16
In sum:
Anyone familiar with the Rāfidah through their writings and discourse knows that they are among the most mendacious of Allah’s creation. How, then, can one trust reports transmitted by people among whom lying is so widespread before establishing the transmitter’s truthfulness? Their evil spread to others among the people of Kūfa and Iraq, until the people of Medina became wary(1) of their reports.
Mālik used to say, “Treat the reports of the [people of](2) Iraq like the reports of the People of the Book: neither accept them as true nor reject them as false.”(3)
Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī(4) said to him, “O Abū Abd Allāh, in your city we heard
(1) Manuscripts (N) and (M) read *yurīqūna* (“would pour out”).
(2) The word *ahl* (“people of”) is absent from manuscripts (N) and (M).
(3) Mustajī Zādah commented in the margin of manuscript ('Ayn) on Ibn Taymiyya’s preceding statement: “Perhaps ‘reports’ here does not mean hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, for among them are men such as Mālik—and even men of higher standing in respect of reliability. Rather, what is meant is fabricated reports (that is how I read it, though the word is unclear), since Shiism had become prevalent among them. They are the most mendacious of people, and (for this reason) the truthfulness of most of them was questionable.”
(4) Manuscripts (N) and (M) read: “Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said, and Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī said,” which is erroneous. Both Mālik ibn Anas and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybānī had the kunya Abū Abd Allāh. However, Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī’s biography states that he heard from Mālik, and the context indicates that the dialogue took place between him and Mālik. Ibn Mahdī was Abū Sa'īd Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī ibn Hassān al-Anbarī al-Basrī al-Lu'lu'ī, the eminent hadith master and imam. He was born in 135 AH and died in 198 AH. See his biography in *Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb*, 6:279–281; *Tadhkirat al-Huffāz*, 1:329–332; *Tārīkh Baghdād*, 10:240–248; and *al-A'lām*, 4:115.
وَفِي الْجُمْلَةِ:
فَمَنْ جَرَّبَ الرَّافِضَةَ فِي كِتَابِهِمْ وَخِطَابِهِمْ عَلِمَ أَنَّهُمْ مِنْ أَكْذَبِ خَلْقِ اللَّهِ، فَكَيْفَ يَثِقُ الْقَلْبُ بِنَقْلِ مَنْ كَثُرَ مِنْهُمُ الْكَذِبُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَعْرِفَ صِدْقَ النَّاقِلِ؟ وَقَدْ تَعَدَّى شَرُّهُمْ إِلَى غَيْرِهِمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكُوفَةِ وَأَهْلِ الْعِرَاقِ حَتَّى كَانَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ يَتَوَقَّوْنَ
(١)
أَحَادِيثَهُمْ،
وَكَانَ مَالِكٌ يَقُولُ:
نَزِّلُوا أَحَادِيثَ
[أَهْلِ]
(٢)
الْعِرَاقِ مَنْزِلَةَ أَحَادِيثِ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ: لَا تُصَدِّقُوهُمْ وَلَا تُكَذِّبُوهُمْ
(٣)
.
وَقَالَ لَهُ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَن مَهْدِيٍّ
(٤)
: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ: سَمِعْنَا فِي بَلَدِكُمْ
(١) ن، م: يُرِيقُونَ.
(٢) أَهْلِ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) .
(٣) عَلَّقَ مُسْتَجِي زَادَهْ فِي هَامِشِ (ع) عَلَى كَلَامِ ابْنِ تَيْمِيَّةَ السَّابِقِ بِقَوْلِهِ: " لَعَلَّ الْمُرَادَ مِنَ الْأَحَادِيثِ لَيْسَتْ أَحَادِيثَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ لِأَنَّ فِيهِمْ مِثْلَ مَالِكٍ بَلْ أَعْلَى كَعْبًا مِنْهُمْ فِي التَّوْثِيقِ، بَلِ الْمُرَادُ الْأَخْبَارُ الْمُلَفَّقَةُ (كَذَا قَرَأْتُهَا وَالْكَلِمَةُ غَيْرُ وَاضِحَةٍ) لَمَّا غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِمُ التَّشَيُّعُ، وَهُمْ أَكْذَبُ النَّاسِ (وَلِذَا) كَانَ صِدْقُ غَالِبِهِمْ مُشَكَّكًا ".
(٤) ن، م: قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ وَقَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ، وَهُوَ خَطَأٌ. وَكُنْيَةُ كُلٍّ مِنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ الشَّيْبَانِيِّ هِيَ: أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، وَلَكِنْ جَاءَ فِي تَرْجَمَةِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ مَهْدِيٍّ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ مِنْ مَالِكٍ: وَسِيَاقُ الْجُمْلَةِ يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّ الْحِوَارَ كَانَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ مَالِكٍ. وَابْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ هُوَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مَهْدِيِّ بْنِ حَسَّانَ الْعَنْبَرِيُّ الْبَصْرِيُّ اللُّؤْلُؤِيُّ، الْحَافِظُ الْإِمَامُ، وُلِدَ سَنَةَ ١٣٥ وَتُوُفِّيَ سَنَةَ ١٩٨. انْظُرْ تَرْجَمَتَهُ فِي: تَهْذِيبِ التَّهْذِيبِ ٦/٢٧٩ - ٢٨١ ; تَذْكِرَةِ الْحُفَّاظِ ١/٣٢٩ - ٣٣٢ ; تَارِيخِ بَغْدَادَ ١٠/٢٤٠ - ٢٤٨ ; الْأَعْلَامِ ٤/١١٥.