Skepticism of Hadiths Not Transmitted by the Ahl al-Bayt and Their Forefathers

Within the methodological framework (uṣūl) of Imam Yahya al-Hadi (d. 298 AH), if a report about the Prophet is not grounded within transmission from the Ahl al-Bayt having been transmitted by their forefathers back to the Prophet then it may become suspect. The absence of transmission through the Ahl al-Bayt raises serious questions about its authenticity. In particular, for actions that are public, repeated, or religiously significant, preservation is not optional—it is expected. If such a practice truly existed, it would have been transmitted widely and consistently. Its absence, therefore, is not just a gap in the record—it becomes evidence that the practice may not have originated with the Prophet at all.

In examining claims that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, performed Tarawih in congregation, he writes:

“And none of our scholars have narrated it, and none of our forefathers has transmitted it as an Athar from the Prophet. And if there had truly been anything of that from him (i.e., if the Prophet had actually done such a prayer in that form), then our forefathers would have narrated it from their fathers and grandfathers (i.e., it would have been preserved through the inherited Isnad of Ahl Al-Bayt), and nothing of it would have been lost to them, and they would have brought it forth as something firmly authenticated from him.”

Source: (Jāmiʿ Kutub wa Rasāʾil al-Imam al-Hadi ila al-Haqq, Author: Imam Yahya ibn al-Husayn al-Hadi ila al-Haqq [d. 298 AH], First Edition 1443 AH / 2021 CE, p. 698)