How has this groundbreaking sermon survived? Why do we need to study this timeless sermon? What was the context of her sermon delivered? How relevant is Khutbah Fadakiyah relevant today? Many more poignant questions need to be answered with utter humility and sincerity.
Captions From The Groundbreaking Sermon of Lady Fatimah (pbuh)
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Glory be to Allah for His great blessings, and gratitude to Him for that which He has inspired, and praise be to Him for what He has brought to pass. From the all-encompassing blessings that He grants to the ever-expansive grace that He bestows and all the bounties that He continuously confers. Its magnitude is greater than can be enumerated, its extent is beyond measure and its limit is beyond comprehension. He has invited the people to express their gratitude in order to seek its increase and continuity, called upon them to praise Him by augmenting it and followed up by bidding them to ask for more of its like [in the Hereafter].
الحمد لله على ما أنعم وله الشّكرعلى ما ألهم والثّناء بما قدّم من عموم نعمٍ إبتدأها وسبوغ آلاءٍ اسداهاوتمام مننٍ أولادها جمّ عن الإحصاء عددها ونأي عن الجزاء أمدها وتفاوت عن الإدراك أبدها وندبهم لاستزادتها بالشّكر لاتّصالها واستحمد إلى الخلائق بإ جزالها وثنّي بالنّدب إلى أمثالها.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, having no partners – a statement the inner meaning of which has been defined as sincerity, its means have been instilled in the hearts and its meaning gleams in the minds. He cannot be perceived by sight, described by words or depicted by imaginations. He originated everything from nothing that existed before, and created everything without following any previous model. He fashioned everything with His power and made it all with His will, without any need for bringing it into being or any possible benefit that could come from forming it; only the affirmation of His wisdom, the proclamation of His obedience, the manifestation of His power, the servility of His subjects and the exaltation of His call. Then He placed reward in obedience and punishment in disobedience to Him, in order to turn His servants away from His chastisement and urge them towards His Paradise.
وأشهد أن لا إله إلّا الله وحده لا شريك له كلمةٌ جعل الإخلاص تأويلها وضمّن القلوب موصولها وأنار في التّفكّر معقولها الممتنع من الأبصار رؤيته ومن الألسن صفته ومن الأوهام كيفيّته ابتدع الأشياء لا من شيءٍ كان قبلها وأنشأها بلا أحتذاء أمثلةٍ امتثلها كوّنها بقدرته و ذرأها بمشيّته من غير حاجةٍ منه إلى تكوينها ولا فائدةٍ له في تصويرها إلّا تثبيتاً لحكمته و تنبيهاً على طاعته وإظهاراً لقدرته تعبّداً لبريّته و إعزازاً لدعوته ثمّ جعل الثّواب على طاعته ووضع العقاب على معصيته ذيادةً لعباده من نقمته وحياشةً لهم إلى جنّته.
I bear witness that my father, Muhammad, is His servant and Prophet. He chose him even before sending him [with the Message], named him before picking him [for prophethood] and selected him before appointing him [as a Messenger] – at a time when the creation was hidden in the unknown, covered by the curtain of uncertainty and close to the edge of non- existence – out of the knowledge of Allah, the Most High, about the final outcome of every matter, the complete awareness of events that will transpire and cognizance of the end of all affairs. Allah sent him in order to complete His mission, establish His order and execute His mercy. He found the people divided in their beliefs, secluded around their sacred fires, worshipping their idols and denying Allah, despite having intrinsic knowledge about Him. So, through my father Muhammad (S), Allah illuminated their darkness, removed the ambivalence from their hearts and illumined the obscurity of their sight. He rose among the people with guidance, saved them from perversion, removed their [spiritual] blindness, led them to the right faith and called them towards the straight path. Then Allah took him back with kindness and election, affinity and preference.
وأشهد أنّ أبي محمّداً عبده ورسوله اختاره قبل أن أرسله وسمّاه قبل أن اجتباه واصطفاه قبل أن ابتعثه إذ الخلائق بالغيب مكنونةٌ وبستر الأهاويل مصونةٌ وبنهاية العدم مقرونةٌ علماً من الله تعالى بمآئل الأمور وإحاطةً بحوادث الدّهور و معرفةً بمواقع الأمور ابتعثه الله إتماماً لأمره وعزيمةً على إمضاء حكمه و إنفاذاً لمقادير رحمته فرأى الأمم فرقاً في أديانها عكّفاً على نيرانها عابدةً لأوثانها منكرةً لله مع عرفانها فأنارالله بأبي محمد ﷺ ظلمها وكشف عن القلوب بهمها وجلى عن الأبصار غاممها وقام في النّاس بالهداية فأنقذهم من لغواية وبصّرهم من العماية وهداهم إلى الدّين القويم و دعاهم إلى الطّريق المستقيم ثمّ قبضه الله إليه قبض رأفةٍ واختيارٍ ورغبةٍ و إيثارٍ.
