Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju’fi

• Most of our information regarding the status of the imams’ disciples and
their functions in the Shi`i community is based on Shi’a biographical works
that were compiled during the tenth and eleventh centuries since it is
these that have survived todate as the earlier biographical works
composed by the Imam’s disciples were incorporated into these bigger
works and therefore the earlier works became dispensable. Sunni works
on the biographies of the narrators of hadith which are available today
appeared atleast a century earlier to the Shi’a ones.
• The following are some of the most important Shi’a biographical works.
• These are the Shi’a biographical works of the 10-11th CE and these are the
compositions of Muhammad ibn Umar al-Kashshi (d. 368 AH / 978 AD),
Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi [Shaykh al-Tusi] (d. 459 AH / 1067 AD),
and Ahmad ibn `Ali al-Najashi (d. 450 AH / 1058-59 AD), who are the
primary Shi`i biographers of this time. Historically, al-Kashshi, al-Tusi, and
al-Najashi lived under the more favourable period of the Buyid dynasty
(945-1055 AD).
• Biographical works that contain profiles of the narrators
of hadith are known as kutub al-rijal. The word rijal is
plural for rajul which means ‘a man’. Therefore rijal means
‘men’. It means ‘the men who transmitted ahadith from
the Prophet and the Imams’. However these works also
include biographical profiles of women transmitters but
these appear to be fewer in number to the men.
• Although al-Kashshi’s rijal work is no longer available,
Shaykh al-Tusi’s abridged version of al-Kashshi’s original
text is available. A distinctive feature of al-Kashshi’s work
is the presence of contradictory reports on a disciple,
sometimes from the same imam. Shaykh al-Tusi’s
abridged version of al-Kashshi’s text is called Ikhtiyar
Ma`rifah al-Rijal.
• Shaykh al-Tusi compiled two books on the rijal (the Fihrist and
Rijal). His Kitab al-Rijal is in the form of a tabaqat work, (which
means it) chronologically links the rijal with the imams from
whom they related traditions. (So this work progresses time-
wise from the biographies of the narrators of the earliest Imam
to the latest Imam). Besides indicating when a person lived, al-
Tusi occasionally indicates the narrator’s sectarian affiliations
(such as if he was a Zaydi, Ismaili, Fat-hi, Waqifi shi’a or
otherwise), and his reliability with respect to transmitting
hadiths. However, as he authenticates only a few transmitters in
this work, its value is limited.
• In his Fihrist (Index), al-Tusi surveys the lives of many rijal and
gives details of the works they compiled or authored. Al-Tusi
mentions 888 rijal in this book. In most cases, he merely cites
the titles of their works without commenting on their reliability
or unreliability.
• Al-Najashi’s work is arguably the most important
Shi`i rijal work. Apart from examining the lives of
more rijal, he describes each transmitter in greater
detail, citing his ancestry, tribe, and place of
residence, and often quotes previous opinions
about him. In addition, he lists the books composed
by each disciple and, where relevant, the imams
from whom the disciple reported hadiths. Due to
the depth of information contained on the lives of
the rijal and clearer enunciations of their veracity or
lack thereof, Najashi’s work has been deemed
particularly valuable on these people’s status. In his
work, Najashi mentions 1,240 rijal.
• Several other biographical works were composed by the
Shi`is around this time such as the work of Muhammad
ibn Ishaq al-Nadim. A distinctive feature of Muhammad
ibn Ishaq al-Nadim’s (d. 990-91 AD) Fihrist is that it
deals with all branches of knowledge, arts, schools of
jurisprudence, and traditions prevalent among
Muslims. In fact, he does not restrict himself to citing
the works of Muslims, for he lists the compositions of
both Muslims and non-Muslims in different fields.
However, his treatment of the imams’ disciples is very
brief, amounting to less than ten pages, and he
mentions only a few of the imams’ supposed thousands
of disciples. Thus, the value of his biographical work is
limited.
• Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Ghada’iri
(d. 1020 AD) was a senior contemporary of al-
Tusi and al-Najashi. Shaykh al-Tusi mentions
that al-Ghada’iri wrote two books; one was a
study of Shi`i authors and another, entitled Al-
Du`afa’, mentioned weak and untrustworthy
narrators as the title itself suggests. According
to al-Tusi, both of these works were destroyed
but citations from the latter book can be found
in subsequent works of rijal where their
authors mention the opinion of al-Ghada’iri.
• It has to be remembered that many Shi`i hadith works, among
them those of al-Kulayni (d. 939-40 AD), Ibn Babawayhi al-
Saduq (d. 991 AD), al-Tusi, and legal works of al-Mufid (d.
