Kawtharī’s False Accusation Against Abū al-Shaykh al-Iṣfahānī – Its Reality
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 424
Question:
Is Muḥammad Zāhid al-Kawtharī’s claim correct that Ḥāfiẓ Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl declared Abū al-Shaykh al-Iṣfahānī weak?
Kawtharī’s Statement:
While commenting on a narration in Tārīkh Baghdād, Kawtharī wrote:
“In the chain of this incident, there are many suspicious narrators, and Abū Muḥammad ibn Ḥayyān here is Abū al-Shaykh, the author of Kitāb al-ʿAẓamah and Kitāb al-Sunnah. In both books, there are fabricated reports not found elsewhere. His fellow countryman al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿAssāl declared him weak.”
(Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ, trans. from Taʾnīb al-Khaṭīb, p. 53; original Taʾnīb al-Khaṭīb, p. 49)
Clarification and Detailed Research:
About the Book “Taʾnīb al-Khaṭīb” and Its Translation
- Taʾnīb al-Khaṭīb was authored by Muḥammad Zāhid al-Kawtharī as a rebuttal to al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī.
- ʿAbd al-Quddūs Qārin (son of Sarfarāz Khān Ṣafdar) translated it as Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ.
- Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā al-Muʿallimī al-Yamānī (d. 1386 AH) wrote a two-volume scholarly refutation titled Al-Tankīl limā warada fī Taʾnīb al-Kawtharī min al-Bāṭil, to which Kawtharī’s supporters have never responded.
Errors of ʿAbd al-Quddūs Qārin
1. The Story of Khālid al-Qasrī and Jaʿd ibn Dirham
- Kawtharī’s original Arabic:
“…and this al-Qasrī is the one who built a church for his mother to worship in, and it is said about him that he slaughtered Jaʿd ibn Dirham on ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā as his sacrifice. Despite the widespread fame of this story, it is not established.”
- ʿAbd al-Quddūs’ translation:
“…and this al-Qasrī is the one who built a church for his mother to worship in. And he is the one about whom it is said that on ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā, Jaʿd ibn Dirham slaughtered an animal as his sacrifice.”
This translation reverses the meaning entirely — in reality, Khālid al-Qasrī slaughtered Jaʿd ibn Dirham, not the other way around.
Authentic report:
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī wrote:
“Sacrifice, may Allāh accept from you. I am sacrificing Jaʿd ibn Dirham — for he claimed that Allāh did not take Ibrāhīm as a Khalīl.” (Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 5/432)
And in Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (1/399, no. 1482):
“…so he was killed for that in Iraq on the day of sacrifice.”
2. Attendance of Other Madhhabs at Imām Abū Ḥanīfah’s Funeral
ʿAbd al-Quddūs wrote:
“Were only Ḥanafīs present at the funeral? Were not people from other madhhabs (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī, etc.) also present…?”
Clarification:
- Imām Abū Ḥanīfah passed away in 150 AH.
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī was born in 150 AH, and Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was born in 164 AH — so their followers did not even exist at that time.
This insertion is historically baseless.
Te Status of Abū al-Shaykh al-Iṣfahānī and Kawtharī’s Falsehood
Abū al-Shaykh’s standing among scholars:
- Imām Ibn Mardūyah: “Thiqah maʾmūn.”
- Abū al-Qāsim al-Sūdhurjānī:
“He is one of Allāh’s righteous servants, trustworthy, reliable.” (Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 16/278)
Reality of Kawtharī’s claim:
- Kawtharī lied when he claimed that al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl weakened Abū al-Shaykh.
- No authentic or credible source records such a criticism from al-ʿAssāl.
Where Kawtharī repeated this lie:
- Taʾnīb al-Khaṭīb, pp. 69, 141
- Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ, pp. 192, 322
Refutation of Kawtharī:
- Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Muʿallimī pointed out this fabrication. (Al-Tankīl, 1/318–319, no. 129)
Additional testimony:
Shaykh Sulaymān al-Ṣunayʿ (member of the Shūrā Council in Makkah) said:
“I met Kawtharī several times in Egypt and asked him about this matter, but he could give no convincing answer. If he were truthful, he would have clearly shown me the source for attributing this to Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl. I realised that he fabricated and misled.” (Ṭalīʿat al-Tankīl, p. 29)
Challenge to Kawtharī’s supporters:
We demand from all Kawtharī’s partisans, especially ʿAbd al-Quddūs Qārin:
- Produce a source where al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl declared Abū al-Shaykh weak.
- If not, they share in Kawtharī’s falsehood.
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
