4. Inability to distinguish between authentic and fabricated

The School’s narrative problems do not stop at the lies attributed to the Imams and the large number of false and fabricated narrations found in the leading books, whereby it could be overcome by probing and scrutinizing the authentic narrations from the weak and fabricated ones, then embarking on eradicating those narrations that were inserted into the school.

However, the biggest problem is that even the senior scholars of the school cannot distinguish the authentic narrations from the weak and the fabricated narrations of the Ahlul Bayt. Thus, they are confused and they have confused those around them.[1]

Hence, the learned Sayed Nur al Din al Musawi al ‘Amili (d. 1062 AH) stated, when commenting on the martyrdom of the Muhaddith al Astarabadi about what al Muhaqqiq al Hilli mentioned in al Mu’tabar that he narrated from Jafar al Sadiq through close to four thousand narrators, some of whom were given the title of ‘most distinguished jurists’ such as Zurarah ibn A’yan, his two brothers Bukayr and Humran, Jamil ibn Darraj, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Burayd ibn Muawiyah, the two Hishams,[2]Abu Basir etc., that they wrote the reports to Jafar al Sadiq’s rulings in four hundred compilations, which they named Usul:

إن من اطلع على كثرة الأحاديث الواردة في القدح في أغلب من ذكره من الفضلاء عن أئمتهم في زمانهم عرف كثرة الأحاديث الموضوعة في ذلك الزمان فضلا عن غيره بحيث لا يتحمل حملها عل التقية وفي حديث الفيض بن المختار من رواية الكشي عن أبي عبد الله حيث قال له جعلني الله فداك ما هذا الاختلاف الذي بين شيعتكم قال وأي اختلاف يا فيض فقال له الفيض إني لأجلس في حلقهم بالكوفة فأكاد أشك في اختلافهم في حديثهم حتي أرجع إلي المفضل بن عمر فيوافقني من ذلك على ما تستريح إليه نفسي ويطمئن إليه قلبي فقال أبو عبد الله أجل هو كما ذكرت يا فيض إن الناس أولعوا بالكذب علينا إن الله الذي افترض عليهم لا يريد منهم غيره وإني أحدث أحدهم بالحديث فلا يخرج من عندي حتي يتأوله على غير تأويله وذلك أنهم لا يطلبون بحديثنا ما عند الله وإنما يطلبون به الدنيا … إلى آخر الحديث وإنما نقلنا هذا الحديث ليعلم كثرة الأحاديث الضعيفة واختلاطها من ذلك الوقت والاحتياج إلى تمييزها والبحث عنها فكيف في مثل هذا الزمان مع تصريح مولفي الحديث في أوائل كتبهم بكثرة التضاة والاختلاف منه والاشتباه ولم ينهوا صريحا علي أن ما نقلوه كله سليم عن ذلك وانهم ما دونوه من الأصول صحيحة لا تحتمل الضعف

Whoever looks at the large number of narrations that were transmitted in criticizing most of what the distinguished scholars narrate from their Imams, will come to know of large numbers of fabricated narrations that were present at that time, let alone other times, to such an extent that it is not possible to regard them as Taqiyyah. Al Kashshi reports the narration of al Fayd ibn al Mukhtar wherein he says to Abu ‘Abdullah, “May Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala sacrifice me for you, what are these differences among your group?”

He asked, “What differences, O Fayd?”

Fayd said to him, “I sit in their gatherings in Kufah and I almost doubt in their differences in their narrations till I return to al Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar who agrees with me on that, which comforts my soul and reassures my heart.”

Abu ‘Abdullah replied, “Yes, it is as you have mentioned. People are fond of attributing lies to us. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, who has made that incumbent on them, does not want anything else from them. I narrate a hadith to one of them and as soon as he leaves me, he misinterprets it. That is so because they do not desire, through our narrations, what is by Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, rather, they desire through it, this worldly life….” till the end of the narration.

We have quoted this narration so as to be aware of the abundance of weak narrations and their complications that were found during that time, and the need to distinguish and investigate them. How about these times when the authors of hadith have declared, in their initial books, the abundance of contradiction, differences and suspicion regarding them, and did not notify clearly that what they transmit is all safe from that, and that they only compiled authentic narrations that cannot be regarded weak.[3]

He also stated:

إن السيد المرتضى والشيخ المفيد كانا في عصر واحد ونقل السيد علي بن طاووس في رسالته لولده عن الشيخ الجليل العارف بعلوم كثيرة سعيد بن هبة الله القطب الراوندي أنه وقع الخلاف بين السيد والشيخ المفيد في خمس وتسعين مسألة من مسائل الأصول وقال لو استوفيت الخلاف بينهما لطال الكلام ومن المعلوم أن هذا الاختلاف لا يصلح له سبب إلا اختلاف الحديث ولو كانت كلها صحيحة وكل حكم من أصول وفروع فيها دلالة عليه كما يقوله المصنف لم يجز منهم هذا الاختلاف وإنما نشأ غالبا من رد السيد أخبار الآحاد وعمل المفيد بها

Sayed al Murtada and Sheikh al Mufid were contemporaries.[4] Sayed ‘Ali ibn Tawus quoted, in his treatise to his son, from the honourable sheikh, learned in many sciences, Sa’id ibn Hibat Allah al Qutd al Rawandi that al Sayed differed with Sheikh al Mufid in 95 fundamental rulings. He said, “If I were to mention their differences extensively, the discussion would become too lengthy.”[5]

It is well known that the only cause of these differences can be the differences in the narrations. If all the narrations were authentic and every fundamental and subsidiary ruling indicated to that, as claimed by the author, these differences would not occur. Most probably, these differences stemmed from al Sayed’s refusal of al Khabr al Wahid[6] and al Mufid’s accepting them.[7]

Sayed Muhy al Din al Ghurayfi (d. 1412 AH) states:

إن كثيرا من الأحاديث لم تصدر عن الأئمة وإنما وضعها رجال كذابون ونسبوها إليهم إما بالدس في كتب أصحابهم أو بغيره وبالطبع لا بد وأن يكونوا قد وضعوا لها أو لأكثرها إسنادا صحيحا كي تقبل حسبما فرضته عملية الدس والتدليس وحيث لا علم لنا بتلك المجموعة من الأخبار المؤلفة من ذينك الطائفتين أعني الموضوعة والصادرة تقية ولا طريق لنا إلى تمييزها عن الأخبار المعتبرة فكيف يسوغ العمل بكل خبر سالم السند من الضعف مع احتمال أن يكون من تلك المجموعة التي لا يصح العمل بها

Definitely many of the narrations did not emanate from the Imams. They were fabricated by liars who attributed it to them, either by inserting them in their companions’ books or some other way. Of course, they must have fabricated authentic chains for all or most of these narrations, so that they can be accepted according to what the process of infiltration and deceit imposes. Since we have no knowledge of those transmission compilations which were composed by the two groups, i.e., the fabricated and those that were issued as Taqiyyah, and we have no way to differentiate them from reliable transmissions, how will it be justifiable to adopt every transmission whose chain is safe from weakness, with the possibility that it could be from that compilation which cannot be adopted?[8]

Sheikh Hussain al Radi al ‘Abdullah states:

ليس من العيب أن نكشف نقاط الضعف الموجودة لدينا لنلتمس علاجها وعدم الوقوع فيها لكن من العيب والعار السكوت على تلك النقاط السوداء والأخطر هو تبريرها ولا يقل خطورة من ذلك كله عدم التصدي لعلاجها في هذا الوقت قد أدخل الغلاة والمفوضة والمنحرفون كثيرا من الأحاديث ضمن أحاديث مدرسة أهل البيت حتي اختلط الغث بالسمين والصحيح بالسقيم والضعيف حتي صعب التمييز بينها وقد سبب ذلك تشويه سمعة الأئمة فانحرف من لم يكن عنده الخبرة التامة بمحتواها والقناعة بأسبابها

It is not a shame to expose our weak points in order to seek treatment for them and not fall into them. Rather, shame and disgrace are in remaining silent on those dark points, and more dangerous is to justify them. No less dangerous than all of that is not to address the treatment. In these times the extremist, the Mufawwidah and the deviants have inserted many narrations among the narrations of the Ahlul Bayt, to an extent that pus got mixed with fat, authentic with the sick and the weak; and differentiating between them has become difficult. This resulted in the defamation of the Imams and the deviation of those who did not have complete knowledge of its contents and conviction of its reasons.[9]

Al Sayed ‘Ali Abu al Hassan states:

ولا يكاد يخفي ما تعرضت له أي سنة المعصوم فكم من مكذب ووضاع ومحرف على أن الشقة عنهم سلام الله عليهم بعدت والثغرات كثرت والقرائن التي بها نحرز صحة مضمون خبر وصدوره أكثرها بل جلها علينا خفيت وما به نتمكن من إحراز جهة الصدور فضلا عن أصالته من علامات وإمارات ليس إلا الشيء القليل جدا

