حضرت امام مہدی علیہ اسلام
طولانی عمر
ولادت
امام زمانہ کو اب تک ١١٧٠سال گذر چکے ہیں اور یہ طولانی عمر ممکن ہے دسیوں
سیکڑوں بلکہ ہزاروں سال تک چلتی رہے۔ اسکے باوجود یہ کوئی حیرت انگیز بات
نہیں ہے کیونکہ :
١(
وہ خدائے عظیم جس نے انسان کو عدم سے خلق کیا اور ہر چیز کی ایجاد اور
اسکی بقاء صرف اس پر منحصر ہے :(اِنَّماٰ اَمرُہُ اِذٰا اَرادَ شَیئاً اَن
یقوُلَ لَہُ کُن فیَکُونَ( (1) وہ قدرت رکھتا ہے کہ اپنی مخلوق میں سے کسی
ایک کو چند ہزار سال تک زندہ رکّھے۔
قران
مجیدمیں حضرت یونس ـکے بارے میں آیا ہے کہ اگر وہ تسبیح پروردگار نہ کرتے
تو خداوند عالم انہیں روز قیامت تک مچھلی کے پیٹ میں زندہ رکھتا ۔(2)
٢(تاریخی
کتابوں میں ایسے متعدد افراد کے تذکرے ہیں جنہوں نے سیکڑوںسال تک بغیر کسی
مرض اورتکلیف کے زندگی گذاری ہے توریت میں آیا ہے کہ ''ذوالقرنین ''نے تین
ہزار سال تک کی عمر پائی ۔(3) قران کریم نے بھی حضرت نوح (ع) کی عمر کو
طوفان کے آنے سے پہلے٩٥٠سال بتایا ہے۔(4)
٣(عقلی
اعتبار سے کسی موجود کی عمر کو کسی حد کے ذریعے محدود و معین نہیں کیا جا
سکتا ہے بلکہ جو بھی حد معین کی جائے اُس سے زیادہ کا امکان باقی رہتا ہے
مثلاًایک شخص کی عمر اگر ممکن ہے ١٠٠ سال ، ١٥٠ سال یا ٢٠٠ سال معین کی
جائے تو اس سے زیادہ عمر بھی ممکن ہے اور یہ تدریجی سلسلہ اگر چندہزار سال
تک بھی پہنچ جائے اُسوقت بھی نا ممکن نہیں کہا جا سکتا ہے ۔
٤(آج
کل سائنس کے ذریعے ثابت ہوگیا ہے کہ اگر انسان کے وجودی عناصر کی ضروریات
مناسب مقدار میں اُس تک پہنچتی رہیں اور ہمیشہ بیماری سے روک تھام ہو
توانسانوں کی عمر میںحیرت انگیز طور پر اضافہ ہوجائیگالہذا کوئی حرج نہیں
ہے کہ امام زمانہ اپنے اُس خدادادعلم کی وجہ سے عام انسانوں سے زیادہ عمر
کریں۔
انتظار
آخر
کار غیبت کے یہ تلخ ایّام تمام ہوجائیںگے اور ظہور کا وہ جا نفزا موسم
پورے خطۂ ارض پر چھا جائیگا اس وقت اسلام اور توحید کا پرچم ہر طرف لہرائے
گا۔ اس نکتہ نظر سے جو بھی امام زمانہ پر اعتقاد رکھتا ہے اور اس نے آپ کی
ولایت پر باقی رہنے اور اطاعت کرنے کی قسم کھائی ہے وہ ہمیشہ امام کے ظہور
کا منتظر رہے گااور کبھی بھی خود کو اور معاشرہ کو ظہور کے لئے تیار کرنے
میںاپنی کوشش وجد و جہد سے نہیں تھکے گا۔ حدیثوں میں وارد ہوا ہے کہ امام
مہدی (عج)کاانتظار کرنا گویا راہ خدا میں جہاد کرنے کے برابر ہے بلکہ گویا
اُس شخص کو رسول خدا کے سامنے شہادت نصیب ہوئی ہو(5) انتظار کا یہ مطلب
نہیں ہے کہ ہم ہاتھ پر ہاتھ رکھ کر بیٹھ جائیں اور آنے والے کل کا انتظار
