Congratulations on the Birthday of Fatimah Zahra (A.S.):

International Women's Day & Mothers Day

Leader of the Women of Paradise	Her Names
The Marriage	Salutations

Woman - The Fountain of Life

Islam has prescribed different roles for men and women. Men are the breadwinners while women are the nurturers. Neither gender is superior to the other. God says in the Qur'an:

"I will not diminish the deed of any person, be it male or female, the one of you is from the other." (3:195)

Both roles are complementary and facilitate the smooth functioning of the family unit. On account of the sacrifices a woman makes, and the difficulties she faces in nurturing children, a mother is bestowed with an exalted position in Islam.

Concerning motherhood, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Heaven lies under the feet of mothers." This implies that the success of a society can be traced to the mothers that raised it for the first and perhaps the greatest influence on a person comes from the sense of security, affection, and training received from the mother.

In another tradition emphasizing the importance of respecting a mother for the sacrifices she has made, it is reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was asked:

"Oh Messenger of God, who is the person who has the greatest right on me with regards to the kindness and attention?" He replied, "your mother." "Then who?" He replied "your mother". "Then who?" He replied, "Your mother." "Then who?" He replied, "Your father."

Leader of the Women of Paradise

Name - Fatima

Title - Az-Zahra

Kunyat - Umm-ul-Aimma

Born - Friday 20th of Jamadi-ul-Akhar in Mecca

Father's Name - Holy Prophet Muhammad Ibn-e-Abdulla (PBUH)

Mother's Name - Khadija bint-e-Khuwailid

Died - 14th Jamadi-ul-Awwal at Medina at the age of 18 years

Buried - The cemetery of Jannatul Baqi at Medina

Fatima is a female created by Allah to be a sign of His marvelous and unprecedented might. For, The Almighty Lord created Muhammad (A.S.) as a sign of His might among prophets; and created from him his daughter Fatima Zahra to be a sign of His ability to create a female possessing all moral excellence and talents. In fact, Allah Almighty bestowed Fatima with a vast share of greatness and a high level of majesty, which no other woman can ever claim to have reached.

She is one of the prominent people close to Allah, whose greatness was acknowledged by Heaven before the creation of mankind; and in whose regard from the Qur’an, that are and will be read day and night until the Day of Resurrection, were revealed.

Fatima is a Lady, who as mankind advances in the understanding and realization of facts and secrets, the greatness of her personality will become more apparent, and the deep meanings and characteristics of her actions will be more appreciated.

She is Fatima Zahra (A.S.) whom Allah praises, and is “satisfied with her satisfaction, and is angered when she is angered.” And the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) commends her nobility and meritorious personality, while Imam Ali (A.S.) looks to her with respect and admiration and the Holy Imams (A.S.) of Ahlul-Bayt sanctify and venerate her.

The Nine Names of Hazrat Fatima Zahra (A.S.)

1. Siddiqah - The Honest, The Righteous

2. Al-Batool - Pure Virgin

3. Al-Mubarakah - The Blessed One

4. Al-Tahirah - The Virtuous, The Pure

5. Al-Zakiyah - The Chaste, The Unblemished

6.Al-Radhiatul Mardhiah - She who is gratified and who shall be satisfied

7. Al-Muhaddathah - A person other than a Prophet, that the angel's speak too

8. Al-Zahra - The Splendid

9. Al-Zahirah - The Luminous

The Marriage

One day when the Prophet (A.S.) came out and joined his companions his face was beaming with joy. Abd al Rahman ibn Awf inquired as to the cause of his (A.S.) joy and the Prophet (A.S.) said:

“I have received good tidings from my Lord about my brother and the son of my uncle, that Allah has given my daughter Fatima, Peace be Upon Her and her progeny, in marriage to Ali”.

Sawaiq Al Muhriqah page 103

The Prophet (A.S) said : “O Fatima ! Are you not pleased with this, that Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, cast a glance on the dwellers of the

earth and selected from them two men, one of them your father and the other your husband”?

Mustadrak Al Hakim Volume 3 page 129

Kanz al Ummal Volume 6 page 153

Musnad of Imam Ahmed Volume 5 page 39

Sharh al Nahj al Balagah Volume 2 page 451

Ibn Abu Hatam has recorded a report from Anas, who says that Umar

and Abu Bakr came to the Prophet (A.S) and each of them requested

to give him the hand of Fatima (A.S). But the Prophet (A.S) kept

silent and gave no answer. Then both of them went to Ali (A.S) and

told him that they had asked for the hand of Fatima (A.S), but the

Prophet (A.S) gave no answer. They requested Ali (A.S) to ask for

the hand of Fatima (A.S).

