Author: Majid Massoudi - Translator: Seyyid Farid Mohammadi - Publisher: Ansariyan Publication –First Edition: 2008 – 1387 – 1429 - Sadr Press Pages: 48
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
The battle of Nahrawan with all its hardships ended finally
It had been so bitter and full of painful events, much more than the battles of Jamal and Siffeen. After that, Ameerul Mo'minin, Ali ibn abi Talib (a.s.) with his small group of followers returned to Kufa. When he entered the city, (or some say: the day after he returned), he went directly to the mosque of Kufa, and before the masses of people, he began his sermon by saying, “O people! It was I, who cut the roots of sedition and rebellion! Something that no one had been able to do, but I did it! Even though the waves of darkness turned to a great storm and its difficulty increased more and more. So, before loosing me, ask me about whatsoever that you wish to know! I swear by Allah in Whose Hand my soul rests, that if you wish to ask me about everything that will happen in these days to come until the Resurrection Day, I will answer them all! Or ask me about some specific or unknown groups which shall direct hundreds of persons in the right path, or on the contrary, mislead them, alas! I will tell you who is their leader, where they will set up their camp and which one of them shall die…”
After the sermon, some people stood up and asked him some questions. Among the masses of people, there was a sad looking Jewish man. He listened patiently to the words of Imam Ali (a.s.) and he was most surprised about that strange pretension. He knew that this strange request was so important “ask me before loosing me” that if somebody should happen to talk about it, he should be either a Prophet or a Prophet’s successor. He was deeply drowned in his thoughts. He then went to his lonely room to think better. He was one of the great Jewish Rabbis; a famous man and a most wise Rabbi in the whole Arab Peninsula. A few days ago, he had arrived in disguise to Kufa, and had taken a room for himself in a small inn. He searched for a man with some specific characteristics and features that he had found in Moses’ Torah and the Gospel of Jesus.
That day, when he saw Imam Ali (a.s.) for the first time, he felt that he had known this man for many years. When he heard the words of Imam Ali (a.s.), a strange impression came into his heart. People around him told him that Imam Ali (a.s.) was the fourth caliph of the Muslims. However, some other groups of men thought that he was the right caliph and the very first Imam and the successor of the last Prophet (a.s.).
This Jewish man knew about Mohammad son of Abdullah as the holy Prophet of Islam. He had also had heard some great things about a brave man who had never turned his back to any war, and never escaped from any violent combat; a man who had always stood by the Prophet (a.s.) and was known as his dearest “brother”. He had heard about all the events that had happened after the advent of Islam. Nevertheless, up to now, he had never been able to see Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam, or Ali ibn Abi Talib for that matter. Finally, he saw Ali (a.s.) that day and heard his words… even though for a short time, but it was still enough to heal the old wounds of his soul and answer all his complex and unanswered questions, that which his thirsty heart and mind had formed helplessly for do long...
On the other hand, he could not accept easily that this man was the “one”; the same man that he had always called inside the labyrinth of his thoughts and heart, the “one” that he had prayed Allah to find and meet one day in the world. When he stood near one of the walls of Kufa and looked at the blue sky, he whispered to himself: “Maybe it is truly him that I had envisioned for so many years? How many nights did he steal from my sleep and substituted it with extraordinary dreams!”
On the other hand, he eagerly wanted to satisfy himself that he had found him finally! He said to himself: “It is not right! I should not accept those feelings and satisfy myself! My mind tells me something else. I should examine and test him more carefully. According to my calculations, he should answer correctly to all of my questions. When he shall answer me correctly and prove himself as a worthy man, then I will know for sure. I am one of the noble men of the Jewish tribes, and I know everything that is to know about the Torah and the Gospel of Jesus! If I die like an ignorant man, anybody who believes in me, in my own tribe, will die like me, and in the hereafter, I shall face a serious problem. I think it is better not to anticipate the events and put my faith on this man. I should be more patient and find a good occasion to ask him about all my unanswered questions. I think this is a good idea, and then my heart will accept the truth at last...”
