The Stance of the Ahlul bayt Towards Ibn Sabaʼ

The Ahlul bayt of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam opposed ‘Abdullah ibn Sabaʼ in the same manner that Amir al Mu’minin ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu opposed him; they refuted him and absolved themselves from his propaganda and falsehood.

Al Kashshi has reported with his chain of narration from Aban ibn ‘Uthman:

سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول لعن الله عبد الله بن سبأ إنه ادعى الربوبية في أمير المؤمنين وكان والله طائعا الويل لمن كذب علينا وإن قوما يقولون فينا ما لا نقول في أنفسنا نبرأ إلى الله منهم

I heard Abu ‘Abdullah [al Imam Jafar] ‘alayh al Salam say, “May the curse of Allah be upon Ibn Sabaʼ. He claimed divinity for Amir al Mu’minin. And I swear by Allah, Amir al Mu’minin was only a servant (of Allah). Destruction be upon those who fabricate in our names! Indeed, there are people who attribute to us qualities which we do not claim for ourselves; we disavow them before Allah.”^[1]

Al Kashshi has reported with his chain of narration from Abu Hamzah al Thumali:

قال علي بن الحسين لعن الله من كذب علينا إني ذكرت عبد الله بن سبأ فقامت كل شعرة في جسدي لقد ادعى أمرا عظيما ما له لعنه الله كان علي عبدا لله صالحا أخا لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وما نال الكرامة من الله إلا بطاعته لله ولرسوله وما نال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الكرامة إلا بطاعة الله

‘Ali ibn al Hussain said, “May the curse of Allah be upon those who fabricate in our names. When I think of ‘Abdullah ibn Sabaʼ, every hair of my body stands on end. He propagated a most heinous belief. What is wrong with him? May Allah curse him! ‘Ali was a pious slave of Allah; a brother of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He only achieved honour from Allah on account of his obedience to Allah and the Messenger of Allah. And the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not achieve honour except on account of his obedience to Allah.”^[2]

Al Kashshi has also narrated with his chain of narration from ‘Abdullah ibn Sinan:

قال أبو عبد الله إنا أهل بيت صديقون لا نخلو من كذاب يكذب علينا ويسقط صدقنا بكذبه علينا عند الناس كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أصدق الناس لهجة وأصدق البرية كلها وكان مسيلمة يكذب عليه وكان أمير المؤمنين أصدق من برأ الله بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وكان الذي يكذب عليه ويعمل في تكذيب صدقه ويفتري على الله الكذب عبد الله بن سبأ لعنه الله

Abu ‘Abdullah said, “We, the Ahlul bayt, are all truthful and have not been spared from liars who fabricate against us and tarnish our honesty with their falsehood. The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was the most truthful of people in his speech and the most truthful of all creation but Musaylamah would fabricate against him. Amir al Mu’minin was the most truthful of those who were created after the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the one who would fabricate against him and belie his honesty, fabricating against Allah, was ‘Abdullah ibn Sabaʼ. May Allah’s curse be upon him.”^[3]

These are the narrations of al Kashshi from the Imams of the Ahlul bayt. What is certain is that the book of al Kashshi, Ma’rifat al Naqilin ‘an al A’immah al Sadiqin, has been thoroughly investigated by one of the esteemed and respected scholars of the Shia, whom they awarded the title Sheikh al Taʼifah, Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn ‘Ali al Tusi (d. 460 AH). He then revised it and corrected it. He named this revised version Ikhtiyar al Rijal, which he then dictated to his students in Mash-had. He began dictating this book on Wednesday, 26 Safar 456 AH. This has been clarified by al Sayed Radi al Din ‘Ali ibn Tawus in Faraj al Mahmum, who quoted from the copy of al Sheikh al Tusi, which clearly states that it is a summary of the book written by Abu ‘Amr Muhammad ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz al Kashshi. The copy present today was printed in Bombay in 1317 AH. In fact, the copy used by al ‘Allamah al Hilli too was the summary of the narrators of al Tusi, as the original was not available.^[4]

It is with these reports and clear narrations of the Shia that the reality of ‘Abdullah ibn Sabaʼ becomes apparent to us. Any Shia who disputes this is, in truth, disputing his own canonical sources, which explicitly narrate the curses these Imams invoked upon this Jew.

It is impermissible, and in fact impossible, to fathom that the ‘infallible’ Imams were cursing a fictional character. Similarly, it is impossible for the Shia to accuse the Imams of lying.

This is what has become apparent to us in proving the existence of this wicked personality. As far as his involvement in the murder of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu is concerned and his propaganda during the Caliphate of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu, as well as his impression upon the beliefs of the Shia; this requires a separate discussion and an entirely different treatise.

رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْوَهَّابُ رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولَ فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَ

Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower. Our Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed the messenger, so register us among the witnesses [to truth].

^[1] Rijal al Kashshi, pg. 100; Tanqih al Maqal, 2/183-184; Qamus al Rijal, 5/461.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Rijal al Kashshi, pg. 100; Tanqih al Maqal, 2/183-184; Qamus al Rijal, 5/462.

^[4] Rijal al Tusi, pg. 62.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents