Daughter Fatima, Ali has come to ask for your hand ...?

Daughter Fatima, Ali has come to ask for your hand  ...? 

Fatima Bint Muhammad (RA) and her sisters arrived in Madinah  rejoicing that they were finally reunited with their father after he [the Prophet ﷺ ] had left for Madinah all alone  and in the dark of a night. By this time, Fatima was a beautiful woman of eighteen,  full of energy and passion and with a personality that matched her father more than anyone else. This did not go unnoticed and many men started to come forward to ask for her hand in marriage. First of all,  Abu Bakr arrived , and he was kindly refused by the Prophet ﷺ .

  Then came Umar, who was also kindly refused by the Prophet ﷺ. Consequently, Umar  went to Ali and suggested that he should ask for Fatima’s (RA) hand. Ali was very much in love with her. However, Ali did not think that the Prophet ﷺ would accept his proposal for his most beloved daughter  as he was very poor and most importantly he had  seen  that the proposals of the two wealthy  Companions had already been rejected. However,  Umar reminded him of his family relationship with the Prophet ﷺ and his position in Islam and Ali was eventually convinced that he might have a shot.
Ali’s all confidence melted away  when he finally entered the Prophet’s ﷺ house. He came inside, sat down and for a  long time said nothing. “What is the matter, O son of Abu Talib?” said the Prophet ﷺ. Ali was still too nervous to speak. The Prophet ﷺ asked again, “What is on your mind, O son of Abu Talib?” Again Ali said nothing. “You have come to ask for Fatima’s (RA) hand in marriage, am I right?” Ali nodded. The Prophet ﷺ broke into a great smile and went to   Fatima and asked , '' Daughter Fatima, Ali has come to ask for your hand in marriage, shall I say '' Yes '' to him? ''   When she approved, he told Ali that they accepted his proposal. He then asked him if he had any dowry for her. Ali replied that he did not. “What about your shield?” asked the Prophet ﷺ? “It is worth barely more than 400 Dirhams,” said Ali. “I accept it as a dowry,” replied the Prophet ﷺ.
 Ali sold his shield for 400 Dirhams to Usman  and with the same money ,  the Prophet ﷺ sent  Bilal to buy some perfume for Fatima (RA) and he told Um Salama to buy her some new dresses. On the day of their wedding, their zaffa included all the Companians- Anas Ibn Malik, Abu Bakr, Umar, Talhah, Zubair and other Ansar and migrant friends. The wedding food offered to the guests was dates. The wedding zaffa took them from Madinah to the outskirts of the city where Ali had found a house, as he couldn’t afford a place in the city.

Their house was a humble small room. It had a bed, a pillow filled with date leaves, a plate, a glass, a leather water bag, and a grinding stone for grinding flour. On their wedding night,

 the Prophet ﷺ told Ali and Fatima to wait for him in their new house. After Isha prayer, the Prophet ﷺ went to their house and asked for some water, which he used to make wudu. Next, he made a supplication for the newlyweds, “ O Allah bless them and bless their offspring.” He addressed Ali as his brother and asked him to place his hand on Fatima’s (RA) head and repeat some duaas. He then placed Ali’s hand on Fatima’s hand and advised them how to honor each other as husband and wife, “Ali , do not get angry, and if you do, sit down. Remember Allah’s power over His servants and His tolerance of their sins. If you are advised to fear Allah, abandon your anger and go back to your deliberateness.” After he gave them  the advice and  was walking out of their door,  he stopped and  turned towards them  and said to them that they should pray two rakkahs of prayer .
Thus began the married life of Ali and Fatima (RA). Fatima was very much in love with Ali and content to live with him in poverty. He would work hard  all day and she would  grind flour on a grinding stone and work with her hands so much so that the skin between her fingers was dead and her hands were always sore, as was Ali’s back. Ali, hating to see his wife in pain asked her once  to see if her father could get her a maid from one of the prisoners of war. Her father refused saying it was a conflict of interest and told her that he would give her something better than a maid. He told her to recite Subhannallah (Glory be to Allah) thirty three times, Alhamdullilah (All praise be to Allah) thirty three times, and AllahuAkbar (Allah is greatest) thirty three times before going to sleep and it would give them the energy and strength they needed for the upcoming day. Ali said that he did that every night before he went to sleep, even during battles, and it gave him unbelievable strength.
At one point, Ali was thinking about marrying the daughter of Abu Jahl. This greatly upset Fatima (RA) and the Prophet ﷺ. It became such a big deal that the Prophet ﷺ gave his Friday sermon about it. He said that he could not make Haram that of which is Halal, but when a man is to choose another wife, he must not make a decision that would greatly hurt his wife. In other words, when the first wife is satisfying all your needs , you must not marry the second .   He said that Fatima was a part of him, and anything that displeased her, displeased him. The daughter of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and the daughter of his enemy could not be married to the same man. Ali immediately went and apologized to Fatima (RA) and she accepted his apology.
Another time, Ali and Fatima (RA) had had a fight and he had walked out of the house. The Prophet ﷺ went to  visit his daughter as he did everyday and asked her where Ali was. She told him that he walked out. The Prophet ﷺ went to find Ali and saw him sleeping on the ground near the Mosque and covered in dust. Prophet Mohammed ﷺ  gently wiped the dust off  his son-in-law and told him that it would be best for him to go home.
Their marriage too had some rough times  like all marriages do. However,  on the whole, their  marriage was a happy one.

The Prophet ﷺ used to say that he passed by the house of Ali and Fatima and  heard  their laughter from far away.  At one time , he was going to their house  and  he heard them laughing loudly . He entered and asked what was so funny?  Ali answered , '' Fatima (RA) keeps saying that she is older than me and I keep telling her that she is not. ''  The Prophet ﷺ said to Fatima that indeed Ali was five years older than her. “I  know , I know my beloved father but I am just  teasing Ali,” she replied. Ali used to always recite romantic poetry to her, many times funny ones that would make her laugh. Their children were raised in a household that was full of so much love.

Fatima (RA) and Ali were very devoted to Islam and integrated Islamic principles in their daily lives. One day, they were breaking their fast, when there was a knock on the door. Ali asked who it was and the person replied “a poor, hungry man”. Ali and Fatima (RA) gave him all of their food and broke their fast with only bread and water. The next day, they were breaking their fast when there was another knock on the door. This time it was “an orphan who was homeless and starving.” Again Ali and Fatima (RA) gave him all their food and broke their fast with bread and water. On the third day, at the knock on the door there was “a captive.” Once again Ali and Fatima (RA) ate only bread and water as they gave all their food to the man. It was said that these three people were not human beings but the  angel Jibreel who was sent to test the patience of Ali and Fatima (RA). It was also said that Jibreel told Prophet Mohammed ﷺ about this and informed him that Ali and Fatima (RA) will have a carriage of silver in Paradise. Some scholars believe that it was this incident that caused the revelation of the verse:

{And they give food, in spite of their love for it [or the love of Him] to the needy, the orphan, and the captive [saying], ‘We feed you seeking Allah’s countenance only. We wish for no reward or thanks from you.} –Holy Quran, 76: 8-9

Ali and Fatimah  were an amazing couple and they had a beautiful married life  that is an exemplary love story for us all.

Alas ! There is no boy like Ali , no girl like Fatima and most importantly no father like prophet Muhammad  ﷺ  among the Muslims of today . Hence, there is no happy muslim home as well . 

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An eid gift to the boys and girls of Muslim ummah from Sahil Sharifdin English . 

Reading this story , your tears will fall , 

If your heart has a grain of goodness at all .