The Role of Umm Ali Mahde Alyya in Islamic Chivalry and Mysticism

One of the women who played a prominent role in the ancient history and culture of Iran and Islam is Fatima Umm Ali (died about 250 AH), the wife of Ahmad ibn Khidrawayh (died 240 AH), a mystic and Fata (cavalier) of the third century AH. Scattered information is available about the life of this educated woman. However, considering that her name has always been mentioned in the hagiographies along with her spouse’s name, it is possible to obtain a description of her opinions and words by collecting data, to show and praise her efforts to find a worthy place in Sufism and Islamic chivalry. The author of the present study has tried to reveal the hidden historical facts by analyzing the discourses in the era of Fatima, in addition to depicting her role in supporting or overthrowing those discourses. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of Multiple Capitals, it can be proved that Fatima Umm Ali, the daughter of one of the noble families of Balkh, tried to provide an appropriate cultural capital by relying on economic and symbolic capitals. Moreover, by entering the Sufi discourse and Fetyan (chivalries), she was able to achieve the social capital and status she deserved. She has also been able to stand against the patriarchal discourse of her time by entering the circles of Sufism and Ahl al-Futuwwa (chivalries) and marginalizing the anti-feminist attitudes. The method of this research in the central part of the article was the method of historical research. In that section, sources about the life, conditions, and works of Umm Ali have been investigated. The research method in the other part of the study was descriptive-analytical and Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Capital and Walters’s Feminism have been used in the theoretical framework of this research.