The Virtues of the Ziarat Lady Fatimah Ma'soumah (p)
Part One
The lofty rank and station of Sayyidah Fatimah al-Ma'sumah is revealed in the luminous words of Imam Mūsā al-Kāzim, when he said ...
May Her father be sacrificed for Her
Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah (peace be upon her), the noble sister of Imam al-Ridha (peace be upon him), is among the most eminent women of the Household of Purity and Infallibility
Her Holiness left Madinah for Khorasan, longing to reunite with her beloved brother Imam al-Rida after receiving a letter from him. Yet she never reached him; during the journey, she passed away in Qom, and the city of Qom became her resting place — a sacred site where visiting her shrine, according to the words of the Ahlulbayt, carries the promise of Paradise .
Her sacred shrine is the sanctuary of all the Ahlulbayt. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (peace be upon Him) states:
We have a sanctuary, and it is the city of Qom. Soon, a woman from My descendants named Fatima will be buried there. Whoever visits Her, Paradise becomes obligatory for him - .
Imam al-Ridha said to one of his companions - .
"O Sa'd, there is a grave belonging to us in your land.”
Sa'd asked:
May I be sacrificed for you. Do you mean the grave of Fatimah, daughter of Musa?
The Imam replied:
Yes. Whoever visits her while recognizing her right and her true station shall have Paradise.
Her Ziyarah is like the Ziyarah of Imam al-Ridha. As he stated:
Whoever visits Lady Fatima al-Masumeh in Qom is like one who has visited Me - .
A divine grace from Allah, for the Shia and lovers of the Household of the Prophet, is that in place of the hidden grave of Sayyidah Fatimah al-Zahra, peace be upon Her, a sacred sanctuary has been shown to us that carries the fragrance of Paradise — a sign that substitutes for the unseen resting place of the Holy Mother.
Now that we have remembered even a small glimpse of the boundless station, virtues, and nobility of Her Holiness, let us turn our hearts — wherever we may be — toward her luminous shrine and visit her with the eyes of our hearts .
Part Two
In the narrations, concerning the virtue of Ziyarah of Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah (peace be upon her), it is stated:
"Whoever visits her, while recognizing her rightful station, Paradise shall be theirs."
Paradise is the great dominion of Wilayah, and in the narrations of the Infallible Imams, the path to attaining this station has been described through recognition of Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah. Though the true recognition of her station is beyond human intellect, we have mentioned only a drop from the ocean of the virtues of her Ziyarah.
Among the noble women of the Fatimids, Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah is the only one for whom a transmitted Ziyarah has been narrated from an Imam—one issued by Imam al-Ridha.
Her Ziyarah is a comprehensive Ziyarah. Although she is the daughter of an Imam, in her Ziyarah we offer salutations to all of the Infallibles. We begin by greeting the Prophets of God and then enter into the sacred presence of the Ahlulbayt.
The blessed resting place of Lady Ma'sumah is a sacred soil that carries the fragrance of Paradise, and a sign pointing toward the hidden grave of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her).
The sign of this profound connection can be seen from the very beginning of the Ziyarah: thirty-four times Allahu Akbar, thirty-three times Subhanallah, and thirty-three times Alhamdulillah—the very Tasbih of Fatimah al-Zahra.
After forty nights of seeking divine intercession to discover the burial place of Lady Fatimah, Ayatollah Mar'ashi heard in a dream to visit the grave of Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah.
For God willed that the grave of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra remain hidden, and that the resting place of Lady Ma'sumah manifest that concealed grave.
And we, surrounded by a world of darkness, seek aid to enter this sanctuary of light. Thus, in the Ziyarah we say:
"O angels of God, be my helpers and supporters, so that I may enter this noble and blessed garden."
Part Three
In the luminous words of the Ahlulbayt, the sacred sanctuary of Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah peace be upon her, has been called "the Nest of the Family of Muhammad" or 'Ushkh Aal Muhammad, as it is said:
An 'Ushkh is a bird's nest upon the branches of a tree — a refuge and sanctuary where the bird finds rest and remains sheltered from every harm.
But who is the "bird" that may find rest within this nest?
