Martyrdom of Amir al – Momineen (peace be upon Him)

One of the great incidents of the month of Ramadan, which changed the path of Islamic history, was the martyrdom of the leader of the pious, Imam Ali (peace be upon Him).

          With the martyrdom of his holiness (peace be upon Him), Islam lost its one and only compassionate and true supporter, and Muslims became deprived of the grace of a beloved leader, a just ruler, a knowledgeable Imam, a kind and benevolent guide, and the waves of afflictions and conspiracies surrounded them from every direction.

          The sword of Ibn e Muljim Muradi (l.a.) struck the body of Islam, justice, freedom and virtue, and it wounded the structure of all the sublime motives of humanity.

          On the occasion of this extremely unbearable incident and life – taking tragedy, and for the awareness of the precious and lifesaving Islamic teachings and the concepts of Shias, and for the additional understanding of this great incident, we would adorn this book by mentioning some of the manifestations of the great and unparalleled personality of Imam Ali (peace be upon Him), while confessing our incapability and lack of efficiency in this regard.

Successor and Vicegerent of Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny)

In the beginning of Prophet’s prophet hood, people had not yet accepted the new religion as a serious and eminent issue, when they used to consider the implication of such promises to be impossible, and did not have faith in the prophet hood of Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny).

At that time, some of the relatives of his holiness stood in his opposition and a few others expressed fear from that situation; because they witnessed that with hands empty from worldly riches and without the support of friends, clique, troops and army, Mohammad (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) stood against the idols and Gods of the tribes and chiefs, the powerful and the rich, the colonists and the tyrants, the magicians, the usurers and the oppressors; and has risen against the corrupt conditions and habits, and invites everyone towards forsaking these methods, and considers his success as a definite issue.

          Probably, most of them assumed that certainly Mohammad’s voice will be silenced and the slogans of “Allah – o – Akbar” and “La Ilaha illallah” will not win the hearts of the majority of idol worshippers. They were afraid of Mohammad’s fate and his weak position among the other tribes.

          They used to say: How will the mere utterance of “La ilaha illallah” create a sense of humility among the Arabs and the non – Arabs and help in attaining the treasures of Caesars and Cyrus? And how will these hypocrisies, conflicts and rifts, turn into friendship, unity and monotheism; and how will the new and sublime Islamic system, Law and divine governance, replace the anarchies, lawlessness and governance of force and autocracy?

          They used to witness Mohammad (peace be upon Him) without any riches, army or troops, but having the intention of giving everything to the people, like: freedom, self – respect, independence, high moral values, brotherhood and equality. He says: Say the word of “Tawheed” (monotheism), renounce infidelity and forsake the worship of idols, you will become the owner of everything; leadership, supremacy, honour, dignity, human rights, justice etc. will become your share.

          They knew for a fact that the word of “Tawheed” is the source of all the good and noble deeds, but they were unaware of the fruits of this belief. The slogan of “Tawheed” is the slogan of freedom, justice, equality, dignity and virtue; it is a slogan which has maintained brotherhood among the people and has founded the best form of governance, against which democracy appears to be worthless, and it eradicates all the values of caste and creed, wealth and society, and makes everyone equal and parallel.

          They did not know that this slogan is heavier than the earth and heavens, and no other slogan can match its level, and it will tear off all the veils.

          A large group of people saw this invitation as the one contradicting their values and positions, their investments and esteemed habits, and opposing the method with which they had habituated. They couldn’t raise their hands from personal benefits and stand in line with all the other servants of Allah.

          They could not (i.e. they did not wish to) give up their arrogance and pride and stand with their subordinates.

          Due to such reasons and similar causes, they fought against the progress of the religion of “Tawheed” (monotheism) from the very beginning; they stood as obstacles in the path of Mohammad (peace be upon Him), troubled him and mocked his ways.

          Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) stood firmly against such people, and also against all the orchestrated groups, all the sufferings and afflictions; and he used to strive hard and put all his effort for the purpose of guiding the society and eradicating idol – worship in the shortest possible time, thus delivering mankind.

          While Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) wasn’t in need of anyone’s support for his steadfastness in the matter of his divine invitation, but for the progress of his motives, he required the support of others; because his prophet hood was for the people. Therefore, Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) could not possibly ignore the people and give no regard to their support. He was in need of a supporter, a successor, and someone who shared his thought, understood the motives of his prophet hood and loved it, and one who could sacrifice his life and show selflessness for this path; one who was better than all the men of the Arabian peninsula and better than all the people of the world.

          Naturally, except Imam Ali (peace be upon Him), no one else possessed these qualities. It is an inference which can be reached by fairly studying the Islamic history and the history of all the Islamic personalities and companions.

          Ali (peace be upon Him) is someone who was put to sleep since his childhood by the holy Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) himself with his soulful and heavenly voice; he was nurtured and brought up by the Prophet (peace be upon Him); he is the one who accompanied Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) in the cave of Hira, where the Prophet secluded for worship of Allah and meditation. Ali (peace be upon Him) is the one whom Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) taught all his knowledge so that it can be a transcript of the original source.

