Fatimah was the fifth child of Muhammad 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.
This was the time, before the Bithah, when her eldest
sister Zaynab was married to her cousin, al-Aas ibn ar Rabiah. Then followed
the marriage of her two other sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, to the sons
of Abu Lahab, a paternal uncle of the Prophet. Both Abu Lahab and his wife
Umm Jamil turned out to be flaming enemies of the Prophet from the very
beginning of his public mission.
The little Fatimah thus saw her sisters leave home one
after the other to live with their husbands. She was too young to understand
the meaning of marriage and the reasons why her sisters had to leave home.
She loved them dearly and was sad and lonely when they left. It is said that
a certain silence and painful sadness came over her then.
Of course, even after the marriage of her sisters, she 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, gathered 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 thugs 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
imprecation 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 and 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 daughters 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 their
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 with 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 Quraysh 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 Uthman 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.
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 seek 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 had 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 tenderness, 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 angers 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 only 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
stand 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 craving 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 gratitude 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 report 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 twenty 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 Madinah
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 solace 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 after 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 their
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 times 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 house 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
that 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." "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 humiliation 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 sorrows 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 and 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 into 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 the 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 fourth 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 not 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 destitute 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 devotions.
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 the 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 looking 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.
Sheikh Abdulfattah Abu-Abdullah Adelabu (Ph. D. Damas),
a West African Islamic Academic founded AWQAF Africa, of
which he's the first al Amir (i.e. President).
Sheikh Dr. Adelabu was studying Postgraduate Degrees in
Damascus early 1990's during when Syria reviewed its
national security after an ‘Oslo Accord'...
Syria like many other countries around the world
witnessed, during this period, the flood of refugees
from war troubled nations like Somalia, arrival of
people from Algeria during the brutal struggling between
the Mujahidun and the government, resettlement of the
Palestinians fleeing from sophisticated guns of the
Israelis as well as adventure of African migrants for
reasons uncountable…