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com

Did `Al Anger Fimah?

Author: Nader Zaveri

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Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 Key Omission of part of Matn by the Sunns:............................................................................................................... 5 Analysis of the Chain of Narrators: ................................................................................................................................ 6 1. 2. 3. 4. `Al b. Amad ( - ) Majhl (Unknown) .............................................................................................. 6 Ab al-`Abbs, Amad b. Muammad b. Yaya ( - ) Majhl (Unknown) ........ 6 `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm ( ) Majhl (Unknown) .................................................................... 7 Ziyd b. `Abd Allh ( ) Majhl (Unknown) ................................................................................. 9

Conclusion: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Second Narration: ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Analysis of the Chain of Narrators: .............................................................................................................................. 12 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. My Father (`Al b. al-ussayn b. Bbuwayh al-Qumm - ) Thiqah .......................... 12 Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh ( ) Thiqah ................................................................................ 12 al-asan b. `Arafah ( ) Majhl .................................................................................. 13 Wak`( ) Majhl ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Muammad b. Isrl ( ) Majhl ................................................................................................ 14 Ab li ( ) Majhl ............................................................................................................................. 15 Ab Dharr ( ) Thiqah ................................................................................................................................ 15

Conclusion: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................. 16

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Introduction
. ) (
All praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, and seek from His aid, and His forgiveness, and His guidance. And we seek refuge in Allah from the impurity that is in ourselves and that which results from our evil actions. Whomever Allah guides, then he cannot go astray. And whomever He lets go astray, cannot then be guided. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, He is the One without a partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is his slave and messenger, He chose him for his guardianship, and distinguished him with His message, and blessed him with the prophet-hood; (he was) a trustee of His veiled, and a mercy unto the worlds the blessings of Allah upon him Muhammad and his family )1 (

There is a famous adth of the Prophet ) ( about Fimah ) ( in which he says, Whoever angers Fimah has angered me. Recently, Sunns have attempted to take out narrations from the Sh`ah books which alludes to Imm `Al ) ( angering Fimah )( There are two narrations that allude to this, both of the narrations are from al-adqs `Ilal al-Shari`. These narrations are fairly lengthy, so I will only translate the pertinent portions of the matn (content of the adth), and then I will analyze each adth individually. I will not only analyze each adths sanad via Sh`ah books of Rijl, but I will also delve into the Sunn books of Rijl for many of the narrators, in order to get a holistic perspective on certain narrators. After my analysis, inshAllh, you will see that these narrations are a pure fabrication against Imm `Al ) ,( in order to lower his status.

This is the way our Aimmah ) ( have started off their speeches. This is a a adth that is narrated in al-Kulayns alKf, vol. 3, pg. 422-423, adth # 6; this adth has is a (Authentic) according to al-Majlis in his Mirt al-`Uql, vol. 15, pg. 356

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First Narration:
The first narration is from al-adqs `ilal al-Shar`. This narration is fairly lengthy; I will break up the translation into parts for easier reading.

...
From `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm and Ziyd b. `Abd Allh saidAb `Abd Allh ) :( That a miserable man from the miserable people came to Fimah, daughter of the Messenger of Allh ) ( and he said to her ( ) :Do you not know that `Al has proposed to the daughter of Ab Jahl? She ) ( said: Is it true what you say? And he said: He said three times, It is true what I say! And jealousy entered into her, she could not control herself, and that Allh ) ( has decreed that women be jealous and that men do jihd. And He has made for the patient women have reward what He has made for the murbi (teacher) and the muhjir in the way of Allh.

He ) ( said: Fimahs grief became intense from that, and she remained contemplating (about that) until darkness came in the night. And she ) ( carried al-asan on her right shoulder and al-ussayn on her left shoulder and she took Umm Kulthm in her left hand, then she moved to the room of her father. And `Al came to his room and he did not see Fimah, and his grief intensified for that and it became great on him, and he did not know the story. And he was ashamed to call her from the house of her father, so he went to the masjid and prayed in it, what Allh willed. Then, he gathered sand from the masjid and reclined upon it.

