Book Reviews
‘Words of the Master of Arabs’ – A Newly Published Masterpiece
Kalimāt Sayyid al-ʿArab Abī al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a) is a newly published work by the 4/5th century scholar al-Sharīf Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn Ṭāhir al-Jaʿfarī al-Zaynabī al-Isfahānī (also known as al-Ashraf al-Jaʿfarī). It was published by al-ʿAllāmah al-Majlisī Library in Qum. Being similar to Nahj al-Balāghah and written in Iran in about the … Continue reading
Common Sense and Ḥadīth – A Look at Modarressi’s Text and Interpretation
The latest addition to Hossein Modarressi’s oeuvre, which was much anticipated, unfortunately failed to impress. It was nothing close to his Crisis and Consolidation which was undoubtedly paradigm shifting in its effect. With half of the book comprised of ‘examples’ – traditions from Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (a) on various, mostly jural, topics – this work … Continue reading
Bihar al-Anwar
Biḥār al-Anwār al-Jāmiʿatu li Durari Akhbāri al-Aʾimmat al-Aṭhār (Oceans of light: A Compendium of the Exalted Traditions of the Pure Imāms) by ʿAllāmah Muḥammad al-Bāqir ibn Muḥammad al-Taqī al-Majlisī (d. 1111 A.H.) is an encyclopedic compilation of aḥādīth. This work, which occupied al-Majlisī for most of his scholarly life, grew from a more modest work … Continue reading
Which work did Shaykh al-Tusi write first – his Rijal or his Fihrist?
This is an interesting question and quite relevant to the understanding of the differences that are found in these two works of al-Shaykh. Many scholars think that the Fihrist was written before the Rijāl because: (a) Shaykh al- Ṭūsī refers to his Fihrist in his Rijāl (b)He also asks the reader to look for more … Continue reading
Books of Rijal
The books of Rijāl that are currently in our possession can be divided into three groups: 1) The main foundational books of Rijāl: These are the books that have been authored up until the time of Shaykh Tusi. These are known as the Kutub al-Qudamā’. 2) The books that were authored after the time of … Continue reading
