Shi’ihood of the Corpus

June 28, 2026

Shi’ihood of the Corpus

The approach to Shi’i hadith - its evaluation, authentication, and acceptance - is one of severe contestation and difficulty.

At the very heart of the matter, is the redundance of chains with regards to our Imams.

Our Imams very often narrate directly from Rasul Allah, or even Allah - without any chain of transmission in between:

Salim ibn Abi Hafsa narrates:

(Al-Tusi’s Amali)

"We used to consider it extraordinary that Abu Ja'far (al-Bair) would say 'The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said ‘so-and-so-‘ without an intermediary.

Until Abu Abdillah (al-Sadiq) said to me: “God the Most High said [so-and-so]” - without an intermediary!”

كنا نستعظم قول أبي جعفر : قال رسول الله ( صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم ) بلا واسطة . فقال لي أبو عبد الله ( عليه السلام ) قال الله تعالى ، بلا واسطة

The Imam provides us no evidence that his words are from Allah or the prophet.

Yet, we are ordered to believe in him regardless - out of theological belief in the Imam’s divine leadership and faith in his words.

The Imam taught us that he is of equal substance and person to all of his holy predecessors, including Rasul Allah - and as such,

The hadith of Imam al-Sadiq is automatically the hadith of Imam Hasan for example

And it is automatically the hadith of Rasul Allah

And ultimately - the hadith of Allah (the source of this knowledge):

(Al-Kafi)

Hisham ibn Salim, Hammad ibn Uthman, and others said:

“We heard Abu Abdillah (al-Sadiq) say: My hadith is the hadith of my father, and the hadith of my father is the hadith of my grandfather, and the hadith of my grandfather is the hadith of al-Husayn, and the hadith of al-Husayn is the hadith of al-Hasan,

And the hadith of al-Hasan is the hadith of the Commander of the Faithful, and the hadith of the Commander of the Faithful is the hadith of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family),

And the hadith of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is the word of God, Mighty and Majestic."

هشام بن سالم وحماد بن عثمان وغيره، قالوا: "سمعنا أبا عبد الله (عليه السلام) يقول: حديثي حديث أبي، وحديث أبي حديث جدي وحديث جدي حديث الحسين، وحديث الحسين حديث الحسن، وحديث الحسن حديث أمير المؤمنين، وحديث أمير المؤمنين حديث رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)، وحديث رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) قول الله عز وجل

It is easy to imagine the unison of Imams described as merely symbolizing their equal spiritual leadership.

However, what was described has very literal and direct implications on hadith transmission.

A hadith uttered to you by Imam al-Sadiq -

You may be instructed to narrate it directly from Imam al-Baqir, even if you have never met him:

(Al-Kafi)

From Abu Basir, who said: I said to Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him): "A hadith I hear from you, am permitted to transmit it on the authority of your father?

Or a hadith I hear from your father, am I permitted to narrate it on your authority?"

He said: "It is the same either way, though transmitting it on the authority of my father is more beloved to me."

عن أبي بصير قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله (عليه السلام): الحديث أسمعه منك أرويه عن أبيك أو أسمعه من أبيك أرويه عنك.قال: سواء، إلا أنّك ترويه عن أبي أحبّ إليّ.

(Al-Kafi)

“Abu Abdillah (al-Sadiq) said to Jamil: "Whatever you hear from me, transmit directly it on the authority of my father."

قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام لجميل: ما سمعت مني فاروه عن أبي

It is to the extent that, sometimes, Imam al-Sadiq may narrate a hadith to you.

And explicitly forbid you from narrating it from his authority.

Instead, you are to obligated to narrate it directly from Imam al-Baqir:

(Al-Ghayba of al-Nu’mani)

“From Imam al-Sadiq, whom Ammarah al-Hamdani had questioned, saying to him: "May God set you right, there are people who mock us and say: you claim that there will be a voice from the sky."

He said to him: "Do not transmit this on my authority, rather transmit it directly on the authority of my father.

My father (peace be upon him) used to say: it is in the Book of God, 'If We will, We can send down upon them a sign from the sky, so their necks will remain bowed before it' [26:4], and all the people of the earth will believe on account of the first voice."

عن أبي عبد الله جعفر بن محمد × وقد سأله عمارة الهمداني فقال له: أصلحك الله, إن ناسا يعيرونا ويقولون: إنكم تزعمون أنه سيكون صوت من السماء, فقال له: لا ترو عني واروه عن أبي, كان أبي × يقول: هو في كتاب الله {إن نشأ ننزل عليهم من السماء آية فظلت أعناقهم لها خاضعين} فيؤمن أهل الأرض جميعا للصوت الأول

Clearly,

Hadith narration - in its very foundation (the Imams) - is built upon theological conviction in the oneness, divine leadership, and infallibility of the Imams.

We could never be sure if Imam al-Baqir truly said something, or if that is Imam al-Sadiq reattributing his words to al-Sadiq.

Chains are redundant for our Imams, out of theological premise.

By necessity, this reflects on even hadith transmission from the lay Shi’a.

If the Imam permits the Shi’a (at their own, personal behest) to narrate ahadith from say - Imam al-Askari - and attribute it to Imam Husayn,

Under the notion of:

“It is the same either way, though transmitting it on the authority of my father is more beloved to me”

It means we cannot apply the same rigor Sunnis apply to chains of transmission.

If I (John) - hear a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq. And instead, reattribute it Rasul Allah -

By Sunni standard, I am a liar.

I had never met the prophet, how can I hear from him?

By our Imams’ standards, my methodology is completely valid:

(Wasa’il al-Shi’a)

“Hafs ibn al-Bakhtari narrated, saying: I said to Abu Abdillah al-Sadiq (peace be upon him):

“I hear a hadith from you and I do not know whether I heard it from you or from your father."

The Imam said: "Whatever you hear from me, you are permitted to narrate it directly on the authority of my father;

And whatever you hear from me, you are permitted to narrate it directly on the authority of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family)”

وروى حفص بن البختري، قال: قلت لاَبي عبدالله الصادق _ عليه السلام _ أسمع الحديث منك فلا أدري منك سماعه أو من أبيك، فقال: «ما سمعته منّي فاروه عن أبي، وما سمعته منّي فاروه عن رسول الله _ صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم

Hence,

The purpose of this series is to underline how theological assumptions formed the backbone of Shi’i transmission of hadith during the times of our Imams.

We will discuss how to approach the ahadith - once those assumptions are taken into account.

Additionally, we will discuss how the concept of Husn al-Dhan (the theological obligation of assuming the best the best) in Shi’i narrators

And how this concept exactly is applied to the ahadith.

The basis of Husn al-Dhan for narrations in Shi’i books is contingent on one highly crucial factor:

The Shi’i-hood of the hadith corpus.

The narrators of ahadith of our Imams must be Shi’i - in Shi’i books, to theologically justify narrating from them without rigorous, critical introspection -

Just as we justify our Imams narrating from their predecessors or God, without rigorous introspection.

To what extent is the premise of is the Shi’ihood of our corpus valid?

We will find out in today’s article.

So without further adue

Let us begin!

—

A) AN INSULAR RELIGION

Unlike other Islamic sects,

The Ja’fari religion was generally isolationist and closely guarded.

Missionary work was at some points completely banned, due to fear of Abbasid persecution:

“From Thabit ibn Sa'id, who said: Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him) said:

"O Thabit, what is it with you Shi’a attempting to guide Sunnis? Hold back from Sunnis and do not invite anyone to your religion.

Hold back from proselytizing to Sunnis, and let no one say: 'How so? It is is my uncle,' 'my brother,' 'my cousin,' 'my neighbor' -- for when God wills good for a servant He purifies his spirit, so that he hears no good except that he recognizes it, and no evil except that he rejects it. Then God casts into his heart a word by which He brings his affair together."

عن ثابت بن سعيد، قال: قال أبو عبد الله (عليه السلام): “يا ثابت، مالكم وللناس، كُفُّوا عن الناس ولا تدعوا أحدًا إلى أمرِكم، فوالله لو أنَّ أهلَ السماوات وأهلَ الأرضين اجتمعوا على أن يهدوا عبدًا يُريد اللهُ ضلالته ما استطاعوا على أن يهدوه، ولو أنَّ أهلَ السماوات وأهلَ الأرضين اجتمعوا على أن يُضِلُّوا عبدًا يُريدُ اللهُ هدايته ما استطاعوا أن يُضِلُّوه. كُفُّوا عن الناس ولا يقولُ أحدٌ: عَمِّي وأخي وابن عَمِّي وجاري، فإنَّ اللهَ إذا أرادَ بِعَبدٍ خيرًا طَيَّبَ روحَه، فلا يسمعُ معروفًا إلَّا عرفه، ولا مُنْكَرًا إلَّا أنكره، ثُمَّ يقذِفُ اللهُ في قَلبِهِ كَلِمَةً يَجْمَعُ بِهَا أمْرَهُ”.

In another hadith:

From Fudayl ibn Yasar, who said: I said to Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him): "Do we invite the Sunnis to this affair?" He said: "No, O Fudayl. When God wills good for a servant He commands an angel, who takes him by the neck and brings him into this affair whether willingly or unwillingly."

وعن فُضَيل بِنِ يَسَار، قال: “قلتُ لأبي عبد الله (عليه السلام): ندعو الناسَ إلى هذا الامر؟ فقال: لا يا فُضيل، إنَّ الله إذا أراد بِعبدٍ خَيرًا أمَرَ مَلَكًا فأخَذَ بِعُنُقِهِ فأدخَلَه في هذا الأمرِ طَائِعًا أو كَارِهًا”.

At times where security conditions were improved,

Missionary work was permitted only under explicit permission from the Imam.

When a prominent Shi’i debator (mutakallim), known as Mu’min al-Taq, attempted to enter upon Imam al-Sadiq’s house, after persisting in debate with the Imam’s permission -

Imam al-Sadiq had a young boy relay the Imam’s sentiment regarding the matter:

"So the boy says to Mu’min al-Taq:

‘Tell me, did your Imam command you to debate with Sunnis?'

Mu’min al-Taq says: 'No.'

So the boy says to him: 'Then you are debating with Sunnis without your Imam having commanded you, and so you are disobedient to him.' And he defeats him in argument.

Imam al-Sadiq says: O Ibn Sinan, do not give Mu’min al-Taq permission to enter upon me, for disputation and argumentation corrupt the intention and efface the religion."

فقال يقول له الصبي : أخبرني عن إمامك أمرك أن تخاصم الناس؟ فلا يقدر أن يكذب عليّ ، فيقول : لا ، فيقول له : فأنت تخاصم الناس من غير أن يأمرك إمامك ، فأنت عاص له ، فيخصمه ، يا ابن سنان لا تأذن له عليّ ، فان الكلام والخصومات تفسد النية وتمحق الدين

Only by understanding this isolationist nature of Ja’fari Shi’ism, a religion which functioned in a top-down fashion in controlling its followers,

Can we finally begin to comprehend how to approach Shi’i hadith, which is the primary objective of our research.

B) A CLOSELY GUARDED CORPUS

When Abu Basir, a close companion of Imam al-Sadiq, visited Imam al-Sadiq’s house with Medina -

He had prepared a long list of questions to ask the Imam.

Yet - the Imam stopped Abu Basir before he asked anything, saying:

“Have you ever concealed any ahadith that I have narrated to you?"

Abu Basir had in fact, not.

He had not concealed a single hadith, as recalled in al-Mahasen of Barqi:

“Wallah, I had not concealed a single hadith”

فوالله، ما وجدت حديثاً واحداً كتمته

Imam al-Sadiq calmed Abu Basir and reassured him that he did not sin in doing revealing the ahadith.

Abu Basir would only sin by revealing the Imam’s ahadith to non-Shi’a, however, he is more than free to reveal them to his Shi’a brothers:

(Bihar al-Anwar)

Narrated Abu Basir, who said: I asked Abu Abdillah about a large number of hadiths, and he said: "Have you ever concealed any ahadith that I have narrated to you?"

So I remained trying to recall if I ever did, and when he saw my state of anxiety -

The Imam said: "As for what you have narrated to your companions, there is no harm in that. Spreading it without the Imam’s permission (idha'a) means only narrating it to those who are not your companions."

٤٨ ـ سن : أبي ، عن حماد بن عيسى ، عن حسين بن مختار ، عن أبي بصير قال : سألت أباعبدالله عن حديث كثير ، فقال : هل كتمت على شيئا قط؟ فبقيت أتذكر ، فلما رأى مابي قال : أما ماحدثت به أصحابك فلا بأس ، إنما الاذاعة أن تحدث به غير أصحابك

Spreading the Imam’s ahadith without the Imam’s permission is a serious charge known as “Idha’a” اذاعة (i.e, publicizing).

Imam al-Sadiq says:

(Al-Kafi)

Yunus ibn Ya'qub, from some of his companions, from Abu Abdillah (al-Sadiq), who said: "Whoever publicizes our ahadith without permission - he has not killed us in error, rather - he has killed us Ahlulbayt intentionally”

يونس بن يعقوب، عن بعض أصحابه، عن أبي عبد الله (عليه السلام) قال: " ما قتلنا من أذاع حديثنا قتل خطأ ولكن قتلنا قتل

The gravity of this implicaton means:

Even a narration from the Imam as simple, unanimously agreed and uncontroversial as “whomever says ‘There is no God but Allah’ sincerely, he is guaranteed heaven’ -

Requires special permission from the Imam, before being narrated to non-Shia:

From Aban ibn Taghlub, from Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him), who said: "O Aban, when you arrive in Kufa, narrate this hadith: 'whomever testifies ‘There is no God but Allah’ sincerely, he is guaranteed heaven

He said: I said to him: "People of every kind come to me (Sunni and Shia), should I narrate this hadith to all of them?"

