The Teachers: Their reliability and variety

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In the study of comparative religion, one returns to the source in order to study a respective sect’s view. The two main books, Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Al-Kulayni’s Al-Kafi have both received the highest form of praise from scholars of each respective sect, due to the sheer amount of narrations that are used in the legislation of the rules of the religion.

In this study, we delve into the two most important books of Hadith of the Sunni and Shia Madhhab, with the intention of understanding the way in which the texts, in this case, the traditions, have arrived to the compilers of these works. To be more specific, we have chosen to look into the level of the Shuyookh(teachers) of these two men in both of these books. By listing out firstly the names of these men, their places of origin, and level of trustworthiness, we shall arrive to several conclusions.

As we can see from the study below, we find that the quantity of teachers that Al-Bukhari relied on when authoring his book greatly outnumbers those relied on by Al-Kulayni. This leads the objective reader to the fact that Al-Bukhari put a much greater effort into authoring his book, since he did not rely on a small selective group. We can also see that his teachers were from several different cities. This too is significant since it demonstrates that Al-Bukhari travelled extensively in order to gain knowledge. He did not simply rely on the teachers of Bukhara, Samarqand, and Nisapur, but travelled all the way to Egypt and Syria, not missing out on the major centers of learning that existed at the time. Most importantly, the teachers that he relied upon were to build his work were known to be trustworthy scholars. This demonstrates Al-Bukhari’s keenness in relying on only those whom he believed was worthy of carrying the hadith of the Prophet (saw).

Al-Kulayni, on the other hand, relied on a small select group of people. As we can see from the list below, the vast majority of his teachers were from the city of Qum. We also know for a fact that those teachers have narrated what constitutes the majority of the narrations in Al-Kafi. It is also possible that Al-Kulayni may have also been to Al-Kufa. However, it is hard to say for certain since only two of his teachers were from there. Surely, Al-Kulayni would have narrated from more teachers in Al-Kufa, which was a center for hadith studies at the time, if he had been there. Furthermore, it should also be noted that the majority of the teachers that Al-Kulayni relied upon are of an anonymous status, as opposed to Al-Bukhari, who we have mentioned was very selective in only choosing reliable popular scholars.

THE RESEARCH:

The following is a list of the teachers of Al-Bukhari that he narrated through in his Saheeh, and the list of Al-Kulayni’s teachers from his Kafi. I have chosen to include a short statement regarding the reliability of each narrator next to his name. The opinions about the Shaykhs(teachers) of Al-Bukhari will be taken from Ibn Hajar’s Tahdheeb. The list of his Shaykhs are taken from Asami man Rawa `Anhum Mohammed bin Isma`eel Al-Bukhari, by Ibn `Adi (First edition, Dar Al-Bukhari, 1415). Readers should be aware that I benefited from the commentary of the editor Badr Al-Ammash in his criticism of some of Ibn Adi’s mistakes.

The list of the information regarding the Shaykhs(teachers) of Al-Kulayni, and their level of reliability is taken from Duroos Tamheediya fil Qawa`id Al-Rijaliyah by Mohammed Baqir Al-Ayrawani (Second edition, Intisharaat Madyan, 1428).

Results of the teachers of Al-Bukhari:

Thiqah = 188– This is the number of reliable scholars of Hadith he heard from.

Saduq = 88– The number of honest and trusted big scholars who aren’t as reliable as those above.

La Bas’a bihi = 2– Good famous scholars, there is no harm in narrating from them, they aren’t as good as those above.

Maqbool = 6– Acceptable virtuous scholars whose narrations are passable but require support and they can be a strong support.

Laysa bil Qawi = 1– Scholars whose narrations aren’t strong but can only be used as support.

Da`eef = 1– Scholars who are weak in narrating.

Note: Aseed bin Zaid, the sole weak narrator that Al-Bukhari took a Hadith from, his narration is also narrated through Imran bin Maysara so it supports it.

Variety among the teachers of Al-Bukhari:

Maru = 28 (Merv in Turkmenistan)
Baghdaad = 42 (Capital of `Iraq)
Bukhara = 12 (Province in Uzbekistan)
Masr = 15 (Land of Egypt)
Kufa = 42 (Central `Iraq)
Basra = 82 (South `Iraq)
Nisapur = 12 (Khorasan northern Persian)
Dimashq = 6 (Damascus the capital of Syria)
Hims = 6 (Homs a city in Syria)
Madeena = 9 (al-Madinah al-Munawwarah in Saudi)
Makkah = 7  (Makkah al-Mukarramah in Saudi)
Balkh = 6 (Northern Afghanistan)
Wasit = 11 (Eastern `Iraq)

The narrator that narrated the most Hadiths in Saheeh Al-Bukhari is Abdullah bin Yusuf Al-Taneesi with 352 narrations (out of a total of 7397), which amounts to 4%.

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Results of the teachers of Al-Kulayni:

Thiqah = 10– This is the number of reliable scholars of Hadith he heard from.

Majhool = 18– Number of unknown people he narrated from.

Variety in his teachers (excluding unknown narrators):

Qum = 6 (Qom Persian city)
Kufa = 2 (Central `Iraq)
Barqa = 1 (Village of Barq near Qum)
Azerbijan = 1 (Land of Azerbaijan north of Persia)

The narrator that narrated the most Hadiths in Al-Kafi is `Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Qummi with 4957 narrations (out of a total of 16199), which amounts to 30%.

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THE SHAYKHS OF AL-BUKHARI IN HIS BOOK:

1- Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Yunus Al-Kufi – Thiqa Hafith

2- Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Hanbal Al-Baghdaadi Al-Mirwazi – Imam

3- Ahmad bin Salih Al-Masri – Thiqa hafith

4- Ahmad bin Eisa Al-Masri – Saduq

5- Ahmad bin Al-Miqdam Al-Ijli Al-Basri – Saduq

6- Ahmad bin Shabeeb bin Sa’eed Al-Habati Al-Basri – Saduq

7- Ahmad bin Abdullah Ali bin Suwayid Al-Sadoosi Al-Basri – Saduq

8- Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Awn – Thiqa if he is Al-Azraqi / Saduq lahu awhaam if he isn’t

9- Ahmad/Mohammed bin Abi Dawud Al-Munadi Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

10- Ahmad bin Othman bin Hakeem Al-Kufi – Thiqa

11- Ahmad bin Abi Raja’a Al-Maseesi Al-Harawi – Thiqa

12- Ahmad bin Abi Suraij Al-Razi – Thiqa

13- Ahmad bin Abdullah/Abdul Malik bin Waqid Al-Mirwazi/Al-Harani – Thiqa

14- Ahmad bin Ishaaq Al-Sulami Al-Bukhari – Saduq

15- Ahmad bin Sa’eed Al-Ribati Al-Mirwazi Al-Nisapuri – Thiqa

16- Ahmad bin Al-Hajjaj Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

17- Ahmad bin Yaqoub Al-Mas’oudi Al-Kufi – Thiqa

18- Ahmad bin Abi Tayib Al-Mirwazi – Saduq

19- Ahmad bin Ishkaab Al-Saffar Al-Kufi – Thiqa hafith

20- Ahmad bin Hameed Al-Kufi – Thiqa hafith

21- Ahmad bin Al-Hasan Al-Tirmithi – Thiqa hafith

22- Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Musa Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa hafith

23- Ahmad bin Hafs Al-Nisapuri – Saduq

24- Ibrahim bin Hamza Al-Zubairi Al-Madani – Saduq

25- Ibrahim bin Musa Al-Razi – Thiqa hafith

26- Ibrahim bin Al-Munthir Al-Hizami Al-Madani – Saduq

27- Ibrahim bin Al-Harith Al-Nisapuri – Saduq

28- Isma’eel bin Abdullah Al-Madani – Saduq akhta’a fi ahadeeth hafithaha

29- Isma’eel bin Aban Al-Warraq Al-Kufi – Thiqa

30- Isma’eel bin Al-Khaleel Al-Kufi – Thiqa

31- Ishaaq bin Mohammed bin Isma’eel Al-Madani – Saduq kuf fasa’a hifthah

32- Ishaaq bin Rahawaih Al-Mirwazi Al-Nisapuri – Thiqa

33- Ishaaq bin Ibrahim Al-Baghawi – Thiqa

34- Ishaaq bin Mansour bin Bahraam Al-Kawsaj Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa thabt

