Although Fatima is not mentioned by name in the Quran, both Sunni and Shi'a exegetical traditions have associated a number of Quranic verses with her. Estimates of the number of such verses vary considerably. Some scholars have identified around 30 verses referring to Fatima, while others have counted 60 verses across 41 surahs or as many as 135 verses in 67 surahs. These differences reflect varying interpretive approaches, including reliance on hadith reports, occasions of revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), the application of verses to particular individuals, and esoteric or allegorical interpretation (taʾwīl and bāṭin).

Quranic verses associated with Fatima

Surah al-Insan The Shi'a exegete Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i relates the revelation of Surah al-Insan to Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatima, and their vow after the illness of their children, based on narrations found in both Sunni and Shi'a sources. Referring to reports on the order of Quranic revelation, the context of the verses, and other related traditions, he considers the surah to be a Medinan surah. He also discusses reports in some Sunni sources that associate the surah with a Black man who met Muhammad, rejects this attribution, and maintains that the surah was revealed concerning the Ahl al-Bayt.

Among Sunni exegetes, Shihab al-Din al-Alusi, in Ruh al-Ma'ani, recounts the narrative linking Surah al-Insan to Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatima, and their family, while also citing reports from earlier commentators. Referring to reports attributed to al-Tirmidhi and Ibn al-Jawzi, he notes that the authenticity of the narrative has been disputed. Al-Alusi further states that, if the surah was revealed in connection with Ali and Fatima, its message is not limited to them but extends to anyone who performs similar acts of righteousness. He also remarks that, according to this interpretation, the surah does not mention the hur al-'ayn but refers only to wildānun mukhalladūn ("immortal youths"), which he describes as being out of respect for Fatima. Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, in Tafsir al-Kabir, cites the account of the illness of Ali and Fatima's children from al-Zamakhshari's al-Kashshaf and al-Wahidi's al-Basit. He argues, however, that there is no evidence for restricting these verses to Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatima, and their children. Instead, he states that the verses apply generally to all of the righteous (al-abrar), including the pious companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the righteous Tabi'un, unless it can be established that they were revealed in connection with a specific act of obedience performed by them. In his commentary on Surah al-Insan, Al-Shawkani cites several transmitted reports on the verses. Among them, he reports a narration from Ibn Mardawayh, attributed to Ibn Abbas, stating that the verse "And they give food, despite their love for it..." (Quran 76:8) was revealed concerning Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima, the daughter of the Muhammad.

Surah al-Qadr In his mystical interpretation of Surah al-Qadr, Hassan Hasanzadeh Amoli interprets Fatima as the symbolic Laylat al-Qadr. He writes that night represents the descending stages of existence, while day represents the ascending stages. Quoting a narration attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq, he says that whoever truly recognizes Fatima has understood Laylat al-Qadr. He further states that the Perfect Human (al-insan al-kamil) is the "speaking Quran" (Qur'an al-natiq). According to his interpretation, Fatima, as the mother of the Imams, is identified with the blessed Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr), from whom the eleven "speaking Qurans" originated. Citing a saying attributed to Muhammad, he adds that whoever truly knows Fatima has attained Laylat al-Qadr. He also explains that Fatima was given this name because people are unable to fully comprehend her true nature.

Surah al-Kawthar In Tafsir al-Mizan, Allameh Tabataba'i states that al-Kawthar means "abundant good." He notes that exegetes have given different explanations regarding what it refers to and have mentioned twenty-six possible meanings. He further states that, based on the final verse of the surah and various narrations about those who claimed that Muhammad would have no descendants, the surah refers to Fatima and her descendants, and to the continuation of Muhammad's lineage through Fatima al-Zahra. Al-Alusi also states in Ruh al-Ma'ani that one of the meanings of al-Kawthar is the abundance of the descendants of Muhammad. He then writes that the descendants of Muhammad have spread throughout the world, and he also mentions the same account discussed in Tafsir al-Mizan. Fakhr al-Razi in Tafsir al-Kabir and al-Baydawi in Anwar al-Tanzil also state that one of the meanings of al-Kawthar is the abundance of the descendants of Muhammad.

Verse of Mubahala According to Tabataba'i, the event of Mubahala was one of the events of the early Islamic period and involved the encounter between Muhammad and his Ahl al-Bayt on one side and the Christians of Najran on the other. In this event, the Christians of Najran debated with Muhammad about the truth of his message, and the discussion eventually led to Muhammad's request for Mubahala. The two sides arrived at the place of Mubahala with their respective companions. When the Christians saw that Muhammad had come with his closest family members — ʿAli, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn — to perform Mubahala with them, they became certain that they would not remain safe from its consequences, as Muhammad's conduct toward his family showed his confidence in his own belief. In Ruh al-Ma'ani, after describing the debate between the Christians and Muhammad regarding Jesus and Muhammad's proposal of Mubahala, al-Alusi cites the existing narrations and states that the people referred to in the verse of Mubahala are ʿAli, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. He further states that this indicates the superiority of the Ahl al-Bayt. Fakhr al-Razi in Tafsir al-Kabir, al-Baydawi in Anwar al-Tanzil, al-Mahalli and al-Suyuti in Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Ibn Kathir in Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim, and Ibn Atiyya al-Andalusi in al-Muharrar al-Wajiz also considered those present at the Mubahala to be Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn.

Verses of Light The Verses of Light refer to verses 35 to 38 of Surah an-Nur. In the hadith discussion of these verses in Tafsir al-Mizan, narrations are cited that identify the referent of these verses as the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad and interpret the "Mishkat" (niche) as Fatima al-Zahra. It is also stated that the "houses" mentioned in these verses refer to the houses of the prophets, and that the house of Ali and Fatima is one of them. In Ruh al-Ma'ani, while explaining verse 36, al-Alusi cites a narration stating that the "houses" mentioned in the verse are the houses of the prophets. Ibn Maghazili in Manaqib narrates a hadith from Musa al-Kazim stating that Fatima al-Zahra is the referent of "Mishkat" and "a shining star" (kawkabun durriyy).

Verse of Purification In Tafsir al-Mizan, Allameh Tabataba'i discusses the verse of purification in detail and considers its addressees to be the Ahl al-Kisa. He refers to more than seventy hadiths about this verse, most of which are transmitted through Sunni sources. In Sunni sources, the narrators of these hadiths include Umm Salama, Aisha, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, Sa'd, Wathila ibn al-Asqa', Abu al-Hamra, Ibn Abbas, Thawban (the freed servant of Muhammad), Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Hasan ibn Ali. Nearly forty chains of transmission have been narrated from them. In Shi'a sources, the narrators include Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ali ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja'far al-Sadiq, Ali ibn Musa al-Rida, Umm Salama, Abu Dharr, Abu Layla, Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, Amr ibn Maymun al-Awdi, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. More than thirty chains of transmission have been narrated from them. In his Ruh al-Ma'ani, al-Alusi mentions different narrations about who is meant by Ahl al-Bayt in this verse and refers to the Hadith al-Kisa, considering Ahl al-Bayt to be the Ahl al-Kisa. However, in his later discussion of infallibility and purity, after presenting and rejecting the Shi'a view, he does not accept the infallibility and purity of the Ahl al-Bayt. He considers this verse to express a condition, rather than a statement describing something that has already taken place. In Jami' al-Bayan, al-Tabari cites many hadiths that consider this verse to refer to Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. He states that some people believe that these are the ones meant by the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad. Baydawi says in his book Anwar al-Tanzil that the Shiites believe this verse is about Ali, Fatima, and their two sons. He says that they use this verse as evidence for the infallibility of the Ahl al-Bayt, but he argues that this does not fit with the verses before and after it, and that these hadiths only show that they are considered part of the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad. In Tafsir al-Kabir, Fakhr al-Razi says that there are different opinions about who is meant by Ahl al-Bayt in this verse. However, he considers the more accepted view to be that Ahl al-Bayt refers to the descendants of Muhammad, Fatima, his wives, Hasan, Husayn, and Ali. Ibn Kathir in Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim mentions the hadith of Muhammad standing at Fatima's house for six months, calling the Ahl al-Bayt to prayer and Hadith al-Kisa. In al-Muharrar al-Wajiz, Ibn Atiyya refers to a hadith from Muhammad and says that this verse was revealed regarding Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. In Ta'wilat Ahl al-Sunna, al-Maturidi says that the Shiites, based on the Hadith al-Kisa, consider this verse to be about the Ahl al-Bayt: Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn.

Verse of Mawadda In Tafsir al-Mizan, Allameh Tabataba'i discusses the different interpretations of verse 23 of Surah ash-Shura. He says that "Mawaddat al-Qurba" refers to love for Muhammad's Ahl al-Bayt—Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. He also cites various Sunni and Shi'a narrations that explicitly identify them as the intended meaning. In his commentary on this verse, al-Alusi cites a narration from Ibn Abbas in which Muhammad is asked who is meant by "al-Qurba" in the verse. Muhammad answers that it refers to Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. Al-Alusi then recounts the story of a Syrian man who met Ali ibn al-Husayn, during which Ali ibn al-Husayn recited this verse. He goes on to say that there are numerous reports and hadiths stating that the verse was revealed about the Ahl al-Bayt. Elsewhere in Ruh al-Ma'ani, while rejecting the Shi'a view that this verse establishes the imamate of the Ahl al-Bayt, he says that "mawadda" means love for the Ahl al-Bayt and that the verse does not mean that someone who is to be loved must also be an imam or must be obeyed. In Jami' al-Bayan, al-Tabari discusses the different meanings of al-Qurba and says that it refers to Muhammad's relatives. Fakhr al-Razi in Tafsir al-Kabir, quoting al-Zamakhshari's al-Kashshaf, and Ibn Atiyya in al-Muharrar al-Wajiz say that Muhammad was asked who was meant by his relatives (al-Qurba), and he replied that they were Ali, Fatima, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn. In Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim, Ibn Kathir recounts the story of Ali ibn al-Husayn after he was brought to Damascus as a captive. In the account, a man from Damascus asks whether Ali ibn al-Husayn and his family are the ones referred to as al-Qurba, and Ali ibn al-Husayn replies that they are.

In the Hadith

On the eve of the emergence of Islam, Arabia was a dry land with a harsh climate, difficult living conditions, and a harsh culture. In that society, women had little social standing and were often regarded as a source of shame for their families, to the extent that some nomadic Arabs buried their infant daughters alive. In such a society, Muhammad's treatment of Fatima stood in contrast to the cultural norms of Arabia.