Masa'il al-'awis (book)
 | |
| Author | al-Shaykh al-Mufid |
|---|---|
| Original title | مَسائل العَویص |
| Language | Arabic |
| Series | 1 vol. |
| Subject | jurisprudence |
| Published | 1413/1992-3 |
Masāʾil al-ʿawīṣ (Arabic: مَسائل العَویص) or Jawābāt al-masāʾil al-Nishābūrīyya (Arabic: جوابات المسائل النیشابوریة) is a book concerning Shiite jurisprudence in Arabic, written by al-Shaykh al-Mufid (d. 413/1022), one of the most prominent Shi'a scholars of jurisprudence and theology in the 4th/10th century. It contains some abstruse jurisprudential problems posed by Abu l-Hasan al-Nishaburi and answers by al-Shaykh al-Mufid. In addition to providing answers to jurisprudential problems, al-Shaykh al-Mufid also concerned himself with consensus or disagreements among Shiite and Sunni scholars.
The word, "al-'awis", literally means abstruse words. The book is also known as al-ʿAwīṣ or al-ʿAwīṣ fī l-aḥkām.
Author
Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Nu'man (d. 413/1022) known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid was among Shia scholars of the end of the 4th/10th century and the beginning of the 5th/11th century. He was among revivers of Islamic sciences and preachers of Shia culture and jurisprudence.
Titles of the Book
The book is also known as follows:
- Al-'Awis
- Al-'Awis fi l-ahkam
- Jawabat al-masa'il al-Nishaburiyya
- Masa'il Abi l-Hasan al-Nisaburi
Topic
Al-'Awis is a collection of jurisprudential problems posed by Abu l-Hasan al-Nishaburi and answered by al-Shaykh al-Mufid. He was later asked by one of his fellows to rewrite those questions and answers in the form of a book. The problematic jurisprudential questions seem to be sent to al-Shaykh al-Mufid from Nishabur.
The book has 5 parts, 85 questions, and 94 answers. Some problems in the book are similar to puzzles. Sometimes the author proposes over 10 solutions for a problem.
Titles and Contents
The book is concerned with the following issues:
- Problems of marriage
- Abstruse problems of inheritance (irth)
- How to prove a lineage and cases of disagreement
- Swearing and rare cases of divorce
- Admitting other people's rights
Manuscripts and Publication
- A manuscript in the Library of Ayatollah Gulpayigani in Qom which was written in 1183/1769-70 with the handwriting of Sayyid Husayn b. Mir Sayyid 'Ali al-Musawi.
- A manuscript in the Library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi.
- A manuscript in the Malik Library in Tehran.
- A manuscript in the Library of Majlis in Tehran.
- A manuscript in the Central Library of Tehran University.
- A manuscript in the Library of Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad.
The book was published by Dar al-Mufid Publications in Beirut in 1414/1993-4.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from مسائل العویص (کتاب) in Farsi WikiShia.