In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Her father's mother

Allah, the most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: Allah's wish is
but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household, and
cleanse you with a thorough cleansing (33:33)

One of these that are Purified is the infallible pure lady, the first
lady­ of the worlds, Heaven and the believers, as both Sunnis and
Shiites agree upon in their books of traditions, is lady Fatima Al-
Zahra (a.s).

This great lady who lived with those that represent the biggest level
of humanity and all the virtues of infallibility, humanitarianism and
openness on all the wronged, wretched and deprived… This great lady
who also lived with them the confrontation of the arrogant and the
oppressive… This great lady whose greatness was not restricted by the
fact that it was the daughter of the Messenger (p.) Who was united
with her in his heart and soul whether in her childhood or in her
youth that was too short and she left this world early… She was so
united with her father that she lived all his feelings… Knowing from
his eyes what he wanted and from his steps what he meant…yet their
relationship was not merely one between a father and daughter but a
relation in which love is mixed with the message.

In her childhood, Fatima used to accompany the Messenger (p.) in all
his pains and sufferings: If the infidels tortured him in one way or
another she used to condole him with her tears, although she was
barely five years old. She lived with him in the same house, and when
he lost her mother, she gave him all the affection and love he lost
when he lost his mother and then his wife. That is why he called "her
father's mother" for he felt the love and tenderness of a mother in
her marvelous ability of love and giving.

The international woman

Fatima was a woman of universal proportions. It is quite regretful
that we have imprisoned her in the circle of tragedy. She was quite
bigger than tragedy… She never talked about her tragedy but always
talked about the right of Ali (a.s) and his legitimacy… Her voice was
that of Ali (a.s.) when he said that the right did not leave him any
friends... She also was left with mo friends when she adhered to the
right, for she stood firm in the face of falsehood, not caring for
who might blame her when it was a matter of standing with the right.

Thus, we should take the personality of Al-Zahra in its totality and
not imprison her is the tragic death of a human being or the joy of
the birth f another… The world needs a great pure lady like A-Zahra
(a.s.) … It talks about the achievements of several ladies, but we do
not see in any of them the sacrifices and the morals of Lady Fatima
(a.s.).

This human being who thought of others more than she thought about
her self… We believe that the biggest virtue of a believer is to
equate others with himself. (You will not believe until you love for
your brother what you love for yourself). This is what her son, Imam
Al-Hassan tells us about her, when he used to hear her in the long
nights she spent praying for others and not for herself.

Her humanitarianism was like that of her cousin and husband, the
Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s).

They used to spend their day in hunger and prefer to give the little
food they had to the poor, the orphan and the prisoner. They were the
embedment of sacrifice and good doing and the highest symbol of
humanitarianism.

The ever patient

In addition­, lady Al-Zahra (a.s.) was a dedicated housewife, and she
was such a hard workers that her health was affected...

Seeing how much she was enduring, Imam Ali (a.s) asked her to go the
Messenger (p.) and ask for a servant, but he relied: "Should I tell
of something better than a maid.

When you come to sleep say God is great 34 in times, praise God 33
times and say Subhanallah (glory be to Allah, the most Exalted,) 33
times… This is better for you then the servant" And this what they
did and what a tradition that all Muslims perform when they pray or
go to bed.

In addition to her duties as a wife a daughter and a mother, she used
to gather Muslims from both the Muhajireen, (who migrated from Mecca)
and Al-Ansar (who received them in Medina) to recite to them what she
had heard from the prophet. She was a caller and a leader, despite
all the problems and hardships she was facing. She believed that the
woman believer should be well knowledgeable of Islamic culture to
guide fellow Muslim women. The woman, in her view, the view of Islam,
was not a discarded and neglected mass, it is a human being that is
responsible for the society just as the man is

She was also one of those who struggled for the cause of Allah... She
stood before Al-Muhajereen and Al-Ansar in the same mosque where her
father used to deliver his sermons and guide the nation… It has been
said that who heard her was hearing her father, for she resembled him
in the content and guidance of her speeches as well as her looks and
the way she talked. She was able to deliver a cultural Islamic speech
that outlined the general and specific principles of Islam… She
defended her right to inherit her father, talking about the Quran and
the prophet in a polite and gracious way... For, like her father and
husband before her, she did not want to insult those she differed
with… She only wanted the truth and sought what is right… Her cause
transcended her person… It was the responsibility of a person who
carries a message and who believes that this message comes before him.

Al-Zahra (a.s) endured a lot of suffering when her house was attacked
and in some other ways as well, but she endured all that with the
patience of a true believer... She was the human being who knew his
message and who knew how to protest… Her last protest was when she
asked her husband to burry her at night…

On another level, she, together with her husband, raised and educated
Imams Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein (a.s.), those great Imams whether they
revolt or hold peace ... It was her great spirituality and her love
that nourished their love of God and made them feel the purity of
Islam.

The Role Model

This is the great lady whom Allah has purified. There is no
uncleanness in her thought, emotions and in all her life. She is
infallible, as the Ayah of purification states, as well as being the
first lady of the worlds... In addition, her entire life proves that
she represents this purity…

Thus, when we remember Al-Zahra (a.s.) we have to understand her in
this sense as the international Muslim woman whose humanitarianism,
idealism and dedication for the cause, make her a role model for
woman all over the world… We have to take her out of the frame of
tragedy we have imprisoned her in, to let her live in our hearts and
consciences… our minds morals and culture... We want her to become
the role model of all humans: men and women.

Walhamdo Lillahi Rabbil Aalameen