Abu Hamza Thabit ibn Abi Safiyya al-Thumali (D. 148AH)
Biographies of Zaydi Scholars, Hadith Narrators & Quran Exegetes
Abu Hamza Thabit ibn Abi Safiyya al-Thumali
Shaykh of the Shia in his time, companion of al-Sajjad and al-Baqir, and the devoted friend and defender of Imam Zayd ibn Ali — whose sons rose and were martyred at Zayd’s side.
A biographical entry on Abu Hamza al-Thumali — one of the most prominent Zaydi hadith scholars and Quran commentators, a pillar of knowledge and religious leadership, and a man whose sons fought and fell alongside the Great Imam Zayd ibn Ali.
His own testimony, and that of his sons and brother, stands as first-hand refutation of the Rafida’s later claim that the Imamate passed by secret testamentary designation — a claim Abu Hamza himself said he heard directly, and denounced as a lie.
His name and lineage
He is Thabit ibn Dinar al-Thumali al-Azdi al-Kufi, Abu Hamza — famous by his kunya (agnomen). His father Dinar was known as Ibn Abi Safiyya, so he is also called Thabit ibn Abi Safiyya al-Thumali. Dinar was a client (mawla) of al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra. Abu Hamza is among the most prominent Zaydi hadith scholars and Quran commentators.
His birth can be estimated from the fact that among the earliest people he narrated from were Zadhan al-Kindi (d. 82 AH) and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla al-Ansari (d. 83 AH).
His standing: Abu Hamza was the shaykh of the Shia in his time, one of the pillars of knowledge, a man of religious leadership, and a devoted follower of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). He authored a book, Tafsir al-Quran, portions of which al-Tha’labi transmitted in his own commentary al-Kashf wa-l-Bayan. He also wrote treatises refuting the opponents of the Shia and recounting the virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt.
His companionship: He was a companion of Imam al-Sajjad Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them both), devotedly attached also to Imam al-Baqir Muhammad ibn Ali, and he and his sons were among the companions of Imam Zayd ibn Ali — pledging allegiance to him and supporting him. He also narrated from Imam Abdullah ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan and from Imam al-Sadiq Ja’far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
The Thumali household
The scholar Ibn Abi al-Rijal, describing the Thumali family in a biographical entry, said: “I reckon him among the Banu al-Thumali — the house flourishing with virtue, foremost in devotion to the Family of Muhammad (peace be upon them); among them is a large group following the school of Zayd ibn Ali.” — Matla’ al-Budur
Abu Hamza’s sons were: Hamza, Salim, Mansur, and Nuh — these were martyred alongside the Great Imam Zayd ibn Ali — and also al-Husayn, Ali, and Muhammad, who are counted among the men of the Zaydiyya. His brother, al-Ash’ath ibn Abi Safiyya, is likewise counted among Zaydi transmitters and among those who learned from Imam Zayd ibn Ali, as noted by al-Hafiz al-Baghdadi.
Abu Hamza al-Thumali and the birth of Imam Zayd ibn Ali
Al-Hafiz Abd al-Aziz ibn Ishaq al-Baghdadi narrated from Abu Hamza, who said: “I went on pilgrimage and visited Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him). He said to me: ‘O Abu Hamza, will you not ask me about my joy and delight?’ I said: ‘And what is your joy and delight, O son of the Messenger of God?’ He said: ‘Last night I saw as though I entered Paradise and shook hands with the Prophet, and with Ali, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn. It was as though God had wedded me to a houri, and while I was with her upon the couch, a voice called out to me: “Congratulations on Zayd! Congratulations on Zayd!” And this very night I was gifted a slave-woman in whom beauty and goodness were perfected as in no other woman, and I hope that God will grant me a child through her.’ He said: I made the pilgrimage the following year, and Ali ibn al-Husayn came out to us with Zayd ibn Ali on his shoulder, saying: ‘This is the interpretation of my earlier vision; my Lord has made it come true.'”
Manaqib al-Imam Zayd ibn Ali
Al-Hafiz al-Baghdadi added another version: “‘I saw the Messenger of God last night. He took my hand, led me into Paradise, and wedded me to a houri, and I lay with her. Then the Messenger of God said to me: “O Ali, name the child born of her Zayd; O Ali, name the child born of her Zayd.”‘”
Abu Hamza describes the knowledge of Imam Zayd ibn Ali and his virtue
Abu Hamza was devoted to the leading figures of the Prophet’s Family in their era, particularly Imam al-Baqir Muhammad ibn Ali, who was their elder in that time. He would consult him on questions and present his writings and compositions to him. Abu Hamza was likewise a caller among the people — including those of opposing views — to the doctrine and way of the Prophet’s Family, defending them, writing and composing works in that cause. He and the hadith master of the Shia, Abu Khalid al-Wasiti, were close friends, both being among the notables of the Zaydiyya and its most prominent men.
