Ali The Brave Heart

Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) was the Prophet's cousin, the son of Abu Talib. When Ali was young, the Prophet ﷺ took him into his own home to raise him alongside his family. Ali grew up watching the Prophet ﷺ in the most intimate of settings: how he prayed, how he spoke, how he treated people, how he lived.

When the revelation came and Islam was given to the world, Ali was among the very first to accept it. He was a young boy at the time, perhaps ten years old, and he became the first youth in all of history to enter Islam.

When Ali told the Prophet ﷺ that he wanted to embrace this faith, the Prophet ﷺ said to him: "You are my brother in this world and the next." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3720)

He was not just a companion. He was family by blood, family by faith, and family by a lifetime lived together under the same roof.

In the year of the Hijrah, the leaders of Quraysh made a plan. They would send one man from each clan to surround the Prophet's house at night and kill him simultaneously so no single clan could be held responsible for the blood.

Allah informed the Prophet ﷺ of the plot and commanded him to leave Makkah that night. The Prophet ﷺ called Ali (ra) to him and gave him a task:

Sleep in my bed. Wrap yourself in my green cloak. When the men surround the house, they will see someone sleeping there and wait. By then I will be gone.

Ali (ra) agreed without hesitation. He lay down in the Prophet's bed, fully knowing that dozens of armed men planned to kill whoever was in it. When they rushed in at dawn and found Ali instead, they were stunned. Ali had fulfilled his trust. Every item belonging to others that the Prophet ﷺ had kept in his home was returned that day by Ali to its rightful owners. (Ibn Hisham, Seerah al-Nabawiyyah)

In the year 7 AH, the Muslims faced the fortress of Khaybar. It was a heavily fortified stronghold and the siege was long and hard. The Muslim army had been struggling for days without breakthrough.

Then the Prophet ﷺ made an announcement that went through the entire camp:

"Tomorrow I will give the flag to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His Messenger love. Allah will grant the conquest at his hands."

Every companion stayed awake that night hoping it would be them. When morning came, the Prophet ﷺ asked for Ali. Ali had been suffering from an eye ailment and could barely see. The Prophet ﷺ applied his blessed saliva to Ali's eyes and he was cured immediately. Then the Prophet ﷺ handed him the flag.

Ali (ra) took it and led the charge. Khaybar fell. (Sahih al-Bukhari 2942; Sahih Muslim 2406)

After the conquest of Makkah and the early expansion of Islam, the Prophet ﷺ sent Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) to Yemen as a judge and teacher, to teach the people Islam and to resolve their disputes.

Ali (ra) said: "O Messenger of Allah, you are sending me to people who will come to me with disputes, and I do not have much experience in judging."

The Prophet ﷺ placed his hand on Ali's chest and said: "O Allah, guide his heart and make his tongue firm."

Ali (ra) said: "By Allah, after that I never doubted a single judgment I gave." (Sunan Abu Dawud 3582; Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra)

The companions said: "We never saw anyone who judged more wisely than Ali." His knowledge of the Qur'an and his understanding of what was lawful and unlawful was unmatched among those who came after him.

Among all the companions, Ali's relationship with the Prophet ﷺ was one of the most unique and most profound. They were tied by blood, by faith, by years of shared life, by the marriage of Fatimah (ra), and by the raising of Hasan and Husayn (ra).

The Prophet ﷺ said to Ali (ra) at the battle of Tabuk, when Ali was left in charge of Madinah:

"Are you not pleased that you are to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there will be no prophet after me?" (Sahih al-Bukhari 4416; Sahih Muslim 2404)

He also said: "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate." (recorded in various compilations) And: "Whoever I am their guardian, Ali is their guardian." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3713)

The Prophet ﷺ loved Ali with a deep and particular love, and Ali devoted his entire life to serving Allah and the Prophet ﷺ with everything he had.

Throughout his life Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) was known for three things above all others: his bravery in battle, his knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah, and his devotion in worship.

He became the fourth Caliph of Islam after Uthman (ra), governing the Muslim community during one of its most turbulent periods. He remained firm, just, and patient through extraordinary trials that would have broken anyone without the deepest of faith.

He never abandoned salah. Even on the night he was struck and mortally wounded, he was concerned about leading the people in Fajr prayer. He instructed that someone lead the prayer in his place if he could not. His last words were words of dhikr. (Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra)

The Prophet ﷺ had described him: "You are from me and I am from you." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2699)

Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) was martyred in the year 40 AH. He was 63 years old. He left behind a family whose names would be carried by the Muslim ummah with love until the Day of Judgment.