Ali

Ali (ˈɑːli,_ɑːˈliː علي, ʕaliː; 15 September 601 – 29 January 661) was the cousin and the son-in-law of Muhammad, the last prophet of Islam. He ruled as the fourth caliph from 656 to 661, but he is regarded as the rightful immediate successor to prophet Muhammad by the Shia Muslims.Born to Abu Talib and Fatimah bint Asad, Ali is the only person to be born in the sacred sanctuary of the Kaaba (كَـعـبَـة) in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam, according to many classical Islamic sources, especially Shia ones. Ali was the first male who accepted Islam, and according to some authors the first Muslim. Ali protected Muhammad from an early age and took part in almost all the battles fought by the nascent Muslim community. After migrating to Medina, he married Muhammads daughter Fatimah. He was appointed caliph by Muhammads companions (Sahaba) in 656, after Caliph Uthman ibn Affan was assassinated. Alis reign saw civil wars and in 661, he was attacked and assassinated by a Kharijite while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, being martyred two days later.Ali is important to both Shias and Sunnis, politically and spiritually. The numerous biographical sources about Ali are often biased according to sectarian lines, but they agree that he was a pious Muslim, devoted to the cause of Islam and a just ruler in accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah. While Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided) caliphs, Shia Muslims regard Ali as the first Imam after Muhammad due to their interpretation of the events at Ghadir Khumm. Shia Muslims also believe that Ali and the other Shia Imams (all of whom are members of the Bayṫ (بَـيـت, Household) of Muhammad) are the rightful successors to Muhammad. It was this disagreement that split the Ummah (أُمَّـة, Muslim Community) into the Shia and Sunni branches.

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