He said: "Yes, O Aban. For when the Day of Resurrection comes and God gathers the first and the last, 'there is no god but God' will be stripped from them -- except from whoever was upon this affair."

عن أبان بن تغلب، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام، قال: يا أبان، إذا قدمت الكوفة فارو هذا الحديث " من شهد أن لا إله إلا الله مخلصا، وجبت له الجنة " قال: قلت له: انه يأتيني من كل صنف من الأصناف فأروى لهم هذا الحديث؟ - قال: نعم يا أبان، انه إذا كان يوم القيامة، وجمع الله الأولين والآخرين فيسلب منهم " لا إله إلا الله " الا من كان على هذا الامر.

The impermissibility of idha’a and the order to spread the Imam’s ahadith only among the Shi’a -

It means we must necessarily significantly revise the idea of there being non-Shi’i narrators in Shi’i ahadith.

The reasons for this are as follows:

1 ) Imam al-Sadiq saw non-Shia as spiritually unworthy of receiving the ahadith he reserved for his Shi’a:

(Basa'ir al-Darajat)

“Narrated Anbasa ibn Mus'ab, from Abu Abdillah (al-Sadiq), who said:

“Were it not that it would fall into the hands of non-Shi’a just as other things have fallen,

I would give you a book after which you would have no need of anyone until the Qa'im rises -- may God hasten his relief."

بصائر الدرجات[ أحمد بن محمد عن علي بن إسماعيل عن علي بن النعمان عن عنبسة بن مصعب عن أبي عبد الله ع قال لو لا أن يقع عند غيركم كما قد وقع غيره لأعطيتكم كتابا لا تحتاجون إلى أحد حتى يقوم القائم عجل الله تعالى فرجه

2 ) Sunnis often reported Shi’i narrations to the state, after the Shi’a performed idha’a - leading to Shi’i death

5 - Yunus, from al-Ala', from Muhammad ibn Muslim, who said: I heard Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) say: "A servant will be raised on the Day of Resurrection having not shed a drop of blood, yet something like a cupping vessel or more will be handed to him, and it will be said to him: 'This is your share of the blood of so-and-so.' He will say: 'O Lord, You know that You took me while I had shed no blood.' It will be said: 'Yes, but you heard such-and-such a narration from so-and-so and narrated it about him, and it was passed along (by non-Shi’a) until it reached so-and-so the tyrant (i.e, Caliph or governor), who killed him on account of it. This is your share of his blood.'"

٥ ـ يونس ، عن العلاء ، عن محمد بن مسلم قال سمعت أبا جعفر عليه‌السلام يقول يحشر العبد يوم القيامة وما ندي دما فيدفع إليه شبه المحجمة أو فوق ذلك فيقال له

هذا سهمك من دم فلان فيقول يا رب إنك لتعلم أنك قبضتني وما سفكت دما فيقول بلى سمعت من فلان رواية كذا وكذا فرويتها عليه فنقلت حتى صارت إلى فلان الجبار فقتله عليها وهذا سهمك من دمه.

3 ) The deeds of non-Shi’a are useless

It is improbable for a Sunni to be able to embed himself in the Shi’i community -

Learning its intricacies (the Imam’s station, fiqhi ahkam on hajj, umrah, fasting, wudu’, etc) -

When the Imam taught the Shi’a that all of these actions are useless for Sunnis.

The Shi’a would simply never accept him as one of their own, regardless of the Sunni’s good deeds and honesty.

So he’d never be considered an accepted narrator:

“From Zurara, from Abu Ja'far (al-Baqir) who said:

“The peak of the matter, its pinnacle, its key, the door of all things, and the pleasure of the Most Merciful - is obedience to the Imam after ma’rifa of him.

For if a man were to stand in prayer all night and fast all day, and give all his wealth in charity, and perform the pilgrimage his entire life,

Yet did not have wilayah of the Imam so as to take him as his Imam and have all his deeds directed by him toward God - he would have no right upon God for any reward, nor would he be among the people of faith."

