Fadak fi l-tarikh (book)

Fadak fi l-tarikh (book)

Author	al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr
Original title	فدك في التاريخ
Language	Arabic
Series	1 Vol.
Subject	Fadak
Genre	History
Published	1415/1994-5
Publisher	Al-Ghadir Center for Islamic Studies

Fadak fī l-tārīkh (Arabic: فَدَک فی التاریخ) is a book in Arabic written by al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (b. 1353/1935 - d. 1400/1980). In this work, he deals with the historical issue of Fadak and compiles its discussions in five chapters. In these chapters, the author has explained the life of lady Fatima al-Zahra' (a) after the demise of the Prophet (s), parts of her speech and her conversations with the First Caliph about the heritage of the prophets (a), and also the geo-political history of Fadak and its material and spiritual values.

The Author

Main article: Al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr

Al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (b. 1353/1935 - d. 1400/1980) was a Shi'a authority, intellectual and political activist in Iraq. He acquired religious sciences before Ayatollah al-Khoei and some scholars in Najaf and finished his education before the age of twenty and began teaching religious sciences in the seminary of Najaf. The books Falsafatu-na, Iqtisadu-na, Durus fi ilm al-usul (known as Halaqat) are among his most important works.

An Analytical and Unbiased Book

Fadak fi l-tarikh is an analytical book. Its author tried to write it in an unbiased manner so that sectarian inclinations would not influence him. To al-Sadr, the author of the book, the story of Fadak was not a dispute over the ownership of Fadak, but it was an entirely political issue. Therefore, in this book, he dealt with the political aspects of this event.

Manner of Writing

In the book's introduction, the author introduces this book as a product of the opportunity he found in one of the holidays of the seminary of Najaf. He says that he took the best use of this opportunity to dedicate it to one of the major issues in the history of Islam, which was about Fadak and a dispute between Lady Fatima (a) and the First Caliph. Al-Sayyid al-Sadr explained that he achieved certain ideas, developed some thoughts and wrote some notes so that he could one day study the documents about Fadak and, discuss its situation and conditions and use them as a basis for complete research on this topic. Therefore, he compiled some chapters which formed a treatise. Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr intended to keep it with himself as a note for one day when it would be needed until one of his friends proposed that he publish it..

Chapters of the Book

The book is compiled in five chapters:

1. Upon the scene of the uprising: In this chapter, al-Sayyid al-Sadr considered the movement of Lady Fatima (a) after the demise of the Prophet (s), a great uprising recorded with all its vastness in the history. He then explains about different scenes of this uprising.
2. The true and hidden meanings of Fadak: This chapter includes geographical features of Fadak and its political history and speaks about handing it over between caliphs and the descendants of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
3. Political contest of caliphs with Imam Ali (a): In this chapter, the author explains the political contest of caliphs with Imam Ali (a) and their roles in providing the ground for the caliphate of Umayyads.
4. Parts of the speech of Lady Fatima (a): Analysis of some parts of Lady Fatima's (a) speech
5. Final assessment of the story: Lady Fatima's (a) giving reference from the Qur'an to defend wilaya.

Translation and Publication

The first publication of this book was based on the research of Abd al-Jabbar Sharara in 1415 AH / 1994-95 CE by Markaz al-Ghadir Li-Dirasat al-Islamiyya (al-Ghadir Center for Islamic Studies).