Ali, the Symbol of Purity and Piety of all Times

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The Religious Authority H.E. Sayyed M. H. Fadlullah delivered the Friday prayer sermon, 18th of July 2008 A.D., 15 Rajab 1429 H.

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

 

Ali's Birth:



Ali was born in Allah's house in the Kabah Al-Musharafah, where no one before him or after him was born. He also was martyred in a house of Allah, for he considered his entire life as a house of Allah in which all Allah's creations seek to worship and obey Him. He sought to please Allah, The Most Exalted, in everything he said or did, especially in his struggle for the cause of Allah. He used to tell the people: "You and I do not seek the same aims. I want you for Allah and you want me for yourselves.” My message is to open the minds of people on the oneness of Allah to remove any assuming partnerships to Him in worship and obedience and to let piety be the basis of man's movement before Allah.



He sold himself to God leaving nothing for himself. Quranic interpreters believe that the Ayah “And there is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah: And Allah is full of kindness to (His) devotees” was talking about him, for he lived all his life with Allah as a lover who cannot wait to meet his beloved one.  



We read in the supplication he taught to Kumail. Therefore, (my Lord!) if Thou wilt subject me to the penalties (of hell) in company of Thy enemies and cast me with those who merited Thy punishments and tear me apart from Thy friends and those who will be near to Thee, then my God, my Lord and my Master, though I may patiently bear Thy punishments, how can I calmly accept being kept away from Thee?



I reckon that though I may patiently endure the scorching fire of Thy hell, yet how can I resign myself to the denial of Thy pity and clemency? How can I remain in the fire while I have hopes of Thy forgiveness?



 His heart was fall of love of Allah and His Messenger. And this is what the Messenger said in the battle of Al-Khandak: "I will give the banner tomorrow to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger and whom Allah and His Messenger love." His love for Allah occupied his heart and mind, to the extent that when he opened the Door of Khaiber that needs 70 persons to move he said: I did do not open the Door of Khaibar by a physical strength but a Divine one.



It is that love and loyalty to Allah that made him struggle heroically for His cause.



Ali's Traits



It is reported that after Ali (a.s.) died, Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan said to Dirar bin Ghamrah," Describe Ali to me." "Will you not excuse me from answering you," said Dirar. "No, describe him," insisted Muawiyah "Please, excuse me from doing so," said Dirar. "I will not," said Muawiyah. "I will do so, then," said Dirar with a sigh. "By Allah, he was far-sighted and very strong. He spoke with a truthful finality, so that, through him, truth became distinguished from falsehood. He ruled justly, and knowledge gushed forth from him, as did wisdom. He felt an aversion to the world and its (pleasures), and felt a likeness for the holiness of the night. Since believers in the night would draw away from (their) beds, they call upon their Lord in fear and in hope, and they spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them. By Allah, he would cry profusely (from the fear of Allah); long durations would he spend in contemplation, during which time he would converse with his soul (thinking about what draws him closer to Allah and benefit people).



 He showed a liking (for religious reasons, of course; to train his soul to be patient and tolerant) to coarse garments and lower quality food. By Allah, it was as if - in his humbleness - he was one of us (He was so humble that he did not have any advantages, just as Muhammad was, whom those who came to see him while sitting with his companions had to ask: which of you is Muhammad): when we asked him a question, he would answer us; (for he believed it was the duty of the knowledgeable to spread his knowledge) when we would go to him, he would initiate (the greetings of peace); and when we would invite him (to our homes), he would come to us. Yet, in spite of his closeness to us, we would not speak (freely) with him, because of the dignity and honour that he exuded if he smiled, he revealed the likes of straight and regular pearls (i.e. his teeth). He honored religious people and loved the poor. The strong person could not hope to gain favors from him through falsehood. And the weak person never lost hope of his justness. I swear, by Allah, that on certain occasions, I saw him in his place of prayer when the night was dark and few stars could be seen; he would be holding his beard and crying the way a very sad person cries; and I would hear him saying, "O world, O world, are you offering yourself to me? Do you desire me? Never! Never! Deceive someone other than me. I have divorced you for the third time, so that you cannot return to me. O world, your life is short, the existence you offer is base, and your danger is great. Alas for the paucity of sustenance (i.e. good deeds), the great distance of the journey, and the loneliness of the road!"



Upon hearing this description, Muawiyah's eyes swelled with tears, and not being able to hold them from gushing forth, he was forced to wipe them with his cuffs; and the same can be said for those who were present. Muawaiyah then said, "May Allah have mercy on the father of Al Hasan, for he was, by Allah, just as you described him to be." He then said, "O Dirar, describe your sadness at having lost him."



