Feminist Theology and Social Justice in Islam

Feminist Theology and Social Justice in Islam
Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed, is best known for her protest sermon,
an important document from the early Islamic era. Mahjabeen Dhala here
offers an in-depth analysis of this captivating narrative, which lies at the
intersection of theology and women’s studies. A fresh and deep study of
Fatima’s sermon from feminist and social justice perspectives, she reclaims
the voice of a seventh-century Muslim woman theologian and female
inheritance rights activist from patriarchal, sectarian, and secular biases.
Dhala unveils a rich tapestry of empowerment for women and political
minorities within the Islamic tradition. She also uncovers the early origins
of female agency and empowerment in Islam, shattering prevailing
Western misconceptions and challenging the notion that Muslim women
are passive bystanders. Additionally, Dhala’s book contributes to our
understanding of the role of women in Islamic theology and ethics,
revealing their active engagement in promoting social justice and fostering
transformative change.
Mahjabeen Dhala is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and Chair

of the Women’s Studies in Religion program at the Graduate Theological
Union in Berkeley.
Mahjabeen Dhala
Graduate Theological Union
Feminist Theology
and Social Justice in Islam
A Study on the Sermon of Fatima
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Names: Dhala, Mahjabeen, 1969– author.
Title: Feminist theology and social justice in Islam : a study on the
sermon of Fatima / Mahjabeen Dhala.
Description: 1. | New York : Cambridge University Press, 2024. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023034021 | ISBN 9781009423045 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781009423076 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Muslim women – Political activity – History. | Social
justice – Religious aspects – Islam. | Fatị mah, –632 or 633 – Political
activity. | Women in Islam.
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Union in Berkeley.
Mahjabeen Dhala
Feminist Theology

www.cambridge.org
DOI: 10.1017/9781009423076
ISBN 9781009423076 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-009-42304-5 Hardback

Union in Berkeley.
Mahjabeen Dhala
Feminist Theology

www.cambridge.org
DOI: 10.1017/9781009423076
ISBN 9781009423076 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-009-42304-5 Hardback
To Firoza and Mohamed Ali
For making mawlāyi(s)
Contents
Acknowledgments page x
Introduction 1
A Word on Biographies 3
Faithful and Feminist 8
Ta’wil and Tafsir of the Qur’an 12
Setting the Stage 14
Chapter Outlines 21
1 Fatima in Islamic Sacred Sources 25

Fatima in the Qur’an 25
The Promise of Kauthar 26
Among the Abrār 29
The “Verse of Light” 33
The “Verse of Purity” 37
The “Verse of Mubāhala” 40
Fatima in the Mystical Tradition 43
Creation from Light 44
Journey from the Heavens to the Earth 46
Fatima’s Appellations 50
The Tasbīh of Fatima 55
Intercession on the Day of Judgment 58
From Reverence to Reform 61
vii
Contents
2 Fadak: More than a Land Dispute 63

Fadak during the Life of the Prophet 64
The Political Context of Fadak 68
The Symbolic Context of Fadak 72
Fadak in the Context of Social Welfare 77
The Gendered and Moral Aspect of Fatima’s Protest 80
Fatima Initiates a Social Movement 82
Fatima’s Witnesses 84
Umm Ayman 84
Asma bint Umays 88
An Arena for Dispute and Discourse 91
3 Women’s Theology 93
Describing the Indescribable 95
Life after Death 101
Fatima Describes the Qur’an 105
Fatima Deploys the Qur’an 110
Fatima Critiques Hadith from the Qur’an 113
A Theology of Empowerment 119
4 Service-Based Leadership 121

A Transformational Leader 123
A Teacher Leader 128
A Guardian Leader 134
The Prophet’s Successors 141
A Metaphor for Servant Leadership 150
Inheriting the Prophet’s Traits 152
5 Fatima Inspires Social Justice 154

Fatima’s Children 155
Shi‘a Lived Experience 158
Muslim Women Then and Now 161
Asma bint Umays (d. c. 39/660 CE) 161
Fiḍḍa al-Nubiyya (d. c. 68/690 CE) 164
Amina al-Sadr (d. 1980 CE) 169
viii
Contents
Contemporary Feminist Theories and Theologies 172

An Inspiring Legacy 177
Conclusion 179
Did Fatima Succed in Getting Fadak? 185
Appendix 188
Bibliography 197
Index 208
ix
Acknowledgments
I wish to express my gratitude to Judith Berling, Munir Jiwa, and

Amir Hussain whose advice and support were integral during my
doctoral research. Many thanks to Muhammed al-Hilli in procuring
research texts and to Celene Ibrahim and Amir Hussain for their
encouragement throughout the writing process. Additionally,
I express my appreciation for my colleagues who cheered me along
this journey: Arthur Holder, Jennifer Davidson, Elizabeth Peña,
and Sephora Markson.
I would also like to extend my thanks to the anonymous review-
ers. Their intellectual insights, inspiring questions, and thorough
feedback were immensely beneficial in shaping the arguments
and ideas presented in this book. I am grateful for their time and
comments. My deep gratitude to Beatrice Rehl for her support and
guidance.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge my friend Fatima Ali and
my family, Fatima, Zainab, Munawer, Aziz, and Imran, whose
unwavering support, encouragement, and understanding have
been essential in helping me balance the demands of academic
work and personal life.
To all my students, colleagues, and community members who
have supported me in this endeavor, I extend my deepest gratitude.
Any errors or omissions in this book are solely my responsibility.
x
Introduction
Born in 615 CE to Prophet Muhammad (S)1 and his spouse and first
wife, Khadija, Fatima is hailed as the Prophet’s youngest daughter
by Sunnis and as his only daughter by the Shiʿa. She was married
to Ali bin Abi Talib, the Prophet’s cousin, the first Imam of the
Shiʿa, and holds the esteemed position of being the mother of the
Prophet’s progeny. The sermon of Fatima (Khutbat Fadakiyya) is a
narrative of Fatima’s oral protest of the confiscation of her lands in
Fadak by Abu Bakr, the caliphal authority of the time.
The issue of Fadak is one of two episodes from early Islamic his-
tory that remain areas of contention between Shiʿi and Sunni ren-
ditions of Islam, the other episode being the gathering at Saqifa.
Before the Prophet’s burial, a few companions from among the
muhājir (emigrants) and the ansār (helpers) gathered in Saqifa
Banu Saada to select the Prophet’s successor. Fatima and Ali, along
with a handful of companions, held Abu Bakr’s selection as caliph
at Saqifa as a direct violation of the Prophet’s announcement of Ali
as his successor at the halting station of Ghadeer Khum on his jour-
ney back to Medina after performing Hajj.
After assuming the caliphate, Abu Bakr dismissed Fatima’s
attendants from Fadak and appropriated it as state property.
Fatima launched an oral protest to assert her ownership of Fadak
1
Throughout this book, I will be using (S) which is short for ṣalli Allahu ʿalayhi wa
ālihi wa sallam (lit. peace and blessings be upon him and his family). This kind of
honorary benediction is customary alongside the mention of the name of Prophet
Muhammad (S) by Muslims.
1
Introduction
as her inheritance. In doing so, she deployed a Qur’anic argument

for female inheritance rights and a theological argument against the
government’s legitimacy. Popularly known as Khutbat Fadakiyya,
her public protest has been subject to patriarchal and sectarian
biases within Islamic studies. Since it is the narrative of a religious
Muslim woman’s theological argument for gender justice, its value
to secular feminist studies is undermined.
Framing the discourse within the field of theology on the one
hand and women’s studies on the other, this book builds on Fatima’s
sacred and central position in the development of Shiʿi theology
and her contribution to the empowerment of women and political
minorities from within the tradition. This textual-historical analysis
of the sermon of Fatima traces the early origins of female empow-
erment and agency in Islam, challenging the common Western
notion that God-centric Muslim women are unable, unwilling, or
unauthorized to actively engage in promoting social justice and
articulating a transformative praxis, empowering the female condi-
tion in Muslim cultures and societies.
I read and interpret the sermon of Fatima through a unique fem-
inist perspective insofar as it navigates not only through patriarchal
but also secular and sectarian biases to recover Fatima’s contribu-
tions to Islamic theology and social justice. Even though the sermon
is deemed uncomfortably sectarian and has a history of surviving
hegemonic attempts at its erasure, I steer away from polemical
rhetoric and focus mainly on retrieving the narrative of the female
theologian activist amidst sectarian bias and the challenging vicis-
situdes of an empire. I am consciously using modern terms such as
“activist” and “social justice” in the context of a premodern sermon
to argue that these existed as major concepts as early as the reve-
lation of the Qur’an and are late arrivals in the English language.2
2
“Activism,” as a term, which could simply be understood as taking action to effect
social change, was first recorded in Germany in 1905–1910. Since then, it has occurred
in myriad ways and has taken various forms such as, social, political, economic,
2
A Word on Biographies
Challenging prevalent social norms, reclaiming repressed voices,

and taking action to reconstruct societies that offer equal advan-
tages to all its constituents, have been the joint mandate of the
agents of God. Religious sacred texts and the history of prophets
might well be the birth locations of “isms” popular today.
In this book, I portray Fatima as a qualified theologian and
resilient socio-political activist, ostracized not only because of her
gender but also because of her beliefs and her vociferous stand
for justice. Her sermon is a testimony to Muslim female activist
voices from the seventh century, which directly impacted their
society’s religious, cultural, and political landscape and continue
to play an inspirational role in the lived experience of contempo-
rary Muslims.
Like most peoples’ history, Islamic history is often a record of trag-

edy. For the Shiʿa, Islamic historical archives are incomplete and
subject to erasure because early scholarship preferred the oral tradi-
tion and the political agenda of the early caliphs included explicitly
obscuring the documentation and dissemination of events related
to the Ahl al-Bayt (Prophet’s Household).3 Female voices were, and
possibly are, weak, if not entirely missing, in the study of religion
environmental, and more recently Internet and design activism. The usage of the term
“social justice” received much attention after the publication of John Rawls’s A Theory
of Justice in 1971, although it (giustizia sociale) may have been conceived as early
as 1843 by the Jesuit philosopher Luigi Taparelli d’Azeglio, while debāting the early
efforts of Risorgimento in unifying Italy. See Thomas Patrick Burke, “The Origins
of Social Justice: Taparelli d’Azeglio,” Modern Age: A Conservative Review 52, no. 2
(Spring 2010), accessed December 12, 2017, https://home.isi.org/origins-sociAl-justice-
taparelli-d%E2%80%99azeglio.
3
Sayyid Moustafa al-Qazvini, When Power and Piety Collide: A Critical Analysis of the
Early Caliphate in Islam, Understanding the Present by Knowing the Past (Washington:
The United Muslim Association of America Publishing House, 2015), 66, 67.
3
Introduction
in general. In the case of Islam, an investigation into the histories

of women like Fatima faces double jeopardy because, in addition
to the political and often academic discrimination against the Shiʿa
by mainstream Islamic authorities, the patriarchal Arab culture did
not award equal opportunities for women to be heard.
Most of the biographical works on Fatima’s life appear within more
extensive biographies of the Prophet and the twelve holy Imams in
his progeny. The eleventh-century Shiʿi historian Muhammad bin
Jarir al-Tabari documented one of the earliest biographies of the
Twelver Imams.4 His Dala’il al-Imama contains a brief biography
of Fatima and those of the Imams. A more detailed narrative of
Fatima can be found in Bihar al-Anwar, a 110 volume hadith col-
lection by the seventeenth-century Persian historian Muhammad
Baqir al-Majlisi (d. 1698). Volumes forty to forty-three document
Fatima’s life in significant depth. However, like other early biogra-
phies, al-Tabari’s and al-Majlisi’s works are predominantly hadith
collections that focus mainly on the spiritual virtues and excellences
of the Prophet and his family.
During the twentieth century, the focus of Shi‘i biographical
records shifted from passive reproduction of historical narratives
to including critical narrative analyses informed by the contempo-
rary political and cultural climate. Shaykh Abbas Qummi, an early
twentieth-century Shi‘i scholar (d. 1940), focused on the burning
down of Fatima’s house in Bayt al-Ahzan. Recently translated
into English as House of Sorrows, it is considered the first book in
English that gives a detailed historical account of the last six months
4
Not to be confused with the popular Sunni historian and exegete Muhammad bin
Jarir bin Yazid al-Tabari. Dala’il al-Imama is attributed to Muhammad bin Jarir bin
Rustam al-Tabari who was a contemporary of Shaykh al-Tusi (d. 1067). The book is
sometimes attributed to another Shi‘i scholar by the same name who lived a century
earlier. The original manuscript is missing the first few pages which makes it difficult
to ascertain the precise death date of the author. See Afzal Sumar, review of Fatima,
Daughter of Muhammad, by Christopher Clohessy, Journal of Shi‘a Islamic Studies
VIII, no. 1 (winter 2015): 97.
4
of Fatima’s life, demonstrating her public protest against the gov-

ernment’s usurpation of her land.
By the mid-twentieth century, a new breed of Shi‘i historians had
emerged in Iraq, Iran, and the South Asian subcontinent. In Iraq,
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr surfaced as a revolutionary scholar who
critiqued socialism and capitalism in his struggle for an Islamic
ideological orientation of the Iraqi state. In his Fadak fi al-Ta’rikh
(Fadak in History), “Sadr transforms the traditional image of
Fatima from a weak and abused victim of injustice to a revolution-
ary heroine who fought for Shi‘i political and legal rights.”5 In Iran,
Ali Shariati and Murtaza Mutahhari argued for a reinterpretation
of Shi‘i narratives in an activist spirit. While Mutahhari invoked
Fatima’s narrative in The Rights of Women in Islam, an Islamic
critique of Western feminist assumptions, Shariati’s Fatima is
Fatima presented an analytical description of Fatima’s personality
as a symbol of Islamic theology. In India, Zeeshan Haider Jawadi
argued for a pragmatic approach to historical analysis through his
works in Urdu. Jawadi emphasized that limiting historical narra-
tives to mere collections of life incidents was tragic and that these
narratives should be subject to “scientific interpretation and practi-
cal explanation.”6 In his Nuqush-e-Ismat, Jawadi presents Fatima as
a highly intellectual theologian whose religious identity empowered
her agency.
The first written account of the sermon of Fatima appeared
almost two hundred years later. The ninth-century Sunni Persian
linguist and poet Ahmad Ibn Tayfur (d. 893) included it in his com-
pilation of selected sermons and poems by women titled Balaghat
al-Nisa (Eloquence of Women). Ibn Tayfur recorded the text of the
5
Rachel Kantz Feder, “Fatima’s Revolutionary Image in Fadak fi al-Ta’rikh (1955): The
Inception of Muhammad Baqir Al-Sadr’s Activism,” British Journal of Middle Eastern
Studies 41, no.1 (2014). Taylor & Francis Online, (accessed November 30, 2018), www
.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13530194.2014.878508?scroll=top&needAccess=true.
6
Zeeshan Haider Jawadi, preface to Nuqush-e-Ismat (Karachi: Mahfooz Book Agency,
1998), 15.
5
Introduction
sermon from two chains of transmitters: one that leads to Zayd,

son of Ali, son of Hussain, son of Ali, son of Abi Talib, and the
other leads to Zainab, the daughter of Fatima. Quoting Zayd, Ibn
Tayfur explains that the descendants of Abu Talib memorized the
sermon and taught it to their children, instructing them to com-
mit it to memory by oral repetition. He also states that Shi‘i schol-
ars would narrate the episode of the usurpation of Fadak in their
gatherings and teach it to their students.7 In his commentary on
the Nahj al-Balagha, the thirteenth-century Mu‘tazila scholar Ibn
Abil Hadid also acknowledges the oral transmission of the sermon
from generation to generation by the elders of the clan of Abu Talib
to safeguard it from erasure by hegemonic political and academic
authorities.8 ‘Another primary written source is Ibn Abil Fath
al-Irbili’s Kashf al-Ghamma. A contemporary of Shi‘i scholars of
the thirteenth century, al-Irbili cited the text of the sermon from
al-Saqifa wa Fadak transcribed by the tenth-century Sunni histo-
rian, Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Abd al-Aziz al-Jawhari.9
Since then, several Shi‘i historians and scholars have reproduced
the sermon continually exploring its literary eloquence and its her-
meneutical approach to the Qur’an.
While Qummi and al-Sadr have analyzed the sermon in the
context of Islamic history and political thought, studies focusing
on the theological content within the sermon are few. The early
nineteenth-century Islamic jurist and scholar Mohamed Ali bin
Ahmed al-Qarachi Daghi al-Tabrizi al-Ansari wrote an extensive
piece on the issue of Fadak within the context of the sermon of
Fatima. His al-Lum‘a al-Baydha’ fi Sharh Khutbat al-Zahra is a
two-part historical and literary analysis of the sermon. The first part
of his study presents Fatima’s virtues and biographical narrative,
7
Ibn Tayfur, Balaghat al-Nisa (Qum: Intesharat Maktab al-Haideriyya, 1999), 23.
8
Ibn Abil Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha (Baghdad: Dar al-Kitab al-Arabiyya, 2007),
Vol. 16:347.
9
Ibn Abil Fath al-Irbili, Kash al-Ghamma (Beirut: Dar Al-Adhwa, 1985), Vol. 2:108.
6
and the second part is a scholarly exploration of the sermon in the

context of hadith. Al-Ansari’s treatise provides a glimpse of the
theological aspects of the sermon, albeit as secondary to its literary
eloquence. The recent work of Zainab Abdullah Kazim al-Musawi
briefly studies the topical elements of the sermon within a broader
study of the rhetorical excellences of the female descendants of the
Prophet. Her Khutbat Sayyidat al-Bayt al-Nabawiyy Hatta Nihayat
al-Qarn al-Awwal al-Hijri examines the literary features of four ser-
mons, one of which is the sermon of Fatima.
In the context of western academic sources, Henri Lammen’s
monograph Fatima et les filles de Mahomet, published in 1910,
was probably the first study of her life. It is an orientalist account
and portrays Fatima as a weak woman in a miserable plight. More
recently, Christopher Clohessy’s Fatima, Daughter of Muhammad,
published in 2017, surveys selected narratives of Fatima in early
Shi‘i and Sunni sources and Alyssa Gabbay’s chapter in Female
Religious Authority in Shi‘i Islam: Past and Present puts forth
Fatima’s sermon as a case study for female religious leadership in
Islam.10 Besides these works, Ali Shariati’s Fatima is Fatima, pub-
lished in 1971, is the only other significant study of her life. While
there are notable mentions of Fatima in Islamic sacred literature,
such as hadith narrations and spiritual hagiographies, works on
her sermon from a feminist perspective are missing in traditional
Islamic scholarship and contemporary western feminist discourse.
Arguably, while an extensive and academic biographical research
on Fatima would make a welcomed, even much-needed contribu-
tion to western academia, I must, at the very outset, state that this
book is not a biography. It is a study of the sermon of Fatima fram-
ing her oral protest in a historical, theological, and feminist lens
10
See, Alyssa Gabbay, “Heiress to the Prophet: Fatima’s Khutba as an Early Case of
Female Religious Authority in Islam,” in Female Religious Authority in Shi‘i Islam:
Past and Present, ed. Mirjam Künkler and Devin J. Stewart (Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press, 2021), 78–98.
7
Introduction
to present her as a Muslim female theologian and scholar-activist

seeking social justice through religiosity in a patriarchal society. I
combine a constructive global feminist approach with an allegor-
ical interpretive method of reading the sermon of Fatima and the
Qur’anic verses that expand on her narrative.
Faithful and Feminist
Western feminism has been remiss in engaging the concerns of

women of color and subaltern women. Consequently, global, or
transnational feminism seeks to create and sustain a discourse that
includes the knowledge and activism of women of color and their
challenges. Nonetheless, scholars such as Chandra Mohanty have
argued that “histories of third world women’s engagement with
feminism are in short supply.”11 The histories of Muslim women’s
engagement with feminism are also in short supply because they
constitute a minority gender within a religious minority.
Although terms such as “third world” are no longer appropriate
and feminist studies have evolved since Mohanty’s remarks, “the
voices of transnational feminists, feminists of color, and feminists of
the global south have often been relegated to the margins of US fem-
inist theorizing.”12 Most scholarship on women’s studies in Islam in
the west has been reactionary to issues raised by Islamophobia in
society and, at times, in the academy. While it has been thorough,
valuable, and well-researched, it has often inadvertently mirrored
the standpoint and liberalist approach of white secular feminism’s
distrust of tradition and the traditional. Constructive methodologies
11
Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory,
Practicing Solidarity (London: Duke University Press, 2003), 45. See also, Wendy K.
Kolmar and Frances Bartkowski, “Lexicon of the Debates,” in Feminist Theory: A
Reader, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 2010), 53.
12
Carole R. McCann and Seung-Kyung Kim, Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global
Perspectives, 4th ed. (New York: Routledge, 2017), 25.
8
that focus on the narratives of premodern Muslim women’s contri-

butions to feminist theory and theology remain underrepresented.
Since the turn of the century, unabated Islamophobic rhetoric has
misconstrued the embodiment of religious identity by Muslim
women as a sign of religious subjugation and has kept Muslim fem-
inist scholarship heavily focused on critiquing their tradition setting
the development of women’s studies in Islam on a prescriptive course
chartered by mainstream white feminist thought. Concurrently, the
secularist strategy of promoting liberal and progressive scholar-
ship on Islam has deterred feminist approaches that argue for the
empowerment of Muslim women from within the tradition.
Since 9/11, the body and agency of the visibly Muslim woman have
become dominant frames for advancing western political narratives
of Islam and Muslims. In her 2008 essay on “Feminism, Democracy,
and Empire: Islam and the War of Terror,” Saba Mahmood expressed
her wariness of the domination of Euro-American tropes of freedom
and gender equality on feminist discourses in the context of Muslim
women. Critically analyzing non-fiction autobiographies by Muslim
women who wrote against Islam and Muslim men, Mahmood argued
that their popularity was primarily because of their alignment with
and further advancement of the west’s political agenda of demoniz-
ing Islam and the war on terror.13
Almost simultaneously, between 2002 and 2008, another genre of
autobiographies emerged. Unlike the works studied by Mahmood,
these autobiographies by Muslim women presented a narrative
of the progressive American Muslim woman more agreeable to
western audiences – women who were not necessarily critiquing
Islam but rather the controlling and stifling Muslim cultures.14
13
Saba Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire: Islam and the War of
Terror,” in Women’s Studies on the Edge, ed. by Joan Wallach Scott (London: Duke
University Press, 2008), 83, 84.
14
Aysha A. Hidayatullah and Taymiya R. Zaman, “‘Speaking for Ourselves: American
Muslim Women’s Confessional Writings and the Problem of Alterity’,” Journal for
Islamic Studies, no. 33 (2013): 64.
9
Introduction
Despite their different approaches to depicting Muslim women,

both genres responded to the anxieties created by western media
representations of Islam as oppressive toward women.
In the late 1990s, a theological approach to reading Muslim
women’s agency from the Qur’an emerged in the works of scholars
such as Asma Barlas and Riffat Hasan. They argued for a feminist
hermeneutic that interrogated the Qur’anic ethos of justice and
equity concerning gender. Later, Muslim feminist theologians such
as Sa’diyya Shaikh argued that reading Qur’anic verses to establish
“sacralized male authority” went against the fundamental tenet of
monotheistic belief as understood in the Islamic tradition.15 More
recently, Celene Ibrahim’s Women and Gender in the Qur’an and
Jerusha Rhodes’s position on Muslimah theology argue for con-
structive, theological, and comparative approaches to studying
Muslim women’s experiences. However, in her analysis of feminist
interpretations of the Qur’an, Aysha Hidayatullah explains that
while feminist readings critique traditional exegesis for being selec-
tive and sexist, they have equally made “false assertions and inap-
propriate demands of the text.”16 She posits that women-friendly
ways of reading the Qur’an have failed to live up to the notions of
freedom and equity as understood and accepted by the contempo-
rary worldview and that “no amount of interpretation can make the
text definitively cohere with our contemporary sense of justice.”17
Thus, the study of Muslim women’s struggles in addressing and
resolving injustices necessitates a specialized approach that is dis-
tinct from, even if overlapping with, white secular feminist epis-
temologies. Moreover, the often-undiscerning following of liberal
feminist thought by some progressive Muslim feminists has led
to undermining and even dismissing scholarship that argues for
15
Sa’diyya Shaikh, “Exegetical Violence: Nushuz in Qur’anic Gender Ideology,”
Journal for Islamic Studies, no. 17 (1997): 61.
16
Aysha A. Hidayatullah, Feminist Edges of the Qur’an (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2014), 152.
17
Ibid., 153.
10
reforming religious constructs from within the tradition, especially

in the west, as not critical enough. Problematizing the acute incli-
nation to and advancing of secular white feminist tropes of “lib-
eration” by progressive Muslim feminist scholarship, Mahmood
suggests that diverse forms of Muslim female piety and “religios-
ity be understood, engaged, and respected, instead of scorned and
rejected as expressions of a false consciousness.”18
I have found that in serving a mandate dictated by white
knowledge-producing hegemony, its issues, and its ignorance of
religious values of minorities of color, the field of women’s studies
in Islam has compromised its autonomy and diversity. It has yet to
turn its academic interests to studying women’s narratives from tra-
ditional and sacred Islamic history. Voices of premodern Muslim
female activists for social justice, female scholars, martyrs, and ven-
erated saints remain understudied and misrepresented as narra-
tives of pious women who accepted patriarchy as a norm. However
marginal, the presence of these female voices is a testimony to their
license and interest in participating and contributing to public dis-
course and action. If traces of resilient female voices abide amidst
the androcentric setup of Islamic history and Quranic exegesis, they
must be retrieved and studied. Arguably, such scholarship would
face the burden of educating the mainstream academy and navigat-
ing the space taken up by liberal Muslim scholarship. Nonetheless,
it would provide a significant glimpse of the worldview of women’s
engagement with scholarly and activist communities and allow a
deeper study of the intersections of the traditional and the modern
as it unfolds in the lived experiences of Muslim women today.
I propose a constructive methodology highlighting accounts
of premodern inspirational female Muslim voices to reframe and
diversify feminist discourses and interrogate the intellectual inac-
tivity of a genre that holds the potential for robust research. This
book focuses on the theological, feminist, and activist aspects of
18
Mahmood, “Feminism, Democracy, and Empire,” 85.
11
Introduction
the sermon of Fatima to posit that the encounters of premodern

Muslim women with patriarchy and political hegemony are of rel-
evance and value to understanding and addressing the challenges
faced by contemporary female religious and academic scholars.
Ta’wil and Tafsir of the Qur’an
Alongside a constructive, feminist approach, I deploy allegorical

interpretive methodology in reading the sermon of Fatima and the
Qur’anic verses referencing her narrative. Allegorical interpretation
(ta’wil) has been a dominant method in Shi‘i exegetical literature.
Since the beginning of the tenth century, Muslim exegetes disputed
the differentiation of tafsir (explanation) from ta’wil (interpreta-
tion). Although early exegetes such as al-Tabari (d. 923 CE) and
al-Maturidi (d. 944 CE) used the ta’wil in the title of their Qur’anic
commentaries,19 the actual question at stake was the methodology
to be employed in the interpretive exercise. Tafsir drew primarily
upon hadith literature while ta’wil equally deployed reason and
research. The two methods are also classified as the text’s zāhir
(exoteric/literal) and bātin (esoteric) readings. The latter is more
prevalent among Shi‘i exegetical, Ismaili philosophical, and Sufi
experiential approaches to interpreting Qur’an and hadith.20
Andrew Rippin traces the debate over tafsir and ta’wil back to
early sectarian disputes between Sunni and Shi‘i exegetical posi-
tions.21 Early attempts at seeking allegorical interpretations of the
Qur’anic verses were severely discouraged. The flogging of a person
19
Andrew Rippin, “Tafsir,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed., edited by Lindsay
Jones, 13:8949–8957 (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005), 8950, accessed
March 19, 2018, Gale Virtual Reference Library http://0-link.galegroup.com.grace
.gtu.edu/apps/doc/CX3424503026/GVRL?u=gradtul&sid=GVRL&xid=a4735f7d.
20
Annabel Keeler and Sajjad Rizvi, The Spirit and the Letter: Approaches to the Esoteric
Interpretations of the Qur’an (London: Oxford University Press, 2016), 4.
21
Rippin, “Tafsir,” 8950.
12
Ta’wil and Tafsir of the Qur’an
who interrogated the second caliph Umar on the deeper meanings

of ambiguous/metaphorical verses reflects the charged political
and sectarian context within which Qur’anic exegeses occurred.22
During the tenth century, mainstream Sunni scholarship’s resent-
ment of ta’wil resulted from Muslim minorities’ using it to critique
majority positions. Two such minority ideologies were the rational
approach to theology and the Mu‘tazila philosophy. Both used
ta’wil excessively to challenge the mainstream analogical approach
to theology and the popular Ash’ari philosophy.23
Nonetheless, Qur’anic esoteric readings have existed in Islamic
exegetical literature since the beginning of the eighth century and
continue to thrive as a feminist hermeneutical tool, giving agency to
the female narratives in the Qur’an. Despite objections by Muslim
scholars like Hussein Abdul Raof, who posit that tafsir and ta’wil are
dichotomous exegetical methodologies that may elicit “unsound”24
interpretations, the encouragement to probe for deeper and broader
meanings stems from the Qur’an itself.25
This study draws mainly on al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, a
twenty-volume commentary on the Qur’an by the contemporary
Shi‘i exegete Muhammad Husayn al-Tabatabai. His exegetical
method builds on two primary characteristics of Shi‘i tafsir; one is
that the Qur’an explains itself, and the other is that the Prophet
and the Imams are teachers of the Qur’an who guide toward the
best interpretations. For al-Tabatabai, the meanings of the Qur’anic
22
Ibid., 8951. Also see Claude Gilliot, “The Beginnings of Qur’anic Exegesis,” in The
Qur’an: Formative Interpretation, ed. Andrew Rippin (Vermont: Ashgate Publishing
Limited, 1999), 1–28.
23
Hussein Abdul-Raof, Schools of Qur’anic Exegesis: Genesis and Development (New
York: Routledge, 2010), 104.
24
Abdul-Raof, Schools of Qur’anic Exegesis, 104.
25
“Do they not contemplate the Qur’an?” (Q 47:24) and “(It is) a Book We have
revealed to you abounding in good that they may ponder over its verses and
that those endowed with understanding may be mindful” (Q 38:29). All English
translations of the verses of the Qur’an referred to in this study are taken from Ali
Quli Qara’i’s The Qur’an: With a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation.
13
Introduction
verses are apparent; however, it is arriving at what is meant by those

meanings that require the interpretive exercise. Thus, interpreta-
tion is not the meaning but not against or other than the meaning.26
The allegories often explained away by the traditionalists are, for
al-Tabatabai, the precise methods of uncovering the realities within
the book.27
In the spirit of fusing faith and feminism with the probing quest
for delving deeper into the layered meanings of Islamic sacred
texts, this study features an interdisciplinary integration of crucial
aspects of both feminist theories and religious studies and theol-
ogy. It stretches the trajectory of the critical feminist theory from
within the tradition to strengthen it rather than negate it to inter-
rogate the undersupply of accounts of female contributions to
Islamic theology, doctrine, practice, and devotional piety. I call for
a fruitful and mutually beneficial combination of theological topics
and methods and critical women’s studies to resuscitate premod-
ern Muslim female voices for social justice, highlighting under-
explored Shi‘i scholarship on Islamic theological, historical, and
exegetical literature.
Setting the Stage
The sermon of Fatima denotes a critical juncture in Islamic history,

on the cusp of the Prophet’s demise. It marks a political demon-
stration by a significant Muslim woman, Fatima, the Prophet’s
daughter, against a caliph of questionable authority, on a topic that
profoundly impacted Islamic theology, mainly Shi‘a lived experi-
ence. Baqir al-Sadr captures the scene as follows, “She proceeded to
the arena of action carrying in her soul the principles of Muhammad
26
Muhammad Husayn al-Tabatabai, Al-Mizan: An Exegesis of the Qur’an (Tehran:
World Organization for Islamic Services, 1973), 27.
27
Ibid., 29.
14
Setting the Stage
(S), the spirit of Khadija, the heroism of Ali, and deep concern for
the dismal future that her community was headed towards.”28
According to al-Sadr, Fatima delivered her sermon ten days after
the Prophet’s death.29 Since historians differ in dating the Prophet’s
death, determining the exact date of the sermon is difficult. The
fifteenth-century biographer, Muhammad bin Yusuf al-Salihi al-Shami
records that the Prophet died on the twelfth of Rabi al-Awwal30 in the
eleventh year after hijra.31 Shi‘i scholars commonly state that he died
a few weeks earlier, on the twenty-eighth of Safar32 of the same year.33
Despite the ambiguity surrounding the sermon’s date, the point is that
it was delivered soon after the Prophet’s burial – a crucially significant
time in understanding the early schisms among Muslims over the
Prophet’s succession.
The timeframe of Fatima’s sermon lends critical insight into the
challenges of transmitting and compiling hadith – one of the pri-
mary sources besides the Qur’an that Islamic experts draw on to
deduce jurisprudential rulings. Hadith studies categorize oral pro-
phetic traditions on a broad spectrum from authentic to fabricated.
Just ten days after the Prophet’s death, his daughter was deploying
Qur’anic verses to contest the accuracy of a hadith attributed to her
father by the caliph. This raises crucial questions about the integrity
of hadith literature, compiled a 100 years later.
Fatima spoke at a time when the Prophet’s memories were still
fresh in the minds of the Muslims. She drew on those memories to
prove her proximity to the Prophet and her contributions to his
28
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Fadak fi al-Ta’rikh (Beirut: Markaz al-Ghadeer li Dirasat
al-Islamiyya, 1994), 29.
29
Ibid., 116.
30
Third month of the Islamic calendar.
31
Muhammad bin Yusuf al-Salihi al-Shami, Subul al-Huda wa-l-Rashad fi Seerat Khair
al-‘Ibad (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 1993), Vol. 12:305.
32
Second month of the Islamic calendar.
33
Zainab Abdullah Kazim al-Musawi, Khutbat Sayyidat al-Bayt al-Nabawiyy Hatta
Nihayat Qarn al-Awwal al-Hijri (Karbala: al-Utbah al-Hussainiyya al-Muqaddasa,
2017), 37.
15
Introduction
mission. Her sermon is an ironic reminder that the daughter of

a prophet who reformed women’s social and financial rights was
being denied her inheritance a mere ten days after his death. The
orphaned daughter of a prophet who reminded his adherents to
show mercy to orphans was going door-to-door, seeking support
from the Muslims in reclaiming her property.
Fatima chose to deliver her sermon at the Prophet’s Mosque,
a venue that advanced the social impact of her protest. Building
a mosque was the first project undertaken by the Prophet soon
after his migration to Medina. It was a social project since the
entire Muslim community participated in its construction. The
land upon which the mosque was founded belonged to two
orphans who were happy to gift their property to the Prophet,
but he insisted on purchasing the land from them.34 The annals
of the construction of Medina’s first mosque record the Prophet’s
consideration for the orphans’ land and rights. It was a hum-
ble edifice with walls made from unbaked mud bricks, a roof
thatched with dried date-palm fronds, and a floor of basic desert
terrain.35 Despite its simple design, this mosque became signifi-
cant for early Muslims and continues to be held in high esteem by
present-day Muslims.
The Prophet built his home adjacent to the mosque, so the door
of his house opened directly into it. Many companions followed
suit and built their homes with doors connecting to the mosque.
Later that year, the Prophet asked for the closure of all private
entries to the mosque except his and Fatima’s door, arousing
the curiosity of his companions.36 In his Mustadrak, al-Hakim
34
Muhammad bin Jarir al-Tabari, Ta’rikh al-Umam wa-l-Muluk (Beirut: Mu’ssassat
al-Alami lil Matbu’at, 1983), Vol. 2:116.
35
Razwy, A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims, accessed April 6, 2020.
www.al-islam.org/restatement-history-islam-and-muslims-sayyid-ali-ashgar-razwy/
first-year-hijra#construction-mosque-yathrib.
36
Al-Hakim al-Nisapouri, al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn (Beirut: Dar al-Taseel, 2014),
Vol. 5:328.
16
Setting the Stage
al-Nisapouri states that when the Prophet heard that the people
were questioning his reasons for doing so, he gathered them in
the mosque and delivered a sermon. After praising and glorifying
God, he said, “I was ordered to close all doors [leading into the
mosque] except for the door of Ali [and Fatima]. I am informed
of the rumors going around. I swear by Allah! I did not shut [any
door] nor did I leave open, but that I was commanded [by God]
and I obeyed.”37
In his compilation of intellectual discourses on the Qur’an, the
eleventh-century scholar Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani narrates a debate
on the distinguished position of the Ahl al-Bayt between Imam
al-Reza and the scholars of the court of the Abbasid caliph Mamun.
Imam al-Reza drew upon several Qur’anic verses to argue for the
theological distinction awarded to the Ahl al-Bayt. After stating the
“verse of purity” (Q 33:33), he presented the incident of closing all
private doors to the mosque except Fatima’s. He said,
“Do you recall that the Prophet said, “[O Ali!] you are to me as
Aaron was to Moses [except that there shall be no prophet after
me]?”38 Now consider this hadith along with the verse: “We revealed
to Moses and his brother [saying], ‘Settle your people in the city, and
let your houses face each other’” (Q 10:87). Together, the hadith and
the verse present the similitude of the relationship between Moses
and Aaron to the relationship between the Prophet and Ali.”39
The incident of closing the doors was among the several memo-
ries ingrained in the history of the Prophet’s Mosque. It played an
essential role in Muslims’ religious and social lives. Besides wor-
shipping, Muslims brought their questions to the mosque, strangers
presented their needs to the congregation, and disputing parties
came to the mosque seeking justice from the Prophet. The unhoused
migrants lived in an extension built on one side of the mosque and
37
Ibid.
38
Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-‘Uqul (Qum: Mu’assat al-Nashr al-Islami, 1983), 430.
39
Al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-‘Uqul, 430.
17
Introduction
became known as the ashāb al-suffa (people of the extension).40

The Prophet frequently sent aid-seekers to Fatima’s house, and she
supported them with food and clothing.
In this mosque, the Prophet met the Christian delegation
from Najran, a meeting that eventually led to the mubāhala, in
which Fatima participated.41 Here, the Prophet repeatedly spoke
of Fatima’s pristine virtues alongside those of his Ahl al-Bayt. A
decade after its construction, the Prophet’s orphaned daughter
stood in the Prophet’s Mosque, delivering a sermon arguing for her
inheritance rights. By bringing her protest to the mosque, Fatima
made a social statement, deeply embedding her sermon in the his-
torical, theological, spiritual, and social events that transpired in
that sacred location.
Along with the timeframe and venue, another impactful aspect
of her protest is that she chose to march to the Prophet’s Mosque
through the public route rather than using the private access that
connected her house to the mosque. In his analysis of Fadak as a
revolutionary movement, al-Sadr posits that Fatima chose to enter
through the main gate of the Prophet’s Mosque to make history
a witness to her protest and make historians document how her
gait resembled the Prophet’s gait. Al-Sadr refers to the sermon of
Fatima as a social movement and calls her preferred path of arriv-
ing at the mosque “the route of the revolution.”42
Ibn Tayfur writes that she wrapped her veil, gathered her robe,
and emerged with a small party of women around her.43 As she
walked to the mosque, the robe trail covered her feet while her
gait was no different than the Prophet’s. The fifteenth-century
Shi‘i jurist Nurullah al-Tustari, also known as Shahid al-Thalith
40
Adam Hani Walker, “Ashab us-Suffah; the Great Lovers of the Holy Prophet
(saw),” accessed April 7, 2020. www.alislam.org/library/articles/Ashab-us-Suffah-
20080304MN.pdf.
41
A detailed discussion on the mubāhala appears in the following chapter.
42
Baqir al-Sadr, Fadak fi al-Ta’rikh, 29,30.
43
Ibn Tayfur, Balaghat al-Nisa, 23.
18
Setting the Stage
(the third martyr), states that Fatima resembled the Prophet in her
looks and gait.44 Her march to the mosque invoked the Prophet’s
memories in the minds of the residents of Medina.
Fatima chose a public route to raise Muslims’ social conscious-
ness. They remembered the Prophet’s walking to and from the
mosque and his standing in front of her house at every prayer time,
calling, “The prayer, the prayer, ‘Indeed, Allah desires to repel all
impurity from you, O People of the Household (Ahl al-Bayt), and
purify you with a thorough purification.’”45 She wanted them to
realize that she was the same Fatima, the daughter of their beloved
Prophet who was marching toward his mosque to claim what was
rightfully hers.
Ibn Tayfur states that when Fatima entered the Prophet’s Mosque,
it was packed with the muhājir and the ansār.46 She made a rapport
with her audience’s lived experiences as she spoke. Fatima reminded
the muhājir, Muslim migrants from Mecca, of their shared history
as early Muslims in Mecca. They had watched her as a child accom-
panying her father as he preached and walking back home to dress
his wounds after the Meccans attacked him. She lived with her
father in Abu Talib’s trench for three years following the Meccans’
boycott imposed on the Prophet, his family, and followers. Only a
handful of the early Meccans accompanied the Prophet during the
boycott.
Fatima also drew upon the early memories of the ansār, Medinan
citizens who facilitated the Prophet’s migration and welcomed the
persecuted Muslims from Mecca. The relationship between the
ansār and the Prophet began during one of their pilgrimages to
Mecca. After meeting with him, a handful of them converted to
Islam, and upon their return to Medina, they shared what they had
44
Nurullah al-Hussaini al-Tustari, Ahqaq al-Haq wa Izhaq al-Batil (Qum: Maktabat
Ayatullah Uzma al-Mar’ashi al-Najafi, 2016), Vol. 10:246–250.
45
Al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan, Vol. 19:103.
46
19
Introduction
learned from him. The following year, twelve ansār met the Prophet
near the Uqbah mountain pass and pledged their support for his
mission. Later, seventy men and two women pledged a formal alle-
giance to protect the Prophet and his family and assured him of
their assistance. The Prophet accepted their allegiance and migrated
to Medina, a journey that marked the beginning of the Islamic
calendar. Fatima played a memorable role in the hijra insofar as
the Prophet camped at Quba, a town on the outskirts of Medina,
awaiting her arrival.47 He proceeded to Medina only after Ali safely
escorted her to Quba. Thus, Fatima’s audience was well acquainted
with her experiences that were intricately woven with their own. In
her sermon, she drew their attention to those shared moments in the
making of early Islamic history, specifically addressing the ansār to
remind them of their pledge to protect the Prophet and his family.
Ibn Tayfur states that she entered the mosque, sat by the cur-
tain drawn for her, and let out a grieving moan which evoked an
emotional response from the audience.48 They wept profusely
until the gathering trembled with sounds of mourning and crying.
Fatima’s emotional appeal was an expression of her pain for the
government’s denial of her inheritance and the Muslim’s aban-
donment of her cause. They did not come forward to support the
daughter of the man they claimed to love and obey. She mourned
the loss of her father, who allied with women and answered the
call of disempowered and denied minorities. Her public march,
protest, and mourning set a precedent for organized activism seek-
ing social justice. Fatima’s strategically deployed space, memories,
and emotions in setting the stage for her oral protest to cause the
maximum impact on her immediate audience and leave a footprint
for those who would later probe the annals of history in search of
the sermon. Her sermon demonstrates a fusion of embodied social
47
Jafar Subhani, The Message, accessed April 9, 2020 www.al-islam.org/the-message-
ayatullah-jafar-subhani/chapter-25-event-migration.
48
20
Chapter Outlines
consciousness, deep theological acumen, and thorough Qur’anic

knowledge and left its mark on her children, the women of her
time, and the lived experiences of the Shi‘a.
Chapter Outlines
I begin with a broad introduction of Fatima’s sacred and central

position in the development of Shi‘i theology. Then I mine the ser-
mon for three major themes: a seventh-century model for wom-
en’s theology, a gender-inclusive theological understanding of
people-focused leadership, and an exploration of the role of pre-
modern Muslim women in acting for social justice. Chapter 1 draws
on verses of the Qur’an, historical accounts, and spiritual literature
to demonstrate what Fatima means to Muslims in general and Shiʿa
in particular. I invoke five verses that elaborate on her birth in a cul-
ture marred by female infanticide, her working for social-economic
justice through charity, her making the home a place of learning
and education, her mention among “the purified,” and her partici-
pation in interreligious events. Islamic mystical and spiritual litera-
ture depicts Fatima as more than a mere human. Her creation from
preexisting light, her conception through the medium of a heavenly
fruit, her mystical appellations, adoption of her tasbīh as a daily
practice by Muslims, and her intercessory privilege on judgment
day award her a unique position in Muslim religious identity.
Chapter 2 gives a broad overview of what the issue of Fadak
entails historically and how it has evolved symbolically for the
Shiʿa. What started as a land dispute soon became a social justice
movement as Fatima rallied support from the masses to make her
case against the government. While prominent men declined her
invocations, women boldly took on the challenge of supporting
her cause. Fatima and her female supporters directly communi-
cated with Abu Bakr until their arguments were abruptly inter-
rupted by the latter producing a peculiar hadith to support his
21
Introduction
stance. The issue had thus, taken on a theological and jurispruden-

tial hue. With the government deploying hadith to justify confis-
cating her property, Fatima realized that it was no longer a matter
of land rights. Her father’s reputation as a truthful and trustworthy
emissary of God and the Qur’an’s ethos of justice and equity were
at stake. She came out publicly to defend not just her claim but also
the integrity of the words of God and the Prophet by delivering her
epic sermon. Hence, the case of Fadak sparked a theological, sym-
bolic, gendered, and moral discourse in Islamic history.
Three features of Fatima’s protest alarmed the seventh-century
Arabian society: her marching into the Prophet’s mosque via the
market route when she could easily access the mosque from a door
in her house and addressing a male-dominated audience when such
an act was rare for a woman of her time; her incorporating topics of
theology such as monotheism, prophethood, and the afterlife, top-
ics of ethical leadership, philosophy of moral actions, and the topic
of female inheritance rights in the Qur’an, much to the surprise of
her audience; and, her reminding them that they had a duty as indi-
viduals and as a society to act for justice and to question inequity.
Chapter 3 explores the theological themes and methods discussed
and deployed in the sermon of Fatima to present her as a female the-
ologian and scholar-activist. I focus on two theological themes in
the sermon: a description of the transcendent nature of God and the
concept of the afterlife and on Fatima’s exegetical and interpretive
approach in deploying the Qur’an as a theological tool to critique the
hadith that Abu Bakr presented and to argue for Muslim women’s
inheritance rights. She laid a precedent for a methodology that would
later develop into the field of hadith studies. Considering that it was
delivered just ten days after the Prophet’s death, the sermon of Fatima
might well be the earliest model of women’s theology that engages
Qur’anic exegesis and hadith analysis to argue for gender justice.
Chapter 4 explores the idea of political and religious leadership
that emerges from the sermon, which I call leadership for service
and not solely for power. Fadak became the focus of a critical
22
Chapter Outlines
political issue because by confiscating it, the caliphate was strip-

ping away the financial stability of Fatima’s family, who did not
pledge allegiance to the caliph, thus, strengthening the position of
the newly formed government. Fatima uses the parable of a camel
molested by an unruly rider to warn the caliph that usurping the
means of the Muslims to seek power would result in a catastrophic
chasm between the Muslims, draining their resources and spilling
innocent blood. Alternatively, she draws on the metaphor of a jour-
neying caravan under the leadership of a wise and caring guide that
ensures safety and comfort to bolster her family’s eligibility and
acumen for just leadership. This leadership for service model makes
space for the contributions of women as mothers, partners, and
community service providers as authentic leaders. It also recog-
nizes the works of all classes of the society as opposed to a model of
leadership that only recognizes influential male leaders who often
work for the interests of the elite within the community.
Chapter 5 demonstrates how her outspoken stance for social jus-
tice came to be embodied by her children, and shaped Shi‘i identity,
ritual practice, and community lived experiences. It also explores her
role in empowering the women of her time, contemporary female
political activism in Iraq, and feminist scholarship in the academy.
The chapter presents narratives of two seventh-century women,
Asma bint Umays Fiḍḍa al-Nubiyya, and one twentieth-century
woman, Amina al-Sadr. Asma and Fiḍḍa unabashedly questioned
the social, political, and religious assumptions of their time and the
Iraqi scholar-activist Amina al-Sadr critically impacted the 1970s
Iraqi socio-political landscape. Finally, the chapter examines the
inspirational influence of her deployment of a critical interpretive
method to read beyond the literal sense of Qur’an and hadith on
modern feminist scholarship that interrogates a tradition’s position
on the issues of women, gender, and patriarchy.49
49
See Asma Barlas’s Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations
of the Qur’an (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002), and Mary F. Thurlkill’s
23
Introduction
The concluding chapter asks the question, did Fatima win the case
of Fadak? The immediate answer is no; she did not get her lands back.
The study of her sermon suggests that she knew she would not win
immediately and that her cause was making room for something
more than Fadak. Fatima has secured an exalted and axial position
in developing Islamic thought and practice. The sermon’s theologi-
cal and feminist aspects set precedence for women’s theology, lead-
ership, and social activism. Her narrative has inextricably impacted
Shi‘i lived experience, and her methodology has inspired critical
Muslim feminist scholarship. Although Fatima’s protest did not suc-
ceed in bringing the intended reform, it left traces of truth and justice
to be amplified by scholar-activists to protect against the erasure of
history and revive it as an inspirational model for lived communities.
I believe this book contributes to the traditional and contempo-
rary escalating discourse between faith and feminism insofar as it
demonstrates the pursuit of feminist concerns from the perspective
of faith. It aims to reconcile the lack of women scholars who study
the centrality of premodern women and their contributions to the
Islamic tradition. Besides the works on feminist interpretations of
the Qur’an by scholars mentioned earlier, there have not been many
significant theological approaches to reading extra-Qur’anic litera-
ture attributed to women, such as sermons, sayings, and supplica-
tions.50 While advancing a theologically inspired feminist practice,
this study will also allow for a collaborative dialogical interreligious
space to study narratives and contributions of female theologi-
ans across traditions, as well as providing a premise for address-
ing current concerns of women and religious, racial, and political
minorities.
Chosen Among Women, Mary and Fatima in Medieval Christianity and Shi’ite Islam
(Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007).
50
Scholars such as Saba Mahmood and Lila Abu-Lughod have made significant
contributions that refocus the importance of pious Muslim women and feminism,
part of a body of literature referred to as Islamic feminism.
24
1 Fatima in Islamic Sacred Sources
Indeed, We have given you [kauthar] abundance. So, pray to your

