Like his fear, the hope of Ali (a.s.) is also prominent. Since his birth upto the last moments of his life he remained engrossed in worship and obedience. He did not forgo worship even for a single moment. Sometimes he used to pray a thousand rakats of prayers in a day. Throughout his life, he fasted the whole of the month of Shabaan. He never missed the midnight prayers. Even in the night of the battle of Siffin, which is known as the coldest of the nights he offered his midnight prayers. For three continuous days he broke his fast with water. He gave his share of bread to the poor, the needy and the orphans. He gave in charity the proceeds of the sale of the garden that he had planted with his own hands. A detailed chapter of Behaarul Anwaar deals with the endowments of Ali (a.s.) and his charity. A few examples are quoted below:
An Excerpt From the Will of Ali (a.s.)
The will of Ali (a.s.) is phrased in the following manner:
"This writing is that in which we have willed regarding one's belongings. The slave of Allah, Ali hopes that Allah shall reward him for this by Heaven and shall protect him from the fire of the Hell on the day when the faces of some people would be white and the others black. Whatever property I own in 'Yambao' and its suburbs, I leave all of it as an endowment to achieve the happiness of Allah."
Inspite of excelling in good deeds and worship, while returning from a battle, he was seen exclaiming,
"Certainly, the best deed of a man is to die a martyr. I fear I may not get a chance to achieve martyrdom."
At last the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) informed him:
"O Ali! Your end shall be martyrdom."
We Shall Follow Ali (a.s.)
We may think that it is not possible for sinners like us to come up to the level of a lofty personality like Ali (a.s.) in terms of piety and spiritual realisation.
In reply to this we can say that, though it is not possible for us to reach that stage we can at least try to follow his commands as much as possible. For example, if a child sees a shining cobra, it is possible that he may try to catch it and risk being bitten to death?
Let us suppose the child is accompanied by his father. In such a situation the father who is aware of the poisonous qualities of the cobra will shout warnings and move forward to rescue the child.
O the heedless one! Is not Ali (a.s.) your spiritual father and the virtual guide? Are you not the claimant of his love and Wilayat. If your reply is positive then you must strive to follow and imitate your master as much as possible. The hardships and the punishments of the Day of Judgement make one shudder with horror and one cannot be complacent about the preparations of this last journey. If you are a true Shia of Ali (a.s.) then he is the best model for you. Ali (a.s.) has himself said,
"You cannot imitate me entirely, but you can imitate (to some extent) and follow us."
"Our Shias are only those who follow us."
Warning of the Leader
The leader of the caravan issues warning regarding the dangers of the journey and advises his followers to make all the necessary provisions for the perils and the wild animals they would encounter. Every person will be responsible for himself. Saying this he himself busies himself in preparations. The fear of the impending journey makes him terror-stricken.
Seeing their leader in this condition the followers respond by feeling a similar concern for the journey and its preparations.
Let us not be complacent and heedless, and waste precious moments. Let us follow our Imam (a.s.) faithfully, so that we do not have to face remorse on the Day of Judgement.
The Chief of the Caravan is Terror-Stricken
O! the caravans of piety and belief. The leader of your caravan, Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) is extremely afraid of the pitfalls of the last journey. He has issued clear warnings regarding the dangers. Every night he announced at the Masjid-e-Kufa,
"Travellers! may Allah have Mercy upon you. Pack up the provisions for your journey and be prepared. Certainly you have in your path deep ravines and terrible dangers. There is no alternative but to traverse this path."
After this he used to say,
"It is a pity! The provisions are meagre and the journey extremely long and the destination, great."
(Nahjul Balagha)
It is truly deplorable that our involvement in worldly affairs has created a wide unsurmountable gap between us and our Imam (a.s.). We have been completely cut off from his virtuous life and perfect morals. May Allah protect us from departing His influence to follow the misguidance of Satan. Certain sins cause us to be deprived of the Wilayat of Allah and love of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and lead us to the wilayat of Satan. After this we come under the control of Satan who rules us totally. Let us take refuge with Allah from such a doom.
Insulting a Believer Expels One From Wilayat
Hazrat Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"If a person slanders a believer to disclose his faults to the public, or to insult him, Allah expels him from His Wilayat and leaves him to the Wilayat of Satan."
(Al Kafi)
"Like the Satan when he says to man: Disbelieve, but when he disbelieves, he says: I am surely clear of you; surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds."
(Surah Hashr 59:16)
Murder
The fifth Greater Sin is the murder of that person whose execution has not been ordered by Allah and the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.). Traditions which confirm that murder is a Greater Sin have already been mentioned at the beginning. Moreover the verses of the Holy Quran mention clearly the Divine punishment for the murderers.
"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is Hell; he shall abide in it, and Allah will send His wrath on him and curse him and prepare for him a painful chastisement."
(Surah Nisa 4:93)
The fifth Greater Sin is the murder of that person whose execution has not been ordered by Allah and the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.). Traditions which confirm that murder is a Greater Sin have already been mentioned at the beginning. Moreover the verses of the Holy Quran mention clearly the Divine punishment for the murderers.
