Virtues of ‘Ali’s Spouse

The Holy Prophet (S) held Fatimah, ‘Ali’s wife, in high esteem. He forbade people to marry her and the only person blessed with this auspicious marriage was ‘Ali.³² The Messenger of Allah said: Fatimah is part of me. Whatever hurts her will hurt me too.³³ Addressing Fatimah, the Messenger of Allah said: My daughter! Verily God Almighty will become angry with your anger and happy with your happiness.³⁴

The Messenger of Allah has been quoted by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud as saying: God Almighty has banned the torment of hell to Fatimah’s progeny due to her innocent and purified nature.³⁵ The Holy Prophet (S) said: My daughter was named Fatimah because God has saved her and her devotees from chastisement and fire.³⁶ The Messenger of Allah has said: When the Day of Judgment comes, a herald from behind heavenly curtains warns: Close your eyes and lower your heads, for this is Fatimah, the dignified daughter of Muhammad who intends to cross the Discriminating Bridge.³⁷

Ibn Abbas has reported: the Messenger of Allah used to kiss Fatimah so much so that A’ishah would say to the Holy Prophet: Why do you kiss Fatimah so much? The Holy Prophet would say in response: On the night Gabriel took me to heaven, he gave me heavenly fruits. The result was that Fatimah’s fetus was made. By intercourse with Khadijah, she conceived Fatimah! Since then, any time I long for those fruits I kiss Fatimah and in this way I can smell the perfume of those fruits.³⁸

فِي زَوْجَتِهِ عَلَيْهَا السَّلامُ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ يُعَظِّمُ فَاطِمَةَ زَوْجَةَ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ عَظِيماً وَمَنَعَ النَّاسَ مِنْ تَزْوِيجِهَا سِوَى عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ. قَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: فَاطِمَةُ بِضْعَةٌ مِنِّي؛ يُؤْذِينِي مَا يُؤْذِيهَا.

وَرَوَى الخَوارِزْمِيُّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: يَا فَاطِمَةُ، إنَّ اللهَ يَغْضَبُ لِغَضَبِكِ وَيَرْضَى لِرِضَاكِ. وَعَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: إنَّ فَاطِمَةَ حَصَّنَتْ فَرْجَهَا فَحَرَّمَ اللهُ تَعالَى ذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ النَّارِ. وقَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: إِنَّمَا سُمِّيَتِ ابْنَتِي فَاطِمَةَ لأَنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجلَّ فَطَمَهَا وَفَطَمَ مَنْ أَحَبَّهَا مِنَ النَّارِ.

وقَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: إذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ نَادَى مُنَادٍ تَحْتَ الْحُجُبِ: يَا أَهْلَ الْجَمْعِ، غُضُّوا أَبْصَارَكُمْ وَنَكِّسُوا رُؤُوسَكُمْ؛ فَهَذِهِ فَاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ مُحَمَّدٍ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَمُرَّ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ. وَعَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ: كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ يُكْثِرُ الْقُبَلَ لِفَاطِمَةَ عَلَيْها السَّلامُ. فَقَالَتْ لَهُ عَائِشَةُ: يَا نَبِيَّ اللهِ، إنَّكَ لَتُكْثِرُ قُبَلَ فَاطِمَةَ. فَقالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: إنَّ جِبْرِيلَ لَيْلَةَ أُسْرِيَ بِي أَدْخَلَنِيَ الْجَنَّةَ وَأَطْعَمَنِي مِنْ جَمِيعِ ثِمَارِ الْجَنَّةِ فَصَارَ مَاءً فِي صُلْبِي فَوَاقَعْتُ خَدِيجَةَ فَحَمَلَتْ بِفَاطِمَةَ. فَإذَا اشْتَقْتُ إلَى تِلْكَ الثِّمَارِ قَبَّلْتُ فَاطِمَةَ فَأُصِيبُ مِنْ رَوَائِحِهَا بِشَمِّ الثِّمَارِ الَّتِي أَكَلْتُهَا.

A’ishah has been quoted as saying: When the Messenger of Allah was sick as a result of which he passed away, Fatimah came to visit the Holy Prophet and with the sorrow she had, she threw herself on her father’s chest and spoke to him privately for some time. Hearing her father’s words, she started weeping bitterly and once again threw herself in her father’s arms. This time too, they spoke to each other privately but Fatimah was happy. Following the Holy Prophet’s departure from this world, she was asked about the reason behind her weeping and her smiling. Fatimah said: On the first time, my father whispered to me something that made me weep. My father said: Fatimah, I will not recover from this illness. I will meet my Lord soon. For this reason, I started weeping. But the second time, he whispered to me something which gladdened me. He said: My daughter, do not grieve for parting with me, for you are the first person from my Ahl al-Bayt to join me after my passing away. Hearing this made me glad, for joining my father was the most pleasant to me. Another good news I received from my father was that I was the lady of the women in paradise with the exception of Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran. This added to my happiness and pleasure.³⁹

Anas has reported: The Messenger of Allah in relation to Fatimah said: Four women are above all the other in world: Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran, Asiyah, the daughter of Muzahim and the wife of Pharaoh, Khadijah, the daughter of Khuwaylid, and Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad.⁴⁰

Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik Nawfali has reported on the authority of his father and grandfather: One day, I went to the presence of Fatimah, the Holy Prophet’s daughter. Before greeting her, she greeted me and said: During the illness from which my father did not recover, he gave good news to me and said: Whoever greets me and you for three successive days, will have paradise as his reward. The narrator says: I asked her if this was true during the life of her and her father or after their passing away. She said: Both during our life and after our passing away.⁴¹ When the verse

“Do not hold the apostle’s calling (you) among you to be like your calling one to the other” (24:63)

was revealed, Fatimah says: I decided to call my father as “Messenger of Allah” but

وَعَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ: مَرِضَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ فَجَاءَتْ فَاطِمَةُ عَلَيْها السَّلامُ فَأَكَبَّتْ عَلَيْهِ، فَسَارَّهَا فَبَكَتْ. ثُمَّ أَكَبَّتْ عَلَيْهِ أُخْرَى فَسَارَّهَا فَضَحِكَتْ. فَلَمَّا تُوُفِّيَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ سَأَلْتُهَا، فَقَالَتْ: لَمَّا أَكْبَبْتُ عَلَيْهِ أَخْبَرَنِي أَنَّهُ مَيِّتٌ مِنْ وَجَعِهِ ذَلِكَ فَبَكَيْتُ. ثُمَّ أَكْبَبْتُ عَلَيْهِ أُخْرَى فَأَخْبَرَنِي أَنِّي أَسْرَعُ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ لُحُوقاً بِهِ وَأَنِّي سَيِّدَةُ نِسَاءِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ إلاَّ مَرْيَمَ ابْنَةَ عِمْرَانَ، فَرَفَعْتُ رَأْسِي فَضَحِكْتُ.

وَعَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: حَسْبُكَ مِنْ نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ أَرْبَعٌ: مَرْيَمُ بِنْتُ عِمْرَانَ، وَآسِيَةُ بِنْتُ مُزَاحِمٍ امْرَأَةُ فِرْعَونَ، وَخَدِيجَةُ بِنْتُ خُوَيْلِدٍ، وَفَاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ مُحَمَّدٍ. وَعَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ النَّوْفَلِيِّ عَنْ أبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ قَالَ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتِ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ فَبَدَأَتْنِي بِالسَّلاَمِ وَقَالَتْ: قَالَ أَبِي وَهُوَ ذَا حَيٌّ: إنَّ مَنْ سَلَّمَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَيْكِ ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ فَلَهُ الْجَنَّةُ. قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ لَهَا: هَذَا فِي حَيَاتِهِ وَحَيَاتِكِ أَوْ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ وَمَوْتِكِ؟ قَالَتْ: فِي حَيَاتِنَا وَبَعْدَ مَوْتِنَا.

وَلَمَّا نَزَلَ قَوْلُهُ تَعالَى: ?لاَ تَجْعَلُوا دُعَاءَ الرَّسُولِ بَيْنَكُمْ كَدُعَاءِ بَعْضِكُمْ بَعْضاً? قَالَتْ فَـاطِمَةُ عَلَيْهَـا السَّلامُ: تَهَيَّبْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ أَنْ أَقُولَ لَهُ: يَـا أَبَةُ. فَجَعَلْتُ

my father turned to me and said: This verse was not revealed for you and your family; for you are from me and I am from you. Rather, this verse was revealed about the arrogant Arabs and the wrongdoers who did not call me as the “messenger of Allah.” My daughter! Always call me “father” which gladdens my heart and it is nearer to God’s pleasure. Then he hugged me, kissed me and rubbed his saliva on my face. Since then, I was in no need of any perfume.⁴²