The Burial Place of Lady Fatima

The Burial Place of Lady Fatima

The Burial Place of Lady Faṭima (a) is an unknown location. Speculations about her burial place include her own house, Rawdat al-Nabi, Al-Baqi', and 'Aqil's house (the mausoleum of al-Baqi' Imams). The prevailing view among Shi'a scholars is that she was buried in her own house, although al-Shaykh al-Tusi notes that most Shi'a scholars consider her burial in Rawdat al-Nabi to be the more likely possibility. According to Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi, Shias believe that Rawda encompasses Fatima's house as well, leading some researchers to conclude that the Rawda theory supports the house theory.

Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-'Amili, a contemporary researcher of history, believes that determining the exact location of Lady Fatima's grave is impossible. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi and Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi hold the belief that it is best to visit Lady Fatima (a) in all three potential locations: Rawdat al-Nabi, her house, and al-Baqi'.

Shias believe that Lady Fatima's burial site is unknown due to her body being secretly buried according to her own will. They hold that Fatima (a) specifically instructed for a clandestine burial, as she believed that the caliphate was illegitimately taken away from Imam 'Ali (a), Fadak was unlawfully confiscated from her, and Muslims did not provide her with aid.

Most Sunni scholars hold the view that Lady Fatima's grave is situated in the mausoleum of Imams of the Shi'a within the al-Baqi' cemetery. Some Shi'a scholars argue that this belief stems from a desire to alleviate the pressure exerted by Shias regarding the secrecy of Fatima's burial site.

There are works written about the burial place of Lady Fatima (a), such as Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisaʾ Fatimat al-Shahidat al-Zahra (a) fi ayy makan? (Where is the mausoleum of the Mistress of All Ladies the martyr Fatima al-Zahra?) and Ayn qabr Fatima? (Where is Fatima’s grave?).

Shi'a theological works discuss the issue of Lady Fatima's (a) burial place, which is often cited by Shi'a theologians to rebuke the first caliph, Abu Bakr.^[1] According to Shia belief, Lady Fatima's (a) burial place remains unknown because of her dissatisfaction with Abu Bakr and 'Umar for their usurpation of the caliphate and confiscation of Fadak.^[2] In fact, Seyyid Muhammad Hussein Jalali (d. 2020) suggests that Lady Fatima (a) willed to be buried secretly to ensure that those responsible for her martyrdom would never be forgotten throughout history.^[3]

Shi'a scholars have put forth speculations about the burial place of Lady Fatima (a).^[4] The majority view among Shi'a scholars is that she was laid to rest in her own house,^[5] although al-Shaykh al-Tusi notes that most Shi'a scholars take the place of her burial to be in Rawdat al-Nabi.^[6] Other possibilities have also been propounded in Shi'a sources, such as al-Baqi'^[7] cemetery and 'Aqil’s house (the mausoleum of the Imams buried in al-Baqi').^[8]

Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-Amili, a Shi'a researcher of history, believes that determining the exact location of Lady Fatima’s burial place is impossible. According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi^[9] and Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi,^[10] it is best to visit Lady Fatima (a) in all three potential locations: Rawdat al-Nabi, her house, and al-Baqi'.^[11] In his Misbah al-za'ir, Sayyid b. Tawus believes that the pilgrimage place of Lady Fatima (a) is Rawdat al-Nabi,^[12] but in his al-Iqbal, he says that it is the Prophet’s chamber.^[13]

Lady Fatima’s House

The majority view among Shi'a scholars is that Lady Fatima (a) was buried in her residence.^[14] This possibility is preferred by al-Shaykh al-Saduq,^[15] Ibn Idris al-Hilli,^[16] Ibn Tawus,^[17] 'Allama al-Majlisi,^[18] and Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin.^[19] In support of this view, they cite a hadith^[20] from Imam al-Rida (a) according to which Lady Fatima (a) was buried in her own house, and when the Umayyad dynasty expanded al-Masjid al-Nabi, her house was incorporated within the mosque.^[21]

Some Shi'a scholars believe that the hadith in which Imam 'Ali (a) refers to Fatima (a) as being “buried adjacent to the Prophet (s)”^[22] corroborates the view that she was buried in her own house, since the closest place to the burial site of the Prophet (s) was her residence.^[23]

Some Shi'a researchers argue that it is unlikely for Fatima to be buried in her own house as this contradicts the hadiths which state that Imam Ali (a) carried her body outside of the house during her funeral.^[24] However, some speculate that either the funeral did not involve the body^[25] or was intentionally misleading as to the location of her burial.^[26] Another Shi'a researcher suggests that the funeral procession started from another house belonging to 'Ali (a) and Fatima (a), located in close proximity to al-Baqi', and proceeded towards the other residence of 'Ali (a) and Fatima (a).^[27] According to this viewpoint, the events following the death of the Prophet (s), such as the attack on Fatima's house, occurred in the house situated near al-Baqi'.^[28]

