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but he was duty-bound to enter the race. Had he shied away
from the Convention he would have given the other members an excuse for by-passing him or they could have
taken his refusal of the membership as an evidence of his
disinterest in leadership.
A refusal on his part to enter into the Electoral Convention would have put the Imam in an indefensible position in the eyes of history. It may lead us to think that he
deprived himself of the leadership when it was available to
him. We may think that he did not do his best to avoid
the ugly events which he was expecting .
Furthermore his absence from the Convention could
have been considered an irresponsible stand and an encouragement to the members to elect someone else. Thus
he would share with them the responsibility of their error.
It was his duty to attend the Convention and remind
its members of his right to the leadership and that the
members of the House of the Prophet are the source of
wisdom
a security of the people of the earth against straying
and a haven to whoever seeks such a security. And
this is what the Prophet meant when he commanded
the nation to follow the Book of God and the members
of his House
and likened them to the Ark of Noah.
The Imam fulfilled his obligation by attending the
Convention. He warned the members of the grave consequences of their wrong choice. He reminded them of the
right of the House of the Prophet in leadership
a right for
which the Prophet did not ask his relatives to fight.
History records that a dialogue between Ali and the
rest of the members of the Convention took place and
went as follows:
The Imam: I ask you in the name of God: Is there
among you anyone other than I whom the Prophet called
his brother?
The Members: None other than you.
The Imam: Is there any among you other than myself
about whom the Messenger said: whoever I am his
"Moula
" this Ali is his "Moula"?
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