A Cultural Reflection on the Birth Anniversary of Lady Fatima Masumeh (SA)
The Young Woman Who Made Qom the Beating Heart of Shia Authority
✍| By Maryam Iranpour
Qom: A Global Center of Shia Islam
Today, the city of Qom, blessed by the presence of Lady Fatima Masumeh (SA), holds a prominent place in the Islamic world—rivaling even Najaf in significance. It has become the beating heart of Shia religious authority and played a critical role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Worship: A Civilizational Force
Since the dawn of history, humanity has built places of worship—temples, synagogues, and fire altars—as expressions of its innate need to revere. However, a structured form of worship, especially one rooted in prostration and spiritual discipline, creates a powerful social and civilizational order.
Seventeen Days That Changed History
Lady Masumeh (SA) resided in Qom for only seventeen days before her passing. Yet those brief days brought lasting blessings. What did she do in such a short time that turned Qom into the epicenter of Shia leadership?
It is not the quantity of time that matters, but the quality of her presence.
Upon settling in Qom, she immediately established her personal place of worship—a fixed spot for devotion and prayer.
Today, this sacred space is known as the “Setiyeh” district near Mir Square in Qom, with her prayer niche, called “Bayt al-Nur” (House of Light), at its heart. This decisive action was a tangible example of her strategic and jurisprudential planning, grounded in spatial, religious, and mosque-centric frameworks.
A Strategic and Visionary Woman
Lady Masumeh (SA) was not only a model Islamic woman but also a brilliant strategist and planner.
Spatial strategy, a key principle in modern civilizational planning, was central to her approach. In revolutionary movements, “place” holds great importance. Her migration to Qom endowed the city with unmatched religious prestige that has endured through centuries.
This model was later mirrored in the movements of influential Shia leaders like Martyr Beheshti, Martyr Chamran, and Imam Musa Sadr, who were dispatched to different regions. This strategic diffusion would ultimately influence movements such as that of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon after the Islamic Revolution.
The Strategic Vision of Imam Musa al-Kadhim (AS)
Imam Musa al-Kadhim (AS), fully aware of future events, initiated a wide-reaching strategic movement involving his many children—19 daughters (all unmarried) and 18 sons—who journeyed across regions from Iran to Yemen.
If one were to draw horizontal and vertical lines, each 3,000 kilometers long, across the shrines of these 37 children, it would form a symbolic “plus sign” (+) over the Iranian plateau of 1,200 years ago.
This environment-based strategy, initiated by Imam al-Kadhim (AS) and his children, was foundational to the growth of Shia Islam in Iran.
From Local Presence to National Transformation
Before this, Shiism had limited presence in areas like Tabaristan and parts of Sistan. The permanent establishment of a Shia identity in Iran, however, took root after the era of Imam al-Kadhim (AS).
The distribution of these noble descendants across Iran was not random—it was part of a deliberate, revolutionary pattern. This exclusive Shia guerrilla strategy involved:
– Deployment across a 3,000 by 3,000 km expanse.
– Avoidance of settling in one centralized area.
– Establishing local presence to consolidate Shia influence.
– Staying rooted in each area to preach and increase their influence, ultimately embracing martyrdom.
Their impact multiplied exponentially after their martyrdom. Where their influence was once “one,” it became “nine hundred and ninety-nine.” For over a thousand years, each has shone like a brilliant star in the regions they graced.
The Legacy of 37 Siblings
A key reason behind Iran’s Islamic Revolution and its unique religious identity—distinct from the Islam of its birthplace in Arabia—can be traced to these 37 brothers and sisters. Their strategic presence and enduring legacy transformed the religious and political landscape of Iran.