The Significance & Importance Of Fatimah Al-Zahra (A) - Wiladat Fatimah Al-Zahra (A)

'A'udhu bil-Lahi min al-Shaytan al-rajim. Bismi-Llahi, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. Al-hamdulil-Lahi Rabbi al-Alameen, bari' al-khalaa'iqi ajma'een. Wa as-salat wa as-salam 'ala asharaf al-Anbiya'i wa al-Mursalin, Sayyidina, wa Nabiyyina, wa habibi qulubina, wa tabibi nufusina, wa shafi'i dhunubina, Abi il-Qasim Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. Thumma as-salatu wa as-salamu 'ala Ahli baytihi, at-tayyibin, at-taharin. Wa la'anatu Allahi al-a'da'ihim ajma'in. Amma ba'd, faqad qala Allahu Tabaraka wa Ta'ala wa Huwa asdaq ul-qa’ilin. Bismillahi, al-Rahman, al-Rahim. "Am yahsudoona an-nas 'ala ma atahum Allah min fadhlih fa qad atayna aala Ibrahim al-Kitaba wa al-Hikma, wa ataynahum mulkan 'adheema" (4:54). Salawat 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

First and foremost on this happy occasion, I would like to congratulate all of you and your families on the wiladat of Sayyida Zahra, Sayyidat an-Nisa' al-'alameen [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. The daughter and the most beloved person to Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad].

The status of this exceptional and great lady is obviously not unknown to us, and one of the most amazing things about this great personality is that most of the fadha'il, most of the excellences and the ahadith that we have with her regard in our books, they are also to be found at times even more abundantly and copiously in the books of the Ahl Al-Sunnah. And these are all major sources of ahadith and Tafsir from the non-Shi’as, so from Bukhari to Muslim, to Tirmidhi to Nisa'i. When you come to Tafsir, Zamakhshari, Fakhruddin Razi, Tha'labi, Suyyuti, these are all giants in the Sunni world of scholars in different centuries, and they have all spoken with really amazing and glowing praise for her. What is surprising, though, is that when you read the works of Orientalists, we sometimes see the opposite of that, as if their sources are really not the sources of Islam.

In any case, that is not is not my subject tonight. Just as an example, sort of as a segue, an introduction to the subject, two of the most common narrations that you will find widely quoted by Shi’a and Sunni traditionalists or Muhaddithoon, one is the hadith of Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, that says [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad] that says "Fatimah is Sayyidat un-Nisaa' al-'alameen", that she is the leader of all the women of all times in the universe, ever in the world. This is widely, widely quoted by Shi’a and Sunni scholars. There is like no need to even verify the authenticity of such a narration.

The other very, very common narration that you will find quoted by Shi’a and Sunnis is again the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, that says that the four most excellent women of all ever created by Allah are four. And he mentions in that Asiyah Bint Mazahim, the wife of Fir'awn, who was the foster mother of Musa 'alayhi as-salam, Mariam the mother of Isa 'alayhum as-salam, and then Khadija bint Khuwaylid, the first and most beloved wife of the Prophet himself, and of course, Fatimatu az-Zahra Sayyidatu Nisaa' al-’alameen [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. And this again, is very, very widely quoted. We would need a whole separate session just to give you the references and say who has said what about these traditions.

And what is amazing is that when you read books of Orientalists, even now that are being written, you do not see this being reflected. For example, all books written in the recent past about the Prophet, they all will say, "Aisha the most beloved wife of the Prophet". But according to Bukhari and Muslim and all sources of hadith, the most beloved was Khadija 'alayha as-salam. Or, for example, again, with regards to Aisha as the wife of the Prophet, the most beloved person to the Prophet. But the most beloved was Fatimah. This is like undoubted when you read the books of ahadith and Tafsir.

In particular, there are certain verses of Qur'an you will find this being argued very strongly by the non-Shi’as. Just as an example, in Surah Aali Imran verse 42, Allah praises the mother of Isa alayha as-salam, Maryam, and he says that the angel said to, Allah sent the angels to Maryam to say: “Ya Maryam inn Allah astaffaki wa tahharaki wa astafaaki 'ala nisaa' al-’alameen” (3:42). Oh Maryam, Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of all the world. Twice chosen you. "Astaffaki wa tahharaki wa astafaaki 'ala nisaa' al-’alameen" Now there is a whole tafseeri debate on why "Astaffaki" is mentioned twice, in what sense is Mariam "'ala nisaa' al-’alameen" and so on. But that, again, would be a digression to our subject.

