Abu Bakr, Fatimah, and the Estate of the Prophet

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As-salaamu'alaykum,

A’ishah (radiyAllahu anha) said: "Fatimah and al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) came to Abu Bakr (radiyAllahu anh) asking for their inheritance from the Messenger of Allah , mentioning his land in Fadak and his share of Khaybar. Abu Bakr said to them:

'I heard the Messenger of Allah say: We prophets are not inherited from; what we leave behind is charity. Rather the provision of the family of Muhammad should come from this wealth.”

(Bukhari, no. 6726)

According to another report, Abu Bakr said:

"I am not going to leave anything that the Messenger of Allah used to do but I will do it too, because I am afraid that if I leave anything that he used to do, I will go astray.”

(Muslim, no. 1759)

It was narrated that A’ishah said that when the Messenger of Allah died, the wives of the Prophet wanted to send 'Uthman ibn Affan to Abu Bakr to ask him for their inheritance from the Prophet. A'ishah said to them:

"Didn't the Messenger of Allah say: 'We prophets are not inherited from; what we leave behind is charity'?"

(Bukhari no. 6730; Muslim no. 1758)

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said:

"The Messenger of Allah said:

'My heirs should not share out any dinar that I leave behind. Whatever I have left, after the maintenance of my wives and the remuneration of my agent, is charity.’”

(Bukhari no. 6729)

Ahu Bakr as-Siddeeq followed these instructions with regard to Fatimah, in obedience to the words of the Prophet. Hence Abu Bakr said:

"I am not going to leave anything that the Messenger of Allah used to do, but I will do it too."

(Muslim, 1758)

And he said:

"By Allah, I will not leave anything that I saw the Messenger of Allah do, but I will do it too."

(Bukhari, no. 6726)

Fatimah stopped disputing with him after he quoted this hadith and explained the matter to her. This is evidence that she accepted the truth of what he said. Ibn Qutaybah said:

"As for the dispute of Fatimah with Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) concerning the inheritance of the Prophet this was not something strange, because she did not know what the Messenger of Allah had said, and she thought that she would inherit from him as children inherit from their fathers. When Ahu Bakr told her what the Prophet had said, she gave up her demand.”

(Shadharat adh-Dhahab, 2/169; Ta’weel Mukhtalif al-Hadeeth, p. 1/19)

The Rafidis went to extremes with regard to the story of the inheritance of the Prophet. They drifted away from the truth, turning away from and ignoring the sound reports stating that he was not to be inherited from. They made it one of the foundations of the differences between the Companions and Ahl al-Bayt (may Allah be pleased with them all) and an extension of the issue of the caliphate. They accused the Companions (especially Ahu Bakr as-Sideeq and 'Umar al-Farooq) of mistreating and being unfair to Ahl al-Bayt. They alleged that these two seized the caliphate by force from Ahl al-Bayt and then confiscated their wealth and all of the financial rights that Allah had enjoined for them. The Rafidis regard the issue of Fadak and denying Fatimah her inheritance as one of the most serious issues in which the Companions conspired after Abu Bakr seized the caliphate from them by force, according to their claim. They argue that he kept the inheritance from them to prevent the people from becoming inclined towards Ahl al-Bayt because of this wealth, lest they unite against him and dismiss him from the caliphate.

(al-Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt al-Ifrat wa’t-Tafreet, p. 435)

The one who checks this matter in the Rafidi books will find that they focus on denying the hadith of the Messenger of Allah:

"We prophets are not inherited from; what we leave behind is charity."

(Muslim no. 1758)

They try to show that it is false by producing evidence such as the following:

1)They claimed that this hadith was fabricated by Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq. With regard to that, al-Hilli said:

“Fatimah did not accept the hadith fabricated by Abu Bakr when he said:

'...what we leave behind is charity."'

He also said:

"He resorted to quoting a report that no one else narrated."

(Minhaj al-Karamah, printed with Minhaj as-Sunnah, 4/192. Quoted in al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt)

Al-Majlisi said, after stating that Abu Bakr and 'Umar seized Fadak:

"For that purpose, they fabricated this evil and false report, 'We prophets are not inherited from; what we leave behind is charity.’”

