Muhammad b. Isa b. Ubayd al-Yaqtini
| Companion of | Imam al-Rida (a), Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-Askari (a) |
|---|---|
| Teknonym | Abu Ja'far |
| Well Known As | al-Ubaydi, al-Yunusi |
| Religious Affiliation | Imamiyya |
| Lineage | Al Yaqtin |
| Wellknown Relatives | Yaqtin b. Musa al-Baghdadi (forefather), Ali b. Yaqtin |
| Birth | ~180/796-7 |
| Place(s) of Residence | Baghdad |
| Works | Al-Wadih al-makshuf fi radd 'ala ahl al-wuquf, ... |
Muḥammad b. ʿĪsa b. Ubayd al-Yaqtīnī (Arabic: محمد بن عیسی بن عبید الیقطیني) (b. ~180/796-7 – was living in 254/868) was a famous Shi'a transmitter of hadiths contemporary with some Imams (a). He was a companion of Imam al-Rida (a), Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-Askari (a) and is considered among great Shi'a personalities in jurisprudence, theology and hadiths.
Hadiths he transmitted from Hasan b. Mahbub and Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman were rejected by some Shi'a hadiths scholars; but, his hadiths are trusted by most Shi'a scholars. It is also reported that Imam al-Rida (a) sent him to hajj on his behalf. Al-Yaqtini wrote different works, none of which is available now.
Biography
Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Isa b. Ubayd b. Yaqtin b. Musa was among those (non-Arabs) in wila' covenant (a covenant between Arabs and non-Arabs in order to receive their support) with Asad b. Khuzayma.[1] He was called al-Ubaydi because his grandfather was Ubayd. Al-Yaqtini is referring to his another forefather and the title al-Yunisi is due to the many hadiths he transmitted from Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman.[2]
He was from Al Yaqtin families who had a role in spreading Shi'a in Baghdad. His great grandfather, Yaqtin b. Musa was among great Twelver Shi'a preachers who was persecuted by Marwan, the last Umayyad caliph and although he served Saffah and al-Mansur al-Abbasi after Abbasids took the power, he still believed in the imamate of the descendants of Imam Ali (a).[3] Some considered him among inviters to Abbasids.[4] But, prominent personalities of this family including Ali b. Yaqtin[5] as well as Muhammad b. Isa[6] and his brother Ja'far[7] were among Shi'a and followers of the Imams (a) of the Shi'a.
There is not much information about the details of his life. He lived in "Suq al-'Atash" locality in Baghdad.[8] Researchers considered him among prominent figures of Twelver Shi'a who was considered among great Shi'a scholars in jurisprudence,[9] hadiths and theology. It is not exactly known when he passed away but it is said that he was alive in 254/868.[10]
Contact with Imams (a)
Muhammad b. Isa was among the companions of four Imams (a) (Imam al-Rida (a), Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-Askari)[11] and transmitted some hadiths from Imams (a) in the form of correspondences and oral communications.[12] His name is mentioned in the chains of transmission of 203 hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[13] Also, it is reported that Imam al-Rida (a) sent him to hajj on his own behalf.[14]
Sources and Transmitters
Al-Yaqtini transmitted hadiths from many hadith transmitters who are considered among his hadith sources. The names of twenty six of them are mentioned in the sources,[15] some of whom are people of consensus (i.e. a group of Twelver Shi'a transmitters of hadiths whose hadiths are accepted by Shi'a in any condition), including Muhammad b. Abi Umayr, Hasan b. Mahbub, Hammad b. Isa, Safwan b. Yahya and Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman.[16] The same way, from among those who transmitted from al-Yaqtini and a list of them is mentioned in sources,[17] some of them whose books remained and were published include: Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khalid al-Barqi, the author of al-Mahasin; Abd Allah b. Ja'far al-Himyari, the author of Qurb al-isnad; Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi, the author of Tafsir al-Qummi and Sa'd b. Abd Allah al-Ash'ari, the author of al-Maqalat wa l-firaq.
In the Views of Great Scholars
Al-Najashi who was among great Shi'a scholars in rijal referred to al-Yaqtini as "great person among our companions" and "trustworthy"[18] which are considered high praises and suggest his great position among Twelver Shi'a and his prominence. However, he mentioned an attribute of him which is criticized by some Shi'a hadith scholars.
He said that Nasr b. Sabah (Shi'a transmitter of hadiths and the author Ma'rifat al-naqilin) believed that al-Yaqtini was too young to be able to transmit any hadith from Hasan b. Mahbub. Thus, he did not consider hadiths al-Yaqtini transmitted from Ibn Mahbub acceptable. The same way, Ibn al-Walid al-Qummi (Twelver Shi'a scholar in hadiths and jurisprudence) too did not consider many hadiths al-Yaqtini transmitted from Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman acceptable.[19] Researchers think that this was the reason al-Shaykh al-Tusi consider al-Yaqtini's hadiths weak regarding reliability in his al-Rijal and al-Fihrist.[20] Therefore, scholars such as al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli, Sayyid b. Tawus, al-Shahid al-Thani and al-Muqaddas al-Ardabili did not accept all the hadiths al-Yaqtini transmitted even if he did not transmit them from Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman.[21]
Contrary to this view, it is mentioned in Tabaqat al-fuqaha that al-Yaqtini was among trustworthy persons to Imams (a) and Imam al-Rida (a) sent him to hajj on his own behalf; and since Imam's (a) proxy in hajj should be a person considered just and trustworthy by Imam (a); assigning him as such by Imam (a) ended all doubts about his trustworthiness. Also, a group believe that with regards to the reason he was considered weak, not all the hadiths he transmitted were to be rejected and that weakness was only about some of the hadiths he transmitted.
