The Importance of Fadak Issue

1. Fadak Issue:
Fadak was a piece of land that was reached to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) by the Jews with no war or bloodshed in the 7th year of Hijrat; on the other hand, the Jews had granted it to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) personally. Then, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) registered that and in the same year dedicated it to Fatimah (peace be upon her) for reasons. This dedication was the Prophet’s right, because it was not a spoil to share others in it.
Fatimah (peace be upon her) had it under her control for years, and after the Prophet’s demise, the Caliphs decided to usurp it from Fatimah (peace be upon her), because it was believed that the prophets never leave anything after themselves as heritage, and even if they leave, it belongs to the people. Based on this opinion, they were about to make Ali and Fatimah (peace be upon them) bankrupt economically.
The Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) had dedicated something and they usurped it. Did Fatimah (peace be upon her) get it after her father’s death to be considered as inheritance? Did she live in her father’s house that Fadak, dedicated to her four years before the Prophet’s demise, be considered as her heritage?
Fatimah (peace be upon her) had an independent life of her own, and in spite her economic independence, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) had dedicated Fadak to her, and even registered it in her name, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) never said that Fadak belonged to all Muslims while Fatimah (peace be upon her) never used its profit for her own sake but the poor Muslims.
2. The Importance of Fadak:
The Fadak issue is having two-dimensions:
Economic and political. They usurped Fadak from Fatima (peace be upon her) for different reasons, and one of them was to impoverish Ali and Fatimah (peace be upon them), because they spent the income of Fadak for the poor. Although Abubakr knew Fatimah (peace be upon her) was right, and it needed no evidence, he usurped Fadak from Ali and Fatima (peace be upon her) in order to weaken their souls, make them indigent and keep them busy not to think about the unjust Caliphate, or stand against the present government by means of its income….
Omar said to Abubakr, “ ان الناس عبيد الدنيا”‌ that means, “the people are the servants of the world”‌. If you cut Ali’s hand from Fadak, Khums, and Beit ul-mal, the people will disperse from his round”‌.
The efforts of the Caliphs in this regard were somehow futile, but Fatimah (peace be upon her) did not evade it and started defending administering her right.
3. Right-seeking of Fatima (peace be upon her):
She proved women can administers right by regarding the Islamic laws. In Abubakr’s session, she showed that she did not want wealth for her own, but to use its income to help the poor.
In this regard, she said to Abubakr, “I found myself responsible to say this word and express my complaint in this regard”‌.
Then, she brought Ali (peace be upon him) and Omme Aiman as witness to prove her claim. Omme Aiman witnessed that Fadak belonged to Fatima (peace be upon her). Abubakr was about to divert from main direction of speech, but Omme Aiman did not let him and said, “if you do not answer my question, I won’t let you speak any more.”‌ Then, he went on “Did you hear that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) said Omme Aiman is an inhabitant of heaven?”‌ Abubakr answered, “Yes”‌, then she continued, “so I witness that Fadak belongs to Fatima”‌. When Omar discerned the scene, he said, “this woman is Persian, and her witness is not accepted!”‌
4. Fatimah’s Defense:
She made a speech and invited the people to Allah, praised the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) and his prophetic mission, spoke about the materialism and Zakat, etc. Then, she listened to whatever Abubakr said.
Abubakr expressed an unauthentic Hadith, which meant, “the prophets do not leave any Dirham‌‌‌‌ and Dinar ( Arabic units of money) as heritage”‌, therefore, “you have no right of your father’s heritage.”‌ She replied, “But Fadak was not the Prophet’s heritage, it was a gift, dedicated by the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) during his life time to me”‌. Then, she stated, “O heavens! According to the holy Qur’an, do you inherit your father but I don’t? It is a new speech. You have disregarded Allah’s holy book and resorted to a word, contradictory to the holy Qur’an. The holy Qur’an says,
اولوالارحام بعضهم اولي ببعض في كتاب الله…
Has this verse been negated by other versus? Are you more familiar with holy Koran than my father and my cousin (Ali)?
The holy Qur’an says,
يوصيكم اله في اولادكم للذكر مثل حظ الانثيين
The share of heritage for boys is two times more than girls.
It also says,
و ورث سليمان داوود
And Davood inherited Soleiman.
It says somewhere else,
هب لي من لدنك وليا يرثني ويرث من آل يعقوب
Zakaria prayed to Allah to beget a child in order to inherit his parents and relatives.”‌
It also says,
ان ترك خير الوصيه للوالدين و الاقربين بالمعروف
If the dead leaves anything as heritage, it belongs to his parents and family.
Abubakr was astonished and gave up as if he has not heard such verses.
5. Fatimah’s Sermons:
In her defense, Fatima (peace be upon her) managed to surmount them, and it was the time of making the final decision. But suddenly Abubakr blew out crying to mislead the people’s minds. The people sat there quietly watching the event. Fatima (peace be upon her) addressed the people, “why are you quiet when seeing the honor of Islam has been transgressed? Why are you quiet when seeing my right has been usurped?”‌
She came home and addressed Ali (peace be upon him) that they belittled my character and usurped my right. Then Ali felt sympathy with her and asked her to forebear for Allah’s sake, and Fatima (peace be upon her) forbore.
6. The Survey of Fadak Event:
Here, regardless of emotion, it must be stated that Fatima (peace be upon her) was oppressed, and there was no intention to win Allah’s pleasure in the Caliphs’ act, because:
-Abubakr recited “Maasher ul-Anbia”‌ Hadith, and it was not authentic, and there was no record for it, because it was contradicted by the verses of the holy Qur’an. But, on the other side, Fatimah, Ali, and Omme Aiman’s witness was not accepted.
-Not accepting Fatimah’s speech, Abubakr accused her of mendacity and ignored the Tathir (purification) verse of the holy Qur’an.
-If it is true that the prophets do not leave anything as heritage, why Ayesheh, Abubakr’s daughter, usurped the Prophet’s chamber and even did not let Imam Hassan’s corpse be buried near the tomb of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants)?
-What happened that they did not listen to Ali’s speech, but listened to Ayesheh?

Taken from: Fatimah (A.S) The Most Paramount Lady of Islam
By: Dr. Ali Ghaemi
Ref: Tebyan