Ali's
Grave traceless
Following the death of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), Ibn Muljam was made
to appear before Hasan (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
who killed him with one stroke of his sword. Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was honored with martyrdom at the age of sixty-three and
passed five years as a caliph. Hasan, Husain and Abdullah bin Ja'far (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) washed his body and
shrouded him in three pieces of cloth without a shirt.
Hasan (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) led the funeral prayer. But there is a wide difference of
opinion with regard to his burial ground. Some people say that he was buried in
the Kufah Mosque while others say that he was buried in his house, or somewhere
ten miles away from Kufah.
According to some narratives, Hasan (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) buried him at an
unknown place after taking his body out of his grave anticipating an act of
desecration from the Khawârij. Still one more narrative says that his bier was
carried to Al-Madinah to bury him near the grave of Prophet (SAW). But the
camel carrying the body fled away and remained traceless. Contradicting this
narrative, yet another one lends support to the opinion that the camel with the
body of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
was traced at Tai and he was buried there. It is a wonder that the grave of
such a great personality lies traceless to this day. However, the reason behind
his burial at an unknown place was the Khawârij menace.
Wives
and Children
Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) married nine wives at different times and had fourteen sons
and seventeen daughters. He was first married to Fâtimah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the daughter of the Prophet (SAW) who
gave him two sons, Hasan and Husain (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), and two daughters Zainab and Umm Kulthum (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). After the death of Fâtimah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), he married
Umm-un-Nabiyin bint Harâm Kalâbiah who gave him four sons, Abbâs, Ja'far,
Abdullah and Uthmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
His third wife was Laila bint Mas'ud
bin Khâlid from whom Ubaidullah and Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) were born. The fourth Asma' bint Umais gave him Muhammad
Al-Asghar and Yahya. These eight brothers were martyred fighting with Husain (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) in Karbala. His
fifth wife Umâmah bint Abul-Âs bin Ar-Rabi' bin Abdul-Uzza bin Abd Shams whose
mother was Zainab, the daughter of the Prophet (SAW) and Muhammad Al-Ausat was
born to her.
His sixth marriage was with Khaulah
bint Ja'far who was from Banu Hanifah, he had with her Muhammad Al-Akbar also
known as Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyah. From his seventh marriage with Sahba bint
Rabi'ah Taghlabiah he got Umar bin Ali, Ruqayyah bint Ali. His eighth wife was
Umm Saeed bint Urwah bin Mas'ud Thaqafiyah with whom he got Umm Hasan,
Ramlat-ul-Kubra and Umm Kulthum Sughra.
His ninth and the last marriage was
with Mukhbi'ah the daughter of Imra-ul-Qais bin Adi Kalbiyah gave him a
daughter who died young. He had some other daughters too but their names are
unknown. His one son Aun is stated to be born to Asma' bint Umais. However,
Ali's progeny came from Hasan, Husain, Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyah, Abbâs and
Ja'far (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) while the others did
not survive long.
A
Glance at Ali's Caliphate
Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was the last in the line of those who commanded respect
throughout the world of Islam. None after him could fight evil and promote
good. When Aishah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
heard the sad news of Ali's death, she observed: "Now the people are at
liberty to do what they like, for none is left to prevent them from
wrongdoings."
Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was above craftiness. He was truth loving to the core. At
first he considered himself more within his rights to become the Caliph owing
to his close relationship with the Prophet (SAW). Thus he did not keep it
secret from others and kept from making the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) for sometime. During
these same days, Abu Sufyân instigated him to rise against Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) but he rebuked him
rather violently and with contempt for he hated such an act. When he reconciled
himself with the reality that the job of a caliph required qualities of head
and heart other than mere relationship, he found Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) worthy of the responsibilities and
pledged his allegiance to him on his own and remained loyal to him throughout.
During his caliphate, Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) sought Ali's advice
and held it valuable. He lent his sincere advice to Uthmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) thinking least whether he acted upon it
or not. And whenever he found any of Uthmân's action objectionable, he opposed
it without any reservation.
