Confidants of the Imams
Confidants of the Imams or Aṣḥāb Sirr al-Aʾimma (Arabic: أَصحاب سِرِّ الأئِمَّة) refers to some companions of Shiite Imams (a) who were trusted by them, with whom they shared knowledge of the hidden and some high-level divine knowledge. Hudhayfa b. Yaman is known as Prophet Muhammad's (s) confidant and Kumayl b. Ziyad and Rushayd al-Hajari are known as Amir al-Mu'minin's (a) confidants. This term is used for Mu'alla b. Khunays, one of the companions of Imam al-Sadiq (a), and Musafir, the servant of Imam al-Rida (a).
Meaning
"Aṣḥāb" (Arabic: أَصحاب, companions) is an Arabic word from the root, "ṣ-ḥ-b" (ص-ح-ب), meaning companions, friends and helpers. It is the plural form of "ṣāḥib" (Arabic: صاحِب) meaning friend and companion. Terminologically speaking, it refers to the companions of Shiite Imams (a), as the word "sahaba" refers to the companions of the Holy Prophet (s).
Companions of the Imams (a) are people who directly narrated hadiths from one or more Imams (a) or have at least spent some time with them. Some companions of the Imams (a) were very close and special and were informed by the Imams (a) of some secrets; they were known as their confidants (Ashab al-Sirr).[1]
The Prophet's (s) Confidant
The Prophet (s) knows Ali (a) as his confidant.[2] In sources of 'ilm al-rijal, Hudhayfa b. Yaman is mentioned as the Prophet's (s) confidant, since the Prophet (s) trusted him and shared with him some news about the future. He also shared with him some knowledge of the true character of some people and hypocrites.[3] Upon his return from Tabuk, the Holy Prophet (s) told him the names of every single hypocrite who sought to ride his vehicle.[4] This is why biographers mentioned him as the Holy Prophet's (s) confidant or Sahib al-Sirr.[5]
Imam 'Ali's (a) Confidants
Some companions of Imam 'Ali (a) were referred to as his confidants, but no companions of other Imams (a) are known as their confidants. Some people referred to Kumayl b. Ziyad[6] and Rushayd al-Hajari[7] as Imam 'Ali's (a) confidants. It is also said that the Imam (a) had shared "some hidden secrets of succession" with Maytham al-Tammar.[8]
If "Sahib al-Sirr" or confidant refers to people with whom an Imam (a) shared knowledge of the hidden, then people such as Maytham al-Tammar and Habib b. Muzahir can also count as Imam 'Ali's (a) confidants. Shaykh 'Abbas al-Qumi refers to these three people (Kumayl, Maytham and Habib) as people who shared knowledge of the hidden with one another, including knowledge of how they would be martyred.[9]
Other Imams' Confidants
This term is used for Mu'alla b. Khunays,[10] one of the companions of Imam al-Sadiq (a), and "Musafir", the servant of Imam al-Rida (a).[11]
Its Value in Rijal
When this term is used as a character of a transmitter, it shows his authenticity (withaqat) in narrating hadith;[12] although some believe it is just a simple praise for him.[13]
Notes
- ↑ Marʿī, Muntahā l-maqāl fī l-dirāyat wa l-rijāl, p. 99.
- ↑ Mihrīzī wa khūʾī, Mīrāth-i ḥadīth-i Shīʿa, vol. 2, p. 222.
- ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 346; Ibn Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 1, p. 468.
- ↑ Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 3, p. 1042-1044.
- ↑ Ibn Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 1, p. 468; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, p. 335.
- ↑ Majlisī, Rawḍat al-muttaqīn, vol. 2, p. 81.
- ↑ Qummī, Muntahā l-āmāl, vol. 1, p. 473.
- ↑ Thaqafī, al-Ghārāt, vol. 2, p. 797.
- ↑ Qummī, Muntahā l-āmāl, vol. 1, p. 473.
- ↑ Kāẓimī, Takmilat al-rijāl, vol. 1, p. 133.
- ↑ Namāzī Shāhrūdī, Mustaṭrafāt al-maʿālī, p. 321.
- ↑ Marʿī, Muntahā l-maqāl fī l-dirāyat wa l-rijāl, p. 99.
- ↑ Kāẓimī, Takmilat al-rijāl, vol. 1, p. 133.
References
- Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr. Al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-ṣaḥāba. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Cairo: [n.p], 1380 AH.
- Ibn Athīr, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Usd al-ghāba. Cairo: [n.p], 1286 AH.
- Ibn Saʿd. Muḥammad b. Manīʿ al-Baṣrī. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Beirut: [n.p], 1977.
- Kāẓimī, ʿAbd al-Nabī. Takmilat al-rijāl. Qom: Anwār al-Hudā, 1425 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Taqī al-. Rawḍat al-muttaqīn. Edited by Mūsawī Kirmānī. Qom: Muʾassisa-yi Farhangī Islāmī Kūshānpūr, 1406 AH.
- Marʿī, Ḥusayn ʿAbd Allāh. Muntahā l-maqāl fī l-dirāyat wa l-rijāl. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-ʿUrwa al-Wuthqā, 1417 AH.
- Mihrīzī, Mahdī & khūʾī, ʿAlī. Mīrāth-i ḥadīth-i Shīʿa. Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1380 Sh.
- Namāzī Shāhrūdī, ʿAlī. Mustaṭrafāt al-maʿālī. Tehran: Muʾassisat Nabaʾ, 1422 AH.
- Qummī, ʿAbbās. Muntahā l-āmāl. Qom: Dalīl-i Mā, 1379 Sh.
- Thaqafī, Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Ghārāt. Edited by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥaddith. Tehran: Anjuman-i Āthār-i ʿIlmī, 1395 AH.
- Wāqidī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Maghāzī. Edited by Marsden Jones. Landon: [n.p], 1966.