Imam al-Murshid Billah Yahya ibn al-Husayn al-Shajari narrates with his chain from Abu Khalid al-Wasiti and Abu Hamza al-Thumali, who said: “We composed a treatise refuting the people. Then we set out for Medina and visited Muhammad ibn Ali [al-Baqir]. We said: ‘May we be your ransom — we have composed a treatise in refutation of the people; look it over.’ He said: ‘Read it.’ So we read it. He said: ‘Indeed you have worked and striven. Have you read it to Zayd?’ We said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘Read it to Zayd, and see what he points out to you.’ So we visited Zayd and said: ‘May we be your ransom — we have composed a treatise refuting the people and have brought it to you.’ He said: ‘Read it.’ I read it to him, and when we finished he said: ‘O Abu Hamza, and you, O Abu Khalid — you have striven, but it will be broken against you. As for the first point, the rebuttal to it is such-and-such’ — and he kept refuting it until he finished it to the last, point by point. By God, we did not know which to marvel at more: his memorization of it or his dismantling of it. Then he gave us a body of discourse by which we could know how to refute the people. We returned to Muhammad ibn Ali and told him what had happened with Zayd. He said: ‘O Abu Khalid, and you, O Abu Hamza — my father summoned Zayd and had him recite the Quran, and he recited; he questioned him on the most difficult matters, and he answered. So he prayed for him and kissed him between his eyes. O Abu Khalid, and you, O Abu Hamza: truly Zayd has been given an abundance of knowledge beyond us.'”
al-Amali al-Ithnayniyya: 591
In the version of Imam Abu Talib Yahya ibn al-Husayn al-Haruni: “[Al-Baqir] said: ‘I have been waiting for you, O Abu Hamza — how did you find Zayd ibn Ali?’ I said: ‘I have never seen among the young men of the Arabs anyone like him.'”
al-Di’ama
In the version of al-Hafiz Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Zaydi, with his chain, from Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Ali, who said to them both: “O Abu Khalid, and you, O Abu Hamza — my father summoned Zayd and had him recite the Quran, and he recited; he questioned him on the perplexing matters, and he answered. Then he prayed for him and kissed him between his eyes.” Then Abu Ja’far said: “O Abu Hamza: Zayd has been given an abundance of knowledge beyond us.”
al-Muhit bi-Usul al-Imama, manuscript
Regarding Imam Zayd’s knowledge, Abu Mikhnaf al-Azdi narrates from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, who said: “I composed a discourse on the merit of Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad and the excellence God bestowed on them. I spent about a year composing and arranging it. Then I came to Abu Ja’far in Medina and presented the discourse to him. He said to me: ‘Have you met Zayd ibn Ali, my brother?’ I said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘Boy, take him to Zayd ibn Ali; bring him in to him and present this discourse of yours to him.’ So I came to Zayd ibn Ali and recited the entire discourse to him — while he remained silent — until I finished. He said: ‘Have you finished your discourse?’ I said: ‘Yes, may I be your ransom.’ Then he recited the entire discourse back to me from beginning to end — by God, I do not know that he omitted a single word of it — and I marveled at his memorization of it. Then he responded to me with its like and more on the merit of Muhammad and his Family.”
Akhbar al-Imam Zayd ibn Ali
Abu Hamza, the call of Imam Zayd, his word to the Rafida, and his support
When Imam Zayd ibn Ali rose and proclaimed his claim to the Imamate, the shaykh of the Shia, Abu Hamza al-Thumali, did not stay behind — though he was elderly at the time. He offered his sons in support of Imam Zayd, in allegiance to him, going forth with him in jihad. His sons Hamza, Salim, Mansur, and Nuh went out with him, as narrated by Imam al-Murshid Billah al-Shajari in al-Amali al-Ithnayniyya from Abu Ma’mar Sa’id ibn Khuthaym al-Hilali. Al-Najashi of the Imamiyya confirmed this: “His sons Nuh, Mansur, and Hamza were killed with Zayd” (Rijal al-Najashi: 115), and al-Zirikli mentioned the same (al-A’lam: 2/97).
When word reached Abu Hamza of the Rafida’s disparagement of Imam Zayd — their denial of his Imamate and claim that the Imamate was a designated succession (wasiyya) from al-Sajjad to al-Baqir to al-Sadiq — he recounted what Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn had said to him.
As narrated by al-Hafiz al-Baghdadi: “Then he [al-Sajjad] said to me: ‘O Abu Hamza, this is Zayd, the caller to truth, the commander of good and forbidder of evil, the striver in the path of God Most High. He will be killed in Kufa, crucified, then burned with fire. Whoever comes to him gloating shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise.’ Abu Hamza said: I said to him: ‘My master, all of this Zayd will suffer for God and in the path of God?’ He said: ‘Yes, O Abu Hamza.’ Abu Hamza said: ‘So I say of him what I heard from his father concerning him — and I do not know what these filthy ones [meaning the Rafida] are saying, for they lie.'”