In the narrations of the Ahlulbayt, the bird is one who journeys through the heavenly realms — one who, through attaining and carrying the luminous knowledge of the Imam, traverses the heavens.
This sacred sanctuary is not merely a nest; it is also a shield and a fortress.
On the Night of the Mi'raj, when the Noble Prophet saw the accursed Iblis over that land, seeking to turn the Shia away from the Wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin, he drove him away and said:
"Begone, O accursed one!"
Thus, the believer who enters this fortified refuge through accepting the Wilayah is protected from afflictions and calamities.
Hence, Imam al-Sadiq states that in times of calamity and hardship, hold fast to Qom, for it is the refuge of the Fatimids.
In an immense glad tiding for the Shia, Imam al-Sadiq said:
"Indeed, Paradise has eight gates, three of which open toward Qom.
A woman from among my descendants will pass away there. Her name will be Fatimah bint Musa, and through her intercession, all of my Shia will enter Paradise."
Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah has long been familiar to the hearts of the believers. It is a bond of familiarity established by God Himself, as we address her in her Ziyarah:
"May Allah bring about recognition between us and you in Paradise, gather us among your company, and bring us to the Pool of your Prophet."
And from this heavenly nest, we ask for that very promise whose glad tidings Imam al-Sadiq gave:
"O Fatimah, intercede for me for Paradise, for indeed you possess a lofty station with Allah."
Part Four
Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah, 'alayha al-salam, is the kawthar of the Scholar of Al Muhammad, Imam al-Rida, 'alayhi al-salam.
Her sacred sanctuary is the reality of the House of Allah — one of those houses which أَذِنَ اللهُ أَنْ تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ — a House in which the remembrance of Allah, which is the attainment of knowledge of the teachings of Al Muhammad, is elevated.
Therefore, every believer who longs to drink from this boundless spring of al-Kawthar — a spring of knowledge, virtue, and recognition — must know that this cannot be attained except through devotion to and seeking refuge in her sacred sanctuary.
This reality can be seen manifested in many forms throughout the lives of the great scholars: from their devotion to holding scholarly lessons within the precincts of her sanctuary to their longing to have their final resting place beside her. Here, we mention but a few examples.
The late Ayatollah Sayyid Mahmud al-Mar'ashi spent many years seeking to discover the hidden resting place of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra, 'alayha al-salam. In a dream, he was told:
"Allah has bestowed the greatness, majesty, and grandeur of that Lady upon the Noble Lady of the Ahl al-Bayt in this abode."
He therefore instructed his family to devote themselves to this sacred sanctuary.
His son, the late Sayyid Shahab al-Din al-Mar'ashi al-Najafi, wrote in his will:
"Place my body upon the purified resting place of Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah. Tie one end of my turban to her sacred shrine and the other end to my coffin, and then recite the tragedy of the farewell of my master, al-Husayn al-Mazlum, to his purified Ahl al-Bayt."
The late Allamah al-Tabataba'i, every evening during the month of Ramadan, despite his advanced age, would walk to the shrine. He would kiss the sacred enclosure and break his fast there.
The late Ayatollah al-Khwansari said:
"I have completed the Qur'an forty times and offered the reward of each recitation to the sacred presence of Lady al-Ma'sumah, asking her to grant me a grave within her sanctuary."
And when the King of Saudi Arabia once came to Qum intending to visit the late Ayatollah al-Burujirdi, he declined to receive him, saying:
"A king who comes to visit me yet does not visit Lady al-Ma'sumah, thereby showing disrespect — this is a violation of the sanctity of the Ahl al-Bayt, and I cannot tolerate it."
My lady, Ya Fatimah al-Ma'sumah:
Part Five
The verses of the Holy Quran are a boundless ocean of divine knowledge and truths; behind every word and every expression lies various levels of meaning.
In the blessed Surah Ash-Shams, the Exalted God, by swearing by the "sun" and the "moon," unveils a reality far beyond the physical sun and moon of the sky:
By the sun and its radiance in the morning, and by the moon when it follows after it.
In the narrations, the "sun" is a manifestation of the holy existence of the Imam; the sun whose rays of Wilayah shine upon souls, purify hearts, and open the path of guidance to creation.
