Ali Assassinated: Islam's Defining Schism Begins

Ali ibn Abi Talib was the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, one of the first people to accept Islam, and the fourth caliph of the Muslim community. He was struck with a poisoned sword by a Kharijite assassin named Ibn Muljam while leading dawn prayers at the Great Mosque of Kufa in Iraq on January 26, 661 AD. He died two days later, on January 28. He was approximately 59 years old. Born in Mecca around 601 AD, Ali was raised in Muhammad's household from childhood. He married the Prophet's daughter Fatimah and fathered Hasan and Husayn, whose descendants form the lineage of the Sayyids and Sharifs in the Islamic world. He was known for his courage in battle, his knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence, and his eloquence. His sermons, letters, and sayings were compiled into the Nahj al-Balagha, one of the most important texts in Islamic literature outside the Quran. His caliphate, which began in 656 AD after the assassination of Uthman, was consumed by civil war from the start. He fought the Battle of the Camel against forces led by Aisha, the Prophet's widow, and the Battle of Siffin against Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, the governor of Syria who refused to accept Ali's authority. The inconclusive arbitration at Siffin led a faction of Ali's own supporters, the Kharijites, to break away. They considered both Ali and Muawiyah illegitimate and launched a coordinated assassination attempt against both. Only the attack on Ali succeeded. His death is the event most directly responsible for the permanent split between Sunni and Shia Islam. Shia Muslims regard Ali as the first legitimate successor to Muhammad and believe the caliphate should have passed to him directly after the Prophet's death in 632. Sunni Muslims accept all four of the Rashidun caliphs, including Ali, but do not hold that succession was restricted to Muhammad's family. Ali is buried in Najaf, Iraq. His shrine, the Imam Ali Mosque, is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam and draws millions of pilgrims annually.