`Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (Arabic: علي بن أبي طالب, translit.: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Arabic pronunciation: [ʕæliː ibn ʔæbiː t̪ˤæːlib]; 13th Rajab, 22 or 16BH – 21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH; September 20, 601 or July 17, 607 or 600[6] – January 27, 661[2]) was the cousin and son-in-law of theIslamic prophet Muhammad, ruling over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661.[7] A son of Abu Talib,[7] Ali was also the first male who accepted Islam.[8][9] Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided Caliphs), while Shi`is reportedly regard `Ali as the first Imam after Moḥammad, and consider him and his descendants the rightful successors to Muhammad, all of whom are members of the Ahl al-Bayt, the household of Muhammad. This disagreement split the Ummah (Muslim community) into the Sunni and Shi`i branches.[1] Muslim sources state that `Ali was the only person born in the Kaaba sanctuary in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam.[1] His father was Abu Talib and his mother was Fatima bint Asad,[1] but he was raised in the household of Muhammad, who himself was raised by Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle and `Ali's father. When Muhammad reported receiving a divine revelation, `Ali was the first male to accept his message, dedicating his life to the cause of Islam.[2][10][11][12]Ali migrated to Medina shortly after Muhammad did. Once there Muhammad told `Ali that Allah had ordered Muhammad to give his daughter, Fatimah, to `Ali in marriage.[1] For the ten years that Muhammad led the community in Medina, Ali was extremely active in his service, leading parties of warriors in battles, and carrying messages and orders. `Ali took part in the early caravan raids from Mecca and later in almost all the battles fought by the nascent Muslim community. `Ali was appointed Caliph by the Companions of Muhammad (the Sahaba) in Medina after the assassination of the third caliph, `Uthman ibn Affan.[13][14] He encountered defiance and civil war during his reign. In 661, `Ali was attacked one morning while praying in the Great Masjid of Al-Kufah, and died two days later.[15][16][17]In Muslim culture, `Ali is respected for his courage, knowledge, belief, honesty, unbending devotion to Islam, deep loyalty to Muhammad, equal treatment of all Muslims and generosity in forgiving his defeated enemies, and therefore is central to mystical traditions in Islam such as Sufism. Ali retains his stature as an authority onQuranic exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence and religious thought.[18] Ali holds a high position in almost all Sufi orders which trace their lineage through him to Muhammad. Ali's influence has been important throughout Islamic history.[1]
In Mecca[edit]
Birth and childhood[edit]
Main articles: Family tree of Ali and Birthplace of Ali ibn Abi Talib
`Ali's father Abu Talib was the custodian of the Ka`bah and a sheikh of the Bani Hashim, an important branch of the powerful Qurayshtribe. He was also an uncle of Muhammad. `Ali's mother, Fatima bint Asad, also belonged to Banu Hashim, making Ali a descendant of Isma`il Ishmael, the son of Ibrahim (Abraham).[19]Many sources, especially Shi`i ones, attest that `Ali was born inside the Kaaba in the city of Mecca, where he stayed with his mother for three days. According to a tradition, Muhammad was the first person whom Ali saw as he took the newborn in his hands. Muhammad named him Ali, meaning "the exalted one".[1][20]Muhammad had a close relationship with Ali's parents. When Muhammad was orphaned and later lost his grandfather Abdul Muttalib, Ali's father took him into his house.[1] Ali was born two or three years after Muhammad married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.[21] When Ali was five or six years old, a famine occurred in and around Mecca, affecting the economic conditions of Ali's father, who had a large family to support. Muhammad took Ali into his home to raise him.[1][10][22]
Acceptance of Islam[edit]
See also: Identity of the first male Muslim
The second period of Ali's life begins in 610 when he declared Islam at age 10 and ends with the Hijra of Muhammad to Medina in 622.[1]When Muhammad reported that he had received a divine revelation, Ali, then only about ten years old, believed him and professed to Islam.[1][2][10][11] According to Ibn Ishaq and some other authorities, Ali was the first male to embrace Islam. Tabari adds other traditions making the similar claim of being the first Muslim in relation to Zayd or Abu Bakr.[9][23] Some historians and scholars believe Ali's conversion is not worthy enough to consider him the first male Muslim because he was a child at the time.[24]Shia doctrine asserts that in keeping with Ali's divine mission, he accepted Islam before he took part in any pre-Islamic Meccantraditional religion rites, regarded by Muslims as polytheistic (see shirk) or paganistic. Hence the Shia say of Ali that his face is honored — that is, it was never sullied by prostrations before idols.[10] The Sunnis also use the honorific Karam Allahu Wajhahu, which means "God's Favor upon his Face."The reason his acceptance is often not called a conversion, is because he was never an idol worshipper like the people of Mecca. He was known to have broken idols in the mold of Abraham and asked people why they worshipped something they made themselves. Ali's grandfather, it is acknowledged without controversy, along with some members of the Bani Hashim clan, were Hanifs, followers of a monotheistic belief system, prior to the coming of Islam.
After declaration of Islam[edit]
For three years Muhammad invited people to Islam in secret, then he started inviting publicly. When, according to the Quran, he was commanded to invite his closer relatives to come to Islam[25] he gathered the Banu Hashim clan in a ceremony.According to al-Tabari, Ibn Athir and Abu al-Fida, Muhammad announced at invitational events that whoever assisted him in his invitation would become his brother, trustee and successor. Only Ali, who was thirteen or fourteen years old, stepped forward to help him. This invitation was repeated three times, but Ali was the only person who answered Muhammad. Upon Ali's constant and only answer to his call, Muhammad declared that Ali was his brother, inheritor and vice-regent and people must obey him. Most of the adults present were uncles of Ali and Muhammad, and Abu Lahab laughed at them and declared to Abu Talib that he must bow down to his own son, as Ali was now his Emir[26] This event is known as the Hadith of Warning.During the persecution of Muslims and boycott of the Banu Hashim in Mecca, Ali stood firmly in support of Muhammad.[27]
Migration to Medina[edit]
See also: Hijra (Islam)
In 622, the year of Muhammad's migration to Yathrib (now Medina), Ali risked his life by sleeping in Muhammad's bed to impersonate him and thwart an assassination plot so that Muhammad could escape in safety.[1][10][28] This night is called Laylat al-Mabit. According to some hadith, a verse was revealed about Ali concerning his sacrifice on the night of Hijra which says "And among men is he who sells his nafs (self) in exchange for the pleasure of Allah."[29][30]
Ali survived the plot, but risked his life again by staying in Mecca to carry out Muhammad's instructions: to restore to their owners all the goods and properties that had been entrusted to Muhammad for safekeeping. Ali then went to Medina with his mother, Muhammad's daughter Fatimah and two other women.[2][10]
In Medina[edit]
During Muhammad's era[edit]
See also: Muhammad in Medina and Military career of Ali
Ali was 22 or 23 years old when he migrated to Medina. When Muhammad was creating bonds of brotherhood among his companions, he selected Ali as his brother.[2][10][31] For the ten years that Muhammad led the community in Medina, Ali was extremely active in his service as his secretary and deputy, serving in his armies, the bearer of his banner in every battle, leading parties of warriors on raids, and carrying messages and orders. [32] As one of Muhammad's lieutenants, and later his son-in-law, Ali was a person of authority and standing in the Muslim community.
Family life[edit]
Main article: Ali marital life
In 623, Muhammad told Ali that God ordered him to give his daughter Fatimah Zahra to Ali in marriage.[1] Muhammad said to Fatimah: "I have married you to the dearest of my family to me."[33] This family is glorified by Muhammad frequently and he declared them as his Ahl al-Bayt in events such as Mubahala and hadith like the Hadith of the Event of the Cloak. They were also glorified in the Quran in several cases such as "the verse of purification".[34][35]
Ali had four children born to Fatimah, the only child of Muhammad to have surviving progeny. Their two sons (Hasan and Husain) were cited by Muhammad to be his own sons, honored numerous times in his lifetime and titled "the leaders of the youth of Jannah" (Heaven, the hereafter.)[36][37]
At the beginning they were extremely poor. For several years after his marriage, Fatimah did all of the household work by herself. The shoulder on which she carried pitchers of water from the well was swollen and the hand with which she worked the handmill to grind corn was often covered with blisters.[38] Fatimah vouched to take care of the household work, make dough, bake bread, and clean the house; in return, Ali vouched to take care of the outside work such as gathering firewood, and bringing food.[39] Their circumstances were akin to many of the Muslims at the time and only improved following the Battle of Khaybarwhen the wealth of Khaybar was distributed among the poor. When the economic situations of the Muslims became better, Fatimah gained some maids but treated them like her family and performed the house duties with them.[40]
Their marriage lasted until Fatimah's death ten years later. Although polygamy was permitted, Ali did not marry another woman while Fatimah was alive, and his marriage to her possesses a special spiritual significance for all Muslims because it is seen as the marriage between two great figures surrounding Muhammad. After Fatimah's death, Ali married other wives and fathered many children.[1]
In battles[edit]
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Main article: Military career of Ali
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With the exception of the Battle of Tabouk, Ali took part in all battles and expeditions fought for Islam.[10] As well as being thestandard-bearer in those battles, Ali led parties of warriors on raids into enemy lands.
Ali first distinguished himself as a warrior in 624 at the Battle of Badr. He defeated the Umayyad champion Walid ibn Utba as well as many other Meccan soldiers. According to Muslim traditions Ali killed between twenty and thirty-five enemies in battle, most agreeing with twenty-seven.[41]
Ali was prominent at the Battle of Uhud, as well as many other battles where he wielded a bifurcated sword known as Zulfiqar.[42] He had the special role of protecting Muhammad when most of the Muslim army fled from the battle of Uhud[1] and it was said "There is no brave youth except Ali and there is no sword which renders service except Zulfiqar."[43] He was commander of the Muslim army in the Battle of Khaybar.[44] Following this battle Mohammad gave Ali the name Asadullah, which in Arabic means "Lion of Allah" or "Lion of God". Ali also defended Muhammad in the Battle of Hunayn in 630.[1]
Shia (Shiite) Muslims believe that when the Islamic prophet Muhammad was nearing death, he appointed his son-in-law Ali as his successor, and handed him his sword named Dhu al-Fiqar. Frequently, reproductions of this sword will have the following expression engraved upon it: "There is no hero like Ali, there is no sword like Dhu al-Fiqar'
Shia (Shiite) Muslims believe that when the Islamic prophet Muhammad was nearing death, he appointed his son-in-law Ali as his successor, and handed him his sword named Dhu al-Fiqar. Frequently, reproductions of this sword will have the following expression engraved upon it: "There is no hero like Ali, there is no sword like Dhu al-Fiqar'
Missions for Islam[edit]
Muhammad designated Ali as one of the scribes who would write down the text of the Quran, which had been revealed to Muhammad during the previous two decades. As Islam began to spread throughout Arabia, Ali helped establish the new Islamic order. He was instructed to write down the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the peace treaty between Muhammad and the Quraysh in 628. Ali was so reliable and trustworthy that Muhammad asked him to carry the messages and declare the orders. In 630, Ali recited to a large gathering of pilgrims in Mecca a portion of the Quran that declared Muhammad and the Islamic community were no longer bound by agreements made earlier with Arab polytheists. During the Conquest of Mecca in 630, Muhammad asked Ali to guarantee that the conquest would be bloodless. He ordered Ali to break all the idols worshipped by the Banu Aus, Banu Khazraj, Tayy, and those in the Kaaba to purify it after its defilement by the polytheism of the pre-Islamic era. Ali was sent to Yemen one year later to spread the teachings of Islam. He was also charged with settling several disputes and putting down the uprisings of various tribes.[1][2]
The incident of Mubahala[edit]
Main articles: Mubahala and Hadith of Mubahala
See also: Ahl al-Bayt
According to hadith collections, in 631 an Arab Christian envoy from Najran (currently in northern Yemen and partly in Saudi Arabia) came to Muhammad to argue which of the two parties erred in its doctrine concerning Jesus. After likening Jesus' miraculous birth to Adam's creation,[45] Muhammad called them to mubahala (conversation), where each party should bring their knowledgeable men, women and children, and ask God to curse the lying party and their followers.[46] Muhammad, to prove to them that he was a prophet, brought his daughter Fatimah, Ali and his grandchildren Hasan and Husayn. He went to the Christians and said "this is my family" and covered himself and his family with a cloak.[47]According to Muslim sources, when one of the Christian monks saw their faces, he advised his companions to withdraw from Mubahala for the sake of their lives and families. Thus the Christian monks vanished from the Mubahala place. Allameh Tabatabaei explains in Tafsir al-Mizan that the word "Our selves" in this verse[46] refers to Muhammad and Ali. Then he narrates that Imam Ali al-Rida, eighth Shia Imam, in discussion with Al-Ma'mun, Abbasid caliph, referred to this verse to prove the superiority of Muhammad's progeny over the rest of the Muslim community, and considered it the proof for Ali's right for caliphate due to Allah having made Ali like the self of Muhammad.[48]
Ghadir Khumm[edit]
Main articles: Hadith of the pond of Khumm and Hadith of the two weighty things
As Muhammad was returning from his last pilgrimage in 632, he made statements about Ali that are interpreted very differently by Sunnis and Shias.[1] He halted the caravan at Ghadir Khumm, gathered the returning pilgrims for communal prayer and began to address them:[49]
According to Encyclopedia of Islam:
Taking Ali by the hand, he asked of his faithful followers whether he, Muhammad, was not closer (awlā) to the Believers than they were to themselves; the crowd cried out: “It is so, O Apostle of God!”; he then declared: “He of whom I am the mawla, of him Ali is also the mawla (man kuntu mawlāhu fa-ʿAlī mawlāhu)”.[50] [51]
Shia's regard these statements as constituting the designation of Ali as the successor of Muhammad and as the first Imam; by contrast, Sunnis take them only as an expression of close spiritual relationship between Muhammad and Ali, and of his wish that Ali, as his cousin and son-in-law, inherit his family responsibilities upon his death, but not necessarily a designation of political authority. [52] [53] Many Sufisalso interpret the episode as the transfer of Muhammad's spiritual power and authority to Ali, whom they regard as the wali par excellence.[1][54] On the basis of this hadith, Shia say that Ali later insisted that his religious authority was superior to that of Abu Bakr andUmar.[55]
Succession to Muhammad[edit]
After uniting the Arabian tribes into a single Muslim religious polity in the last years of his life, Muhammad's death in 632 signalled disagreement over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community.[56] While Ali and the rest of Muhammad's close family were washing his body for burial, at a gathering attended by a small group of Muslims at Saqifah, a close companion of Muhammad named Abu Bakr was nominated for the leadership of the community. Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph. The choice of Abu Bakr was disputed by some of the Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali had been designated his successor by Muhammad himself.[12][57]
Later when Fatimah and Ali sought aid from the Companions in the matter of his right to the caliphate, they answered 'O daughter of the Messenger of God! We have given our allegiance to Abu Bakr. If Ali had come to us before this, we would certainly not have abandoned him'. Ali said, 'Was it fitting that we should wrangle over the caliphate even before the Prophet was buried?'[58][59]
Following his election to the caliphate, Abu Bakr and Umar with a few other companions headed to Fatimah's house to force Ali and his supporters who had gathered there to give their allegiance to Abu Bakr. Then, it is alleged that Umar threatened to set the house on fire unless they came out and swore allegiance with Abu Bakr.[60] Fatimah, in support of her husband, started a commotion and threatened to "uncover her hair", at which Abu Bakr relented and withdrew.[40] Ali is reported to have repeatedly said that had there been forty men with him he would have resisted.[60] Ali did not actively assert his own right because he did not want to throw the nascent Muslim community into strife.[2] Other sources say that Ali accepted the selection of Umar as caliph and even gave one of his daughters, Umm Kulthūm, to him in marriage.[1]
This contentious issue caused Muslims to later split into two groups, Sunni and Shia. Sunnis assert that even though Muhammad never appointed a successor, Abu Bakr was elected first caliph by the Muslim community. The Sunnis recognize the first four caliphs as Muhammad's rightful successors. Shias believe that Muhammad explicitly named Ali as his successor at Ghadir Khumm and Muslim leadership belonged to him which had been determined by divine order.[12][61]
