Twentieth Ramadan Lecture Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi, 1443 A. H.
Imam Ali
The Witness to the Greatness of the Divine Message and the Messenger
I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the outcast.
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth, and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, Messenger, and Last Prophet.
O Allah, confer Your salat and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad as You conferred Your salat and blessings upon Ibrahim and the Family of Ibrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad's good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahidin.
Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
O Allah, guide us and grant us acceptance, for You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing; accept our repentance, for You are the Relenting and the Merciful.
One of the most significant events and major tragedies in the history of the Ummah took place in Ramadan, the 19th of Ramadan 40 A.H.: the killing of Imam Ali, the Commander of the Believers and the Master of the Guardians, while performing Salat Al-Fajir in his mosque, the Mosque of Kufa. As he was busy with Salat Al-Fajir, he was injured in an assassination attempt carried out by Ibn Muljam, the most wretched among the wretched (Curses be upon him).
In the third night, the 21st night of Ramadan, that followed his injury, Imam Ali left this life to join his Lord as a happy and fortunate martyr. When he was hit in his head, he said his well-known and well-remembered aphorism: ‘By the lord of the Kaaba, I have succeeded.’
That kind of targeting led to one of the most terrible tragedies in the history of the Ummah and resulted into serious consequences for the Ummah through generations. That incident was not an ordinary incident where the ruler of the Islamic Ummah was targeted and replaced with someone else. The case is completely different, for the one hit with that stroke was the Commander of the Believers, the Master of Guardians, Imam Al-Mutaqin, about whom the Prophet (PBUH&F) said to reveal his great rank in the sight of Allah and the role he would play in Isalm in relation to the Ummah, ‘You are to me in the position that Harun was to Musa.’
The one who was targeted with that assassination was a person of such great importance. His great rank comes second to the rank of the Prophet in his great faith; his perfection of faith; his great rank with Allah (Glory be to Him); and his role in supporting and assisting the Prophet (PBUH&F),establishing Islam, carrying out Jihad in the cause of Allah, and standing up to the enemies of Islam who fought against Islam in the early days of Islam, as well as all that had to do with march of Islam and the nature of the role he played within the Ummah after the death of the Prophet (PBUH&F) to ensure the continuation of the Islamic march in its pure form.
How and why was Imam Ali (PBUH) targeted?
The Commander of the Believers, in spite of his great rank and high status, was hit with a sword claimed to be from this Ummah and affiliated to this Ummah, even though a person who commits a crime that much heinous and awful should not be considered one of the sons of this Ummah. However, that act was planned and was not an individual endeavour that was based on an individual decision. It was an act planned by the movement of Nifaq led by the tyranny of the Umayyads at the time.
The Commander of the Believers with his great rank and high status with Allah—this helps recognize how horrible and awful that crime was, as it was carried out against one of Allah's Auliya, the best among the best. Allah (Glory be to Him) tells us in the Holy Quran how horrible the crime against any believer is: He says, {‘Whoever kills a believer deliberately, his reward is Jahannam where he shall remain forever, and Allah shall be angry with him and shall cast curse upon him, and He has prepared for him a mighty punishment’}—even one believer who could be any one among them regardless of his/her rank in faith. So Allah's wrath can go as far as this: {‘Whoever kills a believer deliberately, his reward is Jahannam where he shall remain forever, and Allah shall be angry with him and shall cast curse upon him, and He has prepared for him a mighty punishment.’} It is one of the most serious warnings of punishment in the Holy Quran, and it is all about one specific crime. There are warnings against specific crimes in the Holy Quran, but this particular warning is notable in the way it shows Allah's great wrath and torment, which reflects how horrible this crime is , let alone when committed against the Guardian of the Believers, the most perfect man in faith, the highest in rank in terms of faith, and the first to believe in the Messenger (PBUH&F). His faith is great and remarkable for being perfect and for being incomparable with any kind of faith among the Ummah.
In a hadith qudsi, Allah says, ‘Whoever takes a Wali of Mine an enemy, I will wage war on him.’ What could be the reason for taking a Wali an enemy? The only possible reason is for what s/he obtains of faith and what s/he does for the sake of what is right. Therefore, taking a Wali of Allah's as an enemy is due to the right position s/he takes and the things that s/he does to embody his/her faith in Allah (Glory be to Him) and obedience to Him.