Khomeini said concerning that:

"We say that the hadith which is attributed to the Prophet is not valid, and that it was said in order to eliminate the progeny of the Prophet."

(al-Khomeini: Kashf al-Asrar, p. 132-133. Quoted in al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt)

The response to that is that these statements are pure lies and obvious fabrications, because this report was not narrated by Abu Bakr only.
Rather the words of the Prophet,

"We prophets are not inherited from; what we leave behind is charity"

- were narrated from him by Abu Bakr, 'Uthman, 'Ali, Talhah, az-Zubayr, Sa'd, 'Abdur-Rahman ibn 'Awf, al-'Abbas ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib, the wives of the Prophet, Abu Hurayrah and Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with them all).

(al-Aqeedah fi Ahl as-Sunnah, p.444)

Concerning that, Ibn Taymiyah said:

"The report from these people is proven in the books of Saheeh and the Musnads, and it is well known to the scholars of hadith. The one who says that Abu Bakr was the only one who narrated this report is proving that he is extremely ignorant or is deliberately lying."

(Minhaj as-Sunnah, 4/199)

Ibn Katheer said, after mentioning those who narrated the hadith:

"This claim of the Rafidis is false. If Abu Bakr was the only one who narrated the hadith, all the people of earth would still be obliged to accept his narration."

(al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, 5/250)

Dr. Sulayman ibn Raja' as-Suhaymi, the author of the valuable book al-Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt al-Ifrat wa’t-Tafreet said:

"This is supported by what is narrated in the books of the Rafidis from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq, the fifth infallible Imam according to them, as narrated from him by al-Kulayni, as-Saffar and al-Mufeed, according to whom he said: The Messenger of Allah said:

'Whoever follows a path seeking knowledge thereby, Allah will make easy for him a path to paradise. The scholars are trustees, the pious are fortresses and the twelve Imams are masters. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the moon over all the other heavenly bodies on a night when it is full. The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets; they did not leave any dinars or dirhams to be inherited from them, rather they left behind knowledge, and whoever acquires any of it has got a good deal.'

(al-Kulayni: al-Kafi, 1/32-34)

According to another report:

'The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets, because the Prophets did not leave behind dinars or dirhams, rather they left behind their savings in their hadith.’”

(ibid.; as-Saffar: Basa’ir ad-Darajat, p. 10, 11; al-Mufeed: al-Ikhtisas, p. 4. See also: al-Khashani: ‘Ilm al-Yaqeen, 2/747, 748. Quoted in al-‘Aqeedah li Ahl al-Bayt, p. 444)

 

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2) They claimed that this hadith was contrary to the words of Allah,

(Allah commands you as regards your children's [inheritance]: to the male, a portion equal to that of two females.)

(Qur’an, 4: 11)

They said:

"Allah did not make this only for the Ummah in exclusion of him."

(Minhaj al-Karamah, printed with Minhaj as-Sunnah, 4/194)
In fact, this verse is addressed to those whom it is meant to address, and there is nothing in the verse to suggest that the Prophet is necessarily one of those who are addressed here.

(Minhaj as-Sunnah, 4/494, 195; al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt, p. 445)

The Prophet is not to be compared to any other human being, because he is closer to the believers than their own selves and because Allah has forbidden to him charity, both obligatory and voluntary. There are things that apply exclusively to him for which Allah has singled him out. He and his fellow prophets (peace be upon them) are not to be inherited from, and this is protection from Allah so that there will be no reason for anyone to criticise them on the grounds that they only sought worldly gains for themselves and their heirs. As for the rest of mankind, they do not have that position of prophethood that could he undermined by the issue of inheritance. In a similar way, Allah also protected our Prophet from being literate or a poet, so as to eliminate any doubt about his prophethood, but others did not need this type of protection.

