The Last Will of Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS)
Imam Ali's (AS)
last will to his sons Imam Hasan (AS)
and Imam Hussain
(AS) after the attempt on his life by a
stab from Ibn
Muljam:
My advice to you is to be conscious of Allah and steadfast in
your religion. Do not yearn for the world, and do not be seduced
by it. Do not resent anything you have missed in it. Proclaim the
truth; work for the next world. Oppose the oppressor and
support the oppressed.
I advise you, and all my children, my relatives, and whosoever
receives this message, to be conscious of Allah, to remove your
differences, and to strengthen your ties. I heard your grandfather,
peace be upon him, say: "Reconciliation of your differences is
more worthy than all prayers and all fasting."
Fear Allah in matters concerning orphans. Attend to their
nutrition and do not forget their interests in the middle of yours.
Fear Allah in your relations with your neighbors. Your Prophet
often recommended them to you, so much so that we thought he
would give them a share in inheritance.
Remain attached to the Quran. Nobody should surpass you in
being intent on it, or more sincere in implementing it.
Fear Allah in relation to your prayers. It is the pillar of your
religion.
Fear Allah in relation to His House; do not abandon it as long as
you live. It you should do that you would abandon your dignity.
Persist in jihad in the cause of Allah, with your money, your
souls, and your tongue.
Maintain communication and exchange of opinion among
yourselves. Beware of disunity and enmity. Do not desist from
promoting good deeds and cautioning against bad ones. Should
you do that,the worst among you would be your leaders, and
you will call upon Allah without response.
O Children of Abdul Muttaleb! Do not shed the blood of
Muslims under the banner: The Imam has been assassinated!
Only the assassin should be condemned to death.
If I die of this stab of his, kill him with one similar stroke. Do not
mutilate him! I have heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, say:
"Mutilate not even a rabid dog."
Source: Najul
Balagha
In the 40th year
of Hijri, in the small hours of the morning of 19th
Ramadan, Imam
Ali (AS) was struck with a poisoned sword by the
Kharijite Ibn
Maljam while offering his prayers in the Masjid of Kufa.
He died on the
21st day of Ramadan 40 A.H. and buried in
Najaf-ul-Ashraf.
He was born in the House of Allah, the Kaaba, and
martryed in the
House of Allah, Masjid-e-Kufa. The Lion of Allah,
the most brave
and gentle Muslim after the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
himself, began
his glorious life with devotion to Allah and His
Messenger, and
ended it in the service of Islam.
"And do not speak
of those who are slain in the the Way of Allah
as dead; nay,
they are alive, but you perceive not." Quran 2:154
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 04:19:37 -0600
From: Nina Jaffer <amana@xxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: Imamat in Islam
Greetings of Peace Brother Mohammed,
>First, Shia believe that Imamat should be given to Ali (God bless him)
>and his successors. They believe that Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman (God
>bless them all) took the Imamat (I call it Caliphate) by force. This
>belief by the Shia indicates that there was a dispute between Ali and
>Abu Bakr and the rest of the Calliphas. It also indicates that those
>Sahaba were running after this trivial life and their main concern
>was to be in power and enjoy that position. It also indicates that
>they disobeid the Prophet PBUH and did not follow his obligation.
I would like to take this opportunity to respond to your post from a few
days ago. In it you were trying to outline the positions of the Shias and
of the Brothers of the Sunnah and why you thought who was more right. In
that same post or in a continued email, you emphatically stated that just
as the Shias, all Sunnis call for blessings on Hazrat Ali and the family
of
the Prophet. Allah ordered this practice in the Holy Quran and it is a
great point which unifies all Muslims.
Whatever happened over 1400 years ago in History will be difficult to prove
due to different versions from various sources as to who was the rightful
successor. However, no one can point their fingers at the Shias for
carrying out what Allah ordained and that was to "follow the Siraat al
Mustaqeem (the Right Path)", to "love the progeny of Prophet Muhammad
s.a.s." to "hold fast to the Hablillah (the Rope of God)", to "obey Allah,
the Prophet, and the Ulil Amr Minkum (the Holders of Authority [the Imams,
as was understood by Hazrat Ali and the grand-children of Prophet Muhammad
as the Prophet's daughter Hazrat Bibi Fatima was their Mother and Hazrat
Ali's wife) and many other verses from the Quran supports this view (you
can find more of these Ayat's at my Web Page).
By carrying out the order for obedience to the Ahl al Bayt (People of the
Prophet's house), and allegiance to them, "Verily, those who give thee
their allegiance, they give it but to Allah Himself" Quran 48:10, the Shia
Ismaili Muslims are fulfilling Prophet Muhammad's will as declared at the
Gadhir e Khumm.
"I am leaving behind me two things, the Quran and my Itrat
(progeny)" and thereafter declared Hazrat Ali as his successor and
asked
everyone to take Bayat (oath of allegiance) from him. Thereafter Hazrat
Umar, the 2nd Caliph, was the first to do so followed by Hazrat Abu Bakr
the 1st Caliph as described in the Hadith.
If we think logically about the above, and ponder further from verses in
the Quran and even the Torah, Allah had promised Hazrat Ibrahim that his
progeny would rule the nations and would multiply manifold. And as we know
that Prophet Muhammad was descended from Prophet Ibrahim's elder son
Ismail's line. Allah made this a hereditary office and not an office "by
election" or "nomination".
The Quran has outlined the inheritance laws in great details and the legacy
passes to the children, related by blood, and not outsiders.
Hazrat Ali a.s. was Prophet Muhammad's cousin, Abdul Muttalib was the
shared Grandfather to both Prophet Muhammad and Hazrat Ali, and moreover,
Prophet Muhammad gave his daughter Fatima a.s., to his favorite and chosen,
Hazrat Ali in marriage. Their children, Hazrat Hassan and Hazrat Hussein
carried the pure blood of Prophet Muhammad in their veins (Please recite
the Salawaat, blessings of peace upon them all).
The present Living Imam, Imam e Zaman, Prince of Peace for Islam, Mowlana
Shah Karim Aga Khan (prayers of peace), is the 49th in a direct line, and
the Muslim brotherhood would do well to follow his guidance and beautiful
example.
In the last 50 years, not even a nation has managed to do what he did
recently by founding the Aga Khan University in Pakistan for the Muslims.
A
thousand years ago, his ancestors in Fatimid Egypt founded Al Azhar
University in Cairo which is being enjoyed by all Muslims and the whole
world.
Our brothers of the Sunnah would only be following God's directions by
offering prayers of peace upon the living children of our beloved Prophet
Muhammad s.a.s. and Hazrat Ali a.s. and give their allegiance to "the
Witness" among whose presence we will be called on the Day of Judgement
in
Allah's presence. Mashallah!
Salaams,
Nina Jaffer
Curator, The Ismaili Web
http://www.amaana.org/ismaili.html
