Biography of Hazrat Fatemeh

 

 

The great lady, Hazart-e Fatemeh Zahra (S.A) was the dear daughter of the Prophet, Mohammad (S.W). Some Shiite scholars believed that she was born on 20th of Jamadi-ul-Sani, 5 th A.H. But the majority of Sonnah research scholars declared that her birth had happened 5 years before Be’sat (Prophet’s a postleship). By the God’s will, prophet (S.W) named her “FATEMEH”. She also had some other appellations like: Zahra, Batool, Tahereh, Razieh, Maryam-e Kobra, and Sedigheh.

 

In her childhood, she contemplated the Mecca’s pagans’ great animosities,and also suffered 3years in the place named Sha’be Abitalib under a very difficult condition.
Her mother, Hazrat-e Khadijeh (S.A) died in 10th A.H. immediately after the death of Aboutalib, the sincere friend and supporter of the Prophet Mohammad (S.W). This great grief caused that She and Hazrat-e Ali (Pbuh) and the Prophet (S.W) named that year “Om-ul-hozn” which meant the Grief year. On 13th of Be’sat (the prophet’s apostleship) on the Prophet’s order, his family and companions immigrated to Medina.

During the time Medina was the deponent of many wars between the Prophet and the pagans, in and out of the country. Hazrat-e Fatemeh (S.A) married to his cousin, Hazrat-e Ali (Pbuh), who was one of the most important characters in Medina. Since Hazrat-e Ali (Pbuh) was always at wars, especially for the ten years after the immigration to Medina, so she accomplished all the responsibilities of the family.
Though Hazrat-e Fatemeh (S.A)’s life was full of troubles and sufferings but the death of Hazrat-e Mohammad (S.W) was the most grievous one. The event, which was the beginning of the more bitter troubles such as the pagans’ outrages upon the decency of their family. Those events motivated her to be the great supporter for Hazrat-e Ali (Pbuh). Her speeches in Medina mosque, and the addressees to Ansar and Mohajer’s women, to persuade them to support Hazrat-e Ali (Pbuh) could be mentioned as examples.
Hazrat-e Fatemeh (S.A) died soon after the death of his father because of the imposed spiritual and physical sufferings. She was buried in a secret place according to her will.

LESSONS FROM THE HAZRAT-E FATEMEH ZAHRA’S LIFE AND CHARACTER

Her Excessive Passion for God

The Prophet Mohammad (S.W) asked his daughter: “ Dear Fatemeh! What do you wish for? Now here is an angel who has the God’s message to grant you whatever you want.”
Hazrat-e Fatemeh (S.A)said: " I would like to be the God’s servant and my desire is only to see the wonderful appearance of God."

Her “Fearing” of the Divine Punishment:

When the Verses of punishment were sent down to Hazrat-e Mohammad (S.W), he and his companions cried hard. Hazrat-e Zahra (S.A) asked the reason for crying and the Prophet (S.W) recited the Verses to her.
Hazrat-e Fatemeh (S.A) fell on the ground fearfully and said: “ Woe to the person who will enter the Hell.”

Her eagerness to acquire knowledge:

Her father was the best teacher of humanity, morality, Islam and the unity of God .She learned a lot of things from her father and her husband [Ali (Pbuh)].She gathered them all and wiht the help of her husband wrote a book named "Mos-haf-e Fatemieh".

Her unadorned appearance:

Salman Farsi said: “ Once I saw Hazrat-e Fatemeh(S.A) with a plain cover. It made me wonder and I thought the daughters of the Iranian kings and the Rome Caesars sat on the golden seats and wore embroidered clothes but why did the daughter of the Prophet (S.W) wear such plain dress and cover?
Hazrat-e Fatemeh responded: “ Oh! Salman, on the Day of Resurrection, God will provide us with golden seats and adorned clothes.”

About Her prayer:

There are a lot of narrations about Fatemeh Zahra(S.A)’s prayers, especially about the prayers in which She had conversations with God. She was the best worshiper.

She was the companion of Her husband:

In difficult situations caused by the death of Hazrat-e Mohammad (S.W), She told Her husband: “My dear Ali! I sacrify my life for you, I will always remain with you. I am in consort with you in all your happiness or troubles and sufferings

Her behavior with her children:

Hazrat-e Fatemeh (S.A) strove to bring up Her children as the brave and virtuous ones in the society.

