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1-Imam Ali Ibne Abu Talib (A.S)
Text Box: Profile: Rank: First Imam Name: Imam Ali Nicknames: Amirul Momineen {Commander of the Faithful}, Abul Hassan {Father of Imam Hassan}, Al-Murtadha. Father: Abu Talib Mother: Fatima Bint-e-Asad Date of Birth: 598A.D. Place of Birth: Inside the Kaaba (House of God) in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) Date of Death: 661 A.D. Lived: 63 years Place of Death: The Mosque of Kufa (Iraq) Cause of Death: Hit on the Head with a Poisoned Sword while Prostrating / (Sajdah) in Prayer. Burial: The City of Al-Najaf (Iraq) Stories: THE SACRIFICE When the idol worshippers of Mecca found out that Prophet Mohammad was preaching against their idol Worship, they became Very angry. They Made a Plot to kill The Prophet. Allah Informed Prophet Mohammad about the idol Worshipers plans and told him to Migrate with the Muslims to Medina. This Migration is Called (Hijrat.) The Night that the Prophet Mohammad left for Medina, 40 men from different tribes had gathered around his house to kill him. The Prophet asked Imam Ali if he would sleep in his bed so that the idol worshippers outside would think that the Prophet was still there. The Imam Smiled and was very happy and eager to do this, because he knew that the life of the Prophet would be saved by his action. In fact, The Imam used to say later that the best sleep he had ever had was on that night. Allah said to the angels Jibrael and Mikaeel that one of them had a longer time to live than the other - He asked the angels whether either one of them would agree for the other to have the longer life. They both replied that they each would like to live longer so that they could worship Allah more. Allah then informed them, ''On the Earth tonight, one brother is willing to give up his life for the safety of his brother. Go down, and Protect him.'' Both Angels came down to the house of the Prophet and looked after Imam Ali all night Long. At dawn time, the Killers rushed into the Prophets house and pulled off the blanket from the Blessed Imam. They Were amazed to see Imam Ali there and so they left in shock and anger. Allah liked this action of the Imam so much that he revealed this verse in the Holy Quran: ''And among men is he who sells his soul to seek the pleasure of Allah; and Allah Loves (such) Serveants'' (Surah 2: Baqarah / Verse 207) Moral from this action of the Imam Ali: When you Do something purely (For the sake of Allah) and Islam, then Allah helps you for your selfless act and also blesses you for the things you desire. Everyone Can Plan but only what Allah plans will Happen (Will Succeed) The Imam loved The Prophet Mohammad so much (For the sake of Allah and his Authority with him) that he would put his own life in danger to protect him. IMAM ALI (A.S.) AND THE CANDLE A candle burnt by his side, as he sat down meticulously recording all the revenue and the expenses of the treasury. Just then Talha and Zubair appeared. They aspired to some positions of authority in Imam Ali's (A.S.) rule and had come to strike a deal. If Imam Ali's (A.S.) gave them a place of distinction, they would in turn pledge their full support. Imam Ali's (A.S.) knew of this. Just as they sat down, Imam Ali's (A.S.) puts out the candle and lit another one. Talha and Zubair exchanged a glance of surprise and then one of them said: "O Ali, we have come on some important business. But why did you extinguish the first candle?" Imam Ali's (A.S.) replied: "That was a candle bought of Treasury funds. As long as I worked for the Treasury, I used it. Now you have come for some personal work, so I use the candle bought of my personal fund." Talha and Zubair left him without saying another word. THE FIVE LOAVES Two travelers sat together on the way to their destination to have a meal. One had five loaves of bread. The other had three. A third traveler was passing by and at the request of the two joined in the meal. The travelers cut each of the loaf of bread in three equal parts. Each of the travelers ate eight broken pieces of the loaf. At the time of leaving the third traveler took out eight dirhams and gave to the first two men who had offered him the meal, and went away. On receiving the money the two travelers started quarrelling as to who should have how much of the money. The five-loaf-man demanded five dirhams. The three-loaf-man insisted on dividing the money in two equal parts. The dispute was brought to Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (the Caliph of the time in Arabia) to be decided. Imam Ali (A.S.) requested the three-loaf-man to accept three dirhams. The man refused and said that he would take only four dirhams. At this Imam Ali (A.S.) returned, "You can have only one dirham. You had eight loaves between