According to Wilferd Madelung, Ali himself was firmly convinced of his legitimacy for caliphate based on his close kinship with Muhammad, his intimate association and his knowledge of Islam and his merits in serving its cause. He told Abu Bakr that his delay in pledging allegiance (bay'ah) as caliph was based on his belief of his own prior title. Ali did not change his mind when he finally pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr and then to Umar and to Uthman but had done so for the sake of the unity of Islam, at a time when it was clear that the Muslims had turned away from him.[12][62] Ali also believed that he could fulfill his role of Imam'ate without this fighting.[63]
Life after Muhammad[edit]
See also: Origin and development of the Quran
Another part of Ali's life started in 632 after the death of Muhammad and lasted until the assassination of Uthman Ibn Affan, the third caliph in 656. During those 24 years, Ali neither took part in any battle or conquest,[2] nor did he assume any executive position. He withdrew from political affairs, especially after the death of his wife, Fatima Zahra. He used his time to serve his family and worked as a farmer. Ali dug a lot of wells and planted gardens near Medina and endowed them for public use. These wells are known today as Abar Ali ("Ali's wells").[64]
Ali compiled a complete version of the Quran, mus'haf,[65] six months after the death of Muhammad. The volume was completed and carried by camel to show to other people of Medina. The order of this mus'haf differed from that which was gathered later during the Uthmanic era. This book was rejected by several people when he showed it to them. Despite this, Ali made no resistance against standardized mus'haf.[66]
Ali and the Rashidun Caliphs[edit]
See also: Rashidun and The election of Uthman
At the beginning of the Abu Bakr's caliphate, there was a controversy about Muhammad's endowment to his daughter, especially Fadak, between Fatimah and Ali on one side and Abu Bakr on the other side. Fatimah asked Abu Bakr to turn over their property, the lands of Fadak and Khaybar. But Abu Bakr refused and told her that prophets did not have any legacy and that Fadak belonged to the Muslim community. Abu Bakr said to her, "Allah's Apostle said, we do not have heirs, whatever we leave is Sadaqa." Together with Umm Ayman, Ali testified to the fact that Muhammad granted it to Fatimah Zahra, when Abu Bakr requested her to summon witnesses for her claim. Fatimah became angry and stopped speaking to Abu Bakr, and continued assuming that attitude until she died. [67]
'Aisha also said that "When Allah's Apostle died, his wives intended to send 'Uthman to Abu Bakr asking him for their share of the inheritance." Then 'Aisha said to them, "Didn't Allah's Apostle say, 'Our (Apostles') property is not to be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be spent in charity?'".[68]
According to some sources, Ali did not give his oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr until some time after the death of his wife, Fatimah in the year 633 AD.[2] Ali participated in the funeral of Abu Bakr.[69]
He pledged allegiance to the second caliph Umar ibn Khattab and helped him as a trusted advisor. Umar particularly relied upon Ali as the Chief Judge of Medina. He also advised Umar to set Hijra as the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Umar used Ali's suggestions in political issues as well as religious ones.[70]
Ali was one of the electoral council to choose the third caliph which was appointed by Umar. Although Ali was one of the two major candidates, the council's arrangement was against him. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and Abdur Rahman bin Awf, who were cousins, were naturally inclined to support Uthman, who was Abdur Rahman's brother-in-law. In addition, Umar gave the casting vote to Abdur Rahman. Abdur Rahman offered the caliphate to Ali on the condition that he should rule in accordance with the Quran, the example set by Muhammad, and the precedents established by the first two caliphs. Ali rejected the third condition while Uthman accepted it. According to Ibn Abi al-Hadid's Comments on the Peak of Eloquence Ali insisted on his prominence there, but most of the electors supported Uthman and Ali was reluctantly urged to accept him.[71]
Siege of Uthman[edit]
Main article: Siege of Uthman
Uthman Ibn Affan expressed generosity toward his kin, Banu Abd-Shams, who seemed to dominate him, and his supposed arrogant mistreatment toward several of the earliest companions such as Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Abd-Allah ibn Mas'ud and Ammar ibn Yasir provoked outrage among some groups of people. Dissatisfaction and resistance openly arose since 650–651 throughout most of the empire.[72] The dissatisfaction with his rule and the governments appointed by him was not restricted to the provinces outside Arabia.[73] When Uthman's kin, especially Marwan, gained control over him, the noble companions, including most of the members of elector council, turned against him or at least withdrew their support, putting pressure on the caliph to mend his ways and reduce the influence of his assertive kin.[74]
At this time, Ali had acted as a restraining influence on Uthman without directly opposing him. On several occasions Ali disagreed with Uthman in the application of the Hudud; he had publicly shown sympathy for Abu Dharr al-Ghifari and had spoken strongly in the defense of Ammar ibn Yasir. He conveyed to Uthman the criticisms of other Companions and acted on Uthman's behalf as negotiator with the provincial opposition who had come to Medina; because of this some mistrust between Ali and Uthman's family seems to have arisen. Finally, he tried to mitigate the severity of the siege by his insistence that Uthman should be allowed water.[2]
There is controversy among historians about the relationship between Ali and Uthman. Although pledging allegiance to Uthman, Ali disagreed with some of his policies. In particular, he clashed with Uthman on the question of religious law. He insisted that religious punishment had to be done in several cases such as Ubayd Allah ibn Umar and Walid ibn Uqba. In 650 during pilgrimage, he confronted Uthman with reproaches for his change of the prayer ritual. When Uthman declared that he would take whatever he needed from the fey', Ali exclaimed that in that case the caliph would be prevented by force. Ali endeavored to protect companions from maltreatment by the caliph such as Ibn Mas'ud.[75] Therefore, some historians consider Ali one of the leading members of Uthman's opposition, if not the main one. But Wilferd Madelung rejects their judgment due to the fact that Ali did not have the Quraysh's support to be elected as a caliph. According to him, there is even no evidence that Ali had close relations with rebels who supported his caliphate or directed their actions. [76] Some other sources say Ali had acted as a restraining influence on Uthman without directly opposing him.[2] However, Madelung narrates Marwan told Zayn al-Abidin, the grandson of Ali, that
No one [among the Islamic nobility] was more temperate toward our master than your master.[77]
Caliphate[edit]
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See also: Rashidun Empire and Ali as caliph
Election as Caliph[edit]
Ali was caliph between 656 and 661, during one of the most turbulent periods in Muslim history, which also coincided with the First Fitna.
Uthman's assassination meant that rebels had to select a new caliph. This met with difficulties since the rebels were divided into several groups comprising the Muhajirun, Ansar, Egyptians, Kufans and Basntes. There were three candidates: Ali, Talhah and al-Zubayr. First the rebels approached Ali, requesting him to accept being the caliph. Some of Muhammad's companions tried to persuade Ali in accepting the office,[78][79][80] but he turned down the offer, suggesting to be a counselor instead of a chief.[81]
Talhah, Zubayr and other companions also refused the rebels' offer of the caliphate. Therefore, the rebels warned the inhabitants of Medina to select a caliph within one day, or they would apply drastic action. In order to resolve the deadlock, the Muslims gathered in the Mosque of the Prophet on June 18, 656 to appoint the caliph. Initially Ali refused to accept simply because his most vigorous supporters were rebels. However, when some notable companions of Muhammad, in addition to the residents of Medina, urged him to accept the offer, he finally agreed. According to Abu Mekhnaf's narration, Talhah was the first prominent companion who gave his pledge to Ali, but other narrations claimed otherwise, stating they were forced to give their pledge. Also, Talhah and Zubayr later claimed they supported him reluctantly. Regardless, Ali refuted these claims, insisting they recognized him as caliph voluntarily. Wilferd Madelung believes that force did not urge people to give their pledge and they pledged publicly in the mosque.[13][14]
While the overwhelming majority of Medina's population as well as many of the rebels gave their pledge, some important figures or tribes did not do so. The Umayyads, kinsmen of Uthman, fled to the Levant or remained in their houses, later refusing Ali's legitimacy. Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas was absent and Abdullah ibn Umar abstained from offering his allegiance, but both of them assured Ali that they would not act against him.[13][14]
Reign as Caliph[edit]
Since the conflicts in which Ali was involved were perpetuated in polemical sectarian historiography, biographical material is often biased. But the sources agree that he was a profoundly religious man, devoted to the cause of Islam and the rule of justice in accordance with the Quran and the Sunna; he engaged in war against erring Muslims as a matter of religious duty. The sources abound in notices on his austerity, rigorous observance of religious duties, and detachment from worldly goods. Thus some authors have pointed out that he lacked political skill and flexibility.[2]
Ali inherited the Rashidun Caliphate—which extended from Egypt in the west to the Iranian highlands in the east—while the situation in the Hejaz and the other provinces on the eve of his election was unsettled. Soon after Ali became caliph, he dismissed provincial governors who had been appointed by Uthman, replacing them with trusted aides. He acted against the counsel of Mughira ibn Shu'ba and Ibn Abbas, who had advised him to proceed his governing cautiously. Madelung says Ali was deeply convinced of his right and his religious mission, unwilling to compromise his principles for the sake of political expediency, and ready to fight against overwhelming odds.[82] Muawiyah I, the kinsman of Uthman and governor of the Levant, refused to submit to Ali's orders; he was the only governor to do so.[2]
When he was appointed caliph, Ali stated to the citizens of Medina that Muslim polity had come to be plagued by dissension and discord; he desired to purge Islam of any evil. He advised the populace to behave as true Muslims, warning that he would tolerate no sedition and those who were found guilty of subversive activities would be dealt with harshly.[83] Ali recovered the land granted by Uthman and swore to recover anything that elites had acquired before his election. Ali opposed the centralization of capital control over provincial revenues, favoring an equal distribution of taxes and booty amongst the Muslim citizens; he distributed the entire revenue of the treasury among them. Ali refrained from nepotism, including with his brother Aqeel ibn Abu Talib. This was an indication to Muslims of his policy of offering equality to Muslims who served Islam in its early years and to the Muslims who played a role in the later conquests.[2][84]
Ali succeeded in forming a broad coalition especially after the Battle of the Camel. His policy of equal distribution of taxes and booty gained the support of Muhammad's companions, especially the Ansar who were subordinated by the Quraysh leadership after Muhammad, the traditional tribal leaders, and the Qurra or Quran reciters that sought pious Islamic leadership. The successful formation of this diverse coalition seems to be due to Ali's charismatic character.[2][85] This diverse coalition became known as Shi'a Ali, meaning "party" or "faction of Ali". However according to Shia, as well as non-Shia reports, the majority of those who supported Ali after his election as caliph, were shia politically, not religiously. Although at this time there were many who counted as political Shia, few of them believed Ali's religious leadership.[86]
First Fitna[edit]
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See also: First Fitna
A'isha, Talhah, Al-Zubayr and Umayyad, especially Muawiyah I and Marwan I, wanted Ali to punish the rioters who had killed Uthman. They wanted Ali to arrest Uthman ibn Affan's killer and not to fight Muawiyah I.[87][88] They encamped close to Basra. The talks lasted for many days and the subsequent heated exchange and protests during the parley turned from words to blows, leading to loss of life on both sides. In the confusion the Battle of the Camel started in 656, where Ali emerged victorious.[89] Marwan was arrested but he later asked Hassan and Hussein for assistance and was released.[87]
They went to Iraq to get Ali to arrest the murderers of Uthman and not to fight Muawiyah I. However some historians believe that they used this issue to seek their political ambitions because they found Ali's caliphate against their own benefit. On the other hand, the rebels maintained that Uthman had been justly killed, for not governing according to Quran and Sunnah, hence no vengeance was to be invoked.[2][10][90] Historians disagree on Ali's position. Some say the caliphate was a gift of the rebels and Ali did not have enough force to control or punish them,[83] while others say Ali accepted the rebels' argument or at least did not consider Uthman just ruler.[91]
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Under such circumstances, a schism took place which led to the first civil war in Muslim history. Some Muslims, known as Uthmanis, considered Uthman a rightful and just Caliph (Islamic leader) till the end, who had been unlawfully killed. Some others, who are known as party of Ali, believed Uthman had fallen into error, he had forfeited the caliphate and been lawfully executed for his refusal to mend his way or step down; thus Ali was the just and true Imam and his opponents are infidels. This civil war created permanent divisions within the Muslim community regarding who had the legitimate right to occupy the caliphate.[92]
The First Fitna, 656–661, followed the assassination of Uthman, continued during the caliphate of Ali, and was ended by Muawiyah's assumption of the caliphate. This civil war (often called the Fitna) is regretted as the end of the early unity of the Islamic ummah (nation).[93]
Ali appointed 'Abd Allah ibn al'-Abbas[94] governor of Basra and moved his capital to Kufa, the Muslim garrison city in Iraq. A few years earlier there had be tensions between Iraq, formally under the Persian Sassanid Empire and Syria, formally under the Byzantine Empire, during the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The Iraqis wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic State to be in Kufa. They convinced Ali to come to Kufa and establish the capital in Kufa.[95] Kufa was also in the middle of Islamic land and had strategic position.[96]
Later Muawiyah I, the governor of Levant and the cousin of Uthman, refused Ali's demands for allegiance. Ali opened negotiations hoping to regain his allegiance, but Muawiyah insisted on Levant autonomy under his rule. Muawiyah replied by mobilizing his Levantine supporters and refusing to pay homage to Ali on the pretext that his contingent had not participated in his election. Ali then moved his armies North and the two armies encamped themselves at Siffin for more than one hundred days, most of the time being spent in negotiations. Although Ali exchanged several letters with Muawiyah, he was unable to dismiss the latter, nor persuade him to pledge allegiance. Skirmishes between the parties led to the Battle of Siffin in 657. [2][97]
English historian Edward Gibbon wrote: "The Caliph Ali displayed a superior character of valor and humanity. His troops were strictly enjoined to wait the first onset of the enemy, to spare their flying brethren, and to respect the bodies of the dead, and the chastity of the female captives. The ranks of the Syrians were broken by the charge of the hero, who was mounted on a piebald horse, and wielded with irresistible force his ponderous and two edged sword." Of the estimated casualties, Ali's forces lost 25,000, while Muawiyah's forces lost 45,000. Appalled by the carnage, Ali sent a message to Muawiya and challenged him to single combat, saying that whoever won should be the Caliph. In Gibbon's words, "Ali generously proposed to save the blood of the Muslims by a single combat; but his trembling rival declined the challenge as a sentence of inevitable death."[98]
After a week of combat was followed by a violent battle known as laylat al-harir (the night of clamor), Muawiyah's army was on the point of being routed when Amr ibn al-Aas advised Muawiyah to have his soldiers hoist mus'haf (either parchments inscribed with verses of the Quran, or complete copies of it) on their spearheads in order to cause disagreement and confusion in Ali's army.[2][97] Ali saw through the stratagem, but only a minority wanted to pursue the fight.[12]
The two armies finally agreed to settle the matter of who should be Caliph by arbitration. The refusal of the largest bloc in Ali's army to fight was the decisive factor in his acceptance of the arbitration. The question as to whether the arbiter would represent Ali or the Kufans caused a further split in Ali's army. Ash'ath ibn Qays and some others rejected Ali's nominees,'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas and Malik al-Ashtar, and insisted on Abu Musa Ash'ari, for his neutrality. Finally, Ali was urged to accept Abu Musa. Amr ibn al-As was appointed by Muawiyah as an arbitrator.
Seven months later the two arbitrators met at Adhruh about 10 miles north west of Maan in Jordon in February 658. Amr ibn al-As convinced Abu Musa Ashaari that both Ali and Muawiyah should step down and a new Caliph be elected. Ali and his supporters were stunned by the decision which had lowered the Caliph to the status of the rebellious Muawiyah. Ali was therefore outwitted by Muawiyah and Amr ibn al-As.[99][100] Ali refused to accept the verdict and found himself technically in breach of his pledge to abide by the arbitration. This put Ali in a weak position even amongst his own supporters. The most vociferous opponents in Ali's camp were the very same people who had forced Ali into the ceasefire. They broke away from Ali's force, rallying under the slogan "arbitration belongs to God alone." This group came to be known as the Kharijites ("those who leave"). They considered everyone to be their enermy. In 659 Ali's forces and the Kharijites met in the Battle of Nahrawan.[101]
The arbitration resulted in the dissolution of Ali's coalition and some have opined that this was Muawiyah's intention.[2][102]
In the following years Muawiyah's army occupied many cities of Iraq, which Ali's governors could not prevent, and people did not support him to fight with them. Muawiyah overpowered Egypt, Hijaz, Yemen and other areas.[103] In the last year of Ali's caliphate, the mood in Kufa and Basra changed in his favor as Muawiyah's vicious behaviour in the war revealed the nature of his reign. However, the people's attitude toward Ali differed deeply. Just a small minority of them believed that Ali was the best Muslim after Muhammad and the only one entitled to rule them, while the majority supported him due to their distrust and opposition to Muawiyah.[104]
Policies[edit]
What shows Ali's policies and ideas of governing is his instruction to Malik al-Ashtar, when appointed by him as governor of Egypt. This instruction, which is considered by many Muslims and even non-Muslims as the ideal constitution for Islamic governance, involved detailed description of duties and rights of the ruler and various functionaries of the state and the main classes of society at that time.[105][106][need quotation to verify]
Ali wrote in his instruction to Malik al-Ashtar:
Infuse your heart with mercy, love and kindness for your subjects. Be not in face of them a voracious animal, counting them as easy prey, for they are of two kinds: either they are your brothers in religion or your equals in creation. Error catches them unaware, deficiencies overcome them, (evil deeds) are committed by them intentionally and by mistake. So grant them your pardon and your forgiveness to the same extent that you hope God will grant you His pardon and His forgiveness. For you are above them, and he who appointed you is above you, and God is above him who appointed you. God has sought from you the fulfillment of their requirements and He is trying you with them.[107]
Since the majority of Ali's subjects were nomads and peasants, he was concerned with agriculture. He instructed to Malik to give more attention to development of the land than to the collection of the tax, because tax can only be obtained by the development of the land and whoever demands tax without developing the land ruins the country and destroys the people.[108]
Death[edit]
On the 19th of Ramadan, while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, Ali was attacked by the Kharijite Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam. He was wounded by ibn Muljam's poison-coated sword while prostrating in the Fajr prayer.[109] Ali ordered his sons not to attack the Kharijites, instead stipulating that if he survived, ibn Muljam would be pardoned whereas if he died, ibn Muljam should be given only one equal hit (regardless of whether or not he died from the hit).[110]
Ali died a few days later on January 31, 661 (21 Ramadan 40 A.H).[109] Hasan fulfilled Qisas and gave equal punishment to ibn Muljam upon Ali's death.[104]
Burial[edit]
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According to Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid, Ali did not want his grave to be desecrated by his enemies and consequently asked his friends and family to bury him secretly. This secret gravesite was revealed later during the Abbasid caliphate by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, his descendant and the sixth Shia Imam.[111] Most Shias accept that Ali is buried at the Tomb of Imam Ali in the Imam Ali Mosque at what is now the city of Najaf, which grew around the mosque and shrine called Masjid Ali.[112][113]
However another story, usually maintained by some Afghans, notes that his body was taken and buried in the Afghan city of Mazar-E-Sharif at the famous Blue Mosque or Rawze-e-Sharif.[114]
Aftermath[edit]
See also: Umayyad dynasty and Umayyad tradition of cursing Ali
After Ali's death, Kufi Muslims pledged allegiance to his eldest son Hasan without dispute, as Ali on many occasions had declared that just People of the House of Muhammad were entitled to rule the Muslim community.[115] At this time, Muawiyah held both the Levant and Egypt and, as commander of the largest force in the Muslim Empire, had declared himself caliph and marched his army into Iraq, the seat of Hasan's caliphate.
War ensued during which Muawiyah gradually subverted the generals and commanders of Hasan's army with large sums of money and deceiving promises until the army rebelled against him. Finally, Hasan was forced to make peace and to yield the caliphate to Muawiyah. In this way Muawiyah captured the Islamic caliphate and in every way possible placed the severest pressure upon Ali's family and his Shia. Regular public cursing of Imam Ali in the congregational prayers remained a vital institution which was not abolished until 60 years later byUmar ibn Abd al-Aziz. Muawiyah also established the Umayyad caliphate which was a centralized monarchy. [116]
Madelung writes:
Umayyad highhandedness, misrule and repression were gradually to turn the minority of Ali's admirers into a majority. In the memory of later generations Ali became the ideal Commander of the Faithful. In face of the fake Umayyad claim to legitimate sovereignty in Islam as God's Vice-regents on earth, and in view of Umayyad treachery, arbitrary and divisive government, and vindictive retribution, they came to appreciate his [Ali's] honesty, his unbending devotion to the reign of Islam, his deep personal loyalties, his equal treatment of all his supporters, and his generosity in forgiving his defeated enemies.[18]
Knowledge[edit]
See also: Nahj al-Balagha
Ali is respected not only as a warrior and leader, but as a writer and religious authority. A numerous range of disciplines from theology and exegesis to calligraphy and numerology, from law and mysticism to Arabic grammar and Rhetoric are regarded as having been first adumbrated by Ali.[113] According to a Hadith which is narrated by Shia and Sufis, Muhammad told about him "I'm the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate..."[113][117][118] Muslims regard Ali as a major authority on Islam. Ali himself gives this testimony:
Not a single verse of the Quran descended upon (was revealed to) the Messenger of God which he did not proceed to dictate to me and make me recite. I would write it with my own hand, and he would instruct me as to its tafsir (the literal explanation) and the ta'wil (the spiritual exegesis), the nasikh (the verse which abrogates) and the mansukh (the abrogated verse), the muhkam and the mutashabih (the fixed and the ambiguous), the particular and the general...[119]
According to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Ali is credited with having established Islamic theology and his quotations contain the first rational proofs among Muslims of the Unity of God.[120]Ibn Abi al-Hadid has quoted
As for theosophy and dealing with matters of divinity, it was not an Arab art. Nothing of the sort had been circulated among their distinguished figures or those of lower ranks. This art was the exclusive preserve of Greece, whose sages were its only expounders. The first one among Arabs to deal with it was Ali.[121]
In later Islamic philosophy, especially in the teachings of Mulla Sadra and his followers, like Allameh Tabatabaei, Ali's sayings and sermons were increasingly regarded as central sources of metaphysical knowledge, or divine philosophy. Members of Sadra's school regard Ali as the supreme metaphysician of Islam.[1] According to Henry Corbin, the Nahj al-Balagha may be regarded as one of the most important sources of doctrines professed by Shia thinkers, especially after 1500AD. Its influence can be sensed in the logical co-ordination of terms, the deduction of correct conclusions, and the creation of certain technical terms in Arabic which entered the literary and philosophical language independently of the translation into Arabic of Greek texts.[122]
Ali was also a great scholar of Arabic literature and pioneered in the field of Arabic grammar and rhetoric. Numerous short sayings of Ali have become part of general Islamic culture and are quoted as aphorisms and proverbs in daily life. They have also become the basis of literary works or have been integrated into poetic verse in many languages. Already in the 8th century, literary authorities such as 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya al-'Amiri pointed to the unparalleled eloquence of Ali's sermons and sayings, as did al-Jahiz in the following century.[1]Even staffs in the Divan of Umayyad recited Ali's sermons to improve their eloquence.[123] Of course, Peak of Eloquence (Nahj al-Balagha) is an extract of Ali's quotations from a literal viewpoint as its compiler mentioned in the preface, while there are many other quotations, prayers (Du'as), sermons and letters in other literal, historic and religious books.[124]
In addition, some hidden or occult sciences such as jafr, Islamic numerology, and the science of the symbolic significance of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, are said to have been established by Ali[1] through his having studied the texts of al-Jafr and al-Jamia.
Works[edit]
The compilation of sermons, lectures and quotations attributed to Ali are compiled in the form of several books.
- Nahj al-Balagha (Way of Eloquence) contains eloquent sermons, letters and quotations attributed to Ali which is compiled by ash-Sharif ar-Radi (d. 1015). Reza Shah Kazemi states: "Despite ongoing questions about the authenticity of the text, recent scholarship suggests that most of the material in it can in fact be attributed to Ali" and in support of this he makes reference to an article by Mokhtar Jebli.[113] This book has a prominent position in Arabic literature. It is also considered an important intellectual, political and religious work in Islam.[1][125][126] Masadir Nahj al-Balagha wa asaniduh, written by al-Sayyid ‘Abd al-Zahra' al-Husayni al-Khatib, introduces some of these sources.[127] Also, Nahj al-sa'adah fi mustadrak Nahj al-balaghah by Muhammad Baqir al-Mahmudi represents all of Ali's extant speeches, sermons, decrees, epistles, prayers, and sayings that have been collected. It includes the Nahj al-balagha and other discourses which were not incorporated by ash-Sharif ar-Radi or were not available to him. Apparently, except for some of the aphorisms, the original sources of all the contents of the Nahj al-balagha have been determined.[125] There are several Comments on the Peak of Eloquence by Sunnis and Shias such as Comments of Ibn Abi al-Hadid and comments of Muhammad Abduh.
- Supplications (Du'a), translated by William Chittick.[128]
- Ghurar al-Hikam wa Durar al-Kalim (Exalted aphorisms and Pearls of Speech) which is compiled by Abd al-Wahid Amidi (d. 1116) consists of over ten thounsads short sayings of Ali.[129]
- Nuzhat al-Absar va Mahasin al-Asar, Ali's sermons which have compiled by Ali ibn Muhammad Tabari Mamtiri.[130]
- Divan-i Ali ibn Abu Talib (poems which are attributed to Ali ibn Abu Talib).[2][131]
Descendants[edit]
Main articles: Descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Alavi (surname)
Ali initially married Fatimah, who was his most beloved wife. After she died, he got married again. He had four children with Fatimah, Hasan ibn Ali, Husayn ibn Ali, Zaynab bint Ali[1]and Umm Kulthum bint Ali. His other well-known sons were al-Abbas ibn Ali, born to Fatima binte Hizam (Um al-Banin), and Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah.[132] Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah was Ali's son from another wife from Hanifa clan of Central Arabia[133] named Khawla bint Ja'far.[134]
Hasan, born in 625 AD, was the second Shia Imam and he also occupied the outward function of caliph for about six months. In the year 50 A.H., he was poisoned and killed by a member of his own household who, as has been accounted by historians, had been motivated by Mu'awiyah.[135]
Husayn, born in 626 AD, was the third Shia Imam. He lived under severe conditions of suppression and persecution by Mu'awiyah. On the tenth day of Muharram, of the year 680, he lined up before the army of the caliph with his small band of followers and nearly all of them were killed in the Battle of Karbala. The anniversary of his death is called the Day of Ashuraand it is a day of mourning and religious observance for Shia Muslims.[136] In this battle some of Ali's other sons were killed. Al-Tabari has mentioned their names in his history: Al-Abbas ibn Ali, the holder of Husayn's standard, Ja'far, Abdallah and Uthman, the four sons born to Fatima binte Hizam; Muhammad and Abu Bakr. The death of the last one is doubtful.[137] Some historians have added the names of Ali's other sons who were killed in Karbala, including Ibrahim, Umar and Abdallah ibn al-Asqar.[138][139]
His daughter Zaynab—who was in Karbala—was captured by Yazid's army and later played a great role in revealing what happened to Husayn and his followers.[140]
Ali's descendants by Fatimah are known as sharifs, sayeds or sayyids. These are honorific titles in Arabic, sharif meaning 'noble' and sayed or sayyid meaning 'lord' or 'sir'. As Muhammad's only descendants, they are respected by both Sunni and Shia, though the Shias place much more emphasis and value on the distinction.[1]
Views[edit]
Muslim views[edit]
Main article: Ali in Muslim culture
Except for Muhammad, there is no one in Islamic history about whom as much has been written in Islamic languages as Ali.[1] In Muslim culture, Ali is respected for his courage, knowledge, belief, honesty, unbending devotion to Islam, deep loyalty to Muhammad, equal treatment of all Muslims and generosity in forgiving his defeated enemies, and therefore is central to mystical traditions in Islam such as Sufism. Ali retains his stature as an authority on Quranic exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence and religious thought.[18] Ali holds a high position in almost all Sufi orders which trace their lineage through him to Muhammad. Ali's influence has been important throughout Islamic history.[1]
Shia[edit]
Main article: Shia view of Ali
The Shia regard Ali as the most important figure after Muhammad.[141] According to them, Muhammad suggested on various occasions during his lifetime that Ali should be the leader of Muslims after his death. This is supported by numerous Hadiths which have been narrated by Shias, including Hadith of the pond of Khumm, Hadith of the two weighty things, Hadith of the pen and paper, Hadith of the Cloak, Hadith of position, Hadith of the invitation of the close families, and Hadith of the Twelve Successors.
According to this view, Ali as the successor of Muhammad not only ruled over the community in justice, but also interpreted the Sharia Law and its esoteric meaning. Hence he was regarded as being free from error and sin (infallible), and appointed by God by divine decree (nass) through Muhammad.[142] It is believed in Twelver and Ismaili Shī‘ah Islam that ‘aql, divine wisdom, was the source of the souls of the Prophets and Imams and gave them esoteric knowledge called ḥikmah and that their sufferings were a means of divine grace to their devotees.[1][143][144] Although the Imam was not the recipient of a divine revelation, he had a close relationship with God, through which God guides him, and the Imam in turn guides the people. His words and deeds are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result it is a source of sharia law.[142][145][146]
Shia pilgrims usually go to Mashad Ali in Najaf for Ziyarat, pray there and read "Ziyarat Amin Allah"[147] or other Ziyaratnamehs.[148] Under the Safavid Empire, his grave became the focus of much devoted attention, exemplified in the pilgrimage made by Shah Ismail I to Najaf andKarbala.[12]
Sunni[edit]
Main article: Sunni view of Ali
Sunni Muslims regard Ali with great respect as one of the Ahl al-Bayt and the last of the Rashidun caliphs, as well as one of the most influential and respected leaders in Islam. Also, he is one of the Al-Asharatu Mubashsharun, the Ten Companions of Muhammad whom the Prophet of Islam promised Paradise.
Sufi[edit]
Almost all Sufi orders trace their lineage to Muhammad through Ali, an exception being Naqshbandi, who go through Abu Bakr. Even in this order, there is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the great great grandson of Ali. Sufis believe that Ali inherited from Muhammad the saintly power wilayah that makes the spiritual journey to God possible.[1]
Eminent Sufi's such as Ali Hujwiri claim that the tradition began with Ali and Junayd of Baghdad regarded Ali as the Sheikh of the principals and practices of Sufism.[149]
Sufi's recite Manqabat Ali in the praise of Ali. In South Asia various forms of Hamd, Naat and Qawwali are also recited in the praise of Ali.
