A011 - Fatimah bint Muhammad

Fatima

Fatima (Fatimah bint Muhammad) (c.605-c.633). Daughter of Muhammad by his first wife, Khadija, and the only child of Muhammad to bear offspring.  Fatima was also the wife of the fourth caliph, 'Ali.   Little is known of her life, most sources reflecting later tendential biases.  She was the mother of two sons, Hasan and Husayn, born about five years after the hijra and two daughters.  According to Shi‘a traditions, a third son, Muhassin, died as a child.

As the only child of Muhammad to have offspring, Fatima is considered to be the ancestral mother of the imams of Shi‘a Muslims, as well as being the ancestral mother of all claiming to be descended from Muhammad.

Little is reported from Fatima’s life, but she appears to have had bad health all through her life.  Her relationship with Muhammad’s wife A’isha was one filled with hostility.  When Abu Bakr became the first caliph, Fatima’s relations with him also became difficult, probably because Fatima had expected her husband ('Ali) to take over after Muhammad, and because Abu Bakr denied her the inheritance of the oasis of Fadak from her father.

Most of the other Shi‘a stories concerning Fatima are strongly religious.  She is mentioned as having accompanied her father on only two expeditions, the one to take Mecca in year eight and the Farewell Pilgrimage in year ten.  But she lived only a year after her father’s death.

While Sunni hadith collections mention Fatima only rarely, the Shi‘a regard her as a paradigm for womanhood, a devoted daughter and a perfect wife.   Indeed, some call Fatima “the virgin” and “the mother of the two Jesuses”, reflecting an important influence from Christianity.

The Fatimids take their name from Fatima.  Later Sunni literature reflects this same hagiographic tendency and becomes increasingly sympathetic to her.  Today it is customary to add to her name the honorific title “the Shining One.”  In Shi'a Islam, Fatima’s birthday and her marriage are two dates that are celebrated. 

Fatimah see Fatima

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