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Al-Kāfī, the Sufficient) is a collection of hadith of the Twelver Shi'a. It is the most important and authentic collection among the Four Books. It was compiled by thiqat al-Islam al-Kulayni (d. 329/941) in the period of the Minor Occultation. Al-Kafi consists of three parts: Usul (principles), Furu' (branches), and Rawda (miscellaneous issues); Usul is the most important part. Al-Kulayni tried to collect hadiths in such a way that they agree with the consensus and there is no incompatibility between them and the Qur'an.
Al-Kafi may have been entitled as such due to al-Kulayni's own statement in the chapter on Tahara, which reads, "This book is "Kafi" (i.e. sufficient) for all religious sciences".
It also could have been named Al-Kafi due to a report that when it was presented to Imam al-Mahdi (a), he said, "Al-Kafi is Kafi (i.e. sufficient) for our Shi'a." However, there is no such report and it is just a claim.
- Al-Shaykh al-Mufid says, "This book is among the best Shi'a books and enjoys a lot of benefits."
- Al-Shahid al-Awwal introduces it as a book of hadith similar to which has not been written by any Shi'a scholar.
- Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi writes, "Al-Kafi is the most accurate and most comprehensive of all primary hadith sources, and it is the greatest and best book ever written by the Imamiyyah."
- Agha Buzurg Tihrani says, "Al-Kafi is a book of hadiths reported from Ahl al-Bayt (a) to which no similar book has been authored."
- Al-Astarabadi quotes from his teachers that, "No book has ever been written similar nor close to it in rank".
- Ayatollah Khoei mentions that his teacher, Muhammad Husayn Na'ini, would call doubting the sources of al-Kafi, "the business of the incompetent".
According to the preface of al-Kafi, al-Kulayni has written this book in response to a person he calls, "a brother in religion":
- O brother! You asked why people have to be ignorant and blindly religious; because they are religious due to habit and imitation of their fathers…
- You reminded me that you have difficulty in some matters and do not understand the truth in them due to the incompatibility of hadith… and that you do not have access to any trustworthy scholar about which you can speak........
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- ... Did you know that the Ja'fari madhhab is referred to as Twelver Shia because the foundations of the school, its expansion, and the development of Shia jurisprudence were primarily established during the period of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a)?
- Sura al-Kawthar «The 108th and shortest chapter of the Qur’an, revealed in Mecca. Shi'a scholars often interpret "al-Kawthar" as including Lady Fatima (a) and her children, highlighting her role as the Prophet’s progeny.»
- Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) « was the eleventh Imam of Twelver Shi'a and the father of Imam al-Mahdi (a).»
- Minor Occultation «The period from 260/874 to 329/941 when Imam al-Mahdi (a) was hidden from the public but communicated with his followers through the four deputies.»
- Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah «was a Lebanese Shia cleric and the Secretary General of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamic political and military organization based in Lebanon.»
- Fatima al-Ma'suma (a) «well known as Fatima al-Ma'suma (a) is the daughter of Imam al-Kazim (a) and sister of Imam al-Rida (a).»
- Imami Theology «is one of the theological schools in Islam, which relies in its method and sources on the Qur’an, the Sunnah of the Prophet (s), the infallible Imams (a), and rational reasoning. Its most distinguishing feature is the belief in the issue of Imamate»
- Hezbollah (Lebanon) «is a Shia Islamic political and military organization that was founded in Lebanon in 1982. Its primary objective was to resist the occupation of the Zionist regime.»
- Imam al-Hasan b. Ali al-Mujtaba (a) «The second Imam of Shi'a Islam and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (s).»
- Martyrdom «is to be killed on the path of God, which is referred to in hadiths as the greatest good and the most honored death. Quranic verses and hadiths attribute effects to martyrdom such as staying alive, having the right for intercession, and forgiveness of sins.»
- Imamate in Childhood
- Fatwa on the Killing of Salman Rushdie
- Hadith of Scholars are the Heirs of the Prophets
- Hospitality
- Ni'ma
- Thaqalayn (disambiguation)
- Shukr
- Thaqalayn
- Abu l-Qasim (teknonym)
- Shah Najaf Husayniyya
- Hussain Day (ritual)
- List of Shia Hadith-based Quranic exegeses
- Zabur
- Murder of Abel
- Comparative Exegesis
- Sayyid Haydar al-Amuli
- Great Satan
- Khurasani (disambiguation)
- List of Works by Badreddin al-Houthi
- Habl Allah
Today Wednesday, 22 October, 2025 / 29 Rabi II, 1447
- 658 CE - Birth of Imam al-Sajjad (a) according to some account (Jumada I 15, 38)
- 680 CE - Departure of the Captives of Karbala from Kufa towards Syria (Muharram 19, 61)
- 712 CE - Martyrdom of Imam al-Sajjad (a) (according to some reports) (Muharram 12, 94)
29 Rabi II
