Stories
Fatimah
The Prophet's daughter
3 min, Intro
Fatimah al-Zahra' was, by most accounts, the youngest daughter of the Prophet and Khadijah. She was the wife of 'Ali, and the mother of al-Hasan and al-Husayn. All Muslims honour her. For Shi'a Muslims she holds a uniquely central place.
Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review
The thread
Fatimah grows up through the persecution in Makkah, caring for her father. She marries 'Ali, lives poor, and raises the two sons through whom the Prophet's line continues. Months after her father dies she follows him, leaving a dispute that Sunni and Shi'a Muslims read differently.
"A part of me"
Picture the Prophet at prayer in Makkah, and enemies throwing filth on him. Someone comes and cleans it away. It is his daughter, Fatimah.
Fatimah was born in Makkah to the Prophet and Khadijah, and lived through the persecution there.
The Prophet ﷺ said: Fatimah is a part of me, and whoever angers her angers me.
'A'ishah said no one resembled him more in walk and speech. When Fatimah came in, he would stand, kiss her and seat her in his place.
Fatimah is a part of me, so whoever angers her angers me.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3714, Sahih Muslim 2449 Sahih In Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
The Prophet said whoever angers Fatimah angers him.
'Ali, Hasan and Husayn
Being the Prophet's daughter did not make Fatimah rich. She married 'Ali, and their home was poor. She ground grain until her hands blistered.
So she asked her father for a servant. He taught her and 'Ali something he said was better: before sleeping, say Subhan Allah thirty-three times, al-hamdu lillah thirty-three times, and Allahu akbar thirty-four times.
Her sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn were the Prophet's beloved grandsons. Through them, all of the Prophet's descendants trace their line.
Shall I not tell you of something better than what you asked for? When you go to bed, say Subhan Allah thirty-three times, al-hamdu lillah thirty-three times, and Allahu akbar thirty-four times.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3705, Sahih Muslim 2727 Sahih In Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
Instead of a servant, Fatimah was given words of remembrance before sleep, which the Prophet called better.
After her father
Then comes her father's last illness. The Prophet whispers to Fatimah, and she weeps. He whispers again, and she smiles.
Why? After his death she explained. First he told her he would die. Then he told her she would be the first of his family to join him, and the leader of the women of Paradise.
By Sunni reports she died about six months later. Shi'a sources give seventy-five or ninety-five days.
In between came a dispute with Abu Bakr over the Prophet's land at Fadak. Sunnis hold that Abu Bakr followed the Prophet's words that prophets leave no inheritance. Shi'a see it as a wrong done to her.
Sunni and Shi'a read the Fadak dispute over Fatimah's inheritance differently.