Lady Fatima Zahra (A.S.) was born to Lady Khadija (A) and the Prophet (S). Before her birth, the Prophet (S) had had two sons, Qasim and Tahir, but both boys had died when they were very young. The Prophet (S) had started teaching the message of Islam and had made many enemies. As a result, some of the unbelievers began to mock him at the death of his sons, calling him "Abtar", The word Abtar means an animal who has no tail - what the cruel people meant to say was that the Prophet (S) was "Abtar" because he had no children to carry on his family. Thus, when Lady Fatima (A) was born, the following Sura of the Holy Qur'an was revealed:
Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], al-Kawthar.
So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone].
Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.
When the Prophet (S) was asked what Kauthar meant, he replied that it was a stream in heaven and the man who would give water from that stream to the believers was Imam Ali (A). He then said that Kauthar also meant abundance, and the birth of Lady Fatima (A) signified that, through her, his descendants would be in abundance. The promise of Allah livas certainly true because today, there are countless descendants of the Prophet (S), (Sayyids) while there is nobody who claims to be a descendant of the unbelievers of Quraish. Thus the enemies of the Prophet (S) were those who became truly "Abtar". 1
When the Prophet (S) was asked what Kauthar meant, he replied that it was a stream in heaven and the man who would give water from that stream to the believers was Imam Ali (A). He then said that Kauthar also meant abundance, and the birth of Lady Fatima (A) signified that, through her, his descendants would be in abundance. The promise of Allah livas certainly true because today, there are countless descendants of the Prophet (S), (Sayyids) while there is nobody who claims to be a descendant of the unbelievers of Quraish. Thus the enemies of the Prophet (S) were those who became truly "Abtar".
We learn from this story that:
The descendants of the Prophet (S) have all come through Lady Fatima (A). when we see such a person, who usually wears a black turban, we must always respect him because of his relationship to our Prophet (S)
Ahadith from Lady Fatima
Allah has made the obedience of us, the Ahlulbayt compulsory for the security of the Muslims and as a means of avoiding disunity.2
1. Fakhraddin Razi, Tafsir Kabir, Tafsir Suratu Kauthar
2. A'yaan al-Shi'a, v.1, p.316
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