Analysis of the Role of a Common Link in identification of the Sources of the Narrative Works; A Case Study of Ali b. Ibrahim's Narrations in al-Kafi

A common link is a narrator whose name is repeated in the isnads of hadiths. It has an effective role in identifying the sources of a narrative work and should be seriously considered in the isnad analysis. So, in this article, first, a systematical model was proposed for identifying the sources of narrative works. This pattern is based on analyzing the role of a common link in isnads and using other effective components. Then it was used in discovering the sources of the narratives of "Ali ibn Ibrahim from his father from Muhammad b. Abi Umayr from Hammad b. Uthman from Halabi from Imam Sadiq (AS)"; this is one of the most repetitive Isnads in al-Kafi. The results of this study are first, the development of the mentioned pattern based on the common links for finding the sources of narrative works, and second, identification of the sources of Koleyni in a repetitive isnad of the al-Kafi traditions by using its four common links, namely Ali b. Ibrahim, Ibrahim b. Hashim, Ibn Abi Umayr, and Hammad b. Uthman and analyzing their roles.