The Isnad of al-`Asimi
The Isnad of Akhtab Khawarizm
October 1, 2015The Isnad of Qadi `Ayyad
October 1, 2015BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents
The Isnad of al ‘Asimi
He is Abu Muhammad Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al ‘Asimi.
اخبرنى الشيخ الامام رحمه الله تعالى قال اخبرنا الشيخ ابو اسحاق ابراهيم بن جعفر الشورمينى قال اخبرنا ابو الحسن على بن يونس بن الهياج الانصارى قال حدثنا الحسين بن عبدالله و عمران بن عبدالله و عيسى بن على و عبدالرحمان النسائى قالوا حدثنا عبدالرحمان بن صالح قال حدثنا على بن عابس عن ابى اسحاق عن حنش قال رئيت ابا ذر متعلقا بباب الكعبة ويقول من يعرفنى فليعرفنى ومن لم يعرفنى فانا ابو ذر قال حنش فحدثنى بعض اصحابى انه سمعه يقول قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم انى تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله و عترتى اهل بيتى فانهما لن يتفرقا حتى يردا على الحوض
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Jafar al Shuramayni — Abu al Hassan ‘Ali ibn Yunus ibn al Hayyaj al Ansari — al Hussain ibn ‘Abdullah, ‘Imran ibn ‘Abdullah, ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali and ‘Abdul Rahman al Nasa’i — ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Salih — ‘Ali ibn ‘Abbas — Abi Ishaq — Hanash
I’ve seen Abu Dharr holding onto the door of the Ka’bah and saying, “Whoever knows me should recognise me, and whoever does not know me, then I am Abu Dhar.” Hanash said, “One of my companions informed me that he heard him saying that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, ‘I am leaving amongst you al Thaqalayn, the Book of Allah and my ‘itrah, who are my Ahlul Bayt. They will not separate until they meet me at the pond.’”
This isnad was studied in the light of the books of rijal and it was learnt that ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Salih and his teacher ‘Ali ibn ‘Abbas are two such narrators whose presence demands that the isnad cannot be sahih, especially ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Salih as he is an extremist Shia. Although he was praised by some, his narrations cannot be accepted regarding those matters in which the Ahlus Sunnah and Shia differ.
Below, we have included statements from Taqrib, Tahdhib, Tarikh Baghdad and Mizan of al Dhahabi for further satisfaction of the readers.
عبدالرحمان بن صالح الازدى العتكى صدوق يتشيع قال يعقوب بن يوسف المطوعى كان عبدالرحمان بن صالح رافضيا …كان يحدث بمثالب ازواج رسولالله صلىالله عليه وسلم و اصحابه وقال فى موضع اخر خرقت عامة ما سمعته منه…عن ابى داود لن ار ان اكتب عنه وضع كتاب مثالب فى اصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال و ذكره مرة اخرى فقال كان رجلا سوء …انه محترق فيما كان فيه من التشيع
The summary of these four quotations is that ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Salih was an extremist Shia. He would narrate the disparagement for the wives and Sahabah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Abu Dawood says that it is not permissible to write any narrations from him. He fabricated a book in disparagement of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. He then said that this is an evil man. He would burn with rage for the Sahabah on account of his Shia beliefs. [1]
There remains no need for any more details. The above mentioned is sufficient grounds for us not to accept the narration.
Note:-
- The author of ‘Abaqat narrated another narration from al ‘Asimi; however, the isnad of that narration is also not acceptable. It contains such persons whose details cannot be found anywhere in the books of rijal. For example the isnad has an individual by the name of Abu al Fadl ibn Fadlwayh. No trace of this person could be found and his details are not recorded in the books of rijal. Therefore, how can we rely upon the narrations of such unknown people?
- Searching through the Shia books (Rawdat al Jannat, Jami’ al Ruwat etc.) revealed to us that Ahmed ibn Muhammad al ‘Asimi is amongst the teachers of famous scholar Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al Kulayni, and al Kulayni narrates from him. Secondly, he is counted amongst the representatives of the final (hidden) imam. Thus he belongs to the prime and most elite bracket of the Shia. We have learnt this from the books, Rawdat al Jannat, Jami’ al Ruwat, Tuhfat al Ahbab, and others. The scholars may refer to them for further contentment. Besides this, there were other narrators in the isnad who were also Shia. Even if the isnad was sahih, this al ‘Asimi would be reason enough for us to discard this narration.