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And when the Prophet ) ( saw what Fimah overflow with tears of grief, then he got dressed and entered the masjid. And he remained in the state of prayer between ruk` and sujd and when he would pray two rakka`ah, he would pray to Allh to remove the grief and sadness from Fimah, and that he left her turning and deeply breathing. And when the Prophet ) ( saw that she couldnt become happy and sleep, and could not become resolved. He ) ( said to her ) ,( Rise, O daughter! And she rose, and the Prophet ) ( carried al-asan and Fimah carried al-ussayn, and she took Umm Kulthm until they reached `Al ) ,( and he was sleeping. And the Prophet ) ( placed his foot on him and pinched him. And he ) ( said: O Ab Turb, you have troubled many inhabitants. And he said, call to me Ab Bakr from his house, and `Umar from his majlis, and take Talah from his house and they gathered with the Messenger of Allh. So the Messenger of Allh ) :( O `Al, Do you know that Fimah, is a piece of me, and I am from her. And whoever disturbs her, disturbs me, and whoever disturbs me, disturbs Allh. And whoever disturbs her after my death, is like whoever disturbs her during my life, and whoever disturbs her during my life is like whoever disturbs her after my death2

Key Omission of part of Matn by the Sunns:

The Sunns usually always post the part of the adth in which I have translated, but they either ignorantly or dishonestly truncate a key part of the matn (content) of the adth in which it refutes the whole reason for Fimah ) ( becoming hurt. Here is the key omission:

He ) ( said, `Al ) ( said: Yes, O Messenger of Allh ) .( He ( ) said: So why have you done so? `Al ) ( said: By the One who has sent you as the true Prophet, I have not done which she was informed of, and it has not occurred. And the Prophet ) ( said: You are truthful. Fimah ) ( became happy by that, and she smiled until you could see her mouth

Al-adq, `Ilal al-Shari`, vol. 1, ch. 149, pg. 185-189, adth # 2, al-Majlis, Bihr al-Anwr, vol. 43, ch. 7, pg. 201-207, adth # 31

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As you can see after Fimah ) ( complained to her father about `Als ) ( supposed proposal to Ab Jahls daughter, and the Prophet ) ( confronted Imm `Al ) ( whether or not he had done it, but Imm `Al ) ( denied it and the Prophet ) ( said the Imm `Al )( had spoken the truth.

Analysis of the Chain of Narrators:

Even though we have shown that within this adth it denies Imm `Als ) ( proposal to Ab Jahls daughter. This adth still shows that Fimah ) ( was angry at one point in time at Imm `Al ),( so we shall analyze the sanad (chain of narrators) of this adth in depth. We will go from al-adqs shaykh to the primary narrators from Imm al-Sdiq ).( 1. `Al b. Amad ( - ) Majhl (Unknown) The shaykh of al-adq, can either be Ab al-Qsim, `Al b. Amad b. Muammad b. `Imrn al-Daqqq or `Al b. Amad b. Msa b. Ibrhm al-Daqqq. Both al-Khoei3 and `Al al-Namz al-Shahrd4 believe that they are the same person. al-adq has given tara5 on both of them in his books. For example, he gives tarad on `Al b. Amad b. Muammad b. `Imrn al-Daqqq in his `Uyn al-Akhbr al-Ri6 as has been pointed out by al-Khoei7, but as al-Khoei points out throughout his book Mu`jam Rijl aladth, al-adqs tara or taraum8 does not imply tawthq9 for a narrator. Other than `Al b. Amad narrating his adth to al-adq, there is nothing else said about him in the classical books of rijl. In conclusion, `Al b. Amad is majhl (unknown), because of lack of tawthq for him in the books of Rijl. Muammad al-Jawhiri says in his al-Mufd min Mu`jam Rijl al-Hadth, according to al-Khoeis standards, they are both majhl10. 2. Ab al-`Abbs, Amad b. Muammad b. Yaya ( - ) Majhl (Unknown) His full name is Ab al-`Abbs, Amad b. Muammad b. Yaya b. Zakariyyah b. al-Qan. al-Khoei puts him under the entry of Amad b. Yaya b. Zakariyyah, they are the same person when you look at

3 4

al-Khoei, Mu`jam Rijl al-Hadth, vol. 12, pg. 279, person # 7920 al-Shahrd, Mustadarakt `ilm al-Rijl, vol. 5, pg. 301, person # 9682 5 Saying ) ( May Allh be pleased with him after his name. 6 Al-adq, `Uyn al-Akhr al-Ri, vol. 1, ch. 28, adth # 86: : : : 7 al-Khoei, Mu`jam Rijl al-Hadth, vol. 12, pg. 277, person # 7911 8 Saying ) ( May Allh have Mercy upon him after his name. 9 Proof of trustworthiness of a narrator 10 al-Jawhir, Mufd min Mu`jam Rijl al-adth, pg. 384, person # 7908