Enmity towards the Commander of the Believers (PBUH) was not just for his person or his name; rather, it was for what Ali had, for what he represented, and for his role in this Ummah. His role was all connected with the Divine Message: He fights for establishing it, for defending it, and for laying down its foundations within the Ummah. Therefore, he always kept himself (in his reality, in what he had, in his culture, in his conscience, in his knowledge, in what he represented, in what he did, and in his attitude) in full harmony with the Holy Quran. The Messenger (PBUH&F) said about him, ‘Ali is with the Quran, and the Quran is with Ali’—this harmony never faded away even for an instant, as Ali (PBUH )remained faithful to this harmony in all his whole life, attitudes, and actions. Hence, he was a speaking Quran, who embodied the teachings of the Quran, who kept to the positions of the Quran, and who presented the kind of guidance that is in consistent with the Quran for the Ummah. He kept to that kind of harmony since his first day in Islam until he joined Allah as a happy, winning martyr after saying his well-known aphorism: ‘By the lord of the Kaaba, I have succeeded.’
Ali (PBUH) used to embody the truth in all his instructions, attitudes, wisdom, and actions; and he never turned away from this embodiment for a single moment. The Messenger (PBUH&F) said about him, ‘Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with Ali.’ Therefore, he always took the positions that were consistent with the truth, moved according to the truth, presented the truth, and kept connecting the Ummah with the truth. So the truth was the main title that shaped all his efforts, attitudes, and actions.
When it comes to his great position with Allah, Ali is the one about whom the Messenger (PBUH&F) said, ‘O Allah, be Mawla to who takes him as Mawla, and be an enemy to who takes him as an enemy.’ So whoever takes him as an enemy will be an enemy to Allah, to Islam, and to the Messenger (PBUH&F). As a result, we know what kind of destiny awaits such a person.
Imam Ali (PBUH) gained such a high position in the sight of Allah and in what he means to us as Muslims to whom the Messenger (PBUH&F) addressed his words to make us know the position of Ali, the role of Ali, and what Ali means to us: ‘Loving Ali is faith’—if we want to be true believers and attain faith, we have to love Ali—‘and hating him is Nifaq.’ Therefore, who abhors and hates Ali or gets upset and irritated with Ali is a munafiq, and it is only his/her Nifaq what gets him/her to that: Nothing could ever make it to that level of hatred to the truth, to faith in its purest state, and to the human perfection in its best forms and states except falling into a bad state, which is Nifaq.
It does not require much effort for one to love Ali. Indeed, you don't need to pay much effort, for as soon as you know him, you can see his human perfection expressed in Surat Al-Insan and can also see his perfection in faith. Among the followers and believers of the Messenger, he is the perfect example in the Ummah who perfectly embodied all characteristics of faith in a way that is consistent with what is mentioned in the Holy Quran and that fully reflects the beauty, elegance, and attractiveness of these characteristics.
At the level of human nature, a person cannot but be attracted to those of humane perfection and to those who are perfect in their good manners and faith. S/he is likely to love them, for it is part of one's human nature. Therefore, if a person feels otherwise, s/he cannot be in peace with his/her human nature. It is the state of Nifaq that makes a person deviate from his/her human nature, so such a person becomes abnormal even in his/her feelings.
In the role he played in the Divine Message, Ali (PBUH) was the deputy of the Messenger, for the Messenger said, ‘You are to me in the position that Harun was to Musa’—he is the supporter—‘except that there is no Prophet after me.’ He is not a prophet, but he is a guardian, the guardian after the Messenger, Imam Al-Mutaqin, the Master of Guardians, the Commander of the Believers, and the Mawla of the Believers: {‘Your only Mawla are Allah, His Messenger, and those who have believed, who establish Salat and pay Zakat while bowing’}. He played this crucial role that preserved the true spirit of the Divine Message in its pure, original form, a form that is free from any impurities and that the movement of Nifaq sought to corrupt in order to defame Islam and distort its features. We realize through all of that how horrible what happened was and how heinous that targeting was in terms of its effects and the very serious crime it represented.
