Ali ibn Abu Talib (Arabic: علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب; Transliteration: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, 13thRajab, 24 BH – 21stRamaan, 40 AH; approximately, March 17, 599 or 600- January 27, 661) was the cousin, son-in-law and one of the Ahl al-Bayt, people of the house, of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, reigning over the Rashidun empire from 656 to 661. Sunni Muslims consider Ali as the fourth and final Rashidun (Rightly Guided Caliph). Shia Muslims regard Ali as the first infallible Imam and consider him and his descendants as the rightful successors to Muhammad. This disagreement split the Muslim community into the Sunni and Shi'a branches.