Al-Mufid doubted that all the imams were murdered?

Question:

Did Al-Mufid doubt the murder of some infallibles (a.)?

Answer:

Abu Abdillah Al-Mufid writes: ” As for the aforementioned of Abu Ja’far As-Saduq, God have mercy on him, concerning, that our Prophet (s.) and the Imams (a.) died by poisoning and murder, there are those of them where it was confirmed and those where it was found unconfirmed. What is certain is that the commander of the faithful, Al-Hasan and Al-Husain (a.) left this world by murder and none of them died naturally. After them, Musa Ibn Ja’far (a.) passed away poisoned and in itself the matter of Imam Ar-Rida (a.) is strong, even if there is doubt about it. However, there is no way to judge the rest of them that they have been poisoned, murdered or perseveringly killed. Therefore, the report shows that there is some uncertainty and there is no way to be certain.” [Tashih I’tiqadat Al-Imamiyyah, pp. 131-132]

قال الشيخ المفيد رحمه الله: فأما ما ذكره أبو جعفر رحمه الله من مضي نبينا والأئمة عليهم السلام بالسم والقتل، فمنه ما ثبت، ومنه ما لم يثبت، والمقطوع به أن أمير المؤمنين والحسن والحسين عليهم السلام خرجوا من الدنيا بالقتل ولم يمت أحدهم حتف أنفه، وممن مضى بعدهم مسموما موسى بن جعفر عليه السلام ويقوى في النفس أمر الرضا عليه السلام وإن كان فيه شك، فلا طريق إلى الحكم فيمن عداهم بأنهم سموا أو اغتيلوا أو قتلوا صبرا، فالخبر بذلك يجري مجرى الإرجاف، وليس إلى تيقنه سبيل

Comment:

Muhammad Baqir Al-Majlisi writes: “Through the generally numerous reports proving their murder and the specific narratives proving the martyrdom of most of them as well as the way in which it happened, as i mentioned it in the chapters on history and their (a.) death, there is no way to reject this matter and feel uncertain about it. Yes, with the exception of the Commander of the Faithful, Fatimah, Al-Hasan, Al-Husain, Musa Ibn Ja’far and Ali Ibn Musa (a.), there are no reports which are multiple and uninterrupted (Mutawatir) and which therefore leads to dogmatism with regards the events. Rather, the strong assumption of it is transmitted , whereby there is no evidence to the contrary, and the similar reports about their circumstances and the circumstances of their enemies bear witness to this matter, and especially to those among them who died in their custody or by their hand, and it may be that Al-Mufid, God be merciful to him, merely rejected that the reports are multiple and uninterrupted (Mutawatir) and dogmatically grounded, and that he did not reject the reports per se.” [Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 27 page 216]

قال شيخ الإسلام المجلسي رضي الله عنه: مع ورود الاخبار الكثيرة الدالة عموما على هذا الامر والاخبار المخصوصة الدالة على شهادة أكثرهم وكيفيتها كما سيأتي في أبواب تواريخ وفاتهم عليهم السلام, لا سبيل إلى الحكم برده وكونه من الارجاف, نعم ليس فيمن سوى أمير المؤمنين وفاطمة والحسن والحسين وموسى بن جعفر وعلي بن موسى عليهم السلام أخبار متواترة توجب القطع بوقوعه, بل إنما تورث الظن القوي بذلك, ولم يقم دليل على نفيه, وقرآئن أحوالهم وأحوال مخالفيهم شاهدة بذلك, لا سيما فيمن مات منهم في حبسهم وتحت يدهم, ولعل مراده رحمه الله أيضا نفي التواتر والقطع لا رد الاخبار