Ḥadīth of Jābir (Arabic: حَدیث جابِر) is a hadith from Prophet Muhammad (s) to which the Shi'a appeal to demonstrate the imamate and specify their Imams (a). The hadith was transmitted by Jabir b. 'Abd Allah al-Ansari. In this hadith, the Prophet (s) explicitly mentioned the Twelve Imams (a) of the Shi'a as well as the title of the Fifth Imam.
 Hadith of Jabir in the inscription of the Oljeitu altar of Isfahan Jami' mosque | |
| Subject | Imamate |
|---|---|
| Issued by | Prophet Muhammad (s) |
| Main narrator | Jabir b. 'Abd Allah al-Ansari |
| Shi'a sources | Kifayat al-athar • Kamal al-din • Bihar al-anwar |
| Sunni sources | Yanabi' al-mawadda |
| Qur'anic support | Ulu l-Amr Verse |
Text of the Hadith
After the revelation of Uli l-Amr Verse, Jabir b. 'Abd Allah al-Ansari asked the Prophet (s): "O the messenger of God! We know God and His messenger; but we need to know the Uli l-Amr." The Prophet (s) replied: "they are my successors and the imams of Muslims after me. The first is Ali b. Abi Talib, and then Hasan, Husayn, Ali b. al-Husayn, and Muhammad b. Ali known in the Torah as "Baqir", whom you will see at an old age, and whenever you see him, send my regards to him. After Muhammad b. Ali, Ja'far b. Muhammad, Musa b. Ja'far, Ali b. Musa, Muhammad b. Ali, Ali b. Muhammad, Hasan b. Ali, and then his son who is my namesake and has the same kunya as mine. He is the one who will hide from people's view, and his occultation will be so long that only people with firm beliefs will continue to believe in him".[1]
The Transmitter and the Content
The hadith was transmitted from the Prophet (s) by Jabir b. 'Abd Allah al-Ansari. Thus, it came to be known as Hadith of Jabir. The Hadith of Jabir explicitly mentions the Twelve Imams of the Shi'a and their imamate. When the Prophet (s) mentions the Fifth Shiite Imam (a), he points to his title ("Baqir"), asking Jabir to send his regards to Imam al-Baqir (a). The hadith also points to the long Occultation of the Twelfth Imam of the Shi'a, analogizing the hidden Imam to the sun behind the clouds.[2]
Sources
The hadith was also cited in some Shiite sources, such as Kifayat al-athar,[3] Kamal al-din,[4] and Bihar al-anwar,[5] as well as some Sunni sources such as Yanabi' al-mawadda.[6] Some Shiite exegetes of the Qur'an have cited the hadith under the discussion of the Uli l-Amr Verse.[7]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, vol. 2, p. 182; Qundūzī, Yanābīʿ al-mawadda, vol. 3, p. 398-399.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, vol. 2, p. 181-182.
- ↑ Khazzāz al-Rāzī, Kifāyat al-athar, p. 54-55.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, p. 253-254.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 36, p. 251.
- ↑ Qundūzī, Yanābīʿ al-mawadda, vol. 3, p. 398-399.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, vol. 2, p. 103-104; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, al-Aṣfā, vol. 1, p. 217.
References
- Baḥrānī, Sayyid Hāshim b. Sulaymān. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Bunyād-i Biʿthat, 1416 AH.
- Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Muḥammad b. Murtaḍā. Al-Aṣfā fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥusayn Dirāyatī & Muḥammad Riḍā Niʿmatī. Qom: Markaz-i Intishārāt-i Daftar-i Tablīghāt-i Islāmī, 1418 AH.
- Khazzāz al-Rāzī, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-. Kifāyat al-athar. Edited by Ḥusaynī Kuhkamarī. Qom: Bīdār, 1401 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Second edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Qundūzī, Sulaymān b. Ibrāhīm al-. Yanābīʿ al-mawadda. Qom: Uswa, 1422 AH.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Tehran: Islāmīyya, 1395 Sh.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Iʿlām al-warā bi-aʿlām al-hudā. Qom: Āl al-Bayt, 1417 AH.