Did Ḥasan al-Baṣrī Meet ʿAlī? Myth of the Cloak Exposed

Compiled by: Abu Hamza Salafi

This article is on a very important and fundamental issue: Did Imam Hasan Basri (birth 21 AH – death 110 AH) directly hear from Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib (death 41 AH)? And is it true that Hazrat Ali clothed Hasan Basri with a “woolen rag (khirqah)” which some Sufis consider the foundation of Sufism?

There are explanations from the majority of hadith scholars, statements from more than twenty Imams, and Hasan Basri’s own clarifications. In this article, these evidences and statements are presented in an orderly manner.

① Hasan Basri’s Own Clarification

Arabic: قال قتادة: حدّثنا الحسن أنه ما لقي أحداً من البدريين شافهه بالحديث.

Urdu: Qatadah says: Hasan Basri said: “I have not heard a hadith from any one of the Badri companions (meaning I have no established hearing from any Badri companion).”

Reference: Reference: Al-Ma’rifah wal-Tarikh

Statements of the Hadith Imams

② Ibn Hazm

Arabic: وأما الرواية عن عليّ فمنقطعة؛ لأن الحسن لم يسمع من علي شيئاً.

Urdu: The narration from Ali is disconnected because Hasan Basri did not hear anything from him.

Reference: Reference: Al-Muhalla bil-Athar

③ Imam Ali ibn al-Madini

Arabic: الحسن لم ير علياً إلا أن يكون رآه بالمدينة وهو غلام.

Urdu: Hasan Basri did not see Ali, except possibly in childhood in Medina.

Reference: Reference: Kitab al-Marasil by Ibn Abi Hatim

④ Abu Zur’ah al-Razi

Arabic: سُئِلَ أبو زرعة: لقي الحسن أحداً من البدريين؟ قال: رآهم رؤية، رأى عثمان بن عفان وعلياً. قيل: سمع منهم حديثاً؟ قال: لا.

Urdu: Abu Zur’ah was asked: Did Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) meet the Badri companions? He said: He saw them (Uthman and Ali) but did not hear any hadith from them.

Reference: Reference: Kitab al-Marasil by Ibn Abi Hatim

⑤ Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: ولا نعرف للحسن سماعاً من علي بن أبي طالب…

Urdu: We do not know of Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) having heard (sama’) from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).

Reference: Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1423

⑥ Hafiz al-Mizzi (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: … رأى علي بن أبي طالب وطلحة وعائشة، ولم يصح له سماع من أحد منهم.

Urdu: Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) saw Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), Talha (may Allah be pleased with him), and Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), but no hearing (sama’) from any of them is established.

Reference: Reference: Tahdhib al-Kamal

⑦ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: … روى بالإرسال عن طائفة: كعلي وأم سلمة، ولم يسمع منهما.

Urdu: Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated a mursal report from a group (for example Ali and Umm Salamah), but he did not hear anything directly.

Reference: Reference: Siyar A’lam al-Nubala

⑧ Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: لم يسمع الحسن من علي بن أبي طالب شيئاً.

Urdu: Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) did not hear anything from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).

Reference: Reference: Tarikh Ibn Ma’in (narration of al-Duri)

⑨ Ibn Abd al-Hadi al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: الحسن لم يسمع من علي.

Urdu: Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) did not hear anything from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Reference: Reference: Tanqih al-Tahqiq fi Ahadith al-Ta’liq

⑩ Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: ولد الحسن لسنتين بقيتا من خلافة عمر… وخرج من المدينة ليالي صفين ولم يلق علياً.

Urdu: Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) was born in the last two years of the caliphate of Umar… During the days of Siffin, he left Medina and did not meet Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Reference: Reference: Al-Thiqat by Ibn Hibban

⑪ Imam Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: وقيل: إنه لقي علياً، ولم يصح.

Urdu: It is said that he met Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), but this is not true.

