Seerah

Her stances were stances for the right, and her sorrow was the sorrow for the issue (Islam), and her joy was the joy of the message; the depth of Islam was manifested in the depth of her personality and she amassed within herself all the Islamic human virtues, since being the Doyenne of the Women of the World implied that she should be at the highest level, spiritually and morally.

This is why we are intensely interested in Fatimah al-Zahra' (as) because when we remember her we remember the message and her role, and remember Islam and the dynamic issues in which Fatimah (as) was a central figure; hence we feel that she is with us in all of our concerns and that she is alive among us. There are people in history who finish when they die, because their existence is encapsulated in the span of their lives; there are others who remain alive as long as life exists, and who continue as long as their message continues and as long as there are people who are open to their message. Fatimah (as) is placed at the pinnacle of these people, since you cannot mention the Messenger of Allah (sawa) without mentioning her. She was his product and the spirit inside his body; and you cannot mention Ali (as) without mentioning her as she was his companion in life and suffering; and you cannot mention al-Hasan, al-Husain and Zaynab (as) without mentioning her as she was the secret of purity in their childhood and of their personalities throughout their lives.

This is the secret of Fatimah (as) that obliges us to keep her in our minds and our hearts as a message and thought, not just the cause of tears. We cannot but open up to her with our tears, but more important than that is to open ourselves to her message because she lived all her tears and all her life for the Message and never for one moment lived it for herself. This is the secret of all the members of Ahlul Bayt (as): they lived for the whole of Islam and gave their lives for Islam and the Message.

Adapted from the book: "Fatimah (as); a role model for men and women" by: "Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlullah"