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In the big book of history, there are only a few people who shine as bright as “Hazrat Ali“. His life and what he did made a really strong impression. This detailed biography looks closely at the facts and history of this amazing person, going deep to understand more than just the basics.
In this article we are providing you “Hazrat Ali biography“, “Hazrat Ali Facts” and “Hazrat Ali History”. Ali was famous for being really brave in battles and for being kind to the people he defeated. He carried the flag in the Battle of Badr in 624 and the Battle of Khaybar in 628.
Ali showed he was a great fighter in 624, at the Battle of Badr. He beat the Umayyad champion Walid ibn Utba and many other soldiers from Mecca. His fighting skills were so good that in the battle, there were 70 Polytheist (Mushrikeen), and Ali alone killed 35 of them (more than half).
Early Life And Education
Hazrat Ali – A Special Person
Hazrat Ali was born in 600 CE and was part of the important Quraysh tribe in Mecca. When he was a kid, he spent a lot of time with Prophet Muhammad, who later became his father-in-law. Even though the times were tough, Hazrat Ali was really smart and loved learning from a very young age.
Ali ibn Abi Talib, born around 600 and passing away in 661, was not only the cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad but also his son-in-law. After Muhammad’s passing, Ali became the leader (Rashidun caliph and Shia Imam) from 656 to 661. He was born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Fatima bint Asad. When Ali was young, his older cousin Muhammad took care of him, and Ali was one of the first to follow Muhammad’s teachings. Ali played a really important role in the early days of Islam when Muslims were facing a lot of trouble in Mecca.
Hazrat Ali Birthday And Early Life
Ali was born in Mecca to Abu Talib and Fatima bint Asad, around the year 600 CE. Some people believe he was born on the 13th of Rajab, an event celebrated by Shia Muslims. Ali might have been the only person born inside the Ka’ba, the most important place in Islam located in Mecca. His father, Abu Talib, was an important person in the Banu Hashim, a group in the Meccan tribe of Quraysh. When Ali was about five years old, his father faced hard times, and Muhammad, along with his wife Khadija, took Ali in.
Around the age of eleven, Ali was one of the first to follow Muhammad’s teachings and become a Muslim. There’s some debate about whether Ali did this before or after Khadija and Muhammad’s successor, Abu Bakr, but the earliest sources suggest Ali was among the first. During Muhammad’s call to Islam in Mecca from 610 to 622, Ali strongly supported the small Muslim community, especially those who were poor.
About three years after Muhammad started preaching, he gathered his relatives for a feast, invited them to Islam, and asked for their help. At about the age of fourteen, Ali was the only relative who offered his support. Muhammad then announced that Ali was his brother and successor, according to the Sunni historian al-Tabari (d. 923). Shia Muslims believe that Muhammad had already chosen Ali as his successor at this point.
“Mubahala” Event- History
Around 632, a Christian group from Najran in South Arabia came to Medina. They talked with Muhammad and worked out a peace deal. During their talks, they discussed Jesus and whether he was more like a regular person or something more special. This event is connected to a verse in the Quran, 3:61, which tells Muhammad to challenge his opponents to something called mubahala, kind of like a “mutual cursing.” This might have happened when their discussion reached a point where they couldn’t agree.
Even though the Christian group eventually backed out of this challenge, Muhammad went to the place where it was supposed to happen. He was there with Ali, his wife Fatima, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn. Muhammad included these four in the mubahala ritual as his witnesses and guarantors. This probably made them more respected in the community. Some people, especially Shia authors, think that if the word “ourselves” in the verse refers to Ali and Muhammad, then Ali has a similar religious importance in the Quran as Muhammad.
Military And Political career of Hazrat Ali
Military Career
Ali went with Muhammad on all his military missions, except for one in 630 when he had to stay in charge of Medina. There’s a story that during this time, Muhammad told Ali that he’s like Aaron to Moses, but there won’t be any prophets after Muhammad. Some people believe this means Ali should have been Muhammad’s successor. When Muhammad wasn’t there, Ali led an expedition to Fadak in 628.
Ali was known for being brave in battles and kind to his enemies. He carried the flag in the Battle of Badr in 624 and the Battle of Khaybar in 628. He defended Muhammad in the Battle of Uhud in 625 and the Battle of Hunayn in 630. Ali’s courage is said to be a big reason why Muslims won the Battle of Khaybar. There’s a story that he even tore off the iron gate of the enemy’s fort.
