Ali ibn Abi Talib (601-661 CE) is recognized as the fourth Sunni caliph and the first Shia imam. Shia and some Sunni sources introduce Ali as the only person born inside the Ka'ba, the ancient shrine in the city of Mecca which later became the most sacred site in Islam.
Ali was born to Abu Talib and his wife Fatima bint Asad around 600 CE,Шаблон:Sfn some thirty years after the Year of the Elephant.Шаблон:SfnShia and some Sunni sources report that Ali was the only person born in the Ka'ba, the ancient shrine in the city of Mecca which later became the most sacred site in Islam.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Some sources also offer miraculous descriptions of this incident.Шаблон:Sfn In particular, it is said that the wall of Ka'ba,Шаблон:Sfn or its door,Шаблон:Sfn slivered open as Fatima prayed there and shut close after she entered. She later emerged from the Ka'ba with a baby boy, as people awaited her outside, unable to enter.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Historiography
Шаблон:Transl, a Shia collective biography, and the Sunni history The Meadows of Gold both report that Ali was born inside the Ka'ba.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Indeed, Shia sources are unanimous in this belief and regard the incident as unique to Ali, an indication of his high spiritual station.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn This account is also accepted by some Sunni authors, such as the historian al-Mas'udi (Шаблон:Died in), who nevertheless regards birth in the Ka'ba as a great distinction not unique to Ali.Шаблон:Sfn Among others, that Ali was born inside the Ka'ba is the view of the contemporary Sunni scholar Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (Шаблон:Died in).Шаблон:Sfn
