Brief Commentary On Hadeeth Al-Kisaa (Tradition of the Cloak)

Lady Fatima – Flesh Of The Holy Prophet

My father replied, "Peace be upon you too, my daughter and part of my flesh. I allow you." I thus went with them under the cloak.

After Imam Ali (AS), the last member of the household who sought permission to enter the cloak is Lady Fatima and she greets her father by saying “Peace be upon you O father O Messenger of Allah”. Here, we are to be reminded of an interesting story which took place after the revelation of this verse:

“Make not the calling of the messenger among you as your calling upon one another.” (24:63)

Imam Al Sadeq (AS) narrates that Lady Fatima (AS) said when this verse was revealed 'I feared to call the Messenger of Allah, `Father'; so I began calling him Messenger of Allah. He ignored me two or three times and finally said: 'Fatima, this verse was not revealed about you or your family, nor does it include your progeny; for you are from me and I am from you. Rather, this verse was revealed regarding the vain and crude Quraishans who are arrogant and spendthrifts. Call me Father; it surely is better for the heart and more satisfying to the Lord.'" (Bihaar Al Anwaar)

The love and respect that the Prophet (SA) had towards his daughter Fatima is apparent in this incident and thereafter she used to call him ‘Father’ and this is what she did in the Tradition of the Cloak where she presented the greeting “father” first and foremost before “Messenger of Allah”.

The Prophet (SA) greets Fatima (AS) by highlighting the fact that she is his “daughter” and “part of his flesh”. As for him mentioning that she is his daughter, it is not a new piece of information to her or to us who will recite and propagate this tradition till the end of time. Then, why does the Prophet (SA) stress what is already obvious?

The reason may be related to the fact many individuals including his own companions will intentionally “forget” this fact after his departure from this world. His one and only daughter who is the Master Lady of the Universe will one day have her right of Fadak (which she received as a gift from her father) confiscated. Lady Fatima (AS) will find herself in a position where she has to sadly remind those people around her that she is the daughter of the Prophet (SA) who had gifted the land of Fadak to her.

When that argument is denied, she attempts to use the argument of ‘inheritance’ that she at least had right over that land by virtue of her association to her father and inheritance from him. But again, the supporters of falsehood denied her that right and instead issued a false testimony that the Prophet (SA) had said that the prophets do not inherit and cannot be inherited.

This is despite the fact that the Holy Qur’an (27:16) clearly states that Prophet Sulaiman inherited from his father Prophet Dawood.

Her status of “daughter of the Prophet” was shamefully forgotten when some of the companions tried to deny her the right to weep and mourn over her deceased father and they tried to negotiate with her when she would engage in mourning and when she wouldn’t. The simple right of a human being – a normal human being – to mourn over their loved ones is usually granted with shared sympathy and condolences.

But in the case of Fatima Al Zahra (AS), they expressed their annoyance at her constant mourning and desired to stop her from shedding her purified tears over her father. Not any father, but the best father and the most superior human being in the whole universe from the beginning till the end of time!

Lady Fatima’s position as daughter of the Messenger of God was forgotten when a group of unjust individuals from the Prophet’s companions attacked her house and entered it without her permission. And when one of them warned that it is the house of Fatima, the 2nd Caliph answered, “So what!” Causing intentional and aggressive physical harm to the purified body of the Master Lady of the universe was yet another reminder that her status as the daughter of the Seal of Messengers was overlooked and ignored just a few months if not less, after the demise of her father.

That physical aggression caused the abortion of her unborn baby whom the Prophet called Mohsin and her bodily injuries included fracture of her ribs that ultimately caused Lady Fatima to become very sick in her last days and die as a martyr as a result of her injuries.

In fact, it is not only the father-daughter relationship between Lady Fatima (AS) and her father that was forgotten, but also, her status as the Master Lady of the Universe! After all, if all the injustices committed against her happened to the Master Lady of the universe and the daughter of the Prophet, then we wonder what aggression may happen to any other person with lower status?!

Fatima (AS) is the one whom the Prophet (SA) emphasized in numerous occasions that “Fatima is part of me*;*** whoever annoys her annoys me and whoever harms her harms me*."* (Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad)

The fact that the Prophet (SA) reminds us in the Tradition of the Cloak as well as in this narration that “Fatima is a part of me” and is from his own flesh should make us recognize that the great status which Fatima has to her father exceeds the boundaries of that between any daughter and father.

The whole existence of Lady Fatima (AS) is from the purified existence of the Prophet (SA), and her flesh is derived from the purified flesh of the Prophet! Here, we are to be reminded of how her birth came about after she was conceived following the event when her mother Lady Khadija ate from the fruits of Paradise and united with her husband in a divinely planned manner so that her purified existence be created from the clay of Paradise.

Thus, her position is equivalent in importance to the Prophet (SA) such that any person who angers her, attacks her, opposes her, or challenges her is directly doing the same to the Prophet (AS). This correlation is clear and is the intent behind the Prophet’s words as displayed by this narration. With that in mind, one can imagine what great retribution and castigation the unjust oppressors deserve from the Almighty Allah (SWT) whose pleasure is aligned with the pleasure of the Prophet which is also aligned with the pleasure of Lady Fatima (AS).