ALI, in full, 'ALI BEN ABU TALIB (c. 600-661), the
fourth of the caliphs or successors of Mahomet, was born at
Mecca about the year A.D. 600. His father, Abu Talib, was
an uncle of the prophet, and Ali himself was adopted by Mahomet
and educated under his care. As a mere boy he distinguished
himself by being one of the first to declare his adhesion
to the cause of Mahomet, who some years afterwards gave him
his daughter Fatima in marriage. Ali proved himself to be
a brave and faithful soldier, and when Mahomet died without
male issue, a few emigrants thought him to have the best
claim to succeed him. Abu Bekr, Omar and Othman, however,
occupied this position before him, and it was not until
656, after the murder of Othman, that he assumed the title of
caliph. The fact that he took no steps to prevent this murder
is, perhaps, the only real blot upon his character. Almost
the first act of his reign was the suppression of a rebellion
under Talha and Zobair, who were instigated by Ayesha,
Mahomet's widow, a bitter enemy of Ali, and one of the chief
hindrances to his advancement to the caliphate. The rebel
army was defeated at the "Battle of the Camel," near Bassorah
(Basra), the two generals being killed, and Ayesha taken
prisoner. Ali soon afterwards made Kufa his capital. His
next care was to get rid of the opposition of Moawiya, who
had established himself in Syria at the head of a numerous
army. A prolonged battle took place in July 657 in the
plain of Siffin (Suffein), near the Euphrates; the fighting
was at first, it is said, in favour of Ali, when suddenly
a number of the enemy, fixing copies of the Koran to the
points of their spears, exclaimed that "the matter ought to
be settled by reference to this book, which forbids Moslems
to shed each other's blood." The superstitious soldiers of
Ali refused to fight any longer, and demanded that the issue
be referred to arbitration (see further CALIPHATE, section
B. 1). Abu Musa was appointed umpire on the part of Ali,
and 'Amr-ibn-el-Ass, a veteran diplomatist, on the part of
Moawiya. It is said that 'Amr persuaded Abu Musa that it would
be for the advantage of Islam that neither candidate should
reign, and asked him to give his decision first. Abu Musa
having proclaimed that he deposed both Ali and Moawiya, 'Amr
declared that he also deposed Ali, and announced further that
he invested Moawiya with the caliphate. This treacherous
decision (but see CALIPHATE, ib.) greatly injured the
cause of Ali, which was still further weakened by the loss of
Egypt. After much indecisive fighting, Ali found his position
so unsatisfactory that according to some historians he made an
agreement with Moawiya by which each retained his own dominions
unmolested. It chanced, however--according to a legend, the
details of which are quite uncertain--that three of the fanatic
sect of the Kharijites had made an agreement to assassinate
Ali, Moawiya and 'Amr, as the authors of disastrous feuds
among the faithful. The only victim of this plot was Ali,
who died at Kufa in 661, of the wound inflicted by a poisoned
weapon. A splendid mosque called Meshed Ali was afterwards
erected near the city, but the place of his burial is unknown.
He had eight wives after Fatima's death, and in all, it is
said, thirty-three children, one of whom, Hassan, a son of
Fatima, succeeded him in the caliphate. His descendants by
Fatima are known as the Fatimites (q.v.; see also EGYPT:
History, Mahommedan period).
Continued on page two.
This article is from the 1911 edition of an
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