During the Battle of Jamal (1), a\ncompanion of Imam Ali (PBUH) was in deep doubt. He would observe both sides. On\none side he would see Imam Ali (PBUH) and great figures of Islam who were\ngathered round him striking away with their swords; and on the other side he\nwould observe Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP), about whom the\nQuran said, \u201cAnd his wives are considered mothers of them [the believers]\u201d (2).\nHe would see Talha, one of the first Muslims, in Aisha\u2019s army; the one who had\nserved Islam greatly and was famous for his abilities at war, especially his\narrow shooting. He would see Zubair, a man with an even better past record than\nTalha; the same Zubair who supported Imam Ali (PBUH) on the day of Saqifah and\ntook sanctuary in his house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This man was deep in doubt. \u2018How can\nit be\u2019 he thought?! Ali, Talha, and\nZubair are all early Muslims and great supporters of Islam, and yet they are\nagainst each other today. Which side is\nright? What is the right thing to do?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With these thoughts in mind, he\ndecided to meet with Imam Ali (PBUH). Once at the Imam\u2019s presence, he asked,\n\u201cIs it possible that Talha, Zubair, and Aisha have all gathered together for\nfalsehood? Such characters are companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP).\nHow can they be wrong? Is such a thing possible?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Ali (PBUH) gives such a powerful\nresponse that has famous scholars like the Egyptian Taha Hussain comment, \u201cI\nhave not heard a response so powerful ever since revelation stopped\u201d (3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Imam (PBUH) said, \u201cYou have been\nmisled. Truth and falsehood cannot be known by the measure of value and\npersonality of individuals. It is wrong of you to first pinpoint persons, and\nthen judge truth and falsehood based on their characters. To say something is truth\nbecause so and so agree with it, or to say something is false because so and so\ndisapprove, are both wrong methods. Individuals should not be measurements and\ncriteria for identifying truth. Rather, it is truth and falsehood that must be\nthe basis of identifying people. Meaning, you must know the truth and\nfalsehood, not become a knower of individuals and personalities. You should\nmeasure individuals (whether they be famous or not) according to truth. If they\nmeet the truth, then accept their characters, otherwise no. This is not a\ncorrect question, \u201cCan Talha, Zubair, and Aisha be on the wrong side?\u201d(4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this speech, Imam Ali (PBUH) set\nthe truth itself as the standards for truth, not on famous presences within the\nBattle of Jamal. And this is the essence of the Shia sect and the standard it\nis based upon. Imam Ali (PBUH) was thirty three after the demise of Prophet\nMuhammad (PBUH&HP). He had only a few companions, and was confronted by old\nmen of sixty years with a large majority. The logic of the majority was to\nfollow the path of the elders, whom they believed do not err. Whereas, the\nminority believed that he who does not err is with truth. Great men should\naccord themselves with the truth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And for this reason, it can be\nunderstood how numerous are the people whose slogan is the slogan of Shiite\nIslam, which is following truth, but whose spirit is not the spirit of Shiite\nIslam. The path of Shiism, like its spirit, is recognition of truth and\npursuing it, not identifying it based on individuals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from the book \u201cPolarization around the Character of Ali (PBUH)\u201d\nby Professor Shahid Mutahhari, with minor changes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roshd Website offers its condolences\non the 21st of Ramadan for the martyrdom of the, master of the believers, Ali\nibn Abi Talib (PBUH), to all Muslims, especially to you dear friend.\nFurthermore we honor the most superior night of the year, the valuable and\nprecious night of Qadr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We further invite to reading the\narticle \u201cThe Night of Qadr\u201d located in the Articles section of Roshd Website,\nas it related to these nights. This article analyzes the incidents that take\nplace on the Night of Qadr through verses of the Holy Quran, and further\nexpands on the representative of Allah on earth in our and other eras. This\narticle ends by recommending acts that can be done to take advantage the most\nblessed night of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. After people\npaid allegiance to Imam Ali (PBUH), his justice in distributing\npublic\u2019s-treasury (Bayt al-Maal) and deposing and appointing ministers angered\nmany. Talha and Zubair who had paid allegiance to Imam Ali (PBUH) had hoped to\nbe appointed as the governors of Basra and Kufa. However, the Imam (PBUH) did\nnot agree to their request. They therefore, left Medina with the excuse to take\na pilgrimage to Mecca. On the other hand, Bani Umayyah, who had been used to\ngetting bonuses from the rule of Uthman, had been at loss with the coming of\nImam Ali\u2019s (PBUH) rule. Hence, rummaging the treasury they all joined forces\nwith Talha and Zubair and gathered around Aisha. They used the money they had\nstolen to build a large army and took over Basra. In this battle, Aisha was\nriding a camel, which became the symbol of the army, and therefore the battle\ncame to be known as the Battle of the Jamal (male camel). In order to defeat\nthe trouble and persecution, Imam Ali (PBUH) traveled to Basra and won the\nbattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. The Holy\nQuran, (33:6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Ali and his\nSons, p.40<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. The above\nquote is a summary of the Imam\u2019s speech. (Rawdat al-Wa\u2019idhin, p.31)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During the Battle of Jamal (1), a companion of Imam Ali (PBUH) was in deep doubt. He would observe both sides. On one side he would see Imam Ali (PBUH) and great figures of Islam who were gathered round him striking away with their swords; and on the other side he would observe Aisha, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[18966,18002,18566,18967,17990,18418,18968,18965],"class_list":["post-4033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2010-09-01","tag-hussain","tag-imam-ali","tag-jamal","tag-muhammad","tag-occasion-letters","tag-powerful","tag-who-is-right"],"yoast_head":"\n