One day, Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) entered the presence of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her, “Go and bring my cousin Ali and my children Hasan and Husayn to me.” After a while, Fatimah (peace be upon her), along with her husband and two children, entered the Prophet’s presence with respect and reverence.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) then spread a cloak, which they had with them, over himself, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn (peace be upon them), and, pointing towards the sky with his right hand, said: “O Allah, these are my family, the closest to me, and my special ones. Keep all impurities and filth away from them and purify them completely.” After the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) prayer was finished, Gabriel descended and brought down the verse of purification from God: “Indeed, Allah only wishes to remove all impurity from you, O people of the household, and to purify you thoroughly.” (Surah Al-Ahzab, verse 33).
In the mirror of the story of the revelation of the verse of purification(1), the image of the house and family of Fatimah and Ali (peace be upon them) is clearly visible. This frame, if only it were hung on the wall of history, would allow passersby in the street of time to look upon it and build their lives based on this progressive and pioneering model. By examining the various aspects of this event, we can explore the different dimensions of the inner space of the house of Fatimah and Ali (peace be upon them) in great detail:
Tawhid (Monotheism)
The first feature of this intimate space is the centrality of God in the relationships within this family, showing that God is the most tangible reality that captivates all the members of this family. When the lady of the house hears of her father’s weakness, she entrusts him to God(2), and when the grandfather sees his daughter, grandchildren, and son-in-law beside him, he immediately speaks to God, asking for His blessings, mercy, and contentment for this beloved gathering.(3)
Prophethood
The second feature of this space is the pivotal role of the Messenger of God as the center of this house and family. All members of this family address the Prophet (peace be upon him) as “the Messenger of God,” even though he is their father, grandfather, brother, and father-in-law. The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself, when he wants to swear an oath in the presence of this family (whom he considers his household), swears by the God who sent him truthfully as a Prophet(4).
Friendship and Enmity(5)
The third aspect of this space is the awareness of the ongoing battle between truth and falsehood. The Prophet (peace be upon him), seeing this family absorbed in God and His mission, says to God in this small family gathering, “O Allah, what harms them harms me, and what saddens them saddens me(6).” And he explicitly says, “I am at war with anyone who fights them and at peace with anyone who is at peace with them”(7).
Love for One Another
The fourth aspect of the family space of Fatimah and Ali (peace be upon them) is the boundless love and affection expressed by the family members for one another. The lady of the house, as a daughter, lovingly entrusts her father to the Great God, and as a mother, she calls her son “my son! the light of my eyes! and the fruit of my heart.” The grandfather calls his grandsons “my sons! the intercessors of my nation!” He calls his son-in-law “my brother! my successor! my standard-bearer!” and refers to his daughter as “my daughter! the part of my body!” and says to God, “Their flesh is my flesh, and their blood is my blood”(8).
Opposition to Ignorance (Jahiliyyah)
The fifth aspect of the relationships in this family is the dismantling of false distinctions in favor of true, belief-based distinctions. This family has distanced itself significantly from the era of patriarchy. The man of the house greets the lady of the house and then enters the home. The grandfather calls his daughter a “part of my body,” and this occurs in a land where daughters were still being buried alive by merciless fathers.
Respect and Etiquette
The sixth aspect of this family’s space is the respect and reverence that family members show for one another. Greeting each other is the first word spoken in any interaction. The young children asking for permission to be embraced by their grandfather, and the husband and wife asking permission to sit beside the father of the family, all exemplify this respect.
Indeed, this house and this family, as presented by the Prophet (peace be upon him), serve as a model for history and are an example provided to humanity. From this point onward, this house and family will serve as the ark of salvation for human history.
(Taken from the book “The Lost City” by Mohammad Hassan Zoragh, with modifications and abbreviations)
Footnotes:
1. The context of the revelation of the verse of purification is narrated in famous hadiths, both from Shia and Sunni sources, and has led to terms like “Ahl al-Kisa” (People of the Cloak), “Ahl al-‘Abā” (Family of the Cloak), and “Five People of the Cloak” being used in both Shia and Sunni books such as Ihqq al-Haq, Vol. 2, p. 554; ‘Awālim al-‘Ulūm, Vol. 11, p. 930; Maskan al-Fu’ad, p. 153.
2. “I entrust you, O my father, to God from weakness.”
3. “Send Your prayers, blessings, mercy, forgiveness, and pleasure upon them.”
4. “The Prophet said, ‘By the One who sent me with the truth as a Prophet and selected me for the mission of Messengership.'”
5. “Friendship and enmity” refers to the principles of Tawallī (loving the friends of God) and Tabarrī (disavowing the enemies of God), which are fundamental aspects of faith.
6. “What harms them harms me and what saddens them saddens me.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) swore by the One who sent him truthfully as the Prophet of salvation.
7. “I am at war with anyone who fights them and at peace with anyone who is at peace with them.”
8. “Their flesh is my flesh and their blood is my blood.”