practicing Muslims around the world have con-
sistently memorized and recited it (usually in
Arabic) for centuries, regardless of their ethnic
or religious outlook, means that it has become an
identifying characteristic of membership in the
wider Muslim community (umma).
According to the hadith and Quran commen-
taries, the Fatiha is “the mother (essence) of the
Quran” and its “greatest chapter.” One widely cir-
culated hadith declares, “God has revealed noth-
ing like [it] in the Torah and the Gospel.” Aside
from using it in their daily prayers, Muslims also
recite it during birth rites, weddings, and funer-
als, and to inaugurate new buildings, businesses,
and formal gatherings. Muslims in northern india
have developed a funerary ritual called the Fatiha,
which involves reciting the chapter and making
food offerings on behalf of the dead in a sacral-
ized room of the house. The page of the Quran
on which the Fatiha is written has been the most
beautifully decorated page in Quran manuscripts
and printed editions. It is often displayed in
homes, businesses, and mosqUes as an expression
of religiosity and as a means of ensuring God’s
blessing for those places.
See also amUlets and talismans; basmala;
FUnerary ritUals.
Further reading: Laleh Bakhtiyar, Encyclopedia of
Islamic Law: A Compendium of the Major Schools (Chi-
cago: ABC International Group, 1996); S. D. Goitein,
“Prayer in Islam.” In Studies in Islamic History and
Institutions, edited by S. D. Goitein 73–89 (Leiden: E.J.
Brill, 1966); Moshe Piamenta, Islam in Everyday Arabic
Speech (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1979).
Fatima (ca. 605–633) daughter of Muhammad,
wife of Ali, and mother of Shii Imams, the Shia regard
her as a saint, the only woman they count among the
five “pure” members of the Prophet’s household
Fatima was the youngest daughter born to mUham-
mad and his wife khadiJa. Early historical sources
provide few details about her, except to indicate
that she married Muhammad’s cousin ali ibn abi
talib (d. 661) shortly after the hiJra to medina,
when she was about 18 years old. Like other Mus-
lim families at that time, they lived in poverty until
more lands and property were acquired by the
early community as a result of the early conquests
under Muhammad’s leadership. She bore Ali two
sons who lived to adulthood: Hasan (624–669)
and Husayn (626–680). Accounts say that in his
last days, Muhammad drew Ali, Fatima, and their
two sons together under his cloak and said, “God
wishes to remove impurity from you, O People of
the House [ahl al-bayt], and to thoroughly purify
you” (Q 33:33). This confirmed the holy status of
all five members of Muhammad’s household, and
as a result of this incident they are also known as
the People of the Cloak. Fatima also gave birth to
two daughters, Umm Kulthum and Zaynab. When
Muhammad was on his deathbed in 632, Fatima
and Ali tended to him, while the leadership of
the community was being decided elsewhere by
Muhammad’s associates abU bakr (d. 634), Umar
ibn al-khattab (d. 644), and their allies. Thus, she
was implicated in the events that led to the split
between the Sunni and Shii branches of Islam.
Fatima died at a young age, within a year of her
father. Accounts differ as to where she was buried.
Some say she was buried in Baqi cemetery, near
Muhammad’s house; others say she was buried on
the grounds of his mosqUe.
Fatima is greatly revered by Muslims, especially
the Shia. Among the other names by which she is
known are al-Zahra, “the Radiant,” al-Mubaraka,
“the Blessed,” and al-Tahira, “the Pure.” Accord-
ing to medieval Shii hagiographies, her marriage
with Ali was celebrated in heaven and on Earth,
and all the Shii imams have descended from this
couple. It is also said that because of her purity,
she did not menstruate like other women, and her
pregnancies lasted only nine hours. Moreover, she
will be the first to enter paradise after the Resur-
rection, and, like mary in Catholic Christianity,
she will intercede for those who honor her and
her offspring and descendants, the Imams. Indeed,K 230 Fatima