Fatimah was the fifth child of Muhammad and Khadijah. She was born at a time when her noble father had begun to spend long periods
in the solitude of mountains around Makkah, meditating and reflecting on the great mysteries of creation.
This was the time, before the Bi’thah, when her eldest sister Zaynab was married to her cousin, al-As ibn ar-Rabi’ah.
Then followed the marriage of her two other sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, to the sons of Abu Lahab, a paternal
uncle of the Prophet. Both Abu Lahab and his wife Umm Jamil turned out to be flaming enemies of the Prophet from the
very beginning of his public mission.
The little Fatimah thus saw her sisters leave home one after the other to live with their husbands. She was too young
to understand the meaning of marriage and the reasons why her sisters had to leave home. She loved them dearly and was
sad and lonely when the left. It is said that a certain silence and painful sadness came over her then.
Of course, even after the marriage of her sisters, she was not alone in the house of her parents. Barakah, the
maid-servant of Aminah, the Prophet’s mother, who had been with the Prophet since his birth, Zayd ibn Harithah,
and Ali the young son of Abu Talib were all part of Muhammad’s household at this time. And of course there was her
loving mother, the lady Khadijah.
In her mother and in Barakah, Fatimah found a great deal of solace and comfort. In Ali, who was about four years
older than she, she found a “brother” and a friend who somehow took the place of her own brother al-Qasim who had
died in his infancy. Her other brother Abdullah, known as the Good and the Pure, who was born after her, also died
in his infancy. However, in none of the people in her father’s household did Fatimah find the carefree joy and happiness
which she enjoyed with her sisters. She was an unusually sensitive child for her age.
When she was five, she heard that her father had become Rasul Allah, the Messenger of God. His first task was to
convey the good news of Islam to his family and close relations. They were to worship God Almighty alone. Her mother,
who was a tower of strength and support, explained to Fatimah what her father had to do. From this time on, she became
more closely attached to him and felt a deep and abiding love for him. Often she would be at his side walking through
the narrow streets and alleys of Makkah, visiting the Ka’bah or attending secret gatherings of the early Muslims who
had accepted Islam and pledged allegiance to the Prophet.
One day, when she was not yet ten, she accompanied her father to the Masjid al-Haram. He stood in the
place known as al-Hijr facing the Ka’bah and began to pray. Fatimah stood at his side. A group of Quraish, by no
means well-disposed to the Prophet, gathered about him. They included Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, the Prophet’s uncle,
‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’ayt, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and Shaybah and ‘Utbah, sons of ar-Rabi’ah. Menacingly, the group went
up to the Prophet and Abu Jahl, the ringleader, asked:
“Which of you can bring the entrails of a slaughtered animal and throw it on Muhammad?”
‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’ayt, one of the vilest of the lot, volunteered and hurried off. He returned with the obnoxious
filth and threw it on the shoulders of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, while he was still prostrating.
‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, a companion of the Prophet, was present but he was powerless to do or say anything.
Imagine the feelings of Fatimah as she saw her father being treated in this fashion. What could she, a girl not
ten years old, do? She went up to her father and removed the offensive matter and then stood firmly and angrily
before the group of Quraysh thugs and lashed out against them. Not a single word did they say to her.
The noble Prophet raised his head on completion of the prostration and went on to complete the Salat. He then said:
“O Lord, may you punish the Quraysh!” and repeated this imprecation three times. Then he continued:
“May You punish ‘Utbah, ‘Uqbah, Abu Jahl and Shaybah.” (Those whom he named all perished many years later at the Battle
of Badr.)
On another occasion, Fatimah was with the Prophet as he mad tawaf around the Ka’bah.
A Quraysh mob gathered around him. They seized him and tried to strangle him with his own clothes.
Fatimah screamed and shouted for help. Abu Bakr rushed to the scene and managed to free the Prophet.
While he was doing so, he pleaded:
“Would you kill a man who says, ‘My Lord is God?’”
