Fatima: Difference between revisions

The first substantial biography of Fatima, by Henri Lammens (1912), was mainly based on historical and Sunnite sources. Lammens’ rather antipathetic portrait of her was severely criticized by Louis Massignon, <ref>1969, I, pp. 570, 585 ff.</ref> who preferred to portray her both as an incarnation of divine vengeance <ref>1969, I, pp. 514-22, a study of Fatima’s cult based on Nosayri Shiʿite texts mainly from Syria.</ref> and especially as a compassionate mother akin to the Virgin Mary. <ref>Massignon, 1969, I, pp. 550-618; for parallels among Fatima, Moses’ sister Maryam, and Jesus’ mother, Maryam, see p. 584; idem, 1963, p. 267.</ref> Henri Corbin took up Massignon’s study of Fatima, but with particular stress on redemption; unlike Massignon’s “transhistorical” approach, his method was rooted in gnostic theosophy. While accepting the main parallels between Fatima and Mary, he focused on her role as eternal feminine archetype, Fatima as Sophia, a manifestation of God and the feminine element of the Prophet and the Imams, whose own theophanic and initiatory functions depended on their degree of fatemiya. <ref>1960, p. 113 ff.; 1971-72, index.</ref> Massignon’s original exposition of similarities between devotion to Mary and to Fatima, sometimes called Maryam Kobra, has been criticized, however; <ref>McAuliffe, 1981, pp. 27-28.</ref> the similarities remain partly conjectural, especially those involving the Marian cult at Fatima, Portugal. <ref>Massignon, I, pp. 615 ff.; Eilers, p. 98.</ref>

==Fatima in Popular Culture==

Esoteric or popular beliefs about Fatima, often connected with episodes in her hagiography, constitute the basis of several feasts and pilgrimages ([[ziara]]). The most important of the former are commemorations of the ordeal ([[mubahala]]) witnessed by the ahl al-ʿabaʾ, who are thus recognized as legitimate leaders of the community, celebrated on 21 Dhu’l-hejja; <ref>Schmucker; Massignon, 1969, I, pp. 550-91.</ref> of Fatima’s birth (mawludiya) on 21 Ramadan, with a secondary celebration on 15 Shaʿban (which also commemorates the birth of the Mahdi Fatemi; the laylat al-baraʿa; the death of Salman); of her death on 3 Jomada II, with a secondary celebration on 2 Ramadan; of her figure as al-Masjed al-Aqsa, on 27 Rajab, commemorating Muhammad’s meʿraj. <ref>Massignon, 1969, I, pp. 576-77.</ref> Specific ziarat are made for Fatima at Medina. <ref>Massignon, 1969, III, pp. 295 ff.</ref> In private [[rawza-khani]] (recitation of the [[martyrdom]] of Hussain) assemblies held by Persian women at any time of year, the most popular story is of Fatima’s invitation to a wedding, where she converts those present. <ref>ʿarusi-e Qoraysh; Massignon, 1969, I, p. 580.</ref> Special offerings are dedicated to Fatima: small pots (digcha-ye hazrat-e Zahra) on the last Wednesday of Safar and samanu, a kind of pudding reputed to have been her favorite dish. <ref>Shakurzada, pp. 26-27, 46 ff., 83; Massé, Croyances et coutumes, p. 47 n. 2.</ref> On the last Wednesday of the solar year [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/caharsanba-suri chaharshanba suri] some families used to break and replace their earthenware pots in her honor. <ref>Massé, Croyances et coutumes, p. 146 n. 2.</ref> Offerings and thanks are dedicated to Fatima as an intercessor on various occasions and in various sanctuaries throughout the Islamic world. She is especially invoked by Shiʿite women during childbirth. <ref>Massignon, 1969, III, p. 296.</ref>