Burial Place of Lady Fatima (a): Difference between revisions

Lady Fatima (a) was laid to rest in an unknown location. Speculations about her burial place include her own house, Rawdat al-Nabi, al-Baqiʿ, and ʿAqil's house (the mausoleum of al-Baqiʿ Imams). The prevailing view among Shiite scholars is that she was buried in her own house, although al-Shaykh al-Tusi notes that most Shiite scholars consider her burial in Rawdat al-Nabi to be the more likely possibility. According to ʿAllama al-Majlisi, Shias believe that Rawda encompasses Fatima's house as well, leading some researchers to conclude that the Rawda theory supports the house theory.

Sayyid Jaʿfar Murtada al-Ameli, a contemporary researcher of history, believes that determining the exact location of Lady Fatima's grave is impossible. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi and Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi hold the belief that it is best to visit Lady Fatima (a) in all three potential locations: Rawdat al-Nabi, her house, and al-Baqiʿ.

Shias believe that Lady Fatima's burial site is unknown due to her body being secretly buried according to her own will. They hold that Fatima (a) specifically instructed for a clandestine burial, as she believed that the caliphate was illegitimately taken away from Imam ʿAli (a), Fadak was unlawfully confiscated from her, and Muslims did not provide her with aid.

Most Sunni scholars hold the view that Lady Fatima's grave is situated in the mausoleum of Shiite Imams within the al-Baqiʿ cemetery. Some Shiite scholars argue that this belief stems from a desire to alleviate the pressure exerted by Shias regarding the secrecy of Fatima's burial site.

There are works written about the burial place of Lady Fatima (a), such as Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisaʾ Fatimat al-Shahidat al-Zahra (a) fi ayy makan? (Where is the mausoleum of the Mistress of All Ladies the martyr Fatima al-Zahra?) and “Ayn qabr Fatima?” (Where is Fatima’s grave?).

Shiite theological works discuss the issue of Lady Fatima's (a) burial place, which is often cited by Shiite theologians to rebuke the first caliph, Abu Bakr. According to Shia belief, Lady Fatima's (a) burial place remains unknown because of her dissatisfaction with Abu Bakr and ʿUmar for their usurpation of the caliphate and confiscation of Fadak. In fact, Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Jalali (d. 1399 Sh) suggests that Lady Fatima (a) willed to be buried secretly to ensure that those responsible for her martyrdom would never be forgotten throughout history.

Shiite scholars have put forth speculations about the burial place of Lady Fatima (a). The majority view among Shiite scholars is that she was laid to rest in her own house, although al-Shaykh al-Tusi notes that most Shiite scholars take the place of her burial to be in Rawdat al-Nabi. Other possibilities have also been propounded in Shiite sources, such as al-Baqiʿ cemetery and ʿAqil’s house (the mausoleum of the Imams buried in al-Baqiʿ).

Sayyid Jaʿfar Murtada al-Ameli, a Shiite researcher of history, believes that determining the exact location of Lady Fatima’s burial place is impossible. According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi and Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi, it is best to visit Lady Fatima (a) in all three potential locations: Rawdat al-Nabi, her house, and al-Baqiʿ. In his Misbah al-zaʾir, Sayyid b. Tawus believes that the pilgrimage place of Lady Fatima (a) is Rawdat al-Nabi, but in his al-Iqbal, he says that it is the Prophet’s chamber.

The majority view among Shiite scholars is that Fatima (a) was buried in her residence. This possibility is preferred by al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Ibn Idris al-Hilli, Ibn Tawus, ʿAllama al-Majlisi, and Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin. In support of this view, they cite a hadith from Imam al-Rida (a) according to which Lady Fatima (a) was buried in her own house, and when the Umayyad dynasty expanded Masjid al-Nabi, her house was incorporated within the mosque.

Some Shiite scholars believe that the hadith in which Imam ʿAli (a) refers to Fatima (a) as being “buried adjacent to the Prophet (s)” corroborates the view that she was buried in her own house, since the closest place to the burial site of the Prophet was her residence.

Some Shiite researchers argue that it is unlikely for Fatima to be buried in her own house as this contradicts the hadiths which state that Imam Ali (a) carried her body outside of the house during her funeral. However, some speculate that either the funeral did not involve the body or was intentionally misleading as to the location of her burial. Another Shiite researcher suggests that the funeral procession started from another house belonging to ʿAli and Fatima, located in close proximity to al-Baqi', and proceeded towards the other residence of ʿAli and Fatima. According to this viewpoint, the events following the death of the Prophet (s), such as the attack on Fatima's house, occurred in the house situated near al-Baqi'.

In his al-Muqnaʿa, al-Shaykh al-Mufid supports Fatima’s burial in Rawdat al-Nabi as the most accurate possibility. The Shiite scholar of hadith al-Shaykh al-Tusi claims that most Shiite scholars believe that Fatima (a) was buried in Rawda. The area known as Rawdat al-Nabi lies between the Prophet's minbar and his burial place within Masjid al-Nabi, which is referred to by the Prophet (s) as a "rawda" (garden or a green area) among the "rawdas" of the heaven. According to a hadith cited in Maʿani l-akhbar, this designation is due to Fatima's burial at the site.

Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi, a sixth-century AH exegete of the Quran and theologian, and Ibn Shahrashub, a sixth-century AH Quranic exegete and scholar of hadith, believe that the two most probable speculations about Fatima’s burial place are her own house and Rawda. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi suggests that the two possibilities are close to each other. ʿAllama al-Majlisi proposes a reconciliation between the two views, as most Shias hold the belief that Rawda encompasses Fatima’s house as well. For this reason, some researchers say that the Rawda view confirms the house view.

==Al-Baqiʿ Cemetery==

According to Bahaʾ al-Din al-Irbili, a seventh-century AH Shiite historian, people and historiographers widely believe that Fatima was buried in al-Baqiʿ. He cites a hadith that confirms this possibility. However, he does not specify an exact location in the al-Baqiʿ cemetery for her resting place.

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi and Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi dismiss this possibility as unlikely. This is supported by a hadith in al-Kafi, which implies that Fatima (a) was not buried in al-Baqiʿ. On this hadith, Imam al-Hasan (a) made a will to Imam al-Husayn (a) as follows: “after my martyrdom, take me to the mausoleum of the Prophet (s) so that I renew my allegiance to him. Then take me to my mother’s grave, and from there take me to al-Baqiʿ.”

==ʿAqil’s House (Mausoleum of the Imams in al-Baqiʿ)==

ʿAllama al-Majlisi quotes a hadith from Misbah al-anwar to the effect that Fatima (a) was laid to rest in the house of ʿAqil b. Abi Talib. This house was located in close proximity to the al-Baqiʿ cemetery. Over time, as ʿAbbas b. ʿAbd al-Muttalib and four Shiite Imams (a) were buried there, the house transformed from a private residence to a public place of pilgrimage. The house was incorporated into al-Baqiʿ when it was expanded.

In a travelogue from the years 1302-1303 AH, Muhammad Husayn Farahani, a Qajar-era author and poet, reports about a grave in the mausoleum of the Imams in al-Baqiʿa, which was attributed to Lady Fatima (a). On his report,  both Shiite and Sunni Muslims visited the place to recite a pilgrimage text (ziyara).

The majority view among Sunni scholars is that the grave of Lady Fatima (a) is located in the mausoleum of Shiite Imams in al-Baqiʿ. They try to support the view by citing Imam al-Hasan’s will to be buried alongside his mother Fatima (a). In contrast, Shias cite a hadith to show that the person called “Fatima” who is buried in al-Baqiʿ is in fact Fatima bt. Al-Asad, Imam ʿAli’s mother. Mohamamd Sadegh Najmi, a Shiite scholar, believes that Sunni authors have tried to propagate the idea that Fatima (a) was buried within the mausoleum of Shiite Imams in al-Baqiʿ to alleviate the pressure from Shias concerning the secrecy of Fatima’s grave.

Sunni sources propound other possibilities about the burial site of Lady Fatima (a) as well, including her own house, Rawdat al-Nabi, the external part of the house of ʿAqil b. Abi Talib, and Bayt al-Ahzan.

The Shiite scholars believe that Fatima's grave remained concealed due to her own will for a secret burial. As per the Shiite sources, Fatima requested to be buried in secrecy because she believed that the caliphate was illegitimately taken away from Imam ʿAli (a), Fadak was unlawfully seized from her, and Muslims failed to provide her with assistance. Al-Shaykh al-Mufid has noted in his book Dalaʾil al-imama that Fatima (a) had requested for her burial place to remain clandestine.

Imam ʿAli buried Fatima (a) secretly under the veil of night and then obliterated any evidence of her grave. He went on to construct either forty or seven counterfeit graves to ensure that her actual burial place could not be identified. According to certain Shiite sources, it is said that ʿUmar b. al-Khattab planned to exhume the graves and conduct a funeral prayer for Fatima's body. However, upon Imam ʿAli’s warnings, he changed his mind.

ʿAli b. ʿAbd Allah al-Samhudi, a Sunni historiographer (d. 911 AH), maintains that a reason why Lady Fatima’s burial site remains unknown is that in the early Islamic period, graves were not often solidified by plaster and bricks. However, this is criticized because the graves of many companions and relatives of the Prophet (a) are known.

Other works published on the same topic include Qabr-i madaram kujast? Dar justujuyi mazar-i bi-nishan-i madaram Zahra (Where is my mother’s grave? In pursuit of the traceless mausoleum of my mother Zahra) by M. Umm al-Muhsin, and Raz-i sadaf: qabr-i makhfi-yi hadrat-i Fatima (a) az manzar-i siyasi wa ʿirfani (The secret of the shell: the concealed grave of Lady Fatima (a) from a political and mystical perspective) by Mehrdad Veis-Karami.