Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Brother of the Prophet Muhammad: Imam ‘Ali

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

• Distinguished Benefactors
• Acknowledgments
• About The Author
• Introduction
• Part 1: The Imam During The Era Of The Prophethood 
• 1. The House of the Prophet Muhammad
• Is the Honor Due to the relationship?
• It Is Due to Their Merits Not Their Inheritance
• The Record Attests to their merit
• Why were they so meritorious?
• Precedents in History
• Why Did God Give Those Prophets Such Distinguished Children and Relatives?
• The Prophet's Reward
• Notes
• 2. Members of the House of Muhammad
• Descriptive Hadiths
• The Specific Hadiths
• Members Born After the Prophet Muhammad
• Notes
• 3. The Indispensable People
• The Hashimites
• The Ousites and the Khazrajites
• Abu Talib
• Islam of Abu Talib
• We All Are Indebted to Him
• Imam ‘Ali
• Unique Bravery Supported With Unique Sincerity
• His Birth and Childhood
• Notes
• 4. The First Muslims
• How Valuable Was His Islam?
• Notes
• 5. Brother and Minister
• The Holy Qur'an informs us that when Moses received the Command of God: "Go to Pharaoh certainly he has exceeded the limit
• Conflicting Hadiths
• The Offered Reward
• Why Such a Big Reward for a Ministry?
• The Prophet Wanted to Have No Excuses
• The Outcome of the Conference of the House of The Prophet
• The conference to which the Messenger called the children of Abdul-Muttalib produced a unique pact; history 
• Notes
• 6. The Redeemer
• The Magnitude of The Mission
• Significance of the Delivery of the Trusts
• A Miraculous Prophecy
• Value Undiminished
• Notes
• 7. ’Ali's Role in Building the Islamic State
• Thesis Versus Antithesis
• Quality Versus Quantity
• The Unique Hero
• Note
• 8. At Badr
• Notes
• 9. At Uhud
• The Elements of the Islamic Defense
• ‘Ali and the Banner Bearers
• Defeat After Victory
• Who Remained with the Prophet?
• The Prophet Participated
• ‘Ali's Endeavor
• The Conclusion
• Notes
• 10. The Moat
• Non-Pagan Tribes
• The Muslims in Horror
• Amr's Venture
• Men of Strong Faith
• ‘Ali's Response
• The magnltude of ‘Ali's contribution
• Notes
• 11. At Kheibar
• The Prophet Besieged Kheibar
• Indispensable Man
• ‘Ali Is the Solution
• The Unique Leadership
• 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
• Conclusion
• Two Miracles
• The natural ministry
• A Divine Choice
• Had the mission of the Messenger been in no need of
• ‘Ali's endeavor and sacrifice the Messenger would not have chosen a brother or an executor or a caliph other than
• Notes
• 12. Announced Brotherhood
• The Significance Of The Brotherhood
• The Son-In-Law Of The Prophet
• The Divinely Commended Family
• A Unique Testimony
• Notes
• 13.’Ali's Place from the Prophet in the Qur'an
• Why was all included?
• Notes
• 14. The Mawla of the Muslims
• Notes
• 15. Unfulfilled Will of the Prophet
• The Prophet Was Prevented From Writing A Will
• This Unusual Event Raises Many Questions
• What did the Prophet Want to Write?
• The Prophet Wanted to Name a Successor
• 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
• How could he defy the Prophet?
• Disagreed With the Prophet On Osamah
• Why did the Prophet not insist on Writing his Directive?
• How could the directive of the messenger be a security to the nation against straying?
• Security Against Sectarianism
• Security Against School Division
• Notes
• Part 2: The Imam During The Era Of The Three Caliphs
• 16. Abu Bakr Succeeds
• ‘Umar Denied the Prophet's Death
• Abu Bakr's Speech
• Preoccupied With Holy Funeral
• Political Conference
• ‘Umar Spoke of the Conference
• Legal And Historical Questions
• Ayeshah Reported the Opposite
• Obvious Prejudice
• The Story of Maghafeer
• ‘Umar's Last Statement
• Did the messenger of god desire to appoint abu bakr as his successor?
• Was the Election Of Abu Bakr Legal?
• The Prophet's Appointee
• Quraish And The Caliphate
• Was the Prophet Predicting?
• Is the Qureshite Rule Hereditary?
• Are the Qureshites Superior?
• Were the Men Chosen Only for their Righteousness?
• Qureshites and Election Are Irreconcilable
• Notes
• 17.’Ali Views the Succession
• He Did not Want to Reach His Goal by Force
• He Reversed His Position for the Sake of Unity
• 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
• Notes
• 18. Abu Bakr Names a Successor
• Note
• 19. ‘Umar Succeeds
• ‘Umar and ‘Ali's Knowledge
• Dialogues About The Caliphate
• The Dimensions Of ‘Umar's Policy
• Pre-Arranged The Future Of The Muslims
• Undesirable Consequences
• Subversive Elements In The Caliph's Regime
• Ibn Al-Aws
• The Umayyads In
• The Hashimites Out
• The Umayyad's Reign Was Not Inevitable
• What the Prophetic Word Meant
• Notes
• 20. The Electoral Convention
• Six Nominees
• Procedural Instructions
• Abdul-Rahman Selected Uthman
• Observations
• Is the Hadith Accurate?
