Louis
Massignon
(1938)
« Der
gnostische Kult der Fatima in shiitischen Islam » (1938); Opera Minora(Beirut: Dar
Al-Maaref Liban, 1963), I, 514-22. (Trans.) Mitra Hazini and Aaron
Cheak. (Ed.) Wahid Azal (2007).
"In
the Presence of the Lord, the meaning (al-murad) of the Sabbath is Fatima the
Resplendent (al-fâtima
al-zahra'), because She is the Day of the Book (yawm al-kitâb). Verily
the Godhead hath caused all created things (kullu-shay') to appear through
Her..."
-- Essence
of the Seven Letters, Tafsîr Sûrat’ul-Baqara (Comm. the Surah of the
Cow)
Despite the
fact that international law has accepted two or three specifically Islamic
nations as its members, it is still increasingly difficult for the modern
civilized world to accept Islam as an equal among the other major monotheistic
religions. Yet their God is the God of Abraham, just as it is for the
Christians and Jews, and contrary to the demands of the extreme Zionists, Islam
too has just as much right to exist inPalestine. This becomes even more evident
when one considers the results of the latest genealogical research, for Moslem
blood has mixed with Christian blood over the past thirteen centuries and has
penetrated into many European lands. In a manner of speaking, the Moslem
family, in which the wife is able to remain Christian or Jewish, has been
“kept open from one side.” We may also mention a frequently dangerous
inclination towards exoticism among French student circles, whereby young
Christian girls are enticed into marrying foreign Moslem students due to a
sense of sentimental compensation for the abuse of power that occurred on
Islamic soil during French colonization.
Now, it
might seem unusual for an Islamic scholar to participate in a series of
lectures dealing with religio-historical problems pertaining to the cultus of
the Holy Mother, for, in general, the position of women in Islam is
theoretically rather subordinate. Her legal testimony, for instance, is worth
only half that of a man’s. Even so, a softening of the position is also known;
although she can be divorced without her permission, and while the reciprocal
right does not apply, the last few years have actually succeeded in improving
her essential legal status. As to the Arabic literary tradition, it does not
regard a woman simply as a slave to the desires of a man; it also celebrates
women of courage, knowledge and nobility. Furthermore, it was in Islamic lands
that that high form of Minne emerged which extols a Platonic
veneration of the beloved Beatrice (Leila, Bothenia).
Finally—and
this is also the justification for my lecture—there are some Islamic sects who
raise the cultus of Fatima, the beloved daughter of the Prophet who is revered
by almost all Moslem people, to a form of divine adoration. She was first
venerated under the name al-batūl, “the virgin,” for it was as a
virgin when she married her cousin ‘Ali and bore him sons, two of whom would
become the legitimate leaders of the Shī’ites and claimants to the highest
power as ‘Ali’s successors.
To this day
one can still recognize, here and there, a distinctive feature among the
Shī’ite sects of the Isma’ilis who await the coming of the Mahdi: a virgin who
comes to be called al-rawda, “paradise,” to whom they seek to offer
the leadership of their sect because they hope she will bring the Mahdi into
the world. In the ninth century a young widow was held under supervision for
seven years because it was supposed that she might be carrying the long-awaited
Mahdi under her bosom.
Historically
we know very little about the short life of Fatima, as Lammens’ far too
cynical and disparaging study misinforms us. The Islamic traditions do not
enable the relationship between Fatima and her father to be clearly
ascertained. Besides, she had a particularly ill-disposed rival: Ayisha, her
Father’s favorite wife.
We know
that her father gave her away in marriage to her cousin ‘Ali, and that she was
the only daughter of the prophet who gave him grandsons that survived. There
is, moreover, no indication that she was denied any sign of heartfelt affection
from her father, particularly during the last year of the prophet’s life.
Indeed,
after the childhood death of Ibrahim, the son of his Coptic concubine Maria,
the prophet had no other hope for the continuation of his lineage other than
through the children ofFatima.
