A Light That Tore Through the Soul of Shirk

  “The Lady of Light and Radiance”  “Fatima’s Hidden Mysteries”

A summary with an addendum: “The Martyrdom of the Truthful Lady,” “Zahra, Defender of History,” “Zahra’s Torrent of Words,” “Zahra Defeated Shirk,” “Zahra, Defender of Human Rights,” and more.        1402.09.05    Ali Sa‘i (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ

How can dust describe the light of Zahra?

Fatima Zahra, سلام الله علیها, is queen of Muslim women, the foremost of the faithful, lady of the pure, sovereign of the learned, pre-eminent among the wise, crown of the virtuous, and the lady of all the women of the world.

All existence is immersed in Zahra’s light; whoever has an awakened heart is a discoverer of the world’s wonders.

Those blind of heart, though surrounded by Zahra’s light, are deprived of Fatima Zahra’s exalted blessings.

The sweetness of the light of the pure Zahra bestows a heavenly delight upon the eyes and hearts of all existence.

The light of Zahra the Chaste is a sublime means of discovering the wonders and marvels of existence.

By the sun’s light, we succeed in discovering material truths; by the light of Zahra, may God be pleased with her, we discover the truths of the Highest Realm.

The light of Zahra, the well-pleasing, acquaints the human faculties of hearing, touch, understanding, and the heart with the hidden things and mysteries of existence.

The material world is a guest of Zahra’s light, so that, nourished by it, it may grasp the mysteries of servitude to God.

The Sermon of Fadak reveals only a glimpse of the subtle insights, wonders and knowledge of al-Zahra, the learned and wise.

The material world failed to grasp Fatima al-Zahra’s worth and station, just as it proved unworthy of understanding Laylat al-Qadr. Why was al-Zahra not asked about lofty truths? Why, though she revealed mysteries in the form of sermons, was no one asked to explain or understand her aims in reciting that sublime sermon?

The Night of God Almighty remained unknown, and its mighty stars and galaxies remained hidden and veiled.

Had they sought an explanation of her words from the Lady of the Worlds, our world would have been immersed in Fatimid mysteries.

The words of the Lady of Ladies remained in their condensed form; no one proved worthy of asking her to elaborate on them.

Had the wonders in al-Zahra’s words been unveiled, our world would have been flooded with light.

In the garden of Zahra’s words

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى مَا أَنْعَمَ

all praise belongs to Allah for the blessings He bestowed: the blessing of praising Him, the blessing of being granted leave to praise Him, the blessing of sensing the capacity to praise Him, the blessing of love, devotion and worship, and the blessing of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household, about which we will be questioned (التكاثر : 8   ثُمَّ لَتُسْئَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعيمِ).

I praise God for enabling me to praise Him; I praise God for teaching me to praise Him; I praise God for reminding me to praise Him. I praise God for the blessings He has given and for what He has withheld. I praise God not merely because He has granted me blessings, even though His blessings are indeed reason enough to praise Him;

وَ لَهُ الشُّكْرُ عَلَى مَا أَلْهَمَ

and gratitude belongs to Him alone for what He has inspired: the inspiration to give thanks, the inspiration behind all that we possess. Without His inspiration, we would feel nothing. His inspiration awakens our senses and our understanding; it is He who rouses us from heedlessness. Seeing, hearing, loving—all that exists is bound up with His inspiration. If His inspiration were to cease, the realm of our souls and senses would fall silent. The hidden inspirations, mysteries and inward truths are another matter; so too are the inspiration of our innate nature and the inspiration of the truth of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household, which makes us aware of our duty to obey them and of the wonders concealed within them.

God’s greatest and most exalted inspiration is to make the light of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household shine upon hearts, unlocking the mysteries of their inner truths. It is also to unveil the secrets in the faces of His proofs.

وَ الثَّنَاءُ بِمَا قَدَّمَ مِنْ عُمُومِ نِعَمٍ ابْتَدَأَهَا

And praise for all the blessings He brought forth at the very beginning. Praise finds its meaning only in praise that endures: every beautiful song of praise, every gracious expression of recognition, becomes praise when it does not cease but continues. He made His blessings universal, extending them to all and leaving no one out; He was their originator, though no creature had any claim to them. So too were the blessings He reserved for certain souls, bestowing them upon His beloved through His special grace and love.

