The most prevalent question about this Mus’haf, the most tumultuous and confusing issue is, ‘What exactly does ‘Mus’haf’ mean?’ The assumption is that this Mus’haf is a special type of Qur’an. However, as we will show in the following sayings (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and the Imams (‘a), this Mus’haf doesn't contain a single verse (ayah) of the Qur’an. However, some of the uninformed think that because it is called a ‘Mus’haf’ that it must mean ‘Qur’an’.

In fact, some Sunnis come to Qom1 asking to see the Mus’haf which they allege is another Qur’an. However, when they understand the reality that the Shi’ites have none other than and only that very Qur’an that other Muslims possess, they are stunned at the accusations made against the Shi’ites. A great deal of the Ahl al-Sunnah (i.e. Sunnis) thinks that the Shi’ites have another Qur’an - besides the present Qur’an - at their disposal! They suppose that Mus’haf Fatimah is that other Qur’an! These allegations even make their way into secular Arab publications. For example, the Sudanese Newspaper, ‘Akhir Khabar’ on 6 Rajab, 1416 included an article claiming that the Shi’ites have another Qur’an by the name of Mus’haf Fatimah!

It has gotten to the point that some Shi’ites believe that Mus’haf Fatimah is another Qur’an. In this way they will assume that the narrations presented in this book have little import (because they are meant to mislead Sunnis) and doubt the chain of authority of the narrators. It is amazing in this light to see that such a personage as Imam Khomeini not only didn't hide or deny its existence, rather, he took pride in it: ‘We are honoured that ... Sahifah Fatimiyyah (i.e. Mus’haf Fatimah) which was inspired by God most excellent to Zahra Mardhiyyah (i.e. Lady Fatimah) is our (heritage).’2

What do such people mean that they are honoured or take pride in Mus’haf Fatimah? It's because no one had seen its contents3 came out after nightfall and said several times: ‘ (There will be) a grumbling and a moaning and a dark night, and then the Imam (al-Mahdi) will come out to you wearing the shirt of Adam, and on his hand will be the ring of Solomon, and the staff of Moses.’4.) and it is only through narrations that we know what the subject matter is. Subsequently, I must confess that the existence of the Mus’haf Fatimah has been proven and the proofs exist, however, we must approach it in a roundabout way. Heretofore an independent work has not been published; (other works) have indirectly mentioned it.

Some of the hadith about Mus’haf Fatimah have used this very word ‘Mus’haf’ in which case the aforementioned thoughts are reinforced. Muhammad Ibn Muslim narrates from Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (‘a), ‘Fatimah left a Mus’haf which is not the Qur’an.’5

‘Ali Ibn Sa'id narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (‘a), ‘And it is with us. By Allah, Mus’haf Fatimah does not contain a single verse from the Book of Allah!’6 Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) says, ‘In it is what is like your Qur’an, only three times (in size).’7,8

Some have conjectured that Mus’haf is a word exclusively in reference to the Qur’an. If it is said that ‘Mus’haf Fatimah’, means ‘Fatimah's Qur’an’ because the last hadith says ‘It is like your Qur’an, only three times (in size)’, they conclude that the Shi’ites believe that the present Qur’an is inadequate. These people are oblivious to the fact that the preceding hadith stated emphatically that this Mus’haf doesn't contain a single verse of Qur’an. In any case, now we will start the discussion with the meaning of ‘Mus’haf’.

Connotation Of ‘Mus’haf’

That which has the appearance of sheets of text between two covers is called a ‘Mus’haf’. In Sahah Taj al-Lughah, and Sahah al-‘Arabiyyah it says, ‘Al jam'e lil suhuf al maktubeh bayn al dafatayn’.9,10 ‘Suhuf’ (صُحُف) the plural of ‘sahifeh’ (صَحيفة) connotes a leaf or folio on which one writes. ‘dafatayn’ (دَفَتين) is derived from ‘dafah’ (دَفّة) which connotes something which is contiguous or adjoining something. ‘daftan al-Mus’haf’ (دفتاً المصف) means the cover on both sides of a book. 11,12 Consequently, a Mus’haf has more than one page, not just one, although it could on occasion have no more than one page; it's still a Mus’haf if it's between two covers so that the pages are contained within it.13

In conclusion, it must be said that ‘Mus’haf’ connotes a bound book inclusive to any book and is not exclusive to the Qur’an, although it must be said here that that well known meaning of Mus’haf is ‘Qur’an’. Etymologically speaking, it can be said that Mus’haf connotes the Qur’an14 .

