ALI
Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: عليّ بن أبي طالب, romanized: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; c. 600 – 661 CE) was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the first Shia Imam, and the fourth Rashidun caliph, serving from 656 CE until his assassination in 661. He is a prominent member of the Ahl al-Bayt and Ahl al-Kisa, and a participant in the Event of the mubahala. Born to Abu Talib and Fatima bint Asad, Ali was raised in the house of his cousin Muhammad and was among the first to accept Islam. Both Shia and Sunni sources report that Ali was born inside the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam. Numerous sayings of Muhammad highly praise Ali, including the Hadith of the Position, in which Muhammad compares the position of Ali to himself with the position of Aaron to Moses. Several verses of the Quran have also been interpreted as referring to Ali.
Ali played a pivotal role in the early years of Islam when Muslims were severely persecuted in Mecca. He slept in Muhammad's bed so that the assassins who had gathered outside Muhammad's house would believe that he was still there. This allowed Muhammad to begin his immigration to Medina. The event has been referred to in the Quran, which both Shia and Sunni sources interpret as referring to Ali's willingness to sacrifice himself for Muhammad. Following the migration, Muhammad arranged his daughter Fatima's marriage to Ali and established a pact of brotherhood with him. He participated in nearly all of Muhammad's battles against the polytheists and served as the prophet's secretary and deputy, as well as the flag-bearer of his army. At Ghadir Khumm, Muhammad declared Ali his mawla, interpreted in Shia Islam as his successor. After Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr was chosen by some at Saqifa while Ali was attending his funeral, initiating the Shia–Sunni schism. Ali withdrew from public life under Abu Bakr and Umar, refusing to follow their practices.
Ali was also critical of Uthman, who was accused of nepotism and corruption. Nevertheless, he repeatedly mediated between Uthman and the dissidents angered by his policies. Following Uthman's assassination, Muhammad's companions and the people of Medina urged Ali to assume the leadership and pledged allegiance to him. He accepted and was elected the fourth caliph. His caliphate faced two major rebellions: the first, led by Talha, Zubayr, and Aisha, sought to avenge Uthman's death and was defeated at the Battle of the Camel in 656; the second, led by Mu'awiya, fought Ali to a stalemate at the Battle of Siffin in 657, after which arbitration alienated part of Ali's army, known as the Kharijites. They rebelled against Ali and were crushed at the Battle of Nahrawan in 658. Ali was assassinated in Ramadan 661 by the Kharijite dissident Ibn Muljam, who struck him with a poison-coated sword while he was praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa.
Ali is revered for his courage, honesty, unbending devotion to Islam, magnanimity, and equal treatment of all people. He is the archetype of pre-Islamic and Islamic chivalry, and his status is said to have been second only behind Muhammad. Sunni Muslims regard him as the last of the Rashidun ('rightly-guided'), while Shia Muslims venerate him as Muhammad's rightful successor. The Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, is a profoundly holy site in Shia Islam, considered by Shia Muslims as the holiest site in Islam after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. Ali's legacy is collected in Nahj al-Balagha, regarded as one of the most important works of Arabic literature. It holds a prominent place in Shia Islam, and is commonly found in many Shia households, often kept alongside the Quran.
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