12 Welcome

2011-01-01T13:51:00.011-08:00

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Welcome to Shia Book

This website is dedicted to Shia understanding of the religion of Islam.

Shia muslims fully analyse brutal early Islamic history in which plots were hatched that resulted in murder and persecution descendents of Prophet Mohammed.

For example, the pen and paper incident in which Prophet was prevented from writing down his instructions before his death; and as Prophet's body lay unburied, the gathering at Saqifa hall to grab political power away from Prophet’s designated successor. Readers can see full details of this oppression in articles published on this website.

In the year 632, a political coup was secretly organised by a closed group of Sahabas [companions, disciples] of Mohammed to overthrow Ali, his legitimate heir. Prophet became aware of their plan. He mentioned it in his famous speech that he delivered after completing his final pilgrimage.

We are proud to present the complete English translation of the historic sermon of Prophet Muhammad at Ghadir. To fully understand the importance of appointment of Ali at Ghadir, one only needs to look at current events in the world. United Nations in 2002 said that if Arabs had followed Ali, they would have been supremely successful with happy and peaceful populations. There would have been no terrorism. Hence, a deep probe into Life of Prophet Muhammed and Imam Ali is necessary to gain insight into Islam and life of Muslims.

Ghadir is a place where in Shia Muslim believe God annointed Ali as Successor to Prophet Muhammad. In 632, God orders His Prophet to name Ali as his heir. Prophet is affraid of plots against Ali. However, God reassures him that Ali would not be allowed to be killed by these men. Prophet mentions this plot in his sermon.

Ghadir address is a long sermon that takes the Prophet about three hours to deliver. Prophet orders large number of pilgrims to halt in middle the hot desert. He tells them to listen to an important message from God. Prophet uses disciples to relay what was saying to the crowd he had gathered for the purpose. Over hundred thousand men are surrounding his temporary desert pulpit. These human loud speakers repeated word by word, sentence by sentence the entire sermon.

On this page, besides giving the full version of the historic sermon at Ghadir, we also present important information for those who are studying the Shia Faith.

The team has included holy sayings of Imam Ali and other leaders of Shia Muslims.

Important texts by Shia scholars are given. Shia version of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad is also presented.

The site will be regularly updated for newer translations and texts about the Shia Islam.

We hope and this website would prove ideal for people who are researching Shia beliefs and practices. We have followers of this page from around the world. For any comment or question, please email us or write it in the comment of this introduction.

Note:

The shia muslims in honour often refer to Prophet Muhammad as "Nabi" as well as "Rasul".

http://shiabook.blogspot.com/

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2011-01-01T13:51:00.009-08:00

Ghadir Sermon

2011-01-01T13:51:00.007-08:00

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FULL TEXT:

Prophet Mohammed’s Historic Sermon at Ghadir:

[Delivered in March 632 A.D.]

"Praise be to God.

Who is exalted in His unity.

Near in His uniqueness.

Sublime in His power.

Great in His dominance.

And knower of all things.

High is His position.

He subdues all creation by the might of His Intellect.

He is worthy of praise from the beginning.

And He is worthy of praise to the end.

[His glory has no limit.

He begins and He repeats.

And to Him all things go back.]

He is the maker of all that is raised.

And the expander of what has been laid out.

And He dominates the earths and the galaxies.

Holy and praised.

Lord of the angels and the spirit.

His grants [needs] to everything He has created.

And He extends grace all He initiates.

All is in His eyes, while no eyes see Him.

He is generous.

Clement.

And patient.

He makes His mercy surrounds all things.

And He is bountiful to them.

He does not start [quickly] on what they deserve of His punishment.

He knows the secrets.

And what the hearts hide.

Hidden things are not secret to Him.

And He has no doubts about them.

He comprehends all things.

And He dominates everything.

He has strength over all things.

And He has command over everything,

Nothing is like Him.

And He brings into being when a thing is nothing.

Eternal and Just is He [free of all needs.]

‘There is no god except He.

The mighty the wise.’

He is above being sighted.

Yet in His sight is everything.

He is the subtle.

The aware.

No one can describe Him by observation.

And no one can find out about Him openly or covertly.

Other than by the signs that [God] honourable and majestic set for Himself.

And I testify that He is God.

Whose holiness is timeless.

And whose Light is Eternal.

And who executes His Will without any advise.

And there is no partner in His decrees.

Nor is there any flaw in His planning.

He formed His work without precedence.

He made his creation without any help

Nor did He get tired.

Nor did He look for solutions [ways out].

He willed it and it was.

And He shaped it and it was seen.

He is God beside whom there is no other god.

Perfect in skill.

And beautiful in execution.

He is the Just who never oppresses.

He is the generous to whom return all affairs.

I further testify that He is the one [God] before whose magnificence everything is low.

And before whose might everything is humble.

And before whose decree everything submits.

And before His awe everything yields.

He reigns over all domains.

And turns the planets in orbits.

He dominates the sun and the moon.

And takes them in time to a destination.

He makes the night overtake the day.

And makes the day over take the night in rapid succession.

He destroys the oppressors.

And annihilates every devil.

No one can oppose Him.

Nor has He any equal.

‘He is the one.

The absolute [unimaginable].

He has no children.

And He has no parents.

And there is no one comparable to Him.’

He is one God.

And Lord most glorious.

With Will He executes.

With Intent He decrees.

With knowledge He determines.

He gives death and life.

He gives wealth and poverty.

He causes smiles and tears.

He gives and He withholds.

‘His is sovereignty.

And His is glory.’

‘In His hand is all goodness.

And He has power over all things.’

‘He lets night cover the day.

And lets day cover the night.’

There is no god but He.

The mighty.

The forgiving.

He hears the prayer.

And [He] is generous in granting.

He calculates the breaths.

And [He is] the Lord of Jinns and Mankind.

Nothing is hard for Him.

Nor do cries for help annoy Him.

Nor appeals makes Him surrender.

He protects the righteous.

And makes them succeed.

He is the master of the believers.

And Lord of the Worlds.

He deserves gratitude.

And praise from all His creation.

[In all circumstances.

I praise Him.

And thank Him].

In happiness and in grief.

In difficulty and in comfort.

And I believe in Him.

His angels.

His books.

And His messengers.

I hear His command.

And I obey.

And I go wherever He wants.

And I submit to what He destines.

Longing to obey Him.

And fearing to displease Him.

He is God against whose plans no one ought to feel secure.

Nor should anyone ever fear oppression from Him.

I testify that serving Him befits my soul.

And I testify that He is the deserving Lord.

I deliver what He inspires in me.

Because if I do it not, He can allow harm to come to me.

Which no one can keep away.

Even if he has great plan.

[And sincere friends].

There is no god but He.

He has told me that if I do not deliver what He has given to me [about the right of Ali], I would not have delivered His message at all.

And He, the holy and mighty, has assured to protect me [from the people].

And He is God most sufficient and kind.

He has revealed this to me:

'In the name of God the merciful the compassionate.

O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you.’

That is regarding the succession of Ali son of Abu Talib.

'And if you do not, you would not have delivered [any] of His Message at all.

And [do not worry], God will protect you against the people.’

O Mankind, I have not left anything revealed to me from God Almighty.

And I will now explain to you the reasons why this verse was sent down:

Indeed [Angel] Gabriel came down three times to give me order and security from my Lord.

For He is Peace [security].

That I stand in this place and reveal to everyone, black and white, that Ali son of Abu Talib is my brother, my deputy and my successor [over my nation], and the [leader] Imam after me, the one whose status to me is that of Haroon to Musa, except that no prophet will come after me.

And that next to God and His messenger, he [Ali] is your guardian.

Indeed, holy and mighty God has already sent down verse in His book saying:

'Your guardian is God and His Messenger and Believers who are firm in prayers and give charity even as they bow down.’

And Ali son of Abu Talib was [the one] firm in prayers and gave charity while he bowed, seeking at all times the pleasure of the honourable and mighty God.

And [three times] I asked Gabriel to plead [God for guarantee].

To excuse me, from delivering this message to you, O people.

Because I know that few are the righteous.

And many are the hypocrites.

And treacherous are the sinners.

And cunning are those who mock Islam.

God has described them in His book.

‘They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts, thinking lightly of it, while it is grave in the sight of God.’

They hurt me often on many occasions.

Calling me 'ears' [of Ali].

Alleging this because of Ali’s many visits to me.

And of my giving him much attention.

So much so that God the honourable and majestic revealed this:

'Among them are those hurt the prophet and call him an ear.

Tell them, that ear is good for you.

He believes in God.

And believes the believers.

And is a blessing for those among you who believe.

But for those who hurt God’s messenger, there is a painful punishment.'

If I wanted, I could have named those who called me such things, and pointed them out.

I would have singled them out for what they really are.

But, by God, I have dealt with their matter graciously.

Yet God is still not happy at all this.

Not until I fully deliver what God has sent down to me.

[Regarding the right of Ali].

'O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you.’

[About Ali].

‘Because if you do not, you would not have delivered His message at all.

And [worry not] God will save you from the people.’

Know what I have said O Mankind:

That God has designated him [Ali] guardian and leader for you.

Obedience to him is a duty of Mohajreen and Ansaar [people of Mecca and Medina].

And the righteous who follow them.

And for every nomad and city resident.

For the Arab and the Ajam.

For the slave and the free.

For the young and the old.

And for black and white.

For all those who accept one God.

His [Ali’s] decree is carried out.

And his word is Law.

And his will is established.

Cursed are those who oppose him.

Blessed are those who follow him.

And believers are those who acknowledge him.

God has forgiven those who listens to him and obeys him.

O Mankind. This is the last stand I make in such a gathering.

Therefore, listen and submit to the command of your Lord.

Indeed your guardian is God the honourable and majestic.

So is your guardian [His messenger] Muhammad who is now addressing you.

And then, after me, by the command of God your Lord, your guardian and leader is Ali.

So are [your guardians] the lmams [leaders] of my lineage from his offspring, till the [last] Day you meet God and His Messenger.

Nothing is allowed except that which is permitted by God [and His messenger and these [divine leaders]].

And nothing is forbidden except that which is banned by God [and His messenger and these [divine leaders]].

The honourable and majestic God has revealed to me [all] what is permitted and what is prohibited.

And I have told him [Ali] what my Lord taught me of His Book, and what is allowed and what is forbidden.

O Mankind, there is no knowledge except that which God has given to me.

And I have given all the knowledge that I was taught to the Leader of the Righteous [Imam al Mutakeen].

And there is no knowledge except what I taught Ali.

Because he is the Manifest Leader [Imam al Mobeen]

[God mentions him in surah Ya-Seen: 'Everything We have placed in an Evident Imam.’]

O Mankind, Do not leave him.

Nor run away from him.

Nor reject his authority.

Because he is the one who practically guides to the truth.

And defeats falsehood and outlaws it.

And in God’s path [he] does not fear any accusation from blamers.

He is the first to believe in God and in His messenger.

And he is the one who risked his life for God’s messenger.

[On behalf of God, I ordered him [during danger] to sleep in my bed, and he did so as a sacrifice for me.]

He was with God’s messenger when not one man served God in company of his messenger.

O Mankind, choose him because God has chosen him.

And turn to him, because God has appointed him.

O Mankind, he is the Imam from God.

God shall never turn to anyone who denies his authority.

Nor will He forgive him.

This is a decisive decree from God for anyone who opposes him.

He shall punish him with a painful torment, time after time for all eternity.

So, beware lest you should oppose him and come to the fire whose fuel is men and stones prepared for the infidels.

O Mankind, by God, all past prophets and messengers gave news of my arrival.

I am the last of the prophets and messengers.

And [I am] the Proof for all beings in the heavens and in the earths [planets].

He who doubts this is a disbeliever like the disbelievers of past periods of ignorance.

And anyone who doubts one thing of what I have just said, he doubts everything [God] revealed to me.

[And he who doubts any one of the Imams has doubted them all].

And anyone who doubts us will be [thrown] in the fire.

O Mankind, the honourable and majestic God has bestowed this merit upon me out of His kindness.

There is no god but He.

To Him is praise from me in all conditions.

Time after time, and for all eternity.

O Mankind, take Ali.

After me, he is the best of mankind, males and females.

So long as God sends down His sustenance.

And there exists creation.

Curse upon curse and wrath upon wrath is on those who disputes this saying of mine or rejects it.

Indeed [Angel] Gabriel has told me this from the most high God who said:

'Anyone who opposes Ali and refuses to accept his authority shall have My curse and wrath on him.’

'So every soul should see what it has sent ahead for itself.

And be careful with God lest slips the foot after its stability.

Truly God is aware of your behaviour.’

O Mankind, he [Ali] is the Side of God, as mentioned in the Book.

The Almighty said: 'Lest a soul should say: O woe unto me because I had ignored the Side of God.’

O Mankind, reflect on the Koran.

And understand its verses.

Keep sight of clear obvious ones.

And do not follow ambiguous [confusing] parts.

Because, by God, no one can explain their mysteries to you.

Nor can anyone make clear their interpretations for you.

