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| ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib | |
|---|---|
| Name | ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib |
| Birth date | c. 600 CE |
| Birth place | Mecca, Hejaz |
| Death date | 661 CE |
| Death place | Kufa, Iraq |
| Burial place | Imam Ali Mosque, Najaf |
| Spouse | Fātimah bint Muhammad, Umama bint Abi al-As, Asma bint Umais |
| Children | Hasan ibn Ali, Husayn ibn Ali, Zaynab bint Ali, Umm Kulthum bint Ali |
| Dynasty | Banu Hashim, Hashemite |
| Father | Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib |
| Mother | Fatimah bint Asad |
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was a companion of Muhammad, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, and the fourth caliph in Sunni chronologies and the first Imam in Shia Islam. He is a central figure in the early Islamic community, noted for his role in formative events such as the Battle of Badr, Battle of Uhud, and the governance crises following the deaths of Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Uthman ibn Affan. His life intersects with personalities and institutions including Aisha bint Abi Bakr, Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, Amr ibn al-As, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and with locations such as Mecca, Medina, Kufa, and Damascus.
Ali was born into the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh in Mecca during the Late Antiquity period. His father was Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib and his mother Fatimah bint Asad, placing him within the extended kinship network that included Abd al-Muttalib, Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib, and other Qurayshi figures. He was a contemporary of figures such as Uthman ibn Affan, Abu Bakr, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. Later marital connections tied him to Fātimah bint Muhammad, linking him to the household of Muhammad and producing descendants like Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, who became central in disputes involving houses such as Umayyad Caliphate and Abbasid Revolution actors.
Ali is traditionally described as one of the earliest adherents to the teachings of Muhammad during the period preceding the Hijra to Medina. Accounts place him in proximity to converts like Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Bilal ibn Rabah, and Abu Bakr and to adversaries such as Abu Lahab and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. His relationship with Muhammad included marriage into Muhammad's family through Fātimah bint Muhammad, participation alongside companions such as Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib and Bilal ibn Rabah in early communal events, and engagement in exchanges later narrated in sources associated with Hadith transmitters like Ibn Ishaq, Al-Tabari, Ibn Sa'd, and Al-Bukhari.
During the Battle of Badr and the Battle of Uhud, Ali is recounted as fighting beside Muhammad and figures like Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Khalid ibn al-Walid, and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah. He is linked to incidents such as the protection of Muhammad during the Hijra and events narrated in sources attributed to Aisha bint Abi Bakr and Umm Salama. His reputation for eloquence and recitation associates him with collections and transmitters like Ali al-Ridha in later genealogical narratives. Ali's stewardship roles in expeditions connect him to places such as Yemen, Bahrain, and Kufa and to later governors and figures including Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan and Amr ibn al-As.
After the assassination of Uthman ibn Affan in 656, Ali was chosen as caliph in Medina with support from factions including partisans of Ali such as Talha ibn Ubayd Allah initially and opposition from leaders like Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, Aisha bint Abi Bakr, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam who contested aspects of succession. The resulting conflicts produced major encounters: the Battle of the Camel near Basra involving Aisha, Talha, and Zubayr; the First Fitna spanning confrontations at Siffin between forces of Ali and Mu'awiya; and the arbitration episodes leading to figures such as Amr ibn al-As and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari. Ali established his capital in Kufa and contended with governors like Ammar ibn Yasir and administrators from networks tied to Iraq and Syria authority. His administrative decisions intersected with actors in the Umayyad Caliphate and later historiographers like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir.
Ali's sermons, sayings, and letters, preserved in works attributed to him such as the Nahj al-Balagha (compiled by Sharif al-Radi), reflect legal and theological stances engaged by scholars like Ibn Hazm, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyya, and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. His pronouncements influenced jurisprudential traditions represented by schools including followers associated with Shia Islam and jurists such as Al-Shafi'i, Malik ibn Anas, and Abu Hanifa who debated principles later derived from sources including Hadith collections of Al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. Ali is credited with interpretations connected to Qur'anic exegesis by commentators like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir, and his legal legacy features in discussions by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, Al-Mufid, and Al-Tusi.
Ali was assassinated in 661 while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa (Masjid al-Kufa) by the Kharijite Abdul-Rahman ibn Muljam, an event paralleling earlier assassinations in the period such as that of Uthman ibn Affan. His burial site at Najaf became a major shrine associated with pilgrimage and institutions such as Hawza 'Ilmiyya and later contested by dynasties like the Buyid and Safavid dynasty. His descendants, notably Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, played central roles in events including the Treaty of Hasan–Muawiya and the Battle of Karbala, shaping movements like Twelver Shia Islam, Isma'ilism, and influencing uprisings such as the Zaydi revolts and the Abbasid Revolution.
Sunni historiography represented by chroniclers like Al-Tabari, Ibn Sa'd, and Ibn Kathir typically lists Ali among the Rashidun caliphs and evaluates his caliphate alongside Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Uthman ibn Affan, while Shia scholarship exemplified by Al-Mufid, Al-Tusi, and Sharif al-Radi regards Ali as the divinely appointed successor to Muhammad and the first Imam. Debates between partisans such as Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan supporters and adherents of Ali intersected with movements like the Kharijites and institutions such as Umayyad Caliphate, producing historiographical treatments in sources including Baladhuri, Ibn al-Athir, Ibn Khaldun, and modern historians like Wilferd Madelung. Ali's legacy informs contemporary communities, seminaries like the Hawza, commemorations such as Ashura, and political-symbolic claims by states and movements across Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and Syria.