35- Ishaaq bin Ibrahim bin Nasr Al-Mirwazi – Saduq

36- Ishaaq bin Shaheen Al-Wasiti – Saduq

37- Ishaaq bin Ibrahim bin Yazeed Al-Dimashqi Al-Faradeesi – Saduq

38- Ishaaq bin Yazeed Al-Khurasani – (The author states that he is the previous narrator)

39- Ishaaq bin Ibrahim Al-Sawwaf Al-Basri – Thiqa

40- Ishaaq bin Abi Eisa Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

41- Adam bin Abi Iyaas Al-Asqalani Al-Khurasani – Thiqa aabid

42- Aseed bin Zaid Al-Kufi – Weak

43- Asbagh bin Al-Faraj Al-Masri – Thiqa

44- Azhar bin Jameel Al-Basri – Saduq yaghrib

45- Ayoub bin Sulaiman Al-Madani – Thiqa

46- Umaya bin Bistaam Al-Basri – Saduq

47- Bishr bin Mohammed Al-Mirwazi – Saduq

48- Bishr bin Khalid Al-Basri – Thiqa yaghrib

49- Bishr bin Ubais Al-Basri – Saduq yukhti’

50- Bishr bin Adam Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

51- Bishr bin Al-Hakam Al-Nisapuri – Thiqa

52- Bishr bin Bakr Al-Bajali Al-Dimashqi – Thiqa yughrib

53- Badal bin Al-Muhabbar Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt

54- Bayan bin Amr Al-Bukhari – Saduq

55- Thabit bin Mohammed Al-Kufi – Saduq zahid yukhti’ fil hadith

56- Juma’a bin Abdullah Al-Balkhi – Saduq

57- Hakam bin Nafi’ Al-Himsi – Thiqa thabt

58- Hasan bin Al-Sabbah Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq yahim

59- Hasan bin Mohammed bin Al-Sabbah Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

60- Hasan bin Mudrik Al-Basri – La ba’sa bihi

61- Hasan bin Abdulaziz Al-Masri – Thiqa thabt

62- Hasan bin Bishr Al-Bajali Al-Kufi – Saduq yukhti’

63- Hasan bin Ali Al-Khallal – Thiqa hafith

64- Hasan bin Al-Rabee’ Al-Kufi – Thiqa

65- Hasan bin Omar bin Ibrahim Al-Basri – (Not a shaikh of Bukhari according to Al-Mizzi)

66- Hasan bin Omar bin Shaqeeq Al-Basri – Saduq

67- Hasan bin Khalaf Al-Wasiti – Saduq lahu awhaam

68- Hussain bin Huraith Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

69- Hussain bin Eisa bin Humran Al-Nisapuri – Saduq

70- Hussain bin Mansoor Al-Nisapuri – Thiqa

71- Hussain (Hasaan) bin Abi Abbad (Abdullah) Al-Wasiti – Saduq yukhti’

72- Hasaan bin Hasaan Al-Basri – Saduq yukhti’

73- Hasaan bin Abi Abbas Al-Basri – (He is the previous narrator)

74- Harami bin Hafs Al-Basri – Thiqa

75- Hajjaj bin Minhaal Al-Basri – Thiqa

76- Hafs bin Omar Al-Azdi Al-Hawdhi – Thiqa

77- Hamid bin Omar Al-Basri – Thiqa

78- Hibban bin Musa Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

79- Haywa bin Shuraih Al-Basri – Thiqa

80- Hammad bin Humaid Al-Khurasani – Maqbool

81- Khalid bin Mukhlid Al-Kufi – Saduq

82- Khalid bin Khalee Al-Himsi – Saduq

83- Khalid bin Yazeed Al-Makki – Saduq muqri’ lahu awhaam

84- Khalad bin Yahya Al-Muqri’ Al-Kufi – Saduq

85- Khaleefa bin Khayyat Al-Basri – Saduq rubama akhta’a

86- Khalaf bin Khalid Al-Masri – Saduq

87- Dawud bin Shabeeb Al-Basri – Saduq

88- Rawh in Abdul Mu’min Al-Basri – Saduq

89- Rabee’ bin Yahya Al-Basri – Saduq lahu awhaam

90- Zakariya bin Yahya bin Zakariya Al-Kufi – Saduq yukhti’

