Fatimah az-Zahra’ (s.a.) was different from all women in her high qualities and noble characteristics that took her to the highest rank of virtue and perfection. She was an example of her father’s morals and mentality. She resembled him in his deep faith in Allah the Almighty, asceticism, and refraining from pleasures of this life. Here, we talk about some of Fatimah’s characteristics:
Infallibility
Fatimah (s.a.) was infallible, and this is an indisputable fact. Allah had purified her from every sin and every defect, and endowed her with all virtues to make her an example for all the women of the world. She was an ideal example in faith, worship, chastity, purity, charity, and kindness to the poor and the deprived.
Proofs on her infallibility
1. The verse of purification; Allah has said,
“Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House, and to purify you a (thorough) purifying.” 33:33
The People of the House (the Ahlul Bayt) were Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (a.s.).1
The verse clearly proves the infallibility and purity of these persons from every sin and vices. Allah had chosen these people to be examples for His people and guides to His obedience and pleasure. It is impossible for Allah to give sinners or guilty people this gift.
Infallibility, in its concept, definitely would not be far from the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who were the centers of knowledge and wisdom in Islam. For forty years, I have researched and written books on them, but I could find a slip neither in their sayings nor in their doings. Even their enemies, who were full of grudge against them, did not mention any fault or any bit of deviation about them.
Imam Ali (a.s.) says, ‘By Allah, if I am given the seven districts with all that under their skies to disobey Allah in a bran of a grain of barley that I deprive it of a mouth of a locust, I will never do.’
This far extent of piety in the imams is the very infallibility that the Shia believe to be in their imams. Anyhow, Fatimah (s.a.) was one of the fourteen infallible members of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.).
2. The Prophet (S) made all his nation, through his repeated sayings, know that Fatimah (s.a.) was a part from him, and that whatever pleased her would please him and whatever displeased her would displease him. That she was a part from the Prophet (S) means that she was infallible since the Prophet (S) was infallible.
3. The true traditions that were transmitted from the Prophet (S) confirmed that Allah would be pleased with the pleasure of Fatimah (s.a.) and would be displeased with her displeasure. These traditions mean that Fatimah (s.a.) had reached a degree of faith and piety that would take her to the same rank of the infallible prophets who sincerely obeyed Allah and knew Him as He was.
4. The Prophet (S) compared his progeny to the Book of Allah as in the mutawatir (successive) tradition of “ath-Thaqalayn”, and since the Book of Allah is infallible from any falseness, so are the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.); otherwise, the Prophet (S) would not compare them to the Book of Allah. Fatimah (s.a.) was at the head of the pure progeny of the Prophet (S) and was the mother of all the infallible imams (except Imam Ali) whom Allah had purified from all uncleanness.
Charity to the Poor
Fatimah (s.a.) was charitable and too kind to the poor and the deprived. She, her husband,and her two sons were meant by these Qur’anic verses,
“And they give food out of love for Him to the poor, the orphan, and the captive. We only feed you for Allah’s sake; we desire from you neither reward nor thanks.” 76:8-9
Fatimah (s.a.) milled wheat and barley for her poor neighbors who were unable to do that. She carried water to her weak neighbors who could not get water.
On the night of her wedding, Fatimah (s.a.) had a new dress on. When she knew that a young woman from the Ansar2 could not find a dress to put on, she took off her wedding dress and gave it to that young woman. Fatimah (s.a.) turned away from every material pleasure and preferred the satisfaction of Allah to everything. Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari said,‘Once, the messenger of Allah (S) led us in offering the Asr (afternoon) Prayer, and when he offered the nafila (a supererogatory prayer), he sat in the qibla and people sat around him. A very old man came complaining of hunger and saying, ‘O prophet of Allah, I am hungry. Feed me! And I am naked (have no clothes). Clothe me!’. The Prophet (S) asked the old man to go to the house of his (the Prophet) daughter Fatimah (s.a.). The old nomad man went to Fatimah’s house and from behind the door he greeted her and said, ‘O daughter of Muhammad, I am naked and hungry. Would you please comfort me, may Allah have mercy on you?’
Fatimah (s.a.) herself was in neediness, and she found nothing to give to the man except a sheepskin that her sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn slept on. The old man did not like it and he gave it back to her. Then, Fatimah (s.a.) took a necklace, which was a present from her cousin Fatimah bint Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, off her neck and gave it to the man.
The old man took the necklace and went back to the Prophet (S) saying to him, ‘Fatimah gave me this necklace and said to me, ‘Sell it! May Allah recompense you with good for it.’
The Prophet (S) cried and said, ‘And how does Allah not recompense you with good for it while the daughter of Muhammad, the principal of the daughters of Adam, has given it to you?’
Ammar bin Yasir asked the Prophet (S), ‘O messenger of Allah, do you permit me to buy this necklace?’
The Prophet (S) said, ‘Buy it, Ammar! If the human beings and the jinn participate in it, Allah will not punish them with Fire.’
Ammar said, ‘O Sheikh (old man), how much is the necklace?’
The old man said, ‘I sell it for a meal of bread and meat, a Yemeni garment that I cover my private parts and offer prayer for my Lord with, and a dinar that takes me to my family.’
Ammar said to him, ‘I give you twenty dinars, two hundred dirhams, a Yemeni garment, my camel to take you to your family, and a meal of wheat bread and meat.’
The old man said, ‘O man, how generous you are!’ He left delightedly saying, ‘O Allah, there is no god but You. O Allah, give Fatimah what no eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard of.’
Ammar perfumed the necklace with musk, enveloped it in Yemeni garment, and gave it one of his slaves saying to him, ‘Take this necklace to the messenger of Allah (S) and you will be his.’
When the slave took the necklace to the Prophet (S), the Prophet (S) asked him to take it to Fatimah (s.a.) who took it and set the slave free. The slave smiled. Fatimah (s.a.) asked him what made him smile and he said,
‘What made me smile was the great blessing of this necklace. It satiated a hungry one, clothed a naked one, made a poor one rich, freed a slave, and then returned to its owner.’3
Asceticism
Fatimah (s.a.) led an ascetical life, and lived in satisfaction away from the worldly pleasures like her father the Prophet (S) and her husband Imam Ali (a.s.) who had divorced this world and been abstinent from its pleasures.
