A Study on the Transmitters of the Tradition Concerning Revelation Occasions of the Verse of Wilāyat

Document Type : Research Article

Author

• Muḥammad Murtaḍawī

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

10.22067/jfiqh.2020.61215.0

Abstract

The Shī‘as have made great benefits from referring to the Qur’an, Sunna, and intellect as evidence of their commitment to the school of Alhl al-Bayt (A.S.) and adherence to it. The verse of wilāyat is among the verses that the Shī‘as have referred to as evidence of the immediate Imamate of Amīr al-Mu‘minīn, Ali (A.S.). The Shī‘as’ referring to this verse as evidence is based on some premises, one of which is the revelation of the aforementioned verse in relation to his holiness.
It is to be noted that the revelation occasions of some verses are greatly effective in understanding them to the extent that disregarding the revelation occasion would impair getting to know the purpose of the verse. On the other hand, the opponents of the Shī‘ite attitude toward the revelation occasion of aforementioned verse have raised some misconceptions. Among other things, they have stated that the transmitters of the tradition confirming the revelation of the above verse as to be about Imam Ali (A.S.) are all Shī‘ites, hence invalid!
This article attempts to figure out the criterion for acceptance of this tradition through examining the Sunnī ḥadīth and rijālī (biographical) sources, to find out whether the transmitters’ being Shī‘ite is detrimental to their authenticity, and finally, to identify the transmitters of the tradition concerning the above-mentioned verse. Therefore, the research method used here is descriptive-analytical and based on certified Sunnī sources. According to the surveys made into the Sunnī sources, it is clarified that the criterion for accepting the tradition is neither the transmitters’ being Sunnī; nor their being Shī‘ite is detrimental to the authenticity of the tradition. Apart from this, several of the transmitters of the tradition on the revelation occasion of the aforementioned verse concerning Imam Ali (A.S.) are from among the Ṣaḥāba (companions of the Prophet) who are all regarded as just according to the generally accepted Sunnī sources and their traditions are to be accepted as reliable.

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