ALI

(Redirected from Ali ibn Abu Talib)

'Ali ibn Abi Talib' ('Ali ibn Abu Talib') ()‎ Approximately: March 17 599 - February 28 661^[1] was an early Islamic leader, the fourth and final Rightly Guided Sunni caliph, and the first Shi'a Imam. Although he had limited political influence during his lifetime, he had vast influence on the developments of events during the time of the early Muslims as a military leader, close companion, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. Later, his stature as a foremost authority on the Qur'an, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and religious thought continues to influence Islamic history. He is among the most influential people in the history of Islam after Muhammad himself, being considered second only to Muhammad in divine guidance by Shi'a Muslims. He is revered by the Sunni Muslims as one of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs and as a foremost authority in Tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and Islamic jurisprudence.

Biography

Birth

Mohammed and Ali, written in a single word - in its 180 degree inverted form, shows both the words. This is called an ambigram.

Main articles: Birthplace of Ali ibn Abi Talib

He was born in Mecca, inside the Kaaba, where he stayed with his mother for three days. His father was Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and his mother was Fatima bint Asad. Muhammad was the first person whom Ali saw. Muhammad took the newborn in his hands and named him Ali, which means exalted one.

Early life

Ali's father, Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, was a Sheikh of Banu Hashim, an important branch of the powerful tribe of the Banu Quraish, and an uncle to the young Muhammad. When Muhammad was orphaned and then lost his grandfather (Shaiba ibn Hashim {Abdul Muttalib}), Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib took Muhammad into his house. Later Muhammad set out and married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. Ali was born three years later.^[2] When Ali was six years old, as a result of famine in and around Mecca, Muhammad requested to become his guardian.^[3]
When Muhammad reported that he had received a divine revelation, Ali, then only about nine years old, believed him and professed Islam. Ali was one of the first males to enter Islam, if not the first Arab male. Ali stood firmly in support of Muhammad during the years of persecution of Muslims in Mecca. 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.
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.^[4]
Shi'a Muslims believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the rightful successor to Muhammad, and his descendents, the Shia imams, to be the leaders of the Muslim community.
The Shi'a believe that in keeping with Ali's divine mission, he converted to Islam before he had ever taken part in any of the rites of the pre-Islamic Meccan traditional religion, which Muslims regard as polytheism or paganism. Hence the Shi'a say of Ali that his face is honored -- that is, it was never sullied by prostrations before idols.
No Sunni historians make such claims for Ali. The matter is passed over in complete silence. None of the earliest sources (Muslim chroniclers such as Ibn Ishaq and Tabari) mention such a claim.

Ali in Medina

The small community of Muslim immigrants in Medina, the Muhajirun, were at first extremely poor. They had no land, no houses, and lived on the charity of the Ansar (Madinans who had converted to Islam). Ali shared in all the labor and hardships of the community.
For the ten years that Muhammad led the community in Medina, Ali was extremely active in his service, serving in his armies, leading parties of warriors on raids, and carrying messages and orders. With the exception of Tabuk, Ali took part in all the battles and expeditions fought for Islam. As one of Muhammad’s lieutenants, and later his son-in-law, Ali was a person of authority and standing in the Muslim community.
Ali first distinguished himself as a warrior in 624 CE, at the Battle of Badr. He defeated the Umayyad champion Walid ibn Utba as well as many other Meccan soldiers. ''Al Seerah'' of Ibn Hisham narrates how he killed 20 of the pagans^[5] and ''Al Maghazi'' put the number at 22.^[6]

Zulfiqar, a fictional representation of the sword of Ali.

Ali was also prominent at the Battle of Uhud, as well as many other battles where he wielded a bifurcated sword known as Zulfiqar. Battles of Badr and Uhud, , Amal, Khatab, Ta-Ha Publishers, , ISBN 1-897940-39-4 He was the standard bearer in every battle that he partook in. He also led parties of warriors on raids into enemy lands, and was an ambassador. At the beginning Ali killed Talhah Ibn Abu Talhah and then his brother Abu Saad ibn Abu Talhah, the bearers of the banner of the pagans.^[7] Ali ibn al-Athir, Abu Rafi, and Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari reported that Ali, alone, destroyed all the standard bearers.^[8], The death of the bearers of the banner heightened the morale of the Muslims and shook the hearts of the pagans and when the army of Islam was defeated and most of the Muslims had fled Ali was one of the few Muslims who defended Muhammad. According to Ibn Atheer, "The Prophet became the object of the attack of various units of the army of Quraish from all sides. Ali attacked, in compliance with the Prophet's orders, every unit that made an attack upon him (the Prophet) and dispersed them or killed some of them, and this thing took place a number of times in Uhud"^[9] and it was said "La fata illa Ali, La saifa illa Zulfiqar" (There is no brave man except Ali and there is no sword which renders service except Zulfiqar)."^[10]

