The Brother of the Prophet Muhammad: Imam ‘Ali

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The Brother of the Prophet Muhammad: Imam ‘Ali Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
Category: Imam Ali

The Brother of the Prophet Muhammad: Imam ‘Ali

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Author: Mohamad Jawad Chirri
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
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The Brother of the Prophet Muhammad: Imam ‘Ali

The Brother of the Prophet Muhammad: Imam ‘Ali

Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

The Brother of the Prophet Muhammad: Imam ‘Ali

The text analyzes in details the political-religious place of Imam Ali in Islam, his spiritual relationship to the Prophet Muhammad and his contribution in establishing the Islamic State and the spread of the Faith of Islam; it discusses him as a Caliph and as a statesman, and also what was said about his policy and statesmanship and the causes which led to the accumulations of the difficulties which prevented him from reaching a peaceful and more lasting rule during the days of his caliphate. Finally the book discusses the caliphate as a religious-political system and the kind of caliphate which is consonant with the nature of the Islamic message.

Author(s): Mohamad Jawad Chirri

Publisher(s): The Islamic Center of America

Table of Contents

Distinguished Benefactors 12

Acknowledgments 13

About The Author 14

Introduction 15

Part 1: The Imam During The Era Of The Prophethood 18

1. The House of the Prophet Muhammad 19

Is the Honor Due to the relationship? 19

It Is Due to Their Merits Not Their Inheritance 20

The Record Attests to their merit 20

Why were they so meritorious? 22

Precedents in History.22

Why Did God Give Those Prophets Such Distinguished Children and Relatives? 23

The Prophet's Reward.23

Notes 24

2. Members of the House of Muhammad 25

Descriptive Hadiths 25

The Specific Hadiths 27

Members Born After the Prophet Muhammad.28

Notes 29

3. The Indispensable People 30

The Hashimites 30

The Ousites and the Khazrajites 31

Abu Talib.31

Islam of Abu Talib.32

We All Are Indebted to Him.35

Imam ‘Ali 36

Unique Bravery Supported With Unique Sincerity.37

His Birth and Childhood.38

Notes 40

4. The First Muslims 41

How Valuable Was His Islam? 42

Notes 43

5. Brother and Minister 44

The Holy Qur'an informs us that when Moses received the Command of God: "Go to Pharaoh certainly he has exceeded the limit 44

Conflicting Hadiths 45

The Offered Reward.47

Why Such a Big Reward for a Ministry? 48

The Prophet Wanted to Have No Excuses 49

The Outcome of the Conference of the House of The Prophet 49

The conference to which the Messenger called the children of Abdul-Muttalib produced a unique pact; history 49

Notes 50

6. The Redeemer 52

The Magnitude of The Mission.53

Significance of the Delivery of the Trusts 54

A Miraculous Prophecy.54

Value Undiminished.54

Notes 56

7. ’Ali's Role in Building the Islamic State 57

Thesis Versus Antithesis 58

Quality Versus Quantity.58

The Unique Hero.58

Note 59

8. At Badr 60

Notes 61

9. At Uhud 62

The Elements of the Islamic Defense 62

‘Ali and the Banner Bearers 63

Defeat After Victory.63

Who Remained with the Prophet? 64

The Prophet Participated.64

‘Ali's Endeavor 65

The Conclusion.65

Notes 67

10. The Moat 68

Non-Pagan Tribes 68

The Muslims in Horror 68

Amr's Venture 69

Men of Strong Faith.69

‘Ali's Response 69

The magnltude of ‘Ali's contribution.71

Notes 72

11. At Kheibar 73

The Prophet Besieged Kheibar 74

Indispensable Man.75

‘Ali Is the Solution.75

The Unique Leadership.76

As ‘Ali entered the fortress he brought the defensive capability of the people of the fortress to an end. They could not win a second battle of confrontation after they.77

Conclusion.77

Two Miracles 78

The natural ministry.78

A Divine Choice 78

Had the mission of the Messenger been in no need of 79

‘Ali's endeavor and sacrifice the Messenger would not have chosen a brother or an executor or a caliph other than.79

Notes 79

12. Announced Brotherhood 80

The Significance Of The Brotherhood.81

The Son-In-Law Of The Prophet 82

The Divinely Commended Family.82

A Unique Testimony.83

Notes 83

13.’Ali's Place from the Prophet in the Qur'an 85

Why was all included? 86

Notes 87

14. The Mawla of the Muslims 88

Notes 91

15. Unfulfilled Will of the Prophet 92

The Prophet Was Prevented From Writing A Will 94

This Unusual Event Raises Many Questions 95

What did the Prophet Want to Write? 97

The Prophet Wanted to Name a Successor 98

Again who were the powerful leaders of Quraish at the time of the death of the Prophet? Abu Sufyan and the rest of the Pre-Islamic leaders were already conquered and lost their influence. The influential leaders at that time were 100

