Towards the Eternal Heaven
Inheritance Sword
Zul Faqar title Fourth (last) Caliph of al-Khulafa’ ar-Rashidun (four great caliphs); first person to convert to Islam from among children; the Prophet's cousin Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam later became his son-in-law. His father, Abu Talib bin Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim bin Abd Manaf, was the elder brother of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam's father, Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib. His mother was Fatimah bint As’ad bin Hashim bin Abd Manaf. At birth he was given the name Haidarah by his mother. The name was later changed to Ali by his father.
When he was 6 years old, he was taken as a foster child by the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam, as the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam was once taken care of by his father.There was a time when Muhammad Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam was appointed an apostle, as was the Prophet, Ali was only 8 years old. He was the second person to receive Islamic preachers, after Khadijah bint Khuwailid, wife of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam. Since then he has always been with the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam, obedient to him, and many witnessed the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam receiving revelation. As the foster child of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam, he learned a lot about the secrets of the gods and all religious issues in theoretical and practical.
When the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam migrated to Medina with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Ali was ordered to stay in the house of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam and sleep in his bed. This was intended to deceive the Kuraysh, so that they would think that the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam was still in his house. At that time the Quraysh planned to kill the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam. Ali was also assigned to return a number of items to their respective owners. Ali was able to carry out the risky task at his best without the slightest fear. In that way the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam and Abu Bakr survived leaving the city of Mecca unnoticed by the Kuraysh.
After hearing that the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam and Abu Bakr had reached Medina, Ali followed. In Medina, he was married to Fatimah az-Zahra, daughter of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam, who was then (2 H) 15 years old. Ali married 9 women and had 19 sons. Fatimah was the first wife. From Fatimah, Ali had two sons and two daughters, Hasan, Husein, Zainab, and Umm Kulsum who were later married by Umar ibn Khattab.
After Fatimah died, Ali married again in succession:
Umm Bamin bint Huzam of Bani Amir ibn Kilab, who bore him four sons, namely Abbas, Ja’far, Abdullah, and Usman. Laila bint Mas’ud at-Tamimiah, who gave birth to two sons, namely Abdullah and
Abu Bakr. Asma bint Umair al-Kuimiah, who bore him two sons, Yahya and Muhammad. As-Sahba bint Rabi’ah of Banu Jasym ibn Bakr, a widow of the Bani Taglab, who bore two sons, Umar and Ruqayyah; Umamah bint Abi ** bin ar-Rabb, viz., and, princess Zaenab bint Rasulullah Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam, who gave birth to one child, Muhammad. Khanlah bint Ja’far al-Hanafiah, who gave birth to a son, Muhammad (al-Hanafiah). Umm Sa’id bint Urwah bin Mas’ud, who gave birth to two children, namely Umm al-Husain and Ramlah. Mahyah bint Imri’ al-Qais al-Kalbiah, who gave birth to a child named Jariah.
Ali is known to be very simple and zahid in everyday life. There was no difference in his domestic life between before and after his appointment as caliph. The simple life was not only applied to him, but also to his sons and daughters.
Ali was known as a mighty warlord. His courage shook the hearts of his opponents. He has a sword (the inheritance of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam) named “Zul Faqar”. He participated in almost all the wars that occurred in the time of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam and was always a mainstay on the front lines.
He is also known to be intelligent and master many religious problems in depth, as illustrated by the words of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam, “I city of science and Ali gate.” Therefore, his advice and fatwa had always been heard by the previous caliphs. He was always placed in the office of kadi or mufti. When the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam died, Ali waited for his body and took care of his funeral, while other friends were busy thinking about the successor of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam. After Abu Bakr was elected as the successor caliph of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam in taking care of the state and the Muslims, Ali did not immediately pay for it. He just got it a few months later.
At the end of the reign of Umar bin Khattab, Ali was one of the appointed members of the Majlis assy-Shura, a forum that discussed the replacement of the caliph. The forum consists of six members. The other five were Usman bin Affan, Talhah bin Ubaidillah, Zubair bin Awwam, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, and Abdur Rahman bin Auf. The result of the deliberation determined Usman bin Affan as the successor caliph of Umar bin Khattab.
