Foreword By the Compiler: ‘Ali Reza Sabiri Yazdi

الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ، والصلوۃ والسلام عَلٰی خَیْرِ خَلْقِہٖ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلہِ الطِّاھِرینَ واللعنۃ الدائمتة علی اعدائھم اجمعین

Al-Hamdu lil-Lahi Rabb al-‘Alameen, Wa as-salat wa as-salam 'ala Khayr Khalqih, Muhammad, wa 'ala Ahlih, at-taharin. Wa al-la'anat al-da’ayimato al-a'da'ihim ajma'in.

کتاب فضل تو را آب بحر کافی نیست

کہ تر کنند سرانگشت و صفحہ بشمارند

The book of your virtues, the water of the sea is not enough
For they wet the tips of their fingers and count the pages

Who is ‘Ali (‘a)? How can we understand ‘Ali (‘a)? It is for Ali’s Creator to provide the material to understand ‘Ali (‘a). We should understand ‘Ali (‘a) from the words of the Prophet (S) and Gabriel should provide the introduction; it is for his wife Fatimah (‘a) who should introduce ‘Ali (‘a) to us. How can anyone discuss a personality who is mentioned in ancient revealed Scriptures of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David, the Bible [Evangel] of Jesus and the Qur’an of Muhammad (S).

It is impossible for man to reach the pinnacle of his cognizance. To understand him one needs to scale the skies and to accompany the Prophet in his ascension. Any attempt to understand ‘Ali (‘a) in any other fashion would be like delving into the depths of a dark unfathomed cave while searching for the sun. One has to come out of the depths [of ignorance] in order to understand the irradiance that is ‘Ali (‘a) and if one is unable to scale great heights [of cognizance], one should at least be on an even surface [devoid of prejudices] so that he might see the brilliance of the sun, provided there is no obstacle in the way.

The expanse of this world in which we live is inadequate for ‘Ali (‘a) to spread the full expanse of his glory and thus disclose the grandeur of his being. When the mountains are torn to shreds, when the seas dry up, when the eerie deserts vanish, when the sun is extinguished along with the moon and stars, when the man would be deprived of the capacity of speech and movement and when nothing remains except the ONE, His Messenger (S) and ‘Ali (‘a) to rule their kingdom, on that Day and occasion Allah will present ‘Ali (‘a) in his full majesty and glory before those assembled on Doomsday. What do we know who is ‘Ali (‘a)? But Allah through His revelations and Gabriel through his Messages have presented the Effulgent countenance of ‘Ali (‘a).

And yet, the Prophet did not lift the veil from the Effulgent face of ‘Ali (‘a). However, on occasions like the night of Ascension, the Battle of the Ditch, the Battle of Uhud, the Battle of Khaybar and Laylat al-mabit [the night of migration] - on every occasion and every place - there was an ongoing elaboration between Allah, Muhammad, and Gabriel about Ali’s merits. Of course, Allah has described the stellar qualities embodied in ‘Ali (‘a); the Messenger has elaborated on his status and merits. In that sense, ‘Ali (‘a) shines before us like the sun on a clear day.

‘Ali (‘a) is the one who, on the command of Allah, was declared the Imam and Caliph through the Prophet (S) at Ghadir Khumm on the occasion of the Prophet’s last pilgrimage. On that day, God removed even the remotest possibility of a lurking doubt in a wavering mind; nor was there the remotest chance of an excuse. ‘Ali (‘a) was the first to believe and affirm the Prophethood of Muhammad (S). Unmatched and unique was ‘Ali (‘a) in his faith and piety; in wisdom and prudence, judiciousness and equity. ‘Ali (‘a) was the foremost in the line of worshippers and the leader in every skirmish and battle. In the distribution of public funds, he was scrupulously just and honest. Better it is for us to stop counting his merits and virtues and let the matter speak for itself.

The Reason Behind The Compilation

From the year 1354 of the Solar Calendar, I was engaged in collecting Ahadith. One of my objects was to collect the Ahadith concerning ‘Ali (‘a). By the year 1378, I was able to collect about 700 Ahadith relating to ‘Ali (‘a). Our leader had declared the year 1379 as ‘the Year of Amir Al-Mu’minin’ - as in that year the Ghadir festival fell twice and was celebrated twice. I thought that it would be best if I could publish a book of Ahadith eulogizing Imam ‘Ali (‘a). Taking the Spirit of ‘Ali (‘a) as my guide and placing my trust in Allah, I immediately went about the task of collecting the Ahadith. By the Grace of God, the work was completed much before the anticipated period. However, I wanted people of all sects of Muslims to read the book and therefore provided all the nuances to present it to the kaleidoscope of readers. But this required more time and therefore there was a delay in publishing the book.

I am thankful to God for guiding me in presenting an anthology of one thousand merits and virtues of Imam ‘Ali (‘a) to his friends, admirers, and adorers. It is worth mentioning that this book of one thousand Ahadith, is divided into Five Parts, 18 Chapters, and 201 Sections, and is assembled from 206 Shia and Sunni origin and source books.

‘Ali Reza Sabiri Yazdi
Qom University,
1379 H., The Year of Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a)