Now when,
during a festive celebration, the prophet was negotiating a treaty with the
Christian authorities of Najrān (from the tribe of ‘Abdel Madān)—a treaty which
represents the first “capitulation” between Christians and Moslems—a divergence
of opinion arose between the prophet and the Christian envoy, and their
negotiations ground to a dead halt on the issue of the incarnation. The prophet
wanted to have the question resolved through ordeals and referred his opponent
to the verdict of divine judgement. The Koran makes an allusion to these
ordeals or mobahala, to which the angst-ridden Christians
ultimately capitulated. According to such ritual of divine justice [or
execration], each party is supposed to summon hostages from their own ranks to
offer in pledge of their convictions. According to general Islamic tradition,
the prophet’s hostages were composed of his daughter Fatima, his son in law,
and his two grandsons, Hassan and Hossein. With the prophet himself, five
people are thusly designated by this singular investiture, which, as the Muslim
Hindus expressly emphasize, was represented through the five fingers of a
single talismanic hand—the “Hand of Fatima.” Here the explanation
familiar in North Africa, according to which the talisman is simply dismissed
as a vestige of Carthaginian magic, is invalidated.
When the
prophet died, his son-in-law ‘Ali hardly dared wrest power for himself, but he
also refused for months thereafter to pledge an oath of allegiance to Abubakr,
Ayisha’s father, whom Fatima too never recognized as caliph. This robbed her of
her paternal inheritance, and Abubakr withdrew her ownership rights over the
oasis of Fadah. He even had a house-search performed during which
she was so badly mistreated that she prematurely delivered a stillborn son,
Mohsin.
A few
months after her father’s death, Fatima also died, and ‘Ali had to
decide whether or not to pledge his oath of allegiance to Abubakr.
In all
genuine, that is to say Shī’ite, Islamic circles, Fatimastands at the
centre of a collective Islamic legitimization problem. This is due not only to
the fact that through her husband she is the mother of the ‘Alids— hence all
the descendants of the prophet who are entitled to wear the green turban, who
in Africa are called the “Shofra” (plural of Sharif)— but also
because she forms the point of contact between the two male lineages: that
of her father Mohammed and that of her husband ‘Ali.
The fact
remains—for those who believe that the divine covenant which elevates the
prophet over his own kind was not withdrawn from the community upon his death
but rather became transferred first to his son-in-law ‘Ali and then to his
descendants (according to rules which not even the Shī’ites themselves are in
complete accord regarding), a major difficulty arises: the power will be passed
on through the male lineage, and yet ‘Ali is not the son by blood, but only the
son-in-law of the prophet. Explanations have been sought to suggest that he
could have been the adoptive brother of the prophet, following the ancient
biblical precedent of Aaron, who became the successor of Moses. Some have also
claimed that ‘Ali’s father Abu Taleb was similarly elected by divine grace,
like his brother Abdallah, the father of the prophet. But all these arguments
are clearly makeshift, and Shī’ite reverence—forced to bridge the
lacuna—ultimately made a virtue out of necessity and thereby introduced the cultus of
Fatima.
And so she
becomes the binding link between the two masculine branches: that of her father
and that of her husband. Like fruit sprung from a tree in paradise, she is in
truth neither girl, woman nor mother in flesh. Rather, she is the phenomenal
form of a divine idea. Through her, the “five” of the mobahalanow
form a [syzygic] unity. In essence she is the initiation, the
“shimmering color of predestination,” not the initiatrix or the embodiment of
inspiration, as one finds in other cults (the nymph of Numa; Ennoia). In a very
remarkable manifestation that arises in the meditation of these sects, she
appears as a veiled light-form sitting with a crown on her head, wearing two
ear ornaments and holding a sword in her hand: the crown is her father, the two
earrings her sons, the sword her husband.
The
greeting by which she is addressed in prayer is peculiar enough: “Welcome art
thou, O Mother of your Father.” The Arabic form (umm abiha)
is an old tribal greeting which was used when the son bore the name of the
father of his mother. Here the use of the formula signifies that it is from her
that the second divine principle emanates, the mīm, which
manifested in her father in order to be manifest anew in her sons. In a similar
vein of thought, she appears as the “source of the sun” (the red point on the
western sky), from whence the sickle of the moon is born at the beginning of
each month, the lunar crescent which, for the Shī’ites, symbolizes the
“Imāmat.”
In a Sunni
text of ‘Abul Fadl Ahmadi († 942 of Hedjra), it is written that ‘Ali must be
regarded as the true Tuba-tree of Paradise, for he serves as the veil through which
the light ofFatima manifests itself. The proof that this Shī’ite gnosticcultus of
Fatima is not based on her human fertility but rather on her beneficent grace
is demonstrated by the secret name that she carries after the initiation:
instead of her female name,Fatima, she is known only by the name Fatir.
