The Caliphate of the Commander of the Believers, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (1)
may Allah be pleased with him
Before discussing his caliphate, we will first present a concise outline of his biography (2).
He is the Commander of the Believers ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib—whose personal name was ʿAbd Manāf—son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib—whose name was Shaybah—son of Hāshim—whose name was ʿAmr—son of ʿAbd Manāf—whose name was al-Mughīrah—son of Quṣayy—whose name was Zayd—son of Kilāb, son of Murrah, son of Kaʿb, son of Luʾayy, son of Ghālib, son of Fihr, son of Mālik, son of al-Naḍr, son of Kinānah, son of Khuzaymah, son of Mudrikah, son of Ilyās, son of Muḍar, son of Nizār, son of Maʿadd, son of ʿAdnān. He was the father of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, and was known by the kunyahs Abū Turāb and Abū al-Qāsim (3) al-Hāshimī. He was the cousin of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his son-in-law (4) through his marriage to the Prophet’s daughter Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ.
His mother was Fāṭimah bint Asad ibn Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf ibn Quṣayy. It is said that she was the first Hāshimī woman to bear a Hāshimī child (5).
His brothers were Ṭālib, ʿAqīl, and Jaʿfar (6), all older than he, with ten years separating each of them. He had two sisters, Umm Hānī and Jumānah. All of them were from Fāṭimah bint Asad, who herself embraced Islam and emigrated.
ʿAlī was one of the ten men who were given the glad tidings of Paradise, and one of the six members of the shūrā council; the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away while [he] was pleased with them. He was the fourth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.
In appearance, ʿAlī was of a deep brown complexion, with large eyes bearing a reddish tinge. He had a prominent belly, was balding, and was nearer to short than tall. His beard was thick and white, filling his chest and shoulders, and he had abundant hair on his chest and shoulders. He possessed a handsome face, a cheerful smile, and walked lightly upon the ground.
ʿAlī embraced Islam early, at the age of seven according to one report; others say eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, or thirteen