PART II

AL-ZAHRA’ (A.S.) AND THE UNKNOWN

Someone says that we have no need for whatever historical data is available regarding the marriage of al-Zahra’ (A.S.) and its unknown aspects, in the heavens celebrating it or in other such relevant things. He also raises reservations about the tradition saying that there were unknown elements or unnatural particulars in the personality of al-Zahra’ (A.S.) wondering what we gain or lose, as he puts it, if she is a noor or not, for such is “knowledge which does not benefit anyone who is familiar with it nor hurts anyone who is ignorant thereof.” Then he adds saying that we find nothing particular except the circumstances that guaranteed her spiritual and intellectual growth and her practical upholding on the level wherein the elements of one’s personality are balanced naturally in the issue of the personal growth, and that we cannot take for granted the tradition in question saying that there are certain unknown elements which get her out of the level of an ordinoory woman because this is not subject to any undisputable proof.

We, in as far as the necessity of the education of the unknown is concerned, would like to record the following:

FIRST: Raising issues in such a way may be the catalyst for setting off an “internal dispute,” since it aims at casting doubt about the importance of learning about the knowledge of the unknown, something which is not acceptable nor is it rational, for it is one of the issues of the faith and of the creed. Such issues are unreservedly accepted. There is no doubt that distancing a very important aspect of theological issues from the circle of interest through weakening them or taking them lightly is considered demolishing an important foundation of the creed. It is a genuine confusion of the leading Islamic ideology, and it implies raising question marks about the diction of other theological branches of knowledge, something which will lead to the weakening of people’s conviction, to diverting their interest from Allah, Praise and Exaltation are His, from his Messengers and elite ones. Their conviction of the facts of Islam and belief will be shaken, and it will raise many question marks about matters which ought not to be subjected to a debate not based on a procedure or science, for it will then produce nothing but confusion in the general state. It will divert people’s interest to directions which are further from the reality, further from seriously contemplating upon their fate issues, from whatever threatens their future and very existence. It will distance them from planning and confronting huge dangers awaiting them in their arena where they face the powers of grudge and haughtiness against which we should all unite. May Allah protect us from losing our minds or deviating in our thinking or action; He is the omni-Potent One, the Able, the One most capable of responding.

SECOND: There is no doubt that there are texts proving the Divine care of al-Zahra’ (A.S.) even to many of her miracles^[1] and attributes which were particularly hers and which are all too many in number to deny. They are justified both scientifically and ideologically.

If such size of texts does not prove one’s distinction, status, or Divine care, then there is no room to prove any other Islamic reality. The Mu`tazilites have preceded the man in denying that a miracle can be performed by a wali in the pretext that they look like those performed by the prophets, so much so that one prophet cannot then be distinguished from another^[2]. They did not pay any heed to the fact that a miracle is performed by a wali only when he upholds the line of the faith in a way whereby he does not claim to be a prophet; otherwise, he would not have been a wali, nor would he have been worthy of a Divine care from Allah, nor will Allah enable him to perform one at all.

THIRD: Allah, the most Exalted and Sublime, has said, “Alif Lam, Mam. This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (themselves against evil). Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them” (Qur’an, 2:1-3). There is no doubt that matters relevant to the unknown have a strong impact on a Muslim’s conviction and that the unknown is one of the essential matters in the subject of conviction which Allah, the Praised One, requires of His servants.

Also undoubted is that it is insufficient to believe in the unknown by simply experiencing an ambiguous and mysterious sense of the existence of ambiguities and mysteries in some aspects of life then feeling incapable of attaining them, then developing a feeling of fear and awe of them. Nor is it sufficient to bring conviction, in its essence and in all its circumstances and vocabulary, unknown or otherwise, to reality in order to attain dry ideological satisfaction and arithmetic equation settling in the mind and in the consciousness of man so that he may draw upon such basis the map of his conduct or a life separated from the unknown, or one not in harmony therewith. Neither this nor that suffices, for conviction is an option. It renews itself and continues, for Allah, Glory to Him, has said, “they believe.” He has not said, “they believed.” This is so because the present continuous verb conveys the meaning of renewal and continuity. That is, they choose this conviction, causing it to happen, to exist, personifying it continuously.

Since it is also obvious that fearing the unknown and ambiguously sensing the matters which are absent from our senses is not conviction, it contradicts the belief which is setting the heart on an issue, embracing it affectionately, loving and understanding it, then feeling at ease in the heart in feeling comfortable with what it embraces, feels comfortable with, being pleased thereby: “Surely by remembering Allah do hearts find rest” (Qur’an, 13:28); “O soul that are at rest! Return to your Lord, well-pleased (with Him), well-pleasing (Him)” (Qur’an, 89:27-28).

If the matter is as such, and since we cannot embrace the vacuum nor feel at east nor be pleased thereby, there has to be an evidence leading to what is ambiguous, personifying it in man’s awareness, so that it may get out of its unknown state and into the reality of conviction and consciousness, becoming an evidence for conviction, even if it may be in its reality and existence not conducive with the senses, nor does it appear to them but remains separated and absent therefrom.

