Marriage Of Ali (as) And Fatima (sa): Specifically Ordered By Allah (swt) [Sunni Reference]

[Syed KamiL Abbas Jafri]

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ


We read in Majma' al-Zawaid 9/330, No. 15208:

عن عبد الله بن مسعود عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : إن الله أمرني أن أزوج فاطمة من علي

Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud:

The Messenger of Allah said: Certainly, Allah ORDERED me to marry Fatima to Ali.

Commenting upon the hadith, Imam al-Haythami states:

رواه الطبراني ورجاله ثقات

Al-Tabarani has narrated it and its narrators are trustworthy.

Imam al-Shawkani too has recorded it in his book Dur al-Sahaabat 216, with this comment:

إسناده رجاله ثقات

The narrators of its chain are trustworthy.

Imam al-Munawi has also recorded it in his Fayd al-Qadeer 2/215, No. 1693, with this comment:

قال الهيثمي رجاله ثقات

Al-Haythami said: Its narrators are trustworthy.

He raises no objection, showing that he agrees with him. Allamah al-Hindi has also raised no objection to its authenticity after recording it in his Kanz al-Ummal 11/890, No. 32891.

Shaykh al-Islam Tahir Qadri al-Hanafi, in his book Zibh al-Azeem 42, states:

“In accordance with Allah [swt] and the desire of the Prophet decided on the marriage of these great personalities:

“Abdullah ibn Mas'ud narrates that the Prophet said ‘Verily Allah [swt] has ordered me to marry Fatima to Ali” [Mu'jam al-Kabir al-Tabarani, Volume 10 page 156].

Rasulullah said that the marriage of Ali and Fatima had been ruled on in the Heavens, this marriage was in accordance with the order of Allah [swt] because the Wilayat of Rasulullah had to continue with Ali, and he (ra) had to become the fulfilment of the supplication of Ibrahim, to attain this the King of the World through him (ra) and Fatima (ra) attained a pure association”

Even if one does not agree with this Sunni scholar (we mean some Salafis), then the facts themselves speak hs is position. Imam Ali (as) is the Master of ALL believers after the Holy Prophet (pbuh):

إن عليا مني وأنا منه وهو ولي كل مؤمن بعدي

Verily, Ali is from me and I am from Ali, and he is the Master of the believers after me.

This is found verbatim in Sunan al-Tirmidhi 5/632, No. 3712. Shaykh al-Albani comments:

صحيح

Sahih.

Note that this hadith evidences that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was created from Imam Ali (as), just as Imam Ali (as) was created from him! Both of them were created from one Light, as this authentic hadith evidences. We should also not forget that Fatima (as) has been declared by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) to be a part of his own essence. Shaykh al-Islam Tahir Qadri al-Hanafi, in his book on Sayyida Fatima, where he has copied 40 Sunni hadiths about her, states:

8. Fatimah (سلام اللہ علیھا), a part of the Prophet (SAW)


20. عن المسور بن مخرمة: رضي الله عنه: أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: فاطمة بضعة مني، فمن أغضبها أغضبني.


Miswar bin Makhramah (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Fatimah is a part of me. Therefore, whosoever angers her angers me.”


21. عن محمد بن علي قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إنما فاطمة بضعة مني، فمن أغضبها أغضبني.


Muhammad bin Ali narrates that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Indeed Fatimah is a part of me. Hence, whosoever angers her angers me.”


22. عن علي رضي الله عنه أنه كان عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال: أي شيء خير للمرأة؟ فسكتوا، فلما رجعت قلت لفاطمة: أي شيء خير للنساء؟ قالت ألا يراهن الرجال. فذكرت ذلك للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: إنما فاطمة بضعة مني.


Ali (RA) narrates, “He was present in the company of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) when the Holy Prophet (SAW) asked, ‘What is best for a woman’ on this the companions remained quiet. When I returned home I asked Fatimah, ‘Tell me what is best for a woman?’ Fatimah (سلام اللہ علیھا) replied, ‘It is best for a woman that no men (i.e. outside of one’s immediate family: brothers, father, uncle, husband, sons) see her.’ I mentioned this to the Holy Prophet (SAW) and he (SAW) said, ‘Indeed Fatimah is a part of me.’”