What is important for our concern tonight is that the mufassiroon, not the Shi’as, the non-Shi’as have made a point to remind Muslims and to argue that Maryam was "sayyidatu an-nisa' al-’alameen" only for her time and even in that she was not more excellent than Fatimah. This is not the Shi’as arguing. In fact, if we start comparing the wives of the Prophet and the daughter of the Prophet, it comes across as being polemic. People might be offended. You are trying to create divisions between Muslims and Shi’as and Sunnis. But a scholar, for example, like Aloosi.

Aloosi, for those of you who are familiar with Tafsir works, his work "Ruh al-Ma'ani" is held in very high regard. On this verse, and I should also mention that Aloosi does not like the Shi’as very well. On other verses, where there is issues that are of theological contention between the Shi’as and the Sunnis, he really takes the Shi’as to task. When he comments on this verse, he says, I wish to compare Fatimah, Khadija and Aisha. And he brings in different sources from Suyyuti and Ibn Asakir and all these other scholars, until he proves absolutely, without a doubt, without any request or being provoked in any way, he insists that you accept that the most excellent is Fatimah and then Khadija and then Aisha. He argues on that, very, very strongly. And he is not a Shi’a scholar. And he brings all the possible arguments that any Muslim might bring to prefer anyone else over Fatimah alayha as-salam and her mother, and then he argues against that.

For example, the Sunni Muslims have a hadith that says that one day when Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam was sitting [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad] with his wife Aisha, the angel Jibra'il, alayhi as-salam came to him, and Jibra'il said to the Prophet, Give my salaams to Aisha. They have this famous hadith from, I am not sure Abu Hurayrah or some admiration they have that they hold in high regard. And the Prophet said to Aisha, Oh Aisha, Jibra’il is here, he gives you salaams. And she said, And my salaams as well to Jibra’il.

Now, Aloosi brings this hadith. Then he says, If you argue that Jibra’il has given salaams to Aisha, then I have proof that Allah has sent salaams for Khadija. So he argues on every point and brings a hadith, for example, from Suyyuti Ibn Asakeer, that after the Prophet said the four women who are the most excellent are Asiyya and Maryam and Khadija and Fatimah, then the Prophet added, "and the most excellent of them is my daughter Fatimatu az-Zahra" salawat Allah 'alayha [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

And then of course, we have the Qur'an. When we talk of the Ayat of Tathir (33:33), we talk of the Ayat of Mubahala (3:61), we talk of Surat ul-Dahar (76:1-31), overflowing with the fadha’il of this great lady. Then we come to the ahadith of the Prophet himself and the narrations in history in how he treated her different from how a father would treat his daughter. It was more than just love for a daughter. For example, when a daughter enters the room, the father does not stand up in respect for his daughter. The daughter should stand up in respect for the father. But the Prophet, peace be on him and his family, would stand up to receive this daughter of his and kiss her hands and make her sit beside him.

Both Shi’a and Sunni narrators report that when he left Medina on an expedition or a battle or for any reason, the last house he would visit is the House of Fatimah. And when he returned to Medina, the first house he would go to would be the house of Fatimah alayha as-salam. So there are numerous of such traditions. And then "Fatimah bidh'atun mini", Fatimah is a piece of me, "man adhaaha fa qad adhaani", whoever hurts Fatimah hurts me. Whoever angers Fatimah angers Allah.

And then the hadith of the Prophet: “every man's progeny will continue through his sons, but my progeny continues through my daughter”. And then the hadith of the Prophet: “the Imams after me are 12 and they will all come through Fatimah”. And then the hadith of the Prophet: “the Mahdi is from my descendants. His name shall be my name, and he shall be from the descendants of Fatimah”. These are all common. A hadith mentioned by Shi’a and Sunni scholars.

Now, when we establish this as a premise, when we establish this as a basis, and when we bring this to the forefront of our thought, that this lady is not an ordinary lady, she is exceptional in the history of the world, not just Islam, that when Allah, azza wa jal, wishes to introduce His own Prophet, He introduces him through her. He says, "Hum Fatimah, wa abuha, wa ba'luha, wa banooha" [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad]. Which means she is the axis around which everything rotates, not just the progeny and the family of the Prophet, but the Prophet himself. She is at the center.

When we understand her excellence, the question that comes to mind then is why and how would history have denied the Ahl Al-Bayt 'alayhim as-salam their right, knowing that it can only come through the descendants of Fatimah alayha as-salam? If it is so glaring, if it is so obvious, if this hadith is found in such abundance by all Muslims, then what went wrong? There must have been something. And this is really the subject that I wish to touch upon this evening.

