defilement from you, O People of the Household, and to purify you completely.’ (Qur’an 33:33).

The Messenger of Allah then gathered them under a cloak and said, ‘O Allah, these are the people of my house.’

Al-Tirmidhi also records—on the authority of ʿĀʾishah—that she was asked, ‘Who among all people was dearest to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?’ She replied, ‘Among women, Fāṭimah; and among men, her husband. To the best of my knowledge he was a man who fasted frequently and prayed much at night.’

In another report in al-Tirmidhi, Zayd ibn Arqam relates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to ʿAlī, Fāṭimah, and their two sons: ‘I am at war with whoever wars against you and at peace with whoever is at peace with you.’

During his final illness, as mentioned earlier, he informed her that she was the foremost woman of this ummah.

She left four children: al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn, Zaynab, and Umm Kulthūm.

Zaynab married ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar; she died while still in his household and bore him ʿAwn and ʿAlī.

Umm Kulthūm married ʿUmar, by whom she bore Zayd. After ʿUmar was killed she was married to ʿAwn ibn Jaʿfar, who died; then to his brother Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar, by whom she bore a daughter; and finally to their brother ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar, in whose house she passed away. This was stated by al-Zuhrī.

Al-Aʿmash narrated from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Abū al-Bukhturī, who said: ‘He said…’