The Golden Chain of Ahl al-Bayt: The Shia Source of Religion

The Golden Chain of Ahl al-Bayt and the Strength of the Shia Source of Religion

A common objection is:

“Shia do not take religion from the Prophet ﷺ. They only quote their Imams.”

But this objection collapses when we understand the chain of Ahl al-Bayt.

The Imams of Ahl al-Bayt were not random scholars disconnected from the Prophet ﷺ. They were the Prophet’s own purified family, one Imam narrating from his father, from his father, until the chain reaches Imam Ali a.s and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Even Sunni books preserve the greatness of this chain.

1. Sunan Ibn Majah: The chain of Ahl al-Bayt is so blessed that Abu al-Salt said if it were recited over an insane person, he would recover.

Arabic:

حدثنا عبد السلام بن صالح أبو الصلت الهروي، حدثنا علي بن موسى الرضا، عن أبيه، عن جعفر بن محمد، عن أبيه، عن علي بن الحسين، عن أبيه، عن علي بن أبي طالب، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: الإيمان معرفة بالقلب، وقول باللسان، وعمل بالأركان. قال أبو الصلت: لو قرئ هذا الإسناد على مجنون لبرأ.

English:

Abd al-Salam ibn Salih Abu al-Salt al-Harawi narrated: Ali ibn Musa al-Rida narrated to us, from his father, from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, from his father, from Ali ibn al-Husayn, from his father, from Ali ibn Abi Talib, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Faith is knowledge in the heart, speech by the tongue, and action by the limbs.”

Abu al-Salt said:

“If this chain were recited over an insane person, he would recover.”

Reference:

Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Muqaddimah, Bab fi al-Iman, hadith 65.

Short comment:

Look at this chain:

Ali al-Rida a.s
from Musa al-Kazim a.s
from Ja‘far al-Sadiq a.s
from Muhammad al-Baqir a.s
from Ali Zayn al-Abidin a.s
from Imam Hussain a.s
from Imam Ali a.s
from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

This is the house of Prophethood narrating from the house of Prophethood.

If Sunni sources can preserve such a chain and Abu al-Salt can say that this chain itself is so blessed that if recited over an insane person he would recover, then how can someone mock the Shia for taking religion from Ahl al-Bayt?

2. Shia hadith principle: The hadith of the Imam is the hadith of his father, then his grandfather, until it reaches the Prophet ﷺ.

Arabic:

عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ وَحَمَّادِ بْنِ عُثْمَانَ وَغَيْرِهِ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام يَقُولُ:

حَدِيثِي حَدِيثُ أَبِي، وَحَدِيثُ أَبِي حَدِيثُ جَدِّي، وَحَدِيثُ جَدِّي حَدِيثُ الْحُسَيْنِ، وَحَدِيثُ الْحُسَيْنِ حَدِيثُ الْحَسَنِ، وَحَدِيثُ الْحَسَنِ حَدِيثُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عليه السلام، وَحَدِيثُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَدِيثُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وآله، وَحَدِيثُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

English:

Hisham ibn Salim, Hammad ibn Uthman and others said: We heard Abu Abd Allah, Imam al-Sadiq عليه السلام, saying:

“My hadith is the hadith of my father; the hadith of my father is the hadith of my grandfather; the hadith of my grandfather is the hadith of al-Husayn; the hadith of al-Husayn is the hadith of al-Hasan; the hadith of al-Hasan is the hadith of Amir al-Mu’minin عليه السلام; the hadith of Amir al-Mu’minin is the hadith of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله; and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah is the word of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.”

Reference:

al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 53, hadith 14, Bab Riwayat al-Kutub wa al-Hadith wa Fadl al-Kitabah.

Short comment:

This is the Shia understanding of the Imams’ knowledge.

When Imam al-Sadiq a.s teaches religion, he is not giving personal opinion against the Prophet ﷺ. He is transmitting inherited Prophetic knowledge:

al-Sadiq from al-Baqir
al-Baqir from Zayn al-Abidin
Zayn al-Abidin from Hussain
Hussain from Hasan and Ali
Ali from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
and the Messenger from Allah.

This does not mean every narration in every book is automatically authentic. It means that when the statement of an Imam is established, Shia do not treat it as personal guesswork. They treat it as Prophetic knowledge preserved through Ahl al-Bayt.

