Lady Fatima Zahra (S.A.): Her Life, Virtues and Legacy

Few names are spoken in Shia homes with as much love as the name of Lady Fatima Zahra (S.A.). She was the daughter of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) and Lady Khadija (S.A.), the wife of Imam Ali (A.S.), and the mother of Imam Hasan (A.S.), Imam Husayn (A.S.) and Lady Zaynab (S.A.). Her life on earth was short, around eighteen years in the Shia sources, yet the Quran, the Prophet and the Imams speak of her in a way they speak of no other woman.

This guide brings her story together in one place: her birth, her names and titles, the verses of the Quran that the Imams and many commentators linked to her, the authentic hadiths on her virtues, her marriage, her worship and her motherhood. It then looks at the painful weeks after the Prophet's passing, including Fadak and her proof of inheritance from the Quran, using reports from Sunni books as well as Shia ones. We have written it at ShiaEdu, a Shia online Quran academy, so that families and students can read about Bibi Fatima with the sources in front of them.

Her Birth and Childhood in Makkah

Shia scholars record that Lady Fatima (S.A.) was born in Makkah on the 20th of Jumada al-Thani. Al-Kulayni opens the chapter on her birth in al-Kafi with the report that she was born five years after the Prophet's mission began, that she passed away at the age of eighteen years and seventy-five days, and that she lived for seventy-five days after her father. Some other Shia scholars, such as Shaykh al-Mufid, placed her birth two years after the mission, and many Sunni historians placed it five years before the mission. We mention the difference honestly; the date most Shia communities mark is the 20th of Jumada al-Thani.

She was the youngest daughter of the Prophet and Lady Khadija, and she grew up in the hardest years of the call to Islam. As a little girl she saw her father mocked in the streets of Makkah, and she lived through the three years of boycott in the valley of Abu Talib, when the Banu Hashim were cut off from food and trade. Her mother Lady Khadija passed away soon after the boycott ended. From then on, Fatima cared for her father with such tenderness that she became known by the title Umm Abiha, "the mother of her father".

When the Prophet migrated to Madinah, Fatima followed him there with Imam Ali (A.S.), who brought the women of the Prophet's family safely from Makkah. Madinah would become the city of her marriage, her children, her sermons and her grave.

Her Names and Titles

Her name, Fatima, comes from a root meaning "to separate" or "to wean". In Ma'ani al-Akhbar, Shaykh al-Saduq gathers a whole chapter on the meanings of the names of the Ahlulbayt (A.S.). One report there, from Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (A.S.) through his fathers, says the Prophet told Fatima that Allah had derived her name from one of His own names: "He is al-Fatir and you are Fatima." Another report in the same chapter says she was named Fatima because Allah separates those who love her from the Fire.

Her titles describe her character. Al-Zahra means "the Radiant One"; a report in the same book says she was given this name because Allah created her from the light of His greatness. Al-Batul refers to her devotion to Allah and her separation from the ways of the world. Al-Siddiqa means "the truthful one", and Imam Musa al-Kazim (A.S.) described her with this very word, as we will see below. Other titles found in the narrations include al-Tahira (the pure), al-Zakiyya (the chaste), al-Radiya (content with Allah's will), al-Mardiyya (pleasing to Allah) and al-Muhadditha (one to whom the angels spoke).

The most famous title of all is Sayyidat Nisa' al-'Alamin, the Leader of the Women of the Worlds. Al-Mufaddal ibn 'Umar once asked Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) whether this meant she was the leader of the women of her own time only. The Imam replied that this description belonged to Maryam (A.S.), who led the women of her age, while Fatima is the leader of the women of all the worlds, from the first to the last.

Verses of the Quran About Lady Fatima Zahra (S.A.)

The Quran does not name Fatima, just as it does not name most of the people it praises. Instead, several verses were revealed about events in which she stood at the centre, and the Imams of the Ahlulbayt explained these verses to their followers. Many of these occasions are also recorded in Sunni hadith collections and commentaries, which is why we cite both. The verses below are given with the translation of Ali Quli Qara'i.

The Verse of Purification (33:33) and the Event of the Cloak

Who are the "People of the Household" in this verse? Sahih Muslim answers in a narration from Lady 'A'isha herself. She said the Prophet went out one morning wearing a cloak of black wool. Hasan came and he brought him under it, then Husayn came and entered with him, then Fatima came and he brought her in, then Ali came and he brought him in. Then the Prophet recited this verse. The event is known to Shia Muslims as Hadith al-Kisa, the Event of the Cloak, and its longer Shia version is recited in homes and gatherings across the world.

The Verse of Mubahala (3:61)

Around the ninth year after the Hijra, a delegation of Christians from Najran came to Madinah to debate the Prophet about Prophet 'Isa (A.S.). Allah then commanded the Prophet to invite them to a mubahala, a mutual prayer calling Allah's curse upon whichever side was lying. The verse told him to bring "our sons", "our women" and "our souls".

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, in a narration recorded in Sahih Muslim (2404) and Sunan al-Tirmidhi (3724), said that when this verse was revealed, the Messenger of Allah called Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn and said: اللّٰهُمَّ هٰؤُلَاءِ أَهْلِي, "O Allah, these are my family." Of all the women of the Muslim community, Fatima alone stood as "our women" in this verse. The Christians of Najran saw who had come out with the Prophet and chose not to go ahead with the mubahala.

Surah al-Insan (76:7–10): Feeding the Needy, the Orphan and the Captive

Imam Hasan (A.S.) and Imam Husayn (A.S.) once fell ill when they were small. Imam Ali and Lady Fatima vowed to fast for three days if Allah cured them, and their maid Fidda joined the vow. When the children recovered, the family fasted. At sunset on each of the three days, just as they were about to break their fast with a little barley bread, someone knocked: on the first day a needy man, on the second an orphan, on the third a captive. Each time the family gave away their food and broke their fast with water alone.

Shia commentators, such as 'Allama Tabataba'i in al-Mizan, hold that these verses were revealed about this event. The story is also recorded by Sunni scholars, including al-Tha'labi in his Quran commentary and Ibn al-Athir in Usd al-Ghaba under the biography of Fidda. Some Sunni scholars, notably Ibn Taymiyya, rejected the report, so readers should know that its acceptance is not universal among Sunnis. For Shia Muslims it is one of the best-known lessons in selflessness from the household of the Prophet.

The Verse of Love for the Near Relatives (42:23)

A narration attributed to Ibn 'Abbas says that when this verse was revealed, the companions asked who these relatives were, whose love had been made obligatory on them, and the Prophet replied: "Ali, Fatima and their two sons." Imam Ahmad recorded it in Fada'il al-Sahaba and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Ibn Kathir and some other Sunni scholars considered its chain weak, while Shia scholars accept this meaning on the basis of many narrations from the Imams. Either way, the verse ties the reward of the Prophet's entire mission to love for his family, and Lady Fatima is at the heart of that family.

Surah al-Kawthar (108) and Her Descendants

The enemies of the Prophet mocked him as abtar, "cut off", because his sons had died in childhood. Allah answered them in the shortest surah of the Quran: "Indeed We have given you abundance (al-Kawthar)... Indeed it is your enemy who is without posterity." Commentators have explained al-Kawthar in several ways, including a river in Paradise and abundant good. Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, the Sunni commentator, mentions among its meanings that al-Kawthar refers to the Prophet's descendants, because the surah was revealed in reply to those who taunted him for having no sons. Shia scholars see in this verse the blessing that came through Lady Fatima, since every descendant of the Prophet, including the eleven Imams after Imam Ali, comes through her.

"Give the Relatives Their Due" (17:26)

The verse "Give the relatives their [due] right" (17:26) is connected in many reports with Fadak. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, in al-Durr al-Manthur, records narrations from al-Bazzar, Abu Ya'la, Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Mardawayh, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri and Ibn 'Abbas, that when this verse was revealed the Prophet called Fatima and gave her Fadak. Al-Haythami noted that one chain contains a weak narrator, and Ibn Kathir raised the question that the surah is Makkan. Shia narrations from the Imams state the same thing clearly, and we return to this below when we discuss Fadak.