کرتے رہیں بلکہ انحرافات اور بدعتوں کے خلاف اعتراض اور قیام کریں اور ایک
روشن اسلامی مستقبل کے لیے زمینہ فراہم کریں ۔
منتظرین کی صفات
١(
معرفت امام اور اُسکی امامت کا اعتقاد: جب تک امام زمانہ کو نہ پہچانیں
اور اُنکی امامت کے معتقد نہ ہوں انتظاربے معنیٰ ہے اور یہ معرفت و اعتقاد
،منتظروں کی خاص اور لازم صفت ہے کیونکہ یہ دونوں انتظار کے اہم رکن میں سے
ہیں جیسا کہ امام سجّاد ـ کے کلام میں پایا جاتا ہے ''اِنَّ اَھلَ زَمانِ
غَیبَتِہ َالقاٰئلوُنَ باِماٰمتہ ِ َالمُنتَظِرُونَ لِظُھُورِہِ اَفضلُ
اَھلِ کُلِّ زَماٰن'' (6)بیشک حضرت مہدی (عج) کی غیبت کے زمانے میں وہ لوگ،
جو ان کی امامت کے قائل ہوں اور ظہور کی آس لیے ان امام کے انتظار میں
زندگی بسر کر رہے ہوں، وہ ہر زمانے کے لوگوں سے برتر ہیں ۔
٢(
تقوا اور حسن سیرت: اسلام میں پرہیزگاری اور تقوا کے علاوہ کرامت و بزرگی
کا کوئی بھی معیار نہیں ہے''اِنَّ اَکرَمَکُم ِعندَ اللہِ
اَتقیٰکُم''(7)اور اسی طرح ایمان کی پختگی اور اُسکی قیمت حسن اخلاق اور
نیک سیرت کے علاوہ کچھ بھی نہیں ہے''اَفضَلُکُم اِیماناً اَحسَنَکُم
اخلاٰقاً'' لہذا یہ تصور نہیں کیا جاسکتا کہ کو ئی اس دائرہ سے خارج ہو
تقوا اور نیک رفتاری سے بے بہرہ ہو اوراُسے انتظار کی فضیلت وکرامت حاصل
ہوجائے۔امام صادق ـ فرماتے ہیں ''مَن َسرَّاَن َیکوُنَ مِن اَصحاٰبِ
القاٰئمِ َفلیَنتَظِر وَ لیَعمَل باِلوَرعِ وَ محاٰسنِ الاخلاقِ وَھُوَ
مُنتَظِرِ'' (8) جو کوئی یہ چاہتا ہے کہ قائم کے اصحاب و انصار میں سے ہو
تو اُسے چاہیے کہ انتظار کرے اور ساتھ ہی ساتھ تقوا ،اور حسن اخلاق کی
بنیاد پر دوسروں سے خوش رفتاری کرے اس حال میں کہ اُسکی آنکھیں ظہورکی
منتظرہوں۔
٣(
فرمان قبول کرنا : جو کوئی اپنے امام معصوم کا منتظر ہو اور زندگی کے تمام
مراحل میں ان کی رہبری کا معتقد ہو وہ ان کی اطاعت کو واجب سمجھے گا اور
زمان غیبت میں ان امام فرمان کی اطاعت کرگا اور خود کو آمادہ کرے گا تاکہ
ظہور امام کے وقت آنحضرت کی بے چوںچرا اطاعت کر ے امام صادق ـ فرماتے ہیں
'' طْوْ بیٰ لِشَیَعْةِقاٰئِمَنَا الْمْنْتَظِرینَ لِظْھْوْرِ ہ
ِوَالْمْطیعینَ لَہْ فی ظْھْوْرِہِ''(9) زہے نصیب ہمارے قائم کے شیعہ کہ ان
کی غیبت میں ان کا انتطار میں جیتے ہیں اور وقت ظہور ان کے مطیع ہیں۔
٤(
امام (عج)کے دوستوں سے دوستی انکے دشمنوں سے دشمنی:ہر انسان کے لیے دوستی
کو پرکھنے کا سب سے عمدہ ذریعہ یہ ہے کہ اُسکے دوست اور دشمن کو پہچانے۔
دوست
کے دشمن اور دشمن کے دوست کو کبھی دوست نہیں کہا جاتا ہے اُسی طرح سے دوست
کے دوست اور دشمن کے دشمن کو بھی دشمن نہیں سمجھتے ہیں یہ بات فطری ہے کہ
ہر انسان اپنے محبوب کے چاہنے والوں کا دوست اور اُسکے دشمنوں کا دشمن ہوتا
ہے۔
یقیناًامام
زمانہ کے منتظر بھی آپکے دوستوں کے دوست اور آپکے دشمنوں کے دشمن ہیں
پیغمبر اکرم ۖفرماتے پیں '' طْوْ بیٰ لِمَنْ اَدْ رَکَ قَائِمَ اَھْلَ
بَیْتی وَ ھْوَ یَاتَمّْ بِہِ فی غَیْبَتِہِ قَبْلَ قِیَا مِہِ وَ
لْیَتَوَلّٰی اَوْلِیَائَہْ وَ یْعَا دی اَعْدٰائَہْ''(10)زہے نصیب وہ
افراد جنہوں نے میرے قائم اہل بیت کو درک کیا اور ان کی غیبت کے زمانے میں
قیام سے پہلے ان کی پیروی کی ان کے دوستوں کو دوست رکّھااور انکے دشمنوں کو
دشمن قرار دیا۔
ظہور سے پہلے کی علامتیں
حضرت
مہدی (عج)کے ظہور کی اہمیّت کو مدّ نظر رکھتے ہوئے اور اشتباہات اور سوئے
استفادہ سے روک تھام کے لیے خداوند عالم نے ظہور سے پہلے چند علامتیں مقرر
فرمائیں ہیں اِن علامتوں کو ہم دو حصوں میں تقسیم کرسکتے ہیں :
١( قطعی علامتیں
٢( غیر قطعی علامتیں
قطعی
علامتیں وہ ہیںجن کے سلسلے میں متواتر روایتیںوارد ہوئی ہیں اور اْنکے
واقع ہونے کی تاکید بھی کی گئی ہے مانند خروج سفیانی اور قتل نفسِ
زکیّہ۔(11)
غیر
قطعی علامتیں وہ ہیں جن کے سلسلے میں متواتر روایت نہیں پائی جاتی ہے یا
معصوم کے توسط سے اْنکا حتماً واقع ہونا نہیں پایا جاتا ہے ۔ مانند پانچ
دفعہ چاند گہن اورپندرہ دفعہ سورج گہن ۔(12)
علامات ظہور پر ایک اجمالی نظر
بہت
سی ایسی روایتیں ہیں جن میں علامات ظہور کا تذکرہ ہے جن کے مطابق امام
زمانہ (عج) کا اس وقت ظہور ہو گا جب دنیا ظلم و جور سے بھر جائیگی ''…کَمٰا
مُلِئَتُ ظُلْماًوَجَوْراً ''(13)
امام صادق ـنے اپنے ایک صحابی سے علامات ظہور بیان فرمائی ہیں جنہیںہم مختصر طور پر بیان کر رہے ہیں:
امام زمانہ کے ظہور کی علامتیں:
٭خروج دجّال ۔
٭ نفس زکیہ کا قتل ۔
٭سید حسنی کا خروج ۔
٭١٥ /ماہ مبارک رمضان کو سورج و چاند گرہن لگنا۔
٭سفیانی کا خروج ۔
٭ندائے آسمانی ۔
٭ظہوراس وقت ہوگا جب دنیا ظلم وجور سے لبریز ہو جائیگی ۔
٭اہل باطل اہل حق پر سبقت لیںگے۔
٭سود خوری عام ہو جائیگی۔
٭زنا عام ہوجائیگا۔
٭چھوٹے بڑوںکی عزّت نہیں کریں گے ۔
٭راہ خیر پر چلنے والوںکی تعداد کم اور را ہ شر پر چلنے والوںکی تعداد زیادہ ہو جائیگی ۔
٭مکّاری اور چاپلوسی زیادہ ہوجائیگی۔
٭ لوگ آشکار جوا کھلیں گے اور شراب پئیں گے۔
٭ لوگوں کوقرآن کے حقائق سننا گراںگذرے گا ۔
٭ اگر کوئی امر بالمعروف ونہی عن المنکرکرنے والاہوگا تو اسے لوگ نصیحت کریںگے
کہ یہ تمہارا کام نہیںہے !
