It is a fact that some of the Muslims did not show due respect to the Mistress of all Women of the Worlds during her lifetime, and made her endure different forms of humiliation and disgrace. They confronted her with cruelty and did not care for her honour or the honour of her father, the Prophet of Allah (S). They did not pay heed to the words of Allah, when He revealed manifest verses praising her, her husband and her sons, the Masters of the Youth of Paradise, such as the Verse of Purification (ayah al-tathir), the Verse of Malediction (ayah al-mubahalah), the Surah of Hal Ata, and the verse about loving the [Prophet’s] near relatives (ayah al-mawaddah).

It was as if they had not heard the statement of the Prophet about her when he said: “A man’s honour is preserved through his children,” and “Fatimah is part of me, whoever hurts her has hurt me,” and other such sayings which the Prophet addressed to his community regarding is only daughter Fatimah al-Zahra. Yet when she had asked them for help, they did not help her and when she sought their assistance they refused to assist her, and none of them stood to speak on her behalf.

Indeed, Allah, the Almighty, protected and will always protect the status of Fatimah al-Zahra (‘a) and will ensure that nothing is diminished from her rights. He has mentioned her in His Book and has given her a position that no other female in the world has ever attained, making her the Mistress of all Women of the Worlds. In addition to all this, Allah will make her great status known to all the people of the world on the Day of Resurrection. On the day when the oppressors shall be raised with blackened faces, and when the wrongdoer will bite his hands [out of regret]. That is the day when Allah will gather the pharaohs of every nation while they are disgraced and humiliated, having been chastened by the Great Terror, and each of them will recollect his deeds, his tyranny, and his carnage.

He will read his file [of deeds] which is full of transgression against the commandments of Allah, injustice against His friends, shedding blood of innocents and humiliating the righteous. On that day, the ipseity of the tyrants will vanish, the resources of the oppressors will disappear and the power of the pharaohs will be snatched away.

On that day, the superiority of al-Siddiqah al-Tahirah will become manifest, as well as her lofty station with her Lord, her magnificent standing and her great status. It will be a wonderful, auspicious, felicitous day. The Prophets of Allah will be raised from their graves and will proceed towards the place of assembly, as will all the people of different religions, races and deeds, and all the communities with their different laws and customs. The whole world will be raised:

وَحَشَرْنَاهُمْ فَلَمْ نُغَادِرْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا

“We shall gather them and will not leave out any one of them” (18:47).

Even the foetuses that were miscarried from the wombs of their mothers will be brought in the form of complete human beings. Most of the people will be naked, and all of them will be barefoot.

They will gather on the plain of al-Mahshar and will line up in rows that number up to seventy thousand, each one starting from the farthest eastern point and ending at the westernmost point. It is on this day that the personality of al-Zahra will become manifest to the people who have assembled. Let us now turn to some traditions that speak about this matter. Aside from the numerous traditions that have been narrated by the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), a large number of Sunni scholars have also mentioned this. Some of them include:

1. Al-Hakim al-Nisaburi narrates that Ali (‘a) said: “I heard the Prophet (S) say, ‘On the Day of Resurrection, a caller will call out from behind the curtain: O people of the assembly, lower your gaze So, that Fatimah Bint Muhammad may pass.’”1 This has also been narrated by Ibn al-Athir2, al-Kanji al-Shafi’i3 and al-Dhahabi.4

2. Al-Hamdani narrates the same tradition with the following addition: From Ali (‘a), from the Prophet (S) who said: “On the Day of Resurrection, a caller will call out from the centre of the Throne: ‘O People, lower your gaze, for Fatimah Bint Muhammad is advancing forward with the shirt stained by al-Husayn’s blood.’ She will come to the base of the Throne and say: ‘You are the Mighty and Just, So, judge between me and those who killed my son.’ So, by the Lord of the Ka’bah, Allah will pass judgment [on this] in accordance with my sunnah. Then she will say: ‘O Allah, grant me the right to intercede on behalf of those who cried for him,’ and Allah will give her permission to do so.”5

