Sulaym ibn Qays (Arabic: سليم بن قيس) was one of the purported companions of Ali. Sulaym was not only a companion of Imam Ali but he was also a loyal companion of Imam Hasan, Imam Husain, Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, and Imam Muhammad al-Baqir. He has a well-known book known as The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays. Sunni scholarship view Sulaym as "an anti-Umayyad" because of his love for the Ahl al-Bayt and documentation of the Event of Saqifah (where Abu Bakr forcefully took leadership away from Imam Ali) in his book.
Birth
Sulaym ibn Qays was born near the place where Kufa was built later. His father was Qays. Hence ibn Qays, son of Qays
Death
The year in which Sulaym's passed away is debated. Some say he passed away in 70 AH (689 AD) or 76 AH (695 AD). While, others say that Sulaym passed away in between the years 80 to 90 AH (699-708 AD)
Sulaym's Book
Sulaym would document many aspects pertaining to teachings and experiences with Imam Ali and the Ahl al-Bayt. He collected information such as Imam Ali's sermon in the mosque of Kufa. After the martyrdom of Imam Ali, Sulaym remained in Kufa during Mu'awiyah's era. Sulaym kept compiling works and documenting the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt.
In 694 AD, Sulaym ibn Qays fled to Persia with his writings because Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, a tyrannical governor who was killing the companions of Imam Ali, became the governor of Kufa. In Persia, Sulaym stayed in Nobandegan. There he found a fifteen-year-old boy, by the name of Aban ibn abi-Ayyash. He became rather fond of him and started to educate him about the teaching of the Ahl al-Bayt. Through Sulaym, Aban became a Shi'a. Eventually, Sulaym entrusted all of his writings that he had compiled to Aban. Aban had made a solemn oath not to talk of any of the writings during Sulaym’s lifetime and that after his death he would give the book only to trustworthy Shi'a of Ali.
The book became known as The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays. It is a collection of traditions, teachings, and eye witness accounts of events that occurred in history. The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays is the earliest/oldest book pertaining to the collection of hadith, which was composed in the first Islamic century after the Prophet Muhammad passed away. It is older than al-Kafi, Sahih al-Bukhari, and the other books on hadith.
In his book, Sulaym documents Prophetic traditions concerning Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi. He documents that Prophet Muhammad had promised his followers about a man from the lineage of Imam Husain who would purify Islam by remove innovations (distortion of Quranic interpretation and Prophetic traditions "Hadiths"). Sulaym is also one of the first to document the political divide amongst Muslims after the passing away of Prophet Muhammad. And how certain figures in Islam distorted Prophetic traditions in order to gain power. One of the events Sulaym documents is the event of Saqifah in which Abu Bakr forcefully striped the rightful leadership of Imam Ali. For instance, Sulaym documents that Salman al-Muhammadi, Miqdad ibn Aswad, Ammar ibn Yasir, Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Abu al-Haytham ibn Tayhan, Khuzaymah ibn Thabit, and Abu Ayyub stated that Prophet Muhammad at Ghadir Khumm said,
"O people, the legal power (al-Wilaya) is granted only to Ali ibn Abi Talib and the trustees from my progeny, the decedents of my brother Ali. He will be the first, and his two sons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, will succeed him consecutively. They will not separate themselves from the Qur'an until they return to Allah."
Most of Sulaym's work is attributed to Prophet Muhammad.
Ibn al-Nadim says and later investigation shows his book is "the oldest surviving Shi`ite book" which is written in the first Islamic century
Sulyam is honored by many Muslims around the world for preserving the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt.
Authenticity of the book
At fifteen years of age, Aban met Sulaym ibn Qays who taught him about Shi'a Islam. Eventually, he was entrusted with the book of Sulaym ibn Qays.
After the Battle of Karbala, when he was starting to get old, he went to Shiraz. After that, he went to Basra where he met Hasan al-Basri and asked him about the authenticity of the book. Hasan answered "it’s all true". Aban then went to Mecca where he talked to Sahabas and Taba'een, and all agreed to the events as portrayed in the book. He was still unsure about some of the more explicit parts of the book, so he took it to the Shi'a Imam Ali ibn Hussain(as), whom happened to be in Mecca that year.
Two old Sahaba were accompanying Ali ibn Hussain(as): Abu Tufail and Umar ibn Abi-Salman. Ali ibn Hussain(as) told one of the Sahabas to read it for him. For three days, they did nothing but read the book, and at the end Ali ibn Hussain(as) declared the content authentic. Aban became a known and prominent Sahaba to Ali ibn Hussain(as), and then to the following two Shi'a Imams: Mohammad Baqir ibn Ali(asws) and Ja'far al-Sadiq ibn Mohammad Baqir(asws).
1) In the book Muqhtasir Al Basaer, it is written that Abaan bin abi Ayaash read Sulaims book " Israr-e-Imamat" to Imam Zain al Abedeen(as) in front of His other companions like Abu Tufail. Imam Zain al Abedeen(as) attested that it is from our Sahih hadith.
2) Abu Sadiq Sulaim remained in the company of Imam Ali (as) , Imam Hassan (as) , Imam Husain (as) and Imam Zain al Abedeen (as)
3) This book was read in front of Imam Muhammad al Baqir (as), who wept and said, Sulaim has spoken the truth.
4) Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) has said the following about his book: " The book of Sulaim is the base of a shia and its one of the secrets of Aal-e-Muhammad s.a.w "
Arguing on the isnad don't work with this particular book
Why ? Simply because it's well known that the content of this early book had the opportunity
to be reviewed by our Masumeen Imams
so we don't need more
this is the only hadith book we can trust without giving to much care to the Isnad
since our Imams (as) stated unanimously on his authencity... Wassalaam!
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