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* * * * *
"Fatima Al Masuma: The Role Model"
By: Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammed Husayn Fadlallah
CONTENTS:
Introduction
Her Life, a brief account
Her status
The role model
Questions and answers
A call from His Eminence
--
##
Introduction
Why Fatima?
Her stances were stances for the right, and her sorrow
was the sorrow for the issue (Islam), and her joy was
the joy of the message; the depth of Islam was
manifested in the depth of her personality and she
amassed within herself all the Islamic human virtues,
since being the "Queen" of the women of the world
implied that she should be at the highest level,
spiritually and morally.
This is why we are intensely interested in Fatima
Al Zahra (peace be upon her), because when we
remember her we remember the message and her role,
and remember Islam and the dynamic issues in
which Fatima was a central figure; hence we feel
that she is with us in all of our concerns and that
she is alive among us.
There are people in history who finish when they die,
because their existence is encapsulated in the span of
their lives; there are others who remain alive as long
as life exists, and who continue as long as their
message continues and as long as there are people who
are open to their message. Fatima is placed at
the pinnacle of these people, since you cannot mention
the God’s Messenger without mentioning her.
She was his product and the spirit inside his body;
and you cannot mention Ali without mentioning her
as she was his companion in life and suffering; and
you cannot mention Hasan, Husayn and Zaynab
without mentioning her as she was the secret of purity
in their childhood and of their personalities
throughout their lives.
This is the secret of Fatima that obliges us to
keep her in our minds and our hearts as a message and
thought, not just the cause of tears. We cannot but
open up to her with our tears, but more important than
that is to open ourselves to her message because she
lived all her tears and all her life for the Message
and never for one moment lived it for herself. This is
the secret of all the members of Ahlul Bayt
(Prophet’s family): they lived for the whole of Islam
and gave their lives for Islam and the Message.
Not an exhaggeration of the past
Talking about Fatima involves no unwarranted
exhaggeration of history. Besides, with her virtues, she
represents the living present and a bright future. We
have seen her in her motherhood as the greatest of
mothers, and we have seen the cruelty imposed by that
role on her weak body, but she withstood all this with
an open mind and with patience. Then we saw her
fulfilling her different missionary responsibilities
when she stirred up the conscience of the nation, and
presented the greatest lesson in how to deal with the
circumstances following the death of the Prophet
. She held that stance which has proved itself
over time and stayed valid to the present, and will
ever be.
Studying the experience of Fatima is not a
reversion to the past, and hence a diminution of
ourselves within those limitations, but rather a
question of trying to draw lessons from a pioneering
experience by an infallible personality - an
experience which has never been confined to the past
but one which shall ever be current and renewed.
A role model for both sexes
When we present Fatima as a role model, we are
not talking about women only. We present her as a role
model for both men and women because she is a
constituent element of Islam and the Muslim people as
a whole, not just of women - even if there was a big
role as woman in her life. Muslim women can take a lot
from Fatima when they know how to spend their
time valuably and how to open themselves up, with all
their powers, to knowledge, spirituality and dynamic
attitude, according to their abilities.
Love versus allegiance
Love for the great personalities and individuals with
a mission is not only an emotion but a stance. This is
the difference between being a loving person and being
a proponent follower: allegiance is a stance while
love is emotion. It is natural that the situation must
live the emotion and move by it, but it should move
beyond it to open up to the whole of the message
through opening up to the bearers of the message, who
represent its legitimacy.
Yes! The value of what Ahlul Bayt say and do is
that it represents the whole legitimacy. When a person
takes words of knowledge or rulings, or follows a line
of conduct which can be right or wrong, he will be
puzzled as to the legitimacy of what he has seen or
heard; but if he depends on infallible examples who
have been purified from abominable acts, then there
can be no place for falsehood, and no place for
injustice. He will have taken the truth from a pure
fountain, in which nothing can muddy its purity. Imam
(Jafar) Al Sadiq said: "My hadith is the hadith of my
father (Imam Al Baqir), and my father's is that of
my grandfather (Imam Zainalabidin), and my grandfather's
is that of Husain, and Husayn's is that of Hasan,
and Hasan's is that of the Leader of the Believers (Ali),
and the Ali’s is that of the God’s Messenger, and
his word is the word of God the Great and Almighty."
My life and Fatima's virtues
When I started my life, Lady Zahra was in my
mind and heart and life. Before I was twenty, in
al-Najaf, Iraq, I wrote a poem on the anniversary of
the death of Fatima. I talked about her in
lectures, interviews, dialogues and poems - the talk
of spiritual passion and intellectual love and
heartfelt sanctification.... I spoke of every one of
her virtues, merits and spiritual meanings, and then
extended that to analysing her words, amongst which
was her famous sermon, because I always believed that
we had to know Fatima to the full - her spirit,
heart, thought and attitude, so that she would become
for us 'the pioneer who would not fail his folks' and
the role model whom we should imitate and follow in
our Islamic lives, men and women together.
Mohammed Husayn Fadhlallah
##
Chapter 1
Her Life, a brief account
The link between prophethood and Imammah
Fatima was the only woman connecting prophethood
and Imamah and was the link between the two. She was
the daughter of the Prophet, the wife of the
first Imam and the mother of the rest of the
Imams who descended from her and her husband Ali.
God singled her out with this virtue and
peculiarity because she was the most perfect and
highest example in purity, sanctity, worship,
asceticism and morals.
Al-Kauther
According to some Koran commentaries (tafsir), when
the Quraysh (tribe) said that the Prophet had
no offspring, the chapter of al-Kauther was revealed:
'Verily We have given thee the Kauther (Abundance). So
pray thou unto thy Lord! And offer sacrifice. Verily,
thy enemy shall be the one cut off (in his progeny).'
(Koran 108:1-3)
'We have given you al-Kauther' means we have given you
the abundant good, which shall last throughout your
life and after it; therefore, turn your face unto your
Lord in prayer, as mention of your name shall never
end and your offspring shall never perish; it is those
standing against you who are more deserving of this
description.
This revelation was given against the backdrop of the
pronouncements by some of the Quraysh's most
scurrilous men - such as Al Ass bin Wail, Abu Jahl,
Uqbah bin Abi Muayt and Kaab bin al Ashraf - that
the Prophet was cut off from male children,
after the death of his son Qasim. Hence, it is
clear that the abundant good - al-Kauther - was
pointing to the abundant offspring which the Prophet
would have through his daughter Fatima,
and that this was a reply to those people and their
effort to weaken the Prophet's spirits. Supporting our
interpretation, Tabatabai in al-Mizan commentary,
said: 'Without that, the words 'Verily, your enemy
shall be the one cut off' would be useless.'
Her childhood
In Fatima's childhood, there was no place for
playing, leisure and purposelessness. Nor were her
energies those of a child living a childhood of
innocence and simplicity. Rather, hers was the energy
of a child who stored within herself a feeling for the
role which she should play in the Messenger's life and
the suffering and pain which he was facing. It was a
childhood with the characteristics of a motherhood,
living its spirit and fulfilling its role.
There she was, and having opened her eyes to life, she
saw her father coming every now and then,
weighed down by the pressures, burdens and harm
inflicted by the atheists; so she would embrace her
father and relieve his pain and take care of him with
all kindness.
One day, she saw her father in the Holy Mosque
of Mecca after the atheists had dumped dirt and
rubbish over his back while he was praying to his
Lord. She promptly went forward and removed the
rubbish with her small hands, expressing her sadness
and condolences to him with her tears. This is
what made her open up to her responsibilities in her
early childhood to stand by her father, to take care
of him and empathise with him; and he was the one who
had lost his mother, and his sympathetic wife. She
stood by him when he was challenged with the Message:
some called him names, others accused him of being
insane, others threw dirt and stones on him; his uncle
Abu Lahab crying out: 'No doubt, Mohammed has
bewitched you!' But when he returned home, he would be
greeted by Fatima, with her sympathy and care,
which was not that of a child weeping without
awareness..... She was sensing that his pain was also
hers and so amassed during her childhood the pain of
the Message and pain of the Messenger... And whosoever
amasses in their early childhood the awareness of the
pain of the Messenger and the Message cannot find time
for leisure or playing or purposelessness; playing and
purposelessness occur in our lives because of an
emptiness, which we are trying to fill.
This was how Fatima grew up, not like other
children, but as a person with mission in her
feelings, emotions, opinions and her whole dynamic
attitude.
Her relationship with the Prophet
Ibn Abdul Barr, in al-Istiab, narrated - and we
would like very much to use it, as it was a Sunni
source which represents a neutral source, so that the
Shias could not be accused of talking out of emotion
- that Aisha said: 'I had not seen any one who was
more resembling the God’s Messenger in his speech,
conduct and manners as Fatima; when she used to enter
(his house) he would stand up for her, take her hand
and kiss it and make her sit in his sitting place; and
when he used to enter (her house) she would stand up
for him, take his hand and kiss it and make him sit in
her sitting place'.[1]
When we study this text, we can conclude two things:
first, the unity and complete merging between
Fatima's personality and her father's, as the person
most closely resembling him. This is reflected even in
his walking, as seen in many narrations, such as
'Fatima came and her walk did not fail the walking of
the God’s Messenger'; second, the depth of
the spiritual relationship between the Prophet
and Fatima, a relationship which the Prophet
had with Fatima alone.
Another narration by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak states:
'The God’s Messenger used, when he came back from a
battle or journey, to come to the mosque and pray two
rakas to thank God..... then would enter to (the
house of) Fatima, then he would come to his
wives'.[2]
This meant that Fatima held the prime place in
the relationships between the Prophet and other
people, including his wives.
In the same book, al-Mustadrak, al-Hakim also
narrated: 'The Prophet, when he used to travel,
the last person he would see was Fatima.' Thus her
image would stay in his mind, and the kindness and
emotion, with which she used to embrace him, would
stay with him in his travel and his memory, to comfort
him.
Al-Hakim added: 'And when he returned from a journey,
the first person he would see would be Fatima.'[3]
Historians have said that the Prophet did not
accept that Fatima became separated from him
even after her marriage and, therefore, did not accept
that she lived in a house far away from him, so she
lived in the house next to his so that he could enter
into her house directly from his.[4]
In al-Istiab we read: Aisha was asked: who was the
most beloved person to the God’s Messenger? She
replied: Fatima. I asked: and amongst men? She said:
her husband...'[5] This is an important witness by
Aisha for Fatima and Ali.
There are many stories from her life which tell how
she used to study her father's thoughts to know what
he liked and disliked, what opened up his heart and
what closed it. An example of this was when he
came back from a journey and entered her house, looked
around a little, then left. Quickly she knew that
something bothered the God’s Messenger. She
thought about it and realised that on the door of her
house was a curtain and that she had two bracelets in
her hands; she took the curtain down and took off the
bracelets and sent them with her sons and said: 'Say
greetings to my father and say to him: we have not
introduced anything after you except this, it is for
you to do with them what you like.' When the Prophet
heard this, his expression relaxed. He was
moved by this generous, wonderful, spiritual gesture
by his daughter, and this thoughtful response, and
gave these things to the poor, saying: 'She did this!
May her father be sacrificed for her! May her father
be sacrificed for her! May her father be sacrificed
for her! What have the family of Mohammed to do with
life: they have been created for the hereafter!'[6]
This is what every girl with a mission should learn,
when her father is a man of missionary affiliations
and responsibilities; as too should every woman with
someone who has a missionary dimension in his life:
she should learn not to get too engrossed with her own
affairs, but to open herself up to the
responsibilities of her father, husband, brother or
son so as to join with him in the dynamic movement of
responsibility, and not to add to the burdens to his
responsibility. For we see many great men, past and
present, become burdened by the people who are around
them: while when they think in a missionary manner,
those around them think only of themselves.
We also learn from Fatima, in her advanced
missionary awareness and position, that she was
someone who rebelled against her personal needs,
however simple, for the sake of her missionary
ambitions; she was someone who prioritised in favour
of principles over the self. This is what we need to
learn, for many of us - men and women alike - fall
down when it comes to a choice between the needs of
the principle and the needs of the self; we too often
choose the self, and may even make a principle of
service to the self.
Fatima Zahra was unique in all her behaviour
and deeds, even in her sorrow for her beloved,
especially during her separation from the Messenger of
God.
Historians tell us that, when she went to him as he
was dying, she embraced him and he whispered something
in her ear which made her weep. Then, when he
whispered something that made her laugh, she was
asked: 'How quickly (your) laughing after weeping?!'
She said: 'I shall not reveal the God’s Messenger's
secret in his life.' So, when she was asked about this
after his death, she said: 'He whispered in my ear
first that he was going to meet his Lord and that his
soul was announced to him (his death), so I wept; then
he whispered in my ear again that I was going to be
the first of his family to go after him, so I
laughed!'[7] Where else would you find a young woman,
whatever her love for her father, become happy when he
tells her that she is going to be the first to die
after him?
What relationship deeper could be than this, and what
unity of spirit could be stronger?
Her father's mother!
One of his eternal and most valued utterances in
Fatima's praise is the saying of the Prophet:
'Fatima is the mother of her father!'[8]
But, to understand the precise meaning of this
statement we should study the life of the Messenger of
God and the hardships and difficulties to
which he was subjected from the beginning of his life.
He suffered a great deal: from the atheists, to the
point that he said: 'No prophet has ever been harmed
like I have'[9]; from losing his wife, the Mother of
the Believers, Khadijah, who was the shelter in
which he found refuge in his hardships; from the loss
of his uncle Abu Talib, who took care of him and
defended him and stood by him. And he suffered before
all this, when he lived an orphan.
