Fāţimah Zahrā’ also called Faatemah Az-Zahraa (Arabic: فاطمة الزهراء) was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadija. She was born in Mecca, northwestern Arabia, around 614 (Shi'a tradition) or 606 CE (Sunni tradition) and died in Medina in 632, soon after her father Muhammad's death. In 624, she was married to her father's cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was one of Muhammad's lieutenants and later, the fourth caliph, or leader of the Muslims. (Note that this is controversial; Shi'a Muslims believe that Ali was the first legitimate caliph.) Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, considered one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation). ... Khadija (Arabic: خديجه ) was the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad. ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... Events The Persian Empire under general Shahrbaraz captures and sacks Jerusalem; the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is damaged by fire and the True Cross is captured. ... Shia Islam ( Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 20-25% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ... Events Shashanka is the first recorded independent king of Bengal (approximate date). ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... This article is about the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. ... Events Abu Bakr becomes first caliph or Successor of the Prophet, leader of Islam Abu Bakr defeats Mosailima in the Battle of Akraba. ... Ali ibn Abu Talib (Arabic: ) (c. ... Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ...

Fatimah had three sons by Ali, Hasan ibn Ali ,Husayn ibn Ali and Mohsenibn Ali, and two daughters, Umm Khultum bint Ali and Zaynab bint Ali. Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (c. ... Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (c. ... Al Muhsin or Mohsin, in Shia belief, was the unborn child of Fatima Al Zahra, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and wife of Ali ibn Abu Talib. ... Ali ibn Abu Talibs daughter, married Aun ibn Jafar. ... Daughter of Ali ibn abi Taleb. ...

The two major Muslim groups, Shi'a and Sunni, generally agree on this much, but give very different detailed accounts of her life.

The Sunni view of Fatimah

According to Sunni historians, Fatimah was the youngest of the four daughters whom Khadijah bore to Muhammad. She died of natural causes, at the age of twenty-three or twenty-four, surviving her father by only a few months. Sunni historians do not accept the accounts of her injuries and miscarriage at the hands of Umar and his men. She was buried privately and secretly; the exact location of her grave is still debated by (Sunni) scholars. Khadija (Arabic: خديجه ) was the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad and the first female convert to Islam, the new religion he had begun to preach. ...

Sunnis regard her as a loving and devoted daughter, mother, and wife, a sincere Muslim, and an exemplar for Muslim women. It is believed that she was very close to Muhammed and her distinction from other women is mentioned in many of his hadiths: Hadith (Arabic: , Arabic pl. ...

"Fatimah is a part of my flesh: whoever causes her to be upset, upsets me." (Al-Bukhari, English Translation, Vol. 5, Book 57, Number 111) [1]

They also call her Al-Zahra, the Lady of Light. The khamsa, an amulet popularly believed to ward off evil and widely used in the Maghreb, represents the hand of Fatima. Khamsa used as a pendant The Khamsa (Arabic خمسة, literally five-fold), the symbol or design known in Islamic societies as the Hand of Fatima, sometimes the Eye of Fatima, and in Jewish lore as the Hand of Miriam or Hamesh Hand, serves as an ancient talismanic way of averting the... The Maghreb (المغرب العربي ; sometimes also rendered Moghreb), meaning western in Arabic, is the region of the continent of Africa north of the Sahara desert and west of the Nile — specifically, the modern countries of Morocco, Western Sahara (annexed and occupied by Morocco), Algeria, Tunisia, Libya — and to a much lesser extent...

The Shi'a view of Fatimah

According to Shi'a Muslims, Fatimah was Muhammad's only daughter. Tales that he had other daughters by Khadija were spread by Sunni controversialists, who wished to deny Ali the distinction of being Muhammad's only son-in-law. She was very close to her father. Her children, his grandsons Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn, were very dear to him. Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (c. ... Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (c. ...

However, Muhammad's young wife, Aisha, disliked both Fatima and Ali. She envied their relationship with her husband and Muhammad's high regard for the deceased Khadija. She had a grudge against Ali for his refusal to defend her when she was accused of adultery. When Muhammad died, Aisha and her father, Abu Bakr, intrigued to grab the leadership of the Muslim community. The Shi'a say that Muhammad had wanted Ali to succeed him but his wishes were ignored. Aisha, Ayesha, Aisha, or Aisha (Arabic عائشة `āisha, she who lives) was a wife of Muhammad, whom Muslims regard as the final prophet of Islam. ... Abu Bakr As Siddiq (Arabic ابو بكر الصديق, alternative spellings, Abubakar, Abi Bakr, Abu Bakar) (c. ...

After Abu Bakr assumed leadership, he asked the Muslims to swear allegiance to him, as was the Arab custom of the time. Ali and his followers refused; they were called the Shia or followers of Ali. They were harassed and threatened by Abu Bakr's supporters. Shia Islam or Shi`ism (from the Arabic word شيعة, Persian: شیعه) is the second largest denomination of the religion of Islam. ...

