Refutation of these assertions and a brief overview of the sources which prove the existence of Ibn Sabaʼ

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Refutation of These Assertions and a Brief Overview of the Sources which Prove the Existence of Ibn Sabaʼ

These are the opinions of a few Shia personalities in the present era. It seems as if they have not even glanced at their own books on beliefs, sects, narrations and their narrators, as well as their books of al Jarh wa al Ta’dil (hadith narrator criticism).

The following is a short list of books considered to be the most reliable amongst the Shia, wherein ‘Abdullah ibn Sabaʼ as well as his beliefs and fanciful notions have been reported. This in turn forced Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his pure family to reject Ibn Sabaʼ and absolve themselves from him and his followers, distancing themselves from all that he attributed to them.

1. Risalat al Irjaʼ by Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al Hanafiyyah (d. 95 AH)^[1], the reliable jurist who would say, “Whoever abandons Abu Bakr and ‘Umar has abandoned the Sunnah.” The book has been reported from him by narrators who are considered reliable by the Shia.
2. Kitab al Gharat by Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Sa’id ibn Hilal al Thaqafi al Isfahani (d. 283 AH), who was deemed reliable by Ibn Tawus.
3. Kitab al Maqalat wa l-Firaq by Sa’d ibn ‘Abdullah al Ash’ari al Qummi (d. 301 AH), published in Tehran 1963.
4. Firaq al Shia by Abu Muhammad al Hasan ibn Musa al Nawbakhti, who was amongst the esteemed Shia scholars of the third century. The book has been published a few times by Kazim al Kutubi in Najaf and also by Mustashriq Riter in Istanbul in 1931 CE.
5. Rijal al Kashshi by Abu ‘Amr Muhammad ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz al Kashshi. He is a contemporary of Ibn Quluwayh (d. 329 AH). It is published by Mu’assasat al A’lami li al Matbu’at Karbala’.
6. Rijal al Tusi by Sheikh al Taʼifah Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Hasan al Tusi (d. 460 AH), printed first in Najaf (1381 AH/ 1961 CE) by Muhammad Kazim al Kutubi.
7. Sharh Ibn Abi al Hadid li Nahj al Balaghah by ‘Izz al Din Abu Hamid ‘Abdul Hamid ibn Hibat Allah al Mada’ini, famous as Ibn Abi al Hadid al Mu’tazili al Shia (d. 656 AH), printed by Maymaniyyah (1326 AH) and others.
8. Al Rijal by Hasan ibn Yusuf al Hilli (d. 726 AH), printed in Tehran in 1311 AH as well as in Najaf in 1961 CE.
9. Rawdat al Jannat by Muhammad Baqir al Khuwanasari (d. 1315 AH), printed in Iran in 1307 AH.
10. Tanqih al Maqal fi Ahwal al Rijal by ‘Abdullah al Mamaqani (d. 1351 AH), printed in Najaf in 1350 AH by al Matba’ah al Murtadawiyyah.
11. Qamus al Rijal by Muhammad Taqi al Tustari, published by Markaz Nashr al Kitab Tehran in 1382 AH.
12. Rawdat al Safa, a reliable book of history to the Shia in Persian, printed in Iran.
13. Da’irat al Ma’arif also called Muqtabas al Athar wa Mujaddid Madathar by Muhammad Hussain al A’lami al Ha’iri, printed in 1388 AH/1969 CE by Matba’ah ‘Ilmiyyah Qum.
14. Al Kuna wa al Alqab by ‘Abbas ibn Muhammad Rida al Qummi (d. 1359 AH), printed by al ‘Irfan Saida.

These are a few books which we came across. In addition to these, there are many others wherein mention of the existence of Ibn Sabaʼ can be found. Amongst them are:

1. Hall al Ishkal by Ahmed Ibn Taʼus (d. 673 AH).
2. Al Rijal by Ibn Dawood, written in 707 AH.
3. Al Tahrir al Tawusi by al Hasan ibn Zayn al Din al ‘Amili (d. 1011 AH).
4. Majma’ al Rijal by al Quhbaʼi (d. 1016 AH).
5. Naqd al Rijal by al Tifarishi, written in 1015 AH.
6. Jami’ al Ruwat by al Ardabili (d. 1100 AH).
7. Mawsu’at al Bihar by al Majlisi (d. 1110 AH).^[2]
8. Mawsu’at al Bihar by Ibn Shahrashub (d. 588 AH).^[3]
9. Mawsu’at al Bihar by Ibn Muhammad Tahir al ‘Amili (1138 AH).^[4]

NEXT⇒ Beliefs of Ibn Sabaʼ and his Deviation

^[1]  Refer to Khulasah Tadhib al Kamal, 1/220; Risalat al Irjaʼ; Tarikh al Turath al ‘Arabi, 1/210.

^[2]  Refer to Bihar al Anwar al Jami’ah li Durar Akhbar al A’immah al Athar, 25/286-287, Beirut.

^[3]  Refer to Ibn Shahrashub: Manaqib Al Abi Talib, 1/227-228.

