Ali (ra) and Fatima (ra) From Love to the Pain of Death
By Omar Suleiman | 2026-01-06T15:56:04.212198+00:00 | Topic: Trials
Ali (ra) and Fatima (ra): From Love to the Pain of Death
The Firsts | Dr. Omar Suleiman
Introduction
Tonight, inshaAllah ta'ala, this one is going to go through a few different emotions, because we'll go through the lives of Ali and Fatima, may Allah be pleased with them, the humanity of both of them, the marital struggles that they had, some of the difficulties while still seeing the way the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم comforted them and cared for them, and then ultimately the death of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and then the death of Fatima, may Allah be pleased with her, and the very human emotion that came out of that.
The Prophet's Love for Both Ali and Fatima
Starting off though, there was this frequent pursuit of the Prophet, peace be upon him, his love, and everyone wanted to know if the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم loved them the most, right? This is a very common trend that you find in the hadiths where people come to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and say, who do you love the most? And can you imagine Ali and Fatima asking the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, which of us two do you love more?
Right, so last week we talked about Al-Abbas and Ali and Usama ibn Zaid coming to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and saying, who do you love the most, and he says Fatima, but now it's Ali and Fatima asking the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, by the way, who do you love more? What do you think the answer of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was? Both? You know, we struggle, it's not like when you're talking to your kids and I love you and I love you, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had the most eloquent answer.
First of all, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم can't lie, right? His heart is attached to Fatima, he loves Fatima, and Fatima is very special to him, but at the same time he doesn't want to answer that question in a way that would hurt Ali, who he also raised like his own son, right? And he loved Ali radiyaAllahu anhu like his own son.
He's his son, he's his cousin, he's his brother in Medina, he's so much to him. So they asked the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, which of us two is more beloved to you? So he looked at Ali and he said:
A beautiful answer. He said, look, first of all هِيَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْكَ - "She is more beloved to me than you," but وَأَنْتَ أَعَزُّ عَلَيَّ مِنْهَا - "You are more precious to me than her." So he gave them an answer that they could both take some pride in, right? You have more عِزّة (honor/preciousness) with me, she has more حُبّ (love) with me. You are more precious to me, and of course there are certain connotations to that, what he means by that, and you are more beloved to me, oh Fatima, because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.
The Challenge of Distance from the Prophet
The problem that arises in this marriage is not that they had an argument, it's not that the poverty got to them, it's the distance from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Once they got married, realized they were poor, they were distant from the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. Their home was far away and they felt a distance from him.
Fatima grew up as the daughter and then Umm Abiha, the mother of her father of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Ali radiyallahu ta'ala anhu also felt a distance from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And if you look at an old map of Medina, you'll find that the hujurat, the apartments of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم if you will, the small homes of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, where you would see his grave now, so where his grave is is actually the room of who? That's hujurat, that's the apartment of Aisha radiyallahu anhu, that's where the home of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and Aisha radiyallahu anhu was.
And then you have these small homes that run to the left side of the masjid, right? And they run two by two, taking up that area. And the house was far away from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم's house. Now all of the homes of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم actually belonged or were built on the land of one man.
Haritha ibn al-Nu'man's Generosity
And his name was, and his name doesn't come up, I'm not even going to bother asking if someone knows it, mashallah, but it's a very hard name to find. His name is Haritha ibn al-Nu'man. Haritha ibn al- Nu'man. He's not that well known from the companions, but he owned a huge piece of land next to the area of the masjid. So whenever the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would get married, he'd give him a new extension of the land so that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم could have a home there. So when Ali and Fatima got married, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was too embarrassed to ask Haritha for more land so that he could have a home for Fatima and Ali close to him.
So Haritha saw in the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم one day some sort of emotion, some longing, so he said to him, do you miss your daughter Fatima? And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said yes, and he knew what he was indicating, he said but I was too embarrassed to ask you because you've already given us so much. So subhanallah, this is the humility of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. He could snap his finger and everyone will throw everything at him, right? But he doesn't want to take advantage of the kindness of Haritha, so he said I didn't want to ask you for more.
And Haritha said, by Allah, the land that I give to you is more beloved to me than the land that I keep with me. I love giving you land, you could take all the property that you want, it's okay. So he told the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, why don't you take this piece of land, which is right across from your house with Aisha, okay? So why don't you take that piece of land, right across from your house with Aisha radiallahu anha.
So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم smiled and he made dua for him, he prayed for him that Allah would give him a palace in paradise. So Fatima's home and Ali's home was then built adjacent to the house of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and Aisha radiallahu anha. In fact, the only window that you have in those small, if you look at the models of how those homes were built, it was only one window. The window of Aisha and the window of Fatima were facing each other, right? So it's very close to the house of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. So they moved close to him. But then you had the problem of poverty.
