Narrations

112406

Is Al-Kafi, the book of Hadith narrations, fully authentic?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 month ago

There is no book of Hadeeth compiled by Shia or Sunni scholars which is 100% and fully authentic in each and every narration. Al-Kafi is the most authentic book of Hadeeth among Shia scholars. Bukhari is claimed to be fully authentic by many Sunnis but it contains narrations which go against Quran and allegation against the Prophets. The authentic Hadeeths in Al-Kufi are more in number than all the total authentic Hadeeths in all the six books of Sunni Hadeeth الصحاح الستة.
Number of unrepeated narrations in Saheeh al-Bukhari is 2602 and in Saheeh Muslim 4000, while the number of unrepeated narration mentioned in both Bukhari and Muslim is 2514 narrations.

Al-Kafi alone has 16199 narrations.

Wassalam.

112344

Narrations . Imamah . Meaning . Faith (Iman) . Taqiyya (Dissimulation)

What do the Imams mean by the prohibition against divulging their secrets that is mentioned in certain narrations? What is exactly meant by concealing faith?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 month ago

My understanding of this is that it is with respect to spiritual matters, particularly the spiritual position of Ahl al-Bayt (A) in that if some people who did not have an understanding of this heard some people talking about it openly, they might react negatively due to ignorance.

105498

Narrations . Wealth . Saving . Family . Children . Death

We see through different narrations that encourage us to give away our wealth during our lifetime rather than saving it up. How much wealth should we save for our family and children for when we die?

We Beed to look after selves as well as our family and children. We need good deeds for our future as much as we can. We also should for our family and children Whatever they need to have a respectable livelihood till they are able to earn for themselves. Obviously, we believe that Allah (SWT) will never leave them as He never left us.

Wassalam.

105722

Narrations . Scholars . Qur'an . Ilm al-Rijal

Do we have evidence from the Quran and narrations that supports the use of Ilm al-Rijal by our scholars?

Yes of course. Ilm al-Rijal is the knowledge which makes us know the trust worthy person from others. Allah orders us in Quran to verify any information or news and not to take it blindly. Sura 49, Verse 6. With out proper verification things will be mixed and we will not know which narration is authentic and one is not. Liars in history till today are too many. Thousands or more narrations were fabricated for political reasons and other worldly reasons. Ilm al-Rijal enables us to verify and avoid false narrations and take and act upon authentic narrations narrated by pious trustworthy persons.

Wassalam.

105445

Narrations . Man . Gold . Silk

Which Islamic narrations talk about man not being allowed to wear gold or silk?

We have authentic narrations in Shia and Sunni books from the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) stating that wearing gold is not allowed for men as well as wearing pure silk. Regarding gold we have an authentic Hadeeth from Ali ibn Jafar from his brother Imam Musa ibn Jafar (AS) when he was asked: Is it allowed for man to wear gold? He replied: No, because the Prophet (SAWA) did not allow it. ( Wasaa'il al-Shia, V.4, P.415). We have also a narration from Ammar ibn Moosa from Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq (AS): man should never wear nor pray with gold. (Wasaa'il al-Shia , V4, P. 413).

In Sunni books, Tirmithi and Ibn Hanbal and many others narrated that the Prophet (SAWA) said: Silk and gold are forbidden on the men of my Ummah, permissible for their women.

That is why it is unanimous among Muslim scholars from all Muslim sects that wearing gold ands silk is forbidden for Muslim men.

Wassalam.

97795

Sunni . Narrations . Imamah . Ahl al-Bayt

Where are the names of the 12 Imams of the Ahlulbayt mentioned in Sunni narrations?

