Abul Hasan Ali ibn Asbat ibn Salem, known as Ali ibn Asbat, was one of the Shia narrators and companions of Ali al-Rida and Muhammad al-Jawad. He was native of Kufa from the Kindah tribe[1] and narrated from Ali al-Rida and also from narrators such as Jamil ibn Darraj, Husayn ibn Zararah and Muhammad ibn Sinan. People like Musa ibn Jafar Baghdadi and Muhammad ibn Hussain ibn Abi al-Khattab narrated from him.[2] [3]
Ali ibn Asbat was a Muhaddith, Qāriʾ and Shia commentator. His father, Asbat ibn Salem was from the Kinda tribe and one of the narrators of ja'far al-Sadiq and Musa al-Kazim. His brother Hussain ibn Asbat was the narrator of Ali al-Ridha and his uncle Yaqub ibn Salem al-Ahmar was a reliable and trustworthy narrator.
According to the scholars of Rijal, Ali ibn Asbat was also one of the companions and narrators of Muhammad al-Jawad. He learned jurisprudence and hadith from Ali al-Ridha and Muhammad al-Jawad.
His hadiths from Ali al-Ridha are related to various jurisprudential issues, such as certainty, humility, sins, buying and selling, Salat al-Istikharah, interpretation of some Quran verses etc.[4]
Ali ibn Asbat narrated hadith from people such as Asbat ibn Salem (his father), Yaqub bin Salem (his uncle), Abd aullah ibn Bakir, Abd aullah ibn Sinan, Abd Allah ibn al-Mughira, Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Faddal, Ali ibn Abi Hamza al-Bata'ini, and many others. Because Hussein bin Asbat (his brother), Al-Hasan ibn Musa al-Khashshab, Musa bin Qasim Bijli, Abd al-Azim al-Hasani and others have narrated narrations from him.[5]
Ibn Asbat belonged to the Fathites and there are two opinions about his change of religion and belief:
Some have said that Ali ibn Mahziar Ahvazi wrote a treatise rejecting al-Asbat's religion and called him to the truth, but it was not effective.[6]
Some others say that letters were exchanged between Ali ibn Asbat and Ali ibn Mahziar about al-Asbat religion until he met al-Jawad, and there he changed his Fathite belief.[7]
His works include: Tafsir Al-Qur'an, Al-Dilael, Al-Nawader and Al-Mazar.[8]
There is no information about the exact time of Ali bin Asbat's death, but he was alive until the middle of the third century.[9]
He probably died after 230 AD.[10]