ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Brother of the : Imam ‘Ali The First Muslims ==================== ‘Ali's mental capability and the integration of his life with the life of the Messenger enabled him to think as a philosopher while he was ten years old. He was able to arrive at a logical conclusion. The overwhelming majority of the Meccans had for thirteen years refused to open their eyes to the light of Islam and prevented the Messenger of God from reaching their ears.

They could not free their minds because they took the attitude of: "We have found our fathers on a road and we are following their footsteps." The inclination to walk in the path of the ancestor was and still is the main guarantee against the change of religion. This inclination stood and is still standing as a barrier between great thinkers of Western Society and the acceptance of the Islamic teaching. But ‘Ali at the tenth year of his age took the logical attitude.

While Muhammad and Khadijah were praying ‘Ali entered their room. He stood until the Prophet finished his prayer. "To whom do you prostrate?" ‘Ali asked. "We prostrate to God the One Who commissioned me as a Prophet and commanded me to invite people to Him " the Prophet replied. The Messenger recited verses from the Holy Qur'an then invited his cousin to embrace Islam. ‘Ali was fascinated. He asked the Prophet to give him time to consult his father.

He spent his night excitedly and on the following day he came to declare his Islam. He embraced the new faith without taking the advice of his father Abu Talib reasoning: "God had created me without consulting Abu Talib. Why should I need his counsel to worship God?"[^1] It is a short statement but it announces a great deal of independent thinking capability of forming opinion and depth in faith. It is a logic which is not marred by contradiction.

‘Ali loved his father and believed that a child owes his father a genuine obedience. But he knew that the obedience of the father is not absolute. It has its own limitation. His counsel ought to be sought only when the matter is not clear. When truth becomes evident consultation becomes useless. To ‘Ali the truth of Muhammad was as clear as the daylight. And it had become the duty of ‘Ali to respond to Muhammad’s call and to respond to it immediately.

The message is new and he does not know what the attitude of his father will be toward the new faith. Abu Talib may believe in what his small child believed in.