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Draft:Al-Imama wa l-tabṣira min l-ḥayra (book)

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Al-Imama wa l-tabsira min al-hayra
AuthorIbn Babawayh
LanguageArabic
SubjectImamate and Occultation
Published1412 AH
PublisherMu'assasat Al al-Bayt li-Ihya' al-Turath


Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra (Arabic: الإمامة و التَّبْصِرة مِن الحَیْرة) is one of the earliest extant Shi'a texts addressing the doctrines of Imamate and the Occultation of Imam al-Mahdi (a). Although traditionally attributed to Ibn Babawayh, scholarly consensus regarding its authorship remains divided, with some researchers positing that the extant text is an amalgamation of two distinct works.

Employing a methodology that integrates hadith transmission with theological reasoning, the author first scrutinizes the rational premises and then analyzes the relevant traditions. The work comprises an introduction and twenty-three chapters featuring 87 hadiths, covering themes such as the necessity of the Imam's existence, critiques of the positions held by various Shi'a sects, and proofs substantiating the Imamate of Imam al-Mahdi (a). Additionally, a supplement containing hadiths narrated by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq is appended to the text.

Manuscripts of the work are preserved in the libraries of Sayyid Muhammad 'Ali Rawdati and Mar'ashi Najafi. The text has been edited and published by multiple institutions. The earliest citation of this work appears in Bihar al-anwar by al-'Allama al-Majlisi.

Position and Importance

Al-Imama wa l-tabsira min al-hayra is an Arabic treatise ascribed to 'Ali b. al-Husayn b. Babawayh al-Qummi (the father of Al-Shaykh al-Saduq) (d. 329/941).[1] Authored in response to the doctrinal confusion among the Shi'a at the inception of the Minor Occultation,[2] the work is regarded as a seminal Shi'a source on the subjects of Imamate and the Occultation of Imam al-Mahdi (a).[3] It is suggested that the text targets an audience that accepts the fundamental principle of Imamate but remains divided concerning the specific identity of the Imam.[4]

By integrating the methodologies of the People of Hadith (Ahl al-Hadith) and theologians (Ahl al-Kalam), the author first evaluates rational postulates and subsequently substantiates the Imamate and Occultation of Imam al-Mahdi (a) through the citation of hadiths.[5]

Attribution to Ibn Babawayh

'Allama Majlisi was the first scholar to cite Al-Imama wa l-tabsira min al-hayra in his encyclopedic work, Bihar al-anwar.[6] However, the attribution of the text remains a subject of scholarly debate. While figures such as 'Allama Majlisi ascribe the work to Ibn Babawayh (the father of al-Shaykh al-Saduq),[7] and bio-bibliographical authorities including al-Najashi (d. 450/1058),[8] Al-Shaykh al-Tusi (d. 460/1067),[9] and Ibn Shahrashub (d. 588/1192)[10] confirm that Ibn Babawayh authored a book bearing this title, other scholars contest the authenticity of the extant version. Critics such as 'Abd Allah al-Afandi (d. 1130/1718),[11] Muhaddith Nuri (d. 1320/1902),[12] Hujjat Kuhkamari (d. 1372/1953),[13] and Aqa Buzurg Tihrani (d. 1389/1970)[14] argue that the current text cannot be solely attributed to Ibn Babawayh, as it incorporates hadiths from narrators who lived after his time.

According to the bibliographer and Rijal scholar Sayyid Musa Shubayri Zanjani, the manuscript utilized by Majlisi comprised two distinct works within a single volume: "Al-Imama wa l-tabsira" by Ibn Babawayh and "Jami' al-ahadith" by an earlier scholar. Majlisi explicitly notes in the introduction to Bihar that the first section belongs to Ibn Babawayh while the second is the work of another author.[15] Nevertheless, some of al-Majlisi's students have subsequently attributed the hadiths found in the second section to Ibn Babawayh as well.[16]

The archetype manuscript, transcribed by Husayn b. 'Ali al-Himyari in 479/1086-87, is no longer extant; however, two copies derived from it have survived:[17]

Content

The treatise Al-Imama wa l-tabsira min al-hayra comprises an introduction and twenty-three chapters, containing a total of 87 hadiths:

  • Introduction: Emphasizes the necessity of an Imam for the proper comprehension of religion;[23]
  • Chapter 1: The succession of Adam (a) (one hadith);[24]
  • Chapter 2: The earth is never devoid of a Divine Proof (Hujja) (fifteen hadiths);[25]
  • Chapter 3: Imamate as a divine covenant (four hadiths);[26]
  • Chapter 4: Imamate is exclusive to the Family of Muhammad (a) (eight hadiths);[27]
  • Chapter 5: Imamate continues through the progeny of Imam al-Husayn (a) (eight hadiths);[28]
  • Chapters 6–17: Critiques of non-Twelver Shi'a sects (23 hadiths);[29]
  • Chapters 18–22: Discussions concerning death in a state of ignorance (Jahiliyya), recognition of the Imam, obligations following the Imam's death, denial of the Imam, and the sin of associating partners with the divine Imam (12 hadiths);[30]
  • Chapter 23: Rare traditions (Nawadir) (seven hadiths).[31]

An appendix concludes the book, featuring hadiths narrated by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq from his father regarding the Imamate of Imam al-Mahdi (a).[32]

Bibliography

Al-Imama wa l-tabsira min al-hayra has been published in several editions by various publishers, including:

A Persian translation by Sajjad Khani Arani has been published by Majlisi Publications.[36]

Notes

  1. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 1, p. 6; Abṭaḥī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, p. 11.
  2. ↑ Ḥusayn-zāda Shānih-chī, Awḍāʿ-i siyāsī ijtimāʿī wa farhangī-yi Shīʿa dar ghaybat-i ṣughrā, 1386 Sh, vol. 1, pp. 314 & 334.
  3. ↑ Ḥusayn-zāda Shānih-chī, Awḍāʿ-i siyāsī ijtimāʿī wa farhangī-yi Shīʿa dar ghaybat-i ṣughrā, 1386 Sh, vol. 1, p. 334; Abṭaḥī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, p. 11.
  4. ↑ Murawwijī Ṭabasī & Luṭfī, "Muʿarrafī-yi kitāb-i al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra".
  5. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, pp. 104-106; Murawwijī Ṭabasī & Luṭfī, "Muʿarrafī-yi kitāb-i al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra".
  6. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, p. 93.
  7. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 1, p. 6.
  8. ↑ Najāshī, Rijāl al-Najāshī, 1365 Sh, p. 261.
  9. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Fihrist, 1417 AH, p. 157.
  10. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Maʿālim al-ʿulamāʾ, 1380 AH, p. 100.
  11. ↑ Afandī, Riyāḍ al-ʿulamāʾ, 1401 AH, vol. 4, pp. 5-7.
  12. ↑ Nūrī, Khātimat al-Mustadrak, 1415 AH, vol. 3, pp. 282-283.
  13. ↑ Dawānī, Mafākhir-i Islām, 1363 Sh, vol. 8, pp. 179-182.
  14. ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 2, p. 341.
  15. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 1, p. 6.
  16. ↑ "Kitāb-i 'Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira' wa naql-i Biḥār al-anwār az ān", Official Website of Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani.
  17. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, pp. 95-96.
  18. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, pp. 93-94.
  19. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, p. 97.
  20. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, pp. 94-96.
  21. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, p. 96.
  22. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, pp. 94-96; Khānī Ārānī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1386 Sh, p. 11.
  23. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 7-23.
  24. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 21-24.
  25. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 25-36.
  26. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 37-39.
  27. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 40-46.
  28. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 47-58.
  29. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 59-81.
  30. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 82-91.
  31. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 92-96.
  32. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, pp. 97-160.
  33. ↑ Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1412 AH, pp. 118-120.
  34. ↑ Muwaḥḥid Abṭaḥī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira, 1404 AH, p. 32.
  35. ↑ "Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra", Gisoom Book.
  36. ↑ Khānī Ārānī, Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra, 1386 Sh, p. 12.

References

  • Afandī, ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿĪsā. Riyāḍ al-ʿulamāʾ wa ḥiyāḍ al-fuḍalāʾ. Qom, Maṭbaʿat Khayyām, 1401 AH.
  • "Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra". Gisoom Book. Accessed: 11 Ābān 1404 Sh.
  • Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-Shīʿa. Beirut, Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Dawānī, ʿAlī. Mafākhir-i Islām. Tehran, Amīr Kabīr, 1363 Sh.
  • Ḥusaynī Jalālī, Sayyid Muḥammad Riḍā. Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra. Beirut, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1412 AH.
  • Ḥusayn-zāda Shānih-chī, Ḥasan. Awḍāʿ-i siyāsī ijtimāʿī wa farhangī-yi Shīʿa dar ghaybat-i ṣughrā. Qom, Pazhūhishgāh-i ʿUlūm wa Farhang-i Islāmī, 1386 Sh.
  • Ibn Bābawayh, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra. Ed. Muḥammad Bāqir Muwaḥḥid Abṭaḥī. Qom, Madrasat al-Imām al-Mahdī (a), 1404 AH.
  • Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Maʿālim al-ʿulamāʾ fī fihrist kutub al-Shīʿa wa asmāʾ al-muṣannifīn qadīman wa ḥadīthan. Najaf, Maṭbaʿa Ḥaydariyya, 1380 AH.
  • Khānī Ārānī, Sajjād. Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra. Qom, Intishārāt-i Majlisī, 1386 Sh.
  • "Kitāb-i 'Al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira' wa naql-i Biḥār al-anwār az ān". Official Website of Grand Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjani. Accessed: 8 Ābān 1404 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Wafāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Murawwijī Ṭabasī, Najm al-Dīn & Muḥammad Mahdī Luṭfī. "Muʿarrafī-yi kitāb-i al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra". Nashriyya-yi Intiẓār, Spring 1385 Sh, no. 18.
  • Muwaḥḥid Abṭaḥī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Muqaddimat al-Imāma wa l-tabṣira min al-ḥayra. Qom, Madrasat al-Imām al-Mahdī (a), 1404 AH.
  • Najāshī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Rijāl al-Najāshī. Qom, Jāmiʿa Mudarrisīn, 1365 Sh.
  • Nūrī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad Taqī al-. Khātimat al-Mustadrak. Qom, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1415 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-. Al-Fihrist. Qom, Nashr al-Faqāha, 1417 AH.
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