ALI
Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: عليّ بن أبي طالب, romanized: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; c. 600 – c. 28 January 661 CE) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from 656 CE until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Fatima bint Asad, Ali was raised in the household of his cousin Muhammad and was among the first to accept his teachings.
Ali played a pivotal role in the early years of Islam when Muslims were persecuted in Mecca. After the immigration (hijra) to Medina in 622, Muhammad gave his daughter Fatima to Ali in marriage and swore a pact of brotherhood with him. Ali served as Muhammad's secretary and deputy in this period, and was the flag-bearer of his army. Numerous sayings of Muhammad praise Ali, the most controversial of which was uttered in 632 at the Ghadir Khumm, "Whoever I am his mawla, then Ali is his mawla." The interpretation of the polysemous Arabic word mawla is disputed: for Shias, Muhammad thus invested Ali with his religious and political authority, while Sunnis view this as a mere statement of friendship and rapport.
When Muhammad died in the same year, an assembly of Muslims met without Ali and appointed Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) as caliph. Ali later relinquished his claims to leadership and retired from public life during the reigns of Abu Bakr and his successor, Umar (r. 634–644). Even though his advice was occasionally sought, the conflicts between Ali and the first two caliphs are epitomized by his refusal to follow their practices. This refusal cost Ali the caliphate in favor of Uthman (r. 644–656), who was thus appointed to succeed Umar by the electoral council. Ali was also highly critical of Uthman, who was widely accused of nepotism and corruption. However, Ali also repeatedly mediated between the caliph and the provincial dissidents angered by his policies. Following Uthman's assassination in 656, the inhabitants of Medina urged Ali to assume leadership and pledged their allegiance to him. After initially hesitating, he eventually accepted and became the fourth caliph.
Ali's caliphate was confronted by two major rebellions to avenge Uthman's death, the first led by the prominent companions Talha, Zubayr, and Muhammad's widow Aisha, who were defeated by Ali at the Battle of the Camel in 656. The second rebellion was led by Uthman's cousin Mu'awiya, the Umayyad governor of Syria, whose forces fought Ali's army to a stalemate at the Battle of Siffin in 657, followed by an inconclusive arbitration process. The arbitration alienated a group of Ali's erstwhile followers, who revolted against him and became known as the Kharijites. They were crushed by Ali at the Battle of Nahrawan in 658, but his coalition steadily disintegrated as Mu'awiya conquered Egypt from Ali's governor. Ali was assassinated in 661 during the month of Ramadan by the Kharijite dissident Ibn Muljam. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Hasan, who abdicated later that year, paving the way for Mu'awiya to gain power and establish the Umayyad Caliphate.
Ali is revered for his courage, honesty, unbending devotion to Islam, magnanimity, and equal treatment of all Muslims. For his admirers, he has thus become the archetype of uncorrupted Islam and pre-Islamic chivalry. Sunnis regard him as the last of the rashidun (lit. 'rightly-guided') caliphs, while Shias venerate him as their first Imam and the rightful religious and political successor to Muhammad. Ali's place is said to be second only to Muhammad in Shia culture. The shrine of Ali in Najaf, Iraq, is a major destination for Shia pilgrimage. The legacy of Ali is collected and studied in numerous books, the most famous of which is Nahj al-balagha.
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