Al-Imama wa al-Siyasa

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Al-Imama wa al-Siyasa, also called Tarikh al-Khulafa,[1] is an Arabic work written before the fifth century AH. This book is attributed to the Sunni Islamic scholar Ibn Qutaybah about the history of Islam but this attribution is disputed.[2] The ongoing debate about the authorship of this book remains relevant in view of its controversial content.[3] While the book has an evident pro-Sunni disposition, it contains passages that inadvertently support the modern Shia views.[4]

One such passage relates to the conflict between Caliph Abu Bakr and Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah.[5] After Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr confiscated the agricultural lands in Fadak from Fatimah.[6] Fadak, situated to the north of Medina, belonged to Muhammad and was later gifted to her daughter, Fatimah.[7] Abu Bakr's aide, Umar, allegedly led a violent raid on Fatimah's house in order to arrest her husband, Ali.[8] It is alleged that Fatimah suffered serious injuries during Umar's raid which shortly led to her miscarriage and death.[8]

Al-Imama wa al-Siyasa reports that Abu Bakr and Umar visited Fatimah on her deathbed with the intention of making amends.[9] According to the book, when Abu Bakr and Umar entered the room, Fatimah turned her face away from them. Abu Bakr then pleaded with Fatimah, explaining that he valued her more than his own daughter and that he had never intended to deny Fatimah of her inheritance.[10] Rather, he had followed Muhammad's orders who had disinherited his daughter (without notifying her).[10] After listening to Abu Bakr's pleadings, Fatimah reminded the two of Muhammad's words that, "Fatimah is part of me, and whoever angers her has angered me."[11] The dying Fatimah then told Abu Bakr and Umar that they had indeed angered her and that she would soon take her complaint to God and His prophet, Muhammad.[12]

It has been suggested that the author of al-Imama wa al-Siyasa made the above account palatable for the Sunni audience of his time by presenting Abu Bakr as a wise elder who was forced to deal with a vengeful and bitter Fatimah.[13] The author of al-Imama wa al-Siyasa clearly did not view this incident as the eternal damnation of Abu Bakr but rather as a dispute between two sincere Muslims.[14] Nevertheless, according to the author W. Madelung, the far-reaching implications of the anger of Muhammad's daughter with Abu Bakr motivated the invention of different accounts in which Fatimah reconciled with Abu Bakr and Umar.[15]

Editions[]

  • ed. Zini Taha (Cairo: Mu'assasat al-Halabi, 1967), 21.[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Khaled Abou El Fadl: Islam and the Challenge of Democracy". Archived from the original on 2007-01-19. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  2. ^ Khetia (2013, p. 32)
  3. ^ Khetia, Vinay (2013). Fatima as a motif of contention and suffering in Islamic sources (Thesis). Concordia University. pp. 32, 33.
  4. ^ Khetia (2013, pp. 34, 37, 38)
  5. ^ Khetia (2013, pp. 35–38)
  6. ^ Khetia (2013, p. 19). Abbas, Hassan (2021). The prophet's heir: The life of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Yale University Press. p. 102. ISBN 9780300229455. Ruffle, Karen (2011). "May you learn from their model: The exemplary father-daughter relationship of Mohammad and Fatima in South Asian Shiʿism" (PDF). Journal of Persianate Studies. 4: 25. doi:10.1163/187471611X568267.
  7. ^ Abbas (2021, pp. 101, 102); Ruffle (2011, p. 25)
  8. ^ a b Abbas (2021, pp. 97, 98). Khetia (2013, pp. 66–78). Hazleton, Lesley (2009). After the prophet: The epic story of the Shia-Sunni split in Islam. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 72. ISBN 9780385532099.
  9. ^ Khetia (2013, p. 35)
  10. ^ a b Khetia (2013, p. 36)
  11. ^ Abbas (2021, p. 103). Khetia (2013, p. 36). Ruffle (2011, p. 14)
  12. ^ Khetia (2013, p. 36)
  13. ^ Khetia (2013, pp. 36, 38)
  14. ^ Khetia (2013, pp. 37, 38)
  15. ^ Madelung, Wilferd (1997). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-521-64696-0.

External links[]

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