And there are obviously very many reasons we might look for in history to say those who had political ambitions, whether it was the Ummayyads or whether it was the Abbasids or whether it is even today, those who might be opposed to the school of the Ahl Al-Bayt 'alayhum as-salam, in what way do they justify that anyone else could have had the right of succession to Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, besides the descendants of Fatimah alayha as-salam? In what way?

I will just discuss three different plots, if you like, or three different ideas that were promoted amongst Muslims and spread amongst people to downplay the importance of this great lady, to compromise the status that Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, had blessed her with.

The first argument, the first of the three possible arguments that have been put forth in history, is that this whole idea of being attached to the family of the Prophet is actually a Jahiliyyah idea. It comes from Ayyam al-Jahiliya. Why? Because pre-Islam, there was no concept of Muslim brotherhood, or of piety or of saying the most excellent amongst us is the most pious amongst us. It was based totally on tribalism, on what is called Asabiyya. The Quraysh believed we are the most superior tribe. So what the Shi’as have done is they have clung or held onto this tribalistic idea that we must attach to the family of the Prophet, because tribe comes first, and obviously the tribe and the family of the Prophet should be given more importance than the tribe and the family of anyone else. So not based on any principle, not based on Qur'an and hadith, but merely based on a Jahiliyyah idea, is what motivated the Shi’as to insist that the right belongs to Fatimah and her children. This was one argument.

There was another argument given in history to say that a man can only be inherited and succeeded and his name can only be preserved and his legacy can only be upheld through his sons. Fatimah being a woman cannot be a successor to the Prophet. And Ali 'alayhi as-salam, was the son in law of the Prophet. A son in law does not inherit from his father in law, he does not take the legacy of his father in law. Therefore, Fatimah and Ali 'alayhim as-salam, have no right to claim successorship to the Prophet. This was the other argument.

And the third argument that was given was that, na'udhu bi-Llah, Fatimah alayha as-salam, being a woman was in some ways weak, because women tend to be emotional. When they are faced with some unpleasant experience in life or when they disagree with a matter, they give reasoning a back seat and they let their emotions take over and they make judgments and criticism based on their heart and instinct. And therefore, by virtue of being a woman, what she stands for cannot be taken so seriously because after all, she is a woman. So these are three different arguments. Now we want to look at each one of them. If you can recite Salawat 'ala Muhhamad wa aali Muhammad. [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

Let us talk about the first one, that this holding on to the Ahl Al-Bayt is a Jahiliyyah idea, it is tribalism. This idea is a modern argument, it is not so old, and it is largely pushed by the Wahhabis. It is not pushed by the Sunni Muslims, it is pushed by the Wahhabis who call themselves Salafis, that you are just being tribalistic. And I have heard this myself over the Internet, scholars from the Wahhabis to say that this is why the Shi’as hold on to the Ahl Al-Bayt.

What is most ironic is that Hijaz is ruled by a tribe, and they have renamed the country to Saudi Arabia, Saudi, al-Saud. And every Middle Eastern country today, from Qatar to Bahrain to Kuwait to the United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia, they are all ruled by families, tribes. So who is following Jahiliyyah? This is a glaring example. The Shi’as have been jahil fourteen hundreds years. Why do you hold on to Jahaliyyah? Why do you not choose your leaders based on piety and taqwa and principles of Qur'an and hadith? This is the first argument.

The second argument is that human beings have come to this planet, billions and trillions of human beings, and they exist today in billions and they will continue to exist. But when we look at the history of guidance, of divine guidance, of Hidaya from Adam 'alayhi as-salam, until this day, we see that Allah has insisted on only one linage or one lineage. There is one royal bloodline across human history. Only one. Why?

You see, the Qur'an says that when you do tableegh, you should go from your own community. It does not say that people should learn religion and then go and spread out and preach to the world. It says no. Why does not people from their own community go out and learn religion and then come back and warn their own community. Why? Because you are only perceptive to someone who you can identify with. If I come from a khoja background, I can influence the khoja community far better than if I was to go and speak to the Iranian community or the Arab community. Because they will identify with me. Even when I criticize them, they will not take it too hard, they will not say he is an outsider. They will say he is one of us. He feels for us, that is why he criticizes.

