Welcome to our blog! In this article, we examine the evidence that Abu al-Tufayl Aamir ibn Wathilah al-Kinani was regarded as a Rāfiḍī by Sunni scholars of Rijal
1) Introduction to Abu al-Tufayl :
Muslim Ibn al-Hajjaj narrated :
عَنِ الْجُرَيْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي الطُّفَيْلِ، قَالَ قُلْتُ لَهُ أَرَأَيْتَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ نَعَمْ كَانَ أَبْيَضَ مَلِيحَ الْوَجْهِ .قَالَ مُسْلِمُ بْنُ الْحَجَّاجِ مَاتَ أَبُو الطُّفَيْلِ سَنَةَ مِائَةٍ وَكَانَ آخِرَ مَنْ مَاتَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ
Jurayri asked Abu al-Tufayl, ‘Did you see Rasul-Allah ﷺ?’ He replied : ‘Yes, he had a white, handsome face.’
Muslim Ibn al-Hajjaj said Abu al-Tufayl died in 100 AH, and he was the last companion of Rasul-Allah ﷺ to pass away.
~Sahih Muslim 2340 a
https://sunnah.com/muslim:2340a
2) Him being called a Shia’a
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali mentioned :
«وسئل ابن الأخرم: لا ترك البخاري حديث أبي الطفيل؟ قال: لأنه كان يفرط في التشيع»
Ibn al-Akhram was asked why al-Bukhari omitted the hadith of Abu al-Tufayl. He replied, “Because he was excessive in his Shi’ism.”
~Sharah Ilal al-Tirmidhi vol 1:358
Ibn Sa’ad said :
«وكان أبو الطُّفيل ثقة في الحديث، وكان مُتَشيّعًا»
Abu al-Tufayl was trustworthy in Hadith, and he was a Shia’a.
~Tabqat Ibn Sa’ad vol 6:551
Allamah adh-Dhabhi mentioned :
ﺃﺑﻲ اﻟﻄﻔﻴﻞ… اﻟﺸﻴﻌﻲ. ﻛﺎﻥ ﻣﻦ ﺷﻴﻌﺔ اﻹﻣﺎﻡ ﻋﻠﻲ
Abu al-Tufayl, the Shi’i. He was amongst the Shia’a of al-Imam Ali.
~Siyar Alam an-Nubala vol 3:468
3) Him being a Rafidhi
Ibn Qutayba al-Dinawari mentioned :
أسماء الغالية من الرافضة أبو الطّفيل: صاحب راية «المختار» ، وكان آخر من رأى رسول الله ﷺ موتا.
Among those who were extremist from the Rafidah was Abu al-Tufayl; he was the flag bearer of al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, and he was the last person to pass away from this world who had seen Rasul-Allah ﷺ
~al-Ma’arif vol 1:624
Hafidh Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani wrote :
«والتشيع محبة علي وتقديمه على الصحابة، فمن قدمه على أبي بكر وعمر فهو غال في تشيعه، ويطلق عليه رافضي»
Shi’ism is loving Ali and prioritizing him over the companions, and whoever considers Ali over Abu Bakr & Umar is labeled an extremist in his Shi’ism and is a Rafidhi.
~Hadi al-Saari Muqaddama Fath al-Baari page 459
Ibn Abd al-Barr al-Andalusi wrote :
«وكان يَتَشَيَّعُ في عليٍّ ويُفَضِّلُه، ويُثْنِي على الشَّيخَيْنِ أبي بكرٍ وعمرَ، ويَتَرَحَّمُ على عثمانَ.»
Abu al-Tufayl was a Shia’a of Ali and considered Ali superior (to Shaykhayn) but spoke good about the Shaykhayn and invoked Allah’s mercy upon Uthman.
~al-Isti’ab fee Ma’arifat al-Ashab vol 7:177
4) His belief in al-Raja’ah (the return)
Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi wrote :
أَنَّ أَبَا الطُّفَيْلِ صَاحِبُ رَايَةِ الْمُخْتَارِ وَذُكِرَ: أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ بِالرَّجْعَةِ
Abu al-Tufayl was a flag bearer of al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, and he believed in the doctrine of al-Raja’ah
~al-Muhalla bil-Athar vol 2:207
Allamah al-Dhabhi mentioned :
«كان أبو الطفيل عامر بن واثلة رأى النبي ﷺ فكان آخر من رآه موتا. مات بعد سنة مائة. وكان صاحب راية المختار وكان يرمى بالرجئة»
Abu al-Tufayl Amir Ibn Wathilah had seen the Prophet ﷺ and was the last of the Sahabi to pass away. He died in 100 AH. He was the flag bearer of al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and he held the view of al-Raja’ah.