(Minhaj as-Sunnah, p. 194, 195; al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt, p. 445)

Ibn Katheer said, refuting the Rafidis' use of this verse as evidence:

"The Messenger of Allah had special rulings that applied only to him, which the other Prophets did not share. If we assume that other prophets could be inherited from, which is not the case, then what was narrated by the Companions, especially Abu Bakr demonstrates that this ruling applies only to him to the exclusion of the others."

(al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, 5/254; al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt, p. 446)

Thus it is clear that their claim is false and contrary to the hadith.

 

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3) They claim that the prohibition on inheritance and quoting of this hadith as evidence is contrary to the words of Allah:

“And Sulayman [Solomon] inherited [the knowledge of Dawood (David)

(Qur’an, 27: 16)

- and that it is contrary to what Allah said concerning His Prophet Zakariya:

And verily, I fear my relatives after me, and my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir, who shall inherit me, and inherit [also] the posterity of Ya'qoob [Jacob] [inheritance of the religious knowledge and prophethood, not of wealth]. And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are well-pleased!)

(Qur’an. 19: 5-6)

They said:

"Inheritance implies wealth and the like, and no one can say that what is meant in the verse is knowledge and not wealth."

(Minhaj al-Karamah, p. 109. Quoted in al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Hadeeth and other books such as at-Tara’if by Ibn Awoos, 347)

The response is that the word 'inheritance' is a generic word that includes many meanings. It may be used with regard to inherited knowledge, prophethood, kingship or other things that can be transferred. The following verses refer to nothing more than the generic meaning of inheritance; they do not indicate inheritance of wealth:

“Then We gave the Book [the Qur'an] as inheritance to such of Our slaves whom We chose.”

(Qur'an 35: 32)

“These are indeed the inheritors who shall inherit the Firdaws [paradise]. They shall dwell therein forever.

(Quran 23: 10-11)

And Sulayman [Solomon] inherited [the knowledge of] Dawood [David].

(Qur'an 27: 16).

Dawood had many other children besides Sulayman, and Sulayman cannot have been singled out to inherit his wealth, which indicates that what is meant by inheritance here is inheritance of knowledge, prophethood and so on, and not inheritance of wealth. The context of this verse is praise for Sulayman and the blessings for which Allah singled him out. There is no particular virtue in singling him out for exclusive inheritance of wealth, because inheritance of wealth is something ordinary and common among people.

(Who shall inherit me and inherit [also] the posterity of Ya'qoob [Jacob].)

(Qur'an 19: 5-6)

What is meant is not inheritance of wealth, because he (Zakariya) did not inherit any of the wealth of the family of Ya'qoob; rather those who would inherit from the posterity of Ya'qoob are their children and other heirs, if they did inherit.

(Minhaj as-Sunnah, 4/222-224)

Similarly, the words of Allah:

And verily, I fear my relatives after me, and my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir.

(Qur'an 19: 5)

- do not indicate that the inheritance in this case was inheritance of wealth, because Zakariya was not afraid that they would take his wealth after he died. That is not what he was worried about, because Zakariya was not known to have any wealth, he was a carpenter who ate from what his own hands earned, as it says in Saheeh Muslim.

(Muslim, no. 2379)

He did not have any more savings than what he needed to keep him going; therefore, his asking Allah for a son to inherit from him indicates that what is meant in these two verses is inheritance of prophethood and taking over his position.

(Minhaj as-Sunnah 4/225; al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah. 5/253; al-‘Aqeedah li Ahl al-Bayt p. 448)

Al-Qurtubi said in his commentary on this verse:

"Based on that, he did not ask for someone to inherit his wealth, because the Prophets are not inherited from. This is the more correct of the two opinions concerning the interpretation of this verse. What Zakariya meant was inheritance of knowledge and prophethood, not inheritance of wealth, because it is proven that the Prophet said:

'We prophets are not inherited from; what we leave behind is charity.’”

(Muslim, no. 1758)

In light of this hadith, we can understand the verse in which Allah says,

And Sulayman [Solomon] inherited [the knowledge of Dawood [David].)