But what is strange is that Allah did not send a Prophet from the Chinese, go guide the people of China, a Prophet from the South Americans or the Incas, go guide them there. He insisted on this one line, from Adam. And in particular because in the early Prophets, there is a simple line that flows to Nuh and Idrees and so on. But once it comes to Ibrahim 'alayhi as-salam, from Ibrahim 'alayhi as-salam, it is only the Aal of Ibrahim, Isma’il and Ishaq, and then all the anbiyya' 'alayhim as-salam flow from there.

Why? This tells us that there is something special about this royal bloodline. It is not tribalistic. It is based on the purity of this line. It is based on what we recite in Ziyarat Warith. When we remember Imam Husayn 'alayhi as-salam, we say "wa ashhaddu annaka kunta nooran fil aslab ish-shamikha wal arham il-muttahara, lam tunnajjiska al-jahiliyyatu bi anjasiha". This Jahiliyyah is idol worship. I bear witness that you have been a noor that has flowed from one loin to another womb to another loin to another womb through history. You have not been touched by any form of ignorance.

That purity is so important, I will demonstrate to you how important it is. We talked about how people will only identify with those who are of the same community. After Ibrahim 'alayhi as-salam, from his son Ishaq, he had a son called Yaqoub. Yaqoub had 12 sons, one of whom was Yusuf 'alayhi as-salam. So Yusuf is from Banu Israel. He is an Ibrahimi. He is from Ibrahim 'alayhi as-salam. Allah wants to send guidance to Egypt, to the people of Fir'awn.

Now, here there is a dilemma. What I would do if I was God, is I would create a prophet amongst the Egyptians. If Yusuf grows up into an adult and then goes to Egypt, they will not listen to him because they will say he is an outsider. If you read the Qur'an, when Hud and Salih, 'alayhim as-salam, go to the qawm of Aad and Thamood or when Lut preaches or when Nuh preaches or when Musa 'alayhim as-salam preach, they say "Ya qawmi", oh my people. They do not say I have come from two thousand miles away, I have been sent by God.

So what Allah does is Yusuf falls into a well, he is taken as a slave while he is a young boy, he grows up amongst the nobles of the Egyptians from the time he is a child, he becomes an adult amongst them so that they identify with him, he identifies with their culture. When he has gained their acceptance and won their confidence, and they believe in him and in his integrity, then he tells them stop worshipping idols and they accept that message from him.

There is something in this royal bloodline that Allah will take a child away from his family, hundreds of thousands of miles away, make him part of another community, and then make him a Prophet. But he will not appoint a Prophet from another bloodline.

Nuh! The whole world drowns, but Nuh has to be saved, because there is something in his blood. Hundreds and thousands of children are slaughtered by Fir'awn, but Musa is saved and raised in the palace of Fir'awn, because there is something in him that flows in his veins.

It is not recorded in any history that a man was thrown in fire and did not burn, but Ibrahim is thrown in the fire, he does not burn. Allah could have let him become shaheed and appoint another Prophet from another line. But no, there is something in this, there is a noor in this line, in this family that is flowing from before Adam, you see.

Ibrahim puts a knife on Isma'il. If you put a knife on anyone's neck and you, rest assured it will not change into a lamb or a ram or a sheep, but Isma'il has to be saved because there is something special about him.

So this point is laboured enough, but there is something special about this line. And we understand from this then that the association to the Ahl Al-Bayt alayhum as-salam, is not political, it is not tribalism, it is not based on Jahiliyyah, it is based on looking at history and saying Allah has chosen one family and one line, and He wishes guidance to remain in this line. He has given them certain gifts because of which they and only they can guide people. And that is why we insist on holding on to the Ahl Al-Bayt alayhum as-salam, Salawat 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

Which is also the verse of Qur'an that I began with. I started with the verse from Surat un-Nisa, Chapter four, verse 54 where Allah says: "Am yahsudoona an-nas 'ala ma atahum Allah"(4:54). Are people envious, are people jealous because of what He has given them? Now, who are these 'them' that He has given, and what has He given them? "Fa qad atayna aala Ibrahim al-Kitaba wa al-Hikma, wa ataynahum mulkan 'adheema" (4:54). He has given the descendants of Ibrahim the book and wisdom, and He has given them a mighty dominion over people.

And Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, salawat Allah wa as-salamu 'alayh [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad] he says: “We are Aale Ibrahim and this “mulkan 'adheema" is our Imamat. But the point to remember here is that Allah is saying, are people jealous? I have given them the book and wisdom, who are you to say this is tribalism or this is this or that?

