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Opinions of the historians and narrators differ from
one to another regarding the year of Lady Fatima Zahra's marriage.
Sayid Ibn Tawoos wrote in Al-Iqbal on the authority
of Sheikh Mufid:
"Fatima's marriage took place on the night of the
21st of Muharram, 3 A.H."
Al-Misbah: "Zul Hijja first or sixth."
and, Al-Amali: "Her marriage took place sixteen
(16) days after the death of Ruqiyya, Uthman's wife, after he returned
from Badr. This means that it took place at the beginning of Shawwal."
Ambiguous Findings
Asma Bint Umais and Umme Salama under the Spotlight
Asma was Ja'far Ibn Abu Talib's wife. It is a given
fact that he had immigrated to Habashah with his wife and a group of Muslims
several years before Hijra. It is also known that Ja'far returned to Medina
after the Muslims conquered Khaibar in 5 A.H. These findings are unanimously
agreed upon by all historians.
Nevertheless, we have seen that Asma was present when
Khadija passed away in Mecca, and at Fatima's wedding ceremony according
to many narrations, which state her name as Asma Bint Umais al-Khathamia.
The following historians state that she was present
at Fatima's wedding ceremony: The author of Kashf Al-Ghummah, Hadhrami
in Rashfat al-Sadi, p.10, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in al-Manaqib, Al-Haithami in
Majma' Az-Zawaed, Nisaee in Khasaes pg 31 and Muhib Ad-Din Tabari in Dhakhaer
al-Uqbi. They depend on the narrations of: Abu Abbas Khawarazmi from Al-Hussain
Ibn Ali (A), Sayid Jalal al-Din Abu al-Hamid Ibn Fakhr al-Musawi, and Dulabi
from Imam Baqir and his father (A)
How can we comprehend the contradiction between these
narrations and the fact that Fatima's marriage took place after the battle
of Badr, or even Uhud in 2 A.H.?
Actually, this is a historical problem that has not
yet been solved despite the various attempts made by Sheikh Majlisi in
Bihar v.10.
More interesting is the following statement that was
mentioned in Safinat al-Bihar on the authority of Mujahid in which Asma
was said to have been present at Aisha's marriage. In the statement it
was claimed that Asma said:
"I was the one who, in the company of other women, prepared Aisha and brought her to the Messenger of Allah. By Allah, he had not but a cup of buttermilk which he drank and gave to Aisha; but she was too shy to take it, so I said to her: 'Do not reject it; it is from the hand of the Prophet.'
She then took it and after drinking some, he (S) said: `Give some to your friends.' But the women did not desire any.
The Prophet then said: 'Do not gather hunger and lying together.'
I said: `Messenger of Allah, is it considered lying if one of us says she does not like something?'
The Prophet replied: `Surely lying is counted (against
the person) up to the point that even a small lie is recorded too."
As we said, this narration shows that Asma was present
at Aisha's marriage, which took place before that of Fatima's.
Moreover, it is unanimously narrated that Asma was
present when Imam Hussain (A) was born in 4 or 5 A.H. All these events
are known to have taken place before conquering Khaibar and Ja'far Ibn
Abu Talib's return to Medina.
In an attempt to clarify the issue, Muhammad Ibn Yusuf
(as Sheikh Majlisi also said in Bihar v. 10) wrote in Kefayat al-Talib,
concerning Asma's presence at Fatima's wedding:
"This is an authentic finding, exactly as Ibn Batta
narrated. But mentioning Asma Bint Umais's name is not accurate, for this
Asma is Ja'far Ibn Abu Talib's wife... Asma who attended Fatima's wedding,
is Asma Bint Yazid Ibn Sakan al Ansari. As for Asma Bint Umais, she remained
in the company of her husband in Habashah until he returned to Medina,
the day Khaibar was conquered in 7 A.H. While Fatima's marriage took place
several days after the battle of Badr."
Regardless of this, I say that the narrations clearly
state Asma Bint Umais's name; therefore, this justification cannot be taken
into account. Besides, Asma Bint Yazid was an Ansarian woman, hence could
not have been present at Khadija's death. Her presence in Mecca at that
time was not mentioned by any other historian.
In the light of these findings, I deem it necessary
to clarify that Asma Bint Umais had actually immigrated with her husband
to Habashah, but repeatedly returned to Mecca and Medina. This becomes
clear especially when we realize that the distance between Jedda and Habashah
is limited to that of the width of the Red sea, which in not so difficult
for a journey. This historical confusion came about because her repeated
trips were not adequately recorded, just as Abu Dhar's immigration to Habashah
with Ja'far was not given enough attention.
This conclusion is supported by the following tradition which Al-Majlisi wrote in Bihar v.1, quoting Mawlid Fatima:
"Ibn Babawaih said:
`The Prophet ordered Abdul Muttalib's daughters...
(until he said): The Prophet, Hamza, Aqeel, Ja'far, and Ahlul-Bayt followed
the caravan."
It is clearly stated in this narration that Ja'far,
Asma's husband, was present; which, as we said, supports our conclusion.
In addition to this, the Prophet's immigration to Medina took place after
Khadija's death, and Ja'far traveled to Habashah twice. The second journey
took place before Hijra and after Khadija's death. Thus, it becomes easy
to understand how Asma was present at the time of Khadija's death.
There is confusion in historical findings regarding
the reason for the presence of Umme Salama's name in the events preceding
Fatima's marriage; i.e., the Prophet leaving some of Fatima's dowry with
her, and the women's consultation with her-despite the fact that he married
her in 4 A.H., while Fatima's marriage took place in 2 A.H. Thus, the question
arises as to what role she played in these events even though she was not
yet married to the Prophet?
There are two probable answers that can be given to
this question.
First: Perhaps there was a mistake in recording the
year she was married to the Prophet (S) But this is not based on any historical
or scientific findings and therefore cannot be taken into account.
Second: Since Lady Umme Salama was the Prophet's cousin,
it was expected of her to participate in different stages of the wedding
and to keep part of Fatima's dowry in her possession according to the Prophet's
wish.
I prefer the second opinion. Yet I leave it to Allah, for He is the Omniscient.