Dar al-Hedayah | Nazim al-Uqaili, one of the official representatives of the claimant Yamani, authored a book titled “Forty Hadiths Regarding the Mahdiyyin and the Children of the Qa’im (as)” to prove his faction’s belief in the existence of 12 Imams from the descendants of Imam al-Mahdi (aj). In this book, he claims to cite forty hadiths proving the twelve Imams after Imam al-Mahdi (aj). He asserts:

Nazim’s Claims Regarding the “Mahdiyyin”:

1. Imamate is not confined to twelve Imams.

2. The “Mahdiyyin” after Imam al-Zaman (aj) hold the station of succession (wisayah) and Imamate.

3. The “Mahdiyyin” are the very progeny and children of Imam al-Zaman (aj).

 The Third Narration of the “Mahdiyyin” Book

Another narration that Nazim al-Uqaili cites in his book as the third hadith to prove his three claims is the following:

عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ (ع) أَنَّهُ قَالَ: يَقُومُ الْقَائِمُ مِنَّا (يَعْنِي الْمَهْدِيَّ) ثُمَّ يَكُونُ بَعْدَهُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ مَهْدِيًّا (يَعْنِي مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ).

Translation: From Ali ibn al-Husayn (as) that he said: “The Qa’im from among us (meaning al-Mahdi) will rise, then after him there will be twelve Mahdiyyin (meaning from the Imams from his progeny).”

*Sharh al-Akhbar, Vol. 3, p. 400*

 Critique and Examination

First Point: A Completely Unsupported Narration

This narration is reported in the book “Sharh al-Akhbar” by al-Qadi al-Nu’man without any chain of transmission (sanad).

• Al-Qadi al-Nu’man was an Ismaili who died in 363 AH.

• Imam al-Sajjad (as) was martyred in 95 AH.

• This means there is a temporal gap of approximately 250 years between the narrator (al-Qadi al-Nu’man) and the speaker of the narration (Imam al-Sajjad (as)), with no connecting chain. Such a report has no value as evidence in Islamic hadith sciences.

Second Point: The Explanatory Parenthesis is Not Part of the Hadith

The phrase (meaning from the Imams from his progeny) is not part of the hadith. It is an explanatory addition by al-Qadi al-Nu’man following the narration. Therefore, what is understood from the core text of the narration is only the existence of twelve “Mahdiyyin” after the Qa’im (as), with no explanation of who they are.

Third Point: The Source is an Ismaili Book

This narration is exclusively found in “Sharh al-Akhbar,” which is among the narrative sources of the Ismaili sect. The Ismailis believe in a different “Mahdi” (often the Fatimid caliphs) and ascribe children to him. Therefore, a narration from an Ismaili source that contradicts fundamental Twelver Shi’a beliefs holds no authority as proof for Shi’as.

Fourth Point: The Author’s Background and Agenda

Al-Qadi al-Nu’man was one of the founders and legislators of the Ismaili Fatimid sect. According to reports, he wrote nothing without referring to his Imams (i.e., the Fatimid scholars). Shi’a authors call him the “Shi’a Abu Hanifah.”

• He served the first Fatimid Ismaili caliph, al-Mahdi bi’llah, for 9 years.

• He held the position of judge in Tripoli under the second caliph and became the judge of Mansuriyyah under the third.

• He reached the highest position of “Chief Judge and Chief Da’i” under the fourth caliph.

• Although Allamah Majlisi mentions he later became a Twelver Shi’a, his books were written during his Ismaili period, and all of them were composed under the supervision of Ismaili Imams.

Crucially, al-Qadi al-Nu’man’s intended meaning of “Mahdiyyin” in Sharh al-Akhbar was the Fatimid caliphs themselves. Therefore, it is absolutely impermissible to use his book as evidence for a critical matter of doctrinal belief, aside from all the other issues with the chain and meaning.

Fifth Point: Mistranslation and Manipulation by the Sect’s Translator

The translator of Nazim al-Uqaili’s book performs a clear manipulation. Look at his translation:

Original Arabic with al-Nu’man’s explanation: (يَعْنِي مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ)
His Translation: “(meaning the Mahdiyyin, from the progeny of Imam al-Mahdi (as))”

This is a blatant distortion:

1. The Arabic phrase says “from the Imams” (min al-a’imma). The translator omits the word “Imams” entirely.

2. The phrase does not contain the word “Mahdiyyin.” The translator adds it to create a direct link.

3. He changes “his progeny” to “the progeny of Imam al-Mahdi,” further forcing the interpretation.

The accurate translation of al-Nu’man’s explanation is simply: “(meaning from the Imams from his progeny).” This manipulation exposes the desperation to make the text fit a pre-conceived doctrine.

 Conclusion: A Worthless “Proof” from a Hostile Source

The third narration presented by Nazim al-Uqaili is devoid of any evidential value for several decisive reasons:

1. No Chain: It is transmitted without any chain of narrators.

2. Late Ismaili Source: It appears only in a book authored by a leading Ismaili figure during the height of the Fatimid state, a sect whose beliefs about the Mahdi fundamentally oppose Twelver Shi’ism.

3. Author’s Intent: The author himself understood the “Mahdiyyin” to be the Fatimid caliphs, not the children of Imam al-Mahdi al-Muntazar (aj).

4. Textual Manipulation: The followers further distort the text through mistranslation, adding words that aren’t there to fabricate a connection.

This so-called “hadith” cannot serve as evidence for anything in Twelver Shi’a belief, let alone for an innovative doctrine that seeks to add twelve new Imams after the Seal of the Successors, Imam al-Mahdi (aj). Reliance on such a source only demonstrates the intellectual bankruptcy and doctrinal desperation of the claimant Yamani’s faction.