1.   The Names of the Twelve Imams of Ahlulbayt (A.S.) were mentioned by the Prophet Muhammed (P.B.U.H. and His Holy Progeny) in many authentic Hadeeths narrated in Shia Books and Sunni Books as well. Despite all the efforts of the enemies of Ahlulbayt (A.S.) to delete and hide and destroy any written Hadeeth in favor of Ameerul Mo'mineen (AS.) and Ahlulbayt (A.S.). You find till today many of Sunni Books still contain many Hadeeths in favor of Ahlulbayt (A.S.).
   2.   The Twelve Successors:
All Muslims believe that the Prophet (SAWA) has said that: My Successors will be twelve. This Hadeeth of Twelve Successors is mentioned in:
   ⁃   Saheeh Bukhari ( Hadeeth number 6682)
   ⁃   Saheeh Muslim ( 3393 and 3394 and 3395 and 3396 and 3397 and 3398)
   ⁃   Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal ( 3593, 3665, 19875, 19887, 19892, 19901, 19914, 19920, 19922, 19925, 19944 and many other Hadeeths in this meaning.
   ⁃   Sunan Al-Tirmithi 2149.
   ⁃   Sunan Abi Dawoud 3731 and 3732
   ⁃   Al Mustadrak Ala Sahihain by al-Haakim al-Nisabouri ;6586, 6589 and 8529.
   ⁃   Al-Albani in Takhreej al-Hadeeth; 376, 1075 and 3598.
   ⁃   and in many other Sunni Books. The Hadees states that all the twelve will be from “Quraish”.
   4.   There is more clear Hadeeth from the Prophet (SAWA) which was been hidden by most of the narrators who where under the pressure of the tyrant rulers of the enemies of Ahlulbayt (A.S.). This Hadees states that all the Twelve Successors of the Prophet (SAWA) will be from “Bani Hashim” as it is narrated by the well known Sunni Scholar Al Qunduzi Al Hanafi in Yanabee’ Al Mawaddah Vol: 2 Page: 315.
   5.   The names of the Twelve Imams one after another are mentioned in many Hadeeths in the book of well known Sunni Scholar Al Khawarizmi Al Hanafi in his book Maqtal Al-Hussain narrating from Abi Salma from the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H. and His Holy Progeny). (Vol: 1 Page: 146.)
   6.   The Hadees mentioning the names of 12 Imams also narrated in the book of the well-known Sunni Scholar Al Qunduzi Al Hanafi (The name of the book is Yanadiyeh Al Mawaddah) Vol: 3 Page: 380.
   7.   There are Hadeeths mentioning the names of Twelve Imams (A.S.) narrated by al Hamaweeni As Shafi’ee.
   8.   Also you can find the mention of the Twelve Imams in the well known Sunni Book Tazkirat Al Khawas تذكرة الخواص by Sibt Ibne Al-Jawzi (a well known Hanafi scholar in Vol: 2 Page: 373.
   9.   One of our well known Ulama (Al-Khazzaz Al Qummi) who was one of the students of Sheikh Al Sadooq has compiled a full book ( Kifayat al-Athar Fi al-Nass Akal Etha Ashar)in which he mentioned of Hadeeths stating the names of the Twelve Imams narrating from 30 Companions by their names who mentioned what they heard from the Prophet (PBUH) the names of the Twelve Imams (A.S.)
   10.   A Sunni scholar by the name of Shaikh Hikmat al-Rahma has compiled a book known as The Imams of Ahlul Bayt in Sunni books. Wassalam.

93459

Narrations . Khums . Ghayba (Occultation)

What are the narrations available regarding whom we should submit the Khums to during the major occultation?

We have many narrations that Sahm Imam which is half of the Khums must be given the Marje' of Taqleed being a deputy of the Imam during the occultation of imam Al-Mahdi (AS). You can read many of theses narrations in Wasa'il al-Shia by Al-Hurr Al-A'amily in the chapter of Khums.

'Wassalam.

81756

Narrations . Usul al-Kafi . Bihar al-Anwar

Are there any false narrations in Shia books such as Biharul Anwar and Usul al-Kafi? If so, what is the reason their authors reported such narrations?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 1 year ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Different authors had different purposes and differing criteria when compiling their books. Sometimes, it is not the author's criteria, but the version of the book that has reached us that may be problematic, as Shii hadith history is a history of textual transmission.

Bihar al-anwar is a book that was written in the 17th Century which tried to preserve as much of the Shii tradition as possible. The author was therefore not concerned with sifting reports and left that to later hadith scholars, as hadith scholars also use different criteria when analyzing the reports in various books.

Usul al-Kafi on the other hand was an attempt to produce a book of reliable reports, but at the same time, not everybody agrees with what the author of al-Kafi (al-Kulayni) considered reliable. In short, hadith scholarship is a complex field where there are many aspects to weigh up and that is why it takes expertise. The natural outcome of that is that not everyone will agree with a specific scholar's assessment if they are trying to produce a reliable work.

May you always be successful

81598

Sunni . Scholars . Authenticity . Hadith . Narrations . Sunni-Shi'a . Hadith al-Qudsi

What is the view of the majority of Sunni and Shia scholars on the authenticity of Hadith Qudsi? Are such narrations common to both?

Further clarification:

There are many different hadith that are considered hadith qudsi (that is, telling us directly what God says, but not as part of the Qur'anic revelation).

Some of these hadith are shared between Sunnis and Shi'is, and some are specifically Sunni, and some are specifically Shi'i.

As mentioned in the previous answer, each one can be evaluated individually with respect to its authenticity.

Sunni . Scholars . Authenticity . Hadith . Narrations . Sunni-Shi'a . Hadith al-Qudsi

What is the view of the majority of Sunni and Shia scholars on the authenticity of Hadith Qudsi? Are such narrations common to both?

Hadeeth Qudsi is narrated in Sunni and Shia books. Our Ulama study the content and the chain of narrators before giving their opinion about the authenticity of it.

We have books on Hadeeth Qudsi compiled by Shia Ulama as well as Sunni Ulama.

Wassalam.

73138

Hadith . Narrations . Praise . Abu Bakr

I have heard that there are many hadith narrations that praise Abu Bakr. Is that true?

Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answered 1 year ago

Sayid Husain Jafri, in his Origins and Development of Early Shi'a Islam, highlights some of the key narrations about Abu Bakr that are mentioned frequently in Sunni circles. Jafri points out that these particular narrations all go back to 'A'isha, who was obviously supporting her father. I can recommend that you get Jafri's book, as he does some good hadith analysis.

Hadith . Narrations . Praise . Abu Bakr

I have heard that there are many hadith narrations that praise Abu Bakr. Is that true?

There are many narrations which were fabricated for political reasons. We care only for the authentic narrations which came through authentic chain of narrators from the Prophet (SAWA). You may refer to some Sunni books of 'Elm al-Hadeeth ( knowledge of Hadeeth) to see hundreds of narrations which were fabricated in praise of well known rulers.

Wassalam.