Abou Dharr came out of the house and announced to the people that the funeral of Fatimah (PBUH) was postponed, and asked the people to leave. The crowd dispersed gradually. Everyone had to wait till the next day to attend the funeral of Fatimah (PBUH). After sunset, it was dark and the people of Medina went to sleep. Yet, the sound of crying could be heard from the house of Fatimah (PBUH). Ali (PBUH) was crying while washing the body of Fatimah (PBUH).
It was as if by seeing the bruises on his wife’s body, Ali (PBUH) was reminded of the scene where they attacked his house:”…Fatimah (PBUH) was behind the door…An uproar was heard from outside…a man shouted: “open the door!” Another said,” Wood! Set fire! (1)” …The door got broken by a kick and the uproar was mixed with the sound of Fatimah (PBUH)…”
Ali (PBUH) leaned his head against the wall. He felt a lump on his throat. Medina was quiet. The people were asleep. All the children of Fatimah (PBUH) felt a lump in their throats, but they tried to cry quietly. Ali (PBUH) finished washing the body of Fatimah (PBUH). Then he put her in a shroud and called upon his children to bid farewell to their mother,” This is your final farewell with your mother, until you meet her in Paradise (2)”. The children of Fatimah (PBUH) threw themselves on the body of their mother while crying.
That night, Ali’s (PBUH) responsibility did not leave him any room for sitting or crying. He could not feel tired in fulfilling the duty Fatimah (PBUH) had put on him. She had ordered that her body be washed, shrouded, and buried at night (3).
Ali (PBUH) buried his wife. But where? In Baqi? In her house? Besides the grave of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)? Or perhaps somewhere else… No one knows. He hid the grave, and made the figure of some grave in Baqi so that nobody would identify the actual grave.
As Ali (PBUH) was burying the body of Fatimah (PBUH) in the middle of the night in hiding, he was so concerned about fulfilling the duty Fatimah (PBUH) had put on him that he did not feel his own tragedy. But as soon as he finished the burial, all the grief sat on his heart. As his tears fell on his face, he turned towards the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) and said,
“O Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)! Peace be upon you from me and your daughter who has just came to you and joined you so fast.
O Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)! I have lost patience over separation from your daughter…
Your trust has been returned to you. They took her away from me.
After her depart, my grief shall never come to end, and my nights will be spent in sadness until the day I shall join you, when Allah (SWT) chooses for me the place where you are currently residing.
She will soon explain to you how your nation got united to usurp her rights. Ask her about all the incidents; because she had suffered from so many tragedies that burned her right, yet she could not find a way to express them. But now she can open her heart, and Allah (SWT) will judge, and He is the best judge…
Your daughter was buried secretly in front of Allah (SWT); her right was usurped; her inheritance was taken away; even though it was not long after your demise, and you were not forgotten yet. O Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)! I complain only to Allah (SWT), and you are the best to console. Peace be upon you and upon Fatimah…” (4)
The next day, people gathered in front of the house of Ali (PBUH) to perform the funeral of Fatimah (PBUH), but they got a clear response,” It is all done”.
The news of burying Fatimah (PBUH) at night was another factor that ruined the social prestige and political status of the ruling authorities. Umar and some others decided to dig wherever Fatimah (PBUH) could have been buried, take her body out, perform prayers, and then redo the burial in a formal manner. Attacking the grave of Fatimah (PBUH), if it had happened, would have been a repeat of the attack to her house. Ali (PBUH) came out of his house armed, and went to Baqi to defend the hidden grave of his wife. He threatened to kill those who wanted to the dig the ground to find the body of Fatimah (PBUH).
Umar who insisted on opening the graves said to Abubakr,” Did I not tell you they would do such?”
Abbas said,” This was the will of Fatimah (PBUH) that the two of you should not pray on her body”.
Umar responded by saying,” You Bani Hashim will never let go of your old grudges against us. I swear to God that we will open her grave and pray on her body”.
