Biography of Imam `alĪ Ibn AbĪ-tĀlib

The Felicitous Birth

The Ka`bah is a very ancient structure. Its foundation was laid by Adam (a.s) and the walls were raised by Ibrahim (a.s) and Isma`il (a.s). Although this building is devoid of any designs and embellishments, made out of lime and stones, every stone is the fountainhead of felicity. The Holy Qur’an says about it:

“Allah has rated Ka`bah as an honorable abode.”

This eminence of the Ka`bah is permanent and eternal. From the day of the laying of its foundation, it has the same eminence, and shall be there forever. This is expressed through various acts of worship in Islam. Therefore, every Muslim, be the person an Arab, a non-Arab, a Westerner or an Oriental, will face towards the Ka`bah when standing up to pray! When they circumambulate the building, they exercise care to see that their shoulders do not move away from it. This circumambulation is a very important pillar of the performance of the Hajj.

`Ali (a.s) was born at this felicitous place on the thirteenth of Rajab, Friday, thirty years after `am al-fil. This privilege of taking birth in the holy place went to none before him and anyone after him! The chroniclers of the traditions and the biographers of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) have recorded this as a very important event in his life. Therefore, al-Hakim al-Nayshabūri writes:

“It is proved from continuous narrations that Amir al-Mu’minin was born at the center of Ka`bah from the womb of Fatimah bint Asad.”[1]

Shah Waliyyullah too reports about this birth with some detail:

Reports in continuity prove that Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali (a.s) was born on Friday, the thirtieth of Rajab, thirty years after

[1] Mustadrak, Vol 3, Page 483

`am al-fil at the center of Ka`bah. Besides him, none was ever born there, before or after him.[1]

The modern time scholar `Abbas Mahmūd al-`Aqqad has termed this felicitous birth as the renaissance of the felicity of the Ka`bah and the forerunner of the worship of, one and only, Allah there:

“`Ali ibn Abi-Talib (a.s) was born inside the Ka`bah and Allah kept his face away from bowing to the idols there. His birth there was the beginning of the new era of worship of one and only Allah.”[2]

Similarly, every historian and biographer has mentioned about this fact. However, some, accepting the birth of `Ali (a.s) in the Ka`bah have tried to lessen the importance of the event. Sometimes they express a view that taking birth inside the Ka`bah is not of any importance, particularly when it was used as a place for installation of idols. The reply to them is that if a mosque is converted into a temple, a church or any other place of worship, it will remain a mosque. Its sanctity will not diminish because of the change. Similarly, if idols were installed in the Ka`bah, its sanctity remained unchanged. Even when Ka`bah was declared as the Kiblah[3] it continued to have the idols until Makkah was conquered and the idols removed from there. Sometimes they say that Fakhitah bint Zuhayr gave birth to Hakim ibn Hizam inside the Ka`bah thirteen years before the `am al-fil. They say that there is no sanctity of being born inside the Ka`bah when even an infidel was born there.

This attitude is contrary to the position taken by the historians and biographers who have admitted in clear terms that besides `Ali (a.s), no one else was born inside the Ka`bah prior to or after him. Besides this, it can be sanctimonious only for a Muslim to have taken birth inside that holy precinct. For an infidel, it is immaterial where he is born! The event of an infidel taking birth inside the Ka`bah will not be of any significance to him like meeting the Prophet (a.s) or even visiting the precincts of the Ka`bah. However, a person in the Faith of Islam will consider it a good fortune to have seen the Prophet (a.s) or he had the opportunity to visit the Holy Place. It cannot be said about `Ali ibn Abi-Talib that he was ever under the influence of infidelity or that he was born an infidel. Therefore, it is mentioned in the books of Ahl al-Sunnah that when `Ali (a.s) was in his mother’s womb, and

[1] Izālat al-Khafā, Page 251
[2] Al-`Abqariyyah al-Islāmiyyah, Page 863
[3] Direction in which Muslims turn to pray.

she wanted to bow in front of the idols, he used to turn inside in such a way that it became impossible for her to bow! Although this narrative is not acceptable according to the Shi`ah belief, it is a positive proof that `Ali (a.s), from the womb of his mother to his grave, was never in the influence of infidelity. And those who have written about the birth of Ibn Hizam have termed it as an accidental birth. But `Ali’s birth there was according to the wish of Allah. Therefore, `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib says that he and Yazid ibn tannab and some persons of Banū-Hashim and Banū-al-`Uzza were sitting near the Ka`bah when Fatimah bint Asad came and stood near the Ka`bah for a while. Hardly any time elapsed when there appeared signs of concern on her face. She lifted her shaking hands towards the sky and prayed,

“O my Sustainer! I have faith in You, Your Prophets and the Books Revealed to them. Ease my difficulty for the sake of this very House, its Builder and the one who is in my womb! Make the birth of the child I am carrying easy for me! I am confident that he is one of the radiant signs of Your Greatness and Your Majesty!”

`Abbas says that when Fatimah bint Asad finished the prayer, they saw the rear wall of the Ka`bah go asunder and she entered through that opening without any hesitation. Then immediately the opening closed and the wall was the same way as it was earlier.

The veracity of this narrative has been accepted by the scholars of both the schools of thought. Therefore, from among the erudite Shi`ah scholars, `Allamah Abū-Ja`far al-tūsi in al-Amali, `Allamah Majlisi in Bihar al-Anwar and from the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mir-Salih al-Kashshafi in al-Manaqib and Mawlawi Muhammad Mubin in Wasilat al-Najat have recorded this event. This tradition highlights the fact that this event did not happen all of a sudden as an accident. The miracle is that the wall of the Ka`bah went asunder and Fatimah Bint Asad went boldly in and the wall came back to its original position. It was a manifestation of the Divine Power of Allah. Fatimah bint Asad emerged from the Ka`bah three days after the birth of `Ali (a.s) with the baby in her arms.

The Prophet (a.s), who was waiting eagerly outside, went forward and took the son of his beloved uncle in his arms. The baby opened his eyes and the first person on whose face he set his eyes was the Prophet (a.s). The Prophet (a.s) put his tongue in the mouth of the newborn and, they say, he transferred the Divine Prophetic Knowledge to him. Witnessing this event, the Prophet

(a.s) has said, “He chose me for the first glimpse and I selected him for the knowledge.”

`Ali (a.s) has several relationships with the Ka`bah. The Prophet (a.s) has termed him ‘like the Ka`bah’, that his own forbears had constructed it and were the protectors and keepers of the edifice. Hassan ibn Kalal attempted to demolish it when Fihr ibn Malik defeated and imprisoned him. Abrahah ibn Ashram attacked with a fleet of elephants when `Abd al-Muttalib steadfastly stood at the entrance to the Ka`bah. If the idolaters had converted it into a storehouse of idols, it was `Ali (a.s) who, astride the shoulders of the Prophet (a.s), demolished the idols and threw them out. Therefore, his birth was the prelude of the purification of the Ka`bah.

While `Ali (a.s) had the singular privilege of being born in the holy precincts of the Ka`bah, the timing of his birth was very felicitous that he was born in the month of Rajab which is one of the sanctimonious months in the Islamic Calendar. On the twenty-seventh of this month, the Annunciation of the Prophet (a.s) took place and commenced the invitation for the people to embrace Islam. This also is an indication of the nearness and affinity that `Ali (a.s) had for Islam! `Ali’s life had been a mirror of Islamic teachings and character. Islam and `Ali (a.s) grew under the tutelage of the Prophet (a.s).