Ali ibn Abi Talib was a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, and fourth of the "rightly guided" (rāshidūn) caliphs, as the first four successors of Muhammad are called. Reigning from 656 to 661, he was the first imam (leader) of Shi'ism in all its forms.
Background
Ali ibn Abi Talib was born in Mecca, in the Hejaz region of northern Arabia, sometime around 599 (the year is an approximation only). Ali's mother, Fatima bint Asad, also belonged to Banu Hashim, making Ali a descendant of Ishmael, the son of Ibrahim (Abraham). Shi'a Muslims believe that he was born inside the Ka'bah, the Muslim holy place. Ali's father, Abu Talib, was a member of the powerful tribe of the Quraysh (which held the custodianship of the Ka'bah), and an uncle to the young Muhammad. When Muhammad was orphaned and then lost his grandfather, Abu Talib took Muhammad into his house. Ali and Muhammad were thus cousins raised as brothers, with Ali in the role of a younger brother, looking up to Muhammad and ready to follow his lead. When Alī was five years old, his father became impoverished, and Ali was taken in and raised by Muhammad and his wife Khadijah.
When Muhammad reported that he had received a divine revelation, a claim that Islamic sources indicate was initially greeted with derision, Ali was one of the first to believe him and profess Islam. Some regard him as the first male believer (Muhammad's wife, Khadijah, was the first believer), yet others say that Abu Bakr was first.
Education
Since five Ali started living with Muhammad and Khadijah and received a lot of his education from the Prophet.
Career
In 610 Muhammad received the first of his revelations and during this period Ali was Muhammad's constant companion. Along with Zayd ibn Ḥāritha, who was like a son to the Prophet, Abū Bakr, a respected member of the ruling Quraysh tribe of Mecca, and Khadījah, he helped to form the nucleus of the earliest Meccan Islamic community. From 610 to 622 Ali spent much of his time providing for the needs of believers in Mecca, especially the poor, by distributing what he had among them and helping them with their daily chores.
Both Sunni and Shi'i sources confirm the occurrence in 622 of the most important episode of this period. Muhammad, knowing that his enemies were plotting to assassinate him, asked Ali to take his place and sleep in his bed; Muhammad then left Mecca secretly with Abū Bakr and reached Medina safely several days later (his arrival marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar). When the plotters entered Muhammad's house with drawn daggers, they were deeply surprised to find Ali, whom they did not harm. Ali waited for instructions and left sometime later with Muhammad's family. He arrived safely in Qubā on the outskirts of Yathrib, which soon became known as Mādinat al-Nabi ("City of the Prophet") or simply Medina, on the instructions of the Prophet. According to some sources, he was one of the first of the Meccan followers of Muhammad to arrive in Medina.
Ali was 22 or 23 years old when he migrated to Medina. Shortly after his arrival, the Prophet told Ali that he (the Prophet) had been ordered by God to give his daughter Fāṭimah to Ali in marriage. During this period Ali was given several important assignments, such as reciting to a large gathering of pilgrims in Mecca in 630 a portion of the Qurʾān that declared that Muhammad and the Islamic community were no longer bound by agreements made earlier with polytheists. One year later Ali was sent to Yemen to spread the teachings of Islam. The Prophet also designated him as one of the scribes who would write down the text of the Qurʾān, which had been revealed to Muhammad during the previous two decades. Ali's role in the establishment of the written version of the Qurʾān is among the most important of his contributions to Islam.
Ali was also deeply involved in the military defense of the Islamic community, according to both Sunni and Shi'i sources. The Quraysh sought to destroy the community in Medina in a series of attacks that are known in Islamic history as ghazwah ("raid" or "conquest"). Ali participated in all but one of these battles, and he was commander at the battles of Fadak in 628 and Al-Yamān in 632. He also had the special role of protecting Muhammad at the battles of Uḥud in 625 and Ḥunayn in 630. He fought the leading warrior of the Quraysh, Talḥah ibn Abī Talḥah, who boasted that he would defeat any Muslim sent against him. When Talḥah himself was defeated, he pleaded for mercy from Ali, saying "Karrama Allāhu wajhahu" ("May God illuminate his face with nobility"). This benediction became one of Ali's titles; used especially by Sunnis, it is usually accompanied by other customary formulae of peace and benediction.
