ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Tragedy of al-Zahra’: Doubts and Responses Part 8: From Here And There Did Medina’s Houses have Doors?! Someone quotes a history professor at Damascus University[^1] as saying that during the time of the Messenger of Allah (S) and thereafter, Medina’s homes did not have wooden doors. Rather, only curtains used to be placed on entrances. Then he said that he discussed it with the professor and that the latter had a proof.

Then he follows his statement by saying, “So, how was al-Zahra’ (sa) squeezed between the door and the wall? And how did the fire burn the door’s wood?!” The same transmitter produces two “proofs” to support his statement. They are: FIRST: The Prophet (S) returned from one of his trips and went to Fatima’s house. He found on its entrance a curtain which Ali (as) had given to her as a gift, so the Prophet (S) returned.

Fatima (sa) knew why he returned, so she gave the curtain to al-Hassan and al-Husayn (as) to get it to her father to do with it whatever he pleased. He S said, “May her father be her sacrifice!” This proves that the entrances had only curtains.

SECOND: Narrating the incident when al-Mughirah ibn Shu’bah committed adultery saying that the witnesses saw him in action when the wind blew away the entrance’s curtain, not that they entered the house and saw him in such an abominable and uncompromising condition. This, too, proves that the entrances had curtains, not wooden doors.

The answer to the above is: FIRST: The same individual raises a case against the history professor at Damascus University that Medina’s homes during the time of the Messenger of Allah S did not have (wooden) doors, saying that he discussed it with the man who had a proof. We say to the same individual: “Did you rebut his proof or where you convinced of it? If you rebutted it, how did you do that and by what means?

And if you accepted it, as seems to be the case, why didn’t you publicly declare it rather than refer people to someone else?!” SECOND: Perhaps the claim that Medina’s homes did not have doors was a joke intended to tease Ikhwan al-Safa and to break the ice after a period of shunning and avoiding!

This joke is the one that prompted us to collect scores, even hundreds, of texts proving that Medina’s homes did have wooden doors with knobs to open and to shut, to break or to burn, to lock or to knock, during the time of the Prophet (S) and thereafter.