Amirul Momineen Ali (A.S.)
Father: Abu Talib bin Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim.
Mother: Fatimah bint Asad bin Hashim bin Abd Munaf.
Kunniyat (Patronymic): Abul Hasan and Husayn, Abu Turab
Laqab (Title): Al-Wasi, Amir al-Mu'minin
Birth: He was born in the Ka'ba, in thirty 'Am al-Fil (the year of the elephant).
Martyrdom: He was martyred by the Khwariji named Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam at Kufa during the month of Ramadhan in the fortieth year of Hijrah and is buried in Najaf on the outskirts of Kufa.
The Life of the Commander of the Faithful
Ali b. Abu Talib(A.S.)
Imam Ali b.Abu Talib(A.S.) the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, the first of the Imams of the belicvers, of the rulers (wali) of the Muslims and of God's (appointed) successors in religion after the Apostle of God, the truthful one and the trusted one, Muhammad b. Abd Allah, the seal of the Prophets, blessings on him and his pure family.
Imam Ali(A.S.) the brother of the Apostle of God and his paternal cousin, and his helper (wazir) in his affair, his son-in- law (being married) to his daughter, Fatima the chaste,the leader of the women of the universe.
(The full name of) the Commander of the faithful is
Ali b. Abi Talib b. Abd al Muttalib b. Hashim b. Abd Manaf.
(He was) the Lord of the testamentary trustees of authority (wasiyyin), the best of blessing and peace be on him.
His kunya was Abu al-Hasan.
His Birth:
He was born in the Sacred House (i.e. the Kaba) in Mecca on Friday, the thirteenth day of the month of Rajab, thirty years after the Year of the Elephant (c.570). Nobody before or after him has ever been born in the House of God, the Most High. (It was a mark) of him being honoured by God, the Most High, may His name be exalted, and of his position being dignified in its greatness.
Imam Ali's(A.S.) Mother:
His mother was Fatima, daughter of Asad b. Hashim b. Abd Manaf, may God be pleased with her. She was like a mother to the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, and he (the Apostle) was brought up under her care.
He was grateful for her kindness and she was among the first to believe in him and she emigrated with him in the group of the emigrants.
When she died, the Prophet shrouded her with his own shirt in order to protect her from the insects of the earth, and he laid her to rest in her grave in order that, through that, she might be protected from (the crushing pressure of) the narrow space within the grave.
He dictated to her her last words (which were) the statement of the authority (wilaya) of her son, the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, so that at the examination after burial, she would be able to reply with those words. He singled her out with this great favour because of her position with God, may He be magnified and exalted, and with him, peace be on hinn. The report of that is well known.
Imam Ali's(A.S.) Nobility:
The Commander of the faithful, Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be on him, and his brothers were among the leading members of the second generation of descendants of Hashim. In this way he gained two marks of nobility, through his growing up under the care and education of the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family. He was the first of the family of the House and of the Companions to believe in God and His Apostle. He was the first male whom the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, summoned to Islam and who answered. He never ceased to support the religion and to strive against the polytheists. He constantly defended the faith and fought against those who supported deviation (from the truth) and despotism. He spread the teachings of the sunna (the practice of thc Prophet) and the Qur'an, judged with justice and enjoined (people) to do good.
Imam Ali(A.S.):"The Greatest Guardian of Islam"
He was with the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, twenty-three years after the (coming) of the (prophetic) mission. Of these, thirteen years were in Mecca before thc migration when he shared with him all the persecutions and bore most of his hardships. Then there were ten years inMedina after thc emigration when he defended him against the polytheists and strove with him against the unbelievers.
He protected him with his own life from the enemies of religion until the time God, the Exalted, took (the Prophet) to His heaven, raised him to the highest place in heaven and bestowed His blessings and peace on him and his family. On that day the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, was thirty-three years of age.
On the day of the demise of the Holy Prophet, may God bless him and his family, the community differed over his Imamate. His Shia who were all the Banu Hashim, Salman, Ammar, Abu Dharr, al-Miqdad, Khuzayma b. Thabit - the man who is known as the possessor of two testimonies - Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Jabir b. Abd Allah al-Ansari Abu Said al-Khudri and people like them among the important emigrants and Ansar, (all these) maintained that he was the successor (khalifa) after the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, and the Imam. (They did this) because of his outstanding merit (fadl) above all mankind, through the fact that there were gathered in him the qualities of outstanding merit, judgement and perfection, such as him being the first of the community to enter the faith, his superiority over them in knowledge of the laws, his precedence over them in fighting (jihad) and the distinction which set him apart from them in the extent of his piety, asceticism and righteousness.