Knowledge — part 2/3

قَالَ: قَدْ قَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: رُفِعَ القَلَمُ عَنْ ثَلاثَةٍ؛ عَنِ المَجْنونِ حَتَّى يَبْرَأَ وَعَنِ الغُلامِ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَ وَعَنِ النَّائِمِ حَتَّى يَسْتَيْقِظَ. قَالَ: فَخَلّى عَنْها وَقالَ: لَوْلا عَلِيٌّ لَهَلَكَ عُمَرُ. وَخَطَبَ عُمَرُ يَوماً فَقالَ: مَنْ غَالى فِي مَهْرِ ابْنَتِهِ فَقَدْ جَعَلْتُهُ فِي بَيْتِ المَالِ. فَقَامَتِ امْرَأَةٌ إلَيْهِ وَقَالَتْ: كَيْفَ تَمْنَعُنا مَا مَنَحَنا اللهُ تَعالَى بِهِ فِي كِتابِهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعالَى: ?وَآتَيْتُمْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ قِنطَارًا فَلاَ تَأْخُذُوا مِنْهُ شَيْئًا?؟ فَقالَ: كُلُّ النَّاسِ أفْقَهُ مِنْ عُمَرَ حَتَّى المُخَدَّراتِ فِي البُيُوتِ.

وَأُتِيَ عُمَرُ أيْضاً بِامْرَأَةٍ نُسِبَ إلَيْها الزِّنا فَأَمَرَ بِرَجْمِهَا، فَلَقِيَها عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فَقالَ: مَا بَالُ هَذِهِ؟ فَقالوا: أُمِرَ بِها أَنْ تُرْجَمَ. فَرَدَّها عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فَقالَ لَهُ: أَمَرْتَ بِرَجْمِها؟ فَقالَ: نَعَمْ لأَنَّها اعْتَرَفَتْ عِنْدِي بِالفُجُورِ. فَقالَ: فَلَعَلَّكَ انْتَهَرْتَها أَوْ أَخَفْتَها أَوْ تَهَدَّدْتَها؟ فَقالَ: قَدْ كانَ ذاكَ. فَقالَ: أَوَما سَمِعْتَ رَسولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ يَقولُ: لاَ حَدَّ عَلَى مُعْتَرِفٍ بَعْدَ بَلاءٍ؟ إنّهُ مَنْ قِيدَتْ أَوْ حُبِسَتْ أَوْ تُهُدِّدَتْ فَلا إقْرارَ لَها.

Abu’l-Mu’ayyad has reported that one day when Umar was speaking to people, said: What will you do if we will persuade you from good to evil? He repeated this three times but received no answer. At that moment, ‘Ali rose up from among people, saying: In that case we will make you repent and restore justice. In other words, we will make you take back what you have said. Should you accept it, it will be better. Umar said: And if I do not repent? ‘Ali said: We will then behead you with the sword of law. Umar said: Thanks God, He has set a person among the Ummah who will rightfully guide us from deviations and will show us the right path.⁴⁷

Said ibn al-Musayyab has reported Umar as having said: O Lord! Do not spare my life in relation to a complicated problem for whose solution ‘Ali is not alongside me so as to guide me to its solution, for among this Ummah there is no one except ‘Ali who can solve problems.⁴⁸ Jabir has quoted Umar as saying: There were eighteen merits for the Holy Prophet’s companions altogether and thirteen of them belonged solely to ‘Ali and he shared the other five with us.⁴⁹

Ibn Abbas has been reported as saying: Knowledge has been divided into six parts. Five parts have been allocated to ‘Ali and he shares the other part with us too. Nevertheless, he is wiser than all of us in the remaining one part.⁵⁰ There are many narrations on ‘Ali’s superior knowledge which cannot be counted.

فَخَلّى عُمَرُ سَبيلَها ثُمَّ قَالَ: عَجِزَتِ النِّساءُ أَنْ تَلِدَ مِثْلَ عَلِيِّ بنِ أَبِي طالِبٍ. لَوْلا عَلِيٌّ لَهَلَكَ عُمَرُ. وَمِنْ مَناقِبِ أَبِي الْمُؤيَّدِ: إنَّ عُمَرَ خَطَبَ النَّاسَ فَقالَ: لَوْ صَرَفْناكُمْ عَمَّا تَعْرِفونَ إلَى مَا تُنْكِرونَ مَا كُنْتُمْ صانِعينَ؟ فَسَكَتوا. قَالَ ذَلِكَ ثَلاثاً. فَقالَ لَهُ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: إذاً كُنَّا نَسْتَتيبُكَ فَإنْ تُبْتَ قَبِلْناكَ. قَالَ فَإنْ لَمْ أَتُبْ؟ قَالَ: إذاً نَضْرِبُ الَّذِي فِيهِ عَيناكَ. فَقالَ: الحَمْدُ للهِ الَّذِي جَعَلَ فِي هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ مَنْ إذَا اعْوَجَجْنا أقَامَ أَوَدَنا.