عن زرارة ، عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال : ذروة الأمر وسنامه ومفتاحه وباب الأشياء ورضا الرحمان الطاعة للإمام بعد معرفته ، أما لو أن رجلاً قام ليله وصام نهاره ، وتصدق بجميع ماله وحج جميع دهره ، ولم يعرف ولاية ولي الله فيواليه وتكون جميع أعماله بدلالته إليه ، ما كان له على الله حق في ثوابه ولا كان من أهل الإيمان

Hence,

three main reasons precluded Sunnis and non-Shi’a from being accepted by the Shi’i community as narrators:

Spiritual impurity
Possibility of espionage
Useless deeds

With that said,

The most important question becomes:

How is it that in the Shi’i books of rijal (biographical evaluation) are there characters recorded as Sunni -

And these same characters are found as narrators in Shi’i ahadith?

C) THE SUNNI NARRATORS

The most defining feature of Ja’fari Shi’ism, aside from Imamate, is the concept which forms 90% of the religion:

Taqiyya (dissimulation)

As recorded in al-Kafi, Imam al-Sadiq says:

“9/10th of religion is in taqiyya. There is no religion to he whom has no taqiyya“

In previous articles, we have previously discussed that taqiyya defined Shi’ism to the most extreme extents imaginable.

It is a concept - with unbelievable depth and intricacy - that it “extends more widely than what is between the heavens and the earth”.

(Kitab al-Taqiyya by al-‘Ayyashi)

“Imam al-Sadiq said: "There is no religion for one who has no taqiyya, and indeed taqiyya extends more widely than what is between the heavens and the earth."

قال الصادق عليه السلام: لا دين لمن لا تقية له، وإن التقية لأوسع مما بين السماء والأرض

And indeed,

The Shi’a applied taqiyya similarly to the most extreme extents, by assimilating themselves deeply in Sunni environments.

Shaykh al-Tusi says regarding one of the narrators of our ahadith by the name of Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Yusuf al-Katib:

"Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Yusuf al-Katib, his kunya is Abu al-Hasan. Ahmad ibn Abdun said: he is Abu Bakr al-Shafi'i, born in the year two hundred and eighty-one in al-Husayniyya.

Outwardly, he was a jurist following the Shafi'i Sunni school of jurisprudence.

Inwardly, he was an adherent of the religion of the Imamiyyah (i.e, Ja’fari) Shi’a inwardly holding the view of the Imami Shia.

He was a jurist in both schools, and he has works according to both schools."

وقال الشيخ (601): " محمد بن إبراهيم بن يوسف الكاتب: يكنى أبا الحسن، وقال أحمد بن عبدون: هو أبو بكر الشافعي، مولده سنه إحدى وثمانين ومائتين بالحسينية، وكان يتفقه على مذهب الشافعي في الظاهر ويرى رأي الشيعة الإمامية في الباطن، وكان فقيها على المذهبين، وله على المذهبين كتب،

Al-Katib’s case was not unique.

There are numerous companions of our Imams who were outwardly Sunni jurists, but inwardly Shi’a and loyal companions of our Imams.

We shall list examples of the most prominent recorded “Sunni” narrators in our Shi’i hadith corpus.

Our first example will be of a personality by the name of Hafs ibn Ghiyath.

Sunni scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqlani in Fath al-Bari says regarding Hafs:

“Hafs ibn Ghiyath ibn Talq ibn Muawiya al-Nakha'i, Abu Amr, the Kufan judge, was among the firmly established imams of hadith, and there was consensus on his reliability and the validity of citing him as proof.”

حفص بن غياث بن طلق بن معاوية النخعي، أبو عمرو القاضي الكوفي، من الأئمة الأثبات، أجمعوا على توثيقه والاحتجاج به

Sunni scholar Al-Dhahabi in Mizan al-I’tidal:

“Hafs ibn Ghiyath, Abu Umar al-Nakha'i the judge, was one of the trustworthy imams. (Sunni) narrators wrote three thousand or four thousand hadiths from his memory.”

Hafs’ reputation as a reliable Sunni narrator and trustworthy jurist was so widespread,

That even Shaykh al-Tusi describes him as a “trustworthy Sunni who narrated from Imam al-Sadiq”:

(Al-Tusi’s al-‘Iddah)

And for the reason we have stated, the Shi’a acted upon what was transmitted by Hafs ibn Ghiyath, Ghiyath ibn Kalub, Nuh ibn Darraj, al-Sukuni, and other Sunnis like them who narrated our Imams(peace be upon them).

و لأجل ما قلناه عملت الطائفة بما رواه حفص بن غِیاث [3]، و غِیاث بن کلوب [4]، و نوح بن دراج [5]، و السکونِی [6]، و غِیرهم من العامة عن أئمتنا علِیهم

However -

Hafs had a secret.