Ghadir Khumm

There is another quote from Muhammad about the rightness of Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him which is:

"O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a message from my Lord and I, in response to Allah's call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family.^[11]."

This quote is confirmed by both Shi’a and Sunni everywhere, but Sunni and Shi’ah take different meanings of the quote.

The death of Muhammad

In 632 CE, Muhammad had been ailing for some time but seemed to have recovered. He left his house to take part in prayers at the mosque, then returned to his quarters and died.
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, the succession was given to Abu Bakr by vote. According to Sunni accounts, Muhammad died without having appointed a successor, and with a need for leadership, they gathered and voted for the position of caliph. Shi'a accounts differ by asserting that Muhammad had designated Ali as his successor on a number of occasions, including on his death bed. Ali had many friends, followers and supporters who believed that he should have succeeded Muhammad. This did not create an immediate division, however, because Ali did not fight against the elected caliphs. The Brother of the Prophet Mohammad, , Mohamad, Chirri, Islamic Center of America, Detroit, MI, , Alibris ID 8126171834
The succession to Muhammad is an extremely contentious issue. Muslims ultimately divided into two branches based on their political attitude towards this issue, which forms the primary theological barrier between the two major divisions of Muslims: Sunni and Shi'a, with the latter following Ali as the successor to Muhammad. The two groups also disagree on Ali's attitude towards Abu Bakr, and the two caliphs who succeeded him: Umar (or `Umar ibn al-Khattāb) and Uthman or (‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān). Sunnis tend to stress Ali's acceptance and support of their rule, while the Shi'a claims that he distanced himself from them, and that he was being kept from fulfilling the religious duty that Muhammad had appointed to him. The Sunni Muslims say that if Ali was the rightful successor as ordained by God Himself, then it would have been his duty as the leader of the Muslim nation to make war with these people (Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman) until Ali established the decree. Shia claim, however, that Ali did not fight Abu Bakr, Umar or Uthman, because firstly he did not have the military strength and if he decided to, it would have caused a civil war amongst the Muslims, which was still a nascent community throughout the Arab world.^[12]

Inheritance

Shi'a Muslims believe that Ali and Fatima, as well as the wives of Muhammad had an additional cause for disaffection with Abu Bakr.^[13] The new caliph argued that Muhammad's considerable landed property had been held by Muhammad in trust for the community, and was rightfully the property of the state, despite Ali's rejoinder that Muhammad's revelations included accounts of prophetic inheritance (Qur'an 27:16, 21:89). According to Shi'ah Muslims, Abu Bakr gave state pensions to Muhammad's widows, but Muhammad's blood relatives, Ali, Fatima and `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas, did not receive even that much.
After Fatima's death Ali again claimed her inheritance, but was denied with the same argument. However, Umar, the caliph who succeeded Abu Bakr, did restore the estates in Medina to al-Abbas and Ali, as representatives of Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim. The properties in Khaybar and Fadak were retained as state property (Madelung 1997 p. 62). Shi'a sources regard this as another instance of the persecution of Muhammad's lineage, the ''Ahl al-Bayt'', at the hands of the caliphs they regard as usurpers.^[14]

Caliphate

A silver dirham from the reign of Imam Ali

After the assassination of the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, the Companions of Muhammad in Medina selected Ali to be the new Caliph. Soon thereafter, Ali dismissed several provincial governors, some of whom were relatives of Uthman, and replaced them with trusted aides such as Malik al-Ashtar and Salman the Persian. Ali then transferred his capital from Medina to Kufa, the Muslim garrison city in what is now Iraq. The capital of the province of Syria, Damascus, was held by Mu'awiyah, the governor of Syria and a kinsman of Uthman, Ali's slain predecessor.^[15]

