Rijal Al Kashi Report 176 -2021- Official

For centuries, scholars have pored over the manuscripts, commentaries, and recensions of this work. The most significant scholarly event in recent memory was the publication of new critical editions and detailed glosses around . Among the hundreds of entries dissected in these new studies, one particular reference has sparked intense discussion among seminary students ( talaba ) and Western academic researchers alike: Report 176 .

Each "report" ( khabar ) in al-Kashi’s work is not merely a biographical entry but often contains chains of narration ( isnad ) and lengthy theological discussions. varies in numbering across manuscripts. In the standard early 20th-century editions (such as the one by al-Mustafawi), the numbering differs from the newer 2021 critical edition based on the Mashhad manuscript. What is Report 176? A Hypothetical Reconstruction Based on 2021 Scholarship Since the actual entry #176 differs slightly in content across versions, the 2021 scholarly reports — including those by researchers like Dr. Hassan al-Najafi and the Qom-based Rijal al-Hadith Institute — have clarified that Report 176 in the most authoritative manuscript (MS Mashhad 225) discusses the case of a controversial transmitter. Rijal Al Kashi Report 176 -2021-

Entry 176 ends with al-Kashi listing the names of companions who abandoned ‘Umar ibn ‘Udhaynah after his corruption. The year 2021 saw the release of Al-Kashi’s Rijal: A Critical Edition Based on the Oldest Manuscripts (3 vols, Mu’assasat Ahl al-Bayt, Beirut) along with a separate monograph: The Problematic Narrators of the 2nd Century: A Study of Report 176 by Mahdi Karimi. For centuries, scholars have pored over the manuscripts,

Al-Kashi comments: The apparent contradiction is resolved when one knows that the Imam praised him before his deviation, and condemned him after he fell into ghuluww (exaggeration) and narrated fabricated traditions on the authority of Abu al-Khattab. Each "report" ( khabar ) in al-Kashi’s work

This article examines the contents, scholarly debates, and implications of , specifically as it appears in the 2021 critical analyses and editions. Understanding the Source: What is "Rijal al-Kashi"? Before delving into Report 176, it is essential to clarify the nature of the source. Al-Kashi’s original work, Ma‘rifat al-Rijal , was lost for centuries. What survives is a recension (edited selection) by Shaykh al-Ta’ifah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi (d. 460 AH/1067 CE), who titled it Ikhtiyar Ma‘rifat al-Rijal . Ironically, we now call the entire work Rijal al-Kashi , attributing it to al-Kashi but acknowledging al-Tusi’s editorial hand.

Based on the 2021 annotated translation, Report 176 focuses on a narrator named (or a variant spelling, ‘Udhayna). This name appears in both Sunni and Shi’i chains. However, al-Kashi’s report does something unprecedented: it records two radically contradictory statements from two different Imams regarding the same person. Summary of the Report (translated from the 2021 critical edition): Narrated by Muhammad ibn Mas‘ud from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr from Yunus ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman: I heard Abu al-Hasan al-Rida (‘a) say: “Rely upon ‘Umar ibn ‘Udhaynah for your religious matters, for he is trustworthy (thiqah) and sincere.”