There's no doubt that the word Mus’haf has been used in reference to the Qur’an innumerably but can't be said that it is interchangeable with the word ‘Qur’an’ even if it is the most common connotation or if it has been used in the sunnah as referring to the Qur’an. Take for example this narration: ‘The Prophet (S) said, 'Whosoever recites the collected and bound (Mus’haf) Qur’an will have 2000 good things written for him.'‘15 He also said, ‘Grant your eyes a share from your worship.’ They said, ‘And what is the share for the eyes, oh Prophet of Allah?’ He said, ‘Looking at the Mus’haf (i.e. the Qur’an) and pondering over it…’16

We can take away from this narration that the Qur’an had been collected and bound in the time of the prophet (S).

The Term Mus’haf In The Time Of The Companions Of The Prophet (S)

Despite the fact that the Prophet referred to the Qur’an as a Mus’haf 17, the Sunni sources state that the Prophet (S) absolutely did not use the word Mus’haf because its first usage was in the time of Abu Bakr (the first Caliph). Suyuti18 states, ‘When Abu Bakr had collected the Qur’an, [the Muslim community] began searching for a name for it. Some suggested, ‘Let's call it the Gospel (Injeel).’ However, others were not pleased with that (because it is what the Christians call their book). Someone said, ‘Let's call it ‘Sifr’ but again others were displeased because the Jews (called their book that). Ibn Mas'ud said, ‘In Abyssinia, I saw a book which they called ‘Mus’haf’. From this suggestion, they called the bound Qur’an 'Mus’haf'.’19,20

There are three problems with this narration:

This doesn't correspond with the prior narration (in the Sunni canon of hadith) in which the Prophet (S) referred to the Qur’an as Mus’haf.

It opposes the fact that the same narration also demonstrates that the Qur’an had been bound during the Prophet's (S) lifetime.

The word ‘Mus’haf’ is an 'Arabic word, so it couldn't have been introduced from Abyssinia.

Imam ‘Ali (‘a) says, ‘The heart is the Mus’haf of the eye.’21

The Connotation Of Mus’haf Among Non-Muslims

Among the multitude of references that demonstrate that Mus’haf doesn't exclusively connote the Qur’an, are those used by non-Muslim 'Arab writers. For example, Ibn Sa’d (a Muslim writer) in Tabaqat al-Kabari conveys the story of one ‘Sahal the Christian’ in which [Sahal] refers to the Gospel and other holy writings amongst [the Christians] with the word Mus’haf22 as did 'Arab Muslims. If it were the case that Mus’haf only referred to the Qur’an, they wouldn't have used it for (their writings). For example, Umm Salamah, the wife of the prophet (S) recounts the story of the Abyssinians as such: ‘They would unravel their scripture around and about themselves; their patriarch would begin scribing until that volume was soaked with ink.’23 As well, one ‘Owza'i’, born 33 AH, living 157 years (he died 9 years after the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq (‘a)) referred to Byzantine manuscripts as Mus’haf.24,25

Mus’haf According To The Expressions And Lexicon Of The Sahabah (Companions)

The companions of the Prophet of Allah (S) used Mus’haf to refer to other than the Qur’an. For example, the famous companion Abi Sa'id Khudri in answering some people who wanted him to narrate hadith to them said, ‘I won't say a thing for you to write until you've read the Mus’haf (of hadith already compiled).’26 Also, Uthman Ibn 'Affan (the third Caliph) requested of Hafsah,27 ‘Send us the (unbound and fragmentary) manuscripts (of Qur'an) so that we may compile and make a Mus’haf of them (nunsakha fil masahif) ...’28