A blessing is whatever suits the nature of a creature: whatever brings joy through its benefit, meets its needs, or helps it attain its hopes.

Praise that comes to an end is no praise. Praise is the outpouring of human love, the trembling of a soul yearning and enraptured, the reflection of the radiance of the Eternal Beloved’s countenance, the surging waves of hearts set ablaze by the heat of the Divine.

To fall silent and cease praising is a sign that the would-be lover’s ardour has died and his capacity is spent.

O God, You brought me into being, fashioned me, gave me existence when I was nothing, and made Yourself mine. Who am I, to have a God such as You? You are my God, and I am Yours; You are the One I worship, and I am Your servant. You were my beginning, O Peerless One, O Self-Sufficient One—you are mine.

Everything belongs to You, and You bestowed Your possessions upon Your servants; greater still, You made Yourself mine.

وَ سُبُوغِ آلَاءٍ أَسْدَاهَا

And the abundant, overflowing blessings that He bestowed, complete and free of all flaw or deficiency. These are blessings granted through grace, love and generosity; their perfect bestowal is the beautiful gift of a blessing without any shortfall—lasting, fruitful and a source of joy.

وَ تَمَامِ مِنَنٍ أَوْلَاهَا

And all the gifts He bestowed in perfect goodness. These are God’s weighty, deeply rooted blessings: gifts that go beyond the creature’s wishes, needs and deserts. Such enduring blessings He bestowed in their fullness.

جَمَّ عَنِ الْإِحْصَاءِ عَدَدُهَا

God’s blessings are so numerous and far-reaching that they exceed all reckoning. They have no visible bounds, so that no one can count them, calculate their sum, compile their statistics, draw up a list of them, or reveal them on the pages of either the outward or the inward.

وَ نَأَى عَنِ الْجَزَاءِ أَمَدُهَا

The fullness of those blessings lies beyond measure, limit, and duration. No one can see or even estimate the end of God’s blessings. Their unseen boundlessness places their recompense and measure beyond all reckoning; no one has the power to render God’s blessings their due.

وَ تَفَاوَتَ عَنِ الْإِدْرَاكِ أَبَدُهَا

The endlessness of blessings lies beyond comprehension. God’s blessings are so vast, far-reaching, and unseen that created beings cannot begin to estimate them. Their understanding falters before the unseen horizon of God’s blessings.

وَ نَدَبَهُمْ لِاسْتِزَادَتِهَا بِالشُّكْرِ لِاتِّصَالِهَا

He called people to give thanks so that He might increase His blessings upon His servants and make them a continuation of those already bestowed. He granted them leave to give thanks—a gratitude that is itself a blessing, laid upon God’s other blessings and deserving of thanks. He then made that very gratitude a means to increase His blessings once more and join them to those already given.

God, the Self-Sufficient and Praiseworthy, called people to servitude not to bind them, but to set them free from bondage.

He allowed even those whose capacity to express thanks fell short to give thanks. Where could one find a greater act of kindness to a servant? In countless ways, He lavishes His care upon His servant.

The permission to give thanks, granted by Allah, the All-Grateful, is the greatest grace of the Greatest God.

وَ اسْتَحْمَدَ إِلَى الْخَلَائِقِ بِإِجْزَالِهَا

He also asked His creatures to praise Him so that He might make His blessings abundant.

He opened the tongues and hearts of His creatures to praise Him, so that, time and again, He might make His blessings more substantial, immense, deeply rooted, and strong. He granted them leave to praise Him, even though no one is truly worthy of His praise: each created being is limited in its very existence and can praise only within the bounds of its own capacity; no one can go beyond what they are able. Who, then, could reach the boundless vastness of His greatness and praise Him as He deserves? And yet He made even this measure of praise a means to lavish His blessings.

وَ ثَنَّى بِالنَّدْبِ إِلَى أَمْثَالِهَا

Through His invitation, He multiplied His blessings, so that He might once again honour His creatures with blessings like those they had received, bringing them to the like of His blessings. He did so by inviting and encouraging them, and by stirring their longing and desire—not because the Divine Essence has any need, for He is absolutely self-sufficient, but to give, increase, and make His blessings continuous and flowing. Thus the Lord of the worlds, matchless in generosity and graciousness, again adds to the blessings He has bestowed, granting blessings like them and increasing them further.

وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ كَلِمَةٌ جُعِلَ الْإِخْلَاصُ تَأْوِيلَهَا

“ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ” is a word whose interpretation is sincerity;

وَ ضُمِّنَ‏ الْقُلُوبُ‏ مَوْصُولَهَا

and hearts are bound to the connective of the word of divine unity. The connective of the word of divine unity is woven into hearts; its bond with hearts is intermingled with them; its effects appear in hearts. Hearts are the lamps of the heart of the word of divine unity; divine unity is rooted in human nature; hearts cannot be separated from divine unity.

وَ أَنَارَ فِي التَّفَكُّرِ مَعْقُولُهَا

The intelligible meaning of the word of divine unity burns bright in the vessel of reflection. Reflection is a niche in which the lamp of divine unity’s intellect shines; the intelligible meaning of the word of divine unity shines through reflection; reflection kindles the intellectual lamp of the word of divine unity.

The three blessed passages of the Fadak Sermon “كَلِمَةٌ جُعِلَ الْإِخْلَاصُ تَأْوِيلَهَا وَ ضُمِّنَ الْقُلُوبُ مَوْصُولَهَا وَ أَنَارَ فِي التَّفَكُّرِ مَعْقُولُهَا” are, in truth, a map of the vast world of divine unity and its immense geography. In these three passages, she has drawn a beautiful and magnificent map of divine unity.

Divine unity abides in hearts: living hearts are its vantage point, while dead hearts are a dread prison of shirk.

Divine unity has a beginning and a root; its branches and leaves are in hearts, and its fruits extend all the way to the human intellect.

الْمُمْتَنِعُ مِنَ الْأَبْصَارِ رُؤْيَتُهُ وَ مِنَ الْأَلْسُنِ صِفَتُهُ وَ مِنَ الْأَوْهَامِ كَيْفِيَّتُه‏[1]

The world is vanquished in its quest to fathom Zahra’s world.

From beginning to end, the Fadak Sermon is pure affirmation of divine oneness—a storm and tumult of the oneness of the One without equal.

The radiant Zahra sought hearts eager to receive her, so she might reveal the secret of her soul and bring the world to life with her pure light. But she found no pure, welcoming heart—save a few, who became keepers of Zahra’s secret.

The celestial Zahra, in all her majesty, is imprisoned within us. We have been content with no more than her outward aspect, shutting ourselves off from the mysteries and wonders of her inner reality.

The ignorant lover stands in the way of Zahra’s light manifesting throughout existence; the uninformed devotee is a veil of darkness across the face of light.

The heart of «God’s intercessor» grieves over her ignorant, unworthy devotees. What a shame that Zahra the Intercessor should have to wait in the supreme assembly on the Day of Resurrection for an ignorant devotee. Let us not burden Zahra with hardship and sorrow.

At the dawn of knowing Zahra, the world is circling in tawaf.

وَ هِيَ الصِّدِّيقَةُ الْكُبْرَى، وَ عَلَى‏ مَعْرِفَتِهَا دَارَتِ‏ الْقُرُونُ الْأُوَلُ.[2]

Subtleties from Zahra’s words

In Turkish grammar, the adjective comes before the noun. What more beautiful gift could there be for Turkish speakers? Indeed, this is a love beyond measure. Zahra’s lamp-lit gifts have no bounds.

«Pleasure» is a way, a path toward Him—not the destination. It is a passage leading to union with Him, to the threshold of His presence.

«Beauty» is a broad carpet laid out so we do not lose our way to the Beloved; we must not make our home upon it.

The carpets of beauty and pleasure point the way to Him. Let us bind our hearts to the far end of these carpets. Carpet and throne, and all that exists, are lanes and paths leading to Him. Let us not slacken the pace of our devotion, not even for a moment.

«Allah» is not merely absolute beauty; all beauty is His creation, a sign of Him. He is exalted above and beyond every description.

To stop at the sight of a single creation of the All-Knowing is to be blind halfway along the path of devotion.  

Our relationship with the Greatest Beloved is one of a nearness beyond nearness. I did not exist, and He brought me into being: the distance between nonexistence and the Beloved is no greater than the distance between existence and the Beloved. The same is true of time and space.