Death

On the nineteenth of Ramadan, while Ali was leading the morning prayers the vigilante 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muljim executed Ali by the strike of his poison-coated sword.
Ali, injured with the wound from the poisonous sword, lived for two days. In these two days he dictated his will and last testament to his son, Hasan ibn Ali. He advised his eldest son to "love Allah and obey Him and to live for the service of the people in the way of Allah. And then do not forget to set apart the best of your time for communion with Allah, although every moment of yours is for Him, provided it is spent sincerely in the service of your people."
Ali died on the 21st of Ramadan (two days after receiving the wound) in the city of Kufa in 661 CE.^[16]

Burial

Rawze-e-Sharif, the Blue Mosque, in Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan - Where a minority of Shi’ahs believe Ali ibn Abi Talib is buried

Many Shi'a believe that Ali didn’t want his grave to be desecrated by his enemies and because of that he asked his friends and family members to bury him secretly.. This secret gravesite is supposed to have been revealed in later times. Most Shi'as accept that Ali was buried at what is now the city of Najaf, which grew around the mosque and shrine called Masjid Ali. Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (Imam Ali the Fourth Caliph, 1/1 Volume), , Mohammad, Redha, Dar Al Kotob Al ilmiyah, , ISBN 2-7451-2532-X

★ One story recounts that the caliph Harun al-Rashid (ruled from 786 to 809) went hunting and came upon a bit of raised ground which his dogs refused to approach. Local inhabitants told him that this was the grave of Ali ibn Abi Talib. The caliph ordered the building of a mausoleum, which was the nucleus of the city and the shrine.

★ Another story claims that the location of the gravesite was passed from father to son along the line of Shi'a Imams, and that Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shi'a Imam, told the caliph where to find the grave.

★ Yet another story, usually maintained by Afghans, notes that his body was taken and buried in the Afghan city of Mazari Sharif at the famous Blue Mosque or Rawze-e-Sharif.^[17]

Descendants

Two of his most famous sons, born to Fatima, were Hasan and Husayn. Hasan is said to have refrained from publicly claiming the caliphate, so as to prevent further bloodshed among Muslims. Muawiyah thus became caliph and established the Umayyad dynasty of caliphs. Hasan is, however, revered by most Shi'a as the second imam; his brother Husayn is reckoned as the third. The Ismailis also consider Ali as an Imam.
Ali's descendants by Fatima are known as sharifs, syeds or sayyids. These are honorific titles in Arabic, sharif meaning 'noble' and sayed/sayid meaning 'lord' or 'sir'. As Muhammad's only descendants, they are respected by both Sunni and Shi'a, though the Shi'as place much more emphasis and value on the distinction.
The Idrisid and Fatimid dynasties are descended from Ali and many Muslim notables claim to be descendents of Muhammad via his daughter Fatima and Imam Ali. The late Ayatollah Khomeini, Muammar al-Gaddafi president of Libya, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali president of Tunis, The Hashemite royal families of Jordan and Iraq, the Alaouite royal family of Morocco, the Husseini family of Lebanon, and the Aga Khans of the Ismaili community claim direct descent from Muhammad through Ali and Fatima.
Descendents of Ali with documented family trees (about 42 generations of an unbroken chain of descent) are often identified by their family trees leading to one of the 12 Shi'a Imams, most notably Imam Musa al-Kazim, Imam Ali al-Rida, and Imam Ali al-Hadi. Most syeds tend to cross-reference their own particular family trees with those of others in order to maintain accuracy and to weed out imposters.

Legacy

Ali is respected not only as a warrior and leader, but as a writer and religious authority. The most famous collection of speeches and letters attributed to Ali is the ''Peak of Eloquence'' (Arabic: ''Nahj al-Balagha'').
There are other collections of his quotations.

★ Ghorarolhakam:The collections which is valid among Shia
A few famous quotations from it include:

★ ''Inability is a disaster; patience is bravery; abstinence is a treasure, self-restraint is a shield; and the best companion is submission to Divine Will.

★ ''Socialize with people in such a manner that when you die, they should weep for you, and as long as you live, they should long for your company.''

★ ''Greed is a permanent slavery.''

★ ''Submission to God's will is the cure of the misery of the heart.''

★ ''There is no wealth like education and no poverty like ignorance.''
Ali is also reputed to have said:

★ ''He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, while he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.'' (quoted in Ralph Waldo Emerson' s "Considerations By the Way")

Muslim view

19th century Iranian painting depicting Imam Ali.

