View source for Fatima bint Musa

{{short description|Daughter of the Seventh Twelver Imam}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name               = Fatima bint Musa<br/>{{langx|ar|فَاطِمَة بِنْت مُوسَىٰ}}
| image              = 
| caption            = 
| father             = [[Musa al-Kazim]]
| mother           = Najma (or Tuktam)
| relatives          = [[Ali al-Rida]] (brother)
| birth_date         = {{circa}} 790 [[common era|CE]]
| birth_place        = [[Medina]], [[Abbasid Empire]]
| death_date         = 816 or 817
| death_place        = [[Qom]], Abbasid Empire
| resting_place      = [[Fatima Masumeh Shrine|Fatima al-Ma'suma Shrine]]
| religion           = [[Islam]]
| sect               = [[Shia]] ([[Twelver]])
| title              = al-Ma'suma{{break}}({{lit|the immaculate}})
}}
{{Shia Islam|Holy women}}

'''Fatima bint Musa''' ({{langx|ar|فَاطِمَة بِنْت مُوسَىٰ|Fāṭima bint Mūsā}}), circa 790–816 [[Common Era|CE]], commonly known as '''Fatima al-Ma'suma''' ({{langx|ar|فَاطِمَة ٱلْمَعْصُومَة|Fāṭima al-Maʿṣūma|lit=Fatima, the immaculate|links=no}}), was the daughter of [[Musa al-Kazim]] ({{Died in|799}}) and sister of [[Ali al-Rida]] ({{Died in|818}}), the seventh and eighth [[Twelve Imams|Imams]] in [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shia]]. A young Fatima left her hometown of [[Medina]] in about 816 to visit her brother al-Rida in [[Merv]], but fell ill along the way and died in [[Qom]], located in modern-day [[Iran]]. She is revered for her piety in Twelver Shia and [[Fatima Masumeh Shrine|her shrine]] in Qom is a major destination for pilgrimage.

== Biography ==
Fatima was born circa 790 [[Common Era|CE]] in [[Medina]] to [[Musa al-Kazim]], the seventh [[Imam]] in [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shia]].{{Sfn|Ruffle|2004}} When Musa died in 799 in the prison of the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] caliph [[Harun al-Rashid]] ({{Reign|786|809}}), possibly poisoned,{{Sfn|Daftary|2013|p=59}} a significant group of his followers accepted the imamate of his son [[Ali al-Rida]], brother of Fatima.{{Sfn|Daftary|2013|p=60}} In 816, al-Rida was summoned to [[Khorasan province|Khorasan]] by the Abbasid caliph [[al-Ma'mun]] ({{Reign|813|833}}), who designated him as the [[Wali al-Ahd|heir apparent]] in 817, possibly to mitigate the frequent [[Shia Islam|Shia]] revolts.{{Sfn|Daftary|2013|p=|pp=60-1}} Fatima then set out to join his brother in [[Merv]] but fell ill along the way in the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] town of [[Saveh]]. There she asked to be taken to the nearby Shia town of [[Qom]], where she died a few days later,{{Sfn|Ruffle|2004}} possibly after seventeen days.{{Sfn|Sajjadi|2019}} Another account states that a local Shia figure by the name of Musa ibn Khazraj al-Ash'ari brought Fatima to Qom and hosted her during her final days.{{Sfn|Sajjadi|2019}} There are also some reports that Fatima was poisoned,{{Sfn|Sajjadi|2019}}{{Sfn|Donaldson|1933|p=258}} though they are not mentioned in {{Transliteration|ar|[[Tarikh-e Qom]]}}, a history of Qom written in 988 by Hasan ibn Muhammad Qomi.{{Sfn|Sajjadi|2019}} Fatima thus died in 816,{{Sfn|Ruffle|2004}}{{Sfn|Sajjadi|2019}} or in 817.{{Sfn|Halm|1997|p=27}} Her age at the time is not known with certainty but she must have been at least twenty-one years old, considering that her father Musa was last imprisoned in 795 until his death in 799.{{Sfn|Sajjadi|2019}}

