Hazrat `Ali - Part 7 - Hazrat `Ali's lasting impact on the Faith and Culture of Islam

Part - Hazrat `Ali's lasting impact on the Faith and Culture of Islam

Hazrat `Ali and Sufism (Tasawwuf)

Tasawwuf or Sufism, as it is more popularly known, initially started within Sunni Islam, which did not accept the need for spiritual guidance through a living Imam after the Prophet (for the Sunni interpretation of the Prophetic hadith al-thaqalayn, see the section on ). In the course of time, however, in Sunni Islam, those who were interested in the deeper, spiritual understanding of Islam began to gather in small groups around a spiritual guide or master. These groups of Sufis, as they came to be known, were based on the belief that the holy Prophet had two types of knowledge: the zahiri or exoteric and the batini or esoteric. This batini knowledge was given to Hazrat `Ali, as Annemarie Schimmel says: "According to the tradition, esoteric wisdom was transmitted from Muhammad to his cousin and son-in-law `Ali bin Abi Talib (d. 661) ...".⁵⁹

Hazrat `Ali, during his lifetime, had around him a close group of disciples, consisting of such outstanding Muslims as Salman-i Farsi, Abu Dharr Gifari, `Ammar bin Yasir, Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman and al-Miqdad bin Aswad, amongst others, because as Martin Lings comments: "...and there can be little doubt that already before he became caliph, `Ali was the most remarkable of these spiritual centres".⁶⁰

The Sufi Masters, in order to validate their own teaching, tried to establish that it came from Hazrat `Ali, either directly or indirectly, through one of his close disciples. For instance, during those periods of Islamic history, when extreme anti-Shi`ah feelings were whipped up, it is interesting to note that some Sufi silsilahs, traced their spiritual pedigree back to Hazrat Abu Bakr through Salman-i Farsi and not even his own son, Muhammad bin Abu Bakr (who had been implicated in the murder of `Uthman).⁶¹ As already mentioned above, Salman-i Farsi was a dedicated disciple of Hazrat `Ali and this is an example of indirectly going back to Hazrat `Ali.

The vast majority of Sufi silsilahs, however, look back to Hazrat `Ali as their model and exemplar for inner knowledge, austerity, sacrifice, love, bravery and all his other virtues. With this acceptance of Hazrat `Ali as their ideal, they also accepted certain teachings such as Walayat, bay`at, najwah (mehmani), spiritual hierarchy etc. Further, the Sufis trace many of their own rites and rituals, emblems, muraqqa` (patched cloth), suhbah (companionship) back to Hazrat `Ali.

Shi`ah Islam did not feel the need for any master other than the Imam of the time, because for the Shi`ahs, the Prophet at Gadir-i Khumm had clearly appointed Hazrat `Ali as his successor and had prayed to God to turn the truth (haqq) in the direction in which `Ali turns. Thus all knowledge, both exoteric and esoteric, is contained in the guidance of the Imam of the time. There have been some Sufi movements in Ithna `ashari Shi`ism, but only after the concealment of their Imam.

The above description does not intend to give a detailed account of the rise and development of Sufism, since the subject is extremely well documented. The purpose of this section was simply to show how Hazrat `Ali has been and is venerated by Sufis.

One movement within Sufism, which is of particular interest is called 'futuwwah', which to those with a knowledge of Arabic, is obviously linked with Hazrat `Ali. The word 'futuwwah' (which in Persian is called Jawan-mardi) is linked with fata or jawan-mard. Fata or jawan-mard means an ideal man, who possesses all the possible virtues of humanity. The ideal fata in Islam is Hazrat `Ali, about whom 'La fata illa `Ali, la sayfa illa Dhulfaqar' was recited in the battle of Uhud. In the article of 'Futuwwah' in the new edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, it is said "... the gradual growth of the figure of `Ali has resulted in his being regarded as the fata par excellence as is expressed in the old saying 'La fata illa `Ali".⁶²

Hazrat `Ali and Jurisprudence (Fiqh)

It has already been discussed in the section on Hazrat `Ali's knowledge, that his knowledge was not acquired, rather it was given knowledge. In this section, it will be seen that this given knowledge of Hazrat `Ali is manifest in the field of jurisprudence, as it is in other fields.

Prophet Muhammad once said to his companions: 'The best of judges among you is `Ali'.⁶³ History books are full of the most complicated of cases which were resolved by Hazrat `Ali.

