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 daughter 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 become more apparent, and the deep meanings and characteristics of her actions will be more appreciated.
She is Fatima Zahra (A.S.) whom Allah praises, and is "satisfied with her satisfaction, and is angered when she is angered." And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his household) commends her nobility and meritorious personality, while Imam Ali (A.S.) looks to her with respect and admiration and the holy Imams of Ahlul Bayt sanctify and venerate her.
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 comfort 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 viewpoints 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 decency 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 nudity, recklessness, unrestraint and such actions, which would bring sorrow 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 legislate 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 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 obliged 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 fulfillment 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 living 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 participating 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.
Returning to our subject, Fatima Zahra (A.S.), 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 regard, a group of forged stories have been fabricated and added to these books by agents of past oppressive regimes. Those agents who spread poisonous flowers of speech and false hadith, which were revealed to them by their evil masters, have actually sold their souls to some creatures and achieved nothing save the wrath of Allah. They used their pens of enmity and daggers of hypocrisy in obedience to those who bought from them their faith and dead consciousnesses, heedless of the Prophet's position, and indifferent to contradicting the narrations recorded in their own books and publications, which praise Fatima Zahra (A.S.).
It seems as if they are pleased to encroach upon Fatima's honor in response to the call of their evil consciousnesses; while it is clear that they realize she is the Prophet's daughter and the most beloved and dear person to him. It is as if they fear to announce their wish to disgrace the great Messenger of Allah directly; so they choose the crooked method of slandering his daughter in order to fulfill their evil lusts.
Despite that, I do not realize the real motives behind these furious and harsh attacks against Fatima Zahra! Or what the reasons are for this strange and deep enmity against this great lady?!
Is she not the Messenger of Allah's daughter, and "his spirit who he holds in his heart"?!
Was she the Prophet's successor, to say that their (political) motives forced them to try to tarnish her reputation as they did with her great husband (A.S.)?
What is the reason for this concentrated insistence to put her down? Is it because she is the Prophet's daughter? If so, then why don't we find such a phenomenon regarding the Prophet's other daughters?! Or could it be that she is Imam Ali's (A.S.) wife? But he married four wives after her and we do not find such agitation and prejudice against them!!
I can imagine no sin to Fatima Zahra (A.S.), save being the most beloved person to the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him and his household), who preferred her over his other daughters and wives, and that she defended and protected her husband's rights when she appeared in the mosque to demand her usurped rights and property granted to her by Allah and His Prophet.
But do these reasons justify the unfounded attacks and attempts carried out by so called Muslims to tarnish her serenity?
Moreover, Jewish and Christian Orientalists played an important role in this deal; they attempted to tarnish the sacred Islamic beliefs and holdings by spreading vain and baseless sayings among the Muslims. Some so-called Muslims translated their poisonous writings and published and distributed them throughout the Islamic world without commenting or revising them, as if their intentions were the same as those of the orientalists.
It is best to bring a summarized example in this regard, which Sheikh Amini mentioned in his book, Al-Ghadir, volume 3, page 10:
A Christian Orientalist called Amil Darmangam wrote a book entitled The Life of Muhammad, in which he slandered Islam, the Quran and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) and fabricated misleading and deceitful stories about them. This book was then translated by a Palestinian by the name of Muhammad Adil Zu'aitir, who did not comment on the fables and myths included in it. Zu'aitir claimed that he did so in observance to the rules of translation! I wish I knew! Does commenting on such false information contradict the so-called rules of translating?
Among the fables mentioned in this book are:
"Fatima was gloomy, Ruqayya was prettier than her, and Zainab was wittier. She (Fatima) did not even consider her Father's feelings when he informed her, from behind the curtain, that Ali Ibn Abu Talib had mentioned her name. Fatima considered Ali to be homely, despite his great courage, so his desire to marry her was more than her wish to do so.
Ali's' face was not handsome, for he had two slack eyes, and a low point of nose; in addition he had a large belly and baldhead. But with all of this, Ali was courageous, pious, honest, faithful, devout and virtuous together with limpness and irresolution!!
Ali used to irrigate palm trees which belonged to a Jew, in return for a handful of dates; when he returned home he would give them to his wife and gloomily say: "eat and feed your children!"
He would become so furious after every argument that he would leave the house to sleep in the mosque, where his father-in-law followed him and patting his shoulder advised him to temporarily reconcile with Fatima!! It even happened that once the Prophet saw Fatima crying with traces of Ali's physical abuse on her face?!!
Despite Muhammad's praise of Ali for his early conversion to Islam, to satisfy his daughter, the Prophet did not give much attention to him; contrary to this, the two Umayyad sons-in-law of the Prophet, the Generous Othman and Abu Al-Asi, were more considerate of the Prophet than Ali, used to complain about the Prophet's carelessness to bring happiness to his daughter's life and about the Prophet's reckoning Ali an executer of non-honorable jobs. Although he authorized him to cut off necks, he avoided entrusting leadership positions to him ...Yet, worse than this was when a quarrel occurred between Ali and Fatima regarding their enmity to the Prophet's wives, Fatima would sorrowfully blame her Father for not siding with his daughters..."
The writer of the above mentioned book added many other such fables which are nothing but crimes against history which, the writer marred the pages of his book with.
Sheikh Amini (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote in answer to this Christian's fabrications:
"I do not blame the author (may Allah amputate his ears) despite the fact that he fabricated many false stories; because he is from a people who resent Islam, and good deeds are not expected from him; for both his obvious and hidden shortcomings are revealed in his book. Rather all the blame lies on the translator who committed a massive crime against Islam and the Arabs-while considering himself one of them- but indeed: "Birds of a feather flock together."
It is clear that all, which was written in the book from these different fables and fabricated lies are nothing but heedless words that contradict the true historical facts, and oppose what the Islamic Ummah collectively agree upon in accordance to what they heard from the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household).
Do the rumors spread by this book against Fatima correspond with her Father's (peace be upon him and his household) saying:
"Fatima is a human huri, whenever I long for paradise I kiss her."?1
or:
"My daughter Fatima is a human huri."2
or:
"Fatima is the true splendor."3
or with Anas Ibn Malik's Mother saying:
"Fatima was like a moon on its full night, or the sun covered with no clouds. She was white with a touch of rose color on her face, her hair was black and she had the beautiful features of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his household)"4
Her given name "Zahra" reveals the truth of the matter. Besides, do the writers' arbitrary false judgements against Fatima's intelligence and noble manners conform to her Mother's (The Mother of the Faithful, Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her) saying:
"Fatima used to speak when she was in her Mother's womb; when she was born, she fell on the ground in a prostrating position with her finger raised."5
or Aisha's saying:
"I have not seen a person more similar to the Prophet's appearance, conduct, guidance and speech whether sitting or standing than Fatima. When she enters, the Messenger of Allah stands up, kisses and welcomes her, then takes her hand and asks her to sit in his place."6
Also in Bihaqi's quotation in Sunah vol. 7, p. 101, Aisha said:
"I have not seen anyone more similar to the Messenger of Allah's habit of speech and dialogue than Fatima..."
As for the writer's awkward description of Imam Ali (A.S.) that Fatima considered him homely and gloomy, the least that can be said is that it does not consist with what has been mentioned regarding his handsome features: He had a splendid face, as if it was the full moon, his neck appeared like a silver jug,7 and he was cheerful, [8] whenever he smiled, his teeth appeared to be organized pearls9.
Neither does that rude description consist with Abu Al-Aswad Duali's poetic saying that whenever he came face to face with Ali (A.S.), he felt as if he was facing the full moon.
Does your clear conscience agree with the Orientalist's slandering of Ali (A.S.) as being "limp and irresolute"? While it is he that is the well - known adventurer and invincible knight who participated in many battles and wars.
Is not Ali the one who relieved the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his household) from many inflictions and calamities which had clouded his life since he spoke openly of the righteous religion until he lay down on his death bed, and sacrificed himself for the great Prophet until he entered his last dwell?
Is Ali not the only soldier of Islam in whose name the following verses have been revealed?
﴾Do ye make the giving of drink to pilgrims, or the maintenance of The Sacred Mosque, equal to (the pious service of) those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and strive in the cause of Allah?﴿ (9:19)
and:
﴾There is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah.﴿ (2: 207)
Hence, when did Ali stop competing with men, and defending the Prophet so that he deserved to be described as limp and irresolute?!
But indeed false claims never end.
Can it be conceived that the Prince of The Faithful (A.S.) acted in such an atrocious manner with his noble wife, while the Prophet says to him "Your conduct and looks are similar to mine, and you are from the same tree from which I came."10
While the Prophet declared that Ali was the best man of his nation, for he was the most patient and best mannered one of them all, and says:
"Ali is the best of my nation, most knowledgeable and most patient from among them"11
Would Ali behave in such a manner when he heard the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) say to Fatima?
"I gave you in marriage to the first one to adhere to Islam from my nation, he is also the most knowledgeable and most patient among them?"12
and:
"I gave you in marriage to the first Muslim and best mannered man."13
Would the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) say all of this about Ali, while he behaved cruelly with Fatima?
