‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah

19. Hadith Al-‘Ilm, Proving Its Tawattur ========================================

This hadith has been narrated by a large number of the Sahabah. We will be presenting some of them, within the limits of the length of our book. To save space, we will be quoting only the chains and the words of the Prophet as reported by each Sahabi, except where doing this is unnecessary. Imam Ibn Asakir (d. 571 H) records the first riwayah:

Abu al-Qasim b. Al-Samarqandi – ‘Asim b. Al-Hasan b. Muhammad b. ‘Asim – Abu ‘Umar b. Mahdi – Abu al-‘Abbas b. ‘Uqdah – al-Fadhl b. Yusuf al-Ju’fi – Muhammad b. ‘Ukashah – Abu al-Maghra Hamid b. Al-Muthanna – Yahya b. Talhah al-Hindi – Ayub b. Al-Hizz – Abu Ishaq al-Shabi’i – al-Harith – ‘Ali:

Verily, Faṭimah complained to the Messenger of Allah. So he said, “Are you not pleased that your husband was the first of my Ummah to accept Islam, and the most clement of them, and the most knowledgeable of them”?[^1]

He records also:

Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Samad b. Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah – Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali b. Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Musa – Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Sa’id b. ‘Uqdah – Ahmad b. Yahya and Ahmad b. Musa b. Ishaq – DHarar b. Sird – ‘Abd al-Karim b. Ya’fur – Jabir – Abu al-Duha – Masruq – ‘Aishah:

Faṭimah, the daughter of Muhammad, told me that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to her, “Your husband is the most knowledgeable of the believers, and the first of them to accept Islam, and the most clement of them.”[^2]

Ibn Asakir proceeds to cite a further sanad for the report of ‘Aishah from Faṭimah.^3 Then he records:

Abu Ghalib b. Al-Bana – Abu Muhammad al-Jawhari – Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Al-Hasan b. ‘Ali b. Abi Sabir – Abu Habib al-‘Abbas b. Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Barti – Isma’il b. Musa – Tulayd b. Sulayman Abu Idris – Abu al-Jihaf – a man – Asma b. ‘Umays:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to Faṭimah: “Your husband was the first of them to accept Islam, and the most clement of them, and the most knowledgeable of them.”[^4]

Of course, Imam Ahmad documents his own report with a hasan chain:

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) – my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) - Abu Ahmad – Khalid b. Tahman – Nafi’ b. Abi Nafi’ – Ma’qil b. Yasar:

.... He (the Prophet) said (to Faatimah), “Are you not satisfied that I have married you to the one who was the first of my Ummah to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them, and the most clement of them?”[^5]

Imam Ibn Asakir again records:

Abu Nasr b. Ridwan, Abu Ghalib b. Al-Bana and Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah b. Muhammad b. Naja – Abu Muhammad al-Jawhari – Abu Bakr b. Malik – al-‘Abbas b. Ibrahim al-Qaraṭisi – Muhammad b. Isma’il al-Ahmasi – Mufadhdhal b. Salih – Jabir al-Ju’fi – Sulayman b. Buraydah – his father (Buraydah):

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said... “O Faṭimah! Are you not pleased that your husband was the first of them to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them, and the most clement of them?”[^6]

Imam al-Tabarani (d. 360 H) has a relevant report too:

Muhammad b. ‘Uthman b. Abi Shaybah – Muhammad b. ‘Ubayd al-Muharibi – ‘Abd al-Karim b. Ya’qub – Jabir – Abu al-Tufayl - ‘Aishah:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, complained in my room. So, Faṭimah came to him, walking. I swear by the One in Whose Hand is ‘Aishah’s life, her style of walking was the same as that of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, told her something privately. She therefore wept. Then he told her another thing privately, and she laughed. So, I said, “I do not think it is appropriate to laugh on a day like this, which is more deserving of weeping.”

I said, “O Faṭimah, tell me what he told you.” She replied, “I will not as long as the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, sees your place (i.e. is alive).” Therefore, when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, passed away, I asked her, and she said, “The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: ‘Verily, Jibril used to present the Qur’an to me once every year, but has presented it twice to me this year. I do not see except that I have been called (into the Presence of Allah) and I will answer (i.e. die soon). Therefore, fear Allah.’ So, I became sad. Then he told me privately and said, ‘Are you not pleased that your husband was the first of all Muslims to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them? For verily you are the mistress of the women of my Ummah, as Maryam was the mistress of the women of her people?’”[^7]

Imam al-Daraquṭni (d. 385 H) is not left out either:

He was asked about the hadith of Abu Ishaq, from al-Bara, from Faṭimah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:

When ‘Ali married her, she said (to her father), “You have married me to someone with excited legs, and a big belly.” So, he (the Prophet) replied, “Verily, he was the first of them to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them, and the most clement of them.”

He (al-Daraquṭni) said: “Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i narrated it, and it is differently narrated from him. So, ‘Umar b. Al-Muthanna narrated it.” The Shaykh (al-Daraquṭni) was asked about him, and he replied, “I do not know him except in this (hadith) from Abu Ishaq, from al-Bara. But Ishaq b. Ibrahim al-Azdi, a Kufan Shi’i Shaykh, narrated differently from him and narrated it from Abu Ishaq from Zayd b. Arqam.[^8]

Let’s see what ‘Allamah al-Khawarazmi (d. 568 H) has on the matter as well:

Shahrdar – ‘Abdaws – Abu Talib – Ibn Mardawayh – Ahmad b. Muhammad b. ‘Asim – ‘Imran b. ‘Abd al-Rahim – Abu al-Salt al-Harwi – Husayn b. Hasan al-Ashqari – Qays – al-A’mash – ‘Ibayah b, Rab’i – Abu Ayub:

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, was sick. So, Faṭimah visited him. When she saw how the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, was, in terms of struggle and weakness, she shed tears and wept till there were tears on her cheeks. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, said, “O Faṭimah! It is through Allah’s Honour of you that your husband was the first of them to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them, and the most clement of them.”[^9]

Imam al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) says about al-Khawarazmi:

Al-Muwaffaq b. Ahmad b. Muhammad, Abu Muayyad al-Makki: The ‘allamah (great scholar), the preacher of Khawarazm.[^10]

So, let us return to ‘Allamah al-Khawarazmi:

Abu al-Muzaffar ‘Abd al-Malik b. ‘Ali b. Muhammad al-Hamdani – Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Baqi b. Muhammad al-Ansari and Abu al-Qasim Habat Allah b. ‘Abd al-Wahid b. al-Husayn – Abu al-Qasim ‘Ali b. al-Husayn al-Tanukhi – Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Ibrahim b. ‘Abd al-Samad b. al-Hasan b. Muhammad b. Shadhan al-Bazaz – Abu Bakr Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. al-Husayn b. al-Khaṭṭab b. Furat b. Hayyan al-‘Ijli – al-Hasan b. Muhammad al-Saffar al-DHarir – ‘Abd al-Wahhab b. Jabir – Muhammad b. ‘Umayr – Ayub – ‘Asim al-Ahwal – Ibn Sirin – Umm Salamah, Salman al-Farisi and ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him:

When Faṭimah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah, attained womanhood .... So, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, said to her: “... Verily, your husband was the first of them to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them, and the most clement of them.” [^11]

Imam al-Jahiz (d. 255 H) even has some further crucial information:

‘Ubayd Allah b. Musa, al-Fadhl b. Dukayn and al-Hasan b. ‘Aṭiyyah – Khalid b. Tahman – Nafi’ b. Abi Nafi’ – Ma’qil b. Yasar: ... He (the Prophet) said to her (Faṭimah): “Are you not satisfied that I have married you to the one who was the first of my Ummah to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them, and the most clement of them?” She replied, “I am pleased, O Messenger of Allah.”

This report has been narrated by Yahya b. ‘Abd al-Hamid and ‘Abd al-Salam b. Salih from Qays b. al-Rabi’ from Abu Ayub al-Ansari with its text or a similar one.

‘Abd al-Salam b. Salih further narrated from Ishaq al-Azraq from Ja’far b. Muhammad (al-Sadiq) from his ancestors (Muhammad b. ‘Ali – ‘Ali b. Husayn – Husayn b. ‘Ali – ‘Ali b. Abi Talib):

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him ... said, “O Faṭimah! Verily, Allah has commanded me to marry you to the first of them to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them, and the most clement of them....

