Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Imam Ali's significance the history of Islam

Ali ibn  Abi  Talib, And his aura in Islam


Imam  Ali  is  one  character  that  every  Muslim  recognizes,  he  is  easily  one  of  the  most  influential  characters  in  the  history  of  Islam,  and  certainly  one  of  the most  interesting  figures.  His  position  in  the  Islamic  history  is  quite  significant,  as  he  and  his  offspring  had  an  everlasting  impact  on  Muslims.  Ali  was  the  last  rightly  guided  Caliph  according  to  Sunnis  and  the  first  Imam  according  to  Shia,  his  character  has  contributed  in  shaping  the  Islamic  world  that  Muslims  live  in  today  and  changed  the  course  of  history  forever.


Ali  was  the  prophet’s  cousin,  and  was  a  brother  to  him  as  was  Aaron  to  Moses,  as  mentioned  in  hadiths:  "Ali  is  my  brother  in  this  life  and  the  afterlife"  (Yanabea Al-Mawadda - Al-Turmuthi 63), “Ali  to  me  is  as  Aaron  was  to  Moses”  (Hulyat Al-Awlyaa by Al-Tabarani, 1/63).
Ali’s  father,  Abu  Talib,  was  the  person  who  raised  the  prophet,  then  Ali  himself  was  raised  in  the  prophet’s  household.  When  Ali  was  six  years  old,  Mecca  underwent  harsh  times  that  brought  economic  crisis  to  the  city,  Abu  Talib  had  three  sons,  Ali,  Aqeel  and  Jafar,  Muhammad  and  Al-Abbas  ibn  Abdul  Muttalib  went  to  Abu  Talib  to  offer  him  help  and  take  care  of  his  sons,  to  lighten  the  burden  on  him,  Al-Abbas  took  Jafar  and  Muhammad  took  Ali,  and  so  was  Ali  raised  by  Muhammad  and  accompanied  him  wherever  he  went  (Chapter  VII  On  The  Knowledge  Of  The  Imam),   some  other  narratives  also  indicate  that  he  even  went  with  the  prophet  to  Ghar  Heraa  for  praying.  Ali  was  a  Hanif,  as  he  had  never  bowed  to  idols  in  his  life.


According  to  some  narratives  from  both  Sunni  and  Shia,  Ali  was  born  inside  the  Ka’aba  in  Mecca,  and  was  the  only  person  to  be  born  there.  Ali  was  born  before  Muhammad  became  a  prophet  by  about  ten  years.  Many  narratives  say  that  Angel  Gabriel  allowed  Fatima  bint  Asad  in  the  Ka’aba,  she  stayed  there  for  four  days  and  gave  birth  to  a  newborn  that  Allah  asked  her  to  name  “Ali”,  which  afterwards  became  one  of  Allah’s  99  names  that  were  mentioned  in  the  Quraan.  Both  Fatima  and  Abu  Talib  were  from  Bani  Hashim,  Ali  was  the  first  person  to  be  born  to  Hashimi  parents  at  that  time.


Ali  was  the  first  person  to  enter  Islam  and  believe  in  Muhammad’s  message.  He  became  a  Muslim  when  he  was  young,  when  the  prophet  introduced  Islam  to  his  relatives  from  Bani  Hashim.  In  some  narratives  it  is  said  that  the  prophet  invited  his  relatives  for  a  feast,  and  said  that  the  first  person  who  believes  in  his  message  will  become  his  heir  and  successor  after  him,  and  no  one  answered  him  but  Ali,  that  hadith  became  known  as  Hadith  Yawm  Al-Dar. The  following  is  a  narrative  mentioned  in  Fe  Tarikhih,  by  Al-Tabari:  “When  this  verse has been revealed “And warn, [O Muhammad], your closest kindred.”,  the  prophet  called  me  and  said:  O Ali,  Allah  has  ordered  me  to  warn  my  closest  kindred,  which  brings  me  fear,   I  know  whenever  I  bring  that  to  them  I  only  see from  them  what  I  hate,  I  withstood  until  Gabriel  came  and  said:  O  Muhammad,  If  you  do not  do  what  you  have  been  ordered,  Allah  shall  punish  you,  prepare   food  and  collect  Bani  Abdul  Muttalib...”,  until  “..and  they  ate  until  they  had  needed  nothing  more,  then  the  prophet  talked  and  said:  O  Bani  Abdul  Muttalib,  by  Allah  I  do  not  know  any  person  within  the  Arabs  who  has  brought  something  better  than  what  I have  brought  to  you,  I  brought  to  you  the  best  of  this  life  and  the  afterlife,  and  Allah  has  ordered  me  to  invite  you  to  it,  is  there  anyone  who  would  support  me  in  that,  knowing  he  will  become  my  brother, my  heir  and  my  successor  in  you?  He  said:  The  people  remained  silent.  And  I  said:  I,  O  prophet  of  Allah,  shall  support  you  in  it.  And  he  took  me  and  said:  “This  is  my  brother,  my  heir  and  my  successor  in  you,  listen  to  him  and  obey  him.  He  said:  The  people  started laughing,  and  saying  to  Abu  Talib:  He  has  ordered  you  to  listen  to  your  son  and  obey  him.”  