1022 AD), al-Tusi and Sharif al-Murtada (d. 1044 AD) had been
composed during this time. The systematization of Shi`i hadith
and fiqh works during this time necessitated a close scrutiny
of the isnads that often accompanied the legal ahadith. This
factor prompted the scholars to compose their biographical
works in which they not only gave details of the hadith
transmitters in terms of biographical details, but also
mentioned their works, their teachers and students, their
sectarian affiliations, and whether they were truthful in
hadith transmissions and had a good memory or not, thereby
distinguishing the reliable rijal from those whose traditions
were suspect where the main aim was to aid in the
verification of the individuals that together made up the
chains appended to an individual hadith.
 Here is a list of several additional important Biographical Works and their
Authors who lived subsequent to the 11th CE. Those scholars whose names
are highlighted in blue font are mentioned a number of time in this PPT, so
identify them well.
• Muntajab al-Din, `Ali ibn `Ubayd Allah Babawayh (died after 585 AH/1189 AD). He
wrote Kitab al-fihrist, and a history of the Shi`ah scholars. Al-Majlisi included it at the
end of vol. 25 of his Bihar al-anwar. Muntajab al-Din was a student of Shaykh al-
Tabrisi and has been mentioned in the PPT titled ‘Biographies of the Imams’.
• Muhammad ibn `Ali ibn Shahrashub [d. 1192 AD] wrote Maʿlim al-ʿulamāʾ fī fihrist
kutub al-Shiʿa wa ʾasmāʾ al-muṣannifīn qadīman wa ḥadīthan. This is the same
scholar who authored Manaqib Ali Abi Talib. He was also a student of Shaykh al-
Tabrisi and therefore a colleague of Muntajab al-Din.
• Ibn Tawus, Ahmad ibn Musa ibn Ja`far al-Hilli (died 673 AH/1274-75 AD) wrote Hall
al-'ishkal in the year A.H. 644 AH, and brought together in it all biographical
accounts of the five major works on `ilm al-rijal, that of al-Kashshi, al-Najashi, al-Tusi
and Ibn al-Ghada'iri's al-Du`afa.
• Taqi al-Din Hasan ibn Ali ibn Dawud al-Hilli (alive in 707 AH / 1307 AD) wrote Kitab
al-Rijal.
• Al-`Allamah al-Hilli, al-Hasan ibn Yusuf (died 726 AH /1325-26 AD) wrote Khulasat
al-'aqwal.
• Shaykh Hurr al-`Amili, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (died 1104 AH/1692-93
AD) wrote `Amal al-'amal and Tadhkirat al-`ulama' al-muta'akhkhirin. This
scholar is the one who compiled the famous, multi-volume work of hadith
titled Wasa’il al-Shi’a ila tahsil Ma’rifat al-Shari’ah, which no mujtahid can
do without.
• Al-Mamaqani, Shaykh `Abd Allah ibn Shaykh Hasan (died 1350 AH/1931-32
AD) wrote Tanqih al-Maqal fi ‘Ilm al-Rijal.
• Sayyid Muhsin al-`Amili (died 1370 AH/1950-51 AD) wrote 'A`yan al-Shi`ah,
of which thirty-four volumes have been printed in Syria.
• Aqa Buzurg, Muhammad Muhsin al-Tehrani (d. 1970 AD), wrote al-Dhari`ah
'ila tasanif al-shi`ah, in which he devoted each volume to figures of every
century starting from the fourth century Hijrah. He also compiled a work
on history of `ilm al-rijal with the title Musaffa al-maqal. In this book he
has given biographical accounts of six-hundred narrators. Another work of
his on the biographies of scholars was Tabaqat a'lam al-shi'a .
• Ayatullah Abu al-Qasim al-Khu’i (d. 1992 AD), Mu`jam Rijal al-Hadith, 23
volumes.
• Abu Muhammad Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju‘fi al-Kufi was a
prominent muhaddith of Kufa in the late Umayyad
period. He was considered to be one of the main sources
of religious knowledge in his day. Many of the
distinguished scholars of the early ‘Abbasid period
studied with him and transmitted hadıth from him as a
learned and reliable transmitter, though disagreeing with
his Shı‘ite beliefs. There is no accurate information
available about his parents or his date of birth. He died in
128 AH / 746 AD.
• Almost all Sunnı and Shı‘ite biographical works on the
transmitters of hadıth have entries on Jabir al-Ju‘fı.
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early
Shi’ite Literature 1:87).
•Jabir was an extremely prolific transmitter of hadıth. Al-Dhahabı (d. 1348 AD) a
famous scholar of Damascus describes Jabir, in his multi-volume work of history
titled Ta’rıkh al-Islam al-Kabir, (volume 8 [for the years 121–140 AH]: pg 59) as a
major fount of religious knowledge (min aw‘iyat al-‘ilm). Al-Tirmidhı (d. 279
AH/892 AD), the famous compiler of Sunan al-Tirmidhi which is a collection of
ahadith and which is one of the six canonical compilations of Sunni hadith [1:
248, 6: 233] reports in this work that were it not for Jabir, Kufa (a major center
of hadıth in the second century hijri) would be devoid of hadıth.
