THE FOURTH CALIPH - ALI IBN ABI TALIB

Ali ibn Abi Talib was born in 30th Year of the Elephant. According to a tradition, he was born on Friday, 12th or 13th Rajab. The Holy Prophet was thirty years old when Ali ibn Abi Talib was born. His genealogy meets the genealogy of Holy Prophet through Abd al-Muttalib. It is as follows: Ali son of Abu Talib son of Abd al-Muttalib son of Hashim.

The mother of Ali also belonged to the Hashim clan. Her genealogy is: Fatimah daughter of Asad son of Hashim. Thus he was a noble Hashemite from both sides.

Ali‟s father Abu Talib was the brother of Prophet Mohammads‟ father, Abdullah. Abd al-Muttalib loved Abu Talib a lot after Abdullah. After the death of Abd al-Muttalib, Abu Talib brought up his nephew Mohammad with love and affection. He adored Prophet Mohammad and always kept him along even when travelling for the purpose of trade. He also spent the three tough years of boycott by the Quraish with Prophet Mohammad in the valley of Shi‟b Abi Talib and never left him alone.

One of the titles of Ali ibn Abi Talib is Mawlid-e-Kaaba which means „the one who was born inside Kaaba‟. It is said in the traditions that his mother, Fatimah bint Asad was circumambulating Kaaba when she went in labour pain. On the very moment, the wall of Kaaba split opened which no one else could witness except her. She then entered Kaaba where Ali ibn Abi Talib was born. Fatimah bint Asad was blessed with the light of faith, died in Madina and is buried in Jannat al-Baqi. When she died, Prophet Mohammad gave his shirt as her shroud and said these words standing by her dead body:

“O my mother! May Allah have mercy upon you. After the death of my mother, you gave me a mother‟s love. You needed clothes but you bought clothes for me. You were hungry but you fed me instead.”

The titles of Ali are: Asadullah (Lion of God), Haidar (the ferocious lion) and Murtaza (the chosen one). His taknonym is Abu al-Hasan and Abu Turab. The Arabic word Turab means soil or dust and Abu Turab means „father of soil‟. Ali was really fond of this teknonym. The reason behind this teknonym was that once he was sleeping on the ground of Prophet‟s Mosque and his whole body was covered by soil. Prophet Mohammad arrived there and upon seeing Ali said, “Wake up O father of soil (Abu Turab).” From that day onwards, Ali was known with this teknonym. Abu Talib had a big family and was financially not sound. Prophet Mohammad was blessed with stability after marrying Khadija bint Khuwaylid. He suggested his uncle Abbas that since Abu Talib was not financially stable, they should help him out and share his burden. Thus it was decided that Abbas would bring up his son Jaffar and Prophet Mohammad took the responsibility of Ali. Ali was exceptionally fortunate to relish the affection of Prophet Mohammad from a very young age. Prophet Mohammad came to the world as a blessing for the whole universe. How could he deprive Abu Talib from his blessings knowing his financial issues. Abu Talib had taken the responsibility of Prophet Mohammad‟s brought up after the death of his mother Aminah and grandfather Abd al-Muttalib. He had always prioritized his nephew Mohammad‟s needs upon the needs of his own children.

On the birth of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Prophet Mohammad put his sacred saliva in his mouth, let him suck his tongue and named him as well.