But Fatir is a masculine divine epithet. It already features in the Koran,
where it signifies “Creator,” or more precisely, “he who lets appear.” What she will
let appear, however, is the human form in which, at certain temporal intervals,
the Godhead manifests itself in order to test humankind, to demand from it time
andagain the highest oath of allegiance. In point of fact, history already
exists for the Shī’ites as a repeated rebellion of the misled majority in
outrage against the highest personified divinity…in the form of the ‘Alids.
What
follows is one of the essential texts. Surfacing in the fourteenth century, it
probably stems from the Shī’ite sect of Nusayris (although it originally
derives from an entire spectrum of far older compositions). Effectively, it
functions as a long litany enumerating all the symbols in the Koran that
represent Fatima.
A QASIDA OF IBRAHIM TUSI (†
c. 750/1350)
[Note: A qasida is
an Arabic or Persian elegiac poem with a tripartite verse structure—(AC)].
Seemingly a
free takhmīs based on a qasida of his master,
‘Ali-b-Mansūr Suwayri (fl. c. 714/1314):
I. How well
do you know this mysterious Fitra? And where doth her magnificent clarity come
from? Does she belong to the highest pre-eternal essence, does she manifest
the attributes of the name, or is she the phenomenal form of the veil?
II. Is she
the sacred flame of the torch? Or the glass lantern of the glowing light? Or
the revealing clarity of the radiating star whose glittering scintillas ignite
the olive tree?
III. Doth
the oil ignite itself in her splendor? Or does her splendor come from a
pre-existent fire? Yea! It was her will which rose before the well-guided (Wohlgeleiteten)
to direct them by the clarity of her Mohammedean light—those who had come to
power in her houses.
IV. Her
houses are true temples which speak of the Name which is recognized beneath the
essential veils. From her arises the confounding of the Name with the Bab, a
secret and sacred phenomena.
V. From her
arose shadows, the spiritual forms of future mankind, and the day of Mithaq where
spirits nestled together to hear the divine lector proclaim to the elect the
revelation of our luminous masters.
VI. Through
her we have experienced the phenomenon of life, through her Adam was venerated
(by the Angels): and through her there was the pact—the divine bond—along with
the sublime and magnanimous witnesses who proclaimed the uniqueness of the
Godhead when they saw him (‘Ali), those big-bellied and the bald.
VII. She is
the image before which one prostrates oneself; she is the highest proof and
touchstone for the unbeliever who revolts, who denies God by saying I (“I
am more worthy!”)— before being cast down by his cowardice into the ranks of
thedamned.
VIII. This
sublime appearance would not be recognized by the ignorant, who remain shut
off. But those who obey her shall be redeemed and honored in the paradise of
delights among the lords of all creation.
IX. She is
the strong grip, the word that cuts; from her comes the brightness which
separates light from darkness—for she has divided and split the world—here the
redeemed, there the vanquished—and never the twain shall meet.
X. She is
the tree with twelve branches whose fruits have been cultivated in secret since
the beginning of time, preserved for the elect in measured share, those leaders
of seekers and lovers.
XI. She is
the sanctuary of paradise with the Tuba tree, she is the source of Salsal,
that exquisite drink of which never satiates, which heals hearts and grants
every wish to the
learned and
the wise.
XII. She is
their residence built since eternity, their majestically towering shelter. She
is the raging sea, the light of the Name, the book which conceals within itself
all wisdom, of which the text of the Koran is but an outer cover, a distant
echo.
XIII. She
is the Aqsa Mosque of Jerusalem where the elect and the sacred have
ascended to honor the Unique and the Merciful, the situs irradiated
by the streaming clarity which pours forth from the luminous stars.
XIV. She is
the one who nurtures all creatures at her breast without ever weaning her
children or diminishing the abundance of her bosom. She bestows her gifts upon
all who seek the truth and the genuinely essential, and upon those who are
radiant masters.
XV. It was
through her that Cain abandoned the right path; she was Abel’s fire sacrifice,
a divine symbol enshrouded in flame to testify against the wicked.
XVI. She is
the rock from which the twelve springs have their source, the impeccable
pearls—Imāms of pure knowledge—preserved for those inflamed with love for her,
and who drink out of her chalice.
XVII. She
is the (reddish) cow of the white bāqir, thanks to which the
innocent were redeemed from death. Upon being reproached they said: “This is
what killed me, I recognize it.” Truth appeared to Moses, who openly proclaimed
it.