          He was the one who was monotheist since his birth and who died as a monotheist; the one who never held the impurity of idol – worship. One can never have a past like him in Islam; he never separated himself from the Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny), his religion and his path, and offered prayer with the Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) seven years prior to others.[1] Thus, it has arrived in a tradition that: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) said: “Angels recited Salawaat on me and Ali for seven years; because apart from him, not a single person used to offer prayer in my company.”[2]

          It has been narrated from Afeef al – Kindi that he said:

‘I was a merchant and I came to Mecca in the season of Hajj (pilgrimage) where I resided in the house of Abbas bin Abdul Mut’talib. When I and Abbas were together, we witnessed that a man arrived and faced the Kabah, then a boy arrived and stood towards his right side, then a lady arrived and stood behind him, they bowed and prostrated; then lifted their head.

I said to Abbas:  Is this a big issue?

Abbas also said: It is a great incident.

This is Mohammad, my nephew; he says: “Allah has chosen him for prophet hood and that the treasures of Caesar and Cyrus will reveal for those who pledge allegiance on his hand and believe in him”; and this boy is my nephew, Ali bin Abi Talib. And this lady, his (Mohammad’s) wife, is Khadija binte Khuwaylad.

          A similar incident has been reported from Abdullah bin Mas’ood also, at the end of which, he narrates from Abbas that he said: on the surface of earth, there is no one except these three who worship the God of this religion.[3]’

          From the very beginning of Prophet hood, Ali (peace be upon Him) was introduced as the caliph, successor, heir and minister of Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny).

          The holy Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) was commanded to invite his close relatives and warn them:

وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِیرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِینَ [4]

“Warn the nearest of your kinsfolk”

According to numerous authentic traditions, Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) invited the progeny of Hashim, which comprised of forty people, and asked Ali (peace be upon Him) to prepare food, which wasn’t sufficient for more than one person.

          All the forty people ate from that food and became full, and he made all of them drink from a milk vessel which was not for more than one person until they were full; and before Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) could utter anything, Abu Lahab made all the relatives disperse.

          He invited them again on the next day. When they ate the food and drank milk, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) said to them:

          “O sons of Abdul Mut’talib! By Allah, I don’t know of any person who would have brought a greater thing for his tribe than what I have brought for you. I have brought the best of this world and the hereafter for you; Allah has commanded me to invite you towards Him. Thus, who among you will believe in me, and support me in the affair of Prophet hood, and become my brother, successor, minister and caliph from my own after me?”

          And as per some traditions, he repeated the same thrice and all the three times, no one except Ali (peace be upon Him) responded to his call.

          Prophet (peace be upon Him and His Progeny) said:

          “Indeed he (Ali peace be upon Him) is my brother, successor, minister and my caliph among you; listen to his word and obey him”.[5]

          That group of men stood up and while they were laughing, said to Abu Talib: He commanded you to obey your son.[6] In this way, the successorship and caliphate of Ali (peace be upon Him) was announced for everyone. And even after that case, on several incidences, this selection was openly declared, until the day of Ghadeer e Khum, in the year of the Farewell Hajj, after the revelation of the following verse:

          “O Apostle! Communicate that which has been sent down to you from your Lord, and if you do not, you will not have communicated His message, and Allah shall protect you from the people.”[7]

          In that general gathering also, as per the emphasized command of Allah, the issue of caliphate and successorship was officially announced and Amir al – Momineen (peace be upon Him) was selected and appointed for this post.[8]

          Probably, most of them assumed that certainly Mohammad’s voice will be silenced and the slogans of “Allah – o – Akbar” and “La Ilaha illallah” will not win the hearts of the majority of idol worshippers. They were afraid of Mohammad’s fate and his weak position among the other tribes.

          They used to say: How will the mere utterance of “La ilaha illallah” create a sense of humility among the Arabs and the non – Arabs and help in attaining the treasures of Caesars and Cyrus? And how will these hypocrisies, conflicts and rifts, turn into friendship, unity and monotheism; and how will the new and sublime Islamic system, Law and divine governance, replace the anarchies, lawlessness and governance of force and autocracy?

          They used to witness Mohammad (peace be upon Him) without any riches, army or troops, but having the intention of giving everything to the people, like: freedom, self – respect, independence, high moral values, brotherhood and equality. He says: Say the word of “Tawheed” (monotheism), renounce infidelity and forsake the worship of idols, you will become the owner of everything; leadership, supremacy, honour, dignity, human rights, justice etc. will become your share.

          They knew for a fact that the word of “Tawheed” is the source of all the good and noble deeds, but they were unaware of the fruits of this belief. The slogan of “Tawheed” is the slogan of freedom, justice, equality, dignity and virtue; it is a slogan which has maintained brotherhood among the people and has founded the best form of governance, against which democracy appears to be worthless, and it eradicates all the values of caste and creed, wealth and society, and makes everyone equal and parallel.