Books that the Ba'alawi were Able to Obtain
Book title: Indonesia Ulema Challenge Spurious Lineage: KH. Imaduddin Utsman al-Bantani's Refutation of the Book by Hanif Alatas et al
Title of Original / Indonesian version: Ulama Nusantara Menggugat Nasab Palsu: Jawaban KH. Imaduddin Utsman al-Bantani terhadap Buku Hanif Alatas dkk
Penulis: KH. Imaduddin Utsman Al-Bantani, pengasuh pesantren Nahdlatul Ulum, Banten
Cetakan pertama: November 2024
Publisher: Lakeisha 2024
15,6 cm X 23 cm, 691 Pages
ISBN : 978-623-119-469-5
Bidang studi: Sejarah Baalawi, sejarah Nabi, ilmu nasab, sejarah Islam, genealogi, garis keturunan, filologi/manuskrip, Tes DNA
Publisher of English version: Al-Khoirot Research and Publication
Fields of study: Ba'alawi history, history of the Prophet, science of lineage, Islamic history, genealogy, bloodline / lineage, philology/manuscripts, DNA testing
Contents
- ِBooks that the Ba'alawi were Able to Obtain
- Kitab Al-Nafhah Al-Anbariyah by Muhammad Kadzim al-Yamani (d. 880 AH)
- Kitab Tuhfat al-Thalib by Al-Samarqandi (d. 996 AH)
- Back to Book Indonesia Ulema Challenge Spurious Lineage: KH. Imaduddin Utsman al-Bantani's Refutation of the Book by Hanif Alatas et al
Books That the Ba'alwi Were Able to Obtain
Notice the writing of Hanif et al. in the book
Keabsahan Nasab Ba'alwi (The Validity of the Ba'alwi Lineage); they were only able to find a genealogical book that mentions the name
Abdullah in the 9th century AH. Prior to that, it did not exist. This is
because the Ba'alwi lineage was indeed fabricated during that 9th century.
Those
genealogical books are:
Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah (880 AH), Tuhfat al-Thalib
(996 AH), Tuhfat al-Azhar (1090 AH), Raudlat al-Albab bi Ma'rifat al-Ansab
(11th century AH), Al-Raudl al-Jaly (1205 AH), Al-Isyraf ala Ba'di Man bifaas
Min Masyahir al-Anfas (1273 AH), and Al-Mu'qibun (contemporary era).
Look
at how, after two years of searching, the Ba'alwi clan only managed to find a
book that hits a dead end at the book Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah from the 9th
century. How could the lineage of Ahmad bin Isa, who passed away in the year
345 AH, be verified (di-itsbat) by a book written 543 years after his death?
Lineage experts reject such things, as stated in the book Ushulu 'Ilmi
al-Nasab wa al-Mufadlalah Bain al-Ansab by the genealogist (Al-Nassabah) Fuad
bin Abduh bin Abil Gaits al-Jaizani:
ولا يمكننا الحديث عن النسب القديم بناءاً على ما ورد في الكتب
الحديثة المستندة إلى كلام غير منطقى أو على الذاكرة الشعبية فقط
"And it is impossible for us to speak about ancient lineage based on what is
contained in modern books that rely on illogical opinions or solely on popular
memory."
Due to the absence of lineage experts who verified the
truth regarding the figure of Ubaid/Ubaidillah/Abdullah as a child of Ahmad
bin Isa, the Ba'alwi lineage is clearly a fabricated lineage created in the
9th century AH. Similarly, the lineage of Syarif Abil Jadid is invalid because
it was created in the 8th century AH. Both of these lineages grafted
themselves onto the lineage of Ahmad bin Isa; the first to graft was Syarif
Abul Jadid, and then the Abdurrahman Assegaf Ba'alwi family grafted onto this
lineage of Syarif Abul Jadid in the 9th century AH.
To become
better acquainted with the genealogical books cited by Hanif Alatas, so that
readers understand the contents and chronology of this grafting process, the
author will explain them one by one below.