Ali (PBUH) said,” O son of Sahhak! I also swear to Allah (SWT) that if you do so, I will take my sword out of its sheath and…”
Abubakr said,” O Abal Hassan! I ask you to the right of the Messenger of Allah and the One Who is above the throne to leave him alone. We will not do anything against your will.” (5)
The crowd dispersed and returned to their homes in groups; while Medina had lost Fatimah (PBUH).
The hidden grave of Fatimah (PBUH) was indeed her message to the history. It was a message to the Muslim people throughout the history. This message would reach all the generations throughout the history only if the burial of Fatimah (PBUH) was performed secretly, so that conscience of people would look for her hidden grave. In fact, the whereabouts of her grave could be found within the sad story of her life, and her constant opposition against tyranny and fanaticism. This opens up a new view to the history of Islam and the destiny of the Muslim nation.
This was how Fatimah (PBUH) turned death to life, failure to success, calamity to victory, and her eternal silence to a constant movement and uprising among all the nations and generations to the end of time. We hope that one day all the drops join together to make a roaring flow, and the movements based on awareness lead to the establishment of the city of the Prophet on the earth.
(The above is a selection taken from “The Lost city; What did Fatimah (PBUH) Say…? What happened in Medina…?” by Muhammad Hassan Zouraq (with some changes))
The Roshd Website offers condolences to all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon 3rd of Jamadi al-Thani, the anniversary of the martyrdom of the flesh of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) and the defender of the Divine guardianship, Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (PBUH).
Footnotes:
1. When Abubakr – the one chosen as Caliph in Saqifah – was informed that a group of people had gathered in the house of Fatimah (PBUH) and had not paid allegiance to him, he ordered Umar to go there and take Imam Ali (PBUH) and others by force to the mosque to pay allegiance. Umar and a few others went to the house of Fatimah (PBUH) while carrying fire. When they reached the house, Fatimah (PBUH) went to the door and asked about the reason they had gathered there. Umar mentioned that they intended to take Imam Ali (PBUH) and others to the mosque to pay allegiance to Abubakr. Fatimah (PBUH) warned and rebuked them against doing so and forbade them. At this point, Umar threatened those inside to burn the house if they did not come out, knowing that Fatimah (PBUH) was inside. Having fire with him, Umar ordered his companions to collect some wood. Then they entered the house by force, searched the house with those accompanying them, and then took Imam Ali (PBUH) to the mosque by force, against Imam’s will. While doing so, Fatimah (PBUH) was seriously injured, and suffered a lot (The main parts of this incident are narrated by prominent Sunni scholars, such as Ibn Abi Shaybah (Al-Musannaf, p. 432), Ya’qubi (History of Ya’qubi, vol. 2, pp. 123 & 137), Biladhuri (Ansaab al-Ashraaf, vol. 1, pp. 586-587), Tabari (History of Tabari, vol. 2, p. 443), Ibn Abd Rabbih (Iqd al-Farid, vol. 5, pp. 13-14), Mutaqqi al-Hindi (Kanz al-Ummaal, vol. 5, p. 651)…
2. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 179; Al-Awaalim, vol. 6, p. 261)
3. Shia References: Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43 – Rawdah al-Wa’idhin, p. 151 – Ilal al-Shara’yi, p. 187 – Ma’ani al-Akhbar, p. 355 – Kashf al-Ghummah, vol. 1, p. 494 – Amaali of Mufid, p. 281 – Amaali of Tusi, p. 19, Hadith 19 – Maqtal al-Hussain Kharazmi, vol. 1, p. 82
Sunni References: Sharh Hadidi, vol. 16, p. 281 – Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 7, p. 216 – Anssab al-Ashraaf, vol. 1, p. 405 – Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, vol. 3, p. 31 – Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir Tabrani, vol. 22, p. 398
4. Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 459 – Nahj al-Balaghah, p. 182
5. Dala’il al-Imamah, p. 136 – Al-Lum’ah al-Bayda, p. 872 – Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 200