic readings."
Ibn Mas`ud similarly said: "We used to say that the best in judgment
among the people of Madina was `Ali." It is a measure of al-Hasan
al-Basri’s greatness that `Ali once followed his recommendation in a
judicial case.
`Amr ibn Sha’s al-Aslami (R A) complained about
`Ali(R A) upon returning from Yemen where he had accompanied him. News
of it reached the Prophet (SAWS) who said: "O `Amr! By Allaah , you have
done me harm." `Amr (R A) said: "I seek refuge in Allaah from harming
you, O Messenger of Allaah !" He said: "But you did. Whoever harms `Ali
harms me." The Prophet (SAWS) also used the terms "Whoever harms Ali (R
A) has harmed me" about his uncle al-`Abbas(R A) .
Umm Salama (R
Anha) said to Abu `Abd Allaah al-Jadali(R A) : "Is Allaah ’s Messenger
(SAWS) being insulted among you?! [in Kufa]" He said: "Allaah forbid!"
She said: "I heard Allaah ’s Messenger(SAWS) say: ‘Whoso insults `Ali,
insults me.’"
`Ali (R A) said: "In truth the Prophet (SAWS) has
made a covenant with me saying: ‘None loves you except a believer, and
none hates you except a hypocrite." Abu Sa`id al-Khudri subsequently
said: "In truth we recognized the hypocrites by their hatred for `Ali."
Jabir said: "We did not know the hypocrites of this Community except by
their hatred for `Ali."
The innovations of those who bore
excessive love and admiration for `Ali appeared in his own lifetime and
he himself fought them in word and deed. To those that claimed that the
Prophet (SAWS) had appointed him as successor after him he said: "In
truth, Allaah ’s Messenger did not appoint any successor" and: "The
Prophet (SAWS) was taken from us, then Abu Bakr (R A) was made the
successor, so he did as the Prophet (SAWS) had done and according to his
path until Allaah took him from us; then `Umar was made the successor,
so he did as the Prophet (SAWS) had done and according to his path until
Allaah took him from us." To those that claimed that he deserved the
Caliphate better than Abu Bakr (R A) and `Umar (R A) he said: "The best
of this Community after its Prophet (SAWS) are Abu Bakr and `Umar." To
those that either hated him or overly loved him `Ali (R A) said: "Two
types of people shall perish concerning me: a hater who forges lies
about me, and a lover who over-praises me." To those that claimed that
he or his family possessed other than the Qur’an which all Muslims had
he said: "Whoever claims that we have something which we read other than
the Qur’an has lied." Finally, when a group of people came to him
saying: "You are He, you are our Lord! (anta Hû anta Rabbuna)" he had
them executed and then ordered the bodies burnt.
His Contributions :
Ali
(R A) was the victor of the battle of Badr. He alone killed half the
number of all the Makkans who were killed in that battle.
In the
battle of Uhud, most of the Muslims fled from the battlefield. One who
did not flee, was Ali(R A) . He saved the life of his master,
Muhammad(SAWS), that day.
At the siege of Medina, Ali (R A)
killed Amr bin Abd Wudd, and thereby saved Medina from being overrun,
and its people from being massacred.
Ali (R A) captured Khyber.
With Khyber's conquest, Islam became a state with territory. Until the
conquest of Khyber, Islam was only a city-state, confined to the walls
of Medina.
Ali (R A) was the secretary who indicted the Treaty of Hudaybiyya.
When
Makkah capitulated to the Prophet(SAWS), Ali (R A) rode his shoulders,
and smashed the idols in the Kaaba. He and his master, Muhammad(SAWS),
purified the House of Allaah for all time by removing all vestiges of
idolatry and polytheism from it. In this manner, Ali (R A) collaborated
with Muhammad(SAWS), the Messenger of Allaah, from beginning to end, in
constructing the framework of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
In
the battle of Hunayn, the Muslims fled once again. Ali(R A) put himself
between the Apostle (SAWS) and the pagan warriors who wanted to kill
him. He fought against them until the Muslims rallied.
In October 630 (9 A.H.) the Apostle led an expedition to Tabuk, and he appointed Ali (R A) his viceroy in Medina.
Among
all the companions of the Prophet(SAWS) , Ali(R A) was the most
knowledgeable. He had thorough knowledge of the Qur’an, and its
interpretation. He was the best of all judges, and he was the most
eloquent orator of the Arabs.
Just before his death, the
Prophet(SAWS) equipped and organized an expedition to Syria, and he
appointed Usama bin Zayd bin Haritha(R A) , its general. With the
exception of Ali(R A) , he ordered all the Muhajireen to serve under
Usama(R A) . Ali (R A) was to stay with him in Medina.