yourselves. Each loaf was broken in three parts. Therefore, you had 24 equal parts. Your three loaves made nine parts out of which you have eaten eight portions, leaving just one to the third traveler. Your friend had five loaves which divided into three made fifteen pieces. He ate eight pieces and gave seven pieces to the guest. As such the guest shared one part from your loaves and seven from those of your friend. So you should get one dirham and your friend should receive seven dirhams. IN THE COMPANY OF THE CALIPH When Imam Ali (A.S.) was coming to Kufa, he entered the city of Anbar populated by Iranians. The Iranian farmers were very happy to see their beloved caliph passing through their town. They came to his visit. When it was time for Imam Ali (A.S.) to leave, they started running in front of his horse. Imam Ali (A.S.) inquired about this behavior. "This is one way that we extend respect to our leaders and respectful individuals. This is our custom that has been practiced for years." "This behavior puts you in discomfort in this world, and brings about humiliation in the next world. Always stay away from practices that humiliate you. After all what benefit is there in such a practice to the recipients?" THE GUESTS A father and a son were once guests of Imam Ali (A.S.). As they arrived, Imam (A.S.) received them warmly and arranged for their comfortable accommodation. In a room where they were seated, Imam (A.S.) sat opposite to them, engaging them in a friendly conversation. And then it was time for the meal. After food had been served and eaten, Qambar, Imam's servant, brought a basin and a pitcher full of water for washing the guest's hands. Imam (A.S.) took the pitcher himself and asked the father to extend his hands so that he would pour the water. "How is it possible that my Imam serves me? It should be other way," the guest said. Imam Ali (A.S.) said: "Here is your brother in faith, eager to serve his brother and to earn the pleasure of Allah. Why do you prevent him?" But the guest hesitated. Finally Imam (A.S.) said: "As your Imam, I request that you allow me the honor of this service." And when the guest complied, Imam (A.S.) said: "Let your hands be washed thoroughly. Do not hasten, thinking that I should be relieved of this duty early." When it was the son's turn, Imam (A.S.) instructed his own son Muhammad Ibn Hanafiyyah, to hold the pitcher and wash the guest's hands. Looking at his son, Imam (A.S.) said: I washed your father's hands. My son washed your hands. If your father had not been my guest today, I would have washed your hands myself. But Allah loves to see that when a father and a son are present in a place, the father enjoys a privilege and a priority. WHOLE NUMBER AND NOT A FRACTION One Day a Jewish person came to Imam Ali (A.S.), thinking that since Ali thinks he is too smart, I'll ask him such a tough question that he won't be able to answer it and I'll have the chance to embarrass him in front of all the Arabs. He asked "Ali, tell me a number, that if we divide it by any number from 1-10 the answer will always come in the form of a whole number and not as a fraction." Ali Looked back at him and said, "Take the number of days in a year and multiply it with the number of days in a week and you will have your answer." The person got astonished but as he was a Mushrik he still didn't believe Imam Ali (A.S.). He calculated the answer Imam Ali (A.S.) gave him. To his amazement he came across the following results: The number of Days in a Year = 360 (in Arab) The Number of Days in a Week = 7 The product of the two numbers = 2520 Now... 2520 ÷ 1 = 2520 2520 ÷ 2 = 1260 2520 ÷ 3 = 840 2520 ÷ 4 = 630 2520 ÷ 5 = 504 2520 ÷ 6 = 420 2520 ÷ 7 = 360 2520 ÷ 8 = 315 2520 ÷ 9 = 280 2520 ÷ 10= 252 17 CAMELS A person was about to die, and before dying he wrote his Will which went as follows: "I have 17 Camels, and I have three sons. Divide my Camels in such a way that my eldest son gets half of them, the second one gets 1/3rd of the total and my youngest son gets 1/9th of the total number of Camels." After his death when the relatives read his will they got extremely perplexed and said to each other that how can we divide 17 camels like this. So after a long hard thought they decided that there was only one man in Arabia who could help them: "Ali Ibne Abi Taalib." So they all came to the door of Imam Ali (A.S.) and put forward their problem. Imam Ali (A.S.) said, "Ok, I will divide the camels as per the man's will." Imam Ali (A.S.) said, "I will lend one of my camels to the total which makes it 18 (17+1=18), now lets divide as per his will." The eldest son gets 1/2 of 18 = 9 The second one gets 1/3 of 18 = 6 The youngest gets 1/9 of 18 = 2 Now the total number of camels = 17 (9+6+2=17) Then Imam Ali (A.S.) said, "Now I will take my Camel