I considered that I should begin by teaching you the Book of...

I considered that I should begin by teaching you the Book of Allah and its interpretation, the laws and commandments of Islam and its lawful and unlawful matters, and that I should not take you beyond that to anything else. Then I feared that matters in which people had conflicting desires and opinions would confuse you just as it had confused them.

Thus, despite my dislike of cautioning you, it was preferable to me to firmly establish that, than to leave you to a matter in which I am not free of the fear of your destruction. I hoped that God would give you success in it through your right direction and guide you to your objective, so I entrust this will of mine to you”.

Commentary There are several worthy points in this section of Imam ‘Ali’s letter: Mentioning The History Of The Past Nations As we have often noticed before in the same way that the creation is governed by laws and is based on a series of causes and effects, and not a single action occurs without these factors of cause and effect, the fate of nations and human communities depend on a series of causes and effects.

No nation becomes prosperous or miserable, progressive or backward, strong or weak, steady or destroyed without valid reasons. There are factors which influence them greatly. Therefore, a survey of the history of the past nations and the factors which contributed to their prosperity or misery may help us find our way in a troubled world in which we now are. This is because the same factors which were at work shaping the life of the people in the past are still active.

It is for this reason that Imam ‘Ali (as) in his letter to Harith al-Hamdani emphasizes that: "وِاعتِبِر بِمَا مَضَى مِنَ الدُّنيا لِمَا بَقِيَ مِنهَا فَاِنَّ بَعضَها يُشْبِهُ بَعضاً" "Learn lessons from past events for future events, because they are similar to one another." [^1] It is exactly for this reason that one third of the Qur’an consists of the stories and histories of past nations and according to the Qur’an, this survey of the past will help everybody since "..in their histories there is certainly a lesson for men of understanding" [Qur’an 12:111].

Then in the Holy Qur’an, Allah orders the Prophet (S) "therefore relate the narrative that they may reflect." [Qur’an 7:176].