3. Ibn Taymiyyah admitted that Shia legal rulings are mainly based on what they transmit from Ahl al-Bayt.

Arabic:

وأما شرعياتهم فعمدتهم فيها على ما ينقل عن بعض أهل البيت، مثل أبي جعفر الباقر، وجعفر بن محمد الصادق وغيرهما.

English:

“As for their legal/religious rulings, their main reliance in them is upon what is transmitted from some of Ahl al-Bayt, such as Abu Ja‘far al-Baqir, Ja‘far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, and others.”

Reference:

Ibn Taymiyyah, Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 5, p. 162/163.

Short comment:

This is not a Shia scholar speaking. This is Ibn Taymiyyah.

He openly admits that the Shia base their legal/religious rulings on what is transmitted from Ahl al-Bayt, especially Imam al-Baqir a.s and Imam al-Sadiq a.s.

4. Ibn Taymiyyah admitted that Shia scholars transmit from the jurists of Ahl al-Bayt.

Arabic:

وكالمفيد والطوسي والموسوي وغيرهم من شيوخ الشيعة، وهم ينقلون ذلك عن فقهاء أهل البيت.

English:

“And such as al-Mufid, al-Tusi, al-Musawi and others from the Shia shaykhs; they transmit that from the jurists of Ahl al-Bayt.”

Reference:

Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Radd ‘ala al-Subki fi Mas’alat Ta‘liq al-Talaq, vol. 2, p. 697.

Short comment:

Again, Ibn Taymiyyah admits that major Shia scholars like al-Mufid and al-Tusi transmit their fiqh from the fuqaha of Ahl al-Bayt.

So why do people say Shia invented a religion away from Ahl al-Bayt?

5. Ibn Taymiyyah admitted that the disagreement of Imam al-Baqir and Imam al-Sadiq is considered by consensus of Muslims.

Arabic:

ومعلوم أن خلاف أئمة أهل البيت كأبي جعفر محمد الباقر وجعفر بن محمد معتد به باتفاق المسلمين، فإن هؤلاء من أكابر أئمة المسلمين، ومن سادات أهل العلم والدين.

English:

“It is known that the disagreement of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, such as Abu Ja‘far Muhammad al-Baqir and Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, is taken into consideration by agreement of the Muslims, for these are among the greatest Imams of the Muslims and among the masters of the people of knowledge and religion.”

Reference:

Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Radd ‘ala al-Subki fi Mas’alat Ta‘liq al-Talaq, vol. 2, p. 697.

Short comment:

This is very important.

Ibn Taymiyyah calls Imam al-Baqir a.s and Imam al-Sadiq a.s:

أكابر أئمة المسلمين
“among the greatest Imams of the Muslims”

سادات أهل العلم والدين
“masters of the people of knowledge and religion”

So if they are Imams of the Muslims, then following their fiqh is not something strange.

6. Ibn Taymiyyah admitted that what Shia transmit from those Imams in Sharia matters is mostly truthful, not mostly false.

Arabic:

فليس الغالب فيما ينقلونه عن هؤلاء الأئمة من مسائل الشرع الكذب، بل الغالب عليه الصدق.

English:

“So the dominant case regarding what they transmit from these Imams in matters of Sharia is not falsehood; rather, the dominant case is truthfulness.”

Reference:

Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Radd ‘ala al-Subki fi Mas’alat Ta‘liq al-Talaq, vol. 2, p. 698.

Short comment:

This is a golden admission.

Ibn Taymiyyah criticizes Shia beliefs in other places, but here he admits that what they transmit from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt in Sharia matters is mostly truth, not mostly lies.

So the claim “Shia narrations from Ahl al-Bayt are all fake” is not even accepted by Ibn Taymiyyah himself.

7. Ibn al-Qayyim admitted that Imami Shia jurists from beginning to end transmit from Ahl al-Bayt.

Arabic:

إن فقهاء الإمامية من أولهم إلى آخرهم ينقلون عن أهل البيت أنه لا يقع الطلاق المحلوف به، وهذا متواتر عندهم عن جعفر بن محمد وغيره من أهل البيت.

English:

“The jurists of the Imamiyyah, from their first to their last, transmit from Ahl al-Bayt that divorce sworn as an oath does not take effect; and this is mutawatir among them from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad and others from Ahl al-Bayt.”

Reference:

Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Sawa‘iq al-Mursalah, vol. 2, p. 616.