When these verses,
“And surely Hell is the promised place of them all. It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them.” 15:43-44
were revealed to the Prophet (S), he cried too much and his companions cried for his crying though they did not know why he cried. One of the companions went to Fatimah (s.a.) who was milling barley and reciting,
“And whatever is with Allah is better and more lasting.” 28:60
he greeted and told her about the crying of her father. She wrapped herself with a ragged cloak that was sewed with palm-tree leaves and went to the meeting of her father. When Salman saw her, he said, ‘How sorrowful! The daughters of Caesar and Khosrau are in sarcenet while the daughter of the messenger of Allah wears a ragged wool cloak.’
Fatimah (s.a.) came to the Prophet (S) and told him what Salman said, and then she said, ‘By Him Who has sent you with the truth, I and Ali since five years have nothing but a sheepskin. We give food on it to our camel in the day and in the night we sleep on it, and our pillow is from leather filled with palm-tree fibers.’ Then she asked her father about the reason of his crying and he told her about the revelation of those verses. She said, Woe and woe unto whoever enters Fire.’4
Anas bin Malik said, ‘Once, Fatimah came to the Prophet (S) and said, ‘O messenger of Allah, I and Ibn Abi Talib (Imam Ali) have no bed except a sheepskin. We sleep on it, and give food to our camel on it in the day.’
The Prophet (S) said to her, ‘My daughter, be patient! Moses son of Imran lived with his wife for ten years and she had no bed except an aba.’5
Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari said, ‘Once, the Prophet (S) saw his daughter Fatimah in a ragged garment while milling with her hand and suckling her child. His eyes shed tears and he said, ‘O my daughter, bear the bitterness of this life for the sake of the sweetness of the afterlife…’
She declared her satisfaction by saying, ‘Praise be to Allah for His favors and thanks to Him for His blessings…’6
Fatimah (s.a.) lived a very simple life with no pleasures or any kind of luxury. In her conducts, she showed the real picture of Islam and gave Muslim woman lessons of satisfaction with what Allah had determined for man.
Fatimah (s.a.) abstained from all desires of life in food, clothes, and others and she turned sincerely to Allah and preferred pleasing Him to everything else.
Chastity and Veiling
Fatimah (s.a.) was the highest example in chastity, honor and veiling for all Muslim women.
Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘Once, a blind man asked permission to visit Fatimah (s.a.), but she asked him to stay behind a screen. The messenger of Allah (S) asked Fatimah (s.a.), ‘Why did you screen him though he is blind and could not see you?’
She said, ‘He could not see me, but I could see him.’
The Prophet (S) said, ‘I witness that you are a part from me.’7
Once, Imam Ali (a.s.) asked Fatimah (s.a.), ‘When is woman closer to her Lord?’
She said, ‘When she keeps to her house…’
Imam Ali (a.s.) offered her answer to the Prophet (S) who said, ‘She is true. Fatimah is a part from me.’8
Veil is beauty and honor for woman. Whenever woman adorns herself with chastity, she will be in a highest position and most honorable rank besides gaining admiration of them all. But if woman is unveiled and unchaste, she will be worthless in the society and no one will appreciate her. The veil and chastity of Fatimah (s.a.) is a high example that every woman who wants to live regardable and honorable in the society.
Deep Faith
Definitely, no one can suspect the unequaled faith and worship of Fatimah (s.a.). She spent most of her days and nights in worshipping.
Imam al-Hasan (a.s.) said, ‘Some night, I saw my mother Fatimah (s.a.) in her mihrab bow and prostrate (offer prayers) until the light of morning appeared. I heard her praying to Allah for the believing men and the believing women and mentioning them by name. She prayed to Allah for them too much, but without praying for herself. I said to her, ‘Why do you not pray to Allah for yourself mother?’
She said, ‘O my son, the neighbor (first) and then the house…’9
Al-Hasan al-Basri said about Fatimah (s.a.), ‘No one in the umma worshipped Allah more than Fatimah (s.a.). She offered prayers in the night until her feet swelled.’10
It was transmitted from Fatimah (s.a.) her saying, ‘Whoever raises his true worship to Allah, Allah will send down to him the best of his benefit.’11
Fatimah (s.a.) assigned the last hours of the day of Fridays for Allah the Almighty. In the last ten days of Ramadan, Fatimah (s.a.) spent all the night in worshipping and supplicating, and she encouraged all those in her house to spend the night in worshipping and supplicating. Her feet swelled because of her long standing before Allah the Almighty.12
Devotedness
Fatimah (s.a.) devoted herself to Allah and resorted to Him totally in all of her affairs. This was clear in her du’as.
Her Du’a on Turning to Allah
Fatimah (s.a.) often supplicated Allah with this du’a,“O Allah, by Your knowing of the unseen and Your power over the creation, make me live if You know that life is better to me, and make me die if You know that death is better to me.
O Allah, I ask You for loyalty, and for the fear of You in pleasure and in anger, and for economy in wealth and poverty.
O Allah, I ask You for incessant bliss, and ask You for ceaseless delight, and ask You for satisfaction with fate, and ask You for a good life after death, and ask You for the looking at Your Face, and the eagerness to Your meeting without a harming distress or a dark sedition.
O Allah, adorn us with adornment of faith, and make us guided and guides, O You the Lord of the worlds!” 13
Her Du’a on Resorting to Allah
She recited in this du’a,“O Allah, make me satisfied with what You have given to me, honor me and give me good health as long as You make me live, forgive me and have mercy on me when You make me die.
O Allah, do not afflict me with asking for what You have not determined for me, and whatever You have determined for me make it easy and accessible.
O Allah, reward my parents for me and whoever has done me a favor with the best of reward.
O Allah, take me to what You have created me for, do not make me busy with what You have already secured to me, do not punish me while I ask You to forgive me, and do not deprive me while I beg You.