Lord, and [offer] sacrifice. Indeed, it is your enemy who is [abtar] with-
out posterity.
—Q 108
This chapter draws from a selection of Qur’anic verses and excerpts

from Islamic mystical literature to introduce Fatima, focusing on
what she means to Muslims, especially Shi‘a. First, we explore the
historical contexts (asbāb al-nuzūl) of five verses based on com-
mentaries by the early Sunni exegete Muhammad bin Jarir al-Tabari
(d. 923), the contemporary Shi‘i exegete Muhammad Hussein
al-Tabatabai (d. 1981), and secondary Shi‘i exegetical sources. Then,
we delve into her mystical and spiritual qualities in five epochs: pre-
existence, her mother’s womb, the physical world, the metaphysical
realm, and the world hereafter.
Fatima in the Qur’an
Allegory presents a dynamic and transformative space for explor-

ing the contextual and multifarious interpretative possibilities
inherent within texts that may otherwise seem fixed and dogmatic.
In retrieving Fatima’s narrative embedded within the historical,
esoteric, and allegorical readings of the Qur’an, we will see how
al-Tabari and al-Tabatabai deploy allegory to extract numerous and
varied interpretations from the text. This approach underscores the
25
Fatima in Islamic Sacred Sources
malleability and fluidity of textual meaning, thereby emphasizing

the importance of allegory as a tool for unlocking the full interpre-
tative potential of sacred texts.
The Promise of Kauthar
The word kauthar appears only once in the Qur’an: “Indeed, We

have given you [kauthar] abundance. So, pray to your Lord, and sac-
rifice [the sacrificial camel]. Indeed, it is your enemy who is [abtar]
without posterity” (Q 108). Shi‘a interpret kauthar as Fatima, the
promised divine gift to the Prophet, restoring his hope for a line-
age that would survive through his female heir. Both al-Tabari and
al-Tabatabai state that when the Prophet lost his third son, ‘Aas bin
Wa’el mocked him by calling him abtar. In Meccan society, abtar,
meaning amputee or defective, was a derogatory term hurled at
men who did not bear sons. The Arabs looked upon an abtar with
disdain because they believed that a man’s lineage and legacy could
only survive through male children. Thus, when ‘Aas bin Wa’el
called the Prophet abtar, God revealed Kauthar (Q 108) to console
him by prophesying the succession of the Prophet’s posterity over
his adversaries.1
Kauthar is a derivative of the root word, kathara, which means
abundance.2 After citing nearly fifty narrations, al-Tabari concludes
that the ta’wil (interpretation) of kauthar is a river in Paradise
that God has promised to the Prophet.3 Al-Tabatabai expands
the meaning of kauthar as abundance granted to the Prophet to
include his virtues, his progeny, his companions, the scholars
among his followers, the stream in heaven, and more. Deploying
1
Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Jarir al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan ‘an Ta’wıl ay al-Qur’an
(Cairo: Markaz al-Buhuth wa Daraasaat al-Arabiyya wa-l-Islamiyya, 2001), Vol. 24:
698. Muhammad Husayn al-Tabatabai, al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an (Beirut: Mu’assat
al-‘Alami li-l-Matbu’at, 1997), Vol. 20:372.
2
Al-Tabatabai, al-Mizan, Vol. 20:429.
3
Al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan, Vol. 24:679–690.
26
his interpretive approach of utilizing the Qur’an to interpret the

Qur’an, al-Tabatabai asserts that the word relation between kau-
thar and abtar is crucial to a holistic understanding of the verse.
Abtar is what the Arabs called a childless person; thus, it follows
that God’s reassurance to His Prophet must be in the form of glad
tidings of abundant lineage. Two factors inform al-Tabatabai’s
preference: First, it is the closest in coherence with the last verse of
the chapter, “Indeed, it is your enemy who is [abtar] without pos-
terity,” and second, without such an understanding, the grandeur
of the Divine tidings of “Indeed We grant you (Inna a‘taynaka)”
would not bear weight. Al-Tabatabai concludes that kauthar is
Fatima, the sole surviving child of the Prophet, because his lineage
continued through her.4
Although both exegetes use the word ‘ta’wil’ for their respective
interpretations, their opposing conclusions may indicate a historical
and sectarian reality. Al-Tabari’s obscuring of “abundance of line-
age” as a possible interpretation of kauthar may be his way of evading
the Shi‘i doctrine that Imamate is vested in the Prophet’s progeny.
Al-Tabatabai’s deduction may be indicative of the Shi‘a veneration
of Fatima, not solely for being the daughter of the Prophet but for
also for being the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib (the first Imam of the
Twelver Shi‘i s) and the mother of the consecutive eleven Imams.
Interpreting kauthar as Fatima elevates her status in the Qur’an
and facilitates the reading of female empowerment within the tra-
ditional Qur’anic exegesis. If Fatima is the promised kauthar, then
the fact that her birth was celebrated instead of being shunned
demonstrates the emergence of a cultural paradigm shift, one that
privileges the right of a female infant to live and the inclusion and
validation of matrilineal posterity. The words and actions of the
Prophet demonstrated that shift.
Despite living in a society that detested daughters, the Prophet
displayed immense love and respect for Fatima, much to the
4
27
people’s amazement. He would rise from his place whenever she

visited him, kiss her hands, and offer her his seat.5 He proclaimed,
“Fatimah is a part of me; whoever pleases her, pleases me and who-
ever hurts her, hurts me.”6 Such public regard for a female was rare,
even contrary to societal norms of the time. While constituting reli-
gious grounds for honoring women in general, the Prophet’s con-
duct with Fatima raises a theological question about her status. Was
this a demonstration of a father’s love for his daughter or proof of
Fatima’s unique, theologically revered position? According to the
Qur’an, the Prophet’s words and actions are God’s decree, and obe-
dience to the Prophet is a sign of loving God.7 The Prophet’s rever-
ence for Fatima was more than a father’s love for their child. It was
ordained by God, thus attributing a sacred aspect to her.
Another radical impact of Fatima’s existence was that it antag-
onized the prevalent notion that a person’s lineage would con-
tinue solely through a surviving male heir. The Prophet disrupted
that notion by declaring that Fatima’s children were his own.
Consequently, her children and grandchildren continued to trace
their lineage back to the Prophet through their mother, alarming
the pre-Islamic Meccan society and agitating the caliphal authori-
ties for decades after the proclamation of Islam.
Once, the Abbasid caliph Harun questioned Imam al-Kazim
(the fifth descendant of Fatima) about the laity referring to him as
the son of the Prophet when the latter had no surviving male heir.
Harun claimed that the Imam was wrong in ascribing his lineage
to the Prophet and that he should instead call himself a descendant
of Ali (Fatima’s husband). Imam al-Kazim quoted Qur’anic verses
emphasizing God’s reference to Jesus as a descendant of Abraham
5
Abbas Qummi, House of Sorrows (Kitchener: Islamic Publishing House, 2010), 15.
6
Ibid., 16.
7
“Nor does he [the Prophet] speak out of [his own] desire, it is [but] a revelation that
is revealed [to him],” (Q 53:3,4) “… and you [Prophet] did not throw when you threw,
rather it was Allah who threw,” (Q 8:17) and “Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me
[the Prophet]; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins…’” (Q 3:31).
28
even though he was born as a miracle to the virgin Mary without a

father.8 In the same way, he argued Fatima’s children were, in fact,
the Prophet’s descendants.9
Fatima’s birth and upbringing were the beginning of a signifi-
cant, albeit unwelcomed, momentum for change in seventh-century
Arabian society. She grew up to be a prolific theologian who cham-
pioned the cause of women in the social and political arena.
Among the Abrār
Stemming from the root word barr, meaning “wide and expansive,”
abrār refers to pious and charitable individuals who act sincerely for
God and facilitate widespread goodness.10 Al-Tabatabai elaborates
that birr signifies an action of selfless piety such that the doer does
not intend for the rewards to return solely to herself. She chooses
to execute birr because it is a beautiful deed, even when its perfor-
mance is difficult and uncomfortable.11 One of the descriptions of
the abrār in the Qur’an is as follows:
Indeed, the pious [abrār] will drink from a cup seasoned with
Kafur, a spring where the servants of Allah drink, which they make
to gush forth as they please. They fulfill their vows and fear a day
whose ill will be widespread. They give food, for the love of Him, to
the needy, the orphan, and the prisoner, [saying,] ‘We feed you only
for the sake of Allah. We do not want any reward from you nor any
thanks…. [They will be told]: ‘This is indeed your reward, and your
endeavor has been well-appreciated.’ (Q 76: 5–9, 22)
8
“And We gave him [Abraham] Isaac and Jacob … and from his offspring, David and
Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron … and Zechariah, John, Jesus and Ilyas …
and Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah and Lot, each We graced over all the nations” (Q 6:84–86).
9
Abu Mansur Ahmad al-Tabrisi, al-Ihtijaj (Najaf: Dar al-Nu’man li-l-Nashr, 1966),
Vol. 2:164.
10
Nasser Makarim Shirazi, Tafsir Namuneh (Lahore: Misbah al-Qur’an Trust, 1990),
Vol. 25:280.
11
29
An analysis of the historical context (asbāb al-nuzūl) of the above

verse demonstrates Fatima’s piety and selfless conduct, including
her among the abrār in the Qur’an.
Drawing on several traditions, al-Tabari characterizes the abrār
as a group of people who obey God, refrain from acts of disobedi-
ence, and feed the poor, the orphans, and the displaced captives.
Without delving into the asbāb al-nuzūl of these verses, he con-
cludes that abrār refers to a broad and general category of pious
and practicing Muslims from the time of revelation and beyond.12
Al-Tabatabai elaborates that abrār is a group of devout individuals
who believe in God, the Prophet, and the Day of Judgment. They
are committed to selfless servitude wanting only what their Lord
desires. They act solely for His pleasure, prioritizing His will over
their own and practicing patience to quell their wants out of love
for His obedience. Their actions are motivated by sincerity, love,
and submission to their Lord. Deploying his exegetical method
of seeking an explanation of the Qur’an from within the Qur’an,
al-Tabatabai provides two verses as evidence for his interpretation
of the word abrār. The first verse states:
Piety [ba(i)rr] is not to turn your faces to the east or the west;
rather, piety is [personified by] those who have faith in Allah and
the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets, and who give
their wealth, for the love of Him, to relatives, orphans, the needy,
the traveler and the beggar, and for [the freeing of] the slaves, and
maintain the prayer and give the zakat, and those who fulfill their
covenants, when they pledge themselves, and those who are patient
in stress and distress, and in the heat of battle. They are the ones
who are true [to their covenant], and it is they who are the God
wary. (Q 2:177)
This verse highlights key characteristics of the abrār as inter-

preted by al-Tabatabai: belief in God, the prophets, the Day of
12
30
Judgment, and pious and charitable conduct. He presents another

set of verses which state, “No indeed! The record of the pious is
in ‘Illiyyīn [highest]. And what will show you what is ‘Illiyyūn? It
is a written record, witnessed by those brought near [to Allah]”
(Q 83:18–21). Commenting on these verses, he includes a tradition
attributed to Imam al-Sadiq,13 which states, “Allah, the High and
Mighty created us [the progeny of the Prophet] from the highest
of the highest [a‘lā al-‘Illiyyīn] and created the hearts and bodies of
our followers from the stuff of our creation. Therefore, their hearts
always turn to us for we are all from the same source, and then he
recited Q 83:18–21.”14 This tradition, in all probability, references
Fatima’s mystical presence among the ‘Illiyyin (in the highest sta-
tions) before the world’s creation. Later in this chapter, we will dis-
cuss more mystical references to Fatima.
After discussing the linguistic and the Qur’anic interpretations of
abrār, al-Tabatabai provides the historical context (asbāb al-nuzūl)
for the revelation of Q 76. Narrating Ibn Abbas, he states that when
his grandsons Hasan and Hussain were taken ill, the Prophet sug-
gested that Fatima and Ali make a covenant with God to fast for
three consecutive days as a supplication for their children’s health.15
Soon after, the children regained their health, and Fatima and Ali
decided to fulfill their vow of fasting for three days. Some traditions
narrate that their helper Fiḍḍa and the children also chose to fast.16
At nightfall on the first day of fasting, Fatima spread out five
loaves of bread, salt, and water for iftar.17 As the family sat around
their modest provisions, a destitute called out, “Peace be on you,
O family of Muhammad! I am in need. Feed me so God may feed
you from the delicacies of Paradise.” Fatima gave her bread to the
13
Sixth holy Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a.
14
15
A similar narrative of making supplicatory covenants with God also appears in the
narrative of the mother of Mary. See Q 3:35–38.
16
17
Iftar is the meal with which Muslims break their fast after sunset.
31
beggar. Ali, Fiḍdạ , Hasan, and Hussain quickly followed suit. The
beggar delightfully accepted the food, and Fatima and her family
gave thanks for the opportunity to be of help. On the second day, an
orphan called out to them for food as they sat down for iftar. Again,
Fatima and her family gave away their loaves of bread to the orphan.
At the end of the third day of fasting, a captive called out for help
and once more gave away their food. The following day the Prophet
visited Fatima and found her in a state of prostration while the signs
of starvation were evident on her face. The Prophet applauded his
family’s selfless charity. Still, he could not help feeling saddened by
their physical state of deprivation until the angel Gabriel descended
with glad tidings. Gabriel announced that God had acknowledged
their fulfilling their vow, feeding the needy, the orphan, and the cap-
tive out of love for Him and His creation and honored their pious
and charitable conduct by documenting them in the verses of Q 76.18
Mahmud al-Alusi19 narrates a similar asbāb al-nuzūl for the rev-
elation of Q 76 and argues that the entire chapter (Q 76) pays hom-
age to Fatima’s charitable actions. Besides announcing Fatima as
a member of the abrār, al-Alusi points to another peculiar aspect
of Q 76; even though this chapter provides one of the most vivid
descriptions of Paradise, there is no mention of ḥūr (the beautiful
and promised females of heaven). Instead, the verses of this chapter
talk about the handsome young men that resemble scattered pearls
as they tend to the dwellers of heaven, “They will be waited upon
by immortal youths, whom, when you see them, you will suppose
them to be scattered pearls” (Q 76:19). Al-Alusi suggests that this
could be attributed to the profound reverence accorded to her as a
woman and as the esteemed daughter of the Prophet.20
18
Al-Tabatabai, al-Mizan, Vol. 20:145, 146.
19
Mahmud al-Alusi al-Baghdadi (d. 1854) was a nineteenth century Islamic Sunni
scholar best known for his thirty-volume Qur’anic exegesis titled Ruh al-Ma‘ani fi
Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Aẓim wa-l-Sab‘ al-Mathani.
20
Mahmud al-Alusi, Ruh al-Maani fi Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Azim wa al-Sab’ al-Mathani
(Beirut: Dar a-Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, 2001), Vol. 29:158.
32
In his Shawahid al-Tanzil li Qawa’id al-Tafdhil, Hakim al-Haskani21

lists more than 200 references to the family of the Prophet in the
Qur’an. As for the revelation of Q 76, al-Haskani posits that these
verses were revealed in honor of Fatima’s charitable actions, identify-
ing her and her family as the abrār.22 Thus, the Qur’an portrays abrār
as a group of individuals who possess unparalleled faith and exhibit
exemplary behavior, thereby securing the most exalted positions in
the hereafter owing to their contributions to humanity. While the cat-
egory of abrār may encompass all devout Muslims, the specific refer-
ence in this context pertains to the acts of piety and charity performed
by Fatima. The aforementioned verses not only highlight Fatima’s
elevated status among the abrār but also underscore the possibility of
eliciting narratives of female piety through a more profound interpre-
tation of the Qur’an’s verses, particularly one grounded in allegory.
The “Verse of Light”
The most common theme in the Qur’an is the description of the

transcendent nature of God without associating any imagery with
the Divine.23 Pure monotheistic belief in the singularity of God
(tawḥīd) is to deny all likeness to Him; “The originator of the heav-
ens and the earth, He made for you mates from your own selves, and
mates of the cattle, by which means He multiplies you. Nothing is
like Him, [nothing is like His likeness], and He is the All-hearing, the
21
Hakim al-Haskani was an eleventh-century Persian Sunni scholar of Qur’anic
exegesis and hadith. Shawahid al-Tanzil li Qawa’id al-Tafdhil fi al-Ayaat al-Nazila fi
Ahl al-Bayt Salawatullah wa Salamu Alayhim is a collection of verses of the Qur’an
that were revealed in demonstrating the virtues of the family of the Prophet.
22
Hakim al-Haskani, Shawahid al-Tanzil li Qawa’id al-Tafdhil fi al-Ayaat al-Nazila
fi Ahl al-Bayt Salawatullah wa Salamu Alayhim, (Beirut: Mu’assassat al-‘Alami li-l-
Matbu’at, 2010), 302–315.
23
“They make the jinn partners of Allah, though He has created them, and carve out
sons and daughters for Him, without any knowledge. Immaculate is He and exalted
above what they allege [concerning Him]!” (Q 6:100).
33
All-seeing” (Q 42:11). While this verse denies any likeness (mathal)

to God, Q 24:35, popularly known as the “verse of light,” begins by
describing the likeness of God’s Light (mathalu nurihi). It states,
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His
Light is a niche wherein is a lamp – the lamp is in a glass, the glass
as it were a glittering star – lit from a blessed olive tree, neither east-
ern nor western, whose oil almost lights up, though fire should not
touch it – Light upon light. Allah guides to His Light whomever
He wishes. Allah draws parables for [hu]mankind, and Allah has
knowledge of all things. (Q 24:35)
According to this verse, the metaphor of God’s Light is a lamp

placed in a niche. The lamp is in a glass that shines like a star. Its
fuel is the oil of the blessed olive tree which is neither from the east
nor the west. While the oil lights the lamp, the fire does not burn it.
It emanates light upon light. The critical elements of this metaphor
are the niche (mishqat), the lamp (miṣbaḥ), the glass (zujāja), and
the oil (zayt). Together, they appear as a shining star emanating
layers of light (nūrun ‘ala nur). Muslim mystics, philosophers, and
exegetes have interpreted this metaphor differently. Shi‘i allegorical
traditions draw on the “verse of light” to describe Fatima’s essential
contribution to propagating and establishing divine guidance.
For Ibn Arabi, this verse exhibits a transcendent unity essential
to vision and perception “since, without light, [the] vision would
perceive nothing at all.”24 According to William Chittick, this verse
manifests unity within diversity. Different colors emanate from
one colorless light. Even though light has no color of its own, no
color would exist without light.25 In the words of Mujtaba Musavi
Lari, this verse demonstrates how God uses allegory to describe the
24
Ghulam Hussein Adeel, Ibn Arabi’s Doctrine of the Perfect Man (Rawalpindi: Islamic
Thought Center, 2014), 61.
25
William Chittick, “The School of Ibn Arabi,” in Routledge History of World Philosophies,
ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Oliver Leaman (New York: Routledge, 2007), 515.
34
indescribable so that “the intricate secrets and mysteries [of the

object] may become better known.”26
Al-Tabari states that the niche is the heart of a believer, and the
lamp and the glass represent faith and the Qur’an. Although he does
not provide any specific meanings for the oil, he states that it gener-
ally refers to a believer’s steadfast conviction and pious conduct.27
Similarly, al-Tabatabai also suggests that the niche is the chest cav-
ity of the believer, and the lamp is the light of guidance. The glass is
her (the believer’s) heart, and the oil is the knowledge that is neither
eastern nor western but rather from the blessed tree of prophets
who brought divine wisdom. When the believer acts with convic-
tion on the divine command, her character shines bright like a star,
and her conduct produces layers upon layers (nūrun ‘ala nur) of
good deeds, acts of worship, and righteousness.28
Al-Tabatabai then delves deeper into the allegorical interpreta-
tions of this Qur’anic metaphor, like the one from Imam al-Sadiq
stating that the niche is Fatima, the lamp is Hasan, the glass is
Hussain, and the oil represents Abraham, the great ancestor of
Prophet Muhammad (S).29 This interpretation highlights the histor-
ical role of the Prophet and his family in propagating and sustaining
divine guidance. It was in the house of Fatima where the Prophet
found spiritual and physical comfort and a repository for his tradi-
tion. Through Fatima’s sons Hasan and Hussain, the bloodline and
the legacy of the Prophet’s teachings endured. Together, they sus-
tained the works and wisdom of the divine prophets in the progeny
of Abraham, who was neither Christian nor Jewish.30 Fatima and
26
Mujtaba Musavi Lari, Hidden Truths in God’s Word, accessed March 9, 2020,
www.al-islam.org/hidden-truths-gods-word-sayyid-mujtaba-musawi-lari/
exposition-verse-light-ayat-al-nur.
27
28
29
Ibid., 142.
30
“Ibrahim was not a Jew nor a Christian, but he was an upright Muslim, and he was
not of the polytheists.” (Q 3:67)
35
her family assisted the Prophet at every stage of his mission. After
him, the Imams in her lineage proved to be guardians of his val-
ues, sometimes sacrificing their lives like Hussain in Karbala and
establishing schools of jurisprudence like Imam al-Sadiq. Hence,
according to al-Tabatabai, the layers of light upon light (nūrun ‘ala
nur) refer to the twelve Holy Imams in Fatima’s progeny.
Ali ibn Ibrahim Qummi and Makarim Shirazi offer similar alle-
gorical interpretations of the “verse of light.” Qummi quotes a
fifth-century Muslim exegete that Imam al-Sadiq would interpret
the niche in the “verse of light” as Fatima.31 Similarly, Shirazi builds
on hadith that interpret the lamp as the Prophet’s heart upon which
the light of the Qur’an descended.32 The glass surrounding the
lamp refers to Ali, who supported and protected the Prophet in his
mission during the early days of propagation in Mecca and when
Muslims were politically established in Medina. Light upon light
refers to the Imams in Fatima’s progeny. Together, they represent
the Qur’anic metaphor of “the blessed tree.”33 This interpretation
highlights the virtues of Fatima and brings to the fore the foun-
dational role that women play in establishing divine thought and
propagating divine guidance.
31
Ali bin Ibrahim Qummi, Tafsir al-Qummi (Qom: Manshurat Maktabat al-Huda,
1982), Vol. 2:103.
32
“O Prophet! Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, as a bearer of good news and as
a warner and as a summoner to Allah by His permission, and as a radiant lamp.”
(Q 33:45, 46) Also, Shirazi, Tafsir Namuneh, Vol. 14:392.
33
“Have you not regarded how Allah has drawn a parable? A good word is like a
good tree: its roots are steady, and its branches are in the sky. It gives its fruit
every season by the leave of its Lord. Allah draws these parables for mankind
so that they may take admonition.” (Q 14:26, 27) In his commentary, Shirazi
explains that the metaphor of the blessed tree is a reference to the Prophet,
Fatima, Ali, Hasan, Hussain, and the other Imams in their lineage. The steady
root is a reference to the Prophet, the branches are Fatima, Ali, and the Imams
in their progeny, and the fruit in every season is a reference to the knowledge
disseminated by the Imams as heirs of the prophetic teachings. Shirazi, Tafsir
Namuneh, Vol. 10:273, 274.
36
The “Verse of Purity”
The concept of purity is a recurring theme in the Qur’an as it relates

to the faith, thoughts, deeds, and actions of Muslims. It is also a
primary component of jurisprudential aspects of the diet, clothing,
relationships, and acts of worship. For example, while preparing for
their daily ritual prayer, Muslims are especially attentive to phys-
ical cleanliness and sincerity of intentions. Purity in the sense of
faultlessness or immaculateness emerges from Q 33:33, commonly
referred to as the ‘verse of purity’ (aya al-tathīr), which states,
“Indeed, Allah desires to repel all impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt
[People of the Household] and purify you with a thorough puri-
fication.” A discourse on the asbāb al-nuzūl of this verse informs
Fatima’s axial position among the divinely purified Ahl al-Bayt.
In the Shi‘i tradition, the Ahl al-Bayt plays a significant role as
a primary source in understanding and validating hadith. Having
been divinely guarded against every imaginable impurity, this elite
group would best serve as a beacon of the purest form of faith, con-
duct, and righteousness. While exegetes differ in how they identify
the “Ahl al-Bayt” (people of the household) in this verse, Shi‘i exe-
getes concur that this group comprises Fatima, her father, her hus-
band, and her children, including the eleven Imams in her lineage.
Although al-Tabari endorses the popular Shi‘i interpretation,
he also suggests that Prophet’s wives are included among the Ahl
al-Bayt. Alluding to this debate among exegetes, al-Tabari quotes
that when Abi Ammar came across a group of companions who
were reviling and cursing Ali, he interjected, saying, “Shall I inform
you of the one you are cursing? I sat with the Prophet when Fatima,
Ali, Hasan, and Hussain entered. The Prophet welcomed them, cast
his cloak over them, and said, ‘O Allah! These are my Ahl al-Bayt.
Repel from them every impurity and purify them in a thorough
purification.’”34
34
37
Al-Tabari narrates another tradition from Umm Salama, the

Prophet’s wife, that when the “verse of purity” was revealed, the
Prophet called for Fatima, Ali, Hasan, and Hussain cast his cloak
over them and said, “O Allah! These are my Ahl al-Bayt. Repel from
them every impurity and purify them in a thorough purification.”35
Enumerating similar traditions, al-Tabari presents substantial
evidence that “the household” in this verse refers to the Prophet,
Fatima, Ali, Hasan, and Hussain.
He also includes traditions that state that for many months (some
traditions say six months, others say seven months) following the
revelation of this verse, the Prophet would come to Fatima’s door
at every prayer time saying, “The prayer, the prayer, ‘Indeed, Allah
desires to repel all impurity from you, O People of the Household,
and purify you with a thorough purification.’”36 Along with tradi-
tions that identify the Ahl al-Bayt as the five individuals mentioned
earlier, al-Tabari also includes two traditions that state that this
verse was revealed specifically for the wives of the Prophet.37
Al-Tabatabai endorses the narration of Umm Salama as quoted
by al-Tabari.38 However, he refutes the view that the Ahl al-Bayt
in this verse includes the Prophet’s wives drawing on the gram-
matical use of “ankum” (from you) in “Allah desires to repel all
impurity from you [‘ankum], O People of the Household….” Kum
(you) is used to address a group of males only or majority males. In
contrast, kunna refers to a group comprising solely of females. The
beginning of Q 33:33 and the preceding verses use kunna because
they specifically address the Prophet’s wives (a group of females).39
However, in the middle of Q 33:33, the form changes to kum, sug-
gesting that the addressee group has changed from comprising
females only to females and males. So grammatically, al-Tabatabai
35
Ibid., 105.
36
37
Ibid., 108.
38
Al-Tabatabai, al-Mizan, Vol. 16:323–326.
39
Ibid., 316.
38
argues the Ahl al-Bayt in this verse cannot be a group of females

only; hence, the interpretation that the “verse of purity” was meant
for the Prophet’s wives is erroneous.
Shirazi also supports the view that the Ahl al-Bayt, recipients of
divine “thorough purification,” refers to the five individuals men-
tioned by al-Tabari and al-Tabatabai. He affirms their rendition of
Umm Salama’s narration and that the Prophet recited the “verse of
purity” at Fatima’s door at every prayer time for several months.
He then adds a detailed narration that one day the Prophet visited
Fatima complaining of fatigue. She covered him in a Yemeni cloak.
Soon after, the Prophet gathered her, Ali, Hasan, and Hussain under
his cloak and prayed for them. Subsequently, Gabriel descended
with the “verse of purity.”40 This event, also known as hadith al-Kisa
(the Event of the Cloak), holds an exalted position in the Shi‘i tradi-
tion and is recited at the beginning of most Shi‘i gatherings to seek
blessings for the attendees.
In his article “Hadith al-Kisa: The Narration of the Cloak,”
Gholam Hussein Masoud states that when the Prophet had gath-
ered Fatima, Ali, Hasan, and Hussain with him under the cloak, a
light emanated from them that reached the skies. Gabriel witnessed
this and asked God about the ones under the cloak. God replied,
“They are Fatima, her father, her husband, and her sons.”41 This
style of introduction pivots Fatima as an axis for the group and
privileges relationship to her as a reference for all other members.
It awards centrality to a woman who was unusual in the patriar-
chal norms of the seventh-century Arabian society. The inclusion
of Fatima in the asbāb al-nuzūl of the “verse of purity” makes her
an inspirational model to argue for equal access to spiritual purity
by women, men, and children.
40
Shirazi, Tafsir Namuneh, Vol. 17:253, 254.
41
Gholam Hussein Masoud, “Hadith al-Kisa: The Narration of the Cloak,” Message of
the Thaqalayn 13, no. 1 (Spring 2012): 118, https://messageofthaqalayn.com/archive/
volume-13/number-1/hadith-al-kisa-the-narration-of-the-cloak/.
39
The “Verse of Mubāhala”
After the Muslims victoriously returned to Mecca in the eighth year

after hijra, neighboring tribes and nations became increasingly inter-
ested in Islam. They visited the Prophet to learn more about his mes-
sage and his role as leader of the newly founded state. The Qur’an
speaks of a Christian delegation from the central Arabian region
of Najran who visited the Prophet and the Muslim–Christian dia-
logue that followed (Q 3:59–79). The theological status of Jesus was
the focus of their conversation. The Muslims insisted that he was a
revered prophet of God who was miraculously born to the Virgin
Mary and given a heavenly scripture, while the Christians insisted
that he was the son of God. After deliberating on the topic for sev-
eral days, the dialogue had changed into a deadlocked debate and
consequently concluded in a peculiar contest known as mubāhala
(imprecation). The “verse of mubāhala” states, “Should anyone argue
with you [Prophet] concerning him [Jesus], after the knowledge that
has come to you, say, ‘Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our
women, and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then let us pray
earnestly and call down Allah’s curse upon the liars’” (Q 3:61). A his-
torical and exegetical analysis of this verse affirms Fatima’s participa-
tion in this contest and the Prophet’s confidence in her truthfulness.
Mubāhala is from bahala, meaning “to set free;” when an animal
is let loose, it is called bāhil. In the context of supplication, ibtahala
means to pray earnestly and free from every worldly attachment.
Mubāhala is a supplication to detach the untrue party from the pro-
tection and mercy of God.42 In the verse mentioned earlier, it refers
to breaking the tie of contradicting views about Jesus through a con-
test that would invoke God’s wrath on the false claimants. With the
Christians adamant in their assertion of Jesus being the son of God
and the Prophet’s insistence that Jesus was a pious servant and mes-
senger of God, the mubāhala served as a divinely decreed tiebreaker.
42
Shirazi, Tafsir Namuneh, Vol. 2:348.
40
Al-Tabari and al-Tabatabai concur on the asbāb al-nuzūl of this

verse. Al-Tabari states that on the eve of the mubāhala, the Christian
delegation spent the night deliberating their responses to the fol-
lowing day’s proceedings. If Muhammad (S) were a true prophet
of God, then God would not descend His wrath upon him, and if
he were an angel asking them to confront the truth, they would not
stand a chance of survival. So, they decided to play it safe and avoid
engaging in the mubāhala if the Prophet chose to proceed. On the
assigned day, they saw the Prophet arrive with Hussain in his arms
and Fatima walking behind him. He asked to begin the mubāh-
ala, and they declined, agreeing to live in peace with the Muslims
and pay annual taxes to the Muslim government.43 Al-Tabari also
quotes that on the day of mubāhala, the Prophet took Hasan and
Ali along with Fatima and Hussain.44
Al-Tabatabai narrates from Imam al-Sadiq that the Prophet
received the Christian delegation in the mosque in Medina. He started
the conversation by acknowledging that there is no God but God, that
he was the Messenger of God, and that Jesus was God’s servant and a
pious human being. The Christians asked, “Who was his father?” The
Prophet replied with the verses, “Indeed the case of Jesus with Allah is
like the case of Adam: He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be,’
and he was. This is the truth from your Lord, so do not be among the
skeptics” (Q 3:59, 60). Then he asked, “What do you say about Adam?
Was he not a servant of God and a pious human being?” When they
responded in the affirmative, the Prophet asked, “Then who was his
[Adam’s] father?” The Christian delegation remained silent.
After several days of dialogue and debate, the Prophet shared
that Gabriel had descended with the “verse of mubāhala.” With
both parties being as convinced of their positions as was the case, a
mubāhala could be the only course for a settlement. As they retired
for the night, the Christians deliberated, “If he brings common
43
Ibid., Vol. 5:469.
44
Ibid., 471.
41
members of his community, then we will engage in mubāhala, but

if he brings his closest and dearest family members, then we will
refuse. Only a truthful prophet would confidently bring his loved
ones to such a grave contest.”45 The next day the Prophet appeared
with one woman, one man, and two boys. The Christians realized
that the man was Ali, his cousin, the woman was Fatima, his daugh-
ter, and the children were Hasan and Hussain, his grandsons. After
consultations amongst themselves, they retracted from the contest
and agreed to pay taxes in return for the freedom to practice their
religion. The Prophet agreed.46
The event of mubāhala also appears in the works of the twelfth-
century literary scholar and jurist Sayyid Ali bin Musa bin Tawus
al-Hilli. Al-Hilli narrates that on the appointed day, the Prophet
emerged carrying Hussain in his arms, holding Hasan by the hand,
with Fatima walking behind him and Ali walking behind her. The
Prophet said to them, “when I raise my hands for supplication,
say ‘Amen’.”47 When the leader of the Christian delegation saw
the Prophet and his family approaching, he said, “Indeed, I see
such faces that if they were to ask God to move mountains, God
would grant their wish. We will not engage in mubāhala.”48 Their
observation alludes to the charismatic and spiritual virtues of the
Ahl al-Bayt.
Al-Tabatabai explains that participating in the mubāhala meant
subjecting one’s conviction and existence to a divine test. The
Prophet’s careful selection of those who would accompany him
in such a test demonstrates his confidence and trust in their sin-
cerity. Fatima’s inclusion in this select group is a testimony to her
truthfulness.49 Analyzing the verse grammatically, al-Tabatabai
45
46
Ibid.
47
Sayyid Ali bin Musa bin Tawus al-Hilli, Iqbal al-A‘maal (Beirut: Mu’assasat ‘Alami
li-l-Matbuat, 1996), 841.
48
Tawus al-Hilli, Iqbal al-A‘maal, 841.
49
42
Fatima in the Mystical Traditions
states that all three nouns: sons, women, and selves, are plural, rep-
resenting groups of three or more individuals. Despite the allow-
ance to include more, the Prophet chose one woman, two sons, and
one other man suggesting that those selected were unmatched and
exemplary among the Muslims.50 Fatima’s inclusion in this group
renders her a female model of truthfulness. It is also noteworthy that
in response to the divine instruction of bringing “our sons” to the
mubāhala, the Prophet brought Fatima’s children. As mentioned
earlier in this chapter, the Prophet’s progeny continued through his
daughter’s children in a culture where male children represented
continuity of lineage. Invoking the “verse of mubāhala,” each Imam
in Fatima’s bloodline justified their title of “ibn Rasulullah” (son of
God’s Messenger).
The verses of kauthar (abundance), abrār (pious), nur (light),
tathir (purity), and mubāhala (contest of truth) not only provide
hues of Fatima’s historical narrative but also demonstrate the
Qur’anic perspective on feminine worth, piety, and participation
in establishing a moral and just society. While Muslims generally
respect Fatima’s position, Shi‘i spiritual literature posits that her
human form comprises a more-than-human element that connects
to a mystical realm.
Shi‘i historians have often described Fatima as “the ‘Mother’ of

Shiʿi Islam.”51 Her exceptional virtues and spiritual eminence make
her “a major theological lynchpin in Shiʿi thought.”52 In addition
50
Ibid. Vol. 4:261.
51
John Renard, Islamic Theological Themes: A Primary Source Reader (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2014), 296, accessed November 30, 2018, http://0-
search.ebscohost.com.grace.gtu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=781018
&site=ehost-live.
52
Ibid., 309.
43
to her prominent theological position as a revered member of the

distinguished Ahl al-Bayt, specific mystical dimensions of her life
have left an indelible mark on Shi‘i literature. This section exam-
ines five mystical facets of her narrative: her creation from light
and her worship of God in the celestial realm prior to the inception
of the world and Adam’s creation; her mystical conception by her
mother Khadija, her communication with her mother while still in
the womb, and the presence of sacred female figures at her birth;
her mystical appellations; the tasbīh (glorification)53 imparted to
her by the Prophet; her intercessory authority both in the earthly
realm and the hereafter.
Creation from Light
The primordial existence of the Prophet’s light (nur Muhammadi)

is not an alien notion in the Sunni tradition. Shi‘i literature, how-
ever, elaborates on the mystical existence of the Ahl al-Bayt in much
detail. In his commentary on the Nahj al-Balagha, Habibullah
al-Khoei explores some of the arcane aspects of Fatima’s mystical
creation from the Prophet’s preexistent light (nur Muhammadi).
Quoting al-Majlisi’s Bihar, al-Khoei states:
The Prophet said, “Indeed, God created me, Ali, Fatima, Hasan,
and Hussain before He created Adam. There was no firm sky,
no revolving earth, no darkness, no light, no sun, no moon, no
Paradise, no Hell.” Abbas [the Prophet’s uncle] asked the Prophet
to explain further. He continued, “O uncle! When God desired
to create us, he worded a word (kalima) and created light (nur).
Then He worded another word and created spirit (ruh). He mixed
the light and the spirit and created me, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and
Hussain. We glorified Him while there was no glorification, and
53
Tasbīh is derived from the root of sabbaha and means to glorify God. Tasbīh is also
referred to the rosary beads which are used to keep count of such glorifications.
44
we venerated Him even before the concept of veneration existed.

And when God desired to create [the rest of] His creation, He took
from my light and created the Throne (‘arsh). Hence, the Throne
is from my light, my light is from God’s Light, and my light is
more virtuous than the light of the Throne. Then, He took from
my brother Ali’s light and created the angels. Hence, the angels
are from Ali’s light, Ali’s light is from God’s Light, and Ali is more
virtuous than the angels. Then He took from my daughter Fatima’s
light and created the heavens and the earth. Hence, the heavens
and the earth are from the light of my daughter Fatima, my daugh-
ter Fatima’s light is from God’s Light, and my daughter Fatima is
more virtuous than the heavens and the earth. Then He took from
my son Hasan’s light and created the sun and the moon. Hence,
the sun and the moon are from the light of my son Hasan, my son
Hasan’s light is from God’s Light, and Hasan is more virtuous than
the sun and the moon. Then He took from my son Hussain’s light
and created Paradise and the ḥūr [maidens of Paradise]. Hence,
Paradise and the ḥūr are from the light of my son Hussain, my son
Hussain’s light is from God’s Light, and Hussain is more virtuous
than Paradise and the ḥūr.”54
This tradition describes Fatima’s mystical creation from divine

light, her preexistence with the nur Muhammadi in a state of glo-
rifying God, and the creation of the heavens and the earth from
her light. For the Shi‘a, this tradition is inherently connected to the
“verse of light” discussed earlier in this chapter. Some mystical tra-
ditions also narrate that Fatima’s primordial existence with the Ahl
al-Bayt became the source of all the blessings that descended upon
the earth and its dwellers. In his Mikyal al-Makarim, Muhammad
Taqi al-Isfahani lists several hadith that speak to this idea. Quoting
Imam al-Sadiq, al-Isfahani states that the Prophet said:
54
Mirza Habibullah al-Khoei, Minhaj al-Bara’a fi Sharh Nahj al-Balagha (Beirut:
Dar Ahya al-Turath al-Arabiyya, 2003), 325. Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi, Bihar
al-Anwar (Beirut: Mu’assassat al-Wafa, 1983), Vol. 15:10, 11.
45
The Almighty created us in a good creation. He shaped us in a

goodly shape. He made us His eyes among His servants (so that we
can witness their deeds and conduct), and He made us His speak-
ing tongue. He made us His hand of mercy and benevolence spread
over the head of His servants, and He made us His face (so that
through us His attributes may be identified). He made us a gate
(a medium to access His knowledge, faith, and obedience) and a
treasure (of His knowledge, recognition, and mercy) in His heavens
and earth. The trees bear fruit, the fruits ripen, the streams flow,
the rain descends, and plants grow from the earth by our blessing
(baraka). Through the model of our worship, God is worshipped.55
Al-Majlisi has compiled many similar traditions describing

Fatima’s preexistence in vivid detail.56
Journey from the Heavens to the Earth
Fatima’s birth date is “a source of polemics between the Shi‘i and

the Sunni and a controversial point upon which to begin a study of
her life.”57 Clohessy states that according to Sunni historians, she
was born five years before the proclamation of Islam (605 CE). In
contrast, Shi‘i historians insist that she was born five years after the
first revelation (615 CE).58 Shi‘i literature includes mystical narra-
tives concerning her conception, speaking from the womb, and the
descending of heavenly women to assist with her parturition.
According to Shi‘i reports, Fatima was conceived from a heav-
enly fruit Gabriel brought for the Prophet. The tenth-century
hadith scholar Shaykh al-Sadouq narrates,
55
Muhammad Taqi al-Isfahani, Mikyal al-Makarim fi Fawa’id al-Dua li-l-Qai’m
(Beirut: Mu’ssassat al-‘Alami li-l-Matbuat, 2001), Vol. 1:39.
56
Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 16:361–362.
57
Christopher Paul Clohessy, Fatima, Daughter of Muhammad (New Jersey: Georgia
Press, 2018), 21.
58
Ibid., 33.
46
The Prophet said, “God, High and Mighty, created Fatima’s light
from His light before shaping the heavens and the earth and
before creating Adam and the spirits….He placed her in an apple
in Paradise, and Gabriel came to me bearing it and said, “Peace,
mercy, and blessings of God be upon you, O Muhammad.” I replied,
“And peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you, my beloved
Gabriel.” He said, “Muhammad, your Lord greets you with peace.”
I said, “Peace comes from Him and returns to Him.” Then Gabriel
presented an apple from Paradise and said it was God’s gift. I took it
and pressed it to my chest. Gabriel said, “God, Almighty says, “Eat
it.”” I split it open and saw a brilliant light that startled me. He said,
“Eat it entirely, for this is the light of al-Mansura in the heaven who
will be known as Fatima on earth.””59
After eating the mystical fruit from heaven, the Prophet headed
home to Khadija, and Fatima was conceived. In his biographical
work on Fatima, Muhammad Taqi Muqaddam quotes a tradition
by al-Sadouq that adds a prelude to this narrative. Muqaddam
states that God asked the Prophet to worship in solitude for forty
days. He decided to spend those days in the house of Fatima bint
Asad and sent Ammar Yasir to inform Khadija that his absence
from home was in obedience to a divine commandment.60 He spent
forty consecutive days fasting and the nights in prayer. On the last
night, Gabriel descended with fruit from heaven. The Prophet ate
the fruit and prepared for his prayer. Gabriel then said he should
return home to Khadija, for God desired to grant him pure prog-
eny.61 Fatima’s light moved from the heavenly fruit to Khadija’s
womb that night.
59
Shaykh al-Sadouq Muhammad bin Ali Ibn Babawayh, Ma‘ani al-Akhbar
(Qom: Mu’assassat al-Nashr al-Islami al-Tabi’a li Jamat al-Mudarisin bi Qum
al-Musharrafa, 1958), 396.
60
Fatima bint Asad was the wife of Abu Talib (the Prophet’s uncle) and the mother of Ali.
61
Muhammad Taqi Muqaddam, Fadha’il al-Zahra wa Manaqib Insiyya al-Hawra
(Lucknow: al-Jawad Foundation, 2008), 89, 90.
47
While Khadija rejoiced at her pregnancy, she also felt socially

estranged. Most Meccan women thought it was unbecoming for
a woman of Khadija’s stature to marry the orphan Prophet, so
they socially ostracized her. Khadija was content with her love for
the Prophet and stayed committed to him. When she felt lonely
during her pregnancy, the child in her womb would speak to her.
Al-Majlisi quotes,
Mufazzal bin Umar states that he asked Imam al-Sadiq about

Fatima’s birth. He replied, “When God’s Prophet married Khadija
(may God be pleased with her), the women of Mecca dissociated,
neither greeted nor visited her, and forbade other women from
speaking to her. Khadija felt estranged on account of this. Fatima
began speaking from her mother’s womb to console her. One day
the Prophet heard Khadija conversing with her unborn child and
asked, “Khadija, who speaks with you?” She replied, “The child in
my womb speaks to me and keeps me company.” The Prophet said,
“Gabriel has informed me that the child is a female, she is pure and
auspicious, and God Almighty will bring forth from her progeny
Imams whom He will make leaders on His earth after the termina-
tion of His revelation.””62
Al-Majlisi also states that heavenly midwives assisted Khadija as

Fatima’s birth drew near.
When the time for Khadija’s delivery came, she sent word to the
women of Quraish and the women of Bani Hashim, asking them
to assist her in a way in which women take charge of each other in
times of childbirth. They declined her call, saying that Khadija had
defied them, that she had not paid heed to their words by marry-
ing Muhammad, the penniless orphan of Abu Talib, and that they
would not aide her. Khadija was distressed by their rejection. At
that moment, four tall women came to her. Their height was like
62
Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 16:80.
48
that of the women of Bani Hashim. Khadija was startled by them.

