Imam Ali (pbuh), a Master of Leadership- part 1

1

Imam Ali (PBUH) a Master of Leadership?

Part 1

Farhad Zargari, MD, [email protected]

2History of Great Men

The history of great men is a fountain of experience, faith and aspirations for us - a fountain which will never dry up. The great men of the world are like lofty peaks of mountains which we aspire to climb with great eagerness and passion. They are the light-houses which keep darkness away from around us. It is due to the examples set by them that we have gained self-confidence. They have made us hopeful of life, taught us its aims and objectives.

3Imam Ali(PBUH)

Imam Ali peace be on him (600-661 AD), is the most distinguished personality of Islam after Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be on him. His entire life is devoted to righteousness and justice. He was a great companion to the Prophet of Islam(PBUH) and dedicated himself to the advancement of Islam. He was a great judge, a great philanthropist and the most pious person of his time. Much has been written and continues to be written about the life, character and attributes of Imam Ali.

4A Universal Example

Although Imam Ali(PBUH) was born in Arabia his person is not meant for Arabia only. Although the fountains of his kindness and wisdom sprang from Islam, he is not confined to the Muslim world. Rather he is a universal example of virtue, piety, purity, faithfulness, justice, eloquence, respect for others, and help for the deprived and the oppressed.

5Sacrificing Life

If you look at the horizon you will observe two kinds of redness; one the natural redness and the other that of the blood of the men and women in the path of truth and justice. If you hear with the ears of your heart, history will narrate to you the story of the great martyrs in the path of truth and justice who sacrificed themselves for the prosperity of others and Imam Ali(PBUH) was such a champion.

6He was Born in Ka’bah

Imam Ali was born in the Sacred House (Ka'bah). Ali was born ten years before the commencement of the prophetic mission of the Prophet Mohammad. Providence alone had a hand in bringing his mother, Fatima daughter of Asad towards the Ka'bah. It was Friday 13th of the month Rajab 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.

7He was Born in Ka’bah

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 the whole city of 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.

8Care and Education Under the Holy

Prophet(PBUH) Imam Ali's birth in the Ka'bah is so unique in the history of the

world. Neither a prophet nor a Divine saint was ever blessed with such an honor. He was brought up under the care and education of the Holy Prophet. As Imam Ali says: "The Holy Prophet brought me up in his own arms and fed me with his own morsel. I followed him in everything like a baby-camel following its mother. Each day a new aspect of the Holy Prophet’s character beamed out of his noble person and I grabbed and followed it as a command. " (Nahju 'I-balaghah-The book of Imam Ali (PBUH)).

9Always Along with the Holy Prophet

Ten years in the company of the Holy Prophet had kept Imam Ali so close and inseparable, that he was one with him in character, knowledge, self-sacrifice, forbearance, bravery, generosity, 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, all along his childhood as well as young adulthood. Allah created him pure and holy and kept him faithful on the right path.” Says al-Mas'udi, the Muslim Historian(896-956 AD)

10First to Embrace Islam

A few years later, when the Prophet was endowed with the Divine Gift of prophecy and for the first time received the Divine Revelation in the cave of Hira', as he left the cave to return to town and his own house he met Ali on the way. He told him what had happened and Ali accepted the new faith. Again in a gathering when the Holy Prophet had brought his relatives together and invited them to accept his religion, he said the first person to accept his call would be his vicegerent (official administrative deputy) and inheritor. The only person to rise from his place and accept the faith in that gathering was Ali and the Prophet accepted his declaration of faith. Therefore, Ali was the first man in Islam to accept the faith and is the first among the followers of the Prophet to have never worshipped other than the One God.

11First to Embrace Islam

Though Imam Ali is indisputably 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 like to be born as a Muslim. Imam 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 Holy Prophet as soon as they were revealed by the Messenger Angle, the Gabriel. He was so closely associated with the Holy Prophet that as soon as a verse was revealed to him during the day or night, Ali was the first to hear it.

12Some of the Sayings of the Holy Prophet

about Imam Ali (PBUH) Some of the sayings of the Holy Prophet about Imam Ali:

O 'Ali, you are my brother in this world as well as in the Hereafter.

I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is the gate to it.

Ali is never separated from the Truth nor the Truth from Ali.

Nobody knows Ali except Allah and I and nobody knows me except Allah and Ali.

If you want to see the knowledge of Adam, the piety of Noah, the devotion of Abraham, the awe of Moses, and the service and abstinence of Christ, look at the bright face of Ali.

