Do Shi'a Hadith come from the Prophet (saw)?

When we compare the Shi'a corpus of Hadith to the Sunni corpus, a common objection is raised, claiming that it lacks narrations from the Prophet (saw), as the primary narrators are often Imam al-Baqir (as) and Imam al-Sadiq (as). How true is this claim? Do we truly lack prophetic Hadiths, or is this objection based on ignorance of the Shi'a Hadith corpus?

Why do the Imams lack chains?

When we examine Shi'a Hadiths from the Imams, we find in many instances that they do not state their chain of narrations. For example, Imam al-Sadiq may say 'the Prophet said so-and-so' without stating his chain going back to the Prophet. What is the reason for such? Such an objection was made even during the time of the Imam, such that we read in a famous Sunni work of Rijal the following in Ibn Udayy's al-Kamil Fi al-Dhu'afa al-Rijal, vol. 2, pg. 356:

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ علي بن الحسين الْمَدَائِنِيُّ، حَدَّثَنا مُحَمد بْنُ عَمْرو بن نافع، حَدَّثَنا سَعِيد بْن الحكم بْن أَبِي مَرْيَمَ، عَن أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ عياش أَنَّهُ قيل لَهُ مَالِك لم تسمع من جَعْفَر بْن مُحَمد وقد أدركته فَقَالَ سألناه عَن ما يتحدث به من الأحاديث أشيئا سمعته قَالَ، ‌ولَا ‌ولكنها ‌رواية ‌رويناها ‌عَن ‌آبائنا

Ahmad b. Ali b. al-Husayn al-Madaini narrated to us, Muhammad b. Amr b. Nafi narrated to us, Sa'id b. al-Hakim b. Abi Mariam narrated to us, from Abu Bakr b. Ayyash that it was said to him:

"Why did you not narrate from Ja'far b. Muhammad even though you encountered him?" He replied, "We asked him about the hadiths he narrated, whether he heard them directly." He said, "No, but it is a narration we transmitted from our forefathers."

From this report, it is clear that Imam al-Sadiq (as) used to narrate his hadiths in this manner. While they may seem disconnected, the reality is that, unless explicitly stated otherwise, Imam al-Sadiq’s narrations always traces back to his forefathers. Such that his chain to the Prophet is always: Imam al-Sadiq > Imam al-Baqir > Imam al-Sajjad > Imam al-Husayn > Imam al-Hasan > Imam Ali > The Prophet, unless stated otherwise. However, since it is always the same chain, the Imam does not bother reiterating the same one over and over again for every Hadith.

This is not an unheard of claim, as we can see many of the classical Sunni scholars this as well. For instance, consider the following report recorded in al-Shafi'i's Kitab al-Umm, vol. 9, pg. 187, Hadith # 4139:

فإنه ‌حدثنا ‌ابن ‌أبي ‌كريمة ‌عن ‌أبي ‌جعفر «عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه دعا اليهود فسألهم فحدثوه حتى كذبوا على عيسى فصعد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم المنبر فخطب الناس فقال إن الحديث سيفشو عني فما أتاكم عني يوافق القرآن فهو عني وما أتاكم عني يخالف القرآن فليس عني»

[Khalid] Ibn Abi Karima narrated to us, from Abu Ja'far (al-Baqir), who said: 

“The Messenger of Allah (SAW) invited the Jews and asked them, and they told him until they lied about Jesus. Then the Prophet (SAW) ascended the pulpit and addressed the people, saying: ‘Indeed, many things will be narrated about me. Whatever reaches you from me that agrees with the Qur'an, it is from me. And whatever reaches you from me that contradicts the Qur'an, it is not from me.’”

Al-Shafi's endorsement of this report and citation of it for evidence to derive legal rulings indicates that he saw the Hadiths narrated by Imam al-Baqir (as) to the Prophet (saw) as authoritative despite him never having met the Prophet. However, because it is clear that the Imam is narrating from his forefathers, it is accepted as a musnad (connected) report.

Further instances in Sunni works

In fact, we find that through out the Sunni corpus, any narration narrated to the Imams are nearly always mursal reports, such that they rarely ever cite chains. This proves it to not be a phenomenon exclusive to the Shi'a corpus only, but also present through out the Sunni corpus. Here are a few examples:

1. From Muwata’ Malik 1409:

قَالَ يَحْيَى قَالَ مَالِكٌ عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَضَى بِالْيَمِينِ مَعَ الشَّاهِدِ ‏.‏ 

Yahya narrated from Malik from Ja'far b. Muhammad, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah (saw) ruled by the oath along with the witness.