According to the Shi'a, Umar al-Khattab was one of Abu Bakr's most zealous supporters. He led a party of armed men against Ali's house in Medina and called for Ali and his men to come out and swear allegiance. He threatened to burn the house down if they did not submit. Ali refused to come out and Umar and his men pushed into the house. Fatima was standing behind the door, and when the door was pushed open suddenly, she was crushed between the wall and door. This caused her severe injury. She was pregnant at the time and she miscarried a son whom the Shi'a call Al Muhsin. Umar ibn al-Khattab, al-Farooq (in Arabic, عمر بن الخطاب) (c. ... Al Muhsin or Mohsin, in Shia belief, was the unborn child of Fatima Al Zahra, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and wife of Ali ibn Abu Talib. ...

Fatimah did not survive long after the demise of her father. According to the Shi'a, before her death she made these requests of Ali:

• O Ali, you will personally perform my funeral rites.
• Those who have displeased me should not be allowed to attend my funeral.
• My corpse should be carried to the graveyard at night.

Ali did as she wished: she was buried at night, and accompanied to the grave by her relatives and sons. The burial was done secretly, so that Abu Bakr and Umar could not attend.

Shi'a believe that Fatimah died at the age of eighteen in Medina. This article is about the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. ...

According to the Shi'a, Ali and Fatimah had an additional cause of grievance against Abu Bakr and Umar; Muhammad had owned extensive properties in Medina and Fadak. Fatima believed that these properties should come to her, but Abu Bakr ruled against her. After Fatima's death, Ali renewed his claim to the properties, but was again denied.

Shi'as regard Fatimah as the greatest woman who has ever lived, the leader of all women in Paradise, and the pattern of female virtue. She was the wife of the first Shi'a Imam, the mother of the second and third, and the ancestress of all the succeeding Imams. Imam (Arabic: إمام , Persian: امام ) is an Arabic word meaning Leader. The ruler of a country might be called the Imam, for example. ...

Shi'a give Fatima many titles of praise; the list is long. See List of Shi'a titles for Fatima Zahra. Muslims express their love and devotion to pivotal figures in Islamic history by giving these figures titles. ...

The Book of Fatimah

According to a Shi'a tradition, Fatimah wrote a book after the passing of Muhammad. Shi'a claim that the angel Gabriel appeared to her and spoke words of consolation and counsel. According to one tradition [2] she was given prophecies of coming events. She is said to have dictated to her husband Ali a book containing the words of Gabriel, which was later lost. The Mahdi, who is to come in the last days, is expected to reveal the book again. [3] 12th-century icon of Archangel Gabriel from Novgorod. ... The Mahdi (Arabic: مهدي, also transliterated as: Mehdi or Mihdi; translated as: Guided One), in Islamic eschatology, is the prophesied redeemer of Islam, who will change the world into a perfect Islamic society before Yaum al-Qiyamah (literally Day of the Resurrection). The exact nature of the Mahdi differs according to... The Last Judgement - Fresco in the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo The end times are, in one version of Judeo-Christian eschatology and in Islam, a time of tribulation that will precede the Second Coming of the Messiah. ...

Sayings

• "Allah made the faith for you as purity from polytheism."
• "Allah fixed the reward for His obedience and torment for His insubordination and disobedience so that He may restrain His servants from His wrath and fury and lead them to His paradise."
• "And Allah set Hajj for the consolidation and reinforcement of the religion."
• "And (Allah made) Jehad (holy war), the honor and glory for Islam and abjectness and humbleness for the infidels and the hypocrites."
• "And (Allah rendered) patience as a help for getting reward."
• "And (Allah made) the kindness to parents as a protectional (shield) to His wrath and displeasure."
• "And (Allah rendered) prohibition from drinking wine the cause of taking distance from contaminations (evils)."

For other uses, see Allah (disambiguation). ... Polytheism stevenis gay, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities. ... For other uses, see Allah (disambiguation). ... The Hajj or Haj (Arabic: ) is the Pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah) in Islam. ...

See also

• Ahl al Bayt
• Hand of Fatima
• Succession to Muhammad
• Historiography of early Islam
• Al Muhsin

Ahl al-Bayt (Arabic:) is a phrase meaning People of the House, or family. ... Khamsa used as a pendant The Khamsa (Arabic خمسة, literally five-fold), the symbol or design known in Islamic societies as the Hand of Fatima, sometimes the Eye of Fatima, and in Jewish lore as the Hand of Miriam or Hamesh Hand, serves as an ancient talismanic way of averting the... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... The historiography of early Islam is the study of how various historians have treated the events of the first two centuries of Islamic history. ... Al Muhsin or Mohsin, in Shia belief, was the unborn child of Fatima Al Zahra, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and wife of Ali ibn Abu Talib. ...

External links

• A biography of Fatimah.
• Fatima The Gracious (as viewed by The Shia)
• http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/education/0000325.php