Book of 'Ali: Difference between revisions

According to Shiite hadiths, ''al-Jami'a'' is a book dictated by the [[Prophet (s)]] and transcribed by [[Imam 'Ali|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]] (1293-1389/1876-1970) argues that ''Kitab 'Ali'' is distinct from ''al-Jami'a''.<ref>Tihrānī, ''al-Dharīʿa'', vol. 2, p. 305- 306.</ref>

According to certain hadiths, ''al-Jami'a'' is a [[Wadayi' al-Imamate (Trusts of Imamate)|trust of the Imamate]], signifying the rightful claim of its holder to [[Imamate]].<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Maʿānī al-akhbār'', p. 102- 103; Ṣadūq, ''Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh'', vol. 4, p. 418- 419.</ref> Aqa Buzurg Tihrani argues that, like other trusts associated with the Imamate, the ''Book of 'Ali'' was passed down among the [[Shiite Imams]] and is now in the possession of [[Imam al-Mahdi (a)]].<ref>Tihrānī, ''al-Dharīʿa'', vol. 2, p. 305.</ref>

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|''Tradition and Survival'']], 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 Ma'arff (b. 1953), 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>

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. 1965) 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>

*Ahwāzī, Ḥusayn b. Saʿīd al-. ''Al-Zuhd''. Qom: al-Maṭbaʿa al-ʿIlmīyya, 1402 AH.