Far from giving up, the mob turned on Abu Bakr and began beating him until blood flowed from his head and face.
Such scenes of vicious opposition and harassment against her father and the early Muslims were witnessed by the
young Fatimah. She did not meekly stand aside but joined in the struggle in defense of her father and his noble mission.
She was still a young girl and instead of cheerful romping, the gaiety and liveliness which children of her age are and
should normally be accustomed to, Fatimah had to witness and participate in such ordeals.
Of course, she was not alone in this. The whole of the Prophet’s family suffered from the mindless violence of the
disbelieving Quraysh. Her sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, also suffered. They were living at this time in the
very nest of hatred and intrigue against the Prophet. Their husbands were ‘Utbah and ‘Utaybah, sons of Abu Lahab and
Umm Jamil. Umm Jamil was known to be a hard and harsh woman who had a sharp and evil tongue. It was mainly because of
her that Kadijah was not pleased with the marriages of her daughters to Umm Jamil’s sons in the first place. It must
have been painful for Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum to be living in the household of such inveterate enemies who not only
joined bur led the campaign against their father.
As a mark of disgrace to Muhammad and his family, ‘Utbah and ‘Utaybah were prevailed upon by their parents to divorce
their wives. This was part of the process of ostracizing the Prophet totally. The Prophet in fact welcomed his daughters
back to his home with joy, happiness and relief.
Fatimah, no doubt, must have been happy to be with her sisters once again. They all wished that their eldest sister,
Zaynab, would also be divorced by her husband. In fact, the Quraysh brought pressure on Abu-l ‘As to do so but he
refused. When the Quraysh leaders came up to him and promised him the richest and most beautiful woman as a wife
should he divorce Zaynab, he replied:
“I love my wife deeply and passionately and I have a great and high esteem for her father even though I have not entered
the religion of Islam”
Both Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were happy to be back with their loving parents and to be rid of the unbearable mental
torture to which they had been subjected in the house of Umm Jamil. Shortly afterwards, Ruqayyah married again, to the
young and shy ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan who was among the first to have accepted Islam. They both left for Abyssinia among the
first muhajirin who sought refuge in that land and stayed there for several years. Fatimah was not to see Ruqayyah
again until after their mother had died.
The persecution of the Prophet, his family and his followers continued and even became worse after the migration
of the first Muslims to Abyssinia. In about the seventh year of his mission, the Prophet and his family were forced
to leave their homes and seek refuge in a rugged little valley enclosed by hills on all sides and which could
only be entered from Makkah by a narrow defile.
To this arid valley, Muhammad and the clans of Banu Hashim and al-Mutalib were forced to retire with limited
supplies of food. Fatimah was one of the youngest members of the clans – just about twelve years old – and had
to undergo months of hardship and suffering. The wailing of hungry children and women in the valley could be
heard from Makkah. The Quraysh allowed no food and contact with the Muslims whose hardship was only relieved
somewhat during the season of pilgrimage.
The boycott lasted for three years. When it was lifted, the Prophet had to face even more trials and difficulties.
Khadijah, the faithful and loving, died shortly afterwards. With her death, the Prophet and his family lost one
of the greatest sources of comfort and strength which has sustained them through the difficult period. The year
in which the noble Khadijah, and later Abu Talib, died is known as the Year of Sadness. Fatimah, now a young lady,
was greatly distressed by her mother’s death. She wept bitterly and for some time was so grief-stricken that her
health deteriorated. It was even feared she might die of grief.
Although her older sister, Umm Kulthum stayed in the same household, Fatimah realized that she now had a greater
responsibility with the passing away of her mother. She felt that she had to give even greater support to her
father. With loving tenderness, she devoted herself to looking after his needs. So concerned was she for his
welfare that she came to be called “Umm Abi-ha” – the mother of her father”. She also provided him with solace
and comfort during times of trial, difficulty and crisis.
Often the trials were too much for her. Once, about this time, an insolent mob heaped dust and earth upon His
gracious head. As he entered his home, Fatimah wept profusely as she wiped the dust from her father’s head.
“Do not cry, my daughter,” he said, “for God shall protect your father.”
The Prophet had a special love for Fatimah. He once said:
“Whoever pleased Fatimah has indeed pleased God and whoever has caused her to be angry has indeed
angered God. Fatimah is a part of me. Whatever pleases her pleases me and whatever angers her angers me.”
He also said:
“The best women in all the world are four: the Virgin Mary, Asiya the wife of Pharaoh, Khadijah Mother
of the Believers, and Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad.” Fatimah thus acquired a place of love and esteem in
the Prophet’s heart that was only occupied by his wife Khadijah.
Fatimah, may God be pleased with her, was given the title of “az-Zahra” which means “the Resplendent One”.
That was because of her beaming face which seemed to radiate light. It is said that when she stood for Prayer,
the mihrab would reflect the light of her countenance. She was also called “al-Batul” because of her purity and
asceticism. Instead of spending her time in the company of women, much of her time would be spent in Salat, in
reading the Qur’an and in other acts of ‘ibadah.
Fatimah had a strong resemblance to her father, the Messenger of God. A’ishah, the wife of the Prophet said of her:
“I have not seen any one of God’s creation resemble the Messenger of God more in speech, conversation and manner
of sitting than Fatimah, may God be pleased with her. When the Prophet saw her approaching, he would welcome her,
stand up and kiss her, take her by the hand and sit her down in the place where he was sitting.” She would do the
same when the Prophet came to her. She would stand up and welcome him with joy and kiss him.
Fatimah’s fine manners and gentle speech were part of her lovely and endearing personality. She was especially kind
to poor and indigent folk and would often give all the food she had to those in need even if she herself remained
hungry. She had no craving for the ornaments of this world nor the luxury and comforts of life. She lived simply,
although on occasion as we shall see circumstances seemed to be too much and too difficult for her.
She inherited from her father a persuasive eloquence that was rooted in wisdom. When she spoke, people would often
be moved to tears. She had the ability and the sincerity to stir the emotions, move people to tears and fill their
hearts with praise and gratitude to God for His grace and His inestimable bounties.
Fatimah migrated to Madinah a few weeks after the Prophet did. She went with Zayd ibn Harithah who was sent
by the Prophet back to Makkah to bring the rest of his family. The party included Fatimah and Umm Kulthum, Sawda’,
the Prophet’s wife, Zayd’s wife Barakah and her son Usamah. Travelling with the group also were ‘Abdullah the son
of Abu Bakr who accompanied his mother and his sisters, A’ishah and Asma’.
In Madinah, Fatimah lived with her father in the simple dwelling he had built adjoining the mosque. In the second
year after the Hijrah, she received proposals for marriage through her father, two of which were turned down.
Then ‘Ali, the son of Abu Talib, plucked up courage and went to the Prophet to ask for her hand in marriage.
In the presence of the Prophet, however, ‘Ali became over-awed and tongue-tied. He stared at the ground and
could not say anything. The Prophet then asked:
“Why have you come? Do you need something?”
‘Ali sill could not speak and then the Prophet suggested:
“Perhaps you have come to propose marriage to Fatimah.”
“Yes,” replied ‘Ali.
At this, according to one report, the Prophet said simply:
“Marhaban wa ahlan – Welcome into the family,” and this was taken by ‘Ali and a group of Ansar who were
waiting outside for him as indicating the Prophet’s approval. Another report indicated that the Prophet
approved and went on to ask ‘Ali if he had anything to give as mahr. ‘Ali replied that he didn’t. The Prophet
reminded him that he had a shield which could be sold.
‘Ali sold the shield to ‘Uthman for four hundred dirhams and as he was hurrying back to the Prophet to
hand over the sum as mahr, ‘Uthman stopped him and said:
“I am returning your shield to you as a present from me on your marriage to Fatimah.”