Among the Ahl al-Bayt, Hazrat Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace be upon him) has been titled Shams al-Shumus, meaning the Sun of Suns.
Yet, following this sun, there is a moon that takes its light from the sun and disseminates it across other lands: Hazrat Fatimah al-Ma'sumah (peace be upon her), the sister of Imam al-Ridha—a noble lady who, in this expression, manifests the reality of "وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَاهَا."
How beautifully this meaning was manifested along the course of her life's journey!
When Imam al-Ridha was taken from Medina toward Khorasan, Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah also set out from Medina for Khorasan, out of the grief of separation from her brother and the eager yearning to behold her Imam.
It was as though a moon was moving in pursuit of its sun.
The caravan of the Her Holiness departed from Medina; and each of the descendants of Imam al-Kazim and the other children of Imams who scattered along this route carried with them a ray of the lights of the Wilayah of Shams al-Shumus to the lands that later became their dwellings.
Among them was this Razavi moon, whom divine destiny brought to the land of Qom.
Her holy presence transformed Qom into a center for the dissemination of the light of Razavi Wilayah, so that from the sanctuary of this Fatimid lady, the teachings of the Aal-e-Muhammad would spread, and eager souls would find their way toward the Sun of Wilayah.
This light did not remain confined only to the geography of Qom; rather, from this sacred threshold, the knowledge and teachings of Aal-e-Muhammad spread across lands so that yearning hearts, in the glow of those lights, might find the path of the truth of Monotheism and Wilayah.
اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّمْ عَلَى اَلسَّيِّدِ اَلْمَعْصُومِ، شَمْسِ الشُّمُوسِ، أَنِيسِ اَلنُّفُوسِ، عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُوسَى اَلرِّضَا علیهِ السلام
O Allah, send blessings and peace upon the infallible master, the Sun of Suns, the Comforter of Souls, Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace be upon him).
Part Six
Among the Ahl al-Bayt rests a noble lady whose station was spoken of by the Imams years before her birth — a lady from the lineage of Prophethood and Imamate, the daughter of Imam al-Kazim, the sister of Imam al-Rida, and the aunt of Imam al-Jawad: Lady Fatimah al-Ma'sumah, 'alayha al-salam.
According to the words of the Ma'sumin, recognizing her true right and station is a condition for drawing near to Allah and for the acceptance of one's ziyarah.
She is the Karimah Ahl al-Bayt. Karam encompasses goodness, generosity, and virtue. Thus, her shrine is a source of divine grace, a sanctuary for the servants of Allah, a refuge for creation, and a gateway to divine mercy.
She is Ma'sumah. The word 'ismah derives from 'aṣm, meaning preservation and protection. Thus, it is by seeking refuge in and holding fast to her sacred presence that the believers are set upon the path of purification and protection from darkness and impurity.
She is Kawthar al-Rida; and kawthar means "abundant good." She is the source for the spread of the knowledge of Al Muhammad, and through her blessing, the city of Qum became a center for the dissemination of the teachings of Al Muhammad.
She herself was a scholar — a lady who, even in her childhood, would answer the questions of the Shi'ah in the absence of her noble father. When Imam al-Kazim saw her answers, he said three times:
"May her father be sacrificed for her."
Another of her titles is Shafi'ah — the Intercessor. Imam al-Sadiq said regarding this station:
Through her intercession, all of my Shi'ah will enter Paradise.
It is for this reason that, in her transmitted ziyarah, we ask Allah for enduring recognition of the Ahl al-Bayt, steadfastness in their wilayah, and the intercession of Lady Ma'sumah.
And this recognition is the beginning of tamassuk — holding fast.
Holding fast to a lady whose sacred threshold is a refuge for the Shi'ah, and through whose blessed presence Qum became a center of the knowledge of Al Muhammad — so that scholars and jurists might gather around this Fatimid sun and keep the lamp of the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt alight.
And ultimately, the fruit of this gathering and this holding fast leads to the hope of the faraj of Al Muhammad: the reappearance of Hadrat Baqiyat Allah al-A'zam, arwahuna fidah.
And how beautiful it is that the ziyarah of this Noble Lady, too, turns the visitor's gaze, in its closing words, toward that same promised dawn, when it says: