Sermon of Fatima al-Sughra in Kufa

Sermon of Fatima al-Sughra in Kufa is a sermon delivered by Fatima, the daughter of Imam Hussain, after the caravan of captives reached Kufa. This sermon was narrated for the first time by al-Tabrisi in al-Ihtijaj .

The Sermon

"All Praise is due to Allah, as much as the number of the sands and of the stones, as much as the Arsh weighs up to the ground. I praise Him, believe in Him and rely upon Him. And I testify that there is no Allah other than Allah, the One and Only Allah, there is no partner with Him, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, and that his offspring have been slaughtered by the Euphrates river neither on account of blood revenge nor out of dispute over inheritance. Lord!

I seek refuge with You against telling a lie about You and against saying anything contrary to what You have revealed of taking many a covenant regarding the vicegerency of Ali ibn Abu Talib, the man whose right is confiscated, who was killed without having committed a sin, just as his son was only yesterday killed, at one of the houses of Allah, the most Exalted One, at the hand of those who give Islam nothing but lip service.

Destruction may afflict their heads that did not ward off from him any injustice as long as he lived nor at his death, till Allah Almighty took his soul to Him while his essence was praised, his dealing with others was commendable, his merits were well known, and his beliefs well admitted by everyone. Never did he ever accept anyone’s blame nor the criticism of any critic in doing what is right. Lord!

You guided him to Islam even when he was a child and praised his virtues when he grew up. Never did he ever cease enjoining others to follow Your Path and that of Your Messenge. He always paid no heed to the riches of this world. He always desired the hereafter, a man who carried out jihad for Your Cause. With him were You pleased, so You chose him and guided him to a Straight Path.

O people of Kufa! O people of treachery, of betrayal and conceit! We are members of a Household tried on your account by Allah, afflicted by you. He made our dealing with you good, and He entrusted His knowledge to us, and He bestowed upon us its comprehension; so, we are the bastian of His knowledge, understanding and wisdom, and His Arguments on the earth which He created for the good of His servants! Allah bestowed upon us His blessings and greatly honoured us with His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his Progeny, favouring us over many of those whom He created. Yet you called us liars and apostates, and in your eyes you deemed killing us as lawful, and so is looting our possessions, as if we were the offspring of the Turks or of Kabul, just as you killed our grandfather in the past. Your swords drip with our blood, the blood of Ahl al-Bayt, out of past animosity.

Thus have your eyes been cooled, and thus have your hearts been elated, telling lies about Allah and out of evil plans which you hatched, while Allah is the very best of planners. So do not be carried away with your excitement because of our blood which you have spilled or our wealth which you have snatched, for what has befallen us is truly a great tragedy and a momentous calamity.

"In a Book even before We created them; surely this is easy for Allah, so that you may not be grieved because of what you missed nor feel happy because of what you acquired, and Allah does not love anyone who is coceited, braggard" (57:23).

May you be ruined! Expect to be cursed and to be tormented, for it seems as though it has already befallen you, and more and more signs of Wrath are on their way to you from the heavens till He makes you taste of the chastisement and make some of you taste of the might of others, then on the Day of Judgment shall you all remain for eternity in the painful torment on account of the injustice with which you have treated us; the curse of Allah be upon the oppressors. Woe unto you! Do you know what hand you have stabbed, what soul found fighting us agreeable? Rather, by what feet did you walk towards us with the intention to fight us?

Your hearts became hardened, and Allah sealed your hearts, your hearing, and your vision, and Satan inspired to you and dictated, placing a veil over your eyes, so you can never be guided. Destruction is your lot, O people of Kufa! What a legacy of the Prophet is standing before you, and what blood revenge will he seek from you on account of your enmity towards his brother Ali ibn Abu Talib, my grandfather, and towards his good and righteous offspring, yet you even brag about it saying, We killed Ali and Ali’s sons,

With Indian swords and spears

And we placed their women in captivity

Like the Turks! We crushed them with severity.

May stones and pebbles fill your mouths! You brag about killing people whom Allah chose and whom He purified with a perfect purification and from whom He kept away all abomination. Suppress it, then, and squat just as your fathers did, for each will get the rewards of what he earns and will be punished for what he committed. You envied us, woe unto you, for what Allah, the most Exalted One, favoured and preferred us. Such is Allah’s favour: He bestows His favours upon whomsoever He pleases, and surely with Allah are great favours. For whoever Allah does not make a noor, he shall have no light at all.

" Voices were raised with weeping and wailing, and they said to her, "Enough, enough, O daughter of the pure ones, for you have burnt our hearts and necks," so she took to silence.

Source

• Yasin T. Al-Jibouri, Karbala and Beyond