The traditional accounts of Ali's strength and courage in these battles and his yearning for justice made him an epitome of chivalry throughout the Islamic world. In the Battle of Khaybar in 629, against a group of Medinese Jews who, having reached an agreement with the Muslims and then broken their word, had barricaded themselves in a fort, Ali is said, according to a very popular legend, to have torn off the door of the fort with one hand and used it as a shield. According to another legend, the archangel Gabriel, speaking to the Prophet and referring to Dhū al-fiqār, a sword that Ali received from Muhammad, stated: "There is no chivalrous person but Ali. There is no sword but Dhū al-fiqār."
As Islam began to spread throughout Arabia, Ali helped to establish the new Islamic order. He was instructed to write down the Hudaybiyyah agreement, the peace treaty between the Prophet and the Quraysh in 628. When Muhammad finally conquered Mecca in 630, he asked Ali to guarantee that the conquest would be bloodless; this was accomplished as a result of the surrender of the Meccans and Muhammad's forbidding the victorious Muslims from taking revenge on the Meccans, a command that Ali ensured was obeyed completely. He ordered Ali to break all the idols in the Ka'bah and to purify the shrine after its defilement by the polytheism of the pre-Islamic era, which Muslims call al-jāhiliyyah ("the age of ignorance"). Ali also was charged with settling several disputes and putting down the uprisings of various tribes.
At Ghadīr Khumm in 632, while returning to Medina from his last pilgrimage, the Prophet made certain statements about Ali that have been interpreted in very different ways by Sunnis and Shi'is. According to both traditions, Muhammad said that Ali was his inheritor and brother and that whoever accepted the Prophet as his mawlā ("master" or "trusted friend" but also, contradictorily, "client" or "protegé") also should accept Ali as his mawlā. The Shi'ah regard these statements as constituting the investiture of Ali as the successor of the Prophet and as the first Imam. The Sunnis, by contrast, take them only as an expression of the Prophet's closeness to Ali and of his wish that Ali, as his cousin and son-in-law, inherit his family responsibilities upon his death. Many later Islamic Sufis and esotericists also interpret the episode as the transfer of the Prophet's spiritual power and authority to Ali (mawlā is related to wīlāyah or walāyah, meaning "rule," "initiation," "spiritual authority," or "power"), whom they regard as the walī (literally "friend," usually translated as "saint") par excellence. spent much of his time providing for the needs of believers in Mecca, especially the poor, by distributing what he had among them and helping them with their daily chores.
Upon the death of the Prophet in 632, Ali and Muhammad's family took charge of the arrangements for his funeral. At the same time, discussions began concerning who should succeed Muhammad. Both the anṣār, the people of Medina who had embraced Islam, and the muhājirūn, those from Mecca who had migrated to Medina, wanted the successor to come from their group. In order to avoid division, the leaders of the community assembled at saqīfat Banī Sā'idah ("the room with the thatched roof of the tribe of Banī Sā'idah") to choose a successor. After much debate, Abū Bakr was named caliph (khalīfah, "successor"), the ruler of the Islamic community. By the time Ali finished with matters pertaining to the funeral of the Prophet, he was presented with a fait accompli. He did not protest but retired from public life and dedicated himself to studying and teaching the Qurʾān. He was often consulted, however, by Abū Bakr and his successor, 'Umar, in matters of state. Ali accepted the selection of 'Umar as caliph and even gave one of his daughters, Umm Kulthūm, to him in marriage.
After the death of 'Umar in 644, Ali was considered for the caliphate along with five other eminent members of the community. One of them, 'Abd al-Raḥmān ibn 'Awf, withdrew but asked that he be trusted with choosing the next caliph, a request that was granted. He questioned both 'Uthmān and Ali and decided in favor of the former. Ali recognized the caliph's authority, according to Shi'i sources, but remained neutral between 'Uthmān's supporters and his opponents. Ali even sent his own sons to protect 'Uthmān's house when he was in danger of being attacked. When 'Uthmān was murdered in 656 by those who considered him weak and who accused him of nepotism, Ali admonished his children for not having defended 'Uthmān's house properly. Ali himself was then chosen as the fourth and last of the rightly guided caliphs.
