ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Voice of Human Justice (Sautu'l 'Adalati'l Insaniyah) The Prophet and Abu Talib If we leave aside the details and cast a glance not at the apparent conditions but at the reality, it appears that the conditions and the adventures of life of Ali son of Abu Talib were similar to those of the , and the attitude of his companions towards Mu'awiya and his associates was similar to that of the Prophet and the Muslims towards Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl and other Quraysh.

The difference between them was this that the Prophet acquired necessary strength to establish a state and to subdue the chiefs of Quraysh whereas the circumstances and conditions had changed in the days of Ali and he did not succeed in overpowering his opponents. Although Ali could not rule over the people like Bani Umayyah he was not deprived of ruling over the pure hearts of the virtuous people.

And he was so well-equipped with the qualities of a perfect man that he deserved to rule the hearts. Before we begin our discourse about Ali it is necessary to throw some light on the relationship which associated him with Muhammad son of Abdullah. This relationship existed in the detailed adventures of their lives as well as in their spiritual qualities which had come together in one family.

The Prophet was the most perfect person and the son of Abu Talib followed in his footsteps and was the most perfect person next to him and excelled all others. When the Prophet was deprived of the love of his parents, his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, who was the grandfather of Ali as well, assumed his guardianship. His grandfather was very fond of him. Many times it so happened that he fixed his eyes on his grandson and said to those present: “This child is very honourable''.

He accorded Muhammad great respect even though he was a child yet, and in the general assemblies he made him sit at a place in the shade of the Ka'bah where even his brothers could not aspire to sit. When the Prophet's grandfather breathed his last, his guardianship was assumed by his uncle Abu Talib, the father of Ali.

The Prophet led a very comfortable life under the guardianship of his uncle, and benefited from his love and excellent manners and morals, which he had inherited from Abd al-Muttalib. The good morals, which were characteristic of the family of Abd al-Muttalib were inherent in the soul of Muhammad and were manifest in his words and actions.