Al-Kafi · Hadith 1

The Book about people with Divine Authority · The birth of abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.) · Volume 1, book 4, chapter 121, Hadith 1

Original Arabic text

1ـ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ ابْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ أَحْمَرَ قَالَ قَالَ لِي أَبُو الْحَسَنِ الاوَّلُ هَلْ عَلِمْتَ أَحَداً مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَغْرِبِ قَدِمَ قُلْتُ لا قَالَ بَلَى قَدْ قَدِمَ رَجُلٌ فَانْطَلِقْ بِنَا فَرَكِبَ وَرَكِبْتُ مَعَهُ حَتَّى انْتَهَيْنَا إِلَى الرَّجُلِ فَإِذَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ مَعَهُ رَقِيقٌ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ اعْرِضْ عَلَيْنَا فَعَرَضَ عَلَيْنَا سَبْعَ جَوَارٍ كُلَّ ذَلِكَ يَقُولُ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) لا حَاجَةَ لِي فِيهَا ثُمَّ قَالَ اعْرِضْ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ مَا عِنْدِي إِلا جَارِيَةٌ مَرِيضَةٌ فَقَالَ لَهُ مَا عَلَيْكَ أَنْ تَعْرِضَهَا فَأَبَى عَلَيْهِ فَانْصَرَفَ ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَنِي مِنَ الْغَدِ فَقَالَ قُلْ لَهُ كَمْ كَانَ غَايَتُكَ فِيهَا فَإِذَا قَالَ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَقُلْ قَدْ أَخَذْتُهَا فَأَتَيْتُهُ فَقَالَ مَا كُنْتُ أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَنْقُصَهَا مِنْ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَقُلْتُ قَدْ أَخَذْتُهَا فَقَالَ هِيَ لَكَ وَلَكِنْ أَخْبِرْنِي مَنِ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي كَانَ مَعَكَ بِالامْسِ فَقُلْتُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ قَالَ مِنْ أَيِّ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ فَقُلْتُ مَا عِنْدِي أَكْثَرُ مِنْ هَذَا فَقَالَ أُخْبِرُكَ عَنْ هَذِهِ الْوَصِيفَةِ إِنِّي اشْتَرَيْتُهَا مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَغْرِبِ فَلَقِيَتْنِي امْرَأَةٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ فَقَالَتْ مَا هَذِهِ الْوَصِيفَةُ مَعَكَ قُلْتُ اشْتَرَيْتُهَا لِنَفْسِي فَقَالَتْ مَا يَكُونُ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ تَكُونَ هَذِهِ عِنْدَ مِثْلِكَ إِنَّ هَذِهِ الْجَارِيَةَ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ تَكُونَ عِنْدَ خَيْرِ أَهْلِ الارْضِ فَلا تَلْبَثُ عِنْدَهُ إِلا قَلِيلاً حَتَّى تَلِدَ مِنْهُ غُلاماً مَا يُولَدُ بِشَرْقِ الارْضِ وَلا غَرْبِهَا مِثْلُهُ قَالَ فَأَتَيْتُهُ بِهَا فَلَمْ تَلْبَثْ عِنْدَهُ إِلا قَلِيلاً حَتَّى وَلَدَتِ الرِّضَا (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام )

Published English translation

1. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ibn Mahbub from Hisham ibn Ahmar who has said the following. “Once abu al-Hassan, the second asked me, “Do you know if anyone from Morocco (or the west) has arrived?” I replied, “No, no one has come.” He said, “Yes, a man has come. Come with us.” He rode and also rode and went until we reached the man. He was a man from Madina who had a few slaves with him for sale. I asked him to show the slaves for sale and he showed me seven slave-girls. Abu al-Hassan (a.s.) said, “I do not need any of these.” Then he asked, “Show us more.” The man said, “There is no more except one who is ill.” The Imam (a.s.) said, “Why do you not show her to us?” The man refused and the Imam (a.s.) returned. The next day he sent me and said to ask him for how much is the girl who is ill and if he said for so and so amount say, “I pay.” I went to him and he said, “I will not accept less than so and so amount for her.” I said, “I take her.” He said, “She is yours but tell me who was the man with you yesterday?” I said, “A man from the clan of banu Hashim.” He asked from which family is he?” I said, “That is all I have.” He said, “I like to tell you about this girl. I bought her in the far corner of the west (or Morocco). A woman from the followers of the Bible came and said, “What is she doing with you?” I said, “I have purchased her for my self.” She said, “This girl should not be with one like you. This girl should be with the best of the people on earth. With such a one she will not live very long before giving birth to a boy whose like will not be born in the west or east of the earth.” The narrator has said, “I brought her to the Imam (a.s.) and shortly afterwards she became the mother of Imam al-Rida (a.s.).”

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: صحيح

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (6/73)

Assessment transcribed from the source's named scholar and reference. No new grading or consensus is asserted; differing entries remain separate.

Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi: Catalogue non-inclusion note (not an authenticity grade)

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī

Source records non-inclusion in this scholar's selection; this is not itself a weak or authentic grade.

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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
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