Hadiths on Her Virtues

The love of the Prophet for his daughter is one of the clearest themes in the hadith literature, and many of the strongest reports are found in the two Sahihs of the Sunni tradition. We have checked each reference below against the hadith collections themselves; the translations are ours.

This hadith matters for more than its tenderness. If angering Fatima is angering the Prophet, and the Quran warns that those who hurt Allah and His Messenger are cursed (33:57), then her pleasure and her anger become a measure of right and wrong. We will see why this becomes important when Sahih al-Bukhari itself reports that she died angry with the ruler of her time.

The background to this hadith is moving. During the Prophet's final illness, Fatima came to him walking exactly as he walked. He welcomed her, seated her beside him and whispered to her, and she wept. Then he whispered again, and she smiled. When Lady 'A'isha asked her about it, she would not reveal her father's secret. After his passing she explained that he had first told her that his death was near, so she wept, and then told her that she would be the first of his family to join him, and that she was the leader of the women of Paradise, so she smiled.

Lady 'A'isha also described the closeness between father and daughter. In a narration in Sunan Abi Dawud (5217) and Sunan al-Tirmidhi (3872), she said she had never seen anyone more like the Messenger of Allah in manner, bearing and speech than Fatima. When Fatima came in, he would stand for her, take her hand, kiss it and seat her in his own place, and when he visited her, she would do the same for him. In a society that once buried infant girls alive, the Prophet standing up for his daughter was itself a lesson.

The word shahida in this sahih Shia narration is one of the reasons Shia Muslims speak of her death as martyrdom. We come back to it in the section on her final days. For a wider picture of the family to which she belongs, see our guide to the 14 Masomeen (the Fourteen Infallibles).

Her Marriage to Imam Ali (A.S.)

As Fatima grew up in Madinah, several prominent companions asked for her hand. Sunan al-Nasa'i (3221) records, through Burayda, that Abu Bakr and 'Umar both proposed and the Prophet told each of them that she was young. Then Ali proposed, and the Prophet married her to him. Shia narrations add that the Prophet waited for Allah's command in this marriage and that he asked Fatima for her consent before giving his answer.

Imam Ali owned almost nothing. Sunan Abi Dawud (2125) records that when Ali married Fatima, the Prophet told him to give her something, and when Ali said he had nothing, the Prophet asked, "Where is your Hutami armour?" The armour was sold and the money became her dowry, part of which was spent on simple things for their new home. Most historians place the marriage in the second year after the Hijra.

Their home was among the plainest in Madinah, yet it became the house from which the line of the Imams began. Their children were Imam Hasan (A.S.), Imam Husayn (A.S.), Lady Zaynab (S.A.), Lady Umm Kulthum (S.A.), and a son named Muhsin, whose story we will reach later. Even Sunni books record that the Prophet chose the names of her sons himself; in al-Mustadrak (4783) Imam Ali says the Prophet named them Hasan, Husayn and Muhsin after the sons of Prophet Harun, Shabbar, Shubayr and Mushabbir.

Her Worship and the Tasbih of Fatima

Life in Ali and Fatima's home was hard. Sahih al-Bukhari (5361) records Imam Ali's account that Fatima's hands were sore from turning the hand mill. When she heard that some captives had been brought to the Prophet, she went to ask him for a servant, but did not find him. That night the Prophet came to their house as they were going to sleep, sat between them and said: "Shall I not guide you both to something better than what you asked for? When you go to bed, say Subhan Allah thirty-three times, al-Hamdu lillah thirty-three times and Allahu Akbar thirty-four times. That is better for you than a servant."

This gift became the Tasbih of Fatima Zahra. In the Shia tradition it is recited after every obligatory prayer, beginning with Allahu Akbar thirty-four times, then al-Hamdu lillah thirty-three times, then Subhan Allah thirty-three times. The Imams spoke of its reward in remarkable terms.

Her worship went far beyond this tasbih. Shaykh al-Saduq, in 'Ilal al-Shara'i, records that Imam Hasan (A.S.) watched his mother stand in prayer in her place of worship through a whole Thursday night until dawn. He heard her pray for the believing men and women by name, and pray for them a great deal, but she asked nothing for herself. When he asked her why, she answered: "My son, first the neighbour, then the house." It is a short sentence that teaches a whole way of living. If you would like to recite the supplications she loved with the correct Arabic, our collection of Shia duas and ziyarat is a good place to start.

Lady Fatima as a Mother

Lady Fatima raised two Imams and the heroine of Karbala within the few years of her married life. Imam Hasan was born in the third year after the Hijra and Imam Husayn in the fourth. Lady Zaynab, who would later stand before Yazid's court and speak the truth about Karbala, was her daughter and pupil. Every Shia child who learns about the courage of Lady Zaynab is, in a way, learning about the home that Lady Fatima built.

The narrations show a mother who combined hard work with gentle teaching. She played with her children, sang to them, prayed for them and taught them through her own example, from the night prayers Imam Hasan witnessed to the three days of fasting in Surah al-Insan, when even the small children saw their parents give away their only food. For parents who want to introduce these stories to young children in simple language, our free Ahlulbayt (A.S.) book for kids tells them in short chapters.

After the Prophet: The House and the Allegiance

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) passed away in Rabi' al-Awwal in the eleventh year after the Hijra. While Imam Ali and the Banu Hashim were washing and burying him, a group of the Ansar and Muhajirun gathered at the Saqifa of Banu Sa'ida, and Abu Bakr was chosen as caliph. Shia Muslims believe that the Prophet had already appointed Imam Ali as his successor, most famously at Ghadir Khumm. You can read more about this difference in our article on Imamat and Khilafat. Here we focus on what happened to Lady Fatima, using reports recorded by Sunni scholars themselves.

According to Sahih al-Bukhari (4240–4241), Imam Ali did not give his allegiance to Abu Bakr during the months Lady Fatima was alive. Imam Ali, al-Zubayr and others who held back met in Fatima's house. Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba, a teacher of al-Bukhari, records in his al-Musannaf with a chain of trusted narrators, that when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab heard of these meetings he came to Fatima.

Other Sunni historians record the threat as well. Al-Tabari, in his Tarikh, reports that 'Umar came to the house of Ali, where Talha, al-Zubayr and some of the Muhajirun were gathered, and said: "By Allah, I will burn [the house] upon you, or you will come out to give allegiance." Al-Baladhuri records a similar account in Ansab al-Ashraf. Most strikingly, al-Tabari and Ibn 'Abd Rabbih (in al-'Iqd al-Farid) record that Abu Bakr, on his deathbed, listed three things he wished he had not done, and the first was this:

Muhsin and the Door: A Short Summary

Shia sources record that when the house was attacked, Lady Fatima was injured behind the door and lost the child she was carrying, Muhsin. Among the early sources for this are Kitab Sulaym ibn Qays and Dala'il al-Imama of Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari al-Imami, and Shaykh al-Tusi discussed it in Talkhis al-Shafi. As we saw, the sahih narration in al-Kafi calls her a shahida, a martyr.

Some Sunni books also preserve this report, usually while rejecting it. Al-Shahrastani, in al-Milal wa al-Nihal, records that the early Mu'tazili scholar Ibrahim al-Nazzam (d. 231 AH) held that 'Umar struck Fatima on the day of the allegiance until she miscarried, and al-Shahrastani counts this among al-Nazzam's errors. Al-Dhahabi in Mizan al-I'tidal, quoted by Ibn Hajar in Lisan al-Mizan, records that the hadith scholar Ibn Abi Darim had a report read to him that 'Umar kicked Fatima until she miscarried Muhsin, and al-Dhahabi criticises him for it. Sunni sources generally hold that Muhsin was born and died in infancy. We record both views here as they are, so readers can see the sources for themselves.

Fadak: What Happened

Fadak was a village with palm groves and springs near Khaybar, north of Madinah. In the seventh year after the Hijra its people surrendered without any battle. Under the Quran (59:6), land gained without fighting belonged to the Prophet himself, not to the army. Shia narrations, and the reports in al-Durr al-Manthur mentioned above, state that the Prophet gave Fadak to Fatima during his lifetime when the verse "Give the relatives their due" was revealed.

After the Prophet's passing, Fadak was taken over by the new government. Sahih al-Bukhari (4240–4241) records, from Lady 'A'isha, that Fatima sent to Abu Bakr asking for her inheritance from the Messenger of Allah: what Allah had given him in Madinah, Fadak, and what remained of the fifth of Khaybar. Abu Bakr replied that the Messenger of Allah had said:

Notice how this was presented. It was not a written document, and it was not a verse of the Quran. It was a statement that Abu Bakr said he had heard from the Prophet. Yet the Prophet's own daughter, the person most directly concerned with his estate, and his household had never heard of it. In another report, recorded by al-Baladhuri in Futuh al-Buldan, Fatima then said that the Prophet had given Fadak to her as a gift during his lifetime, and Imam Ali and Umm Ayman testified for her, but Abu Bakr did not accept their testimony as enough.

Sahih al-Bukhari then describes what followed in words that every Muslim should read slowly:

Put this beside the hadith from the same book: "Fatima is a part of me, so whoever angers her has angered me." Shia Muslims do not need any source outside Sahih al-Bukhari to show that the Prophet's daughter left this world angry at what had been done to her. Fadak was later returned to her descendants by some rulers, including 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, and taken back again by others, which itself shows how unsettled the matter remained.

The Sermon of Fadak

Lady Fatima did not accept this in silence. Wearing her outer covering and surrounded by the women of her family, she went to the Prophet's mosque, where Abu Bakr sat among the Muhajirun and the Ansar, and delivered a long sermon now known as al-Khutba al-Fadakiyya. It is recorded by Ahmad ibn Abi Tahir Ibn Tayfur (d. 280 AH) in Balaghat al-Nisa', by al-Tabrisi in al-Ihtijaj, and in other early works. In it she praised Allah, explained the wisdom behind the pillars of Islam, reminded the people of what her father had done for them, and then turned to the question of her inheritance with arguments drawn entirely from the Quran.

Inheritance Proven from the Quran

The heart of Lady Fatima's argument was simple: the Quran is the final judge, and the Quran shows that prophets do leave inheritance. In her sermon she recited the following verses one after another. Each one answers the claim "we prophets are not inherited from".

1. Prophet Zakariyya asks Allah for an heir (19:5–6)

Here a prophet prays to Allah for a son specifically so that the son will inherit from him. Those who defended Abu Bakr's position said that Zakariyya meant the inheritance of prophethood and knowledge, not property. But look closely at the verse. Zakariyya says he fears his kinsmen after him. Prophethood is chosen by Allah alone; no relative can seize it, so there would be nothing to fear. He then asks Allah to make the heir "pleasing", which would be unnecessary if he were asking for a prophet, since every prophet is already pleasing to Allah. The natural meaning is that he did not want his wealth to pass to unworthy relatives, so he asked for a righteous son to inherit it. In another place (21:89) he prays, "My Lord! Do not leave me without an heir, and You are the best of inheritors."

2. Sulayman inherited from Dawud (27:16)

Prophet Dawud had many sons, yet the Quran singles out Sulayman as the one who inherited from him. If this meant prophethood alone, the word "inherited" would be out of place, because prophethood is given by Allah and is not passed down by family right. The plain meaning of waritha in Arabic is to inherit what a person leaves behind.