But it is, again, not for every descendant of Ibrahim. Because the Banu Ummayya could also say we are descendants of Ibrahim. The Banu Abbas could also say we are descendants of Ibrahim. Ibrahim, when he was asked, told by Allah, I make you a Nabi, he did not say, Will my children become Nabi also? I make you a Rasul, he did not say, Will my children become Rasul also?

But when Allah said: "Inni jaa'ilukka li ‘n-nasi imama"(2:124), I make you an Imam of our people, he immediately knew this was something special. He said: "wa min dhurriyatee"(2:124), what about my descendants? Can you make them all Imams? And Allah says no: "La yanalu 'ahdi adh-dhalimeen"(2:124), this covenant will not come to the wrongdoers, to the unjust from your descendants.

So first of all, this: “Fa qad atayna aala Ibrahim al-Kitaba wa al-Hikma” (4:54), when you want to know who from Aalei Ibrahim are the ones who have been given "mulkan adheem", who have been given Imamat, they should not be dhalimeen, and they should have the Kitab and the Hikma. They should have the knowledge of the book and the wisdom. They should be able to sit before anyone and say "Saluni, saluni qablan tafqidooni". Salawat 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

In the interest of time, we come to our second argument. The second argument was that descendency and successorship to the Prophet cannot come through Fatimah alayha as-salam because she is a woman, and it cannot come through Ali because he is the son in law. This argument was pushed by the Banu Abbas, why? Because the Banu Abbas were descendants of Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet. This Abbas had a son called Abdullah Ibn Abbas, who is well known in history as Ibn Abbas. This Ibn Abbas was actually a very close companion of Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam. He was a student of Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam. The Sunnis quote tafseer of Qur'an very widely. A lot of their tafseer is from Ibn Abbas, from Abdullah Ibn Abbas, but Ibn Abbas took it all from Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam. In Nahj Al-Balagha there is a lot of references to this Ibn Abbas.

So the Banu Abbas argued that because Fatimah is a woman, we, the descendants of Abbas are the closest relatives to the Prophet. It was important for them to push this card that Fatimah and Ali are not eligible, because that was the only way they would hold onto their sovereignty, they would validate that we are the rightful successors of the Prophet.

Now, very quickly, before I respond to this, I want to just show you proof of this. What I have here is a book that is a part of Tabari's history. Usually when we quote Tabari, some of the Muslims who do not like the Shi’a, they say, Tabari is not an authentic source. He has quoted many traditions that are not authentic from here and there and we do not rely on Tabari. This particular part of Tabari, or this volume in English is volume 34, Tabari compiled it during his own time. So a lot of the history of Tabari was before his time, but this is the history that took place or occurred in his lifetime. So it was as if Tabari was writing current affairs. And this is the history of the Caliphs of Mutawakkil and Muntasir and so on.

He is talking about the Caliph Mutawakkil. Look at how important it was for the Banu Abbas to prove that Fatimah and Ali 'alayhim as-salam are not deserving to be successors of the Prophet. A man by the name of Marwan Abul Simt was a poet. He comes to Mutawakkil and recites some poetry for which Mutawakkil rewards him generously.

Now before I quote the few verses or stanzas of the poetry, let me tell you what he was given as a reward. When he recited this poetry, Mutawakkil first of all appointed him as the governor of Bahrain and Yamama. That was his first reward. The second reward was he was given four robes of honor in the public audience hall. So in the majlis of the Caliph to be given a robe, an expensive robe was a great, great honor in those days. It was like being given a medal of honor or being recognized before the whole nation. It was a big thing. He is given four expensive robes of honor. And then 3000 dinars, gold coins are sprinkled on his head and he is given that. And then 10000 dirhams are sprinkled on his head. Governorship, all that, what did he say in his poem? He just read one poem, he got all this.

He said, "The kingdom of the Caliph Ja’far" - Ja’far was the name of Mutawakkil - "the kingdom of the Caliph Ja’far bodes well being for this world in the next". It is good for Ja’far to be the Caliph in this world and in the next. "Oh Ja’far", he tells the Caliph, "yours is the heritage of Muhammad, and by your justice, oppression shall be banished. The daughter's sons are hoping for the heritage, but they do not have a right to it." Now the daughter's sons are who? The daughter is Fatimah, the sons are the Imams, right? In this particular case, it was the tenth Imam, Imam Ali Al-Hadi 'alayhi as-salam. So the daughter's sons are hoping to be the successors of the Prophet, but they have no right to this.

