Imam Ali b. Abi Talib (a): Difference between revisions

In the Shiite view, the coming to power of Imam Ali (a) as the caliph on [[Dhu l-Hijja 19]], [[35]]/[[June 18]], [[656 CE|656]], was the late execution of the Prophet's (s) multiple instructions in different occasions, especially in [[Event of Ghadir|Ghadir Khumm]], that Ali (a) should succeed him and lead the Muslim community after him. The Shia maintain that the Prophet (s) appointed Ali (a) as his successor by the statement "For whomever I am the master, Ali will be his master." This is what the audience understood at the time and thus congratulated Ali (a) for this appointment, calling him [[Amir al-Mu'minin]] (the Commander of the Faithful).<ref>Halm, ''Shi’ism'', p. 3.</ref>  

According to the historians, the marriage of Abu Talib and Fatima b. Asad was the first marriage between two individuals who were both from the Banu Hashim clan.<ref>Qanawāt, "Dar kinār-i pidar," vol. 8, p. 68.</ref> Thus, Ali (a) was the first person who was a Hashimite from both his father's and his mother's sides.<ref>Muṣāḥib, ''Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Farsī'', vol. 2, p. 1760.</ref>

In [[7 BH]]/[[615 CE|615]], the [[Boycott of Banu Hashim|Muslims were besieged]] in the [[valley of Abu Talib]] by the polytheists and were prohibited from trade and placed under curfew. In this period and in several occasions, Abu Talib ordered Ali (a) to sleep where the Prophet (a) used to sleep in order to preserve the Prophet's life.<ref>Shahīdī, "Zīstnāma-yi Imām ʿAlī," vol. 8, p. 14.</ref> Shortly after the siege ended, Ali (a) lost his father in [[4 BH]]/[[619 CE|619]].<ref>Qanawāt, "Dar kinār-i pidar," vol. 8, p. 99.</ref> With the demise of Abu Talib, the situation became more difficult for the Muslims, and the Prophet (s) decided to emigrate to Medina. The Prophet (s) was informed of the conspiracy of the polytheists to murder him on the night he had planned to embark on his emigration, so Ali (a), 23 years old at the time, slept where the Prophet (s) used to sleep so that the Prophet (s) could secretly leave his house, which was under surveillance by the polytheists.<ref>Shahīdī, "Zīstnāma-yi Imām ʿAlī," vol. 8, p. 14.</ref> A few days later, and after paying the Prophet's (s) debts, Ali (a) emigrated to Medina together with a group of people among whom were his mother [[Fatima bt. Asad]] and [[Lady Fatima (a)]] the Prophet's daughter. <ref>Muṣāḥib, ''Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Farsī'', vol. 2, p. 1760; Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 155-158.</ref>

When the Prophet (s) reached Quba region on his way to [[Medina]], he waited fifteen days so that Ali (a) joins him.<ref>Rajabī, "Imām ʿAlī dar ʿahd-i Payāmbar," vol. 8, p. 161.</ref> In Medina and after he constructed [[Al-Masjid al-Nabawi|his mosque]], the Prophet (s) set up the formal [[pact of brotherhood]] between the [[Ansar|Helpers]] and the Immigrants; however, he chose Ali (a) as his brother.<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 188.</ref> In [[2]]/[[624 CE|624]], in the [[Battle of Badr]] between the Muslims and the polytheists of Mecca, a large number of the latter's troops, including some of the chiefs of Quraysh, were killed by Ali (a).<ref>Qanawāt, "Dar kinār-i pidar," vol. 8, p. 166; ʿAmilī, ''al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-nabīyy'', vol. 5, p. 60; Shahīdī, "Zīstnāma-yi Imām ʿAlī," vol. 8, p. 16.</ref> After the battle,<ref>Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ''Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn'', p. 59.</ref> Ali (a) at the age of 25 married Fatima (a) the daughter of the Prophet (s),<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk'', vol. 2, p. 410.</ref> despite the fact that there were several prominent figures who had proposed marriage to her.<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol. 8, p. 16; Qazwīnī, ''Faṭima al-Zahrāʾ'', p. 192.</ref> The Prophet (s) himself solemnized their marriage.<ref>Ibn Shahrāshūb, ''Manāqib Alī b. Abī Ṭālib'', vol. 3, p. 350.</ref>  

