ভূমিকা

Please tell me; what is the value of this gathering of us under this cloak in the sight of Allah?” The natural course of an intellectual person who recognizes the significance of an event is to seek knowledge of the virtues, rewards, and blessings of such event. That is exactly what Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) did as he posed the following question upon the revelation of the purification verse.

“What is the value of this gathering under the cloak in the sight of Allah?” It is a wise and timely question for Imam Ali (AS) to ask and he does so as a service to his followers and devotees who will come in the later generations till the end of time and ponder over that question.

There is no doubt that the person whom the Prophet (SA) referred to as the Gate of Knowledge in the well-known tradition, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its Gate” must already know the answer to the question he is posing. How can that not be the case when Imam Ali (AS) is the one who frequently stated in his sermons: “Ask me before you lose me. By Allah, if you ask me about anything that could happen up to the Day of Judgment, I will tell you about it.

Ask me, for, by Allah, you will not be able to ask me a question about anything without my informing you.

Ask me about the Book of Allah, for by Allah, there is no verse about which I do not know whether it was sent down at night or during the day, or whether it was revealed on a plain or in a mountain.” (Tarikh al-Khulafa) The role of Imam Ali (AS) in this gathering is not passive and he is the means by which the Prophet (SA) informs the audience of the eternal significance and bounties of the Tradition of the Cloak which they have just experienced.

In fact, we owe our due thanks and gratitude to Imam Ali (AS) who posed this very important question on our behalf so that we gain the knowledge and insight behind this historical event. Up till now, the purpose and significance of the Tradition of the Cloak have manifested itself and become obvious to the listener after hearing the divine speech about the purpose of creation and deducing its indications, and capping it with the revelation of the purification verse in the Holy Qur’an.