91- Zakariya bin Yahya Al-Ta’ee Al-Kufi – Saduq lahu awhaam

92- Zuhair bin Harb Al-Nasa’ee Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

93- Zaid bin Akhram Al-Ta’ee Al-Basri – Thiqa

94- Ziyad bin Yahya Al-Basri – Thiqa

95- Ziyad bin Ayoub Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

96- Sa’eed bin Katheer bin Ufair Al-Masri – Saduq

97- Sa’eed bin Al-Rabee’ Al-Basri – Thiqa

98- Sa’eed bin Eisa bin Taleed Al-Masri – Thiqa

99- Sa’eed bin Sulaiman Al-Wasiti – Thiqa hafith

100- Sa’eed bin Yahya Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa rubama akhta’

101- Sa’eed bin Mohammed Al-Kufi – Saduq

102- Sa’eed bin Al-Hakam Al-Masri – Thiqa thabt

103- Sa’eed bin Sharahbeel Al-Kufi – Saduq

104- Sa’eed bin Marwan Al-Nisapuri – Saduq

105- Sa’eed bin Al-Nadhr Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

106- Sulaiman bin Dawud Al-Basri – Thiqa

107- Sulaiman bin Abdulrahman Al-Dimashqi – Saduq yukhti’

108- Sulaiman bin Harb Al-Basri – Thiqa imam hafith

109- Sa’ad bin Hafs Al-Kufi – Thiqa

110- Suraij bin Al-Nu’man Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa yahim qaleelan

111- Sahl bin Bakkar Al-Basri – Thiqa rubama wahim

112- Saydan bin Mudharib Al-Basri – Saduq

113- Shihab bin Abbad Al-Kufi – Thiqa

114- Shuja’a bin Waleed Al-Bukhari – Maqbool

115- Sadaqa bin Al-Fadhl Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

116- Salt bin Mohammed Al-Basri – Saduq

117- Dhahhak bin Mukhlid Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt

118- Talq bin Ghannam Al-Kufi – Thiqa

119- Abdullah bin Yazeed Al-Makki – Thiqa

120- Abdullah bin Al-Zubair Al-Humaidi Al-Makki – Thiqa hafith

121- Abdullah bin Yusuf Al-Taneesi – Thiqa

122- Abdullah bin Uthman bin Jabala Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa hafith

123- Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Bukhari – Thiqa

124- Abdullah bin Maslama bin Qa’nab Al-Basri – Thiqa

125- Abdullah bin Amr Al-Manqari Al-Basri – Thiqa

126- Abdullah bin Abdulwahab Al-Basri – Thiqa

127- Abdullah bin Muneer Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

128- Abdullah bin Raja’a Al-Makki – Thiqa taghayar

129- Abdullah bin Al-Sabbah Al-Attar Al-Basri – Thiqa

130- Abdullah bin Sa’ad bin Ibrahim Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

131- Abdullah bin Abi Al-Aswad Al-Basri – Thiqa

132- Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Asma’a Al-Basri – Thiqa

133- Abu Bakr bin Abi Shayba Al-Kufi – Thiqa

134- Ubaidullah bin Musa Al-Kufi – Thiqa

135- Ubaidullah bin Sa’eed Al-Nisapuri – Thiqa

136- Ubaidullah bin Omar bin Maysara Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

137- Abdulrahman bin Yunus Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

138- Abdulrahman bin Al-Mubarak Al-Basri – Thiqa

139- Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Dimashqi – Thiqa

140- Abdulrahman bin Shayba Al-Madani – Saduq yukhti’

