Adalat al-Sahaba Part V: Anas Ibn Malik

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In Sunni Islam, Anas ibn Malik is a well-regarded figure, primarily because of his role as a close companion of the Prophet Muhammad and his contributions to hadith literature. Having served the Prophet directly from a young age, Anas is credited with narrating a large number of hadiths, which are considered important in Sunni jurisprudence and tradition. His narrations touch on a wide range of topics, and high quantity of reports give him a high level of credibility within Sunni hadith collections. However, from a Shia perspective, Anas ibn Malik’s actions, particularly during critical moments impacting the family of the Prophet (Ahl al-Bayt), are viewed unfavorably. Specifically, his silence during the event of Karbala and lack of support for Imam Husayn’s stand against Yazid are seen as failures to fulfill his duty to the Prophet’s family. In Shia thought, loyalty to the Prophet's family and standing against injustice are paramount. Anas’s reluctance to stand up for Imam Husayn, despite his close relationship with the Prophet, is seen as a significant moral and ethical shortcoming.

Ali b. Abi Talib (AS) exposes Anas as a liar

We read in al-Ma'arif pg. 320 / 580:

أنس بن مالك كان بوجهه برص.وذكر قوم، أن عليا - رضى الله عنه- سأله عن قول رسول الله- صلى الله عليه وسلم: اللَّهمّ وال من والاه، وعاد من عاداه؟ فقال: كبرت سنّى ونسيت. فقال له علي- رضي الله عنه- إن كنت كاذبا فضربك الله، ببيضاء لا تواريها العمامة. قال أبو محمد [1] : ليس لهذا أصل

Anas b. Malik had al-baras (vitiligo) in his face. Some people mentioned that 'Ali asked him regarding the saying of the Messenger of Allah (SAW): "Oh Allah, Lead [be the Guide of] the one who accepts his leadership and be the enemy of the one who towards him has animosity." He [Anas] said: "I have grown old in age and I forgot!" So 'Ali, (AS) said to him: "If you were lying, then may Allah strike you with whiteness that shall not be hidden by a turban." Abu Muhammad said: "There is no basis for this."

We see here that ‘Ali (AS) clearly accused Anas of lying, and asked Allah to afflict him with a disease to make it clear to everyone that Anas was a liar. Our opponents would no doubt jump in joy at the last line, which would indicate that Ibn Qutayba rejected the report. We are more than delighted to bring their happiness to an end, as this line is a fabricated addition, as proven by the fact that Ibn Abi al-Hadid quoted this line in Sharh Nahj al-Balagha Vol. 10, pg. 120 without any mention of this addition:

وقد ذكر ابن قتيبة حديث البرص، والدعوة التي دعا بها أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام على أنس بن مالك في كتاب المعارف في باب البرص من أعيان الرجال، وابن قتيبة غير متهم في حق علي عليه السلام، على المشهور من انحرافه عنه.

Ibn Qutaybah mentioned the hadith of leprosy and the supplication that the Commander of the Faithful (as) made against Anas b. Malik in his Kitab Al-Ma'arif, in the section on leprosy among notable men. Ibn Qutaybah is not accused of bias against Ali (as) despite his well-known inclination away from him.

Furthermore, the editor of the Dar al-Ma’arif print of the book, (here) Dr. Tharwat ‘Akasha was clearly lying, as in the footnote he says:

[١] ب، ط، ل: «ابو الحسن» .

[1] In versions B, T, and L: "Abu al-Hasan."

Dr. ‘Akasha did us the favor of labeling the various manuscripts he worked on, and they are as follows (see here):

• Manuscript ب - Marseille manuscript # 1465, pg. 101. 

• Manuscript ط - Paris manuscript # 4833, pg. 325.

• Manuscript ل - London manuscript Folio # 118r. (see here for more info)

And as we can clearly see, none of the manuscripts have a comment from anyone following the narration, be they an Abu Muhammad or an Abu al-Hasan! Lastly, we see in the oldest available manuscript of Ibn Qutayba’s book, dated to 626 AH (See here) that this line is also missing; four different manuscripts including the oldest one do not have this line that the tradition has no basis, making it clear this was inserted later by one of our panicked opponents desperately trying to cover for Anas b. Malik.

We would also like to add that the claim that the tradition has no basis is clearly false, as we have located a few corroborating sources for it. 

We read in Ansab al-Ashraf Vol 2, pg. 386:

حَدَّثَنِي عَبَّاس بْن هِشَام الكلبي، عن أبيه، عن غِيَاثِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنِ الْمُعَلَّى بْنِ عُرْفَانَ الأَسَدِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ شَقِيقِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ: [نَشَدْتُ اللَّهَ رَجُلا سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ يَوْمَ غَدِيرِ خُمٍّ: اللَّهُمَّ وَالِ مَنْ وَالاهُ وَعَادِ مَنْ عَادَاهُ. إِلا قَامَ فشهد.]- وتحت الْمِنْبَرِ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ وَالْبَرَاءُ بْنُ عَازِبٍ، وَجَرِيرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ- فَأَعَادَهَا فَلَمْ يُجِبْهُ أحد (منهم) [فَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ كَتَمَ هَذِهِ الشَّهَادَةَ وَهوَ يَعْرِفُهَا فَلا تُخْرِجْهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى تَجْعَلَ به آية يعرف بها] . قال (أبو وائل) : فبرص أنس، وعمي البراء، ورجع جرير أعرابيا بعد هجرته، فأتى السراة فمات فِي بيت أمّه بالسراة

'Abbas b. Hisham al-Kalbi narrated to me from his father, from Ghayath b. Ibrahim, from al-Mu'alla b. 'Urfan al-Asadi, from Abu Wa'il Shaqiq b. Salama, who said: 'Ali said on the pulpit: "I call upon Allah to witness anyone who heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say on the day of Ghadir Khumm: 'O Allah, befriend whoever befriends him and oppose whoever opposes him,' to stand and testify." Anas b. Malik, al-Bara' b. 'Azib, and Jarir b. 'Abd Allah were under the pulpit, but no one responded to him. He repeated it, but no one answered. Then he said: "O Allah, whoever withholds this testimony while knowing it, do not let them leave this world until You make them a sign by which they are recognized." Abu Wa'il said: Anas became afflicted with leprosy, al-Bara' became blind, and Jarir returned to a nomadic lifestyle after his migration. He went to the region of al-Sara and died in his mother’s house in al-Sara.'

We read in Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal, Vol. 2, pg. 270 - 271, Hadith # 964:

حدثنا عبد الله، حدثنا أحمد بن عمر الوكيعي حدثنا زيد بن الحباب، حدثنا الوليد بن عقبة بن نزار القيسي ، حدثني سماك بن عبيد بن الوليد العبسي، قال: دخلت على عبد الرحمن بن أبي ليلى، فحدثني أنه شهد عليا في الرحبة قال: أنشد الله رجلا سمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وشهده يوم غدير خم إلا قام، ولا يقوم إلا من قد رآه، فقام اثنا عشر رجلا، فقالوا: قد  وسمعناه حيث أخذ بيده يقول: " اللهم وال من والاه، وعاد من عاداه، وانصر من نصره، واخذل من خذله " فقام إلا ثلاثة لم يقوموا، فدعا عليهم، فأصابتهم دعوته رأيناه

Abdullah narrated to us, Ahmad b. Umar al-Waki’i narrated to us, Zaid b. Hubab narrated to us, al-Walid b. Uqbah b. Nizar al-Qaysi narrated to us, Simak b. Ubayd b. al-Walid al-Absi narrated to me, who said: I entered upon Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Layla, and he told me that he witnessed Ali in the Rahba. Ali said: “I ask by Allah any man who heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) on the day of Ghadir Khumm, except that he should stand, and only those who saw him would stand.” Twelve men stood up and said: “We heard him as he took Ali’s hand and said: ‘O Allah, befriend those who befriend him, and oppose those who oppose him, support those who support him, and forsake those who forsake him.’” Only three men did not stand, so Ali invoked against them, and his supplication affected them, and we saw it.

We further read in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, Vol. 3, pg. 290, Hadith # 4850:

٤٨٥٠ - حدثنا إبراهيم بن نائلة الأصبهاني، ثنا إسماعيل بن عمرو البجلي، ثنا أبو إسرائيل الملائي، عن الحكم، عن أبي سليمان زيد بن وهب، عن زيد بن أرقم، قال: ناشد علي الناس في الرحبة من سمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول الذي قال له فقام ستة عشر رجلا فشهدوا أنهم سمعوا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: «اللهم من كنت مولاه فعلي مولاه، اللهم وال من والاه وعاد من عاداه» قال زيد بن أرقم: «فكنت فيمن كتم فذهب بصري، وكان علي رضي الله عنه دعا على من كتم»

4850 - Ibrahim b. Na’ilah al-Asbahani narrated to us, Isma’il b. Amr al-Bajali narrated to us, Abu Isra’il al-Malai narrated to us, from al-Hakam, from Abu Sulayman Zaid b. Wahb, from Zaid b. Arqam, who said: Ali appealed to the people in the Rahba (courtyard), asking who among them heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say what he had said to him. Sixteen men stood up and testified that they heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say: “O Allah, whoever I am his master, then Ali is his master. O Allah, befriend those who befriend him, and oppose those who oppose him.” Zaid b. Arqam said: “I was among those who concealed it, and I lost my eyesight. And Ali (AS) had prayed against those who concealed it.”

‘Aisha belittles Anas b. Malik

We read in Qubul al-Akhbar Vol. 1, pg. 191

ابن أبي خيثمة حدثنا ابن الأصبهاني، أخبرنا على بن مسهر، عن هشام بن عروة، عن أبيه، عن عائشة قالت: وما علم أنس وأبي سعيد الخدري تحديث رسول الله وإنما كانا غلامين صغيرين

Ibn Abi Khaythamah narrated to us, Ibn al-Asbahani informed us, Ali b. Mushir told us, from Hisham b. 'Urwah, from his father, from 'A'isha, who said: "What would Anas and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri know about the narrations of the Messenger of Allah? They were only two young boys."

The fisq of Anas b. Malik

We read in Qubul al-Akhbar Vol 1 pg. 191:

قال: وحدثنا هارون بن معروف، حدثنا عتاب بن بشير (4)، عن خصيف (5)، قال: كنت أطوف أنا ومجاهد فالتفت فإذا شيخ عليه جماعة، قلت: من هذا؟ . قال: أنس بن مالك، فإذا شيخ أصفر اللحية فأردت أن أعدل إليه، فأخذ مجاهد بيدى فمضى بي، وقال: دعه فإنه يشرب الطلاء.

He said: Harun b. Maruf narrated to us, saying, Atab b. Bashir told us, from Khusayf, who said: "I was performing tawaf with Mujahid when I turned and saw an elderly man surrounded by a group of people. I asked, 'Who is this?' He said, 'Anas b. Malik.' He was an old man with a yellow beard, and I wanted to go toward him, but Mujahid took my hand and led me away, saying, 'Leave him be, for he drinks tila' (a fermented drink).'"

Aslam b. Sahl al-Wasiti records (d. 292 H) in Tarikh Wasit, pg. 64:

حدثنا أسلم قال ثنا محمد بن عبد الملك قال ثنا سعد بن شعبة ابن الحجاج قال حدثني أبي قال : رأيت أنس بن مالك يشرب الطلاء على النصف

Shu’ba b. al-Hajjaj said: ‘I saw Anas b. Malik drinking alcohol.’

According to Imam Ibn Sa’ad in Tabaqat Ibn Sa’ad, Vol 9 pg. 13 famed Sahabi Anas b. Malik was fond of keeping pictures of a wolf or fox:

وكان في خاتم أنس ذئب أو ثعلب

“The ring of Anas contained the picture of a wolf or fox.”

The Tabi’in did not respect Anas b. Malik

We read in Qubul al-Akhbar Vol 1, pg. 191 - 192:

قال: وحدثنا أبو عبد الرحمن عبد الله بن محمد (6)، حدثنا جويرية (7) بن أسماء، عن نافع: أن ابن عمر كان ربما لبس المطرف الخز ثمنه خمسمائة درهم.

فقال عبد الرحمن السراج: حدثنى فلان أنه دخل على أنس بن مالك فرأى عليه جبة خز تكاد تقوم قيامًا، فغضب نافع وقال: أحدث عن ابن عمر، ويحدث عن أنس.

فقال له الضحاك بن عثمان: إنه لم يقل بأسًا إنما تثبت قولك. فقال: أحدث عن ابن عمر ويحدث عن أنس.

قالوا: حدثنا عبد الله بن جعفر (1)، حدثنا عبد الله بن عمرو (2)، عن عبد الملك، قال: رأيت أنس بن مالك يطوف بالبيت وعليه مطرف خز أصفر.

فقال عبد الله: فحدثنى عامر بن شفى (3)، عن عبد الكريم (4)، قال: فذكرت ذلك لسعيد بن جبير، فقال: أما السلف فلو رأوه أوجعوه (5).

He said: Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman ʿAbd Allah b. Muhammad narrated to us, reporting from Juwayriyah b. Asma', from Nafiʿ: Ibn ʿUmar would sometimes wear a luxurious fur cloak worth five hundred dirhams.

Then ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Sarraj said, "Someone told me that he visited Anas b. Malik and saw him wearing a fur cloak that could stand up on its own." Nafiʿ got upset and said, "I narrate from Ibn ʿUmar, and you narrate about Anas."

So al-Dahhak b. ʿUthman said to him, "He did not say anything offensive; he is only confirming what you said." But Nafiʿ replied, "I narrate from Ibn ʿUmar, and he narrates about Anas."

They said: ʿAbd Allah b. Jaʿfar narrated to us, saying, "ʿAbd Allah b. ʿAmr told us from ʿAbd al-Malik, who said, 'I saw Anas b. Malik performing tawaf around the Kaʿba wearing a yellow fur cloak.'"

Then ʿAbd Allah said, "ʿAmir b. Shafi told me from ʿAbd al-Karim, who said, 'I mentioned this to Saʿid b. Jubayr, and he said, “If the early predecessors had seen him, they would have rebuked him severely.”

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