The Gateway of
knowledge and Wisdom, the Lion of Allah, the Conqueror of Khyber, Commander of
the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.) was the only man in the Islamic history, who
acted upon the Ayah 12 of the Surah al-Mujadilah which said: “O you who
believe! When you intend to hold confidential talks with the Messenger, spend
something in charity before your private counsel. That will be better and purer
for you. But if you fail to afford it, then indeed, Allah is oft-Forgiving,
Most Gracious.”
Tabrisi in “Majma al-Bayan” and other famous exegetes
(Mufassirin) had reported that some wealthy persons used to surround the
Messenger of Allah and engage in confidential talks. It caused a waste of
Messenger’s time, upsetting the poor and indigents, while the rich wanted to
show-off and exhibit their closeness to the Messenger. Allah revealed this Ayah
requiring the persons who planned to engage in private talks with the Messenger
to give charity before starting their talk. The Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.) was the first and the
only person who acted upon it. Other people ceased to talk in privacy and did
not pay any charity.
Tabrisi had reported
by the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.) himself, who said: “There is
an Ayah in the Glorious Qur’an on which no body before me had acted upon and no
body after me will ever act upon. I had a dinar with me and I converted it into
ten dirham. Whenever I wanted to talk to the Messenger confidentially, I would
give one dirham in charity.” Similar narration was reported by Shokani
stated by Abdul Razzaq, Ibn al-Manzar, Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Marduya.
Abdullah Ibn Umar, the son of the second caliph Umar ibn Khattab, narrated in Tafsir Ruh al-Bayan: “Hazrat Ali (a.s.) had three special merits; if I would have only one of them it would have been better than the red-haired camels (Arabs use this proverb for very valuable things); his first merit was that the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) married his daughter Hazrat Fatima to him (Imam Ali), the second merit was the awarding the Islamic Standard to him (Imam Ali) on the eve of the Battle of Khyber, and the third was the revelation of the"Ayah of Najwa” which only he (Imam Ali) acted upon.”
The commandment of giving charity before speaking
confidentially with the Messenger was revoked shortly. Ayah 13 of the Surah al-Mujadilah refers: “Are you afraid of spending
in charity before your private consultation? If then you do it not and Allah
has forgiven you, then establish prayers and pay alms-tax and obey Allah and
His Messenger. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.”
The duration of this Commandment was reportedly ten days.
The objective of this Commandment was to establish the sincerity
of the so called wealthy Muslims who exhibited love and affection with the
Messenger of Allah but withdrew when they had to spend some money. Moreover, unless it is very essential, the
time of important personalities should not be wasted. Same is the lesson for
future generations.
Sources used:
The Glorious Qur’an
Enlightening Commentaries into the Light of the Glorious Qur’an
Translation of the Glorious Qur’an (Urdu Translation) by
Ayatollah Nassir Makarem Shirazi
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