Hadith 32-10

حَدَّثَنا أَبُو العَبَّاسِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِبْراهيمِ بْنِ إِسْحاق الطَّالِقانِيُّ رَضِىَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قالَ: حَدَّثَنا أَحْمَدِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سَعِيدُ الكُوفِيّ قالَ: حَدَّثَنا عَلِىِّ بْنِ الحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِىِّ بْنِ فضال، عَنْ أَبيهِ قالَ: قُلْتُ لِلرِّضَا عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ لِمَ سُمِّيَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ الْحَوَارِيِّينَ قَالَ أَمَّا عِنْدَ النَّاسِ فَإِنَّهُمْ سُمُّوْا حَوَارِيِّينَ لانَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَصَّارِينَ يُخَلِّصُونَ الثِّيَابَ مِنَ الْوَسَخِ بِالْغَسْلِ وَهُوَاسْمٌ مُشْتَقٌّ مِنَ الْخُبْزِ الْحُوَّارَى وَأَمَّا عِنْدَنَا فَسُمِّيَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ حَوَارِيِّينَ لانَّهُمْ كَانُوا مُخْلَصِينَ فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَمُخْلِصِينَ لِغَيْرِهِمْ مِنْ أَوْسَاخِ الذُّنُوبِ بِالْوَعْظِ وَالتَّذْكِيرِ قَالَ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ فَلِمَ سُمِّيَ النَّصَارَى نَصَارَى قَالَ لانَّهُمْ مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ اسْمُهَا نَاصِرَةُ مِنْ بِلادِ الشَّامِ نَزَلَتْهَا مَرْيَمُ وَعِيسَى‏ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ بَعْدَ رُجُوعِهِمَا مِنْ مِصْرَ.

Abul Abbas Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Taleqani - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Sa’eed al-Kufi quoted on the authority of Ali ibn Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Fadhdhal, on the authority of his father, ‘I asked Abil Hassan Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.): Why were the disciples (of Jesus) called the Hawariyoon? He (a.s.) said, ‘They were called the Hawariyoon by the people since they used to wash clothes. They cleansed the filth and dirt from clothes. Another reason is that the word Hawariyoon is derived from the word Hawar (bread) that is a form of bread made with sieved flour. We call them this because they cleansed themselves and others by means of the advice they gave.’ Ali ibn Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Fadhdhal asked, ‘Why were the Christians called the Nasara. The Imam (a.s.) said, ‘Since they came from a town called Nasereh that was one of the towns in Syria. After Mary (a.s.) and Jesus (a.s.) returned from Egypt, they settled down there.’”