Now in Medina, history shows us three important centers of great patience: the mosque, the home of Fa¬tima, and next to it, the Prophet"s home, which has now been silenced. It is strange that these three are all located in one place, wall to wall. Yes. Only the distance of a wall separates them.
Omar is very angry about this single point of strength in opposition to the new leaders. He who has struggled a great deal to establish Abu Bakr"s leadership and who has removed hundreds of obstacles, cannot now bear the fact that there is a group in this house which has been establish¬ed to resist, who gather together to put aside that allegi¬ance. And still more important is the fact that this house is next to the mosque.
The mosque is the Parliament of the Caliphate, the house of government. Fatima"s house is in the corner and the faces of those who were until yesterday the dearest and most beloved of the Prophet can be seen there.
Fatima, like a wounded bird, is pressed between two heavy tragedies: the death of the Prophet and the defeat of Ali. Her head is .bowed with the weight of the black sor¬row. She thinks about the past. She thinks of her father who had always been so worried about the future as to what would the fate be of the religion of justice and its leadership. Bitter sweet memories fill her mind and her spirit. Like a bird who flaps its wings within its cage, wing to wing of her father, flying through the past horizons, she is able to find peace for a few moments from the anger of the tragedy which has most recently fallen upon her and destroyed her home. Suddenly, a loud uproar comes from the mosque. Fatima, in the midst of the uproar, cries and confusion, hears the voice of Omar ibn Khatab saying, "I will burn this house to the ground with all its inhabitants."
She hears these words of attack loud and clear. They have come closer now. The door of Fatima"s house opens to the mosque. She hears the words of someone in amaze¬ment, asking, `Even if Fatima is in there?"
And Omar answers, "Even if she is in there."
It is true that Omar"s servant brought fire to the mos¬que. The fire is now at her door. In the midst of the confu¬sion, Omar shouts out, "Ali come out!"
Inside the house there is great commotion. The fla¬mes of fire are close. They are visible from between the cracks in the door. The cries of Omar grow louder and more violent by the moment. Suddenly the cry of Fatima is heard. She is standing behind the door. Her cry holds within it all of the sorrow of the world.
"Father, Prophet of God! After you; what have I not seen from Omar and Abu Bakr!."
The followers of Omar take several steps backwards. These are the cries and anger of the beloved daughter of the Prophet! A group can not contain themselves. They begin to cry and wail out loud. Another group remains looking fixedly upon the home of Fatima and the Pro¬phet.
They say they were all fixed with shame. Omar, who had remained alone, stands confused for a moment. He does not know what to do. Then he returns to Abu Bakr. Everyone gathers around Abu Bakr. They relate the story of Fatima to him. Some of them tell it as if they are speak¬ing of a tragedy.
Abu Bakr returns to Fatima"s house followed by Omar and others, but this time they go softly and quietly. One says, "Abu Bakr cuts with cotton [i.e. his policy is softness] whereas Omar cuts with the sword [his policy is rough]."
Fatima is used to difficulties. She has grown up in the cradle of resistance and struggle. She now finds herself fac¬ing the most difficult of her tragedies when she senses her¬self to have the least strength. She stands alone behind the door bf this home like its guard, gathering together all of her strength before she falls to her knees under the pres¬sure and weight weighing down upon her. She is trying to protect Ali who is now all alone.
They ask permission to enter. She does not giver per¬mission. Ali, whose patience is hard to conceive of, comes out. He asks Fatima to give them permission. to enter. She does not resist Ali. But she remains silent, a silence which is overflowing with anger. Ali asks them to enter. They do so. They greet Fatima. Fatima, in anger, turns away from them and does not answer. She creates a distance between herself and them. Because of her anger, she places herself beyond a wall. Abu Bakr sense that Fatima"s anger and dis¬gust is beyond limit. He does not know what to say or how to begin.
Shame and silence create a shadow upon the heads of the two leaders. It is difficult for them at this moment to be present between Fatima and Ali. Ali is sitting beside them. They say there is only one host, silence. And Fati¬ma, next to the wall, is pouting, full of anger. She has hid¬den herself from them so she will not see them. It is a wall, the distance between which is never removed from that time forward.
Abu Bakr tries to have a positive encounter. He tries to find the strength so .that he can speak at this difficult moment. Moments pass and the silence which is full of words remains fixed in this house. Abu Bakr, with a face full of deep and apparent sorrow and in a tone trembling with sympathy, begins in a friendly voice.
