Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

Xli ibn Abi Trilib 581
Mondays and Thursdays. It was narrated that Sa'eed ibn Abi Sa'eed
said: "I was with Ibn 'Abbk, and a man came and said: '0 Ibn
'Abbis, how do you fast?' He said: 'I fast Mondays and Thursdays.'
He said: &Why?' He said: 'Because deeds are taken up at that time,
and I like my deeds to be taken up when I am fasting.""7'
He was also very generous and acknowledged the position and
status of the senior Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
Once Abu Ayyoob al-An$%-i (&) was going through some financial
difficulties and was burdened with debts. He came to stay with Ibn
'Abbb, who emptied his house for him and said: "I shall do for you
what you did for the Messenger of Allah (@J."'~~ Then he said:
"How much is your debt?" Abn Ayyoob said: "Twenty thousand."
So Ibn 'Abbb gave him forty thousand, and twenty slaves, and
everything that was in the house.173
He was one of the most eloquent of people and had an amazing
ability to make listeners understand. It was narrated that al-A'mash
said: "Abu WPil told us: 'Ibn 'Abbb addressed us when he was the
leader of the hajj. He started to recite Soorat an-Noor, reciting and
explaining the meaning. I said: I have never seen or heard a man who
speaks like that. If the Persians, Romans and Turks heard him, they
would become M~slirn.""~~ He was one of the most handsome,
most eloquent and most knowledgeable of people. It was narrated
that Masrooq said: "When I saw Ibn 'Abbss, I thought he was the
most handsome of people; when he spoke, I thought he was the most
eloquent of people; when he preached, I thought he was the greatest
of people."'75 AlLQ2sim ibn Muhammad said: "I never saw any talk
of falsehood in the gathering of Ibn ' ~bb6.'"~~ When he (&) lost
his sight before his death, he said in verse concerning that:
If Allah takes the light from my eyes,
still there is light from that light
on my tongue and in my heart ... 177