Glimpses of Shi'ism in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal

Chapter 11 : Friendship With the Ahl Al-bayt (‘a)

Ibn Hanbal says:

A. Ahmad has related from Ibn Numayr from A‘mash from ‘Adiyy bin Tha-bit from Zirr bin Husbaish from (Imam) ‘Ali- [(‘a)] who narrates:

By Allah! One of the covenants which the Messenger of Allah (S) bound me with is this:

“None will bear enmity towards me but the hypocrite and none will love me but the faithful believer.”[^49]

Ahmad Sha-kir regards the isna-d of this hadith as sahi-h and says about ‘Adiyy bin Tha-bit al-Ansa-ri- al-Kufi-:

He was one of the trustworthy persons of the first generation of Muslims after the Prophet and his being a Shi-‘ah does not affect his narrations since he was trustworthy and truthful.

B. ‘Abdulla-h bin Ahmad has recorded: Nasr bin ‘Ali- Azdi- narrates from ‘Ali- bin Ja‘far from his brother (Imam) Musa- bin Ja‘far [(‘a)] from his father (Imam) Ja‘far bin Muhammad (al-Sadiq) from his father (Muhammad bin ‘Ali- al-Ba-qir), and he from (his father Imam) ‘Ali- bin al-Husayn [(‘a)], who from his father (Imam Husayn), and grandfather (Imam ‘Ali-), who narrates the hadith that the Messenger of Allah (S) holding the hands of Hasan and Husayn said:

“Man ahabbani- wa ahabba hadhayn wa aba-huma- wa ummahuma- ka-na ma‘i- fi- darajati- yawm al-qiya-mah” (Anyone who loves me and these two and their father and mother will be with me and on my station on the Day of Resurrection).[^50]

Ahmad Sha-kir considers the isna-d of this hadith as sahi-h. It is also worth noting that when Nasr bin ‘Ali- Azdi- narrated this hadith he was subjected to 1000 whiplashes on the orders of the ‘Abba-sid caliph al-Mutawakkil.[^51]

C. Abu Ahmad (Muhammad bin ‘Abdulla-h bin Zubayr Asadi-) has related to us from Sufya-n (Thawri-) from Abi- Jiha-f from Abi Ha-zim from Abi- Hurayrah who quotes a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (S), saying:

“Man ahabbahuma- faqad ahabbani- wa man abghazahuma- faqad abghazani-, ya‘ni- Hasanan wa Husaynan” (Anyone who loves them, I mean Hasan and Husayn, indeed loves me, and anyone who hates them, surely hates me).[^52]

Ahmad Sha-kir considers the isna-d of this hadith as sahi-h.

Notes:

[^49] Al-Musnad, hadith no. 642 (Ahmad Sha-kir). This hadith has been recorded through a slightly different chain of authority (isna-d) on pages 102 & 236 of the same book. [^50] Ibid, hadith no. 576. This hadith has been added by Ibn Hanbal’s son ‘Abdulla-h. [^51] Ibn Hajar ‘Asqala-ni-, Tahdhi-b al-Tahdhi-b, vol. 1, p. 430, printed by Da-’irat al-Ma‘a-rif al-‘Uthma-niyyah, Haiderabad Deccan (India). [^52] Al-Musnad, hadith no. 7863 (Ahmad Sha-kir); also refer to hadith nos. 6406 & 7392 of the same edition.