Attack on Fatimah's house

Attack on Fatimah's house

The door of Fatimah's House
Native name	حادثة كسر الضلع
English name	Rib fracture accident (literal transliation)
Date	632 CE
Location	Medina, Fatimah's house
Target	Taking allegiance from Ali
Deaths	Muhsin bin Ali, Fatimah

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An artistic illustration of the Shia narrative

The attack on Fatimah's house refers to a disputed violent attack on the house of Fatimah, daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[1] The attack reportedly took place shortly after Muhammad's death in 11 AH (632 CE) and it was instigated by Muhammad's successor, Abu Bakr, and led by Umar, an aide to Abu Bakr.^[2] The purpose of the attack is said to have been the arrest of Fatimah's husband, Ali, who had refused to acknowledge Abu Bakr's authority.^[3] It is alleged that Fatimah's injuries during the raid directly caused the young Fatimah's miscarriage and death, within six months of Muhammad's demise.^[4]

The above allegations are brought forward by the Shia and categorically rejected by the Sunni, the two largest branches of Islam.^[5] On the one hand, Shia historians list multiple early Sunni sources that corroborate these allegations and point out that sensitive information has been censored by Sunni scholars who were concerned with the righteous presentation of Muhammad's companions.^[6] On the other hand, for Sunnis, it is unimaginable that Muhammad's companions would violate the Quranic sanctity of Muhammad's family and home.^[7] In turn, Sunni Islam holds that Fatimah died from grief, following Muhammad's death, and that her child died in infancy of natural causes.^[8]

It is well-documented that Fatimah's dying wish was that Abu Bakr and Umar should not attend her funeral.^[9] She was buried under the cover of night and her exact burial place remains unknown.^[10] Fatimah occupies a similar position in Islam that Mary, mother of Jesus, occupies in Christianity and her discontent is famously linked to Muhammad's anger in the hadith literature.^[11] In view of Fatimah's place in Islam, these allegations are highly controversial, with beliefs primarily split along sectarian lines between Sunni and Shia denominations.^[1]

Background

In the immediate aftermath of Muhammad's death in 11 AH (632 CE), the Ansar (natives of Medina) gathered in the Saqifah (courtyard) of the Saida clan.^[12] According to Madelung, the Ansar likely believed that their allegiance to Muhammad had elapsed with his death and expected that Muhammad's community would disintegrate. For this reason, the purpose of their meeting might have simply been to re-establish control over their city, Medina, under the belief that the majority of the Muhajirun (migrants from Mecca) would return to Mecca anyway.^[13]

Nevertheless, Abu Bakr and Umar, both senior companions of Muhammad, upon learning about the meeting, hastened to the gathering and reportedly forced their way into Saqifah.^[14] After a heated meeting, in which a chief of the Ansar is said to have beaten into submission by Umar, those gathered at the Saqifah agreed on Abu Bakr as the new head of the Muslim community.^[15]

The Saqifah event excluded Muhammad's family, who were preparing to bury him, and most of the Muhajirun.^[16] To protest this election, members of Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim, and several of his companions gathered at Fatimah's house.^[17] The protesters, including Fatimah, held that Ali was the rightful successor of Muhammad, appointed by him at the Event of Ghadir Khumm.^[18] A number of close companions of Muhammad, including Abbas and Zubayr, were among the protestors.^[19] Ali is reported to have explained his position to Abu Bakr.^[20]

After the gathering at Saqifah, Abu Bakr reportedly ordered his aide, Umar, to secure the pledge of allegiance from Ali.^[21] Umar has been noted for his severity and short temper.^[22] Overwhelming evidence points that Umar then led an armed mob to Ali's house and threatened to set the house on fire if Ali and his supporters would not pledge their allegiance to Abu Bakr.^[23] According to the Sunni historian al-Tabari, Umar shouted, "By God, either you come out to render the oath of allegiance [to Abu Bakr], or I will set the house on fire."^[24] The scene soon grew violent and, in particular, Zubayr was disarmed and carried away.^[25] Again according to al-Tabari, Zubayr, who was among the protestors in Ali's house, had come out of the house with his sword drawn but tripped on something and was then attacked.^[26] Eventually, the armed mob retreated after Fatimah loudly admonished them, "O my father, O the Messenger of God, what is this that has befallen us after you at the hands of the son of Khattab [Umar] and the son of Abi Quhafah [Abu Bakr]."^[27]

To force Ali into line, Abu Bakr later placed a boycott on him and, more broadly, on Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim.^[28] This strategy proved successful over time. Even in the mosque, Ali prayed alone.^[29] Ali is reported to have later repeatedly said that he would have resisted (Abu Bakr) had there been forty men with him.^[30] By that point, however, only his wife, Fatimah, and their four small children remained on his side.^[31] Ali chose passive resistance instead.^[31]

Attack on Fatimah's house

While it is believed that Ali continued to passively resist the authority of Abu Bakr until Fatimah died, what followed after the above altercation is uncertain.^[32] According to Abbas, what followed has been the subject of intense controversy and censorship in Islam.^[33] On the one hand, Shia historians list over a dozen well-regarded Sunni sources which mention that Fatimah suffered injury and miscarriage during a raid on her house led by Umar.^[34] On the other hand, it is known that sensitive information has been censored by Sunni scholars who were concerned with the righteous presentation of Muhammad's companions.^[6]

In particular, Shia sources include similar variations of Umar's final attempt to subdue Ali, attributed to Muhammad's close companion, Salman, and supplemented by Shia Imams:^[35]

