Muhammad+and+Ali

//Muhammad -//

Muhammad was born in 570. His birthplace is the Arabian city, Mecca. Muhammad was orphaned as a young child, and he was taken in my his uncle, Abu Talib. As a young adult, Muhammad worked as a merchant, also a shepherd. He was married at the age of twenty-five. Soon unhappy with his life, Muhammad traveled to caves to meditate and reflect. It is said that this is where he received his first message from God, at age 40. He waited around three years before he started talking to the public about this event in his life. When Muhammad did, his ideas and stories were greeted with hostility from local tribes. He and his followers were treated harshly. People did not believe that he was a way for God to reach the people on earth. They did not think that Muhammad was a prophet, or messenger of God. To get away from persecution, he took his followers to Medina, in the year 622. It was there that Muhammad untied remaining tribes and conquered Mecca, the number of his followers around 10,000. Ten years after his victory, Muhammad became ill, and passed away. By the time of his death, he had converted almost all of the Arabian Peninsula to Islam.         //Ali -//    <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He birth date is not specific, but either October 23, 598, or March 17, 600. He died in Kufa, January 28, 661, and was buried in a mosque in Iraq. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ali ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656, to 661. By Sunnis, he is considered the fourth, and last of the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">//Rashidun// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, (rightly guided Claiphs). By Shi'a Muslims, Ali is regarded with his descendants as the rightful successors of Muahammad. It is this difference of belief that split the Muslim community, into what are now the Sunni and Shi'a branches. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ali was also the first male to believe Muhammad, when he said God had spoken to him. He is known in the Muslim culture for being faithful, courageous, brave, and unbelievably loyal to Islam and Muhammad.