When the Prophet (A.S.) was taken for the night journey, it was said to him that Allah would test him in three instances. So the angel kept counting them till he said, “As for your daughter Fatima (A.S.), she will be oppressed and deprived and her right will be confiscated, the inheritance which you will leave her. And she will be hit while she is pregnant; insults and humiliation will affect her, then she will miscarry what is in her womb and be beaten, and she will die from such beating… The first to raise a complaint against his killer (on the Day of Judgment) will be Mohsin son of Ali (A.S.), then Qunfuz and his fellow (Abu Bakr) will be brought…”
Muhammed ibn `Abdullah ibn Ja`fer al-Himyari quotes his father quoting Ali ibn Muhammed ibn Salim quoting Muhammed ibn Khalid quoting `Abdullah ibn Hammad al-Basri quoting `Abdullah ibn Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Asam quoting Hammad ibn `Othman quoting Aba `Abdullah (A.S.) saying,
When the Prophet (A.S.) was taken for the night journey, it was said to him that Allah would test him in three instances. So the angel kept counting them till he said, “As for your daughter Fatima (A.S.), she will be oppressed and deprived and her right will be confiscated, the inheritance which you will leave her. And she will be hit while she is pregnant; insults and humiliation will affect her, then she will miscarry what is in her womb and be beaten, and she will die from such beating… The first to raise a complaint against his killer (on the Day of Judgment) will be Muhassan son of Ali (A.S.), then Qunfath and his fellow (Abu Bakr) will be brought…”[1]
Abul-Hasan ibn Shathan quotes his father quoting Muhammed ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Walid quoting Muhammed ibn al-Husain ibn al-Saffar quoting Muhammed ibn Ziyad from Mufaddal ibn `Omer from Yanus ibn Ya`qab from al-Sadiq (A.S.) saying the following in a lengthy tradition: “O Yanus! My grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (A.S.), said, `Cursed is whoever oppresses my daughter Fatima (A.S.) and confiscates what belongs to her and kills her.’”[2]
The author of Al-Kafi cites some of our own folks citing Ahmed ibn Muhammed from al-Qasim from his grandfather from Aba Busayr from Aba `Abdullah (A.S.) quoting his forefathers saying, “The Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) has said, `When what you miscarry meet you on the Day of Judgment, they will ask their parents why they did not give them names. The Messenger of Allah (A.S.) had named Muhassan before his birth.”[3] This narrative is also included among the 400 ahadith. Refer also to al-Saduq’s book titled Al-Khisal.
In the isnad of this tradition, al-Majlisi has said that it is reliable.[4]
Ibrahim ibn Sa`ad al-Thaqafi has said, “Ahmed ibn `Amr al-Bijli has told me that we have been told by Ahmed ibn Habib al-`amiri who quotes Hamran ibn A`yan quoting Aba `Abdullah Ja`fer ibn Muhammed (A.S.) saying, `By Allah! Ali (A.S.) did not swear the oath of allegiance (to Abu Bakr) except after the smoke entered his house.’”[5]
Al-Husain ibn Hamdan quotes Muhammed ibn Isma`al and Ali ibn `Abdullah al-Husaini citing Aba Shu`ayb and Muhammed (A.S.) ibn Nasar quoting `Omer ibn al-Furat quoting Muhammed ibn al-Mufaddal ibn `Omer saying,
I asked my master, al-Sadiq (A.S.), “Is there a particular time for the reappearance of the Awaited One, al-Mehdi (A.S.), which people know?” He (A.S.) said, “Far, it is, from Allah to time his reappearance to one known by our Shi`as…” The narrative continues till it refers to how Salman al-Farisi was beaten, how the fire was set at the house door of the Commander of the Faithul and Fatima (A.S.), al-Hasan (A.S.) and al-Husain (A.S.) in order to burn them, now the hand of the Truthful Lady, Fatima (A.S.), was whipped, how her stomach was kicked, and how she miscarried al-Muhassan…, the tale of Abu Bakr and how he sent out Khalid ibn al-Walid, Qunfath (his slave) and `Omer ibn al-Khattab, how he gathered people to get the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) out of his house in order to swear fealty to him at the saqifa of Bana Sa`idah… `Omer said, “Come out, O Ali, and joined what the Muslims have all done, otherwise we shall kill you.” Fidda, maid of Fatima (A.S.), said to them, “The Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) is busy, and it will be a good deed if you be true to your own selves and be fair to him” (and how `Omer taunted her in response). They gathered plenty of firewood at the door in order to burn the house of the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) as well as Fatima (A.S.), al-Hasan (A.S.), al-Husain (A.S.), Zainab, Umm Kulthum and Fidda. They set the door to fire. Fatima (A.S.) went out to address them from behind the door. She said to them, ‘Woe unto you, O `Omer! How dare you thus offending Allah and the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! Do you want to put an end to his (Prophet’s) offspring in this world and exile him and put out the noor of Allah (A.S.)