In [[3]]/[[625 CE|625]], the polytheists of Mecca waged the [[battle of Uhud]] against the Muslims to compensate their defeat in the Battle of Badr.<ref>Shahīdī, "Zīstnāma-yi Imām ʿAlī," vol. 8, p. 16.</ref> In this Battle, Ali (a) was among the few ones who did not flee the battleground and protected the life of the Prophet (s).<ref>Shahīdī, "Zīstnāma-yi Imām ʿAlī," vol. 8, p. 14.</ref> It is reported that He was severely wounded sixteen times in that battle.<ref>Muṣāḥib, ''Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Farsī'', vol. 2, p. 1760.</ref> Al-Kulayni and al-Tabari mention that the well-known formula "There is no sword but [[Dhu l-Fiqar]] and no man of courage but Ali" was said in this battle in praise of Ali (a).<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk'', vol. 3, p. 1027.</ref> In the same year, Ali's (a) first child, [[al-Hasan (a)]], was born. <ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk'', vol. 2, p. 537 Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 461.</ref>

In [[7]]/[[628 CE|628]], the [[Battle of Khaybar]] took place.<ref>Ibn Ḥabīb, ''al-Muḥabbar'', p. 115.</ref> Ali (a) was one of the flag-bearers of the Muslim army,<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 674.</ref> which was able to conquer [[Khaybar]] under his leadership.<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 678.</ref> In [[8]]/[[630 CE|630]], Ali (a), 31 years old at the time, was among the flag-bearers of the Muslim army in the [[conquest of Mecca]].<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 689.</ref> He helped the Prophet (s) destroy the idols in Ka'ba.<ref>Ibn Ṭāwūs, ''al-Ṭarāʾif'', vol. 1, p. 80.</ref>  

In [[9]]/[[630 CE|630]], the [[Battle of Tabuk]] took place, and the Prophet (s) left Ali (a) as his successor in Medina. This was the only battle in which Ali (a) was not present.<ref>Ibn Hishām, ''al-Sīra al-nabawīyya'', vol. 4, p. 163; Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', vol. 1, p. 156.</ref> When certain rumors were disseminated by the Hypocrites as to the reason why Ali (a) was left in Medina, Ali (a) joined the Prophet (s), who had left Medina with the Muslim army, and informed him about the rumors. In response, the Prophet (s) told him, "Aren't you happy that you are to me like Aaron to Moses?"<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 926.</ref> This saying came to be known as the [[Hadith al-Manzila]].<ref>Bukhārī, ''Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī'', vol. 5, p. 129; Muslim b. Ḥajjāj, ''Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim'', vol. 2, p. 1870-1871; Tirmidhī, ''Sunan'', vol. 5, p. 640-641; Suyūṭī, ''al-Durr al-manthūr'', vol. 3, p. 236-291.</ref> In the same year, Ali (a) was sent by the Prophet (s) on the mission to proclaim the first verses of [[Quran 9]] to the polytheists.<ref>Rajabī, "Imām ʿAlī dar ʿahd-i Payāmbar," vol. 8, p. 209.</ref> Ali (a) accomplished the mission in the afternoon of [[Eid al-Adha]].<ref>Shahīdī, "Zīstnāma-yi Imām ʿAlī," vol. 8, p. 211.</ref> On [[Dhu l-Hijja 24]], [[9]]/[[April 3]],[[631 CE|631]],<ref>Ibn Shahrāshūb, ''Manāqib Alī b. Abī Ṭālib'', vol. 3, p. 143.</ref> the Prophet (s), together with Ali (a), Fatima (a), al-Hasan (a), and al-Husayn (a) engaged in [[mubahala]] with a Christian delegation from [[Najran]].<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 2, p. 582; Rajabī, "Imām ʿAlī dar ʿahd-i Payāmbar," vol. 8, p. 213.</ref>  

In [[10]]/[[632 CE|632]], the Prophet (s) send Ali (a) on a mission to call the people of [[Yemen]] to Islam.<ref>ʿAmilī, ''al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-nabīyy'', vol. 4, p. 319.</ref> In the same year, the Prophet went on his [[Hajjat al-Wada'|last pilgrimage]] to Mecca,<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol. 2, p. 131; Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk'', vol. 3, p. 148; Wāqidī, ''al-Maghāzī'', vol. 2, p. 1089.</ref> and Ali joined him in Mecca from Yemen.<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 7.</ref> After the [[hajj]], on his way back to Medina in an area called [[Ghadir Khumm]], the Prophet (s) proclaimed Ali to be his successor and the executor of his will.<ref>ʿAyyāshī, ''Kitāb al-tafsīr'', vol. 1, p. 4.</ref> This event is known as the [[Event of Ghadir Khumm]]. Ali (a) was 33 years old at the time.  

