Muhsin ibn Ali

The name "Muhsin," like the names of Muhsin's brothers Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, comes from the Arabic root Ḥ-S-N. "Muhsin" can mean "beneficent",[1] "benefactor",[2] or "one who does the act of helping." Several Islamic sources report that Hasan, Husain, and Muhsin were all named by their grandfather, the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[3][4][5]

At the gathering at Saqifah, Abu Bakr assumed political power; however, his rule was not universally considered legitimate. A group supporting Ali as caliph assembled at the home he shared with Fatima, where reportedly Umar, acting on Abu Bakr's orders, then arrived to obtain Ali's allegiance.[6][7] Several scholars, such as Al-Tabari and Ibn Qutaybah, narrate that Umar threatened to burn the building down if Ali refused to acknowledge Abu Bakr's authority.[8][9][10] While the historian Al-Baladhuri states that the altercation ended here with Ali's compliance,[11] some traditions add that Umar and his supporters violently entered the house, resulting in Fatimah's miscarriage of Muhsin.[12] The Mu'tazilite theologian Ibrahim al-Nazzam elaborates that, "Umar hit Fatimah (sa) on the stomach such that the child in her womb died."[13] Alternatively, Ibn Rustam Al-Tabari states that a client of Umar, named Qunfudh, caused the miscarriage, having struck her with the sheath of his sword.[14]

These events are usually disputed by Sunnis,[15] with numerous early historical sources instead stating that Muhsin had died in early childhood. Historians Al-Baladhuri, Al-Ya'qubi and Al-Masudi list Muhsin among the children of Fatimah, but without any mention of a miscarriage. Similarly, the Shia theologian Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid, when writing his Kitab al-Irshad, makes no mention of violence in relation to Muhsin's death. The earliest known reference of the miscarriage during the altercation only appears in the 10th century, in Ibn Qulawayh Al-Qummi's Kamil al-ziyarat.[16] Coeli Fitzpatrick, a professor at Grand Valley State University, surmises that the story reflects the political agendas of the period and should therefore be treated with caution.[12]

Muhsin ibn Ali is mourned by many Muslims, especially Shia Muslims, and is often considered a martyr.[17] Shia Muslims mourn his death, along with the deaths of his grandfather Muhammad and his mother Fatimah, who all died within a very short time period. Shias also sometimes recite eulogies about Muhsin, as they do for other relatives of Muhammad. Muhsin is held in high regard by Muslims regardless of sect, and the name "Muhsin" has thus become commonly used by both Shia and Sunni Muslims.

• After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam, By Lesley Hazleton