Martyrdom Anniversary of Hazrat Fatima Zahra (A.S): Part 2

Indeed, as Muslims of all denominations are unanimous, Fatima Zahra (A.S) is the most virtuous lady of all times. According to the works of such outstanding scholars amongst our Sunni brethren – such as Ahmad ibnHanbal, Tirmidhi, HakemNishabouri, Tabaranietc – she is the daughter at whose doorstep Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) used to salute every morning before the dawn prayers following revelation of the Verse of Purity, that is, verse 33 of Surah al-Ahzaab, which vouchsafes the pristine purity of the Ahl-ul-Bayt.

The narrators also agree that whenever the Prophet used to leave Medina, Fatima (A.S) was the last one he bade goodbye, and on return she was the first and foremost one to be greeted by him.It is an indisputable fact that the Prophet used to stand to his feet whenever she entered his presence. This was not the doting of a middle-aged father on his only surviving child, but the commandment of the Creator. In this regard, Ayesha – one of the several wives the Prophet had married in the last ten years of his life in Medina out of social necessity after the passing away in Mecca of his loyal wife of 25 long years, Fatima's (A.S) mother Khadijat-al-Kubra (A.S) – says:

In Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet is quoted as saying: “Fatima is a part of me, whoever displeases her has displeased me.

"But why would anyone displease such a paragon of virtue? Weren't the companions of the Prophet aware of her prime position as the fulcrum of faith? Hadn't they watched in amazement and admiration the veiled figure of the Immaculate Fatima (A.S) accompany her father – along with her husband and two sons – to the memorable Mubahela with the Christians of Najran on revelation of verse 61 or Surah Aal-e Imran, less than two years before the Prophet's departure from the world? No one can deny these facts, but alas, no sooner did the Prophet pass away, things abruptly changed for his beloved daughter and her family. The political right of her husband, Imam Ali (A.S) was usurped at Saqifa Bani Sa'dah by a group greedy for rule of the Islamic state, which did not belong to them. Next, her own rights were seized including the patrimony of the Orchard of Fadak which the Prophet had given her in his lifetime, and whose income she spent for the upkeep of the poor and the destitute.

Matters worsened by the day. In order to defend not just her own rights or the rights of inheritance of Muslim women, but also the divinely-decreed right of Imam Ali (A.S), she delivered the memorable sermon in the court of the caliph and his clique – a flawlessly eloquent sermon that till this day continues to provide guidelines for Muslims concerning the fundamentals of faith, including Monotheism, Divine Justice, Prophet hood, Imamate, and Resurrection. Her words fell on deaf ears and failed to jolt the conscience of the neo-Muslims who had spent almost their entire life in idol-worship and all other abominable crimes and sins of the Days of Ignorance. The irony of Islamic history is that despite the testimony of the holy Qur’an in her favour and that of her husband and sons, as the barometers of true faith, the chief conspirator of the scandalous event of Saqifa Bani Sa’da, while battering the flaming door upon her, had threatened to burn the Ahl-ul-Bayt of the Prophet to death, if Imam Ali (A.S) doesn’t give oath of allegiance to his candidate for the caliphate. And when the injured Fatima (A.S) clung to the raiment of her husband as he was being dragged by the ruffians, with a rope around his neck, this rascal had ordered his slave Qunfudh to whip the hands of the Prophet’s daughter.

Fatima (A.S) was not lamenting her sufferings, or that of her husband and her children, although she knew by the Grace of God that the deviationist trend which had started at Saqifa Bani Sa'da while the Prophet was being laid to rest by his divinely-decreed vicegerent, Imam Ali (A.S), will one day see the rise of the charlatan Yazid to the caliphate and the tragedy of Karbala, where her household would be slaughtered mercilessly by those masquerading as Muslims. She was actually grief-stricken for the catastrophe befalling Islam, as had been the case with the messages of the past Prophets, for example, Moses and Jesus, whose teachings had been distorted into Judaism and Christianity. She thus left the world in the state of profound grief. Imam Ali (A.S) carried out the wishes of his beloved wife in the dead of night, at an unmarked and still unknown spot in Medina, so that the shadow of those that had displeased her, the Prophet and God, would never fall upon it, nor would any future blasphemers, such as the Wahhabis of our times, would be able to desecrate it.

"O Allah! Send blessings on Fatima the Truthful, the Spotlessly Pure, the Dearest of the Most Dearest (Person) to You, Your Prophet… whom You chose, favoured and gave preference over all women of the universe."

Source: Iran Radio Islam

Other links:

Hazrat Fatimah (A.S), the Islam’s Martyr