The Renewers of the Fourth Century AH

Al-Zulaf:
41 – And by the two Hashimite brothers, Ahmad… and Yahya, from whose lineage the marvels sprang
Al-Tuhaf:
They are the two Imams, the renewers of the fourth century:
1 – Imam al-Mu’ayyad bi-Allah (as)
Imam al-Mu’ayyad bi-Allah Abu al-Hussein Ahmad ibn al-Hussein ibn Harun ibn al-Hussein ibn Muhammad ibn Harun ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn al-Hasan ibn Zayd ibn al-Hasan al-Sibt ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon them all.
He called in the year 380 AH. Imam al-Mansur Billah Abdullah ibn Hamza, peace be upon him, said: “He had no equal in his time in knowledge and virtue, asceticism and worship, forbearance and generosity, courage and piety. There remained no branch of worldly or religious knowledge in which he had not attained the fullest share and secured the greatest portion.”
Among the scholars who pledged allegiance to him were the Chief Justice, Abd al-Jabbar—with his vast knowledge, lofty status,
and mastery of various fields of knowledge—as well as al-Kafi al-Kafa’ah, al-Sahib ibn Abbad.
He and his brother, the Imam An-Natiq bil-Haqq, authored brilliant works and luminous, radiant treatises, including, for the Imam al-Mu’ayyad bi-Allah:
a book in which he elucidates the miraculous nature of the Qur’an and other miracles, published under the title Proof of the Prophethood of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family; The Book of Prophecies and Etiquette in the Science of Theology; The Book of Al-Bulgha; The Book of Al-Iffada; The Book of Al-Hawsimiyat; The Book of Al-Ziyadat*; and The Book of Al-Tafri’at in Jurisprudence;
Kitab al-Tabsira; Al-Amali al-Sughra; and Al-Tajrid and its commentary in four volumes—which is a commentary on the fatwas of Imam al-Qasim and Imam al-Hadi, peace be upon them; in it, he presents their statements and then elaborates on the evidence for them from the Quran, the Sunnah, analogy, and consensus. It is one of the most authoritative works of Ahl al-Bayt in this field—and Siyasat al-Muridin.
Imam al-Mu’ayyad billah, peace be upon him, passed away on the Day of ‘Arafah in the year 411, and was buried on the Day of Eid al-Adha. Imam Manqadim led the funeral prayer for him at his shrine in “Lanja,” saying:
عَرِّجْ على قبرٍ بصعدة … وابكِ مَرْموساً بلنجا
Make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Imam al-Hadi in Sa’da to pray for mercy upon him, and weep with reverence and loyalty for Imam al-Mu’ayyad Billah, who is buried in the land of Lanja.
واعلمْ بأنَّ المقتدي … بهما سيبلغ ما ترجَّا
And be certain that whoever follows these two great Imams and walks in their path will attain his goal and achieve all that he hopes and desires in terms of success and salvation.
He lived to be seventy-seven years old, and his son was Abu al-Qasim al-Hussein.

2- Imam Abu Talib (peace be upon him)
And Imam Abu Talib Yahya ibn al-Hussein ibn Harun ibn al-Hussein ibn Muhammad ibn Harun ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn al-Hasan ibn Zaid ibn al-Hasan al-Sibt ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib, peace be upon him
He, peace be upon him, rose after the death of his brother, Imam al-Mu’ayyad bi-Allah.
Al-Hakim said in describing some of his works: “He possesses a radiance of divine light and a spark of the Prophet’s words.”
Some of his followers said when he pledged allegiance:
سَرَّ النبوَّةَ والنَّبِيَّا … وزها الوصيَّة والوصيا
أن الدَّيَالِمَ بايَعَتْ … يحيى بن هارون الرَّضِيَّا
“it has glorified the station of prophethood and brought joy to the Prophet Muhammad, and it has added splendor and radiance to the covenant of the will and to Ali, the trustee, when the tribes of Daylam declared their allegiance and obedience to the acceptable and approved Imam, Yahya ibn al-Husayn ibn Harun.”
Among his works are: Al-Mujzi fi Usul al-Fiqh (two volumes), which is considered a foundational text; Kitab Jami’ al-Adilla fi Usul al-Fiqh; Kitab al-Tahrir and its commentary (twelve volumes); Kitab Mubadi’ al-Adilla fi al-Kalam; Kitab al-Dama’ah; and Kitab al-Ifada fi Tarikh al-A’imma al-Sada; and Al-Amali, which is well-known in Hadith, and he has other works as well.
Imam Abu Talib said in his book Sharh Kitab al-Baligh al-Madrak—by the Greatest Imam, the Guide to the Straightest Truth, Yahya ibn al-Hussein, peace be upon him, in his “Explanation of the Statement of Imam al-Hadi”: “It is obligatory upon the adult of sound mind”—after explaining the linguistic meanings of ‘obligation’—and the meaning:
Allah has made it obligatory upon the adult of sound mind.” He added: “The definite article ‘al-’ was used to denote the entirety of the category,” then he divided what is found in Arabic into “khabar” (report) and “insha’” (declaration).
He then said: “A report is any sentence in which both truth and falsehood are valid.” He then explained their categories and meanings, and said—in his commentary on the phrase: “And those who were on the lookout appeared”—meaning those who were watching for the rise of the people of falsehood among the scholars who had turned toward their worldly lives… up to his statement: “And they seized the opportunity, establishing schools of thought for them.”
Imam al-Hadi, peace be upon him, said: “Among these reports are some that are abrogated in their origin, and others that are general in their wording but specific in their meaning.”
He continued: “Among them are some that were narrated as mursal—without evidence or clarification for those who reflect upon them—and others that were falsely attributed to narrators in their books.”
Imam Abu Talib—after explaining the Imam’s words—said: “As for the mursal narration without evidence, it is what the scholars of hadith mentioned in their books; they selected hadiths from what they had written in the two books, which they named the Sahihs: Sahih al-Bukhari, by Muhammad ibn Isma‘il al-J‘afi al-Bukhari, and Sahih Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri.”
I said: He did not mean the term “mursal” as it is understood by the scholars of hadith, but rather what has not been established by proof, as mentioned by him, peace be upon him.
He then continued his explanation of this until he said: “Indeed, we have learned in our time and witnessed—and more than one person from the Shafi’i and Hanafi schools has conveyed to us—the scrutiny applied to the branches of the law, the thorough examination of the evidence therein, and the strictness in that regard…” …until he said: “They made a simple statement regarding one who bought twenty eggs and found one with a crack in it, and regarding one who bought a sheep with a broken leg, they raised issues that filled pages, exceeding the bounds of verbosity and exaggeration. But when they came to matters of the fundamentals, and mentioned their evidence and explained what Allah, in His greatness, has made clear… . until he said: “I found them mute, uttering nothing but a whisper.”
Imam Abu Talib narrated reports from the sources of the people, then said: Know that what prompted us to mention these reports—even though they were transmitted to us by trustworthy sources among our Imams, peace be upon them, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his Household, and the scholars of justice and monotheism—was the rejection by their jurists of “rational proofs” and the reliance upon them in interpreting the ambiguous verses of the Qur’an and the hadiths.
Al-Hadi said in Al-Fatrah: “And in it are his books and his proofs, and the remnants of the people of knowledge.” Imam Abu Talib said in his commentary: “They are the people of the Shari’ah—the jurists of the ummah, the successors of the Imams, and those who dispel darkness.”
He went on to say in his exhortation to seek knowledge: “And especially the Arabic language, for it is most deserving of study, due to what is connected to its knowledge—namely, names and meanings; the distinction between speech in the pre-Islamic era and in Islam; all rulings, obligatory duties, and Sunnahs; the order of words; elaboration and detail; the facts and the concise in reports and inquiries; commands and prohibitions; and sermons and proclamations.”
He even said: “Proverbs, supplications, questions, wishes, debates, allusions, anecdotes, and other branches of knowledge.”
He then quoted the words of al-Wasi (may Allah’s prayers be upon him): “Scholars will endure as long as time endures; their physical forms may be lost, but their examples remain in the hearts…” and so on.
God took his soul in the year 424, at the age of just over eighty.
He had one son: Abu Hashim Muhammad, who had no descendants.