^[4]  Refer to Muqaddamah Mir’at al Anwar wa Mishkat al Asrar fi Tafsir al Qur’an, pg. 62 onwards.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents

Refutation of These Assertions and a Brief Overview of the Sources which Prove the Existence of Ibn Sabaʼ

These are the opinions of a few Shia personalities in the present era. It seems as if they have not even glanced at their own books on beliefs, sects, narrations and their narrators, as well as their books of al Jarh wa al Ta’dil (hadith narrator criticism).

The following is a short list of books considered to be the most reliable amongst the Shia, wherein ‘Abdullah ibn Sabaʼ as well as his beliefs and fanciful notions have been reported. This in turn forced Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his pure family to reject Ibn Sabaʼ and absolve themselves from him and his followers, distancing themselves from all that he attributed to them.

1. Risalat al Irjaʼ by Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al Hanafiyyah (d. 95 AH)^[1], the reliable jurist who would say, “Whoever abandons Abu Bakr and ‘Umar has abandoned the Sunnah.” The book has been reported from him by narrators who are considered reliable by the Shia.
2. Kitab al Gharat by Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Sa’id ibn Hilal al Thaqafi al Isfahani (d. 283 AH), who was deemed reliable by Ibn Tawus.
3. Kitab al Maqalat wa l-Firaq by Sa’d ibn ‘Abdullah al Ash’ari al Qummi (d. 301 AH), published in Tehran 1963.
4. Firaq al Shia by Abu Muhammad al Hasan ibn Musa al Nawbakhti, who was amongst the esteemed Shia scholars of the third century. The book has been published a few times by Kazim al Kutubi in Najaf and also by Mustashriq Riter in Istanbul in 1931 CE.
5. Rijal al Kashshi by Abu ‘Amr Muhammad ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz al Kashshi. He is a contemporary of Ibn Quluwayh (d. 329 AH). It is published by Mu’assasat al A’lami li al Matbu’at Karbala’.
6. Rijal al Tusi by Sheikh al Taʼifah Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Hasan al Tusi (d. 460 AH), printed first in Najaf (1381 AH/ 1961 CE) by Muhammad Kazim al Kutubi.
7. Sharh Ibn Abi al Hadid li Nahj al Balaghah by ‘Izz al Din Abu Hamid ‘Abdul Hamid ibn Hibat Allah al Mada’ini, famous as Ibn Abi al Hadid al Mu’tazili al Shia (d. 656 AH), printed by Maymaniyyah (1326 AH) and others.
8. Al Rijal by Hasan ibn Yusuf al Hilli (d. 726 AH), printed in Tehran in 1311 AH as well as in Najaf in 1961 CE.
9. Rawdat al Jannat by Muhammad Baqir al Khuwanasari (d. 1315 AH), printed in Iran in 1307 AH.
10. Tanqih al Maqal fi Ahwal al Rijal by ‘Abdullah al Mamaqani (d. 1351 AH), printed in Najaf in 1350 AH by al Matba’ah al Murtadawiyyah.
11. Qamus al Rijal by Muhammad Taqi al Tustari, published by Markaz Nashr al Kitab Tehran in 1382 AH.
12. Rawdat al Safa, a reliable book of history to the Shia in Persian, printed in Iran.
13. Da’irat al Ma’arif also called Muqtabas al Athar wa Mujaddid Madathar by Muhammad Hussain al A’lami al Ha’iri, printed in 1388 AH/1969 CE by Matba’ah ‘Ilmiyyah Qum.
14. Al Kuna wa al Alqab by ‘Abbas ibn Muhammad Rida al Qummi (d. 1359 AH), printed by al ‘Irfan Saida.

These are a few books which we came across. In addition to these, there are many others wherein mention of the existence of Ibn Sabaʼ can be found. Amongst them are:

1. Hall al Ishkal by Ahmed Ibn Taʼus (d. 673 AH).
2. Al Rijal by Ibn Dawood, written in 707 AH.
3. Al Tahrir al Tawusi by al Hasan ibn Zayn al Din al ‘Amili (d. 1011 AH).
4. Majma’ al Rijal by al Quhbaʼi (d. 1016 AH).
5. Naqd al Rijal by al Tifarishi, written in 1015 AH.
6. Jami’ al Ruwat by al Ardabili (d. 1100 AH).
7. Mawsu’at al Bihar by al Majlisi (d. 1110 AH).^[2]
8. Mawsu’at al Bihar by Ibn Shahrashub (d. 588 AH).^[3]
9. Mawsu’at al Bihar by Ibn Muhammad Tahir al ‘Amili (1138 AH).^[4]

NEXT⇒ Beliefs of Ibn Sabaʼ and his Deviation

^[1]  Refer to Khulasah Tadhib al Kamal, 1/220; Risalat al Irjaʼ; Tarikh al Turath al ‘Arabi, 1/210.

^[2]  Refer to Bihar al Anwar al Jami’ah li Durar Akhbar al A’immah al Athar, 25/286-287, Beirut.

^[3]  Refer to Ibn Shahrashub: Manaqib Al Abi Talib, 1/227-228.

^[4]  Refer to Muqaddamah Mir’at al Anwar wa Mishkat al Asrar fi Tafsir al Qur’an, pg. 62 onwards.