2. Also in Muwata’ Malik 1071:

وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ وَزَنَتْ فَاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم شَعَرَ حَسَنٍ وَحُسَيْنٍ وَزَيْنَبَ وَأُمِّ كُلثوم فَتَصَدَّقَتْ بِزِنَةِ ذَلِكَ فِضَّةً ‏.‏ 

Yahya related to me from Malik from Jafar b. Muhammad that his father said: "Fatima, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (saw) weighed the hair of Hasan, Husayn, Zaynab and Umm Kulthum, and gave away in sadaqa an equivalent weight of silver."

3. And also in Muwata’ Malik 246:

وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم خَطَبَ خُطْبَتَيْنِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ وَجَلَسَ بَيْنَهُمَا ‏.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Jafar b. Muhammad from his father that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave two khutbas on the day of jumua and sat down between them.

4. From Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq, Vol. 4, pg. 433, Hadith #7460:

عبد الرزاق، عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي ‌جَعْفَرُ ‌بْنُ ‌مُحَمَّدٍ، ‌عَنْ ‌أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: "فِيمَا سَقَتِ السَّمَاءُ، الْبَعْلُ وَالْأَنْهَارُ الْعُشُورُ، وَمَا سُقِيَ بِالنَّضْحِ بِالدِّلَاءِ نِصْفُ الْعُشْرِ".

Abd al-Razzaq, from Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ja'far b. Muhammad informed me, from his father, that the Prophet (SAW) said: "For crops watered by the sky, natural rain, or rivers, the due amount (of zakat) is one-tenth. And for crops irrigated with effort, such as by buckets or similar means, it is half of one-tenth (i.e., one-twentieth).

5. In Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1345 and Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, vol. 12, pg. 520 - 521: 

Ja'far b. Muhammad narrated from his father: "The Prophet (ﷺ) passed judgement based on an oath along with one witness." He said: "And 'Ali judged between you based on it." 

Explanations in Shi'a Hadiths

In explanation of the authority of the Ahl al-Bayt (as), Imam al-Ridha (as) says the following which explains the position of Hadith under the Imams, recorded in Rijal Al-Kashi, vol. 2, pg. 94 - 95, H. # 406:

فَلاَ تَقْبَلُوا عَلَيْنَا خِلاَفَ اَلْقُرْآنِ ، فَإِنَّا إِنْ تَحَدَّثْنَا حَدَّثْنَا بِمُوَافَقَةِ اَلْقُرْآنِ وَ مُوَافَقَةِ اَلسُّنَّةِ إِنَّا عَنِ اَللَّهِ وَ عَنْ رَسُولِهِ نُحَدِّثُ، وَ لاَ نَقُولُ قَالَ فُلاَنٌ وَ فُلاَنٌ فَيَتَنَاقَضَ كَلاَمُنَا إِنَّ - كَلاَمَ آخِرِنَا مِثْلُ كَلاَمِ أَوَّلِنَا وَ كَلاَمَ أَوَّلِنَا مُصَادِقٌ لِكَلاَمِ آخِرِنَا، فَإِذَا أَتَاكُم من يحدثكم بخلاف ذلك فردوه عليه و قولوا أنت أعلم و ما جئت به! فإن مع كل قول منا حقيقة وعليه نورا، فما لا حقيقة معه و لا نور عليه فذلك من قول الشيطان . 

Imam Al-Ridha (as) said: "So do not accept on our authority, that which is against the Qur’an for when we narrate we only do narrate what is in agreement with the Qur’an and in agreement with the Sunnah. We narrate only on the authority of Allah and on the authority of the prophet, we do not say 'so-and-so' said and 'so-and-so' said such that our words could ever contradict. The words of the last one of us is like the words of the first one of us, and the words of the first one of us corroborates the words of the last one of us, so if anyone comes to you narrating a Hadith which opposes that, repel it back to him and say: you know best in regards what you have brought (its origins and circumstances), for there is for every word originating from us a truth with it and a light upon it, so what does not have a truth with it and no light upon it then it is from the words of the Shaytan.

Here, the Imam beautifully discusses the authority of the Hadith coming from the Ahl al-Bayt (as), such that all of them are equally authoritative, and his testimony that 'we narrate only on the authority of Allah and His Prophet' clearly establishes that their chains all go back to the Holy Prophet (saw) through the same means (i.e. their forefathers).

