"In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"
وَمَاذَا يَقُولُ النَّاسُ في مَدْحِ مَنْ أَتَتْ
مَدَائِحُهُ الغَـَّراءُ فـِي مُـحْــكَمِ الـذِّكْر
What can people say in the eulogy of a person whose lofty eulogy and merit is rooted in the holy Qur'an.
The meaningful silence of eloquent speakers, rhetoricians, scholars, sages, mystics and the faithful from citing the virtues of Imam Amir al-Mu’minin (ع) [brother of the Messenger of God, husband of Fatemeh Zahra, the wisest of all men, the one who after the holy Prophet (ص) is the most supreme in theology and worship] is more prominent than the praises showered on him and the virtues, merits and lofty position cited about him and his glorious presence in various scenes and the distinct miracles and wonders of his life.
Therefore, it is better for everyone to confess their incapacity before his (ع) holiness and excellency. In a delightful address to him, the Messenger of God (ص) said, "If all human beings become writers and all the jinn evaluators, they will be incapable of recording your virtues." (Kharazmi, Al-Manaqib, page 328; Karajki, Kanz ul-Fawaid, page 129)
Amir al-Mu’minin (ع) is a person for whom the Almighty God has bestowed innumerable virtues. He is the enlightened one in whose glamorous voice, the Glorious Lord conversed with His Prophet on the night of Ascension.
As some of his companions have said about the abundance of his virtues, "Ali has a magnificent record such that if distributed among all the creatures, everyone would attain grace." (Tusi, Al-Amali, page 391; Ibn Asaker, Tarikh Madinah-Damishq, V.42, page 418; Ibn Athir Jazari, Asad al-Ghabah, V.4, page 23; Qunduzi, Yanabi al-Muwadda, V.1, page 366.)
He is the greatest sign of the Almighty God and is His knowledge, power and other wondrous attributes, and in the world of existence, none can resemble him save his cousin, the Messenger of God (ص). This very Imam (ع) who had the unique support of the Messenger of God (ص) and was a model of sacrifice, upright in victory, expediter of justice, unique and extraordinary in promoting the word of God. To the weak he was gentle and to the poor he was extremely compassionate. He had an extreme fear for Almighty God in his heart and was accessible and open to all. In terms of food and clothing and in all circumstances and deeds, he was really magnificent.
Exalted is God the Omnipotent, the Creator of such a man and the accumulator of these magnanimities and perfections in this creation.
Glorious is God whom such a man bows before His Greatness and due to His Glory, Might and Supremacy considers himself insignificant and is fearful of His Sovereignty and confesses his helplessness and need before the Almighty. It was him who said:
«إِلَهِي كَفَی لي عِزَّاً أَنْ أَكُونَ لَكَ عَبْداً، وَكَفَی لِي فَخْراً أنْ تَكونَ لِي رَبّاً»
"My God, it is enough dignity for me to be Your slave, and it is enough honor for me to be my Lord." (Fattal-Naishaburi, Raudat al-Wa’izin, page 109; Saduq, Al-Khisal, page 420; Karajki, Kanz ul-Fawaid, page 181; Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, V.74, page 400, V.91, page 92.)
It is he who is enamored of his Lord, weeps profusely out of His fear and strives on His path. He is the Straight Path, the firmest hand-hold and Allah’s strong rope, the Scale of actions, the Separator of Paradise and Hell, the Grace of Allah, the Eye of Allah and His Clear Proof.
Hazrat Amir (ع) in a letter to Mu’awiya, said:
«فَإِنَّا صَنَائِعُ رَبِّنَا وَالنَّاسُ بَعْدُ صَنائِعُ لَنَا»
"We are the direct creation of Our Lord, and after that, the people are all our creation". (Nahjul-Balagha, Letter 28 (V.3, pg 30); Ibn-Dimashqi, Jawaher al-Matalib, V. 1, page 373; Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, V.32, page 58.)
Ibn Abi'l-Hadid writes under the above saying: "This is the greatest and the best speech, and its meaning the zenith of all meanings and he is the celestial creation and nurtured one of God who made his status high and himself superior to all creation".
Hazrat (ع) "No human being has blessed us, only God has blessed us. There is no intermediary between us and Him. Others have been trained by us and we are the medium between God and the people, and that is a sublime position. The outer side of this matter is what you have heard, and its internality is that they are the servants of Allah and the people are their servants". (Ibn Abi’l Hadid, Shahr Nahjul-Balagha, V.15, page 194)
And on the other hand, we see the owner of these great honors who, like a snake, curls to himself out of fear of God!
