Another Prophecy of Imam Ali (a.s.)

– As per the narration of ‘Al Gharaat’

          The author of ‘Al Gharaat’ writes in his book: Imam Ali (a.s.) used to sit every day on a place inside the Great Mosque of Kufah and indulged himself in praising Allah since the Morning prayer until the sunrise, and after the sunrise, he used to ascend the pulpit and strike his fingers on his palm, and say:

          Nothing (is left to me) but Kufah which I can hold and extend.

Then he illustrated with the verse of a poet:

لعمر أبیک الخیر یا عمرو انّني             علی وضر من ذا الاناء قلیل         

O Amr! By your good father’s life. I have received only a small bit of fat from this pot (fat that remains sticking to it after it has been emptied).

          O Kufah! If this is your condition that whirlwinds continue blowing through you then Allah may destroy you. May your face be hideous, O Kufah.

          Then he continued with his speech and said: O people! Busr bin Abi Artat overpowered Yemen and at present, Ubaydullah bin Abbas and Sa’id bin Nimran have retreated.

          By Allah, I have begun thinking about these people that they would shortly snatch away the whole country through their unity on their wrong and your disunity (from your own right), and separation, your disobedience of your Imam in matters of right and their obedience to their leader in matter of wrong, their fulfilment of the trust in favour of their master and your betrayal.

          I gave governance to so and so but he betrayed me, and collected the wealth and ransoms of the Muslims and went towards Mu’awiyah. I made another the governor and he also betrayed me like the one before him. At present, I am not satisfied to keep even a whip as trust with you.

          I ask you to go for Jihad in summer and you say: the climate is hot at present, let the heat end. And whenever I command you to fight in winter, you say: It is cold right now, let this cold end.

          O God, I have exhausted them and they have exhausted me as well, give me better than them and allot someone worse than me over them. Dissolve their hearts just like salt dissolves in water.

Harith bin Sulayman says: Imam Ali (a.s.) said:

          ‘This nation will overpower you, because you are separated and you do not defend your right, but they are united on their wrong. Whenever you find an Imam among you who acts with justice and treats you with equality while distributing, obey him and listen to his words. People will not be systematic and managed unless they have an Imam, that Imam may perform good deeds or bad ones, if he is righteous, it will benefit him as well as the people, and if he is wicked, the believers in can indulge themselves in prayers during his reign, and the indecent ones will work for him till their allotted time.’

          Beware, he would command you to abuse me and to renounce me. As for abusing, you can abuse me but as regards renunciation, you should not renounce me because my religion is Islam.

          Abu Abdur Rahman e Salmi says: People gathered on one place and condemned each other, and the Shias involved themselves in debates, and the nobles and elites began to consult each other and then reached the holy presence of Imam Ali (a.s.) and expressed themselves: O Amir al-Momineen! Appoint a person and send an army along with him so that they can uproot him, and will obey all your commands thereafter, and will not perform any act that displeases you.

          Imam Ali (a.s.) said:

          I have sent someone in pursue of this man, he will not return until one of them kill the other or expel him from that land, at present, you should exhibit steadfastness and listen to my words and prepare yourself to fight against the Syrians.

          Meanwhile, Sa’id bin Qays e Hamadani stood up saying: O Amir al-Momineen, I swear to God, if you send us walking towards Constantinople or Rome, and deprive us of our rights and providence, me and my nation will not oppose you. 

          Imam Ali (a.s.) said: ‘You are saying the truth. May Allah give you good remuneration for it.’

          Thereafter, Zyad bin Khas’fa and Wa’la bin Makh’doo stood up saying: O Amir al-momineen! We are your Shias and we will obey your command without any opposition.

          Imam (a.s.) said: Yes, you are saying the truth and now prepare yourself for moving towards Syria.

          The masses announced their obedience and said:

          ‘Introduce us to a person who can invite the people from the Sawad (Iraq) for the battle.’

          Sa’eed bin Qays said: By God, I will introduce you to an Arab warrior who can defend you completely and be strict against your enemies.

          Imam Ali (a.s.) asked: Who is that person?

          They said: Ma’qal bin Qays e Riyahi.

          He said: It is correct. Amir al-Momineen (a.s.) called him and sent him towards the Sawad of Kufa. Before he could return, Amir al-Momineen (a.s.) was martyred.[1]