sayyida nafisa

Compiled by: Sayyid Nasir Shah Khatam Sharif Date: 16th February 2012 Page: 1 of 9

بسم اللّہ الرمحن الّرحیم

Khatam Sharif

In honour of the venerable

Sayyida Nafisa At-Tahira

السیدہ النفیسہ الطاہرہ

Introduction

Allah has created the malaikah (angels) to constantly worship, praise and glorify Him. They

are the purest of his creation, sinless and made of Nur. There are some that are always

standing, some always in ruku, and some in sajud, some making tawaaf of the bait ul

ma’moor and in this way each one is always engaged in a form of ibadat. One of the

greatest ibadats loved by Allah Almighty is reciting his kalam, the Holy Qur’an, yet the angels

have been denied the opportunity to participate in this blessed ibadat.

Allah has not permitted them, with the exception of Jibra’il , to recite the Holy Qur’an

because He has reserved this honour exclusively for mankind and Jinn. This is why when

the malaikah, hear the Holy Qur’an being recited, they come and gather around the person

who is reciting it and love to listen attentively, as if in a trance.

Rasulullah said, “When the malaikah in heaven look upon the earth, they see that it is all

dark, except for those places and those houses from which the Holy Qur’an is recited.”

The angels see a special light, Nur emanating from these places, shining like a diamond or a

star and they descend from the heavens to gather and encircle these places, covering them

with their wings.

As the Nur of the Holy Qur’an is very distinct, the Awliya and malaikah can tell it apart from

all other Nurs and can see it clearly when the words are recited by someone. If the letters

and words from the Holy Qur’an produce this Nur, then what can be said about those who

not only recite the Holy Qur’an, but adopt it in their lives? Their whole being becomes Nur

and this becomes distinct, shining throughout the ages.

When the Tabi’in asked Umm al Mu'minin, Sayyida Aisha about the akhlaq, manners and

characteristics, of Rasulullah she replied, “Rasulullah ‟s manners were the Holy

Qur’an.”

This implies that as we have one written form of the Holy Qur’an, we also have another living

example, the embodiment of the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. Indeed Rasulullah was

both; he taught people the Holy Qur’an, as in sabaq and the surahs, and he also lived the


example of the Holy Qur’an through his manners, behaviour, dealings, and characteristics. In

regards to Rasulullah Allah Almighty even declares in the Holy Qur’an, ’Indeed, you have

the best of manners.‟

In this way all those that follow Rasulullah and live their lives instilling these traits, their

akhlaq, mannerisms exemplify the Holy Qur’an. Thus, they form a special bond with the Holy

Qur’an and become inseparable from it.

From the family of Rasulullah , one such person who was so attached to the Holy Qur’an

throughout her life was Sayyida Nafisa . Her manners and conduct were so perfect, that

whoever had the good fortune of being in her presence felt that they were in the presence of

Rasulullah .

The Ahl- e Bayt

Sayyida Aisha narrates, that “Rasulullah , went out one morning wearing a striped

cloak made from black camel's hair. He went to the house of Hadrat Ali and wrapped him

, Sayyida Fatimah , Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn under the cloak and then

said:

“Allah only desires to take away any un-cleanliness from you, O people of the household,

and purify you (thorough purifying).”

Apart from the Ahl-e Bayt mentioned in the above Hadith, various scholars and Awliya have

given their opinions as to which people are also included in the Ahl-e Bayt. They are the

wives of Rasulullah , Ahl-e Abbas the children of Hadrat Abbas (Rasulullah’s

uncle), Ahl-e Aqil, Ahl-e Jafar, these are the families of both of Hadrat Ali‟s brothers.

Imam Malik and Imam Abu Hanifa , sate it extends to all of Bani Hashim. Imam

Shafi‟i states it applies to all of Bani Muttalib.

Rasulullah once mentioned that; “There are two things, if you keep hold of them firmly,

you will not go astray, one of them is the Book of Allah and the other is my itrat, my

descendants, my offspring, The Ahl-e Bayt. They will not separate until they meet me on the

Hawd e Kawthar, on the Day of Judgment.‟

Sayyida Nafisa beautifully exemplifies this hadith because not only was she a direct

descendant of Imam Hasan , but also a perfect example of someone who had a great

connection with the Holy Qur’an throughout her life.