What it was exposed to —the Sunnah of the Infallible Imams—is hardly hidden. How many liars, fabricators and distorters are there whose distance from the Imams have become lengthy, the loopholes have increased and the evidences through which we achieve the authenticity of the transmissions’ content and its issuance, most of it, is hidden from us. The signs and indications, by which we can attain the direction of the issuance, let alone its origin, are very few indeed.[10]

In the past, Sheikh al Ta’ifah al Tusi (d. 460 AH) sensed the seriousness of the matter. Thus, he wrote his book Tahdhib al Ahkam, the commentary of his teacher’s book al Muqni’ah, trying to remove the differences and the contradictions in the school’s narrations. He declared this in the forward of this book by saying:

ذاكرني بعض الأصدقاء أيده الله ممن أوجب حقه (علينا) بأحاديث أصحابنا أيدهم الله ورحم السلف منهم وما وقع فيها من الاختلاف والتباين والمنافاة والتضاد حتي لا يكاد يتفق خبر إلا وبإزائه ما يضاده ولا يسلم حديث إلا وفي مقابلته ما ينافيه حتى جعل مخالفونا ذلك من أعظم الطعون علي مذهبنا وتطرقوا بذلك إلى إبطال معتقدنا وذكروا أنه لم يزل شيوخكم السلف والخلف يطعنون على مخالفيهم بالاختلاف الذي يدينون الله تعالى به ويشنعون عليهم بافتراق كلمتهم في الفروع ويذكرون أن هذا مما لا يجوز أن يتعبد به الحكيم ولا أن يبيح العمل به العليم وقد وجدناكم أشد اختلافا من مخالفيكم وأكثر تباينا من مباينيكم ووجود هذا الاختلاف منكم مع اعتقادكم بطلان ذلك دليل على فساد الأصل حتى دخل على جماعة ممن ليس لهم قوة في العلم ولا بصيرة بوجوه النظر ومعاني الألفاظ شبهة وكثير منهم رجع عن اعتقاد الحق لما اشتبه عليه الوجه في ذلك وعجز عن حل الشبهة فيه سمعت شيخنا أبا عبد الله أيده الله يذكر أن أبا الحسين الهاروني العلوي كان يعتقد الحق ويدين بالإمامة فرجع عنها لما التبس عليه الأمر في اختلاف الأحاديث وترك المذهب ودان بغيره لما لم يتبين له وجوه المعاني فيها

Some of the friends reminded me, whose right has been made incumbent upon us, about our companions’ narrations —may Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala assist them and have mercy on the predecessors among them—and the differences, disparity, inconsistency and contradictions that occurred in them, to such a degree that one would hardly find a transmission except that there would be another one opposing it, and one would not present any narration except that against it would be another narration contradicting it, to an extent that our opposition made that one of the greatest criticism against our school and through it embarked on invalidating our beliefs. They mention that your leaders, from the predecessors and their successors, would continuously criticise their opposition for their differences in that which they worship Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala with and they would slander them for their differences in subsidiary rulings. They mention that this is something that a wise person would not practice upon and a knowledgeable person would not permit practicing upon it. We find you to be more divergent and contrasting than your opposition. The existence of these differences among you, despite your belief of its invalidity, is a proof of the corruption of the principle, to such an extent that a group of those who do not possess strength in knowledge, insight in points of view and the meanings of words (semantics) fell into doubt. Many retracted from the beliefs in the truth when they became confused and were unable to remove the doubt. I heard our teacher Abu ‘Abdullah mentioning that Abu al Hussain al Haruni al ‘Alawi[11] used to believe in the truth and in Imamah. He retracted from it after getting confused regarding the differences in narrations. He left the school and adopted another one when the various meanings were not clear to him.[12]

When the fruit of this contradiction in transmissions was that some of the school’s scholars left the school for other schools, then a group of other Imami scholars took a stance different to their predecessors, as these differences and contradictions in transmissions compelled them to distance themselves from delving into fiqh. This is what the learned Ibn Tawus (d. 664 AH) proclaimed in his approval of Sheikh Jamal al Din ibn Yusuf ibn Hatim al Mashghari al ‘Amili[13] where he states:

واعلم أنه إنما اقتصرت على تأليف كتاب غياث سلطان الورى لسكان الثرى من كتب الفقه في قضاء الصلوات (عن الأموات) ولم أصنف غير ذلك من الفقه وتقرير المسائل والجوابات لأني كنت قد رأيت مصلحتي ومعاذي في دنياي وآخرتي في التورع عن الفتوى في الأحكام الشرعية لأجل ما وجدت من الاختلاف في الرواية بين فقهاء أصحابنا في التكاليف النفلية وسمعت كلام الله جل جلاله يقول عن أعز موجود من الخلائق عليه محمد صلى الله عليه وآله وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ الْأَقَاوِيْلِ لَأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُ بِالْيَمِيْنِ ثُمَّ لَقَطَعْنَا مِنْهُ الْوَتِينَ فَمَا مِنْكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ عَنْهُ حَاجِزِيْنَ (الحاقة: ٤٤‏-٤٧ (ولو صنفت كتبا في الفقه يعمل بعدي عليها كان ذلك نقضا لتورعي عن الفتوى ودخولا تحت خطر الآية المشار إليها لأنه جل جلاله إذا كان هذا تهديده للرسول العزيز الأعظم لو تقول عليه فكيف كان يكون حالي إذا تقولت عنه جل جلاله، وأفتيت أو صنفت خطأ أو غلطا يوم حضوري بين يديه

Know well that I have sufficed on writing the book Ghiyath Sultan al Wara li Sukkan al Thara in fiqh, regarding the compensation of Salah (on behalf of the deceased)[14]and I have not written anything other than that in fiqh, recording[15] enquiries and answers, as I see my benefit and refuge in this world as well as the Hereafter in abstaining[16] from issuing Fatwas in Shar’i rulings because of the differences that I found in the narrations amongst our jurists in optional[17] obligations. I heard the Qur’an saying about the greatest of all creation, Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:

Had the Messenger made up something in Our name, We would have certainly seized him by his right hand, then severed his aorta and none of you could have shielded him from Us.[18]

If I write a book on fiqh that would be practiced after me, it would be in violation of my abstinence from issuing fatwa and entering the threat of the abovementioned verse, because if this was the warning from Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to the greatest and the mightiest Prophet, if he made up something, what would be my condition if I made up something by issuing fatwa or writing a book incorrectly or mistakenly, one the day of my presence before him?[19]

Ayatollah al Sheikh Murtada al Ansari (d. 1281 AH), while responding to Sheikh Hussain ibn Shihab al Din al Karaki al ‘Amili (d. 1072 AH)—they both belong to the Jafari School—states:

ثم إن ما ذكره من تمكن أصحاب الأئمة من أخذ الأصول والفروع بطريق اليقين دعوى ممنوعة واضحة المنع وأقل ما يشهد عليها ما علم بالعين والأثر من اختلاف أصحابهم صلوات الله عليهم في الأصول والفروع ولذا شكي غير واحد من أصحاب الأئمة إليهم اختلاف أصحابهم فأجابوهم تارة بأنهم قد ألقوا الاختلاف بينهم حقنا لدمائهم كما في رواية حريز وزرارة وأبي أيوب الخزاز وأخرى أجابوهم بان ذلك من جهة الكذابين كما في رواية الفيض بن المختار قال قلت لأبي عبد الله جعفر الصادق جعلني الله فداك ما هذا الاختلاف الذي بين شيعتكم قال وأي الاختلاف يا فيض فقلت له إني أجلس في حلقهم بالكوفة واكاد أشك في اختلافهم في حديثهم حتي أرجع إلى المفضل بن عمر فيوقفني من ذلك على ما تستريح به نفسي فقال أجل كما ذكرت يا فيض إن الناس قد أولعوا بالكذب علينا كأن الله افترض عليهم ولا يريد منهم غيره إني أحدث أحدهم بحديث فلا يخرج من عندي حتي يتأوله على غير تأويله وذلك لأنهم لا يطلبون بحديثنا وبحبنا ما عند الله تعالي وكل يحب أن يدعي رأسا وقريب منها رواية داود بن سرحان واستثناء القميين كثيرا من رجال نوادر الحكمة معروف وقصة ابن أبي العوجاء أنه قال عند قتله قد دسست في كتبكم أربعة آلاف حديث مذكورة في الرجال وكذا ما ذكره يونس بن عبد الرحمن من أنه أخذ أحاديث كثيرة من أصحاب الصادقين ثم عرضها على أبي الحسن الرضا فأنكر منها أحاديث كثيرة إلى غير ذلك مما يشهد بخلاف ما ذكره

Thereafter, what he mentioned about the Imams’ companions’ ability to adopt fundamental and subsidiary rulings with conviction is an obviously false claim. The least that indicates to that —that which is known with certainty and through transmissions—is the companions’ differences in fundamental and subsidiary rulings. Hence, various companions complained to the Imams regarding their differences. At times they answered them by saying that the differences among them are to protect their lives, as is seen in the narrations of Hariz, Zurarah, and Abu Ayub al Khazzaz. Other times they answer them by saying that these differences are from the liars as seen in the narrations of Fayd ibn al Mukhtar, wherein he states, “I said to Abu ‘Abdullah—Jafar al Sadiq, “May Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala sacrifice me for you, what are these differences among your group?”

He asked, “What differences, O Fayd?”

I said to him, “I sit in their gatherings in Kufah and I almost doubt in their differences in the narrations till I return to al Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar who agrees with me on that, which comforts my soul.”

Abu ‘Abdullah replied, “Yes, it is as you have mentioned. People are fond of attributing lies to us as if Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, who has made it incumbent on them and does not want anything else from them. I narrate a hadith to one of them and as soon as he leaves me, he misinterprets it. That is so because they do not desire, through our narrations and our love, what is by Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. Everyone likes to be called a leader.”

Similar to this is the narration of Dawood ibn Sarhan.

The Qummiyin’s exclusion of some of the narrators of Nawadir al Hikmah is well known.

The incident of Ibn Abi ‘Awja’, who, at the time of his execution, said that I have inserted four thousand narrations in your books, is mentioned in the field of narrators.

Similarly what Yunus ibn ‘Abdur Rahman mentioned that he took many narrations from the companions of al Sadiq and al Baqir and presented them to Abu al Hassan al Rida who rejected many of them, and other transmissions similar to this, testify contrary to what he mentioned.[20]

When we go back to the era of the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt, we notice that they, despite their glorious status, were unable to do anything against this huge tide which was targeting them, except explaining the truth regarding those rulings that were fabricated upon them, which would reach them from time to time and then exhorting their followers to abstain from believing in most of the narrations that were narrated from them if they contradict the Qur’an or the Sunnah of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and to suffice on the general principles.

It has been reported from Ibrahim ibn Abi Mahmud that he said:

قلت للرضا يا ابن رسول الله إن عندنا أخبارا في فضائل أمير المؤمنين وفضلكم أهل البيت وهي من رواية مخالفيكم ولا نعرف مثلها عندكم أفندين بها فقال يا ابن أبي محمود لقد أخبرني أبي عن أبيه عن جده أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال من أصغي إلى ناطق فقد عبده فإن كان الناطق عن الله فقد عبد الله وإن كان الناطق عن إبليس فقد عبد إبليس ثم قال الرضا يا ابن أبي محمود إن مخالفينا وضعوا أخبارا في فضائلنا وجعلوها علي ثلاثة أقسام أحدها الغلو وثانيها التقصير في أمرنا وثالثها التصريح بمثالب أعدائنا فإذا سمع الناس الغلو فينا كفروا شيعتنا ونسبوهم إلى القول بربوبيتنا وإذا سمعوا التقصير اعتقدوه فينا وإذا سمعوا مثالب أعدائنا بأسمائهم ثلبونا بأسمائنا وقد قال الله تعالى وَلَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِيْنَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُوْنِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْوًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ يا ابن أبي محمود إذا أخذ الناس يمينا وشمالا فالزم طريقتنا فإنه من لزمنا لزمناه ومن فارقنا فارقناه إن أدني ما يخرج به الرجل من الإيمان أن يقول للحصاة هذه نواة ثم يدين بذلك ويبرء ممن خالفه يا ابن أبي محمود، احفظ ما حدثتك به فقد جمعث لك خير الدنيا والآخرة

I said to al Rida, “O son of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, we find narrations pertaining to the virtues of the Amir al Mu’minin and you, the Ahlul Bayt. These are narrated by your opposition.[21]We are not aware of similar narrations from you. Should we believe in it?”

He replied, “O Ibn Abi Mahmud, my father narrated to me from his father, who narrated from his grandfather that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Whoever listens attentively to someone, he has worshiped him. If he was a spokesman for Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, then he has worshipped Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and if he is a spokesman for Iblis (Satan) then he has worshipped Iblis.”

Thereafter he said, “O Ibn Abi Mahmud, indeed our opposition have fabricated transmissions regarding our virtues and divided them in three categories:

First is extremism, second is defects about us and the third is declaring the faults of our opposition. Thus, when the people heard about the extremism regarding us, they declared disbelief against our sect and attributed claims of our divinity towards them. When they heard defects about us, they believed it and when they heard the faults of our opposition with their names, they found faults in us with our names. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala has stated:

Do not insult what they invoke besides Allah or they will insult Allah spitefully out of ignorance.[22]

O Ibn Abi Mahmud, if the people go to the right and left, hold onto our way because whoever holds onto us, we will hold onto him and whoever detaches from us, we will detach from him. The lowest thing that can take a man out of faith is that he says regarding a pebble that it is date pit, then believe in that and absolve himself from all those who oppose him. O Ibn Abi Mahmud, preserve what I narrate to you as I have gathered the best of this world and the Hereafter for you.”[23]

This is Imam al Rida’s advice to one of his followers who was perplexed in matters of his din whilst the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt were among them. How would it be possible for someone who comes centuries later to recognise the real school of Jafar al Sadiq in the midst of the multitude of narrations which were fraught with extremism and lies?

It is important to note that al Kulayni; who, according to the sect, holds the title of Thiqat al Islam (the trustworthy of Islam), who lived during the period of their twelfth Imam’s minor concealment and in the presence of his four representatives[24], spent—according to the Imamiyyah—twenty years of his life in compiling narrations for his book al Kafi, to present to them an authentic narrative legacy from the infallible Imams, whereby they could protect themselves from the narrations and delusions of the masses and recognise the fundamental and subsidiaries of their din, confesses; in the forward of his book al Kafi , which is filled with praise and testimony that the Imami School is based on it and the likes of it,[25] to his complete inability in giving preference amongst the school’s conflicting narrations and assigning its knowledge to the Imams—expressed as scholars—by saying:

فاعلم يا أخي أرشدك الله أنه لا يسع أحدا تمييز شيء مما اختلف الرواية فيه عن العلماء برأيه إلا على ما أطلقه العالم بقوله اعرضوها على كتاب الله فما وافي كتاب الله فخذوه وما خالف كتاب الله فردوه وقوله دعوا ما وافق القوم فإن الرشد في خلافهم وقوله خذوا بالمجمع عليه فإن المجمع عليه لا ريب فيه ونحن لا نعرف من جميع ذلك إلا أقله ولا نجد شيئا أحوط ولا أوسع من رد علم ذلك كله إلى العالم وقبول ما وسع من الأمر فيه بقوله بأيما أخذتم من باب التسليم وسعكم

Know well, O my brother, may Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala guide you, that no one has the ability to distinguish among the different narrations that have been transmitted from the Imams, by his opinion except in accordance to what the Imam declared by saying, “Present it to the Book of Allah. If it conforms to the Qur’an, adopt it and if it differs with the Qur’an, reject it.”

And by saying, “Leave that which conforms to the masses, as guidance is in differing with them.”

And by saying, “Adopt that which is agreed upon, as there is no doubt in that which is agreed upon.”

We have very little knowledge of all this and we do not find anything more prudent and comprehensive than submitting the knowledge of that to the Imam and accepting whatever is possible because of his statement that whatever you adopt in the way of submission, it will suffice for you.[26]

This is what al Kulayni declared, in the forward of his book al Kafi, for which he spent twenty years in compiling its narrations, diligence in the chain of narrators, and selecting the best; i.e. his total inability to obtain the real views of the Imams in the midst of all the lies attributed to them and the narrations issued as Taqiyyah.[27]

In the great dispute that occurred regarding the authoritativeness of the apparent meanings of the Qur’an, the late Shia scholar of reference, Mirza Muhammad Hassan al Ashtiyani (d. 1319 AH) discusses in his book Bahr al Fawa’id, the narrations that were transmitted pertaining to the authoritativeness and non-authoritativeness of the apparent meaning of the Qur’an, to come to this painful conclusion:

ثم إنك بعد ما عرفت التعارض بين الأخبار وأنها متواترة من الطرفين فلا يمكن الترجيح بينها بحسب السند

Thus, after realising the contradiction among the transmissions and that they are consecutively narrated by both the parties, it is not possible to give anyone preference according to the chain of narrators.[28]

Let us take a look at the dispute regarding the starting time of Maghrib Salah, which internally stored some religious sensitivity, in the sense that the Ahlus Sunnah have a stipulated time, which is the sun’s sphere’s descending below the horizon and its disappearance from view.[29]

The Imamiyyah have a different time, which is the disappearance of the red twilight (the redness on the eastern horizon). This is the popular view.[30] There is a large group of former and latter Imami scholars who hold the same view as the Ahlus Sunnah that the starting time for Maghrib is the disappearance of the sun’s sphere.[31]

However, the Imamiyyah narrate from the two Imams, Jafar al Sadiq and his grandson ‘Ali al Rida, that which indicates that delaying the Salah till the disappearance of the red twilight and the visibility of the stars; have nothing to do with the Sunnah. Rather, it is an innovation of the extremists who corrupted the din of the people of Kufah and attributed to the Imams that which they did not say.

