Tuhaf al-'uqul (book)
 Bibliographical Information | |
| Author | Ibn Shu'ba al-Harrani |
|---|---|
| Original title | تُحَفُ العُقول في ما جاءَ مِنَ الحِکَمِ وَ المَواعِظَ مِن آلِ الرَّسول |
| Language | Arabic |
| Series | 1 vol. |
| Subject | Hadith |
| Published | 1394/1974-5, Beirut |
| Publisher | Mu'assisa al-A'lami li l-Matbu'at |
| Pages | 390 |
| English translation | |
| En. title | 'Tuhaf Ul-Uqoul: The Masterpieces of the Mind' |
| En. publisher | Yasin Publications |
Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl fī mā jāʾa min al-ḥikam wa l-mawāʿiẓ min ʾal al-rasūl (Arabic: تُحَفُ العُقول في ما جاءَ مِنَ الحِکَمِ وَ المَواعِظَ مِن آلِ الرَّسول) is a hadith book written by Ibn Shu'ba al-Harrani, the hadith scholar of 4th/10th century. The author aimed to collect hadiths transmitted from Ahl al-Bayt (a) and divine prophets concerning sermons, preaches, aphorisms, and wisdoms.
The author has devoted a separate chapter to the sayings of the Prophet (s) and those of Imams of the Shi'a. In the last chapters of the books, sermons of past prophets are cited.
In the book, longer hadiths are cited at first, and shorter hadiths are cited at the end of each section. For the sake of brevity, the author refrained from mentioning the chains of the transmitters of hadiths.
Purpose of Writing
Ibn Shu'ba al-Harrani explains that his purpose of writing the book was to provide access to the teachings of the Prophet (s) and Imams (a) on morality, spirituality, and wisdom, which had not received due attention by the past Shi'a scholars.[1]
Content
The book includes hadiths concerning the usul al-din and furu' al-din, religious traditions and manners, preaches by the Imams (a) and their words of wisdom.
The book begins with the hadiths of the Prophet (s) and continues with those of Imams (a) in an orderly fashion. Some of the most important topics covered in this book are:
- The Prophet's (s) will for Imam 'Ali (a)
- The Prophet's (s) answers to the Christian Sham'un b. Lavi
- The Prophet's (s) advice to Mu'adh b. Jabal when he (s) was to send him to Yemen
- The Prophet's (s) speech in Hajjat al-Wida' (Farewell Pilgrimage)
- Imam 'Ali's (a) sermon on the pure monotheism
- Imam 'Ali's (a) advice to Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba (a)
- Imam 'Ali's sermon al-Wasilah
- Imam 'Ali's (a) Letter to Malik al-Ashtar
- Imam 'Ali's (a) talks with Kumayl b. Ziyad
- Imam al-Hasan's (a) answer to al-Hasan al-Basri
- Imam al-Hasan's (a) sermon after signing the peace treaty with Mu'awiya
- Imam al-Husayn's (a) words on enjoining the good and forbidding the evil
- Imam al-Husayn's (a) letters to the people of Kufa
- Imam al-Sajjad's (a) Risala al-huquq
- Imam al-Baqir's (a) advice to Jabir b. Yazid al-Ju'fi
- Imam al-Sadiq's (a) advice to Mu'min al-Taq
- Some hadiths from Imam al-Sadiq (a), also known as Nathr al-durar
- Imam al-Kazim's (a) advice to Hisham
- Imam al-Rida's (a) answer to Ma'mun about religious rulings
- Imam al-Rida's (a) explanation of Imamate and its position in the grand mosque of Merv
- Imam al-Jawad's (a) answer to the questions of Yahya b. Aktham
- Imam al-Hadi's (a) treatise on refutation of determinism and delegation
- Imam al-Hadi's (a) answers to the questions of Yahya b. Aktham
- Imam Hasan al-'Askari's (a) letter to Ishaq b. Isma'il Nayshaburi
At the end of each section, Ibn Shu'ba mentions some short sayings attributed to the respective Infallible (a).
Also, at the end of the book, he has added the following sections:
- God's words with Prophet Moses (a)
- God's words with Prophet Jesus (a)
- Jesus's (a) advice in the gospels
- Advice from Mufaddal b. 'Umar to Shiites
Position
Tuhaf al-'uqul has been revered by Shi'a scholars[2] and frequently referred to in hadith and jurisprudence references.[3]
However, the problem of its hadiths lacking chains of transmitters has caused some criticisms. This is what Ibn Shu'ba himself has also addresses in his introduction to the book and mentions that he has "heard" the chains of the transmitters of most of the hadiths but avoided mentioning them for the purpose of concision and because the content of the hadiths he quotes are self-evident truths that need no verification.
While acknowledging the eminence and great God-wariness of al-Harrani, Ayatollah Khoei has considered his book as not reliable in jurisprudential discussion because of the aforementioned problem.[4]
It must be also mentioned that Tuhaf al-'uqul has been much respected by the Nusayrids many of whom know it by heart.[5]
Translation into English
The book has been translated into English and published under the title of Tuhaf Ul-Uqoul: The Masterpieces of the Mind.
Notes
- ↑ Ḥarrānī, Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl, p. 2-3.
- ↑ Shūshtarī, Majālis al-muʾminīn, vol. 1, p 383.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 1, p. 29; Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira fī aḥkām al-ʿitrat al-ṭāhira, vol. 25, p. 180; Nūrī, Mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 1, p. 187.
- ↑ Tawḥīdī, Miṣbāḥ al-fiqāha, vol. 1, p 5,9; Muʿallim, ʾUṣūl ʿIlm al-Rijāl bayn al-nazarīyya wa al-taṭbīq, p. 274-277.
- ↑ Ḍīyaʾyī, Fihris maṣādir al-firaq al-Islāmīyya, vol. 1, p. 81.
References
- Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Ḥasan b. ʿAlī. Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl ʿan āl al-Rasūl (s). Printed by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: 1363 Sh.
- Baḥrānī, Yūsuf al-. Al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira fī aḥkām al-ʿitrat al-ṭāhira. Qom: 1363 Sh.
- Tawḥīdī, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Miṣbāḥ al-fiqāha. Class scripts of Āyatullāh Khoei. Qom: 1377 Sh.
- Shūshtarī, Nūr Allāh b. Sharīf al-Dīn al-. Majālis al-muʾminīn. Tehran: 1354 Sh.
- Ḍīyaʾyī, ʿAlī Akbar. Fihris maṣādir al-firaq al-Islāmīyya. Beirut: 1412/1992.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Baqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār.
- Muʿallim, Muḥammad ʿAlī. ʾUṣūl ʿIlm al-Rijāl bayn al-nazarīyya wa al-taṭbīq. Qom: Class scripts of Āyatullāh Dāwari's, 1416/1995.
- Nūrī, Mīrzā Ḥusayn al-. Mustadrak al-wasāʾil wa musṭanbit al-wasā'il. Qom: 1415/1994 – 1420/1999.