٭
مسجدوںمیںا ن لوگوںکی بھیڑ ہوگی جنکے دلوں میں ذّرہ برابر خدا کا خوف نہ
ہوگا ٭ لوگ دولت اور دولتمند افراد کے آگے سر تسلیم خم کریں گے۔
٭ لوگ اپنے مال کو راہ خدا میں صرف کرنے کے بجائے راہ شر میں خرچ کرناشرف
سمجھیںگے !
٭ ایسے لوگ پیدا ہوجائیںگے جو ایک روز گناہ کبیرہ انجام نہ دیںگے تو پریشان و
مضطرب رہیںگے !
٭ لوگوںکی مدد صورت دیکھ کر کی جائیگی۔
٭ تنگ دست اور نیاز مندوںکی مددمیںسفارش چلے گی!
٭ لوگوں کے نزدیک وقت نماز کی کوئی اہمیت نہ ہو گی ! (14)
علامات
ظہور کے سلسلے میں اہم بات یہ ہے کہ اِن علامتوں میں سے کسی بھی علامت کا
نہ پایا جانا اس بات کی نشانی نہیں ہوگا کہ ظہور میں تأخیر ہوسکتی ہے
کیونکہ ''خداوند متعال ظہور کے مقدمات کو تنہا ایک شب میں پورا کردیگا''اور
اس امر کا لازمہ یہ ہے کے ہم ہمیشہ منتظر رہیں اور اپنے آپ کو ہمیشہ آمادہ
رکھیں۔
……………………………
(1) یس ٣٦، آیہ ٨٢
(2) صافات ، آیہ ١٤٤
(3) منتخب الاثر ص٢٧٦
(4) عنکبوت آیہ ١٤
(5) بحارالانوار ج٥٢/ص١٢٦
(6) بحارالانوار ج٥٢/ص٢٢١،ح٤
(7) سورہ حجرات آیہ ١٣
(8) بحارالانوار ج٥٢/ص١٤٠،ح٥٠
(9) بحارالانوار ج٥٢/ص١٥٠،ح٧٦
(10) بحارالانوار ج٥١/ص٧٢
(11) منتخب الاثر ، ص٤٣٩
(12) منتخب الاثر ، ص٤٤٠
(13) بحار الانوار ج ٥١/ص٣٠ (باب ٢، اسمائہ و القابہ ( بحار الانوار ج ٥١/ص٣٣ (باب٣، النھی عن التسمیہ(
(14) بحار الانوار ج ٥١/ص٥٢،ص٢٥٦۔٢٦٠ حدیث ١٤٧
Hazrat Ali (a.s) Biography
Father: Abu Talib bin Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim.
Mother: Fatimah bint Asad bin Hashim bin Abd Munaf.
