Fadak is a controversial issue that has since the death of Rasulullah (s) created an open wound between the Sunni and Shi’a schools of thought. The best summary exists from Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 53, Number 325:
Narrated Ayesha(mother of the believers),’After the death of Allah’s Apostle Fatima,the daughter of Allah’s Apostle asked Abu Bakr As-Siddiq to give her the share of inheritance from what Allah’s Apostle had left of the Fai (i.e. booty gained without fighting)which Allah had given him. Abu Bakr said to her, “the Holy Prophet (saww) had said, ‘Our property will not be inherited, whatever we (i.e. prophets) leave is Sadaqah (to be used for charity).” Fatima, the daughter of Allah’s Apostle got angry and stopped speaking to Abu Bakr, and continued assuming that attitude till she died. Fatima remained alive for six months after the death of the Holy prophet(saww).
we read further down in the same Hadith:
Narrated ‘Aisha: “…She used to ask Abu Bakr for her share from the property of Allah’s Apostle which he left at Khaibar, and Fadak, and his property at Medina (devoted for charity). Abu Bakr refused to give her that property and said, “I will not leave anything Allah’s Apostle used to do, because I am afraid that if I left something from the Prophet’s tradition, then I would go astray.” …
Abu Bakr sought to base his decision on two things:
- A saying of the Prophet (s)
- The action of the Prophet (s)
Before proceeding into the matter, we would invite our readers to just ponder over our initial questions, based on the traditions that we have quoted:
We have simply posed these here, to get our readers minds focused on the significance of this event, and the issues / discussion points that flow thereof. Whilst we will inshallah seek to discuss all of the above in the subsequent chapters, what is clear is that the scholars of Ahl’ul Sunnah have fought tirelessly to uphold the decision of Abu Bakr as correct. The reason that they do so is because so much hangs on upholding Abu Bakr’s stance. After all if he is proven wrong then they will have to admit that the Khalifa coined a tradition to justify the usurpation of Fadak from Sayyida Fatima (as). The matter would not just end there it will raise more serious issues such as:
This is why Fadak is such a ‘taboo’ subject for the Ahl’ul Sunnah.The scholars prefer not to openly discuss it with their followers, if they are ever forced to do so they present the matter in such a simplified shallow manner, gleaming over facts such as Qur’anic verses, so as to ensure that Abu Bakr comes out of the dispute as perfect as possible. At the forefront of this attitude are Ansar.org and in their publication “Fadak area between Abu Baker and Fatima” the author Muhammad Al-Khider provided a concise discussion on the topics of Fadak and inheritance. He had sought to counter the wrong things that are said against Abu Bakr on this matter. As far as the issue of Sayyida Fatima (as)’s right to Prophetic inheritance was concerned, Al Khider failed to cite a word in her favour, on the contrary this advocate of Abu Bakr dedicated his entire efforts on proving that Abu Bakr’s approach was the correct one. He was undeterred even if it meant denying the Qur’an and Sunnah in the process.
Not to be hard done an unknown author of ‘The Issue of Fedek: A rebuttal to common lies propagated against Ahl al-Sunnah regarding Ahlul-Bayt’ advanced all manner of defence to prove that Sayyida Fatima (as) had no claim to Fadak.
Then we have the efforts of the founder of Sipah-e-Sahaba, Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in his article ‘Alleged Row Between Hadhrat Fatimah & Hadhrat Abu Bakr Over Share In Fadak’ whose net conclusion was that Sayyida Fatima (as) was wrong in making her claim.
Reviving Islam produced an article ‘The Truth About the Land of Fadak’, which for the most part is just a summary of Ansar.Org’s article but in it, the Nasibi authors have also sought to attack the noble character of Sayyida Fatima (as).
Not to be left out, the modern day beloved son of the Cyber Takfeeris Ibn al Hashimi www.ahlelbayt.com wrote a series of articles wherein he rejected the Sayyida Fatima (as) and desperately sought to offer an array of defences for Abu Bakr. In truth there was nothing new in his articles they were plagiarised from Al Khider’s article with a little fine tuning. We could have ignored this plagiarism and focused on Al Khider but since this Nasabi author is showered with glowing accolades from the followers of Muawiyah we felt it only right, to bring him back to earth his dishonest style of advocacy.
All of the above were merely following in the footsteps of their early scholars of the likes of al Muhaddith Shah Abdul Aziz and Ibn Taymeeya who wrote vehemently against the concept of Prophetic inheritance. The net conclusion of all these efforts are one that Abu Bakr was correct and the claim that had been brought by Sayyida Fatima (as) was wrong.
We shall present the complete picture from the esteemed works of Ahl’ul Sunnah, and shall analyse the correctness of Abu Bakr’s judgement against the Qur’an, Sunnah and Books of Seerah, Tareekh and Fiqh. Our aim is two fold, to clarify any doubts that are brought up by these articles and to uphold the claim of Sayyida Fatima (as) as correct and truthful. We shall also address and refute the excuses that Al Khider and Co. had made on the topic of Prophetic inheritance. By the end of the book readers will need to ask themselves ‘Which party was wrong in this dispute, Sayyida Fatima (as) or Abu Bakr?’ They will need to make the difficult choice, in relation to which side of the fence they wish to sit on. They will have to decide where their affiliations lie. With the School of Ahl’ul Bayt (as) or the School of the Companions.
Whilst all our articles are aimed at inviting our Sunni brethren to the truth, as is the case here we have decided to make a special appeal to Sunni Sayyid’s. Our experience from the Indian Subcontinent is that the descendents of Rasulullah (s) enjoy immense respect in their communities; people stand up when they see them, kiss their hands etc. Some of these have attained the rank of “Peers” [spiritual leaders] and have a massive following that brings with it respect and huge financial rewards. Followers adhere to their every word, deeming anything that they utter from their mouths to be the truth that must be adhered to. Clearly these Sayyid Peers carry an immense responsibility on their shoulders. Unfortunately, rather than fulfilling this duty they live in a hidden world, where making money overrides their Deen. The key to this money making lies in attacking others, as a means of discouraging their followers from seeking out other means of guidance. Their mud slinging is focussed at one group the Shi’as of Maula ‘Ali (as). These Peers heap all manner of lie against the Shias to generate emotion amongst their followers. Whilst many topics are touched upon by the scandal mongers, the most sensitive topic that guarantees high emotion is the topic of the Sahaba, and in particular the Shi’as opposition to Abu Bakr. We appeal directly to these Peers:
All this respect and honour that you have attained is based on one reason only, your lineage to Sayyida Fatima (as). If your blood was(you were) not linked to Sayyida Fatima (as) you would not have attained the respect that you have today. With this being the case don’t you think that you owe it to your mother Sayyida Fatima (as) to distance yourself from those that hurt her? Your followers shower you with vast amounts of cash and lands due to your being a Sayyid, and your luxury lifestyles are thanks to Sayyida Fatima (as). Whilst you have benefited from your relationship to her, your mother was forced to live a life of destitution because Abu Bakr seized her land and denied her inheritance rights. Don’t you think you owe it to your mother to speak out and condemn those that pained her? This is just a temporary world and all the benefits and riches you have gained are temporary pleasures that shall be of no avail to you on the Day of Judgement. How will you face Sayyida Fatima (as) on the Day of Judgement, when despite your lineage to her you humiliated her by upholding the stance of those who deprived her of her justified rights, deeming her wrong in the process? Have some shame.