Ayatollah Alavi Boroujerdi: Shouldn’t we move one step further than just holding Imam Ali’s love in our hearts and manifest it in our individual and social lives?

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

This year, the 21st of the Holy month of Ramadan marks 1400 years after the martyrdom of Ameerul Mo’mineen (A.S). With this day, exactly fourteen centuries have passed since the life of this great man, a man who the Noble Prophet (S) referred to as “the scale of actions and deeds,” the criteria for what is moral and immoral. Imam Ali (A.S) is an eternal role model for Muslims and humankind, possessing all the great characteristics that exist for both human and the divine. When the enemy struck his forehead while he was bowed in prayer at the mosque, he also struck the foundation of his hard work in the path of Allah. This is the man whose one action during the war of Ahzab was equivalent to all the worship of the jinn and insaan combined! With that one strike, he was martyred gruesomely and violently and left this world all alone.

He silently endured a lonely oppression for twenty-five years in his own home, oppression which continued even after he assumed his rightful caliphate — which he accepted at the insistence of the people. This oppression never ceased, and followed his children and loved ones even after his heartbreaking martyrdom. On the day of Ashura, his son Imam Husayn bin Ali Sayyid al-Shohada (A.S) experienced the same oppression, sentenced to death only because of the enemies’  hatred and grudge toward his father. Even all of Imam Husayn’s (A.S) companions, brothers, and children could not escape this. Fourteen centuries later, the shadow of this oppression has not been diminished.

After Imam Ali’s (A.S) death, the Islamic government institutionalized his vilification, spending over sixty years encouraging cursing him from the pulpits during Friday prayer. From the throats of those leading Friday prayer, you would hear them say that they were washing their hands of Imam Ali (A.S). This dark era is a black spot in our history, as the ruling forces put tremendous effort into destroying the message of the Noble Prophet (S) and reducing society to one of ignorance. Even the efforts of the caliph Omar bin Abdulaziz to eradicate such disgraceful practices were unsuccessful.

Mentioning the name of Ali (A.S) and speaking about his virtues, even from the Noble Prophet’s (S) own words and love for him, was considered an unforgivable crime and led to a death sentence under the laws of these governments for years. After the Umayyad rulers, who brought ignorance disguised as Islam, the Al-Abbas Caliphate was even more aggressive than its predecessor. They were stricter about the condemnation of Ali ibn Abi Talib and his followers and continued the practice of cursing him in society.

It is disheartening and sorrowful that this trend of oppressing and publicly killing the lovers of Ali (A.S) has lasted into the modern era, even in the time of the Uthmani Caliphate. This injustice is something that makes the heart of every human ache. To this day, according to some ideologies, saying Ali’s name is a crime that has no punishment other than death. This is very prominent in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Fourteen centuries later, the devotees of Ali (A.S), like Hujr bin Oday, still pay the price of their love and affection for him. It has been fourteen centuries since he died and was buried with the love of Ali (A.S) in his heart but even today people desecrate his grave in.

The shadow of this historical oppression is so dark that it brings pain not only to the hearts of Muslims, but non-Muslims as well. George Jordac writes a book called “The Voice of Human Justice to protect the remembrance of Imam Ali’s (A.S) name”. He calls upon human conscience to reflect on the traditions of hatred and condemnation of Imam Ali (A.S).

You cannot take the sun and hide it behind clouds of bitterness and enmity, because its light will continue to shine through it.

As Khalil ibn Ahmad says, “No matter how much the lovers of Imam Ali (A.S) were punished for their praise of him, no matter how much his enemies tried to legally stop these practices through fear and persecution, the knowledge of the virtues of Imam Ali (A.S) has spread from the East to the West.”

After 1400 years since the sacrifice of this great personality, isn’t it time for the Muslim community to analyze the cruel condemnation of Imam Ali (A.S) and develop a new perspective? Isn’t it time we reexamine the automatic of response of persecution within Islamic government toward his followers and loved ones?

Throughout history, there have been various interpretations of Islam, from the voices and the words of different people, from those who are knowledgeable about Islam and those who aren’t. Shouldn’t we also take teachings about the Quran and Prophetic traditions from the person who, both friends and enemies say, was the closest to the Prophet of Islam? Through his words in Nahjul Balagha, we should use our intellect and good conscience to examine his teachings wisely.

And so, for everyone that has the Wilayah of Ali (A.S) in their minds, essence, and existence, shouldn’t we move one step further than just holding his love in our hearts? In addition to this love, which is a great blessing from Allah, shouldn’t we manifest it in our individual and social lives? Shouldn’t we take his teachings and virtues which, he held onto so strongly his whole life, and make them apparent in our societies, instead of moving in the opposite direction? Through these small actions, we might be able to lessen a fraction of the burden of oppression upon this great family (A.S) and their followers, and be a manifestation of their path.

It would be appropriate for all of us, after the martyrdom of Ameer ul Mo’mineen (A.S), in the presence of Allah, His Prophet (S), and His Successor (A.S), that we accept our shortcomings and inability to realize his path and message. What would remain of the Muslims if were to separate the Ahlulbayt (A.S) from the understanding, wisdom, and guidance of Islam?

Wasalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

Muhammad Jawad Alavi Boroujerdi

Ramadan 14 1440