Praise be to Allah – a plentiful praise that earns His pleasure; and may Allah shower His blessings upon our master Muhammad al-Mustafa and his pure progeny, the doyens of mankind.

For many years I have been telling myself to take up the task of authoring a book about the life of the truthful and pure lady, Fatimah al-Zahra – peace and blessings upon her, her father, her husband, and her sons.

I felt the need for this work and my desire [for embarking upon it] was very pressing. This was because of the incompleteness and deficiency I had found in the already existing literature on this illustrious personality that stood out like a gap in the library of Arabic and Islamic literature.

By this I do not mean to devalue the books and writings that have been published about the life and times of the ‘Mistress of all Women of the World’; rather, I mean that the available works, both the old and contemporary, do not fulfil the need or fill the gap that is felt by all those who wish to learn about the life of al-Sayyida al-Zahra (‘a). They do not meet the objectives and fall short of depicting the true status of al-Sayyida Fatimah al-Zahra, and thus do not convey what this personality, who was most revered by the Prophet of Allah and most beloved to him, deserves, because the personality of this truthful and pure lady requires tribute and praise that is much greater. I [myself] do not claim that I am able to carry this heavy burden, attain this objective and reach the stated goal as it should be rather, I admit my own inability and shortcoming.

Days turned to years, as my apprehensions kept turning me between one period and another, and certain obstacles prevented me from realizing this aspiration. However, not long ago, a wind of unforeseen events blew my way and clouds of sorrows cast a shadow upon my life, So, I made a vow to Allah, the Most High: “If you free me from this hardship and evil, I will write a book about the life of the truthful and pure lady, Fatimah al-Zahra (‘a).”

Allah removed the distress from me by His mercy, praise be to Him, and all thanks be to Him, So, here I am authoring these lines and pages. I do not know where the path will eventually lead me, but Allah is the Helper, and He is the best of helpers. He suffices for me and is an excellent trustee in [both] the beginning and end, and He is the best granter of success and assistance.

Muhammad Kazim al-Qazwini

Karbala, Iraq

6th August 1972/26th Jumada al-Akhirah, 1392 A.H.