Fatimah (AS): The Ocean of Virtues
Fatimah (AS): The Ocean of Virtues
In the Noble Qur’an, it is stated:
“He has set free the two seas, meeting together—between them is a barrier they do not transgress.”
(Surah al-Raḥmān, verses 19–20)
Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq (AS) has said in several narrations:
“The two seas referred to in this verse are Imam ‘Alī (AS) and Lady Fāṭimah (AS). They are two vast oceans, neither of whom can ever overstep or wrong the other. Between them stands an intermediary—none other than the Noble Person of the Messenger of Allah (SAW). And the fruit of these two profound seas are Imam al-Ḥasan (AS) and Imam al-Ḥusayn (AS).”
(Tafsīr Ahl al-Bayt, vol. 15, p. 402)
A particularly distinguished tradition regarding the interpretation of these verses has also been narrated:
Once, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf al-Zuhrī and ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān came to the Prophet (SAW). ‘Abd al-Raḥmān said:
“O Messenger of Allah! Will you marry me to your daughter Fāṭimah? I will give as dowry one hundred black female camels, along with camels with blue eyes laden with fine white Egyptian garments, and ten thousand dinars.”
Since both were immensely wealthy, ‘Uthmān added:
“I will offer the same amount—and I embraced Islam before ‘Abd al-Raḥmān.”
Upon hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) became deeply displeased. He took a handful of pebbles and threw them toward them, saying:
“Do you seek to intimidate me with your wealth?”
Instantly, those pebbles transformed into enormous pearls. When each pearl was appraised, its value equaled the entire wealth of both men combined.
At that very moment, Jibrīl (AS) descended and said:
“O Aḥmad! Almighty Allah sends you peace and commands: ‘Go to ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, for his likeness is that of the Ka‘bah—people come to him in pilgrimage, yet he goes to no one.’
‘Allah has commanded me to instruct Ridwān, the keeper of Paradise, to adorn its four gardens; and to command the Tree of Ṭūbā and Sidrat al-Muntahā to don new ornaments and garments; and to command the Ḥūr al-‘Īn to adorn themselves and stand beneath the Tree of Ṭūbā and Sidrat al-Muntahā.’
‘He has also commanded an angel named Rāḥīl—who is the most eloquent, sweetest-tongued, and most beautiful of all angels—to stand at the edge of the Throne. When all the angels had gathered, I was commanded to erect a pulpit of light and to tell Rāḥīl to ascend it.’
(He did so and delivered an eloquent sermon for the marriage contract.)
‘Thus, the marriage contract between Lady Fāṭimah al-Zahrā (AS) and Imam ‘Alī (AS) was recited—and as dowry, the Khums (one-fifth) of all worldly possessions was decreed for Fāṭimah and her progeny until the Day of Judgment.’
‘Jibrīl and Mikā’īl (AS) served as witnesses to this contract, and Allah Himself was the Walī (Guardian) of Fāṭimah (AS). He commanded that all the jewels, garments, and perfumes from the Tree of Ṭūbā and Sidrat al-Muntahā be distributed among the Ḥūr al-‘Īn, who would boast of them until the Day of Resurrection.’
‘And Allah has now commanded you to perform Fāṭimah’s marriage contract on earth yourself.’
‘Say to ‘Uthmān: Have you not heard My words in the Qur’an?
“He has set free the two seas, meeting together—between them is a barrier they do not transgress.”
‘And have you not heard My words in the Qur’an?
“And it is He who created humankind from water and made for them kinship and marriage ties.” (Surah al-Furqān, verse 54)
(This means that the true referents of these verses are ‘Alī (AS), Fāṭimah al-Zahrā (AS), and the Noble Person of the Messenger of Allah (SAW)—no one else shares in this distinction.)
Upon hearing Jibrīl’s (AS) words, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) summoned ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir, Salmān, and al-‘Abbās, and said to Imam ‘Alī (AS):
“Allah has commanded me to perform the marriage contract of my daughter Fāṭimah with you.”
(Tafsīr Ahl al-Bayt, vol. 15, p. 404; Dalā’il al-Imāmah, p. 12)
In the light of these verses and narrations, it becomes evident that Almighty Allah has made Lady Fāṭimah al-Zahrā (AS) and Imam ‘Alī (AS) two boundless oceans of virtue. Their household is the noblest of all human families. Their marriage was divinely ordained in the heavens and solemnized on earth by the Prophet (SAW) himself by divine command.
Therefore, no one can ever equal Lady Fāṭimah al-Zahrā (AS), and none but Amīr al-Mu’minīn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (AS) possesses the merit to be her peer and match. Numerous other narrations further affirm this truth, though they are not cited here.
