Fatima bint al-Nabi - صلى الله عليه وسلم - Siratuha, Fadailuha, Musnadaha - رضي الله عنها -
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Dār al-Āl wa-al-Ṣaḥb al-Waqfīyah
Fatima bint al-Nabi - Siratuha, Fadailuha, Musnadaha (Fatima, Daughter of the Prophet: Her Biography, Virtues, and Musnad) is an extensive multivolume hadith and historical study by the Saudi scholar Ibrahim bin Abdullah al-Mudayhish, focusing on the biography, virtues, and transmitted narrations of Fatima bint Muhammad .
Background and Composition
The book originated as a doctoral dissertation presented to the Department of Sunnah and its Sciences at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, under the supervision of Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Karim al-Zayd . Al-Mudayhish developed the research outline in 1427 AH, registered the topic in Jumada al-Ula 1432 AH, submitted it in Rajab 1438 AH, and successfully defended it in Rabi' al-Thani 1439 AH . He subsequently expanded the work with substantial additions before submitting it for publication, opting to retain the comprehensive biographical profiles and isnad evaluations of the academic draft .
The author identified his primary motivation as providing an exhaustive, critically vetted reference work on Fatima's life, virtues, and narrations from a Sunni hadith perspective, distinguishing authentic reports from weak and fabricated accounts that had permeated various historical, Sufi, and sectarian writings .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into an introduction, a preliminary treatise (tamhid), three main parts (abwab), a conclusion, and extensive indexes :
- Preliminary Part (al-Tamhid): Encompasses six research topics: an analytical review of earlier dedicated literature on Fatima; her biographical profile; the Sunni creed concerning the Prophet's household (Ahl al-Bayt); Sunni scholarship in gathering narrations concerning the Ahl al-Bayt; representations of Fatima in Rafidi, Isma'ili, and Orientalist literature; and the application of hadith critical methodology to historical and biographical reports .
- Part One: Narrations on Her Biography (Sirah): Divided into five chapters treating her life with the Prophet ﷺ, her marriage to Ali ibn Abi Talib, her marital life with Ali, her relationship with her sons al-Hasan ibn Ali and al-Husayn ibn Ali, and the circumstances of her death, funeral prayer, and burial .
- Part Two: Narrations on Her Virtues (Fada'il): Arranged across five chapters covering her standing with the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet's standing with her, her status with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab, her virtues in knowledge, worship, and distinct attributes, and her station on the Day of Resurrection .
- Part Three: Her Musnad (Musnad Fatima): Gathers and evaluates the narrations transmitted directly on Fatima's authority .
Methodology
Al-Mudayhish employs a dual methodology of thematic analysis (dirasah mawdu'iyyah) and rigorous chain criticism (takhrij and dirasat al-asanid) . For thematic topics, he compiles related narrations, compares variant wordings, harmonizes apparent discrepancies between texts, and correlates them with Quranic verses and scholarly commentaries .
For the Musnad and non-canonical biographical narrations, he traces paths of transmission (turuq), evaluates individual transmitters through biographical evaluation (jarh wa-ta'dil), identifies hidden defects ('ilal), and provides judgments on the authenticity of each chain and text . Narrations found in the Sahihayn are cited directly, whereas other reports undergo full chain analysis .
Publication and Abridgment
The book was published in its first edition in Ramadan 1440 AH (2019 CE) by Dar al-Al wa-l-Sahb al-Waqfiyyah in seven volumes . Al-Mudayhish also authored a single-volume summary of the work entitled al-Mukhtasar min Akhbar Fatima bint Sayyid al-Bashar .
Answer updated