Imam and Imam companions on authenticating hadith
- Is it permissible to reject a report from a narrator because scholars considered him “weak”?
It seems some scholarly companions of the Imam were influenced by their Mukhalif environments - this is not unusual, as some of our Imams companions even became Mukhalif judges while secretly Shi’i such as Nuh ibn Darraj.
One of the Mukhalif concepts they adopted is rejecting a hadith because of a narrator they considered weak. Our Imam rejects this concept and rectifies it, as seen below:
(Rijal al-Kashi, vol 2, page 662)
We were sitting with him, so we discussed a man from among our companions, and some of us said: He is a weak narrator.
Abi Abdilah [al-Sadiq], peace be upon him, said: If you do not accept (reports) from those of lower level than you until they reach your level, we will not accept reports from you until you are on our level.
علي بن السرى الكرخي 683 - محمد بن مسعود، قال: حدثنا محمد بن نصير، قال: حدثني محمد ابن عيسى.
وحمدويه، قال: حدثنا محمد بن عيسى، قال: حدثنا القاسم الصيقل، رفع الحديث إلى أبي عبد الله عليه السلام، قال، كنا جلوسا عندهفتذاكرنا رجلا من أصحابنا فقال بعضنا: ذلك ضعيف، فقال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام إن كان لا يقبل ممن دونكم حتى يكون مثلكم لم يقبلمنكم حتى تكونوا مثلنا.
- How do we accept reports from our Imam?
(Al-Kafi, vol 2, page 223)
“I heard Abi Ja’far (peace be upon him) saying: By
God, the most beloved of my companions to me is the most pious and knowledgeable of them and the most discreet in keeping our ahadith secret.
And the most hated to us is the one who hears a hadith being attributed to us and narrated from us - he is disgusted by it (i.e, the hadith), and denies it, and rejects the one believing in it.
And he does not know - perhaps the hadith did in fact come from us, and its isnad correctly attributed to us.
And by that (i.e, his rejection) - he will be outside of our wilayah”
عنه، عن أحمد بن محمد، عن ابن محبوب، عن جميل بن صالح، عن أبي عبيدة الحذاء قال: سمعت أبا جعفر (عليه السلام) يقول: والله إنأحب أصحابي إلي أورعهم وأفقههم وأكتمهم لحديثنا وإن أسوأهم عندي حالا وأمقتهم للذي (4) إذا سمع الحديث ينسب إلينا ويروىعنا فلم يقبله اشمأز منه وجحده وكفر من دان به وهو لا يدري لعل الحديث من عندنا خرج وإلينا أسند، فيكون بذلكخارجا عن ولايتنا.
- Comment:
The Imam is instructing his companions to not reject a hadith’s authenticity whose ta’wil they do not understand - if the hadith was attributed to the Imams.
This report was implemented by the Imams’ companions in their understanding of hadith 1 in that they do not reject a hadith’s authenticity and attribution, if it is attributed to the Imam.
But they may cease from implementing the hadith - if the content is contradictory to Quran and sunnah.
As seen below:
(Rijal al-Kashi, vol 2, page 803)
“I wrote to him [Imam al-Ridha]:
May I be your ransom, we have a people who differ in the ma’rifa of your virtues - with different sayings which disgusts the hearts and bring distress.
And they narrate hadiths about that, it is not permissible for us to acknowledge them because of the great saying that they contain, and it is not permissible to reject them, nor to deny them when they were attributed to your forefathers.”
الكشي: وجدت بخط جبرئيل بن أحمد الفاريابي حدثني موسى بن جعفر ابن وهب عن إبراهيم بن شيبة قال: كتبت إليه جعلت فداك إن عندناقوما يختلفون في معرفة فضلكم بأقاويل مختلفة تشمئز منها القلوب وتضيق لها الصدور ويروون في ذلك الأحاديث لا يجوز لنا الاقرار بها لمافيها من القول العظيم ولا يجوز ردها ولا الجحود لها إذ نuسبت إلى آبائك، فنحن وقوف عليها من ذلك لأنهم يقولون ويتأولون معنى قوله عزوجل: " إن الصلاة تنهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر (3) " وقوله عز وجل:
- What is the rationale from accepting reports on our Imams
- First of all, the narrator must be Shi’i. As we are only permitted to take deen from Shi’a.
