List of Works by Sayyid Ni'mat Allah al-Jaza'iri
List of works by al-Sayyid Ni'mat Allāh al-Jazā'irī is a collection of works by al-Sayyid Ni'mat Allah al-Jaza'iri (d.1112/1701), known as al-Muḥaddith al-Jazā'irī (المحدث الجزائري), who was a Shia scholar and the head of the well-known scholarly and religious household of Jaza'iri. He is known as a prolific author. The collection of works by this hadith scholar has been published in digital format by Noor Center for Computer Research.
Here are some of his major books:
1. Al-Anwar al-nu'maniyya fi ma'rifat al-nash'at al-insaniyya. It is sometimes wrongly identified as al-Anwar al-Nu'mani. The book concerns the states of humans from their prenatal state through their postmortem life. It is organized in three sections, each of which is devoted to one of the three human states: prenatal states, from birth to death, and the postmortem life and the hereafter. The book has an epilogue in which Sayyid Ni'mat Allah al-Jaza'iri describes the life histories of his teachers.
2. Anis al-wahid fi sharh al-tawhid It is a commentary on al-Tawhid by al-Shaykh al-Saduq (d. 381/991-2). In his other book, Zahr al-rabi', al-Jaza'iri refers to this book as Anis al-farid.
3. Jawahir al-ghawali fi sharh 'awali l-la'ali. It is a commentary on 'Awali l-la'ali by Ibn Abi l-Jumhur al-Ihsa'i (d. circa 907/1501). To this book, al-Sayyid Ni'mat Allah al-Jaza'iri has referred as Madinat al-hadith. This two-volume book is an exposition of jurisprudential hadiths from issues of cleanliness through those of diyat (blood money).
4. Hashiya-yi sharh-i Jami bar Kafiya. Al-Jaza'iri has referred to it as Hashiya mudawwana 'ala sharh al-Jami. Aqa Buzurg Tihrani has referred to this book as al-Hashiya 'ala l-Jami wa Sharh al-kafiya.
5. Hawashi Amal al-amil. These commentaries contain biographies of a number of scholars contemporaneous with al-Jaza'iri, who were not mentioned in the book Amal al-amil. Because of this book as well as other books concerning rijal, Aqa Buzurg Tihrani describes Sayyid Ni'mat Allah al-Jaza'iri as a scholar of rijal and biography.
6. Hawashi Nahj al-balagha. It is a brief commentary by al-Jaza'iri on Nahj al-balagha. He has given it the titles al-Hawashi al-dafiya wa al-mawazin al-wafiya.
7. Riyad al-abrar fi manaqib al-'a'imma al-athar. In three volumes: the first volume on the life history of the Prophet (s) and Amir al-Mu'minin (a); the second volume on the life history of Lady Fatima (a), the Second through the Eleventh Imams of the Shia; and the third volume on a biography of the Twelfth Imam (a).
8. Zahr al-rabi' fi l-tara'if wa l-milh wa l-maqal al-badiʿ. It is an anthology concerning a variety of literary, exegetical, and biographical materials. This is a well-known work by al-Jaza'iri. When mentioning the book, 'Abd Allah al-Jaza'iri points out that it contains jokes and humors, believing that it might be modified in this respect.
9. Sharh-i Sahifa-yi Sajjadiyya. Overall, Sayyid Ni'mat Allah al-Jaza'iri wrote three exegeses of al-Sahifat al-Sajjadiyya. The first is known as al-Sharh al-kabir (the major exegesis). The second is al-Sharh al-mukhtasar (the brief exegesis), which is indeed a refined summary of the first exegesis. The first exegesis was left into oblivion after the publication of the second. The brief exegesis is titled Nur al-anwar fi sharh kalam khayr al-akhyar. The author finished writing this book in Khorramabad in 1078/1667; that is, at the age of twenty-eight. The third is an exegesis of the addenda of al-Sahifa titled al-Nukat al-tarifa fi sharh mulhaqat al-sahifa.