• Could a Non-Qureshite be a Caliph?
• The Medinite Companions Out
• ‘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
• Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar
• Does Islam Forbid Opposition?
• Unheeded Warning
• The Unwarranted Stipulation
• A Justification by Hadith
• ‘Ali's Unique Dedication
• True Prophecies
• Motives And Consequences
• A New Class
• The Lost Opportunity
• Notes
• 21. Uthman’s Reign
• Non-Combatant
• A Bridging Personality
• Early Opposition
• Implementation Of The Umayyad's Plan
• Muawiya and Syria
• Ibn Abu Sarh In Egypt
• The Third Caliph And His Two Predecessors
• ‘Umar and Abu Hurairah
• The Growth Of Opposition
• Amr Ibn Al-Aws
• Opposition From Non-Qureshite Companions
• Abu Dharr
• Abdullah Ibn Masud
• Ammar Ibn Yasir
• Opposition Outside Medina
• Now People Remembered ‘Ali
• The Caliph Is Besieged
• And So the Medinites
• Notes
• Part 3: Imam ‘Ali In His Own Era
• 22. The Election of the Imam ‘Ali
• A Drafted Caliph
• A Gloomy Expectation
• Unachievable Goals
• Quraish's Hostility
• The Privileged Companions
• The Promoted Companions
• The Umayyads
• Tribalism
• The Absence of the Military Draft System
• Blood and Tears
• An Early Opposition
• Sudden Reversal
• Campaigning for War at the Sacred Mosque
• A Preparation for War Under Way
• The Two Companions Joined
• The Umayyads Were Still to Be Reckoned with
• Rassrah the Chosen Target
• United Only Against the Imam
• Were Talhah and al-Zubayr forced to elect the imam?
• The Imam Did Not Force Any Companion to Elect Him
• The Imam Could Not Force His First Elector
• The Imam Refuted the Allegation
• The Guilty Accused the Innocent
• Notes
• 23. The Battle of Basra
• A Sweeping Condemnation
• A Warning Prophecy Not Heeded
• Dividing Killing and Truce
• The Contents of the Truce Agreement
• Forcing Two Persons Does Not Nullify the Election
• Illegal Agreement
• The Imam's Journey
• Unprecedented Test
• Abu Musa Al-Ashari
• Abu Musa Misinterpreted His Own Report
• Abu Musa Disagreed with the Qur'an
• Which Faith-testing Crisis?
• Abu Musa Appointed Himself a Counselor to the Nation and the Imam
• Abu Musa Persisted in His Error
• Abu Musa Did Not Distinguish Between Hadith and Qur'an
• The Key to the Solution
• The Imam's Effort for Peace
• Al-Zubayr Lost Determination
• The Imam in Dialogue with His Opponents
• Reminiscence of a Prophecy
• The Imam Offered the Arbitration of the Qur'an
• The Beginning of The Battle
• The Imam Knew His Killer's Description
• Talhah's Death
• The Killer of Talhah
• Al-Zubayr Left the Battlefield
• Al-Zubayr Freed a Slave in Order to Fight the Imam's Camp
• Under the Leadership of Ayeshah
• The Unique Courage
• Ta-if's Honey
• The Imam's Thrust Changed the Battle
• Ammar the Ninety- Year-Old
• Hamstringing the Camel
• The Imam Spoke
• The Responsibility of The Three Leaders
• The Umayyads Were Less Blamable than the Three Leaders
• Talhah's Responsibility
• Al-Zubayr's Responsibility
• Ayeshah's Responsibility
• Dialogue of Om Selemah and Ayeshah
• The Lady of Al-Hau-ab
• The Patcher of the Sole
• Conclusion
• Should We Accept Their Hadiths?
• Criticism is Much Smaller Sin Than Fighting
• The Three Leaders Open the Door of Wars Among Muslims
• Notes
• 24. The Alleged Conspiracy
• Contradicted by Better Reports
• Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr
• Al-Ashtar
• Uday Ibn Hatam
• Ammar Ibn Yasir
• The Three Leaders
• Did Abdullah ibn Saba exist?
• Who Was the First to Speak of the Prophet's Return?
• Was Ibn Saba in Medina?