back." EARS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE One day another Jewish person came to Imam Ali (A.S.). He was planning to ask Imam Ali (A.S.) such a question, which would take Imam Ali (A.S.) a long time to answer and because of that his Maghrib Prayers would be delayed. He asked, "Ali you say you know everything in the world, then tell me which animals lay eggs and which animals give birth to their young ones." Imam Ali (A.S.) looked back at him smiled and said, "The animals who have their 'EARS' outside their body give birth to their young ones and the animals who have their 'EARS' inside their body lay eggs." THE JUDGMENT OF IMAM ALI (A.S.) A case was brought before Hazrat Omar, the second Caliph. Two babies, a girl and a boy, were born on a single dark night to two wives of the same man. The father of the babies had passed away and both wives claimed to be the mother of the son. Hazrat Omar asked, "Where is Abul Hasan, vanquisher of difficulties?" Imam Ali (A.S.) was called for and the case detailed to him. He called for two small vessels to be brought and had them weighed and then instructed that equal amount of milk from each mother be drawn into a vessel. When they were weighed it again, was found that one was heavier than the other. Imam Ali (A.S.) declared that the mother with the heavier milk was the mother of the boy and the lighter milk was that of the girl's mother. Hazrat Omar asked how he comes to this conclusion. Imam Ali (A.S.) replied that Allah has proscribed that, "For a male is the share of two females." "The foremost judge amongst you is Ali." Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) THE STRANGER Tired and exhausted with the water-skin on her back, she was gasping and going towards her house where innocent children, their eyes fixed at the door, were eagerly waiting for the arrival of their mother. On her way, an unknown man approached her. He took the water-skin from her and placed it on his back. The door opened and the children saw their mother entering the house with a stranger. He placed the water-skin on the ground and said: "Well, it seems you don't have anyone to fetch water for you; how come you are so forlorn?" "My husband was a soldier; Ali sent him to the frontier where he was killed. Now I am alone with these small children." The stranger said no more. Bowing down his head he went away. But the thought of the helpless window and orphans remained in his mind. He could hardly sleep in the night. Early in the morning he picked up a basket; put some meat, flour and dates in it; went straight to her house and knocked at the door. "Who are you?" "I am the man who brought your water yesterday. Now I have brought some food for the children." "May God bless you and judge between us and Ali" She opened the door. Entering the house he said: "I wish to do some good acts. Either let me knead the flour and bake the bread or allow me to look after the children." "Very well, but I can do the job of kneading and cooking better than you. You take care of the children till I finish cooking". She went to knead the flour. Immediately he grilled some meat, which he had brought and fed the children saying to each child while putting morsel in his mouth: "My son, forgive Ali if he has failed in his duty towards you" The flour got ready; she called: "Gentlemen! put fire in the oven". He went and put fire in the oven. When flames rose up, he brought his face near the fire and said, "Taste the heat of fire. It is the punishment for those who fail in their duty towards orphans and widows." By chance, a woman from the neighboring house came in. Recognizing the stranger, she cried: "Woe, don't you recognize the man who is helping you? He is Ameer-ul-Momineens (commander of the faithful) Ali Ibn Abi-Talib." The widow came forward and shamefacedly cried: "Curse and shame to me. I beg your pardon." "No, I beg your pardon for I failed in my duty towards you." COMPLAINT AGAINST HUSBAND Imam Ali (A.S.) during the days of his Khilafat used to personally listen to the grievances and complaints of the people. Once, the days were hot and people did not venture out of their houses after mid-day. Imam Ali (A.S.) sat everyday outside his house under the shade of a wall so that if someone had any complaints, could lodge the same to him directly. Sometimes he walked in lanes and streets observing the general condition of the people. One day he returned to his residence tired and sweating, and found a woman waiting. Seeing him, she came near and said: "I am in trouble. My husband oppresses me. He has turned me out from the house and has threatened to beat me. If I go to him he will beat me. I request you to do justice between us". "O Servant of Allah, it is too hot now. Wait till it cools down in the afternoon. Then I shall come