"I used to think that the assault on Lady Fatima's house was a myth and a fabricated story until I found some firm evidence," Dr. Hassan Farhan al-Maliki, a Sunni Sclolar, writes in his book. In this article, we are going to mention some of the Sunni sources that mention the attack on the house of Fatimah (as).
Tabari admits the fact that Umar threatened Imam Ali (as) and Lady Fatimah (as) to set their house on fire. Tabari documented the incident in his book as follows,
Ibn Hamid reported to me narrating from Jurayrah ibn Mughayrah and he from Ziyad ibn Kalb that Umar ibn Khattab came to Ali's house (as) while Talhah and Zubayr and some people of Muhajirin were present there. Then, Umar said, 'By God I would set the house on fire unless you come out for paying allegiance. Zubayr attacked them by a sword. They attacked him; his sword dropped in the ensuiing fight and they arrested him.(1)
Abu-Bakr regretted their assault on Lady Fatima's house. He is quoted to have said,
I wish I had not done three things: I wish I had not invaded the house of Fatimah (as) even if they closed it to me for war. I wish I had not burned Fuja’a Sullami and instead I either had killed or released him. And I wish on the Day of Saqifa, I had left the caliphate on either of these two men ‘Umar or Abu ‘Ubayda that one of them would become the caliph and I would become his minister.(2)
In his book, Almusannaf, Ibn Abi Shaybah narrates from an authentic document that when people paid allegiance to Abu-Bakr, Ali and Zubayr were talking and consulting in Fatima's house and Umar heard about it. He then came to Fatima's house and said, 'O daughter of Messenger of Allah, your father is the dearest man for us and after him, you are the dearest one among us, but by Allah this affection does not prevent me from burning the house if these people assemble in your house. Umar said the statement and went out. Lady Fatima informed Imam Ali and Zubayr that Umar threatened that he would burn the house on them if they assembled again. (3)
Saudi Arabian Sunni Scholar, Hassan Farhan al-Maliki, admits the authenticity of documents related to assault on the house of Lady Fatima. Dr. Hassan Farhan al-Maliki, professor and researcher in the field of Educational Issues in Riad, writes in his book that the assault on the house of Lady Fatima is narrated though authentic documents. He says,
At the time of paying allegiance to Umar, the number of Ali's supporters was smaller than the time of paying allegiance to Abu-Bakr. The reason was some of his companions disliked paying allegiance to Abu-Bakr because of his assault on the house of Fatimah (as). This claim has been proved by accurate documents and it was a hurtful memory that they didn't like to recall."
He added in the footnote of the page,
I already thought that the assault on Fatima's house was a myth and a fabricated story untile I found some firm evidence proving it including what Ibn Abi Shaibah narrated in his book from Aslam, Umar's slave. (4)
References:
1. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, History of the Prophets and Kings, vol.2, page.443, Chapter on The Eleventh Year After Hijrat (migration).
2. Ibid, vol.2, page.619.
3. Ibn Abi shaibah. Al-Musannaf, vol.7, p.432, no. 37045.
4. Qira'atun fi Kutub al-Aqaeed (al-Madhab al-Hanbali Namuzajan), Hassan Farhan al-Maliki, p.46.