LESSON FOR MUSLIMS

[EMTL]

Assalamu alaikum,
In the heat of the battle, Imam Ali found himself straddling his enemy. A skilled and stealthy warrior, the fourth Caliph of Islam was always decisive in battle. Fighting only when the cause was just and necessary, he now held his sword high, ready to deliver the final blow. Then came the great insult. The enemy, seeing his end was near, spit violently into Imam Ali’s face. The sword came down suddenly, not into the man’s heart, but back into its sheath. Imam Ali quickly got up and withdrew from the fight. The spared combatant looked relieved and exasperated. Why had the great Ali let him live? I was fighting you for the sake of Allah, in the name of God, Imam Ali declared. When you spit in my face I felt anger rise up within me, he continued, and I realized that I was going to smite you, not in the name of justice, but out of revenge for your insult – that was something that I could not do.

Muslims would be wise to embrace Imam Ali’s convictions.