Apropos of: Ahlelbayt.com's 'Ali's Message in Nahjul Balagha'

Note: This page answers only selective parts of the article in question
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Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/shirk/nahjul-balagha The Nahjul Balagha is considered sacred by the Shia, which they consider the most reliable source for the words, sermons, and letters of Ali. Let us examine one of these sermons in particular, which is available on the popular Shia website, Al-Islam.org: Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 126 Ali says:“With regard to me, two categories of people will be ruined, namely he who loves me too much and the love takes him away from rightfulness, and he who hates me too much and the hatred takes him away from rightfulness. The best man with regard to me is he who is on the middle course. So be with him and be with the great majority of Muslims because Allah’s hand of protection is on keeping unity. You should beware of division because the one isolated from the group is a prey to Satan just as the one isolated from the flock of sheep is a prey to the wolf. Beware! Whoever calls to this course [of sectarianism], kill him, even though he may be under this headband of mine.” (Source: Al-Islam.org, http://www.al-islam.org/nahjul/126.htm)

What the author says about Nahjul Balagha, or Peak of Eloquence, is indeed true. It is a record of letters, sermons and sayings of Mawla Ali (AS), held in a very authentic regard.

Before i start to reply to the author's comments on the sermon, I must share with the readers that many sermons of Mawla Ali (AS) address his Shias, his followers, his soldiers, his armies, to be on the right path, to mend their ways. Just like how Islam is the true path and being a Muslim will not help you until you follow Islam in it's truest sense, similarly, we Believe that Shiaism is the actual movement which intends to restore Islam to it's original position, but a Shia is not saved until he strictly adheres to the orders of Rasool (SAW) and his righteous successors, Mawla Ali (AS) and the Imams from his offspring. Shias are not angels, they can kill, rob, steal. However, all these characteristics would be absent from a True Shia and it is they who are the real Shias of Ali (AS).

How will a shia feel if on the day of judgment, Rasool (SAW) and Mawla Ali (AS) turn their faces away from them? Thus we should strive towards piety and righteousness in order to ensure that our leaders, the Prophet (SAW) and their Ahlulbayt (AS) own us on the Day of judgment, rather than turning away from us telling us we were never their true followers, or Shias (the literal meaning of being a follower).

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/shirk/nahjul-balagha Let us now reflect on the words of Ali, line by line. “With regard to me, two categories of people will be ruined, namely he who loves me too much and the love takes him away from rightfulness…” We could not possibly find a better description for the Shia than this. The Shia love Ali so much that they exaggerate and exalt his status to a level of Shirk, thereby going away from rightfulness. The Shia give the names of Allah to Ali, calling him the Living “Ism-i Azam” of Allah, or the Living Supreme Name of Allah. They call Ali the Mazhar Al Aja-ib (The Executor of Wonders) and Mushkil Kusha (the Remover of Hardships) . They exaggerate so much that they call Ali to be the Yadullah (hand of Allah). They call him Asdadullah (unconquerable and ever-overpowering strength of Allah). They say Ali was too powerful for even the angels to stop him, that all the atoms in the world submit to Ali, that Ali is the speaking Quran, and is the Mirror of Allah. Look how loving Ali too much has caused them to exaggerate his status like the Christians did with Jesus, and look how this leads to Shirk. It also leads to going away from rightfulness, such as how the Shia hate the wives and companions of the Prophet. Ali warned the Shia on this matter. And the source is the Shia’s very own Nahjul Balagha.

With Regard to Mawla Ali (AS), two people will be ruined. The first group would be those who love him so much that takes one away from rightfulness. The author thinks that the Shias, the twelvers Ithna Asharis, make Ali (AS) a god in the name of love.

I would really expect the Author to research on a material before giving comments on any issue. Half knowledge is dangerous. Why was Ali (AS) special, you may never know, but his specialty has been vouched by Rasool (SAW) on every moment.

Taken from a Sunni website which describes the merits of the first three caliphs before mentioning Ali (AS):

Sayyidina Ali received the title Asadullah meaning Lion of Allah. Hadrat Ali was the cousin of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). Hadrat Ali was born in the Ka’ba. His father was Abu Talib. He is one of the Asharatul Mubashara. When he first opened his eyes he saw Prophet Muhammad. He was raised up by Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). He slept in the bed of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) when the Prophet went on hijra. He is called the gate of knowledge. He was a Hafiz ul Qur’an. He is one of the first people to accept Islam. He was also the first youth to accept Islam. Hadrat Ali married Bibi Fatima. He had two children, Sayyidina Imam Hasan and Sayyidina Imam Husain. He fought in many battles with Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) including the battle of Badr. He killed the best warrior of the enemies in a man to man combat. He took part in man to man battles.
http://www.iqra.net/muslimstudents1/juniorsessay3

The author says that because the Shias call Ali (AS) the Ism-e-Azam, Yad Allah, Asadallah, Mushkil Kusha, Mazhar al Ajaib, they put Ali out of his original place and thus are sinners according to Mawla Ali's (AS) own Sermon.

What should i Call the author himself, who believes in the prophecy of Mawla Ali (AS) so much that he has used that sermon as his basis to call us Kaafirs? How could Ali (AS) know before hand and tell that in the future two groups will be ruined, those who love him too much and those who hate him too much? Was this a revelation revealed to Ali (AS)? Does the author agree that Ali (AS) had knowledge of the unseen as much as Allah gave him? Does this belief ruin some one?

The shias do not call Ali the Asadullah (or the lion of Allah). He earned that title during his heroics in Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, Khyber, Hunain. How is calling Ali a lion of Allah take us away from righteousness?

Wasn't it Ali (AS) who slept on the bed of Rasool (SAW) to assist in his (SAW) migration? During the battle of Khandaq when Medina was sorrounded by 23000 pagans, and Amr ibn Abd Wud crossed the trench and challenged any Muslim to fight him and send him to hell or be killed and go to paradise, and when all the companions of Rasool (SAW) stood motionless in fear and confusion and the Quran said:

When they (pagans) came upon you from above you and from below you, and
when the eyes turned dull, and the hearts rose up to the throats, and you began to think diverse thoughts of Allah.
Quran [33:10]

Wasn't it Ali (AS) who killed Amr ibn Abd Wud and removed hardship of the companions (RA)?

And during the battle of Khyber, when the last fort could not be conquered by the Islamic force Rasool (SAW) took with him (SAW), wasn't it Ali (AS) who executed his wonders (Mazhar al Ajaib) to pull out the door of Khyber with his hands, hands which had the mercy of Allah on them, will of Allah with them, strength bestowed by Allah (Yad Allah), and conquered the unconquerable fort easing the hardships and troubles (Mushkil Kusha) faced by the Sahaba (RA) during conquests of that fort.

How can calling Ali (AS) with these kuniyat and titles be committing shirk when the qualities of Ali (AS) are only attributed to the bounties of Allah bestowed on him (AS)?

Comparing our love to Ali (AS) with that to Christian's love for Jesus is immaturity. Christians love Isa (AS) as a son of God, as one of the Three, as a God himself. Shias love (AS) Ali (AS) as a slave of Muhammad (SAW), Chosen creation of One Allah, war hero for the Muslims, Mawla over all those who consider Rasool (SAW) as their mawla, Imam ul Mutaqeen or leader of the pious. Can any sane and mature mind see a link between the two?

So definitely, they are not Athna Asharis or twelvers who will be ruined because of their excessive love for Ali (AS). But because it is Ali (AS) who has said that a group will be ruined because of their love from him (AS), the Bab ul Ilm or gateway of knowledge as Rasool (SAW) himself has proclaimed, Ali (AS) cannot be wrong. There must be a group who will be ruined because of their excessive love for him (AS) which will take them on the wrong path.

History testifies that one such a group existed and maybe still exists, which confirms that what Mawla Ali (AS) said 1400 years ago, happened and stands before us all:

The belief in incarnation. The Nusayris believe that Ali is God in the flesh. Ali created Muhammad from his spirit, and Muhammad created Salman, an early Shi'ite saint. These three form a Trinity in which Ali is described as the 'meaning', Muhammad is the 'name' and Salman is the 'door'.
http://mb-soft.com/believe/txw/nusayri.htm

Any person irrespective of sect or religion, who associates any one with One supreme god Allah, is a Mushrik and will be ruined. Anyone who believes that any one is God, or God in flesh due to their love for that someone  is ruined. Not only that but any one who calls a non-prophet a prophet, or who calls a non-Imam an Imam, or who calls a non-Wasilah-to-Allah a Wasilah-chosen-by-Allah will be ruined.

