Al-Mufaddal (peace comes from him) said: "Inform me, O my Master, about the birth of the Successors (Awsiya)?" Assadiq (may his glory be exalted) said: "The first wonder is that the mothers of the Successors are males, not females." I said: "O my Master, Glory be to Allah! How is that?" Assadiq (may his glory be exalted) said: "The angels are in the image of women..." Then Abu Abd Allah recited: {And they made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned.}1 "Do you know, O Mufaddal, whom He meant by this?" I said: "No, O my Master." He said: "He means by that Fatima..."2
He intended by that the meaning, not the image, for the Ladies (may their glory be magnified) were witnessed in the image of women, but they are men, and they are of the People of Al-A'raf.
As it was stated explicitly in the book Al-Ta'ah Mata Taqum Al-Sa'ah (Obedience: When Does the Hour Rise):
"O Salman, as for Fatir; she is the image of My Name which appeared through her in femininity. From her, the image of Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein gushed forth. She is the origination of Allah upon which He originated His creation. From her, 'Al-Muhsin' appeared by the hidden secret."3
"I only appeared to them in the image of femininity so that I might establish the Proof against them and obligate them with the Call. Know that I am the Originator of My origination; upon it I originated My creation. It is the Muhammadan image of My Name. And [know] that Al-Hassan, Al-Hussein and the rest of the names are a single individual light; they are quoted from the Light of My Essence, and I am unique in it."4
Know, may Allah grant you success, that the Lady Zaynab is one of the manifestations of the Lady Fatima (may her glory be exalted). Everyone who was in Karbala among the women—from the Sayyida Sakina, or Um Kulthum, or Ruqayya (may their glory be magnified)—they are only the People of Holy Ranks upon whom does not befall what befalls the common creation.