وَقالَ سَعِيدُ بنُ المُسَيَّبِ: سَمِعْتُ عُمَرَ يَقول: اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تُبْقِني لِمُعْضِلَةٍ لَيْسَ لَها عَلِيُّ بنُ أَبِي طالِبٍ حَيَّاً. وَعَنْ جابِرٍِ قَالَ: قَالَ عُمَرُ: كانَتْ لأصْحابِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ ثَمانِي عَشرَةَ سابِقَةً فَخُصَّ عَلِيٌّ مِنْها بِثَلاثَ عَشرَةَ وَشَرَكَنا فِي الْخَمْسِ. وَقالَ ابنُ عَبَّاسٍ: العِلْمُ سِتُّةُ أسْداسٍ؛ لِعَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طالِبٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ خَمْسَةُ أسْداسٍ وَلِلنَّاسِ سُدُسٌ، وَلَقَدْ شَارَكَنا فِي السُّدُسِ حَتَّى لَهُوَ أعْلَمُ بِهِ مَنَّا. وَالأخْبارُ فِي ذَلِكَ أكْثَرُ مِنْ أنْ تُحْصى.

Tenth: Imam ‘Ali endeavored to collect the Qur’anic verses more than anyone else after the departure of the Holy Prophet (S).

Abul-Mu’ayyad has reported ‘Ali as saying, “After the departure of the Holy Prophet, I made a vow not to put on my cloak unless I will collect all the Qur’anic verses. As a result, I did not do anything except after doing so due to the great task I had undertaken.” ‘Ali taught the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an to people and Ibn Abbas was distinguished among all for learning the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an.

Eleventh: Imam ‘Ali had amazing merits and scientific perfection. One of the stories told is that two men who were co-travelers came to him. One of them had five loaves of bread and the other had three. They chose a place to sit down, test and have a meal. At this time, a third person came along and ate with them.

After having the food, he gave eight Dirhams to them for the food he had eaten and left. The one who had five loaves of bread took five of the eight Dirhams and gave the rest to his co-traveler, but the latter considered this division as unjust and refused to take the three Dirhams. So they started quarreling. Therefore, they came to ‘Ali and informed him of the issue.

Turning to one who had three loaves of bread, Amir al-Mu’minin said: Your co-traveler has been fair to you and has given you more than what you deserve. But the man insisted that he had not been given his due share, saying that the money should be divided equally between them. ‘Ali said: Now that you do not accept your co-traveler’s share, you must know that what is due to you is not more than one Dirham.

The man being surprised said: Why? ‘Ali said: Each of you have eaten 22/3 of a loaf of bread from the eight loaves. Therefore, out of three loaves of bread belonging to you has been eaten by the third person and out of the five loaves of bread belonging to your co-traveler, 21/3 of the bread has been eaten by the third person. Therefore, the price of one third of the bread belonging to you eaten by the third person is no more than one Dirham. Hence what is due to you is only one Dirham.⁵¹

Another judgment passed by ‘Ali is about a woman who was riding on the back of another woman. A third woman arrived and prodded the woman who was giving the ride, spurring her to move more quickly. At this time, the woman on the top fell down on the ground and lost her life.

العَاشرُ: إنَّهُ اشْتَغَلَ بِجَمْعِ القُرْآنِ بَعْدَ مَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ قَبْلَ كُلِّ أَحَدٍ. رَوَى أَبُو المُؤَيَّدِ بِإسْنادِهِ إلَى عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ قَالَ: لَمَّا قُبِضَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ أَقْسَمْتُ لاَ أَضَعُ رِدائِي عَنْ ظَهْري حَتَّى أجْمَعَ مَا بَينَ اللَّوْحَيْنِ. فَما وَضَعْتُ رِدائِي عَنْ ظَهْري حَتَّى جَمَعْتُ القُرْآنَ. وَعَلَّمَ النَّاسَ تَفْسيرَهُ وَكانَ أَخَصَّهُمْ بِهِ فِي ذَلِكَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ.

