In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. accept our heartfelt condolences on a heartrending occasion. 21th of Ramadan is that tragic day in history when the only instance of the model administration of justice came to its end with the martyrdom of the Paragon of Faith, the Leader of the Virtuous, and the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (PBUH).
The Islamic Republic of Iran is draped in all black in commemoration of the anniversary of this doleful event which is marked every year as a public holiday in honour of the divinely-appointed vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).
“I advise you to fear Allah. Do not go after this vicious world though it may try to entice you. Do not seek it though it may seek you and do not grieve over and pine for things which this world refuses you. Let the eternal Reward and Blessings of Allah be the prompting factors for all that you say and do. Be an enemy of tyrants and oppressors and be a friend and helper of those who are oppressed and tyrannized.
“To you, to my other children, to my relatives and to all who acquire this will of mine, I advise to fear Allah and to be pious, to have fair and honest dealings with one another and improve mutual relations because I have heard your grandfather, the Messenger of God (SAWA) say: "To remove mutual enmity, ill-feeling and hatred is better than recommended prayers and fasting".
“Fear Allah when the question of helpless orphans arises. You should never let them starve. So long as you are there to guard and protect them they should not be ruined or lost. The Prophet of God (SAWA) had always advised, cautioned and reminded us of this responsibility…
“Be Godwary of the Holy Qur'an, lest others should excel and surpass you in following its tenets and in acting according to its orders. Fear Allah so far as prayers are concerned because prayers are pillars of your faith. Fear Allah in the matter of His Sacred House (the Ka’ba). Let it not be deserted because if it is deserted, you (the Muslims) will be lost Do not be oblivious (of the remembrance) of Allah; struggle in His cause with your tongue, with your wealth and with your lives .Develop mutual liking, friendship and love, and help one another. Take care that you do not spurn and treat one another badly and unsympathetically. Exhort people to do good and abstain them from evil, otherwise the vicious and the wicked will be your overlords and if you willingly allow such persons to be your rulers then your prayers will not be heard by Allah
“O sons of Abdul-Muttalib! Let there be no retaliation for the act of my murder; do not roam about with a drawn sword and with the slogan: 'Amir al-Momineen (i.e. Commander of the Faithful) is killed'; and do not start the massacre of my opponents and enemies. See to it that only one man, that is my assassin, is killed, as the punishment of the crime of murder is death, and nobody else is molested. The punishment to the man who attempted the murder shall take place only when I die of the wound inflicted by him and this punishment shall be only one single stroke of the sword to end his life. He should not be tortured before his death, his hands and feet should not be amputated because I have heard the Messenger of God (SAWA) say: "Do not amputate hands and feet of anybody, be it a biting dog".
Thus said Imam Ali (PBUH) in his last will preserved as Letter 47 of the book Nahj al-Balagha, as the curtain came down on the only instance of the model government of social justice in human history. It is clear there was no remorse, no regret, no revenge and no reviling of the fact that life was about to end abruptly as the cousin, ward, son-in-law and first infallible successor of Almighty’s Last Messenger to mankind, braced for entry into the realm of afterlife. At this critical moment also he glowed with the same firmness of faith and certitude with which he had testified as a 9-year old boy to the divine mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) – a testimony, which has since become an article of faith for every Muslim who is simply echoing the words of Imam Ali (PBUH) when he or she recites ash-hado anna Muhammadan Rasoul-Allah (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). He was about to die, yet he was as calm and confident of the path ahead as he was on the day he volunteered to sleep on Prophet’s bed that fateful night of the Hijrah when assassins hovered around the abode of divine revelation and it was vital for his cousin to migrate undetected towards Medina. He was sure of eternal bliss in the Celestial Court with the same selfless humility he had displayed throughout the great gift of a 63-year life that God had granted him and at each single moment of which he strove sincerely on the straight and unwavering way of communion with the Creator.
Whether it was in the niche of prayer where he would shiver and become almost stiff as a lifeless body because of the hallowed presence. Whether it was on the battlefield where during a life-and-death struggle he once allowed his fallen adversary to stand up and renew the combat since he did not want his personal feelings to interfere with jihad in the way of God in view of the fact that the opponent had spat on him – an action that normally gives rise to anger and emotions. Whether it was the fulfilling of a vow when for three consecutive days he, his wife, two young sons and a maid kept fasts but gave away whatever food they had to needy persons that happened to knock at their door at the time of breaking the fast. Whether it was his snuffing out of the lamp that was burning with state money when some persons called upon him to discuss personal matters during his model administration of social justice the world has not yet seen for a second time.
Thus, there are immortal lessons to be learnt, not just from the Imam's discourse on his deathbed, but from all his actions and deeds spread over 63 glorious years, since the day he was born in the holiest of holies – God's symbolic house, the Ka'ba – and departed from the world after being struck the fatal blow on his head while in prostration to the Almighty in the Mosque of Kufa (also a house of God). No wonder, on being struck the mortal blow by the assassin's sword, the Imam of the Pious, burst out saying: Fuzto wa Rabb'il-Ka'ba (that is, By the Lord of the Ka'ba I have succeeded). No wonder when the assassin, Abdur-Rahman ibn Muljam, was brought before him, he smiled, ordered the loosening of the wretch's bond, offered him the cup of milk he was about to drink, and posed him the invaluable question: "Wasn't I the Just Leader?"
Volumes have been written ever since, and continue to be written, on this Icon of Justice, that Imam Ali (PBUH) was, and who continues to transcend history and all historical developments. He and the Almighty's Last Messenger to mankind, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), are so harmoniously intertwined with each other, or for that matter with God's Final Revealed Word to the entire humanity (that is, the Holy Qur'an), that without either of them, Islam becomes dead and devoid of spirit. In the words of the Prophet: "If there was no Ali, it would have been impossible to identify true believers after me."
So great was the personality of Imam Ali that with tears rolling down his eyes this is how, Imam Hasan (PBUH), the bereaved son and successor broke the news to the anxious masses of the passing away of his father at dawn on the 21st of Ramadhan, 40 AH in the city of Kufa, in what is now Iraq.
“There has died tonight a man who was the first among the early (Muslims) in (good) actions. Nor did any later (Muslims) attain his level in (good) actions. He used to fight alongside the Prophet of God, may Allah bless him and his family, and protect him with his own life. The Prophet of God, may God bless him and his family, used to send him forward with his standard while (the archangel) Gabriel supported him on his right and (the other prominent angel) Michael supported him on his left. He would not return until God brought victory through his hands. He, peace be on him, has died on this the night on which (Prophet) Jesus, son of Mary, was taken up (to heaven), on which Joshua, son of Noon, the testamentary legatee (wasi) of (Prophet) Moses, peace be on him, died. He has left behind him no gold and silver except seven hundred dirhams of his stipend (ata'), with which he was intending to buy a servant for his family.”