"Beloved daughter of the Prophet, I swear that the family of the Prophet is dearer to me than my own fam¬ily. You are dearer to me than my own daughter, Aiesha. The day your father died, I had wished that I had died so that I would not remain after him. You see that I know you and I admit your virtue and nobility and if I were to take the rights and heritage of the Prophet of God from you, it is only because I had heard him, peace be upon him, say, "We Prophets do not leave a legacy. That which remains from us is charity."
Abu Bakr grows quiet. Omar is also silent. They wait to see the effects of these soft and praiseworthy words upon Fatima"s spirit. Fatima, without hesitating for a mo¬ment, in answer, begins with a quiet introduction full of reason, without any anger or cries. "If I were to quote the words of the Prophet of God to both of you, would you admit them to be his word and follow them?"
They both answer in one voice..."Yes..."
She says, "I hold you both to your oath to God. Did either of you not hear the Prophet say, "Fatima"s content¬ment is my contentment and Fatima"s anger is my anger. That which my daughter, Fatima, likes, I like. That which contents Fatima contents me. That which brings about Fatima"s anger brings about my anger."
They both answer, "Yes. We heard these words from the Prophet of God."
She immediately continues, "Then I have authority from God and the angels to tell you that you both brought me to anger and you have not given me contentment. When 1 see the Prophet of God, 1 will tell him about you. I will complain to him about you."
Abu Bakr begins to cry. He senses that neither does he have the strength to speak nor does Fatima have the strength to listen. He arises and Omar behind him. He enters the mosque. Full of confusion and tears, he cries out with anger and pain to those gathered there that ....
But the power structure and the policy making agents convince Abu Bakr that it is in in the best interests of the community for him to move aside. With deep sor¬row and after much disagreement, he is convinced. He accepts their advice and is tamed. He imagines that by accepting the Caliphate, he will be able to continue the victory of Islam and implement the Traditions of the Pro¬phet. The first decision he makes is to confiscate Fadak, the grazing area which belonged to Fatima.
Ali is personally and economically paralyzed by this act. His income now depends completely upon what he received from the public purse. They leave Ali alone. Those who had gathered around him are dispersed either through force or by their own decision. In this way, there is no danger of revolt from his non allegiance and disobe¬dience. They know that as long as Fatima is alive, they can not get Ali"s allegiance. Ali cannot give his allegiance be¬cause Fatima opposes a power or force which does not know the meaning of right. She has not the least bit of softness for them. She holds her strict position until her death. The feeling of anger does not leave her. She attacks what she has in relation to them. She does not let go for a moment.
The Prophet dies. Ali remains at home. Fatima"s le¬gacy, which is the only means of income for herself, her husband and her children, is confiscated. Power falls into the hands of Abu Bakr and Omar. The fate and future of Islam is given into the political hands of men such as Ab¬dul Rahman ibn Ouf, a worshipper of money, the aristo¬crat, Othman, the careless, Khalid ibn Valid and Saied ibn Vaqas, a man without piety. They become the principal agents of the Caliphate of the Prophet.
Ali remains at home. He spends his time gathering together the Qoran because he fears for the future. Balal has to leave Medina. He goes to Damascus and remains silent forever. Salman retreats to a corner. He tells those who are hurriedly and victoriously returning from Saqifeh, "You did what you shouldn"t have done and you didn"t do what you should have done." Then, full of sorrow, having lost hope, he returns to Iran. He dies at Madayen. Abuzar, the close Companion of the Prophet and Ammar remain idle.
But Fatima does not sit down. Under a mountain, full of sorrow, bearing her bereaving spirit, she continues her resistance and her struggle against the oppressive Caliphate. She believes the Caliphate to be unworthy. In order to get back Fadak, she does not stand still. Her efforts are always to attack and criticize. She tries to prove to everyone that the Caliph was taking out political revenge upon her and striking an economic blow to Ali with this act of taking Fadak. Fadak is a small grazing area and even if it had been larger, it would have still been too small for Fatima to get involved with. But Fadak has taken on the importance of showing the usurpation and force of the new regime. By keeping the problem of Fadak alive, she tries to condemn the regime. She proves what rights they deny in order to serve their own purposes. They do not refrain from devia¬ting from a saying of the Prophet or its meaning. She wants the thoughts of people to know to what extent these people who call themselves `followers of the custom of the Prophet" and who actually establish their own Ca¬liphate on this basis, oppress the family of the Prophet. They cut off the right which each and every Moslem child has to receive and every father has the right to give.
They say the Prophet has children, but leaves no legacy. Fadak becomes a political issue for Fatima and a means of rebellion. Fatima"s insistence is because of this, not because of its economic value as her conscious enemies and unconscious friends announce.
