A Study on Ḍaḥḍāḥ Traditions

In some Sunnī ḥadīth sources there are traditions related about the disbelief of Abū Ṭālib which are known as ḍaḥḍāḥ traditions. It is clarified by examining the sanad of these traditions that they are not valid in sanad as well as being contradictory with one another in content. On the other hand, the content of these traditions contradicts the verses of the Qur'ān that assert: the punishment of the disbelievers shall not be lightened and the intercession of others will not avail them.Similarly, they are in conflict with the Islamic traditions that say: the Prophet's intercession will only include the Muslims. Apart from that, considering the historical facts such as: Fāṭima daughter of Asad being a Muslim and that she had been the eleventh Muslim, having sworn allegiance to the Prophet, and having remained Abū Ṭālib's wife till the end of her life; the Prophet having ordered to perform funeral ablution (ghusl) for Abū Ṭālib's body; and that Mu‘āwiya has not made use of these traditions as weak points of the household of ‘Alī (A.S.), all indicate that ḍaḥḍāḥ traditions have not been issued by the Prophet (S.A.W.). Furthermore, in respect to the intense rivalry between the Abbasids and the household of ‘Alī (A.S.), the all-out efforts of the Abbasids to eliminate the household of ‘Alī (A.S.) from the political arena, the violent conflict of Manṣūr Dawāniqī with the household of ‘Alī (A.S.), and the historical documents, there remains no doubt that these traditions have been fabricated in the Abbasid period by Manṣūr Dawāniqī.