13th Rajab :Birth Anniversary of the Commander of Faithful and the Pious Imam Ali Ibn-e-Abi Talib [AS]

    IMAM ALI MURTAZA

Name: Ali
Title: Murtaza                                                                       
Agnomen: Abu ' l-Hassan
Father's name: Abu Talib ibn 'Abd Muttalib                                                      



Mother's name: Fatimah bint Asad
Birth: In the Holy Ka'bah in Mecca on Friday, 13th Rajab 23 BH

Shahadat: Died at the age of 63, in Kufah ( Iraq ) on Monday, 21st Ramadan 40 AH; murdered by an assassin who mortally wounded him with a poisoned sword in the mosque of Kufah during the morning prayer on 19th Ramadan; buried in an-Najaf al-Ashraf ( Iraq )

Imam Ali the cousin of our Holy Prophet. He was born in the Sacred House (Ka'bah). Providence alone had a hand in bringing his mother towards the Ka'bah. When his mother came to Ka'bah, she felt weighed down by intense pain of pregnancy. She knelt down before the Holy Structure and prayed humbly to God. 'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, saw 'Ali's mother praying to God. No sooner had she raised her head from supplication, then the wall of the Sacred House split by a solemn miracle. Fatimah entered the Ka'bah and that portion returned to its normal position. 'Abbas and his companions flocked at the gate of the Sacred House which was locked, and tried to open it, but in vain. They then decided to give it up, considering the miraculous nature of the event and the Divine Will in action.

The news of this miraculous incident soon spread like wild fire in Mecca . 'Ali was born within the Ka'bah with his eyes closed and his body in humble prostration before the Almighty. Fatimah stayed in the Ka'bah for three days and as the fourth day approached she stepped out, carrying her gem in her arms. To her great surprise, she found the Holy Prophet awaiting to receive the newly-born child in his anxious arms. Imamate feeling the subtle touch of prophethood, 'Ali opened his eyes and saluted the Divine Prophet: "as-Salamu 'alayka ya Rasula'lldh" (Peace be you, O Messenger of Allah). 'Ali's birth in the Ka'bah is unique in the history of the world. Neither a prophet nor a Divine saint was ever blessed with such an honour. He was brought up under the care and affection of the Holy Prophet. As 'Ali says: "The Holy Prophet brought me up in his own arms and fed me with his own morsel. I followed him wherever he went like a baby-camel following its mother. Each day a new aspect of his character would beam out of his noble person and I would accept it and follow it as a command. " (Nahju 'I-balaghah). Ten years in the company of the Holy Prophet had kept him so close and inseparable, that he was one with him in character, knowledge, self-sacrifice, forbearance, bravery, kindness, generosity, oratory and eloquence.

From his very infancy, he prostrated before God along with the Holy Prophet. As he himself said: "I was the first to pray to God along with the Holy Prophet." " 'Ali presented in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet," says al-Mas'udi, "all along his childhood." Allah created him pure and holy and kept him steadfast on the right path. Though 'Ali is undisputably the first to embrace Islam when the Holy Prophet called upon his listeners to do so, yet by the very fact that since his infancy he was brought up by the Holy Prophet and followed him in every action and deed including prostration before Allah, he can be said to be born a Muslim, just like the Holy Prophet himself. 'Ali, at all times, accompanied the Holy Prophet to help and protect him from his enemies. He used to write down the verses of the Holy Qur'an and discuss them with the Prophet as soon as they were revealed by the Holy Messenger, the Gabriel.

 

ALI. AMIR AL- MOMNEEN

Amir al-Momneen, 'Ali (upon whom be peace) was the son of Abu Talib, the Shaykh of the Banu Hashim. Abu Talib was the uncle and guardian of the Holy Prophet and the person who had brought the Prophet to his house and raised him like his own son. After the Prophet was chosen for his prophetic mission. Abu Talib continued to support him and repelled from him the evil that came from the infidels among the Arabs and especially the Quraysh. According to well-known traditional accounts 'Ali was born ten years before the commencement of the prophetic mission of the Prophet. When six years old, as a result of femine in and around Mecca , he was requested by the Prophet to leave his father's house and come to the house of his cousin, the Prophet.

There are many stories told of 'Ali's kindness to the lowly, compassion for the needy and the poor, and generosity and munificence toward those in misery and poverty. 'Ali spent all that he earned to help the poor and the needy, and himself lived in the strictest and simplest manner. 'Ali loved agriculture and spent much of his time digging wells, planting trees and cultivating fields. But all the fields that he cultivated or wells that he built he gave in endowment (waqf) to the poor. His endowments, known as the "alms of 'Ali," had the noteworthy income of twenty-four thousand gold dinars towards the end of his life. (shi`ite Islam).

MARRIAGE

Under Divine instruction, the Apostle of Allah married his beloved daughter Fatimah to 'Al;, though others vainly tried for her hand. Among their children, Imam Hassan a.s, Imam Husasin a.s, bibi Zainbe s.a and Umm Kulsoom have left their marks on the history of the world. After the death of Hazrat Fatima a.s , 'Ali a.s married UmmuI-Baneen sa

. 'Abbas was born out of this wedlock and was so handsome that he was fondly called Qamar-e- Bani- Hashim. He personified loyalty and bravery and proved it in the battlefield at Karbala '.

SHADAT

In the 40th year of Hijrah, in the hours of the morning of 19th Ramadan, 'Ali was struck with a poisoned sword by a Kharijite while offering his prayers in the mosque of Kufah. The Lion of God, the most brave-hearted and fentle Muslim that ever lived began his glorious life with devotion to Allah and His Apostle and ended it in the service of Islam.