SHAYKH AL ISLAM

For more information, the reader is advised to purchase the book Hadrat Ali r.a., by Prof. Madud-ul-Hasan, Published by Islamic Publications (Pvt) Limited, 13-E Shah Alam Market, Lahore, Pakistan  [http://muslim-canada.org/hadratali.htm]

Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was the son of Abu Talib, a prominent Quraish chief and custodian of the Beloved Ka'bah. Abu Talib was so-called because he was the father of "Talib," the eldest brother of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. The real name of Abu Talib was 'Abd Manaf.' However, he was more popularly known by his surname than by his real name. Abu Talib was the son of Abdul Muttalib. Abdul Muttalib was also a surname, his real name being Shaybah. Abdul Muttalib was the son of Hashim. Hashim was a great man of his line, and his descendants came to be known as Hashimites.

Ancestry of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu & the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam

The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam was the son of Abdullah who was the son of Abdul Muttalib. Abdullah and Abu Talib were real brothers. Abu Talib was thus the real paternal uncle of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam of Islam. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was the first cousin of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam. The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam and Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu had a common grandfather who was Abdul Muttalib.
 

Abdul Muttalib was the son of Hashim, who was the son of Abd Manaf, who was the son of Qusay, who was the son of Murrah, who was the son a Kaab, who was the son of Luayy, who was the son of Ghalib, who was the son of Fihr, who was the son of Malik, who was the son of Nadr, who was the son of Kannah. Beyond Kannah, the ancestry extended to Hadrat Ismail, and Hadrat Ibrahim, who flourished some 2,500 years earlier.

The exact date of birth of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu is not known with any degree of certainty. According to Traditions, Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was born on the 13^th of Rajab in the 28^th year of the Elephant era. The Elephant era, according to the annals of Arabia commenced when Abraha, the Christian Viceroy of Yemen, invaded Makkah with the intention of destroying the Ka'bah, and shifting the centre of pilgrimage to Yemen. The invasion failed, the Christian army had to beat a retreat without achieving its object. That marked the retreat of Christianity from the heartland of Arabia and paved the way for the rise of Islam.

Birth of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu

Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was born in unusual circumstances. On the 13^th day of the blessed month of Rajab, Sayyida Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha, the mother of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, visited the Ka'bah to perform the pilgrimage. During the course of the pilgrimage and while circambulating the Ka'bah, Sayyida Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha felt the pangs of childbirth. She retired to a secluded place in the precincts of the Blessed Ka'bah, and there Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was born. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu has thus had the unique honour to be born in the House of God. This unparalleled honour had endowed Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu with a halo of sanctity that has become the subject of many legends. A hundred years later, Hadrat Zain-ul-Abideen Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, a grandson of Ali (son of Hadrat Husayn), met an Arab woman at Najaf who told him that her grandmother had helped Sayyida Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha on the occasion of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu's birth. She narrated that according to the account of her grandmother, the child was beautiful; a smile played on his lips; he did not cry like other children; and his birth did not cause any pain to his mother.

Sayyida Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha wanted to name her child "Asad" after her father and Abu Talib wanted to name him Zaid. When both mother and the child returned home, the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam, and Hadrat Khadijah Radi Allahu ta'ala anha came to see her newborn child. Since his birth, he had not opened his eyes, and that worried both Sayyida Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha and Abu Talib. However, when the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam took the child in his lap, he then opened his eyes. So the first person that Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu saw after his birth was the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam. When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam was asked whether he approved of the child being named either Asad or Zaid, he said that since the child was born in the House of God, he should be named Ali (the word Ali being a derivative of Allah). Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu had thus had the distinction of being named after Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. No one before him had ever been so named. Furthermore, the name acquired more sanctity because it was suggested by the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.

Greatness is a phenomenon in which specially gifted persons who are endowed with extraordinary qualities appear on the world stage from time to time. History is the science which studies this phenomenon of greatness. Usually every person who scales the heights of greatness and acquires a place in history is a success from the worldly point of view. Here there is a peculiarity in the greatness of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. He was great, indeed very great, but he was not a success from the worldly point of view in the conventional sense that the word 'success' is understood. We have thus to undertake a study to probe into the causes that militated against the success of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu from the worldly point of view in spite of his greatness. We will also have to consider how he is great when he did not succeed in the worldly sense.

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The life of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu can be divided into three distinct periods. The first period comprises the first 32 years of his life and extends from 600 to 632 CE. I call this period the period of the education and action. It was during this period that he received his education under the loving care of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam; imbibed with values of Islam; and acquired all the attributes that contribute to greatness. In the post-Hijri years, he emerged as the greatest warrior of the age. He distinguished himself as a great warrior in the battles of Badr, Uhud and the Ditch. His crowning success was his conquest of the Khyber. In battle he killed more men [through hand-to-hand combat] than any other single man in history. All those who fought in the duels against him were invariably killed. He came to be known as the "Lion of God."