141- Abdulrahman bin Hammad Al-Basri – Saduq rubama akhta’a

142- Abdulghaffar bin Dawud Al-Masri – Thiqa

143- Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Madani – Thiqa

144- Abdulsalaam bin Mutahar bin Husaim Al-Basri – Saduq

145- Ali ibn Al-Madeeni Al-Basri – Thiqa

146- Ali bin Al-Ja’ad Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

147- Ali bin Hafs Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

148- Ali bin Muslim Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

149- Ali bin Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Baghdaadi – Maqbool

150- Ali bin Al-Hakam Al-Ansaari Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa yughrib

151- Ali bin Ayyash Al-Himsi – Thiqa thabt

152- Ali bin Al-Hasan bin Shaqeeq Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

153- Ali bin Hujr Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

154- Omar bin Hafs bin Ghiyath Al-Kufi – Thiqa rubama wahim

155- Omar bin Mohamed bin Al-Hasan Al-Kufi – Saduq rubama wahim

156- Uthman bin Abi Shayba Al-Kufi – Thiqa

157- Uthman bin Al-Haytham Al-Basri – Thiqa taghayar

158- Uthman bin Salih Al-Masri – Saduq

159- Amr bin Asim Al-Basri – Saduq fi hufthihi shay’i

160- Amr bin Al-Rabee’ bin Tariq Al-Masri – Thiqa

161- Amr bin Khalid Al-Masri – Thiqa

162- Amr bin Abbas Al-Basri – Saduq rubama wahim

163- Amr bin Ali bin Bahr Al-Basri – Thiqa

164- Amr bin Awn Al-Wasiti – Thiqa

165- Amr bin Zurarah Al-Nisapuri – Thiqa

166- Amr bin Musa (Eisa) Al-Basri – Thiqa

167- Amr bin Mohammed bin Al-Hasan – (Editor seems to believe it is #155)

168- Imran bin Maysara Al-Basri – Thiqa

169- Abda bin Sulaiman Al-Mirwazi – (Ibn Hajar denies that Al-Bukhari narrated from him)

170- Abda bin Abdullah Al-Saffar Al-Basri – Thiqa

171- Abdula’ala bin Hammad Al-Basri – La ba’sa bihi

172- Ubaid bin Isma’eel Al-Kufi – Thiqa

173- Asim bin Ali bin Asim Al-Wasiti – Saduq rubama wahim

174- Ayyash bin Al-Waleed Al-Basri – Thiqa

175- Al-Ala’a bin Abduljabbar Al-Makki – thiqa

176- Abdulraheem bin Abdulrahman Al-Muharibi Al-Kufi – Thiqa

177- Abbas bin Al-Hussain Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

178- Abdul Qudoos bin Al-Hajjaj Al-Himsi – Thiqa

179- Abdul Qudoos bin Mohammed Al-Basri – Saduq

180- Abdul Muta’aali bin Talib Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

181- Isam bin Khalid Al-Himsi – Saduq

182- Affan bin Muslim Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt

183- Fadhl bin Sahl Al-Baghdadi – Saduq

184- Fadhl bin Ya’qoub Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa hafith

185- Fadhl bin Dukain Al-Kufi – Thiqa thabt

186- Fudhail bin Hussain Al-Jahdari – Thiqa hafith

187- Farwa bin Abi Al-Maghra’a Al-Kufi – Saduq

188- Qais bin Hafs Al-Basri – Thiqa lahu afraad

189- Qabeesa bin Uqba Al-Kufi – Saduq rubama khalaf

190- Mohammed bin Minhal Al-Basri – Thiqa hafith

191- Mohammed bin Salam Al-Bikandi Al-Bukhari – Thiqa thabt

192- Mohammed bin Al-Muthana Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt

193- Mohammed bin Ubaidullah Al-Basri – Thiqa

194- Mohammed bin Al-Fadhl Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt taghayar fi akhir umurih

195- Mohammed bin Sinan Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt

196- Mohammed Bashar Bindaar Al-Basri – Thiqa

197- Mohammed bin Al-Ala’a Al-Kufi – Thiqa hafith

198- Mohammed bin Katheer Al-Abdi Al-Basri – Thiqa

199- Mohammed bin Abdulraheem Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa hafith

