Shia sources maintain that Fāṭimah’s hidden grave was no accident — it was a deliberate, secret burial she requested to register her protest against those who denied Ali his right.
Shia scholars attribute the secrecy of Fāṭimah’s (peace be upon her) grave to her own will to be buried privately. According to Shia sources, Fāṭimah made this request because of the removal of the caliphate from ʿAlī (a) and the failure of the Muslims to support him.
Isn’t it strange that a young woman would insist so strongly that her washing, shrouding and burial be done at night and in secret? Why did Fāṭimah make such a request?
How far did the harassment and mistreatment go? How deep was the community’s ingratitude toward Fāṭimah? After the Prophet’s death, was she not the only close relative left? In the short time after her father’s passing, how much suffering did she endure that, even in death, she did not want those who had wronged her to stand at her grave?
Fāṭimah apparently died near noon or near evening, but according to her will her washing and burial were postponed until night. Cries of mourning rose from her house; the people of Medina became aware and wailing spread through the city as they moved toward ʿAlī’s house.
People gathered outside, waiting for the coffin to emerge. Suddenly Abū Dharr came out and told them to disperse because the funeral had been delayed. ʿUmar and Abū Bakr offered condolences to ʿAlī and said, “O Abā al-Hasan, do not lead the prayer over Fāṭimah’s body before us.”
(1) At that time ʿĀ’ishah sought to enter upon Fāṭimah, but Asmāʾ refused. ʿĀ’ishah complained to her father Abū Bakr, saying that this woman was keeping the Prophet’s daughter from them. Abū Bakr came to the threshold and said, “O Asmāʾ, why do you not allow the Prophet’s women to enter upon the daughter of the Messenger of God?” Asmāʾ replied that Fāṭimah herself had instructed her that no one should be admitted.
(2) Some hours passed and eyes grew heavy; ʿAlī and Asmāʾ washed and shrouded Fāṭimah that same night as she had directed.
(3) Al-Balādhurī in his book Ansāb al-Ashrāf says, citing transmission, “Fāṭimah was buried at night.”
The author then relates:
“ʿAlī buried Fāṭimah at night because Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays had prepared a coffin for her before she died. Fāṭimah smiled when she saw it — a smile not seen from her after the Prophet’s passing. ʿAlī and Asmāʾ washed her, because she had so commanded; Abū Bakr and ʿUmar did not know of her passing.”
(4) ʿAlī lifted the bier toward the Prophet’s grave and went to the Noble Rawḍah where he led the prayer; several relatives and companions attended the funeral: ʿAbbās, Faḍl, Muqāddad, Sulaymān (Salmān), Abū Dharr, ʿAmmār, Hasan and Ḥusayn, ʿAqīl, Buraydah, Ḥudhayfah and Ibn Masʿūd were among those who joined the procession.
(5) They moved the body silently and slowly in the dark toward the grave so that hypocrites would not learn and prevent the burial. They laid the body by the grave; ʿAlī himself placed the beloved body in the grave hurriedly, they covered it with soil, and in fear of enemies ʿAlī levelled the grave with earth. He made seven or forty new mounds in different parts of al-Baqīʿ so that the true place would not be known.
(6) The burial was performed in extreme secrecy and haste. When ʿAlī finished the burial, grief overwhelmed him: he felt suddenly alone — without the Prophet and without Fāṭimah — and he sat by her grave like a mountain of sorrow.
Part of these measures were intended so that, by Fāṭimah’s own will, her opponents would not be present at her funeral, prayer or burial. But why were the visible signs of the grave removed? Why, after internment, were seven or forty fresh mounds made in al-Baqīʿ? Why was so much effort made to conceal her tomb? If, in the fortieth year of the Hijra, the children of Fāṭimah hid the grave of their father ʿAlī from public view because they feared the disrespect of opponents, was Medina in such a state in the three months after the Prophet’s death as well?
Might not the same motive be at work that she expressed in her last words to the Muhājirīn and Anṣār? She wanted to be buried away from the sight of ungrateful and unjust people and even to hide the sign of her resting place from them so that by this act she would register her permanent displeasure with the opponents of the Imamate.
The ruling authorities were also aware of the importance of this act and sought to nullify its effects, but they faced the resistance of the Commander of the Faithful. Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq said: when Fāṭimah was martyred, ʿAlī washed her and only Fāṭimah’s children, Fiddah and Asmāʾ, were present. They performed the prayer over Fāṭimah and buried her.
The next day the people of Medina gathered at al-Baqīʿ and saw the appearance of forty graves. They could not identify the Prophet’s daughter’s grave. They reproached one another, saying: the Prophet’s one relic has died and been buried without your being present to pray for her, and you do not even know her burial place.
According to some reports, the first and second caliphs were among those who, when morning came, went to the door of ʿAlī’s house for the funeral, but Muqāddad announced that Fāṭimah had been buried the previous night. Those two were furious and protested to ʿAlī.
Some leaders of the usurping government said: let the women come and exhume the grave so that we may pray for her and bury her again. When ʿAlī heard this, he put on his armor, his eyes burning with anger, took his sword Dhū al-Fiqār, and went to al-Baqīʿ and prevented them.
ʿUmar advanced and said: “We will exhume the grave.” The Commander of the Faithful seized his garment, threw him to the ground, and said: “If I accepted my right and said nothing lest people apostasize, by God, if you touch Fāṭimah’s grave I will cause the earth to drink your blood!” Seeing ʿAlī’s opposition and threats, they desisted.
(7) Concealing the grave of the Prophet’s daughter was done to declare her dissatisfaction and indignation toward the aggressors.
Therefore, among Fāṭimah’s inventions in defense of the Imamate and as a perpetual protest against her opponents, she advised that her grave remain hidden. With this will she wanted to make her permanent complaint against the usurpers of the caliphate and by executing this plan to inflict a final blow upon her adversaries — leaving a living document to attest to her oppression and the tyranny of the caliphal apparatus.
Anyone who hears that the location of the beloved Prophet’s daughter’s grave is unknown will ask: why? They will be told that Fāṭimah herself instructed that her grave remain hidden. Then that person understands the reason and concludes that she was displeased with the ruling authority and that her body was buried under a climate of suppression. They then consider whether it is possible that the Prophet’s daughter — with all her virtues — would be displeased with her father’s caliph and yet that caliph be rightful. That seems impossible. Thus the conclusion drawn is that the caliphate was usurped, contrary to the Prophet and his family.
The infallent Imams, aware of the grave’s location, also did not make it public; this secret will remain until the appearance of the avenger and savior, Imam al-Mahdī (may God hasten his reappearance).
Practical Tips / Key Points
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Shia scholars say Fāṭimah ordered a secret burial; the concealment is attributed to her own will. |
The burial was delayed until night; ʿAlī and Asmāʾ washed and shrouded her and buried her secretly. |
To hide the grave, several dummy graves (reported as seven or forty) were made in al-Baqīʿ so the true location would not be known. |
The concealment served both to prevent opponents’ participation and to register a lasting protest against those who had wronged her family. |
Authorities who sought to expose or reopen the grave were reportedly prevented by ʿAlī’s intervention. |
According to the article, the Imams knew the location but chose to keep it secret until the return of the Mahdī. |