Fatimah and ‘Ali were thus married most probably at the beginning of the second year after the Hijrah.
She was about nineteen years old at the time and ‘Ali was about twenty one. The Prophet himself preformed
the marriage ceremony. At the walimah, the guests were served with dates, figs and hais (a mixture of dates
and butter fat). A leading member of the Ansar donated a ram and others made offerings of grain. All
Madinah rejoiced.
On her marriage, the Prophet is said to have presented Fatimah and ‘Ali with a wooden bed intertwined with
palm leaves, a velvet coverlet, a leather cushion filled with the leaves of the idhkhir plant, a sheepskin,
a pot, a water skin and a quern for grinding grain.
Fatimah left the home of her beloved father for the first time to begin life with her husband.
The Prophet was clearly anxious on her account and sent Barakah with her should she be in need of any
help. And no doubt Barakah was a source of comfort and solace to her. The Prophet prayed for them:
“O Lord, bless them both, bless their house and bless their offspring.”
In ‘Ali’s humble dwelling, there was only a sheepskin for a bed. In the morning after the wedding night,
the Prophet went to ‘Ali’s house and knocked on the door.
Barakah came out and the Prophet said to her:
“O Umm Ayman, call my brother for me.”
“Your brother? That’s the one who married your daughter?” asked Barakah somewhat incredulously as if to say:
Why would the Prophet call ‘Ali his “brother”?
(He referred as his brother because just as pairs of Muslims were joined in brotherhood after the Hijrah,
so the Prophet and ‘Ali were linked as ‘brothers’.)
The Prophet repeated what he had said in a louder voice. ‘Ali came and the Prophet made a du’a,
invoking the blessings of God on him. Then he asked for Fatimah. She came almost cringing with a
mixture of awe and shyness and the Prophet said to her:
“I have married you to the dearest of my family to me.” In this way, he sought to reassure her.
She was not starting life with a complete stranger but with one who had grown up in the same household,
who was among the fist to become a Muslim at a tender age, who was known for his courage, bravery and
virtue, and whom the Prophet described as his “brother in this world and the hereafter.”
Fatima’s life with ‘Ali was as simple and frugal as it was in her father’s household. In fact, so far
as material comforts were concerned, it was a life of hardship and deprivation. Throughout their life
together, ‘Ali remained poor because he did not set great store by material wealth. Fatimah was the only
one of her sisters who was not married to a wealthy man.
In fact, it could be said that Fatimah’s life with ‘Ali was even more rigorous than life in her father’s home.
At least before marriage, there were always a number of ready helping hands in the Prophet’s household.
But now she had to cope virtually on her own. To relive their extreme poverty, ’Ali worked as a drawer
and carrier of water and she as a grinder of corn. One day she said to ‘Ali:
“I have ground until my hands are blistered.”
“I have drawn water until I have pains in my chest,”
said ‘Ali and went on to suggest to Fatimah: “God has given your father some captives of war, so go and ask him to
give you a servant.”
Reluctantly, she went to the Prophet who said:
“What has brought you here, my little daughter?”
“I came to give you greetings of peace,” she said, for in awe of him she could not bring herself to
ask what she had intended.
“What did you do?” asked ‘Ali when she returned alone.
“I was ashamed to ask him”, she said.
So the two of them went together but the Prophet felt they were less in need than others.
“I will not give to you,” he said, “and let the Ahl as-Suffah (poor Muslims who stayed in the mosque) be
tormented with hunger. I have not enough for their keep…”
‘Ali and Fatimah returned home feeling somewhat dejected but that night, after they had gone to bed,
they head the voice of the Prophet asking permission to enter. Welcoming him they both rose to their feet,
but he told them:
“Stay where you are,” and sat down beside them. “Shall I not tell you of something better than what you
asked of me?” he asked and when they said yes he said:
“Words which Jibril taught me, that you should say “Subhan Allah” –Glory be to God” ten times after every
Prayer, and ten times “ Al hamdu lillah- Praise be to God”, and ten times “Allahu Akbar- God is Great.”