(Qur'an 27: 16)

This is similar to what Zakariya said:

(Who shall inherit me, and inherit [also] the posterity of Ya'qoob [Jacob] [inheritance of the religious knowledge and prophethood, not of wealth]. And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are Well-Pleased!

(Qur'an 19: 6)

The second verse explains what is meant in the first verse. Sulayman did not inherit the wealth that Dawood left behind; rather what he inherited from him was wisdom and knowledge. Similarly, Yahya inherited from the posterity of Ya'qoob. This is what the scholars said about the interpretation of the Qur'an, except for the Rafidis.

(Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 11/35-45)

It is worth pointing out that the Rafidis went against their own interpretation that inheritance is something obligatory when they limited the legacy of the Prophet to Fatimah only, and claimed that no one inherited from the Prophet except her. Thus they excluded his wives and his relatives, contrary to the general meaning of the verses that they quoted as evidence. As-Sadooq narrated with his chain of narration from Abu Ja'far al-Baqir that he said:

"No, by Allah, neither al-'Abbas, nor 'Ali, nor any of his heirs except Fatimah inherited from the Messenger of Allah. The only reason why 'Ali took the Prophet's weapon and other things was to pay off his debts."

(Man la yahduruhu al-Faqeeh, 4/190, 191; al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt, p. 451)

Al-Kulayni, as-Sadooq and at-Toosi narrated, with their chains of narration going back to al-Baqir, that he said:

“Ali inherited his knowledge from the Messenger of Allah and Fatimah inherited his estate."

(al-Kulayni: al-Kafi, 7/137; al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt, p. 451)

In fact, they even excluded Fatimah from that when they claimed that women do not inherit property. In his book al-Kafi, Al-Kulayni included a chapter entitled:

"Women do not inherit anything of property,"

- in which he quoted a number of reports, including a report from Abu Ja'far as-Sadiq in which he said:

"Women do not inherit anything of land or property."

(al-Kulayni: al-Kafi, 7/137; al-‘Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt, p. 451)

As-Sadooq narrated, with his chain of narration going back to Maysar, who said:

"I asked him (as-Sadiq) about women and what they are entitled to of inheritance. He said:

'As for land and property, they do not inherit them."'

(ash-Shi’ah wa Ahl al-Bayt, p. 89)

Thus it becomes clear that from their point of view, Fatimah was not entitled to anything of the inheritance - without even having to quote as evidence the hadith,

"We prophets are not inherited from."

(Muslim, 1768)

If women do not inherit property or land, on what grounds could Fatimah have asked for Fadak - according to what they say - which is undoubtedly property?

(ash-Shi’ah wa Ahl al-Bayt, p. 452)

This indicates that they are lying and contradicting themselves, let alone the fact of their ignorance.

(al-'Aqeedah fi Ahl al-Bayt, p. 452)

They also claim that Abu Bakr asked Fatimah to bring witnesses, and she brought 'Ali and Umm Ayman (may Allah be pleased with them), but that Abu Bakr refused to accept their testimony. This is an obvious and blatant lie, Hammad ibn Ishaq said:

"As for what some people narrated about Fatimah asking for Fadak and saying that the Messenger of Allah had allocated it to her, and 'Ali testifying to that but Abu Bakr not accepting his testimony because he was her husband, this is something that has no basis, and no report could ever be proven concerning that; rather it is fabricated and has no proof."

(Minhaj as-Sunnah, 4/236-238)

 

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4) The Sunnah and scholarly consensus indicate that the Prophet was not to be inherited from. Ibn Taymiyah said:

"The fact that the Prophet was not to be inherited from is definitively proven in the sound Sunnah and by the consensus of the Companions, either of which is definitive proof which cannot be contradicted by another report which appears to be general in meaning. If it is general in meaning, then the other report is an exception, because if we accept it as proof, it would be no more than speculation or probability which cannot contradict that which is definitive, because that which is speculative cannot contradict that which is definitive. This report was narrated by more than one of the Companions at different times and in different gatherings, and none of the Companions ever objected to it or denied it. Rather they all accepted it and believed it.

