Heartiest felicitations to you on a very auspicious day. Today, the 13th of Rajab is the day when the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca came alive with the birth in its sacred precincts of a person who continues to transcend history and all historical developments. He is the Commander of the Faithful, the Leader of the Pious, Imam Ali ibn Abil Taleb (PBUH), the dearest cousin, ward, son-in-law, and divinely-designated vicegerent of the Almighty’s Last Messenger to mankind, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).
What could be written about a man, whose birthplace Divine Providence decreed to be the holiest of all holy spots, that is, the Ka’ba, and who was martyred 63 years later during communion with the Lord in prayer in the Grand Mosque of Kufa, also a symbolic House of God?
No, no mortal can dwell on the virtues of the person who reposes in peace in the company of his illustrious forbears, Adam and Noah, in the golden-domed mausoleum of Najaf that continues to be the focal point of world attention despite the American occupation of the land of Iraq.
He reigns supreme over human hearts and stands steadfast similar to the proverbial firmness of his site of birth towards which foreheads all over the globe bow in prostration and around which all pilgrims revolve in reverence. No doubt, his cousin and father-in-law, the Prophet had rightly remarked as recorded by all denominations of Islam, including our Sunni brethren:
“O Ali! Your position is like that of the Ka’ba.” The Prophet had also said:
“Ali is with truth and truth is with Ali.”
These immortal words are indeed food for thought for all seekers of truth from anywhere on the Planet, especially since we are celebrating the blessed birth anniversary of the Founder of the only instance of the government of social justice, Imam Ali (PBUH).
The 13th of Rajab has once again dawned to fill the hearts of believers with joy. Such is the soothing effect of his name on the hearts and minds of believers that even those whose homes and hearths have been destroyed by the US occupiers of Iraq and whose dear ones killed, that they leave aside their worldly grievances and join the celestial angels in celebrating the birthday of the fulcrum of belief; faith in whom ensures the eternal bliss of paradise, and enmity to whom leads to the abysmal depths of infernal hell.
A famous hadith quoted by Abu Bakr from the Prophet says:
On the Day of Judgement none will be allowed by the angels to pass the sirat or the bridge leading to paradise, unless they possess the document of Ali’s wilaya, that is, God-given authority.
His multi-dimensional personality is certainly beyond the ken of ordinary human beings. He continues to glow as brilliantly as he did in his lifetime. No doubt he was of the same celestial light as Prophet Muhammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). The Prophet has said in this regard: “I and Ali are of the same light.”
On the 13th of Rajab, over 1450 lunar years ago, the holy Ka’ba in Mecca came alive. Suddenly the wall of Abraham’s edifice, built wholly for God Almighty at the dawn of creation, parted and gave way to a lady who was praying to the One and Only Creator to ease her blessed burden. The wall closed in behind her as she entered, in order to prove it was not a haphazard incident but a manifest miracle. The spectacle was mind-boggling for the Arab infidels who rushed towards the door of the Ka’ba to try to break in, but the locks held firmly fast. It was even more baffling for the few Christians that lived in the then obscure Mecca. Those of them blessed with insight realized that Fatema bint Asad, the wife of the noble Ishmaelite patriarch Abu Taleb, was certainly carrying in her womb a soul greater than the Messiah. If not, how could the symbolic house of the Lord allow her to enter its sancta sanctorum, when centuries earlier the Virgin Mary had been commanded by God to leave Bayt ol-Moqaddas and go elsewhere for giving birth to Prophet Jesus (PBUH)!
It was a divinely unique way for heralding the birth of the person who combined in his peerless personality the virtues of not just Jesus, but all other prominent prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses. No wonder, he was named Ali, meaning the “Lofty” – an attribute of his Creator the Lord Most High – and was destined to be groomed by no less a personality than that greatest of all human beings, the Almighty’s Last and Greatest of all Messengers, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
The multi-dimensional personality of Imam Ali (PBUH) cannot be fathomed by a brief radio programme. He is a person who transcends history and all historical developments. He embodied all such excellent qualities as piety, bravery, generosity, magnanimity, modesty, wisdom, justice, insight, eloquence of speech, etc. to the extent that mankind will forever remain indebted to him.
