Imaam Ali (AS)

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Introduction
All human beings experience ups and downs and face different problems in life, when individuals usually get weak and become unable to deal with problems themselves they try with the aid and guidance of the experts to save themselves from the troubled situations. In such situations finding the best "examples" and following their way one can perform their duties in the best way as to solve their problems and relieve their pains. One of these examples is the honoured prophet (pbhu&hf) whom the holy Quran has described (indentified) as best example. Other than the Messenger of God (pbuh&hf), if we look for another example and replacement for his holiness we would find a great example in the (leader of the pious) his holiness Imam Ali (AS). Morals and behaviour through which his holiness has dealt with ups and downs in his life are such an asset for ourselves following which can help us achieve success in both worlds.

Manner of Birth:
His holiness Ali (AS) is the first child in the family of Bani-Hashem whose both parents are children of Hashem. His father Abu-Taleb is the son of Abdul-Mottaleb the son of Hashem bin Abd-e-Manaf and his mother is Fatemah the daughter of Asad who is the son of Hashem bin Abd-e-Manaf. The Hashemi family in the tribe of Qoraish is famous for its moral virtues and high (supreme) humanistic characteristics among the Arab tribes. Magnanimity, generosity, courage and so many other virtues are characteristics of Bani-hashem. Moreover, each of these virtues exist at its highest degree in his holiness Ali (AS). Fatemah(SA), the daughter of Asad went to the holy mosque when labour pain and came close to the wall of Kabaa and said : O God, I have firm faith in you, the prophets and the books sent by you and also the speech of my grandfather the builder of this house . O God, in consideration to the respect of the one who built this house and for the sake of the child in my womb make the birth of this child easy. An instant later, in front of the eyes of Abbass bin Abdul-Mottaleb and Yazeed bin Taaf the south east wall of Kabaa cracked and Fatemah entered the Kabaa; the wall closed again. She was the guest of God for three days in the holiest place in the universe and there she gave birth to her child. Three days after the thirteenth of Rajab, thirty years passed the year of the Elephat; Fatemah , the daughter of Asad, came out of the same cleavage in wall which opened again and said: I heared a message from the unsean to call him Ali.

Period of Childhood:
His holiness Ali stayed with his parents. Since it was God's well for him to gain more perfection, therefore, the honoured prophet (pbuh&hf) from the beginning of his birth took care of his indirect education. Until an unusual famine occurred in Mecca. Abu-Taleb the uncle of the prophet (pbuh&hf) having many children faced a heavy living expense. The honoured prophet (pbhu&hf) with the consultation of his uncle Abbass came to agreement that each one of them take one of the children of Abu-Taleb with him as to make a relief for Abu-Taleb. Therefore Abbass took Jaffar and the prophet (pbhu&hf) took Ali (AS) to his house. In this way his holiness Ali (AS) was completely besides the prophet (pbuh&hf). Ali (AS) was always accompanying the prophet (pbhu&hf) even when the prophet (pbuh&hf) would leave town and go to the mountain and desert.

Appointment of The Prophet (pbhu&hf) and His Holiness Ali (AS) :
There is no doubt that acceleration in good deeds is a kind of privileged virtue and (the exalted) God in several verses asked his salves to perform them and called them to compete with each other. One of the virtues of his holiness Ali (AS) is that he is the first one to believe in the prophet (pbuh&hf). Ibn Abeel Al-Hadeed says about this : Know that among the great , big and scholastic theologians of the Mutazilites there is no dispute that Ali bin Abi-Taleb is the first person to believe in Islam and to support the messenger of God(pbuh&hf).

