AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A look at the personality, lifestyle and struggles of Hazrat Fatimah Zahra (pbuh) in the statements of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution.
1.Her spirituality and understanding
Equivalent to the position of the prophets
Fatimah Zahra (pbuh) is the leading lady of all the women of the world. She is the lady who, at a young age and during her short life, gained wisdom, knowledge and high spiritual levels and reached such a status that was equivalent to that of the prophets and Friends of God. In fact, Fatimah Zahra is a radiant dawn from which shines the suns of Imamate, Guardianship and Prophethood. She is the lofty sky in whose lap the luminous stars of Guardianship have been placed.
Exemplary worship acts
Hasan al-Basri related about Fatimah Zahra (pbuh), “The daughter of the Prophet would worship God and stand in her praying niche so much that her feet would become swollen!” Imam Hassan Mojtaba (pbuh) said, “One of the nights before Friday, my mother started to perform prayers and she prayed until morning… She prayed for the people and prayed for the public affairs of the Islamic world. In the morning I asked her, ‘You didn’t pray for anything for yourself! You prayed the whole night, but you only prayed for others!’ She answered, ‘My son, first others, then ourselves!’” This shows the loftiness of her spirit.
Equivalent to the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh)
Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) is the one about whom the Holy Prophet told the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), “O Ali, you are the one who will guide the male believers to Heaven, and Fatimah will guide the female believers to Heaven on the Day of Judgement...” That is, on the Day of Judgment, the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh) will guide the believing men and Fatimah Zahra (pbuh) will guide the believing women into the divine Paradise. She is tantamount, equivalent and comparable to the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh).
The angels spoke to her…
At a young age, Fatimah Zahra (pbuh) achieved such a high level of spirituality that according to certain narrations the angels spoke and showed some truths to her. She was called “Muhaddathah,” which means someone with whom the angels speak.
Manifestation of purity of soul
When reading the supplication for visiting the shrine of Imam Reza (pbuh), when it comes to sending our greetings to Hazrat Zahra (pbuh) she is referred to as, “Al-Tuharah, al-Tahirah, al-Mutahharah, al-Taqiyah, al-Naqiyah, al-Raziyah and al-Zakiyah...” Hazrat Zahra’s (pbuh) purity has been expressed using different expressions: purity of spirit, purity of heart, purity of mind, purity of one’s lap, and purity throughout all of life. Well, these are practical expressions and teach us something. We should try to cleanse and purify ourselves. Without having a pure inner being, we cannot achieve lofty positions, nor can we get close to the haven of these great personalities’ Guardianship. So, purity of one’s inner being is achieved through piety and righteousness.
A sermon at the height of divine knowledge
Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) was an exalted scholar in knowledge. Fatimah Zahra (pbuh) delivered a sermon in the Medina Mosque after the demise of the Prophet, about which Allameh Majlesi said, "Eloquent writers and scholars should sit down and interpret its words and phrases!" This is such an insightful and meaningful sermon... Perhaps for an hour, she spoke with the best, most beautiful phrases and the finest, well selected terminology.
2. Her family life
A simple dowry and wedding gift
In the period after the Prophet’s (pbuh) migration to Medina, Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) was at the beginning of the minimum age for marriage. At that time she married Ali bin Abi Talib (pbuh), and her dowry and wedding gift – perhaps you all know – were very simple and little. This is how the marriage ceremony of the daughter of the first person in the Islamic world was conducted.
A role model in managing the home and carrying out her duties toward her husband
You see how Fatimah Zahra (pbuh) carried out her duties toward her husband. Hazrat Zahra and the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh) were married for about nine years during the ten years of the Prophet’s presence in Medina. It is said that small and large-scale battles took place during these nine years, and the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh) was present in most of them… How strong a person needs to be to be able to prepare this husband, to empty his heart of the temptations of family and the troubles of life, to encourage him, and to raise their children as well as she did.
Being satisfied with God’s choice
She is the daughter of the magnanimous leader of Islam and the powerful ruler of the time. She had many suitors. There were rich and well-known men among these suitors. But God had chosen Ali for Fatimah from among all these suitors, and Fatimah was satisfied with this divine choice. She lived with the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh) in such a way that Imam Ali was satisfied with her with all his being.
3. Her political and social dimensions
A nurse and compassionate companion for the Prophet (pbuh)
In the Abi Talib Valley, the Prophet was alone, there was no one to comfort him, and everyone was taking refuge in him. But who could remove the dust of sorrow from his face? It was Khadijah for a time, but she is gone now. It was Abu Talib for a time, but he is gone. In such a difficult situation during the three years in the Abi Talib Valley, which was one of the hardest times in the life of the Prophet, this daughter was like an angel of salvation for the Prophet. She was like a mother for her father. She was like a great nurse for that great man. She endured the hardships. She was a comfort to the Prophet.
Enduring hardships in the struggle on the path of God
The personality of pure Fatimah Zahra in political and social dimensions and in great struggles was a distinguished, outstanding personality. Her life was such that all women who are fighters, revolutionary, leading, and political throughout the world can learn from her short, significant life. She was a woman who was born in a house of revolution and spent her entire childhood on the lap of her father who was engaged in a great, unforgettable global struggle… When she migrated to Medina, she became the wife of a man whose whole life was devoted to struggling on the path of God.
A leader in the true sense of the word
Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) served in the role of a true leader. As our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) pointed out, “If Fatimah Zahra were born a man, she would have been a prophet.” This is a very astonishing, great statement. One could only hear such a statement from someone like our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) who was a scholar, jurisprudent and mystic. He said such a thing. This is Fatimah Zahra. She was a leader in the true sense of the word. She was like a prophet and was a guide for humanity. Pure Zahra, a young woman, was at such a level.
Struggle on the path of defending Imamate and Guardianship
If the conditions in Medina after the demise of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and the events that took place are explained to us correctly, and if we can gain a correct understanding of this matter, we will understand what a great movement Fatimah Zahra (pbuh) launched. Of all the companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), only ten or twelve individuals were willing to stand up in the mosque to defend the right of the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh)… Under those circumstances, the Holy Prophet’s daughter (pbuh) delivered that eloquent sermon and that astonishing address in which she expressed certain truths. Another sermon that she delivered was the one which she addressed to the women of Medina when she was ill in bed. These things are not related to the spiritual attributes of that great personality, rather they are related to those attributes of hers that are understandable to us. We can understand these attributes with an ordinary, reasonable outlook. However, they are so significant that they cannot be measured. In other words, they are not comparable to any other self-sacrificing act.
A focal point for the people to refer to
Her young husband was constantly at the battlefront and in the battlefield. However, in spite of the problems in the environment and in life, Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) was like a focal point for the people and Muslims to refer to. She was the Prophet’s daughter who solved problems, and under these conditions, she lead an honorable life. Even in times of conquests and the coming of spoils of war, the Prophet’s daughter did not allow the minutest of worldly pleasures and luxuries - and the things that attract the hearts of young girls – to enter her heart.
Giving to the needy
When the Prophet sent a destitute, old man to the door of the house of the Commander of the Faithful telling him, "Go and ask them for your needs," Fatimah Zahra (pbuh) gave him the leather hide on which Hassan and Hussein slept and which was as a ground cloth for her children because she had nothing else in the house. She told him, "Sell it and use the money from it."