الحَادِي عَشرَ: قَضَاياه العَجِيبَةُ الدَّالَّةُ عَلَى كَمالِ عِلْمِهِ وَغَزارَةِ فَضْلِهِ. مِنْها: أنَّهُ جاءَهُ شَخْصانِ كانا سائِرَيْنِ فِي طَريقٍ مَعَ أحَدِهِما خَمْسَةُ أرْغِفَةٍ وَمَعَ الآخَرِ ثَلاثَةٌ. فَجَلَسا يَأْكُلانِ فَقَدِمَ عَلَيْهِما ثالِثٌ فَأكَلَ مَعَهُما فَلَمَّا فَرِغوا رَمى لَهُما ثَمانِيَةَ دَراهِمَ عِوَضاً عَنْ أكْلِهِ. فَطَلَبَ صاحِبُ الأكْثَرِ خَمْسَةً فَامْتَنَعَ عَلَيْهِ صاحِبُ الأَقَلِّ. فَتَرافَعا إلَى عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ. فَقالَ لِصاحِبِ الأَقَلِّ: قَدْ أَنْصَفَكَ. فَقالَ لَهُ: مَا آخُذُ إلاَّ حَقِّي وَهُوَ أكْثَرُ مِنْ ثَلاثَةٍ وَأنا أُريدُ أَمْرَ الحَقِّ. فَقالَ لَهُ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: إذَا كانَ كَذلِكَ فَلَكَ دِرْهَمٌ واحِدٌ؛ كُلُّ واحِدٍ مِنْكُمْ قَدْ أَكَلَ رَغيفَيْنِ وَثُلُثَيْ رَغِيفٍ فَبَقِيَ لَكَ مِنْ خُبْزِكَ ثُلُثُ رَغيفٍ أَكَلَهُ الثَّالِثُ وَأكَلَ مِنْ خُبْزِ صاحِبِكَ رَغيفَيْنِ وَثُلُثَ رَغيفٍ، فَلِكُلٍّ ثُلُثُ دِرْهَمٍ.

وَمِنْها: أنَّ امْرَأَةً رَكِبَتْ أُخْرى فَجاءَتْ ثالِثَةٌ فَنَخَسَتِ المَرْكوبَةَ فَوَقَعَتِ الرَّاكِبَةُ فَمَاتَتْ. فَقَضى بِثُلُثَيْ دِيَتِها عَلَى النَّاخِسَةِ وَالمَرْكوبَةِ لأَنَّ التَّلَفَ وَقَعَ مِنْهُمْا وَأَسْقَطَ الثُّلُثَ لِرُكوبِه عَبَثاً

‘Ali’s judgment was that two thirds of blood money had to be paid by the woman who was giving ride and the woman who had prodded her, for the woman’s death was because of their acts and annulled one third of blood money, for the woman killed had done a futile attempt and there was no compensation for it. This judgment passed at the time of the Holy Prophet (S) was approved by him.⁵²

One of the other judgments passed by ‘Ali was about a slave girl jointly owned by two persons who had sexual intercourse with her during the period of purity. The slave girl became pregnant, so the case became dubious for them. As for the child, ‘Ali drew lot between them. This judgment too was approved by the Holy Prophet (S) who raised his hands in prayer, saying: Thanks God who has set among us Ahl al-Bayt a person acting according to the tradition of Prophet David. By David’s tradition, the Holy Prophet (S) meant divine inspiration.⁵³

Another example of judgment passed by ‘Ali was when a cow had killed an ass. The owners of the two animals went to Abu-Bakr for judgment informing him of the case. Abu-Bakr said: An animal has killed another animal. So the owner of the killer animal does not have to pay anything! The two persons referred the case to Umar who passed a judgment similar to that of Abu-Bakr.

Then, they informed the case to ‘Ali who said: If the cow has gone to the place of the ass and has killed it, the owner of the cow has to pay the price of the ass to its owner and if the ass has gone to the place of the cow and it has killed the ass, the owner of the cow does not have to be compensated. Hearing this, the Holy Prophet said: Actually, ‘Ali ibn Abi-Talib has passed judgment among you based on God’s decree and there is no doubt about this judgment.⁵⁴

One of the other judgments passed by ‘Ali is about two women who had a dispute over a child each claiming that the child belonged to her. They came to ‘Ali to offer a solution. ‘Ali first advised each of them to give up her baseless claim but they both insisted on what they said believing the other party’s claim to be false. To resolve this problem, ‘Ali ordered Qanbar to bring his sword. The two women said: What is the sword for? ‘Ali said: I will cut the child into two parts and give a half to each of you. At this point, one of the two women cried out saying: O Amir al-Mu’minin! If you are supposed to cut the child into two parts, I will give up my claim. Give the child to this woman. ‘Ali found that the child belonged to her and the other woman’s claim was false. Therefore, he gave the child to his true mother and the other woman whose claim was false, took back her word and confessed the truth.⁵⁵

. فَصَوَّبَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ. وَمِنْها: أنَّهُ كَانَتْ جَارِيَةٌ بَيْنَ اثْنَيْنِ وَطَآها فِي طُهْرٍ وَاحِدٍ فَحَمَلَتْ. فَأَشْكَلَ الْحالُ فَتَرافَعا إلَيْهِ فَحَكَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ بِالقُرْعَةِ. فَصَوَّبَهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَقالَ: الحَمْدُ للهِ الَّذِي جَعَلَ فينا أهْلَ البَيْتِ مَنْ يَقْضي عَلَى سُنَنِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ، يَعنِي بِهِ: القَضاءَ بِالإلْهامِ.

وَمِنْها: أنَّ بَقَرَةً قَتَلَتْ حِماراً، فَتَرافَعَ المَالِكانِ إلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ. فَقالَ: بَهيمَةٌ قَتَلَتْ بَهيمَةً، لاَ شَيْءَ عَلَى رَبِّها. ثُمَّ مَضَيا إلَى عُمَرَ فَقَضَى بِما قَضى صاحِبُهُ. ثُمَّ مَضَيا إلَى عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فَقالَ: إنْ كَانَتِ البَقَرَةُ دَخَلَتِ الحِمَارَ فِي مَنامِهِ فَعَلَى رَبِّها قِيمَةُ الحِمَارِ لِصاحِبِهِ. وَإنْ كَانَ الحِمارُ دَخَلَ عَلَى البَقَرَةِ فِي مَنامِها فَقَتَلَتْهُ فَلا غُرْمَ عَلَى صَاحِبِها.

فقَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: لَقَدْ قَضى عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طالِبٍ بَيْنَكُما بِقَضاءِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجلَّ. وَمِنْها: أنَّ امْرَأَتَيْنِ جاءَتا إلَيْهِ وَمَعَهُما طِفْلٌ ادَّعَتْهُ كُلٌّ مِنْهُمْا. فَوَعَظَهُما فَلَمْ تَرْجَعا. فَقالَ: يَا قَنْبَرُ ائْتِنِي بِالسَّيْفِ. فَقالَتا لَهُ: مَا تَصْنَعُ بِهِ؟ فَقالَ: أَشُقُّهُ نِصْفَيْنِ وَأُعْطي كُلَّ واحِــدَةٍ مِنْكُما نِصْفَهُ. فَرَضِيَتْ إحْداهُما وَصاحَتِ الأُخْرى وَقالَتْ: يَـا أميـرَ الْمُؤْمِنينَ إنْ كُنْتَ لا

One of the other judgments passed by ‘Ali is when a building collapsed on a group of people but two young boys survived and each of them claimed that the other was his slave. There was no witness in this relation either. To settle the dispute, they went to ‘Ali to find a solution for their problem. To discover the truth, ‘Ali ordered the two young boys to put their heads out of a window. Then he said to Qanbar: cut off the head of the slave. One of the two young boys pulled his head out of the window starting to run away but the other one remained in the same place. The one who had pulled his head out of the window confessed that he was the slave and the other was the master.⁵⁶

Another example of the judgments passed by ‘Ali is about a man who had drunk wine at the time of Abu-Bakr. The man was brought to Abu-Bakr and admitted that he had drunken wine but he said he did not know that drinking wine was forbidden and it was unlawful, for he said he was living among people for whom drinking wine was lawful. Hearing this, Abu-Bakr was at a loss, not knowing how to carry out the punishment, for the problem was of an unknown nature to him. So he had to inform the problem to ‘Ali so as to find a solution for it.

‘Ali said: Send with him two trustworthy men to the group of Muhajir and Ansar making them swear by God if there is anyone to whom the verse on the prohibition of drinking wine had been recited or had reported the Holy Prophet as having said anything about this issue or not. Should anyone bear witness that the wine-drinker knew about the unlawful nature of wine-drinking, give him punishment for wine drinking, otherwise make him repent and let him go, for he has not been aware of the unlawful nature of wine-drinking. Abu-Bakr carried out ‘Ali’s instruction. When inquiry was made, it was found out that the verse on the prohibition of drinking wine had not been recited to him. Therefore, they made him repent and let him go.⁵⁷

