Abdul Rasool Syed
THE month of Rajab is one of the most blessed months of Islamic calendar. In this very month, two extraordinary events of Islamic history took place; one was the celestial journey (Maraj) of Holy Prophet and the other was the singular birth of the fourth caliph of Islam, Hazrat Ali inside the holy Kabba.
Ali (AS), the most prominent figure of Islam, was man of many distinctions.
One of the most distinguishing features of his gravitating personality is that he, according to most authentic chronological accounts of Islam was privileged to be born inside the holy Kaaba.
Another point of Ali’s distinction was his proximate relationship with holy Prophet (SAW).
He remained in the company of Holy Prophet (SAW) since his childhood. He became ward of Holy Prophet and received his training under the loving care and guidance of the Holy Prophet.
Hazrat Ali himself described the prophet’s love for him in the following words: “I was still a new born baby, when the Holy Prophet took me from my parents. I used to cling to him and he used to feed me.
To me he was like a guiding star and I used to follow his actions and deeds carefully.
I was attached to him like a foal of camel attached to its mother.
He used to place before me high values of morality, and used to advise me to follow them; every year, he would spend some days at the grotto of the mount Hira and I used to be with him.
I was his only companion then and none else could meet him at Hira, there I used to see the light of revelation, and use to smell the fragrance of the Prophethood.
Once Holy Prophet told me: Ali! You have attained a very imminent place. You see what I see and you hear what I hear.
”(Nahjul Balagha sermon 190).
Ali (AS) is also admired for his unmatched bravery.
He participated in all the wars of early Islam fought under the command of the Holy Prophet. In all the battles, Ali was the flag bearer of the forces of the Muslims.
He was the bravest man among the Muslims. For his unusual bravery he won such titles as “Asad Allah,” the lion of God, or “Haidar e Karrar” the warrior whom nobody could match. During his lifetime he killed over a thousand persons of the enemy.
Ali (AS) also held remarkable distinctions in the realm of knowledge and wisdom. He was the most learned man of his age. He was a living encyclopedia of knowledge and learning.
After the Holy Prophet he was the most eloquent person of the age. Because of his knowledge and wisdom he is known as the “Second Solomon”.
His wise sayings and aphorisms have attained the status of classical proverbs. He was the first person to write a grammar of the Arabic language.
Among the early Muslims, he is the only person whose collections of writings have come down to us under the title of Nahj-ul-Balagha.
He was a distinguished poet. He enjoys fame as the “Father of Rhetoric”.
He was an authority on Mathematics. He was a master of the science of Physics. He had deep medical knowledge.
After the Holy Prophet he is regarded as the greatest philosopher of Islam. He was a calligrapher and wrote in a beautiful hand.
Spiritually, he was also second to none. He was the first person to learn the Quran by heart.
According to commentators, there are at least three hundred verses in the Holy Quran which have an implied reference to Ali.
After the Holy Prophet, he was the chief judge among the early Muslims.
He is regarded as the “Father of Fiqh”. He was the first revivalist among the Muslims.
He interpreted the doctrines of Islam and systematized them. He is regarded as the “Father of Sufism”. All schools of Tasawwuff trace their origin to him.
Syed Amir Ali, a famous Muslim scholar and jurist assessed the achievements of Ali in the following terms: “His bravery won him the title of the “Lion of God”, and his learning that of the “Gate of Knowledge”.
Chivalrous, humane, and forbearing to the verge of weakness as a ruler, he came before his time.
Most of the grand undertakings initiated by Umar for the welfare of the people were due to his counsel.
Ever ready to succor the weak, and to redress the wrongs of the injured, the accounts of his valorous deeds are recited with enthusiasm from the bazaars in Cairo to those of Delhi.
Let me conclude by quoting Hazrat Abbas, the uncle of Holy Prophet who used to say that Prophet was so fond of Hazrat Ali that once when Ali was a child, he sent him out on some errand.
He took long time to return. He started getting worried and anxious and in the end prayed to Allah, “O lord don’t let me die unless I behold Ali once again.”
— The writer, an Advcate, is based in Quetta Balochistan.
