Imam Ali (a.s.)'s sermon on creation of Bat

Annie Besant (1847 1933), born in London, was a prominent British socialist, Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator, who during the rule of British supported Irish and Indian self-rule for

which she launched the Home Rule League along with Lokmanya Tilak and subsequently was arrested

leading to demand by many, including Mahatma Gandhi, to set her free. Annie Besant said in a

Convention Lecture on Islam, There is a word of the Prophet which seems to me so striking, so unexpected, that I repeat it here: The ink of the scholar is more valuable than the blood of the martyr. Unexpected declaration for a Prophet for whom so many had been martyred. And yet how profoundly

true. Ali, the beloved, the son-in-law of the Prophet from him sprang all Islams learning and the wonderful outburst of her knowledge would lecture amid struggle and warfare. He would stand up to teach, and to bid young men study and learn and master the sciences above all other things.

With such words, Annie Besant described the personality of Ameerul Momineen Ali ibne Abi Talib (a.s.).

It said that linguistically the meaning of "Ameerul- Mo'mineen " is: the one who bestows knowledge on

the believers, the one who "meers" (pours knowledge upon) them. Imam Ali (a.s.) always exhorted people

to gain knowledge from him. He (a.s.) said Ask me before you lose me. By Allah, if you ask me about anything that could happen up to the Day of Judgement, I will tell you about it. Ask me about the Book of

Allah, because by Allah there is no [Qur'anic] verse that I do not know whether it was revealed during the

night or the day, or whether it was revealed on a plain or on a mountain. (Tarikh, Suyuti, p 124; al Riyadh al-Nadirah, vol 2 p 198; al Itqan, Suyuti, vol 2 p 319; Fath al Bari, vol 8 p 485; Tadhib al

Tadhib, vol 7 p 338)

Remarkably, Imam Ali (a.s.) had to spend a considerable part of his life fighting the holy wars and still he

lit the torch of knowledge which created among Muslims an unparalleled zeal to learn. Thus in all ages the

brave and the learned, irrespective of their faith, praised Imam Ali (a.s.) and expressed their attachment

towards him. One of such was the famous polymath Sheikh al Raees Bu Ali Sina. Bu Ali Sina, known as

Ibn Sina or Avicenna - his Latinised name, considered as Father of Modern Medicine and famous for his

works such as The Book of Healing and the 14 Volume The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text in Europe and Islamic world till 18

th Century, says in a quartet:

In this quartet, Ibn Sina says that the drink of love has been poured in the bowl and the heart of the

devotee has been inflamed; the life and spirit of Bu Ali has been sealed with love of Imam Ali (a.s.) like

sugar is dissolved in milk.

Such was Ibn Sinas affection for Imam Ali (a.s.). In another quartet, Ibn Sina made an interesting observation. He says

In this quartet Bu Ali Sina has visualized that Allah (s.w.t.) has twice written the name of Imam Ali (a.s)

on every human face in an inverted style. Elaborating it, he says that the eye is the arabic alphabet "Ain"

which is the first alphabet in name of Imam Ali (a.s) when written in Arabic. Similarly, the nose

represents the arabic alphabet "Laam which is the second alphabet in the name of Imam Ali (a.s) and the eye-brows are like the arabic alphabet "Yaa which is the third alphabet in the name of Imam Ali (a.s). Thus, with eyebrows, eyes and nose as large handwriting in Arabic, the human face resembles the name

Ali!!!

For decades the oratory pulpits from where sermons where delivered were also the most important means

of imparting education and disseminating information in the muslim world. Imam Ali (a.s.)s several sermons have been preserved in Nahjul Balagha, The Peak of Eloquence. Precisely said, Imam Ali

(a.s.)s ideas were conciliatory and his message was always one of peace. His sermons were in praise of The Almighty and are a source of guidance to humanity. In one of his sermons, praising Allah (s.w.t.),

Imam Ali (a.s.) spoke on the wonderful creation of Bat.

