Zurarah ibn A'yan

Zurārah ibn Aʿyan (about 690-768 AD) (Arabic: زُرارة بن أعيَن), who according to Shia sources, was a famous companion of Imam Baqir, Imam Sadiq, and Imam Kazim.^[1] He evolved the theory that the knowledge of God is an obligation on every believer and cannot be attained without an Imam designated by God, and thus complete obedience to the Imam is a religious duty.^[2]

He was a Muhaddith and Islamic scholar with great knowledge in religion,^[3] and was also one of the companions known as the companions of consensus whose hadith are given extra credence by Shia scholars.^[4] Muḥaddith Qummī in his book Tuḥfat al-Aḥbāb said that "his excellence and status are too great to mention here".^[5]

Zurārah was a disciple of al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtayba before joining al-Baqir. As a prominent traditionist and theologian, Zurārah played an important role in developing the Shia thought. Zurārah lived long enough to also become a close disciple of Jaʿfar al-Sadiq.^[6] Al-Baqir praised him (along with Abū Baṣīr al-Murādī, Muḥammad ibn Muslim, and Burayd ibn Muʿāwiya al-ʿIjlī) as worthy of the paradise. ^[7] Also al-Sadiq lauded him (along with the other three mentioned above) for upholding and promoting the Imami Madhhab,^[8] Al-Sadiq also said that the prophetic hadiths would have been lost without them.^[7] However there are some reports in Al-Kafi that report Jafar Al-Sadiq telling his followers to avoid Zurarah as he tells lies.^[4] Some of the narrations that were mentioned in his condemnation of Zurarah, as stated by Imam Sadiq, were stated in the position of taqiyyah and to protect Zurarah from the government. Some of his jurisprudential thoughts and methods have been criticized. Mirdamad, by confirming Zurarah and believing his belief to be true, has condemned him in the sources because of his mistake in understanding issues such as qadha, qadr, ability, and tolerance in understanding the position of Sadiq. In a narration from Sadiq addressed to Hamza bin Hamran, Zarara's nephew, it is also emphasized that Sadiq was acquitted by what others have narrated about Zarara, not by Zarara himself.^[9]

Some say that his real name was ʿAbd Rabbih (Arabic: عبد ربه), and Zurārah was a nickname. He was also known as Abū al-Ḥasan (lit. “the father of al-Ḥasan”). Some reports say that his father was a Byzantine monk who was captured and sold into slavery in a Muslim territory to someone from the Shaybānī clan, which Zurārah remained affixed to.^[10] He was from Al Ain, a famous and influential family in Kufa, which was affiliated to the BaniShiban tribe through the Wala Treaty.Considering the date of Zarara's death and the fact that Abu GhalibZarari considered his age to be seventy years. he was stout, he had light skin and the effect of prostration could be seen on his forehead. he was probably born around 80 AH.^[11]

Zurārah’s intellectual activities in the field of scholastic theology greatly strengthened the cause of Jaʿfar al-Sadiq and later that of Musa al-Kazim. Together with other theological and scholastic problems, Zurārah and his disciples evolved the theory that the knowledge of God is an obligation on every believer and cannot be attained without an Imam designated by God, and thus complete obedience to the Imam is a religious duty. The Imams by necessity are endowed with special knowledge. Therefore, what other men can attain by discursive reason (nadhar), an Imam always knows owing to his special knowledge and his superior and unequalled power of reasoning. ↵Zurārah and his circle promulgated their views on almost every question of what we now call scholastic philosophy, such as the attributes of God, His Essence and His Actions, His Intention or Will, and the human capacity. The impression we get of Zurārah from the sources, especially from Kashi, is that he played a very important role in the development of legitimist Shiʿi thought and contributed a great deal to the formation of the Imamiyya creed. He is one of the most frequently quoted authorities in all the major books of the Shiʿis.^[2]

Among Zurārah’s pupils, who were all devoted followers of Jaʿfar, were his own sons Ḥasan, Ḥusayn, and ʿUbaydullāh; his brother Ḥumrān, the grammarian and one of the foremost companions of Al-Baqir. Ḥamza, the son of Ḥumrān; Bukayr ibn Aʿyan and his son ʿAbdullāh; Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥakam; Muḥammad ibn an-Nuʿmān al-Aḥwal, and Hishām ibn Sālim al-Jawālīqī.^[2]

More than 2,000 hadith are attributed him. He is described in biographical literature as “respected” and trustworthy”. It was narrated that: “Were it not for Zurārah, the sayings of my father would vanish soon”.^[12]

He died between 766 and 777 AD/149-150 AH in Kufa, Iraq.^[1]

• Jafri, S.H.M (1979). Origins and Early Development of Shia Islam. London: Longman.
• Lalani, Arzina R. (2004). Early Shi'i Thought: The Teachings of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1850435921.
• Kohlberg, Etan (2020). Ehteshami, Amin (ed.). In Praise of the Few. Studies in Shiʿi Thought and History. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-40697-1.