Except this one [Ali] whose hand I have held and brought near to me [and raised his arm].

And about whom I taught you that he is master of those who take me as their master.

And he is Ali, son of Abu Talib, my brother and my executor.

Whose appointment as your master has been sent down onto me from the honourable and majestic God.

[I am leaving for you two great forces, you will not go astray if you hold on to them].

[One is the book of God.

It contains light and guidance.

So hold fast onto the book of God and stay with it.

Second is my family.

I remind you of God regarding my family.

I remind you of God regarding my family.

I remind you of God regarding my family.

See how you treat them.]

O Mankind.

Indeed, Ali and the pure ones from my offspring are the younger force while Koran is the elder force.

Each one [of these two] relates to the other.

And they will remain together.

And united [in agreement].

They shall never separate until they meet me at the Fountain [of Koser in Heaven].

They are God’s trust on creation and [His] forces on Earth.

[Holding Ali's arm high]:

O Mankind.

[Who has greater right over your souls?

[they said God and you].

Behold!

I am master of those whose master is this Ali.

I am master of those whose master is Ali.

I am master of those whose master is Ali.

O God, be with those who are with him.

Be an enemy to those who are his enemies.

Help those who help him.

And leave those who leave him!].

O Mankind.

This is Ali.

My brother.

And executor.

And the vessel of my knowledge.

And my successor over my nation.

And interpreter of the book of God, the honourable and majestic.

And the [true] preacher.

His behaviour is what pleases Him [God].

He fights His enemies.

And calls to His service.

And warns against disobedience.

He is the successor of God’s messenger.

The Leader of the Believers.

The Imam of Guidance.

The avenger of treaty breakers.

The oppressors.

And the apostates.

I say with authority from God.

That there is no changing of my word.

By Divine authority I say.

O Lord, be a friend to him whoever is his friend.

And be an enemy of him whoever hates him.

Curse those who reject him.

And cast your wrath on those who deny his right.

Now indeed I have fulfilled it.

I have delivered.

I have made you hear.

I have explained.

Indeed, as the honourable and majestic God has said.

So I have done on behalf of God the honourable and majestic.

Indeed, besides this brother of mine, there is no other Leader of the Believers.

And after me, no one else besides him should use the title of Leader of the Believers.

O Lord! You have revealed [this verse regarding Ali.

Your chosen representative.

On the day of his appointment.

And at a time when his authority is made plain.]

'This day I have perfected your Way for you.

And completed My Blessing on you.

And chosen Islam as your Way.'

And, you said:

'If anyone desires a Way other than submission [to Ali], it will never be accepted from him.

And in the hereafter he will be among the losers.'

O Lord! I ask you to bear witness that I have delivered.

O Mankind, the honourable and majestic God has perfected your religion through his Leadership.

So, now those who does not follow him and the Imams of my progeny from him till the Day of Judgment when deeds are presented to God the honourable and majestic, they are the ones whose deeds shall become fruitless and vain, and they shall live in fire forever.

'Their torment shall not be decreased, nor shall they be given a respite.’

O Mankind, here is Ali.

The one who has been my greatest supporter.

And therefore the most worthy among you in my sight.

The closest in kinship and the dearest among you.

The honourable and majestic God and I are pleased with him.

No verse [of Koran] has come regarding pleasure [of God] except about him.

Nor has God spoken to believers with honour but that he was meant first.

Nor has any verse of praise of Koran was sent down except in his honour.

Nor has the Lord testified about Paradise in the chapter of: 'Has not long period of time passed over man…’ except for him.

Nor was it revealed for anyone but him.

Nor in praise for anyone but him.

O Mankind, He is [Ali] the supporter of God’s way.

And one who defends God’s messenger.

He is the righteous.

The pure.

The guide.

And the guided.

Your Nabi is the best Nabi.

Your Wasi is the best Wasi.

[Best Prophet and the best executive].

And his sons are the best executives.

O Mankind.

Every Prophet's lineage is from his own loins.

But my lineage is from the loins of Ali.

O Mankind.

Through envy Satan caused Adam to be removed from the garden.

Therefore do not envy him [Ali] lest your feet slip and your deeds become a waste.

Adam only made one mistake.

And he was sent down even though he was special to God the honourable and majestic.

How then will your condition be, you being who you are.

And among you are enemies of God.

Indeed, only an evil wretched person hates Ali.

And no one except the pious keeps himself close to Ali.

And no one believes in him except a true believer.

For Ali, God sent down Surat al Asr [in Koran]:

'In the Name of God the merciful the compassionate.

I swear by the period, indeed man is truly in loss.

Except those who believe and support one another in truth and support one another in steadfastness.'

O Mankind, I have made God my witness and I have delivered the message to you.

'The messenger is required only to give the message clearly.'

O Mankind.

'Fear God as He ought to be feared.

And do not die except in submission [to Him].'

O Mankind.

‘Believe in God and His messenger.

And in the Light that was sent down with him.’

‘Before We alter the faces, then turn them on their backs, or curse them as We cursed the breakers of the Sabbath.’

[By God, no one are meant by this verse other than whom I know by name and by lineage.

Yet I have been ordered to ignore them.]

O Mankind, the Light from God, honourable and majestic, has been placed in me.

And then into Ali.

And then in his descendents.

Till the Messiah al Mehdi.

Who will establish Divine right and all our rights.

God, honourable and majestic, made us His Proofs over all His worlds.

[And against] the heedless.

The stubborn.

The defectors.

The treacherous.

The sinners.

The oppressors.

And the usurpers.

O Mankind.

I am the messenger of God, and I am warning you.

Before me many messengers have passed away.

Therefore, if I die or be killed, will you turn back on your heels?

Because who ever turns back on their heels will not harm God in the least.

But God will reward the grateful [and the steadfast].

Truly it is Ali who is described [by God] as the grateful and the patient.

So are my offspring from his loins.

O Mankind, do not think you are doing God any favour by submitting to Him.

Otherwise His wrath will visit you.

And His punishment will inflict you.

Truly He is always watching.

O Mankind, after me there will be [false] leaders who will take people to the fire.

On the day of judgement no one will help them.

O Mankind, God and I are both clear of them.

O Mankind, they will be in the lowest depths of hell.

So too will be their supporters, and their followers.

Evil indeed is the home of the arrogant.

They are companions of the scroll [a secret pact against Ali].

Therefore, each one of you should look at his own scroll [of deeds].

O Mankind, I leave behind this divine rule as an inheritance for my children till the day of judgement.

Certainly I have delivered what I have been commanded to deliver as a proof against everyone.

Present or absent.

Witness or not a witness.

Born or yet to be born.

Everyone who is present should pass this message to all others who are not here, till the day of judgement.

Parent must tell their children.

However, [I know] some people will usurp [divine leadership] and replace it with their own kingdom.

May God curse the usurpers who dispossess.

'And soon we will settle your score about the two weights [koran and holy family]’

'and on you [enemies] shall be poured molten brass and flames; never will you succeed.’

O Mankind, God, honourable and majestic, will not leave you until He separates the impure from the pure.

Nor does God let you have knowledge of the unseen.

O Mankind, there is no community that God will not destroy because of its rejection of the truth.

That is what God Almighty says how He destroyed unjust societies.

This [Ali] is your Leader [Imam] and your Guardian.

These are God’s promises.

Indeed God fulfils His promises.

O Mankind, most of the early generations before you have strayed.

And by God, He annihilated the early generations.

And He will annihilate the later ones.

God Almighty has said, 'Did We not destroy the former generations?

Then We will do the same with later ones.

This is how We treat the guilty.

Woe onto the liars on that Day.’

O Mankind, God has given me the commandments and prohibitions.

And I gave them to Ali.

Hence with him is all knowledge of what is commanded and forbidden.

Therefore, listen to his orders to remain secure.

Obey him to remain guided.

Shun what he forbids to remain wise.

Side with him.

And do not let other ways separate you from his path.

O Mankind.

I am the path of God – straight - which He ordered you to follow.

And after me is Ali.

Then are my offspring from his loins the Imams [Leaders] who guide by truth and turn [people] towards it.

'In the Name of God the Merciful the Compassionate.

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.

The Merciful, the Compassionate.

The owner of day of judgement.

You we worship.

You we ask for help.

Guide us on the straight path.

Path of those whom you have blessed.

Not of those whom you cursed.

Nor those who are Lost.’

This was sent down in my honour.

And in their [Imams’] honour.

Generally and specifically.

They are the 'friends of God on whom there is no fear, nor regret’.

Truly “this is the Party of God that is Victorious.

Indeed, it is their enemies who are dissenters.

The deviators.

The Satanic Brotherhood.

They inspire one another with decorated speeches in order to deceive.

While the friends [of Imams] are the ones who are mentioned by God in His book.

The honourable and majestic said:

'You will not find any people who believe in God and the last day loving those who oppose God and His messenger.

Even though they are their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their clans.

On their heart God has stamped conviction.

And has strengthened them with a Spirit from Him.

And He will bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow.

Where they will live.

God is well pleased with them.

And they are well pleased with Him.

They are the Party of God.

Indeed is it not God’s Party who are the successful?’

Indeed, their friends are those whose characteristics God, honourable and majestic describes as:

'They are believers who do not cover [mix] their belief with injustice [and wrong].

They are the ones at peace.

They are the ones truly guided.’

[Indeed, their friends are those who believed and have never doubted.]

Indeed, their friends will securely enter Paradise.

The angels will welcome them with greeting.

'Well done, please enter your home for all eternity.’

Indeed, their friends are the ones about whom God, honourable and majestic said that they will enter Paradise.

Without having to give account.

[There they will be given provisions].

Indeed, it is their enemies who will arrive at the fire.

Indeed, their enemies will hear its breath and intensity, with sobs and sighs.

Indeed, about their enemies God has said:

'Whenever a nation enters [hell], it shall curse its sister [nation].’

Indeed, their enemies God, honourable and majestic describe as:

'Whenever a group is thrown in [fire], its keepers will ask, did no warner come to you?

They will reply, yes a warner did come.

But we rejected him saying you are greatly deceived, God does not reveal anything.

And, they will say,

had we listened,

and used our intelligence,

we would not have been the companions of the blazing fire.

They will admit their sins.

But far from forgiveness will be companions of the blazing fire.’

But not so will be [our] friends, who feared their Lord Unseen.

For them is forgiveness and a tremendous reward.

O Mankind, great is the difference between the blazing fire and a mighty reward.

Our enemy is the one who is condemned by God and cursed.

While our friend one who is praised by God and loved.

O Mankind.

I am the Warner and Ali is the Guide.

O Mankind.

I am the Nabi and Ali is the Wasi.

[God’s messenger and His executive].

The last of the Imams [divine leaders] will be Messiah the Mehdi.

He will prevail over all ideologies.

He will be the avenger against the oppressors.

He will be the conqueror of fortresses.

And be their demolisher.

He is the destroyer of idolatrous societies.

He is the retaliator for the blood of the friends of God the honourable and majestic.

He is the supporter of the Divine Ideology.

He will extract from deep ocean.

He will mark every wise man with his distinction.

And all ignorant men with their ignorance.

He is chosen by God.

And God is his selector.

He is inheritor of all knowledge.

And the encompassor [of every understanding].

He will reveal from his Lord honourable and majestic.

He will tell about the matters of beliefs.

He is correct, mistakeless, in whom authority has been secured.

Good news about him had been delivered by previous generations.

He will remain a Proof [of God].

And after him there will be no proofs.

And there will be no truth except that which is with him.

nor any Light except with him.

No one can defeat him.

And there will be no help against him.

He is the divine protector on earth.

And God’s Judge over the creation.

The keeper of His secrets.

And what is revealed.

O Mankind, I have explained for you.

And made you understand.

And after me this Ali will make you comprehend.

And finally, I call upon you to recognise his authority.

And to swear oath of allegiance to him by shaking my hands.

And then, after me, shaking his hands.

I have sworn allegiance to God.

And Ali had sworn allegiance to me.

And I require you [all] to swear the oath of allegiance to him on behalf of God the honourable and majestic.

'Surely those who swear oath of allegiance to you, they actually swear oath of allegiance to God.

The hand of God is over their hands.

Whoever violates his oath, he violates his own soul.

And whoever remains true to the promise he makes with God, he will receive a mighty reward.’

[People rush to shake Prophet’s hand and then Ali’s hand].

O Mankind, the Hajj and Omra, and Safa and Marwa, are among the standards of God.

And he is not wrong who walks between them when he makes a pilgrimage to the House [of God] in or out of season.

O Mankind, go on a pilgrimage to the House [of God].

Because not one family went there except that they were enriched.

[and given good news].

And none failed to go except that they were made poor.

O Mankind, there is not a believer who stands at the stopping place [at Arafa] except that God forgives all his past sins.

After the pilgrimage, his [life] deeds resume.

O Mankind, pilgrims will be supported and their costs repaid.

For God never wastes wages of good doers.

O Mankind, go on pilgrimage to the [sacred] House after you have perfected your faith and understanding.

And do not leave the holy grounds until you have repented and desisted [from wrong].

O Mankind.

