Al-Kafi · Hadith 1

The Book about people with Divine Authority · The case of the Arms of the Messenger of Allah is like the Ark among the Israelites · Volume 1, book 4, chapter 39, Hadith 1

Original Arabic text

1ـ عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ وَهْبٍ عَنْ سَعِيدٍ السَّمَّانِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) يَقُولُ إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ السِّلاحِ فِينَا مَثَلُ التَّابُوتِ فِي بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ كَانَتْ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ أَيُّ أَهْلِ بَيْتٍ وُجِدَ التَّابُوتُ عَلَى بَابِهِمْ أُوتُوا النُّبُوَّةَ فَمَنْ صَارَ إِلَيْهِ السِّلاحُ مِنَّا أُوتِيَ الامَامَةَ.

Published English translation

1. A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ali ibn al-Hakam from Mu’awiya ibn Wahab from Sa‘id al-Samman who has said that he heard abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) say the following. “The case of the Armaments with us is like the case of the Ark with Israelites. In whichever house of the Israelites the Ark would have been found, that house would receive prophet-hood. Whoever among us would receive the Armaments he would also receive Imamat (leadership with Divine authority).”

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: مجهول

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (3/53)

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.

Source, rights, and attribution

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edition: Al-Kafi, volume 1, Thaqalayn digital edition / Muhammad Sarwar translation
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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
source Revision: becbad600b693ce23735d7403c4126ce7c896d34
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