Ali’s Virtues before His Birth
God almighty said to Abraham (A.S): As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation! [1]
Beyond doubt, Imam Ali (A.S) is one of those princes, a virtue making him peerless.
Section Two
The orator of Khawarizm quoting `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud has reported that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said: O `Abdullah! An angel came to me carrying a message from God who said: O Muhammad! Ask the prophets coming before you what they commissioned for? I said: You say what they were commissioned for? He answered: The very essence of their mission is based on the Wilayah of you and `Ali ibn Abi-Talib. [2]
Section Three
The holy name of `Ali has been written on the divine throne.
Khawarizmi has reported `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud on the authority of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as saying: When God created the universe and Adam and blew in him His spirit, Adam sneezed and began to praise Allah immediately. God said: My servant! Now that you praised me, by My glory, were if not for the sake of two of my servants, I would never have created you. Adam said: O God! Are those two worthy servants from my issue? God said: Yes. Now raise your hand and behold what you see. Adam opened his eyes towards heaven and saw an inscription reading: There is no god but Allah and Muhammad (the prophet of mercy) is His Messenger and `Ali is Allah’s proof for the people. Whoever recognizes `Ali’s right, he is pure inwardly and whoever denies his right will be deprived from my mercy and will suffer. I swear by My glory that whoever obeys `Ali, I will give him a place in heaven even if he is sinful and by My glory, if anyone disobeys him, I will punish him with fire even if he has obeyed me. [3]
Jabir ibn `Abdullah has reported the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as having said: Two thousand years before the creation of heavens and the earth, there was an inscription on the gate of heaven reading: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and `Ali ibn Abi-Talib is his brother. [4]
There is a Hadith in Manaqib in which the Holy Prophet has been quoted as saying: Gabriel came to me while he had spread his two wings. On one wing there was the inscription: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad in His messenger and on the other wing, there was the inscription: There is no god but Allah, `Ali is Muhammad’s successor. [5]
In Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has been quoted by Jabir as having said: Before the creation of the heavens and the earth, there was the following inscription on the gate of paradise: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and `Ali is the brother of the Messenger of Allah. [6]
Section Four
There are narrations in which the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has said: I and `Ali are of the same light.
Salman has quoted the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as having said: I and `Ali were light in the presence of God casting light on the world of creation. This light glorified God fourteen thousand years before the creation of Adam and when God Almighty created Adam, this light was transferred to his loin and in the long period between us and Adam, we were in the pure loins till we were separated in the loin of `Abd al-Muttalib into two parts. One part was me and the other was `Ali. [7]
Salman has also reported the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as having said: I and Ali were a single light before God. Fourteen thousand years before the creation of Adam, when God created Adam, He placed this light in his loin. Then this light was divided into two, part of this light was placed in `Abdullah’s loin and the other part was placed in Abu-Talib’s loin. Therefore, Ali is from me and I am from Ali. His flesh is my flesh and his blood is my blood. Hence, whoever loves Ali is because he loves me and whoever is hostile to him is my enemy.
Section Five
Adam has resorted to `Ali as mentioned in the Torah.
Khawarizmi has reported Ibn `Abbas who asked the Holy Prophet (PBUH) about the words that Adam received from God and he repented thereby. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) answered: Adam asked God to accept his repentance through the station of Muhammad, `Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussein. God Almighty too accepted Adam’s repentance and restored his position in honor of those holy persons.
Notes:
[1] The Holy Bible, Genesis, chap. 17, verses 20-21
[2] Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 19, pp. 221
[3] Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 19, pp. 227
[4] Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 14, pp. 88
[5] Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 14, pp. 90
[6] Manaqib, Ahmad
[7] Manaqib, Khawarizmi, chap. 14, pp. 88
Source: shiastudies.net
Other links:
Imam Ali (AS): The Kaba of Belief
The Luminous Gem of the Kaba
