Accepting Islam

One of the blessings that Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) bestowed upon 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), and what Allah willed for him of good, was that a severe crisis befell Quraysh. Abu Talib had many children, and the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said to his paternal uncle al-'Abbas – who was one of the most well off of Banu Quraysh - "O 'Abbas, your brother Abu Talib has many children, and you see what has happened to the people in this crisis. Let us go and reduce the number of his dependants; I will take one from his family and you will take one, and we will take care of them for him." Al-'Abbas agreed, so they went to Abu Talib and said to him: "We want to reduce the number of your dependants until this crisis has passed." He said to them: "If you leave me 'Aqeel, then do whatever you want." So the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) took 'Ali home, and al-'Abbas took Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him). 'Ali ibn Abi Talib stayed with the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) until his prophethood, then 'Ali followed him and believed in him. Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) stayed with al-'Abbas until he became Muslim and no longer needed his help.

We may note that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) wanted to pay back the kindness of his uncle Abu Talib, who had sponsored him after the death of his grandfather 'Abdul-Muttalib. This was one of the greatest blessings that Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) bestowed upon 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), as he was raised and educated by the one who was guided by Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He). The one whose attitude was the Qur'an looked after him and took care of him. This Qur'anic attitude was reflected in 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and it was enough that he was raised by the Prophet (Peace be upon him). He grew up in the house of Islam and learned its teachings at an early stage in his life, before the call of Islam went beyond the walls of the house to seek followers who would support it and propagate it among other people, bringing them forth from darkness to light. The scholars differed as to the next person who believed in Islam after Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid (may Allah be pleased with her), the Mother of the Believers, who was the first of all the people. Was the next person Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq or 'Ali (may Allah he pleased with them both)? The scholarly view, which I am inclined to favour, is that the first one to become Muslim among free men was Abu Bakr, the first child to do so was 'Ali, the first woman to do so was Khadeejah, and the first slave to believe was Zayd ibn  Harithah (may Allah be pleased with them all). Thus Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was the first child to become Muslim.

How did 'Ali become Muslim?

Ibn Ishaq narrated that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) after Khadeejah (may Allah be pleased with her) became Muslim, and he found them praying. 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “What is this, O Muhammad?" The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said : "The religion of Allah, which He has chosen for Himself, with which He sent His Messengers; I call you to Allah Alone and to worship Him, and to disbelieve in al-Lat and al-'Uzza.”  Ali said to him: “This is something that I have never heard of before today; I will not decide anything until I speak to Ahu Talib.”

The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) did not want to disclose his secret before he announced it openly, so he said to him: "O 'Ali, if you do not become Muslim, then keep quiet about it." He remained like that for a night, then Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) caused his heart to incline towards Islam, so in the morning he went to the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) and said:

“What did you offer to me, O Muhammad? The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said: "That you should hear witness that there is no god except Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) Alone, with no partner or associate, and disbelieve in al-Lat and 'Uzza, and disavow yourself of the rivals (to Allah)."