Classical sources preserve a well-known report that Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, was born inside the Kaaba in Mecca. Al-Hakim records that reports of the birth had become widely transmitted, while al-Mufid also places the birth in the Sacred House. In a more detailed report preserved by al-Saduq, Fatima bint Asad enters through an opening in the rear wall of the Kaaba, the wall closes again, and those present are unable to open the door. The same report then describes her emerging carrying Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Classical Islamic sources preserve a famous tradition concerning the birth of Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, inside the Kaaba in Mecca. Al-Hakim records that reports of Fatima bint Asad giving birth to Ali inside the Kaaba had become widely transmitted, and al-Mufid likewise states in al-Irshad that Ali was born in the Sacred House. Al-Mufid also gives Friday, 13 Rajab, thirty years after the Year of the Elephant as the date in his account.
The most vivid part of the story appears in a more detailed report preserved by al-Saduq from Yazid ibn Qunab. According to that report, the rear side of the Kaaba opened and Fatima bint Asad entered through the opening. After she went inside, she disappeared from the sight of those who were present. The scene is presented as the extraordinary beginning of the birth account.
The same report continues that the wall closed again after her entry. Those standing outside then tried the door, but they were unable to open its lock. They understood what had happened as a divine matter and remained outside while Fatima bint Asad was within the Sacred House. The report keeps the focus on the closed wall, the locked door, and the unusual manner of her entrance.
Al-Saduq’s account then says that Fatima bint Asad emerged “after the fourth” carrying Ali ibn Abi Talib. The transmitted wording is kept in that form here without turning it into a more precise number of days than the report itself states. The central image remains clear: Fatima enters through the opened wall, the wall closes, and she later comes out carrying the newborn Ali.
Other classical sources preserve the broader memory of Ali’s birth inside the Kaaba without necessarily repeating every detail of the wall-opening scene. Al-Fakihi is cited with an early Meccan-history notice about the birth, while al-Hakim and al-Mufid preserve the birthplace tradition in their own works. The detailed wall-opening sequence, however, is told here as the specific report preserved by al-Saduq.
In this source-led form, the story remains simple and chronological: the reported birth inside the Sacred House, the opening in the rear wall, Fatima bint Asad’s entrance, the closing of the wall and locked door, and her later emergence carrying Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.
The most vivid part of the story appears in a more detailed report preserved by al-Saduq from Yazid ibn Qunab. According to that report, the rear side of the Kaaba opened and Fatima bint Asad entered through the opening. After she went inside, she disappeared from the sight of those who were present. The scene is presented as the extraordinary beginning of the birth account.
The same report continues that the wall closed again after her entry. Those standing outside then tried the door, but they were unable to open its lock. They understood what had happened as a divine matter and remained outside while Fatima bint Asad was within the Sacred House. The report keeps the focus on the closed wall, the locked door, and the unusual manner of her entrance.
Al-Saduq’s account then says that Fatima bint Asad emerged “after the fourth” carrying Ali ibn Abi Talib. The transmitted wording is kept in that form here without turning it into a more precise number of days than the report itself states. The central image remains clear: Fatima enters through the opened wall, the wall closes, and she later comes out carrying the newborn Ali.
Other classical sources preserve the broader memory of Ali’s birth inside the Kaaba without necessarily repeating every detail of the wall-opening scene. Al-Fakihi is cited with an early Meccan-history notice about the birth, while al-Hakim and al-Mufid preserve the birthplace tradition in their own works. The detailed wall-opening sequence, however, is told here as the specific report preserved by al-Saduq.
In this source-led form, the story remains simple and chronological: the reported birth inside the Sacred House, the opening in the rear wall, Fatima bint Asad’s entrance, the closing of the wall and locked door, and her later emergence carrying Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.
Conclusion
The account closes with Fatima bint Asad emerging from the Sacred House carrying Ali ibn Abi Talib, after the report describes her extraordinary entrance through the opened wall of the Kaaba.
Sources
Akhbar Makka attribution: al-Fakihi 3/226, no. 2018
Fatawa Darul Uloom Zakariyya, discussion of Ali's birthplace; cites Akhbar Makka 3/226 no.2018
al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn, report 6099 in Islamweb numbering
al-Mufid, al-Irshad, Bab al-khabar 'an Amir al-Mu'minin
al-Mufid, al-Irshad, same passage
al-Saduq, 'Ilal al-Shara'i, detailed report of Yazid ibn Qunab
al-Saduq, al-Amali, majlis 27, hadith 9
al-Saduq, 'Ilal al-Shara'i, Yazid ibn Qunab route
al-Saduq, al-Amali, majlis 27, hadith 9
al-Saduq, 'Ilal al-Shara'i, Yazid ibn Qunab route
al-Sayyid Bahr al-'Ulum, al-Fawa'id al-Rijaliyya, discussion of Muhammad ibn Sinan
Qabasat min 'Ilm al-Rijal, entry on Muhammad ibn Sinan
al-Nawawi, Tahdhib al-Asma' wa al-Lughat, Hakim ibn Hizam entry, 1/166
al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn, report 6099 in Islamweb numbering
Task 1 synthesis of directly checked classical and critical sources
Task 1 publication-boundary audit