بُدَّ فاعِلاً فَأَعْطِها إيَّاهُ. فَعُرِفَ أنَّهُ وَلَدُها وَلا شَيءَ لِلرَّاضِيَةِ. فَسَلَّمَهُ إلَيْها فَرَجَعَتْ مُدَّعِيَةُ البَاطِلِ إلَى الحَقِّ. وَمِنْها: أنَّهُ وَقَعَتْ دارٌ عَلَى قَومٍ وَخَرَجَ مِنْها صَبِيَّانِ إدَّعى كُلُّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُمْا أنَّهُ مالِكُ الآخَرِ. فَأمَرَ بإخْراج رَأْسَيْهِما مِنْ رَوْزَنَةٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ: يَا قَنْبَرُ جَرِّدِ السَّيْفَ. وَأشارَ إلَيْهِ لاَ تَفْعَلْ إلاَّ مَا آمُرُكَ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: يَا قَنْبَرُ إضْرِبْ رَقَبَةَ العَبْدِ. فَهَرَبَ أحَدُهُما وَبَقِيَ الآخَرُ. وَرَجَعَ الهَارِبُ إلَى الحَقِّ وَاعتَرَفَ بِأنَّهُ العَبْدُ. وَمِنْها: أنَّ رَجُلاً رُفِعَ إلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَقَدْ شَرِبَ الخَمْرَ فَأرادَ أنْ يُقيمَ عَلَيْهِ الحَدَّ. فَقالَ لَهُ: إنَّني شَرِبْتُها وَلا عِلْمَ لي بِتَحْريِمَها لأَنِّي نَشَأْتُ بَيْنَ قَوْمٍ يَسْتَحِلّونَها. فَارْتَجَّ بِأبي بَكْرٍ الأمْرُ بِالحُكْمِ عَلَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ وَجْهَ القَضاءِ فِيهِ.

فَاسْتَخْبَرَ عَلِيَّاً عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ عَنِ الحُكْمِ فِي ذَلِكَ. فَقالَ: إبْعَثْ ثِقَتَيْنِ مِنْ رِجالِ المُسْلِمينَ يَطوفانِ عَلَى مَجالِسِ المُهاجِرينَ وَالأنْصارِ وَيُناشِدانِهِمْ: هَلْ فيهِمْ أحَدٌ تَلا عَلَيْهِ آيَةَ التَّحْريمِ أوْ أخْبَراهُ بِذَلِكَ عَنْ رَسولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ؟ فإنْ شَهِدَ بِذَلِكَ رَجُلانِ مِنْهُمْ فَأَقِمِ الحَدَّ عَلَيْهِ. وَإنْ لَمْ يَشْهَدْ أَحَدٌ بِذَلِكَ فَاسْتَتِبْهُ وَخَلِّ سَبِيلَهُ. فَفَعَلَ ذَلِكَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَلَمْ يَشْهَدْ عَلَيْهِ أحَدٌ مِنَ المُهاجِرينَ وَالأنصَارِ أنَّهُ تَلا آيَةَ التَّحْريمِ عَلَيْهِ وَلا أخْبَرَهُ عَنْ رَسولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ، فَاسْتَتابَهُ وَخَلَّى سَبِيلَهُ.

One of the other reasons for ‘Ali’s superiority over other companions of the Holy Prophet is that Abu-Bakr was asked a question about the meaning of the word “abban” in

“And fruits and herbage” (80:31).

He helplessly said: If I say I do know what I really do not know of the book of Allah, which sky shall cast its shade on me and which earth shall give accommodation to me? As a matter of fact, I know the meaning of fakiha (fruits) but I have no idea of what the word “abban” means.

Being informed of what Abu-Bakr had said, ‘Ali said: Glory be to Allah. He is free from all defects. Did Abu-Bakr not know that the meaning of “abban” was herbage? The reason God has brought this word in His book is to remind His servants that not only He has prepared a provision for men and for cattle but the cattle enjoy a vital material too so that in this way the human life in eating fruits and his physical power in eating the meat of some of the animals are strengthened.⁵⁸

Another story about ‘Ali’s supreme position is when Abu-Bakr was asked a question about the meaning of kalalah to which he said: I will express my opinion about it. If my feeling is near to the truth, it would be from divine grace and if I make a mistake, it would be from me and Satan. Being informed of this, Amir al-Mu’minin said: there is no room here for expressing one’s feeling. Is he not sure that kalalah is a term sometimes used for a full blood brother and at other times for half-brother?⁵⁹

Another story based on ‘Ali’s superiority over the other companions of the Holy Prophet (S) is that a Jewish scholar came to Abu-Bakr, saying: Are you the caliph who succeeded the prophet of this nation? Abu-Bakr said: Yes! The Jewish scholar said: In Torah, we have it that the successors of the prophets are above their followers. Now, considering that you are the successor of the prophet of this Ummah, tell me where is God, in heaven or on earth? Abu-Bakr said: God is in heaven, placed on the throne. The Jewish scholar said: Therefore, He is not on the earth. In other words, He is in one place and is not in the other place.