Manaqib al-Imam Zayd ibn Ali
In another narration, al-Sajjad said — as Abu Hamza relates: “We were with Ali ibn al-Husayn one day in the portico of his house when Zayd ibn Ali came running across the courtyard — he had a forelock at the time. As he approached the door of the portico he stumbled and fell on his face. Ali ibn al-Husayn stepped forward, lifted him up, wiped his face, embraced him, and said: ‘By my father — the martyr of the Banu Umayya!’ I said: ‘By my father and mother — will the Banu Umayya truly kill Zayd?’ He said: ‘Yes, and crucify him!’ I said: ‘And crucify him?!’ He said: ‘Yes, and burn him and scatter his ashes!’ We said: ‘All this for Zayd?!’ He said: ‘He is the Proof (hujja) rising against the Banu Umayya when he rises.'”
Manaqib al-Imam Zayd ibn Ali
And in another version: “The people said: ‘May we be your ransom — all of this will befall him?!’ He said: ‘Yes, all of this will befall him for God and in His path; truly he is of God’s chosen elect. He will come on the Day of Resurrection, he and his companions, untroubled by the Greatest Terror, and the angels will receive them: “This is your day which you were promised.”‘”
Manaqib al-Imam Zayd ibn Ali
Thus Abu Hamza gave the lie to the Rafida in their claim that the Imamate passes by testamentary designation through al-Sajjad, al-Baqir, and al-Sadiq. On this, al-Hakim al-Haskani al-Hanafi narrates Abu Hamza’s question to Imam al-Sajjad, with his chain: “…I said: ‘Who is the one foremost in good deeds?’ He said: ‘The one who unsheathes his sword and calls to the path of his Lord.'” (Shawahid al-Tanzil: 2/156)
When news of the martyrdom of Hamza — Abu Hamza’s son — at the side of his uncle Imam Zayd reached Imam al-Sadiq, he said: “May God have mercy upon him,” then recited the verse: “Among the believers are men who have been true to what they pledged to God…” (Manaqib al-Imam Zayd ibn Ali)
Abu Hamza used to say: “By God, I have never known a youth from the descendants of al-Husayn ibn Ali more honored before God than Zayd ibn Ali — most noble as a youth, most noble in mature age.” (Manaqib al-Imam Zayd ibn Ali)
Even after their martyrdom with Imam Zayd, the Rafida did not leave the elders of the Shia in peace; they went on declaring those who rose with him sinful and misguided, spreading falsehoods claiming that Imam al-Sadiq disavowed those who went out with him. Abu Hamza’s sons were among those who rose with Imam Zayd. You know how they demanded repentance from Sulayman ibn Khalid al-Aqta’ for having gone out with the Great Imam Zayd. News of the Rafida’s disavowal of his brothers apparently reached al-Husayn ibn Abi Hamza al-Thumali, so he came to ask Imam al-Sadiq about it.
Abu Mikhnaf narrates from Umar ibn Ghanim, who said: “Al-Husayn ibn Abi Hamza al-Thumali and I visited Ja’far ibn Muhammad in al-Hira. We said to him: ‘We ask you about a matter of our religion.’ He said: ‘About what matter of your religion do you ask?’ We said: ‘We ask you about Zayd ibn Ali.’ He said: ‘May God have mercy on my uncle! By God, I wish I could do as my uncle did. By God, he passed away upon the same path his forefathers passed upon.’ We said: ‘And those killed with him?’ He said: ‘Whoever was killed with Zayd is like one killed with al-Husayn; whoever was killed with al-Husayn is like one killed with Ali; and whoever was killed with Ali is like one killed with the Prophet.'”
Akhbar al-Imam Zayd ibn Ali
On the denial that the Prophet’s Family possess knowledge of the unseen
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates with his chain — al-Husayn ibn Ulwan al-Kalbi related to us, Abu Hamza Thabit ibn Abi Safiyya related to us — he said: “We were sitting with Ali ibn al-Husayn in the Mosque of the Messenger of God when some sparrows passed by us chirping. Ali ibn al-Husayn said: ‘Do you know what these sparrows are saying?’ We said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘I do not claim to know the unseen, but I heard my father say: I heard the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, say: I heard the Messenger of God say: “When birds awaken in the morning, they glorify their Lord and ask Him for their day’s sustenance.” And these birds are glorifying their Lord and asking Him for their day’s provision.'”
Tarikh Baghdad: 11/99
Yet when such a report reaches the Rafida, they claim the Family were taught the speech of birds as an innate gift.
