Published by SunniDefense © on September 23rd, 2009 in Misattributions
Answering-Ansar Article:
Mu’awiya (Revision: 4.0.0)
The Answering-Ansar team has a tendency to deliberately cite several non-Sunnī texts under the pretext of “Ahl’ul Sunnah’s esteemed” works. These works are citied in lengthy lists in order to support the claims on Answering-Ansar and are presented as authoritative Sunnī texts. One of these works is Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn.
The Answering-Ansar writes in the fourth revised edition of their article entitled ‘Mu’awiya’:
| Quoting Answering-Ansar: |
| Many afflictions occurred during that time but the Ahl’ul Sunnah happily embrace narration about Abdullah bin Saba so why do they not happily accept this as a fact of history? Should we reject ALL narrations during that period? A number of the grand Sunni scholars HAVE recorded this. We will evidence this by relying on the following Sunni works: Mu’ajam al-Kabeer, Volume 3 page 119 Tradition 2628 al Istiab, Volume 1 page 115Tadkhirath al Khawwas, page 192Rabi’ ul Abrar, Volume 4 page 208 Maqatil al Talibeen, Volume 1 page 20al Fusul al Muhimma, page 164 Tarikh Ibn Asakir, Volume 13 page 284 Tarikh Khamis, Volume 2 page 294 Shawahid un Nubuwwat, page 303 Tarikh Abul Fida, page 183, Dhikr Wafaath Hasanal Habib al Siyaar, Volume 1 page 81Hadahrath Ali, page 214, by Taha Husayn Sirrul Awliya, page 81 Murujh al Dhuhab, Volume 3 page 5, Dhikr Khilafa Hasan bin Ali [ra]Rozatul Shouhdah, Volume 3 page 12 Al-Bidayah wal Nihayah, Volume 8 page 47 Siyar Alam an Nubla, Volume 3 page 247 |
| Mu’awiya, page 67 |
Further in this same article, they quote the work in the following manner:
| Quoting Answering-Ansar: |
| Similarly we read in Ahl’ul Sunnah’s esteemed work ‘Maqatil al Talibeen’ Volume 1 page 13: “Muawiya administered poison to him (Hasan) when he wanted to appoint Yazeed, and poisoned Saad bin Abi Waqas and they both died in close days. The one who administered poison to al-Hasan was his wife J’ada bin al-Ash’ath bin Qais, for which she was rewarded with money, paid to her by Mu’awiya” Maqatil Talibeen, Volume 1 page 13 |
| Mu’awiya, page 70 |
As it is clear from the quotes above, the Answering-Ansar team claims the following about Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn:
- Its author is a Sunnī scholar.
- It is an “esteemed” Sunnī text.
The verity of both of these claims will become clear to the readers once they know who the author is of this mentioned text.
Abū al-Faraj al-Işfahānī (d. 356)
The author of Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn is Abū al-Faraj `Alī ibn al-Ĥusayn ibn Muĥammad ibn Aĥmad ibn al-Haytham al-Işfahānī, who was a Shī`ī Zaydī littérateur and traditionalist. This is a known fact which has been acknowledged by both Shī`ī and Sunnī scholars.
The chief Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī scholar Abū Ja`far al-Ţūsī (d. 460) states in al-Fihrist:
أبو الفرج الأصبهاني زيدي المذهب له كتاب الأغاني الكبير وكتاب مقاتل الطالبيين وغير ذلك من الكتب وكتاب ما نزل من القرآن في أمير المؤمنين وأهل بيته عليهم السلام وكتاب فيه كلام فاطمة عليها السلام في فدك وغير ذلك من الكتب
“Abū al-Faraj al-Aşbahānī: An adherent of the Zaydī school of thought. He authored the major al-Aghānī [“The Songs”], Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn [“Martyrdoms of the Descendents of Abū Ţālib”] and other such works; Kitāb Mā Nazal min al-Qur’ān fī Amīr al-Mu’minīn wa Ahl Baytih `alayhim al-salām [“A Book on What was Revealed in the Qur’ān About the Commander of the Believers and his Ahl al-Bayt (as)”], a book which contains the speech of Fāţima (as) about Fadak, and other such works.”
- al-Fihrist, of Abū Ja`far al-Ţūsī (d. 460), page 280 [Qum]
The reviver of his century according to the Shī`a Ithnā’ `Ashariyya, Ibn Muţahhar al-Ĥillī (d. 726), has said in his Rijāl:
أبو الفرج الأصفهاني زيدي المذهب
“Abū al-Faraj al-Işfahānī: An adherent of the Zaydī school of thought.”
- Khulāşat al-Aqwāl fī Ma`rifat al-Rijāl, of Ibn Muţahhar al-Ĥillī (d. 726), page 421 [Qum]
Similarly, the venerated grandfather of al-Bahā’ī, Muĥammad ibn `Alī al-Juba`ī (d. 886), wrote the following about Abū al-Faraj:
هو علي بن الحسين بن محمد بن أحمد بن الهيثم بن عبد الرحمن ابن مروان بن عبد الله بن مروان بن محمد بن مروان بن الحكم العاص الأموي الزيدي المذهب الأديب البارع له مصنفات جمة كالأغاني الكبير والصغير ومقاتل الطالبيين وغيرها
“He is `Alī ibn al-Ĥusayn ibn Muĥammad ibn Aĥmad ibn al-Haytham ibn `Abd al-Raĥmān ibn Marwān ibn `Abd Allāh ibn Marwān ibn Muĥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ĥakam al-`Ās al-Umawī, the adherent of the Zaydī school and versatile littérateur. He composed numerous works, such as the major and minor al-Aghānī, Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn and others.”