Knowledge of the unseen belongs to Allah alone. Power belongs to Allah alone. However, he might give them to anyone, as much as he wants, at anytime. Isa (AS) could cure the blind and bring back the dead to life. If we believe that Isa (AS) does it independently then that is Shirk however if we believe that it is a gift bestowed on Isa (AS) by Allah, who does the miracles through the will of Allah, then that is what the true stand is. If Allah indeed has chosen Ali (AS) to execute wonders to assist the prophet of Islam (AS), then how can that be shirk?

The author has concluded that hating the wives and companions of Rasool (SAW) is going away from rightfulness. We agree. But hating those wives of Rasool (SAW) and those companions of Rasool (SAW) who hated Ali (AS) is definitely a sign of love for Ali and thus, a testimony of belief.

The Messenger of Allah said: Loving Ali is the sign of belief, and hating Ali is the sign of hypocrisy.
Sahih Tirmidhi, volume 5, page 643
Sunan Ibn Majah, volume 1, page 142
Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal volume 1, pages 84,95,128
Tarikh al-Kabir, by al-Bukhari (the author of Sahih), v1, part 1, p202

(Those who fought against Mawla Ali (AS) in the battles of Jamal, Siffin and Nahrwan definitely did not love Ali).

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/shirk/nahjul-balagha “…and he who hates me too much and the hatred takes him away from rightfulness. The best man with regard to me is he who is on the middle course. So be with him and be with the great majority of Muslims because Allah’s hand of protection is on keeping unity.” Ali says not to hate him like the Nasibis (haters of Ahlel Bayt). He then says that the best of people are the ones who are on the middle course. Who else is that other than the mainstream Muslims (i.e. the Ahlus Sunnah)? The Ahlus Sunnah loves Ali deeply, and considers him one of the greatest Sahabah. On the other hand, the Ahlus Sunnah does not exaggerate by giving him characteristics of Allah, nor do they hate the wives or friends of the Prophet. Ali says be with the majority of Muslims because Allah’s hand of protection is on keeping unity. Can the Shia really get a clearer command than this? Who is the majority of the Muslims other than the orthodox Ahlus Sunnah? Ali says be with the great majority of Muslims, not split up into these tiny Shia sects.

 

Intellectual laws of love and hatred state three things. Love your friend. Love your friend's friend. Hate your enemy. Hate your friend's enemy. How can i even claim to love my father or my mother, if I also love those who troubled them and abused them? Will you love your friend who abuses your righteous father? Can you claim to love your father if you equally love your uncle who over took your father's business by crook and destroyed him financially?

Definitely, the Ahlus Sunnah are not Nasibis (Salifis who praise Yazeed (the cursed) even), but do they really love Ali (AS), when they love his competitors in battle fields as well, like Ayesha, Talha, Zubair, Mawiya (the cursed)?

Do you think that giving Ali (AS) the title of Asadullah or Lion of Allah exaggerating his position? What if calling Ali (AS) a simple human being who could make mistakes and sins just like any other Sahabah really be diminishing his status, status of a Mawla, Wali and Imam?

Mawla Ali (AS) emphasizes on unity and we all should pay him heed being his Shias. What is this unity, is discussed later.

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/shirk/nahjul-balagha “You should beware of division because the one isolated from the group is a prey to Satan just as the one isolated from the flock of sheep is a prey to the wolf.” So why is it then that the Shia have schismed from the Ummah? Are they not a prey of Shaitan’s now? And so it is that Shaitan has infiltrated the ranks of the Shia, leading so many millions of Shia astray. Why do the Shia not follow Ali when he says to be with the great majority of Muslims?

 

Ali (AS) definitely tells his followers not to divide amongst themselves and be with the majority of Muslims, not to split up in sects. Definitely, Allah himself does not like divisions.

Surely they who divided their religion into parts and became sects, you have no
concern with them; their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they
did.
Quran [6:159]

Before coming to what Allah orders and Mawla Ali (AS) advised, I would like to comment on what the Author deducted from the sermon.

The author says that we should be with the Orthodox Sunni because Mawla Ali (AS) said  be with the great majority of Muslims. Who should we be with? Malikis? Hanafis? Shafis? Hanbalis? Ahle Hadith? Deobandis? Barelvis? Wahabis? And the author must remember that the day any other sect increases in population than his own, he must select that sect in order to justify and fulfill his own Analogy. 

It is true that Quran orders us not to divide our religion into parts, but unfortunately, no sect believes it’s a part of Islam, everyone believes that they are the actual Islam. We are Shias, Sunnis, wahabis, deobandis, agakhanis, ismailis.. did I forget any one? We are tribes. We are sects but we claim to be the actual version of Islam and not a sect. So how can we not divide ourselves into sects today? We should stop pointing fingers at others about their “sect” and remember that Islamic brotherhood is above all. If we help some one, we should not see we are helping a shia or a sunni but that we are helping a Muslim, a human. If we pray salaat in a mosque it should not matter whose mosque is it, for prayer is for Allah only.

What Mawla Ali (AS) said is true, Allah's support is in unity and that is the only reason we , Muslims are suffering throughout the world. If only we all listened to Mawla Ali (AS) and remained united in the name of Islam even if we had different views regarding different companions and issues of Fiqh etc, Allah would have helped us all. 

Shias follow Mawla Ali (AS) and are with the great majority of Muslims because they themselves form a part of that majority. I am a Shia and my family has Shias as well as Sunnis, my friends in university, college, office have been Sunnis and even wahabis, the people i play sports with are Sunnis. We live togethor, as muslims, accepting the differences which exist amongst us, difference of opinions. Those people should be worried who declare us kaafirs, Faasiqs and who preach that we should be killed anywhere where we are found.

However, i would like to ask the author, did Imam Hussain (AS) commited a sin (god forbid), by not giving Bayah to yazeed the cursed, when main stream majority of the Muslims accepted Yazeed as the caliph? No doubt who follow literal approach to Islam label Mawla Hussain (AS) as a baghi or traitor.

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/shirk/nahjul-balagha “Whoever calls to this course [of sectarianism], kill him, even though he may be under this headband of mine.” Even if someone claims to be a Shia’t Ali (i.e. under the headband of Ali), he really is an enemy of Ali if he calls for sectarianism and the creation of a religious sect. This is Ali’s condemnation of all Shia sects that have split away from the mainstream Muslims. Ali even commanded these heretics to be killed, so it can be seen that he has no compassion for any of these deviants even if they claim to love him.

 

As said earlier, some one claiming to be a Shia is not necessarily a Shia, just like some one claiming to be a Muslim might not be one. Adultery, Usury, Interest, Murder, Theft, Cruelty, Bribery etc will not save you even if you are under the headband of Mawla Ali (AS), because if you really were under that blessed band, you would think a hundred times before doing something so shameful.

Any one who causes a division amongst the Muslim Ummah (which includes Shias and Sunnis) is an enemy of Islam, enemy of Rasool (SAW) and enemy of Mawla Ali (AS). These include, unfortunately:

1. Those who openly curse or abuse people revered by other Muslims in order to create Fitnah (such as ignorant or extremist shias using vulgar and shameful language for people who we do not keep in good regards)
2. Those who openly respect and love and revere personalities reviled by other Muslims in order to create Fitnah (such as ignorant and extremist Sunnis loving and respecting people like yazeed, Mawiya etc)
3. Those scholars or Maulvis who pass on fatwas against other groups or sects calling them Kaafirs, nonmuslims and Wajib-ul-Qatl.
4. Those learned men who have the following of the people, and instead of uniting them, they create more confusions.

Why not we all focus on what unites us rather than divisions? Why not open fasts under the same roof, pray under the same roof just like we perform pilgrimage together? You love Mawiya, pray for him in your heart. I hate Mawiya, i keep my hatred for him in my heart.

Let not these sensitive issues be brought into the public but be kept for those who are learned and who are interested in the issue for intellectual and educational reasons?

The fact remains, our graves our sufficient for what we believed and did. Accept each other as we are, accept the differences and live a unified life when fighting against the enemies of Islam. Let us follow the path of Rasool (SAW), who left us the Quran and the Ahlulbayt (AS) after him (SAW).

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