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

[[Shia|Shias]] believe that Lady Fatima's (a) burial site is unknown due to her body being [[Funeral and burial of Lady Fatima al-Zahra (a)|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 Ali (a)]], [[Usurpation of Fadak|Fadak]] was unlawfully confiscated from her, and [[Islam|Muslims]] did not provide her with aid.

There are works written about the [[burial]] place of Lady Fatima (a), such as ''Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisa' Fatima al-Shahida al-Zahra (a) fi ayy makan?'' (Where is the mausoleum of the Mistress of All Ladies the martyr Fatima al-Zahra (a)?) and ''Ayn qabr Fatima (a)?'' (Where is Fatima's (a) grave?).

[[Shi'a]] theological works discuss the issue of Lady Fatima's (a) burial place, which is often cited by Shi'a theologians to rebuke the first [[caliph]], [[Abu Bakr]].<ref>Ḥillī, ''Kashf al-murād'', p. 373.</ref> According to Shia belief, Lady Fatima's (a) burial place remains unknown because of her dissatisfaction with Abu Bakr and 'Umar for their [[usurpation of the caliphate]] and [[Usurpation of Fadak|confiscation of Fadak]].<ref>Tabrīzī, ''Sīra-yi Ustād al-fuqahāʾ wa l-mujtahidin Mīrzā Jawād Tabrīzī'', p. 89; Mazāhirī,  ''Andīsha-ʾī nāb'', p. 65.</ref> In fact, Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Jalali (d. 2020) suggests that Lady Fatima (a) willed to be buried secretly to ensure that those responsible for her [[martyrdom]] would never be forgotten throughout history.<ref>Ḥusaynī Jalālī, ''Fihras al-turāth'', p. 71.</ref>

[[Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-Amili]], a Shi'a researcher of history, believes that determining the exact location of Lady Fatima’s burial place is impossible. According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid'', vol. 2, p. 711.</ref> and [[Al-Fadl b. al-Hasan al-Tabrisi|Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi,]]<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Tāj al-mawālīd'', p. 80.</ref> it is best to visit Lady Fatima (a) in all three potential locations: Rawdat al-Nabi, her house, and al-Baqi'.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid'', vol. 2, p. 711.</ref> In his ''[[Misbah al-za'ir (book)|Misbah al-za'ir]]'', [[Ali b. Musa b. Ja'far b. Tawus|Sayyid b. Tawus]] believes that the pilgrimage place of Lady Fatima (a) is Rawdat al-Nabi,<ref>Ibn Ṭāwūs, ''Miṣbāḥ al-zāʾir'', p. 52.</ref> but in his ''[[Iqbal al-a'mal (book)|al-Iqbal]]'', he says that it is the [[Al-Masjid al-Nabawi#The House and the Burial Place of Prophet Muhammad (s)|Prophet’s chamber]].<ref>Ibn Ṭāwūs, ''al-Iqbāl bi-l-aʿmāl'', vol. 3, p. 161.</ref>

Some Shi'a scholars believe that the hadith in which Imam 'Ali (a) refers to Fatima (a) as being "buried adjacent to the Prophet (s)"<ref>Sayyid Raḍī, ''Nahj al-balāgha'', p. 319; Ibn Shahrāshūb, ''Manāqib'', vol. 3, p. 364.</ref> corroborates the view that she was buried in her own house, since the closest place to the burial site of the Prophet (s) was her residence.<ref>Māzandarānī, ''Sharḥ uṣūl kāfī'', vol. 7, p. 208; Ḥasanzāda, ''Hizār-o-yik kalima'', vol. 3, p. 446.</ref>

Some Shi'a researchers argue that it is unlikely for Fatima (a) to be buried in her own house as this contradicts the [[hadith]]s which state that [[Imam Ali (a)]] carried her body outside of the house during her [[Funeral Procession|funeral]].<ref>Ḥamūd, ''Abhā l-midād'', vol. 2, p. 547.</ref> However, some speculate that either the funeral did not involve the body<ref>Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, ''al-Duʿā wa l-zīyāra'', p. 588.</ref> or was intentionally misleading as to the location of her burial.<ref>Turābī and etc, "Justarī dar chigūnigī wa makān-i dafn-i haḍrat-i Zahrā (a) dar manābiʿ-i nukhustīn", p. 131.</ref> Another Shi'a researcher suggests that the funeral procession started from another house belonging to Ali (a) and Fatima (a), located in close proximity to [[al-Baqi']], and proceeded towards the other residence of Ali (a) and Fatima (a).<ref>Najmī, ''Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ'', p. 166.</ref> According to this viewpoint, the events following the death of the [[Prophet (s)]], such as the attack on Fatima's (a) house, occurred in the house situated near al-Baqi'.<ref>Najmī, ''Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ'', p. 163.</ref>

