The Allegation of ʿUmar (RA) Striking Fāṭimah (RA) and Causing a Miscarriage – A Fabricated Story
Written by: Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
The claim that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه struck Sayyidah Fāṭimah رضي الله عنها in her pure abdomen, causing a miscarriage, is false. There is no mention of this in the books of Ahl al-Sunnah. It is only found in Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays, also known as Kitāb al-Saqīfah. This book is fabricated and unreliable.
This false story is propagated to make it appear as though the Companions (Ṣaḥābah) — God forbid — harbored enmity towards the Ahl al-Bayt.
In both Sunni and early Shiʿi works of rijāl (narrator evaluation), there is no authentication of Sulaym ibn Qays. Later Shiʿi authentication holds no weight.
Shiʿi scholar Ibn al-Ghaḍāʾirī wrote:
كَانَ أَصْحَابُنَا يَقُولُونَ : إِنَّ سُلَيْمًا لَّا يُعْرَفُ، وَلَا ذُكِرَ فِي خَبَرٍ، وَالكِتَابُ مَوْضُوع لَا مِرْيَةَ فِيهِ...
“Our scholars used to say: Sulaym is unknown, he is not mentioned in any hadith, and the book is fabricated without a doubt... It contains absurdities such as claiming Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr advised his father on his deathbed, that there are thirteen Imams, and more.”
(al-Rijāl: 1/5)
Ibn al-Ghaḍāʾirī wrote:
ضَعِيفٌ، لَّا يُلْتَفَتُ إِلَيْهِ...
“Weak, not to be relied upon... Our scholars attribute the fabrication of Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays to him.”
(al-Rijāl: 1/4)
The book’s entire transmission depends on him.
Al-Najāshī mentioned another chain:
حَمَّادُ بْنُ عِيسَى عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عُمَرَ الْيَمَانِيِّ عَنْ سُلَيْمِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ
(Rijāl al-Najāshī: 1/5)
However, this chain is defective because:
Sulaym ibn Qays al-Hilālī never met ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, making the narration historically impossible.
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله wrote:
“Some Rāfiḍah claim that ʿUmar and his companions split open Fāṭimah’s abdomen, causing her miscarriage, and demolished the house. The falsehood of such lies is as clear as daylight to anyone with minimal knowledge and understanding. Rāfiḍah deny what is well-established and widely known, and they affirm what is baseless and non-existent...”
(Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah: 4/493)
Conclusion:
There is no authentic evidence that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه struck Fāṭimah رضي الله عنها or caused a miscarriage. The book that contains this story, Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays, is itself a fabrication with no credible chain of transmission.
Written by: Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
The claim that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه struck Sayyidah Fāṭimah رضي الله عنها in her pure abdomen, causing a miscarriage, is false. There is no mention of this in the books of Ahl al-Sunnah. It is only found in Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays, also known as Kitāb al-Saqīfah. This book is fabricated and unreliable.
This false story is propagated to make it appear as though the Companions (Ṣaḥābah) — God forbid — harbored enmity towards the Ahl al-Bayt.
1. The Author of Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays is Majhūl (Unknown)
In both Sunni and early Shiʿi works of rijāl (narrator evaluation), there is no authentication of Sulaym ibn Qays. Later Shiʿi authentication holds no weight.
Shiʿi scholar Ibn al-Ghaḍāʾirī wrote:
كَانَ أَصْحَابُنَا يَقُولُونَ : إِنَّ سُلَيْمًا لَّا يُعْرَفُ، وَلَا ذُكِرَ فِي خَبَرٍ، وَالكِتَابُ مَوْضُوع لَا مِرْيَةَ فِيهِ...
“Our scholars used to say: Sulaym is unknown, he is not mentioned in any hadith, and the book is fabricated without a doubt... It contains absurdities such as claiming Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr advised his father on his deathbed, that there are thirteen Imams, and more.”
(al-Rijāl: 1/5)
2. The Narrator of the Book – Abān ibn Abī ʿAyyāsh – is Weak and Abandoned
Ibn al-Ghaḍāʾirī wrote:
ضَعِيفٌ، لَّا يُلْتَفَتُ إِلَيْهِ...
“Weak, not to be relied upon... Our scholars attribute the fabrication of Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays to him.”
(al-Rijāl: 1/4)
The book’s entire transmission depends on him.
3. Problems with Alternative Chains
Al-Najāshī mentioned another chain:
حَمَّادُ بْنُ عِيسَى عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عُمَرَ الْيَمَانِيِّ عَنْ سُلَيْمِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ
(Rijāl al-Najāshī: 1/5)
However, this chain is defective because:
- The link of Abān ibn Abī ʿAyyāsh is missing.
- Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar is disputed — authenticated by al-Najāshī, weakened by Ibn al-Ghaḍāʾirī.
- This chain contains Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣayrafī Abū Samīnah, who is weak and a liar, as admitted by Shiʿi scholar al-Khūʾī.
4. Leading Shiʿi Scholars Declared the Book Unreliable
- Ibn al-Ghaḍāʾirī: “This book contains famous rejected reports; I believe it is fabricated.”
- Ibn Dāwūd al-Ḥillī: “Fabricated.”
- Shaykh al-Mufīd: “Unreliable, most of it is impermissible to act upon, contains mixing and deception, the religious should avoid acting upon it.”
5. Historical Impossibility
Sulaym ibn Qays al-Hilālī never met ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, making the narration historically impossible.
6. Ibn Taymiyyah’s Statement
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله wrote:
“Some Rāfiḍah claim that ʿUmar and his companions split open Fāṭimah’s abdomen, causing her miscarriage, and demolished the house. The falsehood of such lies is as clear as daylight to anyone with minimal knowledge and understanding. Rāfiḍah deny what is well-established and widely known, and they affirm what is baseless and non-existent...”
(Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah: 4/493)
Conclusion:There is no authentic evidence that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه struck Fāṭimah رضي الله عنها or caused a miscarriage. The book that contains this story, Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays, is itself a fabrication with no credible chain of transmission.