Thus, it is reported in Man La Yahduruhu al Faqih from Jafar al Sadiq that he said:

ملعون من أخر المغرب طلب فضلها وقيل له إن أهل العراق يؤخرون المغرب حتي تشتبك النجوم فقال هذا من عمل عدو الله أبي الخطاب

Cursed is the one, who delays Maghrib, seeking its virtue.

He was told that the people of Iraq delay their Maghrib till the stars become visible. He said, “This is the practice of the enemy of Allah, Abu al Khattab.[32]

A person asked him:

أؤخر المغرب حتي تستبين النجوم فقال له الإمام جعفر خطابية؟ إن جبرئيل نزل على محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم حين سقط القرص

Should I delay Maghrib till the stars become visible?

Jafar al Sadiq replied, “Are you a Khattabi? Jibril ‘alayh al Salam descended to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam when the sphere disappeared.”[33]

Imam al Rida stated:

إن أبا الخطاب قد كان أفسد عامة أهل الكوفة وكانوا لا يصلون المغرب حتي يغيب الشفق وإنما ذلك للمسافر والخائف ولصاحب الحاجة

Abu Khattab corrupted the general people of Kufah. They would not read Maghrib until the disappearance of twilight. That is only for a traveller, fearful person, and someone in dire need. [34]

This is what has been reported about Abu al Khattab and his innovation, which spread like wildfire amongst the Shia of Kufah. The Imams, for two consecutive generations, were forced to alert the people of his innovations and incorrect attribution to them.

Conversely, there are extensive, in fact, consecutively narrated transmissions that stipulate the time of sunset by the disappearance of the sun’s sphere. I will mention a few:

It has been narrated from Jabir, who narrates from Abu Jafar al Baqir that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

إذا‏ غاب القرص أفطر الصائم ودخل وقت الصلاة

When the sphere disappears, a fasting person will break his fast and the time of Maghrib starts.[35]

It has been narrated from Zurarah, who narrates from Abu Jafar al Baqir that he said:

وقت المغرب إذا غاب القرص

The time of Maghrib is when the sphere disappears.[36]

It has been narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Sinan, who narrates from Jafar al Sadiq that he said:

وقت المغرب إذا غربت الشمس فغاب قرصها

The time of Maghrib is at sunset, when its sphere disappears.[37]

It has been narrated from Jarud that he said:

قال لي أبو عبد الله جعفر الصادق يا جارود ينصحون فلا يقبلون وإذا سمعوا بشيء نادوا به أو حدثوا بشيء أذاعوه قلت لهم مسوا بالمغرب قليلا فتركوها حتي اشتبكت النجوم فأنا الآن أصليها إذا سقط القرص

Abu ‘Abdullah Jafar al Sadiq said to me, “O Jarud, they advise but they do not accept. When they hear about something, they call towards it or when something is narrated to them, they broadcast it. I told them to delay Maghrib a little but they delayed it till the stars became visible. At the moment, I perform it when the sphere disappears.”[38]

It has been narrated from Dharih that he said:

قلت لأبي عبد الله إن أناسا من أصحاب أبي الخطاب يمسون بالمغرب حتي تشتبك النجوم قال أبرأ إلي الله ممن فعل ذلك متعمدا

I said to Abu ‘Abdullah, “Some of Abu al Khattab’s followers delay Maghrib till the stars become visible.”

He replied, “I declare my innocence to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala from anyone who does that intentionally.”[39]

Yazid ibn Khalifah states:

قلت لأبي عبد الله إن عمر بن حنظلة أتانا عنك بوقت قال فقال أبو عبد الله إذا لا يكذب علينا قلت قال وقت المغرب إذا غاب القرص إلا أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسم كان إذا جد به السير أخر المغرب ويجمع بينها وبين العشاء فقال صدق وقال وقت العشاء حين يغيب الشفق إلى ثلث الليل ووقت الفجر حين يبدو حتى يضيء

I said to Abu ‘Abdullah, “‘Umar ibn Hanzalah came to us with a certain time from you.”

Abu ‘Abdullah replied, “In that case, he is not lying.”

I said, “He mentions that the time for Maghrib is when the sphere disappears; however, when the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would be travelling, he would delay Maghrib and join it with ‘Isha.”

He said, “He spoke the truth.”

Thereafter he said, “The time for ‘Isha is when twilight disappears till one third of the night and the time of Fajr is when (dawn) appears till sunrise.”[40]

It has been narrated from Dawood ibn Farqad that Jafar al Sadiq was asked about the time of Maghrib. He replied thus:

إذا غاب كرسيها؟ قلت وما كرسيها قال قرصها فقلت متي يغيب قرصها قال إذا نظرت إلبه فلم تره

(Time for Maghrib is) when the throne of the sun disappears

I asked, “What is its throne?”

He replied, “Its sphere.”

I asked, “When does its disappearance take place?”

He replied, “When you look at it and you do not see it.”[41]

‘Amr ibn Abi Nasr states:

سمعت أبا عبد الله يقول في المغرب إذا توارى القرص كان وقت الصلاة وأفطر

I heard Abu ‘Abdullah saying, “When the sphere is hidden then it is the time for (Maghrib) Salah and breaking fast.”[42]

Safwan al Jamal narrates from Jafar al Sadiq stating:

قلت له إن معي شبه الكرش المنثور فأؤخر صلاة المغرب حتي عند غيبوبة الشفق ثم أصليهما جميعا يكون ذلك أرفق بي فقال إذا غاب القرص فصل المغرب فإنما أنت وما لك لله تعالى

I said to him, “I have a scattered belly.[43] Can I delay Maghrib Salah till the disappearance of twilight, and then perform both (Maghrib and ‘Isha) together as this would be more convenient for me?”

He replied, “Perform Maghrib when the sphere disappears, because you and your wealth are for Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala.”[44]

Bakr ibn Muhammad narrates from Jafar al Sadiq stating:

سألته عن وقت صلاة المغرب فقال إذا‏ غاب القرص ثم سألته عن وقت صلاة العشاء الآخرة قال إذا غاب الشفق وآية الشفق الحمرة و قال وقال بيده هكذا

I asked him about the time for Maghrib Salah. He replied, “When the sphere disappears.”

Then I asked him about the time of ‘Isha. He replied, “When twilight disappears and the sign of twilight is the redness.”

Then he indicated with his hands.[45]

It has been narrated from Jafar al Sadiq that he said:

إذا غابت الشمس فقد حل الإفطار ووجبت الصلاة وإذ صليت المغرب فقد دخل وقت العشاء الآخرة إلى انتصاف الليل

When the sun sets, breaking of fast is permitted and Salah becomes compulsory. Once a person performs his Salah, the time for ‘Isha begins, till half of the night.[46]

One might think that these extensive or consecutively narrated transmissions would be sufficient to resolve the Imami dispute about the time for Maghrib Salah. However, the great surprise in this regard is there are other narrations, similar in number, that consider the eastern redness as the time of sunset.[47]

The dispute does not end at the starting time for Maghrib. In fact, the dispute regarding the ending time for Zuhr is more intense, as the late Shia scholar of reference, Sheikh Fadil al Lankarani (d. 1428) states bout this dispute:

وأما الإمامية فالمسألة محل خلاف بينهم أيضا وأقوالهم ربما ترتقي إلى عشرة كما حكاها في مفتاح الكرامة ولكن المهم منها أربعة

As for the Imamiyyah, this ruling is a matter of dispute among them also. They have up to ten views regarding it, as mentioned in Miftah al Karamah[48]; however, four of them are important.[49]

Where did these great differences arise from, in preliminary issues that were supposed to be resolved by the Imam of the school? Particularly when they believe that he is infallible, and adhering to him removes any dispute.

Al Lankarani responds to this by saying:

ومنشأ الاختلاف هو اختلاف الأخبار الواردة في الباب والتي احتار أكابر علماء الإمامية في تحريرها وترجيح الصواب منها

The origin of the differences is the differences in the transmissions narrated in this chapter, which perplexed the senior Imami scholars in editing and preferring the correct ones.[50]

The late Shia scholar of reference, Sayed Muhammad Baqir al Sadr has confessed, in Ta’arud al Adillah al Shar’iyyah, to the impossibility of determining that the narrations fabricated by the extremists have been eradicated, identified, and distinguished from the school. They are mixed in such a way that it is difficult to sort and remove them. Explaining this, he states:

وقد وقع كثير من ذلك أي الدس والتزوير في عصر الأئمة أنفسهم علي ما يظهر من جملة من الأحاديث التي وردت تنبه أصحابهم إلى وجود حركة الدس والتزوير فيما يروون عنهم من الأحاديث فهذا محمد بن عيسي بن عبيد يروي لنا عن يونس بن عبد الرحمن أن بعض أصحابنا سأله وأنا حاضر فقال له يا أبا محمد ما أشدك في الحديث وأكثر إنكارك لما يرويه أصحابنا فما الذي يحملك على رد الأحاديث فقال حدثني هشام بن الحكم أنه سمع آبا عبد الله جعفر الصادق يقول لا تقبلوا علينا حديثا إلا ما وافق القرآن والسنة أو تجدون معه شاهدا من أحاديثنا المتقدمة فإن المغيرة بن سعيد لعنه الله دس في كتب أصحاب أبي أحاديث لم يحدث بها أبي فاتقوا الله ولا تقولوا علينا ما خالف قول ربنا تعالى وسنة نبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فإنا إذا حدثنا قلنا قال الله تعالى وقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

قال يونس وافيت العراق فوجدت بها قطعة من أصحاب أبي جعفر ووجدت أصحاب أبي عبد الله متوافرين فسمعت منهم وأخذت كتبهم فعرضتها من بعد على أبي الحسن الرضا فأنكر منها أحاديث كثيرة أن يكون من أحاديث أبي عبد الله وقال لي إن أبا الخطاب كذب على أبي عبد الله لعن الله أبا الخظلاب وكذلك أصحاب أبي الخطاب يدسون في هذه الأحاديث إلى يومنا هذا في كتب أبي عبد الله فلا تقبلوا علينا خلاف القرآن فإنا إن تحدثنا حدثنا بموافقة القرآن وموافقة السنة .. الخ.

