Ali ibn Abu Talib | The Fourth Rightly Guided Caliph
Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib al-Qurashi, better known as ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib (Arabic: علي بن أبي طالب, [ʕaliː ibn ʔæbiː t̪ˤɑːlib]; March 17, 599 – January 24, 661) was a Muslim political and public figure; a cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Prophet Muhammad, and the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph (656–661).
According to authoritative Muslim sources, he was the only person born in the Kaaba[3]; the first child and the first male to accept Islam; During his reign, he received the title of Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful).
Ali was an active participant in all the important events of early Islamic history and all the battles the Prophet waged against opponents of his faith. Ali became caliph after the assassination of Caliph Uthman by mutinous soldiers. Various events led to a civil war with Mu'awiya, and ultimately to the Caliph's death at the hands of a Kharijite assassin.
Ali has gone down in Islamic history as a tragic figure. Sunnis regard him as the last of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs. Shiites venerate Ali as the first imam and a saint, with a special bond of intimacy with Muhammad, as a righteous man, warrior, and leader. Numerous military exploits and miracles are attributed to him. A Central Asian legend claims that Ali has seven graves, because the people who buried him saw how instead of one camel with Ali's body, there became seven and they all went in different directions.