Hadith al-Bad'a

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Hadith al-Bad'a
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A calligraphic piece of Hadith al-Bad'a, by Ghulamhusayn Amirkhani
SubjectVirtues of Lady Fatima (a)
Issued byProphet Muhammad (s)
Main narratorImam Ali (a) • Ibn 'Abbas • Abu Dharr al-Ghifari
Shi'a sourcesAl-Amali (by al-Saduq) • Al-Khisal • Kifayat al-athar
Sunni sourcesSahih al-Bukhari


Ḥadīth al-Baḍʿa (Arabic: حديث البَضْعَة) is a prophetic hadith about Lady Fatima (a) in which the Prophet (s) describes her as “part of him,” her anger and delight being his. The hadith is cited in Shiite and Sunni sources. Hadith al-Badʿa is cited as evidence for the infallibility of Lady Fatima (a), her rightfulness in the story of Fadak, and the necessity of honoring and respecting Ahl al-Bayt (a).

According to some reports in Sunni sources, the hadith was issued by the Prophet (s) during Imam 'Ali’s proposal to Abu Jahl’s daughter. Shiite scholars believe, however, that those reports are fake, and their transmitters are accused of fabricating hadiths and showing hostility toward Ahl al-Bayt (a).

The Text and Place

In Hadith al-Bad'a, the Prophet (s) is quoted as saying about his daughter Lady Fatima (a): “Fatima is part of me; whoever hurts her has hurt me and whoever delights her has delighted me.”[1] The same content appears in various Shiite and Sunni sources.[2] The hadith was transmitted by Imam 'Ali (a),[3] Ibn 'Abbas,[4] Abu Dharr al-Ghifari,[5] and Lady Fatima (a) herself.[6]

Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, a Sunni exegete of the Quran, believes that there is an agreement between Shias and Sunnis about the authenticity of the hadith.[7] Fakhr al-Razi, another Sunni exegete of the Quran, cites the hadith in his interpretations of certain Quranic verses.[8]

“Bad'a” or “bid'a” means part of the body.[9] Thus, when it is said that “such and such a person is bad'a minni [part of my body]” it implies the intimacy or closeness of that person to the speaker as if he or she is part of his body.[10] The phrase “bad'a minni” appears in the words of the Prophet (s) about Imam 'Ali (a)[11] and Imam al-Rida (a) as well.[12]

Theological and Jurisprudential Applications

Hadith al-Bad'a is cited as evidence for certain theological theories:

  • Infallibility of Lady Fatima (a): theologians have cited this hadith as evidence for the infallibility of Lady Fatima (a).[13] According to Ayatollah Subhani, a Shiite scholar (b. 1308 Sh/1929), these hadiths say that Fatima’s delight and anger are criteria for the delight and anger of God and His Apostle. Since God is not delighted except by righteous deeds and is never satisfied by sins and disobedience, then if Lady Fatima (a) committed a sin, she would then be delighted by what angered God, while Hadith al-Badʿa ties God’s delight with her delight.[14]
  • Lady Fatima’s superiority over all women of the world: Shahab al-Din al-Alusi, a Sunni exegete of the Quran (d. 1270/1853-4), cites this hadith in his interpretation of the Quranic verse “And when the angels said, ‘O Mary, Allah has chosen you and purified you, and He has chosen you above the world’s women”[15] to show that Lady Fatima (a) was superior to all women, including Mary (a).[16]

Moreover, the hadith has been cited to show the necessity of honoring Ahl al-Bayt (a),[19] rejection of the testimony of a child for his or her father and vice versa,[20] prohibition of marriage with one’s mother or daughter,[21] necessity of honoring one’s parents,[22] and permissibility of graves being visited by women.[23]

Use of Hadith al-Bad'a against Imam 'Ali (a)

On some accounts, Hadith al-Badʿa was issued in the story of Imam 'Ali’s proposal to Abu Jahl’s daughter. According to Ibn al-Hanbal (d. 241/855-6), 'Abd Allah b. Zubayr said that 'Ali (a) expressed his interest in marriage with Abu Jahl’s daughter, but when the Prophet (s) heard about this, he said: “Verily, Fatima is part of me; whoever hurts her has hurt me.”[24]

Al-Sayyid al-Murtada, a prominent Shiite theologian (d. 436/1044), believes that such reports are fake.[25] According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), the story was fabricated.[26] Abu Hurayra, a transmitter of this hadith, is accused of fabricating hadiths.[27] Furthermore, Husayn al-Karabisi and Miswar b. Makhrama al-Zuhari, other transmitters of the hadith, are described as unreliable transmitters, whose hadiths have been rejected.[28] Al-Sayyid al-Murtada believes that al-Karabisi was a Nasibi who showed hostility toward Ahl al-Bayt (a).[29] In his view, if the story were authentic, Imam 'Ali’s enemies, including Banu Umayya and their supporters, would use it to damage his reputation.[30]

Ja'far Murtada al-'Amili (d. 1441/2019), a researcher of Islamic history, believes that reports about Imam 'Ali’s proposal to Abu Jahl’s daughter are contradictory. In addition, he presents thirteen arguments against the authenticity of the story.[31]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 165.
  2. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Iʿtiqādāt, p. 105; Mufīd, Kitāb al-amālī, p. 260; Ibn Maghāzīlī, Manāqib ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, p. 289; Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 24; Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 4, p. 210, 219.
  3. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Khiṣāl, p. 573; Fattāl al-Nayshābūrī, Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn, p. 149.
  4. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 175, 575.
  5. ↑ Khazzāz al-Qummī, Kifāyat al-athar, p. 37.
  6. ↑ Khazzāz al-Qummī, Kifāyat al-athar, p. 64; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 36, p, 308.
  7. ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Thughūr al-bāsima, p. 67.
  8. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 9, p. 160, under the Qur'an 7:189; vol. 30, p.126, under the 43:15 and under the Qur'an 7-:19.
  9. ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, vol. 8, p. 12; Ibn Athīr, al-Nihāya fī gharīb al-ḥadīth, vol. 1, p. 133.
  10. ↑ Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān, p.129.
  11. ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 261.
  12. ↑ Fattāl al-Nayshābūrī, Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn, p. 233; Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 583, 588.
  13. ↑ Sayyid Murtaḍā. al-Shāfī fī al-imāma, vol. 4, p. 95; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 16, p. 273; ʿĪjī, al-Mawāqif fī ʿilm al-kalām, vol. 3, p. 597.
  14. ↑ Subḥānī, Pazhūhishī dar shinākht wa ʾiṣmat-i Imām, p. 27.
  15. ↑ Qur'an 3:42.
  16. ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 3, p.155.
  17. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 16, p. 278; ʿĪjī, al-Mawāqif fī ʿilm al-kalām, vol. 3, p. 597, 607.
  18. ↑ Khazzāz al-Qummī, Kifāyat al-athar, p. 65.
  19. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 27, p. 166.
  20. ↑ Ibn ʿArabī, Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 638; Ibn Qadāma, al-Mughnī, vol. 12, p. 66.
  21. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 10, p. 26.
  22. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 20, p. 185.
  23. ↑ Shahīd al-Awwal, al-Dhikrā al-Shīa, vol. 2, p. 63.
  24. ↑ Ibn Ḥanbal, al-Musnad, vol. 4, p. 5.
  25. ↑ Sayyid Murtaḍā, Tanzīh al-anbīyā, p. 167.
  26. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 165.
  27. ↑ Tustarī, Qāmūs al-rijāl, vol. 9, p. 111.
  28. ↑ Faḍlī, Uṣūl al-ḥadīth, p. 139.
  29. ↑ Sayyid Murtaḍā, Tanzīh al-anbīyā, p. 167-168.
  30. ↑ Sayyid Murtaḍā, Tanzīh al-anbīyā, p. 169.
  31. ↑ ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat Imām ʿAlī (a), vol. 3, p. 61-74.

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