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Al-Kāfī, the Sufficient) is a collection of hadith of the Twelver Shi'a. It is the most important and authentic collection among the Four Books. It was compiled by thiqat al-Islam al-Kulayni (d. 329/941) in the period of the Minor Occultation. Al-Kafi consists of three parts: Usul (principles), Furu' (branches), and Rawda (miscellaneous issues); Usul is the most important part. Al-Kulayni tried to collect hadiths in such a way that they agree with the consensus and there is no incompatibility between them and the Qur'an.
Al-Kafi may have been entitled as such due to al-Kulayni's own statement in the chapter on Tahara, which reads, "This book is "Kafi" (i.e. sufficient) for all religious sciences".
It also could have been named Al-Kafi due to a report that when it was presented to Imam al-Mahdi (a), he said, "Al-Kafi is Kafi (i.e. sufficient) for our Shi'a." However, there is no such report and it is just a claim.
- Al-Shaykh al-Mufid says, "This book is among the best Shi'a books and enjoys a lot of benefits."
- Al-Shahid al-Awwal introduces it as a book of hadith similar to which has not been written by any Shi'a scholar.
- Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi writes, "Al-Kafi is the most accurate and most comprehensive of all primary hadith sources, and it is the greatest and best book ever written by the Imamiyyah."
- Agha Buzurg Tihrani says, "Al-Kafi is a book of hadiths reported from Ahl al-Bayt (a) to which no similar book has been authored."
- Al-Astarabadi quotes from his teachers that, "No book has ever been written similar nor close to it in rank".
- Ayatollah Khoei mentions that his teacher, Muhammad Husayn Na'ini, would call doubting the sources of al-Kafi, "the business of the incompetent".
According to the preface of al-Kafi, al-Kulayni has written this book in response to a person he calls, "a brother in religion":
- O brother! You asked why people have to be ignorant and blindly religious; because they are religious due to habit and imitation of their fathers…
- You reminded me that you have difficulty in some matters and do not understand the truth in them due to the incompatibility of hadith… and that you do not have access to any trustworthy scholar about which you can speak........
Other featured articles: Al-Kafi (book) – Al-Mubahala Verse – Hadith al-Dawat wa l-Qirtas