Religion:Burial place of Fatimah

Fatimah was the daughter of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and wife of Ali, the fourth caliph after Muhammad and also the first Shia Imam. Controversy surrounds Fatimah's sudden death in 11 AH, shortly after Muhammad's demise. Sunni Islam holds that Fatimah died from grief. In contrast, Shia Islam holds that Fatimah's (miscarriage and) death were the direct result of the injuries that she suffered during a raid on her house, ordered by the first caliph, Abu Bakr, to cement his authority. Fatimah and her husband, Ali, had refused to acknowledge Abu Bakr's authority and held that Muhammad had appointed Ali as his successor in the Ghadir Khumm event. Fatimah's dying wish was that Abu Bakr should not attend her funeral. Ali buried his wife secretly under the cover of darkness to fulfill her last wish and Fatimah's exact burial place remains unknown to this day. This article describes the historical circumstances of the secret burial of Fatimah and her unknown burial place.

Fatimah's request can be considered as her last act of protest to express her anger towards the authority of Abu Bakr. On the other hand, Fatimah occupies a position in Islam similar to that of Mary, mother of Jesus, in Christianity. In Muhammad's own words, "Whoever angers Fatimah has angered me (and God)." Considering Fatimah's place in Islam, the topic of this article is a source of contention between the two main sects of Islam, namely, Sunni and Shia. To help reduce the controversy surrounding the topic, this article is primarily based on top-tier Sunni sources. Any Shia source is clearly labeled to help distinguish between opposing views.

Arabic calligraphy reading Fatimah az-Zahra

Why Fatimah asked to be buried secretly

Three key events might help explain Fatimah's wish to be buried secretly. The first two events are mentioned both in Sunni and Shia sources, as detailed below. The third event, which Shia considers to be Fatimah's cause of death, is the red line of Sunni Islam and only appears in Shia sources. The Sunni view is that Fatimah (no older than thirty) died from grief shortly after the demise of her father, Muhammad. These three events are listed in the chronological order below.

1. First event: Immediately after Muhammad's death, participants of the Saqifah meeting appointed Abu Bakr as the first caliph. The Saqifah meeting excluded Muhammad's family, who were preparing to bury him, and most of Muhajerin. In response, the prophet's extended family (Banu Hashim) and some of Muhammad's close companions gathered at his daughter's house. The protesters, including Fatimah, held that Muhammad had already announced Ali as his successor in the Ghadir Khumm event. Key figures such as Abbas and Zubayr were among the protestors. It has been recorded that Abu Bakr responded to this protest with a heavy hand: He sent his aide, Omar, who threatened to set Fatimah's home on fire. To avoid a violent escalation, the protesters dispersed at Fatimah's request. However, Fatimah and her husband, Ali, continued to resist Abu Bakr's pressure to acknowledge his authority; this conflict did not end with Omar's first attempt.
2. Second event: Shortly after assuming power, Abu Bakr seized Fadak from Fatimah. Fadak was a tract of land that Fatimah had received either as a gift or as an inheritance from her father, Muhammad. Abu Bakr seized Fadak based on the claim that "prophets do not leave inheritance," which he attributed to Muhammad. This statement is highly contested, and Shia unanimously considers it fabricated, citing several contradictions of this statement with the Quran. In protest, Fatimah delivered a speech at Masjid an-Nabawi, which has become known as the Fadak sermon. This speech is considered among the most eloquent in the early Islamic era.
3. Third event: Omar's final attempt to subdue Ali and Fatimah, which soon after led to Fatimah's death, is often considered the red line of Sunni Islam. Accordingly, Shia claims that centuries of censorship have distorted and erased any evidence for this event from mainstream Sunni sources, citing several examples. The only existing records of the third event are found in Shia sources, which describe how Omar's raid on Fatimah's home resulted in her miscarriage and, shortly after, her death.

After the Fadak conflict, Sunni and Shia agree that Fatimah remained angry with Abu Bakr and Omar until her death. In particular, Fatimah did not want the two to attend her funeral. Fatimah's husband, Ali, buried her in secret and under the cloak of darkness to fulfill Fatimah's last wish. As a side note, Sunni and Shia agree on Muhammad's words that "Fatimah is part of me, whoever angers her has angered me." Considering that the Quran paints a terrifying prospect for those who anger God's prophet, Shia cites this argument to prove the illegitimacy of Abu Bakr's caliphate.

Unknown burial place

Unlike most early Islamic figures, Fatimah's exact burial place is unknown. This is highly unusual, considering that Muhammad regarded Fatimah as "part of himself" and the purest woman of all time.

According to Sunni Islam, the two most probable locations for Fatimah's grave are al-Baqi cemetery and her home, which was later annexed to al-Masjid an-Nabawi. The former location is primarily supported by Hasan's wish "to be buried next to his mother." However, this interpretation might be incorrect: The Sunni scholar Samhoodi analyzes the different claims and concludes that Hasan is buried next to Fatimah bint Asad, his grandmother (and not his mother, Fatimah). In Arabic, "mother" may also refer to grandmother. Shia sources are also inconclusive and suggest Fatimah's home or the proximity of Muhammad's tomb as the most likely resting places for Fatimah. The secret nature of Fatimah's burial further strengthens the view that she was buried at her home.

The hostility of early Islamic rulers towards Muhammad's family perhaps forced the latter to hide Fatimah's burial place. For instance, al-Mutawakkil demolished and disrespected the shrine of Husayn, Fatimah's son, in the third century AH. According to Shia sources, when Omar learned about Fatimah's secret burial, he decided to locate and exhume Fatimah's body and then re-bury her publicly. Eventually, what prevented Omar was Ali's threat to kill him.

Discussion

Muhammad regarded Fatimah as "part of himself" and on a par with Mary, mother of Jesus. Whenever Fatimah entered the room, Muhammad would rise and sit her next to himself. Fatimah died shortly after Muhammad's death and asked to be buried in secret. To paraphrase Shia scholar Motahhari, often villains rewrite the history to pose as saints, and Fatimah foresaw this threat when she asked to be buried in secret. As a result, this question has loomed large ever since: Fatimah was Muhammad's daughter and extremely dear to him. Why was she buried secretly? Why do we not know where her grave is?

See also

• Al-Baqi'
• Fadak
• Umar at Fatimah's house
• Sermon of Fadak

References

Bibliography

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