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Consensus Regarding Oppression : There are some people who say that there is a consensus of some sort that al-Zahra’ (A.S.) was oppressed, beaten and even caused to miscarry, but someone cast doubt about such a consensus and was not convinced by the summary provided by al-Shafi derived from the text of the sect’s Shaikh (mentor), namely al-Tusi, that there is no argument among the Shi`as that Fatima (A.S.) was subjected to beating and miscarriage. Nor was he convinced by many narratives which appear in the works of those who follow the path of Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) in addition of many details in non-Shi`a references as well. The narratives provided by the Shi`as who quote the Infallible ones, as well as others, regarding her being oppressed (A.S.) are numerous and diversified, so one can say that they are consecutively reported. We would like here to quote what Shaikh al-Tusi and `allama Kashifal-Ghita’ have said in this regard, then we will follow it by discussing what this individual has said about it; so, let us say the following:
1. The sect’s Shaikh, Imam Muhammed ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi, who died in 460 A.H., and who was a student of Shaikh al-Mufid and of al-Sharaf al-Radi, said: “... And what he was criticized for is their beating Fatima (A.S.) who is reported as having been beaten with whips. What is famous and what is the consensus among the Shi`as is that `Omer (ibn al-Khattab) hit her on her stomach till she miscarried, and the child whom she miscarried was named Muhassan. Such a narrative is quite famous among them. Add to this their desire to set her house to fire when people sought refuge with her and refused to swear the oath of allegiance to him (to Abu Bakr). Nobody denies this narrative because we have explained the narrative as reported by the Sunnis through al-Balathiri and others. Shi`as provide more details, and they do not differ in this regard.”[1]
2. Here is a statement by `allama Shaikh Muhammed Husain KASHIFAL-GHITA’:
Numerous accounts in the books of the Shi`as, since the inception of Islam, from the first century, such as the book by SALIM ibn Qais and of those who succeeded him till the eleventh century and beyond, actually till our time, state so. It is recorded in all Shi`a books which dealt with what the Imams and their father, the great aya, and their truthful mother, peace of Allah be upon all of them, had to go through. Those who documented their biographies and wrote about them have all agreed with one another, or their researches agreed with each other, regarding the trials and tribulations that divinely purified part of the Prophet (A.S.) had to undergo after the demise of her father, the Chosen One (A.S.), how the oppressors slapped her on her face, hit her cheek till her eyes became red and her ear-ring scattered on the ground in bits and pieces, and how she was squeezed with the door till her rib was broken and she miscarried till in the end she died and her wrist carried a black mark like a bracelet. Poets who follow Ahl al-Bayt, peace of Allah be upon them, dealt with this issue and with these shameful acts, using them as the material for their poems and eulogies, taking these details as agreed upon. Among them are: al-Kumait, Sayyid al-Himyari, Du`bal al-Khuza`i, al-Numayri, al-Salimi, Deek al-Jinn and those who came after them as well as those who preceded them till this century...[2]
3. Al-Maqdisi has said, “... then Muhassan was born, and he is the one, the Shi`as claim, whom she miscarried because of `Omer beating her.”[3]
4. The Mu`tazilite Shafi`i scholar has attributed the incident of her being beaten, and which caused her to miscarry, to the Shi`as and that only the Shi`as make such a claim.[4]
5. `Allama al-Muzaffar says, “Suffices the truth of the intention of the deliberate burning the mass of its narration by their scholars; nay, the narration of even one of them of it, especially since the Shi`as report it consecutively.”[5] Al-Maqdisi and the Mu`tazilite Shafi`i scholars, then, attribute the oppression (suffered by Fatima [a]) to a sect from among the Shi`as, not to their masses, or to those famous from among the followers of this sect. This points to the consensus to which al-Tusi and KASHIFAL-GHITA’, may Allah have mercy on them, point out. Having stated all the above, I would like to say that someone tried to cast doubt about the said consensus based on three issues:
FIRST: That Shaikh al-Mufid does not endorse it. Rather, he says in his book titled Al-Irshad what contradicts this consensus.
SECOND: That Shaikh Muhammed Husain KASHIFAL-GHITA’ did not endorse its gist.
THIRD: That Sayyid Sharafud-Din also did not uphold its meaning.
On the following pages of this Part, and in the one that follows it, we will quote their statements and discuss them with the intention to be brief and restrictive; so, let us say the following: |