On  the  day  the  prophet  decided  to  emigrate  to  Yathrib,  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes  assembled  and  agreed  to  kill  him,  their  conspiracy  was  to  bring  a  man  from  each  tribe  and  kill  him  together,  to  spread  his  blood  among  the  tribes,  so  they  collected  strong  men  and  ordered  them  to  wait  at  the  door  of  the  prophet’s  house  to  kill  him.  According  to  the  belief  of  the  majority  of  the  Muslims,  Angel  Gabriel  came  to  the  prophet  and  warned  him  about  the  conspiracy  of  Quraysh,  so  the  prophet  asked  Ali  to  sleep  in  his  bed  instead  him  so  that  the  people  think  it  is  the  prophet  sleeping,  and  so  was  the  emigration  of  the  prophet  covered  and  the conspiracy  failed (Al-Kamil  Fe  Al-Tarikh).  In  some  narratives,  he  asked  his  companions  who  would  sleep  in  his  bed,  and  no  one  answered  him  but  Ali  three  times,  Ali  is  considered  as  the  first  “Feda’i”  in  Islam  for  his  attitude  that  night  that  was  later  known  as  “Laylat  Al-Mabeet”,  and  Shia  interpreters  say  that  the  verse  “And of the people is he who sells himself, seeking means to the approval of Allah . And Allah is kind to [His] servants.”  (Surah 2:207)  was  revealed  about  Ali  when  he  slept  in  the  prophet’s  bed.  The  people  in  Mecca  knew  that  Ali  followed  the  prophet  wherever  he  went,  so  Ali’s  presence in  Mecca  was  as  a disguise  to  make  people  doubt  that  the  prophet  emigrated,  for they  believed  that  if  he  emigrated  he  would  have  taken  Ali  with  him.  Ali  stayed  in  Mecca  three  days  until  he  received  the  prophet’s  message  through  his  messenger  Ubai  Waqid  Al-Laithi  ordering  him  to  emigrate  to  Medina.


Ali  was  very  reliable  to  the  prophet,  he  was  one  of  the  writers  of  the  Quraan  who  wrote  the  Quraan  in  the  life  of  the  prophet.  He  was  one  of  his  ambassadors  who  carried  messages  and  invited  the  tribes  to  Islam.  It  was  narrated  that  the  prophet  sent  Khalid  ibn  Al-Walid  to  Yemen  to  invite  them  to  Islam,  he  stayed  there  for  six  months  and  no  one  answered  him,  so  the  prophet  sent  Ali  to  Yemen  and  all  the  people  of  Hamdan  entered  Islam  by  Ali,  and  the  rest  of  the  people  of  Yemen  entered  Islam  as  a  consequence,  and  that  wasn’t  the  last  time  he  went  to  Yemen  as  the  prophet  sent  him  as  a  judge  in  Yemen  because  of  his  justice,  so  he  advised  him  and  prayed  for  him,  and  sent  him  there  in  the  8th  year  of  Hijra,  and  he  stayed  there  for  a  year.  As  well  as  he  has  contributed  in  solving  conflict  and  violence  between  some  tribes.  And  as  mentioned  in  Al-Kamil  Fe  Al-Tarikh,  upon  the  conquest  of  Mecca,  Sa’ad  ibn  Ebada  wanted  to  enter  Mecca  as  a  fighter,  opposing  what  the  prophet  had  ordered  as  he  wanted  to  enter  Mecca  without  violence,  when  the  prophet  heard  about  him  he  sent  Ali  after  Sa’ad  and  he  followed  him  and  took  the  banner  from  him  and  entered  Mecca  with  it,  whereafter  the  prophet  ordered  him  to  break  the  idols  around  the  Ka’aba.


