The Silent Revolution

Muhammad (blessings of Allah upon him and his family) is thesecret of existence and the purpose of all that exists — he of whom the sacred tradition says:

And when he departs, non-being revolts; and those who by their ingratitude at the covenant of Alast became fit for nothing but mirage set upon the mother of Muhammad — Umm Abiha ^[2] — who is the mother of existence and the absolute root of all good ^[3], tormenting her with the fire of rancour and malice.

And they became worthy of this verse:

And they drew others with them into that same turning back, until they too became those addressed by:

And so it is that Fatima (peace be upon her) says: had my father been here, they would never have grown so bold. And when in the house of Fatima there came to pass what never shouldhave, the Lady of the Worlds raised her hands in complaint and said:

Yes — while Muhammad lived, none dared any affront. For Muhammad was forever establishing the prayer of Alawi guardianship, and had made himself a ransom for his Fatima. He praised Ali (peace be upon him) unceasingly for his virtues and raised high that divinely appointed standard, and drowned Fatima (peace be upon her) in the divine words:

And in this way the Lady of the Worlds weeps openly, and says:

And she complains of the Muhajirun and the Ansar: that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) carried her, and Hasan and Husayn and Zaynab and Umm Kulthum, through the blackness of night to their houses; that he reminded them of Allah and His Messenger, and of the covenant Allah and His Messenger had taken from them on four occasions in the Prophet's lifetime ^[9] — the pledge of allegiance to him and of submission to him. And every one of them promised his help on the morrow. And by morning every one of them had crept into the corner of his house and yielded to the abasement of Satan's servitude. ^[10]

And thus it is that Fatima (peace be upon her) raises a revolution — a silent one! — that it may blaze on for ever.

Fatima is the secret, and the secret of the secret, and the hidden secret ^[11]; and her revolution too is veiled, and asks for eyes unclouded by the veils of darkness.