Thus Muhammad (S) is now in ease and comfort, [free] from the hardships of this world, surrounded by the blameless angels and the pleasure of the Forgiving Lord, in the company of the Almighty King. May Allah bless my father, His Prophet, the custodian of His revelation, His chosen servant, the one whom He selected from all His creatures and whom He is most pleased with. Peace, blessings and mercy of Allah be upon him.
فمحمّدٌ ﷺ من تعب هذه الدّار في راحةٍ قد حفّ بالملائكة الأبرار و رضوان الرّبّ الغفّار ومجاورة الملك الجبّار صلّى الله على أبي نبيّه وأمينه وخيرته من الخلق وصفيّه والسّلام عليه ورحمة الله وبركاته
Then she turned to the people who were present in the gathering and said:
You are the servants of Allah, the recipients of His commandments and prohibitions, the bearers of His religion and revelation and the trustees of Allah over your souls. You are the propagators of His message to all people. His true proxy is present among you, as the legacy that he (the Prophet) bequeathed and left behind with you, giving it authority over you – the Articulate Book of Allah, the True Qurʾan, the Radiant Light, the Effulgent Illumination – with proofs that are manifest and mysteries that are evident. Its apparent message is clear and those who follow it are envied. Those who adhere to it are led to Allah’s pleasure and those who heed to it are saved. Through it the enlightened proofs of Allah, His explicative verdicts, His forewarned prohibitions, His unambiguous statements, His sufficient evidence, His mandated virtues, His bestowed leniency and His ordained laws, are attained.
أنتم عباد الله نصب أمره ونهيه وحملة دينه ووحيه وأمناء الله على أنفسكم وبلغاؤه إلى الأمم زعيم حقًّ له فيكم وعهدٌ قدّمه إليكم و بقيّةٌ استخلفها عليكم كتاب الله النّاطق والقرآن الصّادق والنّور السّاطع والضّياء اللّامع بيّنةُ بصائره منكشفةٌ سرائره منجليةٌ ظواهره مغتبطةٌ به أشياعه قائداً [قائدٌ] إلى الرّضوان أتباعه مؤدًّ إلى النّجاة استماعه به تنال حجج الله المنوّرة وعزائمه المفسّرة ومحارمه المحذّرة وبيّناته الجالية وبراهينه الكافية وفضائله المندوبة ورخصه لموهوبة وشرائعه المكتوبة.
Allah made faith (Iman) as a means to purify yourselves from polytheism, prayer (Salat) a means of freeing yourselves from arrogance, the poor-rate (Zakat) a means of cleansing the soul and increasing sustenance, fasting (Siyam) a means of establishing sincerity, pilgrimage (Hajj) a means of upraising the religion, justice a means for maintaining harmony of the hearts, obedience to us (the Ahl al-Bayt) a means of maintaining order in the community, our leadership (Imamah) as a security from disunity, holy struggle (Jihad) as a glory for Islam, patience as an aid in making one deserving of recompense, enjoining good (amr bil-maʿruf) as a reformation for the masses, honoring parents a means of protection from [divine] wrath, keeping ties with family a means of increasing your numbers, sanctioned retaliation (Qisas) a means of preventing bloodshed, fulfilling promises a means of earning forgiveness, honesty in weighing and measurement a means of avoiding diminution, forbidding the drinking of wine a means of becoming free of filth, eschewing defamation as a screen against imprecation and shunning theft a means of maintaining virtue. He prohibited polytheism in order to make His Lordship exclusive,
“so observe your duty to Allah with the dutifulness due to Him, and do not die except as Muslims.” (3:102)
“Obey Allah in that which He has commanded and forbidden, ‘for indeed only those who possess knowledge fear Allah.’” (35:28)
فجعل الله الإيمان تطهيراً لكم من الشّرك والصّلاة تنزيهاً لكم عن الكبروالزّكاة تزكيةً للنّفس ونماءً في الرّزق والصّيام تثبيتاً للإخلاص والحجّ تشييداً للدّين والعدل تنسيقاً للقلوب طاعطنا نظاماً للملّة وإمامتنا أماناً للفرقة والجهاد عزّا للإسلام والصّبر معونةً على استيجاب الأجر والأمر بالمعروف مصلحةً للعامّة وبرّالوالدين وقايةً من السّخط وصلة الأرحام منماةً للعدد والقصاص حقناً للدّماء والوفاء بالنّذر تعريضاً للمغفرة وتوفية المكاييل والموازين تغييراً للبخس والنّهي عن شرب الخمر تنزيهاً عن الرّجس واجتناب القذف حجاباً عن اللّعنة وترك السّرقة إيجاباً للعفّة وحرّم الله الشّرك إخلاصاً له بالرّبوبيّة فاتّقوا الله حقّ تقاته ولا تموتنّ إلّا وأنتم مسلمون – وأطيعوا الله فيما أمركم به ونهاكم عنه فإنّه إنّما يخشى الله من عباده العلماء.
