An elite person in the 2nd century A. H. was Abdulmalik ibn–e A´yan, the brother of the famous hadith relator, Zuraraht– ibn–e A´yan. Although he has been highly praised by Imam– Jáfar as –
Sadigh and various other Sunni and Shi´i scholars, ibn–e A´yan has remained unknown to some religious biographers. Although the present article is not a biographical investigation, it tries to shed light on the dark corners of ibn–e A´yan’slife,and examine the reasons for his undermining by a number of Sunni genealogists. The article has also tried to give a relatively complete account of ibn–e A´yan’s genealogy.
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