1. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
  2. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

24 Questions

Do you agree that the first reference to Uthman ibn Ali appears in Maqatil al-Talibiyyin from the 4th century Hijri, with subsequent accounts supporting this via Marasil? And isn't there a concern about the narrators being Majhul in Sunni Rijal works?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

No, I can't agree with this statement as we have the name of Uthman ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib mentioned in Maqtal Al-Husain by Abi Makhnaf who died around 157 Hijri and Tabaqat Ibn Sa'ad (died 230 Hijri)  and Al-Balaathari (died 279 Hijri) and Al-Yaqoubi history who died  around 284 Hijri.

We also have narrations from Ameerul Mo'mineen Ali (A.S.) that he named his son as Uthman after the name of Uthman ibn Madh'oon, the pious companion and sincere follower of Imam Ali (A.S.) who was the first companion buried in Al-Baqee' cemetery in Madinah.

The author of Maqatil al-Talibiyyeen dies on 356 Hijri, which means that Uthman ibn Ali was mentioned at least two centuries before him.

Wassalam.
Which Shia narrators can be considered reliable and trustworthy in our collection of Hadiths such as Al-Kafi? Is there a book or source that provides a list of narrators classified as reliable or unreliable?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

The most authentic books of Hadeeth are our four books ; Al-Kaafi, Al-Tahtheeb, Al-istibsaar and Manila Yahdharuhul Faqeeh. Yet we don't claim that every narration in these books is hundred percent authentic as every expert in Hadeeth has the freedom of research and freedom of opinion in the authenticity. We are not like some Muslims who claim that every narration in Bukhari is authentic, despite the fact that many narrations in Bukhari book is clearly against Quran and against the dignity of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) e.g. false claims that he attempted suicide many times, he used to urinate while standing on the road and land of others, and many other false claims. (Look at A Journey in the two Saheeh by Sadiq Najmi).

Our scholars of Hadeeth have the research procedure continuous , not like others who closed the research on the Hadeeth and kept following blindly previous scholars.

if you want to know the authenticity of any Hadeeth,b you need to refer to the specialized scholar of your time. In general, the book called Al-Kaafi has the maximum number of authentic Hadeeths and it has more authentic narrations than the all six books of Hadeeth with our Sunni brothers.

Wassalam.
Are the allegations true that certain Shia narrators such as Abu Baseer, Hisham ibn Al Hakam, Hisham ibn Salim, and Zurarah ibn Ayun had a reputation for dishonesty and were condemned by the Imams?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

This is a false allegation fabricated by the enemies of Ahlul Bayt (AS). These four persons were from the most authentic students of Ahlul Bayt (AS).

Wassalam.
How did unidentified narrators make their way into Shia books? How is it possible for fabricated hadiths from unknown narrators to be included in Shia books despite the scarce but true followers of the Imams?
Amina Inloes

Just because a hadith has an unknown narrator does not mean for certain it was fabricated. Possibly the narrator was known in the past, but we do not know them now because we have lost books and information. Also, possibly the information in the hadith is correctly transmitted even if we don't know the transmitter. It is better to say that hadith with unknown narrators lack verification.