Ali  possessed  traits  that  most  other  companions  had  not,  with  his traits  he  made  the  perfect  companion  for  the  prophet  for  spreading  Islam. He  was  brave, physically  strong,  eloquent,  very  knowledgable,  extremely  faithful  and  fearful  from  Allah,  and  followed  the prophet  just  as  his  shadow  from  his  childhood.  Mustafa  Mahmoud  Al-Aqad  describes  him  in  his  book,  Abqariyat  Al-Imam  Ali:  The  pace  of  his  growth  was  fast,  he  excelled  over  his peers,  he grew  strong,  he  enjoyed  strong  physical  abilities,  he  was  careless  of  coldness  and  heat,  he was  more  immune  than  most  people,  he  was  noble,  brave,  generous  and  intelligent.
And  the  prophet  said:  “Who  wished  to  see  [Angel]  Israafeel  in  his  prestige,  and  [Angel]  Mekaa’el  in  his  rank,  and  Gabriel  in  his  glory,  and  Adam  in  his  peacefulness,  and  Noah  in  his  fearfulness,  and  Ibrahim  in  his  loneliness,  and  Ya’aqoob  in  his  grief,  and  Yousof  in  his  beauty,  and  Musa  in  his  call  to  Allah,  and  Ayyub  in  his  patience,  and  Yahya  in  his  soberness,  and  Yunos  in  his  Sunna,  and  Issa  in  his  piousness,   and  Muhammad  in  his  morals,  see  Ali,  for  he  has  90  traits  of  the  prophets  that  Allah  has  put  in  him  and  has  not  put  in  anyone  else.”


Ali  contributed  in  all  of  the  prophet’s  battles  except  for  Tabuk,  by  an  order  from  the  prophet  himself,  and  in  that  battle  he  said  to  Ali:  “Will  you  not  be  satisfied  to  be  to  me  as  was  Aaron  to  Moses,  only  that  there  won’t  be  a  prophet  after  me”.  There  was  no  opponent  that  fought  Ali  who  was  not  killed.  Ali  was  very  brave  and  determined  in  battles,  he  had  a  fearful  rank  in  wars.  In  all  of  his  battles  he  had  great  contribution  in  defeating  the  enemies.  In  the  battle  of  Badr  that  took  place  in  634 AD,  where  70  soldiers  of  Quraysh  were  killed,  36  of  them  were  but  killed  by  Ali.  In  the  battle  of  Uhud,  where  the  prophet’s  uncle  Hamza  died,  and  when  the  Muslims  fled  and  the  prophet  was wounded,  Ali  withstood  with  a  few  other  Muslims  and  prevented  the  enemy  from  reaching  the  prophet,  that  battle  is  where  the  famous  quote  came:  “No  man  but  Ali,  and  no  sword  but  Dul Fiqar”  which  was  heard  throughout  the  place  and  which  is  believed  to  have  been  said  by  angel  Gabriel.


Ali  was  very  famous  for  his  championships,  like  in  the  battle  of  the  trench  and  Khaybar.  The  battle  of  the  trench  took  place  in 627 AD,  in  Medina,  between  the  Muhajirun  &  Al-Ansar  and  Quraysh,  Ghadhfan,  Banu  Asad,  Salim  and  other  Jews.  The  prophet  built  a  trench  in  the  northern  frontier  of  Medina  to  prevent  the  enemies  from  passing.  Amr  ibn  Wud  was  one  of  the  most  feared  warriors  at  that  time,  he  also  had  the  title  of  Yalail,  for  one  night  he  was  with  his  companion  whence  they  got  attacked  by  bandits,  all  his  companions  fled  but  he  fought  ten  of  the  bandits  and  got  rid  of  them  alone,  since  then  he  was  called  the  Yalail  Knight,  he  was  known  in  the  Arabian  Peninsula  for  his  strength  and  was  feared  by  the  Arabs.  He  joined  the  battle  of  the  trench,  and  he  was  the  only  person  to  pass  the  trench.  He  asked  the  Muslims:  “Have  you  any  duelists?”  Ali  stood  and  said:  “I’m  for  it  O  messenger  of  Allah”,  the  prophet  said:  “Sit,  it  is  Amr  ibn  Wud”,  Amr  repeated  the  call,  Ali  stood  and  said:  “I’m  for  it  O  messenger  of  Allah”,  the  prophet  again  said:  “Sit,  it  is  Amr  ibn  Wud”,  Amr  ibn  Wud  repeated  his  call  and  started  mocking  them  and  saying  “Where  is  the  paradise  that  you  claim  you  will  go  to  after  death”,  Amr  repeated  his  call and  said:  “Where  are  your  heroes?”,  Ali  stood  and  once  again  the  prophet  said:  “It  is  Amr”,  Ali  replied:  “And  what  if  it  was  Amr”.  The  prophet  gave  Ali  the  permission,  Ali  advanced  and  fought  Amr,  and  eventually  killed  him.
The  battle  of  Khaybar  took  place  in  628  AD,  between  the  Muslims,  with  an  army  of  1,400,  and  the  Jews,  with  an  army  of  14,000.  The  Jews’  defeat  in  this  battle  means  the  ultimate  defeat  for  Bani  Israel  in  the  Arab  lands.  The  Muslims  surrounded  the  Jews’  fortress  for  20  days,  and  after  the  banner  carriers  he  sent  failed  to  break  through  the  fortress,  the  prophet  gave  the  banner  to  Abu  Bakr,  he  was  unsuccessful  and  returned  exchanging  blames  with  the  attackers  that  went  with  him,  the  following  day  the  prophet  gave  the  banner  to  Abu  Bakr,  but  he  quickly  returned  exchanging  accusation  of  cowardice  with  the  soldiers  under  his  banner.  The  prophet  said:  "By  God,  tomorrow  I  shall  give  the banner  to  a man  who  loves  Allah  and  His  Messenger,  whom  God  and  His  Messenger  love, and  who  will  take  it  in  humble  obedience.",  When  the  prophet  asked  about  Ali  they  said  he  was  suffering  from  ophthalmia,  The  prophet  summoned  him  and  applied  his  saliva  in  his  eyes  prayed  for  him  and  he  was  cured  (Kitab  Al-Ershad).  He  gave  him  the  banner  and  said:  “Take  the  banner  and  advance  with  it,  Gabriel  is  with  you  and  victory  is  before  you  and  fear  shall  be  within  the  enemy,  and  you  must  know,  O  Ali,  that  they see  within  their  book:  The  one  who  destroys  them  is  named  Elia,  if  you  see  them  say  I  am  Ali  and  they  will  be  let  down  by  Allah’s  will”.  Ali  set  out  to  the  fortress,  meeting  Marhab,  one  of  the  heroes  known  to  the  Jews,  Marhab  said:  “Khaybar  knows  well  that  I  am Marhab  whose  weapon  is  sharp,  a  warrior  tested.  Sometimes  I  thrust  with  spear; sometimes  I  strike  with  sword,  when  lions  advance  in  burning rage.”  Marhab  was  wearing  two  turbans  and  a  stone  under  them,  as  the  two  soldiers  struck  at  each  other,  and  only  after  the  second  blow,  Ali  cleaved  through  Marhab's  helmet,  splitting  his  skull  and  landing  his  sword  in  his  opponent's  teeth.  As  mentioned  in  the  narrations,  when  Ali  said  “I  am  Ali  ibn  Abi  Talib”,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Jews  said  “You  are  defeated  and  that  is  what  has  been  revealed  to  Moses”,  and  fear  has  entered  their  hearts.  When  Ali  killed  Marhab,  everyone  with  him  went  back  to  the  fortress  and  closed  the  door.  Narrations  indicate  that  Ali  handled  the  door  and  used  it  as  a  shield,  and  put  it  over  the  trench  for  the  Muslims  pass.  The  door  was  said  to  be  so  heavy  that  even  a  band  of  men  could  not  carry.  Sure  enough,  the  Muslims  would  have  never  made  it  if  Ali  had  not  lead  them  under  his  banner.