As a deity[edit]
Main article: Ghulat
Some groups such as the Alawis believe that Ali is a deity in his own right or he was God incarnate. They are described as ghulat (Ar: غُلاة) "exaggerators" by the vast majority of Islamic scholars. These groups have, in traditional Islamic thought, left Islam due to their exaggeration of a human being's praiseworthy traits. Ali is recorded in some traditions as having forbidden those who sought to worship him in his own lifetime.[150]
Non-Muslim views[edit]
Main article: Non-Muslim view of Ali
| Person | Quote |
|---|---|
| Edward Gibbon(British 18th century historian) | The zeal and virtue of Ali were never outstripped by any recent proselyte. He united the qualifications of a poet, a soldier, and a saint; his wisdom still breathes in a collection of moral and religious sayings; and every antagonist, in the combats of the tongue or of the sword, was subdued by his eloquence and valour. From the first hour of his mission to the last rites of his funeral, the apostle was never forsaken by a generous friend, whom he delighted to name his brother, his vicegerent, and the faithful Aaron of a second Moses.[151] |
| Washington Irving(American author and essayist) | He was of the noblest branch of the noble race of Koreish. He possessed the three qualities most prized by Arabs: courage, eloquence, and munificence. His intrepid spirit had gained him from the prophet the appellation of The Lion of God; specimens of his eloquence remain in some verses and sayings preserved among the Arabs; and his munificence was manifested in sharing among others, every Friday, what remained in the treasury. Of his magnanimity, we have given repeated instances; his noble scorn of everything false and mean, and the absence in his conduct of everything like selfish intrigue.[152] |
| Thomas Carlyle(Scottish historian, critic, and sociological writer) | 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.[153] |
| Sir William Muir(Scottish scholar and statesman) | Endowed with a clear intellect, warm in affection, and confiding in friendship, he was from the boyhood devoted heart and soul to the Prophet. Simple, quiet, and unambitious, when in after days he obtained the rule of half of the Moslem world, it was rather thrust upon him than sought.[154] |
| Dr. Henry Stubbe(Classicist, polemicist, physician, and philosopher) | He had a contempt of the world, its glory and pomp, he feared God much, gave many alms, was just in all his actions, humble and affable; of an exceeding quick wit and of an ingenuity that was not common, he was exceedingly learned, not in those sciences that terminate in speculations but those which extend to practice.[155] |
| Simon Ockley (British Orientalist and Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge) | One thing particularly deserving to be noticed is that his mother was delivered of him at Mecca, in the very temple itself; which never happened to any one else.[156] |
| Khalil Gibran (poet) | In my view, ʿAlī was the first Arab to have contact with and converse with the universal soul. He died a martyr of his greatness, he died while prayer was between his two lips. The Arabs did not realise his value until appeared among their Persian neighbors some who knew the difference between gems andgravels.[157][158] |
Jesuit Henri Lammens[159] held a negative view of Ali and all of Islam.
Some non-Muslim scholars reject all hadith as fabrications, which colors their views. Others, like Wilferd Madelung, accept the hadith literature. A few of them, like Lammens, hold a negative view of Ali. Madelung criticizes this school of thought and, like many other non-Muslim Islamic scholars, praised Ali.
Among events that these scholars reject on the grounds that they are not included in what they call "early sources" (meaning, essentially, the Sirat Rasul Allah of Muhammad ibn Ishaq) include:
Maxime Rodinson, a contemporary of Lammens, and a biographer of Muhammad, characterized Lammens as "filled with a holy contempt for Islam, for its 'delusive glory', and 'lascivious' prophet." [17]
Some modern authors feel Lammens has yet to be refuted.[18] Wilferd Madelung in his work "The Succession to Muhammad" provided a detailed critical analysis of Lammens' criticisms.
This article discusses Orthodox Shia sources on the biography of Ali (‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib) (607–661), the cousin and son-in-law to Islamic prophet Muhammad, member of the Ahl al-Bayt.[3]
Ali is regarded as the first Imam and is considered, along with his descendants, to be one of the divinely appointed successors of Muhammad who are the only legitimate religious and political leaders of the Muslim community.[4] Though Ali was regarded, during the lifetime of Muhammad, as his initial successor, it would be 25 years before he was recognized with the title of Caliph (successor). Like the rest of his household, Ali is considered infallible and sinless. He is one of The Fourteen Infallibles of the household of Muhammed.
Tradition states that Ali was born in Mecca (inside the Kaaba[5]), a member of the Quraysh tribe. Ali's father and Muhammad's uncle, Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, was custodian of the Kaaba and a sheikh of the Banu Hashim; an important branch of the powerful tribe of the Quraysh. His mother was Fatimah bint Asad who was also from the Banu Hashim. In Arab culture, this was a great honor for Ali that both of his parents belonged to the Banu Hashim. Ali was also one of descendants of Ishmael (Isma'il) the son of Abraham (Ibrahim).
During his childhood, Ali spent his first six years under his father's roof. Then, as a result of famine in and around Mecca, Muhammad asked his uncle, Abu Talib, to allow Ali to come and live in the house of his cousin.[6] It would be another four years until Muhammad would announce his Prophethood. When the divine command came for Muhammad to begin to preach, Ali, only a child of ten years, arose and was the first male to publicly announce his support for his cousin.[7] Over the coming years, Ali stood firmly in his support of Muhammad during the persecution of Muslims by the Meccans.
Ali migrated to Medina shortly after Muhammad. There Muhammad told Ali that he had been ordered by God to give his daughter, Fatimah, to Ali in marriage.[8] For the ten years that Muhammad led the community in Medina, Ali was extremely active in his service, leading parties of warriors on raids, and carrying messages and orders. With the exception of the Battle of Tabouk, Ali took part in all the battles fought for Islam during this time.
After the assassination of the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, the Sahabah (Companions of Muhammad) in Medina selected Ali to be the new Caliph. He encountered defiance and civil war (First Fitna) during his reign. Tragically, while Ali was praying and bowing to God in the Great Mosque of Kufa, Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Kharijite assassin, struck him with a poison-coated sword. Ali died on the 21st of Ramadan in the city of Kufa in 661 CE. Ali is highly regarded for his knowledge, belief, honesty, devotion to Islam, loyalty to Muhammad, his equal treatment of all Muslims, and his generosity in forgiving his defeated enemies. In addition, he is respected as the rightful successor of Muhammad.[9] Ali retains his stature as the foremost authority on the Tafsir (Quranic exegesis), Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and religious thought.
The compilation of sermons, lectures, and quotations attributed to Ali are compiled in the form of several books. Nahj al-Balagha is the most revered of them. It is considered by historians and scholars to be an important work in Islamic literature.[10]
Inside the Kaaba, Fatimah gave birth to Ali, and it wasn't until Muhammad had looked upon the infant that the infant's eyelids opened. At the time of Ali's birth a special relationship was hence imparted between Muhammad and Ali, and would be manifested from the time of the Muhammad's call in the year 610 A.D. until his death in the year 632.[11] Ali would be given the privilege of being to only person to be born inside the Kaaba.[12]
In a Muslim tradition regarded as authentic by Shias and included in Mawaddat al-Qurba and Peshawar Nights, Ali's mother Fatimah bint Asad named him after her father, Asad. Abu Talib did not agree with her and said:
At this time, Muhammad arranged for some of his followers to emigrate to Ethiopia. The boycott lasted for three years. Ali stood firmly in support of Muhammad during the years of persecution of Muslims and the boycott of Banu Hashim in Mecca.
Ali survived the plot, but risked his life again by staying in Mecca to carry out Muhammad's instructions: to restore to their owners all the goods and properties that had been entrusted to Muhammad for safekeeping. Then he went to Medina with Fatimah bint Asad (his mother), Fatimah (the daughter of Muhammad), and two other women.[22]
Then Muhammad went on his final Hajj (pilgrimage) and when returning, he called all those who were ahead to come back and those who were behind to come ahead. They had stopped at a place called Khumm. Muhammad sat on a pulpit made of saddles. He then said "man kuntu mawla hu fa hadha aliun mawla." which is translated as whoever's master I am, Ali is also his master. The Sunni's translate it however as whoever's 'friend' I am Ali is also his friend.
After uniting the Arabian tribes into a single Muslim religious polity in the last years of his life, Muhammad's death in 632 signalled disagreement over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community.[27] While Ali and the rest of Muhammad's close family were washing his body for burial, at a gathering attended by a small group of Muslims at Saqifah, a close companion of Muhammad named Abu Bakr was nominated for the leadership of the community. Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph. The choice of Abu Bakr disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali had been designated his successor by Muhammad himself.[28] [29]
18th century mirror writing in Ottoman calligraphy. Depicts the phrase 'Ali is the vicegerent of God' in both directions.
Later When Fatimah and Ali sought aid from the Companions in the
matter of his right to the caliphate, they answered, "O daughter of the
Messenger of God! We have given our allegiance to Abu Bakr. If Ali had
come to us before this, we would certainly not have abandoned him. Ali
said, 'Was it fitting that we should wrangle over the caliphate even
before the Prophet was buried?'"[30][31]
Following his election to the caliphate, Abu Bakr and Umar with a few other companions headed to Fatimah's house to force Ali and his supporters who had gathered there give their allegiance to Abu Bakr. Then, it is alleged that Umar threatened to set the house on fire unless they came out and swore allegiance with Abu Bakr.[32] Then Umar set the house on fire and pushed the burnt door on Fatimah. Some sources say upon seeing them, Ali came out but was put in chains by Umar and his companions.[citation needed] Fatimah, in support of her husband, started a commotion and threatened to "uncover her hair", at which Abu Bakr relented and withdrew.[33] Ali is reported to have repeatedly said that had there been forty men with him he would have resisted.[32] When Abu Bakr's selection to the caliphate was presented as a fait accompli, Ali withheld his oaths of allegiance until after the death of Fatimah[citation needed]. Ali did not actively assert his own right because he did not want to throw the nascent Muslim community into strife.[34]
Fatimah had asked Ali not to allow the caliphate or any of his followers to join in her burial. Two to three months after her father's death Fatimah herself died. As Ali was readying her body for burial he felt her broken ribs (done when she was wounded by Umar and those who tried to take her house) and started crying. At night Ali took her body for burial. The next day the Caliph and his followers wanted to disinter her body to pray over it, but Ali did not allow this.[citation needed]
This contentious issue caused Muslims to later split into two groups, Sunni and Shia. Shias believe that Muhammad explicitly named Ali as his successor at Ghadir Khumm and Muslim leadership belonged to him which had been determined by divine order.[28][35]
The two groups also disagree on Ali's attitude towards Abu Bakr, and the two caliphs who succeeded him: Umar and Uthman Ibn Affan. Sunnis tend to stress Ali's acceptance and support of their rule, while the Shia claim that he distanced himself from them, and that he was being kept from fulfilling the religious duty that Muhammad had assigned to him. Sunnis maintain that if Ali was the rightful successor as ordained by God Himself, then it would have been his duty as leader of the Muslim nation to make war with these people (Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman) until Ali established the decree. Shias contend that Ali did not fight Abu Bakr, Umar or Uthman, because he did not have the military strength and, if he had decided to, it would have caused a civil war amongst the Muslims.[36] Ali also believed that he could fulfil his role of Imam'ate without fighting.[37]
Ali himself was firmly convinced of his legitimacy for caliphate based on his close kinship with Muhammad, his intimate association and his knowledge of Islam and his merits in serving its cause. He told Abu Bakr that his delay in pledging allegiance (bay'ah) as caliph was based on his belief of his own prior title. Ali did not change his mind when he finally pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr and then to Umar and to Uthman but had done so for the sake of the unity of Islam, at a time when it was clear that the Muslims had turned away from him.[28][38]
According to Shia historical reports, Ali maintained his right to the caliphate and said:
Abu Bakr dispatched Ali, who did participate during the Ridda wars against the forces of Tulayha, a self-proclaimed prophet in July 632.
Ali did participate during the Ridda wars in July 632, against the forces of Tulayha,
a self-proclaimed prophet. In the third week of July 632, the apostate
army moved from Dhu Qissa to Dhu Hussa, from where they prepared to
launch an attack on Medina. Abu Bakr scraped together a fighting force
mainly from the clan of Mohammad, the Banu Hashim. The army had stalwarts like Ali ibn Abi Talib, Talha ibn Ubaidullah and Zubair ibn al-Awam
(who would later in the 640s) conquer Egypt). Each of them was
appointed as commander of one-third of the newly organised force. Before
the apostates could do anything, the Muslims of Medina launched an army
against their outposts and drove them back to Dhu Hussa.
This discredits some Shea sources that claim, Ali did not give his oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr until some time after the death of his wife, Fatimah in the year 633.
Some non-Muslim scholars reject all hadith as fabrications, which colors their views. Others, like Wilferd Madelung, accept the hadith literature. A few of them, like Lammens, hold a negative view of Ali. Madelung criticizes this school of thought and, like many other non-Muslim Islamic scholars, praised Ali.
Reservations
Hadith
Some other Islamic scholars do not accept narrations collected in later periods, and only study the early collections of narrations. This leads them to regard certain reported events as inauthentic or irrelevant.Among events that these scholars reject on the grounds that they are not included in what they call "early sources" (meaning, essentially, the Sirat Rasul Allah of Muhammad ibn Ishaq) include:
- Ali was prominent in the battlefield of Uhud and was wounded there seventeen times.
- In 9 A.H. (630 CE), Muhammad prepared to lead an expedition against Syria. This was the well-known expedition of Tabuk. He left Ali behind in charge of Madinah, saying
- That this was the only battle Muhammad engaged in without Ali at his side.
"work with the narrative sources, both those that have been available to historians for a long time and others that have been published recently, made it plain that their wholesale rejection as late fiction is unjustified and that with [not without] a judicious use of them a much more reliable and accurate portrait of the period can be drawn than has so far been realized.[2]"
Views
Positive
Edward Gibbon
| “ | The zeal and virtue of Ali were never outstripped by any recent proselyte. He united the qualifications of a poet, a soldier, and a saint; his wisdom still breathes in a collection of moral and religious sayings; and every antagonist, in the combats of the tongue or of the sword, was subdued by his eloquence and valour. From the first hour of his mission to the last rites of his funeral, the apostle was never forsaken by a generous friend, whom he delighted to name his brother, his vicegerent, and the faithful Aaron of a second Moses.[3] | ” |
Sir William Muir
| “ | Endowed with a clear intellect, warm in affection, and confiding in friendship, he was from the boyhood devoted heart and soul to the Prophet. Simple, quiet, and unambitious, when in after days he obtained the rule of half of the Moslem world, it was rather thrust upon him than sought [4] | ” |
Khalil Gibran
| “ | In my view, ʿAlī was the first Arab to have contact with and converse with the universal soul. He died a martyr of his greatness, he died while prayer was between his two lips. The Arabs did not realise his value until appeared among their Persian neighbors some who knew the difference between gems and gravels.[5][6] | ” |
Dr. Henry Stubbe
| “ | He had a contempt of the world, its glory and pomp, he feared God much, gave many alms, was just in all his actions, humble and affable; of an exceeding quick wit and of an ingenuity that was not common, he was exceedingly learned, not in those sciences that terminate in speculations but those which extend to practice [7] | ” |
Robert Durey Osborn
| “ | With him perished the truest hearted and best Moslem of whom Mohammadan history had preserved the remembrance [8] | ” |
Washington Irving
| “ | He was of the noblest branch of the noble race of Koreish. He possessed the three qualities most prized by Arabs: courage, eloquence, and munificence. His intrepid spirit had gained him from the prophet the appellation of The Lion of God, specimens of his eloquence remain in some verses and sayings preserved among the Arabs; and his munificence was manifested in sharing among others, every Friday, what remained in the treasury. Of his magnanimity, we have given repeated instances; his noble scorn of everything false and mean, and the absence in his conduct of everything like selfish intrigue [9] | ” |
| “ | He was one of the last and worthiest of the primitive Moslems, who imbibed his religious enthusiasm from companionship with the Prophet himself, and followed to the last the simplicity of his example. He is honourably spoken of as the first Caliph who accorded some protection to Belles-Lettres. He indulged in the poetic vein himself, and many of his maxims and proverbs are preserved, and have been translated in various languages. His signet bore this inscription: 'The kingdom belongs to God'. One of his sayings shows the little value he set upon the transitory glories of this world, 'Life is but the shadow of a cloud - the dream of a sleeper' [10] | ” |
Simon Ockley
| “ | One thing particularly deserving to be noticed is that his mother was delivered of him at Mecca, in the very mosque itself; which never happened to any one else [11] | ” |
Philip Khuri Hitti
| “ | Valiant in battle, wise in counsel, eloquent in speech, true to his friends, magnanimous to his foes, he became both the paragon of Muslim nobility and chivalry (futuwah) and the Solomon of Arabic tradition, around whose name poems, proverbs, sermonettes and anecdotes innumerable have clustered.” [12] | ” |
Thomas Carlyle
| “ | noble-minded...full of affection and fiery daring. Something chivalrous in him; brave as a lion; yet with a grace, a truth and affection worthy of Christian knighthood".[13] | ” |
Gerald de Gaury
Gerald opines that Ali was to be forever the paragon of Muslim nobility and chivalry.[14]Charles Mills
| “ | As the chief of the family of Hashem and as the cousin and son-in-law of him whom the Arabians respected …, it is apparently wonderful that Ali was not raised to the Caliphate immediately on the death of Mohammad. To the advantages of his birth and marriage was added the friendship of the Prophet. The son of Abu Talib was one of the first converts to Islamism and Mohammad’s favourite appellation of his was the Aaron of a second Moses. His talents as an orator, and his intrepidity as a warrior, were grateful to a nation in whose judgement courage was virtue and eloquence was wisdom." [15] | ” |
Negative
Leone Caetani
In his Annali dell'Islam Caetani levels severe criticisms against Ali's personality and policies. Madelung in his Succession has provided a detailed critical analysis of these criticisms.Lammens
Lammens describes Ali as "dull-witted and incapable" in Scripta Pontificii Instituti Biblici [16]Maxime Rodinson, a contemporary of Lammens, and a biographer of Muhammad, characterized Lammens as "filled with a holy contempt for Islam, for its 'delusive glory', and 'lascivious' prophet." [17]
Some modern authors feel Lammens has yet to be refuted.[18] Wilferd Madelung in his work "The Succession to Muhammad" provided a detailed critical analysis of Lammens' criticisms.
