Are There Two Different “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī” or One? – A Research Clarification
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 422
Are “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī” the author of Tafsīr and “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī” the author of Tārīkh two different individuals? If they are the same person, then some scholars say the historian was a Rāfiḍī — so why do scholars trust the exegete? And if they are two different persons, please give a brief biography of both.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
Historical and ḥadīth sources show that under the name “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī”, two different individuals existed:
“Īmān is speech and action; it increases and decreases.” (Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah, p. 25)
“And likewise we say: The best of his ﷺ companions is al-Ṣiddīq Abū Bakr (RA), then al-Fārūq ʿUmar (RA), then Dhū al-Nūrayn ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (RA), then Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (RA).” (Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah, p. 24)
These statements clearly prove that Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī was Sunnī, not Shīʿī.
Al-Māmqānī (Rāfiḍī) said:
“ʿĀmmī (Sunnī), never declared trustworthy.” (Tanqīḥ al-Maqāl, 1/134)
Declaring Ibn Jarīr trustworthy does not mean that every narration in Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī is authentic. Every report must be examined chain-by-chain from Ibn Jarīr up to the source.
ʿAllāmah Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī’s research-based statement:
“I have investigated Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī and concluded that about 90% of it consists of fabricated and false reports, due to weak and criticised narrators from whom Ibn Jarīr took narrations and recorded them.”
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 422
Question:
Are “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī” the author of Tafsīr and “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī” the author of Tārīkh two different individuals? If they are the same person, then some scholars say the historian was a Rāfiḍī — so why do scholars trust the exegete? And if they are two different persons, please give a brief biography of both.
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
Historical and ḥadīth sources show that under the name “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī”, two different individuals existed:
① Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Rustam al-Ṭabarī, Abū Jaʿfar al-Āmulī
- Belief: He was a Rāfiḍī.
- Details:
- Mentioned in:
- Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (Vol. 3, p. 499, no. 7307)
- Dhail al-Mīzān by al-ʿIrāqī (p. 304, no. 637)
- Lisān al-Mīzān (Vol. 5, p. 103, no. 7191)
- Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (Vol. 14, p. 282)
- Sunni scholars’ stance:
No reputable Sunni imām has declared him trustworthy or truthful. - ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Kattānī’s statement:
He affirmed this man was a Rāfiḍī. - Other opinions:
Some reports also describe him as a Muʿtazilī. - In Shīʿī sources:
- Majmaʿ al-Rijāl by al-Qahbāʾī (Vol. 5, p. 173)
- Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth by al-Khūʾī (Vol. 15, p. 147, no. 10354)
- Rijāl al-Najāshī (p. 266):
“A prominent figure among our companions, very knowledgeable, eloquent in speech, trustworthy in ḥadīth. He authored al-Mustarshid fī al-Imāmah.”
- Tanqīḥ al-Maqāl (Vol. 1, p. 134, no. 1330)
- Ibn Dāwūd al-Ḥillī (Rāfiḍī) said:
“Trustworthy in ḥadīth, author of al-Mustarshid fī al-Imāmah… and he is not the author of Tārīkh — that one is a Sunnī.” (p. 167)
- ʿAllāmah Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī stated:
“I have seen this Rāfiḍī’s book al-Imāmah. It is full of baseless and fabricated narrations.”
- Mentioned in:
② Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd, Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭabarī
- Belief:
A great imām of Ahl al-Sunnah. - Details:
- Mentioned in:
- Tārīkh Baghdād by al-Khaṭīb (Vol. 2, p. 162, no. 589)
- Al-Muntaẓim by Ibn al-Jawzī (Vol. 13, p. 215, no. 2199)
- Lisān al-Mīzān (Vol. 5, pp. 100–103, no. 7190)
- Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (Vol. 3, p. 498, no. 7306)
- Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (Vol. 14, p. 267, no. 175)
- Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah by al-Subkī (Vol. 3, pp. 120–128)
- Praise from Sunni scholars:
Abū Saʿīd ibn Yūnus al-Miṣrī and al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī recorded glowing praise. - Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī:
“He was trustworthy, truthful, and a ḥāfiẓ.” (Siyar, 14/270)
- Imām Ibn Khuzaymah:
“I do not know anyone on the face of the earth more knowledgeable than Muḥammad ibn Jarīr. The Ḥanbalīs have wronged him.” (Siyar, 14/273)
- Mentioned in:
Well-known Works of Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (the Sunnī)
- Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī
- Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī
- Tahdhīb al-Āthār
- Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah
His Beliefs (as recorded in his own works):
“Īmān is speech and action; it increases and decreases.” (Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah, p. 25)
“And likewise we say: The best of his ﷺ companions is al-Ṣiddīq Abū Bakr (RA), then al-Fārūq ʿUmar (RA), then Dhū al-Nūrayn ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (RA), then Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (RA).” (Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah, p. 24)
These statements clearly prove that Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī was Sunnī, not Shīʿī.
Shīʿī Testimony:
Al-Māmqānī (Rāfiḍī) said:
“ʿĀmmī (Sunnī), never declared trustworthy.” (Tanqīḥ al-Maqāl, 1/134)
Important Note:
Declaring Ibn Jarīr trustworthy does not mean that every narration in Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī is authentic. Every report must be examined chain-by-chain from Ibn Jarīr up to the source.
ʿAllāmah Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī’s research-based statement:
“I have investigated Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī and concluded that about 90% of it consists of fabricated and false reports, due to weak and criticised narrators from whom Ibn Jarīr took narrations and recorded them.”
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