Ali is revered and honored by all Muslims. Having been one of the first Muslims and foremost Islamic scholars, he was extremely knowledgeable in matters of religious belief and Islamic jurisprudence, as well as in the history of the Muslim community. He was known for his bravery and courage. Muslims honor Muhammad, Ali, and other pious Muslims and add pious interjections after their names.
Moreover, Sunni and Shi'a alike agree that Ali deserves these titles:

★ 'Commander of the Faithful' (Arabic: ''Amir al-Mu'minin'')

★ 'Father of Dust/Soil' (Arabic: ''Abu Turab'')

★ 'Lion of God' (Arabic: ''Asad-ullah'')

★ 'The Charging Lion' (Arabic: ''Haydar-al-Karrar'')

★ 'Piercing lines, fighter' (Arabic: ''Safdar'')
::''(Please note that translation from Arabic to English may change the way the words are interpreted)''

Sunni view of Ali

The Sunni Muslims regard Ali as one of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs and one of the most influential and respected figures in Islam. Ali is held with the utmost respect along with the Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman.

Sufi view of Ali

Almost all Sufi orders trace their lineage to Mohammed through Ali, an exception being Naqbandhi, who go through Abu Bakr. Even in this order, there is Jafar al' Sadiq, the great great grandson of Ali. Ali is said to have followed the mystic ways after the death of Mohammed and before he became the fourth Caliph. Imam Ali represents the essence of the teachings of the School of Islamic Sufism.
Sufis perform Manqabat Ali in the praise of Ali, after Hamd and Naat in their Qawwali.

Notes

1. Shaheed Foundation
2. Moral Stories - Birth of Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib
3. The Commander of the Faithful: ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib
4. The Holiest Shrine in Shi’ite Islam By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin
5. Abdul Malik Ibn Husham, Al Seerah Al Nabaweyah (Biography of the Prophet), Published by Mustafa Al Babi Al Halabi, Egypt, 1955 A.D, Part 2 page. 708-713
6. Waghedi, Al Maghazi (The Invasions) published by Oxford Printing.
Part 1 page. 152
7. The Battle of Uhud
8. Ali ibn al-Athir, The Complete History (Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh), vol 3 p 107
9. Reasons for the battle of Uhud
10. Ibn Al Atheer, In his Biography, vol 2 p 107
11. Sahih Muslim 031.5920 The Book Pertaining to the Merits of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased With Them) of the Holy Prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him) (Kitab Al-Fada'il Al-Sahabah)
12. Sahih Bukhari 5.57.50
13. Sahih Bukhari 4.53.325
14. Some of the hadith cited by both sides in this dispute can be found at: Sahih Bukhari Book 80
15. 'Ali
16. The First Imam
17. Balkh and Mazar-e-Sharif

References

There are no English-language biographies specifically of Ali. Material for his biography must be extracted from the pages of general histories, or from biographies of Muhammad.

★ George Gordagh, ''Ali, The Voice of Human Justice'' , first Arabic edition 1956 ISBN 0-941724-24-7

★ Karen Armstrong -- Muhammad, Gollancz, 1991 (a popular biography)

★ Alfred Guillaume -- ''The Life of Muhammad'', Oxford University Press, 1955 (a reconstruction and translation of Ibn Ishaq).

★ Ibn Sa'd -- ''The Book of the Major Classes'' -- scattered volumes of English translation as issued by Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi (no date), and Ta-Ha Publishers, London, 1997 and 2000.

★ Wilferd Madelung -- ''The Succession to Muhammad'', Cambridge University Press, 1997.

★ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari -- ''History of the Prophets and Kings'', translation and commentary issued in multiple volumes by SUNY Press from 1987 to 1996; volumes 6-17 are relevant.

★ William Montgomery Watt -- ''Muhammad at Mecca'', 1953 and ''Muhammad at Medina'', Oxford University Press, 1956

External links

Sunni biography

★ Biography from USC's MSA website

Shi'a biography

★ Website devoted to the Life of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib

★ Sayings of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib

★ Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib

★ Imam Ali foundation

★ Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Nahjul Balagha

★ Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib's status

★ Imam Ali

★ The Last Will of Ali ibn Abi Talib

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