Kunniyat (Patronymic): Abul Hasan and Husayn, Abu Turab
Laqab (Title): Al-Wasi, Amir al-Mu'minin
Birth: He was born in the Ka'ba , in thirty 'Am al-Fil (the year of the elephant).
Martyrdom: He
was martyred by the Khwariji named Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam at Kufa
during the month of Ramadhan in the fortieth year of Hijrah and is
buried in Najaf on the outskirts of Kufa.
Biography
Amir al-mu'minln Ali (upon whom be peace) was the son of Abu Talib, the Shaykh of the Banu Hashim. Abu Talib was the uncle and guardian of the Holy Prophet (sawas) and the person who had brought the Prophet (sawas) to his house and raised him like his own son. After the Prophet (sawas) was chosen for his prophetic mission, Abu Talib continued to support him and repelled from him the evil that came from the infidels among the Arabs and especially the Quraysh.
According to well-known traditional accounts Ali was born ten years before the commencement of the prophetic mission of the Prophet (sawas). When six years old, as a result of famine in and around Mecca, he was requested by the Prophet (sawas) to leave his father's house and come to the house of his cousin, the Prophet (sawas). There he was placed directly under the guardianship and custody of the Holy Prophet (sawas).
A few years later, when the Prophet (sawas) was endowed with the Divine gift of prophecy and for the first time received the Divine revelation in the cave of Hira', as he left the cave to return to town and his own house he met Ali on the way. He told him what had happened and Ali accepted the new faith. Again in a gathering when the Holy Prophet (sawas) had brought his relatives together and invited them to accept his religion, he said the first person to accept his call would be his vicegerent and inheritor and deputy. The only person to rise from his place and accept the faith was Ali and the Prophet (sawas) accepted his declaration of faith. Therefore Ali was the first man in Islam to accept the faith and is the first among the followers of the Prophet (sawas) to have never worshipped other than the One God.
Ali was always in the company of the Prophet (sawas) until the Prophet (sawas) migrated from Mecca to Medina. On the night of the migration to Medina (hijrah) when the infidels had surrounded the house of the Prophet (sawas) and were determined to invade the house at the end of the night and cut him to pieces while he was in bed, Ali slept in place of the Prophet (sawas) while the Prophet (sawas) left the house and set out for Medina. After the departure of the Prophet (sawas), according to his wish Ali gave back to the people the trusts and charges that they had left with the Prophet (sawas). Then he went to Medina with his mother, the daughter of the Prophet (sawas), and two other women.
In Medina also Ali was constantly in the company of the Prophet (sawas) in private and in public. The Prophet (sawas) gave Fatimah, his beloved daughter from Khadijah, to Ali as his wife and when the Prophet (sawas) was creating bonds of brotherhood among his companions he selected Ali as his brother.
Ali was present in all the wars in which the Prophet (sawas) participated, except the battle of Tabuk when he was ordered to stay in Medina in place of the Prophet (sawas). He did not retreat in any battle nor did he turn his face away from any enemy. He never disobeyed the Prophet (sawas), so that the Prophet (sawas) said, "Ali is never separated from the Truth nor the Truth from Ali."
On the day of the death of the Prophet (sawas), Ali was thirty-three years old. Although he was foremost in religious virtues and the most outstanding among the companions of the Prophet (sawas), he was pushed aside from the caliphate on the claim that he was too young and that he had many enemies among the people because of the blood of the polytheists he had spilled in the wars fought alongside the Prophet (sawas). Therefore Ali was almost completely cut off from public affairs. He retreated to his house where he began to train competent individuals in the Divine sciences and in this way he passed the twenty-five years of the caliphate of the first three caliphs who succeeded the Prophet (sawas). When the third caliph was killed, people gave their allegiance to him and he was chosen as caliph.
During his caliphate of nearly four years and nine months, Ali followed the way of the Prophet (sawas) and gave his caliphate the form of a spiritual movement and renewal and began many different types of reforms. Naturally, these reforms were against the interests of certain parties that sought their own benefit. As a result, a group of the companions (foremost among whom were Talhah and Zubayr, who also gained the support of A'ishah, and especially Mu'awiyah) made a pretext of the death of the third caliph to raise their heads in opposition and began to revolt and rebel against Ali.
