ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Shi'a and Their Beliefs The First Imam He is Imam !Al: the son of AbY ھ"lib (a.s.) and F"tima bint Asad. !Al: is the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mu9ammad (N) since he married his daughter F"Uima. !Al: is the Prophet’s successor to follow him and is the ‘commander of the believers’ and the father of the Imams (a.s.).

Imam !Al: ibn AbY ھ"lib was born inside the holy house of the Ka!ba in Mecca on a Friday, the evening of the 13th of Rajab in the 30th year of the Prophet’s life. He was martyred on a Friday evening in the mosque of KYfa in Iraq while praying in the prayer niche, by the sword of the accursed Kharijite Ibn Muljam who struck him on the head on the night of the 19th Rama+"n. After three days he died from the blow at the age of sixty-three.

His funeral was conducted by the two Imams .asan and .usayn (a.s.) and he was buried at Najaf, Iraq where his tomb stands to this day. The Virtues of Ali Imam !Ali ibn Abi talib, commander of the believers (a.s.) had innumerable merits and virtues. Firstly, his faith and belief in Almighty Alla>h – he was the first man to submit to and believe in the message of Mu9ammad the Messenger of Allah (N)204 He never prostrated to any idol whatsoever.

He took part in several battles in defence of Islam including the battles of Badr, U9ud, Khaybar, .unayn, The Confederates (al-ahz"b) and others. Victory was under his banner in all his battles and he was never defeated. On the night of the Prophet’s (N) migration from Mecca to Medina, !Al: (a.s.) slept on the Prophet’s (N) bed to make those who wanted to kill the Prophet (N) think he was in bed. He had abundant knowledge.

So much so that the Prophet (N) said: ‘I am the abode of wisdom and !Al: is its gate.’205 The Prophet (N) also said: ‘I am the city of knowledge and !Al: is its gate.’206 This tradition has been related by many scholars including A9mad ibn .anbal.

His good legal judgement was so far-reaching that it the Prophet (N) said of him: ‘!Al: is the best judge amongst you.’207 The Prophet also said of him: ‘!Al: is with the truth and the truth is with !Al:.’208 He was just, fair and equitable with the people, and abstinent in the things of this world. He would go to the public treasury and look at the gold and silver and say: ‘O yellow stuff, O white stuff, tempt someone else.’209 Then he would distribute it to the people.