The True Identity of Woman

By Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei

Part 2: Individual Dimensions

Chapter 1: Islamic and Qur’anic role models and their characteristics

1-    Hazrat Fatima Zahra (SA)

A role model for all proud and pious Muslim and non-Muslim men and women

These days belong to Fatima Zahra(SA), the leader of all women throughout the world, the greatest lady of mankind, an exemplary woman whose short life is a role model for all proud and pious Muslim men and women and non-Muslim people who are familiar with the position of that great lady.

You should always be present in the demonstrations, in the construction movement and in the arena of fighting, elections and expressing your political beliefs wherever it is obligatory to do so. You should play a significant role in the destiny of the country and the Revolution…. We have role models such as Fatima Zahra(SA).

I hope that by the blessedness of the existence of Fatima Zahra (SA), Allah the Exalted will bestow this blessing on our women. This great lady lived among Muslims. Allah the Exalted could have put the greatest lady among non-Muslim people and nothing would have been wrong with this. But He decided to put her in the Islamic Ummah. And it is a sign that we should keep this virtuous role model in front of our eyes and follow her. By Allah’s favour, you dear sisters will be successful in following this important path in a powerful and steadfast way. I hope Allah the exalted bestows success on you.

An example of a perfect human being and a role model for women from all generations in history

I would like to congratulate you dear sisters, all the women who live in our country, all Muslim women and all Muslims throughout the world on the birth anniversary of Fatima Zahra (SA) – who was a role model for women from all generations in the history, an example of a perfect human being and the manifestation of the spiritual side of humanity.

As far as the issue of women is concerned, there is no shortage of great women in the history of Islam. There were great women in the history of Islam and Fatima Zahra (SA) is the best example among them. The story of the lives of HazratZainab(SA) and HazratSukayna(SA) is also an amazing story for thinking, wise and intelligent people.

 Reaching the peak of spirituality and calling on womankind to move towards the peak

A woman [Fatima Zahra (SA)] reaches such a spiritual position at a young age that according to certain narrations, angels speak to her and reveal the truths to her. She becomes a ‘Muhadditha’ – that is to say, a person who speaks to angels. This spiritual position, this vast arena, this high peak is in the front of the eyes of all women in the world and in the entire history of mankind. Fatima Zahra (SA) is standing at the peak of this mountain of greatness and she is calling on all women to follow her path.

Fatima Zahra (SA) is the peak of humanity and there is no body whose position is higher than her. That great lady found the opportunity and the power to reach this peak as a Muslim lady.

I will not start discussing the spiritual virtues of that great lady.  Actually we cannot understand the spiritual virtues of Fatima Zahra (SA). As far as the peak of human spirituality and perfection is concerned, it is only God – and those who are at the peak – who can fully appreciate such people and their position. Therefore, the Commander of Faithful (AS), the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Infallible Imams could appreciate Fatima Zahra (SA).

Fatima Zahra (SA) reconciled her religious and personal responsibilities with her political responsibilities

There is an important point about the life of Fatima Zahra (SA): first, she managed to reconcile the life of a Muslim woman – her duties toward her husband and children and her responsibilities in the home environment– with the responsibilities of a proud and tireless Mujahid in the face of the important political events that happened after the Holy Prophet (PBUH) had passed away. She went to the mosque, delivered speeches and announcedand defended her position. She was truly a tireless and stoic Mujahid. She was also a worshipper; she kept up prayers in the dark nights, rose up for the sake of God and showed humility to God. That young lady would worship God like old prophets.

Islam presents Fatima Zahra (SA) that outstanding spiritual lady as a role model for women. Her daily life, her jihad, her resistance, her knowledge, her eloquence, her selflessness, her behavior towards her husband and children, her migration, her presence in all political, military and revolutionary arenas and her comprehensive distinction which would humble great men of her time on the one hand and her spiritual position, her  praying, her worship, her dua, her solemn prayer, her divine nature, her spiritual brilliance and being at the level of the Commander of the Faithful(AS) and the holy Prophet (PBUH) – this is the role model for women. This is the role model that Islam presents to women.

She supported the holy Prophet (PBUH) and the greatest Commander of Islam – Imam Ali (AS) – who was her husband. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said of Fatima Zahra (SA), “She did not make me angry and she did not disobey me.” She never made   Imam Ali (AS) angry throughout her marriage life and she never disobeyed his order. In spite of that greatness, in the home environment Fatima Zahra (SA) acted like a kind of wife and woman that Islam describes. She was also an outstanding scholar in the arena of knowledge. The sermon that she delivered in the mosque of Medina after the demise of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is such a good sermon that according to AllamahMajlesi, rhetoricians and scholars should sit down together and discover the layers of meaning by analyzing the sermon word by word and phrase by phrase, which shows the multi-layered significance of her sermon. In terms of its artistic beauty, the sermon is like the most beautiful and the longest sermons in NahjulBalaghah. Fatima Zahra (SA) enters the mosque of Medina and delivers the sermon. She speaks for around an hour choosing the best and the most beautiful phrases to express the most appropriate meanings.