We also read in Al-Kafi, Vol. 1, pg. 131, Hadith # 156 (thaqalayn):

عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ وَحَمَّادِ بْنِ عُثْمَانَ وَغَيْرِهِ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَقُولُ حَدِيثِي حَدِيثُ أَبِي وَحَدِيثُ أَبِي حَدِيثُ جَدِّي وَحَدِيثُ جَدِّي حَدِيثُ الْحُسَيْنِ وَحَدِيثُ الْحُسَيْنِ حَدِيثُ الْحَسَنِ وَحَدِيثُ الْحَسَنِ حَدِيثُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) وَحَدِيثُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَدِيثُ رَسُولِ الله (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) وَحَدِيثُ رَسُولِ الله قَوْلُ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. 

Ali b. Muhammad narrated from Sahl b. Ziyad, from Ahmad b. Muhammad, from Umar b. Abd al-Aziz, from Hisham b. Salim, Hammad b. Uthman, and others, who said: We heard Abu Abdullah (as) say:

"My narration is the narration of my father, and the narration of my father is the narration of my grandfather, and the narration of my grandfather is the narration of al-Husayn, and the narration of al-Husayn is the narration of al-Hasan, and the narration of al-Hasan is the narration of Amir al-Mu'minin (as), and the narration of Amir al-Mu'minin is the narration of the Messenger of Allah (saw), and the narration of the Messenger of Allah is the word of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted."

It was likewise recorded about Imam al-Baqir (as) in Amali al-Mufid, Book 5, Ch. 10:

From Jabir who said: I told Abu Ja’far al-Baqir : "When you relate a tradition to me, provide its chain of narrators for me." He said: "My father reported to me, from my grandfather, from the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, from Jibraeel , from Allah, Most High. Whatever I mention to you is based on this chain of narrators."

This hadith is very clear in explaining this matter to us, and to prove its authenticity we point our readers to Basair al-Darajat pg. 340 - 342 by al-Saffar, who records the following:

(1) حدثنا حمزة بن يعلى عن أحمد بن النضر عن عمرو بن شمر عن جابر عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال يا جابر انا لو كنا نحدثكم برأينا وهو انا لكنا من الهالكين ولكنا نحدثكم بأحاديث نكنزها عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله كما يكنز هؤلاء ذهبهم وفضتهم. 

(1) Hamza b. Ya'ala from Ahmad b. Al-Nadr from Amro b. Shimr from Jabir from Imam Al-Baqir (as) that he said to Jabir: Oh Jabir, if we were narrating rulings by our opinions, then we would be amongst the lost ones. Rather what we narrate are sayings from the Prophet (saws) we have treasured from him (saws) just like people treasure their gold and silver. (Da'if)

(2) حدثنا يعقوب بن يزيد عن محمد بن أبي عمير عن عمرو بن أذينة عن الفضيل بن يسار عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام أنه قال لو انا حدثنا برأينا ضللنا كما ضل من كان قبلنا ولكنا حدثنا ببينة من ربنا بينها لنبيه فبينها لنا.

(2) Ya'qub b. Yazid from Muhammad b. Abi Umayr from Umar b. Adina from Al-Fudayl b. Yassar from Imam Al-Baqir (as) that he said: If we were narrating by our own opinions we would have gone astray as those before us have gone astray. Rather, we narrate with evidence from our Lord, which was made clear to His Prophet, so he made it clear to us. (Sahih)

(3) حدثنا عبد الله بن عامر عن عبد الله بن محمد الحجال عن داود بن أبي يزيد الأحول عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال سمعته يقول انا لو كنا نفتي الناس برأينا وهو انا لكنامن الهالكين ولكنها اثار من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله أصل علم نتوارثها كابر عن كابر عن كابر نكنزها كما يكنز الناس ذهبهم وفضتهم

(3) Abdullah b. Amir from Al-Hajjal from Dawud b. Abi Yazid from Imam Al-Sadiq (as) that he said: If we were narrating rulings by our opinions, then we would be amongst the lost ones. Rather, they are narrations from the Messenger of God (saws) the origin of the knowledge that we inherited from the Messenger of Allah Scholar (imam) from Scholar from Scholar, we have treasured from him (saws) just like people treasure their gold and silver. (Sahih)

(4) حدثنا محمد عن الحسين بن سعيد عن القاسم عن محمد بن يحيى عن جابر قال قال أبو جعفر عليه السلام يا جابر لو كنا نفتي الناس برأينا وهوانا لكنا من الهالكين ولكنا نفتيهم باثار من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وأصول علم عندنا نتوارثها كابر عن كابر نكنزها كما يكنز هؤلاء ذهبهم وفضتهم.

