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THE PROHIBITION OF WATER
Moawiya was ruling over Syria as its governor for
nearly sixteen years; and was secretly planning to grab the Caliphate taking
advantage of every possible opportunity. The best excuse for him to revolt
against the Central authority and declare his own caliphate was the Othman's murder. He had not done any thing concerning the
appeals of Othman for help, during his lifetime. In fact, he was waiting far
him to be murdered, so that he could make it an excuse for his scheme. Othman
got murdered and Moawiya immediately sought to
exploit the situation for his own purpose.
On the other
hand, people after the murder of Othman rallied behind Ali (who because of
various reasons, was reluctant to take the
responsibility of Caliphate) and declared their allegiance to him. Observing
that the responsibility was now formally turned to him, he accepted it and his
Caliphate was proclaimed in Medina, the capital and
centre of Muslim world in those days. All provinces of Islamic government
submitted to his obedience - with the exception of Syria, which was under Moawiya. He refused allegiance to Ali, accusing him of
sheltering the murders of Othman. He recruited a large number of Syrian
soldiers and made preparation for the declaration of independence of his
provinces.
After settling
the issue of the battle of Camel (JAMAL), Ali turned his attention to Moawiya. He wrote several letters to him, but in vain. Both
sides moved their armies towards each another. Abul Aawar Salmi was leading Moawiya's advanced battalion and Malik
Ashtar was in command of the advanced battalion of
Ali. They met at the bank of the Euphrates. Ali's directive to Malik was not to be the first to attack. But Abul Aawar made a severe attack
to intimidate the soldiers of Ali. Mailk then pushed
the Syrians far behind. Salmi now thought of another
tactics. He reached the Ghat, i.e. the slope on bank
of the Euphrates, which was the only spot convenient to fetch
water. He deployed his spearmen and archers to guard the spot and prevent Malik and his company from coming near it. Soon after, Moawiya himself arrived with a large army. Happy at the
strategy of his commander he further increased the number of the soldiers
guarding the approach to river. Soldiers of Ali were put in distress owing to
the shortage of water. Moawiya with pleasure said:
"This is our first Victory." Only one man, Amr
bin AI-Aas, the shrewd
minister of Moawiya did not think it a good policy.
On the other side, Ali himself had arrived and was informed of the situation.
He sent a letter with Saasa'a to Moawiya
notifying:
"We have
come here, but as far as possible we do not like to wage a war of fratricide
between the Muslims. We earnestly hope to settle our differences through
negotiations and discussions. But we observe that you and your followers have
started using weapons of destruction before trying anything else. Besides, you
have denied water on my companions. Instruct them to desist from this act, so
that we can start negotiations. Of course, if you do not like anything but war,
we are not afraid of it."
Moawiya consulted his advisor. The general opinion was to take
advantage of the golden opportunity and ignore the letter. Only Amr bin Al-Aas against this view.
He said, "You are mistaken." The fact is that Ali and his men do not
want to start the war themselves, and it is because of this that they are
silent at present and have tried to dissuade you from your scheme through this
letter. Do not think they will retreat if you ignore their letter and continue
denying them the water. Because then they will take out arms and will not stop
till they have driven you away from Euphrates with disgrace."
But the majority of advisors were of the opinion that the denial of water would
weaken the enemy compelling them to retreat. Moawiya
personally was in favor of this idea. Discussion came to end; Saasa'a asked for the reply; Moawiya,
using the delaying tactics, said that he would send the reply afterwards.
Meanwhile, he ordered his soldiers guarding water to be extra alert and to prevent
coming and going of the soldiers of Ali.
Ali was
distressed at this development, because it brought to an end every hope of any
amicable settlement through talks and negotiations, and showed that the
opposite side was devoid of every goodwill. Now, the
only way out was to use force. He stood before his soldiers and delivered a
short but forceful address, the contents of which were as follows:
"These
people have started oppression, and opened the door of conflict and welcomed
you with hostility. They are hungry for war and are demanding war and bloodshed
from you. They have denied you water. Now you have to choose between the two
paths. There is no third course. Either accept the humiliation and oppression
or remain thirsty as you are, or satisfy your thirsty swords with their dirty
bloods so that you may quench your thirst with the sweet water. Death is to
live a defeated and disgraceful life; and Life is to be victorious even at the
cost of death. Verily, Moawiya has gathered around
him some ignorant and misguided mob; and is taking advantage of their
ignorance, so that they are making their necks targets of the arrows of
death."
This address
moved the soldiers of Ali and stirred their blood. They made a severe attack
and pushed the enemy far back and took the possession of (Shariah)
Ghat.
Amir bin Al-Aas (whose forecast was now a
fact) said to Moawiya: "Now, if Ali and his army
pay you with your own coin what will you do? Can you take possession of the
"Shariah" (Ghat)
from them for the second time?" Moawiya said,
"In your opinion, how will Ali deal with us now?"
