It seems to have been concerned with usul al-din (the...

It seems to have been concerned with usul al-din (the principles of religion) rather than the furu', which are the practical regulations for carrying out the shari'a, the holy law of Islam. As its title implies Man la yahduruh al faqih was concerned with furu'. It has be neatly translated by E. G. Brown as "Every man his own lawyer"[^10] In his introduction to the book al-Shaikh al-Saduq explains the circumstances of its composition and the reason for its title.

When he was at Ilaq near Balkh, he met Sharif al-Din Abu 'Abd Allah known as Ni'mah whose full name was Muhammad b. Al-Husain b. Al-Husain b. Ishaq b. Musa b. Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Ali b. Al-Husain b. Ali b. Abi Talib. He was delighted with his discourses with him andh his gentleness, kindness, dignity and interest in religion. He brought a book compiled by Muhammad b. Zakharia al-Razi entitled Man la yahduruh al-Talib or "Every man his own doctor" to the attention of al-Shaikh al-Saduq.

He, then, asked him to compile a book on fiqh (jurisprudence), al-halal Wa-'1-haram (the permitted and prohibited) al-shara-i' wa-'l-ahkam (revealed law and (ordinary) laws) which would draw on all the works which the Shaikh had composed on the subject.

This book would be called Man la yahduruh al-faqih and would function as a work of reference.[^11] In fact the work represents a definitive synopsis of all the traditions which al-Shaikh al-Saduq had collected and included in individual books on specific legal subjects. In the lists of books of al-Shaikh al-Saduq, individual works are attributed to him on every subject of the furu'; examples are such works as Kitab al-nikah "Book of Marriage" or Kitab al-hajj "Book of the Pilgrimage".

That this was the intention of both the author and the learned member of Ahl al-bait is emphasised by the author when he says that Sharif al-Din had asked him for this work despite the fact that he had copied or heard from him the traditions of 145 books.[^12] Another element in the work that stresses that it was conceived as a reference book to help ordinary Shi'ites in the practise of the legal requirements of Islam is the general absence of the isnads for traditions.

The isnads - or the chain of authorities by which the tradition had been received from the Prophet or one of the Imams - was, and is, an all-important feature of the science of traditions. Therefore this book was not meant to be a work for scholars, who would want to check the authorities.