This article discusses Orthodox Shia sources on the biography of Ali (‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib) (607–661), the cousin and son-in-law to Islamic prophet Muhammad, member of the Ahl al-Bayt.[3]
Ali is regarded as the first Imam and is considered, along with his descendants, to be one of the divinely appointed successors of Muhammad who are the only legitimate religious and political leaders of the Muslim community.[4] Though Ali was regarded, during the lifetime of Muhammad, as his initial successor, it would be 25 years before he was recognized with the title of Caliph (successor). Like the rest of his household, Ali is considered infallible and sinless. He is one of The Fourteen Infallibles of the household of Muhammed.
Tradition states that Ali was born in Mecca (inside the Kaaba[5]), a member of the Quraysh tribe. Ali's father and Muhammad's uncle, Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, was custodian of the Kaaba and a sheikh of the Banu Hashim; an important branch of the powerful tribe of the Quraysh. His mother was Fatimah bint Asad who was also from the Banu Hashim. In Arab culture, this was a great honor for Ali that both of his parents belonged to the Banu Hashim. Ali was also one of descendants of Ishmael (Isma'il) the son of Abraham (Ibrahim).
During his childhood, Ali spent his first six years under his father's roof. Then, as a result of famine in and around Mecca, Muhammad asked his uncle, Abu Talib, to allow Ali to come and live in the house of his cousin.[6] It would be another four years until Muhammad would announce his Prophethood. When the divine command came for Muhammad to begin to preach, Ali, only a child of ten years, arose and was the first male to publicly announce his support for his cousin.[7] Over the coming years, Ali stood firmly in his support of Muhammad during the persecution of Muslims by the Meccans.
Ali migrated to Medina shortly after Muhammad. There Muhammad told Ali that he had been ordered by God to give his daughter, Fatimah, to Ali in marriage.[8] For the ten years that Muhammad led the community in Medina, Ali was extremely active in his service, leading parties of warriors on raids, and carrying messages and orders. With the exception of the Battle of Tabouk, Ali took part in all the battles fought for Islam during this time.
After the assassination of the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, the Sahabah (Companions of Muhammad) in Medina selected Ali to be the new Caliph. He encountered defiance and civil war (First Fitna) during his reign. Tragically, while Ali was praying and bowing to God in the Great Mosque of Kufa, Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Kharijite assassin, struck him with a poison-coated sword. Ali died on the 21st of Ramadan in the city of Kufa in 661 CE. Ali is highly regarded for his knowledge, belief, honesty, devotion to Islam, loyalty to Muhammad, his equal treatment of all Muslims, and his generosity in forgiving his defeated enemies. In addition, he is respected as the rightful successor of Muhammad.[9] Ali retains his stature as the foremost authority on the Tafsir (Quranic exegesis), Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and religious thought.
The compilation of sermons, lectures, and quotations attributed to Ali are compiled in the form of several books. Nahj al-Balagha is the most revered of them. It is considered by historians and scholars to be an important work in Islamic literature.[10]
Contents
Early life
Fatimah bint Asad, the wife of Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, pregnant with Ali, completed her pregnancy term of 270 days but had not yet been induced into labor to give birth to the post-term baby. Abu Talib suggested to his wife that she perform circumambulations around the Kaaba and pray for divine assistance. In the midst of performing her rounds, she went into labor; at one corner of the Kaaba, designated as the Rukne Yamani, the Kaaba split open and she was given a push from behind towards the direction of the opening.Inside the Kaaba, Fatimah gave birth to Ali, and it wasn't until Muhammad had looked upon the infant that the infant's eyelids opened. At the time of Ali's birth a special relationship was hence imparted between Muhammad and Ali, and would be manifested from the time of the Muhammad's call in the year 610 A.D. until his death in the year 632.[11] Ali would be given the privilege of being to only person to be born inside the Kaaba.[12]
In a Muslim tradition regarded as authentic by Shias and included in Mawaddat al-Qurba and Peshawar Nights, Ali's mother Fatimah bint Asad named him after her father, Asad. Abu Talib did not agree with her and said:
"O Fatima! Let us go to the Qubais hills, and invoke Allah (some reporters say that he said they should go to the Al-Masjid al-Haram). He may tell us the name of this child."The answer to the prayer was Ali, derived from one of 99 Names of God, Al Ali (The Exalted).[13]
Upbringing
When Ali was about six years of age, Muhammad was granted permission from his uncle Abu Talib to bring him up as his own child. For ten years, Ali stayed in Muhammad's care and became inseparable, taking on the character of Muhammad, going so far as to state;[14]"I was the first to pray to God along with the Holy Prophet."
Muhammad's era
Main article: Hadith of warning
Ali was the first person to declare in public his belief in Muhammad,
and his message of Islam—though Ali had been born a Muslim.[15]
His announcement came with Muhammad's first speech, directed to his
family, about his divinely appointed mission. Tradition states that when
the verse "And admonish thy nearest kinsmen,"[16] was revealed to Muhammad, he called Ali and said to him,"Ali, God has commanded me to warn my tribe of near kindred. I was troubled by this, since I knew that when I discuss the matter to them they would respond in a way which I would not like. I kept silent until Gabriel came to me and said "If you do not do what you are commanded, your Lord will punish you." So prepare a measure of wheat for us, add a leg of lamb to it, fill a large bowl of milk for us, and then invite sons of Abd al-Muttalib for me so that I may speak to them what I have been commanded to tell them."Once Muhammad had gathered the members of Banu Abd al-Muttalib he spoke to them, saying,
"Banu Abd al-Muttalib, I don't know of any young man among Arabs who has brought for his people something better than what I have brought to you. I bring the best of this world and the world after, since God has commanded me to summon you to him. Which of you will aid me in this matter, so that he will be my brother, my executor (Wasi), my successor (Caliph) among you?"They all held back from the words of Muhammad, and though Ali was the youngest, he replied,
"I will be your helper, O' Prophet of Allah." He put his hand on the back of Ali's neck and said "This is my brother, my executor (Wasi), my successor (Caliph) among you, so listen to him and obey him."Some Banu Abd al-Muttalib rose up laughing and saying to Ali's father, Abu Talib,
"He has commanded you to obey your son and to obey him!"[17]
Marriage with Fatimah
The Shia believe that the decision of Ali to marry Fatimah was a perfect union decreed by God in the seventh heaven and given to the angel Gabriel (Jibral) to transmit directly to Ali. It is also believed, that due to their sinless and infallible nature, there were never any arguments or differences between Ali and Fatimah,[18][19] and believe that Ali never sought the hand of Amr ibn Hishām daughter in marriage, as that would, by definition make him fallible, as asking for the hand of marriage to an idol worshipper is a sin.[20] They also believe that Muhammad did not grant him the title Abu Turab in displeasure, but rather from his delight at the battle of al-Ashira.[21]Boycott of Banu Hashim
Muhammad's denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Kaaba. So they persecuted the Muslims. According to the tradition, the leaders of the Banu Makhzum and Banu Abd-Shams, two important clans of the Quraysh, declared a public boycott against the clan of Banu Hashim, their commercial rival in order to put pressure on the clan.At this time, Muhammad arranged for some of his followers to emigrate to Ethiopia. The boycott lasted for three years. Ali stood firmly in support of Muhammad during the years of persecution of Muslims and the boycott of Banu Hashim in Mecca.
Migration to Medina
In 622 CE, the year of Muhammad's migration to Yathrib (now Medina), Ali risked his life by sleeping in Muhammad's bed to impersonate him and thwart an assassination plot, so that Muhammad could escape in safety.[22][23] This night is called "Laylat Al-mabit". According to some hadith a verse was revealed about Ali concerning his sacrifice on the night of hijrah which says "And there is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah"[24][25]Ali survived the plot, but risked his life again by staying in Mecca to carry out Muhammad's instructions: to restore to their owners all the goods and properties that had been entrusted to Muhammad for safekeeping. Then he went to Medina with Fatimah bint Asad (his mother), Fatimah (the daughter of Muhammad), and two other women.[22]
Then Muhammad went on his final Hajj (pilgrimage) and when returning, he called all those who were ahead to come back and those who were behind to come ahead. They had stopped at a place called Khumm. Muhammad sat on a pulpit made of saddles. He then said "man kuntu mawla hu fa hadha aliun mawla." which is translated as whoever's master I am, Ali is also his master. The Sunni's translate it however as whoever's 'friend' I am Ali is also his friend.
Succession to Muhammad
After Muhummad's death, a sudden panic overcame the many tribes within the Arabian Peninsula.[citation needed] The question of succession as to who would receive the caliphate. Though it was well known through many traditions related by Muhammad and in the Quran as to who was to succeed Muhammad (Ali[26]), a small number of prominent companions took to the "Saqifah Banu Sa'ida" or Saqifah, a roofed building used by the tribe of Sa'ida, in the city of Medina, to decide amongst themselves as to who was going to lead the Muslims. Such companions as Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Sa'd ibn Ubadah, who was killed later, were present. The small secret band of companions exchanged arguments until the majority gave their bay'at (allegiance) to Abu Bakr.[citation needed]After uniting the Arabian tribes into a single Muslim religious polity in the last years of his life, Muhammad's death in 632 signalled disagreement over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community.[27] While Ali and the rest of Muhammad's close family were washing his body for burial, at a gathering attended by a small group of Muslims at Saqifah, a close companion of Muhammad named Abu Bakr was nominated for the leadership of the community. Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph. The choice of Abu Bakr disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali had been designated his successor by Muhammad himself.[28] [29]
Following his election to the caliphate, Abu Bakr and Umar with a few other companions headed to Fatimah's house to force Ali and his supporters who had gathered there give their allegiance to Abu Bakr. Then, it is alleged that Umar threatened to set the house on fire unless they came out and swore allegiance with Abu Bakr.[32] Then Umar set the house on fire and pushed the burnt door on Fatimah. Some sources say upon seeing them, Ali came out but was put in chains by Umar and his companions.[citation needed] Fatimah, in support of her husband, started a commotion and threatened to "uncover her hair", at which Abu Bakr relented and withdrew.[33] Ali is reported to have repeatedly said that had there been forty men with him he would have resisted.[32] When Abu Bakr's selection to the caliphate was presented as a fait accompli, Ali withheld his oaths of allegiance until after the death of Fatimah[citation needed]. Ali did not actively assert his own right because he did not want to throw the nascent Muslim community into strife.[34]
Fatimah had asked Ali not to allow the caliphate or any of his followers to join in her burial. Two to three months after her father's death Fatimah herself died. As Ali was readying her body for burial he felt her broken ribs (done when she was wounded by Umar and those who tried to take her house) and started crying. At night Ali took her body for burial. The next day the Caliph and his followers wanted to disinter her body to pray over it, but Ali did not allow this.[citation needed]
This contentious issue caused Muslims to later split into two groups, Sunni and Shia. Shias believe that Muhammad explicitly named Ali as his successor at Ghadir Khumm and Muslim leadership belonged to him which had been determined by divine order.[28][35]
The two groups also disagree on Ali's attitude towards Abu Bakr, and the two caliphs who succeeded him: Umar and Uthman Ibn Affan. Sunnis tend to stress Ali's acceptance and support of their rule, while the Shia claim that he distanced himself from them, and that he was being kept from fulfilling the religious duty that Muhammad had assigned to him. Sunnis maintain that if Ali was the rightful successor as ordained by God Himself, then it would have been his duty as leader of the Muslim nation to make war with these people (Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman) until Ali established the decree. Shias contend that Ali did not fight Abu Bakr, Umar or Uthman, because he did not have the military strength and, if he had decided to, it would have caused a civil war amongst the Muslims.[36] Ali also believed that he could fulfil his role of Imam'ate without fighting.[37]
Ali himself was firmly convinced of his legitimacy for caliphate based on his close kinship with Muhammad, his intimate association and his knowledge of Islam and his merits in serving its cause. He told Abu Bakr that his delay in pledging allegiance (bay'ah) as caliph was based on his belief of his own prior title. Ali did not change his mind when he finally pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr and then to Umar and to Uthman but had done so for the sake of the unity of Islam, at a time when it was clear that the Muslims had turned away from him.[28][38]
According to Shia historical reports, Ali maintained his right to the caliphate and said:
By Allah the son of Abu Quhafah (Abu Bakr) dressed himself with it (the caliphate) and he certainly knew that my position in relation to it was the same as the position of the axis in relation to the hand-mill...I put a curtain against the caliphate and kept myself detached from it... I watched the plundering of my inheritance till the first one went his way but handed over the Caliphate to Ibn al-Khattab after himself.[39]
Abu Bakr's era
This discredits some Shea sources that claim, Ali did not give his oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr until some time after the death of his wife, Fatimah in the year 633.
Umar's era
Ali Asgher Razwy a 20th-century Shia Twelver scholar states:Umar, on his deathbed, had appointed six Muhajireen as members of a panel which was to choose one out of themselves as the future khalifa of the Muslims. They were Ali, Uthman, Talha, Zubayr, Abdur Rahman bin Auf and Saad bin Abi Waqqas. Except Ali, all other members of the panel were capitalists, or rather, neo-capitalists. When they came from Makkah, they were penniless and homeless but within twelve years, i.e., from the death of Muhammad Mustafa in 632 to the death of Umar in 644, each of them, except Ali, had become rich like Croesus. Between these two dates, they had accumulated immense wealth, and had become the richest men of their times.
