In the Major Battle of Badr, the Prophet had two black flags, one of them was with ^Aliyy; it was called al-^Iqab; the other one was with some of the Ansar. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam ordered him to duel with al-Walid Ibn ^Utbah, ^Aliyy did and killed him. In the battle of Uhud while he was still young and energetic, our Master ^Aliyy killed three of the brigades commanders and other leaders, who were renowned for their animosity to Islam. In the battle of al-Khandaq while the blasphemers were advancing on their horses towards the Muslims they had with them ^Amru the son of ^Abdi Wad, who was an aging non-believer and was known to be among the strong Arabs. He stopped with his horses then ^Aliyy said to him: I invite you to believe in Allah and His Messenger and to embrace Islam. ^Amru answered: I have no need for such. ^Aliyy said: Then I invite you to a challenge of strength. ^Amru replied: Why? My nephew I swear by Allah that I dont like to kill you. ^Aliyy answered: I swear by Allah that I do like to kill you. ^Amru became enraged and leaped at ^Aliyy as they both became entangled in a rumble. ^Aliyy killed him fast and ^Amrus men left defeated. Such was ^Aliyys bravery; a degree that is rare among other men. At-Tabaraniyy related that one of the Companions said: We were with ^Aliyy Ibn Abi Talib when the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam sent him with the flag, as we approached the fort of Khaybar, some people came out to fight him. A Jewish man hit him with his sword, making his shield fall to the ground. ^Aliyy then pulled a door from the fort and used it as a shield. He kept on fighting with the door as his shield until Allah granted him victory. Then he put the door aside. I tried with seven of the Companions to move it, but we couldnt. In the Battle of Hunayn, he was steadfast with the Muslims who remained steadfast with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, as he was steadfast in Uhud and other battles. Every time we look in the books of the biographies and life stories, we would find the name of ^Aliyy, may Allah raise his rank, brightening. He spent his life as a mujahid, who defended Islam, opens the heavily fortified forts and destroys the idols in order to make what was revealed by Allah subhanahu wa ta^ala prevail. Our Master ^Aliyy, may Allah raise his rank, had many great sayings and preachments among them are these: What I fear mostly is to adhere to the desires of the self and to have much hope in this life, for following the desires of the self is a barrier between you and the truth, and having much hope in this life makes you forget about the hereafter. This world is reaching closer and closer to its end, and we are getting closer and closer to the hereafter, and each dwelling place has its seekers, so be among the seekers of the hereafter and not among the seekers of this life. Today is the time for work, and tomorrow is the time for judgment. Things that we should pay attention to are many, but those who pay attention to those many things are few. How beautiful is the humbleness of the wealthy who seek goodness of the hereafter. Even better than this is the chastity Of the poor who abstain from the wealth of the rich relying on Allah subhanahu wa ta^ala. Its enough self discipline if you avoid doing all that you dislike being done by others. The foolish is he who criticizes the faults of others and then accepts them of himself. Do not interpret badly a word that someone said if you can find a good interpretation to it." The death of our Master ^Aliyy may Allah raise his rank occurred on the 21st of Ramadan in 40 AH. One of the Khawarij sect, ^Abdur-Rahman Ibn Miljim al-Muradiyy leaped and hit the forehead of our Master ^Aliyy with the sword when he went out to pray Subh (Dawn Prayer). He died a proud and happy martyr at the age of sixty having got already the good news that he will be in Paradise. His Caliphate lasted four years and nine months may Allah raise his rank, and forgive our sins by the virtue of our Master ^Aliyy Ibn Abi Talib; and make us assembled with the martyrs; highly ranked righteous people, and what a great company that would be. And all praise is to Allah.

• published: 29 Sep 2008
• views: 21180