The Struggle with Poverty
As I mentioned in the story of Ali, Ali radiallahu anhu was always poor, always in poverty, right? His whole life is defined by intense poverty. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself lived in great poverty. So it's not like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made it and then left his daughter in poverty.
No, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself was in deep poverty until until the day of his death, right? The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم never moved into a palace. He never ate more than a meal a day and it was usually just some dates and water. Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was in poverty.
So Ali and Fatima reached the point of extreme poverty. And Ali radiallahu anhu developed back pain and Fatima radiallahu anha developed blisters in her hands because of the amount of work that they had to do just to stay afloat. And she was exhausted.
The Request for a Servant
And so Ali radiallahu anhu said to Fatima radiallahu anha, why don't you ask the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم if he could provide a khadim, a servant, a maid, someone to help out in the home. And Fatima radiallahu anha said that I'm too embarrassed to ask him. Ali radiallahu anhu said, why don't you just go and just inquire just see if the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم met you know, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had high emotional intelligence, he could tell what his daughter would want or you know, and he would be able to read it and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would likely as we know his character would likely go ahead and say yes, fine.
You know, here you go. And so Fatima went to the house of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم after Salatul Fajr after the Fajr prayer the next day, and found Aisha may Allah be pleased with her and inquired
about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And Aisha radiallahu anha said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had not come home yet.
So he was still in the masjid doing remembrance he was praying he was remembering Allah he was supplicating as he would do for a long time after the morning prayer after Fajr up until the time of sunrise. So she went home now when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came home Aisha told the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that Fatima came looking for you today. Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم immediately went to the house and he knocked the door and Ali radiallahu anhu said من ؟ who is it? So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that it's it's me.
Ali radiallahu anhu said يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ انْتَظِرْ - "O Messenger of Allah wait," they wanted to get the house ready it was night time okay and they wanted to get the house ready and you know be a little bit more presentable right when the Messenger of God comes to the home. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said don't worry عَلَى حَالِكُمَا - "stay as you are," stay seated as you are.
Now if you remember last week the house of Ali and Fatima had one bed it was also their couch it was also where they fed their animals from so they literally sat up on the bed and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said don't get up just stay right there and it was a cold night okay so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم so they were kind of wrapped in the blanket the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم went inside and he sat between them and he looked at Fatima and he said يَا فَاطِمَةٌ - "O Fatima," she said yes O Messenger of God he said did you come looking for me today so she said yes O my father he said what is it that you're asking for O Fatima what caused you to inquire so she said to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم that I heard that maybe you had a servant or a maid or someone that could help me maybe there was someone that could help me because it's become difficult in the home the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said who told you that there might be some servants or there might be a maid or someone to be able to help you a خَادِمَة to be able to help you.
The Prophet's Better Offer
She didn't want to throw Ali under the bus because Ali was the one that told her that I think that he might he might be able to provide a servant or a maid or a خَادِم to help you so she just said someone told me so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said يَا فَاطِمَةُ - "O Fatima," shall I not give you something that is greater that is more beneficial than a servant or a maid to assist you so they both said of course now the thinking was that maybe he's going to give you know he's going to he's going to find a way to have multiple maids or multiple servants to help them out the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is about to make this situation really good for them right.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم instead said when you go to sleep say:
So glorify him 33 times, praise him 33 times, and declare his greatness 34 times which would make a hundred. They said and then they said and also is there a maid or is there a servant. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, and this is powerful because it shows you the ethics and the integrity of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, he said I can't give you a خَادِم I can't provide a servant for you and leave the people of suffa which were the homeless people that slept in the masjid okay so the masjid had homeless people the people that slept in the back of the masjid he said I can't leave them and the orphans from the battle of Badr were empty-handed okay so there were orphans from the battle Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said I can't give them to I can't I can't help you and then leave them in their way but the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said if you say these words every night before you sleep Allah will provide for you in ways that are far greater than anything that you're asking for.
Ali radiallahu ta'ala said that I never missed there was not a single night a single night that I did not say those words after that 33 سُبْحَانَ اللهِ times 33 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ times 34 الله أَكْبَرُ times and he said I swear by Allah that we were increased in strength and sustenance and we never felt like we needed a خادم or needed a maid or a servant after that that Allah had enriched us in this situation or gave us the strength so that we didn't need anything after that.
Their Generosity Despite Poverty
Despite their poverty they were a generous family of course Fatima is like her father Ali radiallahu anhu is like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who raised him and so they used to give their whatever that came into their home would often leave before they could taste anything of it and so according to some of the narrations of tafsir for example the verse in surat al-insan the verses in surat al-insan chapter 76 verse 8 and 9:
"And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, to the orphan, and to the captive. [Saying], 'We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude.'"