Fatima does not give up. Even though the death of the Prophet has burned her spirit and strongly hurt her. Each blow follows upon the other. The. majority of the great Companions and Emigrants of the Prophet who have reached a number which can be counted on one hand, all have given their vote to the Caliph or they have accepted the election and coup d"etat of Saqifeh.
Fatima has no real hope to be able to get back any power. She knows that Ali has lost his rights. The chosen power, who have pre-designed and pre-planned the whole thing, have become fixed. She must fight and struggle with the little hope that she has. She must rebel against the ruler. Even if she cannot defeat him, she will at least have condemned him. If it does not fall, it can, at least, be dis¬graced. If the truth cannot be implemented, it can be proven and designed so that time will come to know it. It can be kept alive, so that people come to know that the ruling forces do not represent the truth. They are op¬pressive. It is truth, justice and freedom which have been defeated and imprisoned.
This is why Medina now witnesses one of the most wonderful views of history. Next to the mosque of the Prophet, in the heart of the dark night, a woman in mour¬ning, sitting upon a horse, being led by a man, passes thro¬ugh the dark empty streets of the town.
Ali walks. Fatima, the beloved and rebellious daug¬ter of the Prophet rides. Every night they leave their home with the same purpose. Ali goes with her to seek out the Helpers. They are more sincere and impartial than the Emi¬grants who are mainly from the Qoraish tribe. They sup¬port each other. An aged political structure brings them to¬gether., Now the Caliph, from among them, is their influen¬tial master. All of them share in his leadership. But the Helpers play no role in the present leadership. Their candi¬date has been Saied ibn Obadeh who left Medina and was assassinated on his way to Damascus.
They give in although they disagree with Abu Bakr"s reasoning. Abu Bakr had been an emigrant, a relative of God"s Prophet and the elder of the Qoraish. They surrendered when he said that the Prophet wished for the Caliph to be from his Qoraish family, from among the re¬latives and family of the Prophet. Out of respect for the saying of the Prophet and his family, they submitted and overlooked their differences. They gave leadership to Abu Bakr who was from the Prophet"s tribe and the father in¬ law of the Prophet. He had shown himself to be among the loyal followers and family of the Prophet. He received the majority vote. These are the present people of Medina.
Now Fatima goes to them personally. Every night she accompanies Ali to their sessions. She speaks with them. She speaks of each and every one of the desires of the Prophet. She accounts one by one for Ali"s worthiness, virtues and superiorities. Through her influential spirit, with her great human personality, her political awareness, with the 4ccurate knowledge she had of Islam, its spirit and goals and finally with the power of logic and reasoning, she proves the rightfulness of Ali and the wrongfulness of the election. She shows the deception. She counts the results and makes them apparent. She shows how they will suffer from this superficial and hurriedly determined decision of political negligence. She frightens them with the dark and unstable future which awaits Islam with their leadership of the community.
Not even one historian has mentioned this story. No one has retold the fact that no one opposes the logic of Fatima to argue with her interpretation and reception of the event. They stand by her. All give her the right. All admit their great error. All accept the virtues of Ali and the superiority of his leadership. Fatima is asking them to support Ali and help him get his rights.
But their answers? "You should see the Prophet"s dau¬ghter now that we have given our allegiance to Abu Bakr." "The affair is finished. If your husband, your cousin, Ali, had taken the lead and mentioned all of this sooner, we would certainly have elected him. We prefer him to any¬one else."
Ali, surprised and in a tone of protest, asks them, "Do you really believe that I should have left the dead body of the Prophet in his home, neglected his funeral ceremonies, come out of the house, and fought for a legacy?"
Fatima, seeing that once again Ali is sacrificed because of his loyalty to the Prophet, says, "Ali has done nothing other than what he should have done. He did the noble thing, but what did they do? God will punish them and will take care of them."
Now everything has ended. Fatima is content to await death. She feels more alone than she ever thought she could. She sees all the familiar faces who for so many years surrounded her father, who went everywhere with him and who have now turned into strangers.
The Companions are now breathing another air. Me¬dina is no longer the city of the Prophet. Policy and sover¬reignity are now governing the "City of Faith". The great and powerful spirit which had spirited the bedouins, that is , feelings, generosity, worship of the truth, standing for the truth, sensitivity towards human values and the beau¬ties of a life of spiritual struggle, faith and piety are gone.
Instead there is a burning and destroying of and a rebuilding based upon ancient customs, tribal traditions, blood relationships, selfishness, pride, self worship, tribal killing, inferior political games and conservatism. All of this opposes the lashes of his words which are lashes of certainty containing the fire of the revolution, committ¬ment and engagement in social action, responsibility, pro¬gress, manifestations of the spirit, meaning and the con¬stant chance of life and resistance to oppression.
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