In order to quell the civil strife and sedition, Ali fought a war near Basra, known as the "Battle of the Camel," against Talhah and Zubayr in which Ummul Mu'mineen A'ishah, was also involved. He fought another war against Mu'awiyah on the border of Iraq and Syria which lasted for a year and a half and is famous as the "Battle of Siffin." He also fought against the Khawarij at Nahrawan, in a battle known as the "Battle of Nahrawan." Therefore, most of the days of Ali's caliphate were spent in overcoming internal opposition. Finally, in the morning of the 19th of Ramadan in the year 40 A.H., while praying in the mosque of Kufa, he was wounded by one of the Khawarij and died as a martyr during the night of the 21st of Ramadan.
According to the testimony of friend and foe alike, Ali had no shortcomings from the point of view of human perfection. And in the Islamic virtues he was a perfect example of the upbringing and training given by the Prophet (sawas). The discussions that have taken place concerning his personality and the books written on this subject by Shi'ites, Sunnis and members of other religions, as well as the simply curious outside any distinct religious bodies, are hardly equalled in the case of any other personality in history.
In science and knowledge Ali was the most learned of the companions of the Prophet (sawas), and of Muslims in general. In his learned discourses he was the first in Islam to open the door for logical demonstration and proof and to discuss the "divine sciences" or metaphysics (ma'arif-i ilahlyah). He spoke concerning the esoteric aspect of the Quran and devised Arabic grammar in order to preserve the Quran's form of expression. He was the most eloquent Arab in speech (as has been mentioned in the first part of this book).
The courage of Ali was proverbial. In all the wars in which he participated during the lifetime of the Prophet (sawas), and also afterward, he never displayed fear or anxiety. Although in many battles such as those of Uhud, Hunayn, Khaybar and Khandaq the aides to the Prophet (sawas) and the Muslim army trembled in fear or dispersed and fled, he never turned his back to the enemy. Never did a warrior or soldier engage Ali in battle and come out of it alive. Yet, with full chivalry he would never slay a weak enemy nor pursue those who fled. He would not engage in surprise attacks or in turning streams of water upon the enemy. It has been definitively established historically that in the Battle of Khaybar in the attack against the fort he reached the ring of the door and with sudden motion tore off the door and cast it away. Also on the day when Mecca was conquered the Prophet (sawas) ordered the idols to be broken. The idol "Hubal" was the largest idol in Mecca, a giant stone statue placed on the top of the Ka'bah. Following the command of the Prophet (sawas), Ali placed his feet on the Prophet (sawas)'s shoulders, climbed to the top of the Ka'bah, pulled "Hubal" from its place and cast it down.
Ali was also without equal in religious asceticism and the worship of God. In answer to some who had complained of Ali's anger toward them, the Prophet (sawas) said, "Do not reproach Ali for he is in a state of Divine ecstasy and bewilderment.
" Abu Darda'', one of the companions, one day saw the body of Ali in one of the palm plantations of Medina laying on the ground as stiff as wood. He went to Ali's house to inform his noble wife, the daughter of the Prophet (sawas), and to express his condolences. The daughter of the Prophet (sawas) said, "My cousin (Ali) has not died. Rather, in fear of God he has fainted. This condition overcomes him often." There are many stories told of Ali's kindness to the lowly, compassion for the needy and the poor, and generosity and munificence toward those in misery and poverty. Ali spent all that he earned to help the poor and the needy, and himself lived in the strictest and simplest manner. Ali loved agriculture and spent much of his time digging wells, planting trees and cultivating fields. But all the fields that he cultivated or wells that he built he gave in endowment (waqf) to the poor. His endowments, known as the "alms of Ali," had the noteworthy income of twenty-four thousand gold dinars toward the end of his life.
