In the moments when the body of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was being buried, his recommendation regarding the leadership of Ali (peace be upon him), which outlined the political direction of the Islamic community, was practically being buried as well. The Prophet (peace be upon him) skillfully, as only he could, introduced Ali (peace be upon him) as the “guardian of the believers,” not the “guardian of the Muslims.” He explicitly stated that those who had submitted to the political circumstances and embraced Islam, and were now called Muslims, would not accept his leadership. However, those who believed in the Prophethood of the Prophet and accepted his leadership were expected to accept Ali’s (peace be upon him) guardianship.
In these circumstances, Fatimah (peace be upon her) saw that both the message and the Prophet had been lost, or at least, the message of the Prophet was in danger of being lost due to the wave of revisionism and reactionism.[1] If someone did not resist this tide of time-consuming and faith-destroying forces, everything would be lost. Everything… forever…
Thus, with firm resolve, she addressed all those who had said “yes” to the new political balance and power, but “no” to the Prophet’s will, in the Prophet’s mosque: “…We will resist and endure like one whose body is cut by knife and spear in front of you…”[2]
No one believed that the Prophet’s daughter (peace be upon her) would rise so selflessly and fearlessly to defend the Prophet’s message, leaving no opportunity unused. From direct confrontation with reactionism to inviting the Muhajirun and Ansar, from her purposeful presence in the Prophet’s mosque and beside the martyrs’ graves to her explicit objections in speeches and meetings…
For example, in the last days of her life, in response to Umm Salama’s inquiry about her condition, she explicitly declared: “I am saddened by the loss of the Messenger of God and grieved by the usurpation of the right of his successor.”[3] On another occasion, Fatimah (peace be upon her) shared similar statements in a broader context with the women of Medina who had come to visit her. She said: “I woke up this morning to God, disgusted by your world and angry with your men… Woe to them! Why did they uproot this position [of succession of the Prophet] from the firm and unwavering foundations of prophethood, revelation, and divine mission, and take it from someone who was more knowledgeable and capable than others in matters of both this world and the religion? … What grudge did they have against Abu al-Hasan?… I swear to God, if they had left the reins of governance that the Messenger of God entrusted to him, and defended and followed him, he would have guided it excellently… Truly, if they had done so, the doors of blessings from the heavens and the earth would have opened to them. But…”[4]
And as the final flames of a candle about to extinguish, she was heard to say: “…Now come and listen! Whatever time you have left, new times and wonders will appear before you… Truly, the actions of these people are astonishing! They have placed the followers in the place of the leaders, abandoned the pioneers, and held on to the backward ones. By God, this improper and indecent behavior will bring forth events in the future whose disastrous results you will witness…”[5]
Fatimah (peace be upon her), who had used every opportunity to warn the people of her time, was now thinking of those who would come in the future. What could be done for them? How could they be made aware? How could they be informed that after the Prophet (peace be upon him), his message was sacrificed to the schemes of the aristocracy, the ambition of political elites, and their opportunism, who wanted Islam for themselves, and the ignorance and naivety of the people? How could her protest be heard through history? Indeed, what means did Fatimah (peace be upon her) have to make her protest known to the people and future generations? She had even been deprived of the right to weep over the Prophet and his message.
From the pages of history, Fatimah’s (peace be upon her) protest can be heard in a short will:
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
This is the will of Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of God. She testifies to the oneness of God, the messengership of His servant Muhammad, and that Paradise is true, Hell is true, and the Day of Judgment is certain, and that God will resurrect those in their graves.
Ali! I am Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, whom God made your wife, to be with you in this world and the hereafter. You are more deserving than others in handling my affairs. Wash me, anoint me, shroud me, and pray over me at night. Do not inform anyone. I entrust you to God. I send my greetings to my children until the Day of Judgment.” [6]
Fatimah had instructed that her body be secretly buried. The concealment of her burial place was, in fact, her message to history. A message to the Muslim world for all generations. This message could reach all generations and eras in the course of history only when her body was secretly buried, so that people could search for the lost grave of Fatimah (peace be upon her) in the sorrowful life story of her perpetual protest against reactionism and despotism, and through this, gain a new perspective on the history of Islam and the fate of the Muslim world.
Thus, Fatimah (peace be upon her), through her death, created a continuous movement and revolutionary fervor in all generations and ages, from her eternal peace and victory from disaster, and from the quietude of her eternal rest, she created an unyielding call to action for all eras and centuries. Her heart still beats with the fate of the Muslims of the world, and her eyes await the flag that will one day be raised for the liberation of oppressed humanity, the defense of Islam, and the restoration of the Medina of the Prophet, by her son, the Promised Mahdi.
Today, as always, those who are concerned with the suffering of humankind and the oppressed should reflect on the secret of the hidden grave, the burning chest, the abundant tears, and the painful sighs of Fatimah (peace be upon her), whisper her words, and, to the best of their ability, convey her message to the world…”
(Taken from the book “The Lost City; What Fatimah Said … What Happened to Medina?,” by Mohammad Hassan Zorq)
Footnotes:
[1] These were the individuals who, in contradiction to the words of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), considered their own views to be valid and, during their time of power, disregarded the judgment of God and His Messenger. They acted according to their own opinions, as if they were revisionists, and, after the death of the Prophet, reverted to the practices of pre-Islamic Arabia, which the Qur’an describes as reactionary.
[2] Sunni sources: Balaghat al-Nisa (page 14), Jawahir al-Matlab fi Manaqib al-Imam Ali (Vol. 1, page 160); Shia sources: Dalail al-Imama (page 116), Manaqib Ahl al-Bayt (Vol. 2, page 50), Ihtijaj (Vol. 1, page 138), Kashf al-Ghama (Vol. 2, page 112).
[3] Shia sources: Manaqib Ahl al-Bayt (Vol. 2, page 49), Jami’ al-Akhbar (page 91).
[4] Sunni sources: Balaghat al-Nisa (page 19), Sharh Nahj al-Balagha by Ibn Abi al-Hadid (Vol. 16, page 234); Shia sources: Ma’ani al-Akhbar (page 354), Kashf al-Ghama (Vol. 1, page 492), Ihtijaj (Vol. 1, page 108).
[5] Sunni sources: Balaghat al-Nisa (Vol. 1, page 9), Nathr al-Durr (Vol. 1, page 264).
[6] Shia sources: Dalail al-Imama (page 41), Kashf al-Ghama (Vol. 1, page 492), Ihtijaj (Vol. 1, page 108), Amali Shaykh Tusi (page 374).
Shia sources: Bihar al-Anwar (Vol. 43, page 214), Bayt al-Ahzan (page 18).
Some of the phrases of the will of Fatimah (peace be upon her) are also mentioned in Sunni sources, including Sahih Bukhari (Vol. 5, Chapter on the Battle of Khaybar, page 139), Sahih Muslim, Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, and others.