How could he defy the Prophet? 100

Disagreed With the Prophet On Osamah.101

Why did the Prophet not insist on Writing his Directive? 103

How could the directive of the messenger be a security to the nation against straying? 104

Security Against Sectarianism.104

Security Against School Division.105

Notes 106

Part 2: The Imam During The Era Of The Three Caliphs 108

16. Abu Bakr Succeeds 109

‘Umar Denied the Prophet's Death.109

Abu Bakr's Speech.109

Preoccupied With Holy Funeral 109

Political Conference 109

‘Umar Spoke of the Conference 110

Legal And Historical Questions 110

Ayeshah Reported the Opposite 111

Obvious Prejudice 112

The Story of Maghafeer 113

‘Umar's Last Statement 114

Did the messenger of god desire to appoint abu bakr as his successor? 114

Was the Election Of Abu Bakr Legal? 117

The Prophet's Appointee 118

Quraish And The Caliphate 119

Was the Prophet Predicting? 120

Is the Qureshite Rule Hereditary? 121

Are the Qureshites Superior? 121

Were the Men Chosen Only for their Righteousness? 122

Qureshites and Election Are Irreconcilable 123

Notes 123

17.’Ali Views the Succession 125

He Did not Want to Reach His Goal by Force 126

He Reversed His Position for the Sake of Unity.127

He could have continued his opposition to Abu Bakr as long as Abu Bakr lived. Saad Ibn Abadah continued his op position until Abu Bakr died. However the movement of desertion of the faith by the Arab tribes was to him a decisive factor that made him reverse his attitude. His op position to Abu Bakr was not motivated by a personal ambition. It was rather motivated by his desire to set the 127

Notes 128

18. Abu Bakr Names a Successor 129

Note 131

19. ‘Umar Succeeds 132

‘Umar and ‘Ali's Knowledge 133

Dialogues About The Caliphate 135

The Dimensions Of ‘Umar's Policy.137

Pre-Arranged The Future Of The Muslims 138

Undesirable Consequences 139

Subversive Elements In The Caliph's Regime 140

Ibn Al-Aws 140

The Umayyads In.140

The Hashimites Out 140

The Umayyad's Reign Was Not Inevitable 141

What the Prophetic Word Meant 142

Notes 143

20. The Electoral Convention 145

Six Nominees 145

Procedural Instructions 146

Abdul-Rahman Selected Uthman.147

Observations 148

Is the Hadith Accurate? 149

Could a Non-Qureshite be a Caliph? 149

The Medinite Companions Out 149

‘Ali immediately noted this when he heard the passing Caliph giving his instruction to the six members on the method of selecting the caliph. When he left ‘Umar's house 150

Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar 150

Does Islam Forbid Opposition? 151

Unheeded Warning.152

The Unwarranted Stipulation.153

A Justification by Hadith.155

‘Ali's Unique Dedication.157

True Prophecies 158

Motives And Consequences 159

A New Class 160

The Lost Opportunity.160

Notes 161

21. Uthman’s Reign 162

Non-Combatant 162

A Bridging Personality.163

Early Opposition.163

Implementation Of The Umayyad's Plan.164

Muawiya and Syria 165

Ibn Abu Sarh In Egypt 165

The Third Caliph And His Two Predecessors 168

‘Umar and Abu Hurairah.171

The Growth Of Opposition.173

Amr Ibn Al-Aws 175

Opposition From Non-Qureshite Companions 176

Abu Dharr 176

Abdullah Ibn Masud.178

Ammar Ibn Yasir 178

Opposition Outside Medina 179

Now People Remembered ‘Ali 183

The Caliph Is Besieged.186

And So the Medinites 188

Notes 189

Part 3: Imam ‘Ali In His Own Era 191

22. The Election of the Imam ‘Ali 192

A Drafted Caliph.192

A Gloomy Expectation.193

Unachievable Goals 193

Quraish's Hostility.194

The Privileged Companions 194

The Promoted Companions 194

The Umayyads 194

Tribalism.194

The Absence of the Military Draft System.195

Blood and Tears 196

An Early Opposition.196

Sudden Reversal 197

Campaigning for War at the Sacred Mosque 197

A Preparation for War Under Way.198

The Two Companions Joined.198

The Umayyads Were Still to Be Reckoned with.198

Rassrah the Chosen Target 199

United Only Against the Imam.199

Were Talhah and al-Zubayr forced to elect the imam? 200

The Imam Did Not Force Any Companion to Elect Him.200

The Imam Could Not Force His First Elector 201

The Imam Refuted the Allegation.201

The Guilty Accused the Innocent 202

Notes 202

23. The Battle of Basra 204

A Sweeping Condemnation.205

A Warning Prophecy Not Heeded.205

Dividing Killing and Truce 206

The Contents of the Truce Agreement 206

Forcing Two Persons Does Not Nullify the Election.207

Illegal Agreement 207

The Imam's Journey.208

Unprecedented Test 208

Abu Musa Al-Ashari 210

Abu Musa Misinterpreted His Own Report 211

Abu Musa Disagreed with the Qur'an.211

Which Faith-testing Crisis? 212

Abu Musa Appointed Himself a Counselor to the Nation and the Imam.212

Abu Musa Persisted in His Error 212

Abu Musa Did Not Distinguish Between Hadith and Qur'an.213

The Key to the Solution.215

The Imam's Effort for Peace 216

Al-Zubayr Lost Determination.217

The Imam in Dialogue with His Opponents 217

Reminiscence of a Prophecy.218

The Imam Offered the Arbitration of the Qur'an.218

The Beginning of The Battle 219

The Imam Knew His Killer's Description.219

Talhah's Death.220

The Killer of Talhah.220

Al-Zubayr Left the Battlefield.220

Al-Zubayr Freed a Slave in Order to Fight the Imam's Camp.221

Under the Leadership of Ayeshah.221

The Unique Courage 221

Ta-if's Honey.222

The Imam's Thrust Changed the Battle 222

Ammar the Ninety- Year-Old.223

Hamstringing the Camel 223

The Imam Spoke 223

The Responsibility of The Three Leaders 224

The Umayyads Were Less Blamable than the Three Leaders 225

Talhah's Responsibility.225

Al-Zubayr's Responsibility.226

Ayeshah's Responsibility.227

Dialogue of Om Selemah and Ayeshah.227

The Lady of Al-Hau-ab.227

The Patcher of the Sole 227

Conclusion.229

Should We Accept Their Hadiths? 229

Criticism is Much Smaller Sin Than Fighting.229

The Three Leaders Open the Door of Wars Among Muslims 230

Notes 231

24. The Alleged Conspiracy 234

Contradicted by Better Reports 234

Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr 237

Al-Ashtar 237

Uday Ibn Hatam.237

Ammar Ibn Yasir 238

The Three Leaders 239

Did Abdullah ibn Saba exist? 240

Who Was the First to Speak of the Prophet's Return? 240

Was Ibn Saba in Medina? 242

To Discredit Abu Dharr and Ammar Is To Discredit The Prophet 244

The Source Of The Legend.245

Notes 249

25. The Battle of Siffin 251

The Opportunist Amr 254

Idealist Versus Opportunist 254

New Efforts for Peace 255

Martyrdom of Ammar Ibn Yasir 256

The Big Conspiracy.257

The Two Arbiters 260

Notes 263

26. Al-Khawarij (The Seceders) 264

Violent Extremism.266

Prophecies 268

Notes 271

27. Martyrdom 272

The Fulfilled Promise 278

Unequalled Loss 280

The End of the Righteous Caliphate 280

Notes 282

28. The Imam's Policy Concerning Public Funds 283

With Talhah and Al-Zubayr 283

With Chiefs of the Arab Tribes 283

Does Islam Allow Preference? 283

The Three Leaders 283

Ayeshah's Grudge 284

The Two Companions' Motives 284

With Chiefs of the Tribes 284

Was it politically sound? 286

Notes 288

29. Was the War of Siffin Inevitable? 289

Mughirah And Ibn Abbas 290

Naive Opinion.291

Muawiya's Long Preparation.291

Muawiya Refused to Protect Uthman.293

Forecast Rule 293

Was Umayyad's rule inevitable? 296

Notes 297

30. Did the Imam Exercise His Rule as a Preacher? 299

A Winner of Three Wars Is Not Unfirm.299

Why Did He Not Force Some Companions to Elect Him? 299

