The Prophet Muhammad's Influence On Islam

Islam is a religion that has spread to over 1.5 billion people since the death of Muhammad in 632 C.E. Since his death, there have been countless people that have left their mark on the lives of many Muslims across the world and helped transform Islam into the dominant faith that it is today. Specifically, those who were the closest to Muhammad are seen as having some of the deepest impacts on the Islamic faith other than Muhammad himself. Ali Talib, is not only the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad but also one of the first Muslim converts after God declared Muhammad his messenger. Ali’s impact on Islam is insurmountable and cannot be overlooked which is why he is seen as one of the four rightly guided caliphs and true leaders in Islamic history. Today many scholars consider Ali to be the most knowledgeable of all of Muhammad’s followers since he accepted the Islamic faith at a young age. “Prophet Muhammad said this about Imam Ali “I am the City of Knowledge, and Ali is the gate”” (Akhtar). With this immense …show more content…
However, this would ultimately lead to a split between Muslims, creating two new branches of Islam. One branch, the Shi’i believed in choosing leaders that are directly related to Ali. Whereas the second branch, the Sunnis’ do not believe in Ali’s line of succession. Even though there is a split between these two groups of Muslims, they both recognize Ali as a prominent Islamic leader. Both the Shi’i and Sunni both credit Ali as being a protector of his fellow Muslims. During his reign, Ali was said to have been involved in the military that would defend the Islamic community when it came to fighting off those who opposed Islam. “The traditional accounts of ʿAlī’s strength and courage in these battles and his yearning for justice made him an epitome of chivalry throughout the Islamic world” (Hossein