? Yet Allah shall complete His noor. `Omer rebuked Fatima (A.S.). He said to her, “O Fatima! Enough of that! Neither Muhammed is present nor are the angels bringing orders from Allah to do or not to do! Ali is like any other Muslim. You have the option either to get him out to swear fealty to Abu Bakr or I shall burn you all.” Crying, Fatima (A.S.) supplicated thus: “Lord! I complain to You about how I miss Your Prophet (A.S.) and Messenger and chosen one, how Your nation has turned its back to us, and how they have confiscated what belongs to us and which You thus stated in the Book which You revealed to the Prophet whom You sent!” `Omer said to her, “Abandon, O Fatima (A.S.), the foolishness of women, for Allah would not let both Prophethood and caliphate be yours.” As he spoke these words, fire had already consumed the door’s wood. Qunfath the accursed stretched his damned hand in order to open the door (from inside). `Omer hit Fatima’s hand with the whip. The whip left a mark on her wrist like a black bracelet. He kicked the door with his foot, and the door hit Fatima’s stomach. She was six months big with al-Muhassan whom she miscarried.
`Omer attacked, and so did Qunfath and Khalid ibn al-Walid. `Omer slapped Fatima (A.S.) on her cheek, breaking her ear-ring under her veil, and she was crying loudly as she said, “O father! O Messenger of Allah! Your daughter Fatima is treated as a liar, is hit, and her fetus is killed inside her womb!” The Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) came out of the house with red eyes, wearing nothing on his head, and he put his outer mantle on Fatima (A.S.), hugged her and said, “O daughter of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! You already know that your father was sent as a mercy to the whole world…” Then he turned to `Omer and said, “O son of al-Khattab! Woe unto you from this day of yours and from the day thereafter and the ones that follow! Get out (of my house) before I unsheathe my sword and annihilate the bygone of the nation!” `Omer went out and so did Khalid ibn al-Walid, Qunfath, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr. They were outside when the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) called upon Fidda to tend to her mistress who was undergoing the pain of miscarriage… Fatima (A.S.) miscarried al-Muhassan, so Ali (A.S.) said, “He is joining his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (A.S.), to whom he will lodge a complaint.
And al-Muhassan will come out (on the Judgment Day) carried by (his maternal grandmother) Khadija daughter of Khuwaylid and (his paternal grandmother) Fatima daughter of Asad, mother of the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.), and they shall be wailing and his mother shall say, “This is the Day about which you were warned.”
Al-Mufaddal asked the Imam (A.S.), “Master! What do you say about the verse that says, `When the female infant buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed’ (Qur’an, 81:8-9)?” The Imam (A.S.) said, “O Mufaddal! The infant buried alive is, by Allah, Muhassan because he is one of us. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar.” Al-Mufaddal said, “Master! Then what?” Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) said, “Fatima (A.S.) daughter of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) will stand and say, `Lord! Carry out Your promise to me and regarding me against whoever oppressed me, confiscated what belonged to me, hit me and killed all my sons!’”[6]
In another tradition, Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) said to al-Mufaddal, “There is no tragedy like ours at Kerbala’ despite what happened one day at the saqifa and how the fire was set at the door of the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.), thus endangering him, al-Hasan (A.S.), al-Husain (A.S.), Fatima (A.S.), Zainab and Umm Kulthum as well as Fidda. And the killing of Muhassan, when someone kicked his mother (A.S.) in the stomach, is greater, more tragic and more bitter because it is the origin of the Day of Torment.”[7]
The head of the Shi`a, namely Shaikh al-Mufid, has said the following in his book titled Al-Ikhtisas citing Ahmed ibn Muhammed ibn `asa quoting his father, and also from al-`Abbas ibn Ma`raf from `Abdullah ibn al-Mugharah saying that `Abdullah ibn `Abd al-Rahman al-Asam cited `Abdullah ibn Bakr al-Arjani saying, “I accompanied Aba `Abdullah (A.S.) on his way from Mecca to Medina…,” then he narrated a lengthy discourse wherein he quoted Aba `Abdullah (A.S.) saying, “… killer of the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.), killer of Fatima (A.S.), killer of al-Muhassan, killer of al-Hasan (A.S.) and al-Husain (A.S.)…, etc.”
