The 10th day of the lunar Hijri month of Rabi al-Thani marks the anniversary of the great lady’s demise.

In the year 201 Hijri (816 AD), she traveled to Iran to visit her brother, Imam Reza (AS) in Toos. However, she passed away in the middle of the way due to an illness and was buried in Qom.

She has a great and special position in the Shia tradition. It is narrated that the reward of the Ziyarah of her shrine is Paradise. Shias have built a structure over her grave on Qom which is known as the Holy Shrine of Lady Fatima al-Masoumeh (SA).

In a speech to a group of clerics in Qom in Oct 2010, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei highlighted the great character of Hazrat Masoumeh’s (SA)

Following is excerpts from the speech, according to Khamenei.ir website:

The Ash'aris welcomed Hazrat Masoumeh (SA) and invited her to their city. After her demise, they built a shrine for her in this city. As the ones who started this great cultural movement, the people of Qom established a center for promoting the teachings of the Holy Prophet's household (AS) at that time.

Qom is the city of knowledge. It is the city of jihad, the city of insight. The insight of the people of Qom is a crucial factor which has revealed itself during past 32 years. It is interesting that the establishment of the city of Qom resulted from a jihad-like movement accompanied by insight. That is to say, when the Ash'aris settled in this region, they turned it into a center for propagating the teachings of the Holy Prophet's household (AS). They started a cultural jihad in this region. Before they came to Qom, the Ash'aris had already engaged in armed jihad.

The leader of the Ash'aris had fought alongside Zayd ibn Ali (AS). This was why al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf became furious with them, and they were forced to leave for this region and make it the center of knowledge relying on their efforts, insight and knowledge. This caused Hazrat Masoumeh (SA) to express her tendency to stay in Qom when she was passing by. It was all because of the Ash'ari luminaries who were living in this region.

The Ash'aris welcomed Hazrat Masoumeh (SA) and invited her to their city. After her demise, they built a shrine for her in this city. As the ones who started this great cultural movement, the people of Qom established a center for promoting the teachings of the Holy Prophet's household (AS) at that time. They trained hundreds of religious scholars, hadith experts and exegetes of Islamic and Quranic teachings and send them to different parts of the world of Islam. Knowledge spread from Qom to Khorasan, Iraq and Sham. This shows the insight that the early residents of Qom enjoyed. Qom was established on the basis of insight and jihad.  

The presence of the honorable instructors, luminaries, scholars and seminarians of Qom Seminary has made this meeting great. The coincidence of this great meeting with the auspicious birthday anniversary of Imam Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (AS) and his honorable sister, Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (SA), reminds me of their great and significant movement and migration. Their movement was undoubtedly a constructive and significant event in the history of Iran and Shia Islam.

There is no doubt that Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (SA) played an indisputably important role in helping Qom become Qom. She played an undeniable role in helping this historical and religious city gain prominence. Through her journey among the companions and friends of the infallible Imams (AS) and by traveling through different cities and sowing the seeds of knowledge and Vilayat during her journey, especially after arriving in Qom, this honorable lady, this young girl who had been educated by the Holy Prophet's (PBUH) household, caused Qom to shine as the main stronghold of the teachings of the Holy Prophet's (PBUH) household during that dark reign of oppressors.

She made this city a stronghold for transferring the light of knowledge and the teachings of the Holy Prophet's (PBUH) household to the east and west of the world of Islam.

Source: Abna24