200- Mohammad bin Yusuf Al-Firyabi – Thiqa

201- Mohammed bin Mahboob Al-Basri – Thiqa

202- Mohammed bin Abi Bakr Al-Basri – Thiqa

203- Mohammed bin Hatim bin Bazee’ Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

204- Mohammed bin Mahran Al-Razi – Thiqa hafith

205- Mohammed bin Abaan Al-Wasiti – Saduq

206- Mohammed bin Abaan Al-Balkhi – Thiqa hafith

207- Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Hawshab Al-Kufi – Saduq

208- Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Al-Muthana Al-Basri – Thiqa

209- Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Numair Al-Kufi – Thiqa hafith

210- Mohammed bin Ja’afar Al-Faidi Al-Baghdaadi – Maqbool

211- Mohammed bin Al-Sabbah Al-Dulabi Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa hafith

212- Mohammed bin Musa Al-Wasiti – Saduq

213- Mohammed bin Ubaid bin Maymoon Al-Madani – Saduq yukhti’

214- Mohammed bin Miskeen Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

215- Mohammed bin Uqba Al-Shaybani Al-Kufi – Thiqa

216- Mohammed bin Eisa bin Al-Taba’a Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

217- Mohammed bin Khalid bin Jabala Al-Khorasani – Saduq

218- Mohammed bin Abi Ya’qoub Al-Kirmani Al-Basri – Thiqa

219- Mohammed bin Amr Zunaij Al-Razi – Thiqa

220- Mohammed bin Sa’eed bin Al-Asbahani Al-Kufi – Thiqa thabt

221- Mohammed bin Yazeed bin Rafa’a Al-Kufi – Laysa bil qawi

222- Mohammed bin Rafi’ Al-Nisapuri – Thiqa

223- Mohammed bin Yahya Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

224- Mohammed bin Al-Hussain bin Ibrahim Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

225- Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Isma’eel Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

226- Mohammed bin Ar’ara Al-Basri – Thiqa

227- Mohammed bin Sabiq Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

228- Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Basri (Ahmad bin Ubaidullah) – Saduq

229- Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Raqashi Al-Basri – Thiqa

230- Mohammed bin Abbad bin Musa Al-Wasiti – Saduq yukhti’

231- Mohammed bin Abbad Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq yahim

232- Mohammed bin Sa’eed Al-Basri – Thiqa

233- Mohammed bin Abi Al-Hussain Al-Samnani – Thiqa

234- Mohammed bin Al-Nadhar Al-Hijazi – Maqbool

235- Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Ramli – Saduq yahim

236- Mohammed bin Al-Walid Al-Basri – Thiqa

237- Mohammed bin Al-Hakam Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa fadhil

238- Mohammed bin Khalaf Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

239- Mohammed bin Abada Al-Wasiti – Saduq fadhil

240- Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

241- Mohammed bin Harb Al-Wasiti – Saduq

242- Mohammed bin Ziyad Al-Basri – Saduq yukhti’

243- Mohammed bin Uthman bin Karama Al-Kufi – Thiqa

244- Mohammed bin Abi Ghalib Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

245- Mohammed bin Muqatil Al-Makki – (Tawtheeq is made by Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdaadi)

246- Musaddad bin Musarhad Al-Basri – Thiqa

247- Musa bin Isma’eel Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt

248- Musa bin Mas’oud Al-Basri – Saduq say’I al-hifth

249- Musa bin Hizam Al-Balkhi – Thiqa

250- Muslim bin Ibrahim Al-Basri – Thiqa

251- Makki bin Ibrahim Al-Balkhi – Thiqa thabt

252- Mu’ath bin Fadhala Al-Basri – Thiqa

253- Malik bin Isma’eel Al-Kufi – Thiqa

254- Mu’ath bin Asad Al-Basri – Thiqa

255- Mutrif bin Abdullah Al-Madani – Thiqa

256- Mu’alla bin Asad Al-Kufi – Thiqa thabt

257- Matar bin Al-Fadhl Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

258- Mu’awiyah bin Amr Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

259- Mithfar bin Mudrik Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

260- Mahmood bin Adam Al-Mirwazi – Saduq

261- Mahmood bin Ghaylan Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

262- Mukhlid bin Malik Al-Harani – (The author said that nobody mentioned him among the shaikhs of Al-Bukhari)

263- Mukhlid bin Malik Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

264- Mu’mil bin Hisham Al-Basri – Thiqa

265- Munthir bin Al-Walid Al-Basri – Thiqa

266- Nasr bin Ali bin Nasr Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt

267- Al-Waleed bin Salih Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

268- Hisham bin Abdulmalik Al-Tayalsi Al-Basri – Thiqa thabt

269- Hisham bin Ammar Al-Dimashqi – Saduq

270- Hudba bin Khalid Al-Basri – Thiqa

271- Harun bin Al-Ash’ath Al-Kufi – Thiqa

272- Yahya bin Abdullah bin Bukhair Al-Masri – Thiqa

273- Yahya (Qutaiba) bin Sa’eed bin Jameel Al-Baghilani Al-Balkhi – Thiqa

274- Yahya bin Sulaiman Al-Masri – Saduq yukhti’

275- Yahya bin Salih Al-Himsi – Saduq

276- Yahya bin Musa Al-Balkhi – Thiqa

277- Yahya bin Yahya Al-Nisapuri – Thiqa

278- Yahya bin Mohammed bin Al-Sakan Al-Baghdaadi – Saduq

279- Yahya bin Bishr Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa Zahid

280- Yahya bin Abi Salama – (The editor says that it is narrator #274)

281- Yahya bin Ja’afar Al-Beekindi Al-Bukhari – Thiqa

282- Yahya bin Hammad Al-Basri – Thiqa ‘abid

283- Yahya bin Yusuf Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

284- Yahya bin Abdullah Al-Sulami Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa

285- Yusuf bin Musa bin Rashid Al-Razi – Saduq

286- Yusuf bin Ya’qoub Al-Kufi – Thiqa

287- Yusuf bin Rashid Al-Kufi – (The author believes that he is #285)

288- Yusuf bin Adi Al-Masri – Thiqa

289- Yusuf bin Bohlool Al-Kufi – Thiqa

290- Yusuf bin Eisa Al-Mirwazi – Thiqa fadhil

291- Ya’qoub bin Ibrahim Al-Dawraqi Al-Baghdaadi – Thiqa

292- Yasara bin Safwan Al-Dimashqi – Thiqa

293- Abu Bakr bin Asram Al-Mirwazi – Maqbool

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THE SHAYKHS OF AL-KULAYNI IN HIS BOOK:

1- Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Qummi – Thiqa

2- Mohammed bin Yahya Al-Attar Al-Qummi – Thiqa

3- Hameed bin Ziyad Al-Kufi Al-Ninuwi – Thiqa

4- Ahmad bin Idrees Al-Ash’ari Al-Qummi – Thiqa

5- Al-Hussain bin Mohammed Al-Ash’ari Al-Qummi – Thiqa

6- Mohammed bin Isma’eel Al-Nisapuri – Majhool

7- Mohammed bin Ja’afar Al-Razzaz Al-Kufi – Majhool

8- Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Ahmad Al-Kufi – Majhool

9- Ali bin Mohammed bin Bindar Al-Barqi – Thiqa

10- Ahmad bin Mahran – Majhool

11- Mohammed bin Ahmad bin Al-Salt Al-Qummi – Thiqa

12- Al-Hasan bin Ali Al-Hashimi – Majhool

13- Al-Hussain bin Ali Al-Alawi – Majhool

14- Al-Hussain bin Ali Al-Hussaini – Majhool

15- Al-Hussain bin Al-Hasan Al-Alawi – Majhool

16- Al-Hasan bin Khafeef – Majhool

17- Abu Dawud – Majhool

18- Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Ja’afar Al-Himyari Al-Qummi – Thiqa