(4) Muhammad from Al-Husayn b. Saeed from Al-Qasim from Muhammad b. Yahya from Jabir from Imam Al-Baqir that he said: Oh Jabir, if we were narrating rulings by our opinions, then we would be amongst the lost ones. Rather what we narrate are sayings from the Prophet (saws) the origin of the knowledge that we inherited from the Messenger of Allah (saws) Scholar (imam) from Scholar from Scholar, we have treasured from him (saws) just like people treasure their gold and silver. (Sahih)

(5) حدثنا أحمد بن محمد عن علي بن النعمان عن فضيل بن عثمان عن محمد بن شريح قال سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول والله لولا أن الله فرض ولايتنا ومودتنا وقرابتنا ما أدخلناكم بيوتنا ولا أوقفناكم على أبوابنا والله ما نقول بأهوائنا ولا نقول برأينا الا ما قال ربنا.

(5) Ahmad b. Muhammad from Ali b. Al-Numan from Fudayl b. Uthman from Muhammad b. Sharih from Imam Al-Sadiq (as) that he said: "By Allah, if Allah had not Obligated our Wilayah, and our cordiality, and our kinship, we would not have entered you into our house, nor paused you at our doors. By Allah, We are not speaking by our whims, nor are we speaking by our opinion, except what our Lord has said (Sahih) 

(6) حدثنا أحمد بن محمد عن الحسن بن محبوب عن أبي حمزة الثمالي عن جابر قال أبو جعفر عليه السلام يا جابر والله لو كنا نحدث الناس أو حدثناهم برأينا لكنا من الهالكين ولكنا نحدثهم باثار عندنا من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله يتوارثها كابر عن كابر نكنزها كما يكنز هؤلاء ذهبهم وفضتهم.

(6) Ahmad b. Muhammad from Al-Hassan b. Mahboub from Abu Hamza from Jabir from Imam Al-Baqir (as) that he said: Oh Jabir, by Allah, if we were narrating rulings by our opinions, then we would be amongst the lost ones. Rather what we narrate are sayings from the Prophet (saws) that we inherited from the Messenger of Allah (saws), that an elder inherits from an elder. We treasure these just as people are treasuring their gold and their silver. (Sahih)

(7) حدثنا محمد بن هارون عن أبي الحسن موسى عن موسى بن القاسم عن علي بن النعمان عن محمد بن شريح قال قال لي أبو عبد الله عليه السلام لولا أن الله فرض ولايتنا ومودتنا وقرابتنا ما أدخلناكم ولا أوقفناكم على بابنا فوالله ما نقول بأهوائنا ولا نقول برأينا ولا نقول الا ما قال ربنا.

(7) Muhammad b. Harun from Abi Al-Hassan Musa from Musa b. Al-Qasim from Ali b. Al-Nu'man from Muhammad b. Sharih from Imam Al-Sadiq (as) that he said:‘"If Allah had not Obligated our Wilayah, and our cordiality, and our kinship, we would not enter you (in our houses), nor pause you at our doors. By Allah, We are not speaking by our whims, nor are we speaking by our opinions, nor are we speaking except what our Lord Said." (Maj'hul)

(8) حدثنا إبراهيم بن هاشم عن يحيى بن أبي عمران عن يونس عن عنبسة قال سال رجل أبا عبد الله عليه السلام عن مسألة فاجابه فيها فقال الرجل إن كان كذا وكذا ما كان القول فيها فقال له مهما أجبتك فيه لشئ فهو عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله لسنا نقول برأينا من شئ. 

(8) Ibrahim b. Hashim from Yahya b. Abi Imran from Yunus from Unbasah (In the correct and older manuscript it says Utaybah) that he said: A man asked Imam Al-Sadiq about an issue so he gave him the answer on it. So the man said: if the case was so and so instead what would be your answer ? So Imam Al-Sadiq told him: Whatever answer I give you on any issue is on the authority of the Messenger of God (saws) and we do not give our opinion on any issue. (Maj'hul)

(9) حدثنا أحمد بن محمد عن الحسين بن سعيد عن فضيل بن يسار عن جعفر عليه السلام أنه قال انا على بينة من ربنا بينها لنبيه فبينها نبيه لنا فلولا ذلك كنا كهؤلاء الناس.

