Day: December 17, 2023

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Kind. Peace & blessings of Allah be upon His Noble Messenger Muhammad, upon his Family & Companions.

1. The Holy Qur’an; the final and absolute book of divine guidance. Through it, Allah revealed to His Beloved Messenger numerous scientific proofs and evidences 1400 years ago which science is just beginning to comprehend today. Its eloquence and complete accuracy have remained unchallengeable to this day. “Say: If mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.” [Qur’an 17:88]

2. Mi’raj; the Beloved Messenger’s ﷺ ascension to the Heavens accompanied by Angel Jibra’il.

• The Messenger of Allahﷺ said, “..al-Buraq, a white animal, smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought to me, and I set out with Gabriel. When I reached the nearest Heaven, Gabriel said to the gate-keeper of Heaven, ‘Open the gate’…” [Bukhari]

3. Splitting of the moon: challenged to prove his Prophethood by the unbelieving Quraysh, the Beloved Messenger of Allahﷺ split the moon into two halves, and the pieces were clearly separated from each other. Despite this, the kuffaar turned away in ignorance and continued to follow their desires in non-belief.

● Narrated Sayyidina Anas b. Malik: “The people of Makkah asked the Messenger of Allahﷺ to show them a miracle; he therefore split the moon, the two pieces were seen on the opposite sides of Mount Hira.” [Bukhari] “The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two]. But if they see a Sign, they turn away, and say, ‘This is (but) transient magic.” [Qur’an 54:1-2]

4. Prophecy of the Roman Empire’s victory over the Persians after facing defeat. • “The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious.” [Qur’an 30:2-3]

5. The blessed saliva of the Beloved Messengerﷺ,may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, worked as a miraculous cure for ailments.

“…The Prophet ﷺ was told that Ali AlaihisSalam was suffering from eye-trouble, so he applied saliva to Ali’s AlaihisSalam eyes and invoked Allah to cure him. He at once got cured as if he had no ailment.” [Bukhari]

6. The Beloved Messenger of Allahﷺ never yawned during his entire lifetime. • It is related that the Beloved Messenger himself said, “No Prophet has ever yawned[Imam ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari]

7. The Messenger of Allahﷺ had no visible shadow, even on a bright sunny day.

• Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas, the cousin of the Beloved Prophetﷺ, states, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺhad no shadow, not while standing in the sun, but the brilliance of his light (noor) surpassed the rays of the sun; nor while sitting before a burning light, but his luminous light excelled the lustre of the light.” [Imam ibn al-Jawzi’s Kitabul-Wafa] • Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti narrates, “This is also a unique feature of the Prophetﷺ that his shadow did not touch the ground, because he was light (noor), and when he used to walk in the sunshine his shadow could not be seen.” [Khasaa’is al-Kubra]

8. Allah encouraged him before the Battle of Badr with a dream of a small kuffaar army. “(And remember) when Allah showed them to you as few in your dream; if He had shown them to you as many, you would surely have been discouraged…” [Qur’an 8:44] • Hafiz ibn Kathir relates in his Tafsir: Mujahid said, “In a dream, Allah showed the Prophet ﷺthe enemy as few. The Prophet ﷺconveyed this news to his Companions and their resolve strengthened.” This demonstrates Allah’s compassion towards the believers. Allah made them see few disbelievers in their eyes, so that they would be encouraged and feel eager to meet them.

9. Victory of the Battle of Badr; 313 Muslim soldiers triumphed against approximately a thousand non-Muslim soldiers and their cavalry. The Angels were present in this battle too, aiding the believers with their unseen forces.

• “There has already been for you a Sign in the two armies that met (in combat): One was fighting in the cause of Allah, the other resisting Allah; these saw with their own eyes twice their number. But Allah does support with His aid whom He pleases. In this is a warning for such as have eyes to see.” [Qur’an 3:13] • “[Remember] when you asked help of your Lord, and He answered you, ‘Indeed, I will reinforce you with a thousand from the angels, following one another.”” [Qur’an 8:9]

10. There was once a drought in Madinah, and the people requested the Messenger of Allahﷺ to pray for rain. His prayer was answered so fast that it began to rain before he descended the pulpit. [Tafsir ibn Kathir]

• Sayyidina Anas b. Malik says in a narration: “The Prophetﷺ raised his hands and said: ‘O Allah, make it rain’, thrice. I swear by Allah, there were no clouds in the sky, not even a single one. Then suddenly, a thick heavy cloud covered us, and it rained, and we never saw the sky for a week…” [Bukhari]

11. Rainfall on the eve of the battle of Badr, which resolved the issue of scarce water
supplies for drinking and purification, and firmed the ground for the Muslim camp. “And He caused rain to descend on you from heaven…” [Qur’an 8:11] • Tafsir ibn Kathir reports on this verse that Mujahid said, “Allah sent down the rain on the believers before slumber overtook them, and the rain settled the dust, made the ground firmer, made them feel at ease and their feet firmer.”

