Fatima, Daughter of Muhammad

The only child of Muhammad to survive him, Fatima was from early times taken up by Shî'a Islam, for whose adherents she is the virgin mother, the heavenly intercessor with untold power before God's throne, and the grieving mother of al-Husayn, the Shi'a's most important martyr. During her life she was impoverished and weak, neglected, marginalized, and divested of justice: but her reward in heaven comprises incalculable riches, all those in heaven will bow their heads to her, and her company will be the angels and the friends of God. Here, for the first time, her story is told.

Inhalt

• Table of Contents (page 5)
• Preface (page 7)
• Acknowledgments (page 9)
• Abbreviations (page 11)
• Introduction (page 19)
• 1 Fâtima in her Context: Historical and Biographical Notes (page 29)
• 2 The Supernatural Qualities in the Annunciation and Birth of Fâtima in Shî`a Tradition, Teaching and Piety (page 85)
• 3 Fâtima the Virgin: Traditions, Teaching and Piety Surrounding the Conception and Birth of al-Husayn (page 121)
• 4 The Motif of Grief and Suffering in the Life of Fâtima among the ?People of the House' (page 153)
• 5 The Intercessory Prerogatives of Fâtima (page 181)
• 6 The Possibility of Parallels Between Mary and Fâtima (page 211)
• Conclusion (page 243)
• Bibliography (page 257)
• Index (page 273)