The Book of Tahdhib al-ahkam - Al-Shia The Scientific and Cultural Website of Shia belief The Book of Tahdhib al-ahkam 2023-01-07 3326 Views Abu Ja'far, Muhammad ibn Hasan, Sheikh al-Tusi, Tahdhib al-ahkam Tahdhib al-ahkam is a collection of hadiths by Abu Ja’far Muhammad b. Hasan al-Tusi (d. 460 A.H./ 1068) popularly known as Shaykh al-Ta’ifa and al-Shaykh al-Tusi. For Imami-Shia, it is one of the most reliable collections of hadiths and one of al-Kutub al-Arba’a (the Four Books). Contents About the Author About the Book The Number of its Parts Purpose for Writing The Date of Writing The Methodology Position of the book Its Importance in Fiqh Its Importance in Hadith Chains of Narrations of Hadiths Sources of Tahdhib al-Ahkam A Comparison of his Two Books Commentaries and Expositions Other Works Concerning Tahdhib al-Ahkam Manuscripts of Tahdhib About the Author Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. ‘Ali b. al-Hasan (b. 385/995 – d. 460/1066) known as al-Shaykh al-Ta’ifa and al-Shaykh al-Tusi was the author of the two books of Tahdhib and al-Istibsar from the Four Books of Shia hadiths references. He is regarded among the greatest hadith and Shia jurist. He had influential works in theology and the Qur’an exegesis. At the age of 23, he went to Iraq from Khurasan and benefited from great scholars there including al-Shaykh al-Mufid and al-Sayyid al-Murtada. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi authored the book before writing his al-Istibsar. It is pertinent to mention that Tahdhib al-ahkam includes only hadiths related to the laws of sharia. About the Book The book is one of the most reliable and accredited collections of Shiite hadiths and the third book among the Four Books (al-Kutub al-Arba’a), trusted by all Shiite scholars and jurists. Tahdhib al-ahkam contains hadiths in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and the Islamic laws narrated from the pure (a). Al-Shaykh al-Tusi wrote the book as an exposition of al-Muqni’a by his master al-Shaykh al-Mufid. Tahdhib al-ahkam contains hadiths about the laws of Sharia, providing many hadiths required for ijtihad or inquiry about such laws. The book contains many issues in fiqh, usul al-fiqh (the principles of the Islamic jurisprudence), ‘ilm al-rijal and other fields. In this book, al-Shaykh al-Tusi did not concern himself with issues in the principles of Shiite beliefs, restricting himself to issues related to all areas of fiqh or laws of sharia, from kitab al-tahara (the book of cleanliness) to kitab al-diyat (the book of blood money). Parts or books of fiqh in this books are organized in the same way as al-Muqni’a. The sources appealed to by al-Shaykh al-Tusi in this book are the Qur’an (the apparent or explicit meaning or connotations or implications thereof), absolutely authentic hadiths (such as al-khabar al-mutawatir, that is, frequently narrated hadiths, or ones with assuring evidence for their authenticity), consensus by Muslims or by Shiite scholars, and hadiths that are well-known among the companions of Imams (a). Moreover, al-Shaykh al-Tusi has also cited contradicting hadiths, pointing to how to reconcile them with other hadiths or to weakness in them such as unreliability of their chains of narrators or the companions of Imams (a) refusing to act upon them. The book contains 393 sections and 13590 hadiths. In the epilogue of the book, al-Shaykh al-Tusi cites his mashikha, that is, people from whom he narrated the books that he cited in his book. The Number of its Parts In his autobiography in his al-Fihrist, al-Shaykh al-Tusi enumerates 23 main parts or books of fiqh, saying that al-Istibsar and al-Nahaya have the same number of parts. However, the parts of al-shahadat (witnessing or testimony) and al-at’ima wa al-ashriba (eating and drinking) are only independently discussed in the latter two books. Moreover, Tahdhib al-ahkam contains an independent book of al-ziyarat (pilgrimages) that is absent in the other two works. Therefore, Tahdhib al-ahkam contains 21 parts or books of fiqh, and the ones mentioned in al-Fihrist are combinations of parts contained in Tahdhib al-ahkam, al-Nahaya and al-Istibsar. According to enumerations of the published version of book in Najaf, the book contains 409 sections (28 of which are repetitive) and 13988 hadiths, but according to enumerations of Muhaddith al-Nuri, the book contains 393 sections and 13590 hadiths. The difference is rooted in mistakes in enumerations or disputes about some parts or hadiths being independent or not. Purpose for Writing In the preface to Tahdhib al-ahkam, al-Shaykh al-Tusi writes that one of his friends talked to him about apparently contradictory hadiths in Shiite sources, pointing that this has led to strong criticisms by opponents of Shiism and disbelieving Shiism by some ignorant Shiites. Thus, he asked al-Shaykh al-Tusi to write a well-argued exposition for al-Shaykh al-Mufid’s al-Muqni’a, which contains the grounds of each problem in widely accepted hadiths as well as contradictory hadiths, showing how to resolve the contradiction or interpret them away or showing in what ways they should not be relied upon. In to this request, Tahdhib al-ahkam was compiled and authored. Thus the book has an apological motivation. The Date of Writing In the preface of the book and frequently in the first volume and twice at the beginning of the second, al-Shaykh al-Mufid has been mentioned together with the phrase “ayyada-ha Allah” (meaning: may God support him) which implies that al-Shaykh al-Mufid was alive then, but after this, he is mentioned with the phrase “rahima-ha Allah” (meaning: may God bless him) which implies that al-Shaykh al-Mufid was no longer alive. Thus, it implies that the writing of the book started when al-Shaykh al-Mufid was still alive and went on after his death (Ramadan, 413 A.H./ December 1022). The Methodology The book is basically organized in the same way as al-Muqni’a, elaborating all its problems by an appeal to reliable sources (the Quran, al-khabar al-mutawatir, hadiths with assuring evidence and consensus), referring to widely accepted hadiths among Imamiyya, where contradicting hadiths are interpreted away or dismissed as unreliable. In this method, in terms of which most of the part on taharat (or cleanliness) is written, the author occasionally appeals to sources such as what later came to be called combined consensus (al-ijma’ al-murakkab), the views of senior scholars and some reasoning. It has also cited some hadiths from Sunni sources without mentioning their chains of narrators. In this part of the book, there are various Quranic and literary issues (related to Arabic grammar and lexicology) as well as views in usul al-fiqh. However, the book would have been too lengthy and digressed from its main purpose (writing a work in hadith) had the rest of it been written with the same method. Therefore, the author changed his method in the rest of the book, resting content with citing Shiite hadiths and reconciling their conflicts. He then decided to cite all or almost all hadiths regarding the laws of sharia regardless of issues raised in al-Muqni’a. This is why he added the sections on ziyara (pilgrimage) in the first three volumes of the book. Therefore, the book was written with two different methods that differ in their elaboration as well as in the way they cite hadiths. Position of the book Tahdhib al-ahkam counts as the most important source of ijtihad for Imamiyya in virtue of its containing much more hadiths in comparison with the rest of the Four Books (al-Kutub al-Arba’a). Its Importance in Fiqh According to Bahr al-‘Ulum, with this book a scholar of fiqh does not usually need to refer to any other collection of hadiths; a feature lacked by the rest of the Four Books. Sayyid b. Tawus took al-Kafi and Tahdhib al-ahkam to be the greatest books in fiqh, and ‘Allama al-Hilli took the book to be the origin of fiqh, which is, together with al-Muqni’a, one of the greatest sources in fiqh. In many parts or books