Incident of the attack on the house of Lady Fatima (a): Difference between revisions

On the anniversary of the martyrdom of Lady Fatima al-Zahra (a), which is called Fatimiyya Days, Shiites mourn the martyrdom of Lady Fatima (a).

In a narration reported by Shiites and Sunnis, it is stated that the Prophet (a) introduced the house of Fatima (a) and Ali (a) as the best example of houses mentioned in verse 36 of sura al-Noor.

In Shiite and Sunni sources, the occasions of revelation of some verses from the Qur’an are considered related to the households of Lady Fatima’s (a) house (including Imam Ali (a), Lady Fatima al-Zahra (a), Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a)), including the verse “It’am” and the verse “Tathir”. In the interpretation of the verse “And bid your family to prayer…” (20:132), it is narrated from Abu Sa’id Khidri that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet (a) used to go to the house of Fatima (a) every day for eight months, call the households to prayer and then recite the verse of “Tathir”.  

According to Sayyid Muhsin Amin in A’yan al-Shi’a, the Prophet (a) built a house for Imam Ali (a) next to the Prophet’s (a) Mosque and beside the houses of his wives. Imam Ali (a) rented another house after marrying Lady Fatima (a) and they (a) lived in it for a while. After a while, they (a) returned to the house next to the mosque and their children were born there. Ali b. Ahmad Samhudi, a Sunni scholar (d. 911 AH), considered the location of Lady Fatima’s (a) house next to the pillar of “Murabba’at al-Qabr” in the Prophet’s (a) Mosque, which is also called “the station of Gabriel”.

According to Ya’qubi, a historian of the third century AH, some famous companions such as Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Fadl b. ‘Abbas, Salman Farsi, Abu Dharr Ghifari, ‘Ammar Yasir, and Bura’ b. ‘Uzayb refused to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr during the Saqifa incident. Sayyid Morteza ‘Askari, a historian of the 15th century AH, quoting from the sources of the life conduct of the Prophet (a), history and hadiths, said that those who did not pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr sat with Imam Ali (a) in the house of Lady Fatima (a). Tabari also named Talha and Zubayr among sit-ins.

After swearing allegiance to him, Abu Bakr turned to some of the companions who had not pledged allegiance to him. According to the book al-Imama wa al-siyasa attributed to Ibn Qutayba, he sent ‘Umar and Qunfudh to Fatima’s (a) house four times to call Ali (a) and those who were in the house for allegiance. According to this report, in the first time, the men who were in the house came out after threatening ‘Umar and pledged allegiance, except for Imam Ali (a) who said that he (a) had sworn not to leave the house until he (a) had completed collection of the Qur’an. Abu Bakr sent Qunfudh to Fatima’s (a) house for the second and third times, but he also received a negative answer. In the fourth time, ‘Umar went to Fatima’s (a) house with some people and took Ali (a) out of the house and took him to Abu Bakr. According to Mohammad Hadi Yousefi Gharavi, a researcher in the history of Islam and Shiism, Abu Bakr sent people to the house of Imam Ali (a) three times and asked for allegiance. In the first and second times, Imam (a) turned down their request, and in the third time, the caliph and his followers took action.

According to Shaykh Mufid, Imam Ali (a) did not pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr on the day of Saqifa, but there are various reports about whether he (a) pledged allegiance later or not, including that he (a) pledged allegiance after forty days or six months or after the martyrdom of Lady Fatima (a). Shaykh Mufid himself believed that Ali (a) never pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr. According to a report, when Ali (a) was threatened that if he (a) did not pledge allegiance, he (a) would be beheaded, Abbas, the Prophet’s (a) uncle, took Ali’s (a) hand and rubbed on the hand of Abu Bakr in order to save Ali’s (a) life, and thus they let Ali (a) go; but according to the report of al-Imama wa al-siyasa, Abu Bakr said that he would not force Ali (a) to swear allegiance as long as Fatima (a) was with him.  

After Abu Bakr’s messengers first went to Fatima’s (a) house to take Ali (a) and his companions. Fatima (a) went to the door and said: “I do not know of any people whose presence is worse than yours. You left the body of God’s Messenger (a) with us and made your decision [about the caliphate] and did not ask our opinion and did not give us our rights.”

