Asad ibn Hāshim (Arabic: أسد بن هاشم) was the son of Hashim ibn Abd Manaf and the brother of Abd al-Muttalib. He was the father of Fatima bint Asad, the mother of Ali and the cousin and wife of Abu Talib. Asad was a very respected person among the Hashimi Arab tribe. He was a merchant and very often helped the poor. His name means Lion (a brave one). His descendants usually use the surnames Al-Hashimi, Al-Asadi, Sayyid, or Sharif, while some of his descendants avoid using any surname.
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Birth
Historians are not clear about his exact date of birth, but according to the sources he was born in 485AD or 497AD in Mecca.
Religion
According to sources, he was a polytheistic pagan like the rest of his tribe, Quraish during the "jahhilliyaa" time of ignorance. He worshipped the Arabian goddesses Allat, Al-Uza, and Mannat. His son-in-law, Abu-Taleb, whose birth name was Abd-Munaf (slave of "Munaf" one of the idols) was the father of Ali and the Uncle of Muhammad.
According to other sources he was of a religion of Abraham, as most of the Arabs were of Abraham's religion, including his tribe Banu Hashim and his other uncles. Asad died before the birth of Muhammad.
Brothers and sisters
Abu Saifi bin Hashim
Abd al-Muttalib bin Hashim
Nazil bin Hashim
Nadla binte Hashim
Safia binte Hashim
Shifa binte Hashim
Ruqayya binte Hashim
Khalidah binte Hashim
Hannah binte Hashim
Zaifah binte Hashim
Janna binte Hashim
Ramlah binte Hashim
Hayyah binte Hashim
Da'ifah binte Hashim
Sayfah bin Hashim
Abbas bin Hashim
Abu Sayr bin Hashim
Descendants
Fatimah bint Asad bin Hashim
She was the mother of Caliph Ali and his brothers. Fatimah bint Asad was very dear to Muhammad.
Hunain bin Asad bin Hashim
Hunain was a son of Asad, and he had two sons, Abdullah and Abd-ur Rahman. They both were Sahabi and Abdullah and Abdullah's son name are mentioned in many books of Ahadith.
Adai bint Asad bin Hashim (mother of Haninai al-Nehar Peḳkod ben Bustanai bar Adai, Exilarch and Gaon of Sura, Syria)
Khalda bint Asad bin Hashim (she married her cousin Al-Arqam bin Nazil bin Hashim and had a daughter named Um al-Saaib Al-Shafaa)
Death
He died before the birth of Muhammad, and was buried in Jannat al-Mu'alla previously known as Hajoon, in Mecca with his other family members.