Imam Ali b. Abi Talib (a): Difference between revisions

Exegetes of the Qur'an regard the following verse to have been revealed about this event and about the virtues of 'Ali (a):<ref>Razi, ''Tafsir al-Razi'', vol. 5, p. 223; Tabataba'i, ''al-Mizan fi tafsir al-Qur'an'', vol. 2, p. 150</ref>

|And among the people is he who sells his soul seeking the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is most kind to [His] servants.

'''Brother of the Prophet (s)'''

{{main|al-Mubahala Verse}}

|Say, 'Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our souls and your souls, then let us pray earnestly and invoke the curse of Allah upon those who lie.

On the day of [[mubahala]] in  [[9]]/[[631 CE|631]], the Prophet (s) and the [[Najran]] Christians agreed to curse one another, until [[Allah]] punished those who were on the wrong path. So, the [[Prophet (s)]] took 'Ali (a), [[Fatima (a)]], [[al-Hasan (a)]], and [[al-Husayn (a)]] with him. When the Christians saw that he was so confident in his success that he had only brought his closest relatives, they grew apprehensive and accepted to pay the [[jizya]] instead of going through with the challenge. In the verse 'Ali (a) is mentioned as the soul of the Prophet (s) ("our souls and your souls").

'''Al-Tathir Verse'''

{{main|al-Tathir Verse}}

|Indeed Allah desires to repel all impurity from only you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and purify you with a thorough purification.

According to Shi'a scholars, this verse was revealed to the Prophet (s) in the house of his wife [[Umm Salama]]. During its [[revelation]], 'Ali (a), Fatima (a), al-Hasan (a), and al-Husayn (a) were also there with him. After the verse was revealed, the Prophet (s) used his cloak to cover himself, 'Ali (a), Fatima (a), al-Hasan (a), and al-Husayn (a){{ndash}}the [[Ashab al-Kisa']] (people of the cloak). Raising his hands in prayer, he said, "O God! My Household are these four people. Remove any impurities from them."<ref>Saduq, ''al-Khisal'', Vol. 2, p. 403; Sayyid Qutb. ''Fi zilal al-Qur'an'', Vol. 6, P.586; Tabrisi, ''Majma' al-bayan fi tafsir al-Qur'an'', vol. 8, p. 559</ref>

'''Al-Mawadda Verse'''

{{main|al-Mawadda Verse}}

|Say, 'I do not ask you any reward for it (the mission) except love of [my] relatives.'

Ibn 'Abbas says: "When this verse was revealed, I asked the Prophet (s) who were those whom love for them had become obligatory. He (s) stated, "'Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn". He repeated this three times."<ref>Majlisi, ''Bihar al-anwar'', Vol. 23, p. 233</ref>

[[Ibn Abi l-Hadid]] says, "Regarding generosity, 'Ali's (a) position is clear. He fasted and gave what he would break his fast with ([[iftar]]) to the poor to the extent that the following verse was revealed about him:

|They give food, for the love of Him, to the needy, the orphan and the prisoner.

Exegetes of the Qur'an have said that one day, 'Ali (a) had only four dirhams. He gave one of them as charity at night, another as charity during the day, the third secretly as charity, and the fourth openly as charity. The following verse was revealed regarding this and it says:

|Those who give their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, they shall have their reward near their Lord, and they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.

It is said that he would water the date gardens of the Jews in [[Medina]] with his own hands until they became calloused, and he gave all of his profits to the poor, and tied stones to his stomach (so that he could handle the pangs of his own hunger]. It is said that he never said "no" to a beggar.