Sunni view of Ali

This is a parallel sub-article to Ali and Sunni . Sunni Muslims hold Ali in high respect as one of the Ahl al-Bayt , a foremost authority on the Qur'an and Islamic law, and as the last of the four Sunni Rightly Guided Caliphs .

This is a parallel sub-article to Ali and Sunni . Sunni Muslims hold Ali in high respect as one of the Ahl al-Bayt , a foremost authority on the Qur'an and Islamic law, and as one of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs .

Islamic Sunni view of Ali Main articles: Ali and Sunni Islam Sunni Muslims hold Ali in high respect as one of the Ahl al-Bayt , a foremost authority on the Qur'an and Islamic law, and as one of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs . Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the caliphs, unlike Shia Muslims who regard Ali as the first Imam after Muhammad due to their interpretation of the events at Ghadir Khumm . Sunnis maintain that Ali was among the first males to convert to Islam, when he was 8 years old and he was among the closest companions to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad at the time and to Abu Bakr, Muhammad's closest companion. He is also revered in many hadiths of Muhammad such as the famous hadith: "I am a city of knowledge and Ali is its door" found in the hadith book of Tirmidhi. Sunnis view Ali as one of the greatest warrior champions of Islam. Examples include taking on the Quraish champion at the Battle of the Trench when nobody else dared. After multiple failed attempts of breaking the fort in the Battle of Khaybar , Ali was summoned, miraculously healed and conquered the fort. According to Sunni views, after the assassination of the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan , the companions of Medina chose Ali to be the new caliph. He faced civil war during his reign and while he was praying in the mosque of Kufa, Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam , one the Kharijites , struck him with a poisoned sword. Ali died on the twenty-first of Ramadan (January 29, 661 AD) in the city of Kufa. Speeches, lectures, and quotes attributed to Ali have been compiled in the form of several books. Nahj al-Balagha is one of the most popular compilations. Historians and scholars consider it an important work in Islamic literature. Mu`in al-Din al-Jurjani (d. 988 AH) Al-Nibras li kashf al-'iltibas al-waqi` fi al-'asas, Ibrahim b. Hasan al-Kurdi al-Kawrani al-Shafi`i "Khalid bin Al-Waleed: The Sword of Allah" . "Introduction - The Nahj al Balaghah" . archive.md . 2012-07-19 .

Ali contributed significantly to Islam in its early years and was likely the first male to accept the teachings of Muhammad. In Sunni Islam , Ali is recognized as a close companion , a foremost authority on the Quran and Islamic law , and the fountainhead of wisdom in Sunni spirituality. When Muhammad died in 632 CE , Ali had his own claims to leadership, perhaps in reference to Muhammad's announcement at the Ghadir Khumm , but he eventually accepted the temporal rule of the first three caliphs in the interest of Muslim unity. During this period, Ali is portrayed in Sunni sources as a trusted advisor of the first three caliphs, while their conflicts with Ali are neutralized or downplayed. Ali himself succeeded to the caliphate in 656 but his rule was immediately challenged by multiple pretenders and he was assassinated in 661. As the fourth and final Rashidun caliph , Ali is held in a particularly high status in Sunni Islam, although this doctrinal reverence for Ali in Sunni Islam is a recent development for which the prominent traditionist Ahmad ibn Hanbal is likely to be credited. His hierarchy of companions places Ali below his predecessors but above those companions who fought against him, thus accommodating into Sunni doctrine the opposite sides of a moral conflict that has split the Muslim community ever since. Those prophetic sayings that elevate Ali above other companions have also been reinterpreted by Sunni scholars to uphold the Sunni hierarchy. By contrast, Shia Islam views Ali as the rightful religious and temporal successor of Muhammad and views the predecessors of Ali as usurpers of his rights.