== Place in Twelver Shia ==

Fatima is known by the title al-Ma'suma ({{langx|ar|ٱلْمَعْصُومَة|lit=the immaculate, the infallible|links=no}}).{{Sfn|Ruffle|2004}} It is uncertain when and how she received this title but she was already referred to as such in an order issued by [[Jahan Shah]] ({{Reign|{{circa}} 1438|1467}}), the fifteenth-century king of [[Iran]].{{Sfn|Sajjadi|2019}} Fatima is revered as the "embodiment of the feminine virtues" in Twelver Shia,{{Sfn|Starkey|2008|p=532}} where she is recognized for piety and religious scholarship, and often compared to [[Fatima|Fatima bint Muhammad]] ({{Died in|632}}), daughter of the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] ({{Died in|632}}). She is revered by Twelvers as a saint who would [[Shafa'a|intercede]] on the [[Judgement Day in Islam|Judgement Day]] and performs miracles, such as healing those with incurable diseases. {{Sfn|Ruffle|2004}}

== Shrine ==

Fatima was buried outside of Qom in a plot of land owned by Musa al-Ash'ari, which became a public endowment later. The house where she stayed, the site of her prayers, became a mosque outside of Qom.{{Sfn|Sajjadi|2019}} Her shrine has been developed by successive generations,{{Sfn|Hulmes|2008}}{{Sfn|Drechsler|2009}} patronized by the [[Buyid dynasty|Buyids]] ({{Reign|934|1062}}) and the [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuks]] ({{Reign|1037|1194}}),{{Sfn|Starkey|2008}} as well as the [[Qara Qoyunlu]]s ({{Reign|1374|1468}}) and the [[Aq Qoyunlu]]s ({{Reign|1378|1503}}).{{Sfn|Ja'fariyan|2004}} The current imposing complex, however, largely dates to the [[Safavid Iran|Safavid]] ({{Reign|1501|1736}}) and [[Qajar Iran|Qajar]] ({{Reign|1789|1925}}) eras.{{Sfn|Ja'fariyan|2004}}

Qom owes its status as a pilgrimage destination to the shrine of Fatima al-Ma'suma,{{Sfn|Ja'fariyan|2004}} and pilgrimage to her shrine is encouraged in traditions attributed to her brother al-Rida and his son [[Muhammad al-Jawad]] ({{Died in|835}}), the ninth Imam in Twelver Shia.{{Sfn|Donaldson|1933|pp=258-9}} The city thus became an important center for Shia activity and learning from the eighth century onward,{{Sfn|Daftary|2013|p=61}} reaching a peak in the tenth century, until it was destroyed in 1224 during the first [[Mongol invasion of Persia|Mongul invasion of Persia]].{{Sfn|Halm|1997|p=128}} The [[Iran|Persian]] historian [[Hamdallah Mustawfi]] found the city in ruins in his visit in the fourteenth century,{{Sfn|Donaldson|1933|p=258}} but it reemerged during the Safavid period.{{Sfn|Halm|1997|p=128}} In particular, the shrine was further developed in 1519 by Shah Bigum, the daughter of the Safavid king [[Ismail I]] ({{Reign|1501|1524}}),{{Sfn|Ruffle|2004}} while the Safavid king [[Abbas the Great|Abbas I]] ({{Reign|1588|1629}}) financially supported the shrine and built there a school and pilgrim hospice.{{Sfn|Halm|1997|p=128}}{{Sfn|Donaldson|1933|pp=259-60}}{{Sfn|Ruffle|2004}} He did so partly to encourage pilgrimage to Shia shrines within his territory just before the Sunni [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] established in 1638 their rule over [[Lower Mesopotamia|Iraq]], where the shrines of most Shia Imams are located.{{Sfn|Halm|1997|p=128}} The theological law school there was founded in 1533,{{Sfn|Halm|1997|p=128}} known as Feyziyya after the Safavid-era philosopher [[Mohsen Fayz Kashani]] ({{Died in|1680}}).{{Sfn|Halm|1997|p=128}}{{Sfn|Ja'fariyan|2004}} Qom later benefited from its proximity to [[Tehran]], the royal residence of the Qajars, who further developed the shrine and buried their dead in the city.{{Sfn|Halm|1997|p=128}} The Qajar-era jurist [[Mirza-ye Qomi]] ({{Died in|1815}}) particularly helped raise the academic profile of the seminary school.{{Sfn|Ja'fariyan|2004}} Another phase of growth began with the arrival of [[Abdolkarim Haeri Yazdi]] ({{Died in|1937}}) in 1921, who founded the present theological center ({{Transliteration|fa|hawza-ye elmiyye}}).{{Sfn|Ja'fariyan|2004}}{{Sfn|Halm|1997|pp=129-30}} Among his students was [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] ({{Died in|1989}}) who led the [[Iranian Revolution|Iranian revolution]] in 1979.{{Sfn|Ja'fariyan|2004}}

