What lessons can we take from Lady Fatimah Al-Ma'sumah, peace be upon her?
Not much is known about the details of her life.
However, what is certain is that she spent it worshipping Allah, the Exalted, with utmost sincerity and humility... to the extent that by the age of just 27 years, she had acquired such a magnificent status before Allah, the Exalted, that Imam Al-Sadiq, Imam Al-Kazim, Imam Al-Ridha, and Imam Al-Jawad, peace be upon them, have all praised her and mentioned her virtues.
In fact, the title Al-Ma'sumah, meaning 'the immaculate one' or 'one free from sin', was given to her by none other than the eighth lantern from the household of the holy prophet (peace be upon him), Imam Ali ibn Musa Al-Ridha, peace be upon him.
Furthermore, Imam Al-Ridha, peace be upon him, is also reported as having said:
'Whoever visits Ma'sumah in Qum is like one who has visited me',
And from other traditions it may be concluded that one who visits Imam Al-Ridha, or any of the Divinely chosen leaders, peace be upon them, is like one who visits the messenger of mercy, the best of creation, the holy prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, himself.
How is it possible for an individual to gain such a level of nearness to Allah, the Exalted, that visiting her is equivalent to visiting the holy prophet, peace be upon him?
The answer isn't so difficult; let us look at the Qur'an...
Allah, the Exalted, is 'the light of the heavens and the earth' and the more we purify ourselves, the closer we become to this light. In fact, 'Allah is the Guardian of those who believe; He takes them out of the darknesses and into the Light' (Qur'an 2:227), and Allah, the Exalted, reveals about the Qur'an to the beloved prophet, peace be upon him,: '...a book which We have revealed to you that you may take mankind out of the darknesses into the Light by the permission of their Lord...' (Qur'an 14:1). So the closer we become to Allah, the Exalted, the more radiant we will become, the more His light will enter us, until we become utterly submerged in the oceans of His radiance.
So how do we achieve this?
For me, this is the greatest lesson i take from the life of Lady Fatimah Al-Ma'sumah, peace be upon her...
No magnificent incident is attributed to Lady Fatimah Al-Ma'sumah, peace be upon her, such as the sacrifice of Ashura which is attributed to Imam Al-Hussain and Lady Zainab, peace be upon them. Sometimes we learn about such a magnificent event and while it increases our love and respect for the personalities which shone out in the midst of such oppression and cruelty, it also creates a distance between ourselves and them, because we are unable to relate to them. After all, how many of us can see ourselves facing such great tribulation in our own lives? What i sometimes forget is that the reason such personalities shone so brightly in the midst of such difficulty, was because of what they had been doing in the days, months and years before the day of Ashura.
So, Lady Ma'sumah, peace be upon her, may have led a very 'ordinary' life.
And that is exactly the point!
This is what matters. These seemingly insignificant moments that are passing us by... what we make of them. How we use our time, when 'theres nothing to do', when there's no big event going on, these 'normal days'... this is our capital! And, like Lady Ma'sumah, peace be upon her, by using these 'normal' moments to worship Allah with sincerity, we too may enter into the oceans of light and radiance that are right before us.
You and i may reach a position where the Imam of our time greets us by saying,
'Peace be upon you, Oh son of the messenger of Allah'
or 'peace be upon you, Oh daughter of the messenger of Allah'
Never tell yourself you can't do it. All you need is within you.
May Allah shower you with His love, light and mercy.
WasSalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh
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