Imam Ali (PBUH), the personification of Islam

Heartiest congratulations to you all on a very auspicious occasion. Today is the historic 13th of Rajab, the blessed birth anniversary of the Leader of the Pious, the Commander of the Faithful, the Epitome of Valour, the Symbol of Justice, the Model of Munificence, the Master of Eloquence, the Gateway of Knowledge, the Embodiment of Wisdom, and the Personification of Islam and all Humanitarian Values, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (PBUH).

Now we have a special feature on the Man who looms larger than life in every age and clime, and continues to transcend history and historical developments.

God Almighty says in ayah 68 of Surah Aal-e Imran of the holy Qur’an, which is His final revelation to all mankind:

“Indeed the nearest of all people to Abraham are those who follow him, and this Messenger (that is, Prophet Mohammad) and those who have faith; and Allah is the Guardian of the faithful."

By pondering on the wordings of this divine revelation, let us focus on the significance of the 13^th of Rajab, the anniversary of that blessed day in history when the wall of Allah's Symbolic House, the Holy Ka'ba in Mecca, which Adam the Father of mankind had built as the first edifice on Planet Earth and which Abraham rebuilt millennia later, had miraculously parted for an Immaculate Lady of the monotheist Hashemite Clan, and miraculously closed behind her as she entered its sacred precincts, to the utter bewilderment of the pagan Arabs engaged in idol-worship around the supreme sanctuary of monotheism.

It was the Year 30 Aam al-Feel, corresponding to around 600 AD of the Roman calendar, three decades after the divine wrath that struck the hordes of Abraha, the governor of Yemen of the Christian Emperor of Abyssinia or today’s Ethiopia, who mounted on an elephant had tried to storm the holy Ka’ba, when a flock of small birds with pebbles in their beaks and claws appeared overhead in the sky to rain down death and destruction on the soldiers and their mounts.

The Lady praying fervently to the One and Only God with hands raised towards heaven, and scornfully ignoring the idols the ignorant Arabs had installed to try to pollute the sanctity of the holy Ka’ba, was the wife of the Noblest Chieftain of Mecca, Abu Taleb. She was Fatema bint Asad, the virtual mother for the person who as the Best of creation would ten years later publicly proclaim his mission as the Last and Greatest of Prophets. For the past 22 years, she and her husband had brought up as their own son, the 8-year orphan of Abdullah and Amena bint Wahb, following the death of his grandfather, Abdul-Muttaleb, and arranged his marriage with the Richest Lady of Arabia, the monotheist Khadija bint Khuwailed (SA). And now, as she supplicated to God at the supreme symbol of monotheism, her prayers were immediately answered when Divine Providence by parting a section of the wall of the holy Ka’ba, invited her into the sancta sanctorum for the blissful delivery of her youngest child, at the place where no one had been born before and none will ever be born.

It would be repetitive to say that whatever means and methods the ignorant Arabs adopted to try to break the locks of the door of the Ka’ba or make a breath in its walls, utterly failed. Three days later, again to the stupefaction of the pagan Arabs, the walls of the holy Ka’ba parted and closed to allow Fatema bint Asad to step out with a radiant boy in her arms, while nearby stood in expectation the newborn’s 30-year old first cousin, along with the infant’s father, Abu Taleb. The Prophet, who had not yet declared his universal mission of Islam, stepped forward to take his first cousin in his arms from his aunt and virtual mother.

Only God knows what transpired between the two cousins when their eyes met each other with smiles on their lips.

The birth of Imam Ali (AS), was indeed a miracle, and remains to this day as a beacon of guidance for the seekers of truth, in the same way that the holy Ka’ba in which he was born, serves as the focal point of worship for Muslims all over the globe.

Much has been said and written about the virtues of the One and Only Commander of the Faithful. Throughout history, scholars, researchers, scientists, poets and others have focused through different angles in their efforts to fathom the multi-sided personality of the cousin, ward, son-in-law and divinely-designated vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

The different aspects presented by different writers and different orators in their discourse, speaks of the dynamic characteristics of the man who continues to shine like the resplendent sun despite the frenzied efforts of his enemies, both in his lifetime after his martyrdom and till this day, to try to belittle his merits and even to slander him.

Anyone who attempts to write something about Imam Ali (AS) will admit that he was indeed a perfect man of God, obedient to the Creator in all aspects of life, to the extent that he would not even entertain the idea of committing the most minute act of disobedience. He himself says in sermon 224 of the famous book Nahj al-Balagha:

"By Allah even if I am given all the domains of the seven (stars) with all that exists under the skies in order that I may disobey Allah to the extent of snatching one grain of barley from an ant I would not do it. For me the world is lighter than the leaf in the mouth of a locust that is chewing it."

He was a paradigm of piety and excelled all others in the worship of God. He lived and breathed according to the commandments of God and in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet. Because of his commitment to these factors he refused to accept his denied right of the caliphate on the death of Omar ibn al-Khattab when the condition spelled by the 6-man council was that the next caliph should be bound to the behaviour and patterns set by the Shaykhayn or the first two caliphs.       Although justice is regarded as a much-cherished humanitarian principle there are very few who really adhere to justice and practice justice in their daily life. History bears witness that persons in power show respect for justice and implement justice as long as it suits their interests, but when justice means desisting from their vested interests, they quickly dispense with the concept of justice itself. Justice in the lexicon of such persons has definite limits, and a slogan to be distorted at will, as is the case with not just the rulers of realms but with the judges presiding over cases at the high courts and the supreme courts.

But for Imam Ali (AS), as the Divinely-Designated Heir of the Seal of Messengers, whose proclamation from heaven was made at Ghadeer-Khom on 18^th Zilhijja 10 AH, justice had a transcendental meaning where self-interests cease to exist. During his four-and-a-half year rule as Head of the Islamic Realm, he was the epitome of the just ruler and spared no effort for the implementation of justice.

For instance, when he heard that the agents of the rebel Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan had plundered the city of Anbar in present day Iraq and snatched the jewelry from the women including those non-Muslims living under the protection of Islam, the Imam said:

"If any Muslim dies of grief after all this he is not to be blamed but rather there is justification for him before."

In another part of Sermon 224, Imam Ali (AS) says:

"By Allah, I would rather like to pass the night in wakefulness on the thorns of Sa'dan or to be driven in chains as a prisoner than meet Allah and His Prophet on the Day of Judgement as an oppressor over any person or a usurper of anything out of the worldly wealth. And how can I oppress anyone for (the sake of a life) what is fast moving towards destruction and is to remain under the earth for a long time."

By reflecting on these statements, we realize that this lofty sense of justice for restoring people their denied rights, if it endeared Imam Ali (AS) to the oppressed masses, it made the oppressors his open enemies. This is the reason his right of leadership of the Muslim society was usurped by a group of neo Muslims who had spent the greater part of their life in idolatry and sins.

The person, who as a ten-year boy was present on Jabal an-Noor outside Mecca when the Archangel Gabriel descended upon his cousin with the first rays of Divine Revelation, says:

"O Allah I am the first to come towards You by hearing Your call and responding to it. No one has precedence over me in performing the prayer except the Messenger of Allah."

So firm was the bond between the two cousins that the Prophet said: "Aliyun minni wa ana min Ali (Ali is from me and I am from 'Ali)

The affinity between the two, if it was a great blessing for Islam, and it remains till this day, as is clear to anyone that Imam Ali (AS), who continues to transcend history and historical developments, stands head and shoulders above all other Muslims and could rightly be called the personification of Islam and its egalitarian values.

AS/ME