Imam Ali (A.S.): The Ka`ba of Belief

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 13th Rajab, the holy Ka’ba, the Symbolic House of the Unseen but Omnipresent God, came alive. Built at the dawn of creation by the Father of the human race, Adam, and rebuilt by Prophet Abraham after being damaged during the Great Deluge of the days of Prophet Noah, the most holy place on Planet Earth, today on the 13th of Rajab, exactly 1457 lunar years ago, became by the Will of the Almighty Creator, the birthplace of the person who is the pride of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and the second most noble creation of God after Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).
"Certainly your Wali (i.e. Master) is Allah and His Prophet and those who believe, those who establish prayer and give charity while they bow (in prayer)." It is an undisputed fact that ayah 55 of Surah al-Ma’eda that we recited to you, was revealed when Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), while engrossed in prayer, in the state of "ruku`" (i.e. genuflection) with face bowed down towards the Ka`ba, gave his ring in charity to a beggar who happened to raise his call for alms at the Masjid an-Nabi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina. Recorded by such prominent Sunni scholars as Wahedi in Asbab-al-Nazul (or Reasons of Revelation) and Abu Ishaq Tha`labi in Tafseer al-Kabir, this ayah is one of the many in the Holy Qur'an indicating in clear words the issue of divinely-designated succession to the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He should be a successor worthy of donning the mantle of the Seal of Prophets and should stand firm and steadfast as the sacred Ka`ba itself – the focal point of guidance – when schism and worldly greed sway the minds of Muslims. As God says in ayah 96 of Surah Aal-e Imran: "Most surely the first House appointed for mankind is the one at Bekka (Mecca), blessed and a guidance for nations."
And most surely, the only person ever to be born in that Blessed House was chosen by the Almighty as a Guide and a Discerner between truth and falsehood for the Ummah after the Prophet. An age gap of 30 years separated the two first cousins. In other words, the Prophet was 30 years old, when the walls of the holy Ka’ba miraculously parted to make way for his foster mother, the wife of his beloved uncle and guardian, Abu Taleb, and closed behind her when she entered the sancta sanctorum. The Arabs were aghast and couldn’t open the door of the Ka’ba. Three days later, the miracle was repeated when the wall parted again and the noble lady stepped out with a radiant child in her arms, as her husband along with the future Prophet came to greet her in a calm and composed manner. The eyes of the two cousins met and there was a smile on both faces as the son of Abdullah took the infant of Abu Taleb in his arms and whispered something in his ears. This was all Divine Providence, and ten years later, the command came from the ethereal heavens for Mohammad ibn Abdullah (SAWA) to announce to the Arabs and the world his mission as the Last and Greatest Prophet of God, with the young Ali firmly beside his cousin to support his universal mission.
"[O Prophet] Surely, you are a warner and for every people there is a guide" The famous Sunni Muslim exegete of the holy Qur’an, Tha`labi writes in his Tafseer on the authority of Abdullah ibn Abbas that when this ayah, number seven of Surah Ra’d was revealed, the Prophet said that through Ali , Muslims will be guided. To further emphasize the pivotal role of his dearest cousin and now also son-in-law, and to warn the Ummah against the pitfalls of discord, the Prophet remarked: "O Ali your position is like that of the Ka`ba." The Ka`ba is thus the symbol of Islamic unity. Muslims around the world daily turn their faces in unison towards this supreme edifice of monotheism. The role of Imam Ali (AS) for the Ummah is in exact likeness to the site of his birth. To follow his straight course is Islamic solidarity and to leave his path is outright discord. No wonder God tells mankind in ayah 153 of Surah al-Anaam: "Surely, this is my straight path, so follow it and do not follow other ways or else you will diverge from His ways." The Almighty had arranged that Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), the most perfect man ever created, should have a worthy successor, free of the pollution of polytheist Arabia. The glorious event occurred on Friday the 13th of Rajab in the year 30 `Aam-al-Feel, corresponding to 600 AD. Abu Talib's virtuous wife, Fatima bint-i Asad, who was full nine months pregnant, clung to the walls of the Ka`ba imploring the Almighty to ease her burden for the sake of her great ancestor Prophet Abraham. In answer to her prayers, as we said earlier, the walls of the sacred House parted, and the rest is history.