He (al-Jahiz) said: This report was narrated by a group of the Sahabah. Among them were Asma b. ‘Umays, Umm Ayman, Ibn ‘Abbas, and Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah.[^12]

Imam Ibn Asakir has the closing report:

My grandfather Abu al-Fadhl Yahya b. ‘Ali – Abu al-Qasim ‘Ali b. Muhammad – Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali b. Muhammad – Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Dawud al-Razaz – Abu ‘Amr ‘Uthman b. Ahmad b. al-Simak – ‘Abd Allah b. Ruh al-Madaini – Salam b. Sulayman al-Madaini – ‘Umar b. al-Muthanna – Abu Ishaq – Anas b. Malik:

Faṭimah said, “You have married me to ‘Ali with excited legs, and a big belly, and who hardly walks.” So, the Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, “I have married you, my daughter, to the most clement of them, and the first of them to accept Islam, and the most knowledgeable of them.”[^13]

The following are therefore the Sahabah who have narrated Hadith al-‘Ilm:

1. ‘Aishah bint Abi Bakr

2. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib

3. Abu Ayub al-Ansari

4. Anas b. Malik

5. Asma bint ‘Umays

6. Buraydah

7. Fatimah b. Muhammad

8. Ibn ‘Abbas

9. Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari

10. Ma’qil b. Yasar

11. Salman al-Farisi

12. Umm Ayman

13. Umm Salamah

14. Zayd b. Arqam

This fact makes the hadith mutawatir, and therefore absolutely true, far above even the level of sahih ahadith!

[^1]: Abu al-Qasim ‘Ali b. al-Hasan b. Habat Allah b. ‘Abd Allah, Ibn Asakir al-Shafi’i, Tarikh Madinah Dimashq (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Ali Shiri], vol. 80, p. 113

[^2]: Ibid, vol. 42, p. 132

[^4]: Ibid, vol. 42, pp. 132-133

[^5]: Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 5, p. 26, # 20322

[^6]: Abu al-Qasim ‘Ali b. al-Hasan b. Habat Allah b. ‘Abd Allah, Ibn Asakir al-Shafi’i, Tarikh Madinah Dimashq (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Ali Shiri], vol. 42, pp. 131-132

[^7]: Abu al-Qasim Sulayman b. Ahmad b. Ayub al-Ṭabarani, Mu’jam al-Kabir (Mosul: Maktabah al-‘Ulum wa al-Hukm; 2nd edition, 1404 H) [annotator: Hamadi b. ‘Abd al-Majid al-Salafi], vol. 22, p. 417, # 1030

[^8]: Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali b. ‘Umar b. Ahmad b. Mahdi b. Mas’ud b. al-Nu’man b. Dinar al-Baghdadi al-Daraqutni, al-‘Ilal al-Waridah fi Ahadith al-Nabawiyyah (Damam: Dar Ibn al-Jawzi; 1st edition, 1427 H) [annotators: Muhammad b. Ṣalih b. Muhammad al-Dabasi and Mahmud Khalil], vol. 15, p. 172, # 3930

[^9]: Al-Muwaffaq b. Ahmad al-Bakri al-Makki al-Hanafi al-Khawarazmi, al-Manaqib (Qum: Muasassat al-Nashr al-Islami; 2nd edition, 1411 H) [annotator: Shaykh Malik al-Mahmudi], p. 112, #122

[^10]: Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Ahmad b. ‘Uthman al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam wa Wafiyat al-Mashahir wa al-A’lam (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi; 1st edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Salam Tadmuri], vol. 39, pp. 326-327

[^11]: Al-Muwaffaq b. Ahmad al-Bakri al-Makki al-Hanafi al-Khawarazmi, al-Manaqib (Qum: Muasassat al-Nashr al-Islami; 2nd edition, 1411 H) [annotator: Shaykh Malik al-Mahmudi], pp. 342-353, # 364

[^12]: Abu ‘Uthman ‘Amr b. Bahr al-Jahiz, al-‘Uthmaniyyah (Egypt: Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi; 1374 H) [annotator: ‘Abd al-Salam Muhammad Harun], pp. 289-290

[^13]: Abu al-Qasim ‘Ali b. al-Hasan b. Habat Allah b. ‘Abd Allah, Ibn Asakir al-Shafi’i, Tarikh Madinah Dimashq (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Ali Shiri], vol. 42, p. 132