Imām Ali’s (a.s.) Predictions Coming True
Finally, Imām (a.s.) departed people while having been unjustly treated by them and complaining about them:
إن کانَتِ الرَّعایا قَبلِي لَتـَشکُو حَیفَ رُعاتِها وإنَّني الیَومَ لَأَشکُو حَیفَ رَعِیَّتي.People before me used to complain of the oppression of their rulers but now I have to complain of the wrongful actions of my subjects….1
He had told people that their wrongdoing towards the just leader would be as dangerous to the community as the wrongdoing of an oppressive leader, and a community that does not observe the rights of a just leader and refuses obedience, solidarity and empathy to him –who is most deservedly entitled to such rights– will be entangled in commotion and burn in the fire of decline:
... وإذا غَلَبَتِ الرَّعِیَّةُ والِیَها أوأَجحَفَ الوَالِي بِرَعِیَّتهِ اختَلَفَتْ هُنالِکَ الکَلِمَةُ وظَهَرَت مَعالِمُ الجَورِ وکَثُرَ الإدغالُ في الدّینِ، وتُرِکَت مَحاجُّ السُّنَنِ فَعُمِلَ بِالهَوَی وعُطِّلَتِ الأَحکامُ وکَثُرَت عِلَلُ النُّفوسِ. فَلا یُستَوحَشُ لِعَظیمِ حَقٍّ عُطِّلَ ولا لِعَظیمِ باطِلٍ فُعِلَ فَهُنالِکَ تَذِلُّ الأَبرارُ وتَعِزُّ الأَشرارُ وتَعظُمُ تَبِعاتُ اللهِ سُبحانَهُ عِندَ العِبادِ.And if the subjects come to dominate over the ruler, or the ruler oppresses the subjects, differences will arise among them, signs of oppression will appear, mischief will enter religion and the tradition will be forgotten. Then desires are acted upon, the religious commands are discarded, diseases of the spirit become numerous, great rights will remain idle, falsehood will be practiced. In such circumstances, the virtuous are humiliated, the wicked are honored and the chastisements of God Almighty towards people will be severe.2
Thirty four years after the martyrdom of Imām Ali (a.s.), his prediction about the Kufans came true. In the caliphate of `Abdul Malik ibn Marwān, a group of Khārijites called “Azāriqa” rose up in