This is the second part of the review. For part one, please see here
Qadi al-Nu’man only quotes traditions from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (may peace be upon him) and Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (may peace be upon him). The Shias and Ismailis recognize both of the Imams as their own. Al-Nu’man does not, however, quote from Imam Musa al-Kadhim (may peace be upon him) (who is not recognized by the Ismailis. [Note: for additional info please see my blog posts Ismail died before his father and Ismail son of the sixth Imam]
Madelung also reveled an interesting fact about the hadeeths collected by the Qadi. Qadi al-Nu’man has not referred/quoted even a single author or scholar from the Holy City of Qum (back then and is still now, one of the Shia center for learning).
A great majority of authors sourced by Qadi al-Nu’man are Iraqis (Baghdad, Basra or Kufa), Egyptians or from Medina.
Medelung then proceed to answer his own question
“Did al-Nu’man intentionally repudiate the school of Qumm? This is not unlikely, though it is also possible that the choice of his sources was rather dictated by their availability in the Maghrib."
The author (Medelung) tried to rationalize the reason as to why we do not see any narrations from other Ismaili Imams after Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq (may peace be upon him). According to Madelung, since the Imams were in Satr, their identity must not be revealed even by an Ismaili Dai aka Qadi al-Nu’man [Note: I don’t really believe this. See my other blog posts what is satr and Ismailis usage of satr ]
Quite revealing, Madelung emphatically stated that Qadi al-Nu’man did not even quote any traditions from other living Fatimid Imams/Calips (By the way, Qadi al-Nu’man was under the employment of four Fatimid Caliphs/Imams).
But even more reveling is the fact that Qadi al-Nu’man used works by authors who were non Shia Imami or Ismaili in his compilation. The traditions in these works are not from Imams of Ahl al-Bayt but rather from Zaydis (another Islamic sect).
Click here to continue reading part three
Click here to continue reading part three
Reference
Madelung, W., The Sources of Ismāīlī Law, The University of Chicago Press, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1976), pp. 29-40
When you say, "The traditions in these works are not from Imams of Ahl al-Bayt but rather from Zaydis (another Islamic sect)." You should clarify what you mean by "Ahl al-Bayt". Do you mean only your 12 imams, or the house of Muhammad, Fatima, Ali, Hassan and Hussain because the Zaydi Imams were from Hassan and Hussain.
ReplyDelete