Hadith al-Bad'a: Difference between revisions

'''Ḥadīth al-Baḍʿa''' (Arabic: {{ia|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 [[Sunn]]i sources. Hadith al-Badʿa is cited as evidence for the [[infallibility]] of Lady Fatima (a), her rightfulness in the [[Usurpation of Fadak|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).

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.”<ref>Ṣadūq, ''al-Amālī'', p. 165.</ref> The same content appears in various Shiite and Sunni sources.<ref>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.</ref> The hadith was transmitted by [[Imam 'Ali (a)]],<ref>Ṣadūq, ''al-Khiṣāl'', p. 573; Fattāl al-Nayshābūrī, ''Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn'', p. 149.</ref> [[Ibn 'Abbas]],<ref>Ṣadūq, ''al-Amālī'', p. 175, 575.</ref> [[Abu Dharr al-Ghifari]],<ref>Khazzāz al-Qummī, ''Kifāyat al-athar'', p. 37.</ref> and Lady Fatima (a) herself.<ref>Khazzāz al-Qummī, ''Kifāyat al-athar'', p. 64; Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 36, p, 308.</ref>

“Bad'a” or “bid'a” means part of the body.<ref>Ibn Manẓūr, ''Lisān al-ʿArab'', vol. 8, p. 12; Ibn Athīr, ''al-Nihāya fī gharīb al-ḥadīth'', vol. 1, p. 133.</ref> 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.<ref>Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, ''Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān'', p.129.</ref> The phrase “bad'a minni” appears in the words of the Prophet (s) about Imam 'Ali (a)<ref>Baḥrānī, ''al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 261.</ref> and [[Imam al-Rida (a)]] as well.<ref>Fattāl al-Nayshābūrī, ''Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn'', p. 233; Ṣadūq, ''Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh'', vol. 2, p. 583, 588.</ref>

'''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).<ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>Subḥānī, ''Pazhūhishī dar shinākht wa ʾiṣmat-i Imām'', p. 27.</ref>

* '''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 [[Tafsir|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”<ref>Qur'an 3:42.</ref> to show that Lady Fatima (a) was superior to all women, including Mary (a).<ref>Ālūsī, ''Rūḥ al-maʿānī'', vol. 3, p.155.</ref>

* '''Rightfulness of Lady Fatima in the [[Usurpation of Fadak|story of Fadak]]:'''<ref>Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, ''Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha'', vol. 16, p. 278; ʿĪjī, ''al-Mawāqif fī ʿilm al-kalām'', vol. 3, p. 597, 607.</ref> after the [[Demise of the Prophet (s)|Prophet’s demise]], when she was in her deathbed, Lady Fatima (a) cited this hadith in a debate with [[Abu Bakr]] and [[Umar]].<ref>Khazzāz al-Qummī, ''Kifāyat al-athar'', p. 65.</ref>

Moreover, the hadith has been cited to show the necessity of honoring Ahl al-Bayt (a),<ref>Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr'', vol. 27, p. 166.</ref> rejection of the testimony of a child for his or her father and vice versa,<ref>Ibn ʿArabī, ''Aḥkām al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 638; Ibn Qadāma, ''al-Mughnī'', vol. 12, p. 66.</ref> prohibition of marriage with one’s mother or daughter,<ref>Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr'', vol. 10, p. 26.</ref> necessity of honoring one’s parents,<ref>Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr'', vol. 20, p. 185.</ref> and permissibility of graves being visited by women.<ref>Shahīd al-Awwal, ''al-Dhikrā al-Shīa'', vol. 2, p. 63.</ref>

==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.”<ref>Ibn Ḥanbal, ''al-Musnad'', vol. 4, p. 5.</ref>

[[Al-Sayyid al-Murtada]], a prominent Shiite theologian (d. 436/1044), believes that such reports are fake.<ref>Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''Tanzīh al-anbīyā'', p. 167.</ref> According to a hadith from [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]], the story was fabricated.<ref>Ṣadūq, ''al-Amālī'', p. 165.</ref> Abu Hurayra, a transmitter of this hadith, is accused of [[fabricating hadiths]].<ref>Tustarī, ''Qāmūs al-rijāl'', vol. 9, p. 111.</ref> 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.<ref>Faḍlī, ''Uṣūl al-ḥadīth'', p. 139.</ref> Al-Sayyid al-Murtada believes that al-Karabisi was a [[Nasibi]] who showed hostility toward [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]].<ref>Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''Tanzīh al-anbīyā'', p. 167-168.</ref> 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.<ref>Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''Tanzīh al-anbīyā'', p. 169.</ref>

[[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.<ref>ʿĀmilī, ''al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat Imām ʿAlī (a)'', vol. 3, p. 61-74.</ref>