We cannot determine with certainty why Lady Fatima Masuma (A) did not marry, however, we can be sure it was not due to the abandonment of marriage as a personal choice
It is almost certain that Lady Fatima Masuma (A) did not marry. The question arises “Why?”
We know that marriage is a highly desirable and recommended act in Islam and in regards to marriage; some of the traditions of the Prophet (S) are quoted below:
ما بُِنيَ فِى الْاِسْلامِ بِناءٌ اَحَبُّ اِلَى اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَاَعَزُّ مِنَ التَّزويجِ
There is no institution more honorable and beloved to Allah, than marriage.1
النِّكاحُ سُنَّتِي، فَمَنْ رَغِبَ عَنْ سُنَّتِي فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي
Marriage is part of my Sunnah (practice) and whoever disregards my Sunnah is not from me.2
It has been narrated that in the time of the 5th Imam, Imam al-Bāqir (A), a certain woman did not marry for the sake of honor, self-discipline and gaining nearness to Allah. The Imam (A) told her: “If the abandonment of marriage gave a person more honors, then Lady Fatima Zahra (A) would not marry, because there is no woman purer and more honorable than her.3
Therefore, we can be sure that there must have been a good reason for Lady Fatima Masuma (A) not marrying. Two possible reasons are cited below:
The first reason may be due to the fact that, the daughters of Imam al-Kāđim (A), especially Lady Fatima Masuma (A), were women of great distinction and to find husbands who would be compatible to them was not easy. Imam al-Kāđim (A) had therefore recommended them to take the advice and opinion of Imam al-Ridā (A) in matters such as marriage, due to his own inaccessibility while he was imprisoned by Hārūn.4
The fact that there were no suitable spouses present for the daughters of the Ahl al-Bayt (A), does not seem so far-fetched when we consider the tradition from Imam al-Sādiq (A) in reference to Lady Fatima Zahra (A):
لولا أنّ الله تبارك وتعالى خلق أمير المؤمنين لفاطمة
ما كان لها كفو على ظهر الارض من آدم ومن دونه.
“If God had not created the Commander of the Faithful [Ali] for Fatima, then there would not have been a suitable husband for her in the whole world from the time of Adam to the end of mankind.”5
The second reason is that the fear and anxiety caused by Hārūn’s government at that time was such that no-one dared to get close to the family of the Ahl al-Bayt (A).
This was one of the many sad difficulties that Imam’s (A) family faced, due to the tyranny of the rulers of their time.6
We cannot determine with certainty why Lady Fatima Masuma (A) did not marry, however, we can be sure it was not due to the abandonment of marriage as a personal choice.
Notes:
1.Shaykh Hurr al-‘Āmilī, Wasā’il al-Shī`ah, vol. 14, p. 3.
2.Wasā’il al-Shī`ah, vol. 14, pp. 7 & 8.
3. Wasā’il al-Shī`ah, vol. 14, pp. 117 & 118.
4. Usūl al-Kāfī, vol.1, p. 317. This matter is discussed in section 1.10.
5. Usūl al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 261.
6. Another reason that is sometimes given in answer to why Lady Fatima Masuma (A) did not marry, is from a weak tradition, in which it is narrated that, Ma’mūn, (the 7th Abbasid caliph), wanted to marry Lady Fatima Masuma (A) for his own political ends, and to avoid this catastrophe, she abandoned marriage altogether. Perhaps it is for this same reason that God did not allow Lady Fatima Masuma (A) to reach Khurāsān, where her brother was, because Ma’mūn might have forced her to marry him.
(See Ghanjīne-ye Āthār-e Qum, vol. 1, p. 384).