Imam Ali (a.s.) and The Astrologer

 

There are some who are heedless with respect to reflection, reasoning and tawakkul, and instead, turn to soothsayers and astrologers, who have cleverly started their business in order to swindle the people of their money.8 As an example, we shall present an incident that transpired during the time of Imam ‘Ali (‘a).

The Commander of the Faithfuls (‘a) and his army had started out for the battle of Nahrawan against the Kharjites, and having reached the city of Madain, they pitched their tents. The next morning, as they were about to commence their journey, an astrologer approached them and said: “My astrological calculations reveal that it is not in your interest to advance in this hour. Commence your journey after three hours and you shall be victorious.”

Hearing this, the Imam (‘a) said: “Whoever upholds your words has rejected the Qur’an of Allah.”

He (‘a) then asked: “Do you possess knowledge as to which family has taken over the reins of leadership in China?”

The astrologer replied: “I have no knowledge.”

The Imam (‘a) questioned: “What is that star, which when rises, stirs up lust within the camels?”

The astrologer confessed: “I have no idea.”

The Imam (‘a) asked: “The rise of which star stirs up passion within the cats?”

He said: “I do not know!”

He (‘a) asked: “Inform me of the thing that is concealed beneath the hoofs of my horse.”

When the astrologer had once again pleaded ignorance, the Imam (‘a) said to him: “Within the earth, below the feet of my horse, lies a jar filled with gold coins and beneath which a serpent lies asleep.”

When the place was dug up, the people witnessed that the scenario was exactly as it had been described by the Imam (‘a).

Observing this, the astrologer was totally bewildered; the Imam (‘a) took possession of his books, ordered them to be destroyed and then said to him: “The next time you try to attract the people towards yourself by means of astrology, I shall put you behind bars.”

Treat us Equally

The complainer had brought his complaint to the powerful judge of the time, Umar bin Khattab. 
The involved parties were to be present and the complaint to be presented. 
The complaint was against Amir al-Mu'mineen (pbuh). Umar called unto both people, and seated himself at the chair of judge.
As per Islamic rules, both involved parties must sit by each other, so that equality may be maintained.The khalifa called the complainer, to stand before the judge.
Then he called Imam Ali (pbuh) to stand by this person:
"O Ab-al Hasan, stand by him."
As Imam Ali (pbuh) heard this comment, signs of distress appeared on his face.
The Khalifa asked:
"O Ali, aren't you willing to stand by him?"
Imam (pbuh):
"No, my distress is not for standing by him. My distress comes from the fact that you didn't comply with demands of justice, and equality. You called me with respect, calling me Ab-al Hasan. But you called on this person with his regular name. That is the cause of my distress."

The voice of human justice, p 49.
The explanation of Nahj-al Balagha
of Ibn Abi Hadeed, print of Beirut, v 4, p 18

Perfect Husband and Wife

Hazrat Fatema (s.a) never demanded anything from her hus­band: 
Once Hazrat Ali (a.s.) asked Hazrat Fatema (s.a), “Is there anything to eat?” 
She replied, “O my honor and by Allah, who had accorded highest priority to your right, that there is noth­ing at home that could be served, since last three days.” 
Hearing this Hazrat Ali (a.s.) asked ‘Then why did you not inform me?” 
Hazrat Fatema (s.a.) replied that the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.a.) had told her strictly not to ask nor demand anything from the son of his uncle. 
“Whatever he would give you voluntarily, you should accept it without uttering a word.”

(Behaar, vol. 43, p.31, Tafseer-e-Ayaashi, vol. p.171).

