Mi'at manqaba (book)

Mi'at manqaba

Bibliographical Information
Author	Ibn Shadhan
Original title	مأة منقبة
Language	Arabic
Subject	Virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (a)
Genre	Hadith

Miʾat manqaba min manāqib Amīr al-Muʾminīn wa l-Aʾimma min wuldih (a) min ṭarīq al-ʿAmma (Arabic: مائةُ مَنْقَبَة مِنْ مَناقِب امیرالمؤمنین وَ الأئمّة مِنْ وُلْده(ع) مِن طَریقِ العامّة; literal meaning: One hundred virtues of Imam Ali's (a) virtues and other infallible Imams (a) narrated in Sunni sources), known as Fada'il Ibn Shadhan, is a book written by Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Ali, known as Ibn Shadhan al-Qummi, a famous Shi'a scholar of the 4th/10th and 5th/11th centuries. The book contains one hundred hadiths about virtues of Imam Ali (a) and other infallible Imams (a) narrated in Sunni sources.

Author

Main article: Ibn Shadhan al-Qummi

Abu al-Hasan Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Ali al-Qummi, known as Ibn Shadhan al-Qummi, who was alive between the years 374/984-5 to 460/1067-8; hence he is counted among the scholars of the 4th/10th and 5th/11th centuries. The first place mentioned as his residence is Kufa, where he has narrated Hadith from Husayn b. Ahmad in 374/984-5.

Title

Some said that Idah dafa'in al-nawasib fi mi'at manqaba min manaqib Ali b. Abi Talib is another name of this book; however, Aqa Buzurg Tihrani believes that Mi'at manqaba is about the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (a), while Idah dafa'in al-nawasib was about refuting the ideas of those who opposed Ahl al-Bayt (a) and Shi'a. A manuscript form Idah was available in the library of Hajj Mirza Yahya Isfahani until the 14th/20th century; however, it is no longer available.

Cause of Writing

According to the introduction of the book, it seems that some followers of Imam Ali (a) asked the author to write a book about the virtues of Imam Ali (a) and Ibn Shadhan responded them as following: "You asked me to write a book about the status and virtues of Amir al-Mu'minin. I answer your request and compile this book from the hadiths narrated by Sunni scholars. It contains one hundred virtues of the endless sea of his virtues. Take hold of it and preserve it. May God guide us to the right and firm path."

Importance

The book is one of the important Shi'a Hadith sources. Great Shi'a scholars, such as Sayyid b. Tawus in al-Yaqin, al-'Allama al-Majlisi in Bihar al-anwar, Sayyid Hashim al-Bahrani in Ghayat al-maram wa hujjat al-khisam and al-'Allama al-Amini in al-Ghadir have quoted Hadiths from this book. In addition, as the author has narrated the Hadiths in the book form Sunni sources, the book is also accepted by great Sunni scholars, who have quoted Hadiths from it in their works, such as al-Khwarazmi in al-Manaqib and Maqtal al-Husayn, Abu 'Ubayd Allah al-Shafi'i in Kifayat al-talib and al-Juwayni in Fara'id al-simtayn.

Features

The author has narrated the Hadiths in the book only from Sunni sources. There is no special order for the Hadiths in the book and the index consists of the title of one hundred Hadiths.

Publication

The book was published twice. First, researched by Nabil Rida 'Alwan, and published by the publication of Madrasat al-Imam al-Mahdi (a) and second, researched, edited and translated by Ayad Kamali; by the publication of Javanan Munaffaq under the title Sirr dilbaran.