Evaluation of Narrations on the Virtues of Imam ʿAlī (A.S.) with the Chain of Transmission Attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās
Keywords:
Forging of documents, Ibn Abbas, the virtues of Imam Ali (AS).Abstract
Scholars, and particularly Orientalists, have identified fabricated chains of transmission in certain narrations, regardless of the authenticity of their textual content. The aim of this study is to examine the chains of transmission (asānīd) of the narrations concerning the virtues of Imam ʿAlī (A.S.) attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās and to analyze the flaws found within these chains. The study finds that the asānīd of these narrations suffer from certain defects that are not detected through conventional isnād analyses employed by Muslim scholars. Therefore, by applying historical methods and critical examination of the chains of transmission, it was revealed that although the textual content of these narrations is sound and accurate, during the late Umayyad period, the ʿAbbāsids inserted the name of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās into the isnāds of these narrations, portraying him as one of Imam ʿAlī’s close companions. This act was intended to win the support of certain Shīʿites in their uprising against the Umayyads. The conclusion is that one should not rely solely on traditional approaches to hadith authentication employed by hadith scholars, but rather, it is necessary to investigate the historical dimensions of hadith transmission as well.
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