Book of 'Ali: Difference between revisions

'''The Book of ʿAlī''' (Arabic: {{ia|کتاب علي}}), also known as al-Jami'a (The compendium), is a collection of hadiths dictated by the [[Prophet (s)]] and transcribed by [[Imam 'Ali (a)]]. This book is considered a [[Wadayi' al-Imamate (Trusts of Imamate)|trust of the Imamate]], and possession of it signifies the rightfulness claim of its holder to the [[Imamate]] position. According to [[hadiths]], al-Jami'a contains all [[Shari'a laws]], even the most specific ones. It also includes teachings on [[ethics]], beliefs, [[stories of the prophets]], and esoteric narratives.

Some hadiths suggest that a few individuals outside the [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]] also saw the book, including [[Muhammad b. Muslim]], [[Zurara b. A'yan]], and [[al-Mansur al-'Abbasi]]. Mahdi Mehrizi authored a book titled ''Kitab 'Ali'', in which he discusses al-Jami'a.

According to Shiite hadiths, al-Jami'a is a book dictated by the [[Prophet (s)]] and transcribed by [[Imam 'Ali]].<ref>Ṣaffār, ''Baṣāʾir al-darajāt'', p. 142- 146; Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 239.</ref> The book is also known by other titles, such as ''al-Sahifa''<ref>Ṣaffār, ''Baṣāʾir al-darajāt'', p. 153- 155.</ref> and ''Kitab 'Ali'',<ref>Ahwāzī, ''al-Zuhd'', p. 39; Ashʿarī, ''al-Nawādir'', p. 79; Barqī, ''Kitāb al-maḥāsin'', vol. 1, p. 107, 273.</ref> which researchers believe refer to the same text, given the identical characteristics attributed to all of them.<ref>Bahār dūst, ''Jifr wa jāmiʿa'', 476.</ref> However, [[Aqa Buzurg Tihrani]] ([[1293]]- [[1389]] AH/1876-7 - 1969-70) argues that ''Kitab 'Ali'' is distinct from ''al-Jami'a''.<ref>Tihrānī, ''al-Dharīʿa'', vol. 2, p. 305- 306.</ref>

==Al-Jami'a as a Sign of Imamate==

According to numerous hadiths, all rulings pertaining to [[halal]] and [[haram]], including nuanced issues such as the diya (blood money) for merely scratching someone’s skin, are mentioned in al-Jami'a.<ref>Ṣaffār, ''Baṣāʾir al-darajāt'', p. 142- 146; Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 239.</ref> Some researchers speculate that the book is called al-Jami'a (literally, "comprehensive" or "compendium") due to its inclusion of all Sharia rulings.<ref>Bahār dūst, ''Jifr wa jāmiʿa'', 477.</ref> Sayyid Husayn Mudarrisi Tabataba'i, a Shiite researcher of the twenty-first century, cited various hadiths in his book [[Tradition and Survival]]: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi'a Literature, suggesting that the ''Book of 'Ali'' encompassed the following contents: [[Furu' al-Din|jurisprudential rulings]] (including [[prayer]], [[hajj]], [[jihad]], [[marriage]], [[divorce]], [[judgeship]], [[testimony]], [[hudud]], and [[diyat]]), [[ethics]], [[beliefs]] and virtues, [[stories of the prophets]], and esoteric narratives.<ref>Mudarrisī Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''Mīrāth-i maktūb-i Shīʿa '', p. 32- 36.</ref>

According to Majid Maaref (b. 1332 Sh/ 1953- 4), over forty individuals have reported the existence of the book al-Jami'a.<ref>Maʿārif, ''Pajūhishī dar tārīkh-i ḥadīth-i Shīʿa'', p. 43- 45.</ref> Some hadiths mention that several companions of the Imams, including [[Muhammad b. Muslim]],<ref>Ṭūsī, ''al-Tahdhīb'', vol. 9, p. 271.</ref> [[Zurara b. A'yan]],<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 7, p. 94.</ref> [[Abu Basir al-Muradi]],<ref>Ṣaffār, ''Baṣāʾir al-darajāt'', p. 143.</ref> [['Abd al-Malik b. A'yan]],<ref>Ṣaffār, ''Baṣāʾir al-darajāt'', p. 153.</ref> and Mu'attab,<ref>Ṣaffār, ''Baṣāʾir al-darajāt'', p. 145.</ref> as well as some of their adversaries, such as [[al-Mansur al-'Abbasi]], had seen the ''book al-Jami'a''.<ref>Jundī, ''al-Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq'', p. 200.</ref> Al-Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Tabataba'i suggests that eighty hadiths cited in ''[[Wasa'il al-Shi'a]]'' are, in fact, quoted from the ''Book of 'Ali''.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''Tārīkh-i hadīth-i Shīʿa'', vol. 1, p. 69.</ref>

Some researchers suggest that, unlike in Shiite accounts where the ''Book of [[Jafr]]'' and ''al-Jami'a'' and their contents are clearly distinguished, there is no such distinction in [[Sunni]] reports. In some Sunni accounts where the two books are differentiated, their contents are said to be identical.<ref>Bahār dūst, ''Jifr wa jāmiʿa'', 477.</ref> [[Al-Sayyid Mir Sharif al-Jurjani]], a Hanafi scholar of the eighth/fourteenth century, believes that al-Jami'a was written using an encoded method based on the science of letters ('ilm al-huruf).<ref>Jurjānī, ''Sharḥ al-mawāqif'', vol. 6, p. 22.</ref> Haji Khalifa identifies the ''Book of Jafr'' as pertaining to the Tablet of Predestination (qada), and ''al-Jami'a'' to the Tablet of Fate (qadar).<ref>Ḥājī Khalīfa, ''Kashf al-ẓunūn'', vol. 1, p. 591.</ref>

According to some hadiths, the ''Book of 'Ali'' is described as having a length of seventy cubits (approximately 35 meters)<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 239; Ṣadūq, ''Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh'', vol. 4, p. 419.</ref> and a width equal to that of a camel’s thigh,<ref>Ṭūsī, ''al-Tahdhīb'', vol. 9, p. 271.</ref> indicating its substantial size and volume.<ref>Bahār dūst, ''Jifr wa jāmiʿa'', 477.</ref> However, other hadiths suggest that the book was small enough to fit within a sword scabbard. <ref>Barqī, ''Kitāb al-maḥāsin'', vol. 1, p. 17- 1; Nasāʾī, ''al-Sunan al-kubrā'', vol. 8, p. 56.</ref>Some researchers, citing additional hadiths, argue that the smaller book was only a portion of the original text.<ref>Bahār dūst, ''Jifr wa jāmiʿa'', 477.</ref> Sayyid Muhammad Kazim Tabataba'i (b. 1344 Sh/1965- 6) believes that the smaller book was actually a different text, distinct from the ''Book of 'Ali''.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''Tārīkh-i hadīth-i Shīʿa'', vol. 1, p. 65- 66.</ref>

Mahdi Mehrizi authored a book titled ''Kitab 'Ali'' about the ''Book of 'Ali'', published by Sahifa Khirad in 1390 Sh/ 2011, with a total of 220 pages.<ref>Mihrīzī, ''Kitāb ʿAlī''.</ref>