ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib 

(Arabic: ‫;عَ لِيّ بْن َأ ِبي َطالِب‬ c. 600 – 661 CE) was the last Caliph of the Rashidun
Caliphate, the successor state to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's political dominions. He is
considered by Shia Muslims to be the first Imam, the rightful religious and political successor to
Muhammad. The issue of succession caused a major rift between Muslims and divided them into
two major branches: Shia following an appointed hereditary leadership among Ali's descendants,
and Sunni following political dynasties. Ali's assassination in the Grand Mosque of Kufa by
a Kharijite coincided with the rise of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Imam Ali Shrine and the city
of Najaf were built around Ali's tomb and it is visited yearly by millions of devotees.[3]
Ali was a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, raised by him from the age of 5, and accepted his
claim of divine revelation by age 11, being among the first to do so. Ali played a pivotal role in the
early years of Islam while Muhammad was in Mecca and under severe persecution. After
Muhammad's relocation to Medina in 622, Ali married his daughter Fatima and, among others,
fathered Hasan and Husayn, the second and third Shia Imams.[4]
Muhammad called him his brother, guardian and successor, and he was the flag bearer in most
of the wars and became famous for his bravery.[3] On his return from the Farewell Pilgrimage,
Muhammad uttered the phrase, "Whoever I am his Mawla, this Ali is his Mawla." But the meaning
of Mawla became disputed. Shias believed that Ali was appointed by Muhammad to lead Islam,
and Sunnis interpreted the word as friendship and love.[1] While Ali was preparing Muhammad's
body for burial, a group of Muslims met and pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr. Ali pledged
allegiance to Abu Bakr, after six months, but did not take part in the wars and political activity,
except for the election of Uthman, the third caliph. However, he advised the three caliphs in
religious, judicial, and political matters.[1]
After Uthman was killed, Ali was elected as the next Caliph, which coincided with the first civil
wars between Muslims. Ali faced two separate opposition forces: a group in Mecca, who wanted
to convene a council to determine the caliphate; and another group led by Mu'awiya in the
Levant, who demanded revenge for Uthman's blood. He defeated the first group; but in the end,
the Battle of Siffin led to an arbitration that favored Mu'awiya, who eventually defeated Ali
militarily. Slain by the sword of Ibn Muljam Moradi, Ali was buried outside the city of Kufa. In the
eyes of his admirers, he became an example of piety and un-corrupted Islam, as well as the
chivalry of pre-Islamic Arabia.[5] Several books are dedicated to his hadiths, sermons, and
prayers, the most famous of which is Nahj al-Balagha.

Early life
Ali was born to Abu Talib and his wife Fatima bint Asad around 600 CE,[3] possibly on 13 Rajab,[6]
[1]
 the date also celebrated annually by the Shia.[7] Shia and some Sunni sources introduce Ali as
the only person born inside Ka'ba in Mecca,[1][6][3] some containing miraculous descriptions of the
incident.[6][8] Ali's father was a leading member of the Banu Hashim clan,[6] who also raised his
nephew Muhammad after his parents died. When Abu Talib fell into poverty later, Ali was taken in
at the age of five and raised by Muhammad and his wife Khadija.[1]
In 610,[1] when Ali was aged between nine and eleven,[3] Muhammad announced that he had
received divine revelations (wahy). Ali was among the first to believe him and profess to Islam,
either the second (after Khadija) or the third (after Khadija and Abu Bakr), a point of contention
among Shia and Sunni Muslims.[9] Gleave nevertheless writes that the earliest sources seem to
place Ali before Abu Bakr,[3] while Watt (d. 2006) comments that Abu Bakr's status after
Muhammad's death might have been reflected back into the early Islamic records.[10][11]
Muhammad's call to Islam in Mecca lasted from 610 to 622, during which Ali provided for the
needs of the Meccan Islamic community, especially the poor.[1] Some three years after the first
revelation and after receiving verse 26:214,[12] Muhammad gathered his relatives for a feast,
invited them to Islam, and asked for their assistance.[13] The Sunni al-Tabari (d. 923) writes that Ali
was the only relative who offered his support and Muhammad subsequently announced him as
his brother, his trustee, and his successor.[13][3] This declaration was met with ridicule from the
infamous Abu Lahab and the guests then dispersed.[13] The announcement attributed to
Muhammad is not included in the Sunni collection Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal,[14] but readily found
in the Shia exegeses of verse 26:214.[14] The similar account of Ibn Ishaq (d. 767) in his Sira[15] was
later omitted in the recension of the book by the Sunni Ibn Hisham (d. 833), possibly because of
its Shia implications.[14] The Shia interpretation of these accounts is that Muhammad had already
designated Ali as his successor from an early age.[13][16]