'Abd al-Nabi al-Jaza'iri
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | 'Abd al-Nabi b. Sa'd al-Jaza'iri |
| Religious Affiliation | Shia Islam |
| Residence | Karbala |
| Studied in | Najaf |
| Death | 1021/1612 |
| Burial Place | Shiraz |
| Scholarly Information | |
| Professors | al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki, al-Sayyid Muhammad b. 'Ali al-'Amili |
ʿAbd al-Nabī al-Jazāʾirī (Arabic: عبد النبي الجزائري, d. 1021/1612) was a Shiite scholar of rijal in the eleventh/eighteenth century. In a division of scholars of rijal into founders, supplementers, compilers, and refiners, he counts as the first refiner. Another novel contribution of al-Jazaʾiri was the quadripartite classification of hadiths: sahih (authentic), muwaththaq (reliable), hasan (praised), and daʿif (weak or unreliable).
The author of Madarik and al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki were his teachers. His works include Hawi al-aqwal (on rijal) and al-Mabsut fi l-imama (about the theological issue of imamate).
Biography
There is no information about ʿAbd al-Nabi al-Jazaʾiri’s date of birth. Given references by his teachers and students, some people have inferred that he was born around the middle of the tenth/sixteenth century.[1] His father’s name is said to be Saʿd,[2] although this was called into question by the biographer Abd Allah b. Isa al-Afandi.[3]
ʿAbd al-Jazaʾiri was originally from Jazaʾir,[4] a region in northwestern Basra in Iraq (known as Jibayish).[5] He studied in Najaf,[6] and in the last two decades of his life, he inhabited in Karbala.[7] He was contemporary with the following Shiite scholars: the author of Maʿalim (d. 1011/1602-3), the author of Madarik al-ahkam (d. 1009/1600), and al-Shaykh al-Bahaʾi (d. 1031/1621-2).[8]
Al-Jazaʾiri passed away on Jumada I 18, 1021/July 17, 1612 in a village between Isfahan and Shiraz in Iran. His grave is located in Shiraz.[9]
Education and Teaching
ʿAbd al-Nabi al-Jazaʾiri learned Islamic sciences in the Seminary School of Najaf. The author of Madarik[10] and al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki[11] were his teachers. Given the age difference between al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki and al-Jazaʾiri, the biographer Abd Allah b. 'Isa al-Afandi has cast doubt on al-Karaki being al-Jazaʾiri’s teacher.[12] Nevertheless, al-Muhaddith al-Nuri the Shiite scholar believes that al-Karaki was his teacher because of a permission cited by al-Allama al-Majlisi in his Bihar al-anwar, although al-Jazaʾiri was probably very young when he attended al-Karaki’s lectures.[13]
Al-Jazaʾiri also obtained a permission from the author of Madarik.[14]
Here are his students:
- Sayyid Mirza Muhammad b. Sharaf al-Din al-Jazaʾiri, known as Sayyid Mirza al-Jazaʾiri,[15] a Shiite jurist and scholar of hadith[16] and the author of the book Jawami' al-kalam fi da'a'im al-Islam.[17]
- Sayyid Sharaf al-Din ʿAli Husayni, Sayyid Mirza al-Jazaʾiri’s father.[18]
- Muhammad b. al-Husayn al-Ihsaʾi.[19]
- Jabir b. ʿAbbas al-Najafi.[20]
- Fadl b. Muhammad b. Fadl al-ʿAbbasi.[21]
- Sayyid Ismaʿil b. ʿAli al-Salih al-Falaji al-Jazaʾiri.[22]
Pioneer of Transformations in Rijal
Some people believe that ʿAbd al-Nabi al-Jazaʾiri and Sayyid Mustafa al-Tafrishi were pioneers of the period of criticizing hadith transmitters and the science of rijal.[23] Sulayman b. 'Abd Allah al-Mahuzi categorizes scholars of rijal into four groups: founders, supplementers, compilers, and refiners (or researchers), holding that al-Jazaʾiri marked the beginning of the period of refinement.[24] He investigated the science of rijal and had a critical consideration of appraising the transmitters of hadiths.[25] Before al-Jazaʾiri, some scholars such as al-Shahid al-Thani also criticized rijal, but this was not comprehensive enough to include all the transmitters and aspects of the science of rijal.[26]
ʿAbd al-Nabi al-Jazaʾiri was the first to categorize the transmitters of hadiths into four groups: sahih (authentic), muwaththaq (reliable), hasan (praised), and da'if (weak or unreliable).[27] Before him, there was no categorization in assessing the transmitters, or there simply was the dual classification of authentic and weak.[28]
