The Causes of Martyrdom of Imam Ali (A.S.)

By: Sayyid Ali Shahbaz
In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate
During the holy month of Ramazan the Ummah of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) became orphan for the second time. The first time was the passing away of the Prophet in 11 AH, and this second tragic occasion befell in 40 AH, with the martyrdom of his divinely-designated heir, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) in Kufa, Iraq on the 21st of the blessed fasting month. Let us first listen to ayah 23 of Surah al-Ahzaab, where the Almighty Creator says: “Among the faithful are men who fulfill what they have pledged to Allah. Of them are some who have fulfilled their pledge, and of them are some who still wait and they have not changed in the least.â€‌
As informed by the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), who had foretold the martyrdom of his cousin, in the fasting month of Ramadhan, Imam Ali (AS) said: "This ayah was revealed in my honour, and that of my uncle Hamzah, and my cousin Ubaydah ibn alآ­Hareth ibn Abd alآ­Muttalib."
He further said that the pledge to Allah for achieving martyrdom in defence of Islam and humanitarian values was attained by Ubaydah in the Battle of Badr and by Hamzah in the Battle of Ohad. The Imam then added: "As for myself, I am awaiting a most painful death, when this (pointing to his beard) shall be drenched from the blood of this (pointing to his head)… and have never changed the least."
Alas, today, on the 20th of Ramadhan, we are on the eve of the anniversary of the tragic day on which Imam Ali (AS), the Commander of the Faithful, the Leader of the Pious, and the Emblem of Justice, left the mortal world. His glorious life came to its end as a result of the fatal blow that he received on his head two days earlier, while in the state of the Morning Prayer. The assassin was the accursed Ibn Muljam al-Moradi.
The question is: What did Imam Ali (AS) do to earn enmity? Who was his real enemy? Which agents did his archenemy procure against him? Why would anyone opt for the eternal fire of hell, to deprive him of his right, to spread lies against him, to harm him, or to take his life?
To find the answers to these questions, on the martyrdom anniversary of the first cousin, ward, son-in-law, and divinely-decreed vicegerent of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), we should zoom in on Mount Noor,near Mecca, where on the 27th of Rajab, a hardly ten-year lad is all attention to the voices coming in from Cave Hera. He hears his 40-year cousin – son of his long deceased uncle Abdullah – reciting the Revealed Words of the Lord Most High conveyed by Archangel Gabriel. Then from a distance comes the sound of moaning as if someone has lost everything and become despaired forever. Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) emerges from the cave as the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, and tells his cousin that the heavy sigh that echoed following the formal entrustment of the universal message of Islam to him, was that of Iblis the Satan, who has now become totally despaired of misleading the majority of the children of Adam. We find these statements of the Prophet and the Imam in the book Nahj al-Balagha as well as in works of our Sunni brethren.
Yet Iblis was not ready to give up his stratagems. He resolved to mobilize his hordes among the pagan Arabs against Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). When the Prophet assembled the Quraish to publicly announce his message of monotheism by openly testifying to the Oneness of God and received blank looks from the stupefied gathering, it was the testimony of the mission of Mohammad given by the young Ali that sowed the first seeds of satanic sentiments in the hearts of the Arabs against the pre-teen boy. They left the assembly mad with rage. They thought that if not for the son of Abu Taleb, the mission of the son of Abdullah would have died there and then. The Meccans used their sons to mock at and stone the Prophet, only to be frustrated by his young cousin, who warded off the boy-assailants. It is not difficult to visualize that most of these pagan boys returned to their homes with black eyes and broken limbs to complain to their infidel parents about the lad Ali. Satan, that Archenemy of Truth, now started working overtime to make the enmity of Imam Ali (AS) take roots in the hearts of the polytheist Arab tramps and their sinful sires. Their plots against the Prophet included the bid to assassinate him in Mecca. But the plot was aborted because of the young Ali’s sleeping that night on his cousin’s bed, so that the latter could safely leave Mecca – thus marking the Hijra or migration to Medina that started a new phase in the destiny of mankind. The Arab infidels, in league with the intransigent Israelites, now imposed wars upon the Prophet at Badr, Ohad, Khandaq, Hunayn and Khaybar – the last one was a wholly Israelite venture. However, thanks to the Zu’l-Feqar the flashing blade of Imam Ali (AS), all these plots were nipped in the bud.