He acted as a Justice, and acquired fame for his wise and well-reasoned judgments. He acted as the Governor of Yemen, and acquired a good deal of experience as administrator. He had the honour of announcing the verses of the Noble Qur'an about the "Declaration of Immunity" to the people on behalf of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam on the location of the Hajj. When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam died, Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was in the prime of his youth and he was enlightened, experienced, wise, valiant -- the embodiment of virtue. He had expected that because of his outstanding qualities and his relationship to the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam, he would be chosen as the Caliph. He was however, passed over, and this state of affairs continued for 24 years when the office of the caliphate was held by Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat Umar and Hadrat Uthman Radi Allahu ta'ala anhum.

This period constitutes the second period of the life of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. During this time, although Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu acted as the Counsellor to Caliphs, he generally kept aloof from active politics. I call this period as the period of inaction and contemplation. It was a period of inaction from the political point of view, because he kept aloof from politics. It was the period of contemplation from the spiritual point of view, for this period was spent by Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu mostly in prayer, religious exercises and dialogue with God. The further he went from the world, the nearer he got to God.

Causes for the failure of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu from the worldly point of view

The usual phenomenon of greatness is that men succeed in life, and because of such success may acquire greatness. The usual law is that greatness is the consequence of success. Nothing succeeds like success and nothing fails like failure. This means that if you succeed, you become great, but if you fail, you are pushed aside and are forgotten. In Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu's case we come across an extraordinary exception to this law of success and greatness. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu's greatness was of a different species. His greatness did not flow from success in life. Such greatness was inherent in him. It preceded his encounter with the world and it outlived his death, although he did not succeed in his worldly life as the word 'success' is usually understood. Instead Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu became more famous after death than when he was alive.

We will now consider the causes which militated against Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu's success in spite of his greatness. His greatness was of such a dimension that he towered extremely high above the people around him. It was a case of Gulliver in the land of dwarfs. He was so high that he could not bend to meet the people, and that people were so low that they could not rise to meet him. As such, a proper equation could not be established between Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu and the people around him, and this was the main cause as to why he was frequently betrayed, and why he did not succeed in the worldly affairs like ordinary people. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu [was] very much ahead of his time and the people in that era simply could not keep up with him.

By the time Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu came to office, a generation had passed since the death of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam. During this period, the Muslims had made large conquests. This had brought great wealth, and wealth had changed people's lives. A capitalist class sprang up among the Muslims. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, a great Muslim of the old type, wanted to enforce the austere discipline of the original Islam. He himself lead a very simple life, and aimed to follow in the steps of Hadrat Umar. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, however, lacked the harshness of Hadrat Umar Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, and could not enforce the reforms he had in mind.

There was a gulf between Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu and the capitalist class who wielded considerable influence. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was very parsimonious in the spending of public funds; while Hadrat Muawiyah Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, who himself had lead a luxurious life, was quite liberal in the spending of public funds. The capitalist class among the Muslims preferred Hadrat Muawiyah Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu to Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu as they were given to the worldly way of life. While Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was more concerned with the Hereafter than this world, people around him were more concerned with the world than the Hereafter. This difference in outlook could not be bridged, and that is why there were many betrayals in the camp of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. These betrayals weakened his position of considerably for he was a man of strong principles and would not compromise with those principles. The people who were opposed to him were masters in propaganda and they didn't hesitate to adopt any means, whether fair or foul, to gain their ends. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu lost the game because he would not abandon his principles at any cost.

The principal wife of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was Hadrat Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha, the beloved daughter of Sarkar-e-Do-Alam, Tajadar-e-Madina, Huzoor Nabi al-Akram Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa saabihi wa Sallam. During the lifetime of Hadrat Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha, Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu at one stage proposed to marry a daughter of Abu Jahl. When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam came to know of this proposal, he became annoyed and declared that if Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu wanted to marry another wife, he should divorce Hadrat Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha first. Thereupon Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu abandoned the idea of marrying another wife. Hadrat Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha was the mother of three sons and two daughters. The sons were Sayyadina Hasan, Sayyadina Husayin, and Sayyadina Mohsin Radi Allahu ta'ala anhum. Sayyadina Mohsin died during childhood. The daughters were Sayyida Zainab and Sayyida Umm Kulthum Radi Allahu ta'ala anhum.

After the death of Hadrat Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha, Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu married a number of wives. They were*:

(1) Umm-ul-Bunian Radi Allahu ta'ala anha who was the daughter of Hazam b. Khalid. Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu had five sons from her, namely: Abdullah, Jafar, Abbas, Uthman, and Umar. All of them except Abbas were martyred in the battle of Karbala along with Hadrat Husayn.

