Hadith of thaqalayn
Hadith of thaqalayn (Arabic: حدیث الثقلین, literally: hadith of the two weighty things) is a famous and mutawatir (frequent) hadith from the Prophet (a): "I leave after myself the book of Allah (Qur'an) and my 'itra (family) between you, these two will never separate each other till the judgment day."
The hadith is accepted by all Muslims, both Sunni and Shi'a, and has come in the hadith books of all of Islamic sects.
Shi'a scholars relying on hadith of thaqalayn, prove the necessity of Imam, necessity of infallibility of Imams, and the necessity of continuation of Imamate in all times.
text
Hadith of thaqalayn is narrated a little differently in different sources, but the content is the same.
Usul al-Kafi which is one of the four books of Shi'a:
إِنِّی تَارِک فِیکمْ أَمْرَینِ إِنْ أَخَذْتُمْ بِهِمَا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا- کتَابَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ أَهْلَ بَیتِی عِتْرَتِی أَیهَا النَّاسُ اسْمَعُوا وَ قَدْ بَلَّغْتُ إِنَّکمْ سَتَرِدُونَ عَلَی الْحَوْضَ فَأَسْأَلُکمْ عَمَّا فَعَلْتُمْ فِی الثَّقَلَینِ وَ الثَّقَلَانِ کتَابُ اللَّهِ جَلَّ ذِکرُهُ وَ أَهْلُ بَیتِی
"Indeed I am leaving two things among you, to which if you hold yourself, you will never astray: the book of Allah –who is all mighty and great- and my ahl al-bayt (household), my 'itra (family). O people hear! And I have announced to you that: indeed you will enter my presence and I will ask you about what you did to the thaqalayn (two weighty things) and the thaqalayn are the book of Allah and my ahl al-bayt."
Sunan al-Nasa'i, one of the six sahih (authentic) books of Sunnis:
کأنی قد دعیت فاجبت، انی قد ترکت فیکم الثقلین احدهما اکبر من الآخر، کتاب الله و عترتی اهل بیتی، فانظروا کیف تخلفونی فیهما، فانهما لن یفترقا حتی یردا علی الحوض
"Looks like I have been called, and I answered (my time of death has come), indeed I have leaved the thaqalayn (two weighty things) among you, one of them is greater form the other, the book of Allah and my 'itra (family), my ahl al-bayt (household). So look after how you will behave with them after me, indeed they will never separate each other until they enter my presence by the pool [in the paradise]."
Sources
The hadith is accepted by both Shi'a and Sunni scholars and its authenticity could not be rejected.
Sunni Sources
According to the book Hadith al-thaqalayn wa maqamat ahl al-bayt, the hadith is narrated by 25 companions of the Prophet (s) in Sunni sources, some of which are:
- Zayd b. Arqam: the hadith of thaqalayn is narrated with 6 chains of narration from him in the books: Sunan an-Nasa'i, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, Sunan al-Tarmadhi, Mustadrak al-Hakim, Musnad Ahmad.
- Zayd b. Thabit: in Musnad Ahmad and al-Mu'jam al-kabir.
- Jabir b. 'Abd Allah: in Sunan al-Tarmadhi, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, and al-Mu'jam al-awsat.
- Hudhayfa b. Usayd: in al-Mu'jam al-kabir
- Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: in Musnad Ahmad and Du'afa' al-kabir.
- Imam 'Ali (a): with 2 chains of narrators in al-Bahr al-zikhar and Kanz al-'Ummal.
- Abudharr al-Ghifari: in al-Mu'talaf wa al-Mukhtalaf.
- Abu Hurayra: in Kashf al-astar 'an zawa'id al-bazar
- 'Abd Allah b. Hantab: in Usd al-ghaba
- Jubayr b. Mut'im: in Zilal al-Janna
Al-Bahrani, the author of Ghayat al-maram wa hujjat al-khisam, narrated the hadith from 39 chains of narrations from Sunni authors. According to the book, the hadith is narrated in Musnad Ahmad, Sahih Muslim, Manaqib Ibn al-Maghazili, Sunan Tarmadhi, al-'Umda Tha'labi, Musnad Abi Ya'li, al-Mu'jam al-awsat, al-'Umda Ibn al-Bitriq, Yanabi' al-mawadda, al-Tara'if, Fara'id al-simtayn, and the commentary on Nahj al-balagha for Ibn Abi al-Hadid.
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