A Study of the age of Hazrat Fatima (PBUH) in the works of early Muslim historians based on the narrations of Ibn Sa'd (d. 230 AH)

The difference in the age of Hazrat Fatima (PBUH) documented in ancient Sunni and Shiite historical sources is more than a decade. The prevailing view of the Sunnis is that the Hazrat Fatima was born before the Be’that. Accordingly, five years prior to Be’that is often cited as the time of her birth. However, most Shiites concur on five years after Be’that as her birth date. The present study aims to shed light on the accurate view among these different narrations by exploring the age of Hazrat Fatima (PBUH) in the earlier sources, relying on the narrations quoted in the Al-Tabqat Al-Kubra (Book of the Major Classes) and their comparison with the sources described in the two sects. Accordingly, even though the probability of her birth in the post-Be’that period is fairly higher, it does not coincide with the prevailing narration among the Shiites (the fifth year after Be’that). Therefore, Hazrat Fatima was probably born in the first year after Be’that and lived for about 23 years.