Shahadat Imam Ali a.s. On 19th Ramzan 1440 (25th May 2019) From Masjid Imam Raza (a.s), Sirsi Sadat To Azakhana Imam Raza (a.s) Sirsi Sadat Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.), the fourth Rashidun caliph and first Shia Imam, was assassinated by the Kharijite Ibn Muljam Lanatullah on 19 Ramadan 40 AH (approximately 26 January 661 CE) while praying at the Great Mosque of Kufa in present-day Iraq. Ali (a.s.), who was then 62 or 63 years of age, died due to his injuries two days after Ibn Muljam Lanatullah struck him on his head by a poison-coated sword, on 21 Ramadan 40 AH (approximately 28 January 661 CE). He was the third successive caliph, after Umar Lanatullah and Uthman Lanatullah, to be assassinated. Ali (a.s.) became the caliph after the assassination of Uthman Lanatullah in 656. However, he faced opposition from some factions including the Levant governor, Muawiyah Lanatullah A civil war, called the First Fitna, took place within the early Islamic state which resulted in the overthrow of the Rashidun caliphs and the establishment of the Umayyad dynasty. It began when the caliph Uthman ibn Affan was assassinated in 656 and continued through the four-year reign of Ali (a.s.). After Ali agreed to arbitration with Muawiyah Lanatullah following the Battle of Siffin (657), a revolt happened against him by some members of his army, later known as Kharijites ("those who leave"). 390 They killed some of Ali's supporters, but they were crushed by Ali's (a.s.) forces at the Battle of Nahrawan in July 658. Ibn Muljam Lanatullah met up with two other Kharijites namely al-Burak ibn Abd Allah and Amr ibn Bakr al-Tamimi Lanatullah at Mecca, and concluded that the situation of the Muslims at the time was due to the errors of Ali (a.s.), Muawiah Lanatullah and Amr ibn Aas Lanatullah, governor of Egypt. They decided to kill the three in order to resolve the "deplorable situation" of their time and also avenge their companions killed at Nahrawan. Aiming to kill Ali (a.s.), Ibn Muljam Lanatullah headed toward Kufa where he fell in love with a woman whose brother and father had died at Nahrawan. She agreed to marry him if only he could kill Ali (a.s.). Consequently, Ali (a.s.) was stabbed by Ibn Muljam Lanatullah at the Great Mosque of Kufa. After Ali's (a.s.) death, Ibn Muljam Lanatullah was executed in retaliation by Hasan ibn Ali (a.s.).