Bats are mammals that sleep during the day and feed at night. They use echolocation to finds their way in

darkness to get their food. Bat echolocation is a perceptual system where ultrasonic sounds are emitted

specifically to produce echoes. In other words, they possess radar system and the ultrasonic sounds are as

such that they cannot be beard by human ears. By comparing the outgoing pulse with the returning echoes,

the brain and auditory nervous system can produce detailed images of the bat's surroundings. This allows

bats to detect, localize, and even classify their prey in complete darkness. It is in present times that science

has been able to describe the features of Bat, but 1400years ago, in one of his sermons, Imam Ali (a.s.)

said

Daylight, the medium, with whose help most of the animals see, behold, observe, and perceive things and distinguish one from the other, makes a bat blind, and darkness which sends many of the animals to

retirement, acts as a medium of vision to it. How its eyes are unable to make use of sunlight to move about

and take advantage of it for its life preserving activities? It has been prevented to move from place to

place during daylight and to sleep out its days in its lair. But it converts its nights into days. Dark night is

like a bright day to it. It comes out to search for its food. Pitch-darkness is for it no obstacle to convey

itself from one place to another and to see things clearly. But as soon as a day dawns and the sun rises

sending its light in every nook and corner it goes back to its hide-out closing its eyes to brightness of the

sun, it satisfies itself with what it had gathered during the night. Glory be to God, Who made the darkness

of a night acts for a bat as the light of a day to work and search for its food and Who made the day a time

for its rest and retirement.

In addition, Bats are mammals whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals

naturally capable of true and sustained flight. Bats do not flap their entire forelimbs, as birds do, but

instead flap their spread-out digits, which are very long and covered with a thin membrane. In other

words, a bat's wings are different from those of birds. They are formed from membranes or webs of skin,

which are supported and spread out, by the bats very long front limbs and fingers. Imam Ali (a.s.) says -

"He (Almighty God) granted to a bat wings of flesh (not of feathers) and whenever it so desires, it can rise

and fly with their help. They appear as if they are parts of its ears, having neither feathers nor bones but

you can very easily see the line of arteries and veins running in them. These two wings are neither so thin

as to snap nor so thick as to be too heavy.

The complete sermon of Imam Ali (a.s.), on the wonderful creation of bat is as follows:

All the praises are due to Him Whose Entity words fail to describe, explain or expound and Whose

Majesty and Power are beyond the reach of intellect, therefore, human minds are not able to understaband

the extent and amplitude of His Wisdom, and Glory. He and He alone is Allah, the Almighty King, God,

the Self-Evident Truth. His being is so manifest that eyes could never discern Him. Even the highest

intellect cannot define the limits of His Perfection and Excellence because any estimation will be

resemblance to his creatures (in whatever we describe Him the description will bear some form of anology

to some created being). Minds cannot elevate His Might and Sublimity, because any kind of valuation will

bring Him in comparison to His creatures which will not be a correct comparison. The Grand Architect of

the universe created the whole of creation without the aid of a model and without the help of a counselor

or an adviser. It was but only an order from Him and the creations came into being, attained perfection

(each in its place); they obeyed without any objection the laws of nature relating to them and followed

without any resistance the course laid out for them. If one wants to study the marvels of the art and

wonders of the creation in nature as designed and destined by Him, he may study the depth of the art and

science of body-building exhibited in the creation of a bat.

Daylight, the medium, with whose help most of the animals see, behold, observe, and perceive things and

distinguish one from the other, makes a bat blind, and darkness which sends many of the animals to

retirement, acts as a medium of vision to it. How its eyes are unable to make use of sunlight to move about

and take advantage of it for its life preserving activities? It has been prevented to move from place to

place during daylight and to sleep out its days in its lair. But it converts its nights into days. Dark night is

like a bright day to it. It comes out to search for its food. Pitch-darkness is for it no obstacle to convey

itself from one place to another and to see things clearly. But as soon as a day dawns and the sun rises

sending its light in every nook and corner it goes back to its hide-out closing its eyes to brightness of the

sun, it satisfies itself with what it had gathered during the night. Glory be to God, Who made the darkness

of a night acts for a bat as the light of a day to work and search for its food and Who made the day a time

for its rest and retirement.

He granted to a bat wings of flesh (not of feathers), and whenever it so desires it can rise and fly with their

help. They appear as if they are parts of its ears, having neither feathers nor bones but you can very easily

see the lines of arteries and veins running in them. These two wings are neither so thins as to snap nor so

thick as to be too heavy. When it flies its young one adheres and attaches itself to its mothers body; taking shelter under its expanding wings, it goes up and comes down along with its mother and never parts

from its parent unless it grows strong and its wings get powerful and sturdy enough to bear the weight of

its body, and unless it develops enough animal instinct to recognize its food and the factors of its safety

and well-being.

How Exalted is He and how Supremely Glorious is His Wisdom that He creates everything without a

specimen and without a model created by somebody else.