In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate --
Salaam, and heartiest congratulations to you all on an auspicious day that is celebrated in the Islamic Republic of Iran as National Daughters' Day. The occasion is the 1st of Zilqa'dah, the birthday of a very virtuous lady who reposes in eternal peace in the holy city of Qom. Yes, dear listeners, she is Ma'soumah or the Innocent, whose real name was Fatema (peace upon her), and she was the daughter of Imam Musa al-Kazem (PBUH), the 7th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Please stay with us for an exclusive feature in this regard.
"Ya Fatema ishfa'i li fi'l-jannah fa inna laki ind-Allah shaanan min ash-shaan."
What we recited to you is a phrase in Arabic from the ziyarah or standard form of salutation to this great lady, and translated into English it means: "O Fatema! Intercede for me for (the reward of) paradise, for indeed you have with Allah a lofty status."
This phrase, and of course the whole ziyarah is dutifully recited by pilgrims to the holy shrine in Qom. It is an intercession for the eternal bliss of paradise, since, as is clear from the wordings, the lady is a spotlessly pure person whose supplications in the Divine Court never go unanswered. She was born in the Prophet's city Medina in the year 173 AH corresponding to 789 of the Christian calendar. She grew up in an environment of virtue along with her brothers and sisters, especially her elder brother, Imam Reza (PBUH), who ten years later was destined to be her father's divinely decreed successor.
Fatema al-Ma'soumah (peace upon her) was actually an accomplished scholar in her own right during the lifetime of her father despite her tender years. To cite one single instance of her knowledge and outstanding merits is the famous incident in her homeland Hejaz that made her father remark: Fidaha Abuha, which means "may her father be her sacrifice."
It happened that a group of pilgrims from Iran had called at the threshold of the Ahl al-Bayt in Medina for answers to their queries, unaware that Imam Musa al-Kazem (PBUH) was away on a journey. They were, however, not sent away empty-handed, for an attendant asked for their papers, saying the 7th Imam's little daughter could provide the answers. To their surprise the replies which they received from a girl of less than 8 years were not just satisfactory but beyond whatever they could comprehend. During their return journey to Iran they had a chanced encounter on the highway with Imam Kazem (AS). They greeted the Prophet's Heir, told him what had happened and showed him the answers provided by his little daughter, Fatema (peace upon her), to their complicated jurisprudential queries. It was then that the Imam expressed that particular phrase that further confirmed their faith in Islam and in the wisdom beyond years of the youngsters of the Prophet's Household.
No wonder, today, on the first of Zilqa'dah, in honour of the auspicious birth of this blessed lady the city of Qom wears a festive look. There is fragrance in the atmosphere. There is joy on the faces of the people, especially of those who are streaming in and out of the golden-domed shrine, bustling this day with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. Many of the visitors have come from different parts of Iran. There are people from other countries of the world as well. They have assembled to celebrate an auspicious event that occurred in the Prophet's city, Medina, a millennium, two centuries and fifty-nine years ago. They are displaying their devotion to the immortal legacy of the Last and Greatest of Divine Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), which has transformed Qom, on the edge of the Iranian desert, into the centre for diffusion of the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt – the exclusive group, which along with the God's Revealed Word, the Holy Qur'an, is known and revered as the Saqalayn. And the reason the destiny of Qom was changed for good forever was the arrival in this city and final repose of the noble lady of the Prophet's Household, whose birthday, not just the people of this city are celebrating, but also all Iranians who are marking it as "Daughter's Day", in order to show the high respect Islam attaches, especially to worthy and virtuous daughters.
What makes the shrine of Hazrat Ma'soumah (peace upon her) the rendezvous of the faithful from near and far, is not merely because of her peerless pedigree or for the matter that the soil of Iran happened to be her place of eternal repose. In fact, it is because of her personal virtues that she has earned immortality as the Innocent Lady. In 202 AH, the 29-year old Ma'soumah (SA), who had remained a spinster since no man of her time was worthy of her impeccably meritorious hand, arrived in Iran intending to meet her brother, Imam Reza (AS), who was forced to come to the Khorasani city of Merv (which is presently in Turkmenistan) by the crafty Abbasid caliph, Mamoun. Divine Providence, however, willed that she break her journey in Qom. After a brief 17-day sojourn, the fatigue of the long journey, plus the attack on her caravan near Saveh by rogues in the service of the Abbasid regime, took the toll, and she departed for the ethereal heavens, thereby making Qom a Stairway to Paradise. Ever since, the Kareemat al-Ahl al-Bayt or the Munificent Lady of the Prophet's Household, has continued to soothe souls, strengthen spirits, firm up hearts with faith, and enlighten minds – as testified by the famous Safavid era philosopher, Mullah Sadra Shirazi, who says that whenever he got stuck up in his academic studies he would visit the shrine of Ma'soumah (peace upon her) to supplicate to God Almighty for answers to his queries.
No wonder, Qom has blossomed into the main centre for seekers of exegetic, jurisprudential, theological, philosophical and all other branches of Islamic knowledge from all over the globe – a demonstration of which was given by Our Innocent Lady as a toddler in Medina. No wonder, both her brother Imam Reza (PBUH) had remarked: “Whoever visits her (tomb), aware of her position, Paradise is the reward.”
Later, her nephew Imam Mohammad at-Tqaqi al-Jawad (PBUH) also said a similar statement, thereby promising believers the rewards of pilgrimage to the shrine of his learned aunt, whose city, is indeed the haram or sanctuary of the Ahl al-Bayt – as prophesied long before her birth by her grandfather Imam Ja'far as-Sadeq (PBUH). Thus, according to authentic narrations, Qom is not just one of the 8 gateways to heaven, but it is also said that whoever of the true believers is buried in Qom, will go directly to paradise without witnessing or experiencing the calamities of the Day of Resurrection.
No wonder, her nephew Imam Jawad's daughter, Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her), who is also buried near her grandaunt Hazrat Ma'soumah (peace upon her), built the first dome over her shrine, which today is indeed a sprawling sanctuary for the faithful from around the globe – whether pilgrims or scholars and theology students from all over Iran and different parts of the world, seeking her intercession with God for the eternal bliss of Paradise.
