Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

88 'Ali ibn Abi Ttilib in Makkah
BAnd put forward to them the example of the life of this world: it is
like the water [rain] which We send down from the sky, and the
vegetation of the earth mingles with it, and becomes fresh and green.
But [later] it becomes dry and broken pieces, which the winds scatter.
And Allah is Able to do everything. Wealth and children are the
adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds that
last, are better with your Lord for rewards and better in respect of
hope.), (Qur'nn 18: 45-46)
Allah (&) tells the M ush about the reality of this life, and
that it is not the place of honour, and that the hereafter is better and
more lasting. This enables the one in whose heart love of Allah and
His Messenger is entrenched to give precedence to pleasing Allah
(&) and His Messenger above anything else, even if the price of that
is this world and everything in it. Amir d-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&)
expressed this buth when he said: "0 world, try to deceive someone
else. Are you trying to tempt me or attract me? No way! I divorce you
irrevocably. Your time is short and you are insignificant. Alas! The
provision is little, the journey is long and the way is lonely.""6
His view of paradise was derived from the verses which
describe it, and he became one of those of whom Allah (s) says:
(Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope,
and they spend [in charity in Allah's Cause] out of what We have
bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of
joy as a reward for what they used to do.), (Qur'an 32: 16-17)
His concept of hell was derived from the Noble Qur'an, and
this concept became a deterrent which prevented him from going
astray from the laws of Allah (&). Anyone who studies the life of
Amir d-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) ... will see his deep understanding of
how one should prepare to meet Allah (g) and the extent to which
he should fear the wrath and punishment of Allah.