(9) Ahmad b. Muhammad from Al-Husayn b. Saeed from Fudayl b. Yassar from Imam Al-Sadiq (as) that he said: I am on clear knowledge provided from evidence through our Lord. It was made clear to his Prophet, so His Prophet made it clear to us. Had it not been for that, we would have been like these people. (Sahih)

(10) حدثنا محمد بن إسماعيل عن علي بن الحكم عن فضيل بن عثمان عن محمد بن شريح قال قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام لولا أن الله فرض طاعتنا وولايتنا وامر مودتنا ما أوقفناكم على أبوابنا ولا أدخلناكم بيوتنا انا والله ما نقول بأهوائنا ولا نقول برأينا ولا نقول الا ما قال ربنا وأصول عندنا نكنزها كما يكنز هؤلاء ذهبهم و فضتهم.

(10) Muhammad b. Isma'il from Ali b. Al-Hakam from Fudhayl b. Uthman from Muhammad b. Sharih from Imam Al-Sadiq (as) that he said: ‘If Allah had not Obligated our obedience, and our Wilayah, and Commanded our cordiality, we would not pause you at our doors, nor would we enter you all into our houses. By Allah, we are not speaking by our whims, nor are we speaking by our opinions, nor are we speaking except what our Lord Said, and principles are with us. We treasure these just as they are treasuring their gold and their silver. (Sahih) 

Therefore, this concept that they narrate from the Messenger of Allah for all of their Hadiths is in fact mutawatir in the Shi'a corpus. It is also well-established in the Sunni corpus as we have mentioned above. This dispels any doubt regarding the transmission or weakness of the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) from the Holy Prophet (saw). This means all of our Hadith corpus goes back to Rasulullah (saw) by means of Imam Ali (as), but this does not mean that we don't have references outside of them that also go back to the Prophet. For instance, the sermon of Ghadeer was reliably narrated by Abu Tufayl from Hudaifa b. Usaid al-Ghaffari in al-Saduq's Al-Khisal, Ch. 81, H. 1:

Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. Ahmad b. al-Walid from Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saffar from Muhammad b. al-Husayn b. Abi al-Khattab and Ya`qub b. Yazid from Muhammad b. Abi Umayr from Abdallah b. Sinan from Ma`ruf b. Kharrabudh from Abi Tufayl `Amir b. Wathila from Hudhayfa b. Asid al-Ghiffari who said:

We were with the messenger of Allah when he was returning from his farewell pilgrimage...

This chain of narration is reliable and goes back to the Prophet (saw) without means of an Imam.

Conclusion

It was clearly established that our narrations from the Imams (as) are from the Messenger of Allah (saws). We also have many narrations from the Prophet that come by way of righteous companions. The myth that the Shi'a lack narrations by the Prophet (saw) is nothing short of a deceptive lie that is far from the truth. Rather, we narrate through the most reliable means to the Holy Prophet (saw)- Imam Imam al-Baqir (as) and Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) of whom it is recorded about the following in al-Dhahabi's Siyar A'lam al-Nubala, vol. 6, pg. 257:

وعن عمرو بن أبي المقدام قال : كنت إذا نظرت إلى جعفر بن محمد علمت أنه من سلالة النبيين . قد رأيته واقفا عند الجمرة يقول : سلوني ، سلوني.cوعن صالح بن أبي الأسود ، سمعت جعفر بن محمد يقول : سلوني قبل أن تفقدوني ، فإنه لا يحدثكم أحد بعدي بمثل حديثي.

Amr b. Abi al-Miqdam said: "Whenever I looked at Ja‘far b. Muhammad, I knew he was from the lineage of the Prophets. I saw him standing at the Jamarah saying: 'Ask me, ask me.'”

And Salih b. Abi al-Aswad said: "I heard Ja‘far b. Muhammad say: 'Ask me before you lose me, for no one after me will narrate to you as I do.'”

And when Imam al-Baqir (as) passed away, the following was said about him in Amali Al-Mufid, Book 42, Ch. 7:

"By Allah, a man who reported from the Prophet directly, and was never asked about the chain of narrators between him and the Prophet, has passed away. By Allah, no one like shall ever be found."