ALI, THE MAGNIFICENT part 26

MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES IN YEMEN

In 632 A.D. the Holy Prophet deputed Ali to undertake the task of propagating Islam in Yemen. For six months Khalid bin Walid laboured in vain to bring the Yemenites to accept Islam. These people were proud of their heritage and culture, and took the greatest pride in their traditions and institutions. The Jewish and Christian colonies around Yemen were notable for their scholars who were well read in the scriptures and were an authority in matters of religion.

Before Ali left, the Holy Prophet personally inspected the three hundred Mujahirs and Ansar volunteers, who had gathered at Qoba, near Medina, to accompany Ali, and presented “The Lion of God” with a black Standard. He then tied a turban on Ali’s head with his own hands. saying to him, “Now proceed to Yemen and preach among its inhabitants the divine laws of Islam. You have to

enlighten the people in the Commandments of God as revealed in the Holy Quran, to teach them the methods of prayers and extend to them the invitation to accept Islam.” As Ali made ready to leave, the Holy Prophet said, “I swear by God that one conversion at your hands is far nobler and better for Islam than all the wonders of nature on which the Sun rises and sets.”

Ali proceeded to Yemen, and there read the Prophet’s letter to the people and delivered his sermon according to the dictates of the Prophet, preaching the doctrines of Islam to the multitudes, with the result that the entire tribe of Hamadanis embraced Islam in a single day. (Ibn Athir. Kamil V. II).

Ali proved as good a preacher as he was a swordsman, and his Mission to Yemen saw his emergence as a religious scholar of the first order. The Christian priests and the Jewish Rabbis who had settled in Yemen held daily discourses with him on religious doctrines and dogmas, and Ali’s illuminating sermons on the Unity of God and the Islamic exposition of the values of life made a great impression on those who heard him. After one of his sermons, the Christian priest Ka’b accepted Islam. Ka’b was a distinguished scholar and critic, renowned for his piety. and learning. His example was soon followed by many others and soon many Rabbis followed suit. Other neighbouring tribes also embraced Islam, and it clearly proved that “The exposition of Islam and the tongue of Ali were co-related like hand and glove, or like a soul in a body.”