According to Abu 'Ali al-Ha'iri, a scholar of rijal in the thirteenth/nineteenth century, al-Jazaʾiri was like Ibn al-Ghada'iri in that he unfairly dismissed many transmitters of hadiths as weak and unreliable.[29] Ahmad al-Bahrani, the Shiite scholar of the eleventh/seventeenth century, was also quoted as saying that al-Jazaʾiri was too strict in his assessment of the transmitters,[30] which is perhaps why the reliability of some transmitters is established by his trust in them.[31]
According to Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Khwansari, ʿAbd al-Nabi al-Jazaʾiri was also an expert in jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, theology, hadith, and the like.[32]
Works
ʿAbd al-Nabi al-Jazaʾir wrote works in rijal, jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, and theology:
Hawi l-aqwal fi maʿrifat al-rijal[33] is a book of rijal, which attracted the attention of scholars because of its innovative methods.[34] In this book, he divides the transmitters of hadiths into four categories: sahih (authentic), muwaththaq (reliable), hasan (praised), and daʿif (weak or unreliable).[35] Moreover, in the introduction and the epilogue, he gives a definition of the science of rijal, introduces the titles of Imams of the Shia, outlines the seven Shiite sects,[36] and introduces People of Consensus.[37]
Other Works
- Al-Imama[38] or al-mabsut fi l-imama:[39] This book has four sections: the notion of imamate, the necessity of the Imam being appointed by God, characteristics of Imams, and instances of imamate.[40]
- Nihayat al-taqrib fi sharḥ tahdhib al-wusul ila ʿilm al-usul: it is a Mazji[41]commentary on al-'Allama al-Hilli’s Tahdhib al-wusul mixed with the original text, in two volumes.[42]
- Al-Iqtisad fi sharḥ al-irshad: it is a commentary on ʿAllama al-Hilli’s Irshad al-adhhan (to the end of the section on zakat) mixed with the original text.[43]
- Commentaries on ʿAllama al-Hilli’s Irshad al-adhhan up to the section on marriage. In this work, he rests content with issuing his own fatwas.[44]
- Commentaries on al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli’s al-Mukhtasar al-nafiʿ fi fiqh al-imamaiyya.[45]
- Commentaries on al-Shaykh al-Tusi’s book of hadith Tahdhib al-ahkam.[46]
- Ajwiba masaʾil al-Shaykh Jabir b. ʿAbbas al-Najafi usuliyya wa-fiqhiyya: replies to questions about jurisprudence and its principles asked by his student Jabir b. ʿAbbas al-Najafi.[47]
Notes
- ↑ Jazāʾirī, Hāwi l-aqwāl fī maʿrifat al-rijāl, vol. 1, p. 11.
- ↑ Khāwnsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 4, p. 269.
- ↑ Afandī Iṣfahānī, Taʾlīqiyya amal al-ʾāmil, p. 183.
- ↑ Khāwnsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 4, p. 268.
- ↑ Jazāʾirī, Hāwi l-aqwāl fī maʿrifat al-rijāl, vol. 1, p. 39.
- ↑ Khāwnsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 4, p. 268.
- ↑ Jazāʾirī, Hāwi l-aqwāl fī maʿrifat al-rijāl, vol. 1, p. 36.
- ↑ Rabbānī, Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth, p. 159.
- ↑ Afandī Iṣfahānī, Riyāḍ al-ʿulamāʾ, vol. 3, p. 275.
- ↑ Ḥakīm, al-Mufaṣṣal fī tārīkh al-Najaf al-ashraf, vol. 4, p. 261.
- ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, ʾAmal al-āmil, vol. 2, p. 165.
- ↑ Afandī Iṣfahānī, Riyāḍ al-ʿulamāʾ, vol. 3, p. 273.
- ↑ Nūrī, Mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 20, p. 179.
- ↑ Ḥakīm, al-Mufaṣṣal fī tārīkh al-Najaf al-ashraf, vol. 4, p. 261.
- ↑ Qummī, al-Kunā wa l-alqāb, vol. 2, p. 331.
- ↑ Afandī Iṣfahānī, Riyāḍ al-ʿulamāʾ, vol. 7, p. 139.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 5, p. 252.
- ↑ Khāwnsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 4, p. 271.
- ↑ Jazāʾirī, Hāwi l-aqwāl fī maʿrifat al-rijāl, vol. 1, p. 16, Introduction.
- ↑ Khāwnsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 2, p. 171.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 1, p. 207.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa, vol. 8, p. 48.
- ↑ Rabbānī, Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth, p. 24.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, Miʿrāj ahl al-kamāl, author's introduction, p. 7-24.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, Miʿrāj ahl al-kamāl, author's introduction, p. 18-24.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, Miʿrāj ahl al-kamāl, author's introduction, p. 23.
- ↑ Rabbānī, Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth, p. 159.
- ↑ Mazandarānī Ḥāʾirī, Muntahā al-maqāl, author's introduction, p. 31.