And that when you go to bed you should say them thirty-three times each.”
‘Ali used to say in later years:
“I have never once failed to say them since the Messenger of God taught them to us.”
There are many reports of the hard and difficult times which Fatimah had to face. Often there was no
food in her house. Once the Prophet was hungry. He went to one after another of his wives ‘ apartments
but there was no food. He then went to Fatimah’s house and she had no food either. When he eventually got
food, he sent two loaves and a piece of meat to Fatimah. At another time, he went to the house of Abu Ayyub
al- Ansari and from the food he was given, he saved some for her. Fatimah also knew that the Prophet was
without food for long, periods and she in turn would take food to him when she could. Once she took a piece
of barley bread and he said to her:
“This is the fist food your father has eaten for three days.”
Through these acts of kindness she showed how much she loved her father; and he loved her, really loved her in return.
Once he returned from a journey outside Madinah. He went to the mosque and prayed two rak’ats as was his custom.
Then, as he often did, he went to Fatimah’s house before going to his wives. Fatima welcomed him and
kissed his face, his mouth and his eyes and cried.
“Why do you cry?” the Prophet asked.
“I see you, and O Rasul Allah, “ she said, your color is pale and sallow and your clothes have become worn and shabby.”
“O Fatimah,” the Prophet replied tenderly, “don’t cry for God has sent your father with a mission which He would
cause to effect every house on the face of the earth whether it be in towns, villages or tents (in the desert)
bringing either glory or humiliation until this mission is fulfilled just as night (inevitably) comes.” With such
comments Fatimah was often taken from the harsh realities of daily life to get a glimpse of the vast and far-reaching
vistas opened up by the mission entrusted to her noble father.
Fatimah eventually returned to live in a house close to that of the Prophet. The place was donated by an Ansari
who knew that the Prophet would rejoice in having his daughter as his neighbor. Together they shared in the joys
and the triumphs, the sorrows and the hardships of the crowded and momentous Madinah days and years.
In the middle of the second year after the Hijrah, her sister Ruqayyah fell ill with fever and measles. This was
shortly before the great campaign of Badr. ‘Uthman, her husband, stayed by her bedside and missed the campaign.
Ruqayyah died just before her father returned. On his return to Madinah, one of the first acts of the Prophet was
to visit her grave.
Fatimah went with him. This was the first bereavement they had suffered within their closest family since the death
of Khadijah. Fatimah was greatly distressed by the loss of her sister. The tears poured from her eyes as she sat
beside her father at the edge of the grave, and he comforted her and sought to dry her tears with the corner of his
cloak.
The Prophet had previously spoken against lamentations for the dead, but this had lead to a misunderstanding, and
when they returned from the cemetery the voice of ‘Umar was heard raised in anger against the women who were weeping
for the martyrs of Badr and for Ruqayyah.
“’Umar, let them weep,” he said and then added: “What comes from the heart and from the eye, that is from God
and His mercy, but what comes from the hand and from the tongue, that is from Satan.” By the hand he meant the
beating of breasts and the smiting of cheeks, and by the tongue he meant the loud clamor in which women often
joined as a mark of public sympathy.
‘Uthman later married the other daughter of the Prophet, Umm Kulthum, and on this account came to be known as
Dhu-n Nurayn – Possessor of the Two Lights.
The bereavement which the family suffered by the death of Ruqayyah was followed by happiness when,
to the great joy of all the believers, Fatimah gave birth to a boy in Ramadan of the third year after the Hijrah.
The Prophet spoke the words of the Adhan into the ear of the newborn babe and called him al-Hasan which means the
Beautiful One.
One year later, she gave birth to another son who was called al-Husayn, which means “little Hasan” or the little
beautiful one.
Fatimah would often bring her two sons to see their grandfather who was exceedingly fond of them. Later he would
take them to the Mosque and they would climb onto his back when he prostrated. He did the same with his little
granddaughter Umamah, the daughter of Zaynab.
