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| ] in his ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' state: After the simple inauguration of Abubeker, he was obeyed in Medina, Mecca, and the provinces of Arabia: the Hashemites alone declined the oath of fidelity; and their chief, in his own house, maintained, above six months, a sullen and independent reserve; without listening to the '''threats of Omar''', who attempted to consume with '''fire''' the habitation of the daughter of the apostle.<ref> from, ]</ref> | ] in his ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' state: After the simple inauguration of Abubeker, he was obeyed in Medina, Mecca, and the provinces of Arabia: the Hashemites alone declined the oath of fidelity; and their chief, in his own house, maintained, above six months, a sullen and independent reserve; without listening to the '''threats of Omar''', who attempted to consume with '''fire''' the habitation of the daughter of the apostle.<ref> from, ]</ref> | ||
| ] describes the events as follows: | |||
| «Short of actually following through on his threat and killing all of Muhammad's closest family, Omar was left, as he saw it, with only one option. If Ali would not come out, then he, Omar, would have to force his way in. He took a running leap and threw his whole weight against the door, and when the latches and hinges gave and it burst open, all six feet of him came hurtling through, unable to stop as he slammed full force into the person who happened to be on the other side of the door at that moment. That person was Fatima, several months pregnant with the Prophet's third grandson. Some say she was only badly bruised. Others that she broke her arm as she fell. But all agree that even Omar was stunned by the sight of the Prophet's heavily pregnant daughter doubled over in pain at his feet. As Ali bent over his injured wife, Omar retreated without another word. He had made his point. A few weeks later, the fragile Fatima gave birth to a stillborn infant boy. Nobody was sure if the miscarriage was a result of her being knocked down by Omar or whether she was so frail that it would have happened regardless. Either way, some overture might have been warranted from Abu Bakr, or at least from Omar, but there was none. Indeed there was less than none. To add insult to the injury that had already been done to her, Fatima would now lose the property she considered hers. Soon after her miscarriage, she sent a message to Abu Bakr asking for her share of her father's estate -date palm orchards in the huge oases of Khaybar and Fadak to the north of Medina. His response left her dumbfounded. The Prophet's estate belonged to the community, not to any individual, Abu Bakr replied. It was part of the Muslim charitable trust to be administered by him as Caliph.she never did recover from her miscarriage or from the bitter argument with Abu Bakr. But perhaps most painful of all in those months after the loss of her third son was the ostracism she suffered ordered by Abu Bakr to force Ali into line. When she knew death was close she asked Ali for a clandestine burial Abu Bakr was not to be informed of her death she said. he was to be given no chance to officiate at her funeral.»<ref>After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam By Lesley Hazleton, pp. 71-73</ref> | |||
| == Historical Sources == | == Historical Sources == | ||
Revision as of 04:02, 20 October 2013
Umar at Fatimah's house (in Arabic حرق الدار, means the burnt house) refers to the controversial event where Umar came to the house of Fatimah, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, in order to get the allegiance of Ali and his followers or burn her house down. This event, according to Shias, is ascribed to be the cause of Fatimah's miscarriage and eventual death.
Background
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According to the sources, following the death of Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Umar attempted to gain the shura (consensus) of the community that Abu Bakr should become the caliph (leader) over the Islamic ummah (community). According to Shi'a sources, as Ali attended the funeral of Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Umar attained the consensus of the community. As Ali was burying Muhammad, he learned that Abu Bakr had attained communal consensus. Fatimah, Ali, and their supporters maintained that Ali should be the leader over the Islamic community because of Muhammad's statement at Ghadir Khumm.
Event
Veccia Vaglieri in her article Fatima, in the Encyclopedia of Islam chronicles the event as such: "Fatima, a timid woman who had never taken part in political matters, found herself indirectly involved in some of the events which followed the death of the Prophet. After his election, Abu Bakr made his way with some companions towards Fatima's house, where a number of Ansar and of Ali's supporters had assembled. The newly-elected Khalifa wanted to obtain the homage of these dissidents also, but Ali went forward to meet him with sword drawn, and Fatima, when her husband had been disarmed by Umar and the party was preparing to enter the house, raised such cries and threatened so boldly to uncover her hair that Abu Bakr preferred to withdraw. There are other accounts of the same episode: Fatima saw in Umar's hand a brand, and asked him if he intended to set fire to her door because of his hostility to her. In one book, al-Imama wa 'l-siyasa (which is certainly very early, even though the attribution to Ibn Qutayba is wrong), the episode is related with more serious details: Umar really had evil intentions; he had wood brought and threatened to burn the house with everything in it. When he was asked, "Even if Fatimah is there?", he replied in the affirmative. Then those who were in the house came out and rendered the homage demanded⎯except for Ali. Fatimah, appearing at the door, reproached them: "You have left the body of the Apostle of God with us and you have decided among yourselves without consulting us, without respecting our rights!" When Abu Bakr and Umar repeated their attempts to make Ali comply, she is said to have cried out, "O father! O Apostle of God! What evils we have suffered at the hands of Umar and Abu Bakr after your death!" Veccia Vaglieri latter adds: "We have spent some time on these episodes because even if they have been expanded by invented details, they are based on fact."
According to Denise L. Soufi:
((...traditions discussing her involvement in the events which took place after the death of the Prophet seem to contain some truth despite their partisan biases. This is due to the fact that the Sunnis were unable to completely suppress what was so obviously detrimental to their reconstruction of religious history: namely, that Fatima quarreled with abu Bakr over his seizure of the caliphate and the Prophet's properties, that she never forgave hime for his actions and that ther death was kept secret for some time, probably at her request, in order to prevent him from presiding over her funeral rites. What is ironic is that this small window into the character of Fatima has been downplayed or ignored by Sunnis and inflated and overemphasized by Shiis...))
Tabari cites Abu Bakr on his deathbed saying that he wished he had never opened Fatima's house to anything, even though they had locked it as a gesture of defiance, implying that her house may have been broken into forced open.
Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire state: After the simple inauguration of Abubeker, he was obeyed in Medina, Mecca, and the provinces of Arabia: the Hashemites alone declined the oath of fidelity; and their chief, in his own house, maintained, above six months, a sullen and independent reserve; without listening to the threats of Omar, who attempted to consume with fire the habitation of the daughter of the apostle. Lesley Hazleton describes the events as follows: «Short of actually following through on his threat and killing all of Muhammad's closest family, Omar was left, as he saw it, with only one option. If Ali would not come out, then he, Omar, would have to force his way in. He took a running leap and threw his whole weight against the door, and when the latches and hinges gave and it burst open, all six feet of him came hurtling through, unable to stop as he slammed full force into the person who happened to be on the other side of the door at that moment. That person was Fatima, several months pregnant with the Prophet's third grandson. Some say she was only badly bruised. Others that she broke her arm as she fell. But all agree that even Omar was stunned by the sight of the Prophet's heavily pregnant daughter doubled over in pain at his feet. As Ali bent over his injured wife, Omar retreated without another word. He had made his point. A few weeks later, the fragile Fatima gave birth to a stillborn infant boy. Nobody was sure if the miscarriage was a result of her being knocked down by Omar or whether she was so frail that it would have happened regardless. Either way, some overture might have been warranted from Abu Bakr, or at least from Omar, but there was none. Indeed there was less than none. To add insult to the injury that had already been done to her, Fatima would now lose the property she considered hers. Soon after her miscarriage, she sent a message to Abu Bakr asking for her share of her father's estate -date palm orchards in the huge oases of Khaybar and Fadak to the north of Medina. His response left her dumbfounded. The Prophet's estate belonged to the community, not to any individual, Abu Bakr replied. It was part of the Muslim charitable trust to be administered by him as Caliph.she never did recover from her miscarriage or from the bitter argument with Abu Bakr. But perhaps most painful of all in those months after the loss of her third son was the ostracism she suffered ordered by Abu Bakr to force Ali into line. When she knew death was close she asked Ali for a clandestine burial Abu Bakr was not to be informed of her death she said. he was to be given no chance to officiate at her funeral.»
