Thomas Carlyle

In his book, On Heroes and Hero Worship, Thomas Carlyle observes as follows: "As for this young Ali, one cannot but like him. A noble minded creature, as he shows himself, now and always afterwards, full of affection, of fiery daring something chivalrous in him, brave as a lion, yet with a grace, a truth and affection worthy of Christian Knighthood. He died by assassination in the mosque at Kufa, death occasioned by his own generous fairness, confidence in the fairness of others, he said: "if the wound proved not unto death, they must pardon the assassin, but if it did, they must slay him straightaway, so that they two in the same hour might appear before God, and see which side of that quarrel was the just one."