The Historical Event of Fadak


After his victory at Khayber the Holy Prophet (S) decided to destroy the remaining strongholds of the Jews and thus end the danger to Islam. He therefore turned his attention to the Jewish village of Fadak, which was a fertile territory 180 kilometers north of Madina.
He sent an envoy to the elders of Fadak. The chief of the village, preferred peace and surrender to fighting. In return for the protection of the Muslims, he agreed to give half of the produce of the region to the Holy Prophet (S).
According to the rules of Islam, the lands conquered through war and military power are the property of all the Muslims and their administration lies with the ruler of the Muslims. However, those lands that are submitted to the Muslims without war, as in the case of Fadak, belong to the Holy Prophet (S) and after him, to the Holy Imam (A) of the time. They have the right to distribute such properties as they see fit. This is evident from the following verse:
Whatever God has bestowed on His Prophet from the people of the towns is for God and the Prophet and his relatives and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, so that it may not circulate among the rich ones of you...
Surae Hashr, 59 : 7(Part)
The land of Fadak thus came into the possession of the Holy Prophet (S), and when the following verse was revealed,
And give the kinsman his due, and the needy and the wayfarer...
Surae Bani Israa'il, 17 : 26(Part)
he made a gift of Fadak to his dear daughter Bibi Fatima (A).
He did this for several reasons. Firstly, he was commanded to give his near ones their due. The Holy Prophet (S) and all the Muslims were indebted to Bibi Khadija (A) who sacrificed her entire wealth for the sake of the early Muslims. Her money had been used to spread Islam, free those Muslims who were slaves and support them in their times of trouble as in the three years of social boycott that they had faced in Makka. Now the Holy Prophet (S) could return her favours by gifting her daughter the rich land of Fadak. He also knew that after him, Imam Ali (A) would need Fadak as a source of income to safeguard his position as Caliph.
Finally, he wanted to leave some provision for his daughter and grandchildren so that they could live with dignity after his death.
However, after the Holy Prophet (S) passed away, Abu Bakr, who had stolen the right of Imam Ali (A) to the Caliphate, took Fadak away from Bibi Fatima (A). He did this to ensure that Imam Ali (A) would not have the means to regain his rights.
When her agents informed her that they had been replaced by the Caliph's men at Fadak, Bibi Fatima (A) decided to contest her right by legal means.
Abu Bakr refused to acknowledge her claim, and asked her to provide witnesses. Although she already possessed the property of Fadak and there had never been any doubt about her ownership, she brought two witnesses. These were Imam Ali (A) and a woman named Umme Ayman, about whom the Holy Prophet (S) had guaranteed that she would go to heaven.
Even then, Abu Bakr would not agree and he quoted a fake tradition saying,
"The Holy Prophet has said, `We the group of Prophets do not inherit, nor are we inherited and what we leave is for alms.'"
This was a blatant lie and moreover no one but Abu Bakr claimed to have heard it.
Bibi Fatima (A) then gave an eloquent lecture in which she first explained about the Oneness of Allah and the nature of the mission of her father. She then proved that Abu Bakr was lying by quoting the following verse:
And Sulaiman inherited Dawood...
Surae Naml 27 : 16(Part)
Although Abu Bakr was ashamed of his conduct and decided to return Fadak to her, she never forgave him for his actions. She did not speak to him again as long as she lived and at her funeral six months after her father died, he was not allowed to take part as per her will.
Eventually, Abu Bakr wrote a certificate to the effect that Fadak was the absolute property of Bibi Fatima (A) and gave it to her. However, when she was going back to her house, Umar al-Khattab chanced to meet her and came to know the contents of the certificate. He brought it back to Abu Bakr saying,
"As Ali is a beneficiary in this case, his evidence is not acceptable. As for Umme Ayman, being a woman, her testimony is also of no value on its own."
Saying this, he tore up the certificate in the presence of Abu Bakr. This action grieved Bibi Fatima (A) so much that she cursed him saying,
"May Allah cause your abdomen to be torn in the same way."
This prayer proved fateful, because in 24 A.H., Umar was stabbed thrice in the stomach by his killer, Abu Lulu.
After this, Fadak remained in the hands of successive rulers until the time of the Umayyad Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz, who returned it to Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (A). However, the next Caliph took it away and it remained with the Bani Umayyah Caliphs until their rule ended. During the rule of the Bani Abbas it was returned briefly, but then taken away forever.

