Beliefs

Adopted from the book : "Fadak in History" by : "Shahid Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr"

The first side : Abu Bakr's stuation regarding the inheritance of fatima (s) the he justified according to a tradition, which he alone narrated from the prophet (s) about the matter of inheritance .He narrated the tradition in different ways and different statements for the confrontations between him and fatima (s) were many, so each saying of his had diffrent form and different statements according to the phrase that came to his mind at the time of each confrontation between them.1

1. Before all we want to note how certain the caliph was of truthfulness of the tradition, which he found that it showed that the prophet (s) did not bequeath. How certain was he that he had heard it from the prophet (s) and wheather he changed his mind or not?
We can understand that from the traditions 2 saying that the caliph gave Fadak back to Fatima and the case was about to be ended unless Omar came and said to the caliph: "What is this?" Abu Bakr said: It is a document I wrote for Fatima confessing her right of her father's inheritance". Omar said: "What will you spend on the Muslims and as you see that the Arabs stand against you?"He (Omar) took the document and tore it.3 We quote this tradition cautiously although we may believe in its truthfulness because every thing would encourage not narrating this story unless it had something of reality. If it was true, it would mean that (the attempt of) giving Fadak to Fatima (S) occured after Fatima's eternal speech and when Abu Bakr denied the prophet's inheritance by narrating his odd tradition,because of the wars of apostasy, Omar refered to in his saying, took place ten days after the day of the Saqeefa and Fatima's speech was in the tenth day too.4
Abu Bakar showed his regret for not giving Fadak to Fatima when he was about to die.5 He was so moved that once he said to the people gathering around him : "Revoke your pledge of homage to me!" We percieve by this that the caliph was so worried, feeling that he had commetted a great mistake in his judgement against Fatima without a certain evidence. His conseience became so excited and he could not find a justification that might quiet his worried soul. He was unable to bear this bitter condition so his soul was brimmed to express the regret for his situation towards Fatima at last hour of his life; the critical hour, in which one would review all the scenes one had acted on the stage of life when that the curtain was about to be lowered, and the different threads of one's life gathered in one's momory that were about to be cut and nothing would remain but the burden of the sins committed.

3. Let us not forget that Abu Bakr had recommended in his will 6 to be buried beside the prophet's tomb.This would not be expect if he had recalled his tradition,in which he had narrated that the prophet (s) did not bequeath,and then asked his daughter (Aa'isha) permission to be buried in her share of the prophet's inheritance ( in the house)-if the wife would have a share of land and if that share of land would be enough for Abu Bakr-or if he thought that what the prophet had left was to be as common charity for all Muslims, then he had to ask permission of all of them.Suppose that the adults permitted him, what about the minors and the children at that time?

4. We know well that Abu Bakr had not seized the prophet's wives' house, in which they lived during the prophet's life time,so what was the reason that made him seize Fadak from Fatima (s) and make his yields for the public interests while he let the prophet's wives make use of their house as real keepers so that he asked Aa'isha permission to let him be buried in her house? Did the verdict of not bequeating concern the prophet's daughter only? Were the wives'house their donations? We are to know that made the caliph do that without any evidence despite that no one of the wives had claimed that the house was hers. Inhabiting a house by a wife during the prophet's life time did not mean that she became the owner because it was not private ownership but it was as part of the prophet's ownership as for any wife and husband.

This verse (And stay in your houses.33:33) did not mean that the house were theirs because a little after that the houses were ascribed to the prophet where Allah said: (O you who believe! do not enter the house of the prophet unless permission is given to you. 33:35)

If the order of the Quran is sufficient evidence, this verse must be taken into account. It was mentioned in the sunni books of Hadith that the house was ascribed to the prophet when he had said: "Between my house and my minbar there is a garden of paradise".7

5. Let us ask the caliph about the verdict of the prophets did not bequeath.Did it concern Muhammad (s) only and he kept it secret until it would be required to be applied to Fatima only from among all the heirs of the other prophets? Did they not inform theirs successors and heirs of it because of their greed of the transient wealth in order to remain with their sons and families? Or did they follow the verdict of not bequeating but it was not mentioned in all the histories of the nation? Or did the actual policy at that time established this verdict?

6. On the hand could we accept that the prophet (s) would bring distress and disasters for his most beloved one, at whose displeasure he would be displeased, for whose delight he would be distressed?8 Nothing would cost him to keept all those distresses away from his daughter more than to tell her the truth if there was such a thing. Would the prophet (s) be pleased if his daughter suffered and faced ordeals and that ordeals would widen to be a cause for disagreement among all the Muslims whereas he was sent by Allah to be a source of mercy? Did he conceal it from his daughter while he had revealed it to Abu Bakr?

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1- Refer to sunan of al-Baayhaqi, vol.6, p.297-302 and sharh Nahjul Balagha, vol.16, p.214, 218, 219, 221, 227.

2- Sibt bin aj-Jawzi in his book as-Seera al-Halabiya, vol. 3 p.363, Sharh Nahjul Balagha, vol.16 p.234.

3- Sharh Nahjul Balagha, vol.16, p.234-235.

4- Murooj ath-Thahab, vol.2, p.193.

5- This may weaken the tradition above because if Abu Bakr was ready to recall, he would have responded to Fatima in the mosque when she scolded him so bitterly.

6- At-Tabari's Tareekh, vol. 3 p. 349.

7- Ahmad's Musnad, vol.2, p.236.

8- Al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol.5 p.83, Muslims Sahih, vol.4, p.1902, History of Baghdad by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, vol.17, p.203 and Ahmad's Musnad, vol.1 p.6.