[1] The attack is said to have taken place shortly after the death of Muhammad in 11 AH (632 CE) and was instigated by his successor Abu Bakr and led by Umar, another companion.

[10][11] In view of Fatima's place in Islam, these allegations are highly controversial, with beliefs primarily split along sectarian lines between Sunni and Shia denominations.

[15] After a heated session, in which a chief of the Ansar was beaten into submission by Umar, those gathered at the Saqifa agreed on Abu Bakr as the new head of the community.

[16] According to Shia Islam belief, given Muhammad's election of Ali as caliph and successor at Ghadir Khum, there was no longer any reason to vote in Saqifa.

[15][18][19] Some of them opposed Abu Bakr, and the Sunni al-Baladhuri (d. 892) reports that the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and some of his companions gathered at Fatima's house in protest.

[23][3][28][29] Here, al-Tabari writes that Umar shouted, "By God, either you come out to render the oath of allegiance [to Abu Bakr], or I will set the house on fire.

[42] It appears that only his wife Fatima and their four young children remained on his side, writes Hazleton,[43] in line with a statement to this effect attributed to Ali in Nahj al-balagha.

[46] In contrast, Momen, Jafri (d. 2019), and Ayoub (d. 2021) suggest that Ali rejected these divisive offers, fearing the destruction of the nascent Islam.

[55] According to Madelung, Umar's reputation for "harsh treatment of women" was why Umm Kulthum bint Ali resisted his marriage proposal.

[63] Much of the post-Saqifa account in the Kitab Sulaym ibn Qays is similar to (Sunni) historical sources,[64] but the book also contains explicit details of a raid led by an impatient Umar on Fatima's house after multiple failed attempts to subdue Ali.

The book includes a hadith ascribed to the sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq (d. 148/765), in which the prophet was informed during the Isra about the violent deaths of his family at the hands of Muslims.

[71] Alternatively, Soufi notes that a slightly different version of the Kitab Sulaym ibn Qays already refers to Fatima's miscarriage during the attack.

[3][73] Al-Ya'qubi (d. 284/897[74]) describes a raid on Fatima's house led by Abu Bakr and Umar, writing that Ali came out with a sword but was overpowered.

Considering that al-Mufid writes about violence against Fatima elsewhere, Khetia suspects that he refrained in his Kitab al-Irshad from controversial topics to render the book accessible to most Twelvers without provoking the anger of Sunnis.

[76] In his Dala'il al-imama, Ibn Rustam (4/11 century) includes a tradition from Ja'far al-Sadiq on the authority of Abu Basir, a prolific transmitter of hadith and a close companion of the sixth Imam.

[2] The influential Ibn Babawayh (d. 991) narrates in his book a long hadith, attributed to Muhammad,[77] in which he predicts the plight of Fatima after his death, "her sanctity shall be violated, her rights usurped, her inheritance denied and her troubles multiplied.

The hadith adds that she would be consoled by Mary in her final illness, that she would meet her father after her death "heavy with grief, persecuted and martyred," and that Muhammad would pray to God to punish those who wronged her.

[72][73][3] Nevertheless, these allegations have found some support in Sunni historical sources: In his al-Saqifa wa Fadak, al-Jawhari (d. 935)[79] includes a tradition to the effect that Umar and his men first threatened to set Fatima's house on fire.

The remainder of the earlier account in al-Imama wa al-siyasa describes that Ali was pulled out of his house by force and brought before Abu Bakr, where he paid allegiance under duress.

[4] Khetia believes that there are known instances where sensitive information about the incident has been censored by Sunni authors, such as the prominent jurist Abu Ubayd al-Salam (d. 837), who was possibly concerned with the righteous representation of Muhammad's companions.

[75] In his account, Abu Bakr wished he had "not searched the house of Fatima, daughter of the Messenger of God, or allowed men to enter it, even it was shut with the purpose of inciting war.

[7][10] Shia Islam, however, holds that Fatima's injuries during the raid by Umar directly caused her miscarriage and death shortly after.

[3][10][4] Some sources report that Fatima never reconciled with Abu Bakr and Umar,[54][94][95][96][8] partly based on a tradition to this effect in the canonical Sunni collection Sahih al-Bukhari.

[18][95] After her death and in the absence of popular support, Ali is said to have relinquished his claims to the caliphate for the sake of the unity of a nascent Islam,[107][45][108] which was facing internal and external threats, according to Mavani.

[46] In reference to Abu Bakr's caliphate, Madelung writes that a poem later began to circulate among the Banu Hashim ending with, "Surely, we have been cheated in the most monstrous way.

[111] In contrast with Muhammad's lifetime,[95][8] Ali is believed to have retired from public life during the caliphates of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman.

[95] While he reputedly advised Abu Bakr and Umar on government and religious matters,[112][113] the mutual distrust and hostility of Ali with the two is well-documented,[94][114][115] but largely downplayed or ignored in Sunni sources.