'Ali
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Ali bin Abi Tālib
Ali bin Abi Talib was a cousin and son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah [s] and the fourth of the Rightly-guided Caliphs. His father Abu Talib was the son of Abd-al-Muttalib bin Hāshim. His mother was called Fatimah bint Asad bin Hashim.
Ali received the surname of Abu Turāb [He of the dust or the one smeared with dust] from the Prophet [s] whose daughter Fatimah he married. Once, Ali and Fatimah had quarrelled. So, Ali intended to spend the night in the Mosque instead of at home. Thereupon, the Prophet [s] asked Fatimah, ‘Where is Ali?’ She answered, ‘In the Mosque.’ So the Prophet [s] went to him and saw that his wrap had slipped from his back, and his back was covered with dust. And the Prophet [s] set himself to wipe the dust from his back, saying twice, ‘Get up, O you Father of Dust!’ [al-Bukahri] No name was dearer unto Ali than this.
Embracing Islam
'Ali embraced Islam shortly after Khadijah. He was at that time a young boy of ten. Ali was born in Makkah, twenty-three years before the Hijrah or the emigration and was raised from the age of five by the Prophet [s]. 'Ali was one of the ten [ashra al-Mūbashshara] to whom Paradise was expressly promised during their lifetime by the Prophet [s]. He was one of the six electors appointed by 'Umar on his deathbed.
When Allah’s Messenger [s] decided to emigrate to Madinah, his departure was facilitated by Ali, who made people believe that he [s] was still in the house he had occupied. He also stayed behind a few days in order to return to the owners the deposits which had been entrusted to the Prophet [s].
Ali became renowned as a warrior during Islam’s struggle for survival. He participated in the Battles of Badr, Uhud, Trench [[[Khandaq]]], Khaybar, and in nearly all the Prophet’s [s] expeditions except that of Tabūk, during which the Prophet [s] commanded 'Ali to remain in Madinah in charge of the City and the Prophet’s [s] family while he himself was proceeding on the Campaign of Tabūk. When Ali expressed his disappointment, the Prophet [s] said to him, ‘Are you not satisfied with being unto me what Hārūn was unto Musa?’ [al-Bukhari] The Prophet [s] referred to the example of Musa who had left his brother Hārūn in charge of the community when he himself ascended Mt. Sinai. 'Ali is reported to have been highly gratified by this comparison.
'Ali himself conducted an expedition to Fadak against the Jewish tribe of Sa’d, during the Conquest of Khaybar. He received sixteen wounds at Uhud, and on the day when Khaybar was stormed, he carried the banner, which was given to him by the Prophet [s]. Al-Bukhari records: Allah’s Messenger [s] said, ‘Tomorrow I shall give the standard to a man through whose hands Allah will grant us victory.’ This is an incident of the Campaign of Khaybar, which took place in the year 7 AH.
Al-Bukhari continues, ‘And the people spent the night wondering to which of them it would be given. When the morning came, they hastened to the Messenger of Allah [s], every one of them hoping that it would be given to him. Then the Prophet [s] said, “Where is Ali bin Abi Talib?” They answered, “O Messenger of Allah, he is suffering from his eyes.” [Ali suffered from ophthalmia, which forced him to remain in the rear of the army.] The Prophet [s] said, “Then send for him and bring him to me.” When he came, the Prophet [s] spat into his eyes, and prayed for him; and he was cured as if he had never been ill. Then the Prophet [s] gave him the standard. And 'Ali said, “I shall fight them until they are like us, O Messenger of Allah.” Thereupon the Prophet [s] said, “Advance warily till you reach their dwelling-places; thereafter invite them to Islam and inform them what duties toward Allah will be incumbent upon them. For by Allah, if Allah guides through you one single man, this will be better for you than to possess the most precious of camels.”
The expression used in al-Bukhari’s above-mentioned Hadith is humr an-na’am, which literally means red camels. The Arabs regard the camels of this colour as the best; hence, humr an-na’am signifies the high-bred, or excellent of camels, and is proverbially applied to anything highly prized, precious, valuable, or excellent. Thus the Prophet [s] wished to impress upon Ali that the foremost duty of a mujāhid [the one who strives in the Cause of Allah] consisted in the endeavour to bring the non-Muslim enemy into the fold of Islam, before waging war upon him.