Ali did not qualify as a member of this exclusive "club" but Umar admitted him anyway. Apart from the fact that Ali made his living as a gardener whereas his other five co-members lived on the revenues of their lands and estates, there was another gulf, even more unbridgeable, that separated him from them. In character, personality, temperament, attitudes, philosophy and outlook on life, Ali and the rest of them were the antithesis of each other.[40]
Uthman's era
A narration attributed to Ali reports:
`Othman ordered that I should have audience with him on a very hot day. I placed my garment on my head and went to see him. I entered, and he was on his bed, a rod in hand, surrounded by rich wealth: two heaps of gold and silver. He said, `Take of this whatever you wish so you may have enough (i.e. buy enough food) to fill your stomach, for you have burnt me.’ I said to him, `You have surely been kind to your kin! If this wealth is an inheritance which you have inherited, or a giver gave it to you personally, or you earned it from a trade deal, I would then be one of two: I may either take of it or simply thank you for your offer [but not accept it], or I may refrain so I may work hard (to earn my living). But if it is a wealth that belongs to Allah, and the Muslims are to partake of it, and so are the orphans and the wayfarers, then by Allah, you have no right to give me any of it, nor do I have any right to take any of it.’ He said, `I, by Allah, insist that you should do what you have refused to do.’ Then he kept hitting me with the rod. By Allah, I did not keep his hand away from me till he had enough. I pulled my garment over my head and went back home. I said, `Allah is between you and me if I enjoined on you to do what is right or prohibited you from doing wrong.[41]
Etiquette
When the Shia refer to Ali, they normally add "peace be upon him" ("‘alayhis salām") after it. Alternatively, the phrase "Allah has honoured his face" ("karram-allāhu wajhahu") is also used after his name, in reference to the Shia belief that Ali converted to Islam before the prophet was sent the message and never joined in any idol worship of the traditional Meccan gods. His face, they say, was never defiled by prostrations before the idols.Historiography[edit]
See also: Historiography of early Islam
The primary sources for scholarship on the life of Ali are the Quran and the Hadith, as well as other texts of early Islamic history. The extensive secondary sources include, in addition to works by Sunni and Shī‘a Muslims, writings by Christian Arabs, Hindus, and other non-Muslims from the Middle East and Asia and a few works by modern Western scholars. However, many of the early Islamic sources are colored to some extent by a positive or negative bias towards Ali.[1]
There had been a common tendency among the earlier western scholars against these narrations and reports gathered in later periods due to their tendency towards later Sunni and Shī‘a partisan positions; such scholars regarding them as later fabrications. This leads them to regard certain reported events as inauthentic or irrelevant. Leone Caetani considered the attribution of historical reports to Ibn Abbas and Aisha as mostly fictitious while proffering accounts reported without isnad by the early compilers of history like Ibn Ishaq. Wilferd Madelung has rejected the stance of indiscriminately dismissing everything not included in "early sources" and in this approach tendentiousness alone is no evidence for late origin. According to him, Caetani's approach is inconsistent. Madelung and some later historians do not reject the narrations which have been complied in later periods and try to judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.[160]
Until the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate, few books were written and most of the reports had been oral. The most notable work previous to this period is The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays, written by Sulaym ibn Qays, a companion of Ali who lived before the Abbasid.[161] When paper was introduced to Muslim society, numerous monographs were written between 750 and 950 AD. According to Robinson, at least twenty-one separate monographs have been composed on the Battle of Siffin. Abi Mikhnaf is one of the most renowned writers of this period who tried to gather all of the reports. 9th and 10th century historians collected, selected and arranged the available narrations. However, most of these monographs do not exist anymore except for a few which have been used in later works such as History of the Prophets and Kings by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d.923).[162]
Shia of Iraq actively participated in writing monographs but most of those works have been lost. On the other hand, in the 8th and 9th century Ali's descendants such as Muhammad al Baqir and Jafar as Sadiq narrated his quotations and reports which have been gathered in Shia hadith books. The later Shia works written after the 10th century AD are about biographies of The Fourteen Infallibles and Twelve Imams. The earliest surviving work and one of the most important works in this field is Kitab al-Irshad by Shaykh Mufid (d. 1022). The author has dedicated the first part of his book to a detailed account of Ali. There are also some books known as Manāqib which describe Ali's character from a religious viewpoint. Such works also constitute a kind of historiography.[163]
See also[edit]
- Birthplace of Ali ibn Abi Talib
- Zulfiqar
- Shia view of Ali
- Sunni view of Ali
- Wali
- Ahl al-Bayt
- Shia Ali
- Alewite
- Alevi
- List of Muslim reports
Ali (Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib) (علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب) (599 – 661) was an early Islamic leader. He is revered by Sunni Muslims as the last of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs and as a foremost religious authority on the Qur'an and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Shi'aMuslims consider him the First Imam appointed by the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the first rightful caliph. Ali was the cousin of Muhammad, and after marriage to Fatimah he also became Muhammad's son-in-law.
Family tree[edit]
- Paternal grand father: Shaiba ibn Hashim ('Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim), see Family tree of Shaiba ibn Hashim
- Paternal grand mother: Fatimah bint Amr
- Father: Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
- Mother: Fatima bint Asad
- Brother: Ja`far ibn Abī Tālib
- Nephew: Awn ibn Ja'far — married Umm Kulthum bint Ali
- Nephew: Abdullah ibn Ja'far — married Zaynab bint Ali
- Grand Nephews: Aun ibn Abdillah and Muhammad ibn Abdillah — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Brother: Aqeel ibn Abi Talib
- Nephew: Muslim ibn Aqeel — died before the Battle of Karbala
- Grand Nephews: Muhammad ibn Muslim and Ibraheem ibn Muslim — died before the Battle of Karbala
- Nephew: Muslim ibn Aqeel — died before the Battle of Karbala
- Brother: Talib ibn Abu Talib
- Sister: Fakhitah bint Abi Talib
- Sister: Jumanah bint Abi Talib
- Brother: Ja`far ibn Abī Tālib
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- Himself: Ali
- Father in law: Muhammad, see Family tree of Muhammad[1]
- Wife: Fatimah — daughter of Muhammad
- Daughter: Zaynab bint Ali — survived the Battle of Karbala
- Daughter: Umm Kulthum bint Ali — survived the Battle of Karbala
- Son: Muhsin ibn Ali — died before birth (Shia) or during infancy (Sunni)
- Son: Hasan ibn Ali — died by poison during the reign of Muawiyah I
- Grandson: Qasim ibn Hasan — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Grandson: Abi Bakr ibn Hasan died at the Battle of Karbala
- Grandson: Abdullah ibn Hasan died at the Battle of Karbala
- Grandson: Sayyid al-Hasan al-Muthanna
- Grand daughter: Fatimah bint al-Hasan
- Great Grandson: Abdallah ibn Hasan al-Muthanna
- Great Great Grandson: Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya
- Great Grandson: Abdallah ibn Hasan al-Muthanna
- Son: Husayn ibn Ali — died at the Battle of Karbala, see also Family tree of Husayn ibn Ali
- Grand daughter: Sukayna bint Husayn — survived the Battle of Karbala
- Grandson: Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Grandson: Ali al-Asghar ibn Husayn — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Grandson: Zayn al-Abidin — only male that survived the Battle of Karbala
- Great grandson: Muhammad al-Baqir
- Great grandson: Zayd ibn Ali
- Wife: Fatimah — daughter of Muhammad
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- Wife: Umamah bint Zainab
- Son: Hilal ibn Ali
- Wife: Umamah bint Zainab
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- Wife: Umm ul-Banin — which means mother of many sons her real name Fatima bint Hizam al-Qilabiyya.
- Son: Al-Abbas ibn Ali — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Grandson: Ubaydullah ibn al-Abbas
- Grandson: Al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Grandson: Qasim ibn al-Abbas — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Son: Abdullah ibn Ali — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Son: Jafar ibn Ali — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Son: Uthman ibn Ali — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Son: Al-Abbas ibn Ali — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Wife: Umm ul-Banin — which means mother of many sons her real name Fatima bint Hizam al-Qilabiyya.
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- Wife: Leila bint Masoud
- Son: Ubaid Allah bin Ali
- Son: Abi Bakr bin Ali
- Wife: Leila bint Masoud
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- Wife: Khawlah bint Ja'far
- Wife: Khawlah bint Ja'far
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- Wife: Al Sahba'bint Rabi'ah
- Son: Umar bin Ali
- Wife: Al Sahba'bint Rabi'ah
- Father in law: Umays ibn Ma'ad
- Mother in law: Hind bint Awf — also the mother in law of Muhammad
- Wife: Asma bint Umays
- Son: Yahya bin Ali d:61H
- Son: Muhammad Al Asgar ibn Ali — died at the Battle of Karbala
- Step daughter: Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
- Step son: Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
- Wife: Asma bint Umays
- Paternal uncle: Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
- Paternal uncle: Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib — father of Muhammad
- Paternal aunt: Aminah bint Wahb — mother of Muhammad
See also[edit]
Birth
On the 13th of the month of Rajab, twenty-three years before the migration of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) a child was born in the family of Abu Talib, the light of whom kindled the whole World. Kunaab Mecci narrates about his birth: "We and Abbas (Ibne Abdul Mutalib) were sitting together when suddenly we saw Fatima bint-e-Asad moving towards the Kaabah in the condition having delivery pain and saying "Oh God I have faith in you and the Prophet ( i.e., Abraham) who by your command laid the foundation of this house. O God! I swear you by the same Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and swear you by the child in my womb make this birth comfortable and easy for me."
This was the time when all of us saw with our own eyes that the wall of Kaabah broke apart and Fatima bint-e-Asad entered into the Kaabah. Then the wall again united.
Sunni Reference Shah Waliyullah in his book 'Izaalatul Khifa' mentions that this distinction of Imam Ali (as) is that no one was born before or will be born after him in the Ka'aba
We ran terrified and trembling to our houses to send our women into the Kaabah for the help and assistance of Fatima. We did our best but the door did not open. This event surprised all the people of Mecca.
The women of Mecca were anxiously counting moments to meet Fatima till the time she came out of the Kaabah along with a beautiful baby, saying, "God has chosen me from among the ladies of Mecca and He made me His guest in His house and gave me meals and fruits of the heaven to eat.
The ladies who were surrounding her in the form of a circle and escorting her to her home asked her, "What name have you given to this child?"
She said: "When I was in the Kaabah, I heard a hidden voice call," Name this child "ALI".
Yes! We are talking about Ali (A.S.) the pious man whose childhood and infancy period lasted in such a pure and chaste way that he himself stated in Nahjul Balaghah, "The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) used to pick me in his lap and embrace me and chew the food and put it into my mouth.
Early Youth
Ali Ibne Abi Talib describes this enlightening period of his age as under: The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) used to go the Cave of Hira but nobody except he (P.B.U.H.) and I did know about it. At the time when the religion of Islam had not yet reached the homes, he ( P.B.U.H.) and his wife Khatija were the only Muslims. I was the next person to them who saw the light of revelation and prophet hood and smelled the fragrance of the Prophet hood.
When the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) of Islam was ordered by God to invite his family members to embrace Islam Ali ( A.S.) according to the advice of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) invited forty persons of the Prophet's family at his home. Although the food was quite little but all of them ate fully well. After the meal was over the Prophet (P.B.U.H .) spoke to those present saying, "Oh the sons of Abdul Mutalib, God has ordered me to invite you to embrace Islam and get you introduced to it."
Whosoever, having believed in my Prophet hood, promises to help and assist me shall be my brother, deputy and successor and my caliph.
He repeated this sentence thrice but no one except "Ali (A.S.)" gave a positive response. As many time as the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.) addressed the persons present, nobody except Ali (A.S.) answered. Ali (A.S.) was rising again and again to his feet and promising help to him and announcing his faith.
Possible Physical Evidence of Imam's Miraculous birth inside the Kaaba pdf | More Photos of Rukn Yamani
Youth
This is the very reason why the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.) said: "This Ali, is my brother and successor listen and lend ears to what he says and obey his orders." When Ali (A.S.) entered from his early youth into the phase of puberty, the part of age when all the human energies and powers are strong and firm, even in this part of the life he remained closely associated to the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.) like a flying moth which moves around the Candle. He defended Islam and the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) with his strong, energetic arms.
When the enemy besieged and surrounded the Muslims in the battle of Hunain and they abandoned and left behind the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) running away for their lives, it was only and only Ali (A.S.) who defended and saved the Prophet (P.B.U.H .) and made the enemies retreat and take to their heals.
Ali (A.S.) killed Marhab the chief of army of Jews in the Khyber battle, whose power and bravery was making everybody tremble but Ali (A.S.) cut him into two and pulled apart the gate of the Khyber fort which used to be opened and closed by twenty men together. Ali ( A.S.) used it as a bridge over the trench for the Islamic army to cross over to the Khyber fort. Many such events are the specimens and evidences about the faith, and spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion of Ali (A.S.).
Self-Sacrifice and Devotion
There is no doubt to it that every body loves his soul and very rarely gets ready to sacrifice it for another person but because of the fact that Ali (A.S.) loved the soul of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) even more than his own one, he got prepared to lay his life for him.
The event takes shape like this. When the polytheists saw that they are in danger, they jointly made a firm determination to take the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.) by surprise and martyr him. So all of them gathered in "Dar un Nadva" and choose one person from each family so that every tribe gets involved in getting Mohammad (P.B.U.H.) killed and then no one could take the revenge of him.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) had come to know about this conspiracy through revelation. God ordered him (P.B.U.H.) to migrate from Mecca in the darkness of the night. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) needed someone, prepared to sacrifice his life and must be a trustworthy secret holder.
Hence, there was no one else except Ali (A.S.) in whom he confided, and told him "God has informed me that the infidels will break through the house to kill me so today you sleep on my bed." Ali (A.S.) smilingly accepted it.
Then the time came when the darkness of the night covered everything and Ali (A.S.) was sleeping on the Prophet's (P.B.U.H.) bed calmly and peacefully and the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.) came out of his house and started proceeding towards the Cave of Saur. The infidels besieged the house and got prepared with their swords and spears to attack it. The sooner they were instructed to make it, they break through the house rushing with naked swords. But when they found Ali ( A.S.) laying on the bed of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) they immediately moved out of the house desperate and astonished, and sent a few horsemen to search the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). But not very long afterwards they too returned defeated and hopeless.
Ali (A.S.) and Holy War
Islam is the religion of peace and tranquility and does not like killing, plundering, and bloodshed. But if some one kills another without any reason then Islam has strong punishment to deal with him.
Of course, if an enemy attacks the Muslims then by the standards of wits, common sense, and religious law, self defense which as a form of Jehad becomes essential and indispensable.
All the battles of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) in which Ali (A.S.) fought armed and truthfully were defensive battles.
Ali (A.S.) was such a brave, faithful, holy warrior who never got frustrated and upset and tired of the fighting and battles. He was afraid of no one except God. He used to say "By God if I see that on one side is the truth and on the other side all the rest of the people I, without caring and paying heed to those reproaching me, will fight all alone with my sword, on the way and path of the right, against them.
Ali's (A.S.) way or Training
The city of Kufa was the capital of the Islamic Government. People from all over the World used to gather at that point to get the benefit of knowledge and learning from that great Islamic University.
One of those days two men came across each other in the vicinity of the city one of them was Ali (A.S.) and the other was a Christian who did not recognize him. The Christian man was moving towards the suburban area of Kufa, where as, Ali ( A.S.) was on his way to kufa.
They mutually agreed to accompany each other for a while, talking to each other, so that they do not get tired.
They reached a point where two ways split out, so that each one wanted to move on one of those two different roads. The Christian bade Farwell and went on his way but he observed that his Muslim companion, whose way was on the opposite side, was moving towards him. So he stopped and questioned him, "Don't you want to go to kufa?"
Ali (A.S.) said, "Yes". The Christian man said, "Then why are you coming towards this direction?"
Ali (A.S.) replied, "I wish to accompany you to a certain length of distance because the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said, "when two persons are together on a way (journey companions) they get a right over each other."
"Now that you have got a right upon me, I go along with you up to a certain distance so that I must pay you (discharge) that light of yours in this world. Then I will part off on my own way." The Christian man was much pleased and moved by this humanly attitude and conduct and he liked his talk and said, "It is befitting that I should also embrace Islam which has such a culture and students."
His amazement and astonishment was only too enhanced when he discovered that his travel companion is Ali (A.S.), the ruler of Islam. So he immediately accepted and embraced Islam at his hand.
Self-preservation of Ali ( A.S.)
When human being is in the normal and natural condition, he can better be the master of his wits and control himself and take distance and move away from the sins and bad acts and get himself aside from them. But when the flames of anger, rage or jealousy are lit, then it is only with difficulty that man could think and keep in view fact and God. Therefore, most of the crimes are committed at times when man looses his normal natural condition.
But, Ali (A.S.) who was a self made and sublime person his approach and behavior was different than that of the others. He, in all the conditions, kept his attention focused and concentrated on God and took distance from anything which did not have the approval of God, whether he was at home or in the battle field, both in joy or anger.