"And the son in law as well is not an heir", that means Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam, "And the daughter does not inherit the Caliphate", this is the English translation. "Those who pretend to your legacy shall only have regret", and so on and so on and so on. He reads, "The heritage is not for anyone but you, no by God, neither is the owner" and so on. After reading all this, the Caliph is so pleased, why? Because he has just put some more cement on the foundation of the Banu Abbas that we are the descendants, and he has captured their argument in a poem. So he is given governorship and gold and all that.

The argument, though, is a very weak one. Why? First of all, Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam is not just the son-in-law of the Prophet, he is also the cousin of the Prophet. Just as Abbas is the uncle of the Prophet, so is Abu Talib. So Abdullah Ibn Abbas is as a cousin to the Prophet, as Ali is a cousin to the Prophet. So if the Banu Abbas are close to the Prophet because of their by virtue of being descendants of the Prophet's uncle, then the Imams are also descendants of Imam Ali by virtue of being cousins and the uncle of the Prophet. So from their own argument, the whole thing collapses to begin with. It does not have any weight.

Then the second argument, of course, is from this Surat un-Nisa' that we read, that Allah has blessed Aali Ibrahim and given them the book and wisdom. So you must see who has the knowledge of the book and the wisdom and who has that integrity.

Then the argument that the daughter cannot inherit. That is a Jahiliyyah argument, based on what was said earlier, that is a Jahiliyyah argument to say that a daughter does not have the same right, whereas in Islam a daughter has the same right as the son. In fact, in the laws of inheritance if the daughter dies and she leaves a son, her son will inherit as much as she would inherit from the father rather than it going to the uncle and the grand uncle and the grandparents and so on and so forth. So that argument again of saying a daughter does not inherit also does not have any validity.

Then the hadith that is quoted widely, the Prophet said everyone's progeny goes through their fathers to their sons, but my progeny will continue through my daughter. How will you then explain that hadith? And all the other hadith, the Imams are from my descendants, the Mahdi is from my descendants, all that has to be explained.

Then there is the argument that Isa 'alayhi as-salam, is given to us as the descendant of Ishaq 'alayhi as-salam, through whom? Through Maryam! So if Isa can descend from Ishaq and Ibrahim through Maryam, why can't the Imams descend through Ibrahim from Fatimah alayha as-salam? So that again is another argument that brings that down.

And some of the most beautiful arguments really came from the Imams themselves. You see, the Caliphs would poke all the time and try and ask the Imams, are we not more entitled than you are? Are we not more entitled than you are? And the Imams had an amazing way of replying them.

In one particular case, it was not even an Imam. The Caliph Harun al-Rashid one day argued with the descendant of Imam Hasan 'alayhi as-salam. He said to him, You know, you are descendants of the Prophet's daughter. We are descendants of his uncle. The Prophet is like a cousin to us. So we have a greater right than you have.

Now he is the Caliph right? If you are audacious in front of him, he could behead you. So he just asked him very politely, he said, “If the Prophet was to come today and ask for the hand in marriage for your daughter, would you give your daughter to him?” And Harun says, Of course, what an honor. The Prophet wants my daughter's hand. I would not even think twice about it. He said the Prophet would not ask me because my daughter would be his mahram. Do you see who is close?

And then one day, Harun goes from Baghdad to Medina and he wants to show the people of Medina, I am the heir of the Prophet. So he walks in with big pomp into the mosque, Masjid al Nabawi, and he stands in front of the grave of the Prophet and he says, Oh cousin, Oh Rasul Allah, As-salamu 'alayka, Oh cousin, Oh Rasul Allah.

A few seconds later Imam Musa al-Kadhim 'alayhi as-salam, walks in, and this time when Imam Musa al-Kadhim 'alayhi as-salam walks in, he looks at the grave of the Prophet, he says, Oh grandfather, Oh Rasul Allah, As-salamu alayka ya Rasul Allah. To which we are told Harun walks out with rage because he came claiming cousin and the people of Medina are sitting and watching, and now the grandson has walked in. And in fact it is said this is one of the reasons he took the Imam to Baghdad and poisoned him because this was breaking the foundation of the Banu Abbas.

And that is why Fatimah is so important to us, because she defines the right of the Ahl Al-Bayt 'alayhim as-salam. Without her everything does not fit in place. She is the axis. A descendant of Imam Ali 'Alayhi as-salam is not necessarily an Imam if he is not from Fatimah. He is an 'Alawi but he is not a Fatimi. So she actually is the glue that holds everything together.

