50 Fun Facts About Imam Ali

Shia and some Sunni sources say Ali was born inside which shrine in Mecca?

The Kaaba is said to have opened for Ali's mother as she prayed beside it and closed again after she went in. The Sunni history The Meadows of Gold records the birth alongside the Shia Kitab al-Irshad.

Which nickname did Muhammad give Ali after finding him asleep on the floor of the Medina mosque?

Abu Turab means 'father of dust', and Muhammad is said to have woken him with the words 'Get up, Abu Turab'. The story places the nap in the mosque of Medina.

Which sword of Ali, hailed by a voice Muhammad reported at Uhud, is drawn with a two-pointed blade?

Zulfiqar has become one of the most recognisable symbols of Shia Islam, stamped on flags and pendants. Al-Tabari records the cry: 'no sword but Zulfiqar, no chivalrous youth but Ali'.

What does the title Nahj al-Balagha, the collection of Ali's sermons, letters and sayings, translate to?

Peak of Eloquence is the usual rendering, and the book is studied as a model of Arabic prose as much as a religious text. Its compiler gave no chains of transmission, which has fed centuries of debate over authenticity.

What kind of place was Ghadir Khumm, where Muhammad spoke of Ali after his final pilgrimage in 632?

A pond, ghadir in Arabic, fed by a spring in the wadi of Khumm gave the gathering its name. Muhammad declared there 'for whomever I am mawla, Ali is also their mawla', words Shia read as naming a successor and Sunnis as a call to loyalty.

Which son of Ali, hailed caliph in Kufa in 661, signed a peace treaty with Mu'awiya that August?

Hasan abdicated on terms that Mu'awiya rule by the Quran and Sunnah, let a council pick his successor and grant amnesty to Hasan's supporters. Shia count him as the second Imam; he died in Medina in 670.

Which daughter of Ali denounced Husayn's killers in Kufa and Damascus after Karbala in 680?

Zaynab protected the surviving members of the family as a captive, and her Damascus speech was preserved in Balaghat al-nisa', a ninth-century anthology of eloquent speeches by women.

Which Iraqi city holds Ali's gold-domed shrine and Wadi al-Salam, the largest cemetery in the world?

Najaf draws millions of pilgrims a year, and Shia tradition holds that Ali called the cemetery a part of heaven, so the dead are brought from far away to lie near him.

In which year was Ali elected caliph in Medina, days after rebels killed Uthman?

656 opened a caliphate of under five years, almost all of it spent at war with fellow Muslims. Ali at once faced two revolts raised in Uthman's name, one from Iraq and one from Syria.

Which Arabic term names the first civil war of Islam, the conflict that ended the Rashidun era under Ali?

The First Fitna set three factions against each other: Ali's supporters, the partisans of the slain Uthman, and from 657 the Kharijites, who quit Ali's camp after Siffin. It ended the Rashidun caliphate and established the Umayyads.

At Siffin, what did Mu'awiya's Syrians raise on their lances as Ali's side gained the upper hand?

Pages of the Quran on lances, with the cry 'Let the Book of God be the judge between us', stopped the fighting at once. Ali reluctantly agreed to arbitration under pressure from his own troops, a choice that split his army.

Which two early converts led the revolt beside Aisha that Ali defeated at the Battle of the Camel?

Talha and Zubayr were prominent companions who, with Aisha, led a coalition of Meccan and Basran forces against Ali's Kufan and Medinan troops. Aisha's red camel gave the battle its name.

Which honorific marks descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali?

Sayyid families are found across the Muslim world with lineages that vary, and some Arabic experts trace the word to the Arabic for 'lion', for its qualities of valour and leadership.

Ali penned the 628 Hudaybiya treaty; when Suhayl ibn Amr objected to one phrase, what did Muhammad allow?

Writing only his own name settled it: Suhayl said he did not accept Muhammad's prophethood, so 'the apostle of God' was left out. The truce it bought let Muhammad turn on Khaybar soon afterwards.

In a hadith cherished by Shia, Muhammad called himself 'the city of knowledge' and Ali its what?

Its gate (bab) stands beside other sayings Shia cite for Ali's standing, such as 'the truth revolves around him wherever he goes' and 'Ali is with the Quran and the Quran is with Ali'.

Roughly how old was Ali when he professed Islam, among the first to accept Muhammad's teachings?

About 11 is the usual figure, placing Ali among the very first believers, a boy already living in Muhammad's household.

Why do Sunni texts add 'may God honour his face' after Ali's name, a phrase used almost solely for him?