(Wasa’il al-Shi’a, vol 37, page 150 - from Rijal al-Kashi)
Abu al-Hasan [Musa al-Kadhim] wrote to me while he was in prison:
As for what you mentioned, O Ali, from whom you take the teachings of your religion, do not take the teachings of your religion from anyone other than our Shiites, for if you transgress them, you take your religion from the traitors, who betrayed God and His Messenger and betrayed their trusts, for they were entrusted with the Book of God. , so they distorted it and changed it, so they are the curse of God, the curse of His Messenger, the curse of angels, the curse of my honorable fathers, and the curse of me and the curse of my Shiites until the Day of Resurrection
وعن حمدويه وإبراهيم ابني نصير، عن محمد بن إسماعيل الرازي عن علي بن حبيب المدائني، عن علي بن سويد السايي (1) قال: كتبإليأبو الحسن (عليه السلام) وهو في السجن: وأما ما ذكرت يا علي ممن تأخذ معالم دينك، لا تأخذن معالم دينك عن غير شيعتنا، فإنكإنتعديتهم أخذت دينك عن الخائنين، الذين خانوا الله ورسوله وخانوا أماناتهم، إنهم ائتمنوا على كتاب الله، فحرفوه وبدلوه فعليهم لعنة اللهولعنةرسوله ولعنة ملائكة، ولعنة آبائي الكرام البررة ولعنتي ولعنة شيعتي إلى يوم القيامة - في كتاب طويل -.
- Second of all, husn al-dhan (assuming the best) is mandatory for one’s Shi’i brothers.
- One cannot accuse a Shi’i brother of something he denies, even if 50 trustworthy people swear by Allah he did it.
(Al-Kafi, vol 8, page 147)
Sahl ibn Ziyad, on the authority of Yahya ibn Al Mubarak, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Jabla, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Al-Fudayl, on the authority of Abu Al-Hassan I (peace be upon him) who said:
I said to him [the Imam]: May I be sacrificed for you, a man from my brothers - I am informed about him ascribing to a the thing that I hate, so I ask him about it and he denies it.
However, a trustworthy people informed me of this information about him.
He [the Imam] said to me: O Muhammad, deny your hearing and your sight as liars - regarding your brother.
Such that if 50 people testify (and swear by Allah) against him - and yet, he tells you a word [denying their claims about him], then believe him and claim they (the testifiers are liars).
Do not publicize/spread anything against him which brings him disgrace and and destroys his honor, lest you be one of those whom God said in his book: Those who love that immorality spreads among those who believe will have a painful punishment”
125 - سهل بن زياد، عن يحيى بن المبارك، عن عبد الله بن جبلة، عن محمد بن الفضيل، عن أبي الحسن الأول (عليه السلام) قال: قلت له: جعلت فداك الرجل من إخواني يبلغني عنه الشئ الذي أكرهه فأساله عن ذلك فينكر ذلك وقد أخبرني عنه قوم ثقات فقال لي: يا محمدكذبسمعك وبصرك عن أخيك فإن شهد عندك خمسون قسامة (2) وقال لك قولا فصدقه وكذبهم لا تذيعن عليه (3) شيئا تشينه (4) به وتهدمبهمروءته فتكون من الذين قال الله في كتابه: " إن الذين يحبون أن
- It is forbidden to accuse a Shi’i brother in his religion
(Al-Kafi, vol 2, page 361)
“I heard Aba Abdilah [al-Sadiq] say:
“Whomever accuses his brother with regards to his religion, there is no sanctity between them. And whomever treats his (Shi’i) brother - the same [bad treatment he should give) the people (i.e, Mukhalifeen), his faith disassociates from him”
عدة من أصحابنا، عن أحمد بن محمد بن خالد، عن بعض أصحابه، عن الحسين ابن حازم، عن حسين بن عمر بن يزيد، عن أبيه قال: سمعتأبا عبد الله (عليه السلام) يقول:
من اتهم أخاه في دينه فلا حرمة بينهما (4) ومن عامل أخاه بمثل ما عامل (5) به الناس فهو برئ مما ينتحل (6).
