In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Mawaddah Association presents: The Ten Promised Paradise.
'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.
Love for the Companions and the Prophet's kin is an established Sunnah,
With which I shall meet my Lord when He resurrects me.
Love for the Companions and the Prophet's kin.
Historians unanimously agree that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him,
Participated in all the military expeditions except Tabuk,
And had noble stances before the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, on the battlefields.
During the Battle of Badr, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) set out
Alongside the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Lubabah the Ansari,
Sharing a single camel and taking turns riding it.
'Ali and Abu Lubabah said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him):
"We will walk on your behalf, O Messenger of Allah."
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied:
"Neither of you is stronger than I am, nor am I in any less need of the reward than you two."
When the Muslims reached Badr
And both armies took their positions,
Three horsemen from Quraysh stepped forward:
'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, his brother Shaybah,
And his son Al-Walid ibn 'Utbah,
Demanding a duel.
Three young men from the Ansar went out to face them,
So 'Utbah asked, "Who are you?"
They answered, "We are from the Ansar."
He said, "We have no need of you;
We only want our own cousins."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"Stand, O Hamzah! Stand, O 'Ali!
Stand, O 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith!"
They rose swiftly,
Charging out like fierce lions,
And clashed with the knights of disbelief
To send them to their doom.
As for Hamzah, he lunged toward 'Utbah
And gave him a taste of the cup of death.
As for 'Ali, he clashed with Shaybah
And made him drink from the very same cup as his brother.
As for 'Ubaydah,
He and Al-Walid exchanged two strikes,
Each wounding the other.
Thereupon, Hamzah and 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) rushed
Toward Al-Walid and slew him,
Then carried 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith
Back to the Muslim camp.
Concerning these two groups
Of duelists, Allah revealed His words:
On the day of Uhud,
The battle turned against the Muslims,
And a rumor spread that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Had been killed. A surge of protective zeal
Overcame the soul of 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).
He went searching among the slain
For the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,
But could not find him.
He said, "By Allah, the Messenger of Allah
Would never flee, nor do I see him among the slain.
Rather, I think Allah has become angry with us
For what we did,
And has taken up His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
There is nothing better for me now than to fight
Until I am killed."
So he broke the scabbard of his sword
And charged into the enemy.
The Muslims parted ways for him,
And he looked, and there was the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
In their midst.
When the Battle of Uhud came to an end
And the disbelievers of Quraysh withdrew from the battlefield,
While the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
Remained there,
He sent 'Ali ibn Abi Talib
After the polytheists
To confirm their departure,
Telling him:
"Track the enemy
And see what they are doing and what they intend:
If they lead their horses aside
And mount their camels,
Then they are heading for Mecca;
But if they ride the horses and drive the camels,
Then they intend to attack Medina.
By the One in Whose hand my soul is,
If they intend to march on it,
I will surely march out against them there
And fight them to the finish."
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) set out in pursuit of them
And saw that they had led the horses aside and mounted the camels,
Heading toward Mecca.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ordered
'Ali ibn Abi Talib
To bring him some water.
He brought him water from Mount Uhud,
But when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
Wanted to drink, he noticed an unpleasant odor
And could not stomach it,
So he washed his face with it, saying:
"Fierce is Allah's wrath against whoever bloodied the face of Allah's Messenger."
Then Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), arrived
And began washing the blood from her father's face,
While 'Ali poured the water over it.
When Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) saw
That the water only caused the blood to flow more profusely,
She took a piece of straw mat,
Burned it until it turned to ashes,
And applied it to the wound,
Whereupon the bleeding stopped.
During the Battle of the Trench,
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
Preoccupied with repelling the polytheists
Until the 'Asr prayer had passed them by.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
"They distracted us from the middle prayer,
The 'Asr prayer.
May Allah fill their homes and their graves with fire!"
They then performed the 'Asr prayer
Between the Maghrib and 'Isha prayers.
'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was also
Among those honored to give the Pledge of Ridwan,
Pledging allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
Beneath the tree,
Concerning which Allah sent down His revelation.
When the peace treaty was being concluded between the Prophet (peace be upon him)
And the people of Mecca,
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) summoned 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)
To write the terms of the treaty.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him:
"Write: In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful."
But Suhayl ibn 'Amr,
The chief negotiator for the people of Mecca, said:
"As for 'the Entirely Merciful,'
By Allah, I do not know what it means;
Rather, write: In Your name, O Allah."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to 'Ali:
"Write: In Your name, O Allah."
Then he said:
"This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has agreed upon with Suhayl ibn 'Amr."
Suhayl objected:
"By Allah, if we had known that you were the Messenger of Allah,
We would not have barred you from the House nor fought you;
Rather, write: Muhammad ibn 'Abdillah."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"By Allah, I am truly the Messenger of Allah, even if you reject me."
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to 'Ali:
"Erase it."
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) replied:
"By Allah, he is the Messenger of Allah despite your disdain,
And by Allah, I will not erase it."
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to 'Ali, "Show me where it is,"
And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) erased it with his own noble hand.
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) also took part in the Battle of Khaybar alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him),
Where he had a celebrated feat
Envied by everyone present on that day.
Each day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been handing the banner to one of the heroes among the Companions
Over the course of several days,
Yet some of Khaybar's fortresses remained unconquered.
On one of the nights of this great campaign,
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to his companions:
"Tomorrow I will surely give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His Messenger love;
He will not return until victory is granted through him."
Many of the Companions hoped that they would be that man,
So much so that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"I never desired leadership except on that day."
The men spent their night wondering who would receive this honor,
And in the morning, they went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
Each of them hoping it would be given to him.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked:
"Where is 'Ali ibn Abi Talib?"
It was said, "O Messenger of Allah, he is sick with an ailment in his eyes."
So they sent for him,
And Muhammad ibn Maslamah brought him, leading him by the hand.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) spat lightly into his eyes
And prayed for him,
And he was instantly healed as though he had never suffered any pain.
He then handed him the banner and said to him:
"Advance steadily until you enter their territory,
Then invite them to Islam,
And inform them of their obligations regarding Allah's rights within it.
For by Allah, that Allah should guide a single man through you
Is better for you than possessing red camels."
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) advanced toward the Jewish fortresses,
And Marhab stepped forward to meet them—
One of the Jewish champions
And their fiercest warrior of all—
Demanding a duel,
Chanting his battle verses:
"Khaybar well knows that I am Marhab,
Fully armed, a battle-tested champion,
When wars advance ablaze with flames."
'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) marched out against him,
Reciting in return:
"I am the one whose mother named him Haydarah,
Like a fierce lion of the forest, terrifying to behold,
Repaying them fully in bountiful measure."
The two heroic knights clashed,
Locking in fierce single combat
And trading terrifying blows,
While both armies
watching closely to see the outcome of this duel.
Thereupon, 'Ali
struck Marhab's head, cleaving it in two,
and Marhab was slain.
The Muslims proclaimed the takbir,
the Jewish forces were routed,
and victory was achieved at his hands.
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, resolved
to conquer Makkah,
he prayed to Allah Almighty to conceal their plans from its people,
so that no fighting would take place among them.
Then an unforeseen incident occurred:
Hatib Ibn Abi Balta'ah, may Allah be pleased with him, sent a letter to Quraysh
informing them of the departure of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and his march toward them,
dispatching the letter with a woman.
Divine revelation descended upon the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
informing him of what Hatib had done.
So the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent
for 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
al-Zubayr Ibn al-'Awwam,
and Abu Marthad, may Allah be pleased with them,
and instructed them: "Go until you reach Rawdat Khakh,
for there is a woman there carrying a letter from Hatib Ibn Abi Balta'ah to the polytheists;
bring it to me."
The three rode off on their horses
until they intercepted the woman right where the Prophet, peace be upon him, had told them.
They said to her:
"Where is the letter in your possession?"
She replied: "I have no letter with me."
So they made her camel kneel,
searched her luggage,
but found nothing.
Al-Zubayr and Abu Marthad said:
"We do not see any letter with her."
'Ali said to them:
"You well know that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has not lied!"
Then 'Ali swore an oath, saying:
"By Allah, you will either produce the letter,
or we will strip you of your clothes!"
At that point, she told them: "Turn away,"
took it out from between the braids of her hair, and handed it over to them.
They brought it to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked Hatib:
"What prompted you to do what you did?"
Hatib offered his apology,
and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, accepted his excuse,
saying: "He has spoken the truth; do not say anything of him except good."
During the Battle of Hunayn,
when the people were exposed and routed,
having fallen into the ambush laid for them by the people of al-Ta'if,
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, moved toward the right
and proclaimed:
"To me, O people!
Come to me!
I am the Messenger of Allah!
I am Muhammad Ibn 'Abdillah!"
In those critical moments, none remained with him
save a small band of the Companions and his household,
among whom was 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.
They fought fiercely against the polytheists and resisted,
and the Muslims rallied around them
until Allah decreed for them a manifest victory.
During the fighting,
there was at the forefront of Hawazin
a man of massive build
riding a red camel,
bearing a black banner in his hand.
Whenever he caught up with someone ahead of him, he impaled him with it,
and if anyone bypassed him,
he thrust it back at him, stabbing him in the back,
inflicting heavy casualties among the people.
So 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib and a man from the Ansar lay in wait for him,
both intending to strike him down.
'Ali came upon him from behind
and slashed the hock of the camel,
causing it to collapse onto its haunches.
Then the Ansari leapt at the man
and struck him a blow that severed his foot along with half his shin,
leaving him sprawled on the ground, covered in his own blood.
The battle raged on
until the polytheists suffered defeat.
'Ali did not participate in the expedition of Tabuk alongside the Muslims,
the reason being
that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
left him behind in charge of his household in Madinah.
'Ali said: "O Messenger of Allah,
are you leaving me behind with the women and children?"
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, replied:
"Are you not pleased to hold the same station to me as Aaron did to Moses,
except that there will be no prophet after me?"
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had written
a letter to the people of Najran,
inviting them therein to Islam,
or to pay the jizyah, or to face war.
The people of Najran were deeply alarmed by this,
and they dispatched a delegation to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
consisting of sixty men.
When the delegation arrived in Madinah,
they began disputing with the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, concerning 'Isa, peace be upon him,
while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, recited the Qur'an to them
and refuted their falsehood with clear proof.
When they were overcome by argument,
they challenged the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to a mutual imprecation (mubahalah),
and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, agreed,
and Allah Almighty revealed verses concerning it.
When the appointed day arrived,
the Christians came in their crowds,
and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came forth
accompanied by 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn,
and said:
"O Allah, these are my household."
When al-'Aqib, the chief of the Christians, saw them,
he said to those with him: "Do not enter into mutual imprecation with him,
for if you do,
this valley will blaze with fire upon you!
Muhammad is indeed a messenger sent by Allah,
and you know that he has brought you the decisive truth concerning 'Isa."
So they abandoned the mubahalah
and returned to their land
after agreeing to pay the jizyah to the Muslims.
In the next episode, by Allah's leave,
we will explore the stances of 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,
during the final days of the Beloved, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and during the eras of the Rightly Guided Caliphs who preceded him,
if Allah wills.
May they dwell in the Gardens of Eternity,
their honor ever increased:
Talhah,
Ibn 'Awf,
al-Zubayr,
along with
Abu 'Ubaydah,
the two Sa'ds,
and the Caliphs.