Da'a'im al-Islam (book)
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| Author | Qadi Nu'man |
|---|---|
| Original title | دعائم الاسلام |
| Language | Arabic |
| Series | 2 vol. |
| Subject | Jurisprudence and beliefs of Isma'iliyya |
| Genre | hadith |
| Full text | Arabic full text |
Daʿāʾim al-Islām wa dhikr al-ḥalāl wa l-ḥarām wa l-qaḍāyā wa l-aḥkām ʿan Ahl Bayt Rasūl Allāh ʿalayh wa ʿalayhim afḍal al-salām (Arabic: دعائم الاسلام و ذکر الحلال و الحرام والقضایا و الأحکام عن أهل بیت رسول الله علیه و علیهم أفضل السلام) is a book concerning religious beliefs and the rulings of shari'a on the basis of Isma'ili jurisprudence. It is the most important book written by Qadi Nu'man regarding jurisprudence, which was written at the request of the Fatimid caliph, al-Mu'izz li Din Allah. The book contains all standard sections of jurisprudence. Moreover, it opens with a section called "kitab al-wilaya", in which the author deals with most important Isma'ili beliefs, such as iman (faith) and its difference from Islam, wilaya of Ahl al-Bayt (a), and the significance of learning Islamic disciplines.
The book is very significant for Isma'iliyya. Some Twelver scholars have also appealed to the book in their ijtihad.
Author
The author of the book is Qadi Nu'man b. Muhammad b. Mansur b. Ahmad b. Hayyun al-Tamimi al-Maghribi, a scholar of the 4th/10th century. He held important positions in the Fatimid government, especially as the head of judges in Egypt. He wrote 47 books concerning various Islamic disciplines such as jurisprudence, exegesis of the Qur'an, hadiths, and the like.
Contents
The book deals with the rulings of shari'a concerning worships and transactions on the basis of Isma'ili beliefs in 2 volumes. The first volume is devoted to the issue of worships. It discusses the following 7 issues under 8 sections:
For Fatimid Shi'as, these 7 issues count as the 7 pillars of Islam.
The second volume of the book is devoted to transactions under the following 25 sections:
- Rulings of sales and purchases
- Oaths and vows
- What to eat
- What to drink
- Medicine
- Clothes
- Hunting animals
- Slaughtering animals and 'aqiqa
- Marriage
- Divorce
- 'Itq (emancipation of slaves)
- Gifts
- Will (wasiyya)
- Rulings of inheritance
- Diyas (blood money)
- Hudud (legislated punishments)
- Rulings of theft and muharaba (armed robbery)
- Rulings of apostasy and heresy
- Usurpation (ghasb)
- 'Ariya
- Luqata (lost property)
- Rulings of companies, shares, and constructions
- Witnesses and testimonies
- Claim and evidence
- Rulings of judges
The book mainly consists of citing hadiths. The author appeals to hadiths to support his position.
Translation
The book was translated by 'Abd Allah Umidwar into Persian and was published by Isma'iliyan Publication in Qom in 1415/1994-5.
Da'a'im al-Islam according to Twelver Scholars
There are three views about Da'a'im al-Islam among Twelver Shi'as:
- The reliability of the book and the author: this view is held by Sayyid Bahr al-'Ulum. He believes that Qadi Nu'man did not cite hadiths from the Imams (a) after Imam al-Sadiq (a) because of taqiyya (precautionary dissimulation).
- The unreliability of the book and the author: According to Sahib al-Jawahir, Ayatollah al-Khoei in some of his works, and Imam Khomeini, neither the hadiths cited in the book are reliable, nor its author.
- The unreliability of the book and the reliability of its author: according to Ayatollah al-Khoei in his book concerning rijal and some of his books concerning jurisprudence, the author of Da'a'im was a reliable person, but hadiths cited in this book are not reliable because their chains of transmissions are not cited.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from دعائم الاسلام (کتاب) in Farsi WikiShia.