Some of Imam Ali's positions in support of Islam and what
they clearly prove
In reality, when all of that happened within the Ummah and from the inside, it was clear evidence of the nature of the deviation, the reality of the problem that happened in the history of the Ummah, and the nature of the role that the Commander of the Believers, Ali (PBUH), was playing in dealing with those problems. The Commander of the Believers (PBUH) played a significant role in the history of Islam since the early days of Islam: He was the first Muslim to embrace Islam and the greatest in his faith and contribution to supporting Islam, assisting the Prophet (PBUH&F), backing the truth, and standing firm in the face of enemies and threats surrounding Muslims and Islam at that stage, which can be named as the stage of revelation (the stage of sending the Holy Quran down) and of the Prophet's movement (PBUH&F) to deliver the Message to bring the Ummah out of the state of shirk and kufr to the light of Islam.
At that stage, Imam Ali (PBUH) played a distinctive and considerable role. He was the extraordinary man at all extraordinary, serious stages and challenges. In the Great Gazwa of Badr, Imam Ali's contribution and effect was the greatest in terms of sacrifice, bravery, dedication, and the heavy blows to the enemies Allah made possible through him. In the Gazwa of Badr, his great and distinctive role was clear, as well as his great contribution in the battle through what Allah permitted to be achieved by him.
In the battle of Ohod, Imam Ali played a pivotal and distinctive role, especially with the setback of Muslims that threatened the life of the Prophet (PBUH&F). Imam Ali, the Commander of the Believers, stood firm along with few believers. His great devotion, performance, and heroism (in addition to all that Allah bestowed upon him of His support, victory, and aid) reached to a point where Gabriel (PBUH), who was present near the Prophet, got very impressed and said his stated-by-narrators-and-historians words: ‘This is the solidarity.’ When he saw Imam Ali's great devotion, heroism, sacrifice, and performance that came from great faith, he said, ‘This is the solidarity.’ Then, Prophet Muhammad said, ‘He is part of me and I am part of him.’ Gabriel replied, ‘And I am of you both,’ showing Imam Ali's high status and great position of faith with Allah.
In the battle of Al-Khandaq , Imam Ali, at that very critical point, played an extraordinary and great role, a role the Prophet (PBUH&F) described by saying that very expressive and well-known statement: ‘The entire faith stood out in the face of the entire Kufr.’ Imam Ali embodied faith in that highly critical event, whose effects could lead into one of two opposing directions. Therefore, the victory of Imam Ali was a victory for faith.
In the battle of Khaybr, Imam Ali was the one who conquered Khaybr after Prophet Muhammad had said, ‘I am going to give the flag tomorrow to a man who loves Allah and His messenger and is loved by Allah and His Messenger. He bravely attacks and never runs away; Allah will bring victory under his leadership.’ In that, the Prophet reveals to us Ali's feeling of faith—of the most important feeling a believer have is his/her love for Allah and His Prophet—and at the same time reminds us of Ali's great position in the sight of Allah and the Prophet: ‘ is loved by Allah and His messenger.’ He made clear to us the kind of motives that made him special in his heroism and devotion to the cause of Allah: Before being inherent motives, they were grounded on faith. So the instinct and faith came together and kept growing until they made Imam Ali distinctive in his great role and substantial contribution to establishing Islam and standing up to the enemies of Islam. This is true at all times and in all events.
In the conquest of Makkah, Imam Ali was the holder of the Prophet's flag (PBUH&F). At all times and circumstances, Imam Ali, the Commander of the Believers, was present, taking the first place among the supporters and helpers of the Prophet and the mujahidin in the cause of Allah—his contribution was the greatest. Being quick and showing the highest level of excellence were embodied in his performance.
Imam Ali as the witness to the greatness of Islam and its
true way of life
In addition to that, he was perfect in his faith: He did not only show heroism in the cause of Allah, in Jihad for the sake of Allah, and in support of Islam but also perfection in other faith-related characteristics: his humanitarian perfection (showing compassion towards the oppressed and being modest with the believers) and his perfection of knowledge (his wisdom and approach). He reflected the perfect image of the Muslim in all aspects and dimensions and with all key characteristics. As a result, his heroism, devotion to the cause of Allah, and great efforts were accompanied with insight and the highest level of comprehension: He is the attentive ear and the gate of knowledge and wisdom. Indeed, he enjoyed wisdom and knowledge and was enlightened by Allah's light; he was of deep and remarkable insight: He said about himself when he stepped out of the ranks to fight Amr ibn Abd Wudd, ‘I am the possessor of true intention and insight; truthfulness is the best policy for success.’ He had insight, knowledge, and light. Indeed, he was a great man who followed the guidance of Allah and was the attentive ear that did absorb what it received of Allah's guidance.
