Ali ibn Yaqteen

Ali ibn Yaqteen
علي إبن يقطين
Personal life
Born742 CE
Died798 CE
Main interest(s)Hadith, Fiqh, Theology
Other namesAbū al-Ḥasan
OccupationAbbasid minister
Religious life
ReligionIslam
DenominationShia
JurisprudenceJa'fari
TeachersMusa al-Kazim
ResidenceBaghdad

Abū al-Ḥasan Ali ibn Yaqteen ibn Musa al-Baghdadi (742–798) (Arabic: أبو الحسن عليّ إبن يقطين إبن موسى البغدادي) was a Shia Muslim muhaddith (narrator of hadith), jurist, mutakallim (theologian) and close companion of the seventh Shia Imam Musa al-Kadhim (765–799).[1] He was born in Kufa and lived in Baghdad. Though a Shia, he became a reliable minister of Abbasid Caliphate with the approval of Imam Musa al-Kazim, keeping his faith hidden and using his position within the government to support the Shia who were usually oppressed by the Abbasids. He compiled 3 books.

Early life

Ali ibn Yaqteen was born in 742 in Kufa. Since his father, was one of the supporters of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, he was placed under an arrest warrant by Marwan I. Therefore, he was forced to escape and hide, and Ali ibn Yaqteen's mother took him and his brother, Ubayd, to Medina. Later on, he moved to Baghdad and started working as a spice seller.[2]

Entering Abbasid government

After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate and emergence of Abbasid Caliphate, Ali ibn Yaqteen returned to Kufa and entered the Abbasid administration. He got promoted when Al-Hadi took over the reign. He was even entrusted with the special Caliph ring and seal. In the long run, he became a minister of Harun al-Rashid.[3]

Faith

Undoubtedly he was a Shia; but he hid his belief from Abbasid Caliphs all the time as his father did. He was a close student and companion to Musa al-Kadhim and acted as Musa al-Kadhim's secret agent in the palace of Harun al-Rashid. Many Hadiths have been narrated from him in The Four Books. According to some historical evidence that have been given credence by Shia scholars, he entered the Abbasid government by the approval and guidance of Musa al-Kadhim in order to support the oppressed people and particularly assist the Shia.[4][5]

Works

In biographical evaluation sources, three books have been mentioned for him:

  • Masa’il anhu al-Sadiq min al-Malahim (about the future events and occurrence)
  • Al-Shakk bi hadratih-I (about a disputation between a doubting Thomas and Ja'far al-Sadiq)
  • Masa’il ‘an Abi al-Hasan Musa ibn Ja’far (contains the hadiths that he had heard from Musa al-Kadhim or Imam's answers to his questions)[6][2]

Death

In 798 Ali ibn Yaqteen died in Baghdad while Musa al-Kadhim was imprisoned by Harun al-Rashid.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Ali Bin Yaqteen". imamreza.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  2. ^ a b al-Fehrest; Tusi, Muhammad ibn Hasan; Bahr al-Olum, Muhammad Sadiq; al-Maktaba al-Murtazavia wa Matbaaha; Najaf; p. 91
  3. ^ Rijal al-Najjashi; Ahmad ibn Ali, Najjashi; al-Nashr al-Islami institute; 1986; Qom; p. 273
  4. ^ Bihar al-Anwar; Majlesi, Muhammad Baqir; Mahmudi, Muhammad Baqir; Alavi, Abdozzahra; Dar Ihya al-Torath al-Arabi; Beirut; vol. 72; pp. 370–379
  5. ^ "Imam Musa loves 'Ali Bin Yaqteen".
  6. ^ "Ali bin Yaqtin".
  7. ^ Ikhtiar Ma’refa al-Rijal (Rijal al-kashi); Shaykh Tusi; ‘Al al-beyt (a) institute, Qom, 1984, vol. 2, p. 729