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his kunya, Ab al-`Abbs. Also, another indicator that this is same person is the fact that `Al b. Amad b. Msa al-Daqqq narrates from him11. The classical books of Rijl have not mentioned this person; even the post-classical books of Rijl (i.e. al-Hill al-Khulsah, al-Ardabil, Jmi` al-Ruwt, etc.) have not mentioned anything about him. According to al-Khoei, Amad b. Muammad b. Yaya is majhl (unknown)12, and al-Shhrd also says that he is majhl (unknown)13. Because of the fact that he is such an unknown person, there is no death date mentioned for him. One way to guesstimate when the said narrators lived or died is to look at his contemporaries and see when they died. The majority of Amad b. Muammads contemporaries died early 300s. For example, Muammad b. Ab `Abd Allh Ja`far al-Asad died in the year 312 AH, and Ab `Al b. Hammm died in either 332 or 33614. 3. `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm ( ) Majhl (Unknown) His full name is `Amr b. Thbit b. Hurmuz al-add, commonly known as `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm. According to Ja`far al-Subn15, he has narrated 69 ahdth (pl. of adth) in the Kutub al-Arba`ah16. According to al-Najsh, `Amr b. Thbit is a companion of the 4th, 5th and 6th Imms17. Al-Khoei says that he has not found a narration in which he is directly narrating from the 4th Imm18. Both al-s and al-Barq do not mention him as a companion of the 4th Imm, they only mention him as the companion of the 5th and 6th Imms. According to the Sunn Rijl scholar al-Mizz (d. 742), he lists the narrators whom `Amr b. Ab alMiqdm narrates from, and he does not mention `Al b. al-ussayn )91.( It is safe to assume either the adth that al-Najsh saw in which `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm narrates from the 4th Imm are lost, or al-Najsh made a mistake. There are three different views according to the Sh`ah concerning `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm: 1. Thiqah (Trustworthy) The scholars who consider `Amr as thiqah are taking their view from a narration found in al-Kashs Rijl20. This adth is da`f (weak) because of it being

11

al-adq, Man L Yauruh al-Faqh, vol. 2, pg. 238, adth # 2292; al-adq, al-Aml, Majlis # 55, pg. 341, adth # 1; ibid, Majlis # 67, pg. 435, adth # 2; ibid, Majlis # 74, adth # 5; al-adq, al-Khil, vol. 1, pg. 211, adth # 35 12 al-Khoei, Mu`jam Rijl al-Hadth, vol. 3, pg. 159, person # 1015 13 al-Shahrd, Mustadarakt `ilm al-Rijl, vol. 1, pg. 508, person # 1844 14 Ja`far al-Subn, Maws`ah abaqt al-Fuquh, vol. 4, pg. 157, person # 1372 15 Ibid, vol. 2, pg. 422, person # 581 16 Kutub al-Arba`ah (lit. Four Books) They are the four main books which jurisprudence are derived from. They are 1.) Al-Kf by alKulayn; 2.) Man L Yauruh al-Faqh by al-adq; 3.) Tadheeb al-Ahkm by al-s; 4.) Al-Istibsr by al-s. 17 Al-Najsh, Rijl, pg. 290, person # 777 18 al-Khoei, Mu`jam Rijl al-Hadth, vol. 14, pg. 81, person # 8863 19 al-Mizz, Tahdhb al-Kaml, vol. 21, pg. 533-539, person # 4333 20 al-Kash, Ikhtiyr Ma`arifah al-Rijl, vol. 2, pg. 392, adth # 789

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mursal (disconnected)21 and containing a majhl (unknown) narrator22, Ab al-`Urndus alKind. Other scholars, like al-Khoei23, attempt to authenticate him because of him being a narrator in `Al b. Ibrhm al-Qumms Tafsr24, this form of tawthqt al-`mah (mass authenticating of narrators) has been rejected by many scholars. 2. Da`f (Weak) The scholars who consier `Amr as da`f are taking their view from Ibn alGhairs Kitb al-Du`af, where he says that `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm is da`f jiddan (very weak)25. However, there is ikhtilf regarding the authenticity of the Kitb al-Du`af being attributed to Ibn al-Ghair, which is the reason why many scholars have not weakened him. 3. Majhl (Unknown) / Mukhtalif Fhi (Difference of opinion about him) - Many scholars have taken the safe approach and have done tawaqquf (desist in making a judgment on him) and say that he is either majhl (unknown) or say mukhtalif fhi (difference of opinion on him)26. They have taken this approach because `Amrs condition (l) is indiscernible. I say: The best view on `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm is that he is majhl (unknown), because his status is unknown amongst the scholars of adth and rijl. Even though Sunn aadth and their books on Rijl do not hold any weight to the Sh`ahs, it is good to see the view of a particular person from a holistic perspective. When we look at the Sunn books of Rijl, he is weakened by almost every major Sunn rijl scholar. 1. Ibn Sa`ad (b.163-d.230) in his al-abaqt al-Kubra says: He is nothing, and do not write his adth, he is excessive in his sh`ism27 2. Ibn Mu`n (d. 233) in his Trkh Ibn Mu`n says: He is not trustworthy, nor is he reliable28 3. al-Bukhr (d. 256) in his al-Du`af al-aghr says: He is not strong29 4. al-Nas (b.215-d.303) in his al-Du`af wa al-Matrkn says: He is abandoned in adth30 5. Ibn Ab tim (b. 240-d.327) in his al-Jar wa al-Ta`dl asks his father about him and he says: Da`f in adth, writing his adth is destructive, and his view was of extreme Sh`ism. He also asked Ab Zur`ah about him and he said: Da`f in adth31
21 22