10. Ghayat al-maram fi sharh tahdhib al-ahkam. This is a commentary on al-Shaykh al-Tusi's Tahdhib al-ahkam. It is a brief commentary based on another commentary, which the author wrote when he was young under Maqsud al-anam fi sharḥ tahdhib al-ahkam. The book is a comprehensive argumentative jurisprudence, involving discussions of other relevant Islamic fields of study, such as hadith, rijal, principles of jurisprudence, and beliefs. In this book, the jurisprudential views and fatwas of al-Allama al-Majlisi are cited, but he is mentioned as “shaykhuna al-mu'asir” (our contemporary master).
11. Kashf al-asrar fi sharh al-istibsar. It contains major scholarly materials pertaining to jurisprudence, hadith, and rijal. The book's introduction reflects some of the views by the author.
12. Maqamat al-najat fi sharh asma' al-husna. It explicates God's Best Names (al-asma' al-husna) in an Arabic alphabetic order from alif to Ḍad. The book has a mystical flavor, involving views by senior masters of Sufism, such as Dhu l-Nun al-Misri, al-Rabi'a al-Adawiyya (or Rabia of Basra), Majd al-Din al-Baghdadi, and Muhyi l-Din b. al-Arabi. He has criticized some of the views advocated by Sufis. Because of its Sufi contents, al-Allama al-Majlisi dissuaded al-Jaza'iri from writing the rest of the book. In his book Zahr al-rabi', al-Jaza'iri points to this recommendation by al-Allama al-Majlisi.
13. Al-Nur al-mubin fi qasas al-anbiya' wa l-mursalin. This book serves as a supplement for the book Riyad al-abrar. It has been frequently published. Nur al-Din al-Jaza'iri, the author's son, has translated the book into Persian under Tuhfat al-awliya'.
14. Hadiyyat al-mu'minin wa tuhfat al-raghibin. This is a brief jurisprudential essay on the rulings of cleanliness and prayer. In the opening of the book, Sayyid Ni'mat Allah al-Jaza'iri criticizes the doctrine held by Usulis to the effect that duty-bound persons are divided into mujtahids and followers as well as the prohibition of following a dead mujtahid. The style of its writing is closer to hadith transmission than standard methods of formulating jurisprudential issues.
Other works
His other works include:
1. Al-Ayyam al-nahsat wa l-sa'ida.
2. Al-Buhur al-zakhira.
3. Tuhfat al-asrar.
4. Hashiyat al-istibsar.
5. Hashiyat zubdat al-bayan.
6. Hashiyat sharh Ibn Abi l-Hadid.
7. Hashiyat sharh al-lubab.
8. Hashiat mughni l-labib.
9. Hashiyat naqd al-rijal.
10. Hawashi l-kutub al-arba'a wa ghayriha.
11. Hall mushkilat al-'ulum.
12. Sharh 'ayniyat Ibn Sina.
13. Sharh al-fawa'id al-ziya'iyya.
14. Sharh minhaj al-sawab.
15. Sharh nahj al-sawab.
16. Tariq al-salik.
17. 'Uqud al-marjan.
18. Al-Ghayat al-quswa.
19. Al-Fawa'id.
20. Al-Fawa'id al-Nu'maniyya.
21. Al-Fawa'id al-nu'miyya.
22. Qati' al-lajaj.
23. Lawami' l-anwar.
24. Maskan al-shajun fi hukm al-farar min al-ta'un.
25. Mushkilat al-masa'il.
26. Miftah al-labib.
27. Maqamat al-najat.
28. Maqsud al-anam.
29. Manahij al-matalib.
30. Manba'l-hayat.
31. Muntaha l-matlab.
32. Minhaj al-mubtadi.
33. Nuzhat al-akhwan.
34. Nawadir al-akhbar.
35. Nahj al-yaqin.
36. Nur al-barahin.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from فهرست آثار سید نعمتالله جزایری in Farsi WikiShia.