Imam Ali's great role in preserving Islam and standing
up to the munafiqin
In addition to all of that and the importance all of that gives to Ali—the kind of importance that made him the witness (the perfect example) to the greatness of Islam and the Divine Message (he was a reflection of the great effect the Messenger had on his manners and his wisdom because he was raised by the Prophet since childhood; the effect the upbringing provided by the Messenger and his teachings had on the Muslim, as well as the effect of Islam and the Quran), and he, from his perfect reality, bore witness to the greatness of Islam, the Messenger, and the Divine Message, so he served as a witness to the Messenger (PBUH&F) who provided an impressive, great, outstanding, and perfect example about Islam and its effect, values, and ethics, as well as its effect on shaping the Muslim personality—he, in addition to all of that, played an important role in the reality of the Ummah: ensuring the purity of Islam after the death of the Prophet (PBUH&F) and standing up to the great threat represented in the munafiqin within the Ummah.
The efforts and activities of the munafiqin were exposed and received much attention in the Holy Quran at the time of the Prophet (PBUH&F). However, the Prophet kept standing up to them backed by the Holy Quran, the instructions of Allah, and what Allah sent down in the Quran that exposed them and revealed the nature of their conspiracies. Allah commanded the Prophet by saying, {‘O Prophet! Struggle against the disbelievers and the munafiqin, and be firm with them. Jahannam will be their home. What an evil destination’}.
The Prophet (PBUH&F) kept striving against the kafirin and fought them at the military level and at all other levels. He also kept striving against the munafiqin and standing up to them within Muslim society through paying great efforts to protect society from their impact and to counter them with the use of many means, including threats, warnings, pressure, and even the exile of some, as well as seeking to make them less effective and powerful in a way that ensures they completely lose their effect and influence within the Ummah. To that end, he paid great efforts, but such efforts were accompanied with strong warnings the Prophet directed to them according to the revelations sent down by Allah (Glory be to Him), including death threats, banishment threats, etc.: {‘If the munafiqin and those with sickness in their hearts and rumour-mongers in Madinah do not cease, we will surely incite you against them; then they will not remain your neighbors therein except for a little’}. So the Prophet spared no effort to stand up to them, and they used to portray themselves as Muslims—they declared the Shahadatain and pretend to be Muslims. Some of them reached to a very advanced point in their Nifaq, to a point that Allah described, {‘They have become accustomed to Nifaq. You, , do not know them, we know them. We will punish them twice’}.
It was a normal and very expected thing that the impact of the munafiqin on the Ummah would be greater after the death of the Prophet (PBUH&F) than it was during the life of the Prophet (PBUH&F) and that their danger would target many aspects, including intellectual and moral aspects, as well as aspects related to influence and power within the Ummah and many other aspects. Indeed, this is a matter of fact, for they did continue to exist after the Prophet (PBUH&F), who warned Muslims about them and affirmed that they would continue to move within the Ummah in every generation and at all times and that they would represent a great threat.
The Holy Quran paid very much attention to them and spoke about some of them in some verses to show that they are worse and more dangerous to the Ummah than its other enemies due to the nature of the subversive role they play within the Ummah: Allah said about them in a surah that had their name as its title, Surat Al-Munafiqun, {‘They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah kill them, lest they be destroyed’}—{‘They are the enemy, so beware of them.’} It has told us that their destiny would be the worst place and that their punishment would be the greatest: {‘The munafiqin will certainly be in the lowest depths of the Fire, and you will never find a helper for them’}. We seek refuge in Allah. Their punishment is too horrible, and it indicates how bad their deeds are and how negative their role in the history and reality of the Ummah is.
After the death of the Prophet (PBUH&F), they became more active within the Ummah and paid more and more efforts. The Prophet (PBUH&F) said to Ali (PBUH) in the hadith narrated by all Muslim schools of thoughts, ‘Only a believer loves you, and only a munafiq hates you.’ He made clear that Ali (PBUH) is the criterion that tells who is a believer and who is a munafiq in the reality of the Ummah because of the perfect example Imam Ali presents of the pure form of Islam and the role he played in ensuring the continuity of Islam and the truth in its pure form.
