Rafed English
site.site_name : Rafed English

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

We know that the circumstances inspired the caliph with a certain feeling towards Fatima and her husband.Let us not forget that he asked the prophet for the hand of Fatima but the prophet refused and when Ali proposed to her, the prophet responded to his proposal. 1 That refusal and this response gave the caliph a feeling of disappointment and at the same time a feeling of envy towards Ali and that Fatima was the cause of that competition between him and Ali that ended with his opponent's winning.
Let us notice too that Abu Bakr was the one, whom the prophet (S) had sent to inform the unbelievers of Mecca the sura of Bara'a then he sent Ali after him telling him to turn back and to be deprived of this honor2 for nothing but because the devine inspiration wanted to put in front of him again his competitor of Fatima, who won her instead of him.3

No doubt that the caliph watched his daughter (Aa'isha) during her competition with Fatima for the priority near the prophet (S) and was affected by her emotions as it was natural for fathers with their children. He might think at a time that Fatima prompted her father to go to lead the prayer in the mosque when Aa'isha paved the way for her father, whom she worked for from inside the prophet's house, to lead the prayer when the prophet was ill.4

We cannot expect history to explain every thing clearly but it was reasonable to assume that a man meeting circumstances like the circumstances surrounded the caliph from Ali and Fatimas, would behave just like what he did in his famous historical situation and that a woman facing what Fatima faced of competitions during the days of her father even a quarrel between Aa'isha and Fatima's father, would not be silent when the opponents tried to deprive her of her legal right.

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1- As-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqa by ibn Hajar p.249.

2- Ahmad's Musnad vol.1 p.3, as-Sawa'iq al-Mukhriqa p .32, al-Khassa'iss of an-Nassa'iy p.90-91.

3- It was mentioned in as-Sawa'iq al-Mukhriqa p.143 that Anass had said: "While I was sitting with the prophet (s) the angel visited him. When he left, the prophet (s) said: "My God ordered me to marry Fatima to Ali ...".

4- Ibn Hisham's Seera vol. 3/4 p. 653.