Did Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) burn the house of Sayyida Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her)?
The Shia Rafidah strongly try to prove that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also burned the house of Sayyida Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) and martyred a blessed son of Sayyida Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her). In this regard, the Shia Rafidah cite some weak narrations from the books of Ahl al-Sunnah. The investigation of these narrations is as follows.
Warning:
In the weak hadith of Ahl al-Sunnah in which the effect of this incident is found, all these narrations only mention Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) threatening, and nowhere is it mentioned that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) burned the house or caused harm to Sayyida Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her). Therefore, these narrations themselves go against the Rafidah because this proves their claim of burning her house to be false.
First narration
The very first narration is presented from
, which is as follows: Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that indeed, I have no desire for the world, but there are three things that I have done which I wish I had not done, and three things that I have left which I wish I had done, and three things that I wish I had asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about. The three things that I wish I had left are these: I wish I had not opened the house of Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her).
The Rafidis interpret this narration as meaning setting the house on fire, although there is no mention of setting the house on fire in it. The chain of this narration is very weak and rejected because in its chain is Alwan bin Dawood, who is also called Alwan bin Saleh, and he is a narrator who rejects hadith.
Therefore, this narration is not a proof.
Second Narration
The Rafidis similarly use another weak narration from Tarikh al-Tabari to criticize Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab. The narration is as follows: It is narrated from Ziyad ibn Kalib that Umar ibn al-Khattab came to the house of Ali رضي الله عنه, where Talha, Zubair, and some other Muhajirin رضي الله عنهم were also present. Umar رضي الله عنه said, “Come and pledge allegiance, otherwise I will set fire to this house and burn you all.” Zubair رضي الله عنه drew his sword and rushed towards Umar رضي الله عنه, but he slipped on the floor and fell, dropping his sword. Then others immediately attacked Zubair رضي الله عنه and subdued him.
The chain of narration of this hadith is as follows: ابن حميد قال حدثنا جرير عن مغيرة عن زياد بن كلیب.
Jarir ibn Hazim is trustworthy, but he became confused in his later years.
Mughira bin Muqsim commits tadlees (deception in narration) and this narration is from ‘an. It is a well-known principle of Ahl al-Sunnah that a narration of a mudallis from non-Sahihain (other than Bukhari and Muslim) if from ‘an is weak. This narration is also from Tarikh al-Tabari through ‘an’anah.
Ziyad bin Kalib is trustworthy but he is a Tabi’i and not a Sahabi. Ziyad bin Kalib is narrating this incident directly even though he was not present at this event; in fact, he embraced Islam long after the Prophet ﷺ passed away. Secondly, he died in 110 or 119 AH while the Prophet ﷺ passed away in 11 AH. This incident happened immediately after the Prophet’s ﷺ death. Therefore, it is not established that Ziyad bin Kalib was present at this event. Thus, this narration becomes disconnected in this way.
Therefore, this narration is also very weak and not acceptable as evidence.
Third narration
The third and final narration is presented from
, but it also does not mention the burning of the house. The narration is as follows:
After the Prophet ﷺ, when Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was given allegiance, Ali and Zubair used to consult and converse in the house of Fatimah رضي الله عنهم. When Umar رضي الله عنه came to know about this, he came near Fatimah’s house and said, “O daughter of the Messenger ﷺ, the most beloved person to me is your father, and after him, you are. But by Allah, this love will not prevent me; if these people gather in your house, I will burn the house.” When Umar رضي الله عنه left and these people came to the lady’s presence, Fatimah رضي الله عنها said, “Do you know what Umar said?” He said, “By Allah, if these people gather again, I will burn your house.” By Allah, Umar will act upon what he said.
The chain of narration of this hadith is as follows: حدثا محمد بن بشیر نا عبید اللہ بن عمر حدثا زید بن اسلم عن ابيه اسلم
But unfortunately, this hadith is also not a valid proof for the Rafidah because firstly, it only mentions a threat and does not mention the burning of the house.
Also, Aslam (the servant of Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه) is a Tabi’i and not a Sahabi. Therefore, in this hadith, a Tabi’i is directly narrating an incident. His presence in this incident is not proven because the death of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ occurred in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal in 11 AH. The death of Sayyida Fatimah رضي الله عنها occurred six months after the Prophet’s death, in Ramadan or Shawwal. The incident in which Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه is accused happened immediately after the Prophet’s death. Aslam al-Qurashi was not present in any of these three incidents. Meaning, at the time of the Prophet’s death, when this threatening incident occurred, and thirdly, at the time of Sayyida Fatimah’s رضي الله عنها death. In fact, he came to Medina after the death of Sayyida Fatimah رضي الله عنها. Imam Bukhari writes about him.
Aslam, a servant of Umar رضي الله عنه, was among the prisoners from Yemen. It is narrated from Ibn Ishaq that Umar رضي الله عنه bought Aslam in the 11th year of Hijra when he was the Amir of Hajj on behalf of Abu Bakr.
This means Aslam came to Medina after Hajj in the 11th year of Hijra, which was also two months after the death of Sayyida Fatimah رضي الله عنها.
Now the question arises, from whom did Aslam hear this incident??? Whereas he came to Medina much later. So it is proven that the narration of the author Ibn Abi Shaybah is also unreliable due to being mursal (disconnected).
Secondly, in this incident, Sayyiduna Umar رضي الله عنه says, “O daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, the most beloved person to me is your father, and after him, you are.” This proves Sayyiduna Umar رضي الله عنه‘s love for Ahl al-Bayt. Also, this warning and threat were not for Sayyida Fatimah but for those people who had gathered in the house at that time.
Finally, I would like to say that this incident is not present even in the authentic Shia books. This incident has been narrated by Tabarsi in Ihtijaj, but even there only a threat is mentioned, not burning.
Screenshots of important references are as follows:
