ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Fourth Caliph of the Muslims Ali belonged to the clan of banu hashim, the most distinguished clan in all Arabia; and in Banu Hashim, he belonged to the most distinguished family – the family of Abdul Muttalib. Abdul Muttalib had ten sons. Two of them were Abdullah, the father of Muhammad Mustafa, and Abu Talib, the father of Ali.

Abdullah and Abu Talib were the children of the same mother whereas their other brothers were born of the other wives of their father. Ali's mother, Fatima, also belonged to the clan of Hashim. She was the daughter of Asad the son of Hashim. Asad and Abdul Muttalib were brothers. She was thus the first cousin of Abdullah and Abu Talib. Ali's mother, Fatima bint Asad, was the second woman in all Arabia to accept Islam, the first being Khadija.

Fatima bint Asad was the foster-mother of Muhammad Mustafa, the Messenger of God. She brought him up as her own son, and in fact, loved him more than her own children, and he called her his mother. Ali's father, Abu Talib, was the Defender of Islam, and he was the Protector and Guardian of Muhammad. He supported Islam and Muhammad consistently, and he was undaunted in the face of opposition and threats from the pagans.

Both in Makkah and Medina, Muhammad Mustafa declared that Ali was his brother in this world and in the Hereafter. Ali was the victor of the battle of Badr. He alone killed half the number of all the Makkans who were killed in that battle. Muhammad Mustafa, the Apostle of God, gave his only daughter, Fatima Zahra, in marriage to Ali. God blessed this marriage with children. Those children were God's most devout servants. Their greatest pleasure in life was to wait upon their Lord.

In the battle of Uhud, most of the Muslims fled from the battlefield. One who did not flee, was Ali. He saved the life of his master, Muhammad, that day. At the siege of Medina, Ali killed Amr bin Abd Wudd, and thereby saved Medina from being overrun, and its people from being massacred. Ali captured Khyber. With Khyber's conquest, Islam became a state with territory. Until the conquest of Khyber, Islam was only a city-state, confined to the walls of Medina.

Ali was the secretary who indicted the Treaty of Hudaybiyya. When Makkah capitulated to the Prophet, Ali rode his shoulders, and smashed the idols in the Kaaba.