At the Battle of the Ditch, Imam Ali had knocked an enemy soldier to the ground and was raising his sword to kill him, when the soldier spat in the face of Imam Ali. Imam Ali at once stood still and refrained from killing his enemy. Hardly able to believe his own eyes, the soldier asked: Why have you spared me? To this, Ali replied: Your property and your life have become sacrosanct to me. I am not authorized to slay you. I can receive permission to kill only in holy combat, in fighting commanded by my beliefs for the general good. Just a few moments ago, I had overcome you in battle, knocked you to the ground and was on the point of slaying you. But when you spat in my face, my selfish anger was aroused against you. If I had killed you, I would have slain you not for the right reason but for my own selfishness; they would then have called me not a champion warrior, but a murderer. When you spat in my face, my pride threatened to overwhelm me, so instead of striking you with the sword for my own sake out of anger, I struck my passion for the sake of Allah. There you have the reason for your escape.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 23:15:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015