The Status of Ali
The Prophet Muhammed (sawa) had mentioned to everyone the status of Ali (as) throughout his life; which can be depicted in various hadith’s
such as: The Prophet said, "Ali is the door of my knowledge, and the one who will clarify for my nation that which I was sent with." (Tafsir
Al-Tabari, 3/171). This hadith depicts that the only way to get to the Prophet (sawa) is through Ali (as) who is the door to his knowledge; which
shows the greatness of Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (as). Many times the Prophet Muhammed (sawa) has compared Imam Ali (as) to the Quran. The
Prophet said, "Ali is with the Qur'an, and the Qur'an is with Ali ." (Al-Bukhari, 5/19; Muslim, 2/360). There are thousands of narrations which
portray the greatness of Imam Ali (as) and show how much love the Prophet (sawa) had for him. It can be said that Imam Ali (as) witnessed the
rise of Islam and was always on duty for Allah. Imam Ali (as) married the daughter of the holy Prophet, Fatima (as); which goes on to show
what a great personality Imam Ali (as) was, that he married the only daughter of the Prophet (sawa) and the Prophet thought of him as the best
for his daughter.
The Devotion of Ali
The devotion towards Islam that Imam Ali (as) had could not be seen in any other companion of the prophet. He would be willing to sacrifice
himself for the sake of the religion. On one occasion Imam Ali (as) was ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of the Holy Prophet Muhammed
(sawa). The disbelievers made a plan to kill the Holy Prophet (sawa) by surprise. The disbelievers chose a member from each family to kill the
Prophet (sawa) so that every tribe would be involved in his killing and no one would be capable in taking revenge against them. The Prophet
(sawa) received a revelation about the disbelievers plan. Allah had ordered him to make a migration away from Makkah in the darkness of the
night. The prophet needed an individual who would be ready to sacrifice himself. There was no one other than Imam Ali (as) that the prophet
could turn to. The Prophet (sawa) told Imam Ali (as) "God has informed me that the infidels will break through the house to kill me so today
you sleep on my bed." Imam Ali (as) went ahead and accepted it with a smile. The night had come and the Prophet (sawa) went towards the
caves. Imam Ali (as) had taken the place of the Prophet on his bed. The disbelievers had invaded the house and got ready to attack with their
swords and spears and they see that Ali (as) is laying on the bed of the Holy Pr