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For other people named Fatima (name), see Fatima (name) (disambiguation).

Fatimah bint Muhammad (20th of Jumada al-thani (606CE) - 3rd of Jumada al-thani 11AH (632CE)), popularly known as Fatimah Zahra (Template:ArB), was a daughter of Muhammad. Most Sunni sources report that she was one of four daughters.[1] Shi'as, however, maintain that she was Muhammad's only daughter (see Genealogy of Khadijah's Daughters). Modern descendants of Muhammad trace their lineage exclusively through Fatimah, because she was the only child of Muhammad who had children that survived. Muhammad had no sons who reached adulthood.[2]

Biography

File:Bibi Fatima (AS).jpg

The dates mentioned for the birth, marriage and death of Fatima vary in different sources. Several Sunni sources mention her birth happening in the same year of the reconstruction of the Kaaba (five years before Muhammad received the revelation), while most Shi'a sources mention five years after the declaration of prophethood.[citation needed] Some sources have also mentioned she was born in the year Muhammad received the first revelation.[citation needed] This places Fatima's birth sometime between 606 to 615CE.[3]

In the second year after the hijra, she received many proposals for marriage through her father. With respect to the identity of her intended marriage partner, her father is reporeted to have said, "I am waiting for the revelation in this connection."[citation needed]

The claimed revelation was later recited by her father as, "Oh my prophet get the light (Noor) married to the light i.e., get Fatima married with Ali."[citation needed] When Ali ibn Abi Talib approached her dad to inform him of his marriage desire, the former is reported to have described her as his lucrative possessed jewel stone.[citation needed]

Her father is reported to have asked her about Ali, "Oh daughter you know that Ali is the one who was the first ever faithful out of the lot. I had prayed to God, to give the best husband for you. Therefore, God has selected Ali as your husband, so what is your opinion?"[citation needed] Fatima remained silent which her father took as a sign of approval and arranged the marriage.

After the aggregation of the tribe of Bani Hashim and friends and relations, Muhammad delivered a Khutba (religious speech), and got her married to Ali for the sale of mahr equivalent to four hundred Masqal Silver (one Masqal comes to nearly 3.45 grams).

A companion (Sahabi) is reported to have stated regarding this, "The Islamic Prophet Muhammad got a sheep slaughtered and invited a few persons and made them witnesses upon the marriage."[citation needed]

After one month of the Nikah, in the 2nd Hijra on the marriage night, Muhammad held Fatima by her hand and handing her hand over to Ali and said, "Oh Ali, Fatima is the best wife for you." Thereafter, he addressed Fatima and said "Oh Fatima, Ali is a good husband for you." Then he said. "Now, both of you move towards your real home."[citation needed]

The women of Bani Hashim, Ansar, and Muhajireen, after taking their dinner, rode Fatima on the camel of her father and took her along to Ali's house with great fervor. Ali and Fatima lived near Quba mosque at a distance of eight kilometers from Medina where her dad had stayed on migration from Mecca and had waited a week for Ali to join him. After some time Ali came to the city and selected a house adjacent to the house of Muhammad.

Death

See Umar at Fatimah's house

Umar led a party of armed men against Ali's house in Medina and called for Ali and his men to come out and swear allegiance to Abu Bakr, who they had decided would take power in the meeting at Saqifah. Umar and Khalid ibn Walid threatened to burn the house down if they did not submit. They broke in, resulting in Fatimah's ribs being broken between the broken door and the wall, and she miscarrying an unborn son named Muhsin[4][5][6][7][8][9]. According to other sources, Umar ordered the beating of Fatimah [10][11][12][13][14][15][16], some saying Umar personally kicked Fatimah in the stomach, causing her miscarriage [17].

She died of her wounds on the 3rd of Jumada al-thani, 11th of Hijra, and was buried in secret at her request, to prevent Abu Bakr and Umar and whom she considered to be her father's true enemies from attending the funeral[18].

Sunni Muslims reject this account.

Legacy

Welcome, welcome, Mother of all mothers of the world.

The city of Medina is full of flowers from the flower of Ahmad (Fatimah)(Alayhi Salaam),

Bring flowers because the flower of Ahmad has come,

The house of Mostafa is illuminated. Heaven and earth and the sky are full of light,

The whole universe, heaven and the skies were dark,

They became brilliant from the face of the mother of the seyyids.

Song to Fatimah, cited in Kalinock 2003

She was survived by two sons and two daughters:

Muslim views

After Khadijah, Muhammad's first wife, Muslims regard Fatima Zahra as a most significant historical figure, alleged to be the leader of all women in Paradise, and a behavioural examplar. She was the first wife of the first Shi'a Imam, the mother of the second and third, and the ancestor of all the succeeding Imams; indeed, the Fatimid dynasty is named after her[19]

They also call her Al-Zahra, the Lady of Light. The khamsa, an amulet popularly believed to ward off evil and widely used in the Maghreb, represents the hand of Fatima.

Many muslims regard her as a loving and devoted daughter, mother, and wife, a sincere Muslim, and an exemplar for Muslim women. It is believed that she was very close to her father and her distinction from other women is mentioned in many of his Hadiths: "Fatima is a part of my flesh: whoever causes her to be upset, upsets me."[20] Her children, his grandsons the second Shi'a Imam Hassan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali were very dear to him. Shi'a and Sunni Muslims generally agree on these basic facts, but give very different detailed accounts of her life.

Both Shi'a and non-shi'a muslims honor her as a part of the Ahl al-Bayt, and agree on the Hadith of Fatimah's status.

Amulet with two hands of Fatimah, bearing the inscriptions "Allah is the guardian", "Allah brings consolation in all trials". Hammered silver with filigree and cloisonné enamel decoration. 14th-15th century, Andalousia, Spain.

Sunni views

According to Sunni historians, Fatima Zahra was the youngest of four daughters whom Khadijah bore to Muhammad. She died of natural causes, at the age of 23 or 24, surviving her father by only a few months.[citation needed] Sunni historians do not accept the accounts of her injuries and miscarriage at the hands of Umar and his men. In Sunni view, Fatimah shares the position of primary example to all women with her step-mother A'isha and her mother Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She was relegated as a lesser figure in terms of history and the hadith, as her position aligned her with Ali and she was considered too sectarian.[21]

Shi'a view

Main article: Shi'a view of Fatimah

According to Shi'a scholars, Fatima Zahra was Muhammad's only daughter.[22]. She is held in highest of esteem, as being the single most ideal example for all women; in terms of her purity and the eventual death of her son, she is considered to be the Shi'as counterpart to the Christian Mary, mother of Jesus, in addition to Shi'a reverence of Virgin Mary.

Sufic view

According to the Sufi elect it is Fatimah Zahra, as the cosmic Virgin Mary, also known as Maryam al-Kubra, who manifested herself at Fatima in Portugal in 1917 as "Al Zahra" or the "Lady of Light".[citation needed] As Mary had once said: "My soul doth magnify the Lord". At Fatimah the Cosmic Mary thus "magnified" the Lord by bringing forth the "Sun of Fatimah", the "Light of Al Zahra": the Lamp of Allah. It is claimed that another of Muhammed's prophecies came true here, that he said: "No Mahdi but Jesus; the Son of Mary". It is believed that was the "Mary of Fatimah" who brought forth the "Star of the Crescent Moon"; the Son of Maryam al-Kubra. This figure is seen as the Lamb of the Virgin; the Mahdi who bears the Name of "the Slain Lamb" Christ Jesus. Thus the "Mahdi" and the "Messiah" are viewed as one and the same.[23]The facts about Mary and her slain son Jesus are also seen as surrounding Fatimah and her son Hussein's unjust death at the beginning of the foundation of the Islamic "world" Theocratic State. The similarities are therefore highly suggestive of "Mary/Fatimah" as the "Virgin daughter" and "the lamb slain from the foundation of the world" as "Jesus/Ali"; these being the prototypical "mythical" sacrifices for both religions: Christianity and Shi'a. Both Jesus and Ali are believed to have died deaths of expediency for those who had decided to "take the Vineyard" for themselves.