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi’ite Literature 1:87).
•Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (which title which means: the lecturer / orator of
Baghdad) Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali (d. 463 AH / 1071 AD) reports in his work
Taqyid al-Ilm: 109 (meaning: "The Fettering of Knowledge", an important book
gathering reports about the controversy that prevailed in early Islam about
writing the hadith) that Jabir was among the few early authorities of hadıth
who used to record in writing what he would hear. As is well known, this was
against the practice of many of his colleagues in this generation.
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi’ite Literature 1:92).
• He had heard hadıth from many masters of the hadith and has
narrated from some companions of the Prophet especially Jabir ibn
‘Abd Allah al-Ansari (d. 78 AH / 697 AD) and Abu Tufayl ‘Amir ibn
Wasilah al-Laythi (d. 106 AH / 724 AD), but it was from the Imam
Muhammad al-Baqir (d. 114 AH / 732 AD) that Jabir received most
of his knowledge: some seventy thousand hadıths (fifty thousand as
reported by the famous Sunni hadith scholar and compiler of Sahih
Muslim, Muslim ibn Hajjaj (d. 261 AH / 875 AD) in his Sahih, many
thousands of which he never shared with others (Fasawı 2: 715; for
variants of this quotation, see al-Kulayni’s Kafı 8: 157; the rijal work
of al-Kashshı: 194; Shaykh al-Mufid’s al-Ikhtisas: 66–7). Jabir was
from Kufa and most probably lived all his life in that city until his
death except for the eighteen years in which he resided in Medina,
acquiring knowledge from al-Baqir (as reported by Shaykh al-Tusı, in
his hadith work al-Amalı: 296).
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi’ite Literature
1:87).
• Jabir has also narrated a number of hadiths from Imam al-Sadiq, but
much fewer than those narrated from al-Baqir. This may be due to the
fact that he was living in Kufa during Imam al-Sadiq’s imamate and,
hence, could visit him only sometimes (for example, during the days of
hajj) in Medina.
(The Scholarly Contributions of Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju’fi pg 263).
• Apart from Imams al-Baqir and al-Sadiq, some of his teachers were:
Mujahid ibn Jabr (d. 100-104 AH / 722 AD), a leading Qur’an
commentator, ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah (114-115 AH / 733 AD), a famous
Meccan scholar, ‘Amir ibn Sharahbil al-Sha‘bi (d. 103 AH / 721 AD),
‘Ikrimah (d. 105 AH / 723 AD) the mawla (freed slave) of Ibn ‘Abbas,
Tawus ibn Kaysan al-Yamani (d. 105 AH / 723 AD), a companion of
Imam al-Sajjad who may well have met Abdullah ibn Abbas, the
Prophet’s cousin and companion (d. 68 AH / 687 AD). Some of Jabir’s
most well-known pupils and narrators of his hadiths are: Sufyan al-
Thawri (d. 161 AH / 778 AD), Shu‘bah ibn Hajjaj (160 AH / 777 AD),
and Amr ibn Shimr al-Ju‘fi.
(The Scholarly Contributions of Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju’fi pg 264).
• Jabir had many students some of whom could have heard as
many as ten thousand hadıths from him. This was in fact the
number of the hadıths that the son of the prominent judge of
Kufa, Sharık b. ‘Abd Allah al-Nakha‘ı’ (d. 157 AH / 774 AD), said
his father had received from Jabir. This is reported by al-
Dhahabi the Damascene scholar (d. 1348 AD) in his
biographical work Mızan al-I’tidal 2: 220. Some of Jabir’s
pupils recorded their hearings from him. For example Ahmad
b. Hanbal (d. 241 AH / 855 AD) the scholar who is said to have
founded the Hanbali school of Sunni law and whose book of
ahadith by the title Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal is famous, was
seen copying the notebook of hadıth that Zuhayr (d. 173 AH),
another student of Jabir, had made from his transmissions
(Ibn Rajab, Sharh ‘Ilal al-Tirmidhı 1: 385–6).
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi’ite
Literature 1:92-93).
• Ya‘qubi, the Shi’a historian (d. 284 AH/ 898 AD) and author of the
well-known historical work – Ta’rikh al-Ya’qubi - which is available till
todate has included Jabir among the outstanding jurisprudents
(fuqaha) of the late Umayyad and early ‘Abbasid eras. According to
Muhammad Ibn Sa‘d (230 AH / 845 CE) the author of the famous
biographical work al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (meaning: The Book of the
Major Classes of Narrators), during the time that Khalid ibn ‘Abd Allah
al-Qasri ruled over Kufa (and he is said to have ruled from 105-120
AH), whenever the chief judge of the city (‘Isa ibn Musayyab al-Bajali)
made a judgement, Jabir would be sitting beside him. According to
some narrations, Jabir sometimes would make judgments himself,
indicating that Jabir was a competent jurisprudent. (The Scholarly
Contributions of Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju’fi pg 269).
