According to all Shia authorities and several Sunni sources, Ali had the unique distinction of being born in the Kaba in Mecca. His mother was Fatima bt. Asad, and his father, Abu Talib, son of Abd al-Muttalib, was a leading member of the clan of the Hashimites. Abu Talib had taken care of the young orphan, Muhammad, son of his brother Abd Allah, and was later to be his chief protector when the message of Islam was openly being preached in Mecca. Several years before his mission began, at a time of drought, Muhammad relieved the pressure on Abu Talib and took his young son Ali, then about five years old, into his own household. From this time on Ali was like a son to him, rarely being separated from him. Ali is regarded as the first male to enter the religion of Islam, though he was but a youth of nine or ten years old. Abu Bakr was the first adult male to enter the new religion, and Khadija, the Prophet’s wife, was the first woman. The immediacy of the young boy’s response to the prophetic message and his unflinching loyalty to the Prophet thereafter is of great significance. When, about three years later, the Prophet was instructed by the revelation to ‘warn thy nearest kin’ (26: 214), he invited the leading members of his clan to a feast, after which he addressed them thus: ‘O sons of Abd al-Muttalib, I know of no Arab who hath come to his people with a nobler message than mine. I bring you the best of this world and the next. God hath commanded me to call you unto Him. Which of you, then, will help me in this, and be my brother, mine executor and my successor amongst you?’ All remained silent, except for the youthful Ali who spoke up: ‘O Prophet of God, I will be thy helper in this.’ The Prophet then placed his hand on Ali's neck and said, ‘This is my brother, mine executor and my successor amongst you. Hearken unto him and obey him.’ Although at the time this was greeted with mockery by the leaders of the clan, it was taken much more seriously as time went on, and the extraordinary character, nobility and intelligence of the Prophet’s young cousin became ever more dazzlingly evident (Source: Justice and Remembrance).
The Kaaba: Holiest Sites of Islam, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
