Born in the House of God
Ali b. Abi Talib (a) was born on Friday 13 Rajab, thirty years after the Year of the Elephant, inside the Ka'ba itself. His mother Fatima bint Asad, in labour as she circled the sanctuary, is reported to have prayed at its wall, and the wall opened to admit her; she came out three days later carrying her son. The report is accepted as mass-transmitted by Shia scholars from al-Saduq and al-Mufid onward and is recorded by many Sunni authorities, and no other person is said to share the distinction.
Raised by the Prophet
At six, during a famine in Makkah, the Prophet (s) took the boy into his own house to lighten Abu Talib's burden; Ali (a) later recalled sleeping beside him and being fed by his hand. He was the first male to accept Islam, at ten, and prayed with the Prophet on the hills outside the city when no one else did. At the Warning of the Kin the Prophet named him his brother, executor and successor.
Why the day matters
The Shia hold Ali (a) to be the first Imam, designated at Ghadir Khumm; he was the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, the father of Hasan and Husayn (a), the champion of Badr, Uhud and Khaybar, and the fourth caliph. His birthday closes the celebrations of Rajab and is Father's Day in Iran. He was martyred in Kufa on 21 Ramadan 40 AH and buried at Najaf.
Written for Shia Online Community. Dates and facts are checked against the references listed under Research & books; where the tradition records more than one date, all are given.
