Islam Guidance

Some Traditions that Appear to Conflict with Hadith al­Thaqalayn - Adhere to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly-guided successors ...

 "Adhere to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly-guided successors ..."

Shah `Abd al-`Aziz, in the Tuhfah, states that even if Hadith al­Thaqalayn be accepted as such, it contradicts some traditions of the Prophet (S). One of these traditions, which he claims to be sahih, is as follows:

    Adhere to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly-guided successors after me. Hold on to it and cling on to it stubbornly.

Sayyid Hamid Husayn points out that such a contention is invalid:

    Firstly, he says, the tradition has been narrated solely by Sunnis, unlike the Hadith al-Thaqalayn which has been narrated widely both by Shi`i and non-Shi`i narrators.
    Secondly, Shah `Abd al­`Aziz has here failed to observe his own self-declared principle that his arguments against Shi`i doctrines will be based on material derived from works accepted as reliable by the Shi`ah themselves.
    Thirdly, he points out, this tradition has been avoided by Muslim and al-Bukhari, whose works are widely accepted by the Ahl al-Sunnah as the most authentic works on hadith.
    Fourthly, the claim that the above-mentioned narration is sahih is not true, because the veracity of its transmitters has been considered as questionable by Sunni authorities.

The tradition has been recorded by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah in their works. As to al-'Irbad ibn Sariyah, the sole narrator from whom the tradition is narrated, he is not reliable because of the untenable statement he makes in his own praise ("I am one-fourth of Islam").

As to Hajar ibn Hajar al-Kila'i, aside from belonging to Hims, a Syrian town once notorious for its people's enmity of `Ali (A), is of unknown standing as mentioned by Ibn Hajar in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, iii, 118.

Khalid ibn Ma`dan ibn Abi Karib al-Kitabi, aside from belonging to Hims, was the chief of police of Yazid ibn Mu`awiyah, the most infamous ruler in the history of Islam.

Thawr ibn Yazid, too, belonged to Hims as mentioned by al­Dhahabi (Mizan al­'i`tidal, i, 374). As mentioned by Ibn Hajar (op. cit., ii, 34) he hated `Ali (A), who had killed his father in a battle. `Abd Allah ibn Mubarak refrained from narrating from him and considered him a heretic (fasid al­madhhab).

The next transmitter, al-Walid ibn Muslim, has been accused of forgery by Abu Mushar, as mentioned by al­Dhahabi in Mizan al-'i`tidal, iv, 347. These were some of Abu Dawud's authorities.

The author then goes on to show that the transmitters of the narration recorded by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, namely Abu `Asim, Hasan ibn `Ali al-Khallal, Buhayr ibn Sa`id, Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid, Yahya ibn Abi al-Muta`, `Abd Allah ibn `Ala', Mu`awiyah ibn Salih, Isma`il ibn Bishr ibn Mansur, and `Abd al-Malik ibn al­Sabbah, are all weak (da`if) transmitters, as mentioned by Sunni authorities on rijal in their works.

Moreover, al-Hafiz ibn al­Qattan has expressly rejected the authenticity of this sole narration of `Abd al-Rahman al-Salami, as mentioned by Ibn Hajar in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vi, 238.

The author then goes on to point out that even if this narration be presumed to be sahih, it cannot have any weight against Hadith al­Thaqalayn which has been narrated by a great number of Companions and leading Sunni scholars, while this narration has not been recorded in most of their works. Moreover, should this tradition be really authentic, then the words "rightly-guided successors" should be taken to mean the Twelve Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (A), as affirmed by another well-known tradition of the Prophet (S) that there would be twelve khulafa' or a'immah after him.

Thereafter the author goes on to deal with another doubt cast on this tradition by Shah `Abd al-`Aziz, that even if it be presumed that Hadith al-Thaqalayn does not conflict with the above-mentioned tradition, the word al-`itrah can be taken to mean all the Prophet's kinsmen (aqarib) belonging to Banu Hashim in general, or all of the descendants of Fatimah (A). Then it would be absurd to say that every individual belonging to them were an imam.

Sayyid Hamid Husayn clarifies this doubt by quoting various lexicographers, such as al-Jawhari, Ibn al-'Athir, Ibn Manzur, al­Firuzabadi and others to the effect that `itrah means one's nearest relations (akhass aqaribih), children (walad) and descendants (dhurriyyah).

Moreover, he points out, Hadith al-Thaqalayn indicates the supreme knowledge as well as freedom of the `itrah mentioned in it from sin and error. Such a description applies solely to the Twelve Imams (A), who in their traditions, from `Ali (A) onwards, have introduced themselves as the `itrah of the Prophet (S) and as the supreme authorities of the Islamic faith by the side of the Qur'an. 

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