Birth and Childhood

Sayyida Nafisa was born in Makkah on the 11th of Rabi` al-Awwal, the same night that

Rasulullah was born, in the year 145 H. She was the daughter of Sayyid Hasan al-Anwar


, the son of Sayyid Zaid al-Ablaj , the son of Imam Hasan , grandson of Rasulullah

.

Her father had been appointed governor of Madina al-Munawwara in the year 150 A.H. She

accompanied her father to Madinah at the tender age of five. There she memorized the

entire Holy Qur’an and studied Islamic jurisprudence in depth. Being extremely intelligent

she also became adept in explaining the Holy Qur’an, despite her young age.

Sayyida Nafisa frequented the grave of her grandfather Rasulullah . She used to pray

the five prayers regularly behind her father in Masjid an-Nabawi from the age of six. Her

father used to take her by the hand and enter inside the room of the grave of Rasulullah .

He would address him directly saying: "Ya Rasulullah , O Beloved Prophet of Allah! I am

pleased with my daughter Nafisa!"

He continued these visits repeatedly until one day, Rasulullah appeared to him in a

dream, saying to him, “Ya Hasan, I am pleased with your daughter Nafisa, because you are

pleased with her, and Allah is pleased with her because I am pleased with her.”

At the age of sixteen years, Sayyida Nafisa was married to her cousin Sayyid Ishaq al-

Mu‟taman , son of Imam Jafar Sadiq , a direct descendant of Imam Husayn . She

bore from him a son named Sayyid Qasim and a daughter named Sayyida Umm-Kulthum.

She performed hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) thirty times; most of them on foot. She would say,

“I am following my grandfather Imam Hasan in doing that, for he said, ‘I feel shy to meet

my Lord having never walked to His House,' and hence he would make the pilgrimage

walking.”

The People of Madinah loved her deeply. She became renowned for her asceticism (zuhd)

and piety (taqwa), for fasting in the day whilst reciting the Holy Qur’an continuously,

spending the nights in prayer and for her excessive devotion to worshipping Allah Almighty.

It is said that when she recited the Holy Qur’an she would pray, "O Allah make it easy for me

to visit the grave of Sayyiduna Ibrahim " for she knew it was due to his prayer that Allah

finally sent His beloved, Rasulullah , with the final message of the Holy Qur’an.

Journey to Cairo

After many years Allah Almighty answered her prayer. She journeyed to Hebron, Jerusalem

and stayed at the shrine of Sayyiduna Ibrahim . One day as she was reciting the Holy

Qur’an at the grave, she was overwhelmed by a vision of Sayyiduna Ibrahim , who

welcomed her and expressed his pleasure and acceptance. He gave her glad tidings that

she will attain closeness to her Lord. He then instructed her to regularly recite surah

Muzammil.

Sayyida Nafisa had great devotion and love for Sayyiduna Ibrahim and always

remembered her experiences of this visit.


As Sayyida Hajra , Sayyiduna Ibrahim ‟s wife was from Egypt. Rasulullah said that

these people have been blessed with Divine protection and so they should be treated with

kindness and mercy.

Once Rasulullah instructed the Sahaba , “When you enter Egypt, then treat the Coptic

(the local Egyptian people) well, because for them is protection and mercy.”

In another hadith narrated by Muadh bin Jabal , “Rasulullah said, ‘After me, when you

have conquered Egypt, then from it, take a group of soldiers, because that group of soldiers

are the best soldiers on earth, the best group of people.’

Abu Bakr Siddiq asked, ‘Why is that?’ Rasulullah said, ’Because they will be

protected, under Allah’s Protection until the Day of Judgement.‟”

No doubt, due to this strong connection with Sayyiduna Ibrahim , when Sayyida Nafisa

was 44 years old, she moved to Cairo. When people became aware of her arrival, thousands

set off from their homes to welcome her into the city. Many set up tents the day before in

anticipation of her arrival, for they understood the great blessings and Allah Almighty‟s Mercy

that was soon to descend upon them.

They knew that not only was she a devout worshipper and lady saint, but she belonged to

the Ahl-e Bayt. When she finally arrived, they greeted her with the chanting of 'la ilaha ill-

Allah' and 'Allahu Akbar', and accompanied her in a huge procession into the city, treating

her with great dignity and respect.