Perform Salat and give Zakat.

[Prayer and Charity].

As commanded by the honourable and majestic God.

But if time escapes you, and you forget, or neglect, then Ali your guardian will make it clear for you.

God the honourable and majestic has designated him for you.

[As trustee of creation.

He is from me and I from him].

He and those who will succeed him from my lineage will inform you of anything you ask.

And tell you things which you do not know.

Certainly, the prohibited and permitted things are more than I can place limit on and number.

Nor call towards or advise against all in one place.

Therefore, I was ordered to take your oath of allegiance and promise to accept what I have brought from God honourable and majestic, regarding Ali the Leader of the Believers, and after him, the successors who are from him and me.

O Mankind, I have directed you to every good action.

And forbade you from every sinful action.

I will not change this nor take it back.

Therefore, remember it.

And keep it safe.

And tell one another about it.

And do not replace it.

Nor alter it.

I will say it again.

Perform prayers and give charity.

[Worship God and help the poor]

Call towards good.

And discourage wrongdoing.

Truly, the best cause towards righteousness is to understand what I have said.

And to preach it to those who are not present here.

And to discourage them from rejecting it.

Because it is the order from God the honourable and majestic.

And [also] from me.

And, [know] there is neither call to goodness, nor forbidding of evil, other than with the infallible Imam [leader].

O Mankind, the [holy book] Koran tells you that Imams after him [Ali] are his descendants.

And I have told you that these are his and mine.

Because God the honourable and majestic says in His book, 'And he made a Word to remain in his seed.’

And I told you that you would not go astray if you hold on to both.

O Mankind.

Be pious.

Be pious.

And beware of the [last] Hour.

God the honourable and majestic has said, 'the shaking on that Hour will be something mighty.’

Remember the death.

[and the resurrection].

The judgment.

The scales.

And the account in the hands of Lord of the Worlds.

And the reward and the penalty.

Whoever arrives with goodness will be rewarded.

And whoever comes with sin, he will have no share in the Gardens [of Paradise].

[People still lining up to give pledges].

O Mankind, you are here too many to shake my hand at one time.

So, God the honourable and majestic has ordered me to take a voice promise from you regarding Ali, the Leader of the Believers.

And about the Imams after him who are from him and me.

My descendents are from his loins, just as I told you.

Therefore, you all say this with voice:

'Indeed we have heard and obeyed,
we are happy and bounded by what you have delivered from your Lord,
regarding the authority of Ali, the Leader of the Believers,
and the authority of Imams, your children from his loins.
We swear allegiance to you about this
with our hearts,
our souls,
our tongues,
and our hands.
We shall live and die according to this, and then be resurrected.
We shall neither alter,
nor replace,
nor doubt,
[nor deny],
nor distrust,
nor go back on our promise,
nor breach the pact.
[You have on behalf of God advised us about Ali.]
We obey God,
and obey you,
and Leader of the Believers, Ali
and his children Hasan and Husain of your lineage,
[and whoever God appoints after them].
We obey God,
and obey you,
and Ali,
Hasan and Husain,
and the Imams you mentioned,
based on the promise and pledge taken from us for Ali,
from our hearts,
our souls,
our tongues,
our minds,
and our hands.
Anyone who is able to he will shake his hand,
and if he cannot,
he will say the pledge with his tongue.
We will not try to replace it,
nor will God see us divert from it.
We will convey this,
on your behalf,
to those who are near and far,
[and] to our children and families.
On this God be our witness,
and God is enough for a witness.
You are also our witness,
and everyone who obeyed openly or secretly,
and angels of God,
and His forces,
and His servants,
and God is greater than every witness.’

O Mankind, what do you say!

God knows all the sounds and secrets of every soul.

'Whoever accepts guidance does so for the benefit of his own soul.

And whoever strays does to his own harm.’

And, 'those who pledge loyalty have indeed pledged loyalty to God. The Hand of God is over their hand.’

O Mankind, fear God.

And swear your oath of allegiance to Ali, the Leader of the Believers.

Blessings of God be upon him.

And to Hasan and Husain.

And to the Imams [from them].

The pure Word that will remain.

God will destroy the treacherous.

And [He] will show mercy to the loyal.

'Whoever breaks it will harm his soul;

and whoever fulfils his promise to God will soon have a mighty reward.’

O Mankind, say what I have said.

And greet Ali as the Leader of the Believers.

And say: 'We heard and we obeyed.

Forgive us O Lord.

To You is our return.’

And say: 'Praise be to God who has guided us to this.

For never would we have been guided without the guidance from God.’

O Mankind.

The virtues of Ali son of Abu Talib with God the honourable and majestic, which are mentioned in the Koran, are more numerous than I can say in one speech.

So believe whoever informs you and makes you aware of them.

O Mankind, whoever obeys God and His messenger and Ali and the Imams will attain a great victory.

O Mankind, those first of you to swear allegiance to him,

and accepting his authority,

and taking him as the Leader of the Believers,

are winners of gardens of bliss.

O Mankind, say that [word] which makes God pleased with you.

And if you and all the people of the earth disbelieve, it will not harm God in the least.

O Lord! Forgive the believers [through what I have delivered and ordered].

And send Your wrath upon [the deniers] the disbelievers.

And Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds."

The End.

-

By S. Saclain, FMB 2009, Manchester U.K.

Presented by the Fatami Muslims of Britain during the holy week
of the Sacred Birthdays of Prophet Mohammed, and the Sixth Divine Imam, Jafar al Sadek. These dates occured on the occasion of God’s New Dawn, the Nouroz celebrations of the Spring Solstice, in the month of Rabi Al Awwal in the Islamic lunar year 1430 Hijri.

Primary source: itjaj by Tabrisi.

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Wilaya

2011-01-01T13:51:00.005-08:00

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Wilayat in Ghadir

Hadith no. 29: The Prophet and the Wilayat of Ali

Abu Saeed said: “When the day of Ghadir Khumm came, the Messenger of Allah commanded the caller to call out, ‘Gather for the Salat’. Then he took Ali by the hand and said, “Allah! Whomsoever I am his master, this Ali is also his master. Allah! Be a friend to that person who is a friend to him, and be an enemy to that person who is an enemy to him.”

Biharul Anwar, Volume 37, Page 112, Hadith 4

Hadith no. 30: Living the Life of a Prophet

The Messenger of Allah has said: “A person who wishes to live the life that I lived and wishes to die the way I die, and wants to reside in the perpetual Paradise which has been promised to me by my Lord should accept the Wilayat of Ali ibn Abi Talib, because he will never drag you away from the path of true guidance and he will never misguide you.”

Al-Ghadir, Volume 10, Page 278

Hadith no. 31: The Prophet and the Imamate of Ali

Jabir said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah say to Ali ibn Abi Talib: “Ali! You are my brother and my successor and my executor and my caliph over my nation both during my life and also after my death. Those who love you, love me; and those who hate you, hate me; and your enemy is my enemy.”

Al-Amali of as-Saduq, Page 124, Hadith 5

Hadith no. 32: The Pillars of Islam

Imam Baqir said: “Islam is built on five foundations: Salat, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj and Wilayat and there was no call to any of these resembling that which the people were called towards in order to accept the Wilayah on the Day of Ghadir.”

Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 21, Hadith 8

Hadith no. 33: The Perpetual Wilayat

Imam Ridha said: “The Wilayat of Ali has been written in all of the books of the (previous) Prophets and Allah did not appoint a single Messenger except with a (pledge to the) Prophethood of Muhammad and the successorship of Ali.”

Safinatul Bihar, Volume 2, Page 691

Hadith no. 34: Wilayat and Tawhid

The Messenger of Allah has said, “The Wilayat of Ali ibn Abi Talib is the Wilayat of Allah; love for him is worship of Allah; following him is an obligatory act from Allah; his friends are the friends of Allah and his enemies are the enemies of Allah; fighting with him is fighting against Allah; and making peace with him is making peace with Allah, the Noble and Grand.”

Al-Amali of as-Saduq, Page 32

Hadith no. 35: The Day of the Cry of Despair of Shaitan

Imam Baqir has said that: “Iblees, the enemy of Allah, cried four times: The day when he was cursed; the day when he was sent down to the Earth; the day when the Prophet was officially appointed ; and on the Day of Ghadir.”

Qurbul Isnad, Page 10

Hadith no. 36: The Wilayat of Ali is the Fortress of Tawhid

Holy Prophet said: “Allah, the Glorious and High, has said, ‘The Wilayat of Ali ibn Abi Talib is My fortress, so whoever enters into My fortress will be protected from My fire’.”

Jami al-Akhbar, Page 52, Hadith 7

Hadith no. 37: The Successor of the Prophet

The Messenger of Allah has said, “Ali! I am the city of knowledge and you are its gate and no one can enter into the city except by going through its gate. You are the Imam of my nation and you are my successor. Blessed is the person who obeys you and depraved is the person who disobeys you. One who follows you will succeed, while the one who turns away from you will be in a loss.”

Jami al-Akhbar, Page 52, Hadith 9

Hadith no. 38: Islam in the Shadow of Wilayat

Imam Jafar has said: “The fundamental pillars of Islam are three: Salat, Zakat and Wilayat. No one of these will be valid unless accompanied by the other two.”

Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 18

Hadith no. 39: A Thousand Witnesses

Imam Jafar has said, “Hafsa! I am surprised at what happened to Ali ibn Abi Talib!! Despite having tens of thousands of witnesses he could not claim his right when in reality a person needs only two witnesses to claim what is rightfully his!”

Biharul Anwar, Volume 37, Page 140

Hadith no. 40: Ali, The Commentator of the Quran

From the Prophet, in his address on the Day of Ghadir: “Ali is the exegesis (Tafsir) of the book of Allah and the one who calls others to it. Verily, that which is permitted and forbidden is more than what I can explain to you; what I command you as permitted and forbid you as prohibited, is all from one position. I was commanded to take your allegiance and your pledge to accept what I brought from Allah, the Exalted, regarding Ali, the commander of the believers, and the Imams after him. People! Ponder and understand the verses (of the Quran), observe those that are clear and do not follow those that are unclear; for by Allah no one can explain to you its limitations or clarify its meanings except the one whose hand I am holding (meaning Imam Ali).”

Wasail ash-Shia, Volume 18, Page 142, Hadith 43

[ Source: al-shia.com]

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United Nations

2011-01-01T13:51:00.003-08:00

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Arabs should follow Imam Ali: United Nations

UN urges Arab nations to impliment teachings of Ali

The United Nations has advised Arab countries to take Imam Ali bin Abi Talib as an example in establishing a regime based on justice and democracy and encouraging knowledge.

In its 2002 Arab Human Development Report, distributed around the world, UN experts listed six sayings of Imam Ali about ideal governance. They include consultation between the ruler and the ruled, speaking out against corruption and other wrong doings, ensuring justice to all, and achieving domestic development.

The UN said most regional countries are still far behind other nations in democracy, wide political representation, women's participation, development and knowledge.

The UN quoted the following sayings of Imam Ali in its 2002 Arab Human Development Report:

1. "He who has appointed himself an Imam (ruler) of the people must begin by teaching himself before teaching others. His teaching of others must be first by setting an example rather than with his words, for he who begins by teaching and educating himself is more worthy of respect than he who teaches and educates others."

2. "Your concern with developing the land should be greater than your concern for collecting taxes, for the latter can only be obtained by developing; whereas he who seeks revenue without development destroys the country and the people."

3. "Seek the company of the learned and the wise in search of solving the problems of your country and the righteousness of your people."

4. "No good can come out in keeping silent to the government or in speaking out of ignorance."

5. "The righteous are men of virtue, whose logic is straightforward, whose dress is unostentatious, whose path is modest, whose actions are many and who are undeterred by difficulties."

6. "Choose the best among your people to administer justice among them. Choose someone who does not easily give up, who is unruffled by enmities, someone who will not persist in wrong doings, who will not hesitate to pursue right once he knows it, someone whose heart knows no greed, who will not be satisfied with a minimum of explanation without seeking the maximum of understanding, who will be the most steadfast when doubt is cast, who will be the least impatient in correcting the opponent, the most patient in pursuing the truth, the most stern in meting out judgment, someone who is unaffected by flattery and not swayed by temptation and these are but few."

--

George Jordac:

"United Nation Charter is not better than the Alawi Constitution."

Shebly Shmayyil:

"Ali ibn Abli Talib is the leader and guide for mankind, and the East and West has never seen his equal."

UN Secretary General praises Ali

Kofi Annan:

"Imam Ali, the fourth Khalifa after Prophet Muhammed, instructed the governor of Egypt to rule with mercy and tolerance towards all his subjects: 'Let the dearest of your treasuries be the treasury of righteous action... Infuse your heart with mercy, love and kindness for your subjects. Be not in the face of them a voracious animal, counting them as easy prey, for they are of two kinds: either they are your brothers in religion or your equals in creation'."

Kofi Annan:

“The words of Ali ibn Abi Talib, ‘O Malik! The people are either brothers in religion or your equal in creation’ must be adhered to by all organisations and it is a statement that all humanity must embrace.”

