ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Shi'ah and Islamic Disciplines Chapter 3: The Precedence Of The Shi’ah In Islamic Jurisprudence Section One: The First to Compile and Systematize Islamic Jurisprudence The first person to write on jurisprudence is Ali ibn Abi Rafi’, a retainer ( mawla ) of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his Household.

In the section on the first category of the compilers who were partisans of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) Al–Najashi says that Ali ibn Abi Rafi’, a retainer of the Messenger of Allah, was a tabi’i and among the best Shi’ah. He enjoyed the company of the Commander of the Faithful and was his scribe. He trained as a jurist under his supervision and compiled his works during the lifetime of his master.

He memorized a great deal and compiled a book about various topics in jurisprudence such as ritual ablution, prayer and others. Al–Najashi adds, “They used to hold this book dear because it is the first work compiled by the Shi’ah.” Al–Suyuti says that the first person to write about jurisprudence is Imam Abu Hanifah.

But this must mean the first one among the Sunnis because Ali ibn Abi Rafi’s compilation took place during the days of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a), a long time before Abu Hanifah was born. Furthermore, there are other Shi’ah jurists who had written about jurisprudence before him, such as al–Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, a tabi’i and Sa’id ibn al–Musayyab, a Qurayshite who was one of the six famous jurists of Medina. Ibn al–Musayyab passed away in 94 A. H.

He was born during the days of Umar ibn al–Khattab (r. a). Another jurist who preceded Abu Hanifah is al–Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr (r. a) who, according to an authentic account, died in 106 A. H. He was the maternal grandfather of our master al–Sadiq (his mother Umm Farwa was al–Qasim's daughter). He married the daughter of Imam Zayn al–Abidin Ali ibn al–Husayn, peace be on them both.