Sayyida Nafisa was
the daughter of al-Hasan al-Anwar, the son of Hazrat Zayd, son of the
Infallible Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (a.s.). She is well-known for her worship,
asceticism, narrating hadiths, generosity and memorization of the Glorious
Qur’an. She was born in Madinah al-Munawara on 11 Rabi-ul-Awwal 145 A.H. Their
house was near the house of the
Infallible Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (a.s.). She used to pray behind her father in Masjid-al-Nabawi at the age of
six. She became well-known for her piety, fasting during the day and spending
nights in prayers.
She was married at the age of 16 to her cousin Ishaq
al-Mu’tamin, the son of the Infallible Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (a.s.). It is said
that initially, her father did not agree with the marriage, however, after a
dream in which the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) ordered him to agree with the
marriage, he decided to accept the request. Ishaq al-Mu’tamin was famous for
his piety, knowledge and reliability in narrating hadiths. He witnessed the
Infallible Imam Musa al-Kazim (a.s.)’s last will to his son; the Infallible
Imam Ali ar-Raza (a.s.). Because of his trustworthiness, he was called
“al-Mu’tamin”. They had two children named al-Qasim and Umm Kulthum.
Sayyida Nafisa along with her father, migrated to Egypt in
the year 193 A.H. When the people of Egypt heard about her arrival, they
flocked to welcome her. According to “Nasikh al-Tawarikh”, she received profound
respect and high status while people asked her for blessings.” She was
over-whelmed by the substantial number of visitors in her modest house, and, she
had no time for herself to pray and supplicate, she decided to leave Egypt.
When people heard about her decision to leave, they approached the governor to
arrange for her residence. The governor, al-Sirri bin al-Hakam, gifted a house
to her, wherein she lived for the rest of her stay in Egypt.
She was so much
attached to the Glorious Qur’an, it is said that she had read the Glorious
Qur’an 1900 times. It is reported that she breathed her last while reciting the
Ayah 127 of Surah al-An ‘am of the Glorious Qur’an, “They will live in peace
with Allah. Allah protects them as a reward for their deeds; He is their
Guardian.” She had performed 7 Hajj. Because
of the fear of God, she would have tears in her eyes. She fasted most of the
days and prayed at nights. She had dug-up her own grave and used to recite the
Glorious Qur’an and prayed in it!
Some of the writers have expressed their thoughts about her
piety, knowledge and compliance to Allah’s directives:
Yafai Yamani said,
“She was a virtuous, gracious and respectable woman”
Ibn Khallakan said,
“She was skilled in narrating hadiths and some of the great scholars have
quoted her.”
Saleh al-Wardani said,
“She shed tears for fear of God, memorized Qur’an and was familiar with its
Tafsir”
Some of the great
scholars were her students e.g. Mohammad bin Idris al-Shafi’i, Ahamd bin
Muhammad bin Hanbal, Dhul Nun al-Misri, Bushar bin Haritha. She financially
supported Muhammad Idris Shafi’I for education.
Some of her
extra-ordinary acts included curing the sick, saving the Egyptians and saving
the River Niles from drought, preventing a ship from sinking, helping the poor,
freeing a prisoner through intercession.
She passed away on the 1st. Ramadan, 208 A.H. Her
husband wanted to take her body to Madinah. The people requested him to bury
her in Egypt and on receiving an order in the dream by the Noble Messenger
(s.a.w.a.s.), he agreed to bury her in Egypt. A mausoleum was erected on her
grave and even today, it is the most visited site.
Sources: WIKISHIA, WIKIPEDIA, MOSAIC, SUNNAH.ORG
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