For more detailed account of Imam Ali,
see given below the book "Voice of Human Justice" by George Jordac.

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Basic Shia Teachings

2011-01-01T13:51:00.001-08:00

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Faith and Practice

SHIA ISLAM IN BRIEF

By S. Saclain [2010 U.K.]

Shia Islam is the pure and peaceful way of living according to the
teachings of the holy Prophet Mohamed as understood by his
rightful successor Imam Ali.

People who convert to Shia Islam accept to
accept the following basic doctrines and practices of the faith.

1. SHIA ESSENCE OF FAITH:

Things that Shia Muslims believe:

Tauheed

There is only One True God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe. He is Single. Unique. Perfect. All Knowing, and All Powerful. The Greatest Supreme Being who is beyond imagination. There is nothing else like Him. This is real Monotheism called Tauheed.

Adal

God is always Just. He is never unfair. God commands humans to be just towards others.

Nabawat

Guidance. God choses pious human beings as messengers. They reveal His Divine Will. Prophet Mohammed was the final Messenger. God gave to him Holy Quran as the Perfect Holy Book for humanity.

Imamat

Leadership. God choses pious men to lead humanity. The improve society. These Imams implement Divine order in the world. Imam Mehdi is perfect leader who will establish God's Kingdom of peace and justice over the whole world.

Qiyamat

Afterlife. After our death, there is a Day of Judgement when all humans will be held to account for what they had done during their short life. There is Hell and there is Paradise.

2. SHIA PRACTICES OF RELIGION:

Things that Shia Muslims do as part of their religious duty:

PRAYERS

Remembering God five times a day. Shias combine two prayers and pray 3 times daily.

FASTING

Refraining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset for 30 days in Ramadan.

HAJ

Pilgrimage to House of God built by Prophet Abraham in Mecca.

CHARITY

Helping the poor and the needy. Feed them, clothe them, and house them.

JIHAD

Resisting oppression. Fighting against all forms of injustice and persecution. Stuggling to end tyranny.

PREACHING

Reforming the community towards good morals and away from harmful things.

LOVE

Developing good relations with your family, neighbours and community members.

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What is Love

2011-01-01T13:50:00.001-08:00

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The Concept of Love in the Shia Creed

By Sayyid Muhammad Rida Hijaz

Love is one of the sublimest and most appealing of concepts in Shiaism in particular and Islamic culture and belief in general.

In Shia belief, mahabbah or hubb, and related words like mawaddah and waliyah, play a very significant and profound role, to the extent that, to cite one instance, it is asserted to be the fundamental basis of the faith.

In a famous hadith, the Prophet is reported as questioning his followers concerning the "firmest handhold of faith". When they cannot reply, he declares:

"The firmest handhold of faith is to love for the sake of God and to hate for the sake of God, to befriend God's friends and to renounce His enemies."

In another tradition, Imam Jafar’s disciple asked whether love and hate derive from faith. He replied: "Is faith anything but love and hate?"

It is also narrated that Imam Baqir stated that: "Religion is love and love is religion."

As these statements and traditions indicate, love plays an important role in Shia doctrine. Hence it deserves our close attention in order that we may discover the real meaning of the concept.

First of all, some questions come to the mind. What is the kind of love that has been emphasized by Islam in general and Shiaism in particular? Who is the object of this special kind of love? Why should the believers have this kind of love and what purpose does it serve?

Love, in Shia doctrine, includes three interrelated categories: Love for God, love for the Prophet and his Household, and love for the faithful.

Love for God

According to Islamic teaching, God is the highest and foremost object of love. The Holy Koran says:

Say: "If your fathers and your sons, your brethren and your wives, your kinsfolk and the property you have acquired, the commerce you fear may slacken and the dwellings which you love-if these are dearer to you than God and His Apostle and striving in His way, then wait till God brings His command; God does not guide an ungodly people." (9:24)

This ayah clearly indicates that the love of God has precedence over everything and whatever that one may love in one's life. Moreover, the Holy Koran points out in another verse that the believers' love of God is greater than that of anything else, but that some people love certain things as much as they love God:

And there are some among men who take for themselves objects of worship besides God. whom they love as they love God, and those who believe are stronger in love for God ... (2:165)

That is, God is the source of all love just as He is the source of all that exists. That love is an attribute of God is affirmed implicitly by numerous Koranic verses. Hence love for God is the foundation of belief, the foundation on which man is to establish the principles of his faith. This is also affirmed by reason.

It may be noted that:

(a) Human nature aspires to perfection and beauty, and God is absolute perfection and eternal beauty; thus it is an innate quality of the human nature to love God;

(b) Men by nature love whoever does good to them, and they appreciate such favour and benevolence, as Imam Ali said: "Generosity and magnanimity enslave men."

Now, as God is the source of all being, of all generosity and benevolence, man, by virtue of his nature, loves God. The Prophet said: “Love God because He has done good to you and He has bestowed favours upon you.”

It is narrated that God declared to Moses and David: "Love Me and endear Me to the people."
When they asked Him how they could endear Him to the people, He replied: "Remind them about My favours and bounties, for they do not recall My favours without the feeling of gratitude."

This relationship of love between man and his Creator is reciprocal, and the intensity of a people's love for God is indicative of God's love for them, as indicated by the following verse:

"God will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him." (5:54)

This love stands for a spiritual relationship between God and the God-loving people wherewith they are ever made aware of the beneficence and mercy of their Lord. It is narrated in one hadith that when God loves someone He becomes his ears, his eyes, his tongue, and his hands: “When I love him, then I shall be his ears with which he listens, his eyes with which he sees, his tongue with which he speaks, and his hands with which he holds; if he calls Me, I shall answer him, and if he asks Me, I shall give him.”

Aside from the fact that one who loves God is loved by Him, a real love for God prompts one to perform the best of deeds. Reason and nature dictate that if someone really loves God, he would act in a manner that is pleasing to God. In this regard, the Holy Koran says:

"Say: 'If you love God, then follow me, and God will love you and forgive you your sins,' and God is Forgiving and Merciful." (3:31)

This ayah indicates the interrelation between love, as an inner state, and emulating the Prophet, which is an outward action. Moreover, it implies that no one may neglect his religious obligations under the pretext of love for God.

Love for the Prophet

After God, the Prophet Muhammad is the one whom the faithful love. It is evident that the love for him is a ramification of the love for God. It is stated in traditions that God loves the Prophet and his Household as the ideals of human perfection so much that He created the heavens and the earth and whatever is in them out of His love for them. Hadith al-Kisa says:
“When they, the Ahl al Bayt [holy house] gathered under the kisa [sacred cloak], the Almighty said: ‘Let it be known to you, My angels and those who are in the heavens, that I have not created the heavens and the earth and what is in them, but for My love for the Five Ones under the kisa’."

The Prophet said to his followers: “Love me because of the love of God.”

We love the Prophet as he is the beloved of Him, and He has directed us to love him. This is the first and the most important reason for loving the Prophet. Further, he is the Perfect Man and personifies the highest degrees of such virtues as generosity, greatness, moral sublimity and wisdom. Hence human nature is fascinated by his perfect being and loves him. Thirdly, he brought us the most significant and essential gift which benefits us both in this world and the next and gives us true life.

For these reasons, and because of the many verses and traditions which declare the necessity of loving the Prophet it is obligatory for all Muslims to love him as much as they love themselves and even more, as according to the Koran:

"The Prophet has a greater right on the faithful than they have on themselves."(33:6)

Love for the Prophet's Household

As part of the love for the Prophet, love for the Household of the Prophet is also necessary for all believers. In fact, it is a test of the genuineness of one's love for the Prophet, and it is declared in traditions that it is the first thing which they would be questioned about on the Day of Resurrection.

As regards the necessity and importance of this love, there are more than three hundred ayahs and hadith found in both Sunni and Shia sources. In all, they indicate that the main role of this love is to nourish faith. It is narrated that the Prophet said:

“There is a basis for every thing, and the basis of Islam is the love for us, the People of the Household.”

In another hadith he is reported to have said:

“One who wants to partake of the firmest handhold (of faith) should abide by the love of Ali and my Household.”

He also said:

“Love of them (my Household) is a sign of faith, and enmity towards them is a sign of unbelief. Whosoever loves them, loves God and His Messenger. And whosoever harbours enmity towards them is enemy of God and His Messenger."

It is narrated that Imam Jafar al Sadiq said:

“For every kind of worship there is another which surpasses it, and the love for us, the people of the Household, is the best form of worship.”

On the basis of the traditions that have been cited and many others like them, it is clear that the love for the Household of the Messenger is a necessary part of every Muslim's faith. This is further confirmed by taking into consideration that the love of the Household is considered by the Koran as the mark of gratitude for the guiding mission of the Prophet. God says:

“Say: ‘I do not ask you a wage for this except the love of my kinsfolk’." (42:23)

When the Holy Prophet was asked by his followers as to who were his near of kin" whose love God has made obligatory on all Muslims, the Prophet replied; "Fatima, Ali, Hasan and Husayn."

The Shia believe that, in accordance with this verse, it is necessary for every Muslim, from the point of view of his faith, to love them. For, in this verse, God has told mankind to love them. On the other hand, God has ordered us to love them because they merit it, as the highest exemplars of obedience to the commands of God, their exalted stations in the eyes of God, and their purity from all traces of polytheism, sin, and everything that deprives His servants of God's mercy. In summary, if God instructs all people to love certain human beings, they must be the best among them in virtue and the sublimest of His creatures, otherwise they would not deserve to be loved, and God would never prefer some person to another for no reason, or favour someone who has no merit.

However, it may be asked whether love as an emotional attachment is capable of producing any profound results or capable of motivating deeds of higher religious and moral worth. In my opinion, love not only operates on an emotional level but can be a real agent that prompts man towards virtuous action.

The real love that has been emphasized by both the Koran and Sunnah is not merely an emotional relation between the lover and the object of love without any actual relevance to one's conduct of life. That it is a love which produces piety and encourages the lover to righteous action is confirmed by the Islamic tradition. It is stated in a hadith:

“Do not neglect righteous action and diligence in worship by relying on the love of Muhammad's Household; and do not neglect the love of Muhammad's Household for reliance on righteous action and diligence in worship, because none of them will be accepted without the other.”

Imam Jafar Sadiq said:

“One who follows someone would strive to emulate him.”

Accordingly, God commands the faithful to love the Household and to have recourse to them in order that they may learn their religious obligations from the Imams of the Prophet's family. In this relation, the Messenger of God is reported to have said:

“Whoever aspires to live my life, to die my death, to enter the Paradise that my Lord has promised me, and to grasp the handhold which my Lord has appointed, should take Ali ibn Abi Talib and his successors after him, as his masters, because they will never cause you to enter the doors of misguidance, nor will they divert you from the gates of guidance. Never try to teach them, since they are more knowledgeable than you. I have asked my Lord never to separate them from the Book until they meet me by the side of the Pool (hawz)”

Imam Jafar Sadiq said:

“God has ordained our guardianship, and He has made loving us an obligation. By God, we don't say anything out of our desires, and we don't do anything according to our whims; we don't say anything but what our Lord says the Almighty and the Glorious.”

They have been given authority and God has ordered people to obey the. They are the witness for mankind, the doors leading to the way of God, the guides to His path, the guardians of His knowledge, the interpreters of His revelations, the pillars of the teaching of Divine Unity, and the custodians of His Wisdom. The Holy Koran refers to them in these words:

“Honoured servants, who speak not until He has spoken and who act by His command.” (21:26-27)

That is why God has urged the faithful to love them, to seek them and follow them, obeying their commands.

Thus befriending them, which is obligatory for all Muslims according to the Holy Koran, would lead the believers to fulfil their duties. A real love, as was mentioned earlier, encourages the lover to act according to the beloved's will and wishes. Therefore, Muslims, by emulating the Prophet's Household, become real believers. Hence the 'wages' of prophecy, which the faithful have been asked to pay, ultimately return to the believers themselves. Hence the following verse of Surat Saba says:

“Say (O Muhammad): ‘Whatever reward I have asked of you is only for yourselves; my reward is only with God, and He is the witness over all things’." (34:47)

We may conclude that love plays a great, if not the greatest, formative role in religious faith in the Shia creed and is the uniting principle of its universe of religious ideas. So far, we have seen that this principle unites a vast collection of religious ideas each of which relates to the others, and that this totality impels the believer towards a higher form of life.

The principle of love frees religious devotion from a dispassionate and lifeless state, and inspires it with a new refreshing spirit. This is the meaning of the following statement of the Holy Prophet:

“O servant of God, let your love and hate be for the sake of God, because no one can attain to the wilayah of God without that, and no one shall find the taste of faith without that, though his prayers and fast be great in number.”

I would like to conclude this discussion with a hadith of Imam Ali wherein he states:

“Most certainly the best and most delightful of things in Paradise is the love of God and love for the sake of God and the glorification of God. God, the Almighty and the Glorious, says "And the last of their cry shall be: 'Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.”

