The Lady of Heaven is a 2021 British historical drama film written by the Twelver Shia cleric Yasser Al-Habib, the spiritual leader and founder of The Mahdi Servants Union as well as of Fadak TV.

[4] Produced by Enlightened Kingdom, the film is the first movie on the life of the historical figure Fatima, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, during the early Muslim period.

Laith, an Iraqi child in the middle of a war-torn country at the hands of ISIS, after losing his mother, finds himself a new home with an elderly woman who tells him the story of Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, from the Shia perspective, explaining how she was the first victim of terrorism.

[13] Actors Denise Black, Ray Fearon and Lucas Bond were also cast in the film, and Chris Jarman was confirmed to be portraying Bilal ibn Rabah, one of the companions of Muhammad.

[19] Marketing for the film has promoted The Lady of Heaven as the first ever cinematic production on the life of Fatima, during and after the era of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

"[23]The Mahdi Servants Union says: We are very confident that those who strive to obscure the truth about the injustices and crimes that Zahra, peace be upon her, was subjected to in order to sympathize with the dissenters and take into account their feelings will only achieve the disgrace of this world and the hereafter.

[38] Loayza also questioned the casting of Denise Black, a white English actress, as the mother of an Iraqi soldier, before criticizing the smaller-than-expected role of Fatima in the movie.

Dennis Schwartz gave the movie a grade of C and wrote: "The filmmaker gives half a shout-out for his Islamic religion to go the non-violent route, but the storytelling is made up of plot points by rote, not completely convincing in its call for peace and is loaded with too many religious cliches".

However, Boelman disliked the use of the flash-forward device, believing it transformed the film "from bland historical drama to emotionally cheap sermon".

Other criticisms include apparent lack of knowledge of who the audience is, very fast pacing, dullness despite the film being packed with action, stiff dialogue, and low budget that made the movie feel cheap.

Sister Rose of Patheos complimented the movie's cinematography and noted the place Fatima holds in the hearts of Shia Muslims, suggesting she is a beacon of hope and peace in a violent world.

Reviewing the film for The Irish Times, Donald Clarke gave a rating of three out of five stars, and wrote: "In truth, it would require much specialist knowledge to offer worthwhile assessment of historical or theological accuracy.

"[44] Phil Hoad from The Guardian rated it two out of five stars, remarking: "For a film that aims to promote religious diversity and freedom of thought, its metronomic alternation between time frames, narrative slavishness and laughable coda have a suffocating sense of orthodoxy".

[45] Ed Potton of The Times similarly gave a two-star rating, citing "the clunky writing, wooden acting, insipid music and dodgy visual effects.

[50] Subsequently, the Pakistan and Egypt ban of the film was raised in the US Department of State’s 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom, reporting that “the PTA asked social media platforms to take down the trailer of the movie, Lady of Heaven for sacrilegious content.”[51] and “Islamic scholars, and Salafist Imams called for a ban on screening the film in Egypt.”[52] Protests have also occurred in the United Kingdom.

Protests outside of cinemas were held in Bolton, Blackburn, Bradford, Sheffield and Birmingham, on allegations that the film depicted Aisha and other companions of Muhammad in a negative light, and would provoke "Sunni and Shia tensions".

[56] The Free Speech Union wrote a letter to the CEO of Cineworld, describing the protesters as “a small group of intolerant Islamic extremists” and asking him to reconsider his decision to cancel showings.

[62][63][64] The filmmakers responded to the accusations of provoking sectarian tensions by stating that the film was “mainstream Shi’a Islam” that could be found in the works of major Shia scholars.