Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.), the great scholar of Islam
Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was not only a great warrior but a great scholar as well.
Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said about him, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate.”
He was one of the great jurists among the Companions. Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appointed him as the Qadi (Judge) of Yemen during his life time. He was a master of Arabic and his writings were as effective as his speech. More about his scholarly services to Islam are mentioned later on in this article.
Special Messenger of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
In 9 A.H., the first Hajj of Islam took place. Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was appointed as the leader of the Hajj group. After he left Madinah, revelation came to Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, according to which, the treaty with the non-believers had to be dissolved.
The announcement was to be made on the great day of Hajj. Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked Hazrat Ali to carry the message on his behalf. He gave Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) his own she-camel, Qaswa, on which Hazrat Ali rode and went to Makkah to read out the message infront of the crowd on the occasion of Hajj.
There are so many virtues and services of Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) that it is difficult to mention them all here. On many occasions, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had prayed for him specifically. When he sent Hazrat Ali to Yemen in Ramadan 10 A.H., he blessed Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) with the following prayer, “Oh Allah, put truth on his tongue, and enlighten his heart with the light of guidance.” Then, he himself put a turban on his head and gave him the black flag.
On one occasion Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to Hazrat Ali, “You pertain to me and I pertain to you, ” He also said, “When I am patron of anyone, Ali is also his patron.”
Once Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “Only a hypocrite does not love Ali, and a believer does not hate him.”
According to a Hadith transmitted by Imam Ahmad, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to Hazrat Ali, “You have a resemblance to Jesus, whom the Jews hated so much that they slandered his mother and whom Christians loved so much that they placed him in a position not rightly his.”
Hazrat Ali afterwards said, “Two types of people will perish on my account, one who loves me so excessively that he praises me for what I do not possess, and one who hates me so much that he will be impelled by his hatred to slander me.”
Shock of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,‘s death
The death of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was a great and painful shock to Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.).
He had attended to him day and night during his illness, and after his death he himself bathed the Blessed Body and enshrouded it.
Pledge of loyalty (Bai’at) to the former Khalifahs
Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) had taken pledge of loyalty at the hands of all the past three Khalifahs.
However, he was late in taking pledge at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) due to the serious illness of his beloved wife, Hazrat Fatima (, may Allah be pleased with him.) and that he was also busy in the collection of the Holy Qur’an.
It is mentioned in the famous history book, Tabaqat ibn Sa’d, that when Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) enquired of Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) as to why he was so late in taking the pledge of loyalty and whether he disliked his Khilafat, Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) replied, “I do not dislike your leadership but I had taken an oath after the death of the Holy Prophet not to put on my sheet (i.e. not to engage in any work) except for performing Salat until I have collected all the parts of the Holy Qur’an.”
Then Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) took pledge of loyalty at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakr and helped him throughout his Khilafat. He was very active during the time of Hazrat Umar and also married his daughter, Hazrat Umm e Kulthum to him. In the matter of Hazrat Usman’s election, he voted in his favour as has been mentioned before.
Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was one of the very important members of Shura (Advisory Council) during the time of the first three Khalifahs. He was also the great jurist (Mufti) of Madinah during the time of past Khalifahs. He was among the panel of six persons who had to select the Khalifah amongst themselves after Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him.). Hazrat Usman had great regard for him and consulted him in all matters. His sons were the main guards at Hazrat Usman’s residence when the rebels laid siege to his house.
Thus, without doubt, Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) gave everything possible to support to all of his predecessors.
