The early life of Hadrat Ali-ul-Murtaza (Alaihi Salaat-o-Wassalam) is a chapter of unmatched purity, spiritual grace and divinely guided upbringing. From the very first moments after his miraculous birth inside the Holy Kaaba, every stage of his childhood was marked by signs that pointed towards a soul chosen by Almighty Allah for the highest station of Wilayat. He was raised in the noble house of Hadrat Abu Talib (Alaihis Salaam), the same house that had always been a shelter of dignity, generosity and protection for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sall-Allah-o-Alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallam).
While Hadrat Ali (ASWS) was still a young child, he was brought into the direct care and upbringing of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sall-Allah-o-Alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallam). This was not, as some later narrators have wrongly suggested, on account of any financial difficulty faced by Hadrat Abu Talib (Alaihis Salaam); in fact, Hadrat Abu Talib (AS) had inherited a vast estate and extensive lands from his noble father Hadrat Abdul Muttalib (Alaihis Salaam), and his household was known throughout Makkah for its dignity, generosity and abundance. The real reason lay hidden in the eternal Will of Almighty Allah. Before the creation of the heavens, the earth, the Arsh and every other created being, Almighty Allah had brought into existence, from His own Divine Light (Noor), the Five Holy Personalities — the Panjtan Paak — who remained together at the Arsh-e-Moallah in a state of unbroken nearness and unity. It was decreed by Almighty Allah that these same Five Holy Souls, when they descended into this world in the form of “Misal-e-Bashar”, must once again be gathered together at one place, under one roof, in one blessed household. Therefore, the coming of Hadrat Ali-ul-Murtaza (Alaihi Salaat-o-Wassalam) into the direct upbringing of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) was, in reality, the fulfilment of that pre-eternal Divine arrangement — the reunion of the Noor of the Panjtan Paak in the outward form of humanity, exactly as they had always been together at the Arsh of Almighty Allah.
This was no ordinary transfer of guardianship. It was, in reality, a Divine arrangement by which the child who had been born inside the House of Allah was now placed in the lap of the Beloved of Allah. From that moment onwards, Hadrat Ali-ul-Murtaza (Alaihi Salaat-o-Wassalam) was never separated from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW), by day or by night. He ate from the same food, drank from the same cup, sat in the same gatherings, and slept in the closest proximity to the Holy Prophet (SAWAW). Every breath of his childhood was drawn in the fragrance of Nabuwah.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) himself later described this upbringing in words of extraordinary intimacy. He said that Maula Ali (ASWS) followed him like a young camel follows its mother; that whenever the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) retired to the cave of Hira for worship and contemplation, Hadrat Ali (ASWS) would accompany him; and that no one witnessed the light and secrets of that sacred period more closely than Ali (ASWS). This is why the Ahl-e-Bait and the Sufis of the Ummah say with full conviction that the entire personality of Maula Ali (ASWS) was moulded by the blessed hands of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) himself.
As a result of this Divine tarbiyah, Hadrat Ali (ASWS) was preserved by Almighty Allah from every form of impurity, ignorance and idol-worship. Unlike almost every other Companion, he never bowed his head before an idol, never took part in any act of jahiliyyah, and never uttered a word of falsehood. It is for this unique purity that he is honoured with the eternal title “Karram-Allah-Ho Wajhu” — Almighty Allah has ennobled his face — a title that history could not attach to anyone else with the same completeness.
When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) received the first revelation and openly proclaimed the message of Islam, Maula Ali (ASWS) was still a young boy, yet his heart was already illuminated with the Nur of Iman. Without a moment of doubt, hesitation or worldly calculation, he accepted the Holy Prophet (SAWAW), affirmed the Kalima, and stood by him as the very first male to embrace Islam. At an age when other children were still playing in the streets of Makkah, Hadrat Ali (ASWS) was already offering Salah behind the Holy Prophet (SAWAW), often together with Huzoor Syeda Khadija-tul-Kubra (Salam Allah-Ho Alaiha).
This early acceptance of Islam is not merely a historical fact; it is a spiritual proof that the soul of Maula Ali (ASWS) had been created for the exclusive service of Nabuwah. He did not enter Islam after long persuasion, community pressure, or fear; he entered because he was, in his very essence, an extension of the Prophetic light. His childhood Salah, his childhood declarations of faith, and his childhood loyalty at the side of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) laid the foundation for the towering role he would later play in every field of Islamic history.
During these formative years, Hadrat Ali (ASWS) also absorbed the deepest sciences from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) — knowledge of Tawheed, Nabuwah, Wilayat, the reality of the Divine Names and Attributes, the meanings of the Holy Quran before its full revelation, and the hidden truths of the unseen world. The Holy Prophet (SAWAW) himself testified: “Ana Madinat-ul-Ilm wa Aliyun Baabuha” — I am the City of Knowledge and Ali is its Gate. This gate was not opened in his adulthood; it was built stone by stone from his earliest childhood in the blessed company of the Master of both worlds.
Physically, Maula Ali (ASWS) grew into a young man of extraordinary strength, courage and beauty, but spiritually he was already, from his childhood, a mountain of Iman, wisdom and taqwa. He was known for his humility, silence, deep reflection, love for the poor, and utmost respect for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW). Whenever the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) faced difficulty, opposition or danger from the disbelievers of Makkah, it was young Ali (ASWS) who stood at his side without fear, ready to sacrifice his own life before any harm could reach the Beloved of Allah.
Thus, the early life of Hadrat Ali-ul-Murtaza (Alaihi Salaat-o-Wassalam) was, in every sense, a Divinely arranged preparation for the immense role that lay ahead of him — the role of the first defender of Islam, the Lion of Allah, the Gate of Knowledge, the Master of the Awliya, and the Imam of all seekers of Truth. Every incident of his childhood, every night spent in the shade of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW), and every early sajdah performed by his tender forehead was, in reality, a stone being placed in the eternal foundation of Wilayat that would guide the Ummah until the Day of Judgement.