Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā, Abū Jaʿfar al-Ashʿarī, was a Shiʿi traditionist of the 3rd/9th century. According to the report given by al-Najāshī (p. 338), his father, Abū ʿAlī Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā, who was given the titles of ‘Shaykh al-Qummiyyīn’ and ‘Wajh al-Ashāʿira’, had studied ḥadīth with Imam ʿAlī b. Mūsā al-Riḍā and transmitted reports from the latter’s son, Imam Muḥammad al-Jawād; he enjoyed a position of eminence in the court of the ‘sultan’ (probably the governor of Qumm), and was the author of a work entitled al-Khuṭab.

Little is known of the l…