In His name the most High and by the remembrance of His last Deputy (a.t.f.s)

Reconciling with our enemy

The enemies of Ahle Bait (as) are accursed and there can be no reconciliation with them. With regards to our enemies (different from above), there is always a scope of reconciliation. It would be beneficial to us. We find a tradition of Imam Hazrat Ali (as)

الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): مَنِ استَصلَحَ عَدُوَّهُ‏ زَادَ في عَدَدِهِ.

‘He who reconciles with his enemy increases the numbers on his own  side.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 8230]  

There are two types of enemies – a person who deserves to be hated for his actions and secondly a person who is good but is included in the ranks of the enemies because of some misunderstanding or even mistake on our part.  There is a scope in reconciling with both of them especially if they are from the shias of Imam Ali (as). Imam Ali (as) says

الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): مَنِ‏استَصلَحَ ‏الأضدادَ بَلَغَ‏ المُرادَ.

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘He who reconciles with the opposition achieves his aim.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 8043]  

We have heard this incident many times. But reading it once again will help us.

A man from Syria saw Imam Hasan (a.s.) riding a horse and started insulting him. Imam Hasan (a.s.) did not reply to the man. When the Syrian stopped, Imam Hasan (a.s.) proceeded towards him and after cheerfully greeting him said:"Old man, I believe you are a stranger. Maybe you have confused me with another person. If you ask forgiveness, it is granted to you. If you ask for a means of transportation, we shall provide it for you. If you are hungry, we shall feed you. If you are in need of clothes, we shall cloth you. If you are deprived, we shall grant you. If you are being sought, we shall give you refuge. If you have any need, we shall fulfill it for you. And if you wish to proceed with your caravan be our guest until you leave, it would be more useful to you, for we hold a good position, great dignity and vast belongings."When the man heard the words of Imam Hasan (a.s.) he cried and said:"I testify that you are Allah's heir on His earth. Allah surely knows to whom He assigns His Message. You and your Father were the most resented of Allah's creatures to me, but now you are the most beloved of Allah's creatures to me."

We need correlate this incident to our daily lives. We need to identify those people in our life who irritate us, who speak to torture us, who have misunderstood us, who consider us as their enemy, who have a wrong perception about us.

After identification, we need to check up why they have such an attitude against us. Are they misinformed about us, were they really a victm of our tongue, behaviour or decision. Do they have some rights upon us which we are not fulfilling.

 

Can we do some goodness to end this enmity ?  Can we seek forgiveness to end this war ? Can we change this perception of theirs about us ? Can we change some of our habits / behaviour / attitude to avoid these enmity ?

Life is very short – we cannot afford to die having enemies from amongst the lovers of Hazrat Imam Ali (as).

Let’s plan and go on to become beloved of all in the society so that on our death people feel they have lost a good son, good husband, good father, good friend or  a good shia