Closeness of Prophet Mohammad SAWW to Imam Ali (AS) is Allah's Will

The closeness between The Prophet SAWW and Imam Ali AS began even before creation. The first thing Allah SWT created was the Noor (Light) of The Prophet SAWW. This was also the Noor of Imam Ali AS for, quoth The Prophet SAWW, “Ana wa Aliyyin min Noorin Wahid” (I and Ali are from one Noor). Al-Mas’udi in his Muruju ‘dh-dhahab quotes a lengthy hadith of The Prophet SAWW to the effect that when Allah SWT had created, first of all, The Light of Muhammad, He addressed him thus, “You are my chosen one and Trustee of My Light and Guidance. It is because of you that I am going to create the earth and the heavens, lay down reward and punishment, and bring into being the Garden and the Fire”. The tradition then goes on to speak about the Family of The Prophet SAWW, creation of the angels, of the souls, of the world, of the covenant taken from the souls about belief in One God and the prophethood of Muhammad SAWW. This is why Ibn Abbas is cited in Al-Tabarani’s Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir and Al-Khasai’s Al-Kubra quoting The Prophet SAWW saying; “I was Prophet when Adam was between the soul and the body (i.e. when Adam’s creation was in its initial stages)”.
No other person has this distinction of being part of The Light of Muhammad SAWW and the lahm (flesh) and dam (blood) of The Prophet SAWW, except Imam Ali ibni Abi Talib AS. Thus physical and spiritual closeness between The Prophet SAWW and Imam Ali AS is Allah SWT’s Will from day one.

When The Prophet SAWW ascended to the heavens physically to be shown the signs of Allah SWT, he saw Ali AS there. The Prophet SAWW asked Jibraeel AS if Ali had come with him too and Jibraeel replied that the angels were eager to see Ali AS. So, Allah SWT created an angel in the image of Ali AS. When Allah SWT spoke to The Prophet SAWW, He did so in the voice of Ali AS. This fact is vouched by even Ibn Taymiyya, an inveterate enemy of Shi’a and therefore of Imam Ali AS and of The Prophet SAWW. Ibn Taymiyya in Minhaju Ssunnah narrates that Abdullah Ibn Umar reports that the companions asked The Prophet SAWW how Allah SWT communicated with him when he ascended to the Presence of Allah SWT. The Prophet SAWW replied that Allah SWT spoke to him in the voice of Ali AS, for Allah SWT knew how much The Prophet SAWW loved Imam Ali AS and would want to hear Ali’s voice.

There is a controversy whether The Prophet SAWW’s ascension was bodily or in spirit only. The majority of traditionalists accept it as an actual bodily ascension similar to descent of Prophet Adam AS to earth and the ascension of Prophet Isa AS to the Fourth heaven. However, the Umayyad’s Department of Manufacture of Ahadith put out two ahadith that have been quoted by Christians, Ahmadis and some Sunnis. The first hadith is that ‘Ayishah, wife of The Prophet SAWW, is alleged to have said that during the whole night of Ascension, the body of The Prophet SAWW was on the bed.

The fact of the matter is that Mi’raj took place in Makkah three years before the Hijrah. ‘Ayisha did not enter The Prophet SAWW’s house until the first year after Hijra i.e. four years after the Ascension took place. How could she have said that the body of the Prophet SAWW was on the bed that night? This tradition is an obvious forgery by a person ignorant of Islamic history. Besides, it glaringly contradicts The Qur’anic evidence of a bodily journey.

The second hadith is from Mu’awiyah who said that The Mi’raj was “a true dream”. Mu’awiyah was such an incorrigible enemy of The Prophet SAWW that in the 8^th year of the Hijra when Makkah fell at the feet of The Prophet SAWW and Abu Sufyan to save his skin accepted Islam, Mu’awiyah fled to Bahrain and wrote a nasty letter to his father condemning him for his acceptance of Islam. It was only in the 9^th year of the Hijra that he brought himself to accept Islam. The Mi’raj took place 10 to 12 years previously. How could Mu’awiyah have known if the Ascension was bodily or spiritual?

Another instance of how politics controlled the version of Islam professed by the Umayyads is one more example of a manufactured hadith. Abdul Malik ibn Marwan was ensconced in Damascus. Iraq and Hijaz were controlled by his rival Abdullah ibn Zubayr. Ibn Marwan did not like the idea of his subjects going to Hijaz (Makkah) for Hajj, so he enhanced the prestige of Baitil Maqdas and a tradition was forged omitting any reference to Mi’raj as a dream and instead the tradition of Baitil Maqdas being the final destination of Mi’raj became the currency. However, Ibn Zubayr was soon defeated and Hijaz came under Syrian control. Otherwise, there would have been two centers of Hajj for the Muslims!!

The forgery conspiracy was on account of enmity the Umayyads harbored againstThe Prophet SAWW and his progeny. But, try as they may to conceal the real facts, The Prophet SAWW’s love for Imam Ali AS could not be erased from the records, despite forgeries that attributed Ali’s qualities to others and the atrocities heaped upon The Prophet SAWW’s progeny. Todate The Prophet SAWW’s enemies in the guise of Muslims still exist and their machinations are evident in the spilling of innocent blood of Shi’a, declaring kufr against Shi’a and propagating falsehood against the Shi’a whom The Prophet SAWW himself testified as The People of Paradise because they accepted Allah SWT’s and The Prophet SAWW’s instructions to adhere to Ahlul Bayt AS.

In this month of Rajabul Murajjab, we shall celebrate the Mi’raj and the Bi’that on 27^th and before that on 13^th Rajab we shall celebrate the birth of Mauludul Ka’aba, Imam Ali ibni Abi Talib AS. This is another distinction unique to Imam Ali AS. Despite efforts to conceal this truth, the fact remains that no other person was ever or will be born inside The Kaa’ba, except for Imam Ali AS. There is also the joyous birthdate of our Fifth Imam Al-Baquir AS on 1^st Rajab and of our Ninth Imam Al-Taqi Al-Jawaad AS on 10^th Rajab.