The ten promised Paradise | Episode (21) | Ali bin Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

0:04 Mawaddah Association

0:06 presents:

0:08 The Ten Promised Paradise —

0:10 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,

0:14 may Allah be pleased with him.

0:16 "Love of the Companions and the Prophet’s kin is a Sunnah

0:22 by which I meet my Lord when He resurrects me."

0:28 Love of the Companions.

0:31 When the Battle of Siffin came to an end,

0:33 and the Commander of the Faithful,

0:35 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), returned

0:37 to Kufa,

0:39 there broke away from his army

0:41 eight thousand fighters.

0:43 They rejected the arbitration,

0:45 saying,

0:47 "Judgment belongs to none but Allah!"

0:49 On a Friday,

0:52 while 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)

0:54 was upon the pulpit delivering a sermon to the people,

0:56 a man suddenly stood up

0:58 and said,

1:00 "Judgment belongs to none but Allah!"

1:02 Then another stood up

1:04 and shouted,

1:06 "Judgment belongs to none but Allah!"

1:08 Then men rose from various corners of the mosque,

1:10 echoing the very same cry.

1:12 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)

1:14 gestured to them with his hand,

1:16 commanded them to sit down,

1:18 and said:

1:20 "Indeed, judgment belongs to none but Allah.

1:22 A statement of truth

1:24 by which falsehood is intended!

1:26 The judgment of Allah

1:28 is awaited regarding you.

1:30 For now, you have three guarantees from me as long as you remain with us:

1:34 we will not bar you from the mosques of Allah

1:36 wherein His name is mentioned;

1:38 we will not deny you

1:40 your share of the spoils of war as long as your hands

1:42 are joined with ours;

1:44 and we will not initiate fighting against you until

1:46 you fight us."

1:48 He then continued his sermon.

1:50 These Kharijites withdrew

1:52 from Kufa,

1:54 abandoned the army of the Commander

1:56 of the Faithful, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib

1:58 (may Allah be pleased with him),

2:00 and encamped at a place called Harura'.

2:02 For this reason,

2:04 they were called the Haruriyyah.

2:06 They were among

2:08 the most intensely devoted of people

2:10 in worship:

2:12 their faces were gaunt from staying up at night in prayer,

2:14 their hands and knees were calloused

2:16 from extensive prostration,

2:18 and their lips were parched

2:20 from their constant recitation of the Qur'an.

2:22 Yet, they were

2:24 just as the Prophet

2:26 (peace be upon him) described when he said:

2:28 "There will emerge among you a people

2:30 compared to whose prayer

2:32 you would belittle your own prayer,

2:34 your fasting compared to their fasting,

2:36 and your deeds compared to their deeds.

2:38 They recite the Qur'an,

2:40 but it does not surpass their collarbones.

2:42 They pass through the religion

2:44 just as an arrow passes

2:46 straight through the target" —

2:48 meaning they depart from the religion

2:50 as rapidly as an arrow leaves the bow,

2:52 swift and clean.

2:54 And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

2:56 "If I were to reach them,

2:58 I would surely slaughter them as the people of 'Ad were destroyed."

3:00 He also said:

3:02 "Fighting them is an obligation

3:04 upon every Muslim."

3:06 The Commander of the Faithful,

3:09 'Ali ibn Abi Talib

3:11 (may Allah be pleased with him), dispatched to them

3:13 the scholar of the Ummah and the exegete

3:15 of the Qur'an, 'Abdullah

3:17 ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father),

3:19 to debate with them

3:21 and engage them in dialogue,

3:23 so that it might influence them.

3:25 So there went out to them

3:27 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him

3:29 and his father),

3:31 having dressed in the finest

3:33 Yemeni garments.

3:35 He came upon them where

3:37 they were gathered,

3:39 and they said, "Welcome,

3:41 O Ibn 'Abbas!

3:43 What is this fine cloak you are wearing?"

3:45 He said to them,

3:47 "What fault do you find in me?

3:49 I have seen upon the Messenger of Allah

3:51 (peace be upon him) the very finest

3:53 of garments."

3:55 And he recited the words of the Exalted:

3:57 "Say, 'Who has forbidden the adornment

3:59 of Allah which He has produced

4:01 for His servants, and the good things

4:03 of provision?'"

4:05 They asked, "What brought you here?"

4:07 He said:

4:09 "I have come to you from

4:11 the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) —

4:13 from the Emigrants and the Ansar —

4:15 and from

4:17 the cousin of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

4:19 and his son-in-law,

4:21 to convey to you what they say,

4:23 and so that you may tell me what you say.

