'Ali

'Ali (ibn Abi Talib)

(born c. 600, Mecca—died January 661, Al-Kufah, Iraq) Cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and fourth caliph (656–661). 'Ali was a ward of Muhammad, just as Muhammad himself had been a ward of 'Ali's father, Abu Talib. An early convert to Islam, he helped foil an assassination plot against Muhammad and, following the Hijrah to Medina (622), fought beside him against his enemies, gaining renown as a soldier. Since some in the early Muslim community claimed that Muhammad did not name any successor and others claimed that he named 'Ali, the controversy over 'Ali's claim to the caliphate resulted in the fundamental schism in Islam that eventually led to the creation of the Shi'ite (from shi'at 'Ali, “party of 'Ali”) and Sunnite branches of the religion. His willingness to compromise with his adversaries during the first fitnah led some of his troops to desert and form the Kharijite sect, one of whose members later assassinated 'Ali. In later Islamic hagiography, 'Ali was held up as the paradigm of youthful chivalry and virtue by both Shi'ites and Sunnites. See also al-Husayn ibn 'Ali; Battle of Karbala'; Mu'awiyah.