Islam and Ali

Have you fully realized what Islam is?
It is indeed a religion founded on truth.
It is such a fountain-head of learning that several streams of wisdom and knowledge flow from it.
It is such a lamp that several lamps will be lighted from it.
It is such a lofty beacon of light illuminating the path of Allah.
It is such a set of principles and beliefs that will fully satisfy every seeker of truth and reality.
Know you all that Allah had made Islam the most sublime path for the attainment of His supreme pleasure and the highest standard of His worship and obedience.
He has favored it with noble precepts, exalted principles, undoubtable arguments, unchallengeable supremacy and undeniable wisdom.
It is up to you to maintain the eminence and dignity granted to it by the Lord, to follow it sincerely, to do justice to its articles of faith and belief, to obey implicitly its tenets and orders, and to give it the proper place in your lives.


The statement above is the words of Imam Ali (a.s.) about Islam. Imam Ali was considered as the father of Arabic grammar. The above example can attest how lofty was his eloquence. Among the ‘sahabah’ (companions) of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), he was also the bravest and most powerful against the enemies of Islam, yet the most pious in worship. He was also the most learned in material and spiritual knowledge. He had all the qualities of a Muslim leader. Actually, he was a divine leader appointed by Allah to succeed the last Prophet of Allah.

Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib was the first cousin of the Prophet. His father Abu Talib was the uncle of the Prophet who reared him (the Prophet) from childhood to maturity until he got married. Likewise, Ali was adopted by the Prophet since childbirth until the Prophet married him to his (the Prophet’s) beloved daughter, Fatima az-Zahra. This very close relationship may be one reason why the Prophet once said that “Ali is from me, and I am from Ali.” Other quotations of the Prophet about Ali were: “Ali, you are to me what Aaron was to Moses. Except that there would be no more Prophet after me.” (Meaning, that Ali was the rightful successor to the Prophet.) “I am the sea of knowledge, and Ali is the door unto it.” (Meaning, that the Prophet knows everything and he bequeathed that knowledge to Ali only, therefore Muslims should learn from Ali, especially with regards to the sunnah of the Prophet.)

Imam Ali’s divinity manifested early in his life. Extraordinarily, he was born inside the holiest of places – the Ka’bah itself. He was also the champion of Islam from childhood till the later part of his life. In the beginning of the Prophet’s call to Islam, only the mere ten years old Ali who responded affirmatively among the (kith and) kin of the Prophet. And on the first battle of Islam on the place called Badr, Ali was one of the three flag- bearers who vanquished the enemies and astonished the others. Likewise on the second major battle in Uhud and many other battles where he was the “champion”, after the Prophet, of course.

Unfortunately, after the death of the Prophet, the fate of Islam was entrusted by the majority of the Muslims to Abubakr instead of its rightful owner, Ali ibn Abu Talib, disregarding what the Prophet emphatically ordered during his life time. Hence, insecurity and corruption crept over the ‘Din’ of Allah – that is, Islam.

Nevertheless, by the grace of Allah, the Islam of the Prophet and that of Ali continued with Ali's shias (followers). How ever the Majority (led by the caliphs) persecuted the minority shias, the shias (led by the succeeding Imams from the ahlul bayt) managed to preserve the original Islam throughout the centuries and empowered themselves despite of the odds. Today, the Islam of the shias is dominating the international scene, and the caliph's and its followers' powers and influence no more. This time, it is the West's turn to marginalize the power of the true Islam. But like their predecessors (fallacy of the caliphs), they would be buried into disgrace. Verily, Allah did say in the Holy Qur'an that He will preserve it (the Qur'an, and Islam of course) from the mischiefs of His enemies.