Fatimah Bint Muhammed
Fatimah was the only child of
Prophet Muhammed and Khadijah. She was born at a time when her noble father had
begun to spend long periods in the solitude of mountains around Makkah,
meditating and reflecting on the great mysteries of creation.
The little Fatimah (AS) was not alone in the house of her parents. Barakah, the
maid-servant of Aminah, the Prophet's mother, who had been with the
Prophet since his birth, Zayd ibn Harithah, and Ali, the young son of
Abu Talib were all part of Muhammad's household at this time. And of
course there was her loving mother, the lady Khadijah.
In her mother and in Barakah, Fatimah
found a great deal of solace and comfort. in Ali, who was about two
years older than she, she found a "brother" and a friend who somehow
took the place of her own brother al-Qasim who had died in his infancy.
Her other brother Abdullah, known as the Good and the Pure, who was
born after her, also died in his infancy. However in none of the people
in her father's household did Fatimah find the carefree joy and
happiness which she enjoyed with her sisters. She was an unusually
sensitive child for her age.
When she was five, she heard that her
father had become Rasul Allah, the Messenger of God. His first task was
to convey the good news of Islam to his family and close relations. They
were to worship God Almighty alone. Her mother, who was a tower of strength and support, explained to Fatimah what her father had to do. From
this time on, she became more closely attached to him and felt a deep
and abiding love for him. Often she would be at Iris side walking
through the narrow streets and alleys of Makkah , visiting the Kabah or
attending secret gatherings off, the early Muslims who had accepted
Islam and pledged allegiance to the Prophet.
One day, when she was not yet ten, she
accompanied her father to the Masjid al-Haram. He stood in the place
known as al-Hijr facing the Kabah and began to pray. Fatimah stood at
his side. A group of Quraysh, by no means well-disposed to the Prophet,
gathe red about him. They included Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, the Prophet's
uncle, Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and Shaybah and Utbah,
sons of Rabi'ah. Menacingly, the group went up to the Prophet and Abu
Jahl, the ringleader, asked:
"Which of you can bring the entrails of
a slaughtered animal and throw it on Muhammad?"
Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt, one of the vilest
of the lot, volunteered and hurried off. He returned with the obnoxious
filth and threw it on the shoulders of the Prophet, may God bless him
and grant him peace, while he was still prostrating. Abdullah ibn Masud,
a companion of the Prophet, was present but he was powerless to do or
say anything.
Imagine the feelings of Fatimah as she
saw her father being treated in this fashion. What could she, a girl not
ten years old, do? She went up to her father and removed the offensive
matter and then stood firmly and angrily before the group of Quraysh thu
gs and lashed out against them. Not a single word did they say to her.
The noble Prophet raised his head on completion of the prostration and
went on to complete the Salat. He then said: "O Lord, may you punish the
Quraysh!" and repeated this imprecati on three times. Then he continued:
"May You punish Utbah, Uqbah, Abu Jahl
and Shaybah." (These whom he named were all killed many years later at
the Battle of Badr)
On another occasion, Fatimah was with
the Prophet as he made; tawaf around the Kabah. A Quraysh mob gathered
around him. They seized him and tried to strangle him with his own
clothes. Fatimah screamed and shouted for help. Abu Bakr rushed to the
scene a nd managed to free the Prophet. While he was doing so, he
pleaded:
"Would you kill a man who says, 'My
Lord is God?'" Far from giving up, the mob turned on Abu Bakr and began
beating him until blood flowed from his head and face.
Such scenes of vicious opposition and
harassment against her father and the early Muslims were witnessed by
the young Fatimah. She did not meekly stand aside but joined in the
struggle in defence of her father and his noble mission. She was still a
young girl and instead of the cheerful romping, the gaiety and
liveliness which children of her age are and should normally be
accustomed to, Fatimah had to witness and participate in such ordeals.
Of course, she was not alone in this.
The whole of the Prophet's family suffered from the violent and mindless
Quraysh. Her sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum also suffered. They were
living at this time in the very nest of hatred and intrigue against the
Prophet. Their husbands were Utbah and Utaybah, sons of Abu Lahab and
Umm Jamil. Umm Jamil was known to be a hard and harsh woman who had a
sharp and evil tongue. It was mainly because of her that Khadijah was
not pleased with the marriages of her daught ers to Umm Jamil's sons in
the first place. It must have been painful for Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum
to be living in the household of such inveterate enemies who not only
joined but led the campaign against theft father.
As a mark of disgrace to Muhammad and
his family, Utbah and Utaybah were prevailed upon by their parents to
divorce their wives. This was part of the process of ostracizing the
Prophet totally. The Prophet in fact welcomed his daughters back to his
home w ith joy, happiness and relief.
Fatimah, no doubt, must have been happy
to be with her sisters once again. They all wished that their eldest
sister, Zaynab, would also be divorced by her husband. In fact, the
Quraysh brought pressure on Abu-l Aas to do so but he refused. When the
Qurays h leaders came up to him and promised him the richest and most
beautiful woman as a wife should he divorce Zaynab, he replied:
"I love my wife deeply and passionately
and I have a great and high esteem for her father even though I have not
entered the religion of Islam."
Both Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were
happy to be back with their loving parents and to be rid of the
unbearable mental torture to which they had been subjected in the house
of Umm Jamil. Shortly afterwards, Ruqayyah married again, to the young
and shy Uthma n ibn Allan who was among the first to have accepted
Islam. They both left for Abyssinia among the first muhajirin who sought
refuge in that land and stayed there for several years. Fatimah was not
to see Ruqayyah again until after their mother had died.< p> The
persecution of the Prophet, his family and his followers continued and
even became worse after the migration of the first Muslims to Abyssinia.
In about the seventh year of his mission, the Prophet and his family
were forced to leave their homes and s eek refuge in a rugged little
valley enclosed by hills on all sides and defile, which could only be
entered from Makkah by a narrow path.
To this arid valley, Muhammad and the
clans of Banu Hashim and al-Muttalib were forced to retire with limited
supplies of food. Fatimah was one of the youngest members of the clans
-just about twelve years old - and had to undergo months of hardship and
suffering. The wailing of hungry children and women in the valley could
be heard from Makkah. The Quraysh allowed no food and contact with the
Muslims whose hardship was only relieved somewhat during the season of
pilgrimage. The boycott lasted for three years. When it was lifted, the
Prophet had to face even more trials and difficulties. Khadijah, the
faithful and loving, died shortly afterwards. With her death, the
Prophet and his family lost one of the greatest sources of comfort and
strength which h ad sustained them through the difficult period. The
year in which the noble Khadijah, and later Abu Talib, died is known as
the Year of Sadness. Fatimah, now a young lady, was greatly distressed
by her mother's death. She wept bitterly and for some time was so grief-striken
that her health deteriorated. It was even feared she might die of grief.
Although her older sister, Umm Kulthum,
stayed in the same household, Fatimah realized that she now had a
greater responsibility with the passing away of her mother. She felt
that she had to give even greater support to her father. With loving
tendernes s, she devoted herself to looking after his needs. So
concerned was she for his welfare that she came to be called "Umm Abi-ha
the mother of her father". She also provided him with solace and comfort
during times of trial, difficulty and crisis.
Often the trials were too much for her.
Once, about this time, an insolent mob heaped dust and earth upon his
gracious head. As he entered his home, Fatimah wept profusely as she
wiped the dust from her father's head.
"Do not cry, my daughter," he said,
"for God shall protect your father."
The Prophet had a special love for
Fatimah. He once said: "Whoever pleased Fatimah has indeed pleased God
and whoever has caused her to be angry has indeed angered God. Fatimah
is a part of me. Whatever pleases her pleases me and whatever angers her
a ngers me."
He also said: "The best women in all
the world are four: the Virgin Mary, Aasiyaa the wife of Pharoah,
Khadijah Mother of the Believers, and Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad."
Fatimah thus acquired a place of love and esteem in the Prophet's heart
that was o nly occupied by his wife Khadijah.
Fatimah, may God be pleased with her,
was given the title of "az-Zahraa" which means "the Resplendent One".
That was because of her beaming face which seemed to radiate light. It
is said that when she stood for Prayer, the mihrab would reflect the
light of her countenance. She was also called "al-Batul" because of her
asceticism. Instead of spending her time in the company of women, much
of her time would be spent in Salat, in reading the Quran and in other
acts of ibadah.
Fatimah had a strong resemblance to her
father, the Messenger of God. Aishah. the wife of the Prophet, said of
her: "I have not seen any one of God's creation resemble the Messenger
of God more in speech, conversation and manner of sitting than Fatimah,
may God be pleased with her. When the Prophet saw her approaching, he
would welcome her, stand up and kiss her, take her by the hand and sit
her down in the place where he was sitting." She would do the same when
the Prophet came to her. She would sta nd up and welcome him with joy
and kiss him.
Fatimah's fine manners and gentle
speech were part of her lovely and endearing personality. She was
especially kind to poor and indigent folk and would often give all the
food she had to those in need even if she herself remained hungry. She
had no cravin g for the ornaments of this world nor the luxury and
comforts of life. She lived simply, although on occasion as we shall see
circumstances seemed to be too much and too difficult for her.
She inherited from her father a
persuasive eloquence that was rooted in wisdom. When she spoke, people
would often be moved to tears. She had the ability and the sincerity to
stir the emotions, move people to tears and fill their hearts with
praise and g ratitude to God for His grace and His inestimable bounties.
Fatimah migrated to Madinah a few weeks
after the Prophet did. She went with Zayd ibn Harithah who was sent by
the Prophet back to Makkah to bring the rest of his family. The party
included Fatimah and Umm Kulthum, Sawdah, the Prophet's wife, Zayd's
wife Barakah and her son Usamah. Travelling with the group also were
Abdullah the son of Abu Bakr who accompanied his mother and his sisters,
Aishah and Asma.
In Madinah, Fatimah lived with her
father in the simple dwelling he had built adjoining the mosque. In the
second year after the Hijrah, she received proposals of marriage through
her father, two of which were turned down. Then Ali, the son of Abu
Talib, plucked up courage and went to the Prophet to ask for her hand in
marriage. In the presence of the Prophet, however, Ali became over-awed
and tongue-tied. He stared at the ground and could not say anything. The
Prophet then asked: "Why have you come? Do you need something?" Ali
still could not speak and then the Prophet suggested: "Perhaps you have
come to propose marriage to Fatimah."
"Yes," replied Ali. At this, according
to one report, the Prophet said simply: "Marhaban wa ahlan - Welcome
into the family," and this was taken by Ali and a group of Ansar who
were waiting outside for him as indicating the Prophet's approval.
Another re port indicated that the Prophet approved and went on to ask
Ali if he had anything to give as mahr. Ali replied that he didn't. The
Prophet reminded him that he had a shield which could be sold.
Ali sold the shield to Uthman for four
hundred dirhams and as he was hurrying back to the Prophet to hand over
the sum as mahr, Uthman stopped him and said:
"I am returning your shield to you as a
present from me on your marriage to Fatimah." Fatimah and Ali were thus
married most probably at the beginning of the second year after the
Hijrah. She was about nineteen years old at the time and Ali was about
twen ty one. The Prophet himself performed the marriage ceremony. At the
walimah. the guests were served with dates, figs and hais ( a mixture of
dates and butter fat). A leading member of the Ansar donated a ram and
others made offerings of grain. All Madin ah rejoiced.
On her marriage. the Prophet is said to
have presented Fatimah and Ali with a wooden bed intertwined with palm
leaves, a velvet coverlet. a leather cushion filled with palm fibre, a
sheepskin, a pot, a waterskin and a quern for grinding grain.
Fatimah left the home of her beloved
father for the first time to begin life with her husband. The Prophet
was clearly anxious on her account and sent Barakah with her should she
be in need of any help. And no doubt Barakah was a source of comfort and
sol ace to her. The Prophet prayed for them:
"O Lord, bless them both, bless their
house and bless their offspring." In Ali's humble dwelling, there was
only a sheepskin for a bed. In the morning after the wedding night, the
Prophet went to Ali's house and knocked on the door.
Barakah came out and the Prophet said
to her: "O Umm Ayman, call my brother for me."
"Your brother? That's the one who
married your daughter?" asked Barakah somewhat incredulously as if to
say: Why should the Prophet call Ali his "brother"? (He referred to Ali
as his brother because just as pairs of Muslims were joined in
brotherhood aft er the Hijrah, so the Prophet and Ali were linked as
"brothers".)
The Prophet repeated what he had said
in a louder voice. Ali came and the Prophet made a du'a, invoking the
blessings of God on him. Then he asked for Fatimah. She came almost
cringing with a mixture of awe and shyness and the Prophet said to her:
"I have married you to the dearest of
my family to me." In this way, he sought to reassure her. She was not
starting life with a complete stranger but with one who had grown up in
the same household, who was among the first to become a Muslim at a
tender age, who was known for his courage, bravery and virtue, and whom
the Prophet described as his "brother in this world and the hereafter".
Fatimah's life with Ali was as simple
and frugal as it was in her father's household. In fact, so far as
material comforts were concerned, it was a life of hardship and
deprivation. Throughout their life together, Ali remained poor because
he did not set great store by material wealth. Fatimah was the only one
of her sisters who was not married to a wealthy man.
In fact, it could be said that
Fatimah's life with Ali was even more rigorous than life in her father's
home. At least before marriage, there were always a number of ready
helping hands in the Prophet's household. But now she had to cope
virtually on her own. To relieve theft extreme poverty, Ali worked as a
drawer and carrier of water and she as a grinder of corn. One day she
said to Ali: "I have ground until my hands are blistered."
"I have drawn water until I have pains
in my chest," said Ali and went on to suggest to Fatimah: "God has given
your father some captives of war, so go and ask him to give you a
servant."
Reluctantly, she went to the Prophet
who said: "What has brought you here, my little daughter?" "I came to
give you greetings of peace," she said, for in awe of him she could not
bring herself to ask what she had intended.
"What did you do?" asked Ali when she
returned alone.
"I was ashamed to ask him," she said.
So the two of them went together but the Prophet felt they were less in
need than others.
"I will not give to you," he said, "and
let the Ahl as-Suffah (poor Muslims who stayed in the mosque) be
tormented with hunger. I have not enough for their keep..."
Ali and Fatimah returned home feeling
somewhat dejected but that night, after they had gone to bed, they heard
the voice of the Prophet asking permission to enter. Welcoming him, they
both rose to their feet, but he told them:
"Stay where you are," and sat down
beside them. "Shall I not tell you of something better than that which
you asked of me?" he asked and when they said yes he said: "Words which
Jibril taught me, that you should say "Subhaan Allah- Glory be to God"
ten ti mes after every Prayer, and ten times "AI hamdu lillah - Praise
be to God," and ten times "Allahu Akbar - God is Great." And that when
you go to bed you should say them thirty-three times each."
Ali used to say in later years: "I have
never once failed to say them since the Messenger of God taught them to
us."
There are many reports of the hard and
difficult times which Fatimah had to face. Often there was no food in
her house. Once the Prophet was hungry. He went to one after another of
his wives' apartments but there was no food. He then went to Fatimah's
ho use and she had no food either. When he eventually got some food, he
sent two loaves and a piece of meat to Fatimah. At another time, he went
to the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and from the food he was given, he
saved some for her. Fatimah also knew tha t the Prophet was without food
for long periods and she in turn would take food to him when she could.
Once she took a piece of barley bread and he, said to her: "This is the
first food your father has eaten for three days."
Through these acts of kindness she
showed how much she loved her father; and he loved her, really loved her
in return.
Once he returned from a journey outside
Madinah. He went to the mosque first of all and prayed two rakats as was
his custom. Then, as he often did, he went to Fatimah's house before
going to his wives. Fatimah welcomed him and kissed his face, his mouth
and his eyes and cried.
"Why do you cry?" the Prophet asked.
"I see you, O Rasul Allah," she said,
"Your color is pale and sallow and your clothes have become worn and
shabby." ,P."O Fatimah," the Prophet replied tenderly, "don't cry for
Allah has sent your father with a mission which He would cause to affect
every house on the face of the earth whether it be in towns, villages or
tents (in the desert) bringing either glory or h umiliation until this
mission is fulfilled just as night (inevitably) comes."
With such comments Fatimah was often
taken from the harsh realities of daily life to get a glimpse of the
vast and far-reaching vistas opened up by the mission entrusted to her
noble father.
Fatimah eventually returned to live in
a house close to that of the Prophet. The place was donated by an Ansari
who knew that the Prophet would rejoice in having his daughter as his
neighbor. Together they shared in the joys and the triumphs, the sorrow
s and the hardships of the crowded and momentous Madinah days and years.
In the middle of the second year after
the Hijrah, her sister Ruqayyah fell ill with fever and measles. This
was shortly before the great campaign of Badr. Uthman, her husband,
stayed by her bedside and missed the campaign. Ruqayyah died just before
her father returned. On his return to Madinah, one of the first acts of
the Prophet was to visit her grave.
Fatimah went with him. This was the
first bereavement they had suffered within their closest family since
the death of Khadijah. Fatimah was greatly distressed by the loss of her
sister. The tears poured from her eyes as she sat beside her father at
the edge of the grave, and he comforted her and sought to dry her tears
with the corner of his cloak.
The Prophet had previously spoken
against lamentations for the dead, but this had lead to a
misunderstanding, and when they returned from the cemetery the voice of
Umar was heard raised in anger against the women who were weeping for
the martyrs of Badr a nd for Ruqayyah.
"Umar, let them weep," he said and then
added: "What comes from the heart and from the eye, that is from God and
His mercy, but what comes from the hand and from the tongue, that is
from Satan." By the hand he meant the beating of breasts and the smiting
of cheeks, and by the tongue he meant the loud clamor in which women
often joined as a mark of public sympathy.
