Fatima Zahra (s.a.) was born in Mecca after the prophetic mission of the Prophet of Islam (pbuh)[1] eight years before her father's migration to Medina.[2] She married Imam Ali (a.s.) when she had reached nine years of age.[3]

Since she had undergone much pain and suffering after the demise of her father[4], she asked Imam Ali (a.s.) to bathe and shroud her body, give her the coffin and bury her in the darkness of the night so that those who oppressed her might not attend her burial ceremony. She also asked that she be buried in an undisclosed location in Medina. Acting as per Fatima's will, Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.) buried her in the darkness of the night and kept her grave hidden. In order for the enemies not to find the actual location of her grave, he made as many as 40 fresh grave shapes in Medina to mislead the enemies. Although Imam Ali (a.s.) and the children of Fatima Zahra, peace be upon her, knew the exact location of her grave, Fatima's recommendation about concealing her grave was so serious and emphatic that none of them was prepared to disclose it. They even did not do an act that would give a clue to the enemies to discover her grave. Certainly, the Infallible Imams (a.s.) knew the location of her grave but they were not permitted to reveal this divine secret to anyone.[5]

In fact, based on the existing contexts, there are three probabilities or three sayings about Lady Fatima's grave:

1. She was buried in her own house.

2. She was buried in between the Prophet's pulpit and his house since the Prophet (pbuh) had said that it is one of the gardens of paradise.

3. She was buried in Baqi' Cemetery.[6]