Now they have asked me to request on their behalf that you...

Now they have asked me to request on their behalf that you grant them an audience.” She said, “By Allah, I will never meet them and I will never speak to them until I meet my father and complain to him about what they have done to me.” Ali (‘a) said, “I promised them that I would convince you to meet them.” She said, “If you have promised them, then this is your house and wives have to obey their husbands. I will not go against your wishes. Allow them to come if you wish.”

Ali (‘a) let them in. When their eyes fell on Fatimah, they greeted her but she did not reply and instead turned her face away from them. So, they went to the other side and faced her, but she turned away again. This happened a couple of times. She said, “O Ali, cover me with the cloth,” and she told the women who were near her, “turn away my face!” However, each time they turned her face, the two [who had come to visit her] went to the other side So, that they were again in front of her. Abu Bakr said, “O Daughter of the Prophet of Allah, we have only come to seek your forgiveness and assuage your anger. Please forgive us and pardon us for what we have done to you.”

She said, “I will not speak a single word to you until I meet my father and complain about what you have done and the crimes you have committed against me.” Then she turned to Ali and said, “I will not speak to them until I have asked them about something that they heard from the Prophet of Allah. If they acknowledge it, I will express my opinion.” They said, “By Allah, that is her right and we shall not speak anything but the truth.” She said, “I ask you, by Allah, do you remember that the Prophet of Allah called you both outside in the darkness of night to tell you something about Ali?” They said, “Yes, by Allah.” She continued, “I ask you, by Allah, have you heard the Prophet say, ‘Fatimah is part of me and I am from her; whoever hurts her has hurt me and whoever hurts me has hurt Allah; and whoever hurts her after my death is like one who has hurt her during my lifetime, and whoever hurts her during my lifetime is like the one who hurts her after my death’?” They said, “Yes, by Allah.” She said, “All praise be to Allah!” Then she said, “O Allah, I make you my witness, So, bear witness O you who are present here, that these two have hurt me in my life and even as I approach death.