Attributes of Imam Ali from the Perspective of a Christian Scholar

 

By George Jordac

 

The present article is an excerpt from a full book written by George Jordac on Imam
Ali entitled “The Voice of Human Justice”. Hence, it is limited to only some of Imam Ali’s qualities, for it is not possible to enumerate all of them in this brief article.

 

It is very difficult to explain fully the nature and habits of human beings and especially of great personalities because personal qualities of men are related with one another and everyone of them influences others. Every quality is related with another quality and every habit is the cause of another habit and the result of a third one, or two of them are effect of another and so on and so forth. Hence, I propose to study a few of the personal qualities of Ali from different angles and to compare them within one and the same personality so as to arrive at some conclusions by means of this intellectual analysis. 

 

Piety and continence

 

Ali was well-known for his piety and continence. He did many things for his own self as well as for his own people and others, as he was extremely pious. I believe that Ali"s piety was not the outcome of circumstances like that of other pious persons, who engage themselves in worship on account of the weakness of their souls, or to escape the vicissitudes of life and to keep aloof from the people, or in imitation of their ancestors, and the effects of the events of life confirm it, because as a rule people accord respect to ancestral customs and traditions. The fact is that the piety of the Imam Ali was based on a firm footing and was linked with the mutual tie which exists in all parts of the creation and has bound the sky and the earth with each other. His worship was in fact a continuous effort and a campaign against mischief for the sake of human life and prosperity. He fought against all aspects of evil and wickedness. On the one hand he fought against hypocrisy and selfishness and on the other hand against dastardliness, abjectness meanness, helplessness and other bad qualities which had been acquired by the people during those evil days. According to Ali the essence of piety is to sacrifice one"s life for the sake of truth and justice. He has said: "Your faith should be at such a level that you should prefer truth to falsehood even though it may cause you loss and falsehood may bring you gain"".

His piety was of the same type as defined by him. He was martyred on account of this very truthfulness, and if it be possible to give the title of "Martyr"" to living persons it may be said that even while alive he was a martyr in the path of truth and righteousness.

 

Worship

 

If a person studies the piety of the Imam carefully it will become known to him that even in politics and government, he had a special method in the matter of worship which he pursued firmly. When he stood before the Almighty God he made his supplications with full attention, just as a poet is lost in the beauties of nature. The following remark of Ali is very instructive for those who worship God and observe piety: "One group worships God to be favored with His blessings. This is the worship of the tradesmen. Another group worships Him on account of His fear. This is the worship of the slaves. A third group worships Him by way of thanksgiving. This is the worship of the free man"".

Unlike many persons the Imam"s worship was not on account of fear, and it was also not a tradesman-like worship with the hope of acquiring Paradise. On the other hand when great men stand before the Almighty God they find themselves meek and obliged to consider themselves His worst slaves. The basis of this worship is reason, conscience, and spiritual perfection.

One who accords the same position to worship as was accorded by Ali will certainly view life in the same manner in which it was viewed by Ali. Such a person does not seek life for worldly gains and transient pleasures. On the other hand he seeks it to attain high morals and to achieve the ends which are compatible with his nature. It was for this reason that Ali chose piety in the world and did not seek fame and ostentation. He was true in the matter of piety in the same way in which he was true in the matter of his actions, words and intentions.

 

Disinterested in pompous lifestyle

 

He was disinclined towards the pleasures of life in the same way in which he was disinterested in rulership, and other things, which were so much coveted by others. He lived with the members of his family in a hut which was also his seat of government. His rulership was not in the form of kingship but in the form of caliphate. He ate barley bread prepared from the flour ground by his wife. Of course his governors and officials availed of the luxuries which became available from Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Often he did not make his wife take the trouble of grinding the mill and did this job himself. Although he was the Commander of the Faithful he ate bread which was so dry and hard that it could be broken by pressing it with the knee. When it was very cold during winter he did not have any clothes for that season and contented himself with thin summer clothes.

 

Justice

 

Haroon son of Antara relates thus from his father: "I went in the presence of Ali in Khurnaq Palace in winter season and saw that he was wearing an old cloak and was trembling with cold. I said to him: O Commander of the Faithful! God has fixed a share for you also in the public treasury and in spite of that you are living in this condition"". He replied: "I swear by God that I do not take anything out of your (i.e. public) property and this cloak is the same which I brought from Madina"".

