Thiqat al-Islam

Priority: c, Quality: b
From wikishia

Thiqat al-Islām (Arabic:ثِقَة الاِسلام) is a general respectful title for some Imami scholars. Also, it is uniquely used for Muhammad b. Ya'qub al-Kulayni. In recent decades, the title signifies certain level of Shi'a seminary studies.

Lexicology and Terminology

Main article: Thiqa

Lexically, Thiqat means: a reliable and trustworthy person.[1] In 'ilm al-Rijal, it is used to explicitly confirm the trustworthiness (Withaqa) and Justice ('idalat) of a narrator.[2] It seems that in the combination of "Thiqat" with "Islam", both lexical and terminological merits were properly taken into account.

First Application

Thiqat al-Islam was first used as a title for Muhammad b. Yaqub al-Kulayni (d.329/941) the compiler of al-Kafi.[3] It is even regarded as a unique title solely for him; which in general use refers to al-Kulayni.[4] According to Mudir Shanachi, al-Kulayni was known as Thiqat al-Islam in his time,[5] however he does not provide any evidence for this. Seemingly, the first who used this title for al-Kulayni in his works is al-Shaykh al-Baha'i;[6] after him numerous Shi'a scholars used this title for al-Kulayni.[7]

Title of al-Kulayni

Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi[8] believes al-Kulayni became reputable as Thiqat al-Islam because he was known by his accountable and reliable position by both Shi'a and Sunni sects, and both sects used to refer to his Fatwas on different matters. This reason seems to be applicable for all who were known by this title rather than just al-Kulayni. For example Mazandarani in his commentary on Usul al-Kafi[9] and al-'Allama al-Majlisi in Bihar al-Anwar[10] both use the title Thiqat al-Islam for al-Shaykh al-Tusi and al-Tabrisi which seems to be based on the above mentioned reason.

Modern Use

In recent decades, the use of titles such as "Ayatollah" or "Ayatollah al-'uzma" has become prevalent for high ranking scholars and religious figures; likewise the title "thiqat al-Islam" is used for junior students of seminary or who start wearing the cleric outfit in lower levels.[11] Meanwhile and considering its literal denotation and respectful application, the title is used for some great figures. For instance, Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi[12] uses Thiqat al-Islam for his teacher, Muhaddith al-Nuri and 'Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din. Some other scholars are known by this title as well;[13] two more famous of which are: Nur Allah Isfahani[14] and Thiqat al-Islam Tabrizi.

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Durayd, Jamharat al-lugha. Jawharī, al-Ṣiḥāḥ fī al-lugha. Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab.
  2. ↑ Mudīr Shānachī, Dirāyat al-hadīth, p. 112-113.
  3. ↑ Mudarris Tabrīzī, Rayḥānat al-adab fī tarājum al-maʿrūfīn, vol. 5, p. 79.
  4. ↑ Nūrī, Wasāʾil wa musṭanbit al-wasā'il, vol. 3, p. 479-483.
  5. ↑ Mudīr Shānachī, ʿIlm al-hadīth, p. 75.
  6. ↑ Shaykh Bahāʾī, Mashriq al-shamsayn wa iksīr al-saʿādatayn,, p. 98, 102.
  7. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 5, p. 5; Qummī, al-Kunā wa l-alqāb, vol. 3, p. 97.
  8. ↑ Qummī, Zindigī-yi ʿulamāʾ-yi madhhab-i Shīʿa, vol. 2, p. 658.
  9. ↑ Māzandarānī, Sharḥ uṣūl kāfī, vol. 9. p. 359.
  10. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 105, p. 48.
  11. ↑ Zawābiṭī, Pazhūhishī dar nizām-i ṭalabagī, p. 202; Matīnī, Bahtḥī darbāra-yi sābiqa-yi tārīkhī-yi alqāb wa ʿanāwīn-i ʿulamā dar madhhab-i Shīʿa, p. 580-601.
  12. ↑ Qummī, al-Kunā wa l-alqāb, vol. 2, p. 404; vol. 3, p. 198.
  13. ↑ Nāzim al-Islām-i Kirmānī, Tārīkh-i bīdārī-yi Irāniyān, part 1, introduction, p. 238, 336, 537, 550, part 2, vol. 4, p. 13, 116, vol. 5, p. 386, 465.
  14. ↑ Nāzim al-Islām-i Kirmānī, Tārīkh-i bīdārī-yi Irāniyān, p. 4.

References

  • Ibn Durayd, Abūbakr Muḥammad b. Ḥasan. Jamharat al-lugha. Edited by Ramzī Munīr Baʿlbakī. Beirut: 1987-1988.
  • Ibn Manẓūr, Muḥammad b. Mukarram. Lisān al-ʿArab. [n.p]. [n.d].
  • Jawharī, Abū Naṣr Ismāʿīl b. Ḥammād al-. Al-Ṣiḥāḥ fī al-lugha. Edited by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-ʿAṭṭār. Beirut: [n.d]. Tehran: 1368 Sh.
  • Matīnī, Jalāl. Bahtḥī darbāra-yi sābiqa-yi tārīkhī-yi alqāb wa ʿanāwīn-i ʿulamā dar madhhab-i Shīʿa. Iran-nama, No 4, 1362 Sh.
  • Māzandarānī, Muḥammad Sāliḥ b. Ahmad. Sharḥ uṣūl kāfī. Edited by Abu l-Ḥassan Shaʿrānī. Tehran: 1383 AH.
  • Mudīr Shānachī, Kāzim. Dirāyat al-hadīth. Mashhad: 1356 Sh.
  • Mudīr Shānachī, Kāzim. ʿIlm al-hadīth. Qom: 1362 Sh.
  • Mudarris Tabrīzī, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Rayḥānat al-adab fī tarājum al-maʿrūfīn bi-l-kunya wa al-laqab. [n.p]. [n.d].
  • Nūrī, Mīrzā Ḥusayn al-. Mustadrak al-wasāʾil wa musṭanbit al-wasā'il. [n.p]. [n.d].
  • Nāzim al-Islām-i Kirmānī, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Tārīkh-i bīdārī-yi Irāniyān. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Saʿīdī Sīrjānī. Tehran: 1376-1377 Sh.
  • Qummī, Shaykh ʿAbbās. Al-Fawāʾid al-raḍawīyya; Zindigī-yi ʿulamāʾ-yi madhhab-i Shīʿa. Tehran: 1327 Sh.
  • Qummī, Shaykh ʿAbbās. Al-Kunā wa l-alqāb. Tehran: Maktabat al-Ṣadr, [n.d].
  • Shaykh Bahāʾī, Muḥammad. Mashriq al-shamsayn. Tehran: 1319 Sh.
  • Zawābiṭī, Mahdī. Pazhūhishī dar nizām-i ṭalabagī. Tehran: [n.n], 1359 Sh.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Thiqat_al-Islam&oldid=175248"