Then she continued:
O People, know that I am Fatimah and my father is Muhammad (S). I say again to you, and what I am saying is not false and what I am doing is not in transgression.
“There has certainly come to you a messenger from among yourselves; grievous to him is your distress; he is full of concern for you, and compassionate and merciful to the believers.” (9:128)
So if you honor him and know him, you will realize that he is my father and not the father of anyone amongst your women. He is the bother of my cousin [and husband], and not of any of your men. How excellent it is to be related to him. He propagated the message, warned the people openly, and turned against the ways of the polytheists, breaking their backs and strangling their throats. He called [them] to the way of his Lord
“with wisdom and good advice.” (16:125)
He broke the idols and struck the heads, until they were defeated and forced to flee. Then night gave way to day and the pure truth shone forth. The leader of faith spoke and the camel-frothings of the devils were silenced. The servants of hypocrisy perished and the knots of disbelief and schism were undone.
أيّها النّاس اعلموا أنّي فاطمة وأبي محمّدٌ ﷺ أقول عوداً وبدواً ولا أقول ما أقول غلطاً ولا أفعل ما أفعل شططاً – لقد جاءكم رسولٌ من أنفسكم عزيزٌ عليه ما عنتّم حريصٌ عليكم بالمؤمنين رؤفٌ رحيمٌ فإن تعزوه وتعرفوه تجدوه أبي دون نسائكم – وأخا ابن عمّي دون رجالكم ولنعم المعزيّ إليه ﷺ فبلّغ الرّسالته صادعاً بالنّذارة مائلًا عن مدرجة المشركين ضارباً ثبجهم آخذاً بأكظامهم داعياً إلى سبيل ربٍّه بالحكمة والموعظة الحسنة يجف [يجذّ] الأصنام وينكث ألهام حتّي انهزم الجمع وولّوا الدّبر حتّي تفرّى اللّيل عن صبحه وأسفر الحقّ عن محضه ونطق زعيم الدّين وخرست شقاشق الشّياطين وطاح وشيظ النّفاق وانحلّت عقد الكفر والشّقاق.
You uttered the words of faith in the presence of the bright-faced and empty-of-stomach, while you were on “the brink of a fiery pit.” (3:103). A mere draught for the drinker and opportunity for the lustful [were you]. A flickering flame and a treading ground for others [were you]. You would drink from polluted water and eat dried animal skins and leaves. Abased and spurned, you feared being dispossessed by those around you.
وفهتم بكلمة الإخلاص في نفرٍ من البيض الخماص وكنتم علي شفا حفرةٍ من النّار مذقه الشّارب ونهزة الطّامع وقبسة العجلان وموطئ الأقدام تشربون الطّرق وتقتاتون القدّ أذلّةً خاسئين تخافون أن يتخطّفكم النّاس من حولكم.
Then Allah, the Almighty, rescued you through Muhammad (S), after all these calamities and after suffering at the hands of barbarians, the wolfish Arabs, and the rebellious People of the Book.
“Whenever they ignited the flame of war, Allah extinguished it.” (5:64)
Whenever the horn of Satan33 appeared or the polytheist’s maw opened [in defiance], he would dispatch his brother [ʿAli (‘a)] into its midst and he would not return until he had trampled on its ear with the soles of his feet and put out its blaze with his sword.
فأنقذكم الله تبارك وتعالى بمحمّدٍ ﷺ بعد اللّتّيا والّتي وبعد أن مني ببهم الرّجال وذؤبان العرب ومردة أهل الكتاب كلّما أوقدوا ناراً للحرب أطفأها الله أونجم قرن الشّيطان أوفغرت فاغرةٌ من المشركين قذف أخاه في لهواتها فلا ينكفئ حتّى يطأ صماخها [جناحها] بأخمصه ويخمد لهبها بسيفه.
He strove for the sake of Allah and struggled in the way of Allah. He was close to the Prophet of Allah, a leader among the friends of Allah, always prepared and diligent, sincere, earnest and hardworking – never fearing the reproach of any reproacher. Meanwhile, you were living lives of ease and comfort; relaxed, unperturbed and secure, awaiting the reversal of our fortunes, keenly waiting for news [of our failures], retreating during conflict and fleeing from battle.
Resources taken from al-islam.org Sermon of Fadak.
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