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Refutations

Did the Prophet Lie With Fatima bint Asad in Her Grave? Linguistic and Hadith Refutation of the Christian Allegation

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Refuting the Allegation That the Prophet Had Sex with Fatima bint Asad After Her Death

Topics Covered
  • Response to the Christian allegation that the Messenger of Allah had intercourse with Fatima bint Asad while she was dead
  • The correct linguistic meaning of the word idtaja’a (lying down)
  • Interpretation of the narrations by each other
  • An introduction to who Fatima bint Asad was
📋 Table of Contents Overview
The Allegation and Its Source The Christians claim that the Messenger of Allah — may my father and mother be sacrificed for him — had sex with Fatima bint Asad while she was dead. As is their habit, they present true events with distortions that suit what their Book has created them to believe.

Their only aim is not to preach their Christianity or call for their belief — the corruption of which has been proven throughout the ages by hundreds, even thousands of scholars and some of their own scholars as well. Rather, their only aim is to take Muslims out of their religion.

The Narrations on Which the Allegation Is Based

Narration One — Al-Isti’ab fi Ma’rifat al-Ashab (Ibn Abd al-Barr) On the authority of Ibn Abbas, he said: “When Fatima, the mother of Ali ibn Abi Talib, died, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, dressed her in his shirt and lay down with her in her grave. They said: We have never seen you do what you did to her. He said: There was no one after Abu Talib who was more dutiful to me than her. I only dressed her in my shirt so that she would be clothed in the garments of Paradise, and I lay down with her to make it easier for her.”
Narration Two — Kanz Al-Ummal On the authority of Ibn Abbas, he said: “When the mother of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim, died, and she was one of those who took care of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and raised him after the death of Abdul Muttalib, the Prophet shrouded her in his shirt, prayed over her, asked forgiveness for her, and rewarded her with good for what he had entrusted to her, and lay down with her in her grave when she gave birth. It was said to him: O Messenger of God, you did something to her that you did not do to anyone else! He said: I only shrouded her in my shirt so that God would let her enter mercy and forgive her, and I lay down in her grave so that God would make it easier for her thereby.”

The Linguistic Meaning of Idtaja’a (Lying Down)

Ibn Manzur — Lisan Al-Arab
  • Daja’a: the root of the verb is idtija’, daja’a yadji’u dajjan and duju’, so he is daji’
  • Idtija’: to lie down; to sleep. It was said: to lie down and put one’s side on the ground
  • “I laid someone down if I put his side on the ground”
  • Beds: the plural of bed; Allah the Almighty said: {Their sides forsake their beds} [As-Sajdah: 16] — meaning: they forsake their beds in which they lie down
  • Lying down in prostration: means to lie down and stick one’s chest to the ground. If they say: He prayed lying down — it means: He lies on his right side facing the qibla
  • “In the hadith: The bed of the Messenger of Allah was made of leather stuffed with palm fibers”
  • The word “daj’ah” (with a kasrah) is derived from “idtija’” (reclining), which means sleeping, like “jilasah” (sitting)
  • “Tadji’” in a matter: is negligence in it
  • “He lay down in his matter and laid down: he became weak”
Conclusion The general meaning of idtaja’a (lying down) is: sleeping or lying on one’s side. There is absolutely no sexual connotation in the Arabic word.

Where the Christians Got Their Distorted Understanding

The Christians’ Distortion Comes from Their Own Scripture To make clear where the Christians derived their distorted understanding, we present the meaning of “lying with” in their own scripture — a book full of sexual content — so it becomes clear this distortion originates from their own reading framework:
Genesis 19:32–36 “Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him; that we may preserve offspring from our father. So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down, or when she rose up… So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down, or when she rose up. And Lot’s two daughters conceived by their father.”
Genesis 26:10 “And Abimelech said, What is this that you have done to us? For a little while, one of the people would have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
Genesis 30:16 “And it came to pass, when Jacob was come from the field in the evening, that Leah went out to meet him, and said, Come in unto me; for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.”
Genesis 34:2 “And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the country, saw her, and took her, and lay with her, and afflicted her.”
Genesis 35:22 “And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard it, and the sons of Jacob were twelve.”
Genesis 39:7 “And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and said, Lie with me.”
Exodus 22:16 “And if a man seduce a virgin who is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall give her as a dowry to himself as a wife.”
In the Bible, “lying with” consistently refers to adultery and sexual intercourse. The Christians took the Arabic phrase idtaja’a and filtered it through the lens of their own scripture, diverting the Arabic word from its common meaning to the distant meaning appropriate to their goal — even though they speak Arabic and know better.

Interpretation of the Narrations by Each Other

The Correct Method Every Muslim and every rational person understands that the meaning is taken from collecting the narrations together. The following narrations explain each other and make the true meaning absolutely clear.

Narration 1 — Usd Al-Ghabah (Ibn Al-Athir)

Text “That the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, shrouded Fatima bint Asad in his shirt, lay down in her grave, and rewarded her with good. It was narrated from Ibn Abbas something similar to this, and he added, so they said: We have not seen you do to anyone what you did to her! He said: After Abu Talib, there was no one more pious than her. Ibn Habib said: I only dressed her in my shirt so that she would be dressed in the garments of Paradise, and I lay down in her grave so that the torment of the grave would be made easy for her.”
The Equation Is Clear
  • He shrouded her in his shirt → so that she would be dressed in the garments of Paradise
  • He lay down in her grave → so that the torment of the grave would be made easy for her

Narration 2 — Mustadrak Al-Hakim

Text (via Ali ibn Abi Talib) “When Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim died, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, shrouded her in his shirt, prayed over her, and said seventy takbirs over her. He went down into her grave, and my hands were in the corners of the grave as if he was expanding it and leveling it. He came out of her grave with tears in his eyes, and he threw some water into her grave. When he left, Umar ibn Al-Khattab said to him: O Messenger of God, I saw you do something to this woman that you did not do to anyone else. He said: O Umar, this woman was my mother who gave birth to me. Abu Talib used to do good deeds, and there would be banquets for him, and he used to gather us to eat with him. This woman used to have a share of it all, so I would return to it. Gabriel, peace be upon him, informed me on the authority of my Lord, the Almighty, that she is one of the people of Paradise. Gabriel, peace be upon him, informed me that God Almighty ordered seventy thousand angels to pray for her.”

Narration 3 — Muqatil Al-Talibin (Al-Isfahani)

Text “The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, buried Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim, the mother of Ali ibn Abi Talib, in Al-Rawha’, opposite the bathhouse of Abu Qatifa.”

Narration 4 — Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq (Ibn Asakir)

Text “On the day she died, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, prayed over her, rolled in her grave, cried, and said: ‘May God reward you with goodness for being a mother, for you were the best mother.’”
Final Conclusion from All Narrations Not a single narration — when read in full and understood in its correct Arabic context — supports the Christians’ allegation in any way. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lay down in her grave to make things easier for her, as an honour and a mercy — not in any other sense. Can any honest person understand from these narrations what the Christians allege?

Introduction to Fatima bint Asad

Who Was Fatima bint Asad? She is Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf — the mother of Ali ibn Abi Talib and his brothers. She converted to Islam, migrated to Medina, and died there during the lifetime of the Prophet.
Al-Isti’ab fi Ma’rifat Al-Ashab (Ibn Abd Al-Barr) “She is the first Hashemite woman to give birth to a Hashemite. She converted to Islam and migrated to Allah and His Messenger and died in Medina during the lifetime of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Messenger of Allah witnessed her.”
Al-Tabaqat Al-Kubra (Ibn Sa’d) “Fatima bint Asad was the wife of Abu Talib ibn Abd Al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qusayy, and she bore him Talib, Aqeel, Ja’far, Ali, Umm Hani, Jumana, and Raytah. Fatima bint Asad converted to Islam and she was a righteous woman, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to visit her and take a nap in her house.”
Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq (Ibn Asakir) “The mother of Ali, peace be upon him, is Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, and she converted to Islam long ago. She was the first Hashemite woman to give birth to a Hashemite, and she raised the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and she bore Abu Talib Aqeel, Ja’far, Ali, Umm Hani — whose name was Fakhita — and Hamama. Aqeel was ten years older than Ja’far, and Ja’far was ten years older than Ali. Ja’far is the one with two migrations and the one with two wings.”
Usd Al-Ghabah (Ibn Al-Athir) — via Ali ibn Abi Talib “I said to my mother Fatima bint Asad: Take care of Fatima, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, with providing water and going on errands, and she will take care of the grinding and kneading of the dough.” — This indicates her migration because Ali married Fatima in Medina.
Muqatil Al-Talibin (Al-Isfahani) — via Abu Hurairah “Ja’far ibn Abi Talib was the third of his father’s children, and Talib was the oldest of them, followed by Aqeel, followed by Ja’far, followed by Ali. Each one of them was ten years older than the other, and Ali was the youngest of them… and the mother of them all was Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf.”
Muqatil Al-Talibin (Al-Isfahani) — via Jarir “I heard the Prophet calling the women to pledge allegiance when this verse was revealed: ‘O Prophet, when the believing women come to you to pledge allegiance to you.’ Fatima bint Asad was the first woman to pledge allegiance to the Messenger of God.”