Others who have narrated this include al-Zarandi in Nazm Durar al-Simtayn, al-Muttaqi in Kanz al-’Ummal6, al-Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawa’id7, Ibn al-Sabbagh al-Maliki in al-Fusul al-Muhimmah8, Ibn Abi al-Hadid in Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalani in Lisan al-Mizan9 and al-Suyyuti in al-Khasa’is10, al-Jami’ al-Saghir and al-Ta’liqat. Others who have also recorded this tradition include: al-Kanani al-Misri in Tanzih al-Shari’ah al-Marfu’ah, al-Nabhani in al-Fath al-Kabir and Jawhar al-Bihar, al-Shafi’i in al-Manaqib, Mulla Ali al-Qari in Jam’ al-Wasa’il, al-Qanduzi in Yanabi’ al-Mawaddah, al-Shubrawi in al-Ittihaf bi Hubb al-Ashraf and al-Shablanji in Nur al-Absar.

3. The following tradition is narrated from Abu Hurayrah by Abu Na’im in Dala’il al-Nubuwwah, Ibn Hajar al-Haythami in al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah and others. It is also narrated from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari by al-Khwarizmi in Maqtal al-Husayn where he says: The Prophet of Allah (S) said: “A caller will call out from the centre of the Throne: ‘O people of the assembly, bow your heads and lower your gazes So, that Fatimah Bint Muhammad may pass over the sirat.’ Then seventy thousand houri slave-girls will accompany her [as they pass] like a flash of lightening.”

This has similarly been narrated by al-Qirmani in Akhbar al-Duwal, al-Tabari in Dhakha’ir al-’Uqba, Ibn Sabbagh in al-Fusul al-Muhimmah, and al-Safuri in Nuzhat al-Majalis. The aforementioned tradition has also been narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and others.

4. A large group of Sunni scholars have narrated from the Prophet of Allah (S) that al-Sayyida Fatimah al-Zahra (‘a) will enter [the plain] of al-Mahshar [riding] on the camel of the Prophet (S) called al-Ghadhba’ or his camel al-Qaswa.

Fatimah Al-Zahra (‘A) And Intercession

There are many traditions, recorded in the books of both the Shi’ah and Ahl al-Sunnah, that clearly mention the intercession of al-Sayyida Fatimah al-Zahra (‘a) on the Day of Judgment. Some of these include:

1. Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari said: “I said to Abu Ja’far (al-Baqir) (‘a), ‘May I be your ransom O son of the Prophet of Allah, narrate to me a tradition about the greatness of your grandmother Fatimah, which might please the Shi’ah when I convey it to them.’ He (‘a) said, ‘My father narrated to me from my grandfather, from the Prophet of Allah (S) who said: “On the Day of Resurrection, pulpits of light will be placed for the Prophets and Messengers, and my pulpit will be higher than the rest on that day. Then Allah will say: ‘Give a sermon’ So, I will give a sermon the likes of which none of the Prophets or Messengers have heard. Then pulpits of light will be placed for the vicegerents and for my successor, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, a pulpit will be placed in the centre, and his pulpit will be higher than all of their pulpits. Then Ali will be told to give a sermon and he will give a sermon the likes of which none of the vicegerents have ever heard. Then pulpits of light will be placed for the children of the Prophets and Messengers, and my two beloved sons, the source of my delight during my lifetime, will have pulpits of light. They will be asked to speak and they will speak in a manner which none of the progenies of the Prophets and Messengers have heard!

Then a caller – who is Jibra’il (‘a) – will call out: ‘Where is Fatimah Bint Muhammad?’…so she (‘a) will stand… Allah, the Almighty, will ask: ‘O people, to whom does dignity and honour belong this day?’ So, Muhammad, Ali, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (‘a) will reply: ‘To Allah, the One, the Subduer.’

Then Allah will say: ‘O people of the assembly, I have reserved honour for Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn! O people, lower your heads and turn down your gazes, for here comes Fatimah, proceeding towards Paradise.’ Then Jibra’il will bring her a camel from Paradise, adorned on both sides, with a bridle made of pearls and a saddle made of coral. The camel will kneel before her and she will sit on it. Allah will send a hundred thousand angels to walk on her right and another hundred thousand who will walk on her left. He will send a hundred thousand angels to carry her on their wings until they bring her to the gates of Paradise. When she arrives at the gates, she will start looking around. Allah will say: ‘O daughter of my beloved [Prophet], what are you looking for when I have already commanded that you be brought into My Paradise?’ She will say: ‘My Lord, I wished that my status would be known on a day such as this!’ So, Allah will say: ‘O daughter of My beloved, go back and look for anyone who has love for you or [for] your progeny in his heart; take them yourself and bring them into Paradise!’”

Abu Ja’far said, “O Jabir, on that day she will handpick her followers and those who love her, just as a bird picks the good grains amongst the bad ones. Once her followers are with her at the gates of Paradise, Allah will inspire them to look around. When they do this, Allah will say: ‘O My beloved servants, why do you look around after Fatimah, the daughter of My beloved Prophet, has already interceded on your behalf?’ They will say: ‘O Allah, we wished that our true status would be known on this day!’ So, Allah will say: ‘O My beloved servants, go back and look for those who loved you because of your love for Fatimah. Look for those who fed you for the love of Fatimah, those who clothed you for the love of Fatimah, those who quenched your thirst for the love of Fatimah and those who protected your honour for the love of Fatimah, and take them all by the hand and lead them into Paradise…’”11

2. It has been reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “I heard Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali (‘a) say, ‘The Prophet of Allah (S) came to Fatimah one day while she was sad. He said to her, “What has made you sad my daughter?” She replied, “O father, I remembered the Mahshar and the fact that people will all be standing naked on the Day of Resurrection!” He said, “O daughter, it is Indeed, a great day, but Jibra’il has informed me that Allah has said that the first person to be raised from the grave will be me, then your husband Ali Ibn Abi Talib (‘a) and then Allah will raise you. Jibra’il will be sent to your grave with seventy thousand angels and he will strike your grave with seven spheres of light. Then Israfil will bring you three gowns of light and, standing next to your head, he will call out to you: “O Fatimah Bint Muhammad, stand up and proceed to the assembly.” You will rise up with ease and without any fear, fully covered, and Israfil will hand you the gowns that you will wear. Rawfa’il will then bring you a thoroughbred of light whose bridle is made of pearls and upon whom will be a howdah of gold. You will sit on it and Rawfa’il will lead it, and in front of you will be seventy thousand angels carrying banners of glorification. When you begin advancing, you will be joined by seventy thousand houris who will welcome you and look admiringly towards you. Each of them will have a censer of light in her hand and the censers will emit incense without burning any fire. Upon their heads will be jeweled crowns, inlaid with green emeralds.”’”12

3. Imam al-Baqir (‘a) narrates from Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari, from the Prophet of Allah (S) who said: “On the Day of Resurrection, my daughter Fatimah will be brought on a camel from the camels of Paradise… there will be seventy thousand angels on her right and seventy thousand angels on her left. Jibra’il will lead the camel by its reins and call out in his loudest voice: ‘Lower your gaze So, that Fatimah Bint Muhammad may pass,’ and at that moment there will be no prophet, messenger, truthful one or martyr but that he will lower his gaze until Fatimah has passed… She will [then] say: ‘My Lord and Master, judge between me and those who oppressed me. O Allah, judge between me and those who killed my son.’ Then a voice will be heard from the Almighty: ‘My beloved and the daughter of my beloved, ask anything of Me and I will grant it, intercede and I will accept your intercession. By my Power and Might, I will not overlook the oppression of any oppressor.’ She will say, ‘My Lord and Master, [I wish to intercede for] my progeny, my followers and the followers of my progeny, those who love me and love my progeny.’ A voice will come from Allah, the Almighty: ‘Where is the progeny of Fatimah and her followers and those who loved her and her progeny?’ So, they shall come forward, surrounded by angels of mercy, and will be led by Fatimah (‘a) into Paradise.”13