It is mursal because in there is a missing name in the chain of narrators ( From a man from Quraysh) al-Khoei, Mu`jam Rijl al-Hadth, vol. 22, pg. 259, person # 14566 23 al-Jawhir, Mufd min Mu`jam Rijl al-adth, pg. 431, person # 8849 24 Al-Qumm, Tafsr, pg. 39 (Under the tafsr of Srah al-Baqarah (2) : verse 34) 25 Ibn al-Ghair, Kitb al-Du`af, pg. 73, person # 76 26 Al-Majlis is one of the major scholars who has said he is either da`f or mukhtalif fhi (See: al-Majlis, Rijl, pg. 270, person # 1334) 27 Ibn Sa`ad, al-abaqt al-Kubra, vol. 6, pg. 358, person # 2680 28 Ibn Mu`n, Trkh Ibn Mu`n, vol. 3, pg. 366, person # 1781 29 al-Bukhr, al-Du`af al-aghr, alab, Dr al-Wa`, Muammad Ibrhm Zyad, pg. 83, person # 257 30 al-Nas, al-Du`af wa al-Matrkn, pg. 80, person # 450 31 Ibn Ab Htim, al-Jar wa al-Ta`dl, vol. 6, pg. 223, person # 1239

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6. Ibn ibbn (d. 354) has included him in his al-Majrn min al-Muaddithn wa al-Du`af wa alMatrkn (The Wounded from the Narrators of adth, and the Weak and Abandoned ones). He says that `Amr b. Ab al-Miqm narrates fabricated things, and it is not permitted to mention what he says except from authentic paths32 I am not concerned with what the Sunn scholars have to say, because many times they have weakened our major narrators because of him being extreme in Sh`ism (i.e. Zurrah). There are some cases, though, in which the narrator is called a liar from both Sunns and Sh`ahs. My main concern with the Sunn books is what they have to say about `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdms year of death. According to all Sunn Rijl authorities, they say that `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm died during the caliphate of Hrn al-Rashd33. Hrn al-Rashd was in caliphate from the years 170/786 to 193/809. Other Rijl scholars give a more specific death date for `Amr, they say that he died in either the years 170 or 172 AH34. This is very important because as we have established from the previous narrator, whom we tried to guesstimate a death date, all of his contemporaries dying in the early part of the 300s AH. This makes it a minimum of a 130 year gap between `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm and Amad b. Muammad b. Yaya alQan! When you look at the adth in which Amad b. Muammad b. Yahya narrates, it takes him at least 3 people in between him and the companion of the 6th Imm, sometimes it takes him 4 or more narrators in between to narrate from the companion of the 6th Imm. 4. Ziyd b. `Abd Allh ( ) Majhl (Unknown) In the chain of narrators there is a ,which indicates that both Ziyd b. `Abd Allh and `Amr b. Ab alMiqdm narrate this adth from Ab `Abd Allh ) ( and they both narrate this adth to Amad b. Muammad b. Yaya. We have analyzed `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm already, now we need to analyze Ziyd b. `Abd Allh and his status according to the scholars of adth from both Sunns and Sh`ahs. Ziyd b. `Abd Allh has never narrated a adth in our kutub al-`Arba`ah. The only time he has been mentioned in our kutub al-`Arba`ah is a adth narrated by al-asan b. al-ayqal in which he narrates from Imm al-diq ) ( and Ziyd b. `Abd Allh was sitting with him35. In al-Majliss magnum opus, Bihr al-Anwr, Ziyd b. `Abd Allh has only narrated 5 different adth. When we look through the Sh`ah classical books of rijl, there is no one by the name of Ziyd b. `Abd Allh. Even when you look through al-Khoeis major book of rijl, Mu`jam Rijl al-adth, which consists of 24 volumes, there is no narrator that is named Ziyd b. `Abd Allh ) .( The only Sh`ah rijl book that I could find that even mentions Ziyd b. `Abd Allh is al-Shahrd massive work called Mustadarakt `Ilm al-Rijl36. al-Shhrd mentions two people by the name of Ziyd b. `Abd Allh. One of them is Ab Muammad, Ziyd b. `Abd Allh b. al-ufayl al-`mir al-Buk al-Kf and the other person is Ziyd b. `Abd Allh al32 33