وعملية التنبيه الأكيدة من الأئمة على وجود حركة الدس والتي أعقبها التحفظ الشديد من قبل أصحاب الأئمة والسلف المتقدم من علماء الطائفة في مقام نقل الحديث وروايته وتطهير الروايات عما دس فيها وإن كان لها الفضل الكبير البالغ في تحصين كتب الحديث عن أكثر ذلك الدس والتزوير إلا أن هذا لا يعني حصول الجزم واليقين بعدم تواجد شيء مما زور علي الأئمة في مجموع ما بأيدينا من أحاديثهم سيما إذا لاحظنا أن العملية كانت تمارس في كثير من الأحيان عن طريق دس الحديث الموضوع في كتب الموثوقين من أصحاب الأئمة كما تشير إليه رواية يونس بن عبد الرحمن فربما كان بعض ما نجده في كتب الأحاديث اليوم من الروايات المتعارضة المختلفة هو من بقايا ذلك التشويه والدس الذي وقع فيها في تلك العصور

A lot of that, i.e. fabrication and forgery, occurred during the era of the Imams, as is apparent from some of the narrations that warn their companions of the fabrication and forgery movement in the narrations which they narrate from them. Here is Muhammad ibn ‘Isa ibn ‘Ubaid, who narrates from Yunus ibn ‘Abdur Rahman that some of the Imam’s companions asked him while he was present. They said to him, “O Abu Muhammad, how severe are you regarding narrations and in rejecting our companions’ narrations? What prompted you to do reject these narrations?”

He replied, “Hisham ibn al Hakam narrated to me that he heard Abu ‘Abdullah Jafar al Sadiq saying, “Do not accept any narration from us unless it conforms to the Qur’an and Sunnah or you find another previous narration that is testament to it. This is so because al Mughirah ibn Sa’id—may Allah curse him—inserted narrations in my father’s companions’ books which he did not utter. So, fear Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and do not attribute anything to us that contradicts Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and His Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. When we narrated any hadith we say, “Allah said or the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said.”

Yunus states, “I travelled through Iraq. I found some companions of Abu Jafar and the companions of Abu ‘Abdullah were plenty. I studied from them, took their books and presented them to Abu al Hassan al Rida. He rejected many of the narrations as being from the narrations of Abu ‘Abdullah and said to me, “Abu Khattab lied upon Abu ‘Abdullah, may Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala curse him. Similarly, Abu Khattab’s companions would insert narrations into these narrations and books of Abu ‘Abdullah till today. Therefore, do not accept from us anything that contradicts the Qur’an because we only narrate that which conforms to the Qur’an and Sunnah…” till the end of the narration.

The process of emphasised warnings from the Imams, on the existence the fabrication movement, which was followed by intense caution from their companions and former predecessors from the sect’s scholars, in quoting, transmitting and cleansing the narrations from fabrications, even though it had profound merit in protecting the books of hadith from fabrication and forgery; however, this does not mean that there is certainty and conviction on the non-existence[51] of any fabrications on the Imams, in all their narrations that are available to us. This is obvious, particularly when we notice that this process was practiced, many of the time, through inserting fabricated narrations in the books of the Imam’s trusted companions, as the narrations of Yunus indicates to that. Perhaps, some of the different contradictory narrations that we find today in the books of hadith are the remains of the distortion and fabrication that occurred in those times.

Thereafter he states:

وينبغي أن لا ننسي بعد كل ذلك أن جملة كثيرة من الأحاديث بل الأصول والكتب التي صنفها أصحاب الأئمة قد ضاعت وذهبت أدراج الرياح في تلك الفترة المظلمة من أيام هذه الطائفة ولم تصل إلينا منها إلا بعض أسمائها أو أسماء أصحابها كما هو واضح عند من راجع كتب الرجال وتراجم المصنفين وأصحاب الأصول من أصحاب الأئمة

After all this, we should not forget that a great number of narrations, in fact principles and books which were written by the Imam’s companions, were destroyed and they disappeared during the dark period of the history of this sect. Some names of these books or the authors is all that reached us, as it is apparent to those study the books of narrators, biographies of authors and the authors of al Usul from amongst the Imam’s companions.[52]

However, more astonishing than all this, is his statement under the heading of Akhbar al ‘Ilaj (narrations for remedy):

وهي الأحاديث الواردة عن المعصومين لعلاج حالات التعارض والاختلاف الواقع بين الروايات والطريف أن هذه الأخبار قد ابتلت نفسها بالتعارض فيما بينها لأنها وردت بمضامين مختلفة قد يستفاد من بعضها التخيير وقد يستفاد من بعضها التوقف أو الإرجاء وقد يستفاد من بعضها الترجيح بالأحدث زمانا أو بموافقة الكتاب أو مخالفة العامة أو غيرها من المرجحات

These are narrations issued by the infallible Imams to remedy the situations of contradictions and differences that occurred among the narrations. The curious fact is that these transmissions are also embroiled in contradiction amongst themselves as they were issued with various contents. Some of them purport choice, while others purport impartiality and deferral. Some purport giving preference to the most recent ones, or those that conform to the Qur’an, or those that oppose the masses or some other probabilities.[53]

Even those narrations that were issued to remedy the contradiction among the views of the Twelve Imams or one of them are not free of contradictions amongst themselves.

No blame on the heart, because the only school where it is possible to find consecutively narrated transmissions and at the same time contradictory ones, is the Jafari School.

NEXT⇒ 5. Destruction of Hadith sources that were compiled during the era of the Imams

[1] Some traditional texts reveal the state of confusion that rocked the school in the past, in beliefs and in fiqh, due to the phenomenon of contradictory narrations and the inability to reconcile them; and that there was early thinking among some of the Imami luminaries, at that time, to get out of this crisis, immaterial of whether we consider the cause to be the phenomenon of Taqiyyah, as is the view of some of the Akhbaris or the phenomenon of infiltration, distortion or fabrication in the narrations or both. Among those texts are:

That which ‘Ali ibn al Hussain ibn Babawayh al Qummi (d. 329 AH) reported in his book al Imamah wa al Tabsirah min al Hayrah, wherein he states:

ورايت كثيرا ممن صح عقده وثبتت علي دين الله وطأته وظهرت في الله خشيته قد أحادته الغيية -غيبة الإمام الثاني عشر- وطال عليه الأمد حتى دخلته الوحشة وأفكرته (وأنكرته) الأخبار المختلفة والآثار الواردة ‎…

I have seen many, whose beliefs are correct, his feet is firmly established in the din of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, his fear for Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala is evident; the concealment—of the twelfth Imam—has isolated him, time has prolonged on him to the extent that loneliness has overtaken him and the different narrations and transmissions have made him ponder and feel estranged…

Sheikh al Ta’ifah Abu Jafar al Tusi (d. 460 AH) discusses in his book al ‘Uddah fi Usul al Fiqh, 1/136-138, the causes of differences that occurred among the Imami scholars in rulings, to the extent that they exceeded the four Mazhabs in their differences, despite the fact that it is assumed that they are affiliated to one Fiqhi school; and that the origin of this is the differences in transmissions and preference given to some of them and not the others by each sect. He states:

ومما يدل علي جواز العمل بهذه الأخبار أخبار الآحاد التي أشرنا إليها ما ظهر بين الفرقة المحقة من الاختلاف الصادر عن العمل بها فإني وجدتها مختلفة المذاهب في الأحكام يفتي أحدهم بما لا يفتي به صاحبه في جميع أبواب الفقه من الطهارة إلى أبواب الديات من العبادات والأحكام، والمعاملات والفرائض وغير ذلك مثل اختلافهم في العدد والرؤية في الصوم واختلافهم في أن التلفظ بثلاث تطليقات هل يقع واحدة أم لا ومثل اختلافهم في باب الطهارة وفي مقدار الماء الذي لا ينجسه شيء ونحو اختلافهم في حد الكر ونحو اختلافهم في استناف الماء الجديد لمسح الرأس والرجلين واختلافهم في اعتبار أقصى مدة النفاس واختلافهم في عدة فصول الأذان والإقامة وغير ذلك في سائر أبواب الفقه حتى أن بابا منه لا يسلم إلا وقد وجدت العلماء من الطائفة مختلفة في مسائل منه أو مسألة متفاوتة الفتاوى وقد ذكرت ما ورد عنهم من الأحاديث المختلفة التي تختص الفقه في كتابي المعروف بلاستبصار وفي كتاب تهذيب الأحكام ما يزيد على خمسة آلاف حديث وذكرت في أكثرها اختلاف الطائفة في العمل بها وذلك أشهر من أن يخفي حتي إنك لو تأملت اختلافهم في هذه الأحكام وجدته يزيد علي اختلاف أبي حنيفة والثافعي ومالك