Uthman later married the other daughter
of the Prophet, Umm Kulthum, and on this account came to be known as Dhu-n
Nurayn - Possessor of the Two Lights.
The bereavement which the family
suffered by the death of Ruqayyah was followed by happiness when to the
great joy of all the believers Fatimah gave birth to a boy in Ramadan of
the third year after the Hijrah. The Prophet spoke the words of the
Adhan int o the ear of the new-born babe and called him al-Hasan which
means the Beautiful One.
One year later, she gave birth to
another son who was called al-Husayn, which means "little Hasan" or the
little beautiful one. Fatimah would often bring her two sons to see
their grandfather who was exceedingly fond of them. Later he would take
them to t he Mosque and they would climb onto his back when he
prostrated. He did the same with his little granddaughter Umamah, the
daughter of Zaynab.
In the eighth year after the Hijrah,
Fatimah gave birth to a third child, a girl whom she named after her
eldest sister Zaynab who had died shortly before her birth. This Zaynab
was to grow up and become famous as the "Heroine of Karbala". Fatimah's
four th child was born in the year after the Hijrah. The child was also
a girl and Fatimah named her Umm Kulthum after her sister who had died
the year before after an illness.
It was only through Fatimah that the
progeny of the Prophet was perpetuated. All the Prophet's male children
had died in their infancy and the two children of Zaynab named Ali and
Umamah died young. Ruqayyah's child Abdullah also died when he was no t
yet two years old. This is an added reason for the reverence which is
accorded to Fatimah.
Although Fatimah was so often busy with
pregnancies and giving birth and rearing children, she took as much part
as she could in the affairs of the growing Muslim community of Madinah.
Before her marriage, she acted as a sort of hostess to the poor and d
estitute Ahl as-Suffah. As soon as the Battle of Uhud was over, she went
with other women to the battlefield and wept over the dead martyrs and
took time to dress her father's wounds. At the Battle of the Ditch, she
played a major supportive role together with other women in preparing
food during the long and difficult siege. In her camp, she led the
Muslim women in prayer and on that place there stands a mosque named
Masjid Fatimah, one of seven mosques where the Muslims stood guard and
performed their d evotions.
Fatimah also accompanied the Prophet
when he made Umrah in the sixth year after the Hijrah after the Treaty
of Hudaybiyyah. In the following year, she and her sister Umm Kulthum,
were among the mighty throng of Muslims who took part with the Prophet
in th e liberation of Makkah. It is said that on this occasion, both
Fatimah and Umm Kulthum visited the home of their mother Khadijah and
recalled memories of their childhood and memories of jihad, of long
struggles in the early years of the Prophet's mission .
In Ramadan of the tenth year just
before he went on his Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet confided to
Fatimah, as a secret not yet to be told to others:
"Jibril recited the Quran to me and I
to him once every year, but this year he has recited it with me twice. I
cannot but think that my time has come."
On his return from the Farewell
Pilgrimage, the Prophet did become seriously ill. His final days were
spent in the apartment of his wife Aishah. When Fatimah came to visit
him, Aishah would leave father and daughter together.
One day he summoned Fatimah. When she
came, he kissed her and whispered some words in her ear. She wept. Then
again he whispered in her ear and she smiled. Aishah saw and asked:
"You cry and you laugh at the same
time, Fatimah? What did the Messenger of God say to you?" Fatimah
replied:
"He first told me that he would meet
his Lord after a short while and so I cried. Then he said to me: 'Don't
cry for you will be the first of my household to join me.' So I
laughed."
Not long afterwards the noble Prophet
passed away. Fatimah was grief-striken and she would often be seen
weeping profusely. One of the companions noted that he did not see
Fatimah, may God be pleased with her, laugh after the death of her
father.
One morning, early in the month of
Ramadan, just less than five month after her noble father had passed
away, Fatimah woke up looking unusually happy and full of mirth. In the
afternoon of that day, it is said that she called Salma bint Umays who
was loo king after her. She asked for some water and had a bath. She
then put on new clothes and perfumed herself. She then asked Salma to
put her bed in the courtyard of the house. With her face looking to the
heavens above, she asked for her husband Ali.
He was taken aback when he saw her
lying in the middle of the courtyard and asked her what was wrong. She
smiled and said: "I have an appointment today with the Messenger of
God."
Ali cried and she tried to console him.
She told him to look after their sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn and advised
that she should be buried without ceremony. She gazed upwards again,
then closed her eyes and surrendered her soul to the Mighty Creator.
She, Fatimah the Resplendent One, was
just twenty nine years old. |