By: Dr. Faezeh Azimzadeh Ardabili, Faculty Member of the Imam Khomeini International University
Ahl al-Bayt (AS), including Hazrat Zahra, are the enlightened personalities and the first creations of God. As Imam Reza (AS) has said “The first thing that God Almighty created was our souls). What is meant by our souls is the same soul that God Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an: (And I breathed into him from My spirit). This spirit is the spirit of Muhammad (PBUH) and his household that has been breathed into man. Hazrat Fatima (SA) has such a position before God that she can, in a way, be considered the center of creation. When God wanted to send His blessings to Ahl al-Bayt (AS) or when Archangel Gabriel asks God about the “Ashab al-Kisa’” (lit. Companions of the Cloak), Hazrat Zahra (SA) became the pivot in the sense that in response to Gabriel, Almighty God says: Fatimah (SA) and her father, her husband and her children (PBUT). In fact, the acceptance of faith depends on believing in Hazrat Zahra (SA).
The Prophet of God has described the lofty position of Hazrat Zahra (AS) by saying: “And as for my daughter Fatimah, she is “Sayyidat Nisa’ al-‘Alamin” (lit. the master of all women in this world and the hereafter, from the first to the last). The respect and honor shown by the Messenger of God (PBUH) towards his beloved daughter was unprecedented and unique. Whenever Hazrat Zahra (SA) came to her father, he would stand up in her honor, welcome and greet her, and hold her hand and kiss it. There is no other person whose hand was kissed by the Messenger of God.
The great status of that unique lady before God Almighty and the Holy Prophet is such that being the wife of Hazrat Zahra (SA) is considered an unparalleled honor for the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (AS). One of the special epithets of Hazrat Fatima (SA) is “Muhadditha” (lit. being talked to by angels). There are two explanations as to why she was called by this epithet:
1. When Hazrat Khadijah (SA) was pregnant with Fatima Zahra (SA), she used to talk to her mother from inside her belly, and be her companion and a source of peace for her at that time when all the women of Mecca had left Hazrat Khadijah (SA) alone.
2. Hazrat Zahra (SA) was of such a noble position that Archangel Gabriel used to visit and talk to her, and this is actually the special meaning of Muhadditha.
The importance of this matter lies in the fact that Archangel Gabriel only descended on ‘Ulu al-‘Azm prophets and spoke to them. Imam Ja’far Sadiq (AS) has been quoted saying: “Fatima, the daughter of the Messenger of God was Muhadditha but she was not a prophet. She was called Muhadditha due to the fact that angels used to descend on her from the sky and converse with her just as they did so with Maryam, the daughter of Imran.”
In the ziyara-text for Hazrat Zahra we recite: “Greetings and peace be upon you, the very knowledgeable one to whom the angels spoke). This indicates that Hazrat Zahra had always been addressed by angels. And if we can follow in the footsteps of Hazrat Zahra, the way to the world of angels will open to our hearts; we will understand Satan’s tricks and will know how we should respond to him; we will also understand what thoughts Satan imposes on us. But the more we are away from this mother and the less we follow her, the more we feel ennui.
Fatima Zahra is the mother of all humans in its true sense and even closer to them than their natural mothers. In the ziyara-text of the infallible, we address the children of Fatima, while Fatima’s position is even loftier than them. We say to them: “May my parents be sacrificed for you”. One can sacrifice his parents for someone when that person is closer to him/her than his/her own parents and his/her rights are greater than his/her parents. One of the greatest blessings of God for man, which brings responsibility and one should rejoice and cry because of it, is the blessing of the being of Fatima Zahra (SA) because God Almighty has made this lady the mother of all of us, and human beings should be very grateful for it.
We cannot understand this issue because our knowledge about her is limited. The only person who can guide us is Hazrat Zahra herself. She can be a role model for us in all aspects of our lives, including praying, our role as wives, raising children, social and political activities, etc. Therefore, following in the footsteps of this lady makes us closer to her. To attain such a position, one must move ahead without stopping and turning back. As we have read in the Ziyarat Jami’ah Kabirah, every grace that we receive is entirely due to the blessed beings of Ahl al-Bayt (AS).
Tasnim is a spring in heaven that God Almighty has gifted to Hazrat Fatima (SA), the daughter of the Prophet (PBUH) and the wife of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), and it flows from the foot of the pillar of Fatima’s tent. According to a number of hadiths narrated by all Islamic schools of thought, only those people will benefit from this spring who have benefitted from the fountain of the knowledge and wisdom of the Holy Prophet and his Ahl al-Bayt in this world and those who have turned their backs on them and adopted the path of innovation and deviation from the Qur’an and true tradition of the Ahl al-Bayt will be deprived of it. Tabarsi has written: “The term “kawthar” (abundance) covers all these meanings.
Therefore, it is necessary to be applied to all the narrations that were listed. This is because the Almighty God blessed her abundantly in this world and promised her abundant blessing in the hereafter and all these narrations are the general description of abundant blessings in the two worlds.” Thus, considering the cause of the revelation of Surah Al-Kawthar and the fact that the descendants of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) only flew from the Kawthar of the being of Fatima Zahra (SA), there will remain no doubt that Fatima Zahra (SA) and her blessed descendants are among the clearest examples of abundant blessings.
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