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Rabí` al-Tháni 22, 1330
Yes, indeed, they did. The Commander of the Faithful (as) mentioned it while preaching from the pulpit, and we have in Letter No. 104 quoted its text. Anyone who quotes the tradition of the Household on the day of warning has done so, quoting `Ali (as). We have also quoted it in Letter No. 20. It contains the explicit text recommending him for the caliphate. Imám Abu Mu<ammad al-\asan (as), grandson of the Prophet (pbuh), and master of all the the young of Paradise, delivered a sermon when his father the Commander of the Faithful (as) was assassinated in which he said: "I am the descendant of the Prophet (pbuh), and the son of his vicegerent," as quoted by al-\ákim on page 172, Vol. 3, of his authentic Mustadrak. Imám Ja`fer al-@ádiq (as), as on page 254, Vol. 3, of Shar< Nahjul Balághah, at the end of the commentary on the qá#i`a sermon, has said: "Even before the [Islamic] Message became public, `Ali (as), while in the company of the Messenger of Alláh (pbuh), used to see the light and hear the voice [of angels]." He also quotes him (pbuh) saying: "Had I not been the seal of Prophets, you [`Ali (as)] would have been made a partner in my Prophethood; yet since you cannot be a prophet, you certainly are the wa#i and the heir of a Prophet ," according to Buraydah. Such usage is common among all the Imáms of Ahl al-Bayt, and it is a necessity among them and their followers from the time of the #a<ábah till now.
Salmán al-Fárisi is reported saying that he heard the Messenger of Alláh (pbuh) saying: "The one who is my wa#i, confidant, the best I leave behind me to execute my will and cancel my debts, is `Ali ibn Abu ^álib (as)." Abu Ayyüb al-An#ári has reported a tradition in which he says that he heard the Messenger of Alláh (pbuh) saying to Fá>ima (as): "Have you not come to know that Alláh, the Exalted and omni-Scient, cast a look at the inhabitants of the earth and chose your father for His Messenger, then He cast a second look and chose your husband, then He inspired me to marry you to him and take him as my vicegerent?" Buraydah has narrated a tradition in which he says that he heard the Messenger of Alláh (pbuh) saying: "For every Prophet there is a vicegerent and heir, and my vicegerent and heir is `Ali ibn Abu ^álib (as)," and both a<ádíth of Abu Ayyüb and Salmán have already been quoted above in Letter No. 68. Whenever Jábir ibn Yazíd al-Ju`fi narrated a tradition from Imám al-Báqir (as), he used to say, as stated in Jábir's biography in al-Thahbi's Al-Mízán, "The wa#i of wa#is has narrated a tradition to me..., etc." Umm al-Khayr daughter of al-\arísh al-Baríqi delivered an eloquent speech in @iffín urging the Kufians to fight Mu`áwiyah in which she said: "Hurry, may Alláh be merciful unto you, to support the just Imám, the faithful wa#i, the greatest truthful," as quoted by Imám Abul-Fa_l A<med ibn Abu ^áhir al-Baghdádi on page 41 of his work Balaghát al-Nisá' stating his source to be al-Sha`bi.
This is what some ancestors have quoted while lauding the recommendation in their sermons and speeches, and whoever researches their biographies will find them applying the title "wa#i" to the Commander of the Faithful (as) as freely as they would call anything by its name, so much so that the author of Táj al-`Arüs says on page 392, Vol. 10, while explaining the term "wa#i": "[Pronounced] like ghani, wa#i is the title of `Ali (as), may Alláh be pleased with him."
As regarding dealing with this theme in their poetry, this cannot all be cited here due to its abundance, but we quote of it what serves the purpose to make a point. `Abdullah ibn `Abbás ibn `Abdul-Mu>>alib has described him as:
The Messenger's wa#i, chosen from his Household;
His valiant knight when a challenge is posed.
Al-Mughírah ibn al-\árith ibn `Abdul-Mu>>alib has said these verses in which he encourages the people of Iraq to fight Mu`áwiyah in @iffín:
The wa#i of the Messenger of Alláh is your chief,
His son-in-law, promoted Alláh's Mus<af Sharíf.
`Abdullah ibn Abu Sufyán ibn al-\arth ibn `Abdul-Mu>>alib has said:
Among us is `Ali (as), hero of Khaybar, now in ruin,
The hero of Badr, too, when troops retreated;
He is wa#i of the Chosen Prophet (pbuh) and his cousin,
So, who can attain his lofty status, only to him meted?
Abul-Haytham ibn al-Tíhán, one of the heroes of Badr, composed verses to recite during the Battle of the Camel in which he said:
The wa#i is our Imám and wali in word and deed,
No secret left; what was hidden is now revealed.
Khuzaymah ibn Thábit, of the two Shahadas, a hero of Badr, recited verses which he, too, composed during the Battle of the Camel in which he said:
O wa#i of the Prophet! The battle has shaken the foes,
And caravans have been dispatched to deal blows.
He, may Alláh be pleased with him, has also said:
O `Ayesha! Leave `Ali and the names you call him, too,
For what you call him is certainly not true;
He is but the wa#i from the Prophet's clan,
The one to testify to that is but you, says everyone.
`Abdulláh ibn Badíl ibn Warqá' al-Khuzá`i, a hero among the #a<ábah, who was martyred in @iffín together with his brother `Abdul-Ra<mán, said the following on the incident of the Battle of the Camel:
O my people! What a great calamity Satan brought,
Battle the enemy, for the wa#i of the Prophet is fought.
Among the verses said by the Commander of the Faithful himself in @iffín were these:
If A<med were told that his wa#i is indeed
Equalled to a wretch, he would surely be displeased.
Jarír ibn `Abdulláh al-Bijli, a #a<ábi, sent verses to Shur<abíl ibn al-@amt in which he mentioned `Ali (as) saying:
Among all other members of the Prophet's clan,
He is wa#i of the Messenger of ar-Ra<mán,
His Messenger's protecting knight,
A man proverbial in courage and might.
`Umer ibn \árithah al-An#ári, in a poem lauding Mu<ammad son of the Commander of the Faithful, better known as Ibn al-\anafiyya, said:
Like the wa#i, and after the Messenger named,
The colour of his standard is crimson red.
When people swore the oath of allegiance to `Ali (as) after `Uthmán, `Abdul-Ra<mán ibn Já`il said these verses:
I swear you have allied yourselves to one
Whose concern about the faith is well-known,
Supported by the Almighty: virtuous, with no sin,
`Ali, wa#i of the Chosen one and his cousin,
The first to offer ritual prayers,
One endowed with piety and honours.
A man of the Azd tribe said the following during the Battle of the Camel:
This is `Ali;
The Prophet's wa#i
On the Day of Salvation;
The Prophet told the nation:
"This is a brother of mine!
"And successor when my sun ceases to shine."
The wise heeded and kept it in mind,
The wretch forgot and left it behind.
During the Battle of the Camel, a young man from the tribe of |abbah, who was trained in `Ayesha's camp, came out and said:
We are children of |abbah, enemies of `Ali,
The one who is known for long as the wa#i,
A brave knight during the time of our Nabi,
I am not blind about the virtues of `Ali,
I only mourn the murder of the son of `Uthmán, the taqi.
Sa`íd ibn Qays al-Hamadáni, who fought in `Ali's camp, said the following on the Battle of the Camel:
What a battle that has kindled a fire!
Breaking the spears of every knight,
Tell the wa#i: Qa<>án approaches in desire,
Call upon them to aid Hamadán with their might,
They are their kin,
They are their children.
Ziyád ibn Labíd al-An#ári, one of `Ali's companions, composed these verses during the Battle of the Camel:
How do you see the An#ar in a fierce battle faring?
We are people never afraid to die;
In supporing the wa#i, we attack with daring,
The An#ár are serious, their spirits high.
`Ali son of `Abdul-Mu>>alib do we support
Against those who, about him, lied in their import.
