Ali ibn al-Husayn, the Eldest Son
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“The Eldest Son”:
In the traditional Arab household, leadership of the family unit rests in the hands of the ‘ameed (head of household) – the patriach of the family, i.e, the father.
Once the father passes away, the position ‘ameed transfers to his eldest son, who is supposed to take care of the family (financially and protection-wise), in the same way his father did.
Knowing this, and as we proved in our last article – Imamate is transferred purely from father to eldest son, for two purposes:
(1) Providing an easy, recognizable, and objectively verified criteria for the Shi’a to recognize the next Imam (he is his father’s eldest son)
(2) The Imam makes the eldest son distinguishable from other sons in his wasiya, as he makes the eldest son the sole executor of his will.
This is to symbolize that the eldest son will be the sole person in charge of the Shi’a, after the previous Imam’s demise.
Some, however, have rejected the necessity of the eldest son to distinguish Imamate with a striking claim:
Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn was not the eldest son!
Thus - according to them, one needn’t be the eldest son to rightfully claim Imamate, in continuity from Ali ibn al-Husayn.
In this article, we will reject this claim and instead posit that Ali al-Husayn was the eldest son and him being so was a key criterion proving his Imamate.
So without further adue
Let us begin!
Bismillah
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A ) SHI’i AHADITH
The first detail to make note of when discerning Imam al-Sajjad’s age is:
What do our Imams say about this - as described in Shi’i books of hadith?
This is an important detail to note, because proponents of al-Sajjad (as)’s younger age claim that the Imam’s age ranged between 13-18 during the Battle of Karbala.
We believe this to be an incorrect claim, proven false by our Imams.
In addressing this,
We start with a hadith from al-Kafi, in which Imam al-Sadiq says:
“Narrated Abū Baṣīr, from Abū ʿAbd Allāh (al-Sadiq), who said:
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (peace be upon him) passed away when he was 57 years old old, in the year 95 AH, and he lived for 35 years after the death of al-Ḥusayn.”
عن أبي بصير عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قبض علي بن الحسين عليه السلام وهو ابن سبع وخمسين سنة في عام خمس وتسعينسنة، وعاش بعد الحسين خمسا وثلاثين سنة
If Imam al-Sajjad died in 95 AH, aged 57.
That means, he was born in 38 AH (658 CE).
Which would place Imam al-Sajjad at 22 years old in the Battle of Karbala, which took place in 61 AH (680 CE).
This is corroborated by the following hadith,
In which Imam al-Sadiq quotes Imam al-Sajjad as he describes his age on the year of Imam Hasan’s death:
(Al-Amali of Tusi)
Narrated Imam ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (al-Sajjad)
“I was walking behind my uncle al-Ḥasan and my father al-Ḥusayn (peace be upon them both) in one of the streets of Medina, in the year in which my uncle al-Ḥasan (peace be upon him) passed away. At that time I was a young boy, not yet having reached adolescence, or nearly so.”
عبد الله جعفر بن محمد الصادق (عليهما السلام) عن سن جدنا علي بن الحسين (عليهما السلام)، فقال: أخبرني أبي، عن أبيه علي بنالحسين (عليهم السلام)، قال: كنت أمشي خلف عمي الحسن وأبي الحسين (عليهما السلام) في بعض طرقات المدينة في العام الذي قبضفيه عمي الحسن (عليه السلام)، وأنا يومئذ غلام لم أراهق أو كدت، فلقيهما جابر بن عبد الله وأنس بن مالك الأنصاريان في جماعة منقريش والأنصار
Given that Imam Hasan died in 670 CE,
Imam al-Sajjad being on the border of puberty, or as he describes it “nearly reaching adolescence”,
Would place him at around the age of 12 in 670 CE.
This confirms Imam al-Sadiq’s earlier hadith that shows that Imam al-Sajjad was 22 years old during the Battle of Karbala.
Additionally,
Imam al-Baqir describes being alive at the time of the Battle of Karbala - which further corroborates the idea that Imam al-Sajjad was a fully mature man at the time of the battle.
Not a young boy.
(Nawadir Ali ibn Asbat)
Indeed, Abu Jaʿfar (al-Baqir) said:
“My father was sick the day his father was killed (peace be upon them both), and he was in the tent.
I used to watch how our slaves differed to him, following him with water.
I also saw how Imam Husayn was struck.
His right side at one moment, his left side at another, and his chest at another. Truly, they killed him in a manner that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) forbade even for dogs.“
تاب النوادر لعلي بن أسباط: عن بعض أصحابه رواه قال: إن أبا جعفر عليه السلام قال: كان أبي مبطونا يوم قتل أبوه صلوات الله عليهماوكان في الخيمة وكنت أرى موالينا كيف يختلفون معه، يتبعونه بالماء. يشد على الميمنة مرة وعلى الميسرة مرة، وعلى القلب مرة، ولقد قتلوه قتلةنهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله أن يقتل بها الكلاب،
The second detail to note is our Imams literally affirming al-Sajjad to be the eldest and Ali son of Laila (the martyred son of Imam Husayn in Kadbala) to be al-Asghar.
In his full recollection of the Battle of Karbala,
Imam al-Sadiq states that Imam Husayn accompanied two of his sons by the name of Ali ibn al-Husaynto the Battle of Karbala:
Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Akbar (the eldest Ali)
Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Asghar (the youngest Ali)
(Amali of al-Saduq, page 217)
“Al-Ḥusayn (peace be upon him) awoke from his sleep weeping. He went to his family, informed them of the vision, and bade them farewell. He placed his sisters on litters, along with his daughter and his nephew, al-Qāsim ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī (peace be upon them).
Then he set out with twenty-one men from his companions and family, among them Abū Bakr ibn ʿAlī, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAlī, al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAlī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim ibn ʿAqīl, ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Akbar, and ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Aṣghar.”
فانتبه الحسين (عليه السلام) من نومهباكيا، فأتى أهل بيته، فأخبرهم بالرؤيا وودعهم، وحمل أخواته على المحامل وابنته وابن أخيه القاسمابن الحسن بن علي (عليهم السلام)، ثم سار في أحد وعشرين رجلا من أصحابه وأهل بيته، منهم أبو بكر بن علي، ومحمد بن علي، وعثمانبن علي، والعباس بن علي، وعبد الله بن مسلم بن عقيل، وعلي بن الحسين الأكبر، وعلي بن الحسين الأصغر
Which one of them did Imam al-Sadiq say was killed in Karbala?
Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Asghar (the son of Laila)
(Amali of Saduq, page 220)
“After him came Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Asghar (peace be upon them).
When he went forth to them, the eyes of al-Husayn (peace be upon him) filled with tears, and he said:
“O Allah, be the witness against them, for the son of Your Messenger has gone forth to them, resembling the people in face and stature.”
Then he began chanting as he said:
“I am Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali… We and the Household of Allah are more deserving of the Prophet…
See how I protect my father!”
He struck and killed ten of them, then returned to his father. His father said: “O my son, you are thirsty.” Al-Husayn (peace be upon him) said:
“Be patient, my son; your grandfather will give you the fullest cup.”
He returned to fight until he killed forty-four men among them, then he himself was killed (peace be upon him).
وبرز من بعده علي بن الحسين الأصغر (عليهما السلام)، فلما برز إليهم دمعت عين الحسين (عليه السلام) فقال: اللهم كن أنت الشهيدعليهم، فقد برز إليهم ابن رسولك، وأشبه الناس وجها وسمتا به، فجعل يرتجز وهو يقول:
أنا علي بن الحسين بن علي * * نحن وبيت الله أولى بالنبي أما ترون كيف أحمي عن أبي فقتل منهم عشرة، ثم رجع إلى أبيه، فقال: يا أبهالعطش، فقال الحسين (عليه السلام): صبرا يا بني، يسقيك جدك بالكأس الأوفى. فرجع فقاتل حتى قتلمنهم أربعة وأربعين رجلا، ثم قتل(صلى الله عليه
If al-Asghar (the youngest Ali) was a warrior in Karbala, who killed 44 Umayyad soldiers, before he himself was killed -
Then who is al-Akbar, according to Imam al-Sadiq’s words?
None but Imam al-Sajjad!
The following ahadith of Imam al-Baqir confirm it:
(Basa’ir al-Darajat)
“Narrated Abu al-Jarud
I heard Aba Jaafar (al-Baqir) say:
When Al-Husayn (peace be upon him) foresaw his imminent martyrdom, he called his daughter Fatima ibn al-Husayn and gave her a wrapped book and a wasiya dhahira (public will), so he said:
O my daughter! Give this to my eldest son.
When Ali ibn Al-Husayn (peace be upon them both) returned, she provided the items (book and wasiya dhahira) to him.
I (narrator) asked Imam al-Baqir: What is that book?
He said: What the children of Adam need from the time the world began its existence until it perishes!”
الصفار: عن محمد بن خالد الطيالسي، عن سيف، عن منصور، أو عن يونس، قال: حدثني أبو الجارود، قال:
سمعت أبا جعفر (عليه السلام) يقول: لما حضر الحسين (عليه السلام) ما حضر، دعا فاطمة بنته فدفع إليها كتابا ملفوفا ووصية ظاهرة،فقال: يا بنتي! ضعي هذا في أكابر ولدي.
فلما رجع علي بن الحسين (عليهما السلام) دفعته إليه، وهو عندنا.
قلت: ما ذاك الكتاب.
قال: ما يحتاج إليه ولد آدم منذ كانت الدنيا حتى تفنى!
Imam al-Baqir reports that Imam Husayn, before his death, informed his daughter Fatima to give the aforementioned items to his eldest son.
These items are exclusive to Imamate.
That eldest son, as named by the hadith, is Ali ibn al-Husayn.
If we believed Ali son of Laila is the eldest son, then Imam al-Sajjad is not an Imam!
B ) HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
When one attempts to reduce the importance of being the eldest son of the Imam, as a distinguishor of Imamate –
They should reflect on a few matters, with an open mind:
1 ) There are at least three instances within Imamite Shi’i history, where the community in whole or majority believed the eldest son to be Imam but then backtracked due to unforeseen circumstances.
In other words, the eldest son had died thus could not be the Imam (according to them):
A- The case of Ismail ibn Ja’far
B - The case of Abdullah ibn Ja’far
C - The case of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi
If the Shi’a had precedent in Imam al-Sajjad not being the eldest son –
Why did the majority of the community (with its fuqaha’ and sheikhs) automatically believe that our Imams’ eldest sons were their successors to Imamate?
Moreover, why did the believers in Musa al-Kadhim never justify such precedent in defence of their Imam?
Meaning, if Ali al-Sajjad could become Imam by being a youngest son.
Why did the Musawi Shi’a never justify Musa al-Kadhim being Imam using such precedent, despite younger age, to those who believed in Ismail and Abdullah ibn Ja’far’s Imamate (by believing either of them are the eldest son)?
2 ) If according to Musawi Shi’a, that the Shi’i community incorrectly believed in the Imamates of Ismail and Abdullah by them occupying the position of eldest son and eldest surviving son respectively –
Why did no one believe that Ali son of Laila (whom proponents of Imam Sajjad being younger son, believe is the eldest son) is the next Imam, during his lifetime?
Similar to how the Shi’a believed Ismail will be the next time by being the eldest son, when his father al-Sadiq was alive.
Why did no sect spring up believing Ali son of Laila would be in ghayba, if he fulfilled the criterion of eldest son (which in the opinion of many Shi’a indicated he was the next in line)?
As the Khattabiya did with believing Ismail ibn Ja’far went into ghayba, after their refusal to believe that the Imam’s successor could truly die.
3 ) Classical Twelver scholarship seemed to be in consensus that Imam al-Sajjad was the eldest son.
Shaykh al-Mufid:
(Al-Irshad, vol 2, page 135)
“Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, had six children:
Ali ibn Al-Husayn (al-Sajjad) – the eldest, whose kunya was Abu Muhammad, and his mother, Shah Zanan, daughter of Khosrau Yazdegerd.
Ali bin Al-Husayn – the youngest, who was killed along with his father, was mentioned earlier, and his mother was Laila bint Abi Murra ibn Urwah ibn Masoud Al-Thaqafiya..”
وكان للحسين عليه السلام ستة أولاد: علي بن الحسين الأكبر، كنيته أبو محمد، وأمه شاه زنان بنت كسرى يزدجرد.
وعلي بن الحسين الأصغر، قتل مع أبيه بالطف، وقد تقدم ذكره فيما سلف، وأمه ليلى بنت أبي مرة بن عروة بن مسعود الثقفية
Shaykh al-Tusi:
(Al-Fihrist, page 102)
“Ali ibn Al-Husayn – the youngest, who was killed along with his father, and his mother was Laila bint Abi Murra ibn Urwah ibn Masoud Al-Thaqafiya - who is the daughter of Maymuna bint Abi Sufyan”
1002] 6 - علي بن الحسين الأصغر، ولده، قتل معه عليه السلام، امه ليلي بنت أبي مرة بن عروة بن مسعود بن معتب الثقفي، وأمهاميمونةبنت أبي سفيان بن
This statement implies Tusi’s belief was that the eldest son was Al-Sajjad (the son of Yazdegerd’s daughter), whereas the younger son named Ali was the son of Laila bint Abi Murra.
Shaykh al-Tabrasi:
(Taj al-Mawalid, page 34)
“Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, had six children:
Ali ibn Al-Husayn (al-Sajjad) – the eldest, whose kunya was Abu Muhammad, and his mother, daughter of Khosrau Yazdegerd.
Ali ibn Al-Husayn – the youngest, who was killed along with his father in Karbala and his mother was Laila bint Abi Murra ibn Urwah ibn Masoud Al-Thaqafiya..”
كان للحسين عليه السلام ستة أولاد: علي بن الحسين الأكبر الإمام عليه السلام أمه شهربانو بنت كسر بن يزدجرد، و علي بنالحسينالأصغر قتل مع أبيه عليه السلام بالطف من كربلاء أمه أم ليلى بنت أبي مرة بن عروة بن مسعود
The only scholar in classical and early post-classical times who seemed to have opposed this consensus is Ibn Idris al-Hilli (author of al-Sara’ir).
Ibn Idris stated:
(Al-Sara’ir, vol 1, page 657)
“And what fault befalls us, and what deficiency enters our doctrine if the martyred Ali ibn al-Husayn (son of Laila) was the eldest?
And Ali al-Husayn, the infallible Imam after his father Al-Hussein, was the youngest son?
After all, Zayn al-Abidin in Karbala, was twenty-three years old.
His son Muhammad al-Baqir, peace be upon him, was alive, at three years and some months old.
And on top of that our master, the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, was the youngest son of his father in age, and was not deficient because of that.”
قال محمد بن إدريس رحمه الله: وأي غضاضة تلحقنا، وأي نقص يدخل على مذهبنا إذا كان المقتول عليا الأكبر، وكان عليا الأصغرالإمامالمعصوم بعد أبيه الحسين عليهما السلام فإنه كان لزين العابدين، يوم الطف، ثلاث وعشرون سنة، ومحمد ولده الباقر عليه السلام،حي، لهثلاث سنين وأشهر، ثم بعد ذلك كله، فسيدنا ومولانا أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام كان أصغر ولد أبيه سنا، ولم ينقصهذلك
C) MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL
When one reads Ibn Idris’ words and his contradiction to the consensus of Twelver scholarship at Imam al-Sajjad being the eldest son –
One mustn’t believe this is necessarily due to him being aware of evidence that other scholars were unaware of.
Rather, it was characteristic of Ibn Idris al-Hilli to break the centuries-old consensus of scholarship.
He is best described as below:
“Ibn Idris’ high status is made evident by his scholarly courage in breaking the tradition of scholars imitating the views of Sheikh al-Tusi.
Ibn Idris made a movement in the Imami jurisprudence, bringing it out of stagnation and stagnation and encouraging (positively) innovative thinking and free thought.
All the Shi’i fuqaha’ (jurists) continued following the views of Shaykh al-Tusi and reflecting them - even up to 100 years after Tusi’s passing, to the extent that it could be said the door of ijtihad become to some extent closed.”
