The Divine Selection and Proposal for the Holy Wedding
The sacred union of Huzoor Syeda Fatima-tu-Zahrah (Salam Allah-Ho Alaiha) with Hadrat Ali-ul-Murtaza (ASWS) was not an ordinary marriage but a celestial event ordained by Almighty Allah Himself. When the daughter of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) reached the age of marriage, many distinguished companions of the Holy Prophet came forward to seek her hand, including Abu Bakr and Umar, but the Holy Prophet turned them away, declaring: “This matter of the marriage of Fatima, my daughter, is in the hands of Allah Himself, and He alone will select a spouse for her” . This profound statement established that the marriage of Syeda Fatima-tu-Zahrah was a divine matter transcending human choice.
The Prophet of Islam further illuminated this divine selection when he told his companions: “An angel came and said to me: O Messenger of Allah, Allah sends you greeting and says to you: I have married Fatima to Ali in the high Heaven, so you marry her to him in the earth” . Almighty Allah, who had created the entire universe for the sake of His Beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW), similarly chose Imam Ali (ASWS) as the spouse for the Chief Princess of all women. The Holy Prophet declared to his beloved daughter: “O Fatima, do you not know that Allah observed the people of the earth, and then He chose your father from among them and sent him a messenger, and once another He observed and then He chose your husband and revealed to me so that I married him (to my daughter) and took him my guardian?” .
When Imam Ali (ASWS), who had been brought up under the direct guardianship of the Holy Prophet from childhood, came forward to propose, the Holy Prophet’s face lit up with a broad smile. He entered the house and asked his daughter for her response, and her silence was interpreted as her assent . The Holy Prophet then declared: “I marry you to the best one of my Ummah. He is the most knowledgeable, the most prudent, and the first Muslim” . It is narrated that if Ali was not created, there would be no equal for Fatima, indicating the perfect compatibility of these two supreme spiritual personalities .
The Holy Dowry (Mahr) of Syeda Fatima-tu-Zahrah
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW), the Chief of all past Prophets and Messengers and the ultimate reason for Almighty Allah to create the universes and all living creatures, established the most beautiful example of simplicity in marriage through the dowry he prescribed for his beloved daughter. When Imam Ali (ASWS) came to propose, the Holy Prophet asked him: “O Ali, do you have something (to pay as dowry)?” Imam Ali replied: “I have a sword, an armor, and a horse.” The Holy Prophet wisely instructed: “As for your horse, you need it, and as for your sword, you cannot do without it, but as for your armor, you can sell it” .
Acting upon the instruction of the Messenger of Allah, Imam Ali (ASWS) went to the market and sold his armor for four hundred and eighty dirhams . This amount, known historically as Mahr Fatimi, has been recorded in multiple authentic narrations. The Holy Prophet’s standard for his wives and daughters was five hundred dirhams , but the specific amount given by Imam Ali for Syeda Fatima-tu-Zahrah was 480 dirhams, which in modern weight measurement equals approximately 1469.664 grams of silver . Some narrations also indicate that the dowry was 400 silver coins or Dirhams, while others mention 50 gold dinars, which is about 174 grams of gold .
The Holy Prophet took a handful of the dirhams and gave them to Bilal to purchase perfume for Syeda Fatima-tu-Zahrah, and he gave other handfuls to Salman and Umm Salamah to purchase household items . The remaining amount from the dowry was used to acquire the essential items for their simple home. The Holy Prophet established through this action that marriage should be made easy and that the giving of excessive dowries is contrary to the spirit of Islam. The Holy Prophet said: “The best women of my community are those of less dowries” , and “the most blessed marriage is one in which the marriage partners place the least burden on each other” .
The Simple Household Items Gifted by the Holy Prophet
Following the completion of the marriage ceremony, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) prepared the household necessities for his beloved daughter. The furniture of Syeda Fatima-tu-Zahrah’s home was exceedingly simple, demonstrating the Islamic principle of frugality and detachment from worldly luxuries. According to authentic narrations, the items gifted by the Holy Prophet included: a sheepskin to sleep on, a pillow of leather stuffed with palm-tree fibers, a bed made of palm-tree branches, a quern (hand mill for grinding grain), a water skin, two jars, and some pottery vessels .
Ibn Abbas narrated: “When the Prophet married off Fatimah to Ali, among the items that he gifted her were a bed embellished with ribbon, a leather pillow filled with palm-tree fiber and a water-skin” . Another narration adds that the Holy Prophet also provided a Khameelah (a white woolen dress), a leather pillow stuffed with palm-tree fiber, and a copper bowl containing some Aqit (dry cottage cheese) . Ali ibn Abi Talib himself described the preparation as: “The Prophet prepared for Fatimah a sheet, a leather bag for carrying water, and a pillow filled with grass” .
Asma, the daughter of Umays, related that when Fatimah left for Ali’s house, it was quite unfurnished except for a flooring of sand, a pillow of date palm bark, a pot of water, and a drinking vessel. Even the sheet which Fatimah was given had to be divided in two so that one half could be spread for sleeping on and the other half could be worn . The Holy Prophet looked at the simple pottery vessels and declared: “Blessed are the people of a house whose most vessels are of pottery” . This simplicity was not a reflection of any lack of love or honor for his daughter but was a deliberate act to establish a lasting tradition of simplicity in marriage for all Muslims to follow.
The Celestial Wedding Ceremony
On the last day of Zilqa’ad in the 2nd year of Hijrah, approximately two months after the Battle of Badr, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) invited the Muhajireen and the Ansar to attend a banquet for the marriage of his beloved daughter . After praising Allah and thanking Him for His mercies, the Holy Prophet recited the sermon of marriage, declared Ali and Fatima husband and wife, and invoked the blessings of Allah upon both of them. The guests feasted upon lamb meat, bread, dates, and milk . The entire ceremony was simple yet dignified, reflecting the prophetic tradition of making marriage easy and avoiding extravagance.
The Holy Prophet himself assisted his daughter in riding his she-camel when she left her parental home for her husband’s house. Medina rang with shouts of Allah-o-Akbar as Salman the Persian held the reins of the she-camel, the Holy Prophet walked on one side, and Hamza, the Lion of God, walked on the other. All the young cavaliers of Banu Hashim rode as escorts, and the Muhajir and Ansar women followed behind . This heavenly cavalcade made a circuit of the Great Mosque of Medina before halting at the house of the bridegroom. Standing at the threshold, the Holy Prophet placed his daughter’s hand in her husband’s and prayed: “O Allah! I commend Fatima and Ali, Thy humble slaves, to Thy protection. Be Thou their Protector. Bless them. Be pleased with them, and bestow Thy boundless grace, mercy, and Thy best rewards upon them. Make their marriage fruitful, and make both of them steadfast in Thy love, and Thy service” . Later, when asked how they found each other, Fatima said she found Ali the best companion in devotion to God, and Ali said he found her the best companion in service to the Creator .
The Extravagant Dowry Practices of Today’s Muslims
In stark contrast to the beautiful simplicity established by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) for the marriage of his most beloved daughter, many Muslims today have unfortunately deviated from this prophetic tradition and adopted extravagant dowry practices. The custom of giving heavy dowries, often known as Jahez, has become greatly prevalent among Muslims in countries like India and Pakistan. It is important to understand that this practice has never been sanctioned by Islam; rather, it has its origins in Hindu tradition where daughters were not given a share in family property but were instead compensated through dowries .
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWAW) gave household items only to Fatimah, and gave nothing at all to his other three daughters on the occasion of their marriages, clearly demonstrating that dowry-giving was not an established sunnah . What the Holy Prophet provided to Fatimah were simple household necessities, and even these were given primarily because of the special guardian-like relationship he had with Ali, who had been under his care since childhood. It is noteworthy that the verb jahhaza, as used in the traditions, simply meant the “furnishing of provisions,” and did not carry the meaning of an elaborate dowry that it has acquired in modern times .
Islamic law prescribes that it is incumbent upon the husband to provide all household necessities and furnishings, while the father of the bride is not obliged to buy household items and furniture for his daughter when she gets married . The modern practice of giving huge Jahez not only contradicts the prophetic tradition but also evades the Islamic law of inheritance, as daughters are being denied their rightful share in family property and being “compensated” with wedding presents . The Holy Prophet’s gift to Fatimah was so minimal that modern commentators have observed: “If, nowadays, a girl’s dowry had to be defined purely in terms of household necessities and limited to the same few items which the Prophet gave to Fatimah, it seems unlikely that anyone would consider it becoming to give a dowry at all” . Muslims are called to return to the prophetic tradition of simplicity, as the Holy Prophet declared: “the most blessed marriage is one in which the marriage partners place the least burden on each other” .