- Ameerul Momineen Ali (a.s.)
- Hassan bin Thabit
- Qays bin Saad bin Ubadah Ansari
- Amr bin Aas bin Wael
- Muhammad bin Abdullah Himyari
1. Ameerul Momineen (a.s.)
We begin the book with our master, Ameerul Momineen (a.s.), Caliph of the
chosen Messenger of God (s.a.w.a.), and through that seek auspiciousness,
because he was, after his brother, the great Prophet, the most eloquent of Arabs
and most knowledgeable of them about special qualities and subjects of Arabic
discourse. He has understood through the statement of the Prophet:
من كنت مولاه فهذا على مولاه
“Of whomsoever I am the Maula, Ali is (also) his Maula,”
…that Maula implies one having absolute Imamate and his obedience, like the obedience of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) is obligatory.
His Eminence mentioned this in the following couplets:
1. Muhammad is the Prophet, a very kind brother, and my peer.1
And Hamza, the chief of the martyrs, is my uncle. 2. Ja’far is the same, who
glides with angels day and night, he is my full brother. 3. The daughter of
Muhammad is the source of my comfort and she is my wife, whose flesh is
merged with my flesh and blood. 4. And the two grandsons of Ahmad
(s.a.w.a.) are my sons from him (and Fatima). Thus, which of you is having
the same fortune as I have? 5. I have precedence over you all in embracing
Islam, in addition to perception and knowledge2. 6. Thus, the Messenger of
Allah (s.a.w.a.) on the day of Ghadeer Khum, placed the authority he is
having over you upon me, and it became obligatory on you people. 7. Then
hundreds of woes be on one who, on Judgment Day, meets God while he
would have committed injustice upon me.
Explanation regarding the couplets
Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) has mentioned these couplets in reply to the letter
of Muawiyah. The letter of Muawiyah was as follows:
“I am the owner of excellence. During the period of Ignorance (Jahiliyya),
my father was the chief of Arabs and I have myself obtained rulership in Islam. I
am a relative of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) and the maternal uncle of
believers, the scribe of revelation.”
After reading this letter, Imam (a.s.) said:
“Is the son of Hind, the liver-eater, being unjust to me through these
merits?” Then he told the young man present with him:
“Write down, young man: Muhammad is the Prophet, a very kind
brother, and my peer…” and then dictated the above lines and replied to the
letter of Muawiyah.
When Muawiyah read this letter, he told his people to conceal it, so that no
one from Shaam may read it, because as a result of it they would become inclined
towards the son of Abu Talib!
Shia and Sunni scholars regard this report to be definite and they have
consensus on its narration, but each of them have made it a topic of research and
analysis to the extent related to their discussion, without expressing the least
doubt in the fact that it was issued by His Eminence, on the contrary, we will
soon mention that this is among the famous reports and narrators concerned with
accuracy and trusted memorizers have narrated it.
Some senior Ahle Sunnat scholars have narrated from Baihaqi that it is
obligatory on all followers of Ali (a.s.) to learn these couplets by heart, so that the
world of Islam may know about the glories of His Eminence.
Some Shia scholars, who narrated these couplets, are as follows:
1. Teacher of the Islamic Ummah, Shaykh Mufeed (d. 413 A.H.).
2. Our teacher, Karajaki (d. 449 A.H.).
3. Abu Ali Fattal Nishapuri.
4. Abu Mansur Tabarsi, who is among the teachers of Ibne Shahr Ashob.
5. Ibne Shahr Ashob (d. 588 A.H.).
6. Allamah Majlisi (d. 1111 A.H.).3
Some Ahle Sunnat scholars, who have narrated this panegyric, are as follows:
1. Hafiz Baihaqi (d. 458). He says regarding this poem:
“It is obligatory on all followers of Ali (a.s.) to learn these couplets by heart,
so that the world of Islam may know about the glories of His Eminence.”
2. Abu Hajjaj, Yusuf bin Muhammad Balawi Maliki, famous as Ibne Shaykh
(d. around 605 A.H.). In his book of Alif Baa, he says:4
“As for Ali (a.s.), he possesses a lofty rank and an exalted nobility. He was
the first to embrace Islam and he was the husband of Fatima, daughter of Holy
Prophet (s.a.w.a.). When one of the enemies of His Eminence, who was unaware
of his rank, showed pride over him, he replied to him with these couplets.”
After this, Ibne Shaykh mentions the captioned couplets and then says:
The implication of Ali (a.s.) was the obligatoriness of Mastership (Wilayat)
of the same statement of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) that: “Of whomsoever I am
the master, Ali is (also) his master. O Allah, love those, who love him and be
inimical to those, who are inimical to him.”
3. Hafiz Abu Husain Zaid bin Hasan Tajuddin Kindi Hanafi (d. 613 A.H.).5
4. Yaqut Hamawi (d. 626 A.H.).6
5. Sibte Ibne Jauzi Hanafi (d. 654 A.H.).7
6. Ibne Abil Hadeed (d. 656 A.H.).8
7. Ibne Hajar (d. 974 A.H.).9
8. Muttaqi Hindi (d. 975 A.H.).10