Seerah

Adopted from the Book : "Lady Fatima Ma'suma (A) of Qom" by : "Ma'suma Jaffer"

The mother of Lady Fatima Masuma (A) was also the mother of the 8th Imam - Imam Ali al-Rida (A) and she had no children other than these two.

She was known by several names, the most well known of them was Najmah Khatun.1

Lady Najmah was a slave from North Africa and was bought by Lady Hamidah, the mother of Imam al- Kazim (A). After she came into the house of the Ahl al-Bayt (A), she reached a high level of intellectual and spiritual excellence, with lessons and teachings from Lady Hamidah.

Lady Hamidah narrates that one night she had a dream, where she saw the Prophet (S) and he said to her: 'Make Najmah the wife of your son, Musa ibn Ja'far, so that soon the best of people in the world (Imam al-Rida (A)) will be born from her.2 Lady Hamidah acted upon this order, and so Najmah became the wife of Imam al-Kazim (A) and later, the mother of Imam al-Rida (A) and Lady Fatima Masuma (A). Some of the other names mentioned for Lady Najmah are:

Tuktam : This was a popular name amongst the Arabs, and it was the name of the mother of Imam al-Rida and Lady Fatima Masuma (A) at the time when she was bought as a slave.

The name Tuktam was also used to refer to the well of Zamzam (the well near the Ka'ba) in the dream of Abdul Muttalib, when he was told to dig up and find the hidden well, and in this way it seems a very appropriate name for Najmah Khatun whose excellence was also hidden at the time of her slavery.3

Umm al-Banin : This was the only title that was given to her; the meaning of this title is the "mother of boys" although Najmah Khatun only had two children - Imam al-Rida (A) and Lady Fatima Masuma (A). Due to the nobleness of both of her children, she had this title "Umm al-Banin" given to her.4

Tahira : It has been narrated that after giving birth to Imam Ali al-Rida (A) on 11th Dhul Qa'dah in the year 148 A.H in Madina, she was known as Tahira, which has the meaning of purity.5

Although Lady Fatima Masuma (A) was born 25 years after Imam al-Rida (A), the fact that they had the same nother and father, led to a special closeness between them.

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1. Shaykh Saduq, Uyun Akbar al-Rida, vol. 1, p. 14; shaykh Tabarsi, I'lam al-Wara, p. 302; shaykh Hurr Amili, Ithbat al-Hudat, vol. 3, p. 233.

2. Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol, vol. 1, p. 17.

3. Uyun Akhbar al-rida, vol. 1, p. 14; I'lam al-Wara, p. 302; Ithbat al-Hudat, vol. 3, p. 233.

4. Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 486; Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol. 1, 14; I'lam al-Wara, p. 302; Al-Irshad, vol. 2, 247.

5. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 49, p. 4; Uyun al-Akhbar al-Rida, vol. 1, p. 14; Ithbat al-Hudat, vol. 3, p. 233; Muhammad Rida Hakim, A'Yan al-Nisa, p. 76.