Wasa'il al-Shi'a (book): Difference between revisions

'''''Tafṣīl wasāʾil al-shīʿa ilā tahṣīl masāʾil al-sharīʿa''''' (Arabic:تفصیلُ وَسائل الشیعة إلی تَحصیلِ مسائل الشّریعة) reputably known as: '''Wasāʾil al-shīʿa''' (وسائل الشیعة) is  a [[Shi'a]] [[Hadith collection]], compiled by [[al-Shaykh al-Hurr al-'Amili]] (d.1104/1693). It consists of Shi'a narrative traditions from early Shi'a hadith collections like [[The Four Books]] and other sources, pertaining exclusively to jurisprudential matters.

Muhammad b. Hasan b. 'Ali b. Muhammad b. Husayn, widely known as: al-Shaykh al-Hurr al-'Amili, is an [[Imami]] [[Jurist]] and expert in Hadith in eleventh/seventeenth century, who, along his magnum opus, wrote several valuable books. In scholarly circles, he is famous as: "the author of al-Wasa'il". He passed away in [[Mashhad]] and was buried in one of the courtyards of [[Imam Rida's Holy Shrine]].

''Wasa'il al-shi'a'' is an extensive collection of authentic narrations from the [[Holy Prophet (s)]] and the [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]] regarding [[Shi'a jurisprudence]] and practical laws. The narrations are classified in 50 categories, and the final section presents various discussions about Hadith sources, the [[chains of narration]] and [['ilm al-Rijal]] (study of transmitters of Hadith). al-Shaykh al-Hurr compiled these narrations within 20 years, finishing in 1082/1671. The book holds distinctive scholarly merits which made it a necessary reference for all scholars and [[Mujtahids]] since its compilation.

In the introduction, the author writes: for a long time, I had this idea in mind, to collect narrations about Shari'a and [[practical laws]] from reliable books that are at the reach of 'Ulama, for these books, in addition to redundancy and repetition, contain other unrelated traditions that are not helpful for jurists. Therefore, I started to compile narrations pertaining to practical laws, I did whatever I could and I did not take but from reliable and reputable books.

This great collection, contains 36,000 narrations, dealing with: practical laws, obligations and rituals. The book is a scrutinized selection from authentic early [[Shi'a Hadith collections]] and [[primary manuscripts]] of early companions.

# The Twelve Discussions at the final section, introducing Hadith sources and discussing some topics within the discipline of Hadith and 'ilm al-Rijal.

# ''Sharh wasa'il al-shi'a'', by: [[Sayyid Abu al-Qasim Khoei|Sayyid al-Khoei]].

# And 7 other books.

# Manuscript in the Library of the [[Holy Shrine of Imam Rida (a)]] in [[Mashahd]]. this is the first draft of the book, written by the author himself. The author has dated it: [[Rabi' al-awwal]] 1072/Oct.-Nov. 1661.

# Manuscript in the [[Library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi|Library of late Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi]] in [[Qom]]. This is the second version of the book, written by the author himself and is dated 1082/1671.

# Second manuscript in the Library of Imam Rida's Holy Shrine, which dates back to 1114/1702. This manuscript is a copy of the third version, which had been written down by the author. Also, this version bears the final amendments and footnotes in the author's handwriting.

After being recopied countlessly in scholarly circles, the book was published for the first time with the amendments by [[Ayatollah Shahid Shaykh Fadl Allah Nuri]] in six volumes. Its 20 volume version, with 'Abd al-Rahim Rabbani Shirazi's footnotes was published in 1403/1983. In 1414/1993,[[Al al-Bayt Foundation]] published the book in 30 volumes.

* [[Allama Amini|al-Amini, 'Abd al-Husayn]], ''[[Al-Ghadir]]'', dar al-kutub al-'arabi, Beirut, 1397AH/1977;