- published: 24 May 2011
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Fatima bint Asad ( ? - 4 AH ; ? - 626 AD) (Arabic: فاطمه بنت اسد) was the mother of the first caliph of Islam Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, and the mother-in-law of Muhammad's daughter, Fatima Zahra bint Muhammad. Besides Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, she had three other sons, Ja`far ibn Abī Tālib who was a famous General (he led the forces of Islam in the battle of Mu'tah, during which he was martyred), Talib ibn Abi Talib, and Aqeel ibn Abi Talib.
When Muhammad grew up and proclaimed his prophethood she stood by him. She was exceptionally fond of her son Ja'far, but she bore the separation from him and his wife, Asma bint Umais, when they migrated to Abyssinia on Muhammad's orders with the first group of migrant Muslims.
Fatima, being one of the first to swear allegiance to Islam and its concept of the Oneness of Allah, faced the economic and social boycott of the Nonbelievers of the Mecca for three years. She was also a member of the privileged group who migrated to Medina.
Shaiba ibn Hashim proposed to her for his son, Abu Talib. When Muhammad began to preach she converted to Islam. When Muhammad's grandfather, Shaiba ibn Hashim, died, the guardianship of Muhammad passed on to Abu Talib ibn Shaiba ibn Hashim. His wife, Fatima, looked after him, loving him as if he were her own. He remembered in his later life that she would go hungry to feed him. He respected her so highly that whenever she visited him he would stand up and receive her with great love, addressing her as mother.