Assuredly,  Ali  was  very  knowledgeable  and  very  eloquent,  he  was  the  founder  of  Al-Naho,  literally  meaning  “The Direction”,  in  which  people  could  learn  the  grammar  and  structure  of  the  Arabic  language,  he  was  known  as  the  “Speaking  Quraan”,  for  his  speeches  were  the  second  most  eloquent  after  the  Quraan,  he  was  famous  for  his  quote  “Ask  me  before  you  lose  me”,  there  was  none  after  him  who  stated  the  same  thing  without  failing,  Ali  answered  any  question  he  was  asked  seamlessly  and  with  ease,  his  knowledge  was  second  only  to  that  of  the  prophet’s,  the  prophet  said:  “I am  the  city  of  knowledge  and  Ali  is  its  door,  who  wants  the  knowledge  enter  through  its  door.”,  and  “I  am  the  scholar  of  Allah,  and  Ali  is  my  scholar.”  Before  the  prophet  died  he summoned  Ali,  and  after  he  left  he  was  asked  what  the  prophet  had  told  him,  he  said  “He  had  taught  me  a  thousand  doors  of  knowledge,  each  door  opens  a  thousand  door”  (Al-la’ale  Al-Masnu’aa  Fe  Al-Ahadith  Al-Mawdou’a  by  Jalal  Al-Din  Al-Syuti اللالئ المصنوعه في الاحاديث الموضوعه لجلال الدنين السيوطي)  .  Ali  asked  the  prophet:  “Who  is  better,  you  or  Gabriel”,  in  elaboration  for  other  people,  the  prophet  said  “O  Ali,  Allah  has  preferred  his  apostle  messengers  over  his  close  angels,  and  has  preferred  me  over  the  rest  of  the  apostles  and  messengers,  and  the  preference  after  me  is  you  O  Ali.”  Other  narrations  by  Imam  Al-Baqir  and  Al-Sadiq  indicate  that  Muhammad  was  given  the  knowledge  of  all  of  the  previous  prophets,  and  Ali  inherited  the  knowledge  of  Muhammad,  passing  to  the  rest  of  the  Imams,  making  them  more  knowledgeable  than  all of  the  previous  prophets. According  to  Al-Kafi,  Imam  Al-Baqir  said:  “They  suck  on  drops  of  water  and  leave  the  great  river. They  said  and  what  is  the  great  river?  He  said  the  prophet  of  Allah,  Allah  has  given  Muhammad  the  knowledge  of  all  of  the  prophets,  and  the  prophet  has  given  all  of  it  to  Ali.”  Ali  was  certainly  the  most  knowledgeable  companion  of  the  prophet.   As  he  has  accompanied  the  prophet  wherever  he  went  since  his  childhood,  and  learned  every  aspect  of  religion  from  him.  Ali’s  speeches  were  the  most  eloquent,  many  of  them  were  collected  and  written  down  by  Al-Sharif  Al-Radhi,  in  the  book  Nahjul  Balagha  (The  Peak  of  Eloquence),  which  preserved  some  of  the  finest  speeches  in  the  Arab  history  and  famous  sayings  and  proverbs  that  continue  to  be  used  in  the  Arabic  language  today.  I  shall  mention  a  few  examples  and  underline  the  part  that  is  used  as  a  proverb  today:  “Scourge  in  our  days  is  not  a  surprise,  but  the  peace  in  those  days  are  the  surprise,  beauty  is  not  that  of  clothes  that  embellish  us,  [real]  beauty  is  the  beauty  of  knowledge  and  morals,  the  orphan  is  not  one  whose  father  has  died,  the  [real]  orphan  is  the  orphan  of  knowledge  and  morals.”,  “Leave  the  keenness  on  life,  don’t  be  greedy  for  living,  and  don’t  collect  the  money,  for  you don’t  know  who  you’re  collecting  for,  and  you  don’t  know  is  it  your  land  or  another  you  are  struggling  on,  wealth  is  already  divided,  mistrust  is  useless,  the  poor  is but  the  greedy,  the  rich  is  but  the  content.”,  In  his  precept  to  Malik  Al-Ashtar:  “People  are  of  two  types,  either  a  brother  to  you  in  religion,  or  parallel  to  you  in  manners .“,  “Death  leaves  not  a  son  nor  a  father,  this  is  the  path  until  you  see  none,  death  has  unmistakable  arrows,  an  arrow  that  has  missed  you  today  won’t  miss you  tomorrow.