Mus’haf In The Lexicon Of The Tabi'een

Mus’haf In The Lexicon Of The Tabi'een (The Companions Of The Companions Of The Prophet (S) )

In the same way that the Sahabah had used Mus’haf to refer to other than the Qur’an, the tabi'een followed suit. In this regard, there are commentaries and lexicons; we will site here a sentence from Muhammad Ibn Sirin Ansari: ‘‘Ali swore to not don his cloak (i.e. not leave his house) except on Fridays (for public prayers) until he had collected the Qur’an into a book (fi Mus’haf).’29

If the term Mus’haf in this report meant Qur’an, it would be redundant. It would be like saying that he (‘a) was collecting the book of Qur’an into a book. Then, the literal meaning of Mus’haf is clear. The second report comes from Rafi' Ibn Mehran who narrated, ‘[The companions] collected the Qur’an into a book (fi Mus’haf).’30

Mus’haf In Classical Writings

Mus’haf was used by classical writers in their manuscripts in reference to a bound book. For example, the author Jahidh referred to each section of his book Al-Haywan as a Mus’haf and

at the end of each section he would write, ‘thus ends the first Mus’haf and begins the second Mus’haf...’

Also, Sheikh Aba Bakr Ibn 'Iqal Saqli in Fawa'id says, ‘The Sahabah didn't collect the sunnah of the Prophet of Allah (S) in a book (Mus’haf).’ 31

It's worth pointing out that the word Mus’haf is mentioned neither in the Qur’an itself nor was it counted among the names of the Qur’an. Jalaluddin Suyuti32 and Abu Al-Ma'ali al-Saleh, who was one of the transmitters of hadith of Islam, counted 55 titles for the Qur’an and the word ‘Mus’haf’ was not among them.

It's interesting to know that no one objected to Seebway's calling his book Al-Kitab, despite the fact that that was one of the titles of the Qur’an, but they object to the book of Lady Fatimah (‘a) being called ‘Mus’haf’.

Mus’haf In Contemporary Writings

Dr. Imtiyaz Ahmad in his book Dala'il al-Tawthiq al-Mubakkir li ‘s-Sunnah wa al-Hadith says that Mus’haf doesn't just refer to the Qur’an, but can refer to (any) book. In order to prove his claim, he cites several sources.33 Also professor Bakir Bin 'Abdullah in his book Ma'rifat al-nasakh wa al-sahhaf al-Hadith says, ‘'Mus’haf' is an idiomatic expression which is inclusive to any collected work used by speakers.’34

Dr. Nasiraddin Asad in Masadir al-shu'ur al-jahili writes, ‘They called any bound book a ‘Mus’haf’ and it strictly refers to a book, not just the Qur’an.’35

