‘Ali Is the First Male to Accept Islam

Ibn Ishaq related from Ibn ‘Abbas: When prayer was prescribed for the Messenger, Gabriel led him in the noon prayer after the sun passed its zenith, the afternoon prayer when an object’s shadow equaled its length, sunset prayer when the sun disappeared, night prayer when twilight had vanished, and dawn prayer when daybreak appeared. The next day Gabriel led him in the noon prayer when the shadow equaled the object’s length, afternoon when it was twice its length, sunset at the same time as the previous day, night when the first third of the night had passed, and dawn when the light spread but before sunrise. Gabriel then said, “Muhammad, the prayer time is between the times you prayed today and yesterday.”

Ibn Ishaq said: The first male among the people to believe in the Messenger, pray with him, and affirm what came to him from Allah was ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim. He was ten years old at the time.

One of Allah’s favors to ‘Ali was that he grew up in the Messenger’s household before Islam. Ibn Ishaq related from Mujahid that Quraysh suffered a severe famine, while Abu Talib had many dependents. The Messenger proposed to his uncle al-‘Abbas, one of the wealthier Hashimites, that each take one of Abu Talib’s sons to ease his burden. Abu Talib agreed, asking only that they leave ‘Aqil with him. The Messenger took ‘Ali into his household, and al-‘Abbas took Ja‘far. ‘Ali remained with the Messenger until Allah sent him as a Prophet; ‘Ali believed and followed him. Ja‘far remained with al-‘Abbas until he accepted Islam and no longer needed his care.

The source reports two different explanations for when the prayer times were taught; al-Suhayli says the report is misplaced here because sounder accounts place it after the Night Journey. A separate report says Gabriel taught ablution at the beginning of revelation, leading the editor to distinguish the Makkah-period practice from the later Medinan Qur’anic legislation. The notes identify Mujahid, explain that the famine was a year of drought, record a variant reading in the account of taking the boys into care, and give their relative ages.

Some learned people related that whenever prayer time came, the Messenger would go out to Makkah’s mountain ravines, accompanied by ‘Ali, who concealed this from his father Abu Talib, his uncles, and the rest of his people. They prayed there and returned at evening. They continued this for as long as Allah willed. One day Abu Talib found them praying and asked the Messenger, “Son of my brother, what is this religion I see you following?” He replied, “Uncle, it is the religion of Allah, His angels, His messengers, and our father Abraham. Allah sent me as a Messenger to His servants. You, uncle, are the person most deserving of my sincere counsel and invitation to guidance, and the person most deserving of responding and helping me.” Abu Talib said that he could not leave the religion of his forefathers, but swore that no harm would reach the Messenger while he lived. They also report that Abu Talib asked ‘Ali about his religion. ‘Ali said he believed in Allah and His Messenger, affirmed his message, and prayed with him. Abu Talib told him, “He calls you only to what is good, so remain with him.”

The report is attributed to some learned transmitters. The notes identify Mujahid and explain variant wording in the preceding report, the severity of the famine, and the family relationships among Abu Talib’s sons. They note that all of Abu Talib’s sons accepted Islam except Talib.