Ibn ibbn, al-Majrn, vol. 2, pg. 76, person # 625 Ibn Sa`ad, al-abaqt al-Kubra, vol. 6, pg. 358, person # 2680 34 Ibn ibbn, al-Majrn, vol. 2, pg. 76, person # 625 35 al-Kulayn, al-Kf, vol. 4, pg. 564, adth # 3; al-s, Tahdhb al-Akm, vol. 6, ch. 5, pg. 13, adth # 6 36 al-Shahrd, Mustadarakt `ilm al-Rijl, vol. 3, pg. 449, person # 5852

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Mukr37. al-Shhrd believes that both people are the same person38. After careful research, I agree with al-Shhrd, they are one and the same person. al-Majlis quotes from al-Aml of al-s and puts the name Ziyd b. `Abd Allh al-Mukr39, but when we look at the original al-Aml of al-s40, his name is Ziyd b. `Abd Allh al-Buk. According to Sh`ahs, Ziyd b. `Abd Allh is majhl (unknown), and since we have established Ziyd b. `Abd Allhs full name we can look through the Sunn books of rijl to see the status of him. When we look to the Sunn books of rijl there is a difference of opinion regarding him. Some say that he is da`f, while other say he is thiqah, especially in regards to adth about al-maghz (invasions)41. Ibn ajr says that he is truthful and reliable in invasion (adth)42. Ziyd b. `Abd Allh has narrated in four43 of the six major books of adth for the Sunnis. One of the most important things that can be seen from the Sunn books is what was not mentioned in their books, and that is the fact that they never said that Ziyd b. `Abd Allh was a Sh`ah. Add that to the fact that he has never narrated in our kutub al-Arba`ah, it is safe to assume that Ziyd b. `Abd Allh was a Sunn. This is a very important point given the fact that the story about Imm `Al )( proposing to the daughter of Ab Jahl is narrated all over Sunn books. It can be assumed that this was a Sunn adth which has been put into our adth books. al-adq has been known to have many adth that go through Sunn chains, so this is not out of the ordinary.

Conclusion:
This adth is Da`f Jiddan (Very Weak), because there are three majhl (unknown) narrators. This adth also has a narrator in which there is heavy ikhtilf (difference of opinion) regarding him, some say he is da`f (weak) while others say he is thiqah (trustworthy). We concluded that the best view on `Amr b. Ab alMiqdm is to say he is majhl (uknown). The weakest point is not the narrators mentioned in the adth, the weakest part of this whole narration is the gap of 130+ years between the narrators `Amr b. Ab al-Miqdm and Amad b. Muammad b. Yaya al-Qan. This means that there is a minimum of 3+ narrators missing between these two individuals, making this narration extremely weak. Our scholars from the very beginning have rejected this adth. al-Sharf al-Murtaa in his Tanzh al-Anbiy says this about the narrations of Imm `Al ) ( proposing to the daughter of Ab Jahl, We say that this narration is false and a fabrication, and it is not recognized nor is it authentic to the people of transmission (i.e. adth scholars)44

37 38

Ibid, vol. 3, pg. 449, person # 5853 Ibid 39 al-Majlis, Bihr al-Anwr, vol. 44, ch. 30, pg. 229, adth # 11 40 al-s, al-Aml, Majlis # 11, pg. 316, adth # 88 (in Majlis) & # 641 (in book) 41 al-Dhahab (d. 748), Siyar al-`Alm al-Nabul, vol. 9, pg. 6, person # 1 42 Ibn Hajr, Taqrb al-Tahdhb, pg. 220, person # 2085 43 al-Bukhri, Muslim, Ibn Mjah and al-Tirmidh 44 al-Murtaa, Tanzh al-Anbiy, pg. 210-211: (ARABIC - )

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:Second Narration

From Ab Dharr, may Allh have Mercy upon him, said: I and Ja`far b. Ab Tlib migrated to Abyssinia. And a slave girl ( that valued 4,000 dirham was gifted to Ja`far. And when we arrived to al-Madnah, he presented her to `Al (. One day, she ) (. `Al made her stay in the house of Fimah ) , so she may serve him) ( ( head in the lap of the slave girl, and she said, O Ab al-asan, have you done it? He ) saw the `Als said, No, by Allh, O daughter of Muammad, I have done nothing, so what is it that you want? She said: Give) ,( said: I have given you permission ) me permission to go to my father, the Messenger of Allhs, house. He `so she wore her jilbb and her burqa

