How should countenances of the Shi‘ah be?
How should countenances of the Shi‘ah be?” He ( ‘a ) said: “Their faces are pale from excessive acts of worship at night; their eyes are weak from weeping profusely; their backs have curvature for standing for long time in prayer; their stomachs can reach their backs for fasting a lot; and the dust of humility and lowliness has settled in them.”[^16] Also, poems were recited during the caliphate of Imam ‘Ali ( ‘a ) in which ‘Ali ( ‘a ) has been described as the rightful Imam and successor, and the leader after the Prophet (S).
As Qays ibn Sa‘d was saying, و عليّ إمامنا و إمام لسوانا أتى به التنـزيل ‘Ali is our Imam and that of others. The Qur’an has been revealed for this purpose. [^17] Khuzaymah ibn Thabit Dhu’sh-Shahadatayn used to say: فديت عليّاً إمام الورى سراج البريّة مأوى التّقى وصيّ الرّسول و زوج البتول إمام البريّة شمس الضّحى تصدق خاتمه راكعاً فاحسن بفعل إمام الورى ففضّله الله ربّ العباد و أنزل في شأنه هل أتى May I be the ransom of ‘Ali!
He is the Imam of the people, the light of creation and the asylum of the God-conscious ones. He is the successor {wasi} of the Prophet, the husband of Batul (Fatimah), the Imam of creation, and radiant sun. He is the Imam of creation and gave in alms {sadaqah} his ring while he was in the state of bowing {ruku‘}, and what a good deed he performed!
God, the Exalted, made him superior to others and revealed the Surah “Hal ata” about him .[^18] In some poems, the Imam’s ( ‘a ) Shi‘ah also introduced themselves to the religion of ‘Ali ( ‘a ). For example, while engaged in a fight against a person named ‘Amru ibn Yathribi from among the army of Jamal {camel} during the Battle of Jamal, ‘Ammar ibn Yasir recited thus: لا تبرح العرصة يا ابن يثربي حتى اقاتلك علىٰ دين علي نحن و بيت الله اولى بالنّبي O Ibn Yathribi!
Leave not the battlefront so that we could fight against you over the religion of ‘Ali. I swear to the House of God that we are the foremost ones to the Prophet .[^19] Even the enemies and adversaries were using the same descriptions for the Shi‘ah.
For example, in a poem, proud of killing the supporters of ‘Ali ( ‘a ), ‘Amru ibn Yathribi says: ان تنكروني فانا ابن يثربي قاتل عِلباء و هِند الجملى ثمّ ابن صوحان علىٰ دين عليّ If you do not know me, I am Ibn Yathribi, the killer of ‘Ilba’ and Hind al-Jamali. [^20] I am also the killer of Ibn Sawhan for the crime of following the religion of ‘Ali.