When the people opposed Uthmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), he supported them
to the extent that it was valid. When the rioters mounted their violent
pressure on Uthmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and an ugly situation was created, he showed no craftiness in keeping his
position clear and remained satisfied with the clarity of his conscience. When
following the assassination of Uthmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), the people rose to pledge their allegiance to him, he
accepted for he considered himself more worthy than others for the job.
In short, his deeds and actions proved
beyond doubt that he was never reluctant to speak the truth regardless of the
consequences. His face was the index of his feelings and his exterior was the
mirror of his interior. He was like an unsheathed sword and would speak the
truth frankly in every situation. Another person would have handed over
Muhammad bin Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and Mâlik Ashtar to be killed by way of Qisâs for Uthmân's blood and thus
bought peace and security for himself. But since he could not obtain solid
evidence against the assassins of Uthmân (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), he held himself back from punishing the accused and faced the
resultant troubles but refused to bow down to his opponents.
Majority of the persons Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) had to dealt with
were crafty, shrewd and expedient. The Islamic atmosphere created by the
Prophet (SAW), which continued to exist through the period of Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), did not remain
intact after more people from Persia, Egypt, and the other lands entered the
folds of Islam. Racial and ancestral superiority, worldliness, desire for a
comfortable and luxurious life distorted much of the real face of Islam. During
his tenure the number of Companions had significantly decreased. Great and
influential Companions had already passed away and the rest had shifted from
Al-Madinah to settle in Kufah, Basrah, Damascus, Egypt, Yemen, Makkah and
Al-Madinah. Up to the period of Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), almost all the Companions lived in Al-Madinah. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) shifted the capital
of Islam from Al-Madinah to Kufah but he did not make any substantial gain from
this change. He was deprived of the advantages he could have gained in
Al-Madinah. He failed to attract help from the Hijâz because with the change of
capital, the importance of the Hijâz was diminished.
During the blessed period of the
Prophet (SAW) the hypocrites and conspirators tried their best to put the
Muslims to trouble and loss but their nefarious plans did not bear fruit.
During the era of Abu Bakr Siddiq and Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), those who had vested interests, left no stone unturned to
inflict injuries to Islam but they were dealt with severely. They first got an
opportunity to raise their heads during the caliphate of Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), and Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) as his successor,
had to bear the brunt of the dealings of his predecessor. Furthermore, if he
had some more years as a caliph, he could have done away with the
mischief-mongers and power hungry elements because in spite of the multiple
problems assailing him, he had the courage and determination to combat them
all. He never yielded to despair and discouragement. However, it was the Will
of Allâh for him to depart leaving the field open for Banu Umayyah.
The Banu Umayyah tribe considered
itself the principal power of Arabia and treated Banu Hâshim as its rival.
Although Islam uprooted evils of racial and ancestral snobbery, Uthmân's
caliphate revived it. Banu Umayyah found in his caliphate a golden opportunity
to restore the lost power and leadership and the hypocrites aided and abetted
their plans. It was such a loss to Islam that Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) could not compensate for it during his entire tenure until his
martyrdom.
If we take the campaigns of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and the opposition
of Zubair (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Talhah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) as cases similar to
those of our times, we are grossly mistaken. We can't measure their moral
standards with our own. It is worth noting that Talhah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Zubair came to the battlefield with
massive preparations against Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), but a Hadith of the Prophet (SAW) made both of them keep from
fighting and no amount of lashing and lambasting could rouse them to go against
Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). It is an undeniable
fact that fighting was natural for them but one Hadith of the Prophet (SAW)
changed their outlook and their course of action.
Our religious leaders and scholars
today indulge in a futile war of words of a shameful nature and sometimes go to
law courts for worldly decisions on religious issues. No Verse of the Qur'ân or
Hadith of the Prophet (SAW) proves effective enough to make them accept the
truth. It has already been mentioned that Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) had sought from Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) the issue of the inheritance of a eunuch after the battle of
Siffin and the judgment of the arbitrators.
When Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) entered Basrah, Qais bin Ubâdah stated that the people said,
"The Prophet (SAW) told you that you will be made Caliph after him. Is
this true?" Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
had emphatically said, "This is utterly wrong. I can never tell a lie
about the Prophet (SAW). Had he said so, how could I have allowed Abu Bakr,
Umar and Uthmân to become the Caliph and give my allegiance to them?" How
could anybody now make such statements? Yet, we hear it from those who are
called religious scholars and pious Muslims. From Adam (AS) to the Day of
Judgment, struggle between truth and untruth goes on and will go on. Divine and
satanic parties have always been there and they will exist until the Day of
Resurrection. This unending fight between right and wrong decides the reward
and punishment one will receive in the Hereafter.
