The Sufficient (Vol 2) · Hadith 1396 (#Ḥadīth #8)

8ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ هَارُونَ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ عَنْ مَسْعَدَةَ بْنِ صَدَقَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيهِ السَّلام) وَسُئِلَ عَنِ الْكُفْرِ وَالشِّرْكِ أَيُّهُمَا أَقْدَمُ فَقَالَ الْكُفْرُ أَقْدَمُ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ إِبْلِيسَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ كَفَرَ وَكَانَ كُفْرُهُ غَيْرَ شِرْكٍ لأنَّهُ لَمْ يَدْعُ إِلَى عِبَادَةِ غَيْرِ الله وَإِنَّمَا دَعَا إِلَى ذَلِكَ بَعْدُ فَأَشْرَكَ.

8. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Harun ibn Muslim from Mas’adah ibn Sadaqa who has said the following: “I heard Abu ‘Abdillah saying, when he was asked about disbelief and paganism which one was first, ‘Disbelief is first. Satan was the first to become an unbeliever and his disbelief was something other than al-Shirk (paganism) he did not invite to worship anyone other than Allah, he invited to such worship afterwards and thus, became a pagan.’”

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).