Oppression and being a victim of\noppression by a person or a group of oppressors is a topic that dates back to\nthe origins of man. As evident in the story of the children of Adam, when Abel\nsaid to his brother Cain, \u201cIf you will stretch forth your hands towards me to\nslay me, I am not one to stretch forth my hand towards you to slay you …,\u201d(1)\nAbel points to the cruelty that is facing him and his innocence in the matter.\nWhy? Because, within each evil and oppression there exists traces in knowing\nthe oppressor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now turning the page of history to the\ndemise of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP), we will see that Lady Fatimah\nal-Zahra (PBUH), as the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) and his\nremembrance, faced great oppression after the demise of her father.(2) This\noppression can be examined from various viewpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first issue is that when the party\nbeing oppressed is a woman as opposed to a man, the matter holds a greater\nimportance. A man, because of his presence in society and his personal and\nsocial responsibilities is faced with cruelty and hardships, just as the prophets\nand divine leaders faced oppression during their lifetime. But when cruelty\nfaces a woman who was not responsible for an active presence in society, and\nher main focus surrounded matters pertaining to her house, the matter becomes\never more sensitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, what makes this case of\noppression worse is the fact that Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (PBUH) was the closest\nperson to the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HP); she was a part of his flesh (3),\nhis soul and heart (4), and his remembrance amongst the Islamic Ummah. Hasn\u2019t\nAllah (SWT) made note to this fact that: \u201c(O Prophet!) Say to people: I do not\nask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives\u201d (5). And there is\nno character closer to the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HP) than Lady Fatimah\nal-Zahra (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third, the specifics of Fatimah’s\n(PBUH) character, her excellence in manners, spirituality, piety, virtues, and\npurity, make the pain of her oppression even greater. The mind demands that the\nholder of these characteristics must be respected and adored, not hurt and\noppressed! She was the vivid example of what all Islamic sects consider her to\nbe part of the \u201cTat-hir Verse\u201d (Purification verse) in the Holy Quran. The\nverse in which Allah (SWT) clearly points out the character\u2019s virtue and\npurity: \u201cAllah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of\nthe House! And to purify you a (thorough) purifying\u201d(6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And last, but not least the gruesome\nattack on Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (PBUH) is noteworthy. She was attacked and hurt\nat the age of 18, while pregnant, and already the mother of children at tender\nyears, while also mourning the recent loss of her father \u2013 the greatest of\nbeings. It was under these circumstances that the attack took place so\nviolently. They attacked her house; beat her and hurt her physically, and led\nto her martyrdom and that of her six month old fetus, Muhsin (PBUH) (7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now the question remains, who was\nbehind such grand cruelty? Can we ignore such oppression? Are the people\nresponsible for such grave oppressions, and for depriving the Islamic Ummah\nfrom the divine blessings of such a lady, deserve the succession of the Holy\nProphet (PBUH&HP) and the leadership of the Islamic Ummah?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Selection taken\nfrom the book, “Al-Zahra (Peace be Upon Her)”, written by Shahid\nAyatollah Sayyed Muhammad Baqir Hakim, with minor changes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On behalf of Roshd Islamic Shia\nWebsite, we send our condolences to you dear friend and to all Muslims around\nthe world upon the third of Jamadi al-Thani, martyrdom of the daughter of the\nProphet of Allah (PBUH&HP), the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH), and the\nmother of the righteous Imams (PBUT), Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. The Holy\nQuran, (5:28)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. For further\ninformation on the life of Lady Fatimah (PBUH) you can refer to the article\nentitled The Life of Lady Fatimah (PBUH) located on the Beliefs section of the\nRoshd Website. Furthermore the occasion letters of the Roshd website with the\nsubject of martyrdom of the calamities and oppressions towards Lady Fatimah\n(PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Sahih Muslim,\nvol. 7, p. 140; Sahih Tirmidhi, vol. 2, p. 319; Mustadrak Hakim, vol. 3, p. 153.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Amaali Saduq,\np. 393; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 54; Al-Fosoul al-Muhimma, p. 146<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. The Holy\nQuran, (42:23)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. The Holy\nQuran, (33:33) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. Please refer\nto footnote #2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oppression and being a victim of oppression by a person or a group of oppressors is a topic that dates back to the origins of man. As evident in the story of the children of Adam, when Abel said to his brother Cain, \u201cIf you will stretch forth your hands towards me to slay me, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[63328],"class_list":["post-4109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-the-position-of-the-lady-fatimah-al-zahra"],"yoast_head":"\n