• To Discredit Abu Dharr and Ammar Is To Discredit The Prophet
• The Source Of The Legend
• Notes
• 25. The Battle of Siffin
• The Opportunist Amr
• Idealist Versus Opportunist
• New Efforts for Peace
• Martyrdom of Ammar Ibn Yasir
• The Big Conspiracy
• The Two Arbiters
• Notes
• 26. Al-Khawarij (The Seceders)
• Violent Extremism
• Prophecies
• Notes
• 27. Martyrdom
• The Fulfilled Promise
• Unequalled Loss
• The End of the Righteous Caliphate
• Notes
• 28. The Imam's Policy Concerning Public Funds
• With Talhah and Al-Zubayr
• With Chiefs of the Arab Tribes
• Does Islam Allow Preference?
• The Three Leaders
• Ayeshah's Grudge
• The Two Companions' Motives
• With Chiefs of the Tribes
• Was it politically sound?
• Notes
• 29. Was the War of Siffin Inevitable?
• Mughirah And Ibn Abbas
• Naive Opinion
• Muawiya's Long Preparation
• Muawiya Refused to Protect Uthman
• Forecast Rule
• Was Umayyad's rule inevitable?
• Notes
• 30. Did the Imam Exercise His Rule as a Preacher?
• A Winner of Three Wars Is Not Unfirm
• Why Did He Not Force Some Companions to Elect Him?
• Why Did the Imam Not Prevent Talhah and Al-Zubayr from Leaving Medina?
• Why Did He Not Continue the War in Siffin?
• Why Did He Not Punish Ashaath?
• Why did the imam bind himself with a document which was forced upon him?
• Why Did the Imam Prolong the Period of Arbitration?
• Notes
• 31. Why did the reign of the Imam not last long?
• Ali did not have the two elements
• The Jealousy of Quraish
• Quraish Retains its Influence and Grudges
• Unwritten Will
• The Alternation of the Caliphate
• The Attitude of the Two Caliphs Towards ‘Ali
• The Growth Of The Qureshite Influence And The Obscurity Of The Imam 
• The Obscurity of the Imam
• The Umayyads Infiltrated the Regime
• The Continuity of Muawiya and His Governorship
• The Electoral Convention Put The Caliphate In The Hands Of The Umayyads
• The Iron Curtain
• Tribalism
• New Competitors
• The Last Opportunity
• The Caliphate Was Imposed Upon Him
• Qureshite Hostile or Deserter?
• The Qureshite Aggressors
• The Righteous Ambitious Qureshites
• Conclusions
• Remarkable Achievements
• Muawiya's Inefficiency
• Responsibility of the Non-Iraqi Muslims
• Why Did the Caliphate Not Live Long?
• Observation
• Notes
• Part 4: The Caliphate in The Islamic Law 
• 32. Should the First Caliphate Have Been Established by Inheritance Popular Election or by the Prophet's Selection?
• 1. Election by the people, or
• 2. Selection by God
• Islam Has No Room for Hereditary Rule
• Government by the Prophet's Appointment
• Elective Government
• Elective Government Is to Abide by the Qur'an
• The nature of the islamic principles Is consonant with selection More than with election 
• Popular Principles
• Reformatory Principles
• Islamic Principles Are Reformatory
• Two Days Out of a whole Year
• The Dangers Which Were About To Face The Nation
• The Prophet Predicted Companions'Failure in Test
• The Need for an Authority in Interpretation of the Qur'an and Communication of the Prophet's Instructions
• Interpretation of the Qur'an
• Categories of Hadiths
• Hadith by Numerous Reporters
• Hadith Reported by Few
• Notes
• 33. Had What Ought to Be Done Been Done?
• ‘Ali Is The Gate Of The City Of Knowledge
• Notes
• 34. The Home Conference
• Note
• 35. The Hadith of the Analogy "You Are to Me Like Aaron to Moses"
• Unlimited Deputization
• Notes
• 36. The Hadith of Performance and Delivery
• No one shall deliver for me except i or a man from my house
• Summary of the Previous Four Chapters
• The Hadith Is a Prophecy
• Notes
• 37. Hadith Al-Thaqalain (The Two Valuables)
• Prophetic Hadith
• The Shi’ites Do Not Relieve In The Inheritance Of The Caliphate
• The Sunnis Are Closer Than The Shi’ites To The Opinion Of Leadership By Inheritance
• Political And Jurisprudential Leadership
• Notes
• 38. The Hadith of the Wilayah
• The Meaning Of Hadith Al-Ghadir
• "wali"and "Mawla"
• 1. The one who has more right
• The Verse Of Proclamation
• The Contents of the Message
• Political and Religious Leadership
• Notes
• The Conclusion
• Unity Does Not Require Conformity
• Let Us Find Our Way
• Abu Bakr and the rest of the companions were neither Hanafi nor Maliki nor Shafi-i or Hanbali
• Agreeable Points
• The Shi’ite Companions Of The Prophet
• Legitimacy and Negative Aspects Of Elective Caliphate
• 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
• The House of The Prophet Is To Be Followed
• Unjustifiable Bias
• My Humble Effort
• Notes
• Glossary
• Bibliography