The Probert Encyclopaedia of People

ALI

Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed. He was born in 600 and died in 660. He was the first of his converts, and the bravest and most faithful of his adherents. He married Fatima, the daughter of the prophet, but after the death of Mohammed in 632 his claims to the caliphate were set aside in favour successively of Abu-Bekr, Omar, and Othman. On the assassination of Othman, in 656, he became caliph, and after a series of struggles with his opponents, including Ayesha, widow of Mohammed, finally lost his life by assassination at Kufa in 660. A Mohammedan schism arose after his death, and has produced two sects. One sect, called the Shiites, put Ali on a level with Mohammed, and do not acknowledge the three caliphs who preceded Ali. They are regarded as heretics by the other sect, called Sunnites. The Maxims and Hymns of Ali are yet extant.
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