Imam Ali's role in standing up to the tyranny of the Umayyads
Of the most serious roles that Munafiqun play is distorting the Islamic concepts: They are a movement of deception inside the Ummah, for Nifaq depends on deception and the practice of distorting concepts, realities, and facts. In fact, they are a deviation movement, seeking to make the Ummah deviate away from the right path and the right direction that preserves the true spirit of Islam in all aspects: its belief, instruction, position, and cultural project in this life.
The movement of Nifaq became more active inside the Ummah and sought to take control over the Ummah and to entirely make it deviate . The first to raise the banner of Nifaq inside the Ummah and to use Nifaq to get to the decision-making positions in order to dominate the Ummah are the Umayyads. The Umayyad tyrants sought to entirely control and make the Ummah go astray from a position of authority and a decision-making position and to dominate the Ummah from a position where they could be in control over the decision-making process and over the administration of the affairs of the Ummah. This is what can have the most serious consequences for the Ummah.
Imam Ali (PBUH) represented the protecting bulwark and the impenetrable barrier that confronted the tyranny of the Umayyads. He fought the battle against the Umayyad tyranny in all fields. In addition, he continued to provide the Ummah with the perfect faith-based instruction and acted according to Islam while introducing it and moving from a position of authority and decision-making in the right path in accordance with its teachings. He was the one who truly followed the example of the Messenger (PBUH&F) and really embodied the Holy Quran. That is because he was with the Holy Quran and the truth, and they were with him.
He encountered a bitter conflict while protecting the Ummah from the movement of Nifaq and its influence. Also, he faced enormous suffering because of the deviation that found its way deep into the Ummah in many aspects that led to the emergence of a number of negative phenomena, one of which is the phenomenon of the takfiri khawarij , who presented an image identical to the image presented by the takfiris in our time: It is a blind religious phenomenon pushed and used by the tools of Nifaq. This kind of blind phenomenon embraces religion without insight and considers the religion as a staging ground and impulse but without insight, evidence, proper directions, or guidance of Allah (Glory be to Him). To them, it has only to do with ill feelings, grudges, and malice that drive a person to a hostile action without insight.
The Umayyad Nifaq movement was able to benefit from the Khawarij phenomenon and to use it against Imam Ali (PBUH), leading to that horrible conspiracy aimed at assassinating and targeting Ali (PBUH) by one affiliated to that takfiri Phenomenon: Ibn Muljam (May Allah curse him). He is the most wretched one among all the wretched, who was first described like that by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&F) when he described the killer of Imam Ali as the most wretched one among the wretched. Moreover, he compared him to the killer of the camel of Thamud because he brought misery upon the Ummah, so his crime is truly horrible. It was a crime of the Umayyad Nifaq movement: It was behind it, and it planned all of that. Of the serious consequences—In addition to what Imam Ali (PBUH) represented of his great position since he is the Wali of Allah, the Imam of Taqwa, and the Imam and the Master of the Believers, besides his great position with Allah and what he represented of real extension to Islam—was the fact that they became more powerful as a result of his killing (PBUH).
Indeed, one of the greatest risks and disasters the Ummah faced after the martyrdom of the Commander of the Believers Ali (PBUH) was that the Umayyads had complete control over the Islamic Ummah, and then they were able to turn to their own project that was based on Nifaq , a project that was described by the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, with his expressive, meaningful, and important words: ‘They take Allah's religion as a hideout for corruption; Allah's slaves as their slaves; and Allah's blessings as their own blessings that they circulate it among them.’ So they turned the Ummah with all its possessions, capabilities, and means into an exploitative project for authority, wealth, influence, personal gains, whims, and desires. Moreover, they turned to all Islam-related concepts, rituals, and teachings that they considered as an obstacle in their way and came up with alternatives to them, alternatives that served them, suited them, increased their influence, and could be attributed to Islam. As a result, they presented another picture that is different from the picture that the Commander of the Believers presented, which represented the reality of Islam, the essence of Islam, and the extension of its true spirit. So they presented a fake picture, in which there was a lot of falsehood and distortion, and exploited what remained of the Islamic rituals after stripping it of its real role and its right impact. That way, they caused Islam to deviate from being a project for the Ummah to learn from and rise and a project through which the Ummah can play a great and distinctive role. Also, they exploited the capacities and capabilities of the Islamic Ummah for their ambitions, whims, inclinations, and desires. They wronged the Ummah, targeted its righteous people, violated its rituals, targeted its sanctities, destroyed and burned its Kaaba, and offended the Messenger (PBUH&F).
