Words from the Heart of Lady Fatima
The wisdoms of Lady Fatima are a selection of brief sayings that touch the heart, character, and inner discipline of a person. Although each saying may appear as a simple note on its own, behind it lie fundamental matters such as the disciplining of the nafs (the lower self), awareness of mortality, knowledge, adab (propriety), and maturity of the qalb (the heart).
01
"My husband is poor, but our marriage was contracted in the heavens."
02
"Allah has made kindness to parents a means of protection from divine wrath."
03
"Allah has made iman (faith) a means for you to be purified from shirk (associating partners with God)."
04
"Allah has made prayer obligatory so that you may distance yourselves from arrogance."
05
"Allah has forbidden the drinking of wine in order to prevent filth and evil."
06
"The Book of Allah. Whoever follows it is led to Allah's riḍā (contentment with God's decree). Whoever listens to it is directed to salvation. Through that Book, one attains Allah's radiant proofs, clarified obligations, forbidden prohibitions, clear signs, sufficient evidences, praised virtues, granted dispensations, and written sharia (the sacred law)."
07
"Allah has made the hajj obligatory for the preservation of the religion."
08
"Allah has made sabr (patient endurance) a means to attain divine reward."
09
"My father, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), rose up for the guidance of people; he saved them from misguidance, brought them out of blindness and granted them insight; he guided them to a sound religion and showed them the straight path."
10
"When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, 'What is the best thing for a woman?' Lady Fatima (peace be upon her) replied: 'The best thing for a woman is that she does not see a stranger man, nor is she seen by a stranger man.'"
11
"Allah has made jihad obligatory to ensure the honor of Islam and to subject the people of kufr (disbelief) and hypocrisy to humiliation."
12
"O servants of Allah! You are the addressees of His commands and prohibitions. You are the trustees of Allah who bear the religion and revelation (to apply the rulings to yourselves) and the messengers who will convey it to other nations."
13
"Allah has made maintaining family ties a means for the prolongation of life."
14
"O Allah! Satisfy me with the sustenance You have given, cover my faults as long as You keep me alive, and grant me well-being. When my death arrives, forgive me and have mercy on me. Do not tire me with striving for what You have not decreed for me, and make it easy for me to attain what You have decreed."
15
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah; He is One and has no partner. The interpretation of this word is ikhlas (sincerity). The understanding of tawhid (the oneness of God) has been placed in all hearts, and thought has been illuminated with the majestic light of divine verses, such a God that eyes cannot see Him, nor can the tongue..."
16
"Allah has made fulfilling a vow a means to attain forgiveness."
17
"Allah has made enjoining good and forbidding wrong obligatory for the reform of people."
18
"Allah has decreed that He will reward those who obey Him, and punish those who rebel against Him, in order to protect His servants from falling into His wrath and to lead them to His paradise."
19
"Allah has made fasting obligatory for the strengthening of ikhlas (sincerity)."
20
"Allah has made justice obligatory for the unification of hearts."
21
"A poem recited by Lady Fatima (peace be upon her) upon the death of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): O Messenger, such tumult and confusion appeared after you. If you had been present, the grief would not have increased. Just as the earth loses its rain, so have we lost you. Your people have been thrown into turmoil (confused...)"
22
"Allah has made zakat obligatory for the purification of the nafs (the lower self) and the increase of provision."
23
"When Allah saw that the nations had become divided in their religion, worshipped in fire temples, prostrated to idols, and knowingly denied Allah, He, through my father Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), illuminated the darkness, untied the knots in hearts and the confusion in eyes..."
24
"Allah has made obedience to us obligatory for the order of the people, and has established our imamate to protect from division."
25
"O Allah! Make my nafs (the lower self) appear small to me, and magnify Your station in my sight. Inspire me to obey You, to act in accordance with Your riḍā (contentment with God's decree), and to avoid that which brings about Your wrath, O Most Merciful of the merciful."
26
"O Allah! Reward my father, my mother, and everyone who has a right over me with the best of Your rewards on my behalf. O Allah, make my state suitable for striving for the purpose for which I was created. Do not occupy me with working for the provision You have undertaken. I ask You for forgiveness, so do not punish me; I beseech You, so do not deprive me."