Ibn Abbas narrates, that “Rasulullah said, ‘Love Allah for the countless bounties upon

you and love me because you love Allah and love my Ahl-e Bayt, because of your love for

me.‟”

When she first came to Cairo, the River Nile dried up, so people came to her and asked her

for du’a. Sayyida Nafisa gave a cloth of her veil, which the people placed upon the River.

Even before the people reached their homes, the Nile began to flow again.

Longing for Madinah

In the beginning, Sayyida Nafisa stayed in the house of a notable merchant of Cairo,

Jamaluddin Abdullah al-Jassas, who had a large house and was able to cater for the visitors.

People came from every distant corner of Egypt to visit her and to take blessings from her.

Sayyida Nafisa felt that her presence might become too great a burden on her hosts, so

she moved to a place of her own.

This move still did not bring a stop to the flood of Egyptians coming from distant areas. They

often arrived in huge groups staying overnight to receive her baraka, especially women who

came simply to touch her and request her du`a. Sayyida Nafisa would not only look after


her guests by praying for them, but she would also encourage them to recite the Holy Qur’an

and follow its teachings.

She would explain the benefits of reciting the Holy Qur’an quoting the Hadith of Rasulullah

where he said “Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a

good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one

letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter.”

However due to the sheer number of people that would visit Sayyida Nafisa ,she felt that

she was losing time for worship, recitation of the Holy Qur’an and remembrance of Allah.

Abu Musa al-Ashiri narrates, “Rasulullah said, „The example of the believer who

recites or studies the Holy Qur’an, is the example of an orange. Its taste is sweet and its

fragrance is beautiful. The example of the believer who does not recite or study the Holy

Qur’an is like a dry date. It doesn’t have a fragrance but it is still sweet.

The hypocrite who recites the Holy Qur’an, is like a colocynth, a fruit which smells very nice

but tastes bitter and the hypocrite who does not recite the Holy Qur’an, is like basil which

has neither fragrance and is bitter in taste.‟”

Hence Sayyida Nafisa decided to leave Egypt and return to Madina al-Munawwara as she

felt her heart was telling her to visit her grandfather's grave. When the people of Cairo

found out about her decision to leave, thousands came to see her and begged her to remain

in Egypt.

They even pleaded with the Governor of Egypt, As-Sirri bin al-Hakam, to ask Sayyida

Nafisa to stay. So he spoke to her and politely asked her to stay for the sake of the people

who needed her. She said, "I am a weak lady and these people have gathered in their

thousands, which prevents me from observing my daily recitations. Also my home is too

small to accommodate all these people. I feel as though I am not looking after my guests

appropriately.”

The governor replied, "O granddaughter of Rasulullah ! From the depths of my heart,

without asking anything in return, for the sake of Allah I am giving you a large mansion I own

in the district of Dirr as-Sabah. I beg you to accept this house from me and to use it in

whatever way you wish.

Assign two days; Saturday and Wednesday for the people to visit you, and dedicate the

other days purely for worship."

Sayyida Nafisa went into deep meditation. Finally she lifted her head and said, "I accept

your offer."

So she moved to the mansion and only received people on Saturdays and Wednesdays, so

she could devote the rest of her days to the worship of Allah by continuously praying and

reciting the Holy Qur’an.


Sayyida Nafisa had Jewish neighbours, who had a disabled daughter, as both her feet

were joined together. One day the mother was going to the hammam, and had no one to

leave her daughter with. The mother asked her daughter if she would be ok on her own, but

the girl said „no I am afraid, why don’t you leave me next door with Sayyida Nafisa ?‟

The lady went to the house of Sayyida Nafisa and saw she was busy in prayer, so she just

left the girl in one corner of the room and went out. She knew the girl wouldn‟t be any trouble

to her as she couldn‟t move.

After a while Sayyida Nafisa began making wudu, and the water flowed towards the girl.

The water touched her feet and she became cured. When her mother came back, this girl

walked to the door to welcome her, her mother was ecstatic that her daughter had

recovered. That very same day both husband and wife came to Sayyida Nafisa and

entered into the fold of Islam.