His persona as a Sunni jurist and judge was all but a carefully crafted performance, ordered by Imam al-Sadiq:

Abu Abdillah (al-Sadiq) said:

“If you are able to keep your identity as Shi’i unknown, then do so.

It is no harm to you if people do not praise you, and it is no harm to you to be censured in the eyes of people while being praised in the eyes of God. (i.e, even if there are Shi’a who curse you by assuming you are a Sunni judge - do not let it affect you)

The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) used to say: there is no good in this world except for one of two men: a man who increases in goodness every day, and a man who makes up for his imminent death through repentance. But how is repentance available to him?

By God, even if he prostrated until his neck broke, God would not accept anything from a man except through wilayah of us the Ahlulbayt. Know that whoever recognizes our right as Imamsand hopes for reward through us is content with half a mudd of food each day, and whatever covers his nakedness and shelters his head, and they in that state are fearful and anxious."

ثم قال أبو عبد الله (عليه السلام): " إن قدرتم أن لا تعرفوا فافعلوا، و ما عليك إن لم يثن عليك الناس، و ما عليك أن تكون مذموما عند الناس، و كنت عند الله محمودا، إن أمير المؤمنين (عليه السلام) كان يقول: لا خير في الدنيا إلا لأحد رجلين: رجل يزداد كل يوم إحسانا، و رجل يتدارك منيته بالتوبة، و أنى له بالتوبة؟ و الله لو سجد حتى ينقطع عنقه، ما قبل الله منه إلا بولايتنا أهل البيت، ألا و من عرف حقنا و رجا الثواب فينا، رضي بقوته نصف مد كل يوم، و ما يستر عورته و ما أكن رأسه، و هم في ذلك خائفون وجلون

Despite Hafs’ earnest attempts to keep his identity as Shi’i secret -

Word got through of meetings between him and Imam al-Sadiq, that it alarmed Hafs’ own son!

Hafs’ response was that he denied ever seeing Imam al-Sadiq, nor that Imam al-Sadiq ever saw him!

In a Sunni report:

(Al-Jarh wal Ta’dil by al-Razi)

“My father narrated to me, saying: Amr ibn Hafs ibn Ghiyath narrated to us, saying: I said to my father: "Abu al-Bukhtari claims that he saw you in the presence of Jafar ibn Muhammad!" He said: "He did not see me, nor did I see him!”

حدثني أبي قال حدثنا عمرو بن حفص بن غياث قال قلت لأبي: زعم أبو البختري أنه رآك عند جعفر بن محمد؟! فقال: ما رآني ولا رأيته

Suspicion had clearly entered the caliphal court of Hafs’ association with Imam al-Sadiq

That al-Fadl ibn al-Rabee’ (vizier of the caliph al-Mansur), who was sympathetic to Imam al-Sadiq’s cause,

Issued a warning to Hafs to cease from narrating from Imam al-Sadiq:

(Al-Jarh wal Ta’dil by al-Razi)

Amr ibn Hafs narrates:

Al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi wrote to my father saying: "Do not transmit hadith on the authority of Jafar ibn Muhammad."

كتب الفضل بن الربيع إلى ابى فقال: لا تحدث عن جعفر بن محمد

For the most part,

Hafs emerged unscathed from caliphal persecution and enjoys positive Sunni remembrance.

However,

Sunni commentators who retrospectively evaluate his ahadith objectively notice discrepancies between Hafs’ words that show he is untruthful regarding his Shi’i connections.

On one hand, Hafs says:

“Ja’far did not see me, nor did I see him!”

On the other hand,

The well-established Sunni jurist al-Fadl ibn Dukayn affirms that Hafs personally told him حدثنا that Ja’far provided him with ahadith such as the one below:

(Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d)

7565 - He said: Al-Fadl ibn Dukayn informed us, saying: Hafs ibn Ghiyath personally informed us a hadith he heard from Jafar ibn Muhammad, on the authority of his father, who said: Abu Bakr ordered the killing of dogs, and Abdullah ibn Jafar had a dog under Abu Bakr's bed, so he said: "O father, my dog!" He said: "Do not kill my son's dog." Then he ordered it to be taken away. He said: And Abu Bakr had married his mother Asma bint Umays after Jafar.

7565- قال: أَخبَرنا الفَضْلُ بْنُ دُكَيْنٍ، قال: حَدَّثَنَا حفص بن غياث، عن جعفر بن محمد، عن أبيه قال: أمر أبو بكر بقتل الكلاب، ولعبد الله بن جعفر كلب تحت سرير أبي بكر, فقال: يا أبت, كلبي، فقال لا تقتلوا كلب ابني، ثم أمر به فأُخِذ, قال: وكان أبو بكر قد خلف على أمه أسماء بنت عُمَيس بعد جعفر

These discrepancies were not without criticism.

