Who is Fatima?
Biography:
Fatima was the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who according to the holy Quran was sent as a moral guide to people. Her mother was Lady Khadija, a businesswoman in the traditional Arab world.
Fatima was born in a society that was brutal, especially to girls, not giving them even basic human rights. But her father treated her with such respect and love that set a new standard for treating girls and women. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) always greeted Fatima warmly and kissed her hands, and he said: “Fatima is part of me, pleases me who pleases her, and harms me who harms her.”
The prophet Muhammad said: “The best of the women of Paradise are Khadijah (Fatima’s Mother), Fatimah, Maryam (Mother of Christ), and Asiya (the wife of Pharaoh).”
Fatima is a Role Model for All in:
1.Social Activity
Lady Fatima (SA) was a great teacher as seen in the training of her children, Imam Hassan and Hussain (AS) and Lady Zeinab (SA). From the very beginning of their childhood, she established the worship of God Almighty in their souls and minds. She taught them and prepared them to acquire knowledge and encouraged them for learning, for example, she told her seven-year-old son Hassan (AS): “Go to the mosque and learn what you heard and come and tell me what you have heard.”
Fatima was a teacher to other women as well. Her house was open to the girls and women of Medina, and she was holding discussion circles to educate them with meaningful prayers and rosary words.
2.Forgiveness
There are many examples of forgiving others in Fatima’s life. During her life Fatima and her father had to deal with prejudice and stubborn people who even went out of their way to harm the prophet and his family. She not only stayed calm in these situations and forgave them for their acts but also advised others to do so.
3.Giving
In the Quran giving charity and spending your wealth is like planting a seed. Even though you might think I’m not getting my money back for the seed, the earth is going to give you back so much more.
Most people give away what they do not like or don’t need. A higher level is giving something that you have extra of, like they have lots of money, so they give that away. Another higher level of righteousness is giving to someone something you love yourself, treating the poor or needy with the same respect you think you deserve. This is the highest level of charity and we learnt this from lady Fatima on her wedding night. A poor lady asked her for help on her wedding night, she gave her wedding garment to that person and got married in her normal clothes.
4.Kindness
She was very kind to his father after her mother’s death and helped him a lot during the hardships of his prophethood. Such a level of kindness entitled her as “Mother of her dad”!
A pure example of her kindness was about her necklace. Being a gift from her beloved dad, she liked it very much but as soon as a person in need came to her door, she took it off and gave it to him.
Not only was she always acting with kindness, but she also kept encouraging others to be kind and would say: “The best deed before Allah is the joy one could create in the heart of a believer.”
Or in another quote from her, we see: “The best of you is the one who is kinder and nicer to people and the most valuable one of you are who are kind and easy-going with their spouses.”
5.Respect
There are many instances in the history showing how respectful she was with her family including her dad (Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)), husband (Imam Ali (AS)), and sons (Imam Hassan and Hussain (AS). As an example, in the event of Kisa, she addresses her sons with a very cute, lovely titles like “the fruit of my heart”.
Also, she would never ask his husband something he was not able to provide in order not to put him in any situation of shame in front of her.
Traditionally, she would hire help who had to do all household chores. However, she had splatted the chores with herself and the help, proofing the level of respect she believed in for others even though the help!
6.Positivity
Fatima had a positive way of looking at this life as a gateway to something greater. So, she was not a fan of extravagant living, instead she chose for herself the noble trait of preferring others over herself and aiding them.
In the most difficult conditions of life, she always had a smile on her face and her heart was full of hope to God’s grace
7.Resilience
She did not have an easy childhood, at the beginning of Islam when the prophet suffered harm from the non-believers, she was five. She would dress his wounds and give him comfort.
She lived through a hard sanction, where the non-believers stopped any food or goods reaching the new believers to try to stop the message of Islam. She lost her mum in those hard years, but she remained strong and took care of her father.
When the prophet had to migrate to another city to help the oppressed Muslims, Fatima was so supportive that the prophet felt like she was his right hand.
8.Modesty
She would attend social events wearing the hijab and behaving with modesty.
Women in the modern age have the dilemma of “How other people think about me” and body image problems are occurring in younger generations nowadays. This leads to many mental health problems. Modesty can prevent such problems easily, allowing us to be free of the idealistic image of a perfect woman.
On several occasions, Fatima performed her role to emphasize women’s modesty by preserving the Islamic modest dress, the Hijab. The point worth pondering here is that women can perform all their social activities and play an active role in society while behaving modestly.
9.Caring
Fatima’s son, Hassan (AS), says:
Once, on a Friday night, I watched my mother, Fatima, praying all night long.
I heard her praying for people by their name; but she did not ask anything for herself, so I asked:
“Mother, why don’t you ask for yourself as you pray for others?”
She answered: “My son! Prefer your neighbor over yourself.”
10.Integrity
Fatima lived what she believed in. The points we raised are small examples of how she stayed true to the main beliefs she learned from her father. We know her as a role model who can help us be better human beings.
Further References:
Books:
Fatima Daughter of Muhammad : https://www.amazon.com.au/Fatima-Daughter-Muhammad-Christopher-Clohessy/dp/1593339798
Fatima Is Fatima by Ali Shariati : https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/49691.Fatima_Is_Fatima
Clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivDkMRy5y3Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLB8aLOKB0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXi0xqfiBfk&feature=youtu.be
Websites:
Questions and Answers on Islam | Ask the Sheikh
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