Question 516 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 5

Supporters Response:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers upon Muhammad and his family, the Imams and the Mahdis, and grant them peace. Know-may Allah have mercy upon you-that Imam Ali’s (a) not fighting to recover his usurped right was not cowardice on his part. Far be cowardice from him, who is known for his courage, strength, and self-sacrifice for the sake of Allah, Glorious is He. Courage alone is not always the means to restrain falsehood and establish the truth. A believer may possess the utmost courage and boldness while being commanded to remain still and silent until Allah brings about a matter that was to be done. The Messenger Muhammad (s) informed Imam Ali (a) that he would be wronged, his right would be usurped, and so on, and commanded him to be patient if he did not find supporters, for a wisdom known by the Messenger Muhammad (s). Thus, Imam Ali’s (a) not initiating combat was compliance with the command of Allah, Exalted is He, and the command of His noble Messenger (s). It is among Imam Ali’s (a) virtues, not as the Nasibis imagine. Indeed, had he opposed the will of the Messenger Muhammad (s), that would have been a shortcoming. Far be the Commander of the Faithful and leader of the religion from deficiency and from opposing Allah and His Messenger. If you want a witness for these words of mine from the Noble Quran, I say to you: here is Aaron, the prophet of Allah and successor of Moses (a), the prophet of Allah. When Moses (a) was absent and appointed him over the Children of Israel, he did not fight when the Samaritan led the Children of Israel astray and brought out the calf for them to turn them away from worshipping Allah. Yet it was not merely the caliphate that the Samaritan usurped from Aaron, the prophet of Allah; he left nothing of the religion, even outwardly, since he caused the people to enter open disbelief in Allah. Thus, initiating combat is not always the effective solution with Allah, Exalted is He, and His guardians. Moreover, not everything called fear is cowardice. Fear for the religion of Allah is not considered cowardice. The Quran states that Moses (a), the prophet of Allah, left Pharaoh’s city afraid and watchful: ‘So he left it, afraid and watchful. He said, “My Lord, save me from the wrongdoing people”’ (^[99]). Was Moses’s (a) fear cowardice? Far be it! No, a thousand times no. Moses’s (a) fear was not for himself as such. Rather, he feared for himself because Allah charged him with delivering the message, so he had to preserve himself and fear for it in order to perform this divine charge in the most complete manner. Otherwise, we find that the prophets and successors never hesitate to obey the command of Allah, Exalted is He, to fight for the divine religion. Finally, the narrations from the Messenger Muhammad (s) and his Household that mention the Messenger’s (s) command to Ali (a) to be patient are many. If you wish, I will set them before you on another occasion, Allah willing. May Allah grant you success in every good and righteousness. The Scientific Committee Supporters of Imam al-Mahdi (may Allah establish him upon the earth) Sheikh Nazim al-Uqayli Sacred Muharram 1431 AH