Works
Al-Yaqtini wrote many works, none of which is now available. Al-Wadih al-makshuf fi radd 'ala ahl al-wuquf is one of his books. As the title implies, it was written to reject Waqifids who did not accept the Imamate of other Imams (a) after Imam al-Kazim (a). Al-Imama, Tafsir al-Qur'an and Kitab al-rijal are the titles of some of his other books. Al-Najashi[22] and al-Shaykh al-Tusi[23] gave lists of this works.
Notes
- ↑ Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 333.
- ↑ Mamaqānī, Tanqīḥ al-maqāl, vol. 3, p. 167.
- ↑ Baghdādī, under Tārīkh Baghdād, vol. 4, p. 202.
- ↑ Ziriklī, al-Aʿlām, vol. 8, p. 207.
- ↑ Baghdādī, under Tārīkh Baghdād, vol. 4, p. 202-204.
- ↑ Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 333.
- ↑ Mamaqānī, Tanqīḥ al-maqāl, vol. 1, p. 220-221.
- ↑ Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 333-334.
- ↑ Group of writers. Mawsūʿat ṭabaqāt al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 3, p. 552-553.
- ↑ Group of writers. Mawsūʿat ṭabaqāt al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 3, p. 552-553.
- ↑ Khoeī, Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīth, vol. 18, p. 120.
- ↑ Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 333.
- ↑ Group of writers. Mawsūʿat ṭabaqāt al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 3, p. 554.
- ↑ Group of writers. Mawsūʿat ṭabaqāt al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 3, p. 553.
- ↑ Group of writers. Mawsūʿat ṭabaqāt al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 3, p. 552.
- ↑ Anṣarī, Aṣḥāb ijmāʿ dar dāʾirat al-maʿārif buzurg-i Islāmī, vol. 9, p. 104.
- ↑ Group of writers. Mawsūʿat ṭabaqāt al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 3, p. 552.
- ↑ Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 333-334.
- ↑ Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 333-334.
- ↑ Izadīfard and others, Naqd-i nigara-yi tadʿīf-i Muḥammad b. ʿĪsa b. Ubayd al-Yaqtīnī, 1395 Sh.
- ↑ Izadīfard and others, Naqd-i nigara-yi tadʿīf-i Muḥammad b. ʿĪsa b. Ubayd al-Yaqtīnī, 1395 Sh.
- ↑ Najāshī, al-Rijāl, p. 334.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, Fihrist kutub al-Shīʿa, p. 402.
References
- Anṣarī, Ḥasan. Aṣḥāb ijmāʿ dar dāʾirat al-maʿārif buzurg-i Islāmī. volume 9. Tehran: Markaz-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif Buzurg-i Islāmī, 1379 Sh.
- Group of writers. Mawsūʿat ṭabaqāt al-fuqahāʾ. Qom: Muʾassisat Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), 1418 AH.
- Ibn Najjār al-Baghdādī, Muḥammad b. Maḥmūd. Tārīkh Baghdād. [n.p]. [n.d].
- Izadīfard ʿAlī Akbar, Rabīʿ Natāj ʿAlī Akbar, Ḥusayn Nizhād Sayyid Mujtabā. Naqd-i nigara-yi tadʿīf-i Muḥammad b. ʿĪsa b. Ubayd al-Yaqtīnī. Taḥqīqāt-i ʿUlūm-i Qurʾān wa Ḥadīth. Summer 1395 Sh, No 30.
- Khoeī, Sayyid Abū l-Qāsim al-. Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīth. Najaf: Muʾassisat al-Khoeī al-Islāmiyya, [n.d].
- Mamaqānī, ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥasan. Tanqīḥ al-maqāl fī ʿilm al-rijāl. [n.p]. [n.d].
- Najāshī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Rijāl. Edited by Mūsā Shubayrī Zanjānī. Qom: Jāmiʿa-yi Mudarrisīn-i Ḥawza-yi ʿIlmiyya-yi Qom, 1365 Sh.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Fihrist kutub al-Shīʿa wa uṣūlihim wa asmāʾ al-muṣannifīn wa aṣḥāb al-uṣūl. Edited by ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Ṭabāṭabāʾī. Qom: Maktabat al-Muḥaqqiq al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, 1420 AH.
- Ziriklī, Khayr al-Dīn al-. Al-Aʿlām. [n.p]. [n.d].