• 1. Qom, Iran is one of the oldest Shi’ite cities, settled in the 2nd century, AH. It is one of the premiere centres of Shi’ite theological learning and the pilgrimage site for the sister of the eighth Imam, Fatimah al-Ma’sumah (‘a).
• 2. Khomeini SRM. Last Will and Testament, page 3.
• 3. The Imams (‘a) possessed this Mus’haf, along with the seal of the Prophet (S), the staff of prophet Moses (‘a), etc. as proofs of their vice regency. The twelfth Imam, Al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his appearance) currently possesses it. For example, in one hadith it says, ‘One night, Amir al-Mu’minin (i.e. Imam ‘Ali (‘a)) came out after nightfall and said several times: ‘(There will be) a grumbling and a moaning and a dark night, and then the Imam (al-Mahdi) will come out to you wearing the shirt of Adam, and on his hand will be the ring of Solomon, and the staff of Moses.’ Al-Kafi, volume 1, hadith #619.
• 4. Al-Kafi, volume 1, hadith #619
• 5. Majlisi MB. Bihar al-Anwar, volume 26, page 41, hadith #73. Dar Al-Kutub Al-Islamiyyah, Tehran, Iran.
• 6. Majlisi MB. Bihar al-Anwar, volume 27, page 271, hadith #3. Dar Al-Kutub Al-Islamiyyah, Tehran, Iran.
• 7. Kulayni M. Usul al-Kafi, volume 2, page 613.
• 8. Majlisi MB. Bihar al-Anwar, volume 26, page 39, hadith #10. Dar Al-Kutub Al-Islamiyyah, Tehran, Iran.
• 9. Juhari, Sahah Taj al-Lughah, and Sahah al-‘Arabiyyah, volume 4, page 1383.
• 10. Zubaydi, Taj al-‘Aroos, volume 6, page 161.
• 11. Fayyumi, Misbah al-Munir, page 197
• 12. Abu Hilal al-‘Askari, al-furuq al-Lughwiyyeh, page 241, Qom, Basirti Publication.
• 13. Zarqani, Minahil al-Irfan, volume 1, page 384, Beirut, Darahiya’ Al-Tirath Publication, 1412 AH/1994.
• 14. But doesn't denote it - tr.
• 15. Zarkeshi, Al Burhan fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an, volume 1, page 546. Beirut, Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyeh, 1403 AH/1983.
• 16. Tirmidhi, Navadir al-Usul, volume 3, page 254, Beirut, Dar al-Jeel, 1412 AH/1992.
• 17. In the above narration collected by a Sunni author - tr.
• 18. Suyuti was a renowned Sunni scholar and prolific author with over 700 extent works attributed to him. He was also a Shadhili Sufi. He was considered to be the foremost authority of hadith and ‘Arabic language of his day. While he lauded Imam ‘Ali in his work, Al-qawl al-jali fi fada'il ‘Ali (The manifest discourse on the virtues of ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib), he was no friend of the Shi’a. For example, he penned the polemic, Risala al-sayf al-qati` al-lami` li ahl al-i`tirad al-shawa'i` (Epistle of the sharp and glistening sword to the Shi`i people of opposition) as well.
• 19. Suyuti J, Al-Atqan, volume 1, page 53.
• 20. Kitabi, Al-Tarteeb al-Adariyyeh, volume 2, page 231, Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi.
• 21. Ibn Abi Talib ‘Ali, Nahj al-Balagha, saying #408.
• 22. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat al-Kabari, volume 1, page 363, Dar Sadr Publications.
• 23. Ibn Hisham, Seerah al-Nabi, volume 1, page 353, Beirut; Dar al-Fikr Publications, 1401 AH/1981.
• 24. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat al-Kabari, volume 7, page 433, Dar Sadr Publications.
• 25. Tahdheeb al-Kamal, volume 17, page 315, Mu’assasah al-Risalah.
• 26. Baghdadi K, Taqyeed al-‘Ilm, page 36, Beirut; Dar al-Sunnat al-Nabawiyyah, 1974.
• 27. Hafsah was the daughter of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, the second Caliph. Hafsah was also a wife of the Prophet Muhammad (S).
• 28. Bukhari M, Sahih al-Bukhari, volume 6, book 61, hadith #4938, page 120, Beirut; Dar al-Fikr, 1411 AH/1991 (hadith #510, book 61: Virtues of the Qur’an according to
  http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/061.sbt.ht...
• 29. Sijstani, Al-Musahaf, page 10, Egypt; Rahmaniyyah publications.
• 30. Sijstani, Al-Musahaf, page 9, Egypt; Rahmaniyyah publications.
• 31. Abu Rayhah, Adhwa’ala al-sunnat al-mohammadiyyah, page 259, Al-Batha’ publication.
• 32. Al-Itiqan fi ‘ulum al-Qur’an, volume 1, pages 51-52, Beirut; Dar al-Fikr.
• 33. Ahmad I, Dala'il al-Tawthiq al-Mubakkir li ‘s-Sunnah wa al-Hadith, pages 263-. Amin tr., Pakistan; Islamic Research Publications.
• 34. Ibn ‘Abdullah B, Ma’rifat al-nasakh wa al-sahhaf al-Hadith, pages 23-31, Jeddah; Dar al-Rayah.
• 35. Asad N, Masadir al-shu’ur al-jahili, page 139, Cairo; Dar al-Ma’arif, 1969.