Three days after the 13th of Rajab, as the walls of the Ka’ba parted for the second time and this time to allow Fatema bint Asad to step out with the radiant baby, the two shafts of divine light met each other. Cousin smiled at cousin, as beaming parents looked on, although 30 years of earthly age separated them. From the day the Prophet decided to personally take charge of the toddler Ali (PBUH), the destiny of mankind was revolutionized. If the former would be chosen by God Almighty as the last and the greatest of divine messengers on Mount Hera, the latter would be selected by the One and Only Creator as the first infallible Imam on the Day of Ghadir, that is, 18th of Zilhijja, in the year 10 AH.
In between these two memorable dates, that spanned a period of almost 23 years, were to fall the decisive events in the history of monotheism such as the fateful Night of the Hijrah, on which the Imam slept on the Prophet’s bed in order enable the latter to migrate to Medina from Mecca. Mention could also be made of the crucial battles of Badr, Ohod, Khandaq, Khaibar, where it was the valour of Imam Ali (PBUH) that saved infant Islam. Another glorious event that ensured the truth of Islam was the memorable Day of Mubahela or dialogue with the Christians of Najran, where Imam Ali (PBUH) along with his two young sons, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them) as well as his wife Hazrat Fatema (peace upon her), the Prophet’s daughter, accompanied the Prophet, as commanded by God to establish the supremacy of Islam. As a matter of fact, the pivotal role of Imam Ali (PBUH) is evident at every state in the flowering of Islam as the lieutenant of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).
After the passing away of the Prophet, the other dynamic aspects of the valourous, pious, patient and generous Imam were to bloom. He compiled the Holy Qur’an between two covers; he laid the foundations of Arabic grammar; he displayed the art of eloquence, he bore no malice towards those who had deprived him for 25 years of his divinely designated political rights and he even through his gems of advice saved them from sure disaster, as is evident by the words of the second caliph: “If there was no Ali Omar would have perished.”
Imam Ali (PBUH) is thus the personification of wisdom, forbearance, generosity and administrative abilities that culminate in the model government of social justice that he set up from his capital of Kufa in Iraq, when the caliphate came begging at his threshold.
US President Barack Obama’s diplomacy is about to get a stern test in Russia, home of a wary public, a two-headed leadership and a lingering bit of hard feelings. According to AP, Obama arrives in Moscow on Monday for a full-scale two-day summit, the first of its kind since the early part of the George W. Bush presidency. He is sure to emerge with tangible signs of progress – including another step toward the world’s two largest nuclear powers reducing their arsenals.
At least 140 people have been killed and more than 800 others injured as ethnic violence erupted in China’s restive Xinjiang region. According to Xinhua, a government spokesman confirmed on Monday that at least 140 people were killed, after hundreds of locals took to the streets of the regional capital Urumqi on Sunday evening — burning and smashing vehicles and confronting police and anti-riot troops.
The Iranian Navy has deployed two warships to join international efforts to preserve shipping security in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden. According to IRIB, Iran’s Deputy Naval Commander, Gholam-Reza Khadem, said Monday that the dispatched warships are set to replace aging vessels and protect Iranian merchant containers and oil tankers from Somali pirates in the volatile Gulf of Aden. The dispatch comes only a week after the Iranian navy saved one if its giant oil tankers from the grips of Somali pirates.
Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Monday that Syrian President Bashar Assad must understand that Israel would not hand over the occupied Golan Heights on a “silver platter” so long as Damascus continued its ties with Iran and Hezbollah.
Oil prices fell sharply on Monday, extending heavy losses seen last week caused by poor jobs data in the United States, the world’s biggest energy-consuming nation, analysts said. Prices slumped despite a new pipeline attack in Nigeria, an important exporter of oil. In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in August dropped 1.73 dollars to 63.88 dollars a barrel. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, shed 1.58 dollars to 64.05 dollars a barrel. “Prices are extending their losses from last week based on the poor jobs report in the United States,” said Tony Nunan, an energy risk manager with Mitsubishi Corp. “People are starting to wonder about the strength of the US economic recovery… This does not look good for oil demand because it means that consumer spending will remain weak.” A closely watched US Labor Department report last week showed US job losses had surged more than expected to 467,000 in June, pushing the unemployment rate to a new 26-year high of 9.5 percent. The report, seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum, reversed the improvement seen the previous month when job losses fell to 322,000. Crude futures slid on Monday despite fresh unrest in Nigeria.
Jafria News 
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