13Slept in the Place of the Holy Prophet

Ali was always in the company of the Prophet until the Prophet emigrated from Mecca to Medina. On the night of the emigration to Medina (Hijrah) when the infidels (non-believers) had surrounded the house of the Prophet and were determined to invade the house at the end of the night and cut him to pieces while he was in bed. Ali slept in place of the Prophet while the Prophet left the house and set out for Medina.

14A Brother to the Holy Prophet

Muslims emigrated from Mecca to Medina to save themselves from the deadly threats of non-believers. When the Holy Prophet reached the city of Medina and met his followers who had come from Mecca at his call, he immediately appointed for each such emigrant a person from the people of Medina. So for every Muslim coming from Mecca, there was a receiving brother from Medina. His appointment of brothers was a great act of help for the refugees known as Muhajirun (Emigrants), who left their home and come to Medina. While the Prophet was appointing an a brother (Ansar) to an emigrant, no one was appointed as a brother to Imam Ali. On being questioned on this the Holy Prophet said: "He shall be a brother to me."

15The Foremost Muslim

The character and personality of Imam Ali as judged by al- Mas'udi is, “If the glorious name of being the first Muslim, a comrade of the Prophet in exile, his faithful companion in the struggle for faith, his intimate associate in life; if a true knowledge of the spirit of his teachings and of the Book; if self-abnegation and practice of justice; if honesty, purity, and love of truth; if a knowledge of law and science, constitute a claim to pre-eminence, then all must regard Ali as the leading Muslim. We shall search in vain to find, either among his predecessors or among his successors, those attributes.”

16Guardian of the Ka'bah

Gibbon* says: "The birth, the alliance, the character of Ali which exalted him above the rest of his country- men, might justify his claim to the vacant throne of Arabia. The son of Abu Talib was in his own right the chief of Banu Hashim and the hereditary prince or guardian of the city and the Ka'bah."

*Edward Gibbon (27 April 1737 – 16 January 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament.

17Marriage of Imam Ali

Under Divine instruction, the Messenger of Allah married his beloved daughter Fatimah (PBUH) to Ali, though others vainly tried for her hand. Among their children, Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn, Zaynab and Umm Kulthum have left their marks on the history of the world. After the death of Fatimah (PBUH), Ali married Ummu 'I-Banin. Abbas was born out of this wedlock and was so handsome that he was fondly called Qamar Banu Hashim (Moon of the tribe Banu Hashim ). He personified loyalty and bravery and proved it in the battlefield at Karbala.

18Like Aaron to Moses

AIi had the qualifications of a poet, a soldier, and a saint; his wisdom still breathes in a collection of moral and religious sayings; and every antagonist, in the combats of the tongue or of the sword, was subdued by his eloquence and courage. From the first hour of his mission to the last rites of his funeral, the Prophet was never abandoned by a generous friend, the one whom he was delighted to name his brother, his vicegerent, and the faithful Aaron of a second Moses.

19Nahj-ul-Balagha, The Book of Imam Ali

Nahj-ul-Balagha is a collection of Sermons, Letters and miscellaneous Sayings left from Imam Ali (PBUH). The importance of the Nahj-ul-Balagha lies in two dimensions. First, it speaks about the fundamentals of Islam such as God, prophet hood, the human being, Islamic views of humanity, and many other aspects of Islamic Ideology. Secondly, the Nahj-ul-Balagha refers to the social issues in general, morality, duties of government, problems of hypocrites, etc. Accordingly, this book can be a source of inspiration and prosperous living for us today.

Late Syed Razi (970 – 1015 AD) compiled Nahj-ul-Balagha over a thousand years ago and before he made the efforts these jewels were scattered all over the Islamic literature.

20Rule with Honesty, Fairness, and Equality. Imam Ali (PBUH) in his period of government (Khalifate)

displayed a leadership model based on social justice and real acknowledgement of human rights. Once he appointed one of his faithful disciples as the Governor of Egypt. Maalik al-Ashtar was a famous companion of Imam Ali and Imam had specially taught him the principles of administration and jurisprudence. The following instructions in the form of a letter were written to him by Imam Ali when he left for Egypt. The letter is a comprehensive set of political, social, economic and moral instructions for a governor to rule with honesty, fairness, and equality.

21Effective Leadership

In part 2 we will focus on these instructions which have been compiled in “Letter 53” of the Nahj-ul-Balagha. It is a rich source of inspiration, creativeness, and visioning for today’s leaders and managers in various levels. It can be utilized as a splendid foundation for all executives and directors for motivating them for continuous improvement and effective leadership.