Historical Figure
Fatimah
d. 632
Daughter of Muhammad (died 632)
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Biography
Fatima bint Muhammad, commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra', was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. Fatima's sons were Hasan and Husayn, the second and third Shia imams, respectively. Fatima has been compared to Mary, mother of Jesus, especially in Shia Islam. Muhammad is said to have regarded her as the best of women and the dearest person to him. She is often viewed as an ultimate archetype for Muslim women and an example of compassion, generosity, and enduring suffering. It is through Fatima that Muhammad's family line has survived to this date. Her name and her epithets remain popular choices for Muslim girls.
In Their Own Words (5)
Allah set Hajj for the consolidation and reinforcement of the religion.
First thy neighbour, and there after your own house.
Allah made the faith for you as a purity from polytheism (and unbelief).
Oh Muslims! Is my inheritance usurped? Oh son of Abu Quhafa (Abu Bakr), is it in the Book of Allah that you inherit your father and I do not inherit my father? Surely you have done a strange thing! Did you intendedly desert the Book of Allah and turned your back on it? Allah said: "And Solomon was David's heir." (27:16); and said about John son of Zechariah: "Grant me from Thyself an heir, who should inherit me and inherit from the children of Jacob." (19:5-6) and said: "And the possessors of relationships are nearer to each other in the ordinance of Allah." (8:75), and He said: "Allah enjoins you concerning your children: The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females." (4:11), and He said: "Bequest is prescribed for you when death approaches one of you, if he leaves behind wealth for parents and near relatives." (2:180). You claimed that I have no position, and no inheritance from my father, and there is no kinship between us. So did Allah distinguish you with a verse, from which He excluded my father? Or do you say: people of two religions do not inherit each other? Am I and my father not of one religion? Or are you more aware of the Qur’an than my father and my cousin? So, here it is before you! Take it with its noseband and saddle! It shall dispute with you on the Day of Punishment; what a fair judge Allah is, the master (of the inheritance) is Muhammad, and the appointment is the Day of Resurrection. At the time of the Hour the wrongdoers shall lose, and it shall not benefit you to regret then! For every Message, there is a time limit, and ye shall know to whom a punishment that will confound him comes, and upon whom a lasting doom will fall.
Allah made joining and connecting with the kinship and cognation, the cause of lengthening of life.
Timeline
The story of Fatimah, told in moments.
Muhammad reportedly called her the best of women and the person dearest to him. Shia Islam holds her as an ultimate archetype of compassion and suffering. Her name remains one of the most popular for Muslim girls worldwide.
Marries Ali ibn Abi Talib, who will become the fourth caliph and the first Shia imam. They have two sons: Hasan and Husayn, the second and third Shia imams. Every descendant of Muhammad alive today traces their line through Fatima. No other branch survived.
Muhammad dies. Fatima and Ali refuse to recognize Abu Bakr as caliph. They believe Ali was named successor at the Ghadir Khumm. In Shia accounts, soldiers raided her house to force Ali's submission. She was injured, miscarried, and never recovered. Sunni sources say she died of grief.
Dies within six months of her father. She is perhaps 27. Her dying wish: the caliph should not attend her funeral. She was buried secretly at night. Her exact grave is still unknown.
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