Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 2 of 2

634 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia
Look, may Allah bless you, at how people with misguided
ideas can influence the people that they mix with and sit with. Even
though Shabeeb was not happy with the idea of killing 'Ali because
of what he knew of his great efforts in support of Islam and his
seniority with regard to being with the Prophet (g), he responded to
Ibn Maljam when he persuaded him with his specious arguments,
reminding him that 'Ali (&) had killed his fellow Kharijite
renegades. Thus he stirred up his emotions and convinced him, even
though these brethren had been killed lawfully, not unlawfully. He
responded to his request and agreed with him, and the outcome was
corrupted thinking, a mined reputation and obvious loss.
This reminds every Muslim to beware of keeping company
with anyone who has corrnpt beliefs and deviant ideas, and to hasten
to sit with devoted scholars who know the trnth and act upon it and
guide people to that which serves their best interests in this world and
the hereafter. If he does not accept that straight path and mixes with
these deviants and is influenced by their beliefs, he will end up biting
his fingers in regret at a time when regret is to no avail,1z89 as Allah
(&) says:
(And [remember] the Day when the - dhsim [wrongdoer, oppressor,
polytheist] will bite at his hands, he will say: 'Oh! Would that I had
taken a path with the Messenger [Muhammad].' 'Ah! Woe to me!
Would that I had never en so-and-so as an intimate friend! He
indeed led me astray from the Reminder [this Qur'an] after it had
come to me. And Satan is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need.'b
(Qur'an 25: 27-29)
These are some of the lessons to be leamed from the slaying of
Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ibn Abi T ab (&), the devoted scholar
who spent his entire life submitting to Allah (&), turning to Him
always. He showed us a blessed way to follow and set a blessed
example for us to emulate.