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The Self-Sacrifices of Imam Ali b. Abi Talib (A.S.)
Compiled by: Ahmad Ahmadi Birjandi
‘Ali (as) was Abu Talib's fourth son (i.e. after Talib, ‘Aqil and Ja‘far) who was born 23 years before Hijra. His mother was Fatimah, daughter of Asad b. Hashim b. ‘Abd Manaf. ‘Ali (as) is reported to have been born in the Ka‘ba on Friday, 13th of Rajab.
Hadhrat ‘Ali (as) lived with his own parents, then due to the drought that struck Mecca, Abu Talib's life underwent hardship. There must have been a wise reason for it, since it placed ‘Ali (as) in the full affectionate custody of the Prophet (S) and his school of thought. Being trained by Muhammad (S), ‘Ali (as) never in his life bowed before the idols, and was the first among men to believe in the prophethood of the Holy Apostle of Allah, since he lived with the Prophet (S) in his house for about seven years until the Prophetic Mission of the Holy Apostle (S) took place. ‘Ali (as) welcomed the Mission of the Prophet (S) whole-heartedly.
In this regard, ‘Ali (as) himself asserts: “Like a child running after his mother, I would always follow the Messenger of God who would each day teach me a new lesson of ethical virtues and enjoin me to follow him.”
Since the beginning of the Prophetic Mission, ‘Ali (as) was always with the prophet (S) and accompanied him in joys and sorrows and in ups and downs of life. He always did his best and made efforts and self-sacrifice during the thirteen years of hardships in Mecca, the battles of Badr, Uhud, and Khandaq, through the conquest of Mecca, Hunayn, etc., as well as in Medina.
Everyone knew ‘Ali (as) as a manifestation of justice, honesty, and self-sacrifice, and so was he. His strictness in carrying out justice and actualizing truthfulness has indeed become an example among both friends and foes.
In the early years of Islam, the Apostle of Allah used to go to the valleys around Mecca and take ‘Ali (as) with him, say prayers together and return at night. One day, Abu Talib saw his son saying prayers with his cousin. First he talked a little to the messenger of God, and then said to his son: “O dear son! What are you doing?” “I have welcomed Islam, my dear father, and am saying prayers to God with my cousin.” ‘Ali (as) replied. Abu Talib said: “Do not separate from him, since he has certainly called you to good and happiness.”
The Beginning of Ali (A.S.)'s Self-Sacrifices
His holiness ‘Ali (as) has self-sacrificed both at the beginning of the call to Islam and during the battles. When the Prophet (S) openly called people to Islam, the Quraysh too started their persecutions and atrocities towards him and his followers. At first, in most cases they would maltreat the messenger of God while in prayer and would inflict various cruel acts on him. On these occasions, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (as) and Zayd b. Haritha would by turn and sometimes together protect the Messenger (S).
In many battles, through self denial and suffering severe wounds, ‘Ali (as) did not leave the Prophet alone. He made himself a shield against the arrows of atrocities that the infidels shot upon the Prophet (S). In critical and hazardous moments, he would save the Prophet (S)'s life.
In the Fourth year of the Prophetic Mission
When the Prophet (S) was commanded by God “to inform your kin about the call and to warn them”, ‘Ali (as) tolerated reproaches from Abu Lahab and others patiently, and proclaimed, with a matchless bravery, his readiness to assist the Prophet (S) to the extent that the Holy Prophet (S) in the gathering of his kin – where ‘Ali (as) stood up for the third time to show his eagerness to protect the prophet – told him: “Be seated! You are my brother and executor of my will and are my vizier and inheritor and vicegerent after me.” This heavy responsibility was laid upon ‘Ali (as)'s powerful shoulders since the very beginning of open call to Islam.
Another Self-Sacrifice
In order to confront the treaty signed and hung on the house of Ka‘ba by the Quraysh to suppress Beni Hashim and restrain the Prophet (S), the Messenger and his companions decided, on the first of Muharram, 7 years after Bi‘tha, to settle in the Shi‘b of Abu Talib. This economic sanction lasted for about three years and a half until the middle of Rajab, 10 years after Bi‘tha, during which the Holy Prophet, Khadija and their beloved daughter Fatimah were in extreme hardship and difficulty, so that sometimes several of them were forced to live on a single date.
To protect the Prophet (S) from any harm, a few hours after nightfall Abu Talib would take him somewhere else to sleep, and then would have his son ‘Ali (as) sleep in the Prophet (S)'s bed so that if the Quraysh ambushed, he would be killed in place of the Prophet (S).
The Night of Hijra and Self-Sacrifice by ‘Ali (A.S.)
Only a few Muslims were left behind in Mecca. Some had migrated to Abyssinia and some others had migrated to Medina before the Prophet (S). So nobody was left in Mecca except Muhammad (S), ‘Ali (as), Abu Bakr, and a few women or some prisoners. Suppression had reached to its highest degree in Mecca. A number of Muslims were in prison, being repeatedly lashed. If there were some youth who secretly loved Muhammad (S) and Islam, they would not dare to express it.
Muhammad (S) had decided to migrate to Medina and had told the secret only to ‘Ali (as), i.e., his best confidant. ‘Ali (as) was supposed to sleep in place of the Prophet (S) at that horrible night and to cover himself with the Prophet (S)’s green striped sheet and act in a way that the Quraysh would not have the slightest suspicion of what was going on.
The criminal youth of Quraysh were lingering around the house of the Prophet (S) to commit the crime. A silence was pervading over the whole city. The unsheathed swords were glittering. The young traitors rushed to the sleeping room of the Prophet (S). Is that Muhammad or ‘Ali? They wondered. Is he asleep or awake? What should they do? … Muhammad (S) had by then gotten out of their reach!
They put ‘Ali (as) under pressure to reveal to them the hiding place of Muhammad (S). They threatened to kill him but all he said was that Muhammad (S) had left Mecca. ‘Ali (as) stayed in Mecca to do as he was advised to do by the Prophet (S).
He returned what had been entrusted to him to their owners. Then, together with some men and women, he set out for Medina. The whole self-sacrifice and hardship was for the sake of God and the Prophet (S). The following blessed verse is true for ‘Ali (as): ﴾And among the people is he who sells his soul seeking the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is most kind to His servants.﴿ Al-Qur’an, 2: 207
In the battle of Uhud
‘Ali (as) displayed such bravery that amazed both friends and foes. Muslims, numbering seven hundred, and the Quraysh infidels, consisting of three thousand horsemen and two thousand foot-soldiers with full equipment entered the battle field. In this battle ‘Ali (as) killed many of the infidels with his piercing sword.
Every time the resentful enemy encircled the Holy Prophet (S), ‘Ali (as) would disperse them. When ‘Ali (as)’s sword got broken due to his powerful strikes in battle, the Prophet (S) gave him his own sword called: “Dhulfaqar”. In this battle, ‘Ali (as)'s body was injured with over sixty wounds. It was in the same battle where the Prophet (S) saw the Angel of Revelation in the middle of the air, heralding: “There is no sword like Dhulfaqar and no brave youth like ‘Ali”.
In the Battle of Khandaq
The first war show of the enemy started this way: ‘Amr b. ‘Abduwad, a well-known Quraysh athlete, fully armed and equipped with armor along with several infidel troops crossed the trench (Khandaq). On the other side of Khandaq, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib(as) with several others set out to encounter them and block their way.
‘Amr challenged three times. ‘Ali (as) volunteered to fight with him. At the first and the second time, the Holy Prophet (S) did not allow him to step forward as a rival to ‘Amr. At the third time, however, the Messenger (S) allowed him to go. At this moment, the Prophet (S) remarked: “The entire faith is standing against the entire infidelity.” ‘Ali (as)'s extraordinary bravery resulted in ‘Amr b. Abduwad's total defeat. On this momentous occasion, the Holy Prophet (S) said: “‘Ali (as)’s stroke on the day of Khandaq will be superior to all the devotional acts of my umma until the Day of Judgment”.
This very evident victory and some other factors weakened the enemy's army consisting of ten thousand equipped troops, as a result of which they all fled to Mecca.
The Battle of Khaybar
In the 7th year of Hijra, the battle of Khaybar took place in which ‘Ali (as) accompanied the Holy Prophet (S). It was in this battle that the Prophet (S) said: “Tomorrow I will hand the army standard over to the one who loves God and His Messenger and God and His Messenger love him, too. In wars, he never flees; rather, he always attacks. He would not return until God resolves the problem through him.”
In the Conquest of Mecca
‘Ali (as) was with the Prophet (S) in this conquest. It is said that, in order to topple the idols inside the Ka‘ba and to uproot idolatry, he stepped on the Holy Prophet (S)'s shoulder to climb up for smashing the idols.
In the Battles of Hunayn and Ta’if
Here also ‘Ali (as) was alongside the Prophet (S). In the battle of Hunayn all troops escaped except nine soldiers including ‘Ali (as) who persevered in the war.
In the Battle of Tabuk
This battle took place in the 9th year of Hijra when ‘Ali (as) was ordered by the Prophet (S) to stay in Medina in place of the Prophet (S). This was the only battle that after 27 battles ‘Ali (as) did not accompany the Apostle of Allah (S). Although his staying in Medina was by the order of the Prophet (S), he was a little sad about it and wished he had been able to fight in the company of the Prophet (S). The Holy Messenger told ‘Ali (as): “Are you not satisfied that your relation to me is similar to that of Aaron to Moses? Except that there will be no prophet after me.” This hadith is known as “hadith of Status” (Hadith al-Manzilat).
In the 10th year of Hijra, on returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage to Mecca, the event of Ghadir Khumm happened. Before a vast crowd, the Prophet (S), through Divine order, selected ‘Ali (as) as his successor and executor of his will. Then, the third verse of Surat al-Ma’ida was revealed, which is known as “Perfection of Religion” and “Completion of Blessing”: ﴾Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as your religion.﴿
At the last moments of the Prophet (S)'s life, ‘Ali (as) was at his bedside. His holy head was leaning on ‘Ali (as)'s chest, when he closed his eyes to the world. ‘Ali (as) himself gave his sacred body the ritual washing (ghusl) and shrouded it and put it inside the grave with his own hands. ‘Ali was the last one who left the luminous grave of Muhammad (S).
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