You caste down the structures of polytheism and vileness...

You caste down the structures of polytheism and vileness, and you pulled down those who were astray into dust and blood. So may you be well pleased, O Amir al-mu'minin ! "You were the closest of men to the Prophet, you were the first person to follow Islam. You were overflowing with certainty, strong of heart and more self-sacrificing than any, your share in good was greater. May God not deprive us of retribution for your suffering, and may He not despise us after you have gone!

"By God, I swear that your life was the key to good, the lock against exile; and your death is the key to every evil and the lock against every good. If the people had accepted you, blessings would have showered on them from the heaven and the earth; but they preferred this world to the next."[^2] Truly they preferred this world, and as a-consequence they could not endure the justice and unwaveringness of 'Ali.

In the end the hand of stiffness and stagnation came out of the sleeve of the people and martyred 'Ali. 'Ali - may peace be upon him - is without equal in having totally selfless friends and people who loved him, who have given their lives in the path of friendship and love for him. Their wonderful, absorbing and stunning biographies honor the pages of Islamic history.

The criminal hands of such despicable people as Ziyad ibn Abih and his son `Abdullah, as Hajjaj ibn Yusuf and Mutawakkil, and at the head of them all Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, are stained with the blood of these human lives up to their elbows. [^1]: . Rumi, Mathnavi, bk.l (translated by Nicholson). [^2]: . Biharu 'l-anwar, vo1.42, pp.295 -296 (new ed.) Previous…