Al- A'mash

His name and surname were Sulayman b. Mahran al- A'mash al- Asady al- Kufi. His Kunya was Abu Mohammed. The Shi'a (khasa) and nonShi'a ('amma) agreed that he was reliable, meritorious, and great. The non-Shi'a praised him very much and acknowledged his good qualities and his Shiism. For example, in his book Mizan al- I'tida, al- Dhahaby says: "Abu Mohammed was among the reliable Imams. He was among the followers." Also he says: "Al- A'mash was just, truthful, and firm, he followed the Sunna and the Koran."

Al- A'mash reported the outstanding merits of the Commander of the Faithful (i.e. Imam 'Ali) peace be on him. The Shi'a and non- Shi'a have reported that al- Mansur asked him: "How many traditions have you memorized on the outstanding merits of 'Ali, peace be on him?" "Ten thousand traditions," he answered.

It was said that al- A'mash died in the year when al- Husayn, peace be on him, was killed, namely in the year 61 (A.H.). And he died on Rabi' Awal 25th, in the year 148 (A.H.), namely the year when al- Sadiq, peace be on him, died.

Adapted from: "Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.)"