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Sayings of Ali

2010-10-10T05:08:00.028-07:00

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Saintly Wisdom

The sacred sayings and holy wisdom of saint Ali:

· Live amongst people in such a manner that if you die they weep over you and if you are alive they crave for your company.
· For those who refused to side with any party, they have forsaken God and are of no use to Satan either.
· He who is greedy is disgraced; he who discloses his hardship will always be humiliated; he who has no control over his tongue will often have to face discomfort.
· Avarice is disgrace; cowardice is a defect; poverty often disables an intelligent man from arguing his case; a poor man is a stranger in his own town; misfortune and helplessness are calamities; patience is a kind of bravery; to sever attachments with the wicked world is the greatest wealth; piety is the best weapon of defence.
· Surrender to God's Will is the best companion; wisdom is the noblest heritage; theoretical and practical knowledge are the best signs of distinction; deep thinking will present the clearest picture of every problem.
· The mind of a wise man is the safest custody of secrets; cheerfulness is the key to friendship; patience and forbearance will conceal many defects.
· Conceited, and self-admiring person is disliked by others; charity and alms are the best remedy for ailments and calamities; one has to account in the next world for the deeds that he has done in this world.
· Man is a wonderful creature; he sees through the layers of fat (eyes), hears through a bone (ears) and speaks through a lump of flesh (tongue).
· When this world favours somebody, it lends him the attributes, and surpassing merits of others and when it turns its face away from him it snatches away even his own excellences and fame.
· If you overpower your enemy, then pardon him by way of thankfulness to God, for being able to subdue him.
· Unfortunate is he who cannot gain a few sincere friends during his life and more unfortunate is the one who has gained them and then lost them (through his behaviour).
· When some blessings come to you, do not drive them away through thanklessness.
· He who is deserted by friends and relatives will often find help and sympathy from strangers.
· Every person who is tempted to go astray does not deserve punishment.
· Our affairs are attached to the destiny decreed by God; even our best plans may lead us to destruction.
· One who rushes madly after inordinate desire runs the risk of encountering destruction and death.
· Overlook and forgive the weaknesses of the generous people because if they fall down, God will help them.
· Failures are often the results of timidity and fears; disappointments are the results of bashfulness; hours of leisure pass away like summer-clouds, therefore, do not waste opportunity of doing good.
· If the right usurped from us is given back to us we shall take it, otherwise we shall go on claiming it.
· If someone's deeds lower his position, his pedigree cannot elevate it.
· To render relief to the distressed and to help the oppressed make amends for great sins.
· You should fear Him when you see that your Lord, the Glorified, bestows His Favours on you while you disobey Him.
· Often your utterances and expressions of your face leak out the secrets of your hidden thoughts.
· When you get ill do not get nervous about it and try as much as possible to be hopeful.
· The best form of devotion to the service of God is not to make a show of it.
· When you have to depart from this world and have to meet death, then why wish delay.
· Take warning! He has not exposed so many of your sinful activities that it appears as if He has forgiven you.

· Saint Ali was asked about faith. He said faith endurance, conviction, justice, and resistance. Endurance is composed of four attributes: eagerness, fear, piety and hope. So whoever is eager for Heaven will ignore temptations; who ever fears the fire of Hell will abstain from sins; whoever practices piety will easily bear the difficulties of life and whoever anticipates death will hasten towards good deeds. Conviction has also four aspects to guard oneself against infatuations of sin; to search for explanation of truth through knowledge; to gain lessons from instructive things and to follow the precedent of the past people, because whoever wants to guard himself against vices and sins will have to search for the true causes of infatuation and the true ways of combating them out and to find those true ways one has to search them with the help of knowledge, whoever gets fully acquainted with various branches of knowledge will take lessons from life and whoever tries to take lessons from life is actually engaged in the study of the causes of rise and fall of previous civilizations. Justice also has four aspects depth of understanding, profoundness of knowledge, fairness of judgment and dearness of mind; because whoever tries his best to understand a problem will have to study it, whoever has the practice of studying the subject he is to deal with, will develop a clear mind and will always come to correct decisions, whoever tries to achieve all this will have to develop ample patience and forbearance and whoever does this has done justice to the cause of religion and has led a life of good repute and fame. Struggle, or resistence [for peace] is divided into four branches: to persuade people to be obedient to God; to prohibit them from sin and vice; to struggle (in God’s way) sincerely and firmly on all occasions and to detest the vicious. Whoever persuades people to obey the orders of God provides strength to the believers; whoever dissuades them from vices and sins humiliates the unbelievers; whoever struggles on all occasions discharges all his obligations and whoever detests the vicious only for the sake of God, then God will take revenge on his enemies and will be pleased with Him on the Day of Judgment.

· There are four causes of infidelity and loss of belief in God: hankering after whims, a passion to dispute every argument, deviation from truth; and dissension: Because whoever hankers after whims does not incline towards truth; whoever keeps on disputing every argument on account of his ignorance, will always remain blind to truth, whoever deviates from truth because of ignorance, will always take good for evil and evil for good and he will always remain intoxicated with misguidance. And whoever abandons (God), his path becomes difficult, his affairs will become complicated and his way to salvation will be uncertain. Similarly, doubt has also four aspects absurd reasoning; fear; vacillation and hesitation; and unreasonable surrender to infidelity, because one who has accustomed himself to unreasonable and absurd discussions will never see the Light of Truth and will always live in the darkness of ignorance. One who is afraid to face facts will always turn away from ultimate reality, one who allows doubts and uncertainties to vacillate him will always be under the control of Satan and one who surrenders himself to infidelity accepts damnation in both the worlds.

· Saint Ali once said to his son, my son learn four things from me and through them you will learn four more. If you keep them in mind your actions will not bring any harm to you: The greatest wealth is Wisdom; the greatest poverty is stupidity; the worst unsocial thing is that of vanity and self-glorification; and the best nobility of descent exhibits itself in politeness and in refinement of manner. The next four things, my son, are: "Do not make friendship with a fool because when he will try to do you good he will do you harm; do not make a miser your friend because he will run away from you at the time of your dire need; do not be friendly with a vicious and wicked person because he will sell you and your friendship at the cheapest price and do not make friend of a liar because like a mirage he will make you visualize very near the things which lie at a great distance and will make you see at the great distance the things which are near to you".

· When one of his companions fell ill, Saint Ali called upon him and thus advised him: "Be thankful to God. He has made this illness a thing to atone your sins because a disease in itself has nothing to bring reward to anyone, it merely expiates one's sins and so far as reward is concerned, one has to earn it with his good words and good deeds. The Almighty Lord grants Heaven to his creatures on account of their piety and noble thoughts".

· Blessed is the man who always kept the life after death in his view, who remembered the Day of Judgment through all his deeds, who led a contented life and who was happy with the lot that God had destined for him. If I cut a faithful Devotee into pieces to make him hate me, he will not turn into my enemy and if I give all the wealth of this world to a hypocrite to make him my friend he will not befriend me. It is so because the divine messenger has said: " O Ali! No faithful Devotee will ever be your enemy and no hypocrite will ever be your friend."

· Recommended prayers cannot attain the pleasures of God for you when obligatory prayers are left unattended.
· A wise man first thinks and then speaks and a fool speaks first and then thinks.
· A fool's mind is at the mercy of his tongue and a wise man's tongue is under the control of his mind.
· A virtuous person is better then virtue, and a vicious person is worse than vice.
· Be generous but not extravagant, be frugal but not miserly.
· The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.
· One who says unpleasant things about others; he himself will quickly become a target of their scandal.
· One who hopes inordinately impairs his deeds.
· The sin, which makes you sad and repentant, is more liked by God than the good deed which turns you arrogant.
· Value of a man depends upon his courage; his veracity depends upon his self-respect and his chastity depends upon his sense of honour.
· Success is the result of foresight and resolution, foresight depends upon deep thinking and planning and the most important factor of planning is to keep your secrets to yourself.
· Be afraid of a gentleman when he is hungry, and of a mean person when his stomach is full.
· Hearts of people are like wild beasts. They attach themselves to those who love and train them.
· So long as fortune is favouring you, your defects will remain covered.
· Only he who has the power to punish can pardon.
· Generosity is to help a deserving person without his request, and if you help him after his request, then it is either out of self-respect or to avoid rebuke.
· There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation.
· Patience is of two kinds: patience over what pains you, and patience against what you covet.
· Wealth converts a strange land into homeland and poverty turns a native place into a strange land.
· Contentment is the wealth, which will never diminish.
· Wealth is the fountainhead of passions.
· Whoever warns you against sins and vices is like the one who gives you good tidings.
· Tongue is a beast, if it is let loose, it devours.
· Woman is a scorpion whose grip is sweet.
· If you are greeted then return the greetings more warmly. If you are favoured, then repay the obligation manifold; but he who takes the initiative will always excel in merit.
· The source of success of a claimant is the mediator.
· People in this world are like travellers whose journey is going on though they are asleep.
· Lack of friends means, stranger in one's own country.
· Not to have a thing is less humiliating than to beg it.
· Do not feel ashamed if the amount of charity is small because to refuse the needy is an act of greater shame.
· To refrain from unlawful and impious source of pleasures is an ornament to the poor and to be thankful for the riches granted is the adornment of wealth.
· If you cannot get things as much as you desire than be contented with what you have.
· An ignorant person will always overdo a thing or neglect it totally.
· The wiser a man is, the less talkative will he be.
· Time wears out bodies, renews hopes, brings death nearer and takes away aspirations. Whoever gets anything from the world lives in anxiety for holding it and whoever loses anything passes his days grieving over the loss.
· Whoever wants to be a leader should educate himself before educating others. Before preaching to others he should first practice himself. Whoever educates himself and improves his own morals is superior to the man who tries to teach and train others.
· Every breath you take is a step towards death.
· Anything that can be counted is finite and will come to an end.
· If matters get mixed up then scrutinize the cause and you will know what the effects will be.
· Acquire wisdom and truth from whomever you can because even an apostate can have them but unless they are passed over to a faithful Devotee and become part of wisdom and truth that he possesses, they have a confused existence in the minds of apostates.
· Knowledge and wisdom are really the privilege of a faithful Devotee. If you have lost them, get them back even though you may have to get them from the apostates.
· Value of each man depends upon the art and skill, which he has attained.

· I want to teach you five of those things, which deserve your greatest anxiety to acquire them: Have hope only in God. Be afraid of nothing but sins. If you do know a thing, never feel ashamed to admit ignorance. If you do know a thing, never hesitate or feel ashamed to learn it. Acquire patience and endurance because their relation with true faith is that of a head to a body, a body is of no use without a head, similarly true faith can be of no use without attributes of resignation, endurance and patience.

· A man hypocritically started praising Saint Ali, though he had no faith in him and Saint Ali hearing these praises from him said "I am less than what you tell about me but more than what you think about me".
· Those who have come alive out of a blood bath live longer and have more children.
· One who imagines himself to be all knowing will surely suffer on account of his ignorance.
· I appreciate an old man's cautious opinion more than the valour of a young man.
· I wonder at a man who loses hope of salvation when the door of repentance is open for him.

· There were two things in this world, which softened the Wrath of God and prevented its descent upon man: One has been taken away from you; hold the other steadfastly. The one which has been taken away from men is the divine messenger and the one which is still left with them and which they must hold steadfastly is repentance and atonement for sins because God at one place in the Sacred Book addressed the divine messenger and said God would not punish them while you were among them nor while they were asking for forgiveness.

· Whoever keeps in order his affairs with God; God will also put his affairs with men in order. Whoever makes arrangement for his salvation; God will arrange his worldly affair. Whoever is a preacher, God will also protect him.
· He is the wisest and the most knowing man who advises people not to lose hope and faith in the Mercy of God and not to be too sure and over-confident of immunity from His Wrath and Punishment.
· Like your body your mind also gets tired so refresh it by wise sayings.
· That knowledge which remains only on your tongue is very superficial. The intrinsic value of knowledge is that you act upon it.

· Take care and do not pray to the Lord, saying, "Lord! I pray to You to protect and guard me from temptations and trials", for there is none who is not tempted and tried. But beseech Him to guard you against such temptation as may lead you towards wickedness and sins because God says in His Sacred Book, Know that your wealth and children are temptations. It means God tried people through wealth and children so that it may be tested as to who is content with what he gets honestly and who is thankful to God for the position he is placed in with regard to his children. Though God knows them better than even they know themselves, yet those trials and tests are for the purpose of their realizing and knowing those deeds which merit reward or which deserve punishment. There are some people who love to have male children and hate daughters and there are some who simply crave for wealth and hate poverty.

· Saint Ali was asked the meaning of being well off, or well provided for. Saint Ali replied: Your welfare does not lie in your having enormous wealth and numerous children but it rests in your being highly educated and forbearing and in your being proud of your obedience to God. If you do a good deed then thank God for it and if you commit a sin then repent and atone for it. In this world there is a real welfare for two kinds of people, one is the person who, when commits a sin, atones for it and the other is anxious to do good as much as possible.

