notifications_active Weekly Meshkat-e Noor Session: Thursdays at 20:30 at Haj Reza Mosque
The Fadak Sermon refers to unity of the self, intellectual unity, and unity through reflection.
Esteemed teacher, could you please explain this passage from Lady Fatima al-Zahra’s sermon on divine unity in greater detail?
َّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ
The passage on divine unity in Lady Fatima (SA)’s Fadak Sermon describes the declaration of divine oneness, «لا إله إلا الله», as a word whose interpretation is made sincere through devotion, whose hearts are joined to its meaning, and whose intellectual light shines through reflection. It emphasizes the depth of meaning and inner coherence of divine unity.
In one passage of the Sermon of Fadak—though “the Sermon of Divine Unity” would be a more fitting name—we read:
«وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، كَلِمَةٌ جُعِلَ الْإِخْلَاصُ تَأْوِيلَهَا، وَ ضَمِنَ الْقُلُوبُ مَوْصُولَهَا، وَ أَبَانَ فِي الْفِكَرِ مَعْقُولَهَا»
“I bear witness that ‘There is no god but Allah’—this declaration of divine unity—is a word whose innermost meaning is rooted in sincerity, whose bond is woven into hearts, and whose intelligible truth is illuminated by the light of thought.”
It follows that the declaration of divine unity has an inner meaning: it is, in truth, its very essence, root, foundation and spirit. It also has a bond woven into the hearts of all people, like an innate disposition. And its rational light shines from the heart of reflection.