"I
believe, Ali will not behave as you had done. He will
not deny us water. He has not come here for such deeds."
The soldiers
of Ali after removing the soldiers of Moawiya from Ghat,
asked his permission to prevent the enemy from taking water. Ali said,
"Don't deny them water. These are the methods of ignorant. I do not set my
hands to such acts. I am going to start negotiation with them on the basis of
the Holy Book of God. If they accept my proposals, well and good;
and if they refuse, I shall fight with them, but gentlemanly not by denying
them water. I will never do such thing and will not oppress them by shortage of
water."
Not long
afterwards soldiers of Moawiya used to come to the Ghat side by side with the soldiers of Ali, and nobody
prevented them.
WHAT DID HAPPEN TO THY SONS?
After the
martyrdom of Ali and absolute domination of Moawiya
over the Caliphate, willy-nilly contacts were taking place between him and the
sincere followers of Ali. He tried hard to make them confess that they did not
gain anything by their friendship with Ali. Obviously they had lost everything
on the altar of that friendship. He longed to hear from their mouth at least
some expression of regret and remorse, but this wish never materialized. The
followers of Ali, after his martyrdom, had become more and more aware of his
virtues and greatness. Whatever their sacrifices during his lifetime, now they
were doing more for his love, for his principles and for keeping his mission
alive. They were having all kinds of hardship very courageously. And, as a
result, the endeavors of Moawiya sometimes produced
opposite results.
Adi son of Hatim, the paramount chief of
the Tai Tribe, was one of the devoted, sincere and knowledgeable followers of
Ali. He had many sons. He, his sons and his tribe were always ready to
sacrifice there all for Ali. His three sans named Tarfa,
Turaif and Tarif were
martyred in the war of Seffin under the banner of
Ali. The time went on; Ali was martyred; Moawiya
usurped the Caliphate; and once Adi came face to face
with Moawiya.
To revive his
sad memories and to make him confess how much harm had come to him in the
friendship of Ali, Moawiya said:
"What
happened to your three sons, Tarfa, Turaif and Tarif?"
"They
were martyred in the battle of Seffin under the
banner of Ali."
"Ali did
not do justice to you."
"Why?"
"Because
he threw your sons in the mouth of death and preserved his own sons in
safety."
"I did
not do justice to Ali."
"Why?"
"Because
he was killed and I am still alive. I ought to have sacrificed myself for him
in his lifetime."
Moawiya saw that he was not getting what he had aimed at. On the
other side, he also wanted to hear about the character and life of Ali from
those who had been nearer to Ali and had lived with him day in and day out.
Therefore, he asked Adi to narrate to him the
character of Ali as he had seen it. Adi asked to be
excused; but Moawiya insisted and then Adi said.
"By God,
Ali was the most far-sighted and strong man. He talked with righteousness and
decided the cases with clarity. He was an ocean of knowledge and wisdom. He
hated the worldly pomp and show, and liked the solitude of night. He wept more
(in love of Allah) and thought more (about Allah). In solitude, he scrutinized
his own self and pitied about the past. He preferred short clothes and simple
life. Amongst us he was like one of us. If we requested him for anything he
granted our request. When we visited him he made us sit near him without
keeping any distance. Inspite of all this humbleness,
his presence was so awe-inspiring that we did not dare utter any words before
him. He was so majestic that we could not look at him. When he smiled his teeth
appeared like a string of pearls. He respected honest and pious people and was
kind to indigent. Neither a strong man had any fear of injustice from him, nor a weak person ever lost hope of his justice. By God, one
night I saw him standing in his place of worship when the dark night had
engulfed everything; tears were rolling down on his face and beard; he was
restless like a snake-bitten person and was weeping like a bereaved man."
"It seems
as if even now I am hearing his voice as he was addressing the world: 'O World,
thou is coming towards me and want to lure me? Go deceive someone else. Thy
time is not come. I have divorced thee thrice after when there is no return.
Thy pleasure is valueless and thy importance insignificant. Alas! The provision
is too little, the journey too long and there is no
companion."
Hearing these
worlds of Adi, Moawiya
started crying, and then wiping off the tears, he said:
"May God
bless Abul Hassan (Ali). He was as you have said. Now tell me how do you feel
without him?"
"I feel
like a mother whose dear one is beheaded in her lap."
"Wouldn't
you ever forget him?"
"Would
the world allow me to forget him?"
ARE YOU ASLEEP OR AWAKE ?
Habbah Arni and Nawf
Bakali were lying in the courtyard of Darul-Amarah (fort) of Kufah.