4. It has been reported from the Prophet (S), in relation to the verse:

لَا يَحْزُنُهُمُ الْفَزَعُ الْأَكْبَرُ وَتَتَلَقَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ هَٰذَا يَوْمُكُمُ الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ

“The Great Terror will not upset them, and the angels will receive them [saying]: ‘This is your day which you were promised’” (21:103).

that he (S) said: “…Thus my daughter Fatimah will enter Paradise with her progeny and followers, and those most righteous towards them from the ones who were not her followers. This is the meaning of the phrase: ‘The Great Terror will not upset them.’ It refers to the Day of Resurrection. [The verse:]

وَهُمْ فِي مَا اشْتَهَتْ أَنْفُسُهُمْ خَالِدُونَ

“And they shall abide in that which their souls long for” (21:102).

refers to Fatimah and her progeny and followers, and those who were kind to them from amongst those who were not their followers.”14

After going through these reliable traditions and authentic narrations that speak about the intercession of al-Sayyida Fatimah (‘a) on the Day of Judgment, let us now examine some of the astonishing opinions and surprising views that go against all the Qur’anic verses and Prophetic traditions confirming the intercession of the close servants of Allah. We find some people rejecting the idea of intercession and denying its possibility even from the Master of Prophets, Muhammad (S), while assuming that by doing So, they are defending the belief in the Unicity of God, as if intercession is antithetical to tawhid or leads to polytheism.

Read the following blessed verses and then decide:

مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ

“Who is it that can intercede with Him but by His permission” (2:255).

وَلَا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ

“And they do not intercede except for someone He approves of” (21:28).

مَا مِنْ شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ

“There is no intercessor, except by His leave” (10:3).

لَا يَمْلِكُونَ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّخَذَ عِنْدَ الرَّحْمَٰنِ عَهْدًا

“No one will have the power to intercede [with Allah], except for him who has taken a covenant with the all-Beneficent” (19:87).

يَوْمَئِذٍ لَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ

“Intercession will not avail that day except from him whom the all-Beneficent permits” (20:109).

وَلَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ

“Intercession is of no avail with Him except for those whom He permits” (34:23).

وَكَمْ مِنْ مَلَكٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ لَا تُغْنِي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئًا إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ أَنْ يَأْذَنَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَرْضَىٰ

“How many an angel is there in the heavens whose intercession is of no avail in any way except after Allah grants permission to whomever He wishes” (53:26).

These verses clearly state that intercession will take place with the permission of Allah and specific individuals will be allowed to intercede for others. Are these verses not enough to establish the intercession of the close friends of Allah? The abovementioned verses explicitly refer to the intercession of the close friends (awliya’) of Allah on the Day of Judgment. As for their intercession in this world, there are other verses that speak of the authority of the awliya’ to intercede, supplicate and seek forgiveness for people, such as:

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا

“Had they, when they wronged themselves, come to you and pleaded to Allah for forgiveness, and the Apostle had pleaded for forgiveness for them, they would have surely found Allah all-Clement, all-Merciful” (4:64)

This verse shows that if sinners came to the Prophet for forgiveness and sought his intercession in order to gain forgiveness from Allah, if the Prophet sought forgiveness for them at that moment, then they would surely find Allah to be all-Forgiving and all-Merciful. If asking the Prophet to intercede is a form of polytheism, why would they find Allah to be forgiving and merciful when we know that Allah does not forgive one who ascribes partners to him?

قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا اسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا خَاطِئِينَ

“They said, ‘Father! Plead [with Allah] for forgiveness of our sins! We have Indeed, sinned’” (12:97).

قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّ

“He said, ‘I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you…’” (12:98).

The children of Ya’qub asked their father to pray for their forgiveness and he replied affirmatively saying that he would seek forgiveness from Allah on their behalf.

وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنْبِكَ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ

“And ask [Allah] for forgiveness of your sin and for the faithful” (47:19).

وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ إِنَّ صَلَاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَهُمْ

“And bless them; Indeed, your blessing is a comfort to them” (9:103).

وَمَنْ يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُنْ لَهُ كِفْلٌ مِنْهَا

“Whoever intercedes for a good cause shall receive a share of it” (4:85)

Of course, this subject needs a more detailed discussion, but that is beyond the scope of this work and needs to be dealt with separately, and only Allah grants success.

Praying To Allah Through The Intermediation Of Fatimah Al-Zahra

Allah says:

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ

“They are the ones who supplicate, seeking a means to their Lord” (17:57).

Al-Hakim al-Haskani al-Hanafi narrates15 that ‘Ikrimah said regarding this verse: “It refers to the Prophet, Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn.” In another narration, it is reported that the Prophet (S) said: “When Allah created Adam, He showed him the light of Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, then He revealed to him: ‘These are the five whom I have named from My own names… I am al-Mahmud and this is Muhammad, I am al-Ali and this is Ali, I am al-Fatir and this is Fatimah, I am al-Ihsan and this is al-Hasan, and I am al-Muhsin and this is al-Husayn… So, if you ever need anything from Me then use their intercession.’” Then the Prophet (S) said, “We are the Ark of Salvation, whoever departs from us is destroyed and whoever needs anything from Allah should ask through us, the Ahl al-Bayt…”16

It is narrated that al-Sayyida Fatimah (‘a) said: “Praise Allah, for all who are in the heavens and earth seek recourse to Him because of His greatness and light; and we are the means to Him among His creatures. We are His special servants; we are His proofs and we are the heirs of His Prophets…”17 And it is reported that Imam al-’Askari (‘a) said: “We are the proofs of Allah to the creation and Fatimah is a proof over us.”18

In one report, we find that Imam al-Baqir (‘a) once fell ill and had a fever, So, he prayed to Allah to grant him wellbeing in the name of al-Sayyida al-Zahra (‘a) and, while he was ailing on his bed, he called out in his loudest voice, “O Fatimah Bint Muhammad!” Until his voice could be heard at the door of his house.19

One of the best ways to get one’s wishes fulfilled is to say: “O Allah, send blessings upon Fatimah, her father, her husband, and her children, to the extent that can only be encompassed by Your knowledge,” repeating these five hundred and thirty times.

• 1. al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, pp. 166, 175.
• 2. Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 7, p. 216.
• 3. Kifayat al-Talib, p. 364.
• 4. Mizan al-I’tidal, vol. 2, p. 18.
• 5. ‘Awalim al-’Ulum, vol. 11, p. 340.
• 6. Kanz al-’Ummal, vol. 12, p. 199, 202.
• 7. Majma’ al-Zawa’id, vol. 6, p. 212.
• 8. al-Fusul al-Muhimmah, vol. 1, p. 661.
• 9. Lisan al-Mizan, vol. 3, p. 237.
• 10. al-Khasa’is al-Kubra, vol. 2, p. 339.
• 11. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 8, p. 51; Tafsir Furat Ibn Ibrahim, p. 113.
• 12. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 224.
• 13. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 226.
• 14. Tafsir Furat al-Kufi, p. 269.
• 15. Cf. Shawahid al-Tanzil, vol. 1, p. 446.
• 16. Fara’id al-Simtayn, vol. 2, p. 242.
• 17. Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. 16, p. 211.
• 18. ‘Abd al-Husayn Tayyib (d. 1411 A.H.), Atyab al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, vol. 13, p. 225.
• 19. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 46, p. 215.