He spent his days in the small house with perfect contentment till he was martyred at the hands of lbn Muljim. Although he was the caliph there was none amongst the Muslims who lived as simple and contented a life as he did.

In fact this lack of interest on his part in worldly comforts was related with his valor. Some persons think that these two qualities are apart from each other, but this view is not correct. Really speaking his valor consisted of the greatness of his soul and his efforts to achieve great objects and to help the poor and the needy without caring for his own benefit. The fact is that he was not prepared to enjoy the pleasure of life while living in a city in which many helpless and indigent persons were also residing.

It is said that Ali did not place either a stone on a stone or a brick on a brick and did not also join a reed with a reed for himself. In other words he did not construct for himself even a house made of reeds. Although the White Palace had been constructed for him he did not occupy it because he did not wish to live in a house which was better than the huts made of wood occupied by the poor people. The manner in which Ali led his life is reflected in his well-known remark: "Should I content myself with this that the people call me the Commander of the Faithful and I should not share the vicissitudes of life with them?""

During the caliphate of Ali some property was received from Isfahan. It was divided by him into seven parts. It also included a loaf of bread and he broke that also into seven pieces.

 

Broad mindedness and forgiveness

 

Manliness was incarnated in Ali in all respects and included every quality necessary for it. Broad mindedness and forgiveness are the necessary concomitants of manliness and they were ingrained in the Imam"s nature. It was on this account that he did not even think of harming any person although the latter might have harmed him, and did not oppress a person about whom he knew that he wanted to kill him.

He has no peer in history in the matter of forgiveness and connivance, and there are innumerable incidents which throw light on these qualities of his. It is said in this connection that on the occasion of a battle he gave inter alia the following instructions to his soldiers: "Don"t kill an enemy who runs away. Don"t withhold assistance from one who is helpless and wounded. Don"t strip any one. Don"t take the property of anyone by force".

At the conclusion of the Battle of the Camel he offered funeral prayers for the enemies who had been killed and prayed to God for their forgiveness. When he gained control over his fell enemies, he forgave them, behaved with them kindly and prohibited his companions from punishing them although he was in a position to give them a harsh treatment, and they too did not hope that they would be set free.

 

Pacifism

 

In spite of being so brave Ali avoided being oppressive. The narrators and historians are agreed that he hated warfare and did not resort to it except when no other alternative was left. He always tried that matters might be settled with the enemies without bloodshed and fighting. He used to advise his son Hasan not to invite anyone to fighting. He was always sincere in what he said and followed the policy that he recommended to his son till he was obliged to act otherwise.

For example when Kharijites were equipping themselves for warfare the companions of Ali suggested to him that he should attack them (i.e. Kharijites) before they became ready to wage a war. Ali, however, replied: "I shall not start fighting till they begin the battle themselves". His faith and human attributes compelled him to keep the people from deviation by means of advice. One day he was delivering a sermon to a gathering and many Kharijites who considered him to be an infidel were also present and were hearing him. One of them who was wondering at his sweet language and eloquence said: "May God kill this infidel! How wise and intelligent he is!" The followers of Ali wished to kill that man. He, however, said to them: "He has done something wrong with his tongue. You should, therefore, either take revenge from him with the tongue or forgive him".

It is also narrated in connection with the Battle of the Camel that when the enemies gathered for an attack, Ali also arrayed his troops but said to them: "Don"t throw an arrow nor make an attack with a spear or a sword until we have first invited them to peace". He did not wish that a battle should take place resulting in blood shed and loss of life. After a moment some one belonging to the opposite army shot an arrow which struck a companion of Ali and killed him. Ali said: "O Lord! Bear witness" . Then another arrow came and killed another man. He said again: "O Lord! Bear witness". Then an arrow struck Abdullah son of Badil and his brother brought him before Ali. Ali again said "O Lord! Bear witness". And then the battle started.

All these events show that as demanded by his angelic soul he was kind even to his enemies and was just and magnanimous to all.

To shun cruelty and oppression was a moral principle of Ali and formed part of his nature and disposition. He never broke covenants and was not inimical towards his former friends unless they themselves broke the covenants and showed enmity in reply to kindness.

George Jordac is a Lebanese Christian scholar residing in Lebanon. His book, “Sautu"l "Adalati"l Insaniyah” was translated into English by M Fazel Haq. It has been translated into Persian as well. 

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