Five types of punishments have been ordained for those who kill the believers. First, Hell; Second, Eternal abode in Hell; Third, involvement in the Divine wrath; Fourth, being the accursed by Allah; Fifth, the Great Chastisement.
Permanent Chastisement is Exclusively For unbelievers
One of the beliefs of the Shia Ithna Ashari school of thought is that eternal punishment is only for the Kuffar (Unbelievers). In other words, if a person dies in belief, he will not linger under punishment forever, even if he has killed a believer (or someone else whose killing has been prohibited according to the Divine command), or even though he has committed other greater sins. Hence the verse mentioned above has been explained in various ways. One possible explanation is that: one becomes eligible for eternal punishment only if he murders the believer because of his Imaan (belief). If such is the case, then, the killer is indeed liable for everlasting chastisement, for he considered the murder of a Momin as Halaal, whereas it is Haraam. To consider a murder of a believer Haraam is an article of faith. Consequently one who does not have this belief is a Kafir.
The Life and Property of a Muslim are Protected
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) announced on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage (Hajjatul Wida):
"O People! It is not permitted to kill the Muslims. Similarly to appropriate their property is not allowed. So do not be unjust upon yourselves and do not revert to disbelief after my death."
(Wasaelush Shia)
Another explanation of the afore-mentioned hadith is that "abide in Hell" denotes being under punishment for a very long period. It does not mean that the sinner will be involved in eternal chastisement.
One Murder is Equal to the Killing the Whole of Humanity
"Whoever slays a soul, unless it be for a manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men."
(Surah Maidah 5:32)
All the believers are sons of Adam (a.s.) and brothers to one another. One who kills another person perpetrates a great evil and instigates a feeling of malice, revenge and hatred among people.
Suicide is Murder
The Almighty Allah says:
"....and do not kill ourselves; surely Allah is Merciful to you. And whoever does this aggressively and unjustly, We will soon cast him into Fire; and this is easy for Allah."
(Surah Nisa 4:29-30)
Allah prohibits the believers from suicide even in times of turmoil.
Enlivening the People
".....and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men."
(Surah Maidah 5:32)
If one saves the life of a "protected soul" whose killing has been prohibited by religion, be it forgiving, or not avenging, or protecting him, it is as if he has given life to the whole humanity. By saving one person he has; in a sense; saved humanity.
Murder is the worst sin in the eyes of Allah and severe punishment has been prescribed for a killer. The opposite of this, that is, saving the life of a person is accordingly regarded as the greatest form of worship.
A Murderer Does Not Die a Muslim
The following tradition is indicative of the fact that murder is a Greater Sin.
Regarding the killing of a believer, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says:
At the time of his death the killer is told. 'Die as you wish, die as a Jew or a Christian or as a Magian.'
(Al Kafi)
Another tradition:
"A believer is free in the vast expanse of his belief till he colours his hands with the blood of a Momin."
Imam (a.s.) further says:
"One who kills a believer intentionally is deprived of the 'Tawfeeq' of repenting (for his sins)."
(Wasaelush Shia)
One Who Instigates a Murder is the Actual Killer
The third tradition, also from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says,
"The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) was told that a Muslim has been killed and his corpse is lying on the street. When the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and his companions reached the site of the murder, he enquired as to who the killer was."
The people said, "We do not know." The Prophet was surprised,
"A person has been killed among the Muslims, and no one knows of his killer?"
"By the Almighty who appointed me with Prophethood, If all the creatures of the heavens and the earth participate in the murder of a Muslim and be pleased upon that, then Allah would surely involve them in punishment and send them all to Hell."
The lesson derived from this hadith is that there is no difference between the killer and those who support or co-operate with him.
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) has said,
"On the day of Qiyamat a person would be presented before Allah. He will be having a streak of blood (like one gets a cut while shaving). He will say,
'By Allah, I have not killed anyone. Not have I co-operated with anyone's murder.' Allah will say, 'Yes, but one day you spoke about a believer and your words caused him to be killed. Hence you are responsible for his murder.'"
Hazrat Imam Reza (a.s.) said,
"If someone is killed in the east and one who lives in the west is pleased upon this, then he is a partner in this murder."
(Wasaelush Shia)
Abortion is Haraam
It is Haraam to abort an unborn child. Like in the case of a murder, diyah (prescribed fine) has to be paid here too. There is no difference between a foetus and a full-grown man. Even if the killers are its own parents. If a woman takes medicine that causes abortion, she would be liable for the punishment of a murderer.
The penalty (diyah) for killing a 'protected soul' (Nafse Mohtaram) is one thousand misqal of gold.
If the killers are the parents themselves they do not inherit any part of diyah but the other relatives who are eligible for the inheritance are qualified for it.
source : GREATER SINS by Ayatullah-ul-Uzma Sayed Abdul Husain Dastghaib Shirazi (r.a.)