He never bowed to an idol in the pre-Islamic age, the phrase 'Karram Allah wajhah' recalls, and followed Muhammad throughout; it is used almost solely for Ali among the companions.

Which Shia dynasty, rulers of Cairo from the tenth to twelfth centuries, took its name from Ali's wife?

The Fatimid caliphs traced their descent to Fatima and Ali, began in Ifriqiya under nominal Abbasid overlords, and spread across the Mediterranean coast, Sicily and the Levant.

By Shia tradition, what happened to Ali's grave after his burial in 661, in keeping with his own wish?

It was kept secret, known only to the Shia Imams and a few close followers, and became public only under the Abbasids, once the Umayyads had fallen and the Kharijites had scattered.

After the Hijra, Muhammad paired each emigrant with a Medinan host; he took Ali as his own what?

Brother was the bond, sworn in the fraternity pacts that tied Muhajirun to Ansar, and Muhammad sealed it by giving Ali his daughter Fatima in marriage soon after.

Shia versions of the adhan, the call to prayer, add a line declaring Ali to be God's what?

Wali, a word spanning friend, guardian and master, is the declaration; Shia adhans also add 'come to the best of deeds', while Sunni dawn calls add 'prayer is better than sleep'.

To raise the bridal gift for Fatima around 623, what did Ali sell at Muhammad's suggestion?

His shield paid the mahr, a sign of how little Ali owned; the marriage came around 623–625, when Ali was about twenty-two.

Which mother of Ali, foster-mother to the orphaned Muhammad, is named the second woman to accept Islam?

Fatima bint Asad and her husband Abu Talib acted as Muhammad's adoptive parents for fifteen years, and he later repaid her by taking her youngest child, Ali, into his own home.

Ali stayed behind in Mecca for a time after Muhammad's flight of 622 in order to do what?

Return goods held in trust was the errand: Meccans had deposited valuables with Muhammad, and Ali handed them back before making his own escape to Medina.

Muhammad sent Ali to the 631 Hajj, behind Abu Bakr, to proclaim new terms for pagans from which surah?

At-Tawba, 'The Repentance', also called Bara'a, carried the new policy toward the polytheists, and Muhammad had coached Ali to put it to the clan representatives gathered at the pilgrimage.

Shia exegesis ties Quran 5:55, on believers who give alms while bowing, to Ali handing a beggar what?

His ring, given away mid-prayer, is the 'occasion of revelation' Shia and some Sunni commentators attach to the verse; Shia read it as the Quran's grant of authority (walaya) to Ali.

Reversing Umar's register that paid Muslims by precedence, Ali as caliph distributed surplus revenue how?

In equal shares to all was Ali's rule, following what he held to be the practice of Muhammad and Abu Bakr, and he is said to have shown zero tolerance for corruption.

In the usual account of the 644 council, Ibn Awf offered Ali the caliphate on two conditions; which did Ali decline?

Following Abu Bakr and Umar in all things was the condition Ali refused, saying he would rely on his own judgment where the Quran and Sunna were silent; Uthman accepted it and became caliph.

Where was Abu Bakr acclaimed caliph in 632 while Ali was away preparing Muhammad's body for burial?

The Saqifa of Banu Sa'ida, a courtyard of a Medinan clan, hosted the meeting where Umar took Abu Bakr's hand in pledge; Ali was probably unaware it was even taking place.

Which former governor of Kufa did Ali's army impose as his arbitrator after Siffin, over Ali's objections?

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari was reportedly neutral, and the Iraqi Quran-readers insisted on him for his piety; Mu'awiya's side sent Amr ibn al-As, and the talks ended inconclusively in 658.

At which 658 battle beside a canal near modern Baghdad did Ali rout the men who had quit his army?

Nahrawan broke the Kharijites, Quran-reciters who had seceded when Ali agreed to arbitration with Mu'awiya, but their insurrection went on and one of them would assassinate Ali in 661.

Ali's letter of instruction to Malik al-Ashtar, preserved in Nahj al-Balagha, sent him to govern where?

Egypt never received him: Malik was poisoned on the road at al-Qulzum, but the letter survives as Ali's charter of just rule, urging justice, vigilance over his officials and constant consultation.

Which son of Ali by Umm al-Banin was Husayn's standard-bearer at Karbala, dying as he sought water?

Abbas ibn Ali is revered by Shia and Sunni alike for his loyalty and courage at Karbala, where he fell trying to bring water from the Euphrates to Husayn's thirsty children and companions.

Shia tradition places Ali's birth in which month, also linked to Muhammad's Night Journey and ascension?