- Conclusion:
(Amali al-Tusi)
Abi Abdilah al-Sadiq says:
Rasul Allah said: ‘Allah created the believer from the greatness of his glory and power. Whomever accuses him of something - or denies his words, it is as if he denied God”
أمالي الطوسي: الغضائري، عن التلعكبري، عن محمد بن همام، عن الحسين بن أحمد المالكي، عن اليقطيني، عن يحيى بن زكريا بن بشر،عن داود الرقي عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: إن الله عز وجل خلق المؤمن من عظمة جلاله وقدرته، فمنطعن عليه أو رد عليه قوله، فقد رد على الله (4).
And all Shi’a are considered believers - spiritually, despite their sins:
- I will first quote Sayyid al-Khoei for perspective, before sharing the hadith:
‘The title of believer is specific to the Shi’a of Ahlulbayt. Can a Shi’i be called Mu’min - even if he leaves obligatory tasks, like prayer?’
Khoei: “Yes, he is called a Mu’min”
لقب المؤمن خاص لشيعة اهل البيت عليهم السلام هل يقال للشيعي مؤمن حتى لو ترك الواجبات , كالصلاة مثلا ؟
الخوئي : نعم يقال له مؤمن
(http://www.al-khoei.us/fatawa1/?id=224)
- Hadith
“I said to Abu al-Hasan Musa, peace be upon him: The man from among your followers is a sinner (3) who drinks alcohol and commits a reprehensible sin. Do we disassociate from him?
He said: Disassociate from his actions, and do not disassociate from his goodness, and hate his deeds [but not his person].
So I said: Can we say such a person is a wicked and immoral person?
He said: No, the immoral, fasiq, infidel one is the one who is defiant against us and our followers [i.e, he isn’t Shi’i].
God refuses for our follower to be deemed be an immoral fasiq, regardless of his action, thus you should say:
This person is of Immoral deed, evil deed.
He is believer in soul, but of evil deed, yet good soul and body.
No, by God, none of our guardians will come out of this world except by God and His Messenger, and we are satisfied with him. God will raise him up for the sins in him, his face will be white, his nakedness is hidden, his security and his splendor, there is no fear or sadness for him.”
قلت لأبي الحسن موسى عليه السلام: الرجل من مواليكم عاص (3) يشرب الخمر ويرتكب الموبق من الذنب نتبرأ منه؟ فقال: تبرأوا من فعله ولاتتبرأوا من خيره وأبغضوا عمله فقلت يسع لنا أن نقول: فاسق فاجر؟ فقال: لا، الفاسق الفاجر الكافر الجاحد لنا ولأوليائنا، أبى الله أن يكونولينا فاسقا فاجرا وإن عمل ما عمل، ولكنكم قولوا:
فاسق العمل فاجر العمل مؤمن النفس خبيث الفعل طيب الروح والبدن.
لا والله لا يخرج ولينا من الدنيا إلا والله ورسوله ونحن عنه راضون، يحشره الله على ما فيه من الذنوب مبيضا وجهه، مستورة عورته، آمنةروعته، لا خوف عليه ولا حزن.
So one cannot base the ahkam of religion based on other people’s accusations. In other words - per the words of the Imams and their instructions to their companions, making ilm al-rijal a primary source in ascertaining the authenticity of a hadith and ahkam of religion is not permissible.
Wa Allahu A’lam
