BY; Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
       
“What Allah gave to His Prophet from them (and), you did not spur any horse for its sake (acquisition), nor any riding camel; but Allah makes His prophets prevail over whomever He wishes, and Allah has power over all things.” 
“What Allah gave to His Prophet from the people of the townships, are for Allah and the Prophet, the relatives [the Ahl al-Bayt] and the orphans, the needy and the traveller, so that they (these properties) do not circulate among the rich among you. Take whatever the Prophet gives you, and relinquish whatever he forbids you, and be wary of  Allah. Indeed Allah is severe in retribution.” (Holy Qur’an 59:6&7)
The Holy Qur’an is the Almighty Creator’s Final Heavenly Scripture for the guidance of all humanity. It explicitly says in the above-mentioned Ayahs of Surah Hashr that none can claim any jurisdiction over the worldly property that the Lord Most High granted His Last and Greatest Messenger through the townspeople as Divine Gift, since Muslims played no part in this regard, neither through use of their limbs nor with their mounts.  
According to exegetes of the holy Qur’an, this is reference to the vast tract of Fadak, its orchards, and its springs – about a hundred kilometers north of Medina – whose owners had gifted to Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), and not to the general Muslims. They point out that the Almighty has explicitly forbidden the rich, the influential, and the politically powerful elements of the Ummah from taking control of these exclusive possessions of the Prophet. The All-Wise Creator has also made it clear that those entitled to exercise authority over these divine gifts after the Prophet, are his Immaculate Ahl al-Bayt – who scrupulously adhered to the practice of their ancestor by spending the yield of these lands for the benefit of the orphans, the needy, and the travellers.  
So what did the Prophet who, as the opening Ayahs of Surah Najm say:“has neither gone astray nor speaks of his own desire, but (whatever he says) it  is revelation revealed”, with this vast tract of land? 
He did whatever Allah commanded him and had helped him in the initial days of his Divine Mission through the vast wealth of his wife, Hazrat Khadija (SA) the Omm al-Momineen (Mother of all True Believers), who left the world penniless without any worldly inheritance for the couple’s only surviving child, Daughter Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA).
Thus on revelation of Ayah 26 of Surah al-Isra’, where Allah tells the Prophet: “Give the nearest of kin their [due] right…”, he called his daughter Fatema (SA) and said: “Fadak is one of the territories for which we did not exhaust our horses or camels to acquire it; it is mine exclusively. Now, I gift it to you and your offspring according to Divine Instructions.”
Alas, no sooner did Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) leave for his heavenly abode the clique that seized power of the Islamic State through a coup at Saqifa Bani Sa’dah oppressed his Ahl al-Bayt, first by depriving his Divinely Designated Heir Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) of the political leadership of the Ummah. 
Next, the regime seized Fadak, expelling the caretakers appointed by the Ahl al-Bayt for distribution of its produce amongst the needy. The self-styled caliph coined a spurious hadith and falsely attributed it to the Prophet, claiming that Prophets do not leave inheritance and whatever is left is state property.
When the conspirators did not stop their sedition and dared to demand allegiance from Imam Ali (AS) to their misrule, Fatema (SA) decided to defend the God-given Wilayah of her husband as well as her patrimonial rights, resulting in the famous Sermon of Fadak.
She confronted the ringleaders of the regime and in the most eloquent Arabic that deals with the fundamentals of faith and stands as a beacon of guidance to any seeker of truth till this day, she addressed those who in blind pursuit of the power of this transient world had violated the principles of Islam. She said: 
“O People! Know that I am Faţema. My father is Muhammad (SAWA), whom Allah has praised along with his progeny. That which I say first, I shall say last; and I say not anything mistakenly, nor do anything in vain.”

She spoke of monotheism or God’s indivisible Oneness (Towheed); of Divine Justice (Adl); and of how her father had enlightened the Arabs with the message of Islam “while you were, on the edge of an abyss of fire” (Holy Qur’an, 3:103); and were drinking unclean and fetid (dirtied by camels) water, eating carrion, and were abject outcasts. So Allah the Exalted and the Glorified, rescued you through Muhammad (SAWA).” 
She dwelt on Ma’ad (the Day of Resurrection, when all human beings receive either reward or punishment in the Divine Court depending on their deeds). She turned to the vital issue of Wilaya or the authority, which her father the Seal of Prophets had vested in her husband on Divine Commandment, on the basis of the Holy Qur’an. 
The ruler and the regime, or more properly the ringleaders of the scandalous event of Saqifa Bani Sa’dah, hung their heads down in shame as they listened in rapt attention to the voice coming from behind the curtain placed between the Prophet’s daughter and themselves. 
Fatema (SA) reprimanded those who still claimed to be Muslims in spite of breaching the allegiance they had sworn to the Divinely Decreed leadership of Imam Ali (AS) at Ghadeer, hardly two months and ten days before the passing away of the Prophet. She cautioned them against committing such a cardinal sin that would not just sow the seeds of sedition in society but would also lead to trampling of all humanitarian values by future generations all over the world as has been sorry state of affairs of the world ever since. 
“Hypocrisy became manifest among you; and the garment of religion became worn out… Satan raised his head from his hiding place, calling you, and found you responsive to his invitation and attentive to him in deceits....
“Even though the Book of Allah is among you; its issues are clear; and its precepts, brilliant; and its signs, luminous; and its forbiddances, evident; and its commands, obvious; and surely you have cast it behind your backs!
Then Hazrat Fatema az-Zahra (SA) turned to the issue of the seizure of the Orchard of Fadak from her by the regime on the clumsy pretext that Prophets do not leave inheritance to their children. She unraveled the falsehood of this alleged hadith by quoting the Holy Qur’an: “Is it the judgment of (the times of) ignorance that they seek? And who is better than Allah to judge, for people with certitude?” (5:51)
She was explicit in the defence of her own rights, and subsequently the rights of all women trampled by the coup leaders: “So do you not know? Yes! It is obvious to you, just like the bright sun, that surely I am his (the Prophet’s) daughter. O Muslims! Should I be overcome, in regard to my inheritance? O son of Abi Quhafah (Abu Bakr)! Is this in the Book of Allah that you inherit from your father and I do not inherit from my father? Have you deliberately forsaken the Book of Allah and thrown it behind your backs, while it says: “And Solomon inherited David! (27:16) She also mentioned Zachariah’s prayer to the Lord to grant him an heir, “Who should inherit me, and inherit from the family of Jacob” (19:6)
       She went on eloquently to expose her opponents in their true colours by saying: “And you claim that there is no share for me, and no inheritance from my father!!! Or you mean to say that the adherents of two (different) faiths do not inherit from one another? And were my father and I, not of the same and faith?!!! Or are you more knowledgeable to the specifics and generals of the Qur’an than my father and my cousin (husband Imam Ali)?
Her famous sermon found in all authoritative books of hadith and history including those written by our Sunni brethren puts a big question mark on the caliphate when it says: “Now hang firmly to this cheap dromedary of caliphate of yours and release it not. Beware; the hump of this camel is injured while there are blisters and holes in its feet. It carries the scars of ignominy and the sign of the wrath of Allah. Eternal shame is attached to it.”
The regime responded in the most roguish manner by storming the house of the Prophet’s daughter, pinning her between the door and the wall to the extent that she suffered miscarriage, and dragging her husband for a forced swearing of allegiance to the usurpers. As a result, Fatema (SA) left the world a heartbroken martyr, whose wounds remain fresh and crying for justice in the Divine Court against oppression.