Being helpless in answer, Abu-Bakr began to talk roughly to him saying: This saying of yours is that of an atheist. Get away from me or I will have you killed! Being astonished and making fun of Islam, the Jewish scholar left the place. Meeting him on the way, ‘Ali said: I was informed of what passed between you and Abu-Bakr. The answer to your question is this: We believe that God Almighty is the determiner of all times and places. He is too powerful to be in one place and not in another place or in one time and not in another time. He exists in every place but not in the scope of proximity and His knowledge encompasses all objects. There is nothing outside His prudence and there is no being outside His domination or deprived from His Grace.

وَمِنْها: أنَّ أبا بَكْرٍ سُئِلَ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعالَى ?وَفَاكِهَةً وَأَبًّا? مَا مَعْنى الأَبِّ؟ فَقالَ: أيُّ سَماءٍ تُظِلُّني أَمْ أَيُّ أَرْضٍ تُقِلُّني إنْ قُلتُ فِي كِتابِ اللهِ بِما لاَ أعْلَمُ. أمَّا الفاكِهَةُ فَنَعْرِفُها، وَأمَّا الأَبُّ فَاللهُ أعْلَمُ بِهِ. فَبَلَغَ أمِيرَ المُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ مَقالَتَهُ فَقالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: يَا سُبْحانَ اللهِ! أمَا عَلِمَ أنَّ الأَبَّ هُوَ الكَلأُ وَالمَرْعى؟ وَأنَّ اللهَ تَعالَى ذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ تَعْريفاً لِعِبادِهِ مَا أَنْعَمَ بِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَعَلَى أنْعَامِهِمْ مِمَّا تَحْيا بِهِ أنْفُسُهُمْ وَتَقُومُ بِهِ أجْسادُهُمْ.

وَمِنْها: أنَّ أبا بَكْرٍ سُئِلَ عَنِ الكَلالَةِ فَقالَ: أَقولُ فِيهَا بِرَأْيي. فإن أَصَبْتُ فَمِنَ اللهِ، وَإنْ أخْطَأْتُ فَمِنّي وَمِنَ الشَّيْطانِ. فَبَلَغَ أميرَ المُؤْمِنينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ ذَلِكَ فَقالَ: مَا أَغْناهُ عَنِ الرَّأْيِ فِي هَذَا المَكانِ. أمَا عَلِمَ أنَّ الكَلالَةَ هُمُ الإخْوَةُ وَالأَخَواتُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الأُمِّ وَالأَبِ وَمِنْ قِبَلِ الأَبِ عَلَى انْفِرادِهِ وَمِنْ قِبَلِ الأُمِّ أيْضاً عَلى انْفِرادِهَا؟

وَمِنْها: أنَّ رَجُلاً مِنْ أحْبارِ اليَهودِ جاءَ إلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ فَقالَ لَهُ: أنْتَ خَليفَةُ نَبِيِّ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: إنَّا نَجِدُ فِي التَّوْراةِ أنَّ خُلَفاءَ الأنْبِياءِ أعْلَمُ أُمَمِهِمْ. فَأَخْبِرْني عَنِ اللهِ أيْنَ هُوَ؛ أَفي السَّماءِ أَمْ فِي الأَرْضِ؟ فَقالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ: هُوَ فِي السَّماءِ عَلَى العَرْشِ. فَقالَ اليَهودِيُّ: فَأَرى الأرْضَ خالِيَةً مِنْهُ وَأراهُ عَلَى هَذَا القَوْلِ فِي مَكانٍ دونَ مَكانٍ. فَقالَ لَهُ أَبُــو بَكْرٍ: هَذَا كَـلامُ الزَّنادِقَةِ. أُغْـرُبْ عَنّي وَإلاَّ قَتَلْتُكَ. فَوَلّى الحَبْـرُ مُتَعَجّباً يَسْتَهْزِئُ

I will now inform you of what, one of your books, accepts as truth. Now that you are getting to know the truth, will you accept and believe it? The Jewish scholar said: Yes. ‘Ali said: Is it not in one of your books that one day when Moses (a.s) was sitting, suddenly an angel appeared to him from the east. Moses (a.s) said: Where do you come from? The angel said: I came from the presence of the Lord of universe.

Then another angel came from the west and when Moses (a.s) asked: Where do you come from? The angel said: I came from god Almighty. Another angel came. Again Moses asked his: Where do you come from? He said: From the seventh heaven and from the presence of God Almighty. The fourth angel who came to the presence of Moses (a.s) said: I come from the seventh layer of the earth and from the presence of God Almighty.

At this time, Moses (a.s) said: Glory be to God Almighty, for no place is depleting from His existence and no place is nearer to Him than another place. The Jewish scholar confirmed what he heard, saying: What you say is right and there is no doubt in it. I testify that being caliph and successor to the Holy Prophet is your indisputable right but another person has usurped it.⁶⁰

During Umar’s caliphate, Qudamah ibn Maun had drunken wine. When the issue was proved, Umar decided to punish him. In defense of himself, Qudamah said: It is not fair to punish me, for God Almighty says:

“On those who believe and do good, there is no blame for what they eat, when they are careful of their duty and believe and do good deed” (5:93).

Therefore, I am not to be punished for the sin I have committed, for I am careful of my duty and a believer. Umar gave up punishing him and let him go. Being informed of this affair, ‘Ali went to Umar immediately, saying: this verse does not apply to Qudamah, for a man who is careful of his duty does not consider as lawful what is unlawful. If he believed in this verse, he would never commit such an act and would not consider it as a lawful act. Turning to Umar, ‘Ali said: Send for him immediately and make him repent so as not to repeat it. If he repented, punish him, for punishment is not annulled with repentance. However, if he insisted on his words, kill him, for in this case he is not a Muslim anymore because of taking distance from the Islamic Ummah.

بالإسْلامِ. فَاسْتَقْبَلَهُ أمِيرُ المُؤْمِنينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فَقالَ: يَا يَهودِيُّ، قَدْ عَرَفْتُ مَا سَأَلْتَ عَنْهُ وَما أُجِبْتَ بِهِ وَإنَّا نَقولُ: إنَّ اللهَ جَلَّ جَلالُهُ أَيَّنَ الأَيْنَ فَلا أَيْنَ لَهُ، وَجَلَّ عَنْ أنْ يَحْوِيَهُ مَكانٌ وَهُوَ فِي كُلِّ مَكانٍ بِغَيْرِ مَماسَّةٍ وَلا مُجاوَرَةٍ، يُحيطُ عِلماً بِما فِيها وَلا يَخْلو شَيْءٌ مِنْ تَدْبيرِهِ تَعالَى، وَإنّي مُخْبِرُكَ بِما جاءَ فِي كِتابٍ مِنْ كُتُبِكُمْ يُصَدِّقُ مَا ذَكَرْتُهُ لَكَ، فَإنْ عَرَفْتَهُ أَتُؤْمِنُ بِهِ؟ قَالَ اليَهودِيُّ: نَعَمْ. قَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: تَجِدونَ فِي بَعْضِ كُتُبِكُمْ أنَّ مُوسَى بْنَ عِمْرانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ كَانَ ذاتَ يَوْمٍ جالِساً إذْ جاءَهُ مَلَكٌ مِنَ المَشْرِقِ فَقالَ لَهُ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: مِنْ أَيْنَ أقْبَلْتَ؟ فَقالَ: مِنْ عِنْدِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجلَّ. ثُمَّ جاءَهُ مَلَكٌ مِنَ المَغْرِبِ فَقالَ لَهُ: مِنْ أَيْنَ جِئْتَ؟ فَقالَ: مِنْ عِنْدِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجلَّ. ثُمَّ جَاءَهُ مَلَكٌ آخَرُ فَقالَ لَهُ: مِنْ أَيْنَ جِئْتَ؟ فَقالَ: قَدْ جِئْتُكَ مِنَ السَّماءِ السَّابِعَةِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللهِ تَعالَى. ثُمَّ جَاءَهُ مَلَكٌ آخَرُ فَقالَ: قَدْ جِئْتُكَ مِنَ الأَرْضِ السُّفْلى السَّابِعَةِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجلَّ. فَقالَ مُوسَى: سُبْحانَ مَنْ لاَ يَخْلو مِنْهُ مَكانٌ وَلا يَكونُ إلَى مَكانٍ أَقْرَبَ مِنْ مَكانٍ. فَقالَ اليَهودِيُّ: أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ هَذَا هُوَ الحَقُّ وَأنَّكَ أحَقُّ بِمَقامِ نَبِيِّكَ مِمَّنِ اسْتَوْلَى عَلَيْهِ.

وَمِنْها: أنَّ قُدامَةَ بْنَ مَظْعونٍ شَرِبَ الخَمْرَ فَأرادَ عُمَرُ أنْ يَحِدَّهُ. فَقالَ لَهُ قُدامَةُ: لاَ يَجِبُ عَلَيَّ الحَدُّ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعالَى: ?لَيْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا طَعِمُوا إِذَا مَا اتَّقَوْا وَآمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ.? فَدَرأَ عُمَرُ عَنْهُ الحَدَّ. فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ أميـرَ المُؤْمِنينَ

Being informed of ‘Ali’s judgment, Umar decided to carry out the punishment but did not know the extent of punishment. ‘Ali said: One who drinks wine receives eighty lashes. Commenting on the philosophy behind this issue, ‘Ali said: One who drinks wine becomes drunk, will say something unfair, and slanders God and the messenger of God. Therefore, he has to be punished. So Umar gave Qudamah eighty lashes making him give a pledge not to repeat it again.⁶¹

One of the other fair judgments passed by ‘Ali was when Umar was informed that a woman had attended a gathering of strange men flirting with them. So he sent a group to her house to find the fact. Entering the woman’s house, the fact-finding group conveyed Umar’s message to her. The woman who was shaking with fear left her house along with the caliph’s agents.