Thus, when he was moved by Fatima's feelings and
care, he annointed the motherhood in his daughter with
the words 'Fatima is the mother of her father.' It
encapsulated all his feeling for the kindness and
great heart of his daughter towards the Messenger of
God.
So, imagine the great scale of the feeling and
kindness of Fatima, which succeeded so well in
filling the soul of this great man and made him feel
secure... To be a mother for a personality such as the
Prophet demands from the person who wants to
play that role a great deal of effort, energy, heart
and soul, and a broad horizon.
The first student
To use today's terminology, Fatima and Ali were
the first students in the boarding school of the
God’s Messenger. Ali used to sit in
Mecca, when the revelation was being revealed to the
Prophet, and Fatima used to sit as well
to read, together with Ali, the revelation and
listen to the teachings of the Prophet, as he
explained the meanings of the revelations. They,
together, would learn what God had entrusted to His
Prophet with his laws for man. Hence, Fatima was
with Ali in that great prophetic, cultural surge.
One could understand the hadith 'If Ali did not exist,
there would have been no match for Fatima' on
intellectual level: that which Fatima had was
not possessed by any one but Ali.
Her marriage
Many companions proposed to Fatima, but the
Prophet kindly turned down their requests,
saying: 'I await the order of my Lord'[10] for in
Fatima there was special merit that was not to
be found in his other daughters. Fatima
possessed a holy secret, which only God Almighty
knew; similarly Ali possessed a holy secret,
which only God knew.
Some asked Ali: 'Why don't you propose to Fatima?'
But he was shy. At last he came to the Prophet
and talked to him on this matter. In his response, the
Prophet showed that he was pleased, as if he
was waiting for this proposal, even preparing for it.
He said to Ali: 'What money have you got?'
Of course he knew how much Ali had, for he
was the one who brought him up and was with him both
at home and away, day and night, in war and peace;
nevertheless he asked him: 'What have you got?' Ali
replied: 'My sword, shield and the clothes which I
wear!' The Prophet said: 'You cannot do without
your sword with which you defend Islam and remove
hardship from the God’s Messenger, but give me your
shield.'[11]
The shield was sold for 500 dirham and this was the
marriage gift (mahr) of Fatima, who accepted Ali
as her husband.
What we need to understand in this marriage is what is
in the hadith that Imam Al Sadiq - or the Prophet
according to others - said: 'Had it not been
that God the Most High created the Leader of Believer
(Ali) for Fatima, there would have been no match
for her on Earth.'[12]
What was this match that the narration was referring
to?
Certainly it was not the match in terms of family, for
there was more than one cousin of the Prophet,
but it was a match in soul, mind, intellect and
belief. Fatima was, through her faith, mind,
intellect, soul, purity, holy struggle and asceticism,
a suitable match for Ali, who was at the highest
level as far these attributes were concerned. God
ordered his Messenger to marry his daughter to
her match and the pure to the pure, because there was
more than one point on which they met.
This makes us understand the secret behind the refusal
of the Prophet to marry Fatima off to any
of the prominent companions. Al-Sadooq tells us, in
'Uyoon Akhbar al-Rida, that Ali said: 'The
God’s Messenger told me: O Ali! Men from the
Quraysh complained about Fatima ('s marriage) and
said: we have asked you for her hand in marriage but
you have turned us down and married her off to Ali! I
said to them: I swear by God that it was not me who
turned you down and accepted him, but it was God...;
(the archangel) Gabriel came down and said: O
Mohammed! God the Great and Almighty said: If I have
not created Ali, there would have been no match for
your daughter Fatima on the face of the Earth.'
Her narration of the hadith
Here are some of her narrations:
1. Al-Qundoozi narrated, in Yanabi al-Mawaddah,
that Fatima said: 'I heard my father the
God’s Messenger, in his death illness
saying, and the room full with his companions' [i.e.
he did not say it in whisper or secretly, but aloud in
front of his companions]: O people! I am about to die
and I am submitting this speech to you to fulfil my
duty towards you - I am leaving for you the book of my
Lord the Great the Almighty and my progeny. Then he
took the hand of Ali and said: This is Ali with
the Koran and the Koran with Ali shall never
separate until they arrive to me at the basin, (and) I
shall ask you how you have succeeded me in dealing
with them?'[13]
2. In Kanz al-Fawaid, Fatima narrated that
the Prophet said: 'Gabriel informed me that the
two angels (appointed to count the deeds) of Ali did
not register any sin for Ali since they accompanied
him.'[14] This was what distinguished Ali from
the rest of the companions of the Messenger and
this was what made Fatima defend Ali's right,
not because he was her cousin and husband, but because
he was the infallible in whom the two angels could not
find any sin or bad deed.
3. In another narration, Fatima said that
she went to the Prophet and he stretched out a
cloth and said 'sit', then Hasan came and he
said to him 'sit with her', then Husayn came
and he said 'sit with them', then Ali came and he
said 'sit with them'; then he gathered up the cloth
and wrapped it upon them and said: 'O Lord! They are
from me and I am from them; O Lord! Be pleased with
them as I am pleased with them.'[15]
His statement 'I am from them' means that the mission
of the prophethood, of which he was the bearer,
would be passed on to Ahlul Bayt after him, and
so the Prophet would continue to exist through
them, and his Message would continue through them.
This is the secret behind his happiness with them,
for he is please with only those whom God is pleased.
4. In another narration, Fatima brought
Hasan and Husayn to the God’s Messenger
in his final illness, and said: 'O Messenger of
God! You have not bequeathed these two anything!' He
replied: 'As for Hasan, he has my presence and my
mastership; as for Husayn, he has my courage and
generosity.'[16]
5. Fatima said: "My father the Messenger of
God entered when I had gone to bed to sleep,
and said: 'O Fatima! Do not go to sleep before doing
four things: Reading the Koran, making
the Prophets your mediators (with God), making the
believers happy with you and performing the
pilgrimage to Mecca.' Then he started praying!
So, I stayed in bed until he finished the prayer
and said: O God’s Messenger! You ordered me to do
four things which I could not do at this hour!
The God’s Messenger smiled and said:
'If you read three times, the chapter
Tauheed of the Oneness of God,(Sura al-Ikhlas 112 in Koran),
then it is as if you have read the whole of the Koran;
and if you recite blessings on me, and the
prophets before me then we shall be your mediators on
the Day of Judgment; and if you pray for believers that God
forgives them, then they shall be happy with you;
and if you say:
Subhanalah (Glory Be to God),
Alhamdolillah (Praise be to God), and
Lailahaillalah (No deity except God), and
Alahoakbar (God is Greatest), then it is as if you
have performed the Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca'."[17]
6. She said: "The God’s Messenger said:
Best men men are those who are the most lenient
with people and most kind to their women'."[18]
This means that the best people are those who are most
kind to people and most generous to their women,
whether daughters, wives or mothers.
Her grievances
The short life of Fatima, which lasted no more
than twenty years according to some historians, was
filled with much suffering and grave crises. If we
talk about the suffering and hardships in her daily
living, we also need to talk about what was worse than
that: the calamities and grievances which she suffered
after the death of her father - something which opened
a bleeding wound in the Islamic nation, and which in
turn was the cause of the painful wounds that followed
- one of the worst of which was the murder of (her son),
the Leader of the young men of Paradise, Imam Husayn,
and his family in the desert of Karbala (in Iraq), and the
taking of the women and children as captives to
Sham (Syria), driven like slaves.
These grievances have been narrated by both the Sunnis and
Shias, and the numerous narrations which speak about
her grievances and persecutions are of authentic
level in books.[19]
1- The attack on her house
Historians, one of whom is Ibn Qutaybah in al-Imamah
wal Siyasah, said that - after the death of the
Prophet and al-Saqeefah episode - men came with wood
to burn down the house of Ali and Fatima, to
threaten them and those whom they considered as
opposition, who had gathered at the house of Ali.
Some said to the leader of the assault: 'O man! In the
house is Fatima!'; and Fatima was the person whom
the Muslims agreed to love and respect, and whose
position they agreed to acknowledge, because she was
the only daughter that the Prophet left when he
died, and because she was part of him - what made her
angry made him angry and what harmed her harmed him...
So, how come you come with fire to burn her house?
But, he replied with his famous statement: 'Even
though!'
We regard this as one of the most dangerous
utterances, because it means that there are no sacred
entities in this house, and so there is nothing to
prevent it being burned with its people inside!
This utterance points to the mindset of the people,
and what they were prepared to do. However, had they
opened the door to dialogue through nice words, they
would have found Ali the man of dialogue, as he had
always been throughout his life, even after he became
a caliph; and they would have found Fatima a woman of
dialogue, because the Koran, to which Fatima above
all others adhered most closely to, was the book of
dialogue. However, those people had already passed the
stage of dialogue by the time they gathered the wood
to burn the house of Zahra. So when in reply
to 'In the house is Fatima', that man said 'Even
though!' this represented the ugliest form of
injustice to which Fatima was subjected.
2- Other grievances
There were other events in which she suffered, but
they have not always been substantiated fully beyond
doubt. Those include the actual burning of the house,
the breaking of her rib, the miscarriage, the slapping
of her cheek, and the beating of her and others. These
are recorded in narrations that may have question
marks raised against them, either in their actual text
(matn) or in the chain of narrators (sanad), as is the
case with many historical narrations.
Therefore, we have raised some queries, as have been
raised by some scholars in the past (may God be
pleased with them) such as Sheikh al-Mufeed[20] who
seems to question the miscarriage issue, even the
existence of the pregnancy - although we disagree with
him on the latter. However, we do not deny that these
events may have taken place - as Sheikh Muhammad
Husain Kashif al-Ghita has done regarding beating her
and slapping her cheek[21] because denying requires as
much proof as accepting. At any rate, what is definite
is that the numerous narrations attain the level of
mutawatir as a whole, confirm that there was an
assault on her if only by exposing her house,
attacking it and threatening to burn it - and this
alone should be sufficient to prove the degree of
crime which took place. It was a crime that continued
to haunt those who committed it, and this was why the
first caliph declared as he was dying: 'I wish I had
not exposed the house of Fatima, even if it had
declared war on me.'[22]
3- Denying her Fadak
Scholars from the two schools of thought, including
al-Suyooti, in their commentary on the verse: 'And
give to the near of kin his due' (Koran 17:26), said
that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet
gave Fatima the village of Fadak, which he saw
as part of the peace treaty between him and the
Jews...[23] It seems that the right of Fatima to
Fadak has always been well known amongst the Muslims
throughout history, and hence Umar bin Abdul Aziz,
the Umayyad caliph, returned Fadak to Ahlul Bayt.[24]
Later, after the first Abbasid caliphs had
confiscated it again, al-Mahdi returned it once more,
then he and Haroon took it back, and it continued to
be in their possession until al-Ma'moon became caliph
and returned it to the Fatimids.[25]
The proofs to Fatima's ownership of Fadak were many
and clear, and many Muslims gave witness in that
regard, including the Leader of the Believers
and Ummu Ayman, but their evidence was refuted![26]
There was no counter evidence - except the hadith in
which Abu Bakr narrated that the Prophet said:
'We, the folk of prophets, do not leave bequests -
what we leave is for alms.'[27]
The factors which stood against this counter evidence,
in addition to being contradictory to the Koran, are:
First: the hadith was narrated by Abu Bakr only, and
Fatima, through her stance, denied this hadith;
Second: the God’s Messenger loved Fatima
with the greatest of love, and would protect her
from any evil. So how come he did not tell her of this
(Islamic) ruling, which was anyway contradictory to
the Koran, which states that the prophets
inherited and bequeathed? How come he did not tell her
when the hadith was directly related to her - in fact,
she was its most clear manifestation? How come he did
not tell his beloved and save her the trouble?
Third: If the Muslims agree that Fatima is the
"Queen of the Women of the World", how come she tells
lies, or talks nonsense or contradicts a hadith of her
father?
Fourth: The history of prophets did not tell us
that they did not bequeath anything, and that what
they left was for alms, since if that were the case
the followers of other religions would have known.
Fifth: Is it conceivable that Ali would enter
into dispute with the people about Fadak, and would
accuse them of injustice and treason[28] just to side
with his wife?! How come and the Prophet said:
'The right is with Ali wherever he goes'[29] and: 'Ali
is with the right and the right is with Ali?'[30] And
how come Ali does not know that the Prophet
does not bequeath when he is the gate to the Prophet's
City of Knowledge and Wisdom, and who has been with
the Prophet in a way unparalleled by any other
companion?
Sixth: Historians mentioned that Fadak was, in fact,
under Fatima's control and that at the beginning her
claim was based on it being a gift from her father
during her life and therefore did not fall into
the category of inheritance.
4- The injustice of history
What great individuals suffer is the injustice of
history and of the historians who intentionally hide
their names, marginalize their roles and do not take
care in registering the particulars of their lives,
which are rich in lessons and lively examples that can
teach generations throughout time. Fatima has
been one of these victims, for when we study her
history, we can find only snapshots of her life with
her father the God’s Messenger, but with
little details. Fatima is mentioned as a
migrant: but nothing much is recorded here except that
her name is one of those who migrated after the
Prophet. The irony is that we find history
talks extensively about things that are irrelevant to
our practical life, such as the celebrations in the
heavens when she got married![31]
We know that her life, although short, was full of
lessons, teachings, worship and holy struggle. We can
say that, in spite of all this historical injustice,
what has reached us from her, and about her, is
sufficient to give us the highest example and the most
complete role model for any Muslim.
