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According to our research, the narration of Thaqalayn appears eight times in Musnad Ahmed. It is our intention to reproduce each one of them along with their asanid, which will be followed with a discussion regarding each isnad. The honourable readers will be able to judge for themselves whether these ambiguous and flawed narrations qualify to serve as proofs or not.
حدثنا عبدالله حدثنى ابى احمد بن حنبل حدثنا اسود بن عامر حدثنا اسرائيل بن يونس عن عثمان بن المغيرة عن على بن ربيعة قال لقيت زيد بن ارقم وهو داخل على المختار او خارج من عنده فقلت له اسمعت من رسول الله صلى الله غليه و سلم يقول انى تارك فيكم الثقلين قال نعم
‘Abdullah — (his father) Ahmed ibn Hambal — Aswad ibn ‘Amir — Isra’il ibn Yunus —’Uthman ibn Mughirah — ‘Ali ibn Rabi’ah who said:
I met Zaid ibn Arqam whilst he was entering the residence of Mukhtar or leaving it. I asked him: “Did your hear Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam saying: “I am leaving amongst you the Thaqalayn?” He replied: “Yes.”
This narration, which happens to be the first one, is quite ambiguous as far as the meaning is concerned. Neither is the explanation of the word Thaqalayn given, nor is any clarity on the subject attributed to Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This narration only makes mention of the fact that Zaid ibn Arqam radiya Llahu ‘anhu was asked if he had heard the words “Indeed I leave amongst you the Thaqalayn,” to which he replied in the affirmative.
Therefore it will be most appropriate to interpret it in such a way that is acceptable by both parties, which is that it refers to Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Furthermore, this interpretation is in complete harmony with the texts of the Qur’an and the remainder of authentic narrations of Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and it is also agreed upon. Therefore, this narration cannot be used as proof in a debated matter. Additionally, this narration is—in light of the argument —inexplicit and in no way does it prove the Shia claim. In order to prove the claim, an explicit narration is required.
حدثنا عبد الله حدثنى ابى عن ابن نمير ثنا عبدالملك بن ابى سليمان عن عطية العوفى عن ابى سعيد الخدرى قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم انى قد تركت فيكم ما ان اخذتم به لن تضلوا بعدى الثقلين احدهما اكبر من الاخر كتاب الله حبل ممدود من السماء الى الارض و عترتى اهل بيتى وانهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا على الحوض
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmed — (his father) Ahmed ibn Hambal — Ibn Numair — ‘Abdul Malik ibn Abi Sulaiman — ‘Attiyah al ‘Aufi — from Abu Sa’id al Khudri that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:
I am leaving amongst you that which if you hold on to you will never go astray, the Thaqalayn. One of them is greater than the other, the Book of Allah is like a rope that has been extended from the sky to the earth and my ‘itrah are my Ahlul Bayt. These two will never separate until they meet me at the Pond (of al Kawthar).[1]
حدثنى ابى حدثنا اسود بن عامراخبرنا ابو اسرائيل يعنى اسماعيل بن اسحاق الملائى عن عطية عن ابى سعيد قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم انى تارك فيكم الثقلين احدهما اكبر من الاخر كتاب الله حبل ممدود من السماء الى الارض و عترتى اهل بيتى وانهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا على الحوض
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmed — (his father) Ahmed ibn Hambal — Aswad ibn ‘Amir — Abu Isra’il Ismail ibn Ishaq al Mala’i — ‘Attiyah — from Abu Sa’id that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:
I am leaving amongst you that which if you hold on to you will never go astray, the Thaqalayn. One of them is greater than the other, the Book of Allah is like a rope that has been extended from the sky to the earth and my ‘itrah are my Ahlul Bayt. These two will never separate until they meet me at the Pond (of al Kawthar).[2]
حدثنى ابى ثنا ابو نضر ثنا محمد يعنى ابن طلحة عن الاعمش عن عطية العوفى عن ابى سعيد الخدرى عن النبى صلى الله عليه و سلم قال انى اوشك ان ادعى فاجيب وانى تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله عز و جل وعترتى كتاب الله حبل ممدود من السماء الى الارض و عترتى اهل بيتى و ان اللطيف الخبير اخبرنى انهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا على الحوض فانظرونى بم تخلفونى فيهما
