Aqdam أقدام

Companion of the Prophet ﷺ

فاطمة بنت أسد

رضي الله عنها

Fatimah bint Asad

Fatimah bint Asad ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf

Fatimah bint Asad, wife of Abu Talib and mother of Ali, who helped raise the Prophet in her household and emigrated to Madinah.

  • Mother of Ali
  • Wife of Abu Talib
  • KunyaUmm Ali
  • Family and tribeBanu Hashim of Quraysh
  • Bornc. 555-570 CE (approx.)
  • Diedc. 4-5 AH / 625-626 CE in Madinah
  • Resting placeAl-Baqi cemetery, Madinah
  • Counted amongAhl al-Bayt, Muhajirun

Introduction

Fatimah bint Asad was of Banu Hashim and the wife of Abu Talib, the Prophet's uncle. When Abdul-Muttalib died, the household of Abu Talib took responsibility for the orphaned Muhammad, and she helped raise him; later reports say he called her his mother.

She was the mother of Talib, Aqil, Ja'far and Ali, among others. Biographers describe her as among the early Muslims and as one who emigrated to Madinah. She died in Madinah around 4-5 AH, and classical reports say the Prophet buried her himself and shrouded her in his own shirt.

Her story is told only through biographical works such as those of Ibn Sa'd, and not through the narrations of the main hadith books, so this page contains no practices. It is retained in the catalogue for completeness.

The story

  1. Makkah

    Married Abu Talib and became mother of Talib, Aqil, Ja'far and Ali (biographical reports).

  2. Prophet's childhood

    Helped raise the orphaned Muhammad in Abu Talib's household (biographical reports).

  3. Early Madinan period

    Emigrated to Madinah (biographical reports).

  4. c. 4-5 AH

    Died in Madinah; the Prophet is reported to have shrouded her in his shirt and buried her (reports found in biographical works; not verified here from a hadith collection).

A day in their footsteps

No narration found in Bukhari, Muslim or the four Sunan names Fatimah bint Asad. Some reports about her (shroud, the Prophet's words at her funeral) come only from later biographical sources.

Virtues

  • She helped raise the Prophet in Abu Talib's household, and he honoured her as a mother.

Words on this page

Hadithحديث
A report of what the Prophet ﷺ said, did or approved, passed down through a chain of narrators.
Madinahالمدينة
The city, formerly Yathrib, to which the Prophet ﷺ migrated and where the first Muslim community was built.

The full glossary

Sources and review

Hadith numbers follow sunnah.com. Each report links to sunnah.com, and, where the numbering matches, to al-Hadees or HadithUnlocked as well. Quran verses link to quran.com, Tafsir Ibn Kathir and Tanzil. The Arabic is taken from the hadith editions and trimmed around the quoted words, so read the full report at the source before relying on it. Grades are the ones those editions give.

This page is pending scholar review. It was compiled from public sources, and its citations were last checked on 7 October 2026. If you notice a mistake or a missing source, please tell us.

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