3 Sahih chains on the Attack on al-Zahra’a (a)?

 3 Sahih chains on the attack on al-Zahra’a?

Introduction:

A popular contention towards the attack on al-Zahra’a (upon her be peace) is that the Shi’a do not have a single authentic report by chain that mentions this event, thus casting doubt on it.

I’d like to tackle this in four parts.

Part A

Subjective Authenticity:

As we know, ‘Ilm al-Rijal and Chain-based authentication can very much be subjective, since different Rijal scholars differ with each other in their understanding of narrators and their narrations.

Ayatollah Wahid Behbehani (d.1791) points this reality out :

[al-Fawa’ed al-Rijaliya page 38]

(ومنها) قولهم: كان من اهل الطيارة ومن اهل الارتفاع وأمثالهما والمراد انه كان غاليا (اعلم) ان الظاهر أن كثيرا من القدماء سيما القيمينمنهم (والغضائري) كانوا يعتقدون للائمة عليهم السلام منزلة خاصة من الرفعة والجلالة ومرتبة معينة من العصمة والكمال بحسب اجتهادهمورأيهم وما كانوا يجوزون التعدي عنها وكانوا يعدون التعدي ارتفاعا وغلوا حسب معتقدهم حتى أنهم جعلوا مثل نفى السهو عنهم غلوا بلربما جعلوا مطلق التفويض إليهم أو التفويض الذي اختلف فيه كما سنذكر أو المبالغة في معجزاتهم ونقل العجائب من خوارق العادات عنهمأو الاغراق في شانهم واجلالهم وتنزيههم عن كثير من النقائص واظهار كثير قدرة لهم وذكر علمهم بمكنونات السماء والأرض ارتفاعا أو مورثاللتهمة به سيما بجهة ان الغلاة كانوا مختفين في الشيعة مخلوطين بهم مدلسين (وبالجملة) الظاهر أن القدماء كانوا مختلفين في المسائلالأصولية أيضا فربما كان شئ عند بعضهم فاسدا أو كفرا غلوا أو تفويضا أو جبرا أو تشبيها أو غير ذلك وكان عند اخر مما يجب اعتقادهأولا هذا ولا ذاك وربما كان منشأ جرحهم بالأمور المذكورة وجدان الرواية الظاهرة فيها منهم كما أشرنا آنفا وادعاه أرباب المذاهب كونه منهمأو روايتهم عنه وربما كان المنشأ روايتهم المناكير عنه إلى غير ذلك فعلى هذا ربما يحصل التأمل في جرحهم بأمثال الأمور المذكورة ومما ينبه

He continues on page 39:

ثم اعلم أنه والغضائري ربما ينسبان الراوي إلى الكذب ووضع الحديث أيضا بعد ما نسباه إلى الغلو وكأنه لروايته ما يدل عليه ولا يخفى مافيه وربما كان غيرهما أيضا كذلك فتأمل

To summarize, Behbahani’s saying that the Qudama’ and especially Qummis like Ibn al-Ghadai’ri had a unique, special idea on what defines the Imam and His attributes and what might be termed as “Ghuluw” (exaggeration). Anybody who defied these ideas would become a “Ghali” in their view, even if they were not actually Ghulat.

What might be Ghuluw for one Rijal scholar may be Tawhid for another scholar.

Thus we find that prominent classical Rijali scholar al-Najashi considers al-Kafi by al-Kulayni to be a book of Ghuluw!

قال النجاشي: [..] يروى كتاب الكليني عنه، و كان في هذا الوقت غلو

Another example is how the Qummi Shi’a declared a narrator as a Ghali, yet classical Rijal scholar Ibn al-Ghada’iri denies this accusation.

[Rijal Ibn al-Ghada’iri]

“Muḥammad b. Awrama, Abū Jaʿfar, al-Qummī. The Qummis accused him of ghulw, but his ḥadīth are pure, there is no corruption in them.

I have not seen anything attributed to him that confounds the soul, except for pages in Tafsīr al-Bāṭin and what befits its ḥadīth, and I suspect it is a forgery upon him.