Hence none of his wives insisted on demanding inheritance, and his paternal uncle did not insist on demanding inheritance. Rather when he asked for that and was told of what the Prophet had said, he gave up his demand, and this is how matters remained at the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, including Ali. Nothing was changed, and none of the Prophet's estate was divided."

(op. cit., 4/220)

Ibn Taymiyah said:

"Ali was appointed caliph after Dhun-Noorayn 'Uthman, and Fadak and other property came under his control, and he did not give any part of them to any of the children of Fatimah or to any of the wives of the Prophet or to any of the sons of al-'Abbas. If there was any injustice and he was able to remove it, that would have been easier for him than fighting Mu'awiyah and his armies. Do you think he would have fought Mu'awiyah, with all the bad consequences that resulted from that, and not given these people a little wealth, which was much easier for him to do?"

(op. cit., 6/347)

There was a consensus among the Rightly Guided Caliphs concerning this issue, and the Abbasid caliph Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah used this consensus as evidence against some of those who debated with him concerning this issue. Ibn al-Jawzi said in Talbees Iblees:

"We narrated from as-Saffah that he addressed the people one day, and a man who was one of the descendants of 'Ali stood up and said:

'O Amir al-Mu'mineen, help me against those who have wronged me.'

He said:

'Who has wronged you?

He said:

'I am one of the descendants of 'Ali, and the one who wronged me was Abu Bakr when he took Fadak from Fatimah.'

As-Saffah said:

'Did he persist in wronging you?

The man said:

'Yes.'

He said:

'Who succeeded him?'

The man said:

'Umar.'

He said:

'Did he persist in wronging you?'

The man said:

'Yes.'

He said:

'Who succeeded him?’

The man said:

"Uthman.'

The man said:

'Did he persist in wronging you?'

He said:

'Yes.'

As-Saffah said:

'Who succeeded him?'

And the man began turning around as if he was looking for an escape route.”

(Talbees Iblees, p. 135)

Some of the descendants of 'Ali from Fatimah stated clearly that Abu Bakr was correct in his judgement on the issue of Fadak, according to what was narrated by al-Bayhaqi with his chain of narration from Fudayl ibn Marzooq, who said:

"Zayd ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib said:

'If I were in Abu Bakr's position, I would have given the same ruling as Abu Bakr did with regard to Fadak.”

(Ibn Shabbah: Tareekh al-Madinah, 1/200; al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, 5/253)

Abu al-Abbas al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) also narrated that there was consensus among Ahl al-Bayt, starting with ‘Ali and his sons after him, then the sons of al-'Abbas, in whose hands was left the charity of the Messenger of Allah. They did not think that they had the right to possess it; rather they spent it for the sake of Allah. Al-Qurtubi said:

"When 'Ali became caliph, he did not change its status from the way it had been at the time of Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them). He never tried to take possession of it or to take a share of it; rather he managed it in the way it had been managed before. Then it came under the control of Hasan ibn 'Ali, then Husayn ibn ‘Ali, then 'Ali ibn al-Husayn, then al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan, then Zayd ibn al-Husayn, then Abdullah ibn al-Husayn, then the Abbasids got control of it, according to what was stated by Abu Bakr al-Burqani in his Saheeh.”

They are senior figures of Ahl al-Bayt (may Allah he pleased with them) and are held in high esteem by the Shia and their scholars. It is not narrated from any of them that they took possession of it or inherited it or passed it on as an inheritance. If what the Shia say is true, then 'Ali or another member of Ahl al-Bayt would have kept it when they got control of it.

(al-Qurtubi: al-Mufhim, 3/564)

Ibn Katheer said:

'The Rafidis spoke about this issue on the basis of ignorance and spoke of something of which they had no knowledge. They rejected something without having real knowledge of it, and they tried to get involved in something that did not concern them.