• Al-Najashı names eight works by Jabir, none of which have survived,
but quotations from these are found in later works.
1. Kitab al-tafsır
• Al-Najashı and Shaykh al-Tusı (as mentioned in Shaykh al-Tusi’s
Fihrist: 45) had access to this commentary. There is also a reference
to the tafsır of Jabir in Kashshı’s Rijal: 192. Jabir was noted both for
his knowledge of and interest in the interpretation of the Qur’an. A
report in Muslim: 20–21 (also Fasawı 2: 715–16 and others) shows
people asking Jabir about the meaning of verses of the Qur’an. The
book seems to have been a fairly well known work in its field. This
Tafsır of Jabir was known as Tafsır Ahl al-Bayt. There are many
quotations on Qur’anic commentary from Jabir in Sunnı and Shı‘ite
works of tafsır and hadıth; most of them in all probability go back to
this work.
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi’ite
Literature 1:94).
• 2. Kitab al-fada’il.
• 3. Kitab al-Jamal.
• 4. Kitab Siffın: The bulk of the material of this work has survived in Nasr b.
Muzahim’s Waq‘at Siffın. This is a monograph on the battle of Siffin. Nasr was a
Kufan and died in 212 AH/827 AD. Part of this book has also appeared in the
commentary of Nahj al-Balaghah of Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mu’tazili (d. 1258 AD in
Baghdad). Ibn Abi al-Hadid’s commentary of Nahj al-Balaghah is a very famous,
valuable and oft-quoted and studied commentary. In some other Sunni and
Shi‘a works, one can find stories about the Battle of Siffin narrated by Jabir,
possibly adopted from this book.
• 5. Kitab al-Nahrawan. A lengthy text made up of ‘Alı’s answers to questions
posed to him by the head of the Jewish community (of Kufa?) on his return
from Nahrawan (found in Shaykh al-Saduq’s Khisal: 364–82:
https://www.al-islam.org/al-khisal-numeric-classification-traditions-characteris
tics-shaykh-saduq/part-6-six-numbered#imam-ali-mgb-superceded-others-six
) may have belonged to this book. There is also a text of a sermon allegedly
given by ‘Alı on his return from Nahrawan to Kufa that Shaykh al-Saduq quotes
from Jabir in his hadith compilation Ma‘anı al-Akhbar 58–60 with a lengthy
commentary by Jabir himself (Ma‘anı¯: 60–62) that is obviously taken from a
book by him. This too may have been taken from the work in question.
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi’ite Literature 1:99-
101).
• 6 Kitab maqtal Amır al-Mu’minın: Some of the
quotations from Jabir on the conduct of Imam ‘Alı in
Kufa, his sermons and his judicial decisions may originally
have belonged to this work.
• 7. Kitab maqtal al-Husayn: This is in all likelihood the
text quoted in full in Bihar al-Anwar 30: 287–300 the
encyclopaedic, multi-volume hadith collection made by
Allama Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (d. 1698 AD). There
are also individual quotations from Jabir on the massacre
at Karbala which are scattered in various works of hadith.
• 8. Kitab al-nawadir.
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early
Shi’ite Literature 1:101-103).
• 9. Kitab hadıth al-Shura (Fihrist: 111). The full text of this
treatise is quoted in al-Ihtijaj 1: 320–36 (by Abu Mansur
Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib who died in 588 AH / 1192 AD).
The treatise lists the virtues of ‘Alı that made him the most
qualified to succeed the Prophet in the leadership of the
Muslim community. The material is in the form of a direct
speech by ‘Alı, arguing with the members of the council set
up by ‘Umar at his deathbed to choose his successor. The text
is quoted from Jabir by his main transmitter, ‘Amr b. Shimr.
• A similar text by the name Khutbat al-Wasıla, from Jabir
appears as a sermon that Imam ‘Alı gave in Medina one week
after the Prophet’s death, and it is recorded in Shaykh
Kulayni’s al-Kafı 8: 18–30.
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi’ite
Literature 1:103).
• 10. Asl/Kitab. Most of the many hundreds of reports
quoted on the authority of Jabir in Sunnı (especially in
‘Abd al-Razzaq and Ibn Abı Shayba’s Musannafs) and
Shı‘ite works on various topics of theology, ethics and
law could have originally belonged to this notebook.
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early
Shi’ite Literature 1:103).
