ভূমিকা
calm and at so Ali said, “The elders of Medina have requested
me to ask you to either weep at night or during the day.”
Fatima replied, “O Abul Hasan! My life among these
people is very short, and soon I will be departing. By God! I
will constantly weep until I unite with my father the Prophet
Imam Ali responded, “You are at liberty, you may do as
Imam Ali then built a house for his wife, Fatima, at the
cemetery of al-Baqi’, far away from the houses of the people
and named it bayt al-ahzan (the house of sorrows). Everyday, Fatima would dispatch her young children,
Hasan and Husayn, to go to al-Baqi’ and she would then
proceed towards the tiny house of sorrows. There, she would
Fatima al-Zahra: The Spring of Inspiration
sit and weep among the graves, and when night came, Imam
Ali would come and take them all back home. During the final days of her life, Fatima’s tears constantly
flowed due to the pain of separation from her father and her
heart yearned in his remembrance. She would say to her sons,
Hasan and Husayn, “What happened to your father (meaning
the Prophet) who cherished you so much? The one who sat
you upon his back and was most affectionate towards you,
where is he? What happened to your father who did not allow
you to even place your feet upon the earth but rather, always
She remained grief-stricken, remembering the sweet
voice of the Prophet as he used to recite the Quran which she
would hear until late in the night. Fatima al-Zahra would come to her father’s grave and
recite poetry saying, “Such sorrows poured upon me that if
they had descended upon the days they would have turned the
Lady Zahra would also be heard saying, “When someone
dies, his remembrance lessens day by day, but by God the
remembrance of my father increases everyday; I remember
that death has made a separation between us, I console myself
upon ; then I say to myself that death is
our path; and if one does not die today, then he will die
Historians relate from Umme Salama, the wife of Abu
Rafi’ that she said, “During the last days of the life of Fatima,
I was taking care of her. One day, her health was good and her
illness lessened. Her husband Ali went out to finish some
work and during this time, Fatima told me, ‘Bring me some
water so that I may take a bath and purify myself.’ I brought
the water and helped Fatima. She stood up and took a bath
and changed her clothes.
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