During the days when the house of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was immersed in sorrow, and the daughter of the Seal of the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), lay upon her sickbed, she presented several final instructions to Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him).
The Testaments of the Truthful Martyr
In the final moments of her life, Lady Fatimah, the Pure and Truthful One (peace be upon her), addressed Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) with the following instructions:
That he marry Ummamah, the daughter of her sister, for she held great affection for the children of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her).
That a coffin be constructed for her, for the angels had shown her the design of a coffin, and she described its features to Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him).
That none of those who had wronged her should attend her funeral procession nor perform the funeral prayer over her.
The First Coffin
Shaikh al-Tusi, through a reliable chain of transmission, narrates from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him):
“The first coffin ever constructed in Islam was the coffin of Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her). The reason was that when she became ill—due to the injuries that ultimately led to her martyrdom—she said to Asma bint Umays, ‘O Asma, I have become weak, and my flesh has diminished. Will you not prepare something that may conceal my body?’
Asma replied, ‘When I was in the land of Abyssinia, I saw them constructing something. If you wish, I can make it for you.’
Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) said: ‘Yes.’
So Asma brought a wooden platform, turned it upside down, requested branches of palm leaves, and fastened them to the sides. Then she spread a cloth over it and said: ‘I saw them making such a structure.’
Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) then said, ‘Make one like this for me and cover my body. May God shield your body from the fire of Hell.’”
A Request from Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him)
Another narration records that Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her), in her testament to Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him), said:
“O Ali, construct for me a coffin resembling what the angels have shown me.”
He replied, “Show me its form.”
Then Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) displayed its shape just as the angels had described it to her, in accordance with the command God Almighty had given them.
- Allamah al-Majlisi states
“It is possible that both accounts occurred: first, the angels depicted the coffin, and afterward Asma described it in the same manner, consistent with what the angels had shown.”
