Early Zaydī Views of Hadiths about Twelve Imams: The case of Abu al-Jārūd

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Abstract

Some of the Shi'ite hadiths concerning the emergence of Twelve
Imams are transmitted on the authority of non-Twelver Shīʿīs. Abu
al-Jārūd (2nd/8th century), for instance, is one of the most important
early Jārūdī-Zaydī figures who has related a report on the authority
of Imam Bāqir (114 AH/ 732 CE), referring to the well-known Luḥ-tradition (the Tablet of Fātima in which indication to the twelve
successors is made). This research, first, focuses on the early-Jārūdī
doctrine in order to dissect the reasons behind the reliance upon
Jārūdī narrators in the Shīʿī collections. In other words, why Imāmī
traditionalists have trusted Jārūdī narrations. At the next step, Socio-historical accounts of the emergence of the Jārūdī sect are considered
to demonstrate that citation such as one by Abu al-Jārūd, not only are
justifiable in Imamate tradition, but also narrations of such exemplify
the early Jārūdī doctrine about hadiths related to Twelve Imams.

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