Strangely, this is what ‘Allamah al-Albani (d.

Strangely, this is what ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) says about it: قلت: وهذا إسناد ضعيف، رجاله كلهم ثقات؛ غير ربيعة ين ناجد، قال الذهبي في ((الميزان)) : ((لا يكاد يعرف، وعنه أبو صادق بخبر منكر فيه: علي أخي ووارثي)) يشير إلى هذا الحديث. وصرح في ((الكاشف)) بأنه لم يرو عنه غير أبي صادق هذا. وقال في ((الضعفاء والمتروكين)) : ((فيه جهالة)) . I say: This chain is dha’if , all its narrators are thiqah (trustworthy), except Rabi’ah b. Najid .

Al-Dhahabi said in al-Mizan : “ He is scarcely known , and Abu Sadiq narrated from him a munkar (repugnant) report, which contains: ‘Ali is my brother and inheritor.” He was referring to this hadith . He explicitly declared in al-Kashif that none else narrated from him other than this Abu Sadiq . And he (al-Dhahabi) said in al-Dhu’afa wa al-Matrukin : “There is jihalah in him (he is not known)”.[^7] So, the only narrator that the ‘Allamah has problem with is Rabi’ah b.

Najid, and his only evidence against him is Imam al-Dhahabi’s (d. 748 H) overall verdict that he is “scarcely known”. The ‘Allamah places everything on the fact that only Abu Sadiq has narrated from him. It is also noteworthy that al-Dhahabi has called the above hadith “repugnant” without giving any proof or explanation. But, does the fact that a narrator is “scarcely known” - where only a single person has transmitted from him – really affect his ahadith ?

Perhaps, the best way to answer that is to examine how the ‘ulama of the Ahl al-Sunnah have treated other similar cases. A very clear example is Hasin b. Muhammad al-Ansari. Al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) says about him: حصين بن محمد الأنصاري السالمي المدني يحتج به في الصحيحين لا يكاد يعرف قلت ذكره ابن حبان في الثقات Hasin b. Muhammad al-Ansari al-Salimi al-Madani: He is relied upon as a hujjah in both Sahihs (i.e. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim ). He is scarcely known .

I say: Ibn Hibban has included him in al-Thiqat .[^8] He also adds: حصين بن محمد الأنصاري السالمي المدني صدوق الحديث من الثانية لم يرو عنه غير الزهري. Hasin b. Muhammad al-Ansari al-Salimi al-Madani: Saduq al-hadith (very truthful in ahadith ), from the second ( tabaqat ). None narrated from him except al-Zuhri .[^9] He is exactly like Rabi’ah b. Najid! Yet, he is relied upon as a hujjah in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim , and is accepted as saduq (very truthful)!

Another case is that of Zayd b. Rabah. He too is like Rabi’ah; only one person as transmitted from him. Imam al-Dhahabi confirms: زيد بن رباح مديني. سمع أبا عبد الله الأغر.

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