Hazrat `Ali gave judgements during the lifetime of the Prophet as well as during the Caliphate of the first three Caliphs. It is recorded that they used to refer all complex and intricate cases to Hazrat `Ali. For this reason, Hazrat `Umar, used to pray to God to preserve him from a perplexing case which Abu'l Hasan (i.e., Hazrat `Ali) was not present to decide.⁶⁴ His other famous statement about Hazrat `Ali is: 'If `Ali were not there `Umar would have perished'.

A representative sample of cases and the decisions given by Hazrat `Ali are discussed below, to give the reader an idea of the social context in which they took place. They will further reveal the surprising complexity of some of the cases which Hazrat `Ali had to deal with.

During the time of Hazrat `Uthman a case was brought to him, in which a man had a child by his female slave. The master then separated from her and married her to one of his other slaves. Soon after, the master died. The female slave was freed by virtue of being the mother of the master's son. This son inherited everything, including his mother's husband, the slave. The next episode in the story is that the son died therefore, the mother inherited everything, including the slave to whom she was married. The dispute centred on the fact that the slave-husband claimed that the woman was his wife and he would not release her from the marriage, whereas the woman insisted that he was her slave.

Hazrat `Uthman was much puzzled by this case, but Hazrat `Ali who was present, resolved the case by asking if the slave-husband had conjugal relations with the woman after her inheritance. The reply was 'No', thereupon Hazrat `Ali judged that the man was indeed her slave and she could keep him, free him or sell him as she wished.

A second example happened earlier in the time of Hazrat `Umar and demonstrates Hazrat `Ali's insight and perfect impartiality, irrespective of the status of the parties concerned. It is reported that Hazrat `Umar summoned a woman, who was suspected of immoral behaviour. When the Caliph's messengers arrived at her home, the woman was so frightened by the summons that she miscarried her baby.

Hazrat `Umar sought the counsel of the other Companions of the Prophet, all of whom said that no blame was attached to him since he had been acting correctly in summoning the woman. Hazrat `Ali, who was also present, remained silent. Hazrat `Umar pressed him for his opinion. Hazrat `Ali replied that since the loss of the baby was directly as a result of Hazrat `Umar's action, he was liable to pay the blood money to the woman's family.

Another example is from Hazrat `Ali's own Caliphate. In this particular case, Hazrat `Ali reversed the verdict already passed by a local Qazi.

One day, he found a young man, weeping bitterly in the mosque. It emerged from questioning him that his father had gone on a journey with a group of four other men. When they returned, the boy's father and his belongings were missing. He was told that his father had died and had been buried on the way and that he had left no belongings. The youth had accused the men of murdering his father and of appropriating his belongings, but the local Qazi had dismissed his case.

Hazrat `Ali told his servant Qanmbar to gather the people in order to hear this case again. First, he separated the four accused and sent them to each corner of the mosque. Then he called a scribe and after that, he summoned the first of the four men and questioned him minutely about the journey in question. All the answers were recorded. In the same manner, the other three were also interrogated one at a time. The last man, when it was his turn to answer, stuttered and confessed that his colleagues had killed the youth's father and taken his belongings. When confronted with the facts of the real story, the first three men also recanted their versions. Thus was justice done. The youth did not wish them to be punished for murder nevertheless Hazrat `Ali punished them severely.

In the field of judgements on the law of inheritance, Hazrat `Ali's extraordinary and phenomenal power is well known and documented. Once a woman came to him and protested that her brother had left an inheritance of six hundred dinars, but her share was only one dinar. Hazrat `Ali promptly answered: 'Did he leave a wife, two daughters, a mother, twelve brothers and you!' The woman was speechless with amazement because her brother's family consisted of exactly that number!

Hazrat `Ali was also an expert in the laws of the Jews and the Christians, and many a time he had to conduct the cases of members of these communities who lived within the Islamic State. Hazrat `Ali has himself remarked as follows:

"If I sit (literally – if a cushion was placed for me) to give judgement, then I would judge the people of the Tawrat (Old Testament) according to their Tawrat and the people of Injil (Gospel) according to their Injil and the people of Furqan (i.e., Qur'an) according to their Furqan, till everyone would confess that `Ali has decided according to what God has revealed. The opponents, like the supporters, will confess that he is the supreme judge of the community'.⁶⁵

Hazrat `Ali as a Calligrapher

The art of calligraphy is unanimously recognised as the unique contribution of Islam to world culture. Its initial development and later flowering are closely linked to the fact that it was necessary to record and hand down to succeeding generations the Divine word revealed to Prophet Muhammad in the form of the holy Qur'an. Further, the emphasis laid on the acquisition of knowledge by our Holy Prophet⁶⁶ and the repeated use of words such as 'pen', 'tablet', 'ink', 'read', 'book' etc. in the Qur'an itself gave a tremendous impetus to the evolution of calligraphy.⁶⁷ Some writers suggest that, in fact, it was a revolution, since the art of calligraphy came into being from almost nothing.

Pre-Islamic Arabic culture was almost wholly an oral one, which relied on the prodigious memories of its poets and folk historians. However, with the revelation of the Qur'an, the situation changed dramatically and calligraphy came into such prominence that Martin Lings comments:

"It might even be said not only that the Arabs (and he includes all those who use Arabic as a liturgical language, such as the Turks and Persians) have never been surpassed as calligraphers, but also that they have only been equalled by one other people, namely the Chinese, whose art has, however, developed along very different lines".

Hazrat `Ali played the pivotal role of outstanding significance in the emergence of Arabic calligraphy 'from almost nothing to almost everything'. It is said that he developed the Kufic script out of an inherited script, known as maqili. The name 'Kufic' is attributed to the city of Kufah which was both a centre of support for Hazrat `Ali and an important centre for the art of writing.

Mohamed Zakariya, in his book 'The Calligraphy of Islam' says: "Ali bin Abi Talib, the fourth Caliph, is considered the first real calligrapher primarily because of his interest in the secrets of the art. From him is usually traced the 'tree' or 'chain' of calligraphers, which is a list, in one of a number of forms, of all the calligraphers – or at least the outstanding ones – up to the present". This 'tree' of famous calligraphers, tracing their origin back to Hazrat `Ali, can be seen in an Arabic book, called Musawwar al-Khatt al-`Arabi by Naji Zayn al-Din, published in 1968 in Baghdad. Annemarie Schimmel considers another important aspect of Hazrat `Ali's role in her book: "Calligraphy and Islamic Culture". She says: "Since Calligraphy thus was regarded as a sacred art, connections between calligraphers and Sufis were natural. In both traditions, the Silsila (chain) goes back to Ali, the first calligrapher in the Kufic style".

Thus it is evident from the standard texts on Islamic Calligraphy, that the art of writing owes its origins to the example and efforts of Hazrat `Ali. The powerful influence exercised by Hazrat `Ali in the domain of calligraphy, lasted beyond his own lifetime. Hundreds of years later, renowned calligraphers attributed their success and fame to him. There is a delightful legend about Mir `Ali of Tabriz, whose calligraphic ability is reflected in his title 'Qudwatu'l-Kuttab (the exemplary calligrapher)'. It is said that Mir `Ali perfected the style known as 'Nasta`liq' after Hazrat `Ali in a dream, interpreted for him another dream of flying geese.

Bismi'llah in the Nasta`liq script

It can further be added that it is no accident that a number of the most outstanding master calligraphers include `Ali' in their names, for instance, Sultan `Ali Mashhadi, Mir `Ali of Tabriz and `Ali Ibn Hilal (the real name of Ibn al-Bawwab). Thus do the master calligraphers of Islamic history acknowledge their 'spiritual pedigree' from Hazrat `Ali both in their names and in their sublime art and preserve the memory of Hazrat `Ali through the ages.

A number of the calligraphers used poetry, particularly to get certain messages across to their students and apprentices. Even if the poetry did not meet the rigorous demands of metre and rhyme etc., their prime purpose was to teach their students. In one such example of verse, the famous calligrapher Sultan `Ali remarks: "The aim of Murtaza `Ali in writing was (to reproduce) not merely speech, letters and dots, but fundamentals, purity and virtue; for this reason he deigned to point to good writing".

The above quotation of a master calligrapher of the late fifteenth century is an apt reminder of the prime function of Hazrat `Ali. In fact, any study of Hazrat `Ali's life makes it clear very quickly, that he excelled in everything he did and the fundamental reason for this is that his knowledge and action were based on the Truth (Haqiqat).

Hazrat `Ali as an Orator

The role of Hazrat `Ali vis-a-vis the classical Arabic language is widely acknowledged by scholars of the language. In this section, the marvellous command of Hazrat `Ali over the oral Arabic language will be discussed first.

