During the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei described the lifestyle and course of action taken by that venerable dame of Islam as a true leader and an exemplary wife and mother as a “complete model for the Muslim woman” and emphasized, “Talented poets and articulate eulogizers of the Prophet (PBUH)’s Household must turn the ideas and orientations of those venerable ones into a common discourse in the society in view of today’s needs and duties (of Muslims).”

Ayatollah Khamenei further noted that the spiritual and divine rank of the Lady of All Women of the World [a nickname for Hadhrat Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH)] was beyond grasp and understanding of normal human beings. The Leader added, “In very hard and indescribable circumstances, which followed the passing of the Honorable Prophet (PBUH), and under conditions when even the elders and high-ranking disciples [of the Prophet (PBUH)] did not defend the right of Amir al-Mo’menin (PBUH) [except for a few of them], Hadhrat Zahra (PBUH) entered the mosque and delivered that eloquent speech in defense of [Imam Ali (PBUH)’s] right.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “The huge move made by Hadhrat Zahra (PBUH) in defending Velayat [Imam Ali (PBUH)’s rule of the Islamic society] and as a true leader, cannot be compared to any other sacrifice, and it is on the basis of this very grandeur that a person like our honorable Imam [Khomeini] – who was a scholar, Islamic jurisprudent and mystic in his own right – said that if Hadhrat Fatemeh (PBUH) had been a man, she would have been certainly ordained as prophet.”

The Leader then described Hadhrat Fatemeh (PBUH) as the complete epitome of “woman in Islam,” who stands at the highest rank achievable for an “Islamic woman,” that is, on the level of a leader. Emphasizing the importance of recognizing the true status of the Muslim woman, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Despite that grandeur and the [spiritual] position, which transcends human understanding and imagination, one of the duties and occupations of Hadhrat Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH) is her role as a ‘mother, wife and housewife’.”
Criticizing some people, who show off the faulty and empty claims of the West in order to tarnish Islam’s viewpoint about women, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “These deceived, negligent people scoff at a woman’s duty as housewife, while being a housewife means to raise human beings and produce the most majestic product and commodity in the exiting world, which is the human being.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that some allegations made about defending the rights of women were, in fact, aimed at weakening women and noted, “Turning a woman into a commodity and means of pleasure in the Western world is most probably among plots hatched by Zionists in order to destroy the human society. However, unfortunately, sometimes [even] inside the country and in some Islamic environments, duties and expectations are brought up for women, which in fact, amount to degradation and humiliation of women.”

The Leader then pointed to some resemblances and differences that have been embedded in men and women by the Almighty God and said, “From such viewpoints as ‘ascension toward spiritual ranks’, ‘the power of leadership’, and ‘the ability to guide humanity’, there is no difference between men and women, but they are different from the standpoint of ‘their duties in managing life’ and a [good] example of all these instances is Hadhrat Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH).”
Ayatollah Khamenei then pointed to the promotion of such concepts as “gender justice” and “gender equality” in the West and noted, “Justice means recognizing God-given potentialities and helping them thrive.”

He said, “At the present time, Western thinkers and people who pursued such issues as gender equality, regret what they have done due to the corruption it has caused, and I hope the purpose of those people, who raise such issues inside the country, is not [promoting] the same incorrect Western concept.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution described eulogy and praise of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)’s Household as a “humane, faith-based and artistic phenomenon” and added, “Just focus on how this unique phenomenon could be used totally in favor of Islam and Muslims and for the purpose of attaining God’s content, because the world and worldly praise and admiration have no value.”
The Leader said the format used for eulogy [of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)’s Household] was a special style of art, and while emphasizing the need for an eulogizer to have pleasant voice and an impressive way of singing religious poems, said, “The format of eulogy must not be mixed with other art forms and, for example, a poem special to tragedies or praise of the Prophet’s Household [must not] be sung using the format of a song [sang] by a person who is far from religion and spirituality and immersed in corruption and material lust.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said the role and duty of the “content” in eulogy was to “raise [people’s] knowledge about Prophet (PBUH)’s Household” and “familiarizing people with religious duties,” adding, “The community of eulogizers must be able to build a discourse by looking at the modern world and in proportion to the necessities of time as well as duties and groupings [in the Islamic society].”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also touched upon the effective role played by religious poets and eulogizers during the period of the Sacred Defense [Iraq’s eight-year imposed war against Iran] and for preparing people to defend the country, saying, “Although about 30 years have passed since the [end of the] Sacred Defense, the memory of [war fronts in] Fakkeh and Shalamcheh is still alive, because independence, freedom, dignity, identity, intactness of people’s honor and the enemy’s inability to dominate the country were all due to the same Fakkeh and Shalamcheh and sacrifices [made there].”

The Leader stated that any juncture of time needs a suitable way of thinking and discourse and after pointing to good grounds broken with regard to religious poetry, added, “This opportunity must be taken advantage of and any diversions must be prevented through an identification of the existing problems.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution noted that being a true servant of the Household of Prophet (PBUH) means “to make an effort for the daily promotion of thoughts, policy, and orientation of those honorable ones in the society.” Ayatollah Khamenei then noted, “This movement will make the country and the [Islamic] establishment and people dignified and strong, and will do away with problems, and if we have a stable society endowed with good management, independence and freedom, it will be the best publicity for Islam.”

At the beginning of this meeting, a number of religious eulogizers sang eulogy poems about the virtues and merits of Hadhrat Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH).

Source:Tehran Times