Ali's criticism of Uthman included Ubaidillah bin Umar, who according to Ali should be punished by hadd (some kind of punishment in fiqh) in connection with the murder he committed against Hurmuzan. Uthman was also mistaken when he did not carry out the caning of Walib bin Uqbah who was found drunk. The way Uthman punished Abu Zarrah was also not approved by Ali.
Uthman asked Ali for help when he was already in a state of urgency due to protests and riots launched by people who did not agree with him. In fact, when Usman's house was besieged by the rebels, Ali ordered his two sons, Hasan and Husein, to defend Uthman. However, because the rebels were large and desperate, Uthman could not be saved.
Immediately after Uthman's assassination, the Muslims asked Ali's willingness to be recited as caliph. They assumed that except for Ali, there was no one who should occupy the seat of the caliph after Uthman. Hearing the request of the people, Ali said, “This business is none of your business. This is a very important matter, the affairs of Ahl asy-Shura figures with the fighters of Badr War.”
In a still chaotic atmosphere, Ali was finally readied. The initiation was started by great friends, namely Talhah bin Ubaidillah, Zubair bin Awwam, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, and other companions. They were followed by many people. The observance was carried out on 25 Zulhijah 33 in the Masjid Madinah as was the initiation of the caliphs of his predecessors.
Soon after his recitation, Ali took political steps: Firing the officials appointed by Uthman, including several governors, and appointing his successor. Taking the land that Uthman had distributed to his family and relatives without reason for the position of caliph until he was killed in 661.
The third revolt came from the Kharijite school, which was originally part of Ali's forces in quelling the Mu’awiyah rebellion, but then out of the ranks of Ali because he did not agree on the attitude of Ali who received a peace offer from the Mu’awiyah side. Since they are out of Ali's line, they are called “Khawarij” (those who are out). They number thousands of people. In their belief, Ali was an amirulmukminin and those who agreed to reign had violated religious teachings. According to them, only God has the right to determine the law, not man. Therefore, their motto is Id hukma ilia bi Allah (there is no law except for Allah). Ali and some of his troops are considered to have dared to make a legal decision, which is to negotiate with opponents. The Khawarij fled to Harurah, a village near Kufa. They appointed their own leader, Syibis bin Rub’it at-Tamimi as the commander of the army and Abdullah bin Wahhab ar-Rasibi as the religious leader.
In Harurah they immediately assembled a force to attack Ali and those who approved the throne, including Mu’awiyah, Amr bin As, and Abu Musa al-Asy’ari. Ali's failure in tahkim added to their enthusiasm to realize their intentions.
Ali's position was difficult. On the one hand, he wanted to destroy Mu’awiyah which was getting stronger in Sham; on the other hand, the Khawarij's power would become very dangerous if not immediately quelled. Finally Ali decided to quell the Kharijite power first, then attacked Syam. But the outpouring of attention Ali to destroy the Khawarij group used Mu’awiyah to seize Egypt.
A fierce battle between Ali's forces and the Kharijites took place at Nahrawan (east of Baghdad) in 658, and ended in victory on Ali's side. The Khawarij were destroyed, only a small part of which escaped. Their leader, Abdullah bin Wahhab ar-Rasibi, was also killed.
Since then, the Kharijites have become more radical. The defeat at Nahrawan fostered a grudge in their hearts. The Kharijites secretly plotted to kill three people who were considered the culprits of the division of the people, namely Ali, Mu’awiyah, and Amr bin As. The killer was assigned three people, namely: Abdur Rahman bin Muljam was assigned to kill Ali in Kufa, Barak bin Abdillah at-Tamimi was assigned to kill Mu’iyah in Sham, and Amr ibn Bakr at-Tamimi was assigned the murderer of Amr ibn As in Egypt. Only Ibn Muljam succeeded in fulfilling his duties. He stabbed Ali with his sword while Ali was going to dawn prayers at the Kufa Mosque. Ali breathed his last after holding the reins of the Caliphate for more than 4 years.