'Ali bin Abi Talib (RA)

Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) (d. 40 AH) was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet ﷺ, husband of Fatimah al-Zahra (RA), father of Hasan and Husayn (RA), and the fourth of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs of Islam. He was among the very first to embrace Islam — most accounts indicate he was the first child to accept the faith. He was raised in the Prophet's ﷺ household, giving him the most intimate knowledge of prophetic manners and practice. He is listed among the greatest scholars of the companions in Quran, fiqh, and Islamic wisdom, and is frequently quoted in matters of jurisprudence across all four major legal schools. The Prophet ﷺ said to him: 'You are to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there will be no prophet after me.' Ali (RA) narrated a large corpus of hadith, preserved in all major collections, covering prayer, zakah, the Quran, military etiquette, and many other subjects. After the death of Uthman (RA), he became Caliph and faced the first civil wars (Fitnah) within the Muslim community. He ruled with justice and piety despite the turmoil around him. He was assassinated by Ibn Muljam in 40 AH while attending the Fajr prayer in Kufa. Ahl us-Sunnah hold him in the highest veneration as a member of the Ahl al-Bayt and as one of the most knowledgeable and pious of the companions.