ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Shi'ite Anthology Translator's Introduction In works on Islam the word " hadith " usually refers to the sayings or "traditions" which have been transmitted from the Prophet. Muslims hold these to be the most important source of Islamic teachings after the Qur'an.

Numerous works have been written in Western languages on the role of the hadith literature in Islam[^1] and a number of important translations have been made.[^2] But almost all Western studies have been limited to the point of view of Sunni Islam and based on Sunni sources and collections. Practically no one has paid any serious attention to the different nature of the hadith literature in Shi'ism and the different sources from which the hadith s are derived.

The fundamental distinction to be made between Shi'ite and Sunni hadith s is that in Shi'ism the traditions are not limited to those of the Prophet, but include those of the Imams as well. As important and basic as this point is, it has not been understood even in such standard reference works as the new Encyclopedia of Islam .

There the author of the article " Hadith " is aware that there is some difference between Shi'ism and Sunnism on the question of which hadith s are included, but he thinks that it lies in the fact that the Shi'ite collections accept "only traditions traced through 'Ali's family." But this is incorrect, since numerous traditions are also transmitted through other sources.

What the author fails to mention is that the hadith literature as understood by Shi'ites is not limited to the sayings of the Prophet, but includes those of the Imams as well.[^3] In short, collections of hadith s in Sunni Islam, such as those of al-Bukhari and Muslim, contain only sayings transmitted from and about the Prophet. But the Shi'ite collections, such as that of al-Kulayni , also contain sayings transmitted from and about the twelve Imams.

Naturally the Shi'ites make a distinction among the hadiths , so that those transmitted from the Prophet are of greater authority, but nevertheless all traditions are listed together according to subject matter, not according to author. The most famous and authoritative collections of Shi'ite hadith s are four works which, in terms of their importance for Shi'ism, correspond to the Six Correct Collections in Sunni Islam.

These are al-Kafi fi 'ilm al-din ( The Sufficient in the Knowledge of Religion ) by Thiqat al-Islam Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d.