The Myth of the Broken Rib and Clarification of the Dispute

The myth of the broken rib refers to some fabricated narrations that claim that Abu Bakr al Siddiq, ‘Umar, and a group of their supporters among the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum and some servants attacked the house of Fatimah al Zahra radiya Llahu ‘anha, set her door on fire, stormed her house, struck her, broke her rib, and caused her to miscarry. The reason for this alleged attack, according to them, was that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu and some of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum with him refused to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al Siddiq and were gathering in Fatimah’s house. ‘Umar advised Abu Bakr to compel ‘Ali to pledge allegiance, and the proponents of this myth claim that this attack on Fatimah’s house led to her death, thus stating that she died a martyr.

This is a summary of the myth. In this study, we will focus on the origin of the story of the broken rib and the miscarriage, as this is the most horrific aspect of the myth. It is inconceivable that the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, especially Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, would dare to assault the Prophet’s beloved daughter. Likewise, it is unacceptable that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu would remain silent about such an incident. We assert that if this event had occurred, it would have led to a great fitnah (discord) among Muslims. This story implies several false consequences, the least of which is accusing ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu—Allah forbid—of cowardice and humiliation. Despite this, the story has reached, according to some, the level of accepted historical facts that are not open to debate or research. Hence, we decided to investigate the origins of this myth and demonstrate its falsehood in terms of both the chain of transmission and the text.

The point of contention between us and those who claim its authenticity is the allegation of the assault on Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anha by striking her, which led to the breaking of her rib and the miscarriage of her child. As for the other details, whether related to threats or the attack on the house, we did not focus on them in this research, even though we found many contemporary scholars trying to use them as evidence to prove the story of the broken rib. These details are not relevant to the point of contention in this research, especially since the issue of the broken rib and the miscarriage is the primary reason for the dispute that arose between the late scholar Muhammad Hussain Fadl Allah and his opponents. Fadl Allah doubted the incident of the broken rib but not the original attack. In this research, although we deny the original attack and view it as a false story just like the issue of the broken rib, our focus will be on investigating the matter of the broken rib and the miscarriage. With Allah’s help, we seek success.

NEXT⇒ The Status of the Broken Rib Issue between Belief and History