Tell the liars, whose conscience is cheap,
A miserable harvest shall they forever reap.
\ajar ibn `Adi al-Kindi said on the same occasion:
Lord! Protect `Ali whose deeds You bless,
The pious believer, the caller for Your Oneness.
This is the view not of a depraved nor a deceiver,
He is but a divinely inspired and guided leader,
Protect him, Lord, and protect Your Prophet's Call
Through his wali and the wa#i of each and all.
`Umer ibn A<jiyah composed a poem lauding the address of al-\asan, delivered after that of Ibn al-Zubayr, during the Battle of the Camel saying:
\asan of goodness, like your father in virtue and grace,
Among us you have taken a lofty, exemplary place.
You have delivered a speech whereby Alláh exposed
The lies of the enemies of your father who posed
Prattling, like Ibn al-Zubayr, the man of shame.
Ask even skeptics, and they will tell you his name.
Alláh has insisted to lower in infamy his head,
And raise that of the clement son of al-wa#i instead.
Thou hast undoubtedly chosen Thy own Nabi,
And Thou also appointed his honourable wa#i.
Zajr ibn Qays al-Ju`fi composed these verses also during the Battle of the Camel:
The Lord salutes A<med, Messenger of the King
Who grants him many a blessing,
After the Messenger of the King our Caliph will succeed,
A man worthy of authority-a knight true in word and deed:
Ali I meant, the Prophet's wa#i, bringing to the Path
All the depraved and strayers who incurred the divine Wrath.
Al-Ash`ath ibn Qays al-Kindi has said:
The messenger of the Imám has come to us, so be it
That every Muslim in Ali's army speedily enlist,
He is messenger of the wa#i, the wa#i of the Messenger,
Foremost in feats, virtues, piety of every believer.
... and Also:
A message from the Imám we have received
From Ali the virtuous, Ali of Háshim,
Son-in-law of the Prophet (pbuh), his vizier indeed,
The best in the nation and in every realm.
Al-Nu`mán ibn al-`Ajlán al-Zarqi al-An#ári said the following during the Battle of @iffín:
Since the wa#i is our leader, how can there be division?
Nay! No bewilderment, no confusion, do not slacken;
So, leave the depraved Mu`awiyah and follow the religion
Of the wa#i, and praise the Lord of man and jinn.
`Abdul-Ra<mán ibn Thu'ayb al-Aslami has said the following in a poem threatening Mu`áwiyah with the Iraqi troops:
They are led by none other than the wa#i
To rid you of misguidance and uncertainty.[1]
`Abdullah ibn Abu Saufyán ibn al-\árith ibn `Abdul-Mu>>alib has said:
The one in charge after Mu<ammad is `Ali who
On all occasions did defend, support and stand.
He is the wa#i of the Messenger, nothing is new;
His peer, the first to pray with him and lend him hand.
Khuzaymah ibn Thábit, of the two shahádas, has said:
He is wa#i of the Messenger out of all his clan
His defending knight since the very beginning,
The first to pray, preceded by no man
Save the Lady chosen by the One Who Grants blessing.
Zafar ibn Huthayfah al-Asdi has said:
Surround Ali, O men, and support him,
For he is the wa#i and the first Muslim.[2]
Abul-Aswad al-Du'ali has said:
I love Mu<ammad passionately, and to me
Very dear are: `Abbás, \amzah, and the wa#i.
Al-Nu`mán ibn `Ajlán, an An#ár poet and dignitary, said these verses in a poem addressed to Ibn al-`?s narrated by al-Zubayr ibn Bakkár in his Muwaffaqiyyát. It is transmitted by the Mu`tazilite scholar on page 13, Vol. 3, of his Shar< Nahjul Balághah, but Ibn `Abd al-Birr quotes this poem stating the biography of al-Nu`mán in his Isti`áb, omitting the name of the witness from it ("... and thus do they behave (Qur'án, 27:34)":
You underestimated Ali who is the most fit,
Albeit if you knew, or did not know it;
For he, assisted by Alláh, guides unto Him and indeed
Forbids debauchery, oppression and every wrongful deed;
The wa#i of the Chosen Prophet (pbuh) and his cousin
Killer of knights who are misguided, unbelieving.
