Glimpses of Shi'ism in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal

Chapter 1 : Admonition To Kinsmen and Nomination of Imam ‘ali- (‘a)

Ahmad bin Hanbal says:

Aswad bin ‘Amir has related to us from Shari-k from A‘mash from Minhal from ‘Abdulla-h bin Asadi, that (Imam) ‘Ali- (‘a) said:

When the a-yah “And warn your relatives of nearest kin” (26:214) was revealed, the Prophet gathered his family around him and treated 30 of them to a meal and then said:

“Who is willing to guarantee my debts and commitments so that he should be with me in paradise and should be my successor from among my family.”

A person whom Shurayk did not name, answered:

O Messenger of Allah you are like a sea,[^26] who can take charge of this responsibility.

The Prophet repeated his statement to his relatives, and (Imam) ‘Ali- [(‘a)] replied:

“I will undertake this responsibility.”[^27]

Ahmad Muhammad Sha-kir the annotator of the Musnad has enumerated the isna-d of this hadi-th as hasan or fair. The same event has been narrated in greater detail in the words of Imam ‘Ali- (‘a) in hadi-th no. 1371 of the Musnad (vol. 2, pp. 352-353) and the annotator has termed its isna-d as sahi-h (authoritative).

Notes:

[^26] Reference to the great generosity and munificence of the Prophet, Ahmad Sha-kir’s explanation on the margins of this hadith.

[^27] Ahmad bin Hanbal, al-Musnad, annotated by Ahmad Muhammad Sha-kir in 15 volumes, Da-r al-Ma‘a-rif, Cairo, 1949-1958, hadith no. 883.