One of them said, “Khadija, do not be sad. We are messengers sent
by your Lord; we are your sisters. I am Sara; this is Asiya, daugh-
ter of Muzahim [wife of Pharoah], and she is your companion in
Paradise; this is Maryam, daughter of Imran [mother of Jesus],
and this is Sephora, daughter of Shuaib. God Almighty sent us to
assist you in a way in which women help each other in times of
childbirth.”63
In another version of this hadith, al-Majlisi names the four heav-

enly women as Sara, Asiya, Maryam, and Kulthum, the sister of
Moses.64 In his Dhakha’ir al-‘Uqba, the thirteenth-century histo-
rian Muhib al-Din Ahmad al-Tabari narrates a similar except that
it names the four women as Hawwa [Eve], Asiya, Kulthum, and
Maryam.65 Some narrations also mention that Fatima testified to
the tenets of faith as soon as she was born. Al-Majlisi’s version con-
tinues to provide more details as follows:
One sat on Khadija’s right, the other to her left, the third in front,
and the fourth behind her. Khadija gave birth to Fatima, the pure
and immaculate. Light radiated from the child’s face and entered
the houses of Mecca. There was no place in the east and the west,
but her light shone at it. The woman in front of her received the
child and washed her with the water of Kauthar.66 She then brought
two pieces of cloth whiter than milk and more fragrant than musk
and ambergris. She wrapped the newborn Fatima with one piece
and veiled her with the other. Then she started to speak to her [like
adults speak to infants]. Fatima responded with the shahada, “There
63
Ibid.
64
Ibid., Vol. 43:3.
65
Muhib al-Din Ahmad al-Tabari, Dhakha’ir al-‘Uqba fi Manaqib Zawi al-Qurba
(Jeddah: Maktabat al-Sahaba, 1996), 90.
66
Although in the discussion on “Fatima in the Qur’an,” the allegorical interpretation
of Kauthar is taken as a reference to Fatima, Kauthar in this context is the pool in
heaven which has been created for its dwellers.
49
is no god but God, my father is the Messenger of God (God’s bless-

ings be with him and his progeny) and the master of the proph-
ets, Ali is the master of those entrusted [with the message of the
prophets], and my son is the master of the tribes.” She then greeted
the women and addressed each one by her name, and they smiled
at her. The maidens of heaven rejoiced, and the people of Paradise
spread the good news of Fatima’s birth to one another.67
Narrations of Fatima’s creation from a heavenly fruit, her speaking

in the womb and at birth, and the descending of midwives from
Paradise are consistent features of Shi‘i biographical works on her life.
Fatima’s Appellations
Besides the supernatural circumstances surrounding her birth,

there is significant literature on Fatima’s mystical. Muqaddam lists
sixteen names and a hundred and thirty-five titles for Fatima. Imam
al-Sadiq ascribes nine names to Fatima that highlight her virtuous
character; they are Siddīqa (the righteous), Mubāraka (the blessed),
Tāhira (the pure), Zakiya (the unblemished); Raḍiya (the one who
is pleased with God), Marḍiya (the one whom God is pleased with),
Muḥaddatha (the one who is spoken to by angels), Zahra (the lumi-
nous), and Batūl (the pure virgin). Here, we look at mystical conno-
tations of her names Fatima, Zahra, and Muḥaddatha.
Fatima is from faṭama, which means “to wean.” It appears with
two different prepositions placed after it: faṭama bi and faṭama ‘an,
meaning “weaned for” [the sake of] or “wean with” and “weaned
[away] from,” respectively. Hadith literature illustrates that God
weaned Fatima with knowledge and weaned her away from igno-
rance.68 Imam al-Reza69 states that the Prophet said, “I named my
67
Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 16:80, 81.
68
Ibid., Vol. 43:13.
69
Eighth Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a, Ali bin Musa al-Reza.
50
daughter Fatima because God Almighty weaned her and those who
love her from the fire.”70 In another version of this hadith, al-Majlisi
states that Imam al-Sadiq said, “Do you know what the interpreta-
tion of Fatima is? It is that she is weaned away from every evil.”71
Her appellation “Zahra” appears in Shi‘i literature as a sepa-
rate and sometimes second name following Fatima. Zahra is from
zahara, meaning radiant or luminous, and refers to Fatima’s pre-
existent light. It emerges from a mystical reading of the “verse of
light,” as discussed earlier in this chapter. Imam al-Sadiq narrated
that,
When God Almighty created her from the light of His majesty, she
radiated and illuminated the heavens and the earth with her light.
The angels were overwhelmed by this vision. They fell before God in
prostration, saying, “Our Lord and our Master, what is this light?”
God revealed, “This is a light from my light that I created from My
Majesty and lodged in the heavens. I brought it forth from the loins
of My Prophet who I have preferred over all the prophets. I have
brought forth from that light Imams to accomplish My command
and guide to My truth. I have made them My caliphs in My earth
after the termination of My revelation.”72
In another tradition, al-Majlisi provides vivid details about the

spectrum of light that emanated from Fatima, resulting in her
being called Zahra. Transmitting from al-Sadouq’s ‘Ilal al-Sharā’i,
al-Majlisi states that Imam al-Sadiq explained the meaning of
Zahra as follows:
The prince of believers [Ali] witnessed her radiance thrice a day.

During morning prayer, her face shone, and the whiteness of that
light penetrated the houses in Medina, illuminating their walls and
beds. Astonished by what they had seen, they came to the Prophet
70
71
Ibid., 10.
72
Ibid., Vol. 43:12.
51
seeking an explanation. He sent them to Fatima’s house of Fatima

where they saw her sitting in her prayer niche, praying. Light ema-
nated from her face and spread out from her prayer niche. They
understood that what they had seen was the light of Fatima. When
the day reached its peak, and she stood up for the prayer, her face
shone with yellow light, and the yellowness entered the people’s
rooms and yellowed their walls and complexions. They came to
the Prophet to ask about what they had seen, and he sent them to
the house of Fatima. They noticed her standing in the prayer niche
while the light from her face, may the blessings of God be upon her,
her father, her husband, and her children were emanating a yellow
color. They understood that what they had seen was from the light
of her face. At the end of the day, when the sun had set, the glow on
Fatima’s face took a reddish color, and her face radiated with red-
ness, joyfully and thankfully to God Almighty. The redness of her
face entered the people’s rooms and reddened their walls. When this
vision astonished them, they came to the Prophet to ask him about
what they had seen, and he sent them to the house of Fatima. They
found her sitting, praising, and glorifying God, and they understood
that what they had seen was from the light of Fatima’s face. This light
did not cease to emanate from her face until Hussain was born.73
Although the names Fatima and Zahra are the most famous
names that appear in Islamic literature, Muḥaddatha is another
name that highlights her extraordinary spirituality. Muḥaddatha is
the feminine form for the noun muḥaddath, which refers to some-
one who communicates with angels. In his Manaqib Aal Abi Talib,
the twelfth-century Shi‘i theologian and jurist Mohammad bin
Shahr Ashub explores the different readings of the verse, “We did
not send any apostle before you [Muhammad], but We revealed
to him that ‘There is no god except Me; so worship Me’” (Q 21:25).
Ibn Abbas and Muhammad bin Abi Bakr would read this verse as,
73
52
“We did not send any apostle before you nor any messenger nor
any muḥaddath.” Ibn Shar Ashub states that revelation is not exclu-
sively for prophets. The Qur’an records conversations of individu-
als with angels who were not necessarily prophets. Imam al-Sadiq
explained, “Maryam was not a prophet; she was a muḥaddatha.
The mother of Moses was not a prophet; she was a muḥaddatha.
Sara met the angels when they gave her glad tidings of the birth of
Isaac and Jacob after him, and she was not a prophet. Fatima was a
muḥaddatha, and she was not a prophet.”74 This narration includes
Fatima among the women who conversed with angels.
According to Ibn Shahr Ashub, Fatima spoke to Gabriel, Azrael,
and other angels. Imam al-Baqir states,
The Messenger of God sent Salman to Fatima’s house. He stood at

the door, watching Fatima recite the Qur’an while the hand mill was
turning by itself and grinding wheat, and there was no one else in
sight. Salman returned to the Prophet and reported what he had
seen. The Prophet smiled and said, “O Salman! God has filled my
daughter Fatima’s heart and body with faith in such a way that when
she desires a repose through the worship of God, He sends an angel
by the name of Zuqabil (in other narrations, it is Gabriel) to turn the
hand mill for her. God suffices her with provisions for this world and
the hereafter.”75
Similar narrations state that Gabriel and Mikael would come to

rock her son’s cradle to keep the child calm while Fatima attended
to her duties.76 While narrating the accounts of the Prophet’s
demise, Ibn Shahr Ashub quotes from Ibn Abbas:
During the final moments of the Prophet’s life, as Fatima sat by his
side, there was a knock at the door. Fatima asked, “Who’s there?”
74
Muhammad bin Shahr Ashub al-Mazandarani, Manaqib Aal Abi Talib (Najaf:
al-Mutabi’at al-Haidariyya, 1956), Vol. 3:115.
75
Ibn Shahr Ashub, Manaqib Aal Abi Talib, Vol. 3:117.
76
Ibid., 116.
53
A voice replied, “I am a stranger. I have come to ask from God’s

Messenger. Do you permit me to enter?” She replied, “Come back
later, may God have mercy on you; the God’s Messenger is not
well.” He returned after some time and knocked at the door and
said, “A stranger comes asking for God’s Messenger if you would
grant permission to strangers.” The Prophet opened his eyes and
said, “Fatima, do you know who is at the door? He is the one who
disperses crowds and cuts off pleasures. He is the angel of death. He
has never asked for permission before this, nor will he ever ask for
permission after this. Permit him to enter.”77
Imam al-Sadiq said that Fatima lived for seventy-five days

after her father’s death, grieving for him all the time she was
alive. Gabriel would visit her often, consoling her with the glad
tidings of her father’s lofty position in the next world, and tell-
ing her of the events after her death. She narrated these fore-
casted events to Ali, and he wrote them down.78 In his al-Kafi,
Kulayni states that Ali compiled the conversations of Fatima
with Gabriel, which later became known as Musḥaf of Fatima
(Fatima’s Scroll).79 The scroll passed to the Imams in Fatima’s
lineage, and they drew upon its contents to develop their knowl-
edge. Imam al-Sadiq said:
The zanādiqa will appear in 128 AH (745/746 CE) because I found it

in the Musḥaf of Fatima. The narrator asked about this Musḥaf. He
replied, “When God Almighty took the Prophet from this world, it
caused extreme grief to Fatima, the extent of which can be known by
none but God. God sent her an angel to give solace to her and speak
to her. She informed Ali about this. So, when the angel would visit,
Ali would write down all that he would hear of the conversations
77
Ibid.
78
79
Muhammad bin Yaqub al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi (Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya,
1986), Vol. 1:241.
54
between Fatima and the angel, so much so that his notes took the
shape of a whole book. Knowledge of all that was and all that will
be is within it.”80
In another version of a similar narration, Imam al-Sadiq said,

“I was looking at the scroll of Fatima. No king would rule on earth
without being listed therein by his name and father’s name.”81
These narrations highlight Fatima’s mystical and spiritual aspects,
how they informed the development of Shi‘i thought and theology,
and the legacy of knowledge she left behind for the Imams.
Other accolades characterize her as “immaculate” and among
the excellent women of the world as described by the Prophet. Shi‘i
exegetes build on the “verse of purity” (Q 33:33) to posit that the
Ahl al-Bayt are “immaculate.” As discussed earlier in this chapter,
Shi‘i commentators identify the Ahl al-Bayt as Fatima, her father,
her husband, and her children. The concept of “fourteen immacu-
late ones” (the Prophet, Fatima, and the twelve Imams) is a signifi-
cant component of Shi‘i thought. Fatima’s theological significance
emerges from hadith such as “Fatima is part of me; whoever hurts
her hurts me and whoever hurts me hurts Allah (exalted be His
Majesty!),” and “Allah is displeased when she is angered and pleased
when she is pleased.”82 Her spiritual distinctions include invoca-
tions and chants (tasbīh) that are popular in daily Shi‘i practice.
The Tasbīh of Fatima
One of the spiritual legacies of Fatima is the glorification of God

taught to her by the Prophet. Referred to as the “tasbīh of Fatima,”
this chant is essential to the lived piety of Muslims, mainly the
Shi‘a, who chant it after their five daily prayers seeking its spiritual
80
Ibid., 240.
81
Ibid., 242.
82
Al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi, Vol. 1:311.
55
benefits. In his biographical work titled Fatima, the Gracious, Abu

Muhammad Ordoni states that Fatima lived a modest life and did
most of the household chores herself. When the workload increased,
she went to her father to seek assistance. He said to her,
I will give you something better than a helper, in fact, better than
anything in this world. After every prayer, recite Allahu Akbar
[God is Great] thirty-four times, Alḥamdolillah [Praise be to
God] thirty-three times, Subḥanallah [Glory be to God/God is
Immaculate] thirty-three times, and conclude with La ilaha illa
Allah [there is no god but God]. This is better for you than any
helper or anything else in this world.83
This narration exemplifies the spiritual value of the tasbīh and

recognizes the importance of daily household chores often desig-
nated to women in most Muslim cultures. Shi‘i exegetes explain
that Fatima’s tasbīh embodies God’s remembrance. The Qur’an
states, “O you who have faith! Remember Allah with frequent
remembrance [dhikran kathīra]” (Q 33:41). God-consciousness is
aspired to by Muslim mystics and spiritualists. Shi‘i exegetes argue
that Fatima’s tasbīh is the key to achieving it. In his Wasa’il al-Shi‘a,
Hurr al-Amuli quotes Imam al-Sadiq saying, “The tasbīh of Fatima
is one of the interpretations of dhikran kathīra as it appears in God’s
words, ‘Remember Allah with frequent remembrance.”’84
The interpretation that the tasbīh is a distinguished model for
the glorification and remembrance of God is also found in the exe-
gesis of the verse, “Remember Me, and I will remember you…”
(Q 2:152). Al-Amuli states that according to Imam al-Sadiq, chant-
ing Fatima’s tasbīh constitutes a way of remembering God, as
alluded to in Q 2:152.85 Another narration states that Imam al-Baqir
83
Abu Muhammad Ordoni, Fatima the Gracious (Qum: Ansariyan Publications,
1992), 173.
84
Hurr al-Amuli, Wasa’il al-Shi‘a (Beirut: Dar Ihya at-Turath al-Arabi, 1983), Vol. 6:441.
85
Ibid.
56
said, “There is no model for the supplicatory worship and praise of

God better than the tasbīh of Fatima because if there were a better
model, the Prophet would have surely gifted it to Fatima.”86 The
Shi‘i hadith corpus contains several narrations that elaborate on the
multitude of spiritual benefits associated with Fatima’s tasbīh. One
such narration from Imam al-Sadiq states, “The recitation of tasbīh
of Fatima after every obligatory prayer is better than a thousand
supererogatory prayers (al-nafila) performed every day.”87 Another
says that “one who recites the tasbīh of Fatima seeking forgiveness
will succeed because it is a hundred on the tongue and a thousand
on the scales [mīzān]; it pushes back Satan and earns the pleasure
of the Merciful God.”88 “Hundred on the tongue” refers to the hun-
dred oral chants that constitute the tasbīh, and “a thousand on the
scales” is the spiritual value of a thousand good deeds on the scales
[mīzān]89 of the hereafter.
The Twelver Imams valued this tasbīh and prescribed it to their
children and their followers, indicating its immense spiritual bear-
ing on developing piety. In a conversation with one of his students,
Imam al-Sadiq stressed, “We prescribe tasbīh of Fatima to our
young ones as strongly as we urge them to perform their obliga-
tory prayers. So, [you too] observe this enjoinment for yourselves
because there is none amongst God’s servants who observed the
tasbīh and was saddened by it.”90
The tasbīh has become a key component of Muslim supplica-
tory practice of mystical value in Shi‘a lived tradition. Fatima has
become an intermediary for millions of Muslims who seek nearness
86
Ibid., 443.
87
Ibid., 444.
88
Al-Amuli, Wasa’il al-Shi‘a, Vol. 6:442.
89
Mīzān is a theme that appears in the Islamic understanding of eschatology and life
after death. Muslims believe that mīzān is a station on the Day of Judgment where
the actions of human beings will be evaluated to make them eligible for entry into
Paradise.
90
Hurr al-Amuli, Wasa’il al-Shi‘a, Vol. 6:442.
57
to God by chanting her tasbīh after their daily salat. Shi‘a resort to
the tasbīh for supplicating for good health and abundance.91 Fatima
plays an intercessory role in the lives of Shi‘i s as they navigate the
challenges of living their religious identities and preparing spirit-
ually for their afterlife.
Intercession on the Day of Judgment
Intercession is a heavily debated concept in Islamic theology. Shi‘i

theologians, however, argue for it, insisting that specific individ-
uals can be and have been awarded the intercessory authority by
God. The debate pivots around the diversity of interpretations of
the Qur’anic verses on the theme of intercession. Shi‘i exegetes
draw on verses such as “…who is it that may intercede with Him
except with His permission?” (Q 2:255) to argue the possibility
of intercession with divine approval. The Qur’an mentions the
Prophet’s role as interceder when it states, “had they when they
wronged themselves, come to you and pleaded to Allah for for-
giveness, and the Apostle had pleaded for forgiveness for them,
they would have surely found Allah All-Clement, All-Merciful.”
(Q 4:64). The intercession of Jacob for his sons appears in verses
such as, “they said, ‘father! Plead [with Allah] for the forgiveness of
our sins! We have indeed been erring.’ He said, ‘I shall plead with
my Lord to forgive you; indeed, He is the All-Forgiving, the All-
Merciful’” (Q 12:97, 98).
Besides the intercession of prophets, Qur’anic verses also rec-
ommend believers to intercede for each other, which is evident
from verses such as, “they who are felicitous … say, ‘Our Lord,
forgive us and our brethren who were our forerunners in the
faith…” (Q 59:10). Although a detailed analysis of the concept of
91
See www.duas.org/tasbihzehra.htm and https://qfatima.com/wp-content/
uploads/2020/06/The-Salawat-and-Tasbeeh-of-Sayyida-Fatima-Zahrapbuh
_WEB.pdf.
58
intercession in Islamic theology is beyond the scope of this study,

Shi‘i theologians are clear in their position, affirming the possibil-
ity and reality of intercession. Several narrations from the Twelver
Shi‘i Imams speak to Fatima’s intercessory entitlement.
According to al-Majlisi, God gifted Fatima the power to inter-
cede on her wedding day. Clohessy also narrates that when it was
time for Fatima to wed, she asked her father for a special dower.
She said, “My father, the girls of the rest of [hu]mankind are given
dirhams and dinars in marriage. What is the difference between
you and the rest of humanity? I will ask God Almighty to make
my dower the intercession for the sinners of your community.” At
that moment, Gabriel descended with a piece of silk inscribed with
a message that read: God Almighty has made the dower of Fatima,
the radiant daughter of Muhammad, the chosen one, intercession
for his sinful community. When she was dying, Fatima asked for
the piece of silk to be put in her shroud, saying, “on the Day of
Resurrection, I will hold this in my hand and intercede for the sin-
ners of my father’s community.”92
Al-Majlisi quotes several narrations that describe Fatima’s
entrance on the Day of Judgment escorted by angels interceding
on behalf of those who loved her, her progeny, and her followers.
Quoting a narration from the Prophet, al-Majlisi states:
Fatima will arrive on the Day of Judgement riding a heavenly she-

camel whose eyes would be rubies, and legs adorned with green
emeralds, its muzzle embellished with pearls, and a dome of light
hovering above it. Fatima will be wearing a crown of light stud-
ded with pearls and sapphire, and the light emanating from it will
appear like the light of the glittering stars in heaven. Seventy thou-
sand angels on each side will surround her as she halts before her
Lord to intercede for her lovers and the lovers of her progeny.93
92
Christopher Paul Clohessy, Fatima, Daughter of Muhammad 2nd ed. (New Jersey:
Georgia Press, 2018) 198.
93
59
Another version of a similar narration states that Fatima will be

accompanied by Maryam, Asiya, Eve, and Khadija as she makes
her way to the plains of Judgment Day.94 Another classic narra-
tion recited annually in Shi‘i religious gatherings during the days
of commemorating Fatima’s demise (ayyām faṭimiyya) is a stirring
account of Fatima’s intercessory authority. The narration states that
Imam al-Sadiq said to his companion Jabir:
When Fatima arrives at the gates of Paradise, she will pause and look
back [at the souls gathered on the Day of Judgment]. God will say,
“O daughter of My beloved! Why do you turn around when I bid you
enter My Paradise?” She will say, “Lord! I desire that my position be
known on a day like this.” God will say, “Daughter of My beloved!
Return and see who has a love for you or your progeny in their heart,
take them by the hand and lead them into Paradise.” Imam al-Sadiq
stressed, “By God, Jabir! On that day, she will pick out her adher-
ents, and those who love her like a bird picks out the good seed from
the perishable seed.” When they, too, will be gathered at the gate of
Paradise, they will turn back towards the crowds, their hearts yearn-
ing for God. God will say, “O My beloved ones! Why do you turn
around when Fatima, daughter of My beloved, has already interceded
on your behalf?” They will say, “Our Lord! We desire that our stand-
ing be known on a day like this.” God will say, “O My beloved ones!
Return and see who has loved you for the love of Fatima, see who has
fed you for the love of Fatima, see who has clothed you for the love
of Fatima, see who has quenched you for the love of Fatima, see who
has defended you from being slandered for the love of Fatima, take
them by their hand and lead them into Paradise.”95
The oral rendition and transmission of these narrations in Shi‘i

religious congregations foster a shared sense of identity and engen-
der a communal and spiritual kinship among the Shi‘a. Fatima,
94
95
Ibid., Vol. 43:65.
60
From Reverence to Reform
in their collective consciousness, represents the quintessence of

sanctity, piety, veracity, and spirituality. As such, her narrative has
become an inseparable component of the Shi‘a lived experience and
an integral facet of their communal identity, facilitating a sense of
belonging despite being a minority.
From Reverence to Reform
The veneration of Fatima by Muslims, particularly the Shi‘a, is

rooted in her special connection to the Prophet of Islam and her key
position in their theology and practice. The Shi‘a extract Fatima’s
narratives from the allegorical and historical interpretations of
select verses of the Qur’an, such as the verses of kauthar (abun-
dance), abrār (piety), nur (light), tathir (purity), and mubāhala
(contest of truth claims). The deployment of interpretive methods
that seek deeper esoteric meanings of the Qur’an is instrumental in
unearthing discourses on social constructs such as gender, which
would otherwise remain concealed by the confinement of the text
within exoteric understandings.
Islamic spiritual and mystical literature expounds on Fatima’s
preexistent light, heavenly conception, her tasbīh, conversations
with celestial beings, and intercessory prerogative on the Day of
Judgment. The Shi‘a regard Fatima as a medium connecting them
to the Prophet, who said, “I am a tree, Fatima is its trunk, and Ali is
its pollen. Hasan and Hussain are its fruits, and our followers [the
Shi‘a] are its leaves. The tree’s roots are in the Garden of Eden, and
its trunk, fruits, and leaves are in Paradise.”96 Hence, she occupies a
central place in their religious worldview.
However, despite the reverence for Fatima because of her knowl-
edge, spirituality, and God-centric ethics, the gap between the idea
of empowering Muslim women and its actual realization in Muslim
96
61
society seems to persist. Female role models are not just revered
saints; they can and must serve as inspiration for reform, challeng-
ing current unjust systems, and acting for equity in households,
communities, and nations. This study advocates for the rekindling
and the resuscitation of legacies of premodern Muslim women such
as Fatima to address contemporary social justice concerns and give
voice to women’s experiences rather than muting them in the name
of religion and culture.
62
2 Fadak: More than a Land Dispute
O the community of the muhājir and ansār! Support God and the
daughter of your Prophet. Indeed, on the day of the pledge [Allegiance
of Uqbah] you swore an oath to protect the Prophet and his children
just as you would protect yourselves and your children. Honor your
word, be loyal to the Prophet of God.
– The sermon of Fatima
After the Prophet’s death, Abu Bakr confiscated Fatima’s property

in a village called Fadak. She protested by walking into the Prophet’s
Mosque, where the caliph held court, and delivering an epic sermon
called “The sermon of Fatima” or khutbat fadakiya (The sermon
of Fadak). In this chapter, we first delve into the case of Fadak as
a rich tapestry of multilayered contexts that span historical, polit-
ical, symbolic, theological, and cultural dimensions. The historical
context of Fadak extends beyond the Prophet’s lifetime and into
the political implications that emerged after his death, thus render-
ing it a matter of great significance in the intellectual discourse of
Muslims. Moreover, the symbolic significance of the event in the
context of Shi‘a identity and its value to contemporary feminist
discourses on gender equity and social justice further highlight the
multifaceted nature of the issue.
Then, we focus on Fatima’s compelling call to the commu-
nity for support which was met with a tepid response from the
prominent men of Medina; women on the other hand responded
more robustly. Fatima’s vigorous movement took on a theologi-
cal dimension when Abu Bakr produced a hadith to support his
63
Fadak: More than a Land Dispute
stance, effectively rendering the dispute more than a mere land dis-
pute, and consequently chartering acutely contrasting accounts of
Islamic history, theological ideologies, and cultural memory.
Fadak during the Life of the Prophet
Among the significant events of the seventh year after hijra (628
CE) was the conquest of the fort of Khyber. Located approximately
ninety miles north of Medina, Khyber was the strongest and richest
Jewish settlement with the most powerful military in the region.
Guarded by seven forts, it posed a challenging feat for the Muslim
soldiers. After a lengthy siege, the final fort of al-Qamus fell to the
Muslims. Ali reportedly pulled the fort’s gate off its hinges, allow-
ing Muslim soldiers to enter. The conquest of Khyber advanced
Muslims’ military prowess and increased the financial position of
the Islamic community considerably.
Fadak was another fortified fertile agricultural land that belonged
to the Jewish tribes living on the outskirts of Medina. Shi‘i reports
concerning the Prophet’s acquisition of Fadak vary marginally.
According to Muhammad Ali al-Ansari, when the Jews of Fadak
learned of the Muslims’ victory over Khyber, they sent a message
to the Prophet requesting a peaceful settlement. They offered to pay
half of their annual agricultural proceeds to the Prophet in return
for withdrawing from their area,. He accepted their offer, and they
continued living and working in Fadak.1
According to al-Majlisi, after securing Khyber, the Prophet sent
Ali to Fadak with a small army contingent. Ali invited the leaders
of Fadak to a peaceful settlement without engaging in battle. The
downfall of Khyber had dampened their morale, so they agreed
to a peaceful surrender of their properties. Thus, their fortresses,
1
Mohammad Ali al-Tabrizi al-Ansari, al-Lum‘a al-Baydha’ fi Sharh Khutbat al-Zahra
(Beirut: Dar al-Tabligh al-Islami, 2011), 297, 298.
64
villages, farms, and gardens came under the Prophet’s possession

without going to war.2 Ibn Shahr Ashub narrates,
When the Prophet proceeded towards Fadak, the residents sought

refuge in one of its fortresses. The Prophet called out to them, “What
are you doing? What makes you feel that you are secure in this for-
tress? What do you say if I let you stay in that fortress and march
towards the rest of the forts, laying them open and taking posses-
sion of all their wealth?” They said, “We feel protected because the
gates are locked, and we have the keys.” The Prophet said, “Nay! But
God has given me the keys, and at this moment, I hold them in my
hand.” He opened his fist, and they saw the keys to their fortress in
his hands. They turned to the man they had entrusted with the keys
and accused him of adopting the Prophet’s religion and handing
him the keys. When they ridiculed him, he swore that he had put
the keys in a basket, placed them in a locked chest, and hidden it in
a concealed location in the court. They rushed to the court to check
on the chest. The lock was intact, but when they opened it, the keys
were missing. The man entrusted with the keys said, “I think this
man is a true prophet because when I placed the lock on the chest,
I chanted verses of the Torah to protect it from magical charms.”
They asked the Prophet, “Who gave you the keys?” He replied, “The
one who gave the Tablet [Torah] to Moses sent me the keys through
Gabriel.” The Prophet unlocked the gate and entered Fadak. They
rushed to greet him and offered him half their annual earnings to
signify peaceful surrender.3
Within the different versions of Muslims’ encounters with Fadak,

the unanimous report is that there was no war. Fadak, thus, came
to be a particular category of the spoils of war referred to as fay’
(bestowal) in the Qur’an: “The spoils that Allah gave to His Apostle
from them, you did not spur any horse for its sake, nor any riding
2
3
65
camel, but Allah makes His apostles prevail over whomever He

wishes…” (Q 59:6). According to this verse, lands acquired without
mobilizing Muslim troops became the Prophet’s private property.
Shi‘i historians state that he bequeathed this property to his daugh-
ter Fatima during his lifetime.
Al-Tabatabai explains that the Prophet had sole authority to dis-
burse revenues from Fadak, and he chose to hand it to Fatima.4
He draws on the verse immediately following the verse of fay’ to
buttress his argument. Q 59:7 states, “The spoils that Allah gave to
His Apostle from the people of the townships are for Allah and the
Apostle, the relatives [qurba] and the orphans, the needy and the
traveler…” (Q 59:7). According to al-Tabatabai, this verse gives
ownership of fay’ to God, the Prophet, and the qurba. He argues
that qurba is a unique reference to the Prophet’s relatives because
the verse speaks about the spoils belonging to the Prophet. Thus,
al-Tabatabai interprets this verse to iterate that Fadak was fay’,
qurba are the Ahl al-Bayt, and the category of the “orphans, the
needy, and the traveler” is an extension of qurba referring solely to
those in the lineage of the Ahl al-Bayt.5 Similarly, Shi‘i historians
such as Qummi, Abdul Husayn al-Musawi, and Clohessy posit that
Fadak fay’ and thus, belonged solely to the Prophet, with the only
other stakeholders being God and the Prophet’s relatives (qurba).6
The identity of the qurba becomes crucial because the Qur’an
mandates believers to love the qurba and be mindful of their rights.
The Qur’an states, “Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except
the love of [my] relatives [qurba]”’ (Q 42:23). Shi‘i exegetes draw
on this verse to argue the theological significance of the qurba.
In his Tafsir Namuneh, Shirazi draws on Shi‘i and Sunni narra-
tions to conclude that the Ahl al-Bayt are the qurba and that God
4
Al-Tabatabai, Al-Mizan, Vol. 19:211.
5
Ibid.
6
Abdul Husayn Sharafuddeen al-Musawi, al-Nass wa-l-Ijtihad (Qum: Ansariyan
Publications, 2004), 134,135. Qummi, House of Sorrows, 183. Clohessy, Fatima,
Daughter of Muhammad, 80.
66
commands the Muslim community to revere them.7 In the context

of the rights of the qurba, the Qur’an states, “Give the relatives
[qurba] their [due] right…” (Q 17:26). Shi‘i exegetes and historians
report that the Prophet transferred ownership of Fadak to Fatima
to honor this verse.8
Ibn Shahr Ashub narrates that after the peaceful surrender of
Fadak, Gabriel descended with the verse, “Give the relatives their
[due] right” (Q 17:26). He said that God desired that Fatima be
given this property as compensation for the wealth that her mother
Khadija and her aunt Hind, daughter of Abi Hala, had spent to
support the nascent Muslim community. So, the Prophet returned
to Medina and wrote a document entrusting Fadak to Fatima.9
Shaykh al-Sadouq quotes Imam al-Reza that upon the revelation of
“Give the relatives their [due] right” (Q 17:26), the Prophet turned
to Fatima and said, “O Fatima! Fadak was secured without deploy-
ing horses and soldiers. This land belongs exclusively to me, and I
bequeath it to you to honor God’s commandment with regard to it.
So, take it for yourself and your progeny.”10 Al-Majlisi also draws
on several early Islamic exegetical and historical texts to under-
score that Fadak was the personal property of the Prophet, and he
committed it to Fatima during his life to honor the Qur’anic verse
about giving the qurba their due. He narrates that Imam al-Baqir
said, “When the verse ‘Give the relatives their [due] right’ (Q 17:26)
descended, the Prophet gave Fadak to Fatima.” One of his students
asked, “The Prophet gave it to her?” the Imam stressed, “God gave
it to her.”11
Thus, for Shi‘i exegetes and historians, Fadak possesses two
essential aspects. First, it was categorized as fay’, implying that the
7
Shirazi, Tafsir Namuneh, Vol. 20:345–357.
8
Razwy, A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims, 335.
9
Ibn Shahr Ashub. Manaqib Aal Abi Talib, Vol. 1:123.
10
Shaykh al-Sadouq, ‘Uyun Akhbar al-Reza (Beirut: Mu’ssassat al-Ilmi li-l-Matbu’at,
1984), Vol. 2:211.
11
67
decision to confer it was entirely at the discretion of the Prophet

Muhammad (S) and second, he granted the land to his daughter
Fatima during his lifetime, and she assumed responsibility for
managing its proceeds. Fadak remained in Fatima’s possession,
and she hired deputies to oversee its daily affairs. However, after
the Prophet’s demise, Abu Bakr confiscated Fadak under the pre-
text that it belonged to the Muslims. This event holds significant
historical significance in Shi‘i literature, as it is frequently cited to
evidence the perceived injustices and oppressions endured by the
Prophet’s family and descendants post his death.
The Political Context of Fadak
Immediately after the Prophet’s demise, prominent members from

among the ansār and the muhājir gathered in Saqifa Banu Saada
to contend for the leadership of the Muslim nation. For Shi‘i his-
torians, Saqifa was a coup against the divine investiture of Ali as
the Prophet’s successor while returning from Hajj at a location out-
side Mecca known as Ghadeer. In his copious work on the several
dimensions of the “Event of Ghadeer,” Abdul Hussain al-Amini
states that when the Prophet arrived in Ghadeer, he halted the car-
avan and waited for all the 140,000 Muslims who had accompanied
him on Hajj to gather.12 When he had their attention, he asked,
“who has more authority on the believers’ souls than the believers
themselves?” They replied that God and His Messenger knew best.
The Prophet held Ali by the hand and continued, “Indeed, God has
authority over me (mawla), and I have authority over the believers
more than they have on themselves. Then, over whomsoever I have
authority, this Ali has authority.”13 Two months later, as the Prophet
12
Abdul Hussain al-Amini, al-Ghadeer fi al-Kitab wa-l-Sunna wa-l-Adab (Beirut:
Mu’assat al-Alami li-l-Matbuat, 1994), Vol. 1:27.
13
Al-Amini, Al-Ghadeer, Vol. 1:29.
68
breathed his last, Muslims had forsaken the event of Ghadeer and
the burial rights of the Prophet to gather to select a leader in Saqifa.
Burial rituals in Islam entail a social obligation for Muslims,
the gravity of which would have intensified in the matter of the
Prophet’s death. Ironically, a small group of Muslims attended to
the Prophet’s corpse. Razawy states that the question of leadership
was so important to its stakeholders that only a few close family
members performed the Prophet’s burial rites. Ali ibn Abi Talib
washed and shrouded the Prophet’s body.14 While Fatima and Ali
waited in the hope that Muslims would join them in the Prophet’s
burial, the elite who had gathered in Saqifa deliberated for days,
eventually selecting Abu Bakr as caliph.
After assuming power, Abu Bakr dismissed Fatima’s depu-
ties from Fadak, and in what might appear to be a shrewd politi-
cal move, he appropriated it as state property. Fadak constituted
a substantial economic advantage for the Ahl al-Bayt. Without it,
they would lack the financial power to rally supporters and con-
test the leadership position. While most Muslims were obliged to
pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr, a minority still held that Ali was
the Prophet’s successor. When some neighboring clans refused to
pay zakat15 to the government, Abu Bakr sent soldiers to kill them
and take their women as captives.16 Al-Majlisi and Ibn Abil Hadid
al-Mu‘tazili posit that the confiscation of Fadak and the violence
against those who rejected the caliphate were to demonstrate the
government’s power to override the claims of the Ahl al-Bayt and
penalize their supporters.
According to al-Majlisi, Fadak yielded 24,000 dinars annually,17
which amounted to a considerable sum (one dinar at the time was
equivalent to 4.4 grams of gold).18 After providing for her family,
14
Qummi, House of Sorrows, 54.
15
A tenet of Islamic practice which constitutes the obligatory charity.
16
Al-Musawi, Al-Nass wa-l-Ijtihad, 161–172.
17
Ibid., 116.
18
Michael Broome, A Handbook of Islamic Coins (London: Butler & Tanner Ltd., 1985), 11.
69
Fatima distributed the remaining revenue among the needy.19 The

government wanted to disempower the opposition by constraining
their finances and demoralizing their supporters. Al-Majlisi nar-
rates that when Abu Bakr assumed the caliphate, Umar said to him,
“This world enslaves people; they do not desire but its pleasures.
Prohibit Ali and his family from receiving their share in khums,20
fay’, and Fadak. When his followers realize that he has no eco-
nomic means, they will abandon him and turn towards you seeking
their worldly gains.” Abu Bakr took Umar’s advice and prevented
Fatima’s access to Fadak.21 Al-Majlisi continues:
Fatima approached Abu Bakr and asserted her right to khums, fay’,
and Fadak. Abu Bakr said, “What is your proof, O daughter of the
God’s Prophet?” She replied, “As for Fadak, God commanded His
Prophet through Gabriel to give it to my progeny and me as our
due. God revealed, “Give the relatives their [due] right” (Q 17:26),
and my children and I are the closest relatives of the Prophet, so the
Prophet gifted me Fadak. As for the khums, when Gabriel recited
the verse about the needy and the traveler, the Prophet asked, “What
is their right?” God revealed, “Know that whatever thing you may
come by, a fifth of it is for Allah and the Apostle, for the relatives
[qurba] and the orphans, for the needy and the traveler…” (Q 8:41).
God said, “The spoils [fay’] that Allah gave to His Apostle from the
people of the townships are for Allah, and the Apostle, the relatives
19
Al-Ansari, al-Lum‘a al-Baydha’, 302.
20
Khums is an obligatory charity which amounts to one-fifth of the annual savings
of believers. As opposed to zakat, the revenue from khums was to be spent for the
welfare of the Prophet and the Ahl al-Bayt. Following the confiscation of Fadak,
khums was eliminated as a mandatory duty of the Muslims, and according to
historical accounts by scholars such as Habibullah al-Khoei, the khums revenue was
designated for state use. Nonetheless, the Shi‘a tradition continued to be pay khums
and it remains an important element of Shi‘a practice and jurisprudence. More
details on khums can be found on Shi‘i jurisprudential sources such as The Islamic
Laws by Sayed Ali al-Sistani.
21
70
[qurba] and the orphans, the needy and the traveler…” (Q 59:7). So,
the share of God is the share of the Prophet, and the share of the
Prophet is the share of the qurba, and we are the qurba. God said,
“Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except the love of [my] rel-
atives [qurba]’”” (Q 42:23).22
The narration mentioned above does not constitute a part of the

sermon of Fatima. Still, it demonstrates that she had memorized the
Qur’an and possessed the acumen to quote its verses to address her
concern. The Prophet communicated the Qur’an over a period of
twenty-three years. At the time of the issue of Fadak, only a hand-
ful of individuals had memorized it, and even fewer could claim to
be Qur’an scholars. Theologically arguing for her case becomes a
unique feature of Fatima’s protest and will be explored further in
the textual analysis of her sermon in the following chapters.
Ibn Abil Hadid, the thirteenth-century Islamic historian, also
suggests that Fatima’s revenue from Fadak was sizeable enough to
pose a political risk to the government. He states that during his
research, he came across a Shi‘a theologian named Ali bin Taqi. The
two scholars discussed Fadak, and Ibn Abil Hadid asked him, “Was
not Fadak just a simple date farm with no considerable property
that might pose a threat?” Ali bin Taqi replied,
It was a valuable piece of land that would produce far more crops
than the farms in Kufa today. They confiscated it because they wanted
to disqualify Ali from pursuing his claim to the caliphate. They
denied Fatima Fadak and appropriated the shares of Ali, the Bani
Hashim, and the Bani Muttalib from khums. They wanted to keep
the Prophet’s relatives occupied with making their ends meet so they
would not be available to gather support for opposing the caliphate.23
Besides dealing a financial blow to the Ahl al-Bayt, the caliphate
also wanted to mitigate their popularity among the Muslims. In his
22
Ibid., 195, 196.
23
Ibn Abil Hadid al-Mu‘tazila, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha (Baghdad: Dar al-Kitab
al-Arabiyya, 2007), Vol.16:337.
71
Kashf al-Ghammah, the twelfth-century scholar Ibn Abil Fath states

that as Abu Bakr and Umar began assigning deputies to the neigh-
boring tribes, they realized that people admired Fatima, Ali, Hasan,
and Hussain. They perceived the revered position of the Ahl al-Bayt
among the laity as a threat to their government.24 Public denial of their
claims to Fadak would establish caliphal authority over the spiritual
popularity of the Ahl al-Bayt. Ibn Abil Hadid echoes the notion that
withholding Fadak was an excellent opportunity for the caliphate to
discredit the Ahl al-Bayt from the respectful position they held in the
eyes of Muslims because of their religious virtues.25
Thus, the appropriation of Fadak yielded a two-fold strate-
gic advantage to the caliphate. First, the financial implications of
this seizure dissuaded potential supporters of Fatima from back-
ing her in organizing opposition against the government. Second,
the public denial of Fatima’s claim to Fadak effectively asserted the
caliphate’s supremacy over her religious standing as a member of
the Ahl al-Bayt. Consequently, Fadak emerged as a crucial arena
for contesting female inheritance and underscoring the resilience
and vigor of female religious leadership amidst debated power
dynamics.
The Symbolic Context of Fadak
Fatima grieved the Prophet with such heartrending lamentations

that none in Medina could dismiss. She spent most of her time
mourning at his grave. She would say,
My patience has worn away, and mourning has taken hold upon me
after the parting away of the seal of the messengers. Eyes, O eyes,
shed tears abundantly. Woe is to you; your flow should be blood
instead of tears. O Prophet of Allah! O, the chosen one of Allah!
24
Ibn Abil Fath al-Irbili, Kashf al-Ghammah (Beirut: Dar al-Adhwa, 1985), Vol. 2:105.
25
Ibn Abil Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha, Vol. 16:357.
72
O, the refuge of the orphans and the weak ones! The pulpit that
you alighted beholds that darkness has descended upon it after the
passing away of the light. O, Lord! Hasten my end soon, for my life
has turned dark!26
After having her father’s bequeathal of Fadak taken away from

her, her public grieving at his grave became another mode of pro-
test. She would lament, saying,
O, my Master! My strength has departed, and my patience has left

me. I have turned restless while my enemies rejoice (due to it).
Heart-rendering sorrow has taken hold of me. O, respected father! I
have been left lonely, perplexed, and without aid. My voice has been
silenced, and my back is broken. My life has overturned and has
become dark. After you, O father! I do not have any companion in
these times of fright, and there is no one to soothe [console] me.27
Qummi narrates that after delivering her sermon, Fatima headed

to her father’s grave mournfully complaining of being ostracized by
his community. She cried,
Your death upon us is like the earth devoid of rain. Your nation
defaulted (in their beliefs) after your departure, then you be a wit-
ness and do not neglect it. The one who occupies proximity and
status near Allah is near his relatives, too (and does not forget
them). When you were no longer amongst us and were hidden
under the earth, a group of men looked at us with resentment and
deemed our status low. When you went away from our midst,
(they) snatched away all our rights. You were the light and a full
moon from whom people benefited, and it is upon you whom
the books were revealed from Allah, and Jibra’il who brought the
verses was our aide.28
26
27
Ibid., 196.
28
Ibid., 147.
73
She remained dissatisfied with the caliphate and the Muslims

and died within a few months. She asked Ali to bury her in the
night, not permitting Abu Bakr and his confidantes to attend her
funeral rites.29 Ali washed and shrouded her body before laying it
to rest at night.30 Her secret funeral was attended by a select few
who excluded members of the caliphate and was thus another form
of protest.
Fadak remained a part of the state treasury during Abu Bakr’s
reign. The Jewish tribes that lived in Fadak had authority over half
its revenue as per their agreement with the Prophet. The dispute
between Fatima and Abu Bakr was over the half handed over to
the Prophet as a gesture of peaceful settlement. When Umar came
to power as the second caliph, he evacuated the Jewish tribes from
Fadak and took possession of their share, compensating them with
camels and livestock. According to some narrations, Umar sent his
deputies to coerce the Jewish tribes into handing over their share
of Fadak, giving them 50,000 dinars. Finally, the Jewish tribes were
evacuated from Fadak and sent to Syria.31
No significant changes occurred in the matters of Fadak until
Muawiya bin Abu Sufyan came to power approximately forty
years after the Prophet’s death. Muawiya divided Fadak into three
shares. He gave one to Marwan ibn al-Hakam, a second to Amr bin
Uthman bin Affan, and a third to his son Yazid. After him, his son
Muawiya bin Yazid abdicated from the caliphate, and Marwan ibn
Hakam came to power. When Marwan died, the caliphate and the
ownership of Fadak went into the hands of his son Abdul Aziz, and
after him to his son Umar bin Abdul Aziz.32
Umar bin Abul Aziz was the first and only Umayyad caliph who
acknowledged Fatima’s right to Fadak and decided to return it to
29
Ibid., 201.
30
31
Al-Ansari, al-Lum‘a al-Baydha’, 300, 301.
32
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Fadak fi al-Ta’rikh (Beirut: Markaz al-Ghadeer li Dirasat
al-Islamiyya, 1994), 37.
74
Imam al-Sajjad, the son of Hussain, the son of Fatima. When he

wrote to his governor in Medina to return Fadak to Fatima’s chil-
dren, the governor wrote back asking, “Is Fatima from the family of
Uthman, or the family of so-and-so, or the family of some other?
Which Fatima do you mean?” Umar bin Abdul Aziz wrote back
sternly, “What! If I had ordered you to slaughter a lamb, would you
ask me if the lamb had to be with wool or horns? If I had ordered
you to slaughter a cow, would you ask me, ‘What color should [the
cow] be?’33 When this letter reaches you, hand over Fadak to the
children of Fatima and Ali. That will be all!”34
The Umayyad clan turned hostile and reproachful toward Umar
bin Abdul Aziz for his decision to return Fadak and blamed him for
discrediting and problematizing Abu Bakr and Umar’s position on
it. Addressing their admonishing, he said,
I have realized what you ignored, remembered what you forgot! I

