In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association
Presents: The Ten Promised Paradise
'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).
Loving the Companions and the Prophet's kin is a Sunnah
By which I shall meet my Lord as long as I live.
Loving the Companions and the Prophet's kin.
'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived
At the Prophet's city of Medina,
“Whoso migrateth for the cause of Allah will find much refuge and abundance in the earth, and whoso forsaketh his home, a fugitive unto Allah and His messenger, and death overtaketh him, his reward is then incumbent on Allah. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.” (4:100)
Leaving behind his hometown of Mecca,
In which he had been raised,
Along with all the memories amidst which he grew up.
He reached Medina
When he was just over twenty years of age.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) established brotherhood
Between him and Sahl ibn Hunayf,
The Awsi Ansarite
(May Allah be pleased with them both).
Sahl proved to be for 'Ali
The finest brother and companion.
However, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)
Remained closely attached to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
Traveling with him wherever he went,
Halting with him wherever he settled,
And transmitting to us a great wealth of his traditions and Sunnah.
Indeed, 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) once related to us
That he went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
Until they reached Harrah al-Suqya,
Which belonged to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him).
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
"Bring me water for ablution."
When he had performed ablution,
He stood up, faced the Qiblah,
Said the Takbir, and then supplicated:
"O Allah, Abraham was Your servant and Your intimate friend,
And he prayed for blessings upon the people of Mecca.
I am Your servant and Your Messenger,
And I pray to You for the people of Medina,
That You bless them in their Mudd and their Sa',
Twice as much as You blessed the people of Mecca—
A blessing compounded twofold."
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) also relates to us
That he went out one day to a funeral at Baqi' al-Gharqad
Alongside the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The Prophet sat down, and the Companions gathered around him.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) held a stick upon which he was leaning,
And he bowed his head down as though deeply sorrowful,
Scratching the ground with the tip of his stick.
Then he said:
“And not one of you could have held Us off from him.” (69:47)
"There is no soul created
Except that its place in Paradise or Hellfire has already been written,
And except that it has been decreed as wretched or blessed."
Thereupon a man asked,
"O Messenger of Allah,
Shall we not then rely upon what is written for us and abandon good deeds?
For whoever among us is destined for happiness
Will inevitably proceed to the deeds of the people of happiness,
And whoever is destined for wretchedness
Will inevitably proceed to the deeds of the people of wretchedness."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied:
"Strive and work, for everyone is facilitated toward that for which he was created.
As for the people of happiness,
They are facilitated to perform the deeds of the people of happiness;
And as for the people of wretchedness,
They are facilitated to perform the deeds of the people of wretchedness."
Then he recited: ◁ As for he who gives and fears Allah and believes in the best reward, We will ease him toward ease. ▷
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) continually
Guided 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him),
Offering him sincere advice,
Nurturing him, and bestowing great attention upon him.
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) rejoiced greatly in this—
And how could he not,
When he was the one raised in the Prophet's household,
In his home (peace be upon him) back in Mecca,
Growing up right before his eyes,
A relationship that continued seamlessly in Medina.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade him
From reciting the Qur'an while bowing
Or prostrating during prayer.
He also said to him on another occasion:
"O 'Ali, do not follow a glance with another glance!
For the first glance is forgiven for you,
But the second is against you."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also taught him
Certain words,
Instructing him, whenever distress or hardship befell him,
To utter them.
They are:
"There is no god but Allah, the Forbearing, the Generous;
Glorified and Exalted is He;
Blessed be Allah, Lord of the Magnificent Throne;
Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds."
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also taught him
A supplication in which he said:
"O Allah, suffice me with Your lawful means against Your unlawful,
And enrich me by Your grace above all besides You."
He said to him:
"Even if you had a debt as vast as a mountain,
Allah would discharge it on your behalf."
When the people began asking the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) excessive questions
To the point of burdening him,
Allah Almighty willed to ease the hardship upon His Prophet (peace be upon him).
So He commanded them to offer a charity prior to holding a private consultation with him,
Revealing a verse in His Book regarding this matter.
Thereupon, the people refrained from asking questions,
And no one acted upon that verse
Except 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).
This was because it was abrogated just an hour or so later.
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Indeed, in the Book of Allah there is a verse
That no one acted upon before me,
Nor will anyone act upon after me."
He meant the verse regarding private consultation with the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Then the verse was abrogated,
So no one else ever acted upon it.
A silk robe was once presented as a gift to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
So he sent it to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).
'Ali put it on,
But the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him:
"I did not send it to you for you to wear it,
But rather to divide it into veils among the Fatimahs."
