At a glance
- Counted among
- Sunni · Shia (Twelver)
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
WomenFamily, marriage and kinshipSects and schools
Place in the story
- Family of the ProphetTradition
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Brief
Fatima was the youngest daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and Khadija bint Khuwaylid, the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the mother of Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. Through her sons descend the Prophet's family lines.
Life
Fatima was born in Mecca sometime between about 605 and 615 CE — the sources disagree 1. As a child she is remembered tending her father when the Meccan opposition mocked or abused him. She migrated to Medina with The Hijra and was married to Ali about 624 CE, in a household remembered for poverty and endurance 1.
After the Prophet's death in June 632, the early sources report her grief and a dispute with the new leadership over property she claimed from her father's estate at Fadak. She died a few months later — reports give roughly three to six months — and was buried in Medina, her grave unmarked by her own wish, according to the tradition 2.
Legacy
Every line of the Prophet's descendants — the sharifs and sayyids honored across the Muslim world — traces through Fatima and Ali. Her name is carried by towns, mosques, the Fatimid dynasty, and millions of women.
For young visitors
Fatima was the daughter of the Prophet. Her two sons were his only grandchildren to grow up, so everyone who today claims descent from the Prophet is her descendant.
Opinions on the question
The question: How are Fatima's standing and the events after the Prophet's death that concern her described?
First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference
More opinions (2)
Academic viewSecondary opinion
Twelver Shia viewOther opinion
Connections
- Born in
- Mecca
- Died in
- Medina
- Child of
- MuhammadKhadija bint Khuwaylid
- Spouse of
- Ali ibn Abi Talib
- Member of
- Ahl al-BaytBanu Hashim
- Parent of
- Hasan ibn AliHusayn ibn AliUmm Kulthum bint AliZaynab bint Ali
- Sibling of
- Ruqayya bint MuhammadUmm Kulthum bint MuhammadZaynab bint Muhammad
- Participated in
- Abu Sufyan's mission to MedinaThe delegation of NajranThe marriage of Fatima and Ali
People and things also explored
MuhammadAli ibn Abi TalibBanu HashimHasan ibn AliHusayn ibn AliMedinaAhl al-BaytKhadija bint Khuwaylid
Sources
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad (1997)
- Momen, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam (1985)
- Nisa' Hawl al-Rasul: Tarajim wa Qisas — al-Maktaba al-Asriyya
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Fatima bint Muhammad”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/fatima/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.