{{gallery
|title=[[Fatima Masumeh Shrine|The shrine of Fatima al-Ma'suma]] in [[Qom]], [[Iran]]
|align=center
|File:Fatimah bint musa.jpg|
|File:Iran.qom.jpg| 
|File:حضرت_معصومه12.jpg| 
|File:گنبد حرم حضرت فاطمه معصومه علیها سلام.jpg| 
}}

{{gallery
|align=center
|File:Atabki Sahn at Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom, Iran.jpg| 
|File:Fatima Masumeh Shrine3, Qom, Iran.jpg| 
|Shrine of Fatimah bint Musa-1955-04-04-حرم حضرت معصومه-۱۳۳۴-۰۱-۱۴.jpg|The shrine in 1955
}}

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Fatima]]
* [[Holiest sites in Shia Islam]]
}}

== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|20em}}

== References ==

{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book |title=A History of Shi'i Islam |author-first=Farhad |author-last=Daftary |publisher=I.B. Tauris |year=2013 |isbn=9781780768410 |author-link=Farhad Daftary |url=https://archive.org/details/shii-heritage-series-farhad-daftary-a-history-of-shii-islam-i.-b.-tauris-2013_202104/mode/2up}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author-first=Andreas |author-last=Drechsler |year=2005 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] |edition=Online |title=TĀRIḴ-E QOM |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tarik-e-qom}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author-first=Andreas |author-last=Drechsler |year=2009 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] |edition=Online |title=QOM i. History to the Safavid Period |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/qom-i-history-safavid-period}}
* {{cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=ZpV7QwAACAAJ|page=190}}|title=The Shi'ite Religion: A History of Islam in Persia and Iraḳ|last=Donaldson|first=Dwight M.|publisher=AMS Press|year=1933|isbn= 9780598503787}}
* {{cite book |title=Shi'a Islam: From Religion to Revolution |author-first=Heinz |author-last=Halm |publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers |year=1997 |isbn=1558761349 |author-link=Heinz Halm |url=https://archive.org/details/shiaislamfromrel0000halm/mode/2up}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islamic civilisation and religion |editor-first=Ian Richard |editor-link=Ian Richard Netton |editor-last=Netton |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofis0000unse_h2t8/mode/2up |isbn=9780700715886 |title='Ali AL-RIDA |pages=43 |author-first=Edward D. A. |author-last=Hulmes}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world|volume=2|editor-first=Richard C.|editor-last=Martin|isbn=0028656059|publisher=MacMillan Reference USA|year=2004|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofis0002unse/mode/2up|title=QOM|pages=561–2|author-first=Rasool|author-last=Ja'fariyan}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia|volume=3|editor-first=Phyllis G.|editor-last= Jestice|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year= 2004|isbn= 9781576073551|title=Fatima Ma'suma|page=273|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5cQH17-HnMC&q=sadiq|author-first=Karen G.|author-last=Ruffle}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=آستانه حضرت معصومه |author-first=Sadiq |author-last=Sajjadi |volume=1 |url=https://cgie.org.ir/fa/article/237428/آستانه-حضرت-معصومه |year=2019 |encyclopedia=The Great Islamic Encyclopaedia |publisher=[[Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia|Center for Iranian and Islamic Studies]] |language=fa |trans-title=Shrine of Lady Ma'suma}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islamic civilisation and religion |editor-first=Ian Richard |editor-link=Ian Richard Netton |editor-last=Netton |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofis0000unse_h2t8/mode/2up |isbn=9780700715886 |title=QUMM |pages=531–2 |author-first=Janet |author-last=Starkey}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book|title=Fāṭima von Qum : ein Beispiel für die Verehrung heiliger Frauen im Volksglauben der Zwölfer-Schia|author-first=Zohreh| author-last=Sadeghi|publisher=K.Schwarz Verlag|year=1996|isbn=9783879972555|url=https://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/iud/content/titleinfo/353652?lang=en|trans-title=Fāṭima of Qum: An Example of the Veneration of Holy Women in Twelver Shia Folk Beliefs}}
{{refend}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fatimah Bint Musa}}
[[Category:Family of Muhammad]]
[[Category:Qom]]
[[Category:Qom province]]
[[Category:9th-century women from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:9th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:790s births]]
[[Category:816 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Fatima Masumeh Shrine]]