The Commander of the Faithful, he was one of the Elite Ten who were guaranteed Paradise, one of the six members of the elect council for leadership chosen by 'Umar bin al-Khattab, and one of the very first to embrace Islam. Ali bin Abi Talib himself said, The Messenger of God i was granted prophecy on the Monday and I embraced Islam on the Tuesday.’

He was raised in the very house of the Messenger of God ﷺ from infancy and was the full paternal cousin of the Messenger of God ﷺ, as well as his son-in-law, his brother-in-law, and his brother in religion. The Messenger of God ﷺ said, "Ali is from me and I am from 'Ali. Nobody does anything on my behalf save 'Ali.’ He was of an extremely dark complexion and he had a full beard. His eyes were heavy and rather large and he was bald, with a lot of bodily hair, as if he was wearing a sheepskin. He was of average height, with a large stomach.

He was born in Mecca inside the Ka'bah and was blessed to arrive in Medinah at the very same time as the Messenger of God ﷺ, after having slept in his bed and migrated after him . He carried the battle standard of the Messenger of God # at the Battle of Badr, and likewise at every military encounter, and sustained sixteen wounds at the Battle of Uhud.

He was one of the elite jurists from amongst the Companions, the greatest judge from amongst them, the gateway to the City of Knowledge, of profound character and legendary martial skill and virtue. Ahmad bin Hanbal used to say, What has been related about the virtues of 'Ali has not been related about any of the other Companions of the Messenger of God ﷺ.’ ‘AbduLlah bin 'Abbas used to say, ‘What has been revealed about 'Ali in the Book of God has not been revealed about anyone else. Three hundred verses have been revealed about 'Ali. He possessed eighteen eminent qualities that belonged to none of his people.’ He took the reins of leadership of the caliphate after the murder of 'Uthman bin Affan, on the Jumu'ah of the twenty-fifth of Dhül-Hijjah, thirty-five years after the Migration. He was treacherously killed on the twenty-first of Ramadan, forty years after the Migration, at the age of sixty-three.