with you and redress your grievances". "If I stay out too long, I am afraid it may increase his anger". For a moment he bowed his head and then raised it up saying to himself, "No, By God, justice to the oppressed should not be delayed. The right of the oppressed should certainly be taken from the oppressor; and every fear should be taken out from her heart so that she may stand boldly before the oppressor and demand her right". "Tell me where is your house?" "It is in such and such place". "Let us go." He accompanied her to her house, stood at the door and called loudly, "O Master of the house! Peace be upon thee". A young man came out. He was her husband. He did not recognize Imam Ali (A.S.). He found that an old man of about sixty years had accompanied her and assumed that she had brought him for support and mediation; but he kept silent. "This lady has a complaint against you. She says that you have oppressed her and have ousted her from the house. Besides you have threatened to beat her. I have come here to tell you to fear Allah and be kind to your wife". "In what way does it concern you if I have not treated my wife well. Yes, I had threatened to beat her, but now, since she has brought you to obey plead for her, I shall throw her into fire and burn her alive". Imam Ali (A.S.) was disturbed by the impudence of the man. Drawing out his sword he said, "I am only advising you to do good and admonishing you from bad deeds; but you are replying me in such manner clearly saying to burn this woman in fire. Do you think there is no authority in this world?" His loud voice drew the attention of the passers by, and a huge crowd gathered. Whoever came bowed down with reverence before the old man and saluted him by saying "Peace be on you O Commander of the Fiathfuls". When the rude young man realized as to whom he was talking with, he trembled and supplicated, "O Ameer ul Momineen! Forgive me. I confess my faults and promise that henceforth I shall obey my wife". Imam Ali (A.S.) turned to the woman and told her to go in the house and cautioned her not to behave in such a manner that her husband had to be angry again. AQEEL AS A GUEST OF IMAM ALI (A.S.) Aqeel arrived as a guest at the Government House in the days of the Caliphate of his brother, Imam Ali (A.S.). Imam Ali (A.S.) made a sign to his elder son Hassan al-Mujtaba (A.S.) to offer a garment to his uncle. Imam Hassan (A.S.) presented to him a robe and a cloak. The night came; the weather was warm. They were sitting on roof-top having amiable talks. It was time for dinner. Aqeel considered himself to be the guest of the Absolute ruler of the Muslim world and expected an extraordinarily colorful and rich dinner. But to his surprise it was the most ordinary and simple one. He said: "Is this all the food?" Imam Ali (A.S.): "Isn't it a God's gift? I heartily thank Almighty God that he has bestowed me with this gift". Aqueel: "Then I should better tell you my needs at once, and be on my way soon. I am in debt. Please order to pay off my debt as soon as possible; and also help your poor brother as much as you can, so that I return to my place relieved of my burdens." "How much is your debt?" "One hundred thousand Dirham." "Oh! One hundred thousand Dirham! So large? I am sorry, brother. I don't have so much money to give you, but wait till the time comes for the disbursement of stipends. I shall withdraw my personal share and give from it to you, thus fulfilling my duty of cooperation and brotherhood towards you. If my family and children were not in need of their own expenses, I would have given you my entire share." "What! Should I wait till the payment of stipends? You have the state-treasury in your hand and still you are asking me to wait till the time of disbursement and then only you will give me from your personal share! You can withdraw any amount you want from the State Treasury. So, why are you making me wait till then? Besides, what is your total share from it? Even if you give me the your entire share, how far will it relieve me of my trouble?" "I am surprised to hear your proposal. What concern it does it, is of you or me whether there is money in the Treasury or not? We are just like any other Muslims. True, you are my brother and I must help you as much as possible, but from my personal money, not from the public treasury." The argument continued and Aqueel pleaded with Imam Ali (A.S.) in various ways. He continued to insist that Imam Ali (A.S.) should give him from state treasury. The place where they were sitting overlooked the market of Kufa, and they could see the cash-boxes of the shop-keepers. Imam Ali (A.S.) said, "If you still insist and are not ready to listen to me, then I have got another proposal for you. If you follow it you can repay all your loan and still have plenty of