One day the governor of Egypt sent Sayyida Nafisa 100,000 dirhams. He said, "Take this

money from me. I ask nothing in return, but I thank Allah for this opportunity to repent. I give

this money to you because of your piety."

Her generosity and affection was such that she took that money as her own and distributed it

to the poor until nothing remained. Princes, nobles and many ordinary people sent her gifts.

She accepted them, and then distributed them in whatever way she liked. She would never

keep anything for herself, as she always considered others above herself.

Ibn Umar said, “Rasulullah said, ‘It is not permissible to be jealous except for two

reasons; it is permissible to be jealous of a person who has been granted the Holy Qur’an,

and he recites it day and night. Or a person who has been granted wealth and he spends it

day and night in Allah’s way.‟”

Uthman ibn Affan narrates, “Rasulullah said, ‘The best amongst you are those who

learn the Holy Qur’an, and teach it to others.‟”

Alongside Sayyida Nafisa‟s daily worship and recitation of the Holy Qur’an she would hold

various gatherings to pass on her knowledge of hadith and tafsir of the Holy Qur’an. In doing

so she hosted most of the scholars of her time, such as Imam al-Shafiì who had moved

to Egypt from Baghdad five years after Sayyida Nafisa‟s arrival in Cairo.

When Imam Shafiì arrived in Egypt, he immediately formed a connection with Sayyida

Nafisa based on her adherence to faith and piety.

Imam Shafi’i

Like Sayyida Nafisa , Imam Shafiì also had a strong connection to the Holy Qur’an so

much so that it is said he would complete at least sixty recitations of the Holy Qur’an during


the month of Ramadan. He would also lead the taraweeh prayers in the Masjid of Sayyida

Nafisa , whilst she was part of the prayer congregation.

Although Imam Shafiì was a pillar of fiqh in his own right, he would regularly sit in

Sayyida Nafisa‟s association, learning hadith and tafsir of the Holy Qur’an. She had such

a connection and profound understanding of the Holy Qur’an that her explanations would

reveal the secret mysteries within the Holy Qur’an.

She was after all the descendent of Sayyiduna Ali who, when explaining about Surah

Fatiha, stated that all of the Holy Qur’an is summarised in Surah Fatiha and all of Surah

Fatiha is summarised in Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim, and all of Bismillah hi Rahman nir

Rahim is summarised in the dot under the Ba ب.

„Were I to give sharr, commentary on that dot, it would fill seventy camel loads.‟ This is the

vastness of the knowledge, the Ahl-e Bayt have of the Holy Qur’an.

When Imam Shafiì would be ill, he would send one of his students to visit her on his

behalf and advise him to state to her "Your cousin ash-Shafiì is sick and requests your

duà." Immediately, Sayyida Nafisa would raise her hands in supplication, asking Allah to

cure Imam Shafiì . By the time the student returned to Imam Shafiì he would find him

already cured because of her du’a.

On one occasion Imam Shafiì fell sick and as usual sent a student messenger asking

Sayyida Nafisa‟s duà. Instead of raising her hands for du’a, she stated, "Tell him that may

Allah make his meeting with Him the Best of meetings and may Allah lift him to His

nearness."

When the student returned with this message, Imam Shafiì understood that his death

was imminent. Immediately Imam Shafiì wrote a will requesting that Sayyida Nafisa

should pray the funeral prayers (salat al-janaza) over him.

A few days later Imam Shafiì passed away and Sayyida Nafisa carried out his will.

However due to her ill health, the body of Imam Shafiì was brought to her. There she

prayed the funeral prayer (salat al-janaza) over him from the women's section, following

Imam al-Buwaiti who lead the prayer.

The congregation at the janaza, heard a voice saying, „Allah has forgiven all those who

prayed here because of Imam Shafiì and Allah has forgiven him by the honour of

Sayyida Nafisa .‟

Demise

Due to constant worship and struggle day and night Sayyida Nafisa‟s health deteriorated.

When asked what her meals consisted of, her niece Sayyida Zainab who served her for forty


years replied, "My aunt used to eat once every three days. She had a basket hanging in her

niche and if she wanted something to eat she would find it in that basket.”

She never ate anything other than food from her husband and that which she found in the

basket. I was very surprised by all this, and I asked, where does this come from?