3. The general laws of inheritance (4:11, 8:75, 2:180)

Lady Fatima then recited the general verses of inheritance. "Allah enjoins you concerning your children: for the male shall be the like of the share of two females... but if she be alone, then for her shall be a half" (4:11). "The blood relatives are more entitled to inherit from one another in the Book of Allah" (8:75). And "Prescribed for you, when death approaches any of you and he leaves behind any property, is that he make a bequest for his parents and relatives" (2:180). None of these verses makes an exception for the Prophet. As a single daughter, Fatima's share under 4:11 would be clear.

Then she asked the question that has never been answered: did Allah reveal a special verse that excludes her father? Or did the people present know the general and specific meanings of the Quran better than her father and her cousin Ali? A single report cannot overrule the clear text of the Quran, especially a report unknown to the very family it concerned. That is the Shia position, and it rests on the Book of Allah. To study these verses in their full context, our Quran translation and tafsir course goes through them with a teacher.

Her Final Days, Will and Martyrdom

Lady Fatima's grief for her father never left her. In the sahih narration of al-Kafi, Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) says she lived seventy-five days after the Messenger of Allah, overcome by sorrow, and that the angel Jibril would visit her, console her, tell her about her father and his place, and inform her of what would happen to her descendants, while Imam Ali wrote it down. Another report, in Dala'il al-Imama, gives ninety-five days. Sahih al-Bukhari says six months. This is why Shia communities mark her martyrdom on two dates: the 13th of Jumada al-Ula and the 3rd of Jumada al-Thani.

Shia narrations record that in her final days she gave her will to Imam Ali, asking that he wash her body himself, that she be buried at night, and that those who had wronged her should not attend her funeral. Sahih al-Bukhari confirms the outcome: Ali buried her at night and did not inform Abu Bakr. Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) told al-Mufaddal that Amir al-Mu'minin washed her himself, because she was a siddiqa and only a siddiq could wash her, just as Maryam was washed by 'Isa.

Her grave was hidden. Al-Kulayni records from Imam Husayn (A.S.) that when Fatima passed away, Amir al-Mu'minin buried her secretly and concealed the place of her grave. Then he turned towards the grave of the Prophet and spoke words of grief that are among the most moving in Islamic history. They are also recorded in Nahj al-Balagha.

To this day no one knows exactly where Lady Fatima is buried. Some say in her own house, which is now within the Prophet's mosque, some say in Jannat al-Baqi, and some say between the Prophet's grave and his pulpit. Pilgrims to Madinah stand in all these places and greet her. A hidden grave for the only daughter of the Prophet, in a city full of his companions, is a silent message she left for every generation. Pilgrims planning to visit can read our guide to Ziyarat of the Ahlulbayt in Madinah.

Her Legacy and Ayyam-e-Fatimiyya

Lady Fatima's legacy lives on through her children and through the Imams who descended from her, ending with Imam al-Mahdi (A.S.). It lives on in the Tasbih recited after millions of prayers each day, in the Event of the Cloak recited in homes, and in her sermon, which remains one of the finest pieces of Arabic eloquence and one of the clearest defences of truth against power.

Shia communities mark the days of her martyrdom as Ayyam-e-Fatimiyya, with majalis, recitation of her ziyarat, and lessons on her life. In 2026, the 13th of Jumada al-Ula fell around 24 October, the 3rd of Jumada al-Thani falls around 13 November, and the anniversary of her birth on the 20th of Jumada al-Thani falls around 30 November, depending on the sighting of the moon in your country. Our guide to recommended duas and worship in Jumada al-Thani lists acts you can do in this month, and our book on Islamic months and holy days explains the calendar for children.

For Shia families in the West, her life gives children a role model who was devoted to Allah, brave in speaking the truth, gentle at home and generous to strangers. If you want your children or yourself to study her life, the beliefs of the Ahlulbayt and the ziyarat in a structured way, our Shia Aqaid course and Ziaraat of the Ahlulbayt course are taught one-to-one online, and the first class is free.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related reading

• The 14 Masomeen: Lives of the Fourteen Infallibles
• Imamat vs Khilafat: The Question of Leadership
• Recommended Duas and Worship in Jumada al-Thani
• Shia Islamic Beliefs (Aqaid): A Guide for Families