O Allah, make me humble to myself, make Your standing great to me, and inspire me with Your obedience and the doing of what pleases You and avoiding what displeases You, O You the most Merciful of the merciful.” 14
Her Du’a of Tasbih
Her Du’a of Tasbih15
Fatimah (s.a.) recited in this du’a,
“Glory be to Him Who has shone with might and power.
Glory be to Him Who has hidden in seven heavens that no eye can see.
Glory be to Him Who has lowered creatures with death and honored Himself with life.
Glory be to Him Who remains and everything else perishes.
Glory be to Him Who has chosen praise to Himself and accepted it.
Glory be to the Ever-living, the Omniscient.
Glory be to the Forbearing, the Honorable.
Glory be to the Most High, the Great.
Glory be to Allah and by His praise.”16
Her Du’a on an Important Thing
Fatimah (s.a.) supplicated to Allah with du’a for relieving griefs and fulfilling needs:
“By Yaseen and the Wise Qur'an, and by Taha and the Great Qur'an, O You, Who is able to fulfill all needs of requesters, Who know what is there inside conscience, O You Who cheer up the distressed, Who relieve the grieved, O You Who is merciful to the old, Who nourish infants, O You Who do not need expression, have blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad!”17
Her Du’a for Making Things Easy
“O Allah the Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the great throne, our Lord and the Lord of everything, the Revealer of the Torah, the Bible and the Qur'an, the Splitter of grains and stones, I seek Your protection from everything that You will pull down.
You are the First that nothing was before You, and You are the Last that nothing will be after You. You are the Evident that there is nothing above You, and You are the Hidden One that there is nothing below You. Pay for me the debt and save me from poverty!”18
Her Du’a for Healing
“In the name of Allah the light, in the name of Allah the light of light, in the name of Allah a light on light, in the name of Allah Who is the Manager of affairs, in the name of Allah Who has created the light from the light, praise be to Allah Who has created the light from the light, and sent down the light on the mountain in a recorded book, in a spread parchment, in a determined measure, on a happy prophet.
Praise be to Allah Who is with glory mentioned, with pride is known, for better or for worse is thanked, (O Allah) and send blessings on our master Muhammad and on his pure progeny!”19
Her Du’a in Morning and Evening
“O You the Ever-living, the Eternal, by Your mercy I ask for help; so help me and do not let me be deceived by my self for a twinkle of an eye at all, and repair all my affairs!”20
Her Du’a at Sleeping
“Praise be to Allah the Sufficer, glory be to Allah the Highest. Allah is sufficient to me and enough. What Allah wills he fulfills. Allah hears whoever calls upon Him. There is no escape from Allah, and no shelter beyond Allah. “Surely I rely on Allah, my Lord and your Lord; there is no living creature but He holds it by its forelock; surely my Lord is on the right path.” (11:56). “Praise be to Allah, Who has not taken unto Himself a son, and Who has no partner in the Sovereignty, nor has He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence.” (17:111).”21
Fatimah (s.a.) supplicated Allah on every day of the week with a special du’a. The following are her du’as of the week days:
Her Du’a on Saturday
“O Allah, open to us the treasures of Your mercy, and give us, O Allah, a mercy that You torture us after it neither in this life nor in the afterlife, give us from Your wide favor a halal (lawful), good livelihood, do not make us in neediness, do not make us need other than You, make us more grateful to You, and make us more in need to You and satisfied and abstinent with You than any other than You.
O Allah, enrich us in this life. O Allah, we seek Your protection from turning Your face away from us in a case where we look forward to You in it! O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and give us what You like, and make it strength to us in what You like, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful!”
Her Du’a on Sunday
“O Allah, make the first of this day prosperity, the middle of it, righteousness, and the last of it success! O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and make us from those who turn to You and You receive them, and rely on You and You satisfy them, and beg You and You are Merciful to them…”
Her Du’a on Monday
“O Allah, I ask You for strength in worshipping You, insight in Your Book, and understanding in Your commands. O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and do not make the Qur'an barren with us, the straight path crooked, and Muhammad (blessings of Allah be on him and on his progeny) averting from us!”
Her Du’a on Tuesday
“O Allah, make the inadvertence of people as a mention to us, and make their mention as gratitude to us, and make the good we say by our tongues as a true intention in our hearts. O Allah, Your forgiveness is greater than our sins, and Your mercy is more hopeful than our deeds. O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and lead us rightly to the good deeds and right doings…”
Her Du’a on Wednesday
“O Allah, guard us by Your eye that does not sleep, by Your shelter that is beyond reach, and by Your great attributes. O Allah, send blessing on Muhammad and his progeny, and keep for us what if other than You keeps, it will be lost, and cover for us what if other than You covers, it will be exposed, and make all that obedient to us, for You are the Hearing of du’a, Near, Responder…”
Her Du’a on Thursday
“O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and the doing of what You like and please. O Allah, I ask You from Your might for our weakness, from Your richness for our poverty, and from Your patience and knowledge for our ignorance. O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and assist us in thanking, mentioning, obeying and worshipping You by Your mercy, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful.”
Her Du’a on Friday
“O Allah, make us the nearest of those who come near to You, the best of those who turn to You, and the most successful of those who ask and supplicate You. O Allah, make us from those who as if they see You until the Day of Resurrection when they will meet You, and do not make us die except on Your satisfaction. O Allah, make us from those who are sincere to You in their deeds, and the most beloved to You from among all Your people. O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and forgive us with definite forgiveness that we do not commit an error after it, nor do we engage in a sin or an offence. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad with growing, continuous, pure, successive, recurrent blessing by Your mercy, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful.”22
You can easily see in these du’as the essence of Islam and the true faith in Allah that Fatimah (s.a.) had.
Her Amulet
Fatimah (s.a.) sought the protection of Allah through this amulet that was written in it:
“In the name of Allah, O You the Ever-living, the Eternal, by Your mercy I ask for help; so help me and do not let me be deceived by my self for a twinkle of an eye at all, and repair all my affairs!”23
Tasbih of Fatimah (s.a.)