And as some of his companions (Zarrar ibn Zumra-Zubabi) have described: He had weeping eyes and was very thoughtful. When he was alone with himself, he would take account of his own soul and say, "Ah! How little the provisions are while the distance is far and the path is lonely. What has Ali to do with transient blessings and short-lived pleasures?" He further said, "Know that your Imam has contended himself with a pair of clothes out of his world and with two loaves of bread for his meal. I swear by Allah that I have not amassed any gold out of your world, nor any wealth from its spoils and not even stored any clothes other than what I wear." (Nahjul-Balagha, Letter 45, (V.3, page 70-71))
And what has the Prophet’s intrinsic nature (nafs) to say about him? The Messenger of Allah (ص) said, "You hear what I hear and see what I see except that you are not a prophet." (Nahjul-Balagha, Al-Qasi’a Sermon 192 (V.2, page 158))
Therefore, what we say about Amir al-Mu'minin and Maula al-Muwahideen (Master of monotheists) is like a drop in front of the sea and like a dust particle before the sun. Therefore, the intellects of the world and the tongue of admirers are too small and speechless to fulfill the right of this gallant Imam.
But from the very beginning when I recognized myself, I had eagerness and attachment in glorifying Hazrat (ع) and his children, and this increased over the years and my enthusiasm increased and my heart became illuminated by exploring the hadiths and reports and listening to the praises of his admirers.
And it seems that the poet has composed these poems by reading my mind:
حُبُّ آلِ الرَّسوُلِ خَالَطَ عَظْمِي
وَجَرَى فِي مَفَاصِلِي فَاعْذِرُوني
أَنَا وَاللهِ مُغْرَمٌ بِهَوَاهُمْ
عَلِّلُونِي بِذِكْرِهِم عَلِّلُونِي
لا عَذَّبَ اللهُ أُمِّي إِنَّهَا شَرِبَتْ
حُبَّ الوَصِيِّ وَغَذَّتْنيِهِ بِاللَّبَنِ
وَكَانَ لِي وَالِدٌ يَهْوَىٰ أَبَا حَسَنٍ
فَصِـرْتُ مِنْ ذِي وَذَا أَهوَى أَبَا حَسَنٍ
The love of the Prophet's family has combined with my bones and flows through my joints, so pardon me.
I swear to God that I am fascinated by them, by remembering them, makes me lifeless.
May God not punish my mother, who drank the cup of love for Ali and poured down my mouth through her milk.
And I had a father who was affectionate towards Abul Hasan, and I inherited this (love) from my parents.
In this book, I have selected one hundred and ten hadiths (This number is equivalent to the honorable name of Imam Ali (a.s.) in terms of Abjad letters. Of course, by taking into account the hadiths that I added in the footnotes, the number is more than this. (All) Praise be to Allah.) regarding Hazrat’s virtues from the Sunni sources of hadith collections i.e., from Musnads, Sihah-Sittah and other books and named it "A Glimmer of virtues of the Commander of the Faithful".
It goes without saying that the hadiths in the Sunni books about Hazrat Ali (ع) are extraordinarily plentiful. For the sake of brevity and the saying that sometimes “brevity is useful”, a fair-minded person does not need to refer to large encyclopedias and numerous magazines and I was content with this number. He (God) is the Helper and the Protector.
And exclusive praise be to God who has guided us towards this great gift, and if it were not for divine guidance, we would not have been guided to this affair.
وَصَلَّی الله عَلَی سَيِّدِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْـمُرْسَلِينَ أَبِي الْقَاسِمِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِهِ الطَّاهِرِينَ.
And I would like to end this introduction by the fragrance of blessings (salavat) on Muhammad and his progeny by quoting these couplets:
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
أَزْكَى الصَّلَاةَ وَخَيْرَهَا وَالأَطيَبَا
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
مَا اهْتَزَّتِ الأَثْلَاثُ مِنْ نَفَسِ الصّبَا
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
مَا لاحَ بَرْقٌ فِي الأَباطِحِ أَوْ خَبَا
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
مَا قَالَ ذو كَرَمٍ لِضَيْفٍ مَرحَبَا
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
مَا أَمَّتِ الزُّوَّارُ طَيْبَةَ يَثْرِبَا
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
مَا غَرَّدَتْ فِي الأَيْكِ سَاجِعَةُ الرُّبَا
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
مَا كَوْكَبٌ فِي الْـجَوِّ قَابَلَ كَوْكَبَا
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
سُفُنِ النَّجَاةِ الْغُرّ أَصْحَابِ الْعَبَا
يَا رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبيِّ وَآلِهِ
فِي الـحَشـْر إِذْ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ عَنِ النَّبَأِ
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household the purest, best and exalted blessings.
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household As long as the trinity tree is swaying from the breath of the Saba wind.
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household As long as lightning shines in the plains.
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household As long as a generous person welcomes his guest.
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household As long as there is a pilgrim who chants in Yathrib.
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household Until the chattering bird sings on the tree’s branch
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household As long as a star faces another star in the sky
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household The Ships of Salvation and the People of the Cloak
O Lord, bless the Prophet and his household and make them our intercessors
On the Day of Judgement when asked to give account