have been informed [from a chain of narrators] that the Prophet
said, ‘Fatima is a part of me, what enrages her enrages me, and what
pleases her pleases me.’ The matter of Fadak was evident at the time
of Abu Bakr and Umar, then Marwan took charge of it, Marwan
gifted it to my father Abdul Aziz, and my brothers and I inherited
it from our father. I offered to purchase the shares of my broth-
ers. Some sold their shares, and some gifted them till all of them
belonged to me. I opined to return it to Fatima’s progeny.35
33
This tone is a reference to the tone of Q 2:69. When God revealed to Moses that he
should ask his people to sacrifice a cow, they questioned him several times about the
detailed description of the cow. They were in fact, finding excuses for not carrying
out the command of God. “They said, ‘Invoke your Lord for us, that He may clarify
for us what she may be.’ He said, ‘He says, she is a cow, neither old nor young, of a
middle age. Now do what you are commanded.’ They said, ‘Invoke your Lord for us,
that He may clarify for us what her color may be.’ He said, ‘He says, she is a cow that
is yellow, of a bright hue, pleasing to the onlookers.’ They said, ‘Invoke your Lord
for us, that He may clarify for us what she may be. Indeed, all cows are much alike to
us’” (Q 2:68,69,70).
34
35
Ibid.
75
After Umar bin Abdul Aziz, Fadak was seized by Yazid ibn
Abdul Malik and became the property of the Bani Marwan (clans of
Marwan). It remained with them till the Abbasid uprising. The first
Abbasid caliph, Abul Saffah, gave Fadak to the clan of Hasan, the
son of Fatima. The second Abbasid caliph Abu Jaffar took it back,
and his son Mahdi returned Fadak once more to Fatima’s progeny
before his son Musa bin Mahdi seized it again.36
Ibn Shahr Ashub states that when Harun, the Abbasid caliph,
came to power, he considered returning Fadak to the Ahl al-Bayt.
He called Imam al-Kazim37 and told him what he was contemplating
about Fadak. Imam al-Kazim stressed that he would accept it only
if it were to be returned in its entirety. Harun then asked him to
demarcate the boundaries of Fadak. Imam al-Kazim said, “If I define
its boundaries, you will not return it.” Harun insisted and swore in
the Prophet’s name that he was seriously considering returning it to
Fatima’s progeny. Imam al-Kazim said, “The first border of Fadak
is Aden (Yemen).” The color of Harun’s face changed. “The second
border is Samarqand [Uzbekistan].” Harun’s face turned grey. “The
third border is Africa.” Harun’s face turned black. “The fourth bor-
der is the coast of Algeria and Armenia.” Harun sighed, “Then what
will remain for us?” The Imam turned away, saying, “I had told you
that you would not return it if I were to define its boundaries.”38
This narration is indicative of the symbolic value of Fadak, which
for the progeny of Fatima was their right to leadership. Thus, Fadak
remained with the Abbasids until Mamun succeeded Harun. In
his Futuh al-Buldan, the ninth-century Islamic historian Ahmad
bin Yahya al-Baladhuri states that Mamun ordered his governor to
return Fadak to Fatima’s progeny acknowledging the integrity of
her claim to it. The letter stated:
36
37
Musa al-Kazim is the seventh holy Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a and he is the fifth
descendant of Fatima; Musa son of Jafar son of Muhammad son of Ali son of
Hussain son of Fatima and Ali.
38
76
Fadak in the Context of Social Welfare
The commander of the believers [Mamun], in his position to God’s

religion as caliph of His Prophet and as his near relative, has the
first right to enforce the Prophet’s commands and to deliver the
dues he might have promised as endowments or as gifts. It is evi-
dent among the Ahl al-Bayt that the Prophet bequeathed Fadak to
his daughter Fatima. It was well-known to them, and they persisted
in claiming her entitlement to it. Consequently, the commander of
believers has decided to deliver Fadak to Fatima’s heirs, thereby
seeking Allah’s pleasure by establishing His rightful justice and the
right of His Prophet.39
So, Fadak went to Muhammad son of Yahya (son of Hussain son

of Zaid son of Ali son of Hussain son of Fatima), and Muhammad
son of Abdullah (son of Hasan son of Ali son of Hussain son of
Fatima). Later, the Abbasid caliph Mutawakkil seized back Fadak
as government property. After this, historians became silent about
the reports of Fadak and its ownership.40
The material and symbolic significance of Fadak continued to be
a subject of dispute between the caliphate and Fatima’s descendants
for approximately 250 years following the time of the Prophet. The
sermon of Fatima was diligently preserved by the Ahl al-Bayt as
a counternarrative, serving as a means to assert their theological
entitlement to leadership and to express their dissent against their
political marginalization.
Historically, Fadak constituted fay’ acquired by peaceful means and

bequeathed to Fatima by the Prophet. Politically, its revenues were
considerable enough to organize a well-funded opposition to the
39
Ahmad bin Yahya al-Baladhuri, Futuh al-Buldan (Beirut: Mu’assassat al-Ma’aruf,
1987), 46, 47.
40
77
caliphate, and publicly rejecting Fatima’s claim worked favorably to

establish the hegemony of the caliphate over the favored position of
the Ahl al-Bayt. Symbolically, Fadak became a way of claiming the
right to leadership for the Imams in Fatima’s lineage. Besides these,
there was a social dimension to Fadak. Fatima generously distrib-
uted the funds from Fadak among the disadvantaged facilitating
social welfare and social justice by collapsing the economic divide
between the affluent and the impoverished.
As mentioned in the discussion on the abrār in Chapter 1, Fatima
lived a humble life and privileged the needs of others above hers.
She and her family gave their meal for three consecutive days to
feed the needy, the orphan, and the captive. Fatima was not one to
hoard and often gave her best in charity. Accounts of her altruism
include giving away her wedding dress on her wedding night and
offering her necklace to a stranger in need.
The wedding of the Prophet’s daughter, who was also the leader of
the Muslim community, was a modest affair. Baqir Sharif al-Qurashi
states that when the Prophet visited Fatima the day after her wed-
ding, he saw her wearing an old dress. He inquired why she had
chosen to wear old clothing instead of her wedding dress. She
replied that a young woman came to her after the wedding feast
asking for clothes. She paused to choose between her old dress
and the wedding dress. She remembered the Qur’anic verse, “You
will never attain piety until you spend out of what you hold dear”
(Q 3:92). In embodying this verse, she decided to give away her wed-
ding dress to charity on her wedding night.41
The challenges of married life and raising children did not deter
her generous spirit and selfless conduct. Muqaddam narrates
that once a stranger approached the Prophet seeking help. The
man seemed to have traveled far and hard. He was in tatters and
41
Baqir Sharif al-Qurashi, The Life of Fatimah Az-Zahra, the Principal of All Women:
Study and Analysis (Qum: Ansariyan Publication). www.al-islam.org/life-fatimah-
az-zahra-principal-all-women-study-and-analysis-baqir-sharif-al-qurashi/marriage.
78
complained of hunger, saying, “O Prophet of Allah! I am hungry;

please feed me. My body is bare; please cloth me. I am in need;
please suffice me.” The Prophet had nothing to give him, so he sent
the stranger to Fatima’s house. He stood at her door and repeated
his plea. Although Fatima did not have much in her house, she gave
him her necklace, which was gifted to her by Hamza’s daughter. The
stranger sold it and acquired wealth beyond his needs.42
As a result of Fatima’s generosity, whenever the Prophet received
expensive gifts, he would give them to her family with the assur-
ance that they would share them benevolently with the rest of the
community. In his al-Amali, the eleventh-century scholar Shaykh
al-Tusi narrates that after Khyber, the Prophet received several gifts
from his cousin Jafar who had returned from Ethiopia. Among the
gifts was a sheet of pure gold that weighed a thousand mithqals (a
measure of weight). The Prophet said, “I will give this gold sheet to
a person who loves God and His Prophet, and God and His Prophet
love him.” The companions curiously craned their necks looking
out for the Prophet’s selection. He gave it to Ali. Ali took it to the
goldsmith and had it shredded into strips. He quickly distributed
the gold strips among those in need returning home to Fatima
without an ounce of gold on him.43 Fatima was pleased with his
actions and encouraged him. The following day, the Prophet and
his companions insisted on coming to their home for dinner to cel-
ebrate their wealth. Shaykh al-Tusi continues to narrate a lengthy
discourse on how God aided Fatima by miraculously multiplying
the simple food they had to suffice for their guests.
The Prophet gave the gold sheet to Fatima’s household because
he trusted that she would not hoard it but share it generously with
others. Could this be another impetus for him bequeathing Fadak
to her besides the apparent verse that commanded him to do so?
42
Muqaddam, Fadha’il al-Zahra, 186, 187.
43
Shaykh Muhammad bin Hasan al-Tusi, al-Amali (Qum: Dar al-Thaqafa, 1992),
614–616.
79
Till she had charge of Fadak, the less fortunate residents of Medina
were sure to receive a benevolent share from its profits. Hence,
when Fatima delivered her epic sermon, it was as much for advo-
cating for social justice as it was for her right to inherit from her
father and her family’s right to leadership.
The Gendered and Moral Aspect of Fatima’s Protest
Given the social norms of seventh-century Arabia, Fatima’s pro-

test might pose two challenging questions; one, that she was the
daughter of a religious leader, and the other, that she was known
for her asceticism to material pleasures. The Prophet had named
her leader of the women of Paradise. She was the wife of the first of
the Twelve Imams and the mother of the subsequent eleven Imams.
What was so crucial about Fadak that made her come out in public,
speaking directly to a predominantly male audience, challenging
the norms of a society that would never have expected that from a
woman of her distinction? Furthermore, her moral character was a
motif of selfless generosity and unhoarding altruism. What was so
critical about the wealth of Fadak that Fatima untiringly contested
her claim to it? The case of Fadak and the subsequent sermon of
Fatima plays a significant role in understanding how female piety
can advance gender justice and social activism.
Muslim societies commonly perceive women’s modesty and
direct interaction with men as dichotomous. Muslim women who
actively engage in religious education, defending tenets of faith, and
social and economic upliftment from a perspective of piety look
upon Fatima as a role model. Her protest raises an essential question
for them. Is the deterring of practicing Muslim women’s engage-
ment with social, religious, and political affairs based on a culturally
biased assumption or a theologically sustained religious edict?
Fatima’s house was adjacent to the Prophet’s Mosque. She would
listen to the sermons and participate in discussions from her home.
80
The Gendered and Moral Aspect of Fatima’s Protest
Muqaddam narrates that once the Prophet received a bowl from

heaven filled with honey. He showed it to his companions and
solicited interpretations of the analogy of the bowl from them.
Each companion presented their reflections on the message that
God intended to convey through it. The Prophet listened to their
thoughts and asked Fatima to share her interpretation. She said,
“The analogy of this bowl is like that of a pious female believer. A
woman who believes is more valuable than this bowl, and her piety
is sweeter than the honey it holds.”44
This narration highlights Fatima’s active participation in reli-
gious education, albeit from within her home, but she also engaged
publicly when the need arose. As discussed in Chapter 1, Fatima
was the only woman who accompanied the Prophet in the event of
mubāhala (Imprecation). The Prophet would also send needy men
to her for aid. As mentioned earlier, she had given away her neck-
lace to the man who came to her seeking alms. Fatima’s narrative
challenges the common notion that Muslim women’s religiosity is
a deterrent to their active engagement in society.
Fadak, in and of itself, was not as crucial as the opposition it
modeled for pushing back against questionable narrations attrib-
uted to the Prophet. For Fatima, it was not simply the matter of
her right to ownership and inheritance that was at stake. She set a
precedent for the many Muslim women who would be denied their
rights on religious grounds supported by hadith produced and pro-
moted by patriarchy and power. In her example, Muslim women
would seek empowerment to argue for their rights and seek agency
through their religiosity. The gendered aspect of her protest became
apparent when she marched to the Prophet’s Mosque in a stride
that reminded the Muslims of his gait.
While Fadak was a sizeable asset, its material wealth might not
have been the primary impetus for Fatima’s protest. Selfless acts
of charity and unwavering pursuit of justice were evident in her
44
Muqaddam, Fadha’il al-Zahra, 150.
81
character. She exemplified the values of generosity and compassion

by giving away her wedding dress on her wedding night and feed-
ing the needy, orphaned, and estranged. Her struggle for Fadak,
while deeply personal, was motivated by a larger concern for the
well-being of those who depended on her, and the recognition
of the broader social and political implications of her case. Her
commitment to resistance against political hegemony served as a
model for her children to assert their rightful leadership as Imams,
and for religious minorities to call out the deceptive standards of
the caliphate.
Fatima Initiates a Social Movement
Fatima’s sermon was one of her many efforts to demand justice.

Besides arguing from theological and jurisprudential perspectives
in her encounters with the caliph, Fatima also reached out to the
people for support. Her efforts resonated with aspects of modern
feminist theory such as ‘consciousness raising’ and making
“‘personal’ experience available for public ‘political’ discussion.”45
Fadak entered a political and theological arena when Abu Bakr pro-
duced a hadith to justify his actions. She sought help from prom-
inent male members of the ansār (the Helpers), but none dared
oppose the caliphate.
The ansār were citizens of Yathrib (the pre-Islamic name for
present-day Medina) who had accepted Islam while the Prophet
was in Mecca. They had met him secretly in the mountain pass
of Uqbah to testify their belief in One God and him as God’s
Messenger. When they insisted that he migrate with them to
45
T. V. Reed, “The Poetical is the Political: Feminist Poetry and the Poetics of
Women’s Rights,” in Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives, 3rd ed.,
ed. Carole R. McCann and Seung-Kyung Kim (New York: Routledge Taylor and
Francis Group, 2013), 86.
82
Fatima Initiates a Social Movement
Medina, the Prophet asked them to pledge allegiance to him. One

of the clauses of that allegiance was that they would protect him
and his family like they protect themselves and their women and
children.46 The ansār pledged allegiance, historically known as the
Bay’at Uqbah (allegiance of Uqbah), accepting this condition and
others laid down by the Prophet. Fatima was invoking this clause
of the pledge of Uqbah by reaching out to the ansār and remind-
ing them that they would be honoring their promise to the Prophet
by supporting her. She met with Maaz bin Jabal from the ansār
and said, “Abu Bakr has taken Fadak from me and dismissed my
deputies from the property.”47 He asked if others had responded
favorably to her call. She sighed in disappointment. He said, “Then
of what good would my support be to you?”48 Maaz’s refusal to offer
his support left Fatima disheartened. The fact that even those who
had pledged their loyalty to the Prophet and his family were unwill-
ing to support her cause highlights the undergirding tensions and
divisions that existed in the early Islamic community. When Maaz
shared this with his son, he was astonished and dismayed that his
father refused to support the Prophet’s daughter.49 Maaz’s and his
son’s reactions reflect the deep sense of respect that many Muslims
had for the Prophet’s daughter on the one hand, and the fear of
challenging the caliphate by supporting her on the other.
Nonetheless, Fatima persisted, never missing an opportunity to
inform the people of her situation and seek assistance for her cause.
Al-Majlisi states that for forty days, Ali would escort her every night
as she led Hasan and Hussain by the hand, knocking on the doors
of the muhājir50 and the ansār calling out to them, “O the com-
munity of the muhājir and ansār! Support God and the daughter
46
47
48
Ibid.
49
Ibid.
50
Muhājir is a reference to those Muslims who had migrated to Medina with the
Prophet.
83
of your Prophet. Indeed, on the day of the pledge [of Uqbah], you
swore to protect him and his children just as you would protect
yourselves and your children. Honor your word, be loyal to God’s
Prophet.”51 Her cries fell on deaf ear, but Fatima remained una-
bated. The daunting challenges and lack of support did not dampen
her determination to contest the caliphate’s hegemony and the peo-
ple’s complacency, setting an example for marginalized minorities.
While most men shied away, two women, Umm Ayman and Asma
bint Umays stepped forward to testify on her behalf.
Fatima’s Witnesses
Fatima’s argument pivoted on two Qur’anic understandings: one

that Fadak was fay’, and the other that the Prophet bequeathed
Fadak to her during his lifetime, acknowledging her as qurba.
When the caliphate found itself unable or unwilling to respond to
her Qur’anic argument, they demanded witnesses. She presented
Umm Ayman, Asma bint Umays, her husband Ali, and her sons
Hasan and Hussain. Here, we explore the narratives of the two
women who chose to speak up when most Muslims opted for a
nonaligned position.
Umm Ayman
Like most early female figures, Umm Ayman’s narrative is eclipsed

by the significant men in their lives. Umm Ayman was among the
early Muslims and was closely connected to the Prophet’s family
and some of his early companions. Umm Ayman is among the list
of reliable hadith transmitters referenced by hadith scholars. She
also appears in Shi‘i literature related to the return of the Mahdi.
51
84
Umm Ayman was the nickname given to Barakah, daughter of

Tha‘laba, son of Amr, son of Mu’man. She was of African descent
(Abyssinian) and served in the Abdullah’s (Prophet’s father) house.
After him (Abdullah), she continued to serve as a personal serv-
ant for his wife, Amina (Prophet’s mother). When she was dying,
Amina entrusted the infant Prophet to Umm Ayman’s care. The
Prophet grew up respecting her as a mother, and she cared for him
and his cause deeply.52 When he married Khadija, the Prophet
released Umm Ayman from his service and married her to Ubayd
al-Khazraji. They had a son who they named Ayman, hence her
nickname, Umm Ayman (Ayman’s mother).
She faced harsh challenges and persecutions along with the early
Muslims. She was among the first Muslim migrants to Abyssinia
under the leadership of Jaffer bin Abi Talib. The ninth-century
Muslim biographer Muhammad Ibn Saad narrates that at one point
during her journey, she felt that she would die from extreme thirst.
She raised her hands in supplication to God, and a bucket of water
miraculously descended from the skies. She drank from that water
and claimed that thirst did not bother her till the day she died.53
When the Muslims established themselves in Medina, she rejoined
them, becoming an active member of the newly founded Muslim
nation. She served as a water bearer and nurse in the battles of Uhud
and Khyber.54 When she lost her husband in Khyber, the Prophet
declared that any Muslim desiring to marry a woman from among the
residents of the Paradise should seek Umm Ayman in marriage. Upon
hearing this, Zayd bin Haritha, the Prophet’s adopted son, proposed to
52
Nahleh Gharavi Naeeni, Shi‘a Women Transmitters of hadith: A Collection of
Biographies of the Women who have Transmitted Traditions (Qum: Ansariyan
Publications, 2011), 66.
53
Muhammad Ibn Saad, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 8: 226, 227. https://archive.org/
stream/TabaqatulkubraMuhammadIbnSaadVol3Of8/Tabaqatulkubra%20
Muhammad%20Ibn%20Saad%20vol%208%20of%208#mode/2up.
54
Ahmad Behishti, Qur’an, Hadith, aur Ta’rikh ki Mithali Khawatin (Qum: Ansariyan
Publications, 2008), 309.
85
her and consequently married her. They had a son, Usama bin Zayd,
who later played a significant role as a young leader of the Muslim
armies appointed by the Prophet in the last days of his life.
Umm Ayman was devoted to Fatima. She reported some inti-
mate conversations the Prophet had with his daughter on her
wedding night.55 When Fatima was expecting her first child, Umm
Ayman dreamt that a piece of the Prophet’s flesh had fallen into her
lap. She was disturbed by this and wept profusely. When she shared
her nightmare with the Prophet, he smiled and told her that what
she had seen was indeed glad tidings and that she would help raise
his grandchild. The Prophet’s flesh referred to Fatima’s son (Hasan
and Hussain in other versions).56
Umm Ayman is held as a noteworthy hadith transmitter. The
tenth-century hadith scholar al-Tabarani referenced her in his
Mu‘jam al-Kabir, which forms one of the largest hadith collections
of nearly 16,000 traditions.57 The tenth-century Shi‘i theologian,
Shaykh al-Tusi, included her among the trustworthy transmit-
ters of hadith in his Rijal.58 Another tenth-century Shi‘i jurist, Ibn
Qulawayh, quoted from her hadith that describes the virtues of the
Ahl al-Bayt and their followers.59
Umm Ayman is also among the proverbial 313 elite members
of the Mahdi’s government.60 Najmuddin Tabasi narrates from
55
56
Shaykh Sadouq, al-Amali (Qum: Mu’assassat al-Ba’that, 1983), 142, 143.
57
Sulayman bin Ahmad al-Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir (Cairo: Maktabat Ibn
Taimiyya, 1983), Vol. 25: 85–91.
58
Muhammad bin Hasan al-Tusi, Rijal al-Tusi (Qum: Mu’assassat al-Nashr al-Islami,
1995), 53.
59
Jaffer bin Muhammad Ibn Qulawayh, Kamil al-Ziarat (Qum: Mu’assassat al-Nashr
al-Islami, 1997), 444, 445.
60
According to the Twelver Shi‘a, the twelfth holy Imam is the Mahdi who was born
on in the early tenth century and is in occultation. He will appear with Jesus to
establish a world order of justice and equity. Devout Shi‘a yearn to be included in
his advent and believe that if they have been true to God’s justice, then they will be
raised from the dead to join his campaign. The number 313 is commonly associated
with the number of the Mahdi’s elite chiefs who will lead his followers.
86
Imam al-Sadiq that women will be significant contributors to the

cause of global justice during the advent of the Mahdi. He names
seven female companions of the Mahdi, Umm Ayman being one
of them. He calls them women of “blazing hearts” who “demon-
strated acts of bravery” that qualified them to shoulder the work of
establishing justice.61
When none dared to oppose the caliphate, Umm Ayman cou-
rageously stepped forward to testify on Fatima’s behalf. She said,
“O Abu Bakr! I will testify to the truth that I heard from God’s
Prophet, but first, I implore you, are you aware that the Prophet said,
‘Umm Ayman is from among the residents of Paradise?’ Abu Bakr
replied in the affirmative. She proceeded, ‘I bear witness that when
God revealed to His Prophet’, ‘Give the relatives their [due] right’,
(Q 17:26) he granted Fadak to Fatima in obedience to God Almighty’s
command.”62
Al-Majlisi states that when Fatima presented Umm Ayman as
a witness, Abu Bakr asked her, “O Umm Ayman! Have you heard
of what the Prophet said about Fatima?” She replied, “I heard
God’s Prophet say, ‘Indeed Fatima is the leader of the women of
Paradise’. Would the leader of the women of Paradise lay a claim
to something that is not hers? As for myself, I am from among the
women of Paradise. Would I testify to something I had not heard
from God’s Prophet?”63 Umar interjected and asked her to focus on
Fadak. She continued,
I was sitting in Fatima’s home when the Prophet was also with her.
Gabriel descended and asked the Prophet to accompany him to
Fadak. When he returned, he told Fatima that God had given him
the lands and spoils of Fadak, and he was bequeathing them to her.
Then the Prophet turned to me and said, “O Umm Ayman, bear
61
Najmuddin Tabasi, An Overview of the Mahdi’s Government (Tehran: Ahlul Bayt
World Assembly), 65. www.ahl-ul-bayt.org.
62
63
87
witness to it [that Fadak is Fatima’s].” Then he turned to Ali and

said, “O Ali, bear witness to it.”64
Umar denied her witness because hers was the testimony of a

single woman. However, she was not the only woman to testify.
Asma bint Umays
Like Umm Ayman, Asma bint Umays was one of the early Meccans
who embraced Islam. She was close to the Prophet’s family and
companions and a reliable transmitter of hadith. She was the wife
of the Prophet’s cousin, Jaffer bin Abi Talib. Her sister, Maymuna,
was one of the Prophet’s wives, and two of her sisters were married
to the Prophet’s uncles, Abbas and Hamza. Soon after their mar-
riage, she and her husband Jaffer led the first Muslim migrants to
Abyssinia (Ethiopia). All their children were born in Abyssinia, and
they moved to Medina the sixth year after the Prophet’s migration.65
Jaffer (her husband) was Ali’s brother and the Prophet’s cousin.
He played a critical role in seeking asylum in Abyssinia for the early
Muslims fleeing persecution at the Meccans’ hands. His recital
of the Qur’anic Chapter of Mary (Q 19) in front of the Christian
Abyssinian king facilitated peaceful dialogue between the two tra-
ditions. After staying many years in Abyssinia, Asma, and Jaffer
moved to Medina. Jaffer died in the battle of Mu’ta in the eighth
year after the migration. After Jaffer’s martyrdom, Asma married
Abu Bakr and had a son, Muhammad. During Ali’s caliphate,
Muhammad bin Abu Bakr became a key historical and political fig-
ure as governor of Egypt. He was brutally assassinated by Muawiya’s
men.66 It is important to note that when Fatima was contesting her
64
Ibid.
65
Naeeni, Shi‘a Women Transmitters of Hadith, 53.
66
Maya Yazigi, “Defense and Validation in Shi’i and Sunni Tradition: The Case of
Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr,” in Studia Islamica, No. 98/99 (2004), pp. 49–70, (Brill), 51.
Accessed April 2, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20059210.
88
claim to Fadak against Abu Bakr, Asma was married to him, and
yet, she had decided to support Fatima.
During her last days, Fatima confided in Asma about her anx-
iety around Arab burial practices. Arabs would lay the corpse of
their deceased on a flat wooden plank, cover it with a sheet of cloth,
and then make their way on foot through the city streets until they
arrived at the graveyard. Having lived a life of modesty in dress and
conduct, Fatima was disturbed by the thought that people would
see her physicality from under the sheet. She asked Asma to suggest
an alternative, more modest bier.67
Asma had lived in Africa for several years and had closely wit-
nessed African culture. She constructed a miniature model of a bier
resembling a rectangular box with no lid. She placed a piece of cloth
on it as a lid and said, “The Abyssinians would make biers like this.”
Fatima smiled and said, “May Allah save you from the fire of hell.
Make a similar one for me and conceal me in it (after my death).”68
She entrusted her last wishes to Asma before she enclosed herself
in her chambers for her final prayers. Upon Fatima’s passing, Asma
helped Ali wash and shroud her.
Asma was an intellectual and critical thinker. Shi‘a and Sunni
scholars consider her “one of the companions of God’s Messenger
and a narrator of hadith.”69 Asma’s testimony on behalf of Fatima’s
claim provoked a man who was not only the caliph but also her
husband. Asma’s support for Fatima was remarkable because most
women in the seventh-century Arabian society depended on their
husbands for social and economic status. Al-Majlisi states that after
Ali, Hasan, Hussain, Umm Ayman, and Asma testified they wit-
nessed the Prophet bequeathing Fadak to Fatima, Abu Bakr said,
“As for Ali, he is Fatima’s husband. Hasan and Hussain are her
sons, and Umm Ayman has served her for the longest time. Asma
67
68
Ibid.
69
Naeeni, Shi‘a Women Transmitters of Hadith, 53.
89
was married to Jaffer bin Abi Talib and thus had special ties with
the Bani Hashim. Besides that, Asma has served Fatima as a com-
panion. Thus, all the witnesses are biased.”70 As a response to this
verdict, Ali said,
As for Fatima, she is a part of the Prophet, the one who hurts her,
hurts the Prophet, the one who belies her, belies the Prophet. As
for Hasan and Hussain, they are the sons of the Prophet; they are
leaders of the youth of Paradise, the one who belies them belies the
Prophet if one is to believe that the people of Paradise are truthful.
With regards to myself, the Prophet said, ‘You are from me, and I
am from you, you are my brother in this world and the hereafter,
the one who turns to you, turns to me, the one who obeys you obeys
me, the one who wrongs you, wrongs me.’ As for Umm Ayman, the
Prophet testified that she is from among the dwellers of Paradise. As
for Asma bint Umays, the Prophet made special supplications for
her and her children.71
Umar affirmed that Ali’s description of the witnesses was accu-

rate, but their testimony was akin to testifying for themselves and
thus, could not be accepted. Ali argued that if the witnesses were
authentic, why was their testimony denied? If testifying for one’s
status is not valid, what do you say about the testimony of the
Prophet to his prophethood? Ali concluded by reciting, “Indeed we
belong to Allah, and to Him do we indeed return”72 (Q 2:156). Umm
Ayman’s and Asma’s participation in the case of Fadak is indica-
tive of the Prophet’s encouragement of women in theological and
social discourses. Yet, it was ironic that his daughter was socially
ostracized and theologically manipulated days after his demise. In
her sermon, Fatima called out the drastic turn Muslims’ social con-
science had taken.
70
71
Ibid.
72
Ibid.
90
An Arena for Dispute and Discourse
Fatima’s first attempt at retrieving Fadak was to directly confront

the caliph and assert that the Prophet had bequeathed it to her in
his lifetime. When that attempt failed, she sought support from
the people. None but two women, Umm Ayman and Asma bint
Umays testified on her behalf, along with her husband, Ali, and her
two sons. When their testimony was denied, Fatima claimed Fadak
as her inheritance. Abu Bakr pushed back by stating that he heard
the Prophet say, “We, the community of prophets, do not leave
an inheritance. What we leave behind is charity.”73 A key compo-
nent in understanding the sermon of Fatima is the analysis of this
hadith by which Abu Bakr claimed religious validity for his actions.
In Chapter 3, we briefly survey the problematic inconsistencies in
this hadith, elaborating on Fatima’s theological engagement with it,
arguably setting precedence for hadith studies that developed much
later as a discipline in Islamic theology. With more profound theo-
logical implications added to the case of Fadak, Fatima shifted her
efforts from small private debates into a fully public protest that
became known as the sermon of Fatima.
An Arena for Dispute and Discourse
Fadak was fay’, properties received without military intervention

whose ownership and dissemination became the subject of divine
revelation. After the Prophet’s death, it became a critical issue about
female inheritance rights and questioned the government’s discre-
tion over Muslims’ personal properties. Fatima challenged political
hegemony through her oral protest, which became her memorable
sermon. After her, Fadak became a symbol of Ahl al-Bayt’s claim to
leadership and a critical point of difference between Shi‘a and Sunni
ideology. Besides its historical, political, and symbolic aspects, the
distribution of revenues from Fadak constitutes an element of
73
91
social and economic justice. Its confiscation by the newly formed

government was primarily for strengthening its political position.
In arguing for Fadak, Fatima protested a political system that was
theologically justifying the denial of a daughter’s right to inherit
her father.
In her sermon, she argued that Abu Bakr misrepresented the
Prophet by attributing a hadith to him that contradicted the
Qur’an. Had this gone unprotested, it would justify the subjugation
of Muslim women in the name of religion. The sectarian tension
surrounding the sermon of Fatima has silenced her political expres-
sions and manifestations of justice. Many Muslim women might be
unaware of the case of Fadak and her speaking up for her rights. By
exposing the flawed iteration of hadith that was being used to deny
her inheritance, Fatima not only asserted her own rights but also
paved the way for future generations of women to fight against the
co-opting of religious resources to perpetuate gender injustice.
Fadak remains a disputed topic, but it is also a fertile arena for
discourse. Its nuance necessitates a comprehensive and critical
examination of the underlying assumptions and premises that
inform the different Islamic historical and political viewpoints. A
detailed and systematic study of the theological aspects of Fatima’s
sermon would be instrumental in debunking androcentric ten-
dencies that stifle women’s spiritual and intellectual potential to
maintain the patriarchal status quo. The following chapters focus
on three out of the multiple themes in the sermon of Fatima: a
woman’s theological stand against power, her articulation of a
people-focused and service-based leadership model, and her inspi-
rational call to social justice.
92
3 Women’s Theology
Is it in the Book that you [Abu Bakr] may inherit from your father, and
I cannot inherit from mine? You have certainly come up with an odd
thing!
– The sermon of Fatima
After several confrontations with the caliph to protest the con-

fiscation of Fadak, Fatima marched to the Prophet’s Mosque,
bringing her case to all Muslims. A woman’s public stance amidst a
male-dominated audience was rare for the seventh-century Arabian
society. Her march along a public route despite having private access
to the mosque from her home and the deep and diverse theological
content of her sermon surprised the Muslims. She drew upon the
Qur’an to describe the transcendent nature of God and the concept
of the afterlife, and then she deployed theology to argue for her right
to Fadak. The impromptu mobilizing of sacred text and tenets to
speak truth to power demonstrated her eloquence and acumen as a
seasoned theologian.
This chapter focuses on two theological themes from the sermon:
God’s transcendent nature and the interconnectedness of choices
in life and consequences after death. Fatima described the signif-
icance of the Qur’an in Muslim life and deployed it as a primary
theological tool to critique a questionable hadith and to argue for
female inheritance rights. The themes and methodology of the ser-
mon offer a unique insight into women’s theology as early as the
seventh century.
93
Women’s Theology
Syed Ibn Hasan Najafi categorizes the sermon into eight sec-
tions based on its theological content.1 The first section contains
Fatima’s praise of God and an explanation of tawhīd (oneness of
God), a foundational Islamic doctrine. The second section asserts
the exalted position and mandate of God’s Messenger. The third
section draws Muslims’ attention to Imama (leadership), the most
contested theological topic within Islamic thought. In this section,
Fatima described the importance of the Qur’an and the benefits of
obeying the Prophet. The fourth section provides a philosophical
understanding of Islamic practices and ethics, such as praying, fast-
ing, and acting with justice.
In the fifth section, Fatima reminded Muslims of her deep con-
nection to the Prophet and his mission. Highlighting Ali’s spiritual
virtues, proximity to the Prophet, and services for Muslims’ well-
being, she underscored his rightful claim to successorship. The
sixth section is Fatima’s critique of Muslims’ complacency toward
the matter of the Prophet’s succession. The seventh section deals
directly with the issue of female inheritance rights, and the eighth
section is her specific calling out of the ansār. After approximately
a hundred years, these topics became subjects of critical discourse
in Islamic theology.
Islam places a great deal of importance on the principles of
monotheism and accountability in the afterlife, and Muslim theo-
logians have offered diverse interpretations of these fundamental
tenets. Fatima’s discourse on the ineffable nature of God and the
concept of the afterlife makes a notable contribution to Islamic
intellectual tradition. Considering that it occurred a mere ten days
after the Prophet’s death, her sermon might well be an early, if
not the first demonstration of Islamic theology in a woman’s voice,
arguably positing Fatima as the first Muslim theologian in the
post-prophetic era.
1
Sayed Ibn Hasan Najafi, Sidiqa-e-Kubra Fatima Zahra Salamullah Alayha ke Basirat
Afroz Khutbat (Karachi: Idarae Tamaddun Islam, 1999), 24–27.
94
Describing the Indescribable
Belief in One God, tawḥīd, is fundamental in Islam, informing all

tenets of faith and practice, and constitutes the first clause of the
Islamic creedal statement, the shahāda. For centuries, Muslim the-
ologians have deliberated on the transcendent aspects of tawḥīd.
Fatima’s sermon is grounded in her rich understanding of and
unwavering faith in God. Fatima stood in the Prophet’s Mosque
amidst a group of believers and said,
I bear witness that there is no god besides Allah, who is unique and
has no associates. Denied are sights from His vision, minds from
His characterization, and intellects from His description. He con-
ceived everything from nothing and created everything without fol-
lowing a previous model. He originated everything with His power
and spread everything with His will, without need or benefit for
Himself; but for the manifestation of His Wisdom, the servility of
His subjects, and the exaltation of His call.2
The shahāda begins with ashhadu an la ilaha illallah (I bear witness

that there is no god besides Allah). Shahāda is derived from sh-ha-da,
meaning to witness or be in presence. Muslims believe that human
eyes cannot see God; thus, bearing witness to His existence is through
conviction of the heart. The Qur’an states, “Allah bears witness that
there is no god except Him – and [so do] the angels and those who
possess knowledge…” (Q 3:18). Besides textual proof, Islamic teach-
ings urge believers to experience God’s majesty by observing the
mysteries within themselves and in the world around them.
To describe God, Fatima used two attributes: waḥdahu (He is
unique) and la sharika lahu (He has no associates). The first is an
evidential attribute, and the other is a negational attribute.
Shi‘a apophatic theology classifies God’s attributes as eviden-
tial and negational. Tawḥīd, according to them, is affirming God’s
2
95
Women’s Theology
evidential attributes (ṣifāt thubutiyya) and rejecting His negational

attributes (ṣifāt salbiyya), which in turn reaffirms His evidential
attributes. The nineteenth-century Shi‘i theologian Muhammad
Raza al-Muzaffar explains that the attributes that describe God’s
essence are called ṣifāt thubutiyya (evidential attributes) and some-
times ṣifāt al-jamāl wa-l-kamāl (attributes of beauty and perfec-
tion).3 Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Eternal are some examples
of ṣifāt thubutiyya. Ṣifāt salbiyya (negational attributes), on the
other hand, describe what God is not. Attributes of the body (jism),
place (makān), and movement (haraka) are examples of negational
attributes. Rejecting such attributes affirms God’s evidential attrib-
utes of eternity and omnipotence.
Muslim theologians differed sharply in their understanding of
God’s attributes. While the Mu‘tazila denied all attributes to God,
the Ṣifātiya believed that God could be described through attributes.
But later, a faction of them adopted extreme ideas of anthropomor-
phism.4 Fatima deployed a balanced approach. On the one hand,
she engaged in attribution like the Ṣifātiya theologians would, and
on the other, she posited that no mortal could completely compre-
hend the manifold mysteries of God’s transcendence, which is what
the Mu‘tazila theologians would claim. Immediately after waḥdahu
la sharīka lahu (He is unique and has no associates), she declared,
“denied are sights from His vision, minds from His characteriza-
tion, and intellects from His description.”5
The Qur’an states, “sights do not apprehend Him, yet He appre-
hends the sights” (Q 6:103). “Denied are sights from His vision”
refers to the intrinsic inability of the human eye to see God because
His vision is beyond the parameters of human sight. The Qur’an
alludes to God’s “unseenness” in Moses’s narrative, which states,
3
Muhammad Raza al-Muzaffar, ‘Aqa’id al-Imamiyya (Qum: Intesharat Ansariyan,
1960), 38.
4
John Renard, Islamic Theological Themes, 146.
5
96
When Moses arrived at Our tryst, and his Lord spoke to him, he
said, ‘My Lord, show [Yourself] to me, that I may look at You!’ He
said, ‘You shall not see Me. But look at the mountain: if it abides in
its place, then you will see Me.’ So, when his Lord disclosed Himself
to the mountain, He leveled it, and Moses fell swooning. And when
he recovered, he said, ‘Immaculate are You. I turn to You, and I am
the first of the faithful.’ (Q 7:143)
The eighth-century theologian Hisham bin Hakam states,
There are two means of perception: the physical senses and the heart.
The senses deploy three modes of perception: by association (idrāk
bi-l-mudākhila), such as sound, smell, and taste; by touch (idrāk
bi-l-mumāsaha), such as texture and temperature; and without asso-
ciation or touch (idrāk bi la mudākhila wa la mumāsaha), such as
sight. Vision perceives without physically associating or touching the
object but through the medium of air and light. Light carries vision
through the air until it hits an object and reflects the image back to
the eye. Distance determines the scope of vision, for if the object is
at a zero distance from the eye or very far from it, the eye will not be
able to see it. Similarly, in the absence of light, the eye cannot see. As
for the heart, it perceives through its access to the senses.6
Hisham explains that neither the senses nor the heart can totally
perceive divinity because God is not a physical matter that can
reflect vision back to the eyes, nor can God be comprehended fully
by the heart because the heart depends on information gathered by
the senses. During the Battle of Siffin, Ali bin Abi Talib paused to
discuss tawḥīd, saying,
He has no attribute which can be comprehended, nor has He any

limit. In linguistic embellishment, the tongue is crippled when it
comes to describing His Attributes. And circumlocution about
His Attributes leads to a blind alley. The sharpest of intellects are
6
Al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi, (Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, 1986), Vol. 1:99, 100.
97
Women’s Theology
unable to comprehend His Kingdom. All comprehensive explana-

tions are rendered ineffective in delving deep into His Kingdom.
Unseen veils impede even the lowest level of understanding of His
Hidden Knowledge. The keenest of insights are at a loss at attempt-
ing to comprehend the most superficial layer of His Subtleties.
Thus, hallowed be Allah, who can neither be reached by the most
daring intellect nor conceived by the most profound insight.7
In his reply to a letter asking him to describe God, Imam al-Reza

wrote, “His Essence is independent of His Attributes. Eyes are
prevented from seeing Him. Imagination is incapable of encom-
passing Him. Whoever ascribes a description to Him limits Him,
whoever limits Him deems Him calculable, whoever deems Him
calculable invalidates His Eternity.”8 The Imams resonate with
Qur’anic verses such as, “Immaculate is He and exalted above what
they allege [ascribe] [concerning Him]!” (Q 6:100), and “Allah
has not taken any offspring, neither is there any god besides Him,
for then each god would take away what he created, and some of
them would surely rise against others. Clear is Allah of what they
[ascribe] allege!” (Q 23:91).
In her sermon, Fatima expressed faith in an unseen God that
human eyes cannot see, nor can the hearts and minds fully compre-
hend His Essence. She continued, “He conceived everything from
nothing and created everything without following a previous model.
He originated everything with His power and spread everything
with His will, without need or benefit for Himself; but for the man-
ifestation of His wisdom, the servility of His subjects, and the exal-
tation of His call.”9 Her words echo Qur’anic verses that describe
the process of creation, such as, “Does not [hu]man remember
that We created him before when he was nothing?” (Q 19:67) and
“when He wills something, is to say to it ‘Be’, and it is” (Q 36:82).
7
Shaykh al-Sadouq, Al-Tawhīd (Qum: Mashurat Jamat al-Mudarrisin, 1977), 41, 42.
8
Ibid., 57.
9
98
In his commentary, the seventeenth-century exegete Mulla Muhsin

