Study of the Origins of the Rib-Breaking Narrations and a Study of Their Limited Sources and Chains of Transmission

Some might imagine that the number of narrations regarding the breaking of the rib is large, based on what the abundance of narrations in this regard might suggest. However, what we have gathered in this study, specifically the narrations that explicitly mention the occurrence of the attack on the house of Fatimah, along with what is related to it, such as the burning of her house, the breaking of the door, her being struck, and the miscarriage of her unborn child—whether these details are mentioned collectively in some narrations or separately, or if a portion of them is merely alluded to—totals only twenty-one narrations. However, upon closer examination, it becomes evident that this number is much smaller:

The number of narrations in the first category, which consists of those with chains of transmission: 12 narrations.

The number of narrations in the second category, which are without chains of transmission: 9 narrations.

If we were to exclude the narrations in the second category, as most of them are transmitted from later centuries and are also without chains of transmission, which renders them devoid of any scholarly value, the number of narrations regarding the story of the breaking of the rib would only amount to 12.

Upon studying the 9 narrations in the second category, we find that they either have broken chains of transmission (as is the case with narrations numbered 6, 7, and 8), or they are completely devoid of any chain, which is the case for the majority of the narrations in this category (those numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9).

Moreover, when we examine the origins of the narrations in the second category, we find that most of them belong to very late centuries. Four narrations trace back to sources from the seventh century (those numbered 1, 2, 8, and 9), and narration number 3 is from the tenth century. Thus, half of these narrations belong to very late compilations. As for the rest, the earliest traces back to the fourth century (narrations numbered 4 and 6), while narration number 7 is from the fifth century and narration number 5 is from the sixth century. Additionally, three narrations were transmitted through intermediaries: narration number 1 exists in a seventh-century source, which quotes an author from the third century; narration number 9 traces back to a seventh-century source quoting a book by an author from the fifth century; and narration number 8 is transmitted by a twelfth-century source quoting an author from the seventh century. Therefore, 3 of the 8 narrations originate from one intermediary source, namely ‘Ali ibn Musa ibn Tawus.

When we closely examine the works containing the narrations of the second category, we find another issue: 5 out of the 8 books that contain the rib-breaking narrations are unreliable:

The problem either lies with the author of the book, as is the case with the first narration, transmitted from Kitab al Wasiyyah by ‘Isa ibn al Mustafad, or with the fourth narration, transmitted from Kitab al Hidayah, attributed to al Khusaybi, and the seventh narration, attributed to Kitab al Ikhtisas, whose author is unknown.

Or the problem lies with the book itself, either due to the absence of chains, as is the case of the fifth narration, transmitted from Kitab al Ihtijaj, or due to the omission of chains of transmission by some copyists, as is the case with the sixth narration, transmitted from Tafsir al ‘Ayyashi.

Furthermore, the ninth narration’s source is unknown, as it was not attributed to anyone. Therefore, the status of the narration remains unknown from the perspective of its source. As for the rest of the narrations, 2 of them trace back to the Prophet, while the remaining 6 are attributed to ‘Ali, Fatimah, al Hassan, al Baqir, al Sadiq, and al ‘Askari.

In summary, from a scholarly perspective, the narrations in the second category are of no value and should not be given attention. We have merely highlighted their status to prevent the illusion of the multiplicity of their sources from misleading anyone into believing that they have scholarly weight. Therefore, one should not be deceived by this apparent abundance when it comes to the narrations that lack connected chains of transmission.

And when we turn to the narrations from the first category, which are those with chains of transmission, we find that their status does not differ much from those in the second category. This is because their number is seemingly large and varied, but upon investigation, we find that this abundance is also illusory. The 12 narrations from this category all trace back to only 6 sources. One-third of the narrations in this category come from a single book—these are narrations numbered 1, 4, 5, and 6, all of which originate from Kitab Sulaim ibn Qais. Another quarter of the narrations also come from a single book—these are narrations numbered 7, 8, and 11, attributed to Dala’il al Imamah. Thus, more than half of the narrations with chains of transmission trace back to just two books: Kitab Sulaim ibn Qais and Dala’il al Imamah. The narrations numbered 3 and 10 trace back to Kamil al Ziyarat, while the remaining 3 narrations trace back to three different books. Therefore, all 12 narrations depend on just 6 authors.

Upon closer examination of the origins of these narrations, the issue becomes even clearer, as we find that the root of these narrations goes back to only a handful of narrators. This is because we find that narrations 1 and 2 were transmitted through Ibn ‘Abbas; narrations 3 and 10 were transmitted through ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdur Rahman al Asamm; narrations 4 and 5 were transmitted from ‘Ali with the same meaning; narrations 8 and 11 were transmitted through Muhammad ibn Harun ibn Musa al Tal’akbari; narrations 8, 9, and 12 were transmitted through al Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar; and narrations 7 and 8 were transmitted through Jabir al Ju’fi. Thus, 11 of the 12 narrations with chains of transmission rely on only 6 narrators.

Furthermore, when we examine the sources from which these narrations were transmitted, we find that this only increases their weakness. Half of the sources from which these narrations were transmitted are from unreliable books. Both Kitab Sulaim ibn Qais and Dala’il al Imamah—attributed to al Tabari, and al Hidayah—attributed to al Khusaybi, are books that are not reliable, as has been detailed earlier. These three books contain two-thirds of the narrations with chains of transmission, amounting to 8 narrations, which are numbered 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11.

This point is very important, as it undermines the claim of the abundance, fame, or widespread transmission of these narrations, as will be discussed in detail later. If these narrations are of such a low status that they do not even reach the level of fame or istifadah (widespread transmission), how then could they possibly reach the level of tawatur!

NEXT⇒ Report on the Weakness of All Chains of Transmission for the Narrations on the Breaking of the Rib