وفاته صلى الله عليه وسلم
‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The the Prophet's wives were with him when Fātimah (may Allah be pleased with her) came walking. Her gait was exactly similar to the gait of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When he saw her, he welcomed her saying: "Welcome, my daughter." He made her sit on his right side or on his left side. Then he said something secretly to her and she wept bitterly. When he found her in grief, he said to her something secretly for the second time and she laughed. I said to her: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) has singled you out with talking to you secretly, excluding all his wives, and you weep!" When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) went away, I said to her: "What did the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say to you?" Thereupon she said: "I am not going to disclose the secret of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)." When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) died, I said to her: "I adjure you by the right that I have upon you that you should tell me what the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to you." She said: "Yes, now I can do that. When he talked to me secretly for the first time he informed me that Jibrīl was in the habit of reciting the Qur'an along with him once or twice every year, but this year it had been twice and so he perceived that his death was quite near, so fear Allah and be patient, and he told me that he would be an excellent predecessor for me, and so I wept as you saw me. Then when he saw me in grief, he talked to me secretly for the second time and said: 'O Fātimah, would it please you to know that you will be the head of the believing women or the head of the women of this Ummah?' So I laughed and it was that laughter which you saw.'"
عن عائشة -رضي الله عنها- قالت: كُنَّ أزواجُ النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- عنده، فأقبلت فاطمة -رضي الله عنها- تمشي، ما تُخْطِئُ مِشْيَتُها من مِشْيَةِ رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- شيئًا، فلما رآها رَحَّبَ بها، وقال: «مَرْحَبًا بابنتي»، ثم أجلسها عن يمينه أو عن شماله، ثم سَارَّهَا فبكت بُكاءً شديدًا، فلما رأى جَزَعَهَا، سَارَّهَا الثانية فضحكت، فقلتُ لها: خَصَّكِ رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- من بين نسائه بالسِّرَارِ، ثم أنت تَبْكِينَ! فلما قام رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- سألتها: ما قال لك رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم-؟ قالت: ما كنت لأُفْشِيَ على رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- سِرَّهُ، فلما توفي رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قلتُ: عَزَمْتُ عليك بما لي عليك من الحق، لما حَدَّثْتِنِي ما قال لك رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم-؟ فقالت: أما الآن فنعم، أما حين سَارَّنِي في المرة الأولى فأخبرني أن جبريل كان يُعارضه القرآن في كل سنة مرة أو مرتين، وأنه عارضه الآن مرتين، وإني لا أرى الأَجَلَ إلا قد اقترب، فاتقي الله واصبري، فإنه نِعْمَ السَّلَفُ أنا لك، فبكيت بكائي الذي رأيتِ، فلما رأى جَزَعِي سَارَّنِي الثانية، فقال: «يا فاطمة، أما تَرْضَينَ أن تكوني سيدة نساء المؤمنين، أو سيدة نساء هذه الأمة؟» فضحكتُ ضحكي الذي رأيتِ.
شرح الحديث :
‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet's wives were sitting with him when Fātimah (may Allah be pleased with her) came to visit him in his final illness. Fātimah came in walking exactly like the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). It was the Prophet's habit to stand up for his daughter, kiss her, and let her sit in his place. So he welcomed her and let her sit next to him. ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) then mentioned that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) talked secretly to Fātimah (may Allah be pleased with her), who therefore wept heavily. When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saw that she was very sad, he talked once again secretly to her, so she laughed. ‘Ā’ishah asked Fātimah why she wept although she had such a privilege of being told a secret by the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) apart from his wives. Fātimah said that she would not divulge the Prophet's secret. However, when the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) died, ‘Ā’ishah adjured Fātimah to tell her what the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had told her. Fātimah agreed to tell her this time. She said that she cried the first time because the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told her that Jibrīl used to study the Qur'an with him once or twice every year, but that time it was twice. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) believed this was an indication that his life was coming to an end. He asked Fātimah to adhere to piety and have patience, and told her that the honor of being the Prophet's descendant would compensate the grief of separating from him by his death. So Fātimah cried and was very sad. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told her another secret; he assured her that she is the cream of Muslim women, so she laughed. As this Hadīth reports, Fātimah laughed because the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed her that she would be the chief of the women of Paradise. However, there are other narrations stating that in the second time he talked secretly to her, she laughed for the following reasons: 1. He told her that she would be the first of his family to die after him. 2. He told her that she would be the chief of the women of Paradise. This, along with the first, is the preponderant opinion. 3. He told her that Jibrīl told him that no Muslim woman has more excellent offspring than her, and asked her not to be the least patient. It remains that ‘Ā'ishah's keenness for knowledge pushed her to ask Fātimah what secret the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) confided to her. But the Prophet's daughter said that she would not disclose the Prophet's secret. This is the point of the Hadīth. When the restriction ended by the Prophet's death, she told her about the secret speech. Finally, this Hadīth tells something about the future, and this thing happened as described. It is agreed that Fātimah (may Allah be pleased with her) was the first of the Prophet's family to die after him, even before his wives (may Allah be pleased with them).