Assessing the Authenticity of the Tafsīr Attributed to Imam Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (PBUH) on the Basis of Confidence in Transmission (Wuthūq Ṣudūr) and Shaykh al-Ṣadūq’s Testimonial Authentication

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Seyed Mojtaba Hossein Nejad 1
Saeid Ahmadi Fard 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, University of Mazandaran, Sari, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, University of Mazandaran, Sari, Iran
10.30497/qhs.2026.249200.4251
Abstract
The Tafsīr attributed to Imam al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (A.S.) is an incomplete transmitted (maʾthūr) commentary that is said to preserve the Imam’s teachings as recorded by two of his disciples over a period of seven years. Its authenticity has long been a matter of scholarly dispute. Since numerous religious rulings—particularly in the area of subsidiary legal questions (furūʿ al-fiqh)—are based exclusively on traditions preserved in this commentary, accepting or rejecting its narrations has significant implications for the derivation of Islamic legal rulings. This study examines the principal arguments advanced by both supporters and critics of the work and critically evaluates the objections raised against its authenticity. The findings indicate that previous assessments have not given sufficient consideration to the full range of evidence relevant to its probative value. In particular, the reliability of the transmitters appearing in Shaykh al-Ṣadūq’s chain of transmission to the Tafsīr, together with the reliance placed upon this work by prominent scholars such as Shaykh al-Ṣadūq, al-Ṭabrisī, Ibn Shahr Āshūb, and al-Rāwandī, provides sufficient grounds for confidence in the transmission (wuthūq ṣudūr) of its contents from the infallible Imam. Consequently, the traditions contained in this Tafsīr may be regarded as authoritative. Moreover, since the authority of these traditions derives intrinsically from cumulative scholarly attestation—particularly the Testimonial Authentication (shahādah inḥilāliyyah) of eminent authorities such as Shaykh al-Ṣadūq—the presence of a limited number of weak reports does not undermine the evidentiary validity of the remaining traditions contained in the work.
Keywords
Tafsīr attributed to Imam al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī
wuthūq ṣudūr (confidence in transmission)
Shaykh al-Ṣadūq
intrinsic probative authority
Testimonial Authentication
Subjects
The Holy Qur’ān.    
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