When Umar arrived with an armed mob to take Ali away by force, Fatimah, pregnant at the time, firmly refused them entry. Instead, from behind the door, she implored Umar to fear God and leave them alone. An enraged Umar (or his client, Qunfudh) ignored Fatimah's pleadings, asked for a torch and set the door on fire, before hurling himself inside and striking Fatimah behind the door. Screaming in pain, Fatimah continued to resist the intruders. There are reports that Umar physically assaulted her with a sheathed sword. Fatimah's husband, Ali, rushed towards her before being overpowered and dragged to Abu Bakr by the aggressors. Fatimah tried to position herself between Ali and the aggressors before being struck by Qunfudh. She carried the bruise from the assault when she died.^[35]

Muawiya later alluded to Ali's violent arrest in a letter before the Battle of Siffin.^[36]

Shortly after the alleged raid, there are reports that Fatimah miscarried her son, Muhsin, whose name had been chosen by Muhammad before his death.^[37] Sunni sources, however, maintain that Muhsin was born but died in infancy.^[38] It is believed that Ali continued to passively resist the authority of Abu Bakr until Fatimah died.^[39]

Controversy

Shia holds that her injuries during the raid by Umar directly caused the young Fatimah's miscarriage and death, a few months after Muhammad's demise.^[4] For Sunnis, however, it is unimaginable that Muhammad's companions would violate the Quranic sanctity of Muhammad's family and home.^[7][40][41]

Both al-Tabari and al-Masudi write that Abu Bakr, on his deathbed, regretted his order to break into Fatimah's house.^[42] This appears to be a sensitive admission that has been censored by, for example, the Sunni author Abu Ubayd in his book, Kitab al-Amwal.^[43] It might be noted that Umar's history of violence against women is well-documented.^[44]

A common argument is that Ali would have never continued his relations with Umar had the latter organized a raid on Ali's home.^[45] In response, it has been suggested that Ali gave up his rights and exercised restraint for the sake of a nascent Islam.^[46] There are reports that Ali turned down Abu Sufyan's offer to support his claim to the caliphate.^[47] Later, in reference to Abu Bakr's caliphate, a poem began to circulate among the Banu Hashim which ended with, "Surely, we have been cheated in the most monstrous way."^[48] Ali forbade the poet to recite it, adding that the welfare of Islam was dearer to him than anything else.^[49] While Ali never withheld his help for the cause of Islam, the mutual distrust and hostility of Ali with Abu Bakr and Umar is well-documented.^[50] About the outcome of Saqifah, Ali was recorded to have said that, "I would have overturned the tables if I was not concerned about divisiveness and disunity leading some to return to the times of infidelity."^[51]

The prevalent view is that Fatimah never reconciled with Abu Bakr and Umar.^[52] It is well-cited that Fatimah's dying wish was that Abu Bakr and Umar should not attend her funeral.^[53] According to Al-Imama wa al-Siyasa, when the two visited Fatimah on her deathbed, she reminded them of Muhammad's words that, "Fatimah is part of me, and whoever angers her has angered me."^[54] The dying Fatimah then told the two that they had indeed angered her and that she would soon take her complaint to God and His prophet, Muhammad.^[55] It has been suggested that the damning implications of Fatimah's anger motivated the invention of stories about the reconciliation of Fatimah with Abu Bakr and Umar.^[56]

It is well-documented that Fatimah's dying wish was that Abu Bakr and Umar should not attend her funeral.^[9] She was buried under the cover of night and her exact burial place remains unknown.^[10]

See also

• Burial place of Fatimah
• Shia view of Fatimah
• Shia view of Ali
• Marital life of Fatimah
• Fatimiyya
• Fadak
• Twelver
• Ahl al-Bayt
• Hadith of the pen and paper
• The Lady of Heaven

References

Bibliography

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• Al-Tabari (1990). "The Events of the Year 11". In Poonawala, Ismail K. (ed.). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Vol. 9: The Last Years of the Prophet: The Formation of the State A.D. 630-632/A.H. 8–11. The State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780887066924.
• Aslan, Reza (2011). No god but God: The origins, evolution, and future of Islam. Random House. ISBN 9780812982442.
• Bowering, Gerhard, ed. (2013). "Ali b. Abi Talib". The Princeton encyclopedia of Islamic political thought. Princeton University Press.
• Cortese, Delia; Calderini, Simonetta (2006). Women And the Fatimids in the World of Islam (First ed.). Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0748617333.
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• El-Hibri, Tayeb (2010). Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231521659.
• Fitzpatrick, Coeli; Walker, Adam Hani (2014). Muhammad in history, thought, and culture: An encyclopaedia of the Prophet of God. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610691772.
• Glassé, Cyril (2001). The new encyclopedia of Islam. AltaMira Press. ISBN 9780759101890.
• Hazleton, Lesley (2009). After the prophet: The epic story of the Shia-Sunni split in Islam. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9780385532099.
• Jafri, S.H.M (1979). Origins and early development of Shia Islam. London: Longman.
• Kelen, Betty (1975). Muhammad: The messenger of God. T. Nelson. ISBN 9780929093123.
• Khetia, Vinay (2013). Fatima as a motif of contention and suffering in Islamic sources (Thesis). Concordia University.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1997). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64696-0.
• Mavani, Hamid (2013). Religious authority and political thought in Twelver Shi'ism: From Ali to post-Khomeini. Routledge. ISBN 9780415624404.
• Meri, Josef W. (2006). Medieval Islamic civilization: An encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415966900.
• Momen, Moojan (1985). An introduction to Shi'i Islam. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780853982005.
• 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: 12–29. doi:10.1163/187471611X568267.
• Vaglieri, Veccia (2021). "Fatima". Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). Brill Reference Online.