45 Facts About Fatima

Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun Caliphs and the first Shia Imam.

Fatima's sons were Hasan and Husayn, the second and third Shia Imams, respectively.

Fatima has been compared to Mary, mother of Jesus, especially in Shia Islam.

Fatima is often viewed as an ultimate archetype for Muslim women and an example of compassion, generosity, and enduring suffering.

In Shia Islam Fatima's death are said to have been the direct result of her injuries during a raid on her house to subdue Ali, ordered by Abu Bakr.

Fatima was buried secretly at night and her exact burial place remains uncertain.

The Shia Ibn Babawahy writes that, whenever Fatima prayed, her light shone for the inhabitants of the heavens as starlight shines for the inhabitants of the earth.

Fatima was born in Mecca to Khadija, the first of Muhammad's wives.

Twelver sources report that Fatima was born in about 612 or 615 CE, when Khadija would have been slightly older.

The report of the Sunni Ibn Sa'd in his Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kubra suggests that Fatima was born when Muhammad was about thirty-five years old.

The Sunni view is that Fatima had three sisters, named Zaynab, Umm Kulthum, and Ruqayyah, who did not survive Muhammad.

Fatima had three brothers, all of whom died in childhood.

Fatima grew up in Mecca while Muhammad and his few followers suffered the ill-treatment of disbelievers.

Fatima married Muhammad's cousin Ali in Medina around 1 or 2 AH, possibly after the Battle of Badr.

When Muhammad put forward Ali's proposal to Fatima, she remained silent, which was understood as a tacit agreement.

Shia sources have recorded that Fatima donated her wedding gown on her wedding night.

Shia sources elaborate that Ali worked at various jobs while Fatima was responsible for domestic chores.

Fatima was at some point given a maidservant, named Fidda.

Later Fatima rejected Abu Sufyan's pleas to mediate between him and Muhammad.

Fatima is said to have praised his other son-in-law, possibly Uthman or Abu al-As.

In Shia sources, by contrast, Fatima is reported to have had a happy marital life, which continued until her death in 11 AH.

Fatima's gait was similar to the prophet's, according to Veccia Vaglieri, who argues that Fatima must have enjoyed good health on the account of bearing multiple children, her arduous house chores, and her journeys to Mecca.

Several elegies to Muhammad, attributed to Fatima, have survived and are collected in a of poetry.

Abu Bakr did not find their testimonies sufficient to establish the ownership of Fatima, requiring two men or one man and two women as witnesses per Islamic law.

Khetia adds that Fatima might have expected her closeness with Muhammad to strengthen her case.

Fatima is said to have upheld Ali in her speech as the rightful successor to Muhammad.

Fatima is reported to have chastised Abu Bakr for denying her inheritance and accused him of fabrication, saying that Muhammad could have not contradicted the Quran.

The protesters, including Fatima, held that her husband Ali was the rightful successor to Muhammad, possibly referring to Muhammad's announcement at Ghadir Khumm.

The mob retreated without Ali's pledge after Fatima pleaded with them, as reported in al-Imama wa al-siyasa.

Shia sources allege that Fatima suffered injuries and miscarriage during a raid on her house led by Umar.

In particular, Shia alleges that Fatima miscarried her son Muhsin, whose name had been chosen by Muhammad before his death, according to Abbas.

Still, he notes that there is evidence that Fatima's house was searched.

Fatima was 18 or 27 years old at that time according to Shia and Sunni sources, respectively.

The Sunni belief is that Fatima died from grief after Muhammad's death.

In particular, the Isma'ili jurist al-Nu'man similarly reports a hadith from the fifth Imam to the effect that "whatever had been done to her by the people" caused Fatima to become bedridden, while her body wasted until it became like a specter.

Multiple sources report that Fatima never reconciled with Abu Bakr and Umar, partly based on a tradition to this effect in the canonical Sunni collection Sahih al-Bukhari.

Fatima's wish is believed to be at odds with the common practice of Muslims, who are encouraged to join funerals.

Fatima was survived by two sons, Hasan and Husayn, and two daughters, Zaynab and Umm Kulthum.

The Quranic praise for Mary in verse 3:42 has been echoed for Fatima based on a prophetic hadith that lists Fatima, Khadija, Mary, and Asiya as the outstanding women of all time.

Fatima surpasses Mary in purity and divine favor in Shia writings and in some Sunni sources.

Whenever Fatima arrived, Muhammad used to stand up, greet her and ask her to sit next to him.

When leaving Medina, Fatima was the last person that Muhammad bid farewell to, and she was the first he visited upon his return.

The prophet held that Fatima will be the first person to enter the paradise and, as with Mary, she will intercede for those who honor her and her descendants.

The first feature-length movie about Fatima set during the lifetime and after the death of Muhammad is titled The Lady of Heaven, produced in 2020 by the Enlightened Kingdom.

On this day, banners reading Ya Fatima are displayed on government buildings, private buildings, public streets and car windows.