The Shia also maintain that the companions of Abu Bakr invaded Ali's (a) house to force him to pledge allegiance,<ref>Jawharī, ''al-Saqīfa wa Fadak'', p. 72-73.</ref> during which incident Fatima (a) was hurt and had a miscarriage.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''al-Iḥtijāj'', vol. 1, p. 109.</ref> Abu Bakr also [[Usurpation of Fadak|confiscated Fadak]],<ref>Ustādī, "Fadak," vol. 8, p. 366.</ref> to which Ali (a) objected in defense of Fatima (a).<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 29, p. 124.</ref> The invasion of the Imam's (a) house resulted in Fatima's (a) illness, and led to her martyrdom in [[11]]/[[632 CE|632]].<ref>Ṭabarī al-Imāmī, ''Dalāʾil al-imāma'', p. 134.</ref>

Abu Bakr passed away in [[13]]/[[634 CE|634]].<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk'', vol. 3, p. 419-420; Yaʿqūbī, ''Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī'', vol. 2, p. 136-138.</ref> Before his death, he appointed [['Umar]] as his successor.<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 322, 331.</ref> In [[Muharram]], [[14]]/[[March]], [[635 CE|635]], Umar embarked on a military expedition against the [[Sasanids]]. He camped in an area called Sirar, but some prominent figures, including Imam Ali (a), advised him to remain in Medina, so he returned and sent [[Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas]] to the battle in his place.<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 379.</ref> Ibn Athir reports that Ali (a) was a judge during the caliphate of Umar, except in its first few years.<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 348, 441.</ref>

In [[16]]/[[637 CE|637]] (or [[17]]/[[638 CE|638]]),<ref>Maʿādīkhāh, ''Tārīkh-i Islām'', p. 348, 453.</ref> upon Ali's (a) suggestion, Umar set the year of the emigration of the Prophet (s) to Medina as the beginning of the [[Islamic calendar]].<ref>Yaʿqūbī, ''Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī'', vol. 2, p. 246; Masʿūdī, ''Murūj al-dhahab'', vol. 4, p. 300.</ref>  

In [[17]]/[[638 CE|638]], Umar led a military expedition to conquer Jerusalem and announced Ali (a) as his successor in Medina. In the same year, after insistence and threatening, Umar married [[Umm Kulthum bt. al-Imam 'Ali (a)|Umm Kulthum]] the daughter of Imam Ali (a). It is reported that Umar announced Ali (a) as his successor in Medina in [[18]]/[[639 CE|639]] as well, when he decided to travel to [[Syria]].  

When Umar was assassinated in [[23]]/[[644 CE|644]] and before his death, he appointed a [[Six-Member Council|council of six members]], including Imam Ali (a), to choose the next caliph. Umar also granted [[Abd al-Rahman b. Awf]] a decisive vote in the council. Abd al-Rahman first asked Imam Ali (a) whether he was ready to accept the caliphate with the condition of acting according to the Qur'an and according to the conduct of the Prophet (s), Abu Bakr, and Umar. The Imam (a) refused to accept the condition of acting according to the conduct of the first two caliphs and said, "I hope I will act according to the book of God and the conduct of the Prophet to the extent of my knowledge, capacity, and ijtihad." Abd al-Rahman then asked Uthman the same question; Uthman accepted the condition, and thus became the next caliph after Umar.  

Ibn Jawzi reports that Ali (a) continued to be a judge in [[24]]/[[645 CE|645]]. In [[25]]/[[646 CE|646]], Uthman commanded that the copies of the [[collection of the Qur'an|Qur'an be collected]] and unified, for which decision, according to [[al-Suyuti]], he consulted Ali (a). In [[26]]/[[647 CE|647]], Ali's (a) fifth son, [[al-'Abbas (a)]], was born.  

In [[35]]/[[656 CE|656]], public dissatisfaction with Uthman's conduct reached its peak, and a group of people besieged his house. Prior to this incident, Imam Ali (a) had reportedly left Medina to [[Yanbu']] per Uthman's request. However, the Imam (a) asked al-Hasan (a) and al-Husayn (a) to protect the caliph. Notwithstanding, the rebels murdered Uthman, and afterwards the people gathered around Imam Ali (a), urging him to accept the caliphate

In [[Dhu l-Hijja]], [[35]]/[[June]], [[656 CE|656]] and after the assassination of Uthman, Ali (a) became the caliph and the leader of the Muslim ummah. Except some of the close people to Uthman and some Companions (the [[Qa'idun]] “the sitting ones”), all the Companions in Medina pledged their allegiance to Imam Ali (a). Two days after the beginning of his caliphate, in his first sermon, Ali (a) urged that all the wealth and properties that had been unjustly taken must be returned, and emphasized justice with regard to the distribution of public properties and wealth.