May Fatimah Gather Our Tears: The Mystical and Intercessory Powers of Fatimah al-Zahra in Indo-Persian, Shi`i Devotional Literature and Performance

“The Mistress of Two Worlds” explores the ways that Fatimah al-Zahra's mystical and intercessory powers construct a temporal devotional world for the Shia. of the Deccan in south-central India, projecting individual loyalty to the imams and remembrance of their sacrifices into an eschatological framework in which Fatimah is transformed from a gatherer of the tears of the mourners into the judge and intercessory authority of Muslim loyalty to the Ahl-e Bait on the Day of Judgment. This essay focuses on four aspects of Fatimah's mystical and intercessory powers in Indo-Persian Shiism: (1) Fatimah's pre-eternal light that generates prophecy and the imamate, illuminating heaven on the Day of Judgment; (2) the imitable, worldly model that Fatimah's poverty and faith provide for the Shia to integrate into their daily lives; (3) the role of relics and other ritual objects endowed with Fatimah's intercessory grace (baraka) in Hyderabadi Shii devotion; and (4) Fatimah's role as the ultimate intercessor and arbitrator on the Day of Judgment in Hyderabadi Shiism.