An Account of Fadak
1) On 7th Hijri, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) had given this place as a gift to his beloved daughter Janabe Fatema (s.a.). She used to administer this place through her appointees.
2) Just ten days after the demise of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.), Fadak was snatched away from her. Inspite of providing proofs and witnesses, it was not returned to her. It was not considered as a parented heritage and property.
3) According to Sahih Bukhari the 2nd Caliph had returned it to the successors.
4) The 3rd Caliph took possession of it by force and gifted it to Marwan.
5) Mu'aviya in his time divided it into three parts.
6) Marwan, during the tenure of his Khilafat took all of it in his possession and gifted away to his sons Abdul Malik and Abdul Aziz. It remained in their possession till the time of Umar Bin Abdul Aziz.
7) Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, got his father's share as inheritance, he bought the share of Abdul Malik and returned it to the children of Fatema (s.a.).
8) Yazid Bin Malik, in his time, took it back from the children of Fatema (s.a.), and kept it in his possession.
9) The 1st Caliph of Bani Abbas, Sa'fah, considering Imam Hasan (a.s.) as a successor of Fatema (s.a.), gave Fadak to him.
10) Mansoor Dawaniqi, again usurped it.
11) Mahdi, the son of Mansoor returned it to the children of Hazrat Ali (a.s.).
12) Moosa, the son of Mahdi, again usurped it. Fadak that was given by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) to Janabe Fatema Zahra (s.a.), was changing hands between the Caliphs of Bani Abbas, till the time of Ma'moun.
13) Ma'moun, had a religious discussion with a follower of Hazrat-Ali (a.s.) (Alawi), and reached to the decision that Fadak is the property of Janabe Fatema (s.a.). Hence he returned it to her children.
14) Mutwakkel Abbasi, usurped it and took it in his possession. He gifted it away to Abdulla Bin Umar Baaq. Abdulla Bin Umar Baaq, ordered Bushraan Bin Abi Umaryyi Taqzi to go and cut down all the trees. He went to Medina and cut all the trees. He even cut those eleven trees that were personally planted by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.). When Bushraan returned from Medina to Basrah he was struck by paralysis and died subsequently.
If Fadak was not the property of Fatema Zahra (s.a.w.a.), then why the 2nd Caliph, Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, Sa'fah, Mahdi and Mamoon and other Umayyid Caliphs had returned it to Janabe Fatema (s.a.)?
If Fadak was the property of Fatema Zahra (s.a.w.a.) why the 3rd Caliph, Mu'aviya, Yazid Bin Abdul Malik, Mansoor Dawaniqi, Moosa Bin Mahdi and Mutewakkel added it in their property? And why they gifted it away to others? If Fadak, was the property of Government Treasury, every Muslim was having a right over it; why only a few favorites were considered for keeping it?
Why the 1st Caliph did not do justice by it? And he did not try to earn the pleasure of Janabe Fatema Zahra (s.a.), by giving it to her. This would have resulted in earning the pleasure of Allah as well as of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.).

The Historical Tragedy of Fadak
In addition to being a reason encouraging others to be unjust to Ahlul-Bayt, the usurping of Fadak by Abu Bakr ignited political unrest throughout history. Sheik Jafar Subhani, a leading historian, wrote the following in his book The Message P.60 1 regarding Fadak throughout history:
"The foundation of the deprivation of the descendants of Fatima s claim of Fadak was laid in the time of the First Callph. After the martyrdom of Ali, Mu awiyah assumed the reins of government and divided Fadak amongst three persons (Marwan, Amr bin Uthman and his own son, Yazid). During the preriod of the Caliphate of Marwan, all three shares were assumed by him and he gifted them to his son, AbdulAziz. He, in turn, gave the same to his son, Umar. On account of the fact that Umar Bin Abdul Aziz was an upright person from amongst Bani Umayyah, the first heresy which he removed was that he returned Fadak to the descendants of Fatima. After his death, however, the succeeding Umayyad Caliphs again took away Fadak from the Bani Hashim and it continued to remain in their possession till their rule came to an end.
During the Caliphate of Bani Abbas, the question of Fadak vacillated in a strange manner. For example, Saffah gave it to Abdullah Bin Hassan and after him Mansur Dawaniqi took it back but his son Mahdi returned it to the descendants of Zahrah. After him Musa and Harun took it a way from them on account of some political considerations. When Ma`mun assumed the office of caliph, he handed it over formally to its owner. After his death, the conditions of Fadak vacillated once again and it was returned at one time to the descendants of Fatima and then taken away from them again.
During the periods of the Caliphate of Bani Umayah and Bani Abbas, Fadak assumed largely a political aspect as compared with its pecuniaiy aspect. And even if the First Caliphs were in need of income from Fadak the later Caliphs and nobles were so rich that they did not stand in any need of income from it. Hence, when Umar Bin Abdul Aziz handed over Fadak to the descendants of Fatima, Bani Umayyah reproached him and said,' By this act of your, you have found fault with the two venerable men (viz. Abu Bakr and Umar).' They, therefore, persuaded him to distribute the income from Fadak among the descendants of Fatima, but to keep its ownership with himself."

Source - Fatima the Gracious, compiled by Abu Muhammad Ordoni (Jordanian).


Hadrat Fatema's house attacked
In compliance with God's command Baligh maa onzila ilaik-' (5:67) the Holy Prophet had inaugurated the serial of Imamate' (Divine guidance in succession to the Final apostleship) and had placed Au as the First in charge of it, and had declared it at the historic ceremonial event at Ghadeer-e-Khum, before the multitude of the thousands of the Hajies, on 8. 12.10 A.H. at the conclusion of which event was revealed 5:6... declaring the religion to be perfect and Islam to be the religion for man, accepted by God. In pursuance of the expressed divine will of the Lord, Au could not recognize or yield to the man-made authority set up at the Saqeefa' and hence had not paid fealty to it.

Imam Ali (A.S.) to exercise patience
The holy Prophet who knew through the divine gift of knowledge, as to what would happen after him till the Day of Judgment, had advised Ali to exercise the maximum possible patience against every atrocious move that might confront him. In compliance with the apostolic will, without the least interference into, or any concern with the affairs that proceeded at the Saqeefa', Ali had retired with a determination not to get out until he collects together all the notes on the Holy Qur'an which he had from the Holy Prophet about the external as well as the internal meanings of the Final Word of God.
Without Ali being subjugated, the authority set up at the Saqeefa' could not have the seal of the recognition of it, by the Holy Ahul-Bait and Ali was now the Chief of the Ahlul-Bait, the House of the Holy Prophet, and he would not yield. The retirement of Ali was exploited and a charge of conspiracy was coined and the people of the newly set up rule, headed by Omar, collected at the door of Fatema, demanded Au to come out of the house. The reply from inside was that it was a vow Au had made not to come out until the collection of the important notes on the Holy Qur'an is not completed. But the insurgent crowd would not agree and a big row was set into action.

Hadrat Fatema's house threatened with fire
The Holy Lady Fatema, bereaved only a day or two before, deeply sunk in grief; standing behind the door of her abode remonstrated saying:
"O' people! it is only yesterday that my father, the holy Prophet, departed from you and today you have the audacity to attack his house in which his daughter is mourning for him, which door he did not enter but with a salutation on its inmates".
Some historians say that fire and firewood was already- collected at the door of the holy house with the threat to set the abode on fire and some say fire was already kindled. However, Shibli No'mani in his well-known Alfarooq' says: - "Some say that fire was already set, but with the short temperedness of Omar this act was not improbable". (AF)

Hadrat Fatema wounded
A violent kick at the door from one among the crowd pushed it down on the side of the Holy Lady Fatema standing behind it, breaking her rib and the Khatoone Jannat' the Queen of Paradise, fell unconscious and ultimately the hit and the wound killed the Holy Mother along with the baby son in her womb. According to the tradition of the Ahlul-Bait, the Baby was already named Mohsin.

Hadrat Fatema martyred succumbing to the Wound
Thus after seventy-five or ninety days after the departure of the Holy Prophet, as prophesied, the Holy Lady passed away. But before breathing her last, she called Ali and desired that none of those particularly a few ones, who had turned hostile to the House of the Prophet and violated the will of the Apostle of God, should be informed of her departure from this world, and that she should be quietly buried in the darkness of the night.
Some reporters say that when the body was lowered into the grave, by Ali, in the grave appeared the two hands of the Holy Prophet, with a voice addressing Ali:- "Come on! Ali! Return thou the part of mine, to me". It is said that Ali shedding tears responded to the voice saying:-
"I am ashamed of thee O' Apostle of God,for I took Fatema from thee sound in her body but I am now returning her unto thee rib-broken".
Thus, the Holy Lady was the first of the martyrs among the Ahlul-Bait, after the departure of the Holy Prophet.
It is now left to the intelligent ones of the readers to judge the position of those who annoyed this holy one of God, (i.e., Lady Fatema) under the apostolic announcements of the Holy Prophet and the verse of the Holy Qur'an referred to above.
It is authentically reported that the Holy Lady once referring to her miserable plight and the sorrowful life she had to lead, addressing her father, the Holy Prophet, standing before his grave, said :- "Oh! Father dear! After thee, fell on me such miseries that had they fallen on bright days, the bright days would have turned into darkest nights.
The Holy Lady of Light left behind two sons and two daughters whose ages at the time of her departing from them, were :-
Hasan about 8 years.
Husain about 7 years.
Zainab (daughter) about 6 years.
Umme Kulthoom (daughter) about 5 years.