In the last moments of her life, Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her), with a heart at peace and a faith unshaken, entrusted her testaments to Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him). To her last moment, she courageously defended the right of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) and prevented the usurpers of the caliphate from attending her funeral.
A Strange Wish
With the passing away of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), a grief settled on the hearts of the Ahl al-Bayt whose only consolation was the precious existence of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her); but now Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him), at the threshold of farewell to the sole remnant of the Messenger of Allah, speaks of the second kindling of the pain of separation from the Prophet and the beginning of a monumental calamity.
In these sorrowful moments, Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) turned to Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) and said:
“May Allah grant you a goodly reward and bestow on you the finest recompense on my behalf. Now, O son of my uncle! I enjoin upon you that after me you marry the daughter of ‘Amamah; for she is as compassionate toward my children as I am, and a man has no alternative to a wife. And that you make for the carrying of my body a bier whose image I have seen and which the angels showed me. And that none of those who wronged me and usurped my right should be present at my funeral; for they are my enemies and the enemies of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). Do not allow any of their followers to take part either; and when the eyes of the people have gone to sleep and calm has settled, bury me in the middle of the night.” [1]
Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her), in the last moments of her life, while making a covenant with Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him), expressed the height of her dissatisfaction with the disrespect shown to the household of prophethood.
Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) said:
“When the time of the martyrdom of Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) drew near, I was summoned and asked: ‘Will you fulfill my request and covenant?’ I replied: ‘Yes, I will carry it out.’ Then the Lady entrusted her wish to me and said: ‘When I have departed from the world, bury me at night and do not inform those two individuals of whom I spoke earlier of my death.’” [2]
The Final Request
After the passing away of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), the house of wilaya was plunged into boundless grief, and finally Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her), with a broken heart, spent the last days of her life in a soul-consuming strangeness.
As the moments of the heavenly flight of Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) drew near, she summoned Amir al-Muminin Ali (peace be upon him) and said: “Take charge of my wish.” Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) replied: “I accept your request, O daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).” Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) continued: “I adjure you by the right of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) that after my death those two men — Abu Bakr and Umar — should not be present at my funeral and should not pray over me.” Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) said: “I will fulfill this request.”
After Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) passed away, Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) washed her and buried her pure body at night in the house. When morning came, the people of Medina wished to attend her funeral, and Abu Bakr and Umar were among them. Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) went to them. They said: “O Aba al-Hasan! What have you done with the daughter of Muhammad? Have you completed the arrangements for her?” Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) said: “By Allah, I have buried her.” They asked: “What compelled you to bury her without our knowledge?” He said: “She had instructed me to do so.” The narrator reports that Umar said: “By Allah, I intended to open her grave and pray over her.” Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) said: “Know well! By Allah, as long as my soul is in my body and Dhu al-Fiqar is in my hand, you will never lay a hand on the exhumation of her grave.” After this authoritative statement, Umar said: “You know best.” Abu Bakr also said: “Leave; for he is more entitled to this matter than us.” And thus the people dispersed. [3]
Sources
[1] Rawdat al-Wa’izin, vol. 1, p. 150
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 43, p. 159
[3] Al-Ikhtisas, vol. 1, p. 183