Rawdat al-Nabi

In his al-Muqna'a, al-Shaykh al-Mufid supports Fatima’s burial in Rawdat al-Nabi as the most accurate possibility.^[29] The Shi'a scholar of hadith al-Shaykh al-Tusi claims that most Shi'a scholars believe that Fatima (a) was buried in Rawda.^[30] The area known as Rawdat al-Nabi lies between the Prophet's minbar and his burial place within al-Masjid al-Nabi, which is referred to by the Prophet (s) as a "rawda" (garden or a green area^[31]) among the "rawdas" of the heaven.^[32] According to a hadith cited in Ma'ani l-akhbar, this designation is due to Fatima's burial at the site.^[33]

Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi, a sixth/twelfth century^[34] exegete of the Qur'an and theologian, and Ibn Shahrashub, a sixth/twelfth century^[35] Quranic exegete and scholar of hadith, believe that the two most probable speculations about Fatima’s burial place are her own house and Rawda. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi suggests that the two possibilities are close to each other.^[36] 'Allama al-Majlisi proposes a reconciliation between the two views, as most Shias hold the belief that Rawda encompasses Fatima’s house as well.^[37] For this reason, some researchers say that the Rawda view confirms the house view.^[38]

Al-Baqi' Cemetery

According to Baha' al-Din al-Irbili, a seventh/thirteenth Shi'a historian, people and historiographers widely believe that Fatima was buried in al-Baqi'. He cites a hadith that confirms this possibility. However, he does not specify an exact location in the al-Baqi' cemetery for her resting place.^[39]

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi^[40] and Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi^[41] dismiss this possibility as unlikely. This is supported by a hadith in al-Kafi, which implies that Fatima (a) was not buried in al-Baqi'.^[42] On this hadith, Imam al-Hasan (a) made a will to Imam al-Husayn (a) as follows: “after my martyrdom, take me to the mausoleum of the Prophet (s) so that I renew my allegiance to him. Then take me to my mother’s grave, and from there take me to al-Baqi'.”^[43]

'Aqil’s House (Mausoleum of the Imams in al-Baqi')

'Allama al-Majlisi quotes a hadith from Misbah al-anwar to the effect that Fatima (a) was laid to rest in the house of 'Aqil b. Abi Talib.^[44] This house was located in close proximity to the al-Baqi' cemetery.^[45] Over time, as 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib and four Shi'a Imams (a) were buried there, the house transformed from a private residence to a public place of pilgrimage.^[46] The house was incorporated into al-Baqi' when it was expanded.^[47]

In a travelogue from the years 1302/1884-5 and 1303/1885-6, Muhammad Husayn Farahani, a Qajar-era author and poet, reports about a grave in the mausoleum of the Imams in al-Baqi'a, which was attributed to Lady Fatima (a). On his report,  both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims visited the place to recite a pilgrimage text (ziyara).^[48]

The majority view among Sunni scholars is that the grave of Lady Fatima (a) is located in the mausoleum of Shi'a Imams in al-Baqi'.^[49] They try to support the view by citing Imam al-Hasan’s will to be buried alongside his mother Fatima (a).^[50] In contrast, Shias cite a hadith^[51] to show that the person called "Fatima" who is buried in al-Baqi' is in fact Fatima bt. Al-Asad, Imam 'Ali’s mother.^[52] Muhamamd Sadigh Najmi, a Shi'a scholar, believes that Sunni authors have tried to propagate the idea that Fatima (a) was buried within the mausoleum of Shi'a Imams in al-Baqi' to alleviate the pressure from Shias concerning the secrecy of Fatima’s grave.^[53]

Sunni sources propound other possibilities about the burial site of Lady Fatima (a) as well, including her own house,^[54] Rawdat al-Nabi,^[55] the external part of the house of 'Aqil b. Abi Talib,^[56] and Bayt al-Ahzan.^[57]

The Shi'a scholars believe that Fatima's grave remained concealed due to her own will for a secret burial.^[58] As per the Shi'a sources, Fatima requested to be buried in secrecy because she believed that the caliphate was illegitimately taken away from Imam 'Ali (a), Fadak was unlawfully seized from her, and Muslims failed to provide her with assistance.^[59] Al-Shaykh al-Mufid^[60] and the author of Dala'il al-imama^[61] have noted that Fatima (a) had requested for her burial place to remain clandestine.^[62]

Imam 'Ali (a) buried Fatima (a) secretly under the veil of night^[63] and then obliterated any evidence of her grave.^[64] He went on to construct either forty^[65] or seven counterfeit graves^[66] to ensure that her actual burial place could not be identified. According to certain Shi'a sources, it is said that 'Umar b. al-Khattab planned to exhume the graves and conduct a funeral prayer for Fatima's body. However, upon Imam 'Ali’s warnings, he changed his mind.^[67]

According to reports, there is no conclusive evidence of the exact location of Fatima's (a) grave.^[68] Some Shi'a scholars such as Qadi Nur Allah al-Shushtari^[69] and Sayyid Muhammad Shirazi^[70] believe that the location of her grave will be revealed by Imam al-Mahdi (a) upon his reappearance. However, these claims are not substantiated by any evidence.

'Ali b. 'Abd Allah al-Samhudi, a Sunni historiographer (d. 911/1506), maintains that a reason why Lady Fatima’s burial site remains unknown is that in the early Islamic period, graves were not often solidified by plaster and bricks.^[71] However, this is criticized because the graves of many companions and relatives of the Prophet (s) are known.^[72]

Here are some of the books written about the burial place of Lady Fatima (a):

• Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisa' Fatimat al-Shahidat al-Zahra (a) fi ayy makan? (Where is the mausoleum of the Mistress of All Ladies the martyr Fatima al-Zahra?) by Sayyid Hashim Naji Musawi Jazaʾiri: This work collects Shi'a hadiths regarding the reasons why Fatima’s grave is concealed, along with possible accounts of her burial place.^[73] The book was published in 2016-7 by Danish Publication in Qom.^[74]

• Ayn qabr Fatima? (Where is Fatima’s grave?): This work discusses the possibilities about where Fatima (a) was laid to rest, arguing that the most probable alternative is burial in her own house.^[75] The book was published in 1432/2011 by Dar al-Mahajjat al-Bayda in Beirut.^[76]

Other works published on the same topic include Qabr-i madaram kujast? Dar justujuyi mazar-i bi-nishan-i madaram Zahra (Where is my mother’s grave? In pursuit of the traceless mausoleum of my mother Zahra) by M. Umm al-Muhsin,^[77] and Raz-i sadaf: qabr-i makhfi-yi hadrat-i Fatima (a) az manzar-i siyasi wa 'irfani (The secret of the shell: the concealed grave of Lady Fatima (a) from a political and mystical perspective) by Mehrdad Veis-Karami.^[78]