Historical Sources
Ibn Abi Shayba
Ibn Abi Shayba (235 AH/ 849 CE), a prominent scholar of hadith and one of the teachers of al-Bukhari, narrates in his book al-Musanaf that:
Umar came to the house of Fatima and said: "O' Daughter of the Prophet of God! I swear by God that we love no one more than your father, and after him we love no one more than you. Yet I swear by God that that won't stop me from gathering these people and commanding them to burn this house down!
ibn Qutayba
Ibn Qutaybah (276 AH/889 CE) in al-Imama wa al-Siyasa writes:
Umar said: 'I swear by He who controls the life of Umar, either you come out or I will burn this house down!' The people said: 'Abu'l Hafs, Fatima is also in this house'. Umar replied: 'Even if she is...'
al-Baladhuri
al-Baladhuri (297 AH/ 892 CE) in Ansab al-Ashraf writes:
"Abu Bakr sent for Ali so that he can give alligance but he didn't. So Umar came and Fatima met him at the door. She said: 'ibn Khatab you want to burn my door down?' Umar replied: 'Yes, in order to strengthen the religion your father brought.'
History of al-Tabari
The historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (923 CE) in his Tarikh writes:
Umar Ibn al-Khattab came to the house of Ali. Talhah and Zubayr and some of the immigrants were also in the house. Umar cried out: "By God, either you come out to render the oath of allegiance, or I will set the house on fire." al-Zubair came out with his sword drawn. As he stumbled (upon something), the sword fell from his hand so they jumped over him and seized him."
— al-Tabari, Tarikh
The translator’s commentary on this event provides the following background:
“Although the timing of the events is not clear, it seems that ‘Ali and his group came to know about the Saqifah after what had happened there. At this point, his supporters gathered in Fatima’s house. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, fully aware of ‘Ali’s claims and fearing a serious threat from his supporters, summoned him to the mosque to swear the oath of allegiance. ‘Ali refused, and so the house was surrounded by an armed band led by Abu Bakr and Umar, who threatened to set it on fire if ‘Ali and his supporters refused to come out and swear allegiance to Abu Bakr. The scene grew violent and Fatima was furious."
Sulaym b. Qays
The book Kitab Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilali, which was written by a companion of 'Ali. It describes 'Umar's attack, and describes how Fatimah, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, was injured, and allegedly beaten, in the attack, resulting in her miscarriage.
al-Mas'udi
The book Ithbāt al-Waṣīyyah, composed in the third Islamic century, is attributed to the historian al-Mas'udi, but this is highly doubted.
The author writes:
They attacked , burned his door and took him out by force and pressed against the door until she miscarried Muhsin.
He also writes:
While addressing the people Abu Bakr said: “…of the three mistakes that I committed, one of them is that during my time Fatima's house was broken into..”
Ibn Abd Rabboh
Ibn Abed Rabboh, in his book Al-Iqd ul-Fareed, writes:
As for Ali, Abbas and Zubair, they stayed in the house of Fatima until Abu Bakr sent Umar to get them out of Fatima's house and told him: if they refuse, fight them. He took a torch to burn the house and Fatima met him and told him: are you here to burn our house? He said: yes, or you enter what the Ummah has entered (i.e swear allegiance).
Tarikh al-Ya’qoubi
“..When Abu Bakr and Umar heard the news that a party of the Ansar and the Muhajirin have gathered with ‘Ali at the house of the daughter of the Prophet, they went with a group of people and attacked the house…”
Shahrastani
Al-Shahrastani d. 1153 CE, documents in his book Al-Milal wa al-Nihal
That a troublesome theologian called al-Naẓẓām (d. 231 AH) "increased his lying deception" and said:
Umar kicked Fatima's stomach on the day of allegiance until she miscarried and he yelled: "Burn her house and whoever is in it" and in it were Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn.
