ভূমিকা

included the fertile land of Fadak. When Fatima al-Zahra was

told that her personal property had been taken away, she went

to the caliph to prove her ownership. Bringing her witnesses

to prove that this was indeed her property, he accepted the

the second caliph was informed of what had transpired, not

only did he snatch the title-deed from her hand, tearing it to

pieces, but he went on to quote the famous and grossly

inaccurate statement attributed to the Prophet in which it is

stated that he purportedly said, “We the group of prophets do

not leave anything as inheritance, whatever we leave behind is

In such a tense climate in Medina, Fatima al-Zahra

delivered her famous speech in the masjid of the Prophet in

which she noted that her claim to ownership of Fadak was

not only based on witnesses but also on verses of the Quran

not have a share in the inheritance and that I should not

inherit from my father and that there is no relation between

us? Has God in His verses (of the Quran) not taken into

consideration everyone in general and are not all Muslims

included in these verses? Is my father discharged from the

applicability of this verse? Or do you say that two people of

the same community do not inherit from one another? Are

my father and I not from one community?”

All of these actions took place in the direct sight of the

Muslim community - with only a few of the loyal companions

Fatima al-Zahra: The Spring of Inspiration

Sadly, not only was the gift or inheritance which was

given by the Prophet of Islam taken away from her, but she

also saw the rights of her husband, the Commander of the

Faithful Ali, taken away - namely his God-given leadership

woman that she was, used this golden opportunity of the

transgression of her right of inheritance / possession to further

advance the right of her husband, Imam Ali, to the caliphate

of the Muslim community after the tragic demise of Prophet

However this would fall on deaf-ears and the injustice and