( and ) (. Jibral descended upon the Prophet ) And she went to the Prophet ( will come to you ) said, O Muammad, Allh says on you peace, and he said to you that this Fimah

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complaining about `Al, and do not accept anything about `Al from her. Then Fimah ) ( entered, and the Messenger of Allh ) ( said to her, you have come to complain about `Al, She said: Yes, by the Lord of the Ka`bah! So he ) ( said to her: Return to him despite your satisfaction of him So she returned to `Al ) ,( and she ) ( said to him ) :( O Ab al-asan, you have disdained my satisfaction (i.e. your pleasure is above my displeasure) she said that to him three times. So `Al ) ( said to her, you complained about me to my close friend (khall) and my love, the Messenger of Allh ( )I have freed the slave girl for Allh, and the 400 dirham which was left over from my gift (i.e. slave girl), I have given sadaqah (charity) to the poor people of Madnah, then he got dressed and wore his shoes and went to the Prophet ) .( And Jibral descending and said, O Muammad, Allhs says on you peace, and he said to say to `Al, you have been awarded Jannah because you have liberated the slave girl for the satisfaction of Fimah ( ) ,and for the 400 dirham which you have given for charity for it. And you may allow into Jannah anyone you wish with My Mercy, and take out anyone from the fire with My Forgiveness. `Al ) ( said: I am Allhs divider between heaven and hell45

Analysis of the Chain of Narrators:

1. My Father (`Al b. al-ussayn b. Bbuwayh al-Qumm - ) Thiqah
al-adq narrates this adth directly from his father. His father is Ab al-asan, `Al b. al-ussayn b. Msa b. Bbuwayh al-Qumm, and he is thiqah (trustworthy) by al-Najsh46, al-ss al-Rijl47, als al-Fihrist48. According to al-Khoei he has narrated 296 adth49. He died in the year 329 AH50.

2. Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh ( ) Thiqah

Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh b. Ab Khalaf al-Ash`ar al-Qumm is one of the shaykhs of al-adqs father. He is thiqah (trustworthy) according to al-Najsh51, al-s52, al-ill53, and all major Sh`ah scholars. According to both al-Khoei54 and al-Subn55, Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh narrates 1,142 adth. He died in the year 299 or 301 AH56. One of the most interesting things about Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh is the fact that according al-Najsh, Sa`ad has heard a lot of adth from the `mah (Sunns), and he traveled in search of adth and he met their

45 46

al-adq, `Ilal al-Shari`, vol. 1, ch. 130, pg. 163-164, adth # 2; al-Majlis, Bihr al-Anwr, vol. 43, ch. 6, pg. 147-148, adth # 3 al-Najsh, Rijl, pg. 261, person # 648 47 al-s, al-Rijl, pg. 432, person # 6191 (in book) 48 al-s, al-Fihrist, pg. 273, person # 393 49 al-Khoei, Mu`jam Rijl al-adth, vol. 12, pg. 388, person # 8054 50 al-Najsh, Rijl, pg. 262, person # 648 51 al-Najsh, Rijl, pg. 178, person # 467 52 al-s, al-Rijl, pg. 427, person # 6141; al-s, al-Fihrist, pg. 75, person # 306 53 al-ill, Khulah al-Aqwl, pg. 78, person # 3 54 al-Khoei, Mu`jam Rijl al-adth, vol. 9, pg. 83, person # 5058 55 Ja`far al-Subn, Maws`ah abaqt al-Fuquh, vol. 3, pg. 263, person # 924 56 al-Najsh, Rijl, pg. 178, person # 467

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honored (shaykhs)57. One of the people whom Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh has met and heard adth from is al-asan b. `Arafah58. In this adth, Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh narrates from al-asan b. `Arafah.

