Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi

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Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi
The Tomb of 'Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi in al-Ghadir Mall
The Tomb of 'Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi in al-Ghadir Mall
Personal Information
Full Name'Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi
Well-Known RelativesIbrahim b. Hashim al-Qummi
Birth3rd/9th century
ResidenceQom
Studied inQom
Burial PlaceQom
Scholarly Information
ProfessorsIbrahim b. Hashim al-Qummi
StudentsMuhammad b. Ya'qub al-Kulayni, 'Ali b. Husayn b. Musa b. Babawayh al-Qummi
WorksTafsir al-Qummi


ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-Qummī (Arabic: عَلیّ بن ابراهیم القُمّی) was one of the great Shi'a scholars of hadith, jurisprudence, and exegesis. He was a companion of Imam al-Hadi (a). He authored many books, the most important of which is his hadith-based exegesis of the Qur'an known as Tafsir al-Qummi.

Birth, Demise and Family

His birthday is unknown; but it is certain that he lived during the second half of the 3rd/ninth and beginning of fourth/tenth centuries.[1]

His father, Ibrahim b. Hashim, was one of the famous Shi'a hadith transmitters, who moved from Kufa to Qom. It is said that he was the first person who disseminated the hadiths of the Kufans in Qom. He also met with Imam al-Rida (a).[2]

'Ali b. Ibrahim's brother, Ishaq, and sons -Ahamd, Ibrahim and Muhammd- were all religious scholars of their time.[3]

Companionship with Imams

Shi'a hadith and rijal sources mentioned his name among the companions of Imam al-Hadi (a).[4] In addition to Imam al-Hadi (a), he lived during Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a)'s life and also during Minor Occultation. However, he does not have direct narration from Imam al-Hadi (a) or other Imams (a), in reliable Shi'a hadith sources. Ayatullah Khoei believes that absence of direct narration form Imams does not contradict with the fact the he was a companion of Imam al-Hadi (a).

Scholarly Position

'Ali b. Ibrahim was famous for narrating hadiths and authoring works in hadith. Many books on jurisprudence and exegesis have quoted his narrations from Imams. A lot of reliable and famous Shi'a narrators have quoted his narrations.[5] Scholars in rijal believed that he was a reliable narrator.[6] In al-Kafi, the most authentic hadith source in Shi'a, al-Kulayni has narrated more than seven thousand hadiths from him.[7]

'Ali b. Ibrahim learned hadith under lots of masters in hadith and had many pupils hearing hadith from him. One of his masters in hadith was his father, who had a great position among Shi'a narrators.[8] It is said that he has forty eight master and twenty three pupils. Muhammad b. Ya'qub al-Kulayni and 'Ali b. Babawayh al-Qummi (al-Shaykh al-Saduq's father) learned hadith from him.[9]

Teachers

'Ali b. Ibrahim has benefited from many reliable hadith scholars including:

  1. His father, Ibrahim b. Hashim
  2. His brother, Ishaq b. Ibrahim b. Hashim
  3. Muhammad b. 'Isa
  4. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khalid al-Barqi
  5. Ayyub b. Nuh
  6. Ahmad b. Ishaq b. Sa'd
  7. Ahmad b. Muhammad
  8. Isma'il b. Muhammad al-Maliki
  9. Hasan b. Muhammad
  10. Hasan b. Musa al-Khashshab
  11. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. 'Isa al-Ash'ari

Students

Many scholars have been his students such as:

  1. Muhammad b. Ya'qub al-Kulayni
  2. Qasim b. Muhammad
  3. Ahmad b. Ziyad b. Ja'far al-Hamadani
  4. Hasan b. Hamza 'Alawi
  5. Muhammad b. Musa b. Mutawakkil

In Others' view

Al-Najashi introduces 'Ali b. Ibrahim as a trustworthy figure in narrating hadith who had strong faith and true beliefs and that he was a reliable person and has narrated numerous hadiths from Shi'a narrators.

In his I'lam al-wara, al-Tabrisi considers 'Ali b. Ibrahim among the prominent Shi'a narrators.

Works

'Ali b. Ibrahim wrote many books, including:

Al-Tafsir is his most famous book which is commonly known as al-Tafsir al-Qummi. In this book, he just compiled exegetical hadiths from Ahl al-Bayt (a) and did not add any other explanation from himself or other people. He narrated most of the hadiths in this book from his father, Ibrahim b. Hashim. This book is one of the earliest available Shi'a exegesis and one of the most important sources for Shi'a exegetes during centuries and in the present. However, some contemporaries scholars doubted that the current available copy of the book –which has been published in two volumes- is not the exact book written by 'Ali b. Ibrahim.

  • Al-Nasikh wa al-mansukh
  • Qurb al-isnad
  • Al-Shara'i'
  • Al-Hayd
  • Al-Tawhid wa l-shirk
  • Fada'il Amir al-Mu'minin (a)
  • Al-Maghazi
  • Al-Anbiya'
  • Al-Mashdhar
  • Al-Manaqib
  • Ikhtiyar al-Qur'an[10]

Notes

  1. Danishnami Qur'an wa Qur'an pazhuhi, p.1776
  2. Tusi, al-Fihrist, p.36
  3. Danishnami Qur'an wa Qur'an pazhuhi, p.1776
  4. Tusi, al-Abwab, p.390
  5. Khoei, Mu'jam, vol.12 p.214
  6. Tusi, al-Fihrist, p.152,153; Najashi, Fihrist, p.260; Hilli, Khulasa, p.187
  7. Subhani, Tadhkira al-a'yan, p.283
  8. Subhani, Kulliyat fi 'ilm al-rijal, p.310
  9. Danishnami Qur'an wa Qur'an pazhuhi, p.1776
  10. Tusi, al-Fihrist, p.152; Qummi, Tafsir al-Qummi, p.8

References

  • Hilli, Hasan b 'Ali al- Khulasa al-aqwal.
  • Danishnami Qur'an wa Qur'an pazhuhi. Tehran: Dustan-Nahid, 1377
  • Khoei, Sayyid Abu l-qasim al-. Mu’jam rijal al-hadith. 1413
  • Najashi, Ahmad b. 'Ali al-. Fihrist asma' musannifi l-shi'a. Qom: Jami'a Mudarrisin, 1416
  • Qummi, 'Ali b. Ibrahim. Tafsir al-Qummi. Qom: Mu'assia Dar al-Kitab, 1404
  • Subhani, Ja'far. Kulliyat fi 'ilm al-rijal. Qom: Mu'assia Nashr Islami, 1414
  • Subhani, Ja'far . Tadhkira al-a'yan. Qom: Mu'assia Imam al-Sadiq (a), 1419
  • Tusi, Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-. Al-Abwab. Qom: Mu'assia Nashr Islami, 1415
  • Tusi, Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-. Al-Fihrist. Qom: Mu'assia Nashr Islami, 1417