"May Allah bestow upon him the highest rewards reserved for...

"May Allah bestow upon him the highest rewards reserved for the doers of the good for his services to Islam and the Muslim Com-munity."44 He also regarded him as "The Shaykh (the chief) asƒw-Sƒlad.q (the most truthful) and Thiqatu'l-Islam (the most trustworthy in respect of all about Islam), as one accepted by the people of all classes. He has been praised both in general and in particular."45 Mirza.

`Abdullah al-Afandi has said : "The person generally meant by the title Thiqatu'l-Islam' (the trustworthy in Islam) is Muhammad ibn Ya،¥qub ibn Ishƒuaq al-Kulayni ar-Razi, the compiler of the book al-Kafi.

He is the oldest religious chief of the Muslim world by the masses and by the elite alike and the Mufti ،X the Chief judge for both the groups ،X the Sh.،¦ahs and the Sunnis."46 HIS COMPILATIONS Kitab tafsir ar-ru'ya;47 Kitab ar-rijal;48 Kitab ar-radd ،¥ala al-Qaramitƒzah;49 Kitab ar-rasa'i150 ،X Rasa'il al-a'immah (`alayhimu's-salam); 51 Kitab al-Kafi;52 Kitab ma q.la f.

al-a'immah ('alayhimu's-salam)- mina'l-shi،¥r.53 A L ،K A F l This book is known after the name of the compiler al-Kulayni54 and also by the name of al-Kafi.55 While replying to one of his associates, al-Kulayni himself explained why he compiled this book "al-Kafi." He wrote: "You wanted a book to be handy, to be comprehensive and to be inclusive of all knowledge about your religion (Islam) ،X a book on which a student of religion could safely rely, to which the seeker of light and guidance should turn and from which a student seeking the knowledge of religion should derive full benefit and act on the traditions of the truthful Imams (p.b.u.t.)." 56 The task of compiling this invaluable work has taken twenty years to complete.57 It is evident from this quotation that a group of the Sh.،¥ah community, living in distant cities, requested him to compile a book which would be sufficient to benefit them for purposes of perusal reference and recollection of reliable knowledge of the tradition.58 The intellectual stalwarts of his time took down the traditions from his book verbatim and then used to read aloud to him to get them verified.

They then used to quote the traditions on the basis of its being duly read and verified by al-Kulayni and also on the basis of his written permission59 to quote him.