Short comment:

Ibn al-Qayyim clearly says:

فقهاء الإمامية من أولهم إلى آخرهم ينقلون عن أهل البيت

“The Imami jurists, from their first to their last, transmit from Ahl al-Bayt.”

That is exactly the point.

8. Ibn al-Qayyim said Shia scholars cannot all be judged as liars and ignorant.

Arabic:

ففي القوم فقهاء وأصحاب علم ونظر في اجتهاد وإن كانوا مخطئين مبتدعين في أمر الصحابة فلا يوجب ذلك الحكم عليهم كلهم بالكذب والجهل.

English:

“Among the people are jurists and people of knowledge and reasoning in ijtihad; even if they are mistaken innovators regarding the matter of the Companions, that does not require judging all of them as liars and ignorant.”

Reference:

Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Sawa‘iq al-Mursalah, vol. 2, p. 617.

Short comment:

Even while criticizing them, Ibn al-Qayyim rejects the extremist idea that all Shia scholars are liars and ignorant.

9. Ibn al-Qayyim admitted that the authors of the Sahih books narrated from a group of Shia.

Arabic:

وقد روى أصحاب الصحيح عن جماعة من الشيعة وحملوا حديثهم واحتج به المسلمون.

English:

“The authors of the Sahih works narrated from a group of Shia, carried their hadith, and the Muslims used it as proof.”

Reference:

Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Sawa‘iq al-Mursalah, vol. 2, p. 617.

Short comment:

So even Sunni hadith tradition did not reject every Shia narrator automatically.

10. al-Shahrastani defined Shia as those who specifically followed Ali a.s and believed in his Imamah and Khilafah.

Arabic:

الشيعة هم الذين شايعوا عليا رضي الله عنه على الخصوص، وقالوا بإمامته وخلافته نصا ووصية، إما جليا، وإما خفيا، واعتقدوا أن الإمامة لا تخرج من أولاده.

English:

“The Shia are those who followed Ali specifically, and said that his Imamah and Khilafah were by text and bequest, either openly or hiddenly, and believed that Imamah does not leave his descendants.”

Reference:

al-Shahrastani, al-Milal wa al-Nihal, vol. 1, p. 146.

Short comment:

Even in Sunni heresiography, Shia identity is defined by following Ali a.s and his descendants.

11. Ibn Khaldun defined Shia as followers of Ali a.s and his sons.

Arabic:

اعلم أنّ الشيعة لغة هم الصحب والأتباع، ويطلق في عرف الفقهاء والمتكلمين من الخلف والسلف على أتباع عليّ وبنيه رضي الله عنهم.

English:

“Know that Shia linguistically means companions and followers; and in the terminology of jurists and theologians, from later and earlier scholars, it is applied to the followers of Ali and his sons.”

Reference:

Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddimah.

Short comment:

So even Ibn Khaldun says Shia are known as followers of Ali a.s and his sons.

Logical conclusion:

The Prophet ﷺ told the Ummah to hold on to the Qur’an and his ‘Itrah.

The Shia say:
We take our religion from the Qur’an and from the Imams of the Prophet’s ‘Itrah.

Sunni sources themselves preserve the blessed chain:

Ali al-Rida
from Musa al-Kazim
from Ja‘far al-Sadiq
from Muhammad al-Baqir
from Ali Zayn al-Abidin
from Hussain
from Ali
from Muhammad ﷺ

Then Shia hadith explains the principle:

حديثي حديث أبي
“My hadith is the hadith of my father.”

And Ibn Taymiyyah admits:

Shia legal rulings are mainly based on what they transmit from Ahl al-Bayt.

Shia scholars transmit from the fuqaha of Ahl al-Bayt.

Imam al-Baqir and Imam al-Sadiq are among the greatest Imams of the Muslims.

What Shia transmit from these Imams in Sharia matters is mostly truthful, not mostly false.

And Ibn al-Qayyim admits:

The Imami jurists from first to last transmit from Ahl al-Bayt.

So the question is simple:

If the chain of Ahl al-Bayt is so noble that Sunni books preserve it as a blessed Golden Chain, and if Sunni scholars admit that Imami Shia fiqh is transmitted from Ahl al-Bayt, then why mock the Shia for following the Ahl al-Bayt?

The real issue is not that Shia left the Sunnah.

The real issue is that Shia took the Sunnah through the house of the Prophet ﷺ.

And that house is exactly what the Prophet ﷺ told the Ummah not to abandon.