Islam teaches moderation and
prevents going to the extremes. People have formed extreme views about Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). One group has
degraded him to the lowest level while another one, in opposition to the first
one, upgraded him to the position of god. In this respect Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was put into a
position like Isa (Jesus) (AS) when the Jews opposed him and went astray, while
the Christians lifted him up to the Divine level. But pure and orthodox Muslims
walk a middle path neither of the Shiite nor the Khawârij.
As the Companions of the Prophet
(SAW) can not be brought down to the level of the reverend Muslims, sufis and
common Muslims of our times they also cannot be taken above the human level.
They were, after all, humans. They ate and drank and slept like humans. They
had other human needs too. Even the Prophet (SAW) claimed his being human and
took pride in his position as a slave of Allâh. However, we are very sure of
his innocence and of his being perfect in total human virtues and excellence
and consider his life and deeds as a guiding light for us all.
The Companions were fortunate enough
to watch and emulate his example in letter and spirit. But, since, they were
neither Prophets nor innocent, and different from each other in abilities, they
had different aspects of human qualities to show. Among them we see Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) on one hand and
Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Mughirah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) on the other. They
had jurists like Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and Aishah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and narrators of Hadith like Abu Hurairah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Ibn Mas'ud (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), political activists like Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and pious persons like Abdullah bin Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Abu Dhar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). Now, if they differ
in thoughts, opinions and actions, it is our duty to take these differences as
a blessing in disguise and not to fall prey to hasty decisions and thoughtless
actions.
Up to 30 AH, twenty years after the
death of the Prophet (SAW), the Muslims kept winning steady victories without
loss. These conquests brought to the fold of Islam almost all the civilized
countries of the world. From 30 AH to 40 AH, we find almost no Muslim victories
and they remained preoccupied with internal problems, bickering, feuds and
fighting. Although the decade-long disturbances were apparently injurious to
Islam, they had some hidden virtues for the Muslim Ummah. The twenty-year long
spell of victories were the fruits of spiritual power and the teachings of the
Qur'ân, while internal dissensions and disruptions were the direct outcome of a
materialistic approach to life. Through death and destruction they learned to
live under adverse situations and win peace and progress after losses and
reverses.
The fight goes on and will keep
going on between good and bad, right and wrong, light and darkness. Whenever
materialism gains victory over spiritual power, the two forces are bound to
clash with one another. When Musa (Moses) (AS) caught Hârun (Aaron) (AS) by his
beard, when Yusuf (Joseph) (AS) could be thrown into the well by his brothers
and sold for a few coins, the differences among various sections of the
Companions must not be looked upon with amazement.
What took place between Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), left a deep scar on
the face of Islam. It has been serving the Muslims as a lesson to learn from
and to take care about since that time. Conflict between Banu Umayyah and Banu
Abbâs, campaigns of the Ghaznawid and the Ghorid against one another and the power
struggles between rival Muslim rulers throughout history have inflicted heavy
losses in men and materials but Islam is flexible enough to sustain these
onslaughts and rise again from the dust.
These ups and downs in Muslim life
and character and power have always been among the wonders of history. When
Halâku (the son of Ghengis Khan) ravaged Baghdad, it led to his progeny
converting to Islam. When the united Christian forces wrested Palestine from
the Muslims, Salahuddin Ayubi appeared on the scene and restored the sacred
land to the Muslim Ummah.
We find contrast in all the facets
of the world. Islamic caliphate or Islamic rule was in all respects a blessing
for mankind. But it was not spared the onslaught of decline and fall.
Readers of history are not pleased
over the emergence of hypocrites during the caliphate of Uthmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and opponents make
an attempt to hold Islam responsible for this. But dark forces have always been
there to fight the forces of light and virtue and they have, more than once,
attained temporary success in their nefarious plans. These forces raised their
heads with the martyrdom of Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and have been raging against Islam since then.
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