NEXT⇒ The Isnad of Akhtab Khawarizm
[1] Tahdhib al Tahdhib vol. 6 pg.198 , Tarikh Baghdad vol. 10 pg. 262-263 and Mizan al I’tidal vol. 2 pg. 108
BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents
The Isnad of al ‘Asimi
He is Abu Muhammad Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al ‘Asimi.
اخبرنى الشيخ الامام رحمه الله تعالى قال اخبرنا الشيخ ابو اسحاق ابراهيم بن جعفر الشورمينى قال اخبرنا ابو الحسن على بن يونس بن الهياج الانصارى قال حدثنا الحسين بن عبدالله و عمران بن عبدالله و عيسى بن على و عبدالرحمان النسائى قالوا حدثنا عبدالرحمان بن صالح قال حدثنا على بن عابس عن ابى اسحاق عن حنش قال رئيت ابا ذر متعلقا بباب الكعبة ويقول من يعرفنى فليعرفنى ومن لم يعرفنى فانا ابو ذر قال حنش فحدثنى بعض اصحابى انه سمعه يقول قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم انى تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله و عترتى اهل بيتى فانهما لن يتفرقا حتى يردا على الحوض
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Jafar al Shuramayni — Abu al Hassan ‘Ali ibn Yunus ibn al Hayyaj al Ansari — al Hussain ibn ‘Abdullah, ‘Imran ibn ‘Abdullah, ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali and ‘Abdul Rahman al Nasa’i — ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Salih — ‘Ali ibn ‘Abbas — Abi Ishaq — Hanash
I’ve seen Abu Dharr holding onto the door of the Ka’bah and saying, “Whoever knows me should recognise me, and whoever does not know me, then I am Abu Dhar.” Hanash said, “One of my companions informed me that he heard him saying that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, ‘I am leaving amongst you al Thaqalayn, the Book of Allah and my ‘itrah, who are my Ahlul Bayt. They will not separate until they meet me at the pond.’”
This isnad was studied in the light of the books of rijal and it was learnt that ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Salih and his teacher ‘Ali ibn ‘Abbas are two such narrators whose presence demands that the isnad cannot be sahih, especially ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Salih as he is an extremist Shia. Although he was praised by some, his narrations cannot be accepted regarding those matters in which the Ahlus Sunnah and Shia differ.
Below, we have included statements from Taqrib, Tahdhib, Tarikh Baghdad and Mizan of al Dhahabi for further satisfaction of the readers.
عبدالرحمان بن صالح الازدى العتكى صدوق يتشيع قال يعقوب بن يوسف المطوعى كان عبدالرحمان بن صالح رافضيا …كان يحدث بمثالب ازواج رسولالله صلىالله عليه وسلم و اصحابه وقال فى موضع اخر خرقت عامة ما سمعته منه…عن ابى داود لن ار ان اكتب عنه وضع كتاب مثالب فى اصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال و ذكره مرة اخرى فقال كان رجلا سوء …انه محترق فيما كان فيه من التشيع
The summary of these four quotations is that ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Salih was an extremist Shia. He would narrate the disparagement for the wives and Sahabah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Abu Dawood says that it is not permissible to write any narrations from him. He fabricated a book in disparagement of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. He then said that this is an evil man. He would burn with rage for the Sahabah on account of his Shia beliefs. [1]
There remains no need for any more details. The above mentioned is sufficient grounds for us not to accept the narration.
Note:-
- The author of ‘Abaqat narrated another narration from al ‘Asimi; however, the isnad of that narration is also not acceptable. It contains such persons whose details cannot be found anywhere in the books of rijal. For example the isnad has an individual by the name of Abu al Fadl ibn Fadlwayh. No trace of this person could be found and his details are not recorded in the books of rijal. Therefore, how can we rely upon the narrations of such unknown people?
- Searching through the Shia books (Rawdat al Jannat, Jami’ al Ruwat etc.) revealed to us that Ahmed ibn Muhammad al ‘Asimi is amongst the teachers of famous scholar Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al Kulayni, and al Kulayni narrates from him. Secondly, he is counted amongst the representatives of the final (hidden) imam. Thus he belongs to the prime and most elite bracket of the Shia. We have learnt this from the books, Rawdat al Jannat, Jami’ al Ruwat, Tuhfat al Ahbab, and others. The scholars may refer to them for further contentment. Besides this, there were other narrators in the isnad who were also Shia. Even if the isnad was sahih, this al ‘Asimi would be reason enough for us to discard this narration.
NEXT⇒ The Isnad of Akhtab Khawarizm
[1] Tahdhib al Tahdhib vol. 6 pg.198 , Tarikh Baghdad vol. 10 pg. 262-263 and Mizan al I’tidal vol. 2 pg. 108