The Nasibi Methodology of Al-Dhahabi

Oftentimes when the narrations of Imam Ali’s (as) merits are quoted, other schools in Islam will often cite the words of scholars who would weaken the narrations in terms of their matn (content) or sanad (chain of transmission). One of the most infamous examples of this is al-Dhahabi, who weakened many of the merits of Ali transmitted by al-Hakim al-Neyshaburi in his Mustadrak. How reliable are the gradings of al-Dhahabi?

Al-Shaykh Ahmad b. Siddiq al-Ghumari recorded the following view in his book Fath al-Malik al-Ali, pg. 191 - 192:

(وأما الذهبي): فلا ينبغي أن يقبل قوله في الأحاديث الواردة بفضل علي عليه السلام فإنه سامحه الله كان إذا وقع نظره عليها اعترته حدة أتلفت شعوره وغضب أذهب وجدانه حتى لا يدري ما يقول وربما سب ولعن من روى فضائل علي عليه السلام كما وقع منه في غير موضع من الميزان وطبقات الحفاظ تحت ستارة أن الحديث موضوع، ولكنه لا يفعل ذلك فيمن يروي الأحاديث الموضوعة في مناقب أعدائه، ولو بسطت المقام في هذا لذكرت لك ما تقضي منه بالعجب من الذهبي رحمه الله تعالى وسترنا عنه آمين.

As for al-Dhahabi: his statements regarding the narrations on the merits of ʿAlī (as) should not be accepted, for may Allah pardon him, when his eyes fell upon such narrations, he would be overcome by an agitation that disrupted his senses and a rage that overtook his consciousness, to the point where he did not know what he was saying. 

He would sometimes curse and insult those who transmitted the virtues of ʿAlī (as), as he did in more than one place in al-Mīzān and Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥuffāẓ, under the pretense that the hadith was fabricated. However, he did not do the same with those who narrated fabricated reports in praise of his enemies. 

If I were to elaborate on this matter, I could mention things that would astonish you about al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him and veil us from such faults. Ameen.

Although Shaykh al-Ghumari preferred not to give examples regarding his claim regarding al-Dhahabi, we have decided to show one of the more infamous examples from famous books. 

When it comes to Ali’s merits, al-Dhahabi would not only reject and cast doubt on them but he would go so far as to belittle and insult the ones who narrated them. We read in Siyar A’lam Al Nubala, Vol 17, pg. 169:

فَهَذِهِ حِكَايَةٌ قويَةٌ، فَمَا بَالُه أَخرجَ حَدِيْث الطَّير فِي (الْمُسْتَدْرك) ؟ فَكَأَنَّهُ اخْتلف اجْتِهَادُه، وَقَدْ جمعتُ طُرُق حَدِيْثِ الطَّير فِي جُزء، وَطرق حَدِيْث: (مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلَاهُ) وَهُوَ أَصحُّ، وَأَصحُّ مِنْهَا مَا أَخْرَجَهُ مُسْلِمٌ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ لعهدُ النَّبِيّ الأُمِّي - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - إِلَيَّ: (إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّكَ إِلَاّ مُؤْمِنٌ، وَلَا يُبْغِضك إلا منافق). وهذا أشكل الثلاثة فقد أحبه قوم لا خلاق لهم، وأبغضه بجهل ‌قوم ‌من ‌النواصب، فالله أعلم

This [hadith] is a strong account. What is wrong with him, (al-Hakim)? It is as if his ijtihad is contradicting, he narrated Hadith al-Tayr in his Mustadrak. I gathered all the different paths of Hadith al-Tayr in a volume and the different paths of the hadith 'Whoever I am his Mawla..', and this hadith is more authentic. 

The most authentic of them is the one of (Sahih) Muslim from Ali (as) where he said: “By Him Who split up the seed and created something living, the Apostle (s) gave me a promise that no one but a believer would love me, and none but a hypocrite would nurse grudge against me.” 

Of these three hadiths this one is the most problematic, people with no standing have loved Ali while some Nawasib have beared hatred for him by ignorance. And Allah (swt) knows best.

Al-Dhahabi al-Nasibi not only casts doubt on authentic merits of Ali (as) such as Hadith al-Tayr, Hadith al-Ghadeer, but he even casts doubt on the most authentic and well known merits of Ali (as) from Sahih Muslim 78. 

Regarding the merits of Ali, al-Dhahabi voiced issues despite their establishment. Now let us see his reaction to a fabricated hadith regarding Abu Bakr and Umar in Siyar A’lam Al Nubala Vol 16, pg. 216:

From…Muʿallā b. Hilāl who narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Abū Sufyān, from Jābir marfūʿan:

“No believer hates Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, and no hypocrite loves them.”

Muʿallā is abandoned (in hadith narration), and although the content of the hadith is correct, it has not been authentically reported as marfūʿ.

Allahu Akbar! So the very same hadith about Ali (as) is problematic to al-Dhahabi, but about Abu Bakr it's totally fine. Subhanallah, why is it an issue for Ali but no issue for Abu Bakr? It's almost like al-Dhahabi recognises Abu Bakr lacks any virtues, while Ali is filled with too many and so tries to do his balancing. Had Hadith al-Tayr been narrated about Abu Bakr they would've definitely accepted it, but since it's Ali's name it's an issue. Al Dhahabi is extremely biased against the merits of Imam Ali and as such his gradings of his merits should not be taken at face value, as put forth by Sheikh Ghumari.

Insha'Allah in the future we shall examine the hadith of Ali being the gate of the city of knowledge as well as the hadith of the roasted bird and, in the process, demonstrate once again Dhahabi’s bias and enmity toward Imam Ali (as).