~Mu’jam al-Shyookh al-Kabeer vol 2:8
What is al-Raj’ah? Ibn Abi Ya’ala al-Hanbali wrote :
والذي يُؤمِنُونَ بالرَّجْعَةِ، ويَقُوْلُوْنَ: عليُّ بنُ أَبي طَالِبٍ حَيٌّ، وسَيَرْجِعُ قَبْلَ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ، ومُحَمَّدُ بنُ عَلِيٍّ، وجَعْفَرُ بنُ مُحمَّدٍ، ومُوْسَى بنُ جَعْفَرٍ
And those who believe in al-Raja’ah (the return) say that Ali Ibn Abi Talib is alive and will return before the day of Qiyamah, and so will Muhammad Ibn Ali (al-Baqir), Ja’far Ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq), and Musa Ibn Ja’far (al-Kadhim)
~Tabqat al-Hanabilah vol 3:72
Where did Abu al-Tufayl learn about the return of Imam Ali? Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated :
عن أبي الطفيل عن علي قال: كان رجلًا صالحًا، ناصح اللَّه فنصحه، فضرب على قرنه الأيمن فمات فأحياه اللَّه، ثم ضرب على قرنه الأيسر فمات فأحياه اللَّه وفيكم مثله
Abu al-Tufayl said that Imam Ali said : ‘Dhu al-Qarnayn was a righteous man, sincere to Allah and he was struck on his right and he died, but Allah brought him back to life, and then he was struck on his left, and he died, but Allah brought him back to life. And among you is someone like that.
~Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah vol 17:535
•The Muhaqqiq of the book, al-Shathri, called it Sahih «صحيح»
• When Emir al-Mu’meenin said ‘And among you is someone like that’, he was referring to himself, i.e he is the one to be killed in the way of Allah and then return to life.
5) Abu al-Tufayl witnessed the killing of Uthman, and he killed Ubayd-Allah Ibn Ziyad
Ibn Bakkar mentioned :
دخل أَبُو الطُّفَيْل عَامر بن وَاثِلَة الْكِنَانِي على مُعَاوِيَة فَقَالَ لَهُ مُعَاوِيَة أَبَا الطُّفَيْل قَالَ نعم قَالَ أَلَسْت من قتلة عُثْمَان قَالَ لَا وَلَكِنِّي مِمَّن حَضَره فَلم ينصره قَالَ وَمَا مَنعك من نَصره قَالَ لم ينصره الْمُهَاجِرُونَ وَالْأَنْصَار فَقَالَ مُعَاوِيَة أما لقد كَانَ حَقه وَاجِبا وَكَانَ عَلَيْهِم ان ينصروه قَالَ فَمَا مَنعك يَا أَمِير الْمُؤمنِينَ من نَصره ومعك أهل لَا الفينك بعد الْمَوْت تندبني … وَفِي حَياتِي مَا زودتني زاديالشَّام فَقَالَ مُعَاوِيَة أما طلبي بدمه نصْرَة لَهُ فَضَحِك أَبُو الطُّفَيْل ثمَّ قَالَ أَنْت وَعُثْمَان كَمَا قَالَ الشَّاعِر لَا الفينك بعد الْمَوْت تندبني وَفِي حَياتِي مَا زودتني زادي
Abu Tufayl Aamir Ibn Wathilah visited Mu’awiyyah, so Mu’awiyyah said to him ‘Aren’t you one of the killers of Uthman?’ He replied ‘No, but I’m one of those who was present but did not support Uthman.’ Mu’awiyyah said ‘What prevented you from supporting him?’ He replied, ‘The Muhajireen & the Ansar did not support him.’
Mu’awiyyah said, ‘Uthman’s right was obligatory, and it was your duty to support him.’ He replied, ‘So, what prevented you from supporting Uthman while the people of Syria were with you?’ Mu’awiyyah said, ‘As for my seeking his revenge, it is my support.’ Abu Tufayl laughed and said, ‘You are just like the poet said : ‘Don’t cry for me after death, while in my life you didn’t provide me with my provisions.’
~Akhbar al-Wafideen min al-Rijal ala Mu’awiyyah Ibn Abi Sufyan page 55
Allamah al-Dhabhi mentioned :
قال يزيد بن أبي زياد: عن أبي الطفيل، قال: عزلنا سبعة أرؤس، وغطينا منها رأس حصين بن نمير، وعبيد الله بن زياد، فجئت، فكشفتها، فإذا حية في رأس عبيد الله تأكل
Yazid Ibn Abi Ziyad said Abu al-Tufayl said we had seven heads and we covered the heads of Husin Ibn Numayr and Ubayd-Allah Ibn Ziyad and when I uncovered them there was a snake eating Ibn Ziyad’s head.
~Siyar Alam al-Nubala vol 3:548-549
Thank you for reading!
Haidari Blogs 