THE FIRST AMONGST MEN TO ADOPT ISLAM WAS ALI (a.s)

Almost all the Shi'ah and Sunni historians are unanimous that the first amongst men to embrace Islam was All. As against this well-known statement there can also be found some rare statements, in history. Their narrators have chosen to state the reverse of it. For example, it is said that the first man to embrace Islam was either Zayd bin Harith or Abu Bakr. However, most of the arguments bear evidence against these two statements. Some of these are as follows:

Ali had been brought up from his very childhood in the house of the Holy Prophet and the latter endeavoured to educate him like a kind father. Most of the biographers say unanimously: "Before the appointment of Muhammad to the prophetic mission a severe drought appeared in Makkah. Abu Talib, the uncle of the Holy Prophet, had a big family to support. He was the chief of Quraysh, and his income was not at all in keeping with his expenditure and he was not as wealthy as his brother Abbas. The financial condition of Abu Talib prompted the Holy Prophet to discuss the matter with his uncle Abbas and they decided to take some of the children of Abu Talib to their own houses so as to alleviate his burden and to help him meet his requirements. Consequently the Prophet took Ali to his house and Abbas took Ja'far under his guardianship ".

(Seerah Ibn Hisham, vol. I, page 246.)

In the circumstances it can be said that, when Ali went to the Holy Prophet's house his age was not less than eight or ten years. The reason for this presumption is that the object of the Holy Prophet in taking All under his patronage was to alleviate the burden of the chief of Makkah (Abu Talib) and besides the fact that separation of a child from his parents who is less than eight or ten years, is a difficult matter; it could not also have any appreciable effect on the conditions of life of Abu Talib.

Hence, it is necessary that we should presume the age of Ali at that time to be such that his being taken away from Abu Talib had an appreciable effect on the latter's conditions of life. In the circumstances how can it be said that strangers like Zayd bin Harith and others had become acquainted with the secrets of revelation, whereas the cousin of the Holy Prophet, who was nearest to him of all others and was always with him, remained ignorant of them?

The purpose of the Prophet in fostering Ali was to compensate Abu Talib to some extent for the services rendered by him and so far as the Prophet was concerned there was nothing more dear to him than to guide a person directly. Keeping all these things in view how can it be said that the Holy Prophet kept his cousin deprived of this great blessing, notwithstanding the fact that he (Ali) was an intelligent person with a highly enlightened mind? It would be better if we learn about this matter from the lips of Ali himself: In the sermon.entitled tlasrah he explains his rank and esteem in the eyes of the Prophet thus: "You know the esteem in which the Holy Prophet held me on account of our near relationship and the high position and respect (which I enjoyed in his eyes). During my childhood he fostered me under his own care and stuck me to his bosom. He embraced me in his bed and I used to smell his sweet smell. I followed him just as the off-spring of a she-camel follows its mother. Every day he hoisted (showed) a sign of his moral virtues and ordered me to follow it. He stayed in Hira every year (before his appointment to the prophetic mission) and I used to go and see him there, whereas none else saw him.

At that time Islam had not reached any house except that of the Holy Prophet and Khadijah, and I was the third amongst them. I used to see the light of revelation and messengership and smelt the fragrance of prophethood".(Nahjul Balaghah, vol. II, page 182.)

Narrating the life history of Afif Kandi, Ibne Hajar (in `AI-Isabah), Ibne Abdul Bir (in Isti'ib) and many other scholars of history have quoted him to have said: "During the Age of Ignorance I once went to Makkah. My host was Abbas son of Abdul Muttalib and both of us arrived in the precincts of the Holy Ka'bah. Suddenly I saw that,a man came and stood by the side of the Ka'bah. Then a boy arrived and stood on his right side. Soon after that I saw a woman came and stood behind them. I saw the boy and the woman performing ruku` and sujud (kneeling and prostration) in imitation of the man. This unprecedented scene inspired me to enquire from Abbas about it. He said: "That man is Muhammad son of Abdullah and that boy is his cousin and the woman standing behind them is the wife of Muhammad". Then he added: "My nephew says that a day will come when he will control the treasuries of `Kisra' and `Kaiser'. By Allah, there is no follower of this religion on the face of the earth except these three". Then the narrator says: "I wish that I had been the fourth of them! "

Since the above narrative is not directly concerned with Ali, even those persons, who fail to narrate his virtues have quoted it. Amongst the traditionalists only Bukhari has thought it proper to declare it `weak', but his attitude towards the progeny of the Holy Prophet's household is quite well-known. The readers can study the said narrative in detail in the books mentioned below. (Tarikh-i Tabari, vol. II, p. 211; Tarikh-i Kamil, vol.II, pp. 31-38, and A`lam ul wara, page 25).

In the sermons and dissertations of All we usually come across the following and other similar sentences:

"I am the servant of Allah and the brother of the Holy Prophet and the greatest truthful one, and none will utter this sentence after me except one who is a liar. I offered prayers along with the Holy Prophet for seven years before anyone else did so". (In some of the narratives the period has been mentioned to be five years and on the basis of numerous indications it may be said that a part of this period preceded to the prophetic mission.) The author of al-Ghadir (vol. 111, page 222) has quoted authorities for these narrations from the books of traditions arid history and we dispense with quoting the same briefly:

The following traditions of the Holy Prophet narrated by successive witnesses with various explanations have been quoted to this effect:

"The first person who will meet me on the pool of `Kausar' and the first person who embraced Islam is Ali son of Abu Talib ".

You may also study the authorities for these traditions in the third volume of `al-Ghadir', page 320. The evidences for both the parts have reached the stage of consecutiveness and when a person studies these hadiths without any bias he becomes definite about All being the foremost - among the believers. fie does not, therefore, prefer at all the other two statements which are in a minority from the point of view of narration. The number of the supporters of the first statement (viz. Ali was the first person to embrace Islam), who consist of distinguished companions of the Prophet and tdbe'in (companions of the companions of the Prophet) exceeds sixty. So much so that even Tabari (Tarikh-i Tabari, vol. 11, page 215.) who has left the matter open and has contented himself only with quoting the statement says that Ibn Said asked his father: "Was Abu Bakr the first person to embrace Islam?" His father replied: "No. Before he embraced Islam more than fifty persons had come round to the Prophet's way. However, his Islam was superior to the Islam of others".

Ibn Abd Rabbih quotes an interesting incident in `Aqdul Farid' which may be summarized as under:

Mamun arranged a debating assembly and the famous scholar Ishaq occupied the foremost position in it. When All's precedence over others in the matter of acceptance of Islam was established, Ishaq said: "When Ali embraced Islam he was only a boy but Abu Bakr was a mature man (at the time he became a Muslim). Hence his faith enjoys superiority over that of Ali".

Mamun suddenly intervened and said: "Did the Prophet invite Ali in his boyhood to adopt the faith, or his faith was due to divine inspiration? It cannot at all be said that his faith was inspired, because, not to speak of Ali, even the faith of the Prophet was not inspired but was the result of guidance and messages brought by Jibreel from Allah. Hence, when the Holy Prophet invited him to accept Islam, did he do so on his own account or had he been ordered by Allah to accomplish the deed? We cannot imagine that the Prophet should subject himself or anyone else to hardship and responsibility without an order from Allah. Hence there is no alternative except that we should say that the Prophet's call is supported by divine order. And does the Omniscient Lord order His Prophet to invite an untalented boy (for whom `faith' or `no faith' are alike) to adopt Islam? Certainly such an act is not possible from the All-Wise and All-Knowing Allah.

Hence, it should be concluded that the faith of All was a true and firm faith which was not at all inferior to the faith of others and it is Ali son of Abu Talib to whom the verses of Qur'an " and the foremost are the foremost, these are they who are drawn nigh (to Allah)", most appropriately applies.

- The Message (The holy Prophet of Allah), by Ayatullah Jafar Subhani.

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Ali's devotion to the Prophet without fear of running the risk of losing his own life was much appreciated by the Allknowing Judge of man, the merciful God, who sent down the angels Gabriel and Michael to guard him from the murderous mob; and informed the Prophet on his way to Medina of His approval of Ali's resignation to His Will, with the words contained in Verse 204 of Sura 11 of the Quran.

"And of men there is one who selleth his soul for the sake of seeking the pleasure of God; and God is gracious unto His servants."

Men of understanding and intelligence will ever admire Ali till the end of time for the tranquillity of mind displayed by him in the midst of this terrible struggle between life and death.

Also, they will marvel at the Prophet's wise selection of Ali for this night's dramatic performance.

Something in Ali's bearing, his intensely personal heroism, some magnetic quality of his demeanour, must have been responsible for his survival on this occasion. The mob held back and we know that Ali stayed behind in Mecca for some days to return the properties left in trust by the Holy Prophet to their rightful owners as directed.

Having satisfactorily accomposhed these responsibilities entrusted to him and having arranged for the safe departure of the Prophet's family members to Medina, Ali hastened forward on foot to Medina, travelling only in the night and hiding himself in the day, lest he should fall into the hands of the Quraish. He reached Qoba three days after the arrival of the Prophet, with his feet sorely lacerated and bleeding. The Prophet, overjoyed at seeing him, received him with open arms, and finding him tired and exhausted, shed tears manifesting his fondness and affection for him; he subsequently applied the moisture of his mouth to the wounds of Ali's feet with his own hands and prayed for him. This produced instantaneous relief.

The converts at Qoba desired the Prophet to lay the foundation stone of a mosque for them. The Prophet asked some of his companions to ride on his camel and to make a circuit round the place. It was his intention to build a mosque in the place where the camel stopped. Some of his companions mounted on the back of the camel, but it refused to budge. Then the Prophet asked Ali, his vicegerent, to make the attempt. As soon as Ali set foot in the stirrups, the camel stood up and the Prophet directed Ali to let the animal go by itself without guiding it. Ali let loose the rein, and the camel went round a small piece of ground and came back to its starting point and knelt down. The Prophet marked the site and fixing the position of Qibla, he laid the foundation stone for the mosque. There is a mention of this mosque in the Quran vide Sura IX-109 last portion.