Abdullah ibn Idris, a classical Sunni jurist, swore by Allah that Hafs was Shi’i - and a theologically committed one, at that:

(Al-Dhababi’s Siyar al-A’lam al-Nubala’)

“Then I found testimony from Abdullah ibn Idris confirming the Shia affiliation of Hafs and his extremism in that regard, for Abdullah ibn Idris swore by Allah that Hafs was a Shi’i.”

ثم وجدت شهادة من عبدالله بن إدريس تؤكد تشيّع حفص وغلوّه في ذلك، فقد أقسم عبدالله بن إدريس أنّ حفصاً شيعيّ

Our second example will be of a personality by the name of Nuh ibn Darraj.

Sunni rijal describes Nuh as a Sunni judge, from among the followers of Abu Hanifa:

“Nuh ibn Darraj al-Nakha'i, their mawla, Abu Muhammad: a judge, among the companions of Abu Hanifa. A Kufan.

His father was a weaver, of Nabataean origin, and had four sons who all took up judicial office. Nuh held the judgeship in Kufa.”

نوح بن دراج النخعي، مولاهم، أبو محمد: قاض، من أصحاب أبي حنيفة. كوفي. كان أبوه حائكا، من النبط، له أربعة أبناء، تولوا القضاء. وولي نوح بالكوفة

Nuh’s Sunnism and association with Sunni figures, was like that of the judge - discussed above - that succeeded him (Hafs ibn Ghiyath).

Shaykh al-Tusi affirms this reputation by stating that Nuh was one of the trusted Sunni narrators of our books:

(Al-Tusi’s al-‘Iddah)

Yet however,

When we look into reports of Shi’a who personally knew him - we are presented a different story.

(Rijal al-Najashi)

Ibn Faddal said:

“Nuh ibn Darraj the judge was also among our Shi’i companions, and he used to conceal his Shi’ism”.

نوح بن دراج القاضي، كان أيضا من أصحابنا، و كان يخفي أمره

(Rijal al-Najashi)

“Muhammad ibn Sukayn said: Nuh ibn Darraj is the one who converted me to Shi’ism”

برنا أحمد بن محمد بن هارون قال : حدثنا أحمد بن محمد ، قال : حدثنا محمد بن عبد الله بن غالب قال : حدثنا الطاطري قال : قال محمد بن سكين : نوح بن دراج دعاني إلى هذا الامر.

(Rijal al-Kashi)

Muhammad ibn Mas'ud said: I asked Abu Ja'far Hamdan ibn Ahmad al-Kufi about Nuh ibn Darraj, and he said: He was among the Shia, and he was the judge in Kufa.

وقال الكشّي : قال محمد بن مسعود : سألت أبا جعفر حمدان بن أحمد الكوفي عن نوح بن درّاج ، فقال : كان من الشيعة وكان القاضي بالكوفة ، فقيل له : لِمَ دخلت في أعمالهم ؟ فقال : لمْ أدخل في أعمال هؤلاء حتّى سألت أخي جميلاً فقلت : لِمَ لمْ تحضر المسجد ؟ فقال : ليس لي أزار

In the end,

Giants in Shi’i rijal such as Aga Buzurg al-Tehrani, and esteemed scholars such as Wahid Behbehani (founder of the Usuli scholar) and al-Shahid al-Thani -

Agree that that many figures in Shi’i rijal are classified as “Sunni” عامي, whereas they were actually Shi’i.

Aga Buzurg Tehrani came to a conclusion that the term “Sunni” in Shi’i rijal actually means:

“Shi’i with heavy interaction with Sunni and narrated their ahadith”

Tehrani further states that a book of Rijal on Shi’i narrators must have necessarily only focused on Shi’a -

There is no reason to mention non-Shi’a personalities when authoring a book on the biographies of Shi’i personalities:

(Al-Dharee’a ila Tasaneef al-Shi’a by Buzurg Tehrani)

“The term "Sunni in doctrine" in Shi’i Rijal does not mean more than that the man mixed with the Sunnis and transmitted their narrations, even while following the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them.

It does not mean that he was from the Ahl al-Sunna and a follower of the four Sunni Imams.

Al-Shahid al-Thani interpreted "Sunni" in this sense for many individuals to whom the term was applied in our rijal literature, even though they were from the Shia and indeed from the companions of the Imams.

