Ali

Ali ibn Abi Talib (c. 600 – 661 CE) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from 656 CE until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Fatima bint Asad, Ali was raised by his elder cousin Muhammad and was among the first to accept his teachings.

Ali played a pivotal role in the early years of Islam when Muslims were severely persecuted in Mecca. After immigration (hijra) to Medina in 622, Muhammad gave his daughter Fatima to Ali in marriage and swore a pact of brotherhood with him. Ali served as Muhammad's secretary and deputy in this period, and was the flag bearer of his army. Numerous sayings of Muhammad praise Ali, the most controversial of which was uttered in 632 at the Ghadir Khumm, "Whoever I am his mawla, this Ali is his mawla." The interpretation of the polysemous Arabic word mawla is disputed: For Shia Muslims, Muhammad thus invested Ali with his religious and political authority, while Sunni Muslims view this as a mere statement of friendship and rapport. When Muhammad died in the same year, a group of Muslims met in the absence of Ali and appointed Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) as their leader. Ali later relinquished his claims to leadership and resigned from public life during the reigns of Abu Bakr and his successor, Umar (r. 634–644). Even though his advice was occasionally sought, the conflicts between Ali and the first two caliphs are epitomized by his refusal to follow their practices. This refusal cost Ali the caliphate to the benefit of Uthman (r. 644–656), who was thus appointed to succeed Umar by the electoral council. Ali was also highly critical of Uthman, who was widely accused of nepotism and corruption. Yet Ali also repeatedly mediated between the caliph and the provincial dissidents angered by his policies.

Following Uthman's assassination in June 656, Ali was elected caliph in Medina. He immediately faced two separate rebellions, both ostensibly to avenge Uthman: The triumvirate of Talha, Zubayr, both companions of Muhammad, and his widow Aisha captured Basra in Iraq but were defeated by Ali in the Battle of the Camel in 656. Elsewhere, Mu'awiya, whom Ali had just removed from the governorship of Syria, fought against Ali the inconclusive Battle of Siffin in 657, which ended in a failed arbitration process that alienated some of Ali's supporters. These formed the Kharijites, who later terrorized the public and were crushed by Ali in the Battle of Nahrawan in 658. Ali was assassinated in 661 by the Kharijite dissident Ibn Muljam, which paved the way for Mu'awiya to seize power and found the dynastic Umayyad Caliphate.

Ali is revered for his courage, honesty, unbending devotion to Islam, magnanimity, and equal treatment of all Muslims. For his admirers, he has thus become the archetype of uncorrupted Islam and pre-Islamic chivalry. Sunni Muslims regard him as the last of the rashidun (lit. 'rightly-guided') caliphs, while Shia Muslims venerate him as their first imam, that is, the rightful religious and political successor to Muhammad. Ali's place is said to be second only to Muhammad in Shia Muslim culture. The shrine of Ali in Najaf, Iraq, is a major destination for Shia pilgrimage. The legacy of Ali is collected and studied in numerous books, the most famous of which is Nahj al-balagha.

Ali was born in Mecca to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib and his wife Fatima bint Asad around 600 CE. His date of birth is possibly 13 Rajab, which is the occasion celebrated annually by Shia Muslims. Ali may have been the only person born inside the Ka'ba, the holiest site of Islam, which is located in Mecca. Ali's father was a leading member of the Banu Hashim, a clan within the Meccan tribe of Quraysh. Abu Talib also raised his nephew Muhammad after his parents died. Later, when Abu Talib fell into poverty, Ali was taken in at the age of about five and raised by Muhammad and his wife Khadija.

Aged about eleven, Ali was among the first to accept Muhammad's teachings and profess Islam. Ali did so either after Khadija or after Khadija and Muhammad's successor, Abu Bakr. While the precise order here is debated among Shia and Sunni scholars, the earliest sources place Ali before Abu Bakr. Muhammad's call to Islam in Mecca lasted from 610 to 622, during which Ali assiduously supported the small Muslim community, especially the poor. Some three years after his first revelation, Muhammad gathered his relatives for a feast, invited them to Islam, and asked for their assistance. Aged about fourteen, Ali was the only relative there who offered his support, after which Muhammad told his guests that Ali was his brother and his successor, according to the Sunni historian al-Tabari (d. 923). The Shia interpretation of this episode is that Muhammad had already designated Ali as his successor.

When tipped off about an assassination plot in 622, Muhammad escaped to Yathrib, now known as Medina, but Ali stayed behind as his decoy. That Ali risked his life for Muhammad is said to be the reason for the revelation of the Quranic passage, "But there is also a kind of man who gives his life away to please God." This emigration marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar (AH). Ali too escaped Mecca after returning the goods entrusted to Muhammad there. Later in Medina, Muhammad selected Ali as his brother when he paired Muslims for fraternity pacts. Around 623–625, Muhammad gave his daughter Fatima to Ali in marriage, aged about twenty-two at the time. Muhammad had earlier turned down marriage proposals for Fatima by some of his companions, notably, Abu Bakr and Umar.

A Christian envoy from Najran, located in South Arabia, arrived in Medina circa 632 and negotiated a peace treaty with Muhammad. The envoy also debated with Muhammad the nature of Jesus, human or divine. Linked to this episode is verse 3:61 of the Quran, which instructs Muhammad to challenge his opponents to mubahala (lit. 'mutual cursing'), perhaps when their debate had reached a deadlock. Even though the delegation ultimately withdrew from the challenge, Muhammad appeared for the occasion of mubahala, accompanied by Ali, his wife Fatima, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn. The inclusion of these four by Muhammad in the mubahala ritual, as his witnesses and guarantors, likely raised their religious rank within the community. If the word 'ourselves' in the verse is a reference to Ali and Muhammad, as Shia authors argue, then the former naturally enjoys a similar religious authority in the Quran as the latter.