اللّهم صلّ علی الصدیقة فاطمة الزكیة حبیبة حبیبك و نبیّك و ام أحبّائك و أصفیائك الّتی انتجبتها و فضّلتها و اخترتها علی نساء العالمین و صلّ علی ولدها الذی بشّرها به خاتم النبیین صلوات الله علیه و آله، بقیة الله فی ارضه ارواح العالمین له الفداء.

Whatever has been written and spoken or will be written and spoken in the future about the comprehensive and dynamic personality of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her), can reach nowhere near the true virtues and status of this glorious Lady who is the Mistress of all women of the world.

Although the life of Prophet’s beloved daughter, Lady Fatima Zahra (peace be upon her), was extremely short due to the oppressions and atrocities that she had to face, but in spite of it, this short life has truly served as a role-model for the entire humanity and especially, the seekers of divine truth.

As the poet said:

ضلّ من جعل مقیاس الحیاة الطولا

The criteria and barometer of a successful life should not be the number of years lived by a person, but the actual criteria should be the benefits gained from that life by others. The life of Lady Fatima Zahra (peace be upon her), just like the life of her honorable father, Allah’s Messenger Mohammad bin Abdullah (peace be upon him and his progeny), was full of blessings and abundant bounties. 

In the entire universe and the world of existence, there is no one closer to the holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) than Lady Zahra (peace be upon her), from the aspects of knowledge, etiquettes, lifestyle, human virtues and status, spiritual and physical attributes, and the distinguished features.

Even though the length of the life of Prophet’s daughter’s (peace be upon her) was not more than 18 years but its breadth and vastness is definitely more than millions of years. It is remarkable that a person in such a short life-span performs such great actions which are unmatchable by others even in thousands of years. Considering these aspects, how much ever we discuss about the status and virtue of her eminence, it will evidently not be sufficient.

Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) holds all those positions which can be assumed for a perfect human being. Lady Fatima Zahra (peace be upon her) holds a distinguished status in all the dimensions of Islamic life such as faith, divine cognition, servitude of Allah, heedlessness towards the world, sacrifice for others, being a good spouse, upbringing of children, protection of chastity and veil, safeguarding all those values and dignities mentioned for women in Islam, and serving as the unique example of all the ten attributes mentioned for women (which are also considered praiseworthy for men) in the chapter Ahzab and being a role model for everyone.

The entire life-sketch of Lady Fatima Zahra (peace be upon her) is miraculous for all human beings that how a woman can obtain all the sublime and top-most positions and yet continue her ascending journey towards Allah (s.w.t.).
The luminescent existence of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) is such that some of the wives of Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) described her in this manner:

“I haven’t seen anyone greater than Fatima except her father”.

The stand taken by Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) after the demise of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him & his household) is extremely magnanimous and astonishing. She took the responsibility of propagating the truth among the people and delivered a great sermon inside the Prophet’s mosque.

It was not possible to deliver a sermon in such difficult circumstances and unveil the truth for the entire Muslim world but Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) is that unique personality which gave such an eloquent and remarkable speech that the memory of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) revived in the hearts of the listeners.

Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) entered the Prophet’s Mosque in this manner that she had covered herself with a veil from head to foot in such a way that the veil was dragging along the ground and the women from the dynasty of Bani Hashim had surrounded her. A curtain was raised between the men and women on the command of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) so that she can deliver her speech standing behind it and she delivered an extempore sermon on hearing which there was pin drop silence in the audience and tears shed from their eyes constantly.

The existence of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) is a heavenly and celestial one. Individuals like us can neither understand the greatness of her personality nor describe it worthwhile.

Among the pillars of the pure household of Prophet (peace be upon them), Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) is doubtlessly an immensely important pillar. When the verse of Tatheer descended, she was the only woman among the five individuals for whom the verse was revealed and who served as an implication for it.

And in the verse of Mubahila, she was the only woman present alongside her father, Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him and his progeny). Similarly, regarding the verse of Mawaddah, when the Prophet was asked about the implication of Qurba , he said: Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain (peace be upon them).

The blessed existence of Lady Fatima (peace be upon her) serves as an argument and proof for the truthfulness of the Shia sect.

Once when I was in Medina, I heard that there is a bookstore in the city where anti-Shia books are sold. I went to that bookstore and began to study the books available there. I saw that a book was kept on the table of the bookstore’s owner, which had the name “Wa Jaa’ Daural Majoos” on it.

I started a conversation with the owner of the bookstore. He named some books which I hadn’t heard of. Then he asked me if I knew about those books or not?

I said: I do not know about these books but I know for a fact that all these books are filled with lie and false accusations.

He asked: How can you say this without reading those books?

As I opened the book, I proved it for him at the first glance that the things that are written in this book are false and fabricated.

After a while, he asked me about my view on the caliphate of those two people?

I told them: What kind of a question is this! It is evident that someone who doesn’t believe in them will be considered infidel and one who dies without gaining their cognition will die the death of ignorance and infidelity.

He was constantly trying to know about the beliefs of Shias regarding Caliphate.

I said: Our belief is the same as the belief of Lady Fatima Zahra (peace be upon her). On hearing these words from me, he became silent.

It is evident that he could not reject the belief of Lady Zahra (s.a.) regarding the Caliphs.

Then he asked: What is your view on this (make believe) consensus?

I said: We remain on the belief of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her).

When I repeated this statement once again with more firmness, he could not say anything in response.

In short, the stand taken by Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) is a stand which strengthens the foundation and the very roots of the Shia school of thought and approves it vehemently. Therefore, we must make the teaching of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) available and accessible for everyone because these very beliefs and teachings serve as proof and argument for the justification of Shias.

In these days of commemoration, we must attentively study the miraculous speech of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) under which she has explained all the aspects of life and the necessary teachings of Islam.

We must focus on the greatness of this statement of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) in which she said, ‘The best of all women is one who is not witnessed by a stranger and who does not witness a stranger’. The lovers and devotees of Lady Zahra (s.a.) must pay attention to these golden words.

Such programs must always be held on this great lady, who is the Mistress of the worlds, and her virtues must be remembered and revived because this will help in gaining Allah’s proximity and it will serve as a significant medium of keeping alive the cause of Prophet’s pure household (peace be upon them) and especially Lady Zahra (peace be upon her).

Nevertheless, those who glorify and praise the position and status of her eminence must also act upon her teachings and commands. As Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said in one of his couplets:

تعْصِی الْإِلَهَ وَ أَنْتَ تُظْهِرُ حُبَّهُ                             هَذَا مُحَالٌ فِی الْفِعَالِ بَدِیعٌ‏
                 لَوْ كَانَ حُبُّكَ صَادِقاً لَأَطَعْتَهُ                           إِنَّ الْمُحِبَّ لِمَنْ یُحِبُّ مُطِیع

(You disobey Allah and express love for Him; this is impossible and an unprecedented act. If your love for Him was true, You would’ve obeyed him; a lover is always obedient towards his love)

It means that the love of Lady Zahra (peace be upon her) is the sign of our truthfulness and righteousness. May Allah grant us the opportunity to steadfastly walk on the path of this great lady and always continue to obey His commands, and follow His Messenger and the holy Progeny (peace be upon them).

References:

1. Majma Al-Zawaid Haythami, Al-Manaqib, Baab Manaqib Fatima binte Rasool Allah (s.a.w.s.), Hadith 15193.
2. Chapter Ahzab, verse 33. (Indeed Allah desires to repel all impurity from you, O People of the Household, and purify you with a thorough purification).
3. Chapter Al-Imran, verse 61. (Should anyone argue with you concerning him, after the knowledge that has come to you, say, ‘Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our souls and your souls, then let us pray earnestly, and call down Allah’s curse upon the liars”.
4. Chapter Shura, verse 23. (Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except the love of {my} relatives).
5. Bihar Al-Anwar, v. 23, chapter 13.
6. Wasail Al-Shia, v. 20, Hadith 25054.
7. Amali Sheikh Sadooq (r.a.), Majlis 74.