Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 422
Are the "Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī" who authored the Tafsīr and the one who authored the Tārīkh two separate individuals? If they are the same person, how do scholars trust the Mufassir while some claim the historian was a Rāfiḍī? And if they are different, please provide brief biographical details of both.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa as-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
According to historical and ḥadīth sources, two different individuals existed with the name “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī”:
Belief: This person was a Rāfiḍī (Shia extremist).
No reliable Sunni scholar ever authenticated or praised him.
He confirmed that this individual was indeed a Rāfiḍī.
Some even described him as Muʿtazilī.
“He is trustworthy in ḥadīth and author of al-Mustarshid fī al-Imāmah. He is not the author of the Tārīkh; that one is a common Sunni (‘Āmmī).”
(p. 167)
“I have examined this Rāfiḍī’s book al-Imāmah. It is filled with baseless and fabricated reports.”
Renowned scholars like Abū Saʿīd ibn Yūnus al-Miṣrī and al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī praised him profusely.
“He was trustworthy, truthful, and a ḥāfiẓ.”
(Siyar, Vol. 14, p. 270)
“I do not know anyone more knowledgeable than Muḥammad ibn Jarīr on the face of the earth. The Ḥanbalīs wronged him.”
(Siyar, Vol. 14, p. 273)
✔ Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī
✔ Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī
✔ Tahdhīb al-Āthār
✔ Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah
“Īmān is composed of statement and action. It increases and decreases.”
(Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah, p. 25)
“And likewise, we say: the best among his ﷺ Companions is al-Ṣiddīq Abū Bakr (RA), followed by al-Fārūq ʿUmar, then Dhū al-Nūrayn ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, then the Commander of the Faithful, Imām of the Pious, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (RA).”
(Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah, p. 24)
These statements clearly establish that he was Sunni, not Shia.
“He was a common Sunni and never deemed trustworthy.”
(Tanqīḥ al-Maqāl, Vol. 1, p. 134)
The fact that Ibn Jarīr (the Sunni) was trustworthy does not imply that all reports in Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī are authentic. Every narration must be independently verified through its full chain—from Ibn Jarīr to the top.
“I have critically examined Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī and concluded that 90% of it is composed of fabricated and false reports, owing to the weak and discredited narrators from whom Ibn Jarīr transmitted.”
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
❖ Question:
Are the "Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī" who authored the Tafsīr and the one who authored the Tārīkh two separate individuals? If they are the same person, how do scholars trust the Mufassir while some claim the historian was a Rāfiḍī? And if they are different, please provide brief biographical details of both.
❖ Response:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa as-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
According to historical and ḥadīth sources, two different individuals existed with the name “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī”:
Belief: This person was a Rāfiḍī (Shia extremist).
◈ Biographical Sources:
- Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (Vol. 3, p. 499, Entry 7307)
- Dhail al-Mīzān by al-ʿIrāqī (p. 304, Entry 637)
- Lisān al-Mīzān (Vol. 5, p. 103, Entry 7191)
- Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (Vol. 14, p. 282)
◈ Ahl al-Sunnah Perspective:
No reliable Sunni scholar ever authenticated or praised him.
◈ Statement of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Kattānī:
He confirmed that this individual was indeed a Rāfiḍī.
◈ Additional Views:
Some even described him as Muʿtazilī.
◈ Mention in Shia Literature:
- Majmaʿ al-Rijāl by al-Qahbāʾī (Vol. 5, p. 173)
- Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth by al-Khūʾī (Vol. 15, p. 147, Entry 10354)
- Rijāl al-Najāshī (p. 266):
“A prominent figure among our scholars, highly knowledgeable and eloquent in speech, trustworthy in ḥadīth. He authored the book al-Mustarshid fī al-Imāmah.”
- Tanqīḥ al-Maqāl (Vol. 1, p. 134, Entry 1330)
◈ Statement of Ibn Dāwūd al-Ḥillī (a Rāfiḍī):
“He is trustworthy in ḥadīth and author of al-Mustarshid fī al-Imāmah. He is not the author of the Tārīkh; that one is a common Sunni (‘Āmmī).”
(p. 167)
◈ Statement of ʿAllāmah Zubair ʿAlī Zai:
“I have examined this Rāfiḍī’s book al-Imāmah. It is filled with baseless and fabricated reports.”
- Belief: He was a distinguished Imām of Ahl al-Sunnah.
◈ Biographical Sources:
- Tārīkh Baghdād by al-Khaṭīb (Vol. 2, p. 162, Entry 589)
- al-Muntaẓam by Ibn al-Jawzī (Vol. 13, p. 215, Entry 2199)
- Lisān al-Mīzān (Vol. 5, pp. 100–103, Entry 7190)
- Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (Vol. 3, p. 498, Entry 7306)
- Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (Vol. 14, p. 267, Entry 175)
- Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah by al-Subkī (Vol. 3, pp. 120–128)
◈ Endorsements by Sunni Scholars:
Renowned scholars like Abū Saʿīd ibn Yūnus al-Miṣrī and al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī praised him profusely.
◈ Statement of Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī:
“He was trustworthy, truthful, and a ḥāfiẓ.”
(Siyar, Vol. 14, p. 270)
◈ Statement of Imām Ibn Khuzaymah:
“I do not know anyone more knowledgeable than Muḥammad ibn Jarīr on the face of the earth. The Ḥanbalīs wronged him.”
(Siyar, Vol. 14, p. 273)
❖ Renowned Books of Sunni Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī
✔ Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī
✔ Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī
✔ Tahdhīb al-Āthār
✔ Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah
❖ His Creed as Evident in His Works
“Īmān is composed of statement and action. It increases and decreases.”
(Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah, p. 25)
“And likewise, we say: the best among his ﷺ Companions is al-Ṣiddīq Abū Bakr (RA), followed by al-Fārūq ʿUmar, then Dhū al-Nūrayn ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, then the Commander of the Faithful, Imām of the Pious, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (RA).”
(Ṣarīḥ al-Sunnah, p. 24)
These statements clearly establish that he was Sunni, not Shia.
❖ Testimony of the Rāfiḍī Mamqānī:
“He was a common Sunni and never deemed trustworthy.”
(Tanqīḥ al-Maqāl, Vol. 1, p. 134)
❖ Important Note:
The fact that Ibn Jarīr (the Sunni) was trustworthy does not imply that all reports in Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī are authentic. Every narration must be independently verified through its full chain—from Ibn Jarīr to the top.
❖ Scholarly Remark by ʿAllāmah Zubair ʿAlī Zai:
“I have critically examined Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī and concluded that 90% of it is composed of fabricated and false reports, owing to the weak and discredited narrators from whom Ibn Jarīr transmitted.”
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
