‘Ali Ibn Abi Taalib رضي الله عنهHis name is ‘Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (whose name was ‘Abdu Manaaf), Ibn ‘Abdel Muttalib (whose name was Shaybah), Ibn Haashim (whose name was Al-Mugheerah), Ibn Qusayy (whose name was Zayd), Ibn Kilaab, Ibn Murrah, Ibn Ka’b, Ibn Lu’yy, Ibn Ghaalib, Ibn Fihr, Ibn Maalik, Ibn Nadr, Ibn Kinaanah.
Ali’s mother was Faatimah Bint (daughter of) Asad, Ibn Hisham, Ibn Abde Manaaf, Ibn Qusayy. It was said that she was the first child born to the Hashimite family. She embraced Islam and migrated to Madeenah.
‘Ali was one of the Companions that Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, gave the glad tidings of entering Paradise, and one of the six members of the consultative committee.
‘Ali’s complexion was very dark, with big beautiful eyes, a big stomach, bald, above average height, had a thick beard which was to his chest. The hair on his chest, and shoulders, was very thick.
‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was among the first people who embraced Islam. He did so at the age of seven. It is also said that he did so at the age of eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen or sixteen; Abdul-Razaaq mentioned the last age sixteen on the authoriy of Mahmar, Qatadah and Al-Hasan.
‘Ali embraced Islam at this tender age because he was under the guardianship of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, at a time when there was famine. The Prophet took him from his father (the Prophet's uncle), and when the Divine Message was revealed to him, his wife, Khadeejah, and the rest of the household including his cousin, believed it.
As soon as Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was made caliph, he delivered a keynote address which conditions then desperately called for. ‘Ali started off by reminding Muslims of the Glorious Qur’an for which Allah revealed to guide man to the right path. He next called them to do good and forsake evil.
’Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, immediately fell to undertaking the responsibilities of his new post.
At that point, he had to take care of two very urgent, not to mention thorny, issues. The first was punishing the assasins of his predecessor, ‘Uthmaan Ibn ‘Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, who were still freemen on the loose, and who were also confident that the new caliph would never even think of taking action against them, since they were the single major military power on the scene. However, almost every single person who did not take part in the revolt against ‘Uthmaan demanded that the new caliph immediately adopt a firm stand against the sinful insurgents.
A debate took place between ‘Ali and Kharijites, the upshot of which was eight thousand men returned to their senses, whereas four thousand others obstinately refused to. They therefore engaged in a lost battle against the Commander of the Faithful, who, in turn, managed to annihilate the transgressing party, with only a few survivors left. On the other hand, casualties in Ali’s ranks did not exceed seven or eight men. This battle, Al-Nahrawaan, took place to the south east of Baghdad in 38AH. Nevertheless, survivors of this battle dispersed in various areas where they found listening ears. They thus spread and continued to play an influential role for a considerable period of time.
It was shortly after ‘Ali concluded the peace agreement with Mu’awiyah (in the year 40H) that three of the Kharijites; ‘Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Muljam, Al-Barak Ibn ‘Abdellah and ‘Amr Ibn Bakr met. They discussed people’s affairs, criticised their ruler’s policies, grieved the death of those killed in Al-Nahrawaan battle and prayed that they be forgiven. Ibn Maljam, succeeded in murdering ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allaah be pleased with him, when he ambushed him as the latter stepped out of his house to perform the dawn prayer at Al-Jami’ Mosque. That way ‘Ali was martyred at the age of sixty three.
[Biographies of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, prepared from the works of Ibn Katheer, At-Tabari, As-Suyooti, and other historians, Dar Al-Manarah]
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