Surely the croaks fabricate many a falsehood; for Ali was exactly the honest and truthful one Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his household) said about.
Can you accept the slanderous accusation made by the writer (how evil has he spoken) that Ali physically abused Fatima, the Prophet's daughter?! While you know that Ali is that obedient believer of the Messenger who heard the Prophet say to Fatima:
"Surely Allah is angered when you are angered, and is pleased at your pleasure."14
He also said to Fatima while holding her hand:
"He who knows this, knows her, and he who does not know her; she is part of me, she is my heart and my spirit which is in my side, thus he who harms her harms me."15
He also said:
"Fatima is part of me, that which annoys her annoys me, and harms me that which harms her."16
and:
"Fatima is part of me, he who angers her angers me."17
Did the Prophet limit his praise of Ali to his precedence in adhering to Islam? Did he endeavor to keep this a secret by only informing his daughter in order to satisfy her?!
Had this been true!! Then why did he (peace be upon him and his household) take Ali's hand and raise it publicly and announce:
"He was the first to believe in me, and he will be the first to shake my hand on the Day of Rising!?"
He also informed his companions that:
"The first among you to appear at my domain (reservoir), is he who was the first among you to follow Islam Ali Ibn Abu Talib."
Could this so-called secret remain hidden from the companions and those that followed them in adhering to the truth; while they insisted on extolling him as the following group did: Salman the Persian, Anas Ibn Malik, Zaid Ibn Arqam, Abdullah Ibn Hijl, Hashim Ibn Utba, Malik Al-Ashtar, Abdullah Ibn Hashim, Abu Amrah Adi Ibn Hatem, Abu Rafe, Buraidah, Jundub Ibn Zuhair, and Um Al-Khair Ibnat Al-Harash.18
And, does claiming that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) paid little attention to Ali consist with the Quranic declaration that he (Ali (A.S.)) is the same as the Prophet's self?! Or that it (Quran) made the reward for the divine message the love of Ali (A.S.)?... Or with that which was narrated in the story of the roasted bird-which is mentioned in the Sahihs and Musnads-when the Prophet said:
"O Allah, bring the most beloved creature to You so that he may eat with me."
or when he said to Aisha:
"Surely Ali is the most beloved of all men and the most precious to me. Therefore, recognize his rights, and pay tribute to him."19
And:
"The most beloved of all men to me is Ali."20
And:
"Ali is the best of those whom I leave behind me (after death)."21
And:
"The best of your men is Ali Ibn Abu Talib, and the best of your women is Fatima Bint Muhammad."22
And:
"Ali is the best of mankind, and he who denies (this) is an infidel."23
And:
"He who does not say that Ali is the best of mankind is surely an infidel."24
And in Banner's narration where it has been unanimously agreed that he (peace be upon him and his household) said:
"Tomorrow I will hand over the banner to a man whom Allah and His Messenger love, and who loves Allah and His Messenger."
And:
"Ali to me is like my head to my body."25
And:
"Ali to me is like I am to my Lord."26
And:
"Ali is the most beloved to me, and the most beloved to Allah."27
He (peace be upon him and his household) also said to Ali:
"I am from you, and you are from me; or you are from me and I am from you."28
And:
'Ali is from me and I am from him; he is the guardian (wali) of every believer after me."29
And:
-In the narration regarding sending Ali (A.S.) to read Surah At-tawbah (Surah No. 9) to the pilgrims on which it has been unanimously agreed, he said:
﴾No one takes it (to the pilgrims) except a man being from me and I from him.﴿30
And:
"Your flesh is my flesh, your blood is my blood, and righteousness is on your side."31
And:
"There is not a prophet who has not had a peer, and Ali is my peer."32
Also, in a narration that Al-Hakim deemed authentic, Tabarani related to Umme Salama the following:
"Whenever the Prophet of Allah was angered, no one dared to speak to him save Ali."33
Also Aisha said:
"(I declare) by Allah that I have not seen anyone more beloved to Allah 's Messenger than Ali, or a woman on earth more beloved to him than his wife (Ali's wife, Fatima)."34
Buraida and Ubae also said:
"The most beloved to the Messenger of Allah from among women is Fatima, and from among men is Ali.,35
And Juma Ibn Umair said:
"I entered Ali's house with my Aunt, when I inquired as to who was the most beloved of all people to Allah's Messenger?! She said: Fatima. Then she was asked: And from among men? She said: her husband, ever since I met him he has been fasting and praying."36
Furthermore, how could it be true that Allah's Messenger preferred others over Ali and paid more attention to them, while Ali was the first man chosen by Allah to follow his Messenger from among the dwellers of Earth, as he (peace be upon him and his household) told Fatima in the following narration:
"Surely Allah has examined the dwellers of Earth and has chosen your Father to be a prophet, He then examined (them) and chose your husband, then He revealed to me that I give (you to him in) marriage and appointed him as my successor."37
He (peace be upon him and his household) also said to Fatima:
"Surely Allah chose two men from the dwellers of Earth, one being your Father and the other your husband."38
There are many other authentic traditions that Sheikh Amini (may Allah bless him) mentioned, refuting the false claims made by the misguided writer. Nevertheless, the harsh assaults against the family of Allah's Messenger are endless; as the situation requires, we will mention more of these narrations, if Allah wills. It is worthy to made a brief introduction, before we embark on the core of the subject. Because this book tackles the life story of a person higher than that which mankind is accustomed to, it is incumbent upon us to speak of matters, which can be considered "transcendental" for the character discussed here is an excellent genius, and the truth of this will become clear to you as you read on.
* Fatima ['a] The Gracious. By Abu Muhammad Ordoni. "Introduction". Published by: Ansariyan Publications Qum, The Islamic Republic of Iran.
1- Tareekh Baghdad by Khateeb Baghdadi: v.5, p.86.
2- Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqa and Is'af Ar-Raghebeen: p.173.
3- Nuzhat al-Jaliss: v.2, P222.
4- Mustadrak al-Hakim: v.3, p.161.
5- Sirat Al-Muwla, Dhakha'er al-Uqbi.
6- Tirmadhi and Ibn Abdurabbeh in Eqd al-Farid: v.2, p.3.
7- Esti'ab: v.2, p.469.
8- Tahdheeb al-Asma Wal-Lughat.
9- Hilyat al-Awliya: v.1, p. 84.
10- Tareekh Baghdad: v.11, p.171.
11- Tabari, Khateeb, Dulabi as was mentioned in Kanz al-Umal: v.6, p.153.
12- Musnad Ahmad: v.5, p. 26, Ryadh An-Nadherah: v.2, p.194.
13- Ryadh An-Nadherah: v.2, p.194.
14- Mustadrak al-Hakim: v.3, p.154., Tadhkirat al-Bast: p.175., Maqtal al-Khawarazmi: v.1, p.54., Kefayat At-Talib: p.219., Kanz al-Umal: v.7, p.111., Sawiq: p.105.
15- Al-Fusul al-Muhammad: p.150., Nuzhat Al-Majalis: v.2, p.228., Nur al-Absar: p.45.
16- Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmadhi, Musnad Ahmad: v.4, p. 328., Khasaes An-Nisaee: p.35.
17- Sahih al-Bukhari, Khasaes An-Nisaee: p.35.
18- Most historical sources mention them
19- Ryadh An-Nadherah: v.2, p.161., Dhakha'er al-Uqbi: p.62.
20- In another narration of: "of my kin."
21- Mawaqif al-Aiji: v.3, p.276, Majma' al-Zawa'ed: v.9, p.113.
22- Tareekh Baghdad: v.4, p.392.
23- Tareekh Baghdad, Kunuz al-Haqaeq, Hamish al-Jame' al-Saghir p.16, Kanz Al-Umal: p.159.
24- Tareekh Baghdad: v.3, p. 192, Kanz al-Umal: v.6, p.159.
25- Tareekh Baghdad: v.7, p.12, Sawaeq: p.75, Jame' al-Saghir by Suyuti, Nur al-Absar: p.80.
26- As-Sirat-ul-Halabiyah: v.3, p. 391 Ryadh An-Nadherah: v.2, p.163.
27- Tareekh Baghdad: v.1, p.160.
28- Musnad Ahmad: v.5, p.204, Khasaes An-Nisaee: pp.36, 51.
29- Musnad Ahmad: v.5, p.356.
30- Khasaes An-Nisaee: p.8.
31- Al-Mahasen Wal-Masawi: v.1, p.31.
32- Ar-Ryadh An-Nadherah: v.2, p.164.
33- Sawaeq: p.73, Tareekh al-Khulafa by Suyuti: p.116.
34- Mustadrak al-Hakim: v.3, p.154, Khasaes An-Nisaee: p.29.
35- Khasaes An-Nisaee: p.29, Mustadrak al-Hakim: v.3, p.115.
36- Jame' At-Tirmadhi: v.2, p.227, other collective books.
37- Tabarani, Kanz al-Ummal: v.6, p.153, Majma' al-Zawaed: v.9, p.165.
38- Mawaqif al-Aiji: p.8.