First child convert to Islam.
- Do you want me to stay behind with women and
children?
- Do you not like to be to me like Aaron was to
Moses? But there is no prophet after me.
This short dialogue between the Prophet of Islam and our hero gives us a picture of the special place of our hero in the eyes of the Prophet (salla-Llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam).It took place just before the Battle of Tabuk, when our hero was chosen by the Prophet (s) to take care of the affairs of the Muslims in Madinah while the Prophet (s) was gone with the army to Tabuk (near the North Western borders). This was the first time that 'Ali (ra) was assigned such a responsibility, thus missing a major battle with the Prophet (s).
Since our hero was a fierce fighter, he did not feel at ease to stay in Madinah while the
Prophet (s) and his other companions were going to war. In order to console him the Prophet (s) likened his position to that of Aaron when Moses left him with his people for the appointed communion with Allah (Refer Qur'an, 7:142)
Ali (ra) was the first child to embrace Islam and certainly one of the earliest followers of the Prophet (s). For he embraced Islam when he was barely ten years of age, being raised in the household of the Prophet (s) as his father, Abu Talib, was a man of limited means. Therefore Abu Talib's brother, Hamzah (ra) and nephew, the Prophet (s) volunteered to take care of his children. Our hero was lucky to be brought up and educated by the Prophet (s) himself.
When Prophet Muhammad (s) received the call by his Lord to preach the message of
Islam, naturally, his wife Khadijah (r) and 'Ali were the first to follow him. Due to the fact that our hero embraced Islam at such an early age he was one of the few Makkans who had never worshipped to the pagan idols hence, the expression "Karrama-Llahu wajhahu ('May Allah honour his face') is often said upon mentioning his name.
We are told that he was, in fact, born inside the Ka'bah, thirty-three years after the birth of the Prophet (s).
Our hero was chosen by the Prophet (s) to sleep in his place on the night of Hijra (migration to Madinah) to give the pagan youths,waiting on his doorsteps to kill him, the impression that the Prophet (s) was still in bed while he had already left with his close friend and companion Abu Bakr (r) to Madinah. Ali (r) was also charged with taking care of some unfinished business of the Prophet (s) in Makkah.
Upon his migration to Madinah, our hero was chosen to be the Prophet's 'brother, when the Prophet (s) chose one Muslim resident of Madinah a 'brother" for each immigrant from Makkah.
He also gave him his dearest daughter Fatimah (r) in marriage.
On the battlefields, our hero was often honoured by carrying the official flag of the Prophet (s).
As mentioned earlier, our hero never missed fighting a battle with the Prophet (s) except that of Tabuk. The bravery of our hero is well known in Islamic history.So are his qualities of deep knowledge, wisdom, humility and other-worldliness. This is certainly only natural since he was brought up by the Prophet (s) himself. He also kept him close company even in residence, being a close neighbour and son-in-law through-out the life of the Prophet (s), imbibing directly from the source. Upon the death of Prophet (s) our hero proved a sincere advisor and supporter of all the three Righteous Caliphs before him, namely Abu Bakr, Umar and 'Uthman (ra), offering them counsel and helping with the conduct of affairs of the growing Muslim state. He even gave his daughter, Umm Kulthoum (ra) in marriage to Caliph "Umar (ra).
The special place of our hero in the eyes of Caliph 'Umar (ra) can be seen in his choice of 'Ali (ra) among the six former companions of the Prophet (s) to be elected Caliph after his death.
Many a Muslim seeking religious advice or official opinion was referred to our hero by leading Sahabas (companions) of the Prophet (s) due to his deep knowledge, profound understanding of the teachings of Islam and his wisdom in the execution of justice, In fact Ali (r) was chosen by the Prophet (s) during his lifetime to be his messenger to the people in Yemen.
Among the many stories that reveal the character of our hero is the case of the dispute between him (the Commander of the Believers and the Head of the State) and a Jew over a coat of arms that belonged to him and was taken by the Jew; Imagine the Caliph himself taking one of the citizens to court to settle the dispute. Not only that! Upon hearing the case, the judge Shuraih had to decide in favour of the Jew against our hero, since our hero's only witnesses were his children and his servant rafi'.
Our hero, as any upright member of the community, willingly accepted the judgment. Naturally, this impressed the Jew so much that he announced his acceptance of Islam and returned the coat of arms, which he had wrongly taken, back to our hero. Ali gave it back to him as a present.
The courage and strength of our hero is exemplar for any Muslim fighter in the cause of Islam. Our hero was always in the forefront of the Muslim army in every battle on which he participated. When the Muslims besieged the treacherous Jewish tribes at Khaybar (to the North of Madina) the fortress showed very strong resistance. The Prophet (s) said to his companions: "The banner will be tomorrow to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger and they (Allah and His Messenger) love him. He is a man who never flees from the battlefield.
Everyone hoped to be granted the honour of carrying the banner. But it was our hero, Ali (r), who was called by the Prophet (s).
He suffered from a disease in his eyes. The Prophet (s) used his medication in them, and they were well again. Then he gave the standard to lead the offensive. Victory was gained, and the fortress of Khaibar was captured.
