WHAT MUSLIMS ACHIEVED FROM THE SHORT SPAN OF ALIS REIGN ? Despite the four y ears and nine months of his Caliphate, Ali (a.s.) was not able to eliminate the disturbed conditions which were prevailing throughout the Islamic world, but he was successful in four fundamental ways. 1- As a result of his just and upright manner of living he revealed once again the beauty and attractiveness of the way of life of the Holy Prophet (saw), especially tot he younger generation. In contrast to he imperial grandeur of Muawiyah, he lived in simplicity and poverty. He never favored his friends and relatives and family above others, nor did he ever prefer wealth to poverty or brute force to weakness. 2- Despite the cumbersome and strenuous difficulties which absorbed his time, he left behind among the Islamic Community a valuable treasury of the truly divine sciences and Islamic intellectual disciplines. In his talks and speeches he expounded the most sublime Islamic sciences in a most elegant and flowing manner. He established Arabic Grammar and laid the basis for Arabic literature. 3- He was the first in Islam to delve directly into the questions of metaphysics (falsafah-i-ilahi) in a manner combining intellectual rigor and logical demonstration. He discussed problems which had never appeared before in the same way among the meta physicians of the world. Moreover, he was so devoted to metaphysics and gnosis that even in the heat of battle he would carry out intellectual discourse and discuss metaphysical questions. ( please see Nahjul Balagha) 4- He trained a large number of religious scholars and Islamic servants, among whom are found a number of ascetics and gnostics who were the forefathers of the Sufis. These men have been recognized by the later Sufis as the founders of gnosis in Islam. Others among his disciples became the first teachers of jurisprudence, theology, Quranic Commentary and recitation.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 16:46:07 +0000
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