Who was ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib?
Raised in the Prophet's ﷺ house, married to Fāṭimah, the door of the city of knowledge. His courage at Khaybar, his eloquence, and the fitna he inherited.
10 passages from 8 books in the library
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the Prophet's ﷺ cousin, son-in-law through Fāṭima, and one of his closest companions. The classical passages cited here show his intimacy with the Prophet ﷺ — al-Ghazali notes in the Mysteries of Qur'an Recitation that "ʿAlī did not conceal anything from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." Al-Ghazali also relates, in the Remembrance of Death, that after being struck ʿAlī counselled his sons and uttered nothing but the testimony of God's oneness. His sons Ḥasan and Ḥusayn carried his line forward.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 8 books by Imam al-Ghazali, Ibn Battuta, and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Muhammad Ibn Ali reported that after being struck Ali advised his sons and did not utter except there is no deity"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"He would give her something al-asmai mentioned that Hassan Ibn Ali wrote to his brother Hussain Ibn Ali"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Ali's hadith, Ali did not conceal anything from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, except"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Al-Hiliya from the narration of Ali, and by ibn Majah attributed to Ali as well, both of which"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali, may Allah be pleased with them, was insulted by a man, so he threw"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
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"Another prominent figure among them is the jurist Abu Ali Umar bin Ali bin Qadha al-Huwari,"
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"al-Din Awari, and Mamshad from the sage Ali ibn Suhaila al-Sufi, and Ali from Abu al-Qasim"
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"Jafar, the son of Muhammad, the son of Ali, the son of Al-Husayn, the son of Ali ibn Abi"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"reward of 100,000. Ali awoke with immense joy. In another narration, Ali ibn al-Mu'affaq,"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
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"Among them, Ali and his son Hassan ibn Ali were particularly beneficial, especially when"
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