Question: There are many narrations about the Mushaf of Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her); some narrations say that it was from Gabriel, some consider it to be the dictation of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the handwriting of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), and some say that the divine angels brought that book to the Imam in the form of a book! Which of these narrations is authentic and correct?
Answer: There are narrations from the infallibles, especially Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), about the characteristics of the Mushaf of Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon him). In some narrations, the person who dictated this book is referred to as Gabriel and the angel of revelation, and in some narrations, it is also referred to as the Messenger of Allah. The common point of these two groups of narrations in the author is that it is Hazrat Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him). The common point of these two groups of narrations is that, considering the literal meaning and Quranic evidence, the word “Messenger of Allah” in these narrations does not mean the Prophet (peace be upon him), but rather the divine messenger Gabriel; Therefore, in both sets of narrations, the dictator of these teachings is the trustworthy Gabriel and the writer is Imam Ali (AS).
Detailed answer:
According to narrations, a legacy has been left for the Imams (AS) from the Prophet (PBUH), the Commander of the Faithful (PBUH), and Fatima Zahra (AS). The “Musahf of Fatima” remains with the Imams (PBUH) as a legacy of Imamate and is inherited from one Imam to another. It is stated in authentic narrations that between the death of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the martyrdom of Siddiqah al-Kubra (AS), an angel would descend upon the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and inform him of the state of his venerable father in the world of Barzakh and also of future events. Of course, it is also derived from some narrations that this Musahf was written during the time of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). In this article, first a reference is made to these two categories of narrations and then the commonality between them is explained.
A) Typology of narrations
According to authentic narrations, the content of the book “Musahf Fatima” was revealed by God to Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her) by an angel. The content of this Musahf is neither the Quran nor jurisprudential rulings, but all the future events and happenings of the world until the Day of Judgment are recorded in it.
There are two interpretations in the narrations regarding the dictator of the contents of this book. Some narrations consider it to be dictated by Gabriel, and in some narrations, the dictator is interpreted as “the Messenger of Allah”. However, just as there is no doubt about the existence of this book, there is also no disagreement or doubt about its writing by the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him).
1. Gabriel, the Dictator from God
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) says about the content and manner of writing this Mushaf:
"Indeed, Fatima (peace be upon her) was in the world for seventy-five days after the Prophet (peace be upon him) and she was very saddened by the separation of her father. Gabriel (peace be upon him) would come and console her on her father's death, inform her of his condition and status, and tell her the story of his children after him. Ali (peace be upon him) wrote these and those writings are the Mushaf of Fatima (peace be upon her). (1)
It is also narrated in another narration from Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) that "When God Almighty took the soul of His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), Fatima (peace be upon him) was filled with grief over the death of the Prophet whose extent is known only to God Almighty. Therefore, God sent an angel to comfort her and speak to her. Fatima complained about this story to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) (or her complaint was that the angel's words were not written down). Ali (peace be upon him) said: When you felt the angel's arrival and heard his voice, tell me." So Fatima informed the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), and the Prophet (peace be upon him) wrote down everything he heard until he made a Mushaf from those words, but in that Mushaf there is nothing of what is permissible or forbidden, but rather in it is knowledge of future events. "(2)
Some narrations also do not mention the details of the content and how the Mushaf was written, but only state in general terms that this Mushaf was revealed to Fatimah (peace be upon her) by God after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him). (3)
Although these narrations generally refer to Fatimah's Mushaf, but considering the previous narrations, it can be concluded that this Mushaf was revealed by God after the death of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
2. The Messenger of God Dictating on behalf of God
As mentioned earlier, some narrations mention that the Mushaf of Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her) was written with the dictation of "the Messenger of God" and written by the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him).
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said: “By Allah, we have the Mushaf of Fatima, which contains not a verse from the Book of Allah, and it is the dictation of the Messenger of Allah and it was written by Ali (a.s.) with his hand....(4) By Allah, we have the Mushaf of Fatima (a.s.) and it is the dictation of the Messenger of Allah and it was written by Ali (a.s.) with his hand.”
Also, in another narration, Imam Sadiq (a.s.) mentioned the Mushaf of Fatima as a legacy of the Imamate and said: “Fatima left behind him a Mushaf that is not the Quran, but rather a word from the words of Allah, revealed to her, dictated by the Messenger of Allah and written by Ali (a.s.).” (5) Fatima Zahra (a.s.) left behind a Mushaf that is not the Quran, but rather a word from Allah, revealed to her, dictated by the Messenger of Allah and written by Ali (a.s.).”
According to the second group of hadiths, the person who dictated the “Mushaf of Fatima” is referred to as the Messenger of Allah, and unlike the first group, Gabriel is not mentioned.
B) The commonality between the narrations: The narrations related to the Mushaf indicate that Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her) was a hadith speaker and that she had a special position with God, to the extent that the angels spoke to her and the "Mushaf of Fatima" is the fruit of this conversation; but there is a fundamental question:
