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Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr b. Abī Quḥāfa (Dhu l-Qa'da 10/February 632–Safar 38/July 658) was one of the closest companions of Imam Ali (a), appointed by him as the governor of Egypt.
He was the son of the first caliph and Asma' bt. 'Umays, but after the demise of Abu Bakr, his mother married Imam Ali (a) and thus Muhammad was raised in the Imam's (a) home. The Imam (a) loved him and regarded him as his own son. The place that he had in the Imam's (a) heart is sometimes compared to that of Abu Dhar in the heart of the Prophet (s).
He was one of the prominent critics of the conduct of 'Uthman, the third caliph. During the caliphate of Imam Ali (a), he was one of the Shurtat al-Khamis and the commander of a section of the Imam's (a) army in the battles of Jamal and Siffin. He is praised in historical and hadith sources. He was martyred when the Syrian army invaded Egypt.
Muhammad b. Abi Bakr was born in Dhu l-Qa'da, 10 / February, 632 in a place called Dhu l-Hulayfa (18 km from Medina on the way to Mecca), when the Prophet (s) was on his way to Mecca for his last Hajj. His father, Abu Bakr, was the first caliph after the Prophet (s). He passed away when Muhammad was only two years and several months old. His mother, Asma' bt. 'Umays, was one of the prominent women of early Islam. She was first married to Ja'far b. Abi Talib, and after the martyrdom of Ja'far, she married Abu Bakr.
After the death of Abu Bakr, Asma' Married Imam 'Ali (a) and thus Muhammad came to live and be raised by the Imam (a). Muhammad was closely acquainted with the Imam's (a) lifestyle and character, which made him love the Imam (a) abundantly. The Imam (a) also loved Muhammad and would call him "My son". In Nahj al-balagha, it is reported that the Imam (a) said, "He was my friend, and I raised him like my own child."
Most sources of early Islamic history acknowledge Muhammad's honesty, righteousness, and nobility. According to a hadith, "Although he [i.e., Muhammad] was not of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), he was a noble person like them; he was the blest and purest person among his own family"......
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