Virtues, Morals & Qualities

With regard to Hazrat Ali’s (ra) virtues, morals and qualities, it is written in a narration by Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra) that the Holy Prophet (sa) stated:

أَنَا مَدِيْنَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَعَلِيٌّ بَابُهَا، فَمَنْ أَرَادَ الْمَدِينَةَ، فَلْيَأْتِ الْبَابَ

“I am a city of knowledge and Ali is the gate to this city. Anyone who intends to come to this city should arrive at its door.”

(Hakim al-Nishapuri, Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihain, Vol. 3, Hadith No. 4695 (Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr, 2002), p.339)

With regard to this, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:

“Hazrat Ali (ra) once stated that the bravest and most courageous among the Companions was Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra). He further stated that during the Battle of Badr, when a separate canopy was erected for the Holy Prophet (sa), at the time, the question arose as to who should be assigned to protect the Holy Prophet (sa). Upon this, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) stood with an unsheathed sword and with the utmost bravery, organised for safeguarding the Holy Prophet (sa). Similarly, it is mentioned in the ahadith that on one occasion, the Holy Prophet (sa) stated:

أَنَا‭ ‬مَدِيْنَةُ‭ ‬الْعِلْمِ‭ ‬وَعَلِيٌّ‭ ‬بَابُهَا‬‬‬‬

“‘I am a city of knowledge and Ali is the gate to this city.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) declared Hazrat Ali (ra) to be one of the scholars, but during the Battle of Khaybar, at the most delicate of times, the Holy Prophet (sa) gave the Islamic flag to Hazrat Ali (ra). From this, it is proven that during the time of the Holy Prophet (sa), the scholars did not show cowardice; in fact, they were the bravest of all.”

(Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 7, pp. 364-365)

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra), in regard to the bravery of the scholars, mentioned this incident.