After every prayer Fatimah (s.a.) offered, she recited the tasbih that the Prophet (S) had taught her only. Ameerul Mo'minin Imam Ali (a.s.) said, “Fatimah was the most beloved one to her father. The quern had affected her hands. She carried water with the skin until it affected her neck. She swept the house until her clothes became dusty. She set fire under the cooking pot until her clothes darkened with smoke. She suffered some harm because of that. One day, we heard that some slaves were brought to the Prophet (S).
I said to Fatimah, ‘You could go to your father asking him for a servant to help you.’ She went to her father but found him busy. She felt shy to ask him and then she came back. On the second day, the Prophet (S) came to Fatimah’s house and asked her why she had come to him the day before, but she felt shy to tell him. I said, ‘By Allah, I shall tell you O messenger of Allah. She milled with the quern until her hands were affected, carried water with the skin until her neck was affected, swept the house until her clothes became dusty, and set fire under the cooking pot until her clothes darkened. We were informed that some slaves or servants were brought to you, and so I said to her to ask you for a servant.’
The Prophet (S) said, ‘Shall I tell you about what is better than what you ask me for? When you go to bed, you recite thirty-four takbirs, thirty-three tasbihs, and thirty-three tahmids.24 This is better for you than a servant.”25
The Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) paid too much attention to this tasbih. They taught it to their sons and daughters as an educational method and spiritual nourishment. Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘We teach our children the memorizing of this tasbih and reciting it after prayer and at sleeping.’
Reciting this tasbih is a kind of glorification of Allah. Fatimah (s.a.) loyally practiced this tasbih and heartily kept on it since the moment when her father had taught it to her. She went to the tomb of her uncle, the eternal martyr Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, took a handful of soil from his tomb, and made the beads of her rosary by which she practiced this tasbih called as the “tasbih of Fatimah”. Muslims imitated her in taking rosaries to glorify Allah with. When Imam al-Husayn (a.s.) was martyred, the Shia made their rosaries from the soil of Kerbala where the imam was buried to practice with them the “tasbih of Fatimah”. They also made, and still make, from the soil of Kerbala small dried pieces to prostrate on them in the prayers. Many traditions were transmitted from the infallible imams about the preference of this soil.
Fatimah’s worship
The happiest times Fatimah (s.a.) had were the times when she communicated with her Lord in prayer. When she offered the prayer, her heart traveled high to the Divine Sphere, and her body shook out of the fear of her Lord.
After each prayer, Fatimah (s.a.) devotedly supplicated to her Lord with some du’as. The following are some of those du’as:
Her Du’a after the Dhuhr (noon) Prayer
When Fatimah (s.a.) finished the Dhuhr Prayer, she recited this du’a,
“Glory be to the Glorious, High, Sublime One. Glory be to the One of the great honor. Glory be to the One of the eternal, superior sovereignty.
Praise be to Allah by Whose blessing I have reached what I have had of the knowledge of Him, the doing for Him, the turning to Him, and the obeying of His command, and praise be to Allah Who has made me not deny anything of His Book, and not confused in anything of His affair, and praise be to Allah Who has guided me to His religion, and not made me worship anything else than Him.
O Allah, I ask You for the saying and the doing of repentants, the rescue and reward of mujahidin, the faith and reliance of believers, ease at death and security at reckoning.
O Allah, make death the best absentee I am waiting for, and the best visitor that visits me, and endow me at the coming of death, at its attacking, at its pangs, and when the soul comes down from between the clavicles, and when it reaches the throat, and at my leaving this world, and at that moment when I have no power over any good or harm to myself, nor distress or ease, (endow me) with a mercy from Your mercy, and a share from Your contentment, and a good tiding from Your honor, before You take my life and make the Angel of Death dominate over my soul, with a good tiding from You!
O my Lord, there is no one other than You that pleases by it (mercy and good tiding) my bosom, satisfies my soul, delights my eye, makes my face beam with joy, my complexion shine, my heart feel safe, and all my body rejoice at it that all those who see me from Your creation and hear about me from Your people envy me it. You make by it the agonies of death easy for me, relieve me from its grief, alleviate its severity, save me from its trouble, take away from me its grief and regret, keep me from its sorrow and sedition, protect me from its evil and the evil of that which comes to its (death) people, and endow me by it with its good and the good of that which comes with it and the good of that which will come after it.
And then if You make me die and take my soul, make my soul among the successful souls, and my spirit among the good spirits, and my body among the purified bodies, and make my deeds among the accepted deeds, and then grant me in my grave in the earth, and the place of my shield where my flesh is entombed, and my bone is buried, and I am left alone helplessly exiled by the land and deserted by people, and when I miss Your mercy, and need my good deeds, and meet what I have done for my afterlife and done in the days of my life, (grant me) a success from Your mercy, and a gleam from Your light, and a confirmation from Your honor with the firm word in this worldly life and in the hereafter, You cause the unjust to go astray and do what You please. Then bless my resurrection and reckoning when the ground is split to me and people abandon me, the cry befalls me, the gust frightens me, and You resurrect me after death and send me for reckoning. Send with me, O my Lord, a light from Your mercy moving before me and on my right hand to reassure me with it, make my heart steadfast (with it), show my excuse, honor my face, confirm my speech, declare my proof, take me to the firm handhold of Your mercy, and put me in the high rank of Your paradise, and grant me the companionship of Muhammad Your slave and messenger in the highest rank of the Paradise, and its best virtue, best gift, and most successful aspiration with those upon whom You have bestowed favors from among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and a goodly company are they.
O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad the last of the prophets, and on all the prophets and the messengers, and all the angels, and on his good, pure progeny, and on all the imams of guidance; Amen, O Lord of the worlds.
O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad as You have guided us by him, send blessings on Muhammad as You have had mercy on us by him, send blessings on Muhammad as You have preferred us by him, send blessings on Muhammad as You have honored us by him, send blessings on Muhammad as you have enlightened us by him, and send blessings on Muhammad as You have saved us from a brink of an abyss of Fire.
O Allah, honor his face, exalt his rank, make his authority prevail, perfect his light, make his scales heavy, confirm his proof, grant him until he is pleased, make him get to the high degree and means in the Paradise, take him to the praised position that You have promised him, make him the best of prophets and messengers to You in rank and means, make us follow him, give us to drink from his cup, make us get to his pond, resurrect us in his company, make us die on his religion, make us follow his paths, and carry out his Sunna being not abased, regretful, doubtful or apostate.
O You, that Your door is opened for Your suppliants, and Your screen is raised for those who hope for You, O You, the Concealer of bad things, and Healer of wounded hearts, do not expose me in the stand of the (Day of) Resurrection with sins, and do not turn Your honored face away from me from among people.
O You, the aim of the distressed poor, and the Healer of broken bones, forgive me my great sins and do not expose my inner sins, clean my heart from the burden of errors, and grant me with good preparedness for the coming of death.
O You the Most Generous of the generous, and the utmost hope of the begging ones, You are my Lord; You have opened to me the door of supplication and repentance, so do not close before me the door of acceptance and responding, and save me by Your mercy from Fire, put me up in the abodes of the Gardens, make me cling to the firmest handhold, make my end a happy one, and make me live with peace.
O Most Gracious, Most Perfect, Most Glorious, Most Lofty, do not let an enemy or envier rejoice at my misfortune, and do not let an oppressive ruler overpower me nor a mutinous devil, by Your mercy O the Most Merciful of the merciful, and there is no power save in Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, and may Allah send blessings and peace on Muhammad and his progeny.”26
Her Du’a after the Asr Prayer
After the Asr (afternoon) Prayer, Fatimah (s.a.) supplicated to Allah with the following du’a:
“Glory be to Him Who is aware of what the hearts (minds) obtain! Glory be to Him who knows the exact count of sins! Glory be to Him to Who nothing in the earth or in the heaven is unknown! Praise be to Allah Who has not made me ungrateful to His blessings, nor a denier to His favor. All good is from Him and He is the most fit for it! Praise be to Him for His irrefutable authority over all that He has created from those who obey and do not obey Him. If He shows mercy, it is from His favor, and if He punishes, it is for what people themselves have committed, and Allah wills no injustice to His creatures.
Praise be to Allah the most high in place, of most exalted erection, of strongest pillars, of most glorious authority, most greatest position, of clear proof, the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Giver, the Benefactor.
Praise be to Allah Who has hidden from every creature that sees Him by the truth of Deity, and the power of Oneness; so sights cannot comprehend Him, nor can news include Him. No measurement can measure Him, and no mind can imagine Him because He is the Almighty Sovereign.
O Allah, verily You see my place, hear my speech, know of my affairs, know what there is inside my soul, and nothing of my affairs is hidden to You. I have come to You offering my request, asking You for my need, beseeching You for my demand, and asking You due to poverty and neediness, meanness and distress, and misery and wretchedness.
You are the Lord Who is Generous of forgiveness; You can find another than me to punish him, but I cannot find another than You to forgive me. You can do without my punishment, but I cannot do without Your mercy. I beg You by my need to You and Your doing without me, and by Your power over me and my weakness before You to make this supplication of mine receive a response from You, and this standing of mine receive a mercy from You, and this request of mine receive a success. (O my Lord) whatever difficulty I fear, make it easy to me, and whatever failure I fear, afford it to me, and whoever from all the creatures intends evil to me, defeat him; Amen O the Most Merciful of the merciful. (O my Lord) make easy to me what I fear its severity, and relieve me from what I fear its distress, and make easy to me what I fear its hardship, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds!
O Allah, take self-deceit, hypocrisy, haughtiness, oppression, envy, weakness, doubtfulness, faintness, illnesses, diseases, treason, cunning, trickery, calamity and corruption off my hearing and sight, and guide me to what You like and please, O the Most Merciful of the merciful.
O Allah, send blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and forgive my sin, cover my defect, calm down my fear, relieve my distress, suffice my poverty, make easy my need, pardon my slip, gather me with my family, and save me from all what may distress me; what is unknown to me, known to me, and all what I fear from You, O the Most Merciful of the merciful!
O Allah, I have entrusted my affairs to You, delivered my back to You, and handed over my self to You with all what I have committed against it out of fear and desire, and You are the Generous One that do not let down hope and do not disappoint supplication, so I ask You by the right of Your friend Abraham, and Your speaker (with) Moses, and Your soul Jesus, and Your choice and prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) not to keep Your Face away from me until You accept my repentance and forgive my errors, O the Most Merciful of the merciful!
O Allah, make my revenge on him who has oppressed me and give victory on him who has feuded me. O Allah, do not make my trial be in my faith, and do not make the worldly life be my foremost interest or the end of my knowledge!
O Allah, better my faith which is the protection of my affairs, and better my life in which my living is, and better my afterlife in which my resurrection will be there, and make life to me a growth in every good, and make death a relief to me from every evil!
O Allah, You are the Most Pardoner and You love pardoning, so pardon me!
O Allah, make me live if You know that life is better for me, and make me die if death is better for me. I ask for (granting me) fearing You in absence and presence, and fairness at anger and satisfaction, and I ask You for (making me practice) economy in poverty and wealth, and I ask You for a bliss that does not cease, and delight that does not stop, and I ask You for satisfaction after (Your) judgment, and I ask You for the pleasure of the looking at Your Face.
O Allah, I ask You to guide me to my best affairs, and seek Your protection from the evil of my soul. O Allah, I have done wrong and been unjust to myself, so forgive me for that no one forgives sins except You. O Allah, I ask You to hasten Your hale to me, give me patience toward Your trial, and take me out of this life to Your mercy.
O Allah, I ask You, Your angels, the carriers of Your Throne, and all there is in the heavens and the earth to witness that You are Allah and there is no God but You alone with no partner, and that Muhammad is Your slave and messenger. O You, Who had been before the existence of anything, Who are the Creator of everything, and Who will exist after when there will be nothing existing.
