The Passion of Fatima

Kitāb al-Saqīfa of Sulaym ibn Qays al-Hilālī, which is purportedly the oldest surviving Shīʿite (and Islamic) ḥadīth collection, is a Twelver Shīʿite text that is drenched in controversy today. Its controversy, for the most part, stems from its embodiment of an alternative Rāfiḍite rendition of the historical events following the Prophet's death, most notably, the purported assault on his daughter, Fāṭima. The controversy surrounding Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays and its origins is not confined to the realms of Sunnī-Shīʿite polemical disputes. Rather, the book was initially criticized by some medieval Twelver authorities, who casted doubts on its integrity and/or authenticity. Despite the past criticism it had received, the book today is championed in many Twelver Shīʿite institutions and circles as an authoritative document that can be verifiably traced to the first century of Islam, hence granting it great significance and importance in many circles.
This book provides an exposition of this Twelver Shīʿite document with a detailed analysis of its transmission and historicity in an attempt to discern its origins. Though Kitāb Sulaym is not the be-all and end-all of Shīʿite historiography surrounding the purported tragedy of Fāṭima, it is, more or less, an important pillar of the narrative, and discerning the book's origins will prove to be a milestone in untangling this historical narrative.