And then the final point that I come to and I won't take too much of your time, was this argument to say that she is weak as a woman and emotional. This argument was pushed by the Muslims who when they read history, they found that Fatimah alayha as-salam was insistent on the right of her husband and she refused to budge on that.

You see, when it comes to the issue of Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam, and whether he pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr or not, Muslims have different opinions, even the Orientalist scholars. The Shi’as say that the Imam did not pledge allegiance at all to the first caliph. The Sunni Muslims and the Orientalists some say he did not want to but he was forced, or the Caliph said, as long as Fatimah is alive, I will not force Ali to pledge allegiance to me, and then after six months, then he pledged allegiance to him, and so on and so forth. But nobody argues about the stand of Fatimah alayha as-salam.

And again, that is why she is so important. Because every time somebody argues with you, Well Imam Ali did pledge allegiance to the caliphs, Well Imam Ali did pray behind them, Well Imam Ali did give advice to them. The question is, what was Fatimah's stand with their regard? Given that the Prophet said: “Whoever angers her angers me, whoever angers me angers Allah”. Is it not a fact that salam is wajib, but she refused to do salam, to reply their salam. So she becomes very, very important. It goes beyond just polemics, it goes beyond.

Now how would you then fight this argument? Because you cannot call Fatimah alayha as-salam, na'udhu bi-Llah, a liar. You cannot say that what she said was wrong or that the Prophet did not really love her or her status, when she is angered, Allah is not angered. So the only way to explain this was to say: she is a woman. When she got angry, she got emotional. She said things out of emotion because she is a woman. But was it just that?

And I want to share just two things with you and inshaAllah end. To show you how much knowledge Sayyida had. Because we normally speak of her purity, of course in her purity she is absolutely unmatched, but in her knowledge as well. Just to give you an example, and this is something I stumbled on myself by accident and it just brought this great realization to how special and how knowledgeable she was.

When we speak of knowledge, right, I mean, typically when we talk of nobility, it is impossible to speak of noble character without bringing in Rasul Allah salla Allahu 'alayh wa sallam, as you know, representing that. When you speak of loyalty or wafaa', you cannot speak about it unless you bring up Abu al-Fadhl al-Abbas, for example. He represents that. When you talk of courage or knowledge or oratory, you bring Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam, immediately. You talk of generosity, Imam Hasan, he has to be in that picture. You speak of sacrifice, martyrdom, even before I say the name, you know, it is Imam Husayn, he symbolizes it. When you speak of modesty, chastity, purity, you speak of Fatimah alayha as-salam, right?

But look at the issue of knowledge. I found the khutba, when I read the khutba of Sayyida alayha as-salam, after the demise of her father, when she went to Masjid al-Nabawi and she addressed the Muslims in front of the Caliph Abu Bakr, the words she said to the people, she said, "Oh Muslims, you were downtrodden, you were lowly people, your neighbors were looking at you like vultures, you drank water from the side, from the gutters, you buried your daughters alive, you married your stepmothers, you had no values, you built idols of stone and wood and you prostrated yourself before that. Allah saved you through my father." This is part of her khutba. And then she quotes an ayah of Qur'an: “wa kuntum 'ala shafa huffratin min an-nari fa anqadhakum minha” (3:103). You were on the brink of the pit of the fire but He saved you through my father. When was this khutba given? 11 AH.

One day I am browsing through Nahj Al-Balagha, go read Nahj Al-Balagha sermon 26, Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam speaks, he quotes the same words of Fatimah. He does not quote this verse of Qur'an, but he says the same words. "Oh people, you were lowly, you drank water by the side, you worshipped idols, you buried your daughters until Allah saved you through Muhammad." When did Imam Ali give khutbas after he became the Caliph of the Muslims? 37 AH. So Fatimah's khutba, 11 AH. Imam Ali's khutba, 37 at the earliest. The difference is what? 26 years. 26 years later, a man who says "Saluni Saluni" is quoting and taking and borrowing from Fatimah alayha as-salam.

She cannot be an ordinary person. You cannot say she is emotional. This is knowledge that comes from a source beyond anyone's imagination. She is ma'suma, her hadith is binding, is hujja, is part of Sharia. If she says something, it is like Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq has said, Imam Ali alayhi as-salam has said it. So we need to understand this.

And then, you know, when it comes to of course her purity and I am coming to an end here, I just want to share, I have been speaking on a very heavy subject, it has been a bit dry, you must be mentally exhausted. Just a few words of poetry in Urdu that are really very nice. And a person, the poet is trying to describe that, to talk about Fatimah, how difficult it is.