Abu Hamza al-Thumali: among the trustworthy authorities of the Zaydiyya
The Imams unanimously affirmed Abu Hamza’s trustworthiness. Imam al-Mu’ayyad Billah declared him reliable. Imam Majd al-Din al-Mu’ayyidi said of him: “One of the eminent figures — the companions of the Greatest Imam and narrators from him” (Lawami’ al-Anwar). The scholar Abdullah, son of Imam al-Hadi al-Qasimi, said: “Abu Hamza was among the companions of Imam Zayd ibn Ali, his narrators, and those who pledged allegiance to him,” and also: “He is among the chiefs of the Shia and their luminaries, to the fury of every Nasibi” (al-Jadawil al-Sughra, abridgment of al-Tabaqat al-Kubra). Al-Hafiz Ibn Abi al-Rijal said: “The accomplished shaykh Thabit ibn Abi Safiyya (God have mercy on him)… the sincere shaykh al-Qasim ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Baghdadi counted him among the Zaydiyya” (Matla’ al-Budur). Imam al-Rida Ali ibn Musa said of him: “He is the Luqman of his age” (al-A’lam of al-Zirikli: 2/97).
A group of hadith critics declared him weak, but only because of his Shiism. Al-Dhahabi transmitted that he held belief in the raj’a (the return before Resurrection) — but this is not sound from any angle; indeed its very chain of attribution is unsound, for Ibn al-Madini reports it from someone who heard Yazid ibn Harun say it, and such a report carries no verification or reliability. Moreover it contradicts his eminent standing, his established Zaydism in the eyes of the Family of Muhammad, and his complete divergence from the way of the Rafida in every respect. Al-Dhahabi records: “From Ibn al-Madini: someone who heard Yazid ibn Harun informed me that he said: Abu Hamza believes in the raj’a” (Tarikh al-Islam: 3/826). Nor is the Imamiyya’s claim of him valid.
On the confirmation of his Shiism, Ibn Hibban said: “Along with his extremism in his Shiism” (al-Majruhin: 4/238). As an example of that alleged “extremism,” Ibn Adi narrates: “I heard Ubaydallah ibn Musa mention that they were with Abu Hamza al-Thumali when Ibn al-Mubarak arrived. Abu Hamza mentioned a report concerning Uthman — or criticized Uthman — so Ibn al-Mubarak rose, took his notebook, tore it up, then got up and left.” (al-Kamil fi Du’afa’ al-Rijal: 2/294)
The defense — al-Hakim al-Naysaburi rejected this weakening and disparagement; after narrating a report he said: “This is a hadith with a sound chain, for nothing was held against Abu Hamza al-Thumali except extremism in his school of thought — that alone.” (al-Mustadrak: 2/565) Ibn al-Nadim said: “Abu Hamza was among the companions of Ali [al-Sajjad], among the noble and trustworthy ones, and he accompanied Abu Ja’far.” (al-Fihrist: 53)
Among Abu Hamza’s narrations: he said, Abdullah ibn al-Hasan related to me: “When this verse was revealed — ‘and that retaining ears might retain it’ — the Messenger of God said: ‘I asked God to make it your ear, O Ali.’ Ali said: ‘I never forgot anything afterward, nor was it possible for me to forget.'” (Tafsir al-Tha’labi: 10/28)
And what some of the Rafida attributed to Abu Hamza regarding drinking intoxicants is not authentic.
His teachers and students
He narrated from
Imam al-Sajjad Ali ibn al-Husayn; his two sons the Imams Muhammad ibn Ali (al-Baqir) and Zayd ibn Ali; Imam Abdullah ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan; Abu Harun al-Abdi; Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i; Zadhan al-Kindi; al-Asbagh ibn Nubata; Sa’id ibn Jubayr; Amir al-Sha’bi; Ikrima, client of Ibn Abbas; Abu al-Yaqzan Uthman ibn Umayr; and others.
Those who narrated from him
Hafs ibn Ghiyath; Sufyan al-Thawri; Sharik al-Nakha’i; Amr ibn Abi al-Miqdam; Abu Nu’aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn; Qays ibn al-Rabi’; Abu Mikhnaf; al-Husayn ibn Mukhariq; Waki’ ibn al-Jarrah; Hamza ibn Habib al-Zayyat; Abu Usama Hammad ibn Usama; Ali ibn Hashim ibn al-Barid; and others.
His death
He died in the year 148 AH — some say 150 AH. May God have mercy on him with a vast mercy, and gather him with the Prophet and his noble Family.
“So I say of him what I heard from his father concerning him — and I do not know what these filthy ones are saying, for they lie.” — Abu Hamza al-Thumali, on Imam Zayd ibn Ali
May God grant you happiness.
O God, bless and grant peace upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.