This was the last halt of the Prophet before he set out for Medina. Qoba is situated only two miles to the south of Medina, and is remarkable for its beauty and fertility.

The Holy Prophet left Qoba on Friday the 16th Rabi L, corresponding (according to Mr. Caussin de Perceval) with the 2nd of July 622.(Caussin de Perceaval Vol. iii. pp. 17-20; Ibn-Hisham p. 335).

Boreida b. Al Hasib with his seventy neophytes (new converts) formed a procession, carrying as standard his lance with a piece from his turban fastened to its upper end.

It being Friday, the Rrophet stopped at Raanawna, a place midway between Qoba and Medina, and performed his Friday Prayers, followed by a sermon to the Muslims present. This Friday Service and the Sermon were the first, to be observed always thereafter.

When the Prophet after the Service, was proceeding to Medina, the whole spectacle with its ceremonial solemnity looked really grand, like a triumphal procession headed by a monarch, increasing in its majestic grandeur as it approached the City, where thousands of spectators had assembled to have a look at the great Prophet of Islam. History of the world records no greater example of the triumph of truth.

Each tribe, which he passed through, desired the honour of his presence and requested him to take up his abode with them. The Prophet, refusing all these offers, said that the camel, which he rode on, was inspired and would take him to the proper quarter. The camel proceeded on to the eastern sector and knelt down in the open courtyard of the Banu Najar, near the house of Khalid b. Zaid, known in history as Abu Ayyub Ansari, the then head of the Banu Najjar family-the family to which Muhammad's grand father Abd-al-Mottalib's mother Selma belonged. He was delighted to be fortunate to have the honour of the Prophet's presence.

After his arrival in Medina, one of the first acts of the Holy Prophet was to establish the brotherhood, individually between the people of Medina (known as AnsarsHelpers) and the emigrants of Mecca known as Mohajirs, and-to lay the foundation of the Prophet's mosque known as Masjid-e-Nabavi.

The Prophet inculcated the fundamental principle that brotherhood depended not on blood but on faith alone. The rights of family inheritance within Islam, were expressly valid and sacred. These mandates resulted in a considerable extension of the Muslim community.

His own brotherhood the Prophet bestowed upon Ali, his cousin, as previously he had done in Mecca, declaring according to Suyuti, "Thou art My Brother in this world and in the next".

The Muslims were sympathetic and considerate to one another after the brotherhood was enjoined. They were so zealous in their faith that nothing else came before Islam; and anything outside of it was looked upon as unholy. In fact, they were animated with a strange spirit of firmness in their adherence to the Prophet and of cohesiveness to hold together. Gibbon gives the account in the following words : "To eradicate the seeds of jealousy. Muhammad judiciously coupled his principal followers with the rights and obligations of brethren; and when All found himself without a peer, the Prophet tenderly declared that he would be the companion and brother of the noble youth. The expedient was crowned with success; tile Holy fraternity was respected in peace and war, and the two parties vied with each other in a generous emulatioli of courage and fidelity." W. Smith's p. 460. The ordinance of brotherhood is given thus in the Quran

"Verily those who believe and have emigrated and have tried with their substance and their souls for the cause of God, and those who have given them shelter and been helpful, shall be near of kin (heirs) the one to the other." Sura VIII-73. (Taliquat Ibn-e-Saad Vol. III page 13, Riazunnazarah Vol. 11 page 1, Usdul Ghalia Vol. I page 269, Muntakheb Kanz-ul Ummal page 145, Kunuz-ul-Haquaiq page 20.)

The Holy Prophet took up his temporary residence in the house of Abu Ayub Ansari for seven months, until the Masjid-e-Nabavi, with proper quarters for himself, was built in the courtyard where the camel had stopped.

The construction work was distributed among the Mohajirs and the Ansars-the Prophet, too, had his share of the work. But he was seldom allowed to work, as Ammar Yasir used to accomplish the Prophet's share of work in addition to his own. Ammar Yasir was the first and foremost to begin the foundation of the mosque, and Ali was the first to offer his services as a labourer working alongside with the other members of the fraternity, shovelling the earth when the foundations were being laid and later carrying on his shoulders, baskets of mortar and brick which he passed on to the masons. While thus labouring, Ali used to recite the following verse

Whosoever builds a mosque

And works whether sitting or standing

Puts up with the pain of labour

While others shirk work

For fear of dust and pain

Both of these verily

Cannot equal each other.

When the mosque and residential houses were ready, the Prophet and Ali, (his chosen companion) shifted from their temporary residence to the permanent ones.

- Ali the Magnificent,Compiled

- by Yousef N. Lalljee.