He stated this explicitly in his marginal notes on the Khulasa, in the entry for Abu al-Salt al-Harawi al-Shii, Abd al-Salam ibn Salih, whom al-Shaykh recorded once under his name and once under his kunya, noting in both places that he was Sunni. Al-Shahid said: "This suggests that he mixed with the general public and transmitted their reports" - up to his words - "like Muhammad ibn Ishaq, the author of the Siyar, and al-Amash, and a great many others."

Al-Mirza al-Rijali accepted al-Shahid's words in al-Rijal al-Kabir and affirmed them, as did Ustadh al-Wahid al-Bihbahani in his annotations on it, saying: "It is plain that the matter is as such."

I say: perhaps the indication for this interpretation is that the books compiled for the biographical entries of Shia men, as is apparent from their authors, must by their authors' own design be entirely free of entries for a genuinely Sunni figure. If the term Ammi is applied to a man in such works, it is understood to mean operating in a Sunni environment, not Sunni in creed, especially when there are additional indications of his being Shia.”

إنه عامي المذهب لم يرد منه الا كون الرجل مختلطا مع العامة وراويا لأحاديثهم وإن كان متابعا لأئمة أهل البيت (ع) لا كونه من أهل السنة والمتابعين للأئمة الأربعة. وقد حمل الشهيد الثاني العامي على هذا المعنى في كثير ممن أطلق عليهم العامي في كتب رجالنا مع كونهم من الشيعة بل من أصحاب الأئمة ، وصرح بذلك في حاشيته على الخلاصة عند ترجمه أبي الصلت الهروي الشيعي عبد السلام بن صالح الذي ترجمه الشيخ مرة باسمه وأخرى بكنيته وذكر في الموضعين أنه عامي قال الشهيد [ وهذا يشعر بأنه مخالط للعامة وراو لأخبارهم ـ إلى قوله ـ كمحمد بن إسحاق صاحب السير والأعمش وخلق كثير ] وقد ارتضى كلام الشهيد الميرزا الرجالي في الرجال الكبير وصدقه الأستاد الوحيد البهبهاني في تعليقته عليه فقال [ لا يخفي أن الأمر كذلك ] وأقول لعل القرينة على هذا الحمل أن الكتب المهياة لتراجم رجال الشيعة كما يظهر من مؤلفيها لا بد أن تكون خالية عن ترجمه العامي الحقيقي رأسا حسب ما بنى عليه مؤلفوها ، فلو أطلق العامي فيها على رجل يحمل على أنه عامي المشرب لا أنه عامي العقيدة ولا سيما مع بعض القرائن على تشيعه

D) CONCLUSION

We do not deny that there are indeed Sunni narrators in Shi’i books of hadith.

However,

They are not present in Shi’i ahadith of theology and fiqh (jurisprudence) - as our Imams warn us from deriving our religion from Sunnis.

Theology and fiqh are basically 99% of of Shi’i religion.

For theology and fiqh,

Shi’i scholars wouldn’t, for example, take upon a hadith from Abu Hurraira narrating from Imam Ali in Sunni books.

However, they would take upon a hadith from a “Sunni” - mentioned in the Shi’i books of rijal, who narrates from Imam Ali.

This is because the “Sunni” mentioned in the Shi’i ahadith of theology and fiqh is actually a Shi’i who lived among Sunnis for taqiyya reasons.

Sunni ahadith may be present in Shi’i books focused on secondary matters such as:

Miracles of the Imams, historical events lacking deep detail in our ahadith, dua (supplication), etc.

Purely as a form of offering perspective, as Allama Majlisi puts it:

(Bihar al-Anwar, vol 1, page 24)

“We may cite Sunnis reports to respond to them (i.e, their claims), or to clarify the source of taqiyya (in Shi’i reports) or to support what was narrated in our reports”

وقد نورد من كتب أخبارهم للرد عليهم، أو لبيان مورد التقية، أو لتأييد ما روي من طريقنا

Allama Majlisi did cite Sunni reports - but never in theology nor fiqh.

In explaining why, as a Shi’i author, he took this decision -

Allama Majlisi says:

(Bihar al-Anwar, vol 1, page 29)

“We are not deprived from the blessings of the pure imams (peace be upon them) - for us to have to resort the reports of the opponents (Sunnis).”

عدم افتقارنا ببركات الأئمة الطاهرين (عليهم السلام) إلىأخبار المخالفين

In our next part,

We will focus on how to derive ahadith from the Imams by Shi’a - putting into mind their intradoctrinal differences (Waqifa, Fathiyya, etc)

Wasalaam

John Andaluso