We would better have a glance upon his behavior and conduct in the battlefield to prove our point. In the battle of "the trench" all the people of Medinah dug up a great trench on the sides of the city and filled it up with water to block the enemy's way. Amer bin Abduwad, the famous and gallant Arab warrior among the enemy army, was challenged the Muslims to send him a match for the fight. Nobody among the Muslims plucked the courage to give him a response and came out to face him. On this occasion Ali (A.S.) came out taking stable and strong steps to face him with a heart full of faith. He said, "Oh Amro do not boast off too much about your bravery and man-hood. The one who has the power and energy to fight you is standing before you".
Amro viewed him and said: "You would better turn back I do not like to kill you because I was a friend of your father."
Ali (A.S.) replied: "By God, I like killing you."
Amro got angry and climbed down from the horse and quickly attacked Ali (A.S.) with his sword but the sword did strongly strike Ali's (A.S.) shield and so it was not effective. Then Ali (A.S.) by blowing a strike of his sword made him fall to the earth and climbed upon his chest to kill him. But Amro, out of his rage and anger spitted at Ali's ( A.S.) face. Suddenly Ali (A.S.) came down from his chest and started walking on the ground. Then he came again towards him. Amro enquired him, "what is the meaning of it that firstly you struck me an effective blow and then let me go free?"
Ali (A.S.) said, "Oh Amro I use my sword for God and not myself? At the time when I saw you fall to the ground and climbed your chest, you spit at my face and made me angry. Had I killed you in such condition I would had no reward to my credit because I was angry. Therefore, I got up from your chest and started walking so that my anger and hot temper is cooled down and subsided and I may do my job purely for God."
The bravery, ferocity, self-preservation and control of Ali had a very deep effect over the Arab champion. And attracted the attention and eyes of both the friends and foes to such an extent that the friends raised the slogan of Takbeer (Allaho Akbar) from the depth of their heart and the enemies hearts were filled up with tenor and harassment, so far so, that it ended upon the defeat of the enemy. This is the sole reason why his deed was decisive and fate making such as the Prophet said about it. "The job that Ali (A.S.) did on the day of the Khandak (battle of trench) and the sword strike by him (against the enemy) is more precious to God then the collective prayers of the mankind and jins together.
Ali's (A.S.) Mercy and Compassion
We learnt about the bravery and dauntlessness of Ali (A.S.) in the battlefield but we should not omit this point that if a man is brave, ferocious, and dauntless but he does not possess the qualities of mercy and generosity then that bravery and gallantry has no value. The bravery of Ali ( A.S.), when he stepped into the battlefield, was such that he did care and was attentive to the injured, thirsty and hungry ones. He would attack an aggressive enemy and kill him but when he came across an injured thirsty and hungry enemy he would save him from thirst and hunger and if he was injured then he would extend his treatment.
He did fiercely fight the enemy but never killed him while he was in a thirsty or hungry condition and he never destroyed and dismantled the houses of the enemy. Because he considered all these acts as against the norms of nobility and generosity. This is the reason, why having taken the river water from the control of the Muawiyah's forces in the sifeen battle he ordered his warriors to let the water free for all and sundry and do not resist against the army men of Muawiyah if they wanted to use the water.
The army men of Ali (A.S.) objected and said "the enemy having taken the water's control in their hand had stopped us from using it. So that they wanted us to submit to them through this way. We would better do the same to them."
Ali (A.S.) replied, "No we will fight the enemy manly and we consider this act against the human nobility and generosity. If we do the same what they did then what would be the difference between them and us? Beware, works are for God and we should not take steps against His wish and will."
Ali (A.S.) Conduct during his ruler ship
1. Siding with the masses
Ali (A.S.), with all the difficulties that he had to face, used to personally attend the affairs and works. He would get himself informed about the problems of the people. He did not drive away his enemies due to personal enmities. So far so that he used to give them their rights from the bait-ul-mal (Islamic treasury). Moreover, he did not give any privileges to his friends due to their friendship. He continuously used to order his officials and workers to have a conduct of justice with the people and if he observed any misdeed or misconduct of his subordinates and workers he did not spare them. So when one of the ladies known as Sooda approached him for justice, he was then offering his prayers. He shortened his prayer and smilingly greeted her and asked, "What is it that you want?"
With tears rolling on her face, Sooda complained about the tax officer and his excesses.
He, in the same standing condition of his prayers, wept and said: "Oh God be a witness that I have not ordered them to commit excesses and aggressions against your slaves."
He at once picked up a skin piece and jotted down the dismissal order of his official and gave it to Sooda to take it to him as soon as possible.
Another day he received the information that son of Hunaif (the Governor of Basra) made himself present on a very colorful, richly provisioned dinner table of one of the nobles and notables and possibly the blood thirsty and cruel chance seekers and opportunists may make the most of his political station and position.
He got seriously annoyed and reprimanded him for this act of his and wrote him a letter saying. "I have heard that you joined a richly provisioned (colorful) dinner table which the poor were not allowed to join. Be aware! That I am your Imam, leader and chief if I wish and am inclined to it I can lay hand and provide myself with the best food but I will not do such a thing because it is possible that there might be some hungry people in the nooks and corners of my country who go to sleep with empty stomachs. I have contented myself with a simple dress and small quantity of food, which is bread and dates, from this world of yours. Although you can not do this, which I practice but try it that your way and path is not segregated from that of mine."
He, through this letter, gave him a good advice and exhortation and reminded him about his duty. Imam Ali (A.S.) lived his life with such a justice and equity that when Muawiyah a staunch and extreme enemy of Ali ( A.S.) met one of his companions "Addi-bin-Hatim" and asked him, "How did you find Ali (A.S.) during his reign and rule?"
He replied, "The oppressive and coercive ones did not have the courage of oppression during his reign and the weak ones always took benefit from his justice and never allowed disappointment find its way towards them. So that he repeatedly used to say, "Is it right and just that people consider and think I am their leader and Imam but I do not share their difficulties and hardships?"
Still again, we read in the history that one day the governors accompanied by his old friend Ibn-e-Abbas came to see him.
They saw their leader repairing and mending his shoes. Ali (A.S.) turned his face towards them and said, "What do you think is the price of this shoe?" They replied, "It value is not much. It cann't be more than a few Dirhams."
He said, "By Lord this post that I have got, if I could not make use of it in connection with the salvation and safety of the poor, have not and arresting and stopping the cruelties or restoration of the right and truth, then for me it's value would be lesser than this shoe."
2. Canceling the distinctions and Privileges
The moment people took oath of an allegiance at his hand and accepted his caliphate he climbed the pulpit and tribune and addressed them, "By God till the time I possess even one single palm date tree in Medinah. I will not take anything from the bait-ul-mal (Islamic treasury).
His brother Aqeel stood up and said, "Do you take me equal to a black skinned living in Medinah?"
He said, "Oh brother sit down, you do not have any superiority over that black man except through faith and piety."
One summer night his brother Aqeel invited him to dinner at his house so that he may attract the attention of his brother towards himself and he increases his monthly stipend.
He said, "Oh brother from where did you procure and provide this dinner."
He replied "For a few days, I and my wife spent lesser amount of money thus saved the surplus money to invite you to dinner."
He said, "From tomorrow onwards I would issue an order that your monthly salary may be curtailed and decreased to the equal of the amount that you saved because, you can, as per your own confession, spend lesser than that."
Aqeel was very much perturbed and annoyed and he started shouting appealingly. Ali (A.S.) picked up a piece of iron lying near him heated it up (on a nearby lamp) and took it near his hand.
Aqeel cried, "Oh I am burnt."
Ali (A.S.) said, "What a surprise that you are so much afraid and cry of a fire which is provided by me alone. How are you prepared to get me burnt in the fire of God's anger? These are the money and property of the people and I am the trustee and custodian of them."
Again, we observe that a group of the officials objected up on him and said, "Had you given a larger contribution and portion to the rebellious and the governors, you could run and manage the newly established Islamic government in a better way. Then, you might have ruled with authority and justice.
Imam Ali (A.S.) replied, "What a surprise you want me to lay the foundations of my government, which is formed in the name of Islam, upon the pillars of excess and injustice? By God, I will definitely never do such a work."
Moreover, had the Muslim's money and property been my own property I would not have done this thing still less all of it belongs to the people and I am not more than a trustee.
3. Attending the Complaints
Ali (A.S.) during his ruler ship personally attented to the complaints. During the hot days of summer, when all the people rested at their homes, he sat by the shadow of a wall, so that if someone had a complaint he might reach him and tell him about it.
One of the hot scorching summer days, when he was perspiring sitting besides and leaning at the wall. A woman who was depressed and disturbed came and said, "My husband has committed excess and ousted me from the house in this hot weather. I wish you to attend to my problem."
Ali (A.S.) hung his head down and said, "Oh lady the weather is hot, and can you possibly wait till it becomes better. Then I will accompany you and attend to your matter. The woman said, "I am afraid that the temper and anger of my husband may shoot up even higher. It is better that you do the needful right away.
Ali (A.S.) said, "very well, you walk on and I follow you." Ali (A.S.), along with the lady, came to the door of the young man and called him out of the house. He did not recognize Ali (A.S.) and knew that his wife has called this man to her help.
Ali (A.S.) said, "This woman says you turned her out of the house. I have come to advise you that you should have the fear of God and be kind, nice and do good to your wife. The self-loving, egotist giving an insulting reply to Ali (A.S.) said, "This matter is not your concern. I would do whatever I please. Now, when she has brought you along with her I shall burn her with fire."
Ali (A.S.) was angry and annoyed at this response of the man and shouted objecting. Thereafter, he laid his hand on his sword to punish the youth. When people heard the loud voice of the Imam, they rushed out of their houses. As their eyes met Ali ( A.S.), they respectfully came close to him and saluted and greeted him. The rude and impolite youth knew that he was facing Ali (A.S.). So he got embarrassed, loosing his wits fell down to the ground and started making excuses and apologizes and said, "I will accept whatever you say and hereafter I shall respect my wife and not annoy her."
Ali (A.S.) said, "I hope you will do the same." Then he addressed the woman saying, "return to your home, I hope that you would also he a good wife to your husband."
The Ghadeer Affair
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) set out for the pilgrimage of God's house with a large Caravan in the 10th Hijra, so that the people may perform their Hajj rituals with great fervor, in dignified and magnificent way, because that was the last Hajj of the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.). The rituals were performed very well and the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) returned to Medinah along with his companions. On his way back, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) was very anxious. His anxiety was about his followers and the ummah. He was uneasy and anxious about the events, which were to take place after his death. The actors and jugglers among the ummah, were waiting for his death and had preplanned to deviate and de-track the Imamate and leadership from its course. He sees all the hypocrites who disguised as his friends; beat their heads and chests for him. But they have not committed any blunder, folly and wrong yet, so that he may publicly disgrace and dishonor them and prevent them (from doing what they intend). He on one side, views all the incidents of the history and on the other, he must perform the mission that God has handed him in connection with Ali ( A.S.), that duty and mission is the caliphate of Ali (A.S.) that he must choose and select him as his successor and heir, and put an end to the ambitions of the chance seekers. Those who had nominated each one of themselves for the post of caliphate and had made propaganda among the people that the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.) will choose us as his heirs and successors.
The call of the angel of revelation is reflecting in the heart and soul of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) as if still he is listening to what he said, "you have a great mission ahead, if you did not perform this job then you have not done the Prophetic duty and mission at all." You must know, that God will save you from the deceitfulness and tricks of the enemy.
Yes, the successor of the sun of Prophet hood should be the sun of Willayat (guardianship), possessing all the perfections, completeness and values of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). Who else could that be except Ali Ibne Abi Talib ( A.S.)? Ali (A.S.), who was many times introduced by the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) with the words such as: "'Ali (A.S.) is the wisest of all my ummah (followers).' 'I am the city of knowledge and wisdom and Ali is (like) its gate.' 'Whosoever desires to have access to my wisdom should learn it from Ali.'" This is the very reason that only Ali ( A.S.) can go up the cathedra (tribune) and say amid the people. "Oh people, ask me whatsoever you desire, before a time comes that you loose me."
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) made up his mind and decided it to choose Ali ( A.S.) as his successor on the command and at behest of God, so that, he may complete and make the Islam perfect, as God had ordered him to do. The day of Ghadeer, became a day in the history when God gave the good news to the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and said, "Today is the day when I have made Islam to be a perfect (religion) and completed and finalized my blessings upon you (Muslims)." What a fruitful Hajj and a holy return. There were approximately one hundred and twenty thousand men accompanying the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.).
All of them reached a place known as "Ghadeer-e-Khum" on the land of "Juhfa". The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) ordered them to stop. All of them did stop at the behest of the Prophet (P.B.U.H .). They were saying to themselves, "It appears that some vitally important problem has confronted us." It was just the same that they were thinking of.
They built a tribune with the camel saddles for the Prophet ( P.B.U.H), heralds were appointed amid the gathering to repeat and call out the words of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), so that, all the people may hear. He (P.B.U.H) went atop the tribune while he was surrounded by his friends and said: "Oh people! I performed my Prophetic mission and did put in endeavor to the maximum of my energy that I possess. You should know that I leave two valuable (weighty) things among you after myself (after my death) so that these two will never at all get separated from each other.
1. The Holy Quran, the Book of God.
2. My Ahle Baith [People of the house, the Imam Ali (A.S.) Fatima (A.S.), Hassan (A.S.), Hussain (A.S.) and nine Imams from the descendents of Hussain (A.S.)].
Then, he took the hand of Ali (A.S.) and hoisted it like a flag, so that all of the people might see. Thereafter, he said, "I am the guardian (wali) of whosoever, (he should know that) Ali is also his guardian. Oh God! Be the friend of the friends of Ali and be the enemy of his enemies. Help those who help him and be the enemy of anyone who fights him. Yes, those who are present convey my words to those who are not present here. I hope they will lend ears and accept it."
Full details about Ghadir event with scanned book evidences click HERE
How did Ali (A.S.) get the Government?
The opportunists, who had embraced Islam for the sake of seeking power and made themselves, move along on the path of Prophet (P.B.U.H.), held confidential and secret meetings to oust the caliphate from the family of Bani Hashim. They were counting days to achieve their ends and to put into practical shape what they had planned to do, because they were aware that they are face to face with a person whose past services for Islam are not hidden and are clear to everybody. The Prophet ( P.B.U.H.) had made a plenty of recommendations about him and particularly invited all to swear in an oath of allegiance for him. After the death of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), all the plans were put into practice and materialized one after the other. So that Ali ( A.S.) became all alone, and did not have any alternative except remaining silent. For, he only thought of Islam and did not pay any attention towards his post and station. And had he drawn the sword then the only desire of his enemies would have taken practical shape, that is to say, no sign of Islam would have been left back.
The silence of Ali (A.S.) and Fatima Zahra (A.S.) and the immoralities and irregularities of the previous power seekers, particularly the cruelties and excesses of the officials and agents of the Bani Ommayides dynasty, whose influence had gone up during the regime of third Caliph Usman, had made the people aware and all of them knew that the Islamic Caliphate had turned into the stage of political actors and stooges and what God and the Prophet ( P.B.U.H.) had meant was quite different from those things.
Resultantly the displeasure and dissatisfaction of people reached it's climax and the spark of revolution was kindled in the hearts of the people, which erupted like a volcano, so that, no one had the means and power to resist and stand up to it. People attacked the house of Usman in the shape of a flood, showing camel like anger and grudge, a camel who throws foam out of its mouth due to anger. These out numbered and countless people, who made the attack, killed him.
People were so enraged and furious that they even did not pay any attention and notice to Imam Hasan ( A.S.) and Imam Hussain (A.S.) who were sent by Imam Ali (A.S.) to prevent Usman from being slain. Imam Hassan (A.S.) was injured in this disturbance.
People rushed towards Ali's (A.S.) house with blood dripping out of their swords and they were burning with fever and fervor of excitement and commotion. They insistently and requesting dragged him out and took the oath of allegiance and chose him as their leader and ruler.
Why Ali's (A.S.) Government faced defeat?
