The attention of scholars to this tradition was to the extent that they did not stop at just quoting this incident in their books; they went a step further and wrote independent books on this tradition. With this aim, they compiled chains of authorities of this report, which end with them and have fixed the channels, which they found authentic. These efforts were exerted in order to safeguard the text from destruction and interpolation. Among such writers are:
1. Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Jarir bin Yazid bin Khalid Tabari Amili, born 224 A.H. and died 310 A.H. He has written Kitabul Wilayah regarding the tradition of Ghadeer, in which he has narrated this tradition through more than seventy channels. Hamawi, in Mojamul Odba1, has mentioned in the biography of Tabari as follows:
“He wrote a book regarding the excellence of Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a.s.). In the beginning of this book, he has discussed the authenticity of traditional report of Ghadeer Khum and then mentioned the excellence of Ali, although he had not covered all the merits and in the end said:2
‘He kept away from any innovator that he came across.’”
2. Abu Abbas Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Saeed Hamadani Hafiz, alias Ibne Uqdah (d. 333 A.H.).
He has written the book of Kitabul Wilayah on the chains of narrators of tradition of Ghadeer, in which he had mentioned this tradition through 105 channels. Ibne Athir, in Usudul Ghaba and Ibne Hajar in his book of Isabah have quoted extensively from this book.
The late Allamah Amini, in his book of Al-Ghadeer3 , has mentioned sixtysix books in this regard and at the end, he says:
Regarding Ghadeer Khum, other books also exist, which will be mentioned in the discussion of the Prayer (Salaat) of Ghadeer.
كَلَّا إِنَّهَا تَذْكِرَةً فَمَنْ شَاءَ ذَكَرَهُ فِي صُحُفٍ مُكَرَّمَةٍ
“Nay! surely it is an admonishment. So let him who pleases mind it. In honored books,”4