|
|
 |
|
| And what did Hadrat Ali Himself believe? |
|
|
Let us turn to Hadrat Ali himself.
In NAHJUL BALAGHA (PEAK OF ELOQUENCE) where Sermons, Letters and Sayings of Hadrat Ali are published, there is a letter (No. 31) wherein he gave certain advices to his son in the form of a will. They deal with almost every subject of life which goes a long way to make a man successful in life, brave, chivalrous, humane, generous, virtuous and God-fearing.
|
| |
“………………………………………..
After praise to God and the Holy Prophet (A.S.) let it be known to you that decay of health, passing away of time and nearness of death have made me realize that I should give more thought to my future (next world) and to my people, advise them more and spend more time in equipping them mentally to face this world. I felt that my own sons and my near ones have as much right to utilize my experiences and knowledge. All the ups and downs of life, all the realities, and all the truths about life and hereafter which are known to me, as others. I decided therefore to spend more time over you and to prepare you more for your future….” |
|
|
| “My dear son! You are part of my body and soul… Your affairs are to me like my own affairs. Therefore, I committed these advices to paper. I want you to take care of them, to pay attention to them and to guard them well…” |
|
|
| “My first and foremost advice to you, my son! Is to fear God. Be His obedient servant. Keep His thought always fresh in your mind. Be attached to and carefully guard the rope which connects you with Him (ISLAM). Can any other connection be stronger, more durable and more lasting than this command respect and consideration or to replace it?” |
|
|
| “Take care to provide well for your future abode. Do not lose eternal blessing for the sake of pleasures of this world.” |
|
|
| “Advise people to do good and to live virtuously, because you are fit to give such advices….” |
|
|
| “Fight, whenever required to defend the cause of God. … Adhere to the cause of truth and justice wherever you find it. Try to be well-versed in Islamic jurisprudence and theology and acquire a thorough knowledge of the canons of THIS RELIGION.” |
|
|
| “ … Trust in God and let your mind seek His protection in every calamity and suffering. Because you will thus entrust yourself and your affairs to the Best Trustee and to the Mightiest Guardian. Do not seek help and protection of anybody but God. Reserve your prayers, your requests, your solicitations, your supplications and your entreaties to Him and Him alone. Because to grant, to give, to confer and to bestow, as well as to withhold, to deprive, to refuse and to debar lies in His and only in His Power. Ask as much of His Favours and seek as much of His Guidance as often as you can.” |
|
|
| “Remember my son! The best out of these advices of mine are those which tell you to fear God, to concentrate and to confine yourself to the performance of those duties which have been made incumbent upon you by Him and to follow the footsteps of your ancestors and your pious and virtuous relations. … But remember that before you start thinking and deliberating over a problem seek guidance of the Lord and beseech Him to give you a lead in the right direction, avoid confusion in your ideas and do not let disbelief take hold of your mind because one will lead you towards agnosticism and the other towards errors and sins…” |
|
|
“My dear son! Carefully and very carefully remember these sayings of mine that the Lord, who is Master of death is also the Master of life. The Creator is the Annihilator. And the One, who annihilates has the power to again bring everything back to existence. The One, who sends calamities towards you is the One who will bring you safe out of them.
Remember this world is working under laws ordained by Him and it consists of assemblage and aggregation of actions and reactions, causes and effects, calamities and reverses, pains and pleasures, and rewards and punishments; but this is not all which the picture depicts; there are things which are beyond our ken, things which we do not know and cannot know, and things which cannot be foreseen and foretold, for instance the rewards and punishments of the Day of Judgement. … Remember that when you came into the world your first appearance was that of an ignorant, uneducated and unlearned being, then you gradually acquired knowledge, but there are several things (in this world) which were beyond your knowledge, which perplexed and surprised you and about which you did not understand ‘why’ and ‘how’; gradually you acquired knowledge about some of those subjects and in future your knowledge and vision may further expand. Therefore, the best thing for you is to seek guidance of ONE, Who has created you, Who maintains and nourishes you, Who has given a balanced mind and a normally working body. YOUR PRAYERS SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR HIM ONLY, YOUR REQUESTS AND SOLICITATIONS SHOULD BE ALONE TO HIM, YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF HIM AND OF NOBODY ELSE.
Be it known to you, my son that nobody has given the mankind, such detailed information about God (His mercy, His kindness, His Glory, His might and His power) as our Holy Prophet (A.S.), I advise you to have faith in his teachings to make him your leader and to accept his guidance for your salvation. … Remember my son! Had there been any other god beside the ONE, he would have also sent his messengers and prophets and they would have pointed out to mankind the domain and glory of the second god and you would have also seen them. But no such incident ever took place. He is ONE GOD whom we all should recognize and WORSHIP. He has explained Himself. Nobody is a partner to Him in His Domain, Might and Glory. He is Eternal, has always been and shall always be. He existed even before the universe came into being but there is no beginning to His Existence. He shall remain when every other thing will disappear into nothingness and there shall be no end to His Existence. His Glory and His Existence is so supreme, pre-eminent, transcendent, incomparable and excellent that it is beyond the grasp of minds and intellects. None can understand or visualize Him. When you have accepted these truths and realities then your behavior, so far as His Orders and Interdictions are concerned, should be that of a person who realizes that his status, power and position is nothing when compared to that of His Lord, who wants to gain His Favor through prayers and obedience, who fears His Wrath as well as His Punishments, and who is absolutely in need of His Help and Protection. Remember my son, that God has not ordered you to do anything but that which is good and which propagates and distributes goodness and He has not interdicted you from anything but that which is bad and will bring about bad effects.”
|
|
|
| |
|
