From A’shab Suffa, walk towards the corridor between eastern walls of the Sacred Chamber and Mosque. Keep the Bab Jibreel on your left-hand side. On right hand side, you will find a closed gate along the grills of chamber outer wall. This is the Door of Fatima.
Here lived Ali and Fatima and brought up their children including Imams Hasan and Hussayn (may Allah be pleased with them). Life of Fatima is very humble in contradiction to her sisters as they are married to wealthy including Uthman. Ali made a living by drawing water from a well and carrying it while Fatima made bread to sell.
Six months after the death of the Prophet Fatima died in this house at the age of 28. Her grave is in Baqi’a.
Ali and Fatima’s house and the Prophet’s burial room were separated only by a narrow brick wall with a window in it which was never shut. Eighty years after the death of the Prophet, by order of Al Walid the Umayyad Caliph this house enclosed in the mosque. Behind this door there is a Mehrab known as Fatima Mehrab, which cannot be seen from outside. See a file picture on your screen.
The chamber is having 6 doors. Only the door in front of you, Fatima door, is opened during certain times for the access to the outer chamber. YouTube is having a video whilst this door is opened in 2018 for Chechen President Ramzan Qadri and other dignitaries. You can find a link to that video on your screen. In the video you can clearly see the Mihrab of Fatima, and the place of her bed where she died.
Before you move from the door of Fatima, I want to tell you about a historical remain. Look at the lock on the door of Fatima. Closely look at the inscription. See a close-up picture on your screen. It is an ancient lock inscribed with two lines from Qasida Burda.
Qasida Burda written in Arabic means Poem of Mantle. The poem honours the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him). Written in 11th century by Imam Busiri, the walls of this mosque had this poem engraved and adorned for centuries. But all were erased and perhaps those two lines on the lock in front of you is the only remaining from Burda.
Next, I will talk about the Pentagonal Chamber beneath the Green dome. Walk a little southward on the same corridor and find a suitable place to sit and listen.
