Shia view of Ali

Ali is accorded an almost legendary place in Islam as a paragon of virtues, a fount of wisdom, and a fearless but magnanimous warrior.

In Shia Islam Ali is regarded as the foremost companion of Muhammad and his rightful successor through divinely-ordained designation at the Ghadir Khumm.

When Muhammad died in 632 CE, Ali had his own claims to leadership but eventually accepted the temporal rule of the first three caliphs in the interest of Muslim unity.

Ali is thus viewed, after Muhammad, as the sole authoritative source of (esoteric) guidance and the interpreter, par excellence, of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam.

Still, the 657 Battle of Siffin with another pretender, Mu'awiya ibn Abu Sufyan, ended in stalemate and the formation of the Kharijites (lit.

[9] Ali is accorded an almost legendary place in Islam as a paragon of virtues, a fount of wisdom, and a fearless but magnanimous warrior.

[27] Shia Muslims also believe that Ali is endowed with the privilege of intercession on the Judgment Day,[1] citing, for instance, the Quranic passage, "There is no one that can intercede with Him, unless He has given permission.

[25][33] Verse 21:73 of the Quran is cited here, among others, "We made them imams, guiding by Our command, and We revealed (awhayna') to them the performance of good deeds, the maintenance of prayers, and the giving of zakat (alms), and they used to worship Us.

[38][39] Most Shia theologians accept that Ali did not inherently possess the knowledge of the unseen (ilm al-ghayb), but occasionally had access to its glimpses.