Surah Ar-Ra’d Ayah 43: “And the unbelievers
say, “You are not a Messenger,” say you (O’ Muhammad): Sufficient is Allah as a
witness between me and you and him with who is the knowledge of the Book.”
Similarly, the
same word “Sha’hid” or witness is used in Suah Hud Ayah 17: “He is the one (The
Noble Prophet ) who possess authority from his Lord and from him (his people) a
witness who is an Imam (leader) and a blessing recites it (Qur’an) and before
it was the book of Moses.
By “the one who
has the knowledge of the Book” means the one who is divinely endowed with the
fullest of the inner as well as the outer meaning of the Word of Allah. People
asked the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) as to who the individual was. The Noble
Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) replied, “My brother Ali ibn Abi Taleb.”
(Tafseer-e-Husainy, Tafsir-e-Tha’labi, Tarik-ul-Khulafa of Jalauddin Suyooti)
The Commander of
the Faithful, the Unique Witness of Prophet Hood, Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “Ask me
about the Glorious Qur’an, for I know when each and every verse (Ayah) of it
was revealed- for whom it was received in particular and to whom it applies in general.” No doubt,
the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) was fully justified in declaring “I am
the City of Knowledge and Ali is its Gate.” Whenever the caliphs of the
time were confronted with any problem they used to refer it to the Commander of
the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.)
The Glorious Qur’an itself is a Miracle of Allah which
was revealed on the heart of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.). Moreover, Allah
(s.w.t.) is testifying about his prophet hood saying in Surah al-Ya’sin Ayah 1 to 3: “(I swear by) Ya’sin and the (Glorious)
Qur’an, the Book of wisdom that you (O Muhammad) are a Messenger.”
In the First
invitation by the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) to his people in
“Da’wat-e-Zul-Ashirah” in response to the Divine order in Surah al-Shu’ara’ Ayah 214: “Warn your close relatives.”,
he proclaimed his Prophet hood and sought help, it was the young Imam Ali (a.s.) who was barely 12 years, who stood up and
testified that he was the Messenger of Allah and that he will assist the
Messenger in preaching Islam.
Surah al-Baqarah
Ayah 207: “And among men there is one who sells his soul seeking the pleasure
of Allah and truly, Allah is affectionate to His (such) servants.”
Surah al-Namal
Ayah 39-40: “Suleiman said: “Which of you will bring me her throne before they
come to me in submission.” Jinn said: “I will bring it to you before you rise
from your place.”One, who had some knowledge (of a part) of the Book, said: “I
will bring it to you before even you blink your eyes!”
A person who had
only part of the knowledge of the Book could that wonder, one can imagine the
knowledge of the Gateway of the City of knowledge, Imam Ali (a.s.)
In Nahjul Balagha,
Imam Ali (a.s.) described his intimacy with the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.): “I
used to follow him (the Prophet) like a young camel following into the foot
prints of its mother. Every year he used to go into seclusion to the hill of
Hira’, where I saw him no one else saw him.” The Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s) said
about revelation: “O Ali, You can see what I could see; you can hear what I
hear except that there is no prophet after me.”
At many occasions, Imam
Ali (a.s.) had said: “Ask me, ask me, before you loose me! Only a man of that
paramount knowledge could speak like
that. In the Battle of Siffin, when the hypocrites feeling the imminent
defeat raised the Glorious Qur’an on the spears (in a way desecrating it) and
some of the Muslims fighting for Imam Ali (a.s.) were trapped by the trick, Imam Ali (a.s.) said that do not be mislead
by these hypocrites, he was the “talking Qur’an” or “Personified” Qur’an!
Sources used:
Translation of the Glorious Qur’an by Ayatollah Agha Pooya
Yazdi & Mir Ahmed Ali (English), by Ayatollah Nasir Makarem Shirazi (Urdu),
by Maulana Sayyid Farman Ali (Urdu), Nahj-ul-Balagha, Who is Imam Ali Ibn Abi
Talib (a.s.) Household of gold.wordpress.com
No comments:
Post a Comment