Many of the scholars said that this was on a night that Ali and Fatima radiallahu anhu despite their starving despite their hardship that they only had a loaf of bread and some water in their home and they gave it away to a poor family that came to ask and so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala related that for them and there are different proofs of this ibn al-jawzi rahim Allah mentioned some of the proofs for this imam al-shafi used to refer to Ali radiallahu anhu in some of his poetry مَن أَنزَلَ فِيهِ هَل أَتَى - "the one who surat al-insan was revealed for" that Allah revealed that praise of people that give despite their own hardship to the orphan to the to the needy and to the to the captive.
The Prophet's Nightly Visits
There are also some narrations where you have disagreements some narrations where the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam goes to the home finds laughter there are different narrations and each one of them gives you a different dimension of this household and some lessons for us one of them the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam used to go to their home and wake them up for qiyam being a neighbor of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam comes with some commitment too right so this father would leave his home the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam would leave his home at night and not come back until the next day and he would knock on the door to remind them to get up and to pray in the middle of the night as the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam would get up and invoke his lord in the middle of the night.
So one night the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam went there and he tried to wake Ali radiallahu anhu up and Ali did not wake up so the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam told Ali the next day he said why didn't you wake up when I tried to wake you up for qiyam al-layl he said (يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ يُرْجِعَ أَرْوَاحَنَا فعل - "O Messenger of Allah, if Allah wanted to bring our souls back he would have") alright if Allah wanted to bring our souls back he would have so the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam he walked away and he said that (كَانَ الْإِنسَانُ أَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلًا - "human beings are always argumentative") (Quran 18:54) even Ali radiallahu anhu would say that the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said that human beings are always argumentative.
A Marital Disagreement
There's also a story of Ali and Fatima getting into a disagreement this happens in the household of even the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam right a husband and a wife getting into a disagreement and you've got to have a high level of emotional intelligence to know how to diffuse it to know what's going on the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said that when I used to get into when Aisha radiallahu anhu he once told Aisha I know when you're upset with me she said how he said because when you're upset with me you swear by the lord of Abraham and when you're pleased with me you swear by the lord of Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam so I can tell I can tell from your sentiments I can tell from your statements the way that you speak when you're upset with me so Ali and Fatima one night the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam went to the house of Ali and Fatima and he found Fatima there alone and she was upset so the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said where is your cousin he didn't say where is your husband where is your cousin right he could tell that there was some probably some friction he read the situation right salallahu alayhi wasalam so she said (يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ) we got into a fight and Ali radiallahu anhu went to the masjid to sleep in the masjid now this masjid is not open for marital disagreements for you to come sleep in the masjid by the way I'm just going to put that out there alright the masjid of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam you could go there any time of the night but there wasn't carpet there wasn't AC it was dirt so the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam walked into the masjid and he saw Ali radiallahu anhu sleeping in the masjid sleeping in the corner and his top garment had come off and Ali radiallahu anhu had dirt all on his back sand on his back and he was sleeping so the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam went up to him he didn't wake him up and you know threaten him he didn't wake him up and you know
the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam did not play angry father here alright he could have I mean he loves Fatima and this is a part of justice right that you have to have a sense of justice in laws in particular this is where father-in-law and mother-in-law can be very unhelpful when it's my daughter my son instead of the best interest of trying to see you know trying to make the marriage the best possible right so this is the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam's version of in-law interference he goes up to Ali radiallahu anhu and he starts knocking the dirt off of his back he sits him up and he puts the he puts the his shirt back on him and he says (قُمْ يَا أَبَا تُرَاب - Get up, O Abu Turab") instead of Abu Talib Oh Abu Turab and Ali radiallahu anhu started laughing and the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was joking with him right so the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam would joke with Ali and call him Abu Turab and that was his favorite nickname right and that's actually where the story originates from that the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam is knocking the dirt off of his back cleaning him up he says (قُمْ يَا أَبَا تُرَاب - Get up, Abu Turab") and he says go back to your wife go back home right so this is this was the way the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam interfered if you will in the life of Ali and Fatima to make things better okay to defuse the situation.