This is narrated in Kamil al-Ziyarat from another isnad from `Abdullah ibn al-Asam from `Abdullah ibn Bakr al-Arjani. In it, the Imam (A.S.) is quoted saying, “… and the killer of Fatima (A.S.) and Muhassan…, etc.,” so you may refer to it.[8]
Ali ibn Ibrahim, quoting his father quoting Sulayman al-Daylami quoting Aba Busayr quoting Aba `Abdullah (A.S.) saying, “On the Day of Judgment, Muhammed (A.S.) shall be called upon, and he will be clad a rosy outfit… Then it will be called from the depths of the `Arsh by the Lord of Glory and the Sublime Horizon, `How good your father, O Muhammed, is, and he is Ibrahim, and how good his brother is, who is Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.), and how good your grandsons are, and they are al-Hasan (A.S.) and al-Husain (A.S.), and how good your fetus is, and he is Muhassan, and how good the rightly guided Imams (A.S.) are…, etc.”[9]
Aba Muhammed, citing `Abdullah ibn Sinan from Aba `Abdullah (A.S.) saying the following:
When the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) passed away, Abu Bakr took his seat on his pulpit. He sent for the agent of Fatima (A.S.) and expelled him… Abu Bakr then wrote her a property title, returning Fadak to her possession. But `Omer met her and asked her, “O Daughter of Muhammed (A.S.)! What is this sheet in your hand for?” She said, “A property title which Abu Bakr wrote me, returning Fadak to my possession.” He said, “Give it to me.” She refused, so he kicked her with his foot in the stomach, and she was pregnant with a son named al-Muhassan whom she instantly miscarried. `Omer then slapped her on her cheek, causing her ear-ring to break into bits and pieces. Then he took the property title and tore it to pieces. Fatima (A.S.) went away. For seventy-five days, since `Omer kicked her, she remained sick, then she passed away. On her death-bed, she called Ali (A.S.) to her presence and said to him, “You may either guarantee to carry out what I shall say to you or I shall ask al-Zubayr.” Ali (A.S.) said, “I guarantee to carry out your will, O Daughter of Muhammed (A.S.)!” She said to him, “I ask you in the right of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) that if I die, both men (`Omer and Abu Bakr) should not be present near me, nor should they attend my funeral prayers.” He (A.S.) said, “You will have what you desire.” When she passed away, he buried her at night. In the morning, the people of Medina, including Abu Bakr and `Omer, wanted to attend her funeral. Ali (A.S.) went out and he was met by both men. They asked him, “What have you done to the daughter of Muhammed (A.S.) regarding preparing her for her burial, O father of al-Hasan (A.S.)?” Ali (A.S.) said, “By Allah, I have already buried her.” They said, “What caused you to bury her without informing us that she had died?” She (A.S.) said, “She had ordered me to do just that.” `Omer said, “By Allah! I am about to dig up her grave and perform the funeral prayers for her.” Ali (A.S.) said, “By Allah! As long as my heart is still resting inside my rib cage, and as long as I can hold (my sword) Thul-Fiqar in my hand, you shall never be able to dig her body out, and you know best what I can do.” Abu Bakr said (to `Omer), “Go, for he is more worthy of her than we are.” People then dispersed.[10]
Muhammed ibn Haran al-Tal`akbari cites is father saying that “Aba Ali,” Muhammed ibn Humam ibn Suhail, has said that Ahmed ibn Muhammed al-Barqi has cited Ahmed ibn Muhammed al-Ash`ari al-Qummi cites `Abd al-Rahman ibn Aba Najran cites `Abdullah ibn Sinan citing Ibn Maskan citing Aba Busayr quoting Aba `Abdullah (A.S.) saying the following:
Fatima (A.S.) was born on the 20th of Jumada al-akhira, forty-five years after the birth of the Prophet (A.S.)… The reason for her death is that Qunfath, slave of the man (Abu Bakr), poked her with the sword’s scabbard as ordered by his master, so she miscarried Muhassan. She fell seriously sick because of the incident, and she did not any of those who harmed her enter her house. Two men (Abu Bakr and `Omer) from among the companions of the Prophet (A.S.) requested the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) to intercede on their behalf with her. He requested her, and she agreed. When they entered, they asked her, “O daughter of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! How do you feel?” She said, “Well, all Praise is due to Allah.” Then she said to them, “Did you not hear the Prophet (A.S.) say, `Fatima (A.S.) is part of me; whoever harms her harms me, and whoever harms me harms Allah’?” They answered in the affirmative. She said, “By Allah! You both have harmed me.” They went out while she was still angry with them.[11]
The isnad of this narrative is authentic.