Why Was She Martyred?

She was the symbol of womanhood. She embodied in her translucent personality all those qualities that made her a paradigm of virtue.
The Prophet saluted at her door. The celestial angels sang her praise. Even God Almighty called her the blessed fountain of Kowsar and vouchsafed her virtue in the Verse of Purity (Holy Qua’an 33:33).
Yet we see a strange sight at her threshold following the passing away of her father. A group is clamoring with democratic abandon, threatening to burn down her house if her husband does not come out and acknowledge the vote of the gathering at Saqifa Bani Sa’da.
Was it a demonstration of freedom of expression and thought by the Arabs of Medina? Were they right in questioning the divine decree of Wilayat-a-Mutlaqa to which they had so solemnly sworn allegiance at Ghadeer Khum only a few months before? Or was the devil at work to create dissent and mislead a great nation yet again, as he had done before with the followers of the Prophets, such as Moses (S.A) and Jesus (S.A), in the absence of these divinely appointed personage?
These are the questions that spring to mind when we see the pathetic situation of Medina in the months immediately after the departure of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
Power was now in the hands of people who had fled the battle scenes in the time of the Prophet, or had accepted Islam only for political gains. They were now bent upon a destructive course by transgressing the limits set by Allah.
Fatemeh (S.A), tried to awaken them to the injustice and corruption which was in its embryonic stage. She cautioned them against the violations of the principles of social justice that was to permeate the Islamic administration so painstakingly built by her father, but to no avail. She warned:
“O’ Muslims! You have been advised not to leave us, not to leave the Prophet’s family alone and keep distance from the axis of Islam (Imamate), otherwise you would be confused and vanquished…
“He (the Prophet) left a book that contains secrets as well as understandable and applicable subjects, but Quran is waiting for someone (Imam) to whom it can reveal its secrets, open the doors of knowledge and narrate what is to be read and heard.
“O’ Muslims! How can you reach destination from the black and white (mere letters) of Quran, unless there be an enlightened, chaste and well informed scholar (Imam)…
“Rest assured of the coming sedition. Get ready for a splitting sword and a cruel aggressor, perpetual embarrassment and tyranny of the unjust…”
They did not listen. Greed for political power had made them blind and oblivious to divine commandments. The miscreants went ahead and battered down the door of Fatemeh on Fatemeh herself.
The Prophet’s daughter was seriously injured. Although she attained immortal martyrdom, her warnings proved prophetic, especially when we see the tyranny of the Umayyuds and Abbasids that followed the “democratic vote” of Saqifa and the splintering of Muslims into parties and sects.

A PART OF IMAM KHOMEINI (Rh)’S MESSAGE ABOUT HAZRAT-E FATEMEH ZAHRA (SA)

If Hazrat-e Fatemeh were a man, she would be a Prophet. If she were a man, she would be on the place of the God’s Prophet. She was the essence of humanity . She was a divine creature who appeared in human body…
. She was a divine creature who appeared in human body…
…Hazrat-e Fatemeh (S.A) was a woman who came up to all the prophets’ hopes and desires. She manifested all the honorable character and prestige. She was not an ordinary woman. She was a divine woman and the sign of humanity …She is the pride of the world.

Death

 

HAzRAT fatemah did not survive more than seventy-five day after the demise of her father. she breathed her last on the 14th jumada'l - ula 11 AH. Before her demise she bequeathed the following as her will to Imam 'Ali: 1. O ` Ali, you will personally perform my funeral rites. 2. Those who have displeased my should not be allowed to attend my funeral. 3 .My corpse should be carried to the graveyard at right. Thus Imam ` compliance with her will , performed all the funeral rites and accompanied exclusively by her relatives and sons carried her at night to Jannatu l-Baqi, where she was laid to rest and her wishes fulfilled.

The Holy Prophet said:

"whoever injures (bodily or sentimentally ) fatemah, injures me ; and whoever injures me injures Allah; and whoever injures Allah practices unbelief. O fatemah ! If your wrath is incurred, it incurs the wrath of Allah; and if you are happy, it makes Allah happy too."

