Fatima bint Asad

Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim was the wife of Abu Talib, the Prophet's uncle, and the mother of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Born in Mecca, of the Hashimite clan of Quraysh, she raised the Prophet in Abu Talib's household after the death of his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, and it is reported that he called her 'my mother after my mother.' Her sons included Talib, Aqil, Ja'far al-Tayyar and the fourth caliph Ali; among her daughters was Umm Hani. She is said to have been among the early converts to Islam. She died in the early years after the Hijra (c. 4 AH) in Medina. The Prophet shrouded her in his own shirt, led her funeral prayer, and personally tended her grave; he is reported to have descended into it. She was buried in the Jannat al-Baqi cemetery. The account that she gave birth to Ali inside the Ka'ba is a contested Shia tradition and is not presented here as established fact. The Prophet's care for her reflects her exceptional standing among the Companions.