The Doubt Regarding the “Glad Tidings of Two Ahmeds” Narration

Dar al‑Hidayah | Followers of Ahmad al‑Basri cite a report which they claim foretells the birth of two individuals named Ahmed: one born in Mecca who is a Prophet, and another born in a village in Iraq who is an Imam. They attempt to match the “one born in Iraq” to Ahmad Ismaʿil (Ahmad al‑Basri). Ahmeds.

The Claim

In al‑Ṭarīq ilā al‑Daʿwa al‑Yamāniyya (p. 27), ʿAlī Abū Raghīf writes:

“It has been mentioned in the books revealed to previous prophets that: In Mecca, a sinless man will be born whose name is Ahmed and whose kunya is Abū al‑Qāsim, and likewise in a village in Iraq. One of them is a Prophet and the other is an Imam.”

Source in Sharḥ Uṣūl al‑Kāfī

This statement is taken from the commentary of Mullā Ṣāliḥ al‑Māzandarānī on al‑Kāfī (vol. 12, p. 420), where he quotes “some eminent scholars” — identified by ʿAllāmah al‑Majlisī as al‑Fāḍil al‑Asturābādī — as saying:

“It is mentioned in the books revealed to earlier prophets that a sinless man named Ahmed, with the kunya Abū al‑Qāsim, will be born in Mecca, and likewise in a village in Iraq. One of them is a Prophet and the other is an Imam.”

The Original Ḥadīth in al‑Kāfī

Imam al‑Bāqir (peace be upon him) said:

“When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was born, a man from the People of the Book came to a group of Quraysh… He asked: ‘Has a child been born among you tonight?’ They said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘Then a boy named Ahmed has been born in Palestine, with a mark the color of dark silk, and the destruction of the People of the Book and the Jews will be at his hands…’” (al‑Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 300)

Meaning of “Palestine”

Lexicons such as al‑Qāmūs al‑Muḥīṭ, Tāj al‑ʿArūs, and Muʿjam al‑Buldan note that “Palestine” can refer both to a region in al‑Shām and to a village in Iraq.

ʿAllāmah al‑Majlisī explains that the man from the People of the Book, upon hearing no child was born in Mecca, concluded the foretold Ahmed must have been born in “Palestine” — here possibly meaning the Iraqi village, not the modern country.

Conclusion

The original narration speaks of:

• One Ahmed born in Mecca (the Prophet).
• Another in a place called Palestine (possibly a village in Iraq).

Followers of Ahmad Ismaʿil ignore the original context and wording, instead re‑casting “Palestine” as “Basra” to fit their claim. The text itself does not support their interpretation.