Sayings
Sayyidah Fāṭimah (s.a.) left behind a body of speech that scholars of Arabic have long regarded as a model of eloquence. These selections are drawn chiefly from the Khutbah al-Fadakiyyah, preserved in al-Iḥtijāj of al-Ṭabarsī.
فَجَعَلَ اللهُ الْإِيمَانَ تَطْهِيرًا لَكُمْ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ، وَالصَّلَاةَ تَنْزِيهًا لَكُمْ عَنِ الْكِبْرِ
"Allah made faith a purification for you from polytheism, and prayer a protection for you from arrogance."— Khutbah al-Fadakiyyah — al-Iḥtijāj of al-Ṭabarsī; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43
وَطَاعَتَنَا نِظَامًا لِلْمِلَّةِ، وَإِمَامَتَنَا أَمَانًا مِنَ الْفُرْقَةِ
"He made obedience to us a means of order for the community, and our leadership a safeguard against division."— Khutbah al-Fadakiyyah — al-Iḥtijāj of al-Ṭabarsī; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43
وَالْعَدْلَ تَنْسِيقًا لِلْقُلُوبِ
"He made justice a means of harmonising hearts."— Khutbah al-Fadakiyyah — al-Iḥtijāj of al-Ṭabarsī; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43
الْجَارُ ثُمَّ الدَّارُ
"The neighbour first, then the home."— A maxim attributed to Sayyidah Fāṭimah (s.a.) in the Shi'a sources, describing her practice of giving to her neighbours before her own household. See Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43; Kashf al-Ghumma
يَا أَبَتَاهُ، أَجَابَ رَبًّا دَعَاهُ
"O my father — he has answered the Lord who called him."— Narrated of Sayyidah Fāṭimah (s.a.) on the passing of the Prophet (s.a.w.w.). See Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43
خَيْرٌ لِلنِّسَاءِ أَنْ لَا يَرَيْنَ الرِّجَالَ وَلَا يَرَوْهُنَّ
"It is better for women that they neither look at men nor be looked at by them."— Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43 — a saying attributed to her, emphasising modesty and dignity
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، اعْلَمُوا أَنِّي فَاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ مُحَمَّدٍ
"O people, know that I am Fāṭimah, the daughter of Muhammad..."— Khutbah al-Fadakiyyah — al-Iḥtijāj of al-Ṭabarsī; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43 — the opening of her sermon in the mosque
فَإِنَّ اللهَ يَغْضَبُ لِغَضَبِ فَاطِمَةَ
"Verily Allah is angered when Fāṭimah is angered."— Narrated in the Shi'a sources, including Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43; al-Manāqib of Ibn Shahr Āshūb
Delivered in the mosque of the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) in the presence of the leading companions, the Fadak sermon is the most substantial text we have from Sayyidah Fāṭimah (s.a.). In it she praises Allah, recites from the Qurʾān, explains the wisdom behind the divine commands, reminds the assembled of the station of the Ahl al-Bayt, and defends her right with a force of argument that silenced the room.
Read as a whole, the sermon is a document of courage: a woman, recently bereaved, standing before the most powerful men of the community and speaking the truth plainly. It is studied today not only for its content but for its literary merit — it is cited in works on Arabic rhetoric as an outstanding example of the genre.
The full text is preserved in al-Iḥtijāj of Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṭabarsī, in Biḥār al-Anwār (vol. 43), and in other Shi'a sources. It is also cited in Sunni works such as Balāghāt al-Nisāʾ of Ibn Ṭayfūr and al-Imāmah wa al-Siyāsah.
What the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) said about his daughter, as transmitted through the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) in the Shi'a sources.
