Fatimah - Birth

Birth

Fatimah was born in Mecca to Khadija, the first wife of Muhammad. There are differences of opinion on the exact date of her birth (605), but the widely accepted view is that she was born five years before the first Qur'anic revelations, during the time of the rebuilding of the Kaaba in 605, although this does imply she was over 18 at the time of her marriage, which was unusual in Arabia. Shia sources, however, state that she was born either two or five years after the first Qur'anic revelations, but that timeline would imply her mother was over fifty at the time of her birth.

Fatimah as believed by Sunnis is the fourth of Muhammad's daughters after Zaynab, Ruqayya, and Umm Kulthum. While according to Shi'a scholars, Fatimah was Muhammad's only biological daughter, they further claimed, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum are actually, being the daughters of Hala, the sister of Khadijah, who were adopted by Muhammad and Khadijah at her death. A strong reason given by the Shi'a scholars for this belief is the event of (mubahala) mentioned in the Quran, in which there is no reference of the presence of any other female apart from Fatimah, however Sunnis accept that Muhammad had four daughters all from Khadijah.