· Importance of the deeds that you have done with fear of God cannot be minimized and how can the deeds, which are acceptable to God, be considered unimportant.
· The best friend of our Divine messenger is he who, though not related to him, obeys the orders of God and his greatest enemy is the man who though related to him, disobeys God.
· To sleep with having sincere faith in religion and God is better than to pray with wavering faith.
· Whenever a tradition of the divine messenger is related to you, scrutinize it, do not be satisfied with mere verbatim repetition of the same because there are many people who repeat the words containing knowledge but only few ponder over them and try to fully grasp the meaning they convey.
· Our declaring that we belong to God indicates that we accept Him as our Master, Owner and Lord. And when we say that our return is towards God indicates that we accept our mortality.
· Some people praised Saint Ali on his face. He replied, "God knows me very well and I also know myself more than you. Please, Lord! Make me better than what they imagine me to be and please excuse those Weaknesses of mine which they are not aware of".

· To secure for you fame, credit as well as blessings, the help that you give to men in need, should possess the following attributes: whatever its extent, it should be considered by you as trifling so that it may be granted a high status; it should be given secretly, God will manifest it; and it must be given immediately so that it becomes pleasant.

· Your society will pass through a period when cunning and crafty intriguers will be favoured by status, when profligates will be considered as well-bred, well-behaved and elegant elites of the society, when just and honest persons will be considered as weaklings, when charity will be considered as a loss to wealth and property, when support and help to each other will be considered as favour and benevolence and when prayers and love to God will be taken up for the sake of show to gain popularity and higher status, at such times regimes will be run under the advice of women and the youngsters will be the rulers and counsellors of the State.

· Saint Ali's garment was very old with patches on it. When somebody drew his attention towards it, he replied, " Such dresses, when worn by men of status make them submissive to God and kind-hearted towards others and the faithful Devotees can conveniently follow the example ".
· Vicious pleasures of this world and salvation are like two enemies or two roads running in opposite directions or towards opposite poles, one to the North and the other to the South.
· Whoever likes to gain the pleasures and pomp of this world will hate austerity in life, which is necessary to gain salvation. Reverse will be the attitude of a man desirous of achieving Eternal Bliss. One has to adopt either of the two ways of life, and as they both cannot be brought together, a man has to choose one of them.
· Those are the fortunate people who adopt piety as the principle of their lives and are fully attentive to their welfare for the Hereafter. They accept bare earth as the most comfortable bed and water as the most pleasant drink. They adopt the sacred book and prayers as their guide and protector and like Jesus they forsake the world and its vicious pleasure.

· Those who give up religion to better their lot in life seldom succeed. The Wrath of God makes them go through more calamities and losses than the gains they gather for themselves.
· There are many educated people who have ruined their future on account of their ignorance of religion. Their knowledge did not prove of any avail to them.

· More wonderful than man himself is that part of his body, which is connected with his trunk with muscles. It is his brain (mind). Look what good and bad tendencies arise from it. On the one hand it holds treasures of knowledge and wisdom and on the other it is found to harbour very ugly desires. If a man sees even a tiny gleam of success, then greed forces him to humiliate himself. If he gives way to avarice, then inordinate desires ruin him, if he is disappointed, then despondency almost kills him. If he is excited, then he loses temper and gets angry. If he is pleased, then he gives up precaution. Sudden fear makes him dull and nervous, and he is unable to think and find a way out of the situation. During the times of peace and prosperity he becomes careless and unmindful of the future. If he acquires wealth, then he becomes haughty and arrogant. If he is plunged in distress, then his agitation, impatience and nervousness disgrace him. If he is overtaken by poverty, then he finds himself in a very sad plight, hunger makes him weak, and over-feeding harms him equally. In short every kind of loss and gain makes his mind unbalanced.

· During civil unrest, adopt such an attitude that people do not attach any importance to you they neither burden you with complicated affairs, nor try to derive any advantage out of you.
· Divine rule can be established only by a man who where justice and equity are required, feels neither deficient, nor weak, and who is not greedy and avaricious.
· Anyone who loves us the Sacred Family must be ready to face a life of austerity.

· No wealth is more useful than intelligence and wisdom; no solitude is more horrible than when people avoid you on account of your vanity and conceit or when you wrongly consider yourself above everybody to confide and consult; no eminence is more exalting than piety; no companion can prove more useful than politeness; no heritage is better than culture; no leader is superior to Divine Guidance; no deal is more profitable than good deeds; no profit is greater than Divine Reward; no abstinence is better than to restrain one's mind from doubts; no virtue is better than refraining from prohibited deeds; no knowledge is superior to deep thinking and prudence; no love or prayers are more sacred than fulfilment of obligations and duties, no religious faith is loftier than feeling ashamed of doing wrong and bearing calamities patiently; no eminence is greater than to adopt humbleness; no exaltation is superior to knowledge; nothing is more respectable than forgiveness and forbearance; no support and defence are stronger than consultation.

· When a community is composed of honest, sober and virtuous people, your forming a bad opinion about anyone of its members, when nothing wicked has been seen of him, is a great injustice to him. On the contrary in a corrupt society to form good opinion of anyone of them and to trust him is to harm yourself.

· When somebody asked Saint Ali as to how he was getting on, he replied: "What do you want to know about a person whose life is leading him towards ultimate death, whose health is the first stage towards illness and whom society has forced out of his retreat".

· There are many persons whom constant grants of His Bounties turn them wicked and fit for His punishment and there are many more who have become vain and self deceptive because the Merciful God has not exposed their weaknesses and vices to the world and the people speak highly about them. All this is an opportunity. No trial of the Lord is more severe than the time He allows (us to chose).

· Saint Ali said; Two kinds of people will be damned on my account. Those who exaggerate my status, and those who hate me and lower my status.
· To lose or to waste an opportunity will result in grief and sorrow.
· She world is like a serpent, so soft to touch, but so full of lethal poison. Unwise people are allured by it and drawn towards it, and wise men avoid it and keep away from its poisonous effects.
· What a difference is there between a deed whose pleasure passes away leaving behind it the pangs of pain and punishment and the deed whose oppressive harshness comes to an end leaving behind Divine blessings!

· Saint Ali was following a funeral and as it was passing along a road, somebody laughed loudly (a sign of disrespect). Hearing this laugh, Saint Ali remarked, " Some of us feel that death is meant for everybody except themselves or it is destined to others and not to themselves or those whom we see dying around us are only travellers going on a journey and will come back to us. It is a sad sight to see that in one moment we commit them to earth and in the next we take hold of the things left by them as if we are going to remain permanently in this world after them. The fact is that we forget sensible advice given to us and become victim of every calamity.

· Blessings are for the man who humbles himself before God, whose sources of income are honest, whose intentions are always honourable, whose character is noble, whose habits are sober, who gives away in the cause and in the Name of God, the wealth which is lying surplus with him, who controls his tongue from vicious and useless talk, who abstains from oppression, who faithfully follows the traditions of the divine messenger and who keeps himself away from innovation in religion.

· Jealousy in woman is unpardonable, but in man it is a sign of his faith in religion.
· I wonder at the mentality of a miser, fearing poverty he takes to stinginess and thus hastily pushes himself headlong into a state of want and destitution, he madly desires plenty and ease, but throws it away without understanding. In this world he, of his own free will, leads the life of a a beggar and in the next world he will have to submit an account like the rich.
· I wonder at the arrogance of a haughty and vain person. Yesterday he was only a drop of semen and tomorrow he will turn into a corpse. I wonder at the man who observes the Universe created by God and doubts His Being and Existence. I wonder at the man who sees people dying around him and yet he has forgotten his end. I wonder at the man who understands the marvel of genesis of creation and refuses to accept that he will be brought back to life again. I wonder at the man who takes great pains to decorate and to make comfortable this mortal habitat and totally forgets his permanent abode.
· Whoever is not diligent in his work, will suffer; whoever has no share of God in his wealth and in his life then there is no place for him in His Realm.
· Be very cautious of cold in the beginning of winter and welcome it at the close of the season because cold season effects your bodies exactly as it effects the trees; in the early season its severity makes them shrivel and shed their leaves and at the end it helps them to revive.
· If you understand God's Majesty, then you will not attach any importance to the creatures.

· Saint Ali addressing the graves said: "O you, who are lying in horrible and deserted houses. O you, who are shut up in the dark graves, who are alone in their abodes, strangers to the places assigned to them; you have gone ahead and preceded us, while we are also following your steps and shall shortly join you. Do you know what has happened after you? Others took up your houses and property, your widows have remarried, this is what we can tell you of this world. Can you give us some news about things around you?" Saying this, Saint Ali turned to his companions and said, "If they are permitted to speak they will inform you that the best provision for the next world is piety and virtue".

· Saint Ali heard someone abusing and blaming the world and said to him, "O you, who are blaming the world, who have been allured and enticed by it, and have been tempted by its false pretences. You allowed yourself to be enamoured of, to be captivated by it and then you accuse and blame it. Have you any reason or right to accuse it and to call it a sinner and seducer? Or is the world not justified in calling you a wicked knave and a sinning hypocrite? When did it make you lose your intelligence and reasoning? And how did it cheat you or snake false pretences to you? Did it conceal from you the fact of the ultimate end of everything that it holds, the fact of the sway of death, decay and destruction in its domain? Did it keep you in the dark about the fate of your forefathers and their final abode under the earth? Did it keep the resting place of your mothers a secret from you? Do you not know that they have returned to dust? Many a time you must have attended the sick persons and many of them you must have seen beyond the scope of medicine. Neither the science of healing nor could your nursing and attendance nor your prayers and weeping prolonged the span of their lives, and they died. You were anxious for them, you procured the best medical aid, and you gathered famous physicians and provided best medicines for them. Death could not be held back and life could not be prolonged. In this drama and in this tragedy did the world not present you with a lesson and a moral?

· Certainly, this world is a house of truth for those who look into it carefully, an abode of peace and rest for those who understand its ways and moods and it is the best working ground for those who want to procure rewards for life in the Hereafter. It is a place of acquiring knowledge and wisdom for those who want to acquire them, a place of love for the friends of God and for Angels. It is the place where holy messengers received revelations of God. It is the place for virtuous people and saints to do good deeds and to be assigned with rewards for the same. Only in this world they could trade with God's Favours and Blessings and only while living here they could barter their good deeds with His Blessings and Rewards. Where else could all this be done? Who are you to abuse the world when it has openly declared its mortality and mortality of everything connected with it, when it has given everyone of its inhabitants to understand that all of them are to face death, when through its ways it has given them all an idea of calamities they have to face here, and through the sight of its temporary and fading pleasures it has given them glimpses of eternal pleasures of Heaven and suggested them to wish and work for the same. If you study it properly you will find that simply to warn and frighten you of the consequences of evil deeds and to persuade you towards good actions, every night it raises new hopes of peace and prosperity in you and every morning it places new anxieties and new worries before you. Those who passed such lives are ashamed of and repent the time so passed abuse this world. But there are people who will praise this world on the Day of Judgment that it reminded them of the Hereafter and they took advantage of these reminders. It informed them of the effects of good deeds and they made correct use of the information it advised them and they were benefited by its advice".

· An Angel announces daily: "Birth of more human beings means so many more will die, collection of more wealth means of much more will be destroyed, erection of more buildings means so many more ruins will come".
· This world is not a permanent place, it is a passage, a road on which you are passing. There are two kinds of people here: One is the kind of those who have sold their souls for eternal damnation, the other is of those who have purchased their souls and freed them from damnation.
· A friend cannot be considered a friend unless he is tested on three occasions: in time of need, behind your back and after your death.
· Anyone who has been granted four attributes will not be deprived of their (four) effects; one who prays to God and implores to Him will not be deprived of granting of his prayers; one who repents for his thoughts and deeds will not be refused acceptance of the repentance; one who has atoned for his sins will not be debarred from salvation and one who thanks God for the Blessings and Bounties will not be denied the increase in them.

· The sacred book attests the truth of these facts. God says ask me and I shall accept your prayers. About repentance He says: Whoever has done a bad deed or has indulged in sin and then repents and asks for His forgiveness will find God most Forgiving and Merciful. About being thankful He says if you are thankful for what you are given, I shall increase My Bounties and Blessings. About atonement of sin He says God accepts the repentance of those who have ignorantly committed vice and then soon repent for it, God accepts such repentance's, He is Wise and Omniscient.

· Daily prayers are the best medium through which one can seek the nearness to God. Pilgrimage is sacred effort for every weak person. For everything that you own there is charity, and of body it is fasting. The sacred struggle of a woman is to afford pleasant company to her husband.
· If you want to pray to God for better means of subsistence, then first give something in charity
· When someone is sure of the returns, then he shows generosity.
· Aid (from God) is in proportion to the trouble.
· He who practices moderation and frugality will never be threatened with poverty.
· One of the conveniences in life is to have less children.
· Loving one another is half of wisdom.
· Grief is half of old age.

· Grant of patience (from God) is in proportion to the extent of calamity you are passing through. If you exhibit fretfulness, irritation, and despair in calamities, then your patience and your exertions are wasted.
· Many persons get nothing out of their fasts but hunger and thirst; many more get nothing out of their night prayers but exertions and sleepless nights. Wise and sagacious persons are praiseworthy even if they do not fast and sleep during the nights.
· Defend your faith (in God) with the help of charity. Protect your wealth with the aid of charity. Let the prayers guard you from calamities and disasters.

