Wise
Sayings:
Ali is reported to have said:
"O people establish close relations with your tongue and body, and keep a
distance from your hearts and actions. Man will, on the Day of Judgment, get
according to what he has done, and he will accompany those that he had loved.
Make a supreme effort in making your actions acceptable, for no action finds
acceptance without piety and sincerity. O scholar of the Qur'ân, be one who
acts on the Qur'ân. A scholar is one who acts upon what he has read and brings
about a closeness between his knowledge and his acts. A time will come when
there will be great disparity between acts and knowledge. They will sit in a
circle to praise one another and ask one coming to join them to sit away from
them. Bear in mind deeds have no place in assemblies but they are related to
Allâh the Almighty." "Beauty of manners is the essence of man, wisdom
is his helper and etiquette his legacy. Barbarism is worse than
arrogance."
A person came to Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and submitted,
"Make me understand what is fate." He said, "Ask it not for it
is a dark track." He again put the same question and got a similar reply,
"Try not to plunge in it for it is a deep sea." He asked the same
question once again and Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
replied, "It is the secret of Allâh and it has been kept secret from you,
why do you try to explore it?" When he repeated his question again, Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said, "Tell me
whether Allâh the Almighty has made you according to His Will or as per your
choice." He said, "Allâh has made me according to His Will."
Thereupon Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
said, "He is then free to make use of you according to His Will, what is
your choice then?"
"Every trouble has its limit
and when it inflicts anybody, it goes to its extremity. So, whoever is
afflicted, he should not indulge in finding remedies as he will be more
distressed in it." "It is bestowing to give anything when asked and
to give without asking is benevolence. Idleness in prayer, want of subsistence
and decrease in taste are all punishments for a sin."
Ali said to Hasan in his last
counsel, "Wisdom is the greatest wealth while stupidity is the worst
pauperism; arrogance is the gravest savageness and beauty of manner is the
greatest generosity. Shun the company of a stupid person for he wants to
benefit you but puts you to harm. Keep away from a liar, for he brings you
closer to what is distant and makes you distant from what is closest. Keep away
from a miser too, for he will cause you to renounce what is most wanted by you.
Keep not the company of a transgressor, for he will put you on sale very
cheaply. None should fear anything except sin and expect nothing from anybody
except from Allâh. One should not be ashamed of learning what is unknown to
him. When a scholar is asked about something unknown to him, he must
unhesitatingly say: 'Allâh knows better.' Patience and Faith are like head and
body, when patience leaves, Faith is also no longer there, for how can a body
exist without a head. A Faqih (Islamic jurist) is one who lets no one lose
their faith in Allâh, nor gives permission for committing sins, nor makes one
fearless of the torment of Allâh, nor lets one inclined to anything else shun
the Qur'ân. Pomegranates should be eaten along with the thin skin that is stuck
with the grains, for it helps the food digest with its entry into the stomach.
A time is about to come when a believer will be baser than the ordinary
slave."
Important
Events of Ali's Caliphate
Bai'ah
of Caliphate
A week after the martyrdom of Uthmân
bin Affân, Bai'ah (oath of allegiance) was taken on Dhul-Hijjah 25, 35 AH, at
the hands of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
in Al-Madinah. Following the martyrdom of Uthmân bin Affân, his murderers were
going strong in Al-Madinah.
At first, they forced the people of
Al-Madinah to elect a caliph under threat. The majority of the rioters leaned
towards Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and the same situation prevailed throughout Al-Madinah. When the people went to
Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to take Bai'ah, he
said, "You pledge your allegiance to me but this is not enough unless the
Companions of Badr accept me as caliph." Hearing this, they went to the
Companions of Badr and brought them in a group to Ali. First of all Mâlik
Ashtar took the Bai'ah while others followed him.
Ali then asked them to find out the
intentions of Talhah and Zubair. Following this, Mâlik Ashtar went to Talhah
and Hukaim bin Jabalah contacted Zubair and both of them were forcibly brought
to Ali, who told them that he was ready to take Bai'ah at the hands of anyone
who had a desire to become the Caliph. They flatly rejected the offer. They
were then asked to take Bai'ah at the hands of Ali. At this, they began to
ponder. Thereupon Mâlik Ashtar said to Talhah drawing his sword, "The
matter is to be decided right now."
In response to the demand of the
situation, Talhah said to Ali, "I will take Bai'ah provided you issue
orders to take actions according to the limits set by the Book of Allâh and
Sunnah of His Messenger, and take Qisâs (retaliation) from the murderers of
Uthmân bin Affân." Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
promised to do the needful. Talhah took Bai'ah extending his hand which had
become lame following the injuries he received during the battle of Uhud. Some
people took it as an ill omen. Zubair also agreed to take Bai'ah with the same
conditions put forward by Talhah.
When Saad bin Abu Waqqâs was
approached, he shut his doors saying, "I shall do it after others have
done it." He, however, told them not to expect anything bad from him. Ali
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) did not press him further.
Abdullah bin Umar responded in the
same way as Saad bin Abu Waqqâs. Mâlik Ashtar drew his sword to kill him but
Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) stood surety for
him. Abdullah bin Umar then left for Makkah to perform Umrah (the lesser
pilgrimage). They cautioned Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) against Abdullah's activities. Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was about to send people to arrest him when Umm Kulthum, the
wife of Umar and daughter of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) intervened and convinced him of the innocence of Abdullah. Ali
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) felt satisfied.
Muhammad bin Maslamah, Usâmah bin
Zaid, Hassân bin Thâbit, Ka'b bin Mâlik, Abu Saeed Khudri, Nu'mân bin Bashir,
Zaid bin Thâbit, Mughirah bin Shu'bah, and Abdullah bin Salâm also declined to
support the new Caliph. Many others, particularly Banu Umayyah stayed away and
left for Syria without delay. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) asked the Companions staying in Al-Madinah to explain their
refusal. They argued that they wanted to keep neutral owing to the prevailing
state of disturbances and killings.
Ali then wanted Marwân bin Al-Hakam
to appear but he could not be found. When Nâ'ilah, the wife of Uthmân was asked
the names of the murderers, she gave the physical appearance of two of them but
failed to tell their names. When asked about Muhammad bin Abu Bakr, she said
that he came in but left before the assassination. Some people from Banu
Umayyah collected the cut off fingers of Nâ'ilah and the bloodstained clothes,
and proceeded to Syria to meet Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Abu Sufyân.
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