Qur'an folio in gold Kufic, 9th c. · Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0

Islam

Tradition·Founded 610 CE·est. ~2 billion worldwide

Islam → 4 branches

Branch
F Figure of Islam

Fatima al-Zahra.

The Prophet's daughter, and the only one of his children whose line continued. She died within six months of him, estranged from the first caliph over an estate at Fadak she said was hers. Shia mourn her annually; what exactly happened at her door is among the rawest of all sectarian wounds.

Names & titlesFatima — al-Zahra, the radiant; Sayyidat Nisa al-Alamin
DomainThe Prophet's house, and the line of descent
RelationsDaughter of Muhammad and Khadija; wife of Ali; mother of Hasan and Husayn
Depicted asNever — even Persian miniature painting leaves her a veiled figure of flame
StandingThe ahl al-bayt run through her; every sayyid alive claims her as ancestor
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held

Fatima is central to Shia devotion in a way that has no exact Sunni parallel, and the reason is that the succession dispute ran directly through her household. Shia sources hold that in the days after the Prophet's death her house was raided to force Ali's allegiance, that she was injured, that she miscarried, and that she died within months, refusing to speak to Abu Bakr and asking to be buried at night with no attendance from the caliph. Sunni sources record the estrangement over Fadak and the night burial and reject the violence. Her grave's location is unknown, which Shia read as her final protest. She is called the mother of her father, umm abiha, and Twelver mourning for her — the Fatimiyya days — has grown notably more prominent in the last few decades. The claim that every sayyid descends from her is genealogically enormous: it makes millions of people the Prophet's family.

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