The Second Issue: the Thirteen Imams

SALIM’s book contains a narrative about the Prophet (A.S.) saying, “Surely Allah cast a look at the people of the earth and chose from among them two men: one of them is I, so He sent me as His Messenger, and the other is Ali ibn Abi Talib...,” till he comes to say, “Surely Allah cast a second look, and He chose after us twelve wasis from among my Ahl al-Bayt, so He made them the elite among my nation, one after the other.”^[1]

We say that this cannot be used to discredit the book for the following reasons:

1. It is quite likely that the phrase “...He chose after us twelve wasis” may somehow contain an error in transcribing: one letter looking like another. `Allama al-Majlisi and others have all said, “We have found in some copies accurate wording without any insinuation.”^[2] Al-Majlisi has also suggested that the original text referred to eleven Imams but the copyists distorted it.^[3] What leads to this conclusion is the fact that the same tradition contains the accurate wording in another part of the book.^[4]

2. SALIM’s book, according to someone’s statistics^[5], contains a list of twenty-four other references besides the one under discussion. They all contain the text that the Imams are twelve in clear and unambiguous way.^[6] So, it does not make any sense to stick to the last text in order to cast doubt about the entire book in the pretext that it counts thirteen Imams.

If this single place is indicative of the book being labelled as “inaccurate,” let twenty-four others prove its accuracy and originality especially in the light of the very strong possibility that there was a mistake in transcribing one word as we have referred to above.

3. Ayatullah Sayyid [Abul Qasim] al-Khoei (may Allah sanctify his resting place) has said, “If a book contains something wrong in one or two places, this does not indicate that it is inaccurate. What would you say about the existence of many more in most books, including Al-Kafi, which is the most reliable book of hadith and the best written?”^[7]

`Allama al-Majlisi has said, “... and this cannot be a reason for discrediting, for seldom do we find a book containing many times as many insinuations and alterations. These things exist in Al-Kafi and in other highly respected books as every researcher finds out.”^[8]

4. Al-Mas`adi, who died in 345 A.H., has said, “... The final answer regarding the Twelve Imams, the ones counted by SALIM ibn Qais al-Hilali in his book, ...”^[9]

A number of scholars have counted it among the ancient references which discuss the Twelve Imams, peace be upon them, so refer to it.^[10] This proves that someone made an error in writing this tradition while making copies of the original.

5. The critic, Shaikh Muhammed Taqi al-Tasatturi, has mentioned many such places in Al-Kafi, and we would like here to cite what Shaikh al-Tasatturi^[11], may Allah have mercy on his soul, has said:

“This is an error of expression committed by the narrators; otherwise, the same exists in Al-Kafi, too. For example, in a chapter regarding the Twelve Imams, the Prophet (A.S.) is quoted as having said, “I and twelve from among my offspring, and you, Ali, are the button of the earth... If the Twelve from among my offspring are gone, the earth will collapse with its people.”^[12]

In another narrative, he (A.S.) is also quoted as having said, “From among my offspring are Twelve naqabs instilled with knowledge, the last of them is al-Qa’im.”^[13] Both traditions were narrated by Aba Sa`ad al-`Asfari in the original of which the text says “eleven.”^[14]

In a third transmission (of the same tradition), Jabir [ibn `Abdullah] al-Ansari says, “I visited Fatima (A.S.) and she was holding a tablet in her hands on which the names of the wasis from among her offspring were recorded. I found them to be twelve in number.”<sup>[15]</sup> The same transmission is recorded by al-Saduq in his book titled Ikmal ad-Din wa Itma m al-Ni`ma as well as in `Uyan Akhbar al-Rida (A.S.) and Al-Khisal without the phrase “from among her offspring.”^[16]

In a yet fourth transmission (of the same tradition), Imam al-Baqir (A.S.) is quoted as having said, “The Twelve Imams from the Progeny of Muhammed (A.S.), from among the offspring of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) and from the offspring of Ali ibn Aba Talib, blessings of Allah be upon both of them, are all informed of hadith.”^[17] And he narrated it in Al-Khisal and in `Uyan Akhbar al-Rida (A.S.) in this wording: “After the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) they all are spoken to, and Ali ibn Aba Talib is one of them.”^[18]

In a fifth narrative from Aba Sa`ad al-Khudri, in the incident involving a Jew asking about the Imams after the Prophet (A.S.) and the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.), blessings of Allah be upon both of them, he (A.S.) said to him, “This nation has Twelve Imams of Guidance from among the Progeny of its Prophet, and they are from me...” till he came say, “As to those who are with him in his house, they are twelve from among his offspring.”^[19]

The gist of this narrative is recorded by al-Nu`mani without the phrase “from among the Progeny of its Prophet.”^[20] Such is the wording of Shaikh al-Tasatturi as exists in Qamas al-Rijal.^[21]