Weakness of Will

Overcoming corruption and guiding the lost ones to the right path are fundamental elements deeply rooted in the Islamic faith, traits which become the part of the spiritual make up of the persons. By relying upon the everlasting power of God, they can subjugate to their will material powers, which are not the sole reality of the world.
In a letter that he wrote to the people of Egypt, Imam 'Ali, the Commander of Faithful, may Peace be upon him, commends spiritual strength and courage of his newly appointed governor, who was a man of perfect faith, in these words:
O people or Egypt! I have appointed for you as governor a man from among the servants of God who allows himself no sleep in times of danger, nor has the smallest fear of the enemy in times of panic. He is severe against the wicked like a blazing fire. He is Malik ibn Harith, of the clan of Banu Mudhij ... He is a sword from among the swords of God: its edge never loses its sharpness, nor its blows ever go amiss.
In the Battle of Siffin, the forces of Mu'awiyah took over the control of the river-bank and intercepted the supply of water to 'Ali's camp. The Commander of the Faithful tried to solve the problem through negotiations. Refraining from armed conflict so long as possible. But Mu'awiyah considered his possession of the river bank as a major military gain, and taking advantage of his position he refused to negotiate. 'Ali's companions had a hard time due to the lack of drinking water. Thereat 'Ali addressed his soldiers as follows:
They are hungry of battle and are asking for it. Now you have no more than two alternatives before you: either to submit to disgrace and indignity, or to drench your swords in blood and obtain water. To live in subjugation is death. Real life is to die while overpowering the enemy and without yielding to indignity. Mu'awiyah leads a party of deceived persons whom he has kept them in the dark about the truth, to the point that they have made their arrows a target of your throats.
This fiery speech created a wonderful change in the morale of 'Ali's soldiers and filled them with the spirit of courage. With a lightning attack they threw back Mu'awiyah's forces from the river bank and took control of it. But, then, with a manly spirit they allowed the enemies to have access to water for their needs.

(by Sayyid Mujtaba Musawi Lari)

Dividing the 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: "Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (as)."
So they all came to the door of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (as) and put forward their problem.
Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (as) said, "Ok, I will divide the camels as per the man's will."
Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (as) 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 ibn Abi Taleb (as) said,
"Now I will take my Camel back."

SILENT FUNERAL OF THE PROPHET'S DAUGHTER

In the darkness of the jet-black night, when eyes were asleep and voices were silent, a Heavenly procession left Ali's house while carrying the Messenger of Allah's daughter to her final abode.
This was on the night of the third (3rd) of Jamadi Al-Thani (the second), 11 A.H.
The heartbreaking procession moved towards an unknown location followed by a small number of devoted ones. They were Ali , Hasan, Husain, Zainab and Um Kulthum... Abu Dhar, Ammar, Miqdad, and Salman were following them. Where are the thousands who inhabited Medina?
One asks, and the answer came: Fatima (A.S) requested that they may not be present at her funeral! The family and their friends hurry to bury Fatima…then they rush back to their own homes so that no one would know where Fatima was buried!
At sunrise people gathered to participate in Fatima's funeral, but they were informed that the darling of Allah's Messenger (P.B.U.H.) had been secretly buried during the night.
Meanwhile, Ali (AS) made the shapes of four fresh graves in Baqi' so as to conceal the location where Fatima was buried. When the people entered the graveyard, they were confused as to which spot was actually Hazrat Fatima Zahra's grave; the people turned towards each other and with feelings of guilt said:
"Our Prophet (P.B.U.H.) has not left behind but one daughter, yet she has died and was buried without our participation in the funeral or the prayer rituals. We do not even realize the place where she has been buried!"
Noticing that a revolt might be ignited because of the emotional atmosphere this event created, the governing party announced:
"Select a group of Muslim women and ask them to dig these graves so that we may find Fatima and perform prayers on her."
Yes! They attempted to execute the plan, violating Fatima's will and causing Ali's (AS) attempts to hide the grave to lie vainly.
Have they forgotten Ali's sharp sword and his well-known courage!!
Did they really think that Ali would remain indifferent to their outrageous actions up to the point of letting them dig Fatima's grave?
Imam Ali (A.S) did not fight back after the Prophet's (PBUH) death because he considered the Muslim's unity and overall interests. Yet, this did not mean that he would ignore their villainous crimes against Fatima even after her death. In other words, Ali (A.S) was asked by the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to have patience, but only to a certain extent; when Ali (P.B.U.H.) received the news of the about-to-be-executed plot, he put on his fighting gear and rushed towards Baqi'.
A man from among the people called out:
"This is Ali Ibn Abu Talib leveling his sword and saying:
'If anyone moves even a mere stone from these graves, I shall strike even the "back of the last follower of the unjust.”
People, who realized Ali's seriousness, took his threats with complete belief that he would do just as he said if anyone were to oppose him.
Yet, a man from the governing ones addressed Ali (A.S) by saying:
"What is the matter, Abu Al-Hasan? By Allah, we shall dig her grave out and perform prayers on her."
Ali (A.S) then grabbed the man by his clothes shook him and threw him to the ground and said;
“Son of the Sawada! I have abandoned my right to prevent people from forsaking their faith, but as regards Fatima’s grave, by Him in whose hand is my soul if you and your followers attempt to do anything to it, I will irrigate the ground with your blood!"
At this, Abu Bakr said;
'Abu Al-Hasan, I ask you by the right of Allah's Messenger and by Him who is above the Throne: leave him alone and we will not do anything, which you would not approve of.