Sunni view and historical sources supporting the Sunni view
According to Sunni books of Hadith and books of history written at the time however, this entire story did not occur. It states that Ali willingly gave oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr, though maintained a distance from him out of respect for Ali's wife Fatima, because of an argument Abu Bakr had with Fatima over her inheritance. When Fatima died 6 months later, Ali went to Abu Bakr to re-establish closer relations. It is further refuted considering that Umar married Ali and Fatima's daughter, Umm Kulthum, whom he married after Abu Bakr taking Khilafa, showing the good relations he had with Ali at the time.
Mosnad Ahmed Ibn Hanbal
After Umar and Abu Bakr achieved the Bay'ah at Saqifah when the Ansar mooted their claim to nominate one of them for the Khilafa, Fatima asked Abu Bakr for her inheritance as the prophet's daughter, mainly Khaybar and Fadak, to which he responded that the prophet Mohammed said no inheritance is claimed from prophets and all their belongings should be charity, to which she was cross and would not speak with him afterwards.
Ba'Ali replied, lathry book "Ansab al Ashraf"
'Ali ibn Abi Talib came close to the end of the events at Saqifah day, and said to Abu Bakr:
"I knew that the prophet gave you the right of leading the prayer, and that you were his companion in the cave during the migration, but I had the right of being consulted, however may you be forgiven."
and reports that Ali gave his allegiance. This is also confirmed in "History of the Califs", and "Al-Mustadrak".
Various Historical Sunni Sources
According to original books of Hadith (speeches and traditions of the prophet), Hafiz Abu Bakr al-Baihaqi relates on the authority of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri: 'Abu Bakr ascended the pulpit and cast a glance on the people. He did not find 'Ali among them. So he sent for 'Ali and said,
"O brother and son-in-law of the Prophet, would you like that the unity among Muslims should be torn to pieces?"
'Ali replied,
"I have no grudge or complaint, O Caliph, of the Prophet."
He immediately swore allegiance to him. Al-Baihaqi adds that Ali uttered these words or this was their purport.
The historian Ibn Kathir adds in his book:
"A significant aspect of this affair is that Ali took the oath of allegiance on the very first day or the day following the death of the Prophet. This is correct in point of fact since Ali never gave up Abu Bakr's companionship nor he absented himself in any congregational prayer."
It is commonly believed by Sunni based on the above that Ali made a distance with Abu Bakr in deference to the wishes and sentiments of Fatima. He took the oath publicly six months later when Fatima had died. Ibn Kathir and other historians are of the view that the subsequent oath of allegiance by 'Ali was in confirmation of the first one. A number of reports to this effect are on record in the six authentic compilations of the Hadeeth and other books.
References
 | This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (December 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- A Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopaedia of the Doctrines, Rites ... - Thomas Patrick Hughes - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia - Josef W. Meri - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. 31 October 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- al-Yaghubi, ii, 141
- al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. 1 (Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1959), 586
- Denise L. Soufi, "The Image of Fatima in Classical Muslim Thought," PhD dissertation, Princeton, 1997, p. 206
- Denise L. Soufi, "The Image of Fatima in Classical Muslim Thought," PhD dissertation, Princeton, 1997, p. 84
- from, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 5
- After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam By Lesley Hazleton, pp. 71-73
- Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musanaf, vol. 7 (Beirut: Dar al-Taj, 1989), 432.
- ibn Qutayba, al-Imama wa al-Siyasa (Egypt: Maktabt al-Tijaria al-Kubra), 13.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - Tarikh al-Ya’qoubi, Volume 2, p 199, Nafees Academy, Karachi, Pakistan (Urdu Translation)
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - Mosnad Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, Section 025
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- History of the Califs by Al-Soyouty, page 56
- Al-Mustadrak(continuation) for Al-Hakim, part 3, page 66
- Al-Bidaya Wan Nihaya, Ibn Kathir
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