By the Lord of the Kaaba, I am successful

By the Lord of the Kaaba, I am successful

This is the sentence which Imam Ali (as) said when Abdur Rahman ibne Muljm struck his sword on the sacred head of Imam Ali (as). In this one sentence Imam (as) explains the reality of the whole universe, His wilayat, the death and the truth of Tauheed. One who understands this one sentence will never be deceived by the explanation of Tauheed.

Throughout the whole history of mankind, Imam Ali (as) is the first and only personality who uttered these words at the time of his death. We must reflect upon these words of Imam Ali (as). When Imam (as) said, “By the Lord of the Kaaba, I am successful”, what is that thing which made Him be successful? Maaz’Allah was Imam (as) not successful before this time? I don’t care what non Shia say regarding this matter, but I am so hurt when I see some Shias lowering the status of one who is the greatness of all greats.

They say that even though Imam (as) had all of the attributes, but He (maaz’Allah) was devoid of the honor of martyrdom. So when He obtained martyrdom, He announced His success. I don’t think there is any more insulting and degrading statement than this.

First of all why didn’t the people who were martyred before Imam (as) such as Hz Hamza (as), Hz Jaffar Tayyar (as), Hz Ammar Yassir (ra), Hz Owais Karni (ra), etc say these words? Was the shahadat (martyrdom) worthless in their eyes? Why was Imam Ali (as) so proud of that moment in which one loses all of his senses?

The second point is that martyrdom is that thing which is the sadqah of Imam (as). Even if a person dies in his own bed but he has the love of Imam Ali (as) at the time of his death, he also is given the status of shaheed (martyr) as RasoolAllah (saw) said, “Anyone who dies on the love of Aal e Muhammad (as) dies the death of a shaheed (martyr)”. In such circumstances, what type of honor could shahadat (martyrdom) in ka’aba bring to Imam Ali (as)?

Imam Ali (as) was familiar with Allah, Tauheed and Ka’aba from his birth. On 13th of the month of Rajab his mother, Fatima bint Assad, found herself in labor; she went inside the Ka’ba, as she was near Al-Beit Al-Haram. There, she gave birth to Ali; the only person to be born in this most sacred place, implying that the child who was born there has dedicated his life, starting right from the moment of his birth, to worship Allah and guide man to His right path, standing always with the right and defending it with all the strength he possessed.

Imam’s early childhood tells us that he was virtually the son of the Prophet, not only in terms of the blood relation, but also in terms of the education the Prophet provided him with. The Prophet took him from his father when he was barely two years old, and he used to make him sleep beside him on the same bed, playing the role of a mother.

Recalling this stage, Imam (as) says: "You know how close I was to the Messenger… He put me in his lap and hugged me, and made me sleep beside him on his bed… He used to chew the food and give it to me to eat. He never found me tell any lie or do any wrong deed. I was always with him, following him as a baby camel following its mother".

Then, as a young man, Imam Ali (as) experienced with the Messenger the spirituality of loving Allah. From this stage, the Imam (as) recalls: "He used to teach me everyday one of his goods norms of ethics and ask me to abide by it. He used to go each year to the cave of Hiraa where I was the only one who could see him."

He lived with the Messenger the meaning of praying as a spiritual ascension to the creator.

Later on and as people began to enter the religion of Allah in groups, Ali became their teacher and guide. He was also the knight who fought for Islam, since the battle of Badr, as no one else did. It has been said that Ali, on his own, has killed half the infidels, and all the remaining Muslims killed the other half. It is also said that Gabriel declared that “there was no champion of war other than Ali and no sword other than his sword”. When Imam Ali (as) fought Amr Bin Abi Wud, the Messenger said: "Belief in its entirety has challenged unbelief as a whole".

And he continued to live with the Prophet, until he passed away.

Allah gave two tasks to Imam Ali (as) which were completely opposite to each other. It is considered impossible to perform two totally opposite tasks at the same time. However Imam Ali (as) proved it to be possible even though according to intellect it is absolutely impossible that one can be able to perform both these completely and totally opposite tasks at the same time.

Imam (as)’s first responsibility was to prove the essence of Allah and to practically prove the Tauheed of Allah in order for the people to believe in the Oneness of Allah and to worship Allah. This task was not possible until people were able to see the attributes of Allah with their own eyes. It only becomes possible when all of the attributes of Allah were revealed through Imam Ali (as) so that the people could witness them by their own eyes and testify to what they had seen themselves.

However in this situation, no one would ever have believed there was any other Allah except Imam Ali (as) because whatever imaginings they had about Allah in their minds and whatever attributes they had associated with Allah, they were seeing that being revealed through Imam Ali (as). The purpose of Imam Ali (as) seemed to be unsuccessful.

Now Imam Ali (as) had to prove His servitude. Servitude cannot be proven until you express your humility. Power and humility are complete opposites of each other. If you prove you are powerful, then you cannot prove you are humble. If you prove you are humble, then you lose power. In this circumstance, Imam’s purpose could not be fulfilled. On the 19th of Ramadan in Masjid e Kufa a horrible incident occurred. This incident has been preserved in the history for all of mankind until the Day of Judgment. When Imam Ali (as) was struck upon the head, he was performing Sajdah to someone and no one is able to deny this. This was that success which turned the impossible into possible.

One of the major concerns of Imam Ali (as) throughout his life was to educate people, not only in his age but also in all ages.

Imam Ali (as) is the Imam of knowledge, thought, piety, Islam and Jihad, for his time and for all times. Let us learn from him and consider him as our role model. Ali, the man who was born in Allah’s house, and who dedicated all his life for the causes of Allah, was happy when he was killed in the mosque, because he knew that he has won the martyrdom that culminated in educating the people about Allah and his Tauheed and live a life of devotion and piety: So he said: "I swear by the Lord of the Ka’ba that I have won."

We cannot but love Ali with all hearts, minds and all our being.

Peace be upon Imam Ali (as), the day he was born, the day he passed away, and the day he will be brought back to life.

"Verily we are Allah's and verily unto him shall we return." (02:156).