Introduction

Sayyidah Fatimah bint Hussain ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhum
December 2, 2019
Name and lineage
December 2, 2019

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Introduction

 

All praise belongs to Allah, we laud Him, seek His assistance, and His forgiveness. We seek Allah’s protection from the evil of our inner selves and our misdeeds. Whoever Allah guides can never be misled and whoever Allah has decreed misguidance for can never be guided. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship besides Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is his servant and Messenger.

 

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا

O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.[1]

 

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا

O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.[2]

 

Undoubtedly, the Ahlul Bayt of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam have an incumbent right over us—to love them and associate oneself with them—in keeping with the bequest of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam[3] concerning them and in keeping with the practice of the Sahabah[4], may Allah be pleased with all of them, as well as the character of the Tabi’in and those who followed them from the pious predecessors and scholars.[5]

Along with loving them, it is imperative to become acquainted with them, pass on their legacy, and purify history from the fabrications which seek to tarnish their image: the stains left by those incapable of discerning truth from falsehood and who follow naught but their desires.

Loving the Ahlul Bayt is a matter of certainty, but love requires evidence otherwise the claimant will be deemed a liar or one who makes empty claims; as the poet said:

و ليلى لا تقرلهم بذاك

وكل يدعى و صلا بليلى

Everyone claims to be a lover of Layla

But Layla does not make the same claim of them.

 

I have studied many works that have been penned specifically about the blessed women of the Ahlul Bayt, and I have found them to be either exceedingly exaggerated or overly concise. I thus deemed it incumbent upon myself to transmit their legacy and elaborate on their blessed lives, especially the women of the Ahlul Bayt—may Allah be pleased with all of them—who are the best of women to walk the face of the earth. We call upon our wives, daughters, and sisters of our time to follow in their footsteps.

لفضلت النساء على االرجال

و لو كان النساء كمن فقدنا

If the women of today could be like those of the past,

Then without a doubt, women would be regarded superior to men.

 

Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala has selected and granted virtue to some angels and Prophets over others, similarly does certain eras, places, habits, and actions have superiority over others, as is known from the clear explicit texts. In the same light, Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala has selected the Quraysh from all tribes and the Banu Hashim from the Quraysh, and from the Banu Hashim is the best of all of them and the best of all creation: Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Wathilah ibn Asqa’ narrated that he heard the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam saying:

Allah selected Kinanah from the children of Ismail, then He chose Quraysh from the children of Kinanah. He then chose the Banu Hashim from the Quraysh, and then He chose me from the Banu Hashim.[6]

 

The virtue of the women of the Banu Hashim is also known, in fact the women of the Quraysh in general, as the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

The best women among the camel riders are the women of Quraysh. (Another narrator said) The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “The righteous among the women of Quraysh are those who are kind to their young ones and who look after their husband’s property.”[7]

 

When this is the virtue of their women in general, then it is even more applicable and pronounced for the women of Banu Hashim; refer to the Hadith quoted earlier of the Banu Hashim being the best of the Quraysh.

I have selected from amongst these illustrious women such a personality whose life is rarely elaborated upon. I hope to invigorate your minds with the scent from one of the petals of the flowers of Nubuwwah.

She is Sayyidah Fatimah bint Hussain ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhum, a senior Tabi’iyyah, Muhaddithah, and scholar. Allah willing, I wish to captivate you with the scent of this pious and pure individual, thereby rejuvenating your soul and refreshing your heart.

Let me not forget to thank Mabarrat al Al wa al Ashab for publishing this work and encouraging its completion, along with the other invaluable works they have published. May Allah grant them the best of rewards.

I ask Allah to make this book a means of benefit to people, place it in my scale of good deeds, and grant it widespread acceptance amongst the Ummah. Verily Allah is All Hearing, the One Who accepts supplications.

And lastly we say, “Praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds.” Peace and salutations be upon Muhammad, his pure family, and all his Companions.

Abu Muaz al Sayed ibn Ahmed ibn Ibrahim

Kuwait

1428 A.H

 

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[1] Surah al Nisa’: 1

[2] Surah al Ahzab: 70-71.

[3] Muslim reports from Zaid ibn Arqam radiya Llahu ‘anhu the narration containing the words, “I remind you, by Allah, with regards to my Ahlul Bayt. I remind you, by Allah, with regards to my Ahlul Bayt.” Sahih Muslim, # 2408.

[4] Al Bukhari reports in his Sahih from Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu that Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu said, “Please Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam by doing good to his Ahlul Bayt.” Sahih al Bukhari, # 3751. Similar was the habit of all the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum with the Ahlul Bayt of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, fulfilling the bequest of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam concerning them.

[5] The Tabi’in were amongst the most sincere in honouring and loving the Ahlul Bayt. ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul Aziz rahimahu Llah would venerate the Ahlul Bayt tremendously. ‘Abdullah al Mahd ibn Hassan ibn Hassan ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhum would say, “I visited ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz seeking assistance for some need and he said to me, ‘If you have any need then write to me about it, for I feel ashamed before Allah to keep you waiting at my door.’” [Al Sakhawi: Istijlab Irtiqa’ al Ghuraf, 2/567] This was the respect the Tabi’in had for the Ahlul Bayt, such that ‘Uthman al Nahdi—a senior Tabi’i—who first resided in Kufah, relocated to Basrah after the martyrdom of Hussain ibn ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, saying, “I cannot stay in a city wherein the grandson of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was murdered.” [Istijlab Irtiqa’ al Ghuraf, 2/575]

[6] Sahih Muslim, # 2276.

[7] Sahih al Bukhari, # 5433; Sahih Muslim, # 2527.