Hadith al-Tayr al-Mashwi

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Hadith al-Tayr al-Mashwi
SubjectProving that Imam Ali (a) is the most loved and virtuous creature before God
Issued byProphet Muhammad (s)
Main narratorAnas b. Malik
NarratorsAbd Allah b. al-Abbas
Validity of the chain of transmissionMutawatir
Shi'a sourcesAl-Amali • Al-Ifsah • Al-Fusul al-mukhtara • Al-Amali
Sunni sourcesKhasa'is Amir al-Mu'minin (a) • Musnad Abi Ya'la • Al-Tarikh al-kabir • Al-Mu'jam al-kabir • Al-Bidaya wa l-nihaya


Ḥadīth al-Ṭayr al-Mashwīy (Arabic: حديث الطائر المشوي) is a hadith regarding the virtues of Imam Ali (a). According to this hadith, Prophet Muhammad (s) wanted to eat a meal of a roasted bird. He asked God to send His most loved and virtuous creature to him to share the meal with him. After some come-and-goes, Imam Ali (a) was the person who eventually ate the meal with the Prophet (s). The hadith is cited in Shiite and Sunni sources. So many people have narrated the hadith such that 90 people narrated the hadith from Anas b. Malik.

The Story

The word "al-tayr" (Arabic: الطَّیر) means bird and the word "al-mashwi" (Arabic: المَشویّ) means roasted or grilled. Here is the story:

one day the Prophet (s) was offered a roasted chicken. He raised his hands to the sky and said: "O God! Send me your most loved creature to eat the meal with me!"

Aisha and Hafsa who heard the Prophet (s) saying these words told their fathers, Abu Bakr b. Abi Quhafa and 'Umar b. al-Khattab, about the story. They went to the Prophet (s) one at a time in order to share the Prophet's (s) meal in the hope of counting as God’s most loved creature, but the Prophet (s) did not admit them to his house.[1]

Anas b. Malik said that I preferred the person who would share the meal with the Prophet (s) to be Sa'd b. 'Ubada from my own tribe, but I saw that Ali b. Abi Talib (a) was coming. I did not let him in for three times. Finally, the Prophet (s) ordered me to let him in. Imam Ali (a) entered the house and shared the meal with the Prophet (s).[2]

Text of the Hadith

Here is the text of the hadith:

The Prophet (s) had a chicken. He said: "O God! Send me your most loved creature to eat this chicken with me." Abu Bakr went to the Prophet (s), but he did not let him in. Then ‘Umar went to him, but the Prophet (s) did not let him in either. But when Ali (a) went to him, he let him in.

Implying Imam Ali's (a) Priority

  • Al-Shaykh al-Mufid argues for the implication of this hadith for the wilaya of Imam Ali (a) as follows: God’s love is grounded in truths, rather than whims and desires. Therefore, the most beloved person by God is the most virtuous person too. What is more, the most virtuous person for God is definitely prior and more preferable with respect to imamate and wilaya, since it is unreasonable to prefer a less virtuous person to a more virtuous one with respect to prophethood and the general khilafa (succession) of God.[3]
  • In his book, al-Fusul al-mukhtara, al-Sayyid al-Murtada argues that the most loved person by God is rewarded by God more than any other creature, and a person who is regarded by God more than all others has more virtuous actions and worships than those of others. Therefore, Imam Ali (a) is superior to all creatures except the Prophet Muhammad (s).[4]

In Sunni Sources

Not only Shiite scholars take Hadith al-Tayr al-Mashwiy to be mutawatir and certainly true,[5] but also some prominent Sunni scholars of hadith have confirmed its reliability and accuracy.[6]

They have cited the hadith from some Sahaba with approximately the same content.

According to Ibn Kathir, 90 people have narrated the hadith from Anas b. Malik.[7] Since he could not object to the chain of the narration of the hadith, he only said in response to it: "in one word, my heart finds something wrong with this hadith, even though it has many chains of narrations. God knows better!"[8]

In reply to Ibn Kathir, 'Allama Amini wrote that his heart was sealed by God, since it does not make sense to deny this hadith in spite of so much evidence.[9]

Moreover, some prominent Shiite and Sunni scholars wrote books and essays regarding the words and chains of narrations of this hadith. Here are some of these scholars:

  • Hakim al-Neyshaburi al-Shafi'i (d. 403 or 405/1012-3 or 1014-5), the prominent exegete of the Holy Qur'an, scholar of hadith and historian, according to al-Mustadrak 'ala l-sahihayn, Tarikh Baghdad, and Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya written by Subki.
  • Hafiz Abu Tahir Hamdan, a student of Hakim Neyshaburi, according to the introduction of Fath al-malik al-'ali.
  • Dhahabi, according to the introduction of Fath al-malik al-'ali.
  • Abu Bakr Mardawayh Isfahani (d. 410/1019-20), the prominent scholar of hadith, exegete of the Holy Qur'an, and historian, according to 'Abaqat.
  • Hafiz Abu Na'im al-Isfahani (d. 430/1038-9), al-'Allama al-Majlisi's grandfather, and a prominent historian and scholar of hadith, according to 'Abaqat.
  • And more comprehensive and important of all, the fourth book of the second "manhaj" (path) of 'Abaqat al-anwar written by Mir Hamid Husayn Lakhnavi (d. 1306/1888-9). The book is exclusively concerned with this hadith, citing its chains of narrations from Sunni sources along with reviews of the narrators.

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 7, p. 350.
  2. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 7, p. 350.
  3. ↑ Mufīd, al-Ifṣāḥ, p. 33.
  4. ↑ Sayyid Murtaḍā, al-Fuṣūl al-mukhtāra, p. 96.
  5. ↑ Mīr Ḥāmid Ḥusayn, ʿAbaqāt al-anwār, vol. 13, p. 107-110, 115.
  6. ↑ Ḥasanī Maghribī, Fatḥ al-malik al-ʿalī, p. 20.
  7. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 7, p. 353.
  8. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 7, p. 353.
  9. ↑ Amīnī, al-Ghadīr, vol. 3, p. 308-309.

References

  • Amīnī, ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Al-Ghadīr fī l-kitāb wa l-sunna. Qom: Muʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i fiqh-i Isāmī, 1388 Sh.
  • Ḥasanī al- Maghribī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-. Fatḥ al-malik al-ʿalī. Edited by Muḥammad Hādī Amīnī. Third edition. Tehran: Maktabat Imām Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī, 1403 AH.
  • Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1407 AH.
  • Mīr Ḥāmid Ḥusayn. ʿAbaqāt al-anwār fī ithbāt imāmat al-aʾimma al-aṭhār. Second edition. Isfahan: Kitābkhāna-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn, 1366 Sh.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Ifṣāḥ fī imāmat Amīr al-Muʾminīn. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Biʿtha, 1412 AH.
  • Sayyid Murtaḍā al-ʿĀmilī. Al-Fuṣūl al-mukhtāra. Edited by Sayyid ʿAlī Mīrsharīfī. Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1414 AH.
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