Many eminent traditionalists have copied this report from Ibn Hatam. Ibn Hajar Asqalani ( Hadith Scientist ) has recorded in the opening part of Chapter 11 of Sawaiq al Muhriqah.

Kanz al Ummal Volume 6 page 153

Musnad of Imam Ahmed Volume 5 page 31

The Prophet (A.S) gave Abu Bakr some money and asked him to

accompany Salman and Bilal to buy some house hold necessities for

Fatimas’(A.S) house.

The Prophet (A.S) said to Abu Bakr : “Buy some appropriate household necessities for my daughter with this money”.

Abu Bakr said : “ He (A.S.) gave me sixty three dirhams, so we went

to the market and bought the following:

¨ a leather mat

¨ a Khaibairion cloak

¨ jugs and jars for water

¨ a thin curtain made of wool

¨ a veil costing 4 dirhams

¨ a bed embellished with ribbon

¨ a mat from Hajar

¨ a special copper container used for dye stuff

¨ a water skin

Fatima’s Modesty and Spending in the Path of Allah

Fatima (A.S) was known to be very modest and humble. Because as man’s desire of the Hereafter increases, his worldly lusts decrease; and when someone realizes the greatness and seriousness of the Day of Judgment, the worldly life becomes of little value to him. Besides, as man’s reasoning and ability advances, his desire for lusts greatly decreases.

Fatima (A.S.) deeply understood this worldly life, and realized the extent of the Hereafter. It is not amazing to learn Fatima (A.S) was satisfied with the minimum requirements of life; she chose for herself the noble trait of preferring others to herself and aiding them, as well as resenting sumptuous extravagant living. It is a small wonder, indeed, for Fatima (A.S) was the daughter of the most modest whose religious and social life required him to live in modesty; and Fatima (A.S) person expected to follow the steps of her father, the modest Messenger (A.S).

Fatima’s marital life was also surrounded by modesty and satisfaction. Her husband Ali (A.S) was a devout follower of the Prophet of Islam (A.S.), and there was not a man known who was more modest than Ali (A.S).

Many prayers and supplications have been reported on Lady Fatima’s account; among them is the famous supplication for the relief of fever and headaches. This supplication is mentioned below as an example of Fatima’s prayers.

Fatima (A.S.) taught the following supplication to Salman Al-Farsi (A.S.) and said to him:

“If it pleases you not to be inflicted with fever as long as you live in this world, then read these words, which my father, Muhammad taught me and I say every morning and evening:

In The Name Of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Merciful

O Allah! Send your blessings to the head of your Messengers and the Last of your Prophets Muhammad (A.S ) and his pure and cleansed progeny.

Salutations to Hazrat Fatima ( A.S. )

Peace be upon you, Oh daughter of the Messenger of Allah !

Peace be upon you, Oh daughter of the possessor of outstanding merit

above all Prophets and messengers and angels !

Peace be upon you, Oh Leader of the Women of the Worlds.

Peace be upon you, Oh Wife of the Vicegerent of Allah !

Peace be upon you, Oh mother of Hasan and Hussein, the Leaders of

The Youth of Paradise !

Peace be upon you, Oh most truthful and martyr.

Peace be upon you, who was pleased to resign to the will of Allah and

Allah was pleased with you.

Peace be upon you, Oh possessor of outstanding merit of above others,

and the pure.

Peace be upon you, who is holy and guarded herself against sins !

Peace be upon you, who is knowledgeable and an authority on traditions of the Prophet.

Peace be upon you, who was subjected to anger and oppression.

Peace be upon you, Oh Fatima, daughter of the Messenger of Allah,

and May Allah have mercy on you and bless you.

In The Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Merciful

In the Name of Allah the Light;

In the Name of Allah the light of light;

In the Name of Allah, light upon light;

In the Name of Allah, the planner of affairs;

In the Name of Allah, Who created light from light;

And

Revealed light upon the Turr;

By a decree inscribed;

In a scroll unfolded;

According to a decree fore-ordained;

Unto a Learned Prophet (A.S.)

Praise be to Allah, Who is Known with Might;

Whose Glory is established;

Who is praised during times of prosperity and infliction;

And May Allah’s Grace be upon our Master Muhammad (A.S.)

And his purified progeny.

We can easily state that had Fatima Zahra (A.S.) been given the chance to manifest her knowledge and had she lived for fifty or sixty years, we would have been able to inherit a treasury of knowledge and information pertaining to various subjects and sciences. Unfortunately, Fatima (A.S.) was neither given the chance to teach us, nor did she live more than twenty years.