Ali is a revered figure for all Muslims, although there is a dispute regarding whether he is next, or fourth, from Muhammad in merit. All Muslims respect his piety, however, and he is an important figure within the mystical (Sufi) branch of Islam where he is often cited as a link in the initiatic chain (silsilah) that each of Sufi masters traces back to Muhammad. He is especially remembered for his strong conviction that inner piety must be expressed externally in just acts and in compassion for the disadvantaged.
Thus, although often cited as the cause of contention between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, Ali is also a figure around whom Muslims unite, a reconciling figure given impetus by recent moves towards the mutual recognition of different legal schools in Islam. Many Sunni regard Shi'a as the fifth school alongside the four Sunni schools. On the other hand, the rivalry between Sunnis and Shi'a Muslims has been damaging to the unity of Islam and to Muslims' ability to practice the ideals of their Prophet, which called for the care of all and respect for all within the ummah.
Nearly every Sufi order traces its lineage to Muhammad through Ali. Sufis, whether Sunni or Shi'i, believe that Ali inherited from the Prophet the spiritual power (wilāyah or walāyah) that makes the inner journey to God possible. Numerous references are also to be found to him in later Sufi works. For example, such hidden or occult sciences as jafr, the science of the symbolic significance of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, are said to have been established by Ali.
Nearly every Sufi order traces its lineage to Muhammad through Ali. Sufis, whether Sunni or Shi'i, believe that Ali inherited from the Prophet the spiritual power (wilāyah or walāyah) that makes the inner journey to God possible. Numerous references are also to be found to him in later Sufi works. For example, such hidden or occult sciences as jafr, the science of the symbolic significance of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, are said to have been established by Ali.
Politics
The period of the caliphate of Ali, from 656 until his death in 661, was the most tumultuous in his life. Many members of the Quraysh turned against him because he defended the rights of the Hashimites, a clan of the Quraysh to which Muhammad had belonged. He was also accused of failing to pursue the murderers of his predecessor and of purging 'Uthmān's supporters from office. Foremost among his opponents was Mu'āwiyah, the governor of Syria and a relative of 'Uthmān, who claimed the right to avenge 'Uthmān's death. In his confrontation with Mu'āwiyah, Ali was supported by the anṣār and the people of Iraq. Before he could act, however, he had to deal with the rebellion of two senior companions, Talḥah and Zubayr. Joined by 'Ā'ishah, daughter of Abū Bakr and third wife of Muhammad, the two had marched upon Basra and captured it. Ali assembled an army in Kufa, which became his capital, and met the rebels in 656 at the Battle of the Camel. Although a peaceful settlement had nearly been reached before the fighting started, extremists on both sides forced the battle, in which Ali's forces were victorious. Talḥah and Zubayr were killed, and 'Ā'ishah was conducted safely back to Medina.
Ali then turned his attention north to Mu'āwiyah, engaging him in 657 at the Battle of Siffin, the most important contest of early Islamic history after the death of the Prophet. With his army on the verge of defeat, Mu'āwiyah, on the advice of one of his supporters, 'Amr ibn al-'Aṣ, ordered his soldiers to put pages of the Qurʾān on their lances and asked Ali to allow the dispute to be resolved by reference to Qur'ānic rules. Ali's army, seeing the sacred text, put down its arms, and Ali was forced to arbitrate. He chose an upright observer, Abū Mūsā al-Ash'arī, and Mu'āwiyah chose 'Amr ibn al-Aṣ. After Ali lost the arbitration, Mu'āwiyah refused to submit to his authority; Mu'āwiyah then defeated Ali's forces in Egypt, where 'Amr ibn al-'Aṣ became governor.
Matters were made even worse by the fact that a group that considered arbitration to be a violation of the teachings of the Qurʾān rebelled against Ali while also opposing Mu'āwiyah. Ali's attempts to reason with the rebels failed, and they left Kufa and Basra and assembled at Al-Narhawān. In 658 Ali's army dealt a crushing blow to the group that came to be known as the Khārijites ("Seceders").
