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Back You are here: Home Library A Glance at Historiography in Shi'ite Culture Chapter 2-Shi’ite Works on the Prophet’s Biography During the First Centuries

Chapter 2-Shi’ite Works on the Prophet’s Biography During the First Centuries

Chapter 2 

Shi’ite Works on the Prophet’s Biography During the First Centuries

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 As far as the biography of Prophet Muhammad (S) is concerned, it should be said that accounts of the maghāzÄ« (campaigns in which the Prophet took part) were also taught by the Imams. The main testimony in this regard is a narration by Imam ‘AlÄ« ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-AbidÄ«n (‘a), who said: “Kunnā na‘lam maghāzÄ« Rasulullāh kamā na‘lam al-surah min al-Qur’ān” (we teach the campaigns of the Messenger of Allah as we teach the surah of the Holy Qur’ān).[2]

 In the ahādÄ«th related on the authority of Imam Muhammad al-Bāqir and Imam Ja‘far al-Sādiq (‘a), several narrations could be found on the Prophet’s sÄ«rah, many of which have been recorded. For example, Ibn Ishāq and later Ibn Sa‘d in their biographies of the Prophet, have quoted some narrations on the authority of Imam Bāqir (‘a). Among the Shi‘ite works, about one fourth of ‘AlÄ« Ibn IbrāhÄ«m QummÄ«’s exegesis of the Holy Qur’ān deals with the accounts and history of the Prophets. This book which was completed by referring to several other works, has made use of several written accounts that were available during the third and fourth centuries AH.

 For example, the book al-Mab‘ath wa al-MaghāzÄ« by Abān bin ‘Uthmān has been used by ‘AlÄ« bin IbrāhÄ«m QummÄ« in his tafsÄ«r (exegesis). QummÄ«’s tafsÄ«r is among the works whose section on the Prophet’s biography almost exclusively quotes narrations from Imam Bāqir and Imam Sādiq (‘a). One of the reasons for this is the inclusion in it of TafsÄ«r AbÄ« al-Jārud, which is entirely based on the narrations of Imam Bāqir (‘a) and gives an account of the Prophet according to the revelation of the ayahs. The narrations of AbÄ« al-Jārud are distinct from the other sections, and ‘Allāmah MajlisÄ« has mentioned all the narrations of this book in the volumes of Bihār al-Anwār under the title TārÄ«kh Nabiyyinā (History of Our Prophet).

 Another book is Mab‘ath al-NabÄ« wa Akhbāruh, by ‘Abdullāh bin Maymun al-Qaddāh, who was a narrator of hadÄ«th from Imam Bāqir and Imam Sādiq (‘a).[3] At any rate, these are firm proofs of the attention paid by the Infallible Imams (‘a) and the Shi‘ites to accounts of the Prophet’s sÄ«rah.

 The history of Islam in general was also a matter of interest for the Shi‘ites. Asbagh bin Nubātah is among the earliest Shi‘ite authors who has a book on martyrdom (maqtal) of Imam Husayn (‘a).[4] Ahmad bin ‘Ubaydullāh ThaqafÄ« is another one and the titles of two of his books are: Kitāb al-Mubayyazah fÄ« Akhbār Maqātil Al-i AbÄ« Tālib, and Kitāb fÄ« TafzÄ«l BanÄ« Hāshim wa Zamm BanÄ« Umayyah wa Atbā‘ihim.[5] Muhammad Bin Zakariyyā bin DÄ«nār is also among the early Shi‘ite authors and according to al-NajāshÄ« some of his books are: al-Jamal al-KabÄ«r, al- Jamal al-Mukhtasar, SiffÄ«n al-KabÄ«r, Maqtal al-Husayn,[6] Kitāb al-Nahr(awān), Maqtal AmÄ«r al-Mu‘minÄ«n, Akhbār Zayd and Akhbār Fātimah.[7]

 Another example is IbrāhÄ«m bin Muhammad al-ThaqafÄ«, who was at first a ZaydÄ« and then became an ImāmÄ«. He has written historical works such as: Kitāb al-Mubtada’ wa al-MaghāzÄ« wa al-Riddah, Akhbār ‘Umar, Akhbār ‘Uthmān, Kitāb al-Dār, al-Ghārāt (a work that has survived), Akhbār Zayd, Akhbār Muhammad (Nafs Zakiyyah) wa (his brother) IbrāhÄ«m.[8]