The Proposal from Abu Jahl's Tribe
There's also a situation that arises after Fatih Mecca after the conquest of Mecca now back in those days polygamy was primarily to establish links between tribes right so it was this person this noble man marry someone from this tribe and that brings the two tribes together and especially is done after war right to bring two tribes together like the case of Ben almost all up and joy to you and others that you find in the seal this was the Arab custom right where a person would be asked to marry a noble man from one tribe is asked to marry a woman from another tribe and that brings together two tribes and solidifies their relationships so after the after Fatih Mecca the tribe of Abu Jahl which was Banu which was Banu Mahzum Banu Mahzum and Banu Hashim were close right so this was the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam tribe and that powerful tribe and they had a lot of heat before Islam right and I mean when Islam happens because Abu Jahl tortured the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam he was the Pharaoh of this nation and so they proposed to Ali they said why doesn't Ali marry and this was a a joint effort if you will from some of the elders of the tribes right they said why doesn't Ali radiallahu anhu marry Fatima bint Abu Jahl, Abu Jahl had a daughter named Fatima and that would bring the two tribes together now when Fatima radiallahu anhu even heard that that was suggested it hurt her humanity right it's her humanness and it hurt the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam that she had caught wind that that suggestion was put out there and it hurt and it and it hurt him that she was hurt so the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam when he heard he said listen I'm not gonna make haram what Allah made halal he said but Fatima was a part of me what hurts her hurts me what hurts her hurts me and he said it's not befitting that a person would be married to the daughter of the Prophet of Allah and the enemy of Allah at the same time the Pharaoh of the Ummah and the Prophet of Allah at the same time so the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam stepped in he expressed the humanity of it the emotion of it and there are some things that the scholars mentioned they said imagine Fatima radiallahu anhu saw Abu Jahl torture her father right saw Abu Jahl
torture the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam she was the one that would clean his wounds from Abu Jahl and Ibn Hajar rahimahullah said that this incident occurred after the conquest of Mecca at that time none of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam's daughters were still alive except for her she'd lost her mother she lost her sisters and so anything that would exasperate her grief and jealousy was something that was not looked upon and that just like her mother who had perfect iman Khadija radiallahu anhu it was not befitting that anyone else would be married to Ali radiallahu ta'ala anhu so the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam stepped in right and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam expressed that pain now this was again the custom of the time but it shows you right that things can hurt people at those times that there was a human sentiment to that and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam acknowledged that pain that Fatima radiallahu anhu felt.
The Deep Love Between Ali and Fatima
But he wasn't unjust Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam did not come in and say haram he said listen she's me and I am her it hurts her what hurts what hurts her hurts me and that's enough right Ali radiallahu anhu did not pursue it or anything like that but just the hint of that hurt her and there was no question of the love of that relationship and I want to make that very clear there was absolutely no question of the closeness of Ali and Fatima may Allah be pleased with them both in fact you start to find now you dig into their relationship the depth of that love right and that's something that also is to be told that there was a deep love between both of them that formulated over the next 10 years.
Ali's Love Poetry for Fatima
There's actually Ali radiallahu anhu was a poet and I'm gonna you know this this lesson is gonna end with a very painful poem but this one's not Ali radiallahu anhu used to author love poetry for Fatima radiallahu anhu right and so we all need to be more poetic Ali radiallahu anhu once saw Fatima radiallahu anha using what was known as the (سِوَاك) which is the toothbrush now the (سِوّاك) comes from what tree I'm gonna ask the all the Bedouins here from the (أراك) tree so سواك is now it's on Amazon for like 30 bucks it's a Moroccan toothbrush it's just from the (أراك) tree you could go to you could go to Mecca Medina and just grab a whole bunch of them right and they talk about all the amazing health benefits of the Moroccan toothbrush it just sounds more exotic to say the Moroccan toothbrush it's a سواك it's from the أراك tree and Ali radiallahu anhu used to author poetry for Fatima radiallahu anha and so this was one of this was a very powerful one because it shows you his eloquence Ali radiallahu anhu saw Fatima using a سواك and he said to the سواك he said
It's a powerful Arab I mean by the way for him that I would have to like spend I could never come up with that I'm not even gonna say I would have to it's impossible to take a lifetime to come up with something that eloquent but Ali played with the words to express his his his love for Fatima radiallahu anha he says
(حَدِّثًا يَا عُودَ الْأَرَاكِ بِتَغْرِهَا) he's like wait a minute you know where it's not just the jealousy of Fatima for Ali he said (حَدِّثًا يَا عُودَ الْأَرَاكِ بِتَّغْرِهَا) oh stick of the (أَرَاك) tree how dare you how dare you you know and then he says (أَمَا خِفْتَ يَا عُودَ الْأَرَاكِ أَرَاكَ) weren't you afraid oh stick of the (أَرَاك) that (أَرَاكَ) that I would see you (لَوْ كُنْتَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقِتَالِ قَتَلْتُكَ) he said if you were a person to be killed I would fight you I would kill you (مَا فَاز منّي يَا سِوَاكَ سِوَاكَ) no one has escaped me oh (سواك سواك) which means other than you Fatima radiallahu anha this made her I mean she she she was the one that actually felt extremely uh treasured and touched by this wasn't like Ali radiallahu anhu being crazy and going into a rage in a fit this was his way of expressing his love and his (غَيْرَة )protective jealousy) for her in their tradition and using the eloquence that uh that he had so what does it look like for the next 10 years obviously Medina as a whole whatever the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam goes through they go through as well so it wasn't just the poverty.
The Birth of Their Children
The battle of Uhud Fatima radiallahu anha was pregnant with her first child what was his name Hassan radiallahu anhu so Fatima was pregnant with Hassan during the battle of Uhud and she was at the battle serving the injured and Fatima radiallahu anha actually took care of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam after his injuries in Uhud we know that the messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was injured severely in the battle of Uhud um that year it was Ramadan of the third year after hijra that Hassan radiallahu anhu was born now if you remember the khutba when Hassan was born what did Ali name him I talked about it Friday khutba (حَرْب) he named him war and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam came back and he said no no his name is not (حَرْب) his name is not going to be war his name is going to be (حسن حسن) means goodness it means excellence it means it means a source of good right Hassan radiallahu anhu was special in many ways for one no one looked more like the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam than Hassan radiallahu anhu and there is a narration where Abu Bakr picked up at Hassan he was throwing him in the air as a kid and he said to him you look more like your grandfather than your father right so his (شبّه) his resemblance was of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam even more than Ali radiallahu anhu he looked more like his grandfather than his father the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam used to love him he used to Al Hassan radiallahu anhu would and I want you to remember this next time you see it Al Hassan would always jump on the Prophet's back in sujood so when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would make sajda prostrate Al Hassan radiallahu anhu would come and attack him jump on his back now kids that's not an excuse to take too long jumping on his back but he would sit on he would get on his back and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would prolong his sujood when Al Hassan was on his back so he'd stay in prostration while Hassan was on his back and when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam used to see him he used to hold him and put him in his lap and he used to make dua for him he used to pray for him often.
Al Hussain radiallahu anhu was born the very next year the fourth year after hijrah what did Ali name him he named him (حَرْب) again he named him war Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said no his name is
(حُسین) which means little (حسن) okay so another source of goodness so the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam took naming very seriously and Al Hussain radiallahu anhu also just becomes a source of great joy for the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and this family of Ali and Fatima becomes four that are extremely precious to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and there is a narration they said that Al Hassan radiallahu anhu resembled the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam most from his upper body meaning his face and his and his arms and things of that sort they said Hussain radiallahu anhu had the had the same legs as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam so he resembled the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam in his own way and both of them were always on the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam he used to be giving the khutbah he'd be giving the sermon and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would see Al Hassan and Hussain he paused the khutbah he'd get down from the pulpit grab both of them give the khutbah sitting down with Al Hassan and Hussain in his lap right so think about that imagery okay.
The Famous Hadith of the Cloak
One of my favorite hadiths in this regard to show their closeness and there's so many hadith by the way about their closeness Aisha radiallahu anhu she said that one day the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam went out wearing a cloak a striped cloak and which was a wide (جُبّة) so it was like a very wide black cloak that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was wearing so Al Hassan radiallahu anhu ran up to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam so the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam he sat down and he wrapped Al Hassan in the cloak then Hussain ran to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam so the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam opened his cloak and he put both of them in the (جُبّة) playing with them and then Fatima his daughter the mom came and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam extended his right and put Fatima under the cloak as well and then Ali came and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam extended his cloak and he put all four of them under his (جُبّة) right and just to show love right just in the moment just to show love and while he was sitting with them the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam recited:
"Allah only desires to remove from you any type of impurity O people of the household and purify you through that which is purifying" and he made dua for them but that's the image right the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam holding all four of them tight.
After they were born Fatima the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam used to come to the house and he used to call out he used to say to Fatima (ادْعِي لِي ابْنَيَّ - "call my two sons for me") I want to see my two sons I want to see Al Hassan and Hussain so Fatima she would dress them up cutely and they'd run to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and he would squeeze them and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would smell their hair right like it's that's love right to just show that love that he had for them and he would often pray for them may Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la be pleased with them both so that's
just a very special relationship that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam you now see another element which is the Prophet as a grandfather right and what he was as a grandfather to them and then زينب was born in the 5th year and أُمّ كُلْثُوم was born in the 6th year after Hijrah and then they had another son who died at birth and his name was and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam named him المحسن so it's a smaller version of Hassan Hussain الْمُحَسّن who actually died at the time of birth and so their family rounded out and these four children.
The Love for Ahl al-Bayt
And Ibn Abbas Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam he said that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was once carrying Al Hassan radiAllahu ta'ala was also a sahih Muslim and he said
This was also a house of great laughter the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would often pass by their house and he would hear their laughter and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would inquire would inquire about their laughter and say what is it that made you laugh so that he could laugh with them Ali and Fatima had a relationship where they used to joke a lot and this is one of the صفات actually one of the attributes that's mentioned of their marriage in several of the books and so Ali radiAllahu ta'ala said that Fatima radiAllahu ta'ala kept on teasing him and saying that she's older than him Ali was very young when he got married so she would tease him and say I'm older than you and Ali radiAllahu ta'ala would insist that no he's older than her now back then by the way there's actually some perspective to this back then you know and some of you could actually relate to this a lot of people don't know their birthdays from where they came from right like it wasn't really a thing right so back then it was very conceivable that you don't know the year you're born either this year or that year somewhere around this month or that month right that's actually a thing so Fatima would mess with Ali radiAllahu ta'ala and say I'm older than you and Ali radiAllahu ta'ala would laugh about it and that's when the Prophet salallahu alayhi
wasalam saw them and Ali radiAllahu ta'ala used to make funny poems for her as well that would make her laugh that would make her laugh frequently so Ali radiAllahu ta'ala and Fatima had a very loving relationship as well when it came to the laughter that came between those two.
The Prophet's Balanced Relationship
Now the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam has to maintain as we said a delicate relationship between or with both of them and you realize that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam also called Ali his brother and Umm Ayman radiAllahu anha asked the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam why he would still call him his brother and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said because
Now there's something to be said about this that we talked about the story of Ali and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam joking with each other right over the dates and the date seeds I think two halaqas ago there's something about the father presence here the age gap between him and Ali and the fact that he still treats Ali like an adult like a brother he consults Ali on his most you know sensitive matters talks to him about things loves him shows him that type of relationship he doesn't belittle Ali radiAllahu anhu or get in the way of the marriage between Ali and Fatima in any way whatsoever.
Now just getting to sort of that love and kind of getting to the end of this that position of Fatima radiAllahu anhu and that position of Ali radiAllahu anhu was well known to everyone but I want to specifically talk about Fatima post right we're post the marriage of Fatima post her having Hassan, Hussein, Zayna bin Um Kulthum and Aisha radiAllahu anhu she narrates this that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam had asked permission to enter in once and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was with her and Aisha radiAllahu anhu was wearing a was wearing a wool dress the narration mentions that and so she came in and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam told Fatima radiAllahu anhu that
The Final Moments Between Prophet and Fatima
Now there are two narrations that kind of go to that last moment of that special relationship between the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and Fatima radiAllahu anhu one of them is when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam came home after a journey outside of Medina and this was towards the end the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam did what he always did he went to the masjid first and he prayed his two rakahs and then he came to he went to his home and Fatima radiAllahu anhu again the Prophet salallahu alayhi
wasalam even after Fatima got married he would visit her first before his own spouse right he'd first go to Fatima you got to check in with the with the daughter first right and then he'd move on so Fatima radiAllahu anhu welcomed him she did what she always did she kissed his head she kissed his hands gave him his place as the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam would do when she walked in a room he'd kiss her forehead put her in his seat right that special relationship and she started to cry and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said why are you crying and she said to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam she said you're you're pale your clothes are shabby and you're not eating this is still أُمّ أبيها this is the mother of her father so she's upset because she sees the deterioration of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam physically right that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam would not eat he'd go out hungry many times and he refused to ask he refused to eat to his fill salallahu alayhi wasalam and she started to cry and this was the same girl that wiped the camel guts off of his back and cried in Mecca this was her upbringing her childhood was crying because of the stress of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam so once again the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam comforts her and he says to her
So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam just like he comforted Fatima in Mecca and said don't cry Allah is going to support your father Allah is going to give victory to your father chose something special that Fatima understood this is a girl this is a woman who perfects her iman so her attachment to Islam is not just because her father is the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam she has perfect iman this is a woman of prayer a woman of supplication a woman of devotion a woman who has her own special relationship with Allah so when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam says that look this is going somewhere that Allah is going to make this special and it's going to reach places and you shouldn't feel sad it's okay that was something that would comfort Fatima.
The Death of the Prophet and Fatima's Grief
Now the last moment though is something really to capture Aisha radiallahu anha describes the dying of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam no matter how many angles you talk about the death of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam from each one is very unique and each one gives a different layer of what the death of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam meant to that community and Aisha radiallahu anha she describes the moment where the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam's fever his pain his sickness had reached such a point that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was in and out of consciousness he was sweating he was burning from his fever salallahu alayhi wasalam and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam could not walk at that point and Fatima radiallahu anha she walked into the room now imagine the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam every time Fatima would walk into the room what does he do? gets
up, holds her hand, sits her in his place, kisses her, honors her he can't do that, he's sick, he can't move salallahu alayhi wasalam so Aisha radiallahu anha she says that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam he tried to rise up and he says (مَرْحَبًا بِابْنَتِي - "welcome to my beautiful daughter") and he smiled salallahu alayhi wasalam and she said that he showed more energy in that moment than he did in that entire period of his passing he exerted himself more to greet her when she walked into the room than he had in the entire last days of his life salallahu alayhi wasalam where he was dying and he was struggling and that's the show of strength and honor and love for his daughter and then he told Fatima radiallahu anha to come and he told her, he signaled to sit to his right side and then he whispered something into her ear and Fatima radiallahu anha started to cry heavily she started to weep and then the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said this he once again said come down so she came and he whispered something into her ear and she laughed and then she embraced him so that was the last time that they actually embraced she left the room in joy and it was strange Aisha radiallahu anha asked Fatima what did he say to you she said I'm not telling you, it's between me and my father, this is us it's a secret at that point right, this is special this was a moment that she just shared with her father she wasn't ready to share it with anyone else at that time and then later on Fatima radiallahu anha told Aisha radiallahu anha remember what you asked me and she said yes so she shared with Aisha what the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam told her for the very last time these two have been through so much together this was a piece of Khadija and a piece of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam is leaving this world and Fatima has lost her mom, lost her sisters, lost everybody now it's the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and this is her father but everything to her and she said that the first time the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam called me down my father told me that I'm not going to live past this this is it so I'm going to die and that was something that was so inconceivable to so many people even though it says in the Qur'an
The Announcement of the Prophet's Death
And when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam died now how did they know that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam died this is a very human story at this point Aisha radiallahu anha screamed the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam died in her lap when Jibreel came in and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam lit up and he raised his hand to the sky and he said
"Oh my dear father how close you are now to your lord, oh my dear father to Jibreel we announce your death, oh my dear father the highest garden in paradise is now your abode."
Those were the words of Fatima. Ali radiallahu anhu was stunned he didn't say a word for days Ali could not speak after the death of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam people process differently right Ali radiallahu anhu so eloquent couldn't find a word to utter in the immediate aftermath of the death of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam.
The Burial and Ali's Grief
He said that when we buried the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam as we finished burying him Fatima was standing behind us when we buried the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and she asked the sahaba
Anas radiallahu anhu says she looked at me she started crying she turned away and she left she could not perceive or come to terms with what was happening or the sadness of it and she really did not have the desire to live after his death salallahu alayhi wasalam I mean it's very clear it's not just the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam telling her and there are many things to talk about here you see people that love each other like sometimes elderly one person is elderly and dies and then quickly after the spouse dies sometimes you find that type of relationship that's very very different Allah knows best but Fatima radiallahu anha after the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam died immediately went sick immediately became ill it did not take but a few days for her to become ill as well and you have to ask yourself why
did she love her father so much did the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam spoil her with wealth and riches and throw things at her use his position of power to privilege her or was it that intense love that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam showed to her right that was something and that's a lesson for parents as well the Prophet as a father the Prophet as a parent that what you give to your child of love is so much more than anything else you can give to them how much did the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam give her of himself despite being the messenger of Allah despite having all that he had on his plate that made her love him so much.
Fatima's Death
So when did she die radiallahu anha it was the first Ramadan after the death of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam imagine Medina first Ramadan after the death of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam you know when you talk about anniversaries or things that come up or whatever it is after the death of a person that bring back all the pain Ramadan in Medina and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam is alive leading you in prayer look at our masjid in Ramadan how amazing was Ramadan with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam amongst the people and this is the first time that they're going to have to go through Ramadan and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam is dead he's buried Fatima radiallahu anha in the very first Ramadan as that Ramadan came around she it was the third day of Ramadan that she goes out to her courtyard so meaning right outside the home she lays at the heavens smiling she looks up at the skies and she's smiling now that the (أَسْمَاءُ بِنْتُ عُمَيْسٍ) she called for (أَسْمَاءُ بِنْتُ عُمَيْسٍ) may Allah be pleased with her she told (أَسْمَاءٌ بِنْتُ عُمَيْسٍ) she said listen when I die I want to be buried at night so that not too many people come and no one will see my figure and you know what she meant by that was that she wanted a very modest a very modest parting right and some of the scholars said she was of course known for her she was known for her modesty and she literally meant it as that I don't want my figure to be exposed so bring a cloth that is wide that will cover me and let me be buried at night so that very few people would attend so that it wouldn't cause it wouldn't have too many people around at that time and Allah would conceal me so (أَسْمَاء) told (أُمّ سَلَمَة) radiAllahu anhu, (أُم سلمة) was one of those that furnished the house of Fatima right and Ali may Allah be pleased with him so (أُمّ سَلّمَة) brought her a cloth from (الحبشة) from Abyssinia from the migration to Abyssinia it was a very thick cloth concealed her with it and she was happy with it she looked at that cloth she said this is good and then she called for Ali radiAllahu ta'ala anhu right so her last moments are actually with her family radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and she called for Ali radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and they shared some moments of love and she actually told Ali radiAllahu anhu that I want you she actually told Ali who she wants him to marry after she dies to take care of the kids so she told Ali radiAllahu anhu to marry (أمامة) who was the daughter of her of her sister (زينب) so that she could be a caretaker for the kids she said she's a motherly woman she's a loving woman so when I die I want you to marry (أمامة) because she would take care of the kids she would take care of (الْحَسَن) and (حُسَيْنِ زَيْنَبٍ) and (أُمّ كُلْتُومٍ) and that's just her thinking about her children she embraces her family and subhanAllah she leaves this world laying out looking at the heavens and the angel coming to her and taking her with a noor on her face with a smile on her face with just complete peace fulfilling what the
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam had said which is that she would be the first of the companions to die after the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam the very first person to leave this earth from the family of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and from his close companions that would join the messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam after his death.
