The property called Fadak

Only a few days after the burial of the Prophet, the enemies took by force Fadak. Fadak which had been the property that was in possession of Fâtemeh while the Messenge of God was still alive. But soon after the Prophet's decease, suddenly they took Fadak fron the daughter of the Messenger of God, by Abubakr's order, and they also let out all the persons who used to work there...

Unfortunately, despite all the things that Fâtemeh or Hazratê Ali or even the witnesses of this event told and testified everything remained unheeded and unheard by the enemies, and they ignored the testimony of the illustrious daughter of our gracious Prophet...

So one day, Fâtemeh and a group of the immigrant [ Ansâri ] ladies decided to go to the mosque. In the mosque, there was a curtain which divided the space in two parts, so that men were not permitted to look upon the part where the ladies were seated. Fâtemeh approached that curtain to talk and to make the men, hear what she had to say.

Fâtemeh cried out loud, so much so that the whole mosque began to tremble by the deep Sorrow that was surging out, from the bottom of Fâtemeh's heart...

Many people began to cry silently. After a pause, the whole assembly grew quiet, and Fâtemeh began her discourse, first by praising the Lord Almighty.

Everybody was listening intently to what she was going to say. And then she began to utter those unforgettable sentences which have remained to this day, as the most memorable and the most tragic discourse ever made by a Muslim woman…

At the end of her discourse, she began to talk in a way that made everybody think that she was confiding to the glorious soul of her beloved father, and was telling him of all the things that had happened to her and her family, since his departure from this world, and what wrongs she had suffered, and what disrespect she had been forced to face, and what pains and agonies she had endured in silence...

After this, she came back home. Ali was waiting for her. Fâtemeh on seeing his beloved husband, made some complaints about the ungracious behavior of those who had come to power, and told him about her longing to see her father again. She also talked about her concern about Ali’s leadership, and the fact that the people hadn't supported them in any ways...

Hazratê Ali replied to her:" O daughter of the best man in the world! O, thou who art the best reminiscence and reminder of the last Prophet on Earth! Don't be sad... Don't complain, because thy sufferings will not go away... Be certain that all thy enemies owe thee lots of things... I don't remain in the house because of laziness or some weakness of character. But because I have done everything that was possible for me to do.

If thou wishest for a better life, thy sustenance has remained untouched and is at thy disposal, and fortunately thou dost not need thy enemies’ help! Leave them be, and wait until the time when God shall take care of each one of them. "

Fâtemeh said:" All right... I will say no more... I will leave them. May God take care of them in His proper time. I will entrust myself into God's Will. "

Farideh Mahadavi-Damghani

August 2001

[ from Tir Publishing ]