It is often the case that parents instinctively give their youngest child a special position. This may often be the result of the parents’ trying to protect the youngest child against excesses by its elder siblings. In the case of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Fatimah was the youngest daughter, and he loved her more than anyone else, even though he never favored her with any special treatment. Before her, Lady Khadeejah gave him two sons and three daughters. The two sons died in infancy, while the daughters survived until they got married and some of them gave birth to children. The Prophet was a man who cared for others, sympathized with anyone who had problems and tried to help whenever he could. All this was part of his nature. When he was troubled by his first encounter with the angel Gabriel, struggling to understand what it meant, and he expressed his fears to his wife, Khadeejah, she reassured him that God would never allow anything evil to happen to him. She said: “By God, you are faithful to your trust, kind to your kinsfolk and you always tell the truth.” She also described him as one who “helped people in trouble.”
Such a loving, caring person will naturally be the model of a family man, eager to give his children a happy upbringing. The Prophet was certainly such a man, but he also continued to demonstrate this throughout his life. Fatimah had a special position in his heart. He said of her: “Fatimah is a part of me.” Although two of his other daughters had children, it was through Fatimah alone that his offspring continued, generation after generation. When she was a young woman, he chose for her a husband who would know her position and give her all the care a loving husband could give. Ali, his cousin, was that man. We may think that a loving father would try to ensure a very comfortable life for his darling daughter when she married. Yet Fatimah was married to an almost penniless man. Ali was encouraged by a certain woman to speak to the Prophet about marrying Fatimah. He said: “What have I got to offer her?” The woman, however, looked at his character and continued to encourage him. He went to the Prophet to make his proposal, but he, the most eloquent of people, was speechless. Since they had a very close relationship, with Ali living for several years in the Prophet’s home, the Prophet realized that Ali’s inability to speak pointed in a certain direction. He said to him: “Perhaps you have come with a proposal for Fatimah?” When he answered in the affirmative, the Prophet asked: “Do you have anything to offer as dowry?” He said: “I have nothing.” The Prophet asked: “What have you done with the body armor I have given you in case you need to fight?” Ali said that it was still with him. He said: “I accept that as her dowry.”
Speaking to his daughter about her forthcoming marriage, the Prophet said: “I am marrying you to a young man who is the best in the community in knowledge and forbearance, and who was the first to accept Islam.” All that the Prophet could give her to take to her new home consisted of a hide, a piece of cloth, two water containers, a millstone, a pillow filled with fiber, a short cover, a sieve and a cup. He prayed for the newly married couple, requesting God to bless them and their offspring.
Fatimah lived a hard life with her husband. She did all housework, including baking bread for her family. That was exhausting by any standard. Hence, when some captives were brought to the Prophet, she and her husband requested him to give them one to help Fatimah. He said to them: “I cannot give you one when I see that some people in the community are hungry, unable to find enough to eat. I will use the money I get for these captives to alleviate their poverty.” It should be mentioned that the rule for the treatment of war captives is to free them against ransom or as a gesture of kindness.
Yet the Prophet felt for his daughter and her husband. Therefore, he went to see them in the evening. He found them having just got in bed. They rose to greet him, but he told them to stay, and said: “Shall I tell you something which will be better for you than what you wanted me to give you? It is these words which Gabriel has taught me. After each obligatory prayer, glorify God ten times, thank Him ten times and praise Him ten times. When you go to bed do the same 33 times each, but praise Him 34 times.” Ali said as he reported this many years later: “I never omitted to do this since then.” He was asked: “Even on the night of the Battle of Siffeen?” He confirmed that even on that night. It should be remembered that that was the hardest night he ever faced, because the fighting was an internal one, between two armies of Muslims.
Trying to comfort Fatimah and encourage her to accept her hard life, the Prophet said to her: “Fatimah! Some sins are not atoned for by prayer and fasting. Yet they are atoned for by hard work and care for one’s children.”
Had he wished, the Prophet could have ensured a most comfortable life for his daughters. He could have married Fatimah to one of the richest people among his companions. In Madinah, some Muslims were rich, and any one of them would have felt it a great honor to marry the Prophet’s daughter. Yet he preferred for them to have an ordinary life, and not to be distinguished from other women. Indeed, he drove it home to them that they have to redeem themselves on the Day of Judgment by their own work. Their relation to him would not give them any special position. He said to his youngest daughter: “Fatimah bint Muhammad! I cannot be of any benefit to you when you stand before God.” To all his kinsfolk, he said: “Let not other people come forward on the Day of Judgment with their good deeds, while you come only with your kinship.”
Yet as a loving father, he felt for his daughters. When he heard that Ali wanted to marry another woman, which is perfectly allowed in Islam and common in the Arabian society, the Prophet declared his opposition to this marriage, saying: “Fatimah is a part of me. What hurts her hurts me.” He made it clear that the only way Ali could marry another woman was by first divorcing Fatimah. Ali never entertained any thought of divorcing her. The couple continued to live happily until Fatimah died, six months after her father had passed away. Ali married other women after that.