on the night the Quran was sent down. Sakin ibn Abd al-Aziz heard it from him.”
I say: This accords with the narration of Abu Ya‘la and al-Tabarani’s al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat. Thus, the discrepancy in its chain of transmission is longstanding, and perhaps it originates with this Hafs; for although Ibn Hibban declared him trustworthy, he is known to be lenient in declaring narrators trustworthy.
The hadith has a third route, but it is not worth a penny, for it is narrated by Abu al-Jarud, from Mansur, from Abu Razin, who said: “Al-Hasan ibn Ali addressed us when his father was struck, wearing a black turban,” and he mentioned something similar. Al-Bazzar recorded it.
I say: Abu al-Jarud—whose name was Ziyad ibn al-Mundhir, the blind man—was described by al-Hafiz as follows: “A Rafidi; Yahya ibn Ma‘in declared him a liar.”
It has a fourth route, narrated by Ali ibn Ja‘far ibn Muhammad: Al-Husayn ibn Zayd related to me, from Umar ibn Ali, from his father Ali ibn al-Husayn, who said: “Al-Hasan ibn Ali addressed the people when he was killed …” He then cited the hadith in full, adding:
“Then he said: ‘O people! Whoever knows me knows me; and whoever does not know me, I am al-Hasan ibn Ali. I am the son of the Prophet; I am the son of the designated successor; I am the son of the bearer of glad tidings; I am the son of the warner; I am the son of the one who calls to Allah by His permission; I am the son of the illuminating lamp. I am among the People of the Household, to whom Gabriel would descend and from whose presence he would ascend. I am among the People of the Household from whom Allah removed all impurity and purified them completely. I am among the People of the Household whose love Allah made obligatory upon every Muslim, when Allah, Most High, said to His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: “Say: I ask of you no reward for it except affection for my near relatives. Whoever earns a good deed, We shall increase its goodness for him.” (1) Thus, earning the good deed is to love us, the People of the Household.’”