(1) Al-Nafhah Al-Anbariyah by Muhammad Kadzim al-Yamani (d. 880 AH)
This is the oldest genealogical book that the Ba'alwi were able to obtain,
namely the book Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah by Muhammad Kadzim al-Yamani, who
passed away in 880 AH.
The name Ubaid or Ubaidillah (the name of
the ancestor recorded internally by the Ba'alwi) had not yet appeared at the
end of the ninth century. Instead, there was a new name mentioned in the book
Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah by Muhammad Kadzim bin Abil Futuh al-Yamani al-Musawi
(d. 880)—that name is Abdullah bin Ahmad. From this, we can see that there is
a disconnection regarding the name Abdullah for 543 years, calculated from the
death of Ahmad bin Isa in the year 345 AH. This name Abdullah was later
grafted onto by the family of Abdurrahman Assegaf in the 9th century and
officially recorded in the genealogical book Tuhfat al-Thalib (996 AH). The
complete quotation from the book Al-Nafhah is as follows:
فهاجر الى الرس فأولد عيسى ومن ولد عيسى السيد احمد المنتقل الى
حضرموت. فمن ولده هناك السيد ابي الجديد بفتح الجيم وكسر الدال المهملة وسكون
الياء المثناة من تحت وبعدها دال القادم الى عدن في ايام المسعود بن طغتكين
بفتح الطاء المهملة وسكون الغين المعجمة وفتح التاء المثناة من فوق ونون بعد
الياء المثناة من تحت والكاف المكسورة ابن ايوب بن شاذي بفتح المثناة من الشين
وكسر الدال المعجمتين سنة احدي عشرة وستمائة فتوحش المسعود منه لامرما فقبضه
وجهزه الى ارض الهند ثم رجع الى حضرموت بعد وفاة المسعود. فمن ذريته ثمة بنو ابي
علوي وهو ابو علوي بن ابي الجديد بن علي بن محمد بن احمد bin جديد بفتح
الجيم وكسر الدال المهملة وسكون الياء المثناة من تحت ودال اخرى بعدها بن علي بن
مُحمد بن جديد بن عبد الله بن احمد بن عيسى المتقدم الذكر.
"So Muhammad an-Naqib migrated to the city of Ros, and he begot Isa, and among
the children of Isa was Sayyid Ahmad, who moved to Hadramaut. From his
descendants there was Sayyid Abul Jadid (with a fatah on the jim, kasrah on
the unpointed dal, sukun on the double-dotted ya below, followed by the letter
dal) who arrived in the city of Aden during the reign of al-Mas'ud bin
Togtokin (with a fatah on the unpointed tho, sukun on the pointed ghain, fatah
on the double-dotted ta above, a nun after the double-dotted ya below, and a
kasrah on the kaf) bin Ayub bin Syadi (with a fatah on the syin, and a kasrah
on the zdal, both letters being pointed) in the year 611. Al-Mas'ud later took
harsh action against al-Jadid due to a certain matter, so he arrested him and
prepared his transfer to the land of India, after which he returned to
Hadramaut following the death of al-Mas'ud. From the offspring of this
al-Jadid are the Bani Abu Alawi, namely Abu Alawi bin Abul Jadid bin Ali bin
Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Jadid bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Jadid bin Abdullah bin
Ahmad bin Isa, who was mentioned previously."
From the quotation
above, the author of the book Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah, Sheikh Muhammad Kadzim,
stands alone without any reference from the previously mentioned genealogical
books:
First, he stands alone regarding the relocation of Ahmad bin
Isa to Hadramaut; no genealogist or even historian mentions such a thing in
their books.
Second, he stands alone regarding the name Abdullah as
a child of Ahmad bin Isa, which only appeared 543 years after the death of his
father, Ahmad bin Isa.
Third, he stands alone regarding the lineage
sequence that mentions the Bani Abi Alawi; that lineage sequence was not
recorded at all in previous genealogical books.
