The Patient Woman Put to Test
The blessings of Lady Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) are not confined to a small collection of virtues compared to the humanity’s, which are not many. Now if you look at these with a rational and realistic view, [it becomes obvious that] humanity as a whole is indebted to Lady Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.)–and this is not an overstatement; this is a fact–as humanity is indebted more to Islam, is indebted more to the Holy Qur’an, is indebted more to the teachings of the prophets and the holy Prophet of Islam (P.B.U.H. & H.H.). It has always been so in the history and so is today. [Certainly], the light of Islam and the spirituality of Lady Fāṭima (P.B.U.H.) will become more pronounced and the humanity will touch it. What is our duty is to be worthy of belonging to that holy household (P.B.U.T.). Of course, belonging to the household of the Prophet (P.B.U.T.), affiliating ourselves to them and acknowledging their Wilāya are very difficult. As we recite in the written prayers that “we acknowledge to your friendship and kindness”; this brings an additional responsibility on our shoulders.
This great merit that Allah the Almighty had given glad tidings about to the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) and said, “Indeed We have given you abundance”,–which interpretation is Lady Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.)–is indeed a collection of all virtues which every day pours down from the sky of prophetic religion on all humanity and every creature. Many have tried to deny it and sometimes conceal it, but they could not, “But Allah shall perfect His light though the faithless should be averse.”,
We must get closer to this center of light, and the requirement of getting closer to the center of this light is being luminous. We should be illuminated not just with a mere love but with the deeds which the same love, same Wilāya and faith have dictated to us and demanded from us to. By practicing such deeds, we can belong and affiliate ourselves to the household of the Prophet (P.B.U.T.). It is never easy to become a person like Qanbar [served] at ‘Alī’s (P.B.U.H.) house. It is not easy to become a man like “Salmān [who] is one of us–Ahl al-Bayt (P.B.U.T.).”, We–a community of the friends and Shī‘as of the Ahl al-Bayt (P.B.U.T.)–hope those noble figures (P.B.U.T.) consider us as one of themselves and their followers.
“That humble person is one of us.” We like to be assessed so by the household of the Prophet (P.B.U.T.) but this is not easy; this cannot be achieved only by assertion. This requires taking action, forgiving, sacrificing, and following their ethics.
See at what age this noble person that we pay heed to her virtues and merits–which are only a single drop of an ocean–could have all these virtues? At which period of her lifetime she showed such brilliance? In her short life; she was eighteen, twenty or twenty-five years old (there are different narrations about her birthday). All these virtues cannot be achieved in vain, “Allah Who created you had examined you before He created you (for this worldly life), and thus He found you successfully enduring in that trial.”, Allah the Almighty examined Lady Zahrā (P.B.U.H.)–this chosen servant of Allah. The Divine system is an orderly one; what Allah gives is indeed bestowed for a reason. He saw the forgiveness, dedication, knowledge and sacrifice of this especial servant of Him done just for Divine purposes; therefore, He put her at the center of His blessings.
I read once in a tradition that the brilliance of Lady Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) makes the Cherubim dazzle, “Her light [like the stars for the earth] shines for the angels of heaven.”, She shines for them. How should we take benefit from this brilliance? By this brightest star, we should find the path to Allah and His obedience which is the right path and Lady Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) had passed it and so reached such a great position. If you see Allah has made her essence transcendental, it is because He knew that she could pass Divine exams successfully in the material world; ﴾Allah Who created you had examined you before He created you (for this worldly life), and thus He found you successfully enduring in that trial.﴿ This is the case. Albeit if Allah the Exalted had especial grace on that essence, it was because He was aware that how she would pass the Divine exam; otherwise, there were many who had good essences. But were all able to cope with [such responsibility]? This part of Lady Fāṭima Zahrā’s (P.B.U.H.) life is indeed what we need to save ourselves with. This tradition is mentioned in Shī‘a resources that the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) once said to Fāṭima (P.B.U.H.) as, “O’ Fāṭima! Work for your soul [in the Hereafter because] I cannot give you anything from [what is belonged to] Allah”; that means O’ my beloved [daughter]! O’ my Fāṭima! I cannot make you needless before Allah. This means that you should be concerned about yourself; and from her childhood up to the end of her short life, she was concerned about herself.
Just see how that Lady (P.B.U.H.) lived! Before marriage when she was a little girl, she did such a good job for such great father that she was nicknamed “the mother of her father”. At that time, the Prophet of Mercy and Light (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), the originator of modern world, the great leader and commander of that worldly revolution–the revolution which should remain forever–was raising the flag of Islam. There is no wonder that she is called “the mother of her father”! Calling this her holiness (P.B.U.H.) with such a nickname is due to her helps, deeds, endeavors, and efforts. That Lady (P.B.U.H.), either at the time of living in Mecca or the Valley of Abū Ṭālib–with all the hardships or even at the time when her mother–Khadīja (P.B.U.H.) passed away and left the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) alone, she stayed by her father and cared about him. The heart of the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) was broken in a short time by the death of Abū Ṭālib and Khadīja. The holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) shortly lost these two [prominent] personages and felt extremely alone. Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) stood by her father in those days and wiped the dust of sorrow off the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) face with her small hands. “The mother of her father”, as the comforter of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), was a nickname derived from those days.
Lady Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) was at the age of six or seven–there is differentiation due to different traditions on the date of her birthday–when the incident of the Valley of Abū Ṭālib happened. The period in the Valley of Abū Ṭālib was a difficult time at the early history of Islam. In other words, the call of the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) [to Islam] had been just started, the call was made public, the Meccans gradually–especially the youth, especially the slaves–were converted to the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) religion and the tyrant elders [of Mecca]–such as Abū Lahab and Abū Jahl and some others–had no choice except to force the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) and all the people around him to leave the city; and so did they. Most of them who were tens of families including the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), his relative and [even] Abū Ṭālib–even though Abū Ṭālib was one of the elders [of Mecca], the children, the old, the youth, all were forced to leave Mecca. They left Mecca, but where to go? Incidentally, his eminence Abū Ṭālib had a property in the notch of some mountains in a corner near Mecca–for example, a few kilometers from Mecca. It was called “the Valley of Abū Ṭālib”. Valley means an area of lower lands between two mountains, namely the notch of mountains, a ravine. We–people of Mashhad–call [colloquially] such place as “Bāzeh” [a small open space]. Indeed, it is one of those exact and proper Persian words which villagers call “Bazeh” in their local dialect but it is originally “Bāzeh”. His eminence Abū Ṭālib had a “Bāzeh” or a valley. They decided to go there. Now you imagine! In Mecca, the days were warm and nights were extremely cold, this means the situation was quite intolerable. They lived for three years in these deserts. Allah knows how much they starved, how hard it was, how much they suffered. One of the most difficult periods of the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) life happened there. At that time, the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) responsibility was not only to lead a group but to vindicate his prophethood before those who were in distress.
You know when things are going well, all the people who have gathered around a leader are satisfied, they say, “Allah bless him, he has brought us to this good situation.” When they encounter difficulties, all are highly skeptical saying, “He has led us [to this situation]; we did not want to get into this!” Certainly those who had a strong faith stood but in a long run the pressure of difficulties grew on the shoulders of the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.). Meanwhile, in the era which had put extreme pressure on the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), his eminence Abū Ṭālib–who was the supporter and hope of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.)–and Khadīja Kubrā–who was considered as the greatest spiritual help to the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.)–passed away within a week! Very strange incident, this means the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) was left all alone.
I am not sure if you ever have been the head of a teamwork and aware of the true meaning of its responsibility or not?! In such circumstances, one is really desperate. Consider the role of Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) in such conditions. When one looks at the history, they should find these [historical] cases together in one place. Unfortunately, there is no material devoted specifically to such things.
Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) was like a mother, a consultant, a nurse for the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.). It was on that time that Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) was called “the mother of her father”. This is related to that time, that means a girl of six or seven years was so. Of course, in Arabic countries and warm environments, girls reach sooner their physical and mental prime, for example, as the nowadays growth of a girl of ten or twelve years old. She felt a sense of responsibility. Could this [Lady (P.B.U.H.)], as someone who had felt such a sense of responsibility and eagerness to the upcoming issues, be a role model for the youth? She used that great source of her vitality to clear the dust of grief and sorrow of the face of her father, who was about fifty years old and almost in an old age. Should not this [person] be a role model for the youth? This is very important.
Then in such a world, the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) nurtured a daughter reached to the status that he kissed her hand! Kissing the hand of Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) by the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), should not be perceived simply as an emotional feeling. This is very wrong and very inaccurate if one thinks that he kissed his daughter’s (P.B.U.H.) hand just because she was his daughter and he loved her. Is it possible that the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) with such dignity, justice, and wisdom and reliance on the Divine revelation and inspiration, bent over and kissed the hand of his daughter? Nay, this is another thing and it carries another meaning.
This indicates that when this young girl, this woman–who was between eighteen to twenty-five years of age (it is mentioned both eighteen years or twenty-five years of age for her)–passed away, she was at the height of human dignity and was a great personage. This is the attitude of Islam toward women.
But her spiritual status is still far higher than her striving, revolutionary, and social position. Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) is in form of a human being and a woman, a young woman, but in a sense, she is a great truth, a bright light, a righteous servant of Allah and an outstanding and chosen human. She is the one for whom the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) addressed the Commander of the Faithful (P.B.U.H.) as, “O’ ‘Alī! You are the leader of my nation and their Caliph after me, and you are the Commander of the Faithful to heaven, as I see my daughter–Fāṭima comes on the Day of Resurrection [mounted] on a camel of light, [while] there are seventy thousand angels on her right, seventy thousand angels before her, seventy thousand angels on her left, and seventy thousand angels behind her; and she leads the faithful women of my nation to Paradise.”, This means the Commander of the Faithful (P.B.U.H.) would lead the believing men and Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) would lead the believing women to Divine Paradise on the Day of Judgment. She is the match and equal of ‘Alī (P.B.U.H.). [She is] the one whom whenever she stood at the altar to worship, thousands of angels of Allah addressed her, sent blessings upon her and told her the same thing they had told Saint Mary in the past; they said, “Indeed, Allah has chosen you and purified you and gives you superiority over the women of the world.”, This is the spiritual status of Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.).
A woman, at such a young age, reached such spiritual status that according to some traditions the angels spoke to her and presented the Divine truths to her. She was the “interlocutor”, this meant someone whom angles spoke with and talked to. This spiritual status, vast arena and lofty peak have given her superiority over all the women of creation and the universe. Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.) standing at the summit of this great height addresses all women of the world and invites them to take the same path.
The logic of those, who throughout history–both during ancient ignorance and the ignorance of the twentieth century–have tried to humiliate and disgrace women and to introduce them attached to worldly ornamentations and adornments as well as adhered to fashion, make-up, gold and ornaments, to show women are means and source of leisure in life and to make them basically take this way, is like snow or ice which is melted away and disappeared by the heat of the sun of Fāṭima Zahrā’s (P.B.U.H.) spiritual status. Islam has introduced Fāṭima Zahrā (P.B.U.H.)–this eminent Divine personage–as an exemplar and a role model for women. That simple life, striving, knowledge, eloquence, dedication, housework, motherhood, spousal manner and emigration as well as her all-around prominence–for which even great men had reverence for–this spiritual status, bowing down, prostrating, the alter of worship, supplication and the Scripture show that her Divine essence and brilliant spiritual status are analogous and equal to the Commander of the Faithful (P.B.U.H) and the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.). This means ‘woman’. This is the role model of a woman that Islam is seeking for.
