Authenticity of Interpretation Attributed to Imam Hassan Askari
According to Ayatollah Ali Akbar Seyfi Mazandarani, though, there are two reasons proving its authenticity.
Ayatollah Seyfi Mazandarani made the remark in a speech at a Quran interpretation session, excerpts from which are as follows:
In Tafsir (Quran interpretation), we have the issue of credibility and authenticity of every narration. There is a Quran interpretation attributed to Imam Hassan Askari (AS) that has reached us. It contains the interpretation of the Quran up to the final verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. Some have raised doubts about its attribution of Imam Hassan Askari (AS).
However, the main reason we believe it is authentic is that a person named Mohammad ibn Qassem Astarabadi, known as Mufassir, has collected it. Astarabad is a region in Gorgan in the north of Iran. Astarabadi is a credible individual in history.
He himself cites from two narrators who have cited these narrations from the Imam (AS). He describes them as Imamiya Shias, a description that denotes praise.
An important point here is that there is another reason for assurance and that is the fact that Sheikh al-Saduq has referred to many Hadiths from this book in all of his works.
Late Sheikh al-Saduq was a prominent scholar who lived near the time when Imam Hassan Askari (AS) lived. His father was also among the close companions of the Imam (AS).
If there had been a doubt about the authenticity of the book, it would not have been overlooked by Sheikh al-Saduq, who was a Hadith specialist. It is a fact that he has trusted the work and cited from it frequently. These are signs based on which we say the narrations of Askari (AS) interpretation are authentic and we use them in our interpretation.