He says: Badru sidrak wa sajalu, totera zikr karu. Hadde firdaws mehau, totera zikr karu. Abekau saurse nahalu, totera zikr karu. Sarpe Qur’an utalu, totera zikr karu. Taje ismahtte tera name ghirami Zahra, Asiya, Mariyam tujedetihe salami Zahra. He says, When I have adorned the heavens, then I dare speak of you, When I reach the uppermost limits of paradise, then I shall dare to take your name, After I wash and bath myself in the water of Kawthar and I take the Qur'an on my head, then I dare to take your name. Your first name and you are introduced by the crown of infallibility. Asiya and Maryam, who are praised for their purity in the Qur'an, they send their salams on you oh Zahra. Salawat 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad].

I want to end with something that I have said previously. I have actually said it two or three times at different centers sometimes, there may be a few of you who have not heard this, for those who have heard, it is good to be refreshed, just to show you how special, how special, and how blessed we are to be the Shi’as of Fatimah, to be the Shi’as of a personality who says I will not enter paradise until I take you with me. She is really… our enemies know her value, that is why they try and water down her importance. We do not know her value, right?

A scholar has explained this in a very beautiful way. He says, look, the Prophet of Islam said that a son is a blessing, is a ni'ma, but a daughter is a mercy, is a Rahma, and on the Day of Judgment, Allah will question you about His blessings, but not about His mercy. In other words, the Prophet was describing how a daughter is a Rahma. So this is one hadith.

The other hadith of the Prophet is that in the Battle of Khandaq, when Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam was going to fight against Amr Ibn Abdi Wadd, and there was no one else to fight him and everything depended on that battle of Imam Ali 'alayhi as-salam, the Prophet said "Baraza al-Imanu kulluh, 'ala al-kufri kullih". Complete Iman has now gone forward to fight against complete kufr. So that is another hadith.

The other hadith of the Prophet is that a man's Iman is incomplete until he gets married. When he gets married, then his faith is complete. The other hadith of the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, is that the feet of a mother are jannah for her children. The other hadith of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam is "Al-Hasan wa al-Husayn sayyid ash-shababi ahl il-Jannah". The ayah of Qur'an is that: “Oh Rasul! We have sent you, wa ma arsalnaka illa Rahmatan li al-'alameen” (21:107). We have sent you as a mercy for 'alameen.

Now bring all this together and see Fatimah in this light. A daughter is Rahma for the father. The Prophet is "Rahmatun li al-'alameen". Fatimah is Rahma for "Rahmatun li al-'alameen". Ali is complete Iman. But a man's Iman is completed when he gets married, Fatimah completes the Iman of "kul Iman". And Hasan and Husayn are "sayyid ash-shababi ahl il-Jannah", but Fatimah's feet are Jannah for Hasan and Husayn. How then do you describe a lady who is Rahma for "Rahmatun li al-'alameen", who completes the Iman of "kul Iman", whose feet is Jannah for "sayyid ash-shababi ahl il-Jannah"?

We pray to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, on this blessed night, oh Allah, oh Allah, we ask You, for the sake of Fatimah al-Batool al-Zahraa Sayiddat an-Nisa' al-'alameen, oh Allah, forgive us our sins this night. Oh Allah, for the sake of Sayyida, we ask You, oh Allah, to bless our homes and bless our children, Oh Allah, bi haqqi Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad, we ask You to bless our men and our women, and in particular our youth with modesty, and chastity, and purity of heart. We ask You oh Allah for the sake of Sayyida, that those who are sick may be granted health and those who have passed away may be granted maghfira.

Oh Allah we ask You for the sake of Sayyida, that You hasten the appearance of our Imam. Oh Allah we ask You for the sake of Zahra' alayha as-salam, her Shi’as who are suffering all over the world, particularly in Bahrain, in the Middle East and Pakistan and Iraq, in Hijaz, in all these places, may Allah grant them relief and give us soon victory, inshaAllah. We ask Allah to grant us the shafa'a of Zahra’ alayha as-salam al-Yawm Al-Qiyamah.

“Rabbana taqabbal minna. Innaka anta as-Sami'u, Al-Aleem” (2:127). ”Inna Allah wa mala'ikatahu yusalloona 'ala an-Nabi. Ya ayyuha al-ladhina amanu sallu 'alayh, wa sallimu taslima” (33:56). Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa Aali Muhammad.