Once, Allah’s Messenger [s] said unto 'Ali , ‘You are of me and I am of you.’ And 'Umar said, ‘The Messenger of Allah [s] remained pleased with him unto his death.’ [al-Bukhari]
After her marriage with Ali, Fatimah had no one in the house to help her. One day, she said to Ali, ‘I have ground corn until my hands are blistered. I have drawn water until I have pains in my chest.’ Ali suggested, ‘Allah has given your father a captive, so you go and ask him to give you a servant.’ She, very reluctantly, went to the Prophet [s], but she did not find him at home. But she found Ai’shah and told her of her desire. When the Prophet [s] returned, Ai’shah informed him of Fatimah’s visit. Fatimah returned home with some disappointment; but that night, when she and Ali had gone to bed, they heard the voice of the Prophet [s] seeking permission to enter. Giving him words of welcome, they both rose to their feet, but he said, ‘Remain as you are,’ and he sat down beside them. The Prophet [s] said, ‘Shall I tell you of something better than that which you asked of me? When you lay down to sleep, say thirty-four times ‘Allahu Akbar [Allah is Supremely great]’, thirty-three times ‘Sub’hanallah [How far is He from every imperfection]; and thirty-three times ‘AlHamdulillah [All thanks belong to Allah Alone]’.’ 'Ali used to say in after years, ‘I have never once failed to say them since the Messenger of Allah [s] taught them to us.’
It was 'Ali who advised 'Umar to adopt the Hijrah or the emigration of the Prophet [s] as the starting-point of the Islamic Calendar.
'Ali’s Caliphate
'Ali was entrusted with the task of making representations to Uthmān on account of the complaints which came from the provinces. During the siege of Uthmān’s house, he supported him in every possible way. After the martyrdom of Uthmān, Ali modestly refused to take the power into his hands, but later he accepted it; and on Friday 25th Dhul Hijjah in the year 35H [656 CE] allegiance was paid to him in the Prophet’s [s] Mosque at Madinah.
Ali was thus elected Caliph at a time of unrest and mounting difficulties. On the Caliph Uthmān’s assassination, the city was horror-struck The Companions had hardly expected the tragic end. For several days anarchy reigned in Madinah. The rebels and conspirators who had come from outside had mastery over the city. No bed of roses was laid for Ali. Whether at home, or abroad, rough and anxious tasks lay before him. He was pressed to punish the men who had stained their hands with the blood of Uthmān. Some people were extremely agitated at the killing of the aged and pious Caliph that they demanded that the new Caliph punish the killers immediately. Others wanted Ali to act more cautiously. They wanted him to address the problem of discontent first, and then proceed to punish the killers of Uthmān. Ali had to decide which problem to address first. He wanted to punish the killers for taking the law into their hands and slaying the Caliph. But he also wanted to strengthen his own position before taking such an action that was likely to weaken the Caliphate.
However, before Ali could decide which course to follow, the situation worsened. He immediately had to face a rebellion led by the Companions Talhah and az-Zubayr, in which Ai’shah, Mother of the believers, also took part. In the year 36H, Ali marched against Basrah, where Ai’shah, Talhah, and az-Zubayr refused to acknowledge him and defeated them in the Battle of the Camel, which took place outside Basrah, in the north of Iraq. Many of the supporters of Ai’shah were killed and she herself was captured. But in accordance with her lofty station, Ai’shah was shown proper respect and was escorted to her home in Madinah. A’shah later felt a great remorse for waging the war. She repented to Allah and asked His forgiveness. In this Battle, she rode in a litter on the back of a camel, therefore, the battle between her and Ali came to be known as the Battle of the Camel.
In the 36th year of the Hijrah, seven months after the death of Uthmān, Ali entered Kūfa. The first four months had been spent in Madinah; the other three in the Campaign of the Camel, and a brief stay in Basrah. It was now to be the seat of 'Ali’s government. Then Mu’awiyah, Governor of Damascus and relative of Uthmān rose against the Caliphate of 'Ali, which resulted into the Battle of Siffin. When Ali was on the point of wining, he accepted the proposal of Mu’awiyah to negotiate the conflict. This was because Ali wished to avoid further bloodshed. In any case, 'Ali could not conclude the struggle decisively. Nevertheless, Ali refused to surrender his authority, and established himself at kūfa in Iraq.
'Ali’s Assassination
In the year 40H/661 CE, as Ali was preparing to lead the morning Prayer at the mosque of Kūfa, he was assassinated by one Ibn Mūljam, who carried out the deed at the demand of a woman who had made Ali’s assassination a condition of marriage. Ibn Muljam, accompanied by two accomplices, waited for the Caliph in a narrow passage and struck him on the forehead with a poisoned sword that penetrated to the brain.
