A brave man was Ali
The Lion Of God, the Prophet's wasi
His father was the chief of the clan,
He was a good and pious man.
His mother was entirely free from blame.
Fatema binte Asad was her name.
His cousin, the prophet was brought up by these two,
Children they'd had and quite a few too.
In Kaaba our first Imam was born,
Near the very early hours of dawn.
When his eyes opened for the very first time,
He was met with the Prophet's face sublime.
The Prophet wished to adopt Ali,
To relieve his guardians of a responsibility.
Once the prophet had a feast,
With a tiny amount of things to eat.
Some meat, some bread and some milk to drink,
Filled the appetites to the brink.
But the food remained the same as before,
Not any less, not any more.
The invited men were from his kin
He wanted them to repent their sin
Advising them to accept the Faith,
And helping him to propagate.
When the Prophet asked if they would,
Only Ali whole-heartedly stood.
Gradually more people chose Islam.
So they might be free from any harm.
It was of course for their very own good,
Not only in this but afterwards too.
The Quraish had troubled the Muslims for a long time now,
How they survived? God knows how!
The Prophet's life was not at stake,
Ali thought and acted straight.
He done something very brave,
Which could have led him to his grave.
For on the Prophet's bed he slept
While into the night the Prophet crept
From Mecca to Medina the Prophet had gone.
He travelled by night and rested by dawn.
Soon Ali came to Medina too,
To unite with his cousin, the last Rasool.
The Prophet made progress to preach Islam
He also invited Christians from Najran
The Christian and Muslim talked on and on.
The Christian insisted God had a son.
On this point the two sides didn't agree,
So a Mubahala there was to be.
From the Prophet's side, five people went
Five people whom God had sent,
One heavenly lady and four pious men,
The Prophet, Ali, Fatema and Hasnain.
The five faces shown so radiantly,
That the Christian notices this obviously.
And so from Mubahala they declined.
As the wrath of God came to their mind.
Ali was also one of the five under the Kisa,
With the Prophet, Hasnain and Fatema.
The Prophet loved his Ahl-e-bait.
And about them he often said.
My Ahl-e-bait are the Ark of Nooh,
The boat that will help save you.
The strong rope of God that leads to the Heavens,
From the fire of Hell that menacingly threatens.
The door of forgiveness, the purified ones,
They will save fathers, mothers, daughters and sons.
Ali fought many battles again and again,
Badr, Ohad, Khandaq, Khyber and Honain.
Prophet loved Ali there is no doubt,
On many occassions he pointed out,
I am the City of Knowledge and Ali is its Gate.
He is the most equitable judge, the embodiment of faith.
On the Prophet's last pilgrimage to Mecca and back.
The Prophet proclaimed on a camel's hack,
I must tell you something before I depart,
My Ahl-e-bait and Qur'an will never part.
But the most important thing for Muslims and Islam,
Is to accept Ali as Maula of those whose Maula I am.
On the morn of 19th Ramadhan,
When the moazzan gave the call for Azan,
Ali knew that death was near,
Yet went to the Mosque without any fear.
Suddenly a sword struck his head.
By God I've reached my aim, he said.
Bin-e-Muljim done this dirty deed.
He tried to escape and ran to his steed.
He was caught and brought back to Ali,
who ordered his ropes loose immediately.
Distrust came over Bin-e-Muljim,
When Ali offered some juice to him.
All looked sadly at the man,
Then he said, O Abdul Rehman,
If you had taken this drink from me,
Up in Heaven you'd be with me.
In two more days Ali was dead.
This was the day man really dread,
For centuries now man has wept.
While up in Heaven Ali slept.
May Zainab be blessed by Ali,
For this humble effort of poetry.
by Zainab Kazim