I saw a writing that came out from Imam Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Muḥammad (al-Hadi) عليه السلام to the Qummis regarding his

disassociation (barā’a) from what they defamed him by [and deemed good his beliefs and the nearness] of his station.”

محمد بن أورمة، أبو جعفر، القمي. اتهمه القميون بالغلو، وحديثه نقي لا فساد فيه، وما رأيت شيئا ينسب إليه تضطرب فيه النفس، إلا أوراقافي " تفسير الباطن " وما يليق بحديثه، وأظنها موضوعة عليه. ورأيت " كتابا " خرج من أبي الحسن، علي بن محمد )عليهما السلام( إلىالقميين في براءته مما قذف به )وحسن عقيدته، وقرب(

منزلت

Now that we have established how Ghuluw for one scholar may be acceptable for another scholar of higher Ma’rifa (understanding) of the Status of the Imams, let us now get back to answering the question.

Sahih chains for the Attack on al-Zahra’a:

[Kamil al-Ziyarat introduction page 2]

Ibn Qulawayh writes in his introduction to the book (Kamil al-Ziyarat):

“Furthermore, I have only narrated that which was reported to me by the trustworthy ones from among our companions – may Allah’s Mercy be upon them – and I did not include anything which has been reported by unknown or unreliable sources who are not well-known for their knowledge and narrations.”

و قد علمنا أنا لا نحيط بجميع ما روي عنهم في هذا المعنى و لا في غيره لكن ما وقع لنا من جهة الثقات من أصحابنا (رحمهم الله برحمته) ولا أخرجت فيه حديثا روي عن الشذاذ من الرجال

Thus, the narrators from whom Ibn Qulawayh narrates in his book are all people whom he considers trustworthy in narrations - and he goes as far as to send his tarahhum (asking Allah to have mercy) on them.

-1) [Kamil al-Ziyarat page 342]

Imam al-Sadiq says in a lengthy narration:

“ [..] The likes of Bulis who taught the Jews that “…the hand of Allah is tied up!” (5:64), the likes of Nastur who taught the Christians that ‘Isa “…The Messiah is the son of Allah” (9:30), and told them that they are three; the likes of the Pharaoh of Musa who said, “I am your lord, the most high” (79:24), and the likes of Nimrud who said, “I have overpowered everyone on earth and I have killed those in the heavens”, and the killer of the Commander of the Believers, the killer of Fatima and Muhsin (upon them be peace), and the killers of al-Hassan and al-Hussain…”

وبهذا الإسناد ، عن عبدالله الأصمّ ، عن عبدالله بن بُكَير الأرجاني(2) «قال : صَحبت أبا عبدالله عليه السلام في طريق مكّة من المدينة فنزلنامنزلاً يقال له : عُسْفان [..] 

أنا رَبُّكم الأعلى ، ونحو نمرود الَّذي قال : قهرتُ أهل الأرض وقتلتُ مَن في السَّماء ، وقاتل أمير المؤمنين ، وقاتل فاطمة ومحسن ، وقاتلالحسن والحسين ، فأمّا معاوية وعَمرو

-2) [Kamil al-Ziyarat page 551]

Imam al-Sadiq narrates that the Holy Prophet was told on Mi’raj:

“ [..] As for your daughter, she will be oppressed and deprived, and the rights which you gave her will be usurped. She will be beaten while she is pregnant, her sanctity will be breached, and her house will be entered without permission [..] He (the Imam) then said : 

“…The first judgment will be between Muhsin ibn ‘Ali and his killer – referring to the second usurper. Then he will be brought forth along with Qunfudh..”

ن ينفعكم اليوم إذ ظلمتم انكم في العذاب مشتركون، فيقول الظالم: أنت تحكم بين عبادك فيما كانوا فيه يختلفون، أو الحكم لغيرك، فيقاللهم: الا لعنة الله على الظالمين الذين يصدون عن سبيل الله ويبغونها عوجا وهم بالآخرة كافرون.

وأول من يحكم فيهم محسن بن علي (عليه السلام) وفي قاتله، ثم في قنفذ

Now these two narrations have notable “weak” narrators in their chains, however as we just saw, ibn Qulawayh, the author of Kamil al-Ziyarat authenticates all the narrators in his book and goes as far as to send Tarahhum upon them. It is for this reason that many scholars take upon Kamil al-Ziyarat as a fully reliable book.

Thus, by ibn Qulawayh’s standards, the two chains to Imam al-Sadiq quoted above which clearly mention the attack on al-Zahra’a are reliable, per his standards, and we have seen how the difference of standards in authentication does not subtract from it’s value.

Part B

Another Sahih chain:

Narrated al-Karajaki from Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Shadhan al-Qummi from his father from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Walid from al-Saffar from Muhammad ibn Ziyad from al-Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar (a) from Imam al-Sadiq (a):

“ [..] O’ Yunus, my grandfather the Prophet said: “Cursed, Cursed is the one who oppresses Fatima my daughter after me, and snatches her rights and killed her..”

الكراجكي، عن محمد بن أحمد بن شاذان القمي، عن أبيه، عن محمد ابن الحسن بن الوليد، عن الصفار، عن محمد بن زياد، عن مفضل بنعمر، عن يونس بن يعقوب (رضي الله عنه) قال: سمعت الصادق جعفر بن محمد (عليه السلام) يقول

يا يونس قال جدي رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم): ملعون ملعون من يظلم بعدي فاطمة ابنتي ويغصبها حقها ويقتلها،

Let’s look at the narrators:

-1) al-Karajaki: Student of al-Mufid and al-Tusi, praised by al-Amili and al-Majlisi amongst other Sunni and Shi’ite scholars prominent scholar and author of the book Kanz al-Fawa’ed , reliable.

-2) Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Shadhan al-Qummi: al-Karajaki and al-Najashi praised him, al-Majlisi considered him good, al-Behbahani  called him a Faqih, reliable.

-3) His father Ahmad ibn Shadhan: Considered as one of the greatest hadith scholars of his time by al-Najashi and a leader of the Shi’as, reliable.

-4) Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Walid: al-Najashi calls him trustworthy, reliable.

-5) Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Saffar: al-Najashi called him “al-thiqa al-adheem”, considered as a known faqih and among the companions of Imam al-‘Askari, peace be upon him, reliable.

-6) Muhammad ibn Ziyad: al-Khoei calls him trustworthy, reliable.

Part C

-7) al-Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar (peace be upon him):

As we discussed in the first section, a narrator who narrated difficult narrations that one cannot grasp as easily would be termed as “Ghali” by scholars of the Shi’a who did not understand the narration he presented, and thought of it as Ghuluw.

There are an abundance of such cases within our corpus, and one of the prominent ones is that of al-Mufaddal, who, when presented difficult ahadith to the Shi’a , was slandered as a Ghali.

(Tuhaf al-‘Uqul, page 515)

“Abu ‘Abdillah (peace be upon him) said once while I (Mufaddal) was with him: 

O’ Mufaddal, how many are your companions? 

I (Mufaddal) said: Few.

So when I left for Kufa, the Shi’a came to me, and they tore me to pieces, they ate my flesh (with backbiting), insulted my honor, to the extent some of them even spat on my face and some of them awaited me in the streets of Kufa to beat me up. They threw at me every false accusation, until that reached Aba ‘Abdillah [al-Sadiq].

ومما فيه قال: وقال أبو عبد الله (عليه السلام) مرة وأنا معه: يا مفضل كم أصحابك؟ فقلت: قليل، فلما انصرفت إلى الكوفة أقبلت علي الشيعةفمزقوني كل ممزق، يأكلون لحمي ويشتمون عرضي، حتى أن بعضهم استقبلني فوثب في وجهي، وبعضهم قعد لي في سكك الكوفة يريدضربي، ورموني بكل بهتان، حتى بلغ ذلك أبا عبد الله (عليه السلام). ما رجعت إليه في السنة الثانية كان أول ما استقبلني به بعد تسليمهعلي أن قال: يا مفضل ما هذا الذي بلغني أن هؤلاء يقولون لك وفيك؟ قلت: وما علي من قولهم، قال: " أجل بل ذلك عليهم، أيغضبون بؤسا لهم

These slanders stemmed from jealousy and envy of the Shi’a towards those appointed as deputies of the Imams, and/or from the difficult narrations they presented which required higher Ma’rifa of the Imam and His virtues.

[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 إنعندناقوما يختلفون في معرفة فضلكم بأقاويل مختلفة تشمئز منها القلوب وتضيق لها الصدور ويروون في ذلك الأحاديث لا سبتuيجوز لناالاقرار بها لمافيها من القول العظيم ولا يجوز ردها ولا الجحود لها إذ ن إلى آبائك، فنحن وقوف عليها من ذلك لأنهم يقولون ويتأولون معنىقوله عزوجل:

:" إن الصلاة تنهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر )3( " وقوله عز وجل

As we see, people differed in the Ma’rifa of the virtues of the Imam and found it unbearable and disgusting. Thus, anybody who narrated narrations which requires such high ma’rifa was consequently slandered by those Shi’a of lower Ma’rifa, and they accused them of fabrications and ghuluw’.

A victim of this phenomenon, al-Mufaddal was slandered extensively by the Shi’a due to their rejection of his narrations.

As such, the Imam had to dissociate from him in Taqiyya, in order to protect Himself and al-Mufaddal.

[al-Ghayba of al-Nu’mani, vol 1, page 41]

“Abu ‘Abdillah [al-Sadiq] said:

I share a hadith to a man, and he goes on to share the hadith with another man the way he heard it from me.

This leads me to permit cursing him and disassociating from him.”

 وبهذا الإسناد، عن الحسن بن علي بن أبي حمزة، عن الحسن بن السري، قال:

" قال أبو عبد الله (عليه السلام): إني لأحدث الرجل الحديث فينطلق فيحدث به عني كما سمعه فاستحل به لعنه والبراءة منه 

But this cursing, as is apparent, is only out of Taqiyya for protection of the Imam and His companion, and isn’t indicative of disbelief of the companion.

An example would be Zurara (ra), one of the most prominent Shi’as of al-Sadiq, whom the Imam had to curse and dissociate from in Taqiyya in order to protect Himself and Zurara.

[Ikhtiyar Ma’rifat al-Rijal Vol.1 page 381]

Imam al-Sadiq said:

“Yes, Zurara. Zurara is more evil than the Jews, Christians, and whom say Allah is one of three”

قال: نعم زرارة، زرارة شر من اليهود والنصارى ومن قال إن مع الله ثالث ثلاثة

But the Imam Himself clarified that this intense cursing is out of Taqiyya.

[Mu’jam al-Ahadith al-Mu’tabara]

“Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said to me: convey my salutations of peace to your father (Zurara) and say to him: Verily, I only defame you as a way of defending you, for the masses and the enemy hasten to whomever we draw near and praise his station so as to cause harm to the one we love and bring close. They accuse such a one because of our love for him and his closeness and intimacy with us, and they consider causing him harm and even killing him as justified..”

عن عبد الله بن زرارة قال: قال لي أبو عبد الله عليه السلام: اقرأ مني على والدك السلام، و قل له: إني إنما أعيبك دفاعا مني عنك، فإنالناس و العدو يسارعون إلى كل من قربناه و حمدنا مكانه لإدخال الأذى في من نحبه و نقربه، و يرمونه لمحبتنا له و قربه و دنوه منا، و يرونإدخال الأذى عليه و قتله، و يحمدون كل من عبناه نحن وإن لم يحمد امره، فإنما أعيبك لأنك رجل اشتهرت بنا و لميلك إلينا، و أنت في ذلك 

Thus, an apparent cursing is not indicative of the disbelief of the companion of the Imam, and one must analyse holistically before forming a conclusion on them.

Another example more closer to the actual case of al-Mufaddal is the case of Yunus ibn ‘Abdur-Rahman, a deputy of Imam al-Ridha (peace be upon him) who was harmed out of his companion’s low ma’rifa and/or envy of him.

[Mu’jam al-Ahadith al-Mu’tabara]

“1. [1/329] Amali of al-Saduq: Ibn al-Walid from al-Saffar from Ibn Ma’ruf from Ali b. Mahziyar who said: I wrote to Abi Ja’far the Second عليه السلام: May I be made your ransom - should I pray behind

the one who asserts (the doctrine of) ‘the body’ (God is corporeal) or the one who subscribes to the doctrine of Yunus - that is the son of Abd al-Rahman? He عليه السلام wrote: 

Do not pray behind them

nor not give them anything of the Zakat. Disassociate from them. Allah has disassociated from them.”

حدثنا محمد بن الحسن بن أحمد بن الوليد )رضي الله عنه(، قال: حدثنا محمد بن الحسن الصفار، عن العباس بن معروف، عن علي بنمهزيار، قال: كتبت إلى أبي جعفر محمد بن علي بن موسى الرضا )عليهم السلام(: جعلت فداك أصلي خلف من يقول بالجس، ومن يقولبقول يونس بن عبد الرحمن؟ فكتب )عليه السلام(: لا تصلوا

خلفهم، ولا تعطوهم من الزكاة، وابرءوا منهم، برئ الله منه

Here, as is apparent, the Imam dissociates from Yunus and says “Allah has dissociated from him.”

However, in another reliable report, Imam al-Ridha (a) permits taking upon Yunus’ teachings!

[3/-] Rijal al-Kashshi: Muhammad b. Mas’ud from Muhammad b. Nusayr from Muhammad b. Isa from Abd al-Aziz b. al-Muhtadi who said: I said to Abi al-Hasan al-Ridha عليه السلام: may I be made your

ransom, I cannot always reach you to ask you all that which I need from the teachings of my religion, is Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman Thiqa (trustworthy) and can I take from him what I need from the teachings of my religion? he said: yes.”

محمد بن مسعود، قال: حدثني محمد بن نصير، قال: حدثنا محمد ابن عيسى، قال: حدثني عبد العزيز بن المهتدي القمي، قال محمد بننصير: قال محمد بن عيسى، وحدث الحسن بن علي بن يقطين، بذلك أيضا، قال، قلت لأبي الحسن الرضا عليه السلام: جعلت فداك اني لاأكاد أصل إليك أسألك عن كل ما أحتاج إليه من معالم .ديني، أفيونس بن عبد الرحمن ثقة آخذ عنه ما احتاج إليه من معالم ديني؟ فقال: نعم

Why this difference?

Because Yunus presented difficult narrations that consequently led to the Shi’a accusing him of ghuluw’ and slandering him.

[Rijal al-Kashshi]

“ [..] Abu al-Hasan, peace be upon him, said to him: ‘O Yunus, what do you have to do with what they say if your imam is satisfied with you?

O Yunus, tell the people what they know, and leave aside with what they do not recognize. It is as if you want God to be lied against in His throne (i.e, by them denying your ahadith from the Imam, thus they would lie against Allah by denying them)…”

Thus the Imams approved of Yunus and considered him their trustworthy one, yet due to the complaints from the Shi’a of lower ma’rifa who could not comprehend his narrations, the Imam had to dissociate from him out of Taqiyya.

The same is the case of al-Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar al-Ju’fi.

Part D

In Praise of al-Mufaddal:

“Muhammad b. Yahya from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa from Ali b. al-Hakam from Yunus b. Ya’qub who said: Abu Abdillah عليه السلام ordered me to go to Mufadhal and condole him for [the death of] Ismail. He [the Imam] said: Convey my greetings of peace to Mufadhal and say to him: We have been tried through Ismail and have remained patient, so be patient the way we have been patient. We wanted something (i.e, Ismail’s Imamate) but Allah Mighty and Majestic wanted something else so we have submitted to the command of Allah Mighty and Majestic.”

وروى عن محمد بن يحيى، عن علي بن الحكم، عن يونس بن يعقوب، قال:

أمرني أبو عبد الله عليه السلام أن آتي المفضل وأعزيه بإسماعيل، وقال: إقرأ المفضل السلام وقل له: إنا قد أصبنا بإسماعيل فصبرنا،فأصبر كما صبرنا، إنا أردنا أمرا، وأراد الله عز وجل أمرا، فسلمنا لأمر الله عز وجل. الكافي: الجزء 2، كتاب الايمان والكفر 1، باب الصبر47، الحديث 16.

Evaluation:

Sayyid al-Khoei says: “This report indicates the very close relationship al-Sadiq (a) had with al-Mufaddal ibn Umar. Additionally, the report is sahih (authentic)” (Mu’jam Rijal al-Hadith, vol 19, page 327)

أقول: هذه الرواية تدل على شدة علاقة الصادق عليه السلام بالمفضل بن عمر، والرواية صحيحة

Accordingly, there are no ghulat in the chain, all are thiqa, nor are they related to al-Mufaddal in any way. 

[Mu’jam al-Rijal al-Hadith vol. 19 page 328]

Sayyed al-Khoei says:

“And Sheikh Al-Mufid narrated with an authentic chain of narrators, on the authority of Abdullah ibn al-Fadl al-Hashimi, he said: 

I was with Al-Sadiq Ja’far bin Muhammad, peace be upon them, when Al-Mufaddal ibn Umar entered, and when he saw him he laughed at him, then said: “To me, O Mufaddal! O Mufaddal, if all of my companions knew what you know, two of them would not differ (the hadith).”

وروى الشيخ المفيد بسنده الصحيح، عن عبد الله بن الفضل الهاشمي، قال: كنت عند الصادق جعفر بن محمد عليهما السلام إذ دخلالمفضل بن عمر، فلما بصر به ضحك إليه، ثم قال: إلي يا مفضل، فوربي إني لأحبك وأحب من يحبك، يا مفضل لو عرف جميع أصحابي ماتعرف ما اختلف اثنان، (الحديث

These two authentic narrations from the Imam regarding the status of al-Mufaddal establish that he was in fact righteous and harmed out of envy of his companions.

Scholarly praise:

[al-Ghayba, vol 1, page 366-367]

Sheikh al-Tusi:

“And before mentioning who was a safeer during al-Ghayba, we mention a part of the reports on (safeers) specific to each imam, and and how they was deputized by the Imam to excercise his functions - in a summarized fashion

(...)

And among the praised of (these sufara’) is al-Mufaddal ibn Umar”

وقبل ذكر من كان سفيرا حال الغيبة نذكر طرفا من أخبار من كان يختص بكل إمام، ويتولى له الامر على وجه من الايجاز

ومن الممدوحين المفضل بن عمر

Shaykh al-Mufid says:

“Among those who narrated the Nass (succession will) of the Imamate from Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, to his son Abu al-Hasan Musa, peace be upon him, from the sheikhs of Abu Abdullah’s companions, his elite, his innermost and trustworthy, righteous jurists - may God be pleased with them - include al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju’fi”

فممن روى صريح النص بالإمامة من أبي عبد الله الصادق عليه السلام على ابنه أبي الحسن موسى عليه السلام من شيوخ أصحاب أبيعبد الله وخاصته وبطانته وثقاته الفقهاء الصالحين - رضوان الله عليهم - المفضل بن عمر الجعفي

Thus God willing we have established the High Status of the Deputy of the Imam, al-Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar, and his reliability. Accusations propelled towards him from all corners, from the Companions of the Imam to the Scholars, and the Imam had to dissociate from him in Taqiyya, however al-Mufaddal’s righteousness is now established.

Thus the chain of narrators of this third narration is fully reliable and proves the attack on al-Zahra’a did take place.

And All Praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

May Allah bless you all.

Wa Allahu Ta’ala ‘Aalam :)