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmed — (his father) Ahmed ibn Hambal — Abu Nadr — Muhammad ibn Talhah — al A’mash — ‘Attiyah al ‘Aufi — from Abu Sa’id al Khudri that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:
Soon I will be invited and I will accept the invitation. I am leaving amongst you the Thaqalayn, the Book of Allah and my ‘itrah. The Book of Allah is like a rope that has been extended from the sky to the earth and my ‘itrah is my Ahlul Bayt. Indeed the One who knows the finest details and is aware of everything has informed me that these two will never separate until they meet me at the Pond (of al Kawthar). Beware of how you treat them in my absence.[3]
حدثنى ابى ثنا ابن نمير ثنا عبدالملك يعنى ابى سليمان عن عطية عن ابى سعيد الخدرى قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم انى تركت فيكم الثقلين احدهما اكبر من الاخر كتاب الله حبل ممدود من السماء الى الارض و عترتى اهل بيتى ال انهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا على الحوض
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmed — (his father) Ahmed ibn Hambal — Ibn Numair — ‘Abdul Malik Abu Sulaiman — ‘Attiyah — from Abu Sa’id al Khudri that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:
I leave amongst you the Thaqalayn; one of them is greater than the other: The Book of Allah which is like a rope that has been extended from the sky to the earth and my ‘itrah who are my Ahlul Bayt. Beware! They will not separate until they meet me at the Pond (of al Kawthar).[4]
As for the second, third, fourth and fifth narrations; ‘Attiyah al ‘Aufi appears in each of them. The details of this individual have already been mentioned under the narration of Tabaqat ibn Sa’d. The reader is requested to once again have a look at it. The narrations of such an unreliable and flagrant liar can never be worthy of attention.
Note:- Regarding the narrations quoted above of ‘Abdul Malik narrating from ‘Attiyah who in turn narrates from Abu Sa’id, Imam al Bukhari in his book al Tarikh al Saghir mentions criticism for Imam Ahmed. We reproduce it here as a service to the people of knowledge:
قال احمد فى حديث عبدالملك عن عطية عن ابى سعيد قال النبى صلى الله عليه و سلم تركت فيكم الثقلين…احاديث الكوفيين هذه مناكير
Ahmed said regarding the hadith of ‘Abdul Malik from ‘Attiyah from Abu Sa’id that Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “I have left amongst you Thaqalayn…”, these narrations of the people of Kufah are rejected.[5]
حدثنا عبد الله حدثنى احمد بن حنبل حدثنا الاسود بن عامرثنا شريك عن الركين عن القاسم بن حسان عن زيد بن ثابت قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم انى قد تركت فيكم ما ان اخذتم به لن تضلوا بعدى الثقلين احدهما اكبر من الاخر كتاب الله حبل ممدود من السماء الى الارض و عترتى اهل بيتى وانهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا على الحوض
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmed — (his father) Ahmed ibn Hambal — al Aswad ibn ‘Amir — Sharik — al Rukayn — al Qasim ibn Hassan — from Zaid ibn Thabit that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:
I leave amongst you that which if you hold on to you will never go astray, the Thaqalayn. One is greater than the other; the Book of Allah which is like a rope that has been extended from the sky to the earth and my ‘itrah who are my Ahlul Bayt. Indeed they will not separate until they meet me at the Pond (of al Kawthar).[6]
حدثنى ابى ثنا ابو احمد الزبيرى ثنا شريك عن الركين عن القاسم بن حسان عن زيد بن ثابت قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم انى تارك فيكم خليفتين كتاب الله و اهل بيتى وانهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا على الحوض جميعا
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmed — (his father) Ahmed ibn Hambal — Abu Ahmed al Zubairi — Sharik —al Rukayn — al Qasim ibn Hassan — from Zaid ibn Thabit that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:
I leave amongst you two khalifahs; the Book of Allah and my Ahlul Bayt. Indeed they will not separate until they both meet me at the Pond (of al Kawthar).[7]
Sharik ibn ‘Abdullah appears in the above two narrations. His status as far as credibility is concerned has already been discussed under the narration of Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah. In summary, he is a da’if narrator, he commits many mistakes, he has contradictions in his narrations, he has a weak memory, he hides his sources and he is an extremist Shia. After these elucidations there is no question about accepting his narrations as proof in this chapter.
