Fiqh

السلام عليكم
I've a question
What's Zaidiyas belief about Imamate?
Secondly what's Zaidiyas stance about HADITH

Wa Alaikum Salam,

Imamate

Concerning the Imamate of Imam Ali, peace be upon him.The Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Descendants [of the Prophet] (al-‘itra).
Regarding the Book: The Exalted says: {Verily your only Guardian is Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe--those who establish the prayer and pay the alms (Zakāt) while bowing.} (Q. 5:55). No one paid the alms while in the state of bowing, other than „Ali, peace be upon him. A beggar asked [for alms]; based upon the promise of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, he came to him while „Ali was bowing in the prayer. That occurred while in the mosque of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, and no one else responded to his request. He indicated to him to take his ring as alms while he was bowing, and the beggar took it. Then Gabriel revealed this verse to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny. This was something that was unique to „Ali, peace be upon him, and no one else in the community.34
It is restricted in its denotation of Imamate because “guardian” (wali) means “one who has authority to govern affairs.” It is like if someone said: “This is the woman's guardian”, or “This is the orphan‟s guardian”; that is, he has the authority to govern their affairs.
Regarding the Sunnah: It is the narration of the Pond (al-Ghadīr)35 in which he, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said: ((Do I not have more authority (awla) over you than you have over yourselves?)) [cf. Q. 33:6] They all replied, “O Messenger of Allah, indeed!” He said: ((Then, whomever I have authority over, „Ali has authority over. O Allah, help those that help him and oppose those that oppose him! Assist those that assist him, and abandon those that abandon him!)) Then „Umar said, “Hearty congratulations to you, O son of Abi Tālib! You have become the master of all of the believing men and women!”
We narrate on the authority of Mu‟ayyad Billah with his chain of authority (isnād) going to Ja‟far as-Sādiq bin Muhammad al-Bāqir that he was asked about the meaning of this narration. He said: “By Allah, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, was asked about it and he said: ((Allah is my Guardian. He has more authority over me than I have over myself, and I have no say in the matter with Him. I am the guardian of the believers. I have more authority over them than they have over themselves, and they have no say in the matter with me. Whomever I am the guardian of, I have more authority over him than he has over himself, and he has no say in the matter with me. So, „Ali is his guardian. He has more authority over one than one has over himself, and he has no say in the matter with him)).
If that is established then it is restricted in its meaning to denote Imamate. The intended meaning cannot be derived from the statement: “So-n-so is an imam; however, the community has authority to govern its own affairs.” This is because the guardian (mawla) is understood to govern affairs. It is similar to the statement: “This is the slave‟s guardian”; that is, he governs [the slave‟s] affairs. This is the restricted meaning of “Imamate” as we mentioned earlier.
One can also prove that from the Sunnah: (The Narration of Position (al-Manzila)). It is well known like the narration of the Pond. He, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said to „Ali: ((You are to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there will be no prophet after me.))36 He excludes Prophethood; which proves that he [i.e. „Ali] encompasses a virtuous trait similar to it. Its clause proves his governance of the community‟s affairs and that he is foremost of the people in their governance. That is the meaning of Imamate, as we mentioned earlier.Regarding the consensus: The Descendants [of the Prophet] all concur with that.

Concerning the Imamate of al-Hasan and al-Hussein.


It is the well-known narration in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said: ((Al-Hassan and al-Hussein are both imams; Their father is greater than them)).39 This is an explicit designation regarding their Imamate. Also, there is an implicit indication of their father’s Imamate; because one cannot be greater than another unless he is an imam that shares with him the trait of Imamate while exceeding over him. At that point, he is greater than him. This is clear.
The consensus concurs that the two of them did not exercise governmental authority during the era of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, and the era of „Ali, peace be upon him, respectively. Al-Hussein did not exercise governmental authority during the era of his brother, al-Hassan. The Imamate endured distinctly by consensus.

Concerning the Imamate After Al-Hasan and Al-Hussein.

It is restricted to the descendants of the Two Grandsons (as-Sibtayn) and prohibited from anyone other than them. It belongs to the one from the descendants whose ancestry reaches back to one of the two [i.e. al-Hassan and al-Hussein], that rises and calls to himself.40 All of the following are the traits of Imamate: expansive knowledge, evident virtue, courage, generosity, excellence in opinionated thought without dissimulation, ability to carry out commands, and manifest religious scrupulousness.Regarding the proof of its restriction: The intellect mandates that the Imamate can be obscene, because it necessitates that the governance of inimical affairs can be terminated by killing, crucifixion, and removal. The consensus of the Muslims concurs that it is permissible for the descendants of Fātima, peace be upon her. There is no proof that it is permissible for anyone other than them. Their enemies were not righteous. This is because the Descendants have agreed that it is not permissible for anyone other than them. Their consensus is a proof.
Regarding the proof of the traits of Imamate that we mentioned: It is the consensus of the Muslims.

Concerning Imam’s traits

Say: Regarding knowledge:41 It is necessary for him to be knowledgeable of the Divine Oneness of Allah and worship of Him; as well as what comes subsequent to that. He has to be knowledgeable of the sources of Islamic Law (ash-Shari‘a), as well as its proofs. These [i.e. the sources] are four: the Book, the Sunnah, Consensus, and Analogical Reasoning (al-Qiyās). What is meant by that is that one has a thorough understanding of the commands and prohibitions of the Qur‟ān and Sunnah; as well as their generalities, specificities, applications, expositions, what abrogates, and what is abrogated. He has to also be knowledgeable concerning the conciliatory subjects and the different channels of disagreements in fiqh; so as to not form an independent judgment contrary to consensus. Then, he has to be able to investigate a a body with analogical reasoning and form an independent judgment. He has to be able to refer an action back to the legal source.
Regarding virtue:42 He has to be the most eminent of the people of his time; constantly increasing in such over other than him in this trait of Imamate. If not, he has to, at least, be similar to them in eminence.
Regarding courage:43 He has to be wiling to meet the enemies of Allah and not be accused of cowardice. He has to be composed in times of anxiety. He must not feign fighting or the battlefield.
Regarding generosity:44 He must be generous in the distribution of rights to its owners.
Regarding opinionated thought:45 He must be in a state of mind to manage affairs and not be deficient in his intellect. He must not have any type of disease in his body [i.e. one that inhibits his functions] or weakness so that he can accurately oversee the affairs of the religion and rectify the affairs of the Muslims.
Regarding religious scrupulousness:46 It is enough that he turns away from obscenities and establish the obligations.

Concerning the Way of Knowing the Specifications of the Imam

Regarding him being knowledgeable: He has to achieve this by taking the knowledge of the scholars by means of thorough research and debate. Other than them are called to obedience by knowledge of the existence of a scholar. He has to be knowledgeable of the occurrences of possible attack. There is consensus of opinion regarding that.
Regarding the rest of the traits, it is necessary that knowledge be obtained for them to exist. If it [i.e. knowledge] is absent, then one must obtain the successively transmitted (at-tatwātiri) knowledge in that. The ruling of knowledge is similar to that of its absence. The means of this knowledge is through the mass transmitted texts of the scholars and others. If it is present, then it is necessary that the acquisition of knowledge exist for all of it. This is because it is from the Fundamentals of Religion (Usūl ad-Dīn). Otherwise, one would not take hold of the required indications needed for all of it.

Regarding Hadeeth.

The Zaydī Ḥadīth Methodology is as follows :

