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Science of Khasa'is

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Al-Khaṣāʾiṣ al-kubrā written by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911/1504-05)

The science of Khasa'is, also known as khasa'is-writing, encompasses the study of the uniqueness of the actions, the attributes, and the essence of the Prophet (s) and Ahl al-Bayt (a). This science is a branch of sira-writing[1] that focuses on the specific characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (s) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a). These specific characteristics include facts such as Prophet Muhammad (s) being the last of the prophets, and Imam Ali (a) being the first Muslim and the first to pray among the companions of the Prophet (s).

Science of Khasa'is is considered a type of Manaqib-writing with a more limited scope of topics. Works written in the field of Prophetic Khasa'is science writing by Shi'as are considered few, and their authorship is mainly attributed to Sunnis. In this field, the oldest surviving book is considered to be Nihayat al-su'ul fi khasa'is al-Rasul written by Ibn Dihya al-Kalbi (d. 633/1235).

Regarding the khasa'is-writing of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) among Sunnis, it is said that, apart from Prophet Muhammad (s), the only figure for whom Khasa'is writing has been done is Imam Ali (a). In this field, al-Nasa'i (d. 303 AH), one of the authors of Sihah Sitta, is considered a pioneer by writing the book Khasa'is Amir al-Mu'minin, about two centuries before the first Prophetic Khasa'is writings.

Al-Khasa'is al-kubra written by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH) among Prophetic Khasa'is works, and al-Khasa'is fi fadl 'Ali (a) written by Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani (d. 430/1038) in the field of Khasa'is writing of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), are considered among the important works in this field.

Definition and Position

Science of Khasa'is, sometimes called khasa'is-writing, as a branch of sira-writing, refers to writings that have been written about the specific characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (s) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[2] Specific characteristics such as the Prophet (s) being called the last of the prophets[3] and that among the Sahaba of the Messenger of God (s), Imam Ali (a) was the first Muslim and the first to pray.[4]

It is said that these specific characteristics are referred to in writings about the Prophet (s) with the title Khasa'is al-Nabi[5] and about the Ahl al-Bayt (a) either with the general title Khasa'is al-a'imma (a)[6] or with the addition of the name of each of them to Khasa'is.[7] The emergence of Prophetic khasa'is-writing is considered a major development in sira-writing due to its attention to new titles and topics in the Prophetic Sira.[8]

The principle of khasa'is-writing is considered a type of subject-oriented writing in the science of hadith, in which special features that distinguished a subject from other similar subjects were taken into consideration.[9] The Shi'a are considered pioneers in this type of writing with the writing of Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Ghadīr by Muhammad b. Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. 329 AH).[10]

Among various branches of Sira writing, Khasa'is writing is considered a type of manaqib-writing with a specific thematic scope.[11] Regarding the time of the emergence of such works, it is said that in the early Islamic centuries, Sira writers did not make significant efforts in this field because Khasa'is writing discussions appeared in other works of Islamic Sciences.[12] For example, it is said that the characteristics of the Messenger of God (s) in the matter of marriage (such as the permissibility of permanent Marriage with more than four wives) appeared in the chapters of Nikah in hadith books.[13]

Content of Works

The content of Khasa'is writings in the two fields of Prophetic characteristics (s) and characteristics of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) is presented as follows:

Khaṣāʾiṣ Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a) written by Ahmad b. Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i (d. 303 AH)

In the Field of Prophetic Characteristics (s)

Based on some Prophetic Khasa'is works, the content of these works is reported as follows:

  • Stating specific Sharia rulings for the Prophet (s);
  • Prophet Muhammad (s) is the master of humans in this world and the Hereafter, the role model for the worlds, and superior to all of them in morals and conduct;
  • He is the Seal of the Prophets (s), the ultimate goal of the creation of the world, and in terms of position, the leader of all Prophets (s);
  • The Messenger of God (s) is the only prophet who went on Mi'raj and reached Sidrat al-Muntaha;
  • The mission of the Prophet of Islam (s) is universal;
  • All prophets (a) gave glad tidings of the Prophet's (s) mission and took a covenant from their nations to follow the Prophet (s) after his Bi'tha;
  • The Qur'an, the miracle of the Prophet (s), is immune from distortion;
  • The Prophet (s) is the only one who saw Gabriel (a), the angel of revelation, in the form in which he was created;
  • God has cast fear into the hearts of enemies to help the Prophet (s);
  • The Prophet (s) is the first person to enter Paradise, and the Maqam Mahmud, and Shafa'a, and the Pool of Kawthar belong to him (s).[15]

In the Field of Characteristics of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)

Some topics raised in the works of khasa'is-writing of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), relying on some examples about Imam Ali (a), Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Nasāʾī, are reported as follows:

  • Imam Ali (a) was the first Muslim and the first to pray;
  • He is the most beloved of God's creations;
  • Imam Ali (a) is the brother of the Prophet (s) and like his soul;
  • Imam Ali (a) is the guardian of every believer after the Prophet (s);
  • God never disgraces or humiliates Ali (a);
  • Ali's (a) house was the only house whose door to the Prophet's Mosque (s) was not closed in the event of Sadd al-Abwab;
  • Loving the Imam (a) is the criterion for distinguishing a believer from a hypocrite;
  • Imam Ali (a) is the leader of every believer after the Prophet (s).[16]

Writings: Religious Origin and First Examples

Regarding Prophetic Khasa'is writing (s), the written works are considered mainly from Sunnis.[17] In this field, the oldest surviving book is considered to be Nihāyat al-suʾūl fī khaṣāʾiṣ al-Rasūl written by Umar b. Hasan al-Andalusi, known as Ibn Dihya al-Kalbi (d. 633 AH).[18] However, the oldest book written on this subject is considered to be al-Durr al-thamin fi khasa'is al-Nabi al-amin written by Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597/1201).[19]

Works written in the field of Prophetic khasa'is-writing by Shi'as are reported to be few.[20] Among Shi'a works, al-Najashi, a Shi'a scholar of biographical evaluation, mentioned the existence of a book titled Khasa'is al-Nabi under the works of a person named Ahmad b. Muhammad Du'al al-Qummi (d. 350 AH).[21]

Regarding the khasa'is-writing of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) among Sunnis, it is said that, apart from Prophet Muhammad (s), the only figure for whom Khasa'is writing has been done is Imam Ali (a).[22] In this field, Ahmad b. Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i (d. 303 AH), one of the authors of Sihah Sitta, is considered a pioneer by writing the book Khasa'is Amir al-Mu'minin, about two centuries before the first Prophetic Khasa'is writings.[23]

Writings: Other Works

Khasa'is writings in the two fields of Prophetic characteristics (s) and characteristics of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) are listed as follows:

Prophetic Characteristics (s)

Some of the most important works of Prophetic Khasa'is writing (s) are listed as follows:[25]

Al-Khaṣāʾiṣ al-ʿAlawiyya ʿalā sāʾir al-barriyya by Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Natanzi (d. early 6th century AH)

Characteristics of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)

Among the Khasa'is works related to the Ahl al-Bayt (a), some of the most important works written by Sunnis are listed as follows: al-Khasa'is fi fadl 'Ali (a) written by Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani (d. 430 AH), Khasa'is 'Ali b. Abi Talib fi al-Qur'an written by al-Hakim al-Haskani (d. 490 AH), Al-Khasa'is al-'Alawiyya 'ala sa'ir al-barriyya by Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Natanzi (d. early 6th/12th century), and Tadhkirat al-khawas written by Sibt b. al-Jawzi (d. 654 AH).[26]

Other works in this field written by Shi'as are mentioned as follows:[27]

In recent centuries, writings with Khasa'is titles have been written among Shi'as, some of which Agha Buzurg Tihrani (d. 1389 AH), a Shi'a bibliographer, has mentioned in al-Dhari'a:[28]

