Her total life was of eighteen years only. For ordinary people, a person of this age is considered a child only. But this was not the case with her.
As Allah chose her life to be an example for women of Islam of all ages and all times, it becomes necessary for us to look closely at every stage of her life so that women in their early as well as late life could benefit from her perfect life.
She was born at a time when her parents were going through bad times. The Quraish of (except for a few Hashimites) Mecca were all enemies of her father for preaching Islam You will remember that the women of Quraish had refused to come to help her mother to deliver her.
As a child she was made sad to see her father being troubled by the Quraish of Mecca It must have been very-hard for her as a child of two years to spend her days in the estate of Abu Talib where there wasn’t even enough food to eat.
This went on for three years.
Then her mother died when she was not even nine, The death of her mother came as a great shock to her. She stopped crying for her only when Allah sent His Salaams to her informing her through Angle Gibrael that her mother, Khadija, was given a very high position in Paradise.
Although the boycott ended after three years, the cruelty of the Quraish did not. In fact it increased on the death of Hazrat Abu Talib. The enemies of Islam were throwing dirt on her father and even hurting him. She would remove the dirt and bandage his wounds. She would weep seeing how trouble her father was.
But he would calm her saying, “Don’t cry my little daughter. Allah will certainly protect your father and give him victory over the enemies of Islam.”
As a child, she learned to be patient and courageous. She helped her father when there was no one to do so. Abdulla Ibne Masood says that once when the Prophet (S.A.W.W) was in prostration (“Sajda”) somebody from Quraish threw dirt of sheep on his back.
He stayed in that position till when Hazrat Fatima (A.S) had removed the dirt from his back.
Though she was not even nine years yet, she served her father so well that he gave her the title of “Umm Abiha” (The Mother of Her Father).
Source:
A Brief Biography of Hazrat Fatima (A.S.), [P.13-14].
By: M.M. Dungersi Ph.D.
