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Lady Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon her, the daughter of the Messenger, Muhammad, may Allah’s prayers be upon him and his family and his beloved, whom God Almighty singled her out for unique characteristics. Thus, she reached a high position until she became the lady of the women of the worlds from the first to the last. In this article, we will mention some brief information about Lady Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon her).
Her name and lineage: Fatima, daughter of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (may Allah bless him and his family).
Her most famous titles are:
- al-Zahra (The illuminating one)
- Mistress of the Women of the Worlds
- Al-Hawra Al-Insiyah (houri in the form of a human)
- Al-Mumtahanna (The tested one)
- Al-Sabirah (the patient)
- Al-Siddiqah(the truthful)
- Al-Tahira (the pure)
- Al-Ma’sumah (the infallible)
- Al-Muhaddathah (One who conversed with Angels)
- Beloved of her Father
- Al-Batul (devoted)
Her nicknames:
- The mother of her father,
- The mother of the Hassanain
- The mother of the noble imams
Her father: Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and his family).
Her mother: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.
Her birth: Friday Jumada al-Thani 20, year two or five after the commencement of the prophetic mission of the Prophet (PBUH).
Place of her birth: Makkah al-Mukarramah.
The duration of her life: 18 years and 75 days, and it was said that she lived 18 years and 40 days, and it was also said that she lived 18 years and 95 days. She spent nine years and a few months in her husband’s house, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon them both).
Her husband: Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (peace be upon him).
Ring engraving: God is my protector, the trustworthy are safe.
Her Martyrdom: She ascended to the heavens in the state of martyrdom on Monday or Sunday (13), (14), or (15) Jumada al-Awwal, or (1), (2), or (3) Jumada al-Thani, 11 AH.
The reason for her martyrdom: Qunfudh, the slave of Umar, hit her in the face and arm, and the miscarriage of her fetus with a kick from a man while she was between a wall and a door.
Her burial place: Medina and her grave is unknown, based on her will to the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him).
Why Was Fatima al-Zahra Named al-Zahra?
On the authority of al-Mufaddal bin Umar, he said: I said to Abu Abdullah Ja’far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq (peace be upon him): How was the birth of Fatima (peace be upon her)? He said: ” Yes, When Lady Khadijah, the mercy of Allah upon her, got married to the Prophet (PBUH), the women of Mecca abandoned her. They did not visit, greet, or let other women visit her. Thus, she became lonely when pregnant with Fatima (a). Fatima al-Zahra started talking to Khadijah and gave her patience while she was in her womb. However, lady Khadijah hid that from the Prophet. One day, he entered the house and heard Lady Khadija talking to Fatima and said to her: Oh Khadijah, who is talking to you? She said: The fetus in my womb talks to me and keeps me company. He said to her: This is Gabriel announcing to me that she is a female, and that she is the pure, auspicious breeze, and that God, Blessed and Exalted be He, will make my descendants from her, And He will make of her descendants’ imams in the nation, making them his successors in his land after the end of his revelation. Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, continued to do so until her (Fatima) birth came. She sent to the women of Quraish and Bani Hashim to come and help her with the baby’s delivery. However, they refused and said he disrobed us and did not accept our opinion. The orphan of Abi Talib, Muhammad, has no money, and they will not help him.
Khadijah became very sad because of that. While she was in that state, four tall women, as if they were from Bani Hashim women entered her, and she became frightened of them.
One of them said: do not be sad, Khadijah, for we are the messengers of your Lord to you, and we are your sisters. I am Sarah (the wife of Ibrahim), and this is Asiyah bint Muzahim (the caretaker of Musa). She is your companion in heaven, and this is Maryam bint Imran (the mother of Jesus), and this is Safura, daughter of Shuaib. Allah has sent us to you to take care of your baby’s delivery.
One sat on her right, the other on her left, the third in front of her, and the fourth behind her. Khadijah (peace be upon her) gave birth to Fatima, being pure and purified. When she fell to the ground, the light shone from her until it entered the houses of Makkah, and there was no place left in the east or west of earth except that light shone in it. The woman in front of her took her and washed her with al-Kawthar water. Then she took out two white rags whiter than milk that smelled better than musk and amber. She wrapped her in one, and covered her with the other.
Then she made her speak. So Fatima (peace be upon her) spoke with the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that her father, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family), is the master of the prophets, and that her husband is the master of the successors, and that her sons are the masters of the sons of the prophets. She named them (the four ladies) by their names, and they laughed with her, and the houris (heavenly women) became happy. The dwellers of heaven started congratulating each other on the occasion of the birth of Lady Fatima.
An illuminating light shone in the heavens that the angels had seen before; therefore, she was called al-Zahra (the illuminating one).
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And on the authority of Aban bin Taghlib, he said: I said to Abi Abdullah – that is, Imam Ja’far bin Muhammad Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him): O son of the Messenger of God, why was Zahra called Zahra? He said: Because she blooms for the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) three times during the day with light. The illumination of the light of her face blooms during the morning prayer while people are still in their beds, and that light enters their rooms. Their walls become white, and they get astonished at that. They come to the Prophet and ask him about what they saw. Then, he sends them to the house of Fatima, and they go there and find her in the Mahrab praying and the light blooming and illuminating from her face.
