Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Hadhrat Ali considered it fardh to participate in war.  There is only one battle he did participate with the Prophet (tabuk).  He not only participated but was the standard (flag) bearer of the wars.  He thought it fardh to fight during his own khaliphat.  Why would he not fight for over 15 years and then start again????

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Hadrat Ali was the standard flag bearer in wars

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

This is indeed true that Hadrat Ali (r.a.) indeed participated in almost all the wars during the life of the Prophet Mohamed (saws), except the Battle of Tabuk. But to claim that Hadrat was the standard (flag) bearer of these wars is absolutely untrue. In the all important Battles of Badr and Uhud, the standard (flag) bearer was Hadrat Musaib bin Umair (r.a.). Neither was Ali the standard or flag bearer in the takeover of Makkah, Battle of Hunain, etc. In most of the battles, he was not even the Commander of the Army; as in the wisdom and opinion of the Messenger of Allah (saws), there were believers who were more suited to that post than Hadrat Ali (r.a.).

In view of your regular discrepancies, it would be best if we can both come to a common source when talking about the History of the Muslims, because you generally quote incidents which never took place, or give non-factual information. You tell me what books of History and what collections of Hadiths satisfy you; and then I will refer to the same and we can have a genuine and factual discussion.

And Allah Alone Knows Best, and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan