( 57 )
reasoning: "God had created me without consulting Abu
Talib. Why should I need his counsel to worship God?" ( 1 )
It is a short statement
but it announces a great deal of
independent thinking
capability of forming opinion
and
depth in faith. It is a logic which is not marred by contradiction. Ali loved his father and believed that a child owes
his father a genuine obedience. But he knew that the obedience of the father is not absolute. It has its own limitation .
His counsel ought to be sought only when the matter is not
clear. When truth becomes evident
consultation becomes
useless. To Ali
the truth of Mohammad was as clear as the
daylight. And it had become the duty of Ali to respond to
Mohammad's call and to respond to it immediately .
The message is new
and he does not know what the
attitude of his father will be toward the new faith. Abu
Talib may believe in what his small child believed in.
Should this be the case
it would please the father to see his
son preceding him in accepting the truth. But Abu Talib
may hesitate to accept the new faith
and Ali cannot delay
his response to the call of His Lord. The Creator of Abu
Talib and of his son has much more right than Abu Talib
to be obeyed.
It is well known that Ali was the first Muslim. lbn
Husham recorded that Ali Ibn Abu Talib was the first
male to believe in the Messenger of God and that he prayed
with him while he was 10 years old. (2) It is reported that
when the time of prayer came
the Messenger used to go
outside Mecca
accompanying Ali to offer their prayer
then come back in the evening.
It is reported that Anas Ibn Malik said: "The Messenger was commissioned on Monday and Ali believed in
him on Tuesday." ( 3)
Mohammad lbn Majah in his Sunan and Al-Hakim in
( 1 ) Dr. Mohammad Hussein Haikal Hayat Mohammad (Life of Mohammad) p. 138.
( 2 ) Ibn Husham Al-Searat (Biography of the Prophet) Part 1 p.245.
( 3 ) Al-Hakim Al-Mustadrak Part 3 p. 112.
|