(2) Khaula Radi Allahu ta'ala anha was the daughter of Jafar Hanfiyah. She was the mother of the son known as Muhammad b. Hanfiyah.

(3) Umm Habib Radi Allahu ta'ala anha who was the daughter of Rabiah. She gave birth to a son Umar, in the daughter Ruqiya.

(4) Asma Radi Allahu ta'ala anha who was the daughter of Umais. She was in the first instance married to Hadrat Jafar, an elder brother of Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. On the death of Hadrat Jafar, Hadrat Abu Bakr married her. After the death of Hadrat Abu Bakr she married Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. She had two sons from Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, namely: Yahya and Muhammad Asghar.

(5) Laila Radi Allahu ta'ala anha who was the daughter of Masud. She was the mother of two sons, namely Ubaidullah and Abu Bakr.

(6) Umama who was a daughter of Abi Al Aa's and Hadrat Zainab Radi Allahu ta'ala anha and elder sister of Hadrat Fatima Radi Allahu ta'ala anha. Her son from Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu bore the name of Muhammad Awsat.

(7) Umm Saeed Radi Allahu ta'ala anha who was a daughter of Urwa. She bore Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu two daughters, namely: Umm-ul-Hasan and Rumia.

Hadrat Ali karam Allahau ta'ala wajahu was a man of many distinctions. He owed his distinctions to his relationship with the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa saabihi wa Sallam, his valour, his knowledge and his spiritual attainments.

His blessed birth

• He had the distinction of being a Hashimite both on the side of his father as well as his mother.
• He had the distinction of having a name which was derivative of the name of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. No other person before him bore the name of Ali.

• On opening his eyes after his birth, the first person who he saw was the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.
• The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam gave him his name.
• As an infant he had the honour of sucking the tongue of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.
• He was the first cousin of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam. He became a ward of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam, and was brought up as a family member of the household of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.
• He received his training under the loving care and guidance of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.
• When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam declared his mission, he was the first teenager to convert to Islam.
• Hadrat Khadijah Radi Allahu ta'ala anha and Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu were the first two persons to pray behind the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.
• When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam invited the Hashimites to a dinner, and aked them to aid him in his mission, Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was the only person to respond to the call of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.
• He risked his life for the sake of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam and slept on his bed when the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam left for Madina and the Quraysh youth besieged the house with a view to killing the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.
• When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam left for Madina, he entrusted to Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu the task of returning the belongings of the people. They had placed their belongings in the custody of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam for safekeeping.
• When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam joined the Muhajirs and the Ansars in fraternity in Madina, he allied himself in fraternity with Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu.
• The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam married his beloved daughter Fatima Zahra Radi Allahu ta'ala anha to Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu.
• He was commissioned by the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam to write the agreement which came to be known as the Hudaybia Pact.
• After the conquest of Makkah, he had the unique distinction of standing on the shoulders of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam and destroying the idols in the Ka'bah.
• He was entrusted by the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam with the special mission of announcing the Quraish Sura "Al Bara'at" (Immunity) to the people on the occasion of the pilgrimage.
• He was the only person to whom the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam referred to as the "Maula" [Master] of the Ummah
• When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam proposed "Mubahala" [a special kind of debate] with the Christians and the Najran, he chose Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu as his "second man."
• The progeny of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam descends through Hadrat Ali.
• He was the only person to whom the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam imparted "inward knowledge."
• The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam conferred many appellations on Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu such as Hidar-iKarrar, Abu Turab, Asad-ullah, Syedul Arab, etc.
• The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam declared his relationship to Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu as that of Moses and Aaron [Peace be upom them].
• When the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam left this world, Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu washed him and prepared his dead body for burial.

• He participated in all the wars of early Islam which were fought under the command of the Beloved of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.
• In all the battles, Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was the flag-bearer for the forces of the Muslims.
• He was the greatest man among the Muslims. For his unusual bravery, he won such titles as "Asad Allah," (the Lion of God) or "Haidar-e-Karrar" (the warrior who nobody could match.)
• During his lifetime, it is said he killed over 1000 enemies of Islam. In the Battle of Badr alone, he killed two dozen people.
• He fought over a hundred duels and in all the duels, his adversaries, however strong, were defeated.
• He was the conqueror of the Khyber.

• He was the most learned man of his age. He was a living encyclopaedia of knowledge and learning.
• After the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam, he was the most eloquent person of the age.
• Because of his knowledge and wisdom he is known as the "Second Solomon."
• His wise sayings and aphorisms have attained the status of classical proverbs.
• He was the first person to write a grammar of the Arabic language.
• Among the early Muslims, he was the only person whose collections of writings have come down to us and this collection [is] preserved under the title of Nahj-ul-Balagha. 
• He was a distinguished poet.
• He enjoys fame as the "father of rhetoric."
• He was an authority on Mathematics.
• He was a master of the science of Physics.
• He had a deep medical knowledge.
• After the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam, he is regarded as the greatest philosopher of Islam.
• He was a calligrapher and wrote in a beautiful hand.