Love, Friendship, War in the Eyes of Imam Ali

According to Imam Ali, love and friendship is the greatest blessing for mankind.
He says: "Almighty God has strengthened the tie of love between the human beings. It is the love under whose shadow the people walk about and in whose lap they seek refuge. This love is an invaluable blessing because it is dearer than whatever price is fixed for it, and is greater than every great thing".
Imam Ali says that every person should establish friendship and love with others so that peace may prevail, because during peace time the atmosphere of a city remains tranquil and the people do not feel any fear.
One should avoid war-fare, because war is oppression and it is highly indecent and improper to oppress God's creatures. Whether the result of war is victory or retreat it is harmful in both cases. War is ruination and destruction for the victor as well as for the vanquished. War destroys human honour.
The victor is considered to be an opponent of intellect and conscience, an enemy of love, who treats human life to be valueless, and one who is defeated is humiliated and his life and property are also destroyed.
Imam Ali says: "One who gains victory by evil means is in fact defeated". "Nothing is worse than fighting and bloodshed". (The Voice of Human Justice)

Taking a Spiritual Vow

Once the Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn, who were at that time 5 and 4 years old, fell ill. When the Prophet of Islam, missed them in the masjid, he came to Fatima Zahra's house to inquire about them. When he was told that they were sick, he suggested that both parents should take a spiritual vow (Nazr) for the children's recovery. So both Imam Ali and Fatima Zahra prayed to Allah for the recovery of Hasan and Husayn (peace be unto them all) and took a vow to fast for three consecutive days when the children became well again. The children did recover from the illness soon after. Both parents set about fulfilling their spiritual vow and fasted. When the children saw that, they also decided to fast with their parents and so did the house-maid, Fiddha. But that day there was no food in Fatima's house even for breaking the fast.
So Imam Ali went out looking for work. He could not find any. But he was able to get three kg's of wool to be spun in exchange of three kg's of barley. Fatima Zahra spun the wool all day. She was only able to dispense with one kilo of it. So she took only one kilo of barley ground it into flour and prepared five loaves of bread. While they were all ready to break their fast, someone knocked at the door saying: "O people of the house of the Prophet, I am a poor man and I have nothing to eat, is there anything you could do to feed me." At this Imam Ali stood up, went to the door and gave his loaf to the man. Fatima Zahra did the same. Watching this, both children also gave their loaves and so did the maid. They broke their fast by water and retired.
The next day Fatima Zahra spun another kilo of wool. So she separated one kilo of barley, ground it into flour and prepared five loaves once again. As they were ready to break their fast, once again, a voice called out from the door: "O people of the house of The Prophet, I am an orphan, I am hungry, could you feed me?" Hearing this, Imam Ali stood up and gave his loaf to the man, so did Fatima Zahra, the children and the maid. They all, once again, broke their fast by water and retired. Came the third day, Fatima Zahra spun the rest of the wool, took the remaining barley, ground it into flour and prepared five loaves. As they were ready to break the fast, a voice called from the door saying: "O people of the house of the Prophet, I am a prisoner, I am hungry, could you feed me?" Hearing this, once again, Imam Ali stood up and went to the door and gave his loaf away to the prisoner. Fatima Zahra, the children and the maid did likewise.
Every time the person at the door would want to express his gratitude for the kindness, Imam Ali would say: "No, no, we are not looking for any reward from you for this act, we are doing it out of Allah's love."
Now the children had just been quite ill. And they had not eaten anything in three days. The Prophet of Islam, once again entered the house asking about the children. When he looked at them they were shaking like autumn leaves (those are the exact words in the report). Fatima Zahra told him what had been going on in the family. At that time the archangel Gabriel came down with a gift of Allah to the Prophet. That gift was the verses of Sura Insan or Dahr (chapter 76), which we quote below.
They fulfill vows and fear a day the evil of which shall be spreading far and wide. And they give food out of love for Him to the poor and the orphan and the captive. We only feed you for Allah's sake; we desire from you neither reward nor thanks: Surely we fear from our Lord a stern, distressful day. Therefore Allah will guard them from the evil of that day and cause them to meet with ease and happiness. And reward them, because they were patient, with garden and silk. (Glorious Qur'an, 76:7-12)
This story tells us that the Prophet of Islam, recommended to any family that if and when you are facing a difficult situation or you are distressed, you should do Nazr. In other words, take a spiritual vow that when the problem is over you would offer special prayers or invite friends and relatives for food that has been dedicated to the Ahlul Bayt in Allah's name.
The story is the guiding light for us in our lives. The family of Fatima Zahra (peace be unto her) fulfilled their Nazr, but when a more needy person came they gave away their food to him without any regard to their own needs. Glorious Qur'an has made it incumbent upon us to love the Prophet of Islam and his holy family and fashion our lives according to how they lived.

