THE ASTRONOMER
The Leader of the Pious, 'Ali (AS), son of Abu Talib (AS) and his soldiers on the
horsebacks were about to go towards Nahrwan. Suddenly, one of his ['Ali's (AS)] renowned
companion came to him along with a person and said:
"O the Leader of the Pious
people! This man is a fortune-teller and he wants to tell you something." The
fortune-teller said: "O the Leader of the Pious people! It is not advisable for you
to travel at this time. Please wait till two or three hours of the day have passed and
then, you proceed."
"Why"?
"Because the stars tell that
anyone who travels at this time would be defeated by his enemy. He and his followers will
have to suffer a lot. But in case you travel at the time I have suggested to you, you
would turn out victorious and would succeed in achieving your objectives."
"My horse is pregnant and
can you tell me whether the new-born would be a male- horse or a female-horse?"
"If I calculate, I can tell." "You are telling a lie, it is impossible for
you; because, it is stated in the Holy Qur'an: 'No body except Allah knows about the
hidden things and it is only Allah, who knows what it is (male or female), being cared for
in the womb of the mother'. Not even the Messenger of Allah [Muhammad (SA)], has ever
claimed a thing that you are claiming for. Do you claim that you possess all kinds of
knowledge about this world? And do you know when one has something good or bad in one's
fate? And if any one has faith in you and believes you, then he does not need God any
more."
After this 'Ali (AS) said to the
rest of the people: "Be aware! Never go after such things. It makes one believe in
the unseen things and he is like a fortune-teller and a magician. And a magician is a kafir
(disbeliever); and for kafir is the hell." After this, he looked towards the
sky and uttered a few sentences which were concerning his belief and trust in Allah.
Then he looked towards the
fortune-teller and said: "I will purposely act against your advice and would set out
immediately, without any delay." Immediately after this, he gave orders to make a
move. They moved towards the enemy. As compared to other Jihads (holy wars), in
this Jihad, the Imam (AS) achieved wonderful success and victory.
* * *
Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Husayn (AS) had the title of "Baqir". Baqir
means "the analyzer". He was called 'Baqirul-u'lum,' which means
"the analyzer of knowledge."
A Christian in a mocking way,
changed the word 'Baqir' with 'Baqar', meaning "cow". He said to
him "Anta Baqar", that is, "You are a cow."
Without showing any annoyance and
anger, Imam (AS) with mere simplicity said: "No, I am not Baqar, I am Baqir."
The Christian said: "You are
the son of a lady who was cook."
Imam (AS) replied: "Yes, her
job was this, which cannot be considered as insulting or disgraceful."
The Christian: "Your mother
was black, shameless and was having bad tongue."
Imam (AS): "If whatever you
say about my mother is true, I pray to Allah for her remission and to forgive her sins.
And if it is false, I pray to Allah to forgive you for telling lies and committing
slander.
The observance of so much
forbearance of this sort, by a person capable of punishing a man who was not the believer
of Islam, was enough to revolutionize the Christian and attract him towards Islam.
Later on, the Christian became a
Muslim!
* * *
An old man was busy in performing wudu' (ablution). But he did not know the correct method
of performing wudu'. Al-Imam Al-Hasan (AS) and Al-Imam Al- Husayn (AS), who were
young children at that time, saw the man performing his wudu'. Since teaching the
commandments and Islamic guidance are wajib (obligatory), there was no need of any
hesitation for them to correct him. It was necessary to teach the right process of
performing wudu' to the old man. However, if it was directly indicated to him that
his wudu' was incorrect, not only he would have felt hurt, but also he would have
had an unpleasant memory about the wudu'. Moreover, it was not known that he would
not have taken it as an insult and that suddenly he would have not got stubborn and would
have never accepted it willingly.
These two children thought to
point out his mistake in an indirect way. At first they started arguing with each other
and the old man was listening to them. One of them said: "My process of wudu'
is more perfect as compared to yours." The other one said: "No! my wudu'
is more perfect as compared to yours." Then, they reached an agreement that both
would perform wudu' before the old man, who would judge. They did so, as per the
agreement and both of them had the correct and perfect wudu' before the old man.
Now, the old man realized what was the correct process of wudu'. He guessed the
real objective of the two children. He was deeply impressed with the sincerity and
intelligence of the children. He said:
"Your wudu' is
correct and perfect. Uptil now, I, an ignorant old man, did not know the right way of
performing wudu'. It is because of the love and affection you have for the Ummah
of your grandfather [Prophet Muhammad (SA)], that you have cautioned me. Thank you so
much."
* * *
|