From amongst that which indicates to the permissibility of practicing on these narrations, (i.e. al Khabr al Wahid, narrations reported by one narrator only) is the differences that occurred regarding practicing upon them among the true sects, as I found that there are different schools regarding their rulings, where one them would issue a fatwa which the other companion would not, in all chapters of fiqh; from purity to the chapters of blood money, in acts of worship, rulings, monetary dealings, inheritance etc, similar to their differences in:

- Counting and sighting regarding days of fasting.
- Whether the utterance of three divorces constitutes one divorce or not.
- In the chapter of purity and the quantity of water which cannot be made impure by anything.
- In stipulating the amount of Kurr (large quantity of water)
- In using new water for masah (wiping) the head and the legs.
- In stipulating the maximum period of Nifas (postpartum).
- The amount of time for the separation between Athan and Iqamah etc.

In all the chapters of fiqh, to an extent that not a single chapter is spared except that I have found the scholars of the sect differing in its rulings or in a ruling with various fatwas. I have mentioned more than five thousand different narrations reported from them, specifically regarding fiqh, in my book known as al Istibsar and Tahdhib al Ahkam and I have mentioned the differences of the sect in practicing upon most of them, which is too famous to conceal, to such a degree that if you ponder on their differences in rulings, you would find them to be more than the differences of Abu Hanifah, al Shafi’i and Malik.

Observe the number of contradictory narrations and the Imami jurist’s confusion in dealing with them.

[2] Referring to Hisham ibn al Hakam and Hisham ibn Salim al Jawaliqi.

[3] Al Shawahid al Makkiyyah, pg. 169.

[4] If fact the first (Sayed al Murtada) is a student of the second (Sheikh al Mufid), the one who accompanied him the most amongst his students and the most popular among the Imami scholars.

[5] Refer to Kashf al Mahajjah of Ibn Tawus, pg. 20.

[6] Al Murtada has clarified the reason for his extreme stance on al Khabr al Wahid in Wasail, 3/10-311, which is that he is of the opinion that the chains of these narrations are brief which cannot be free from extremists, forced analogy or the people of Qiyas. Thus, there is no assurance that theses narrations were not infiltrated into the school.

[7] Al Shawahid al Makkiyyah, pg. 35.

[8] Qawa’id al Tahdith, pg. 135.

[9] Al Mu’amarah al Kubra ‘ala Madrasat Ahlul Bayt, pg. 10.

[10] Ali Abu al Hassan: Al Fawa’id al Rijaliyyah, pg. 7, Dhawi al Qurba publishers, first print, D.T.

[11] He is Imam al Mu’ayyad bi Allah Ahmed ibn al Hussain ibn Harun ibn al Hussain ibn Muhammad ibn Harun ibn Muhammad ibn al Qasim ibn al Hassan ibn Zaid ibn al Hassan ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu, brother of Abu Talib al Haruni mentioned before, one of the senior Zaidi scholars. He was born in Amul, Tabaristan in 333 AH. Originally, he was an Imami. The truth manifested for him and he followed it in the best possible way. He studied the Zaidi and Hanafi fiqh by Abu al Hassan ‘Ali ibn Ismail ibn Idris. He narrated hadith from him through al Nasir li al Haqq al Atrush. This Abu al Hussain was one of the distinguished scholars of Tabaristan in leadership, intelligence, virtue and knowledge. He was highly knowledgeable and authored books in fiqh and theology. Among them are al Amali and al Tajrid in transmission and its Sharh in four volumes. Oath of allegiance was taken for him in Daylam and he was given the title of ‘Sayed al Muayyad bi Allah. His leadership lasted twenty years. He passed away in 411 AH. (Refer to A’lam al Muallifin al Zaidiyyah, pg 100; al Hada’iq al Wardiyyah, 2/65-66; A’lam of al Zirkili,1/116.)

[12] Tahdhib al Ahkam, 1/2.

[13] He is Jamal al Din ibn Yusuf ibn Hatim ibn Fawz ibn Muhannad al Shami al Mashghari al ‘Amili, one of the Imami jurists at the end of the seventh century AH or the beginning of the eighth century AH. He was one of the students of al Muhaqqiq al Hilli (d. 672 AH), Sayed Ibn Tawus (d. 664 AH), and Sheikh Najib al Din Yahya ibn Ahmed al Hilli (d. 690 AH), the author of al Jami’ fi al Fiqh. (Refer to al Khuwanasari: Rawdat al Jannat, 8/199; Mirza al Mudarris: Rayhanat al Adab, 3/362.

[14] That which is inserted between the brackets is from Mu’assasat al Wafa’ print, with the research of Sayed Ibrahim al Mubanji and Muhammad al Baqir al Bahbudi.

[15] Muassasat al Wafa’ print has it like this; however, the Dar Ihya’ al Turath al ‘Arabi print has it as Tafrigh, perhaps it is a misprint of the word Tafri’.

[16] Dar Ihya’ al Turath al ‘Arabi print has it like this. Mu’assasat al Wafa’ print has it as fi al Tafarugh ‘an (to be free from).

[17] Mu’assasat al Wafa’ print has it as Fi’liyyah (physical).

[18] Surah al Haqqah: 44-47.

[19] Bihar al Anwar, 104/42, book on approvals.

[20] Fara’id al Usul, 1/325-326.

[21] Here, opposition refers to general oppositions from all aspects (from opposing Shia sects, the majority and the Nawasib) as it will become clear from the conclusion of the narration.

[22] Surah al An’am: 108.

[23] Musnad al Imam al Rida, 1/237.

[24] Sayed ‘Ali al Hussaini al Sadr states in al Fawa’id al Rijaliyyah, pg. 217:

قد امتاز بتأليف الكافي في أيام سفراء الإمام المهدي وبالقرب منهم كما أفاده السيد ابن طاووس

He excelled in writing al Kafi during the time of al Mahdi’s representatives and in close proximity to them, as stated by Sayed Ibn Tawus.

[25]The contemporary Shia scholar of reference, Sheikh Jafar al Subhani states in Kulliyyat fi ‘Ilm al Rijal, pg. 355:

إن كتاب الكافي أحد الكتب الأربعة التي عليها تدور رحي استنباط مذهب الإمامية فإن أدلة الأحكام وإن كانت أربعة (الكتاب والسنة والعقل والإجماع) على ما هو المشهور بين الفقهاء إلا أن الناظر في فروع الدين يعلم أن العمدة في استعلام الفرائض والسنن والحلال والحرام هو الحديث وأن الحاوي لجلها هو الكتب الأربعة وكتاب الكافي بينها كالشمس بين نجوم السماء والمولف أغني من التوصيف وأشهر من التبجيل

Al Kafi is one of four books on which the millstone of the deduction of the Imami school revolves around, because, although the sources for rulings are four (Qur’an, Sunnah, Intellect and Consensus), as is well known among the jurists; however, an observer into the subsidiaries of din will realise that the main pillar for the information of Fara’id (compulsory acts), Sunnah, Halal and Haram (lawful and unlawful) is Hadith and most of it is contained in these four books. Al Kafi, amongst these books, is like the sun amongst the stars. The author needs no introduction and his reverence is well known.

From amongst the former scholars, Sheikh al Mufid has described it (in Sharh ‘Aqa’id al Saduq, pg. 27, Tabrez) as the greatest and the most beneficial Shia book.

Muhaqqiq al Karaki, in his approval to Qadi Safiy al Din ‘Isa, introduced it thus:

ومنها جميع مصنفات ومرويات الشيخ الإمام السعيد الحافظ المحدث الثقة جامع أحاديث أهل البيت أي أبي جعفر محمد بن يعقوب الكليني صاحب الكتاب الكبير في الحديث المسمى بالكافي الذي لم يعمل مثله

From amongst them are all the books and narrations of Sheikh, Imam, the blessed, preserver, the Muhaddith, the trustworthy and compiler of the narrations of the Ahlul Bayt, i.e. Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Yaqub al Kulayni, the author of the great book in hadith called al Kafi, the like of which no one has written. (Refer to Bihar al Anwar, 108/75.)

Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi, in the forward of his commentary on al Kafi, Mir’at al ‘Uqul, 1/34, states:

وابتدأت بكتاب الكافي للشيخ الصدوق ثقة الإسلام مقبول طوائف الأنام ممدوح الخاص والعام محمد بن يعقرب الكليني حشره الله مع الأئمة الكرام لأنه كان أضبط الأصول وأجمعها واحسن مؤلفات الفرقة الناجية وأعظمها

I begin with al Kafi of Sheikh, the truthful, trustworthy of Islam, accepted by the various sects, praised by the elite and masses, Muhammad ibn Yaqub al Kulayni, may Allah raise him with the noble Imams, because he was most precise and comprehensive in fundamentals, the best and the greatest author of the saved group.