Meanwhile, as the
author has previously mentioned, according to lineage experts, contemporary
genealogical books cannot be used as a source of authority for past lineages
if those books contradict preceding works. Therefore, this book Al-Nafhah
cannot serve as evidence for the lineage of Abdullah as a child of Ahmad,
because this book contradicts a 6th-century AH genealogical book, namely
Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah, which explicitly states that the children of Ahmad
bin Isa were only three: Muhammad, Ali, and Husayn. There was no child named
Abdullah.
Another matter that needs to be considered regarding the
book Al-Nafhah is the opinion of experts stating that this book cannot be used
as a reference. This is apparent from its contents, much of which was written
without valid references, and also from the perspective of its author, who was
not a lineage expert. Let us examine what lineage experts say in commenting on
this book Al-Nafhah:
The lineage expert Dr. Abdurrahman bin Majid
al-Qaraja states:
وأما صاحب النفحة العنبرية فللمرعشي النجفي رسالة فيه موجودة في
مقدمة كتاب النفحة اعتمد فيها على ما ورد في كتاب النفحة فبالتالي ليست حجة قوية
وأن كان ينتفع بها، والغالب إنه يؤخذ من أهل اليمن حاله وقد بحثت على قدر
استطاعتي فلم أجد له شيئا وقد تكون هذه مادة لكم وللاخوة في اليمن للبحث.
"As for the author of the book Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah, Al-Mar'asyi al-Najafi wrote a treatise about him. It is found in the introduction of the book Al-Nafhah. I relied upon it regarding the contents of the book Al-Nafhah. Furthermore, the book Al-Nafhah is not a strong argument (hujjah), even though benefit can still be derived from it. Most of its contents are taken from the scholars of Yemen. I have researched to the best of my ability, but I have found nothing about him. This is material for you and the brothers in Yemen to investigate."
والظاهر أن المؤلف ما كان يراجع كتب الأنساب ، بل كان يكتب عما في
خاطره وذهنه من المعلومات، وما كان يراجع المصادر المعتبرة
"It appears that the author of this book (Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah) did not
refer to genealogical books; he merely wrote down information that was present
in his mind and heart. He did not refer to authoritative (muktabar)
sources."
Abu Muawiyah al-Bairuti states:
أشهد أن صاحب «النفحة» ليس من رجال هذه المحافل، ولا فرسان هذه
الجحافل، أما علم أن الخارج عن لغته لحان، وأن الداخل في غير فَنّه يفضحه
الامتحان»
"I testify that the author of 'Al-Nafhah' is not one of the figures of these forums (the science of lineage), nor is he one of the knights of these armies (lineage experts). It is well known that he who speaks outside his language errs, and he who enters a field other than his own credential will be exposed by the test."
(2) Kitab Tuhfat al-Thalib by Al-Samarqandi (d. 996 AH)
In the book Tuhfat al-Thalib bi Ma'rifati Man Yantasibu Ila Abdillah wa
Abi Thalib, authored by Sayyid Muhammad bin al-Husain al-Samarqandi (d. 996
AH), it is stated as follows:
واما احمد بن عيسى بن محمد بن العريضي فقال ابن عنبة
ابو محمد الحسن الدلال بن مُحمد بن علي بن مُحمد بن احمد بن
عيسى الرومي من ولده وسكت عن غيره. قلت رايت في بعض التعاليق ما صورته قال
المحققون بهذا الفن من اهل اليمن وحضرموت كالامام ابن سمرة والامام الجندي
والامام الفتوحي صاحب كتاب التلخيص والامام حسين بن عبد الرحمن الاهدل والامام
ابي الحب البرعي والامام فضل بن محمد البرعي والامام محمد بن ابي بكر بن عباد
الشامي والشيخ فضل الله بن عبد الله الشجري والامام عبد الرحمن بن حسان:
خرج السيد الشريف بن عيسى ومعه ولده جمع من الاولاد والقرابات والاصحاب والخدم من
البصرة والعراق الى حضرموت واستقر مسكن ذريته واستطال فيهم بتريم بحضرموت بعد
التنقل في البلدان والتغرب عن الاوطان حكمة الملك المنان. فأولد عبد الله علويا
وعلوي اولد محمدا ومحمد اولد علويا وعلوي اولد عليا خالع قسم وعلي خالع قسم اولد
محمد صاحب مرباط واولد محمد صاحب مرباط علويا وعليا فاما علوي فله اربعة اولاد
احمد وله عقب وعبد الله ولا عقب له وعبد المالك وعقبه في الهند وعبد الرحمن وله
عقب واما علي فله الفقيه المقدم محمد وله عقب كثير
"As for Ahmad bin Isa bin Muhammad bin [Ali] al-Uraydi, Ibn Inabah said: 'Abu
Muhammad al-Hasan al-Dallal bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin
Isa ar-Rumi is from the lineage of Ahmad bin Isa.' He [Ibn Inabah] remained
silent regarding anyone other than Abu Muhammad. I [the author of Tuhfat
al-Thalib] say: I saw in some ta'liq [marginal notes written by students when
listening to a teacher's explanation] a text that reads: 'The verifiers
(al-muhaqqiqun) of this field from the people of Yemen and Hadramaut—such as
Imam Ibn Samrah, Imam al-Jundi, Imam al-Futuhi the author of at-Talkhis, Imam
Husain bin Abdurrahman al-Ahdal, Imam Abil Hubbi al-Bur'i, Imam Fadhl bin
Muhammad al-Bur'i, Imam Muhammad bin Abi Bakr bin Ibad as-Syami, Sheikh
Fadlullah bin Abdullah as-Syajari, and Imam Abdurrahman bin Hassan—stated that
Sayyid Syarif Ahmad bin Isa departed along with his son, Abdullah, in a
company of children, relatives, friends, and servants from Basra and Iraq
heading to Hadramaut. The dwelling of his descendants was then established and
extended among them in Tarim, Hadramaut, after moving through various regions
and being exiled from various homelands, by the wisdom of the King, the
All-Bestower.' Then Abdullah begot a son named Alwi, Alwi begot Muhammad,
Muhammad begot Alwi [again], Alwi begot Ali Khali' Qasam, Ali Khali' Qasam
begot Muhammad Shohib Mirbath, and Muhammad Shohib Mirbath begot Alwi and Ali.
As for Alwi, he had four children: Ahmad, who has descendants; Abdullah, who
has no descendants; Abdul Malik, whose descendants are in India; and
Abdurrahman, who has descendants. As for Ali, he begot al-Faqih al-Muqaddam
Muhammad, who has many descendants."
After being brought to light
for the first time by Sheikh Muhammad Kadzim in his book Al-Nafhah
al-Anbariyah at the end of the ninth century, the name Abdullah reappeared in
the tenth century within Kitab Tuhfat al-Thalib, 116 years after Al-Nafhah was
written.
To detail the descendants of Ahmad bin Isa, the author of
Tuhfat al-Thalib initially quotes the opinion of Ibn Inabah from the book
Umdat al-Thalib, which states that Ahmad bin Isa had descendants through his
son named Muhammad. The author of Tuhfat al-Thalib then appends the comment
"wa sakata 'an ghayrihi", meaning "and Ibn Inabah remained silent regarding
other descendants." With this sentence, the author of Tuhfah implies that
there are other names not mentioned by Ibn Inabah because Ibn Inabah did not
explicitly state the total number of Ahmad bin Isa's children. He then states,
"indeed, I found a ta'liq," which refers to a student's handwritten note made
in a book during a study session with a teacher. Contained within that ta'liq
was the structured lineage of the Ba'alwi, which was then inserted into his
book without cross-checking against earlier authoritative texts. It was from
this point onward that the Ba'alwi clan began to grow famous as descendants of
Ahmad bin Isa.
The author suspects that the writer of Tuhfah had
not yet read or did not possess Kitab al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah written by
al-Razi in the sixth century, which explicitly states that the children of
Ahmad bin Isa were only three: Muhammad, Ali, and Husayn. Had he possessed
that book, he likely would not have included the ta'liq into his work, as it
would appear highly anomalous for a scrap of paper note to contradict a formal
genealogical book written 390 years prior.
Furthermore, it cannot
be argued that this book drew its reference from Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah,
because what was recorded in Al-Nafhah was the lineage chain of the Jadid
family, who had similarly attached themselves to the family of Ahmad bin Isa.
The only genealogical book to record Jadid as a descendant of Ahmad bin Isa is
Al-Nafhah, written without any reference to a lineage text.
What is
most fascinating is that both of these lineages attached themselves externally
through grafting, yet they did so without mutual coordination. When the book
Al-Nafhah grafted Jadid, it only recounted Jadid bin Abdullah bin Ahmad bin
Isa; meanwhile, the book Tuhfat al-Thalib only recounted the family of Alwi
bin Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Isa. Yet, both families grafted themselves onto
Ahmad bin Isa through a "son" named Abdullah. Logically, the two accounts
should have corroborated each other by stating that Jadid had an older brother
named Alwi, or vice versa. However, that was not done. This is a significant
sign that both genealogies simply grafted themselves independently onto the
lineage of Ahmad bin Isa. Historical coordination between them would only take
place later on within the history and lineage books produced by Ba'alwi
scholars and their circle in subsequent eras.
Hanif Alatas et al.
also present the book Tuhfat al-Azhar, which actually exposes the internal
disarray of the Ba'alwi lineage—especially regarding the figure of Bashri, who
is claimed to have the alternative name Ismail, and Jadid, who is completely
unmentioned in Tuhfat al-Azhar, as the author has explained previously. Hanif
also presents the book Raudlat al-Albab by Abu Allamah (11th century AH) and
the forged book Al-Raudl al-Jaliy, which is claimed to be the work of Imam
Murtadla al-Zabidi (d. 1205 AH) when it was actually written by Hasan Muhammad
Qasim in the 14th century Hijriyah. Furthermore, Hanif et al. mention under
number six that Imam al-Ubaidili (d. 435 AH) noted the migration of Ahmad bin
Isa to Hadramaut; this is a false testimony, as Imam al-Ubaidili never stated
such a thing. Look into Imam al-Ubaidili's book, Tahdhib al-Ansab—there is
absolutely no information declaring that Ahmad bin Isa migrated to Hadramaut.
Finally, they cite the book Al-Isyraf by Abu Abdillah Muhammad al-Thalib
al-Maradisi al-Fasi (d. 1273 AH) and the book Al-Mu'qibun by Sheikh Mahdi
al-Raja'i (who is still living).
We can see how remarkably weak the
lineage of Abul Jadid is, which was newly recorded in a weak genealogical
text—namely Al-Nafhah, written by someone who was not a recognized lineage
expert, Muhammad Kadzim (d. 880 AH). Similarly, the Ba'alwi lineage was newly
recorded as late as the 10th century Hijriyah by the book Tuhfat al-Thalib
(996 AH), whose author openly admitted that he recorded it not based on any
genealogical reference book, but merely based on a ta'liq (a small note). From
this, we conclude that the Ba'alwi lineage suffers from a historical
disconnection spanning 651 years.
Hanif Alatas et al. also showcase
a letter of validation (itsbat) from Mahdi al-Raja'i declaring that their
lineage is authentic. Such validation letters, according to lineage experts,
carry no weight if the lineage is proven invalid within earlier, primary
genealogical books. This principle is expressed by the lineage expert Khalil
bin Ibrahim in the book Muqaddimat fi 'Ilm al-Ansab:
لا عبرة بكثرة التواقيع ان لم يكن النسب صحيحا فكثرة التواقيع خطأ
والتوقيع حجة على من وقع لا حجة على غيره لا يصحح
"No consideration is given to a large number of signatures if the lineage itself is not authentic. A multitude of signatures does not make a falsehood correct; a signature is an argument against the one who signed it, not an argument against others, and it cannot validate a lineage."[]