· Saint Ali said to Komail: “Hearts are containers of the secrets of knowledge and wisdom and the best container is the one which can hold the most and what it holds, it can preserve and protect in the best way. Therefore, remember carefully what I am telling you. Remember that there are three kinds of people: one kind is of those learned people who are highly versed in the ethics of truth and philosophy of religion, second is the kind of those who are acquiring the above knowledge and the third is that class of people who are uneducated. They follow every pretender and accept every slogan, they have neither acquired any knowledge nor have they secured any support of firm and rational convictions. Remember, knowledge is better than wealth because it protects you while you have to guard wealth. It decreases if you keep on spending it but the more you make use of knowledge the more it increases. What you get through wealth disappears as soon as wealth disappears but what you achieve through knowledge will remain even after you. Knowledge is power and it can command obedience. A man of knowledge during his lifetime can make people obey and follow him and he is praised and venerated after his death. Remember that knowledge is a ruler and wealth is its subject. Those who amass wealth, though alive, are dead to realities of life, and those who achieve knowledge, will remain alive through their knowledge and wisdom even after their death, though their faces may disappear from the community of living beings, yet their ideas, the knowledge which they had left behind and their memory, will remain in the minds of people. Here [in my heart] I hold stores and treasures of knowledge. I wish I could find somebody to share it with me. Yes, I found a few, but one of them, though quite intelligent, was untrustworthy, he would sell his salvation to get hold of the world and its pleasures, he would make religion a pretence to grasp worldly power and wealth, he would make this Blessing of God serve him to get supremacy and control over friends of God and he would through knowledge exploit and suppress other human beings. The other person was such that he apparently obeyed truth and knowledge, yet his mind had not achieved the true light of religion, at the slightest ambiguity or doubt he would get suspicious of truth, mistrust religion and would rush towards scepticism. So neither of them was capable of acquiring the superior knowledge that I can impart. Besides these two I find some other person One of them is a slave of self and greedy for inordinate desires, which can easily drag him away from the path of religion, the other is an avaricious, grasping and acquisitive miser who will risk his life to grasp and hold wealth, none of these two will be of any use to religion or man, both of them resemble beasts having appetite for food. If sensible trustees of knowledge and wisdom totally disappear from human society then both knowledge and wisdom will suffer severely, may bring harm to humanity and may even die out. But this earth will never be without those persons who will prove the universality of truth as disclosed by God, they may be well-known persons, openly and fearlessly declaring the things revealed to them or they may, under fear of harm, injury or deaths hide themselves from the public gaze and may carry on their mission privately so that the reasons proving the reality of truth as preached by religion and as demonstrated by divine messenger may not totally disappear. How many are they and where could they be found? I swear by God that they are very few in number but their worth and their ranks before God are very high. Through them God preserves His Guidance so that they, while departing, may hand over these truths to persons like themselves. The knowledge, which they have acquired has made them see the realities and visualize the truth and has instilled into them the spirit of faith and trust. The duties, which were decreed as hard and unbearable by them. They feel happy in the company and association of things, which frighten the ignorant and uneducated. They live in this world like everybody else but their souls soar to the heights of Divine Eminence. They are media of God on this earth and they invite people towards Him. How I love to meet them. I have told you all that I have to say, you can go back to your place whenever you like.”

· Somebody requested Saint Ali to advise him how to lead a useful and sober life. Saint Ali thereupon advised him thus: "Do not be among those people who want to gain good returns without working hard for them, who have long hopes and keep on postponing repentance and penance, who talk like pious persons but run after vicious pleasures. Do not be among those who are not satisfied if they get more in life and are not content if their lot in life's pleasures is less (they are never satisfied), who never thank God for what they get and keep on constantly demanding increase in what is left with them; who advise others to such good deeds that they themselves refrain from; who appreciate good people but do not follow their ways of life; who hate bad and vicious people but follow their ways of life; who, on account of their excessive sins hate death but do not give up the sinful ways of life; who, if fallen ill, repent their ways of life and on regaining their health fearlessly readopt the same frivolous ways; who get despondent and lose all hopes, but on gaining health, become arrogant and careless; who, if faced with misfortunes, dangers or afflictions, turn to God and keep on beseeching Him for relief and when relieved or favoured with comfort and ease they are deceived by the comfortable conditions they found themselves in and forget God and forsake prayers; whose minds are allured by day dreams and forlorn hopes and who abhor to face realities of life; who fear for others the enormous repercussions of vices and sins but for their own deeds expect very high rewards or very light disciplinary actions. Riches make such people arrogant, rebellious and wicked, and poverty makes them despondent and lethargic. If they have to work, they work lazily and if they put up a demand they do it stubbornly.

· Under the influence of inordinate cravings, they commit sins in quick succession and keep on postponing repentance. Calamities and adversities make them give up the distinguished characteristics of Devotees. They advise people with narrations of events and facts but do not take any lesson from them. They are good at preaching but bad at practice, therefore they always talk of lofty deeds but their actions belie their words. They are keen to acquire temporal pleasures but are careless and slow to achieve permanent benefits. They think well for themselves the things which are actually injurious to them and regard harmful the things which really benefit them. They are afraid of death but waste their time and do not resort to good deeds before death overtakes them. The vices, which they regard as enormous sins for others, they consider as minor shortcomings for themselves. Similarly, they attach great importance to their obedience to the orders of God and belittle similar actions in others. Therefore, they often criticize others and speak very highly of their own deeds. They are happy to spend their time in society of rich persons, wasting it in luxuries and vices but are averse to employing for useful purposes in company of the poor and pious people: They are quick and free to pass verdicts against others but they never pass a verdict against their own vicious deeds. They force others to obey them but they never obey God. They collect their dues carefully but never pay the dues they owe.” They are not afraid of God but fear powerful men".

· A man can be valued through his sayings.
· One who does not realize his own value is condemned to utter failure. (Know Thy worth).
· Everyone has an end; it may be pleasant or sorrowful.
· Everyone, who is born, has to die and once dead he is as good as having not come into existence.
· One, who adopts patience, will never be deprived of success though it may take a long time to reach him.
· One who assents or subscribes to the actions of a group or a party is as good as having committed the deed himself. A man who joins a sinful deed makes himself responsible for two-fold punishments, one for doing the deed and the other for assenting and subscribing to it.
· Accept promises of only those persons who can steadfastly-adhere to their pledges.
· You are ordained to recognize the Saints (Divine Leaders) and to obey them.
· You have been shown, if you only care to see; you have been advised if you care to take advantage of advice; you have been told if you care to listen to good counsels.
· Admonish your brother by good deeds and kind regards, and ward off his evil by favouring him.
· One, who enters the places of evil repute has no right to complain against a man who speaks ill of him.
· One, who acquires power, cannot avoid favouritism.
· One, who is wilful and conceited, will suffer losses and calamities and one who seeks advice can secure advantages of many counsels.
· One, who guards his secrets has complete control over his affairs.
· Poverty is the worst form of death.
· One, who serves a person from whom he gets no reciprocal performance of duties, in fact, loves him.
· One should not obey anyone against the commands of God.
· Do not blame a man who delays in securing what are his just rights but blame lies on him who grasps the rights which do not belong to him.
· Conceit is a barrier to progress and improvement.
· Death is near and our mutual company is short.
· There is enough light for one who wants to see.
· It is wiser to abstain then to repent.
· Often inordinate desire to secure a single gain acts as a hindrance for the quest of many profitable pursuits.
· People often hate those things, which they do not know or cannot understand.
· One, who seeks advice learns to realize his mistakes.
· One who struggles for the cause of God secures victory over His enemies.
· When you feel afraid or nervous to do a thing then do it because the real harm, which you may thus receive, is less poignant than its expectation and fear.
· Your supremacy over others is in proportion to the extent of your knowledge and wisdom.
· The best way to punish an evildoer is to reward handsomely a good person for his good deeds.
· If you want to remove evil from the minds of others then first give up evil intentions yourself.
· Obstinacy will prevent you from a correct decision.
· Greed is permanent slavery.
· Deficiency will result in shame and sorrow but caution and foresight will bring peace and security.
· To keep silent when you can say something wise and useful is as bad as keeping on propagating foolish and unwise thoughts.
· If two opposite theories are propagated one will be wrong.
· When truth was revealed to me I never doubted it.
· .I never lied and the things revealed to me were not false I never misled anybody nor was I misled.
· One, who starts tyranny, will repent soon.
· Death is never very far.
· One who forsakes truth earns eternal damnation.
· One who cannot benefit by patience will die in grief.

· I define Religion of Peace for you in a way that nobody dared do it before me. Religion of Peace means obedience to God, obedience to God means having sincere faith in Him, such a faith means to believe in His Power, belief in His Power means recognizing and accepting His Majesty, acceptance of His Majesty means fulfilling the obligations laid down by Him and fulfilment of obligations means actions. (Religion of Peace is belief as well as deeds).

· In this world, man is a target of death, an easy prey to calamities, here every morsel and every draught is liable to choke one, here one never receives a favour until he loses another instead, here every additional day in one's life is a day reduced from the total span of his existence, when death is the natural outcome of life, how can we expect immortality?

· If you have collected anything in excess of your actual need, you will act only as its trustee for someone else to use it.
· Hearts have the tendency of likes and dislikes and are liable to be energetic and lethargic, therefore, make them work when they are energetic because if hearts are forced (to do a thing) they will be blinded.
· When I feel angry with a person how and when should I satisfy my anger, whether at a time when I am not in a position to retaliate and people may advise me to bear patiently or when I have power to punish and I forgive.
· Minds get tired like bodies. When you feel that your; mind is tired, then invigorate it with sober advice.
· If you find that somebody is not grateful for all that you have done for him, then do not get disappointed because often you will find that someone else feels under your obligation though you have done nothing for him and thus your good deeds will be compensated, and God will reward you for your goodness.
· The first fruit of forbearance is that people will sympathize with you and they will go against the man who offended you arrogantly.
· One who takes account of his shortcomings will always gain by it; one who is unmindful of them will always suffer. One, who is afraid of the Day of Judgment, is safe from the Wrath of God.
· One who takes lessons from the events of life, gets vision, one who acquires vision becomes wise and one who attains wisdom achieves knowledge.
· Bear sorrows and calamities patiently, otherwise you will never be happy.
· One who comes into power often oppresses.
· Adversities often bring good qualities to the front.
· If a friend envies you, then he is not a true friend.
· Avarice dulls the faculties of judgment and wisdom.
· Oppression and tyranny are the worse companions for the Hereafter.
· The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.
· Silence will create respect and dignity; justice and fair play will bring more friends; benevolence and charity will enhance prestige and position; courtesy will draw benevolence; service of mankind will secure leadership and good words will overcome powerful enemies.
· A greedy man will always find himself in the shackles of humility.

· There are people who love God to gain His Favours, this is the love of traders; while there are some who love Him to keep themselves free from His Wrath, this is the love of slaves; a few who obey Him out of their sense of gratitude and obligations, this is the love of free and noble men. [These holy words were taken from the book called Peak of Eloquence which contains the sermons and sayings and letters of saint Ali who went to heaven in the year 661.]

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What is Shiaism

2010-10-10T05:08:00.027-07:00

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Introduction to Shia Islam

By: Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

Introduction

The name "Shia" or "Shi'ite" entered the Western media's common vocabulary during the Islamic Revolution of Iran, and it is being frequently heard now in context of the war in Iraq when reporters or commentators say that sixty to sixty-five percent of the Iraqis are "Shi'ite" or "Shia Muslims".

If you travel across the Middle East and Asia, you will soon realize that besides the similarity and uniformity found among the Muslims on basic issues, there is also a great diversity in the world of Islam. Not only in the composition of its membership but also in thought and practice: there are different theological sects and a variety of spiritual brotherhoods.

However, the most the important division in Islamic theology has placed the Muslims into two main schools of thought: the Sunni and the Shia. The Muslims who believe that Ali was the immediate successor and caliph of Prophet Muhammad are known as "Shia". The name "Shia" is a short form of the Arabic phrase: "Shiatu Ali - a follower of Ali." Ali, son of Abu Talib, was the cousin and the son-in-law of the Prophet of Islam.[1]

Out of almost a two billion Muslims in the world, about fifteen percent are Shia Muslims.

It is important to note that in most Muslim communities and for most part of the their history, the Shias have lived in peace and harmony with the Sunni Muslims. Polemics in religious writings on both sides has been part of our history, but that was limited to the learned and the educated elite, and it never degenerated into physical violence against one another.

Unfortunately, in the last twenty years, the Shia Muslims have been persecuted on religious and political grounds in certain Muslim countries, especially in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. In Pakistan, by the Sipah-e Sahaba group; in Afghanistan, by the former Taleban government; and in Iraq, by Saddam's former regime.

Who is a Muslim?

