100 Facts About Ali

Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Ali played a pivotal role in the early years of Islam when Muslims were severely persecuted in Mecca.

Ali served as Muhammad's secretary and deputy in this period, and was the flag bearer of his army.

When Muhammad died in the same year, a group of Muslims met in the absence of Ali and appointed Abu Bakr as their leader.

Ali later relinquished his claims to leadership and resigned from public life during the reigns of Abu Bakr and his successor, Umar.

Ali was highly critical of Uthman, who was widely accused of nepotism and corruption.

Ali immediately faced two separate rebellions, both ostensibly to avenge Uthman: The triumvirate of Talha, Zubayr, both companions of Muhammad, and his widow Aisha captured Basra in Iraq but were defeated by Ali in the Battle of the Camel in 656.

Ali is revered for his courage, honesty, unbending devotion to Islam, magnanimity, and equal treatment of all Muslims.

Ali's place is said to be second only to Muhammad in Shia Muslim culture.

The shrine of Ali in Najaf, Iraq, is a major destination for Shia pilgrimage.

The legacy of Ali is collected and studied in numerous books, the most famous of which is.

Ali's father was a leading member of the Banu Hashim, a clan within the Meccan tribe of Quraysh.

Aged about eleven, Ali was among the first to accept Muhammad's teachings and profess Islam.

Ali did so either after Khadija or after Khadija and Muhammad's successor, Abu Bakr.

Muhammad's call to Islam in Mecca lasted from 610 to 622, during which Ali assiduously supported the small Muslim community, especially the poor.

Aged about fourteen, Ali was the only relative there who offered his support, after which Muhammad told his guests that Ali was his brother and his successor, according to the Sunni historian al-Tabari.

When tipped off about an assassination plot in 622, Muhammad escaped to Yathrib, now known as Medina, but Ali stayed behind as his decoy.

Ali too escaped Mecca after returning the goods entrusted to Muhammad there.

Ali was one of the scribes tasked with committing the Quran to writing.

In 628, Ali wrote down the terms of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiya, the peace treaty between Muslims and Meccan pagans.

Ali helped ensure that the Conquest of Mecca in 630 was bloodless and later destroyed the idols housed in Ka'ba.

In 631, Ali was sent to preach Islam in Yemen, as a consequence of which the Hamdanids peacefully converted.

Ali peacefully resolved a blood feud between Muslims and the Banu Jadhima.

Ali accompanied Muhammad in all of his military missions except the Expedition of Tabuk in 630, during which Ali was left behind in charge of Medina.

Ali was renowned for his bravery on the battlefield, and for his magnanimity towards his defeated enemies.

Ali was the standard-bearer in the Battle of Badr and the Battle of Khaybar.

Ali vigorously defended Muhammad in the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of Hunayn, and Muslims' victory in the Battle of Khaybar has been attributed to his courage, where he is said to have torn off the iron gate of the enemy fort.

Ali defeated the pagan champion Amr ibn Abd Wudd in the Battle of the Trench in 627.

Muhammad died in 632 when Ali was in his early thirties.

Evidence suggests that Ali further considered himself as the designated successor of Muhammad.

The conflicts with Ali are probably magnified in Shia sources.

Ali was not consulted about this appointment, which was initially resisted by some senior companions.

For instance, Ali is credited with the idea of adopting the migration to Medina as the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

Ali was absent from the strategic meeting of notables near Damascus.

Ali did not participate in Umar's military expeditions, although he does not seem to have publicly objected to them.

Ali too criticized Uthman's conduct, including his lavish gifts for his kinsmen.

Ali protected outspoken companions, such as Abu Dharr and Ammar, and overall acted as a restraining influence on Uthman.

Some supporters of Ali were part of the opposition movement, joined in their efforts by Talha and Zubayr, both senior companions of Muhammad, and by his widow Aisha.

Ali rejected the requests to lead the rebels, although he probably sympathized with their grievances.

Ali was therefore considered a natural focus for the opposition, at least morally.

The Egyptian opposition sought the advice of Ali, who urged them to negotiate with Uthman.

Ali similarly asked the Iraqi opposition to refrain from violence, which they heeded.

Ali repeatedly mediated between Uthman and the dissidents, to address their economical and political grievances.

In particular, Ali negotiated and guaranteed the agreement that ended the first siege.

Ali played no role in the deadly attack, and his son Hasan was injured while guarding Uthman's besieged residence at the request of Ali.

Ali convinced the rebels to deliver water to Uthman's house during the siege.

Ali probably did not force anyone to pledge, and there is little evidence of any violence, even though many broke with Ali later, claiming that they had pledged under duress.

Ali thus filled the power vacuum created by the regicide.

Ali was indeed vocal about the divine prerogative of Muhammad's kin to leadership, which would have jeopardized the political ambitions of the rest of the Quraysh.

Ali implemented radical policies to restore his vision of prophetic governance, and dismissed nearly all of Uthman's governors, whom he considered corrupt.

Ali distributed the treasury funds equally among Muslims, following the practice of Muhammad, and is said to have shown zero tolerance for corruption.