On the way, she went into labor and aborted the fetus she had in her womb as a result of which it lost its life after a few moments. Umar called the Holy Prophet’s companions asking about the fate of the dead infant. They unanimously said: As you decided to punish the woman for the wrong she had done, no responsibility is on you!

Nevertheless, Umar was not satisfied with their judgment, turned to ‘Ali asking: O Abul-Hasan, what is your judgment in this relation? ‘Ali answered: If this group have expressed their opinion without pondering to make you pleased they have undoubtedly misled you having passed a wrong judgment and if they have pondered on it, they have not thought of the truth of the problem. Now, listen carefully to me to make the case clear to you. The aborted infant has blood money which is on your charge, for it was because of your mistake that the woman aborted her child. Umar said: By God, among these people, it was you who have passed a fair judgment. Now, do not leave this place before you divide this blood money among Banu-Adi (Umar’s tribe) and give it to the heirs of the infant. ‘Ali divided the blood money among Umar’s tribe and gave it to the next of kin.⁶²

عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ، فَمَشى إلَى عُمَرَ وَأنْكَرَ عَلَيْهِ فِي تَرْكِ إقامَةِ الْحَدِّ، فَاعْتَذَرَ بِالآيَةِ. فَقالَ أمِيرُ المُؤْمِنينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: لَيْسَ قُدامَةُ مِنْ أهْلِ هَذِهِ الآيَةِ، إنَّ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلوا الصَّالِحاتِ لاَ يَسْتَحِلُّونَ حَراماً. فَارْدُدْهُ وَاسْتَتِبْهُ مِمَّا قَالَ. فَإنْ تَابَ فَأَقِمْ عَلَيْهِ الحَدَّ. وَإنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ فَاقْتُلْهُ فَقَدْ خَرَجَ عَنِ الإسلامِ.

فَاسْتَيْقَظَ عُمَرُ وَلَمْ يَدْرِ كَمْ يَحِدُّهُ. فَقالَ لأَميرِ المُؤْمِنينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: عَرِّفْنِي الحَدَّ؟ فَقالَ: حَدُّهُ ثَمانُونَ. إنَّ شارِبَ الخَمْرِ إذَا شَرِبَها سَكَرَ وَإذا سَكَرَ هَذِيَ وَإذا هَذِيَ افْتَرى. فَحَدَّهُ عُمَرُ ثَمانِينَ.

وَمِنْها: أنَّ عُمَرَ اسْتَدْعى امْرَأَةً كَانَتْ تَتَحَدَّثُ الرِّجالُ عَنْها. فَلَمَّا جاءَها رَسولُهُ فَزِعَتْ وَخافَتْ فَأَسْقَطَتْ فَوَقَعَ وَلَدُها إلَى الأرْضِ مُسْتَهلاًّ ثُمَّ ماتَ. فَجَمَعَ الصَّحابَةَ وَسَأَلَهُمْ عَنِ الحُكْمِ. فَقالوا لَهُ: نَراكَ مُؤَدِّباً وَلا شَيْءَ عَلَيْك. فَقالَ لأميرِ المُؤْمِنين عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: مَا عِنْدَكَ يَا أبا الحَسَنِ؟ فَقالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: إنْ كَانَ القَوْمُ قارَبوكَ فَقَدْ غَشُّوكَ، وَإنْ كَانُوا ارْتَأَوْا فَقَدْ قَصَّروا. وَالدِّيَةُ عَلَى عاقِلَتِكَ لأَنَّ قَتْلَ الصَّبِيِّ خَطَأٌ تَعَلَّقَ بِكَ. فَقالَ: أنْتَ وَاللهِ نَصَحْتَني مِنْ بَيْنِهِـمْ، وَاللهِ لاَ أَبْـرَحُ حَتَّى تُجَـزِّئَ

Another example of the judgments passed by ‘Ali was that an old man married a woman and after some time the woman became pregnant but the man claimed he had not had any intercourse with her saying: This is not my child. This happened under the caliphate of Uthman. Not knowing how to find the truth, the caliph started to investigate the issue asking the woman: Have you been to bed with your husband and has he deflowered you?