Today is a sad day for the Shia their first imam was martyred on this Holy month of Ramzan, and this is the irony of Islam, even the Mosque was not spared to do the evil satanic deeds and unfortunately the same thing continues lobbing of grenades doing prayers , bombing mosques , houses of worship that don’t adhere to a particular Sunni belief of distorted puritanism,
And Puritanism is human life whether that of a believer or non believer , and no one has a right to condemn man to death and play God.
And Islamic history shows whenever Innocence was killed, or destroyed the people in power and the coterie around let it happen, without batting an eyelid, whether it was at Karbala, or in modern times under Saddam Hussain, the minarets of the rest of the Muslim world went about, uncondoning such attacks, it was only issues like the cartoons that got them overtly aroused, Muslims killing Muslims in the name of ethnic cleansing was given a clean chit by the Silence.
This modern Terrorism is because of the silence and a very powerful impotent silence cultivated and nurtured by a distorted dogma, distorted Gospel, and the hierarchy of rogue Mullahs.
And the custodians of the Holy Shrines are more interested in the safety of their Kingdom.. a total sham and hypocrisy of humanity and the human rights of people all over the world.
I feel ashamed, and on the 21st day of Ramzan I feel the killings in Mosques around the world will never end.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AlÄ« ibn AbÄ« ṬÄlib (علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب)‎ (599 – 661)[1] was an early Islamic leader. He is seen by Sunni Muslims as the last of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs. Shi’a Muslims consider him the First Imam appointed by the Prophet Muhammad and the first rightful caliph. Ali was the cousin of Muhammad, and after marriage to Fatima Zahra, he also became Muhammad’s son-in-law.
Ali was born on 13 Rajab in Makkah, in the Hijaz region of central western Arabia. According to well-known traditional accounts Ali was born ten years before the commencement of the prophetic mission of the Muhammad SAW, sometime around 599 CE [2] or 600 CE [3](approximately).
There are many Shi’a traditions about the birth of Ali. Some claim that when Ali’s mother was pregnant with him, she had astonishing dreams and experienced abdominal pains when worshipping idols.[12] Fatima bint Asad entered Kaaba to pray the God. She felt weighed down by intense pain when Ali was due to be born. “[People witnessed] the wall of Kaabah broke apart and Fatima bint-e-Asad entered into the Kaabah. Then the wall again united.”[4] The keys of the shrine were brought to unlock the door but all efforts ended in failure. On the third day of this happening Fatima emerged radiant from the sacred premises, cheerfully holding her new-born baby in her arms.[5] She was greeted by Muhammad, who took the child from her arms and kissed him. The infant Ali had not taken any milk, so his first taste of liquid was the saliva upon Muhammad’s lips. Other accounts claim that he was able to recite from the Torah upon being born.
These reports are considered exaggerations and myths by Sunnis and most secular historians, who consider it unlikely that Ali was born in the Kaabah or could read the Torah. There is no mention of any such event in the earliest Islamic histories.
As early as the ninth century, a Muslim historian related a similar experience to the birth of Muhammad: “As soon as he came out of his mother’s womb, he said ‘God is great’. At one month he crawled, at two months he stood, at three months he walked, at four months he ran, and at nine months he shot arrows.”[6] In the fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion, these are examples of myth-making and history fabrication about the birth of a reverred figure, a practice which is found in many societies and cultures
The small community of Muslim immigrants in Medina, the Muhajirun, were at first extremely poor. They had no land, no houses, and lived on the charity of the Madinans who had converted to Islam. Ali shared in all the labor and hardships of the community.
For the ten years that Muhammad led the community in Medina, Ali was extremely active in his service, serving in his armies, leading parties of warriors on raids, and carrying messages and orders. With the exception of Tabuk, Ali joined all of battles and expeditions fought for Islam. As Muhammad’s son-in-law and one of his lieutenants, Ali was a person of authority and standing in the Muslim community [16].
Ali first distinguished himself as a warrior in 624 CE, at the Battle of Badr. He defeated the Banu Umayyed champion Walid ibn Utba as well as many other Meccan soldiers. “Al Seerah” of Ibn Husham narrated he killed 20 of the pagans[11] and “Al Maghazi” narrated he killed 22 of them.[12] He was publicly praised by Muhammad.[13]
After this, he asked for the hand in marriage of Fatima Zahra, Muhammad’s daughter by Khadijah. Fatima and Muhammad consented, and the marriage was solemnized two months after the battle. [14]
Ali was also prominent at the Battle of Uhud, as well as many other battles where he wielded a bifurcated sword known as Zulfiqar. [15] At the beginning Ali killed “Talhah Ibn Abu Talhah” and then his brother “Abu Saad Ibn Abu Talhah” the bearers of the banner of the pagans. [16] Ibn Al-Atheer, Abu Rafi and Tabari report that Ali, alone, destroyed all the standard bearers.[17] , The death of the bearers of the banner heightened the morale of the Muslims and shook the hearts of the pagans and when the army of Islam was defeated and most of the Muslims scaped Ali was one of the few muslims who defended Muhammad. According to Ibn Atheer “The Prophet become the object of the attack of various units of the army of Quraysh from all sides. Ali attacked, in compliance with the Prophet’s orders, every unit that made an attack upon him (the Prophet) and dispersed them or killed some of them, and this thing took place a number of times in Uhud” [18] and there was said “La Fata Illa Ali, La Saifa Illa Zulfiqar” (There is no brave man except Ali and there is no sward which renders service except Zulfiqar -which was in the hands of Ali) .”[19]
In the Battle of the Trench he killed “Amr ibn Wodd” -one the most heroes of enemeis - in what was a great calamity to the Meccan army. [20] [21]
Gadir Khumm
On 10 March 632 CE (18th of Dhu’l-Hijjah of 10 AH) the caravan of Muhammad arriving from his farewell hajj stopped at Ghadir Khumm, along with a group of Muslims returning to Madinah with him. It was an area where people from varying provinces used to greet each other before taking different routes home.[22] On giving a speech to the Muslims there, Muhammad said:
“O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I, in response to Allah’s call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family. [23].”
Although its authenticity is disputed,[24] some of Sunni and all of Shi’a recources report that Muhammad then proclaimed:
“For whoever I am a Mawla of, then ‘Ali is his Mawla[24][22].”
This statement is seen by Sunnis as a recommendation of Ali’s good qualities and a refutation to prevailing rumours about him, although Shia see it as a confirmation of Ali’s succession to Muhammad and Imamah[citation needed]
The death of Muhammad
In 632 Muhammad had been ailing for some time, but seemed to have recovered somewhat. He left his house to take part in prayers at the mosque, then returned to his quarters and died.
While Ali and the rest of Muhammad’s close family were washing the prophet’s body for burial, at a gathering attended by a small group of Muslims at Saqifah, the sucession was given to Abu Bakr by vote. According to Sunni accounts, Muhammad died without having appointed a successor, and with a need for leadership, they gathered and voted for the position of caliph. Shi’a accounts differ by asserting that Muhammad had designated Ali as his successor on a number of occasions, including on his death bed.Ali had many friends, followers and supporters who believed that he should have succeeded Muhammad. This did not create an immediate division, however, because Ali did not fight against the elected caliphs. [25]
The succession to Muhammad is an extremely contentious issue. Muslims ultimately divided into two branches based on their political attitude towards this issue, which forms the primary theological barrier between the two major divisions of Muslims: Sunni and Shi’a, with the latter following Ali as the successor to Muhammad. The two groups also disagree on Ali’s attitude towards Abu Bakr, and the two caliphs who succeeded him: Umar ibn al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affan. Sunnis tend to stress Ali’s acceptance and support of their rule, while the Shi’a claim that he distanced himself from them. They argue that he did not do so because he was angry at having been denied worldly power and pleasure; rather, he felt that he had a duty to keep the Muslim community on the strict path of Islam, and that he was being kept from fulfilling the religious duty that Muhammad had appointed to him. The Sunni Muslims say that if Ali was the rightful successor as ordained by God Himself, then it would have been his duty as the leader of the Muslim nation to make war with these people (Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman) until Ali established the decree. But Ali did not fight Abu Bakr, ‘Umar nor Uthman because if he decided to, it would have caused a civil war amongst the Muslims, which was still a nascent community throughout the Arab world.[26]
Inheritance
Shi’a Muslims believe that Ali and Fatima, as well as the wives of Muhammad had an additional cause for disaffection with Abu Bakr [27]. The new caliph argued that Muhammad’s considerable landed property had been held by the prophet in trust for the community, and was rightfully the property of the state — despite Ali’s rejoinder that Muhammad’s revelations included accounts of prophetic inheritance (Qur’an 27:16, 21:89). According to Shi’a Muslims, Abu Bakr gave state pensions to Muhammad’s widows, but Muhammad’s blood relatives, Ali, Fatima and Ibn Abbas, did not receive even that much.
After Fatima’s death, Ali again claimed her inheritance, but was denied with the same argument. However, Umar, the caliph who succeeded Abu Bakr, did restore the estates in Medina to al-Abbas and Ali, as representatives of Muhammad’s clan, the Banu Hashim. The properties in Khaybar and Fadak were retained as state property (Madelung 1997 p. 62). Shi’a sources regard this as another instance of the persecution of Muhammad’s lineage, the Ahl al-Bayt, at the hands of the caliphs they regard as usurpers. [28]
Succession to the caliphate
In 656 CE, the third caliph Uthman, was murdered in his own house in Medina by assassins. Uthman’s plea to Muawiyah for rescue had not been answered. Medina, now a large city and the capital of an empire stretching from Africa to Central Asia, fell into chaos. In the crisis, some Muslims turned to Ali, who had been for years a faithful and steady lieutenant of Muhammad and his successors, and urged him to seek the caliphate. He is said to have been horrified by the assassination of Uthman, and did not wish to appear to be profiting from the situation. [17]
Some opponents at the time claimed that he had connived at the murder of Uthman, or at the very least had been negligent in seeking the murderers. The accusation, according to Shi’a sources, mainly came from those who fell out of favour and those who were denied the generous powerful positions granted to them under the rule of Uthman. [18] Accusations also came from Muawiyah’s supporters. Muawiyah on the pretext of seeking justice for the murder of Uthman refused to pledge allegiance to Ali and then started a campaign to seize power for himself.
Besides his extremely high status in Shi’a Islam, Ali is also revered by Sunnis as the last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, although many Sunnis have high regard for both Hasan and Mu‘awiyah also. [19]
For a fuller discussion of this and succeeding events, see First Islamic civil war.
Almost the first act of his caliphate was to put down a rebellion led by Talha and az-Zubayr (two eminent companions of Muhammad), who were urged on by Aisha, one of Muhammad’s wifes. In the view of Shi’as, she was a bitter enemy of Ali, and one of the chief hindrances to his advancement to the caliphate. Her rebel army was defeated at the Battle of Basra (also known as the Battle of the Camel); Talha was killed, Zubayr left before the battle following a discussion with Ali and a reminder of their shared past. However he was killed soon after he left the forces of Talha. Aisha was defeated and was captured. Remarkably, instead of any thought of revenge or punishment Ali ensured that she was escorted with all respect to Medina, where she was given a pension. [20]
Soon thereafter, Ali dismissed several provincial governors, some of whom were relatives of Uthman, and replaced them with trusted aides such as Malik ibn Ashter and Salman the Persian. Ali then transferred his capital from Medina to Kufa, the Muslim garrison city in what is now Iraq. The capital of the province of Syria, Damascus, was held by Mu’awiyah, the governor of Syria and a kinsman of Uthman, Ali’s slain predecessor. [21]
Mu’awiyah raised an army and marched against Ali, demanding vengeance for the death of Uthman. A prolonged battle took place in July 657 CE in the Battle of Siffin, near the Euphrates; the battle seemed to be turning in favor of Ali, when a number of the opposing army, fixing copies of the Qur’an to the points of their spears, exclaimed that “the matter ought to be settled by reference to this book, which forbids Muslims to shed each other’s blood.” [22]
At this point, the soldiers of Ali refused to fight any longer, and demanded that the issue be referred to arbitration. Ali and his followers are said to have disagreed over the choice of advocate for Ali. Ali wanted Malik ibn Ashter or Ibn Abbas; his followers are said to have objected. Finally, Abu Musa al Asha’ri was chosen as Ali’s advocate. Amr ibn al-As, a veteran diplomat, was chosen to act for Mu’awiyah. It is claimed that `Amr persuaded Abu Musa that it would be to the advantage of Islam that neither candidate should reign, and asked him to give his decision first. Abu Musa having proclaimed that he deposed both Ali and Mu’awiyah, `Amr declared that he also deposed Ali, but invested Mu’awiyah with the caliphate. This decision greatly injured the cause of Ali, which was still further weakened by the loss of Egypt to Mu’awiya’s forces. [23]
Death
According to tradition, three Muslim zealots (purists later termed Kharijites) had agreed to assassinate Ali, Mu’awiyah and `Amr, as the authors of disastrous feuds among the faithful. The assassins sent against Mu’awiyah and `Amr failed as on the day Muawiyah happened to be wearing his armour underneath his clothes and Amr did not attend the mosque as he was ill; the only assassin who succeeded was the one who attacked Ali. This event has always been shadowed by speculation of a plot masterminded by Muawiyah. The fortuitous concidence that saved Muawiayah and Amr, both bitter enemies of Ali, is considered to have the mark of Muawiyah’s shrewd planning. [24]
Ali suffered a mortal head wound on the 19th of Ramadan while he was performing morning prayers in mosque in the city of Kufa. Some say that the sword that wounded him was poisoned. According to the Shi’a tradition, as he was being struck Ali said “By the Lord of the Ka’bah, I have succeeded!” [25]
Ali died on the 21st of Ramadan (three days after receiving the head wound) in the city of Kufa (Iraq) in 661 CE.
Many Shi’a believe that Ali didn’t want his grave to be desecrated by his enemies and because of that he asked his friends and family members to bury him secretly.. This secret gravesite is supposed to have been revealed in later times. Most Shi’as accept that Ali was buried at what is now the city of Najaf, which grew around the mosque and shrine called Masjid Ali. [29]
One story recounts that the caliph Harun al-Rashid (ruled from 786 to 809) went hunting and came upon a bit of raised ground which his dogs refused to approach. Local inhabitants told him that this was the grave of Ali ibn Abi Talib. The caliph ordered the building of a mausoleum, which was the nucleus of the city and the shrine.
Another story claims that the location of the gravesite was passed from father to son along the line of Shi’a Imams, and that Ja’far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shi’a Imam, told the caliph where to find the grave.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_ibn_Abu_Talib
excerpts
21 Ramzan Martyrdom of Hazrat Ali
Posted by photographerno1 on 05 Mar 2007
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