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Al-Uṣūl al-arbaʿamiʾa, the four hundred principles) are four hundred hadith collections which were collected by the transmitters of hadith directly from the Prophet (s) and Imams (a) in the early centuries of Islam.
They were sources for later hadith references, and one criterion of authenticity for the next generation of hadith scholars was the existence of at least one of these "usul" in the reference of a hadith.
The content of these collections was hadiths from the Infallible Imams (a) in different fields of rulings, traditions, sermons, supplications, and commentaries of the Qur'an. Collecting them was being carried out by the companions of Imams from the time of Imam 'Ali (a) until Imam Hasan al-Askari (a) and the number of those companions has sometimes been reported to have been exactly four hundred, most of whom were companions of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a).
"Usul" is the plural form of "Asl" and in the Twelvers' works, there is a difference between asl (literally, "primary") and kitab (literally, "book") or musannaf ("written work"). For example, sometimes in the books of rijal, a transmitter is introduced as "he has authored a kitab and also an asl." About the difference between a kitab and an asl, it has been said that, "In case of a kitab or a musannaf, the author is engaged in writing and any modification to the work, while in writing an asl, the author would only record and compile anything he has heard."
Some others have distinguished the two types of works as follows: "Asl is a reliable collection, the hadiths in which are not adopted from another book. Asl is a collection, the hadiths in which are reported directly from an Infallible Imam (a), but a kitab is a collection of hadiths which are adopted from an asl.
Aqa Buzurg Tihrani wrote, "In hadith studies, asl is a certain part of hadith books, but a kitab might include any writing about hadiths. Asl is used as in its literal sense, because if the book of hadiths is comprised of the sayings of the Infallible (a), such hadiths are primary and original proofs for those who want to write anything about hadiths and thus such collections are called asl", but a kitab can include hadiths and the author's own understandings as well.......
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Today Tuesday, 15 April, 2025 / 16 Shawwal, 1446
- 621 CE – Mi'raj of the Prophet (s), according to a report (Ramadan 17, 2 BH)
- 627 CE – Battle of Banu Qurayza, the last battle of the Prophet (s) with the Jews of Medina (Dhu l-Qa'da 23, 5)
- 1946 CE – Demise of Muhammad Taqi Bafqi, a religious scholar. (Jumada I 12, 1365)