Like all typical heroes of Islam, Ali (r) was well known for his humility and other worldliness. Even when he became Caliph his clothes were very simple and inexpensive. When some people talked to him about that his answer was: "This takes me furthest from vanity and is an example for Muslims to follow."
He was also a fierce fighter during the day and a trembling, devoted worshipper at night. Among the wise words of our hero, of which he had many:
"A man should never expect anything save from his Lord, and have no fear except from his sins. A man who lacks knowledge should not shy away from asking about what he does not know, and a man of learning should never be too shy to admit his ignorance by saying: 'Allah knows best.' Patience and perseverance are to faith like the head to the body. He who has no patience and perseverance has no faith."
"Recommended prayers cannot attain the pleasures of Allah for you when obligatory
prayers are left unattended.""A virtuous person is better then virtue and a vicious person is worse than vice."
"Be generous but not extravagant, be frugal but not miserly."
"The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires."
"One who says unpleasant things about others, will himself quickly become a target of
their scandal."
"A wise man first thinks and then speaks and a fool speaks first and then thinks."
"A fool's mind is at the mercy of his tongue and a wise man's tongue is under the control of his mind." [Nahjul-Balagah]
The Martyrdom of Our Hero:
Ali ibn Abi Talib (r) was elected Caliph after the treacherous murder of 'Uthman (r)
by some misguided followers of the Jew 'Abdullah ibn Saba's poisonous thoughts that were spread throughout the Muslim lands through fabrication, misinterpretation of the Caliph's words and actions, and forged letters. For some enemies of Islam forged letters in the name of Aishah (r). 'Ali, Talhah, and other leading companions of the Prophet (s), and sent them to different parts of the Muslim lands alleging that the Caliph was corrupt and had to be removed. At the same time a letter was forged in the name of Caliph 'Uthman (r) ordering the beheading of some Muslims. This letter was given to the rebels to intensify their hatred for the pious Caliph and to give them more reason to force him to resign and to murder him as well, as they eventually did. We say 'misguided' because, as history tells us, some of them were fanatics who acted in what they thought was the 'right' thing; they were made to believe that they were helping the cause of Islam, while they were in fact destroying its foundations and causing the greatest rift in the Muslim Community.
Three battles resulted from this misunderstanding. In fact the battles would not have occurred had there not been some enemies of Islam who mischievously killed prominent figures from each party to start the armed clashes, since the leaders of these camps, including our hero and the governor of the Syrian region, Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (r), were men of wisdom and integrity. Unfortunately for them, some enemies of Islam, trouble makers and war-mongers infiltrated their camps and instigated the clashes, causing them to fight with each other.
The same is true of the party that was led by 'Aishah, widow of the Prophet (s). For
careful scrutiny of the events reveals to us that she actually went with some important Companions of the Prophet (s) to Iraq to prevent bloodshed between Muslims. Unfortunately, trouble makers managed to start the armed clashed between the two camps of 'Aishah (r) and our hero 'Ali (r). The camp of our hero was victorious in the battle (called "the Battle of the Camel"), which occurred in the year 36 AH.
Our hero, cognizant of the good intentions of 'Aishah (r), sent her back with due respect and proper escort to Madinah. It is said that 'Aishah (r) bitterly regretted her entanglement in such an unfortunate event.
Let us go back to the Battle of Siffeen, between the camp of our hero and that of Mu'awiyah, which occurred in the year 37 AH. As mentioned earlier, trouble makers and war-mongers managed to bring the two camps into armed conflict.
The army of our hero was gaining. Arbitration was asked for, and our hero, typical of his wisdom and fair mindedness, accepted the idea. Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (r) was chosen to represent our hero, while 'Amr ibn AI-'As (r) to be his represent Mu'awiyah.
Both arbitrators agreed that war be stopped and that the dispute be left for the Community to settle. The two parties left the battleground, each going back to the place it came from.
Some of the fanatics in the camp of our hero, later called the Kharijites ('dissenters'). were fiercely opposed to the idea of arbitration. They even announced the righteous
Caliph, with all his qualities and special place in Islam, and the other supporters of the arbitration Kuffar (disbelievers)!! Therefore, they had to be killed. They fought our hero and his loyal supporters at Nahrawan. The Kharijites were badly defeated.
In the year 40 AH., three of these misguided Kharijites met and conspired to kill the Caliph, Mu'awiyah and 'Amr ibn AI-'As (May Allah be pleased with them all).
In the night of the 17th of Ramadhan. 40 AH., Abdur-Rahrnan ibn Muljim, one of the three conspirators, waited in the dark for our hero who was on his way to the mosque for the Fajr (dawn) prayer, and he stabbed with a sword. After a couple of days our hero, the great Caliph 'Ali cousin of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and his son-in- law, departed this world for the everlasting bliss of Paradise, for he was one of the ten foretold by the Prophet (s) to be among the dwellers of Paradise. Thus ended the life of a great hero of Islam after a little less than five years of strife against turmoil and agitation, triggered off by conspirators against Islam. Naturally, many of the great Companions of the Prophet (s) were killed in those unfortunate events.
With the death of our hero ended the golden era of the four Righteous Caliphs. May Allah reward them all for the great services they rendered to Islam and Muslims.
Source: "HEROES OF ISLAM" by Prof. Mahmoud Esma'il Sieny
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