حدثنا عبد الله حدثنى ابى ثنا اسماعيل بن ابراهيم عن ابى حيان التميمى قال انطلقت انا و حصين بن سمرة و عمر بن مسلم الى زيد بن ارقم فلما جلسنا اليه قال له الحصين لقد لقيت يا زيد خيرا كثيرا رايت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم و سمعت حديثه و غزوت معه و صليت خلفه لقد لقيت يا زيد خيرا كثيرا حدثنا يا زيد ما سمعت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم فقال يا ابن اخى لقد كبرت سنى و قدم عهدى و نسيت بعض الذى كنت اعى من رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم فما حدثتكم فاقبلوا ومالا فلا ثم قال قام رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يوما خطيبا فينا بماء يدعى خما بين مكة و المدينة فحمد الله و اثنى عليه ووغظ و ذكر ثم قال اما بعد الا يا ايها الناس انما انا بشر يوشك ان ياتينى رسول ربى عز و جل فاجيب و انى تارك فيكم الثقلين اولهما كتاب الله عز و جل فيه الهدى و النور فخذوا بكتاب الله تعالى واستمسكوا به فحث على كتاب الله و رغب فيه قال واهل بيتى اذكركم الله فى اهل بيتى اذكركم الله فى اهل بيتى اذكركم الله فى اهل بيتى
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmed — (his father) Ahmed ibn Hambal — Ismail ibn Ibrahim — from Abu Hayyan al Tamimi who said:
I went with Hussain ibn Saburah and ‘Umar ibn Muslim to Zaid ibn Arqam. After taking our seats, Hussain said to him, “O Zaid, you have been granted great virtue. You saw Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, heard his speech, joined him on expeditions and performed salah behind him. Indeed Zaid, you have encountered a great amount of goodness! Narrate to us, O Zaid, some of that which you have heard from Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” Zaid said, “O my nephew, I have reached old age, my time has passed a very long time ago and I have forgotten some of that which I had memorised regarding Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Therefore accept from me that which I narrate to you and do not burden me with anything more than that.” He then said, “Once Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam stood up to deliver to us a sermon at a well known as Khum, which was situated between Makkah and Madinah. He praised Allah abundantly, advised us, and reminded us. Thereafter he said, ‘Pay attention O people, Indeed I am only a human and it is possible that soon the messenger of my Rabb, the Most Exalted and Glorified, will come to me and I will respond to him. Indeed I will leave amongst you the Thaqalayn. The first of the two is the Book of Allah, in it is guidance and light, so hold onto the Book of Allah and never let it go!’ He continued to encourage and urge regarding the Book of Allah. He then said, ‘And my Ahlul Bayt! I remind you to fear Allah regarding my Ahlul Bayt! I remind you to fear Allah regarding my Ahlul Bayt! I remind you to fear Allah regarding my Ahlul Bayt…’”[8]
Note:- This narration appears in Musnad Ahmed (vol. 4 pg. 366), under the narrations of Zaid ibn Arqam. However, the exact wording of this narration appears in a narration in the authentic compilation of Imam Muslim as well (in the second volume, under the chapter of the virtues of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu). The complete explanation of this narration will be presented after quoting the narration of Muslim. It will be pointless to present separate discussions for the two narrations, so the readers are requested to have a look at the details mentioned there. As far as the isnad of this narration is concerned, there is no criticism regarding it and the chain is complete, i.e. there is no narrator missing from the chain. Only the text of this narration requires some explanation. This will be presented after the narration of Muslim. Your patience will be appreciated.
[1] Musnad Ahmed vol. 3 pg. 95
[2] Musnad Ahmed vol. 3 pg. 14
[3] Musnad Ahmed vol. 3 pg. 17
[4] Musnad Ahmed vol. 3 pg. 26
[5] Tarikh Saghir pg. 126
[6] Musnad Ahmed vol. 5 pg. 181, 182
[7] Musnad Ahmed vol. 5 pg. 189, 190
[8] Musnad Ahmed vol. 4 pg. 366, 367