Question:
Salamu alaikum,
Which war (name of the war) was it when Sayyiduna Ali (Radiallahu tala anhu) let the enemy go because the enemy spat on the holy face Sayyiduna Ali (Radiallahu tala anhu) ?
Answer:
wa `alaykum salam,
If I remember correctly, neither Mevlana Rumi nor Mevlana Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani (on the authority of Sultan ul-awliya Shaykh `Abdullah ad-Daghistani) – may Allah sanctify their secrets! – mention the name of the battle in relating this renowned story.
Some have sought to situate this story at the Battle of Khandaq, and this is problematic, since during that event the champion of the unbelievers is known to have been slain, in contrast to the accounts of the aforementioned authorities in which the champion accepts Islam.
For what it’s worth, when this story is essentially reenacted in Star Wars by the Jedi throwing down his sword, he faces two “champions of unbelief;” the Jedi’s conquest of his anger brings death to one of them and conversion to the other.
Mahmoud Shelton