In Tafsir of ‘Ayashi, it is also stated that when Ali (a) was taken out of the house, Fatima (a) went to Abu Bakr and said that “if you do not leave Ali (a), I will go to the grave of the Prophet (a) and I will complain to God with disheveled hair.” Imam Ali (a) sent Salman to Fatima (a) to stop her from doing so. Fatima (a) returned home when she (a) heard Ali’s (a) message.

‘Umar b. Khattab went to Fatima’s (a) house by the order of Abu Bakr to take Ali (a) and his companions for allegiance. When he was confronted by refusal of the people of the house, he ordered firewood to be collected and threatened to set the house on fire with the people in it. ‘Umar’s threat of setting fire to the house has been reported in some Sunni sources such as al-‘Aqd al-farid, Tarikh Tabari, Ansab al-ashraf, al-Musannif, and al-Imamah wa al-siyasa. According to Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih, a writer and historian of the third and fourth centuries AH, Abu Bakr told ‘Umar that if the people of the house refused to come out, fight them. ‘Umar, holding a fire torch, threatened to burn the house if the people of the house would not pledge allegiance. According to al-Imamah wa al-siyasa, when ‘Umar made such a threat, he was told that Fatima (a) was in this house. ‘Umar replied: “Even though she (a) is at home.”

Sayyid Ja’far Shahidi believes that ‘Umar’s threat to burn down Fatima’s (a) house, quoted in Ansab al-ashraf and al-‘Aqd al-farid among Sunni sources, could not be fabricated by Shiite sympathizers or their friends’ political factions because Shiites had no power in the first centuries AH and were a minority. Moreover, the report is recorded in western Islamic sources where Shiites were not present. Shahidi believes that those present in Saqifa were more concerned with the government than with religion.

In some early Shiite sources, it is narrated that in the incident of attacking Fatima’s (a) house, they set fire to the door of the house and Fatima (a) was injured and her unborn child was aborted. In the book of Sulaym b. Qeys, it is said that ‘Umar b. Khattab carried out his threat, set fire to the door of Fatima’s (a) house, entered the house and when he faced the resistance of Fatima (a), he struck her side of abdomen with a sword sheath. It is also mentioned in the book of Ithbat al-wasiyya attributed to Ali b. Husayn Mas’udi, a historian of the fourth century AH: “They stormed the house and set fire to its door, and forced Ali (a) out and pressed the Master of All Women (a) behind the door, so that Muhsin (a) was aborted.” In the report of Dala’il al-Imama, it is mentioned that ‘Umar ordered Qunfudh to beat Fatima (a).

‘Ayashi, a Shiite narrator in the Minor Occultation period, also said that ‘Umar kicked at the door of the house, which was made of palm branches, broke it and entered the house and took Ali (a) out with his shoulders tied.

Mohammad Hadi Yousefi Gharavi, a researcher in the history of Islam and Shiism, based on some evidences, believes that the time of the attack on Lady Fatima’s (a) house was not immediately after the incident of Saqifa and allegiance to Abu Bakr, but about fifty days or more after the demise of the Prophet (a). The first evidence is that a person named Burayda b. Husayb Aslami, who had gone to Muta with Usama’s army, after returning to Medina and learning about the Saqifa incident, along with some members of his tribe, supported Imam Ali (a) and said that “if Ali (a) does not pledge allegiance, we will not pledge allegiance either.” It was after this incident that the caliph and his entourage thought of taking Imam Ali’s (a) allegiance. According to Yousefi Gharavi, considering the time of the army’s return and the events before and after it, the incident of the invasion occurred about fifty days after the demise of the Prophet (a). Another evidence is that after the usurpation of Fadak, which occurred ten days after the demise of the Prophet (a), Fatima (a) went to the mosque and recited a sermon which became known as the sermon of Fadak. Yousefi Gharavi, from the descriptions of how Fatima (a) walked on the way to the mosque (including that her walk was no different from the walk of the Prophet (a)) concluded that the attack did not take place before the time of Fatima’s (a) sermon, because with the injuries she (a) had received from the attack, Fatima (a) could not walk like that. The third evidence is that after the incident of Saqifa and the confiscation of Fadak, Imam Ali (a), along with Fatima (a) and Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a), went to the house of the Emigrants and the Helpers at night to ask them for help to take their rights. If the attack had taken place before this date, Fatima (a) would not have been able to accompany them with the injuries she (a) had received.