THE EPITHET ABU TURAB (according to Sahi Bukhari)
THE TEXT: Ibn Abi Hazim reports that someone complained to Sahl bin Sa'ad that people were verbally abusing Imam Ali. He asked him what actually was being said. The man said that he is being called Abu Turab. Sahl laughed and said:"This name (Abu Turab) was given to him by the Prophet himself. Ali loved this name more than his original one." The man wanted to hear the full story. Sahl reported: One day the Prophet went to his daughter's house and asked about Ali. She said, he had gone to the mosque. The Prophet came to the mosque, and saw Ali sleeping on the floor. His shirt had rolled up and his back was covered with dust (turab). The Prophet wiped the dirt off him and kept saying: “Rise Ya Aba Turab! Rise Ya Aba Turab!
The best explanation that has been given for this title (Abu Turab) of Imam Ali is in the long Farsi poem composed by the poet of the East, Dr. Iqbal. This is included in his collection titled: ASRAR-O-RUMOOZ. This was first translated into English by Nicholson. But that translation is not to be found now. The one given below is by Arberry.
The poem consists of 120 lines. I will quote some lines from the poem and explain Iqbal’s view as we go along.
The poem begins:
Muslim-e-Awwal shah-e-mardan Ali,
Ishq ra sarma-ye-eeman Ali.
Trans: Ali is the king of (all) men, he is the FIRST MUSLIM,
He is the treasure of FAITH for devotion (to Allah).
Az vila-ye doodmanash zindeh am,
Dar jahan misl-e-guhar tabindeh am.
Trans: It is the love for his family that is keeping me alive,
I am shining like a pearl in this world.
Zamzam ar jooshad ze-khak-e-man az oost,
May agar reezed ze tak-e-man az oost.
Trans: If zamzam springs forth from my dust, it is due to his(love),
If wine is dripping from my vines, it is due to his love.
Explanation: Every man is made of dust. So is the poet. He alludes to his own lofty ideas and metaphorically explains that if a man of such humble means as he, the poet, can come up with such beautiful poetry, it is only due to the emotional love he has for Imam Ali.
Az rukh-e-Oo fal payghambar giraft,
Millat-e-Haq az shikoh-ash far giraft
Trans: Allah’s messenger took augury from his face,
Allah’s party prospered from his glory and majesty.
Explanation: Iqbal is alluding to the day of Khaybar. The Prophet called Ali when everyone else had failed and it was due to his victory that Muslims prospered from that day on.
Mursal-e-Haq kard namash Booturab,
Haq Yadullah khwanad dar Ummul-Kitab.
Trans: Allah’s messenger named him ABU TURAB (father of dust),
The Book of Allah records him as (Yadullah) THE ARM OF ALLAH.
Har ki dana’ye rumooz-e zindigeest,
Sirr-e-asma-ye Ali danad ki cheest.
Trans: Everyone who understands the secret of success in life,
Knows the hidden meanings of the names of Ali.
Khak-e-tarik-e ki nam-e Oo tan ast,
Aql az beedad-e-oo dar shaywan ast.
Trans: this dark dust, whose name is human body,
Intellect is oppressed by its lust
Fikr-e-gardoon ras zameen payma az oo,
Chashm kor-o gosh na shunwa az oo.
Trans: Man’s lofty thought has been imprisoned by it,
Eyes are blind, ears do not hear because of it.
Sher-e-Haq een khak ra taskheer kard,
Een gil-e-tareek ra ikseer kard.
Trans: Allah’s Lion (Ali) conquered this dust,
He converted this dark dust into an elixir of life.
Murtaza kaz tegh-e-oo Haq rawshan ast,
Bar turab az fath-e iqleem-e-tan ast.
Trans: Murtaza is the one whose sword brightened the Truth,
He conquered the kingdom of his bodily soul by overpowering the dust.
Explanation: Iqbal is alluding to the day when Allah created man out of dust. Iblees refused to do sajdah to him, the angels raised their objection by saying that man will shed blood on the earth (Q.2:30-36). Both were pointing to man’s low creation in dust but both were totally ignorant of the qualities of the perfect man (Q.91: 1-9). In the person of Ali the perfect man was personified and he showed it by overcoming his human failings and showing those attributes that made man better than angels.
Mard kishwar geer az karraree ast,
Gawharash ra abroo khud-dari ast,
Trans: Man is victorious by his persistence,
His mettle is in his self-esteem.
Explanation: Iqbal is once again alluding to the day of Khaybar when the Prophet had said: “I will give this flag to the one who is a man and he attacks repeatedly without retreating (karraaran ghayra farrarin). And, even after killing the greatest and the strongest of the enemies, he did not take the personal property of any of the killed enemy soldiers, thus walking down the hill of Khaybar empty handed. Implicitly, Iqbal had derided all those who, as opposed to Imam Ali, would run away from the battlefield leaving the Prophet unprotected. That is what is meant by “khud-dari.”
Har ki dar afaaq gardad BuTurab,
Baaz gardanad ze maghrib aftab.
Trans: Anyone who has become BuTurab in this world,
Is capable of returning the setting sun from the west.
Explanation: After the victory of Khaybar, the Prophet sent Imam Ali to an errand. When Ali returned the Asr prayer had already been performed. The Prophet was tired. He put his head in Ali’s lap and went to sleep. When he woke up the sun had already set. He asked Ali if he had done his Asr prayer. Ali replied that he had not. The prophet pointed to the west and the sun returned until it shone on the hills. Thus Ali did his Asr prayer and the sun then set again. This is actually a very scientific line of poetry. The sun sets and rises because of the movement of the earth. Since, Ali had conquered the earth, he was fully capable of turning the movement of the earth so that the sun would come back from the west for him.
Zer paash inja shikoh-i-Khaybar ast,
Dast-e-oo unja qaseem-e-Kauthar ast.
Trans: In this world Khaybar lies at the feet of Ali,
In the other world his hand will distribute the drinks from the spring of Kauthar.
Az khud-agaahi Yadullahi kunad,
Az Yadullahi shahinshahi kunad.
Trans: He became the ARM OF ALLAH due to the self-knowledge,
Because of being the Arm of Allah, he became the king of kings.
Explanation: Iqbal is alluding to a famous saying of Imam Ali – man ‘arafa nafsuh, faqad ‘arafa rabbuh – one who has come to know his own self, has indeed come to know his lord.
And the poem goes on. For our purpose this much is sufficient. Iqbal is truly a devotee of Imam Ali. It is hard to find this passion in Ali’s love anywhere else. No such literature can be found in any other language from any other poet/thinker/philosopher.
THE TEXT: Ibn Abi Hazim reports that someone complained to Sahl bin Sa'ad that people were verbally abusing Imam Ali. He asked him what actually was being said. The man said that he is being called Abu Turab. Sahl laughed and said:"This name (Abu Turab) was given to him by the Prophet himself. Ali loved this name more than his original one." The man wanted to hear the full story. Sahl reported: One day the Prophet went to his daughter's house and asked about Ali. She said, he had gone to the mosque. The Prophet came to the mosque, and saw Ali sleeping on the floor. His shirt had rolled up and his back was covered with dust (turab). The Prophet wiped the dirt off him and kept saying: “Rise Ya Aba Turab! Rise Ya Aba Turab!
The best explanation that has been given for this title (Abu Turab) of Imam Ali is in the long Farsi poem composed by the poet of the East, Dr. Iqbal. This is included in his collection titled: ASRAR-O-RUMOOZ. This was first translated into English by Nicholson. But that translation is not to be found now. The one given below is by Arberry.
The poem consists of 120 lines. I will quote some lines from the poem and explain Iqbal’s view as we go along.
The poem begins:
Muslim-e-Awwal shah-e-mardan Ali,
Ishq ra sarma-ye-eeman Ali.
Trans: Ali is the king of (all) men, he is the FIRST MUSLIM,
He is the treasure of FAITH for devotion (to Allah).
Az vila-ye doodmanash zindeh am,
Dar jahan misl-e-guhar tabindeh am.
Trans: It is the love for his family that is keeping me alive,
I am shining like a pearl in this world.
Zamzam ar jooshad ze-khak-e-man az oost,
May agar reezed ze tak-e-man az oost.
Trans: If zamzam springs forth from my dust, it is due to his(love),
If wine is dripping from my vines, it is due to his love.
Explanation: Every man is made of dust. So is the poet. He alludes to his own lofty ideas and metaphorically explains that if a man of such humble means as he, the poet, can come up with such beautiful poetry, it is only due to the emotional love he has for Imam Ali.
Az rukh-e-Oo fal payghambar giraft,
Millat-e-Haq az shikoh-ash far giraft
Trans: Allah’s messenger took augury from his face,
Allah’s party prospered from his glory and majesty.