History records offer a perfect example of the power of Hazrat `Ali as an orator. During the lifetime of the Prophet, Islam was gradually accepted by tribe after tribe and area after area of the Arabian Peninsula. As part of his plan to propagate Islam, Prophet Muhammad sent Khalid bin Walid to the people of Yaman to call them to Islam. Yaman, as part of Southern Arabia, boasted a longstanding, highly developed civilisation. Its people were learned, scholarly and held strongly to their ancient traditions. Further, the previously revealed religions – Judaism and Christianity – were well established there and their rabbis and priests were well-versed in their scriptures. It is reported that Khalid bin Walid laboured in vain for six months to convert the Yamanites, but not one of them responded. Eventually, Prophet Muhammad recalled him and in 632 C.E., sent Hazrat `Ali to Yaman.

Hazrat `Ali so impressed the Yamanites by the eloquence of his khutbahs (sermons) and the example of his personal piety and the faithfulness of his judgements, that within a short time, the famous Jewish tribe of Hamdan converted to Islam. This signalled the turning of the tide in Yaman, since many more tribes followed suit and came within the fold of Islam. By his successful mission to Yaman, Hazrat `Ali has left for posterity an example of his unparalleled skill in oratory.

More evidence of his unique mastery of Arabic rhetoric and eloquence is found in the Nahju'l-Balagah, which is a collection of some of his khutbahs, letters and aphorisms, compiled by Shaykh Sharif ar-Razi in the tenth century C.E. Hazrat `Ali delivered moving and inspiring sermons on a range of subjects: from mystical expositions on Tawhid (unity of God) to stirring exhortations on Jihad to his soldiers. He also delivered learned and detailed discourses on natural history (see his khutbahs on the peacock and the bat in Nahju'l-Balagah) as well as pithy and succinct maxims, which contain perennial truths. Hazrat `Ali's khutbahs were memorised by his listeners who, in the oral tradition of Arabia, passed down these precious words from generation to generation.

Hazrat `Ali says in Nahju'l-Balagah: "We the Ahl al-Bayt are the kings of discourse. Its roots are within us and its branches hang over us".

A truly amazing feat of oratory was once performed by Hazrat `Ali, when several of the Prophet's companions were discussing the Arabic language and the impossibility of speaking without using the letter 'Alif ', which like the letter 'A' in English, is the most used letter of the Arabic language. It is said that without any hesitation, Hazrat `Ali rose and delivered a remarkable speech without once using the letter 'Alif '. This speech is appropriately known as the 'Speech without the Alif '.⁶⁸ All Arabic philologists agree that it was a tour de force and it is still considered a model of Arabic oratory today.

An equally well-known episode to demonstrate Hazrat `Ali's power of discourse is when he delivered to Ibn `Abbas, for the better part of the night, an oration on 'al-hamd', which is the first word of the first verse of the first Surah of the holy Qur'an (see also the section on Hazrat `Ali's knowledge). These examples portray not only Hazrat `Ali's extraordinary erudition and command over Arabic, but show also his oratory was so outstandingly powerful that it has often been likened to a river in full torrent, descending from a mountain. Not surprisingly then, many historians report that no antagonist was ever able to defeat Hazrat `Ali either in the combat of the tongue or the sword. In both these arenas, Hazrat `Ali reigned supreme.

Hazrat `Ali and Arabic Grammar

Hazrat `Ali, by his eloquence, introduced a unique variety of imagery, expressive phrases and beautiful metaphors into a language which was already rich in vocabulary and poetic imagery. However, he is particularly remembered for the introduction of the fundamental principles of the grammar of the Arabic language. Prior to Hazrat `Ali's time, Arabic had no grammatical rules. With the expansion of the Islamic State, the Arabs inevitably came into contact with other linguistic groups and there was a real danger that not only would the classical language of the holy Qur'an lose its purity, but the meaning of the Divine Word would be distorted.

Hazrat `Ali, therefore laid down the principles of the language for Abu'l Aswad ad-Duwali, who then wrote a complete treatise on it. Hazrat `Ali's principle was simple – i.e., the parts of speech are three – the noun, the verb and the particle. Abu'l Aswad ad-Duwali was asked where he had acquired the science of grammar, answered that he had learned the first points of it from Amiru'lmu'minin `Ali Ibn Abi Talib.⁶⁹ By encouraging Abu'l Aswad to lay down the foundation of An-Nahw (syntax), Hazrat `Ali ensured that Arabic would retain its classical purity through the ages and that the meaning of the Divine Word would not be distorted.

