Solutions to reach insight

We all know that insight has the same root as “Basr” and basically means insight; It is an Islamic concept and its roots are found in the Qur’an and the words of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH), especially Nahj al-Balaghah. The Holy Quran says about the Holy Prophet (PBUH): “Say, this is the way I pray to God, Ali Basirah, and I will listen to you…; I invite to God; I have insight myself; And those who are with me and follow me.” (1) There are strange expressions in the commands of the Commander of the Faithful (AS). Somewhere they say: “We don’t wear our clothes, you wear them on yourself, and you don’t wear them on me…; I am wise in this way that I have chosen. I didn’t deceive myself, nor did anyone else deceive me. (2)” The meaning of this word clarifies some of the concept of insight; A person who has insight is not deceived, nor does he deceive himself; No, others can deceive him. This word is repeated in two places in Nahj al-Balaghe, which attracts a lot of attention. In order to better understand this word, we must draw the events of that time in our minds, so that we can understand more or less what problems Amir al-Mu’minin faced from the very beginning of their apparent caliphate when they said this.
After the death of the Prophet (PBUH), the Islamic community easily accepted three caliphs before Ali (PBUH) and in a sense appointed them himself. Even though many Muslims were present in the Ghadeer incident and pledged allegiance to Amir al-Mu’minin, but seventy days later, they forgot it. Finally, out of benevolence and so that the Islamic community would not be left without a leader, they appointed a caliph and the people accepted it. The Prophet’s family and some companions like Salman, Abu Dharr, Miqdad and some other members of the Ansar objected, but their voice did not reach a place and they had to accept the fact. Imagine a society that appoints three caliphs and respects others who are candidates for caliphate. Later, Talha and Zubair, who were candidates for the caliphate, along with the Prophet’s wife, started a movement against Amir al-Mu’minin, and all these incidents happened after the pledge of allegiance they had with Ali (a.s.). The strange pledge of allegiance that Amir al-Mu’minin says, they rushed so much that my children were about to be trampled under their feet. After this pledge of allegiance, Ali (AS) is on one side and Zubair, Talha and the Prophet’s wife are on the other side. Each of these people is a cylinder by itself. They gathered and rebelled against Ali. They captured Basra and wanted to form a government there. How do you think people will judge this trend? Put myself in the place of the people of that time; I see that Ali, one of the companions of the Prophet, is on one side, but on the other side there are three people: One of them is the Prophet’s wife. It was unprecedented for a woman to command an army or to be part of a political uprising against the caliph. This is a very important issue. I imagine that if I was a slave at that time, I would have had a lot of art, I would have been careful; I would not go to Ali’s side, nor to their side. After all, these three people are also among the companions of the Prophet; Zubair is the Prophet’s cousin; He is older than Ali; Bani Hashem is great. Naturally, people were hesitant about how to behave. When a person sees these two words from Amir al-Mu’minin, he can guess what kind of pressure he was under. They said: Sleep was stolen from my eyes; I thought from night to morning; I turned the work upside down; I weighed all the surrounding and all aspects of the case; The conclusion I got from these thoughts and reflections was that my work is hesitant between two things; I have to choose one of two things; Either I fight with them or leave the religion of Islam; I have no other way.
Hazrat says, I thought from night to morning, weighed all aspects and came to this conclusion. It is not like if we have a difference of opinion with someone, we draw swords against each other. It is not a political dispute or a party dispute. Not with clothes; I understand what I am doing. It is not like saying that I will fight with you because of feelings. I thought from night to morning, weighed its aspects; Your heart is noon and stomach; I weighed its external and internal aspects until I came to the conclusion that I either have to fight with them or resign from the religion of Islam, that is, if I don’t fight with them, I am an infidel.
If we were in the time of Ali (AS).
If we were you and me, what would we judge? Not only did we not simply accept that we should fight with them; Rather, we used to say: Sir! Now they said something, they did something, they want a government, give them the government of Basra and relax! Not only did we not approve of Ali’s (a.s.) movement, but we also made a mistake in our hearts. We used to say: Now it’s the first card, what are you doing to fight with them? For now, let them rule for four days. Are the others you send to different regions as emirs and governors better than Zubair?! Let Basra be in their hands, but Ali says: If I do not fight with them, I am an infidel. Look how much our today’s fatwa is different from Ali bin Abi Talib’s fatwa after 1400 years of progress in science and research and familiarity with the position of infallibility. We still don’t believe that the Battle of Jamal was a compulsory war, let alone saying that if Ali (AS) did not fight, he would have become an infidel. He left the religion. What is this understanding? How do we think and how does Ali (AS) think!