Why Did the Imam Not Prevent Talhah and Al-Zubayr from Leaving Medina? 300

Why Did He Not Continue the War in Siffin? 300

Why Did He Not Punish Ashaath? 301

Why did the imam bind himself with a document which was forced upon him? 302

Why Did the Imam Prolong the Period of Arbitration? 303

Notes 305

31. Why did the reign of the Imam not last long? 306

Ali did not have the two elements 307

The Jealousy of Quraish.308

Quraish Retains its Influence and Grudges 308

Unwritten Will 309

The Alternation of the Caliphate 309

The Attitude of the Two Caliphs Towards ‘Ali 310

The Growth Of The Qureshite Influence And The Obscurity Of The Imam 311

The Obscurity of the Imam.311

The Umayyads Infiltrated the Regime 312

The Continuity of Muawiya and His Governorship.312

The Electoral Convention Put The Caliphate In The Hands Of The Umayyads 313

The Iron Curtain.314

Tribalism.315

New Competitors 316

The Last Opportunity.316

The Caliphate Was Imposed Upon Him.317

Qureshite Hostile or Deserter? 317

The Qureshite Aggressors 318

The Righteous Ambitious Qureshites 319

Conclusions 320

Remarkable Achievements 322

Muawiya's Inefficiency.322

Responsibility of the Non-Iraqi Muslims 323

Why Did the Caliphate Not Live Long? 323

Observation.324

Notes 327

Part 4: The Caliphate in The Islamic Law 328

32. Should the First Caliphate Have Been Established by Inheritance Popular Election or by the Prophet's Selection? 329

1. Election by the people, or 329

2. Selection by God.329

Islam Has No Room for Hereditary Rule 330

Government by the Prophet's Appointment 331

Elective Government 332

Elective Government Is to Abide by the Qur'an.332

The nature of the islamic principles Is consonant with selection More than with election 333

Popular Principles 333

Reformatory Principles 333

Islamic Principles Are Reformatory.335

Two Days Out of a whole Year 337

The Dangers Which Were About To Face The Nation.337

The Prophet Predicted Companions'Failure in Test 338

The Need for an Authority in Interpretation of the Qur'an and Communication of the Prophet's Instructions 340

Interpretation of the Qur'an.340

Categories of Hadiths 342

Hadith by Numerous Reporters 342

Hadith Reported by Few.342

Notes 346

33. Had What Ought to Be Done Been Done? 347

‘Ali Is The Gate Of The City Of Knowledge 347

Notes 349

34. The Home Conference 350

Note 352

35. The Hadith of the Analogy "You Are to Me Like Aaron to Moses" 353

Unlimited Deputization.356

Notes 359

36. The Hadith of Performance and Delivery 360

No one shall deliver for me except i or a man from my house 360

Summary of the Previous Four Chapters 363

The Hadith Is a Prophecy.364

Notes 364

37. Hadith Al-Thaqalain (The Two Valuables) 365

Prophetic Hadith.367

The Shi’ites Do Not Relieve In The Inheritance Of The Caliphate 372

The Sunnis Are Closer Than The Shi’ites To The Opinion Of Leadership By Inheritance 373

Political And Jurisprudential Leadership.374

Notes 379

38. The Hadith of the Wilayah 380

The Meaning Of Hadith Al-Ghadir 384

"wali"and "Mawla" 384

1. The one who has more right 386

The Verse Of Proclamation.387

The Contents of the Message 388

Political and Religious Leadership.389

Notes 395

The Conclusion 397

Unity Does Not Require Conformity.398

Let Us Find Our Way.400

Abu Bakr and the rest of the companions were neither Hanafi nor Maliki nor Shafi-i or Hanbali 403

Agreeable Points 403

The Shi’ite Companions Of The Prophet 404

Legitimacy and Negative Aspects Of Elective Caliphate 405

A caliph that was appointed by the Prophet would not have these two negative aspects. The nation has to accept his leadership and no one would be permitted to oppose 406

The House of The Prophet Is To Be Followed.406

Unjustifiable Bias 410

My Humble Effort 412

Notes 414

Glossary 416

Bibliography 422

Distinguished Benefactors

Thanks are due to the following contributors who were mainly responsible for defraying the initial expense of publishing this book and the author's newly published Arabic book Ameer Al-Mumineen (The Leader of the Believers)

Mr. Muhammad James Agemy (Michigan City Indiana) Mr. Haidar Alawan (Cleveland Ohio) Mr. Abdullah Aossey (Cedar Rapids Iowa) Mr Muhammad M. Cheikh (Toledo Ohio) Dr A. S. Hashim (Bethesda Maryland) Mr. Ibrahim Sharif Joseph (Toledo Ohio) Dr. ‘Ali Khezri (Okemos Michigan) Mr. Kamil Mansour (Carl Eastman) (Toms River N.J.) Dr. S. Mehellatti (Silver Spring Maryland) Mr. Harold Samhat (Troy Michigan) Mr. Nazim Yazbak (Michigan City Indiana)

Only unusually noble spirited men as those listed above would achieve what normally takes a whole community to accomplish.

Acknowledgments

My genuine thanks to the three following intellectuals: Mr. Hussein Hakim (Michigan City Indiana) Mr. William Leslie (Dearborn Heights Michigan) Dr. Abid Marayati (Toledo Ohio) I do not find adequate words to express my deep appreciation of their selfless and tremendous contributions in polishing sentences and correcting words in this book.