Faydh Kashani interprets these verses as God’s supreme ability to
create originally and independently. Kashani narrates that Ali bin
Abi Talib said, “God says without pronouncing, and God desires
without being weakened [by desire].”10
Fatima then said that God positioned His creatures accord-
ing to a divine strategy. The Qur’an states, “It is He who [placed]
created you on the earth, and you will be mustered toward Him”
(Q 24:79), and “Did you suppose that We created you aimlessly?”
(Q 24:115), prompting believers to deliberate on the purpose of their
creation and their diversity. Fatima said that God created us with
a purpose without the need to do so or seek benefit from us. The
Qur’an states, “O [hu]mankind! You are the ones who stand in
need of Allah, and Allah – He is the All-sufficient, the All-laudable”
(Q 35:15), and “whoever acts righteously, it is for his own soul, and
whoever does evil, it is to its [own] detriment” (Q 41:46). Then why
did God create?
According to Fatima, God initiated life “for the manifestation of
His wisdom, the servility of His subjects, and the exaltation of His
call.”11 One of God’s names is Al-Hakim, the wise. His wisdom is a
manifestation of His knowledge and power. Wisdom is also a vir-
tue and a blessing as indicated in the Qur’an, “and he who is given
wisdom is certainly given an abundant good” (Q 2:269), and “invite
to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good advice” (Q 16:125).
As the believer realizes God’s wisdom, her desire to serve Him
escalates. The Qur’an exemplifies worship as the prime purpose
of creation, “I did not create the jinn and the humans except that
they may worship Me” (Q 51:56). Servitude comprises three aspects:
physical worship, a conviction in the hearts, and fairness in dealing
with others.12 By publicly presenting her theological argument to
10
Mulla Muhsin Faydh Kashani, Tafsir al-Saafi (Qum: Mu’assat al-Hadi, 1995), Vol. 4:262.
11
12
Al-Ansari, Lum‘a al-Baydha’, 411, 412.
99
Women’s Theology
the believers gathered in a place of worship, Fatima was drawing

their attention to the true nature of servitude to God.
Fatima said that another purpose of creation was the exalta-
tion of God’s call, which for her was the Apostleship of her father,
who said, “I am [the answer] to Ibrahim’s prayer.”13 The Qur’an
states that Ibrahim called out to God, “Our Lord, raise amongst
them an apostle from among them who should recite to them
Your signs and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them”
(Q 2:129). Muslims believe that God fulfilled Ibrahim’s call by rais-
ing Muhammad (S) as His final messenger, and by answering the
Prophet’s call, they are answering the divine call of all prophets,
thus rendering it the most exalted call of God.
In her sermon, she stated that la ilaha illallah was “a testi-
mony which manifests its reality in sincerity, which binds the
hearts with security, and its meaning gleams in the minds.”14 In
the Islamic tradition, the heart is not just a physical organ but
also spiritual faculty, sometimes called “the self” and “the soul,”
that perceives knowledge, discerns between right and wrong, and
deliberates on desires.15 The Qur’an states, “There is indeed an
admonition in that for one who has a heart” (Q 50:37). Hadith
literature describes four conditions of the heart: an unstable heart
that fluctuates between faith and hypocrisy, an inverted heart that
does not comprehend God’s oneness, a tainted heart that houses
hypocrisy, and a clear and coherent heart which is the heart of a
believer, glowing like a guiding lamp, grateful in times of ease and
patient in times of trial.16
Fatima posited that tawḥīd emerges from secure hearts and
illuminates the intellect, which according to hadith, is the most
beloved of God’s creations because it facilitates clear thought and
13
Ibn Shahr Ashub, Manaqib, Vol. 2:64.
14
15
Shaykh Fakhruddin al-Turaihi, Majma’ al-Bahrayn (Qum: Maktab Nashr
al-Thaqafat al-Islamiyya, 1988), Vol. 4:538.
16
Al-Turaihi, Majma’ al-Bahrayn, Vol. 4:537, 538.
100
Life after Death
sincere worship. Imam al-Baqir17 states that when God created the
intellect, He proclaimed, “By My might and My power, You are the
most beloved of My creations, and I have perfected you in those
whom I love.”18 Imam al-Sadiq defined the intellect as the means
“to worship the Merciful and earn the gardens (Paradise).”19 For
Fatima, faith empowered the brilliance of minds.
Fatima mobilized theological themes of the purpose of life and
the faculty of intellect to remind herself, the caliph, and the Muslims
that, as God’s creatures, they played a strategic role in determining
how faith impacts the unfolding of events. The caliphate confiscated
her property, and the Muslims watched. Fatima used it as an oppor-
tunity to demonstrate how a disempowered minority can challenge
acts of injustice perpetrated by those in power. It is important to
note that Fatima began her sermon of protest with words of God’s
praise and gratitude. Her grievance was not with God but with the
authority’s abuse of power and the inaction of the people of faith.
Her conviction in God empowered her to seek justice.
Life after Death
Belief in accountability and the concept of divine reward and pun-

ishment on Judgement Day are closely related to tawḥīd which is the
impetus for pious conduct. In her sermon, Fatima defined piety as
being mindful of the consequences of one’s actions in the afterlife. She
described the pleasant eternal abode of the good doers and warned
against evil actions. Accountability for “one’s actions at judgment
day and certainty of reward or punishment” is an oft-repeated theme
in the Qur’an.20 Belief in the afterlife sets the ethical boundaries for
17
The fifth holy Imam for the Twelver Shi‘a.
18
Al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi, Vol. 1:10.
19
Ibid., 11.
20
Renard, Islamic Theological Themes, 11.
101
Women’s Theology
Muslim life. Fatima said, “Then He placed reward in His obedience

and punishment in His disobedience to dissuade His servants from
His chastisement and urge them towards His Paradise.”21
In his philosophical commentary, the contemporary exegete
Jafar Subhani posits that the concept of Judgment Day emerges
from belief in a Just God and the idea of free will.22 Referring to
God’s justice, the Qur’an states, “Allah bears witness that there is
no god except Him … maintainer of justice” (Q 3:18). If humans are
free to choose their way of life, then a Just God must provide guid-
ance incentivizing obedience with divine rewards and deterring
disobedience with penalties. The Qur’an states, “Indeed, We have
guided him [human] to the way [path], be he grateful or ungrate-
ful. Indeed, We have prepared for the faithless, a blaze. Indeed, the
pious will drink from a cup seasoned with Kāfūr; a spring where
the servants of Allah drink, which they make to gush forth as they
please” (Q 76:3–6).
Equally rewarding everyone or equally punishing everyone
regardless of the nature of their actions would be far from God’s
justice. The Qur’an states, “Shall We treat those who have faith
and do righteous deeds like those who cause corruption on the
earth? Shall We treat the Godwary like the vicious?” (Q 38:28).
Justice demands that those who strove for good be rewarded with
distinction over those who chose not to.23 Verses that advance
this notion further are, “Shall We, then, treat those who submit
[to Us] as [We treat] the guilty?” (Q 68:35), and “Do those who
have perpetrated misdeeds suppose that We shall treat them as
those who have faith and do righteous deeds, their life and death
being equal? Evil is the judgment that they make!” (Q 45:21).
These verses assert that actions will determine outcomes and that
21
22
Jafar Subhani, Tafsir Maudhu’i Qur’an ka Daimi Manshur (Lahore: Misbah
al-Qur’an Trust, 1993), Vol. 9:36.
23
102
Life after Death
God’s justice demands that good be rewarded, and evil be penal-

ized. Shirazi highlights the connection between the concepts of
tawḥīd and Judgement Day by drawing on the verse that states,
“To Him will be the return of you all – [that is] Allah’s true prom-
ise. Indeed, He originates the creation; then He will bring it back
so that He may reward those who have faith and do righteous
deeds with justice. As for the faithless, they shall have a painful
punishment”24 (Q 10:4).
Building on this idea, Fatima stated that God guided humanity
through His prophets and heavenly scriptures to a conduct that
would make them eligible for good fortune in the realms of this life
and the afterlife. She explained that Qur’an’s warnings and glad tid-
ings lead humanity to the eternal abode of bliss, a Heaven prepared
for the faithful and His choicest beings. Fatima believed that her
father was in such a place.
Although the fundamental elements of the shahāda are testi-
mony to one God and Muhammad (S) as His messenger, Muslim
theologians “began forging more detailed creedal statements as
early as the eighth century.”25 Among the nuances they deliber-
ated on was whether Paradise and Hell existed or whether would
they come into existence after life on Earth ceased to exist. Subhani
states that Muslim theologians held three different views on the
matter. The Shi‘a and Sunni scholars believed that Heaven and
Hell had already been created. Some Mu‘tazila, Khariji, and Zaydi
sects posited that there was insufficient evidence to support their
existence. The school of the eleventh-century Mu‘tazila theologian
Qadhi Abdul Jabbar denied their preexistence and held that they
would be created in the next world.26 Al-Majlisi presents a similar
24
Ibid., 180.
25
Renard, Islamic Theological Themes, 103. Also, In his work titled Awa’il al-Maqalat
fi Madhhab al-Mukhtara, the eleventh-century Shi‘a scholar, Shaykh Mufid,
explored the theological nuances of the diverse renditions of creed among Muslim
theological schools.
26
Subhani, Tafsir Maudhu’i, Vol. 9:352.
103
Women’s Theology
categorization of Islamic thought regarding Heaven and Hell in his

analysis of the Islamic creed.27
Fatima believed that Heaven existed and that her father transi-
tioned there. She said, “Then, Allah took him back with affection and
choice, grace, and preference. So, Muhammad (S) is now at ease, free
from the hardships of earthly life, surrounded by devout angels and
the contentment of his merciful Lord in the precinct of the Almighty
King. May peace, mercy, and the blessings of Allah be upon my
father, His Prophet.”28 Her words resonate with Qur’anic verses such
as, “indeed the Hereafter is the abiding home” (Q 40:39). She believed
that her father was in that home, surrounded by angels, basking in
God’s pleasure and proximity, as stated by the Qur’an, “Indeed those
who have faith and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of
creatures. Their reward, near their Lord, is the Gardens of Eden, with
streams running in them, to remain in them forever. Allah is pleased
with them, and they are pleased with Him” (Q 98:7,8).
The verses mentioned above depict Heaven’s physical, mental,
and spiritual bliss promised to those who believe and do good.
Shirazi comments that “the Gardens of Eden, with streams running
in them” refers to the material and physical rewards, and “to remain
in them forever” provides mental security of a permanent and com-
fortable abode. He explains that “Allah is pleased with them, and they
are pleased with Him” is a unique spiritual joy awarded to those who
lived and died with faith.29 As for the “best of creatures,” Shi‘i and
some Sunni exegetes identify them as the Ahl al-Bayt and their Shi‘a.
Al-Haskani reports that the Prophet said, “they [best of creatures]
are you [O Ali!] and your followers [Shi‘a].” After that day, when-
ever the companions would see Ali, they would say, “here comes
the best of creatures after God’s Messenger.”30 In another narration,
27
28
29
30
Ibid., 362.
104
Fatima Describes the Qur’an
the Prophet said, “[the best of creatures] are you and your followers
[Shi‘a] O Ali, and between us is the promise of the pool [kauthar].”31
Shirazi states that the Prophet’s words “between us is the promise of
the pool” refers to Fatima.32 According to al-Tabatabai, Q98 is called
al-Bayyina (the proof), referring to the Prophet, and khayrul bari-
yya (the best of creatures) refers to Ali, Fatima, and their progeny.33
Besides al-Haskani, Sunni scholars such as Shaykh al-Shablanji also
posit that the Prophet, Fatima, Ali, and their Shi‘a are among the
“best of creatures” according to Q 98:7,8.34
In her sermon, Fatima spoke about her belief in Judgement Day
and divine rewards and cautioned about divine punishment for
oppression. Fatima drew upon Qur’anic verses to admonish her
coreligionists for abandoning the Prophet’s leadership model and
inaction against the usurpation of her rights. She said, “How evil a
substitute [is the recompense] for the wrongdoers!” (Q 18:50), and
“the [oppressors] wrongdoers will soon know at what goal they will
end up” (Q 26:227). Fatima called Muslims to embody their belief
in a Just God by calling out injustice.
In Islamic theology, the Qur’an is regarded as the primary source of

guidance and knowledge. Muslims hold it as the unalterable word
of God, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (S) through the angel
Gabriel, and believe it to be a comprehensive guide for all aspects
of human life. The Qur’an is also revered for its linguistic beauty
and eloquence, as well as for its spiritual and moral teachings.
31
Ibid., 359.
32
Ibid., 195.
33
Al-Tabatabai, Tafsir al-Mizan, Vol. 20:391.
34
Shaykh al-Shablanji, Nur al-Absar fi Manaqib Aal al-Nabi al-Mukhtar (Cairo:
Digital Library of India JaiGyan, 1916), 73. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli
.2015.352080/page/n73/mode/2up.
105
Women’s Theology
Throughout her sermon, Fatima deployed the Qur’an to articulate

her argument, demonstrating her theologically sound understand-
ing of the tenets of Islamic faith and practice. She began by testify-
ing her faith in God and His Messenger and ended by placing her
trust in God’s justice. She described the Qur’an as a book of guid-
ance and a binding code of life for Muslims. She said,
Allah’s covenant [trust] which He put forward to you is amongst

you, the Book of Allah … with its clear insights … its secrets uncov-
ered, its phenomena evidenced deeply….In it are mentioned the
enlightening arguments of Allah, the explanation of His verdicts,
the cautioning against what He has forbidden, the eloquent pres-
entation of His illustrations, His sufficient clauses, His represented
excellences, His bestowed leniency, and His documented laws.35
Fatima referred to the Qur’an as ‘‘ahd (a sacred trust and a cov-

enant), which refers to a divine exhortation such as, “Did I not
exhort [‘ahd -kum] you, O children of Adam, saying, ‘Do not wor-
ship Satan. He is indeed your manifest enemy”’ (Q 36:60). At times
the Qur’an uses ‘ahd for a divine investiture such as, “and when his
Lord tested Abraham with certain words, and he fulfilled them, He
said, ‘I am making you the Imam of [hu]mankind.’ Said he, ‘And
from among my descendants?’ He said, ‘My pledge [‘ahd] does not
extend to the unjust’” (Q 2:124). The “pledge” in this verse refers
to the divine appointment of Abraham as Imam. The Qur’an also
refers to ‘ahd as an entrusted covenant such as, “fulfill Allah’s cove-
nant when you pledge and do not break [your] oaths after pledging
them solemnly” (Q 16:91). Thus, by referring to the Qur’an as an
‘ahd from God, Fatima described it as a book of exhortations, divine
investitures, and a sacred covenant entrusted to the Muslims.
Fatima believed that the Qur’an was full of clear insights. She used
the phrase, “bayyinatu basā’iruh.” Basā’ir is the plural of basīra,
meaning “insight.” In the Qur’an, basā’ir refers to conviction in the
35
106
tenets of faith, such as, “Certainly insights have come to you from
your Lord. So, whoever sees, it is to the benefit of his own soul, and
whoever remains blind, it is to its detriment” (Q 6:104). Bayyina
means a manifest proof, including the Qur’an through which God
fulfilled His argument toward humankind. It serves as a divine tool
for making informed and guided choices. The Qur’an states, “so
that he who perishes might perish by a manifest proof, and he who
lives may live on by a manifest proof” (Q 8:42). Fatima argued the
Qur’an was clear on Fadak being fay’ and belonging to her because
she was the qurba (close relative).
Fatima believed that the Qur’an lifts veils on the heart and mind
(munkashifat sarā’iruh). “Sarā’ir” (secrets) appears in the Qur’an
in the context of Judgement Day as “the day when secrets [sarā’ir]
are examine.” (Q 86:9). On that day, the secrets of the heart, faith,
and intentions will be laid open and judged. Fatima described the
Qur’an as a holder of secrets, and a means to uncover them. The
hidden treasures in the Book include a deep understanding of the
temporal, spatial, and eternal phenomena experienced by human
beings. At the same time, the Qur’an invites its readers to look for
deeper meanings through the interpretive exercise of ta’wil.
Fatima posited that the Qur’an provides substantial evidence to
authenticate itself. She used “zawāhiruh” to highlight the authentic-
ity of the Qur’an as heavenly scripture and God’s word. The Qur’an
states, “This is the Book, there is no doubt in it, a guidance to the
God wary, who believe in the Unseen” (Q 2:2,3). The Qur’an’s inim-
itability and divine origin are mentioned in verses such as, “Say,
‘Should all humans and jinn rally to bring the like of this Qur’an,
they will not bring the like of it, even if they assisted one another,’”
(Q 17:88) “Do they say, ‘He has fabricated it?’ Say, ‘Then bring ten
surahs like it, fabricated, and invoke whomever you can, besides
Allah, should you be truthful,’” (Q 11:13) and “And, if you are in
doubt concerning what We have sent down to Our servant, then
bring a surah like it, and invoke your helpers besides Allah, should
you be truthful” (Q 2:23).
107
Women’s Theology
Fatima continued, “In it [the Book of Allah] are mentioned

the enlightening arguments of Allah; the explanation of His ver-
dicts; the cautioning against what He has forbidden; the eloquent
presentation of His illustrations; His sufficient clauses; His repre-
sented excellences; His bestowed leniency; and His documented
laws.” The “enlightening arguments” (ḥujaj al-munawwara) are
the foundations of faith such as belief in the unseen unique God,
His prophets, and the day of judgment. “His verdicts (‘azā’im)”
are tenets of faith and practice understood as God’s rights on the
believers. Although ‘azā’im (sing. ‘azīma) means resolution or
determination, both al-Majlisi and al-Ansari explain that in the
context of the sermon of Fatima, it refers to mandatory acts of
obedience and practice.36 ‘Azīma also means “a binding right” in
some of the supplications in Al-Kafi, such as “I bid you for the sake
of God’s right (‘azīma) upon you, and the right of Muhammad
(S), and Suleiman son of Dawood, and the prince of believers, Ali
bin Abi Talib….”37
Besides God’s verdicts, the Qur’an repeatedly cautions against
temptations that drive believers to indulge in that which is prohib-
ited. The Qur’an also provides illustrative accounts of narratives
of previous prophets and their communities. Fatima describes
Qur’anic stories as “eloquent” and its theological and jurispru-
dential clauses as “sufficient (kāfiya).” Faith in God and His Word
is enough for humanity to strive to achieve its best. One of God’s
names is ‘al-Kafi,’ that which suffices. Verses such as “put your
trust in Allah, for Allah suffices as trustee” (Q 4:81) and “Does
not Allah suffice [to defend] His servant?” (Q 39:36) empower
believers when faced with hardships and challenges. Fatima was
36
Al-Majlisi, Qadhi Numan Magribi, al-Ansari al-Tabrizi, Sharh Khutbat al-Zahra
(Beirut: Mu’assassat al-Balagh, 2012), 220,222. Also see Ali’s using ‘azīma to refer to
faith and practice when he said, “[the testimony that there is no god but Allah] is the
foundation (‘azīma) of belief (imān). Syed Radhi al-Musawi, Nahj al-Balagha (Qum:
Ansariyan Publication, 1971), Vol. 1:44.
37
Muhammad al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi (Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, 1986), Vol. 2:572.
108
embodying her trust in God as sufficient to confront the power

of the caliphate.
For Fatima, the Qur’an contained representations of God’s
excellences, faḍā’il. Faḍl (pl. faḍā’il) means excellence, virtue,
merit, accolade, and an awarded position. Verses such as “Satan
frightens you of poverty and prompts you to [commit] indecent
acts. But Allah promises you His forgiveness and grace” (Q 2:268)
remind believers that all virtues emanate from God, who grants
them to those who strive. Al-Ansari interprets faḍā’il as supererog-
atory acts of worship that entail merits and virtues for the prac-
titioner.38 Thus, “representations of His faḍā’il” are narratives of
prophets and believers who did more than what was required to
serve God and His creation.
Fatima concluded her description of the Qur’an by calling it a
document of God’s laws, sharā’i‘ahu maktuba. Sharī‘ā (pl. sharā’i)
means “path”39 and refers to Islamic laws about practice. Al-Ansari
elucidates the jurist’s methodological approach in deriving legal
principles from the Qur’anic text, employing the metaphor of a
traveler navigating a path toward water, thereby illustrating the sig-
nificance of the term sharī‘ā to denote Islamic jurisprudence.40 In
his commentary, al-Ansari expounds on the interpretation of key
phrases, such as “His verdicts, and His cautioning against what is
forbidden” attributing them to jurisprudential prohibitions, while
“His sufficient clauses, His represented excellences” are linked to
obligatory and supererogatory acts. Moreover, he associates “His
bestowed leniency” with permissible acts in Islamic law. He sug-
gests that in describing the Qur’an, Fatima specified the five catego-
ries of Islamic law: wajib (obligatory), ḥaram (forbidden), mustaḥab
(supererogatory), makruḥ (undesired), and mubaḥ (permissible).41
38
Al-Ansari, Lum‘a al-Baydha’, 535.
39
Hafiz Ibn Kathir, Al-Misbah al-Munir (Riyadh: Maktabat Dar al-Salam, 2007),
Vol. 2:355.
40
Al-Ansari, Lum‘a al-Baydha’, 536.
41
Ibid., 538, 539.
109
Women’s Theology
Notably, Fatima, akin to a jurist, strategically employed the Qur’an

to critically analyze Abu Bakr’s rendition of hadith and to argue for
female inheritance rights.
Fatima Deploys the Qur’an
The Qur’an is the foundation of Islamic theology, “the supreme

knowledge accessible to humankind, the ultimate, the final truth,
for it contains God’s own words.”42 Muslim theologians draw on
it to develop concepts of divine transcendence, immanence, rev-
elation, and human freedom and responsibility. Its interpretation
(tafsir) forms a significant “substrate of Islamic theological dis-
course.”43 Besides thorough knowledge of the intricacies of the
Arabic language, exegesis draws on the historical context of revela-
tion (asbāb-al-nuzūl), which scholars such as Suyuti developed as a
hermeneutical tool.44
Shi‘i tafsir posits that the Qur’an has an exoteric (zāhir) and an
esoteric (bātin) dimension and “that the Shi’ite Imams possess the
hidden, esoteric (bātin) knowledge of the verses of the Qur’an.”45
Thus, tafsir is “the explanation of the external aspect and the literal
exegesis of the Qur’an using different fields like Arabic grammar,
poetry, linguistic, jurisprudence,” and ta’wil is the “hermeneutic
interpretation [which] enables penetration into the inner mean-
ing of the Sacred Text.”46 Shi‘i exegetes use two methods. The first
42
Tilman Nagel, The History of Islamic Theology from Muhammad to the Present
(Virginia: Markus Weiner Publishers, 2000), 1.
43
Renard, Islamic Theological Themes: A Primary Source Reader, 1.
44
Ibid., 47.
45
A, Toussi and N. Vasram, “Shi’ite Commentators (Mufassirin) and Their
Commentaries (Tafsirs),” in M’ahd i in the Qur’an According to Shi‘ite Qur’an
Commentators, 18–29 (Qum: Ansariyan Publication, 2008), 18, accessed March 18,
2018, Ahl al-Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project www.al-islam.org.
46
Ibid., 19.
110
Fatima Deploys the Qur’an
involves interpreting “the Qur’an by the Qur’an,”47 where “the

exegete explains [a] verse with the help of other relevant verses,
meditating on them together.” The other method relies only on
hadith that have “an unbroken chain of narration from the Prophet
through members of his family.”48 The Twelver Shi‘a doctrine that
the Prophet and Imams are “associates of the Qur’an”49 who knew
its full tafsir and ta’wil gives Shi‘a tafsir “its unique character”50 and
informs its principles and methods.
Fatima’s sermon can be read as an early engagement with taf-
sir, considering that most of the tafsir genre emerged much later
in the eighth century. Fatima’s sermon is interwoven with nearly
twenty-seven Qur’anic verses. For example, while arguing for her right
to inherit, she said, “Will I be subdued [in the matter of] my inher-
itance, oppressively and unjustly? The wrongdoers will soon know
at what goal they will end up” (Q 26:227).51 The previous sentence is
the last verse of Q 26, called the “Poets,” which refutes the Meccan’s
allegation that the Prophet was a poet, and the Qur’an was merely
well-composed poetry. Exegetes interpret this verse as Meccans’ pun-
ishment in the afterlife, while others interpret it as a prediction of the
conquest of Mecca and the thriving of the Qur’an.52 Fatima invoked
this verse to imply that God would support her against those who
abandoned Qur’an’s teachings on inheritance, just as He supported
the Prophet and the early Muslims against Meccans’ allegations.
She also deployed the Qur’an to critique hadith, demonstrating
a quintessential approach that later developed as hadith studies.
Hadith refers to “the saying, the action, or the confirmation of the
47
Andrew Rippin, “Tafsir,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed., edited by Lindsay
Jones, 13:8949–8957 (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005), 8955, accessed
March 19, 2018, Gale Virtual Reference Librar http://0-link.gAlegroup.com.grace.gtu
.edu/apps/doc/CX3424503026/GVRL?u=gradtul&sid=GVRL&xid=a4735f7d.8955.
48
Ibid.
49
Ibid., 20.
50
Ibid., 22.
51
52
111
Women’s Theology
Prophet of Islam.”53 For the Twelver Shi‘a, hadith also includes

the sayings, writings, and supplications of Fatima and the twelve
holy Imams. Hadith literature emerged at the turn of the ninth
century.54 While it is an essential method in the development of
Islamic theology, “Muslim tradition teaches that the hadith, like the
Qurʾān, communicate a divinely revealed message, but, unlike the
scripture, the articulation of the content is that of Muhammad him-
self.”55 Hadith are broadly categorized as mutawātir (recurrent),
wāḥid (one), saḥīḥ (authentic), ḥasan (good), ḍa‘īf (weak), mu‘tabar
(authoritative), maqbūl (accepted), maqtū‘ (broken), muḍṭarib
(confused and disordered), and mauḍū‘ (fabricated).56
Hadith studies deploy Rijal, a method that scrutinizes biogra-
phies of transmitters of hadith for either accepting or rejecting what
they narrate. Fiqh al-hadith is a science that deals with the linguistic
analysis of hadith texts to extract their real, symbolic, general, and
specific meanings. These methodologies critique hadith to investi-
gate its accuracy. If a hadith contradicts the Qur’an, the established
tenants of faith, rational understanding, and shared historical facts,
are deemed fabricated and unfit for scholarly engagement.57
In her sermon, Fatima critiqued Abu Bakr’s hadith that prophets
do not leave behind any inheritance. None of the Muslims had heard
the Prophet say this except Abu Bakr. “He narrated the tradition
in different ways, and different statements for the confrontations
between him and Fatima were many, so each saying of his had a
different form and different statements according to the phrases that
came to his mind at the time of each confrontation between them.”58
53
Mansour Leghaei, Sciences of hadith, accessed November 30, 2018, 6, www.al-islam
.org/sciences-hadith-shaykh-mansour-leghaei/meeting-1-definition-significance-
branches#definition.
54
Nagel, The History of Islamic Theology from Muhammad to the Present, 78.
55
Renard, Islamic Theological Themes: A Primary Source Reader, 12.
56
Leghaei, Sciences of hadith, 43.
57
Ibid., 78.
58
Baqir al-Sadr, Fadak fi al-Ta’rikh, 147.
112
Fatima Critiques Hadith from the Qur’an
The hadith that prophets do not leave inheritance first appeared

when Fatima claimed Fadak. There is no evidence of it being men-
tioned before. Abu Bakr was the sole transmitter of the hadith and
claimed that he heard it directly from the Prophet.59 It was Fatima’s
word against Abu Bakr’s, and both argued for their respective posi-
tions on Fadak based on what the Prophet said. Fatima claimed
that he bequeathed her Fadak, and Abu Bakr declared that he said
that prophets don’t leave an inheritance. However, only Fatima
was asked to provide witnesses as proof of her claim, not Abu Bakr,
demonstrating an unjust power hierarchy where a female citizen is
subjected to the burden of evidence. At the same time, the ruling
authority is exempt from such obligation.
Al-Majlisi states that Abu Bakr might not have been the sole trans-
mitter of the hadith on inheritance. Umar’s daughter Hafsa, Abu
Bakr’s daughter Ayesha, and an Arab named Aws bin al-Hadathan
testified that they had heard the Prophet utter the statements per what
Abu Bakr had quoted.60 If Fatima and Abu Bakr both presented wit-
nesses, then why was Abu Bakr’s witnesses’ testimony accepted and
Fatima’s denied? The third rendition of this hadith alludes to it being
common knowledge. The twelfth-century hadith scholar al-Tabrisi
states that the government considered using force to subdue Fatima’s
opposition. When Ali found out, he wrote to Abu Bakr, warning him
of the consequences of using force. Abu Bakr consulted his compan-
ions, saying, “O community of muhājir and ansār! You know that I
consulted you about the properties of Fadak. It was you who told me
that prophets do not leave an inheritance and that the wealth from
Fadak was extraneous to fay’. You suggested that it be spent on weap-
ons, troops, and fortifying borders, and I executed your opinion.”61
59
60
61
Al-Tabrisi, al-Ihtijaj, Vol. 1:128, 129.
113
Women’s Theology
This hadith, probably the first hadith quoted after the Prophet’s
death, is problematic because of the inconsistencies in the chain
of transmitters and its inconsistent application by Abu Bakr and
the caliphs that came after him. How does this hadith impact the
Prophet’s wives as his heirs? What about his assets besides Fadak?
His house, for example – Why were political leaders such as Abu
Bakr and Umar buried in the Prophet’s house while none of his
family members or companions were granted that privilege? Was
the emerging political status quo undermining private property
and social justice?
The thirteenth-century Islamic historian Baha al-Din Ali bin Isa
al-Irbili listed several assets the Prophet left behind, like his cloth-
ing, ring, mule, camels, and house. Al-Irbili states that most of
these items remained with Fatima. Ali received the Prophet’s mule,
armor, ring, and turban.62 Were these not considered the Prophet’s
inheritance, or were they not valuable enough to be confiscated?
Ibn Abil Hadid explains that it was Arab custom that personal
items of the deceased went to their children and were not consid-
ered inheritance.63 Ibn Abil Hadid’s attempt to reconcile a jurispru-
dential issue with Arab culture is problematic. As the successor of
the Prophet and law-enforcer, it would behoove Abu Bakr to adopt
a consistent ruling in the case of the Prophet’s inheritance.
Another asset the Prophet left behind was his house with inde-
pendent chambers for each of his nine wives. Abu Bakr did not take
possession of the Prophet’s chambers. Did the Prophet’s wives own
or inherit their chambers, or did they receive them as government
grants? Ibn Abil Hadid stressed that their chambers were their per-
sonal properties because they lived there during the Prophet’s life-
time.64 If possession of an asset was proof of ownership in the case
of the Prophet’s wives, then why did it not apply to his daughter
62
Al-Irbili, Kash al-Ghammah, Vol. 2:118.
63
Ibn Abil Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha, Vol. 8:352, 353.
64
Ibid., 364.
114
Fatima when she argued that her father bequeathed her Fadak? If
the wives inherited their chambers, then what of the hadith that
prophets do not leave an inheritance? If the chambers were gov-
ernment grants, what criterion did Abu Bakr apply to distribute
the house among the wives? These questions are critical in assess-
ing the integrity of the hadith and its biased application. How can
Abu Bakr’s and Umar’s burial in the Prophet’s house be justified?
According to Abu Bakr’s rendition of the hadith, if the Prophet’s
house became state property, then had they used their privilege as
political leaders to secure graves in a prime spiritual location?
Al-Irbili narrates that when Uthman came to power, Ayesha
demanded a higher stipend from him to match what she received
under the caliphates of Abu Bakr (her father) and Umar. Uthman
said that a higher stipend would not be justified by the Qur’an and
hadith. He stressed that Abu Bakr and Umar gave her a large sti-
pend because of their goodness toward her and that he was under
no theological obligation to continue that practice. Ayesha argued
that the extra amount should be given to her as her share of the
Prophet’s inheritance. Uthman replied, “Was it not you and Malik
bin Aws al-Nadhari, who quoted that they heard the Prophet say
that prophets do not leave any inheritance? You rendered Fatima’s
claim to inheritance void and are now arguing for your share of it. I
will not accept this.” Ayesha became angry and blamed Uthman for
abandoning the Prophet’s tradition.65
The sectarian polemics around Fadak made it challenging to
analyze the undergirding jurisprudential aspects of disseminating
the Prophet’s assets. Al-Tabrisi narrates an incident involving the
famous eighth-century Islamic jurist Abu Hanifa, founder of the
Hanafi school of thought:
Fadhl al-Kufi attended Abu Hanifa’s session while many Islamic

scholars and jurists were in attendance. Fadhl told Abu Hanifa that
65
Al-Irbili, Kashf al-Ghammah, Vol. 2:107, 108.
115
Women’s Theology
he was in a tense debate with a colleague on who was the most vir-
tuous individual after the Prophet – Ali, Abu Bakr, or Umar. “What
do you say, O Abu Hanifa?” He replied, “Do you not know that they
are buried next to the Prophet [in his house]? What more proof do
you seek of their virtue over Ali?” Fadhl said that he had presented
that argument to his colleague, who critiqued it by saying, “By God,
if the place of their burial belonged to the Prophet, then they have
usurped his property by being buried in a land that does not belong
to them. If the house belonged to them and they had gifted it to the
Prophet so he could live there, they offended the Prophet’s position
by appropriating what they had gifted.” Abu Hanifa deliberated for
a while and then answered, “At the time of their burial, the house
neither belonged to the Prophet nor them. It belonged to their
daughters, Ayesha and Hafsa, [who were wives of the Prophet],
and they permitted their fathers to be buried in their share of the
house.” Fadhl responded that when he deployed that argument, his
colleague asked, “Do you realize that the Prophet left behind nine
wives? The wife’s share is one-eighth of her husband’s estate. One-
eighth divided among nine wives would leave each with one-ninth
of the one-eighth, which would barely be an area of the span of a
hand. So, how could Ayesha’s and Hafsa’s share suffice for the bur-
ial of two men [who took up more space than the span of a hand]?
Also, how would Ayesha and Hafsa inherit from the Prophet while
Fatima was told that prophets did not leave an inheritance?” When
Abu Hanifa heard this argument, he retorted, “O people! Take this
man away from me. He is a malicious rāfiḍi [a derogatory term used
for Shi‘a].”66
Hence, other caliphs like Uthman and Muslim scholars who

came later problematized Abu Bakr’s narration of the hadith of
the Prophet’s inheritance. Sectarian tensions dismissed and dis-
couraged critical scholarship on Fadak’s jurisprudential aspects.
66
Al-Tabrisi, Al-Ihtijaj, Vol. 2:149, 150.
116
Fatima’s probing and critical analysis of this hadith in her sermon

set a precedent for many debates around the exploitation of privi-
lege and authority. Her contesting it against the Qur’anic paradigm
just days after the Prophet’s death highlights the current complexity
of authenticating vast hadith literature compiled over the centuries
under several politically powerful Muslim dynasties.
Quoting five verses from the Qur’an, Fatima critiqued the
authenticity of the hadith Abu Bakr attributed to the Prophet and
argued for her inheritance. She said,
Are you seriously neglecting the Book of Allah by casting it behind

your backs? While Allah, the glorious says, “Solomon inherited
from David” (Q 27:16), and while Allah, the Almighty related the
narrative of Yahya son of Zachariah, “So grant me from Yourself
an heir who may inherit from me and inherit from the House of
Jacob” (Q 19:5,6), and He, may His remembrance be strengthened
said, “but the blood relatives are more entitled to inherit from one
another in the Book of Allah” (Q 8:75). He [Allah] said, “Allah
enjoins you concerning your children: for the male shall be the like
of the share of two females” (Q 4:11), and He said, “and [if] he leaves
behind any property, [it is ordained] that he make a bequest for his
parents and relatives, in an honorable manner, – an obligation on
the God wary” (Q 2:180). Yet you claim that I have no right to and
no share in my father’s inheritance!
She invoked two verses referencing Qur’anic narratives of proph-

ets’ inheritance, giving the examples of David inheriting Solomon
(Q 27:16) and Zachariah supplicating for an heir to the House of Jacob
(Q 19:5,6). She drew upon three more verses that implore Muslims
to assign heirs as their religious duty. Muslim exegetes differ in
whether prophets’ inheritance in the Qur’an refers to their moral
virtues, physical assets, or both.67 Abd Ali al-Hawaizi comments
that Zachariah was an Israelite priest, and his wife was a descendant
67
117
Women’s Theology
of Solomon and David. They possessed considerable wealth, which

they feared would be lost without a righteous heir.68 If prophets
desired inheritors for their wealth, why would Muhammad (S) say
that prophets do not leave an inheritance? Fatima also drew upon
three verses that command Muslims to be God-conscious about
preparing their will for distributing their property between their
surviving relatives. Since Fatima was the only surviving child of the
Prophet, she was entitled to a larger share.
She emphasized that the Prophet was known as truthful and
trustworthy long before he propagated Islam. How could his say-
ings contradict the Qur’an? Why would he say prophets do not leave
inheritance while the Qur’an attested to Solomon inheriting from
David and Zakariya praying for an heir? How could he preach the
Qur’anic obligation of distributing wealth among female and male
heirs and neglect his own daughter’s share? By cross-referencing
what Abu Bakr attributed to the Prophet with the Qur’an, she
engaged in a methodology that became popular among hadith
scholars at the turn of the eighth century.
Besides deploying the Qur’an as a theological tool to make her
case, Fatima raised Muslims’ consciousness of the significant role
that the Qur’an plays in their lived experience. Throughout her ser-
mon, she called on Muslims to stay close to their sacred text in mat-
ters of religion and social justice because “its [Qur’an] compliance
leads towards His pleasure and listening to it ensures salvation.”
The aesthetic appeal of the recitation of the Qur’an has been a con-
sistent feature of Muslim piety and practice. Rules regarding correct
pronunciation and methodic rendering of the verses inevitably lead
to a melodic recital of the scripture.69 Listening to Qur’an recital
entails spiritual merit as stated in, “When the Qur’an is recited,
68
Abd Ali al-Hawaizi, Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn (Qum, Mu’assassat Ismaeliyyan, 1990),
Vol. 3:323.
69
William A. Graham and Navid Kermani, “Recitation and Aesthetic Reception,”
in The Cambridge Companion to the Qur’an, edited by Jane Dammen McAuliffe
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 131, 132.
118
A Theology of Empowerment
listen (fastami‘ū) to it and be silent, maybe you will receive [Allah’s]

mercy” (Q 7:204). Istimā‘ refers to listening with the ear and the
heart, which Muslims believe brings blessings and salvation.70
The Prophet said, “follow the Qur’an and [be mindful] that it
is not [pushed] behind you.”71 Fatima echoed this in her sermon,
saying, “Are you seriously neglecting the Book of Allah by casting
it behind your backs?”72 She reminded Muslims to prioritize the
Qur’an in their religious, social, and personal matters while settling
differences in the community. She said, “What is wrong with you?
Where are you headed while this Book of Allah is amidst you? Its
restrictions are clear, its illustrations are radiant, and its commands
are evident. Do you desire to turn your back to it, or are you seeking
to be governed by another [book]?”73
Fatima’s emphasis on the importance of the Qur’an reflects the
central role it plays in the Islamic tradition. Concurrently, her
words convey a sense of urgency and admonition, as she reminds
her audience of the clarity and luminosity of the Qur’anic text, and
questions the motives of those who would turn away from it. Her
statement also highlights the responsibility of Muslims to engage
with the Qur’anic text and to heed its guidance, rather than turning
to alternative sources of authority or neglecting its teachings.
A Theology of Empowerment
In her sermon, Fatima articulated theological themes demonstrat-

ing her profound knowledge of the Qur’an and setting a precedence
for Islamic theology. Renard posits that detailed discussions on
God’s transcendent nature, the classification of His attributes, the
70
71
Mirza Hussain al-Nuri, Mustadrak al-Wasa’il (Beirut: Mu’ssassat Aal al-Bayt li Ihya
al-Turath, 1988), Vol. 4:254.
72
73
Ibid.
119
Women’s Theology
concept of free will, the ensuing accountability of actions, and the

existence of Paradise and Hell started to emerge only during the
end of the eighth century. Just days after the Prophet’s death,
Fatima was expounding on key tenets of the Islamic faith such as
monotheism, prophethood, and Judgement Day, the philosophy of
Islamic practices, the virtues and excellences of the Qur’an, as well
as its crucial role in sustaining justice and promoting social welfare.
She deployed her extraordinary knowledge of Muslims’ funda-
mental sacred text to argue for her rights, critique Abu Bakr’s nar-
ration that prophets leave no inheritance, and remind Muslims of
their duties toward the Book of God. She demonstrated how the
Qur’an could serve as a critical theological method to question and
analyze the authenticity and application of hadith. For Fatima, the
Qur’an was the core upon which she built her religiosity. Arguably,
she was a seventh-century theologian, demonstrating acute knowl-
edge of the Qur’an, adept articulation of theological themes, and
critical that would later inform the development of Qur’an and
hadith studies.
Her firm conviction made her fearless as she stood bravely seek-
ing justice from power. Her unwavering faith in the Book of God
empowered her to speak up for her rights, setting a precedent for
women’s theology which would include matters relating to wom-
en’s rights and broader themes such as the Quranic concept of eth-
ical leadership. Fatima’s sermon is a testament to her theological
prowess and the profound influence she had on Islamic thought,
which continues to inspire and inform scholars and theologians to
this day.
120
4 Service-Based Leadership
By Allah, had they deterred each other from seizing the reigns (of the
camel) which Allah’s Messenger had entrusted to him [Ali], he would
have led the caravan beautifully, neither letting the insects bother the
ride nor letting the rider be jolted, delivering them to a thirst-quenching
and gushing spring with overflowing banks. The caravan would have
been satisfied with him pursuing more irrigated lands that were not
obvious to them. His brilliant actions, eradicating the face of hunger
and opening heaven’s blessings, would have emboldened them.
—The sermon of Fatima
Belief in divinely appointed prophets is a central theme in Islamic

theology, as stated in the Qur’an, “Each [of the believers] has faith
in Allah, His angels, His scriptures and His apostles” (Q 2:285). The
Islamic creedal statement (shahada) consists of two components: a
declaration of belief in Allah and Muhammad (S) as His Messenger.1
Prophets and the scriptures revealed to them are the foundational
sources for theological discourse within Islam.2 Qur’anic verses posit
three main functions of a prophet: introduce monotheism and invite
back those who might have deviated from it, transform commu-
nities by teaching scripture and wisdom, and establish and ensure
social justice.3 Their methods were humble, came from their heartfelt
1
Mahmoud M. Ayoub, Islam: Faith and History (Oxford: Oneworld Publications,
2004), 55.
2
Renard, Islamic Theological Themes, 164.
3
See Q 57:2, “Certainly We sent Our apostles with manifest proofs, and We sent down
with them the Book and the Balance, so that mankind may maintain justice,” Q 16:36,
121
Service-Based Leadership
conviction in God and good, and their goals privileged the most
denied factions of society. To fulfill their mandate and to lead their
communities, prophets possessed spiritual, intellectual, and ethical
character traits adding a charismatic appeal to their divine mission.
Muhammad’s (S) death became a significant and turbulent
moment in Islamic history, raising a crucial question about his
succession since according to the Qur’an (Q 33:40), there would
be no prophets after him. The Sunni narrative suggests that the
Prophet did not name a successor. Even before the prophet was
buried, prominent members of the muhājir and ansār gathered at
Saqifa to select a leader.4 Amidst heated and hurried arguments
and what appears to be a resurgence of tribal tensions and politics,
Abu Bakr assumed leadership of the Muslims.5 Conversely, the
Shi‘a maintained that the Prophet had appointed Ali as his suc-
cessor. Besides Qur’anic and theological arguments, Shi‘a scholars
posit a logical critique of the Sunni position that the Prophet did
not assign a successor, iterating that it would be inconceivable for a
pioneering leader to found a just social system in the face of harsh
opposition and persecution and then make no plan to sustain
and perpetuate it.6 They argued that the successor of the Prophet
must closely mirror his knowledge and conduct and match his
charismatic appeal.
In her sermon, Fatima described the Prophet as a charismatic and
authentic leader who made his place in the hearts of Muslims and
the annals of history through his dedication to lifting the human
“Certainly We raised an apostle in every nation [to preach:] ‘Worship Allah, and keep
away from the Rebels,’ and Q 62:2, “It is He who sent to the unlettered [people] an
apostle from among themselves, to recite to them His signs, to purify them, and to
teach them the Book and wisdom, and earlier they had indeed been in manifest error.”
4
Wilfred Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 30–31.
5
Hassan Abbas, The Prophet’s Heir: The Life of Ali ibn Abi Talib (London: Yale
University Press, 2021), 92–93.
6
Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai, Shi‘a, trans. Sayyid Husayn Nasr (Qum: Ansariyan
Publications, 2009), 192, 193.
122
A Transformational Leader
condition of his time while remaining humble in his conduct,

seldom wielding an authoritarian stance, albeit the Qur’an had
awarded him that position.7 Fatima exalted the Prophet’s mystical
pre-worldly existence, transformative pedagogy, and deep care for
the wellbeing of his community. She then argued that none besides
her family could emulate his leadership traits. Drawing on the met-
aphor of a desert caravan, she articulated leadership theories and
practices which contemporary scholars define as transformational,
guardian, and servant leadership.8
In invoking the Prophet’s leadership model, Fatima called out
the caliph’s ineptitude and the Muslims’ negligence in enabling a
power-driven leadership to succeed as a service-oriented prophet.
In this chapter, I delve into sections of her sermon, focusing on
the Prophet as a transformational educator and a compassionate
leader, her employment of a metaphor to distinguish between
power-based leadership and a service-oriented approach that pri-
oritizes social well-being. Furthermore, I highlight the significance
of her emphasis on her family’s inheritance rights, encompassing
not only Fadak but also the Prophet’s genuine and charismatic
leadership traits.
Muslims revere Prophet Muhammad (S) as the last in a series of

divinely appointed prophets beginning with Adam. The Qur’an
states, “he [Muhammad] is the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the
Prophets” (Q 33:40). In her sermon, Fatima declared,
7
See Q 4:65, “But no, by your Lord! They will not believe until they make you a judge
in their disputes, then do not find within their hearts any dissent to your verdict and
submit in full submission.”
8
See Peter G. Northouse’s Leadership: Theory and Practice, Thousand Oaks: SAGE
Publications, 2018 and Rafik I. Beekun, Jamal Badawi, Leadership in an Islamic
Perspective, Maryland: Amana Publications, 1999.
123
I also bear witness that my father, Muhammad (S), is His servant

and Messenger, who was chosen before being sent, named before
being selected, and picked before being raised [as a prophet]; at a
time when the creation was hidden in the unknown, covered by the
curtain of uncertainty, and close to the edge of non-existence. [He
was chosen] out of Allah’s knowledge, the Most High about the out-
come of every matter, the complete awareness of events that will
transpire, and cognizance of the finality of all affairs.9
Fatima described Muhammad (S) as God’s servant and His mes-

senger (‘abduhu wa rasūluh). In their daily ritual prayers, Muslims
declare Muhammad (S) as God’s ‘abd (servant), resonating with
the Qur’anic verse, “Immaculate is He who carried His serv-
ant (‘abd) on a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the
Farthest Mosque whose environs We have blessed” (Q 17:1). While
the Qur’an does not specify the number of prophets sent, nor list
all their names, it repeatedly claims that every nation and people
received divine guides.10
On the other hand, hadith literature provides details on the clas-
sification and the number of prophets. Shaykh al-Sadouq states that
God sent 124,000 prophets.11 Three hundred and thirteen among
them were messengers (rusul), and five were arch-prophets (ulu
al-‘azm).12 Al-Ansari explains that every prophet receives revela-
tion, but only some were commissioned to spread the message, and
only five were given a code of law.13 On the hierarchy among the
prophets, the Qur’an states, “these are the apostles, some of whom
9
10
See, “Certainly We have sent apostles before you, of them are those We have
recounted to you and of them are those We have not recounted to you,” (Q 40:78)
“there is not a nation but that a warner has passed in it,” (Q 35:24) “Certainly We
raised an apostle in every nation,” (Q 16:36) and “there is a guide for every people”
(Q 13:7).
11
Shaykh al-Sadouq, Al-Khisaal (Qum: Ansariyan Publication, 2008), 1120.
12
Subhani, Tafsir Maudhu‘i, Vol. 10:139.
13
Al-Ansari, Al-Lum‘a al-Baydha’, 426, 427.
124
We gave an advantage over others” (Q 2:253). Al-Tabatabai draws

on Q 42:1314 to name the arch-prophets as Noah, Abraham, Moses,
Jesus, and Muhammad (S) because they received “independent
teachings” and “divine religious law.”15 Shaykh al-Mufid narrates
that Imam al-Sadiq said,
Prophets and messengers are of four types: (1) Prophets who receive
divine guidance and benefit themselves (2) Prophets who receive guid-
ance in their dreams and hear a sound, but they do not observe any
revelation while they are awake. They are not raised directly by God
and report to a leader (imam), just like Lut (Lot) was a prophet who
was under the leadership of Ibrahim (Abraham) (3) Prophets who
receive guidance through dreams, hear a sound, and see an angel and
are sent as messengers to small or large groups of people just as God
said to Yunus (Jonah), “We sent him [Jonah] to a [community of]
hundred thousand or more” (Q 37:147), (“more” means another thirty
thousand) and they also report to a leader (imam), and (4) Prophets
who see (divine guidance) in their dreams, hear a sound, observe
[an angel] while they are awake, and are imam (leader) like the ulu
al-‘azm (arch-prophets). [Among them] was Ibrahim, a prophet until
he was made an imam as God Almighty said, “And when his Lord
tested Abraham with certain words, and he fulfilled them, He said,
‘I am making you the Imam of mankind.’ Said he, ‘And from among
my descendants?’ He said, ‘My pledge does not extend to the unjust’”
(Q 2:124). The one who worshipped idols cannot be an imam (leader).16
In the Islamic tradition, Muhammad (S) is considered a prophet,

messenger, and chief of the ulu al-‘azm prophets. Fatima described
14
“He has prescribed for you [believers] the religion which He had enjoined upon
Noah and which We have [also] revealed to you [O Muhammad], and which We
had enjoined upon Abraham, Moses and Jesus” (Q 42:13).
15
Muhammad Husayn al-Tabatabai, Islamic Teachings in Brief, www.al-islam.org/
islamic-teachings-brief-allamah-sayyid-muhammad-husayn-tabatabai/ululazm-
anbiya-arch-prophets-and.
16
Shaykh al-Mufid, Al-Ikhtisas (Qum: Manshuat Jama’at al-Mudarisin, 1993), 22, 23.
125
the Prophet as a charismatic leader who “was chosen before being

sent, named before being selected, and picked before being raised
[as a prophet].”17 The Qur’an states that Muhammad (S) was
a prophet before his birth and each prophet bore witness to His
prophethood before being assigned their prophetic missions:
When Allah took a pact concerning the prophets, [He said,] ‘Inasmuch
as I have given you of the Book and wisdom, should an apostle come
to you thereafter confirming what is with you, you shall believe in him
and help him.’ He said, ‘Do you pledge and accept My covenant on
this condition?’ They said, ‘We pledge.’ He said, ‘Then be witnesses,
and I am also among the witnesses along with you.’ (Q 3:81)
Subhani comments that “should an apostle come to you” refers

