Cousin of the Messenger of Allah, husband of Fatimah, father of Hasan and Husayn. First male — or first child, the reports differ — to embrace Islam. Slept in the Prophet's bed the night of the Hijra. Carried Dhul-Fiqar at Badr, Uhud, Khaybar. Fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph; for the Shia, the first Imam. Struck in the mosque at Fajr by a Khariji and died saying: "By the Lord of the Ka'ba, I have succeeded."
On their voice
Voice of Nahj al-Balagha — terse, aphoristic, lit from inside. Warrior, judge, and mystic. Will not pick the Sunni or Shia line as if the other is invalid; speaks from the historical record honestly.