17 MARCH 599 CE. The sandy streets of Makkah are not kind to those walking on them, not on dry, hot days as humid winds gush across, reigning over their fragile human frames. While the glaring desert sun casts a bright light over the city, a gentle stream of people continues to circle the cube-shaped structure sitting in the city centre – the Kaaba, believed to have first been built by Abraham and his son Ishmael centuries ago.1 A subtle taste of spirituality hangs over the area, attracting all and sundry. Over time it has emerged as a sanctuary and pilgrimage site for so many tribes living in and around Makkah and even beyond – hundreds of idols are scattered around, and a plethora of images of divine figures like Mary, Jesus and Abraham adorn the walls, attracting both polytheists and monotheists alike.2 Within the walls of the Kaaba, an iron nail driven into the floor is seen by many to be the ‘navel of the world’3 – an axis mundi, perhaps, or centre of the world, connecting the heavens with the earth. This mud and stone building, in short, operates as the hub of religious life in pre-Islamic Arabia. While reasons and inspirations may differ, the Kaaba is holy for all souls that find themselves attracted to it – and it is about to come to life in a remarkable new way.

Just a short walking distance from the Kaaba, Fatima bint Asad cries under the early morning glow, her expecting body struggling with the excruciating pain of labour contractions. She desperately needed some comfort and could not think of anything else but the Kaaba. Finally, she makes it there, but cannot stand before it to pray. She leans against its wall as anxiety and agony begin to take over even more intensely. She is no stranger to the holiness before her, her desperate voice pleading to the Lord, ‘Oh God, for the sake of the one who built this house, Abraham, and the child inside me, I beseech you to make this delivery easy’.4 And just in that moment, in a scene to occur just once in history, the Kaaba’s wall slivers open from a corner, just enough for Fatima bint Asad to walk in. Almost immediately, legend has it, the wall closes shut again. For days the city of Makkah rattled and talked of the miracle in the Kaaba, excitement heavy in the air. Even Abu Talib, Fatima bint Asad’s husband, waited in desperation, unable to go inside, as the only door to the structure was locked and the keys to the door nowhere to be found. The divine force was on Fatima’s side. As the mystery unravels, Fatima bint Asad joyfully walks out of the Kaaba with a beautiful baby boy in her arms. Ali is born!

Fatima bint Asad was likely in her late thirties at the time and already had three sons – Talib, Aqeel and Jafar – and a daughter, Fakhitah (also known as Umm Hani), but distinguishable among those who welcomed her at the doors of the Kaaba besides her husband was Muhammad, her husband’s nephew, whom she had lovingly raised and nurtured in her home for over fifteen years. This handsome young man was hardly eight when she and her husband Abu Talib had adopted him in 578 after the death of his grandfather (and Abu Talib’s father) Abd al-Muttalib. The responsibility of raising Muhammad in his early years had fallen on Abd al-Muttalib’s shoulders, as Muhammad was born fatherless and lost his mother Amina at the age of six. For Fatima bint Asad and Abu Talib, taking good care of Muhammad had become a priority dearer to them than anything else in life. Fatima bint Asad loved Muhammad more than her own children – so much so that, when there was less food on the table, Muhammad always got a plateful, in preference to his cousins.6 Muhammad caringly took Ali in his arms at the Kaaba’s footsteps, to welcome the newborn into the family. Muhammad was delighted at the birth of his cousin and named him Ali, while Fatima bint Asad had given another name to the baby – Haider, meaning ‘lion’ in Arabic.

An excerpt from

The Prophet’s Heir by Professor Hassan Abbas