Fatimah (AS) in Surat Al-Insaan (76)
Allah the Exalted has said:
"Verily the Good shall drink of a Cup (of wine) mixed with Kafur. A
fountain where the Devotees of God do drink, making it flow in unstinted
abundance. They perform (their) vows, and they fear a Day whose evil
lies far and wide. And they feed, for the love of God, the indigent, the
orphan and the captive. Saying, `We feed you for the sake of God alone;
no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks.' `We only fear a Day of
distressful Wrath from the side of our Lord.' But God will deliver them
from the evil of that day, and will shed over them a light of Beauty and
a (blissful) Joy. And because they were patient and constant, He will
reward them with a Garden and (garment of) silk. Reclining in the
(Garden) on raised thrones, they will see there neither the sun's
(excessive heat) nor (the moon's) excessive cold. And the shades of the
(Garden) will come low over them, and the bunches (of fruit), there,
will hang low in humility. And amongst them will be passed round vessels
of silver and goblets of crystal; Crystal clear, made of silver. They
will determine the measure thereof (According to their wishes). And they
will be given to drink there of a Cup (of wine) mixed with Zanjabil. A
fountain there, called Salsabil.
And around about them will (serve) youths of perpetual (freshness): if
thou seest them, thou wouldst think them scattered Pearls. And when thou
lookest, It is there thou wilt see a Bliss and a Realm Magnificent. Upon
them will be green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade, and they
will be adorned with Bracelets of silver; and their Lord will give to
them to drink of a Wine pure and Holy. Verily this is a Reward for you,
and your Endeavor is accepted and recognized." (76: 5-22)
These verses were revealed after Ali, Fatima, Hassan, and Hussain (A)
gave charity to needy people; this story is stated in the book Al-Kashaf
by Zamakhshari; it goes as follows:
"Ibn Abbas said:
`Once Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain (A) were ill, the Messenger of Allah and
a group went to visit them. The visitors suggested to Imam Ali (A) to
make a vow to Allah: if He were to relieve them, he would perform some
good action. Therefore, Imam Ali together with Fatima and their servant
Fidhdha vowed to Allah that they would fast for three days if He would
relieve Hassan and Hussain.'
'When Allah had relieved them, Imam Ali (A) borrowed three (3) aswu (a
cubic measure) of barley from a Jew known as Shimon. Fatima ground one
(1) sa'a (singular of aswu) of the barley and baked five loaves of bread
for her family's meal at sunset. As sunset approached, a needy man
knocked on the door and said: Assalamu Alaikum, Family of Muhammad. I am
a needy man from among the Muslims, feed me, may Allah feed you from the
food of Paradise.' The holy family preferred the needy man over
themselves and spent the night with nothing in their stomachs save
water.'
'They fasted the second day, and again at sunset, when they were waiting
for their food, an orphan asked them for help and they again preferred
him over themselves. The third evening a captive (prisoner of war) asked
them for help and they repeated their preference for the needy above
themselves.'
'The following morning, Imam Ali (A) took Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain to
the Messenger of Allah (S) who said the following when he saw them
shaking like little chicks from hunger:
"The Prophet said: It displeases us to see you in this condition.'
Then he went with them, for he wanted to see Fatima. When they arrived,
Fatima (A) was in the Mehrab (prayer place), and her condition was such
that it further displeased the Prophet (S). At this time, Gabriel
descended and said:
`Take this chapter Muhammad, - Allah surely congratulates you for having
this family. "
It is worthy to state that the Good ones mentioned here are Ali, Fatima,
Hassan and Hussain; who deserve Paradise because of their act of feeding
the needy, the orphan, and the captive.
Another point to keep in mind here is that despite the detailed
description of Paradise given in the verses, Allah, the Exalted, does
not mention the huris. This understood to be in honor and exaltation of
Fatima (A) the wife of Imam Ali, and the mother of Hassan and Hussain |