ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Polarization Around the Character of Ali ibn Abi Talib Foreword The great, expansive personality of Amir al-mu'minin (Commander of the Believers), `Ali - may peace be upon him - is broader and more multi-faceted than anything that one person can enter into in all its aspects and parts, or bring his restless mind to reflect.

For a single individual, the most that is possible is that he chooses one or several specific, limited areas for study and research, and content himself with that. One of the aspects and areas of the being of this great individual is the effect he had on people, either positive or negative, or, in other words, his powerful "attraction and repulsion", which still now exerts its active influence; and it is with this that we shall be concerned in this book.

The personalities of individuals are not all the same in the reaction they .produce in spirits and souls. The weaker the personality, the fewer minds it engages and the fewer hearts it excites and agitates. The greater and more powerful it is, the more it excites and provokes a reaction in the mind, although the reaction may be positive or negative.

Those personalities who excite minds and provoke a reaction are spoken of everywhere, they are the subjects of debates and disputes, they become the themes of poetry, painting and other arts, and the heroes of stories and other writings. These are all things which are true to the greatest extent in the case of 'Ali (as) [(as): is the abbreviation of the Arabic phrase `alay-hi/ha/himu 's-salam (may peace be upon him/her/them).] and in this respect he has no rival, or at least very few rivals.

It is said that Muhammad ibn Shahrashub al-Mazandarani, who was one of the greatest Shiite scholars of the 7th century A.H. (13th century A.D.), had a thousand books with the title "Manaqib" (Noble Virtues), in his library, all written about `Ali (as) , at the time he wrote his own famous "Manaqib".[^1] This is one indication of how much the exalted personality of the master has engaged minds throughout history.

The basic mark of distinction of 'Ali (as) and other people who are bright with the rays of Truth is that as well as engaging people's minds and occupying their thoughts, they give light, warmth, love, joy, faith and strength to their hearts. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Ibn Sina or Descartes are also heroes of the mastering of ideas and the exercise of the mind.