?–661 CE · Fourth Rashidun caliph; first Shia Imam
Ali ibn Abi Talib
Later Shia and some Sunni sources credit Ali with having kept a private written document (variously described, including material later associated with legal maxims and the disputed "Sahifat 'Ali"), though its authenticity and scope are contested across Sunni and Shia scholarship for partly sectarian reasons. His assassination while leading prayer in 661 is the occasion classical sources give for the introduction of the maqsura, a screened enclosure built for rulers' physical protection during communal worship.
Content referencing this person
- Research Paper
Islam: History, Authority and the Development of Islamic Tradition
A historical-critical review of the Qur'an and Hadith as sources of religious authority in Islam, distinguishing established fact, scholarly consensus, majority and minority opinion, disputed claims, and theological interpretation at every step.
- Article
Islam: A Reader's Guide to the Qur'an, Hadith and Early Islamic History
A plain-language companion to Revert Way's academic review of the Qur'an and Hadith: the same evidence, sources, and arguments, with every technical term and historical figure introduced on first use.