Al-I'tiqadat (book)
 | |
| Author | Al-Shaykh al-Saduq |
|---|---|
| Original title | الاعتقادات |
| Language | Arabic |
| Series | 1 vol |
| Subject | Imami Theology |
| Genre | theology |
| Publisher | Kongiriyi Shaykh Mufid |
Al-ʾIʿtiqādāt fī dīn al-Imāmīyya (Arabic: الاعتقادات فی دین الامامیة) or al-ʾIʿtiqādāt al-Imāmīyya ( اعتقادات الامامیة), known as Iʿtiqādāt al-Ṣadūq ( اعتقادات الصدوق), is a short book concerning the Imami Theology written by al-Shaykh al-Saduq (d. 381/991-2). In this book, he states Shi'a beliefs by appealing to hadiths by the Infallibles (a). The book was written at the request of scholars in Nishapur when al-Shaykh al-Saduq was on a trip there. There are many translations of, and commentaries on, the book.
Author
Muhammad b. 'Ali b. Husayn b. Musa b. Babawayh al-Qummi, known as al-Shaykh al-Saduq (d. 381/991-2) was a prominent Shi'a scholar in the 4th/10th century. He was born in 305/917-8. He was the greatest scholar of hadith and fiqh in the hadith school of Qom. He wrote about 300 works many of which are not available today. He is the author of Man la yahduruh al-faqih, one of the Four Books of Shi'as.
Structure
Al-'I'tiqadat consists of 45 chapters each of which begins by "a chapter about the belief concerning …". Here are the titles of some of these chapters:
- Shiite beliefs concerning monotheism
- Essential Attributes and Act Attributes
- Will
- Qada' (fate) and Qadar (destiny)
- Fitra (primordial human nature) and guidance
- Resurrection and relevant issues
- Wahy (revelation)
- Enjoining and forbidding
- The Quran
- The positions of the prophets, messengers of God, Imams, angels, and their Infallibility
- Taqiyya (dissimulation)
- …
Significance
The book was frequently cited by later theologians. Some of what al-Shaykh al-Saduq mentioned in the book as Shiite beliefs have been very controversial and came to be criticized by other scholars, including his own student, al-Shaykh al-Mufid, who had a rationalist approach to the Imami theology. As a critical exposition of al-Shaykh al-Saduq’s book, he wrote the book Tashih i'tiqadat al-Imamiyya and tried to correct the beliefs wrongly attributed to the Imamiyya.
Expositions and Translations
- Tashih al-'i'tiqad fi sharh al-i'tiqadat written by al-Shaykh al-Mufid, a student of al-Shaykh al-Saduq. He rejected some of his teacher’s indefensible beliefs, such as the possibility of unintentional mistakes by prophets. In general, he tried to correct wrongly attributed beliefs to the Imamiyya.
- Hur maqsurat fi tarjumat al-i'tiqadat Saduq: it is a translation of the book by Mirza Muhammad Tabibzada Ahmadabadi into Persian.
- Sharh al-'i'tiqadat Saduq: an exposition of the book by Mulla 'Abd Allah b. Hasan al-Shulistani in both Arabic and Persian.
Manuscripts
- A manuscript of the Library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi in Qom, number 1945 written in 817/1414-5, and another manuscript with the number 1382 written in 992/1584-5.
- A manuscript in the Library of Astan Quds Razavi with the number 367 written in 880/1475-6 and another with the number 368 written in 999/1590-1.
Publication
The book has been published many times in Iran and Europe in Persian and English. It was published by Dar al-Mufid Publications in Beirut, edited by 'Isam 'Abd al-Sayyid in 126 pages.
It was also edited and published by Imam al-Hadi Institute, and it was selected as the best edited work in the 13th Conference of Hawza Yearbook. This version involves an elaborated editing and explanation of some difficult terms. It has also facilitated the reading of the book by marking the text with diacritics.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from الاعتقادات (کتاب) in Farsi WikiShia.