• And Ibn Ishaq narrated from Yazid bin Ruwman that Sayyidina Urwa bin Az-Zubayr said, “Allah sent rain down from the sky on a sandy valley. That rain made the area where the Messenger of Allah ﷺand his Companions camped firmer so that it did not hinder their movement. Meanwhile, the part that the Quraysh were camping on became difficult to move in.”

Hazrat Othman assumed the reins of office at the age of 70 years on 1 Moharrum 24 H. Unfortunately his period, excepting the Ommayads, was not very good for the Muslims in general. The people were put to much hardship. Even very senior, and octogenarian, Companions of the Prophet (s.a) were ill treated. The ribs of Abd Allah ibne Masood were broken. Ammar ibne Yassir was tortured. Abu Dharr Ghiffari was exiled. Cruelty and torture was rampant. Voices were raised against this attitude of Hazrat Othman. There was unrest amongst the people. From amongst the members of the Shura, Hazrat Ali (a.s.) was already unhappy with the way the succession was effected. Talha and Zubair too turned openly hostile to the caliph. Abd ar Rehman ibne Auf who was instrumental in bringing Hazrat Othman to the caliphate by playing the ruse of Seerat e Shaikhain was repentant and not very happy for promoting him. He was so angry that he didn’t talk to Othman till his death. Ibne Abd Rabba writes:

“During the illness of Abd ar Rehman, Othman went to inquire about his condition. Looking at him, Abd ar Rehman turned his face towards the wall. “”

Ref: Aqd al Fareed, Vol 3, Page 79

After the Prophet (s.a.), Hazrat Ali (a.s.) spent a long period of time with no concern for the governance and the life style that he lived attracted the attention of the people. They therefore reached a conclusion that there is no person better than Ali ibne Abi talib (a.s.) to be at the helm of affairs. Therefore the important persons from the Mohajirs and Ansaar gathered at the Masjid e Nabavi and decided unanimously that Hazrat Ali (a.s.) be requested to take the reins of the caliphate in his hands. After this decision they sent a delegation to Hazrat Ali (a.s.). In this delegation Talha and Zubair too were there. The delegation made their request with Hazrat Ali ibne Abi Talib (a.s.). Hazrat Ali (a.s.) hesitated in accepting their request and said that he didn’t like to interfere in their affairs and that they should look elsewhere for another person. He wanted them to leave him to his own scruples. Those people said:

“We don’t consider anyone other than you deserving of the Caliphate, nor anyone is more eminent than you on the basis of the past services to the Faith. There is none near to you in the closeness with the Prophet (s.a.).” Ref: Tareeq e Kaamil, Vol 3, Page 98

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) refused once again. But they pleaded with him very much. When they saw that Hazrat Ali (a.s.) wasn’t yielding to their requests they literally begged him:

“We request you in the name of Allah! You are seeing the condition we are in! Aren’t you seeing the state of Islam and the mischief that is rampant? Are you not concerned about the mischief?” Ref: Tareeq e Kaamil, Vol 3, Page 99

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) refused to accept their request, but when their insistence increased very much, he felt that for Itmam e Hujjat ( Fulfillment of the Condition), despite unfavorable circumstances, he couldn’t any more resist the call of duty, he said:

“I accept! But remember one thing that this acceptance is on condition that I shall take you on the path that I think is better for you!” Ref: Tareeq e Kaamil, Vol 3, Page 99

After Hazrat Ali (a.s.) accepted the Caliphate, the general Bai-at was organized on Friday, 25 Zil Hijja 35 H. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s.) emerged from Bayt al Sharaf and came to the Masjid e Nabavi where a huge gathering was already there. In his simplicity Hazrat Ali (a.s.) was wearing an ordinary turban on his head, carrying the footwear in one hand and, instead of the staff, a bow in the other, entered the precincts of the Mosque. When he arrived there was a movement in the crowd. He went past the crowd towards the pulpit of the Mosque and sat at the place where the Prophet (s.a.) used to sit. He rested his arm on the bow and the process of the Bai-at was commenced. Talha and Zubair were the first to extend their hands to owe their allegiance to him. Hussain Diyar Bakri writes: “First Talha and Zubair did the bai-at and then the others followed.” Ref: Tareeq e Qamees, Vol 2, Page 276

Talha had lost one of his hands in the Battle of Badr When Habeeb ibne ibne Zoeb saw him doing the Bai-at he said:

“A person with the useless hand has done the Bai-at. It will not be successful!”