Al-Fa_l ibn al-`Abbás has said these verses which are quoted by Ibn al-Athír at the end of the latter's discussion of `Uthmán, on page 43, Vol. 3, of his work Al-Taríkh al-Kámil, commenting that `Uthmán is "the best of people besides the three men of the [Prophet's] house."
The best of people and of every believer
After the one chosen to be Messenger
Is the wa#i according to people who remember.
And he is first to perform the rite of prayer
And the like of the Messenger;
The first at Badr to deal a deadly blow
To those who broke the divine Law.
\assán ibn Thábit has said these verses in which he praises Ali on behalf of all the An#ár. They are quoted by al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar in his Muwaffaqiyyát, and recorded by Ibn Abul-\adíd on page 15, Vol. 2, of his work Shar< Nahjul Balághah:
You are the most faithful to the Prophet among us
Worthy of his recommendation; for who else surapss
You in it, who else? Aren't you his brother
In true guidance, and his wa#i,
The best scholar of the Qur'án and all other
A<ádíth of the blessed Nabi?
Some poets said these verses addressing al-\asan ibn `Ali (as), peace be upon both of them, as quoted by Shaykh Mu<ammad `Ali \ashshu al-\anafi al-@aydáwi in the footnote to page 65 of his book A'thár Thawát al-Siwár, when he discussed both Ghánima daughter of `?mir, and Mu`áwiyah, saying that she recited this verse before Mu`áwiyah in a statement she made responding to his own:
The most dignified of men, son of the wa#i,
Grandson of the Prophet, son of Ali.
Umm Sinán daughter of Khayth`amah ibn Kharsha'ah al-Math<aji has said the following verses addressing and lauding Ali (as); they are mentioned by Imám Abul-Fa_l A<med ibn Abu ^áhir al-Baghdádi when he discusses Umm Sinán on page 67 of Balaghát al-Nisá'. They are also quoted from Umm Sinán by Shaykh Mu<ammad `Ali \ashshu al-\anafi al-@aydawi at the end of page 78 of his ?thár Thawát al-Siwár.
You were among us, after Mu<ammad, his trusted successor
He selected you, and of his trust you proved a protector.
This much of the poetry contemporary to the Commander of the Faithful (as) is what we have been able to quote in such a short letter. If we review the poetry composed after him, then we will be authoring a voluminous book beyond the writing of which we would still apologize for our work being incomplete. Yet to quote all such poetry may become boring, and it may cause us to digress from the main subject-matter. So, let us be satisfied with quoting only the most famous poets, and let us judge the rest according to what is quoted here.
In his celebrated poem, al-Kumait ibn Ziyád has thus lauded the descendants of Háshim:
He is the wa#i protecting the throne of the nation
Against collapse and disintegration,[3]
The embodiment of virtue, glory and goodness,
Solving the problems with order and firmness.
The wa#i, the wali,[4] the knight
Courageous, brave: his star was bright,
The wa#i of the wa#i, determined and wise
In battle-fields, you hear his enemy's agony cries.
Kuthayyir ibn `Abdul-Ra<mán ibn al-Aswad ibn `?mir al-Khuzá`i, better known as Kuthayyir `Azza, has said:
The wa#i of the Chosen Prophet and his cousin; he
Emancipates those in bondage, and judges with equity.
Abu Tammám al-^á'i has said the following in one of his poems the rhyme of which rhymes with "r's":[5]
You plotted against his wa#i and deceived before;
You cooked it, unprecedented, unmatched in lore,
Against the Prophet's brother, son-in-law, who bore
Feats of valour, while your plots opened the door
To mischief: peerless in brother, son-in-law...; say no more;
To the Prophet he was like Aaron to Moses of yore...
Du`bal ibn Ali al-Khuzá`i has said the following in his euology of the Master of Martyrs [Imám \usayn (pbuh)]:
The head of the son of Mu<ammad's daughter and his wa#i,
O men, is being raised atop a spear for all to see...!
Abul-^ayyib al-Mutanabbi, when rebuked for stopping his praise of Ahl al-Bayt, as recorded in his diwan (collection of poems) said:
I have no pretext for leaving the praise of the wa#i
His light dominates, his shade expands unto you and me:
For when something elongates, it stands on its own,
Attributes of the sun's light are never gone.
He also said the following verses in his praise of Abul-Qásim ^áhir ibn al-\usayn ibn ^áhir al-`Alawi, as also recorded in his díwán:
He is son of the Messenger of Alláh and of his wa#i,
Alike unto them when I diligently compare and see.
Verses such as these are innumerable, uncountable, Wassalam.
Sincerely,
Sh
=====================
[1] This verse, and all the poetic verses and martials which precede it, are quoted in the books of biographies and chronicles, especially the ones dealing with the battles of the Camel and Siffín. They have been quoted in their entirety by the researching scholar Ibn Abul-\adíd on page 47 and its following pages up to page 50, Vol. 1, of his Shar< Nahjul Balághah, Egyptian edition, where he explains the khutba of the Commander of the Faithful (as) referring to Mu<ammad's progeny (as) and to what they have said about him, including the following: "They have the distinction of being divinely granted the right to rule, and in them the Prophet's will is preserved, and they are the ones who inherit his legacy." Having quoted these verses and martials, he says verbatim: "The verses containing this word `wa#iyya' [will] are numerous, but we have mentioned here some of them where there is reference to the two parties (meaning Abu Mikhnaf's book dealing with the Battle of Camel, and Na#r ibn Muzá<im's book dealing with the Battle of Siffín); besides these, the references are uncountable and innumerable. We would have filled many pages of them had we not feared boredom and monotony."
[2] Zafr's verse, and both couplets composed by Khuzaymah before it, in addition to the couplets composed by Abu Sufyán which preceded them, are all narrated by Imám al-Iskáfi in his book Naq_ al-`Uthmániyya, and they are transmitted by Ibn Abul-\adíd at the end of his commentary on the qá#i`a sermon on page 258 and the pages following it, Vol. 3, of Shar< Nahjul Balághah, Egyptian edition.
[3] When scholar Shaykh Mu<ammad Ma<müd al-Ráfi`i came to the conclusion of his commentary on this verse in his own commentary on the verses composed by the poet al-Kumait in praise of the descendants of Háshim, he said: "Meaning `Ali, may Alláh glorify his countenance, who is named wa#i because the Messenger of Alláh aw#a [left a will] regarding him." The same is narrated about Ibn Buraydah who quotes his father citing the Prophet (pbuh) saying: "For every Prophet there is a wa#i, and `Ali is my wa#i and the heir of my legacy." Al-Tirmithi states that the Prophet (pbuh) is quoted saying: "To whomsoever I have been a master, this `Ali is his master." Al-Bukhári quotes Ibn Sa`d saying that the Messenger of Alláh (pbuh) headed to Tabük, leaving `Ali (as) behind. `Ali (as) asked him: "Do you thus leave me with children and women?" He said: "Are you not pleased that your status to me is like that of Aaron to Moses, except there will be no prophet after me?" Ibn Qays al-Raqiyyát has said:
Among us are: A<med the Prophet, the truthful, the pious, the man of wisdom;
And `Ali and Ja`fer with two wings: They are the wasi, and the man of martyrdom.
This is something which poets used to always say about `Ali (as) with a great elaboration. Then he testifies to the poetry we have first quoted by Kuthayyir `Azzah.
[4] Mu<ammad Ma<müd al-Ráfi`i, the commentator, says verbatim: "Meaning vicegerent after the Messenger of Alláh."
[5] The poem starts with: "Gazelles that made the dusty dunes glitter like stars," which is included in his díwán (collection of poems).