Imam Ali (AS) not just excelled on the battlefield with his swordsmanship, but displayed his other merits as well, such as knowledge, wisdom, piety, prudence, courage, and generosity. Whenever the situation demanded, he was at the forefront, whether it was the Peace Treaty of Hudaibiyya, or whether it was the Surrender of Mecca to Muslims without battle. Interestingly, on the surrender of Mecca on Ramadhan 20, the Prophet lifted the Imam on his shoulders to dismantle the idols placed atop the Ka’ba by the Arab infidels. This was an honour for Imam Ali (AS), who later said that he felt so elevated as if he could have touched the stars if he so desired. This victory for Islam and manifestation of the merits of Imam Ali (AS) was indeed a decisive blow to the devil. More disappointment awaited the eternally outcast devil, when the Prophet gave the Imam the charge of taking over the opening ayahs of Surah Towba from a certain companion who had gone before, and personally conveying them to the people of Mecca. The giving as alms of his ring while in genuflection during the ritual prayer brought divine approval for the Imam as ayah 55 of Surah Ma’edah bears testimony. Next, as per the commandment of God, the Prophet took Imam Ali (AS) as his sole representative to grand parley of Mobahela with the Christians of Najran in order to prove the truth of Islam. The desperate Iblis made sure that the Arab pagans who now professed Islam – lip service only –joined the company of the Prophet. Although hypocrites at heart they would keep their enmity of Imam Ali (AS) firmly rooted in their hearts.
The climax of enmity towards the Most Virtuous Believer or Saleh al-Mominoun, as the holy Qur’an calls him, was sealed at the historic assembly of Ghadeer-Khom on 18th Zilhijja 10 AH, when on God’s express command Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) publicly proclaimed Imam Ali (AS) as his vicegerent. Two months and ten days after this event when the Prophet left the mortal world, the former pagans now Muslims in name but hypocrites at heart, lost no time in depriving the Imam of his right of political leadership by seizing the caliphate at the gathering of Saqifa Bani Sa’da. Next they attacked his house to force him to swear allegiance to their rule, and in the process smashed down the burning door of his house upon his wife, the Prophet’s Impeccable Daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA). For a quarter of a century they kept him away from the political affairs of the so-called Islamic state. In 35 AH, when the Muslim masses fed up with the corruption and anarchy of the caliphs, begged Imam Ali (AS) to take up the reins of the caliphate, and he reluctantly took up political rule on condition to abide only by the holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah, and not by the innovations that had crept, the satanic enemies indulged in open warfare against him. The Battle of Jamal, Siffeen, and Nahrawan by the pledge-breakers, the seditionists, and the renegades, are outside the scope of our brief programme. In short, the pledge made to God by Imam Ali (AS) decades ago was fulfilled in the early hours of the 21st of Ramadhan as his soul flew towards the ethereal heavens.
Once again we offer condolences on the martyrdom of Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), to all seekers of truth and justice.

The Fatal Sword Blow that ended the Rule of Justice
On 19th Ramazan is that tragic day in history when the Supreme Symbol of Justice was fatally wounded while engrossed in the Morning Prayer. As a matter of fact, the Grand Man, after spending the first of the three Grand Nights of Qadr in prayer and worship, was struck in the Grand Mosque of Kufa by the poisoned sword of the renegade, Abdur-Rahman Ibn Muljam al-Moradi.
Yet despite the severity of the wound, the first phrase that came to the lips of the Commander of the Faithful was: “Fuzto wa Rabb-il-Ka’ba. It means By the Lord of the Ka’ba I have succeeded. Let us try to present you glimpse of the exemplary life of Imam Ali ibn Taleb (AS), the dearest ward, cousin, son-in-law and divinely-designated vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Here we recite to you ayah 19 of Surah Towba of the holy Qur’an where God Almighty says: "Do you regard the providing of water to Hajj pilgrims and the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque as similar [in worth] to someone who has faith in Allah and [believes in] the Last Day and strives in the way of Allah? They are not equal with Allah, and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot."
The ayah that we recited was revealed in honour of and the merits of Imam Ali (AS), who since childhood strove in the path of God, risking his life and limb. It is God’s testimony to his faith when compared to persons who merely provided water for the Hajj pilgrims or were custodians of the keys of the holy Ka’ba. His whole life was spent in the way of God and for the sake of God, whether he stood in the niche of prayer, whether he plunged himself in the thick of battle, whether he delivered eloquently unmatched speeches of wisdom, and whether he presided over the only instance of the model government of social justice the world has ever seen. This was Imam Ali (AS), who transcends history and historical development and continues to loom larger than life despite the passing away of a millennium and almost four centuries since he was struck the fatal blow on the tragic 19th of the blessed Ramadhan, but instead of gloom was thrilled at the prospect of returning to his Creator. So, what can one write about a person whose words on his peerless merits pleased God to such an extent that He decided to immortalize them in the pages of the Heavenly Scripture so that they would remain forever as a criterion between truth and falsehood, or belief and hypocrisy? We are indeed incapable of doing justice to Imam Ali (AS) the One and Only Commander of the Faithful.
