Ibn al-Kawwa'...

Ibn al-Kawwa', a seditious Kharijite, wanted to take advantage of this course of events for his own party and against `Ali, so he came up to the man with an air of utter compassion and said: "Who cut your hand off?" "The chief of the Prophet's successors", he said, "the leader of the untainted ones at the Resurrection, the most righteous among the believers, `Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Imam of right guidance, cut off the fingers of my right hand . . .

the first to reach the Gardens of Felicity, the hero of the brave, the avenger against the promoters of ignorance, the giver of zakat . . . the leader on the right and perfect path, the speaker of what is true and appropriate, the champion of Mecca, the steadfast exceller. " "Poor you!" said Ibn al-Kawwa', "He cut off your hand, and you extol him thus!” "Why should I not extol him", he said, "now that his friendship is mixed with flesh and blood?

I swear by God that he did not cut off my hand except with a right that God has established."[^3] This love and affection which we see in such a way in the history of `Ali and his companions, makes us turn to the topic of love and its results. [^1]: In ad-Durru 'l-manthur, under the seventh verse of surah al-Bayyinah (90), Jalalu'd-Din as-Suyuti narrates from Ibn `Asakir that Jabir ibn `Abdillah al-Ansari said that he was in the presence of the Prophet when 'Ali also came in to him.

The Prophet said: "I swear by He in Whose hand is my life that this man and his followers (Shi'ah) will be saved on the Day of Resurrection." al-Manawi relates this in two traditions in Kunuzu 'l-haqa'iq, and al-Haythami in Majma'uz 'zawa'id and Ibn Hajar in as-Sawa`iqu 'l-muhriqah relates the same substantial meaning in different forms. [^2]: . Nahju 'l-balaghah, Saying no.42 [^3]: .

Biharu 'l-anwar, vo1.40, pp.281 - 2 (new ed.); and Fakhru'd Din ar-Razi, at-Tafsiru 'l-kabir, under verse 9, surah al-Kahf ("Or dost thou think. . ."). Previous…