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Seerah / Final days

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Fatima's tears, then her smile

Date
Rabi' al-Awwal, 11 AH · established
Location
Madinah
People
Fatima (RA), Aisha (RA)

Aisha (RA) narrates in Sahih al-Bukhari that in his last days the Prophet ﷺ whispered to Fatima (RA) and she wept, then whispered again and she smiled; after his death Fatima explained he had told her of his approaching death, and that she would be the first of his family to follow him.

As it was narrated

The story, in the words of those who were there

Read slowly. These are the Companions' own words, from the verified hadith collections.

Hadith
Hadith collection

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا زَكَرِيَّاءُ، عَنْ فِرَاسٍ، عَنْ عَامِرٍ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ قَالَتْ أَقْبَلَتْ فَاطِمَةُ تَمْشِي، كَأَنَّ مِشْيَتَهَا مَشْىُ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ مَرْحَبًا بِابْنَتِي ‏"‏‏.‏ ثُمَّ أَجْلَسَهَا عَنْ يَمِينِهِ أَوْ عَنْ شِمَالِهِ، ثُمَّ أَسَرَّ إِلَيْهَا حَدِيثًا، فَبَكَتْ فَقُلْتُ لَهَا لِمَ تَبْكِينَ…

Narrated `Aisha:Once Fatima came walking and her gait resembled the gait of the Prophet (ﷺ) . The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Welcome, O my daughter!" Then he made her sit on his right or on his left side, and then he told her a secret and she started weeping. I asked her, "Why are you weeping?" He again told her a secret and she started laughing. I said, "I never saw happiness so near to sadness as I saw today." I asked her what the Prophet (ﷺ) had told her. She said, "I would never disclose the secret of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)." When the Prophet (ﷺ) died, I asked her about it. She replied. "The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Every year Gabriel used to revise the Qur'an with me once only, but this year he has do…

Sahih al-Bukhari · Hadith 3623
Translation: Sahih al-Bukhari — English. Hadith data: fawazahmed0/hadith-api (numbering and gradings as published there).

Grading information unavailable in source data · from a collection regarded as sahih

Open source

Lessons

  • Close to sadness, Allah places hope.
  • Being reunited with those we love is a real consolation.

Lessons are editorial reflections drawn from the event and its sources.

Pause for a moment

Which moment of your own life does this remind you of? Sit with it for a minute, then send salawat on the one who lived it ﷺ.

Send salawat ﷺ

Bibliography

  • Sahih al-Bukhari 3623 (Aisha) · primary source
  • Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri, Ar-Raheeq al-Makhtum (further reading)

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