In his ''[[al-Muqna'a]]'', [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] supports Fatima’s (a) burial in Rawdat al-Nabi as the most accurate possibility.<ref>Mufīd, ''al-Muqniʿa'', p. 459.</ref> The Shi'a scholar of hadith [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi]] claims that most Shi'a scholars believe that Fatima (a) was buried in Rawda.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid'', vol. 2, p. 711.</ref> The area known as Rawdat al-Nabi lies between the Prophet's (s) minbar and his burial place within [[al-Masjid al-Nabi]], which is referred to by the Prophet (s) as a "rawda" (garden or a green area<ref>Ibn Sīdah, a''l-Muḥkam wa l-muhīt al-aʿzam'', vol. 8, p. 245.</ref>) among the "rawdas" of the [[heaven]].<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 9, p. 257.</ref> According to a hadith cited in ''[[Ma'ani l-akhbar (book)|Ma'ani l-akhbar]]'', this designation is due to Fatima's burial at the site.<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Maʿānī al-akhbār'', p. 267.</ref>

[[Al-Fadl b. al-Hasan al-Tabrisi|Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi]], a sixth/twelfth century<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Tāj al-mawālīd'', p. 80.</ref> exegete of the [[Qur'an]] and theologian, and [[Ibn Shahrashub]], a sixth/twelfth century<ref>Ibn Shahrāshūb, ''Manāqib'', vol. 3, p. 365.</ref> Quranic exegete and scholar of [[hadith]], believe that the two most probable speculations about Fatima's (a) burial place are her own house and Rawda. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi suggests that the two possibilities are close to each other.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Tahdhīb al-aḥkām'', vol. 6, p. 9.</ref> 'Allama al-Majlisi proposes a reconciliation between the two views, as most Shias hold the belief that Rawda encompasses Fatima’s house as well.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 97, p. 193; Majlisī, ''Mirʾāt al-ʿuqūl'', vol. 5, p. 349.</ref> For this reason, some researchers say that the Rawda view confirms the house view.<ref>Qāʾidān, ''Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmi Makka wa Madīna'', p. 210.</ref>

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Tahdhīb al-aḥkām'', vol. 6, p. 9.</ref> and Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Iʿlām al-warā'', vol. 1, p. 301.</ref> dismiss this possibility as unlikely. This is supported by a hadith in ''[[Al-Kafi (book)|al-Kafi]]'', which implies that Fatima (a) was not buried in al-Baqi'.<ref>Anṣārī, a''l-Mawsūʿat al-kubrā ʿan Fāṭimat al-Zahrāʾ'', vol. 16, p. 51.</ref> 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-Baqi'."<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 2, p. 43.</ref>

In a travelogue from the years 1302/1884-5 and 1303/1885-6, Muhammad Husayn Farahani, a Qajar-era author and poet, reports about a grave in the mausoleum of the Imams in al-Baqi'a, which was attributed to Lady Fatima (a). On his report,  both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims visited the place to recite a pilgrimage text ([[Ziyara-text|ziyara]]).<ref>Farāhānī, ''Safarnāma-yi Mīrzā Muḥammad Ḥusayn Farāhānī'', p. 229.</ref>

The majority view among Sunni scholars is that the grave of Lady Fatima (a) is located in the mausoleum of Shi'a Imams in al-Baqi'.<ref>Samhudī, ''Wafāʾ al-wafā'', vol. 3, p. 93; Ibn Najjār al-Baghdādī, a''l-Durrat al-thamīna'', p. 166; Qāʾidān, ''Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmi Makka wa Madīna'', p. 209.</ref> They try to support the view by citing Imam al-Hasan’s (a) [[Wasiyya|will]] to be buried alongside his mother Fatima (a).<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā'', p. 54 and 151.</ref> In contrast, Shias cite a hadith<ref>Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', vol. 2, p. 17.</ref> to show that the person called "Fatima" who is buried in al-Baqi' is in fact [[Fatima bt. Asad (a)|Fatima bt. Al-Asad]], Imam Ali’s (a) mother.<ref>Qummī, ''Anwār al-bahīyya'', p. 174; Qāʾidān, ''Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmi Makka wa Madīna'', p. 209.</ref> Muhamamd Sadiq Najmi, a Shi'a scholar, believes that Sunni authors have tried to propagate the idea that Fatima (a) was buried within the mausoleum of Shi'a Imams in al-Baqi' to alleviate the pressure from Shias concerning the secrecy of Fatima’s (a) grave.<ref>Najmī, ''Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ'', p. 128.</ref>

The Shi'a scholars believe that Fatima's (a) 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 Shi'a sources, Fatima (a) requested to be buried in secrecy because she believed that the [[caliphate]] was illegitimately taken away from [[Imam Ali (a)]], [[Fadak]] was unlawfully seized from her, and Muslims failed to provide her with assistance.<ref>Khuṣaybī, ''al-Hidāya al-kubrā'', p. 178; Fattāl al-Nayshābūrī, ''Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn'', vol. 1, p. 151.</ref> [[Al-Shaykh al-Mufid]]<ref>Mufīd, ''Kitāb al-amālī'', p. 281.</ref> and [[al-Tabari al-Saghir]] the author of the book ''[[Dala'il al-imama (book)|Dala'il al-imama]]''<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Dalāʾil al-imāma'', p. 133.</ref> have noted 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>