19- Ahmad bin Abdullah – Majhool

20- Abu Abdullah Al-Ash’ari – Majhool

21- Ali bin Musa Al-Kamindani – Majhool

22- Mohammed bin Ali bin Ma’amar – Majhool

23- Ali bin Mohammed bin Ali bin Abbas – Majhool

24- Ali bin Al-Hussain Al-Mu’dib – Majhool

25- Al-Qasim bin Al-Ala’a Al-Azerbijani – Thiqa

26- Mohammed bin Aqeel – Majhool

27- Mohammed bin Al-Hasan – Majhool

28- Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Sa’eed ibn Uqdah Al-Kufi – Thiqa

OBSERVATION REGARDING HIS TEACHERS:

One should be aware that some of the Thiqaat that Al-Kulayni took Hadiths from aren’t ones that he relied on too much. For example:

25- Al-Qasim bin Al-Ala’a Al-Azerbijani, he is one of the Thiqah teachers of Kulayni yet he only narrates two Hadiths from him out of 16,199 narrations – (Two hadiths: Baab Nader Jami’ fi Fadhl Al-Imam – Baab Mawlid Al-Sahib Alaihi Al-Salam)

28- Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Sa’eed ibn Uqdah Al-Kufi, he is one of the Thiqah teachers of Kulayni yet he only narrates four Hadiths from him out of 16,199 narrations– (Four hadiths: Baab Fadhl Al-Jihad – Baab Ma Yastahabu Min Tazweej Al-Nisa’a – Baab Ikraam Al-Zawja – Baab Al-Fitra)

As you can see, Al-Qasim bin Al-Ala’a only narrated two Hadiths. Ibn Uqdah only narrated four. It seems as though Al-Kulayni based his whole book on the narration of the people of Qum in Persia.

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CONCLUSION:

With the above in mind, one is led to several conclusions. The most obvious is that Al-Bukhari put a much greater effort and was more rigorous with the authoring of his book. Though, there are other conclusions that one can arrive at that may not be as apparent. One of which is that the isolated nature of the narrations that Al-Kulayni relied upon, since they come from a small set of people that lived in the little town of Qum, allows a much greater chance for there to have been a conspiracy and that the Shia Hadith library of his teachers was a concoction of a few evil men. The same cannot be said about Saheeh Al-Bukhari which relied on almost three hundred men that lived throughout the Muslim world. In other words, if one was to point the finger at a sect, accusing its members of fabricating narrations, the one would easily choose to point it at the Shias, and the teachers of Al-Kulayni, instead of Al-Bukhari and his own teachers.

One might ask, can’t Bukhari have lied about narrating from 300 scholars? Can’t he have fabricated it all while at home? A scholar as popular and famous as Bukhari can’t have done that, for if he did then all of those 300 scholars from around the Islamic world would openly accuse him of lying and attributing fabrications to them, if not them then their students would as Bukhari can’t have heard something from any of those scholars which their regular students didn’t hear, but since Bukhari was praised and welcomed by the scholars and their students, and since not one single teacher or student accused him of lying and fabrications, then this is very far from possible. On the other hand, Kulayni took almost everything from the scholars of one area, majority of his teachers are not popular or known, it is not impossible for these people to have all came together and compiled a book containing lies and fabrications without much trouble, it could even be that some scholars never actually existed but are just names placed in the book so they can attribute lies to them, this is possible to say the least.

Another conclusion that one arrives at is the fact that the weight distributed throughout the teachers of Al-Bukhari in relation to the number of hadiths that they have narrated is significantly less than the teachers of Al-Kulayni. We mean by this that if we for example assume that one of Al-Bukhari’s teachers was in fact weak, and that he was mistaken in relying upon him, then we wouldn’t lose many narrations, since the weight that this teacher was given was not too high. We mentioned, for example Abdullah Al-Taneesi, who narrated 4% of Saheeh Al-Bukhari and that’s the narrator with the highest number of narrations in his book. On the other hand, Al-Kulayni relied on `Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Qumi for 30% of the narrations of his books. If one were to assume that `Ali bin Ibrahim was weak, meaning that those who deemed him reliable were mistaken, then it would almost be like destroying Al-Kafi in its entirety. In other words, Al-Bukhari’s book is a much safer option than Al-Kafi.

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