to Muhammad (S), acknowledging him as a prophet much before
his birth in the sixth century.18 The Qur’an states, “And when Jesus
son of Mary said, ‘O Children of Israel! Indeed, I am the apostle of
Allah to you, to confirm what is before me of the Torah, and to give
the good news of an apostle who will come after me whose name
is Ahmad’” (Q 61:6). Al-Ansari posits that the Prophet was named
Ahmad in the heavens and Muhammad (S) on the earth.19
Muhammad means praiseworthy, and the Prophet was the first to
bear this name. The sixteenth-century jurist Zain al-Din al-Amuli,
known as Shahid al-Thani (lit., the second martyr), narrates that God
inspired the Prophet’s grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, to name the child
Muhammad (S). He named him on the seventh day of his birth since
his father Abdullah had died. When asked why he chose that name,
Abdul Muttalib replied that he felt a deep urge to do so, hoping the
heavens and earth would praise the child for his excellent virtues.20
Ibn Arabi states that the Prophet’s mother had a vision asking her to
17
18
Subhani, Tafsir Maudhu‘i, Vol. 6:18, 19.
19
Al-Ansari, Al-Lum‘a al-Baydha’, 424.
20
Shaykh Zain al-Din al-Amuli, Al-Rawdha al-Bahiyya fi Sharh Lum‘a al-Damishqiyya
(Qum: Majma’ al-Fikr al-Islami, 2003), Vol. 1:38.
126
name him Muhammad (S). The Prophet has a thousand names, and
the best of those is Muhammad (S).21 Fatima’s words resonated with
the Qur’anic concept that his name and advent were prophesied by
his predecessors and documented in earlier heavenly scriptures. The
Qur’an states, “those who follow the Apostle … whose mention they
find written with them in the Torah and the Evangel” (Q 7:157), and
“those whom We have given the Book recognize him [Muhammad
(S)] just as they recognize their sons” (Q 2:146).
Fatima acknowledged his pre-worldly existence, saying he was a
prophet “at a time when the creation was hidden in the unknown,
covered by the curtain of uncertainty, and close to the edge of
non-existence.”22 Shi‘i and Sunni sources attest to the Prophet’s
mystical preexistence as nur Muhammadi.23 The fifteenth-century
Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti narrates that the Prophet
said, “I was a Prophet when Adam was between water and clay.”24
Drawing on Ahmad Ibn Hanbal’s hadith collections, Ibn Hajar
al-Haytami states that Prophet was chosen 50,000 years before
the creation of the heavens and the earth.25 In her analysis of
the Muslim devotional practice celebrating the Prophet’s birth
(mawlid al-nabi), Marion Holmes Katz quotes Jabir bin Abdullah
al-Ansari that the Prophet’s light was the first thing God created,
and everything else was made from it.26 Despite being a controver-
sial subject among Muslim scholars, Shi‘i, Sunni, and Sufi literature
frequently reference the primordial existence of the Prophet’s light.
21
Ibrahim al-Shafiʿi al-Baijuri, Tuhfat al-Mureed Sharh Jauhar al-Tawhid (Beirut: Dar
al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2004), 24, 25.
22
23
See Chapter 1 of this book.
24
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, al-Durar al-Muntathira fi Ahadith al-Muntashira (Riyadh:
Imadat Shu’un al-Maktabaat, 2010), 123. https://archive.org/details/waq623500/page/
n4/mode/2up.
25
Ahmad Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Ashraful Wasa’il ila Fahm al-Shama’il (Beirut: Dar
al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 1998), 32.
26
Marion Holmes Katz, The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad; Devotional Piety in
Sunni Islam (New York: Routledge, 2007), 24, 25.
127
Fatima explained that the Prophet’s preselection and pre-naming

were due to God’s eternal knowledge of “the outcome of every mat-
ter, the complete awareness of events that will transpire, and cogni-
zance of the finality of all affairs.”27 The omniscient God fashioned,
named, and appointed the Prophet to guide His creation in worldly
and spiritual affairs. Authenticity and genuineness were ontologi-
cally woven into the Prophet’s character. Contemporary theorists
describe “authentic” and “genuine” leaders as those who lead from
convictions and are originals.”28 Besides Fatima and her family,
none could claim to be “originals” on account of a pre-worldly
mystical existence like the Prophet’s. As discussed in Chapter 1,
early Islamic hadith literature includes several reports of Fatima’s
creation from the pre-existent nur Muhammadi.
Fatima’s sermon provides an insight into the philosophy of
prophethood as Islam’s foundational tenet, a popular discourse
among early Islamic theologians and philosophers. It presents the
Prophet as an authentic leader who demonstrated genuine leader-
ship in guiding Muslims’ spiritual, moral, and political lives and
transforming individuals and societies into their best selves. He led
by educating and serving the community, a trait she complained
was missing in the government that came to power after him.
A Teacher Leader
Education is a crucial factor in transforming individuals and socie-

ties. According to the Qur’an, prophets led through education, and
much like contemporary understandings of authentic leadership
practices, they drew upon their core values and moral distinction to
passionately serve others.29 The Qur’an states, “It is He who sent to
27
28
Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, 309.
29
Ibid., 310.
128
A Teacher Leader
the unlettered [people] an apostle from among themselves, to recite

to them His signs, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and
wisdom” (Q 62:2). According to this verse, the Prophet’s role includes
giving information (to recite to them His signs), deconstructing
unjust systems (to purify them), reconstructing through education
(to teach them the Book), and finally, transforming communities
through wisdom. I read this verse as an exposition of critical features
of prophetic pedagogy: inform, un-form, reform, and transform.30
Early Muslim theologians and philosophers deliberated on the
prophets’ role as educators. The thirteenth-century theologian
Allama al-Hilli explains that God’s law must appeal to the intellect.
Since intelligence matures through knowledge and experience, God
must send heavenly books and divine teachers. God’s grace neces-
sitates that He provides textual and practical examples of honing
spiritual and material faculties to promote peaceful and meaningful
coexistence. Thus, “raising prophets is an intellectual necessity to
fulfill moral obligations and follows from God’s grace.”31
In the wake of secular ideologies such as Marxism and capitalism,
contemporary Muslim thinkers articulated philosophical approaches
to revive theological tenets of faith and practice. In his study on the
nature of knowledge and learning, Baqir al-Sadr states, “By believing
in an infallible leadership guided by God, religion entrusts the matter
of the education of human beings and the growth of their spiritual
inclinations to this leadership and its branches.”32 Fatima addressed
this topic in her sermon by highlighting the role of the Prophet as a
divine teacher for humanity. She said,
30
Mahjabeen Dhala, “To Teach Like a Prophet: Community Engaged Learning with a
Theological Twist,” The Commons, Association for Public Religion and Intellectual
Life (August 2022): www.aprilonline.org/to-teach-like-a-prophet-community-
engaged-learning-with-a-theological-twist/.
31
Allama Jamal al-Din al-Hilli, Kashful Murad fi Sharh Tajrid al-I‘teqad (Qum:
Mu’assat al-Nashr al-Islami, 1996), 470.
32
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Falsafatuna (Tehran: Mu’assat Dar al-Kutub al-Islami,
2004), 42.
129
Allah sent him as completion of His mission, as one charged with

the establishment of His orders, and as an implementation of the
extent of His mercy because He saw the nations divided in their
beliefs, standing in seclusion around their sacred fire altars, wor-
shipping idols and denying the existence of Allah despite their
intrinsic knowledge of Him. Thus, through my father Muhammad
(S), Allah illuminated their darkness, lifted the ambivalence from
their hearts, and removed the obscurity from their sights. He rose
among people with guidance, protected them from perversion,
sharpened their vision away from [spiritual] blindness, guided them
to the firm religion, and called them towards the straight path.33
Fatima remarked that the Prophet was the final messenger mark-
ing the completion of God’s mission of sending prophets. The Qur’an
revealed to him, affirmed all previous heavenly scriptures, and estab-
lished a code of life that would serve, in its view, as the final constitu-
tion for humankind. Fatima resonated with the Qur’anic view that
through the Prophet and the Qur’an, God extended His mercy to unite
all people as one nation when He saw them divided in their beliefs.34
In her sermon, Fatima presented three disparate ideologies
regarding religious practice: some stood around their altars wor-
shipping fire, others bowed before idols humbling themselves in
worship, and yet others denied God even though they sensed His
existence. The first group refers to the Magians, who began in Persia
and spread to parts of India. They believed in a god of good rep-
resented by light and a god of evil represented by darkness. They
worshipped the good god before their fire altars and sometimes
before the sun because they believed the sun to be a perfect form
33
Ibn Tayfur, Balaghat al-Nisa, 27, 28.
34
The Qur’an affirms that the mission of all prophets was to bring people together and
remind them of their purpose: “Mankind was a single community; then Allah sent
the prophets as bearers of good news and as warners, and He sent down with them
the Book with the truth, that it may judge between the people concerning that about
which they differed…” (Q 2:213).
130
A Teacher Leader
of light and fire.35 The second group refers to idol worshippers, the
predominant group in Mecca at the advent of the Prophet’s mis-
sion. The Kaaba at the time housed 360 idols, small and big, female
and male, inside it and on its roof.36 The third group refers to those
who felt God’s presence and pondered on the intellectual neces-
sity for a cause for all causes, yet they were reluctant to believe.37
Referring to this group, the Qur’an states, “Say, [if you ask them]
‘Who provides for you out of the sky and the earth? Who controls
[your] hearing and sight, and who brings forth the living from the
dead and brings forth the dead from the living, and who directs the
command?’ They will say ‘Allah’” (Q 10:31).
After classifying the religious landscape of Arabia into
Magianism, idol-worship, and atheism, Fatima highlighted how
the Prophet’s pedagogy strategically engaged the three ideologies
at their core. She said, “Through my father, Allah illuminated their
darkness, lifted the ambivalence from their hearts, and removed
the obscurity from their sights.”38 The Prophet taught the Qur’an,
which addressed the questions and concerns of the hearts and
35
Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History of the
Jews and the Neighboring Nations from the Declension of the Kingdoms of Israel and
Judah to the Time of Christ (New York: B. Waugh and T Mason, 1833), Vol. 1:173.
36
Yasin T. Al-Jibouri, Muhammed: Messenger of Peace and Tolerance (Bloomington,
IN: AuthorHouse, 2014), 324.
37
In developing a philosophical approach to studying religions, the tenth-century Islamic
thinker Muhammad al-Shahrastani proposed a classification of ideologies, stating,
“Among people are those who deny the perceptible as well as the logical understanding
of religion, and they are the Sophists, and among them [people] are those who accept
the perceptible and rational aspect of religion but deny rules and regulations from the
divine and they are atheist philosophers, and among them are those who accept the
perceptible and logical part of religion and recognize the need for rules but deny
submission to God as the lawmaker and they are the Sabeans; and among them are
those who accept all these aspects of religion but deny the way of Prophet Muhammad
(S) and they are the Magians, the Jews, and the Christians; and among them are those
who accept and submit to all [of the above aspects of religion and the divine], and they
are the Muslims.” See, Muhammad al-Shahrastani, Kitab al-Milal wa-l-Nihal (London:
Society for the Publication of Oriental Texts, 1847), Vol. 2:202.
38
131
minds. Fatima used the terms “light,” “hearts,” and “sights” to

indicate how her father’s teachings connected with the quests of
the fire-worshippers, idol-worshippers, and the doubters. The
Magians stood around their fire altars, seeking God’s light. The fire
honored the sun, which they believed to be a perfect manifestation
of divine light that would overcome all darkness. Hence, light and
its worship were at the core of their ideology. The Qur’an narrates
Abraham’s conversation with star-worshippers, stating,
When night darkened over him, he saw a star and said, “This is my
Lord!” But, when it set, he said, “I do not like those who set.” Then,
when he saw the moon rising, he said, “This is my Lord” But when it
set, he said, “Had my Lord not guided me, I would surely have been
among the astray lot.” Then, when he saw the sun rising, he said,
“This is my Lord! This is bigger!” But, when it set, he said, ‘O my
people, indeed I disown what you take as [His] partners.” Indeed,
I have turned my face toward Him who originated the heavens and
the earth (Q 6:76–79).
The Qur’an invited the light seekers to worship the Creator of

luminous objects instead of the objects themselves, stating, “Allah
is the Guardian of the faithful: He brings them out of darkness into
light” (Q 2:257).
Fatima said God removed darkness and brought light through the
Prophet’s teachings. The Qur’an lifted veils of ignorance from the
hearts to reveal the identity of the true deity, inviting those who wor-
shipped idols to contemplate a God who created them and not the gods
they fashioned. Frank Dobbins posits that idolatry originated when
humans found themselves in awe of the forces of nature. They made
objects and figures as representations of the invisible force and aids for
worship and devotion; thus, “gradually, the worship was transferred
to the object and withdrawn from the [deity] being represented.”39
39
Frank Stockton Dobbins, False Gods; or the Idol Worship of the World: A Complete
History of Idolatrous Worship Throughout the World, Ancient and Modern,
132
A Teacher Leader
Worship is often understood as an affair of the heart.40 The Qur’an

says that worship of false deities veils the heart from the truth:
“Have they not traveled over the land so that they may have hearts
by which they may apply reason, or ears by which they may hear?
Indeed, it is not the eyes that turn blind, but the hearts turn blind
– those that are in the breasts!” (Q 22:46). It argues that only in the
worship of the one God can ultimately find peace: “those who have
faith and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah.’ Look!
The hearts find rest in Allah’s remembrance!” (Q 13:28). Building
on verses such as these, Fatima remarked that God removed doubts
and insecurities from people’s hearts, guiding them from idol wor-
ship to monotheism through the prophet’s teachings.
Fatima described how the Prophet’s educational mission honed
the spiritual insights of those who denied God despite sensing an
unseen presence. The Qur’an consistently invites humans to pon-
der on God’s signs in the universe and within themselves: “In the
earth are signs for those who have conviction, and in your souls [as
well]. Will you not then perceive?” (Q 51:20,21). According to the
Qur’an, God is closer than humans imagine: “We [Allah] are nearer
to him than his jugular vein” (Q 50:16) and “and We are nearer to
him [a dying person] than you are, though you do not perceive”
(Q 56:85). Qur’anic teachings and Prophetic conduct informed and
nurtured spiritual perception so that God’s light could illuminate
hearts and minds.
Fatima’s word choice in classifying the three ideologies with the
Prophet’s pedagogical methods and objectives is noteworthy. He
“rose among people with guidance,” engaging those “standing in
seclusion around their sacred fire altars” by “illuminating the dark-
ness.” He “protected them [idol-worshippers] from perversion” by
Describing the Strange Beliefs, Practices, Superstitions, Temple, Idols, Shrine,

Sacrifices, Domestic Peculiarities, Etc., Etc., Connected Therewith (Philadelphia:
Hubbard Bros., Publishers, 1909), 58.
40
Ibid., v.
133
lifting “the ambivalence from their hearts.” Finally, he “removed

the obscurity from sights” of those who denied “the existence of
Allah despite their intrinsic knowledge of Him” by sharpening
“their vision from [spiritual] blindness.” She concluded that the
Prophet’s mission was to teach God’s firm religion and guide to
the straight path to His pleasure, a goal to which the Qur’an con-
sistently invites, stating, “So set your heart on the upright [firm]
religion, before there comes a day irrevocable from Allah” (Q 30:43)
and “Is he who walks prone on his face better guided, or he who
walks upright on a straight path?” (Q 67:22).
The sermon demonstrates her profound knowledge of the theo-
logical aspects of the Prophet’s pedagogy and her eloquence in sys-
tematically articulating her thoughts. Moreover, through her public
protest, Fatima was embodying the Prophet’s community-engaged
educational model by invoking Qur’anic verses and stirring social
consciousness to agitate the hegemony of the political authority and
seek justice for her cause. In doing so, she revealed her inheritance
of the Prophet’s transformational and pedagogical traits.
A Guardian Leader
The Qur’an posits guardianship (al-wilāyah) as a multi-faceted

leadership model, stating, “Your guardian [wali] is only Allah,
His Apostle, and the faithful who maintain the prayer and give the
zakat [charity] while bowing down [in prayer]” (Q 5:55). According
to Shirazi, wali refers to a leader who derives authority from serv-
ing as an educator, supporter, provider, and protector. The verse
describes God as the absolute Guardian who appointed the Prophet
as a guardian leader and, after him, those who give charity while
bowing in prayer (ruku‘).41 Besides being a spiritual educator, the
Prophet was an exemplary political leader.
41
134
A Guardian Leader
In her sermon, Fatima presented the Prophet as a merciful guard-

ian leader who led his people to good fortune through his courage
and integrity and freed them from spiritual deprivation, social mis-
ery, and political insecurities. She said,
He delivered the warnings and declared the message while dissoci-

ating from the ways of the polytheists, dismantling their suprem-
acy, grabbing their throats, crushing the idols, and disrupting their
leadership until their congregation dispersed and fled, chasing their
tails. The night gave way to the day, fallacies gave way to the truth,
and the leader of the religion spoke, silencing the prattling of the
devils. “And you were on the brink of a pit of Fire” (Q 3:103), [you
were] a mere gulp for the drinker, an opportunity for the covetous,
[you were] a flickering flame and a treading ground [for others].
You drank from every open drain and ate the discarded remains of
animals and vegetation. [You were] abased, submissive, “and fearful
lest the people [around you] should despoil you” (Q 8:26). So, Allah
rescued you through His messenger while you were afflicted by the
squabbles of the preying Arabs.42
Fatima drew a trajectory of the population from a pre-Islamic,

vulnerable, and submissive position to becoming a glorious and
triumphant nation of believers. First, she described the means and
ends of the Prophet’s political leadership and then summarized the
socio-political deprivation of pre-Islamic Arabia. Praising God for
this achievement, she acknowledged the Prophet’s dedicated and
divinely appointed leadership as guardian, messenger, warner, and
educator.43 He began his mission with integrity and without being
intimidated by the majority, “So proclaim what you have been
commanded, and turn away from the polytheists.” (Q 15:94)
Shirazi states that a public declaration of God’s message amidst
the seventh-century Arabian milieu was challenging and provoked
42
Ibn Tayfur, Balaghat al-Nisa, 24, 25.
43
The Qur’an also refers to the Prophet as a “manifest warner” (Q 15:89).
135
the unjust hegemony of the polytheistic system.44 He led by example

to transform individuals and communities. Emboldened by his faith
in God and confidence in his mission, the Prophet encouraged early
Muslims to stand firm in their beliefs in the face of harsh persecu-
tion. As a guardian leader, he deployed moral means in propagat-
ing God’s message. He warned people instead of threatening them,
which was the popular way of the Meccan chiefs. He empowered the
marginalized, and those discriminated against based on their tribes,
class, race, ethnicity, and gender by communicating Qur’anic teach-
ings, such as, “O [hu]mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male
and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify
yourselves with one another. Indeed, the noblest of you in the sight
of Allah is the most Godwary among you” (Q 49:13).
Fatima stated that his mission involved “dismantling their
supremacy, grabbing their throats, crushing the idols, and disrupt-
ing their leadership until their congregation dispersed and they fled
chasing their tails.”45 The Prophet preached peaceful religious coex-
istence, as the Qur’an states, “to you your religion, and to me, my
religion” (Q 109:2, 3, 6) and “our deeds belong to us, and your deeds
belong to you” (Q 28:55). However, the Meccans violently opposed
his message. When the persecution became unbearable, he directed
the Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia and, later, to Medina.
In Medina, the Prophet led an outnumbered yet motivated army
against a Meccan caravan returning from Syria, having traded off
the assets left behind by Muslims fleeing persecution. It was the first
battle of Islam, the “Battle of Badr,” wherein an army 313 Muslim
soldiers fought against a Meccan army of a 1,000 well-equipped sol-
diers.46 The Muslims gained a memorable victory and, through it,
the respect of neighboring tribes.47
44
45
46
Ayoub, Islam: Faith and History, 25.
47
The Qur’an states, “Certainly Allah helped you at Badr” (Q 3:123).
136
A Guardian Leader
A few years later, the Meccans conspired with Jewish tribes in

Medina to siege the city. After consulting the Muslims, the Prophet
chose his companion Salman’s suggestion of digging a trench
around the city to protect it from the impending attack. The bat-
tle came to be known as the “Battle of the Trench” or the “Battle
of the Confederates.”48 The Meccans were bewildered because they
had never encountered a trench before. The sudden change in the
weather did not make things easier for them.49 Unable to infiltrate
the trench, the Meccans fled, fearing the unpredictable elements
and their depleting supplies.
The following year, the Meccans proposed a truce, which the
Prophet accepted. However, the “Truce of Hudaibiyya,” as it is
known, was short-lived. Two years later, the Meccans breached
the truce by killing one of the Muslims’ allies. Consequently, the
Prophet led his armies toward Mecca, proclaiming that no harm
would come to its residents if they chose not to engage. Mecca
surrendered peacefully, and the Prophet crushed the idols inside
the Kaaba, reviving its monotheistic and Abrahamic founda-
tions. Bilal, the African companion, recited the adhān (Muslim
call to prayer) from the Kaaba’s roof, symbolizing the downfall
of the Meccan system of class and racial supremacy. Fatima suc-
cinctly summarized the history of early Muslims, highlighting the
Prophet’s role as a guardian political leader, striving to deliver
God’s message, unintimidated by the majority, until he led his
people to good fortune.
She described the transformative outcome of Islam and the
Prophet’s leadership as the dawning of a new day in Arabia, saying,
“the night gave way to the day, fallacies gave way to the truth.”50
Fatima’s metaphor describes the pre-Islamic era as the night which
48
Ayoub, Islam: Faith and History, 26.
49
The Qur’an documents the battle thus, “O you who have faith! Remember Allah’s
blessing upon you when the hosts came at you, and We sent against them a gale and
hosts whom you did not see” (Q 33:9).
50
137
ended with the declaration of the prophetic mission, which she

described as “the day.” The Qur’an’s teachings lifted the veils from
the minds and the hearts, discerning truth from falsehood with
much clarity. Fatima’s remarks resonate with the Qur’anic verse
that states, “truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Indeed,
falsehood is bound to vanish” (Q 17:81).
Fatima painted a grim picture of the cultural crudities, spiritual
vagaries, and political insecurities of pre-Islamic Arabia, known
as jāhiliyya (the Age of Ignorance).51 Referring to their unrefined
culinary etiquette, she said, “You drank from every open drain and
ate the discarded remains of animals and vegetation.”52 Al-Khoei
states that Meccans relied on small ponds and wells for their water.
When rainwater collected in the trenches of the desert landscape,
it formed ponds. Dust from gusty winds, the sun’s heat, and hot
air fissures made the pond water salty and bitter. Nomadic tribes
and traveling caravans drank from wells and washed in them
unhygienically.53
The typical food of pre-Islamic Arabs was meat cooked in water
and salt. They discovered butter after the Battle of Khyber in the
seventh year after the migration (hijrah). They ate desert reptiles
and dead carcasses of animals, sometimes devoured by beasts.54
Describing the food culture in pre-Islamic Arabia, David Waines
states that they ate congealed blood drawn from the veins of a liv-
ing camel. They also enjoyed eating the fat of the camel’s tail and of
its humps, “which they cut from the living animal.”55 Besides meat,
they ate wild vegetation and the fruit of thorny trees called arak.56
51
Jonathan P. Berkey, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East,
600–1800 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 39.
52
53
Al-Khoei, Minhaj al-Bara’a, Vol. 3:315, 316.
54
Ibid., Vol. 3:316.
55
David Waines, Food Culture and Health in Pre-Modern Muslim Societies (Leiden:
Brill, 2011), 111.
56
Ibid., 112.
138
A Guardian Leader
Through the teachings of the Qur’an, Muslims were guided to eat

clean, healthy, and ethically. The Qur’an states: “You are prohib-
ited carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and what has been offered
to other than Allah, and the animal strangled or beaten to death,
and that which dies by falling or is gored to death, and that which
is mangled by a beast of prey … and what is sacrificed on stone
altars [to idols], and that you should divide by raffling with arrows.
All that is transgression” (Q 5:3) and “O Children of Adam …
eat and drink, but do not waste; indeed, He does not like the
wasteful” (Q 7:31).
While describing the corrupt social practices and political inse-
curities of pre-Islamic Arabia, Fatima drew on the Qur’anic verse
which states, “And remember Allah’s blessing upon you when
you were enemies, then He brought your hearts together, so you
became brothers with His blessing, and you were on the brink of a
pit of Fire, whereat He saved you from it” (Q 3:103). In his exeget-
ical analysis of this verse, Shirazi states that, “on the brink of the
pit of Fire” is a reference to the spiritual and social injustices of the
pre-Islamic era. The “fire” denotes the harshness of their lifestyle
and the lack of spiritual ethics which would lead to the fiery abode
of Hell in the hereafter as well as the heat of the violent grudges
they bore against each other.57 Pre-Islamic Arabia was marked by
excessive fighting, pillaging, and cruel social practices. War had
become second nature, with family members killing each other at
the slightest provocations and fathers burying their daughters alive
because of the misconstrued shame associated with a female birth.
Al-Khoei states that when a woman was ready to give birth, a pit
was dug, and she was made to deliver in such a way that the child
would be born into the pit. If it were a female, the pit was covered
up, and she was buried alive; if it was a male, he was claimed and
celebrated.58 The Qur’an admonished this practice by stating that
57
58
Al-Khoei, Minhaj al-Bara’a, Vol. 3:317.
139
on the Day of Judgment, “the girl buried alive will be asked for
what sin she was killed” (Q 81:8, 9).
Besides socio-cultural drawbacks, pre-Islamic Arabia was also
marked by political insecurities due to the lack of an organized
government. Fatima highlighted this perilous predicament when
she said, “you were a mere gulp for the drinker, an opportunity for
the covetous, a flickering flame and a treading ground [for others].
[You were] abased, submissive, and fearful lest the people [around
you] should despoil you.”59 People were organized into tribes led by
their independent chiefs. When they were not fighting each other,
they formed temporary impromptu alliances. Bedouin tribes raided
settled people for camels, horses, women, and fabrics.
Along with the insecurities that came with internal fights and
raids, they were also constantly threatened by the wars between
Rome, Persia, and Yemen. Even though it did not constitute a
prized target for its wealth and resources, the Arabian Peninsula
comprised a strategic location for trade between major ports such
as Africa and Syria. They found themselves in a precarious and
vulnerable situation without an organized defense system. Sura
al-Fīl (Q 105) documents the Yemeni king’s attack on Mecca in the
year of the Prophet’s birth as an example of the threat of war from
neighboring cities.
Fatima reminded her audience that God rescued them from a
politically submissive and socially corrupt life through the trans-
formational leadership of the Prophet. They achieved glory as a
triumphant people due to the strength of God’s message and the
Prophet’s robust efforts and piety. Within two decades, Muslims
established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, replacing
their misfortune with prosperity. Fatima accredited this transfor-
mation to the Prophet’s authentic leadership, including educating,
mentoring, and keen concern for his people – a charismatic trait
she shared as a member of the Ahl al-Bayt.
59
140
The Prophet’s Successors
Divine investiture is the common strand that runs consistently

through Fatima’s description of the Prophet as God’s messenger,
divine educator, and guardian leader. She argued that since God is
the absolute guardian (Al-Wali, Q 5:55) who appointed the Prophet
as a guardian leader to transform communities, He should also
designate his successor. Making a theological case for divinely
appointed leadership, she argued for her family’s position, the Ahl
al-Bayt, as the Prophet’s authentic successors. Shariati emphasizes
this aspect of her argument, stating that Fadak was not just a debate
over ownership rights but undergirded a more complex politi-
cal agenda through which she claimed that the leadership of the
Muslim community belonged to Ali.60
As was her method throughout her sermon, Fatima built on
Qur’anic verses to define the unique characteristics of the Prophet
as a divine, charismatic, and transformational leader. Then, she
highlighted contributions made by her and Ali to the prophetic
mission, arguing that God ordained the Ahl al-Bayt’s leadership
and, in doing so, claiming not just her right to inherit but also her
right to lead. She said,
There has certainly come to you an apostle from among yourselves;

grievous to him is your distress; he has a deep concern for you and is
most kind and merciful to the faithful (Q 9:128). Should you recog-
nize him, you would find that he is my father, not the father of any
of you, and [you would find that] he is the brother of my cousin and
not [the brother of] any of your men.61
In this statement, she deployed the Qur’an (Q 9:128) to list the

unique characteristics of a divine guardian leader, impeccably
demonstrated in the Prophet’s leadership. She presented herself
60
Shariati, Fatima is Fatima, 116.
61
141
and Ali as inheritors of those traits through their proximity to the

Prophet and his mission. Commenting on Q 9:128, Shirazi sum-
marizes the key features of compassionate and effective leadership
manifested through the Prophet’s model as a guardian leader. The
first of these features is that he was a human being, appointed as
Prophet for all humanity. Shirazi remarks that the verse states that
he was an apostle “from among yourselves” and not “among you”
to demonstrate a leader’s ability to empathize with the challenges
faced by all human “selves.”62 The Prophet shared the hardships of
his people and did not distance himself from them. His house was
adjacent to the mosque for easy access in times of peace, and he
fought with the soldiers on the front lines during war. Al-Tabatabai
stresses that “yourselves” refers to all humankind regardless of race,
ethnicity, or religious and national affiliation.63 The Prophet was a
guardian leader (wali) appointed by the Guardian Creator (Wali)
for all humanity.
The second feature of a divinely appointed leader, according to Q
9:128, was that he was moved by the hardships of his people (“griev-
ous to him is your distress”). The people’s spiritual, physical, and
social challenges mattered to the Prophet and deeply impacted his
disposition.64 He invited them to God’s message for their better-
ment, tirelessly campaigned for their felicity in this world and after
death, patiently enduring the Meccans’ rebuke, who discounted his
call as the whims of a mere poet and associated his victories with
sorcery. He was with his people in all that troubled and distressed
them. In his leadership model, they would find support for the mar-
ginalized and upliftment of the weak.
The third feature of the compassionate leader was that “he [had]
has a deep concern for you [them].” (Q 9:128) Shirazi remarks that
harīsun alaykum denotes the Prophet’s enthusiastic eagerness to
62
63
Al-Tabatabai, Al-Mizan, Vol. 9:427.
64
Al-Ansari, Al-Lum‘a al-Baydha’, 590.
142
guide people in all aspects of their personal, religious, and social

lives. What the Meccans initially perceived to be a threat against their
status quo and their established way of life was a code of practice for
social justice and equity.65 He passionately called for securing the
interests of the deprived factions of society. While the Meccans saw
this as a disruption of their peace, he assured them that they would
also find tranquility and harmony in answering God’s call.
The fourth and fifth features are God’s attributes, which the
Prophet manifested. Q 9:128 describes the Prophet as “ra’ūf and
raḥīm (most kind and merciful).” Shirazi states that in instances
where ra’ūf and raḥīm appear separately, it is safe to assume that
they generally imply compassion. However, in instances where
they appear together, as in Q 9:128, their meanings are nuanced.
Ra’ūf (most kind) implies kindness toward those who demonstrate
adherence and obedience to the prescribed law, while raḥīm (mer-
ciful) implies forbearance and forgiveness toward those who seek
to repent after acts of disobedience.66 As both ra’ūf and raḥīm, the
Prophet practiced mercy toward all.
Fatima drew upon Q 9:128 to describe the Prophet’s traits as a
guardian leader of humanity, who empathized with their hardships,
strove eagerly for their good, and reciprocated kindly toward their
compliance and mercifully toward their repentance. She claimed to
be his heir, demonstrating his unique guardian leadership model
through her protest. She stood before the Muslims as one of their
own, reminding them of her close connection to the Prophet,
informing them of the confiscation of her property, eagerly soliciting
their support, and seeking justice for herself and all who depended
on the Fadak revenue. If Muslims truly comprehended the Prophet’s
characteristics, they would realize that he was her father and “not the
father of any of you [them]” and that he was Ali’s cousin and “not
[the brother of] any of your [their] men.” She continued,
65
66
Ibid., 169.
143
Every time they ignite the flames of war, [Allah] puts them out”
(Q 5:64). Whenever the horn of vanity appeared, and the deception
of the polytheists emerged, he [the Prophet] would dispatch Ali into
its abyss, and who would not return until he had crushed their ears
under his feet and extinguished their blaze with his blade, untir-
ing in his struggles for the sake of Allah, desiring proximity with
the Messenger of Allah. He [Ali] was a leader among the friends of
Allah while you were in abundant wealth, well-settled, and secure.67
Fatima described Ali’s gallant performances on the battlefield

and his charitable conduct in society. He stood by the Prophet,
who commissioned him each time Muslims’ security was threat-
ened. In the Battle of Badr, he destroyed eminent Meccan chiefs
closely related to Abu Sufyan, a sworn enemy of the Muslims.
While most Muslims abandoned the battlefield in the Battle of
Uhud, Ali remained behind with a handful of companions to
protect the Prophet. During the Battle of Khyber, Muslim armies
failed at several attempts to infiltrate the enemy’s fortress, retreat-
ing each time against the onslaught of their giants. The Prophet
exclaimed, “Tomorrow, I shall hand the standard to a man who
loves Allah and His Prophet and who is loved by Allah and His
Prophet.”68 The next day he called for Ali, who had been suffer-
ing from an eye ailment. He charged toward the fortress with the
Prophet’s blessings, fighting their warriors only after they had
declined his invitation to stand down. He pulled apart the fort’s
gate, granting access to the Muslim armies and securing a signifi-
cant victory for Islam.
Fatima presented Ali as the leader of God’s friends, stressing
that he worked solely for the pleasure of God and His Messenger,
maintaining sincerity of intentions in the most critical moments
of war. During the Battle of the Trench, a Meccan warrior, Amr
67
68
Muhammad bin Jarir al-Tabari, Ta’rikh al-Umam w-al-Muluk (Beirut: Mu’assat
al-‘Alami li-l-Matbu’at, 1983), Vol. 2:300, 301.
144
bin Abd Wadd managed to cross the trench and provoked the
Muslims to bring forth their heroes to fight him. Ali responded
to his daring call after seeking the Prophet’s permission. As he
walked toward Amr, the Prophet declared, “All of belief has
emerged against all of infidelity,” reciting a supplicatory Qur’anic
verse, “My Lord! Do not leave me without an heir, and You are
the best of inheritors”69 (Q 21:89). Ali quickly subdued Amr who
spat on his face out of frustration. At that moment, Ali let him
go, strolled around for some time, and then returned to strike a
blow that killed Amr. When asked why he stalled, Ali replied that
he wanted to strike only for God’s sake and not out of a personal
grudge, and he needed that time to focus on the sincerity of his
intentions and actions.
Omid Safi posits that Ali’s refraining from an enraged final
blow to his pagan opponent demonstrates the critical distinction
between conscious striving for God and the uncontrollable mad-
ness for power. Drawing on Rumi’s poetic rendition of the combat
between Ali and Amr, he states, “What Rumi is revealing is that the
real measure of power is neither about brute force, nor about the
ability to lift mountainous weights, but rather the ability to control
one’s rageful impulses.”70 Referring to Ali as a “realized human,”
Safi iterates that spirituality is more about disciplining passions
rather than dismissing them.
The Prophet applauded Ali’s courage in subduing Amr, stating,
“It [Ali’s strike] is better than the good deeds of all my people till
the Day of Judgement.”71 This statement, as well as the Prophet’s
previous statement bidding Ali to confront Amr (“All of belief has
emerged against all of infidelity”), demonstrates the Prophet’s pro-
found appreciation of Ali’s contribution to Islam and Muslims and
69
Abul Fath al-Karajiki, Kanz al-Fawa’id (Beirut: Dar al-Adhwa’, 1985), Vol. 1:297.
70
Omid Safi, “Sheath Your Sword: The Man Who Spat on Saint Ali,” in On Being
published March 26, 2015. https://onbeing.org/blog/sheath-your-sword-the-man-
who-spat-on-saint-ali/.
71
Al-Haakim al-Nishapouri, al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn, Vol. 5:184.
145
recognition of his unflinching faith in God and his dedication to

the Prophetic mission. The Battle of the Trench was an extreme
test of the Muslims’ faith and eagerness to support the Prophet.
Describing their nervousness and anxiety, the Qur’an states,
When they came at you from above and below you, and when the
eyes rolled [with fear], and the hearts leapt to the throats, and you
entertained misgivings about Allah, it was there that the faithful
were tested and jolted with a severe agitation. And when the hyp-
ocrites were saying, as well as those in whose hearts is a sickness,
‘Allah and His Apostle did not promise us [anything] except delu-
sion.’ And when a group of them [hypocrites] said, ‘O people of
Yathrib! [This is] not a place for you, so go back!’ And a group
of them sought the Prophet’s permission, saying, ‘Our homes lie
exposed [to the enemy],’ although they were not exposed. They only
sought to flee. (Q 33:10–13)
In his commentary, Shirazi states that while some Muslims were

finding excuses to flee the combat and others were trying to dis-
courage each other by planting doubts in their minds, the pagan
warrior Amr managed to infiltrate the trench. He provoked the
Muslims to fight with him. None, but Ali responded.72 In doing
so, he defended the values of faith that the Muslims doubted at
that moment. Thus, the Prophet referred to Ali as “all of belief.”
Ali’s strike on that day protected demonstrated spiritual restraint
and sincerity of intentions. Amr’s sister commended Ali’s decency
when she noticed that her brother’s corpse was not stripped nor
mutilated, unlike the norms of the time. She said, “If Amr were
killed by someone other [than Ali], I would have wept for him
till my soul would not have remained in my body, but a mag-
nanimous person killed him.”73 In her sermon, Fatima said that
Ali was “untiring in his struggles for the sake of Allah, desiring
72
Shirazi, Tafsir Namuneh, Vol. 17:220, 221.
73
Ibid., 33.
146
proximity with the Messenger of Allah.”74 Besides distinguishing

himself as a warrior, Ali supported Fatima in caring for Medina’s
orphans and needy.75
As divinely appointed guardian leaders, prophets work to uphold
justice and equity. The Qur’an states, “Certainly, We sent Our
apostles with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the
Book and the Balance, so that [hu]mankind may maintain justice”
(Q 57:25). According to Fatima, God does not condone a leadership
that oppressed minorities. Drawing on Q 2:124, which states, “My
pledge [of leadership] does not extend to the unjust,” she argued that
justice was a significant feature of an “Imam,” divinely appointed to
unite people. She said, “God ordained adl (justice) to bring devout-
ness [harmony] to hearts, obedience to us [Ahl al-Bayt] to secure
order for the nation, our leadership [Imamate] to secure the com-
munity from disunity, and love for us to strengthen Islam.”76
Fatima’s words resonated with Qur’anic verses, such as, “Say, ‘I
do not ask you any reward for it [the Prophet’s service] except the
love of [my] relatives [qurba]’” (Q 42:23). The thirteenth-century
exegete, Muhammad al-Qurtubi states that when the Prophet was
asked about his close relatives [qurba], he said they were Fatima,
Ali, and their children.77 In his commentary, the twelfth-century
theologian Fakhruddin al-Razi reports that the Prophet said,
The one who dies in the love of the progeny of Muhammad (S)
dies a martyr. Nay, the one who dies in the love of the progeny of
Muhammad (S) dies forgiven. Nay, the one who dies in the love of
74
75
Ali’s charity reserved him a mention among the abrār (pious) folk in the Qur’an
alongside Fatima and their children. See the first chapter of this book in the context
of the revelation of Q 76:8,9 which states, “They give food, for the love of Him, to the
needy, the orphan and the prisoner, [saying,] ‘We feed you only for the sake of Allah.
We do not want any reward from you nor any thanks.’”
76
77
Muhammad al-Qurtubi, Jami‘ li Ahkam al-Qur’an: Tafsir Qurtubi (Karachi: Dhiya
al-Qur’an Publishing, 2012), Vol. 8:415.
147
the progeny of Muhammad (S) dies repentant. Nay, the one who
dies in the love of the progeny of Muhammad (S) dies believing in
the most perfected faith. Nay, the one who dies in the love of the
progeny of Muhammad (S) will be given glad tidings of Paradise by
the angel of death and Munkar and Nakir [names of angels whom
Muslims believe will question the deceased person in their grave
about their faith]. Nay, the one who dies in the love of the progeny
of Muhammad (S) will be taken to Paradise in a procession like the
procession in which a bride is taken to her groom. Nay, the one
who dies in the love of the progeny of Muhammad (S) will have two
doors to Paradise opened for them in the grave. Nay, the one who
dies in the love of the progeny of Muhammad (S), God will deem
their grave a shrine for the angels of mercy. Nay, the one who dies
in the love of the progeny of Muhammad (S) dies on the tradition
and among the jama‘a [group of Muslims].78
Al-Razi quotes this hadith at length, describing the misfortune

of dying without the love of the Ahl al-Bayt, the progeny of the
Prophet. He concludes that only the closest to the Prophet in lineage
and mannerism could furnish the Muslims with the most accurate
account of his affairs, and those could be none other than Fatima,
Ali, and their children. He then draws on Q 3:31, which states, “Say
[O Muhammad (S)], ‘If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will
love you and forgive you, your sins’” to posit that love for the Ahl
al-Bayt is a divine decree binding upon the believers.79
Fatima argued that the Prophet repeatedly declared his love
for the Ahl al-Bayt and that they were his divinely chosen succes-
sors.80 She referred to the Prophet’s “sermon of Ghadeer” deliv-
ered while returning from Hajj the tenth year after the migration.
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal reports in his al-Musnad that the Prophet
78
Muhammad Fakhruddin al-Razi, Tafsir al-Kabir: Mafatih al-Ghayb: Tafsir Al-Razi
(Beirut: Dar al-Faker li Tiba’at wa-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawdhi’, 1981), Vol. 27:167.
79
Al-Razi, Tafsir al-Kabir, Vol. 27:167.
80
See Chapter 1 of this book.
148
stopped at a place called Ghadeer, held Ali by the hand, and said,
“O people! Do you not know that I have more authority over the
believers than they have over themselves [Q 33:6]?” They said,
“Certainly!” The Prophet said, “Then, of whosoever, I am maula
(guardian), this Ali is maula.”81 Shirazi states that no sooner had
the Prophet made this declaration than God revealed, “Today the
faithless have despaired of your religion. So do not fear them, but
fear Me. Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have
completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as
your religion”82 (Q 5:3).
Even though most scholars consider the hadith of Ghadeer mut-
awātir (unanimous), the meaning of “maula” is highly contested.
Shi‘i scholars iterate that maula is a guardian leader, while Sunni
scholars insist that it means supporter or friend. The details of this
debate are beyond the scope and nature of this book.83 Nonetheless,
it suffices to say that Fatima drew on several Prophetic traditions
to argue that the love and leadership of the Ahl al-Bayt were bind-
ing on Muslims because of their unmatched biological, intellectual,
and ethical proximity to the Prophet and his conduct. Her house
was the sanctuary and refuge for the denied and the destitute. As
mentioned in Chapter 1, her family had demonstrated deep care
for the community by giving away their daily bread. Much like the
Prophet’s traits of ra’ūf and raḥīm, “their names were synonymous
with mercy and love” for the Muslims.84
In her sermon, she was campaigning for her family’s divinely
ordained guardian leadership (Imamate) against the opportunist
power-driven caliphate. She argued that Ahl al-Bayt’s commit-
ment to justice and compassion would unite the people’s hearts
81
Imam Ahmad bin Muhamad bin Hanbal, Al-Musnad (Cairo: Dar al-Hadith, 1995),
Vol. 14:430. (hadith#19175).
82
83
For a broad overview of the Qur’anic implications of the status of prophets’ families,
see Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad, 6–18.
84
Abbas, The Prophet’s Heir, 58.
149
and protect them from falling apart into factions and sects. She
claimed that the current caliphate failed to serve justice to the
Prophet’s sole surviving child who stood before them arguing for
her right to inherit.
A Metaphor for Servant Leadership
Within academic research, the concept of servant leadership first

emerged in the works of the late-twentieth-century scholar Robert
K. Greenleaf who described servant leaders as those who “put fol-
lowers first.”85 They are ethical leaders who “demonstrate strong
moral behavior,”86 and empathize with the people, and focus on
nurturing and empowering them to achieve their best potential.
In her sermon, Fatima posited the metaphor of a desert caravan
to explain the concept of servant leadership long before the coining
of the term by Greenleaf.87 Her metaphor resonated with Arabs’
lived experiences. She said,
By Allah, had they deterred each other from seizing the reigns (of
the camel) which Allah’s Messenger had entrusted to him [Ali],
he would have led the caravan beautifully, neither letting the
insects bother the ride nor letting the rider be jolted, delivering
them to a thirst-quenching and gushing spring with overflowing
banks. The caravan would have been satisfied with him pursuing
more irrigated lands that were not obvious to them. They would
have been emboldened by his brilliant actions, his eradicating the
face of hunger, and by the opening of the blessings of the heavens
upon them.88
85
Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, 348.
86
Ibid., 349.
87
Greenleaf credited his inspiration to the 1956 novel The Journey to the East by
Hermann Hesse. Ibid., 350.
88
150
A Metaphor for Servant Leadership
Servant leaders have been described as altruistic, empower-

ing, and committed to the thriving of their followers.89 Fatima
depicted what servant leadership would have looked like if Ali had
been allowed to hold the reins of government. According to her, a
service-based people-focused leadership would have ensured secu-
rity, comfort, a plentitude of opportunities for all, effective deploy-
ment of resources, and expert guidance toward abundance. She
described Ali as a leader who would protect the government from
parasites that derail it and, in doing so, would grant sufficiency and
satisfaction to the people. He would guide them to new and abun-
dant resources.
As a transformative leader, the Prophet possessed charismatic
traits understood to be “superhuman or exceptional powers and
reserved for a few, of divine origin.”90 In her sermon, Fatima
described the unique characteristics of the Prophet as a divinely
guided and just leader. She then argued that leadership (al-wilaya)
belonged to the Ahl al-Bayt, the closest inheritors of the Prophet’s
traits who would serve justice as guardians, and that the caliphate
she stood against was acutely different from the servant leadership
she imagined and described. She accused the caliphate of seizing
a position not meant for them and confiscating assets that did not
belong to them through that ill-gotten power. She called out its
power-driven oppression: “you claimed (branded) a camel that was
not yours and brought it to a watering hole that did not belong
to you.”91
She warned the Muslims that their inaction against an opportun-
ist authority would deprive them of a prosperous future and make
them susceptible to unrest and strife. She said, “now that you have
molested (impregnated) her (the camel), then wait till she brings
forth her yield. You will then see that your milking pots would fill
89
Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, 366–368.
90
Ibid., 266.
91
151
up with blood and lethal venom.”92 Fatima described power-driven

leadership as a kind of molestation of authority and the people’s
trust; if the people remained silent, then both the leaders and the
followers would be ruined. By protesting publicly, Fatima was
doing her part in opposing the government, setting an example for
minorities to come.
It is important to note that Fatima’s metaphor for a service-based
leadership model reinforces her argument for her family’s eligibility
and acumen for just leadership and makes space for the acknowledg-
ment and appreciation of contributions made to a thriving society by
minorities of gender and class. The labor of women in their roles as
mothers, partners, and community service providers, for example,
often goes unnoticed and is rarely credited as leadership. In Fatima’s
protest, we see an example of how women who are articulate, knowl-
edgeable, and charismatic pose a challenge, even a threat, to male
power-driven leaders. Besides gendered minorities, other disad-
vantaged groups are also denied leadership opportunities despite
possessing the unique competency of relating to the challenges and
concerns of their constituents more deeply than leaders who rise to
power solely by their privileged access to education and opportunity.
Servant leaders embody and experience their community’s struggles
and can serve justice at the grassroots level. Fusing the dichotomous
functions of service and leadership into a single trait, the servant lead-
ership model recognizes the works of all classes of society as opposed
to a model of leadership that only recognizes influential male leaders
who often work for the interests of the elite within society.
Inheriting the Prophet’s Traits
In summation, Fatima deployed her religiosity and thorough

knowledge of the Qur’an to articulate a nuanced theological
92
Ibid., 33.
152
Inheriting the Prophet’s Traits
conception of prophethood as a vital tenet of the Islamic faith. She