4:25 For upon them

4:27 the Qur'an descended,

4:29 and they understand its interpretation better than you do,

4:31 whereas there is not among you

4:33 a single one of them.

4:35 Tell me: what grievance do you hold

4:37 against the cousin of the Messenger of Allah

4:39 (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

4:41 his son-in-law, the Emigrants,

4:43 and the Ansar?"

4:45 They said, "We hold against him

4:47 three things."

4:49 He asked, "What are they?"

4:51 They said, "As for one of them,

4:53 he appointed men

4:55 to arbitrate in the matter of Allah,

4:57 yet Allah says:

4:59 'Judgment belongs to none but Allah.'

5:01 What do men have to do with judgment?"

5:03 Ibn 'Abbas

5:05 (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said,

5:07 "That is one. What else?"

5:09 They said, "As for

5:11 the second,

5:13 he fought, yet took neither captives nor spoils of war.

5:15 If they were disbelievers,

5:17 their captivity was lawful;

5:19 and if they were believers,

5:21 neither their captivity

5:23 nor fighting them was lawful."

5:25 He said, "That is two.

5:27 What is the third?"

5:29 They said, "He erased

5:32 from himself the title

5:34 of Commander of the Faithful.

5:36 If he is not the Commander of the Faithful,

5:38 then he must be the commander of the disbelievers."

5:40 He said,

5:42 "Do you have any grievance

5:44 other than this?"

5:46 They said, "This is sufficient

5:48 for us."

5:50 He said to them,

5:52 "Tell me: if I recite to you

5:54 from the Book of Allah

5:56 and the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

5:58 that which refutes your claim,

6:00 will you recant?"

6:02 They said, "Yes."

6:04 He (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

6:06 "As for your statement that

6:08 he appointed men to arbitrate in the matter of Allah,

6:10 I recite to you

6:12 that Allah has delegated

6:14 His judgment to men

6:16 over something worth merely a quarter of a dirham;

6:18 for Allah, Blessed and Exalted, commanded

6:20 that they arbitrate concerning it.

6:22 Have you not considered the word of Allah, Blessed and Exalted:

6:42 'Judged by two just men

6:44 among you as an offering

6:46 “O ye who believe! Kill no wild game while ye are on the pilgrimage. Whoso of you killeth it of set purpose he shall pay its forfeit in the equivalent of that which he hath killed, of domestic animals, the judge to be two men among you known for justice, (the forfeit) to be brought as an offering to the Ka'bah; or, for expiation, he shall feed poor persons, or the equivalent thereof in fasting, that he may taste the evil consequences of his deed. Allah forgiveth whatever (of this kind) may have happened in the past, but whoso relapseth, Allah will take retribution from him. Allah is Mighty, Able to Requite (the wrong).” (5:95)

6:48 or an expiation: the feeding of needy people

6:50 or the equivalent of that

6:52 in fasting,

6:54 that he may taste

6:56 the consequence of his deed.'

6:58 It was of the judgment of Allah

7:00 that He delegated it to men

7:02 to judge therein,

7:04 though had He willed, He would have decided it Himself.

7:06 I adjure you by Allah:

7:08 is the judgment of men to bring reconciliation,

7:10 or regarding a rabbit, more worthy?"

7:12 They said, "Indeed,

7:14 is clearly superior?"

7:16 Then he continued,

7:18 "And concerning a dispute between a man and his wife,

7:20 Allah Almighty says:

7:22 'And if you fear a breach

7:24 between them,

7:26 appoint an arbitrator from his folk

7:28 appoint an arbitrator from his folk

7:30 and an arbitrator from her folk;

7:32 if they desire

7:34 reconciliation,

7:36 Allah will bring

7:38 Allah will bring about harmony between them.

7:40 Truly Allah

7:42 has ever been All-Knowing,

7:44 All-Aware.'

7:46 I adjure you by Allah:

7:48 is men arbitrating to reconcile

7:50 between people and prevent the shedding of their blood

7:52 superior, or their arbitrating over the private parts

7:54 of a woman?" The people fell silent,

7:56 so he asked them,

7:58 "Have I answered this point of yours?"

8:00 They replied, "Yes."

8:02 Then he said,

8:04 "As for your saying that he fought

8:06 but took neither captives nor spoils of war:

8:08 would you take your mother 'A'ishah captive?