The Sunnis and the Shias both are Muslims, so let us first define a "Muslim". A Muslim is one who believes in the following three principles of Islam:

1. Monotheism (Tawheed).

This is the belief that there is only One God who is the origin and creator of the universe. This is the foundation stone of Islam and is reflected in the famous sentence that says that, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allâh".

2. Prophethood (Nubuwwa).

This is the belief that God sent thousands of prophets and messengers to guide the human society. Some of the most important prophets of God in whom a Muslim must believe are: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

A Muslim must also believe that Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet and final messenger of God. No prophet or messenger is to come after him. This is reflected in the famous saying: "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God".

3. Resurrection and Life Hereafter (Qiyamat).

This is a belief that at the end of time, all human beings will be resurrected by God and will be held accountable for their worldly life. The life in hereafter will be an eternal life. However, whether it will be blissful or full of sorrow depends on how we spend our present life.

All Muslims agree that the above three principles are the minimum requirement for joining into the fold of Islam. Anyone who does not believe in all three of the above principles cannot be called a Muslim.

All the Muslims -the Sunnis as well as the Shias- also agree on the following important issues:

A. The Quran is the Word of God revealed upon Prophet Muhammad, and that it is unaltered, and the main source of Islamic views. For example, one of the earliest Shia scholar, Shaykh as-Saduq (d. 381/991), said: "Our belief is that the Quran, which Allah revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (s) is the one between the two covers. And it is that which is in the hands of the people, and is not greater in extent than that. And he who asserts that we say that it is greater in extent than this (the present text) is a liar." Not only this most famous of the early Shia scholar believes in the integrity of the Quran, even the most famous contemporary scholar of the Shia world, the Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Abul Qasim al-Khui has written, al-Bayan in which he convincingly proves the integrity of the Quran (You may see its English translation published by the Oxford University Press in 1998 under the title "The Prolegomena of the Quran".)

B. The Sunna (sayings and deeds) of the Prophet of Islam is, after the Quran, the main source of guidance for the Muslims.
C. The Kaba in Mecca is the symbolic House of God, and that Muslims face its direction whenever they stand for their daily prayers.
D. The following famous tenets of Islam are accepted by both Muslims, the Sunni as well as the Shia:

Five daily prayers (salat).
Fasting during the month of Ramadan (sawm).
Paying of religious charity and monetary dues (zakat).
Performing pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

Who is a Shia Muslim?

A Shia Muslim believes in all the issues mentioned above.
What makes a Shia different from a Sunni are two main concepts: leadership and justice.

(1) Leadership (imamat):

Shia school of thought believes that Islam is a complete way of life, and therefore it is inconceivable that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would have ignored the issue of leadership after his death.

Shias are of the opinion that the Prophet not only gave importance to the issue of leadership and succession but also clearly appointed Ali bin Abi Talib as his successor and caliph, and also mentioned that the leadership of Islam will continue in his family. We believe that whatever the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did was done in accordance with the will of God.

The Sunni Muslims are of the opinion that Prophet Muhammad set no guidelines for the institution of leadership after his death, and that it was upon the Muslims themselves to come up with a system of leadership. And, therefore, you see a variety of methods were used for appointment of leaders and caliphs:

1.. through a limited selection by a small group of people in Saqifa as happened in the case of the first caliph;
2.. through a will written by the first caliph appointing the second;
3.. through a committee of six people hand-picked by the second caliph as happened in case of the third caliph;
4.. through people's power when the masses insisted on Ali to become their ruler;
5.. through military superiority as witnessed in case of Muawiya;
and also
6.. through hereditary in case of the Umayyids and the 'Abbasids.

Shiaism bases its arguments on the divine precedence in which God never left the issue of leadership in the hands of the people;
He appointed the prophets and their successors. Professor Wilfred Madelung of the Oxford University makes an interesting observation in his book, The Succession to Muhammad, published in 1997. He writes, "The Quran advises the faithful to settle some matters by consultation, but not the succession to prophets. That, according to the Quran, is settled by divine election, and God usually chooses their successors, whether they become prophets or not, from their own kin." (p. 17)
The Prophet of Islam, from the very first day of his mission started introducing Ali bin Abi Talib as his successor. He clarified that this was done by the will of God.

Names of the Shia Imams (successors of the Prophet) and their era of leadership:

1. Ali bin Abi Talib 632-661
2. Hasan bin Ali 661-669
3. Husayn bin Ali 669-680
4. Ali Zainulabidin 680-712
5. Muhammad al-Baqir 712-735
6. Jafar as-Sadiq 735-765
7. Musa al-Kazim 765-799
8. Ali ar-Riza 799-818
9. Muhammad bin Ali 818-835
10. Ali an-Naqi 835-868
11. Hasan al-Askari 868-873
12. Muhammad al-Mahdi 873 - Living in Occultation.

The Twelfth Shia Imam (or successor of the Prophet) is believed to have gone into occultation (that is, he is alive but is not known to anyone). This occultation will last till the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam as the Saviour who will establish the Kingdom of God on earth. The Shias believe that the Mahdi will be assisted in his mission by Jesus.

Appointment of Ali by the Prophet:

From the very first day of his mission, Prophet Muhammad started introducing Ali bin Abi Talib as his successor.
Islam began when the Prophet Muhammad became forty years old.
Initially, the mission was kept a secret. Then three years after the advent of Islam, the Prophet was ordered to commence the open declaration of his message. This was the occasion when Almighty Allah revealed the verse "And warn thy nearest relations." (26:214)
When this verse was revealed, the Prophet organized a feast that is known in history as "Summoning the Family - Dawat dhul-Ashira". The Prophet invited around forty men from the Banu Hashim and asked Ali bin Abi Talib to make arrangements for the dinner. After having served his guests with food and drinks, when the Prophet wanted to speak to them about Islam, Abu Lahab forestalled him and said, "Your host has long since bewitched you."

All the guests dispersed before the Prophet could present his message to them.
The Prophet then invited them the next day. After the feast, he spoke to them, saying:
"O Sons of 'Abdul Muttalib! By Allah, I do not know of any person among the Arabs who has come to his people with better than what I have brought to you. I have brought to you the good of this world and the next, and I have been commanded by the Lord to call you unto Him. Therefore, who amongst you will support me in this matter so that he may be my brother (akhhi), my successor (wasiyy) and my caliph (khalifat) among you?"
This was the first time that the Prophet openly and publicly called the relations to accept him as the Messenger and Prophet of Allah; he also uses the words - my brother, my successor, my caliph" for the person who will aid him in this mission. No one answered him; they all held back except the youngest of them - Ali bin Abi Talib. He stood up and said, "I will be your helper, O Prophet of God."
The Prophet put his hand on the back of Ali's neck and said:
Verily this is my brother, my successor, and my caliph amongst you; therefore, listen to him and obey."[3]
This was a very explicit statement because the audience understood the appointment of Ali very clearly. Some of them, including Abu Lahab, even joked with Abu Talib saying that your nephew, Muhammad, has ordered you to listen to your son and obey him! At the least, this shows that the appointment of Ali bin Abi Talib was clear and explicit, not just implied.
After that, the Prophet at various places emphasized the issue of loving his Ahlul Bayt, seeking guidance from them, and drew the attention of the people to the special status that they had in the eyes of God and His Messenger. (See 42:23)
Then the Formal Declaration:
Finally, just two months before his death, the Prophet clearly appointed Ali in Ghadir Khumm as the leader (religious as well as political) of the Muslims. He said, "Whomsoever's Master I am, this Ali is his Master." He also said, "I am leaving two precious things behind, as long as you hold on to them both you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and my progeny."[4]
Question: Why have many Western scholars ignored the event of Ghadir Khumm? Since Western scholars mostly relied on anti-Shia works, they naturally ignored the event of Ghadir Khumm. L. Veccia Vaglieri, one of the contributors to the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (1953), writes:
"Most of those sources which form the basis of our knowledge of the life of Prophet (Ibn Hisham, al-Tabari, Ibn Sa'd, etc.) pass in silence over Muhammad's stop at Ghadir Khumm, or, if they mention
it, say nothing of his discourse (the writers evidently feared to attract the hostility of the Sunnis, who were in power, by providing material for the polemic of the Shias who used these words to support their thesis of Ali's right to the caliphate).
Consequently, the western biographers of Muhammad, whose work is based on these sources, equally make no reference to what happened at Ghadir Khumm."[5]
Then she writes:
"It is, however, certain that Muhammad did speak in this place and utter the famous sentence, for the account of this event has been preserved, either in a concise form or in detail, not only by al-Yaqubi, whose sympathy for the Alid cause is well known, but also in the collection of traditions which are considered canonical, especially in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal; and the hadiths are so
numerous and so well attested by the different isnads that it does not seem possible to reject them."[6]
Vaglieri continues, "Several of these hadiths are cited in the bibliography, but it does not include the hadith which, although reporting the sentence, omit to name Ghadir Khumm, or those which state that the sentence was pronounced at al-Hudaybiya. The complete documentation will be facilitated when the Concordance of Wensinck have been completely published. In order to have an idea of how numerous these hadiths are, it is enough to glance at the pages in which Ibn Kathir has collected a great number of them with their isnads."

(2) Justice (adl):

The Shia school of Islamic thought values justice so highly that the belief in justice has become its hallmark in theological books.
The Shias believe that justice must prevail and exist at all stages of existence. They believe that God is just in His dealing with mankind; that God does not compel anyone to believe or to disbelieve in Him; that God does not compel human beings to do good or evil - it is entirely left upon them to make the right choice in light of the guidance provided by the prophets and messengers.
This belief in importance of justice permeates down to human level: the Shias believe that the Prophet and the Imams who succeeded him must also upheld highest standard of justice; that even the religious leaders and prayer-leaders must be upright in their character.
Based on this emphasis of the concept of justice, Shia Muslims are not permitted to co-operate or work with an unjust and tyrant ruler, and they are also expected to strive for a just social order in human society.
This is the underlying basis of the various Shia movements in history in which they have risen against the rulers and governments of their own times. [imamreza.net]

Summary of Shia Beliefs

In conclusion, a Muslim is one who believes in the following three principles:

1. Monotheism - Tawheed
2. Prophethood - Nubuwwa
3. Life Hereafter - Qiyamat

A Shia Muslim is the one who believes in the following five principles:

1. Monotheism - Tawheed.
2. Prophethood - Nubuwwa.
3. Life Hereafter - Qiyamat.
4. Justice - Adl.
5. Leadership - Imamat.

Notes:

[1] Prophet Abraham has been described in the Quran by both names: "muslim - one who submits to God" (3:67) as well as "Shia -follower (of Prophet Noah)" (37:79-83)
[2] See Moojan Momen, An Introduction to Shia Islam (London: Yale University Press, 1985) p. 282 that is somewhat outdated now. Also see the figures given by Yann Richard, Shiite Islam, tr. Antonia Nevill (Oxford: Blackwell, 1995) p. 2-5. The figures in these two books have been modified with the information given in the latest versions of various encyclopedias.
[3] Most Muslim historians and commentators of the Qur'an have quoted this event. See the following Sunni sources: at-Tabari, at-Tarikh, vol. 1 (Leiden, 1980 offset of the 1789 edition) p. 171-173; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, vol. 5 (Beirut, 1965) p. 62-63; Abu 'l-Fida', al-Mukhtasar fi Tarikhi 'l-Bashar, vol. 1 (Beirut, n.d.) p. 116-117; al-Khazin, at-Tafsir, vol. 4 (Cairo, 1955) p. 127; al-Baghawi, at-Tafsir (Malimu 't-Tanzil), vol. 6 (Riyadh: Dar Tayyiba, 1993) p. 131; al-Bayhaqi, Dalail 'n-Nubuwwa, vol. 1 (Cairo, 1969) p. 428-430; as-Suyuti, ad-Durru 'l-Manthûr, vol. 5 (Beirut, n.d.) p. 97; and Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanzu 'l-'Ummal, vol. 15 (Hyderabad, 1968) pp. 100, 113, 115. For further references, see 'Abdu 'l-Husayn al-Amini, al-Ghadeer, vol. 2 (Beirut, 1967) pp.
278-289. In English see, Rizvi, S. Saeed Akhtar, Imamate: the Vicegerency of the Prophet (Tehran: WOFIS, 1985) pp. 57-60. For an elaborate discussion on the isnad and meaning of the Prophet's had in this
event, and also the variations in the early Sunni and Shia sources, see Dr. Sayyid Talib Husayn ar-Rifai, Yawmu 'd-Dar (Beirut: Dar al-Azw, 1986)
[4] For further discussion on the event of Ghadir Khumm, see the chapter "Ghadir Khumm & the Orientalists" of my Shi'ism: Imamate & Wilayat.. For authenticity of this version of the hadith (that is, "Book of Allah and my progeny" as opposed to "Book of Allah and my sunnah"), see the Sunni author, Hasan bin Ali as-Saqqaf, "The Book of Allah and What Else?" The Right Path, vol. 6, 3 & 4 Oct-Dec 1997) p. 44-49.
[5] EI2, p. 993 under "Ghadir Khumm".
[6] EI2, p. 993 under "Ghadir Khumm"

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