His Holiness Ali (AS) The First Supporter to Tthe Honoured Prophet (pbhu&hf) :
After the revelation from God and the three years of secret preaching finally, the messenger of revelation arrived and the order for public preaching was given. At this juncture his holiness Ali (AS) was the only enforcer of the prophet’s (pbhu&hf) plans in his divine propagation and was the only companion and the only sympathetic to his holiness in the invitation arranged to acquaint his relatives to Islam and to call them to the religion of God. In this invitation the prophet (pbhu&hf) asked the people were present there: "who is among you to help me in this way so to be my brother, successor and representative among you". Only Ali (AS) answered: "O prophet of God, I will support you in this way". The prophet (pbhu&hf) after three times repeating the question and hearing the same answer said: O my relatives; Know that Ali (AS) is my brother, successor and Caliph after me among you. Of the other glories of his holiness Ali (AS) is his perfect courage in sleeping in the prophet's(pbuh&hf) bed , therefore, nullifying the plot of the idol-worshipers to kill the prophet(pbuh&hf). Furthermore He (AS) prepared the ground for the prophet's (pbuh&hf) migration. His holiness Ali (AS) after the migrated after the migration of his holiness the prophet (pbhu&hf) to Madina, we explain two examples of the virtues of Ali (AS)
1- Self-sacrifice and endangering his life in the struggle for Islam: His presence in 26 battles of the 27 battles of the prophet (pbhu&hf) and participation in different expeditions are of the glories and virtues of his holiness.
2- Registering (keeping) and writing the revelation [Quran]: Writing the revelation, organizing (arranging) many of the historical and political documents and writing propagation and invitation letters, both in Mecca and Medina. For this reason he is considered one of the writers of the revelation and memorizers of the Koran.
It was in this period that the prophet (pbhu&hf) issued the decree of Moslems brotherhood, concluded the contract of brotherhood with his holiness Ali (AS) and said to his holiness Ali (AS) : "You are my brother in this world and in the hereafter, swearing by the God who has appointed me with the truth. I choose you as my brother, a brotherhood that is to the extent of both worlds".

The Pond of Khom :
In the last Year of his holiness the prophet's (pbhu&hf) life when returning from the rituals of His last pilgrimage in a place called the Khom pond close to Johfa He Ordered the caravan to stop, because the revelation commanded the prophet (pbhu&hf) to complete his message. After the noon prayer the prophet went up the pulpit of the camels' saddles and said: "O people, it is soon that I answer the call of God and go from among you, what do you think about me", People said: "we witness that you have propagated the religion of God". Prophet (pbhu&hf) then said:" Don't you witness that there is no God but the one God and Mohammad is his slave and messenger". People said:"Yes, we witness". Then the prophet (pbhu&hf) raised the hand of his holiness Ali (AS) and said:"O People! among the believers who is more worthy than themselves”. People said: "God and his prophet know better" .Then the prophet said:" O People who ever I am his master and leader; Ali is his master and leader” and repeated this sentence three times. Then the people congratulated this selection to his holiness Ali (AS) and swore allegiance to him.

His Holiness Ali (AS) After The Death of The Honoured Prophet (pbhu&hf) :
After the death of the honoured prophet (pbhu&hf) because of special conditions that arise his holiness Ali (AS) withdrew from the scene of the society and choose silence; He neither participated in any struggle nor spoke officially in the society. He put the sword in the sheath and engaged with individual duties and educating the individuals.

Activities of Imam Ali (AS) in this period were/briefly as follows :
1- Worshiping God, according to the level of his holiness Ali (AS).
2- Interpretation of the Quran, solving religious problems and decreeing the rule of incidents that didn't have a resemblance along the 23 Years of the prophet's life.
3- Answering to questions of scholars from other religions and other towns.
4- Expressing the rule for many of the new events which didn't occur previously in Islam.
5- Solving the problems when the caliphate system faced dead ends in political matters and other issues.
6- Educating and raising a group who have pure con science and prepared soul for spiritual journey.
7- Work and strife to secure the life of many of the poor and disabled to the extent that he would establish gardens and extract aqueducts and then would give them as endowments in the way of God.

Period of caliphate of his holiness Ali (AS):
In the time of his holiness’ caliphate many wars occurred as Seffin, Jamal and Nahrawan which had specific consequences following. After the war of Nahrawan and the suppression of the Kharijites, some of the Kharijities among whom was Abdul-Rahman bin Moljam Moradi and Barak bin Abdulla Tameemi and Amr bin Bakr-tameemi in one of the nights got together and considered the circumstances of that time the blood-sheds and civil wars and remembered Nahrawan and their dead and blamed that the reasons for this blood-shed and brothers killing are the conflicts between his holiness Ali (AS), Moawiah and Amr bin Aass and if these three one removed the Muslims will know their duties therefore, they drafted the treaty that each one of them is responsible for killing one of the three.
Ibn Moljam undertook the responsibility of killing Imam Ali (AS) and on the nineteenth night of the month of Ramadan accompanied with some others stayed in the Koofa mosque. That night his holiness Ali (AS) was a guest of His daughter and was aware of the morning accident. When he mentioned this to his daughter Om-e-Kolthoom He said: Tomorrow send Joada to the mosque.
His holiness Ali (AS) said: It is not possible to escape the Godly decree, then he fastened his belt and while humming these two verses he went to the mosque: Fasten your back firmly for death Because death will meet you and when death comes to you don't fear or scream While his holiness Ali (AS) was in prostration Ibn Moljam hit him with the sword on his forehead and blood from his holiness head streamed in the altar and blood dyed his honoured beard. In this condition his holiness said: I swear by the God of Kaaba that I won. Then read verse 55 from surah Taha: From it we created you and into it we shall send you back and from it we raise you a second time.
His holiness Ali (AS) was at his last moment of his life still thinking of the welfare and happiness of the peoples advised his children relatives and all the Muslims saying : I advice you of piety and to organize your deeds and always think of causing reconciliation among the Muslims. Don’t forget the orphans; regard the rights of the neighbours; Make Quran the practical programme for yourself; Respect (honour) praying because it is the pillar of your religion;
His holiness Imam Ali (AS) attained martyrdom on the 21st of the month of Ramadan and was buried in the honoured Najaf. His shrine became the tryst for the lovers of the truth and reality.