portrayed the Prophet as an educator and guardian, whose selfless
leadership and service-oriented approach had transformed the reli-
gious and social landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia. Over the course of
twenty-three years, his charisma and care had turned a community
that was largely bewildered and marked by brutality into a trium-
phant nation.
Fatima argued that divine guardianship was a people-centered
model of leadership that prioritized service over power. Using the
metaphor of the leader of a desert caravan, she iterated that the
Prophet’s service-based leadership that could not be succeeded
by a power-driven model. Drawing on the Qur’an and hadith, she
contended that she and her family, the Ahl al-Bayt, had inherited
the Prophet’s qualities of justice, mercy, and servant leadership,
and were, therefore, the natural successors to his divinely chosen
leadership, knowledge, and charisma. she claimed that she and her
family inherited the Prophet’s traits. Through her sermon, Fatima
asserted her right to the land of Fadak and her family’s claim to
succession to the Prophet.
The debate over succession to the Prophet Muhammad (S) was
a contentious issue and Fatima’s sermon was a significant moment
in that discourse. By claiming her family’s right to leadership and
inheritance, Fatima challenged the power structures of the time.
Her sophisticated theological argumentation offers valuable insight
on debates about Islamic leadership, succession, and governance.
Her argument for service-based leadership and her emphasis on the
importance of knowledge and education also resonates with con-
temporary discussions on leadership and governance. In this way,
Fatima’s sermon continues to be relevant and impactful not only
for the history of Islam but for broader conversations on social and
political justice.
153
5 Fatima Inspires Social Justice
Fatima (al-Zahra) is a role model for Shi‘a Muslim women because she
courageously represents resistance and justice as well as familial and
community love….Shi‘a women find authority, agency, and empow-
erment, particularly in times of oppression, by modeling the behavior
of Fatima.
—Bridget Blomfield
As elaborated earlier in this book, Fatima is an inextricable part

of Islamic history. Historical, exegetical, and mystical Islamic
literature depict her virtues, her dynamic role in questioning
socio-cultural prejudice, and her contributions to Islamic spirit-
uality. The dispute over her lands in Fadak has been framed and
understood in a multilayered context that includes historical,
social, gendered, symbolic, and theological perspectives. Her ser-
mon protesting the usurpation of her inheritance is rich in the-
ological content and methodology, revealing a seventh-century
model of women’s theology, a female theologian’s insight into
service-based leadership, and her impact on her immediate com-
munity and future societies.
In this chapter, I focus on how one woman’s struggle against
oppression became a movement for the pursuit of social justice.
Fatima’s justice-seeking spirit molded the extraordinary char-
acter of her children and informed the religious, political, and
social aspects of the lived experiences of Shi‘a around the world.
She empowered the women of her time, and her legacy inspires
recent female scholar-activists. Her unique articulation of Islamic
154
Fatima’s Children
theological themes and deployment of Qur’anic methodology

resonates with contemporary female Muslim scholarship and fem-
inist theology.
Fatima’s Children
The most exemplary manifestations of Fatima’s legacy are her chil-

dren, including the eleven generations of Imams in her lineage.
Despite the challenges of being a religious minority, they remained
steadfast and unintimidated by the majority. Hasan, Hussain,
Zainab, and Umm Kulthum were between the ages of nine and
four when they witnessed their mother’s protest, her lamentations
at the Prophet’s grave, her sermon, and her secret burial. Fatima
made a lasting impact on their lives. Hasan and Hussain were
included in the verse of abrār because they gave their bread away
to the orphan, the needy, and the captive. They accompanied their
parents, Fatima and Ali, and their grandfather, the Prophet, in the
event of mubāhala.
After Ali’s assassination in 661 CE, Hasan became the sec-
ond Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a. He spent his Imamate defending
Muslim minorities from Umayyad persecution until he was poi-
soned in 670 CE.1 Hussain, the third Shi‘i Imam, came to be known
as the “Chief of Martyrs” for his epic stand for justice against the
Umayyad caliph Yazid. Hussain’s hundred or so supporters, includ-
ing women and young children, were heavily outnumbered by
Yazid’s 1,000s of well-equipped soldiers. Like his mother, Hussain
remained undaunted by numbers in his fight against oppression.
He was killed in Karbala in 680 CE on the tenth day of Muharram,
commemorated across the world in Shi‘a communities as Ashura
(the tenth).
1
Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad fi Ma‘rifat Hujajillah ‘ala-l-‘Ibad (Beirut: Mu’assassat Aal
al-Bayt li Ihya al-Turath, 1995), Vol. 2:16.
155
Fatima Inspires Social Justice
Referring to Ashura as an “orientation, a way of walking through

life,”2 Clohessy focuses on the significant role Fatima’s daughter,
Zainab, played in the battle of Karbala and the period after that.
Following her mother’s footsteps, Zainab delivered a memorable
sermon in the court of Yazid, where she and the other women
and children were brought captive, bound in chains. Unabated by
Yazid’s rebuke for the killing of her menfolk and the capture of the
women and children, she spoke bravely in a male-dominated audi-
ence comprising Muslims and foreign delegates. She said, “Scheme
and strive as much as you will, but I swear by God, you will not
be able to erase [from the annals of human history] our narrative
[of the justice that we stood for].”3 The sermon of Zainab resonates
with the sermon of Fatima in as much as both women represented
oppressed minorities who courageously spoke truth to the political
powers of their time. They both deployed Qur’anic methodologies4
and drew upon their religiosity to seek justice for the persecuted.
Referring to his biographical work on Zainab as an attempt to
“explore a ‘Zaynabian’ theology and spirituality,”5 Clohessy empha-
sizes the need for an exhaustive study of the sermon of Zainab.
After Ashura, the Imams in Fatima’s lineage came under strict
government scrutiny and surveillance. Nonetheless, they dissemi-
nated knowledge of the Qur’an and hadith in the spirit of Fatima.
Imam al-Sajjad, the fourth Shi‘i Imam, left a collection of supplica-
tions known as Sahifat Sajjadia (Scroll of Sajjad) and a treatise on
reciprocal human rights Risalatal Huquq (Treatise of Rights). The
fifth Shi‘i Imam, Imam al-Baqir, established centers of academic
learning6 which became advanced schools of Islamic jurisprudence
by the time of the sixth Shi‘i Imam, Imam al-Sadiq. Prominent
2
Christopher Clohessy, Half of My Heart: The Narratives of Zaynab, Daughter of ‘Alī
(New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2018), 3.
3
Al-Musawi, Khutbat Sayyidat al-Bayt al-Nabawiyy, 271.
4
Ibid., 62.
5
Clohessy, Half of My Heart, 1–14.
6
Jawadi, Nuqush-e-Ismat, 407, 408.
156
Fatima’s Children
Muslim jurists such as Imam Abu Hanifa were students of Imam

al-Sadiq.7 The Jafari school of jurisprudence survived the Umayyad
political and academic sanctions from mainstream Sunni authori-
ties and flourished among the Shi‘a.
After assuming power in the late eighth century, the Abbasid cali-
phate strategically displaced the Shi‘i Imams from their ancestral
home in Medina, perhaps to disperse their concentrations and dis-
suade their popularity. The seventh Shi‘i Imam, Imam al-Kazim, was
imprisoned in Baghdad for a long time and eventually died there.8
His successor Imam al-Reza was summoned to Persia, and his grave
is in Iran. The subsequent three Imams were moved to Samarra in
northern Iraq, a city known for its anti-Shi‘a sentiments. They spent
most of their lives imprisoned by the Abbasid caliphs for fear of
the advent of the twelfth Shi‘i Imam, the Mahdi. Hadith literature
prophesies the coming of the Mahdi and the return of Jesus to rid
the world of injustice and oppression and “fill [it] with justice and
equity.”9 According to the Shi‘i tradition, the Mahdi is the awaited
savior of humanity, the twelfth and final Imam from the Prophet’s
descendants in Fatima’s lineage, and is often fondly referred to as the
missing Yusuf of Zahra (Yusuf-e-Zahra).10 Fatima’s sons, the eleven
Imams, and her daughter Zainab represent Fatima’s legacy and form
a significant aspect of Shi‘i faith, identity, and practice.
Despite being stripped of official leadership and access to com-
munity pulpits, Fatima’s children continued to wield a charismatic
7
Ibid., 433.
8
Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad, Vol. 2:230.
9
Tabasi, An Overview of the Mahdi’s Government, 25.
10
Zahra is one of the Fatima’s epithets as mentioned in Chapter 1. Yusuf-e-Zahra
connects the long occultation of the Mahdi to the Qur’anic narrative of Jacob and
Joseph. Q 12 of the Qur’an states that Jacob spend years waiting to reunite with
Joseph. Like Jacob patiently held on to his conviction that Joseph would return.
Fatima too longs for the coming of the Mahdi to complete the call for justice
she initiated. Shi‘a fondly refer to the Mahdi as the Joseph of Fatima and often
name their institutions and events as Yusuf-e-Zahra. See, for example, https://
madrasahonline.org/madrasahs/madrasah-yusuf-e-zahra-atfs/.
157
“gravitational pull and charming energy.”11 Their knowledge, spirit-

uality, and service to the community carved a formidable place for
them in the hearts of Muslims, “making them too attractive for any-
one to ignore.”12 Fatima and her children left a deep impression
on their followers, who strove to embody her legacy, subsequently
shaping their religious, social, and political identities. The following
section examines a few examples of Shi‘i rituals, commemorations,
and activism inspired by Fatima.
Shi‘a Lived Experience
Fatima plays a crucial role in forming Shi‘i doctrine, identity, and reli-
gious practice. Her physical and metaphysical virtues, suffering, and
protest are commemorated through ritual practices at sacred times
and in sacred spaces within the Shi‘a community. Bridget Blomfield
studied the God-centric choices of Shi‘a women and men from diverse
geographical locations and cultures during her five-year research on
women’s religious and mystical practices in a Shi‘a Muslim com-
munity in Southern California. The Iraqi Shi‘a commonly referred
to Fatima as an embodiment of Mary’s sanctity, the Shi‘a from Iran
revered her as a pure divine mediator between the heavens and the
earth, and the Pakistani Shi‘a fondly referred to her as their mother.13
In her ethnographic study of Shi‘a ritual and religious practices
in India, Diane D’Souza remarks that in Shi‘i literature, Fatima
is depicted as “passionate, devoted, and furiously loyal to the
Prophet”14 and hence plays a foundational role in Shi‘i thought and
institution. Shi‘a communities hold Fatima as a spiritual mother
11
Abbas, The Prophet’s Heir, 169.
12
Ibid., 173.
13
Bridget Blomfield, The Language of Tears: My Journey into the World of Shi’i Muslim
Women (Ashland: White Cloud Press, 2015), 22, 23.
14
Diane D’Souza, Partners of Zainab, A Gendered Perspective of Shi‘a Muslim Faith
(Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2014), 18.
158
Shi‘a Lived Experience
who informs their identity, religious practices, and sacred spaces.

Let’s look at a few examples of how Fatima’s legacy is woven into
the Shi‘a lived experiences.
In solidarity with their reverence for the Ahl al-Bayt, Shi‘a world-
wide celebrate Fatima’s birth anniversary as an annual religious
ceremony. In Iran, it is designated National Women’s and Mother’s
Day, honoring the mothers of their community.15 In doing so, they
project a symbolic affiliation to Fatima as the spiritual mother of the
lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt. While millions of Shi‘a trace their biolog-
ical lineage to the Prophet through Fatima, claiming the honorific
title of sayyid (pl. sādāt), others identify as her spiritual children,
given her pivotal role in their faith and practice.
Another Shi‘a religious ceremony, Fatimiyya, is a lamenting
ritual commemorating Fatima’s death anniversary, during which
Shi‘a communities revisit the saga of Fadak and the sermon of
Fatima. The Fatimiyya comprises a series of lectures, poetry, and
workshops that last from three to ten days and address historical
and contemporary issues faced by the Shi‘a. These ceremonies are
held in Shi‘a mosques and community centers, traditionally known
as husayniyya. Although the Fatimiyya rituals are equally led and
attended by women and men, the sermons and discussions revolve
around the status of women in Islam and the challenges women
face in their personal and social lives.
As Shi‘a diasporic communities spread around the world, mainly
fleeing political unrest and migrating for education and commerce,
they continued their rituals and commemorations by forming
groups and centers. One such group, the Khoja, mainly comprises
Shi‘a from South Asia and Africa. Their ancestors converted from
being Hindu to Ismaili and then to Twelver Shiism.16 The Khoja
15
“Muslims Celebrate Birth Anniversary of Role-model for Pious Women,” The Iran
Project, accessed May 10, 2018, https://theiranproject.com/blog/2017/03/19/muslims-
celebrate-birth-anniversary-role-model-pious-women/.
16
Liyakat Takim, History of Imami Khojas, accessed May 5, 2018, http://khojapedia
.com/wiki/index.php?title=History_of_Imami_Khojas_by_Liyakat_Takim.
159
migrants to England formed the World Federation of Khoja Shi‘a

Ithna-Asheri (Twelver) Muslim Communities (KSIMC) in 1976 to
meet the needs of their growing population in the West.17
In 2015, on Fatima’s birth anniversary, the KSIMC launched the
“Fatima Inspires” program to honor the women of the community
whose contributions often go unrecognized.18 Upholding Fatima’s
legacy, the initiative invited community members to nominate
women who contributed to community work, academic achieve-
ments, leadership, and generosity. Nominee profiles are then
posted on the official website of the KSIMC and other social media
platforms to showcase Shi‘a women’s remarkable achievements.19
This initiative marks a proud moment for the community and con-
stitutes a humbling sense of appreciation for the nominees.20
The “Fatima Inspires” program celebrates the significant yet often
invisible efforts of leading women in the Khoja Shi‘a community.
Western societies often perceive visibly Muslim women as lacking
agency and misconstrue their God-centric conduct as being back-
ward, dismissing their academic and professional achievements
and active engagement in society because of their veiled appear-
ance. By uplifting women’s community leadership, initiatives such
as “Fatima Inspires” emphasize social recognition for all actors and
achievers. The “Fatima Inspires” incentive is another lived example
of Fatima’s inspirational legacy.
Besides impacting Shi‘a identity and community life, Fatima’s
theological insights shaped the experiences of the women of her
time. Her acute understanding of Qur’anic topics and unwavering
17
“History of the World Federation of KSIMC,” World Federation of KSIMC, accessed
May 5, 2018, http://world-federation.org/news/history-world-federation-ksimc.
18
“Fatima Inspires 2018,” World Federation of KSIMC, accessed May 6, 2018, www
.world-federation.org/fatimainspires.
19
Ibid.
20
I mention this from my personal experience as a nominee of this initiative’s
first year. See, “Fatima Inspires 2015,” World Federation of KSIMC, accessed
May 12, 2018, www.world-federation.org/news/fatima-sa-inspires-campaign-
nominations-11–20.
160
Muslim Women Then and Now
emulation of Qur’anic values continue to inspire Shi‘a women’s

theology and activism. In the following section, I explore the effect
of Fatima’s narrative on Muslim women, past and present.
Fatima’s values directly impacted the upbringing of her children,

shaped Shi‘a experiences, and had an inspirational influence on the
women of her society. Discrimination based on race, class, ethnicity,
and gender was an undeniable feature of pre-Islamic Arabian culture.
While the light-skinned male merchant class of Arab descent enjoyed
power and privilege, African slaves, non-Arab settlers, and women
were marginalized and often persecuted. The message of Islam
brought hope for ideological, social, and political reform, inspiring
the denied segments of Mecca to become change agents. Narratives
of female historical figures in the Qur’an, the Prophet’s mentoring,
and Fatima’s embodiment of both emboldened Muslim women.
What follows is an exploration of the lives of three women galvanized
by Fatima and the values she upheld: two seventh-century women,
Asma bint Umays and Fiḍdạ al-Nubiyya, and one twentieth-century
political and social activist, Amina al-Sadr.
Asma bint Umays (d. c. 39/660 ce)
As mentioned earlier, Asma was among the few brave women who
accompanied Fatima as witnesses when she appeared in front of
the caliphal authority to argue for her right to Fadak. Asma was
among Fatima’s confidants and remained by her side till the day she
died. Fatima adopted her suggestion of the Abyssinian-style funeral
casket, which continues to prevail in Muslim burial practices.
Furthermore, Asma and her husband had led the first migration
of Muslims to Abyssinia three years before the Medina migration.
161
Like Fatima, Asma was keen to address concerns about female rep-
resentation in the Qur’an and hadith. Here, I present two examples
from her life demonstrating her pursuit of justice and truth. Both
incidents occurred when she returned from Abyssinia.
Upon her arrival in Medina, Asma visited the Prophet’s wives
to inquire about revelation concerning women. Although most
Qur’anic verses address believers as a gender-inclusive group, the
masculine form is excessively used. The feminine form appears in
topics regarding specific women’s issues, such as menstruation,
divorce, and inheritance. From a female perspective, Asma won-
dered why there were no direct references to female audiences. As
an intelligent and outspoken woman, she first asked the Prophet’s
wives if any revelation had descended with a specific mention of
women. Then, she went to the Prophet to voice her concern, “Are
women at a loss?” she asked him. “Why do you ask?” replied the
Prophet. Asma continued, “Why is it that the Qur’an does not men-
tion women’s virtues as often as men’s?” Responding to her, God
revealed Q 33:35, which states,
Indeed the Muslim men and the Muslim women; the faithful men
and the faithful women; the obedient men and the obedient women;
the truthful men and the truthful women; the patient men and the
patient women; the humble men and the humble women; the char-
itable men and the charitable women; the men who fast and the
women who fast; the men who guard their private parts and the
women who guard [their private parts]; the men who remember
Allah greatly and the women who remember [Allah greatly] – Allah
holds in store for them forgiveness and a great reward.21
The above verse lists ten virtues highlighting doctrinal, ritual,

and moral equality between women and men, thus positing that
gender difference does not apply to human spirituality. Women
and men are equal when expressing their faith verbally, holding it
21
162
firmly in their hearts, and the physical practice thereof. It is impor-

tant to note that Asma’s conversation with the Prophet prompted
the revelation of this verse, demonstrating her agency in voicing
her concern about female representation in the Qur’an and center-
ing women’s mention in the historical context (asbāb al-nuzul) of
divine revelation.
The eighth-century biographer Muhammad Ibn Sa‘d, popularly
known as Ibn Sa‘d, reports another incident when Asma returned
from Abyssinia to Medina. She was confronted by Umar bin
al-Khattab, who rebukingly called out, “Hey, Abyssinian woman!
We beat you in migration.”22 Asma joined the Muslims in Medina
six years after their migration. The Prophet had instructed that
Muslim migrants remain in Abyssinia until he had established
himself in Medina. Nonetheless, Umar boasted supremacy over her
for the delayed migration. He called her “Abyssinian woman,” even
though she was of Arab descent and had migrated to Abyssinia upon
the Prophet’s directive. She replied with dignity, “You are right.
You accompanied the Prophet as he fed the hungry and educated
the ignorant among you while we were in exile. Rest assured; I will
take up this matter [the supremacy you claim] with the Prophet.”
Asma informed the Prophet of her awkward exchange with
Umar, questioning if it was right for him to name her “Abyssinian”
and to claim moral supremacy over those who had migrated
to Abyssinia. The Prophet declared, “As a matter of fact, you
[O Asma] have had the honor of two migrations, one to Abyssinia
and one to Medina.”23 This episode from Asma’s life resulted in a
hadith from the Prophet that documents his clarification of miscon-
strued supremacy, albeit in matters of religious virtue. Had it not been
for her critical analysis of Umar’s remark and seeking clarification
from the Prophet, the moral value of the Abyssinian migration would
not have surfaced. Left unquestioned, Umar’s view of the Abyssinian
22
Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqaat al-Kubra, Vol. 8:284.
23
Ibid., 285.
163
migrants would devalue their contribution to Islamic history. Asma

raised concern for female representation in the Qur’an and con-
tributed to critical thinking and deconstructing the false notions of
supremacy that still lingered in the minds of Muslims.
Fiḍḍa al-Nubiyya (d. c. 68/690 ce)
Another seventh-century woman who remained among Fatima’s

supporters was Fiḍḍa. Mukaddam and Bahishti state that she was a
princess from India who was enslaved and brought to Arabia, but
she is popularly known as Fiḍḍa, al-Nubiyya (the Nubian).24 The
Prophet freed her and sent her to Fatima’s house, where she lived
for the rest of her life. In her collection of biographies of female
transmitters of hadith, Nahleh Gharavi Naeeni describes her as
“Fatima’s student in training [who] accompanied her at all times.”25
Fiḍḍa’s close connection to the Ahl al-Bayt gave her a unique and
privileged insight into their lifestyle, profoundly impacting her
faith, piety, and support for justice and truth.
In Fatima’s house, Fiḍḍa encountered the theoretical aspects of
religion, which descended upon the Prophet as revelation, and the
practical aspects of faith that he and his Ahl al-Bayt immaculately
demonstrated. On several occasions, Fiḍḍa participated in the char-
itable actions of the family she served and thus shared the Qur’anic
accolade of abrār (Q 76). As Chapter 1 of this book mentions,
Fatima and her family fasted for three days, giving away their bread
to the needy, who called out for help as they sat down for iftar.
In his commentary, al-Tabatabai narrates that Fiḍḍa also fasted
for those three days and gave her bread just like the Ahl al-Bayt.26
Following Fatima’s footsteps awarded Fiḍḍa a place among the
abrār, portrayed as role models in the Qur’an.
24
Mukaddam, Fadha’il al-Zahra, 540. Behishti, Mithali Khawatin, 319.
25
Naeeni, Shi‘ah Women Transmitters of Hadith, 283.
26
Al-Tabatabai, Tafsir al-Mizan, Vol. 20:145.
164
Fiḍḍa matured in her spirituality and humanity under the tute-

lage of the Prophet and Fatima. The fifteenth-century Egyptian
scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani narrates that the Prophet taught her
a special supplication to assist with her chores. Fatima and Fiḍḍa
would share the daily tasks among themselves. One day Fatima
asked Fiḍḍa if she would prefer to knead dough or bake bread.
Fiḍḍa chose the latter and went to fetch wood. Realizing that she
could not carry it back to the house, she recited the supplication
taught to her by the Prophet. She said, “O One! There is no one like
Him. Everyone will die, and each one will perish while You are the
One on Your throne, ‘Neither drowsiness befalls Him nor sleep”’
(Q 2:255). Soon her prayers were answered as a person appeared
and offered to carry the wood to Fatima’s house.27
In her biographical work, the contemporary Muslim scholar
Fauzia al-Marzuq refers to the narrative mentioned earlier to high-
light the just system of Fatima’s house, where chores were shared
equitably with the household help.28 Such practice was rare in the
seventh century when most employees were enslaved and treated
harshly, with no rights to rest, repose, or worship. Arguably, subtle
forms of exploitation of labor and resources continue to exist in
modern-day society. Fatima’s conduct with Fiḍḍa was progressive
for her time and allowed Fiḍḍa the freedom to pursue her study of
the Qur’an and the time to worship. In Fatima’s home, Fiḍḍa found
expert Qur’an teachers and kind employers who made allowances
for her spiritual education and development.
Fiḍḍa used her free time to study and memorize the Qur’an until
a point in her life when she only conversed through Qur’anic verses.
Ibn Shahrashob narrates a tradition from Abul Qasim al-Qashiri in
which he states,
27
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub
al-Ilmiyya, 1995), Vol. 8:282.
28
Fauzia al-Marzuq, Nafahat min Hayat Fiḍḍa Khaadimat Fatima al-Zahra (Beirut:
Dar al-Ulum li-l-Tahqiq wa-l-Tiba’at wa-l-Nashr wa-l-Tauzi’, 2010), 38.
165
In one of my travels, I was separated from my caravan and found a

woman [by herself]. I asked her, “Who are you?” She replied, “Say,
‘Peace!’[salām] Soon they [you] will know” (Q 43:89). I greeted her
with salām and asked, “What are you doing here?” She replied,
“Whomever Allah guides, there is no one who can lead him astray”
(Q 39:37). [She was lost] I asked, “Are you from among the jinn
or from among the humans?” She replied, “O Children of Adam!
Put on your adornment” (Q 7:31). I asked, “Where are you coming
from?” She replied, “They are called from a distant place” (Q 41:44).
I asked, “Where are you headed?” She replied, “And it is the duty of
mankind toward Allah to make pilgrimage to the House” (Q 3:97). I
asked, “Since when have you been separated [from your caravan]?”
She replied, “Certainly, We created the heavens and the earth, and
whatever is between them in six days” (Q 50:38). I asked, “Would
you like something to eat?” She replied, “We did not make them
bodies that did not eat food” (Q 21:8). I offered her some food and
asked her to hasten [so we could catch up with the caravan]. She
said, “Allah does not task any soul beyond its capacity” (Q 2:286). I
got on my horse and extended my hand to her so she could ride with
me. She said, “Had there been gods in them other than Allah, they
would surely have fallen apart” (Q 21:22). I got off the horse and let
her ride. She said, “Immaculate is He who has disposed this for us”
(Q 43:13). When we approached the caravan, I asked, “Is there some-
one you know from this group?” She replied, “O David! Indeed, We
have made you a vicegerent on the earth (Q 38:26), ‘Muhammad is
but an apostle’ (Q 3:144), ‘O John! Hold on with power to the Book!’
(Q 19:12), ‘Moses! Indeed, I am Allah, the Lord of all the worlds!”
(Q 28:30). I called out the four names and saw four young men
approaching us. I asked her, “How are these men related to you?”
She replied, “Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of
the world” (Q 18:46). As the young men came to greet her, she said
to them, “Hire [compensate] him, Indeed the best you can hire is
a powerful and trustworthy man” (Q 28:26). They gathered some
gifts and presented them to me. She told them, “Allah enhances
166
severalfold whomever He wishes” (Q 2:261). So, they gave me more.

I asked them about her. They said, “This is our mother, Fiḍḍa, who
has served Fatima al-Zahra; upon her be peace. Since the last twenty
years, she has not conversed except by way of the Qur’an.”29
Besides gaining a wholesome spiritual education in Fatima’s

house, Fiḍḍa also learned lofty morals from the Ahl al-Bayt. She
witnessed the Prophet and Fatima strive for the upliftment of the
downtrodden and seek justice for the oppressed. After the Prophet,
Fiḍḍa was among the few who stayed loyal to the Ahl al-Bayt. In his
House of Sorrows, al-Qummi refers to a letter Umar bin al-Khatab
wrote to Muawiya bin Abu Sufyan describing the forceful entry into
Fatima’s house to arrest those who refused to pledge allegiance to
the government. According to al-Qummi’s account, Umar wrote
that when he knocked at Fatima’s door, Fiḍḍa answered. He told
her to tell Ali to come and pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr. She said
the Prince of Believers (Ali) was busy with the Qur’an.30 According
to al-Marzuq’s account, she also said, “The right [to lead] belongs
to him [Ali]. Be fair to yourselves and him.”31 The letter states that
Umar threatened to enter the house forcibly. Fatima intervened,
and what followed was the tragic event of the burning of her home,
according to some Shi‘a renditions.32 The assault on Fatima’s house
is much debated among Muslim scholars and is beyond the scope of
this book. Nonetheless, the narration earlier demonstrates Fiḍḍa’s
support for Fatima in her opposition to the caliphate.
After Fatima’s death, months after the Prophet’s burial, Fiḍḍa
continued to serve her family. After Ali’s assassination, she
served Imam Hasan and accompanied Imam Hussain to Karbala.
Following the tragic massacre in Karbala, Fiḍḍa remained with
Imam Hussain’s womenfolk and children as captives to be
29
Ibn Shahrashob, Al-Manaqib, Vol. 3:121, 122.
30
31
Al-Marzuq, Nafahat min Hayat Fiḍḍa, 70.
32
167
imprisoned in Syria. Throughout her life, she proudly identified

as Fatima’s servant and follower of the Ahl al-Bayt. Her suppli-
cations during the Hajj pilgrimage reflected her piety and affili-
ation with Fatima. Al-Majlisi narrates from Warqa bin Abdulla
al-Azdi who said,
I traveled to the House of God [Ka‘ba], seeking to be rewarded by

Allah, the Lord of the worlds. While circumambulating [around
the Ka‘ba], I saw an attractive, brown-skinned woman with pleas-
ant speech. Speaking with eloquence, she was saying, “Dear God,
Lord of the Sacred Ka‘ba, Guardian of the noble ones, the [well of]
Zamzam, the Station [of Abraham], and the grand Signs. O Lord
of Muhammad, the best of the creatures, peace be upon him and
his progeny, the noble, the pious, [I ask that You] raise me with
my pure masters and their children, the pride of the bright and the
righteous. I bear witness, O pilgrims assembled for Hajj and Umrah,
my masters are the best of the best, the choicest of the pious, those
whose ranks are higher, and their remembrance is elevated in all the
lands because they are resisters of the tyrants.” I asked this woman
if she was among the lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt. She said, “Precisely! I
am Fiḍḍa, the servant of Fatima al-Zahra, daughter of Muhammad,
the chosen; peace be upon her, her father, her husband, and her
children.”33
Al-Majlisi continues the narration until Warqa meets Fiḍḍa

after the Hajj and asks about Fatima’s affairs following her father’s
death. She shared details of Fadak and Fatima’s protest, becom-
ing a spokesperson for her cause. Fatima profoundly impacted
Fiḍḍa’s faith, spirituality, and piety insofar as Fiḍḍa’s words and
actions emanated her love for Fatima and her loyalty to the Ahl
al-Bayt. Nonetheless, premodern African Muslim women such
as Fiḍḍa remain in the peripheries of Islamic history, faith, piety,
and Qur’anic exegesis. Both Asma and Fiḍḍa were seventh-century
33
168
women inspired by Fatima and critically engaged with the Qur’an,

memorized it, and deployed female piety and theology to question
unjust socio-cultural norms. Similarly, Fatima continues to enrich
the lives of contemporary Muslim women.
Drawing on the case study of Yadgare Hussaini, the first
women-led Islamic center established in Hyderabad in 1946, D’Souza
stresses that the fundraising campaign pivoted on seeking spiritual
proximity to Fatima, “mistress of the worlds.”34 Yadgare Hussaini
serves as women’s sacred space for ritual practice. Years later, the
area extended to include constructing a school for women and a gal-
lery for miniature shrines and ritual artifacts. Similarly, Blomfield
states, “Fatima (al-Zahra) is a role model for Shi’a Muslim women
because she courageously represents resistance and justice as well as
familial and community love….Shi‘a women find authority, agency,
and empowerment, particularly in times of oppression, by modeling
the behavior of Fatima.”35 Let’s turn to the example of the 1970s Iraqi
political and cultural activist Amina al-Sadr.
Amina al-Sadr (d. 1980 ce)
Amina al-Sadr was a formidable voice in the Shi‘a resistance to

Iraq’s Baathist regime. Founded in 1943 in Syria, the Arab Baath
party propounded secular nationalist ideologies. In Iraq, Saddam
Hussein led the Baathist regime under an authoritarian rule that
instilled fear in the hearts of Iraqis. Writing on the struggles of Iraqi
activists, Joseph Sassoon highlights the subjugation of Shi‘i intellec-
tuals and their religious practices. Thirty-nine university students
suspected of their involvement in Shi‘a resistance were massacred.36
Participants of Shi‘a religious ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala,
34
Ibid., 63.
35
36
Joseph Sassoon, Saddam Hussein’s Ba’th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime (New
York: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 197.
169
such as the Thursday night visitations to shrines and Friday prayer

gatherings, were arrested and interrogated.37 The sādāt, who identi-
fied as Fatima’s lineage, came under strict scrutiny. Sassoon states,
“Because of anxieties about the power of Shi’i religious establish-
ments in Najaf and Karbala, the RCC [Revolutionary Command
Council] decided that anyone, apart from Saddam Hussein, who
claimed that his roots were from the family of Fatima and Ali,
would receive a seven-year term of imprisonment.”38
John Esposito states, “Shi’i activism directed from Najaf contrib-
uted to the opposition to the Communist threat in the 1960s and
the Baath regime since 1968.”39 Hizb al-Da‘wa al-Islamiyya (Islamic
Call Party) was formed by Shi‘i scholars in the late 1960s “to work
for social justice and foundation of an Islamic state.”40 During this
extreme hostility toward Shi‘i intellectual and religious heritage,
Amina al-Sadr and her brother Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr emerged
as a dyad in pursuing justice for the Shi‘a minority. Baqir al-Sadr
argued for an Islamic alternative to capitalism and Communism.
He deployed monotheism as a basis for modern politics, economy,
and philosophy and “made significant intellectual and conceptual
contributions to the contemporary Islamic revival.”41
Amina al-Sadr’s struggles are especially significant because
besides being a Shi‘i scholar-activist, she was also a woman in a
male-dominated arena. Born in a Shi‘a suburb of Baghdad in
1937, she received her education at home under the tutelage of
her brothers.42 Referring to her as a pioneer of Islamic feminist
thought in Iraq, Yasin T. al-Jibouri states that Amina al-Sadr
37
Ibid., 264.
38
Sassoon, Saddam Hussein’s Ba’th Party, 264.
39
John L. Esposito, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2003), 142.
40
Ibid., 114.
41
Ibid.
42
Amina al-Sadr, “Foreword” to Short Stories, accessed March 28, 2016 Ahl al-Bayt
Digital Library, www.al-islam.org/short-stories-amina-bint-al-huda.
170
started circulating her handwritten short stories among relatives

and neighbors from the early age of eleven.43 Popularly known by
her pen name, Bint al-Huda (the daughter of guidance), she trans-
lated and authored many books and wrote journal articles focusing
on the challenges of God-centric women posed by the import of
Western cultural norms by the secular Baathist regime.
Embodying the critical aspects of Fatima’s narrative, Amina
al-Sadr’s bold writings were informed by her religious commitment
in a climate that witnessed the decline of the veil in Iraqi society.
She translated Mutahhari’s works on hijab into Arabic, emphasiz-
ing the power of Muslim women’s visible piety.44 She critiqued the
secular government and called out the orthodox Islamists who bur-
dened visibly pious women with unjustified spiritual expectations.
Addressing them in one of her articles, she wrote, “Why did you
impose on women restrictions and limits which descend neither
from Allah nor from the Qur’an?”45
In her early twenties, she started writing for al-Adhwa, a leading
Islamic journal published by scholars in Najaf. Initially refusing to
publish her work because she was a woman, the journal subsequently
published it using her initials A.H. (Amina Haider).46 Undeterred
by these setbacks, she continued to write, encouraging Iraqi women
to compete with their male counterparts in scientific and ideologi-
cal pursuits without relinquishing their Islamic identity.47
She authored several short stories about the challenges of the
Iraqi Shi‘a community and the personal and social anxieties of
visibly Muslim women in a secular society. Iraqi women enthusi-
astically followed her publications. She spoke at ritual mourning
ceremonies such as the Fatimiyya, raising cultural, intellectual,
43
Yasin T. Al-Jibouri, A Tribute to the Sadr Martyrs, (Bloomington, Indiana:
AuthorHouse, 2014), 207.
44
Ibid., 207.
45
Ibid., 213.
46
Ibid.
47
Ibid., 212.
171
and religious awareness among the Shi‘a.48 She founded the Zahra
Private School for girls in Baghdad and Najaf. These schools soon
gained trust and credibility, producing female academic achievers
who proudly embraced their faith identities.49
Amina al-Sadr was a female Shi‘i scholar and activist whose writ-
ings, lectures, and teachings raised awareness of her community’s
challenges and persecutions. She contributed to the thriving Iraqi
Shi‘a resistance through her intellectual, social, and political pur-
suits until she was arrested and executed in 1980.50 Women like
Amina al-Sadr are testimony to Fatima’s legacy as lived inspiration
for social justice and awareness movements for Shi‘a women past
and present. Moreover, theological themes undergirding the ser-
mon of Fatima resonate with contemporary articulations of Islamic
feminist theory and theology.
Contemporary Feminist Theories and Theologies
While they may not always directly reference Fatima, current

Islamic scholarship is much in tandem with Fatima’s approach in
her sermon. Islamic liberation theology in the works of scholars
such as Martin Nguyen and miriam cooke, and Jerusha Tanner
Lamptey’s emerging Muslima theology echoes theological methods
deployed in the sermon of Fatima.
In his book, Modern Muslim Theology: Engaging God and the
World with Faith and Imagination, Nguyen stresses that faith
must be understood and lived. Positing the idea of Muslim theol-
ogy of engagement, he insists that theology must foster a balanced
engagement with the divine and with society.51 Nguyen commends
48
Al-Jibouri, A Tribute to the Sadr Martyrs, 211.
49
Ibid., 227.
50
Ibid., 272.
51
Martin Nguyen, Modern Muslim Theology: Engaging God and the World with Faith
and Imagination (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), 6.
172
Shariati’s works as an example of Muslim scholars making theolog-

ical contributions to the sociology of religion.52 He associates the
act of prostration in Muslim ritual prayer with an act of protest
when it is performed amidst a world of strife, struggle, and suffrage.
Invoking prophets’ narratives in the Qur’anic, he remarks that
prostration signifies a protest against the world’s injustices and a
declaration of devotion to God.53 Nguyen draws on the works of
al-Ghazali and Malcolm X to posit the idea of spiritual and active
scholarship. Fatima was arguably the first to speak truth to power in
the Islamic tradition soon after the Prophet’s demise. She embod-
ied faith and mobilized theology to effectuate change, an idea that
Nguyen puts forward as a modern theology of engagement.
Hamid Dabashi also advances the idea of religious rites as a form
of protest to articulate Islamic liberation theology. Dabashi claims
that Shi‘a are charismatically drawn to the principle of justice (adl)
as the defining moment of faith and find within themselves the
resilience to prevail against the hegemonic empire. Their mourn-
ing rituals are “performative evidence of Islam as a religion of pro-
test.”54 Drawing on the case study of the recent Islamic revolution
in Iran, he states, “As a religion of protest, and an ethos of speaking
truth to power, Shi’ism was put to full revolutionary use in over-
throwing a corrupt monarchic government [Shah Pahlavi regime]
and then mobilizing the masses against an invading enemy [Iraq’s
Ba’th party].”55
Another recent development within Islamic thought is the emer-
gence of Muslima theology. As a female Muslim scholar drawing
on feminist discursive methods and gender theory, Jerusha Tanner
explains “Muslima theology” as a tool that engages works on Islam
and feminism to critically reappraise and interpret the Islamic
52
Ibid., 15.
53
Ibid., 174.
54
Hamid Dabashi, Islamic Liberation Theology: Resisting the Empire (New York:
Routeledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2008), 20.
55
Ibid., 186.
173
tradition in pursuit of justice.56 In Never Wholly Other: A Muslima

Theology of Muslim Pluralism, Tanner analyzes the works of con-
temporary female Muslim theologians such as Amina Wadud,
Asma Barlas, and Riffat Hassan, who maintain that most misogy-
nistic ideas that impact Muslim women’s lives originated in “extra-
Qur’anic sources.”57 They call for an un-reading of such thoughts
and a redefinition of the women’s status by returning to the sacred
text, claiming their stake in reinterpreting them. Even though these
contemporary female Muslim theologians do not mention the ser-
mon of Fatima, their approach to arguing for gender justice by
returning to the Qur’an resonates with what Fatima deployed in
her sermon.
Besides reinterpreting the Qur’an from women’s perspective,
contemporary Muslim feminist scholars are calling for an investi-
gation of hadith in deducing jurisprudential laws that affect wom-
en’s rights. Ednan Aslan explains that the misinterpretation of and
departure from the Prophetic teachings, which began immediately
following the Prophet’s death, continues to persist, significantly
impacting Muslim women’s position in Islamic society. Referring
to the sermon of Fatima, Aslan states, “The dispute between
Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter, and Abu Bakr, the first caliph,
may be one of the most important theological debates that demon-
strate female empowerment in the new religion’s teaching.”58 She
confidently lodged a logical and theological argument to lay claim
56
Jerusha Lamptey Tanner. “Toward a Muslima Theology: Theological, Constructive,
and Comparative Possibilities.” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 33, no. 1
(Spring 2017): 27–44, accessed November 30, 2018, 33, http://0-search.ebscohost
.com.grace.gtu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLAiFZU171218001920&
site=ehost-live.
57
Jerusha Tanner Lamptey, Never Wholly Other: a Muslima Theology of Muslim
Pluralism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 84.
58
Ednan Aslan, Marcia K. Hermansen, Elif Medeni, Olaf Gloeckler, and Atelier Platen.
Muslima Theology: The Voices of Muslim Women Theologians. (Frankfurt: Peter Lang
AG, 2013), 36, http://0-search.ebscohost.com.grace.gtu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&
db=nlebk&AN=831428&site=ehost-live.
174
to her inheritance and contest Abu Bakr’s citation of hadith that

prophets do not leave any inheritance. Commending her scholarly
activist stand, Aslan notes that Fatima “became a central figure in
the political opposition to Abu Bakr. Her home was the meeting
place of the companions who organized to oppose the selection of
Abū Bakr.”59
Contemporary Islamic feminists also study the lives of
seventh-century Muslim women to discover female voices over-
looked in Islamic history. In her book, Women Claim Islam:
Creating Islamic Feminism Through Literature, miriam cooke pre-
sents the works of women who situate themselves as feminists,
drawing inspiration from the lives of women from the formative
period of Islamic history and referring to them as “founding moth-
ers.”60 Among the feminists, cooke references are the Algerian
novelist-historian Assia Djebar, who, in her Loin de Medine,61
refers to Fatima as a “woman rebel in early Islam.”62 Presenting
her as a role model who inspired women to reject unjust sit-
uations and demand their rights as equals in humanity, Djebar
quotes a small section of the sermon of Fatima where she said,
“Muhammad is scarcely dead, and yet you dare to disinherit his
own daughter, his only living daughter!”63 Djebar highlights her
courage in publicly reprimanding the assembly of men for their
cowardice and lethargy and warning them of God’s punishments.
Two recent works that draw on narratives of Fatima and other
notable early Muslim women are Gabbay’s Gender and Succession in
Medieval and Early Modern Islam: Bilateral Descent and the Legacy
of Fatima and an edited volume by Mirjam Künkler and Devin J.
59
Ibid., 37.
60
miriam cooke, Women Claim Islam: Creating Islamic Feminism Through Literature
(New York: Routledge, 2001), 64.
61
Djebar’s 1991 publication on a novel history of the seventh-century Arabian society
told entirely by women.
62
cooke, Women Claim Islam, 69.
63
Ibid.
175
Stewart titled Female Religious Authority in Shi‘i Islam: Past and

Present. Gabbay draws on Fatima’s legacy as the Prophet’s heir to
explore the notion of female descent in Sunni and Shi‘i thought and
how that shaped female leadership in the medieval Islamic world.
Künkler and Stewart present a survey of the different forms that
female religious authority deployed from the beginning of Islam
till the present-day traditional Islamic seminaries. Chapters in this
volume directly reference Fatima’s argument for female inheritance
and other women, such as Fiḍḍa. Published between 2020 and 2022,
these works are the most recent examples of Fatima’s narrative on
contemporary feminist thought.
Fatima’s narrative also lends itself to comparative feminist stud-
ies across traditions. In her work Chosen Among Women, Mary and
Fatima in Medieval Christianity and Shi’ite Islam, Mary F. Thurlkill
problematizes the misconstruing of feminine imagery in political,
cultural, and theological rhetoric in Christianity and Islam based
on Mary and Fatima. While male authors used these two women
as “rhetorical tools in a complex discourse of identity and ortho-
doxy,”64 most Marian/Christian and Muslim scholars did not go
beyond recounting exalted narratives of these women and were
remiss in offering feminist interpretations. Thurlkill’s approach
employs a feminist hermeneutic that, in contrast to western fem-
inist theory, seeks to recreate women’s considerable contributions
to early religious movements. A deeper reading of the scriptural
narratives of these women reveals them to be “not only sacred mod-
els meant to transcend time and space but also reflections of con-
temporary political and social debates.”65
In her sermon, Fatima deployed the Qur’an to argue her right
to inherit and critique the authenticity of a hadith Abu Bakr pro-
duced as justification for confiscating her property. In doing so, she
64
Mary F. Thurlkill, Chosen Among Women, Mary and Fatima in Medieval
Christianity and Shi’ite Islam (Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007), 7.
65
Ibid., 9.
176
An Inspiring Legacy
raised awareness for a liberation theology that addressed the issue

of social justice. Contemporary Muslim scholars such as Djebar
and Aslan uplift Fatima’s quintessential and inspirational role in
articulating the concerns of Islamic feminism. Shi‘i political activ-
ists such as Shariati and Sadr also built on the sermon of Fatima to
mobilize women’s participation in theological, social, and political
movements.
An Inspiring Legacy
The sermon of Fatima serves as a momentous occurrence in early

Islamic history, highlighting the tenacity of a remarkable woman –
the Prophet’s daughter – who, despite her physical fragility and
youth, employed her sharp intellect and courageous spirit to raise
social consciousness about the subjugation of marginalized voices.
Her public march before her public speaking in a public venue reso-
nates with the feminist approach of “making the personal political.”66
Fatima’s commitment to theologically understanding and prac-
ticing justice was evident in her children’s lives. As a central figure
among the revered Ahl al-Bayt, she is an inextricable part of Shi‘a
identity and deeply ingrained in Shi‘i rituals and practices. Her birth
anniversary is celebrated as Mother’s Day, inspiring community
programs that honor Shi‘a women’s contributions. Her narrative
empowers Muslim women to create and foster sacred spaces for
their ritual practices and educational advancement, and her death
is commemorated through the Fatimiyya, religious gatherings, and
workshops that scrutinize historical episodes and question contem-
porary acts of injustice.
66
T. V. Reed, “The Poetical is the Political: Feminist Poetry and the Poetics of
Women’s Rights,” in Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives, 3rd ed.,
ed. Carole R. McCann and Seung-Kyung Kim (New York: Routledge Taylor and
Francis Group, 2013), 86.
177
Fatima served as an inspiration for women such as Asma and

