ভূমিকা

I do not know what effect the weeping of al-Sayyida Fatimah al-Zahra (‘a) had on the sick souls of the people such that they felt disturbed by it! Was the cry of a woman sitting in her home So, disturbing that it took away the comfort of those strange individuals? The chiefs of Madinah gathered together and came to Amir al-Mu’minin (‘a) saying, “O Aba al-Hasan, Fatimah cries in the night and during the day, So, none of us can take repose and sleep in our beds at night and we cannot work and earn our livelihoods in the day. We request you to ask her to either cry only at night or only during daytime.”

Imam Ali (‘a) came to Fatimah al-Zahra while she was weeping. When she saw him, she quietened down. He said to her, “O daughter of the Prophet of Allah, the chieftains of Madinah came to ask me to request you to cry for your father either only at night or only during the day.” She said, “O Aba al-Hasan, how short is my stay among them! How soon will I leave them behind! By Allah, I will neither remain silent at night nor during the day, until I join my father, the Holy Prophet (S).” “Then do whatever you see fit, O daughter of the Prophet,” he said. Indeed, the chiefs of Madinah did not understand the right of the Prophet of Allah (S) and his status, for if they had known this, they would have joined his only daughter in her grief and would have accompanied her in shedding tears for the most honourable being and the greatest person to have passed away from this world. How much better it would have been for them – if they did not wish to join her or help her – to remain silent and not prevent her from grieving. However, they might be excused for what they did because politics forced them to prevent the beloved daughter of the Prophet (S) from crying for the Master of Messengers. It was befitting for al-Sayyida Fatimah to continue weeping because of that great calamity and tragedy, and not pay heed to the requests of the people who had their own agendas and goals, which were known to Allah. Thus, Amir al-Mu’minin built for her a [small] house outside Madinah, which became known as the House of Sorrows (bayt al-ahzan)

. In the mornings when she awoke, al-Hasan and al-Husayn would walk in front of her as she came out to go to al-Baqi’, weeping. She would continue weeping next to the graves and when night fell, Amir al-Mu’minin came to her and took her back home, holding her hand.