The supreme, ever-present blessing behind every blessing is Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, Husayn, and the pure descendants of Husayn.

The Prophet’s Household is the treasury of God’s blessings, the cave of His delights, the source of His knowledge and wisdom.

God, Mighty and Majestic, joined the outward form of His blessing to its inner reality.

Zahra is the defender of human rights and of all creation.

Through the decisive force of her words, the noble and beloved Zahra brought the idolaters, doubters, and hypocrites to account. Her Fadak sermon was a defense of history and human rights. Zahra rose to defend future generations. Knowing the suffering that awaited them, she called the people of her time to wakefulness.

The injustice of Saqifah was an injustice against the whole universe and all its creatures: from the birds of the sky to the waters, the earth, and the heavens.

Fatimah was the honor of the age and the sanctity of God’s Throne.

God, the Originator, derived the name Fatimah from His own name. What exquisite subtlety: the incomparable, wise Creator should bring the world into being through Fatimah’s hand.

It is enough to attest to Fatimah’s greatness that she is a model and proof for God’s Proof.

The wronged and little-known Lady strove to awaken hearts and bring them back to life.

However immersed we may be in light and delight, without heart and mind we can have no share in beauty or pleasure.

Even if we make full use of all our heart and mind can hold, we have only fully activated our limited capacity. But if we connect ourselves to the heart and mind of the universe, we will witness all beauty and delight.

Light and heat are trapped within black coal; the divine lights await their moment to shine within every creature.

The sun’s light and heat lie bound and chained within dry wood. All the wood need do is rest in its place and bring its hidden powers into manifestation.

Feeding on the light of al-Zahra is essential for every true lover. A Shiʿi should nourish themselves on her light, spread its fragrance from within, and draw forth its honey.

We should not content ourselves with the flickering light of the stars. We must journey in vessels, carrying body and soul to the depths of the galaxy; with vessels of light and exalted means, we must take flight toward the spirit of al-Zahra’s lights.

The Hadith of al-Zahra’s Light

عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عُمَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع عَنْ فَاطِمَةَ لِمَ سُمِّيَتْ زَهْرَاءَ فَقَالَ لِأَنَّهَا كَانَتْ إِذَا قَامَتْ فِي مِحْرَابِهَا زَهَرَ نُورُهَا لِأَهْلِ السَّمَاءِ كَمَا يَزْهَرُ نُورُ الْكَوَاكِبِ لِأَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ.[3]

Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra al-Kindī relates: I asked Imam al-Ṣādiq, peace be upon him, “Why was Fāṭima named al-Zahrāʾ?”

The Imam replied, “Because whenever Fāṭima stood in her prayer niche and devoted herself to worship, her light shone for the inhabitants of heaven, just as the stars shine for the inhabitants of the earth.”

وَ قَدْ رُوِيَ‏ إِنَّمَا سُمِّيَتِ الزَّهْرَاءَ لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ خَلَقَهَا مِنْ نُورِ عَظَمَتِهِ.[4]

Shaykh al-Ṣadūq relates in ʿIlal al-Sharāʾiʿ, on the authority of Jābir al-Juʿfī, who said: I said to Imam al-Ṣādiq, peace be upon him, “Why is Lady Fāṭima, peace be upon her, called al-Zahrāʾ?”

The Imam replied, “Because God Most High created her from His own magnificent light,”

لَكِ يَا فَاطِمَةُ اسْماً مِنْ أَسْمَائِهِ فَهُوَ الْفَاطِرُ وَ أَنْتِ‏ فَاطِمَةُ.[5]

The Prophet said to Fāṭima: “God has given you a name derived from one of His own names: His name is Fāṭir, and yours is Fāṭima; the two names resemble one another.”