Rajab is one of the four sacred months in which battles were forbidden, and many Muslims observe its 27th for the Night Journey, though early tradition gives no agreed date for it.

Eid al-Ghadir, the Shia festival of Muhammad's speech about Ali, falls on which day of Dhu al-Hijjah?

The 18th of the last month marks the sermon of 632 at Khumm; some communities hold public celebrations and distribute food and sweets.

Ali's 631 mission to which region ended with the peaceful conversion of the Hamdan tribe?

Yemen's Hamdanids converted without a fight after Ali preached there, and later, as caliph, Ali would see Mu'awiya's raiders strike the Hejaz and Yemen among the worst of his troubles.

Ali's assassination at Kufa in January 661 fell in which year of the Islamic calendar?

40 AH, in Ramadan: the sources give the 17th, 19th or 21st of the month, corresponding to 26, 28 or 30 January 661.

Christians from which town did Muhammad face in the 631 mubahala, bringing Ali, Fatima and their sons?

Najran's delegation came to Medina to test Muhammad's claims, and the verse of mubahala (3:61) speaks of 'our sons, our women and ourselves', which Shia read as Ali standing for Muhammad's own self.

Which Quraysh champion, reputed to equal a thousand men, did Ali defeat in single combat at Medina in 627?

Amr ibn Abd al-Wud had forced a crossing of the trench with Ikrima, and Muhammad at first refused Ali leave to face him, relenting only when Ali kept insisting.

Which commander of Khaybar's defenders did Ali reportedly kill in single combat as the oasis fell in 628?

Marhab ibn al-Harith's death is credited to Ali in Sahih Muslim, though Ibn Hisham's Sira gives it to Muhammad ibn Maslama; Ali had been handed Muhammad's banner for the assault.

In the opening duels at Badr in 624, Ali swiftly killed which Meccan, a nephew of Shayba ibn Rabi'a?

Al-Walid ibn Utba, with his father Utba and uncle Shayba, had stepped out in armour to challenge; Hamza killed Shayba just as fast, then finished Utba after Ubayda was badly wounded.

Which of Muhammad's mounts, by Shia tradition, carried Ali at the Battle of the Camel and at Siffin?

Duldul outlived Muhammad and died at Yanbu so old and toothless that barley had to be put into her mouth; she remains an Alid symbol in Shia Islam.

Which poet-companion of Ali is counted the earliest Arab grammarian and the inventor of Arabic diacritics?

Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali is said to have added consonant and vowel markings to Arabic script and written the first treatises on its grammar; under Ali he also accused Ibn Abbas of financial misconduct.

Which Iranian ruler ordered the green-tiled dome of Ali's shrine gilded with gold in 1743?

Nader Shah and his wife Razia Begum paid for the gilding of the dome and twin minarets, and inscriptions in Persian, Arabic and Azeri Turkish on the golden iwan still chronicle the work.

Which Abbasid caliph, hunting a gazelle near Kufa, is said to have found Ali's grave where his dogs balked?

Harun al-Rashid's dogs kept stopping whenever the gazelle entered one patch of ground, the story goes, and the grave's location, until then known only to the Imams' circle, became public in his reign.

Which Baghdad poet-scholar, born in 970 into a leading Shia family, compiled Nahj al-Balagha?

Al-Sharif al-Radi had ties to the Buyids, the Shia dynasty then ruling Baghdad, and one nineteenth-century editor misread the word 'Murtada' on a manuscript and credited the book to his sibling al-Murtada instead.

Which relative of Aisha, raised in Ali's own household, was ordered to escort her home after the Camel?

Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, his mother having married Ali after Abu Bakr's death, fought for Ali at the Camel and Siffin and was given a province of his own in 658, where Mu'awiya's forces under Amr ibn al-As killed him.

Which son of Ali, born to his wife Khawla after Fatima's death, is known by a sobriquet taken from his mother's tribe?

Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya was Khawla's only child, born to a freed slave Ali married after Fatima's death; his sobriquet means 'son of the Hanafi woman'.

Ghadir Khumm lay near which settlement, a trijunction of routes between Mecca and Medina?

Al-Juhfa sat at a strategic trijunction of routes, and the gathering there on the way home from the Farewell Pilgrimage is commemorated by Shia as Eid al-Ghadir.

Which widow of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and then of Abu Bakr became a wife of Ali after Abu Bakr's death?

Asma bint Umais brought to Ali's house her young son by Abu Bakr, whom Ali brought up as his own, and Umar had granted her a pension of 1,000 dirhams on Abu Bakr's death.