The classical Shīʿite sources employed ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib’s childhood to the benefit of the Imāmiyya Shīʿite doctrine that depends on Ali’s character to a great extent and looks at him as a focal imam with incomparable centrality and states that no one is equal to him except Prophet Moḥammad. The Shīʿite sources tried on several occasions to highlight certain events that are related to the personality of Alī bin Abī Ṭālib when he was still a child in Mecca in order to raise his position and status and distinction from other Moslems by attributing to him outstanding traits and virtues that justify their view about his being the legitimate Caliph and the most important imam in the series of the twelve imams in the Shīʿite doctrine. The Shīʿa exploited some events that are related to Ali’s childhood in order to concentrate on his intimate relationship with Prophet Moḥammad and his proximity to him, which was intended to prepare for talking about his right to be the caliph after the Prophet’s death.
