Manifest Light

By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
"Ana wa Ali min Nurin Wahid (I and Ali are [created] of the same light)." - Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
If the first shaft of divine light had lit up Mecca with the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) in the year (570 CE) God protected the sanctity of the Eternal House from the elephantine hordes of the Abyssinian governor of Yemen, Abraha, the second shaft of light emanated 30 years later from the holy Ka'ba itself.
It was no ordinary birth and neither was Ali (AS) born of ordinary parents.
His father Abu Talib needs no introduction. If anyone were to feign ignorance of the primordial faith of this illustrious uncle of the Prophet (SAWA), then his own claim to be a Muslim would be in doubt.
As for Ali's noble mother, it is enough to note that it was Fatima bint Asad who showered motherly love on the orphan Muhammad (SAWA) and brought him up as her own son. Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) always showed the utmost respect for this great lady. When she died years later after migration to Medina, he personally laid her to eternal rest and shrouded her in his own robe.
Thus it was not a surprise when on the 13th of Rajab, 1443 lunar years ago, the wall of the Ka'ba parted at the approach of this grand lady and sealed miraculously after she stepped inside the most holy of holies.
The rest is history. It was the birth of light, or more properly the full glow of divine light. The ancient house raised by Abraham to the One and Only God but darkened by the idolaters, was being enlightened anew.
Cousin had been waiting for cousin. Although 30 years separated the birthdays of Muhammad (SAWA) and Ali (AS), the two recognized each other as old acquaintances when their eyes met the instance Fatima bint Asad stepped out through the walls of the Ka'ba with the radiant babe in her arms.
Abu Talib watched in glee as his nephew Muhammad (SAWA) after greeting the aunt who was more like a mother to him, stepped forward to take Ali (AS) in his arms and whispered something in his ears.
For the next thirty-three years the two cousins were never separate from each other. The conjunction of the two bright stars brought manifest victories for Islam, till God's promise for making the Ka'ba the focal point on earth came true. Today, Muslims all over the globe, turn in the direction of the Ka'ba t pray five times a day.
As pilgrims to Mecca will vouch, the birth-site of Imam Ali (AS) has continued to proudly display on its wall the traces of entry of Fatima bint Asad. No wonder the Prophet (SAWA) used to say: "Ya Ali anta min manzilat il-Ka'ba (O Ali, your position is like that of the Ka'ba)".