[26] Al Kafi, pg. 8-9.

[27] The claim that al Kulayni presented his book al Kafi to the awaited Mahdi, is rejected by senior Akhbari scholars, who hold the view that the narrations of al Kafi definitely emanated from the Imams. From among them are:

Al Muhaddith al Astarabadi in al Hashiyah ‘ala al Kafi, Mirza Nur al Tabarasi in Khatimat al Mustadrak, 3/470, and ‘Allamah al Majlisi in Mir’at al ‘Uqul, 1/22, wherein he states:

وأما جزم بعض المجازفين بكون جميع الكافي معروضا على القائم لكونه في بلدة السفراء فلا يخفي ما فيه علي ذي لب نعم عدم إنكار القائم وآبائه -صلوات الله عليه وعليهم- عليه وعلى أمثاله في تأليفاتهم ورواياتهم مما يورث الظن المتاخم للعلم بكونهم راضين بفعلهم ومجوزين للعمل بأخبارهم

Some adventurous people are convinced that the complete al Kafi was presented to al Mahdi, due to him being in the city of the ambassadors. What this claim holds is obvious to anyone of understanding. Yes, non-denial by al Mahdi and his forefathers of this and other similar books and narrations, does inherit conjecture, bordering on knowledge, that they were satisfied with their action and permitted practicing on their transmissions.

However, an interesting fact is that al Kulayni was a contemporary of the twelfth infallible Imam’s minor concealment and his four representatives. He settled in Baghdad before 310 AH, as is well known. He entered Iraq before 290 AH and narrated from some of scholars of Baghdad in the homeland of the representatives. Despite this, he neither narrated a single narration, in al Kafi, directly from the infallible Imam, nor from his four representatives, nor did he present his book, al Kafi, to the Twelfth Imam to ascertain the authenticity of his infallible forefather’s narrations—among them being Jafar al Sadiq—which he was transmitting. Similarly, he did not narrate much from any of the four representatives indirectly. He merely narrated two narrations in al Usul min al Kafi.

Meanwhile he spent, as the Imamiyyah claim, twenty years of his life in researching narrations of the Ahlul Bayt and the result of this painstaking research and travels for seeking Hadith was, narrating from many unknown, weak narrators and liars, to such a degree that weak narrations in al Kafi—according to some senior Imami scholars—are more than the authentic ones. Each of the following scholars attest to this:

Fakhr al Din al Turayhi (d. 1085 AH) in Jami’ al Maqal, pg. 193.
Sheikh Yusuf al Bahrani (d. 1186 AH) in Lu’luat al Bahrayn, pg. 394, from some of his latter teachers.
Sayed Bahr al ‘Ulum in his book Rijal.
Mirza Muhammad Sulaiman al Tunakabuni (d. 1310 AH) in Qisas al ‘Ulama’, pg. 420.
Agha Buzurg al Tahrani in al Dhari’ah ila Tasanif al Shia, 17/245. and others.

Al Turayhi has enumerated the narrations of al Kafi according to their grades in authenticity and weakness. He states:

أما الكافي فجميع أحاديثه حصرت في ‎١٦١٩٩‏ستة عشر ألف حديث ومائة وتسعة وتسعين حديثا الصحيح منها باصطلاح من تأخر ‎٥٠٧٢‏ خمسة آلاف واثنان وسبعون والحسن ‎١٤٤‏ مائة وأربعة واربعون حديثا والموثق ١١١٨ ألف ومائة وثمانية عشر حديثا والقوي منها ‎٣٠٢‏ اثنان وثلاثمائة والضعيف منها ‎٩٤٨٥‏ تسعة آلاف واربعمائة وخمسة وثمانون حديثا

As for al Kafi, the total number of narrations is 16199. The Sahih (authentic) narrations, according to the terminology of the latter scholars, are 5072, Hassan (good) narrations are 144, al Muwaththaq (reliable) are 1118, Qawi (strong) narrations are 302, and Da’if (weak) narrations are 9485.

This means that weak narrations in al Kafi are more than half the book. So, ponder!

This is despite the fact that al Kulayni had declared, in the forward of his book, his confusion in the transmissions and the necessity of referring them to the infallible Imams; however, he neither did that with the Imam of his era, nor with his trusted representatives.

One cannot object that the four representatives were living a life of Taqiyyah where they tried, in every possible way, to remain concealed; as a result, it was not possible to narrate directly from them or to expose their names to the people, because we have mentioned that al Kulayni narrated two narrations, indirectly, from them. It is reported in the first volume of al Kafi, 1/330, chapter on the names of those who saw him, Hadith 1, declaration of the first and second ambassadors’ names:

وقد أخبرني أبو علي أحمد بن إسحاق عن أبي الحسن قال سألته وقلت من أعامل أو عمن آخذ وقول من أقبل فقال له العمري ثقتي فما أدى إليك عني فعني يؤدي وما قال لك عني فعني يقول فاسمع له وأطع فإنه الثقة المأمون واخبرني أبو علي أنه سأل أبا محمد عن مثل ذلك فقال له: العمري وابنه ثقتان فما أديا إليك عني فعني يؤديان وما قالا لك فعني يقولان فاسمع لهما وأطعمها فإنهما الثقتان المأمونان فهذا قول إمامين قد مضيا فيك

Abu ‘Ali Ahmed ibn Ishaq narrated to me from Abu al Hassan saying:

I asked him, “Who should I follow or from whom should I take and whose views should I accept?”

He replied, “Al ‘Amri is my confidant, whatever he narrates from me, be assured that he has narrated from me. Whatever he says from me, is indeed from me. Listen to him and obey him as he is reliable and trustworthy.”

Abu ‘Ali narrated to me that he asked Abu Muhammad a similar question, to which he replied, “Al ‘Amri and his son are trustworthy, whatever they narrate from me, be assured that they have narrated from me. Whatever they say from me, is indeed from me. Listen to them and obey them as they are reliable and trustworthy.”

These are the statements of the Imams that have passed.

Where is Taqiyyah in this?

Then, there is another question which is just as important. Where is the Twelfth Imam’s role in protecting the din and in alerting others about the weak and fabricated narrations, which al Kulayni filled al Kafi with? Did not the Imamiyyah proclaim that the existence of the Imam is a blessing? Where is the blessing when the infallible Imam remains silent regarding a book, whose author penned it so that it can be an authority for the Shia in their beliefs and fiqh till the Day of Judgement, and he includes all these weak and fabricated narrations in it?

When Sayed Hashim Ma’roof al Hassani (d. 1403 AH) stated, about the narrations of al Kafi, in al Mawdu’at fi al Athar wa al Akhbar, 253, that:

وبعد التتبع في الأحاديث المنتشرة في مجاميع الحديث كالكافي والوافي وغيرها نجد الغلاة والحاقدين على الأئمة الهداة لم يتركوا بابا من الأبواب إلا ودخلوا منه لإفساد أحاديث الأئمة والإساءة إلى سمعتهم وبالتالي رجعوا إلى القرآن الكريم لينفثوا سمومهم ودسائسهم لأنه الكلام الوحيد الذي يتحمل ما لا يتحمله غيره ففسروا مئات الآيات بما يريدون وألصقوها بالأئمة الهداة زورا وبهتانا وتضليلا وألف علي بن حسان وعمه عبد الرحمن بن كثير وعلي بن أبي.حمزة البطائني كتبا في التفسير كلها تخريف وتحريف وتضليل لا تنسجم مع أسلوب القرآن وبلاغته وأهدافه

After investigating the narrations scattered in the compilations of hadith such as al Kafi, al Wafi, and others, we find that the extremists and the haters of the guided Imams left no door except that they entered through it to corrupt the Imam’s narrations and damaging their reputation. Subsequently, they resorted to the Noble Qur’an in order to spew their poison and schemes because it is the only speech that can bear which any other cannot. Thus, they interpreted hundreds of verses according to their desires and falsely, slanderously, and misleadingly attributed it to the guided Imams. ‘Ali ibn Hassan, his uncle ‘Abdur Rahman ibn Kathir, and ‘Ali ibn Abi Hamzah al Bata’ini wrote a book in Tafsir which is completely fake, distorted and deviated, that cannot fit with the style, eloquence and objectives of the Qur’an.

Who do we attribute this defect and negligence? To al Kulayni or to the infallible Imam for whom the path was not conducive and he did not intend for his sect to obey Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala in the manner they are, till the Day of Judgement?

[28] Bahr al Fawa’id fi Sharh al Fara’id, 1/89.

