One can say there were three principle sources of knowledge in Arabia of the: time the Qur’an, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Imam Ali (AS). The Qur’an was of course the principal source which came through wahi (revelation) to the Prophet; the Prophet’s contribution was through hadith (what he said on various subjects) and sunna i.e. what he did and people observed and reported. Ali’s contribution has reached us through his speeches as he was a man of great oration and which was later collected under the title Nahj al-Balaghah i.e. (Highway of Oration) and some letters he wrote to his governors. There is a famous hadith of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) accepted unanimously “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its door” and one enters the city through its door. Such was the importance of Ali in the matter of knowledge. Ali contributed very richly to intellectual advancement of Muslims.

The Qur’an is a source of revelatory knowledge i.e. from Allah and the Prophet’s knowledge was innate rather than acquired and Ali’s knowledge was what the Prophet passed on to him and hence called ‘ilm ladunni as well as what was born of his vision of the society. The Prophet was insaane-e-kamil i.e. a perfect human being and Ali next to him in perfection. Hence for Sufis, Muhammad and Ali were two sources of inspiration. The Prophet (PBUH) lived in this world and yet was never attached to it. Ali, who always tried to closely follow the Prophet, never felt attracted towards the allurements of the world. He is even reported to have said I divorce the world thrice i.e. never to be attracted by it.

Ali, like the Prophet, was basically a deeply spiritual person and yet, like the Prophet, was conscious of the fact that millions of people live in this world and this world should be such as to provide meaning and guidance to human life and to minimize human suffering. Renunciation of the world is no solution. This is possible only if one fulfills bodily needs but does not become a slave of one's body.

There was a power struggle in early Islam but Ali kept away from it unless power was thrust on him after the assassination of the third Caliph Hazrat Usman. Ali, while avoiding temptation of power was also conscious of the fact that one needs power, not to control others but to enforce a certain rule of law, morality and justice. The Qur’an provided the best guidance and yet all those who embraced Islam did not become perfect Muslims. They had all sorts of worldly temptations and many of them even had embraced Islam for worldly gains.

Ali’'s priority, therefore, was to mould Muslims into real mu’min (i.e. believers) and make them good Muslims and this world a just place to live in, in keeping with the Qur’anic teachings. The Qur’an tried to strike balance between spiritual and bodily needs, between materialism and spiritualism, the Prophet being its perfect blend. Ali’s exhortations in Nahj al-Balaghah are a rich source of this approach. Since Ali never sought power to control others and exercise his authority, when it was thrust on him he used it to enforce rule of law and justice as rigorously as he could. In this process even his closest allies were alienated from him but he did not care. Abdullah bin Abbas was his closest ally and yet he wrote a stern letter to him when he took money from the state treasury as a governor of Basra which was more than his share. He left Basra unhappy.

Consider Ali’'s letter to another of his faithful ally Malik bin Ashter, governor of Basrah, which is considered as masterpiece of principles of governance. He advised Malik : ”do not say, ’I am your overlord and dictator, and that you should, therefore, bow to my commands”, as that will corrupt your heart. He further writes to him: “Let your mind respect through your actions the rights of God and the rights of human beings …for otherwise you will be doing injustice to yourself and injustice to humanity.”

He also advises Malik Ashter to” Care for them with tenderness with which you care for your children, and do not talk before them of any good you might have done to them, nor disregard any expression of affection which they show in return…

A Chief Justice should be selected, he writes, from the best of people who cannot be intimidated, who does not err too often, one who does not turn back from the right path, one who is not self-centred or avaricious. Thus, it would be seen that Ali's concept of power was for the people - never over the people, but unfortunately the world was not perfect enough to accept this concept and he paid a price for it through his life and became a martyr for the cause on the 21st of the month of Ramadhan.

courtesy: The community on Friday online newsletter