Alī ibn Abī Tālib, << ah LEE IHB uhn ah BEE TAH lihb >> (600?-661), a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, was one of the earliest leaders of the Muslims, the followers of the religion of Islam. Alī was the fourth caliph (ruler) of the Islamic Empire after the Prophet’s death in A.D. 632. Shī`ite Muslims—who make up one of the two main divisions of Islam—believe Muhammad had specifically chosen Alī as his immediate successor. Shī`ites believe that Alī therefore should have become caliph immediately after Muhammad’s death. But Sunni Muslims—who make up the other main division of Islam—disagree.
Alī was born in the Arabian city of Mecca. He became famous for his courage and religious devotion. He was one of the first to believe in the message Muhammad preached. Alī married Fātima, a daughter of the Prophet. Alī joined almost all of Muhammad’s military campaigns and worked as his secretary. When Alī did not join Muhammad in battle, he served as his lieutenant in the Arabian city of Medina. Alī had an excellent knowledge of the Qur’ān—the sacred book of Islam—and the Sunnah of the Prophet. Muslims believe the Qur’ān contains God’s actual words, revealed to the Prophet and recorded by his followers, including Alī. The Sunnah is the example set by the Prophet’s words and acts during his lifetime.
Alī advised the first three caliphs—Abū Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattāb, and Uthmān ibn Affān—but he opposed some of their policies. He often accused Uthmān of not ruling according to the Qur’ān and Sunnah. After Uthmān was murdered in 656, Ali was elected caliph. However, some Muslims accused him of having participated in the plot to murder Uthmān. Mu`āwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān, the governor of Syria and Uthmān’s cousin, refused to recognize Alī as caliph. Alī also faced opposition in what is now Iraq. In 656, he put down a rebellion led by Muhammad’s widow A`ishah near the Iraqi city of Basra. This conflict was the first that pitted Muslims against Muslims. It was called the Battle of the Camel, named for the camel that carried A`ishah.
Alī’s army then met Mu`āwiyah’s forces in 657 at Siffin, near the Euphrates River in northern Syria. The fighting lasted several weeks and killed many people on both sides. Finally, Alī agreed to the use of arbitrators—that is, appointed representatives given the power to settle the conflict peacefully. The central issue was whether Uthmān had broken God’s law. If he had, his murder would be justified. If not, Mu`āwiyah, as his relative, would be entitled to seek revenge.
Agreeing to arbitration was a costly move for Alī. Some of his followers rebelled against him, arguing that the decision belonged to God, not men. They believed that Alī should continue to fight Mu`āwiyah. The arbitration ended without a clear victor. Alī stayed in Kufa (also spelled Al Kufah), the Iraqi community where most of his supporters lived. Mu`āwiyah’s troops made raids into Iraq, Egypt, and Arabia.
In 661, Alī, who refused to step down as caliph, was assassinated by one of his former followers. That same year, Mu`āwiyah became caliph and ruled from Damascus. Islamic historians refer to the events from Uthmān’s murder in 656 to Alī’s assassination in 661 as the First Civil War.
Before Alī’s death, the Shī`ites considered him to be the only true imām (Muslim leader). His sons and descendants succeeded him as imām. Shī`ites believed that the imām was both the spiritual and the political leader of the Muslims. Thus, the office of the imām was different from the office of the caliph, which gave the ruler only political authority. Throughout Islamic history, the Shī`ites have built powerful states of their own, like the Fātimid state in North Africa. The Fātimid rulers, who held power from 909 to 1171, claimed descent from Fātima and Alī.
See also Alawites.