 The books which Jābir bin YazÄ«d al-Ju‘fÄ« wrote also deal with similar topics and are titled: Kitāb al-Jamal, Kitāb al- SiffÄ«n, Kitāb al-Nahrawān, Kitāb Maqtal AmÄ«r al-Mu’minÄ«n and Kitāb Maqtal al-Husayn.[9]

 ‘AlÄ« bin Hasan bin ‘AlÄ« bin Fazzāl was also a prominent Shi‘ite author, and among his works mention could be made of: al-Dalā’il, al-Anbiā’, al- Bashārāt and al-Kufah. [10]

 Among the renowned Shi‘ite scholars of Basrah was ‘Abd al-‘AzÄ«z JalludÄ« bin Yahyā al-‘AzdÄ« who was a prolific writer. Some of the historical books which he wrote are: Kitāb al-Jamal, Kitāb al-SiffÄ«n,[11] Kitāb al-Hakamayn, Kitāb al-Ghārāt, Kitāb al-Khawārij, Kitāb Zikr ‘AlÄ« fÄ« Hurub al-NabÄ«, Kitāb Ma’āl al-ShÄ«‘ah ba‘d ‘AlÄ« (‘a), Akhbār al-TawwābÄ«n wa ‘Ayn al-Wardah, Akhbār man ‘Ashqa min al-Shu‘arā’, Akhbār Quraysh wa al-Asnām, Kitāb Tabaqāt al-‘Arab wa al-Shu‘arā’, Kitāb Khutab al-NabÄ«, Kitāb Khutab ‘Uthmān, Kitāb Rasā’il ‘Umar, Kitāb Rāyāt al-Azd, and Kitāb Munāzarāt ‘AlÄ« ibn Musā al-Rizā (‘a).[12]

 The Shi‘ites of Qum also contributed to the early historiographical works. Ahmad bin Ismā‘Ä«l bin ‘Abdullāh BajallÄ« was one of them, and among his most important works is: Kitāb al-‘AbbāsÄ«, about which al-NajāshÄ« writes: “wa huwa kitāb ‘azÄ«m nahw min ‘ashrah ālāf waraqah min akhbār al-khulafā’ wa al-dawlah al-‘Abbāsiyyah. Ra’aytu minhu akhbār al-AmÄ«n” (It is a voluminous book of 10,000 pages dealing with the accounts of the caliphs and the Abbasid State. I have seen from it the account of al-AmÄ«n).[13] Muhammad bin Hasan al-QummÄ«  had access to this book and he has quoted four instances from it in his History of Qum (refer to Bibliography of Works Related to Qum, p. 19. In History of Qum, the events on pp. 145, 200, 236 & 237 have been quoted from TārÄ«kh ‘AbbāsÄ«).

 Another early historian was ‘AlÄ« bin Ahmad JawwānÄ« who wrote Akhbār Sāhib Fakhkh and Akhbār Yahyā bin ‘Abdullāh bin Hasan.[14] Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Khālid al-BarqÄ« who was a renowned traditionist (muhaddith) from Qum, has a book entitled Kitāb al-MaghāzÄ« on the Prophet’s sÄ«rah. He is the author of several other works such as, Kitāb al-Shi‘r wa al-Shu‘arā’, Kitāb al-Buldān wa al-Masāhah, Kitāb al-TārÄ«kh and Kitāb al-Ansāb.[15]

 One of the renowned historians during the era of the Infallible Imams (‘a) was Abān bin ‘Uthmān Ahmar BajallÄ«. He authored a valuable book on the accounts of the previous Prophets and the biography of Prophet Muhammad (S), of which, unfortunately, only a few parts are extant. Shaykh TusÄ« says about this book:

“We have no information of his works except the book in which he has collected from the beginning the account of Prophet (Muhammad [S]), the start of his mission (mab‘ath), his military campaigns (maghāzÄ«), his passing away as well as the happenings at SaqÄ«fah (BanÄ« Sā‘idah) and the riddah. There is another copy from which the scholars of Qum have related.”[16]

 This book was available to ‘AlÄ« bin IbrāhÄ«m QummÄ« and he has extensively quoted from it in his tafsÄ«r. The bibliographer al-NajāshÄ« was also aware of this book, and he writes: “He has an excellent and voluminous book in which he has collected accounts (of Prophet Muhammad [S]) from the beginning till his passing away including the military campaigns.”[17] This work was available to many ‘ulamā’ of the following centuries, but the most detailed quotations from it are found in Shaykh TabrisÄ«’s I‘lām al-Warā. We (the author of this article Rasul Ja‘fariyān) have published the extant portions of this book under the title Kitāb al-Mab‘ath wa al-MaghāzÄ« and talked about him and his book in detail in the introduction.

 Here we will point out a number of works that have been written on Prophet Muhammad (S) by early Shi‘ite scholars. We have mostly arranged the list according the subject:

Kitāb Sifāt al-Nabī (S): Wahab bin Wahab (Rijāl al-Najāshī, p. 430);
Kitāb Wufud al-‘Arab ilā al-NabÄ« (S): Munzir bin Muhammad bin Munzir. Some of his other works are Kitāb al-Jamal, Kitāb al-SiffÄ«n, Kitāb al-Nahrawān, Kitāb al-Ghārāt (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 418);
Mas’alah fÄ« Imān Abā’a al-NabÄ« (S): AbÄ« Ya‘lā Muhammad bin Hasan bin Hamzah Ja‘farÄ« (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 404);
Kitāb Mas’alah fÄ« Ma‘rifah al-NabÄ«: Shaykh MufÄ«d (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 402);
Kitāb Zuhd al-NabÄ« (S), Kitāb Awsāf al-NabÄ« (S), Kitāb fÄ« Ma‘rifah Fazl al-NabÄ« (S) wa AmÄ«r al-Mu’minÄ«n wa al-Hasan wa al-Husayn ‘Alayhim al-Salām: Shaykh Saduq (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 390). He also wrote Kitāb fÄ« ‘Abd al-Mutallib wa ‘Abdullāh wa AbÄ« Tālib (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 390);
Kitāb al-Bayān ‘an Khiyarah al-Rahmān fÄ« Imān AbÄ« Tālib wa Abā’ al-NabÄ« (S): ‘AlÄ« bin Bilāl al-MahllabÄ« al-AzdÄ« (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 265);
Kitāb Mab‘ath al-NabÄ« (S) wa Akhbāruh: ‘Abdullāh bin Maymun al-Qaddāh (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 213);
Kitāb Wafāt al-Nabī (S): Salamah bin al-Khattāb Berāwastānī Azdurqānī (al-Najāshī, p.187);
Kitāb al-Radd ‘alā Man Za‘ama al-NabÄ« (S) Kāna ‘alā DÄ«n Qawmih Qabl al-Nubuwwah; Ja‘far bin Ahmad bin Ayyub SamarqandÄ« (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 21);
Kitāb al-Radd ‘alā Man Za‘ama al-NabÄ« (S) Kāna ‘alā DÄ«n Qawmih: Husayn bin AshkÄ«b KhurāsānÄ« (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 44);
Kitāb Akhbār al-NabÄ« (S): AbÄ« ‘AlÄ« Ahmad bin Muhammad bin ‘Ammār al-KufÄ«. He also wrote the book Kitāb Imān AbÄ« Tālib (al-Najsahi, p. 95);
Kitāb Zikr al-NabÄ« (S) wa al-Sakhrah wa al-Rāhib wa Turuq Dhālik: Ahmad bin Muhamamd bin Sa‘Ä«d SabÄ«‘Ä« HamdānÄ« (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 94);
Kitāb Fazl al-NabÄ« (S): Ahmad bin Muhammad bin ‘Isā Ash‘arÄ« (al-Najsahi page 81).
Kitāb SÄ«rat al-NabÄ« (S) wa al-A’immah ‘Aalayhim al-Salām fÄ« al- MushrikÄ«n: Husayn bin ‘AlÄ« bin Sufyān BezufarÄ« (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 68);
Kitāb al-Wufud ‘alā al-NabÄ«: Husayn bin Muhammad bin ‘AlÄ« al-'Azdi (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 65);
Kitāb Nasab al-NabÄ« (S), Kitāb Kutub al-NabÄ« (S), Kitāb Akhbār al-Wufud ‘alā al-NabÄ« (S), ‘Abd al-‘AzÄ«z bin Yahyā al-JalludÄ« al-AzdÄ« (al-NajāshÄ«, pp. 241-244);
Kitāb Asmā’ Alāt Rasulullāh wa Asmā’ Silāhih wa Kitāb Wafāt al-NabÄ« (S): ‘AlÄ« bin Hasan bin ‘AlÄ« bin Fazl (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 258);
Kitāb al-Maghāzī: Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Khālid al-Barqī (al-Najāshī, p.76);
Al-Munbi’ ‘an Zuhd al-NabÄ« (S): AbÄ« Muhammad Ja‘far bin Muhammad bin ‘AlÄ« QummÄ« ibn al-RāzÄ«. Ibn Tāwus has quoted this in several of his works.[18]
Kitāb Asmā’ Rasulullāh (S): Hasan bin Khorzād (al-NajāshÄ«, p. 44). 


 On biographical works concerning the Prophet, there is a marked difference between the approach of the Sunnis and Shi‘ites. The Shi‘ite writers regarded Prophet Muhammad (S) more holier than their Sunni counterparts and based their works on his infallibility.

 It is important to note that in Sunni historiography, although the feeling of admiration toward the Prophet’s life is clearly visible, his infallibility in all aspects has been ignored. An example in this regard is the writing of the book Zallah al-Anbiyā’ by Abu al-Fazl Mashshāt[19] in response to SharÄ«f Murtazā’s TanzÄ«h al-Anbiyā’ .[20] Earlier during the 3rd century AH, a Sunni ‘ālim had written a book titled Ma‘āsÄ« al-Anbiā’, which was refuted by the renowned mutakallim of Samarqand, Abu Mansur MātirÄ«dÄ«.[21]

 Notes:

[2] Al-Jāmi‘ li Akhlāq al-RāwÄ«, vol. 2, p. 288; al-Badāyah wa al-Nihāyah, vol. 3, p. 242; Subul al-Hudā wa al-Rashad, vol. 4, p. 20.

[3] Al-Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 213.

[4] Māmaqānī,Tanqīh al-Maqāl,vol. 1, p.150.

[5] Ibn Nadim, al-Fihrist, p. 166.

[6] This book, according to Muhammad bin Sulayman Kufi was popular among the Zaydis. Refer to Muqaddamah Manāqib al-Imam AmÄ«r  al- Mu’minÄ«n, vol. 1, p. 12. In this book Manāqib (vol. 3, p 177) KufÄ« has also mentioned fifty instances of the outstanding merits of Imam ‘AlÄ« (‘a), most of which are historical, on the authority of Muhammad bin Zakariyyā DÄ«nār.

[7] Al-Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 347.

[8] Ibid, p. 18. Also refer to Lisān al-MÄ«zān, vol. 1, p. 102-103; Mu‘jam al-Udabā, vol. 1, p. 223.

[9] Ibid, p. 129.

[10] Ibid, p. 258 & p. 676.

[11] Ibn Tāwus in Muhaj al-Da‘awāt has quoted from his Kitāb SiffÄ«n two supplications recited by Imam ‘AlÄ« (‘a) before going to battle during the War of SiffÄ«n, refer to Etan Kohlberg’s A Medieval Muslim Scholar at Work - Ibn Tāwus & his Library, p. 333.

[12] Al-Najāshī, al-Rijāl, pp. 241 & 244.

[13] Ibid, pp. 97 & 242.

[14] Ibid, p. 263.

[15] Ibid, pp. 76 & 182.

[16] Shaykh Tusī, al-Fihrist, pp. 18,19.

[17] Al-Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p.13.

[18] Kohlberg, Etan, A Medieval Muslim Scholar at Work - Ibn Tāwus & his Library, pp. 283-284).

[19] Kitāb al-Naqz, p. 244.

[20] Ibid, p. 11.

[21] Storey, Persian Literature, p. 725.

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