The Last Will of Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS)
Imam Ali's (AS) last will to his sons Imam Hassan (AS) and Imam Hussain (AS) after the attempt on his life by a stab from Ibn Muljam:
My advice to you is to be conscious of Allah and steadfast in your religion. Do not yearn for the world, and do not be seduced by it. Do not resent anything you have missed in it. Proclaim the truth; work for the next world. Oppose the oppressor and support the oppressed. I advise you, and all my children, my relatives, and whosoever receives this message, to be conscious of Allah, to remove your differences, and to strengthen your ties. I heard your grandfather, peace be upon him, say: "Reconciliation of your differences is more worthy than all prayers and all fasting."
Fear Allah in matters concerning orphans. Attend to their nutrition and do not forget their interests in the middle of yours.
Fear Allah in your relations with your neighbours. Your Prophet often recommended them to you, so much so that we thought he would give them a share in inheritance.
Remain attached to the Quran. Nobody should surpass you in being intent on it, or more sincere in implementing it.
Fear Allah in relation to your prayers. It is the pillar of your religion. Fear Allah in relation to His House; do not abandon it as long as you live. It you should do that you would abandon your dignity. Persist in jihad in the cause of Allah, with your money, your souls, and your tongue.
Maintain communication and exchange of opinion among yourselves. Beware of disunity and enmity. Do not desist from promoting good deeds and cautioning against bad ones. Should you do that, the worst among you would be your leaders, and you will call upon Allah without response.
O Children of Abdul Mattaleb! Do not shed the blood of Muslims under the banner: The Imam has been assassinated! Only the assassin should be condemned to death. If I die of this stab of his, kill him with one similar stroke. Do not mutilate him! I have heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, say: "Mutilate not even a rabid dog."
Source: Najul Balagha
In the 40th year of Hijri, in the small hours of the morning of 19th Ramadan, Imam Ali (AS) was struck with a poisoned sword by the Kharijite Ibn Maljam while offering his prayers in the Masjid of Kufa. He died on the 21st day of Ramadan 40 A.H. and buried in Najaf-ul-Ashraf. He was born in the House of Allah, the Kaaba, and martyred in the House of Allah, Masjid-e-Kufa. The Lion of Allah, the most brave and gentle Muslim after the Prophet (PBUH&HF) himself, began his glorious life with devotion to Allah and His Messenger, and ended it in the service of Islam.

"And do not speak of those who are slain in the Way of Allah as dead; nay, they are alive, but you perceive not."Quran 2:154

References:
Soora Ahzab, verse: 21.
Foroogh welayat, p.35 (kashf Al-Ghoma v.1 , p.9)
Aftab welayat, p.19 (Al-Kharaej and Al-Jaraeh v.1 , p.171)
Aftab welayat, p.19 (Behar Al-anwar v.35 , p.18)
Aftab welayat, p.37 (seerah bin Hesham v.1 , p.236)
Aftab welayat, p.38.
Aftab welayat, p.131 (Soora Bakara , verse:148)
Aftab welayat, p.86 (Mostadrak Hakem v.3 , p.14 Isteeaab , v.3 , p.35)
Aftab welayat, p.141 (Soora Maeda , verse:47)
Aftab welayat, p.697.
Aftab welayat, p.697 (Behar Al-Anwar quoting from Amali , v.9 , p.650)
Aftab welayat, p.697.