Ali's Profound Grief
Ali radiAllahu Anhu just lost the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam now he lost Fatima and Ali radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu assisted in the washing of her and he cried frequently at her washing and Ali radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu had to have the grueling experience of doing what the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did with Khadija which was to actually get in the grave and receive her body and to bury her and it was extremely difficult on Ali radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu to do so and Ali actually led the janazah of his wife Fatima radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu and this is going back to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam burying Khadija, it feels very similar, right, I mean that closeness, that tightness between these two and Ali radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu he actually said nothing exhausted me more in my entire life than the death of my two beloved ones within that short period" I lost the two most important people to me in my life within that very short period and Ali radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu said everything I've been through in life battles, wars khilafah, fitnah all of it, he said nothing consumed me and took more from me than the death of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Fatima radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu in that very small period of time and this is how you end on a sad note but there's something to be said about this, that when you read the poem that Ali radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu recited at the graveside of Fatima, there's nothing happy about it there's nothing about it that is hopeful it's just pain it's raw pain when you read what Ali radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu said at the graveside of Fatima radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu but that shows you that love and that humanity and that رَحْمَة the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that's the mercy of the heart that is mercy, right, remember when his own son died and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was crying and they said, you know, how could you be crying, he said إنَّهَا رَحْمَة - "it's mercy," this is the compassion that Allah puts in our hearts for one another and so the words of Ali when Fatima died pure pain I mean, unfiltered, raw pain, there's nothing else that's given except for pain it's a very strong poem.
Ali's Poem at Fatima's Graveside
He had finished burying her he stood by her graveside and he recited the following he said he said what is wrong with me, standing at the graveside saying salam to the one who has passed the grave of my lover but she's not responding to my greeting and he calls out and he says:
"My lover, why are you not responding to my salam? Have you forgotten all of the intimate moments that were shared between the two of us?"
And then he actually says in this poem, he starts to respond with what Fatima would be saying back to him and he says:
"My beloved one responded and said, how can I respond to you and I've become a prisoner? I've become now consumed by stones and by dirt."
And he cried and he responded again, he's still speaking he says:
"The dirt has consumed my beauty and that is why I have moved on and I've been veiled from my family and my beloved ones."
And so he said and so he said and so she responded and she said:
"And so my salam back to you and to them, meaning to those that I've left behind, those intimate moments have now passed."
These are painful words they are raw expressions of death there is nothing about them that is we'll meet again in Jannah nothing about them that I'm okay it's pure pain and that is actually an expression of that love, that deep love that Ali had for Fatima.
Understanding Grief and Patience
Now, Ali did not go back on his iman he didn't become resentful to Allah he knows the way that this works he knows the process of death and afterlife but that doesn't mean that he didn't feel pain and I think that's actually something that's very important when we lose our loved ones we're not expected to not feel pain that's not what (صبر) is (صبر) is not patience is not to not feel pain and not feel love and not feel that distance when you lose your loved ones, patience is to not say anything not to say anything except that which is pleasing to Allah and to use that pain to do good for them like the prophet did with Khadija visiting her friends spending on her behalf maintaining those relationships that's what it is and I think it's only befitting that you go through that you just see it's just love and pain and Ali is actually imagining a conversation between him and Fatima at that point and that's the deep love that he had for her radiyallahu ta'ala anha.
Final Words
Of course, what we know what the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned of أَرْوَاحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - "the gathering of the souls of the believers" we have no doubt being that they're both from those promised the masters of the youth of the people of" - سَيِّدَا شَبَابِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّة are الْحُسَيْن and الْحَسَنِ that الْجَنَّة
paradise" (Tirmidhi 3768) that they are gathered again in the presence of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam in أَرْوَاحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - "the realm of the righteous souls."
We ask Allah to gather us with them and to allow us to be like them we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to put that love and that mercy in our hearts and to put that رضا with Allah, that pleasure with Allah's decree in our hearts and to unite us with our families and to unite us with this blessed family in the highest level جَنَّةُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ اللَّهُمَّ آمِين of
And again this was a deep dive into that life, that family of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and I hope that inshallah ta'ala it gives you a lot of perspective a lot of perspective for how we carry ourselves you know, Kobe Bryant died two days ago and there's a lot of this, you know, a lot of people talking about death now, right, and this should give us some perspective this should give us a lot of perspective, right when people talk about death, what type of how do we want to go, and who do we want to be with you are with the one that you love so I pray that if Allah look at us and find us to be amongst those who deeply love the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam and his family, that that is a sign, bismillah, that Allah would gather us with him and his family, his companions اللهم آمين
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