When helping her honourable father and providing psychological support of him, when supporting the Commander of the Faithful (AS) during the difficult times in Medina, throughout all those wars, the difficult times that Imam Ali(AS) went through after the Holy Prophet(PBUH) passed away, this great lady was actively making efforts in all those stages since her childhood in Mecca, in the Valley of Abu Talib. She was a Mujahid scholar, a Mujahid Gnostic.  She was also an exemplary woman in terms of her duties as a woman, a wife and a mother, and in terms of her parenting skills and kindness to her husband. According to the narrations, she was an exemplary woman in terms of the way she spoke to the  Commander of the Faithful(AS), in terms of humility and obedience that she showed in front of him and in terms of raising such children as Imam Hassan(AS), Imam Hussein(AS) and Zeinab al-Kubra(SA). She was an exemplary woman in terms of performing her duties as a woman and a mother and in terms of her womanly love. And all those unparalleled virtues were shown in a life that lasted only 18 years. The existence of such a person is a source of honour in all societies, eras and countries, an 18-year-old young woman with all those spiritual, moral and behavioral virtues. There was not a second such woman in history. Knowing these things makes you familiar with the virtues that great lady, but you would not get anywhere without the emotional bond, without that love and without the fire of enthusiasm that fills your eyes with tears both when you hear about the difficulties she went through and when you hear about her virtues.  This is something different. This is the emotional and spiritual bond and it is necessary to preserve it.

Certain people misunderstood [the Islamic role of women] and certain spiteful people took advantage of this misunderstanding. They promoted the idea that a woman should either be a good mother and wife or she should take part in social activities. This is not the case. A woman should be a good mother and wife and she should also take part in social activities. Fatima Zahra (SA) is the manifestation of this reconciliation between different roles.

Claiming one’s rights without being afraid of the world of oppression and arrogance

We say that she went to the mosque in spite of being ill in order to claim a right. We too should make efforts in all conditions in order to claim our rights. We too should be courageous enough not to fear anybody. We say that she stood up against opponents although she was alone.  Just as her magnanimous husband says, “Do not be afraid of being outnumbered.”  And we should not be afraid of being outnumbered by the world of oppression and arrogance.

Raising her children, taking care of her husband and father engaging in self-education

Fatima Zahra (SA) was born in the thick of the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) battle in Mecca and she accompanied her father to the Valley of Abu Talib and consoled him when he was sad. She tolerated the problems and acted like a guardian angel, a mother and a great nurse for her father, the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH).  She consoled the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) when he was sad. She shouldered the burden of responsibilities. She worshiped God. She strengthened her religious faith.  She educated herself. She opened a way for Divine knowledge and light to enter her heart. These are the characteristics that help people achieve perfection. And later on after the Muslims’ migration to Medina, when   Fatima Zahra (SA) married Ali ibn-e-AbiTalib(AS), her Mehr and dowry were all of you know about, You know how simple her wedding ceremony was, the wedding ceremony of the daughter of the first person in the Muslim world. From all perspectives the life of Fatima Zahra (SA) was filled with hard work and efforts.  Her life was journey towards spiritual perfection. Her young husband was in the battlefield most of the time. But inspite of the problems that she had to deal with in her life, Fatima Zahra (SA) was a source of support for the people and Muslims who turned to her. She was the Holy Prophet’s daughter, a woman who solved the problems of the people. And inspite of these conditions she lives her life in a completely proud way: she raises children like Hassan, Hussein and Zeinab, takes care of a husband like Imam Ali(AS) and satisfies a father like the Holy Prophet(PBUH).

The next point is the way she took care of her husband. One might think that taking care of one’s husband is limited to preparing food in the kitchen, cleaning the house, making the beds and the kinds of things that women have traditionally been responsible for. But taking care of one’s husband is not limited to these things. Pay attention to the way Fatima Zahra (SA) took care of her husband. The Commander of the Faithful and Hazrat Zahra (SA) were married to each other nine years out of the ten years that the Holy Prophet(PBUH) lived in Medina. Small and big bat les were reported during this nine-year period. There were about 60 battles during this nine-year period and the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was present in most of these battles.  Fatima Zahra (SA) would wait at home while her husband was fighting in the battlefields. And if he refused to fight in the battlefields, the battues would have come to a halt, which shows how much the battles depended on him. Moreover, their financial situation was not good. We had all heard this: “They give food, for the love of Him, to the needy, the orphan and the prisoner [saying,[ ‘We feed you only for the sake of Allah. We do not want any reward from you nor any thanks.” (The Holy Qur’an, Al-Insan: 8-9) They lived in a truly ascetic life. This was while she was the daughter of a leader, the daughter of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), and she felt a sense of responsibility for this reason.

Notice the strength of spirit that would be necessary for taking care of such a husband, for liberating his heart from the enticements of family and life, for giving him encouragement and for raising children the way she did. You might argue that Imam Hassan and Imam Hussein (AS) were Imams and they were Infallible in nature.  But this was not the case with Zeinab al-Kubra (SA): she was not an Imam. Fatima Zahra (SA) educated her in nine-year period and she passed away soon after the Holy Prophet (PBUH)’s demise.

To be Continued….