They played a horrible destructive role, the effects and results of which were extended to later periods of times and have continued up to now. Its effects now can be seen in the many evil concepts, false narrations, and wrong beliefs, in addition to their bad effects when they caused the Ummah to deviate from the right path. So, instead of making the Ummah go into an upward direction in which it gains more strength, awareness, understanding, and transcendence with time, they made the Ummah fall into a downward direction and hit the bottom. That is why we see in this time that the reality of our Ummah looks terrible when compared with other nations. It is a reality that enabled the Jews—whom Allah has stricken with disgrace and misery—to become a strong enemy, although they are trash, to a nation consisting of more than one billion Muslims and in possession of enormous capabilities. However, it has become scum and rubbish like that carried by a torrent. Why? What is the reason that has made the Ummah fall into this state? It is not something recent, and it is not a result of a limited time or limited changes. Indeed, it existed a long time ago and continued to affect the reality of the Ummah, leading it to where it is today.
The true spirit of the truth, as well as its voice and purity, is still preserved in spite of being fought by the powers of Nifaq from a position of authority, control, and decision-making. However, it is still present. Imam Ali's efforts, sacrifices, and blessed endeavours still have their great impact; and the fact that this voice, this truth, and this guidance can still be found in this Ummah, which extended to our era and time, is a great favour from Allah (Glory be to Him).
Therefore, when we look forwards in this late period of time, after all the events and changes that took place (the terrible events and the great changes in the history of our Islamic Ummah), we can still see the clear features, all features, that reflect the true spirit of Islam. We still have the Holy Quran and what represents an extension to the Holy Quran at the practical level in the history of our Ummah. The best person to represent it and the greatest in rank after the death of the Prophet (PBUH&F) till now is the Commander of the Believers, Ali (PBUH). Therefore, Imam Ali represents a perfect school. When we look at his biography, study it, and read about him, we can find what benefits us and what definitely embodies what is mentioned in the Holy Quran—we find clear lessons that we can benefit from.
The most important lesson one can learn from the life
story of Imam Ali
In addition to what we might greatly benefit from the Commander of the Believers (PBUH) while studying his biography and reading his history, there is what we all must pay great attention to: We must note among other things the great importance of learning from him how our endeavour of faith should be characterized by seriousness, patience, and insight in the face of challenges, no matter how difficult they are. This is of the most important lessons that we learn from the Commander of the Believers, Ali (PBUH).
When told by the Messenger (PBUH&F) of what he would face and of his martyrdom and asked, ‘Tell me how your patience will be then,’ he replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, this is not of the times of patience, but of the times of good tidings and thanksgiving.’ This is his view on martyrdom; with this view and this great spirit, he used to dedicatedly and cheerfully move in the cause of Allah (Glory be to Him). He used to face challenges, no matter how difficult or how big they were because he carried this spirit, which sees martyrdom for the sake of Allah (Glory be to Him) as a great blessing and a great divine success, for which we have to thank Allah, to seek from Allah, and to ask from Allah (Glory be to Him).
When the Messenger told him about his martyrdom and what would happen to him, he said his great, well-known, and important words, ‘While faithful to my religion, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘Yes’. So he said, ‘Then, it is not a big matter.’ This is how his insight and faith were. This is how he teaches us that remaining faithful to religion is the most important thing and that preserving religion comes first before anything else to a true believer. This is the criterion, regardless of the sacrifices and of what one may offer or lose: What is important is to remain faithful to religion.
Thus, when we truly love Ali, follow his example, get inspired by him, and benefit from him, our love for him must have such a great effect on our souls. Indeed, we cannot but feel attracted to the way he was and the way he embodied the ethics and values of Islam and Quran: ‘while faithful to my religion?’ Then, when he was hit, he said his famous word: ‘By the lord of the Kaaba, I have succeeded.’ That is because he saw that the way he followed in his life is a way whose followers win.
Therefore, when we, while facing these challenges, follow Ali's spirit, Ali's faith, Ali's awareness, Ali's insight, and Ali's light, we will be stronger and more capable of facing all challenges. And the great victory will be our destination. That is because it is a way whose followers win.
We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to grant us success in seeking what pleases Him. O Allah (Glory be to You), have mercy on our martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory. You are All-Hearing!
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.