• ‘Abd ar-Razzaq as-San‘ani (who lived from 126 AH – 211
AH) was a prominent Sunni scholar of the science of
hadith. He compiled a work of hadith by the name al-
Musannaf. Musannaf works have ahadith arranged
according to topic rather than according to historical
chronology. Ibn Abi Shayba (d. 235 AH) also compiled a
Musannaf hadith work.
 Jabir’s Negative Profile in Sunni Biographical Works
• Despite some favourable statements in favour of Jabir in
Sunni biographical works as seen above, the general tenor
of his assessment in Sunni works is negative. Thus
Muhammad Ibn Sa‘d (230 AH / 845 CE) the author of al-
Tabaqat al-Kubra records several reports that case doubt
on Jabir’s narrations and his religious views (The Heirs of
the Prophet pg 170).
• Bukhari (d. 256 AH / 870 AD) in his Tarikh gives a profile of
Jabir which is also negative in that Jabir is accused of being
a liar and of being abandoned by many people (ibid).
• Al-،Ajli (d. 874 AD), a contemporary of Bukhari, on the
other hand, says that Jabir was da،if (weak) and extreme in
his Shi،ism (ibid) and that he would refer to al-Baqir as
wasiyy al-awsiya – the legatee of the legatees (ibid 171).
• In his Sahih, Muslim (d. 260 AH / 874 AD) notes that many
transmitters had stopped reporting traditions from Jabir due to
his belief in raj،a and that people used to flock to visit and
narrate traditions from Jabir before he made public what he
made public (qabla ،an yuzhira ma azhara). When this
transpired, many people suspected Jabir’s traditions and
abandoned him which was “the belief in raj،a.” (ibid 171)
• Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 AH/889 AD), a contemporary of Bukhari
and Muslim, in his Ta’wil Mukhtalif al-Hadith, links Jabir with
the Rafidis and states that Jabir was among those who believed
in the doctrine of raj،a. In his Kitab al-Ma،arif, he mentions that
Jabir was one who indulged in ambiguous activities and magical
tricks (a probable reference to miraculous abilities), and links
him with other Rafidi figures like Zurara ibn A’yan (a close
disciple of the Imams al-Baqir and al-Sadiq who died in 148-149
AH) and al-Mukhtar b. ،Ubayd al-Thaqafi. (ibid 171)
• Al-Fasawi (d. 890 AD), another ninth-century
historian, quotes Ahmad Ibn Hanbal as saying that
people had abandoned Jabir because of his
repugnant views. Sunni suspicions against Jabir were
probably augmented by his traditions predicting the
rise of the Qa’im, the Messianic imam. (ibid 171)
• Al-،Uqayli (d. 933 AD) adds that Jabir reviled the
sahaba, a practice that was apparently shared by
many Rafidis of his time, and that Jabir claimed al-
Baqir had made him drink from a special utensil
which helped him memorize 40,000 traditions. (ibid
171)
• Ibn Abi Hatim (d. 327 AH/938 AD) in his book Kitab al-Jarh wa 'l-Ta'dil
quotes Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161 AH / 778 AD), who is counted among
Jabir’s students, as saying that Jabir was upright in his traditions and
that, “I did not see anyone who was more truthful in [transmitting]
hadith than Jabir.” Shu’ba, another student of Jabir who was quoted
by Bukhari calling Jabir a liar, is reported by Ibn Abi Hatim to have
said that Jabir was truthful in transmitting traditions. But Ibn Abi
Hatim also records the opinions of some other scholars who
considered Jabir a liar and whose traditions should not be taken
seriously (ibid pg 172).
• Ibn al-Shahin’s (d. 385 / 995) biographical text despite the previous
objections includes him among the trustworthy transmitters of
traditions. (ibid 173)
• Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852 AH / 1449 AD), a famous Shafi’i scholar
who wrote a commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari titled Fath al-Bari fi
Sharhi Sahih al-Bukhari writes in his biographical work titled al-
Tahdhib that Jabir lapsed periodically into bouts of insanity! (ibid 175)
 How may we reconcile these contradictory
profiles?
• These conflicting remarks in Sunni sources on Jabir
can be explained by assuming that, after initially
espousing beliefs that were acceptable to his peers,
Jabir later propagated views that were found to be
repulsive by many. It is from this perspective that the
frequent appearance of the phrase fa-tarakahu (and
he i.e., a transmitter, abandoned him) in Jabir’s
profile become comprehensible.
• So what were these views or beliefs that made proto-
sunnis abandon his reports and to find his views
repulsive?
 Jabir’s Views and Transmissions considered repulsive from a Sunni
Perspective
•Belief in Raj’a - The main reason that Jabir fell out of favor with Sunnı authorities
was reportedly his belief in the doctrine of raj‘a, the idea that ‘Alı and his oppressed
offspring will one day come back to the world to take revenge on their enemies.
