Hawzah News Agency- The Messenger of God (PBUH) married Khadijah (SA) when he was thirty years old, and this union resulted in several children. One of these children is Fatimah Zahra (SA), whose blessed birth took place in the fifth year after the Bi’tha (appointment to Prophethood).

During this time, specifically in the fourth and fifth years after the Bi’tha, when the invitation of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) became public and the Quraysh intensified their opposition against him, the passing of the Prophet’s sons, Qassim and Abdullah, brought great joy to his enemies. They proclaimed that he had no descendants. Al-As ibn Wa’il, one of the mockers of the Messenger of Allah, seized the opportunity presented by the deaths of the Prophet’s sons to label him as “Abtar”, meaning without offspring.

The Arabs did not value daughters and did not consider them part of their lineage. This insult from Al-As ibn Wa’il quickly spread and not only hurt the esteemed heart of the Prophet (PBUH) but also left a negative impact on the morale of Muslims.

Then, the Holy Quran came to comfort and reassure the esteemed Prophet of Islam, addressing the negative propaganda of the Quraysh. Surah Al-Kawthar was revealed for this very purpose. In this Surah, the Almighty God bestowed a favor upon the Messenger of God (PBUH), stating that He has granted him “Kawthar”, to uplift his spirits and make him understand that those who speak ill of him are ultimately the ones who will be without posterity.

God says in Surah A-Kawthar:

“Indeed, We have given you (Prophet Muhammad) the Kawthar.

So worship your Lord and make sacrificial offerings.

Surely your enemy is the one who shall be without posterity.”

The great Quran interpreter Fakhr al-Razi explains this Surah by stating. “The meaning of the chapter is that God grants the Prophet a lineage that will endure through time. Consider how many of his family were killed, nonetheless the world is filled with the descendants of the Messenger of God, and no one from the Umayyad family can compare to him in this regard. Also, take note of how great scholars emerged from the Prophet's lineage, such as Baqir, Sadiq, Kadhim, Reza, and Nafas Zakiyah."

The child through whom the lineage of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) continued was Fatimah Zahra (SA). After she married Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), she became the mother of children such as Hassan and Hussein (AS), who are the leaders of the youth of Paradise. However, this esteemed daughter of the Prophet (PBUH) had a short life and joined her noble father three or six months after the passing of the Prophet, in the eleventh year after the Hijra.