3. al-asan b. `Arafah ( ) Majhl

al-asan b. `Arafah narrates this adth in Surr min Ray59. al-asan b. `Arafahs name is not found in any of the classical Rijl books others than al-Najshs statement that Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh has heard many adth from major Sunn narrators. This makes al-asan b. `Arafah very majhl (unknown). I have looked through our Kutub al-Arba`ah, and al-asan has never narrated a adth in there. He has narrated only 12 adth in al-Majliss Bir al-Anwr. Now, we must turn our attention to the Sunn books of Rijl, and see if they have said anything about al-asan b. `Arafah, and what they have said about him. In the Sunn books, al-asan b. `Arafahs full name is al-asan b. `Arafah b. Yazd al-`Abad, Ab `Al al-Baghdd. There is a difference of opinion on the year al-asan was born, some say he was born in the year 158 AH60. Other scholars say that he was born in the year 150 AH61, the same year that al-Shfi`, Bishr b. al-Hrith and Khalaf b. Hishm62. al-asan b. `Arafah died in the city of Samarra in the year of 257 AH63. According to Ibn Ab tim, alasan lived for 110 years, he had 10 children, and he named them all after the 10 promised paradise64, According to Sunn books of Rijl, al-asan b. `Arafah is thiqah (trustworthy). al-Dhahab calls him al-Imm, al-Muaddith, al-Thiqah65. Yaya b. Mu`n says that he is thiqah66, and Ibn Ab al-tim says he is adq (truthful)67. None of the Sunn books of Rijl say that al-asan was a Sh`ah, so al-Najsh was correct when he said that al-asan b. `Arafah was a Sunn whom Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh heard his adth. Even though when looking to the Sunn books of Rijl they never mention Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh narrating from al-asan b. `Arafah, by looking at the statement of al-Najsh, and what is said in the chain of narrators indicates direct transmission68. From what I have seen is that Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh did not narrate adth from al-asan b. `Arafah in Sunn books, which is the reason for the Sunns not mentioning Sa`ads name.

57 58

ibid ibid 59 al-Mu`tassim in the year 221 changed the capital of his khalfah from Baghdd to Samarrah, and he name it Sirr min Ray, the city stayed that name for 54 years, until it was changed to Samarra, which continues to be the name today. 60 al-Khab al-Baghdd, Trkh Baghdd, vol. 8, pg. 398, person # 3885 61 Ibid; al-Dhahabi, Siyar al-`Alm al-Nabul, vol. 11, pg. 548, person # 163 62 al-Khab al-Baghdd, Trkh Baghdd, vol. 8, pg. 398, person # 3885 63 ibid 64 al-Dhahabi, Siyar al-`Alm al-Nabul, vol. 11, pg. 548, person # 163 65 al-Dhahabi, Siyar al-`Alm al-Nabul, vol. 11, pg. 547, person # 163 66 al-Khab al-Baghdd, Trkh Baghdd, vol. 8, pg. 398, person # 3885 67 al-Dhahabi, Siyar al-`Alm al-Nabul, vol. 11, pg. 547, person # 163 68 In this sanad Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh said, al-asan b. `Arafah has narrated to us in Sirr min Ray. This denotes that there was direct contact between Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh and al-asan b. `Arafah. Also, al-Najsh saying that Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh heard a lot of adth from him, implies direct contact.

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4. Wak`( ) Majhl
Wak ` is narrating this adth to al-asan b. `Arafah, and since al-asan is not found in our books of Rijl. We will need to see if according to the Sunnis, one of al-asans shaykhs was named Wak`. According to al-Mizzi69, al-asan b. `Arafah narrates some of his adth from Ab Sufyn Wak` b. alJarr b. Mal. When you look through the Sunn books, al-Mizz was correct in saying that Wak b. alJarr has narrated some of his Adth to al-asan b. `Arafah. al-abar70, Ab Ya`la al-Mal71, alKhab al-Baghdd72 all have adth where al-asan b. `Arafah specifically says Wak b. al-Jarr has narrated to us73. According to Ibn ibbn, Wak` b. al-Jarrh was born in the year 12974. Ab Sulaymn al-Rab` (d. 379) agrees with Ibn Hibbn and says that he was born in the year 12975. According to Ibn `Askir (d. 574)76, Ibn ibbn77, and many others Wak` died in the year 196 AH. Wak` b. al-Jarr is considered very trustworthy (reliable) according to the Sunn books of Rijl. Amad b. anbal quotes his father saying I have not seen anyone contain more knowledge than Wak`78. al-Dhahab says he is a fidh one of the leaders of knowledge79

5. Muammad b. Isrl ( ) Majhl

In the Sh`ah classical books of Rijl, there has been only one person named Muammad b. Isrl, and he has been said to be the companion of Imm al-diq) 08.( al-Shhrd believes that the narrator in this sanad is the same person that is mention by al-s as being a companion of the 6th Imm 81) .( al-Shhrd maybe correct in his assumption, because Imm al-diq was an Imm from the year 114 to 148 AH. Wak` was not born until the year 129 AH, so Wak` would have to have heard this adth from Muammad b. Isrl during the latter part of Imm al-diqs ) ( immah. This assumption made by al-Shhrd of Muammad b. Isr`l in this chain being the same one mentioned by al-s is not highly likely, but there is an chance of them being the same.