(Such reports as transmitted by Jabir can be found in Tafsir al-Ayyashı (2: 257, 326)
which is a hadith-based commentary of the Qur‘a by the early 4th century hijri Shi‘a
scholar Muhammad ibn Mas‘ud al-Samarqandi (d. 320 AH). Such reports from Jabir
can also be found in Ibn Abi Zaynab al-Nu‘mani‘s Kitab al-Ghayba: 332 which is a
book of ahadith on the topic of the occultation of the 12th Imam and related
matters, available here:
https://www.al-islam.org/kitab-al-ghayba-book-occultation-sheikh-an-numani/chap
ter-14-signs-preceding-appearance#block-search-form
. He was a student of al-Kulayni and died in 360 AH / 971 AD. Again Jabir‘s reports
on raj‘a may be found in Kitab al-Ikhtisas: 257–8 which is attributed to Shaykh al-
Mufid (d 413 AH / 1022 AD); and in Kitab al-Ghayba: 478–9 of Shaykh al-Tusi, which
is a work of ahadith on the topic of the occultation of the 12th Imam and related
matters; and Jabir’s reports on raj’a can also be found in the Qur’an commentary of
‘Alı b. Ibrahım al-Qummi 1: 25 who was al-Kulayni’s teacher and died in 307 AH /
919 AD. This Qur’an commentary is a hadith based commentary of the Qur’an).
•Reviling and hating the sahaba especially rejecting the first three caliphs – al-rafḍ
•Narrating reports on the al-Qa’im.
• Narrating and / or expressing views of supernatural powers for the Imams such
as that the Prophet had transmitted his divinely inspired knowledge to Imam
Ali, who then taught it to al-Hasan. This ilm was transmitted to later imams;
• the Imam making him drink from a special cup which granted him a
phenomenal memory.
• miracles of the Imams
• Jabir’s prophecies about future events as, for instance, his foretelling the
infighting within the ‘Abbasid family and a number of other events which can
be found in ‘Ayyashı’s Tafsir 1: 64–6, in Shaykh Mufid’s Kitab al-Irshad 2: 372–3;
predicting the revolt of Abul-Saraya in the year 199 AH as found in Abu al-Faraj
al-Isfahani’s (d. 356 AH / 967 AD) Maqatil al-Talibiyyin: 524; foretelling the
burial of ‘Alı al-Rida in Tus as in Shaykh al-Saduq’s hadith works al-Amalı 119
and ‘Uyun akhbar al-Ridha 2: 257 available here:
https://www.al-islam.org/uyun-akhbar-ar-ridha-volume-2-shaykh-saduq;
Khara’ij: 754–5 (and a variant in Kashshı: 198,) where Jabir predicts the digging
of the water canal of Kufa in the time of the ‘Abbasid Mansur).
• Reports of his ability to carry out supernatural feats.
• It can be said that many of the Sunni accusations against
Jabir are confirmed in Shi’i texts. Thus, to the Sunni
charge of Jabir’s belief in the raj’a, Shi’i texts cite
traditions on raj’a as reported by Jabir. Since ninth-and
tenth-century AD the Shi’is had espoused the belief in
raj،a, and so they could not blame Jabir for propagating
this doctrine.
• Sunni accusations against Jabir regarding his reviling the
sahaba, beliefs in the imamate, and the transmission of
the imams’،ilm are also accepted by the Shi’is as being an
intrinsic part of their religious beliefs.
• The Shi’is could readily accept Sunni accusation against
Jabir because the Shi’is had espoused most of these
beliefs.
 Jabir’s Positive Profile in Shi’a Biographical Works
• In Shi’i biographical and hadith works Jabir is described as a
prolific hadith transmitter and is said to have authored a number
of works. Some of these have been quoted in later texts.
However, Shi’i authors are divided on their assessments of Jabir.
• Al-Saffar al-Qummî, Abû Ja'far (or Abû l-Hasan) Muhammad b. al-
Hasan b. Farrûkh al-A'raj (d. 290 AH /902-903 AD) the compiler of
the hadith work Basa’ir al-Darajat, indicates that the imams
proclaimed him to be a sincere follower of their cause. Thus,
Imam al-Sadiq is quoted as saying that whereas Jabir was truthful
in transmitting their hadith, Mughira b. Sa’id (d. 119 AH / 737 AD)
had lied against the imams.
• Jabir is also depicted in the early Shi’i texts as a recipient of the
imams’ miraculous abilities. Al-Baqir reportedly enabled him to
see the kingdom of the heavens and the earth.
(The Heirs of the Prophet pg 174)
• Kashshi further substantiates that Jabir had
heard thousands of traditions from al-Baqir
and was closely associated with him and that
the imam had entrusted Jabir with many
books, some of which he was to narrate from
only after the downfall of the Umayyads, while
from others he was never to transmit. (ibid
174).