See also

References

  1. ^ * See for example: [Quran 33:59]
    Ibn Hisham's Sira, Vol. 1, p. 122 [1]
    Tabari's History of Prophets and Kings, Vol. 2, p. 35 [2]
    Ibn Kathir's Al-Bidayah Wa An-Nihaya, Vo. 2, p. 359 [3]
    * For Shi'a sources that mention other daughters of Muhammad, see:
    Tusi's Tahthibul Ahkam, Vol. 8, p. 258 [4]
    Shaikh Saduq's Khisal, p. 404 [5]
    Kulayni's Al-Kafi, Vol. 5, p. 555 [6]
    Shaykh Mufid's Al-Muqanna'ah, p. 332 [7]
    Himyari's Qurb Al-Isnad, p. 9 [8]
    Papyrus scroll of Ibn Lahi'ah, referenced by G. Levi Della Vida-[R.G. Khoury]. "ʿUT̲H̲MĀN b.ʿAffān ." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. 03 April 2007 [9]
    * For views from Western scholarship see:
    Veccia Vaglieri, L. "Fāṭima." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. 03 April 2007 [10]
    Watt, W. Montgomery. "K̲H̲adīd̲j̲a." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. 03 April 2007 [11]
  2. ^ Armstrong, Karen (September 10, 1993). Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet. HarperSanFrancisco; Reprint edition. 0062508865.
  3. ^ Parsa, Forough (فروغ پارسا). "Fatima Zahra Salaamullah Alayha in the works of Orientalists" (فاطمهٔ زهرا سلامالله علیها در آثار خاورشناسان), pp.8–14, Nashr-e Dānesh, Vol. 22, No. 1, Spring 2006. ISSN 0259-9090. In Persian.
  4. ^ Sharh Nahju'l-Balagha Volume III, page 351 11
  5. ^ Sharh Kushaiji Mubais Imamate, page 407 12
  6. ^ Sharhe Nahju'l-Balagha Volume III, page 351 13
  7. ^ al-Islam.org[12]
  8. ^ answering-ansar.org 14
  9. ^ al-Islam.org 15
  10. ^ Ibn Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal vol. 3, p. 259
  11. ^ Balazheri, Ensab ul-shareef vol. 1, p. 586
  12. ^ Al-Aqd ul-fareed, vol. 13, p. 5
  13. ^ Shahrestani, Melal wa Nah vol. 1, p. 57
  14. ^ Mas'udi, Ethbat ul-wathiyat p. 123
  15. ^ Al-Wafi bil Wafiyat vol. 5, p. 347
  16. ^ Ibn Qutaybah, Al-Imamah wal Siyasah vol. 1, p. 19/20
  17. ^ Lisan al-Mizan vol. 1, p. 268
  18. ^ Al-Jaafaria [13]
  19. ^ Esposito, John; ed. Oxford History of Islam Oxford; 1999 ISBN 0-19-510799-3
  20. ^ Sahih Bukhari Translation, Vol. 5, Book 57, Number 111
  21. ^ Kassam-Hann, Zaya. "Transcendence and the Body: Fatimah as a Paradigmatic Model." Feminist Theology: The Journal of the Britain & Ireland School of Feminist Theology May 2002 Issue 30, p77, 17p
  22. ^ See Genealogy of Khadijah's Daughters for further discussions. and also see here
  23. ^ The Holy Grail: It's Origins, Secrets & Meaning Revealed, Malcolm Godwin, Penguin Books; 1994, ISBN 0-670-85128-0

External links

Shi'a links:

Sunni links:

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