Those who were near and those who were distant were looking at their faces...

Those who were near and those who were distant were looking at their faces, being in the hands of enemies who never hesitated to commit the most heinous crimes such as killing the wasis of Prophets, slaughtering the children, and capturing the daughters born in houses where revelation descended.

Since the human huri , namely Zainab (sa), told Ibn Ziyad once, “Whatever pleases Allah pleases us, too, we ,” Ali (as) was more apt to do likewise than his daughter; whatever pleased Allah, Glory to Him, pleased him, too. It goes without saying that the Imam and Commander of the Faithful Ali (as) wanted this religion to continue strong and firm even if it would cost him his life, and he was always ready to tolerate all sorts of harm along this path.

The response of al-Zahra’ (sa) to the assailants did not contradict zeal or manliness, nor was transporting Zainab and the women to Kerbala’ as captives. SECOND: The Prophet S used to ask some of his wives, as well as Umm Ayman, to respond to the door when someone knocked at it[^1] when necessary. Had there been anyone more zealous than the Messenger of Allah S?!

THIRD: The assailants are the ones who transgressed and violated the tenets of the faith, the zeal, the manliness and even the customs of the days of ignorance. As for Ali (as), he did not do any of that. Rather, he carried out his responsibilities. So did al-Zahra’ (sa). The violators and the oppressors were the assailants. Where is Ali’s Courage?!

Regarding the incident of the burning, Ibn Roozbahan has said, “Had this been true, it would have proven his (Ali’s) incompetence, and he is way above that, for the most incompetent is a man whose house and family are burnt as his wife is inside and he is unable to defend them.”[^2] Someone adopted the same conclusion and said that it was not tasteful for al-Zahra’ (sa) to open the door, nor to answer those folks, while Ali (as) was present with her inside the house.

Then this same someone tries to stir emotions and excite feelings when he adds the following to the above: “What would people say about him had he done that? Would they say that he is a hero?! Or would they say that he is a coward?

So, how can you attribute to Ali (as) the feats of capturing heroes on the battlefield while he does what you yourselves would not have agreed to do?!” Then he underscores his statement by saying that once in a commemorative majlis held in Dubai, a reciter mentioned this issue.