Tathbit al-Imama wa Tartib al-Khilafa li Abi Nuaym al-Asbahani
- Author died
- 430 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-ʿUlūm wa-al-Ḥikam
Tathbīt al-Imāma wa-Tartīb al-Khilāfa (Establishing the Imamate and the Order of the Caliphate) is a theological and hadith treatise by the traditionist Abu Nu'aym al-Asbahani (336–430 AH / 948–1038 CE) defending the legitimacy and chronological order of the Rightly Guided Caliphate .
Background and Purpose
Abu Nu'aym indicates in the text that he modeled the work upon a treatise by the jurist Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Sabghi al-Nisaburi refuting the extremist Rafidites and the Kharijites for deviating from the path of the Companions and Successors regarding the legitimate transmission of the caliphate . Abu Nu'aym set out to dictate his work with expanded explanations and refutations of sectarian objections .
Contents and Structure
The book addresses doctrinal disputes over the imamate and the ranking of the early caliphs . Abu Nu'aym outlines the varying positions held across factions: those who stopped their affirmation at Abu Bakr and Umar; those who ordered them as Abu Bakr, Umar, and Ali; those who stopped at Uthman; and the view held by the majority of the community and the traditionists (ahl al-hadith), which affirms the sequence as Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman, then Ali .
Key themes within the work include:
- Demonstrating the merits and distinct virtues of each of the four caliphs, beginning with specific virtues unique to Abu Bakr .
- Explicating ambiguous or polemically debated traditions, such as analyzing the term mawla in the hadith of Ghadir Khumm to distinguish spiritual loyalty (muwalat) from sovereign rule (imara) .
- Upholding the legitimacy of Ali’s caliphate following the death of Uthman, noting that the remaining members of the Ten Promised Paradise yielded leadership to him based on his precedence and scholarly rank .
- Contextualizing the civil unrest (fitna) that emerged during the later caliphate, arguing that such tribulations did not diminish the legal validity of Ali's governance .
Transmission and Modern Editions
The work was transmitted from Abu Nu'aym through chains including his student Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Haddad, and down to later transmitters in Isfahan such as Yusuf ibn Khalil al-Dimashqi . It is also referenced under the alternative title al-Imāma wa-al-Radd ʿalā al-Rāfiḍa .
Notable modern editions include:
- An edition edited by Ibrahim Ali al-Tuhami, published by Dar al-Imam Muslim in Beirut (1407 AH / 1986–1987 CE) .
- An edition edited by Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Faqihi, published by Maktabat al-Ulum wa-al-Hikam in Medina (1407 AH / 1987 CE) .
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