Although Ali (A.S.) had told the people, while they were taking the oath of allegiance, that, "I will act upon the right and will not sell my religion for anybody's world (wishing to gain material), and will not hand over the power to this person or that person without seeing reason. I will take into consideration their past activities and if I observe any violation and breach of law by my officials I will not spare them, I will dismiss them immediately. I will act decisively and peremptorinessly and will not have any fear of any reproaching and blaming. I will not give Baith-ul-mal's wealth to this and that person without reason though he may be my son.
But alas, the materialist and ease and comfort seekers did not welcome the right government of Ali (A.S.). They abandoned and quit Ali (A.S.) at the initial stage and created chaos, disorder and mutiny for him. Talha and Zubair, who were experienced men, went to Mecca and provoked Ayesha ( R.A.) to rise up for the sake of taking vengeance of Usman's blood. They by taking benefit of the station of Ayesha (R.A.), who was the wife of Prophet, gathered a large group around her. And, with a big army, they moved hastily towards Ali (A.S.). They had told the illiterate people that Ali (A.S.) was the murderer of Usman. As a result, they shed the blood of a group of Muslims and shifted its responsibility towards Ali (A.S .). After this incident Muawiyah, that cunning fox, who was discharged by Ali (A.S.) perceived a very good chance for his obstinacy and resistance. He rose against Ali (A.S.) from Syria and declared war against him.
These battles were continuing, when a group named Khwarij came into existence among the army men of Ali (A.S.). This was a group, which considered neither of Ali (A.S.), nor Muawiyah, and Amro Aas suitable for ruler ship. They, under the slogan of "Rule is only for God," started a mutiny and adventure.
Finally, they martyred Ali (A.S.) but they did not succeed in killing Muawiyah and Amro Aas. This is how Ali's (A.S.) Government was defeated and sacrificed upon its own Justice (righteousness) meaning thereby, if Ali (A.S.) had ruled cunningly treacherously like Muawiyah he would had never been killed.
Martyrdom of Ali (A.S.)
After the battle of Neherwan was over, group of Khwarij daily held a meeting in Mecca and wept over their dead, those killed in Neherwan. One day, they told each other, "Sitting here and weeping is of no use. We should kill these three persons Ali ( A.S.), Muawiyah and Amro Aas, who destroyed the Islamic State and killed our brothers."
They invited three volunteers to perform these errands. Ibn-e-Muljim stood and said, "I will kill Ali (A.S.)." Hajjaj bin Abdullah, under took killing Muawiyah and Amro bin Bakr Taimeemi said, "I will kill Amro Aas." The three of them made a commitment together that they would materialize their plan on the 19th of Ramadan. Then, each one of them moved towards the place of his mission, so that they reach there and wait for the date, which was fixed.
But alas, the other two did not succeed in achieving there end, whereas, Ibn-e-Muljim did succeed. Ibn-e-Muljim came to Kufa and contacted the enemies of Ali (A.S.) and lived in their house till the 19th of Ramadan approached. One day Ali (A.S.) came across him in the streets of Kufa. He wanted to hide himself. But Ali ( A.S.) said, "I know for what purpose you have come to Kufa."
As soon as Ibn-e-Muljim heard these words, he trembled and his legs could no more carry him. He said to Ali (A.S.), "Oh Ali (A.S.) when it is so (that you know) release the orders of my being killed or put me in the prison or banish me off. Ali ( A.S.) had a look upon him and said, "Although I can put into practice each one of your suggestions, but Islam does not deem pre-crime punishment, fair. So I am obliged to let you go free. Perhaps you may repent upon your decision.
At last, on the 19th of Ramadan of the 40th Hijra the son of Muradi opened apart Ali's (A.S.) head and the mountain of faith and piety tumbled and crumbled down making the world of Islam mournful.
After Ali (A.S.) cried on the prayer place (when injured), "By the God of Kaabah I have succeeded." The haven's angel Jabriel shouted, "By God, the pillars of guidance are demolished. Ali ( A.S.) has been martyred."
People rushed out of their houses and arrested the killer of Ali (A.S.) and handed him over to Imam Hassan (A.S.), and carried Ali (A.S.) with a blood stained face to his house.
Imam Hassan (A.S.) imprisoned the killer and informed his father about it.
Imam Ali (A.S.) told his son, "Oh Son! This man who is my killer and he is your prisoner, look after his food and water and do not molest him. If I survive I know what to do with him and if I die then do not strike him but one blow."
Alas, Ali (A.S.) did not survive for this ummah. He passed away on the 21st of Ramadan at the age of 63 years. His pure body was burried secretly at Najaf (Iraq) - (Last Will /Martyrdom pdf )
Hazrat Imam Ali Ibn e Abi Talib a.s according to Hadith's of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad s.a.w .
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is the door of servitude, and whoever passes through that door is a true believer." Mustadrak Al-Sahihain of Al-Hakim Al-Nisabori; Kenz Al-Omal, 6/156; Al-Dilmi.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is the Imam of goodness, the fighter against iniquity, the helper of those who come to his aid, and the deserter of those who desert him." Kenz Al-Omal, 6/153; Al-Darqatani.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is the Imam of the pious, the prince of believers, and the leader of the resplendent." Mustadrak Al-Sahihain of Al-Hakim Al-Nisabori, 3/129; Kenz Al-Omal, 6/153.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is to me what Haroun was to Musa." Mustadrak Al-Sahihain of Al-Hakim Al-Nisabori, 3/137; Ibn Al-Maghazeli, 65, 104; Al-Tabarani; HAliyat Al-Awliya', 1/63; Akhtab Khawarizm, 229.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) holds a right over this nation like the right of a father over his son." Muslim, 2/361; Al-Tirmidhi, 2/299; Al-Hakim, 3/130; Musnad Ahmad, 3/198; Al-Nisa'i, 7; Asad Al-Ghaba, 3/40.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is with the Qur'an, and the Qur'an is with Ali." Al-Bukhari, 5/19; Muslim, 2/360; Al-Tirmidhi, 5/304; Mustadrak Al-Sahihain of Al-Hakim Al-Nisabori, 3/109; Ibn Majah, 1/28; Musnad Ahmad, 3/328.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) and his shi^a are the successful ones." Ibn Al-Maghazeli, 47; Mizan Al-^Itidal, 2/313.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is the door of my knowledge, and the one who will clarifies for my nation that which I was sent with." Tafsir Al-Tabari, 3/171; Shawahid Al-Tanzil, 2/356; Al-Darr Al-Manthour, 6/379; Yanabi^ Al-Mawda, 61.
The Prophet (s) said, "Love for Ali (a) is faith, and hatred for Ali is hypocrisy." Ibn Al-Maghazeli, 67; Al-Khawarizmi, 236; Fara'id Al-Samateen; Yanabi^ Al-Mawda.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is the partition between Heaven and Hell." Mustadrak Al-Sahihain of Al-Hakim Al-Nisabori, 3/127; Kenz Al-Omal, 5/30; Al-Jami^ of Al-Suyuti, 1/374; Al-Tirmidhi; Ibn Maghazeli, 80.
The Prophet (s) said, "The position of Ali (a) amongst the people is like Surat Qul Hu Allahu Ahad in the Qur'an." Muslim, 1/48; Al-Tirmidhi, 2/299; Al-Nisa'i, 27; Musnad Ahmad, 6/299; Ibn Al-Maghazeli, 191.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is the beloved between two friends, myself and Ibrahim." Yanabi^ Al-Mawda, 88; Fara'id Al-Samateen; Bea^ Al-Abrar; Moniq Ibn Ahmad Al-Khawarizmi.
The Prophet (s) said, "Whoever splits with Ali (a) has split with me, and whoever splits with me has split with God." Ibn Al-Maghazeli, 45; Yanabi^ Al-Mawda, 181.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is from me and I am from him, and he is the protector of every true believer after me." Ibn Al-Maghazeli, 69; Yanabi^ Al-Mawda, 125.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) is the most beloved of God and His Prophet in all of creation." Kenz Al-Omal, 5/33; Al-Riyadh Al-Nudhra, 2/211; Ibn Al-Maghazeli, 219.
The Prophet (s) said, "Mentioning Ali (a) is a form of worship, and looking upon him is a form of worship." Mustadrak Al-Sahihain of Al-Hakim Al-Nisabori, 3/123; Kenz Al-Omal, 6/156; Al-Tabarani; Ibn Al-Maghazeli, 240, 278; Al-Khawarizmi, 62.
The Prophet (s) said, "Love for Ali (a) is a good deed, so don't ruin it with bad deeds." Al-Tabarani; Yanabi^ Al-Mawda, 2/3.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) holds the position of the Ka^aba." Mustadrak Al-Sahihain of Al-Hakim Al-Nisabori, 3/122; Musnad Ahmad, 3/82; Al-Tabarani, 6/155; Kenz Al-Omal.
The Prophet (s) said, "Ali (a) stands in relation to me as my head to my body." Mustadrak Al-Sahihain of Al-Hakim Al-Nisabori, 3/141; Al-Jami^ of Al-Suyuti, 1/583; Tarikh Baghdad of Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdadi, 1/51; HAliyat Al-Awliya', 1/182; Al-Riyadh Al-Nudhra, 2/219.
The Prophet (s) said, "Oh, Ali, Jibreel has informed me that God has married you to Fatima." Manaqib Al-Imam Ali from Al-Riyadh Al-Nudhra, p. 141.
The Prophet (s) said, "Oh, Ali, God has commanded me to marry you to Fatima."Al-Sawaiq Al-Muhariqa,. ch. 4, p. 142; Dakha'ir Al-Uqubi, p. 30 & 31; Tadhkirat Al-Khawas, p. 276; Manaqib Al-Imam Ali from Al-Riyadh Al-Nudhra, p. 141; Nur Al-Absar, p. 53.
The Prophet (s) said, "Verily, God married Ali to Fatima."Al-Sawaiq Al-Muhariqa, p. 173.
The Prophet (s) said, "The first people to enter Paradise will be Ali and Fatima."Nur Al-Absar, p. 52; related by similar wording in Kenz Al-Omal, v. 13, p. 95.
The Prophet (s) said, "The verse of purification was revealed concerning five people: myself, Ali, Hassan, Hussein, and Fatima."Is^af Al-Raghibeen, p. 116; Sahih Muslim, Kitab Fadha'il Al-Sahaba.
The Prophet (s) said, "Fatima is more beloved to me than you, oh Ali, and you are dearer to me than her."Majma^ Al-Zawa'id, v. 9, p. 202; Al-Jami^ Al-Sagheer, v. 2, p. 654, n. 5761; Muntakhab Kenz Al-Omal, v. 5, 97; Asad Al-Ghaba, v. 5, p. 522; Yanabi^ Al-Mawadda, v. 2, ch. 56, p. 79; Al-Sawaiq Al-Muhariqa, ch. 3, p. 191
Imam Ali's Mathematical Brilliance sample
Dividing Inheritance
Imam Ali (AS) was endowed with a quick, sharp, incisive, mathematical mind. Here are a few interesting stories in which Imam Ali's mathematical brilliance revealed itself.
What is a wife's share?
Imam Ali (AS) was once interrupted while he was delivering a sermon from the pulpit by someone who asked him how to distribute the inheritance of someone who had died leaving a wife, his parents and two daughters. The Imam instantly answered:
"The wife's share becomes one ninth."
How?
This answer is in fact the result of a long analysis with a number of steps. Ordinarily, we have to decide on the original share of each of these heirs, in the following way:
The wife takes one eighth, in view of the presence of an inheriting child. [Holy Quran 4:12]
The deceased's father and mother take one sixth each. [Holy Quran 4:11]
The two daughters take two thirds of the inheritance. [Holy Quran 4:11]
So the total will be:
1/8 + 1/6 + 1/6 + 2/3 = 3/24 + 4/24 + 4/24 + 16/24 = 27/24
This means the share becomes less than 1/8 in view of the increase of the total of the shares which are so fixed and prescribed. So the one eighth, the original share due to the wife out of twenty-four total shares, has become three shares out of a total of twenty-seven, which is one ninth.
Imam Ali's mind went through this complex mathematical process in a second!
Whole Number and not a Fraction
One Day a Jewish person came to Imam Ali (AS), thinking that since Imam Ali thinks he is too smart, I'll ask him such a tough question that he won't be able to answer it and I'll have the chance to embarrass him in front of all the Arabs.
He asked "Imam Ali, tell me a number, that if we divide it by any number from 1-10 the answer will always come in the form of a whole number and not as a fraction."
Imam Ali (AS) looked back at him and said, "Take the number of days in a year and multiply it with the number of days in a week and you will have your answer."
The Jewish person got astonished but as he was a polytheist (Mushrik), he still didn't believe Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (AS) He calculated the answer Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (AS) gave him.
To his amazement he came across the following results:
The number of Days in a Year = 360 (in Arab)
The Number of Days in a Week = 7
The product of the two numbers = 2520
Now...
2520 ÷ 1 = 2520
2520 ÷ 2 = 1260
2520 ÷ 3 = 840
2520 ÷ 4 = 630
2520 ÷ 5 = 504
2520 ÷ 6 = 420
2520 ÷ 7 = 360
2520 ÷ 8 = 315
2520 ÷ 9 = 280
2520 ÷ 10= 252
Dividing 17 Camels
A person was about to die, and before dying he wrote his Will which went as follows:
"I have 17 Camels, and I have three sons. Divide my Camels in such a way that my eldest son gets half of them, the second one gets 1/3rd of the total and my youngest son gets 1/9th of the total number of Camels."
After his death when the relatives read his will they got extremely perplexed and said to each other that how can we divide 17 camels like this.
So after a long hard thought they decided that there was only one man in Arabia who could help them: "Imam Ali (AS)."
So they all came to the door of Imam Ali (AS) and put forward their problem.
Imam Ali (AS) said, "Ok, I will divide the camels as per the man's will."
Imam Ali (AS) said, "I will lend one of my camels to the total which makes it 18 (17+1=18), now lets divide as per his will."
The eldest son gets 1/2 of 18 = 9
The second one gets 1/3 of 18 = 6
The youngest gets 1/9 of 18 = 2
Now the total number of camels = 17 (9+6+2=17)
Then Imam Ali (AS) said, "Now I will take my Camel back."
The Five Loaves of Bread
Zarr Bin Hobeish relates this story: Two travelers sat together on the way to their destination to have a meal. One had five loaves of bread. The other had three. A third traveler was passing by and at the request of the two joined in the meal.
The travelers cut each of the loaf of bread in three equal parts. Each of the travelers ate eight broken pieces of the loaf.
At the time of leaving the third traveler took out eight dirhams and gave to the first two men who had offered him the meal, and went away. On receiving the money the two travelers started quarrelling as to who should have how much of the money.
The five-loaf-man demanded five dirhams. The three-loaf-man insisted on dividing the money in two equal parts.
The dispute was brought to Imam Ali (AS) (the Caliph of the time in Arabia) to be decided.
Imam Ali (AS) requested the three-loaf-man to accept three dirhams, because five-loaf-man has been more than fair to you. The three-loaf-man refused and said that he would take only four dirhams.
At this Imam Ali (AS) replied, "You can have only one dirham." You had eight loaves between yourselves. Each loaf was broken in three parts. Therefore, you had 24 equal parts. Your three loaves made nine parts out of which you have eaten eight portions, leaving just one to the third traveler. Your friend had five loaves which divided into three made fifteen pieces.
He ate eight pieces and gave seven pieces to the guest. As such the guest shared one part from your loaves and seven from those of your friend. So you should get one dirham and your friend should receive seven dirhams.
Imam Ali's Answering Difficult Questions
One day another Jewish person came to Imam Ali (AS). He was planning to ask Imam Ali (AS) such a question, which would take Imam Ali (AS) a long time to answer and because of that his Maghrib Prayers would be delayed.
He asked, "Imam Ali you say you know everything in the world, then tell me which animals lay eggs and which animals give birth to their young ones."
Imam Ali (AS) looked back at him smiled and said, "The animals who have their 'EARS' outside their body give birth to their young ones and the animals who have their 'EARS' inside their body lay eggs."