1 - Comparison with the book of Allāh (Exalted is He) The rule of presenting [any Ḥadīth] in face of the book of Allāh is one of the most important, and foundational rules for them because: {It cannot be proven false from any angle. ˹It is˺ a revelation from the ˹One Who is˺ All-Wise, Praiseworthy}.9 The Muḥaddithīn have disregarded this important epistemological rule. If we were to return to their conditions for a Ḥadīth to be authentic, we will find that they are five [conditions]. Of them is that the Ḥadīth cannot be Shāḍh (anomalous), or Maʿlūl (defective). al-Ḥāfiḍh has defined a Shāḍh Ḥadīth as: ((What a reliable narrates in contradiction to other reliable narrators)). So, if a reliable narrator narrates a Ḥadīth which contradicts other reliable narrators then the Ḥadīth is rejected according to their rule. Then what would one say if a reliable narrator contradicted the Qurʾān, which is definitive in its reliability? Will his Ḥadīth be rejected, or not? There is no doubt about that, and it will be rejected without hesitance, or doubt. For, whatever goes against the Qurʾān is rejected, irrespective of what was narrated, or who narrates it. Therefore, we find that the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace) maintain the necessity to oppose any Ḥadīth which goes against the Qurʾān, anything which opposes it will be outright rejected. This is a profound approach, and a robust rule which is necessary to utilize, and judge all the Ṣiḥāḥ with. This rule didn’t come from nothing, rather it was the generous Messenger (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) who approved [and sanctioned] it, he said: ((Lies will be attributed to me in the same manner that lies were attributed to the Prophets before me, so whatever reaches you from me compare it to the book of Allāh. Whatever is in agreement with it is from me, and I have said it. Whatever contradicts it is not from me, and I have not said it)). Therefore, the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace) held to this, and worked on its implementation. ʿAʾishah was aware of it, so when she heard ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, and his son ʿAbdullāh narrating the Ḥadīth: ((The deceased is tortured by the crying of their family)) she rejected it, and swore that the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) never said it. She said, as support for her refusal of it: Where are you from the saying of Allāh (Glorious is He): {No soul burdened with sin will bear the burden of another}

2 - The Mass Transmission of a Ḥadīth: And of their rules (upon them be peace) is the mass transmission of a Ḥadīth, because the mass transmitted Ḥadīth is known to be authentic without any contention from all the sects, al-Imām al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad said: ((The people have differed as to what to take from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allāh (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace). In the view of al-Qāsim b. Ibrāhīm, al-Hādī ilā al-Ḥaqq, and their forefathers (upon them be peace) those who did not meet the Messenger of Allāh, nor listened to him directly will not have their Ḥadīth accepted, except for that which is: Mass transmitted, agreed upon regarding its authenticity, its narrators are all reliable, or in the book of Allāh there is an indication, or foundation for it.

3 - Encountering the Ḥadīth with Acceptance: If the Ḥadīth is not mass transmitted, but the Ummah encountered it with acceptance then the Ḥadīth is accepted. al-Imām al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad said: ((We are uncertain regarding the truthfulness of the Ḥadīth attributed to him (upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt be peace) unless it was mass transmitted, the Ummah encountered it with acceptance, or it agreed with the book of Allāh. Other than that, we cannot be safe in saying it is not a lie against the Messenger of Allāh either deliberately, or mistakenly)). Likewise, that which the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace) embraced [with acceptance].

4 - Advancing what has reached us from the Ahl al-Bayt: We maintain that through their position, and their truthfulness in narrating, as well as what has been recorded regarding them from the Book, such as Ayat al-Taṭhīr, al-Mawadah, al-Mubāhalah, and other [verses].

5 - Considering what has Reached us Authentically from Imām ʿAlī as a Binding Proof: By virtue of his knowledge, position, as well as what has been recorded regarding him in the Book, and Sunnah; such as Ḥadīth al-Ghadīr, al-Manzilah, al-Rāyah, and al-Madīnah.

6 - Considering the Consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt as a Binding Proof: It is obligatory to consider it, for if the Ahl al-Bayt reach a consensus on a particular matter, in a particular era, it is to be put ahead of whomever opposes it. This is due to what has been recorded of them collectively in the verses, and Ḥadīths. Such as Ḥadīth al-Thaqalayn, al-Safīnah, al-Amān, and others. Their consensus is a binding, and definitive proof.

7 - Accepting the Mursal Narrations of the Imāms: This is because the Imāmah is only for one who has been filled with faith, knowledge, asceticism, piety, truthfulness, integrity, nobility, justice, and more from the characteristics of nobility. And it is because the narrators of the Mursal narration have been checked [by the Imām], and his Irsāl (report with a disconnected chain) is an indication [from the Imām] of the authenticity of the Ḥadīth. It also falls under the conditions of accepting a solitary report, al-Imām al-Manṣūr-billāh al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad said: And from others, he has said: A Mursal narration from someone who is just is more reliable than one which is chained, because the one who narrates it knows its narrators, and has checked them. Therefore, a Mursal report [from an Imām] indicates its authenticity, whereas a report which is chained means that he has given the liberty for other than him [to look into its reliability].

8 - The Freedom of the Chain of Narration from Unreliable Narrators and Objectionable Wording If the Ḥadīth is chained, then it is necessary for it to be free from objection, particularly in the Isnād; all that withstanding, it is also necessary that the wording of the narration is free from objectionable, or hidden problematic conclusions. Here we find a connection between the Isnād, and the Matn. For, they are like two pillars for a single building. al-Imām ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥamzah said: It - the report - must have a reliable Isnād, and a Matn which is free from problematic possibilities.

9 - The Uprightness and Credibility of the Narrator: They do not accept a Ḥadīth from a narrator unless he is just, and credible. In the same manner that they look into the reliability of the narrator in narrating, they also look into his uprightness in religion, and most of them are upon this.

10 - Narrating from the Opponents as Evidence Against Those who Consider Them Reliable: If the Ahl al-Bayt narrated from someone whose religiosity is unacceptable in their viewpoint, then it is only through means of providing a binding proof against those who adhere to such a narrator(s). al-Imām al-Hādī said: ((In this section we have compiled the reports which are narrated from the reliable [rijaāl] of the generality, so that they have no excuse to oppose them. We have severed their excuses by narrating from their reliable [rijaāl])). If a Ḥadīth appears in their books which opposes what is valid for them, then this does not mean that they have accepted it. Concluded is what we sought to transmit from al-Ustadh al-ʿAllāmah ʿAbdullāh Ḥmūd al-ʿIzī.

The Most Important Ḥadīth Works by the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace) Until the End of the Fifth Century AH:

1 - The compilation of the treatises, and books of al-Imām Zayd b. ʿAlī (d. 122AH) is considered to be the oldest book of Ḥadīth that contains jurisprudential rulings. It is divided into two parts, the first is Ḥadīthī, and the second is jurisprudential. It is printed under the name of Musnad al-Imām Zayd b. ʿAlī (upon him be peace).

2 - Musnad al-Imām ʿAlī b. Mūsā al-Riḍhā (upon him be peace) (d. 203AH).

3 - The books of the al-Muhaddith al-Ḥāfiḍh al-Kabīr: Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Saʿīd al-Kūfī, known as Ibn ʿUqdah (d. 233 AH). al-Sayyīd al-ʿAllāmah Ṣārim al-Dīn al-Wazīr said regarding him: al-Imām al-Ḥāfiḍh, the Masterful ocean, his publications amounted to six hundred camel loads. He would relate three hundred thousand Ḥadīths, the majority of them being the Ḥadīths of the Ahl al-Bayt (upon them be peace), and had memorized one hundred thousand Ḥadīths with their chains. al-Dhahabī said regarding him: It can be said: There never existed a memorizer like him to this day, and until the day of judgment. al-Imām al-Manṣūr-billāh ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥamzah (upon him be peace) said regarding him: He published a book on Ḥadīth al-Ghadīr, and recorded over a hundred chains to it, and it is of his most important works. Within it are also the chains to Ḥadīth al-Rāyah, al-Shūraa, al-Tāʾir, al-Kūfa, Faḍhāʾil al-Imām ʿAlī, and Kutub al-Sunnan.

4 - Amālī al-Imām Aḥmad b. ʿĪsā, compiled by al-Imām Ahmed b. ʿĪsā b. Zayd (upon him be peace) (d. 247 AH)

5 - What has been narrated by al-Imām al-Qāsim b. Ibrāhīm b. Ismāʿīl b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 246 AH) in Farāʾiḍh al-Sunan, Kitāb al-Manāsik, Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Yawm wā al-Layla, Kitāb Masāʾil Jihishyār, Kitāb Masāʾil al-Kalārī, Kitāb Masāʾil al-Nayrūsī, and what he narrated in his honorable Majmūʿ in Usūl al-Dīn, and they are narrations which are immersed with others in jurisprudential, and credal matters.

6 - Amālī wā Tafsīr al-Muḥaddith al-Ḥibrī (may Allāh have mercy on him) (d. 286 AH).

7 - Kitāb al-Ḍhikr, by al-Ḥāfiḍh Muḥammad b. Manṣūr al-Murādī (may Allāh have mercy on him) (d. 290 AH).

8 - What has been narrated by al-Imām al-Hādī ilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusayn b. al-Qāsim b. Ibrāhīm b. Ismāʿīl b. Ibrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 298 AH) in his al-Aḥkām, al-Muntakhab, al-Funūn, and al-Majmūʿah al-Fākhirah. They are narrations in matters of jurisprudence, and creed.
9 - Amālī al-Imām al-Nāṣir al-Uṭrūsh al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. ʿUmar b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 304 AH). Mostly narrations in the virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt, and narrations in his book al-Biṣāṭ.

10 - Kitāb Manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace), by al-ʿAllāmah al-Muḥaddith Muḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kūfī (d. 322 AH)

11 - Sharḥ al-Aḥkām by al-Imām Abī al-ʿAbbās s al-Ḥasanī Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. Sulaimān b. Dāwūd b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 353 AH).

12 - Amālī al-Imām al-Muʾayyad-billāh, Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Hārūn b. al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. Hārūn b. Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim b. al-Ḥasan b. Zayd b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 411 AH).

13 - Kitāb Sharḥ al-Tajrīd, by al-Imām al-Muʾayyad-billāh as well.

14 - al-ʾi’tībār wā selwat al-ʿArīfīn, by al-Imām al-Muwafaq-billāh, al-Ḥusayn b. Ismāʿīl b. Zayd b. al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar b. al-Qāsim b. al-Ḥasan b. Zayd b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 420 AH).

15 - Amālī al-Imām Abī Ṭālib, by al-Imām Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusayn b. Hārūn b. al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. Hārūn b. Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim b. al-Ḥasan b. Zayd b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 424 AH), and Kitāb Sharḥ al-Taḥrīr.

16 - Kitāb Amālī al-Samān, by al-Ḥāfiḍh al-Kabīr Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī, known as al-Samān (d. 440 AH).

17 - Kitāb al-Aḍhān bī Ḥayā ʿAlā Khayr al-ʿAmal, by al-Ḥāfiḍh Abī ʿAbdullāh Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-ʿAlawī (d. 445).

18 - By him is also Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ al-Kāfī: It is of the most important Zaydī books, it is six volumes long. It’s compiler sought to bring together the saying of the righteous Imāms of the Ahl al-Bayt, and their Noble Shīʿa. Imām al-Qāsim b. Ibrāhīm, Imām Aḥmad b. ʿĪsā, Imām al-Ḥasan b. Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusayn b. Zayd b. ʿAlī, and al-Ḥāfiḍh Muḥammad b. Manṣūr al-Murādī. He mentioned that he compiled more than thirty manuscripts, from the manuscripts of Muḥammad b. Manṣūr al-Murādī. He abridged the mention of Asānīd (chains), and recorded the testaments of approval, and denial.

19 - Amālī al-Murshid-billāh, by al-Imām Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusayn b. Ismāʿīl b. Zayd b. al-Ḥasan b. Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar b. al-Qāsim b. al-Ḥasan b. Zayd b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (upon him be peace) (d. 479 AH). His Amālī are divided into two, al-Amālī al-Khamīsīyyah which he would fill every Thursday, and al-Amālī al-Ithnaynīyyah which he would fill every Monday.

20 - Sharḥ al-Aḥkām, by al-Muḥaddith ʿAlī b. Bilāl who died around the later half of the fifth century AH.

- Quoted from al-ʿAllāmah al-ʿIzī.

A number of Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (ع) have expressed reservations regarding the claim of authenticity attached to Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.Imam al-Mansur bi-Llah al-Qasim bin Muhammad (ع) narrated from Imam al-Mahdi Ahmad bin Yahya (ع), from Imam al-Hadi Hasan al-Qasimi (ع), in reference to the two Sahihs :

«بينهما وبين الصحة مسافات ومراحل»
Between these two books and that which may be regarded as true authenticity lies a great distance.

(Mahāsin al-Anẓār, of Imam al-Hadi Hasan al-Qasimi)

Imam al-Hadi’s statement : “They have two books which they call ‘the two Sahihs,’ but by my life, they are devoid of authenticity.” - ( ref - al-Ghāyah )