On one occasion...

On one occasion, Imam ‘Ali (as) had said to him: “Why did you not take part in the Battle of Jamal?” Hasan al-Basri replied, “I went forth to take part in the Battle of Jamal, however I saw a person yelling that both the killer and the one who is killed will be in the hell fire.” In reply, the Imam told him, “Definitely it is Satan, your brother, who made this claim so as to misguide you!” During the time of Imam ‘Ali (as), one of the things which led to others being misled was Hasan al-Basri himself - a man whom the Ahluls Sunnah consider as one of the Jurisprudents and commentators of the Qur’an!

The intimate friends of Allah (SwT) do not think in this way and without doubt, the Muslim scholars too must not think that people are destined for perdition! Rather, they must let everyone know that all people are worthy and deserving of salvation since the grand and expansive Mercy of Allah (SwT) is that which led to 124,000 Prophets being sent and was the reason for the Divine Heavenly Books coming to us - especially the Qur’an.

In addition to this, Allah (SwT) has given humanity, brains and if they were to use this asset, then they would definitely take control over their soul. Humanity has also been granted the pure nature (Fitrah) which is something else that contributes to one's guidance. The person has also been granted a conscience which is the best authority and judge over himself. In addition to all of this, Allah (SwT) has also given humanity lessons to learn from which everyone can see and understand.

The signs of Monotheism and the greatness of the Heavens and the Earth are full of His Signs. With all of this, what else is needed for guidance? If we were to put a single hair under the lens of a microscope and analyze it in, we would see that one strand of hair is enough to recognize Allah (SwT) - thus, what can we say about the eye, heart and brain and the great way in which they have been designed!

In addition, what about the plants and the over 15,000 different types of animals which live in the oceans, rivers and seas - all of these things point to Allah (SwT) and are a way for us to gain guidance. Imam Musa b. Ja’far al-Kadhim (as) once told Harun al-Rashid: كُلُّ مَا تَرَاهُ فَهُوَ لَكَ عِظَةٌ “Everything that you see around you is a lesson (which you can learn from).” The mercy of Allah (SwT) dictates that the signs of guidance must be present in the world for everyone.