Tahdhib al-ahkam (book): Difference between revisions

'''Tahdhīb al-aḥkām''' (Arabic: تهذیب الأحکام) is collection of [[hadiths]] by Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Hasan al-Tusi (d. 460 A.H./ 1068) known as Shaykh al-Ta'ifa and [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi]]. For [[Imamiyya]], this is one of the most reliable collections of hadiths and one of [[al-Kutub al-Arba'a]] (the Four Books). Al-Shaykh al-Tusi authored the book before writing his ''[[al-Istibsar]]''. ''Tahdhib al-ahkam'' includes only hadiths related to the laws of sharia.

The book is one of the most reliable and accredited collections of Shiite [[hadiths]] and the third book among [[al-Kutub al-Arba'a]] (the Four Books), trusted by all Shiite scholars and [[fuqaha]]. ''Tahdhib al-ahkam'' contains hadiths in [[fiqh]] (Islamic jurisprudence) and the laws of sharia narrated from [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]]. [[Al-Shaykh al-Tusi]] wrote the book as an exposition of ''[[al-Muqni'a]]'' by his master [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]].

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 [[diya]] or money blood). 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 [[Quran]] (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. Some scholars have written commentaries and expositions for mashikha of ''Tahdhib al-ahkam'', such as [[Sayyid Hashim al-Tubili]]'s exposition, ''Tanbih al-'arib wa tadhkira al-labib fi idah rijal al-Thadhib''.