69 70

al-Mizz, Tahdhb al-Kaml, vol. 6, pg. 202, person # 1243 st al-abar, Jmi` al-Bayyn f Tawl al-Qurn, Amad Muammad Shkir, Muassasah al-Rislah, 1 , 1420/2000, 24, vol. 3, pg. 588, adth # 3168 (ARABIC TEXT) :" " : . : 71 Ab Ya`ala al-Mal, Musnad Ab Ya`la, vol. 1, pg. 405, adth # 533 (ARABIC TEXT) : : 72 al-Khab al-Baghdd, Trkh Baghdd, vol. 8, pg. 398, person # 3885 73 This wording has narrated to us ( )shows that there was a direct contact between al-asan b. `Arafah and Wak` b. al-Jarr 74 Ibn ibbn, Mashhr `Ulem al-Amr, vol. 1, pg. 272-273, person # 1374 75 al-Rab`, Trkh Mawld al-`Ulem wa Waftuhum, vol. 1, pg. 303 (under the year 129 AH) 76 Ibn `Askir, Trkh Dimishq, vol. 63, pg. 60, person # 7989 77 Ibn ibbn, Mashhr `Ulem al-Amr, vol. 1, pg. 272-273, person # 1374 78 al-Mizz, Tahdhb al-Kaml, vol. 30, pg. 471, person # 6695 79 al-Dhahab, Mzn al-`Itidl, vol. 4, pg. 335, person # 9356 80 rd al-s, Rijl, pg. 277, person # 4008 (in the book) & # 33 (33 companion of Imm al-diq ) ( named Muammad) 81 al-Shahrd, Mustadarakt `ilm al-Rijl, vol. 6, pg. 455, person # 12677

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The only thing mentioned about Muammad b. Isrl in the Sh`ah books of Rijl is the fact that he is the companion of the 6th Imm, he would be deemed majhl (unknown) because of lack of tawthq for him. In this sanad Wak` b. al-Jarr is narrating this adth from a person named Muammad b. Isrl. When looking through the various Sunn books of Rijl, such as al-Mizz82, al-Dhahab83, Ibn Hajr84, you do not find anyone by the name of Muammad b. Isrl as one of the shaykhs of Wak`.

6. Ab li ( ) Majhl
Since we were unable to distinguish who the Muammad b. Isrl is in this sanad, this means that distinguishing who Ab Sli, whom Muammad b. Isrl is narrating from, will be almost impossible. The only thing mentioned in this sanad is Ab Sli, which is a persons kunya. One way for us to figure out who Ab Sli is by looking at the student of Ab Dharr al-Ghaffr, the person whom Ab Sli has allegedly narrated this adth from. By looking through both the Sunn85 and Sh`ah86 books of Rijl, I went through all the students of Ab Dharr and I could not find any of his students with the kunya of Ab li. This means that this person is very majhl (unknown) to both Sunns and Sh`ahs and their books of Rijl and adth.

7. Ab Dharr ( ) Thiqah
Jundub b. Jundah, or more famously referred to as Ab Dharr al-Ghaffr is one of the most famous companions of the Prophet Muammad ) .( Both Sunns and Sh`ahs say that he is thiqah (trustworthy), and he died in the year 32 AH in a place called Rabadhah87.

Conclusion:
This adth is da`f jiddan (very weak) according to the Sh`ah standards of `ilm al-adth. al-adq narrates this adth, but after Sa`ad b. `Abd Allh al-Qumm, the sanad goes through a Sunn chain of narrators until it ends up at Ab Dharr al-Ghaffr. As I have pointed out in the first adth, al-adq has been known to take many Sunn asnd (pl. of sanad). According to Sh`ah `ilm al-Rijl, there are four majhl (pl. of majhl) narrators. Even if we were to analyze this adth per the Sunn standards of adth, this adth would still be deemed as Da`f (weak), because of the unknown and indistinguishable narrators in the sanad. __________________ Nader Zaveri 28th Jamd al-Thn, 1433
82 83

al-Mizz, Tahdhb al-Kaml, vol. 30, pg. 471, person # 6695 al-Dhahab, Siyar al-`Alm al-Nabul, vol. 9, pg. 141-142, person # 48 84 Ibn ajr, Tahdhb al-Tahdhb, vol. 11, pg. 123, person # 211 85 al-Mizz, Tahdhb al-Kaml, vol. 33, pg. 294, person # 7351 86 al-Khoei, Mu`jam Rijl al-adth, vol. 5, pg. 138-144, person # 2393 87 200 km northeast of Madnah

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