In the footnotes, he records the sources of these hadiths as:

1. Tabarani, al-Mujam-ul-kabir (22:403#1006)
2. Bukhari, at-Tarikh-ul-kabir (1:232#728)
3. Haythami said in Majma-uz-zawaid (9:201) this tradition has been narrated by Tabarani and has declared its narrators sahih (sound) except Muhammad bin Marwan Zahli. While Ibn Hibban has declared Muhammad bin Marwan Zahli as very sound.
4. Dhahabi, Siyar alam an-nubala (2:127)
5. Mizzi, Tahdhib-ul-kamal (26:391)

So, it was basically a union of two Lights. No other marriage between two divine Lights has ever occurred in the history of creation, and none will ever occur! Apparently, there must be a reason Allah (swt) arranged it that way. And there must be a reason Allah (swt) specifically ordered the marriage. A quick point to note is, since Fatima (as) is a part of Muhammad (pbuh), the only person that can be superior to her is whoever is superior to Muhammad (pbuh). And there is no such person. However, the fact that Allah (swt) deemed Imam Ali (as) most fit for her says a lot about his own divine ranks.

We already proved that Imam Ali (as) is the Master of all believers after the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). However, there is also another hadith that shed some more light. We read in Mu'jam al-Kabir 11/93, No. 11153:

حدثنا محمد بن جابات الجند يسابوري و الحسن بن علي المعمري قالا : ثنا عبد الرزاق عن معمر عن ابن أبي نجيح عن مجاهد عن ابن عباس قال : لما زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فاطمة عليا قالت فاطمة : يا رسول الله زوجتني من رجل فقير ليس له شيء فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : أما ترضين يا يا فاطمة أن الله عز وجل اختار من أهل الأرض رجلين أحدهما أبوك والآخر زوجك


Muhammad ibn Jaabaat al-Janadi al-Naysaburi and al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Mu'amari, both said: Abdur-Razzak narrated to us from Mu'amar from Ibn Abu Najih from Mujahid from Ibn Abbas, who said:

When the Holy Prophet (pbuh) wedded Fatima to Ali, she said: "You have wedded me to a poor man who has nothing". The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) replied her: "Are you not pleased, O Fatima, that Allah the Exalted cast a look at the people of the earth and chose two men,. One of them is your father. The other is your husband.

All the narrators are trustworthy. For instance, al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Mu'amari has been declared trustworthy in Lisan al-Mizan 2/221, No. 975. All the other narrators are narrators of both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

No wonder, al-Hindi says in his Kanz al-Ummal 13/93, No. 36355, after recording the hadith:

سنده حسن

Its chain is hasan.

Imam al-Hakim in his al-Mustadrak 3/140, No. 4645, after recording the hadith, also states:

على شرط الشيخين

The hadith is sahih on the conditions of al-Bukhari and Muslim

Al-Haythami has recorded a similar hadith in his Majma' al-Zawaid 8/253, and its shed yet more light:


أما علمت أن الله عز وجل اطلع على أهل الأرض فاختار منهم أباك فبعثه نبيا ثم اطلع الثانية فاختار بعلك فأوحى إلى فأنكحته واتخذته وصيًّا قاله لفاطمة

"Dont you know (O Fatima!) that Allah the Exalted cast a look at the people of the earth and chose from among them your father, and appointed him a prophet. Then, He cast a second look and chose your husband, and revealed to me to marry him to you and to appoint him as my Wasi (successor)?"

Al-Haythami states:

رواه بأسانيد وأحدها حسن

Narrated with many chains. One of them is hasan.

This is the summary of it all:

1. Muhammad (pbuh) and Ali (as) were created from one Light.

2. Fatima (as) is part of Muhammad (pbuh). She is also Light. Therefore, no man can be superior to her.

3. When Allah (swt) looked at his entire human creature, He chose Muhammad (pbuh) first, THEN Imam Ali (as) as his Wasi. Then He chose whomever He wanted after them. The duo are His most superior creatures.

4. It was impossible for Fatima (as) to just marry anyone, since she is a special creature. Allah (swt) had a purpose for creating her, which is why He ordered that she be married to another Light. Their marriage was celebrated in the heavens and on the earth.

5. The fact that Allah (swt) specifically ordered their union is perfect proof that He has a plan to fulfil through their marriage.


We leave our readers with the question: what do you think is that plan?