Wajhullah

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Fatima Wajhullat - The Divine Feminine in Islamic esotericism

by Nur-i-Azal on Fri Mar 05, 2010 [paganspace.net]

La ilaha illa Allah wa Fatima Wajh Allah!

"There is no god but the Godhead and Fatima is the Face of the Godhead!"

This is one my personal zikrs/mantras which I have added to my personal shahada/testimony of belief. If one day I end up getting smoked for it by some crazed fundalooniest, so be it,  it would be for a good Cause since I am what you might call a Sufi Shi'ite Islamic Goddess-worshipper! Note that there has also been a debate amongst Arabic grammarians for centuries now that the word ALLAH is more accurately grammatically feminine (mu'annath) than masculine (muzakkar) since the final ha' in precise grammar and etymology should indicate feminine case rather than masculine case. This is apparently one of the grammatical anomalies in the Qur'an which many Sufis have been aware of for centuries. ALLAH itself derives properly from the Hebrew Elah and Eloah (goddess) and not El (god). The debate continues....

But in esoteric Shi'ism the preeminence of the Goddess-form of the Supreme Divinity is strongly implicit, especially in statements made by the Prophet Muhammad (sws) Himself stating things such as Fatima (as) is the "Mother of Her Father" (umm abiha) and the Conjunction of the Twin Lights (majma' al-nurayn). In fact the epithet Light (nur) applies specifically to Fatima in Shi'ite gnosis, as She is held to be its human epiphany or manifestation (mazhar).

There is also an account about the mutual execration incident (mubahala) that is mentioned in Qur'an 3:61: a debate that occurred between a deputation of Najrani Christians and the Companions of the Cloak (ahl al-kissa, i.e. Muhammad, Fatima, 'Ali, Hasan and Husayn) in the 9th year of the Hegira in Medina. It is related that at the conclusion of this debate there was an en masse conversion to Islam by these Najrani Christians. The accounts say that at the climax of this event Fatima (as) transfigured into Mary the mother of Jesus  just as in the Gospels Jesus transfigured into Elijah and Moses on Mount Tabor. The accounts state that it was as a result of this transfiguration whereby these Najrani Christians came into Islam and Fatima earned the title of the Greater Mary (maryam al-kubra)!

One does need to take such stories literally or one-dimensionally because they are rich in multi-layered spiritual and esoteric symbolism, which is the level such things need to be read and appreciated. The later generations of esoteric Shi'ites went steps further and read some interesting things into such sayings and incidents, distilling a symbolic cosmology out of it and applying the epithet and attribute Creator (fatir) to Fatima directly. As such in the writings of some Isma'ilis as well as some esoteric Twelver Shi'ites we see the appelation Fatima Fatir (Fatima the Creatrix) who then stands in such speculations as the Hidden Pole and Concealed Avatar of Islam itself; that is, Fatima's station is implicitly held here to be higher than Her illustrious Father and Husband. To the literalist orthodox mind, this is heresy. To the esotericist and gnostic, this is Theophany and hence Truth!

There's a Persian Isma'ili text known as the Ummul Kitab (Mother of the Book). This text is a purported visionary conversation between the fifth Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (as) and Abu'l-Khattab (an early extremist/ghali Shi'ite and disciple of two Imams). At one point in the dialogue the Imam transfigures into all of the members of the Ahl al-Bayt (people of the House) and then finally into Fatima. Fatima begins to speak and proclaims Her Divinity and claims that Her Father, Husband and Sons are so many ornaments on Her body which She wears!

Note as well that before two-hundred years ago, the official symbol of Judaism was not the Magen David (Star of David). Rather it was the Hamsa which is the Hand of Fatima symbol. This is likewise a universal symbol with Shi'ites everywhere. In Judaism it represents the Shekinah (the Feminine Theophany of the Ultimate Godhead). The origins of this Hand of Fatima symbol go into distant antiquity and so precedes the Abrahamic Tradition. It is found in the Mesopotamian civilization and represents there the symbol of the Sumero-Akkadian Goddess Innana who in Assyro-Babylonia becomes the Goddess Ishtar, viz. the Ashoreth of the Hebrew Bible who is also known as Astarte (i.e. Venus, the morning Star). Apparently versions of this Hand of Fatima have even been found amongst the pre-Aryan  Indus Valley civilization of India, and there likewise it is said to represent the Maha-Devi (Supreme Goddess) which these people worshipped as their Ultimate Deity. As fate would have it, it would appear that the Goddess has been moving around within Traditions that are ostensibly on the face of things hostile to Her. I would argue that providence has always had other plans and that the greatest catastrophe that could beset patriarchal religion is for one day it being revealed that the He that these Abrahamic religions have been worshipping all along has actually been a She!

Ya FATIMA! Ya NUR!

 

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