Hadith  Al-Thaqalayn  (The  two  weighty  things),  is  a  hadith  recognized  by  both  Sunni  and  Shia,  is  one  of  the  Hadiths  that  indicated  that  the  prophet  has  chosen  a  successor,  the  hadith  is  as  follows:  “I  am  leaving  among  you  two weighty  things:  the  one  being  the  Book  of  Allah  in  which  there  is  right  guidance and  light,  so  hold  fast  to  the  Book  of  Allah  and  adhere  to  it. He  exhorted  (us)  (to hold fast)  to  the  Book  of  Allah  and  then  said:  The  second  are  the  members  of  my  household  (Ahlul Bayt)  I  remind  you  (of  your  duties)  to  the  members  of  my  family. “  The  members  of  Ahlul  Bayt,  indicated  by  Hadith  Al-Kesaa  and  Hadith  Al-Mubahala,  were  Ali,  Hassan,  Hussein  and  Fatima,  both Hadith  Al-Mubahala  and  Al-Kesaa  are  also  recognized  by  both  parties.  The  narration  of  Al-Mubahala  is  as  follows:  “The  Christians  of  Najran  were  unhappy  about  the rapid  spread  of  Islam  in  the  lands  of  Arabia.  They  wished  to  discuss  this  matter with  Muhammad. Learned  scholars  were  selected  by  the  Christians  who  had  a continuous  dialogue  with  Muhammad  for  three  days.
Muhammad  and  the  Christians  were  unable  to  arrive  on  any  mutual  understanding.  At  this  point,  Muhammad  received  revelation  from  God:
“Then  whoever  argues  with  you  about  it  after  [this]  knowledge  has  come  to  you - say,  "Come,  let  us  call  our  sons  and  your  sons,  our  women  and  your  women, ourselves  and  yourselves,  then  supplicate  earnestly  [together]  and  invoke  the curse  of  God  upon  the  liars  [among us]." (Surah Al Imran 61)
The  next  morning,  Muhammad  emerged  from  his  house  with  his  closest  family. He  held  the  hand  of  Hasan  walking  beside  him,  held  Husain  in  his  arms, followed  by  his  daughter  Fatimah  and  finally  by  his  son-in-law  Ali.  He  came  and stood  with  this  family  in  front  of  the  Christian  bishops  who  also  came  forward  to perform  the  Mubahela.
The  chief  of  the  Christians  was  bishop  Abul Harris. When  he  saw  this  small family  of  the  Prophet  he  turned  towards  his fellow  Christians  and  told  them,
do  not  indulge  in  Mubahela  with  this  family,  for  I  am  observing  such  pious  faces that  if  they  would  order  the  mountain  to  come  to  them  the  mountain  shall  move towards  them.  It  is  therefore  prudent  to  make  treaty  with  them  rather  than  confrontation  of  this  spiritual  imminence.
They  asked  Muhammad  for  peace  and  it  was  accepted.  Muhammad  extended  the  hand  of  friendship  towards  them,  a  treaty  was  signed  and  both  parties  left  on  friendly  terms.
That  hadiths  indicates  that  Ahlul  Bayt  that  he  wished  to  be  followed  and  succeed  him  were  again  his  son  in  law  and  his  grandsons.  Hadith  Al-Kesaa (Or  Hadith  of  the  Cloak),  refers  to  Ahl  al-Kisa. The  hadith  is an  account  of  an incident  where  Muhammad  gathered  Hassan,  Hussein,  Ali  and  Fatimah  under  his cloak.  This  is  mentioned  in  several  ahadith,  including  Sahih  Muslim,  where Muhammad  is  quoted  as  saying  the  phrase  “Ahl al-Bayt”  “People of the House”  from  the  second  part  of  verse  33:33  of  the  Qur'an;  the  verse  called  ‘’Ayat al-Tathir’’  "verse of purification",  Al-Kesaa  is  yet  another  narration  indicating  that  the  prophet’s  Ahlul  Bayt  indicated  in  hadith  Al-Thaqalayn  were  his  cousin  Ali,  his  two  grandsons  and  daughter.


According  to  both  Shia  and  Sunni  resources,  after  the  prophet’s  farewell  pilgrimage,  which  he  knew  he  was  going  to  die  soon  by  news  from  angel  Gabriel,  he  collected  the  crowds  of  people,  who  were  about  100,000,  under  the  heat  of  the  sun,  he  stood  over  a  little  hill  to  make  a  speech,  a  speech  that  was  vital  in  the  history  of  Islam.  According  to  Shia  resources,  the  prophet  was  afraid  to  make  the  speech,  for  it  opposed  the  people’s  desire,  and  the  following  verse  was  revealed:  “O  Messenger, announce  that  which  has  been  revealed  to  you  from  your  Lord,  and  if  you  do  not,  then  you  have  not  conveyed  His  message.  And  Allah  will  protect  you  from the  people” (Surah Maidah 67). The  prophet’s  speech  was  as  follows:  “O people, Allah the Most Kind the Omniscient has told me that no apostle lives to more than half the age of him who had preceded him. I think I am about to be called (to die) and thus I must respond. I am responsible and you are responsible, then what do you say?’ They said, ‘We witness that you have informed, advised and striven. May Allah bless you.’ He said, ‘Do you not bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Apostle, and that His Heaven is true, His Hell is true, death is true, the Resurrection after death is true, that there is no doubt that the Day of Judgment will come, and that Allah will resurrect the dead from their graves?’ They said, ‘Yes, we bear witness’. He said, ‘O Allah, bear witness.’ Then he said, ‘O people, Allah is my Lord and I am the lord of the believers. I am worthier of believers than themselves. Of whomsoever I had been Master (Mawla), Ali here is to be his Master. O Allah, be a supporter of whoever supports him (Ali) and an enemy of whoever opposes him and divert the Haq to Ali.”  


Despite  that  the  prophet  explicitly  said  in  front  of  thousands  of  Muslims  that  Allah  opposes  whoever  opposes  Ali,  many  Muslims  still  opposed  Ali.  The  death  of  the  prophet  marked  the  arrival  of  a  new  era.  Upon  the  death  of  the  prophet,  while  Ali  and  his  family  were  burying  the  prophet  and  praying  Janaza,  the  rest  of  the  people  were  busy  deciding  who  would  lead  the  Muslims.  It  was  eventually  agreed  that  Abu  Bakr  becomes  the  Caliph.  Ali  did  not  follow  him  nor  recognize  him  as  a  successor  of  the  prophet,  while  the  rest  of  the  Muslims  opposed  Ali.  The  opposition  continued,  till  the  Muslims  actually  fought  against  him  in  Saffin,  by  the  command  of  Mu’awya,  Ali’s  army  eventually  failed  him,  and  his  followers  kept  diminishing.  He  was  eventually  assassinated  by  Abdul  Rahman  ibn  Muljim,  while  he  was  leading  prayers  in  a  mosque.  The  opposition  did  not  stop  there,  but  his  son  Hussein,  and  his  few  followers,  were  surrounded  by  the  army  of  Mu’away’s  son,  Yazid,  for  weeks  without  water,  expecting  them  to  submit  to  Yazid,  they  did  not,  and  were  eventually  killed  brutally.  The  opposition  against  the  followers  of  Ahlul  Bayt  continued  for  millennia,  it  is  one  aspect  that  most  Muslims  are  not  aware  of,  it  is  one  aspect  that  if  had  been  otherwise,  not  only  the  course  of  Islamic  history  would  have  changed,  but  the  course  of  the  entire  humanities’  history  since  the  birth  of  Islam.

And  so  was  the  story  of  the  brother  of  the  prophet  of  Islam,  the  neonate  of  the  Ka’aba  and  the  martyr  of  the  Mehrab,  his  life  began  in  a  house  of  Allah  and  ended  in  a  house  of  Allah,  the  first  believer  and  the  best  defender  of  Islam,  a  man  who  played  a  vital  role  in  spreading  Islam,  yet  a  man  who  has  never  been  recognized  to  the  fullest,  discredited,  and  opposed  by  Muslims  themselves.  We  could  never  imagine  what  the  world  would  be  like  if  he  had  been  completely  absent,  or  what  the  world  would  be  like  if  he  had  been  loyally  supported  by  all.  So  was  the  story  of  Ali  ibn  Abi  Talib.