XVIII. She
is the night of power which enjoys glorious renown, her endurance is longer
than a thousand moons; here the angels and spirits climb down to earth, and,
forsooth, divide the fate of men according to their angelic directive.
XIX. Her
light darkens the sun’s gifts when her full moon comes to term, occulted by
three veils, three silent veils; and Mohammed leads them with
words and directions.
XX. She is
the substance of her name—“the holy”—the “creatrix of incarnation”—her veil
indicates divine ambiguity, and its borrowed light shines for the elect by
night.
XXI. And on
the day that the prophet vanished (i.e. as he died), he appeared afresh within
her; suffused with eloquence, she became the veil which enraptures those of
wisdom and reason, and by the source of the master of revelation (‘Ali), she
became the singular and highest ontological essence.
XXII. She
is the one whose mysteries became visible to us on the day of fadak;
castles and fortresses trembled as she opposed the wicked, and all surrendered
their heaving scourges to make peace with ‘Ali.
XXIII. But
‘Ali pacified them when he saw them tearing their souls. And he said: “Steady!
Be calm! Your fate is as near as the breaking dawn, and like the day, the judge
will appoint them to appear before him.
XXIV. And
she returned, smiling, back to her house, both Hassans following her. Her
enemies, unsuspecting, will soon be plummeting into the burning fires of hell.
[The
corresponding Koranic verses are: I = 30.29; II-III = 24.35;
V-VII = 7.10; XII =52.4-6; XIII = 17.1; XVI = 7.160; Numbers 33. 29; XVII =
2.63-69; … compare the cow of Ayisha. XVIII = 97; XIX: the three veils are
‘Ali, Hasan and Hosein.]
(XXV-CXIX
refer to the succession of the imams and the Bab.)
In
reference to this qasida, it should be noted that Fatir [creatrix],
the mysterious name of Fatima, was probably chosen because the numerical
value of the letters which form the name produce the same total as the
numerical value of the name of Mary (Maryam). For these gnostic circles there
is a form of reappearance (the reincarnation of one identical, unchanging
archetype from one cycle to the next). Thus, Fatima is simply the
reoccurrence of Maryam. The numerical value of both names is 290. From this
identification it follows that certain reciprocal reactions in Islamic
intellectual circles—in which a traditional Fatima-type is opposed to a
traditional Maria-type—should be determined with more precision. So too the
proclamation scene (which is described by Jalal-addin Rumi in his Mathnawi in
such an idiosyncratic manner) and the theories surrounding the conception and
birth of the Imāms.
The women
around Mohammed played a role in his family life as well as in his political
life. While the Shī’ites remember the Prophet’s first wife Khadija very
fondly—the “Umm Salama”—this is in no way the case with Ayisha and Hafsa,
daughters of the two initial successors of Mohammed. For Shī’ites they are the
“wicked women” of the prophet, who are, moreover, pointed out in one of the
verses of the Koran as the disobedient ones. On the other hand, there is a
special adoration towards Ayisah and Hafsa amongst Sunnis who are hostile
towards Shī’ites.
In the
north western part of Kashmir, in the area of Baltistan, where there are
mainly Isma’ilis (hence Shī’ites) living, there is an anti-Shī’ite enclave of
Kelun-shah who practice a cult devoted blatantly to Ayisha and Hafsa. As
Francke observes (Moslem World, 1929, 139), this must be a surviving
minority of the Buddhist cult of the two Taras.
Therefore,
if we want to compare the role of this female intercessory power in Islam with
that of Christianity and Judaism, we will notice that in Islam we are in no way
dealing with the personification of the Torah as in Israel (which deals with a
marriage of the community to the power of God); nor are we dealing with the
Christian Panagia to distinguish a chosen one through the
intercession of the Holy Spirit. The Shī’ite traditions are very clear on this:
Fatima, who is holding a sword in her hand and is also named El Zahrā,
“the brilliant/effulgent,” has an essential eschatological role to play—she
will restore justice through irreconcilable vengeance. She will appear at the
final judgment with flowing hair to demand justice for the murder of her
children; she will appear against those responsible for the premature delivery
of her last son, Mohsin, whose blood drenched body she carries in her arms; she
will appear against those who poisoned her eldest son Hassan and slew her
second son Hossein in Karbala. In this image, then, she is essentially the
embodiment of divine retribution, just as she was the embodiment of selectivity
at the beginning of time; for those who love her and her successors, who are
already thereby assured of paradise. She is the sād,
the letter which symbolizes the pre-eternal purity of the elect.