- Biĥār al-Anwār al-Jāmi`a li Durar Akhbār al-A’immat al-Aţhār, of Muĥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (d. 1110), volume 104, page 27-28 [Beirut]
The famous Āyat Allāh Āqā Buzurg al-Ţihrānī (d. 1389) explicitly mentions him as:
علي بن الحسين بن محمد بن أحمد بن الهيثم بن عبد الرحمن بن مروان الأموي الزيدي
“`Alī ibn al-Ĥusayn ibn Muĥammad ibn Aĥmad ibn al-Haytham ibn Marwān al-Umawī, the Zaydī.”
- al-Dharī`a ilá Taşānīf al-Shī`a, of Āqā Buzurg al-Ţihrānī (d. 1389), volume 21, page 376 [Beirut]
He further mentions about the Sunnī scholars Shams al-Dīn al-Dhahabī (d. 748) and `Afīf al-Dīn al-Yāfi`ī (d. 768):
والذهبي في ميزان الاعتدال واليافعي في مرآت الجنان أظهرا التعجب من كونه مروانيا شيعيا
“Both al-Dhahabī in Mīzān al-I`tidāl and al-Yāfi`ī in Mir’āt al-Jinān displayed amazement at his being a Shī`ī descendant of Marwān.”
- al-Dharī`a ilá Taşānīf al-Shī`a, of Āqā Buzurg al-Ţihrānī (d. 1389), volume 21, page 376 [Beirut]
Perhaps the most remarkable mention of the views held by both Sunnī and Shī`ī scholars about Abū al-Faraj is provided by the Shī`ī editor of Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn, Kāžim al-Mužaffar al-Najafī. He states in his introduction of the book:
“Abū al-Faraj was a Shī`ī in respect of inclination and belief; upon the known Zaydī school of thought.
Most of his biographers have specified his Shī`ism, including his contemporary al-Qāđī al-Tannūkhī, who has mentioned in his book Nishwār al-Muĥāđara that the former was among the adherents of Shī`ism who he had witnessed. Ibn Shākir said in `Uyūn al-Tawārīkh that he was a predominant adherent of Shī`ism. Similarly, al-Ĥurr al-`Āmilī in Amal al-Āmil and al-Khawānsārī in Rawđāt al-Jannāt have also specified his Shī`ism.
As for Ibn al-Athīr, he has said in his book al-Kāmil that [Abū al-Faraj] was a Shī`ī, but he found wonderment in the latter’s Shī`īsm and thus added: ‘This is astonishing!’ Perhaps the point of astonishment according to Ibn al-Athīr is Abū al-Faraj’s being from the center of the Ummayad family—and how can then he be upon the Shī`ī school?—while all history knows is colors of enmity and then the political and religious contention that wrangled a long yoke between the Umayyads and Alids.
However, in reality, opinion—meaning, any opinion—knows no land or nationality, just as belief has no interference in the lineage of man regardless of whatever that lineage is.”
- Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn {Introduction}, of Abū al-Faraj al-Aşfahānī (d. 356), page 14 [Najaf]
So this Abū al-Faraj, who is claimed to be a Sunnī scholar and author of “Ahl’ul Sunnah’s esteemed work ‘Maqatil al Talibeen’” by Answering-Ansar, is actually a Shī`ī from the Zaydī school of thought.
Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn
As far as his Maqātil is concerned, then its condition can also be known from the words of Kāžim al-Mužaffar, who went through its entire content and edited it.
He states:
وظاهرة التشيع عند أبي الفرج واضحة الدلالة كل الوضوح في كتابه مقاتل الطالبيين
“The phenomenon of Shī`īsm upon Abū al-Faraj is completely obvious in terms of indication in his book Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn.”
- Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn {Introduction}, of Abū al-Faraj al-Aşfahānī (d. 356), page 15 [Najaf]
Āqā Buzurg also writes about Maqātil:
ويظهر من مواضع منه أنه شيعي زيدي المذهب
“It appears from several instances in it that he was a Shī`ī and adherent of the Zaydī school.”
- al-Dharī`a ilá Taşānīf al-Shī`a, of Āqā Buzurg al-Ţihrānī (d. 1389), volume 21, page 376 [Beirut]
This is the truth about Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn and its Shī`ī Zaydī author Abū al-Faraj al-Işfahānī.
Yet again, this is another lesson to the readers. The next time they read a reference or quote from another one of “Ahl’ul Sunnah’s esteemed” texts on Answering-Ansar, there is a good chance that it is actually a work written by a Shī`ī.
It is only Allah (swt) who gives success, and blessings and peace be on the Seal of the Prophets, his Pure Progeny and his Noble Companions
♦ ♦ ♦
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Works Cited
Shī`ī texts:
- Biĥār al-Anwār al-Jāmi`a li Durar Akhbār al-A’immat al-Aţhār
Muĥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (d. 1110)
Muassasat al-Wafa
Beirut, Lebanon
- al-Dharī`a ilá Taşānīf al-Shī`a
Āqā Buzurg al-Ţihrānī (d. 1389)
Dar al-Adwa
Beirut, Lebanon
- al-Fihrist
Abū Ja`far al-Ţūsī (d. 460)
Muassasat al-Nashr al-Islami
Qum, Iran
- Fihris al-Ţūsī
Abū Ja`far al-Ţūsī (d. 460)
al-Matba` al-Alawi
Lucknow, India
- Khulāşat al-Aqwāl fī Ma`rifat al-Rijāl
Ibn Muţahhar al-Ĥillī (d. 726)
Muassasat al-Nashr al-Islami
Qum, Iran
- Maqātil al-Ţālibiyyīn
Abū al-Faraj al-Aşfahānī (d. 356)
Manshurat al-Maktabat al-Haydariyya
Najaf, Iraq
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