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

The Shiite scholars believe that [[Lady Fatimah al-Zahra' (a)|Fatima's]] grave remained concealed due to her own will for a secret burial.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Tāj al-mawālīd'', p. 80; Nājī Jazāʾirī, ''Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisāʾ'', p. 16.</ref> As per the Shiite sources, Fatima requested to be buried in secrecy because she believed that the [[caliphate]] was illegitimately taken away from [[Imam Ali b. Abi Talib (a)|Imam 'Ali (a)]], [[Fadak]] was unlawfully seized from her, and Muslims failed to provide her with assistance. [[Al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] has noted in his book ''Dala'il al-imama'' that Fatima (a) had requested for her burial place to remain clandestine.<ref>One reason for the concealment of the grave, which is explicitly mentioned in Fatima al-Zahra’s will, is to perpetuate dissatisfaction with the government of the time throughout history, as this would pose the question why the resting place of the Prophet’s only daughter should remain unknown.</ref>

Imam 'Ali 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 [['Umar b. al-Khattab]] planned to exhume the graves and conduct a [[Funeral Prayer|funeral prayer]] for Fatima's body. However, upon Imam 'Ali’s warnings, he changed his mind.<ref>Hilālī, ''Kitāb Sulaym b. Qays'', vol. 2, p. 871; Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 28, p. 304.</ref>

According to reports, there is no conclusive evidence of the exact location of Fatima's (a) grave. Some Shiite scholars such as [[Al-Sayyid Nur Allah al-Husayni al-Shushtari|Qadi Nur Allah al-Shushtari]] and [[Sayyed Mohammad Shirazi]] believe that the location of her grave will be revealed by [[Imam Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Mahdi (a)|Imam al-Mahdi (a)]] upon his [[Reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi (a)|reappearance]]. However, these claims are not substantiated by any evidence.

'Ali b. 'Abd Allah al-Samhudi, a Sunni historiographer (d. 911/1505-6), 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 of the Prophet (s)|companions]] and relatives of the [[Prophet Muhammad (s)|Prophet (s)]] are known.

'''''Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisa' Fatimat al-Shahidat al-Zahra (a) fi ayy makan?''''' (Where is the mausoleum of the Mistress of All Ladies the martyr Fatima al-Zahra?) by Sayyid Hashim Naji Musawi Jazaʾiri: This work  collects Shiite hadiths regarding the reasons why Fatima’s grave is concealed, along with possible accounts of her burial place. The book was published in 2016-7 by Danish Publication in [[Qom]].

'''''Ayn qabr Fatima?''''' (Where is Fatima’s grave?): This work discusses the possibilities about where Fatima (a) was laid to rest, arguing that the most probable alternative is burial in her own house. The book was published in 1432/2011 by Dar al-Mahajjat al-Bayda in [[Beirut]].

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 'irfani'' (The secret of the shell: the concealed grave of Lady Fatima (a) from a political and mystical perspective) by Mehrdad Veis-Karami.