THE FOURTH CALIPHA ALI BN ABI TALIB (656-661 A.C) ALIS LIFE Ali bin Abi Talib was the first cousin of the Prophet peace be on him more than that he had grown up in the Prophets own household later married his youngest daughter Fatima, and remained in closest association with him for nearly thirty years Ali was ten years old when the divine message came to Muhammad peace be on him One night he saw the Prophet and his wife Khadijah bowing and prostrating He asked the Prophet about the meaning of their actions The Prophet told him that they were praying to Allah Most High and that Ali too should accept Islam Ali said that he would first like to ask his father about it He spent a sleepless night and in the morning he went to the Prophet and saidWhen Allah created me He did not consult my father so why should I consult my father in order to serve Allah? and he accepted the truth of Muhammads message When the Divine command cameAnd warn thy nearest relatives26:214 Muhammad peace be on him invited his relatives for a meal after it was finished he addressed them and asked,Who will join me in the cause of Allah? There was utter silence for a while and then Ali stood upI am the youngest of all present here he said,My eyes trouble me because they are sore and my legs are thin and weak but I shall join you and help you in whatever way I can the assembly broke up in derisive laughter but during the difficult wars in Mecca Ali stood by these words and faced all the hardships to which the Muslims were subjected He slept in the bed of the Prophet when the Quraish planned to murder Muhammad It was he to whom the Prophet entrusted when he left Mecca the valuables which had been given to him for safekeeping to be returned to their owners Apart from the expedition of Tabuk Ali fought in all the early battles of Islam with great distinction particularly in the expedition of Khaybar it is said that in the Battle of Uhud he received more than sixteen wounds The Prophet peace be on him loved Ali dearly and called him by many fond names once the Prophet found him sleeping in the dust He brushed off Alis clothes and said fondlyWake up Abu Turab (Father of Dust).The Prophet also gave him the title of Asadullah (Lion of God) Alis humility austerity piety deep knowledge of the Quran and his sagacity gave him great distinction among the Prophets Companions Abu Bakr Umar and Uthman consulted him frequently during their caliphates many times Umar had made him his vice-regent at Medina when he was away Ali was also a great scholar of Arabic literature and pioneered in the field of grammar and rhetoric His speeches sermons and letters served for generations afterward as models of literary expression many of his wise and epigrammatic sayings have been preserved Ali thus had a rich and versatile personality in spite of these attainments he remained a modest and humble man Once during his caliphate when he was going about the market place a man stood up in respect and followed himDo not do it said Ali Such manners are a temptation for a ruler and a disgrace for the ruled Ali and his household lived extremely simple and austere lives. Sometimes they even went hungry themselves because of Alis great generosity and none who asked for help was ever turned away from his door His plain austere style of living did not change even when he was ruler over a vast domain ALIS CALIPHATE Ali accepted the caliphate very reluctantly Uthmans murder and the events surrounding it were a symptom and also became a cause of civil strife on a large scale Ali felt that the tragic situation was mainly due to inept governors He therefore dismissed all the governors who had been appointed by Uthman and appointed new ones all the governors excepting Muawiya the governor of Syria submitted to his orders Muawiya declined to obey until Uthmans blood was avenged The Prophets widow Aisha also took the position that Ali should first bring the murderers to trial due to the chaotic conditions during the last days of Uthman it was very difficult to establish the identity of the murderers and Ali refused to punish anyone whose guilt was not lawfully proved thus a battle between the army of Ali and the supporters of Aisha took place Aisha later realized her error of judgment and never forgave herself for it The situation in Hijaz (thc part of Arabia in which Mecca and Medina are located) became so troubled that Ali moved his capital to Iraq. Muawiya now openly rebelled against Ali and a fierce battle was fought between their armies. This battle was inconclusive and Ali had to accept the de fac to government of Muawiya in Syria However even though the era of Alis caliphate was marred by civil strife he nevertheless introduced a number of reforms particularly in the levying and collecting of revenues it was the fortieth year of Hijra a fanatical group called Khawarij consisting of people who had broken away from Ali due to his compromise with Muawiya claimed that neither Ali the Caliph nor Muawiya the ruler of Syria nor Amr bin al-Aas the ruler of Egypt were worthy of rule in fact they went so far as to say that the true caliphate came to an end with Umar and that Muslims should live without any ruler over them except Allah they vowed to kill all three rulers and assassins were dispatched in three directions. The assassins who were deputed to kill Muawiya and Amr did not succeed and were captured and executed but Ibn- e-Muljim the assassin who was commissioned to kill Ali accomplished his task one morning when Ali was absorbed in prayer in a mosque, Ibn-e-Muljim stabbed him with a poisoned sword on the 20th of Ramadan 40 AH died the last of the rightly guided Caliphs of Islam may Allah most High be pleased with them and grant to them His eternal reward With the death of Ali the first and most notable phase in the history of Muslim peoples came to an end all through this period it had been the Book of Allah and the practices of His Messenger - that is the Quran and the Sunnah - which had guided the leaders and the led set the standards of their moral conduct and inspired their actions It was the time when the ruler and the ruled the rich and the poor the powerful and the weak were uniformly subject to the Divine Law it was an epoch of freedom and equality of Allah- consciousness and humility of social justice which recognized no privileges and of an impartial law which accepted no pressure groups or vested interests After Ali Muawiya assumed the caliphate and thereafter the caliphate became hereditary passing from one king to another. Muhammad Ibrahim Bawa
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 14:40:17 +0000
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