The English translation and brief commentary of the famous sermon of Imam Ali (as) whose text does not contain a single letter with a dot.
A Sermon Without Dots
The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: I am the house of wisdom and ‘Ali is its door
(Sahih al-Tirmidhi, (Cairo edition), Kitab al-Manaqib, vol. 5, p. 637, hadith number 3723)
The knowledge, wisdom and eloquence of Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (a) is well known among Muslims of all schools of thought. One such example of his mastery over the Arabic language manifested itself in this extempore sermon which, in its written form, is devoid of any dots !!
This sermon appears to have been delivered by Imam ‘Ali (a) on the occasion of someone’s marriage (nikah), and may well have been his own marriage. It has been quoted by several scholars such as:
• Muhammad Rida al-Hakimi, Saluni qabl an tafqiduni, vol. 2, pp. 442-3.
• Sayyid al-Musawi, al-Qatarah min bihar manaqib Aal-Nabi wa al-`Itrah, vol. 2, p. 179
• Hasun al-Dulafi, Fada’il Aal al-Rasul, p. 6
هذه خطبة لأمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب (ع) جميع حروف كلماتها خالية من ذكر "النقطة":
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
الحمد لله الملك المحمود، المالك الودود، مصور كل مولود، ومآل كل مطرود، ساطح المهاد وموطد الأطواد، ومرسل الأمطار ومسهل الأوطار، عالم الأسرار ومدركها، ومدمر الأملاك ومهلكها، ومكور الدهور ومكررها، ومورد الأمور ومصدرها، عم سماحه وكمل ركامه، وهمل، طاول السؤال والأمل، وأوسع الرمل وأرمل،
أحمده حمدا ممدودا، وأوحده كما وحد الأواه، وهو الله لا إله للأمم سواه، ولا صادع لما عدل له وسواه، أرسل محمدا علما للإسلام وإماما للحكام، سددا للرعاع ومعطل أحكام ود وسواع، أعلم وعلم، وحكم وأحكم، وأصل الأصول، ومهد وأكد الموعود وأوعد، أوصل الله له الإكرام، وأودع روحه الإسلام،
ورحم آله وأهله الكرام، ما لمع رائل وملع دال، وطلع هلال، وسمع إهلال. إعملوا رعاكم الله أصلح الأعمال، واسلكوا مسالك الحلال، واطرحوا الحرام ودعوه، واسمعوا أمر الله وعوه، و صلوا الأرحام و راعوها، وآعصوا الأهواء وآردعوها، وصاهروا أهل الصلاح والورع،
و صارموا رهط اللهو والطمع، ومصاهركم أطهر الأحرار مولدا وأسراهم سؤددا، وأحلامكم موردا، وها هو إمامكم وحل حرمكم مملكا، عروسكم المكرمه، وما مهر لها كما مهر رسول الله أم سلمه، وهو أكرم صهر، و أودع الأولاد، وملك ما أراد، وما سهل مملكه ولا هم ولا وكس ملاحمه ولا وصم، اسأل الله لكم أحمد وصاله، ودوام إسعاده، وألهم كلا إصلاح حاله والأعداد لمآ له ومعاده، وله الحمد السرمد، والمدح لرسوله أحمد.
What is so special about this sermon?
Those who know Arabic or can at least read the Qur’anic script will appreciate that certain letters of the Arabic alphabet have dots associated with them. These letters are listed below and are used all the time in Arabic speech and written texts.
ب ت ث ج خ ذ ز ش ض ظ غ ف ق ي
To create any written script of any meaningful nature, without using any of these letters, is a difficult task. To deliver such a sermon without prior preparation, as Imam ‘Ali (a) is known to have done with all his sermons, is truly amazing!
[Note: The letter representing taa marbutah used to be written without dots in early Arabic script]
Are there any other such sermons?
Imam ‘Ali (a) once delivered another beautiful sermon which was without the letter alif !!
This letter of the Arabic alphabet is undoubtedly the most commonly occurring character in the language. If composing a few meaningful sentences without dots is hard enough, how about delivering a sermon, one which is full of wisdom and which is many times the size of the one you have just seen, but without ever using a single alif !!
This sermon is usually called al-Khutbah al-Muniqah and is recorded by many Muslim scholars. Amongst the Sunni scholars who quote it can be mentioned:
• Muhammad b. Muslim al-Shafi’i, Kifayat al-Talib, p. 248
• Ibn Abi’l Hadid al-Mu’tazili, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. 19, p. 140
How could Imam ‘Ali (a) accomplish such a feat?
Imam ‘Ali (a) derived his vast knowledge and striking eloquence by virtue of his long and close association with the Prophet Muhammad (s). The Prophet (s), with Divine inspiration, was the source of all such knowledge and wisdom and a teacher par excellence for Imam ‘Ali (a).