From such a junction, there is a justification for tying this unknown to the subjective reality so that it may become more effective in consciousness, deeper and more firmly settled in one’s beliefs. Such vocabulary words which express it and lead to it take it out of its state of cloudiness and uncertainty, making it more firm and more defined to the degree of realistic personification of the unknown meaning which prepares man to set his heart on it so that the believing Muslim may be convinced about the unknown according to the Will of Allah, Glory to Him. All this is accomplished according to the divine plan for its realization. Thus, we can understand, in depth, the statement by Ali (A.S.) wherein he says, “Had the veil been removed from me, it would not have increased my conviction.”^[3] And when he (A.S.) was asked how he worshiped a God Whom he never saw, he said, “I am not one who worships a God Whom he does not see. Eyes never saw Him, but the hearts saw him through convincing facts.”^[4]

Likewise, hearts do find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Praise to Him: “Surely by remembering Allah do hearts find rest” (Qur’an, 13:28), for the heart does not touch upon the Divine reality itself; rather, it touches upon its effects and actions, finding comfort in the remembrance of Allah. The Almighty has also said, “And Allah’s are the best names, so call on Him thereby” (Qur’an, 7:180); “Read in the name of your Lord Who created” (Qur’an, 96:1); “In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful.”

It becomes clear from all the above that when Islam obligated belief in the unknown, it did not intend it to be cloudy and without a direction, empty and ambiguous. Rather, it wanted it as an objective and conscious unknown which is personified on the page of the heart and the soul. It becomes more clear, more deeply rooted and firm through the means whereby Allah, Praised is He, wanted to transmit the unknown element to our consciousness so that it may be its ever-present companion, depending and leaning on it.

The knowledge of the unknown, then, distances belief in the unknown from being a state of fear of the unknown, so that it may be a true vision of the heart upon which one sets his mind, strengthening his conviction, subjecting his feelings thereto, setting out to be the life and the awareness of the conscience, and so that it may become a stand, a movement, a conduct, an attitude and a spontaneous norm of conduct which is honest and sincere. At the same time, such unknown remains independent of the senses which cannot fathom it, remaining helpless towards it, for it is connected to what is superior to them, to what makes it independent of them, upholding its own means, setting out in its own sphere.

If we cast a general look at the means and proofs which personify this unknown in man’s heart, transforming him to an effective element of belief, we find out that Islam, in its treatment of this sensitive aspect, has intended the unknown to free itself from the bondage of reason and awareness so it may settle in the heart, and so that such a heart may embrace it with affection so that it may find with it pleasure and tranquility, and so that it may, thereafter, roam in the sphere of the soul, in an amalgamation of feelings, and so that it may be a shining and overwhelming feeling.

And it flows in man’s existence to coin his feelings and sentiments, and so that it may become his hearing, vision, intellect, character, language, attitude, conduct, stand and everything in his life.

For the sake of all the above, the intellect has to be incorporated into the feeling, so the tragedy of al-Zahra’ (A.S.) the memory of al-Husain (A.S.) during `ashara’, and the tragedy of his infant son..., etc., may become part of the ideological fact. Thus, everything uttered by the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) and by the Purified Imams (A.S.) represents an educational necessity to complement the belief in the facts of Islam, including believing in the unknown.

No wonder, then, that such a meaning given to the unknown is personified as a divine miracle and a living reality that influences man’s awareness. It is personified in the Black Stone to which Allah gave the trusts of the creations, in the isra’ and mi`raj, in the settling of Yanus (Jonah) in the belly of the whale, in the speech of the ant about which Solomon smiled, in the transporting of the throne of Balqees from Yemen [to Jerusalem] in a blink of an eye, in Fatima’s talk to her mother while she was in her womb, in the heavenly bridal when she was wedded to Ali (A.S.) and in the angel’s talk to her which Ali (A.S.) called “Mushaf Fatima,” and that the angels used to call upon her just as they used to call upon Maryam daughter of `Imran saying, “O Fatima! Allah has chosen you and purified you..., etc.,” so she was for this reason called “muhaddatha^[5].”

 No wonder, then, when such unknown is personified in the fact that Fatima is a noor, and that she is a human hari created from the fruit of Paradise^[6] which is different from worldly fruits in its purity and purification. Fatima increased this purity and purification due to the effort which she exerted and which was crowned with success through her knowledge of Allah and to what she achieved of seeing the secrets of creation and the laws of life. She, hence, earned the prize of being divinely guided, so she was the infallible woman: Allah is pleased when she is pleased and is wrathful when she is angry. She became the Head of the women of mankind, from the early generations and the last. All these matters prove that she (A.S.) was strongly linked to the unknown due to her status and to the divine bliss which she earned, one which our minds cannot grasp and our comprehension falls short of.

It becomes quite obvious from all the above that if the unknown is personified in certain symbols such as the prophets of Allah, or His chosen ones, His friends and those who enjoy a special status with Him due to the blessings which He bestowed upon them, and in many other symbols, our hearts will then embrace her and will embrace with her the known deposited in her, so she becomes the axis of conviction and the hope of the hearts so that our souls may live in tranquility and pleasure, and our emotions may yearn for her, tickling our senses. Knowledge will then become useful for those familiar with it, and those who are ignorant of it will be grievously harmed by their ignorance.

The vocabulary of the unknown being personified in certain individuals, such as the prophets, the wasis and the walis, does not necessarily cause us to prefer this person over that. On the contrary; the nature of the stage or certain circumstances may be the ones that mandate such a particularity of the unknown.

As regarding making a preference, it has its own criteria. These have been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and by the Honored Prophet (A.S.)^[7]. This is not one of them. All such knowledge of the unknown relevant to al-Zahra’ (A.S.) and to others is part of this religion. It enjoys a great deal of significance in formulating one’s belief, humanity and awareness of the message due to the attributes that bring about one’s humanity, existence, uniqueness, distinction and grants him a high degree of purity and purification. It also brings about a degree of connection with the friends of Allah and His elite, making him love them more and feeling a conscious interaction with everything which they say and do.