This becomes even more important when we consider a...

This becomes even more important when we consider a personality of the stature of Amiru ' l-mu'minin (as), where we find in his pure person the noblest human characteristics combined with the greatest Divine gifts, and in his Shi`ahs and enemies the strongest faith in the Divine Message combined with faith in mankind and its supreme mission, on the one hand and, on the other, hostility to the Divine Message combined with disbelief in mankind and a rising up against them.

If we take note of the above points, we can gain a clear idea of the great amount of energy that needs to be expended, the extent of the research and the depth of study which must be undertaken before it is possible for someone to do justice to the subject, so that a worthy result may be obtained from all the various aspects of his preliminary investigations.

II This book, as the scholarly author, may Allah have mercy on him, points out himself, developed out of four lectures originally given in connections with the commemoration of the martyrdom of al-Imam Amiru 'l-mu'minin (as) . They were collected together and published in the form of this book.

The author, may Allah have mercy on him, was only doing justice to himself and to his work when he admitted, in his introduction, that his book is only a sample from his immense subject whose dimensions are broad and multi-faceted.

It is our misfortune that the author found himself unable to expound any further on this great subject than these four lectures, which were circumscribed within the framework of the particular limited temporal and circumstantial events in which he found himself, except to the extent that the pressures of his responsibilities allowed him to review the material for publication.

III Praise be to Allah Who has caused the author, may Allah have mercy on him, to succeed to the extent that he did in proceeding with his discussion, which relates to the powers of attraction and repulsion of Amiru 'l-mu'minin (as). He was fortunately able in this work to reach the same high level which he sustained in his other works.

When we saw the great Islamic thinking, the clear historical presentation, the originality and novel exposition which are present in this book and about which the generality of readers are in agreement with us, and which exist despite the limitations imposed upon him, we decided to have the book translated into English.