(al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, 5/253)

If they had understood the matter as it really was, they would have recognised the virtue of Abu Bakr and accepted his explanation, which everyone should accept. But they are a doomed group, cheap and vile, who adhere to ambiguous matters and ignore issues that are well-established with the leaders of Islam, namely the Companions, Tabi'oon and scholars who are respected in all places and in all eras, may Allah be pleased with them all and make them pleased."

(op. cit., 5/251)

 

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5) Fatimah's goodwill towards Abu Bakr. It is proven that Fatimah was pleased with Abu Bakr after that, and she died pleased with him, according to what was narrated by al-Bayhaqi with his chain of narration from ash-Shu'bi, who said:

"When Fatimah fell sick, Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq came and asked for permission to see her.

‘Ali said:

'O Fatimah, here is Abu Bakr, asking permission to see you.'

She said:

'Do you want me to give him permission?'

He said:

'Yes.'

So she gave him permission to enter upon her to try to reconcile with her. He said:

'By Allah, I never forsook my property, my wealth, my family and my tribe except to seek the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger and the pleasure of Ahl al-Bayt.'

And he kept saying kind words to her until she was pleased with him."

(al-Bayhaqi: as-Sunan al-Kubra, 6/301)

Ibn Katheer said:

"This is a good and strong chain of narration, and it seems that Amir Ash-Shu’bi heard it from 'Ali, or he was one of those who heard it from 'Ali.”

(al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, 5/253)

Thus the Rafidi criticism of Abu Bakr, which they base on Fatimah's being angry with him, is refuted. If she was upset with Abu Bakr in the beginning, she was pleased with him after that, and when she died, she was pleased with him. The one who sincerely loves her cannot afford but to be pleased with whomever she is pleased with.

(al-Intisar lis-Sahbi wal-Al, p. 434)

This cannot be contradicted by what is proven in the hadith of 'A'ishah:
"The family of Muhammad could only live on this wealth, and by Allah I will not change anything of the charity of the Messenger of Allah from the way it was at the time of the Messenger of Allah; I shall manage it as the Messenger of Allah managed it."

According to 'A'ishah, Abu Bakr refused to give Fatimah something from it, and Fatimah got upset with Abu Bakr because of that, so she forsook him and never spoke to him until she died.

(Bukhari, no. 4240, no. 175)

This was as much as ‘A’ishah knew, but in the hadith of ash-Shu'bi there is additional information that proves that Abu Bakr visited Fatimah and that she spoke to him and was pleased with him. ‘A’ishah denied it and ash-Shu'bi affirmed it, and it is well known to the scholars that the words of one who affirms take precedence over the words of one who denies, because it is possible that something happened without the knowledge of the one who denied it, especially with regard to such issues. Abu Bakr's visit to Fatimah when she was sick was not a major issue that everyone would have known about; rather it was an ordinary matter that was not known to those who did not witness it, and no one would care to transmit it, because there was no need to mention it.

The scholars stated that Fatimah did not deliberately shun Abu Bakr in the first place; a woman like her is far above doing such a thing because the Prophet forbade shunning for more than three days. Rather, she did not speak to him because there was no need to do so.

(al-Intisar lis-Sahbi wal-Al, p. 434)

Al-Qurtubi, the author of al-Mufhim, said in the context of commenting on the hadith of 'A’ishah referred to above:

"Moreover, she [meaning Fatimah] did not meet Abu Bakr because of her grief at the loss of the Messenger of Allah and because she stayed in her house, and the narrator described that as forsaking or shunning. But the Messenger of Allah said:

'It is not permissible for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three days."'

(Bukhari, no. 6077)

She was the most knowledgeable of people about what was permissible and forbidden in that regard, and she was the least likely of people to go against the command of the Messenger of Allah. How could she be like that when she was a part of the Messenger of Allah and the leader of the women of paradise?

(al-Mufhim, 12/73)

An-Nawawi said:

"With regard to what is mentioned about Fatimah shunning Abn Bakr, what it means is that she kept to herself and did not meet him, and this is not the shunning that is haram, which involves not greeting the person and turning away when meeting him. The words in this hadith, 'she did not speak to him', mean that she did not speak to him about this matter, or that she kept to herself and did not ask him for any need, and she had no need to meet him or talk to him. There is no narration at all to suggest that they met and she did not greet or speak to him."