According to well-known traditional accounts Ali was born ten years before the commencement of the prophetic mission of the Prophet (sawas). When six years old, as a result of famine in and around Mecca, he was requested by the Prophet (sawas) to leave his father's house and come to the house of his cousin, the Prophet (sawas). There he was placed directly under the guardianship and custody of the Holy Prophet (sawas).
A few years later, when the Prophet (sawas) was endowed with the Divine gift of prophecy and for the first time received the Divine revelation in the cave of Hira', as he left the cave to return to town and his own house he met Ali on the way. He told him what had happened and Ali accepted the new faith. Again in a gathering when the Holy Prophet (sawas) had brought his relatives together and invited them to accept his religion, he said the first person to accept his call would be his vicegerent and inheritor and deputy. The only person to rise from his place and accept the faith was Ali and the Prophet (sawas) accepted his declaration of faith. Therefore Ali was the first man in Islam to accept the faith and is the first among the followers of the Prophet (sawas) to have never worshipped other than the One God.
Ali was always in the company of the Prophet (sawas) until the Prophet (sawas) migrated from Mecca to Medina. On the night of the migration to Medina (hijrah) when the infidels had surrounded the house of the Prophet (sawas) and were determined to invade the house at the end of the night and cut him to pieces while he was in bed, Ali slept in place of the Prophet (sawas) while the Prophet (sawas) left the house and set out for Medina. After the departure of the Prophet (sawas), according to his wish Ali gave back to the people the trusts and charges that they had left with the Prophet (sawas). Then he went to Medina with his mother, the daughter of the Prophet (sawas), and two other women.
In Medina also Ali was constantly in the company of the Prophet (sawas) in private and in public. The Prophet (sawas) gave Fatimah, his beloved daughter from Khadijah, to Ali as his wife and when the Prophet (sawas) was creating bonds of brotherhood among his companions he selected Ali as his brother.
Ali was present in all the wars in which the Prophet (sawas) participated, except the battle of Tabuk when he was ordered to stay in Medina in place of the Prophet (sawas). He did not retreat in any battle nor did he turn his face away from any enemy. He never disobeyed the Prophet (sawas), so that the Prophet (sawas) said, "Ali is never separated from the Truth nor the Truth from Ali."
On the day of the death of the Prophet (sawas), Ali was thirty-three years old. Although he was foremost in religious virtues and the most outstanding among the companions of the Prophet (sawas), he was pushed aside from the caliphate on the claim that he was too young and that he had many enemies among the people because of the blood of the polytheists he had spilled in the wars fought alongside the Prophet (sawas). Therefore Ali was almost completely cut off from public affairs. He retreated to his house where he began to train competent individuals in the Divine sciences and in this way he passed the twenty-five years of the caliphate of the first three caliphs who succeeded the Prophet (sawas). When the third caliph was killed, people gave their allegiance to him and he was chosen as caliph.
During his caliphate of nearly four years and nine months, Ali followed the way of the Prophet (sawas) and gave his caliphate the form of a spiritual movement and renewal and began many different types of reforms. Naturally, these reforms were against the interests of certain parties that sought their own benefit. As a result, a group of the companions (foremost among whom were Talhah and Zubayr, who also gained the support of A'ishah, and especially Mu'awiyah) made a pretext of the death of the third caliph to raise their heads in opposition and began to revolt and rebel against Ali.
In order to quell the civil strife and sedition, Ali fought a war near Basra, known as the "Battle of the Camel," against Talhah and Zubayr in which Ummul Mu'mineen A'ishah, was also involved. He fought another war against Mu'awiyah on the border of Iraq and Syria which lasted for a year and a half and is famous as the "Battle of Siffin." He also fought against the Khawarij at Nahrawan, in a battle known as the "Battle of Nahrawan." Therefore, most of the days of Ali's caliphate were spent in overcoming internal opposition. Finally, in the morning of the 19th of Ramadan in the year 40 A.H., while praying in the mosque of Kufa, he was wounded by one of the Khawarij and died as a martyr during the night of the 21st of Ramadan.
