Is the narration in Bihar al-Anwar volume 19, page 271, where the Prophet allegedly referred to some well-known Companions as the brothers of the earlier prophets, considered weak? If not, what is its actual meaning?

ProphetsMeaningHadithBihar al-Anwar
Is the narration in Bihar al-Anwar volume 19, page 271, where the Prophet allegedly referred to some well-known Companions as the brothers of the earlier prophets, considered weak? If not, what is its actual meaning?


Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 6 days ago

After transcribing this narration (in which the Prophet praises certain historical personalities as brethren of the ancient prophets) on volume 19, pp. 271-272 of Bihar al-Anwar, 'Allamah al-Majlisi expresses a very dim view of its authenticity and describes it as having "signs of fabrication". Apparently, he included it to discuss it, not to preach that it is correct. 

If one's goal is to determine Shi'i belief, one can note that this narration arises through Sunni narrators, including some who were identified as fabricators of hadith, and so it is not the correct sort of narration to look at to determine what Shi'is believe. 

Insofar as this is a very specific question, one assumes that it was mentioned on some sort of polemical website (like a website aiming to prove Shi'ism is wrong), and one wonders what the point is. Was the author of that material aiming to prove Shi'ism is wrong because 'Allamah al-Majlisi included a narration saying that the Prophet praised this or that person? Obviously, the view espoused in this narration is not a normal Shi'i belief, and there are ample parts of Bihar al-Anwar to demonstrate that. So it seems that whatever might have been calling attention this is taking it out of context, and this is disingenous.