 Jabir’s Negative Profile in Shi’a Biographical Works
• However Kashshi also cites a report where Zurara ibn A’yan quotes
al-Sadiq as saying that he had seen Jabir meet al-Baqir once only
and that Jabir had never gone to see him (i.e., al-Sadiq), a report
that obviously contradicts the thousands of traditions that Jabir had
reportedly transmitted from the imams.
• Jabir’s position among the Shi’is was not well established (see also
Allama al-Hilli’s Khulasat al-Aqwal: 35; Ibn Dawud al-Hilli’s Rijal:
433–4, see Saffar: 238, 459; Kashshı: 192; Ikhtisas: 204).
• Kashshi records many traditions stating that the Shi’is approached
the imams seeking clarification on Jabir’s status. Thus, when al-
Dharih al-Muharibi (n.d.) questioned al-Sadiq about Jabir, the imam
did not initially respond. When al-Dharih questioned him for a third
time, al-Sadiq told him, ‘O Dharih, do not mention Jabir. Indeed, if
the ignoble ones were to hear his traditions they would [also] repel
(shana’u) him - or, he said - they might publicize them (adha’u).’
(ibid 174)
• In Jabir’s profile, Shaykh Tusi merely states that he was an author of
an asl and tafsir work. The fact that al-Tusi neither authenticates Jabir
nor transmits a single comment favorable to him may be interpreted
as a firm indication of his reservations regarding Jabir’s veracity as a
hadith transmitter.
• Al-Najashi is more clear in his criticisms of Jabir.
- He states that many reporters who were weak transmitted traditions
from Jabir.
- He further adds that Jabir was confused in his views and that al-Mufid
had related some poems that referred to Jabir’s confusion.
- Najashi also states that Jabir had reported few traditions on the halal
and haram (the prescribed lawful and unlawful acts).
- Najashi’s comment when he enumerates the books of Jabir further
evinces his reservations regarding him. He states, “These traditions
and books appear [to be] fabricated, however, God knows best.” (ibid
175).
• The medieval Shi’i scholar, Zayn al-Din
al-،Amili – (d. 1557 AD), who is also known as
al-Shahid al-Thani (the Second Martyr), states
that one must refrain from authenticating
Jabir because there was much controversy
regarding his reliability, a position that was
adopted before him by Allama al-Hilli (d. 1325
AD) too. (ibid 175).
 How do we reconcile these contradictory profiles for Jabir which
appear in Shi’a Biographical Works?
• Syed al-Khu’i
- Syed al-Khu’i claims that many reports against Jabir are weak in their chains of
transmission.
- He then quotes Ibn Qawlawayh al-Qummi (d. 978 AD) the compiler of the well-
known and valuable work of ahadith about devotions and pilgrimages titled Kamil
al-Ziyarat who was the student of both al-Kulayni and al-Saffar al-Qummi and a
teacher of al-Mufid, Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi (d. 919 AD) the author of the hadith
based commentary of the Qur’an Tafsir al-Qummi, Ibn al-Ghada’iri (d. 1020) [the
last scholar is an interesting case since he is generally more critical of narrators],
and al-Mufid, all of whom considered Jabir to be reliable. (The Heirs of the Prophet
pg 176).
- So did al-Shaykh al-Hurr al-Amili (d. 1693 AD) the compiler of Wasa’il al-Shi’a and
Muhaddith al-Nuri (d. 1902 AD) the compiler of Mustadrak Wasa’il al-Shi’a.
- Al-Khu’i argues that the authentications provided by these figures surpass Najashi’s
statement that Jabir was confused in his traditions.
- Al-Khu’i then cites the favorable remarks on Jabir, including those on his preserving
thousands of traditions that he received from al-Baqir and his reference to the
imam as the “legatee of the legatees.” Al-Khu’i admits, however, that most of the
favorable reports have weak isnads too. Despite this, he authenticates Jabir. (ibid
176).
- As for Imam al-Sadiq’s statement that he had seen Jabir with his father only
once, and that Jabir had never gone to see him, Syed al-Khu’i asserts that this
statement must be attributed to taqiyya. (ibid 177).
- Ayatullah Mamaqani also mentions the unfavorable reports against Jabir and
dismisses them as arising from taqiyya, especially the seemingly strange
report that Jabir had never met Imam al-Sadiq. (ibid 177).
- Such reports which seem to attempt to deny a link between Jabir and the
Imams may be inorder to protect Jabir. Thus for example Kashshi records
traditions stating that Jabir had deliberately pretended to be mad so as to
avoid being arrested by the Caliph Hisham b. ،Abd al-Malik (d. 125/ 743) who
had ordered his arrest. According to al-Kulayni, al-Baqir had written to Jabir
instructing him to pretend to be insane to avoid being arrested. Within a few
days of Jabir’s receiving the letter from al-Baqir, Hisham’s letter arrived in
Kufa asking his governor to execute Jabir. When the governor found Jabir
playing with children, apparently insane, he pardoned him. (ibid 175).