And I ask You that praise is to You that there is no God but You, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
O Allah, to Your mercy I have raised my sight, and to Your bounty I have stretched my hand, so do not prevent me while I am begging You, and do not punish me while I am asking You to forgive me. O Allah, forgive me for You are aware of me, and do not punish me for You are powerful over me by Your mercy, O the Most Merciful of the merciful.
O Allah, the One of the vast mercy and the availing, exalting, and purifying prayer, bless the best one of Your people to You, the most beloved one of them to You, and the most prominent of them to You; Muhammad, Your slave and messenger, who has been preferred with the virtues of (being) the means, with the noblest, most perfect, most exalted, greatest, and the best blessings that You have ever blessed a messenger of You and a trustee of Your revelation.
O Allah, as You have closed (ended) by him (Prophet Muhammad) blindness, and opened by him guidance, make the methods of his ways brilliance to us, and the proofs of his authority as means to us by which we come to You.
O Allah, praise be to You inasmuch as the seven heavens and their layers, and inasmuch as the seven earths and what there is between them, and inasmuch as the Throne of our Generous Lord and the scales of our Forgiving Lord, and inasmuch as the words of our Mighty Lord, and inasmuch as the Paradise and the Fire, and inasmuch as the number of soil, water, and all what is seen and what is not seen.
O Allah, make Your blessings, benediction, favor, forgiveness, mercy, pleasedness, peace, remembrance, light, honor, bounty, and good on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad as You had benediction, blessing, and mercy on Abraham and the progeny of Abraham, You are Praised, Glorious.
O Allah, give Muhammad the great means and the most benefic of Your reward in the end until You honor him on the Day of Resurrection, O the Lord of guidance.
O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and on all of Your angels, prophets and messengers. Peace be on Gabriel, Michael, Israfel, the carriers of the Throne, Your Archangels, the noble recorders (angels), the close angels and peace be on all of Your angels.
Peace be on our father Adam and our mother Eve, and peace be on all the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and peace be on all the messengers, and praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds, and there is no power save in Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.”27
Her Supplication after the Maghrib (Sunset) Prayer
“Praise be to Allah Who sayers cannot come at His praise, and praise be to Allah Who counters cannot count His bounties, and praise be to Allah Who strivers cannot perform what He deserves.
There is no God but Allah, the First and the Last, and there is no God but Allah the Apparent and the Hidden, and there is no God but Allah the Giver of life and the Maker of death. Allah is Most Great of Might, and Allah is Most Great of Everlastingness.
Praise be to Allah Who knowers cannot come at His knowledge nor do the ignorant disparage His patience, nor can praisers come at His praise, nor can depicters depict His features, nor can creatures well describe Him.
Praise be to Allah, the Possessor of dominion and kingdom, of might and invincibility, of honor and glory, of majesty and magnificence, of dignity and beauty, of power and might, of might and strength, of bounty and dominance, of favor and influence, of justice and truth, of creation and exaltedness, of sublimity and grandeur, of virtue and wisdom, of richness and generosity, of giving and preventing, of patience and knowledge, of irrefutable argument, ample bounty, good, beautiful praise, gracious blessings, the King of the life and the afterlife, of the paradise and the fire and what there is in them, was He blessed and exalted.
Praise be to Allah Who knows the secrets of the unseen, and is aware of what hearts earn. There is no escape or runaway from Him.
Praise be to Allah, the Lofty in His dominion, the Glorious in His place, the Predominant in His kingdom, the Powerful in His seizing, the High above His throne, the Aware of His creation, the Doer of whatever He wills by His knowledge. Praise be to Allah by Whose words the firmamental heavens have been erected, the plain earths have been fixed, the firm mountains have been set upright, the pollinating winds have been blown, the clouds have moved in the sphere of the sky, the seas have restrained at their boundaries, the hearts have been afraid of Him, and lords have submitted to his deity. Blessed You are, O the Counter of rain drops and tree leaves, and the Reviver of dead bodies for Resurrection.
Glory be to You, the Lord of glory and honor for whatever You do to the poor stranger when he comes to You resorting, calling for help, and for whatever You do to him who lodges in Your yard, looks forward to Your content, and resorts to You, and he kneels before You complaining to You of what is not unknown to You. O my Lord, let my chance in my supplication not be deprivation, and my share in what I hope from You not be disappointment!
O You Who had existed, is existing, and will exist as He has still been over every soul with what it has earned. O You Who has made the days of life to elapse, its months to change, and its years to turn while You are Everlasting that neither do times wear You out, nor do ages change You.
O You Whom each day with You is new and each sustenance with You is ready for the weak, the strong, and the severe. You have divided sustenance between the creatures and equaled the ant with the sparrow.
O Allah, if residing narrows to people, we seek Your protection from the narrowness of residence. O Allah, if the Day of Resurrection is prolonged to criminals, shorten that day to us as (the period) between a prayer and another. O Allah, if the sun becomes close to the skulls and there is between it and the skulls a measure of one mile and its heat is increased to the heat of ten years, we ask You to shade us with clouds, and erect for us pulpits and chairs to sit on and people get free in the place, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.
I ask You, O Allah, by these praises to forgive me, pardon me, dress me with hale in my body, and safety in my religion. I ask You and I am sure of Your response to my request, and I call upon You and I know of Your listening to my call, so listen to my supplication and do not end my hope, do not repel my praising and do not disappoint my supplication. I am in need of Your content and I am poor to Your forgiving. I ask You and I am desperate of Your mercy, and I call upon You and I am not safe from Your wrath.
O my Lord, respond to me and favor me with Your pardon, and make me die while I am Muslim, and join me to the righteous. O my Lord, do not prevent Your favor from reaching me O All Gracious, and do not entrust me to my-self forlornly, O All Compassionate.
O my Lord, extend mercy, at the separation of lovers, to my dying, and at the quiet of the grave to my loneliness, and at the wild of (the day of) Resurrection to my forlornness, and before You standing for reckoning to my destitution.
