Spirit & Life

Source: Reza Shah-Kazemi (2006), Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam ‘Ali

‘No companion of the Prophet has had such fada’il ascribed to him as those which have been ascribed to ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.^‘

***

‘Truly, ‘Ali is from me and I am from him (inna ‘Ali minni wa ana minhu), and he is the wali (patron/spiritual master) of every believer after me.^‘

***

‘Ali is with the Qur’an and the Qur’an is with ‘Ali. They will not separate from each other until they return to me at the [paradisal pool] (al-hawd).^‘

***

‘Three things were revealed to me regarding ‘Ali: he is the leader of the Muslims, the guide of the pious and chief of the radiantly devout (sayyidu’l-muslimin, imamu’l-muttaqin, wa qa’idu’l-ghurra’l- muhajjalin)’.

***

‘Gazing upon ‘Ali is an act of worship (al-nazar ila ‘Ali ‘ibada).^‘

***

‘May God have mercy on ‘Ali. O God, make the truth revolve around ‘Ali wherever he turns (adiri‘l-haqq ma‘ahu haythu dara).^‘

***

‘I am the city of knowledge and ‘Ali is its gate; so whoever desires knowledge, let him enter the gate.^‘

***

‘Truly, I am leaving behind amongst you the two weighty things (al-thaqalayn): the Book of God and my Ahl al-Bayt, they will not be parted from each other until they return to me at the [paradisal pool] al-hawd’.

***

‘O ‘Ali, you are a leader (sayyid) in the world and the Hereafter. Your beloved is my beloved, and my beloved is the beloved of God; your enemy is my enemy, and my enemy is the enemy of God. Woe be to those who hate you after me [after I have passed away].’

***

‘Whoever desires to live my life and to die my death and to take his rest in the eternal Garden my Lord has promised me, let him orient himself towards ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, for truly he will never cause you to depart from right guidance, nor cause you to enter into error.’

***

The Prophet said that ‘Ali was ‘as my own soul’ (ka-nafsi).

He said to ‘Ali, ‘You are from me and I am from you (anta minni wa ana minka).’

‘… whoever obeys ‘Ali obeys me, and whoever disobeys him disobeys me.’

‘You will clarify for my community that over which they will differ after me.’ (anta tubayyinu li-ummati ma’khtalafu fihi ba’di).

***

‘There is one amongst you who will fight for the ta’wil [spiritual interpretation] of the Qur’an as I have fought for its tanzil [literal revelation].’ Abu Bakr asked, ‘Is it I?’ The Prophet said, ‘No’. ‘Umar asked, ‘Is it I?’ The Prophet said, ‘No, it is the one who is mending the sandal.’ The Prophet had given ‘Ali his sandal to mend.

***

‘O ‘Ali, whoever separates himself from me separates himself from God, and whoever separates himself from you, O ‘Ali, separates himself from me.’

***

…The Prophet said to his wife ‘A‘isha, ‘Call unto me the leader (sayyid) of the Arabs.’ She asked, ‘O Prophet of God, are you not the leader of the Arabs?’ He said, ‘I am the leader of the children of Adam, and ‘Ali is the leader of the Arabs.’

***

When Fatima was asked by some women why the Prophet had married her to such a poor man as ‘Ali, she related this to the Prophet. He said: ‘Are you not pleased that God - exalted and glorified be He - conferred upon the people of the world [a benefit] and chose two men, one of them is your father, the other your husband?’

***

‘The first of you to enter the [paradisal] pool (al-hawd) is the first of you who entered Islam, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.’

***

‘Ali is from me and I am from him (‘Ali minni wa ana minhu), and nobody can fulfil my duty but myself and ‘Ali.’

***

‘Ali himself relates that the Prophet said to him that none but a believer will love him [‘Ali], and none but a hypocrite will hate him.

***

When the Prophet was about to depart for an expedition to Tabuk, he left ‘Ali as his deputy in Medina. ‘Ali was sad not to be joining him. The Prophet said, ‘Are you not happy that you should have in relation to me the rank of Aaron in relation to Moses, except that there is no prophet after me?’

***

The Prophet prayed to God to bring ‘the most beloved of thy creatures’ to partake with him in a meal of fowl. Only when ‘Ali came did the Prophet ask him to join him.’

***

Among the several verses of the Qur’an which were commented upon by the Prophet with reference to ‘Ali is 13: 7: ‘Verily thou art a warner, and for every people there is a guide.’ The Prophet said, ‘I am the warner …you are the guide, O ‘Ali. After me, the rightly-guided shall be guided by you.’

***

In regard to the revelation of verse 55 of Sura 5 (al-Ma’ida), ‘Verily your wali is only God and His Messenger and those who believe, establish the prayer and give alms while bowing in prayer,’ the commentators relate this to the incident when ‘Ali, whilst bowing in prayer, held out his ring for a beggar who had asked for alms. The Prophet recited this verse when told of the incident and added, in what are probably the most well known words of all in regard to ‘Ali:

‘For whomever I am the mawla [guardian, master, close friend], ‘Ali is his mawla (man kuntu mawlahu fa-’Ali mawlahu).’

***

“I cite Hazrat Ali’s words so that you may understand the spirit in which I have attempted to fulfill the mandate left to me as the 49th hereditary [Ismaili] Imam after the death of my grandfather. I quote, “No belief is like modesty and patience, no attainment is like humility, no honour is like knowledge, no power is like forbearance, and no support is more reliable than consultation”. Hazrat Ali’s regard for knowledge reinforces the compatibility of faith and the world. And his respect for consultation is, in my view, a commitment to tolerant and open-hearted democratic processes.”

Extract from the Speech made by His Highness the Aga Khan
at the Tutzing Evangelical Academy in Germany,
upon receiving the Tolerance Award, May 20, 2006

The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Related post at Ismailimail

When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) died, the debate over his successor split the community into Islam’s two major schools of interpretation. While the community agreed that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) could not be succeeded by another prophet as he was the ‘seal of the prophets” (khatim al-anbiya), a successor was needed to lead the community and state. A large group of the community chose Abu Bakr as the successor to the Messenger of God (khalifat rasul Allah), hence the word caliph in Western languages. A small group held that Ali was better qualified than any other candidate to succeed the Prophet. This minority group came to be known as Shi’at Ali, “party of Ali”, or simply as the Shi’a. It is the fundamental belief of the Shi’a that the Prophet had designated Ali as his successor, a designation instituted through divine command and revealed to the Prophet at Ghadir Khumm shortly before his death.

Source: http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106472

From the very beginnings of Islam, the search for knowledge has been central to our cultures. I think of the words of Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first hereditary Imam of the Shia Muslims, and the last of the four rightly-guided Caliphs after the passing away of the Prophet (may peace be upon Him). In his teachings, Hazrat Ali emphasized that “No honour is like knowledge.” And then he added that “No belief is like modesty and patience, no attainment is like humility, no power is like forbearance, and no support is more reliable than consultation.”

– Mawlana Hazar Imam - Commencement Ceremony of the American University
in Cairo June 15, 2006