Hadith alThaqalayn
A Study of Its Tawatur
`Abaqat al'Anwar:
Among Sunni authors one who has written a book on the topic of the chains of transmission (turuq) of this tradition is alHafiz Abu alFadl Muhammad ibn Tahir alMaqdisi (448 507/1056 1113), known as Ibn al Qaysarani as mentioned by the biographers (Isma`il Pasha in Hadiyyatal`arifin (ii, 82), al'Ansab almuttafiqah and alJam` bayn rijal alSahihayn [Hyderabad]). [3]
However, the most exhaustive study of the subject is
the one undertaken by al'Imam Sayyid Hamid Husayn Lakhnowi quddisa sirruh in the
twelfth part of his great work `Abaqat al'anwar fi imamat al 'A'immat al'athar.
Sayyid Hamid Husayn (1246 1306/ 1830 1888) wrote this work in Persian as a
refutation of the seventh chapter of Tuhfehye ithna `ashariyyah of Shah `Abd al`Aziz
alDehlawi (1159 1239/1746 1823). In twelve chapters of this work, which is said to
be a plagiary in Persian of alSawa`iq almubiqah by an obscure writer Nasr Allah
alKabuli, Shah `Abd al`Aziz severely attacked Shi`i doctrines, beliefs and practices.
Shah `Abd al`Aziz's book was an effort to check the expanding influence of Shi'ism,
which had begun to flourish under the patronage of the Shi`i kingdom of Awadh and under
the religious leadeship of the great Shi`i scholar and mujtahid Sayyid Dildar `Ali ibn
Muhammad Mu`in alNaqawi alNasirabadi (116 1235/1752 1819), known as Ghufran
Ma'ab.
Shah `Abd al`Aziz's attack and accusations
drew a massive response from Shi`i scholars. `Allamah `Abd al`Aziz Tabataba'i mentions
the following authors who wrote refutations of Tuhfehye ithna `ashariyyah: [4]
1. Sayyid Dildar `Ali alNaqawi alNasirabadi,
who wrote five books refuting various chapters of
the Tuhfah: alSawarim al'ilahiyyat fi qat` shubuhat `abid al'Uzza wa alLat
(1215/1800), a refutation of the fifth chapter of the Tuhfah regarding theological issues;
Khatimat alSawarim, a refutation of the seventh chapter concerning the Shi`i doctrine of
Imamate; Husam al'Islam wa siham almalam (Calcutta, 1215/1800), a refutation of the
sixth chapter of the Tuhfah concerning prophethood; Ihya' alSunnah wa imatat albid`ah
bi ta`n al'asinnah (1281/1864), a refutation of the eighth chapter of the Tuhfah;
alZulfiqar, a refutation of the twelfth chapter.
2. Shaykh Jamal alDin Abu Ahmad Mirza Muhammad ibn `Abd alNabi Akbarabadi (d. 1232/1816),
who wrote Sayf Allah almaslul `ala
mukharribi Din alRasul, in six big volumes, as refutation of all the chapters of the
Tuhfah.
3. `Allamah Mirza Muhammad ibn 'Inayat Ahmad Khan Kashmiri Dehlawi (d. 1235/1820),
who wrote Nuzhat al'Ithna `Ashariyyah fi
alradd `ala alTuhfat al'ithna `ashariyyah in twelve volumes, of which the first,
third, fourth, fifth and seventh volumes were published (1255/ 1839) and others remained
incomplete.
4. Mawlawi Hasan ibn Aman Allah Dehlawi `Azimabadi (d. c. 1260/ 1844),
who wrote Tajhiz aljaysh li kasr sanamay Quraysh,
as a refutation of all the chapters of the Tuhfah.
5. `Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Quli ibn Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Lackhnowi Kanturi (d. 1260/1844),
father of Sayyid Hamid Husayn, who wrote five
books in refutation of different chapters of the Tuhfah: alSayf alnasiri on the first
chapter, Taqlid almaka'id (Calcutta, 1262/1846) on the second chapter, Burhan
alsa`adah on the seventh chapter, Tashyid almata'in li kashf aldagha'in in two
volumes (1283/1866) on the tenth chapter, and Masari` alafham li qal` al'awham.
6. Mawlawi Khayr alDin Muhammad Allahabadi,
who wrote Hidayat al`Aziz (or Hadiyyat al`Aziz)
as a refutation of the fourth chapter of the Tuhfah about usul alhadith and rijal.
7. `Allamah Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Dildar `Ali (d. 1284/ 1867) known as Sultan al`Ulama',
who wrote two books, one in Persian and the
other in Arabic, in refutation of the seventh chapter of the Tuhfah concerning Imamate, of
which the former was entitled alBawariq almubiqah. He also wrote Ta`n alrimah in
refutation of the tenth chapter.
8. Sayyid Ja`far Abu `Ali Khan ibn Ghulam `Ali Musawi Banarasi,
who wrote Burhan alsadiqin and Mahajjat
alBurhan (a condensation of the former) in refutation of the seventh chapter and Taksir
alsanamayn in refutation of the tenth chapter.
9. `Allamah Sayyid Mufti Muhammad `Abbas Musawi Tustari Jaza'iri (d. 1306/1888),
who wrote alJawahir al`abqariyyah in refutation
of the Tuhfah's seventh chapter.
10. AlShaykh Ahmad ibn `Ali Kirmanshahi (d. 1235/1819),
who wrote Kashf alshubhah `an hilyat almut`ah
(MS dated 1227 H. in the National Museum, Karachi), in refutation of the ninth chapter.
However, the most important work that was written as
a refutation of the seventh chapter of the Tuhfah conceming the Shi`i doctrine of Imamate
was `Abaqat al'anwar, which was destined to take its place not only as the greatest work
on Imamate ever written but also perhaps as one of the greatest masterpieces of
scholarship ever compiled on a doctrinal issue anywhere in the history of religion.
In the seventh chapter of the Tuhfah, where Shah
`Abd al`Aziz attacks the Shi`i doctrine of Imamate, he claims that the Shi`i claim is
based on only six verses of the Qur'an and twelve traditions of the Prophet (S).
Accordingly, Sayyid Hamid Husayn wrote his book in two sections, the first concerning the
Qur'anic basis of Imamate and the second concerning its basis in the Prophet's hadith. The
first section has not been published. The second section consists of 12 parts, each of
which deals with the sanad (chains of transmission) and the meaning (dalalah) of one of
the twelve traditions of the Prophet (S) concerning `Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) or the Ahl
alBayt (A) rejected by Shah `Abd al`Aziz as supporting the doctrine of Imamate.
The first part studies the isnad and dalalah
of what is called Hadith alGhadir. [5] It is contained in three volumes, of which the first was published in
1293/1876, in 1251 pages and the remaining two, of 609 and 399 pages, in 1294/1877.
The second part deals with Hadith
alManzilah. [6] It appeared
in 1295/1878 in 977 pages.
The third part deals with Hadith alWilayah.
[7] It was published in 1303/1885 in
585 pages.
The fourth part deals with Hadith alTayr.
[8] It was published in 1306/1888 in
two volumes of 512 and 224 pages from Matba`ahye Bustan, Lucknow.
The fifth part deals with Hadith Madinat
al`ilm. [9] It consists of
two volumes, of which the first, in 745 pages, appeared in 1317/1899 and the second, in
600 pages, in 1327/1909.
The sixth part deals with Hadith alTashbih.
[10] It was published in 1301/1883
in two volumes of 456 and 248 pages.
The seventh part, which deals with Hadith
alMunasabah [11] and was
completed by Sayyid Muhammad Sa`id ibn Sayyid Nasir Husayn ibn Sayyid Hamid Husayn, has
not been published yet.
The eighth part, dealing with Hadith alNur,
[12] was published in 1303/1885 in
786 pages by Matba`ahye Mashriq al'anwar, Lucknow.
The ninth part, dealing with Hadith alRayah,
[l3] has also remained unpublished.
The tenth part dealing with the hadith...
(al-haqqu ma`a `Aliyyin wa `Aliyyun ma`al haqq) [14]
also remains unpublished.
The eleventh part dealing with Hadith
alMuqatalah [15] also
remains unpublished.
The twelfth part deals with Hadith
alThaqalayn and Hadith alSafinah. [16] It was published in two big volumes, the first of which in 664 pages
appeared in 1314/1896 and the second in 891 pages in 1351/ 1932.
Sayyid Hamid Husayn and his work `Abaqat have
been held in great esteem amongst leading Shi`i scholars and many of them, from Mirza
Sayyid Hasan Shirazi, the great marji` and juristic authority of his days, to contemporary
scholars, have extolled the author and his great work. Sayyid `Ali Milani, in the first
volume of his condensed translation of `Abaqat into Arabic, quotes the statements of
various scholars. Here we will confine ourselves to the opinion expressed by the great
scholar `Allamah Aqa Buzurg Tehrani, the author of alDhari`ah ila tasanif alShi`ah,
about Sayyid Hamid Husayn and his work. He says about the author:
(He is) one of the greatest of Imami theologians (mutakallimun) and one of the greatest and deeply learned of Shi`i scholars who lived in the early part of this century. He was profoundly learned, and had extensive knowledge and mastery over the Islamic traditions and heritage and attained such a station in it that none of his contemporaries or anyone of those who came after him, or even most of the celebrities of the preceding centuries, have been able to attain. He spent his entire noble life in fathoming the mysteries of religiosity and in the defence of Islam and the realm of sincere religion. I don't know of anyone in the latter centuries who waged a jihad like him and sacrificed everything in his possession in the way of everlasting truths. The times, in all ages and periods, will never see a compeer of him in his research, his extensive knowledge, his precision, intelligence, and the immensity of his memory and retention.
Aqa Buzurg Tehrani says about the `Abaqat:
"It is the greatest of books compiled on the subject (ie. Imamate) from the outset of
the Islamic era to the present." And what he says about the author and his book is
perfectly representative of the opinion of leading Shi`i scholars on this matter. [17]
The Author's Approach in `Abaqat:
`Abaqat al'anwar was written in Persian because
Shah `Abd al`Aziz's Tuhfah, which it refuted, was also in Persian. As mentioned above,
Shah `Abd al`Aziz had cited five verses of the Qur'an and twelve traditions of the
Prophet (S) as constituting the basis of Shi`i argument conceming the Imamate of the Imams
of the Ahl alBayt (A). This was itself a misrepresentation of the Shi`i case, for there
are hundreds of verses and traditions, many of which are scattered throughout the Sunni
hadith corpus as well as works in tafsir. Even the verses and traditions that he cites are
dismissed summarily by him on, as Sayyid Hamid Husayn shows, flimsy and untenable
pretexts.
The published parts of `Abaqat deal with eight of
these traditions, each part dealing with the sanad and doctrinal import of one of them.
Sayyid Hamid Husayn's approach in each of these parts is to show that the hadith is a
mutawatir one, having been narrated by Sunni traditionists of every generation from the
time of the Companions to the scholars of his own era. He devotes a section to each of the
narrators, quotes the tradition as narrated by him, and cites the opinions of biographers
and Sunni authorities of `ilm alrijal regarding his reliability, trustworthiness and his
scholarly station.
After discussing the sanad aspect of the tradition,
he goes on to deal with its meaning, dealing one by one with all the various arguments
that have been advanced by Sunni scholars to refute what the Shi`ah assert to be its
doctrinal implications. His treatment is so logical, meticulous, precise, thorough and
exhaustive that one cannot but be struck with wonder at his prodigious, or rather
miraculous, learning and his encompassing mastery over the entire Islamic heritage of
thirteen centuries before him which lies in front of him like an open book.
This sketchy study of `Abaqat relates to its part
concerning the Hadith alThaqalayn. At first we will give a list of its narrators
belonging to every century of the Hijrah calendar. A brief reference is given under the
name of each narrator concerning his standing with Sunni authorities on rijal. We have
included the names of other narrators from the appendix (mulhaqat) to `Abaqat by Sayyid
`Abd al`Aziz Tabataba'i, which has been included in the condensed Arabic translation by
Sayyid `Ali Milani.
Reprints of most parts of `Abaqat al'anwar have
appeared in Iran. The first section of the first part, dealing with the sanad aspect of
Hadith alGhadir was published in 1369/1949 in 600 pages from Tehran. The twelfth part,
dealing with Hadith alThaqalayn and Hadith alSafinah, was published in six parts and
three volumes (vol. 1 in 1379, vol. 2 in 137879, and vol. 3 in 1381 and 1382) by
Mu'assasehye Nashre Nafa'ise Makhtutat, Isfahan. Madrasat al'Imam alMahdi, Qumm,
has published offset reprints of the first Indian lithographed print on the occasion of
the author's first death centenary (vol. 3 on Hadith alWilayah, 1406; vol. 4 on Hadith
alTayr, 1405; vol. 5 on Hadith Madinat al`ilm, 1406; vol. 6 on Hadith alTashbih,
1406; vol. 8 on Hadith alNur, 1406). `Allamah Shaykh Ghulam Rida Burujerdi has prepared
a new edition of the book giving all the necessary references. His edition is under print.
Sayyid `Ali Milani has published ten volumes of
Khulasat `Abaqat al'anwar, which is a condensed translation of the book in Arabic. The
first two volumes of his translation, which begins with Hadith alThaqalayn, were
published in 1398. Bunyade Bi'that, Tehran, has published a new edition of the Khulasah,
of which ten parts, dealing with Hadith alThaqalayn, Hadith alSafinah, Hadith alNur
and Hadith alGhadir, have appeared.