Transcription
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of God and His blessings. In the name of God, and praise be to God, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of God. Our journey today will take us to a woman like no other. She is the beloved daughter of the Prophet, peace be upon him. She is the best of the women of Paradise, and there is no one but Lady Fatima! Her full name is: Fatima bint Muhammad ibn Abdullah. And look now at what she was nicknamed, she was known as "Fatima Al-Zahra". Meaning the radiant woman. And among the unique qualities she possessed, and this is actually what was narrated in a hadith from the Prophet, peace be upon him. Lady Fatima, may God be pleased with her, also narrated several hadiths from the Prophet, peace be upon him, and many companions transmitted those hadiths from her. And she was known for the following: she was the most patient of people, persevering, and content with the least. And she was thankful to God, the Exalted, and worshipped Him as He truly deserves to be worshipped. And she was blessed with two sons, the beloved grandsons of the Prophet, peace be upon him, Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn. And it was said that she is the continuation of the lineage of the Chosen One, peace be upon him. She is the only one whose children survived and their lineage continued. And with beauty and continuity, she was described as "the mother of her father." She was the most similar to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, in demeanor, guidance, and disposition. And she took care of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, especially after the death of Lady Khadijah. And she was described as the best of the women of the worlds. And the best of the women of Paradise. For in a hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad and transmitted by Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said: "The best of the women of Paradise are Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatima bint Muhammad, Maryam the daughter of Imran, and Asiya the wife of Pharaoh." So they are four: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the first wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him, then Fatima his daughter, Lady Maryam the daughter of Imran, and Asiya the wife of Pharaoh. They are the best four women in Paradise. And the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, loved her immensely. To the extent that when he, peace be upon him, returned to Medina after a journey or a raid, he would first pray two rak'ahs in the mosque, this is his Sunnah, peace be upon him. Then he would go to the house of his daughter Fatima. And he, peace be upon him, was extremely keen to see her before going to his wives. And she had a unique place in the heart of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. And let us share this hadith with you, for he said - and imagine a father saying this about his daughter. He said: "Fatima is a part of me, so whoever angers her angers me." Fatima is a part of me, so whoever angers her angers me. And Lady Aisha was asked: Who is the most beloved person to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him? Lady Aisha replied: Fatima. Then they asked her: And who is the most beloved man to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him? Lady Aisha replied: Her husband. Our master Ali. And she added: He was a frequent faster, and a frequent worshipper at night. He used to fast a lot, and pray long at night. Lady Aisha also narrated the following: "I have not seen anyone who was more similar in demeanor, guidance, and disposition to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, than Fatima, may God honor her face." Ponder the following: "When she entered upon him, he would stand for her, take her hand, kiss it, and seat her in his place, and she would do the same for the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. And when he entered upon her, she would stand for him, take his hand, kiss it, and seat him in her place." She was the fourth daughter of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, and she was born four years before the prophethood. Her mother was Lady Khadijah, and the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, loved her immensely. And she grew up as a Muslim, so she did not live during the Jahiliyyah period and the worship of idols for a long time. Despite saying this, she witnessed the harm of Quraysh to her father, peace be upon him. And among the stories that should move all our hearts, when the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was praying in the courtyard of the Kaaba, the polytheists came and threw the entrails of a camel on him, peace be upon him. She rushed to remove the dirt, crying; out of distress for her father, peace be upon him, saying: "I will support you, my father!" And she rebuked loudly those who did that to her father, peace be upon him. And she was young when her mother passed away. And she lived with her sister Umm Kulthum and her father's wife, Lady Sawdah, who took care of her. She also migrated to Medina with her sister, our master Ali, and Lady Sawdah. And she married our master Ali, may God be pleased with him, in the second year of Hijrah. So the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, married her to his cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib. This was in the second year of Hijrah after the Battle of Badr. She was then 15 years old, while Ali, may God be pleased with him, was 21. But they did not live together until she reached 18. And all of us nowadays desire to live a life of luxury. We wish to live a good and prosperous life. So imagine what the life of the daughter of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was like when she married the fourth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs? He was not yet a Caliph, but he was the cousin of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. However, they were very poor, they lived with the least, and they owned nothing. The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, prepared her for marriage himself, and brought her the basic necessities for living. Some skins, a waterskin, a wooden bed, and a pillow of leather stuffed with straw. And she worked hard, as in the hadith, she went to complain to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him - especially in the later period, when God opened the doors of sustenance for the Muslims in Medina. And she expressed to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, the burden of her work and that she needed a servant. And when she asked for the help of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him - and she is the daughter of the best of creation, peace be upon him - the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, guided her to spiritual help instead of physical help. That is, remembrance of God, the Exalted. He guided her to say "Subhan Allah, Al-hamdulillah, Allahu Akbar" ten times after each prayer. And to say "Subhan Allah, Al-hamdulillah, Allahu Akbar" 33 times before going to bed. The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, loved her immensely, and she had a special place in his heart, peace be upon him. Lady Fatima came to him and said: "Your people are saying that you do not get angry for your daughters, and this Ali is marrying the daughter of Abu Jahl." So the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, stood up, and after saying: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. To proceed, I married Abu Al-Aas ibn Al-Rabi', and he told me and was truthful with me, and he promised me and fulfilled his promise to me. Fatima bint Muhammad is from me, and I fear that she may be tested in her religion. And by God, the daughter of the Messenger of God and the daughter of the enemy of God will never be together with one man." So our master Ali did not marry the daughter of Abu Jahl. In fact, our master Ali did not marry another woman during the lifetime of Lady Fatima. But after her death, he married a slave woman named "Umamah". And she, may God be pleased with her, had four children. Two daughters and two sons. Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn. And she named the two daughters after her older sisters, Umm Kulthum and Zaynab. And the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, attended the birth of Al-Hasan. In fact, the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was the one who called the Adhan in the ears of our master Al-Hasan. And he also advised her, peace be upon him, to perform the Aqiqah to celebrate the arrival of her son. There is also another hadith that clarifies the status of Lady Fatima, and the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said in this hadith: "Indeed, this is an angel who has never descended to Earth before tonight. He asked permission from his Lord to greet me and to give me glad tidings that Fatima is the mistress of the women of Paradise, and that Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn are the masters of the youth of Paradise." And among the immortal moments in her life was what happened when the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was dying. She was the only daughter who witnessed his life, peace be upon him. Her three sisters passed away before him, peace be upon him. She entered upon him while he was dying, peace be upon him, and you can imagine her feelings and the horror of the moment. She entered upon him crying, then she drew near him, peace be upon him, and he whispered a secret to her, which increased her crying. Then he whispered another secret to her, and she laughed. And no one knew at that moment what the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, had told her. And when he, peace be upon him, passed away, the companions took him for burial, and then returned to his house, peace be upon him, and Lady Fatima was there, and she looked at them and said: Does it please you to throw dirt on the Messenger of God, peace be upon him?! Look at the extent of her love for the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, and look at the extent of the faith of the companions, for this is how they answered her: "O daughter of Muhammad, this is what we have been taught." Peace be upon him. After a while, Lady Aisha asked her what the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, had told her. What did he tell you that made you cry, and what did he tell you that made you laugh? She said: The first thing he told me, peace be upon him, that made me cry more was "Your father's time has come and he will return to God, the Exalted." And then I cried bitterly. Then he whispered in my ear again, saying: "You are the first of my family to join me," so I laughed. And indeed, she passed away six months after the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. And our master Ali prayed over her and buried her in the Baqi' cemetery, may God be pleased with Fatima Al-Zahra, who is like no other. May God be pleased with her who was a part of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. And she passed away at a very young age, when she was 28. I ask God, the Exalted, to help us follow her footsteps, to learn from her biography, and to bless us all.