'Abd Allah b. Imam 'Ali (a)

Companion of Imam (a)

'Abd Allah b. Imam 'Ali (a)
The mausoleum of the collective grave of the martyrs of Karbala in the shrine of Imam al-Husayn (a)
Full Name	'Abd Allah b. Ali b. Abi Talib
Companion of	Imam Ali (a), Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a)
Lineage	Banu Hashim
Birth	35/655
Place(s) of Residence	Medina
Death/Martyrdom	61/680
Cause of Death/Martyrdom	Martyrdom in the event of 'Ashura'
Burial Place	Karbala, Iraq
Activities	Participating in the Event of Ashura

ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (Arabic:عبد الله بن علي بن أبي طالب) (b. 35/655 - d. 61/680) , one of the martyrs of Karbala, was son of Imam Ali (a) and Fatima bt. Hizam (known as Umm al-Banin) and a brother of 'Abbas b. Ali (a). 'Abd Allah was 8 years smaller than his brother 'Abbas (a), but he was older than his other brothers. Some sources said that he was the first among his brothers.

His Life

The name of 'Abd Allah b. Ali (a) has also been mentioned in historical books as 'Abd Allah al-Akbar and 'Abd Allah al-Asghar with the kunya of Abu Muhammad. The name of his mother was Umm al-Banin bt. Hazam.

According to Abu l-Faraj, 'Abd Allah was martyred at the age of 25; however, some sources have said that he was 8 years smaller than his brother Abbas (a) (who was martyred at the age of 34), but he was older than his other brothers. He lived with his father for 6 years and there is no more information about him before the event of 'Ashura.

His Martyrdom

There is no doubt about his presence in Karbala and his martyrdom, as Ibn Sa'd, Ibn Qutayba, Tabari, Abu l-Faraj, al-Khwarazmi, al-Shaykh al-Tusi and others have counted him among the martyrs.

Some mentioned him the first martyr among his brothers. Also, there are reports mentioning that he was martyred after his brother Ja'far.

About the way he was martyred, it is reported that when the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) and some of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) were martyred, Abbas (a) called 'Abd Allah and told him, "Go to the battlefield, so that I see your courage and take the pain of [losing] you a cause for my reward, because you do not have any children." 'Abd Allah accepted and while he was making a battle cry, attacked the enemy. In the battle with the army of 'Umar b. Sa'd, 'Abd Allah b. Ali killed some of them and was finally martyred.

Some sources have mentioned Hani b. Thabit as the murderer of 'Abd Allah b. Ali. They said that he struck 'Abd Allah on the head and martyred him. But, another report, mentions Khuli b. Yazid as the murderer of 'Abd Allah, who shot an arrow at 'Abd Allah, and then, a man from Bani Tamim from Aban b. Daram martyred him. They have mentioned the age of 'Abd Allah 25 years old upon him martyrdom. Abu l-Faraj believes that 'Abd Allah had no children. But, al-Tabari mentioned a person called 'Abbas b. Hasan b. 'Abd Allah b. Ali (a) who was a grandson of 'Abd Allah b. Ali (a).

His Name in Ziyara Nahiyat al-Muqaddasa

The name of 'Abd Allah b. Ali (a) has been mentioned in the Ziyara Nahiya al-Muqaddasa and he has been praised.

References

Family tree of Ahl al-Bayt (a)

Khadija       Muhammad                                                   Lady Fatima       Imam Ali         Umm al-Banin                                                                                                                                                                               Imam al-Husayn   Imam al-Hasan   Lady Zaynab   Umm Kulthum   Muhsin                                                                                                                                                                                 Al-'Abbas   Abd Allah   Uthman   Ja'far                                                                                                                                                                             Muhammad   'Awn   Ali   Al-'Abbas   Umm Kulthum                                                                                                                             Al-Hasan   Al-Qasim   'Abd Allah   Fatima   Zayd                                                                                       'Abd Allah   Zaynab   Ibrahim   Al-Hasan   al-Hasan                                                                               Muhammad     Ibrahim     Idris       Nafisa                                                                                                                         Imam al-Sajjad   'Ali al-Akbar     'Ali al-Asghar     Fatima   Sukayna   Ruqayya                                                                                                             Imam al-Baqir                                   Zayd                                                                                               Imam al-Sadiq   'Abd Allah   Ibrahim   'Ubayd Allah   'Ali   Yahya                                                                                                                                       Imam al-Kazim   Muhammad   Ali   Ishaq   Umm Farwa   'Abd Allah   Isma'il                                                                                                                                                                                   Imam al-Rida   Ma'suama   Hamza   Ishaq   Ahmad   Ibrahim   Muhammad           Imam al-Jawad                                                                                                                               Imam al-Hadi     Musa         Fatima       Hakima       Amama                                                                                               Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari     Husayn         Muhammad       Ja'far           Imam al-Mahdi