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Why Did the Prophet Call Fatima al-Zahra the Mother of Her Father?
Allah Almighty willed that the lady Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon her, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers be upon him and his family, be unique in her traits, virtues, characteristics, roles, and even in her oppression, so she became, peace be upon her, distinguished in everything. Thus, her Lord chose her to be the mistress of the women of the worlds, from the first and the last.
And according to this selection and choosing, we see that her father, the Chosen One, may Allah’s prayers be upon him and his family, gave her the appreciation, respect, and care that he did not give to anyone but her and her husband, Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him. And so that no one can compete with her in what God Almighty has singled out for her.
One of the pieces of evidence of the special care that was repeated on the part of the Chosen Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, towards his daughter Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon her, on a continuous basis, and in full view of the companions and the mothers of the believers, is calling her with a nickname that attracts special attention, namely, “the mother of her father.”
Al-Arbali mentioned in Kashf al-Ghummah that the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, used to glorify her (i.e., Fatima) and raise her status, and he used to call her the mother of her father.
What is the reason for her nickname “her father’s mother?” There is no doubt that this nickname carries charming and profound connotations simultaneously, and perhaps there is more than one reason behind the appellation of Zahra with this nickname.
The First Reason Fatima Was Called Her Father’s Mother
The first reason is her special care for her father. Al-Zahra, may Allah’s prayers be upon her, used to take care of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers be upon him and his family, with a distinct care, like a mother’s care for her child. For the Messenger of Allah, she was like a merciful and kind mother who lavished her tenderness and love upon him.
The Second Reason
The second reason is the Prophet’s appreciation for her. By giving her this nickname, perhaps the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers be upon him and his family, wanted to show his appreciation, love, and tenderness towards her by showing his love for her on the level of his love for his honorable and compassionate mother, Amina Bint Wahab, so that everyone knows that his daughter, al-Zahra, is the subject of his pampering, appreciation, love, and tenderness on this high level.
The Third Reason
The third reason is a statement of her preference over the mothers of the believers. Perhaps the most important reason for her nickname being her father’s mother is to show the superiority of al-Zahra, peace be upon her, over the wives of the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers be upon him and his family, and the mothers of the believers, as the wives of the Prophet are like mothers to the believers, as Allah Almighty says: “and his wives are their mothers.” As a result, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, wanted to show that his daughter Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon her, is higher in status and rank than his wives, the mothers of the believers. Fatima al-Zahra is higher than them because she is the mother of the Prophet Muhammad, and he is the most honorable of creation and the best of them all, including the believers, men and women, but rather the prophets and messengers. So, where is this virtue from?
The Integrated Woman Model
She was a woman who could distinguish between two personalities that all normal daughters of Eve cannot do without, the woman’s emotional, tender and soft personality and the confident, strong, and solid personality of the woman in her attitudes.
The first personality is the woman with her husband, children, and her small family at home, where this behavior nourishes both the husband and children and provides them with essential psychological and moral needs. The second personality is the woman’s personality when life leads her outside the family home or circumstances force her to be amid challenges and hard-to-bear pressures.
The ability to separate the two personalities according to situations and necessities is not an easy process, although it is important and necessary. In one of al-Zahra’s sermons, we notice how she deliberately nurtures her with that personality and a spirit full of confidence in herself, her lineage, her words, and her actions. A confidence that gives its owner strength and ennobles it with prestige and majesty. She said: “O people! Know that I am Fatima, and my father was Muhammad. I say, and I will repeat this again and again, and I do not utter any falsehood, and whatever I do shall not be wrong.”
The speech is confident and determined, with no hesitation and no doubt or uncertainty in it. Rather, certainty is dominant in the validity of her words and actions, without fear or dread.
As for the personality of kindness and tenderness, talking about her fills the horizons after the Messenger of Allah said about her (the mother of her father), and after the words flowed from Ali’s heart as he expressed his satisfaction with her and his sorrow for her after her death.
The inability to separate and distinguish between the two personalities, and the lack of awareness of the place and circumstance in which that or the other personality rises, is what causes disorientation and loss for women and deprives them of the integrity of their personality and thus their success in the various affairs and challenges of life.
If a woman evokes her affection in her public presence outside the home and works her full femininity outside the scope permitted by the sharia, then she will be closer to fluidity, and she will not stop at a certain limit, and she will lose much of her ability to act, give, and influence what Allah Almighty wanted from man’s succession on earth, “And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I will make a successor in the earth…’ ” Nor will she amount to sharing the responsibility for the reconstruction of the earth that Allah wanted from people, “He created you from earth and made you occupiers of it.”
The opposite can also be approached by a person in the image of a woman who goes through life, such as a working woman, an employee, and a manager, to other professions and businesses, for if her practical personality, which imposes strictness, seriousness, and dealing away from emotion, crystallized, and she wanted to reflect all of this on her husband, family, and children, then she would destroy everything in front of her, and she would be destroyed.
The admirer of al-Zahra’s stances realizes the depth and precise meaning of the perfect woman. She is the one who brings together two personalities, the first is a soft, emotional female personality, and the second is a confident, strong human personality with the scale of life’s challenges and burdens, with the ability to reconcile and harmonize between those two personalities, and awareness of the appropriate place and circumstance for each character.
This is Fatima.