In the
defence of Islam, it was Ali's (R A) family which offered the greatest
sacrifices. Obaidullah ibn al-Harith (R A) who was killed in the battle
of Badr, and was the first martyr of Islam in the battlefield, was his
first cousin. Mus'ab ibn Umayr(R A) and Hamza (R A) were killed in the
battle of Uhud, and both of them were his uncles. Jafar Tayyar (R A) who
was killed in the battle of Mootah was his elder brother.
When
Muhammad Mustafa (SAWSS) died, Ali (R A) performed his obsequies, and
gave him burial. He knew what the other companions were doing when he
was busy with these duties but he did not allow anything to distract
him. He kept his duty ahead of his interests, and his principles ahead
of politics.
REIGN OF ALI (R A ) :
After the murder of Uthman,
fear and panic seized the companions of the Prophet(SAWS). The members
of Umar's (R A)electoral committee retreated into the safety of
anonymity. The fate of Uthman (R A) had struck terror into their hearts.
The whole country was seething with agitation, and no one, no matter
how daring and ambitious, was willing to put his neck into the loop by
accepting the responsibility of running the government. It was a
responsibility fraught with the gravest perils.
As soon as Uthman
died, all eyes turned to Ali(R A) . The companions of the Prophet
(SAWS) could not think of anyone else who had the ability and the grit
to put an end to graft in the government and to anarchy in the land, and
to restore peace, and law and order to the Dar-ul-Islam which was
battered by economic and social conflict, and was buffeted by a rapid
succession of traumas.
All the leading Muhajireen and Ansar,
therefore, gathered in the Mosque of the Prophet(SAWS) , and agreed, at a
caucus, to ask Ali(R A) to take charge of the government, and to steer
the ship of state to safety. A delegation then called on Ali(R A) , and
requested him to accept this responsibility.
Ali, however, did not accept the offer of the companions, and said that he preferred to be an adviser rather than the caliph.
But the companions also did not accept Ali's (R A) refusal, and said:
"No
man has given more distinguished service to Islam, nor is anyone closer
to Muhammad(SAWS) than you. We consider you to be the worthiest of all
men to be our Khalifa." (Tarikh Kamil, Vol. III, p. 98, Ibn Atheer)
Ali still did not agree, and the companions still persisted, and said:
"We
appeal to you in the name of Allaah to accept the caliphate. Don't you
see the state of the umma? Don't you see new perils rising everywhere in
the lands of Islam? Who will check them if not you?" (Tarikh Kamil,
Vol. III, p. 99, Ibn Atheer)
The institution of khilafat which
was the legacy of Muhammad(SAWS), the Messenger of Allaah, and which,
therefore, ought to have been the symbol of the moral and spiritual
authority of Islam to the rest of the world, had become, instead, in the
course of the quarter-century since his death, the symbol of undiluted
materialism and naked imperialism. Profound changes had taken place in
the lifestyle of the Muslims. Instead of imitating the pure and austere
life of Muhammad(SAWS) , most of them imitated alien lifestyles. What
propelled them now, was not the ideals of Islam but the lust to become
rich and powerful at any cost. The pristine simplicity and the
egalitarianism of the times of the Prophet of Islam, had become demoted.
The quality of the life of the umma had visibly declined.
Ali
knew all this better than anyone else. He had kept his finger on the
pulse of the Muslim umma, and he had monitored its progress or its lack
of progress in all directions.
Ali also knew that the caliphate
was no longer something that one could take with "its roses and its
thorns." The roses were all gone; and all that was left, were the
thorns. Accepting the caliphate now would only mean wearing a crown of
those thorns.
In 656 the caliphate was little more than a legacy of turbulence and deficits.
On
Friday, 18th of Dhil-Hajj, 35 A.H. (June 17, 656), Ali ibn Abi Talib (R
A) entered the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, and walked to the
pulpit through the crowd of the Muslims. The crowd sat in an expectant
mood, the currents of excitement flashing through it, and it appeared to
heave convulsively. There was an almost palpable sense of tension and
renewal in the "national" spirit of the Muslims.
Ali held a bow
in his hand, and he leaned against the pulpit as the Muslims began to
take the oath of allegiance to him. Between him and them, it was "an
open covenant openly arrived at," and there was nothing clandestine
about it. Most of the Muhajireen and the Ansar who were in Medina, gave
him their pledge of loyalty.
"The veterans of Badr said (to Ali):’No
one is more worthy of khilafat than you. Put out your hand so that we
may give you our pledge of loyalty.' And they gave him the pledge of
their loyalty."
It was the first time, and the last time, in the
history of Islam, that a ruler was not foisted upon the Muslims. They
chose their own ruler, and their choice was spontaneous. Neither force,
nor the threat of the use of force, nor pressure nor bribes, nor double
talk, were employed in his election. There was no hysteria to grab
power. Everyone was free to give or to withhold his pledge. Ali (R A)
himself was accepting the pledges almost mechanically, lost as he was in
the reverie of the times of his master, Muhammad(SAWS) , when he was
accepting the pledges of the Quraysh just after the conquest of Makkah
in 630.