8:10 Would you deem permissible

8:12 to do with her what you deem permissible

8:14 with other women, when she is your mother?

8:16 For if you say,

8:18 'We deem permissible with her what

8:20 we deem permissible with others,'

8:22 you have committed disbelief.

8:24 And if you say, 'She is not our mother,'

8:26 you have also committed disbelief,

8:28 for Allah says:

8:30 'The Prophet is closer to the believers

8:32 than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers.'

8:34 Thus you are caught between two grave errors, so find a way out of them!" The men began looking at one another, and he asked, "Have I answered this point?" They replied, "Yes." He then said, "As for your saying that he erased from himself the title 'Commander of the Believers', I shall bring you something that will satisfy you:

9:01 on the day of al-Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made peace with the polytheists, and he said to 'Ali, 'Write, O 'Ali: This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has agreed upon.'

9:15 But the polytheists objected, 'Had we known you were the Messenger of Allah, we would not have fought you.' So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, 'Erase it, O 'Ali! O Allah, You know that I am the Messenger of Allah. Erase it, O 'Ali, and write: This is what Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah has agreed upon.'

9:38 O people, by Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is better than 'Ali, yet he erased his own title, and erasing it did not divest him of prophethood! Have I answered this point?" They said, "Yes." Consequently, two thousand of them recanted, while the rest persisted in their delusion.

10:00 The Commander of the Believers, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), had forbidden his companions to initiate fighting against the Kharijites unless they committed an act of violence.

10:13 Meanwhile, 'Ali was preoccupied with the affair of Mu'awiyah and those with him in the Levant.

10:19 Yet these Kharijites spread widespread corruption across the land; they were scrupulous about trivial matters while boldly committing major atrocities, shedding sacred blood and terrorizing peaceful people.

10:36 Among their atrocities was that they came upon 'Abdullah ibn Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), a companion of the Messenger of Allah and the son of his Companion.

10:48 They seized him along with his wife. Then one of them noticed a fallen date on the ground, picked it up, and placed it into his mouth.

10:57 Another said to him, "That date belongs to a non-Muslim under covenant! On what grounds did you make it permissible for yourself?" So he cast it out of his mouth.

11:06 'Abdullah ibn Khabbab said to them, "Shall I not point you to what is of far greater sanctity to you than this?"

11:15 They said, "Yes." He said, "I am of far greater sanctity than this!" But they paid no heed to his words; they brought him forward and struck off his head.

11:27 Then they took his pregnant wife, ripped open her belly, and cast out her fetus.

11:34 When the Commander of the Believers heard of this, he sent word to them: "Hand over to us those among you who killed 'Abdullah ibn Khabbab."

11:42 They brazenly answered, "All of us killed him!" 'Ali asked, "Did all of you truly kill him?" They said, "Yes." He proclaimed, "Allahu Akbar!"

11:55 He then ordered his companions to prepare to fight them. The Commander of the Believers mounted the pulpit and delivered a sermon to the people,

12:05 saying, "What do you think? Shall you march against the people of the Levant, or turn back toward those who have endangered your families left behind?"

12:16 They cried, "No, rather we must turn back against these Kharijites!" So he said, "March against them in the Name of Allah!

12:25 For I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say, 'A faction will break away at a time of discord among the people;

12:33 they will be fought by the closer of the two parties to the truth. Their distinguishing sign among them is a man whose hand is like a woman's breast.'"

12:43 So the army advanced toward them until both forces met at al-Nahrawan. The Battle of al-Nahrawan took place in Safar of the thirty-eighth year of the Prophetic Hijrah.

12:56 The leader of the Kharijites was 'Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi, and the two sides clashed in fierce combat,

13:05 to the extent that 'Ali's cavalry began to falter and fall back under the fierce onslaught of the Kharijites.

13:12 Seeing this, 'Ali called out, "O people! If you are fighting merely for my sake, by Allah, I have nothing with which to reward you!

13:23 But if you are fighting for the sake of Allah, then let this not be your fighting!"

13:30 At that, the army launched a single, decisive charge until they routed the Kharijites, slaying most of them, and praise be to Allah.

13:39 When the battle ended, 'Ali said, "Search among them for the mutilated man,

13:47 meaning the man whose hand resembles a woman's breast."

13:50 They searched for him but could not find him.

13:53 So 'Ali himself set out to search until he came upon a heap of corpses piled one on top of another.

14:02 He said, "Move them aside!" And beneath them, right against the ground, they found him matching the exact description given by the Prophet (peace be upon him).