Ref: Tareeq e Tabari, Vol Page 451

After this men came forward for the Bai-at in hordes as the thirsty come to quench their thirst. None from the participants in the Battle of Badr who was living had missed the Bai-at of Hazrat Ali (a.s.). Ibne Hajar Makki writes:

“None from the people of Badr was missed. All of them came to Hazrat Ali (a.s.) and said that they considered none more deserving of the Caliphate than him. They asked him to extend his hand in Bai-at. Thus the allegiance was accomplished.”

Ref: Sawaiq Mohriqa, Page 118

Among the people who did the Bai-at not only there were the people of Madina, but also there were men from Yemen, Egypt and Iraq as well. Everyone owed his allegiance to the Imam (a.s.) happily and pledged to be faithful to him. Thus, unanimously his Caliphate was established. After the accomplishment of the Bai-at, the representative of the Ansaar,

Tabit ibne Qais, said on behalf of his group:

“By Allah! O Ameer al Momineen (a.s.)! Although they had taken precedence over you in assuming the reins of the governance, they didn’t have precedence over you in embracing the Faith! Then they went ahead of you, but now you are at that place! With them around neither your status was hidden nor your position unknown! They were dependent on you for the matters about which they were ignorant, and you, with your knowledge didn’t have to depend on anyone!”

Ref: Tareeq e Yaqoobi, Vol 2, Page 118

The Ansaar, in general, took very active part in the Bai-at. But some of them who were affiliated to the Othmani coterie abstained from the Bai-at. Therefore Hassan ibne Tabit, Kaab ibne Malik, Maslima ibne Muqlid, Abu Saeed Khudri, Mohammed ibne Muslima, Noman ibne Bashir, Zaid ibne Thabit, Rafeh ibne Khadij, Fazala ibne Obaid and Kaab ibne Hajra didn’t do the Bai-at. These men remained at their respective homes.

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) didn’t deprive any person of his right of choice. He didn’t bring about any pressure on any one nor forced people to come to owe their allegiance. Those who came willingly, he did Bai-at with them. But he did ask Saad bin Abi Waqas and Abd Allah ibne Omer to come for the Bai-at because their appearances indicated that they might try to prevent others from coming for the Bai-at. Therefore Saad ibne Abi Waqas and Abd Allah ibne Omer were particularly sent for and their allegiance was demanded. Saad said that when the others owe their allegiance, he too would do it. He added that even if he didn’t do the Bai-at, he wouldn’t openly oppose Hazrat Ali (a.s.). When Abd Allah ibne Omer refused to do the Bai-at, he was asked to commit that he wouldn’t try to disrupt the peace and tranquility of the realm. He refused to give any such guarantee. At this Malik e Ashtar was angry and asked Hazrat Ali (a.s.)’s permission to cut away Abd Allah’s head. Hazrat Ali (a.s.) said, “You needn’t do anything to him! I take the responsibility on his behalf! He had been stubborn in his childhood and is the same even now!”

The caliphate that was offered to Hazrat Ali (a.s.) was just a worldly position that he accepted under much persuasion from the people and he had made it clear to them that all his actions would be in consonance with the Shariah. Therefore, in one of his sermons he says:

“If the presence of those who came for the Bai-at and those who supported me, had not persuaded me, and the pledge that Allah has taken from the Ulema that they should not remain quiet at the tyranny of the cruel and the penury of the poor, I would have left the caliphate on others shoulders.

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) at the time of the Bai-at:

“By Allah! O Ameer al Momineen(a.s.)! You have enhanced the status of the caliphate. The caliphate has not elevated you in any way! You have taken it to greater heights by accepting it. You didn’t need it, the caliphate needed you!”

Ref: Tareeq e Yaqoobi, Vol 1, Page 135

Once a discussion was started about the caliphate in the presence of Ahmed ibne Hanbal when he said:

“O people! Why are you talking so much about Ali (a.s.) and the caliphate, and the caliphate and Ali (a.s.)? Caliphate had not enhanced Ali (a.s)’s status in any way. It was Ali (a.s.) who gave the status to caliphate!” Ref: Tareeq Qatib Baghdadi, Vol 1, Page