Ali has therefore been criticized by some for political naivety and excessive rigorism, and praised by others for righteousness and lack of political expediency.

Ali thus laid claim to the religious authority to interpret the Quran and Sunna.

Some supporters of Ali indeed held him as their divinely-guided leader who deserved the same type of loyalty that Muhammad did.

Ali equally distributed excess taxes and booty among Muslims, following the precedent of Muhammad and Abu Bakr.

Ali instructed his officials to collect tax payments on a voluntary basis and without harassment, and to prioritize the poor when distributing public funds.

Ali advised his commander al-Ashtar not to reject any calls to peace, not to violate any agreements, and ordered him not to commence hostilities.

Ali similarly barred his troops from disturbing civilians, killing the wounded and those who fled, mutilating the dead, entering homes without permission, looting, and harming women.

Ali prevented the enslavement of women in victory, even though some protested.

Ali was joined in Mecca by her close relatives, Talha and Zubayr, who thus broke their earlier oaths of allegiance to Ali.

Ali raised an army from nearby Kufa, which formed the core of Ali's forces in the coming battles.

Ali's desertion suggests he had serious moral misgivings about their cause.

Ali won the day, and Aisha was respectfully escorted back to Hejaz.

Ali then announced a public pardon, setting free all war prisoners, even Marwan, and prohibiting the enslavement of their women.

Ali then stationed himself in Kufa, which thus became his de facto capital.

Mu'awiya, the incumbent governor of Syria, was deemed corrupt and unfit by Ali, who wrote to and removed him from his post.

Ali probably refrained from initiating hostilities, and later fought alongside his men on the frontline, whereas Mu'awiya led from his pavilion, and rejected a proposal to settle the matters in a personal duel with Ali.

Some of Ali's men left him in protest to the arbitration agreement.

Ali called this slogan a word of truth by which the seceders sought falsehood because he viewed the ruler as indispensable in the conduct of religion.

Ali denounced the conduct of the two arbitrators as contrary to the Quran and began organizing a second Syria campaign.

At its closure, Abu Musa publicly deposed both Mu'awiya and Ali and called for a council to appoint his successor per earlier agreements with Amr.

Ali has been criticized by some for killing his erstwhile allies, many of whom were outwardly pious Muslims.

Ali eventually found sufficient support for a second Syria offensive, set to commence in late winter 661.

Ali's success was in part due to the public outrage over Syrian raids.

Ali was struck over his head by the Kharijite dissident Ibn Muljam with a poison-coated sword, in revenge for their defeat in the Battle of Nahrawan.

Ali died from his wounds about two days later, aged sixty-two or sixty-three.

The first marriage of Ali was to Fatima, who bore him three sons, Hasan, Husayn, and Muhsin.

Ali remains in occultation by divine will until his reappearance at the end of time to eradicate injustice and evil.

Mushaf of Ali is a recension of the Quran compiled by Ali, who was one of its first scribes.

Ali's codex is said to be in the possession of Muhammad al-Mahdi, who would reveal the codex when he reappears.

Also attributed to Ali is on Islamic law, fully quoted in the Shia hadith collection.

Ali is further credited with the first systematic evaluations of hadiths, and is often considered a founding figure for hadith sciences.

Ali is regarded by some as the founder of Islamic theology, and his sayings contain the first rational proofs of the unity of God in Islam.

Ali is known by many honorifics in the Islamic tradition, some of which are especially used by Shias.

Ali showed his grief, wept for the dead, and reportedly prayed over his enemies.

For instance, in person, Ali is described in some Sunni sources as bald, heavy-built, short-legged, with broad shoulders, hairy body, long white beard, and affected by eye inflammation.

Shia accounts about the appearance of Ali are markedly different.

Likewise, in manner, Ali is presented in some Sunni sources as rough, brusque, and unsociable.

Ali's place is said to be second only to Muhammad in Muslim culture.

Ali is revered for his courage, honesty, unbending devotion to Islam, magnanimity, and equal treatment of all Muslims.

Ali regularly represented Muhammad in missions which are commonly linked to Quranic injunctions.

For instance, the verse of is a reference to when Ali gave his ring to a beggar, while praying in the mosque, according to Shia and some Sunni accounts.

The most controversial such statement, "He whose I am, Ali is his," was delivered at the Ghadir Khumm.

Ali is the common source of mystical and spiritual currents within both Sunni and Shia sects of Islam.

In particular, Ali is the spiritual head of some Sufi movements, for Sufis believe that Ali inherited from Muhammad his esoteric knowledge and saintly authority, which guide believers on their journey toward God.

The defining doctrine of Shia Islam is that Ali was the rightful successor of Muhammad through divinely-ordained designation, which is primarily a reference to the Ghadir Khumm.

In particular, Ali's predecessors are regarded as illegitimate rulers and usurpers of his rights.

Ali is thought to be endowed with the privilege of intercession on the Judgment Day.

Unlike Muhammad Ali is not thought to have received divine revelation, though he might have been guided by divine inspiration.

The primary sources about Ali are the Quran, hadiths, and other early Islamic works, the most notable being The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays, attributed to a companion of Ali.