Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) — Seerah Encyclopedia

Cousin of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — son of Abu Talib — raised in the Prophet’s ﷺ own household, and the first child to accept Islam (aged ~10). Later the fourth caliph.

Identity & upbringing (EP 011)

When Abu Talib fell into hardship, the Prophet ﷺ took the young Ali into his home to raise (as Abu Talib had once raised him). So Ali grew up under the Prophet’s ﷺ direct care and believed as a boy — the first child convert (with Abu Bakr the first adult man, Zayd the first freed slave, Khadijah the first believer).

Early episodes (EP 012, 019)

At the first family da’wah gathering (the feast for Banu Hashim), when the Prophet ﷺ asked who would support him, only Ali — still a boy — stood and pledged his help.
After Abu Talib died a pagan, it was Ali who brought the Prophet ﷺ the news; the Prophet ﷺ told him, “Go and bury him” — a proof-text that Muslims may attend to a non-Muslim relative’s burial (without the religious rites).

The night of the Hijra (EP 027, 030)

On the night of the Hijra, with the assassins surrounding the house, Ali slept in the Prophet’s ﷺ bed as a decoy (Ibn Ishaq; no isnad — affirmable, not asserted). He then stayed behind in Mecca to return the deposits people had entrusted to the Prophet ﷺ (al-Amin), before emigrating himself — among the very last to do so.

At Badr (EP 038–039)

He shared a camel with the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Lubaba on the march, was one of the three duellists of the mubaraza (killing al-Walid, then helping finish Utbah), commanded the Muhajirun on the right flank, and narrated that the Prophet ﷺ was “the closest of us to the enemy” — alternating between fighting and prostrating in du’a. He held that the verse “these are two disputants” (Q 22:19) came down about the mubaraza.

At Uhud (EP 041–050)

Fought the opening mubaraza, felling the Quraysh flag-bearer Talha ibn Abi Talha — sparing him when begged in the name of kinship, though Talha died anyway.
Among the top warriors who cut down the ten Banu Abd al-Dar flag-bearers, with Hamzah and Abu Dujana.
Led the vanguard of the Hamra al-Asad pursuit after the battle, and helped Fatima dress the Prophet’s ﷺ wounds.

The Slander and Khandaq (EP 051–060)

At the Slander of Aisha (rha), when the Prophet ﷺ sought counsel, Ali gave a guarded answer — pointing him toward questioning the maidservant Barirah, who would know Aisha’s conduct best.
At the Trench, when the champion Amr ibn Abd Wud breached the ditch and challenged the Muslims three times, Ali alone rose each time; the Prophet ﷺ finally armed him, and Ali slew Amr in the famous duel.

Qurayza, Hudaybiyyah & Khaybar (EP 061–070)

Banu Qurayza: first to the fortress with the banner, shielding the Prophet ﷺ from the Jews’ insults.
Scribe at Hudaybiyyah: he wrote the treaty; when Suhayl rejected “Rasulullah,” Ali refused to erase it, so the Prophet ﷺ rubbed it out himself — Ali honouring the Prophet ﷺ by disobeying him.
The banner at Khaybar: given the flag promised “to one whom Allah and His Messenger love,” his infected eyes healed by the Prophet’s ﷺ saliva; he slew the champion Mirhab and, his shield struck away, fought on using a fortress door as a shield (seven men could not lift it after — a karamah).

Hunayn, Tayy & Tabuk (EP 081–084)

After the Conquest, upheld the Prophet’s ﷺ ruling on his sister Umm Hani’s grant of protection to two men he had meant to punish (“we protect whom you protect”).
Sent by the Prophet ﷺ with blood-money to reconcile the Banu Jadhimah after Khalid’s error (see The Battle of Hunayn).
Led the expedition against the tribe of Tayy, destroying the idol al-Fuls — which set in motion the conversion of Adi ibn Hatim.

Later

Married the Prophet’s ﷺ daughter Fatimah; fourth caliph (35–40 AH); martyred 40 AH / 661 CE. (His caliphate and the fitna are far beyond the early seerah.)

Cross-references

Muhammad ﷺ · Abu Talib · Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (ra) · Zayd ibn Harithah (ra) · Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (ra) · Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (rha) · The Hijrah (Emigration to Madinah) · The Muhajirun (the Emigrants) · The Battle of Badr · Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (ra) · Utbah ibn Rabi'ah · The Battle of Uhud · Abu Dujana (ra) · The Expedition of Hamra al-Asad · The Slander of Aisha (rha) · The Battle of Khandaq (al-Ahzab) · Amr ibn Abd Wud · The Judgment of Banu Qurayza · The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah · The Battle of Khaybar · Khaybar · The Battle of Hunayn · Umm Hani' bint Abi Talib (rha) · Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i (ra)

Sources

S004 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 011–012 (early Islam, family da’wah), EP 019 (Abu Talib’s burial).
S005 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 027, 030 (the bed decoy; returning the trusts).
S006 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 038–039 (Badr: the mubaraza, the right flank).
S007 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 041–050 (Uhud: mubaraza vs Talha, the flag-bearers, Hamra al-Asad).
S008 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 051–060 (the Slander: counsel re Barirah; Khandaq: the duel with Amr ibn Abd Wud).
S009 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 061 (the Qurayza banner), 066 (scribe at Hudaybiyyah), 068 (the Khaybar banner, Mirhab, the door). Bukhari & Muslim; Ibn Ishaq.
S011 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 081 (Umm Hani’; the Jadhimah blood-money), 084 (Tayy & al-Fuls → Adi ibn Hatim).