In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful Salam Alikum Dear Believers, The Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya would like to congratulate you on the birthday of Imam al-Mahdi (atfs). The promised Mandi, who is usually mentioned by his title of Imam al--'Asr (the Imam of the "Period") and Sahib al-Zaman (the Lord of the Age), is the son of the eleventh Imam. His name is the same as that of the Holy Prophet. He was born in Samarra' in 256/868 and until 260/872 when his father was martyred, lived under his father's care and tutelage. He was hidden from public view and only a few of the elite among the Shi'ah were able to meet him. After the martyrdom of his father, he became Imam and by Divine Command went into occultation (ghaybah). Thereafter, he appeared only to his deputies (na'ib) and even then only in exceptional circumstances. The Imam chose as a special deputy for a time 'Uthmán ibn Sa'id 'Umari one of the companions of his father and grandfather who was his confidant and trusted friend. Through his deputy, the Imam would answer the demands and questions of the Shi'ah. After 'Uthman ibn Said, his son Muhammad ibn 'Uthman 'Umari was appointed the deputy of the Imam. After the death of Muhammad ibn 'Uthman, Qasim Husayn ibn Ruh Nawbakhti was the special deputy, and after his death, 'Ali ibn Muhammad Simari was chosen for this task. A few days before the death of 'All ibn Muhammad Simari in 329/939, an order was issued by the Imam stating that in six days, 'Ali ibn Muhammad Simari would die. Henceforth, the special deputation of the Imam would come to an end and the major occultation (ghaybah kubrã) would begin and would continue until the day God grants permission to the Imam to manifest himself. The occultation of the twelfth Imam is, therefore, divided into two parts: the first, the minor occultation (ghaybah sughra) which began in 260/872 and ended in 329/939, lasting about seventy years; the second, the major occultation which commenced in 329/939 and will continue as long as God wills it. In a hadith upon whose authenticity everyone agrees, the Holy Prophet has said, "If there were to remain in the life of the world but one day, God would prolong that day until He sends in it a man from my community and my household. His name will be the same as my name. He will fill the earth with equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny. Source: Shi'ah by Allamah Tabatabai

      The Message to the Muslim Ummah from
Ayatullah Al-Uzma Sheikh Basheer Hussain Al-Najafi
(may Allah (swt) prolong his life)
on the Occasion of the Martyrdom of Sayyidah Fatimah Zahra (sa) (1431/2010)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على أشرف بريته المبعوث رحمة للعالمين وعلى آله الغر الميامين
 واللعنة الله على أعدائهم اجمعين الى يوم الدين

قال الله سبحانه : انما يريد الله ليذهب عنكم الرجس أهل البيت ويطهركم تطهيرا .
صدق الله العلي العظيم وصدق وبلغ نبيه الرسول الكريم ونحن على ذلك من الشاهدين والشاكرين والحمد لله رب العالمين

In the above-mentioned verse, God Almighty has desired us to be enlightened with the greatness of the Ahlul-Bait in such a way that maybe such a manner and meaning is not found in any other verse, i.e. its placement within and amongst the verses which are directly addressing the wives of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w). Maybe God Almighty wishes to distinguish and describe the different members of his household. Amongst them are his wives who haven’t been labelled as his Ahlul-Bait, regarding whom there have been particular laws and instructions revealed, and considering their circumstances and situations, such specific guidance was required for them. And this particular verse in question introduces us to those great personalities who Allah Almighty has bestowed infallibility and purity, and has made them as the ultimate role models for our guidance. This verse with the Tradition of the Cloak (Hadeeth-e-Kisa) further clarifies the greatness of Lady Fatimah Zahra (s.a), in that those magnificent personalities who are the subject of this verse, their central point and axis is Lady Fatimah (s.a). In other words, she is the centre and the core of infallibility and purity.

It was obvious from her very birth that she possessed all those qualities which enabled her to rise quickly through all the levels of greatness. She was the companion of her mother Sayyidah Khadijah (s.a) when she was in her womb. She was the daughter of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w), who gave him what he missed from his mother since her early death in his childhood, and her compassion, affection and kindness. By being his daughter she was also possessed all those deep and lofty virtues, that a dear beloved daughter should have, while also supporting him by being the mother figure. As such, it was narrated that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) said about her: “Fatimah is the mother of her father”. In such a manner, Lady Fatimah (s.a) is the ultimate role model of all daughters in the school of life.

And when she arrived at the house of Ameer-ul-Momineen Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s) as his wife, she held all those virtues and qualities which a loyal and sincere wife ought to have, by which she becomes the source of tranquillity and trust and peace of mind for her husband, and she bestowed this upon her husband Ameer-ul-Momineen (a.s) with flawlessness and perfection. The result of this was that Allah Almighty made it forbidden upon Ameer-ul-Momineen (a.s) to take another wife apart from Sayyidah Zahra (s.a) during her lifetime.

As a mother, she fulfilled all her responsibilities of motherhood and raising her children, and the outcome of such dedication was not just Imam Hassan (a.s) and Imam Hussain (a.s) – they were divinely appointed Imams – one need only look at her daughter Sayyidah Zainab (s.a). An examination of every moment of her life would lead us to the conclusion that her title as “Thani-e-Zahra” (the second Fatimah Zahra) is no exaggeration.

Sayyidah Zahra (s.a) had provided in her very brief lifetime in this world such a lesson to all the women of the world, which probably no other educated, intellectual, scholarly (in religion and secular affairs) woman of a long life can be presented to even come close to her, and nor can any other woman be presented to become the paradigm of womanhood as she was.

It is the duty of my Muslim and Momin daughters to take the life of Sayyidah Fatimah (s.a) as their guiding light, and to learn from her the way to encounter the many stages and obstacles of life. Today, many dirty attempts are being made to keep the women away from her truth. By using the fancy slogans of freedom, liberty, education, upbringing, advancement, urbanism, culture, they are deceiving the women and diverting them from the right path, which only results in the destruction of women, and deprivation from the understanding of her reality. In the name of freedom, they are conspiring to make women the provision of the evil eyes of irreligious and sinful men. With the excuse of education, women are made to mix and mingle with Non-Mahram men. And in the name of urbanism and civility, women are made to take on such a way of life and personality that will destroy her life forever.

To find such demoralizing customs and cultures in the world, The God-fearing nations, are against the very founding and objectives of the creation of the world. Advancement of humanity will not be found in the distancing of religion. Humanities advancement, superiority in knowledge and technology, is hidden in sincerity with love of ones native country and noble objective. It is the responsibility and duty of the intellectuals and scholars to correct the generations to come and to stop them from moving off the right path, by taking all possible positive steps.

I pray that Allah Almighty grant my daughters the opportunity and success in following the footsteps of Sayyidah Zahra (s.a). (Ameen)

Wassalam Alaikum

Basheer Hussain Najafi

Najaf Ashraf, Iraq

13 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1431