List of the Companions of Imam al-Hadi (a)

The list of the Companions of Imam al-Hadi (a) contains the people referred to in Shiite sources as transmitters of hadiths from, deputies or companions of Imam al-Hadi (a), the tenth Shiite Imam. In sources, about 193 people are mentioned as companions of Imam al-Hadi (a).

Number

The number of the companions of Imam al-Hadi (a) is said to amount to 190. According to al-Rijal by al-Shaykh al-Tusi, the number of people who transmitted hadiths from the Imam are over 185. In his Musnad al-Imam al-Hadi, 'Atarudi refers to 179 people as transmitters of hadiths from Imam al-Hadi, suggesting that some of them are reliable and others are unreliable, good (hasan), abandoned, and unknown. According to 'Atarudi, some of the transmitters he mentions are not mentioned in Rijal al-Tusi, and some of the ones mentioned by al-Tusi are not mentioned in 'Atarudi’s Musnad.

'Abd al-Husayn al-Shabistari mentions 193 people as Ashab al-Imam al-Hadi in his al-Nur al-hadi ila ashab al-Imam al-Hadi, and Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Qazwini mentions 346 people in his al-Imam al-Hadi min al-mahd ila al-lahd.

Ashab al-Imam al-Hadi in Rijal al-Tusi

In his al-Rijal, al-Shaykh al-Tusi lists the following people under "Ashab Abi l-Hasan al-Thalith 'Ali b. Muhammad":

Famous students

1. 'Abd al-'Azim al-Hasani; among the famous scholars of the progeny of Imam al-Hasan (a) and a transmitter of hadith.
2. 'Ali b. Imam al-Sadiq (a); He is counted the youngest child of Imam al-Sadiq (a) who also experienced the Imam al-Hadi's period.
3. 'Ali b. Mahziyar al-Ahwazi; was among close companions of Imam al-Jawad (a) and Imam al-Hadi (a) and was their agents in some regions.
4. 'Uthman b. Sa'id; the first deputy of Imam al-Mahdi (a). He was a companion of Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a), Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) and Imam al-Mahdi (a). When the imamate of Imam al-Mahdi (a) began, he was appointed by him as his special deputy.
5. Ahmad b. Ishaq al-Ash'ari al-Qummi; d. between 260/874 and 263/876-7) was a Shi'a scholar in hadith and fiqh in 3rd century AH and met four Imams (a). He was among the companions of Imam al-Jawad (a) and Imam al-Hadi (a) and an agent of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) and also among those who saw Imam al-Mahdi (a) in childhood.
6. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khalid al-Barqi; (b. ~200/815-816 - d.274/887-888 or 280/893-894) was a renowned Twelver Shi'a muhaddith (hadith scholar) and historian of 3rd/9th century. Both Shi'a and Sunni scholars have relied on his hadiths. His most important work is al-Mahasin.
7. Al-Husayn b. Sa'id al-Ahwazi; a companion of Imam al-Rida (a), Imam al-Jawad (a), and Imam al-Hadi (a). He was a jurist and Muhaddith, together with his brother al-Hasan, composed important jurisprudential and hadith works.
8. Fadl b. Shadhan; (d. 260/873) was an Imami scholar of kalam and fiqh. In his al-Rijal, al-Shaykh al-Tusi mentioned Ibn Shadhan as a companion of Imam al-Hadi (a).
9. Ibn Abi al-Khattab; (d. 262/876), known as Ibn Abī l-Khaṭṭāb, was an Iranian Shi'a muhddith and a companion of Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a), and Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari.
10. Ibn al-Sikkit; (b. 186/802 d. 244/858) is a Iranian Shi'a Muhaddith and a great figure in Arabic lexicology and syntax. He was one of the close companions of Imam al-Jawad (a) and Imam al-Hadi (a).
11. Ibrahim b. Mahziyar; one of the Shi'a hadith narrators in the 3rd/9th century. He was the famous companion of Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a), and Imam al-'Askari (a).
12. Khayran al-Khadim; a Shi'a transmitter of hadith in 2nd/8th and 3rd/9th centuries who was a servant of Imam al-Rida (a) and deputy of Imam al-Jawad (a) and Imam al-Hadi (a). Great scholars such as al-Shaykh al-Tusi have mentioned him as reliable.
13. Muhammad b. al-Rayyan b. al-Salt; (alive in 254/868) was a prominent Shi'a scholar and narrator of hadiths in the 3rd/9th century. He was a companion of Imam al-Jawad (a) and Imam al-Hadi (a).
14. Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Qattan al-Qummi; a prominent deputy and assistant of the 'Uthman b. Sa'id and Muhammad b. 'Uthman, the first and the second deputies of Imam al-Mahdi (a) during the Minor Occultation. According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi, he was a companion of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) and had also met Imam al-Hadi (a).
15. Sahl b. Ziyad al-Adami; (d. about 255/868) is a Shi'a hadith narrator who has narrated a lot of hadiths. He was expelled from Qom accused of Ghuluww. He is among the companions of Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a), and Imam al-'Askari (a).
16. Dawud b. al-Qasim b. Ishaq; known as Abū Hāshim al-Ja'farī and Dāwūd b. al-Qāsim al-Jaʿfarī (d. 261/875) was a companion of four Shiite Imams (a): Imam al-Rida (a), Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a), and Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a).
17. Musa b. 'Abd Allah al-Nakha'i
18. Al-Hasan al-Utrush; known as al-Nāṣir al-Kabīr, Nāṣir al-Uṭrūsh, and al-Nāṣir li l-Ḥaqq, was a progeny of Imam al-Husayn (a) and the third ruler of the Alawites in Tabaristan in the 3rd/9th century. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi mentioned him among the companions of Imam al-Hadi (a).

Deviants

1. Ahmad b. Hilal al-Karkhi (b. 180/796 – d.267/880) was among the compaions of Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-'Askari (a) who denied the Special Deputyship of Muhammad b. 'Uthman during the Minor Occultation and thus was cursed in the letter of Imam al-Mahdi (a).
2. Abu Muhammad Hasan al-Shari'i