Fiḍḍa in the seventh century, who actively engaged with the Qur’an
and initiated change for the betterment of women. In the twentieth
century, women such as Amina al-Sadr embodied Fatima’s revo-
lutionary model in advocating for socio-political reform in their
countries. In emulating Fatima, they set a precedent for female
activism aimed at promoting social justice.
Fatima’s deep understanding of the Qur’an and her theologi-
cal argument for her right to inherit continues to inspire critical
interpretations of canonical religious literature to address women’s
concerns. The sermon’s feminist approach, grounded in theolog-
ical principles, resonates with the contemporary Muslim feminist
method of rereading and reinterpreting the Qur’an and hadith
from a female perspective. This approach allows for comparative
studies on female religious figures across traditions, as demon-
strated by Mary Thurlkill’s work on female imagery in Christian
and Shi‘a traditions. Fatima’s narrative provides a source of inspi-
ration for visibly Muslim women living in the West, encouraging
them to assert their rights from within their tradition rather than
departing from it.
178
Conclusion
Narratives of early Muslim women are either missing or mar-

ginal in the annals of Islamic history mainly due to the devalued
status of women in the patriarchal norms of the seventh-century
Arabian society. Early Islamic history, much like world history in
general, was written by men in a milieu that did not deem wom-
en’s experiences significant nor worthy of documentation. Often
dismissed as emotional outbursts, female objections to familial, cul-
tural, social, and political injustices went unheard, unconsidered,
and unrecorded. The aim of this book was to portray Fatima as a
woman of profound spirituality and deep theological insight. Her
seventh-century sermon, Khutbat Fadakiyya, is an archetype of
theologically driven female activism and demonstrates her courage
in speaking truth to power.
Patriarchal domination and biases of seventh-century Arabian
culture make it difficult to extract detailed and accurate accounts
of Fatima’s life. The provocative justice-seeking content of Fatima’s
sermon exacerbates sectarian tension around the issue of succes-
sorship after the Prophet’s death. Her protest was a theological
debunking of the caliphate’s legitimacy and a Qur’anic argument
against the usurpation of her lands in Fadak. Besides the patriarchal
and sectarian biases, narratives of premodern Muslim women like
Fatima and their faith-inspired activism are further jeopardized by
a European-led secular understanding of female empowerment.
Fatima’s setting the stage for her oral protest to raise social con-
sciousness about her challenges, resonates with the contemporary
feminist approach of making the personal political. She chose to
179
Conclusion
voice her sermon of protest in the Prophet’s Mosque, a site that had
previously belonged to orphans and a venue where the Prophet had
declared his love for her on several occasions. Despite the private
access connecting her house to the Prophet’s Mosque, she walked
through the streets of Medina to the mosque’s main entrance. It
was a deliberate attempt to be seen before being heard, catching
the attention of historians who recorded how her stride reminded
Muslims of their beloved Prophet’s gait. Her audience comprised
the muhājir and ansār, with whom she had shared experiences
of marginalization, persecution, and displacement. Finally, she
stepped into the mosque and let out a mournful cry that captured
her audience’s hearts. In this way, Fatima engaged the space, the
memories, the people, and emotions in setting the stage for her
epic protest.
Chapter 1 presented Fatima’s narrative in Qur’anic and mysti-
cal literature. The Qur’an alludes to her as the promised kauthar
because the Prophet’s lineage survived through her. Qur’anic verses
describing the abrār (people of piety in Q 76) praise her for her acts
of charity and social upliftment. The “verse of light” (Q 24:35) and
the “verse of purity” (Q 33:33) bear witness to her spiritual acco-
lades, and the “verse of mubāhala” (Q 3:61) documents her contri-
bution to the establishment of tawḥīd (Unity of God) and nubuwwa
(prophethood) as foundational tenets of the Islamic faith.
Despite Fatima’s central position in Islamic thought and history,
there have been no significant works on her life besides the 1910
monograph by the orientalist scholar Henri Lammens, the 1970s
work by Ali Shariati, and the recent 2009 research by Christopher
Clohessy. Lammens portrays Fatima as a weak subdued woman,
and Shariati presents her as a supporter of the influential men in
her life. While Clohessy provides many details about four specific
aspects of her life, he does not include an analysis of her sermon. My
focus has been on a textual, historical analysis of her sermon, high-
lighting her role as a female theologian, leader, and scholar-activist
in the pursuit of social justice and female inheritance rights.
180
Conclusion
Besides her Qur’anic narrative, Shi‘i literature is replete with

mystical and spiritual dimensions of Fatima’s life. Shi‘a believe she
was created from the Prophet’s pre-existent light known as nur
Muhammadi. The light of the Ahl al-Bayt1 was God’s first creation,
and they worshipped and glorified Him long before the creation of
the heavens and the earth. Fatima’s appellations, such as Zahra (the
pure) and Muhaddatha (the one who converses with angels), reflect
her physical and metaphysical distinctions. Her supplicatory chant,
tasbīh, is greatly revered by the Shi‘a and plays an intermediary
role in their ritual practices. They believe she possesses intercessory
powers for her followers on Judgment Day, closely connecting her
remembrance to their affairs in the afterlife.
Chapter 2 delved into the multiple contexts of the land of Fadak.
Historically, Fadak constituted fay’, the Prophet’s personal prop-
erty because, according to Q 59:6, it was acquired without expend-
ing Muslim troops. The Prophet bequeathed it to Fatima following
the revelation of Q 17:26. Politically, Fatima’s claim constituted a
threat to Abu Bakr’s caliphate. The confiscation of Fadak struck a
financial blow to Fatima, stripping her of its revenues and disem-
powering the caliphate’s opposition. After her death, Fadak became
symbolic of her rightful claim not just to the property but also her
family’s claim to leadership of the Muslim nation. Fatima used the
sizeable revenues from Fadak to uplift Medina’s weak and needy,
thus adding an element of economic justice to her protest.
Fatima confronted Abu Bakr, demanding the return of Fadak. He
asked her for proof that the Prophet had bequeathed the property to
her. Fatima rallied support from prominent members of the ansār
such as Maaz bin Jabal, reminding them of the Allegiance of Uqbah,
which entailed a commitment to protecting the Prophet and his
children as they would protect their own. Maaz refused to support
her, expressing his hesitancy in agitating the caliphate. While men
1
For the Twelver Shi‘a, Ahl al-Bayt refers to Fatima, her father the Prophet, her
husband Ali, and the eleven Imams in her lineage.
181
Conclusion
shied away, women such as Umm Ayman and Asma bint Umays
came forward to testify on her behalf. Abu Bakr declined Fatima’s
claim to owning Fadak, discrediting her witnesses, so she demanded
it as her inheritance. Abu Bakr rejected her petition, stating that he
heard the Prophet say, “We, the community of prophets, do not
leave an inheritance. What we leave behind is charity.” The fact that
Abu Bakr was the sole transmitter of this hadith and that he allowed
his daughter to retain ownership of the Prophet’s house as a wife’s
inheritance problematizes the authenticity and integrity of what he
attributed to the Prophet. Despite being known for her ascetic life-
style, Fatima persisted in claiming her wealth, setting a precedent
for visibly Muslim women who actively engage with social and eco-
nomic justice issues.
The timing of the sermon is crucial in understanding the com-
plexities of hadith studies. A mere ten days after the Prophet’s death,
the caliph and the Prophet’s daughter debated the authenticity of a
prophetic narration. Fatima deployed five Qur’anic verses to argue
that the text of the hadith was incoherent with the Qur’anic para-
digm of inheritance and thus, could not be ascribed to the Prophet.
Chapter 3 focuses on the theological aspects of the sermon, such
as Qur’an exegesis (tafsir), hadith sciences, and moral implications
of faith on the lived experience of its practitioners. Such discourse
emerged among male Muslim theologians only at the turn of the
eighth century, nearly a hundred years after Fatima’s sermon. In
this context, the sermon of Fatima set precedence for demonstrat-
ing Islamic theology as a discipline.
The sermon contains eight theological, historical, and philo-
sophical topics: God’s praise and significance of tawḥīd; the con-
cept of prophethood and Prophet Muhammad (S)’s leadership; the
centrality of the Qur’an in Muslim lived experience; the philoso-
phy behind Islamic rituals and ethics; Fatima’s connection to the
Prophetic mission and Ali’s services to Muslim society; the chaotic
events after the Prophet’s demise; the Qur’anic argument for female
inheritance; and soliciting support from the ansār. Throughout
182
Conclusion
her sermon, Fatima drew on the Qur’an to argue for her case,
raise Muslims’ social consciousness, and iterate the significance of
adhering to the Qur’an.
The sermon demonstrates her acumen in theological aspects of
Islamic doctrine and practice, describing the transcendental nature
of the unseen deity through a discussion on God’s attributes and
the afterlife. She stressed the intrinsic connection between human
choices and divine consequences, iterating God’s reward of an
eternally blissful Paradise for the good-doers and warning against
the calamities of Hell for the disobedient. In doing so, she pos-
ited that fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith were deeply inter-
connected with ethical practice, demonstrating an early model of
women’s theology.
Chapter 4 examines Fatima’s articulation of the concept of
service-based guardian leadership. Drawing on the Prophet’s
divinely ordained leadership model, she presented him as a char-
ismatic and transformative leader who served as an educator and
guardian. As a spiritual guide, he led his people to monotheistic
values and a God-centric way of life, urging them to hone their
intellect and find purpose. As a guardian leader, he transformed
a persecuted and precarious minority into an emerging civiliza-
tion. She argued that since the Prophet’s leadership was divinely
ordained and grounded in upholding justice, his successorship
would also rest with the divinely chosen Imams in her family. To
this effect, she spoke about her and her family’s contributions to
Muslims’ social well-being and political security. Through the
metaphor of a desert caravan, she differentiated between servant
leadership and power-driven leadership. Drawing on Qur’anic
verses on Abraham’s leadership, she posited that commitment
to justice was an essential prerequisite for a leader, a trait not
demonstrated by Abu Bakr’s caliphate.
Chapter 5 explores the inspirational impact of Fatima’s faith-
based values and truth-seeking spirit on her children, Shi‘a iden-
tity and practice, Muslim women’s experiences over the time, and
183
Conclusion
contemporary feminist scholarship. Fifty years after her epic ser-

mon, her daughter, Zainab found herself in a similar situation.
Following her family’s massacre in Karbala (680 CE), Zainab stood
before the Umayyad caliph Yazid, deploying Qur’anic verses to
iterate a counter-narrative that unveiled the brutal persecution of
the Ahl al-Bayt and their followers by the despotic government. The
Twelver Shi‘a hold a deeply reverential view of Fatima, regarding
her as a sacred and central figure who occupies a pivotal position in
their history and forms the very backbone of their theology, which
informs their lived tradition. Her powerful sermon is annually
recited during Ayyam Fatimiyya, a ritual commemoration of her
unwavering stand against injustice.
Fatima served as an inspiration to seventh-century Muslim
women such as Asma and Fiḍḍa who emulated her religiosity and
pursuit of social justice and twentieth-century Shi‘a female activ-
ists such as Amina al-Sadr, who fearlessly campaigned against the
oppressive Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, ultimately
resulting in her tragic execution. Notably, Fatima’s theological
approach resonates with contemporary developments in Islamic
theology, such as Nguyen’s modern theology of engagement,
Dabashi’s Islamic liberation theology, and Tanner’s Muslima the-
ology. Moreover, her teachings provide a compelling argument for
contemporary feminist thinkers who seek to read their founda-
tional sources normatively rather than against the tradition. In this
way, Fatima’s enduring legacy speaks to the dynamic and progres-
sive nature of Islamic thought and practice and serves as a beacon
of hope and inspiration for all who seek justice and liberation.
Fatima grew up to be a brave actor for the rights of the oppressed.
Her sermon protesting the confiscation of her property (Fadak) is
partially about Qur’anic validation for female inheritance rights
and essentially a theological discourse on the significance of
faith-inspired service-based leadership (Imamate) for a thriving
community rather than a power-driven opportunist caliphate.
Despite strategic efforts by the hegemonic rulers to suppress the
184
Conclusion
Fadak issue, her sermon survived in the memory of her family and
followers until its first documentation in the ninth century. Fatima
was the leading protagonist in this historic oral protest, forming an
important part of Shi‘a literature.
Did Fatima Succed in Getting Fadak?
Nonetheless, the question remains: Did Fatima succeed in getting

Fadak? This question has generated much discussion and debate
each time I have had the opportunity to present the sermon of
Fatima among scholars and practitioners alike, leading me to think
deeply about her intentions for protesting. Despite the improbabil-
ity of arriving at a clear-cut answer, an analysis of Fatima’s motives
behind her protest can offer important insights into her legacy and
the broader role of religion in resisting oppression. Perhaps she
knew all along that her chances of reclaiming Fadak from the for-
midable power of the ruling majority were slim. However, her deci-
sion to stage a protest rather than remain silent suggests a deeper,
underlying intention that went beyond the recovery of her rightful
property. It is plausible that Fatima’s protest was aimed at setting
a precedent for future generations of Muslims, encouraging them
to challenge oppressive practices in the name of their religion. By
indicting the caliphate and calling out their unjust actions, Fatima
may have been appealing to the court of Islamic history, calling
upon future scholars and practitioners to act as jurors in the cold
case of Fadak and seek a just resolution. In this sense, Fatima’s pro-
test can be seen as an act of political resistance that sought to hold
those in power accountable to the ethical and moral principles of
Islam. Therefore, a nuanced examination of Fatima’s protest can
provide a fruitful avenue for understanding the ways in which reli-
gion can be mobilized to resist oppression and foster social justice.
A woman marching into a male-dominated crowd to demand her
rights might have been construed as rebellious in seventh-century
185
Conclusion
Arabian society. However, contemporary Shi‘i scholars applaud

the idea as revolutionary in addressing and advancing the pursuit
of truth and justice. Shariati states, “Even if she cannot defeat him
[Abu Bakr], she will at least have condemned him. If it [the govern-
ment] does not fall, it can, at least, be disgraced. If the truth cannot
be implemented, it can be proven. It can be kept alive so that peo-
ple come to know that the ruling forces do not represent the truth.
They are oppressive.”2
Fatima’s sermon demonstrates that visibly Muslim women are
able and willing to wholly integrate into political, social, and reli-
gious landscapes as intellectuals and activists. It “offers a paradigm
for imitation”3 for pious women who seek empowerment from their
sacred texts and traditions. Western societies, media, and often aca-
demia incessantly frame Muslim women’s bodies and their embod-
iment of religious identity to advance Islamophobic tropes. Most
Muslim feminist scholarship draws on mainstream white feminist
thought to address gender justice concerns which pivots majorly
on critiquing religion, leaving little room for constructive method-
ologies that focus on narratives of premodern Muslim women as
inspirational feminist trendsetters.
Thus, in the context of women’s studies in Islam, I observe that in
serving a mandate dictated by issues of a white knowledge-producing
hegemony ignorant of the religious values of minorities of color,
the field of women’s studies in Islam has yet to turn its academic
interests to the study of premodern women’s narratives from tradi-
tional and sacred Islamic history. I argue that such scholarship faces
double jeopardy: the burden of educating the mainstream academy
and navigating the space taken up by liberal Muslim scholarship.
Nonetheless, it allows a deeper study of the intersections of the tra-
ditional and the modern as it unfolds in the lived experiences of
Muslim women today. During my research, I encountered early
2
Shariati, Fatima Is Fatima, 116.
3
Clohessy, Fatima, Daughter of Muhammad, 6.
186
Conclusion
African Muslim women such as Umm Ayman and Fiḍḍa, who

played a crucial role in Fatima’s protest. Their narratives demon-
strate women’s engagement with sacred texts and their central role
in challenging socio-political norms. Yet, they are understudied in
both traditional Islamic seminaries and contemporary western aca-
demia, affirming the multiple jeopardies of gender, race, and class
that these women’s narratives face.
The interdisciplinary aspect of this work on the sermon of Fatima
can be further advanced to center on other Shi‘i marginalized texts,
such as Imam al-Sajjad’s Risala al-Huquq and Sahifa al-Sajjadiya,
revealing theological diversity within the Islamic tradition. Risala
al-Huquq is a compilation of fifty reciprocal theologically composed
human rights, and Sahifa al-Sajjadiya is a compilation of spiritual
supplications and hymns. Works such as Risala al-Ahwaziya, an
advisory document written by Imam al-Sadiq for a government
official, focus on the theological aspects of social justice and equity.
This study can potentially extend its scope to an interreligious
space, engaging theologically inspired feminist approaches across
diverse religious traditions.
To summarize, intentionally or unintentionally, premodern
Muslim women’s narratives are either totally excluded or pushed
to the margins in the traditional documentation of Islamic history
and contemporary feminist scholarship. The patriarchal norms of
early Islamic history did not value women’s experiences as authen-
tic knowledge. Despite its liberatory claim, modern Muslim femi-
nist scholarship in western academia has done little to unearth the
narratives of Muslim women affiliated with racial and sectarian
minorities. The secularist strategy of promoting liberal and progres-
sive scholarship on Islam has deterred constructive methodologies
that bring religious women’s contributions to Islamic thought and
institutions to the fore.
187
Appendix
The Sermon of Fatima
The sermon is translated from Ibn Tayfur’s version. Headings mark

theological themes from the sermon as classified by Ibne Hasan
Najfi.
Glorifying God and Tawḥīd
All praise belongs to Allah for His great bestowals, and thanks
to Him for that which He has inspired, and gratitude to Him for
what He has brought to pass. The All-encompassing blessings that
He initiates, the ever-expansive grace that He bestows, and all the
bounties that He continuously confers are too great to measure, too
abundant to enumerate, too vastly limitlessness to comprehend. He
has called people to seek an increase and continuity [in blessings] by
expressing gratitude, to augment [their bounties] by praising Him,
and bid them to ask more of it [in the hereafter].
I bear witness that there is no god besides Allah who is unique and
has no associates – a testimony which manifests its reality in sincer-
ity, which binds the hearts with security, and its meaning gleams in
the minds. Denied are the sights from His vision, the minds from
His characterization, and the intellects from His description. He con-
ceived everything from nothing and created everything without fol-
lowing a previous model. He originated everything with His power
and spread everything with His will, without need or benefit for
Himself; but for the manifestation of His wisdom, the servility of His
subjects, and the exaltation of His call. Then He placed reward in His
188
Appendix
obedience and punishment in His disobedience to dissuade His serv-

ants away from His chastisement and urge them toward His Paradise.
Prophethood and the Position of Muhammad (S)
I also bear witness that my father, Muhammad (S) is His servant

and Messenger, who was chosen before being sent, named before
being selected, and picked before being raised [as a prophet]; at a
time when the creation was hidden in the unknown, covered by the
curtain of uncertainty, and close to the edge of non-existence. [He
was chosen] out of the knowledge of Allah, the Most High about
the final outcome of every matter, the complete awareness of events
that will transpire, and cognizance of the finality of all affairs.
Allah sent him as a completion of His mission, as one charged
with the establishment of His orders, and as an implementation
of the extent of His mercy because He saw the nations divided
in their beliefs, standing in seclusion around their sacred fire
altars, worshipping idols and denying the existence of Allah
despite their intrinsic knowledge of Him. Thus, through my
father Muhammad (S), Allah illuminated their darkness, lifted
the ambivalence from their hearts, and removed the obscurity
from their sights. He rose among people with guidance, pro-
tected them from perversion, sharpened their vision away from
[spiritual] blindness, guided them to the firm religion and called
them towards the straight path.
Then, Allah took him back with affection and choice, grace and
preference. So, Muhammad (S) is now at ease, free from the hard-
ships of earthly life, surrounded by devout angels and the content-
ment of his merciful Lord in the precinct of the Almighty King. May
the blessings of Allah be upon my father, His Prophet, the custodian
of His revelation, His chosen servant from among all His creation,
the one whom He is most pleased with. May peace, mercy, and the
blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Appendix
The Significance of the Qur’an in Muslim Life
She then turned toward those gathered and said:

You are the servants of Allah, beholders of His commands and pro-
hibitions, bearers of His religion and revelation, trustees of Allah over
yourselves, and propagators [of the sacred trust] to the masses. You
allege that you are in the right! Allah’s covenant [trust] which He put
forward to you is amongst you. We are the legacy appointed over you
as successor [of the Prophet]. The Book of Allah is with us [on our
side] with its clear insights and signs about us, its secrets uncovered, its
phenomena evidenced deeply, its compliance leads towards His pleas-
ure, and listening to it ensures salvation. In it [the Book of Allah] are
mentioned the enlightening arguments of Allah, the explanation of His
verdicts, the cautioning against what He has forbidden, the eloquent
presentation of His illustrations, His sufficient clauses, His represented
excellences, His bestowed leniency, and His documented laws.
Islamic Practice and Philosophy
He [God] ordained -
Faith: a purification for yourselves from polytheism,
ṣalat (prayer): to purge you from arrogance,
ṣawm (fasting): to substantiate your sincerity,
zakat (almsgiving): to increase your sustenance,
ḥajj (pilgrimage): to exhibit the sovereignty of your religion,
‘adl (justice): to bring devoutness [harmony] to hearts,
Obedience to us: to secure order for the nation,
Our leadership [Imamate]: to secure the community from disunity,
Love for us: to strengthen Islam,
Patience: a haven,
Retaliation: to trump bloodshed,
Honoring of pledges: to earn forgiveness,
190
Appendix
Honesty in measures and scales: to prevent diminution,

Prohibition of drinking wine: to free you from disgrace,
Prohibition of slandering chaste women: to avoid misery,
Relinquish theft: to secure decency, and
Allah Almighty has forbidden polytheism so that divinity is sin-

cerely attested to Him. So, “Be wary of Allah with the wariness due
to Him and do not die except as muslims” (Q 3:102). Obey Him in
that which He has commanded and prohibited for truly “only those
of Allah’s servants having knowledge fear Him” (Q 35:28).
Role of Fatima and Ali in the Establishment of Islam
She then continued:

O People! Know that I am Fatima, and my father is Muhammad
(S) – I have said it before, and I repeat it now. [What I tell you is the
truth, and my actions are not immoderate.]
“There has certainly come to you an apostle from among your-
selves; grievous to him is your distress; he has deep concern for you
and is most kind and merciful to the faithful” (Q 9:128).
Should you recognize him, you would find that he is my father, not
the father of any of you, and [you would find that] he is the brother
of my cousin, and not [the brother of] any of your men. He delivered
the warnings and declared the message while dissociating from the
ways of the polytheists, dismantling their supremacy, grabbing their
throats, crushing the idols, and disrupting their leadership until their
congregation dispersed and they fled chasing their tails. The night
gave way to the day, fallacies gave way to the truth, the leader of the
religion spoke silencing the prattling of the devils. “And you were
on the brink of a pit of Fire” (Q 3:103), [you were] a mere gulp for
the drinker, an opportunity for the covetous, [you were] a flickering
flame and a treading ground [for others]. You drank from every open
drain and ate the discarded remains of animals and vegetation. [You
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Appendix
were] abased, submissive, “and fearful lest the people [around you]
should despoil you” (Q 8:26). So, Allah rescued you through His mes-
senger while you were afflicted by the squabbles of the preying Arabs.
“Every time they ignite the flames of war, [Allah] puts them out”
(Q 5:64). Whenever the horn of vanity appeared and the deception
of the polytheists emerged, he [the Prophet] would dispatch Ali
into its abyss who would not return until he had crushed their ears
under his feet and extinguished their blaze with his blade, untir-
ing in his struggles for the sake of Allah, desiring proximity with
the Messenger of Allah. He [Ali] was a leader among the friends of
Allah while you were in abundant wealth, well-settled, and secure.
Turn of Events Following the Demise of the Prophet
Until Allah chose to take His Prophet to the abode of His prophets,
the amicability for hypocrisy emerged, the robe of religion became
tattered, the concealed misguided amateurs began to speak, [spike
of hypocrisy appeared amongst you, the garment of faith became
tattered, the weak impotent [agendas] sought excellence, and the
squeamish liars began to roar swaying your courts]. Satan raised his
head from his hideout calling out to you and found you responsive
to his call and attentive to his deception. He [Satan] incited you and
found you easily manipulated. So, he seduced you and befriended
you while [disguising his] fury. So, you claimed a camel that was
not yours and brought it to a watering hole that did not belong to
you. All this, while the era of the allegiance [you pledged] was still
fresh, the cut was wide, and the wound had not yet healed. You
hastened [in claiming caliphate] alleging that you feared [that the
nation would fall into] discord, “Look! They have already fallen into
discord and indeed hell besieges the faithless” (Q 9:49). Far be from
it! [your excuses] What is wrong with you? Where are you headed
while this Book of Allah is amidst you? Its restrictions are clear,
its illustrations are radiant, and its commands are evident. Do you
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Appendix
desire to turn your back to it or are you seeking to be governed by

another [book]? “How evil a substitute [is the recompense] for the
wrongdoers!” (Q 18:50); “Should anyone follow a religion other than
Islam, it shall never be accepted from him, and he will be among
the losers in the Hereafter” (Q 3:85). Then you did not hesitate [in
usurping our rights] but for the hesitation of the one who gulps and
enjoys sipping the broth! Yet we will endure with patience in the
face of what is meted out to us by you until the right time.
The Case of Fadak
And now you allege that there is no inheritance for us!

“Do [you] they seek the judgement of [pagan] ignorance? But
who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who have cer-
tainty?” (Q 5:50).
Woe unto you O assembly of muhājir! Will I be embezzled out of
my father’s inheritance?
Is it in the Book that you [Abu Bakr] may inherit from your father
and I cannot inherit from mine? “you have certainly come up with
an odd thing!” (Q 19:27)
Are you seriously neglecting the Book of Allah by casting it
behind your backs? While Allah, the glorious says, “Solomon inher-
ited from David” (Q 27:16), and while Allah, the Almighty related
the narrative of Yahya son of Zachariah, “So grant me from Yourself
an heir who may inherit from me and inherit from the House of
Jacob” (Q 19:5,6), and He, may His remembrance be strengthened
said, “but the blood relatives are more entitled to inherit from one
another in the Book of Allah” (Q 8:75).
He [Allah] said, “Allah enjoins you concerning your children: for
the male shall be the like of the share of two females” (Q 4:11), and
He said, “and [if] he leaves behind any property, [it is ordained]
that he make a bequest for his parents and relatives, in an honorable
manner, – an obligation on the God wary” (Q 2:180).
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Appendix
Yet you claim that I have no right to and no share in my father’s

inheritance! [Or are you alleging] that there is no kinship between us?!
Has Allah revealed a special verse [of the Qur’an] for you from
which He excluded His Prophet?
Or are you insinuating that people of separate faiths do not inherit
each other? Then, do my father and I not profess to the same faith?
Or are you suggesting that you are more knowledgeable about the
particularities and the generalities of the Qur’an than the Messenger
himself? “Do [you] they seek the judgment of [pagan] ignorance?
But who is better than Allah in judgment for a people who have
certainty?” (Q 5:50).
Will I be subdued [in the matter of] my inheritance, oppressively
and unjustly? “And the [oppressors] wrongdoers will soon know at
what goal they will end up” (Q 26:227).
Addressing the Ansār
Then addressing the ansār, she turned toward them saying:
O legendary community, O supporters of the creed, O protectors

of Islam! What is this deluge against my right and this vociferous
injustice against me? Did the Prophet of Allah not say that a person
is honored through [the honoring of] their offspring? How quickly
you [your enthusiasm] withered and how hastily you plotted your
insult as soon as you proclaimed that the Prophet of Allah was dead!
What a grave statement with widespread injury and acute distress.
The earth has darkened at his absence, Allah’s chosen ones are over-
whelmed by this misfortune, mountains have shattered, hopes have
dissipated, sanctities have been violated, and all that is sacred has
been disgraced upon his death. That is how we feel it [the pain of his
death] descended upon us.
The Book of God is in your courts, it rings in your ears in your
evenings and your mornings just as it was heard by the Prophets and
194
Appendix
messengers before him that “Muhammad is but an apostle; [other]

apostles have passed before him. If he dies or is slain, will you turn
back on your heels? Anyone who turns back on his heels will not harm
Allah in the least, and soon Allah will reward the grateful” (Q 3:144).
O children of Qaylah! Will I be denied my father’s inheritance
while you watch and listen pretending to be bewildered while you
are bound by the claim. You are numerous, well-equipped, copi-
ous, and shielded. You are the first elite group chosen by Allah
as helpers of His religion, His Prophet, the people of Islam, and
us, the chosen ones, the Ahl al-Bayt. You excelled over the Arabs,
clashed with the nations, and battled the champions. We did not
quit commanding you and you moved forward until, through us,
Islam was established, and the milk [of prosperity] began to flow,
the pride of polytheism was subdued, the flames of war subsided,
the chaotic calls were silenced, and religious order was launched.
So why have you become confused after clarity, withdrawn after
audacity, concealing after proclamation, “a people who broke their
pledges….Do you fear them? But Allah is worthier of being feared
by you, should you be faithful” (Q 9:13). I see that you are inclined
towards ease, indifferent to supporting [us], disinterested in reli-
gion, heedless in the matter you were made conscious of, and have
denied what you had already admitted. “Should you be faithless –
you and everyone on the earth, all together – indeed Allah is
All-sufficient, All-laudable” (Q 14:8).
I have said what I said being fully aware of the neglect that has
permeated your chests and sprung in your hearts. There! I have said
it; the unburdening of the soul, the frothing of rage, the expression
of the heart, and the advancing of a justice-seeking argument. So,
take its [our right to inheritance and leadership] reins and sad-
dle it, with its sore back, it’s unfortunate destiny, it’s disgraceful
end, begetting eternal infamy, headed towards “the fire of Allah,
set ablaze, which will overspread the hearts” (Q 104:6,7). Allah is
watching what you are doing, “And the [oppressors] wrongdoers
will soon know at what goal they will end up” (Q 26:227). I am the
195
Appendix
daughter of “a warner to you before [the befalling of] a severe pun-

ishment” (Q 34:46). So, “act … we too are acting, and wait! We too
are waiting’” (Q 11:121, 122).1
After saying what she had to say, Fatima rushed to the grave of the
Prophet which was also adjacent to the mosque. She recited words
of poetry eulogizing her father and complaining to him of her mis-
ery. Ibn Tayfur has added another section on a dialogue that took
place between Fatima and Abu Bakr after the sermon and Najafi
has added a section on Fatima’s response to the women who called
on her the following day. Tabrisi’s account of the sermon has a few
additional phrases and sentences appearing occasionally in the
main body of the sermon. The nuances in the rendition of Tabrisi’s
version will be mentioned in the following chapter on the major
themes that can be found within the sermon of Fatima. Although,
scholars have identified several topics and themes within the ser-
mon, the foundational method deployed by Fatima in presenting
her argument was inspired by her religiosity.
1
Ibn Tayfur, Balaghat al-Nisa, 23–31.
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207
Index
abandonment, 20 assault, 167

Abbasid, 17, 28, 76, 77, 157 association, 97
abode, 101, 103, 104, 139, 192 authority
abtar, 26, 27 caliphal, 1, 72, 161
Abu Talib, 6, 19, 48 intercessory, 44, 58, 60
abundance, 26, 27, 43, 58, 61, 151 molestation of, 152
Abyssinian, 85, 88, 161, 163 political, 134
accolades, 55, 180 questionable, 14
activism, 8, 20, 23, 24, 80, 158, 161, 170, religious, 176
178, 179 Ayesha, 113, 115, 116
acumen, 21, 23, 71, 93, 152, 183
advancing, 9, 11, 24, 186, 195 Baathist, 169, 171, 184
agency, 2, 10, 13, 81, 154, 160, 163, 169 Badr, 136, 144
agenda, 3, 9, 141 Baghdad, 157, 170, 172
agents, 3, 161 Battle of the Confederates, 137
al-Baqir, 53, 56, 67, 101, 156 Battle of the Trench, 137, 144, 146
al-Kazim, 28, 76, 157 biers, 89
allegiance, 20, 23, 69, 83, 167, 192 Bint al-Huda, 171
al-Reza, 17, 50, 67, 98, 157 biographical, 4, 6, 7, 47, 50, 56, 156, 165
altruism, 78, 80 bloodline, 35, 43
altruistic, 151 body, 9, 53, 69, 74, 79, 96, 146, 196
androcentric, 11, 92 bowl, 81
annals, 16, 20, 122, 156, 179 burial, 1, 15, 69, 89, 115, 116, 155, 161, 167
anniversary, 159, 160, 177
ansār, 1, 19, 68, 82, 83, 94, 122, 181 canonical, 178
anxieties, 10, 89, 170, 171 capitalism, 5, 129, 170
apophatic, 95 categories, 30, 33, 65, 66, 109
appellations, 21, 44, 51, 181 ceremonies, 159, 169, 171
appropriation, 72 chambers, 89, 114
arena, 14, 29, 72, 82, 92, 170 chants, 55, 57
argument charismatic, 42, 122, 123, 126, 140, 141, 151,
Qur’anic, 2, 84, 179, 182 152, 157, 183
theological, 2, 99, 174, 178 clans, 6, 69, 75, 76
Ashura, 155, 156 cloak, 37–39
assassinated, 88 cold case, 185
assassination, 155, 167 collections, 4, 5, 86, 127
208
Index
color, 8, 11, 34, 52, 75, 76, 186 embody, 105, 152, 158
components, 37, 55, 57, 61, 91, 121 embodying, 78, 109, 134
concerns, 8, 24, 62, 131, 152, 162, 177, emotional, 20, 179
178, 186 emotions, 20, 180
confrontations, 93, 112 empowering, 2, 23, 61, 150, 151
consciousness, 11, 19, 21, 56, 61, 82, 118, empowerment, 2, 9, 27, 81, 154, 169, 174,
134, 177, 179, 183 179, 186
constituents, 3, 152 entitled, 117, 118, 193
constructive, 8, 10–12, 186, 187 entitlement, 59, 77
controversial, 46, 127 epic, 22, 63, 80, 155, 180, 184
conviction, 35, 42, 95, 99, 101, 106, 120, episodes, 1, 6, 163, 177
122, 133 equity, 10, 22, 62, 63, 143, 147, 157, 187
corruption, 102 erasure, 2, 3, 6, 24
counternarrative, 77, 184 esoteric, 12, 13, 25, 61, 110
covenants, 30, 31, 106, 126, 190 estranged, 48, 82
critique, 5, 10, 13, 22, 93, 94, 111, 112, 120, ethical, 22, 101, 120, 122, 149, 150, 183, 185
122, 176 ethics, 61, 94, 139, 182
cultures Ethiopia, 79, 88
African, 89 ethos, 10, 22, 173
Arab, 4, 114 exegesis, 10, 11, 22, 27, 56, 110, 168, 182
Arabian, 161, 179 exile, 163
Muslim, 2, 9, 56 exoteric, 12, 61, 110
experiences
deconstructing, 129, 164 lived, 3, 11, 14, 23, 24, 61, 118, 150, 154,
decree, 28, 148 182, 186
delegation, 18, 40–42 women’s, 10, 62, 179, 183, 187
deputies, 68, 69, 72, 74, 83 exploitation, 117, 165
descendants, 6, 7, 28, 29, 68, 77, 106, 117,
125, 157 fabricated, 15, 107, 112
diasporic, 159 Fadak
dimensions, 44, 63, 68, 78, 110, 181 bequeathed, 77, 84
discrimination, 4 confiscation of, 69, 93, 181
disempowered, 20, 101 Fadakiyya, 1, 2, 179
disempowering, 181 farms, 65, 71
disputes, 12, 21, 64, 74, 77, 154, 174 Fatimiyya, 159, 171, 177, 184
doctrine, 14, 27, 94, 111, 158, 183 feminine, 43, 52, 162, 176
dower, 59 feminism, 8, 14, 24, 173, 177
feminist interpretations, 10, 24, 176
economic, 21, 69, 70, 78, 80, 89, 92, freedom, 9, 10, 42, 110, 165
181, 182
Eden, 61, 104 gatherings, 1, 6, 20, 39, 60, 170, 177
educator, 123, 134, 135, 141, 153, 183 gender justice, 2, 22, 80, 174, 186
eighth century, 13, 103, 111, 118, 120, gender-inclusive, 21, 162
157, 182 Ghadeer, 1, 68, 148, 149
elite, 23, 37, 69, 86, 152, 195 glass, 34–36
embodied, 20, 23, 173, 178 God-centric, 2, 61, 158, 160, 171, 183
embodiment, 9, 158, 161, 186 guardianship, 134, 153
209
Index
Hajj, 1, 68, 148, 168 Jabir, 60, 127

hegemonic, 2, 6, 173, 184 Jafari, 157
hegemony, 11, 12, 78, 82, 84, 91, 134, 136, 186 jurisprudence, 36, 109, 110, 156
heritage, 170 jurisprudential, 15, 22, 37, 82, 108, 109,
hermeneutic, 10, 110, 176 114–116, 174
hermeneutical, 6, 13, 110 jurors, 185
heroine, 5
heroism, 15 Karbala, 36, 155, 156, 167, 169, 184
hijra, 15, 20, 40, 64, 138 Khadija, 1, 15, 47, 48, 60, 85
Hind, 67 Khoja, 159, 160
Hindu, 159 khums, 70, 71
household, 3, 19, 37, 38 Khyber, 64, 79, 85, 138, 144
Hudaibiyya, 137
humanity, 33, 59, 103, 108, 129, 142, 143, lamentations, 72, 155
157, 165, 175 landscape, 3, 23, 131, 138, 153
husayniyya, 159 legitimacy, 2, 179
Hyderabad, 169 liberal, 9–11, 186, 187
hypocrisy, 100, 192 liberalist, 8
hypocrites, 146 linguistic, 31, 97, 105, 110, 112
ideological, 5, 161, 171 Maaz, 83, 181

ideologies, 13, 64, 91, 129–133, 169 Magianism, 131
iftar, 31, 164 Magians, 130, 132
imagery, 33, 176, 178 Mahdi, 76, 84, 86, 157
inaction, 101, 105, 151 mainstream, 4, 9, 11, 13, 157, 186
inactivity, 11 male-dominated, 22, 93, 156, 170, 185
inclusion, 27, 39, 42 mandate, 3, 11, 94, 122, 186
India, 5, 158 march, 18–20, 65, 93, 177
inheritance marching, 19, 22, 185
female, 2, 22, 72, 91, 93, 94, 110, 176, 180, marginalization, 77, 180
182, 184 marginalized, 84, 136, 142, 161, 177, 187
injustices, 5, 10, 68, 92, 101, 105, 139, 157, martyrs, 11, 155
173, 177, 179, 184, 194 Mary, 29, 40, 88, 158
inspirational, 3, 11, 23, 24, 39, 92, 160, 161, Maryam, 49, 53, 60
177, 183, 186 memories, 6, 15, 17, 19, 20, 64, 180, 185
integrity, 15, 22, 76, 115, 135, 182 memorized, 6, 71, 169
intercessory, 44, 58–61, 181. See also metaphor, 23, 34–36, 109, 123, 137, 150, 152,
authority 153, 183
interdisciplinary, 14, 187 metaphysical, 25, 158, 181
interreligious, 21, 24, 187 migration, 16, 19, 88, 138, 148, 161, 163
investiture, 68, 106, 141 misconstrued, 9, 139, 163
Iraqi, 5, 23, 158, 169, 171, 172 misrepresented, 11, 92
ironic, 16, 90 modesty, 80, 89
Ironically, 69 monotheism, 22, 94, 120, 121, 133, 170
Islamophobia, 8 monotheistic, 10, 33, 137, 183
Islamophobic, 9, 186 movements, 18, 21, 63, 96, 154, 172, 177
Ismaili, 12, 159 muhājir, 1, 19, 63, 68, 83, 113, 122, 180, 193
210
Index
Muslima, 10, 172, 173, 184 premodern, 2, 9, 11, 14, 21, 24, 62, 168,
Mu‘tazila, 6, 13, 71, 96, 103 179, 186, 187
primordial, 44, 45, 127
Nahj al-Balagha, 6, 44 privilege, 21, 114, 115, 117, 161
Najran, 18, 40 proclamation, 28, 46, 195
niche, 34–36, 52 progeny
ninth century, 112, 185 Fatima’s, 36, 75, 76
Prophet’s, 1, 27, 43
oil, 34, 35 progressive, 9, 10, 165, 184, 187
opportunities, 4, 32, 72, 83, 101, 135, 140, project, 16
151, 152, 185, 191 prominent, 21, 44, 63, 68, 82, 122, 181
oppressions, 68, 105, 151, 154, 155, 157, property
169, 185 government, 77
organized, 20, 140, 175 personal, 67, 181
orthodox, 171 private, 66
orthodoxy, 176 rightful, 185
ostracized, 3, 48, 73, 90 state, 1, 69, 115
ownership, 1, 66, 67, 74, 77, 81, 91, 114, prophetic, 15, 94, 126, 129, 138, 141, 182
141, 182 prostration, 32, 51, 173
protest
Pakistani, 158 oral, 1, 7, 20, 91, 179, 185
paradigm, 27, 117, 182, 186 public, 2, 5, 91, 134
patriarchal, 2, 4, 8, 39, 92, 179, 187 proximity, 15, 73, 94, 104, 142, 144, 147,
pedagogy, 123, 129, 131, 134 149, 169, 192
people-focused, 21, 92, 151 pursuits, 24, 81, 154, 162, 171, 172, 174, 180,
perception, 34, 97, 133 184, 186
persecutions, 85, 88, 122, 136, 155, 172,
180, 184 Quba, 20
Persian, 4, 5
perspectives, 2, 7, 24, 43, 80, 82, 154, 162, race, 136, 142, 161, 187
174, 178 racial, 24, 137, 187
philosophical, 12, 94, 102, 129, 131, 182 rational, 13, 112, 131
philosophy, 13, 22, 120, 128, 170, 182 reason, 12, 133
piety reconstruct, 3, 129
female, 11, 33, 80, 169 reform, 24, 62, 129, 161, 178
pioneer, 170 religious
pioneering, 122 assumptions, 23
polemical, 2 constructs, 11
polemics, 46, 115 identity, 5, 9, 21, 186
politics, 122, 170 leadership, 7, 22, 72
practicing, 30, 80, 177 movements, 176
precedence, 24, 91, 119, 182 subjugation, 9
precedent, 20, 22, 81, 117, 120, 178, 182, 185 values, 11, 186
predominant, 131 resentment, 13, 73
preexistence, 25, 45, 46, 103, 127 residents, 19, 65, 80, 85, 87, 137
pre-existent, 44, 51, 61, 128, 181 resilience, 72, 173
pregnancy, 48 resilient, 3, 11
211
Index
resistance, 82, 154, 169, 172, 185 status quo, 92, 114, 143
resisters, 168 stipend, 115
resources, 23, 92, 140, 151, 165 struggles, 5, 10, 82, 144, 146, 152, 154, 169,
revenues, 66, 77, 91, 181 170, 173, 192
revolutionary, 5, 18, 173, 178, 186 studies
rhetoric, 2, 9, 176 feminist, 2, 8, 176
rhetorical, 7, 176 Islamic, 2
Risala al-Huquq, 187 women’s, 2, 8, 9, 11, 14, 186
rites, 69, 74, 173 subjugation, 169, 177. See also religious
rituals, 69, 158, 159, 173, 177, 182 successors
authentic, 141
sacred texts, 3, 14, 26, 186 natural, 153
saints, 11, 62 Prophet’s, 1, 68, 69
Salman, 53, 137 successorship, 94, 179, 183
Samarqand, 76 suffrage, 173
Samarra, 157 Sufi, 12, 127
Saqifa, 1, 6, 68, 69, 122 supplications, 24, 31, 40, 42, 85, 90, 108,
Satan, 57, 106, 109, 192 112, 156, 165, 168, 187
scales, 57, 191 supremacy, 72, 135–137, 163, 191
scholar-activists, 8, 22–24, 154, 170, 180 surrender, 64, 65, 67
scriptures, 40, 103, 107, 112, 118, 121, surveillance, 156
127, 130 symbolic, 22, 63, 76, 77, 91, 112, 154,
scroll, 54, 55, 156 159, 181
sectarian, 2, 12, 27, 92, 115, 179, 187 symbolically, 21, 78
selfless, 29, 30, 32, 78, 80, 153 Syria, 74, 136, 140, 168, 169
settlement, 41, 64, 74
seventh century, 3, 93, 165, 178 ta’wil, 12, 13, 26, 27, 107, 110
sexist, 10 teachers, 13, 129, 165
sheet, 79, 89 tenth century, 12, 13, 86
Siffin, 97 testimony, 3, 11, 42, 88–91, 100, 103,
social justice, 2, 8, 21, 62, 78, 118, 143, 154, 113, 172
170, 177, 184, 187 textual, 2, 26, 71, 95, 129, 180
society, 22, 27, 80, 165, 171, 172 theologians
Arabian, 29, 39, 89, 93, 179, 186. female, 2, 8, 22, 24, 154, 180
See also culture theory, 9, 14, 82, 172, 173, 176
just, 43 thirteenth century, 6
Meccan, 26, 28 tragedy, 3
Muslim, 62, 182 tragic, 5, 167, 184
socio-cultural, 140, 154, 169 transcendence, 96, 110
socio-political, 3, 23, 135, 178, 187 transcendent, 22, 33, 34, 93, 95, 119
spaces, 158, 159, 177 transcendental, 183
spectrum, 15, 51 transformative, 2, 25, 123, 137, 151, 183
spoils, 65, 66, 70, 87 transmitters, 6, 84, 86, 88, 112–114,
spokesperson, 168 164, 182
stance, 22, 23, 64, 93, 123 transnational, 8
statements, 18, 95, 103, 112, 113, 119, 121, Twelver, 4, 27, 57, 59, 111, 112, 155, 159, 184
141, 145, 194 twentieth century, 4, 5, 178
212
Index
underrepresented, 9 violently, 136

understudied, 11, 187 voices, 3, 8, 11, 14, 175, 177
Uqbah, 20, 63, 82, 84, 181
Urdu, 5 witnesses, 84, 90, 113, 126, 161, 182
usurpation, 5, 6, 105, 154, 179 womb, 25, 44, 46–48, 50
worldview, 10, 11, 61
veils, 18, 98, 107, 132,
133, 138 Yemeni, 39, 140
venerated, 11, 45
veneration, 27, 45, 61 Zahra Private School, 172
victory, 64, 136, 144 Zainab, 6, 7, 155–157, 184
violence, 69 Zayd, 6, 85
213

Feminist Theology and Social Justice in Islam

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Feminist Theology and Social Justice in Islam

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Feminist Theology and Social Justice in Islam

Mahjabeen Dhala is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and Chair

Cambridge University Press is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment,

Mahjabeen Dhala is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and Chair

Cambridge University Press is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment,

Mahjabeen Dhala is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and Chair

Cambridge University Press is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment,

1 Fatima in Islamic Sacred Sources 25

2 Fadak: More than a Land Dispute 63

4 Service-Based Leadership 121

5 Fatima Inspires Social Justice 154

Contemporary Feminist Theories and Theologies 172

I wish to express my gratitude to Judith Berling, Munir Jiwa, and

as her inheritance. In doing so, she deployed a Qur’anic argument

Challenging prevalent social norms, reclaiming repressed voices,

Like most peoples’ history, Islamic history is often a record of trag-

in general. In the case of Islam, an investigation into the histories

of Fatima’s life, demonstrating her public protest against the gov-

sermon from two chains of transmitters: one that leads to Zayd,

and the second part is a scholarly exploration of the sermon in the

to present her as a Muslim female theologian and scholar-activist

Faithful and Feminist

Western feminism has been remiss in engaging the concerns of

that focus on the narratives of premodern Muslim women’s contri-

Despite their different approaches to depicting Muslim women,

reforming religious constructs from within the tradition, especially

the sermon of Fatima to posit that the encounters of premodern

Ta’wil and Tafsir of the Qur’an

Alongside a constructive, feminist approach, I deploy allegorical

who interrogated the second caliph Umar on the deeper meanings

verses are apparent; however, it is arriving at what is meant by those

Setting the Stage

The sermon of Fatima denotes a critical juncture in Islamic history,

mission. Her sermon is an ironic reminder that the daughter of

became known as the ashāb al-suffa (people of the extension).40

consciousness, deep theological acumen, and thorough Qur’anic

I begin with a broad introduction of Fatima’s sacred and central

stance. The issue had thus, taken on a theological and jurispruden-

political issue because by confiscating it, the caliphate was strip-

Indeed, We have given you [kauthar] abundance. So, pray to your

This chapter draws from a selection of Qur’anic verses and excerpts

Fatima in the Qur’an

Allegory presents a dynamic and transformative space for explor-

malleability and fluidity of textual meaning, thereby emphasizing

The Promise of Kauthar

The word kauthar appears only once in the Qur’an: “Indeed, We

his interpretive approach of utilizing the Qur’an to interpret the

people’s amazement. He would rise from his place whenever she

even though he was born as a miracle to the virgin Mary without a

Among the Abrār

An analysis of the historical context (asbāb al-nuzūl) of the above

This verse highlights key characteristics of the abrār as inter-

Judgment, and pious and charitable conduct. He presents another

In his Shawahid al-Tanzil li Qawa’id al-Tafdhil, Hakim al-Haskani21

The “Verse of Light”

The most common theme in the Qur’an is the description of the

All-seeing” (Q 42:11). While this verse denies any likeness (mathal)

According to this verse, the metaphor of God’s Light is a lamp

indescribable so that “the intricate secrets and mysteries [of the

The “Verse of Purity”

The concept of purity is a recurring theme in the Qur’an as it relates

Al-Tabari narrates another tradition from Umm Salama, the

argues the Ahl al-Bayt in this verse cannot be a group of females

The “Verse of Mubāhala”