The Lady of Heaven (film)

The Lady of Heaven is a film based on the historical events of early Islam. According to the creators, the film deals with historical events such as Ghadir Khum, the attack on the house of Imam Ali (a), the burning of the door of his house, and the martyrdom of Lady Fatima al-Zahra (a) during the screening of the crimes of the ISIS.

The film was criticized and reacted to by a number of Shia scholars and authorities during the pre-production stages. Some Shia scholars have forbidden the production, distribution, and viewing of this film, calling it to be divisive between Shia and Sunnis.

The title of the film was announced in 2016 as "Yawm al-'Adhab" (the Day of Punishment), and after its production, it was renamed to “the Lady of Heaven”. The film will be released in the United States on December 10, 2021.

Some Islamic countries have banned the film from being broadcasted in the media of their countries.

About the Film

Movie Poster for The Lady of Heaven (2021)

The title of this film was announced in 2016 as "Yawm al-'Adhab" (the Day of Punishment) and after its production, it was renamed to “the Lady of Heaven”. The film will be released in the United States on December 10, 2021.

The budget for this film was about fifteen million dollars.

Synopsis

According to the creators of this film, “the Lady of Heaven” is the narration of two stories with a time distance of 1400 years. The film begins with an Iraqi child in a war-torn country who loses his mother. This child learns the importance and power of patience by hearing a historical story about Lady Fatima (a) narrated by an elderly Shia woman.

Film Cast

“The Lady of Heaven” is directed by Eli King and written by Yasser al-Habib, a Kuwaiti Shia cleric living in Britain. In 2010, Yasser al-Habib made insulting remarks against Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (s) and following the reaction of Muslims and Shia authorities, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa banning insults to the sanctities and holy figures of other denominations, including the wives of all prophets (a).

Reactions

“The Lady of Heaven” has provoked a number of reactions before and after it was completed:

Reactions before Production

After the announcement of the beginning of making the film “Yawm al-‘Adhab”, when its subject and its content were raised in 2016, the film was criticized by some religious authorities and Shia scholars; including:

• Nasir Makarim Shirazi, in response to a question, considered any help in preparing, distributing, and watching this film as a great sin.

• Lutf Allah Safi Gulpayigani, in response to a question, forbade Shia from doing things that would result in insults and disrespect to Islam and Shia.

• Husayn Nuri Hamidani did not consider the making of this film in the interest of the Islamic community and declared any assistance and attention to it and watching it as forbidden and against the religion.

• Ja'far Subhani called the making of this film the fulfillment of the demands of the enemies of Islam and far from reason and piety. He also forbade the production and financial aid to it.

Reactions after the Announcement of the End of the film’s Production

Following the announcement of the end of the film’s production, the Society of Jibil ‘Amil’s Scholars issued a statement calling Yasser al-Habib’s attempt to produce and distribute the film under the auspices of British intelligence agencies, with the aim of creating discord among Muslims.

The Iranian Audiovisual Regulatory Body in Cyberspace (SATRA) on December 29, 2016, issued a statement considering the film “the Lady of Heaven” a violation of SATRA’s content guidelines and banned it from all audiovisual media in the Islamic Republic of Iran due to having content with hate speech, divisiveness, and inciting racial prejudices that attacks the unity of the Islamic world by insulting the Islamic schools.

Al-Mustafa International University also issued a statement in reaction to the making of the film “The Lady of Heaven” on December 1, 2016, expressing its disgust with such actions, emphasizing the strengthening of Islamic unity, and calling on the Islamic community to promote rationality, justice, and spirituality among the community and to try to reject seditionist and divisive people.

On January 3, 2021, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) called on social media to remove any content related to the film “the Lady of Heaven”.

See Also

• Fatwa on the prohibition of insulting the sanctities of the Sunnis