Their books and writings are many...

Their books and writings are many, but those which have come to be considered as authentic, and are relied upon, and which have been named as al-usul , are these Four Hundred Treatises.” The Burning of the Heritage of the (‘a) at the Hands of Tughril Beg These treatises together with other texts from the heritage of the (‘a), including the works on supplications, were destroyed when the book library which was endowed ( waqf ) by the minister Abu Nasr Sabur bin Ardeshir (the Shiite minister appointed by Baha’ ad-dawlah al-Buwayhi) was set on fire.

This library was the most known in those days, the most flourishing and the greatest of its kind. The actual existence of this library has been mentioned by al-Yaqut al-Hamawi in Mu‘jam al-Buldan (2:342) under the entry ‘ bayn as-Surayn ’.

He says: “Bayn as-Surayn which is an area in the Karakh district of Baghdad is among the most beautiful areas and the most populated of it.” He further says: “Therein was the book library which was endowed by the minister Abu Nasr Sabur bin Ardeshir, the minister of Baha’ ad-dawlah bin ‘Adud ad-dawlah al-Buwayhi. There were no books in the world better than what it contained, as all of them were handwritten by authentic scholars and they were their notable treatises ( usul ).

It was burnt along with other parts of Karakh when Tughril Beg, the first king of the Saljuq dynasty, entered Baghdad in 447 H.

Among these books which were set on fire by Tughril Beg were the books of supplications transmitted from the (‘a).” After quoting these words of al-Hamawi, Muhaqqiq at-Tahrani (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “I say that it is suspected that part of the books of this library –which was endowed for the Shi’ah and established for them in their location, in the Karakh of Baghdad- were the treatises on supplication ( al-usul ad-du’aiyyah ) which the earlier companions of the A’mmah (‘a) had narrated from them.

In the biographies of each of them[^2], the masters of rijal have accredited to each of them a book which they referred to as kitab al-ad’iyah [^3], stating their chain of narration to that book from its author.”[^4] Immunity of Part of the Heritage of the (‘a) from being Destroyed A group of these usul were collected by Shaykh at-Ta’ifah Abu Ja’far at-Tusi (may Allah have mercy on him) when he compiled al-Istibsar and at-Tahdhib in Baghdad.

Two libraries that contained the fundamental usul were at the disposal of Shaykh at-Ta’ifah during this period.