A woman from the enemies put poison in the food of Lady...

A woman from the enemies put poison in the food of Lady Fatima Masuma (A) and she became ill. She then asked to be taken to Qum and her request was granted. After a few days stay in Qum, she died of her illness and was buried there.[^7] Another narration states that Hārūn and the other members of Lady Fatima Masuma’s (A) family, totalling 23, were killed in an ambush by the people of the town of Sāweh, who at that time had great enmity towards the family of the Prophet (S).

In the book Qīyām-e Sādāt-e `Alawī, it is mentioned that the ambush was actually carried out by the soldiers of Ma’mūn. It is narrated that the soldiers insisted that the caravan progress no further. In the discussion that ensued, the soldiers falsely alleged, “Your Imam is dead.” This lie caused consternation in the camp and some people decided to return to Madina, while others wanted to press on.

This might account for the mistaken notion that Lady Fatima Masuma (A) died as a result of being heartbroken at the news of the death of her beloved brother. In any case, a confusion ensued and the soldiers took the opportunity to attack the camp. During the assault, Lady Fatima Masuma (A) had to witness the brutal death of 23 close family members. She is therefore sometimes compared to Lady Zaynab (A), who also witnessed the slaughtering of her close family members.

And due to this intensely sorrowful event, Lady Fatima Masuma (A) became ill and was taken to Qum. And here after 16-17 days she passed away in Qum, and was buried there.[^8] It is also narrated that the second group consisting of about 12000 Shi`a were also attacked on the orders of Ma’mūn, through the ruler of Fārs, in a place called Shīrāz.

All the members of this group were either killed or ran away.[^9] The narrations above may explain why there are so many graves of the sons of the Imams (A) and other family members found within Iran.

For instance in Sāweh itself, the graves of Sayyid Ishāq, Sayyid Abū Ridā, Sayyid `Ali Asghar (all from the family of Imam (A)) are popular sites for pilgrims, as are the graves in villages around Sāweh, also attributed to children of the Imams (A).[^10] 2.3 - Lady Fatima Masuma’s (A) journey from Sāweh to Qum When Lady Fatima Masuma (A) became ill at Sāweh, she enquired from her companions, how far Qum was.