ويدل على جلالة قدره شجاعته العلمية في كسر سنّة التقليد لآراء الشيخ الطوسي، وإيجاد حركة في فقه الإمامية، وإخراجه من الركودوالجمود وتشجيع الإبتكار والفكر الحر، وقد كان جميع الذين جلسوا على مسند فقه الشيعة بعد مائة سنة من وفاة الشيخ الطوسي يجنونمنآرء الشيخ وكانوا في الحقيقة يعكسون آراءه، حتى يمكن القول إنّ باب الاجتهاد أصبح إلى حدّما مغلقاً
Knowing this, Ibn Idris bases his views not on ahadith of the Imams but rather – reports from Sunni / Zaydi history and genealogy books describing Imam al-Sajjad as “al-Asghar” (i.e, the youngest son):
(Ibn Idris in Al-Sara’ir)
“What is more appropriate is to refer back to the specialists of this field - namely the genealogists and the authors of sīra, reports, and histories - such as al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār in his book Ansāb Quraysh, Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī in Maqātil al-Ṭālibiyyīn, al-Balādhurī, al-Muzanī, the author of al-Lubāb fī Akhbār al-Khulafāʾ,
And the genealogist al-ʿUmarī, who investigated this matter in his book al-Majdī said regarding Ali ibn al-Husayn:
“Only people lacking insight claim that ʿAlī al-Aṣghar was the one killed at Karbala, and this is an error and a delusion.”
قال ابن ادريس في السرائر ذهب شيخنا المفيد في الارشاد الى أن المقتول بالطف هو علي الاصغر وهو ابن الثقفية, وأن علي الأكبر هوزين العابدين(عليه السلام) أمّه أم ولد وهي شاه زنان بنت كسرى يزدجر.
قال محمد بن إدريس: والأولى الرجوع الى أهل هذه الصناعة وهم النسّابون وأصحاب السير والأخبار والتواريخ مثل الزبير بن بكار فيكتاب انساب قريش وأبي الفرج الأصفهاني في مقاتل الطالبيين والبلاذري والمزني صاحب كتاب اللباب في أخبار الخلفاء والعمري النسابةحقق ذلك في كتاب المجدي فإنه قال: وزعم من لا بصيرة له ان عليّا الاصغر هو المقتول بالطف وهذا خطأ ووهم.
Yes, we do concede that many Sunni historical reports affirm that Imam al-Sajjad is al-Asghar.
However –
Twelver scholarship must have rejected the Sunni reports because they believed displayed clear contradiction of our hadith corpus
Thus, I believe there are two ways to analyze these Sunni historical reports:
A) Outsider confusion in the intricacies of Shi’i faith.
To Shi’a, Imam al-Sajjad is God’s deputy on Earth.
To Sunnis, he is a common man.
Sunnis do not have the same incentive as Shi’a to validate Imam al-Sajjad, thus, they are more prone to careless description of his character.
Nor do they have same the level of ahadith and succeeding Imams claiming & preserving his legacy, as Shi’a do.
Just like it is easy for a distant Sunni observer to dismiss Shi’i intercession from the Imams as “shirk”,
Because they are not aware of the nuances and intricate details of the act.
It is reasonable for a Sunni observer to assume Imam al-Sajjad was the younger son of Imam Husayn, by for example - deducing he did not fight in Karbala due to his age.
This is because Sunnis do not take upon our ahadith of our Imams (the progeny of Sajjad) who reveal his true age and station as eldest son.
B) The possibility of anti-Shi’i fabrication.
After all, there exist reports of Imam Ali in Sunni reports which depict him as being unaware that he was designated with Imamate.
Should we take upon them too?
If the Shi’a believe the Imamate is in the eldest son, one can clearly envision the Umayyads or Abbasids post-facto attempting to portray the Shi’a Imams as false pretenders.
If the later Imams not do not fulfill the eldest son position, by virtue of being descendant of Ali ibn al-Husayn (the youngest son by name of Ali),
Then it means our Imams are liars.
Rather, the truth of the matter is that Ali ibn al-Husayn was the eldest son of Imam Husayn.
Thus, he was the most worthy person of being Imam after Husayn (as).
Wa Allahu A’lam
May Allah bless you all
John Andaluso