• 🌟 Support the Mission of Spreading Authentic Islamic Knowledge 🌟

    Tohed.com is dedicated to sharing the pure teachings of Islam based on the Qur’an & Sunnah.

    📦 Your donation = Sadaqah Jariyah!

    “The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if small.” – Bukhari

A Critical Analysis of the Report Involving Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Zubair (رضي الله عنهما)

Authored by: Hafiz Muhammad Anwar Zahid (ḥafiẓahullāh)

❖ The Narration​


Abū Jarrād narrates:


Hazrat Ali (رضي الله عنه) once questioned Hazrat Zubair (رضي الله عنه) under oath:
“Did you not hear the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
‘O Zubair! You will fight against Ali (رضي الله عنه), and you will be the oppressor?’”

Hazrat Zubair (رضي الله عنه) replied:
“Indeed, I did hear that, but I had forgotten.”
[Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, Vol. 4, p. 411 | Also recorded by al-ʿUqaylī in al-Ḍuʿafāʼ: Vol. 3, p. 35]

❖ The Status of the Narrator:​


Imām al-Dhahabī states:


“This Abū Jarrād, who narrates this story about Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Zubair (رضي الله عنهما), is unknown (majhūl)no one knows who he is.
[Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, Vol. 7, p. 349]

❖ The Chain Transmitters and Their Defects​


◈ Abd al-Malik ibn Muslim al-Ruqāshī​


He is the one who narrates this story from Abū Jarrād.


Imām al-Bukhārī says:


“His narrations are not authentic.”


Imām al-Dhahabī comments:


“No one transmits from him except his grandson.”


◈ ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ruqāshī​


He is the grandson of ʿAbd al-Malik, and no one else narrates from ʿAbd al-Malik except him.


Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān did not narrate from him.


Imām al-Bukhārī further states:


“This narration is objectionable. It is this same narrator who has reported the **incident involving Zubair and Ali (رضي الله عنهما).”


Al-ʿUqaylī notes:


“The chain of this narration is weak.
[Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, Vol. 2, p. 488]


❖ The Narrator:​


✔ He is described as a hardline Rāfiḍī (extremist Shīʿah).


✔ He was known to revile the first three Caliphs (Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān رضي الله عنهم).


❖ Conclusion​


This narration suffers from multiple defects:


❌ The main narrator (Abū Jarrād) is unknown.
❌ The transmission chain includes weak, abandoned, and sectarian narrators.
❌ The content promotes sectarian agendas and is not reliable by scholarly standards.
 
Back
Top