Shaykh Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī · Shia traditional reports on the topic that Imams are twelve in number
Shia · narrations
Reports differ in authenticity, attribution, context and interpretation across scholarly traditions. Inclusion here is not authentication or endorsement.
Hadith reports may differ in authenticity, attribution, context, and interpretation across Islamic scholarly traditions. Inclusion in this library does not constitute authentication or endorsement. Readers are encouraged to consult qualified scholars before drawing religious or legal conclusions.
قلنا: أما الذي يدل على صحتها فإن الشيعة الإمامية يروونها على وجه التواتر خلفا عن سلف وطريقة تصحيح ذلك موجودة في كتب الإمامية النصوص على أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام والطريقة واحدة. وأيضا فإن نقل الطائفتين المختلفتين المتباينتين في الاعتقاد يدل على صحة ما قد اتفقوا على نقله لأن العادة جارية أن كل من اعتقد مذهبا وكان الطريق إلى صحة ذلك النقل فإن دواعيه تتوفر إلى نقله وتتوفر دواعي من خالفه إلى إبطال ما نقله أو الطعن عليه والإنكار لراويته بذلك جرت العادات في مدائح الرجال وذمهم وتعظيمهم والنقص منهم. ومتى رأينا الفرقة المخالفة لهذه الفرقة قد نقلت مثل نقلها ولم تتعرض للطعن على نقله ولم تنكر متضمن الخبر دل ذلك على أن الله تعالى قد تولى نقله وسخرهم لروايته وذلك دليل على صحة ما تضمنه الخبر. وأما الدليل على أن المراد بالأخبار والمعني بها أئمتنا عليه السلام فهو أنه إذا ثبت بهذه الأخبار أن الإمامة محصورة في الاثني عشر إماما وأنهم لا يزيدون ولا ينقصون ثبت ما ذهبنا إليه لأن الأمة بين قائلين قائل يعتبر العدد الذي ذكرناه فهو يقول إن المراد بها من يذهب إلى إمامته ومن خالف في إمامتهم لا يعتبر هذا العدد فالقول مع اعتبار العدد أن المراد غيرهم خروج عن الإجماع وما أدى إلى ذلك وجب القول بفساده.
We will say: The proof of the veracity of these narrations is that the Shia Imamiyah have narrated this through widely-related (Tawatur) inordinate numbers of narrators and the reliable chains of narrations thereof are recorded in books of Imamiyah as proofs of the Imamate of Amirul Momineen (a.s). Besides, the narration by the two different denominations, which have different beliefs, is a proof of the veracity of the narrations they both agree upon. That is because it is customary that anyone who believes in an idea, which is proved through narration, then he has every motivation to narrate those narrations, and his opponent will have every motivation to invalidate his narrations or to weaken him and reject his narrations. Such is the practice in praising individuals or criticizing them. When we see that a group averse to this one narrates the same narrations they have narrated, and have not questioned its narration or its content, this indicates that God has undertaken the narration thereof and has forced them to narrate it; and this is a proof of the veracity of the narration. The proof of the fact that our Imams are intended by these narrations is that when it is proved through these traditions that the Imams are twelve Imams and that they neither exceed this number, nor are they short of it, our creed is proved, because the Ummah is divided into denominations: we, who believe in this number and believe in the Imamate of our Imams, and others who do not believe in this number and their Imamate. If someone should believe in the number and does not believe in their Imamate, he is treading outside the bounds of consensus (Ijma), and any belief outside the bounds of consensus (Ijma) is definitely void.
Translation: Sayyid Athar Husain S. H. Rizvi — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.
This edition publishes no authenticity assessment for this narration. SacredTwo does not assign one.
What is and is not verified on this page
Persian rendering (AI)
No published Persian translation of this edition is available. This rendering is produced by SacredTwo's model and is not a published translation.
AI-assisted translation — not a verified published translation.