"My sadness," began Dirar, "is like the sadness of a woman who cannot control her tears or allay her grief after her child, while in her lap, has just been slaughtered." Dirar then stood up and left.



Ali is Muhammad's Soul mate



Ali (a.s.) tells us about his teacher Muhammad (p.), the one who raised him as a child, to help Ali's father overcome his financial difficulties. He says: You know how close I was to the Messenger… He put me in his lap and hugged me, and made me sleep in his bed, touch his body and smell his beautiful smell. He used to chew the food and give it to me to eat. He never found me tell any lie or do a wrong deed… I was always with him, following him as a baby camel following its mother, teaching me a new moral everyday, and order me to follow his lead. He used to go each year to the cause of Hiva, where I would be the only one to see him. In those days not one house had in it three people who met on Islam, except that of the Messenger (p.) which embraced the Messenger of Allah, Khadija and me." During prayers Ali (a.s.) used to stand beside him where Khadija stood behind. He used to see the light of the revelation and the Message and smell the scent of Prophethood ".



That is why the Messenger told him: "You are my brother in this life and in the Hereafter. He also said: I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate".



And when he left the Medina and did not take him to the battle of Tabouk, as he used to in all battles, the Messenger (p.) told him: Don't you accept that you are to me as Haroun was to Musa, except that there is no prophet after me".



And since he held the responsibility of educating people, he used to say: "Ask me, By Allah you will not ask me about any Ayah from the Book of Allah that I will not tell you when and where it was revealed…". When Aisha was asked about Ali (a.s.) she said: "I have never seen a man whom the Messenger (p.) loves more than him nor a woman whom the Messenger(p.) loves more than his wife.



On the day of Ghadir, the Prophet (p.) gathered the people on their way back from the Farewell Pilgrimage and said: Do I not have more right over the believers than what they have over themselves?". He repeated it three times and the people cried and answered: "Yes, O' Messenger of God." Then the Prophet (P,) held up the hand of Ali and said: "Whoever I am his leader (Mawla), Ali is his leader (Mawla). O' God, love those who love him, and be hostile to those who are hostile to him, and turn the right with him wherever he turns.



Um Salma is reported to have said: I heard the Messenger (p.) say: Ali (a.s.) is with the Quran and the Quran is with Ali (a.s.) and these two shall never separate from each other until they return to me at the Hawd (the pool of Kawthar).



He also advised the believers to seek to attain five things: I recommend five things to you, the attainment of which will be worth any amount of hardship: Not to expect anything from anyone but from God; not to fear anything but your sins; not to be ashamed to say, ‘I do not know’, when asked about something you are not aware of; not to be ashamed of learning a thing you do not know. Ever preserve the virtue of patience, for patience in relation to 'belief (Faith) is like the head in relation to the body. And there is no good in a body which has no head, neither in 'belief which has no patience.



 Asked about the good, he said: "Good does not mean



to have big wealth and many children, but to have many



good-deeds and much clemency. There is no good in the life of



this world but for two men: a man who has committed so many



evil deeds and who had turned to Allah in repentance and a man who hastens to perform good works."



Champion of Islamic unity



Ali who gave Islam all his courage and heroism to the extent that the Messenger described him as the entire faith that was to fight the entire unbelief, when he went out to fight Amro bin Abd Wid… Even when this great man was denied his right after the death of the Prophet, he upheld his responsibility towards Islam and chose to cooperate with those who came before him safeguarding Islamic unity.” But when I heard that there were people who wish to destroy Islam, I was afraid that if I do not support Islam even if I were denied my rights, there will be a catastrophe that is far greater than assuming the post of ruling, which is something very trivial that will last for a few days and then disappear like clouds, I had to act until the falsehood was defeated. Being responsible for Islam whether he was a caliph or not he used to say: I will keep the peace as long as the affairs of Muslims are secure and injustice falls only on me. He also used to ask the Muslims not to curse those whom they differ with saying: I detest committing such acts as cursing. Instead if you describe the situation and comment on their actions showing how they went wrong, it would be more correct… Instead of cursing them you should say: O lord, preserve our blood (life) and theirs, and reconcile us, and guide them out of their falsehood, so that those who are ignorant of the right would know it, and those who aggress and wrong will refrain from such acts.



Ali (a.s.) was the champion of the cause of Islamic unity both in theory and practice, we, as his followers, have to work for the Muslim unity in which Muslim meet on the Islamic basic theological principles, while going back to Allah and His Messenger in what they differ on.



Ali was with the right and the right was with Ali (a.s.). We too have to be with the right and with Ali.