Al-Mawāhib al-ladunniyya bi-l-minaḥ al-Muḥammadiyya, by Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Qastallani (d. 923 AH)

Notes

  1. ↑ Sira-writing refers to the writing of works in which the Sira of the Messenger of God (s), his biography, and the Sira of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), their biographies, and their manner of dealing with political and social events are reported.
  2. ↑ Naṣṣār, Taḥawwul-i sīra-nigārī-yi Payāmbar (ṣ), 1399 Sh, p. 410; Nāṣiḥ & Mūsawī Karāmātī, "Shinākht-nāma-yi khaṣāʾiṣ-nigārī bā taʾkīd bar khaṣāʾiṣ-i Nasāyī", p. 265-266.
  3. ↑ Ḥusaynī Semnānī, "Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Nabī", p. 545.
  4. ↑ Nasāʾī, Khaṣāʾiṣ Amīr al-Muʾminīn, 1424 AH, p. 165-167.
  5. ↑ Naṣṣār, Taḥawwul-i sīra-nigārī-yi Payāmbar (ṣ), 1399 Sh, p. 410.
  6. ↑ For example see: Sayyid Raḍī, Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Aʾimma (a), 1406 AH, p. 4.
  7. ↑ For example see: Nasāʾī, Khaṣāʾiṣ Amīr al-Muʾminīn, 1424 AH, p. 2.
  8. ↑ Naṣṣār, Taḥawwul-i sīra-nigārī-yi Payāmbar (ṣ), 1399 Sh, p. 410.
  9. ↑ Kujūrī Māzandarānī, Khaṣāʾiṣ Fāṭimiyya, 1391 Sh, p. 9.
  10. ↑ Kujūrī Māzandarānī, Khaṣāʾiṣ Fāṭimiyya, 1391 Sh, p. 9.
  11. ↑ Naṣṣār, Taḥawwul-i sīra-nigārī-yi Payāmbar (ṣ), 1399 Sh, p. 410.
  12. ↑ Naṣṣār, Taḥawwul-i sīra-nigārī-yi Payāmbar (ṣ), 1399 Sh, p. 410.
  13. ↑ Ḥusaynī Semnānī, "Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Nabī", p. 545; Naṣṣār, Taḥawwul-i sīra-nigārī-yi Payāmbar (ṣ), 1399 Sh, p. 410.
  14. ↑ Qasṭallānī, Al-Mawāhib al-ladunniyya, vol. 1, p. 442-444.
  15. ↑ Ḥusaynī Semnānī, "Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Nabī", p. 545.
  16. ↑ Nasāʾī, Khaṣāʾiṣ Amīr al-Muʾminīn, 1424 AH, p. 165-167.
  17. ↑ Ḥusaynī Semnānī, "Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Nabī", p. 544.
  18. ↑ Naṣṣār, Taḥawwul-i sīra-nigārī-yi Payāmbar (ṣ), 1399 Sh, p. 411.
  19. ↑ Faqīhī, Juhūd al-ʿulamāʾ fī taṣnīf al-sīra al-nabawiyya, p. 39.
  20. ↑ Ḥusaynī Semnānī, "Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Nabī", p. 545.
  21. ↑ Najāshī, Rijāl al-Najāshī, 1418 AH, p. 90.
  22. ↑ Nāṣiḥ & Mūsawī Karāmātī, "Shinākht-nāma-yi khaṣāʾiṣ-nigārī bā taʾkīd bar khaṣāʾiṣ-i Nasāyī", p. 264.
  23. ↑ Nāṣiḥ & Mūsawī Karāmātī, "Shinākht-nāma-yi khaṣāʾiṣ-nigārī bā taʾkīd bar khaṣāʾiṣ-i Nasāyī", p. 264.
  24. ↑ Nasāʾī, Khaṣāʾiṣ Amīr al-Muʾminīn, 1424 AH, p. 63.
  25. ↑ Munajjid, Muʿjam mā ullifa ʿan Rasūl Allāh (ṣ), p. 187-190; Ḥusaynī Semnānī, "Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Nabī", p. 544-545.
  26. ↑ Nāṣiḥ & Mūsawī Karāmātī, "Shinākht-nāma-yi khaṣāʾiṣ-nigārī bā taʾkīd bar khaṣāʾiṣ-i Nasāyī", p. 264-265.
  27. ↑ Āghā Buzurg Tihrānī, Al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 7, p. 163-165; Nāṣiḥ & Mūsawī Karāmātī, "Shinākht-nāma-yi khaṣāʾiṣ-nigārī bā taʾkīd bar khaṣāʾiṣ-i Nasāyī", p. 265-266.
  28. ↑ Āghā Buzurg Tihrānī, Al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 7, p. 166-168.