5- She died angry with her oppressors
The attack on Fatima's house, and the threat to burn
it and other injustices, did not win the approval of
the Muslims in general. This forced the two men who
oppressed her to come and request Ali to ask her
permission to enter and to try to resolve the matters
with her. What was her response?
Ibn Qutaybah, in al-Imamah wal Siyasah, narrates that
Umar said to Abu Bakr: 'Let's go to Fatima, for we
have made her angry.' So they went together and asked
her permission, but she denied it to them. They asked
Ali to talk to her, and he did. When they entered and
sat, she turned her face to the wall. They greeted
her, but she did not answer. Abu Bakr said: 'O you the
God’s Messenger's beloved! I swear by God that
the kinship of the God’s Messenger is more beloved
to me than my kinship, and you are surely more beloved
to me than my daughter Aisha, and I wished the day
your father died that I died and did not stay after
him... Do you see me, when knowing you and your
virtues and honour, denying you your right and
inheritance from the God’s Messenger? Except
that I heard your father the God’s Messenger
saying: We, the folk of prophets, do not leave
bequests - what we leave is for alms'.
Fatima did not comment on the inheritance issue,
since she has previously dealt with that in detail in
her sermon, but she wanted to establish the proof on
the two of them regarding the harm, injustice and
wrong-doing to which she was subjected. Hence she
said: 'Can I see you if I narrate a hadith from the
God’s Messenger; you know it, will you do
according to it?' They replied: 'Yes'; she said: 'I
ask you by God, haven't you heard the hadith of the
God’s Messenger: The happiness of Fatima
is my happiness and the displeasure of Fatima is my
displeasure?' They said: 'Yes, we heard it from the
God’s Messenger'. She said: 'Therefore, I
take God and his angels as witnesses that you have
made me unhappy and have not pleased me, and
when I meet the Prophet I shall complain about you to
him!'. Abu Bakr said: 'I take refuge in God from his
displeasure and your unhappiness O Fatima!'; but she
said: 'I swear by God that I shall invoke God
against you in every prayer I do!'[32]
In another source, she said: 'I ask you by God, have
you heard the Prophet say: Fatima is part of
me and I am part of her; whoever harms her harms me
and whoever harms me harms God, and whoever harms
her after my death it is as if he has harmed her
during my life, and who harms her during my life as if
he harms her after my death?'. They said: 'O Lord,
yes'; she said: 'Gratitude to God'. Then she said:
'O God! I make you witness, so be witnesses you who
are present, that they have harmed me in my life and
at my death!'[33]
In this way, and with all strength and courage,
Fatima proved her case and registered that the
two of them had made her angry, and hence also the
God’s Messenger, and above that God the
Most High. Her anger remained, like a bleeding wound,
in the heart of her descendants and followers. When
Abdullah bin Hasan was asked about Abu Bakr and
Umar, he said: 'Our mother was a truthful woman and
daughter of a sent prophet; she died angry with some
people and we are angry because of her anger.'[34]
Her burial, grave and Ali's funeral farewell speech
Her protest did not stop at that; she continued her
protest until her death. She asked Ali to bury
her at night[35] and that those who oppressed her and
confiscated her right should not be present. She
wanted to express her protest and opposition to
aggression and injustice even after death, and she
wanted it to be angry and hurtful, but with wisdom and
convincing evidence and strong attitudes. She knew
that people would start asking: why would the daughter
of the Prophet be buried at night? Why did she
request that? What was happening? For this had not
happened in Islam and everyone was expecting to
participate in the funeral of their Prophet's
daughter. But they were to find out that she was
buried at night, and they would be told that that was
her will!
The question spread out amongst Muslims: why? This is
what Fatima wanted, to awaken consciences, and
those who had been fooled would know the nature of the
conspiracy and what had happened.
Moreover, her will also stated that her grave should
be flattened so as to add another proof and witness to
the injustice she suffered, and to eternalise her
protest upon those who oppressed her...[36]
Ali did exactly what she wanted and buried her at
night and effaced her grave. The place of her grave
remained unknown, although some narrations by the
Imams of Ahlul Bayt say that she was buried in
her house, while others say that she was buried in the
rauda (garden) which was, according to some scholars,
what the Prophet meant in his hadith: 'Between
my grave and my pulpit a garden from the gardens of
paradise.' A third possibility, according to others,
is that she was buried in the cemetery of
al-Baqee'.[37]
NOTES:
[1] Ayan al-Shia, Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin al-Amily,
Dar al-Taaruf, Beirut, Vol.1, p. 307.
[2] Ayan al-Shia; also narrated in Sunan Abu Dawood, Musnad
Ahmad and others.
[3] Ayan al-Shia.
[4] Al-Kafi, vol. 4, p. 555. Also, 'Awalim Zahra,
p. 372 states that between the houses of the Prophet
and Fatima there was an opening so that
he would be kept informed about her and her
welfare.
[5] Al-Kafi, p. 308. Also in Sunan al-Turmuthi and
al-Amali by al-Tusi.
[6] Al-Bihar, vol. 43, chapter 4, p. 86; Musnad
Fatima, 'Ataridy, p. 106.
[7] Al-Irshad, vol. 1, p. 156; Sahih Muslim, Vol. 4,
p. 187, Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi, 1991; al-Bihar,
vol. 2, chapter 29, p. 486.
[8] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 19; this nickname
'Ummu Abeeha', mother of her father, is included as
one of the names by which she used to be known - see
'Awalim Zahra, p. 69.
[9] Al-Bihar, vol. 39, chapter 73, p. 56.
[10] Fatima Zahra fil Ahadith al-Nabawiyyah,
al-Sarawi, Beirut 1994, p. 86, 92; 'Awalim Zahra,
p. 380.
[11] Al-Bihar, vol. 43, p. 127, 140; Dela'il Zahra,
p. 46.
[12] Kashf al-Ghummah, al-Arbilli, vol. 1, p. 463;
al-Bihar, vol. 43, p. 141.
[13] Yenabee' al-Mawaddah, vol. 1, p. 124.
[14] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 25, p. 193.
[15] Dela'il al-Imamah, p. 68.
[16] Same, p. 69; Kanz al-'Ummal, vol. 12, p. 113,
al-Rishalah publishers, Beirut 1993.
[17] 'Awalim Zahra, p. 580; Musnad Fatima
Zahra, p. 218-9, Dar al-Safwah, Beirut.
[18] Dela'il al-Imamah, p. 76; 'Awalim Zahra, p.
621.
[19] Narrated by so many sources, which could never
gather to conspire to lie, so as to make it impossible
for it but to be true. The translator.
[20] Al-Irshad, vol. 1, p. 355; this also seems to be
the opinion of al-Tabrasi in I'lam al-Wara bi A'lam
al-Huda, vol. 1, p. 395, Ahlul Bayt publishers, Iran,
1417H.
[21] Jannatul Ma'wa, p. 135, Dar al-Adwa', Beirut
1988.
[22] Commentary on Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. 6, p. 50;
Lisan al-Mizan, vol. 4, p. 189.
[23] Al-Durr al-Manthoor, vol. 4, p. 177; Yenabee'
al-Mawaddah, vol. 1, p. 138.
[24] Futooh al-Buldan, p. 38; Commentary on Nahj
al-Balaghah, vol. 16, p. 216.
[25] Commentary on Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. 16, p. 216.
[26] Same, p. 122.
[27] Sahih al-Bukhari, Karmani's commentary, vol. 15,
p. 4.
[28] Commentary on Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. 16, p. 229.
[29] Fera'id al-Simtayn, vol. 1, p. 177.
[30] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 48, p. 26.
[31]'Awalim Zahra, p. 275.
[32] Al-Imamah wal Siyasah, p. 14.
[33] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 203.
[34] Commentary of Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. 6, p. 49-50.
[35] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 210-1; Ibn Sa'd in
Tabaqat al-Sahabah; al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak;
al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan; al-Tabari in al-Tareekh; and
others.
[36] 'Awalim Zahra, p. 519.
[37] Al-Bihar, vol. 97, p. 190, 192, 193, 196; 'Awalim
Zahra, p. 517-526.
##
Chapter 2
Her status
In the Holy Koran:
Ahlul Bayt are mentioned in the Koran in many
verses. Here we look at three verses which mention our
Lady Fatima.
1- The verse of feeding
This is: 'And they give away food, out of love for
Him, to the poor and the orphan and the captive. We
feed you only for God's sake, we intend not of you any
recompense, nor thanks! Verily, we dread from our
Lord, a stern day of distress. So will God guard them
from the evil of that day and cause them to meet
freshness and pleasure. And shall recompense them, for
what they endured with patience, with garden and
silk.' (Koran 76:8-12)
Commentators, from different Muslim sects, said that
these honourable verses referred to Ali, Fatima,
Hasan and Husayn. In al-Kashshaf, it is
narrated by Ibn Abbas that 'Hasan and Husayn
got ill and were visited by the God’s Messenger and
the people with him. They said: O Abul Hasan! Why not
make a vow for your sons? So Ali and Fatima and Fadda
- a servant - vowed that if they (the sons) became
well, they would fast three days. They became
completely well, so Ali borrowed from Simon, the
Khaybarian Jew, three measures of barley; Fatima
grinded one amount and baked five bread discs for the
five of them. When they took it in their hands to
break the fast a beggar came and said: Peace be upon you, O
descendents of Mohammed - a needy from among the Muslims,
feed me, and may God feed you from the banquets of
Paradise! They favoured him and spent their night
without taking anything but water, and fasted in the
morning. When the evening came and they took the food
in their hands, an orphan came and they favoured him;
a captive came in the third night and they did
likewise.
In the morning, Ali took Hasan and Husayn to the
God’s Messenger, who, when saw them trembling
like chicks from great hunger, said:
How hard for me the state which I see you in;
and he left with them and went to Fatima
in her prayer niche, and saw her with her back stuck
to her abdomen and her eyes sunken, and was saddened.
Gabriel came down and said: Take it O Mohammed! God
congratulates you with your progeny. And he recited
the chapter for him.'[1]
This is the secret of Ahlul Bayt: they move in
all their activities in life for the sake of God,
without asking or requesting recompense or gratitude.
This is a great humanistic virtue: a person should
give all that he owns to whoever needs it, without
expecting for any repayment, but waiting only for the
mercy of God. This is the value of Ahlul Bayt, and
amongst them our Lady Fatima: they have lived
the spirit of donation and giving - in their
knowledge, social position, strength, soul and blood -
all for the sake of God and in His way.
2- The verse of Mubahalah (challenge)
This is: 'And unto him who disputeth with thee
therein, after the knowledge hath come unto thee, Say!
'come ye, let us summon our sons and your sons, and
our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves
and then let us invoke and lay the curse of God on the
liars!' (Koran 3:61)
Here, all commentators agree that our women refers to
Fatima Al Zahra, and that this is as the
God’s Messenger wanted it and showed it
practically.
In the story of this dialogue which the Prophet
commanded with some Christians, the Prophet
took a new route to deal with the situation when the
dialogue reached a dead end, and it is this method of
challenging which the verse tells us about.
The narration of the great Ali bin Ibrahim al-Qommi,
from Imam Al Sadiq says that: 'The Christians of
Najran came (as a delegation) to the Messenger of
God.... They prayed using the bell; the Prophet's
companion objected: O God’s Messenger! This in your
mosque? He said: Leave them (to pray as they like).
When they finished they came to the Prophet and
said: To what do you call? He said: To bear witness
that there is no God but God and that I am the
God’s Messenger and that 'Isa (Jesus) is
created a slave (of God), and eats, drinks and
excretes. They said: Then who is his father? The
revelation was then revealed to the God’s Messenger
saying: Say to them - what do you say about
Adam, has he been created a slave (of God), eating,
drinking, excreting and marrying? So the Prophet
asked them and they replied: yes. He asked
them: Then who is his father? They could not answer,
so God revealed: 'Verily, the similitude of Jesus
with God is as the similitude of Adam; He created him
out of dust, then said He unto him "BE", and he became'
(Koran 3:59) and 'And unto him who disputeth with
thee... let us invoke and lay the curse of God on the
liars!' The God’s Messenger said: So,
challenge me: if I am telling the truth the curse
falls unto you, and if I am a liar the curse falls
unto me. They said: You are speaking in justice.
They agreed on a date for mubahalah (challenge). When
they returned to the places they were staying in,
their leaders al-Sayyid, al-Aqib and al-Ahtam said:
"If he challenged us with his people, we accept the
challenge for he is not a prophet; but if he
challenges us with his family in particular we don't
challenge him, for he is not going to push forward his
family unless he is truthful." In the morning, they
came to the God’s Messenger and with him the
Leader of the Believers, Fatima, Hasan and
Husayn, so the Christians said: "Who are those?"
The people replied: This is his cousin and successor
and son-in-law, and this is his daughter Fatima, and
these are his sons Hasan and Husayn. So they
became frightened and said to the God’s Messenger:
"We give you the satisfaction, so give us leave
from the challenge."[2]
The Verse: "and our women...":
"Those amongst women who represent the nearest
position to my humanistic and
spiritual affiliation in my life, and here I put
forward my daughter Fatima, the Leader of the women
of the world, who is 'part of me' and 'God becomes
angry for her anger and pleased for her pleasure'
in this great challenge so as to prove
that I am absolutely sure about the truth of my call,
for man does not put forward his most beloved people
to the places of danger unless he is certain of
safety."
3- The verse of Purification (tataheer)
This is: "Indeed God has intended to keep off uncleanliness
from you O People of the House (Ahlul Bayt),
and purify you (with) a thorough purification.' (Koran 33:33)
Umme Salma (the wife of the Prophet) said: "The
Prophet was in my house and also Ali, Fatima,
Hasan and Husayn; I prepared some food for them
and they ate and went to sleep. Prophet covered
them with a robe and said: 'O Lord! These are
the people of my house; keep off from them all
uncleanness and purify them with a thorough
purification'."
In another narration, Umme Salma said that the verse
was revealed in her house and "I was sitting at the
door of the house, and said: O God’s Messenger! Am
I not from the People of the House? He replied: 'You
are also good - you are with the wives of
the Prophet'. She added: "In the house were
the God’s Messenger, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn."[3]
What is the meaning of the “Rijs” (uncleanness) in the
verses above?
Rijs in language means anything unclean which may
stick to the body or other material thing; it can also
refer to the non-material side of the personality.
God called pork “rijs”, and at the same time He
called rijs atheism, polytheism, and the consequences
of bad deeds: "But as to those in whose hearts is a disease,
it adds unto them uncleanliness to their uncleanliness,
and they shall die while they are infidels."(Koran 9:125)
And, "Whoever God wants to guide to good, He expands his
breast (mind) for Islam, and who ever He intends to
leave astray, He makes his breast constricted,
as though he is climbing (high) into the skies;
thus does God lay ignominious chastisement (rijs)
on disbelievers."(Koran 8:126).
In light of this, it seems that the word (as used in
the verses in question) refers to the negative moral
attributes which represent the uncleanness of the
soul. In addition, the word has another meaning: the
intellectual mistakes in recognising things that
appears to point to individual infallibility. This is
a Divine favour that God effects inside the self to
prevent it from false belief and wrong doing, through
the fact that this word also entails a notion of
repulsion and rejection, and the need to abstain from
it.
This verse is a clear proof of the infallibility of
Ahlul Bayt, because the 'lam' (corresponding to
the sound of letter L) in the word 'rijs' (i.e.
al-rijs) makes it inclusive of all that can cause
shortfall in a person's personality, and all that
causes repulsion from it when it deviates and commits
mistakes by it (the rijs). Therefore, it points to the
will of God to remove all deep causes of deviation
or mistakes. In other words: God has stored in Ahlul
Bayt the knowledge and special attributes of
sanctity and purity to remove all rijs from them and
effect purity in them.
In the hadith:
The God’s Messenger talked about Fatima
and her virtues a great deal, and described her
in a way that he did not do with other women. As the
Prince of Poets Ahmad Shawki said:
He did not wish other than her for offspring
And who begets Zahra will not wish any others.
And the God’s Messenger when he evaluates
(someone), he does not do it out of emotion or desire
- God forbid!
'And nor does he speak of (his own) inclination' (Koran 53:3);
he speaks by the tongue of divine inspiration: 'It is naught but a
revelation sent down.' (Koran 53:4)
And here, let us touch on some of his narrations
regarding his daughter Fatima.
1- The "Leader of the Women of the World":
Among the most important titles with which the
truthful and pure Fatima was bestowed was narrated
in the famous hadith from the Prophet: 'The
Queen of the women of paradise.'[4]
In another hadith: 'The Leader of the women of this
world.'[5]
In a third: 'The Queen of believing women'; and in a
fourth: 'The Queen of the women of my nation.'[6]
In another hadith: "O my daughter! Are not you
satisfied that you are the Leader of the women of the
world? She said: 'O father! What about Mary daughter of
Imran (then)?' He said: She is the Leader of the
women of her time and you are the Leader of the
women of this world; I swear by God that I have
married you to a Master in life and the hereafter."[7]
Now, we should stop to ponder about this. Is this
title, "Leader of the women of the world", a mere
honorary title?
No! The God’s Messenger does not give titles
without a reason, for when he moves to evaluate
people, even if they are his relatives, he does so
according to precise evaluation of the actual
capabilities of the person in question. Otherwise, he
would have been speaking out of desire, while God
says: 'And nor he speaketh of (his own) inclination.
It (the wording) is naught but a revelation revealed.'
(Koran 53:3-4)
Hence, for Fatima to be the Queen of the Women of
Paradise means that He has amassed in her mind, heart
and virtues, all the mind, heart and virtues of the
women of paradise, and in fact excelled on them.
And for Fatima to be the Leader of the women of the
world, or, of the 'believing women', this means that all the
virtues and attributes of believing and all the merits
of believing women are invested and manifested in her.
Otherwise, how could she be a Leader of a people if
she had not outshone them or had not acquired the
merit with which she would possess that mastery.
2- "Fatima is part of me"
In another word by him, regarding the
distinguished position of being the Queen of Women,
he said: 'Fatima is part of me, whoever makes her
angry makes me angry.'[8] And: 'Verily my daughter
Fatima is a part of me, what hurts her hurts me.'[9]
In its different forms, this narration which came from
(Prophet) the Truthful and Trustworthy (Al Sadiq Al Ameen).
The Prophet who - as we said before - would only speak by
Divine Instruction, not through (his own) emotion,
because his emotion was that of a human, who would
embrace his daughter like any human would embrace his
son or daughter. But when he gives a distinctive
judgement, he gives it through revelation and message,
and no one can ever claim it was not what God has
said: 'And if (Messenger) had fabricated
against us any of the sayings. Certainly would We have
seized him by the right hand. Then certainly would We
have cut off his aorta!' (Koran 29:44-46)
These narrations express the spiritual intermixing and
deep bond between him and her. His words 'a part of
me' are not intended to mean the material side, for
this is quite obvious to any one, but something that
is deeper than that. For someone to be a part of the
God’s Messenger means that they are related
to the God’s Messenger, in a missionary
relationship, as if they are part of his body. This
means that their mind contains some of the mind of the
Prophet, their soul contains some of the soul
of the Prophet and their life contains the
purity, spirituality, truthfulness and trustworthiness
as exhibited by the Prophet.
He adds 'whoever makes her angry makes me
angry'. We recognise that the bearers of the Messages
do not become emotional when people hurt their
children; but also that a righteous father will not
get angry and emotional if people rightfully make his
son angry, because he does wrong to them. So, what is
the meaning of 'whoever makes her angry makes me
angry'?
It means that Fatima is the woman who can never do
wrong to any one, in words or in deeds, so that people
have the right to hurt her or make her angry. In fact,
if Fatima becomes angry no one will have made her
angry, because she will have become angry only for
God. For the woman who can never harm anyone, sin or
deviate, whoever makes her angry he is surely making
God angry; and she is a person who does not get hurt
unless God is disobeyed or people deviate from
God's way. Therefore the God’s Messenger is hurt
if she is hurt.
By the same token, his saying as in some narrations
'What pleases her pleases me' means that she is
happy only with what pleases God and His
Messenger. Had the Prophet not been fully aware
of the depth of the personality of Fatima, and
that she was an image of his soul, thinking, way and
message, and that the Message was imprinted in her
personality, and her personality dissolved in the
Message, it would have been incorrect for him to bind
his happiness to hers, and his anger to hers. This
proves, very clearly, that Fatima is infallible,
pure and has reached the summit of perfection.
3- "Her Pleasure is God;s Pleasure":
In another narration, the Prophet said: 'Surely
God becomes angry when Fatima is angry, and
He becomes pleased if she is pleased.'[10]
This text is even stronger evidence than its
predecessor in proving the greatness of Fatima
and her elevated position before God the Most High.
What does it mean that God becomes angry for the
anger of a person, and pleased for their pleasure?
It means that this person has lived in all the
situations of God's pleasure, and has stayed away
from the places of his anger. This was what was
expressed by Imam Husayn when he said: 'The
pleasure of God is the pleasure of ours, the
People of the House.'[11]
The Muslims:
It is no secret that Fatima is the main female
personality sanctified by all Muslims. If we read what
the Muslim scholars, from both the Sunnis and Shias,
have written and the books and papers on her, we find
that they talk about her with highest respect, love
and glorification; this is because of what her
personality contained in terms of high moral values,
spiritual purity and knowledge, all of which have made
her a role model to be followed by Muslims, and also
from what they know about her from the Koran and the
sayings of the Prophet which have clarified her
position and underlined the obligation to respect,
appreciate and glorify her, and avoiding everything
that hurts her and angers her.
Aisha, the Prophet's wife, described her as the
most truthful after her father. And Anas bin Malik
said that there was no one who resembled the Messenger
of God more closely than Hasan bin Ali and
Fatima.[12]
And Ibn Masood, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, Abu Hurayrah,
Abu Saeed al-Khudari, Salman al-Farsi and other
companions of the Prophet told of her virtues
and merits in a lot of narrations and praised her to
the highest.
The same was true for the successors of the companions
(tabieen) and their successors (tabee tabieen),
including the compilers of books of hadith such as
al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Hakim al-Naysaboori,
al-Baghawi, Ibn Abdul Barr, Ibn Hajar and others, who
allocated in their books chapters to narrate what was
said in her regard and how God distinguished her
from others.[13]
It was because of the love and sanctification that the
Muslim society had for Fatima, that when they
attacked her house to insult her and threatened to
burn the house, the only objection was that inside the
house was Fatima. They did not say that inside the
house was Ali or Hasan and Husayn or Zaynab, but
'inside it is Fatima', which meant that she was
living deep within the conscience of the Muslims and
that she had possessed their love. Some of the
attackers had their hearts beating with love for her
and this was why they left weeping when they heard her
voice.[14]
Also, we saw how the Muslims reacted to her sermon
which she gave after the death of the Prophet
and the usurpation of the caliphate and confiscating
Fadak; they were touched with her speech to the extent
that 'People have not seen more men weeping and women
weeping like that day.'[15]
Infallibility:
Zahra, al-Batool, in her knowledge, worship, faith
in God and care for the God’s Messenger
and the Leader of the Believers, reached the
position of infallibility, elevated to the degree of
holiness, untarnished by sin, and left for us the
highest example as a woman who lived her life for
God and closed her eyes to depart from life, whilst
reciting the praise of God.
We believe that Fatima is infallible - free of
all wrongdoing, incorrectness, lack of awareness, or
forgetfulness, and that she committed no sin whatever
small.
(A) The proof on her infallibility
We can deduce her infallibility from three proofs -
this is in addition to the aforementioned hadith:
'Fatima is part of me, whoever makes her angry makes
me angry':
First proof - If we study her life, from birth to
death, her life with her father, husband, sons and all
people, we will find no error or wrongdoing in
thoughts or speech, or uncertainty in deeds; thus her
life has been a manifestation of infallibility in the
most comprehensive way.
Second proof - She is from the People of the House
(Ahlul Bayt), whom God kept from all uncleanness and
on whom he conferred thorough purification, and so the
verse of purification includes her when it includes
Ali, Hasan and Husayn - the verse that
serves as proof of their infallibility. The verse of
purification is, therefore, a witness of the truth,
which cannot be disputed by falsehood, that Fatima is
infallible.
When we use the verse of purification to prove her
infallibility, this does not mean at all that before
the revelation of the verse she had not been
infallible. Rather, she had been infallible before its
revelation, with an absolute infallibility for which
her conduct stands as witness. The verse of
purification merely confirmed this infallibility; it
did not confer it upon her.
Third proof - Fatima Zahra is the Head of the
Women of the World, as was confirmed by the famous
hadith narrated by the two schools of thought. It is
inconceivable that a woman would attain the position
of the Leader of the women of the world without being
a person who lived the whole of truth in her mind and
heart, and that falsehood could ever creep into any of
this at all.
(B) The nature of her infallibility
Our opinion of the infallibility of Ahlul Bayt is
that God the Most High has placed in them elements
of knowledge and spirit and holiness which remove all
uncleanness from them and confer purity upon them. He
gave them a light by which they move, through their
awareness of all the rays of light and its horizons,
and that he gave them knowledge and spirituality which
match the awareness and knowledge of God and an
awareness of Islam in its full depth and breadth, so
that they move dynamically with purity and awareness,
and away from evil with awareness. These elements
deepen their awareness and will, but do not move them
automatically and without choice. No one should
suggest that the meaning of formative infallibility
('ismah takweeniyyah), as taken from the verse
'Verily, verily God intendeth...', means that God
the Most High takes away choice from them, so that
they become the purified and free of uncleanness not
out of their own volition like a machine without
awareness; this thinking is false. Although we said
that God was the One who conferred upon them the
virtues of holiness, spirituality and knowledge, this
would not mean that consequently they were deprived of
choice and would become like a machine or a cane in
the hands of its owner, because these virtues would
actually deepen the awareness in them as we said, not
deprive them of choice.[16]
Therefore, Fatima's infallibility was wilful
infallibility, and proceeded from her awareness and
from Divine favour, which gracefully saved her from
prostration to idols or committing sins, like he
gracefully saved her husband Ali from prostration
to idols before the start of the Message and after it
- this is in contrast to many Muslim men and women who
prostrated to the idols before Islam. As for Fatima
, her prostration was to God from the moment she
knew prostration, and her bowing was to God from the
moment she knew bowing.
NOTES:
[1] Al-Kashshaf commentary, vol. 4, p. 670; Shawahid
al-Tanzeel, al-Hasakani, vol. 2, p. 399; al-Baydawi,
vol. 2, p. 526; al-Tha'labi in al-Kashf wal Tabyan, p.
279.
[2] Al-Qummi commentary, vol.1, p. 104; Sahih Muslim,
vol. 4, p. 1871; Sunan al-Turmuthi, vol. 5, p. 638;
Shawahid al-Tanzeel, vol. 1, p. 155; al-Sawa'iq
al-Muhriqah, p. 148; al-Kamil fil Tareekh, vol. 2, p.
393.
[3] Al-Tabari, vol. 22, p. 5-8; Fada'il al-Khamsah fil
Sihah al-Sittah, vol. 1, p. 214.
[4] Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Karmani commentary, vol. 15,
p. 4, Musnad Ahmad, vol. 3, p. 498 and vol.6, p. 542.
[5] Musnad Abu Dawood, p. 196, hadith 1373;
al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 156.
[6] Sahih Muslim, vol. 4, p. 1905; Fada'il al-Khamsah,
vol. 3, p. 137-146.
[7] Hilyat al-Awliya', vol. 2, p. 42.
[8] Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Karmani commentary, vol. 15,
p. 5.
[9] Sahih Muslim, vol. 4, p. 1903.
[10] Ma Rawat-hu al-'Ammah min Manaqib Ahlul Bayt, p.
23; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, chapter 8, p. 220.
[11] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 367.
[12] Musnad Ahmad, vol. 3, p. 642.
[13] Ma Rawat-hu al-'Ammah min Manaqib Ahlul Bayt, p.
229; A'yan al-Shia, vol. 1, p. 307; 'Awalim
Zahra, p. 48 et seq.; Fada'il al-Khamsa, vol. 3, p.
122 et seq.
[14] Al-Mustarshid, al-Tabari, p. 376; al-Imamah wal
Siyasah, p. 13.
[15] Commentary to Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Abi
al-Hadeed, vol. 16, p. 122.
[16] For the reader who wants to know His Eminence's
opinion (regarding this issue), refer to the book Fiqh
al-Hayat, p. 267 which makes his opinion quite clear;
the controversy which has arisen may perhaps be the
result of not referring to his words and being misled
by the term ''ismah takweeniyyah', which has appeared
in some of his works.
##
Chapter 3
The Role Model
The truthful
It was narrated that Aisha said: 'I have not seen
any one more truthful than her - Fatima - but only
her father.'[1] The value of this hadith is that it
has been narrated by Aisha, who seems to have spoken
after a study of the Islamic society. It is worth
noting that Aisha did not say in her description of
Fatima that she was 'the truthful', but the most
truthful. This expression, when given to a person,
means that they are very sensitive to truthfulness,
and that they would make absolutely sure that any word
they utter contains no false suggestions, and
certainly no lies. Aisha saw Fatima as the
most truthful, and one who represented truth in speech
and attitude, like her father the God’s Messenger
who manifested truth so that his folk knew him
- even before the start of his Message - as 'the
truthful, the trustworthy'.
Fatima acquired this attribute from her father
and excelled in it until she became the most
truthful after him. Fatima has been, and still
is, a role model of truthfulness, and wants us to turn
life into truth, so that every one of us might be the
most truthful with himself and the most truthful among
his people, not like the many who live their lives in
continuous lying - lying in religion through all kinds
of deviations, and in politics with all its traitors
and arrogant powers, and in social reality where lying
may promote selfish interests.
The worshipper
If we look at what history books have told us about
Fatima, we find that her worship was unrivalled.
Here are some examples:
1- It is told that Hasan al-Basri said: 'There
was no one in this nation who worshipped more than
Fatima: she used to pray until her feet became
swollen.'[2]
2- Even more emphatic was her son, Imam Hasan,
who said: 'I saw my mother Fatima standing up in
her mihrab [prayer niche] every Friday night. She
bowed and prostrated herself until dawn, and I heard
her praying for the believers, naming them...!'[3]
Fatima was burdened with her household problems,
pregnancies and children, and with her Islamic
responsibilities in the social arena - but in spite of
all that, and the weakness of her body, she would
worship God until her feet became swollen, and found
the time to stay awake and pray all night, praising
God.
The miraculous favours
No doubt that there were normal circumstances which
formed the backdrop to the spiritual and mental
development of Lady Fatima, such as the
Prophet's upbringing of her - the same applies to
other great women such as Zakariyah's upbringing of
the Virgin Mary. However, in addition to this,
there was the Divine favour which covered her in
purity and holiness, and empowered her to perform some
miracles even while she was in her mother's womb[4]
and honoured her with the visit of the angel.[5]
And while we cannot infer that there were metaphysical
elements in Fatima's personality which place her
beyond being a human being, or that her life was
transformed completely by metaphysical events which
defy the natural laws that God has placed in the
universe, this does not mean at all that such events
are to be denied altogether. Fatima was indeed
the person so endowed by the favours and graces of
God that we can say that there was an element of the
metaphysical in her personality.
It was narrated that the God’s Messenger
used to enter her room and find food, just as when
Zakariyyah used to enter Mary's room and find food,
then ask: 'O Mary! From where have you got this?' She
would reply: 'It is from God; Verily God provideth
whomsoever He liketh without measure.' (Koran 2:37)
Likewise, Fatima used to answer her father
: she had the miraculous favour of God, Who
prepared her to be the Queen of the Women of the
World, and - to occupy such position - she had to have
all the virtues and elements of goodness, truth,
worship and purity.
In addition, she was blessed by other miraculous
favours that revealed her great position in relation
to God and her nearness to him.
But was Fatima a super-human woman?
In spite of all the aforementioned proofs of Fatima's
infallibility, holiness, miraculous favours and
virtues, all these do not remove her from the human
race. She was a woman who had feelings, emotions and
desires, as other women have. Her greatness was that
she developed her feelings within the framework of
God's pleasure and did not let her desires go
beyond what God permitted, and so her heart, mind
and body did not deviate from the right path by even
the smallest measure.
It was the same with the God’s Messenger: he
was a human being with the peculiarities of all men
'And say thou: I am only a man like you, it is
revealed unto me...' (Koran 18:110)
If he and also the prophets, Imams and Fatima had not been
human beings, they would not have had any distinction
over the rest of the people, and there would have been
no meaning in following them: 'And had We made him an
Angel, We would have certainly made him a man, and We
would have made confused to them what they (now) make
confused.' (Koran 6:9) The greatness and value of
these (individuals) is that they are human beings and
not angels; but through their will and holiness they
are, for God, higher than the angels.
A spirit overflowing
After her missionary concern comes her concern for the
people around her, or rather her concern for the
people was part of her missionary concerns. Here lies
the value of Fatima, for her high and
distinguished position does not lie in her family
descent - however honourable - or in her tribe, or in
any other connection that people boast about, but in
the Islamic values which have been manifested in her,
and for which she was called. It is for these values
that man lives for others before living for himself -
to bear the burdens and concerns of others and loves
for them what he loves for himself, and hates for them
what he hates for himself. This was what Fatima
manifested in her being; in fact she excelled to the
highest level, and she did not only give the others
some of what had God given her, but she also
favoured them, even though she herself was in urgent
need.
Imam Hasan said: 'I saw my mother Fatima
standing up in her mihrab [prayer niche] every Friday
night. She bowed and prostrated herself until dawn,
and I heard her praying for the believers, naming
them, and she prayed much for them and never for
herself. So I said to her: O mother! Why don't you
pray for yourself as you pray for others? She said: O
my son! The neighbour [first], then the house!'[6]
And for whom was she praying at night, when she was
waiting to sit before God to confide in Him, and to
submit and surrender to Him? Was she praying for
herself, and requesting something for herself, like
many of us would do when we pray during the day or
night?
No! For her the matter lay in another direction: she
would use the precious opportunity of the night - its
serenity and spirituality through which the horizons
open for worshippers and uplift the soul - to pray not
for herself but for the believers.
The knowledgeable
(1) Knowledge
She used to sit with Ali before the Prophet
, as the revelation was revealed, listening with
eagerness and concentration to the Messenger's
teachings which explained to them the meanings of the
revelation and taught them God's rulings and law.
One piece of evidence that the Prophet used to
take care of Fatima's learning was the hadith
narrated from Imam Al Sadiq: 'When Fatima came
complaining to the God’s Messenger about
something, he gave her a [dried] palm tree branch -
which was used for writing - and said: Learn what is
in it... In it was: Whoever believes in God and the
Day of Judgement must not hurt his neighbour, and
whoever believes in God and the Day of Judgement
shall be generous to his guest, and whoever believes
in God and the Day of Judgement shall say
[something] good or be silent.'[7]
The Prophet wanted for her to relieve her pains
by becoming busy with Islamic values and propagating
them to people. This suggests to us that we should be
aware of our missionary role more than our pains, so
that we might beat our pain through our mission, for
whoever lives the concerns of the grand issues forgets
his pains and renders them insignificant.
(2) The importance of knowledge
Some scholars of the hadith narrated that a man came
to Fatima and said: 'O Fatima daughter of the
God’s Messenger! Have you got something to give
me?' She said to her servant: 'Get me that 'writing
piece [made of palm tree branches].' And when she
could not find it, Fatima said: 'Get it! It is
for me equal to Hasan and Husain! This is the
inheritance of the God’s Messenger.'[8]
We can see clearly from this narration how much
Fatima respects knowledge, for we know how much
she loved her sons Hasan and Husayn. It
must also be clear that importance does not lie in the
letters of the written word, but in its spirit, which
turns it into the thoughts that enrich man, and the
dynamic movement that corrects his ways and guides his
experience.
This narration might also suggest that the Truthful
used to receive men and answer their questions
and religious queries, or give them some religious
advice.
The teacher
Zahra did not restrict herself to writing down
the knowledge, and collecting it in a book or other
written texts; she also worked to propagate it in the
Muslim society. Also, she did not wait for people to
come to her with queries and to provide the answers to
them, but took the initiative to spread knowledge in
society. The writers of her history narrated that she
used to teach lessons to the women of the Mecca and
Medina, (Muhajroon and Ansar), who used to gather
for her teaching lessons, rather as pupils assemble
for the lessons given in the religious schools we know
today. Her sermon in the Mosque, in which she
explained the secrets of jurisprudence and Divine
laws, as well as other points, is a living document
and the best testimony of Fatima's cultural message
and her educational, intellectual responsibility.
The writer
Her concern for knowledge and the hadith of the
God’s Messenger and Islamic teachings and
rulings reached such an extent that she would write
down everything she heard from the Prophet
directly, or indirectly - i.e. what was also narrated
to her by Ali or her son Hasan - as can
be understood from the narrations above.
It could be said that Fatima was the first
writer in Islam, among both men and women, and the
first to write the hadith of the God’s Messenger
in his presence. And from this we can see that
what the caliph Umar bin al-Khattab did, when he
prohibited the writing of the hadith of the Prophet
so that - as he claimed - the Hadith did not
get mixed up with the Koran, was wrong, and his
arguments were unconvincing, for we see Fatima
writing the hadith of the Prophet during his
life, without him prohibiting it.
The narrations also mention what was called 'Mushaaf
Fatima', i.e. the book of Fatima, which has
aroused a great deal of controversy. Therefore, we
have to clarify the nature of this book and what it
has contained.
First of all, we have to emphasize that this book -
according to the belief of all Shias without
exception - is not another Koran, or different from
the Koran which Muslims have and which has had been
neither added to nor abbreviated.
Some Muslim scholars have tried to accuse the Shias
of having a Koran different to the Koran known to
all Muslims. This accusation derives from the word
mus-haf, which some suggested to mean Koran, and
also on what Imam Al Sadiq said: 'It is three
times bigger than your Mushaaf.'[9] We say to those,
as we have said to many Sunni Muslim scholars[10] that
if you go to all Shia places in the world and enter
their homes, bookshops, mosques and Husainiyyahs, you
will not find any other book besides the Koran that
is in your hands - it is not different in one word,
not even in one letter.
As to the nature of this book, the narration said:
'.... Gabriel used to come to her to offer her good
condolences in her father and to make her happy
and to inform her about her father and his place and
to tell her about what was going to happen to her
offspring; and Ali used to write that; this was
Mushaaf of Fatima.'[11]
And in the narration from Imam Al Sadiq, he read:
'Mushaaf Fatima - I do not claim that there is
Koran in it; in it is what people need us for and we
do not need any one.'[12]
Another narration tells us that Imam Al Sadiq
said: 'And to bring out Mushaaf Fatima, for it has
Fatima's will.'[13]
According to some narrations, this book was written by
Ali[14] and another narration suggests that it
was dictated by the Prophet himself, with Ali
writing it.[15]
Hence, it is more probable that it was a book about
the allowable and prohibited things (halal and haram),
although it is possible that it included rulings and
stories told by the angel, and also her will. In light
of this, the book can be attributed to Fatima,
just as it can be attributed to Ali and, hence,
she can be regarded as the first author in Islam, just
as Ali was the first author in Islam.
The most faithful wife
History tells us that Fatima lived with her
husband as best as a wife can, in love, faithfulness,
obedience and care. This was why in her last days,
when she was giving Ali her will, she said: 'You have
not experienced me as a liar or unfaithful and I have
not disobeyed you since I have known you'; he replied:
'You are more pious, God-fearing and knowing for me to
rebuke you in any thing of that sort.'[16]
She used to take care of her husband, who was burdened
with holy war and his responsibilities, and she did
not complain about that, in spite of the cruel
obligation it put on the wives of the warriors, and
especially someone like the Leader of the Believers
, who was the lion of the wars and the lion of
God and his Messenger. She was burdened with
the upbringing of the children and her household
concerns, but all that did not prevent her from
performing, faithfully, her role as a wife.
She lived with her husband as any Muslim wife, did not
set herself apart as the daughter of the Messenger of
God; rather she performed her marital
responsibilities as best as a Muslim woman could do in
spite of the weakness that plagued her from the start
of her life, as narrated by the historians.
In another narration, Ali said: 'I did not make
her angry throughout my life with her and she did not
make me angry and did not disobey my orders throughout
her life with me.'[17] Contentment was granted to
them because they lived as people with a mission, and
the Message was the greatest of their concerns.
Because Fatima was faithful to her husband, and
harmonised with him in soul and spirituality, it would
be inconceivable that she would insult Ali in any
way. Therefore I reject strongly the suggestion that
Fatima said (to her husband):
"O Son of Abu Talib! You have wrapped
yourself like an embryo and sat like an accused!
Your words have not pleased me, and have not helped with
any useful thing, and I have no choice."[18]
Because these words were insults and Fatima was above
insulting Ali, or telling him 'what is your use?
You have not benefited me, you are like an embryo'!
Supportive couple
Ali and Fatima used to divide the
responsibilities inside the house, and in our
narrations Fatima asked the Prophet, in a
loving way, to divide the chores between her and Ali
. The agreement was that she would grind, knead
and bake and Ali would sweep the floor, and bring
water and wood (for the fire).[19]
In this there is a lesson for both men and women: men
should learn not to feel too grand to serve at home.
Ali swept the floor and brought the water and
wood, while the men among us feel their masculinity is
brought into question if they sweep the floor or bring
water. Ali was the master of men, but saw nothing
objectionable in sweeping the floor of the house,
because the house was his house and the wife his wife.
He was a human being, and she was a human being, and a
man, however great, is never too big to serve his
children, wife, father, mother, brothers and sisters
or anyone for whom he is responsible.
The same lesson has to be learned by women: that work
at home is not belittling - a mentality which has
arisen amongst Muslim women lately. Fatima
worked, grinded and baked. Although we have said many
times that God has not made it obligatory for a
woman, whether daughter or wife, to serve at home, it
is obligatory under Islam in that God wants people
who live in any position which calls for participation
to participate naturally and according to their
powers. God did not make it obligatory for women to
work at home or breastfeed the children, because he
wanted them to give from their heart, and with the
energy, effort and awareness that springs from their
own will.
In summary, in the question of serving, he who serves
another within the ambit of his responsibility does
not call his dignity into question; so the woman who
regards her work at home as belittling to her
personality, or the man who regards his participation
in such work as belittling to him is misguided. There
is no person who is a servant absolutely, and there is
no person who is a master absolutely, for everyone of
us is a master in one circle and a servant in another.
Her life and suffering
History tells us that the life of Fatima might
be described as ordinary, as far her daily life -
doing the domestic chores, bringing up her children -
is concerned. In spite of being the Queen of the
Women of the World, the daughter of the most
honourable Prophet and Messenger, wife of the
Leader of the Believers and the Master of Regents,
and mother of Hasan and Husayn, the masters of
the Youth of Paradise, she lived a normal life,
grinding, kneading, baking, cooking, taking care of
her children and doing all the things that were her
responsibility as the female head of the household.
Also, we can say that she transcended the physical
suffering that she experienced during her childhood,
and which cruelly remained with her while she was in
her husband's house. The suffering, troubles and
difficulties that Fatima endured demonstrated
the difference between her personality and the
personalities of other women, for her simple way of
life, her hardships, the inadequacy of her food and
clothing, were things that other women seldom had to
put up with, but she displayed a kind of patience
towards suffering that corresponded to that shown by
Ali.
History relates a number of stories about her life
which are expressive and impressive in this respect,
such as:
1- She had only one sheepskin which she used as a
mattress, as she told her father: 'I swear by the One
Who sent you with the truth as a prophet that Ali and
I, for five years now, have not got but one sheepskin
which we sleep on at night... and our pillow is filled
with fibre/straw.'[20]
In talking to her father, she appeared satisfied and
content with what God had given to her.
2- The narration by Imam Al Sadiq that when
the God’s Messenger saw Fatima wearing
a poor-quality cloak while kneading bread and
breast-feeding her son, his eyes filled with tears and
he said: 'O my daughter! Accept - with alacrity -
life's bitterness, while waiting for the sweetness of
the hereafter.'[21]
3- Someone saw her hand-grinding barley and
saying: 'But that which is with God is better and
more enduring.' (Koran 28:60)
A servant, or praising God?
Ali said once to her, when he saw the signs of great
hardship and suffering on her: 'What if you go to your
father to ask for a servant to relieve you a little?'
She refused, as she was shy to ask the Messenger of
God for such request. Therefore, when they
arrived, it was Ali who said to the Prophet:
"She grinded the mill until her hands
became hard, and it affected her chest, and swept the
house until her clothes became dusty."
The Prophet replied: "Would you like me to teach
you something? If you learn it, it would be better
than the servant: When you go to sleep say Alahoakbar
(God is Greatest) 34 times, and Alhamdolillah
(Praise be to God) 33 times, and Subhanalah
(Glory Be to God) 33 times. That is better for you
than any servant!" Both said: "We are happy with our Lord."[22]
In another narration, Ali added that Fatima:
"lit the fire until her clothes darkened"[23]
The Prophet said that, and he was addressing
their spirits to elevate them to the highest levels,
and to bond them to God Most High, and to relieve
them of suffering, especially Fatima. The
Prophet did not perhaps have a servant to give
them, or perhaps he did not want to make his house or
his daughter's house better than the houses of some of
the poor. Hence, he taught her what was better than a
servant, and eternalised with that what was later
known as 'Tasbeeh al Zahra' (Praises of Lady of Light).
This perpetrated the praise after every prayer
performed by the believers and before they would go
to sleep, remembering through it the living hardships
of their Lady Zahra, who transcended her difficulties
and forgot her concerns when she sat to praise
God (in that particular way).
In this way, they learn how to live with God and feel
the company of God and the sweetness of His praise when
they are assailed by their concerns, difficulties and pains.
The struggler
Fatima did not live in seclusion; rather her
short life was filled with the wonderful holy struggle
on all fronts, and that she lived for God and His
way, and to implement truth.
(A) In the battles
She used to accompany her father in some of his
battles and wars. Historians have said that: 'When the
God’s Messenger was wounded in the Battle of
Uhud, Ali was bringing water, using his shield, from
al-Mihras - the water source there - to wash the
wound, but the blood did not stop.'[24] Fatima
now played the role of a nurse: 'Fatima came - gave
him a dose of kindness first - and embraced him,
crying, then she burned [palm tree] mat and put its
ash on the wound and the blood stopped.'[25]
This suggests the depth of relationship between her
and the God’s Messenger and her intense care
for him, even though he, at that time, had more than
one wife.
(B) Angry for the truth
After the death of the God’s Messenger, she
started a holy struggle of another kind. Her biggest
concern was to prove the right of Ali to the
caliphate, as an Imam appointed by God. All her
actions centred upon this high goal, and when she
talked about Fadak, she did not do so because it
represented a financial need, as other people might
try to acquire money, for - to her and her husband -
Fadak was not worth anything. As Ali put it:
'What do I do with Fadak and [anything] other than
Fadak when the self will, tomorrow, end up in a
grave?'[26]
Fatima proceeded in protecting the politics of
truth with her stances, words, sermons and all her
activities. The women of the Supporters (ansar) came
to visit her during her final illness and started to
inquire about her health, her pain and weakness. And
how did she answer? She said: 'I have become
abandoning your life, hating your men!'[27] Why?
Because they did not support the truth - did not stand
with Ali who represented the truth. Her stance
was not because Ali was her husband or cousin,
but because he was her Imam, her custodian and leader
(Walyy al-Amr), and the Muslims' Imam and their
custodian and leader, and because Ali was with the
truth and the truth with him, and because Ali was the
one who was taught by the God’s Messenger and to
whom he opened one thousand gates to knowledge,
with each gate opening to one thousand other
gates[28]; and because had Ali been handed over the
rule, he would have ruled with truth and would have
laid the foundation of justice.
(C) Her reply to the Migrants and Supporters
When they came to her and said: 'Had Abu Hasan come
and mentioned this issue before the covenant [to Abu
Bakr] was confirmed and the contract [of caliphate]
was fastened, we would not have chosen any one else!'
She said: 'Go away from me! You have no excuse after
the warning, and no say after failing in your
obligations!'
Here was Fatima, a firm woman flaming up with
rage, entering into dialogue and dispute and arguments
with men and women, not to prove a personal right for
herself, but for a big missionary goal which was the
succession and caliphate after the Prophet.
(D) Her visits to the houses of the Ansar
She retained this same firmness in her stance to the
extent that, according to some narrations, she used to
go out with Ali to the houses of Muslims,
especially the Ansar, to talk to them about the right
of Ali and his suitability for the caliphate.
They would reply: 'Had your husband and cousin come to
us before Abu Bakr, we would have never chosen any one
else!' and Ali would reply: 'Do you want me to
leave the God’s Messenger in his house,
unburied, and go out to quarrel with people about his
rule?' And Fatima would say: 'Abu Hasan (Ali) could
not do otherwise, and they did what God would judge
them and reclaim from them!'[29]
She lived for the major issues and never for the minor
ones, because whoever lives for Islam and all truth
will have to be of the size of Islam and truth, and
will have to stay firm - not to take sides or to
flatter, back down, weaken, or be humiliated or
saddened.
The orator
Fatima stood like a revolutionary or opposition
activist, giving voice to her side of arguments in
sermons matching argument with argument, offering
rebuke when strong rebuke could emphasize the meaning
of truth, and being lenient when leniency and
gentleness could be useful.
(A) Excerpts from her sermon in the Mosque
She stood in the Mosque, delivering her sermon. This
had no equivalent in the Arabic history - an orator
talking about the secrets of Islamic jurisprudence in
all its major categories providing for every one of
them its explanation and a clarification of the wisdom
behind it. All this was to show the people the nature
of the dynamic movement of this jurisprudence in their
lives.
Thus, she entered into arguments around the issue of
inheritance and its related verses, and her right in
it.
We shall break her sermon into several parts,
according to the topics with which each part deals.
[Note by translator: Because of the size of this
book, the full text and full commentary of
His Eminence is not included here,
only a few excerpts from the various parts, as divided
up by His Eminence.)
Part 1 - The oneness of God
'Praise and gratitude to God for His bounties...'
'There is no God but God, the One... Who is
impossible for the eyes to see, and the tongues to
describe...'
'He innovated the things not from something before,
and created them not in imitation of past models... to
bring attention to his obedience/worship and to show
his powers...'
Part 2 - The secrets of prophethood, the Message and
the Koran
'I bear witness that my father Mohammed is His slave
and messenger, He has chosen him before sending him...
He sent him in completion of his matter... So God
has lit by my father Mohammed their [the nations]
darkness, and uncovered from the hearts the difficult
matters...'
'You are the worshippers of God, in front of His
do's and don'ts, and the bearers of His religion and
revelation, and guardians of yourselves, and His
messengers to the nations...'
'And a leader of truth with you, and a covenant which
he presented for you... the speaking book of God and
the truthful Koran, and the shining light... a leader
to [God's] pleasure is following it and leading
to saving is hearing it...'
Part 3 - The rationale and goals of Islamic
jurisprudence
'God made belief a purification of you from
polytheism, and prayer to lead you away from
arrogance, and [religious] tax to elevate the soul and
increase the income, and fasting to make firm (your)
faithfulness, and pilgrimage a glorifying building of
the religion...'
Part 4 - Justice, Imamah and other jurisprudence
secrets
'... and justice to harmonize the hearts (of
people)... and obedience to us [Ahlul Bayt] a
[perfect] system for the nation, and our Imamah a
safety from differences... And good conduct with the
parents a protection from the anger [of God]... and
punishment to save blood [souls]...'
Part 5 - Defending the right and truth
'O people! Know that I am Fatima and my father is
Mohammed! I say again from the start - and I do not
say what I say wrongfully, nor I do what I do without
reason... If you seek his family descent you shall
find him father of me and not your other women, and
the brother of my cousin, not your men;... and you
have been on the edge of Hell.... Humiliated people,
fearing the raids of the people around you, so God
the Most High saved you by Mohammed... every time they
lit a war fire God extinguished it... Or the
polytheists opened their mouths [with their canines to
bite], he [the Prophet] send his brother [Ali] unto
their mouth ceilings [i.e. sent him to the points of
danger and death]; he would not come back until he
stepped with his foot on their ears and extinguished
their flames with his sword, tired for God's sake...
near to the God’s Messenger, a master amongst
God's holy people... Whilst you were in soft
living... And when God chose for his Prophet the
place of His prophets and the shelter of His chosen
[people], the enmity of hypocrisy showed up amongst
you, and the dress of religion got worn out...Then he
[Satan] called upon you and found you quick [in
responding to his call], and made you angry [to
instigate your bad response] and found you angry
[behaving out of emotional reactions]... and that
whilst the time was [still] near, and the calamity
wide, and the wound still open, and the Messenger had
just been buried!
Part 6 - Setting out the proof for her right to Fadak
'And you claim now that we have no inheritance! Don't
you know? O yes, it has uncovered for you like
mid-morning sun that I am his daughter... O son of Abu
Quhafah [Abu Bakr]! Is it that by the Book of
God you inherit your father and I do not inherit
mine? You have committed a grave thing! Is it with
intention that you have abandoned the Book of God
and left it behind your backs when it says: "And
Solomon inherited David" (Koran 19:16), and says in
what it tells of the story of John the son of
Zakariya when he has said: "... So grant me from
Thyself an heir. Who shall inherit me and inherit from
the family of Jacob?" (Koran 19: 5-6).. Has God
made a verse exclusive for you and taken my father out
of it?.. Or you are more knowledgeable in the
particulars and general rulings of the Koran than my
father and my cousin?... Here is [the inheritance] for
you [Abu Bakr], complete, to meet you on your day of
judgement; for the best judge is God, and the leader
[in the argument] is Mohammed and the date is the
Judgement [day]...'
Then she looked to the side of the Supporters (Ansar)
and said:
- 'O people of support, and supporters of religion,
and embracers of Islam! What is this denial to my
right, and silence about my grievance? Didn't the
God’s Messenger used to say: "The person is to be
taken care of in his children?"
'O sons of Qaylah! Am I being usurped from my father's
inheritance and you are looking and hearing?!... And
you have the numbers and [battle] preparations... And
you have the weapons and the shields...'
'You are the good choice which has been chosen for us
Ahlul Bayt... You fought the Arabs, and withstood the
difficulties and hardships... How come you deviate
after clarification... and committed polytheism after
belief?.. Do you fear them? God is more worthy of
fear if you are truly believers!'
'O, since I see that you have favoured safe life, and
turned away the one who is more worthy of ruling... if
you become infidels you and all people on Earth,
surely God is Self-sufficient, Most Praised...'
'Thus, I said what I said, whilst knowing the
deviation which had befallen you... but it was the
rage of the soul and the letting out of anger... And
to present in advance the argument and advice...'
'It is in God's eyes what you do; and those who have
committed injustice shall see where they will end up;
and I am daughter of a warner to you of an imminent
torture; so do, we will be doing, and wait, we shall
be waiting.'
(B) Excerpts from her speech to the women of Ansar
Then she spoke with the women, who gathered in her
house, about the basis for Ali's right through the
words of the God’s Messenger and through
Ali's capabilities.
(Excerpts of what she said includes:)
- 'Where have they moved it [the caliphate] away from
the firm origins of the Message and the foundation of
prophethood and the place of descent of the Holy
Spirit and the knowledgeable in the issues of life and
religion? This is surely the clear loss;'
- 'What have they grudged from Abu Hasan? I swear by
God that they have grudged his terribly effective
sword and little concern about his death.'
- 'I wonder what proof they have relied on? And what
support they depended on? And to what handle they held
on? And what offspring they committed [their bad deed]
to and usurped?!'
- 'May the noses be damned of people who believe that
they have done a good thing; surely they are the
corrupt but without knowing! Woe unto them "Is then He
Who guideth unto truth more worthy to be followed or
he who himself goeth not aright unless he is guided?
What then hath befallen you? How [ill] ye judge?''
(Koran 10:35)
(C) Excerpts from the argument between Abu Bakr and
Fatima
When Fatima finished her sermon, Abu Bakr said:
- '...O you the best of women, and daughter of the
best of prophets, truthful in your speech... not
turned away from your right...'
- 'By God, I have not done other than the opinion of
the God’s Messenger and not done but with his
permission... I heard the God’s Messenger saying:
"We the folk of prophets do not bequeath gold or
silver, or houses or estates, but we bequeath the book
and wisdom and knowledge and prophethood, and what has
been for us as income is for the ruler who succeeds us
to do with it according to his ruling"...'
- 'O you the Queen of your father's nation, and the
good tree of your sons... your ruling is implemented
on what I own, but as for Fadak it is not mine, so do
you want me to disobey your father?'
Then Fatima replied:
- 'May God be praised! My father the Messenger of
God would not abandon the Book of God, and
not be disobedient to its rulings; rather he used to
follow it and abide by its chapters (surahs). So, do
you add to betrayal [of us] lying on him?'
- 'This is the book of God - a just judge and
decisive speaker - saying: "Who shall inherit me and
inherit from the family of Jacob;" and "And Solomon
inherited David"; so God the Great and Almighty
clarified what He divided of instalments, and
legislated of rights and inheritance, and allowed of
the shares of the males and females what had removed
the argument of the false (people) and the thinking
and doubts of the perished [people]. O no! ".... Have
beguiled you your [guilty] selves into something. But
[my course is] comely patience; and God is He Whose
help is to be sought against what ye describe."
(Koran 12:14)
Abu Bakr then said:
- 'God and His Messenger have told the truth, and
his daughter has told the truth!... I do not deny what
you have said; here are the Muslims between you and
me... it has been on agreement with them what I have
taken... and they are witnesses.'
Fatima said finally:
- 'O you Muslim folks who are quick to the speech of
falsehood, the silent [not objecting] to the losing,
ugly deed; do not you [read and] ponder the Koran, or
have your hearts been locked?... Verily, I swear by
God, that you shall see its bearing heavy, and
consequences terrible, when the cover is removed...
and come unto you from your Lord what you have not
been preparing for, and the false people shall thence
be losing.'
Then, she turned to the Prophet's grave and said a
poem, one line of which was:
"We have felt your absence likewise the Earth its rain
And your folk have deviated; so be a witness and do
not be absent."
Pioneer in the political role of women
In this way she was talking - as the narrations
suggested - to the Muslims about that right; she was
the holy struggler. To use some contemporary
terminology, she was the person who practised
political work in the strongest manner: she stood
alone in front of a new ruling power - albeit that
people might differ regarding its nature - while Ali
, because of some other circumstances, did not
confront the matter in such a direct way....
She was alone in the Mosque, she was alone with the
women of Muhajiroon and Ansar, she was alone in the
Medinah arena, and she was alone in all her practical
attitudes, in which the emotions of her sorrow for the
God’s Messenger would move dynamically one
time, and with revolutionary zeal at another. With
that, she legitimised Muslim woman's participation in
politics as an orator, as a dynamic force of
opposition, with all the effort and energy that that
role would call for.
She was distinguished in her opposition, in that she
wanted that opposition, rage and protest to remain
after her death, requesting in her will to be buried
at night, so that none of those who oppressed her or
deviated from the right path could be present.
The truthful, the witness
It was narrated by Imam Musa al-Kadhim: 'Fatima
is surely 'siddeeqah' (truthful) and 'shaheedah'
(witness).' [30]
We understand from this hadith that our Lady Fatima
Zahra has achieved the position of individuals
who live the truth with the self, God and people
around them. You know, now, that she was the most
truthful after her father - as narrated by
Aisha - and that she reached the position of the
witnesses who shall bear witness on the conduct of the
nation, as is the case with the prophets whom
God the Most High has chosen for this position.
It is the combination of the word 'shaheedah' with the
word 'siddeeqah' that suggests for us this
interpretation of the word 'shadeedah', because it
matches the verse: 'And whoever obeys God and the
Messenger these shall be with those God has
bestowed favours upon them; of the Prophets, and the
Truthful, and the Righteous ones; and excellent are
these as companions!' (Koran 4:69); and: 'And on the
day when We will raise up in every people from among
themselves, a witness (upon them)' (Koran 14:89), and
others which talk about the position of the 'shadadah'
(witness) in the nation.
There is no doubt that the position of 'shadadah',
meaning witness in the nation, is greater than
'shahadah', meaning getting killed in the way of
God, because the word in its former meaning is the
description of God the Most High: 'Is it not
sufficient for thy Lord that He is a witness over all
things.' (Koran 41:53) It is also the description of
God's prophets: 'How will it be [then] when We shall
bring forth from every people a witness and when We
shall bring thee a witness over these?' (Koran 4:41)
And when God chooses someone for the witness stance,
as he did with our Lady Fatima, this choice
would not come without reason. Rather it would come
from the characteristics which made these individuals
beloved to God and made them worthy of bearing the
Message and of manifesting its values in life.
NOTES:
[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, chapter 3, p. 53;
al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 160.
[2] Al-Bihar vol. 43, p 84; 'Awalim al Zahra, p.224.
[3] Al-Bihar vol. 43, p 253; 'Awalim al Zahra, p.225,
from 'Ilal al-Sharayi'.
[4] 'Awalim al Zahra, p. 201.
[5] 'Awalim al Zahra, p. 583.
[6] Al-Bihar vol. 43, p 253; 'Awalim al Zahra, p.225,
from 'Ilal al-Sharayi'.
[7] Musnad Fatima, al-Kafi, p.585.
[8] Majma' al-Zawa'id, Musnad Fatima, p. 66, p. 586;
Dela'il al Zahra, p. 27.
[9] Al-Bihar, vol. 26, p. 39. It is obvious that the
Imam was talking about the size of this book, and
that is why he added: 'I swear by God that it has
not got not even one letter from your Koran', i.e. it
is a piece of knowledge that is quite separate from
the Holy Koran.
[10] His eminence had talked to the late Sheikh
Muhammad al-Ghazali, who was fair in this issue, as he
had been in other issues; see his book Difa' 'an
al-'Aqeedah wal Sharee'ah Didda Meta'in
al-Mustashriqeen, p. 219-220.
[11] Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 241; al-Bihar, vol. 26,
chapter 1, p. 41.
[12] Al-Bihar, vol. 26, chapter 1, p. 37.
[13] Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 241.
[14] Al-Bihar, vol. 6, p. 41, 44.
[15] Al-Bihar, vol. 26, p. 41, narration 73.
[16] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, chapter 7, p. 191.
[17] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 134.
[18] 'Awalim al Zahra, p. 477.
[19] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 81; Rawdat al-Kafi,
vol. 8, p. 145.
[20] 'Awalim al Zahra, p.264.
[21] 'Awalim al Zahra p.266.
[22] Wesa'il al-Shia, vol. 6, p. 446; Sahih
al-Bukhari, al-Karmani commentary, vol. 14, p. 244;
Musnad Ahmad, vol. 1, p. 106.
[23] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, chapter 4, p. 82.
[24] Al-Nihayah, Ibn al-Atheer, vol. 5, p. 259.
[25] Al-Kamel fil Tareekh, vol. 1, p. 554; Sahih
Muslim, vol. 3, p. 1416.
[26] Nahj al-Balaghah, letter no. 45.
[27] Dela'il al Zahra, p. 87.
[28] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 26, p. 28-9. (This narration
is one of the most famous narrations regarding the
virtues of Ali, and has been extensively narrated
by scholars in both schools of thought. The
translator.)
[29] Al-Imamah wal Siyasah, p. 12.
[30] Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 458.
##
Chapter 4
Questions and Answers
Q1 - The infallibility of the Imams is perhaps
because they are the Imams and leaders for the people.
What is the benefit of Fatima's infallibility: she is
not a prophet or an imam?
A - Fatima is the mother of the infallibles
. She gave them all her effort and virtues, and
amongst these is the infallibility which God had
given her. However, the question of infallibility is a
human issue which arises from Divine grace. Like the
role of the Imamah as the leadership, which needs
infallibility as a must, God may give infallibility
to another person, especially the woman who is
prepared to be an Imam, not in the strict sense of the
term, but as the example. We believe that women have
reached the level of infallibility as has been
established with Virgin Mary and Fatima;
but we may find some women who have not had a verse
revealed regarding their infallibility, but who have
not been distant from infallibility, such as Lady
Zaynab - women can come near to infallibility
when they live their responsibility towards God and
the people.
In addition, God, through his grace to Fatima,
wanted to tell people - men and women - that women can
be elevated with God's bestowing and grace to the
most exalted positions, and to infallibility.
Moreover, God wants to make the woman a role model
for all people, men and women, so that men can be told
that, just as they can have an infallible man as a
role model, you can also have an infallible woman as a
role model, because there is no difference between men
and women as far as reaching the level of
infallibility is concerned.
Q2 - What, apart from Infallibility, is the difference
between Fatima Zahra and all other women?
A - The difference is that Fatima possessed a degree
of spiritual depth in her personality that made her a
manifestation of the message. Most women with a
mission have a commitment to the message which comes
from outside of themselves. By contrast, for Fatima
it came from inside her mind and heart and soul,
because she lived the whole of her life with the
message and under the wing of the God’s Messenger
, and then opened herself up to the full vigor
of the message in the House of Ali, and moved
dynamically in the emotion of the message with
Hasan and Husayn. Therefore, she lived the
message. This is the difference between depth and
shallowness. You cannot find anything in her personal
life that speaks of leisure or purposelessness. This
is what makes her a role model - the ultimate role
model.
Q3 - How did she achieve that degree of belief?
A - How and where did Fatima live? She lived her
childhood with the revelation revealed to her father
day and night, and so she was sensing the
atmosphere of revelation day and night. She was living
with the God’s Messenger and learning
something from him every day, and living his manners,
spirituality and prayers day and night. She used to
accompany her father in his battles, and followed him
in the dynamic movement of his Message, and to take
from him kindness and give him kindness, take from him
manners and ways of conduct that became manifest in
her. Hence, in the house of the Prophet Fatima
lived the whole of his Message in spirit and in
detail. We know that she was not taught by another
teacher, and so the whole of her knowledge came from
the God’s Messenger, and she spent the whole of her
upbringing at his side. In addition, God has
bestowed upon her his grace and mercy, to complete the
picture; so it was by her own effort that she learnt
from the Prophet with the grace of God.
Hence, we saw that when she moved to the house of Ali
that she lived with him his spirit, intellect,
patience and holy struggle.
Q4 - In dialogue with one Sunni brother, he said: You
say that Fatima is the Leader of the women of the
world, whereas it is in fact - according to the Koran -
Mariam (the Virgin Mary)?
A - It is narrated, by both the Sunnis and Shias
that Fatima is the Leader of the women of the
world.[1]
Q5 - It was narrated that you said that Fatima
had no right to Fadak. Is this true?
A - Fadak is a Fatimid fact and an Islamic fact.
Q6 - Regarding Fadak again: some say that if Fatima
had had a right in Fadak, Imam Ali would
have returned it to its legal owners, i.e. Ahlul Bayt
, when he became caliph, because he was capable of
doing that.
A - The issue of Fadak was not, for Ali and Ahlul Bayt
, a financial one. How come and Ali was the person
who said: 'What do I do with Fadak and [anything]
other than Fadak when the self will, tomorrow, end up
in a grave?' Rather, for them, Fadak was a symbol of
the usurped caliphate. When Ali became the
caliph, he did not see any benefit in getting it back
himself, and did not want to be accused of using the
(power of) caliphate for personal interests. Also,
perhaps he found that getting it back would have
created problems from those who cried out 'O the
practices of Umar' when Ali changed some of the
things which Umar introduced in the prayer of
Taraweeh.[2]
Q7 - Fadak again: it is well known that Ahlul Bayt
did not care about worldly things, so why did
Lady Fatima demand that the first caliph hand
Fadak back to her?
A - Fadak was a right for Fatima, a gift from
the God’s Messenger or an inheritance from him. It
is natural for her to demand this right, without
indicating a concern in money and worldly things.
Demanding one's right, through natural needs and
familial responsibilities, is a legitimate pursuit
which is commended by God. That is the point.
Secondly, demanding Fadak was a bridge to the
caliphate, a legitimate right of which Fadak was one
of its indications. It was told that one Abbasid
caliph said to Imam al-Kadhim: 'I am ready to
return Fadak back to you, so set its boundaries',
thinking that it was a mere area in al-Hijaz. However,
the Imam said: 'If I set Fadak's boundaries you shall
never give it to me.' The caliph asked: 'What are its
boundaries?' He replied to him that the boundaries of
Fadak were the boundaries of all the Islamic
countries!
Hence, Fadak was the starting point and not the goal.
Ibn Abi al-Hadeed - as quoted in his commentary on
Nahj al-Balaghah - asked his teacher: 'Why didn't Abu
Bakr give Fadak to Fatima; if it was for the
Muslims, wouldn't they have given it to Fatima?' His
teacher replied: 'If she was given Fadak, she would
have demanded the caliphate for Ali, and therefore he
decided to stop the matter at the start lest her
demand would stretch to more than that.'
Q8 - How can we reconcile the stances of Fatima,
when she died quite upset and angry with Abu Bakr and
Umar, and that of Ali who gave them bay'ah (oath
of acceptance of rule)? There are some people who are
confused by this and would say that Fatima had
been driven by emotions and that she got angry out of
self-interest, while the stance of Ali was
rational?
A - The stance of Fatima was the stance of Ali
! Ali's stance was negative and rejecting, just as
Fatima's was. Also, who said that Fatima's stance
was driven by emotion? Had her emotion moved for the
caliphate for Ali, more than Ali's emotion for
himself? No, Fatima was angry for the right, not for
herself, and defended the right just as Ali did,
with all resolve and force.
Hence, when we read in Nahj al-Balaghah his speech: 'I
swear by God that Ibn Abi Quhafah has put it [the
caliphate] on [without suitability] like a shirt while
[at the same time] he knows that my place regarding it
is like the [centre] pole in the mill - the torrent
comes down from me, and the bird cannot reach my
[high] position.'[3] This speech represented Ali's
protest over and rejection of what had happened.
Yes, after that, Ali saw that Islam's interests
lied in patience '... So, I was patient, (but) with a
speck in the eye and sorrow in the throat.'[4]
Also, he said a wonderful word, explaining his
patience and tolerating the situation, in spite of his
rejection of its false claims to legitimacy. This was
in his letter to the people of Egypt, and I would like
every Shia Muslim to read it, to know the approach
of Ali in the Islamic reality when the
disturbance (fitnah), differences and problems would
arise. He said: 'I was surprised to see the people
pour unto that person to give him bay'ah; so I held my
hand, until I saw the people heading backwards and
turning from Islam, calling for the annihilation of
the religion of Mohammed, so I feared that if I
did not support Islam and its people I would see its
breakage and demolition, a disaster for me which would
be greater than losing my rule over you, which was
after all only few days long, and that it would vanish
as when a mirage vanishes or the clouds disperse; so I
stood up in those events until falsehood disappeared
and perished and the religion felt secured and
comfortable...'[5] And he used to say: 'I shall make
peace [with them] as long as the interests of Muslims
are safe and that there is no injustice in it but to
me personally.'[6]
Q9 - Fatima's rib: what is your true position
regarding this matter?
A - Any one who claims that I have said that Fatima's
rib was not broken is a liar!
Some people have been talking this nonsense for more
than five years.[7] Here, I have this to say to you,
to clarify the matter: to start with, I reiterate that
I did not say that Fatima's rib was not broken, and
everyone who claims that I did is a liar. I merely
regarded it as unlikely; I raised a question mark on
the basis of historical analysis. I said: 'I do not
react positively with this because the Muslims' love
for Fatima had been greater than their love for
Ali, and greater than their love for Hasan and
Husayn, and greater than that their love for the
God’s Messenger. I said that it was unlikely
that anyone would commit such an act, but conceded
that bad intentions were plotted - not to establish
the innocence of anyone, but in fear of agitating
Islamic public opinion.
There were many narrations: some said that they
entered the house, while others said they did not.
Hence, I said: 'I see that to be unlikely and I do not
react positively to the word itself'. The world roared
and heavens fell on earth, and words began to be
fabricated and spread in some quarters!
This reaction has still not abated in more than one
place, and leaflets are being distributed around the
world. It is as if the dangers confronting the Muslims
and all the injustice that we live in have become
nothing, and all that matters is this historical
issue!
In fact, this is a symptom of the backwardness which
is being practised by many in our Islamic arena. This
problem still festers among those who do not care
about the dangers which confront Islam, and that the
problem is still alive means that we are not
addressing the major issues on the proper level of
awareness.
Q10 - Much wisdom, lessons and depth lie like
concealed treasures in the narrations of Ahlul Bayt
. What is the way to open oneself up to this great
grace?
A - We have spoken more than once that our problem
with Ahlul Bayt is that we have contained them in
the prison of tragedy only! And when we opened out
their horizons, we did that in the area of miracles
and miraculous favours. As for their thinking, their
approach to life, their authentic prophetic line in
life, their comprehensive Koranic approach and all
that they have said and moved dynamically in, which
can provide answers to the questions, queries and
problems from which our generation is suffering and
future generations will be suffering, there is no work
done that brings it out and explains it
satisfactorily. We have cut them off from the dynamic
movement of life and entered them in the movement of
tears, and therefore we have made a wide opportunity
quite narrow!
You have attended, in this season, more than one
gathering to mark the anniversary of Fatima's death.
What have you heard about Fatima Zahra? I am
here speaking in general terms, for amongst the
orators there are those who bear the responsibility of
enlightenment in the ways of Ahlul Bayt. However,
most have concentrated on the tragedy and grievance.
We emphasize the grievance, but this has been the
grievance in the way of the Message, and not a weeping
grievance. Ours is a grievance which encompasses
vigour, strength, enlightenment, criticism and
confrontation.
Q11 - Is it required from men to be the Messenger
or Ali, and women to be Fatima, a
hundred percent, so that we achieve the level of a
healthy society? Or is the grace of those
personalities and their characteristics more than what
is needed for a healthy society, and so men only need
a certain percentage from the Messenger and Ali, and
women a certain percentage from Fatima?
A - In the world of the role models, you are not
expected to reach the level of the role model, but to
regard them as the highest example of the virtues and
values, which have proved their realistic nature by
the fact that the role models are human beings. This
was why God said: 'Indeed for you in the Messenger
is an an excellent pattern (modal of conduct) for him
who hopes in God and the latter day and remembers
God much' (Koran 33:21).
And Ali said: 'Your Imam is content from life with his two
pieces of cloth, and from his food with his two pieces
of bread; and you cannot bear that, but help me with
God-fearing and hard work, and modesty and good
thinking.'[8]
And the poet says:
"Imitate them, if you are not [exactly] like them
Surely imitating the virtuous is winning."
The greatest human examples among prophets, Imams and
virtuous individuals are the summits to which we can
aspire. Some may come near the summit, whilst others
may stay on the foot of the mountain, but (whatever
the case) we have to proceed to get the happiness
through what they have manifested, because this is the
way of Islam. The God’s Messenger did not
have anything apart from the Koran and Islam, and Ali
and Fatima did not have anything other than
the Koran and Islam, but the difference between them
and us was that they had manifested the Koran and
Islam in their conscience using what God had
bestowed on them in the knowledge which we could not
reach because we lacked the means.
Q12 - Is loving Fatima without a practical
attempt to apply the Koranic system as applied by
Fatima sufficient to bring women to her on the
Day of Judgement?
A - Fatima lived with the God’s Messenger
, Ali, Hasan and Husayn, the
conscience of the Imams and all workers (in the
way of God). The important thing is that the woman
lives Islam in the obedience of God and the call for
His religion and work, in a way that Fatima did,
even if only to a certain percentage.
NOTES:
[1] Musnad Abu Dawood, p. 196, hadith 1373;
al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 156.
[2] The prayers performed in the nights of Ramadan,
which used to be performed on an individual basis, but
which Umar transferred to use in congregation. The
translator.
[3] Nahj al-Balaghah, the Shiqshiqiyyah sermon.
[4] Nahj al-Balaghah
[5] Nahj al-Balaghah, letter 62.
[6] Nahj al-Balaghah, sermon 74.
[7] Translater: This was in October 1997.
[8] Nahj al-Balaghah, letter 45.
##
A Call from His Eminence
Mohammed Husayn Fadlallah:
To the Muslims and the followers of Ahlul Bayt in
particular:[1]
"I say to you, with all love... All of you have
listened to me, day and night, in seminars, lectures
and Friday sermons; so, is it reasonable that some
people from this generation do not understand me? I
ask you: who has spoken with you like I have; who has
been with you in all issues like I have; who has
worked - and I am honoured - in your service? Is it
acceptable that irresponsible words have come out, and
not one voice has come out to say: quieten this wrong?
May I say to you a word in this matter? As far as I am
concerned, this matter is like thin air 'If you have
no anger on me, then I do not carethen.'[2]
My concerns, first and last, are not with
you - my concerns are with God the Most High - 'O my
Lord! If you bring me down who can elevate me, and if
you elevate me who can bring me down?'[3]
In this regard, I say to you: I remind you of God in
the Islamic situation; I remind you of God in the
way of Ahlul Bayt. Do not let anyone mess it up;
do not let anyone offend it, and do not let anyone
come up with confusing words in
this regard.
For forty years, I have been saying to the old and
young amongst you that there is no unimportant
question and no embarrassing question; fact is the
outcome of dialogue, and I am ready to enter into
dialogue with all people and to answer the young and
old, and you know this. Therefore, do not defend me,
but defend your Islamic situation, defend this reality
which you live in, where all the world is attacking
and aggressing you.
Be aware, have political awareness and understand how
the enemies infiltrate the arenas. We do not say that
everyone who is involved in this is working for the
enemy, but we say that they exploit points of
weakness.
Therefore, O my beloved, there is no problem
in this matter. As I told you, had
it not been that they had been muddling and disrupting
the Islamic situation and threatening it with danger I
would have said: 'May God forgive them!' However,
the matter does not concern me personally, but the
Islamic situation. I say: 'I pray to God for their
guidance, but if they do not desist, I shall not
forgive them because they have offended Islam and
Muslims, and I do not mean a particular party or a
particular person, but the phenomenon and
situation.'[4]
If some continue to insist - in spite of all our words
and frankness in sanctifying Lady Fatima,
glorifying her and explaining her infallibility, and
in spite of our numerous and wide ranging lectures for
more than fifty years regarding Ahlul Bayt - to
fabricate lies in what we say, and to fabricate false
meanings regarding our Lady Fatima and her
infallibility, or regarding the guardianship of our
master, the Leader of the Believers, which has
been laid down and emphasized by the trustworthy
Prophet in many locations, the most
distinguished of which is in Ghadeer Khumm, we then
pray to God to guide them, if they still have
capability for that, otherwise their judgement shall
be with God. And we shall have a position to hold
with them on the Day of Judgement, the day on which
people stand up in front of the Lord of the worlds and
creation, He who does not miss a small or a big deed,
but has it registered in a book, and the settlement of
our dispute shall be at the presence of our
grandfather the Messenger of God and our
grandfather the Leader of the Believers and our
grandmother the Al Zahra the Truthful, and we shall
see who will win that day!"[5]
NOTE:
[1] This call was not issued separately, but was
extracted from his eminence's lectures and speeches.
The translator.
[2] This was part of the words that the Prophet
said in prayer, just following his very bad experience
with the people of Ta'if, whom he went to call to
Islam, but they sent their youth after him, who threw
stones at him and wounded his feet. The translator.
[3] This is a line from a supplication by Imam
al-Sajjad. The translator.
[4] The dialogue meeting, al-Jinan hall, 22/10/1997.
[5] Zahra al-Qudwah, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid
Muhammad Husain Fadlullah, compiled by Husain Ahmad
al-Khashin, Al-Malak publishers, Beirut, 3rd edition,
2001, p. 173.
-- THE END --
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