INTRODUCTION : Around 600 CE, Ali was born in Mecca on 13 Rajab. The head of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe was his father, Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib. He also looked after Muhammad's uncle after his parents passed away. Ali, who was five at the time, was later taken home and nurtured by Muhammad and his wife, Khadija, after Abu Talib fell into poverty. As the last of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs and the preeminent religious authority on the Qur'an and Fiqh, Ali is respected by Sunni Muslims (Islamic jurisprudence). Shi'a Muslims regard him as the first legitimate ruler and the First Imam chosen by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ali was Muhammad's cousin, and once he wed Fatimah, he also became the Prophet's son-in-law. In modern Shia Islam, his offspring through Fatimah are honored as Imams, Sharifs, or Sayyids. Ali was about thirty years younger than the Holy Prophet. Ali was raised by the Holy Prophet like a son. Ali slept on the Holy Prophet'...