After the midnight, they saw that the
Leader of the Faithful, Imam Ali (A.S.), was coming from the fort towards the coutyard. But his condition was bad; he was having
extraordinary fear and was unable to keep the equilibrium of his body. Keeping
his hands on the wall and having his body in bent position, he was walking
slowly with the support of the wall. And he was reciting the last verses(Ayat) of Surah Ale-Imran as follows:
"Indeed
in the creation of the heaven and the earth and alteration of the night and the
day, there are signs for men of acumen. Those who extol Allah, standing,
sitting and (lying) on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens
and the earth, (saying): 'Our Lord! You have not created this in vain! Glory is
Yours; protect us against the torment of the Fire. Our
Lord! indeed whomsoever You enter the Fire, You have
surely disgraced him, and there shall be no helpers for the worngdoers.
Our Lord! surely we have heard a caller calling to
faith (saying): 'Believe in your Lord', so we did believe; Our Lord! forgive us, therefore, our sins and cover our evil deeds and
recieve us with the righteous. Our Lord! grant us what You have promised us through Your messengers
and do not disgrace us on the Resurrection Day; surely You do not break the
promise ."(3: 190-194)
As soon as he
finished these verses, his condition became bad; he then repeated these verses
again and again and his condition became bad to worse and he became almost
unconscious.
Both Habbah and Nawf were witnessing
this amazing scene, while lying on their beds. Habbah,
while quite startled, was looking this astonishing scene.
But Nawf was unable to control his tears and he was
continuously weeping. By this time, Imam Ali (A.S.) reached the bed of Habbah and said: "Are you awake or asleep?"
Habbah replied: "I am awake, O Leader of the Pious! If a person
like you has such a condition of awe and fear of Allah, then what would heppen to poor people like us."
The Leader of
the Pious looked down and wept. He then said: "O Habbah!
all of us will be presented before Allah one day. And
no deed of ours is hidden from Him. He is very near to you and to me. Nothing
can act as an obstruction between us and Allah."
Then he said
to Nawf: "Are you asleep?" (Nawf replied:) "No,
O Leader of the Pious! I am awake. It is for some time that I am
shedding tears."
Imam Ali
(A.S.) said: "O Nawf! If today you shed tears in
fear of Allah, tomorrow your eyes will glitter.
"O Nawf! No one has more respect than that person who cries in
the fear of Allah and that he likes to do it only for His sake.
"O Nawf! The one who loves Allah and that
whatever he loves, he does it just for the sake of Allah, does not prefer
anything over love of Allah. And the one who dislikes anything, and does
it for the sake of Allah, he would receive nothing except virtue for his
disliking. Whenever you reach such a stage, you have attained the truths of
faith to their perfection."
After saying
this, he preached and gave a peice of advice to Habbah and Nawf. His last
sentence was: "I have told you that you should fear from Allah." Then
he passed by both of them and got busy with his own work. He started his
prayers and while doing so, he said: "O Allah! I wish I knew that when I
am neglectful towards You, do You ignore me or do You
still care for me? I wish I knew that in these long neglectful dreams of mine
and in my shortcomings in thanking you, what is my position before You?"
Habbah and Nawf, said: "By Allah! he(Ali(A.S.)) kept on walking and he had the same condition
continuously till dawn."
THE RIGHT OF COMPANIONSHIP
In those days,
Kufa was the capital and center of the Islamic
Government. All eyes of the vast and wide Muslim nation (with the exception of Syria) were fixed at this
city waiting for orders to be issued and decisions to be taken.
One day
outside the city two gentlemen, a Muslim and the other from people of the Book
(Jew, Christian or Zoroastrian) met on the road. The Muslim was going to Kufa and the other gentlemen to another place nearby. Since
a part of their journey was common, they decided to travel together.
On the way,
they talked and talked on, various topics of mutual interest and ultimately
arrived at the point where their paths separated. The non-Muslim was surprised
to see that his Muslim companion did not take the path leading to Kufa but accompanied him on the other path, where he was
going. He asked: "Well, did not you say you were going to Kufa?"
"Yes"
"Then why
are you coming this way? The other one is the path to Kufa."
"I know.
I want to walk a few steps with you to see you off as our prophet has said,
'whenever two persons travel together on the same path, they establish
reciprocal rights upon each other'. Now you have got a right upon me and for
the sake of that right I wish to walk a few steps with you, and then, of
course, I shall return unto my own path."
"Oh! Such
an authority and power which is wielded among people in such a perfect way by
your prophet, and the amazing speed with which his religion has spread in the
world, must be, I am sure, because of his such noble
character."
The surprise
and admiration of this gentleman reached its peak when he learnt afterwards
that his Muslim friend was Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.),
the Caliph of that time. Soon after he embraced Islam and was
counted among the most devout and self-sacrificing companion of Ali (a.s.).