- In any case, al-Khu’i continues, the report that Jabir had never gone to visit
al-Sadiq does not negate the possibility that the imam had met him at some
other place where Jabir could have acquired the imam’s teachings. (ibid 177).
- Al-Khu’i also expresses amazement at Najashi’s statement that
very few traditions pertaining to the halal and haram are reported
by Jabir. On the contrary, he argues, there are many reports from
Jabir on this subject in the four major Shi،i fiqh manuals. The
hadiths narrated by Jabir have appeared in both Shi‘a and Sunni
works of jurisprudence on a number of matters, including
cleanliness (taharah), prayer (salah), marriage, pilgrimage to
Mecca (hajj and ‘umrah), representation (wikalah), inheritance
(irth), and washing of the corpse and burial (ghusl and tadfin).
Syed al-Khui suggests that perhaps Najashi may have thought that
these were ascribed to Jabir later, or that al-Najashi probably
considers most of Jabir’s hadiths as unreliable due to the weak
narrators who narrate from him. The amount of hadiths narrated
by Jabir through trustworthy narrators are few, and the portion of
these which relate to the permissible and forbidden are still rarer.
(ibid 177).
-As for Najashi’s statement that Jabir was confused in his traditions, Shaykh
Mamaqani says that Najashi’s remarks were precipitated by Jabir’s reports
on the miracles the imams performed. These types of reports were seen at
one time as being extremist, but are now thought to be among the essential
requirements (daruriyyat) of Shi،i faith. Shaykh Mamaqani supports his
claim by citing several traditions on the imams’ miracles as witnessed and
reported by Jabir. (ibid 177).
-It is suggested that it was because of esoteric materials about the super-
human nature of the Imams that he was instructed not to share so much of
his knowledge with others, and that he was instructed by the Imams not to
reveal parts of what he had heard from them to the common people (see,
for instance, Shaykh al-Saduq’s hadith work Kamal al-Din wa Itmam al-
Ni’mah: 253) or, alternatively, was advised to put his head in a well in the
desert and disclose some of those “secrets” only to the well (Kafı 8: 157;
Kashshı: 194).
(Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi’ite Literature
1:89).
• So with respect to the Imam’s statement to Dharih: “O
Dharih, do not mention Jabir. Indeed, if the ignoble ones
were to hear his traditions they would [also] repel
(shana،u) or, he said, they might publicize them
(adha،u)” according to al-Mamaqani, such hadiths are
not a reproach to Jabir but rather a compliment to him.
This is because the hadith shows that al-Sadiq
considered Jabir a scholar who knows about the truths of
which laymen are ignorant and therefore the Imam
discouraged the narration of Jabir’s hadiths to people
with shaky faith and feeble intellect.
• The esoteric material ascribed to Jabir
especially reports about him knowing future
events and being able to work miracles (such
as a report reported by ،Amr b. Shimr who
was associated with ghulat figures that Jabir
could, for example, make people “fly” to
Medina from Kufa) due to having been
initiated into such secrets by the Imam, and
that the Imam had shared with him
knowledge of various things such as that of
the unseen, made a number of later Shı‘ite
scholars suspicious about him and his
transmissions.
• The situation may have been damaged further because the
ghulat ascribed many of their exaggerated ideas to Jabir in
their books as well as ascribing miraculous qualities and
powers to him. It needs to be noted that fake ascription to
Jabir was by no means unusual; Hasan ibn Musa al-Nawbakhtı
(late 3rd century in Firaq al-Shia: 51) names a certain ‘Abd
Allah b. al-Harith who spread exaggerated ideas which he
ascribed to Jabir, apparently shortly after his death (see also
Sa‘d b. ‘Abd Allah: 43). According to al-Nawbakhti, ،Abd Allah
b. al-Harith, a leader of the followers of ،Abd Allah b.
Mu،awiya (d. 130 AH / 748–749 AD), spread the doctrines of
metempsychosis (the passing of the soul at death into
another body either human or animal) and the pre-existence
of the human soul as shadows, and ascribed them to Jabir,
who, in fact, had not espoused such beliefs. (ibid 176).
• Despite contradictory reports concerning Jabir’s
reliability, later Imami biographers (rijalis) have
generally tended to introduce him as an
authority and have tried to refute and explain
away the negative reports about him.
• Al-Mamaqani has gone even further, writing:
What is deduced from the entire narrations
about him is that this man was of the highest
grace and enjoyed a great position near al-Baqir
and al-Sadiq – even that he was a confidential
carrier of the Imam’s secrets and was highly
favoured by them.