One
of the blessings that Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) bestowed upon 'Ali
ibn Abi Taib (radhyAllahu ‘anhu), and what Allah willed for him of good,
was that a severe crisis befell Quraysh. Ahu Tab had many children, and
the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said to his
paternal uncle al-'Abbas – who was one of the most well off of Banu
Quraysh - "O 'Abbas, your brother Ahu
Talib has many children, and you see what has happened to the people in
this crisis. Let us go and reduce the number of his dependents; I will
take one from his family and you will take one, and we will take care of
them for him." Al-'Abbas agreed, so they went to Abu Talib and
said to him: "We want to reduce the number of your dependents until this
crisis has passed." He said to them: "If you leave me 'Aqeel, then do
whatever you want." So the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam) took 'Ali home, and al-'Abbas took Ja'far (radhyAllahu ‘anhu).
'Ali ibn Abi Talib (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) stayed with the Messenger of
Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) until his prophethood, then 'Ali
(radhyAllahu ‘anhu) followed him and believed in him.
Ja'far (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) stayed with al-'Abbas until he became Muslim and no longer needed his help.
We
may note that the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
wanted to pay back the kindness of his uncle Abu Talib, who had
sponsored him after the death of his grandfather 'Abdul-Muttalib. This
was one of the greatest blessings that Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)
bestowed upon 'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu), as he was raised and educated by
the one who was guided by Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala). The one whose
attitude was the Qur'an looked after him and took care of him. This
Qur'anic attitude was reflected in 'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu), and it was
enough that he was raised by the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).
He grew up in the house of Islam and learned its teachings at an early
stage in his life, before the call of Islam went beyond the walls of the
house to seek followers who would support it and propagate it among
other people, bringing them forth from darkness to light. The scholars
differed as to the next person who believed in Islam after Khadeejah
bint Khuwaylid (radhyAllahu ‘anha), the Mother of the Believers, who was
the first of all the people. Was the next person Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq or
'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhuma)? The scholarly view, which I am inclined to
favour, is that the first one to become Muslim among free men was Ahu
Bakr, the first child to do so was 'Ali, the first woman to do so was
Khadeejah, and the first slave to believe was Zayd ibn Harithah
(radhyAllahu ‘anhum). Thus Amir a-lMu'mineen 'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu)
was the first child to become Muslim. ..
2. How did 'Ali become Muslim?
Ibn
Ishaq narrated that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) came to the
Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) after Khadeejah (radhyAllahu
‘anha) became Muslim, and he found them praying. 'Ali (radhyAllahu
‘anhu) said: What is this, O Muhammad?" The Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi
wa sallam) said: "The religion of Allah,
which He has chosen for Himself, with which He sent His Messengers; I
call you to Allah alone and to worship Him, and to disbelieve in al-Lat
and al-'Uzza." 'Ali said to him: This is something that I have
never heard of before today; I will not decide anything until I speak to
Ahu Talib.
The
Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) did not want to
disclose his secret before he announced it openly, so he said to him: "O 'Ali, if you do not become Muslim, then keep quiet about it."
He remained like that for a night, then Allah (Subhanahu waTa’ala)
caused his heart to incline towards Islam, so in the morning he went to
the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and said: What did
you offer to me, O Muhammad? The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi
wa sallam) said: "That you should hear
witness that there is no god except Allah 1%) alone, with no partner or
associate, and disbelieve in al-Lat and al-'Uzza, and disavow yourself
of the rivals (to Allah)." 'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) did that and
became Muslim, and he kept coming to him (the Prophet) fearing that Ahu
Talib would find out. He concealed his Islam and did not show it openly.
3. Between 'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) and Abu Talib
Ibn
Ishaq said: Some scholars have stated that when the time for prayer
came, the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) would go out
to a mountain pass of Makkah, and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib would accompany
him, concealing the matter from his father Ahu Talib, all his uncles and
all the people. They would offer the prayers there and come back in the
evening. This continued for as long as Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)
willed, until Ahu Talib came upon them one day while they were praying,
and he said to the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam): "O
son of my brother, what is this religion that you are following?" He
replied: "O uncle, this is the religion of
Allah, the religion of His angels, the religion of His Messengers and
the religion of our father Ibraheem. He has sent me as a Messenger to
the people and you, O uncle, are the most deserving of my sincere advice
and my call to guidance; you are the most deserving to respond and help
me with that." Ahu Talib said: "O son of my brother, I cannot
leave the religion of my forefathers and the way they followed, but no
harm will reach you so long as I am alive." They said that he said to
'Ali: "O my son, what is this religion that you are following?" He said:
"O my father, I believe in Allah and the Messenger of Allah, and I
believe what he has brought. I prayed with him to Allah, and I followed
him." And they said that Abu Talib said to 'Ali: "He is calling you to
something good, so follow him.”
4. Did 'Ali (radhyAllahu’anhu) break the idols with the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) in Makkah?
It
was narrated that 'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) said: The Prophet
(sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and I set out and went to the Ka'bah. The
Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: "Sit down,"
and he climbed on my shoulders and I wanted to stand up with him on my
shoulders, but he realised that I was weak, so he got down. The Prophet
of Allah ((sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)) sat down and said: "Climb on my shoulders."
I climbed on his shoulders, and he stood up with me on his shoulders,
and I felt that I could reach the farthest horizon in the sky. I climbed
up on top of the House, where there was a statue of gold or copper. I
started shaking it right and left, forwards and backwards, until I was
in full control of it. The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam) said to me: "Throw it down."
So I threw it down and it broke like a glass bottle, then I came down,
and the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and I rushed
away until we hid among the houses, lest anyone find [80] us. The chain
of narration of this hadith is weak, and we cannot base any ruling on it
as some people claim. The basic principle during the Makkah period
remains that the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) did not allow
the Companions to use force with their opponents or commit any act of
aggression against their idols and statues. The Messenger of Allah
(sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) purified Makkah of idols at the time of
the conquest, and sent expeditions after that great conquest to destroy
idols and purify the Arabian Peninsula of the sites of polytheism and
false gods, after he became able to remove them and destroy them.
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