Third lesson
3) Fatima al-Zahra
Fatima (a) commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra (a) was the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (s) and Lady Khadija (a) and the wife of Imam Ali (a). She is one of the People of the Cloak and, in Twelver Shiite belief, one of the Fourteen Infallibles. She was the mother of second and third Imams, as well as Lady Zaynab and Umm Kulthum. Al-Zahra, al-Batul, Sayyidat Nisa’ al-‘Alamin and Umm Abiha are among her epithets. She was the only lady chosen by the Prophet (s) to be part of the Mubahala with the Christians of Najran.
She opposed the decisions made during the event of Saqifa and regarded the caliphate of the first caliph as illegitimate; therefore, she never paid allegiance to him. In defense of Imam Ali’s right (a) to the caliphate and objecting to the Usurpation of Fadak, she delivered a speech that became famous as the al-Fadakiyya sermon. After the demise of the Prophet (s), Fatima (a) was injured when an armed group of zealots, at the order of the first caliph, stormed her house. She was advised to rest at home due to suffering from both emotional and physical wounds that had debilitated her body. However, after a short time, she passed away at the age of 18, on the Jumada II 3, 11/August 26, 632 in Medina. The body of the Prophet’s (s) daughter was, as she had requested, buried at night and in private. Since then, the location of her grave ist still unknown.
Some Qur’anic verses, such as al-Tathir Verse (the Purification Verse), al-Mawadda Verse (the Love Verse) and al-It’am Verse (the Feeding Verse), and many traditions, such as “Fatima is a part of me”, were stated about Lady Fatima (a) and her virtues. According to some of these traditions, the Prophet (s) introduced Lady Fatima (a) as the most superior of the women of all Worlds and equated her anger with that of Allah. It was to her that the Prophet (s) taught the dhikr (litany) that came to be known as the Tasbih of Lady Fatima (a).
During the days that preceded the anniversary of Fatima’s (a) martyrdom -known as the Fatimiyya Days- the Shi’a hold mourning ceremonies.