It was Friday 17, Ramadan, 40H. Ibn Muljam was seized. Of his accomplices, one was cut to pieces, but the other in the tumult, fled. Ali was carried home with strength enough to question the assassin who was brought before him. Ibn Muljam declared boldly that the deed had been forty days in deliberation. Ali commanded his son Hasan to keep the assassin in close custody. He said to Hasan, ‘If I die, his life is lost; but see that you mutilate him not, for that is forbidden by the Messenger of Allah [s].’
During the day, one of the daughters of 'Ali, namely Umm Kulthum, went into the assassin’s cell and cursed him, adding, ‘My father shall yet live.’ The fanatic answered, ‘Listen, that sword I bought for a thousand pieces, and thousand more it cost me to poison it. No one escapes its wound.’ The wound was indeed mortal. They asked the Caliph whether, if he died, it was his will that his son should succeed to the Caliphate. Still true to the elective principle, 'Ali answered, ‘I do not commit it, neither do I forbid. See you to it.’ Then he called Hasan and Husayn to his bedside, and counselled them to be steadfast in piety; resignation and kindness. After that he continued to repeat the Name of the Lord, until he breathed his last. 'Ali died three days after the attack.
When they had performed the funeral rites, Hasan summoned the assassin before him. Undaunted, Ibn Muljam said, ‘I made a covenant with the Lord before the Holy House at Makkah, that I would slay both Ali and Mu’awiyah. Now if you will, I shall go forth and kill the other, or perish in the attempt.’ Thereupon, he was put to death.
'Ali died sixty-three years of age. His troubled and strife-torn reign had lasted but barely four years and nine months. In his youth, he was one of the most distinguished heroes in the battles of Islam. For as long as she was alive, the Prophet’s [s] daughter, Fatimah, remained 'Ali’s only wife, by whom he had three sons [one of these, Muhsin, died in infancy], and two daughters, the progenitors or ancestors of the Sayyid race – the nobility. After she died, he married several other women, by whom he had eleven sons and fifteen daughters.
In the character of 'Ali, there are many things to commend. He was mild and generous. The sayings and sermons of 'Ali and those utterances attributed to him, are collected in a book called the Nahj al-Balaghah [The Way of the Eloquence].
Virtues of 'Ali
It was 'Ali who first laid down the rules of formal Arabic grammar, notably describing language as made up nouns, verbs, and particles. 'Ali is reported to have transmitted 586 Ahādith, twenty of which were accepted unanimously by Bukhari alone, and fifteen by Muslim. At Madinah, he had authority. He was consulted upon difficult questions. He was very pious. He often burdened his stomach with a heavy stone in order to diminish the pangs of hunger, and giving away all he had in alms.
Not only was 'Ali a Hāfiz of the Qur'an, but he could describe the exact occasion when any given Āyah or Verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah [s]. It was Ali who drafted the famous Treaty of al-Hudaybiyyah between the Muslims and the pagan Quraysh.
His justice was equal to the Muslims and the non-Muslims, the poor and the rich, official and subordinate. Once, his armour was lost. After some time he saw it with a Christian. He filed a suit against him in the court of the famous judge al-Qādi Shūrayh. The judge asked him to produce a witness, but he could not do so. The armour was returned to the Christian. The Christian was so impressed that he embraced Islam.
Tradition, strange to say, is silent, and opinion quite uncertain, as to where the body of Ali lies. Some believe that he was buried at the Great Mosque in Kūfa.
A Word of Caution Concerning the Battles of the Camel and Siffin
As for the battles 'Ali fought against Talhah, az-Zubayr, Ai’shah and Mu’awiyah, we should adopt an attitude of neutrality [Imsāk] towards these incidents because Allah Most High will remove it all from their midst on the Day of Resurrection. As He has said, ‘And We shall strip away whatever rancour may be in their breasts. As brothers they shall be, upon couches set face to face. [15: 47]
Moreover, from his own perspective, 'Ali was in the right in doing battle with them, because he was firmly convinced of the legitimate character of his leadership [Khilafah]. He had in fact been appointed to the Khilafah or Caliphate by the general agreement of the group of Companions who had functioned as an Electoral College. Anyone who decided to back out at a later stage, and who actually took up arms against him, would of course be a rebel, a person in revolt against the duly appointed leader, so the leader would be quite justified in fighting him.
From the standpoint of those on the other side, notably Talhah, az-Zubayr, Ai’shah, and Mu’awiyah, the battle against 'Ali was fought, because they needed to avenge the death of Uthmān, the rightful Caliph who had been wrongfully slain.
Notes
This ilmpedia.net article is contributed by Sister Rukaiah Maulvi. Her books have been published by Dar-us-Salam Publications
