Some of the authors above have recorded the year of the...

Some of the authors above have recorded the year of the birth of Lady Fatima Masuma (A) as 183 A.H instead of 173 A.H, but this is incorrect on account of two major points, which are: i. If we study the details of Imam Mūsā al-Kāđim’s (A) life we see that on the 25th Rajab 183 A.H he died in prison in Baghdad. We also know the minimum amount of time that he spent in prison was four years and during this imprisonment, his family was in Madina.

So it cannot be possible for Lady Fatima Masuma (A) to be born in this same year of 183 A.H. ii. Also, it is well documented that Imam al-Kāđim (A) had more than one daughter named Fatima, and that Lady Fatima Masuma (A) was the eldest Fatima ( Fātimat al-Kubrā ), therefore she could not have been born in the same year as the year of her father’s death.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that it is not possible that Lady Fatima Masuma (A) was born in the year 183 A.H, and the authors who have quoted this date have made a mistake, (either in counting or writing) and should have recorded 173 A.H. 1.3 - The date of her death There is no difference of opinion about the fact that Lady Fatima Masuma (A) died in Qum in the year 201 A.H.

The year of her death is further corroborated by the tiles in her shrine, dating back from centuries ago, which have the same date written on them.[^5] However, there are various possibilities about the month and day of her death: 10th Rabī` al-Thānī[^6] 12th Rabī` al-Thānī[^7] 8th Sha`bān[^8] There is no evidence to say which of the three dates is correct, and so the scholars have decided that because the first and the second dates are so close together, the mourning for the death of this noble lady should be over a three day period (10th, 11th and 12th of Rabī` al-Thānī).

This three day period is called: “ايّام معصوميّة” – “the days of Masuma”. Lady Fatima Masuma (A) was about 28 years old when she died, although some scholars have said that at the time of her death her age was 18 (from the mistake of the year of her birth - 183 A.H instead of 173 A.H) and others have said her age was 23, but this last narration is not very reliable, due to its weak chain of transmission.

1.4 - Her father The father of Lady Fatima Masuma (A) was the 7th Imam – Imam Mūsā al-Kāđim (A). It has been recorded in history that Imam al-Kāđim (A) had numerous children. Shaykh Mufīd (d.