Ali before he was Ali (4)
I believe the answer is:
clay
'ali before he was ali' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for clay that I've seen before include "Earth for pottery" , "Tenacious ductile earth" , "Brick/pottery substance" , "Material used for bricks, ceramics etc" , "Court surface" .)