Portal:Shia Islam/Chosen holy figures/2

Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: علي بن أبي طالب, romanized: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; 13th Rajab, 22 or 16 BH – 21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH; September 20, 601 or July 17, 607 or 600 – January 27, 661) was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, ruling over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661. A son of Abu Talib, Ali was also the first young male who accepted Islam. Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided Caliphs), while Shias regard Ali as the first Imam after Muhammad, and consider him and his descendants the rightful successors to Muhammad, all of whom are members of the Ahl al-Bayt, the household of Muhammad. This disagreement split the Ummah (Muslim community) into the Sunni and Shi`i branches. Many sources, especially Shia ones, record that Ali was the only person born in the sacred sanctuary of the Kaaba in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. His father was Abu Talib and his mother was Fatima bint Asad, but he was raised in the household of Muhammad, who himself was raised by Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle and Ali's father. When Muhammad reported receiving a divine revelation, Ali was the first male to accept his message and first to convert to Islam at the age of 12, dedicating his life to the cause of Islam.