Journal of Imamiyyah Studies

Journal of Imamiyyah Studies

Analysis and Critique of Ruth Roded's Conceptualization of Lady Fāṭima (AS)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Shahla Bakhtiari 1
Mahdieh Poursaleh Kachomesghali 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Literature, AlZahra University, Tehran, Iran
2 Master's Graduate in Islamic History, Faculty of Literature, AlZahra University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jis.2025.430986.1925
Abstract
Studying and researching important and influential Islamic figures is one of the areas of interest for Islamic scholars. Lady Fāṭima (AS, as a woman who holds a special status in relation to the women of the early Islamic era in the eyes of the Prophet (SAWA), and about whom numerous narrations exist in Sunni and Shi'a sources, has attracted the attention of some researchers. Ruth Roded, a Jewish Orientalist, has focused on Lady Fāṭima (AS) in her research on the presence of women in the book al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā. She calls the transmission of the Prophet's lineage through her the "Fāṭima Syndrome" and introduces her as a sacred—legendary—figure who plays a marginal role in the history of Islam. This article seeks to analyze and critique Ruth Roded's conceptualization using content analysis and relying on library resources. The aim of this article is to answer the question of what factors have been effective in creating this conceptualization. Studies show that neglecting Sunni and Shi'a historical, hadith-oriented, and commentary sources, as well as relying on the research of her contemporaries and some reports without documentation, have been effective in Roded's conceptualization.
 
Keywords
legend
Lady Fāṭima (AS)
Ruth Roded
Fāṭima Syndrome
Subjects

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Journal of Imamiyyah Studies
Volume 11, Issue 21 - Serial Number 21
September 2025
Pages 129-160