Leader: Hadhrat Fatema Zahra (SA) epitome of all feminine virtues

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei met with a group of preachers and religious eulogizers on Sunday, March 19, on the occasion of the auspicious birth anniversary of Hadhrat Fatemah Zahra (peace upon her), the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

During the meeting, he shed light on the impeccable lifestyle and course of action taken by the Noblest Ever Lady of all time, as a true leader of the society, an exemplary daughter, a loyal wife, a devoted mother and a model par excellence of all feminine virtues.

Ayatollah Khamenei, after listening to panegyrics recited by poets in praise of Hadhrat Fatema Zahra (peace upon her), emphasized: “Talented poets and eulogizers of the Ahl al-Bayt or the Prophet’s Blessed Household must turn the ideas and orientations of those venerable ones into a common discourse in the society in view of today’s needs and duties (of Muslims).”

He noted that the spiritual and divine rank of the Noblest-Ever Lady, whom God Almighty has hailed in the holy Qur’an as Kowthar or the Spring of Perpetual Munificence, was beyond grasp and understanding of normal human beings. He added: In very hard and indescribable circumstances, which followed the passing of the Prophet and under conditions when even the elders and senior companions did not defend the right of political leadership of his vicegerent, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), Hadhrat Zahra (peace upon her) entered the mosque and delivered that eloquent speech in defense of her husband’s divinely-decreed right.

Ayatollah Khamenei said: This dynamic move by Hadhrat Zahra (peace upon her) in defending the Wilaya or divinely decreed authority of her husband, as the true leader, cannot be compared to any other sacrifice, and it is on the basis of this very grandeur that a person like our Late Imam Khomeini – who was a scholar, Islamic jurisprudent and mystic in his own right – said: If Hadhrat Fatemah (peace upon her) had been a man, she would have been certainly ordained as Prophet.”

Ayatollah Khamenei went on to describe Hadhrat Fatemah (peace upon her) as the complete epitome of “the perfect woman in Islam,” who stands at the highest rank achievable for an “Islamic woman,” that is, on the level of a leader. Emphasizing the importance of recognizing the true status of the Muslim woman, he said, “Despite that grandeur and the [spiritual] position, which transcends human understanding and imagination, one of the duties and occupations of Hadhrat Fatemah Zahra (peace upon her) is her role as a ‘mother, wife and housewife’.”

Ayatollah Khamenei, criticizing some people, who show off the faulty and empty claims of the West in order to tarnish Islam’s viewpoint about women, said: “These deceived, negligent people scoff at a woman’s duty as housewife, while being a housewife means to raise human beings and produce the most majestic product and commodity in the exiting world, which is the human being.”

He stated that some allegations made about defending the rights of women were, in fact, aimed at weakening women and noted, “Turning a woman into a commodity and means of pleasure in the Western world is most probably among plots hatched by Zionists in order to destroy the human society. However, unfortunately, sometimes [even] inside the country and in some Islamic environments, duties and expectations are brought up for women, which in fact, amount to degradation and humiliation of women.”

The Leader then pointed to some resemblances and differences that have been embedded in men and women by the Almighty God and said, “From such viewpoints as ‘ascension toward spiritual ranks’, ‘the power of leadership’, and ‘the ability to guide humanity’, there is no difference between men and women, but they are different from the standpoint of ‘their duties in managing life’ and a [perfect] example of all these instances is Hadhrat Fatemah Zahra (peace upon her).”

Ayatollah Khamenei then pointed to the promotion of such concepts as “gender justice” and “gender equality” in the West and noted: “Justice means recognizing God-given potentialities and helping them thrive.”

He said, “At the present time, Western thinkers and people who pursued such issues as gender equality, regret what they have done due to the corruption it has caused, and I hope the purpose of those people, who raise such issues inside the country, is not [promoting] the same incorrect Western concept.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution described eulogy and praise of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt as a “humane, faith-based and artistic phenomenon” and added, “Just focus on how this unique phenomenon could be used totally in favor of Islam and Muslims and for the purpose of attaining God’s contentment, because the world and worldly praise and admiration have no value.”

He said the format used for eulogy was a special style of art, and while emphasizing the need for an eulogizer to have a pleasant voice and an impressive way of reciting religious poems, said: The format of eulogy must not be mixed with other art forms and, for example, a poem special to tragedies or praise of the Prophet’s Household must not be recited in a tone using the format of a song by a person who is far from religion and spirituality and immersed in corruption and material lust.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the role and duty of the “content” in eulogy was to “raise people’s knowledge about the Prophet’s Household and familiarizing people with religious duties. He added: “Eulogizers must be able to build a discourse by looking at the modern world and in proportion to the necessities of time as well as duties and groupings [in the Islamic society].”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also touched upon the effective role played by religious poets and eulogizers during the period of the Holy Defence when Iran was subjected to the 8-year war imposed by the US through Saddam of the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad, and for preparing people to defend the country, saying, “Although about 30 years have passed since the [end of the] Holy Defence, the memory of [epics in] Fakkeh and Shalamcheh is still alive, because independence, freedom, dignity, identity, intactness of people’s honor and the enemy’s inability to dominate the country were all due to the same Fakkeh and Shalamcheh and sacrifices [made there].”

The Leader stated that any juncture of time needs a suitable way of thinking and discourse and after pointing to good grounds broken with regard to religious poetry. He added: “This opportunity must be taken advantage of and any diversions must be prevented through an identification of the existing problems.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution noted that being a true servant of the Household of the Prophet means “to make an effort for the daily promotion of thoughts, policy, and orientation of those honorable ones in the society.” Ayatollah Khamenei then noted, “This movement will make the country and the [Islamic] establishment and people dignified and strong, and will do away with problems, and if we have a stable society endowed with good management, independence and freedom, it will be the best publicity for Islam.”

At the beginning of this meeting, a number of religious eulogizers recited eulogy poems on the virtues and merits of Hadhrat Fatemah Zahra (peace upon her).

AS/SS