Umm al-Banin
# Umm al-Banin

Fāṭima bint Ḥuzām (Arabic: فَاطِمَة بِنْت حُزَام), better known as ʾUmm al-Banīn (Arabic: أُمّ ٱلْبَنِين, lit. 'mother of the sons'), was a wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Rashidun caliph (r. 656–661) and the first Shia Imam. She belonged to the Banu Kilab, a tribe within the Qays confederation. Umm al-Banin married Ali sometime after the death in 632 CE of his first wife Fatima, daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She bore Ali four sons who were all killed in the Battle of Karbala (680 CE).

## Biography

Her date of birth is unknown. The Shia-leaning historian Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 967) gives some information about her marriage to Ali in his Maqatil al-Talibiyyin, a historical-biographical compilation about the descendants of Ali. He writes that Aqil, a brother of Ali knowledgeable in Arab genealogy, introduced Fatima bint Huzam to Ali because her tribe was famed for courage in the hope that she would bear Ali brave sons. Her marriage to Ali brought the couple four sons: Abbas, Abd Allah, Ja'far, and Uthman. It was because of her sons' courage that she became known as Umm al-Banin (lit. 'mother of the sons'), reads a poem attributed to Fatima bint Huzam. All four fought alongside their half-brother Husayn ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala (680 CE) and were killed with him. When Umm al-Banin received the news of their deaths in Karbala, she reputedly said that she would have given her sons and everything on the earth to see Husayn alive again. The Shia scholar Yusofi-Oshkuri views this as a sign of her devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt, that is, the House of Muhammad.

Upon her return from Karbala, Zaynab bint Ali is also said to have personally visited Umm al-Banin to offer condolences. She regularly visited the al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina to mourn with her grandson, Ubayd-Allah, who was Abbas' son. Her poems would bring those present to tears, even apparently the Umayyad Marwan ibn Hakam. She is buried in the al-Baqi but the year of her death is unknown.

## In Shia culture

Especially in Iran, Shia women make the supplication of tawassul to Umm al-Banin, requesting her soul to join her prayers to them, particularly when in dire need or to find patience in difficult times.

