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Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth and final Rightly-Guided Caliph, was struck down by a Kharijite assassin while leading the Fajr prayer in the Great Mosque of Kufa in Ramadan 40 AH (January 661 CE). His death marked the end of the Rashidun era, a period that Muslims regard as the closest model of governance to the Prophetic example.
The assassination was born from the grievances of the Khawarij, the sect that had broken away from Ali's army after the Battle of Siffin and the arbitration agreement with Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan. Ali had decisively defeated the Khawarij at the Battle of Nahrawan in 38 AH, killing thousands of their fighters. The survivors nursed a bitter desire for revenge.
Three Kharijites met during the Hajj season and devised a coordinated plot to strike at the leaders they held responsible for the division of the Muslim community. Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam al-Muradi volunteered to kill Ali in Kufa. Al-Burak ibn Abdullah al-Tamimi was assigned to assassinate Muawiyah in Damascus, and Amr ibn Bakr al-Tamimi took the task of killing Amr ibn al-As in Egypt. They agreed to carry out all three attacks on the same night, the 17th of Ramadan, during the Fajr prayer.
On the appointed morning, Ibn Muljam positioned himself near the entrance of the mosque carrying a sword coated with poison. As Ali emerged to call the people to prayer, walking through the rows of worshippers, Ibn Muljam struck him on the head with the poisoned blade, splitting his forehead to the bridge of his nose. Some reports say he struck the same spot where Ali had been wounded at the Battle of Khandaq years earlier.
Ali fell and was carried to his quarters. Despite the severity of the wound and the poison coursing through it, he remained conscious and gave instructions regarding his affairs. When Ibn Muljam was brought before him in chains, Ali ordered that the prisoner be fed and treated well, saying: "If I live, I will decide his fate. If I die, then strike him one strike as he struck me, and do not mutilate him, for I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: 'Beware of mutilation, even of a rabid dog.'"
The other two assassination attempts failed. In Damascus, al-Burak wounded Muawiyah but did not kill him. In Egypt, Amr ibn al-As happened to be ill that morning, and his substitute who led the prayer was killed in his place.
Ali survived for two days after the attack. During his final hours, he counseled his sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn with words that reflected the character of a man raised in the household of the Prophet ﷺ. He urged them toward mercy, justice, and moderation. He instructed them not to shed blood in retaliation beyond what was due, to care for the orphan and the neighbor, and to hold fast to the Quran.
Ali ibn Abi Talib died on the 21st of Ramadan 40 AH at approximately sixty-three years of age. He was buried in Kufa, though the exact location of his grave was kept secret for a time to prevent desecration by the Khawarij.
Ali's assassination brought to a close the era of the Rashidun Caliphate. Of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs, three died by assassination: Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali. Only Abu Bakr al-Siddiq died a natural death. This grim reality reflects the turbulence of the early Muslim community as it navigated questions of governance, authority, and unity after the death of the Prophet ﷺ.
Sunni Muslims regard Ali as the last of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs and one of the ten companions promised Paradise (al-Asharah al-Mubashsharun). The Prophet ﷺ said of him: "You are to me in the position that Harun was to Musa, except that there is no prophet after me" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). He was the first child to embrace Islam, the husband of Fatimah, the father of al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and one of the most learned and courageous of the Companions.
Ibn Kathir wrote in al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah that Ali's caliphate, though marked by civil strife, was a period in which the Caliph consistently sought reconciliation and justice. His conduct during the Fitna, his restraint toward his opponents, and his final words of mercy toward his own assassin stand as testimony to the depth of his faith and character.
The Khawarij, whose extremism produced the plot, became a cautionary example in Islamic history of how rigid self-righteousness and the readiness to declare other Muslims as disbelievers leads to bloodshed and ruin. The Prophet ﷺ had foretold the emergence of such a group, describing them as people who "recite the Quran but it does not go beyond their throats" (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
For the Prophetic era, see the Seerah timeline.