Fidelity
“Verily fidelity and the observance of one’s promises are the companions of truth. I know of no shield which protects a man better than the keeping of a promise. He who always remembers the Day of Judgment can never be faithless. Alas! We are born in an age when men regard artfulness as wisdom and the ignorant are deputed to consider them wise. May God kill those cunning and crafty men who practise deception on others. The person who can understand the artifice of cunning people clearly knows the way by which deceit would be practised. At the same time he would realise that God disapproves of artifice and he deliberately refrains from practising it though he has the power to do it. But a person who has the audacity to transgress the laws of God considers artfulness as a blessing and thereby benefits by it.”
(Sermon No. 45) Ali is said to have delivered the following sermon before a gathering in his capital:-
On God
“All praise is due to the Creator of the World Whose Wisdom is hidden (from sight). The various objects of nature openly confirm His existence. It is impossible for the physical eye to behold His Majesty. Thus one who has not seen Him has no right to deny His existence. And that heart which has realised His manifestations cannot comprehend Him. He surpasses all in height and superiority. He is the nearest to us and no one can be nearer to us than He. Thus His distant height has not segregated Him from His Creation: and His nearness has not established His equity with the creation. He is that sublime and matchless Being in comprehending Whom intellect cannot reach the bottom of His attributes, yet nothing prevents a person from understanding Him. He is that Being whose ‘existence even an atheist feels in his heart of hearts. Undoubtedly God is free and sublime and bears no comparison with any one then how have the people the audacity to deny Him
(Sermon No. 53)
Literary Achievements
In another sermon Ali discussed the evils of the world thus:-
On the evils of the world
“Beware! The world stands on the threshold of decay and destruction. Its mouth sounds the farewell notes of annihilation. It is uncanny and uncharitable. With great rapidity it turns its back. Alas, this world drives its inhabitants into pitfalls of destruction. Through the hof death it drags its exasperated neighbours to annihilation. Its transparent water becomes bitter and its sparkling spring becomes opaque in the next world. It has nothing to offer except the leavings which stick to utensils (after a meal) or the wet piec of stone which is kept in the mouth to quench parching thirst. Whatever is in the world is rudimental, mortal and perishable.
“O followers of God! Then get ready to leave this abode whose in-dwellers are destined to taste death. Take heed lest the desires and lust should overwhelm you and this transitory life (of this world) should appear a long one to you and its short sojourn be taken as a long one by you. By God! If you grumble and moan like the wretched camels of burden, shed bitter tears like a pigeon and implore forgiveness of God like those monks who have renounced the world and having renounced your worldly goods and family, (which you hold so dear) you come out to seek nearness to God so that He may exalt your lot or forgive some of your sins which the angels have recorded in your character-roll; all these things will have little value as compared with the reward which awaits if you follow my instructions. you
“By God! If for the love of God you melt your heart away and for the love of His rewards and fear of His punishments your eyes shed blood instead of tears and you live in this condition till this world lasts, ever then your indefatigable and untiring efforts can be no match for the grand and numerous blessings which God has so kindly and bountifully bestowed upon you. Youcan never return the thanks of the Almighty Lord for the guidance He has so mercifully shown to us.”
(Sermon No. 56).
A Prayer
“O god! Pardon my sins which thou knowest better than I, Forgive me even if I commit them again. O Lord Also forgive my promises which I made (to subdue) my passions but which you did not see fulfilled. Ó Lord! Forgive me those actions by which I sought your nearness through my tongue but my heart failed to accomplish them O Merciful God! Forgive me the commission of my sins and the unbecoming movements of my eyes, kumbug utterances and the weaknesses of the tongue all those impure wishes that this heart has entertained.”
All’s Dewan
Ali was also a poet of note. He is said to have left a “Dewan”, a collection of over 1500 verses which was named “Anwar Alokeil” and which is still in existence today. The Sunnis doubt its authorship and maintain that it could not be the composition of Ali, who is elsewhere reported as having written not more than two or three verses in his life. The Sunnis maintain that the so-called verses of Ali must have been composed by one of his followers who added to them and edited them in Ali’s name. The service rendered by this follower has certainly made the Shi’ite cause more effectual, for the verses emphasise the disabilities and frustration under which the Shias lived and dwell on the differences between the Alid party and its enemies.
Ali in these verses, is shown as a moralist, freely expressing the righteousness of his cause. In them, as in his sermons, he exhorts the pious to be sincere and steadfast, to refrain from wrong-doing and to stick to, the faith. The poetry is neither romantic nor lyricalbut reformative. It contains no sensuous feelings or imagery and has nothing about it of the themes on which the old school of Arab poets delighted to dwell. There is no praise of woman, wine, music and amusement, not even of the sword. Ali’s eloquence is reserved for the praise of patriotism, humility, modesty, chastity, piety, and resignation to God’s will. Some of his verses are addressed to his followers and are complaints about their infidelity, others extol the virtue of loyalty to the community. Indeed he may be said to have laid the foundation of a national poetry.
The style of the verses, which like Ali’s prose is easy, lively and unstilted, makes the ethical truths expounded in them much more palatable than they might otherwise have been. The literary form adopted by Ali in his verses exerted a great influence on the trend of Arabic poetry in general. These verses still retain an importance second to none in Arabic literature.
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 