Fatima bint al-Khattab

The Page That Could Not Be Touched

Fatima bint al-Khattab was sister of Umar ibn al-Khattab and wife of Sa’id ibn Zayd, both early Muslims. As Umar set out sword in hand to kill the Prophet ﷺ, he was told his own sister and brother-in-law had embraced Islam. He stormed into their house to find them and Khabbab reading from a page of Surah Ta-Ha. He struck Sa’id, and when Fatima rose between them he struck her too so that her face bled. 1 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 1 · pp. 307–309 — Kandhlawi — Umar strikes Sa'id and Fatima; her face bleeds. 2 Al-Farooq · pp. 41–43 — Shibli Nomani — the scene of Umar's storming in upon Fatima and Sa'id.

The Words That Turned Him

Bleeding, Fatima declared aloud: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger.” The sight stilled Umar’s fury. He asked to see the page; she refused, saying only the pure may touch the words of Allah — and bade him bathe. He washed, took the page, and read; and the verses opened his heart. So came Umar to Islam, and Fatima’s house with him. 3 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 20–21 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Fatima refuses Umar the page until he washes; the verses move him to Islam.