According to the testimony of friend and foe alike, Ali had no shortcomings from the point of view of human perfection. And in the Islamic virtues he was a perfect example of the upbringing and training given by the Prophet (sawas). The discussions that have taken place concerning his personality and the books written on this subject by Shi'ites, Sunnis and members of other religions, as well as the simply curious outside any distinct religious bodies, are hardly equalled in the case of any other personality in history.
In science and knowledge Ali was the most learned of the companions of the Prophet (sawas), and of Muslims in general. In his learned discourses he was the first in Islam to open the door for logical demonstration and proof and to discuss the "divine sciences" or metaphysics (ma'arif-i ilahlyah). He spoke concerning the esoteric aspect of the Quran and devised Arabic grammar in order to preserve the Quran's form of expression. He was the most eloquent Arab in speech (as has been mentioned in the first part of this book).
The courage of Ali was proverbial. In all the wars in which he participated during the lifetime of the Prophet (sawas), and also afterward, he never displayed fear or anxiety. Although in many battles such as those of Uhud, Hunayn, Khaybar and Khandaq the aides to the Prophet (sawas) and the Muslim army trembled in fear or dispersed and fled, he never turned his back to the enemy. Never did a warrior or soldier engage Ali in battle and come out of it alive. Yet, with full chivalry he would never slay a weak enemy nor pursue those who fled. He would not engage in surprise attacks or in turning streams of water upon the enemy. It has been definitively established historically that in the Battle of Khaybar in the attack against the fort he reached the ring of the door and with sudden motion tore off the door and cast it away. Also on the day when Mecca was conquered the Prophet (sawas) ordered the idols to be broken. The idol "Hubal" was the largest idol in Mecca, a giant stone statue placed on the top of the Ka'bah. Following the command of the Prophet (sawas), Ali placed his feet on the Prophet (sawas)'s shoulders, climbed to the top of the Ka'bah, pulled "Hubal" from its place and cast it down.
Ali was also without equal in religious asceticism and the worship of God. In answer to some who had complained of Ali's anger toward them, the Prophet (sawas) said, "Do not reproach Ali for he is in a state of Divine ecstasy and bewilderment.
" Abu Darda'', one of the companions, one day saw the body of Ali in one of the palm plantations of Medina laying on the ground as stiff as wood. He went to Ali's house to inform his noble wife, the daughter of the Prophet (sawas), and to express his condolences. The daughter of the Prophet (sawas) said, "My cousin (Ali) has not died. Rather, in fear of God he has fainted. This condition overcomes him often." There are many stories told of Ali's kindness to the lowly, compassion for the needy and the poor, and generosity and munificence toward those in misery and poverty. Ali spent all that he earned to help the poor and the needy, and himself lived in the strictest and simplest manner. Ali loved agriculture and spent much of his time digging wells, planting trees and cultivating fields. But all the fields that he cultivated or wells that he built he gave in endowment (waqf) to the poor. His endowments, known as the "alms of Ali," had the noteworthy income of twenty-four thousand gold dinars toward the end of his life.
Mukhtar Nama
by Unknown
al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ‘Ubayd Allah al-Thaqafī (Arabic: المختار بن أبي عبيد الله الثقفي) (also spelled Mukhtar bin Abu Ubaid), 622-687 CE, was a controversial early Islamic revolutionary based in Kufa, Iraq who led an abortive rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphs in vengence for the death of Husayn ibn 'Ali at the Battle of Karbala and the expulsion of Ibn Al-Zubayr's governer in Kufa. Al-Mukhtar declared that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, a descendent of 'Ali, was the rightful caliph and mahdi, the first use of this term for a real person in Islamic history. Al-Mukhtar was defeated by Umayyad commander Mus'ad Ibn Al-Zubayr and killed.
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