money left." "What is that?" "Down over there are cash-boxes. As soon as the market is closed and nobody is there, go down and break open the boxes. And take whatever you want." "Whose boxes are they?" "They belong to the people of this market. They keep their cash in them." "Strange! You are telling me to steal the money of poor people who have earned it with their hard labor and have gone home leaving it there trusting in God?" "Then why are you urging me to open the boxes of the state-treasury for you? Whom does it belong to? This also belongs to the same people who are asleep in their houses carefree and in comforts. All right, I have another suggestion. Follow it if you like." "What's that?" "If you are ready then pick up your sword and so will do I. The old city of Hirah is not far from here. There are leading merchants and wealthy people there. We make a surprise attack on one of them during night and bring out enormous wealth with us." "Brother, I haven't come here for theft and robbery that you are suggesting these things to me. I am only asking you to instruct the officials of the treasury to give me the money which is in your power, so that I may repay my debt." "Suppose that we steal the property of an individual, isn't it better that stealing from the property of millions of Muslims? How is it that taking the property of an individual with sword is robbery, and usurping the property of the general public is not? You are under the impression that robbery only means attacking some individual and taking his property by force. The worst type of robbery is the same thing which you are proposing to me to do now." THE RETIREMENT The old man, a Christian by religion, had worked all his life; but had not been able to save anything for his old age. Lately he had also become blind. Old age, poverty and blindness had joined hands and he had no other way except begging. He used to stand at the corner of a lane for begging. People had compassion for him and gave him some alms from which he ate every day, and so he continued his sad life. One day Imam Ali (a.s.), the Leader of the Faithful passed through the lane and saw the beggar in that condition. Imam Ali (a.s.), out of his concern for others, enquired about the old man. He wanted to know the factors which led him to that condition. "Has he no son to support him? Or, is there no other way for him to live a respectable life in his old age?" The people who knew the old man came forward and informed Imam Ali (a.s.) that he was a Christian and had worked hard so long as he had his eyes, and when young and strong. Now that he had lost his youth as well as his eyes, he was unable to do any work; also he had no savings, so it was natural for him to beg. Imam Ali (a.s.) said, "Strange! Till he had strength, you extracted work from him and now you have left him on his own?" His story shows that he had worked when he had the strength. Therefore, it is the duty of the Government and the society to support him till he is alive. "Go, and give him a life-pension from the State-treasury." THE PROHIBITION OF WATER Moawiya was ruling over Syria as its governor for nearly sixteen years; and was secretly planning to grab the Caliphate taking advantage of every possible opportunity. The best excuse for him to revolt against the Central authority and declare his own caliphate was the Othman's murder. He had not done any thing concerning the appeals of Othman for help, during his lifetime. In fact, he was waiting far him to be murdered, so that he could make it an excuse for his scheme. Othman got murdered and Moawiya immediately sought to exploit the situation for his own purpose. On the other hand, people after the murder of Othman rallied behind Ali (who because of various reasons, was reluctant to take the responsibility of Caliphate) and declared their allegiance to him. Observing that the responsibility was now formally turned to him, he accepted it and his Caliphate was proclaimed in Medina, the capital and centre of Muslim world in those days. All provinces of Islamic government submitted to his obedience - with the exception of Syria, which was under Moawiya. He refused allegiance to Ali, accusing him of sheltering the murders of Othman. He recruited a large number of Syrian soldiers and made preparation for the declaration of independence of his provinces. After settling the issue of the battle of Camel (JAMAL), Ali turned his attention to Moawiya. He wrote several letters to him, but in vain. Both sides moved their armies towards each another. Abul Aawar Salmi was leading Moawiya's advanced battalion and Malik Ashtar was in command of the advanced battalion of Ali. They met at the bank of the Euphrates. Ali's directive to Malik was not to be the first to attack. But Abul Aawar made a severe attack to intimidate the soldiers of Ali. Mailk then pushed the Syrians far behind. Salmi now thought of another tactics. He reached the Ghat, i.e. the slope on bank of the Euphrates, which was the only spot convenient to fetch water. He deployed his spearmen and archers to guard the spot and prevent Malik and his company from coming near it. Soon after, Moawiya himself arrived with a large army. Happy at the strategy of his commander he further increased the number of the soldiers guarding the approach to river. Soldiers of Ali were put in distress owing to the shortage of water. Moawiya with pleasure said: "This is our first Victory." Only one man, Amr bin Al-Aas, the shrewd minister of Moawiya did not think it a good policy. On the other side, Ali himself had arrived and was informed of the situation. He sent a letter with Saasa'a to Moawiya notifying: "We have come here, but as far as possible we do not like to wage a war of fratricide between the Muslims. We earnestly hope to settle our differences through negotiations and discussions. But we observe that you and your followers have started using weapons of destruction before trying anything else. Besides, you have denied water on my companions. Instruct them to desist from this act, so that we can start negotiations. Of course, if you do not like anything but war, we are not afraid of it." Moawiya consulted his advisor. The general opinion was to take advantage of the golden opportunity and ignore the letter. Only Amr bin Al-Aas against this view. He said, "You are mistaken." The fact is that Ali and his men do not want to start the war themselves, and it is because of this that they are silent at present and have tried to dissuade you from your scheme through this letter. Do not think they will retreat if you ignore their letter and continue denying them the water. Because then they will take out arms and will not stop till they have driven you away from Euphrates with disgrace." But the majority of advisors were of the opinion that the denial of water would weaken the enemy compelling them to retreat. Moawiya personally was in favor of this idea. Discussion came to end; Saasa'a asked for the reply; Moawiya, using the delaying tactics, said that he would send the reply afterwards. Meanwhile, he ordered his soldiers guarding water to be extra alert and to prevent coming and going of the soldiers of Ali. Ali was distressed at this development, because it brought to an end every hope of any amicable settlement through talks and negotiations, and showed that the opposite side was devoid of every goodwill. Now, the only way out was to use force. He stood before his soldiers and delivered a short but forceful address, the contents of which were as follows: "These people have started oppression, and opened the door of conflict and welcomed you with hostility. They are hungry for war and are demanding war and bloodshed from you. They have denied you water. Now you have to choose between the two paths. There is no third course. Either accept the humiliation and oppression or remain thirsty as you are, or satisfy your thirsty swords with their dirty bloods so that you may quench your thirst with the sweet water. Death is to live a defeated and disgraceful life; and Life is to be victorious even at the cost of death. Verily, Moawiya has gathered around him some ignorant and misguided mob; and is taking advantage of their ignorance, so that they are making their necks targets of the arrows of death." This address moved the soldiers of Ali and stirred their blood. They made a severe attack and pushed the enemy far back and took the possession of (Shariah) Ghat. Amir bin Al-Aas (whose forecast was now a fact) said to Moawiya: "Now, if Ali and his army pay you with your own coin what will you do? Can you take possession of the "Shariah" (Ghat) from them for the second time?" Moawiya said, "In your opinion, how will Ali deal with us now?" "I believe, Ali will not behave as you had done. He will not deny us water. He has not come here for such deeds." The soldiers of Ali after removing the soldiers of Moawiya from Ghat, asked his permission to prevent the enemy from taking water. Ali said, "Don't deny them water. These are the methods of ignorant. I do not set my hands to such acts. I am going to start negotiation with them on the basis of the Holy Book of God. If they accept my proposals, well and good; and if they refuse, I shall fight with them, but gentlemanly not by denying them water. I will never do such thing and will not oppress them by shortage of water." Not long afterwards soldiers of Moawiya used to come to the Ghat side by side with the soldiers of Ali, and nobody prevented them.

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Ambigram. Mohammad & Ali
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