Although he continued to have staunch supporters, Ali's authority was weakened in many areas during the last two years of his caliphate. A number of prominent Muslims even met in Adrūh in 659 with the thought of deposing both Ali and Mu'āwiyah and appointing as caliph 'Abd Allāh, son of 'Umar, but they did not reach a final decision. Meanwhile, some of the Khārijites decided to assassinate Ali, Mu'āwiyah, and 'Amr ibn al-'Aṣ. Although the latter two escaped, Ali did not: on the 19th of Ramadan in the year 661, he was struck in the back of the head with a poisoned sword while praying in the mosque of Kufa. He died two days later and was buried in Al-Najaf. Along with Qom in Iran, Al-Najaf became - and remains to this day - one of the most important seats of Shi'i learning and also a major pilgrimage site.
Views
In later Islamic philosophy, especially in the teachings of Mulla Sadra and his followers, Ali's sayings and sermons were increasingly regarded as central sources of metaphysical knowledge, or "divine philosophy." Members of Sadra's school, which still survives, regard Ali as the supreme metaphysician of Islam and believe that he was the first person to have used Arabic terms to express philosophical ideas. For centuries, Muslim philosophers considered Ali's sayings - such as "I have never seen a thing except to have seen God before it" and "If the veils were to be removed from the mysteries of the world, it would not add to my certitude" - to be proof of his supreme metaphysical understanding. His widely known saying "Look at what is said and not at who has said it" summarizes a main characteristic of Islamic thought, in which schools predominate over individuals and ideas are judged by their inherent philosophical value rather than by their historical sources.
Personality
Ali is known within the Islamic tradition by a number of titles, some reflecting his personal qualities and others derived from particular episodes of his life. They include Abū al-Ḥasan ("Father of Ḥasan" [the name of his oldest son]), Abū Turāb ("Father of Dust"), Murtaḍā ("One Who Is Chosen and Contented"), Asad Allāh ("Lion of God"), Ḥaydar ("Lion"), and - specifically among the Shi'ah - Amīr al-Mu'minīn ("Prince of the Faithful") and Mawlāy-i Muttaqiyān ("Master of the God-Fearing"). The title Abū Turāb, for example, recalls the time when, according to tradition, Muhammad entered a mosque and, seeing 'Alī sleeping there full of dust, said to him, "O father of dust, get up."
Sir William Muir praised Ali's 'forbearance and magnanimity' and his wisdom in counsel but comments that this was 'for other than himself', suggesting that he was a better adviser than a leader. Muir says that Ali 'never asserted the leading position', was forgiving of his enemies, always attempting conciliation.
Philip K. Hitti wrote that "Valiant in battle, wise in council, eloquent in speech, true to his friends, magnanimous to his foes, Ali became both the paragon of Muslim nobility and chivalry and the Solomon of Arabic tradition, around whose name poems, proverbs, sermonettes, and anecdotes innumerable have clustered."
In the eyes of the later Muslims, Ali was remarkable for learning and wisdom, and there are extant collections of proverbs and verses which bear his name: the Sentences of Ali. The most famous collection of Ali's speeches and letters is the Nahj al-Balāgha meaning "The Peak of Eloquence," which Shi'a regard as second only to the Qur'an in importance.
Connections
Ali was 22 or 23 years old when he migrated to Medina. Shortly after his arrival, the Prophet told Ali that he (the Prophet) had been ordered by God to give his daughter Fāṭimah to Ali in marriage. This union affected the entire history of Islam, for from it were born a daughter, Zaynab - who played a major role during the Umayyad period in claiming the rights of the family of the Prophet after her brother Ḥusayn was killed in Iraq - and two sons, Ḥasan and Ḥusayn. The latter two are the ancestors of those known as sharīf or sayyid (meaning "noble" and "master" respectively) - that is, descendants of the Prophet and thus, in the eyes of some Muslims, legitimate heirs to the leadership of the Islamic community. Ḥasan and Ḥusayn also became the second and third imams of the Shi'ah (respectively) after Ali. Although polygyny was permitted, Ali did not marry another woman while Fāṭimah was alive, and his marriage to her possesses a special spiritual significance for all Muslims because it is seen as the marriage between the greatest saintly figures surrounding the Prophet. The Prophet, who visited his daughter nearly every day, became even closer to Ali, once telling him, "You are my brother in this world and the Hereafter." After Fāṭimah's death, Ali married other wives and fathered many other children.