She said, ‘O Zainab, anyone who puts his trust in Allah, then the whole universe becomes

his servant.‟”

On another occasion Sayyida Zainab pleaded to Sayyida Nafisa , "You must take care of

yourself." To which she replied, "How shall I take care of myself before I reach my Lord?

Ahead of me are so many barriers which no one can cross except the successful ones (al-

faizun)."

When she began to feel her death approaching, Sayyida Nafisa dug her grave with her

own hands inside her home. Every day she would enter the grave and worship in it, as a

reminder of the coming afterlife. She used to pray all her supererogatory prayers inside that

grave. She is reported to have recited the Holy Qur`an while sitting in her grave six thousand

times, and then granted the rewards of that recitation to all deceased Muslims.

When Sayyida Nafisa‟s illness worsened, she wrote to her husband, who was living in

Madina al-Munawwara, asking him to return to Egypt. He came with their children Sayyid

Qasim and Sayyida Umm Kulthum.

She became very ill at the beginning of Ramadan, 208 H. Her companions asked her to stop

fasting to keep her strength. She refused, saying, "I have been asking Allah to die fasting for

thirty years; now you want me to break the fast?"

Upon her demise her husband prepared to move her body to be buried in Jannat al-Baqi.

However the governor and people of Egypt implored him not to do that, but to bury her in the

grave she had dug with her own hands. They even collected a large sum of money and

offered it to him. Returning the next day, they asked for his decision. He replied, "I have

decided to bury her here. I saw Rasulullah in a dream last night, and he told me, 'Give

them back their money and bury your wife in Egypt.'"

As the news broke of her passing the people of Egypt were stunned and felt an immense

tragedy. Coming from every village in Egypt, they gathered at her house in Cairo, lighting

candles and weeping. For them they had lost a generous, considerate mother, a true

embodiment of the Holy Qur’an, an extremely pious member of the Ahl-e Bayt whose

prayers were never rejected, a beacon of knowledge, and a great source of

blessing, baraka,

It was a time of sorrow and mourning throughout Egypt. People were lamenting, crying, and

calling on Allah by His Names and Attributes.


Legacy

Even to this day, hundreds and thousands of people go and pay their respects to Sayyida

Nafisa . It is a place full of life where one feels at peace because Sayyida Nafisa was at

peace with her Lord.

There is a Hadith sharif, that Rasulullah said, „Allah has created certain people to fulfil the

needs of human beings.‟ Sayyida Nafisa is definitely such a person, because she helped

people all her life, and continues to do so here and shall do so in the hereafter.

One of the brothers who went to visit Sayyida Nafisa mentions his account:-

“I remember the first time when we entered the mazar, we took off our shoes. The ladies

went on one side and the men on the other. There is a gold jali and a white drape inside

almost dressed like a bride. We sat down, and I had a good feeling about the place. I

remember crying; almost every time I went there I would cry. Even so it was a loving and

warm feeling.

The people would come in as if they were just dropping by, to their own house or to their

grandma‟s house. It was all very casual and informal and I have not seen that attitude

anywhere else. They would come, touch the jali, some would rub their face, on it and some

would talk to them, some sing to them and some just do du’a, there would also be many

people who would be reciting the Holy Qur’an or reading their awrads quietly.

I noticed that there was a constant influx of new people all the time. We even saw full

wedding processions coming inside and the bride and her groom would sit and ask Sayyida

Nafisa to pray that their marriage would be successful and blessed. On Friday after Juma

there was be a large gathering where Dhikr took place, after which sweets would be

distributed.

One day I remember I was sat there and my friend was in front of me reading. There was a

wall on my right and behind me, no one else was there. When I opened my eyes, I saw this

dry miniature rose. I thought where has this come from? I saw it once or twice, and thought

maybe I should pick it up. I didn‟t see it there when I first sat down but decided to pick it up

and placed it into my turban.”

Sayyida Nafisa established a link with the Holy Qur’an in her lifetime and Allah Almighty

has honoured that connection after she has passed away. Every day and night you can hear

the Holy Qur’an or witness some other ibadat at her mazar. Even thirteen centuries later this

practise is still seen there, as she lived, breathed and died with the Holy Qur’an. This is proof

that Allah has indeed preserved the connection.

Al-Fatiha

sayyida nafisa

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