M.H. shakir writers:

fatemah, the only daughter of the Holy prophet of Islam, was born I Mecca on 20 Th. Jumada ' th - thaniyah 18 BH. The good and noble lady Khadijah and the apostle of Allah bestowed all their natural love, care and devotion on their lovable and only child fatemah, who in her turn was extremely fond of her parents. The princess of the House of the Prophet, was very intelligent, accomplished and cheerful. Her sermons, poems and sayings serve, as an index to her strength of character and nobility of mind. Her virtues gained her the title " Our Lady of light. she was tall, slender and endowed with great beauty, which caused her to be called " az - Zahra' " ( the Lady of Light). she was called az - Zahra' because her light used to shine among those in Heaven. After arriving in Medina, she was married to ` Ali , in the first year hijrah, and she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Her children, Hasan, Husayn, Zaynab and umm kul-thum. are well - known for their piety , goodness and generosity Their strength of chracter and actions changed the course of history. The Holy Prophet said, " fatemah is a peace of my heart". He would go out to receive his doughtier whenever she come from her husband's house.

Every morning on his way to the Mosque, he would pass by fatemah's house and say: " as-salamu ` alaykum ya ahlul-Bayti`n-nubuwwah wa ma` dani ` r - risala " ( peace be on you O the Household of prophet hood and the source of Messengership) fatemah is famous and acknowledged as the " sayyidatu 'n-nisa'i ' l-alamin " ( Leader of all the women of the world for all times ) because the Prophethood of Mohammad would not have been everlasting without her. The Prophet is the perfect example for men, but could not be so for women. For all the verses revealed in the Holy Qur'an for women, fatemah is the perfect model, who translated every year into action. In her lifetime, she was a complete woman, being Daughter, wife and Mother at the some time.

Muhammad during his lifetime, gave fatemah a gift of very extensive farm lands, famous as Fadak, which were documented in her name, as her absolute personal property. An heiress to the remainder of her mother`s wealth, a princess who was the only daughter of the holy prophet who was also a ruler, a lady whose husband was the conqueror of Arab tribes and second only to her father in and position, fatemah could have led a luxurious life. But in spite of her wealth and possessions, she worked, dressed, ate and lived very simply . she was very generous; and none who come to her door, when away empty handed. Many times she gave away her all and herself went without food. As a daughter, she loved her parents so much , that she won their love and regard to such and extent that the Holy prophet used to rise, whenever she come near him As a wife, she was very devoted.

She never asked ` Ali for anything in her whole life. As a mother , she cared for and brought up wonderful children; they have lift their marks on the face of the world , which time will not be able to eraze. The death of the Apostle, affected her very much and she was very sad and grief- striken and wept her heart out crying all the time. unfortunately, after the death of the prophet, the government confiscated her famous land of Fadak and gave it to the state. fatemah was pushed behind her him door ( when they attacked the house of ` Ali and took him to force him accept the caliphate of Abu Baker), so that the child , she was carrying was hurt and the baby boy Muhsin was still born.

Her house was set on fire by the Government. The tragedy of her father's death and the unkindness of her fathers`s followers, were too much for the good , gently and sensitive lady and she breathed her last on 14 Th. Jumada ` l - ula 11 AH, exactly seventy - five days after the death of her father, the Holy prophet of Islam. fatemah died in the prime of her life at the age of eighteen, and was buried in jannatu 'l-Baqi ` Medina.

 

The Property of Fadak

 

The Holy Prophet during his lifetime gave HAzRAT fatemah a gift of very extensive from land , known as Fadak , which was documented in her name as her absolute property. The death of the Holy Prophet affected her very much and she was very sad and grief - stricken and wept her heart out crying all the time . she was confronted, after the demise of her father, with the deprivement of the rightful claim of leadership of her husband Imam ` Ali , and the usurpation of her inheritance, the Fadak. Throughout her life, she never spoke to those who had oppressed her and deprived her of her rightful claims. She requested that her oppressors should be kept away even from attending her funeral. Her ill - wishers even resorted to physical violence. Once the door of her house was pushed on her , and the child she was carrying was hurt and the baby - boy was still born. Her house was set on fire. Having been molested and strichen with grief, which crossed all limits of forbearance and endurance , she expressed her sorrows in and elegy composed by herself to mourn her father the Holy Prophet. A couplet of the elegy, with particular reference to her woeful plight, she expressed thus: O my father ! after your death I was subjected to such tortures and tyranny that if they had been inflicted on the `Day' , it would have turned into ` Night'.