•  He was the first person to learn the Qur'an by heart.
•  According to the commentators, there are at least 300 verses in the Noble Qur'an which have an implied reference to Hadrat Ali
•  He was the Chief Judge among the early Muslims. He is regarded as the "father of fiqh." [jurisprudence]
•  He is the first revivalist among the Muslims. He interpreted the doctrines of Islam and systematized them.
•  He is regarded as the "Father of Sufism." All schools of Tasawwuf [authentic Sufism] trace their origin to him.

Because of his multidimensional greatness and outstanding qualities, Hadrat Ali is known by many appellations, and each appellation illuminates one particular aspect of his excellence.

Some of these appellations are as follows:

(1) Murtada - he with whom God is pleased
(2) Maula - the master
(3) Haidar-i-Karrar- the brave warrior against whom no one could stand
(4) Asad Allah - the lion of God
(5) Al-Ghalib - the victorious
(6) Sher-i-Yazdan - the bravest man of the age
(7) Mushkil Kusha - one whom resolves the difficulties of the people
(8) Shah-i-Awliya - the king of saints
(9) Shah-i-Momineen - the king of the pious
(10) Abu Turab - father of the earth
(11) Amir al-Momineen - leader of the faithful
(12) Amin al-Momineen - the trustee of the faithful
(13) Imam al-Muttaqeen - the leader of the God-fearing
(14) Sayyad-ul-Arab - the chief of the Arabs
(15) Al Wasi - the beneficiary under the Prophet's 'testamentary statement'
(16) Al Hadi - the guide
(17) Al Zahid - the chaste
(18) Al Abi - the pious
(19) Al Salah - the reformer

Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu in the Qur'an

Verse 33, Sura 33

Verse 61, Sura 3

"And whoso disputeth with thee concerning him, after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, say (unto him): Come! We will summon our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, then we will pray humbly (to our Lord) and (solemnly) invoke the curse of Allah upon those who lie."

Verse 3, Sura 9

Verse 23, Sura 42

Verse 21, Sura 45

Verse 17, Sura 11

"Is he to be counted equal with those who rely on a clear proof from his Lord and the witness from Him recites it, and before it was the Book of Moses, and example and a mercy? Such believe therein. Whoso disbelieves therein, the Fire is his appointed place. So be not you in doubt concerning it. Lo, it is the truth from your Lord, but most of mankind believe it not."

Verse 4, Sura 66                                              

Verse 18, Sura 32

"Is he who is a believer like him who is an evil doer? Verily they are not equal."

Verse 54, Sura 25

"And He it is Who created man from water, and has appointed for him kindred by blood, and kindred by marriage, and your Lord is all powerful."

Verse 36, Sura 24

Verse 55, Sura 5

"Your friend is only Allah and His Messenger, and the believers who observed prayer and pay the poor rate."

Verse 12, Sura 58

"O ye who believe! When you consult the Messenger in private, give alms before your consultation. That is better and purer for you. But when you do not find the wherewithal, Lo! Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

Verse 181, Sura 7

"And of those We have created, there are people that guide men in the truth, and do justice therewith."

Verse 57, Sura 43

"And when the son of Mary is cited as an example, lo, the people jeer thereat."

Verse 29, Sura 48

Verse 43, Sura 13

Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was the most learned man of the age. He was a living encyclopaedia of knowledge. The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam said,

He was the first person to have learned the Qur'an al-karim by heart. He possessed a prodigious memory and he was a keen observer; he was a deep thinker; he had an enlightened mind and he carried a vast storehouse of knowledge in his brain. He was a versatile genius and he exhibited extraordinary talents in all disciplines of knowledge. He was a master of philosophy and rhetoric. He was a distinguished poet. He was a great teacher and preacher. His knowledge extended to such disciplines as logic, mathematics, physics, astronomy, medicine and history.

Hadrat Ali Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu held that the principal aim of knowledge was the inculcation of virtue, promotion of faith, and understanding of God. He held that knowledge enlivens the soul, for it kills ignorance. He defined knowledge as the sum total of excellence. He held that the pursuit of knowledge is better than the pursuit of riches, that knowledge is the ornament of the rich and the riches of the poor and that knowledge is better than riches. He held that the learned live even after their death. He maintained that the learned were the living ones in the dead mass of ignorance. He observed that to respect the learned was to respect God. With regards to the respect of the teacher, he held that one who teaches you a letter binds you with the fetter of gratitude. He maintained that the talk of the learned man carried within it the fragrance of the garden of Paradise.

Superiority of knowledge over wealth

Abdullah b. Masud used to say that throughout Arabia there was not a more impartial judge t