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The Prophet' a, special love towards his daughter. is expressed in these
words: "Whoever hai pleased Fatimah has indeed pleased God, and
whoever has, caused her to to angry has indeed angered God. " This,
is an unambiguous declaration to the value in which daughters should
now-be held, in marked contrast to pre-Islamic society.
Moving on from her role as daughter, one incident in FAimah's life
a
after the death of her father, clearly illustrates the freedom of women
in Islamic times to seek to protect her own interests. She sent a
messenger to,, AbU*. Bakr asking him for her rights in the inheritance of
a village called 'Fedk' whose revenue the Prophet used to divide
between its poor Muslims and the members of his family, and also of
what Allah had bestowed upon. her father in al-Madinah and of -what
remained from the fifth of Khaybar. AbUBakr responded, "The
Prophet said: We Prophets, what we leave behind is not for inheritance
but for charity, and I shall deal with it the way he dealt-with it and I
shall
leave -nothing
that the Prophet dealt with undealt with, for I fear
if I leave I something of his affairs, I would be deviating-"
So when Abu- Bakr was adamant about preventing
ýatimah from 'Fedk'
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she went to him to argue this matter. Her reputation as a skilled and
eloquent debator, like her father, was known to AbZ; Bakr- She
delivered a long speech before him explaining that she had a right
to her, inheritance in 'Fedk'. C Umar bin al-Khatýa-b and AbU*Bakr went
to see Fatimah. She refused them permission to enter. When'Ali came,
they spoke-to him and he took, them to her. When they sat down,
1. gdmayrah. Abd'al-Rahnr=.
9 Niia'Anzal Allah Min a Qix4arm-a 9 P, 104'9