- Tribe
- Quraysh (Banu Hashim)
- Accepted Islam
- As a boy in the Prophet’s ﷺ household — among the very first
Biography
ʿAli, the cousin of the Prophet ﷺ, grew up in his house and accepted Islam as a child. On the night of the Hijrah he slept in the Prophet’s ﷺ bed to deceive the plotters, then returned the trusts left with the Prophet ﷺ before emigrating.
He married Fatimah, the Prophet’s ﷺ daughter, and was the father of al-Hasan and al-Husayn. He was renowned for courage at Badr, Khandaq and Khaybar, and for knowledge, eloquence and judgement. He was the fourth Caliph in a time of great trial, and was martyred in Kufah in 40 AH.
Virtues
The Prophet ﷺ said to him: “Will you not be pleased to be to me as Harun was to Musa?”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3706At Khaybar the Prophet ﷺ gave the banner to the man “who loves Allah and His Messenger” — it was ʿAli.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3701Named by the Prophet ﷺ among the ten promised Paradise.
Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 3747
Prepared from standard seerah and biographical sources; pending scholar review.