O my Lord, I ask You to rescue me from Fire, so rescue me! O my Lord, I seek Your protection from Fire, so protect me! O my Lord, I resort to You from Fire, so take me away (from it)! O my Lord, I seek Your mercy out of my distress, so have mercy on me! O my Lord, I ask You to forgive me what I have been ignorant of, so forgive me! O my Lord, supplication has taken me forth for the need to You, so do not disappoint me, O You the Generous One of favors, charity, and pardoning!
O my Lord, Beneficent, Merciful, respond to my call from among the suppliants to You, and pity, from among the weepers, my tear, and make in the meeting with You, on the day when I leave this world, my relief, and cover among the dead, O the Great Hoped One, my defect, and pity me at the going alone to my hole (grave), You are my hope, the place of need, and the Knower of what I want in directing my request.
O the Provider of needs, provide my need! To You is the complaint and You are the Helper and the Hoped One. I escape to You from sins, so receive me, and I resort from Your justice to Your forgiveness, so apprehend me, and I resort to Your pardon from Your punishment, so protect me, and I hope Your mercy against Your punition, so save me, and I want the closeness to You by Islam, so approach me (to You), and from the great horror keep me safe, and in the shadow of Your Throne shade me, and two portions of Your mercy grant to me, and from this world protect me, and from darkness to light take me out, and on the Day of Resurrection honor me and with easy reckoning reckon with me, and do not expose me with my hidden defects, and against Your trials make me patient, and as You had kept impurity and un-chastity away from Yousuf (Joseph), keep it away from me, and whatever I cannot bear do not burden me with, and to the Abode of Peace guide me, and by the Qur'an benefit me, and by the true saying fix me, and from the cursed Satan save me, and by Your power, might, and dominance protect me, and by Your patience, knowledge, and vast mercy deliver me, and in Your Garden of Paradise house me, and with the looking at Your face endow me, and to Your prophet Muhammad join me, and from devils, their followers, and from the evil of every evildoer rescue me!
O Allah, and my enemies and whoever intends evil against me if they come by land, coward their brave, scatter their gathering, blunt their weapons, hamstring their mounts, afflict them with storms and thunderbolts forever until You put them into Fire, degrade them from their forts, and make us dominate over them, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.
O Allah, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad with a blessing with which bear witness the first ones of the righteous, the master of the messengers, the last of the prophets, the leader of good, and the key of mercy.
O Allah, the Lord of the Inviolable House and the inviolable month, the Lord of the Sacred Monument, the Lord of the Pillar and the Temple (of Abraham), and the Lord of consecration and the breaking of consecration, send to the soul of Muhammad from us the greeting and peace.
Peace be on you O messenger of Allah. Peace be on you O the trustee of Allah. Peace be on You O Muhammad son of Abdullah. Peace be on you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. He is, as You have described him, to the believers most kind and merciful. O Allah, give him (Muhammad) the best of what he has asked You for, and the best of what You have been prayed for him, and the best of what is prayed for him until the Day of Resurrection, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.”28
Her Supplication after the Isha (evening) Prayer
Glory be to Him that everything is humble to His greatness. Glory be to Him that everything is low to His glory. Glory be to Him that everything submits to His command and dominance. Glory be to Him that all affairs with their reins are subdued to Him.
Praise be to Allah Who does not forget whoever remembers Him. Praise be to Allah that whoever calls upon Him is not disappointed. Praise be to Allah Who suffices whoever relies on Him.
Praise be to Allah the Raiser of the heaven, the Leveler of the earth, the Blocker of seas, the Piler of mountains, the Creator of living beings, the Maker of trees, the Splitter of springs of the ground, the Manager of affairs, the Driver of clouds, the Guider of winds, water and fire from the bottoms of the earth rising in the space, and the Descender of hot and cold, by Whose blessing good deeds are completed, and by thanking Him increases are deserved, and by Whose command the heavens have been established, and by Whose glory mountains have stabilized, beasts in the deserts and birds in nests are glorifying.
Praise be to Allah the Highest of ranks, the Revealer of signs, the Great in blessings, the Coverer of defects, the Accepter of good deeds, the Pardoner of errors, the Reliever of distresses, the Giver of blessings, the Responder to prayers, the Reviver of the dead, and the God of whatever is in the earth and the heavens.
Praise be to Allah for every praise and remembrance, every thanking and patience, every prayer and zakat, every reverence and worship, every happiness and blessing, every increase and mercy, every bounty, honor, and obligation, every joy and distress, every grief and ease, every calamity and affliction, every ease and difficulty, every wealth and poverty, and in any case and at any occasion and time, and in any abode, resort and residence.
O Allah, I am resorting to You, so shelter me, and I am seeking Your protection, so protect me, and asking for Your assistance, so assist me, and calling for Your help, so help me, and praying to You, so respond to me, and asking You for forgiveness, so forgive me, seeking Your victory, so render victory to me, and asking You for guidance, so guide me, and relying on You alone, so suffice me, and seeking refuge with You, so house me, and clinking to Your covenant, so save me, and depending on You, so suffice me, and make me in Your protection, guard, refuge, shelter, watch, security, sanctum, safety, under Your shadow, and under Your wing.
(O Allah) make on me a protective shield from You, and make Your guard, watch, security and protection from behind and before me, and on my right, my left, from above, under and around me so that no one from the creatures can reach me with evil and harm. There is no God but You. You are the All-Gracious, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of glory and honor.
O Allah, suffice me against the envy of enviers, the wronging of wrongdoers, the plotting of plotters, the cunning of cunning ones, the tricks of tricksters, the assassination of assassinators, the backbiting of backbiters, the injustice of the unjust, the oppression of oppressors, the aggression of aggressors, the despise of despisers, the frowning of frowners, the attack of attackers, the stinginess of the stingy, the unfairness of the unfair, the erring of the erring ones, the slander of slanderers, the tale-bearing of talebearers, the magic of magicians, devils and Satan, and the oppression of rulers, and the evil of all people.
O Allah, I ask You by Your retained, good, pure name by which the heavens and the earth have been set, to which darkness has shone and the angels have glorified, and from which hearts are afraid, and necks have submitted, and by which You have revived the dead, (I ask You) to forgive me every error I have committed in the darkness of night and in the light of day intendedly or inattentively, secretly or openly, and to endow me with certainty, guidance, light, knowledge, and understanding so that I fulfill Your Book, follow what You have made lawful, refrain from what You have made unlawful, carry out Your obligations, and fulfill the Sunna of Your Prophet Muhammad.
O Allah, join me to the righteous of those who had passed away, make me from the righteous of those who have remained, and end my deeds with the best of them, You are Forgiving, Merciful. O Allah, if my age ends, the days of my life elapses, and it is inevitable for me to meet You, I ask You O Most Kind to give me from the Paradise an abode that the first ones and the last ones envy me by it.
O Allah, accept my praising, and pity my beseeching and my confession against myself, for I have made You hear my voice from among the suppliants, and my devotion among the devotees, my praising among the speakers, and my glorifications among the praisers, and You are the Responder to the distressed, the Assistant of those who ask for assistance, the Helper of the desirous, the Resort of the runners away, the Succorer of the believers, and the Pardoner of sinners, and may Allah have blessings on the bringer of good tidings and the warner, and the shining lantern (Prophet Muhammad), and on all the angels and the prophets.
O Allah, the Expander of the expanded things, the Creator of the high (heavens), the Molder of hearts on their natures; the happy and unhappy ones, make the noblest of Your blessings, the greatest of Your benedictions, and the most honorable of Your greetings on Muhammad Your slave, messenger, and trustee over Your revelation, the undertaker of Your authority, the defender of Your sanctum, the announcer of Your command, the declarer of Your signs, and the fulfiller of Your vow.
O Allah, grant him (Muhammad) for every virtue of his virtues, attribute of his attributes, state of his states, and a position of his positions in which You have seen Muhammad a helper to You, patient with Your bitter trials, an enemy to whoever has feuded You, a supporter to whoever has supported You, faraway from what You have hated, and a caller for what You have liked, (grant him) with favors from Your reward, and special gifts from Your gifts and preference by which You honor his affair and exalt his rank with the achievers of Your justice and the defenders of Your sanctum, until no sublimity, splendor, mercy, and glory remain but You grant to Muhammad, and take him to the highest of ranks and most exalted of positions, Amen O the Lord of the worlds.
O Allah, I entrust You with my religion, soul, and all Your bounties on me. O Allah, make me in Your protection, security, glory and guard. Glorious is the resorter to You, sublime is Your praise, sanctified are Your attributes, and there is no god but You. Sufficient to me You are in prosperity and misfortune, ease and distress, and Most Excellent is He Whom we rely on.
O our Lord, on You we have relied, to You we have turned, and to You is the returning. O our Lord, do not make us a lure to those who have disbelieved, and forgive us, You are the Mighty, Wise.
O our Lord, turn away from us the punishment of hell, surely the punishment thereof is a lasting anguish. Surely, it is an evil abode and an evil place to rest in. Our lord, decide between us and our people with truth, and You are the best of deciders.
Our Lord, we have believed; therefore, forgive us our sins, and remit from us our evil deeds, and make us die with the righteous. Our Lord, and grant us what You have promised us by Your messengers, and disgrace us not on the day of resurrection; surely You do not fail to perform the promise.
Our Lord, do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not lay on us a burden as You did lay on those before us. Our Lord, do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear, and pardon us and grant us protection and have mercy on us, You are our Patron, so help us against the unbelieving people.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire, and may Allah have blessing and peace on our master Muhammad the Prophet and on his pure progeny.”29
Main Source: Al-Islam.org
1. Tafsir of ar-Razi, vol.6 p.783, Tafsir of ibn Jarir, Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol.4 p.107, Sunan of al-Bayhaqi, vol.2 p.14, al-Khasa’iss of an-Nassa’iy, p.33, al-Khasa’iss al-Kubra, vol.2 p.264, ar-Riyadh an-Nadhirah, vol.2 p.188, Mushkil al-Aathar, vol.1 p.324.
2. Ansar means helpers; the people of Medina who believed and supported the Prophet (S) when he emigrated to Medina from Mecca.
3. Know that I am Fatimah, vol.9 p.266.
4. Know that I am Fatimah, vol.2 p.16.
5. Fatimah az-Zahra’ Bahjat Qalb al-Mustafa, p.274.
6. Safeenat al-Bihar, vol.1 p.571.
7. Bihar al-Anwar, vol.43 p.91.
8. Al-Ja’fariyyat, p.95.
9. Fee Rihab Ahlul Bayt, p.205.
10. Bihar al-Anwar, vol.43 p.84.
11. Ibid., vol.68 p.184.
12. Fatimah Ummu Abeeha, p.64.
13. Bihar al-Anwar, vol.94 p.225.
14. Know that I am Fatimah, vol.9 p.571.
15. Tasbih is saying “subhanallah; glory be to Allah”.
16. Da’awat ar-Rawandi, p.91.
17. Ibid., p.54, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.92 p.196.
18. Bihar al-Anwar, vol.92 p.297.
19. Ibid., vol.43 p.67-68.
20. Muhaj ad-Da’awat, p.141-142.
21. Falah as-Sa’il, p.283, ad-Durr al-Manthur, vol.4 p.208.
22. Bihar al-Anwar, vol.90 p.338-339.
23. Al-Baqiyat as-Salihat, p.429.
24. Takbir is the reciting of “allahu Akbar; Allah is great”, tasbih is the reciting of “subhanallah; glory be to Allah”, and tahmid is the reciting of “al-hamdulillah; praise be to Allah”.
25. Sunan of Abu Dawud, vol.2 p489-490, Sahih of al-Bukhari, vol.4 p.208.
26. Falah as-Sa’il, p. 173.
27. Falah as-Sa’il, p. 203.
28. Falah as-Sa’il, p. 238.
29. Falah as-Sa’il, p. 251, 254.