1. 1. ↑ Ḥillī, Kashf al-murād, p. 373.
   2. ↑ Tabrīzī, Sīra-yi Ustād al-fuqahāʾ wa l-mujtahidin Mīrzā Jawād Tabrīzī, p. 89; Mazāhirī, Andīsha-ʾī nāb, p. 65.
   3. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Fihras al-turāth, p. 71.
   4. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, vol. 1, p. 301.
   5. ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, al-Duʿā wa l-zīyāra, p. 588; Anṣārī, al-Mawsūʿat al-kubrā, vol. 16, p. 113.
   6. ↑ Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid, vol. 2, p. 711.
   7. ↑ Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 1, p. 501.
   8. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 79, p. 27.
   9. ↑ Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid, vol. 2, p. 711.
   10. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Tāj al-mawālīd, p. 80.
   11. ↑ Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid, vol. 2, p. 711.
   12. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Miṣbāḥ al-zāʾir, p. 52.
   13. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Iqbāl bi-l-aʿmāl, vol. 3, p. 161.
   14. ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, al-Duʿā wa l-zīyāra, p. 588; Anṣārī, al-Mawsūʿat al-kubrā, vol. 16, p. 113.
   15. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 572.
   16. ↑ Ḥillī, Kitāb al-sarāʾir, vol. 1, p. 652.
   17. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Iqbāl, vol. 3, p. 163.
   18. ↑ Majlisī, Mirʾāt al-ʿuqūl, vol. 5, p. 349.
   19. ↑ Amīn, Aʿyān al-Shīʿa, vol. 1, p. 322.
   20. ↑ Ṣadūq, Maʿānī al-akhbār, p. 268.
   21. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 572.
   22. ↑ Sayyid Raḍī, Nahj al-balāgha, p. 319; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib, vol. 3, p. 364.
   23. ↑ Māzandarānī, Sharḥ uṣūl kāfī, vol. 7, p. 208; Ḥasanzāda, Hizār-o-yik kalima, vol. 3, p. 446.
   24. ↑ Ḥamūd, Abhā l-midād, vol. 2, p. 547.
   25. ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, al-Duʿā wa l-zīyāra, p. 588.
   26. ↑ Turābī and etc, "Justarī dar chigūnigī wa makān-i dafn-i haḍrat-i Zahrā (a) dar manābiʿ-i nukhustīn", p. 131.
   27. ↑ Najmī, Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ, p. 166.
   28. ↑ Najmī, Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ, p. 163.
   29. ↑ Mufīd, al-Muqniʿa, p. 459.
   30. ↑ Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid, vol. 2, p. 711.
   31. ↑ Ibn Sīdah, al-Muḥkam wa l-muhīt al-aʿzam, vol. 8, p. 245.
   32. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 9, p. 257.
   33. ↑ Ṣadūq, Maʿānī al-akhbār, p. 267.
   34. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Tāj al-mawālīd, p. 80.
   35. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib, vol. 3, p. 365.
   36. ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 6, p. 9.
   37. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 97, p. 193; Majlisī, Mirʾāt al-ʿuqūl, vol. 5, p. 349.
   38. ↑ Qāʾidān, Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmi Makka wa Madīna, p. 210.
   39. ↑ Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 1, p. 501.
   40. ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 6, p. 9.
   41. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, vol. 1, p. 301.
   42. ↑ Anṣārī, al-Mawsūʿat al-kubrā ʿan Fāṭimat al-Zahrāʾ, vol. 16, p. 51.
   43. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 43.
   44. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 79, p. 27.
   45. ↑ Qāʾidān, Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmi Makka wa Madīna, p. 208.
   46. ↑ Najmī, Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ, p. 127.
   47. ↑ Najmī, Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ, p. 81.
   48. ↑ Farāhānī, Safarnāma-yi Mīrzā Muḥammad Ḥusayn Farāhānī, p. 229.
   49. ↑ Samhudī, Wafāʾ al-wafā, vol. 3, p. 93; Ibn Najjār al-Baghdādī, al-Durrat al-thamīna, p. 166; Qāʾidān, Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmi Makka wa Madīna, p. 209.
   50. ↑ Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, p. 54 and 151.
   51. ↑ Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 17.
   52. ↑ Qummī, Anwār al-bahīyya, p. 174; Qāʾidān, Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmi Makka wa Madīna, p. 209.
   53. ↑ Najmī, Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ, p. 128.
   54. ↑ Ibn Jawzī, Muthīr al-gharām, p. 464.
   55. ↑ Sibṭ b. al-Jawzī, Mirʾāt al-zamān, vol. 5, p. 60.
   56. ↑ Numīrī, Tārīkh al-madīna, vol. 1, p. 105.
   57. ↑ Dīyārbakrī, Tārīkh al-khamīs, vol. 2, p. 176.
   58. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Tāj al-mawālīd, p. 80; Nājī Jazāʾirī, Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisāʾ, p. 16.
   59. ↑ Khuṣaybī, al-Hidāya al-kubrā, p. 178; Fattāl al-Nayshābūrī, Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn, vol. 1, p. 151.
   60. ↑ Mufīd, Kitāb al-amālī, p. 281.
   61. ↑ Ṭabarī, Dalāʾil al-imāma, p. 133.
   62. ↑ One reason for the concealment of the grave, which is explicitly mentioned in Fatima al-Zahra’s will, is to perpetuate dissatisfaction with the government of the time throughout history, as this would pose the question why the resting place of the Prophet’s only daughter should remain unknown.
   63. ↑ Numīrī, Tārīkh al-madīna, vol. 1, p. 107.
   64. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 490.
   65. ↑ Ṭabarī, Dalāʾil al-imāma, p. 136; Khuṣaybī, al-Hidāya al-kubrā, p. 179.
   66. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib, vol. 3, p. 363.
   67. ↑ Hilālī, Kitāb Sulaym b. Qays, vol. 2, p. 871; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 28, p. 304.
   68. ↑ ʿĀmilī, Maʾsāt al-Zahrā' (a), vol. 1, p. 252-253; Najmī, Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ, p. 113.
   69. ↑ Shūshtarī, Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq, vol. 28, p. 534.
   70. ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Fāṭima al-Zahrā (a) Afḍal uswa li-l-nisaʾ, vol. 1, p. 31.
   71. ↑ Samhudī, Wafāʾ al-wafā, vol. 3, p. 93.
   72. ↑ Najmī, Tārīkh-i ḥarām-i aʾimma-yi Baqīʿ, p. 114.
   73. ↑ Nājī Jazāʾirī, Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisāʾ Fāṭima al-shahīda al-Zahrā (a) fī ayy makān?, Table of Contents.
   74. ↑ Nājī Jazāʾirī, Marqad Sayyidat al-Nisāʾ Fāṭima al-shahīda al-Zahrā (a) fī ayy makān?
   75. ↑ Rāḍī, Ayn qabr Fāṭima (a)?, p. 135.
   76. ↑ Rāḍī, Ayn qabr Fāṭima (a)?
   77. ↑ Where is my mother's grave? (Persian)
   78. ↑ The secret of the shell. (Persian)[1]