33. Shaikh al-Tusi has said that Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) is quoted as saying that when the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.) was taken forcefully out of his house, Fatima (A.S.) went out behind him. All the women from Bani Hashim went out with her and they all were near the grave (of the Prophet [a] which was inside the room nearby). Fatima (A.S.) said to them, “Leave my cousin alone for, by Allah, if you do not leave him alone…, etc.”[12]
This narrative, too, proves that they entered his house by force and took him out by force although Fatima (A.S.) was there, demonstrating a total lack of respect for her and for her privacy.
34. Judge `Abd al-Jabbar, who died in 415 A.H. and who was contemporary to Shaikh al-Mufid (d. 413 A.H.), may Allah have mercy on him, has said that the Shi`a claim a narrative narrated from Imam Ja`fer ibn Muhammed [al-Sadiq] (A.S.) and others which says that `Omer (ibn al-Khattab) hit Fatima (A.S.) with the whip.[13]
We do not know if he is referring to the narratives which we have been citing or to others, so we set his quoted statement aside for this reason.
This is an article taken from the book -TRAGEDY OF AL-ZAHRA’ (A.S.). DOUBTS CAST AND REBUTTALS
By: Ayatullah `Allama Sayyid Ja’far Murtada al-`Amili
Translated from the Arabic By: Yasin T. al-Jibouri
Published By: Imam Hussain Foundation
Read This Book Online
[1]Kamil al-Ziyarat, pp. 232-35. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 28, pp. 62-64. Refer also to Vol. 53, p. 23 of the same. `Awalim al-`Ulam, Vol. 11, p. 398. Al-Majlisi, Jala’ al-`Uyan, Vol. 1, pp. 184-86.
[2]Kanz al-Fawa’id, Vol. 1, pp. 149-50. Rawdat al-Jannat, Vol. 6, p. 182.
[3]Al-Kafi, Vol. 6, p. 18. `Awalim al-`Ulam, Vol. 11, p. 411. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 43, p. 195 and Vol. 101, p. 128 and Vol. 10, p. 112. Al-Khisal, Vol. 2, p. 434. `Ilal al-Shara’i`, Vol. 2, p. 464. Jala’ al-`Uyan, Vol. 1, p. 222.
[4]Jala’ al-`Uyan, Vol. 1, p. 222.
[5]Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 28, pp. 269, 390, 411. On its footnote, it is stated that it cites al-Thaqafi’s book Al-Gharat.
[6]Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 53, pp. 14, 18, 19, 23. Al-`Awalim, Vol. 11, pp. 441-43. Al-Khasabi, Al-Hidaya al-Kubra, pp. 392, 407-08, 417. Hilyat al-Abrar, Vol. 2, p. 652. Refer also to Fatima al-Zahra’ Bahjat Qalb al-Mustafa, Vol. 2, p. 532 from Nawa’ib al-Duhar by Sayyid al-Meerjahani, p. 192.
[7]Fatima al-Zahra’ Bahjat Qalb al-Mustafa, Vol. 2, p. 532, quoting Nawa’ib al-Duhar by Sayyid al-Meerjahani, p. 194. Al-Khasabi, Al-Hidaya al-Kubra, p. 417 (Beirut edition).
[8]Shaikh al-Mufid, Al-Ikhtisas, pp. 343-44. Kamil al-Ziyarat, pp. 326-27. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 8, p. 213. Refer also to Basa’ir al-Darajat.
[9]Al-Qummi, Tafsir, Vol. 1, p. 128. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 7, pp. 328-29 and Vol. 23, pp. 130-31 and Vol. 12, pp. 6-7. Nar al-Thaqalayn, Vol. 1, p. 348. Al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, Vol. 1, pp. 328-29.
[10]Al-Mufid, Al-Ikhtisas, pp. 184-85. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 29, p. 192. Abd al-Razzaq al-Muqarram, Wafat al-Siddaqa al-Zahra’, p. 78.
[11]Dala’il al-Imama, p. 45. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 43, p. 170. `Awalim al-`Ulam, Vol. 11, pp. 411, 504.
[12]Al-Tibrisi, Al-Ihtijaj, Vol. 1, p. 222. Al-Mustarshid fa Imamat Ali ibn Abi Talib (A), p. 67.
[13]Judge `Abd al-Jabbar, Al-Mughni, Vol. 20, p. 335. Sayyid al-Murtada, Al-Shafi, Vol. 4, pp. 110-19. Ibn Abul-Hadid, Sharh Nahjul Balagha, Vol. 16, p. 271.
