Authenticity of Traditions Concerning the Twelve Imams in al-Kafi

There are 20 hadiths narrated by Muhammad ibn Yaqub al-Kulayni (329 AH/ 941 CE) which indicate to the arrival of twelve Imams as the successors of the Holy Prophet, recorded in a chapter of al-Kāfī entitled as “What Have Been Narrated about Twelve Imams and Their Names”. The authenticity of these traditions, however, has been questioned by some contemporary writers. This study, first, examine the authenticity of authorship of the whole chapter, by comparing these 20 hadiths with the parallel narration in Kitab al- Ghayba by al-Nuʿmānī and then, tries to demonstrate that despite the alleged weakness of some narrators in the chain of these hadiths, most of these hadiths have been recorded before the beginning of Occultation period. As a result, even if the weakness of transmitters is accepted, the content of these narrations cannot be easily rejected or be taken as falsified or forged.