"I and Ali are (created) from the same light", had said Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) according to a famous hadith recorded by both Sunni and Shi’ite Muslim scholars. A few years after the miraculous birth in the holy Kaba, the future Prophet and his loyal wife Hazrat Khadija (SA) decided to adopt the toddler Ali, since they had lost their infant sons, Qassem and Tayyeb to the cold hands of death. It was also a grateful nephew’s means of thanksgiving to uncle, Abu Taleb, for having brought him up as his own son on being orphaned in childhood. Divine Providence was thus at work laying the firm foundations of the great task that lay ahead for the deliverance of mankind from ages of darkness. The future Prophet was now personally grooming and bringing up his future vicegerent. When Ali was ten years old, Mohammad received his first revelation and was commanded by the Almighty to publicly proclaim his mission. "Ash-hado an la ilaha il-Allah, which means: I bear witness that there is no god but Allahâ€‌ said the Prophet. Before the dumbstruck ignorant minds could say anything, the young Ali rose and gave testimony of his cousin's divine mission: "Ash-hado anna Mohammadan-Rasoul-Allah, which means: I bear witness that Mohammad is the Messenger of Allah." The elder cousin called the younger cousin his vizier and Khalifa (or successor), as recorded in all authoritative book including those of our Sunni brethren, such as the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
What could be said of a person, the praise of whom will exhaust ink and paper? Ameer al-Mu'mineen (or Commander of the Faithful), Imam al-Muttaqeen (or Leader of the God-fearing), volumes have been written on the merits of Ali by eminent scholars in every age and era. The famous 5th century AH Sunni historian Ibn Asaker writes in his Tarikh Damishq that the Holy Qur'an contains no less than 400 verses in the favour of Imam Ali (AS), more than any other companion of the Prophet. Born in the House of God, and martyred while in communion with his Creator in the Great Mosque of Kufa, with his face turned towards that very site of his birth (Ka`ba), every single moment of Imam Ali's 63 years in this mortal world was dedicated to and spent in the service of Islam. As a boy, he stood beside his mentor, chasing away the kids who used to throw stones at the Prophet. He endured the three-year siege of the Bani Hashem clan by the infidels of Mecca in the Gorge of Abu Talib. When plots were hatched to extinguish the light of Prophethood, the brave Ali, volunteered to sleep on his cousin's bed, so that the latter could migrate to Medina undetected. The reward for his self-sacrifice to which Islam will remain ever-indebted, came in the form of ayah 207 of Surah Baqarah: "Among mankind, is he, who sells his soul for the pleasure of Allah"
It would be repetitive to recount the valour of Ali in repelling the retarded infidels, who tried to attack the first-ever Islamic state in Medina. The Lion of God, as he came to be known, Ali and his flashing blade Dhul-Faqar, won almost single-handedly, the armed encounters that the ignorant of Arabia had imposed upon the Prophet. The fields of Badr, Ohud, Khaybar, Hunayn and several others, still echo with the valor and magnanimity of Imam Ali (AS). Valiant in battle, he was magnanimous in victory to his fallen foes, and gave strict orders not to humiliate prisoners or harass and plunder women and children. During his caliphate when sedition raised its ugly head, he had no choice but to restore order through the sword when the opponents refused to resolve the crisis through negotiations. He was victorious and after the Battle of Jamal (Camel), he ordered his troops to give a decent burial to his slain enemies. At Siffin, having broken the enemy's hold on the River Euphrates, he allowed them access to the very waters which they had blocked to him.
Imam Ali (AS) was a perfect husband for his loving wife, the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema (SA), and a loving father to his children. He used to do all outside work for the house. His diet was meager and consisted of dried barley bread. For days he used to keep non-obligatory fasts solely for the pleasure of Allah, spending whatever he had on the poor, the orphans and the disabled. Often he used to spend the whole night in prayer, with his frame trembling in the presence of His Lord. His formal nomination as successor to the Prophet at Ghadeer-e Khum near Mecca after the Farewell Pilgrimage perfected Islam, with God Almighty saying in ayah 3 of Surah Ma’edah: "This day have I perfected for you your religion and finalized My blessings upon you, and pleased to bestow upon you Islam as your religion." It was Imam Ali (AS) to whom the Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) had entrusted the performing of his last rites. The bonds between the Prophet and his rightful legatee were not of mere kinship, but divinely-cemented. The breaking of allegiance to him after the Prophet's sad departure from the mortal world, created the greatest discord in Islam, the scars of which are still evident on the body-politic of the Ummah. But Imam Ali (AS) was no ordinary mortal to resort to the sword for his temporal rights. His world was not confined to the material but encompassed the spiritual which was beyond reach of the lesser beings which opposed him, but for the sake of Islamic unity Imam Ali (AS) never withheld advice whenever the bewildered, self-styled caliphs found themselves trapped in problems.
The four-and-a-half year model rule of justice of Imam Ali (AS) is beyond the scope of this brief radio programme. Suffice it to say, it was cut short by the forces of discord in the blessed month of Ramadhan in 40 AH while he was engrossed in the morning prayer in the Mosque of Kufa. His position was that of the Ka`ba as the Prophet had remarked. If his forehead bore the mark of lengthy prostrations to the One and Only God, the Qibla of Islam in turn, continues to proudly display on its wall the birthmark of Imam Ali (AS) - the section of the Ka`ba which had miraculously parted for his mother- which none have been able to erase, as pilgrims to Mecca will testify. No wonder, the Prophet had remarked: "Ali is with righteousness and righteousness is with Ali"