The Miraculous Infant Imām: Nativity and Childhood of al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī

This article examines the similarities between Fāṭima (d. 11/632) and Mary with a view to compare al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī (d. 61/680) and Jesus to contextualize al-Ḥusayn's broader infancy and childhood miracles in imāmī Shīʿism. I focus on the infant and child al-Ḥusayn as a miraculous figure, outlining two trends in the miracles associated with him: al-Ḥusayn as puer senex and al-Ḥusayn as puer aeternus. Although al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (d. 50/670) shares some of these miracles with his brother, they sometimes reflect a certain slant in favor of al-Ḥusayn. Other miracles are exclusive to al-Ḥusayn, namely, his miracles with various errant angels who sinned and were forgiven for his sake. I will examine these latter miracles in detail in part II of this essay after having established al-Ḥusayn as a miraculous figure and contextualized the miraculous in relation to him.