The frequency of narrations regarding the revelation of the verse of guardianship

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**Translation:**

**Are the narrations about the occasion of revelation of the Verse of Wilayah concerning ʿAli ibn Abi Ṭalib (peace be upon him) — in Shiʿi sources — mutawātir (mass-transmitted)?**

**Answer:**

Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

There are many chains and numerous narrations in our sources indicating that the saying of Allah the Exalted:

> “Indeed, your guardian (wali) is only Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe — those who establish prayer and give zakat while they are bowing.”
> (Qur’an 5:55)

was revealed regarding **Imam ʿAli (peace be upon him)**. These reports point to him and also to the Imams (peace be upon them). Among these transmission routes are:

1. In *al-Kāfī*: from Ahmad ibn ʿIsa, who said: Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad (peace be upon him) narrated to me, from his father, from his grandfather… (1)

2. In *al-Kāfī*: from Ahmad ibn ʿIsa, from Abu ʿAbd Allah (peace be upon him)… (2)

3. In *al-Kāfī*: from al‑Husayn ibn Abi al‑ʿAla’, who said: I said to Abu ʿAbd Allah (peace be upon him)… (3)

4. In *al-Kāfī*: from ʿUmar ibn Udhaynah, from Zurārah, al‑Fuḍayl, Bukayr, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Burayd, and Abu al‑Jarud — all of them — from Abu Jaʿfar (peace be upon him)… (4)

5. In *al-Kāfī*: from Zurārah, from Abu Jaʿfar (peace be upon him)… (5)

6. In *al-Kāfī*: from al‑Husayn ibn Abi al‑ʿAla’, who said: I mentioned to Abu ʿAbd Allah (peace be upon him)… (6)

7. In *Amālī of al‑Ṣadūq*: Kathir ibn ʿAyyāsh, from Abu al‑Jarud, from Abu Jaʿfar (peace be upon him)… (7)

8. In *Amālī of al‑Ṣadūq*: al‑Rayyān ibn al‑Ṣalt said: Imam al‑Riḍā (peace be upon him) attended the assembly of al‑Maʾmūn in Marw… (8)

9. In *al‑Khiṣāl*: al‑Aʿmash, from Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad (peace be upon them)… (9)

10. In *al‑Khiṣāl*: Makhul said: Amir al‑Muʾminin (peace be upon him) said… (10)

11. In *Kamāl al‑Dīn*: from ʿUmar ibn Udhaynah, from Abān, from Sulaym, who said: I saw ʿAli (peace be upon him)… (11)

12. In *Manāqib Amīr al‑Muʾminīn*: from Abu Ṣāliḥ, from Ibn ʿAbbās… (12)

13. In *Manāqib Amīr al‑Muʾminīn* (another chain regarding the charity of ʿAli): from Abu Ṣāliḥ, the freedman of Umm Hānī, from Ibn ʿAbbās… (13)

14. In *Manāqib Amīr al‑Muʾminīn* (a third chain regarding the revelation of the verse: “Indeed, your guardian is only Allah…”): from ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al‑Ḥanafiyyah, from his father… (14)

15. In *Manāqib Amīr al‑Muʾminīn*, in the chapter: “When something in the Qur’an is general, absolute, or ambiguous and the Prophet explains it.” (15)

16. In the *Book of Sulaym ibn Qays*, concerning the arguments of Amir al‑Muʾminin with the Muslims at Ṣiffīn. (16)

17. In *Amālī of al‑Ṭūsī*, in the second session. (17)

18. In *al‑Iḥtijāj*. (18)

19. Also in *al‑Iḥtijāj*. (19)

20. In *Kitāb al‑Mazār*. (20)

21. In *al‑Rawḍah fī Faḍāʾil Amīr al‑Muʾminīn*. (21)

22. In *Kitāb al‑Yaqīn*. (22)

23. In *Tafsīr al‑Qummī*. (23)

24. In *Tafsīr Furāt*. (24)

This collection of transmission routes is sufficient to establish **tawātur (mass transmission)**, and there are additional reports besides these. Therefore, it is not necessary to establish the reliability of the individual narrators once these numerous independent chains exist.

May you remain under the care of Allah.

**References**

1. *Al‑Kāfī* by al‑Kulaynī, vol. 1, p. 427, hadith 77 — Book of al‑Ḥujjah, chapter: “Fragments from the Revelation concerning Wilayah.”
2. *Al‑Kāfī* 1:288, hadith 3 — Book of al‑Ḥujjah, chapter: “What Allah and His Messenger explicitly stated regarding the Imams one by one.”
3. *Al‑Kāfī* 1:189, hadith 16 — Book of al‑Ḥujjah, chapter: “The obligation of obedience to the Imams.”
4. *Al‑Kāfī* 1:289, hadith 4.
5. *Al‑Kāfī* 1:146, hadith 11 — Book of Tawhid, chapter: “Rare narrations.”
6. *Al‑Kāfī* 1:187, hadith 7 — Book of al‑Ḥujjah.
7. *Amālī al‑Ṣadūq*, p. 186, hadith 193 — Session 26.
8. *Amālī al‑Ṣadūq*, pp. 615–624, hadith 1 — Session 79.
9. *Al‑Khiṣāl* by al‑Ṣadūq, p. 479, hadith 46 — Chapters of Twelve.
10. *Al‑Khiṣāl*, p. 572, hadith 1 — Chapters of Seventy and above.
11. *Kamāl al‑Dīn* by al‑Ṣadūq, p. 274, hadith 25 — Chapter 24.
12. *Manāqib Amīr al‑Muʾminīn* by Muhammad ibn Sulayman al‑Kūfī, vol. 1, p. 150, hadith 15 — “The revelation of the Verse of Wilayah concerning ʿAli.”
13. Same source, vol. 1, p. 169, hadith 100.
14. Same source, vol. 1, p. 189, hadith 110.
15. Same source, vol. 2, p. 415, hadith 896.
16. *Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays*, p. 296.
17. *Amālī al‑Ṭūsī*, p. 59, hadith 55 — Session 2.
18. *Al‑Iḥtijāj* by al‑Ṭabarsī, vol. 1, p. 66 — The Prophet’s argument on the Day of Ghadir.
19. *Al‑Iḥtijāj* 2:251 — Letter of Imam al‑Hadi to the people of Ahwaz.
20. *Al‑Mazār* by Ibn al‑Mashhadī, p. 268.
21. *Al‑Rawḍah fī Faḍāʾil Amīr al‑Muʾminīn*, p. 161.
22. *Al‑Yaqīn* by Ibn Ṭāwūs, p. 223.
23. *Tafsīr al‑Qummī*, vol. 1, p. 170 (on the verse: “Indeed, your guardian is only Allah…”).