Fara'id al-simtayn (book)
 | |
| Author | Sadr al-Din Ibrahim b. Muhammad b. Mu'ayyid al-Juwayni |
|---|---|
| Original title | فَرائدُ السِّمْطَیْن فی فَضائل المُرْتَضی و البَتول و السِّبْطَیْن و الأئمّة مِن ذُرّیتهم علیهم السلام |
| Language | Arabic |
| Series | 2 vols. |
| Subject | Excellence of Ahl al-Bayt (a) |
| Published | Beirut, 1400/1979-80 |
| Publisher | Al-Mahmudi institute |
Farāʾid al-simṭayn fī faḍāʾil al-Murtaḍā wa l-Batūl wa l-Sibṭayn wa l-Aʾimma min dhurrīyyatihim ʿalayhim al-salām (Arabic: فَرائدُ السِّمْطَیْن فی فَضائل المُرْتَضی و البَتول و السِّبْطَیْن و الأئمّة مِن ذُرّیتهم علیهم السلام) is a book concerning the virtues of Imam Ali (a), Fatima al-Zahra (a), Imam al-Hasan (a), Imam al-Husayn (a), and other Imams (a), written by the Sunni scholar, Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Juwayni (b. 644/1246 - d. 722/1322).
The first volume of the book concerns the virtues of Imam Ali (a) and the second volume concerns the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (a), including Fatima al-Zahra (a), Imam al-Hasan (a), Imam al-Husayn (a), and other Imams (a) up to Imam al-Mahdi (a). After Imam al-Husayn (a), the book only cites some general hadiths, except for Imam al-Rida (a) and Imam al-Mahdi (a).
Author
Sadr al-Din Ibrahim b. Muhammad b. Mu'ayyid al-Juwayni al-Shafi'i is a Sunni Muslim who was born in 644/1246 in Amol, a city in northern Iran, in a scholarly and Sufi family. According to historical evidence, he was a Shafi'i, but some Shiite authors, including the author of Riyad al-masa'il and al-Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin, take him to be a Shi'a. He died in Khorasan in 722/1322.[1]
Method of Writing
The book contains 594 hadiths. The author cites the hadiths without any comments. Hadiths are cited with their chains of transmission and their details, such as the time and the place in which it was heard or read.
Although the author is a Sunni Muslim, most of hadiths he cited agree with Shiite beliefs regarding imamate; for example, the author mentions Imam Ali (a) as "Wasi" (successor) and "Asad Allah al-Ghalib", and takes Imam al-Mahdi (a) to be the last "Wali" (guardian).[2]
The chains of transmission of the hadiths in the book involve both Sunni and Shiite scholars. One of these scholars is the Shiite figure, Shadhan b. Jabra'il al-Qummi (d. between 590 to 600/1194 to 1204) who is cited about 60 times, and another one is al-Shaykh al-Saduq (d. 381/ 991-2) who is mentioned 33 times.[3]
Contents
The word "simt" means a chain of pearls, and "fara'id al-simtayn" means two unique chains of pearls which refers to two volumes of this book. It mostly contains hadiths that are also found in Shiite sources. The first volume concerns the virtues of Imam Ali (a) as enumerated by the Prophet (s). The second volume recites verses of the Qur'an regarding the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (a), as well as hadiths regarding Fatima al-Zahra (a), Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a). Hadiths cited in the second volume have a Shiite tone, and in fact they are cited from Shiite sources.[4]
However, the author cited hadiths to the effect that Abu Talib never believed in Islam, as he cited hadiths concerning the Prophet's (s) admiration of some Sahaba.[5]
Features
Here are some remarkable features of the book:
- Citing hadiths from both Sunni and Shiite sources.
- Mentioning some passions of Fatima al-Zahra (a) (section 7).
- Mentioning the day of Ghadir as Eid al-Ghadir (in section 13 titled: "On the Merits of Fasting on Eid al-Ghadir").
- Belief in the infallibility of the Imams (a) (section 31).
- Citing the Hadith of Lawh in which all the Imams (a) are mentioned (sections 32 and 34).
- Virtues of visiting the Imams (a) and Ziyarat al-Jami'a al-Kabira (section 38).
Significance
The book, Fara'id al-simtayn, was not available to Shiite scholars, as 'Allama Amini wished to have had a copy of this book. Al-'Allama al-Majlisi sometimes cited the book, as did Shaykh Yusuf al-Bahrani. Of Sunni scholars, Zarandi al-Hanafi cited the book in his Nazm durar al-simtayn, Samhudi al-Shafi'i cited it in his Jawahir al-'iqdayn, and al-Qunduzi al-Hanafi cited it in his Yanabi' al-mawadda.[6]
Manuscripts and publications
- A manuscript in the Library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi between the years 716/1316 and 722/1322.
- A manuscript in the Central Library of the University of Tehran.
- A manuscript with the handwriting of Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Mubarak b. Husayn al-Sari al-Bahrani, written in 1101/1689-90.
- A manuscript of 1322/1904-5.
- A manuscript with the handwriting of Muhammad Ali b. 'Abd Allah al-Isfahani al-Sidihi, 1323/1905-6.
- A manuscript with the handwriting of Shaykh Muhammad al-Samawi al-Najafi.[7]
The book was first edited by Muhammad Mahdi al-Asifi and published in Najaf up to the section 27 of the first volume. Later in 1398/1977-8, it was edited by Muhammad Baqir Mahmudi and published by al-Mahmudi institute in Beirut in 61 sections and 594 hadiths. The book is also published in Tehran by the Iranian Ministry of Culture.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Dādāshnizhād, Sīmā-yi dawāzdah Imām dar mīrāth-i maktūb-i ahl-i sunnat, vol. 1, p. 224-225.
- ↑ Juwaynī, Farāʾid al-samṭayn, vol. 1, p. 11.
- ↑ Dādāshnizhād, Sīmā-yi dawāzdah Imām dar mīrāth-i maktūb-i ahl-i sunnat, vol. 1, p. 230-231.
- ↑ Juwaynī, Farāʾid al-samṭayn, vol. 1, p. 22.
- ↑ Noor Digital Library
- ↑ Dādāshnizhād, Sīmā-yi dawāzdah Imām dar mīrāth-i maktūb-i ahl-i sunnat, vol. 1, p. 234.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Ahl al-Bayt fī l-maktaba al-ʿarabiyya, p. 345.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Ahl al-Bayt fī l-maktaba al-ʿarabiyya, p. 346.
References
- Dādāshnizhād, Manṣūr. Sīmā-yi dawāzdah Imām dar mīrāth-i maktūb-i ahl-i sunnat. Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1395 Sh.
- Juwaynī, Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad. Farāʾid al-samṭayn fī fadāʾil al-murtaḍā wa al-batūl wa al-sibṭayn wa al-aʾimma min dhurrīyatihim (a). Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Maḥmūdī. Beirut: Muʾassisa al-Maḥmūdī, 1400 AH.
- Kitāb-i Shinākht-i sīra-yi Maʿṣūmān. Noor Computer Research Center of Islamic Sciences.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. Ahl al-Bayt fī l-maktaba al-ʿarabiyya. Qom: Āl al-Bayt, 1417 AH.