Ali ibn Abi Talib took part in all the battles of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's time, except the Expedition of Tabuk, as standard bearer. His sword was named Zulfiqar. He also led raids into enemy territory and served as an ambassador. Ali’s reputation grew with every battle, due to his courage, valor, and chivalry, and he was credited with defeating many of Arabia’s most renowned warriors. Muhammad recognized him as one of the greatest warriors of his era.

The Battle of Badr

Scouting Muhammad did not know that an army had left Mecca, was marching toward Medina to protect the caravan of the Quraysh, and to challenge the Muslims. When Muhammad arrived in the environs of Badr, he sent Ali to reconnoiter the surrounding country. At the wells of Badr, Ali surprised some water-carriers. In reply to his questions, they told him that they were carrying water for an army which came from Makkah, and which was encamped on the other side of the nearby hills.

Ali brought the water-carriers before Muhammad. From them he learned that the caravan of the Quraysh had already escaped, and that the Muslims, at that very moment, were confronted by the army of Mecca.

On reaching the neighbourhood of Badr, Muhammad sent forward Ali, with a few others, to reconnoiter the rising ground above the springs. There they surprised three water-carriers of the enemy, as they were about to fill their sheepskins. One escaped to the Quraysh; the other two were captured and taken to the Muslim army. From them Muhammad discovered the proximity of his enemy. There were 950 men; more than threefold the number of the Moslem army. They were mounted on 700 camels and 100 horses, the horsemen all clad in mail. (Sir William Muir, The Life of Mohammed, London, 1877)

Battle The battle began in the traditional Arab fashion of having a few warriors fight one-on-one before the general battle. Three warriors from the polytheists' army, Utbah ibn Rabia, Shaiba ibn Rabia, and Walid ibn Utbah, stepped up to challenge the Muslims. Their challenges were taken up by Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of Muhammad and Ali, Ubayda ibn al-Harith, a cousin of Muhammad and Ali, and Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Ali's duel against Walid ibn Utba, one of Mecca's fiercest warriors, was the first of three one-on-one duels. After a few amazing blows were exchanged, Walid was killed. Hamza then engaged Shaybah ibn Rab'iah and cut him down immediately. Ubayda ibn Harith, the third Muslim champion, however, received a fatal wound from Utbah ibn Rab'iah. Ali and Hamza hastily dispatched Ut'bah ibn Rab'iah, carrying Ubaida to die in the Muslim lines.Sir John Glubb, The Great Arab Conquests, 1963

By noon the battle was over. The Quraysh fled. Seventy of the enemy had fallen and Ali had killed thirty-five, champions and commanders of enemy alone. Tabari in his book Tarik al Tabari mentioned all the 36 commanders by their name who were killed by Ali ibn Abi Talib in this battle. An equal number was captured. The believers had lost fourteen men on the field of battle.Tor Andre, Mohammed, the Man and his Faith, 1960

Ali first distinguished himself as a warrior in 624, at the Battle of Badr. He defeated the Umayyad champion Walid ibn Utba as well as many other Meccan soldiers. His art of battle was so brilliant that in the battle, thirty five out of seventy polytheists were killed by Ali alone.

The Battle of Uhud

In March 625, a Meccan army of three thousand warriors led by Abu Sufyan marched toward Medina to confront the Muslims. This force consisted primarily of infantry supported by a significant cavalry wing under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid. The Meccan objective was to draw the Muslim forces out of their defensive positions in the city and destroy them in open terrain near Mount Uhud.

Ali ibn Abi Talib served as a primary commander and the standard bearer for the Muslim army. During the initial phase of the battle, the conflict followed the traditional Arabian custom of individual duels. Ali was called forward to face the Meccan standard bearer, Talha ibn Abi Talha. In the ensuing combat, Ali successfully struck down his opponent, which boosted the morale of the Muslim ranks and triggered a general charge. According to the historian Ibn Athir, Ali eventually killed eight or nine standard bearers of the Meccan army as they attempted to raise their fallen flag.Ali ibn al-Athir, The Complete History (Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh), vol 3 p 107 This offensive, led by Ali and Hamza, initially broke the Meccan ranks and forced them to yield ground.

As the battle progressed, a breach in the Muslim lines occurred when the archers abandoned their positions on the hill to claim war spoils. This tactical error allowed the Meccan cavalry to outflank the infantry and created a state of chaos. During the subsequent retreat, a rumor spread that Muhammad had been killed, causing Muslim morale to plunge. Muhammad remained largely isolated with only a few soldiers left to defend against the flanking maneuvers of Khalid ibn al-Walid.

Historical accounts emphasize Ali's defensive actions during this critical moment. Under Muhammad's direction, Ali repeatedly charged and dispersed various units of the Meccan army that attempted to storm their position. In one instance, Ali reportedly engaged a regiment of fifty horsemen on foot, successfully scattering them after multiple charges. It was during this defense that the famous proclamation regarding Ali and his sword, Zulfiqar, was reportedly heard.Ibn Al Atheer, In his Biography, vol 2 p 107 This holding action continued until Muhammad was moved to a more secure and elevated position on the mountain.

The Battle of the Trench

This battle is also known as the battle of the trench. Ali ibn Abi Talib fought alongside Muhammad. After the battle of Uhud, Abu Sufyan and the other pagan leaders realized that they had fought an indecisive action, and that their victory had not borne fruits for them. Islam had, in fact, resiled from its reverse at Uhud, and within an astonishingly short time, had reestablished its authority in Medina and the surrounding areas. Again Ali proved to be an invincible warrior by killing Amr ibn Abd al-Wud who was one of the most feared warriors at the time. After Ali dropped Amr ibn wod al ameree off his horse, Amr spat at Ali. Ali got angry, and so he walked away for a moment and then got back after he calmed down, he told Amr ibn wod al ameree "If I had killed you before then I would have satisfied myself and not God's will."and then he killed Amr. The Muslim ranks roared and were happy.

The Battle of Khaybar

The campaign of Khaybar was one of the greatest. The Jewish communities living in Khaybar were the strongest, the richest, and the best equipped for warfare among all the peoples of Arabia. Even though they were rich and lived in castles Muhammed and Ali still had respect for them in Khaybar. Ali suffered from an eye illness and was not in battle-ready condition. Although he was ill, Muhammad called him, and he answered his call. According to Islamic historians, Muhammed cured Ali's illness by rubbing his saliva on Ali's eyes. According to this tradition, Ali killed a Jewish chieftain (Marhab) with a sword-stroke, which split the helmet into two pieces, the head and the body of the victim. Having lost his shield, Ali is said to have lifted both of the doors of the fortress from its hinges, climbed into the moat and held them up to make a bridge whereby the attackers gained access to the redoubt. This Reality is one basis for the Muslim view, especially in Shi'a Islam, of Ali as the prototype of heroes.

Independent Commands (628–632)

Following the Battle of the Trench, Muhammad increasingly relied on Ali ibn Abi Talib for specialized independent missions. In 628, Ali was dispatched to lead the Expedition of Fadak against the Bani Sa'd bin Bakr tribe. Muhammad had received intelligence that the tribe was preparing to reinforce the Jewish stronghold of Khaybar. Ali’s preemptive strike successfully neutralized this threat before the main campaign began.Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 211. (online)

In July 630, Ali was appointed as the supreme commander for the Expedition to al-Fuls. The objective of this mission was to destroy al-Qullus, a prominent idol worshipped by pagan tribes in the Najd region. Ali led a force of 150 men and successfully dismantled the shrine. This act effectively signaled the end of pagan influence in that territory and brought the local clans under the administration of Medina.Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, pp. 269-270. (online)

Ali also led the Expedition to Yemen in 631. This was a dual-purpose mission aimed at both military subjugation and religious instruction. After a brief skirmish where the local tribes were defeated, the inhabitants of the region accepted Islam. Ali remained in the region to collect the zakat and establish the local judiciary before joining Muhammad for the Farewell Pilgrimage in 632.

Military Leadership as Caliph

Battle of the Camel

The Battle of the Camel, sometimes called the Battle of Bassorah, took place at Basra, Iraq on 7 November 656. A'isha heard about the killing of Uthman (644-656), the third Caliph. At the time she was on a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was on this journey that she became so angered by his death, and the naming of Ali as the fourth caliph, that she took up arms against those supporting Ali. She gained support of the big city of Basra and, for the first time, Muslims took up arms against each other. This battle is now known as the First Fitna, or Muslim civil war.

Battle of Siffin

The Battle of Siffin occurred in 657 during the First Fitna between the forces of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muawiyah I on the banks of the Euphrates. The two armies encamped at the site for over one hundred days, with much of that time dedicated to failed negotiations. According to the historian Yaqubi, Ali commanded 80,000 men, including hundreds of prominent Ansars and Muhajirun, while Muawiya led 120,000 Syrians.Yaqubi, vol 2, p. 188. Tarikh Al-Yaqubi (Tarikh Ibn Wadih).

When negotiations proved futile, Ali organized his troops for a general engagement. He took his position in the center of the army, placing the left flank under Malik al-Ashtar and the right flank under his cousin Abdullah ibn Abbas. During the height of the combat, the Kufan wing of the army began to give way under a heavy Syrian assault led by Amr ibn al-As. This breach exposed Ali to significant peril from showers of arrows and close-quarters encounters. To stabilize the line, Ali personally moved to the struggling flank to reorganize his men and lead a counter-charge.

Following this reorganization, Ali returned to the center and led an assault with his elite guards. This maneuver pushed the Syrian forces back significantly. William Muir noted that Ashtar led a wing of 300 Quran readers with such fury that they cut through four of the five ranks of Muawiya's personal bodyguards. The intensity of the Iraqi advance was so great that Muawiya reportedly considered fleeing the field before deciding to hold his ground.William Muir, The Caliphate, its Rise and Fall (London, 1924) page 261

The engagement lasted three days and is recorded as one of the most violent conflicts of the early Islamic period. Despite the tactical gains made by Ali's forces, the battle ended in a stalemate when the Syrian army hoisted fragments of the Quran on their spears to appeal for arbitration. This act effectively halted the fighting and prevented a decisive military conclusion.Bewley, p. 22 from Ibn Hisham from Ibn Muzahim died 212 AH from Abu Mikhnaf died 170 AH

Battle of Nahrawan