- ↑ Mazandarānī Ḥāʾirī, Muntahā al-maqāl, author's introduction, p. 31.
- ↑ Rabbānī, Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth, p. 160.
- ↑ Rabbānī, Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth, p. 160.
- ↑ Khāwnsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 4, p. 269.
- ↑ Kunturī, Kashf al-ḥujub, p. 192.
- ↑ Rabbānī, Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth, p. 159.
- ↑ Rabbānī, Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth, p. 159.
- ↑ Rabbānī, Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth, p. 164.
- ↑ Ṭalāʾiyān, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi rijāl-i Shī'a, p. 91.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 2, p. 329.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 19, p. 53.
- ↑ Khāwnsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 4, p. 271.
- ↑ Al-sharh al-mazji” (commentary-cum-text or commentary mixed with the text) is a commentary that can be separated from the original text only with conventional signs.
- ↑ Āl Maḥbūba, Māḍī l-Najaf wa ḥāḍiruhā, vol. 2, p. 90.
- ↑ Āl Maḥbūba, Māḍī l-Najaf wa ḥāḍiruhā, vol. 2, p. 90.
- ↑ Āl Maḥbūba, Māḍī l-Najaf wa ḥāḍiruhā, vol. 2, p. 91.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa, vol. 8, p. 358.
- ↑ Khāwnsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt, vol. 4, p. 271.
- ↑ Āl Maḥbūba, Māḍī l-Najaf wa ḥāḍiruhā, vol. 2, p. 91.
References
- Afandī Iṣfahānī, ʿAbd Allāh. Taʾlīqiyya amal al-ʾāmil. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥusaynī Ashkwarī. Qom: Kitābkhāna-yi Ayatullāh Marʿashī Najafī, 1410 AH.
- Afandī Iṣfahānī, ʿAbd Allāh. Riyāḍ al-ʿulamāʾ wa ḥiyāḍ al-fuḍalāʾ. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥusaynī Ashkwarī. Beirut: Muʾassisa Tārīkh al-ʿArabī, 1431 AH.
- Āqā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-shīʿa. Edited by Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Ḥusaynī. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1403 AH.
- Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1430 AH.
- Āl Maḥbūba, Jaʿfar. Māḍī l-Najaf wa ḥāḍiruhā. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1406 AH.
- Baḥrānī, Sulaymān b. ʿAbd Allāh. Miʿrāj ahl al-kamāl ilā maʿrifat al-rijāl. Edited by Mahdī Rajāʾī and ʿAbd al-Zahrāʾ ʿUwaynātī. [n.p], 1412 AH.
- Dihkhudā, ʿAlī Akbar. Lughatnāma. Edited by Akram Sulṭānī and others. Tehran: Dānishgāh-i Tehrān, 1385 Sh.
- Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. ʾAmal al-āmil. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥusaynī Ashkwarī. Baghdad: Maktabat al-Andalus, [n.d].
- Ḥakīm, Ḥasan ʾIsā. Al-Mufaṣṣal fī tārīkh al-Najaf al-ashraf. Qom: al-Maktaba al-Ḥaydarīyya, 1427 AH.
- Jazāʾirī, ʿAbd al-Nabī. Hāwi l-aqwāl fī maʿrifat al-rijāl. Edited by Muʾassisa al-Hidāya li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth. Qom: Riyād al-Nāṣirī, 1418 AH.
- Kunturī, Iʿjāz Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad Qulī. Kashf al-ḥujub wa al-astār ʿan asmāʾ al-kutub wa al-asfār. with an introduction by Shahab al-Dīn Marʿashī. Qom: Kitābkhāna-yi Ayatullāh Marʿashī Najafī, 1409 AH.
- Khāwnsārī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Rawḍāt al-jannāt fī aḥwāl al-ʿulamā wa al-sādāt. Edited by Asadullāh Ismāʿīlīyān. Qom: Intishārāt-i Ismāʿīlīyān, 1390 AH.
- Mazandarānī Ḥāʾirī, Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl. Muntahā al-maqāl fī aḥwāl al-rijāl. Edited by Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1416 AH.
- Nūrī, Mīrzā Ḥusayn al-. Mustadrak al-wasāʾil wa musṭanbit al-wasā'il. [n.p], [n.d].
- Qummī, Shaykh ʿAbbās. Al-Kunā wa l-alqāb. with an introduction by Muḥammad Hādī Amīnī. Tehran: Maktabat al-Ṣadr, 1368 SH.
- Rabbānī, Muḥammad Ḥasan. Sabkshināsī dānish-i rijāl al-hadīth. Qom: Markaz-i Fiqh-i al-aʾimma al-Aṭhār, 1385 SH.
- Ṭalāʾiyān, Rasūl. Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi rijāl-i Shī'a. Qom: Muʾassisa ʿIlmī Farhangī Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1381 SH.