Explanation: Iqbal is alluding to the day of Khaybar. The Prophet called Ali when everyone else had failed and it was due to his victory that Muslims prospered from that day on.
Mursal-e-Haq kard namash Booturab,
Haq Yadullah khwanad dar Ummul-Kitab.
Trans: Allah’s messenger named him ABU TURAB (father of dust),
The Book of Allah records him as (Yadullah) THE ARM OF ALLAH.
Har ki dana’ye rumooz-e zindigeest,
Sirr-e-asma-ye Ali danad ki cheest.
Trans: Everyone who understands the secret of success in life,
Knows the hidden meanings of the names of Ali.
Khak-e-tarik-e ki nam-e Oo tan ast,
Aql az beedad-e-oo dar shaywan ast.
Trans: this dark dust, whose name is human body,
Intellect is oppressed by its lust
Fikr-e-gardoon ras zameen payma az oo,
Chashm kor-o gosh na shunwa az oo.
Trans: Man’s lofty thought has been imprisoned by it,
Eyes are blind, ears do not hear because of it.
Sher-e-Haq een khak ra taskheer kard,
Een gil-e-tareek ra ikseer kard.
Trans: Allah’s Lion (Ali) conquered this dust,
He converted this dark dust into an elixir of life.
Murtaza kaz tegh-e-oo Haq rawshan ast,
Bar turab az fath-e iqleem-e-tan ast.
Trans: Murtaza is the one whose sword brightened the Truth,
He conquered the kingdom of his bodily soul by overpowering the dust.
Explanation: Iqbal is alluding to the day when Allah created man out of dust. Iblees refused to do sajdah to him, the angels raised their objection by saying that man will shed blood on the earth (Q.2:30-36). Both were pointing to man’s low creation in dust but both were totally ignorant of the qualities of the perfect man (Q.91: 1-9). In the person of Ali the perfect man was personified and he showed it by overcoming his human failings and showing those attributes that made man better than angels.
Mard kishwar geer az karraree ast,
Gawharash ra abroo khud-dari ast,
Trans: Man is victorious by his persistence,
His mettle is in his self-esteem.
Explanation: Iqbal is once again alluding to the day of Khaybar when the Prophet had said: “I will give this flag to the one who is a man and he attacks repeatedly without retreating (karraaran ghayra farrarin). And, even after killing the greatest and the strongest of the enemies, he did not take the personal property of any of the killed enemy soldiers, thus walking down the hill of Khaybar empty handed. Implicitly, Iqbal had derided all those who, as opposed to Imam Ali, would run away from the battlefield leaving the Prophet unprotected. That is what is meant by “khud-dari.”
Har ki dar afaaq gardad BuTurab,
Baaz gardanad ze maghrib aftab.
Trans: Anyone who has become BuTurab in this world,
Is capable of returning the setting sun from the west.
Explanation: After the victory of Khaybar, the Prophet sent Imam Ali to an errand. When Ali returned the Asr prayer had already been performed. The Prophet was tired. He put his head in Ali’s lap and went to sleep. When he woke up the sun had already set. He asked Ali if he had done his Asr prayer. Ali replied that he had not. The prophet pointed to the west and the sun returned until it shone on the hills. Thus Ali did his Asr prayer and the sun then set again. This is actually a very scientific line of poetry. The sun sets and rises because of the movement of the earth. Since, Ali had conquered the earth, he was fully capable of turning the movement of the earth so that the sun would come back from the west for him.
Zer paash inja shikoh-i-Khaybar ast,
Dast-e-oo unja qaseem-e-Kauthar ast.
Trans: In this world Khaybar lies at the feet of Ali,
In the other world his hand will distribute the drinks from the spring of Kauthar.
Az khud-agaahi Yadullahi kunad,
Az Yadullahi shahinshahi kunad.
Trans: He became the ARM OF ALLAH due to the self-knowledge,
Because of being the Arm of Allah, he became the king of kings.
Explanation: Iqbal is alluding to a famous saying of Imam Ali – man ‘arafa nafsuh, faqad ‘arafa rabbuh – one who has come to know his own self, has indeed come to know his lord.
And the poem goes on. For our purpose this much is sufficient. Iqbal is truly a devotee of Imam Ali. It is hard to find this passion in Ali’s love anywhere else. No such literature can be found in any other language from any other poet/thinker/philosopher.
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