14:12 Thereupon, 'Ali proclaimed the Takbir, and the people joined in crying "Allahu Akbar!"

14:17 Then he said, "Allah spoke the truth, and His Messenger conveyed it! By Allah, I neither lied nor was I lied to!"

14:27 The Commander of the Believers, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, returned to Kufah after crushing the Kharijite uprising.

14:36 But as the days passed, the Commander of the Believers observed that matters had grown deeply distressing for him;

14:43 his army became mutinous, and the people of Iraq opposed him, failed to stand by him, and even stirred up dissent against him.

14:53 All of this occurred while their leader was 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the best of all people on earth in that era!

15:01 In spite of this, they deserted him and let him down, until he grew weary of life and longed for death.

15:08 He would frequently say, "What holds back their most wretched one? Why does he not come to kill?"

15:16 meaning: "What is their most wretched one waiting for before he assassinates me?"

15:20 This was because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had said to him one day, while 'Ammar ibn Yasir was with them:

15:30 "Shall I not inform you both of the most wretched of all people?" They replied, "Certainly, O Messenger of Allah!"

15:38 The Prophet said, "The pale-skinned wretch of Thamud who hamstrung the she-camel,

15:45 and the one who will strike you, O 'Ali, upon this—meaning the crown of his head—until this—meaning his beard—is drenched from it."

15:54 And 'Ali was heard supplicating, saying:

15:59 "O Allah, I have grown weary of them and they have grown weary of me; I am sick of them and they are sick of me!

16:05 Relieve me of them, and relieve them of me!

16:08 What prevents their most wretched one from dying it with blood?" and he placed his hand upon his beard.

16:15 Meanwhile, the Kharijites had hatched a plot to assassinate 'Ali, Mu'awiyah, and 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them all).

16:27 They assigned three men from among themselves for this task: 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam al-Muradi, al-Burak ibn 'Abdullah al-Tamimi,

16:36 and 'Amr ibn Bakr al-Tamimi.

16:38 They gathered in Mecca and swore a pact to kill these three Companions and rid the people of them.

16:48 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam said, "I will take care of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib for you."

16:54 Al-Burak said, "I will take care of Mu'awiyah for you."

16:58 And 'Amr ibn Bakr said, "I shall spare you the trouble of 'Amr ibn al-'As."

17:03 They made a solemn pledge to execute their mission or perish in the attempt,

17:10 appointing the night of the seventeenth of Ramadan to carry out their plot.

17:16 Ibn Muljam departed for Kufah to execute his sinister mission.

17:22 On the appointed night,

17:24 'Ali ibn Abi Talib came out of his home for the Fajr prayer,

17:29 calling out, "O people, prayer! Prayer!" as was his daily habit.

17:37 Ibn Muljam intercepted him, shouting, "Judgment belongs to Allah, O 'Ali, not to you!"

17:44 He then struck him on the head with his sword and fled.

17:48 The people pursued him until they captured him and brought him back,

17:52 while they carried 'Ali to his house.

17:55 'Ali said, "Imprison this man. If I die, execute him;

18:02 but if I live, wounds are subject to just retribution."

18:06 'Ali remained in this condition throughout Friday and Saturday night,

18:13 and passed away on the eve of Sunday,

18:15 when eleven nights remained of the month of Ramadan in the year forty of the Hijrah,

18:22 at the age of fifty-eight.

18:27 Before his death, the Commander of the Believers, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, bequeathed

18:33 that musk he had kept in his possession be placed in his embalming perfumes (hanut),

18:37 saying, "This is the remainder of the embalming perfume of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."

18:44 His son al-Hasan led his funeral prayer,

18:48 and he was buried at the governor's residence (Dar al-Imarah) in Kufah,

18:50 out of fear that the Kharijites might unearth his grave.

18:55 Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) said after burying his father:

19:02 "A man has departed from you today whom none of the earliest generations surpassed in knowledge,

19:07 nor can any of the later generations ever equal.

19:09 The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

19:13 would dispatch him, handing him the banner,

19:16 and he would not return until Allah had granted him victory.

19:18 And he left behind neither gold nor silver

19:22 save for seven hundred dirhams remaining from his stipend,

19:26 which he had set aside to purchase a servant for his family."

19:51 and Ibn 'Awf, al-Zubayr, and Abu 'Ubaydah,

20:00 the two Sa'ds, and the caliphs.

The ten promised Paradise | Episode (21) | Ali bin Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him | Part (7)

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