(Fall In The East — The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, chapter 50)
Philip Khuri Hitti (1886-1978).He
was a Lebanese American scholar and authority on Arab and Middle Eastern
history,Islam, and Semitic languages. He almost single-handedly created the
discipline of Arabic Studies in the United States.Professor
of Semitic Languages atPrinceton University In 1944 beforea
U. S. House committee, Hitti gave testimony in support of the view
that there was no historical justificationf or a Jewish home
land in Palestine.He has written many books on Arab history and Islam
He says about Imam Ali(as) as follows:
“Valiant in battle, wise in counsel,eloquent in speech,
true to hisfriends, magnanimous (Broad Hearted) to his
foes, he became both the paragon ( IDEAL) of Muslim
nobility and chivalry(Broad Hearted) (futuwah) and the
Solomon of Arabic tradition,around whose name
poems,proverbs, sermonettes and anecdotes
innumerable have clustered.”
(History of The Arabs - Philip K. Hitti, p 183)
Washington Irving (1783-1859).He was an American author,essayist, biographer,
historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century.Washington Irving was born
onmApril 3, 1783. Well-known as the “first America n man of letters and the
first to earn his living solely byhis pen”. He said about imam Ali(as) as follows:
“He was of the noblest branch ofthe noble race of Koreish.
He possessed the three qualities most prized by Arabs:
courage,eloquence, and munificence (Fazl).His intrepid
spirit had gained him from the prophet the appellation of
The Lion of God, specimens of his eloquence remain in
some versesand sayings preserved among the Arabs;
and his munificence was manifested in sharing among
others, every Friday, what remained in the treasury. ”
(Lives of successor or mahomet, london, 1850 by Washington irving, p 165)
“He was one of the last andworthiest of the primitive Moslems,who
imbibed his religiousenthusiasm from companionshipwith the
Prophet himself, and followed to the last the simplicity of
his example. He is honourably spoken of as the first Caliph
who accorded some protection to Belles-Lettres. He indulged
in the poeticvein himself, and many of hismaxims and
proverbs are preserved,and have been translated in various
languages. His signet bore this inscription: 'The kingdom
belongs to God'. One of his sayings shows the little value he
set upon the transitory glories of the is world,
'Lifeis but the shadow of a cloud - the dream of a sleeper.”
(Lives of successor or mahomet, london, 1850 by Washington irving, p 187-188)
George Jordac, (b.1926-d.2014) was a Lebanese Christian author and poet, who
wrote the well-known book,Imam 'Ali (a), the voice of human justice. George
Jordac was born in 1926 from anOrthodox Christian family in Al-Jadida town in
south of Lebanon. He finished his primary educations in aschool in this area.
He learned about Nahj al-balagha by his brother FuadJordac (an engineer,
philologist, and poet). When he was 13 years old,George had memorized much
of Nahj al-balagha and the other two books. He died on November 5,2014. he
says about imam ali(as):
“He was the fountain of knowledge. There is no branch of science in
Arabia which was not founded by him or in the
foundation of which he was not the chief figure.
We shall write in detail later about his
great skill in social sciences.”
(The Voice of Human Justice, George Jordac)
Robert Durey Osborn (1835-1889) Major of the Bengal StaffCorps. Osborn was
born at Agra, India, on 6 Aug. 1835. His father,Henry Roche Osborn, entered the
British East India Company's servicein May 1819, and served most of histime in
the 54th Native Infantry, hedied at Ferozeporein 1849. He says about Imam Ali(as)
“With him perished the truest
hearted and best Moslem of whom Mohammadan history had
preserved the remembrance.”
(Islam Under Arabs, Robert Durey Osborn, page 120)