Talha and Zubeir, the Two Enigmatic Personalities

Talha and Zubeir were the first to take the oath of allegiance and they were the first to break the oath of allegiance to Imam Ali. Both of them like many others had grown immensely rich during the reign of the three caliphs before Imam Ali. They had kept growing wealthier and wealthier.
Both had married the daughters of caliph Abu Bakr which made them the brother in law of Ayesha. Ever since caliph Umar had appointed both as members of the Shura committee their ambition to become Khalifa had inflated beyond all other desires. Their influence, wealth and power had grown and they craved for the Khilafat.
When the ummah got fed up with caliph Usman and as frustrated groups of opposition began to emerge, it was Talha and Zubeir who rallied them and took charge as leaders of the mobs. Later they laid siege to the palace of caliph Usman and agitated matters to an extent which resulted in his murder. Everyone in Madina had witnessed their conduct towards caliph Usman and therefore contrary to the expectation of both, the people did not choose either of them as caliph. The public’s choice for caliph became Imam Ali. In order not to make themselves too conspicuous they gave their pledge of allegiance to Imam Ali.
Finding caliphate beyond their reach, they eyed Basra and Kufa as consolation prizes. Displaying obedience to the new caliph they waited in hope that their prestige and influence with the people of Basra and Kufa would not be overlooked. But Imam Ali was not impressed by their status and prestige. Imam Ali was reviving the true Islamic government and looked forward to appointing honest, sincere and God fearing governors in all provinces.
Neither Talha nor Zubeir possessed any of these lofty qualities. Both were unreliable. They had rebelled against caliph Usman previously and could just as easily rebel against Ali. And that is what they did! Realizing that they would not get Basra or Kufa, they decided to go to Makkah and left Madina with treason in their hearts. They broke the pledge of allegiance and soon declared war against the legal government in the name of vengeance for the very man they had gotten killed – caliph Usman!!

Drawbacks of a Palace

Many years ago there lived a King who built himself a huge and magnificent palace. No one had seen anything like it before. The turrets rose into the sky and many expensive materials were used in its construction. The King invited one and all to come and view his palace and left a guest book at the entrance for them to sign and leave comments in.

He took pleasure in reading the various praises that people visiting the palace had written for him in the book. However, he came across two comments that were not in keeping with the general feeling. These two comments were not in praise of the palace; on the contrary, they criticized it. The King was upset and summoned the authors of the comments. At first, neither of them was ready to explain his comment but, after the King assured them that their lives were not in danger, they disclosed the reasons.

"O King! There are two weaknesses in this palace. The first of these is that some day, the palace will turn into ruins, and the second one is that it does not have anything to ensure that its owner will not be separated from it one day. In a life of just a few days, why do we have to attach ourselves to such worldly, material things?"

Man will soon die and leave behind all his worldly possessions. What will accompany him the journey to the Hereafter are his noble deeds.

Imam Ali al Hadi (as) said: In the world, people are publicized by their property, wealth and asset, and in eternity they are known by their deeds and actions.

"Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of the world, but lasting righteous deeds are better with your Lord in reward and better in hope." Noble Qur'an, (18:46)

Wisdom therefore dictates that man should focus his attention to things that are imperishable and highly rewardable.

Imam Ali (as) said: The world is a passage lodging, and eternity is a place everlasting, yon should take advantage of the opportunity to save something from your passage lodging for the rest of your Journey.

Knowledge

Imam Ali (a.s.): O seeker of knowledge! Numerous are the advantages of knowledge. The head of knowledge (if knowledge is personified as a human being) will be humility, its eyes will be immune from jealousy; its ears will be understanding (the truth and justice); its tongue will be truthfulness; its security lies in visiting the learned scholars; its ambitions will be to establish (universal) peace; its wisdom will be piety; salvation will be its final abode; its health will be its leader; faithfulness will be its mount; sweet talk will be its ammunition; its sword will be the acceptance of the Will and Pleasure of God; its bow (and arrow) will be sympathy and hospitality; its army will be its good manners; its treasures will be its refraining from sins; its sustenance will be its good manners; its meekness will be its beverage (to quench his thirst during his journey); its guide will be the Divine Guidance and its comrades will be the love of virtues.