Islam Guidance

SERMON 182 - It has been related by Nawf al-Bikali that Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, Peace be Upon Him delivered this sermon at Kufah standing on a stone which Ja’dah ibn Hubayrah al-Makhzami had placed for him. Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib, Peace be Upon Him had a

Praise be to Allah to Whom is the return of all creation and the end of all matters. We render Him praise for the greatness of His generosity, the charity of His proofs, the increase of His bounty... And for His favors, a praise which may fulfill His right, repay His thanks, take (us) near His reward and produce an increase in His kindness. We seek His help like one who is hopeful of His bounty, desirous of His benefit and confident of His warding (calamities) off, one who acknowledges His gifts and is obedient to Him in word and in deed. We believe in Him like one who reposes hope in Him with conviction, inclines to Him as a believer, humbles himself before Him obediently, believes in His Oneness exclusively, regards Him as great, acknowledging His dignity and seeks refuge with Him with inclination and exertion.
Allah, the most Glorified One, has not been born so that someone could be (His) partner in glory. Nor has He begotten anyone so as to be inherited. Time has not preceded Him. Increase and decrease do not apply to Him. But He has manifested Himself to our understanding when we observe His strong control and firm decree. Among the proofs of His creation is the creation of the skies which are fastened without pillars, standing without support. He called them and they responded obediently and humbly without being reluctant or loathsome. If they had not acknowledged His being the Lord and not obeyed Him, He would not have made them the place for His throne, the abode of His angels and the destination of the pure utterances and righteous deeds of the creatures.
He has made the stars in the skies by way of signs for the guidance of travelers who traverse the various routes of the earth. The gloom of the dark curtains of the night does not prevent the flame of their light, nor do the veils of blackish nights have the power to turn back the light of the moon when it spreads in the skies. Glory to Allah from Whom neither the blackness of dark dusk nor of gloomy nights in the low parts of the earth or on high dim mountains is hidden, nor the thundering of clouds on the horizons of the skies, nor the sparking of lightning in the clouds, nor the falling of leaves blown away from their falling places by the winds of hurricanes or by downpour from the sky. He knows where the drops fall and where they settle, where the grubs leave their trails or drag themselves, what livelihood will suffice the mosquitoes and what a female bears in its womb.
Praise be to Allah Who exists before the existence of the seat, the throne, the sky, the earth, the jinns or the humans. He cannot be perceived by imagination nor measured by comprehension. He who pleads to Him does not divert Him (from others), nor does giving away cause Him diminution. He does not see by means of an eye, nor can He be confined to a place. He cannot be said to have companions. He does not create with (the help of) limbs. He cannot be perceived by senses. He cannot be thought of as we think of people.
It is He who spoke to Musa (Moses) clearly and showed Him His great signs without the use of bodily parts, the means of speech or the uvula. O you who exert yourself in describing Allah! If you are serious, then (first try to) describe Gabriel, Michael or the host of angels who are close (to Allah) in the receptacles of sublimity. But their heads are bent downwards and their wits are perplexed as to how to assign limits (of definition) to the Highest Creator. This is so because those things can only be perceived through qualities which have shape and parts and which succumb to death after reaching the end of their times. There is no god but He. He has lighted every darkness with His glory and has darkened every light with the darkness (of death).

An Account of Bygone Peoples and Learning from Them

I admonish you, servants of Allah, to fear Allah Who clothed you well and bestowed upon you an abundance of sustenance. If there was anyone who could secure a ladder to everlasting life or a way to avoid death, it was Sulayman ibn Dawad (p.b.u.h.) [Solomon son of David] who was given control over the domain of the jinns and men along with Prophethood and a great status with Allah. But when he exhausted appointed ration (of this world) and his (fixed) time expired, the bow of destruction shot him with an arrow of death. His mansions became vacant and his habitations became empty. Another group of people inherited them. Certainly, the by-gone centuries have a lesson for you.
Where are the Amalekites and the sons of the Amalekites? Where are the Pharaohs? Where are the people of the cities of ar-Rass who killed the prophets, destroyed the traditions of the holy messengers and revived the traditions of the despots? Where are those who advanced with armies, defeated thousands, mobilized forces and populated cities?

Part of the same sermon about
Imam al-Mahdi, Peace be Upon Him

He will be wearing the amour of wisdom, which he will have secured with all its conditions, such as full attention towards it, (complete) knowledge of and exclusive devotion to it. For him, it is like a thing which he had lost and which he was then seeking, or a need which he was trying to fulfill. If Islam is in trouble, he will feel forlorn like a traveler and like a (tired) camel beating the end of its tail, with its neck flattened on the ground. He is the last of Allah’s proofs and one of the vicegerents of His prophets.

On the Method of His Ruling and
Grief over the Martyrdom of His Companions

O people! I have divulged to you advice which the prophets used to preach to their peoples, and I have conveyed to you what the vicegerents (of the prophets) conveyed for the benefit of those coming after them. I tried to train you with my whip but you could not be straightened. I drove you with admonition but you did not acquire proper behavior. May Allah deal with you! Do you want an Imam other than me to take you on the (right) path and show you the correct way?
Beware, the things in this world which were forward have become things of the past, and those which were behind are going ahead. The virtuous people of Allah have made up their minds to leave and they have traded, with a little perishable (pleasure) of this world, a lot of such (reward) in the next world that will remain forever. What loss did our brothers, whose blood was shed in Siffin, suffer by not being alive today? Only that they are not suffering from choking upon swallowing and not drinking turbid water. By Allah, surely they have met Allah and He has bestowed upon them their rewards; He has lodged them in safe houses after their (having suffered) fear.
Where are my brethren who took the (right) path and trod in righteousness/ Where is `Ammar? Where is ibn at-Tayyihan? Where is Dhul-Shahadatayn? And where are others like them7 from among their comrades who had pledged themselves to remain steadfast till death and whose (severed) heads were taken to the wicked enemy?
Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.) wiped his hand over his auspicious, honored beard and wept for a long time, then he went on to say:
O brothers who recited the Holy Qur’an and strengthened it, thought over their obligation and fulfilled it, revived the Sunnah and destroyed innovation! When they were called to jihad, they responded and trusted in their leader then followed him.

Imam Ali Ibn Aba Talib, Peace be Upon Him
Shouted the Following at the Top of His Voice:

Al-Jihad, al-Jihad! O servants of Allah! By Allah, I am mobilizing the army today. He who desires to proceed towards Allah should come forward.

Nawf says the following: “Imam Ali ibn Aba Talib (p.b.u.h.) put Hussain (p.b.u.h.) in charge of (a force of) ten thousand, Qays ibn Sa`d (mercy of Allah be upon him) over ten thousand, Aba Ayyab al-Ansari over ten thousand and others over different numbers, intending to return to Siffin. But on Friday, the Imam (p.b.u.h.) did not appear in public again; the damned Ibn Muljim (may Allah curse him) killed him. Consequently, the armies came back and were left like sheep who had lost their shepherd while wolves were snatching them away from all sides.

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