References

  • Āghā Buzurg Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin b. ʿAlī. Al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-Shīʿa. Edited by Sayyid Aḥmad Ḥusaynī Ishkawarī. Beirut, Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Faqīhī, ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd b. ʿAlī. Juhūd al-ʿulamāʾ fī taṣnīf al-sīra al-nabawiyya. Medina, Mujammaʿ al-Malik Fahd li-Ṭibāʿat al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf, n.d.
  • Ḥusaynī Semnānī, Batūl. "Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Nabī". In Dānishnāma-yi Jahān-i Islām. Vol. 15. Tehran, Bunyād-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Islāmī, 1390 Sh.
  • Kujūrī Māzandarānī, Muḥammad Bāqir b. Ismāʿīl. Khaṣāʾiṣ Fāṭimiyya (Fāṭima Zahrā (s) īn-gūna būd). Edited by Ṣādiq Ḥasan-zāda. Qom, Andīsha-yi Hādī, 1391 Sh.
  • Munajjid, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn. Muʿjam mā ullifa ʿan Rasūl Allāh (ṣ). Edited by Nādī ʿAṭṭār. Cairo, Dār al-Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ lil-Turāth, n.d.
  • Najāshī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Rijāl al-Najāshī. Edited by Sayyid Mūsā Shubayrī Zanjānī. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1418 AH.
  • Nasāʾī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Khaṣāʾiṣ Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib raḍiya Allāh ʿanh. Edited by Dānī b. Zuhayr Āl Zahwī. Beirut, Al-Maktaba al-ʿAṣriyya, 1424 AH.
  • Nāṣiḥ, ʿAlī Aḥmad & Sayyid Muḥammad Taqī Mūsawī Karāmātī. "Shinākht-nāma-yi khaṣāʾiṣ-nigārī bā taʾkīd bar khaṣāʾiṣ-i Nasāyī". Do-faṣlnāma-yi Ḥadīth-pazhūhī. No. 22, Autumn & Winter 1398 Sh.
  • Naṣṣār, ʿAmmār ʿAbūdī. Taḥawwul-i sīra-nigārī-yi Payāmbar (ṣ) nazd-i muʾarrikhān-i Musalmān tā pāyān-i ʿaṣr-i ʿAbbāsī. Translated by Āmina Mūsawī Shajarī & Sayf ʿAlī Zāhidī-far. Qom, Pazhūheshgāh-i ʿUlūm wa Farhang-i Islāmī, 1399 Sh.
  • Qasṭallānī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. Al-Mawāhib al-ladunniyya bi-l-minaḥ al-Muḥammadiyya. Edited by ʿImād Zakī Bārūdī. Cairo, Al-Maktaba al-Tawfīqiyya, n.d.
  • Sayyid Raḍī, Muḥammad b. Ḥusayn. Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Aʾimma (a). Edited by Muḥammad Hādī Amīnī. Mashhad, Bunyād-i Pazhūhish-hā-yi Islāmī-yi Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍawī, 1406 AH.
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