How many percent of people do you think had this kind of heart with Ali? Many of the people who fought with Ali said that since we pledged allegiance, we will keep our promise, otherwise, if they were to pledge allegiance on the day of the war, they would not have shown up. There was a tradition in Arabs that when they pledged allegiance to someone and made a promise, they did not break their promise as soon as they did; They considered him very unmanly. Maybe they didn’t value their religion as much as they cared about their own masculinity. Many of those who fought under Ali in the Battle of Jamal were because of their allegiance. They said that now that we pledged allegiance, we will not break it, but the truth is that the matter was very complicated. It was not something that could be easily decided. Especially at that time when the issue of imams’ infallibility was still not clear. Many of our respected imams who were respected by the imams themselves did not believe in the issue of infallibility as they should. 
People’s lack of knowledge about the position of imamate during the time of imams
In order to remember Imam (RA), I am telling you this story that I heard in his lesson. He said: After the martyrdom of Imam Sajjad (a.s.), one day Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) and Zayd bin Ali bin Al-Hussein (3) were sitting together. Mr. Zaid, who had rebelled against the Umayyads, expected that his brother would participate in this military movement against the Umayyads, but he did not think so; They did not know their duty and did not know it was good. Mr. Zaid said to Imam Muhammad Baqir (AS), you know how much my father (Imam Sajjad) was fond of me, so that he would take a bite and put it in my mouth. If this Imamate issue that you believe for yourself is true, why didn’t the father tell me that your brother is the Imam after me and you should obey him? It turns out that Zayd bin Ali bin Al Hussein did not believe in the matter of his brother’s Imamate with that majesty, and the reason was that if there was such a thing, he would have told me with the love that my father had for me. Hazrat Baqir (AS) said one word: (4) My father did not say that it was because of his love for you. That is, you are afraid that if he says that you do not accept it, there will be a problem in your religion. What I mean by quoting this word is that the issues that have been solved so easily for all of us today have been settled by scholars for 1400 years until they were established, and today we have no doubts about them. At the time of Imams, it was not very clear for the Imam’s brothers and someone like Zayd. In such a situation, do you think that the infallibility of Amir al-Mu’minin was fixed for all the Companions of Jamal and they considered him to be an infallible Imam? They used to say: These are the people of the Prophet. Now that the Prophet has passed away; This is not that! The one who is older should become caliph first, because he is older and his respect is obligatory. When there was a war between them, they imagined that it was a war between two brothers over inheritance. He says it is my share; Another says my share. In such a transaction, it is not an easy task for a person to be willing to participate in the war and give his life. He says that they have a difference in inheritance, they will solve their differences in a way; Why should I go and give my life?! The problem was complicated. On the other hand, he saw two great Companions who were his rivals in the Caliphate. In the council of six people that the second caliph formed to appoint the caliph, one was Ali, one was Usman, one was Talha and one was Zubair. These were counted in the Ali row; Because of their age, for example, their background and social status, many people may have preferred them over Ali. Of course, when Ali wanted to march from Madinah to Basra, his friends and relatives would say, “Sir, what are you doing now?” Don’t rush; Let your government get established and your place will be open, then go for these. In Nahj al-Balagheh, this matter is mentioned twice (5) from Amir Momenan, and I turned this issue upside down; I thought about it so much that it became clear to me that I either have to fight or leave the religion of Muhammad (PBUH). This is the insight that Ali (as) claims.
Hazrat Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi’s (blessed) speech in the audience of Guardian Council observers – 6/12/89 
ـــــــــ
۱٫ Yusuf, 108.
2 . Nahj al-Balagheh, pp. 54 and 194. Apparently, it refers to the encounter they had with the people of Jamal and after that with other Nakhtin, Marqin and Qastin.
3 . Zaid Imamzadeh is very honorable and respectable. He is the one whose document of Sajjadiyyah’s book goes to his family and is the bearer of it. Imam Baqir (AS) also helped and respected him a lot. They had a famous uprising against the Umayyads and finally they were martyred in this way and their bodies were hanged and for their martyrdom a great calamity was inflicted on the Ahl al-Bayt.
4 . Kafi, volume 1, page 174.
5. Of course, it is possible that it was a lecture and a part of it was quoted twice.
Zalal Basirt is published on Thursdays.