The month of Ramadan is a month in which the commander of the faithful Imam Ali peace be upon him got martyr, so it is so appropriate to mention a drop from the ocean of the great personality of this Imam.

Imam Ali is the first Imam and the real successor of the Prophet of Islam. He married Lady Fatimah the very great daughter of the Prophet of Islam, peace be upon them all.

This Imam was born on thirteenth of the month of Rajab (a month in lunar calendar) ten years before the beginning of the prophecy of the Prophet of Islam. According to the history of Islam which is accepted by all the branches of Islam, he was born in Kaba, the house of Allah in the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and no one was granted this great position other than Imam Ali.

The Prophet of Islam grew up in the house of Abu Talib( his uncle and the father of Imam Ali) for some years. After some years a famine spread in Mecca and because Abu Talib had some children, the Prophet took Imam Ali from Abu Talib when Imam Ali was six years old.

So Imam Ali grew up in the house of the Prophet and was under his education.

They had very emotional relation with each other. Imam Ali was there till when he was eight years old and then he moved back to the house of his father, but still his near connection with the Prophet was continuing.

When the holy Prophet of Islam was chosen as the Prophet by Allah, Imam Ali was in the age of ten. According to different branches of Islam, he was the first one who accepted the prophecy of the Prophet and believed in him, like Lady Khadijah (the wife of the Prophet) who was the first woman who believed. You might see in the history of some branches of Islam that they mention the name of another person as the first man who believed in Prophet Muhammad although they know that Imam Ali was the first person, and the reason is that they say that Imam Ali was not an adult on that time and for this reason he is not considered as the first person who believed, but we say that he was not like other children and his believing was not out of superficial following from the Prophet.

The beginning years of the prophecy of the Prophet of Islam were passing so hard. He was sneered or irritated by some of the people. His companions were tortured or even killed by the enemies of Islam. Imam Ali always was the supporter of the Prophet.

The Prophet appointed Imam Ali as his successor throughout his lifetime in different situations and the stories of these events are found in both Shia and Sunni sources. The most famous declaration is the event of Ghadir, in which the Prophet raised the hand of Imam Ali in front of thousands of people and said:

من کنت مولاه فهذا علی مولاه

” Of whomsoever I am the master, then Ali is his master.”

There are many historical discussions that we don’t mention them here and we ask our dear brothers and sisters to read the very interesting history of Islam from the reliable books.

To be continued.