In the eighth year after the Hijrah, Fatimah gave birth to a third child, a girl whom she named after her eldest
sister Zaynab who had died shortly before her birth. This Zaynab was to grow up and become famous as the
“Heroine of Karbala.” Fatima’s fourth child was born two years later. The child was also a girl and the Prophet
chose for her the name Umm Kulthum after Fatimah’s sister who had died the year before after an illness.
It was only through Fatimah that the progeny of the Prophet was perpetuated. All the Prophet’s male children had died in their infancy and the two children of Zaynab, named ‘Ali and Umamah, died young. Ruqayyah’s child, ‘Abdullah, also died when he was not yet two years old. This is an added reason for the reverence which is accorded to Fatimah.
Although Fatimah was so often busy with pregnancies and giving birth and rearing children, she took as much part as
she could in the affairs of the growing Muslim community of Madinah. Before her marriage, she acted as a sort of
hostess to the poor and destitute Ahl as-Suffah. As soon as the Battle of Uhud was over, she went with other women
to the battlefield and wept over the dead martyrs and took time to dress her father’s wounds. At the Battle of
the Trench, she played a major supportive role together with other women in preparing food during the long and
difficult siege. In the place of her camp there stands a mosque named Masjid Fatimah, one of seven mosques where
the Muslims stood guard and preformed their devotions.
Fatimah also accompanied the Prophet when he made ‘Umrah in the sixth year after the Hijrah after the Treaty of
Hudaybiyah. In the following year, she and her sister Umm Kulthum, were among the mighty throng of Muslims who took
part with the Prophet in the liberation of Makkah. It is said that on this occasion, both Fatimah and Umm Kulthum
visited the home and the grave of their mother Khadijah and recalled the memories of their childhood and the memories
of jihad, of long struggles in the early years of the Prophet’s mission.
In Ramadan of the tenth year just before he went on his Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet confided to Fatimah,
as a secret not yet to be told to others:
“Jibril recited the Qur’an to me and I to him once every year, but this year he has recited it with me twice.
I cannot but think that my time has come.”
On his return from the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet did become seriously ill. His final days were spent in the apartment
of his wife A’isha. When Fatimah came to visit him, A’isha would leave father and daughter together.
One day he summoned Fatimah. When she came, he kissed her and whispered some words in her ear. She wept.
Then again he whispered in her ear and she smiled. A’ishah saw and asked:
“You cry and you laugh at the same time, Fatimah? What did the Messenger of God say to you?” Fatimah replied:
“He fist told me that he would meet his Lord after a short while so I cried. Then he said to me:
‘Don’t cry for you will be the first of my household to join me.’ So I laughed.”
He also said to her then:
“Aren’t you pleased that you are the First Lady (Sayyidatu-n Nisa’) of this Ummah?”
Not long afterwards the noble Prophet passed away. Fatimah was grief-stricken and she would often be
seen weeping profusely. One of the companions noted that he did not see Fatimah, may God be pleased with her,
laugh after the death of her father.
One Morning, early in the month of Ramadan, just less than five months after her noble father had passed away,
Fatimah woke up looking unusually happy and full of mirth. In the afternoon of that day, it is said that she
called Salma bint Umays who was looking after her. She asked for some water and had a bath. She then put on
new clothes and perfumed herself. She then asked Salma to put her bed in the courtyard of the house. With her
face looking to the heavens above, she asked for her husband ‘Ali.
He was taken aback when he saw her lying in the middle of the courtyard and asked her what was wrong. She smiled and said:
“I have an appointment today with the messenger of God.”
‘Ali cried and she tried to console him. She told him to look after their sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn and
advised that she should be buried without ceremony. She then turned and faced the Qiblah, closed her eyes,
and slept. It was a sleep from which she did not awake.
She, Fatimah the Resplendent One, was just twenty-nine years old.
- 'The Companions of the Prophet' by Abdul Wahid Hamid.