فَخَلَقَ نُورَ فَاطِمَةَ ع يَوْمَئِذٍ كَالْقِنْدِيلِ وَ عَلَّقَهُ فِي قُرْطِ الْعَرْشِ‏ فَزَهَرَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَ الْأَرَضُونَ السَّبْعُ وَ مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ سُمِّيَتْ فَاطِمَةُ الزَّهْرَاءَ وَ كَانَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ تُسَبِّحُ اللَّهَ وَ تُقَدِّسُهُ فَقَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ عِزَّتِي وَ جَلَالِي لَأَجْعَلَنَّ ثَوَابَ تَسْبِيحِكُمْ وَ تَقْدِيسِكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لِمُحِبِّي هَذِهِ الْمَرْأَةِ وَ أَبِيهَا وَ بَعْلِهَا وَ بَنِيهَا ‏[6]

The Prophet said: “… At that moment, God Most High created the light of Fatima and suspended it like a lamp beside the Throne. From that light He created the seven heavens and the earths; for this reason, Fatima was named al-Zahraʾ.”

The angels glorified and sanctified God, and He said to them: “By My might and majesty, I shall grant the reward for your glorification and sanctification to these people”—that is, Fatima, her father, her husband and her children.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص‏ تُحْشَرُ ابْنَتِي فَاطِمَةُ وَ عَلَيْهَا حُلَّةُ الْكَرَامَةِ قَدْ عُجِنَتْ بِمَاءِ الْحَيَوَانِ فَيَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهَا الْخَلَائِقُ وَ يَتَعَجَّبُونَ مِنْهَا  ثُمَّ تُكْسَى أَيْضاً حُلَّتَيْنِ مِنْ حُلَلِ الْجَنَّةِ  مَكْتُوبٌ عَلَى كُلِّ حُلَّةٍ بِخَطٍّ أَخْضَرَ أَدْخِلُوا ابْنَةَ مُحَمَّدٍ الْجَنَّةَ عَلَى أَحْسَنِ الصُّورَةِ وَ أَحْسَنِ الْكَرَامَةِ وَ أَحْسَنِ الْمَنْظَرِ  فَتُزَفُّ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ كَمَا تُزَفُّ الْعَرُوسُ وَ يُوَكَّلُ بِهَا  سَبْعُونَ أَلْفَ جَارِيَةٍ.[7]

وَ فِي‏ ابْنَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص لِي أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَة[8]

In a hadith attributed to al-Askari, peace be upon him, he said: نحن حجج اللّه على خلقه، و جدّتنا فاطمة حجة اللّه علينا.[9]

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[1] Al-Iḥtijāj ʿalā ahl al-lijāj (al-Ṭabrisī), vol. 1, p. 98 Al-Ṭabrisī, 2 vols., Nashr-e Murtażā, Mashhad, first edition, 1403 AH.

[2] Al-Amālī (al-Ṭūsī), text, p. 668 Al-Ṭūsī, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, Dār al-Thaqāfa, Qom, first edition, 1414 AH.

[3] Maʿānī al-akhbār, text, p. 64 Ibn Bābawayh, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Islamic Publications Office affiliated with the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, Qom, first edition, 1403 AH.

[4] Maʿānī al-akhbār, text, p. 64 Ibn Bābawayh, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Islamic Publications Office affiliated with the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, Qom, first edition, 1403 AH.

[5]Maʿānī al-akhbār, text, p. 56  Ibn Bābawayh, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Islamic Publications Office affiliated with the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, Qom, first edition, 1403 AH.

[6] Irshād al-qulūb ilā al-ṣawāb (al-Daylamī), vol. 2, p. 403 Al-Daylamī, Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad, al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, Qom, first edition, 1412 AH.

[7] Ṣaḥīfat al-Imām al-Riḍā (The Ṣaḥīfa of Imam al-Riḍā), p. 57. ʿAlī ibn Mūsā, International Congress on Imam al-Riḍā, Mashhad, first edition, 1406 AH.

[8] Al-Ghayba (by al-Ṭūsī) / Kitāb al-Ghayba li’l-Ḥujja, text, p. 286. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Dār al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyya, Qom, Iran, first edition, 1411 AH.

[9] ʿAwālim al-ʿUlūm wa’l-Maʿārif wa’l-Aḥwāl min al-Āyāt wa’l-Akhbār wa’l-Aqwāl (A comprehensive account of the lives, merits and circumstances, drawn from verses, reports and sayings; supplement on the Mistress of Women through Imam al-Jawād), vol. 11, part 2, Fāṭima, p. 1030. al-Baḥrānī al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Nūr Allāh, Imam al-Mahdī Foundation, may God hasten his noble advent, Qom, Iran, first edition, 1413 AH.