Imam Ali (AS) needs no introduction. He is indeed the colossus, and in fact much greater than the meaning of this word. As the person second only in merits to his cousin, caretaker, and father-in-law, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), he serves as the Barometer of Faith. Even the followers of other religions are familiar with him and have written books on his unrivalled virtues, since his sense of justice and practical demonstration of justice, appealed to their innate human conscience. Not for no reason did he say that he is so well-versed in the books that God had revealed to the past prophets that his judgement of the followers of the Torah, Evangel, and other scriptures, would make them admit that Ali ibn Taleb has indeed spoken the truth by meting out the finest form of justice. No wonder, the Prophet likened his position to that of God's Revealed Word, the holy Qur'an itself. He is thus, the Qur'an an-Nateq or literally the Speaking Qur'an. This however, does not mean that he was a mere Hafez or memorizer of the heavenly scripture, or simply an authoritative scholar of its divine contents. No, this would be injustice to him. Imam Ali (AS), as the only person to witness the entire revelation of the holy Qur'an to the Prophet and the first one to compile it between two covers as “mus’hafâ€‌ according to the order of revelation – only to see his compilation rejected by those who had seized the political rule of the Islamic state from him – was the Living Qur'an or Qur'an Animated.
Thus, in view of this undeniable reality, admitted by all denominations of Islam, coming back to ayah 19 of Surah Towba that we recited to you earlier in this programme, what was the reason for its revelation? Exegetes of the holy Qur'an, including our prominent Sunni brethren such as Abu Ja’far Tabari, Fakhroddin Razi, Jalaloddin Suyuti, and others, say it was revealed following the boastings of Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib and Talha ibn Shayba about their respective duties of supplying water to the pilgrims and holding the keys to the Ka'ba. This made Imam Ali (AS) say that compared to them, he has been praying to the One and Only God, along with Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and the Mother of Believers, Hazrat Khadija (SA), a long time before anyone else were Muslims, and striving sincerely ever since in the way of Allah. On closer scrutiny, we find that the ayahs preceding and following this particular ayah, actually speak volumes of the firmness of faith of Imam Ali (AS), who is truth personified, who never ceases to give zakat (even in the state of prayer), who strives in the way of God (risking life), who fears no one nor submits to anyone except the Creator, and who migrates for the sake of sake of the Almighty without bothering about any worldly possession. Moreover, it was Imam Ali (AS), who as testified by all scholars and historians, was deputed by the Prophet to go to Mecca to recite these initial ayahs of Surah Towba upon their revelation.
No wonder, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) used to say: "O Ali, if not for you, it would have been impossible to distinguish true believers from hypocrites."
Here the question might arise as to what is a hypocrite, in religious terminology, especially of Islam, since a whole surah in the holy Qur'an was revealed by God condemning them and their dangerous traits?
The answer is obvious. A hypocrite is a person whose claim to profess Islam is not only not out of sincere conviction, but whose malicious heart is so thoroughly darkened by pagan, agnostic, atheist, or any other unnatural belief, that he never lets go of an opportunity to undermine Islam and to weaken the beliefs of Muslim. What, if a hypocrite were to rise through political stratagems to become head of the Muslim State?
The result would be catastrophic. There would be distortion on a mass scale. The naأ¯ve, unsuspecting Muslim masses would be misled. The tenets of faith would be twisted out of context, ironically in the name of Islam. Falsity would become widespread. This was the situation that the divinely-appointed vicegerent of the Prophet was facing, especially from the hypocrite-in-chief, Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, when his fruitful life was cut short by the poison-soaked sword of the Khwarej or renegade, Abdur-Rahman ibn Muljam al-Moradi.
Here, is a passage from some of the several letters by the Commander of the Faithful, addressed to the heathen-at-heart hypocrite, Mu'awiyah: "May Allah protect me from and may withhold me from behaving towards mankind the way you have behaved and from tyranny, exploitations and murders that you commit.
"You have misguided the whole generation of men around you. Having no faith in the truth of Islam you have led others astray. You have thrown them in the depths of ignorance… Apostasy and avariciousness have taken a firm hold of your mind, your intelligence is of inferior order and you cannot differentiate what in the end is good for you and what is not."
"Let us, you and I, have a single combat. Let it be a combat unto death. Let the soldiers of both armies stand aside and let two of us alone combat with each other. Let the world see and realize who is the sinner and who has forgotten Allah and the Day of Judgement. Will you accept this invitation of mine? Have you the courage for it? Are you a man to face death boldly and bravely or are you merely a vampire sucking the blood of others surreptitiously?"