The Covenant of the Two Heavy Things

بسم الله الواحد القهار

Sheikh As-Saduq:

QUESTION ABOUT THE TWO HEAVY THINGS ON THE RESURRECTION DAY

2-98 Muhammad ibn al-Hassan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walid - may God be pleased with him narrated that Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Saffar quoted Muhammad ibn al-Hussein ibn Abil-Khattab and Yaqoob ibn Yazid, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Sinan, on the authority of Ma’ruf ibn Kharboz, on the authority of Abil Tufayl Amer ibn Wasila, on the authority of Hudhayfah ibn Asyad al-Qaffari, “When God’s Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage we were with him. When we reached Al-Juhfa, the Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) ordered his companions to relax. Then the people all settled down. Then they said the call to prayer and the Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) said two units of prayers with his companions. Then the Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) turned towards them and told them, „The Graceful, the All-Aware has informed me that I will die and so shall you. Assume that I have answered God‘s call. I am held responsible to God regarding what I have delivered to you. Verily, I am leaving behind God’s Book and His Proof. You are held responsible for them. What would you tell your Lord? They said, „We will say that you fulfilled your mission, gave us advice, and strived. May God grant you the best reward on our behalf.?”

Then the Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) asked them, “Don’t you bear witness that there is no god but One; that I am God’s Prophet sent to you; that Paradise does exist; that Hell does exist; and that there is resurrection after death?” They replied, “We bear witness to this.”

The Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) said, “May God bear witness to what you say. I take you as witnesses and bear witness that God is my Master. I am the Master of all Muslims. Is it not true that my Mastery over the believers is more than that of their own mastery over themselves? Do you believe in this? Will you bear witness to this?” They replied, “We bear witness to this.”

Then the Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) said, “Whoever I am the Master of, Ali is the Master of.” Then he grabbed Ali's hand and raised it up along with his own hand in such a way that both their underarms could be seen. Then the Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) said, “O my God! Please be the friend of his friends and be the enemy of his enemies. Assist whoever assists him, and abandon whoever abandons him. I shall leave and you will meet me again at the Heavenly Pool later. That is a Pool whose width expands from Bosri to San’a. There are as many silver goblets in it as there are stars in the sky. Then I shall question you about what you bear witness to today when I meet you at my Pool. I will ask you what you did with the Two Heavy Things (Ath-Thaqalayn) and how you dealt with what I left behind when you meet me. “

They said, “O Messenger of God! What are the Two Heavy Things?”

The Prophet (صلی الله وعليه وآله وسلم) said, “The greater of the Two Heavy Things is the Book of the Honorable the Exalted God. It is a means that is extended from God and I towards you. One side of it is in the Hand of God and the other side is in your hands. The knowledge of the past and what is yet to come up until the arrival of the Hour is in it. And the smaller of the Two Heavy Things is equal to the Quran: It is Ali ibn Abi Talib and his Household (عليهم السلام). These Two will be inseparable until they come to me at the Heavenly Pool.”

Ma’ruf ibn Kharboz said, “I quoted this for Abi Ja’far al-Baqir (عليه السلام). Then the Imam (عليه السلام) said, „Abil Tufayl has told the truth. May God have Mercy upon him. we have seen this in Ali‘s book and we know it.”

The same tradition has been narrated by my father - may God be pleased with him - who quoted that Ali ibn Ibrahim quoted his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr.

The same tradition has been narrated by Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn Masroor - may God be pleased with him - who quoted Al-Hussein ibn Muhammad ibn Amer, on the authority of his uncle Abdullah ibn Amer, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr.

The same tradition has been narrated by Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Mutevakil - may God be pleased with him - who quoted Ali ibn al-Hussein al-Sa’ed Abady, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Aba Abdullah al-Barqy, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Sin’an, on the authority of Ma’ruf ibn Kharboz, on the authority of Abil Tufayl Amer ibn Wasila, on the authority of Hudhayfah ibn Asyad al-Qaffari.

The compiler of the book - may God increase his honor said, “There are many traditions on this issue. I have presented them in the book Al-Ma’refat fi Fazael.

Source: Al-Khisal, Vol. 1 Pg. 65-67

Attestation of the chains

As you can see the narration has been narrated through multiple chains from Ibn Abi Umayr and then from him up to Imam Al-Baqir(عليه السلام) who authenticates the narration and confirms its authenticity. The chain up to Imam Al-Baqir(عليه السلام) has the highest levels of authenticity. So when Imam Al-Baqir(عليه السلام) attests this narration, there will remain no doubt about its authenticity. 

You can check in the Rijaal Section that the narrators of the first chain for example, all of them are Trustworthy.
Using the narrator's number in the following list you can find the narrators in the Rijaal Section and check their trustworthiness:

1608: Mohammad Ibn Al-Hasan Ibn Al-Walid
1621: Mohammad Ibn Al-Hasan As-Saffar
1624: Mohammad Ibn Al-Husain Ibn Abil Khattab
2107: Ya'qub Ibn Yazeed
1538: Mohammad Ibn Abi Umayr
1068: Abdullah Ibn Sinan
1797: Ma'ruf Ibn Kharbuz

The Rest of the chain up to the Messenger of Allah(صلی الله و عليه وآله وسلم) is also reliable, because both Abil Tufayl and Hudhayfah Ibn Asyad are of the companions of the Prophet(صلی الله و عليه وآله وسلم) and of the close companions of Amiral-Muminin and Imam Al-Hasan(عليهما السلام).

The following chart shows the tree of the chains of narrators of this hadith. However it will suffice to mention the attestation of some of our scholars for this hadith without analyzing every single narrator to keep this article as short as possible.

Sayyed Al-Khoei:

This hadith has been narrated by As-Saduq(قدس سره) in the chapter of „two things“ under the title: „WILL BE QUESTIONED ABOUT THE TWO HEAVY THINGS ON THE RESURRECTION DAY“. He has narrated it through multiple chains from Abdullah Ibn Sinan from Ma’ruf Ibn Kharboz, from Abil Tufayl Amer Ibn Wasila from Hudhayfah Ibn Asyad Al-Qaffari from the Messenger of Allah(صلی الله و عليه وآله وسلم) and in the narration the testament of the Messenger of Allah(صلی الله و عليه وآله وسلم) about Ath-Thaqalayn(i.e. Two Heavy Things) has been mentioned. And that he(صلی الله و عليه وآله وسلم) says: “And the smaller of the Two Heavy Things is equal to the Quran: It is Ali ibn Abi Talib and his Household (عليهم السلام). These Two will be inseparable until they come to me at the Heavenly Pool.” And some of the chains of this narration are Sahih(i.e. authentic).

Source: Mu’jam Rijal Al-Hadith, Vol. 10 Pg. 222-223

Sayyed Mohammad Jawad Ash-Shabiri:

Sheikh As-Saduq(قدس سره) has narrated through multiple Sahih(i.e. authentic) chains up to Ibn Abi Umayr from Abdullah Ibn Sinan from Ma’ruf Ibn Kharboz, from Abil Tufayl Amer Ibn Wasila from Hudhayfah Ibn Asyad Al-Qaffari…

Footnote: I say: the last chain up to Abi Ja’far Imam Al-Baqir(عليه السلام) is highly authentic. As about the first chain through Abu Tufayl, he has been counted among the close companions of Amiral-Muminin(عليه السلام) and Hudhayfah Ibn Asyad Al-Qaffari, he has been counted in the narration of Al-Kash’shi among the disciples of Al-Hasan Ibn Ali(عليه السلام).

Source: Turathuna magazine, Ex. 21-4

Sheikh Mohammad Mumin Al-Qummi:

Among the narrations is the narration of As-Saduq in Al-Khisal through reliable chains from Ma’ruf Ibn Kharboz, from Abil Tufayl Amer Ibn Wasila from Hudhayfah Ibn Asyad Al-Qaffari…

And the narration is Sahih(i.e. authenic) as it is clear from the attestation of Imam Al-Baqir(عليه السلام).

Source: Al-Wilayah Al-Ilahiyya Al-Islamiyya, Pg. 80-82

Sheikh Hasan Abdullah Ali Al-Ajmi:

In the Sahih narration which Sheikh As-Saduq(عليه الرحمة)  has narrated through his chain from Ma’ruf Ibn Kharboz, from Abil Tufayl Amer Ibn Wasila from Hudhayfah Ibn Asyad Al-Qaffari…

Source: Ar-Radd An-Nafees Alaa Abatil Uthman Al-Khamees, Vol. 1 Pg. 176-177