Reference: Reference: Tahdhib al-Asma wa al-Lughat

⑫ Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: فإنهم متفقون على أن الحسن لم يجتمع بعلي.

Urdu: Scholars agree that Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) was not together with Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Reference: Reference: Minhaj al-Sunnah

⑬ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: … ورأى علياً ولم يثبت سماعه منه.

Urdu: He saw Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) but there is no established narration of hearing (sama’) from him.

Reference: Reference: Ithaf al-Muhra / Tabaqat al-Mudallisīn

⑭ Mulla Ali Qari (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: حديث: لبس الخرقة الصوفية، وكون الحسن البصري لبسها من علي، قال ابن دحية وابن الصلاح: إنه باطل، وكذا قال العسقلاني.

Urdu: The narration that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the cloak (khirqah) to Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) is declared false by Ibn Dihyah, Ibn al-Salah, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.

Reference: Reference: Al-Asrar al-Marfoo’ah / Al-Masnu’

⑮ Ibn Iraq al-Kinani (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: … وهو من حديث الحسن عن علي ولم يلقه …

Urdu: This narration is from Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), but Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) never met Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Reference: Reference: Tanzih al-Shari’ah al-Marfoo’ah

⑯ Diya al-Din al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: الحسن بن يسار البصري عن علي عليه السلام، وقيل إنه لم يسمع منه.

Urdu: There is a narration of Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), but it is said that he did not hear (sama’) from him.

Reference: Reference: Al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah

⑰ Shams al-Din Ibn Muflih (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: … ولا نعرف للحسن سماعاً من علي، وكذا قال أئمة الحديث: لم يسمع منه.

Urdu: We do not know of Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) having heard (sama’) from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and the Imams of Hadith have also said that Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) did not hear from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Reference: Reference: Usul al-Fiqh – Ibn Muflih

⑱ Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him)

Arabic: … الحسن لم يسمع من علي.

Urdu: Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) did not hear (sama’) from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Reference: Reference: Al-Tahqiq fi Ahadith al-Khilaf

⑲ Imam Yahya bin Saeed Al-Qattan (Narration of Ibn Ma’in)

Arabic:قيل له: سمع من عثمان؟ قال: يقول في بعض الحديث رأيت عثمان قام خطيباً … ولم يسمع من علي شيئاً. Urdu: He was asked: Did Hasan Basriؒ hear from Uthmanؓ? He said: In some hadiths he says “I saw Uthman standing up to deliver a sermon”… but he did not hear anything from Aliؓ.

Reference: Reference: Tarikh Ibn Ma’in (Narration of Al-Duri)

⑳ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (to his student Sakhawi in Al-Maqasid Al-Hasanah)

Arabic:فإن أئمة الحديث لم يثبتوا للحسن من علي سماعاً. Urdu: The Imams of Hadith have not established the hearing (sama’) of Hasan Basriؒ from Aliؓ.

Reference: Reference: Al-Maqasid Al-Hasanah – by Sakhawi

Review of the Evidence Presented for Hasan Basriؒ’s Hearing from Ali رضي الله عنه

① First Evidence (Narration of Sakhawi)

Arabic:رواه الحافظُ أبو يعلى، قال: حدَّثنا أبو عامر حوثرة بن أشرس العدوي، أخبرني عُقبةُ بن أبي الصهباء الباهلي، سمعتُ الحسنَ يقول: سمعتُ عليًّا رضي الله عنه يقول: قال رسول الله ﷺ: «مَثَلُ أُمَّتِي مَثَلُ الْمَطَرِ».

Urdu: It was narrated from Hafiz Abu Ya’la that Abu Amir Huthrah bin Ashras narrated from Uqbah bin Abi Al-Sahba, who narrated from Hasan Basri, and he (Hasan) narrated from Aliؓ with an explicit statement of hearing, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The example of my Ummah is like rain.”

Reference: Reference: Al-Jawahir wal Durar fi Tarjamat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar – by Sakhawi

Answers

Answer 01: Sakhawi narrated this hadith with the form of tamreed “رواه الحافظ أبو يعلى”, which according to the narrator is a sign of the hadith not being established.

Answer 02: This very hadith “مثل أمتي مثل المطر” is present in other books

Reference: (Jami’ Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad, Musnad al-Bazzar)

with various authentic chains of narration, therefore it is not correct to use this narration as evidence for Hasan al-Basri’s hearing from Ali.

Answer 03: In Musnad Abu Ya’la, this narration is present through a different chain: «بِشر بن الوليد الكندي، حدّثنا أبو سهل يوسف بن عطية الصفار، قال: سمعتُ ثابتًا يقول: قال أنس: قال رسول الله ﷺ: مثل أمتي مثل المطر لا يُدرى أوله خير أو آخره.» meaning here neither Ali (رضي الله عنه) nor Hasan al-Basri (رحمه الله) is mentioned.

Answer 04: In Musnad Abu Ya’la, Uqbah bin Abi al-Sahba only narrates from Salim bin Abdullah or Nafi’; there is no narration from Hasan al-Basri. Therefore, this chain is not found in any book in the world.

Answer 05: Hawtharah bin Ashras was called only by Hafiz Dhahabi as a “truthful narrator” (Muhaddith Saduq); however, nothing is established about his precision. Even if this narration is proven from him, due to its weakness and doubt, the specification of hearing is not acceptable.

② Second Evidence (Al-Lalakai’s narration)

Arabic: قال الحسن: «شهدتُ عليًّا بالمدينة، وسمع صوتًا، فقال: ما هذا؟ قالوا: قُتل عثمان. فقال: اللهم إني أُشهدك أني لم أرض ولم أمالئ، مرتين أو ثلاثًا.»

Urdu: Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “I was with Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in Medina, he heard a voice and asked: What is this? People said Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) has been killed. Upon this, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said two or three times: O Allah! I call You to witness that I am not pleased with this and I was not involved in it.”

Reference: Reference: Sharh Usool I’tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah – by Al-Lalkai

Answer

In the chain of narration of this hadith:

Uthman bin Muhammad: Unknown.
Saeed bin Abi Aroobah: Mudallis, and here he narrates with ‘an (mu’an’an).
Amir al-Ahwal: Truthful but makes many mistakes; Imam Ahmad and An-Nasa’i declared him weak and Abu Hatim called his narration rejected.

Therefore, this hadith is anomalous and weak and cannot be used as evidence for establishing the hearing (sama’).

③ The Hadith of the Kharqa (Woolen Cloak)

Arabic: حديث: لبس الخرقة الصوفية، وكون الحسن البصري لبسها من علي، قال ابن دحية وابن الصلاح: إنه باطل، وكذا قال شيخنا (ابن حجر): إنه ليس في شيء من طرقها ما يثبت، ولم يرد في خبر صحيح ولا حسن ولا ضعيف أن النبي ﷺ ألبس الخرقة … ثم قال: ومن الكذب المفترى قول من قال: إن علياً ألبس الخرقة الحسن البصري.

Urdu: Regarding the hadith of bestowing the kharqa, Ibn Dahiya and Ibn As-Salah said: This is false. Our Sheikh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said: It is not established from any authentic, good, or weak chain that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ever bestowed a kharqa upon any companion, and saying that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) bestowed a kharqa upon Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) is pure falsehood and slander.

Reference: Reference: Al-Maqasid Al-Hasanah – by Al-Sakhawi

⚖️ Conclusion

❀ It is not established that Hasan al-Basriؒ heard directly from Hazrat Aliؓ; there are clear criticisms by more than twenty hadith scholars on this.❀ Hasan al-Basriؒ himself said that he did not hear any hadith directly from the Badri companions.❀ The narration about being given the “Khirqa” is false; according to the hadith scholars, it has no basis.❀ Founding Sufism on this fabricated Khirqa narration is invalid both academically and religiously.