Muhammad: Intro & Ch. 1

Prince Ali

   After reading about Allah in Armstrong's book, I wondered if Ali was a title used in Islam to distinguish social or religious class. I thought it might designate that a person was closer to "Allah" and that the title may come from the word Allah. I remembered hearing the name in such instances as "Muhammad Ali" and in Disney's song "Prince Ali." I thought it would make more sense if the name had meaning that raised the person above other men.
   I looked it up and Ali is actually a popular name that can mean "Exhaulted One." However, it is also a word in Arabic and one of Muhammad's closest followers. The link to the definition is posted below.

http://www.islamic-dictionary.com/index.php?word=ali


Side Note:
   It didn't occur to me until now: We were talking in class today about how there is not a hierarchy in Islam. I understand that there is no equivalent to the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church, but what is the Islam equivalent of a priest or rabbi? Or is there none?