Assassination of Ali
Ibn Muljam mortally wounds Ali at the mosque of Kufa
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗The poisoned sword did not kill him at once: political authority hung in suspense for roughly two days.
Morning prayer in his own capital
Early one morning in 661, while Ali ibn Abi Talib was praying in a mosque at Kufa — the city he had made his capital — the Kharijite Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam struck him on the head with a poisoned sword. The attack was reportedly intended to avenge Kharijites killed by Ali’s forces at Nahrawan.
Ali survived the initial blow. He died from the wound about two days later, at a reported age of 63.
Which day, exactly
Early sources variously place Ali’s death — or sometimes the attack — on 17, 19 or 21 Ramadan 40 AH. Modern conversions consequently range across roughly 26 to 28 January 661 and sometimes later; Encyclopaedia Iranica dates the death to 27 January while acknowledging the conflicting Ramadan dates.
So 26 January cannot be presented as certain, and the distinction between the day of the blow and the day two days later when Ali died is frequently blurred.
What happened to the caliphate
After Ali’s death, Kufans acclaimed his son Hasan as caliph — that same day or two days later, depending on the report. Muawiya, who controlled Syria, contested the claim, and his uncontested rule followed Hasan’s later surrender agreement rather than Ali’s death.
Ali’s burial was kept secret; the sanctuary at Najaf grew around a tomb identified generations later. Encyclopaedia Iranica warns that much of Ali’s biographical material is polemical.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources 2 audit passes Traditional date
How this was checked
Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →
Traditional date. Conventionally dated here; the research places it at ~0661-01.
What the sources leave uncertain
- Early sources variously place Ali's death—or sometimes the attack—on 17, 19, or 21 Ramadan 40 AH. Modern conversions consequently range across approximately 26–28 January 661 and sometimes later dates.
- The listed 26 January should not be presented as certain. The distinction between the date of the blow and the date two days later when Ali died is frequently blurred.
- Sectarian and political historiography shaped the surviving narratives; Encyclopaedia Iranica explicitly warns that much of Ali's biographical material is polemical.