Ali also won against a strong fighter named Amr ibn Abd Wudd in the Battle of the Trench in 627. Muhammad once said that Ali’s sword, called Zulfiqar, was special and that there’s no brave youth like Ali. There’s also a story, although some doubt its truth, that Ali and another companion oversaw the killing of a group called Banu Qurayza for being traitors in 626–627.
Political Career
In the city of Medina, Ali helped Muhammad a lot. He was like a secretary and deputy, and he also wrote down parts of the Quran. In 628, Ali wrote the terms of a peace treaty between Muslims and people from Mecca called the Treaty of al-Hudaybiya. Later, in 630, Muhammad told Ali to announce something important in Mecca, replacing another person named Abu Bakr.
Ali played a big role in making sure the Conquest of Mecca in 630 happened peacefully and that the idols in the Ka’ba were removed. In 631, Ali went to Yemen to teach people about Islam and peacefully convinced a group called the Hamdanids to become Muslims. He also settled a dispute between Muslims and another group called the Banu Jadhima.
Hazrat Ali wife Name
Ali’s first wife was Fatima, and they had three sons named Hasan, Husayn, and Muhsin. Unfortunately, Muhsin either passed away when he was very young, or Fatima had a miscarriage after getting hurt during a raid on her house.
The families of Hasan and Husayn are known as the Hasanids and the Husaynids, and they are highly respected in Muslim communities with titles like sharif and sayyid because they are the descendants of Muhammad. Ali and Fatima also had two daughters named Zaynab and Umm Kulthum. After Fatima passed away in 632, Ali got married again and had more children, including Muhammad al-Awsat and Abbas ibn Ali. Throughout his life, Ali had seventeen daughters and somewhere between eleven, fourteen, or eighteen sons. Hasan, Husayn, and Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya played crucial roles in history, and their descendants are known as the Alids.
Under the Rule of Umayyads (661–750)
After Ali, Mu’awiya took over in 661 and started the Umayyad Caliphate. During this time, the Alids, who were Ali’s followers, were treated very badly. When Hasan, Ali’s eldest son, became the leader after Ali, he died in 670, likely poisoned by Mu’awiya. After Hasan, his younger brother Husayn took charge, but he was killed by Umayyad forces in the Battle of Karbala in 680. This led to a Shia uprising led by al-Mukhtar in 685 to seek revenge for the Karbala massacre.
Under the Abbasids (750–1258)
The Alids faced more persecution under the Abbasids, who replaced the Umayyads in 750. Some Alids revolted, while others formed regional dynasties in distant areas. The Abbasids treated the leaders of the Imamites, who followed Husayn’s descendants, very poorly, causing them to be removed from public life and, in some cases, causing their deaths.
The mainstream Imamites were the ancestors of the Twelvers, who believe in a twelfth and final imam named Muhammad al-Mahdi. He was born around 868 but went into hiding in 874 for safety. Twelvers believe he will reappear one day to bring justice and end evil. The Isma’ilites split from the Imamites when the sixth imam, Ja’far al-Sadiq, passed away in 765. Some believed his successor was his son Isma’il. The Isma’ilites found political success around the tenth century with the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt and the Qarmatians in Bahrain.
Hazrat Ali History
Understanding Ali in Islamic Literature
A lot has been written about Ali in Islamic literature, second only to Muhammad. However, it’s important to know that much of what’s written about him can be biased, either positively or negatively. The main sources about Ali are the Quran, hadiths, and other early Islamic works, with one notable work being The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays, linked to a friend of Ali.
In the beginning, there wasn’t much information about Ali, but that changed during the Abbasid period when paper became more affordable. For example, between 750 and 950, at least twenty-one books were written about the Battle of Siffin, and thirteen were by the early historian Abu Mikhnaf. Most of these books are not available today, but we can find bits of them in later collections like the Tarikh al-Tabari from the tenth century.
Besides works by Muslims, there are also writings about Ali from Arab Christians, Hindus, and Western scholars. Early Western scholars sometimes didn’t trust reports gathered later because those authors might have had their own Sunni or Shia views. For example, L. Caetani often dismissed reports attributed to pro-Ali Ibn Abbas and anti-Ali Aisha. Instead, Caetani liked reports without isnad from early historians like Ibn Ishaq. On the other hand, W. Madelung argued that just because a report is biased doesn’t mean it’s fake. Madelung suggested verifying historical reports based on how well they match with other events and figures.
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