By "the Fatimahs," he meant:
Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, 'Ali's wife;
Fatimah bint Asad, 'Ali's mother;
And Fatimah bint Hamzah, his cousin's daughter
(May Allah be pleased with them all).
Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
Had reached eighteen years of age,
And many of the Companions aspired to marry her,
Seeking the honor of becoming related to the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Abu Bakr and then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) proposed to her,
But the Prophet (peace be upon him) excused himself to them
On account of her young age relative to them.
Then a group of the Ansar came to 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)
And said to him, "You should seek Fatimah!
Propose to her from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."
So 'Ali came to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
And greeted him with peace.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) returned his greeting
And asked, "What brings the son of Abu Talib?"
He replied, "O Messenger of Allah,
I come concerning Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."
The Prophet said, "Welcome and well met!"
And he said nothing more to him than that.
So 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went out to that group of the Ansar
Who were waiting for him,
And they asked, "What happened?"
He said, "I do not know,
Except that he said to me, 'Welcome and well met!'"
They said, "Either one of those words from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would have been sufficient for you!
He granted you welcome and he granted you ease!"
His proposal to her took place in the first year of the Hijrah.
Later, the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked 'Ali,
"Do you have anything to offer as a bridal gift (mahr) for Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her)?"
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) replied,
"No, O Messenger of Allah."
He said, "Then where is your Hutamiyyah armor?"
'Ali said, "I still have it."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
"Give it to me."
So 'Ali gave it to him as her bridal gift.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) equipped his daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her)
With a woolen velvet sheet,
A waterskin, and a leather pillow
Stuffed with palm fibers.
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Fatimah was brought to me on our wedding night,
And we had nothing beneath us but a ram's skin."
When 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) wished to consummate the marriage with Fatimah—
Which took place after the Battle of Badr—
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him:
"O 'Ali, a wedding must have a feast (walimah)."
At that time, 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) possessed nothing.
So Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"I will provide a ram."
And a group of the Ansar gathered several measures of corn for him,
So he hosted a wedding feast for the people.
Jabir ibn 'Abdillah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:
"We attended the wedding feast of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib
And Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
And we never saw a finer wedding feast than that!
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prepared raisins and dates for us,
And we ate."
When the night of consummation arrived,
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) instructed 'Ali:
"Do not do anything until you meet me."
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called for water,
Performed ablution with it,
Then poured it over 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and said:
"O Allah, bless them both, shower Your blessings upon them,
And bless their offspring."
So Allah blessed them both
And granted them al-Hasan and al-Husayn,
The two leaders of the youth of Paradise.
Thus 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) lived on
In a pleasant, wholesome life
With a contented wife—
Were it not for the modest hardship and tight means that occasionally troubled them.
One day,
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) returned home exhausted
after working as a hired laborer in the garden of a Jewish man,
drawing water for him from the well,
receiving a date for every bucket drawn.
He met Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her),
whose hands had blistered from grinding flour with the hand-mill,
and he said to her,
"I have heard that some captives were brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Go to your father and ask him to give us a servant."
So she went to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
but did not find him,
so she mentioned the matter to 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her).
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) returned,
'A'ishah informed him of his daughter Fatimah's need.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) came to them
while they had already retired to bed.
He sat between them and said,
"Shall I not direct you both to something better for you than a servant?"
They replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
He said,
"When you retire to bed,
glorify Allah thirty-three times,
praise Him thirty-three times,
and magnify Him thirty-four times,
for that is better for you than a servant."
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"I have never abandoned it since I heard it from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)."
He was asked,
"Not even on the night of Siffin?"
He replied,
"Not even on the night of Siffin."
There was no agnomen dearer to 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)
than *Abu Turab* (Father of Dust),
and he was overjoyed whenever he was called by it.
The origin of this agnomen was that
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
came to Fatimah's house,
but did not find 'Ali at home.
He asked,
"Where is your cousin?"
She replied,
"There was an disagreement between us,
and he left in anger
and did not take his mid-day rest here."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said
to one of the Companions,
"Go and see where he is."
The man returned and said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
he is sleeping in the mosque."
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went to him
and found him lying down;
his cloak had fallen off his side,
and dust had covered his flank.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) began
wiping it off him, saying,
"Get up, O Abu Turab!
Get up, O Abu Turab!"
In the next episode,
we will learn about the life of
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)
in battles and his heroic deeds therein,
Allah willing.
To the Chosen One,
the best companions—
two ranks of them
in the Paradise of Eternity;
two ranks
whose honor He increased:
they are Talhah,
and Ibn 'Awf,
and Al-Zubayr,
along with
Abu 'Ubaydah,
the two Sa'ds,
and the Caliphs.