(Sharh Saheeh Muslim, 12/73)

Fatimah was distracted from everything by her grief at the loss of the noblest of creation, which was a calamity in comparison to which all other calamities look small. She was also preoccupied with her illness, which kept her bedridden and unable to participate in anything, let alone meeting the caliph of the Muslims, who was busy every minute of the day with the affairs of the Ummah, the wars of apostasy and other matters. She also knew that she would soon join her father, as the Messenger of Allah had told her that she would be the first one of his family to join him.

(Muslim, p. 2450)

The one who has this type of knowledge does not worry about any worldly affairs. How good are the words of al-Muhallab which were narrated by al-'Ayni:

"No narrator said that they met and refused to greet one another; rather she stayed in her house, and the narrator described that as shunning."

(Abateel yajib an tumha min at-Tareekh, p. 108)

One of the things that indicate that the relationship between Abu Bakr and Fatimah was very strong is that the wife of Abu Bakr, Asma' bint 'Umays, is the one who tended to Fatimah; the daughter of the Prophet, during her final illness, and she was with her until she took her last breath. She was one of those who washed her and prepared her for burial. 'Ali tended her himself and was helped in that by Asma'. Fatimah gave Asma' some instructions with regard to how she was to be shrouded and buried, and how her funeral was to be, and Asma' carried out those instructions.

(ash-Shi'ah wa Ahl al-Bayt, p. 77)

Fatimah said to Asma':

"I do not like what is done to women: they cover the woman with a cloth that shows her shape."

Asma' said:

"O daughter of the Messenger of Allah shall I tell you of something that I saw in Abyssinia?"

She called for some fresh palm leaves, then she bent them and covered them with a cloth. Fatimah said:

"How good and beautiful this is! With this a woman can be told apart from a man."

(al-Istee'ab, 4/378)

It was narrated from Ibn 'Abdul-Barr that Fatimah was the first one in Islam whose bier was covered in this manner, and Zaynab bint Jahsh was the next one.

Abu Bakr was in constant contact with 'Ali to ask about the condition of the daughter of the Prophet contrary to what the people claim. Fatimah was sick, and 'Ali was praying the five daily prayers in the mosque. After he had prayed, Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) would ask him:

"How is the daughter of the Messenger of Allah?"

At the same time, he was in contact with her through his wife Asma', as she was the one who was actually in charge of taking care of her. On the day Fatimah died, Madinah was shaken with the weeping of men and women alike, and the people were distraught just as they had been on the day the Messenger of Allah died.

Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) went to offer condolences to 'Ali and said:

"O Abu al-Hasan, do not offer the funeral prayer for the daughter of the Messenger of Allah before you tell us."'

(ash-Shi'ah wa Ahl al-Bayt, p. 77; Kitab Saleem ibn Qays, p. 355)

She died the night before Tuesday, on the third of Ramadan 11 AH. Ibn Malik ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammad narrated from his father that his grandfather 'Ali ibn al-Husayn said:

"Fatimah died between sunset and nightfall, and Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, az-Zubayr and 'Abdur-Rahmin ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with them) were present. When she was placed for the funeral prayer to be offered over her, 'Ali said:

'Go forward, O Abu Bakr (to lead the prayer).'

Abu Bakr said:

'What about you, O Abu al-Hasan?'

'Ali said:

'By Allah, no one but you will lead the prayer over her.'

So Abu Bakr led the funeral prayer for her, and she was buried at night."

It says in another report that Abu Bakr offered the funeral prayer for Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah and said takbeer over her four times.

(al-Mukhtasar min Kitab al-Muwafaqah, p. 68. There is some weakness in its chain of narration)

According to a report narrated by Muslim, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib offered the funeral prayer for her, and this is more likely to be correct.

(ad-Dawhah an-Nabawiyyah, p. 62, 63)