[29] They derive this from clear and authentic narrations from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The most important ones are:

The narration of Muslim in his Sahih (613), al Nasa’i in his Sunan (519), al Tirmidhi in his Sunan (152) and others from Buraydah radiya Llahu ‘anhu that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam instructed Bilal radiya Llahu ‘anhu who gave Iqamah for Maghrib when the sun set, then the next day, he performed Maghrib before the disappearance of twilight. Thereafter he said, “The time of your Salah is between what you have seen.”
The narration of Muslim in his Sahih (612) from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr who said, “The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was asked about the times of the prayers. He said, “…. And the time for Maghrib is from sunset till the setting of twilight.”
The narration of Tirmidhi in his Sunan (151) and Ahmed in al Musnad (7172) from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam that he said, “Indeed, there is a beginning and ending (time) for Salah and the beginning for the time of Maghrib is when the sun sets and the ending time is when twilight disappears.”

[30] This is the popular practice of majority of the Imamiyyah today. By investigating the Imami Fiqhi compilations, it is possible to say that the first person to indicate towards the theory of the eastern redness is al Muhaqqiq al Abi (d. 690 AH). No Imami jurist discussed this condition for the establishment of sunset and the beginning for the time of Maghrib Salah, before him. It is also possible to say that the first person to promote the theory of the redness is Ibn al Mutahhar al Hilli (d. 726 AH) when he mentioned that the sign of sunset is the disappearance of the redness. He declared this the popular view, and declared the view that sunset is established by the disappearance of the sun’s sphere, as weak and assigned it specifically for the deserts, not places of dwellings and mountains.

[31] Among them are:

Ibn Abi ‘Aqil al ‘Umani (d. around 329 AH). Refer to Hayat Ibn Abi ‘Aqil, pg. 159.
Ibn al Junaid (d. 381 AH). Al Muhaqqiq al Hilli quoted this from him in al Mu’tabar, 2/40.
Ibn Babawayh al Qummi (d. 381 AH). Refer to his research on narrations in ‘Ilal al Shara’i’, 2/350.
Al Sharif al Murtada. He states in al Nasiriyyat, pg. 193:

عندنا أن أول وقت المغرب مغيب الشمس وآخر وقتها مغيب الشفق الذي هو الحمرة

According to us, the beginning of the time of Maghrib is at sunset and the ending is at the disappearance of twilight, which is the redness.

Sallar al Daylami (d. 448 AH). He states in al Marasim al ‘Alawiyyah, pg. 62:

ووقت‏ المغرب عند غروب الشمس ووقت العشاء الآخرة إذا غاب الشفق الأحمر

The time for Maghrib is sunset and the time for ‘Isha’ is when the red twilight disappears.

Sheikh al Ta’ifah al Tusi (d. 460 AH). He states in al Mabsut, 1/74, which is his last book and the fatwa is according to it:

ووقت المغرب غيبوبة الشمس وآخره غيبوبة الشفق وهو الحمرة من ناحية المغرب وعلامة غيبوبة الشمس هو انه إذا رأى الآفاق والسماء مصحية ولا حائل بينه وبينها ورأها قد غابت عن العين علم غروبها

The time of Maghrib is at sunset and it ends at the disappearance of twilight, which is the redness on the western horizon. The sign of sunset is that a person sees that the sky and horizon is clear, without any barrier between him and the sun, and the sun disappears from sight, this is regarded as sunset.

Al Qadi ibn al Barraj (d. 481 AH). He states in al Muhadhdhab, 1/69:

المغرب له وقتان أول وآخر فالأول سقوط القرص من أفق المغرب والآخر غيبوبة الشفق من جهته

Maghrib has two times. Beginning time and ending time. The beginning is when the sphere (of the sun) disappears from the western horizon and the ending time is when twilight disappears in the same direction.

Al Muhaqqiq al Hilli (d. 676 AH). He states in Shara’i’ al Islam,1/47:

والغروب باستتار القرص وقيل بذهاب الحمرة المشرقية وهو الأشهر

Sunset is at the concealment of the sphere and it is said that the time for it is before the disappearance of the eastern twilight. This is the popular view.

It is noted that he gave preference to the first view and he mentioned the second view, despite its popularity, with a tense (of a verb) denoting weakness.

Al Fayd al Kashani (d. 1090 AH). He states in Mafatih al Shara’i’, 1/94:

ويعرف الغروب باستتار القرص وغيبته عن النظر مع انتفاء الحائل على الأاصح

Sunset is established by the concealment of the sphere and its disappearance from view in the absence of any barrier, according to the most authentic view.

Al Muhaqqiq al Naraqi (d. 1244 AH). He states in Musnad al Shia, 4/24:

أول وقت المغرب غروب الشمس اتفاقا نصا وفتوى وإن وقع الخلاف فيما يعرف الغروب به فالأقوى الموافق للمحكي عن الإسكافي والعلل والهداية والفقيه والمبسوط والناصريات أنه عبارة عن غيبوبة الشمس عن الأنظار تحت الأفق

The beginning time for Maghrib is at sunset which is clearly agreed upon and fatwa is issued on that, even though there are differences with regards to what constitutes sunset. The most authentic view, which conforms to what is reported from al Iskafi, al ‘Ilal, al Hidayah, al Faqih, al Mabsut and al Nasiriyyat is that sunset refers to the disappearance of the sun from sight, under the horizon.

Al Jawahiri al Najafi (d. 1266 AH). He states in Jawahir al Kalam, 7/106:

ويعلم‏ غروب الشمس الذي هو أول وقت صلاة المغرب إجماعا بل هو من ضروريات الدين باستار نفس القرص خاصة عن نظر ذلك المكلف فيما يراه من الأفق الذي لم يعلم حيلولة جبل ونحوه بينه وبينه

Sunset, which is the beginning time for Maghrib by consensus, in fact, which is from the essentials of din, is established by the disappearance of the actual sphere, specifically from the view of that obliged person who looks into the horizon, between whom and the sun there is no obstacle like a mountain etc.

Contemporary Shia scholar of reference Sayed Muhammad Sadiq al Ruhani. He states in Fiqh al Sadiq, 8/102:

وعرفت أن الأظهر أن آخر وقت الصوم والظهرين وأول وقت العشائين استتار القرص لا ذهاب الحمرة المشرقية

I have realised that the most obvious view is that the ending time for fasting and ‘Asr, and the starting time for Maghrib is the concealment of the (sun’s) sphere, not the disappearance of the eastern redness.

[32] Man La Yahduruhu al Faqih, 1/220; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/188.

[33] Al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam, 2/33, hadith: 49.

[34] Al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam, 2/33, hadith: 50.

[35] Man La Yahduruhu al Faqih, 1/229; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/179.

[36] Al Kafi, 3/279; Man La Yahduruhu al Faqih, 2/121.

[37] Al Kafi, 3/280; Tahdhib al Ahkam, 2/28; al Istibsar, 1/263; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/178.

[38] Al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam, 2/259, hadith 69; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/177.

[39] Al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam, 2/33, hadith 53; al Istibsar, 1/286; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/198.

[40] Al Kafi, 3/279; al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam, 2/20, Hadith 7; al Istibsar, 1/286; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/198.

[41] Ibn Babawayh al Qummi: al Amali, pg. 139; al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam, 2/27, Hadith 30; al Istibsar, 1/262; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/181.

[42] Al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam, 2/27, Hadith 28; al Istibsar, 1/262; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/183.

[43]Al Majlisi states in Bihar al Anwar, 80/61:

والمراد هنا كثرة العيال أو كثرة الجمال كما يشهد به حاله وآخر الخبر أيضا والغرض أني لكثرة عيالي محتاج إلى العمل أو لكثرة جمالي وخوف انتشارها وتفرقها لا أقدر علي تفريق الصلاتين فنهى عن تأخير المغرب لذلك وفيه دلالة ما على مرجوحية الجمع أيضا

The meaning here is abundance of dependants or camels, as is understood from the end on the transmission. The intended meaning is that due to the abundance of dependants, I am busy in labour; or due to abundance of camels and the fear that they might get scattered or disperse, I cannot perform the two Salahs separately. Thus, the Imam prevented him from doing this. In it is an indication to the anomalousness of joining two Salah.

[44]Al Himyari al Qummi: Qurb al Isnad, pg. 60; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/194; Bihar al Anwar, 80/61.

[45] Al Himyari al Qummi: Qurb al Isnad, pg. 37; Wasa’il al Shia, 4/205; Bihar al Anwar, 80/61.

[46] Ibn Babawayh al Qummi: Man La Yahduruhu al Faqih, 1/221; al Hurr al ‘Amili: Wasa’il al Shia, 4/179.

[47] There are approximately eleven narrations in general. Those narrations that specifically mention the eastern redness are seven.

[48] That is mentioned by Sayed Muhammad Jawad al ‘Amili (d. 1226 AH) in his book Miftah al Karamah fi Sharh Qawa’id al ‘Allamah.

[49] Tafsil al Shari’ah, 1/104, Book on Salah.

[50] Tafsil al Shari’ah, 1/104, Book on Salah.

[51] The original script has Tawajud; however, the correct text is Wujud.

[52] Ta’arud al Adillah al Shari’ah, pg. 40-41.

[53] Ta’arud al Adillah al Shari’ah, pg. 337.

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