Ali ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

(601-661 CE) was the fourth

Sunni caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

and the first Shia Imam. Shia and some

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

sources introduce Ali as the only person born inside the

Ka'ba The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...

, the ancient shrine in Mecca which later became the most sacred site in

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

Event

Ali was born to

Abu Talib Abu Taleb or Abu Talib may refer to: * Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (549-619), Arab leader and head of the Banu Hashim clan * Abu Talib al-Makki (died 996), Arab scholar, jurist and mystic * Abu Taleb Rostam (997–1029), Buyid amir of Ray, Ir ...

and his wife Fatima bint Asad around 600 CE, some thirty years after the Year of the Elephant. Shia and some Sunni sources report that Ali was the only person born in Ka'ba, the ancient shrine in Mecca which later became the most sacred site in Islam. Some sources also contain miraculous descriptions of the incident. In particular, it is said that the wall of Ka'ba or its door slivered open as Fatima prayed there and shut close after she entered. She later emerged from Ka'ba with a baby boy, as people awaited her outside, unable to enter Ka'ba.

Historiography

The canonical Shia ''

Kitab al-Irshad ''Al-Irshad'' ( fa, ارشاد), also called the ''Book of Guidance into the Lives of the 12 Imams,'' is a biography of the lives of the 12 Shia Imams. It describes their historical circumstances, miracles and virtues. The book also includes eviden ...

'' and the Sunni '' The Meadows of Gold'' report that Ali was born inside Ka'ba. Shia sources are unanimous in this belief and regard the incident as unique to Ali and an indication of his high spiritual station. This account is also given by various Sunni authors, who regard birth in Ka'ba as a great distinction, though not unique to Ali. That Ali was born in Ka'ba is also the view of the recent Sunni scholars Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (), Mu'min ibn Hasan al-Shablanji al-Shafi'i (nineteenth century), and Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy (). The Shia author Razwi lists some Sunni authors with the same view: * Al-Masudi in ''Murooj-udh-dhahab'' (Volume II) * Muhammad ibn Talha el-Shafi'i in ''Matalib-us-saool'' * El-Umari in ''Sharh ainia'' * Halabi in ''Sira'' (Volume I) * Sibt ibn al-Jauzi in ''Tadhkera khawasil ummah'' * Ibn Sabbagh Maleki in ''Fusoolul mohimma'' * Muhammad bin Yousuf Shafi'i in ''Kifayet al-Talib'' * Mu'min bin Hasan al-Shablanji al-Shafi'i in ''Nurul absar'' * Ibn Zahra in ''Ghiyathul ikhtisar'' * Edvi in ''Nafhatul qudsia'' *

Abbas al-Aqqad Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad ( ar, عباس محمود العقاد, ; 28 June 1889 – 12 March 1964) was an Egyptian journalist, poet and literary critic,Ali