Hazrat `Ali's Khutbahs, Letters and Maxims

Mas`udi, the famous Muslim historian records that Hazrat `Ali during his lifetime, delivered nearly five hundred khutbahs (sermons), which were memorised by some of the listeners and gradually began to be quoted in a number of books and histories of Arabia. These sermons, always delivered extempore covered a multitude of subjects: awe inspiring discourses on the attributes of God; moving eulogies of the holy Prophet and the Qur'an; stirring exhortations to Jihad only in the path of God, truth and justice; convincing comparisons between the temporality of this world and the lasting happiness of the next and persuasive sermons to teach high values of morality and ethics. These khutbahs are not only sources of moral guidance and noble ethics, they are also considered masterpieces of Arabic literature and models of the art of rhetoric.

In addition, Hazrat `Ali wrote a large number of letters, many to his governors to train them to be just, benevolent and God-fearing rulers and some to Mu`awiyah which serve as a source of first hand historical information. He has also left behind a great number of concise sayings and aphorisms which abound in wisdom and truth.

In the tenth century C.E, Sharif ar-Razi, a Shi`ah theologian of great reputation, carried out a systematic task of collating Hazrat `Ali's sermons, letters and maxims. From already recorded sources, as well as oral sources, he was able to gather together only 245 sermons, 75 letters and 200 maxims. These he compiled as a book, called Nahju'l-balagah or the Way of Eloquence. Since the tenth century, the valuable work of Sharif ar-Razi has attracted much attention. A large number of commentaries have been written on it. A work of such importance was also bound to draw some controversy. Some people have argued that the work is a forgery, however, it is now accepted by most that the major part of Nahju'l-balagah is from either the tongue or the pen of Hazrat `Ali.

It will not be possible in a paper of this size to give a complete survey of the laudatory comments written about Nahju'l-balagah through the ages, nor even a representative sample of such praise. However, two personalities will be quoted – first, because neither of them is Shi`ah, secondly, they are both learned and renowned scholars and finally, Arabic is their mother tongue.

Ibn-i Abi'l-Hadid (d. 655 A.H) has written a great commentary on Hazrat `Ali's sermons, in which he says:

"His (Hazrat `Ali's) speeches, letters and sayings are so supremely eminent that they are above the sayings of man and below only to the word of God. None can surpass it but the holy Qur'an".⁷⁰

In the present century, Shaykh Muhammad `Abduh, described as 'the greatest Muslim savant of the modern age' has also edited and printed Nahju'l-balagah in Egypt. Shaykh `Abduh was the Mufti of Egypt and a rector of Al-Azhar University in Cairo. He says:

"Every one of those whose mother tongue is Arabic is of the opinion that the talk and speeches of `Ali are better, more eloquent, loftier and fuller in meaning that those of anyone except, of course, the Prophet and the holy Qur'an".⁷¹

⁵⁹Annemarie Schimmel: 'Mystical Dimensions of Islam' – Univ. of N. Carolina Press, 1975, p. 27.
⁶⁰Martin Lings, 'What is Sufism?' Univ. of California Press, 1975, p. 104.
⁶¹For a fuller explanation of this phenomena see: 'Al-silat al-tasawwuf wa al-tashayyu`' by al-Shaybi, Misr, 1969. Pg 29-30.
⁶²Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition.
⁶³'Book of faith' by al-Qazi al-Nu`man, trans. by A.A.A. Fyzee, p. 104.
⁶⁴'History of the Caliphs' by J. Suyuti, trans. by H.S Jarrett, p. 174.
⁶⁵'Qada' Amir al-Mu'minin, `Ali bin Abi Talib', by M.T Tustari, Najaf (Arabic) trans. by F.M. Hunzai.
⁶⁶See, for instance, the numerous ahadith of the Prophet for eg. 'The search for knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim man or woman', or 'People are either possessors of knowledge or seekers of knowledge, and only these two groups are of any use to humanity'.
⁶⁷Pen = qalam, tablet = lawh, ink = midad, read = iqra', book = kitab.
⁶⁸The full text of this speech is included in 'Nahju'l-Balagah', trans by Dr. M. al-Haj Salmin, Bombay. It can also be accessed at al-Islam.org website.
⁶⁹'Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary', p. 663.
⁷⁰'Nahju'l-Balagah', trans. M.A. Jafery, p. 4.
⁷¹'Nahju'l-Balagah', ed, trans. by M. al-Haj Salmin, p. XVIII.

Chapter Index

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter