Fatima Zahra (A), Daughter of Allah's Messenger
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Chapter 1 Preface In the name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful All praise is due Allah who created mankind and made for them an example to follow throughout their fierce battle with evil. Prophet Muhammad (S) was the last apostle sent by Allah to commu- nicate to mankind His Divine code (i.e. Islam). Because this code was a comprehensive one, it also dealt with the needs of women throughout history, and assigned a perfect example for them to prove beyond doubt that what Islam preaches is practical and, if properly followed, leads to everlasting felicity. This example set by Islam to women was manifested in the person of Lady Fatima Zahra (A), daughter of Allah's Messenger. Yet, the English Library lacks a comprehensive book in regard to her life; so I was asked to take upon myself the duty of translating the work of a profound Shiite speaker - Muhammad Kazim Qazwini- entitled Fatima Zahra Min Al-Mahde Ila al-Lahd, into English. As I was translat- ing, I found the book to be in the form of speeches regarding the success- ive events of Fatima's life; therefore I decided to depend mainly on the said book for recording Fatima's biography until the time of the Prophet's death. Because of the extremely sensitive period which fol- lowed his death, and the everlasting effects which the events thereafter left upon the Islamic ideology and the structure of various Muslim sects and issues, I deemed it necessary to study various historical books, espe- cially those which dealt with Lady Fatima Zahra's life, to come up with the most accurate information regarding the prime of the post-period of the Prophet's death. Moreover, various sermons, which were delivered during those events, were intentionally included in the book-especially Fatima's speeches-so as to allow researchers to study the said historical events independently. 2 The main books on which I depended in bringing about the book at hand were: 1. Fatima Zahra Min al-Mahde Ila al Lahd written in Arabic by Muhammad Kazim Qazwini: pp.680 2. Fatima Zahra (A) Banou-ya Namoune-ye Islam written in Persian by Ibrahim Amini: pp. 246 3. Fatima Zahra (A) Umme Abiha written in Arabic by Fadhl Hussaini Milani: pp. 203 4. Fadak Fi al-Tarikh written in Arabic by Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Sadr: pp. 152 5. The Message in English- written in Persian by Allama Ja'far Subhani: pp. 781 6. The Early History of Islam, in English, written by Sayyid Safdar Hussain: pp.358 7. Al-Mizan, English translation, written by Allama Syed Muhammad Hussain Tabatabai: v. 1 8. Nahjul Balagha, by Imam Ali (A). In conclusion, it is most accurate to state that this book will be very useful not only to information-seeking readers, but also to researchers and history students. Many thanks are extended to Br. Muhammad Taqi Ansariyan for giv- ing me the opportunity to serve the cause of this Great Lady of all times. I beseech Allah to supply us all with his abundant mercy, which over- whelms every living thing, and to guide all truth seekers to His right path. May His peace, blessings, and grace be upon Muhammad and his righteous progeny. Abu - Muhammad Ordoni (Jordanian) Qum, Zulhijja 20, 1407 A.H. August 16, 1987 3 4 Chapter 2 Introduction In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. Fatima is a female created by Allah to be a sign of His marvelous and unprecedented might. For, The Almighty Lord created Muhammad (S) as a sign of His might among prophets; and created from him his daugh- ter Fatima Zahra to be a sign of His ability to create a female possessing all moral excellence and talents. In fact, Allah Almighty bestowed Fatima with a vast share of greatness and a high level of majesty, which no other woman can ever claim to have reached. She is one of the prominent people close to Allah, whose greatness was acknowledged by Heaven before the creation of mankind; and in whose regard verses from the Quran, that are and will be read day and night until the Day of Resurrection, were revealed. Fatima is a Lady, who as mankind advances in the understanding and realization of facts and secrets, the greatness of her personality will be- come more apparent, and the deep meanings and characteristics of her actions will be more appreciated. She is Fatima Zahra (A) whom Allah praises, and is "satisfied with her satisfaction, and is angered when she is angered." And the Messenger of Allah (S) commends her nobility and meritorious personality, while Imam Ali (A) looks to her with respect and admiration and the holy Imams of Ahlul Bayt sanctify and venerate her. 5 I believe the book will be greatly beneficial and useful. It is rich with informative material, has a captivating style of description, and is a com- fort to the soul. The reader will realize all this as he reads on… . In addition, Fatima Zahra's life speaks of many events from which many morals and admonitions can be learned, and through which one can familiarize himself with the true believers' lifestyles and the view- points they held. Also, a period of Islamic history that was connected to Fatima's life can be reflected upon; this is despite her short life span and the fact that she was confined to her house where only her kin knew of what went on with her. In spite of the fact that she was abused and enough attention was not given to her history, Fatima's genius is considered an example of a Muslim woman's adherence to noble traits. Fatima is a perfect example of how a daughter, wife, and mother should act while keeping their de- cency and pure character; she also shows us the Muslim women's role in the social field within the limits of religion and virtue. Her life confirms that Islam does not deprive women of acquiring scientific, cultural, and literary knowledge; granting that they safeguard themselves from nud- ity, recklessness, unrestraint and such actions, which would bring sor- row upon them and destroy their identities. I believe, it is impossible that another system can exist in the world, which guards women and protects their honor and identities more than Islam. It is clear that the women's associations and foundations which are scattered through various Islamic countries are not only fruitless, but also have drastically brought misery to the lives of women. I read in a newspaper that a woman's association is calling on its government to le- gislate a law that forbids polygamy!! This association, which apparently considers polygamy oppressive to women and an encroachment on their lives, and seeks to stop men from marrying more than one woman, is clearly ignorant or ignores the fact that such a law would open the gates to corruption and misery, depriving many women of marital happiness and motherly love. Suppose that a woman had to choose between 6 marrying an already married man, or staying at home alone until her hair begins to turn gray waiting for her fate; had this woman been ob- liged to choose the second option, then it is inevitable that she would fall victim to one of the following predicaments: First: She would either have to spend her life, including the prime of her youth, under suppression, tension and deprivation of the joys of life. Second: Or she would indulge in corruption, such as participating in late night parties and drinking, to become a cheap product for the fulfill- ment of men's lust. Consequently, she would wake up to find herself with a ruined personality, a defamed name, a tarnished reputation, and deprived of honor and chastity. She would be the subject of men's lusts and desires as long as she is young and attractive; but when she loses her charm and beauty, she will be rejected by everyone and forsaken by all men. Therefore, what is better for a woman? Having to choose between liv- ing a single life, deprived of marriage, and falling victim to one of the above mentioned predicaments; or to marry an already married man and enjoy the happiness of a marital life under the reign of Islamic justice, while keeping her honor and chastity, thus living with an untarnished name and reputation and establishing a family with children and parti- cipating in building a virtuous society!! There is no third to the above-mentioned choices. The population of women in the world exceeds that of men, so if every man were to limit himself to one wife, then millions of women would remain unmarried; keeping in mind the fact that some men cannot, for many reasons, limit themselves to one wife. As such, some women cannot live in harmony with their husbands, due to their different experiences and motives in life. Also, women are subject to sterility, sickness, trouble and so on… which would need special effort to speak of and would divert us from our main topic. 7 Returning to our subject, Fatima Zahra (A), I say: be informed that despite the greatness, honor and moral excellence which Fatima enjoyed, still she has been the target of harsh statements made by some evil Muslim and non-Muslim writers. This becomes apparent when one refers to hadith books and studies, which besides the many excellent characteristics mentioned in her re- gard, a group of forged stories have been fabricated and added to these books by agents of past oppressive regimes.