Another report states that Mukkammil actually married her, and she bore him ʿAwnah.
Another view is that Abu Bakr presented her to ʿAli.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAli was born in the very year Abu Bakr died.
He saw ʿUmar and transmitted from him, as well as from his father, Abu Hurayrah, ʿUthman, ʿAmmar ibn Yasir, Muʿawiyah, and others.
Those who narrated from him include his sons—ʿAbd Allah, al-Hasan, Ibrahim, and ʿAwn—together with Salim ibn Abi al-Jaʿd, Mundhir al-Thawri, Abu Jaʿfar al-Baqir, ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqil, ʿAmr ibn Dinar, Muḥammad ibn Qays ibn Makhramah, ʿAbd al-Aʿla ibn ʿAmir al-Thaʿlabi, and many others.
He visited Muʿawiyah and ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan in person.
During his lifetime the Shiʿah went to extremes regarding him, claiming that he was the Imam, dubbing him “the Mahdi,” and alleging that he never died.
Abu ʿAsim al-Nabil said: “On the Day of the Camel Muḥammad ibn ʿAli felled Marwan and sat upon his chest.
Later, when he came as a delegate to ʿAbd al-Malik, the caliph asked him, ‘Do you remember the day you sat on Marwan’s chest?’
He replied, ‘Pardon me, Commander of the Believers.’
ʿAbd al-Malik said, ‘By Allah (1), I did not mention it because I wish to repay you; I only wanted you to know that I am aware of it (2).’”
Al-Waqidi reported: “Muʿawiyah ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUbayd Allah ibn Abi Rafiʿ told us, from his father, that when Muḥammad ibn ʿAli settled in Medina and built his house in al-Baqiʿ, he wrote to ʿAbd al-Malik seeking permission to visit him. Permission was granted, so in the year 78 AH he travelled to Damascus, where ʿAbd al-Malik lodged him nearby.
He would enter upon ʿAbd al-Malik during the time allotted for the general audience,