Abu Turab (Arabic: أبو تراب) or Father of Soil, is a title attributed to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Caliph and Imam, and the fourth Sunni Caliph. According to narrations the title was given to Ali by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, when he found Ali sleeping while covered with soil.
Abu Turab means "Father of Soil". There is a verse in Quran that says,' Indeed, We have warned you of a near punishment on the Day when a man will observe what his hands have put forth and the disbeliever will say, "Oh, I wish that I were dust!" '
Some scholars has interpreted this verse by that tradition and also another tradition in which Muhammad has said, 'Ali and I are the father of this People[ i.e., Muslims ]' as the following,
In the Day of Judgment, when disbelievers see the great position of Shia of Ali, who is indeed the father of dust and the father of Muslims, they wish that they were dust, meaning Shia of Ali, who is the father of dust and Muslims.