Şah-ı Merdan is an Alevi song by Mehmet Mustafa Dede, an obscure Alevi spiritual mentor and musician, in praise of Imam Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who ruled as the fourth caliph, but is regarded as the rightful immediate successor to Muhammad as an Imam by Shia Muslims. He is the most important figure in Alevism, a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical teachings of Ali, the Twelve Imams and a descendant -the 13th century Alevi saint Haji Bektash Veli.